Open

After being delighted by their splendid Open Road London Guide, I eagerly awaited my copy of the Paris Guide. Hélas! What a disappointment! This lightweight book has almost no personal "insider" information (unless you want to eat in the 7th arondissement), and it's padded with lots of white space and filler like bare bones lists of French wine producers and food terms (what backwoods folk are these supposedly intimate guides written for anyway?). It's impersonal, superficial, skimpy on all kinds of information, from basics like museums, which include only the biggies, and at that only includes what you could easily find on any number of websites; to shopping info, which --- in this city of shopkeepers and fabulous places to browse and buy --- is pitiful. The Marais, for instance, one of the hottest new areas of the city, chockablock with boutiques and art galleries and the like, gets a total miss. Save your francs: there are literally scores of guidebooks, large and small, that do a better job.

This guide is the second Open Road Guide I have used as a foundation for an important overseas vacation. Their motto ' Be a traveler, not a tourist' could not be more appropriate. Every restaurant, hotel and suggestion culled from this guide proved to be 'perfect'. Everything the authors write about restaurant food and hotel amenities is right on the money. Their critical opinions are a welcome change to most of the other guidebooks available in print. They select places to dine and visit that are known mostly to just the Parisians, but that still welcome a friendly traveler. (We found absolutely no evidence of that famous 'French Attitude' towards Americans at any of the suggested locales.) No giude is better than Open Road's Paris Guide for planning the perfect trip to the most amazing city in the world. "Merci" to the authors.

The title contains the flashy words "nuclear policy" and "secrets", but fails to address the subject of Israeli nuclear policy, or even the broader issue of weapons of mass destruction at the hands of Israel or any of its neighbors. Though the title indicates that the reader will learn what was not known before on Israel's nuclear weapons, the fundamental questions on Israel's nuclear armament are not treated at all. Instead, the sensational title is misused to promote a particular view of the Arab Israeli conflict. A book such as this one could harm serious antinuclear activism, as it may make it appear politically motivated.

To call this book an expose would be silly. Everybody knows that Israel has a (secret) stockpile of THE ultimate weapons of mass-destruction. The reasons for the reluctance of public figures to avoid this universally known truth would fill libraries, no doubt. What this book brings into focus is the frightening reality that many players in the Israeli establishment, military and otherwise, see the use of such weapons as an inevitable response to any military setback which might under other circumstances necessitate a soul-searching peace-seeking negotiation with a military counterpart. How near such a response has been is a disgraceful indictment of all things American Pie. Don't read this book if you treasure your Reader's Digest/CNN/Disneyworld kindergarten version of the heroic struggle for Israel. More of us must listen to the few truly heroic voices - like Shahak's - before the removal of this Millenium colonial tyranny becomes even more difficult. Shame and forgiveness. Peace and unity. May the peace and tranquility of God descend upon us all. Amen.

I found 'An Open Swimmer' a very disappointing novel. As a student of English Literature in year eleven, I was required to read the book as part of the course. Personally, I found that Winton seemed to try and make it an abstract piece of writing. This attempted style of writing on Winton's part makes 'An Open Swimmer'seem too concocted and unnatural.

I was disappointed also as I am a great admirer of Winton's other works like 'Cloudstreet' or 'Shallows'.

This simply written yet surprisingly sophisticated coming-of-age story set in Western Australia was Tim Winton's first novel. It won the Vogel Award in 1981 and, reading it now, it comes as no surprise that Winton has gone on to become a multi-award winning, Booker-shortlisted novelist. Two qualities much admired in Winton's short stories of the same era - a straightforward simplicity of language, and a steadfast, minimalist refusal to explain everything for the reader - are employed very effectively here. In the stoic interaction of his male characters he captures that paradoxical combination of qualities we tend to associate with Australian men: a reserved bluntness. Yet there's nothing unsophisticated about Winton's craft. There are some well-chosen motifs which resonate through the novel - the notion of 'diving into the wreck' (set up with an epigraph from Adrienne Rich's poem); a sense of anxiety about masculine identity, established in the prologue episode and echoing through all that follows; and the final explanation of the 'open swimmer' that folds back and makes new meaning out of much that has come before it. Far from being pretentious, forced or merely decorative, these 'literary' touches are gently deployed, quietly amplifying the themes of the novel and elevating it from a conventional coming-of-age teen drama into the realm of serious literature. Winton's refusal to neatly resolve every strand of Jerra's story is true to life, too - something which many coming-of-age stories, usually written by or from the perspective of nostalgic middle-aged men, are not. Winton published this when he was only 22, which might have something to do with it. It's clearly a young man's novel, but it rings with the truth of lived experience. For that reason, it still has something to say.

Ever wonder why you make less money in real dollar-for-dollar wages than your parents? Why consumers are stuck with paying high prices for cheap goods? Why you are working harder and longer for less and less. You may find the answers here but I still don't have to like it.

Open World is a really original book. Based on his experience as a journalist for The Economist, as well as from his time working for the WTO and travelling the world, Philippe Legrain argues that anti-globalizers like Naomi Klein, Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan have got it all wrong. But he also points out flaws in the arguments of defenders of globalization like Thomas Friedman. Globalization is a good thing, he says, but we can make it even better if only we stop believing that we have lost control over our lives to corporations and markets. He believes in free trade, but also has a social conscience. He argues that globalization enriches us culturally as well as economically, but recognizes that some people lose out from it. That is why governments need to act to build a better globalization. It's a really convincing and well-written book. Even if you don't end up agreeing with all of it, it is definitely worth reading.

We are looking to open a B&B that will support our family. This does not fit the author's defintion of a B&B, and this book is definitely geared toward a smaller operation. If you are looking to open a few rooms in your home to earn some extra income, this book would probably be useful.

Author gives good advice on what to expect in the process of starting a B&B .

Readers of "The Kybalion" will realize that there is much common between the two, for example, the arrangement of topics and topics discussed. "The Kybalion" was published much earlier (around 1920 by Yogi Publication Society). Today, "The Kybalion" is printed by a couple of publishers (probably it has become "freeware", due to copyright not renewed...). Both books are about seven Hermetic principles (you can find out more by reading the reviews about "The Kybalion").

Difference between the two is that this one aims to sound more "mystical" and complete, when in fact it is "The Kybalion" that is a true, earlier published work. It also tries to be more complete by mentioning the creation of the universe, etc.

"Summum: Sealed, Except to the Open Mind" is now available as freeware and can be found at (...). The impression I got after reading is that it is just to lead people to a website to buy dubious goods.

Don't waste your money on this book.

A large part of my life was spent wondering how everything in life ties in together. Between the different philosophies, sciences, and religions, it seemed practically impossible to find a common ground and piece things together. But after reading and re-reading this book, I was simply stunned and amazed how many aspects of life began to fall into place. The principles it introduces are simple and basic. Yet they explain so much. Each time I read it, more unfolds to me. There is so much between the lines, I can consider it nothing less than profound. If there were any one book that should be require reading, this is it. Its contents reveal a groundwork that anyone can use to explore the deepest of mysteries and actually find some answers! The explanation it offers for the cause of Creation is first rate -- abstract, yet perfectly logical. Of all the other explanations I've come across from various religions, philosophies, and science, I have found none to be more intelligent than what is found in this work.

9June98 The CD AUDIO called "A Third Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul". by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.

My comments:

I have several normal books of Chicken Soup and I very much enjoy them but this is my first experience of an audio CD with such material. I would definitely make the following suggestions:

1. There should be some way to 'pause' the listening.

2. There should be some way to select particular storys instead of being forced to listen for 70 minutes without any kind of break and being forced to listen to every single story repeated every time you listen to the CD.

3. There should be a 'menu' that initially appears on your screen that allows you to pick the story or storys that you would like to hear again. Included with this menu would be the ability to pause while listening.

In today's world, who can listen for a 70 minute period without interruption? Possibly a hermit only. The phone, the FAX, the toilet etc. all constantly intrude on any 70 minute slice of your life.

Great material but the format of the CD cries out for the above modification. Because of the above omissions, I would highly recommend the book versions far above the CD versions.

Bertrand A. Lang Email - robertl@loxinfo.co.th

Would appreciate if Amazon would replace with the normal book version. It is next to useless in the current CD version.

the book is a resume of another books and not have many advance exercises for the programming in opengl.

Although the structure is very similar to THE REVOLUTION IN CORPORATE FINANCE, Rutterford's book includes only articles on adding shareholder value. Among the contributers are well known academics like F. Black, R.M. Stulz, or R.S. Kaplan. All in all, a good supplementary book to other corporate finance sources.

This is one of the few references on open controls. There is a need for more effort by the control society in large to enrich this area. This area is the future of machine control!