Maxim Books

A great book for those interested in learning as our Civil War soliders did. It is a real insight into military thinking of the time.

This is an excellent resource for the serious Civil War re-enactor, or for the history buff researching the 'way it was' for the soldiers in that time period. We use this book in setting up camps, and reenactments here in Florida. This is the real thing-the regulations for the army in the 1860's.

If you have a sister who you cherish very dearly, this book says it all about sisters and makes a lovely gift for a very special sister!

This lovely little ribbon bound book of proverbs and poems is an exquisite gift for any female friend, including your Mother! It's contents are touching to the point of laughter, tears and the reality of family type friendship. Very lady-like and inspirational. The country victorian artwork itself is worth more than the price of this little gem. I reccommend buying several, for that little "I care", "Keeping in touch" or "You're special" gift. I'm sending it to my best Friend and my Mother. It may even be appropriate for a brother to send to his sister. Very endearing and honest.

Reading "The Comfort Book" is a strange and wonderful experience. As I encountered, one after another, the descriptions by people of the methods by which they find comfort in difficult times, I felt myself drawn to that core level of humanity that one discovers in the deepest moments of insight. In a world that is so loud and fast and sometimes isolating, it's easy to lose sight of the simple need to be soothed, the soft side of us all. This beautiful book shines its light on that basic yearning. From now on, one of my own sources of comfort will be to turn to this book.

I have to admit that I usually approach books like this with skepticism. So many of them are full of sugary sentimentality. But Jane Seskin's Comfort Book is different. She has had the intelligence to ask real people what they find comforting, and how they offer comfort to others.

The result is a collection of responses that are usually helpful, sometimes funny, and never too sentimental. The people in this book - who have all had a lot of pain in their lives - find comfort in everything from Big Band music to cats, and from cleaning the floor to meditation. The sheer number of comforting suggestions is comforting it itself. There really is something here for everybody.

The Comfort Book is divided into practical sections: "Things," "Places," "Music," "Animals" and so on. Jane Seskin, who describes herself as a "Psychotherapist, writer, earth mother and coach," has included pages for personal notes, and a comfort balance sheet.

The Comfort Book is a perfect gift for your anxious friends and relatives this Holiday Season, or at any other season. Comfort is never out of style.

David Bouchier
Author and NPR Commentator

This is one of the great books of wisdom I have come across.

Other ones have been the Tao, I Ching. This one values great humanity, art, responsibility towards one's fellows, decency, leadership and high competence.

It has some use for me today, even if I don't see the manifestations of its recommendations in the world very often.

Benedict

She was never short on pride for her native Ireland and always emphasized the richer, positive aspects of Irish culture (not drunken leprechauns). This new translation would surely have made her proud as it shows the the depth of Irish history and the splendor of Irish wisdom. Very readable.

I recommend it for anyone looking to expand their knowledge of leadership or Ireland. And I'd say it makes a perfect gift for anyone looking to nourish their Irish roots.

this was a gift for a friend of mine....book was in excellent shape and had shrink wrap around it

I gave this book as a gift. Dave is a fanatical Dallas Cowboy fan and he takes this with him where ever he goes. His wife says it has become his new bible for Cowboy trivia

"The words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels" - Hazrat Khan. Quotes, poems, bits of philosphy, East, West, saints, sinners, poets, authors all contribute to this inspiring collection of quotes. Some simple, some pretty deep, all are beautiful thoughts. A friend once gave it to me and years later I still reference it.
"When the heart weeps for what it has lost, the spirit laughs for what it has found". Sufi aphorism.

A book which delivers the title. This is a conjugation of truths derived from different religions, philosophies, poets and authors, all of which provide fantastic and moving insight into the human experience through verse, proverbs and various scripture. It achieves this without being didactic, self-absorbed, secular or trivial. A book you can cherish.

I bought the book for one of my gothic friends thinking it was about misery but when I opened it up I was entranced by the quotes. I don't view it as a negative book even though most of the quotes are not cheerful. It makes you think and it was very captivating to see how some of my favorite authors had hidden meanings in their writing which I did not see until it was taken from the context as a quote. I great book for those who are into quotes and looking into a different type of reading material.

If you are a nihilist or are just interested (or curious -I know I was) in nihilism then you should definately check out this book. I got mine at the library and ended up buying multiple copies. It helps me put forth evidence in essays and other things I write of how nihilism has been present through out the ages.

This book should convince most readers that reading the Desert Fathers (and Mothers) is enjoyable religious reading for the common spiritual seeker. The translations and the art accompanying them create a presentation that will appeal easly to those who enjoy the collections of Anthony de Mello, Idries Shah, various Jewish collections, Zen Buddhist stories ...

The tales and sayings themselves are short and evocative. For example: "Abba John the Little said: We have abandoned a light burden, namely self-criticism, and taken up a heavy burden, namely self-justification." It is accompanied by a picture in Japanese style with two women carrying loads on their head (sticks and basket) and two men with Sumo wrestler builds with large, heavy loads. The picture is as effective as the story at drawing the reader into the story.

After reading these stories, read Roberta Bondi's excellent theological introduction To Love as God Loves and the translations of additional tales by Merton, Ward and others.

Yushi Nomura has put together a collection of roughly 100 sayings from the 4th and 5th century monks that we now collectively refer to as the Desert Fathers. In addition, each saying is illustrated with Japanese style brush drawings, which gives this collection a distinctive flavor when compared to either the collections by Thomas Merton or Helen Waddell.

This is not a comprehensive collection of sayings. Rather it serves as a superb introduction to this body of Christian literature. The sayings of the Desert Fathers are characterized by their pithy and direct nature. You will not find abstract theologizing here; the desert was a place where the hard realities of living the Christian life - humility, hospitality, forgiveness, failure, mindfulness of everyday things - were confronted every day.

Originally published in 1982, this new edition from Orbis includes a wonderful epilogue based on Henri Nouwen's unpublished lecture notes for a course on "Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Ministry" that he taught at Yale in the early 1980's. It was Nouwen's course that introduced Nomura to the literature of the desert and began the process that led to this book.

Nomura's collection was my first introduction to the Desert Fathers back around 1984. The book has long held a special place in my heart, and I am overjoyed to see it reissued.

when I started to read this book I read the whole thing in one sitting.

Perhaps because he's Canadian (so am I, but I'm completely objective here), Kinsella has a superb understanding of the psyche of baseball -- which is truly America's national sport.

It's not all that odd. Alexis de Tocqueville, from France, wrote "Democracy in America" in (1835 and 1840), still the most penetrating and insightful view of the character and core values of American democracy. It took Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw to best understand the English -- no Englishman could write "Pygmalion" upon which "My Fair Lady" is based.

Novelist Bernard Malamud summed it up nicely, "The whole history of baseball has the quality of mythology." In about 150 quotes, this book brings that mythology to life.

Kinsella is a master observer of baseball. His "Shoeless Joe" became the classic "Field of Dreams" in 1989, the best film yet about the spirit that motivates boys and men to play, watch, understand and love baseball. This is a story of redemption and faith in the best American tradition, and the film captures the magic of Kinsella's story.

Baseball is not like other sports. It is a game in which each individual player faces the entire opposing team alone, in batting and base running to score points. Think of Canada's ice hockey in similar terms -- requiring a single player to face nine opponents to score a goal. It's tough enough to "kill a penalty" in hockey when a team is one player short; hockey, like most sports, is a team effort.

Baseball reflects the American spirit, a "lone eagle" against the world. Yet, it is also the poetry in action of superb teamwork; from pitching to fielding, from the subtle grace of a curve ball to a double or triple play, it has the grace of a lyrical ballet perfomed on fresh mown grass instead of a dull indoor stage.

In a world of factoids, sound bites and trivia, "Diamonds Forever" collects the best sayings about baseball by players, fans and others. Kinsella's skill is knowing what to include and what to omit, and he offers up the meaning of life as well as the inner qualities of baseball. Like Tocqueville who understood American democracy before Americans could define it, Kinsella offers an outsider's view of the magic that makes baseball the quintessential American sport.

Baseball isn't automatic success. Thomas Boswell wrote, "If you do everything right, you'll still lose 40 percent of your games -- but you'll also end up in the World Series." Ted Williams said much the same, "Baseball is the only field of endeavour where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer."

Tired of being criticized ? Reggie Jackson noted, "Fans don't boo nobodies." It's why, as Humphrey Bogart noted, "A hot dog at the ball park is better than steak at the Ritz." Casey Stengel of the Yankees offered the surest wisdom for a happy life, "The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided."

As broadcaster Bryant Gumbel said, "The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love." Or look at it philosophically by Dagwood Bumstead (drawn by Chic Young), "Baseball, my son, is the cornerstone of civilization." Perhaps Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella expressed it best, "You gotta be a man to play baseball for a living but you gotta have a lot of little boy in you."

True enough. Baseball is a game for those who have the enthusiasm and faith of little boys - - who know everything is possible. It's why only Americans have walked on the moon, it's why the US is what it is today.

Kinsella, like Tocqueville, understands the spirit of baseball. It makes this book eminently worth buying. Beg, buy or borrow it, read it, think about it and remember the best of its quotes for a perceptive insight into America and her game.

As for the title of this review, it was originally said by sports writer Red Smith. It's like America itself, as expressed by pitcher Satchel Paige, "Ain't no man can avoid being born average, but there ain't no man got to be common."

Now . . . . . as an afterthought - - - why doesn't some public spirited American do the same for Canada and hockey ?

A Dictionary of Cinema Quotations From Filmmakers And Critics by Stephen Ringler. Not a movie quotes or snatches-of-dialogue book, this is instead an unparalleled source for the best quotations ever uttered by those involved in the filmmaking business.

Brilliant observations and witticisms by Hollywood's best and brightest, covering over 100 years. Mostly zingers you've never heard before (where did Ringler find all these?!) Peerless in its selection, this book entertains, enlightens and illuminates like no other. A costly little commodity for its 207 pages, it makes up for it in the sheer quality of its 3,400 entries. A few worthy examples:

"I always thought the actors were hired to ruin the writers' lives." - Robert Benton

"Audiences attract dollars; stars attract audiences; characters attract stars." - David Geffner

"Show business is high school plus money." - Stephen Speilberg

"Hollywood never learns from its own failures, only other people's successes." - Robert Redford

The top tome on my movie book shelf.

Writers, critics, toastmasters and others involved in the film industry will find this book useful for supplying quotes from the industry's best. And the book's organization and index supply all the buttons to gain access to what you're looking for.

But beware, all who are looking for a quickie quote. You'll open a page that's just your subject and come up for air hours later. The book might be great as a reference tool, but it's also wonderfully entertaining.