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Sheley's observant wit draws you inside the mind of Katherine, an intelligent and complex character. The excerpt's cliffhanger ending leaves you wanting to read more from this promising author.

Fear of Ice--A Myth Retold is the debut of an original voice that I am eager to hear more from. In this short excerpt Sheley has so deftly drawn her complex protagonist, Katherine, that I feel I already know her. At the same time she has begun weaving a totally engaging tale of romance, mystery and intrigue--a love never realized, a missing child, a woman so fearful of ice she becomes a prisoner in her own world. I look forward to reading the rest of it!

From just a dozen pages, we can already get a sense of the enormous potential of this author. The intellectual air of Cambridge, a puzzling disappearance, and mysterious symbols all centered around a brilliant woman with a potentially crippling phobia. Her vivid description of the scenery and character development of Katherine gives us everything we need to visualize the scene and yet forces us to wonder which details will prove useful in unraveling its mysteries. I don't think Amazon did this on purpose but the cliff-hanger at the end definitely left me wanting to know more.

Too often, those who attempt to write clearly influenced by Gothic works produce excessive, cloying prose. The opposite is refreshingly true here. Ms. Sheley draws her readers into a romantic mystery without pigeonholing herself into either category and avoiding the cliches that accompany both. Katherine is a multi-layered character, a literary, independent, somewhat conservative(!) woman living in the epicenter of liberalism and progressivism in the northeast; what Sheley has in store for her will, no doubt, be just as intriguing as the adventures she has shared with us so far.

Fear of Ice: A Myth Retold by E. Sheley opens with a dreamlike scene (from the days of old?) that fades into the to morning routine of Katherine Hughes.

This story hooked me from the beginning and carried me right through to the end, where I was decidedly disappointed with having to stop.

Katherine seems a bit of a recluse--sticking to the library and tea store--who has a phobia that keeps her trapped in doors during the winter. The recollection of how her fear of ice develops was descriptively vivid enough for me to fully empathize with the sudden onset of that irrationality. This I presume will play into the overall story in an unexpected way.

Next comes the disappearance of young Katie Heatherly. I wondered if the two character shared the same name for a reason. Perhaps. During Katherine's interview with the detective (and earlier on) we hear of Mr. Ewell, a modern day seer? Another tantalizing clue to the following of a mythological tale.

By the time I finished the excerpt, I wanted to go back and skim through it to verify the connections and suspicions that had risen in my mind. I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning to this novel. The author's writing style was controlled and clear and the emerging framework for this mystery is well constructed and extremely engaging.

This was a gift for my 9 yr old granddaughter. She told me she loved it.She had rented from the library and was overjoyed to have her own copy.

Be sure to keep reading to reach chapter three where entrepreneurship takes off in the most subtle way, selling mini toys at school. (We had a little trouble getting entranced in chapters one and two.) But soon after, Greg is creating and selling homemade comic books. The comic book assembly is explained (including drawings) which is a nice touch for readers who would like to try and create their own. It's never too early to let your child write and create their own book.

I especially enjoyed the competitive relationship with the girl next door and how feelings (anger, admiration, jealousy, etc.) were expressed throughout. My son would often ask to continue reading as I finished a chapter.

Money, sales and partnership ideas are nicely addressed. You read about advertisement examples kids are exposed to at school (there is a surprisingly long list), ideas on why money is important, compromises needed when working with a partner, and the good feelings that arise from making donations.

I think my favorite part is when Greg realizes (through discussion with the school board) that he was as guilty as all the other advertisers. He was also targeting the children at school. "He was the hunter, and they were the prey." Actually, this is not a bad thing as entrepreneurs need to understand their target audience but it is the first book I have read that addresses this issue. A++

My nine year old son has read my book so I wasn't surprised when he asked, "How come none of the books we read mention taxes?" (We've read a few entrepreneur books recently.) I had to laugh and remind him, "Not everyone enjoys doing taxes... or even reading about it, so maybe the author decided to leave that technical part out."

Of all the Andrew Clements school books I've read, Lunch Money was by far the least engaging. The reason for this is that a large part of the book focuses on numbers instead of people, and where Clements has succeeded in the past is in his ability to make us really like his leading characters. Greg, the lead character in this book, is not very nice. He's largely driven by money and selfishness, and although Clements does try to make Greg more personable by depicting his change of attitude, the change does not come off convincingly.

The concept itself behind the book is terrific: schools are hypocritical because while they profess to be trying to promote certain values and healthy lifestyles, the actions districts take are at times directly opposed to the high moral standards the districts are imposing on the students.

I did enjoy the book, and recommend it to those looking to read more of Andrew Clements' books. I would pick up Frindle, The School Story, or The Report Card first however.

Lunch Money is a good book for money lovers. Its about a boy who has all these good ideas to make money and then he comes up with his best idea yethe decides to make comic books!The princapal disagres but then Mrs Davenport decidesto let Greg sell comic books. I highly recomend this book!

I'm a nine year old boy from NY. This book is funny and serious, too. This boy Greg wants to make lots of money while copycats try to steal his ideas. He makes money by selling little chunky comics. I recommend this book to everyone.

WB

This book starts where Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism ends. Molly wants to hypnotize again so that she can feel the fusion feeling some more, but she can't break her promise to Rocky to only hypnotize people when truly necessary. So she hypnotizes a bush instead but the fusion feeling turns icy cold so she instantly stops.

Then she remembers about Lucy Logan and wishes she were there but Lucy has gone away for some strange reason. Molly then gets a letter from Lucy telling her to come over. When Molly gets there, Lucy tells her that an evil, rich hypnotist named Primo Cell is in L.A. hypnotizing stars to be in his ads and now he wants to be president. She tells Molly that she is the only one who can stop him.

Molly, her dog Petula, and her friends fly to L.A. where they learn that Primo isn't really a bad guy. They also find out what the icy cold feeling means and where Lucy was when she disappeared. Then Molly has to use hypnotism to save the world.


This book is really good. It is one of my favorite books I've ever read.

Molly Moon's Stops The World is a fabulous book for both children and young adults. I think that the characters in this book are unique, and right when you think you know the ending of the story, it turns again, making it more exciting, thrilling, and suspenseful! It makes you never stop reading! This book is simply fabulous! Children would describe Molly Moon as 'magical' and young adults would describe Molly Moon as 'mysterious'. The bad guys almost always aren't as bad as they seem to be. In this book, bad guys can turn good. It kept me very busy on a long trip.

As the title suggests, Molly Moon is hitting Hollywood in this book. But why is Molly heading to the USA after such a weird and hypnotic experience in the Big Apple? You will have to read the book to find out. Remember to read the first book to meet all the characters and work out what they are about!

This is a great book!! A great follow up to the first Molly Moon book. My boys and I take turns reading(ages 8 & 12) We can't put it down! I highly recommend it!

my grandma got the first three books for me as soon as the time travel (book 3) one was in the book store. then she sent them to me in a package. when i saw them, i was in the middle of reading a different book (narnia, i think..), so i put them in my shelf so i could finish "the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe." when i finally finished that by thanksgiving '06, i pulled out the molly moon books and read the first one, the second one, and the third one, straight through in that one day! it was so much fun when molly and rocky (in the second one) were in New York, livin' the sweet life. and i thought my heart was going to burst when (also in the second book) the magpie could have made them into human being salsa!!!

but i thought it was great when they were in Sinclair's car, watching ms. trinkleberry and nockman. (hahahahahaha!!!)


i love this book, and ive loved all the other ones, too!

I probably would have liked this book a little more if I had read it before I read Ravished; it just seemed like a rehash of that book, only in a medieval setting instead of nineteenth century.

Also, the purple prose bordered on the silly side at times, making it hard to read with a straight face.

this book is fun to read. one of the only medeival books written by amanda quick.high in action.

This is definitely my favorite AQ novel. I won't go into a breakdown of the book, but I will say that besides enjoying the story, I learned more about how life was during that time.

A great read for any Medival novel or Amanda Quick fan!

I love these 1-title books from Amanda Quick. I know they are not a series, but each book has some similarities, but she always keeps it fresh!

I cannot believe all of the 5 and 4 star ratings for this book! I couldn't wait for it to end. Very formula and hoaky dialogue. If this is any indication of how Amanda Quick writes her best-selling novels, I think I'll pass up the next opportunity to read another. The purple prose was forced and ridiculous. If this was supposed to be a satire or comedy, it missed the mark and just came across as incredibly stupid.

"He found the valley that divided the luscious hillocks and followed its course to the hot spring that awaited him." (The words of Hugh the Relentless.)--Even though this is a medievil romance--way too hoaky.

"A cold, ghostly wind wafted from the dark corridor. It carried before it the promise of doom." (this is describing Hugh entering a dark cave and Alice, the heroine senses his presence by mental telepathy or something. OH PLEASE!

"Hugh was vengeance incarnate, a dark wind that would sweep all before it."

And these ridiculous passages were easy to find--they're everywhere in this book.

I say don't bother with this one.

I enjoyed this book because I am a cancer survivor. Mr. Jordan also
discussed and gave an inside look into political events that happened
events over 2 decades ago, which I found to be interesting.

I read this book years ago and never forgot this brave uplifting man as he fought his battle with cancer. I am greatly saddened to hear of his passing today. His words will live on for anyone facing life's greatest challenges.

Hamilton Jordan tells of his inspiring victory over the deadly disease that affects us all in one way or another - cancer. He also tells the intriguing and compelling history of his brief tenure in the White House under Jimmy Carter as well as the inspiring story of his uncle, who fought racism in rural Georgia ahead of his time.

But above all, this book provided me with a shot in the arm while I was in the hospital for over a month with pneumonia. Feeling somewhat down, this book really lifted my spirits.
Jordan proves that a positive outlook and one deeply rooted in prayer and faith in God immensely helps those in dire medical circumstances. I am a walking monument and a true believer of the power of prayer and faith in God.

I highly recommend this book to everyone - whether you're sick or not. It is ineffably a book that leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling after you put it down. A great gift to someone you love - including yourself.

I have several relatives with cancer,including my son who is a childhood leukemia surviver. I bought this book expecting to learn more about dealing with the diagnosis of the "Big C". I got that and much, much more.

This book is an inspiration for those touched by cancer, but also an inspiration to see how seemingly small decisions or details in life can a have huge impact. It also is an insider's view of what life in the Deep South was like in the mid-19th century.

Whether you read this book to better understand how to deal with cancer, how to face difficult circumstances in general, or how how a single person can make a huge difference in the lives of others, or just an interesting read you will not be disappointed.

Not many books kept me up past my bedtime but this ranks as one of them. Jordan is frank, lucid and at times funny but I would prefer if he elaborates on his tenure as chief of staff further. I'm sure the conversation he had with Carter in his old car campaining for this little known person then would interest a lot of people...well he left that part out.
This book is about hope and doing something about it.

I'm so glad I bought this book! It's a great insight on the music business and personal observations.

Loved reading this book! He is a unique person - not afraid to say anything. I'm sharing this book with many friends who all have enjoyed it as well. He is a fascinating person - wish he had email so I could write him a note.....He says what he thinks and lives it as well. Good read. Way to go Trace!

A very well written book by a down to earth country boy made good. He cut no corners and did not wash over his faults. We would have a much better democratically elected republic if more people thought about life the way this man does.

This book was excellent. I couldn't put it down. His ideas are exactly what I've been thinking and wish the Presidential Candidates would talk about. Trace proves that country people AREN'T ignorant and that hard work pays off in the end. This book is refreshing since the media and the Candidates avoid the truth of our nation.

Trace is a true man. Works hard for his family, stands by his beliefs (even when they aren't popular), and has values that make America BETTER. This book gives us an excellent glimpse into the music business. Plus, it is an inspiration for those who work hard despite the challenges and ups and downs of life.

He has some good ideas and points in the book. A guy who actually tells the truth and stands by his beliefs, that is the kind of President we need. Americans should be demanding this but we aren't. We just believe what the Candidates say instead of questioning them when they keep flip-flopping on the issues. Trace will you run for President?

Plus, his focus is his family. Who can argue with that!! I would recommend this book to anyone, even if you don't agree with all of his political views.

I stumbled across this book while looking for Trace's music. I had no idea he had written a book. Based on the summary and excerpts on the main Amazon page, I was intrigued enough that I had to read it. I was pleasantly surprised! No one likes to be underestimated, but I'm sure Trace is always hearing people say that they're surprised at how well-spoken and smart he is. He's a self-proclaimed history buff and he seems to really keep up on current affairs, too.
Though Trace is a conservative and I'm pretty liberal, I still respect the opinions he expresses because they seem to be well researched. He's wise enough to know that his party, the Republican party, has serious issues. The subject of the war in Iraq comes up frequently throughout the book, and Trace has strong opinions about what has been done wrong in the way we've handled it so far.
Though the book doesn't really claim to be an autobiography, rather a collection of Trace's observations and opinions, I really liked the little stories about his life. Those were my favorite part. If you love Trace's music and want to learn how his music career progressed, that is covered in here, too. And if you're like me, you won't even mind if his opinions and yours don't always gel.

Setting the Table by Danny Meyer provides lots of value for business leaders. I ranked this book five stars based on the value alone. The reader should be apprised that the book is written as a memoir of Mr. Meyer's experience in the restaurant business.

As a business leader you should study excellence in your industry and outside of your industry and there are numerous take-aways in Setting the Table that can be applied to any business. Here are ten excellent points I took away from Mr. Meyer's book.

1. The Excellence Reflex - "A natural reaction to fix something that isn't right, or to improve something that could be better." The excellent reflex is a natural reaction that some people have and cannot be taught. Meyer trains his leaders how hire those that have it.

2. Employees can be categorized as Overwhelmers, Whelmers, and Underwhelmers. It is easy to identify Underwhelmers and get rid of them. The most dangerous employees are the Whelmers because "they infuse an organization and its staff with mediocrity...and send a dangerous message to your staff and guests that "average" is acceptable."

3. Coaching is correcting with dignity.

4. You obtain valuable leadership skills while managing volunteers. It requires you to consistently motivate employees beyond their earnings.

5. Create a sense of "shared ownership" with your customers by taking an interest in them and making them feel important. They will view you as a partner instead of a provider.

6. ABCD - Always Be Collecting Dots. You should aggressively collect lots of little information about your customer (dots) as they interact with your product or service. Then make the connection between the dots as a mechanism to improve your product or service to all customers.

7. Customers may love your product or service but the relationship that they have with you or your employees is what builds loyalty. Therefore you should take every opportunity to exceed expectations to create a lasting relationship.

8. Enlightened Hospitality - "We would define our successes and our failures in terms of the degree to which we had championed, first, one another and then our guests, community, suppliers and investors." This is an extremely powerful concept and is rooted in the integrity theme Meyer has throughout the book. You can't expect employees that don't treat each other with respect, who can't be hospitable with one another to then turn around and treat the customer with respect and high levels of hospitality a customer deserves. Poor relationships internal to the organization migrate to poor relationships external to the organization. Ultimately being last on the list benefits the investor by long term organizational success.

9. Judge your staff on 51 percent emotional job performance and 49 percent technical job performance. You can always teach technical while emotional is much harder if not impossible to develop. Lack of emotional job performance skills destroys teams and alienates customers.

10. "The road to success is paved with mistakes well handled" and "the worst mistake is not to figure out some way to end up in a better place after having made a mistake."

The ten points above are obviously more powerful in the context of the book when illustrated with Mr. Meyer's stories and experiences.


Dr. James T. Brown PMP PE CSP
Author, The Handbook of Program Management

Danny Meyer is now one of my new heroes. I'm at a point where I will be opening a new restaurant in the coming year and I plan to buy a copy of Setting the Table for all of my employees and all of my investors. I can't wait to have the time to visit all his restaurants one by one. This book or cd should be required listening or reading for anyone going into the restaurant business. Thanks for stocking this amazing informative book.
All the best,
Danny Quinn

The restaurant business begins with a vision well founded on food knowledge. Having had great and many good meals helps. But the lessons of this book are many: the best is his order of priorities....first the employees, then the customers, then the suppliers and last the investors. Brilliant.

One of the best business books I've ever read. Danny really "gets it" as far as treating his employees and customers like family and VERY important people. THIS is why he is so successful with the top restaurants in NYC. A MUST read for anyone in sales or who deals with customers and employees on a daily basis

A great book that describes how to create customers for life, with "enlightened hospitality", creating an outstanding customer experience, based on a dialog with the customer. As he puts it "picking up the rocks" (to find the info) and "connecting the dots", a process that could and should be copied for every business.

His passion for food comes across the written page, its contagious.
I'm not a wine drinker but his passion made me want to give it a try.

I never been to one of his restaurants but I now see a trip to New York to visit his restaurants.

Highly recommended not only for restaurateurs, but for every business that has contact with customers.

There are letters from `very' different types of people such as George W. Bush (after he was shot down) and from George McGovern (who was a bomber pilot). I really don't care whose side (politically speaking) the authors of the various letters represent as long as it deals with the stated topic (WAR LETTERS). This is why I only gave the book 3 stars. What in the blue blazes are letters from Helen Keller (who is writing about a friend she once knew who is now in jail for being an American commie) & a letter from the American commie traitor Alger Hiss doing in the book? Neither of these letters even remotely have anything to do with an American War.
There are other letters which also have very little to do with a U.S. war but I looked over these as they `sort of' and that is a stretch - were leading up to a war. I do not know for sure - but I believe the author is a left of center sort of guy and it comes through in the letters he chose.

This book is a great read. It is refeshing to be able to read words, thoughts and dreams from people as they perform such honorable duty overseas. This book is powerful and should be required reading for all, especially Americans.

Some anti-war activist may think it is "pro-war" but it isn't just that. This book reveals personal thoughts and challenges faced by American military personnel in wars from the Civil War until the later conflicts in the 20th century. It is pro-war, anti-war and everything in between.

This book reminds me of the sacrifice that so many make for their country. It is a great tribute for those who have served.

I actually read a review about this book and gave it as a gift to my sister-in-law who teaches high school history. She LOVES it and told me it was an amazing collection of actual letters. She said all of the teachers that she works with have been borrowing it!!

I received this book as a gift because my family knows I love reading personal histories from those who lived it and "War Letters" seemed perfect for that. I enjoy learning what life was like for the average citizen in an era, whether its someone riding the Erie Canal in 1840, a foot soldier in the American revolution, or a journal from the Civil War.

This is a remarkable book and taken individually there are many, many heart-rending emotional stories that probably need to be read by many people. It does in fact put a personal face on war. Because it is a collection of letters, the book is easily read in short spurts; you don't want (and shouldn't) read this book quickly.

I only gave the book 4 stars because I actually found it hard to read. While the personal letters (the spelling, mannerisms of the authors) help tell their stories, it also keeps the book from developing any flow. Some letters are agonzingly slow to read and understand. I'm certainly not faulting the authors or their stories; but if you're looking for a great, well-written, smooth-flowing story that you can't put down, this isn't it.

i only gave it three stars because many of the stories were more about patriotism than about the war themselves. Of course every book has its bias so its still a useful and moving read when taken with this grain of salt.

excellent. i can't wait to read the rest. a beautiful writing style and and intriguing characters.

Thought provoking and stirring, Lin uses few words with much power. Humor
is well integrated into a tragic plot-line, and though historical fiction is not my forte, I would certainly read this novel if I saw it on a bookshelf. The switch between different times is smooth and barely noticeable within the poignant story. - Raviv Huntington

Lin's evocative, vivid prose captures the scents, sights, emotions and culture of Taiwan/China perfectly. The short chapters are just the right length to give us a glimpse of a point in time, and each delicately crafted vignette contributes to the larger story of the novel.

In one such chapter, Lee Tong is interested in wooing a poor peach grower's daughter as his wife, and his auntie, who is trying to unload an unmarried relative on him, says:

"My cousin is delicate and yet has the fleshy cheeks of good luck. Your peach girl's cheeks are sharp as stone cliffs. She'll surely dominate over you, Lee Tong." (Lin)

Such realistic and authentic dialogue and cultural concerns (such as physiognomy) make this a totally believable and thoroughly enjoyable excerpt. Look forward to more, especially since there isn't enough literature about Taiwan out there yet!

AMERICAN MOON is a fictional account inspired by my father-in-law's incarceration on death row in Taiwan and the family's subsequent struggles. I found their undying persistence and devotion to family so touching and fascinating that I had to write it, share it.

It is the story of one family over generations, transplanted from Taiwan, to China, to America. AMERICAN MOON is narrated by Father Lee and his favorite daughter, Sha Ling.

Father's story begins in 1919 when he loses his mother to starvation in Mainland China. His subsequent wandering ways, gambling troubles and a mysterious mistake he makes in the process of blowing the whistle on corrupt government officials, condemn him to jail and his daughter to instant poverty.

Homeless, the Lee children are farmed out to unpleasant relatives. Sha Ling and her sister must live with the aunt who "bites your knuckles." Too poor to continue with their education, the sisters' only escape is marriage. This solution leads to failed relationships. After rescuing her sister and nephew from an abusive marriage, Sha Ling watches wistfully as her sister and brother escape to America. The entire family eventually land in California only to encounter cultural, legal, and financial obstacles. It seems the American moon isn't always brighter than the Chinese moon.

I chose not to make this into a sob story. Instead, it is a tribute to a man whose integrity outweighed his shortcomings. It celebrates the unflappable spirit of his surviving wife and children. It is about family and forgiveness, security and love lost and regained through great struggle.

Raised a Midwest girl, I married into an incredibly rich heritage and had the privilege of living with this family, allowing their stories to become a part of my life. I infuse Asian themes into many of my writing projects: novels, screenplays, short stories, and nonfiction. I'm also a food writer and so ended AMERICAN MOON with recipes taken from the chapters. More on me: www.karenalbrightlin.com

"American Moon" is a Taiwanese-American family's saga that unfolds in the simultaneous weaving of a parent's history - Father Lee Tong in the era of Chang Kai-Shek - and its impact on daughter Sha Ling's search for a better life. The themes in these pages resonate with all readers - all of us have dreams - but it is uniquely fascinating to feel like an insider in this family's story of hardship, survival, and hope. Lin's rarefied writing style effortlessly imparts Taiwanese culture to readers who appreciate an opportunity to be authentically transported to another place and time. In this excerpt, the journey from Taiwan to America has clearly just begun, and I can't wait to read the entire book and learn how the story ends! Julie P.

I had purchased the book after reading a few reviews which were very positive. If you want to know more about the person, Mani Bhaumick, this book is a good one. If the topic of Quantum Physics and its journey towards explaning the universal truth in the same manner as old religions interests you, this book offers a good start. Unfortunately, I got bored reading the past of the author (which is no doubt interesting but why spend money to know this!!!). Further,the portions relating to developments of Physics went over my head - I guess this may be because I am a normal Accounting person or I am not be very intelligent. And then, there are photographs of the author with various celebreties (why was this necessary?). And I felt the end of the book was also very abrupt. The book could have been more simple and focused on the subject. I guess persons of normal intellect may avoid this book. It will be useful if someone can recommend books that are more simple (with illustrations, where possible) and where the focus of the book is purely Quantum Physics rather than spice this up with avoidable diversions.

It was a gift to read of Mani Bhaumik's life and history, and I found the first third of the book completely fascinating. When the scientist mind came in and we were offered a look at the world through a very wide spread net of intelligent perception, my reading slowed down, but my fascination lit up.
This book successfully attempts to weave personal narrative, life passion, spirituality and deep science into a one-size-fits-all-wear-it-anywhere-package. The amount of personal research Dr Bhaumik has done is evident in each page, yet he has brought it into an engaging form: science filled with metaphor and anecdote that keep the reader curious and involved. I can imagine any age level from middle school on up benefitting from this work. There is a genuine desire to share insight; so the book is devoid of the pomposity of rhetoric so often obscuring most scientific treatises.
I had a hard time letting the book go, so i spread it over time. This isn't a light ramble though it reads like one; it is a dissertation on the nature of the universe. I so appreciate the way he includes the reader into the active process of understanding. The final revelation would seem to be that by meditating, (which in itself adds a huge gift to the entire system), one will automatically develop a profound awareness of the answers they seek on the nature of existence.
Rarely has such a vastly over arching viewpoint been so distilled; we go from an understanding of the cosmological history of all, and offer a way to balance the perceptions so that they are no longer elusive abstract phenomena, but are included in our life path.
Thank you for the great ride, highly recommended.

Dr. Bhaumik nails this most difficult task of wedding his personal story as a beautiful metaphor, to the greatest story ever told - the unfurling of our universe. He pursues the question that his father refused to answer and aren't we lucky for it. His formidable intellect and acquired rags-to-riches wealth gives way to a humility and innocent passion that can only reflect what he is and always will be: pure unadulterated spirit. I flat out love the way he presents meditation as the sacred portal of entry to our birthing ground, the unified field. The description of our holograhic universe by using the analogy of the human genome replicating whole humans brought tears to my eyes. The implication that we ARE the united field brings me to my knees because it resonates with every fiber of my being. By celebrating the similarities rather than the differences, Dr. Bhaumik honors what we all know at some level: What we're looking for is looking for us. His is an invitation to step up to and behold an idea of God that we can all live and die with. What a wonderful additional gift for more of us to get and live the Big Idea. Thank you Dr. Bhaumik for your remarkable contributions to our little parenthesis in eternity. - Dr. Herby Bell

I think this book is wonderful approach to the science of God's existence. If you've ever seen the "Elegant Universe" (I think it is called) on PBS where they delve into String Theory and explain quantum physics to the layman, this book is a perfect follow-up. I think that because I had seen this show, I absorbed much of the physics he presented very quickly. I remember stopping at one point and thinking, "this is some scientific stuff."

Even if you've never heard of String Theory or Quantum Mechanics, it is worth reading this book. Dr. Bhaumik's book presents complicated physics theories in simple terms, and then ties those principles into his statement that everything from human consciousness, to the farthest stars, to the smallest particles are all interrelated and have a single name: God.

When I got to certain points in the book, I could hear my brain frying ;-) These were some increbile points he was making and I was blown away.

The only reason I gave it four stars is because he spends a little too much time in my opinion on his upbringing in India. Yes, it helps set the stage for the life eventually goes onto, and underscores several of his ideas, but it should have been cut shorter.

We live today in a world so divided by disparate religious ideas that there is a very real possibility that we as humans won't survive these differences.

The spectrum of this divde is great and varied. Extreme Christian fundamentalists longing for a biblical Armageddon promote political choices that could bring on an ultimate nuclear holocaust. More moderate Christians eschew science in favor of a literal reading of the Bible and turn a blind eye to scientific "theories" as varied as global warming, the evolution of our species or the age of the universe.

Extreme Islamic fundamentalists scoff at earthly political goals altogether and wish only to live in a world governed entirely by the Koran. Unfortunately, like the Judeo/Christian Bible, interpretation of these sacred scriptures is subject to whoever perceives that he/she has been selected by his or her god to do so. This has resulted, in many instances, in the wide-scale destruction of people by those convinced by these chosen spokesmen that they will achieve heavenly rewards by their own and their victims' deaths.

Obviously, examples like these can be found everywhere in the world and in many other religions as well.

In a fervent desire to get beyond religious misconceptions of basic spiritual concepts, many thoughtful people have followed one of two divergent philosophical paths of inquiry concerning the universe and our place in it.

Science and spirituality (as opposed to religion) both seek the answers to this most fundamental question. While never quite at physical odds with each other, proponents look askance at each other for the others' naive understandings of reality. Yet a few individuals in both camps have been able to take a "quantum leap" of understanding and realize that science and spirituality should not just "agree to disagree".

For some scientists, David Bohm, Rupert Sheldrake, Karl Pribram and others, the deeper science goes towards discovering the most fundamental nature of Matter and Energy, the more the paths of science and spirituality merge into one.

On the spiritual side, a person such as the Dalai Lama honors the discoveries being made by science; to the extent that he says that if science proves a concept that is counter to his own Buddhist tradition, then the Buddhist idea must succumb to science! Truly a remarkable statement in view of most religious orthodoxies.

Mani Bhaumik is one of these "leapers", whose early life happened to be suffused in mystical Hindu traditions. Yet, the talents for science and mathematics he displayed at a young age allowed him to escape the poverty and ignorance epidemic in his community.

Finding his way to the West and his subsequent invention of the Exemer Laser (known commercially as Lasek) culminated in his enjoying a fabled lifestyle of the rich and famous; coincidentally the name of a popular television show of the day in which he displayed his wealth. His Hollywood star-studded life of parties and luxury in Beverly Hills is the stuff of dreams.

But somewhere along the way, the dream ended. Like many others throughout history, he finally had to ask himself, is this all there is?

Even while climbing the ladder of success, however, he never forgot the ground below from where he began. His political and spiritual grounding as an acquaintance of the "living saint" Mahatma Ghandi (in the political struggle for independence by the Indians against Great Britain) demonstrated to him how true spirituality can be manifested in the everyday world.

Throughout his early life in America he used his practice of Hindu meditation as primarily a method of remaining calm and centered in the high-flying academic and business worlds he was increasingly a part of.

But when he began to ask whether "this is all there is", he wanted to explore the deeper realms of reality found through mediation; those spoken of in the Gitas, the sacred writings of his religious tradition.

As a man with one foot in Western science and one foot in mystical Hinduism, he came to realize that it was perhaps his dharma to create a bridge between the two.

The result is the narrative of a wonderful, poetic journey through his own life before he begins the even more fantastic journey into the realms of quantum theory and sublime mystical states.

In the process, he does a truly amazing thing. He makes the underlying scientific field of all physical reality--which is, in fact, non-reality--move so closely towards the highest mystical states that it makes the a non-belief in "god" the most non-rational and least plausible conclusion one could make for a human being.

As a formerly agnostic seeker of knowledge, I've spent the past few years, trying to reconcile the remarkable scientific discoveries of DNA, quantum theory and consciousness with the fantastic realms of mind explored and written about by mystics, shamans, artists, users of entheogenic plants and others throughout the ages.

Mani Bhaumik's journey is a wonderful stepping stone on our own journey through a life that offers so many unanswerable questions. I've found that the most wonderful thing about our journey is that once a stepping stone is reached, another one appears almost magically.

And it's only one step away.