Colette Books

Gigi is one of those classic films that just gets better with age. Leslie Caron (who sparkled in Chocolate) is a true delight. This is an original "Pretty Woman" tale of a courtesan who falls in love with a family friend. Gigi is a lively musical full of playfulness with a serious undertone. One of my favorite films.

If you like musicals Gigi is a must, it is an enchanting story of a girl growing up in early 1900's in France and the music is enchanting. If you love musicals this is one you really need for your collection.

This is without a doubt the worst musical I have ever seen and the "song" title "It's a Bore" describes it perfectly. The songs are unmemorable for the most part. In fact, most of the "songs" aren't even sung, they are spoken with music playing in the background. I appreciate the fact that real French actors played the parts but couldn't they have found French actors that can sing? This was supposed to be a musical after all. The only numbers I came close to liking were those sung by Maurice Chevalier - "I remember it well" and "Thank heaven for little girls". Face it, Chevalier's heart-melting smile is the only reason to watch this movie.

I've seen this movie several times, and it just gets better with each viewing. That's unusual. There's so much going for it. First, there's an interesting plot by Colette. Too many musicals have a lame story to hold the music, but not here. Then, there's the scenery, Paris in all its beauty. Perhaps it was all shot on a back lot somewhere, but the illusion is perfect.

But that wouldn't be nearly enough without the music, such songs as "Thank Heaven For Little Girls," "I Remember it Well," and "Gigi." Maurice Chevalier is at his best in this film; somehow he is the embodiment of what we think of as Paris. Hermione Gingold, once herself a femme fatale, is fine as the guardian of young Gigi. Louis Jordan is excellent as the man about town, seducer of girls who gets trapped by a net of his own making. And that brings us to Leslie Caron who was one of the most spectacular looking women ever to appear in the movies. At least, that's my opinion. My opinion on that hasn't changed in decades. She doesn't dance much here, but she still takes over the screen whenever she appears.

I just can;t think of a flaw with this one--not a single one. It's up there with "South Pacific," with "Guys and Dolls" as the best among musicals.

This is a delightful movie, one can see why it got Best Picture. But the really interesting thing for me is the French version, which clearly was done for the French. Maurice Chevallier does his own French dubbing, and I think the other major characters. For anyone who speaks French, this is the best reason to buy the DVD.

i enjoyed the majority of the cakes shown in this book, though some just weren't my style , it gave me some ideas for my own wedding cake . This book is a good purchase for cake lovers or even someone planning their own wedding Colette Peters is definatly a master of her trade!

I bought this book hoping for wedding cake ideas. If you are an expert baker and decorator you might find something useful. I did not. I gave the book to a friend who enjoys baking.

Great instructional book - really inspired me - has allowed me to move to the next level in cake decorating. Intend to find and collect all her books

I purchased this item for my mother before christmas as a gift. She absolutely loved it. She has already read it and tried different things from the book. I'm not a cake cooker myself, but she said that the book was perfect for new ideas and projects.

I loved this book! I carried around a picture of my dream wedding cake for years and when it came time to have a baker make it for my special day, I interviewed 8 cake bakers/decorators and they all said they couldn't replicate it. I found this book at Amazon, with my EXACT cake in it and with it's wonderful detailed instructions, a cake decorator was able to replicated it almost exactly! I bought 2 books, one to keep and one as a gift to the decorator!

I read this to understand what had tipped an acquaintance over the edge. This attempts to guide lost souls towards a new way of thinking, but in fact provides justification for alienating those you know/love in the event that they dont see the light in the way that you do. The last third of the book is a poorly disguised manifesto for Mr Redfield's chosen 'church' of thought, and he is guilty of promising assistance, but is in fact providing a reason for self destructive people to alienate themselves further. He has claimed in the past this is merely a novel, but only those weak enough to be taken in by the book are fooled by this, shame on you, you have ruined more lives than you have saved.

good grief! The book is basically a crash course on new age thinking disguised as fiction. Unfortunately, the "insights" are bad philosophy full of circular reasoning and self-contradictions. The details that are not relevant to the message are inaccurate - for instance, the point that looks out over Machu Picchu is not accessible by Jeep, Martin Luther never called for an end to the Papacy and only two very small portions of the Old Testament were written in aramaic. It's bad logic, fruitless philosophy, bland dialogue, and just generally awful fiction. The only thing I got from this book was a better understanding of why the New Age movement will never get anywhere. When your whole world view is a circle, all you see in front of you is the back of your own head. How could you ever find enlightenment like that?

I recently finished reading The Celestine Prophecy. A friend of mine leant me the book and I could not put it down. It brought to light a lot of the feelings that I could not put into words and it honestly changed my life. I look at everything as a whole, not just as one thing. I would recomend that everyone Christian or not read this book. There are truly no words to describe how you feel after you finish, and I go back and read all of the time now. I love this book.

I read 'The Celestine Prophecy'in 1994, a few months after my boyfriend had died. It was the day before New Years Eve and I was feeling very lonely. I was at a very low point in my life and looking for something - though at the time i didnt know what it was...it just happened to be 'The Celestine Prophecy'!! To some that might sound completely bonkers but i believe that the book was the thing that changed my life and made me look at life without the dark cloth that had been veiling it. Some may criticise the book for being a little to 'alternative' but if it has the power to make a very sad, depressed person optimistic for the future then it is wonderful. The book made me think about the bigger picture and perhaps the meaning of life!! What a statement to make!! For me it certainly was true and perhaps it may be for you too. Happy reading xxxx

In this book, author James Redfield suggests that the Mayans disappeared because they moved to a higher plane of existence. The unnamed main character quits his job within the first four pages of the book to look for a Mayan manuscript (containing nine new-age insights) in Peru. First of all, Mayans occupied parts of Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador, and most of Guatemala and Belize; not Peru. No wonder our intrepid adventurer couldn't find them. Not to mention the fact that Mayans didn't dissapear. Mayan civilization collapsed; however, you can go to these areas and meet thier descendents. So based on the fact that I have met several, I doubt seriously they are invisible due to being on a higher plane of existence. Other laughable elements include a Latin preist named "Father Carl" and the fact that the manuscript is written in Aramaic with no explanation given as to why. I could pass all this off as merely devices by which the author intends to explain his new-age insights but Redfield is really serious about this stuff, so are many fans of this book. Fans of this book are the same people who put a Buddha statue in thier house then claim to be knowledgable about Eastern religions, yet have never attended any Eastern religious ceremonies. I base that statement on actual people who have recommended this rubish to me. Do yourself a favor and don't buy this book. If you are misfortunate enough to have already paid for it; I recommend rubbing garbage all over every page, closing it back up, and then loaning it to a friend you hate. This will give them the same feeling I had while reading this travesty. The tenth insight should be, "If you paid for this book, you proved P.T. Barnum correct."

My husband and I recently decided to begin trying to have a baby. We decided to buy this book along with a couple others so that we could prepare. This was one of the 1st books that I read and after about the first half, I was convinced that I would be infertile and unable to have a baby. Some of the information is very good but a good proportion of the book covers the plethora of things that can cause a woman to be infertile and then all of the latest medical treatments that can help an infertile woman get pregnant. This might be a great book for the woman who has been trying for a while without success but for me, I finished it and was scared to death!

Ordered it....1 week later it came, I opened the box while my wife was doing the ept exam, two lines appeared, never read the book. One month later, gave it to my brother since his wife is trying to get pregnant. She says its pretty good.

I thought the book was ok but not really geared for couples just starting to try to conceive as it claims to be. There are a few helpful suggestions on baby making but most of the info is about the many things that can possibly be wrong with you or your spouse to cause you NOT to conceive and about medical treatments available.

My husband and I purchased this book while we were undergoing fertility treatments for "unexplained" infertility. The doctors had no other explanation for why two otherwise healthy people would be having problems conceiving naturally. I found this book full of information in laymen terms without all the medical jargon which can be boring and hard to understand. I wanted to be a better informed patient and be able to make responsible decisions regarding what treatments we were going to have. Getting Pregnant tells us about environmental factors, personal habits, and all the treatments that's available as well as general information for couples who are not experiencing infertility. I was surprised to read some of the unfavorable comments left by other readers. It is extremely draining physically and emotionally having to deal with infertility and everyone should take what they read with a grain of salt. I am happy to say that we had a beautiful baby girl while waiting for an IVF cycle and I guess that's where the "unexplained" comes in again. In all this book is well worth the read.

This book provides some wonderful information, in a very easy-to-digest format. The section on the pre-conception exam is great- you'll know what to expect, and how to make sure your doctor isn't overlooking something important. I also liked the attention on male fertility issues, which are often ignored. However, the first half of the book is esentially "you could be infertile, and not even realize it!" It describes the fertility problems caused by cysts, endometriosis, etc., and lists the very common symptoms (gee, who hasn't had headaches or heavy periods?) and stresses how frequently women have these diseases without realizing it. Halfway through the book, I was convinced I had every problem listed. The authors' approach may be helpful if you're having difficulty getting pregnant and want to educate yourself on possible causes, but I think for most people it's really overkill.

i read this book, a couple of times. i didn't follow the diets listed religiously, but i did follow the nutritional guidelines, and changed my lifestyle and eating habits. about a year later, i had lost 40 pounds, and found out that i was pregnant! a miracle i thought i would never experience. i recomend this book to anyone with pcos, who is having trouble losing weight, and/or concieving.

Women with PCOS, this book is for you: Many tasty receipes to choose from.
This book helps us to get rid of the weight much better than a regular diet.

really - is it that difficult to discover that an aubergine is also an eggplant? alright so some food items might not be available in the US as they are in the UK, but that's the same story as the many american books that exclude the rest of the world with their insular world-view, and certainly no reason to damn a great book.

I firmly think that this book's title and what it states on its front is misleading and fradulent.
This book is falsly titled so that the consumer thinks it is a diet book for people who have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Note it even mentions weight loss on the cover as well as the word 'Diet'. It is not a weight loss diet book for people with PCOS.

There is a 10 page 'sample menu and recipies' starting on page 97. I wrongly assummed this was a diet plan when I bought the book. But it is not.

Further into the book there is a chapter titled 'Losing Weight - Breaking the PCOS cycle' which begins on page 177. In this chapter there is a one day sample menu.
It appears that there is only one day of a sample diet day in the whole book that is actually directly related to weight loss.
I bought this book as I have PCOS and I wanted a diet book so I could lose weight.

It is wrong to let the title remain as is because this book is not for people who want to lose weight who have PCOS.

I have asked the publishers for my money back.

Also note that the book is quite repetitative and information contained in it quotes 'internet surveys' - these are hardly credible sources and should not be taken seriously by anyone except teenagers who delight in reading daily horoscopes.
Any book about diet should at the very least include studies that have been tested for scientific rigor and should be written by at least a doctor or dietitian.

I find the book is not at all scientific. PCOS is all about hormone levels thus lack of scientific rigor might actually be detrimental to whoever buys it.
The book also states to eat brocolli 'because it burns calories chewing it'. Oh heavens save me please :)
What a total lack of money!!!

I was diagnosed with PCOS this past August and must tell you this is the best book I have found. After being diagnosed I purchased about 10 books and this one is by far the best book. It goes through what foods and combinations of foods you should be eating to keep the PCOS under control. I was able to lose 9 pounds by following the recommendations like eating small meals / healthy snacks every 2 1/2 - 3 hours. It even said that after following the steps in this book your system would operate normally and you could become pregnant. Well, I didn't really believe it but after about 3 months of following their advice I am now 17 weeks pregnant. I had been told that I had a 3% chance of conceiving naturally due to the PCOS, a Unicornuate uterus and one working fallopian tube. I recommend this book to anyone who has PCOS, if it worked for me it can work for anyone.

This was the first book I bought for PCOS so that I could understand a little more about it. I agree with some other reviewers that the tone is a little patronizing, and slightly condesending- but I don't feel like it's intentional at all. The book has a lot of good information.
It does hard on the holistic approach, and all-natural way of eating....I guess you have to expect some of idealistic fodder when you are reading a health related book. I felt disconnected from Harris- which is unfortunate considering she should have been able to bring it to a more personal level since Carey contributed for the medical portion. All in all- it's a good guide though- with a lot of information, a little harping, but for the good of understanding I could get past it to read on.

It never ceases to amaze me how people are so quick to assume that anything that strays from Western conventional medical wisdom must be bunk. Far too many of the reviewers make huge mistakes in their criticism of this text. Yes, I am sure that a reader will find some information lacking as is true with any literature produced on any topic. However, the criticism that this book is not helpful is one which could only be made by those individuals that are not familiar with the values of actually taking care of themselves. PCOS is a condition which results from poor self care, nutrition and fitness...period. Many of the reviewers that criticize this book, criticize it on the basis that they do not want to expend the time and energy to become healthy. They simply wish to pop a pill, which is toxic to their bodies in many respects, which will put a band aid over the problem. They do not realize that there endocrine system can be regulated through diet alone. They do not recognize that proper fitness will help to sensitize every cell of their body to use insulin more efficiently. They do not accept that actually eating organic foods which are not riddled with the chemicals, antibiotics, hormones and pesticides (which happen to act as hormones in the body) will do wonders for improving their health, simply because organic foods are more expensive or you might have to do some research into whether a cow was fed grass which is far superior to cattle which has dined on grain.

Anyone that ridicules this book for failing to deal with pill-popping has missed the point. Anyone that criticizes this text because it does not deal with controlling the endocrine system, does not understand the meaning and purpose of PCOS: A Woman's Gudie to Dealing with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Anyone, who cannot glean the meaning of straying so far into the farming practices which have depleted nutrients from our foods making supplementation necessary does not have the ability to formulate a comprehensive body of knowledge about this disease.

AHHHHHHHHHH!

If you have PCOS and have done any research on it at all, you probably will not find this book helpful. It mostly consists of "adjust your diet, get some exercise, and reduce your stress, and you won't need drugs." Well...what if you've done all that, and still have out-of-whack hormone levels and troublesome symptoms? Many women do need drugs to counter their PCOS, and this book does not cover the "what next?" It is particularly lacking in information on infertility, which is the biggest reason PCOS is a problem for many women, and the way they find out they have it. That said, it does cover some useful stuff about PCOS that could be informative for those just beginning their searches for information. But better to start with What to Do When the Doctor Says It's PCOS.

If you are looking for information on medical treatments and want to go beyond "the pill" this is not the book for you. I am infertile because of PCOS, and picked up this book looking for some sort of support. I should have looked elsewhere. Don't waste your money!

I found this book to be very informative, giving very specific details about the causes and symptoms of PCOS, while still being easy to read and understand. The authors offer many holistic (and common sense) approaches to getting the symptoms under control so as not to have to rely on medications, most of which have negative side-effects.

French Literature: (English Translation)Great historical piece placed in Paris, right before and just after WW1. Interesting study of the French business woman and the men who "served" them..Colette's best work

The first book, Cheri, is a rather trite love story about the affair of an older woman with her young lover. There are certain enjoyable sequences, and the sado-masochistic undercurrents keep things interesting, but the novel doesn't have much depth. It's the second novel, The Last of Cheri, where things truly get rich. Watch as the carefree, rich, beautiful Cheri slowly disintegrates into despair. The character, none too likeable in the first book, becomes almost sympathetic as he approaches his inevitable destruction. Money no longer interests him, his earlier hedonism no longer gives him the least satisfaction. Life, and his wife, have become a bore. Once having tasted the stratosphere of love, and loved the goddess Lea, existence in the ordinary can give him no satisfaction. All he has is memory. His best moments are behind him and the future can't offer anything to compare. All of his old acquaintances are busying and satisfying themselves with their grand little projects. These seem trivial to Cheri, even (especially!) his wife's noble charitable work. How pointless these endeavors are compared with love.

On the one hand it is almost satisfying to watch this shallow, callous young man's fall. He is the kind of person who, in the first book anyway, one would like to see get his. Yet one can not fail to sympathize, even empathize, with Cheri. We are not so different, we ordinary and haughty folk. We all feed on the same sustenance. Trying to live off memories, trying to revive the past and failing, these are things we humans do from time to time. For some, it consumes us.

These two short novels by the French writer Colette cover a territory with which I have to admit to being completely unfamiliar, that of a young man's romantic education by a much older "kept" woman -- a lifestyle I assume to be uniquely French. "Cheri" is the nickname of the man in question (real name: Fred), and his protectress and instructress in the arts of Eros is named Lea, who, an implied courtesan like his mother Madame Peloux, is kept wealthy by one or more benefactors. Having grown up fatherless and free from discipline, Cheri is immature and spoiled, self-assured that he will be amply supported by his good looks and the middle-aged women who dote on him.

At twenty-five, after living with Lea for several years, Cheri decides to marry a rich, younger girl named Edmee, and Lea understands that the time has come to let him go. Their separation is not as easy as that, however; the bottom line is that he truly loves Lea, more so than he does Edmee. With Lea he has developed a special relationship that somewhat perversely combines aspects of mother-son, boyfriend-girlfriend, and teacher-pupil. His greatest chagrin is the realization that he was even naive enough to assume that he was Lea's first and only lover, never conjecturing the sources of her income.

Colette's apparent purpose in these novels is to display a dramatic transformation of character. At nineteen, Cheri is a joyful and frivolous youth; at thirty, a discontented and disillusioned man suffering from an idle lifestyle and a loveless marriage. He is unable to relate to his wife Edmee, who does charity work for a hospital and hobnobs with various public figures -- selfless gestures that are alien to his personality. His involvement in World War I has given him another hard lesson in maturity, and now he is lost in the new post-war society, a world that has no use for a thirty-year-old man who acts like a child and is hopelessly in love with a woman old enough to be his mother.

It seems to me that Colette's literary value lies in her skill at depicting early twentieth century bourgeois France in a clear, conversational style that is more accessible than the impressionistic difficulties of Proust and Gide. In my estimate, her closest contemporary English counterpart would be Somerset Maugham; both writers manage to extract colorful but realistic drama out of the lives of ordinary people using straightforward but intelligent and sensitive prose that often evokes a certain elegance of setting, but Colette's characterization and attitude are distinctly French. Her American counterpart would be more difficult to identify.

"Cheir" and "The Last of Cheri" could only have been written by a Frenchwoman, one who understood the notion of "love" created out of passion, money, beauty and artifice. Cheri, himself son of a courtesan, was the lover of Lea, a beautiful, older, worldly wise woman, who achieved independence and wealth in a pre-WWI society where men normally held all the cards. With his mother's blessing, Cheri takes up with Lea for a passionate six years, but eventually marries and leaves her. Cheri realizes he can't leave her behind though, and Lea discovers she's done the unpardonable--allowed herself to love. At the end of "Cheri" he returns, for one more night, but reality and age intrude in the morning, and in an excrutiating scene Cheri leaves again, this time for good.
Or maybe not, because the war, his marriage, the modern age, aren't enough to break the hold Lea has on his heart--but of course it's an illusion, there's no turning back. Life moves on, but Cheri remains mired in his youth, protected by money from having to move on. Cheri's life ends as he stares at a wall of pictures of Lea, a Lea who disappeared long ago.
Almost 100 years later, it's an image of love, of women, of aging, that's hard to relate to. But Collette does a beautiful job of evoking the time and place, the peculiar French sensibility of courtly, unreal, illusory love.

"Cheri" is the stronger of the two novels in this collection. Colette's deceptively simple prose records the ways of the heart, or at least the romantic behaviors of the rich and idle who have too little sense of purpose in life. "Cheri" begins with the awkward love affair already in progress. How the somewhat immoral pairing began is revealed in pieces throughout the chapters. As these disaffected people realize what their affair meant to each, the novel comes alive.

The book starts as a depiction of the rather narcissistic, self-interested duo-- a depiction that in the beginning is difficult to read because of the nearly sadistic egotism of the protagonists. It evolves into a searching examination of two profligate people unused to applying themselves to any ideal higher than their own gratifications. What they do to manage their dawning realization that they actually care for one another; why they let go of some of their self-delusions; how the love of each person is formed from the shallow and empty lives they led up to that point-- these are played out in heart-breaking scenes that give the novel its depth. "Cheri" depicts a certain time and place-- the French demimonde-- quite well while it is relevant to today's alienated and sometimes jaded moderns searching for, and evading, meaningful connections. This collection includes a well-written introduction by Judith Thurman that draws a thumbnail sketch of Colette's life and provides background information for the novel's setting.

I FINALLY understand what is going on with my body now that I have read this book and recommend all who even question if they have PCOS to read it whether they are trying to conceive or not. It is an EXTREMLY easy read and I found myself almost finishing the book in one night! I did not feel that this was written from one doctor to another but for REAL WOMEN who battle PCOS everyday.

Get this book if you have PCOS, even if you are not TTC it will answer every question you ever had about PCOS. It is a really great read and I suggest you get it. I also bought the Insulin Resistance Diet book, because it helps with the symptoms of PCOS.

This book was very informative to me, but I think the research is a little old. While it helped me learn more about the disorder, the programs it suggested didn't help regulate me.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with PCOS that is trying to conceive. It is full of great information. She doesn't just give the technical information, but talks about the emotional aspect of coping with infertility. I love all of the books that I have read by Colette Harris.

I have read both this book and "PCOS Dietbook" by Coletter Harris and found that this book really helped answer many questions I have about PCOS. My husband read this book when I was done with it and now he understands exactly what PCOS is and what you can do to help your fertility. I really enjoyed this book because it talks about miscarriages in PCOS women. All of the other books I have read just mention miscarriages. This book descirbes exactly what causes miscariages in PCOS women. It really made me understand what I can do to help lower the risks of miscariage!!

THIS IS A MUST HAVE!!!

You couldn't find a more ridiculous premise than the one espoused by this book. Oh! Now we know -- women's biological lack of strength and muscle mass has been a vast masculine-wing conspiracy all this time. She writes of females breaking in to traditionally male sports like football, etc. Her observations are skewed and the conclusions drawn are so ludicrous that it doesn't really require any argument to refute them.

Tell me, does anyone really believe any of this? That men and women are the same - or even similar, physically? That's what I thought.

Don't buy this book. If you can locate a copy, browse through it while you stand - about thirty seconds worth - and you will have had all that you want.

I am not a fan of Dowling's other books. This one, is a resarch book that is easily read like a novel, while providing important, empowering facts and data on the way males and females develop. Dowling talks about how from an early age, even in our times, girls are still taught it is not "feminine" or attractive to boys or others to be muscular or athletic. She talks about how boys are taken by the majority of theri fathers and taught how to throw a ball, and train their muscles, and engage in rough housing, where girls are not and so "throw like a girl." Boys and girls bodies are similar but as girls starve themselves, and do not use their muscles, their ability to develop larger muscles over all diminishes as they get older. We see female athletes who want to look like covergirls and some who are beautiful and atheltic, and those who really just want to be professional athletes. This book overall shows how women hold themselves back from achieving their true potential starting at an early age, and examines how the image a woman has of herself by thinking a certain kind of beauty is most important keeps a woman from being independant in this way. Dowling also points out that if you take a 5'7" woman who works out and a man of the same height who does not, and one who does, the results are very interesting. She points out that women are often compared to male athletes not in their weight range. While Women and men may not be biologically equal in every area, that should not keep us from being equals as humans. Dowling also talks about how athletes need to work with their menstrual cycles. Also, with the studies done now, we know that women have always been treated tradtionally nutritionally and physically by doctors as if they were skinny men with mood swings. Now we know we have different nutritional requirements, and while during our cycle, we are constantly preparing for a child, wether we want to have one or not, and men do not. When these needs are all met healthily instead of denying ourselves to fit into a body type that does not fit us, we will all have more energy for strength training. There is so much information packed into this book, and it is such a fast read, I recommend it to all women, and especially those who have daughters to see a new way of strengthening them. I find it hilarious that some still question women's strength and dexterity after reading this book.

In "The Frailty Myth," Colette Dowling presents a compelling and well-researched analysis of why and how American girls are socialized to be "weak." Dowling examines the myths about the "weaker sex," tracing this myth as a source of the oppression of women handed down to us from Victorian times.

She convincingly explains why men fear strong women: In part, she says, it's because strength is perhaps the only area in which our culture does not say that men and women are equal. Thus, as male-only professions and traits are rapidly disappearing from public discourse, strength is masculinity's last hope.

Further, she carefully details how the media, parents, educators and peers of both sexes encourage girls to be passive and boys to be active (often without realizing it), and gives ample evidence that there is no physiological basis for the belief that women are fated to be weaker than men. It is, in essence, a mere self-fulfilling prophecy.

After demonstrating the mental and physical unhealthiness of this cycle, the author provides advice on breaking out of it. To illustrate the possibilities, she offers inspiring stories of women and girls who have become strong, breaking into "male" sports like football and even playing on co-ed teams.

This book is well-written, well-organized, and an important read for anyone with a daughter or an interest in women's issues. At the very least, it might encourage you to spend more time at the gym -- that's one of the many beneficial things it did for me!

Is it just me, or do some of the rather inflammatory reviews of this book belie some very insecure minds?
Some of the condescending generalizations these people are making wouldn't be tolerated were this a book on say, racial or religious equality.
Women have been socialized to be a lot smaller and weaker than they need to be, and in a more egalitarian society, they might learn from an early age to properly nourish, exercise, and use their bodies to realize more physical accomplishments and enjoy a greater sense of self. What exactly is it about this thesis that is evoking such a hostile reaction in you? Why are you acting so threatened?
Did any of you misogynists actually bother to read the book? Given your frightened, contemptuous, kneejerk reactions, apparently not.

A very good book with many interesting facts. For a l;ong time now I have thought the proposition that with equal training women would show speed and pound to pound strength equal to men, is the only reasonable conclusion to be drawn. I am glad that Dowling agrees with me and from what I hear that proposition is becoming more acceptable to the general public. As a long time practitioner of martial arts I am glad that this book is inspiring women to become stronger and more agressive and in touch with thier true physical potential, as I beleive the next revolution in gender politics will be a physical one. My one criticism is that the tone of the book is often very sarcastic and at times preachy, but Dowling is very passionate about her position so I think this failing is forgivable.

I could hardly put this book down reading into the wee hours of the night. Being on my own spiritual search I found some interesting new views to paradigms of faith. I appreciated the honest, candid interviews and sources from which these two reporters did much of the legwork for questions I myself had. Well researched and very readable.

I liked this book very much. The authors are not Baha'is and seem to present a balanced impression of the Baha'i Faith. Great if you are trying to learn more about who the Baha'is are...

Most of the "encounters" are with Bahai's who volunteer at the world center in Haifa Israel. This hardly seems like a varied encounter of "5 million". The authors are somewhat confused on some points of Bahai faith, and pass this confusion along. They make no concerted attempt to resolve for the reader. Also, the often poor typesetting makes it unclear if they are quoting someone, or giving their opinions. A better introduction to the Bahai's would probably get off your butt and go meet some...

This book is written by two gentle souls who encountered the Baha'i Faith and came away with some profound insights into its community. More based on the believers than specifically on the Writings and teachings of the Faith, this book is an interesting description of the community that joyously struggles daily to put the Baha'i teachings and principles into effect. I must commend the writers for their fair and descriptive look at the Baha'i community.

Excellent overview of this interesting new religion from authors with no hidden agendas or axes to grind. Very well done!