Lien

I enjoyed this book so much. It is a very interesting, detailed and vivid account from a little girl to that of a young woman of life in Vietnam before, during, and after the war. At times it brought sadness, laughter, fear, joy and love. The author makes you feel as though you were there. As I read the book, I found myself turning back and forth to the cover to look at the author's picture to gather a glimpse of her courage and understanding. This is truly a compelling and inspirational story. I would most certainly recommend this excellent book to readers of all ages who have an interest in Vietnamese culture.

I loved this book the most for the details of the author's life. It's rare to read a book that tells in lots of detail the ordinary parts of a life lived in extrordinary times and places---what is eaten, what jobs are held, what school is like, what family life is like. Although Vietnam during the period the author was growing up and in her 20s, the scope of this book, was a war zone, this is not really a war book, but more a book about what everyday life in a war zone is like. It's written with unusual frankness---no effort is made to make the author look better or worse than she really is. I like it that it is not ghost written---the author's own voice is used, and she tells things in her own way and order, not always immediately explaining things like the value of money or why people are addressed in the way they are. This serves to immerse you in her life.

The subplot of this book is how having an abusive childhood affects you. At times, I was not sure the author really saw herself as abused, although she certainly was. But the cultural differences keep her from reacting or speaking of this abuse in the way a Westerner might. Instead, we are allowed to see for ourselves how she expects the abuse to continue in her marriage, and how surprised she is when it does not. It's only in the epiloge that we see she is aware of this abuse, and wants to help others living with parental abuse.

Definately highly recommended!

I am the parent of a little girl adopted from Viet Nam. A friend let me read her copy of Bird of One Wing: A VN Woman's Story to give me an idea of what my daughter's birth family life might have been like. I couldn't put the book down. For obvious reasons, I've read many books about, or by authors from, Viet Nam, but none has touched me the way this book has. During my reading of Bird of One Wing, my daughter was able to establish contact with her birth family. I was stunned to see how accurate Kieu Lien Le's discriptions were in terms of Vietnamese people, life and customs. Her personal story helped me fill in many of the blanks in my daughter's story.

I read this remarkable book back in 4/02. Since then I have tried desperately, but unsuccessfully, to purchase my own copy. Sadly, I can't find it for sale anywhere - not even through Amazon.Com (my old standby). Bird... has haunted me so much that I'm now trying to reach the author directly. If you are fortunate enough to find a copy, DEFINATELY READ IT! If you know the author or the publisher, tell them to reprint it. If you have a copy to sell, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH ME!!!!!! I hope the rumors of a second book are accurate. You can bet that I will be first in line to purchase that one.

If you are translating from an old BASIC on one system to a different system or to a modern BASIC this book will be invaluable. Its coverage is comprehensive - both of the main families (HP and Microsoft) as well as many variant forms of BASIC can be found here. This is NOT a textbook - it is intended for an experienced programmer who needs a reference for an extinct dialect. Each command and function is listed alphabeticly with the system that used it and what it does.

This was one of my favorite books when I was a little girl (about age 5). It's about a poor peasant boy (Ma Lien) in China who longs for a brush so he can paint. His wish is granted magically with a brush that allows his paintings to come to life. He immediately begins traveling the country helping other people by painting things that will benefit them. An evil emperor steps in and demands Ma Lien paint gold for him. Ma Lien complies, but tricks the emperor, who perishes. The boy is then able to continue helping other people with his gift.

This book is a terrific example of using one's gifts to benefit others and not allowing greed and temptation to deter us from our path. It is written so that even a young child can appreciate the magical quality of the story and an older one can hone in on truths that will help them in their own lives.

This book has prompted some interesting discussions between my older son (age 6) and me, something that is wonderful! A thought-provoking book that encourages children to talk to their parents! How fabulous is that?

The book starts with the very basic equations of electromagnetic and semiconductor theory and builds up to more advanced topics such as band structure calculations for semiconductors including strained quantum wells, various optical transitions processes, optical absorption spectra, etc. In addition, the book covers the basic theory of laser cavity resonance and this includes the distributed feedback laser theory. Various waveguide, electro-optical modulators and photodetector principles are also treated in clear detail. The book brings you up to the level of which the research papers in the optoelectronic area has been written.

Mr. Lien's book is one of the most thoroughly researched works on the state of national parks in America. His experience working at Olympic National Park, and serving as a sort of intern with Mrs. Edge gives us a rare insight into many of the personalities that shaped - and continue to influence - the fate of OLYM. Mr. Lien's documentation is highly impressive. However, I'm concerned that his passion for the park - and his apparently wholesale mistrust of the National Park Service - has lead to some critical mistakes.
For example, Stephen Mather was chosen "on the personal whim" of Secretary Franklin Lane. Lane knew more about Mather than Lien claims. Mather should hardly be remembered as "Saint Stephen" as so many in the NPS are anxious to do, but to dismiss him as someone chosen so cavalierly as Lien suggests is a dangerous underestimation of the man.
Second, it is unfair of Lien to put former NPS Director Newton Drury in essentially the same category as Fred Overly. Drury's tenure was that of a caretaker, and though his legislative skills were nil and his administrative abilities only slightly better, his focus and his integrity are things for which we should all be grateful. Drury was an outsider and he fought the good ol' boys: Overly, Albright and Wirth, to bring some measure of scientific integrity and conservation ethic to a deeply troubled park service.
Lien's breadth of scholarship is impressive. Unfortunately, his passion - while inspiring and insightful at times - has clouded his interpretation of early NPS history, and of the role of Newton Drury, a devoted, if sometimes uninspiring, conservationist.

I read this book shortly after spending several months on Washington's Olympic Peninsula and hiking in the Olympic Mountains of Olympic National Park in 1993. I own the first edition when it was published by Sierra Club Books. Olympic Battleground is one of the most important works relative to the environemntal movement, on par with Silent Spring and A Sand County Almanac, though it is relatively unknown. I do not think this statement is hyperbole.

Lien tells the story of the Olympic Peninsula and how it was systematically logged by people of European descent in the late 19th century, through the creation of ONP in 1937, and the management of ONP through the 1950s (when Lien was there as a seasonal ranger) and beyond. Tells the story of how one overzealous development minded ONP manager named Fred Overly enthusiastically allowed LOGGING in the park. And not just salvaging downed trees off trails and roads, but systemnatically cutting the largest old-growth Doulas-fir trees that could be found! Later talking to a ranger at ONP, I learned that Overly also coached the manager of Mount Rainier National Park on how to get the cut out of that park as well. There is correspondance on record of this happening.

Olympic Battleground demonstrates that we can never be complacent, that the only way we will be able to preserve our most significant natural areas is through eternal vigilance. Lien's book recounts that during WW II, "patriotic" timber barons attempted to log ONP to "aid the war effort." Thankfully that initiative was thwarted. Olympic Batleground should be read by everyone interested in preserving National Park land, National Forest land, federal Wilderness Areas, etc. We should know our history.

A rare and wonderful animal(not extinct after all), that holds secrets to cures, anti-venoms and facts behind unsolved mysteries has reappeared! Not long ago I encountered and purchased "Olympic Battleground" at a rare book store. It was out of print. No longer. It took but the first few pages to have me swallowing bile and bouncing hard objects off walls. So inflaming was the tale that it awakened an activism in me I had not felt since the Viet Nam War days. I sought out and interviewed the author who assured me that it had taken almost thirty years to write. Battleground is destined to become the definitive source in four areas: 1) It is a complete history of Olympic National Park(and indeed the founding of all National Parks),beginning in 1895 and now updated to today. Sound dull? Uh uh, not with the kind of intrigue, fraud, scheming and plotting that underlay the movements to keep the old growth timber OUT of the Park, ventures often aided and abetted by the very public servants whose jobs were to PROTECT it. It should be mentioned that the entire book is documented with painstaking primary sources. What happened and how it happened is inarguable; the barrels are smoking. WE BEEN ROBBED! Yo, to the tune of billions and billions of dollars of assets. 2) There is a treatise here of decades of activism. But for the lifelong battling of a core of three people;fighting against power and unrelenting greed, this book convinces us that there would not be one tree left standing. It is the definitive tale, the tangible proof of just how mighty is 'the power of the pen'. No advocate person or group should have a bookshelf without this book on it. 3) Were there any congressional investigative committees with the bajoongas to take on the timber companies,local politicians and even the Park Service itself, Mr. Lein's book would be the place to start. Inditements lie there in wait! 4) Fail not to hear the warning: ye who would protect and preserve our national Parks, wilderness areas, monuments and wildlife reserves. Pass over this book at peril to their future existence. Beware by learning how boundaries shift in the night and legal wording gets shuffled and forests vanish with the turn of a phrase and promise . The very words are in place in even the newest documents of our "roadless areas" and "forest reserves". For anyone with 'green' agendas, in fact, any kind of activist intentions, this book is an absolute must.

Excellent resource for learning the in's and out's of the tax lien investing game. Very well researched by the author who traveled around the country, visiting county courthouses! The only limitation is the it is focused exclusively on land - the author does not explore the technique with respect to developed property i.e. houses or income property.

This book has taught me so much about the basics of investing in tax deeds. You still have to do all of the work yourself but this book gives you the background that you need to get started in this interesting area of real estate investing

There is a lot of information is Guttmann's translations of Kuo's T'ai Chi Boxing Chronicle. However, I found much of it difficult to access. Kuo discusses many aspects at great length, especially the internal energy work of the system. To do so, he uses a very specialized vocabulary that is not always explained clearly. There are also points where I felt that the translator may not have chosen the best word to make the meaning clear. One example of this is where the text speaks of adding "strength to every separate strike." The word "strength" seems odd, as it suggests a muscular strength rather than a soft power. This may not have been the meaning, but it is an example of where more explanation by the translator would have helped. However, it is clear that the author knew a great deal about tai chi and has honestly tried to pass on what he knew. I found the section on if tai chi was only a soft art, or could it also contain hardness to be especially interesting. While I wouldn't recommend this as an introductory text, someone who already has a background in tai chi could get a lot out of The T'ai Chi Boxing Chronicle if they were willing to put in a bit of effort.

This is really a good book.
Absolutely not for beginners.
It is very deep in the analysis of almost all the Tai Chi aspects as you can see in the Book Summary listed by other reviewers. It really gave you material to think and work on.
Anyway sometime there are terms not explained that could really mislead the meaning of the matter. That's the reason why only 4 stars. I really and strongly recommend this book to all the instructors and advanced practitioners whatever style they practice. This is a book that will forever give you Tai Chi insights each time you read it.

"In this book we will examine the Chen family treasure, the chronicles that were hidden for nine generations until the time of Chen Wang Ting, near the end of the Ming dynasty...", P. 8.

For those new to Tai Chi: The practitioner of Tai Chi Chuan (trans. Grand Ultimate fist) must be willing to spend a great deal of time refining each movement. Tai Chi will teach even the most athletic practitioner to move muscles that they didn't know they had and to stretch their range of movement without loosing balance. To be soft but not weak, to deliver powerful strikes but not tense (Like a whip it may crack at the end but it is a flowing motion that gets it there). To listen to the opponents move and unbalance them (Granting the practitioner the ability to win a fight without hurting the opponent should he/she choose to do so). For health it is a non-impact exercise that will teach you how to use and strengthen your body. It is good for the elderly because the training is soft and gentle (In fact training with too much power will hinder ones Tai Chi development).

The Book: This book is for those who want to deepen their knowledge of Tai Chi. It breaks apart and gives detailed explanations of the philosophy, training methods, and learning sequence. It will NOT ACTUALLY TEACH YOU ANY OF THESE THINGS. It will only explain what you are looking to accomplish within each aspect of training. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants an overview of what Tai Chi is. Experienced practitioners should read and reread this book (as they improve in one skill something else will suddenly make sense). For learning applications I would recommend Feng Zhiqiang and Chen Xiaowang¡¦s English language book, ¡§Chen Style TaijiQuan¡¨, ISBN# 7505404806. I would not recommend attempting to learn a form from a book, find a qualified teacher or buy the video.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction. The Overview

* The Yin-Yang Reversal Theory

* The Tai Chi Body

* Tai Chi Balance

* Tai Chi stillness and Action

* Awareness Energy

* Enlightenment Through Action

Chapter One. The Three Steps of Tai Chi Boxing Principles

* The Weak Beats the Strong

* The Slow Beats the Fast

Chapter Two. The Three Steps of Tai Chi Boxing

* Step One: Investigate the Body, the Form, the Waist, the Top of the Head, the Spine, and the Steps

* Step Two: Study Moving, Receiving, Collecting and Striking Energy

* Step Three: Study Following, Sinking, Lightness, and Dexterity

Chapter Three. Investigating the Method of Tai Chi Boxing¡¦s Push Hands

* Step One: The Push Hands System of Awareness Energy

* Step Two: The Posture and Force of Adhere, Stick, Connect, and Follow

* Step Three: Seeking Awareness Energy in Push Hands

Chapter Four. The Energies of the Eight Gates and Five Steps

* The Energies of the Eight Gates Clearly Defined

* The Five Steps Clearly Divided

* The Practice of the Set and its Representation of the Eight Gates and Five Steps

Chapter Five. The Sequence of Learning Tai Chi Boxing

* Part One: The Practice of the Set

* Part Two: The Practice of Drawing Silk

* Part Three: Learning to Separate Energies

* Part Four: The Practice of Chi Kung

* Part Five: The Practice of the Spirit of Vitality

* Part Six: Uniting the Inside with the Outside

* Part Seven: Getting the Opportunity and the Position

* Part Eight: Sacrificing Yourself to Follow the Opponent

* Part Nine: Knowing Yourself and Knowing the Enemy

* 1. The Order of Learning Tai Chi Boxing

* 2. The Foundation of Centrifugal Force

* 3. Lightness and Dexterity are Revolving

* 4. The Seventy-Two Essential Terms of the Chinese Boxing Art

* 5. The Yin-Yang Summary by Chen Chang Hsing

Chapter Six. Guidelines for Tai Chi Application

* The Nine Principles of the Practice of Tai Chi Boxing

* Tai Chi Boxing¡¦s Drawing of Silk

* The Nine Rules of Tai Chi Martial Arts

* The Tai Chi Boxing Book ¡§Kung Hsin Chieh¡¨

* Tai Chi Boxing¡¦s Chart for Evaluating Progress

* The Question of the Hard and the Soft

* Tai Chi Boxing¡¦s Definition and its Motion

The Ancient Poem of the Universal Post

I think it could go just a bit deeper in depth on how to get started as a rank beginner. Some of us are very new to investing on our own. It seems a bit intimidating at times. Maybe a little more "hand-holding" and explain in VERY simple to understand terms. Overall, I really enjoyed the read. I've loaned it to my brother and we hope to start investing together soon. I highly recommend the book.

The 16% Solution is an excellent book to help you get started investing in a very powerful and safe investment.

True it was written back in the 90's, but things really haven't changed all that much. And yes it is true that institutions are in on tax liens, but the real truth is that these were and are and always have been the primary players. I suspect the negative reviews are from banks and other institutions who do not want you to know about these outstanding investments.

The rate of return is not cut in stone. While you are not guaranteed 16%, in some states and in many cases you can earn 50%...even today.

I invest in tax liens and especially over the last three years, have far outperformed the stock market and other forms of investment. I have also picked up houses for pennies on the dollar via tax liens. Remember, a tax lien is superior to all other liens, even IRS liens.

As I said, I invest in tax liens and the USA is a huge market place. I don't feel that letting you know what a great investment tax liens are is going to hurt my business. And no, I do not have any courses or books to sell. Nor am I in any way associated with this author or any other author or seminar promoter. I just believe in these investments based on my own experience and hate to see potential investors scared away from a very powerful and lucrative investment because of one malcontent who is only trying to push a dead website which does have books and seminars to sell.

I guess I am old fashioned that way.

The 16% Solution is an outstanding book and I highly recommend it.

I first heard about tax liens from reading Charles Givens excellent book Wealth Without Risk (now More Wealth Without Risk)

Tax liens are a very powerful and safe investment tool. Imagine government guaranteed returns of 18%-50%!

WARNING: Many investors hope you never find out about tax liens. I attended a tax lien auction in Miami county, Fl and also one in Pennsylvania. The attitude is somewhat like a library with a hush and everyone looks on you like a outsider.

I recommend you attend a auction in your area to fully appreciate the value of tax liens. First, read this book and I also recommend More Wealth Without Risk for tax liens and other financial information.

Tax leins are a fantastic way to achieve Wealth Without Risk.

This book is just a celebration of Lien Ying Kuo.
Asolutely too much pages for celebration with family and relatives photos.
Just something (really something...) general and elementary instruction on tai chi practice.
The form.
Do you know the kind of tai chi book where the form is described with just a big picture on each page and with only the name of the posture? That's it.
Probably this book could have a very high emotional value for the pupills of Lien Ying Kuor (as it would also be for me if I were his pupill)but, absolutely, no any "Tai-Chi Chuan in Theory and Practice" in this book neither in theory nor in practice.

Kuo's book on tai chi chaun is an interesting look at his style of the martial art. The text of the book seems to be drawn mostly from the tai chi classics, though organized through the author's own understanding of the art. The photos included are good, and illustrate the postures of his tai chi form. This book also contains a brief introduction to Chinese philosophy as it relates to tai chi, which is useful for readers new to the subject. This book is not a training manual, but more of an overview of the style of tai chi practiced by the author.

Simmone, the wife of Kuo Lien Ying, is my professor at SFSU. She teaches Elementary Tai-Chi Chuan, Advanced Tai-Chi Chuan, and Shaolin Chuan on campus. This book is an excellent supplement to what she teaches and lectures. Tai-Chi is a very relaxing exercise. It teaches patience and concentration. Pick up this book if you feel you need that in your life.

This book is a great start to give you the tools that you need to become profitable at purchasing tax deeds and liens. The glossary is extremely helpful in deciphering the "language" of this area of investments, and I have been able to utilize several of legal forms included in the book myself.
I have been able to personally work with the author learning how to purchase tax lien certificates, as well as tax deeds at various auctions in several different states.
This is an incredible opportunity, and is not like playing the stock market and hoping for the best. This is the most secure investment with the highest return rate that I'm aware of. This is a great book for someone who is looking for a high return with little risk, or for someone who is looking to make some extra money part time, or as a full time job.

For anyone who wants to get a basic understanding of how tax liens and deeds work, how to discover where to find the sales and how to research and purchase them, this is the book. A quick read without a lot of puff and fluff it gives you all the info you need to get started.

An easy to read concise look at the tax lien and deed industry with a really useful list of questions to ask when you call counties to find out about their sales. Most other books I've read deal with Lien OR deed purchase. This deals with both. I don't like to spend a lot of time reading I would rather do and this was definitely the book to get me doing. Very motivating.