W Books

"The Hidden Words" were penned by Baha'u'llah in the early years of His Ministry. These wonderful gem-like verses condense the experience of Divine Revelation to its spiritual essence. Few people are unaffected by the clarity and beauty of this small book.

Of "The Hidden Words", Baha'u'llah said:
"This is that which hath descended from the realm of glory, uttered by the tongue of power and might, and revealed unto the prophets of old. We have taken the inner essence thereof and clothed it in the garment of brevity."

It has been said that "The Hidden Words" is a love-song, a romance of the age-old Love of God for Man. Full of short verses, an underlying theme is the Divine Being's faithfulness and the inevitable unfaithfulness of His Creation, Man. "The Hidden Words" tells of a Beloved Who separates Himself from His creatures so that "spirit" may be breathed into those same creatures in mutually desired Reunion.

Due to its brevity, "The Hidden Words" is a take-everywhere volume of slim proportion and vast resource both within the Baha'i Community and the greater community of believers. Highly recommended to those of contemplative bent.

The words of the Hidden Words contain life's purpose, goals, and meaning. Each read brings new understanding. Wonderful!The Hidden Words

I have had a long curiosity about the Baha'i Faith and its teachings of the universal nature of religion, the unity of human beings, and the imperative of tolerating and respecting beliefs different from one's own. I have always been intrigued by how these teachings of universalism and the essential unity of all religions can fit within the confines of an individual, independent religion, the Baha'i Faith, with its own teachings and texts. Thus, I was pleased to have the opportunity to read this short book "The Hidden Words of Bahaullah" composed by the founder of the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah (1817 -- 1892) while in prison. The book was written in part in Arabic and in part in Persian and was translated by Baha'u'llah's disciple, Shogi Effendi. This book was my first experience with Baha'i scripture.

"The Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah" consists of about 153 short paragraphs in two parts. It is cast in the form of short revelations to Bahaullah each of which is prefaced by a short exortation such as "To the Son of Man" characterizing the person or persons to whom the revelation is addressed. There is a brief introductory paragraph to the collection, indicating that the aim of the text is to distill, in short form, teachings that are universal to the spiritual life. This goal of the collection is reflected in some of the comments on this site. These teachings have, and were intended to have, many parallels in the teachings of the other great world religions.

The teachings speak of the need for a pure heart, of the need of detachment from everyday life, and of the importance of not envying,critcizing or condemning others. I was struck by the other-worldiness of many of the teachings, as they exhort the follower to turn away from materialism and desire and turn one's attention and heart to the divine. To me, some of the teachings seem directed to mankind, while others, if I am not mistaken, appear primarily directed towards Baha'u'llah himself. In this latter regard, there are several of the teachings which speak of the value of imprisonment, suffering and martyrdom as they advance the cause of God. These teachings seem to be directed to the founder of the faith or to those in danger of persecution on account of their beliefs. While most of the short sayings are readily intelligible to readers of many backgrounds, some sections, particularly near the end of the book, allude to figures that have some specific meaning for the Baha'i faith.

This book is known within the Baha'i community but will appeal to those who have an interest in exploring a variety of spiritual traditions. I am in this latter group. It is an inspiring text. The work here is presented without an introduction, notes, or commentary. Thus, I was unable to learn the place of this specific text within the Baha'i teachings as a whole. An introduction to the book with an overview of the Baha'i Faith and of how this book fits within it would have been invaluable. Also, notes in the way of a commentary on the organization and substance of the text would have been helpful. There is always a great deal more to understanding a short spiritual work than reading the words of the text. Context and discussion would be useful.

This is an important religious text, and it is good to have it widely accessible. It will appeal to those readers interested in the Baha'i Faith, to those interested in comparative religion, and to those interested in spiritual growth.

Robin Friedman

Bahaullah wrote these short verses of wisdom at a time of great need for spiritual understanding for all mankind. They are inspiring and universal remedys for all beliefs. The best gift you could give yourself or a friend.

Everyone should read this book at least twice.

Clearly I'm in the minority in giving it only three stars, so perhaps I'm way off, but these were my thoughts going through it:

The good aspects: This book is informative and cleverly written and through reading it I had lots of notes written in the margins. I appreciate the format and lessons, and I felt that I could almost use this as a workbook and text book in one due to the excellent arrangement of lessons. The master is helpful and kind, and for me, it was nice having a student asking all the questions so I didn't feel like the only one there that didn't understand every point!

The bad aspects: It seemed so antiquated and I can't imagine memorizing all those arcane rules and applying them when writing. Like, "Oops, I can't proceed in this direction because the masters frowned upon that sound?" Not that all those rules should be thrown out the window, but the exceptionally strict "you must never do this" seems so robotic and programmatic and strange for composing today, even for someone who isn't composing in an atonal or post-modern style. Perhaps if you want to make music that sounds medieval, then yes, this is your book, but if you're looking for something more broad, I don't think this really addresses it. Also, one reviewer said that you didn't need to have much of a background in music to understand it, but I totally disagree (although I can't imagine anyone without a music background picking this book up!). I would not recommend this book for someone who doesn't have a decent background because I think they would get very lost in all the terminology.

Overall: I did feel like it gave a great idea about how many people composed, but again, I can't imagine writing music today based on all of those "right and wrong" rules.

The absolute best book for learning 16th century counterpoint. Nothing better!

This is a great introduction to species counterpoint. It has been in use for many years and was studied by many great composers. It still engages the modern person today because it is concise, imaginative and teaches concepts in a digestible and easy to follow manner.

The form of the book is a relationship between a teacher and student. The student is not the brightest bulb on the tree, but the teacher shows him concept by concept how counterpoint works. This story format is entertaining, but also serves as a way to anchor concepts.

If you are looking for something that is a quick, easy read with lots of good content and historical interest, you will enjoy this. I feel it is a must have for any serious student of music.

I picked up this book and began reading it right away. In two weeks I understood it completely. It is very easy to understand. There are parts you have to work yourself through, but all in all it is very comprehensible. About the only two things you need to know to understand it is intervals and of course how to read music. I notice when I follow the rules closely enough I compose very much like people of the renaissance did. well actually this was the theory of the time so of course if you follow this book your music will sound that way. If you don't want to sound as they did in that time and just want to have more pleasant music, this book will still be helpful. Good price. Good classic theory. Good book.

This most famous text on counteropoint was the standard counterpoint reference for centuries, and was used by such greats as Bach and Beethoven.
It is true that contrapuntal theory has developed significantly since Fux's time (the Gradus was originally published in 1725), but it remains a useful and entertaining introduction to the field of counterpoint. Furthermore, its historical significance cannot be exaggerated.

A few weeks ago I was in Nashville for a conference. The Friday it ended, I went for a walk around the downtown area. Up near the capitol building I found a book fair going on. I stopped and talked with this really cute guy in one of the booths. It turned out to be Cameron Michaels and we talked for a while about his book. I wasn't in a buying mood, I guess, so I passed but still took one of his cards telling me where to buy it on line.

A few days later I started thinking about some things he said and decided to buy it. It was so much fun that I couldn't put it down long enough to do anything else. It really had me wrapped up.

Not everyone has the benefit of being able to talk with the author before buying a book. I had the opportunity and still didn't buy it right then. But, I'm sure glad I decided to pick one up later on. It was great fun and had some pretty interesting things to contemplate.

Call me dense, but I didn't get all the symbolism and insight in this book. I thought it was a well written story with some good twists. It was erotic at times. (Sometimes very erotic) But, what I liked the most was the relationship Michaels created between Karen and Andy. Always at odds, yet it's obvious they still care very much for each other. They had the kind of relationship that could easily carry over into a sequel or series of books.

I have to give the author credit for the way he ended the book. So many romantic mystery or suspense books wrap everything up so neatly and predictably that reading them becomes routine. This book was anything but routine.

The more I got into the book, the more I liked it. The author takes on some pretty touchy subject matter but pulls it off without offense. I really liked the interplay between the two main characters. Their relationship was very believable and the author kept it from me for just the right amount before giving me what I wanted. Another thing I really liked was the way the women in the book were portrayed. Unlike some romance type books (and this really does somewhat fall in that catagory) the women in ARENA weren't waiting around for their man to decide what to do. They were agressive, take action women who went after what they wanted. I found myself laughing out loud at some parts. This author writes about some pretty taboo stuff, but injects some humor once in a while (although it was some subtle and dry humor, but none the less, funny) to keep things from getting too heavy.
The violence was kind of a turn off at first, but after I understood what he was doing, it all made sense and it was actually kind of cool the way the action set the stage for the sex scenes.
It's a hard book to explain. Just read it and you'll be glad you did.

This book confused me for most of the way through it. It was only after about chapter 20 or so that it hit me what was really going on. Very sneaky. I really liked the way the characters were developed along the way. They were real and believable. The only reason I didn't give this book a 5 star is because I thought the author could have made a little better effort to get inside the minds of the characters. On the other hand this was a very quick, delightful read and very enjoyable if you like your romance with a little edge to it. A good book all around.

I ran across this title while browsing for something mindless to read. After reading the synopsis and a few of the reviews, I figured why not. The night I started the book I must have been tired and in a bad mood because I almost threw it away after the first chapter. It really turned my stomach. For reasons not fully understood at that time, I kept reading. The more I read, the more I began to appreciate what the author was doing to me and why I had been so revolted yet unable to stop reading.

As a psychologist I have been exposed to countless research papers, articles, reports and dissertations. Very few, if any, have shown the kind of insight into basic human behaviors and desires, as this novel. The more I read, the more appreciation I gained for what was really being said 'under the surface'. This book truly does deliver on two levels. The story itself kept me turning the pages. But, I think on a subconscious level it was the way the author tapped into my primal desires that was to blame every bit as much. (I say blame because part of me feels very guilty for liking this book!)

I eagerly await more works by this talented author.

This is a wonderful book -- but the price is ridiculous. I purchased a paperback copy of "The Awk Programming Language" about 15 years ago, and its price was in the $20 range. Times change, and prices go up, but $73 for a 200-page book, even if it is a hardcover, verges on outright theft.

Which is a shame, because this is a great book, written by the men who developed the language. In addition to a lengthy tutorial, it contains many examples of sophisticated programs that can be constructed from the simple tools provided by Awk. Anyone who supports computers for a living, whether in the Unix or Windows environment, can find valuable ideas here.

But the price: c'mon guys, you've got to be kidding. This book has been in print for 20 years now. You've long since made back the initial costs of publishing it. The authors are famous in computer science circles, and have written many other books. I'm sure they don't need the money. So I have to conclude that this is just a cash cow for the publishers.

If you're looking to learn about Awk, and you're on a budget, I would suggest "Effective Awk Programming" by Arnold Robbins. It's available in PDF form as a free download. If you'd like to support the author, buy a printed copy of the book, as I did. Published by O'Reilly, it's available in paperback at Amazon for about $26.

And if you can find a reasonably-priced copy of "The Awk Programming Language", by all means, grab it. It's a classic. Thanks to the publishers, however, it's a classic that's out of most people's reach.

I am torn about this book. My primary complaint is that this book costs so much. Its only a 200 page paper back book. I'm a sucker for classic books though. This text appears to be the original 1988 version by the authors. The actual text of the book is very good and being written by the authors of AWK, provides a certain view on the language and their intent that was well received. I do carry this book with me as a reference which I have found invaluable in my shell scripting endeavors. This book will give you a solid overview of the language. Be prepared for example references to the world of 1988 such as the USSR. Despite my complaints about the price, I have to admit that I enjoy owning this bit of Unix history and having the authors own words about AWK. From a practical standpoint however, I think that you can learn every bit as much about AWK by learning from freely available internet content on GNU/Linux versions of AWK (gawk). Since I have worked with Unix since about 1984, I have to concede being blinded by a bit of nostalgia. However, AWK is still a vital tool for anyone's shell scripting bag of tricks and this book will help you further develop your skills with AWK if you have only used it lightly in the past.

This is my choice for the answer to the question "If you were stranded on a deserted island and you could have only one programming book which book would you choose?". Over the years I have periodically returned to this book to read or work through for fun. "The AWK Programming Language" may be from 1988 but it is still outstanding! It has an incredible amount of depth for a book of only 200 or so pages. Well-written, concise, with great examples. Truly an enjoyable book to work through.

I've become a big fan of Awk. Some people may tell you that Awk is outdated and no longer useful; not with other languages such as Perl and Ruby available. Well, Awk does one thing and does it well. It does it "fast enough" most of the time, and does it with a very small language.

Perl and Ruby are fine, but if you lean towards "small is beautiful", you must learn Awk. For times when you need it, it's a Godsend. I've used it recently to automatically generate SQL insert statements from some flat files and to do automatic code generation for larger languages.

Some of the best tools have survived the test of time.

In this book, I feel like I learned all the things I need to know about Awk - all the way from beginner to advanced. It's a classic. Not a lot of books get five stars for me. This book fulfills it's goals perfectly, so deserves a perfect rating.

In Unix today, several scripting languages exist: awk, perl, tcl and python. Awk is a small, easy-to-learn, yet powerful programming language, and is language of choice for quick, think- and analyze-on-the-fly tasks. This book is written by the inventors of this wonderful language. It provides an excellent introduction to the language, with many practical examples for day-to-day use. Over many years, it has also served as a good reference to the language. In addition, this book gives concise introduction to numerous fundamental algorithms in computer science (interpreter, calculator, parser, sorting, graph algorithms, ..), which I consult for complex tasks even today.

Always a joy to read! Highly recommended.

The Psalms, often described as the Prayer Book of the Bible,has been translated by a scholar of Biblical texts, to produce not only, probably, the most accurate translation of the Hebrew Text, with detailed notes, but more importantly from a layman's point of view, the most beautiful poetically up-lifting hebrew poetry, and indeed,truly prayerful at that. Highly recmmended.

Executive summary: Going back to oldest available texts, Hebrew scholar Robert Alter has produced an unbiased and accurate translation, with copious explanation and footnotes. While the prose is inelegant compared to the familiar KJV, it is beautiful in keeping the economy, syntax, reflected meanings, etc. of the ancient Hebrew.

The author: Alter is a Professor at Berkley. His translations of the Pentateuch and other parts of the OT are also fabulous and noteworthy.

Author's special approach: Aside from being faithful to the Hebrew, Alter has struggled mightily to avoid selecting English that might lard Psalms with Christian meaning not actually there. He also uses copies annotations to explain when he has chosen between multiple meanings, damaged texts and why. He also explains when known what the intent of each psalm was, how it might have been sung, etc.

Surprises? yes-- Alter comes up with literally dozens of places where the much later Mesoretic texts appear mistaken. he explains just why the numbering in the Septuagint is correct, for example. This should be enough to prompt Christian readers to perhaps consider reading their English-language psalms from the newly published (Conciliar press) Orthodox Study Bible rather than, say NIV.

Conclusion: A valuable bit of research; wonderful translation effort, handsome edition (nice paper, built-in bookmark, etc.)--a must have for Bible scholars

This was high on my daughter's Christmas and birthday list. It was a high spot in her birthday celebration. It arrived on time and in great condition.

I've been going through a patch of bad health lately. To help ease my way, some friends were kind enough to give me Robert Alter's translations of the Psalms. They didn't know that I'm a fan of Alter's earlier Five Books of Moses translation. I was delighted to receive their gift.

I've been reading the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) translations of the psalms for so long that they've become second nature to me. But Alter's renderings have an immediacy that really does bring a sense of vitality, of expectancy, of being-there-in-the-moment, that awakens both the senses and the heart.

Take the well known Quemadimodum, Psalm 42. The BCP's translation of the beginning is this:

As the deer longs for the water brooks,
so longs my soul for you, O God.

My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God;
when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?

Here's Alter's translation:

As a deer yearns for streams of water,
so I yearn for You, O God.

My whole being thirsts for God,
for the living God.

When shall I come and see
the presence of God?

The BCP version has a lovely, contemplative rhythm. But Alter's version has an edge that expresses not just longing but almost a demand. It's an interesting change of pace, and one that invites a different set of responses and prayers.

Alter's commentary to his translations is graceful and informative, and not--thank God!--heavy-handed and pedantic. I generally distrust commentary attached to translated poetry. But Alter's usually enhances rather than distracts.

This translation is a wonderful gift that Alter has given us all. And my copy of his translation is a wonderful gift from my friends. Thank you!

Not being a scholar, I cannot review this book appropriately. But I can tell you why I am enjoying it and why I recommend that you read it and use it for reference (or reverence)

Alter writes, "What I have aimed at in this translation - inevitably, with imperfect success - is to represent Psalms in a kind of English verse that is readable as poetry yet sounds something like the Hebrew - emulating its rhythms wherever feasible, reproducing many of the effects of its expressive poetic syntax, seeking equivalents for the combination of homespun directness and archaizing in the original, hewing to the lexical concreteness of the Hebrew, and making more palpable the force of parallelism that is at the heart of biblical poetry."

Now ... with regard to two Psalms you may know by heart...:

Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd...", in this translation is rendered:
The Lord is my shepherd / I shall not want. / In grass meadows He makes me lie down, / By quiet waters guide me. / My life He brings back. / He leads me on pathways of justice / For His name's sake. /
Though I walk in the vale of death's shadow, / I fear no harm. /For you are with me.

But what i truly enjoy are Alter's commentaries. Alter's commentary states, "Although the likening of God or a ruler to a shepherd is a commonplace in this pastoral culture, this psalm is justly famous for the affecting simplicity and concreteness with which it realizes the metaphor. Thus, in the next line the shepherd leads his sheep to meadows where there is abundant grass and riverbanks and where quiet waters run that the sheep can drink... [he makes me lie down] The verb used here, HIRBITS, is a specialized one for making animals lie down...... [My life he brings back] Though "he restoreth my soul" is time-honored, the Hebrew NEFESH does not mean "soul" but "life breath" or "life." The image is of someone who has almost stopped breathing and is revived, brought back to life... ...[in the vale of death's shadow] The intent of the translation is not to avoid the proverbial "in the shadow of the valley of death" but rather to cut through the proliferation of syllables in the King James Version, however eloquent, and better approximate the compactness of the Hebrew - BEGEY TSALMAWET. Though philologists assume that the Masoretic TSALMAWET is actually a misleading vocalization of TSALMUT - probably a poetic word for "darkness" with the UT ending simply a suffix of abstraction - the traditional vocalization reflects something like an orthographic pun or a folk etymology (TSEL means "shadow" MAWET means "DEATH"), so there is justification in retaining the death component... ... ... [You moisten my head with oil] The verb here, DISHEN, is not the one that is used for anointment, and its associations are sensual rather than sacramental...

And so.. you get a more in-depth understanding of the Psalm and its intentions in the original Hebrew. Or, take Psalm 137, you may recall it as, "By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion."

In the Alter translation, we get:
By Babylon's streams /
there we sat, oh we wept, /
when we recalled Zion. /
On the poplars there / we hung up our lyres. / For there our captors has asked of us / words of song, / and our plunderers - rejoicing / "Sing us from Zion's songs."

But it is in the commentary that the esteemed Alter shines, when he writes, "This psalm was almost certainly composed shortly after the deportation of the Judeans by the Babylonians in 586 BCE - the experience of exile is fresh and acutely painful... The first Hebrew noun, NEHAROT, generally means "rivers," but because the more probable reference is to the network of canals that connected the Tigris and the Euphrates, "streams" is a preferable translation here. It should be noted that in keeping with the evolution of Hebrew poetry in the later biblical period, semantic parallelism within the lines in this poem is weak, an absence occasionally compensated for by interlinear parallelism."

Alter goes on to explain how the Hebrew use of the word SHAM (there), twice, in the next line is used poetically to express the alienation of the collective speakers from the place they find themselves, and how "hung up our lyres" can refer to the hiding of their lyres in the foliage, or a gesture of renunciation of their use.

This was a very interesting book. The author did a good job of explaining the frustrating process of seeking a diagnosis and treatment of a rare condition. She includes a lot of useful information for those
who may have inherited this condition.

This is a great resource for the newly-diagnosed, and a well-written, gripping bio - but it is far more than that. ... What an moving reliance on the power of prayer! What an awesome testimony of faith! I loved the anecdote about the 'pennies from Heaven'!

A BIG 'thank you' to this author!I am confident that there are few people who will not profit by the information contained in this book. Especially in view of the so-called 'Pandemic which is looming over all of us, I feel that it is imperative for everyone to know how dangerous it is to be 'overloaded' with iron - which, to bacteria, fungi and viruses, is like 'fertilizer' to plants! This riveting, well-written, 'first-person' account alerts readers to the perils of iron accumulation in the body.

More than just about a disease!.
On another website, I saw this book described as the 'definitive book about Hemochromatosis', and I agree. However,a prominent researcher has written that it is the story of a remarkable man and an extraordinary relationship. He was right. - It's more than a layman's reference to genetic disorder. It's a consummate love story. Love at first sight...the enduring adoration of a teenager for a young man; which would lead her, in time, along an thorny path and against all odds, to a fight against ignorance of a disease. That fight has culminated in the saving of lives around the world.

Original edition - 1989 ISBN 0889258856 autographed. Collectors' item. Limited number available! $30.00

I just finished this book and plan on continuing by finishing the others. However, I feel it's best used after having a little background knowledge first. I found this book much easier to follow after working problems beforehand. I use these books not really for solving problems, but for learning math methods and math terminology.

If home studying, an excellent addition to this book is the "Math Tutor" dvd series. Algebra 1 and 2 of that series cover topics in this book. Plus, you get practice solving actual problems in a "step-by-step" way.

This book includes a nice bonus: it not only covers Algebra 1, but also covers functions and other topics from Algebra 2.

If you're into flakey comedy, you might also want to give "Standard Deviants: The Series" a whirl. They're fun to watch one or twice for picking up tidbits and study tips (even one very powerful mnemonic on the Trig. set). "Youtube" also has some excellent materials and lessons.

I personally find that I best learn Math syntopically. Basically, do problems from a variety of sources and read from a variety of sources. Things you didn't pick up from one source you will from the others. It's like a puzzle and starts to piece itself together. It's good practice for picking up different teaching styles too! It sounds like a lot of work, but I notice it actually cuts my time down compared to reading from only one source.

Some of the "Demystified" books are suppose to be very good. I haven't tried them yet. However, read reviews because there are a few clunkers (different authors).

I love this method of learning math; for me, it works so much better than the average textbook -- and it's more fun.

Caution: You really should have a strong fraction-solving knowledge base before entering Algebra. Having that will save you tons of time later. Kelley's book includes a chapter on it, but if you need practice, "Painless Fractions" is an excellent source.

I haven't picked up an algebra book in 20 years. Even in high school I never "got" word problems. After reading the word problem section in this book, I was able to correctly solve the problem in the book and a couple in my textbook. That alone was worth the price of the book. I was so excited, I ordered a copy for a friend of mine that was taking an algebra class.

I really did enjoy reading this book! The humor helped with the subject matter explanations. The book was a great help for me.

I'm a returning college student who was once pretty decent at math, but felt like I needed a refresher. I think this book is fine if you're taking a math class at the same time. This book is a good secondary guide to your primary text.

I'm glad I bought this book. It is working well for me. The author explains everything very clearly. It sure has tamed what, for me, was always a real demon. I absolutely hated math, especially algebra, but this book has changed my outlook, and I feel soooo proud of being able to finally understand at least the basics of algebra. This book is working where math class failed.

This is not a bad biography. The facts are there as well as a reasonably complete account of a very complicated part of history. But the people and groups that Marshall dealt with are simplified to the point of caricature. Similarly, matters of grand strategy and the new tactics stemming from technological advance are treated merely as things that Marshall had views on. It's not clear from the book that the author understands anything about war as fought in the mid-20th century above the cartoon level. Of course there were many people; of course things were complicated, and a great deal happened; but in over 700 pages we are entitled to some subtlety and insight, which aren't there. General Marshall, one of the truly great mean, deserves better than this.

George Marshall was arguably the greatest man of what has come to be known as the Greatest Generation. Only George Washington commanded a similar level of veneration and awe from his contemporaries as Marshall. And, like Washington, Marshall was revered mostly for his irreproachable integrity and honor.

In this solid, single volume life of the celebrated Army Chief of Staff, Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, Ed Cray captures the essence of a man who was at once Olympian, yet, in a sense, quite common and whose special qualities should have been, in an ideal society, unexceptional. Marshall became a legend by being a world-class manager (one might even say a highly skilled bureaucrat) and earning a reputation for incorruptibility and almost unnatural selflessness. He was a larger-than-life figure who got that way through hard work and honesty, rather than uncommon genius or death-defying battlefield heroics. That has been Marshall's reputation since his lifetime, and Cray's biography generally endorses that image.

But this is no hagiography. As Cray tells the story, Marshall was, in fact, deeply ambitious; the prospect of being passed over for Chief of Staff drove the future five-star general to fits of despair and he fretted over his slow career advancement during the 1920s and 1930s. Moreover, Cray argues that Marshall didn't shy away from using connections and influence to advance his own cause and engaging in self-promotion when necessary, especially early on his career. In one memorable anecdote, Cray writes how a young Marshall literally elbowed his way into the Oval Office to talk President McKinley into giving him a shot at taking the Army Officer's commission test (it worked and Marshall passed). Any notion that Marshall simply worked hard, kept his head down and let the chips fall where they may has to be rejected after reading Cray's biography.

Not surprisingly, Cray devotes a great deal of focus to Marshall's role in the Second World War. He stresses Marshall's unswerving commitment to a few core strategic principles and his epic battles with some of the biggest egos of the 20th century. First, he steadfastly promoted the maximization of industrial production in the US and the careful allocation of resources based the key objectives being sought (much needed amphibious landing craft - LSTs - played an unusually critical role). Second, from the earliest days of the war Marshall maintained a steady focus on a "Europe-first" approach to strategy and a landing in France as the means to winning the war, which brought him into frequent clashes with Admiral King, General MacArthur, overall US public opinion, and, last but not least, Winston Churchill and his penchant for operations in the Eastern Mediterranean and the "soft underbelly" of Nazi Germany. Finally, Cray describes Marshall as an unapologetic defender of his commanders in Europe - especially Eisenhower - against the badmouthing and operational encroachment of the British.

Cray eloquently and accurately sums up George Marshall's life this way: "[he] exemplified in his lifetime all that was America's best - its sense of mission, of responsibility, of integrity, even nobility." Indeed. It's a shame that there aren't more like him.

This is a fantastic biography of an incredible leader. Marshall is usually associated with the European Recovery Act and as the Chief of Staff of the Army during World War II. He influenced so much more during his long Army career. A true gentlemen and scholar, his long career and dedication to service is an inspiration for all of us today.

For those of you who like their reviews to be direct and to the point: Ed Cray, a professor of journalism at the University of Southern California, has written the single best one volume life of George C. Marshall. The book is 15 years old and is unlikely to be surpassed for another 15-20 years. It is the kind of book that will still be in print 70 years after its initial publication.

Why? Well, it is well-written and a pleasure to read. More importantly, Cray does an excellent job of giving his readers a character portrait of the great general that brings the man alive. Not an easy thing to do with a subject as taciturn as Marshall. The man that emerges is one of real character. He became a protégé of General of the Armies John J. Pershing only after Marshall stood up to him as an overage captain, yelling at the general telling him he was wrong when Pershing had criticized Marshall's division. As Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, Marshall was the critical figure in building the military that defeated the axis powers. He selected the commanders, who often went on to greater fame than he enjoyed. He was the leader of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the war and often had to battle with his naval counterpart Admiral Ernest J. King. In the realm of allied strategy, he faced off against the head of the British Army, Field-Marshal Sir Alan Brooke. In both cases healthy mutual respect kept from making their differences and disputes personal. In running the army during the war, Marshall's administrative style was highly effective and can provide a model for many in other fields to follow. He also suffered. His stepson, who he had done a good deal to raise, was killed in Italy. It says a good deal about the man that he made no effort to protect one his family from dangerous assignments.

After the war, Marshall served as Secretary of State and then later as Secretary of Defense. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for the plan the State Department developed to rebuild Europe after the devastation of the war. He was twice "Time" magazine's "Man of the Year."

Marshall was the first five-star general in U.S. history and that was no accident. In this fine book Cray makes that clear.

I read this book immediately after I finished Douglas Southall Freeman's massive four volume biography "R.E. Lee," and at first, I thought I'd be underwhelmed. How wrong I was.
Cray's book covers all the major moments of Marshall's life. While it probably won't surplant Forrest Pogue's definitive four volume work, it will probably remain the finest one volume distillation.
Marshall's contribution to this nation cannot be overestimated in any way. A key member of Pershing's staff in the First World War, his time with the 15th Infantry in China, helping organize the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Depression, his ascension to Chief of Staff on the very day Germany attacked Poland and his invaluable contribution in that post over the next six years, his time as Secretary of State in the Truman administration, there is little that Cray didn't cover.

Truman and Eisenhower would have major differences between each other over the years, but their flat out admiration of this man was well warranted.

I stand in awe that this country could produce such a man. We certainly could use more like him.

General of the Army is a solid book. Well written and instructive. Definitely worth the time it takes to read it.

This kind of stuff seems to be before its time. It's unfair and impossible to accept for some of us though. Like Harry W. Carpenter who nearly died from a rare heart disease if not for the right-brain power described throughout his book.

This is not the most considerately or 'cateringly' presented information, though. Not much of this book really seems to give a damn about my 50 year old mother, for instance, who is intimidated by how worthless her short-term thinking, left-brain existence has been in contrast with the ideas suggested in this book. Very idealistic and scientific notions of hokiness, which may or may not have given her a better life if she'd followed them back when Freud was telling her to.

It isn't the easiest thing to accept. It's a big task re-assessing the entire way a life has been lived, and this book doesn't seem to care. It simply explains, shows, and describes but does nothing to get my vegetated, TV-driven, sweets-obsessed mother to do anything more than read a page of the book, think "so that's how they do it" and then read another book.

Compared to "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" by Malcolm Gladwell, this book just isn't any fun. Blink talks about real-life stories and situations involving real-life people and their subconscious minds. But the Genie Within is laid out like a text book. It is more instructional than personal, and meant to be referred to more than read all at once. It's not written by a psychologist either, which must be another problem for skeptics. Worse, it isn't even written by a writer.

Harry W. Carpenter is a teacher who used the power of suggestion and imagination to utilize his mind and save his body from what doctor's described as an incurable heart disease when he was a kid, and is probably the wrong man to be compiling, introducing, and presenting this stuff to the world. Maybe it was inevitable someone might 'be alive' for such a reason, but are they really alive to be writing a book ..? My guess is probably not, and this IS a very strange book- much like "Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion" by Emile Coue, which gives me the same strange feeling I get when I pick up The Genie Within.

To conclude:

This book was never meant to exist. I feel strange just holding it. It's like holding a precious metal, or something from outer space.

The problem is just that, though. The information in this book is all true, and whether it seems from another world, poorly written, or too strange to waste $14 on, it's still a great book of facts. There IS, believe it or not, a right half to your brain -- it is only your left half, the conscious half, which is capable of failing to acknowledge this.

The subconscious mind exists. It works in the present tense, meaning 'right now' and it has no time for statements like "I'm gonna do that!" or "I'll be fine!" but only "I WILL do that!" or "I AM fine. GREAT, actually!" but more importantly, it doesn't know the difference between reality and imagination. For example: You have a paper-cut on your right index finger. It's bleeding a little, and stings. Are you going to shut your eyes, imagine it bleeding, and tell yourself "oh, it hurts!" or are you going to shut your eyes, imagine clean unmarked flesh, and tell yourself "It is healed. The pain is going, and my immune system is strong!" ?

Even more importantly:

What harm or risk are you really taking by employing these ideas ..? Do you think imagining your finger bleeding and the pain hurting you is going to help it heal, whether those two things may be true or not ..?

In my lifetime, I imagine people are going to stop being skeptical of psychology some day. They are going to stop focusing on the problem, and start imagining the solution. People are going to work together more emphatically, and share not only ideas, but self-concepts and ways of thinking in accord with certain jobs, situations, and predicaments. This whole 'subconscious mind' thing was never meant, like anything, to be accepted right away. And even if right now the only people writing books about it are the ones who are ALIVE because of it, I see only evidence that we are moving, going somewhere, animate, and collectively pointed in the next step of human evolution.

Of the mind and unity of each half.

Did I mention I stand by my five stars, and I think if you want to learn more about 'using' your subconscious mind, you should invest in this book ..? Well, I COULD say that . . . but I'll say whatever the hell I want. And you can too. Just do it for yourself. Whatever it is you are doing, do it for yourself.

If you are struggling to achieve the success that you want, then you need to do three simple and easy things: 1) Buy this book, 2) Read and learn the concepts contained in this book, 3) Apply what you have learned in this book.

The author boils it all down to an easy to learn science on how you can utilize your subconscious mind to achieve anything that you desire. This is key since I've read several books on the subconscious mind. After reading this book, I know now why I didn't succeed using other author's suggestions. This book is almost more like a fun to read manual of how to program your subconscious mind for all the success you want!

My advice to you is to IGNORE all other books on this subject until after you've read this book and applied the techniques. I have and am seeing very successful results after the first day.

This is a great book. Not too long. Easy to read. Reaffirms what I have always heard about the power of our subconcious mind. It's a shame that we waste all this power and ability.

I have a copy of Awakening the Giant Within by Robbins, TNT by Bristol and I bought two different books of NLP. I bought this book recently.

The two books on NLP were so complicated that I just put them aside. Carpenter's book is an easily readable nuts and bolts of the subconscious mind and how to program it, although he left out the "avoid using don't in your scripts. There was one part that I the skeptic do wish he had left out and that was about the pendulum idea of determining a baby's sex, etc. That is a bit hokey but it does demonstrate the power of the mind just like a ouija board. This one I didn't want to put down and I'm sure I'll read it again.

Written by retired aerospace research engineer Harry W. Carpenter at the behest of students asking him to put his insights into harnessing the subconscious down on paper, The Genie Within Your Subconscious Mind: How It Works and How to Use It is a no-nonsense guide to overcoming negative thoughts in order to promote better health and improved quality of life. Offering amazing insights into the mind-body connection, The Genie Within Your Subconscious Mind draws upon published studies and testimonials to reveal the "laws" of the subconscious and useful communication techniques. "The Law of Expression states that every thought causes a physical reaction in the body... Ever read a book, or seen a movie, about a poignant love story and got choked up?... The mind and body are one: therefore, what affects one affects the other." Enthusiastically recommended as a useful tool for taking greater control of one's life and happiness, for readers of all backgrounds.

I bought this book for my son who is not quite two and is learning his colors. This is a great book - larger than most but not "big", high quality with hard pages, and a semi-soft "cushy" cover. The items pictured on each page are good discussion items with your toddler as well. My only negative is that on some pages like "black" the objects shown are not all black which can be confusing - like a white sheep with a black face or a black wheel with a red hubcap. Overall, though - a great book to learn colors.

I read the reviews for this book and just had to have it for my twins. I was so pleased when it came. It is really well made, a good solid board book with a nice cover. The colors and pictures that represent them are just beautiful!! My kids took to it immediately and wanted to read it over and over again, and I enjoy reading it with them. This is going to be my shower gift or new baby gift for any friends or family from now on! You will not be sorry with this book!! (I also bought the "My Big Animal Book" by Priddy books, too, and it is just as stunning!!!) I am a devoted fan of these books now!

great for identifying objects & colors. bright and cheery so babies and toddlers love to look at the pages.

This line of books is of very good quality. The pictures are excellent and not too many details for little ones. The board books are very sturdy. I also ordered the Baby Animals book and another Animals book. You won't be disappointed!!

I bought this book for my 2 year old son who has had language delays. This book has definately helped increase his awareness of colors as well as differet objects. The book devotes 2 pages to each color, featring the color in the background and gives 5 examples of each color. (Blue features a parrot & blueberries, green features a frog & leaves....) What's nice is that they don't always select the obvious for each color & has a "match the color" quiz on the last 2 pages. The book is very sturdy & small enough for my toddler to hold it in his lap & turn the pages by himself.