Alternative Books

Sex, organized crime, academia politics, science fiction, ancient history, globalization -- this page-turning suspense novel has it all condensed in <300 pages. At times, however, the author does a poor job of painting a picture. Some settings are described vividly but others are simply stated. Also, was a large chunk of pages missing from the book? There was no pinnacle. There was build-up leading up to it, but the denoument was rushed into. Still, it was satisfying. Overall this is a great read: it's both entertaining and instructive. If you don't enjoy it you'll at least learn a few things!

This novel is an intoxicating cocktail of suspense, mystery, and action. The rich descriptions of Brazil, Peru, and Japan transports the reader through both space and time. With an ambitious approach to examine science vs. nature and the wild vs. civilization, Meyers explores the complicated relationship between man and progress. A must read across all genres.

During my recent visit to Brazil I had great pleasure to meet the author, Prof. Marc Meyers, in person. This motivated me even more to read "Mayan Mars" - I heard of the author and his book earlier. I must admit that I read his book with great interest - as soon as I immersed myself into it, my curiosity increased immensely and I wanted to discover what will happen next. The plot depicts a truly unusual concatenation of science, technology and human emotions; integrating the past, the presence and the future into a very captivating, intriguing and moving story. It is the kind of book that increasingly compels the reader to reflect on how the ways we have used to shape our past will take our civilization into the future. Are we all going to adjust our behavior to protect our descendants, or are we going to perish as most of the unfortunate people in "Mayan Mars" did? I shall now anxiously await the next sequel by Marc Meyers! There has to be one more!

This book gives us a wonderful trip to Mayan, to its history and its culture. This story combined together the ancient legends, the real life, and the fabulous imagination of future. It also makes us to think about the fate of human being.

Amazing book. The most intersting topic was the capacity of the author to connect the history of an old civilization with a modern science situation. In this manner, we can feel the possibility of the history becomes true.

This is a superbly written book. This is one of the best "how-to's" I've ever read, and I write those kinds of books myself.

This is by far the best book that I have read on any life transforming physical exercise including other books on this subject, as well as books on yoga and tai chi. The author writes simply and masterfully. He promises an easy to learn, easy to do "exercise", and delivers. This book has none of the New Age psycho-babble that mucks up so many other books on the subject.

When Qi Gong developed in China for more than 20 years, Chinese people finally find Falun Gong is the most effective. So there are more than 100 million Chinese people practice Falun Gong before the government's persecution.

But western society seems still enjoy the low level Qi Gongs.

Why not directly start from high level Falun Gong? It is not difficult. When you try, you will know.

There is an old Chinese saying: "Learn from the best".

Many of us want very much to do spiritual and physical exercises but never seem to find the time. This practice can be learned quickly from this most excellent book and takes only six minutes. I've been using the book for three months and have felt an increase in energy level, both physical and spiritual, already.

The author has written a clear & practical book, with compact and understandable information about Qi Gong in general plus some nice information about what it has done for him personally.
It has good instructions and a lot of black and white photos which are easy to follow.
I found the excercise sequence very simple to do. It is relaxing and indeed takes less then 10 minutes to perform.
I think this book is a great start for beginners. Anyone can do these excercises.
If you're interested in other, longer and more intensive Qi Gong forms, I'd like to recommend the book 'The Swimming Dragon: A Chinese Way to Fitness, Beautiful Skin, Weightloss and High Energy' by T.K. Shih.

I would love to detail all of the specifics of what I found interesting and helpful from the books and DVDs in this system, but that would surely take up more time and room than this space allows, lol. Suffice it to say that those Reiki recipients whom I have been working with for some time have commented that they notice an increase in Reiki power -- and they didn't know that I had been doing further study with Steve Murray's Usui Reiki system products; they simply knew something was different. As a newly-signed author myself, I love his writing style; Steve is straight to the point without unnecessary wording --- I like and appreciate that.
Steve Murray's books and DVDs and absolutely priceless and will remain in my personal library as invaluable reference materials in the years to come. I do and will recommend them to anyone that I believe would be interested. I also see that his new book and DVD will be released soon. I plan to purchase and study those also ;)
Namaste,
Raine

While many books, DVDs, etc. SAY that they will reveal the secrets of Reiki, the series written by Steve Murray really delivers.

Here you will learn all the Reiki symbols, the attunements for 1st level, second level, and Reiki master, and much, much, more.

Thoughtfully written, you will find everything you want in this series of books and I highly recommend purchasing them. They are a must for any Reiki healer's library.

This is a great way to learn Reiki. I took a lesson for one and two attunments. But I get more out of Steve Murray's information. I have all of his books, DVD's, CD's. I can go back at anytime to study the information. This way I learn it even better and grow with it. I can't go back to a class unless I pay BIG DOLLARS!!! This is well worth it, it teaches you the same thing a class does. When I did the first attunment I truly felt something, more than I did at a class. It give me more consentration being by myself so I get the real feeling. It's amazing. I now have my Master through this wonderful program.

After being attuned to the 3 Reiki DVD's, I tried it out on 1 of my massage clients. He was more than willing to be my Guniea pig. I asked him not to tell me if anything was wrong, I wanted to see if I could figure it out on my own. While i was performing the session, i felt tingling going all over my hands & going up my arms. I wasn't sure if it was the Reiki or if my hands were falling asleep from holding them up for so long. They tingled all over his body. When our breif session (maybe about 15 minutes) was over, I asked him if he was sore all over. He responded, "Yes! How did you know?" I told him, "I just knew." Still not sure if it was the Reiki, his wife, who is a dear friend, reinforced it for me. She said, "He said he NEVER felt anything like it in his life. He never felt such heat generated from something that wasn't touching his body." I believe this is proof that the Reiki Steve's teachings and attunements work.

His books are so helpful in answering questions that he didn't have time for on the DVD's. So far, my favorite is the "False Beliefs" book. I started out with that book. The others reiterate it & therefore, I believe make the Reiki stronger because you can understand it better. Steve is a wonderful teacher and is so helpful in answering your questions. There is no doubt in my mind that he is an even better teacher in person. If I had the money to visit him in California, I would. He is a very special person. BDB

Ten years ago, one of the worst things that can happen to a man happened to me. And that would be a devastatingly painful condition of the testicle that lasted twenty four hours a day, accompanied by equally terrible rectal pain. I was twenty seven, just bought my first house, just married, just promoted to managing the largest drug store in town, and life was supposed to be grand. And except for working seventy hours a week, things were ok. I felt like I needed something new and exciting in my life, something thrilling. So this translated to buying a Racing-type street bike. I had a bike as a kid, a Suzuki, so I already knew how to ride, and I had really enjoyed it, and missed the thrill of the wind and the speed.
This desire for the exotic would be my ruin. After riding only a couple of months, I think the strain of working so many hours, plus all the heavy lifting I did in the stockroom, plus the notorious strain put on the groin area by the nick named "crotch rocket", it was just all too much. I developed not only pain but down on your knees pain, and had to continue working seventy hour weeks, it was retail, merciless. I kept going back to my urologist and he just could not figure it out, dragging out the damage and pain further over time. Finally after it had got to the point of me having to take a sauna bath Before and after work, I was able to diagnose my self. After about twenty minutes in the hot water I realized that my right testicle could spin completely backwards like a face turning all the way around to face the back. That is not physically posible, and that is called a Tortion of the testicle. A tortion of the testicle which spins more than a 360 on it self can kill a testicle in a matter of minutes, completely cutting all blood supply to the testicle. I think mine had only gotten to 340, so I just had the pain, and the nerve damage and all the strange effects of letting that continue unchecked for six months.
So, after I diagnosed myself to my doctor, I made perhaps a fatal flaw. I allowed him to do the surgery. He needed to basically sew it in place, that was it. But perhaps by that time so much damage was done to the nerves, I was beyond true surgical solution. I had the surgery and my allotted one week recovery time, yeah, one week. And went back to a downward spiral of blinding pain, emotions way out of control, so many different prescription drugs I know they have taken years off my life, divorce, bankruptcy- for medical costs, foreclosure, fighting the state system for disability, fighting my insurance company for my disability long term insurance, monthly prescription costs that look like a New York penthouse rental, to having to move back in with my folks, God bless them.
Now that sums up the past eleven years and I tell you, I have really not had any good news since, I even developed a skin type condition on the scrotum area, probably from nerve damage, that required steroids a couple years ago that probably was going to cut my life span in half. But Reiki has completely healed that skin condition, in just a matter of a couple months, and I no longer have to use steroids and just that alone is a miracle to me!
For the first time in over a decade I can cut back on the meds enough to keep my head clear enough to read and learn again, and that is a miracle to me! I am not stupid by a long shot, I have a Bachelor of Business Management from a major University, an IQ of 160, carried mostly A's and B's, but I am on so many different prescriptions for pain, at such high levels, I have trouble seeing the text on the page, much less concentrating!
Reiki seems to really be helping me in every way, I am using it in every way I can to heal physically, mentally, emotionally, and most importantly, spiritually, because I have been bitter. I have experienced positive rebounds in each of these areas in just three months, if you put faith in the system and just let it work, you can literally cure yourself. Anyone who has read the "Secret" knows that healing with the power of the mind has been discussed as a real mental phenomenon, this is more like the "Secret" on Steroids! Reiki connects you to a sacred source that I can only compare to God, and promotes strong fast healing on all levels. And Reiki is also a system that allows you to direct the type of healing you most need and where you need it, it is hard to explain to those hearing about it for the first time. Usually you get the look. But you have to accept that this system works, there are forces in the Universe greater than humans and no, they don't have to answer to us. My dream would be to completely heal myself 100 percent, and then find employment using this wonderful system, I will keep using Reiki to try and make this a reality. By making this amazing system available to the average to more than average down trodden Joe, Mr. Murray has taken a self-less path of spreading this powerful knowledge to the masses, instead of those who would keep it a secret and sell it for a fortune to a fortunate few. This is a spiritually enlightened man who recognizes that salvation of a generation is worth more than salvation of a federation.
Without Steve Murray's Reiki Program, I would still be declining in health, barely holding on to life, just barely.
I can not honestly say I would be alive right now, had I not found Steve Murray's Reiki Books and Attunement Dvd's.
Steve, Thank you does not seem like enough.

This book is wonderful. It is just packed with information for keeping your cat healthy. Wonderfully written and illustrated with side notes filled with bursts of info that you will reflect back to over & over again. Most treatments, for common cat aliments, are all natural cures but it also lets you know when to call the vet & how to be a partner with your vet when your cat needs medical aid. Beautifully illustrated with rich photos of normal cats. Good book for anyone regardless of experience with cats. You will learn why you cat does what they do and what to do when it is a problem. Info ranges from kittenhood to litter box to calorie control to illness remedies - this book will never get dusty on a shelf, it has gained a permanent spot on the table by my chair.

I first found the web-site and bought the book; first for myself and then many friends. It's so very wonderfully written. Nothing 'in your face' that you have to do certain things. So easy to read and the photos are great. I've recently had a problem with a couple kitties and with the help of Sandy's book, things are SO much better.... Please get it and read it....and get some for your friends....

Whole Health for Happy Cats has become my cat bible. It lives in the kitchen with my `human' recipe books. Like them, it's covered in...ahem... `stuff', as I refer to it so often, particularly with regard to making nutritionally-balanced, cat-appropriate food.

My three cats are benefiting greatly from the info on nutrition and gentle holistic means for treating illness and disease. I'm also benefiting by saving a fortune on vet visits and expensive drugs that often just treat the symptom, not the cause. I feel so much more empowered knowing that I can treat common ailments myself, using items readily available from most health food stores. The book also explains when I should go to the vet without delay. The book is thoroughly researched using the latest information available. For this reason, it's far more useful than older books on the subject.

Without this book, I wouldn't have the confidence to make my animals' food myself. This book has all the information I need to know that the food I'm giving them is not only enjoyable for them to eat, but is nutritionally balanced, based on the latest research in cat nutrition. Given the tragic pet food contamination that killed thousands of cats and dogs, I can sleep at night knowing that my guys won't be the victims of less-than-optimum quality control and cat-inappropriate `filler' ingredients that are in so many commercial pet foods.

I particularly love the `mix and match' table which shows you how to nutritionally balance various types of meat with the other things cats' need.

For those who don't want to make their cats' meals, the book includes details on what to look for in commercial cat food, and what to avoid.

The book covers a whole raft of issues including diet, first aid, treating minor ailments, behavioural issues, reducing stress during vet visits, cat-toxic plants, how to introduce cats to each other to minimise hissing, spitting and flying fur, solving toilet troubles and how to resolve conflict in multi-cat households. There's even a recipe for safe, cat-appropriate tooth paste to maintain good teeth and gum health (I'm psyching myself up to try that out) and a gentle tummy soother.

The book is very easy to read, with lots of gorgeous photos, side bars, graphs and tables and interesting facts and figures. An absolute winner. I've given copies of this book to others and it's also in my public library.

My cats are healthy, lean, purring machines and they have this book and the author's extensive knowledge to thank for that. Every purrson should have a copy.

This book has become a most valuable resource in my house, I have learned so much about proper cat care from Sandy Arora and treasure this book very much. I keep it handy with my cookbooks in the kitchen even :) This book helped me learn to take better care of my cats, they have made the smooth transition to an all raw diet, supplemented by other natural methods of keeping. My copy was always out on loan that I finally got a second copy!

To another pet parent looking for a balance between nutrition and ease of sticking to the routine, this provides guidance sometimes omitted if just dealing with a vet on an annual basis. Our Moxley's 11.5 years young and we almost lost him to urinary cystitis over six years ago. Luckily, his vet succesfully performed a perineal urethrostomy and he's been trouble free since. Although excessive ash in his food was allegedly to blame, it made me re-evaluate what he was eating. He also had slight allergies and some dry spots over his eyebrows which we were told were untreatable as they did not respond to prescription creams. Otherwise, he seemed healthy. Since then, he eats home made food, often raw, with fish capsules squished into the commercial food he gets as a treat. His fur is glorious, eyes clear, dry spots forgotten and he is focused on getting the most out of his life. (If you want to see the sheen of his fur, check out YouTube for Moxley cat spanking). We recommend this book as a great addition to a home library and to share with other (less enlightened) pet owners. When the horror of the pet food recalls happened, we felt safe and grieved for others' loss. No one should blindly trust "corporate strangers" in their pet's welfare. This book will help you take control of it with ease.

Here we have a detailed explanation of the workings of the human digestive tract, how most of us can expect it to deteriorate with age, and what we can do as self help.

I can't comment on the "cures" in this book, but the whole thing about why one shouldn't live on the purple pill indefinitely was an eye opener. The authors present a compelling argument and supporting studies that leave you shocked that doctors are so quick to write those prescriptions.

I was lucky and found out about this book from doing research about acid reflux. I immediately ordered the book and read it in one night. I told my husband that this has been my problem all along. I have too little stomach acid! I have been plagued with acid reflux for the last 17 years(I am now 38 yrs old). When I would wake up in the morning, I would have a burning feeling in my esophagus even while taking the well known proton pump inhibitors. I had no energy and I really felt like I wasn't going to live much longer. I immediately flew to Dr. Wright's clinic and was tested there when they confirmed moderate hypochlorhydria. With everything they have recommended, I can't believe that I am no longer plagued with acid reflux. In addition to the low stomach acid, I was very ill with severe yeast overgrowth throughout my body and I wasn't assimilating any vitamins or nutrients. I thank God for Dr. Wright. I will be on his treatment plan for a year (currently it's been 6 months)and then will get re-tested to see if I am finally producing enough stomach acid on my own to help digest my food. Over the past 17 years, I have had many tests run on me by the Gastroenterologists. I never could get an answer as to why I had acid reflux. I was simply told to keep taking the proton pump inhibitors. If you are suffering from acid reflux,
do yourself a favor and get this book!

The theory in this book is that most people have too little stomach acid and that antacids not only do not help you but they make the problem much worse. So here is a simple test to try if you want to see if you have too little stomach acid. The next time you feel the need for an antacid mix 2 parts standard vinegar with 1 part honey. Then take two tablespoons. If you have too little acid the vinegar will help and you will feel better. If you get worse than you probably have too much acid and you can go ahead and take your antacids. I now keep a bottle of this vile mix in my fridge and I no longer take antacids. It is nasty to take but it works like a charm, every time! If you find out you have too little acid then you should buy this book immediately and read it cover to cover. They suggest using lemon juice at meal times to help replace the acid you need. Much better than taking vinegar too! There is so much good information in here that you do not want to miss it.

A new remedy came on the market promising 14 days of heartburn relief. I rushed to the drugstore the day it hit the shelves. As advertised, I had 14 days of blissful remission.

My suffering relieved, I relived the days when heartburn was impossible. There was a time I could gulp jalapeno peppers like candy. I could eat a double order of Nick's Famous Coney Island Dogs piled with onions, washed down with a (small) pitcher of beer. I laughed at heartburn.

When the 14 days ended, the heartburn returned with a vengeance, worse than ever. Warning labels proscribed continued use of the remedy. There has to be a better way, I concluded, and started researching heartburn online. This book turned up among the search results.

Following the book's advice, I swallowed a spoonful of fresh lemon juice to combat an attack of heartburn. The lemon juice caused some alarming turmoil in my stomach, but the heartburn subsided. I had some lemons on hand, so I squeezed them into glass bottles of drinking water. I put the juice of half a lemon in each quart bottle.

For the next few months, I drank lemon-spiked water. The heartburn abated from day one. I didn't need to take the acid tablets the book recommends.

I am a beer and coffee lover, so there were occasional flareups. I might forget to take the onions out of my gyro. I fought these flareups with chewable papaya enzyme tablets, which work better than any antacid.

My shopping habits changed. Instead of buying antacids in jumbo bottles, I bought lemons by the 5-pound bag. I squeezed one or two lemons a day into my drinking water.

Eventually, water didn't taste right without lemon. I ended my lemon water addiction. In 3 years, the heartburn has not returned. I've been working on the same bottle of papaya enzyme while eating and drinking practically anything I want (except onions).

I've had a puzzling response from fellow sufferers when I have suggested this book. People don't want to hear about it. They get the idea that it's some kooky, possibly dangerous, health fad. Strangely, they seem reluctant to give up their trusty antacids. They'd rather keep fighting a losing battle than take a chance on a simple cure that sounds counterintuitive. MORE stomach acid will cure heartburn?

I consider myself lucky to be open to alternatives. I turned to this book only because I was so fed up with years of riding the antacid merry-go-round. If you are serious about ending antacid dependence, this book has the answer.

You have to be patient while the authors lay out their theories and research findings. For the doubting medical community and readers leery of jarring unconventional ideas, the authors take several chapters to make their case.

Actual advice for heartburn sufferers can be summarized in a few pages. A few pages that can make your life a whole lot better.

Here's what I love about Dino Sarna's Alternative Vegan - everything. Seriously, Dino's voice comes through in the most unostentatious and entertaining way as he coaches me to make changes, take risks, use what I have, not trip to the grocery for some obscure ingredient. Got this but not that? Use what you have. Can't afford top of the line cookware? Join the club and get yourself some used stuff at a thrift store. Good food will result all the same.

Taking the theory Sarna provides and running with it has filled my home with spicy aromas, healthy meals, and a great deal of satisfaction. It's almost like Dino Sarna is standing behind me as I cook, shaking his head in approval, providing a guiding hand when needed.

This is way more than a collection of recipes. This is a collection of wisdom about the chemistry of food passed down from generations of Sarna's family. It's worth the price and then some. Get your copy. You will not regret it.

I would suggest that anyone on a vegan diet or just wishing to explore exotic cooking get this cookbook. This book focuses on vegan eating without all the soy-based prepacked "fake foods". Dino's writing is entertaining and will help relax you and make cooking a pleasure. All the recipes I have tried have been delicious.

If you've been frustrated by trying to find ingredients for vegan cooking at your local store, this can help. And so far, the recipes are good. I especially liked the black olive hummus with truffle oil. The banana bread wasn't quite as successful, but my bananas weren't ripe enough so that may have been part of the problem.

Simple and tasty recipes. I am in love. This book has become my go-to book when I'm wondering what to make for dinner.

My omnivorous husband professes to hate garbanzo beans. Over the weekend I made the dry cooked garbanzos (p.64). Yesterday I was rummaging through the fridge looking for the leftovers. He asked what I was looking for, I told him, and he said "Oh...yeah...I took that to work with me for lunch. It was really good."

Victory!

This book not only has a GREAT variety of vegan recipes, it also has great cooking tips on pot/pan selection, etc. AND, it don't tell you that you have to buy a $2,000 set of pans. It tells you how to do it inexpensively! AND, the author has a great sense of humor! Read it from Page ONE!!! If you are gluten intolerant, there are many recipes in here for you.

Babbers my chow dog accidently pushed me down on my cement driveway. I hit my face hard causing extreme pain making my nose and eyes to swell. Then suddenly I noticed that my bleeding cute knee hurt and my back. I then grabbed my Uri Geller crystal and forced myself up thinking magicial positive thoughts like: "It doest't Hurt" over and over. Mind Medicine taught me how to harness my own healing powers using imagination, contemplation, meditation, affirmations for my body to fight pain. Remember when meditating it will help reduce stress harmones and help your body build T-cells. Read this wonderful book and live longer.

There has been much research into the correlation between positive thinking and the effects this can have on our physical bodies. Uri Geller has been an advocate for the powers of positive thinking, and whatever you may think of his work, this particular book draws on proven conventional medical facts which Uri Geller has put into an easy-to-understand format with plenty of exercise which the reader can put into practice. I defy any reader to practice some of the exercises within this book and not feel a positive effect either mentally or physically. This certainly is a reference book which you will want to refer to time and time again.

Author and world-famous psychic and spoon-bender Uri Geller has written a visually stunning and thought-provoking book about how to heal ourselves with the power of our minds. MIND MEDICINE begins without assuming that the reader already has prior knowledge of this subject. Almost every page of this book is graced with beautiful pictures, interesting charts, and fascinating quotations that are relevant to the topic being discussed. Luscious illustrations supplement the elegant simplicity of this wonderfully informative text in such a way that the reader's mind is fully engaged while reading.

The premise of Mind Medicine is that we can and do affect our health with our lifestyles and attitudes... which we can change. Geller advocates judicious use of modern medicine in conjunction with the healing powers of our minds, yet points out that most of us do not fully harness our own healing abilities. We are healthiest when we feel loved and happy -- and this joyous, light energy attracts more good things and people to us. Geller invites us to contemplate what makes us happy, and how free we are to change.

This book is written so simply and clearly that I envision it being a text book for children or adults who wish to learn how to discover what Uri Geller calls MindPower... the higher powers that allow him to bend spoons, locate hidden things, and affect things from a distance. Geller makes his irresistible invitation to us crystal-clear in the introduction to his book, "The mind of every one of us possesses an unimaginable gift and you are about to learn how to use it. Open it now." You'll be glad you did!

After ordering three of Uri Gellers Books from Amazon , I awaited delivery with great anticipation and was I thrilled when they came. The Mind Medicine book is FAB! It is a well written and well laid out book with stunning photo's and chapters that make you really think '' I CAN heal myself!''. Written clearly without any 'Psycho-babble' it is a great thought envoker.

Delivered along with Uri's 'Little book of Mind-Power' I am looking forward to focusing my energies inwards rather than outwards and also I shall enjoy reading my third book - Jonathan Margolis' boigraphy 'Uri Geller - Magician or Mystic '.. I can't wait to see what the future will bring !

Uri Geller's Mind Medicine is truly one of the most important purchases of my adult life. Uri is a clearly a gifted and blessed man who has an almost shocking and genuine care for humanity. I found this book to be a most positive influence on my own daily life and my interactions with othe people. One of the most profound and powerful experiences I have know is a particular pasrt of the book where Uri invites you to pray along with him for individuals who you have hurt or been hurt by. Also, I was taken back by Uri's visual guides in relations to forming positive thoughts around you, those you love and those who again, you have injured or been injured by. These excercises are real and one can literally feel the physical difference in the body. I would recommend this book by Uri to all who wish to improve thier own lives and the people they touch every day of thier lives. I think that covers virtually every one of us walking this earth.

This book is great- between the detailed illustrations, the extensive lists of muscle functions and the breakdown of why the muscle does what it does, it really helped me to learn. The only think I didn't love is the order the muscles are listed in, in my brain they would have been logically grouped together a bit differently, especially when it comes to trunk muscles.

I bought this book after attending one of Dr. Muscolino's cadaver lab workshops. I highly recommend this book and, if you are thinking about a cadaver workshop, I recommend that as well. Dr. Muscolino is very knowledgeable, caring and sensitive.

It is nice to find a book dedicated to the muscular system. Although the graphics are simple (not photographic), the information and the lay out are great for learning and understanding of the muscles. The best pages in this book are those that lay out the muscular attachments of a region of the body.

Highly recommended for anyone that works in any field where the muscles are the focus!

Dr. Joseph E. Muscolino truly compiled the ultimate Musculoskeletal system anatomy textbook.

I esspicially found the Latin and Greek derivation section's to be very helpful in understanding the origins of the muscle names.

This author's logic and approach is unmatched.

Kudos to Dr. Joseph E. Muscolino!!!

This book is comprehensive in nature, scrupulous in detail, and the product of an obvious passion for the wealth of information to be found in our musculoskeletal system. As a massage therapist and perpetual student of the human body, I am glad to add this book to my library. It is well organized which makes it easy to reference whether I know the muscle, the bony landmark, or the general anatomical area of the body. Having so much information about an individual muscle in one book makes it easy to enhance or refresh my existing knowledge. I have opened the book just to refresh my knowledge of what an individual muscle looks like and found the illustrations clear. I have used the cross reference to find other muscles that might be adding to an existing muscular problem in a client. I have refreshed my awareness of an individual muscle by using the easy to follow palpation information. And I have added to my knowledge of individual muscle actions when helping a client isolate a muscle's tightness. Every time I have opened the book I have not been overwhelmed by what I do not know but rather come away feeling smarter.

This book rose to the top as I flipped through every pregnancy guide at my local big bookstore. It covers everything I'd be interested in, explaining the scientific reasons for the "don't eat" foods, and offering balanced, clear descriptions of both traditional and alternative approaches to prenatal health and childbirth. I've found that it touches on everything I've wanted to know, from why I suddenly have a strange ache, to what to consider when thinking about whether to have an OB, midwife, or doula at the birth. Most importantly though, it is thoroughly non-alarming. many of the other books i looked at seemed panic-inducing and malpractice oriented, full of too much detail about every risk, unbalanced by the discussion of how to physically and psychologically enjoy this time of life. I will give this book as a gift to every friend who gets pregnant. It has been the perfect guide for me.

I enjoyed learning and am glad I read this book first. It's not only full of useful information AND factual as it is written by an OB/GYN physician, but also includes tidbits of personal experiences. I'd recommend it for anyone expecting a baby. **BUT, don't read the miscarriage part - unless you have one and want to - but it just really scared me and I didn't need that

during my pregnancy, i drove myself crazy trying to learn everything that i could about what was happening in my body and the differences between conventional medicine approaches vs complementary med. i could have saved myself a lot of trouble by only reading this book and spending the rest of my time doing yoga and walking the dog. :-)

My husband and I are working on becoming pregnant for our first time. I like to be well informed and I hoped this book would do that for me. I thought I was pretty well studied on pregnancy until I read this book, now I know I had a lot to learn! I have had the book for 48 hours and am already 150 pages into it. Besides being incredibly informative and interesting, it is written in a descriptive way that allows a layperson to better understand the more confusing subjects. The book covers all areas of pregnancy. So far, the areas I have found incredibly helpful are how to prepare for pregnancy (physically, mentally, and emotionally), how ovulation works, determining if a doctor, midwife, or doula is best for me and what questions to ask these people, herbs, vitamins, and medicines to take and avoid. This book offers non bias details on each type of birth, birthing practices, medications, medical procedures, etc. It is also organized in a way that you can read it from front to back, or use it as a reference book. I can't say enough about it!

I bought this book at the onset of my first pregnancy, and now the second time round, this is the only book I ever look through. I'm constantly enlightened and impressed how informative and approachable the whole tone of the book is. As the title suggests, it integrates conventional and alternative appproaches to pregnancy. However, this doesn't mean that it presents just one intermingled outlook. Instead when presenting each facet and symptom of pregnancy, it will give a highly informative but readable overview, and impartially present various solutions - from traditional medicine, to common sense health tips to alternative therapy (herbal teas, acupuncture, etc). Also included are meditations or relaxation exercises, as well as short anecdotes of women's personal experiences - but all these are clearly distinct from the text itself. So you feel as a reader that you are enjoying a tapestry of approaches rather than one dogmatic theory. And all this is written in an empathetic and empowering way to the pregnant reader.

Aside for the usual overview of pregnancy - which it covers thoroughly, the book contains an excellent section on nutrition, a chapter on yoga (which isn't my speed anyway!) as well as a useful appendix with links for further reading or resources. Most certainly a worthwhile choice for any woman who likes having a broad knowledge of what's out there during this important time in her life.

1945 is an alternate history novel that deals with the story of what might have happened if Japanese militarists had success with their coup on the night before Emperor Hirohito's surrender declaration was broadcast. This is an interesting, unique point of divergence from our history that results in an amphibious invasion of Japan without involving something happening to the Manhattan Project -- which was far too large an undertaking to be derailed by something like lightning prematurely detonating the Trinity device or that device simply failing to detonate, as is the case for at least two other "Invasion of Japan" alternate histories that I know of.

In any event, with the Japanese surrender called off, the United States prepares Operation Olympic -- the invasion of the southern home island of Kyushu -- and Operation Coronet -- the invasion of the Kanto Plain. We're introduced to the two "main" characters in succession: An infantry lieutenant transferred to the Pacific theatre from occupied Germany and a one-armed Japanese-American (Nisei), veteran of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, who volunteers to be dropped into Kyushu on an OSS mission.

Though the story is interesting, Conroy does an overall poor job of developing his "main" characters. I put the word main in quotes, because although we do get to see them more than any other characters in the book, they're never developed much beyond what we're given in the first few paragraphs of their introductions and there's so many other secondary and tertiary characters used to show how the invasion is progressing that none of them are ever fleshed out either. Instead, we're left with a stream of characters who do little more than illustrate what's going on. A reader can easily understand what someone's doing and how, but will never understand why they're doing it or what's going on in their heads beyond the standard cardboard characterizations of "a family back home," "duty to country," and "just wanting to get home."

At times, Conroy seems to want to go into a historical viewpoint, showing what's happening and why, but because of the way he tells the story, he uses a cardboard character to demonstrate. It's not ineffective, but it's not as effective as it otherwise might have been, either. Because Conroy takes this approach, he has characters knowing things and sharing information that they would have no way of knowing in the first place. There are two glaring instances of this: One, when an American infantry captain shares news about a Japanese balloon bomb that knocked out power to "some super-secret military facility in Hanford, Washington," (something few people know even today, and if it's so super-secret -- why are you talking about it?)and when a Japanese officer bemoans the ineffectiveness of kamikazes by pointing out the plight of the Laffey, an American destroyer that was struck by several Kamikazes during the battle for Okinawa.

The most intriguing character is the Nisei, and I have to give credit to Conroy for writing about a character with a physical disability, which he does very well. Small mentions about his difficulty wheeling a bicycle along really sell that characteristic for me. But I don't get to know as much about the character as I'd like to, which is a real bummer. There's also a completely random romance thrown in at the end of his story, which simply reeked of fanservice and a desire to have things go well for the man.

Despite his weaknesses characterizing things, the story progresses logically. Though a major plot point is telegraphed early on when we're told that the Nisei has been ordered to investigate happenings around Nagasaki, most of the rest of the story unfolds with a minimum of heavy-handed foreshadowing, a major problem with many alternate history writers. Each character does a great job of speaking from their own point of view, even going as far as to express wrong information -- something difficult to have your characters do without confusing the reader -- but which Conroy pulls off very well.

Factual and historical matters are on target, as far as I can tell, and although I thought he stretched things early on with civilian protests in the United States, he provides an excellent reason for them and they never factor into the story as I had feared they would. (That's a personal peeve of mine with most AH invasions of Japan -- it doesn't jibe with the time period and the fact that returning soldiers from Europe and the end of rationing would defuse most homefront tensions.) Conroy doesn't bring too much in the way of historical grudges to bear -- he doesn't wholly indulge in historical wankery by having a mass replacement of Pacific Theater generals by their contemporaries from Europe. There is one replacement, and it's foreshadowed fairly heavy-handedly, but it wasn't as jarring as I feared it would be.

Overall, it's better than most alternate history novels out there today.

I am not usually drawn to alternate history but I found Robert Conroy's 1945 to be a provocative treatment of the possibility of the die-hards grabbing control of the Japanese government and leaving America no choice but to stage a costly invasion. Conroy provides plausible portrayals of the important historical players: Truman, Marshall, Macarthur, and Nimitz as well as Hirohito, Anami, and Homma He also portrays the brutal situation faced by his fictional infantrymen and sailors. This story brings up some interesting permutations such as the course the Russians would take and the use of atomic bombs after the first two were dropped.

The story also worked as a war espionage novel and particularly the exploits of the one-armed Japanese-American OSS agent were satisfying.

I've enjoyed Conroy's other alternative histories, especially 1862: A Novel. But, this novel rates as his best. The book is well researched and his characters are believable. He also explores some interesting points that reflect on current conflicts and policy. For instance, had the war with Japan continued with high casualties, would the American public continue to support the war? What would US policy towards the use of nuclear weapons have been had the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs not brought peace? What would war on the Japanese mainland have looked like? This was an enjoyable and thought provoking novel. Highly recommend. Download for your Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device today!!

This book is interesting both from a Grand Strategy perspective right down to the experience of the "grunt" on both the Japanese and American side.

Conroy does a good job of showing a plausible sequence of events starting with "what if Japan hadn't surrendered after the second Atomic bomb was dropped?" right up to one possible final outcome. I especially liked the political intriques in the upper eschelons of the government and military.

However, the book really comes alive when Conroy describes the experience of the foot soldiers and sailors involved in the conflict. I got a real sense of what it would be like to have been either an attacker or defender had the war with Japan progessed to an invasion of the home islands. And this was with language cleaned up quite a bit! I was almost sad to see the story come to an end.

Like all good alternative history, 1945 gives the reader a better understanding of the real historical turn of events, and how tenuous the threads that bind events together really are.

This is the first book written by this author that I have read - this book has made me want to read more of his books however. Mr. Conroy's look at how WW II would have played out had the Japanese not surrendered after the dropping of the atomic bombs is enjoyable and interesting. His writing style causes you to become attached to each of the characters of the book. I especially enjoyed: the author's opionion of how the leaders of both the United States and Japan would have acted and what their decisions would have been as the war continued; his portrayal of the reactions of the citizens of both the U.S. and Japan to the continuing war; and the actions that other countries, especially the Soviet Union, China, and England would have taken as the war wore on.