D Books

Some good ideas, but it just wasn't enough for me. Seemed to be lacking, you can get most of the info online if you look hard enough.

Finally, a well-written reducing/lifestyle change plan. Dr. Logan compiles everything you need in one comprehensive book without being `way out there' or a `silver bullet'. The California Wine Country Diet is truly an enjoyable lifestyle change. It is do-able, enjoyable, straightforward and sensible. I have done many diet plans and have found them to be impracticable or impossible to follow in the real world. Dr. Logan's plan is easy to follow; so easy that any gourmet recipe can easily fit into the meal plan guidelines provided one exercises portion control. I have been able to eat well and still enjoy my Castello blue cheese, Kashi TLC crackers and glass of local Chambercin. Ching, Ching to you Dr. Logan!

Now California wine country is into the diet business. This one is for the wine lovers!

This book is fantastic! I love the recipes! I think it is great that the book provides more information than just "the diet". This book really shows how to incorporate a new lifestyle rather than just a diet. I love how it shows a way to enjoy food and have an indulgence, but still have a healthy lifestyle for a lifetime. Excellent Job!!

Make wellness and weight management a pleasure not a trial through the latest diet book to advocate a different program, CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY DIET: THE INDULGENT APPROACH TO MANAGING YOUR WEIGHT. Recipes come from some of the state's most renowned chefs and provide a blend of nutritionally appealing dishes with meal plans you can live with. Learn to eat seasonally, locally, and diversely using a diet which is appealing and diverse.

After checking out Divine Comedies at the library and reading a few chapters of The Book of Ephraim, I knew I was willing to read the entire epic of The Changing Light at Sandover. Nearly six months later, after having read and reread Ephraim, Mirabell, Scripts and the Coda (the four sections of Merrill's magnum opus) I am ready to pass judgement. This epic is great but probably not GREAT. It requires a very heavy investment from the reader, not unlike Dante's Divine Comedy, or Joyce's later work. This investment pays dividends, but not the astronomical sort that one hopes when one is flipping through an opera dictionary, trying to discover Merrill's point.

Sandover is full of allusions, contradictions, and virtoso poetry, the latter being why I highly recommend it. As the other reviews tell you here, Merrill, elitist that he is, has not made the work accessible. Which is fine. So here is my short list of writers to be familiar with before you read it: Dante, Homer, Auden, Pound, Eliot, Proust, Wagner, Merrill's earlier work, Blake and Yeats. I also highly recommend Robert Polito's A Reader's Guide to The Changing Light at Sandover, which is more of a handy index followed by a compilation of reviews (including Bloom's and Vendler's) than say, a line-by-line explication of the sort available for Pound's Cantos. Thankfully, The Changing Light at Sandover does not require that.

The Book of Ephraim stands alone and whether you like it will probably be the best gauge of whether you will like the whole of Sandover. Mirabell I found very difficult going and, in all honesty can probably be skipped, like most people skip Purgatorio. Scripts for the Pageant is much more fun and The Higher Keys is really of a piece with it, tying up the loose threads. For all my pessimism, this really is the best modern epic I've found, a thousand times better than The Waste Land or Blake's prophetic works, or even Milton's Paradise Lost. The poetry and storytelling are so overwhelmingly confident that, once you have assimilated the scattered references, it is easy to get carried away. Large questions of free will, life after death and the nature of love are tackled with wit and sincerity. I'm glad I bought it and have it on my bookshelf. Since I put in the sweat, it is now a treasure-box I can open at any time.

There was a lot of attention given to Merrill when his Collected Poems came out, so I went out and read it. (The fact that I hadn't heard of him before should indicate that I don't read a lot of modern poetry). What was astonishing was how effortlessly the poems read, how thoroughly Merrill had mastered the technical aspects of the craft. The poems read as smoothly as prose, but line after line stayed in the memory - and when you went back you realized what a complex and subtle rhyme scheme many of the poems had.

But for some reason, there was a lot I could admire but very little I could love. They didn't just feel like exercises in style, but there was something too cool and smooth about their surface: there wasn't enough humanity in them.

The same isn't true of The Changing Light at Sandover. Don't be put off by the Ouija stuff: the heart of this poem isn't some sort of half-baked spiritualism, but simply the relationship between two people that love each other - the poet and David Jackson.

Let me quote a line from The Book of Ephraim that I memorized without trying, just from reading it a few times. The same technical mastery is there, but now there's something alive in them. Enough of the other reviews tell you what the poem is about, so here's a sample of how beautiful this strange masterpiece can be in its smallest details:

We take long walks through the turning leaves
And ponder turnings taken by our lives.

Look at each other closely, as friends will
On parting. This is not farewell,

Not now. But something in the sad
End-of-season light remains unsaid.

The Changing Light at Sandover is Merrill's magnum opus. It is also the greatest example of epic poetry in modern literature. Divided into four sections (four being a mystical number [seasons, elements, etc] and possibly alluding also to Eliot's "Four Quartets"), Sandover, is, as far as I am aware, the longest single poem in the modern cannon. Yet length alone is not what qualifies this as an epic poem. Like all true epic poetry, it borrows heavily from its classical predecessors, so Homer, Virgil, Dante, Milton and even Tasso are alluded to throughout the poem.

The method behind the poem is fairly well known, and is in fact included in the poem's narrative. Merrill and his life-partner, David Jackson, would ritualistically cleanse themselves for a stipulated period, then consult the spirit-world by means of an Ouija Board. Merrill served as a kind of amanuensis, taking dictation from spirits from another dimension and translating the messages into poetry.

Merrill has been branded as an elitist by some, and there is no getting around the fact that he did consider himself and his partner as members of an order higher than that of most of mankind. He believed in a quasi-Gnostic hierarchy, wherein human beings are ranked according to their spiritual development. Unfortunately, the belief system he invokes leans more closely to Third Reich mysticism than to Buddhism or Hinduism. A great many people, according to Merrill's tenets, don't even have souls. They exist only on an animal level. One can see where this sort of thinking can, and has led.

I don`t want to infer, however, that Merrill, or this work, are in any manner political or polemical. This is a true work of art, full of imagination and of ideas. The sheer scope of creativity on display in "Sandhurst" is unsurpassed in the past 100 years of poetry, with the possible exception of "The Waste Land." It should be read and studied (and hopefully, cherished) by all lovers of literature. Whether or not Merrill existed on a higher plane than most of us is certainly debatable, even questionable. Whether or not his excursions into other spiritual realms were "real" or were delusional is also debatable. What is not debatable, is the fact that he produced a remarkable and very important poem in the process.

First of all I felt somewhat intimidated when it came to starting this epic work. I was afraid that my own background might prove inadequate for a product of such ethereal literary heights. It came as a relief when I found that I was well enough read to appreciate the majority of the literary and cultural references (at least I believe that I did.) Part of this was no doubt due to what I brought to the work, but equally part was due to the poet's uncanny ability to draw you in and connect you with the most intimate and obscure reference. I actually felt like I belonged to the circle- that I might be able to hold my own in such august company. This company included not only the poet, his partner, and their friends, but also the supposed spirits of Plato, Pythagoras, Robert Morse, Wallace Stevens, W.B. Yeats, Maya Deven, W.H. Auden, and even more.

So much for the exquisite and impressive poetic and literary aspect of the epic- the metaphysical basis was a another matter. Here I felt more than adequate. It is reported that Merrill and his partner styled themselves as metaphysical adepts. Indeed they drew the old criticism of being "spiritual elitists." Frankly, I do not sense that they were such. Such individuals exist, but they do not naively and uncritically seek out contact with the lower astral plane via ouija board. They do not take at face value the identities and messages of the beings so contacted. True, this may provide "interesting" material for the poet to run with, but it is of dubious value otherwise. In fact, some of the specific information (such as no souls escaping Hiroshima) just sounds plain wrong. As for three billion dead in the immediate future, or Mohammed being the servant of the Adversary and destined to bring about the last holy war, well, I'll let you judge for yourself. There is also something about treating the subject of spiritual patrons and the pattern of the wallpaper with seemingly equal weight in the poem that is somewhat disconcerting...

Just the fact that multiple "characters" reveal in the course of the poem that they are not who they originally said that they were (sometimes for decades) should tell you how much credence you should place in anything that they have revealed.

What irritates me is that some would equate this work with William Blake's. Yes, it is a remarkable work of art, an exquisite poem, but it is not Revelation. You have about an equal amount of gems and dross in a most impressive setting. However, it is up to you to judge which is which. You see, a true poet-prophet (such as Blake or Dante or Milton) rely on their own direct, intuitive connection with the Divine, and not upon a secondary entity to contact the Essence that will impart true immortality to their work. But then again, as far as I know, the poet himself never claimed that this was anything more than a most skilled riff of poetic art. It is indeed that.

The stage adaptation is included in the back of this volume. It is my humble recommendation that you read it first in order to make the main poem a little more accessible.

One furthur note, the "God B" refered to so often here is obviously the Demiurge- Yaltabaoth.


"Now the archon (ruler) who is weak has three names. The first name is Yaltabaoth, the second is Saklas ("fool"), and the third is Samael. And he is impious in his arrogance which is in him. For he said, `I am God and there is no other God beside me,' for he is ignorant of his strength, the place from which he had come."
---Apocryphon of John, circa 200AD

How can I start a review of the book that captured me into poetry? that led me to actually read and enjoy Dante and Milton? that even led me to reading odd epic poems and novels in verse that rarely make it into the top million rank here on Amazon?

How about "Great book - a life-changer in wholly unexpected ways."

I got my copy gratis back when I was doing occasional book reviews of the more traditional sort and not the slightest bit interested in the slender wisps of poetry that crossed my desk. There was something different about this one, though. This was five pounds of poetry ! Five-hundred and sixty pages ? One poem? How could that be? WHAT could that be?

But you've got to decide whether to spend a few bucks here, your situation is different. So the real question is what brought YOU to this page in Amazon. Needless to say, my five-star rating means that I will try to convince all comers to read "Sandover", but you must realize that you are a rather lonely explorer to have come this far. Your path reveals the nature of your search.

Maybe you've read some of Merrill's other work from the recent, rather successful "Collected Poems". Wonderful! While the critics can tell you about commonalties in all those poems, you probably noticed more of the vast range in that collection: from the tiny, surgically incisive "Little Fallacy", to the weirdly evocative "Lost in Translation" (bet you read that one more than once), to the extended, languorous narrative of "The Summer People", to the challenging and often enigmatic mythos in "From the Cupola."

This wholly different last pair, my favorites, were unexpectedly conjoined as the only two poems in the UK-published early book entitled "Two Poems." Together, they hint best at what "Sandover" will deliver: carefully crafted narrative and delight in poetic form along with intellectually challenging and sometimes cryptic layering. Expect some strangeness wrapped in a reassuring pale, cream cape, until the cape is tossed back to reveal a startlingly, spookily omni-dimensional vision. Sounds like fun ? Jump in...

I guess it's possible that you came here after reading Alison Lurie's recent lurid little "literary memoir." If so, congratulations for stepping over that indelicate little pile to consider the man's most epic work, instead of a shrewish listing of his peccadilloes. Of course personality and autobiography inevitably fuel poetry, and Merrill's "Sandover" is no exception. You might even, legitimately wonder, as I did, how the poetry of a rich gay man, who sounds suspiciously like an aesthete of the flightiest sort in Lurie (and apparently had a weird, mystic streak) can do anything more than entertain you. And how is that possible for 560 pages ?

You won't find the glib and thoughtless dilettante of Lurie's portrayal lurking beneath "Sandover." Merrill was not an overtly autobiographical poet, but he collected the pieces and wrote the tale of Sandover through 20-odd years of his life, In doing so he revealed the reality of privilege without arrogance, mysticism within a wry skepticism, and appreciation of love and beauty in all their forms. "Sandover" is actually a fine place for one who is neither gay, nor rich, nor mystical and, perhaps, like me, aesthetically-challenged, to get drawn-in to a world that twines these elements together in an endlessly interesting and attractive way. If you've read Lurie, I think you will find "Sandover" an especial pleasure - a much more graciously framed journey toward much more extraordinary horizons.

I suppose you might be here because you have developed a taste for the long poem: the epic or the novel in verse (maybe from my own `listmania' list of such works right here on Amazon). If so, you face a more interesting challenge. "Sandover" will offer many things that are familiar but probably some quite different. If the story in Vikram Seth's "Golden Gate" captivated you, you will find a quite compelling story here - but not one quite so down-to-earth. If the different cultures circumscribed by Walcott's "Omeros" or even Budbill's "Judevine" intrigued you, you will find other worlds here - otherworldly locales, indeed.. If Merwin's "Folding Cliffs" satisfied while it challenged you as a reader, you will find "Sandover" to be a surprising combination of the eminently readable and the multi-layered and re-readable. If Dante's, Milton's or even Frederick Turner's epic reach inspired you, you can count on "Sandover" to take you to the inner and outer reaches of the universe.

Finally, of course, you might be here just because you've heard that James Merrill was one of the finest poets of the 20th century. He was. In "Sandover" he combined many, many talents - as a formalist and as an experimenter in form and as one of the last poets to show a pure delight in words and their infective enlodgement in the human brain. The atomics of the poem satisfy and surprise no matter what magnification your readerly microscope is set on. Over and over you will find yourself startled at a just plain perfect piece of short verse - as tersely powerful as William's "red wheelbarrow." Then you will find yourself so captured by the narrative of the story, that only part-way through will you realize that you are in the midst of two pages of elegant "terza rima." Even the largest structural elements partition, loop-back and break off in ways that build a magnificent whole that is as captivating in its large-scale structure as in its single word choices.

Sandover is an endlessly captivating work - I've read it, all 560 pages, four times in ten years, and still pick it up and read a section or two every few months.

I really liked this book and I would recomend it too anyone who likes a good!!

These are wonderful books I am waiting on my toes for book #8 ! I have read these all at least twice and they are all great! CCA

From the moment I picked them up I couldn't put it down.I love everyone and am DYING to read the others.Congratulations Lynn and Gilbert Morris

I have just finished the entire Cheney Duvall, MD series and wait on the edge of my seat for the next book in this series. I'm not usually so emersed in a series - although that is my usual method of reading. (I find an author and begin reading from the first book in a particular series to the last.) Gilbert Morris has managed to bring deep faith into several fascinating story lines without intimidating any reader. I would, and have, suggested this author to several friends.

The cheney duvall books are not like any other christian ficiton I have read. I anxiously await #8. There is action, adventure, excitement, biblical principles, human characters (not perfect), and romance too. Dr Duvall is not a weak female (although she is very female with many weaknesses). She is strong in her faith even when its difficult. The fact that she is outside the "normal" female role for 1800s fiction makes it all the more interesting. With almost all the "plots" finally solved, I expect that #8 will be the finale (I hope to be wrong in this, because I would greatly miss Cheney, Shiloh, and all the supporting characters. They have become like familiy!!!)--LDY

An untapped corner of the horror novel genre involves stories about dead chickens. Until now, that is.

Bobby Garfundephelt buys a sprawling, multi-building farm, with the intention of turning part of it into a bed and breakfast. Included with the farm is a chicken coop, full of loud, stupid and filthy chickens. Janice, his wife, likes the chickens, and has to repeatedly remind Bobby to feed them. In a moment of frustration, one night, Bobby sets fire to the coop, with the chickens inside. Janice leaves him. Stuck somewhere between life and death, the zombie chickens go on the attack. Led by an evil undead Rooster, bigger than the average rooster, they chase Bobby throughout the labyrinthine rooms of the farmhouse. The house has been altered and added to so many times over the past 200 years, that it has gained a rudimentary intelligence, and assists in Bobby's torment.

Arnold is a young boy with a unique ability. Remember the famous movie line, "I see dead people?" Arnold could say, "I see dead chickens." After years of seeing a blue light coming from everyone, and being attacked by undead chickens, Arnold's parents ship him to a secret monastery in France. Their specialty is chicken exorcisms. On his deathbed, the present leader of the order transfers the being, or presence, living inside him to Arnold, making him the new leader. Many years later, Arnold, now called Armand, arrives at the farmhouse, to do battle with these undead zombie chickens. Amid everything else, Armand has to deal with a chicken spirit that takes over Bobby, so that, one minute, he is cowering in fear in the corner of a basement, and the next minute, he is trying to kill Armand.

If nothing else, this is a very different sort of novel, and it's a very good novel. It's nice and strange, and the author does a fine job with it.

Take one flock of zombiefied chickens, with an uber-rooster at the head. Throw in one inept wannabe farmer living in a haunted house. Top it off with an order (no pun intended) of secret zombie chicken hunters, with a particularly talented mortal off on a solo crusade to end the plague of undead fowl once and for all. Mix well with a good dose of off-the-wall humor, some camp, and enough talented description to give you a movie in your head, and you have the makings of one very fun read.

It started out a little questionably. While Knapp is a talented author and does a good job of describing what's going on, the intentionally campy writing got to be a bit much to slog through, especially after the umpteenth time there was a description of a zombie chicken moving in such a way that a random body part fell off. Camp doesn't really translate over to writing nearly as well as film, as far as I'm concerned, though Knapp made a really good effort of it. Additionally, the backstory took a while to build up to an interesting point, though for good reason-the story behind the story is actually somewhat complex, and made what could have been a relatively simple zombie chicken novel into a more solid read.

I urge prospective readers who find the beginning to be a bit tough to get into to hang in there; it all makes more sense the more deeply you get into the story. The second half of the book grabbed me much more firmly, and it was hard to put it down after that point. The writing, though still campy, had more going on plot-wise, so I was less distracted and more enthralled. While I think the ending (which I won't spoil for you) came out of left field to an extent, it was satisfying, and left me with a good feeling about the entire adventure through zombie chicken land.

Overall, while it has a few flaws and could use a bit of tightening up in the first half, "Cluck" is definitely an amusing read. It's particularly commendable as a self-published work, and is among the best self-pub works I've ever read, nonfiction or fiction. And, as I said, Knapp is very good with descriptions, and I had a clear mental picture of what was happening the entire time, even if it didn't make sense at first. Pick this one up if you have a long plane flight, need something to read on the morning commute, or simply want something entertaining to read over a weekend. It has good re-read potential, too, so you'll definitely get your money's worth.

They're chickens. They're zombies. What - you need more? Okay, there's more - an all-powerful rooster, a car that reads Ian Fleming, a possessed house, a prophecy-fulfilling chicken exorcist, and witty footnotes (yes, footnotes).

This was truly one of the most original books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Full of intriguing characters and a wonderful story, 'Cluck: Murder Most Fowl' by Eric D. Knapp is an expertly written horror-comedy that will leave you begging for a sequel.

Eric D. Knapp's "Cluck: Murder Most Fowl" is one of the best books we've reviewed so far on Odyssey Reviews. This tongue-in-cheek (or beak) work of brilliance will surely make you laugh. The writing is on par with the likes of Terry Pratchett. The story is brilliant, the writing unbelievably good; and a nearly 100% spotless manuscript peppered with delightful egg-shaped illustrations by Ian Miller. The sheer professional sheen of the book itself, down to the artwork on the cover - is the standard all independent/self-published authors should strive for.

You will find yourself in a bizarre world of zombie chickens, Poultry Exorcists, hicks, an ancient secret organization of frauds, and a car with a bit of an attitude. There is a restless house, and something else, another force thrown into the mix just to keep it interesting.

Armand/Arnold, who is the first true "Exorciste de Volaille" in generations, discovers, after years of ridding the world of pesky undead fowl, that he's possibly met his match. A convergence of mystical forces brings together a massive rooster who's been to Hell and back, his flock of subordinate ghoulish chicken zombies; a mysterious, vengeful force; a fidgety house and a less-than-intelligent hick by the name of Bobby--and Arnold has just stepped into the filthy thick of it.

Rotten eggs, tomatoes and stumbling, rotting chickens... this bizarre world is waiting for you to discover it. I think it should be an obligation for all independent authors to add this book to their library as an example of a professional, self-published product.

This book has effortlessly earned its five medallions (stars)

I figured I could use the "best zombie chicken book ever written" quote, which would be entirely accurate, but instead I will lead this review with a warning. I DARE you...no, I double dog dare you...to look at a batch of chicken nuggets or a KFC drumstick the same again after reading this story. If this book does not put you off on eating chicken...ah, forget it. I am still a chicken eater and will probably always will be, even after reading this. In fact, I have a hankering for a spicey chicken sandwich right about now.

I did ponder during this story whether the author has a fondness or hatred for poultry based on the tone and tenor of this original recipe (yes, I went there) of a novel. It is hard to tell, because he makes it abundantly clear that there are three things you need to know about chickens from the outset: They are dirty, they are loud, and they are stupid. But that does not necessarily make them evil or in any way bad. Tasty maybe, but not destined to be diabolical.

In this epic tale of supernatural bantams, supernatural houses, and supernatural beings that dwell inside Chicken Exorcists (the ghosts of chicken exorcists past?), we are given the chance to see the world from both the chicken eye view (very low to the ground, where flying tomatoes and rotten eggs are downright irresistable) and the humans who challenge them.

While this story was perhaps a bit long in the beak from the standpoint of overall length, the author gives us a tremendously detailed farce that reminds me somewhat of something that Terry Pratchett might produce, footnotes and all. The sly, somewhat serious but not taking itself serious tone is pitch perfect for a story of this magnitude. For a independently produced work the editing and flow of this story is outstanding, with both likeable and dispicable characters including annoying, arrogant Frenchmen, which is something every story should have.

Overall, a terrifically amusing and entertaining tale of a man, his chickens, a rooster on steroids, the house they live in, and the exorcist who would somehow dare to save them all.

The Complete Angler - Izaak Walton and Chalres Cotton

This book deserves a place in a collection of great angling books, such as those of John Geirach, Henry Middleton and Scott Waldie. It is really two books and an odd sort of middle section on property rights and fishing (funny how some issues have not changed much since the late 17th century). It has some wonderful discourses on not just fishing but the lifestyle and philosophy of fishing. There are some sections and descriptions that can be tedious but they minor compared to the overall wonderful dialogue of the majority of the book.

The first section is written by Izaak Walton and, to me, was Canterbury Tales-esque, is it's older English language (which is entertainingly preserved) and its format. Three travelers - a fisherman (angler), hunter and falconer meet. In the course of discussing the merits of their activities the angler convinces the hunter to come along fishing with him (after seeing a hunt with hounds). Over the course of a few days on the rivers of England, the angler turns the hunter to the quiet joys of angling. He goes through the fish in England and all the baits and methods of fishing for them as well as how to prepare each of them. I had never through of carp of chubs and fish to eat, but after some of the descriptions in this book, I may have to give the a second look someday. The first book is as much of a celebration of the social and contemplative nature of angling as it is descriptions and methods of fishing. Interspersed are encounters with the local farmers, milker and inn-keepers as well as the talking over of the days activities among friends. But the highlight of this first section, and in my opinion the entire book, is the parting words of the angler to the hunter of how angling is a life philosophy that departs sharply from the hustle and bustle of the capitalist life. The first book is replete with references to early Christianity and its admonitions against looking to wealth for happiness.

There is an odd middle section about property rights and fishing which serves as a rather odd bridge to Charles Cotton's section. This book focuses on fishing for trout and graylings in a small section of England. If found the wordy descriptions of the flies by month to be tedious and the lack of philosophical discussion of fishing to be a little disappointing of an end.

Five days of fishing along the river Lea which joins the Thames near London is the background on which the cheerful narrative of The Compleat Angler is laid. The splendid civil conversation of Latin named Piscator, Venator, Auceps, Viator, and Piscator Junior is a joy to hear. Shakespeare was just publishing his first work when Izaak Walton was born in 1593 in Stafford. Walton retired in his early fifties and traveled about rural England visiting friends, fishing, and writing in his easy-going fashion. After publication of The Compleat Angler in 1653 he continued to add to it in his leisurely way for the next quarter century. Samuel Johnson praised the book in the eighteenth century and later Charles Lamb recommended The Compleat Angler to Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 'It breathes the very spirit of innocence, purity, and simplicity of heart,' he noted. 'It would sweeten a man's temper at any time to read it; it would Christianise every angry, discordant passion; pray make yourself acquainted with it.'
The Compleat Angler is a true classic of English literature that owes it's esteem not to advice about fishing but to Izaak Walton's pre-occupations and exquisite manner. Subtitled The Contemplative Man's Recreation the pages glow with delight in the hills and dales, woods and streams of the beloved countryside. Walton conveys a message of meek thankful fellowship and peace to all "honest, civil, quiet men". 'The Compleat Angler is not about how to fish but about how to be,' said novelist Thomas McGuane. 'Walton spoke of an amiable mortality and rightness on the earth that has been envied by his readers for three hundred years.'

This is surely one of the earliest books available to the modern angler. But it's worth distinguishing 'anglers' from 'fishermen'. I take 'anglers' to be people who go after fish for fun or sport or pleasure and 'fishermen' to be people who go after fish for work.

The first thing to be said about Izaak Walton's book, is that it is a play followed by a text book. The second thing, is that it's in a foreign language even to the English, because it was first published in 1653 when the author was 60. A ripe old age in England in those days.

Walton was essentially a biographer. He got paid for it - often commissioned as a good artist might. He wrote 'The Life of Donne' - a poet who even I've heard of. He's alleged to have been a prosperous merchant, but it doesn't really matter. Great angling writers like Richard Walker were engineers. Old school writers like George Skues, were public school educated solicitors in London practices who took the train to the chalk streams of Winchester in Hampshire at weekends, tying flies as they went.

The play concerns three people who meet by chance and get into conversation about their interests. They're travelling at a walk, and so they lighten their journey with convoluted conversation. Before long, it develops into a bit of a competition. Walton is the angler (Piscator). Another gentleman is keen on falconry (Venator) and yet another is keen on hunting (Auceps).

If you tire of 17th century banter, skip forward to the chapters on each particular species of fish, which will ring true immediately. To me it's a revelation that these friendly old fish will still fall for the same tricks as Walton was playing on their ancestors over 350 years ago.

Three hundred fifty years ago Izaak Walton wrote of the curious blend of inner peace and giddy excitement which the amateur naturalist finds at streamside. He invites us to stroll with him through the countryside, discussing the mythology, superstition, and the science of England's aquatic fauna. It is an unrushed journey, though we often arise at sunrise, and the author introduces us to many of the local inhabitants. Indeed, if our fishing is successful, we might exchange our catch for the song of a pretty milkmaid. The Compleat Angler is a brief book, and Walton's intent is to hook the reader, and encourage him to try fishing for himself: "I do not undertake to say all that is known...but I undertake to acquaint the Reader with many things that are not usually known to every Angler; and I shall leave gleanings and observations enough to be made out of the experience that all that love and practise this recreation, to which I shall encourage them." Interestingly, Walton starts off on the defensive, since the fisherman's passion was even then caricatured. By the end the reader has joined the "Brotherhood of the Angle," making artificial flies and enjoying the poetry of fishing: "The jealous Trout, that low did lie, Rose at a well-dissembled fly." To the modern ear Walton's literal belief in naturalists' old wives tales may seem humorously anachronistic, and it comprises a remarkably large part of his affection for his subject. We are also frequently reminded of the book's timeline with comments such as "...the Royal Society have found and published lately that there be thirty and three kinds of Spiders," while we now know that there are thirty thousand species of Arachnids. And the Brotherhood of the Angle is a genuine fraternity to Walton, "...I love all Anglers, they be such honest, civil, quiet men." The prospective reader must also be disabused of the misconception that Walton was a purist for artificial lures; he strongly recommends worms, minnows, and live flies. In Walton's watery world there is no dry humor, only fresh. Following his description of the twelve most effective artificial flies he says, "Thus you have a jury of flies likely to betray and condem all the Trouts in the river." And here he compares the beautiful coloration of a living trout to...well, you'll see: "Their bodies [are] adorned with such red spots, and...with black or blackish spots, as give them such an addition of natural beauty as, I think, was never given to any woman by the artificial paint or patches in which they so much pride themselves in this age." At the risk of taking some of the surprise out of the book, I here present a sample of Walton's fishing secrets: "Take the stinking oil drawn out of Polypody of the oak by a retort, mixed with turpentine and hive-honey, and anoint your bait therewith, and it will doubtless draw the fish to it." I would guess that Walton wasn't much of a cook, however, and I do not recommend his recipe for eel (partially skinning it, packing the viceral cavity with nutmeg and anchovy, cutting off the head, slipping the skin back over the body, and sewing it together where the head formerly was, then barbecuing it on skewers). Walton's affection for fish and fishing extends beyond the aquatic nobility of trout and salmon, to the often ignored commoners: gudgeons, sprats, bleaks, herns, tench, roach, umber, loach, and sticklebag. And as for the importance of fishing in Walton's world: "I envy not him that eats better meat than I do, nor him that is richer, or that wears better clothes than I do; I envy nobody but him, and him only, that catches more fish than I do."

Walton uses the perspective of an enthusiastic angler to promote a lifestyle of reflectiveness, gentle humor, and appreciation for nature. The book is easy to read, despite being first published in the 1600s.
The Coachwhip Publications reprint edition (ISBN 1930585209) is inexpensive and contains Cotton's "Part 2," written at Walton's request for the fifth published edition of "The Compleat Angler."

I frequently buy instructional books about basketball, and this is the best one I have ever encountered. It is very thorough and covers all aspects of the game.

More for coaches or for parents of players. My kid didn't read it, but I did and found it helpful in explaining points of the game. Good buy, but don't expect the kids to read it.

This book is a must for all coaches. It will improve you skill as a coach and help your players be winners. I love this book I will share with the others.

Stan Caldwell
GERMANY

I really liked how the book was layed out. Easy to find the information you wanted. Very informative, easy to read and understand.

As a basketball coach who reads a lot of books, coaching materials, and so forth for personal use and for my hoopsu.com reviews, I have read many so-called 'guides to basketball'. Some are decent, but most of them are so basic and watered-down that you could learn more watching an 8-year old in her driveway. The Complete Guide To Girls' Basketball is not one of those books.

The Complete Guide To Girls' Basketball is far and away the most complete book I have read on the basics, fundamentals, and strategies of basketball. This is a great book for coaches at all levels; girl's or boy's. Coach Mullaney didn't just slap some notes between a book cover; he obviously put forth a lot of time and effort writing this book. It is extremely well organized, easy to read, and simple to understand.

The main thing I like about this book, in comparison to many of the other 'guides', is that it goes well beyond the basic cookie-cutter information. The basics are discussed, but Coach Mullaney goes further and describes more in-depth and pertinent topics, ideas, and drills. That is why this book is not only great for the first-time coach, but also for even the most experienced of coaches at all levels of play.

I also really enjoy Part One of the book, where Coach Mullaney guides you through developing your own plan, philosophy and communication skills. This is an area I would have found invaluable when I first began coaching.

The Complete Guide To Girls' Basketball also details offense, defense, and special situations by breaking down all the skills involved and teaching how to perform them effectively. The drills section is also very well put together with over 200 exceptional drills - with easy to follow diagrams. All facets of the game are touched on so you can use these drills to help prepare yourself or your team.

The title says, 'The Complete Guide to Girls' Basketball', which it most certainly! If you coach girls basketball, this book is must-have addition to your library. If you coach boys basketball, I also recommend this book...there are so many great ideas in here it is worth checking out! If you want to improve your coaching knowledge and coaching skills, The Complete Guide to Girls' Basketball deserves a look!

This book was extremely helpful in finding out exactly what the Course is all about.

When someone asked me last week what I thought of "A Course in Miracles", I realzied that although I had heard the name for years I knew *nothing* of what it was, where it came from, or what it taught.

Mr. Miller's book did a good job of explaining what the Course is, and the gist of it's message. In the course of this, he convinced me that Helen Schuckman had a genuine spiritual experience -- something I was prepared to doubt, before.

I am not a "seeker" -- I have an active & fulfilling spiritual life, that does not include the Course. And I have neither the time nor desire to read The Course as a primary text, simply to learn *about* it.

Because of this, I found Mr. Miller's book invaluable.

This book was extremely helpful in finding out exactly what the Course is all about.

When someone asked me last week what I thought of "A Course in Miracles", I realzied that although I had heard the name for years I knew *nothing* of what it was, where it came from, or what it taught.

Mr. Miller's book did a good job of explaining what the Course is, and the gist of it's message. In the course of this, he convinced me that Helen Schuckman had a genuine spiritual experience -- something I was prepared to doubt, before.

I am not a "seeker" -- I have an active & fulfilling spiritual life, that does not include the Course. And I have neither the time nor desire to read The Course as a primary text, simply to learn *about* it.

Because of this, I found Mr. Miller's book invaluable.

This book does a good job of orienting an ACIM student to most that has been written about it minus Gary Renard's two books. For me it was a little boring at first simply because I had previously read Ken Wapnick's "Absence from Felicity" which in my opinion IS the complete story of ACIM. Mr. Miller starts with ACIM "light" material and progresses to the more intense material to include the Wapnick material. I enjoyed the critiques of ACIM. Specifically Needleman's reference to jumping into an inner transformative spiritual practice before one experiences an outer spiritual practice...."You could compare the esoteric core of a religion to a very pure, high-octane fuel. Put it into a Volkswagen, and the car will go like hell for a mile before it blows apart." What I really took away from this book was located in chapter 6. Roger Walsh's & Frances Vaughan's analysis of the world's great religions and what they have in common with ACIM. This part of the book offers what I consider great wisdom. Finally it just continues to fascinate me to read about the ruthless ACIM haters from the fundamental Christians. They are the ones who fear ACIM most. It is ironic that the one they worship as the Son of God is the same one who wrote ACIM. They fear a Divine thought system of forgiveness and that is exactly why He was crucified over two thousand years ago.

This is a wonderful book, extremely well written by an informed, and talented author. He answers all the pertinent questions from history to heresy. If you're interested in the Course, read this book. If you've tried and failed to get through the Course, read this book. And if you think you're NOT interested in the Course, then by all means, read this book!

(I am adding this note a couple of years after the initial review. When I first wrote this I was unfamiliar with Mr. Miler.)

D. Patrick Miller is the guy who published Gary Renard's The End of the Universe, which I believe to be a remarkably successful fiction and a real disservice to spiritual seekers. A Course in Miracles is a book. Given that it's simply a book and far from an easy read, anyone can present their interpretation.

If you have a fresh coloring book you can fill it in with whatever you want. You don't even have to stay in the lines. The book can't defend itself. That doesn't make your 'contribution' to it either Art or Truth.

Having said that, let me go on to say that this is still a fine book, with good writing and good reportage. But don't do as I did and take this honest book as evidence of sincerity in regard to the author's involvement with anything beyond these two covers.

With this book Mr. Miller has done something for which Course students will be thankful for generations to come, detailed the unusual and complicated history of "A Course In Miracles." He has also interviewed and profiled the key players in Course commentary: Kenneth Wapnick PhD and Gloria Wapnick (founders of "Foundation for A Course In Miracles"), Marianne Williamson (author of "A Return to Love"), Gerald Jampolsky (author of "Love is Letting Go of Fear"), members and former members of Endeavor Academy are interviewed, and Tara Singh (author of "How to Learn From A Course In Miracles") is mentioned. Though not interviewed, the two Course co-scribes, Helen Schucman and William Thetford, are profiled as well (with a picture of them, the only picture in the book, included).

The Course is not easy to classify. It has Christian themes and terminology, but it's not Christianity. It has the compassion of Buddhism, but it's not Buddhist. It has Hindu-like non-duality, but is not Hindu. It has the Freudian analysis of the ego, yet it's not pure psychoanalysis. It was "channeled," but it's not Edgar Cayce. It is currently embraced mostly by those within the "New Age," but it contains no rituals or crystal gazing, no mention of UFOs or planetary alignment, no aura work, no meditations, no chants, no laying-on-of-hands, no directions for group work, no lessons on the development of psychic powers, and none of the "positive thinking" and prosperity consciousness that is the hallmark of most New Age paths. In fact, since the Course's aim is removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence, Kenneth Wapnick has commented that the Course could even be termed "negativism" because it encourages its readers to look at, and not deny, the mess they have made of their own lives and minds. What category, then, does the Course fit into? None. It will have to define its own genre. This will be a long time coming; but by writing this book, D. Patrick Miller has aided in creating the category the Course must define for itself.

A fascinating thing about D. Patrick Miller is that while he is a student of the Course, he admits that there are aspects of the Course that he is not completely comfortable with - the Christian language of the Course being one, the exclusive use of male terms to refer to the Divine being another. Mr. Miller has even stated that the Course, and its origin, sometimes just seems "too strange" for him to believe. This frankness adds a dimension of honesty that any reader would appreciate. Mr. Miller is a beautiful writer, and this book not only details the interesting history of the Course and how it was scribed, it also gives a brief introduction to Course theory and metaphysics and how it compares to other religions. One of my favorite sections of this book is the "personal stories" section where "students" (to be a student of the Course simply means you read the three books [recently published as a three-in-one volume]) relate how they found the Course, how it has effected their lives, and how much of the Course theory they accept or reject (some students accept the Course theory completely, some accept only aspects of it, some mix the Course with other spiritual teachings).

As is my usual custom with books that touch me, I wrote to the author to thank him for his work. Mr. Miller kindly replied to my letter and even aided further in my understanding of Course theory. I am very thankful for the aid he gave me, and I am thankful that he wrote this book. I continue to reference "The Complete Story of the Course" from time to time and I am always amazed to find interesting passages that I seemed to have missed before. I always recommend this book to people interested in the Course, either as potential students or people simply curious about the phenomenon.

I found the basic knowledge for understanding the computational fluid dynamics. If you have "computational fluid dynamics, Hypersonic and high temperature of gas dynamic" and a software for solve linear system and EDO( like Mathenatica), you could make computational fluid dynamic.Also clarify "Time-dependent approach to the steady state","classification of quasi-linear partial differential equations","Implicit and Explicit methods","Boundary-fitted coordinate","Time and space marching".

In my opinion, this is the best book I have read in all my engineering life. The beauty of this book is in the author's ability to exactly understand what the students difficulties could possibly be and also help in removing the difficulties. NOBODY must read any other cryptic CFD book before he ventures into this superlative text. While reading this book I had a feeling of some professor standing in front of me, teaching with love in a simple and clear language. Believe me, you can finish the entire book in one sitting if you have some background in Fluid dynamics since it is downright clear, conveying and interesting.

I personally have not found a teacher better than this book.

This is a very easy book to read. Anderson not only explains the computational methods, he covers the basics and explains the relevance of the equations and terms. This book addresses the needs for people with little background on this subject. I recommend it for any novice interested in obtaining a basic introduction to CFD.

If you want to learn CFD from the beginning, you must buy this book. It is simply the BEST, and I hadn't enjoyed reading a technical book since long time ago.

I am presently in my 4th year of a PhD in Astrophysics. While my background in the analytic portion of Fluid Dynamics is strong my understanding of how one discretizes and solves these equations numerically is somewhat lacking.

I picked this book up as a starting point to more complicated methods and found it to be, hands down, one of the best texts I have ever read. It presents the material in a concise, clear, and physically motivated fashion which makes learning the topic incredibly straightforward.

While this book is only a 'kicking off' point for more advanced techniques I think it is a must read for beginners and intermediate users. For the first timer to CFD the book will get you started down the right path armed with all the preliminary tools. For the more advanced user it will put aspects of the topic into an easier to understand light and perhaps shed more light on fundamentals that were presented poorly elsewhere.

I'd give it ten stars, it's allowed me to crack into the code I'm using and really understand why it works as well as having set me down the path to a more advanced level of understanding of CFD.

Very good book. One of the few places you will a lot of trees published

I own and operate a nursery using both of these books as a primary resource when purchasing conifers from growers. When customers refer to these books at our library, they comment on how beautiful the many conifers are available. My only wish the book had w/b zone hardiness and growth habit. Buy it. ProGardens, Inc. East Amherst, New York.

This set of 2 books has an enormous amount of photographs. In fact, what is meant by an Illustrated Encyclopedia is that it is composed solely of photographs. There is no text other than the captions. Photograph quality is generally good, although some are of juvenille specimens and don't show mature form. It is also clear that culture plays a large part in the mature form in many cases, and it would be nice to show various specimens rather than just one. Still, this is an essential resource to have in your library if you want to know about garden conifers. You'll just need additional resources as well.

Two world authorities compiled this outstanding conifer book featuring 2347 excellent, sharp photos reproduced beautifully on high quality paper. Each picture was taken at the proper distance to show the tree's outstanding detail. Captions are a sentence or two with location often included. For detail use a good companion book such as the Manual of Cultivated Conifers by Krussmann. Imperative for landscapers and a joy for tree lovers -- a bargain at the cover price. A quality book clearly at the top of my list of favorites.

pictures are great !!butlacks the necessary info on growing,care,climate zones&changes of sasons on the plants.but i love it for all it's visual contents

If you are looking for a resource on premortal existence, and how the belief in such is found in virtually every culture in the world - then you have to read this book! At first the book is very overwhemling, but as you get into it you see how the Carmans didn't miss a thing. I'm not sure if I've ever seen anyone cover a subject quite as in depth. Every once in a while a book comes along that you know you will refer to for years and years to come, and this is one of those books! I am happy that I found it, and it will always hold a special place in my library. Again - WELL DONE!

I was surprised how little I enjoyed this book. I had been wanting to read a book on the topic for years, and finally got this one at a greatly reduced price...only to be bored by it for the most part. It is over 700 pages, and that is a big plus, in my opinion; but between the massive historical accounts, and the current personal accounts, I was left simply...bored. Nothing in it seemed particularly touching or intriguing. Maybe it's just me...maybe I'm not as interested in the subject matter as I thought I was at one time.

A counterpart of the Near-Death Experience is the conscious memory of a spiritual pre-existence that may occur mainly among young children. Elizabeth and Neil Carman have produced a very extensive and richly illustrated overview of more than 700 pages of anything related to this topic. They give attention to the most diverse cultures and thinkers. Of course many authentic experiences surrounding a pre-existence are included as well.

The mere fact that a concept is almost universal obviously does not mean that it must be true. Almost any ethnic group used to believe that the sun revolved around the earth rather than the other way round. For this reason, the book continually combines personal experiences with ancient traditions. These often overlap, e.g. in stories among the Australian Aboriginees about spirits in the Dream World that try to get in touch with possible future parents. If a father does not dream about his children-to-be, his wife will not be able to get to pregnant.

During NDEs people may also get impressions of souls who want to be born and sometimes they are reminded of the task they accepted to make this possible. This matches so called announcing dreams in cases of children who - after birth - recall a past life. I particularly liked a survey of traditional theories that might explain why most of us do not have any conscious memories of a pre-existence (anymore).

Based on their study of the relevant literature, the Carmans conclude, just like e.g. Pim van Lommel, that human consciousness and memory may exist independently of brain activity.

An example of memories of another world concerns Katarina (pp. 522-526). As a child she recalled that she had come from a world of pure light where she used to enjoy the freedom of not having to endure the limitations of a physical body. In this world she decided to choose for a particular life and a specific family. Another example is that of two-year-old Alan (pp. 550-551). When his aunt Lida died, he asked his mother who had 'taken' her. His mother told him that it was someone his aunt had known. 'Alan's face lit up. "Oh I know what it's like! Grandpa Clark brought me when I came to you. He'll probably take me back when I die."' In this life, Alan had never met his Grandpa Clark, as the latter had died 10 years before his birth.

Books are never perfect, and of course this book is no exception. The authors sometimes refer to cases that don't possess a lot of evidential value. Also, they close the book with sometimes odd spiritual tips, especially where they recommend avoiding loud music, rap and rock and roll (p. 663). However, I certainly hope that the subject of a spiritual existence prior to earthly life will become a lot less exotic through the admirable efforts of Elizabeth and Neil Carman.

I gave this book five fully earned stars because it is such a magnificently crafted exploration of claims that premortal spirits contract with birth parents, laying out life plans and even the infant's name. This impressively assembled book, reporting wide-eyed wonders world-wide, is thus a towering tribute to the robust wellness of human gullibility across our planet, there still being an obviously huge demand for the a-scientific thinking which this book so beautifully displays. It will have profound appeal to the irrational masses of wishful wonderers absent of knowledge of genuine psychology, devoid of knowledge of genuine genetics. One must sincerely admire the physical and mental stamina of authors capable of devoting so much time and meticulous attention to dorky detail of trivial tripe, reveling in the thick of thin things, celebrating the sin of sensibleness and exulting in our eternal appetite for abject absurdity.

Fascinating! The Carmans asked the pre-life questions, then painstakingly did the research, their information is not just from the West, but from worldwide cultures. This book is a goldmine! Beautifully organized and compiled.