S Books

This book outlines a simple and positive approach to maintaining intimacy with loved ones. It encourages us to look to the innate wisdom we all possess for answers to life's questions. Pransky's work is based on the inspiration provided by Syd Banks. I have been fortunate enough to attend a number of workshops led by Dr. Pransky and his associates and I came away with an awareness that has revolutionized my life. My partner and I love and cherish one another and we read this book to help us make things even better between us.
Sadly, the book was shipped in very wasteful packaging, a practice followed by too many Amazon sellers in this time of increasing shipping costs.

This book is really awesome because it's very positive and made me much more hopeful about my relationship and actually spurred me to set a date for my wedding!

bought a present for a member of the family - Amazon made it easy and affordable

As CEO Coach, Poet and author of a leadership book that helps leaders unleash their genis, the genius of teams and the genius of corporations, I have found the teachings in this book to be of great help to my marrage, but also useful in coaching CEO's who are having problems with team members. The Relationship Handbook is a great work and should be required reading before marrage, or if you are having problems with anyone in your life. Paul David Walker Unleashing Genius: Leading Yourself, Teams and Corporations

This book is a classic. To a great extent it is about building and maintaining a positive outlook on others, and really about everything that comes to us. Highly recommended.

The title Samsara Moon refers to the full moon. The full moon is a symbol of renewal, the beginning of the cycle of all the various phases of the moon that are to follow. With that in mind, I believe Samsara Moon is an apt title for this book.

Samsara Moon begins with the story of Captain Stephen Hamilton, a military man from the Queen's cavalry. Hamilton has dreamed of being in the military and going to India since he was a child listening to his grandfather's military tales. He fulfils his dream and on a trip back to England meets Katherine Grey, the opinionated passion filled beauty woman who captures the military man's heart.

At this point, barely into the first chapter of the book, I thought that Samsara Moon was going to be a beautiful historical love story about the young couple. It was for a few condensed very fast paced pages and then the unthinkable happened, Katherine died leaving behind two children and an utterly broken husband.

What followed in the wake of this tragedy is heart breaking, genuinely realistic, and so filled with hope that I was filled with a myriad of emotion as I followed the journey of Captain Stephen Hamilton.

A great blend of England's colonialism and personal human challenges of family, love and war. I enjoyed every part.

Samsara Moon initially finds our hero, Stephen Hamilton, in the late 19th Century/British Empire era. Soon, the reader is immersed among beautiful images of far-off lands where colorful characters abound. While this tale contains plenty of action to keep the story moving, ultimately Samsara Moon is a tender story of family, faith and determination. S.H. Post has crafted a heartbreaking yet uplifting story full of unexpected and page-turning twists and turns.

Superb debut effort by S.H. Post.

I thought Steve did an excellent job with the Samsara Moon novel. Prior to reading his book my reading interests have been mostly with Crime/Corruption type fictional novels so I was not sure how I would like this Historic Period piece.

Did not take me long to get hooked on this book. Steve's knowledge, vivid descriptives and weaving of historical events made you believe that this was a very true story. His development of the characters in the book really got me interested in and had me rooting for the good ones.

As I got into the book was rooting very hard for Captain Hamilton to persevere and find his way through all his hardships. The fact that he managed to be able to do that and still stay focused on his career with the KDG was very inspiring.

I look forward to the future works of Steve and this book has allowed me to broaden my reading interests.

Samsara Moon struck a special chord with me as I'm currently going thru my own personsal journey in moving to New York City. Throughout the ages, I have amassed friends from various backgrounds: Persian, British, Latin, Asian, etc. etc. This book made me go down memory lane involving my adventures (good & bad) and the wonderful friendships forged along the way. This book made me think of the movie called "Four Feathers", which highlights love, loss, friendship, and nobility. The whole story was seamless and allowed me to get captured in the changing landscapes like a gypsy would do on their travels......

Italy's Emilio Salgari might not have been a great writer, his prose was often clunky, but his books were fast and entertaining, and he was an antiimperialist at a time when the west was imperialist. Who else in the west in the 1880s sympathized with the natives of what would be later be known as the third world?. This was a period when the European powers were scrambling to acquire colonies by force throughout the world, regardless of what its native peoples thought about it. His most celebrated character is Sandokan, a malaysian "pirate" (today, he would have been called a terrorist) fighting against the British Empire in his homeland. His books never achieved any fame in the english speaking world, and given the indictment of the British Empire in many of his books, this is not difficult to explain. He was tremendously popular instead in Latin America throughout much of the 20th century. No wonder that Salgari was among Che Guevara's favourite authors.

I've pecked at the first three chapters using my dictionary. So far, I've read "Charlotte's Web" and the like in Spanish (with a dictionary), and this is a good level for me to learn more of the language.

The story is enjoyable so far. I've shared what I've read with my students, and several seemed interested in the book. It's not short on adventure, to be sure!

I had the pleasure to read Salgari's books since I was a 9 years old kid in spanish. I still remember the characters in the different series of books (I am now 40 !). I will never forget Sandokan and Yanez, The black corsair with her beloved Honorata or the series of the Damascus Lion and Captain Storm.

All Salgari books are recomended for kids from 5 to 95, if you have the chance to get them, there are more than 80 amazing adventures available (most of them very dificult to find).

Enjoy Salgari books, you won't have any regrete !

With Salgari the reader gets a mix of Verne and Dumas together. It is a shame that his titles are so difficult to find in English. Maybe because the "bad" guys are the British! Common get over it! These are just adventures of the best kind.

Storms, battles and twisted plots in mysterious Malasian islands that open kids eyes to the world. All before Internet and Satellite TV. With Salgari you travel around the world with a book, find the Taymir submarine adventures, superb!

Some day I will get the books from the Sandokan series I have not read.

As all the reviewers, it is a real shame that the readers that not speak spanish can't get all this series. I read all Sandokan series when I was a child and I had 8 years old, and I liked it so much at the grade that I re-read all the series again. The Sandokan books that I know was written by Emilio Salgari are:

Sandokan
The pirate's woman
The malasian pirates
The stranglers
The two rivals
The malasian tigers
The king of the sea
The Mompracem's reconquer
The fake bracman
The fall of an empire
In the indian jungles
The vengeance of Yañez

It is important to mention that between The King of the Sea and the Mompracem's reconquer there are other two books that talk about the reconquer of the former Sandokan's kingdom. These tales are named Sandokan and The Vegeance of Sandokan.

That is the reason of when we read the Reconquer of Mompracem we read that Sandokan is now a king of a Bornean kingdom.

I recommend highly this series and it will be one of my favorites all time.

My husband gave me this book for Christmas last year, because months ago I had mentioned that it was one of my favorite childhood books and I was very chagrined that evidently I had not saved it. I read it again, about 47 years after my first reading, and loved it just as much, maybe even more.
Before I read it, for extra interest I tried to remember everything I could about it. It was amazing to me that I could remember so many little details, even some of the expressions that the children used.
I intend to read it to my grandchildren when the time comes.

This is by far my most favourite book from my childhood. Your child will fly away with the children and visit all the exotic times and places. I great jumping point for parents to explain history in more detail to their kids.

Great for ages 7/8 and up.

This book was my all time favorite children's book. My mother had it as a child and read it to me when I was around three. Once I learned to read I re-read it several times. I most recently read it again this summer and I can't wait to read it to my future children.

I read this book as a child,simply for the story. Now, as an adult, and a would-be educator (wannabe, really) I find myself coming back to the story of the children and their magic ship again and again. As I grew older, I read grander tales of more complicated magic... and greater historical scope... but every now and then, I would return to this story. It gives a different taste of magic... the Norse tradition is too little explored, at times; and a smattering of several interesting periods in history... Norman England, Egypt in the time of the great pharaohs.... even a visit to the Norse gods themselves. Age constraints notwithstanding... a good literature is good literature. Given the current resurgence in magic in children's literature... this deserves a reprint!!

This is a wonderful book, which I've read dozens of times, and it still moves me. I first read it 40 or more years ago, and when I found it again recently, I was just as enchanted by it, and now appreciate it on other levels. I still want to wander a tiny English seaside town and find my own magic ship.
I recommend it to anyone-children, teens, adults, seniors. It has something for everyone.

This is a very readable, engaging, and concise look at the U.S. Civil war by Fletcher Pratt (1897-1956). This book first arrived in 1935, but don't worry about its antiquity. This is an excellent account of that tragic conflict, and you should enjoy it whether you are a Civil War buff or one with only a casual interest. Pratt concentrates heavily on the major battles and events, and tells the story of this bloody conflict in concise and readable detail. As one who has read superb in-depth accounts of specific campaigns or occurences by James McPherson and Bruce Catton, I'd recommend these two excellent authors for indepth reading. For a solid, concise, general history, Pratt has the ticket.

Where I thought the book was really outstanding was in the occasional observations about the big picture that the author threw in occasionally. For example, this is the first book where I have read that the North's oft cited advantage in men and machines at the start of the war was not as great as most claim. Also interesting was the observation that it was the battle at Chickamauga that was more important than Gettysburg. Agree or disagree, I really liked these observations when they happened.

What disappointed me was that the battles were dealt with in such a cursory way that they were hard to follow. Probably a necessity when dealing with the entire war in 480 pages. But Gettysburg, for example, took only about 15 pages. It was hard to get a sense of the drama and the personalities involved. Little was mentioned of Stuart's disappearance and late arrival to the battle or of Chamberlains desperate defense and repulse. Also, there were few dates given in the book. If you are already knowledgeable about the Civil War, this may not matter, but if not, it could be a problem... especially since the author sometimes follows one campaign to it's conclusion then backtracks in time to pick up the thread of another campaign.

This book's value, to me, came in those moments where the author put aside simply recounting events and offered up some insights into the bigger picture. I'd recommend this book most to people who know a bit about the war already but want to get some new insights.

I have the new edition of this book, I bought it soon as I saw it sitting on a store shelf, despite already having 5 or 6 copies of the old pocketbook sized editions. I love this book. If you are going to read only one history of the civil war, make it this one. If you are going to spend the rest of your life reading histories of the civil war, start with this one.

It would take thousands of words to express the reasons I love this book. But somehow that wouldn't be appropriate. What I will say is this:

Bruce Canton could spend two pages discribing a muddy campaign, and you will come away knowing it was muddy and what a loggistical problem that was. Shelby Foote could spend a chapter on a muddy campaingn and you will come away knowing it was muddy and how much the troops complaigned about it and maybe a funny incident or two. Fletcher Pratt could spend a paragraph or two on that campaign, and when done you'll notice your leg's hurt. Why? Because you didn't want to get mud on your couch.

What can I say about this book? Well, how about in a lifetime of reading many books on the Civil War, both good and great, this one stands head and shoulders above them all. While more ink than the blood that was spilled has been used by many others to explain this terrible war, Pratt managed to capture the essence of the conflict in a short, brilliant book.
Pratt was a military historian of the first rank, but was also known for clever and exciting high fantasy stories. Perhaps it was this versatility that honed his storytelling ability to the sharp edge that we see here. While not missing a single important detail of politics, causes, battles, and personalities, he weaves an engrossing tale from start to finish, and creates a solidly researched history that is also a page-turner. This book is a joy to the student of the Civil War, but also appeals to those with no particular interest in that conflict, solely on the merit of Pratt's tight storytelling.
This book was written in 1935, and much new material on the Civil War has surfaced since then. Others, such as Shelby Foote, Bruce Catton and James McPherson have written much longer and more comprehensive works on the war that are excellent in their own right. Yet this little book still shines out as a gem among them. With its solid scholarship, sharp storytelling, and precise choice of details, it is the first rate Cliff Notes to the Civil War.

Theo Logos

I first read this book when I was about nine years old, having fished it out of my parents' bookcase to while away some idle hours. Eventually, I wore out its fragile binding and was left with a heap of pages until one day, on a visit to Washington DC, I was delighted to find a fresh copy in a second-hand bookstore. To this day, if I crave entertainment and inspiration, I take this book down from the shelf and open it at random. Whatever chapter - paragraph! - I choose is bound to shine.

Just how accurate or balanced Pratt's account of the Civil War is, I do not know. I have not read any other books about it. But he has made Grant, Lee, Lincoln, Stanton, Davis, McLellan, Hooker, Sherman, Sheridan, Bragg, Jackson, Stuart and dozens of others come alive for me.

Aged nine, I did not understand all the long words by any means. (What on earth was the "Dithyramb of Shiva", and what was an "Experiment in Tauromachy"?) But I loved them, and almost always figured out the meaning by the context.

In a way, Pratt made it possible for me to study history at university many years later. He inoculated me against the idea that history has to be boring, because I had such a stunning counter-example at the back of my mind. There are very few books of fiction that I have read that come anywhere near being so entertaining.

Anyone who hasn't read this book really ought to, if they have the slightest interest in military matters and delight in fine writing. Just one tip: if you can get hold of a hardback, it will last longer. The paperback gets fragile after a few readings, and the pages are apt to fall out unless you hold it very carefully.

I was living in Cambodia when I came across this book, following the recommendation of one of my English friends. I bought the book, opened it... and could no longer put it down! This book came as a complete eye-opener to me, on both how America had conducted its war across Indochina, but also on how Cambodia's history had/has been so intimately intermixed with Sihanouk's.

If you are into learning the backside of what we could all dub "official history", then this book's for you. You will no longer look at Kissinger, Nixon or Westmoreland with the same candid, obedient and servile eyes after reading it. Packed with previously unheard-of accounts, reports, testimonies, following a clean, highly intelligent argumentation methodology, Sideshow acts as a real bulldozer on the reader, repeatedly confronting him/her with loads of devastating illustrations of unsound decisions, hidden political actions, secret wars of influences etc. It is certainly one of the punchiest, journalism-based historical account I have ever read, whatever the subject.

It shed a completely new and intense light onto the poor -though touching- little country I was living in then, and forever changed the way I looked at politics, diplomacy and intelligence.

Shawcross gets into the minds of Kissinger and Nixon so well. His is a book to be read over and over again to see the working of the U.S. Government and how it can destroy a country. He talks about the 25 pound shark at the bottom of a swimming pool full of children -- and we understand how the USA's leaders destroyed a country. It is a lesson to be learned over and over again as we go about destroying other countries. This is one great read - worthy of the time it takes to understand it. A victory for the author over Mr. Kissinger.

This book has managed to live on, which is perhaps unfortunate - historically speaking, it's far more relevant to contemporary geopolitics than it should be.

In any case, SIDESHOW has managed to stand as one of the better books on Cambodia, and America's involvement in Cambodia (Elizabeth Becker's WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER is a must-read as well). One could debate Shawcross' perspectives, but his research is meticulous and has withstood many attacks, and his depiction of the machiavellian darkness that can creep into foreign policy is chilling and ruthless, and - for better of worse - makes for hypnotic reading, all the more frightening as it's drawn straight from history, research, the Freedom of Information act.

Now more than ever, this is essential reading.

-David Alston

On Junior Day, 2006, I would recommend SIDESHOW by William Shawcross. It contains information about the twentieth century that could be applied to situations that America faces in the world in 2006. The global superpower naturally thinks that everything will be resolved by the application of hyperpower, as Japan suffered a humiliating defeat at the end of World War II when it discovered that the United States was not just fighting a war against Japan, it would nuke their cities to bring about whatever result it wanted. When American troops openly invaded parts of Cambodia, Congress responded by imposing limits which were still in place on April 30, 1973:

"The justification for bombing Cambodia had been to protect Americans in Vietnam. Since October 1970 the Congress had included in every military appropriation bill a proviso expressly forbidding bombing in Cambodia except for that purpose. By the end of March 1973 there were no American troops left in Indochina. Still the bombing of Cambodia increased. The administration now based its case on Article 20 of the Paris Agreement. Rogers now claimed that American withdrawal from Vietnam did not affect the situation in Cambodia, and that Article 20 legalized the bombing `until such time as a ceasefire could be brought into effect.' " (p. 277).

One of the strange things about the invasion of Cambodia was that Nixon made an announcement on April 30, 1970 which attempted to keep all previous secret activities secret:

Ignoring Menu, Nixon began with the lie that the United States had "scrupulously respected" Cambodia's neutrality for the last five years and had not "moved against" the sanctuaries. This falsehood was repeated by Kissinger in his background briefings to the press. That same evening he told reporters that the Communists had been using Cambodia for five years but, "As long as Sihanouk was in power in Cambodia we had to weigh the benefits in long-range historical terms of Cambodian neutrality as against any temporary military advantages and we made no efforts during the first fifteen months of this administration to move against the sanctuary." The next day he said of Sihanouk's rule, "We had no incentive to change it. We made no effort to change it. We were surprised by the development. One reason why we showed such great restraint against the base areas was in order not to change this situation." (p. 146).
In his announcement of the invasion, Nixon stated that his action was taken "not for the purpose of expanding the war into Cambodia, but for the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam"; he would give aid to Cambodia, but only to enable it "to defend its neutrality and not for the purpose of making it an active belligerent on one side or the other." (p. 146).

Currently Iran has a militia of five million, and if Iran were to officially enter a war in Iraq as a result of bombings by Israel, as urged by Vice President Cheney, to remove Iran's nuclear capabilities, even if a bomb based on plans provided by the CIA wouldn't work, Iran has other ways it could strike back. Being subatomic is very much like Cambodia was in 1970, but we shall soon see what issues are about to be submitted to the UN security council, and if it helps or hurts. A blockade created by Iran so American supplies might have more trouble reaching Kuwait and Iraq; oil exports from the region could end; American dollars could fall; the interest on bonds could rise so high that the U.S. government couldn't balance a budget; and some of the world's banks might then be alarmed.

SIDESHOW by William Shawcross is the only book I have in which I can look up Lon Nil in the index. Lon Nil might well be Cambodia's forgotten man. His brother, Lon Nol, declared himself Chief of State as well as Prime Minister and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces when he dissolved the Assembly in October 1971 and assumed emergency rule. (p. 229). In December 1971, an American psychiatrist in the U.S. Army found "his close associates indicate his mental faculties have deteriorated markedly as a result of his February 1971 stroke" (p. 208). On April 1, 1975, at the urging of his brother Lon Non, Lon Nol took half a million dollars and moved to Hawaii. (pp. 357-358). But for me, the best picture of events in Cambodia is the final page of Chapter 8, The Coup, in March 1970, when Lon Nol overthrew Sihanouk, using the hostility of the urban elite and military officers to Sihanouk to justify a power grab by a former Minister of Defense who "had been the principal scourge of the Vietnamese Communists while privately profiting from the thriving covert business that they brought through Sihanoukville." (p. 113). Sihanouk responded by forming a government recognized by Peking on May 5, 1970, shortly after the American invasion announced by Nixon. Sihanouk had flown from Moscow to China on March 18, 1970, but Lon Nil was still in Cambodia:

Rioting broke out in several provinces; opposition was strongest in the market town of Kompong Cham, Cambodia's second city, fifty miles northeast of Phnom Penh. After Sihanouk's radio broadcast, the town filled with peasants, fishermen and rice farmers from the neighborhood. The townspeople refused the government's orders to remove the Prince's portrait, and they burned down the house of the new governor whom Lon Nol had appointed. Demonstrators gathered in buses and trucks to march on Phnom Penh. They were halted by an army roadblock, and after that . . . About ninety people were killed or wounded. (pp. 126-127).

The most vivid display of anger against Lon Nol occurred, again in Kompong Cham, when peasants seized his brother Lon Nil, killed him and tore his liver from his stomach. The trophy was taken into a Chinese restaurant, where the owner was ordered to cook and slice it. Morsels were handed to everyone in the streets around. (p. 127).

Really bad decisions made by the Nixon administration toward Indochina and the Vietnam War are now fairly obvious. However, we must remember how difficult this type of investigation would have been back when Shawcross did his intensive research back in the late 70s. Here Shawcross builds a very hard-to-dismiss case against Nixon and Henry Kissinger, in terms of how their problematic military and diplomatic strategies at least indirectly led to the hideous destruction of Cambodia (in fact, one of Nixon's documented strategies was to make the Communists think he was a madman, assuming they'd get scared and give up).

During the earlier years of the war, Cambodia was a relatively tranquil nation that was trying to remain neutral. But the country was being used as a hideout by North Vietnamese soldiers, leading to bombing by the Americans. Here Shawcross shows how Nixon and Kissinger made use of political trickery and overhyped threats to keep the bombing going to an extent that was far more destructive than necessary. As a bonus, this book also documents the wire-tapping paranoia and unconstitutional shenanigans in the Nixon White House. Shawcross is especially tough on Kissinger, finding that he disregarded the integrity and safety of Cambodia (which he had only ever visited for four hours), in favor of short-term political advantages and unyielding ideology. The relentless bombing destabilized Cambodian society, leading indirectly to the hideous genocide and societal destruction enacted by the Khmer Rouge a few years later. It is difficult to argue with Shawcross' heavily researched conclusions, and the hellish wholesale collapse of Cambodia (of a type never before seen in modern history) becomes all the more poignant as a result.

Be sure to get an edition of this book from 1986 or after, in which Shawcross adds materials from the political firefight that the book ignited. Kissinger was obviously upset and went to great lengths, through articles written by his lackey Peter Rodman, to try and disprove Shawcross' assertions. If your copy of this book contains these articles, you'll be quite bemused by Rodman's evasive, dissembling, and downright condescending rebuttal attempts, which are easily shot down by Shawcross. This war of words in itself proves that Kissinger had, and always will have, a lot to answer for. [~doomsdayer520~]

This book has provided hours of fantastic entertainment for the family. We love looking at the pictures, listening to the sounds and then trying to identify the crickets that we find.
This book should be in every family's library. Get your kids outside and play!

This book and included CD was the answer for learning all the insect sounds on my field recordings and nocturnal adventures. Good pictures for seeing what you heard really looks like, as well as good descriptions with the general range of each species noted. Excellent quality recordings on the CD.

Gorgeous photos, tons of info, and a cd of insect songs as well. If you're at all interest in these critters this is a must have book. Who knew there were so many different kinds of crickets out there?

As other reviewers have stated, this is a remarkable resource for insect identification. I would like to comment on the quality of the images. I found that a remarkable effort and attention to detail that went into these images. In far too many books the conversion of images from digital to print looks like the author doesn't know or doesn't care how his images look. For Lang Elliott this was not the case. He meticulously ensured that the printed images have remarkable depth of field and colors. I found any number of them to be remarkable pieces of photographic art. I felt guilty for only paying $13.57 for this book.

I have long wanted to know what insects I am hearing every summer and now have a chance of knowing which ones they are. The imagery is fantastic. The range maps will be a blessing to my students as they try to determine what type of katydid or cicada and so on they have nabbed for their bug collection.

The audio CD is great too! The only drawback there is that the holding compartment in the back of the book is poor. Right after I got this book I was taking it to school and the brand new CD fell out of the pouch and onto the pavement. Now its scratched and I don't know what to do. I usually make a backup of all my CDs right away but failed to do so with this one!

This book came to my attention when I wrote in my blog about the microphone I positioned in my backyard. I use it to listen to crickets and lots of other creatures out back, sometimes all night long.

I attended an educational session at Milwaukee Area Technical College where Michael was one of the guest speakers. His presentation about his military service in Vietnam, and his healing process in Africa were very vivid. At the end of the session I obtained an autographed copy of his book. Once I started reading it I just could not stop. Each day I completed several chapters. I like his descriptiveness of the settings and the events. It's just amazing how much one person is able to take during military service.

Having served in the army, and completed infantry training at Ft. Polk as Michael, I could easily identify with the events he discussed and followed his presentation which was quite gripping. The book really highlights his presentation in many ways. It is appealing to the senses, and presents a compelling case on the issue of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and its devastating impact on the lives of veterans.

My heart goes out to all of our veterans. Military service is not as glamorous a profession as the recruiters and the news media have portrayed. Many are still suffering from the trauma of war. Hopefully, they will receive the right type of medical treatment. Michael has certainly pulled the covers from over what is not being told to soldiers entering the military. If only they knew, some would probably have taken a different career route. This book is truly educational. It highlights the agony of living with PTSD, and the clash of cultures veterans' battle with on a daily basis while crying out for help. This is a great job Michael. All The Way!!!

Other books to read for relaxation are: Trilogy Moments for the Mind, Body and Soul; Everyday Miracles; and The Language of Poetry Forms.

Michael Orban served as a 20-year-old infantry soldier in Vietnam and in his superbly written autobiography "Souled Out: A Memoir Of War And Inner Peace" takes the reader along on his journey through a disastrous war and into his experiences of loneliness, emptiness, spiritual scarring and psychological destruction. Michael writes candidly of his time in the remote jungles of Africa and a world where humanity is mired in superstitions, omens, black magic, witchcraft, sickness, disease, and every present death. Yet it is also a story of the simplistic beauty in people who are intimately connected to all of life and reverently dependent for purpose on their spirit world and their ancestor worship. Here presented are the oral historians reciting the history of their people, their suffering at the hands of the European colonists. "Souled Out" is also the story of Michael's recovering of spirit and peach through using native resources to build schools, reading the works of Albert Schweitzer while being hospitalized in Gabon, and laughing at Mark Twain's observations and stories. The underlying message of "Souled Out" is that the psychological wounds of war are as serious as the physical ones and can be remedied and recovered from, and that there is relief for and from them. Informed and informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "Souled Out" is highly recommended reading and an especially appropriate addition to community library American Biography collections.

I have know Mike for over 20 years. I married into the Orban fammily in 1985. He mentions in his book about living with us in Florida and how it never occured to him that it wasn't a normal situation. I remember it as being a wonderful time getting to know a very special person that just didn't have the same direction as some of us. He was always interesting to talk to and our boys were blessed to have Uncle Mike around them in their early youth.

Despite his inner struggles, Mike was always a positive person in all of our lives. After reading his book, I am able to better understand what he was trying to deal with in those years that he was with us.

I am so proud o him to have put it in writing to share with the thousands of vets that struggle with this syndrome. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Michael Orban creates a compelling read with his book "Souled Out." Open and honest, he takes us back to Vietnam and helps us understand what happens to the soul when one is faced with such traumatic experiences. His journey through recovery and his experiences are an inspiration to anyone who reads it. Difficult to put down, the messages are invaluable to anyone who has suffered a dramatic loss or event. I was able to apply many of his ideas to my own life.

Mike Orban's book Souled Out, A Memoir of War and Inner Peace is essential reading for anyone who suffers from or has a loved one who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. It gives a clear and "user-friendly" understanding about PTSD. Mike's book is an evocative and quite fascinating glimpse into his post-Vietnam war experience and its impact on every aspect of his life. Moreover, it draws the reader into his healing journey and imbues hope and peace that fill the previously gaping hole of suffering. As a clinical psychologist, I have been recommending this book regularly. Dr. Patti Levin, Boston

I think the book is wonderful. I wanted to attain a better sense of Charles A Lindbergh and what better
way then to read something he wrote. He is a good writer and his character comes through. It is also very
enterntaining and down to the practically of having real substance of history in the book. I am greatful to have read it and attained a glimps of a cherished individual in our aviation history.

This book got a little dry at times but it is a great 1-stop shop for anyone who wants to know everything about the famous flight.

Great account of an adventure. Includes all the early stages, including conception, financing, building, testing, and monitoring the competition. Especially relevant these days with all the X prize comparisons.

The writing of the actual flight is exhaustive, and sprinkled with autobiographical anecdotes to give context and color. His accounts of growing up on a Minnesota farm surely add to the American mythos of self-determination. And his days spent learning to fly through barnstorming and the Army are notable for being enchanting, yet completely straightforward and accurate.

Lindbergh says accuracy is one of his major aims. This adds to the substance of the book, since he examines his mistakes at least as much as his successes. The writing sometimes waxes poetic, as when he says "The dull blade of skill is sharpened on the stone of experience."

Overall, this is a valuable book on many levels. For the historical record of a groundbreaking flight. For the description of the early days of flight, and the adventure and pioneering spirit it embodied. And for the tale of a man who conceived a great project, found the friendly cooperation of others to help him achieve it, worked through many obstacles and setbacks to prepare for it, and then finally executed it well, despite his own human imperfections and mistakes along the way.

Lindbergh took some risks with this book. He wrote it out first person, present tense. (A big "no no".) And he broke up the storyline with frequent flashbacks. Somehow it all works anyway, in spite of or because of these risks.

But, then again, Lindbergh was a risk taker. He put his life on the line with his Paris flight and succeeded gloriously. He does the same thing here, in the literary world, winning the Pulitzer prize.

We should all stop to reflect a moment on how great a coup this was. And how improbable. Lindbergh published this book in the decade following his ill-fated attempt to prevent America's entry into World War II. In many ways his star had fallen with the American public, politically and otherwise. Yet, he was able to resurrect himself through this first-hand story of his great experimental flight. You can't keep a good man (or woman) down.

My favorite part of this book is the section where he refers to his metaphysical experiences during his flight over the Atlantic. He recounts these experiences in more depth in Autobiography of Values, but it is here that they first see the light of day.

This is an enthralling saga of a great moment in the history of aviation, told by the flier himself. It is a unique contribution to world literature, and as such, scarcely needs me to recommend it. Yet, I do so, unreservedly.

Richard Salva--author of Soul Journey from Lincoln to Lindbergh [UNABRIDGED]

Lindbergh's flight solo New York to Paris is still hard to repeat with a small, prop driven, aircraft. It is hard to summarize or constuct a methaphor to measure the impact of Lindbergh's historic flight in today's setting, it was such a great leap forward for mankind.

The flight inspired my father, 14 years old and living on a farm in Wisconsin in 1927, to become a graduate aerospace engineer, and later to work on the design of the P-38, X-15, and the Apollo capsule, among others, many of which he could not even tell me about. It had similar effects and results for thousands of others.

This book is well written and documents not only the flight, but the life of Lindbergh, and the logistics of pulling off this incredible event. After reading this book, I came to the opinion that the planning and logistics (including fundraising and sponsorship) may have been more difficult than the actual flight. We owe much for this leap forward to a group of individuals from St. Louis, who told Lindbergh, "you worry about the design, building, and flying of the aircraft, we will take care of the money". Reading about this portion of the effort alone, provides much food for thought about current corporate management and government projects. A case study in delegation! I found this book interesting, fascinating, well written, and inspiring. The event and the book are timeless. Reading it makes you realize the difference one person can make when perseverance is applied in a large dose.

This book written by Merle Feld was extremely good. I couldn't put it down. Merle takes us on a journey through her early days as a child with lovely poems to enhance our reading and onto her married years where she explores the many areas of women in Judiasm. It is a true story of her journey which I truley enjoyed.

Merle's Feld's poetry is so down to earth and fun to read as to appear simple--and nothing can be further from the truth. Her beautiful and touching poems are little jewels, each reflecting her deep connection to Judaism as well as her own humorous and profound insights into life as a Jewish woman. Through her poems and the personal narrative story that she weaves around them, Merle shares her experiences and journey as a Jewish feminist, mother, daughter, American in Israel, and wife.

This book will speak to anyone, regardless of gender or background, who has ever felt that spirituality is in competition with the overwhelming demands of everyday life. Without offering formulas or prescriptions, Merle's voice speaks to a part of myself that I struggle to find; it says that holiness can be found right in the midst of the most mundane tasks and minutae. It is a transcendent experience in itself to realize that we have the power to transform everyday life into something holy.

"A Spiritual Life" gave me permission to digest my past. At the end of each vignette I was surprised to find myself face to face with "me"-my own experiences of decades ago. I suddenly slowed down and felt deep parts of my life that I had been too frightened to listen to long ago. I keep it on my night table and read it again and again reflecting on my own memories. Reading "A Spiritual Life" has been a healing experience for me.

An amazing story of self-discovery, " A Spiritual Life, A Jewish Feminist Journey" by Merle Feld, fills her book with beautiful prose and poetry. I identified with this book immensely as the author echoed my inner thoughts that I never took the time to write. Ms. Feld voices the struggle to grow and develop into a special person, concerns about doubts how woman relate to others, professional growth and motherhood. She discovers a gift with words and poetry and along the way - confidence. Her book, a triumph of realization and actualization, expresses her developing passion, hones social action and true friendships. Read this book from cover to cover or open the book and select a poem at random. Each poem allows an opportunity to remember who we are, engage in a dialogue with self and friends, to encourage where we need to be in our lives. Several favorite passages discuss marriage, Israel, re- interpretation of some biblical stories, Shabbat and agonies about menstruation. This book will make you a new friend. Excellent!

"A Spiritual Life" gave me permission to digest my past. At the end of each vignette I was surprised to find myself face to face with "me"-my own experiences of decades ago. I suddenly slowed down and felt deep parts of my life that I had been too frightened to listen to long ago. I keep it on my night table and read it again and again reflecting on my own memories. Reading "A Spiritual Life" has been a healing experience for me.