Insight Books

Having been a fan of Ms. Andersen's parenting humor columns for the past year, I couldn't wait until her book came out. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. She has a way of making you think and making you laugh at the same time. I could relate to everything she talks about. This book isn't the same old poke at PMS and midlife crises. It's much, much more. My husband is a gynecologist, and her chapter about visiting "Dr. Igot Bighands" had both of us in tears of laughter. My favorite chapter was the one about crabby people (looks like one of them has posted a review here already!). I don't know about the author's Ebay business, and frankly, I don't care because that has nothing to do with her ability to make me smile, validate my crazy life, and earn my devotion as North America's #1 humor writer! I recommend this book highly. Julie Donner Andersen turns midlife angst into midlife joy with every turn of the page. A must-have for all women over age 35!

"In all my 40-something years I have never read anything that made me actually giggle out loud as often as I did while reading "Parentally Insane: Insights From The Edge...of Midlife!" It is a masterpiece of daring truths and family hilarity. Once I started reading, I just couldn't stop! I read the whole thing with ridiculous tears of laughter streaming down my cheeks-or maybe they were tears of relief that my family wasn't the ONLY weird one in the world! What an absolutely delightful book! This should be a mandatory gift on Mother's Day!"
~Kristi Sayles, author of Jacob's Monkey-the Trouble with Lying, The Day I Woke Up As An Ostrich - An Odd Collection for Christians (SynergEbooks, 2001) and creator of "Smart Author-Instant Writer Software http://smartauthor.com and http://cafepress.com/smartauthor

As a professional book reviewer for a daily newspaper in southern Ontario, Canada, I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing this book before it was available in print to the general public. From a man's perspective, the author is "spot-on" with her humorous and insightful observations about husbands, parenting kids from teenagers to toddlers, and the dynamics of midlife marriage. Her sense of humor borders on the wacky yet astute tongue-in-cheek stand-up comedy of George Carlin, with the gentle suburban spin of writers such as Erma Bombeck and Dave Barry. To get a woman's perspective, I asked my wife to read this book (which gave her something to do during baseball season). Having gone through a box of tissues, she gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up, and wanted me to ask the author when her next book is coming out. Soon, I'm sure, as this author has what it takes to keep us laughing for decades to come.

It's nice to hear that the author remains humbly down-to-earth by Ebay selling. Having spoken with her several times on the phone, I found the author to be earthy, honest, and quite charming. I'm sure if anyone had a problem buying something from her, they need only look in the mirror to see the source of their issues. And man, you gotta have issues to vent on Amazon about something that petty.

Julie Donner Andersen captures the perils and rewards of midlife with a keen eye for excruciatingly funny detail, and bears witness to a variety of midlife issues that no other author has ever dared....from visiting the GYN/OB to being mistaken for your youngest child's grandmother. And when it comes to parenting, there is nothing sacred that Ms. Andersen does not touch upon: sons with soap allergies, teenage daughters who have perfected "the look", and toddlers who run naked through department stores - all delivered with the perfect timing of a stand-up commedienne and the down-home humor of Erma Bombeck.

The author truly shines when discussing midlife marriage and the various oddities of the masculine sex. From tool fetishes to peculiar "gas" concertos, the author exposes male secrets with a midlife wife's point of hilarious view.

If you are in midlife, or know someone who is, this book would make a wonderful gift to yourself or someone you love. Buy it for your friends and co-workers, too...There isn't a woman alive who couldn't relate to the subtle wisdom, nor appreciate the fearless honesty of a writer who tells it like it is with such comedic flair.

Outstanding book! One of the best overviews of the often confusing post-modern literature I have ever encountered. Highly recommended!!!

It's really hard to know how a nihilistic movement such as post-modernism can have anything other than a renunciatory effect upon science of any kind. That notwithstanding, Rosenau distinguishes two main strands within PoMo, which may otherwise cause confusion. The skeptical strand comprises the purists who brook no compromise with their anti-foundational findings. On the other hand, are what Rosenau calls the"affirmatives". They comprise the compromisers within the broader PoMo camp, and are prepared to somehow accomodate modernist precepts within a broader PoMo framework. Whether these affirmatives compose anything more than an unworkable eclecticism, is left wisely unresolved. Even so, Rosenau believes their sensitivity to openess has the capacity to force modernism into major revisions. In any event, it is the purists, the other major strand, who define the movement itself.

If the affirmative's problem is trying to eclectically blend unblendables, the skeptics tend to refute themselves, the usual outcome of extreme abeyance. In an excellent concluding section, the author summarizes the endemic paradoxes of this position. For example, PoMo's use of theory to disavow theory; deconstruction's use of the very tools it deconstructs, viz. reason and logic; moreover, in raising the marginal at the expense of the center, a value judgement takes place even when such judgements are programmatically condemned.

Boiled down to basics, purist PoMo ends in its own version of solipsism: millions of unsynthesizable personal narratives. Small wonder that only the narrowest, most localized results are sanctioned in a prospective post-modern social science. In Rosenau's account, the possibility that such a science can emerge focuses on individuals instead of subjects or personalities. Since reason, structure, and other modes of synthesis are impossible, how such idiosyncratic accounts can even approach a threshold of science seems inexplicable to me even after reading the book.

But since PoMo is the fashion of the day, it's to the author's credit to have crystallized these topical questions in clearly understood terms.

As a graduate student I encountered this book on several levels over the years. I first bought it in India while doing anthropological fieldwork to catch up on theory. The applications on social inquiry to the "Third world" were very helpful, especially the section on views of the west in the post-Marxist era. More recenty I have read it with an interest in public policy, and found relevant insights on the nature of the public sphere. The glossary is unique in its throroughness. This book serves as a classic--elegantly written, comprehensively researched- and more importantly a useful guide to postmodern ideas for the working academic and student alike.

Through my years in graduate school I have encountered this book on several levels- I first used it in India while working as an antrhopologist to review the basics and get "caught up" with some theroy. The book proved to be especially useful in applying postmodern ideologies to the "Thrid World". More recently I have re-read it with a focus on public policy, and again was not disappointed. Dr. Rosenau's research is impeccable and comprehensive. The book is useful for both experienced academicians as well as beginners.

The Wild West days of the dot-com craze are behind us, but e-business strategy remains a largely uncharted frontier. In fact, e-commerce seems more bewildering than ever, now that many of the strategic maxims that the Internet bubble was built on have been proved false. To help you get a handle on the revolutionary technology that has survived the collapse, Nirmal Pal and Judith M. Ray have collected articles by researchers and executives, including many from their home base, the e-Business Research Center at Pennsylvania State University. This anthology constitutes a solid and well-researched book, which has sufficient gravitas (and jargon) for an academic and enough practical information for an entrepreneur. The multiple authors sometimes overlap as they dissect various e-business approaches, but all offer worthwhile ideas. We [...] recommend this book to executives at any company, since Internet technology is now ubiquitous, and distinctions between old economy and New Economy are fast falling by the wayside.

This is a wonderful collection of leading edge research and practical advice from experts in the field of e-business, e-commerce, and e-"anything". The authors and editors have created a very timely set of e-business thinking, imperatives, and recommendations, as well as practical and real life examples to cement the concepts. I highly recommend this book!

This is an excellent book on diverse aspects of e-business. The book offers great insights from a collection of experts. There are important nuggets from various topics ranging from e-business metrics to personalization to collaborative commerce to regulatory issues. The book provides useful frameworks for analysing e-business issues. I personally liked the fact that this book is applicable to both old economy and new economy companies. Despite the challenge of synthesizing a wide array of topics, the authors have done a commendable job of integrating the chapters. I highly recommend this book for all managers.

The various authors examine "key themes" that intersect all manner of changes now occurring during what they characterize as an "information revolution": free agency, compressed supply chains, co-opetition, obliteration of boundaries, e-leadership, the elimination of hierarchies, emergence of electronic marketplaces ("bazaars"), club membership, and finally, "trust brokers" who serve as "an incentive and penalty mechanism to uphold the `digital order' in global, real-time electronic markets." The material is presented and then developed by within 14 chapters. In Chapter 1, for example, Ghadar and Leonard "deliberate on how the digital economy is forcing a fundamental and permanent shift in the way enterprise strategies are developed, and in the process raise significant new challenges for managers. In Chapter 7, Bhargava and Lee "provide valuable insights about emerging technologies and practices that will help organizations remain open and flexible in response to the changing technological environment so that past information technology investments remain useful and valuable in the future." And in the final chapter, Loomis and Gerhard "identify several strategic issues facing executives who must lead or interact within the e-government environment." All manner of forces are driving the expansion and consequent complexity of the "digital frontier" and at an ever-increasing velocity. Here in a single source are a range and diversity of perspectives on this process. The editors are to be commended on the selection and presentation of the 14 separate but inter-related essays. I also appreciate the "About the Contributors" section which identifies dozens of supplementary sources to consult for those to wish to explore specific issues in much greater depth. Those who share my regard for this book are urged to check out Profit from the Core, written by Chris Zook with James Allen, which suggests a number of growth strategies which are also worthy of careful consideration.

well-written, I liked the collaboration and different pearls of wisdom from the two authors. A very helpful book for understanding the full implications of karma and the Four Noble Truths of the Buddha.

"Our life has been spent in sleep and sleepwalking," Jack Kornfield writes in this guide to insight meditation; "meditation means waking up" (p. 52). Coauthors Kornfield and Goldstein are also the cofounders of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. This book is based on "talks given at several intensive meditation retreats" there, and focuses "on the deepening of the inner meditative process, the hindrances one encounters, skillful means of mastering them, and the understanding and wisdom that can arise while in meditative silence" (p. 215). "To understand ourselves and our life is the point of insight meditation: to understand and be free" (p. 7), Kornfield writes. Goldstein tells us that "we practice to open, to balance, and to explore" (p. 18).

Practicing insight meditation is about "clearing or emptying" the mind and heart so that we can listen in a deep and new way" (p. 57). This introductory guide not only contains valuable exercises, but also offers trusted advice about working through the "difficulties and hindrances" that may arise while practicing--desire, aversion, torpor, restlessness, and doubt. "Through practice," we're told, "it is possible to train the heart and mind, to make them concentrated, to make them steady and luminous and free" (p. 39).

The book concludes with a discussion of "the seven factors of enlightenment," mindfulness, effort and energy, investigation, rapture, concentration, tranquility, and equanimity, also offering advice for integrating meditation practice into "our everday lives" (p. 215) so that we may live "a mindful life in the world" (p. 228). Like a finger pointing at "a bright, round moon" from this "floating world" (pp. 129-30), this book is sure to become a trusted resource for anyone interested in living a deeper, more meaningful life through the practice of insight meditation. For those interested in venturing further down "the path of insight meditation," I also highly recommend Goldstein and Salzburg's 12-cassette INSIGHT MEDITATION course.

G. Merritt

I picked up the pocket version of this book one day and happened to open to the page which talks about the accumulation of material items and the transitory happiness it brings -- how once the novelty of the item has worn off we go about buying more things-- all in the hopes of stimulating that "happiness" response. Boy did that hit the nail on the head!! I had to get the full length version and it has been very enlightening. A definte must for anyone who is at a point in their life where they are questioning their purpose, their "path" and want to know what to do to effect change. I loved it!!!

I was very impressed with the authors' ability to address concerns that I have had with meditation in the past: specifically, that meditation often sounds like an escape from reality, or a numbing mechanism that shields one from reality. The authors speak from a depth of experience when they explain that meditation is like "learning to surf": there will always be waves in life, and insight meditation provides a method of learning to "surf" those waves and remain standing. The authors admit that a successful meditation practice doesn't get rid of the problems inherent in day-to-day living. It simply equips us with the means to deal with problems as they arise in the moment.

Kora
toseeaworld.googlepages.com

This book is required reading for anyone in sales!!!!
Joe and Dawn have a straight forward approach on how to use the phone effectively a great time saver and unique insight!

"Joe and Dawn Pici have created a no-nonsense system that produces results! With the suppport of the Human Behavior Experts at Personality Insights Inc., you will learn how to communicate effectively in the marketplace. Understand yourself. Understand others. Adapt. Make the sale. Their system is pure momentum, so get on top of the wave. You don't want to miss this one!"

J.M. Kline
Certified Human Behavior Specialist
Corporate Sales Trainer and Success Coach

As the owner of an executive search firm, I continually look for resources to improve my and my staff's productivity. Most information available is technique-driven, one-size fits all - providing an initial boost, but no long term results. Implementing the Sell Naked approach has increased my company's bottom line already, with no lag in sight. Our clients and candidates have stated that they feel we really understand them, their goals, their agenda. We've initiated deals we couldn't have without this inforamtion; we've closed deals that we couldn't have previously. I've observed a fundamental increase in my staff's self-confidence and greater efficiency - interesting, with no addtional "technical/product" knowledge, just leveraging their existing knowledge base. Lastly, an unexpected benefit for us has been our improved relationships with family and spouses...not a stated benefit in the typical business training, but real, nonetheless.

I saw Joe and Dawn give their sales seminar live, and it was powerful. The book captures their straight shooting, results driven approach. The first few chapters make the book worth getting. Gives good tips that apply to relating with people in everyday life (people skills). Recommended - even if you are not in sales.

By now Swindoll is a little larger than life. His powerful sermons and insightful books have influenced an entire generation of Christ-followers. But in this little known early work he offers timeless advice that stands up 16 years later.

In fact I consider his chapter on "Fighting Fair" to be the best advice I've ever heard, seen or read on how to manage conflict in a God-honoring way.

Great stuff!

This book is packed with so much excellent advice! The best thing about it is it's source - our main Handbook for Life, the Bible. This book gives us the practical applications for the principles that God has given us in His Word, so that we can experience His best for us. I've heard so many people wish for an instruction book when encountering one of life's biggest or most important experiences, and I can heartily recommend this book as an excellent instruction book for having success in your marriage experience. It is as simple as putting the principles to work with a sincere, whole heart. Study it - chapter by chapter, alone or with your spouse - and let your marriage be transformed!

I have quoted from Charles Swindoll's Strike the Original Match Published by Multnomah Press 1980, Pages 19, 22 in a book I've written, ready to be published in a few weeks. How and whom do I contact to gain permission to use these quotes?

Thank you for your help.

This book should be read by couples with problems as well as those who think they are doing fine. It is a must read for newlywed couples.

Outstanding prayerful book- gives great comfort in the Lord
For all faiths! Perfect gift book

This is a wonderful inspirational book. It's just like a conversation with God. When you seem to have a special need and you pick this book up, it's like God talking to you from the pages. I have appreciated it so much. It has helped me many times and encouraged me when only God knows what I need. I certainly recommend it. It is a special gift that keeps on giving.

As with some of his other books, Frances Roberts writes as the Father and the Bridegroom entreating His Bride toward her final destination. His books are full of comfort, rare jewels and deep insight rarely found in most books. They are for the wounded in heart, the lonely, the weary, confused and disappointed.

The tone of Roberts, in this book, is that of the Bridegroom giving gentle instruction, clear guidance and immense encouragement in view of the coming wedding: The Bride must prepare her heart, she needs to know how. The Groom gives step-by-step instruction to the Bride, leaving nothing out.

The Groom basically stills the Bride's heart, helping her to quiet her spirit and refrain from influences that defile her spirit. He teaches her freedom, freedom that is only attainable through total submission to the Spirit, and how to cultivate her spirit. He teaches her how to draw on the Spirit's resources, and how to remain in her hiding place where her soul is under divine protection.

I recommend this book to those who are seeking to walk and rest in the Spirit - it is full of comfort and will refresh and guide you.

This a great devotional that will inspire you to pray more and will also teach you things about prayer that you may not have known. It is one of the greatest books on prayer that I have read. It is so good that I will on occasion take it with me just to read sections of it. It has a scripture index in the back that can give you new insights to specific bible verses. It also one of the few books are prayer that combines God's love with prayer.

Thinking of what kind of business to start? If you know a person who can see the future, wouldn't you ask him if your plan business will succeed? This book leads you to answer those business questions you have in mind. Plus a lot of bonuses! A MUST!

Coach Al & his wife Hattie came to our church mar30-apr01 '07 to do Vertical Leap seminar. What humble man & woman of God! it was truly a life changing experience! he trained with discipline, but has such a warm & caring heart to truly help people excel in life! i had great expectations before the seminar, but Coach Al challenged and opened my mind, i was blessed beyond my imagination. He is such a patient teacher, he was able to teach what seemed to be abstract ideas in Quantum Physics/laws of thermodynamics and connect it to Biblical Truths. it was amazing!

For the past years i have been trying to figure out which goes first in God's will for me. I have received so many personal prophecies and i don't know which direction first for action. Many came to past already and many still to come. But my heart yearns for Kingdom order. I also have read many books like Think and Grow Rich, E-myth, books in this direction. Though they were really great books, they lack one thing that Vertical Leap gave me and satisfied my needs exceedingly, and this is....Bonding with your source. I have never been so in love with my God like today. There is no better source than a Personal, Living God. If your heart yearns for God's purpose in your life in detail then this is the book for you. The Book itself is not the answer, it is a book to guide you to the Source, and the Source has the blueprint for your life that is waiting for you. Though, the whole process of knowing His purposes in detail is an awesome kingdom experience, you cannot exchange His tangible peace and intimate presence that Al leads you through this book.

Get your copy, do it NOW!

This book is a must read for all those who are seriously committed to discovering their God-given talents and abilities. It's for anyone who is seeking to reach their destiny in life. "Its time to shake off those grave clothes and dream again." Let Al Hollingsworth (affectionately known as "Coach") coach you to success as he reveals and tackles the negative mindset and programming that many of us have fallen prey to in the past. The principles discussed in this book are tried and tested. They will work for you, if you are faithful to put them into practice. For example, the principle "Hope-To-A-Thing" is for real. Since reading the book and attending the Vertical Leap Seminar, I have found this principle to work in my life. I know that we were operating in this principle when we recently bought our first home after five years of searching and waiting. So stop the struggle and take the Leap from Facts to Faith to Action!

This is a valuable resource on the topic plainly spelled out in the title. A reader can easily set aside the author's analysis and DIY using the compiled verses from the Qur'an. It makes a good addition to the works of Mike Scheuer, formerly of the CIA (including IMPERIAL HUBRIS -- see my review), and it's much better than any number of current right-wing "christian" rants that demonize Islam as a whole and call for all-out war on Islam in such a way as to reinforce every suspicion of ordinary Muslims about "Christian" Crusader states.

A most valuable Volume Two would be WAR, TERROR AND PEACE IN THE BIBLE AND IN CHRISTIANITY, along with a catalogue of the long history of "Christian" wars, their tactics, strategies and justifications. Although Jesus plainly said "love your enemy" and "turn the other cheek," Old Testament passages supporting either "kill them all in the name of God," or "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" seem to be much more commonly used by "christians" when it comes to the question of war.

It seems sadly apparent that both "Christianity" and Islam are, IN REALITY as opposed to in principle, violent and aggressive religions. Leaders of nations and ordinary followers of both have a tendency to project all evil onto the Other and justify their every action as virtuous. "God/Allah is on our side."

As Kurt Vonnegut said, "and so it goes."

Here is a beautifully conceived and packaged book about Muslim warfare that stands-out among the dozens of books that are being churned-out each year on this topic. Schwartz-Barcott, a sociologist and former Marine Corps officer, packs at least three books into one: (1) a careful inventory and an objective analysis of all of the verses in the Koran that deal with peace, terror, and war, (2) an original analysis of more than 200 of the most famous Muslim battles and wars (including those that Muhammad led and those that the U.S. are waging in Iraq and Afghanistan right now) ), and (3) examinations of the motivations and behaviors of dozens of contemporary terrorists, including Osama bin Laden and an American Islamist named Aukai Collins.

In the process of presenting these

The reader must first realize that this book is an analysis of what the Qur'an says about war and peace and how well Muslim armies have followed its tenants. Although it contains numerous accounts of Muslim armies in battle, it is not a military history book. All in all, the author did an excellent job of analyzing his topic. The book effectively proves a thesis that is not that surprising. Throughout history, Muslim military leaders have used the Qur'an as a convenient authority to justify their actions. Muslim leaders appear to be no different than their Christian counterparts who used, or misused, the bible to justify unnecessary bloodshed. Dr. Schwartz-Barcott, does an outstanding job of demonstrating this point. Chapter 2 provides numerous passages from the Qur'an that dictate how a Muslim should fight a war. Chapters 3 through 5 provide an excellent overview of Mohammed's military campaigns as well as numerous other Muslim battles throughout history. On several occasions, the author refers back to Chapter 2 as a means of illustrating certain points.
The reader should be aware, however, that it is not an easy book. Although some chapters are an easy read, other chapters are slow moving and tough to get through. Nevertheless, any reader who perseveres will walk away smarter than before. Chapter 7 provides some useful insight into the existing mis-perceptions about the Qur'an and how to deal with people who hold onto these mis-perceptions.
Bottom line: this book is an intellectual analysis of the author's thesis that Muslim leaders have historically misused the Qur'an to justify their actions. From an analytical point of view, the author clearly proves his point. This is not an entertaining book and some parts are difficult to read. Nevertheless, it is chock full of useful insights and information on Islamic military history.

The Qur'an or Koran is the holy book of Islam. It combines religious aspects, with law and rules by which you should live your daily life. It is the defining book of the people it seems we will be fighting for the next few years. Muslims consider the Koran to be EXACTLY the very Word of God.

This book is aimed at those who need to understand the psychological nature of our oponnents. Hopefully this will include military leaders (The book is published by the Army War College.), political leaders, and - although I suppose it is too much to ask - reporters.

As with the Jewish and Christian Bibles, the Qur'an is long enough to have enough quotes to justify almost anything. Dr. Schwartz-Barcott has done a supurb job of analyzing the situation in which we find ourselves.

A listing of the table of contents is probably the best summary of the book:

Approaching the Qur'an and its Proponents
The Qur'an's Passages on Peace, Terror, and War
Muhammad as a Military Commander
The Qur'an and Muslim Wars, 632-1984 A.D.
Some Recent and Current "Muslim" Wars
Interpretations of the Qur'an and of Muslim Warfare
Insights: How the Qur'an Can Help in Peace and In War with its Proponents.

I was going through a terrible time in my life when a friend handed this book to me - I read it over and over - it was my source for reassurance everytime I questioned my decisions. I have given this book to several people that I thought needed the same help - it was amazing how such small thoughts could have such a dramatic effect on someone

It's wise, it's great, it's complete and a very big boost for self-assurance!

Sad thing is seeing STUPID OBNOXIOUS Gorillaz fans who think the phrase from the title of this wonderful book is a quote from Murdoc Niccals. What a bunch of losers.

John Mason, congratulations for your brilliant work!!!

that can really help you change as a person if you want to. I enjoyed the fact that it was a simple easy read. John Mason gets the information across in a clear manner. He doesn't waste a lot of words.

This book is full of wonderful self affirming statements. It has passages from scriptures mixed in. A very uplifting piece of work. Lot's of wisdom to live by.