G Books

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I'VE EVER PURCHASED FROM AMAZON, AND I MUST SAY THAT I AM COMPLETELY SATISFIED WITH MY PURCHASE. THE BOOK WAS IN PEFECT/BRAND NEW CONDITION AS DESCRIBE.

I received this book in only three days and it was in better condition than described...Not to mention the awesome price that I got for the book and expedited shipping!! My school wanted $113.00 for the book...psshhh.

This text is required for Psych 103 at Stony Brook Univ., LI, NY
It is excellent.

If you've ever wanted to learn as much as possible from an introductory textbook in the area of Psychology, look no more. This book has served as a tremendous assistant for Psychology, and various other areas of study where psychology is certainly related. If you enjoy learning about cognitive and other behavioral functions of the body, this book is a perfect match!

The authors' use of case studies and real-life examples makes this more than a textbook -- and much more readable than one. I found myself excited about reading each chapter. And I know I'll be looking up things in it in the future. My only quibble is that I found many copyediting errors that I hope the publisher will fix for future editions.

Ross has done a masterful job in bringing together concepts that affect all areas of our lives. You can apply the ideas contained in these pages to improve your home life, work or occupation, social and above all your spiritual growth. Manipulation and control currently breed resentment in those it is being perpetrated upon. Most people don't realize they are doing it. To analyze your own behavior and stop the manipulation will not only improve your own quality of life, but it will also affect those around and close to you. I highly recommend this book!

Ross has done a masterful job in bringing together concepts that affect all areas of our lives. You can apply the ideas contained in these pages to improve your home life, work or occupation, social and above all your spiritual growth. Manipulation and control currently breed resentment in those it is being perpetrated upon. Most people don't realize they are doing it. To analyze your own behavior and stop the manipulation will not only improve your own quality of life, but it will also affect those around and close to you. I highly recommend this book!

The author defines 'Authentic Power' as "the power to consistently obtain what we truly desire" (which is in itself a somewhat question begging definition, but strongly reminiscent of what Senge and others call 'personal mastery'). The book falls most closely into the growing field of books concerned with personal development, with a business audience in mind. It provides a useful review of mental models of power and how they shape our reality and a guide to building power and exercising power through self-empowerment.
Though useful, it does not in my opinion replace Hillman: Kinds of Power: Guides to its Intelligent Uses. (1995)

Authentic power comes from within, but such power is best demonstrated as personal strength and not a desire to impose one's will on others. The Quest For Authentic Power by G. Ross Lawford adroitly blends psychology, theology and business theory to outline a new view of power and how to achieve it - without manipulation.

When I first read this book in the Soring of 2002, I likened it to opening a window and filling my lungs with fresh air. I saw patterns, limits, stumbling blocks I had known and experienced as old style power and could detach from those power sources, even if they came from others.

New possibilities, strengths and creative solutions followed with a new found intentionality for choices made. In 2003 I am convinced the book is invaluable for leadership in volunteerism, and work, and for personal life changes. Now I am pulling the book's ideas forward again to help do some difficult staff training and development.

This is not a long book, but an important read for new perspectives.

M.J. Franklin, Volunteer Leader, Adult Educator, Grandparent and Spouse.

Oxford University press is currently undertaking the massive editorial work required to finish this ground-breaking four-volume set that was started more than 25 years ago. The third volume, covering the alphabetic range of P through Sk, is due to appear in March 2007. Volume IV, covering Sk through Z and including a bibliography of tens of thousands of items, is planned for two years later.(...)

I'm an American slang bug and that's why I'm just chafing at the bit to browse next volumes of this undoubtedly the very best and most comprehensive and authoritative complete on-going dictionary of slang. A lot has been already said and written 'bout this work hence I'm lost for new words of appreciation. On the other hand, however, dear editors, mercy on us, you can't just now dump this big project halfway thru editing thus leaving us, all American slang lovers throughout the English-speaking world in the lurch. There's a glitter of hope, as I heard, to cooperate with Oxford University Press. OK! Go ahead and good luck then but let these words be soon followed by real actions. Sincerely Alex

murdered by the media

These words are no longer in use, as we no longer converse truly and freely as a nation of English and slang speakers

This volume is little more than a nostaligic curio, like Dr. Johnson's dictionary, or the great Ambrose Bierce's better.

The only English slang currently in use is that receptive vocabulary emitted by our media, and not expressive nor creative as our one way media permits no conversation. We are made to listen, to hear, to receive, only. The internet alone allows literacy, and look at the level of written speech there. Yet even there the formerly great oral tongue is lost.

The most vibrant languages heard throbbing through our land are now those not dictated by our anglo media. There alone does the uniquely human aural ability live and breathe. And thus this massive dictionary properly fades away unfinished.

In any case, what anglo librarian would permit its presence in a library?

Intriguing for historical reasons alone. Not useful for comprehending the language one actually hears around oneself, as no living and present language is heard. Just dust off your old Lord Buckley collection instead, or the Mercury recording How To Speak Hip. Not even riding the city bus helps anymore.

Forty years ago our Amrican language was still richer, more diverse, more playful, more subtle. Now we have only whitely phosphorized talking heads bleating how we must speak and thus how we must think, and by limiting our vacabulary limiting our capacity for free thought. Our only hope is a healthy jolt of James Joyce and the trembling Twain.

I must agree with settimio biondi from Italy. Having purchased the first two volumes, we've been waiting for 7 years for P~Z. This is an excellent, comprehensive work. Hopefully, Oxford...or someone with a sense of responsibility...will finish the final volume.

We have been waiting for this dictionary for a long time. Specifically, since 1975 when Harold Wentworth and Stuart Berg Flexner issued their second supplemented edition of the "Dictionary of American Slang."
Editor J.E. Lighter, a researcher at the University of Tennessee, is somewhat disparaging of Wentworth and Flexner, the only previous lexicographers to take a healthy swing at American slang. (I don't count H.L. Mencken, who compiled many lists, but not in a format that a working writer can use.)
Lighter faults their "looseness of definition, unpredictable allocation of citations and a certain historical naivete." Maybe, but their book had, and still has, the most important merit a dictionary can have -- it is useful.
Also, theirs goes through Z, which is more than Lighter can say in 2006, 12 years after his Vol. 1 came out and many more years than that since he began.
Also, Wentworth and Flexner's volume is wieldy. Lighter's dictionary has many excellencies, but handiness is not one of them.
Wentworth and Flexner covered the whole of American English in a small volume of two pounds, six ounces. Lighter covers one-third the ground in a massive folio of six pounds, one ounce.
Lighter is often, but not always, more comprehensive. Take bum.
W&F give this useful word 26 definitions in a page. Lighter gives 29 in three pages, but three of his usages have earliest dates since W&F's last effort. It looks like a draw, but it's not, quite.
W&F give a nice little essay on the finer gradations of meaning of bum (in its sense of vagabond); Lighter is less preachy on usage, letting the extensive quotations do that work for him. This is the approved method for serious work, but although Lighter's citations often seem repetitive, their length does not always ensure completeness, as we shall see.
W&F derive bum from the German bummler, idler, but Lighter appears to think this an example of historical naivete, finding bum sprung full-blown in 1864, without any certain antecedents. (In its sense of fundament, it goes back in English to at least 1387.)
Turn now to cracker. Lighter gives it nearly half a page, in the sense of "a backwoods Southern white person regarded as ignorant, brutal, loutish, bigoted etc.," tracing it to 1766. W&F does not have it at all.
Lighter is clearly ahead here, but there are problems with this definition.
First, it is politically correct but lexically incorrect. A cracker is not a white person but a white man. Like its synonyms redneck and woolhatter, it is never used of a woman.
Second, not one of the 31 citations even hints at a usage that would explain how the Atlanta professional baseball team in the old Sally League (slang for South Atlantic League; I will be interested to see if this makes it into Lighter's Vol. 3, if I live long enough to see it) came to be called the Crackers. Or how Georgians' and north Floridians' own nickname for themselves came to be crackers, the way people from Indiana call themselves Hoosiers.
Lighter does also give five other definitions of cracker: beans, a remarkable individual, dollar, a poor skier who often loses control and a light-skinned Negro.
Taken in all, Lighter has lifted the compilation of American salng to a new, much higher level -- except for Hawaiian American slang.
Except for go for broke, which is listed as "apparently originally Nisei or Hawaiian English," I cannot find any slang words from the Hawaiian dialect of Standard American -- even though some words in Standard Hawaiian have migrated into Slang English, like kahuna.
There are many definitions in Lighter of grind, for example, but none for the ways we in Hawaii use it as noun and verb (for eating). Chance um is missing, too, and give um and blahlah.
The absence of Hawaiian American Slang (Alaskan, too) is a serious fault, but on the whole the book is a corker ("a person or thing of extraordinary size, effectiveness, quality etc.," originally English slang traced to 1882 but brought into American by Mark Twain in 1889).

First I would like to say that before a friend introduced me to Ranma I never would have even thought of reading a manga of any kind. Now after reading the first four books I find that I cant wait for the next two I ordered to get here so i can read them and order some more! Rumiko Takahashi is brilliant!

Where do i begin? Oh ok I somehhow reaveal my secret to everyone and my weakness

Ranman 1/2, Volume four is an AWESOME addition to the Ranma series! It is great! It has more excitement, romance, and cool guys!! (Yup, two new male characters who are awesome....plus there's Ryoga and Ranma......) In this book, you also learn Ranma's "weak spot." It's really interesting. You will know what it is if...you read the book!^^The only thing is, Ryoga isn't in this book as much as I'd like...but this book developes more of Ranma's personality, so I won't be mad. Volume four is probably my favorite Ranma 1/2 volume so far (I've read Volumes 1-4). It ends at a cliff-hanger, though. Well, Ranma 1/2, Vol. 4 (actually all Ranma 1/2 books) is really great! I highly reccomend it! Read it!

Well, Ranma gets not one, but two new rivals in this volume. The first is Hikaru Gosunkugi, who wants Ranma out of the way because he wants Akane. What does he do? He decides to offer his services to Kuno! The two join forces to discover Ranma's weak spot! But come on... Gosunkugi's incompetent! How could he learn it? Well, he does, and it turn out to be felines! But Gosunkugi is the least of Ranma's worries... it seems that a certain amazon from China isn't out of his hair like he thought! Shampoo's back, and has a curse of her own, which seeing as it's a cat one, it will probably dampen their relationship. Enter rival no. 2, Mousse, Shampoo's would-be lover, who challenges Ranma to a man to man fight! But with Shampoo's great-grandmother Cologne using a deadly pressure point touch on him, Ranma is stuck in girl form! Ranma now has to beat Mousse and get the cure for his condition! Things get hectic, ending in a cliffhanger, but it's really great stuff. Luckily, now that the book's been rereleased with a cheaper price, it's now more affordable to fans!

Ranma Saotome's life was complicated enough when he just had his turning-into-a-girl curse to deal with. But the fourth volume of Rumiko Takahashi's "Ranma 1/2," Ranma has a new slew of problems -- creepy stalkers, hidden phobias, martial-arts crones, and a girl who won't accept that "no" is his answer.

A new kid has arrived at school: stalkery, cadaverous Hikaru Gosunkugi, who harbors a crush on Akane and deep hatred of her fiancee Ranma. So he begins trying to find out what Ranma's hidden weakness is, but the fearless young martial artist claims there is nothing. Unfortunately, Gosunkugi is spying when Ranma's weakness is revealed -- cats -- and he tries to use it against him... with shocking results.

No sooner has Ranma recovered from his peculiar adventure than the tenacious Amazon Shampoo arrives again. Not only does she have a Jusenkyo curse of her own -- the cat -- but she has her wizened great-grandmother Cologne in tow. Cologne is determined to see Ranma marry Shampoo. And so, as Ranma squares off with a rejected suitor of Shampoo's, the old lady traps him in the body of a girl...

The fourth volume of his gender-bending action-romantic-comedy introduces some important characters. As well as bringing the incredibly persistent Shampoo back, it also introduces wizened-yet-feisty Cologne, and Mousse, a formidable master of hidden weapons. Or rather, he WOULD be formidable if he weren't legally blind.

The fourth volume also has the advantage of showing that Ranma isn't perfect -- up until now, the teenage martial-artist hasn't been slowed down at all, whether by lunatic athletes or ultra-strong romantic rivals. Giving him a raging cat-phobia -- so bad he passes out -- gives him more humanity. As Akane says, "It's cute to have a little weakness."

And speaking of Akane, she gets her first taste of romantic rivalry in this volume, when Shampoo sets up shop nearby. Though both Ranma and Akane claim that they don't even like each other, their mutual hostility towards any rivals is proof enough that they are starting to fall in love. If only Akane didn't freak out, and Ranma didn't insult her.

The fourth volume of "Ranma 1/2" is a pivotal one, adding even more characters to the romantic spiderweb that stretches all over the series. Weird, wild and funny.

A story about a boy who fell into cursed springs, and is now only 1/2 man, the other half...a girl. Which a martial arts theme, a panda for a father, a fiancee that he didn't mean to match up with and loads of characters all seeming to be foe, how can you go wrong?! Althought Ranma 1/2 doesn't have a deep thick plot like anime you might be searching for, its a light read and very enjoying if your just looking for a wacked out anime that will make you laugh. I highly recommend this to anyone who has liked Love Hina, Slayers, Chobits and more! :)

WOW! I think my intro said it all. Ranma 1/2 is awesome, and this book is the best in this series (I have read Volumes 1-5). It is SO GOOD I can't describe it. This book has lots more Ryoga in it (Yea! Yea!), and very interesting events take place. My only question is, where's Gosunkugi??? He's way cool ( :) ). Well, READ THIS BOOK! I RECOMMEND IT AND IT'S SO AWESOME!

I LOVE InuYasha, but could take or leave what I'd seen of the Ranma anime. I still think InuYasha is Rumiko Takahashi's best work, but Ranma's very entertaining. Every volume manages to make me laugh. This one picks up at the end of Ranma's fight with Cologne leaving her so impressed with his skill, she surrenders the prize. Next she tutors Ryoga since her battle has left Ranma vastly improved so that Ryoga has no chance. Of course, Cologne has her reasons. Martial Arts Tea Service vs a monkey follows & the volume ends with a delivery girl race Ranma refuses to lose even though Kuno is the lucky recipient of the meal

Ranma 1/2 is sooo deathly entertaining. I've read both InuYasha and Ranma, and i can't decide between them. For thick plots, InuYasha, for humor, Ranma. But they are both funny, and both have thick plots. Just Ranma is more funny. In this one, Shampoos great grandmother is trying to force Ranma into marrying Shampoo! Aiiiee! lol, gotta read it!

The fourth volume of "Ranma 1/2" ended with Ranma and Akane being menaced by Cologne on a shark's back. And the fifth volume has the old ghoul continuing her efforts to force Ranma to the altar -- along with some interesting new variations on traditional martial arts.

After barely escaping Cologne, Ranma is forced to use his ultimate attack -- cat-fu -- in order to get the Pheonix Pill. Later on, Cologne accidently encounters Ryoga, and offers to train him to defeat Ranma. After Ranma whips Ryoga's butt in front of Akane, Ryoga agrees to be trained by the old woman. Her lesson: the lethal "breaking point" technique, which can shatter a massive boulder with only a touch...

Later, Ranma stops a runaway horse. After accepting some (drugged) tea from the man he rescued, Ranma wakes in a wedding kimono -- turns out that the guy, Sentaro, is the heir of the martial-arts tea-ceremony dynasty. He wants Ranma to defeat his betrothed, so he can get out of marrying her. Ranma isn't sure why Sentaro wants this -- until he finds that "Miss Satsuki" is actually a chimp.

Finally, Akane, Ranma and Shampoo are all signed onto the Miss Martial Arts Takeout Race, with romance or food as the reward. Their goal -- to be the first to take their intact food to the targeted house, and have the occupant eat it. Only it turns out to be Kuno's house. And where better to have a nasty quadruple showdown than in the kendo nut's basement?

The fifth volume of "Ranma 1/2" has solid amounts of what Takahashi does best -- romantic tension, serious fighting, and the weirdest martial arts you can imagine. And plenty of the quirky new character Cologne, who delights in setting up crafty plots to trap Ranma into marriage with her great-granddaughter.

Takahashi also builds on her previous storylines, such as having Ranma newly strong and fast from his endless "chestnuts" training. But it wouldn't be much fun if he didn't have a real challenge -- in this case, the newly dangerous Ryoga. And the scene where the two rivals square off with their newly-acquired skills is wonderfully intense.

But there's no skimping on humour, from Ranma choking down Akane's terrible food ("I can learn to like this slop! I can!") to Sentaro blubbering when he finds out Ranma's true gender. One of the best scenes has poor Ryoga almost getting boiled alive -- again -- and attacking Cologne, only to have her flip him naked onto the floor.

Romantic rivalry and lethal battles make up the fifth volume of "Ranma 1/2," another delightful collection. And remember -- "it will not be you to whom I pledge my love!"

When Ruth Gruber began the research on this book she searched throughout Israel for an ideal figure whose life - story could embody and best exemplify the history of modern Israel. At Hadassah Hopital in Jerusalem she was told by Prof. Kalman Mann of a woman named Rachel Prywes who had been a nurse and midwife. This was the ideal figure and Gruber embarked on telling her story.
It is that of a twelvth generation- Jerusalemite who from childhood was involved in the struggle to create an independent and free Jewish state in the land of Israel. The story is told in the form of the novel. Much of the dialogue seems simplistic and awkward. This is not great literature.
But the story is told with a straightforwardness. It has a quality of authenticity. It tells the basic Zionist narrative in which the conflict in the Middle East was by and large created by Arab intransigence, and refusal to live in peace with Jewish neighbors. It tells of heroic chapters in the life of the country. In the course of the story the nurse Raquela also comes to work at the interment camp at Atlit where the British are holding concentration- camp survivors who want to enter Israel.They were taken at sea by the British and held in prison. Her heroic efforts there and later . The efforts made by the medical team she is a part of in saving Bedouin infants and introducing medical care to the Bedouin community , are evidence for what to my own mind has become a painful ironic truth in regard to many people's reading of the Arab- Israeli conflict today. They forget completely the great efforts made the Jews to improve the life for all citizens of the country, Jew and Arab alike. They say nothing about the way the Arabs perpetuated their own refugee problem, how they refused to settle the six hundred thousand Arabs who left the Holy Land during the War of Independence. They say nothing about the great task the Jews did in taking in and providing new lives for such a vast number of immigrants.
The book points out again the irony that it is precisely the side that has been decent, fair, humane , the Israeli Jewish one which is perpetually accused of being the oppressor.
The story of Raquela herself, her romantic struggles especially is again told in a simplistic, straightforward, and nonetheless not unmoving way.
I simply great enjoyed this book, and I think most readers who want to learn more about how the Jewish state developed, while at the same time relaxing with a good novel, would do well to read this book.

This biography details in vivid tones the life of a ninth generation Jerusalemite. Through her life we see the history of modern Israel, joys and hardships, wars and victories, all in personal terms without any heavy-handedness. Because it reads like a novel, it is engrossing; because it is a true story it is amazing. Ruth Gruber paints a rich and vivid portrait of the woman and of the nation.

Terrific story, well-told, exciting, thrilling, heartwarming, and real. An eye-opener to what really went on there and just how hard the Israeli people had to fight. I have never throughout all my education and reading understood Israel the way I did through Raquela's eyes. I had no idea the British were involved in that way, and was disappointed to learn of it. I learned a lot from this book from the perspective of an Israeli-born Israeli. The internment camps were dispicable, the people who ran them disgusting and almost as guilty as nazis.

Extremely well written, a real page turner. I hated to put it down and would have read the whole of it in one sitting if I'd had the chance. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a great read, and who really cares to understand the heart of Israel's struggles for Statehood - from the human perspective.
First rate!

I read this book when I was 15 years old. Wow! I was SOOO impressed with Raquela's courage and integrity that at that point I decided if I had a daughter I would name her Raquela. Nine years later, I had a baby girl and her name is Raquela. I read this book again a few years ago and was once again impressed. Just a month ago my husband, daughter, Raquela, and I were able to go to Israel and I saw Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus. My daughter was able to see and walk the same places as her namesake. Ruth Gruber beautifully laid this story out and I agree it reads like a novel and is very hard to put down.

This is my favorite Concrete design book of all time. It is my first reference to anything regarding design. It is an excellent reference for students and engineers as well. I used it a lot for my graduate classes and I always use it in my office. Highly recommended!!

I receipt the book very quikly and in excelent conditios of use, as a new book.

Reinforced Concrete: Mechanics and Design (4th Edition) (Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics)

I think this book is very good quality, and shipping is not bad...

I have the 2nd edition of this book which I loved. This edition is excellent and is easily the best text on Reinforced Concrete there is anywhere.

This book is the best for those who want a deeper understanding of reinforced concrete design.Since the author presents a step by step way to introduce the concepts,the reader is able to get a more detailed information and retents more concepts instead of procedures

This series started in a very auspicious fashion, and in this second volume it already reaches an excellent level. When we left the story last time, Kenshin has just started his confrontation with Zanza, and now comes the time to see the conclusion. Those that like action will not be disappointed by the fight, but once again we get to see how Kenshin's past affects his current way of living and fighting. Later in the volume though, our hero will have to face a tough decision in this respect.

One of the things I like about the series is the time it spends going back and informing us about the history of important characters. In this volume we find out more about Zanza's past, and thus, understand the reasons behind his hatred for imperialists. Regarding other important characters, in the last chapter of this volume we meet Meugmi, a female doctor that is surrounded by a suspicious aura and who will be a key part of the story in the next volume.

This installment already shows the progression in terms of the skills of Kenshin's opponents, which will continue in volumes to come. Kenshin and his friends come across the deadly killer Kurogasa (means black rain hat), who is looking for a challenge, and therefore, wants Kenshin to become his old self and partake in a fight to death. You already know about Kenshin's promise regarding not killing again, so Kurogasa has to resort to messing with Kenshin's friends to enrage the Battousai. The question is: will Kenshin break his vow and kill again? You cannot afford to miss this! It is a delight to be able to read a series with such a compelling plot, great character development, effective humor and proficient graphics.

This is about a legendary swordsman named Kenshin. He killed men like an ogre as a hitokiri, but disappeared and reappeared again as a rurouni, a wanderer. I was hooked after the first two volumes. This novel also shows in particular Kenshins friendship with Kaoru, despite the fact its definitely not romantic...heh...

Rurouni Kenshin is great a series that really grows over time and becomes incredible in a few more volumes. I've read all 28 of the fan translated volumes and can't wait to buy the rest of the volumes as they're released by Viz. I have to wait for so long!! Vol 1-6 = Tokyo Arc, this is where the introductions of main characters are made. It sets the stage for a much bigger picture. Vol 7-17 = Kyoto Arc, the arc that made the anime series so popular. It's a great arc with an amazing story and great fights, and you just can't put it down. It also has much character development, and you love Kenshin and his group all the better. The saga is so well planned out that it's perfect. Vol 18-28 (end) = Jinchu(Revenge arc, human judgement) arc, just when you think Kenshin will settle down, the story gets better! We finally learn about Kenshin's famous scar and his past. People from Kenshin's past are back to haunt him and carry out their long-awaited revenge. This saga is the best of the series and was unfortunately never animated except in an OVA, which only showed how Kenshin got his scar. In the manga this is the end of vol. 19, all of 20, and the first few chapters of 21. Kenshin's past is a true tragedy, but he finally finds his answers in this arc. I can't believe that they left this incredible story unanimated. The TV series had nothing to do with the manga story after episode 62, and the OVA is dramatically different from the manga also.
Anyway, Kenshin really grows in art and storytelling throughout the series and never gets weak nor drags like the TV series after the legend of Kyoto.
It's the best series ever! You have to read it to experience all the humor, drama, fighting, and romance. It just grows on you!

I really enjoyed reading this novel. It finishes off the battle between Kenshin and Sanosuke, moves on to the creepy arrival of the assasin Jine Kurogasa, and ends with the introduction of Takane Megumi. Nobuhiro Watsuki pulls off more good script and illustations that include intense bloody battles, moving scenes, and comical antics that make it so popular. No other graphic novel really interested me as much until I read "Rorouni Kenshin", number one, because the show rocks, and two, I was familiar with the characters and plot. Now I've moved on to buying the other volumes, which are just as good.

I love this book!I want all of them I just wish I hadn't lost this one!It's funny really because I thaught they didn't have volume two here in parkersburg and so I waited until I went to charleston with my friends. Well they had volume 1-13 their. Well a month later I lose the book and they canceled Rurouni Kenshin on Toonami sniff sniff waaaah!So I go to the Waldenbooks here and they had all the Rurouni Kenshin books but couldn't see them!So I got volume3 and now I need $10.00 more dollars so I can buy volume2 again!
Your Friend,
New Rurouni Kenshin Fan

Genre: Fiction/Visionary and Metaphysical

Title: Sacred Vow

AUTHOR: C.G. WALTERS

The prologue begins, "Choice of the ritual location was dictated by nature just days before."
Chapter one begins, "No longer confined to material experience, Katerina crossed into the dimly lit room, invisible to its inhabitants." Either of these lines would make me read on.

A love story about Katerina and Ian, spiritual mates, living on parallel plains and two different worlds. Will their union become corporeal rather then ethereally? Will they be finally, be able to bond physically? This story will answer these questions.

Mr. Walters has written a compelling story with attention to detail. His characters, settings and dialogue enhance the premises of the story. I found the story had a good flow and paced well by Mr. Walters.

C.G. Walters was born on a farm in Efland, N.C., where his mother read to him as a small child. His lifelong fascination for earth-based spiritual philosophies, might just be a result of his initiation to the land on the farm. Since 1994, he and his wife reside in the mountains of N.C. in rustic conditions.

I found Sacred Vow to be a compelling story of two people bound ethereally; visit on each other's worlds. The idea of a Collective Consciousness appeals to me, not only as a reader, but personally as well. Are we some part of a larger whole? Are we pawns in someone's ideology? I found this story to give rise to thought as the two spiritual lovers explore what consciousness in their natural wolds is all about. I would highly recommend this book. Reviewer: Bob Medak, Allbooks Reviews.

"Sacred Vow" achieves what the author sets out to do in his fiction: momentarily bring the reader's conscious "defenses" down to gently expand the reader's concepts of self, reality, the world, the universe, Love.

It also achieves what few metaphysical books immediately achieve: explain to the reader (even someone new to metaphysical concepts) in an engaging, entertaining yet thought-provoking way certain metaphysical concepts like parallel lives and realities, without making the reader feel like being lectured, and in a way that makes the concepts easy to grasp at first read.

This is also the best romance book I've ever read so far: Love without the sex (!) but with a more intimate and intense lovemaking still, passion developed and grown to fulfillment in ways not many people have considered, with the real work and struggle of true loving as the real romance of it all.

I cried as I read the book, and wept quietly when I finished it, but the tears were healing and transformative.

"Sacred Vow" is an excellent work of romantic fiction about two individuals who by responding to a calling, realize they are soulmates living in parallel lifetimes. It is a novel of a love so strong as to be able to reach across to each other through different lifetimes and try to find a way to be together. Even though I've read a few books with a metaphysical theme, Sacred Vow has touched me deeply with its endearing romance, its positive message on the Collective Consciousness, the possibility of parallel realities and about soulmates finding each other through the sheer strength of their spiritual love for each other. This book has been a wonderful experience for me and I would highly recommend it to all readers.

Can the wind of a butterfly's wing effect climate on the other side of the world? Can the love of two souls heal a great wrong in the universe? C.G. Walters' novel "Sacred Vow," offers compelling thought to consider, and a page turning delight to cherish.

Ian Sarin enjoys his cup of tea but lately the ritual of it brings other delights. Visions of a woman play out in his perception, beckoning further visitation. Everything in the room must be just so, with teapot, caned chair, and Ian in place. He cannot hear her speak, but can see her mouthing words, sharing her life. Is this just a vision or is it something else? His reality soon becomes less important than the alternate one that he visits. Ian's health becomes affected and soon he needs help. While visiting an old friend in the mountains, he is introduced to Djalma, an interesting man whose presence comes into play in a large way. He will interact in Ian's life in ways he couldn't have imagined. The visions of Katerina become more intense and play out like episodes of a movie he has seen before. The question so important... why are the visits happening? The answer awaits on a scrap of paper that Ian had tucked away, a remnant of a dream, years before. He was chosen for this...but what exactly is this?

Reincarnation, collective consciousness, and life purpose all play large roles in this book. It is a deeply thoughtful and provocative tale that I could not put down. I so enjoyed the read that I simultaneously couldn't wait to get to the last page but also dreaded it ending. The author evokes a great understanding of these topics and the mysteries of the universe, yet shares his perceptions in a wonderfully easy to comprehend tone. Readers will come away wonder-filled and satisfied to have read "Sacred Vow."

Reviewed by Catherine Phelps for Reader Views (1/07)

When chosen by the Crone Mother to perform a ritual, Katrina begins her frantic search for the answer to settle the rift in the Collective Consciousness. Having trained for this high honor in the monastic order of mystical women, she reserves her position by seeking and finding her understudy. In discovering their bond, Katrina comes to the realization that it will be through their one spirit, and one true love that will determine the future of her world and his.

Ian, a computer programmer, has been preparing for their meeting without an order to guide and instruct him. Unknown to him, this true love bond leads him to understand a dream of their union. For years, he has prepared their meeting place in his study so that the energy and timing of their visits will happen.

The couple transcends their parallel realities and become aware of their bond, which at first is limited in contact and lacking in conversational abilities. Through future visits, their love proves to be everlasting and such that they both risk great harm to themselves to reunite. Finally, they discover the reason for their meeting is for the good of all, and Ian's dream proves the means needed for their safety and continuous.

There exists more than "one truth." It can be defined differently by each perceiver. Truth is such until it is replaced by the next revelation. In our world, one cannot be so vain as to believe that there are only truths and non-truths.

Mr. Walters conveys the reality of mystical worlds and our interaction with them very eloquently. He states that there is "one true love in its infinite expression," meaning there is one connection, above all others that can make us feel whole, like our full selves. This book is highly recommended for the reader seeking a love story that knows no limits. As a metaphysical novel, one can expand their views of worlds and civilizations existing with us, and how we may affect those close to us with or without our knowledge.

"Sacred Vow" is highly recommended, and a sequel would be much welcomed.

When two parallel worlds break the barriers to co-exist as one, only true love can provide the solution to the rift between them. Having achieved this goal, it is with sadness that this union between soul mates cannot continue in the ways of our world. It is with gladness and thanks that a love so true can choose to sacrifice itself for the good of us all. "Sacred Vow" will bring a positive message to all to live each moment to its fullest potential.

Samurai Shortstop is a wonderful, but underappreciated tale about a boy and his love for baseball. Toyo, a 14 year-old boy is faced to grow up faster than he ever wanted to when his uncle committed seppuku, legal suicide in Japan. Everything has changed since the French Revolution, and now there are no more samurais, but now there is baseball, Toyo's favorite sport.
He has just now started the most prestigious school in Tokyo, which means new friends, bullies, and many more problems. He tries out for baseball and starts learning the way of samurai from his father. Toyo and his father never really understood each other, and now that his uncle has died, Toyo only has his friends to help him.

Toyo is a very smart person, and becomes a very good leader. Throughout the book everything that happens helps him, although it doesn't look like it all the time. Toyo starts to put his skill in the art of bushido, samurai fighting style, into baseball. My favorite part of the book is when he fights the older kid instead of letting them beat him up. I would recommend this book to students from 7th grade and up.
--Malik McKenzie

This is a story of a boy named Toyo Shimada. The time is set in Tokyo, 1890. Toyo is sent to a boarding school of a very high caliber, but after he arrives he sees how the upperclassmen treat the first years. To fit in, he joins the baseball team, a sport he loves. He wants to be shortstop, but until he becomes a "man" to the upperclassmen he is stuck in the outfield. He is enraged, but nevertheless he pushes through the tormenting and refuses to quit the baseball team. The only problem is his father, who is still using the ways of the samurai, or worrier. Toyo's father does not want him to play, unless Toyo can convince him otherwise. Other than that, his father has decided to teach him the ways of the warrior, or bushido. At first Toyo does not understand any of his bushido lessons, or why he has to do them, but over the course of the book he learns to use his bushido skills.
This book reminds me of a book called Dairy Queen. The story was about a girl, and football, not baseball, but in the end she overcomes many obstacles just like Toyo. In both books, the main focus is overcoming anything that comes your way. They are both also about standing up to important figures in there lives. It happens to be that in both books that person is their dad. Alan Gratz has written an enthralling tale.
I enjoyed the book, although it does have some pretty gruesome scenes. I liked reading it because you always want to see what Toyo will do next, what the other characters are going to say, or do. It also tells you a lot about what school was like back then, in Japan. It is a lot different from Americans school, and the year it takes place in really makes a difference. Overall, this is a great book and you should pick it up sometimes if you are looking for a great read.

Let me start off by saying this is the best book I have read. It is a very exciting book that keeps your attention throughout. It starts off by the Emperer allowing Toyo's Uncle to commit seppuku (suicide) instead of being killed by the government. Samurai Shortstop has a great mix of baseball and culture. You get to read a baseball story but at the sametime learn about their culture and beliefs. Toyo attends Ichiko which is a very big school that consists of only boys.

Ichiko's baseball team is run by the players themselves and when Toyo and a couple other first years want to join the team the have to prove that they are worthy. Toyo's friend Futoshi makes the team as the right fielder but Toyo has a little trouble making the team because Ichiko already has a shortstop. But when their shortstop gets thrown off the team Toyo found himself starting at shortstop. Toyo's father teaches trys to teach him bushido which is code by which Samurai lived but Toyo has trouble understanding it. Not until the end of the book when he has to help with his father's seppuku does he fully understand bushido. This is a wonderful book because it keeps you off balance and never knowing what is going to happen!

Kyle Walmer
Mrs. Bains 3rd block

It's 1890 and you're in Tokyo, Japan. Between classes in the most prestigious high school in town and baseball practice, you learn the old ways--the ways of the samurai. That's Toyo Shimada's life and we get the pleasure of going along for the ride thanks to Alan Gratz's brilliant story telling.


Toyo suffers from familiar teen angst: a parent who doesn't understand him and friends who try to understand him, but often fail. It's the core of most teen stories, but Toyo's world is changing. Old Japan is dying and a new Japan is rising.


His father represents the old Japan. When the emperor reforms their ancient military system and requires all samurai to hang up their swords, Toyo's family is caught in the middle. The opening scene, where Toyo and his father assist Toyo's uncle in seppuku, ritual suicide, is so intense that you'll wonder if Toyo's just having a bad dream.


Even though Toyo's father isn't samurai in the traditional sense, he too decides he can't live in the new Japan. He expects Toyo to assist him in seppuku, when the time comes. First, he must teach Toyo the ways of bushido, the warrior's code.


Between lessons and baseball practice, Toyo learns to meditate and use a sword--and worries about his father. When the time comes, will he have the courage to do what has to be done? Baseball is his passion, and as applies bushido to baseball, he comes to terms with the changing world around him and begins his journey into manhood.


Samurai Shortstop is the story of Toyo's search for his own path in a time of social change and family turmoil. Toyo's personal struggle is one all teens can appreciate. He struggles with peer pressure, studies, and parental control and expectations. Nineteenth century Japan comes alive and provides the color and unexpected tension that every good story needs.

Samurai Shortstop is about a 16-year old Japanese boy, Toyo. Right from the first sentence of the book it really grabs your attention. Toyo's uncle is preparing to commit sepukku. This is considered an honorable way to kill yourself in Japan. The story draws you into the life of Toyo and helps you to understand his relationship with his father and learning the art of bushido. He goes off to a private boarding school where he learns how to stand up for himself and fight off the seniors who are out to torture the first years. I liked this book because it combines the sport of baseball along with Toyo's high school experience in Japan. If you want to read a book that is hard to put down and will keep you intrigued until the very last page, then this is the book for you.