Partnership

Mr. Grimassi presents us with his perception of the three types of Familiars: the physical kind, the astral kind and the spiritual kind. He teaches you how to find your familiar and even how to find a name for that familiar.

He then shows how to use your familiar in your craft, how to bind your familiar, how to control and command your familiar and how to eventually release the familiar.

The book contains sigals and rituals for the binding and spell working aspects of having a familiar. Mr. Grimassi discusses the various types of spell working you can use with a familiar. He also discusses bonding with your familiar.

The table of contents is quite in depth and makes up for the skimpy index. There are four appendixes on keyword associations, classic familiars, names of familiars (which includes Pyewackett, how predictable), and the Witches Alphabet. The book also has a bibliography.

While the book may reflect what may have once been considered the role of the familiar in the craft, I personally believe the role of the familiar has evolved beyond 'step and fetch it' that this book presents. Today's craft person keeps their physical familiars as companions rather than tools, and as Mr. Grimassi even states at one point, today we see the role of the familiars we have as more cooperative guardians and guides than something that we need to bind and command. Some of us do not see a need to bind something that has come to us freely and is just as free to leave once the lesson is learned.

I think this book is an overkill of myth, old magic and some very elaborate designs and devices that are not really necessary in today's craft. I think Mr. Grimassi is stretching here to present a relationship as elaborate and complex, when most of us know and enjoy a relationship that is very simple and elegant without the need of all the trappings Mr. Grimassi wants us to go through.

Sometimes things are so simple, and yet there is always someone who wants us to believe it is so complex and involved.

I think this book provides a wonderful and necessary foundation of myth and old magic. In addition the book contains some very distinctive designs and devices that help the reader feel more empowered to explore working with Familiar Spirits. Grimassi goes to extra lengths to present the depth of relationships possible concerning Familiar Spirits. Rather than focusing on what is already known and used, Grimassi goes far beyond the basics and the commonplace.

Unfortunately the simple-minded and inexperienced will probably miss the point and fail to see the great depth of knowledge and experience shared in this fascinating book. Such readers will no doubt look at the material and wonder "Why so difficult?"

The book introduces 2nd pig thinking (not really a change although it looks like it on the surface) as 2nd order change (example: a Presidential election).

It's an intriguing book worth a weekend read.

I can see a broader range of choices than prior to reading this book. It's easy to read and well worth the effort.

The book is engaging and easy to read as a result of Hart's informal style. The prologue's account of his first invitation to visit the Saudi king and the incidents that occurred on his trip is a classic example of the style used throughout the book (pp.1-9). The opening pages of chapter one epitomize Hart's ability to both entertain the reader and educate even the most elementary student of Middle Eastern history. Expertise in the subject of Saudi politics is demonstrated not only by an in-depth portrayal of various Saudi individuals and Saudi society in general, but also by a careful and competent description of the local politics. The political intricacies of Saudi Arabia are explained with a smooth simplistic language that would otherwise bewilder the untrained reader. This provides a foundation upon which the explanations and theories to U.S.-Saudi relations are based.

Hart's detailed analysis of Saudi culture and the individuals he encounters, particularly King Faisal (p.247) is indicative of his awareness of the importance of culture in diplomatic relations. He even goes so far as to criticize Egyptian President Nasser for his lack of knowledge of Saudi society, and to hold that as a factor partly responsible for his failure to generate support among the Saudi public (p.159). In Hart's discussion of Yemen, which runs throughout a greater part of the book due to its relevance to Saudi, U.S. and Egyptian politics of the era, he fails to discuss the culture of that society. At most, the "backwardness" of the nation is referred to throughout chapter six, as well as the pre-revolution royalty's proud and unthankful demeanor towards American economic assistance.

The aftermath of the 1967 Revolution resulted in the installation of a new Republican government, the first of its kind in Yemeni history. It was during this time of revolution and its aftermath that the impact of the Yemeni issue on U.S.-Saudi politics was heightened as Egypt and Jordan aligned with the revolutionaries and the old royal family, respectively. Hart failed to expand on the political strategy of the revolutionaries and the impact that their success would consequently have on the politics of Yemen. The analysis of the culture of Saudis and the detailed mannerisms of various Saudi leaders demonstrated Hart's consciousness of the importance of being aware of the local culture and the personalities of the local leaders. In the sections where Yemen was discussed, however, this was blatantly ignored. This was particularly expected of him since he was Minister to Yemen from 1961-1962 (p. xv).

Further demonstration of Hart's lack of understanding of the regional culture is his continued reference to Saudis as "Arabs" while all other peoples of the region are named with respect to their country, i.e., Egyptians, Jordanians, Yemenis, etc. While the term "Arab" as Hart technically uses it is taken as a root of the word Saudi Arabia, the implications of this label far exceeds the meaning that Hart is attempting to confine to the people of Saudi Arabian citizenship (p. 157). Basic understanding of the regional mentality would cause any writer to hesitate to use such terms with the knowledge that reference to Saudis as the sole "Arabs" of the region would infuriate all people of other citizenship but similar descent.

While the politics of the Yemeni revolution, its aftermath and its impact on U.S. and Saudi politics were extensively addressed, they were always discussed from the perspectives of Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Egypt. The tone of the argument is set so as to imply that without the use of Yemen as a pawn between the two Arab countries and the U.S., the Yemeni revolution was doomed to fail. Never are the aspirations of the revolution discussed, and neither are the implications of these goals ever addressed. The sheer number of pages that Hart has dedicated to the 1967 Revolution and its impact on Saudi-U.S. politics leaves the reader dissatisfied. It is ludicrous for the reader to leave enlightened of the Yemeni revolution from the all perspectives but the Yemeni one.

This book is easy to read, and even entertaining for those individuals who are particularly interested in the area. Hart attempts to demonstrate his expertise in the subject matter and gain the confidence of his reader with his meticulous depiction of the Saudi political aura of the time. It is indeed deceiving of him to discuss the Yemeni revolution of 1967 in such a manner that would imply that it would not have succeeded without the intervention of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and consequently, the United States. Only one familiar with the history of Yemen would recognize this as false and exceptionally biased. It is not the terribly written and blatantly biased accounts that are dangerous to those it slanders, it is the eloquent writing of books such as "Saudi Arabia and the United States: Birth of a Security Partnership" that are ultimately the most harmful.

Hart's life was a true-life adventure in the style of Indiana Jones; but this book is scholarly and will be most interesting to serious students of diplomacy and modern Middle East history.

Most of the book focuses on reciting the state statutes. I would have liked more "juice" on navigating the minefield that can occur in artist/dealer relations. Of course, a contract should allow an artist to avoid such messes, but more examples of things going wrong even with contracts would have been useful. It is a good reference book if you are past the point of no return and need to know the legalities of your particular state so you can proceed accordingly. I found Tad Crawfords other books more useful.

Let's face it: art is a business and if you are an artist or a gallery owner, you can't afford to be without this information. I use this book to maintain records; I check paperwork against it before visiting my accountant; I use its sample forms and agreements every time I get the place ready for a new exhibit; and I follow this book's advice with every sale and display we make. This book should be required reading for everyone who has anything to do with art consignment...

"Chapter 2: Business Start-Up Checklist"
Form 1: Business Start-Up Checklist (text form)"

The forms on the CD-Rom are in text and pdf format. I wonder if Mr. Bingham even opened the book because this is discussed at the beginning of the book with the "List of Forms-on-CD" section and throughout the rest of the book. I think this is a must have for those either considering forming a LLC for your business or running an existing one. This book is saving me a lot of time and effort and will do the same for you!

The authors approach sex as a part of life that is essential to human well-being, and attempt to guide readers to exploration and integration of sexual desires. It is their sincere wish to return the spirituality to bump & grind; for readers to see their sexuality as something so utterly natural, that to imagine a sex life without love and commitment is to imagine a meal of divine pasta without sauce.

There are chapters on healing and getting over blocks. These are written with great compassion, but without perpetuating a victim mentality. The techniques they suggest one take to awakening desire without shame are written logically and sympathetically. They make the recipe for that "divine pasta" seem effortlessly easy and fun.

This is a self-help book that does not belabor the reader with thoughts of, "That's all well and good, but it seems like too much work." This is one self-help book that has no need to urge you to put it down and get started. Believe me, you'll be eager to get busy!