V Books

Es muy bueno perdonar a quién creemos que nos ha hecho daño, el vivir una vida plena sin odios, rencores, etc. es de lo más sano para tu ALMA. ESTE LIBRO TE DARA LA TECNICA INFALIBLE !

Y SUAVE PARA EL ALMA... Como una limpieza produnfa que nos purifica el alma y el pensamiento

y algo maravilloso que aprendi de una persona muy sabia, ME ENSEÑARON EL DIFICIL PERO RENTABLE ARTE DE PERDONAR:
Primero, lee el libro con sumos cuidado y atencion.
Después, haces una lista de la o las personas que odias o aborreces y, repitiendo su nombre, recitas:
"TE PERDONO Y TE BENDIGO !"
Al principio, ese "te bendigo"se te atora en la lengua, pero entre mas lo repitas, mas pronto te encontraras que no solo se hace facil repetirlo, sinon que UN BUEN DIA AMANECES CON LA SORPRESA DE QUE TU CORAZON YA NO ALBERGA NINGUNA ODIO !

Y TE SIENTES LIBERADO... PARA SIEMPRE

"...y perdona nuestras ofensas..."
¿Y AQUELLO DE
" ...asi como nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden..."
Te aseguro, amigo, que eso lo repetimos como loros huastecos... sin verdadera intención y sin ninguna atención..
Y DIOS ES MUY SABIO: Nos manda perdonar porque el resentimiento nos daña..Y PORQUE ES JUSTO QUE HAGAMOS POR OTROS LO QUE PEDIMOS PARA NOSOTROS MISMOS !

Y esta obra contiene UN GRAN METODO PARA PERDONAR.
Por eso te la recomiendo

MI ALIVIO...PORQUE NO ABORRECIA A NADIE, EXCEPTO A MI MISMO...
Y aprendi a perdonarme...¡ES TAN DIFÍCIL ! Pero ESTE LIBRO ME DIO LA TECNICA INFALIBLE !

The shipping was fast and it was the right book for my 2 of my college math classes.

The book was brand new.. and in the wrapper. The only bad thing is that I needed "MyMathLab",too. I was under the impression that it came with the book if you bought it new. If you need the book & the "MyMathLab"... then specifically search it that way so you will be given that option. THANKS!

I recieved my book promptly, in perfect condition, and for way cheaper than at my college.

the instructors edition has all the answers..which was useful for last minute homework and the price i paid online was the price the college was selling the used copy for. what a great deal

The book is very good. It gives many examples for you to use as practice. It explains everything very well and that means a lot, especially since I have not taken algebra in about 25 years. Also I would like to say thanks to Amazon for being so prompt in shipping my order. I ordered the book at 8pm and it arrived by UPS at 10am the next day.

"Edgy, quirky, dark, mouthy. Worldly-wise and intelligent writing. I sense the strong presence of an author who likes film noir. Underneath, at the base of this, clearly simmers anger AND a very real passion to change what appears the current destination of our lumbering ship of state. A quick read that doesn't quickly dissipate from the mind - kind of like a hefty belt of straight gin. 2008 might be a sub-title for this short novel. Weber could well be the bastard son Orwell never knew he had - if he ever had one."

Reads like a great classic movie, utterly absorbing, timely, and a critical read for 2004.

A gripping contemporary tragedy which mines the uncertain space between fact and fiction in the war on terror of the near future and reveals some of the costs of ignoring the Constitution in the prosecution of the war. Read it as a polemic but also read it as a richly textured examination of ordinary people, people whose lives get tangled up in and perverted by a government gone amok in trying to root out terrorism in all its forms. The characterization of Paul Vines, the professor on a federal grant who struggles with various demons while trying to teach English literature to Germans in Berlin, is particularly compelling. You'll have a hard time putting down this book once you start it.

Homeland is an amazing job of prediction, and not just (or even primarily) because Weber captures so well the events we have all followed over the last months. He takes us beyond snapshots of body piles - and shocks us with the banality of torture and the ease with which it is institutionalized.
The dangers and possible consequences of the War on Terrorism have been pointed out for some time now and political commentators and journalists have produced many possible future scenaria. Homeland is worth reading - and owning - because of Weber's skill and sensitivity as a teller of cautionary tales. He transcribes the pundits' futures into human terms, anchoring them in everyday life universes both moral and human.
And what timing! More lawyerly deliberations about the line between torture and interrogation have just made the newspapers. The space between Weber's criminal psychologist, Lara Ivans, and his FBI agent and interrogator, Michael James Dougherty, describes a desperate reality which is one consequence of the lawyers' efforts; it is a fine moral and human geometry - and a good read.

Very good political critique, but it could have gone further in its projections. Set in the election year of 2008, the revelations of fascist security measures were less shocking than what we'll probably see in the future. The torture scenes didn't even live up to what torture has already occurred. Good read, but Weber is a cautious futurist.

Volume IV of "In Search of Lost Time" begins in the afternoon of the day of Princess of Guermantes's party, the one that Marcel had looked forward for so long as his definitive entrance into the world of high society. That afternoon, by spying on them, Marcel discovers with his own eyes, for the first time, homosexuality, in the form of an encounter between the depraved Baron de Charlus and the tailor Jupien, Marcel's neighbor in the property of the Guermantes. Later that evening, Marcel attends the party, attended also by a cast of characters like very few in literature: Charlus himself, a Swann close to his death, and others. The Dreyfuss cause keeps winning adepts, among them the very Prince and Princess of Guermantes, as the injustice of the sentence is revealed. In the party, Marcel continues on his way to disappointment about noblesse: they are people just like everyone else, only with grand names and big egos, but not much more.

Days later, with his mother, Marcel returns to Balbec, where, alone in his room he finally feels all the weight and sorrow of his grandmother's death, which had happened a year and a half before or so. It is a profound passage about the perception of death, everyday indifference to it, and the memories left to us by our beloved's passing away. In Balbec, Marcel reencounters with Albertine, in that perverted play of seduction and deceit, of attraction and rejection, which foreshadows a sick relationship. Disturbed by the graphic discovery of homosexuality, Marcel broods a lot about it. Two women who stay at the same hotel, and who openly show their lesbianism, awaken in Marcel a deep suspicion about Albertine's mysterious life, and so begins a torment of permanent jealousy, of anxiety and anguish which reminds the reader of the similar episode, in times gone by, of the beginning of the relationship between Swann and Odette. Meanwhile, Marcel has simultaneous relationships with a couple of maids of the hotel (literally simultaneous).

Marcel rents a car to go around with Albertine through the countryside and the coast, deepening his relationship with the capricious, naughty, annoying and elusive Albertine. In her company, he begins to frequent the little band of the social-climbing Verdurins (where Swann had met Odette years before), in the country estate they have rented from the Marquises of Cambremer. The central part of the book narrates that summer in Balbec and its surroundings, above all the wide mosaic of characters surrounding the Verdurins: insecure but arrogant Doctor Cottard and his simple wife; musician Vinteuil; the rustic and silent sculptor Ski; Professor Saniette, pathetic and constantly humiliated; and Madame Verdurin herself, presumptuous and increasingly successful in society. Over this fresco is shown the repulsive couple of Charlus and musician Morel, son of a former servant of the Prousts. Morel is the worst kind of climber and representative of sexual and moral corruption. In contrast with what happens in the first three volumes, here it seems that it is the nobles who yearn to be accepted in bourgeois society, and not the other way around. It is the bourgeois who attract interesting people: intellectuals, scientists, artists. Charlus makes a fool of himself big time, pretending everybody ignores his homosexuality, when in fact he is the target of cruel jokes and gossip. So continues the great saga of memory, sex, love, longing, and social observation of the XX Century.

Like in no one of the previous volumes, in this one the subject of homosexuality is analyzed in all its complexity. Marcel and Albertine's relationship forebodes hell. Charlus begins to sink. The bourgeois approach triumph. Like in all the previous volumes, what astounds the reader is Proust's immense power of microscopic vision to analyze individuals and dissect societies. It includes a magical reflection on dreams, as well as precious depictions of landscapes, sexual assaults, personalities and emotions.

Sodom and Gomorrah makes it difficult for those who speak of Proust and attempt to reduce his grand work to mere flowery social observation. This is a bold and often disturbing installment of la recherché, as Marcel recalls brutal homosexual sadomasochism among two of the principle characters, and has to deal with great loss and self-loathing.

The narrator also returns us to the superficial world of the Verdurins, where Swann and Odette first made their interactions in Swann in Love.

Marcel falls deeply in love with Albertine, but later discovers that she has been involved in homosexual relationships with two women, mirroring Swann's problems with Odette. There are remarkable passages on the nature of love in here: "But if something brings about a violent change in the position of that soul in relation to us, shows us that it is love with others and not with us, then by beating of our shattered heart we feel that it is not a few feet away from us but within us that the beloved creature was. Within us, in regions more or less superficial" (pg. 720)

Sodom and Gomorrah is a deeply felt and complex development in Proust's extraordinarily full and beautiful search.

I am writing here of the "Penguin Proust" translation by John Sturrock. (Much of what appears on this page is misleading, with the editorial matter referring to an audiobook and many reader reviews to an earlier translation. Even first-sentence quote is not from Sturrock's translation!)

Of the four Penguin Proust volumes I've read so far, this is my favorite--a wonderfully funny study of society (if not of sex). Proust specializes in transformations. We'll be introduced to a character and led to believe that we know everything of importance about him, only to have him turn up in a later volume as entirely different. In this volume, the remote and terrible Baron de Charlus is tranformed a pathetic tubby, besotted by the pianist Morel (himself a bit of a transformation, since he first appeared in the novel as the son of a valet).

Marcel (the narrator) meanwhile finds himself more deeply involved with Albertine, herself probably a stand-in for a male secretary of Proust's, Alfred Agostinelli. To complicate matters, I see elements of this relationship not only in the Marcel-Albertine affair, but also in the Charlus-Morel romance. It's as if Proust divided his experience into two parts, giving the romantic elements to Marcel and the comic part to Charlus.

The two romances come together at the seaside salon of the awful Madame Verdurin, who is inexorably rising in the world. In one of Proust's hundred-page setpieces, the aristocratic baron has his first clash with the social-climbing Verdurins. I found myself cheering for Charlus, whom I'd earlier learned to dislike, because he is so genuine and she is such a fraud. And I know in my heart (and through my earlier readings of this great novel) that things are not going to turn out well for Charlus. Against all logic, Proust in one of his hundred-page dissections of French society is able to keep me on tenterhooks.

The less said about Albertine, the better. I am not one of those who find her/him a convincing character. So it is with a bit of apprehension that I now turn to volume five of the Proust Penguin, containing the two books of the "Albertine cycle."

But back to Sodom (as it were): this is a wonderful translation of a riveting story. If you stick with "In Search of Lost Time" thus far, you will know that you are in the middle of one of the great experiences of your life.

"Sodom and Gomorrah," the fourth volume of Proust's masterwork "In Search of Lost Time," contains two very long set pieces that strike me as amazing achievements in the entire canon of literature. The first is an evening party at the mansion of the Prince and Princess de Guermantes attended by Proust's young narrator despite his doubt about having been properly invited, and the second is a dinner at the seaside clifftop house of the Verdurins filled with absurd but fascinating conversation. These episodes combined cover hundreds of pages of narration yet never give the impression of being stretched because Proust evokes the natural importance in every detail and human gesture, as though the course of the world depended on every little thing that transpires.

These details unify under the banner of the entire novel into a series of fictionalized memories of Proust's social life as a young man making his way through Parisian aristocratic circles and observing the events which develop his artistic conscience. These memories tend to be romanticized visions of the past, wistful dreams of what he might have really wanted his life to be: "We dream much of paradise, or rather of a number of successive paradises, but each of them is, long before we die, a paradise lost, in which we should feel ourselves lost too."

The title of the volume implies love between men and women, and men and men, and women and women. Here, the young Marcel chronicles the torrid romances of the Baron de Charlus, brother of the Duke de Guermantes, whose salon was the focal arena of the previous volume. Upon his spying--innocently, not judgmentally--on de Charlus and Jupien the tailor in an act of sodomy, he expounds on the societal attitudes confronting male homosexuality and on the ways de Charlus must go about procuring younger men for himself, such as he does with a conceited young violinist named Morel.

Meanwhile, Marcel's love affair with Albertine, the pretty girl whom he met at the seaside resort of Balbec in Volume II, is progressing slowly but not smoothly. He notices that she, as Odette used to do with Charles Swann, is beginning to play games with his propensity for jealousy, flirting first with a girl named Andree and then with Marcel's friend, the soldier Saint-Loup. As the volume wraps up, Marcel resolves to marry her, hoping to draw her away from her Sapphic inclinations.

Proust portrays a wide range of colorful supporting characters, who I have no doubt are based on people he knew in real life. While staying at Balbec, Marcel meets an eccentric family named Cambremer whom the lift-boy at the hotel mistakenly but amusingly calls Camembert and whose acquaintance provides a springboard for the dinner at the Verdurin estate. Here we experience the personalities of the physician Cottard, whose preoccupation with his Verdurin invitations affects his professional ethics; the shy, socially graceless Saniette, who is continuously bullied by Verdurin; and a pedantic bore named Brichot, who talks almost exclusively about the etymology of place names.

The motifs recurring in this volume include the society-enveloping controversy over the Dreyfus affair, the snobbery involved in invitations to certain salons, and Marcel's association with the aging and ill Swann and his wife Odette, who now have some hard-earned esteem in the Faubourg Saint-Germain. In his deeply contemplative approach to narration, Proust functions as an essayist as much as he does a novelist, but his genius is that he merges both forms seamlessly. His sentences, at least as translated into English by Moncrieff and Kilmartin, are consistently worthy of applause and inspire me to write with more sensitivity to my surroundings.

The fourth volume of "In search of lost time" (Sodom and Gomorrah) begins with the sickness of Marcel's grandmother's sickness, which will lead her to the grave. During the dissease she will be treated by doctor Huxley, whose behavior surrounding the woman's unavoidable death awakens Marcel's digressions. Once she dies, the story resumes his contact with the high spheres of society. Marcel travels once again to Balbec, where he finds Albertine again. Their relationship grows as they assist to Mme. Verdurin's gatherings. Her "wednesdays", as she calls them, now that she attends in Balbec to her group of friends. Marcel's mind games surrounding Albertine are comparable to those utilized by Charlus to manipulate his young lover, the son of an old servant of his (Marcel's) grandfather... who plays the violin. Marcel is involved in this relationship as an comunicating vessel between Charlus and his "Adonis". It is rather curious how telephones, automobiles and trains are more and more involved in the telling of the events. The encounters in the stations, the dangers of traveling in an automobile, the unpersonalized feel to talking to someone through a telephone, etc... All these entail not only technological changes, but social ones as well: how people relate to one another begins to be considered outside the reduced space of fixed spheres... now, they move all over the space, they can even be broken into pieces... their voices, their bodies, the possibility of an effective transport that also allows privacy and secrecy (such as Marcel and Albertine's travels in the car, and all the implied events surrounding this machine -involving Charlus and his young "friend").
Marcel's doubts about Albertine's likes, are more overwhelming everyday... and he finally decides to marry Albertine, to take her to Paris with him.
In this volume, Marcel Proust submerges deeper in the waters of human affections and desires. If in the second volume he began to experience love for the first time, in this one, he is experiencing love outside the protection of young idelism and romanticism... instead, he realizes the conection between love, desire, snobism and pain: the truth of love is far from being an eternal, selfless and happy feeling: it is the constant haunting of a question, the everlasting wonder about evil within and without.
It is most memorable when Marcel assists to a party and describes the unfixed nature of gender differentiation: how much can a woman look like a man, how much can a woman desire another woman... and how much like a woman can one man desire another man.

The final installment of Proust's grand `a la recherche du temps perdu' is a masterful and eloquent meditation on art, on the loss of love, and on the complex and enigmatic quality of experiencing relationships over the course of a lifetime. This is the period, the final breath of literary genius from the great Marcel Proust, who devoted his life to this great novel.

In `Time Regained,' the reader is permitted an extraordinary prolegomena on the writer's craft, a self-reflexive exposition of the literary form that prefigures post-modernity and the works of Brecht, Breton, Beckett, and all the rest of them. Proust creates a work that is more exacting, more precise and perspicacious than any work of aesthetic philosophy in the western tradition. He discloses that the art of writing is, in its essence, an act or translation.The artistic content is already contained within the mind and soul of the artist and the act of writing is an act of transporting the content to form.

This is a novel about time, and it requires time to read. In this way, Proust the reader develops a relationship with the work within the register of a temporal horizon, which mirrors the register of temporality internal to the characters and unfolding of the fictional universe that Proust has created. It is a joy to read.

Also included in this volume is Kilmartin's guide to Proust, a summation of all the central characters, events, and allusions in a la recherché for readers who (inevitably) get lost in Proust's complex literary web.

"Time Regained" is a dark ending to the "In Search of Lost Time" cycle, as Proust, sickly like his fictional narrator, unknowingly nears the end of his own life but senses its imminence. France, like the most of the rest of the world, is now a very different place. The Dreyfus affair is receding into the past under the shadow of the new war that has descended upon Europe, with Germany having ravaged Belgium and threatening to destroy London and Paris.

Many of the people with whom Marcel has associated throughout his life and whom we came to know so intimately through the pages of his chronicle are now dead, whether by disease, accident, old age, or the war. Those among the living include the Baron de Charlus, who sympathizes with the Germans and frequents a hotel that serves as a male brothel; Bloch, who has de-Judaicized his name and has assumed an English chic; and Odette and her daughter Gilberte, the latter now herself a mother, who have not so gracefully weathered the effects of aging.

Marcel himself is now an adult of at least middle age, and, as far as he is concerned, still no closer to achieving his goal of becoming a writer as he was in his youth. He has, however, started writing articles and comes to realize, as he reflects on the course of his life, that the intricate web of contacts he has made can serve as grist for his literary mill, should he decide in his waning days to take up a pen and make some contribution to letters. And, of course, over the past four thousand pages that is exactly what his author has done. Marcel muses on Time (capitalization intended), memory, and dreams as necessary elements in the creation of art, a product of so much personal pain and suffering that death can seem like a welcome reprieve.

Judging the novel as a whole now that I've finished all six volumes, I affirm that there is nothing like it, or even close to it, in literature; like "Moby Dick" or "Don Quixote" it resides in its own impenetrable legendary world of oneness. In my review of "Swann's Way," I compared Proust to Henry James, but I see now that I was way off the mark. James writes like he's throwing his weight around, imperiously demanding intellectual respect and forcing his reader into submission with his intentionally inscrutable compositions; Proust's prose, conversely, calmly and warmly invites the reader into Marcel's society and caresses him with the most delicate sensations and deepest emotions. Proust is closer to Henry Adams than he is to Henry James, but even this attempted juxtaposition is buffered by a wide margin.

Proust's style is so ornate that it is the most difficult of any writer's to describe, yet paradoxically there is nothing affected about it; he is quite possibly the most unpretentious writer in literature. He never tries to impress the reader with his erudition, even though he evidently has much, or make himself out to be something he's not; one gets the sense that what he writes is exactly what and how he thinks, as incredible as that seems. He uses humor without trying to be a comedian, sorrow without trying to be a tragedian. He is employing language simply to illustrate life and the world, and I think language has no higher calling than that.

A brilliant closing volume to the novel. It brings back the lyricism of the first two volumes. I thought in the volumes in between some of that earlier lyricism was sacrificed to the bitchiness of Proust's tone toward the aristocracy he was doubtless jealous of, and his askew view of love that stemmed from his obvious anxieties about having been homosexual. But the early lyrcism and charm of the first two volumes is largely revived in this final volume. And anyone interested in writing, as anyone who makes it to this final volume doubtless is, Proust's passages on the art of writing make rewarding reading.
The obvious flaws are that some characters who'd earlier "died" show up alive in this volume. Couples who had numerous children in earlier volumes show up in this volume having only one child; Marcel (the narrator) recognizes people and then subsequently, in the same scene, doesn't recognize them. I have NOOO idea why some editor didn't knock out these discrepancies and tighten the text. It really seems silly to me to be SOOO faithful to Proust's final manuscript as to include glaring errors. Proust was rewriting when he died. If he'd lived he would have corrected these errors and I think his intention should have been honored. But I'm still giving it five stars, since overall the experience of reading this last volume is of reading something truly brilliant.

Perhaps the most exciting publishing event of the century so far is the new translation of "In Search of Lost Time," as it is now (and more accurately) called. Finding the last two volumes is a bit of a chore, but search for ISBN 0141180366 or "Prendergast Proust" or "Ian Patterson" on Amazon. I haven't read it, but I am impressed enough by the first two volumes in this new translations that I have ordered the final two from England, where they are available in hardcover. Viking has not yet published them in the U.S. (and may not, in my lifetime) but Amazon sells the paperbacks of the British Penguin edition. They are somewhat misleadingly titled "In Search of Lost Time," which is the series title. This volume is actually titled "Finding Time Again," and the translator is Ian Patterson. (Each book has its own translator, for a total of seven. Vol. 5 contains two books and features two translators.)

I give this Modern Library edition only four stars because I am convinced that the new translation is superior. Indeed, it's not entirely clear to me who the translator is, in this case; evidently not Fred Blossom, who did the original English translation when Scott-Montcrief died before finishing the work.

The melancholy atmosphere that pervaded the close of The Fugitive is carried over into this final part of Proust's huge work. Whereas, in the preceding part, Marcel laments the loss of Albertine and his changed relationship with his long time friend, Saint Loup, the author's concerns are now much greater. France is in the midst of World War I, Paris experiencing night time air raids; and the distinction between the Guermantes' Way and Swann's Way has become even more blurred as both Gilberte, the daughter of a courtesan, and Mme. Verdurin, the insufferable salon hostess, have become members of the mystic Guermantes family. Furthermore, Saint Loup is killed in action and Marcel's hometown is occupied by the Germans. But in spite of the gravity of the events surrounding him, Marcel becomes even more self-absorbed. He still holds onto his drean of becoming a writer, but this desire begins to wane as he becomes convinced that he has neither the temperament, the knowledge nor the fortitude to follow a literary career. Then the pivotal event of the whole novel takes place: he is invited to a matinee at the new home of the Prince de Guermantes.

While waiting in an anteroom for admission to the Guermantes' reception, the author is beset by a series of sensory experiences that bring back several happy memories from his past. These recollections, both powerful and joyous, convince him that he has the ability to undertake a literary career, to be able to communicate those ecstatic moments from the past to readers of the present day. His melancholy lifted, he enters the reception to discover that his recent epiphany is only bolstered by what he finds. All around him are the decaying remnants of a fast fading aristocracy. Many of the characters that have been introduced to the reader throughout the course of the novel are met again, but now in the final years of their lives: the proud Charlus, now an obsequious old man; the Duc de Guermantes, described as a "magnificent ruin"; Gilberte, now confused with her aging mother; even Marcel becomes aware that he, too, is quickly getting old. But now seeing things with an artist's eye, Marcel becomes aware that each of these characters, as well as all those people remembered from his life, are "like giants plunged into the years, [touching] the distant epochs through which they have lived, between which so many days have come to range themeselves - in Time." Marcel's goal is clear. He will spend the rest of his life carefully bringing these giants back to life. In other words, he is ready to embark on the huge task of writing the book that the reader has just finished reading.

This part of the novel was published five years after the author's death and suffers from a lack of editing. There are many ellipses, contradictions, and time and place juxtapostion mistakes, errors that Proust would surely have tidied up if he had lived to see his work published in full. But these are paltry criticisms wthen compared to the brilliance of the total work. Unfortunately, Proust is little read these days, and many of those who attempt to read the novel are motivated by the challenge of a literary marathon more than from an awareness of the intrinsic value of the work (as I was). But regardless of the motivation, the effort (and it is an effort) is totally rewarding as the reader sees in Proust's world reflections of his own. It took me a part of seven years to read the complete novel, a period of time in which Proust's search for lost time and my own reminiscences often became linked together as the author's characters shared my own thoughts regarding things past, the specious present, and the eventual fate that awaits us all.

Kilmartin's A Guide to Proust, which is included in this volume is well worth the price of the book by itself. The guide consists of four distinct inexes to Proust's novel: characters, historical persons, places and themes. The scholarship that went into compliling these indexes is outstanding and makes it possible for the reader to spend several years (if he so wishes) in working his way through the novel without losing track of the hundreds of characters and personages included therein. One reviewer remarked, "buy this volume first"; I would only modify this advice by suggesting that the prospective reader get this volume when he purchases Swann's Way.

The Investment Train is certainly worth the money. Mr. Curatolo's examples are easy to understand for our everyday living experiences. I find the "Quick Review" he has at the end of each chapter and the definitions at the end of the book to be very helpful. I definitely want my two children to read this book because I feel it gives an overview of every stage of our investing lives.

The Investment Train is a very informative book. As a reader edging closer to retirement I found that the author broke down the basics of investing and retirement in simple, logical terms that even I could understand. The book really helped me understand how my assets should allocated at this point in my life and I would recommend it to anyone who needs direction when it comes to investing. I started investing a little late in my life but thanks to this book, I am more confident that I can reach my goals and retire comfortably.

This short, consice book is worth it's price! I highly recommend this book to people of all ages that want to take control of their investment future. Joe really knows how to make you understand the complicated world of investing and I now feel like I have a much better grasp after reading this book. If you take the time to use the information, you might be teaching your broker a thing or two!!

The Investment Train was very informational. A fast read, Joe puts complicated "investment jargon" into laymen's terms, allowing the reader to fully understand the basics of investing and retirement. I highly recommend this book to those who plan on building for retirment, or retire soon. This book will help investors ask their financial advisor those pertinent questions important in understanding where their portfolio stands, and how to make the most of their money.

I am a young investor and found this book very informative. It is an easy read and explains complex situations in a way that's easy to understand. I especially like the way the graphs and visual aids help readers understand the concepts introduced in the book. With the help of my financial advisor, I now feel I can make better informed decisions on my investments. I would recommend this book to young and old who simply want a clearer picture of their investments, or are looking for a place to start.

"J.G. Ballard scans the suicide-code of a chemical=anthropoid into the abolition world, as if the drug fetus's modem=heart of the corpse mechanism is aspirated acid." - Kenji Siratori, author of Blood Electric

J.G. Ballard's "Quotes" is one of my favorite books. How does Ballard do it? He offers the starkest insights about Western culture and the psychopathology of the human race, and yet the book is fun, exciting, and totally addictive. The editors have combed all of Ballards books for interesting excerpts, and they have arranged them conveniently into chapters. There is a chapter on Writers and Writing, a chapter on 9/11, a chapter on Beaches, a chapter on William S. Burroughs--it goes on and on. Yes, sometimes there are redundancies, but that did not bother me. In fact, it is interesting to see how Ballard takes an insight or prediction and retools it slightly over time. One of my favorite of his predictions is that in the future, science and pornography will intersect. That may seem obvious to some people now, but Ballard made this prediction in the early 1970's. Another thing this book is good for: getting titles to other interesting books. Ballard reads widely, and he recommends books throughout this volume; some are books I had never heard of. "The Black Box", for instance, contains the transcripts of dialogue between pilots and air-traffic controllers for flights that eventually crashed. Ballard cites one of his favoite books: "The Los Angeles Yellow Pages". He considers this directory a surrealist work. Likewise, the chapter on film is good for some titles: after reading Ballard I returned to "The Road Warrior" and "The Hitcher" (two of my childhood favorites) and saw them in a new, Ballardian light. If you like this one, I would also recommend the book of Conversations with Ballard and "A User's Guide to the Millenium". Of course, "Crash" is not to be missed...

RE/Search has compiled the best blips and ramblings from Ballard's extensive body of work, illuminating the uninitiated and re-affirming to the already converted that Ballard is one of the sharpest commentators on the modern world. The book itself is compact and formated for easy digestion during commuting hours or periods in limbo, and each quote is a gem. This book will definitely keep you intrigued and sane on your otherwise dismal journey through the day to day.

"jg ballards: quotes" is a book of maxims, aphorisms, statements, and glibly profound comments from the mouth and pen of the perspicacious jg ballard.
if you are at all interested in the theories of a modern thinker without all the impenetrablenous of postmodern theorists from academia, then check this tome out.
the chapters on 'PSYCOPATHY' and 'THE SUBURBS' alone are very salient indeed, soaring through the time and mind barriers of our age looking with hindsight at the strange possibilities that time and mind present to us now.
ballard transposes the psychical landscape onto the physical one using freudian theories of the libido and the unconscious to evoke a surreal landscape at once familiar and yet alienating.
these are the themes ballard tackles and talks about in his own inimitable and exciting manner. always fascinating.
i recommend this book to anyone interested in a worthwhile compass to the imaginative world around us right now.

In J.G. Ballard Quotes, author Ballard and Quotes editor V. Vale continue a relationship which stretches back twenty years. Along with being the finest writer of our time, Ballard is a keen social observer, as well as a thinker of unique and visionary perspective:

"Does the future still have a future?"

"The open coffins lay empty, ready to catch the American pilots who would soon fall from the air."

"Everyone says there is too much violence on television but secretly they want more."

"Will NASA one day evolve into a religious organization?"

"A perverse sexual act can liberate the visionary in even the dullest soul."

As one can see, Ballard is interested in the tropes of our time. Reading Quotes, one can't help but marvel at his wonderful ability to seamlessly extemporize on virtually any subject. And along with thousands of great JGB quotes, the book is illuminated by surreal techniscapes from photographers Ana Barrado and Mike Ryan.

If you're a JGB fan, or just need an interesting book for your coffee table, Quotes will be a good choice for you.

The literary world is indebted to Galeano for his
poetical honesty in articulately conveying the voice of suffering in the masses, in the few. In Century of the Wind, he speaks with fascinating brevity as he dances and intertwines the triumphs and failures of a resilient, albeit it haunted, century. Galeano's words become newspaper articles that come Alive, his charachters become colorful fragments of peace and war and love and politics, refusing to be silenced. He urges the reader to pay attention to the paradox of romancing a people whom have had chaos and horror thrust upon them. Cetury of the Wind is a pathway in which we can collectively examine the troublesome past of America and ask the next great question with some degree of vigor -- And where are we heading?

Eduardo Galeano is a thrilling writer! (And very quickly one must add that his translator Cedric Belfrage is also gifted!) CENTURY OF THE WIND is a kaleidoscopic history, very much appropriately influenced by the sociopolitical beliefs of the author, of the Americas - South and North, and in that order - from the turn of the century 1900 to the last entry in this book in 1986. Reading it is an experience in history, in the fantastical events that have sprouted everywhere in every venue in a century more filled with inventions and collisions and bright lights and devastations than any preceding it.

Galeano's style is journalistic (he began his rigorous and controversial career as a journalist and editor before turning to books), and in a most readable fashion he takes us through specific events in each of the years of the 1900s and reports and comments on such divers topics as Thomas Edison, Fidel Castro, the Panama Canal, vaccinations in Brazil, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, agrarian reform, wars, revolutions, Frida Kahlo, religion, Evita, Ernest Hemingway, dictators, the Beatles, fellow authors of South America - the list is endless.

Galeano can say more in a paragraph or two than most commentators or historians can in an entire book. This is tasty writing unearthing many concepts that have passed unknown to many of us. Reading this fascinating book raises more questions than a multitude of reading groups or college courses and it is a must for the libraries of those who love to be challenged while being entertained! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, May 06

"Each day of life is an unrepeatable chord of a music that laughs at death." So Eduardo Galeano tells us in this, the final book of his "Memory of Fire" trilogy. The culmination of his experiment in history writing, this volume tells the history of the Western Hemisphere's 20th century in a series of vignettes that range from beautifully poetic to brain-burningly horrifying, from the torture chambers of Latin America's right-wing dictators (too often brought to you courtesy of the USA) to a little town in Central America called Yoro where, from time to time, it rains fish. You will end this book weeping with rage and joy. (And I mean that literally. This book is quite a ride.)

Eduardo Galeano's "Century of the Wind" (1988) stands on its own merits as one of the finest cultural histories ever written. From Pinochet to Presley, the author chronicles the dark undercurrents of South and North America in a compelling, cross-cutting narrative. An indispensible book that belongs in every library.

This book was completely mesmerizing and beautiful in its portrait of human nature and the history of two continents. Galeano unfolds the story of the Americas in the 20th century with his magnificent story telling which makes the book difficult to put down or to forget. Each snipet tells of the experiences of various Americans from poor Indigeneous folk to the heads of state. I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially to people in the U.S. who should develop a better understanding of their sister countries to the south. Galeano is neither pessimist, nor optimist but rather chooses to reveal the naked reality of human experience and conduct from the most avaricious calousness to the most magnanimous heroism.

Meru Puri Vol. 2 is a great shojo manga. If you like romantic comedies then this manga is worth owning. Hino Matsuri did a great job. Buy it, seriously. You don't know what you are missing.

Take a school and a magical world, a fifteen-years-old girl who searches for true love, a bratty but cute little prince, connect them with a star-shaped mirror, add some idiot brother, a lot of misteries and - above all - love... and you'll have a very fresh and funny manga, definitely worth reading!
Plus, Matsuri-sensei's style is gorgeous, rich and sensual at the same time, so you won't be disappointed.
The icing on the cake is Viz's edition: best image editing, lettering, paper quality, image-printing.
I'm very happy with this item <3

Let me start off by saying that "MeruPuri" is one of the best manga I have ever read. I read the first volume at Borders several months ago and loved it, but I did not want to start buying a new series. Recently though, I found out that it was only four volumes long, so I immediately went out and bought it. And I'm really glad I did.

"MeruPuri" is a story about a girl named Airi who dreams of finding her soul mate and living a simple life with him, raising a family and appreciating the simple things in life. Things are going well, and Airi has found a boy named Nakaoji whom she thinks would be a perfect match for her. But things are about to change. One day, much to her chagrin, Airi's plans are disrupted when a little boy named Aram, who claims to be from the magical kingdom of Astale, appears from her heirloom mirror. He is rude and a little annoying, but cute, and he and Airi quickly become friends. The next day, Airi is shocked to find that a spell has transformed Aram into a handsome young man, and worse, he says that she is his "favorite", and only her kiss can return him to his original self. And it just gets better from there.

I absolutely fell in love with this series, mostly because of the characters and their relationships. Airi is a well-balanced heroine. She is not too whiny or perfect or unbelievably strong like the girls in a lot of the manga I read. I can easily relate to her. And you can't help but love Aram. He's a prince in every way, courageous and fair, but he's still acts childish. The romance between Airi and Aram is really sweet, it really has me hooked. The supporting characters all have personalities of their own and contribute to the story well.

This is also a pretty funny manga, especially when Aram looks like a teenager but acts like a child. Airi too, is humorous in her obsessive quest to find the perfect man.

The art is beautiful, and the story is very interesting and creative. I love all the fantasy elements. It's a bit of a cliched subject, but Matsuri uses original and fresh concepts.

I cannot reccommend "MeruPuri" strongly enough. Everything about it is absolutely wonderful. But don't take my word for it, read it for yourself! You won't be disappointed!

Tired of manga where guys are surrounded by hot girls who are all in love with him, a la Tenchi Muyo, Love Hina or Ranma 1/2? Try a manga where a girl is surrounded by a bunch of hot guys who love her. Toss in some magic, mirrors, and mayhem, and you have something of an idea of what MeruPuri is like.

Airi Hoshina searches tirelessly for the perfect man. She wants a family life just like the ones in her favorite soap operas. One day, whlie checking her appearance in her antique mirror, a boy climbs out of it. A cute little boy, too. He tells her his name is Aram and that he is a prince. Airi decides to take care of him because he has no place to go, but imagine her surprise when she finds out that he turns into a gorgeous teenager in the darkness, an appearance which can only be reverted by her kiss. This bizarre change is a side effect of a spell placed on Aram by his older brother, Jeile. After meeting Aram, Airi is constantly surrounded by...er...very NICE looking boys, like Aram, Jeile (Aram's goofy older half brother, caster of the spell), Nakaouji ( her prime suitor, the only non-magical one in the bunch), Raz (who doesn't love her but wants revenge on her over something that happened in the past), and Lei(also doesn't love her, just surrounds her because he is Aram's servant), but are any of them the perfect man she's always dreamed of?

Hino-sama's often funny, sometimes touching love/comedy/drama story is made even more appealing by her gorgeous, flowing artwork. The characters are, as a bonus, fleshed out and believeable, even though the story sometimes isn't. And, of course, the guys are all totally gorgeous.

If you like MeruPuri, try Hino-sama's other stateside published manga, Vampire Knight, which, though an entirely horse of a different color when compared to MeruPuri, is still very, very good.

I was given this 4 volume set by a 15 yro friend, I am 31. She said I would like it. AND I DO! - to the point that I wish there was an after story or even a movie. A movie off this book would be good.
Story is good; makes one want to turn the page.
Characters are good.
Illustrations are good.

This is THE definitive book of New York City trivia. More than just informative and intelligent, it's truly fun. It's a great gift for an NYC smart aleck who thinks they know everything about the city, or for anyone who wants to learn a whole lot about what is, of course, the capital of the world. Apparently the author biked from Queens to Manhattan across the 59th Street bridge at an age when most kids wouldn't be allowed to walk to school on their own. So this is clearly a 40-year or so labor of love. Most of all, it's fun. A great buy.

Celebrate New York City with this book, one of the best ways to explore all of what is special about New York City! From the novice to the tourist, from the born and bred to the commuter who works in New York City or just for the curious planning a visit...this book has it all. Little known interesting facts will make your every day stroll down the block into a history lesson. Fun for the holidays to quiz your friends and family.

You won't be able to put it down. Test your own knowledge. Written in an easy reading style, yet thorough and detailed enough to challenge and entertain at the same time.

Enjoy!!!

Definitely a fun and interesting read. It doesn't take a trivia lover to enjoy this book. Volume 2 has its way of sparking your interest on triv-bits about NYC (even those that you normally wouldn't care to know). Once again, only John Barbieri can show you how to really appreciate NYC.

John Barbieri makes the 'second time around' even sweeter, with Mr New York's Trivia Quiz Volume 2. Mr. Barbieri has a talent in bringing us tid bits of information about the greatest city in the world, but with his own unique and entertaining spin. Run, don't walk, and buy this entertaining read.

I give this book a "10". I just couldn't put this book down. You think you know New York, but now you really know New York after reading it. It's a must have even if your not from New York. This book is proof of why there's no place like New York. New Yorkers are the most wonderful people in the world. Only a true New Yorker could write such a wonderful book. This book brings back such great memories growning up in New York. You cover 38 topics, 563 pages on sports, boroughs, politics, theatre etc... I had to go and buy another book because my friends took it and they won't give it back. Thanks for writing it.