V Books

Spiritual authors and teachers just seem to fill you up with spiritual materialism. Krishnamurti says what you're self does not want to hear. That is why his stuff can be difficult to take in. Unlike others who talk about ultimate reality and what not, he does not speak like all the dharma, and new age enlightenment, awakening books. I can imagine the Zen ancients agreeing with him, the zen masters that existed before Zen became full of tradition and baggage.

Krishnamurti should be taught in all the schools as an example of how to think clearly. The effect would be astonishing. This is an excellent introduction to his methods, and you will be well-rewarded if you read this book and take it to heart. If you were to break with tradition and attempt to explain Zen in logical terms, this book could be yours. K's robust sanity is a symbol of hope for an ego-ridden humanity.

This is another collection of short pieces that doesn't do Krishnamurti's teachings justice. To fully grasp & enjoy his teachings, you must go into each & every subject slowly & carefully, as he himself states in many different works. The pieces here are too short, & Krishnamurti's vocabulary & philosophy aren't fully explained. If you've read several of his other works, & are familiar with his vocabularu & philosophy, then this is a fairly decent book. If you're not, this isn't a good place to start.

I am reading these books in sequence so that I will be aware of any shifts in this philosophy as he progresses.

The reading here is easy, but the thinking is more difficult. Krishnamurti doesn't attempt to speak what people might want to hear, but speaks from his heart, from his innermost being. So he doesn't give an easy path to follow nor does he promise such a path. Actually, to provide a path for others to follow would contradict his philosophy.

The answer according to him is in self-knowledge, but that knowledge can not be gained through effort. Nor, says he, can it be passed on to you by a guru. It won't be found in books. (I can't help but be amused by those who emphasize that the Truth isn't revealed in the printed word, and of course they use the printed word to share this message with us.)

The first half of the book is comprised of writings and portions of talks. The second half consists of questions asked after his talks, and in his answers you will find repetition sometimes as he clarifies. He has a way of emphasizing the main points by asking "Is it not?" or words to that effect.

I admit to having difficulties with much of what he says, but this isn't criticism as much as a compliment. The very difficulties I might have benefit me so so that I learn through resolving them. If you don't get this book, do at least read some of his other material. You will be rewarded.

JK was a mystery. His life story was dramatic and his teaching controversial - so many people found his talks transforming and yet many also were disillusioned. I myself, who was too young, foolish and too far away to see the man when he was alive, have been puzzled by the fact that supposedly no one who studies his talks was deeply transformed, sadly admitted by JK himself.

But how could we measure his merit as a teacher by that fact alone? Twenty years after he died, everytime I read his words, the man came alive, sharp, passionate, uncompromising and compassionate.

He came to the earth pure and clean, and he learned the mess of the human psyche in order to teach; he was a deeply religious and poetic man, evident from his few talks after his realisation and before he disbanded the Order, but in order to talk to a wider audience, "his beloved" was reduced to "the nameless" or "that immensity" in his later talks, with only a very slight touch at the end of talk; he didn't study any religious traditons, not even the Bhagavad Gita, and his talks were all his own, which perhaps explains why many people found his talks hard to grasp, because they can't be put into any familiar systems which we have learned before.

How can we judge him or measure him? He reached and touched more people than anyone else in modern times; his talked "from the ground up", from this drab of life everyone lives instead of exclusively to long time spiritual seekers; and his words are the best guards against superstition, which goes hand in hand with spirituality.

I salute to you, Sir !

This product showed up speedily and in very good condition. I am very happy with it.

I'm a big fan for Fruits Basket, the anime, but I started to read the Manga out of curiosity to continue the story and I have to admit that the Manga never failed to amazes me. This volume is so great. We see the relationship between Tohru & the others grows during the summer break, Tohru in her swimsuit, Yuki kissing her and Kyo's care and hidden love for her. It is so much fun to read.

I own this series in Japanese, and it is a wonderful read! It has all the important elements of a good shoujo manga: it is romantic, twisted, with a shoujo (in the traditional meaning of the word) involved in finding a new family and love triangles galore. It is just a very fun read, no matter the language!

the best anime i ever had try it you will never regret (:

This book and all the others totaly rock! I don't know what I would do without them!

Dr. Anderson's book is an excellent tool if you'd like to teach yourself aerodynamics and have the background in math to handle it (multivariable and vector calculus...get "Div, Grad, Curl, and All That" if you need a refresher). His derivations are very clear and his chapter maps provide a nice road guide to give you an idea of where you're going. This book is also very good at maintaining rigor in describing the limitations of the derivations, a necessary quality since a lot of us tend to forget that the results we see are only valid in certain circumstances (incompressible flow, irrotational flow, inviscid flow, etc.).

Very few downsides: a few typos and no answers to end-of-the-chapter problems.

Over 5 years as an aerospace engineer at Boeing and Lockheed Martin, I have used this book far more than any other for aeronautics. This is not only a good textbook, but an excellent reference, and one of the few technical books I have found worth reading cover-to-cover. Many engineers simply say "look at Anderson" to find whatever answers you need.

5 Stars.

Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, by John D. Anderson, provides an excellent foundation in aerodynamics for engineers. Presented at the graduate or senior undergraduate level, this book covers all of the fundamentals in a student-friendly manner that also works well as a professional reference.

Dr. Anderson has quite a gift for placing information in appropriate contexts - both technically and historically. The book is well organized and promotes learning by laying a solid foundation and then building on that foundation. The sample problems presented through the chapters are clear and effective at illustrating important points.

Major topics include: Incompressible non-viscous flow, Compressible flow, and Viscous flow (including an introduction to boundary layers). Significant time is spent on potential flow theory and it's application to the prediction of lift and induced drag.

Also recommended for students of aeronautics are Dr. Anderson's other titles, including:

- Introduction to Flight

- Modern Compressible Flow with a Historical Perspective

- Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics

With no doubt this is the best Aerodynamics book for college students ever written...ever!Very clear explanations,full of examples and a good set of exercises to challenge your understanding of the subject. The only negative point is that there no answers to the problems.

"Fundamentals of Aerodynamics" is an excellent book by a knowledgeable author that provides the basic know-how and skills that an aeronautical engineer will find useful and helpful. The book is well written in a readable and easy to follow format that provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of aerodynamics. The author reinforced his message with numerous helpful examples and several illustrations which should help the reader to grasp the aerodynamics concepts and principles.

This is among the best aerodynamics books on the market for those studying the subject. You will find the aerodynamics concepts and theory well presented and explained.

This is recommended reading for those studying aeronautical engineering at undergraduate level. Practicing aeronautical engineers will also find the book to be a useful reference.

Life in the World Unseen is one of the best-ever descriptions of life in the Spirit World. It goes well beyond Stead's Blue Island. It tests our limitations but comes through with intelligent and refreshing explanations of life that goes on after so-called death. For people terrified about dying, young and old, this and similar books written by Borgia through automatic writing, is an oasis of awareness and comfort. The book is an all-round, comprehensive experience of the Spirit World.

Now here is a book you won't soon forget. Fascinating. A very different view of the other side.

I thought the book exhibited fantastic detail about the spirit world! If we were to describe our own earthly life, could we give the type of details this gentleman gave to the readers?

I was in agreement with the Monsigner about the misuse and abuse of the many religions that have existed throughout history. Especially in light of the potential conflict between Christianity and Islam in this modern age. True peace starts with each individual and we must look deeply into our own hearts to make sure that we are on the path to reach these heavenly realms by our own efforts! We must never use religion to hate other religions or other people!

Although raised as a catholic, I believe what the author is saying about the afterlife, and about the great misconception of religious dogmas. I was amazed at the details of the descriptions of the afterlife, and what spirit life will be like when I cross over. There are times that I just can't wait to "kick the bucket".

For those of you who can't find all the books anywhere, try this link. http://www.angelfire.com/ne/newviews/life.html

Also, if you like this one, you might like the teachings of Silver Birch. Very much the same in that what is written comes directly from a spirit on the other side.

To read the writings of Silver Birch, click on the following links. http://www.the-synergy.com/silverb/contensb.html

also http://www.angelfire.com/ok/SilverBirch/Tcon.html

What can we expect after we die? Does life really continue?
What will be our relationship to God? Does heaven have
physical properties; water, dirt, air, food, bodies? What can
we expect to do in heaven; transportation, relationships,
occupations, government, religion, worship, free will? What
about hell and punishment? What happens to good Catholics who
strongly believe in purgatory; to Christians who fear God; to
humans who fear death; and humans who do not want to leave
earth? How does an abused physical body affect the astral
body? What are the levels in heaven, and what determines the
level that can we expect? All of these questions are answered
in great detail by Mgsr. Robert Hugh Benson who made his
transition in 1914. He clearly was an exemplary human while on
earth, and he was also a prolific author, and he still is.
After he died, he wanted to come back and get rid of the books
that he had written, but that was not possible. However in the
1940's Mgsr. Benson was finally able to tell us about the
heaven that he experienced through the psychic Anthony Borgia.
This book probably answers every question about heaven that
you have ever considered and probably many more. Another book,
which focuses on the lower levels of heaven, and which is out
of print, but which is available on the internet is "The
Astral City" by Francisco Xavier. This account of heaven is
similar to Benson's story, but most humans go to a lower level
initially, before going to higher levels. Benson also
describes the lower levels of heaven, as well as even-higher
levels. Finally, we have believable stories about life beyond
the physical.

Un libro que te sacará de dudas para poder mejorar tu relación con tu PAREJA.. EL RESULTADO ES CASI UN ALIVIO!

ya que, leyendo este libro y aplicando sus sugerencias, no necesita uno ningùn otro. Es un libro que hace justicia a EL y a ELLA

LA PRIMERA CELULA DE LA SOCIEDAD : EL MATRIMONIO
Y lo hace muy bien... Miller tiene otro sobre la felicidad de la pareja: Tambièn es esplèndido

LIBRO ES POCO !
Tiene la capacidad para restaurar CUALQUIER RELACION SIEMPRE QUE HAYA VOLUNTAD Y UN POQUITO DE AMOR !
Pero tienen que leerlo LOS DOS!

PARA RELACIONES ENFERMAS DENTRO DE LA PAREJA...
Es la medicina infalible !
Tiene tests y deben leerlo juntos...
EL RESULTADO ES CASI MAGICO!

This was the first time I read any Sherlock Holmes and I was not disappointed. But what really made the experience such a fun time was the vast number of info accompanying the novels. The notes are right next to the text so you don't have to keep flipping pages, plus various pictures abound throughout the volume capturing the times of Holmes and Watson.
After reading it myself, I lent this volume to my good friend who can pretty much recite any line from the novels and he absolutely loved it.
So if you are a fan or just curious about all the hype, this is a must!

This collection of Sherlock Holmes stories & analysis is clearly one of the best biographical works published in the past 30 years. The painstaking effort and detail put into this work is something to be marveled.

Whether a new or old fan of the exploits of Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson, this product will not disappoint.

Also included in this series is some of the original artwork from the Holmes novels. If a fan, you might also consider picking up The Crime Doctor, which also bears the artwork of Frederic Dorr Steele, with stories of the medical detective by EW Hornung (also the brother-in-law of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).

Having been brought up on the edge of Dartmoor,in Devonshire, SW England,where the Hounds of the Baskervilles story was located I found the annotations to that novel to be very interesting and, more importantly, factual even to the minor details that were mentioned.
I have no doubts whatsoever that the facts connected to the other three novels are just as accurate.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any Sherlockian.

While most people have read at least one Sherlock Holmes stories others have not only read them all but have studied every detail of them. The author, Leslie Klinger, is one of the latter group. He is one of the foremost experts on the 'Canon' as devotees call the Holmes stories, and a member of The Baker Street Irregulars, the oldest and most exclusive club of Holmes scholars.

Klinger follows the accepted practice of the Irregulars in that he treats the stories as factual, rather than fictional accounts. This volume covers the four full length novels: "A Study in Scarlet"; "The Sign of Four"; "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and "The Valley of Fear" completing his study of the Canon that had begun with his two volume treatment of all the shorter works. As with the earlier works the book is printed in two columns, one containing the text of the story and the other containing the notes from that section. The book is illustrated with engravings that accompanied the stories in the magazines that first published them. The notes that Klinger has included with the text cover a wide range of subjects from explanation of outdated slang expressions to speculations by the author and other experts on people and locations the stories were actually based upon to in depth explanations of details. In addition both in the notes and in appendices Klinger offers his own and others theories as to the dating of the events in the stories.

This is a beautiful book, one that any fan of Holmes and Watson will surely enjoy. Someone who is reading the stories for the first time might find themselves suffering from information overload but anyone familiar with at least some of the stories will delight in finally discovering what some of those odd references meant. Also it is interesting to see that at times Watson or perhaps his 'agent' Arthur Conan Doyle, made some errors in their accouts leaving the impression that the 'Master' (Holmes) made some errors.

This volume completes this edition of The Annotated Sherlock Holmes. What a beautiful set of books to ponder they are!

Myself, as with many of you, have "grown up" or "lived" with the great sleuth for many years, and it is, of course, for us, wonderful to open this beautiful volume, containing the four complete novels, lovingly annotated in the margins with tons of observations, thoughts, etc., on the great man and his times, and also, of course, on his great nemesis, Moriatry. It's just wonderful to sit comfortably and re-read, ponder, and think about this great character, his creator, and perhaps just smile upon doing so.

This great set of four of the greatest detective stories, along with the two volume companion with the 56 short stories, truly does belong on the shelves of anyone who likes both great writing, and also great detective stories, especially about the "Great" Holmes, whom you'll read over and over and over, enjoying them just as much the 12th time as the first!

Do yourself a Great Favor, and add this wonderful volume to your library...You Won't Be Sorry! ~operabruin

UN INSTANTE...¡TIENES QUE LEER ESTE LIBRO HASTA DAR CON LA VERDAD !
Si dejan sin terminar lo que empiezan..LEE EL LIBRO !

ESTE LIBRO ME HA MARAVILLADO...
Porque le dice a los padres, en lenguaje muy claro, si su criatura tiene nivel de genio, si es hiperactivo o si requiere un poco más de disciplina !

familia, porque el 80 por ciento de la poblacion infantil pertenece a UNA DE ESTAS TRES CATEGORIAS: Hiperkinetico, Genio o simplemente, MALCRIADO!
Este libro SE TORNA MAS IMPORTANTE, POR UN DESCUBRIMIENTO MARAVILLOSO QUE ENCONTRAMOS EN OTRO LIBRO TITULADO "Tu Hijo:¿Superdotado ?"
Ese libro anuncia que se han determinado SIETE TIPOS DE INTELIGENCIA GENIAL, y es VITAl DETECTAR LA DE NUESTRO HIJO, primero en esta obra, y luego de que tipo es en la de tu hijo, superdotado !

LUJO DE NO LEER ESTE LIBRO..
Nos permite definir a que categoria pertenecen los hijos y como educarlos

MARAVILLOSO !

sabemos que si al niño no se le detecta y se le descubre COMO GENIO, simplemente acaba por adaptarse a ser DEL MONTÓN, a disminuir sus propias capacidades para integrarse socialmente: Eso, es una automutilación abominable propiciada por la falta de conocimiento de sus padres...

Based on Kierkegaard's book, it is clear that despair is essential for a person to realize he is not a "self," and thereby turn to God; but many people choose to create a self on their own-they become a carbon copy of everyone else in the world. I was intrigued by Kierkegaard's insights. From what I understood, there are two possibilities a person can have: (1) There is the possibility of becoming the self that God intended for the person, or (2) The alternate possibility when one manufactures a "self" then for the rest of his or her life, strives to attain it. The "fantastic" is the result of one's idea of self that is always being improved and refined from the previous "self." However, a person can only have a self if God gives it to him or her. The "sickness unto death" is when the person does not realize this until he or she faces death and had lived a life in sin (sin was explained as the spiritual and actual position of a person in comparison to God).

The person had a chance to live in "actuality," but instead was in despair and now is left with the "sickness unto death." Kierkegaard offered an insight to the human soul that ought to be the foundation to understanding the psyche of the Christian. His work is still relevant, and had probably ushered the Christian psychology movement into existence. It would be safe to say that he is a "founding father" of Christian psychology and was a very observant man. This book is not easy to read, but it is worth the effort.

This was my first Kierkegaard book, and I can't imagine it'll ever not be my favorite. This should be everyone's introduction to him. It's short, sweet, beautiful, encouraging, exotic, convicting, brutal, and funny.

Written by Anti-Climacus, K's very idealized Christian author who always does his best to expose externalisms in the lives of human beings--both Christians and pagans.

I'm not going to get into a major discussion of this book here; you can do that on your own or peruse some of the other reviews on this page. I will, however, give a very cursory sketch of _some_ of his great ideas.

1. It is written from an unabashedly orthodox Christian standpoint (orthodox meaning Apostles Creed). While there are a few passages contained therein that can be read like Arminian creeds, overall this book presupposes God's Word as Truth itself and thus is congruent mostly with what is later called Van Tillian apologetics (of course one could then say that Van Til had some Kierkegaard in him!).

2. It is written to examine what faith, in its nature as an exclusively Christian concept, is. But ever heard that Kierkegaard hated doctrine, that he loved the irrational leap into blind faith? Forget it. That's Johannes de Silentio. The passion and power of his prose here, along with his journal notes as provided by the Hongs' priceless scholarship, show that when he lists "dogma" with the three essentials of Christianity (the other two are faith and paradox), he meant it! (It wasn't just Anti-Climacus's idea.) He even says that once people throw out the "thou shalts" and God's special revelation as what it is--that Christianity is dead. Once we make Christ into an event, once philosophers merge God and man together--that Christianity is dead. Very powerful stuff. Now what does this have to do with faith? Kierkegaard shows that all natural men put their faith in themselves--and they will despair forever as they autonomously insist that they are the source of themselves. What Christianity insists on in men's putting their faith in the Creator as the Bible commands. Faith in God is not irrational, Kierkegaard says; but it is the gospel, as so wonderful, so inexpressibly amazing, that cannot fit into the minds of rationalistic men. This is a huge distinction. And a wonderful one!

3. It is written to examine thanklessness in those who don't look like they're despairing. This is where he attacks the Danish State Church. It's brutal and very convicting. I won't spoil it for you.

Despair is the refusal of man to admit who he is--a creature of his Creator. It's hubris, it's solipsism, it's pride, it's fear of humiliation. But Kierkegaard doesn't stop there. He shows the solution; he shows Christ as the only answer, using Christ's character as manifested in the gospels to show that it is our rebellion that He saves all men from. In this way, Anti-Climacus is in no way judgmental or self-righteous.

Another note: the Hongs are amazing. Write them a letter and tell them how amazing their work is. Each Princeton Kierkegaard book contains journal entries, an historical introduction, earlier draft changes, indices, &c.

And one more: another reviewer was totally right when he said that some of this is so powerful and--yea-- beautiful that you won't know you're reading Theology. The passage starting with the hourglass on pages 27-8 comes to mind immediately.

I only detract a star because of the ambiguity in certain places that has deceived many non-Christians into thinking that they're a-okay. And I've met a few of them, working at a bookstore as I did. It's written for Christians, so use your Biblical framework while reading it.

As a student at St. Olaf College, I got Kierkegaard pretty much thrown at me. The professors Hong translations of Kierkegaard are the most erudite I've seen. They own the largest Kierkegaard library in the world... They know their stuff. It's definitely worth the extra money over and against the penguin translation.

"The self is a self which relates itself to itself or is a relation relating itself to itself in the relation."
Don't get too flummoxed by the first page, it gets better.

One thing I like about Kierkegaard is that he knows how to WRITE. Other philosophers lose common literary skills that make writing enjoyable, for example, Kant. You cannot sit down and read 200 pages of a Critique of Pure reason straight, your head will explode. With Kierkegaard however, he is so enjoyable and fun to read, you hardly notice your're reading philosophy.

This book however, I wouldn't recommend to beginners, I'd choose either "Either/Or" or "The two ages"

where is God? this is the question i asked my self in my own suffering. kierkegaard's sickness unto death helped me understand where God is/was in my own despair. when i read kierkegaard i know i am reading something that was told from one's heart. kierkegaard really understands despair and he understands the struggle one goes through in despair. despair doesn't just happen to a select few. it touches us all. this book really saved me from sinking deep into my own despair. if kierkegaard were alive today i would send him a thank you note!

This is hands down the greatest book I have ever read, not including the Bible. I say that as a Christian and as an individual. I can understand how some choose to apply the concepts without the religion, but I personally think this would have infuriated SK.
Again, not including the Bible, "The Sickness Unto Death" is perhaps the only literary work I have ever read that altered my life, either by perception or action.
His elaborations on the various forms of despair should hit everyone, as there are several, each applicable to each personality.
If anyone were to ask me to recommend a single work, this would be it.
I must add, that I have not read scores of philosophy, only a handful. I say that to say this. This book may seem somewhat difficult to understand at first, but it gets easier the more you read and the more accustomed you get to SK's style. Once the first few pages regarding the definition of self have been comprehended, the rest falls beautifully into place.

Is it "imposter" or "impostor"--that's the question that nagged me while I read The Three Imposters. Which spelling is correct, and which is the imposter/or? The lexicographers need to come down hard on this issue!

That aside, The Three Imposters is a black diamond of a little dark fantasy, told in hypnotic descriptive prose. The book is structured as a series of stories within a frame story, much like the Decameron or Canterbury Tales, only the frame story has its own plot and is the most interesting of all in The Three Imposters. The sub-stories range from the strange to the macabre, to the frankly paranormal, each entertaining in its own right, besides what it contributes to the whole. Moreover, Machen's style glitters with curious flights of thought and characterizations, wellnigh as entertaining as the story itself.

What struck me most of all about The Three Imposters is how panoramically influencial this short book is, as if it were the whole nine muses of twentieth century literature! The Maltese Falcon owes an obvious debt to the Gold Tiberius. I think that the Novel of the Dark Valley is a clear precursor to the Trial, and obviously, Lovecraft derived his entire schtick from the Adventure of the Lost Brother. Machen himself must have been influenced by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, published about 10 years earlier, but Machen amplifies the original, rather than narrowing it.

Altogether, The Three Imposters is well worth the 150 pages or so of reading time. Dyson and Phillipps are my new literary heroes! I would recommend this Chaosium edition, which includes these several other quality Machen works and sells for nearly the same price as other editions.

First of all, a warning; do NOT read the introduction to Machen by S. T. Joshi strangely placed in the front of the book before you read the stories. The otherwise excellent introduction contains spoilers to all the stories, something I thankfully noticed at an early time. Being part of my effort to "branch out" beyond H. P. Lovecraft, I purchased all the three books by Arthur Machen that has been published by Chaosium. The tales within turned out to be excellent, and I quickly saw why HPL praised Machen so highly. Even though parts of the tales no longer appear as "shocking" as they once did, with their horror being centred on "sex and pagans", they still have a mild discomfort to offer, and the final tale of the book is, as we shall see, quite the masterpiece.

The first tale is "The Great God Pan", a very good tale, but as I've said; time has not been kind to this. A naked God in the forest don't exactly scare or shock people these days, at least not in the way that Machen intended. Although, it should be noted that I'm not the type of "conventional Christian" that Machen had in mind as his audience when he wrote it. The tale details an experiment gone "wrong", where a young girl sees and interacts with the ancient heathen god Pan. The result pops out nine months later, and several horrific incidents spawn from this. A fine tale, but a bit dated.

The second tale is much more to my taste, "The Inmost Light" (and for fans of the marvellous English musical group Current 93, I assume this is where Tibet got his title), also a taste centred around an experiment, where an occultist attempt to capture the essence of the body, "The Inmost Light", in a gem. A wonderful tale with an eerie feeling throughout.

The third tale is "The Shining Pyramid", a tale about the well-known "Little people", and one of the two best tales in the book. It unfolds somewhat like a detective novel, where two men find strange clues to uncanny activities in connection to the disappearance of a young woman in the Welsh countryside. The protagonists suspect the hands of the pre-Aryan inhabitants of Europe, and the tale is an effective weird tale, with Machen's wonderful prose really showing its best side.

The final tale, or I should say "tales", is the title story, "The Three Impostors", which is a strange creation of interlocking tales many in number. The tale is about a young man in London, a wannabe writer, who through random encounters with a few people hears several tales that all contain a few common elements; "a young man with large spectacles" and some weird and horrific incidents involving this young man. But alas all is not as it appears to be, and we are brought to several places in the search for this man, and what it all means is not revealed before the final phrases, where the real evil is revealed. This tale is among the best work I've read in the genre, and it really gives you the creeps at various parts, some of it being simply excellent.

Highly recommended!

This review is only about the title story, or rather, short novel. It is a circular story, as it ends where it begins. Characters have multiple identities and strange coincidences abound. It is a macabre joke, a foundational book of the cosmic horror a la Lovecraft and his Ctulhu mysteries. It is also a peak of the late Victorian era and much more. What makes it more than a genre story is the poetic quality of its literature. There are paragraphs that would make little perfect prose poems.

Along several months, or years, Dyson and Phillips meet different persons, who have in common the search for a shy and nervous young man with a little black moustache and big spectacles. Each one of these persons tells his or her story in inserted chilling tales, full of the imagery that would later become cliche. This is no cheap horror: it has a great sense of humor, it is not about axe-grinding nor about phantoms and exorcisms. It is pure cosmic horror, the horror of hidden forces and obscure memories of a remote past. It is a horror of strange gatherings and incognoscible conspiracies. The inserted stories are often compiled independently of their contextual frame: "The novel of the Dark Valley" is an adventure in the loneliness of the Rocky Mountains, with a pre-Kafkian touch that makes you go pale. "The novel of the Black Seal" happens in the Welsh wilderness, with a mad scientist and beings from the past. "The novel of the Iron Maiden" includes a collectionist of instruments of torture. "The novel of the White Powder" is about a substance that transforms humans into something indefinible and horrific. Finally, ""The story of the Spectacled Young Man" closes the circle and "explains" everything.

Like a good Englishman, Machen is a master of the understatement. More than showing, he insinuates to let the readers feel for themselves all the weight of the horror of the world, the mysteries that haunt us, and the strangeness of this life. Little surprise, then, that this was one of Jorge Luis Borges's favorite books, since much of his beloved subjects are here: ancient and undecipherable languages; stories lost in time; mirror games; equivocal identities; implacable gods; and somber mansions. Much recommended.

Other reviews are longer and more in-depth. This is meant as a quickie.

The title story is the heavy-hitter of this collection; it ties several shorter stories together under one title. The other stories are much shorter but have their twists and turns as well.

The language is not as dry as one might expect from stories written a century ago.

Worth four stars out of five.

As the title says, I found this collection so intriguing that I will be buying the next volume (The White People and other Tales). The only work that I had previously known by Arthur Machen was "The Great God Pan", which has shown up in so many anthologies that I am thoroughly sick of it, although it is a good read the first few times through. "The Inmost Light" was quite disturbing to me in terms of plumbing the depravity of the human soul. "The Shining Pyramid" was a good supernatural detective story, in my opinion, although the intuitive leaps made by the protagonist would have made Fox Mulder proud. This clearly inspired quite a few of Robert Howard's stories.

Clearly, the crown jewel of this collection is "The Three Imposters." The deeper I got into this novel, the more engrossed I became. It is made up of 14 short stories, each of which is part of an overarching storyline that involves the protagonist, a golden coin, a man with spectacles, and 3 people who are not who they say they are. Each successive short story drew me in further. Some of the best reading I have done in years!

Almost poeticailly written. Very interesting and seemingly accurate.

como lo HABIA PROFETIZADO ESTE LIBRO !
IMPRESIONANTE !

cheques LA PÁGINA 128, QUE SE REFIERE A NUEVOS VIRUS...
ATERRADOR !

la compañía donde trabajo, me hablo de este libro y de que SE CUMPLIO LA PROFECIA DE LA GUERRA EN IRAK Y LA MUERTE DEL TIRANO...
Ya me habian hablado del libro,pero me encogia de hombros..
PERO AHORA MISMO VOY A PEDIRLO !
QUIERO SABER QUE VA A PASAR DESPUÉS DE IRAK...

Este libro de profecias es algo de eso que NO TE EXPLICAS, PERO EXISTE !

PARA VER, NO SOLO EL PASADO RECIENTE (cuyas profecias se han cumplido al pie de la letra )SINO EL FUTURO:
PLAGAS, CATÁSTROFES, DESCUBRIMIENTOS, GUERRAS...
Lo bueno y lo malo...PERO NOS SIRVE DE ADVERTENCIA Y PROTECCION OPORTUNA !
Increíble profeta ! QUE CONOCIA SU PROPIA SENTENCIA DE MUERTE..QUE SE CUMPLIO !