D-A Books

This is a good book for children that need explanations of why they may be scared. It is an interactive book.

This book has been very helpful. We have been working through the exercises as a family and my kids seem to really enjoy it. It has helped my kids identify their fears and understand how to manage their anxiety better. This is a very user friendly book.

I am very happy with this book. I use it to help me with my son. I would recommend this book for parents that know that their child(ren) might or do have fears or anxiety.

This is a completely thorough, easy to read book that will give you an understanding of what your anxious child is going through and how you can help. It explains exactly what anxiety is and what your child is going through. It also explains how to set goals to help your child through this very difficult time. No matter what type and severity of your child's anxiety, this is a must have book. My 8-year-old has a specific phobia (I didn't realize until I was reading this book) and we are currently working to help her deal with it. I have never reviewed a book but I feel so strongly that anyone who has a child with anxiety issues or knows someone who does, to GET THIS BOOK.

This book was wonderful and a tool I'll use with my 9-year old son again! It was a conversation-starter because I was able to learn things that made my son anxious about that I wasn't even aware of and he felt less isolated because I completed the activities with him and was able to show him that everyone fears some things.

My son really enjoyed reading it and it was a great bonding opportunity.

Excellent and well written. A collection item for university level instruction and home library.

William H. Watkins writes about the power of education and how it "can be used both to oppress and to liberate." (pg.1) Watkins shares with us how research and science in the last century validated the belief that Whites were the superior race. This belief has played a great role in the development of the school system and curriculum we have today in America. The "White Architects" have used the school system to keep races of people oppressed. He clearly defines who the architects were and the role they played in orchestrating the school system we have today.

I believe that in order to see more success among minority students in schools today we have to restructure the whole school system. Watkins book strengthens my belief. He states "public education was product of historically, politically, and socially constructed ideas." These ideas need to be updated and remade to include all races equally.

Mr. Watkins walks us through an historical and turbulent era of education that continues to have ramifications in our present educational system. Watkins journey through the maze of black education exposes the political and socioeconomic influences of the dominnant and affluent white culture of the north. He reveals to the reader the influences of the corporate magnets of the north who wanted cheap labor and subserivent workers. They used their philanthropy and the educational system to imposed their own philosophy of education on the black population;while promoting subserivent lifestyles for those who participated. Mr Watkins is able to convince the reader about the political and economic hold that the corporate world imposes on the black population and the disregard these men had for how the black population wanted their education to progress.
Mr. Watkins continues to show us the need for continued political and socieconomic justice for all people and warns us of the continued influence that corporate America has on all of us.

William Watkins pointedly and proudly explains how people other than the African Americans have guided the principles of Black education in the United States from the Reconstruction era to post World War II. Whether these people acting philanthropically as John D. Rockefeller or as "evil geniuses" (Chapter 6), they have shaped Black education then and some would argue for all time.

In his writing, Watkins shows that there is a view of the history of American education that does not come from the larger culture. Watkins view is from the "other side of the fence" that is not written by the victors but rather a survivor. This view is equally important as it establishes the fact there are always two sides to every story. "History is made by people in struggle" (p.179).

Generalizations tend to pervade Watkins' writings as the use of the words "few" and "many" are consistent. But this is understandable considering little or no empirical research was being conducted regarding Black education during this time period.

Pointing to the past for blaming is not the purpose of Watkins in his book, but rather an enlightenment of the history presented by a survivor of slavery, segregation and racial inequalities that have existed for generations. Truly, Watkins has offered a view of history in which we can reflect upon and use to help guide a new generation of architects.

William H. Watkins is subtle in his story of the "white architects" who developed Black education beginning in 1865, just at the end of the Civil War. Watkins shocks you with his "scientific racism" platform that he explains "presented human difference as the rational for inequality" and that it "can be understood as an ideological and political issue" (pg. 39). The reader senses a calm attitude about the author as he speaks of the Philanthropists, beginning with John D. Rockefeller, Sr, who was most concerned about "shaping the new industrial social order" (pg. 133) than he was for providing a useful education. "The Rockefeller group demonstrated how gift giving could shape education and public policy" (pg. 134). In their support of Black education, by 1964,the General Education Board (GEB) spent more than $3.2 million dollars in gifts to support Black education. This captivating book begins with a forward written by Robin D.G. Kelley who reflects that she learned one lesson from Watkins, "If we are to create new models of pedagogy and intellectual work and become architects of our own education, then we cannot simply repair the structures that have been passed down to us. We need to dismantle the old architecture so that we might begin anew" (pg. xiii). Why don't the school reformers who mandate educational laws experience such an awakening?

The beautiful thing about May's book is that it is so hard to define. It is part psychology, part theology, part poetry, part philosophy. The book is empirical and lyrical. It vibrates with the author's warm heart, his brilliant intelligence, his down to earth common sense. It is a book that describes the spiritual journey many of us yearn to undertake and in so doing clarifies it and makes it easier to proceed. The journey of spiritual transformation that May describes is the journey of surrender to Mystery. May describes this process of transformation as the proces whereby our ego acquires its proper and helpful place in the orbit of our being. No longer the willful king concerned with preserving its self importance at all costs, the ego is transformed into an ally in the service of True Life. But the process of transformation is fraught with obstacles ranging from inner fear to the many illusions that pass themselves as the ultimate good to external evil. May looks at each one of these obstacles, patiently, comprehensively. He does not leave any questions about the internal life unaddressed, even if his response is simply to delineate the unknown. It is a book that I will take notes on and read often. As you read it, you will feel as I did, that behind its ease and clarity there lies a monumental effort on the part of the author. Like the other reviewers here, I am profoundly grateful to the author for this effort as well as for his openness to the inspiration that informs his work.

I first discovered contemplative spirituality when I read Evelyn Underhill's "Mysticism" -- a book that introduced me to many great historical spiritual writers, such as Julian of Norwich, Meister Eckhart, and John of the Cross. I found the great mystics of old to be deeply nurturing to my spiritual practice -- but I had a wistful relationship with the mystical books I read, for it always seemed mysticism was something that happened "back then." Where were the profound mystical explorers of our time? Then a friend recommended I read "Will and Spirit," and so finally I discovered a powerful and beautiful expression of mystical spirituality as practiced today. For May writes squarely in the tradition of the great Christian mystics, with insight, humility, and devotion that characterizes the best spiritual writing. His premise is simple: most human beings live their lives from a posture of willFULness ("I'm in control here"), but the mystical journey is a radical call to enter into the spirituality of willINGness (not my will, but thine). From there, May considers the limitations of much popular spirituality, and celebrates the promise and possibility of a deep practice of meditation within the context of western religion and culture. I now count this as one of the two or three most important texts on spirituality I've ever read. I quote May in my own books, and I still turn to his words for inspiration and guidance.

This is one of those rare books that excites you as you read. May speaks of contemplative prayer and spirituality as both a long time practitioner and a psychiatrist. This is neither a book of inspiring piety not a book of the mechanics of prayer. Rather, it describes the dynamics of the human mind as it comes into contact with the transcendent in contemplative prayer. As I read through the book, I was frequently saying "Yes, that's it exactly!" The section on the defenses the self comes up with in "protecting itself" from unitive experience especially impressed me.
May has spent much of his professional career focusing on the area of spiritual direction. Rather than building his psychological model on experience obtained from treating pathology, May builds his model on "unitive experience" in the context of contemplative prayer. The model is especially helpful in understanding what goes on in us as we attempt to practice the methods of contemplative prayer. It gives a practical look at the obstacles to prayer, why they arise, and how to understand and work through them.
May's pivotal concept is the role of willingness and willfulness as life attitudes and the critical standards for our spiritual lives. He presents willingness as an openness to God's will in all circumstances. This attitude is critical, as it allows God to work through us. The real danger to our relationship with God and with one another is an attitude of willfulness. This attitude places our will as the standard. It is dangerous because there is no room for God in this attitude. It is especially dangerous when the person thinks that he or she is God's gift to humanity.
When I read anything other than novels, I underline important ideas. My copy of Will and Spirit is so filled with yellow from my highlighting marker that at times the pages almost seem to be printed on bright yellow paper.
This is an excellent book on the topic of contemplative prayer and the spiritual life. It is not an easy book. It requires serious reflection as you move through it. It provides practical advice that is available only from one who is experienced both in contemplative prayer and providing direction to those who are trying to follow the contemplative path.

I read this book so many years ago I can't remember. It is heavily underlined, and parts of it still stay in my mind nearly word for word. This level of thought is a gift for a long time. Now I'm ordering another copy for a friend. It's worth sitting down and thinking with this man-- get ready to underline.

WILL & SPIRIT is a difficult book to review. Any review is likely to reflect more of my own bias than the quality of the book. Readers will probably either love or hate this book. Therefore the best service I can render is to list a few of the things that might draw or repulse potential readers and let them make up their own minds. I gave the book 5 stars because ideas in this book are sure to stay with readers long after the book is finished. Many may read it more than once.

THINGS THAT MIGHT REPULSE READERS:

Writing style. Many contemplatives are drawn to mystical or poetic works that non contemplatives barely comprehend. Some contemplatives are repulsed by technical or scientific writing styles. In this book May comes across as a psychiatrist who writes about contemplative spirituality. The style is difficult to read, professional, and deep. In some ways he reminds me of M. Scott Peck.

Ecumenicism. May writes from a Christian perspective, but that perspective includes insights gained from all humanity and all religious traditions. One gains the impression that he believes Christianity is A way to God, but not necessarily THE way. There is enough of this tone in his writing to bother some readers. This is a book of Contemplative Psychology, but not necessarily Christian Theology.

Be forewarned. If you purchase the book and have these complaints, it is your own fault.

THINGS THAT MIGHT DRAW READERS:

True Spirituality. May does an excellent job of contrasting willfulness and willingness to submit to God. As with many contemplatives, he declares selfishness to be sinful, whether it is acted out in socially unacceptable ways or more respectable self-righteousness within the religious community. Three cheers for piercing the façade of the self-righteous.

Silence and Meditation. May will comfort many people who believe that contemplation requires sitting cross-legged on a bed of hot coals for several hours each morning. He even goes so far as to suggest that hyperactive people might gain more from brief periods of silence than those who are able to go to extremes. This pierces the bubble of contemplative elitism.

Unitive Experience. I don't know if this will be viewed by readers as a positive or negative, but May's description of unitive experiences will cause readers to think. He labels these as the most common of all spiritual experiences, but declares that most people shut them out because they challenge our desires to have total control of our own spirituality, and in the process total control of our own God.

Attachment. While acknowledging that all humans have desires, May challenges the selfish ways in which our desires quickly become attachments that stand between us and God.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Read through this review and decide. Is this a book for you?

I have found this book extremely helpful, not only for beginners but for Windows Vista users. The graphics some times are so vivid and clear that one needs to read a little to grasp the statement made by the author.

It is much easier for me to visualize an action than to just hear it
and this book is so much easier for me to see and know what I am to do.
It has been a great help to me. Thank you, Carol

This was the first book I purchased when we got our new computer. I had been warned that Vista is confusing. That is not true...it's just different. I'm accustomed to it now and this book was an immense help. I recommend it!

I ordered this book and another book on Dec 22nd, and it was on my porch early afternoon on Christmas Eve. I did not expect to get it that soon!

This book makes everything so simple. Everytime you get a new computer, and it has a new operating system, you can't do much with it for a while. I was actually able to do things with this book explaining the steps.

I was so impressed with it, I just ordered the author's 'Teach Yourself Visually Windows Vista' book. It is the first book to impress me for it's ease and userability.

Back in the "OLD" days they use to supply books with computers that helped to explain how to do tasks...or at least the steps a new user shoukd go through to find the info on the computer. NOW ALL YOU CAN DO IS GUESS WHERE SOME USEABLE INFORMATION IS LOCATED, AND HOW TO GET TO IT.

AN EXCELLENT SOURCE BOOK....THANK YOU!

Last March 2007, I purschased the Vista Visually Series that this writer wrote. And, I was so impressed with the author and the content of this book that when I discovered this newer Vista book by the same author, I bought it as well. The reason that I bought this book that I wanted a quick overview on both Tips and Tricks of Vista. After one year using Vista, I have learned so much more about it. Yet, there is always more to learn and an easier and better way to do things in Vista. This author gives you 10 very easy to read and follow chapters that give wonderful and helpful information yet do not bore or overwhelm the reader. The graphics are excellent! The most helpful chapter I found is chapter 5, which is called "Enhance Internet Security and Privacy". Although this chapter could have been longer and more detailed, it gives enough information about: Scanning for Spyware, Web Page Media Safely and Privately, Spam info, and super email info and more. Another chapter I was very impressed with the content is chapter 6. In this chapter the author gives you basic Internetting tips and faster movement in pages showing you how to use tabs, a real help when you are browsing more than one web page at a time and wish to go back to each of them. Also in this chapter I found many good suggestions for websites, safe websites, web feeds and more. Superb book, superb author, I highly reccomend this book!

Xen: A Novel from the Future is an intriguing science fiction tale about a scientist, Pawkey Seneschal, who loathes humanity's evils so much that he unveils a means to forever rid all humanity of its hate, prejudice, and xenophobia. The secret lies within the "Ten Books of Xen", which are intertwined in a mythical tale about the repeated rebirth of Mankind - N + 1 times. Partly a puzzle for the reader to solve, partly a vision of an utopian future just within humanity's grasp, and partly a reexamination of all that is familiar in ordinary life, Xen is a triumph expressing a crucial message counter-culture and would-be world-transformers of all walks of life, from humanitarians and pacifists to feminists and libertarians.

If you wonder why people continue to wage war, why history repeats itself and why you just discarded your barely touched beverage before boarding a plane, read this book. You'll love the way this novel makes you think. This book is a five plus.

After reading this book, I finally decided once and for all to become a vegetarian!

Xen takes place in the distant future, but is not a typical science fiction novel. If you're expecting lots of action and weapons, move along and don't bother. Ditto if you anticipate the undead, "creatures," horror, fantasy, dragons, etc. And again don't waste your money if you're looking for a sweet, gentle romp into the future. That world, the Utopia, is there, but you won't get to it until having faced a horrific look at the depravity of our species.

Xen is a polemic, an allegory, a satire. How else could a modern day novel dare to begin with the line, "it was a dark and stormy night," if not put forth as a translation from a future language? Even the copyright page gives the reader a glimpse at the spoof that will be revealed in the coming pages.

The book consists of ten vignettes that are ultimately tied together, but this isn't at all obvious until one reads the last several. Things are initially even more confusing because most of the chapters are written in second person point of view, even when the character changes! The reader won't get to a repeat character until chapter 5, with the return of the scientist, Pawkey Seneschal, in his second of three stories.

The book actually starts off (if one doesn't count the foreword, the "translator's note,") with a bet over the fate of mankind, orchestrated between Wind and Water. They come back again in the book of History. In this chapter, the unspeakable ways in which we treat each other as well as other creatures are relentlessly drilled home to the reader, in second person point of view much of the time, making it entirely personal. This chapter is the longest by far and never seems to run out of steam, perhaps much like the ongoing anguish and misery of the suffering, past, present, and future. It ends with a commercial that can only be imagined in the world of Xen. This is followed by the book of Adolescent, in which the reader meets a contemporary high school senior in the future Utopia, as she reflects upon part of a college placement requirement.

Three of the remaining books deal with the future minister of earth. Outrageously, the reader meets the most powerful person on Earth and all the colonies on which humans now live in space, while she is about to have sex with her husband. But it isn't until the reader has finished experiencing this encounter, again that second person point of view, that one becomes aware of just who she is. It is Minister Esse who must deal with aliens who have come to Earth, centuries after mankind has already been traveling the stars, to confront humanity with the true origins of their transformation from xenophobia to "tolerance and enlightenment at all levels."

The book delightfully and whimsically comes full circle as Wind and Water settle the bet and you know who gets the last word, now don't you?

Xen is not a book for everyone. One has to read this volume SLOWLY; it cannot be skimmed. (If you want to know what happens, Water wins the bet...duh!) The sentences are often complex and long; many I had to read more than once. Xen should be read by lovers of words, by those who adore visual imagery and have the patience to read each line very carefully, gratified that they are not able to anticipate the endings of most sentences. A Xen reader is comfortable finding that a single a page can contain multiple words that may require a dictionary followed by four letter words or other vulgarity as well as entirely made up words, e.g. pisseria, igged, ISDs. Xen is pure joy for someone who enjoys alliteration: e.g. ..."she succumbed to the somniferous spell of the local gastronomy"..."the vitriol bubbles out of the beaker and even the dogs hide from the bellicose rantings"...and who doesn't mind not knowing what's going to come next: e.g...."you mentally return to the news and current events. There's a helluva lot of crime over and above the every day publicly sanctioned workings of the government at all levels"..."there is still something wrong with this picture you think, cogitating further about the turd in the punchbowl"..."the answer to that is about as veiled as a nipple in a transparent bra you think"...These latter quotes are all from just a few pages. You get the picture.

Finally, there are numerous amazing metaphors, e.g. ..."on a clock with celestial divisions, even we and our mother earth are not immortal"..."you deconstruct the telomeric clock, one gear and spring at a time, until the blueprint of each piece is traced back to the genetic origins"..."the sun had been crisply frying the heavens and the clouds had been boiled out of their ethereal cauldron..." and epic symbolism: e.g. water, wind, fire.

Xen won't be for everyone in other ways. Pawkey Seneschal is introduced as a quintessential racist, sexist intellectual who really has NOTHING good to say about anything or anyone. His thoughts, which we share in the second person point of view, are vile and reprehensible in the extreme. This IS a book about xenophobia. Seneschal is clearly an equal opportunist here insofar as no religion, race, or any other division or subset of mankind is spared his satire, sarcasm, irony, criticism, lampoon, castigation, or denigration. This diatribe becomes more relentless as the book evolves, which made me eventually wonder if he hates everything. And then it hit me. He hates greed, exploitation and over consumption (his utopia is hardly a luddite existence nor is this a veiled and trite entreaty for anything socialistic, which he hates, too). He hates the subjugation of women, the waste of resources, the hypocrisy of so much of religion and government, the instability of marriage, the barriers of language, nationalism, the use of animals as food or for any other "raw materials." Through Seneschal, the author hates the hate that we intrinsically and genetically harbor. In Xen he begs us to recognize that we have more in common with each other than those things which separate us; hence he implores us to move this knowledge to our first thoughts, no longer to be relegated to after or second thoughts. We do, after all, have free will.

My major criticism of Xen is that it will be perceived as too complicated by some readers. There needs to be an expurgated version in order for the basic story to achieve mass market appeal. I'm not sure how many have the patience for a book like this today.

Since I'm no student of literature, despite being an avid reader, I won't even try to compare Solomon to other authors or Xen to other works. I'll leave that up to others who may review this book.

If you "get it," Xen is a book that you will read again and again. It will join the ranks of your favorites and you will buy copies for friends rather than lend yours out. This book is complex and therefore some readers may not understand or even loathe it. But for those who are up for the trip, it's quite a roller-coaster ride.

This is a book to read over and over. The first time I wasn't impressed at all. I've gone through it now 4 times and get more each time. I wish the words weren't so hard but my vocabulary is now better. :)

I tried for days to solve the cipher since I enjoy a good puzzle. Last Labor Day I sent it to Marilyn vos Savant, figuring she would enjoy a good challenge. I know she must get hundreds if not thousands of queries and guess I wasn't surprised I never heard from her or saw the answer in her weekly column in Parade Magazine, which I devour each Sunday. Last week I contacted Avar Press and was told that they had never been contacted by Marilyn for verification of the answer. Oh well... :(

All I can say is puzzle or no, the book has made me into a better person. I have allowed it to make me question certain values that have been drummed into me by our society. Read Xen and see for yourself.

I found this book very informative and practical. I particularly liked the emphasis on using your head and not making silly decisions because of all the hype.Lots of good information throughout.

I bought the book after having seen the book featured in TIME magazine. It was well worth the it. My husband had not been interested in hearing or reading anything about Y2K saying that the whole thing was overblown. He picked-up the book after I received it and he couldn't put it down - I haven't seen it since. I found out today he has now loaned it to a friend, so I am buying myself another copy, but I am having it sent to my office this time!

So many Y2K books focus on telling you why you should be shaking in your boots. This book presents researched facts along with more useful and usable tips and advice than any other book I have read. And this one was also EASY TO READ and didn't contain pages and pages of technical stuff that, frankly, I don't understand anyway and don't want to understand at that. I HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone who wants straight info about Y2K and useful information. After reading the book I bought copies for my family and friends as gifts - my highest compliment!

This subject of Y2K is a little scarey since it is something new and unknown. Dr.Shepard's book helps me understand it and feel better. I bought the book on Amazon about 3 weeks ago and read it, trying things he suggested and I liked the book. I think you will like it too.

Dr. Shepard's book on the Y2K situation is well titled, as it truly is a very practical guide to what we will be facing just one short year from today. It has been thoroughly researched and is complete in its scope. An even more important point to my mind is the "easy read" style and theuser-friendly layout of the book. The nature of this subject produces anxiety so I especially appreciated the clear writing style and humor that invited me to continue in my education on this fast approaching challenge. I found a concise description of the problems keyed to specific areas of life; the examples that allowed me to focus on those that apply to me; the preparations I can make to mitigate the shock of these problems; and some creative solutions if I do find myself caught up in their impact. I now have reason to hope that with my heightened awareness and the proper preparations suggested in this book, I will get through the impact of the Y2K changeover in good shape and, with luck, even some grace. Thank you, Dr. Shepard!

I though I had done that already. So, once again, the book arrived on time but the sender failed to tell that this was a LIBRARY BOOK. It was full of stickers with library numbers on the cover and inside the book itself. Had I known this, I would not have bought it. It's one thing to buy a "used" book. It's another, to buy a used book with stickers and notations. So, I am not very pleased and I emailed the sender upon receipt.

I have four daughters, and as I read this book I alternated between thinking "That's exactly right based on my experience!" and "Wow, I'm very glad to know that!"

The range and depth of information is impressive, and Dr. Metzl's writing style makes you just keep reading once you start.

This book should be required reading by all sporting parents. I can promise you'll be a better parent for having read it.

When my son slipped during a recent curling match, I was worried that he'd never feel comfortable comepting gain, but Dr. Metzl's excellent book gave my wife and me the information we needed to get our son back in the game. This book is a must-read for parents with kids in sports. It does for sports injuries what chicken soup and chopped liver do for the soul.

Dr. Metzl clearly articulates the do's and don'ts of sports medicine and there impact to young athlete's. He has a dry sense of humor that makes the book an enjoyable read. A must have for parents with active, athletic children.

This is one of the best health books, and one of the best parenting books, I have ever read. Dr. Metzl's style is both authoritative and engaging. I highly recommend this book.

I really enjoy this book. I read from it every day. Highly recommend it.

This is a very inspiring book. It's small....but great things always come in small packages.

Great book for anyone, expecially if you are in a 12 step program. I give this book away for "anniversaries."

I spend the last minutes of my day in meditation. This book is a nice addition to my routine.

This book was purchased for a gift to a recovering alcoholic. He does a lot of reading and meditation and was extremely pleased with the book. I feel this was a gift, well-chosen. Short reads and thoughts for meditation.

26 Gorgeous Hikes on the Western Cote d'Azur by Florence Chatzigianis details wonderful half-day experiences along the Mediterranean Sea coast of France. With excellent maps of each hike and beautiful color photographs of the places to hike, the book includes Islands of Hyeres, St. Tropez, Frejus and Saint-Raphael and the Esterel Mountains and the Maures Mountains, from Hyeres to Cannes. Chatzigianis gives instructions of what to wear, best times to go, and alluring descriptions of what you will experience. She also tells for each hike the distance, time required, elevation, and difficulty, as well as restaurants, tourism offices, and sports stores nearby. The book is certainly one to plan your trip to this beautiful area.

26 Gorgeous Hikes on the Western CÃ'te d'Azur is an illustrated guide that invites you to slow down, take a breath of fresh air and soak in the Western French Riviera's natural beauty. Author Chatzigianis is a long-time hiker who has spent many years scouting southern France for footpaths with stunning views, walks that lead to boat-accessible only inlets, and prehistoric sites rarely visited or seen.

This guide has stunning maps and photographs of the nature hikes. There is an introduction with points of interest for each hike. Hiking time, distance, difficulty level and elevation profile are included with each hike description as well as practical advice on when to go and what to take with you.

The descriptions of the hikes are vivid enough to make you want to go there, to see it for yourself.

You climb a short, steep hill behind the village of La Garde-Freinet. You cross a moat that is carved deep into the rock. Step back 800 years in time; you have entered the ruins of the ancient fortified stone settlement of Fort Freinet.

Whether you enjoy an evening walk through a chestnut grove to watch a monastery set aglow by the setting sun or a more vigorous hike up the red mountains to view the amazing view of the Mediterranean Sea, there is something for everyone to enjoy in this beautiful guide of the Western Cote d'Azur.

The hikes range from an hour to half a day. I never knew some of these places even existed until I read this lovely guide. My interest has been peaked and I found myself daydreaming as I became absorbed in the photographs. My family may find themselves on a vacation soonâ"that only I have been dreaming of!

Armchair Interview says: Excellent book for hikers and dreamers

An alternative tourist attraction could be found and would be well appreciated by nature lovers around the world - "26 Gorgeous Hikes on the Western Cote d'Azur" is a compilation of guides for twenty six half day hikes around France's beautiful coastline along the Mediterranean Sea for any experience level. Packed with color photos and specifics of each trail such as its time, distance, difficulty and what you should bring in preparation, it is the flat out most comprehensive guide you can find on the subject, even covering the history of the area alongside information on the plantlife. "26 Gorgeous Hikes on the Western Cote d'Azur" is highly recommended for armchair travelers and hiking enthusiasts destined to travel to southern France.

As a connoisseur of hiking books and having spent a summer during college (many moons ago) exploring this region of France, I was drawn to this book about hiking the western Côte d' Azur. The book is lightweight, perfect for carrying or slipping into a backpack. The table summarizing hikes by difficulty, distance and terrain will prove particularly helpful. Other positive aspects in the book include the color photographs, the useful contact information and the interesting tidbits regarding history of the area, plants and the like. My only regret is that our vacation plans this year do not include the Côte d' Azur, so will have to postpone putting this book to use first-hand. Maybe next year . . .

I've hiked in France, but I had no idea what a beautiful and interesting region Cote d'Azur was until I read Florence Chatzigianis's, "26 Gorgeous Hikes on the Western Cote d'Azur." Now I want to go there, her guidebook in hand, and try out the trails she describes so vividly!

Chatzigianis's book is not only informative, but also easy to use. She's organized the 26 hikes by region, which enables visitors to quickly find a trail nearby. I particularly like the way that the "Table of Hikes," breaks the hikes into categories of "easy" and "medium," and then gives the distance and time needed for each. And since I like to know whether I'll be doing a lot of climbing in the mountains or a bit of strolling by the shore, I find the small drawings showing the elevation range of each hike are also quite useful.

Chatzigianis's colorful photos are a rich accompaniment to the text. Not only are there pictures of the beautiful countryside, but also of the many historical and cultural sights that most auto-touring visitors miss.

Finally, I found that the "Aside" sections--short essays on such intriguing topics as "Hiking Under Water," (on the island of Port-Cros) and "The Cork Oak" (some of which you see on the Lac de l'Ecureuil trail), make "26 Gorgeous Hikes on the West Cote d'Azur" an indispensable guide for any traveler who wants to truly experience France's Mediterranean coastline.

Highly recommended!

I recieved Aeschylus: Agamemnon right on time and it was crisp and new!

I always liked Homer and Sophocles, but I still have a preference for Aeschylus. What makes "Agamemnon" such a great story is that not only is this a story in itself, but it is only part 1 of a trilogy. Part 2 is "The Libation Bearers" and Part 3 is "The Eumenides." Now "Agamemnon" was written centuries before Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida." Nevertheless, the events of "Agamemnon" take place after Shakespeare's play. If you read that play of Shakespeare's, you know that it covers the last few stages of the Trojan War. In Shakespeare's play, Agamemnon is portrayed as a reasonable and competent king who is frustrated at the length of the war, is repulsed by Achilles's vanity, and shows reasonable strength in diplomacy.

Onto the material at hand. The chorus is basically a group of older men who can comment on situations, but can not really interfere. The chorus tells us that Troy has fallen, and Greece is triumphant. We then meet Agamemnon's wife Clytemnestra. She blames Agamemnon for the death of her child Iphigenia. So, she naturally wants to kill Agamemnon. The chorus seems to admit that it was strange that the war was fought over Helen who was a willing prisoner. Nevertheless, the chorus sides with Agamemnon when he arrives. Asimov seems to point an interesting angle out: "Such a keen sense of honor is often praised by those who are safe at home." But of course, it is a different story to those who are involved! But of course, any time romance is involved, the voice of reason tends to take a back seat.

Moving on, Agamemnon seems to be a good king in showing his piety in the light of victory. But there is one flaw. He has kidnapped Hector's sister Cassandra. (She was the virgin priestess to Apollo, and that would be the equivalent of kidnapping a nun for pleasure.) Cassandra has the gift of prophecy, but because she tried to run with Apollo's gift 'without paying for it,' Apollo cursed her in that no one would believe her prophecies.

Showing reason, she curses Paris for starting the war with his utterly stupid kidnapping of Helen. She also tells of how Orestes will avenge his father and kill Clytemnestra (in Part 2). But back to the main plot. Clytemnestra plays the devil, and uses Agamemnon's vanity against him which leads to his death. (How disturbing that vanity was the downfall of many men centuries ago, and still is!)

In comes Clytemnestra's lover Aegisthus. He talks of the crimes of Agamemnon's father against his father. What happened was Aegisthus 's father slept with Agamemnon's father's wife. In revenge, Agamemnon's father tricked Aegisthus's father into eating the flesh of his own son. the theme of revenge is further emphasized. It is of course a never ending circle. Though I do find it interesting that Aegisthus finds it fit that Agamemnon should suffer for the crimes of his father. (Yet was Aegisthus's father who started it!)

So, Aegisthus and Clytemnestra can be together for now. But of course in Part 2, we know that they will get their comeuppance. Overall, it's a great story that emphasizes the evils and seeming eternity of revenge.

First in a trilogy about the return of the Greeks after the Trojan War. Powerful stuff. Such horrors and tragedy as only the Greeks can master. Agamemnon's father killed his brother's children and set their flesh before him to eat, unknowingly. Agamemnon himself killed his own daughter as a sacrifice to the gods for success in the Trojan War, and when he comes home after ten years (which is where the action begins), his wife, Clytemnestra, stabs him to death in a plot with Aegisthus who was the son of the father who ate his children, and in the next part, Orestes, Agamemnon's son will return and kill them both. Please don't think I'm giving away plot here. Plot is not the point, the writing of it is all. To see it staged by first-rate actors must be a real thrill indeed.

It would be good to have two years of college Greek behind you before starting on Denniston and Page's AGAMEMNON, a Greek text with modern commentary. As a single-volume edition for students, this one could not be bettered: everything is explained and difficult passages are translated in the notes -- about three lines a page are difficult enough to require this treatment. And I mean difficult for everyone, the world's greatest Greek scholars included. The difficulties are very thoroughly discussed. Another reviewer here has said Denniston and Page are dogmatic; not at all: they point out where passages are unclear, disagreed about by scholars, or outright lost. Most of the choruses contain passages so distorted scholars have to guess at what was written, and (assuming their guess is right) exactly what the passages mean. Aeschylus writes a little like Shakespeare in MACBETH: very poetically and not always clearly. In spite of all this, passages, sometimes quite long, of powerful poetry leap out of the page. The play has been compared to KING LEAR and called, along with LEAR, one of the two best tragedies of all time. What's more, it makes you feel, even with Denniston and Page's constant help, that you can really understand Greek if you can understand lines from this play.

[Note: This edition is a text in ANCIENT GREEK with notes in English. It has no text in English if you are looking for one. There are many to recommend. The best translation of the Oresteia, of which this work is the first part, is in Tony Harrison's Collected Works; the worst, in my opinion at least, was written by Ted Hughes. All the rest are good.]
This is a superb edition with one caveat. At the moment, educated consensus generally holds that a line of poetry seldom has one meaning. Denniston and Page's text plus commentary of Agamemnon apparently was written before this consensus formed. Denniston and Page are feisty, dogmatic, and insistent that they are right, and are largely reacting to Fraenkel's massive text plus commentary to the same play. They take issue with Fraenkel on a number of points while acknowledging his immense erudition. I have no reservations, however, recommending this edition. It was very useful and well-thought out. I give it a high rating.