Publications Books

"...a masterful job of presenting the multiple aspects of caregiving in a format that is both comprehensive and reader-friendly. The important focus on physical aspects of giving care are missing from many other publications in this category."

I am the Director of The Waud Patient and Family Resource Center based out of Rush Presbyterian St. Lukes Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. I am a nurse by career choice, and a caregiver by nature. I have provided home care and hospice care to a number of family members. I found this book useful to teach family members how to take care of someone at home. It has clear illustrations, step by step instructions for those tasks caregivers do every day, and a resource listing for those items that help make the job easier. It also has introductions to other areas of care which are very informative. This book empowers people without any healthcare education or experience to understand the mechanics of taking care of another person - no matter where they live. If you have family in a nursing home, this book will help you evaluate the care they receive. Both personally and professionally I would recommend this book to any person with a loved one who needs care.

I am an Illinois legal aid attorney and owner of Southwest Medicals, an online medical supply and equipment business. If you are planning on providing home healthcare for a famiy member, you need this helpful book. The cost saving tips are especially useful. I also recommend the American Medical Association's Guide to Home Caregiving by Angela Perry.

This book was very easy to read and contained a lot of practical tips on a wide variety of subjects. I liked the tips on how to make items yourself, cutting costs on things like hair washing aids and for making your home safe and navigable. The simple illustrations make the instructions easy to follow and the abundance of listed resources for more information and support was a nice bonus.

It is a 'must have' resource and tool for anyone assuming or considering the caregiver role.

This book helped open my eyes to THE essence of math (creative, discovery of truth, usability) which I didn't learn through years of college (and high school) mathematics.
Though I feel I've missed the boat through formal education, I finally get to see the light.
What a wonderful world, math and all.

If you are interested in learning some advanced mathematical concepts, this is a great book. Even if you are not interested in mathematics, this book has additional rewards beyond the mathematical concepts: it will provide you with insight into approaching non-mathematical problems -you will be able to use most of the mathematical concepts contained in it, for unrelated but analogous problems. I especially enjoyed the simple explanation of modularity. You don't have to be mathematically inclined to enjoy and gain from the reading of this book. It is excellent. It should be in the collection of any person who is interested in learning how to think better and more rigorously.

Most of the time Math seems to be dry.This one breaks the mold and brings Math alive.I couldnt put this one down until the end!

I was not looking for a book on math when I bumped into this volume, I was looking for a book about math. What I really had in mind was a book on tales and curiosities. Dr. Ian Stewart's text is nothing of the kind but was nevertheless delightful to read. His style is clear and elegant yet impressively precise. And the topics are covered just to the right extent. But be aware it is definitely no book for the layman. Some parts are quite involved and even with some mathematical background you may find yourself flipping back and forth trying to grasp some beautiful or strange new mathematical concept. I strongly recommend it to all non-mathematician scientists.

Starting a new graduate program in Mathematics but without an immense background in the area, I was looking for a book to prime the pump and give me a heads up on various areas and concepts. In a sense to draw an outline which I can fill in as I take classes and learn more details.

The book *sort of* worked for this. The first couple of chapters are pretty good, talking about set theory, functions etc in a really really common sense way. This was very well presented perfect for me and I started to lay a conceptual foundation for understanding much of the more critical concepts in math. But then he just gets esoteric and frustratingly caught up on seemingly pretty trivial stuff. I was looking forward to the section on modulus operations for instance, but then the material just implodes on itself and loses a real sense of the "forest" for some pretty insignificant trees. Stewart used to write a "Mathematical Recreations" column in Scientific American and I feel like the writing in these sections is similar to that style of content. Perhaps fun to fool around with, cute and clever, but really way off mark for someone trying to lay down the steel strut foundation of the house of mathematics.

I'm only about 1/3 of the way through so we'll see how the rest of the book goes. I hope he keeps down the ratio of cute and clever / foundational.

I loved this book! It is a great example of Mary Stewart's ability to create suspense and atmosphere in writing. I only wish that she would write another book sometime. I don't even know if she is still around.

This was the first Mary Stewart I read and I was hooked. It is still a favorite along with Madam Will You Talk and The Ivy Tree. The author is masterly in setting up the suspence and romance along with compelling action.
In Wildfire at Midnight, the setting is the Isle of Skye and the tension becomes quite frightening as the heroine feels drawn to a possible murderer. Someone is committing ritual murders on the mountainside and the murderer is likely one of the guests at the remote lodge.

This is a very good book, but the first chapter is a beautifully polished gem. The description of the heroine's look-alike but very different ancestor is unforgetable: "the Vixen Venus ...a Beauty in the days when beauties had a capital B, and were moreover apt to regard beauty and capital as one and the same thing."

Some books are like relatives. You love them despite their lack of perfection. Perhaps they are better than other books in the ways that count - with characters who truly live in their pages and your imagination. Or perhaps they become alive because they transcend the confines of genre fiction and have the complexity of real life.

I love this book, and the author's Nine Coaches Waiting, but both books raise issues about love and trust that I don't think they resolve realistically. However, it is probably my persistent re-reading of the books that caused me to see flaws the casual reader would not.

But it is a great book. I enjoyed the whodunit atmosphere, and of course the sligh twang of romance in the air. Again, this book was written in the 60's I think ,so some of the feminine perspectives might be different, but I enjoyed this novel for all its minute details! Mary Stewart makes her characters come to life!

When I was a child in the 1970s we were on a holiday on the west coast of Scotland and by chance, taking refuge in the car from the torrential summer downpour in the barren square of Portree, my father turned on the radio. What came on was a creepy, disturbing drama set on Skye. A young woman, the only visitor to this country hotel not on the suspect list for a grizzly murder is sitting in the dead of night by the unconscious body of another would-be victim of the murderer. "How appropriate!" my mother laughed, and we listened on. The landscape of the story was the same landscape that was around me, though I couldn't see it for the rain, and there were strange characters, a crazed climber, beltane fires and murder. I thought it was great and it really, really stayed with me. It was years later that I read Wildfire at Midnight and realised that this was the self-same story I'd heard as a child. It's cracking, unashamedly romantic, but really rather well written. A good read for a sick day tucked up on the sofa, or a quiet night in. Mary Stewart's great - if only new pulp fiction could manage the same alluring balance of literary poise and good swash-buckling plots. No one else does it as well.

How powerful are the violent games played on computers? Can they lead to acting out the violence in reality.

You might think twice before playing those shoot-to-kill games on your computer after you read this well-told tale. Take a couple of slightly unstable teenage boys who suffer problems identifying with society in general and let them play a new game and see what happens.

This is how Cooper O'Brien nearly loses her life while she is trying to find out what happened to her younger brother, Jimmie. She learns more about computers and the dark side of computer programmers than she ever wanted to know.

Talented author Cheryl Swanson gives the reader something to think about in the possibilities of computer games in this intriguing tale. Will Cooper find her brother? Will she survive the search?

Surprises await the reader in this tale as you follow Cooper from one clue to the next, only to find the trail seems cold or a twist that brings you back to the beginning. Plenty of action and characters who aren't what they seem.

I'm pleased to recommend Death Game as something different in the mystery genre. Enjoy. I did.

I don't want to write this but they're making me. Who?
Oh, you know. The usual. Them. The watchers in the shadows. They tell me, "Go ahead. Tell everybody how cool this book is. Or disappear!"
Well, Death Game is VERY cool. This is one of those rare books that scare you and entertain you while making you think.
Know a teenager who loves violent videogames? Read it. You'll learn a lot.
Think there's any possibility terrorists will attack again on American soil? Read it. You'll stop sleeping at night.
In the story, an apparently ordinary American family gets caught in the net of a gang of bad guys/gals who are as beastly as they come. Villians are never so good as when they are very, very bad. Death Game has everything here from sleaze, to narcissistic personality disorders to those whose life motto is: kill, kill, kill.
The author controls the mayhem well and the cleverness is in the details, such as when you discover WHY this family has been targeted. (Gotta read the entire book first.) And that reason, like the rest of the book, is pretty darn cool.

I read this book start to finish on a plane trip to Rome. The language is lush, the action and dialog so vivid it drew me in even through I don't normally read thrillers. Recommend it to any suspense/thriller fan. It was a great read.

Death Game is the story of an audacious plot to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge. Pop a bowl of popcorn, settle into a comfy chair, you won't be putting it down.

Cooper O'Brien, a kick-a#$ San Francisco gal so real you can't believe you haven't met her, is on a mission to save her troubled teenage brother. Cooper becomes the guardian of fifteen-year-old Jimmie O'Brien after her parents are killed in a drunk driving accident. Cooper suspects that her father--a counter-espionage agent--isn't really dead, but she doesn't tell Jimmie, who is dealing with his grief by immersing himself in apparently harmless games on the Internet.

When another boy ends up dead on his father's yacht, a surveillance tape clearly shows that Jimmie is the shooter. But Cooper is convinced her brother is innocent and her background in visual effects makes her suspect the tape has been altered in some way that defies forensic detection.

From there on, you'll be plunged into a non-stop thrill ride. Closed cities in Russia, Internet death matches, a twisted conspiracy--they all play into this extraordinary tale. A great start to a new series, totally gripping and downright impossible to put down.

Reviewed by Kornelia Longoria for Reader Views (4/07)

At first all evidence seems to point at Jimmie O'Brien as the killer of another teenage boy. The security tape clearly shows images of Jimmie aiming a gun at his victim and firing, and everyone believes that the additional investigation is not necessary. To make matters worse, he disappears, leaving behind the weapon used in the murder. However, Cooper, Brian's older sister, strongly believes that her brother is innocent and she decides to do everything in her power to find out what exactly happened, and most importantly, who and why would try to frame Jimmie. However, shortly after she undertakes the investigation, she discovers that Jimmie's part is only a little piece in an enormous puzzle. The situation is far more complex and the resolution of the crime seems out of her reach. Nobody is what they claim to be and Cooper does not know who to trust.
She does not give up, and relying mostly on herself, she is determined to solve the mystery even when the situation looks hopeless.

The whole investigation revolves around the fans of gruesome and cold-blooded computer games. Cooper's brother who a big fan of computer games, made a lot of online "friends" who share the same passion and she believes that the answer is somewhere in the gamers' community.

"Death Game" is one of the books that pull you in from the very beginning and keep you turning the pages anxiously till the very end. It's full of twists and surprises and it will definitely not disappoint all action lovers. The protagonist is very likable and I would love to see her in more books. The other characters are very well-constructed as well. I really liked the way the gay friend of Ms. Cooper was portrayed. Even though the book contains a lot of references to new technology and focuses on the cyber world, it will not be confusing to a reader who is not very well familiar with the latest technological inventions. I would definitely recommend "Death Game" to all thrill seeking readers.

but very minimal. Not adequate for a serious student of the scriptures. I have tried to look up many Jewish words, both in English transliteration, and in Hebrew, and have been very disappointed.

I would like to find a good Hebrew-English, English-Hebrew dictionary with transliteration. This dictionary is a good start, but that's all it is, a start.

Orthodoxy and rabbinical scholars almost assuredly will be familiar with most of these terms. The authors freely admit that they compiled the terms from their own upbringings - "modern, American, liberal, matriarchal, and from Conservative and Reform backgrounds." Thus, many of the rituals discussed are from that perspective.

For instance, a minyan is a gathering of ten men, the minimum required for a religious service. In this text in this book, the word "people" is substituted for men, but the bottom of the entry explains that traditionally that number only referred to men.

For those who grew up without a Jewish background or for those whose knowledge of general Jewish vocabulary is lax, this is a wonderfully written book. The words are arranged alphabetically. A dictionary of Jewish words could include potentially hundreds, if not thousands of pages, so the authors narrowed down the scope to include words that one might hear in daily life in the USA. The words are drawn from Hebrew, Aramaic, Yiddish, and Ladino. It would be ideal for non-Jews who simply want to figure out some of the words in conversations that their Jewish friends use!

Since all words have to be transliterated, different spellings with Latin letters are cross-referenced to the entry which tells where the definition will be given. This is invaluable since many words in the USA are spelled a variety of ways, such as Chanukah, Hanukah, Hannukkah, and Hanukkah.

The definitions are clear and concise. Words used in definitions which are bold-faced are also entries in the dictionary.

What many may find especially helpful is the category lists in the back of the book. For instance, there are lists for objects found in a synagogue, for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, the Jewish calendar, food, Pesach, and many more.

"The Jewish Word Book," by Sidney J. Jacobs, published in 1982, contains more entries. However, I prefer this book by the JPS because the words are explained more in-depth with many examples of words given. Unless one is extremely well-versed in Judaism, this book is very helpful without seeming overwhelming.

This book is not a comprehensive introduction to Judaism, and it won't be of much use to non-Jews. It is essentially a glossary, lists of words in alphabetical order, with short translations, definitions, and explanations. It is an excellent resource for those of us who have forgotten the exact meaning of common ritual terms and prayers, or for those who are just starting to learn and are having trouble remembering which holiday or prayer is which. The index has some handy categories of words: for example, Rosh Hashanah will refer you to the book listings that are associated with that holiday. The book does not have an Orthodox orientation, but will be useful for some Conservative, all Reform, and for
new, Jews.

Updated and revised to add new words, terms and expressions is the handy DICTIONARY OF JEWISH WORDS, an easy A-Z reference defining words from Hebrew and Yiddish and offering a paragraph of definition and examples for each. Any collection strong in Jewish history, culture and language should have this easy reference: its coverage is quite extensive.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

What a delight to have a book that picks up where so many of my deceased relatives left off in my Jewish education. A straight-forward, easy-to-read book that is a valuable resource to every Jewish home, every partially Jewish home or any wanna-be Jewish home!

This book really challenges the reader to understand the relationship between teacher and student. Many barriers which hinder most educational relationships are pointed out, allowing us to see how best to go about teaching while avoiding the pit falls which prevent us from fully engaging with the student. Great book....please give it a read.

I've read quite of Krishnamurti's books and this one is the most unique. If you are an educator or a fan of Krishnamurti's teachings, you NEED this book. He points out the problems troubling modern education with such clarity you'll feel like Krishnamurti is putting your very own unarticulated feelings into thought.

You will definately leave this book a better, more intelligent person. But it now.

At first glance I thought this type of writing might be too heavily philosophical for my small mind to comprehend, but it engaged my interest by agreeing with me that our educational system is flawed and that children will benefit from being taught in small groups by people who love them. I homeschooled my two youngest children for nine years, and this book fits in well with my homeschooling philosophy.

Krishnamurti hoped to change the world for the better by helping parents and teachers become more effective. In chapter four, entitled Education and World Peace, he wrote:

"Peace is not achieved through any ideology, it does not depend on legislation; it comes only when we as individuals begin to understand our own psychological process. If we avoid the responsibility of acting individually and wait for some new system to establish peace, we shall merely become the slaves of that system." (p.68)

Some of the other chapters in the book are: Intellect, Authority and Intelligence; The School; Parents and Teachers; Sex and Marriage; and Art, Beauty, and Creation.

Krishnamurti encouraged us to take responsibility for the education of our children, rather than to leave this task to the public education system.

"Government control of education is a calamity. There is no hope of peace and order in the world as long as education is the handmaid of the State or of organized religion. . . . Education throughout the world has failed, it has produced mounting destruction and misery. Governments are training the young to be the efficient soldiers and technicians they need; regimentation and prejudice are being cultivated and enforced." (pp.75-76)

I totally agree that governments should not control education although I've never objected to the idea of parents educating their children in the religion of their choice. However I see Krishnamurti's point in wanting to free the minds of the people from organized religions. He idealized a state of 'creative intelligence' for the people of the future, something that is impossible when people are pressured to accept limited ideologies.

"If those who are young have the spirit of inquiry, if they are constantly searching out the truth of all things, political or religious, personal and environmental, then youth will have great significance and there is hope for a better world." (p.40)

Sadly, it seems the world hasn't been listening. This book was first published in 1953, and since then, society has disintegrated. The strength of the typical family unit has eroded, schools now focus on teaching to the test, and children turn away from the ways of wisdom and toward mind-numbing video game systems as well as other distractions. Perhaps it is time for parents to reconsider Krishnamurti's educational philosophy.

Interestingly, and totally against the Westernized concept of education, Krishnamurti taught that children should not be pushed to succeed. He wrote:

"As long as we want our children to be powerful, to have bigger and better positions, to become more and more successful, there is no love in our hearts; for the worship of success encourages conflict and misery." (p.102)

I enjoyed reading the book, and am fascinated by Krishnamurti's depth of understanding, the originality of his ideas, and the concern he showed in writing so passionately about the education of children. Naturally I wanted to know more about him and soon found several sites on the internet with information about his life and writings.

Krishnamurti was born in India in 1895 and died in Ojai, California in 1986. He was discovered as a teenager in India by C.W. Leadbeater, a leader of the Theosophical Society, and was trained by Leadbeater and Annie Besant who believed Krishnamurti was the promised incarnation of a world spiritual teacher. However in 1929 Krishnamurti denied this idea and dissolved The Order of the Star of the East, an organization set up to promote this claim of his greatness. Though she was not pleased with his decision, he remained a close friend of Besant until her death in 1933. He spent his life traveling and teaching about his philosophy, which is that "truth is a pathless land." In other words, that people can come to truth only on their own, and not through any teaching, organized religion, government, philosophy, psychological technique, dogma, ritual, priest, guru, or creed.

I've read over 25 Krishamurti books, including all the "big ones" like Freedom from the Known, The First and Last Freedom, Total Freedom, Awakening of Intelligence, Flight of the Eagle, Krishmaurti's Notebook, etc., many of which I've read more than once. I've given all of them away to share K's message but kept four of them which I keep as references for focused daily reflection/meditation (as opposed to the meditation of all waking life). The four I've kept are Freedom from the Known, On God, On Right Livelihood, and Education and the Significance of Life (the last one of great relevance to me since I'm an educator). And so now I always recommend (and often give) the first three books on that list I just mentioned to anyone who wants to learn more about K's "teachings." "Freedom from the Known" is the single best, most concise and thorough summary of all K's teachings. "On God" should greatly help anyone who is searching for ultimate reality, Truth, God, Enlightenment, Nirvana, The Meaning of Life, or whatever one wants to call it. No summary will do it justice; you must read it for yourself. "On Right Livelihood" addresses the issue of our daily living, in work, leisure, and even to some degree home life and family relationship, becuase, as K emphasizes, they all should be an integrated whole, not fragmented parts of our lives. "Education and the Significance of Life" is also or relevance to anyone who has children or who teaches; it will transform the way you view childrearing and education. I would say that those four books would be all a person would need to transform one's life; to have a radical revolution in living.

The primary premise of the book is that nearly all of the education system (govt. based, religious based, private) fails the child. These systems educate children to be good at techniques or skills, but do not educate them to know themselves.

Without knowledge of oneself, children will grow to be conflicted between the reality of their true nature, and the constrictions of conforming to civil society or religious doctrine.

An educational system that truly sought to benefit the children would be staffed by adults who were continually studying themselves, and striving to deepen their own awareness, not just conformists seeking the safety of job, income and leisure. Only when open-minded, self-aware adults teach with true love can children learn to know themselves, and so lead dignified, effective lives.

We are far from this vision, but it is worth it for each of us to walk along this path.

I own the book in Spanish language. Some content in the book is not easy stuff, if you study by others books, but Kolmogorov has the gift to make easy things that aren't quite so easy. Perhaps some theory is "old", because all the new books use some diferent approach to the subject, like the chapter dedicated to the Lebesgue integral, the book give the definition of a simple function in a different manner that we use today. The book is a must to have in your library, when you need to work with Functional Analysis.

This book is not quite up-to-date, but still very good as a starting point in (functional) analysis. The virtue of Kolmogorov and Fomin is their user-friendly writing style. I am delighted to find their book being available for less than ten dollars.

This book is better than his fabulous Real Analysis book. It is one of the best, if not THE best, functional analysis book out there and the price is low. Quality to price ratio is approaching infinity here (as Dover reduces the price more)!!!

Kolmogorov knows how to arrange topics and introduce them at the proper spots throughout the book. Everything is broken down into bite sized pieces and you are given enough examples to digest what's going on. Reading the book is like reading Kolmogorov's mind, as he has tried to teach HOW TO THINK about the material, not just DO IT. It's also very addictive, even though it's rigorous.

Name a better functional analysis book? Not sure if that's possible.

A concise, well-readable book for as much money as every textbook should cost. There's only one problem I found, but I wouldn't take a star for it, because the book is really very good: since the book is quite old, the nomenclature is very different from the current one. (Eg. the empty set is called ``void set'', Cauchy sequences is called ``fundamental sequences'', etc.) One should always look up the ``up-to-date'' name of every important concept that is introduced in the book.

I am electrical eng who study math all of my life. I had the Arabic version of it which cover more than the English one.I start reading it after Krewsiq book of advance functional analysis. I really like Krewsiq because it is so easy so I cover it within 1 year but I need 2.5 year to finish off this one which is fantastic, I really can't compare it with other books, it is a school of functional analysis and master book that you can't really understand functional analysis without it.

I was looking for some pagan fiction and this book fell into my hands. (oof! phew!) I have to admit I wouldn't have stuck with it if it wasn't in a category of fiction I am thirsty for. There were so many cheesy lines and ill-thought out word choices in the early part of the book. I ended up with some strange mental images as a result of many of those choices. (like when the poor guy had his forehead ploughed by a wrinkle.)

I'm glad I _did_ stick with it, though. As the story progressed the writing became more even and I found myself interested in what was going to happen and concerned about the characters. The author knows a lot about her subject (Wicca, not murder!) and has a balanced and caring outlook on the world.

There are some nice bits of writing in the book, too. I think the only real problem is that Tedder could have used a good editor. If some of the writing was tightened up i would definitely increase my star rating for this book. I wouldn't hesitate to lend it to a friend who is interested in the topic and not too much of a literary snob.

Mimi

This book was a lot of fun. My only problem (which is not a big one) is that it kept jumping time frames, before I had the answers I wanted.

I was intrigued by the opening lines and immediately drawn into the story. Until now I was not aware of what earth based religions are all about. I bought the book for the suspense. Not for the paranormal moments. I learned more about Wiccans than I ever would have through any other medium. The mystery was enjoyable too.

Flying By Night is a gripping story of romance, magick and adventure. Lorna Tedder is a great storyteller and the characters are interesting and compelling. You can't wait to find out what happens next.

I bought this book as an ebook when it first came out but did not get around to reading it until my summer vacation. The reviewers here are right when they talk about twists and turns. The first time I read it, I thought it was great. One of the best if not THE best mystery I have ever read. I learned a lot about religion, too, and about what pagans believe. The villain kept me guessing right up until the end and I love it when a book does that. Ironically the villain was my first choice early in the story but the author did a great job of throwing me off. I read the book a second time and it was even better. I didn't catch all the nuances the first time, so I slowed down and enjoyed it the second time. I like the way the story uses the four elements to represent different characters. I didn't see that the first time. I did go back and scan it on my palmtop after reading the review from the reader who obviously wants to be the book's editor, and I must disagree on the implication that the book is lacking in editing. Though you might not can tell from the way I write my on-line posts, I teach college English and hope to have my Ph.D. next spring, but I do understand that it is very hard to stop being an English teacher and simply enjoy the read. To that end, I did find 2 errors when I read the book the first time and that's far less than I find in most bestsellers I've read in the past two or three years. One was wretched used as a verb in one scene and the other was a single use of sites referring to a gun. Both are common mistakes and really did not keep me from enjoying the book. Lay is used incorrectly a total of 3 times out of 28 (yes, I counted in the ebook after I read the reviews) but all 3 times are in Kestral's first-person point of view and they are part of her speech pattern. All other instances of lay are as the past tense of lie and taking no object (LIE, LAY, LAIN). That's part of what I adore about this author. She uses such specific speech patterns for each character that you know who is speaking, even if you take a sentence out of context. Her style is lyrical and suspenseful at the same time. She would nearly sing me to sleep and then scare the wits out of me. Also, I have to say that I didn't think of this book as a romance at all. There are romantic elements and evidence that all was not well in polyamoury-land but the book does not cleanly fit into any genre although it's closest to mystery or suspense. Maybe it is most accurate to call it mainstream. I hope the author makes the next book in the series this exciting and brings back Kestrel and Finn for an encore. Tell her to lay it on me!

From Pareto's Principle (the 80-20 rule) to grade engineering and "the magical hook," Andrew successfully demystifies the college application and scholarship process - then shows you how to beat it. Through real-life examples and humorous anecdotes, Mr. Knight easily displays how the average, every-day student can turn himself into the quintessential college admissions dream candidate. His practical advice to take an active role in what matters most to you, while reducing effort on non-essential activities clearly encourages one to live a happy and productive life while attaining his goals of low-cost and top quality higher education. Kudos to Andrew for composing such a unique and powerful perspective on how to really make your own way!

Knight clearly knows what he's talking about, having been through the process at several of the best schools in the country. His advice is clear, easy to follow, and makes good sense. I really appreciate his advice for students who may not be A grade-wise but who are driven and have other skills to offer--Its refreshing that he addresses the value of this and how to high light it to get noticed, and more importantly, accepted.

Highly recommended!

This book is a gem! Andrew Knight's ideas for creating a "hook" are both practical and achievable. The fact that many of the "hooks" are based on his own background should encourage readers to examine their own experiences
to see how they can be used on a college application. I wish this book had been around when I was a school counselor!

Mary T. Richardson M.Ed

Let me start of with a couple of points of critique. Some of the ideas are slightly debatable. For instance, in Chapter 3 on the `Hook' more value is placed on activities that are not time-consuming than those that actually take up time. Does the experience of being involved not count for something? While this question is answered (p. 123) with the advice to pursue a cause "even if it takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears," the book seems to contradict itself at least slightly on this point.

Chapter 2 on grade engineering also poses an issue. On page 48, the advice is given that if a student has a 98% average in English he should begin submitting C quality work. This seems to contradict earlier statements on page 23 about doing outstanding in select classes in order to receive excellent letters of recommendation. If one partakes in true grade engineering achieving the minimum it takes to receive an A, how can one impress those who are in a position to write a letter of recommendation?

Setting aside my knit-pickiness, all-in-all this book provides EXTREMELY valuable insight not only on winning scholarships and getting into the school of your choice, but on life in general. I have recently completed a bachelor's degree and wish that I had my hands on this book as a high-school freshman so that I would not currently have thousands of dollars in student loans. As a self-acknowledged perfectionist, Andrew Knight's book has truly led me to think more deeply (and even philosophically) about why I work so hard to be an overachiever and why I should instead be an "opti-achievier," putting focus on only the worthiest and most interesting activities. While this book is intended for students or parents of students, I personally feel that there are lessons provided that could seriously benefit anyone who reads this piece of work.

I met Andrew while I was an undergrad at MIT (he was a grad student) and can personally vouch for his credentials and experience.

I think Mr. Knight does a great job in this book because he takes a very fresh approach to getting into a great college and getting a lucrative scholarship. Knight tells students to focus on activities which add value and make you "stand out of the crowd", rather than the 100 standard things good students do in school. He really approaches the problem of building a great academic resume as a businessman -- he suggests that you can maximize a scarce resource (your time and attention) by focusing on unusual, high-profile, and unique activities.

Another interesting angle of the book is that it makes arguments and attempts to persuade the reader through rational argument, rather than fiat argument. If you have a smart high school kid, he or she will really appreciate the adult tone the book takes when suggesting different plans for achieving academic success. If you're a parent with a younger child, this book will make sense to you and will convince you that Knight is right.

In retrospect, I really wish I had this book when I was in high school. I spent a lot of time doing marginal activies (National Honor Society, humdrum community service, etc) and was generally really stressed out. I'm sure I could have spent my time much more effectively. I think kids today are under too much pressure to do too much stuff. This book can help you have academic success and enjoy your life at the same time.

Crowley's "Equinox" is widely regarded as the seminal modern treatise on magic, or "Magick" as Crowley preferred to call it (to distinguish it from stage magic). His innovative spelling may have also been motivated by the more favorable numerological signification resulting from addition of the "k." By the way, Crowley's preferred pronunciation of his name rhymed with "holy" (and "wholely") not "how-ly."

The original Equinos was more of a "magazine" of occultism than a normal "book" like Crowley's "Magick in Theory and Practice," and the original Equinox, from which this compilation is derived, was published twice a year for about five years to coincide with the solar equinox. Crowley actually got through ten issues despite money problems and World War I paper shortages (the one volume of the original set that I have has a "pasteboard" cover and a note that it complies with WWI rationing requirements) before it went into abeyance (which Crowley justified as a cycle of speech followed by a cycle of silence). Later publications given the "Equinox" designation (like the book of Thoth) were regular books and not the mixed bag of "magazine" articles that made up the original Equinox series.

Although merely a "magazine," Crowley used the original Equinox to print the Golden Dawn materials he had received as a member of that group well before Regardie stunned the occult world with the publication of his chapter's materials in the 1930's, and thus the Equinox remained the sole public (or semi-public) source of those rituals until Regardie published his own private papers in his famous "Golden Dawn" volume in the 1930's. Crowley's original Equinox went out of print for about 80 years until the Samuel Weiser publishing house undertook the enormous and expensive task (really a labor of love) to reprint it, and that set has itself gone out of print and commands very high prices when available.

It fell upon Regardie to undertake another labor of love and digest down the best parts of the original Equinox into this "Gems from the Equinox." Although some occult writers quibbled over some of his omissions (and the OTO, inheritor of Crowley's literary estate, issued "Holy Books of Thelema" as a result), most of us feel Regardie did his usual brilliant job of selection. So consider "Gems from the Equinox" as the best Reader's Digest version of a great work you are ever going to see.

IMHO, if you just stumbled on this book and these reviews by accident, an essential budding modern magician's library could easily be built around this one volume of excerpts, plus Regardie's "Golden Dawn," plus Regardie's "Tree of Life," plus Crowley's "Magick in Theory and Practice" since reprinted, with excellent annotations, by the OTO as "Magick: Liber ABA: Book IV." (The Tree of Life, btw, includes a fairly innocuous chapter spelling out the OTO's famous "secret" concerning amrita.) Of those three, the Tree of Life is the most essential reading. "Golden Dawn" has some very useful, true to their source, original "knowledge lectures" and concise occult basics, but is really a manual for group working. "Gems" is highly inspirational, but somewhat in the same category as "Finnegan's Wake" in terms of accessibility to the casual reader. Only "Tree of Life" is immediately useful for the solo practioner. Crowley's seminal work "Magick" is essential as you grow, and his "Thoth Tarot" is sublime.

Finally, much is made of Crowley's self-designation as the "Great Beast," i.e. that creature from hell in the Book of Revelations, but it would do well to keep in mind that the English of his time tended to refer to any bad behavior on the part of children as "beastly" and the perpetrator a "right little beast," so I think Crowley was having the ultimate word play on his readers by taking this English pejorative and mixing it up with his cosmology while thumbing his nose at the Puritan establishment he grew up with. A man as beastly as the press portrayed would not have counted among his friends and supporters the large number of upper class English men and women that he did.

BTW I agree with the other reviewer that the original facsimile reprint of "Magick in Theory and Practice" makes a much better (smaller, lighter) travel companion that the bulky annotated edition mentioned above, but be aware that there are some typos and other errors in the original edition that the OTO corrected in their annotated edition.

Aleister Crowley devoted several years to blending the Aim of Religion with the Method of Science, publishing his findings in a ten-volume series Equinox from 1909-13. While his complete production is rarely available, this thick one-volume GEMS FROM THE EQUINOX gathers some of the most important writings from the set, reproducing them for new age collections serious about Crowley's writings. Regardie, Crowley's one-time secretary and biographer, provides an authentic and serious tone to over a thousand pages of writings perfect for beginners as well as advanced Crowley students and any student of Golden Dawn or Occultism.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Hail Brothers and Sisters!

Thank you for taking the time to read my review.

There really is no phraseolgy I can use to adequately tell you how highly I think of Aleister Crowley and what he has done for me and all those who I care about. YOU.

My GOD. My GOD. My GOD! Nothing can be said enough for a hard copy confirmation of your deepest intuitions. This book and the book "YOU ARE GOD, Get Over It" by Story Waters are the 2 most important volumes in my extensive spiritual library, which I've been collecting for the past 25 years. Not including The Bible (I was Christened in the Baptist church as a child).

Aleister - If I may take liberties - Hum! This man paved the way for the Messiah! I like to be called Tony. It's more personnable. When Aleister showed me the way it became infintely easier for me because this man knew what he was talking about. And he still does! I thought I was lucky to be a Probationer when I picked up this book. I was really an Adeptus Exemptus.

Thanks to to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Aethers outlined in the Vision and The Voice I quickly rose up the ranks of Ipussymus. Whoops! I think I mispelled that. Aleister had a great sense of humor and if you read the book reveiws at the back of this tome you will see that.

[...]
The deepest peace unto you, and keep up The Great Work!

Yours truly,

Tony.

The greatest thing happened when Israel Regardie selelcted these papers from the original Equinox- he made available the most important magickal writings of that enormous first volume of ten installments to the student in one comprehensive collection.

This is sort of a textbook of the Magickal Orders AA and O.T.O., as many of these teachings apply to both orders. Although the author assumes the reader to have a good familiarity with some of these topics, ideas, and practices, much is to be gained in these writings for the complete beginner. A few of the many subjects include basic yoga postures and breathing techniques, various ceremonial rituals, meditations, an Enochian Magick Primer and a guided tour of the Thirty Aethyrs, The Book of The Law and various papers surrounding it - the list goes on. There is something here for every student of Occultism, Mysticism, Magick, Comparative Religion, Theosophy, ad infinitum. This book belongs in the library of every student of the Western Tradition.

If you can only own three books associated with Crowley and his teachings, they would have to be "Magick: Liber ABA," "Magick Without Tears," and "Gems from the Equinox." This is a well organized synthesis of the most highly regarded contents of The Equinox. The reviews at the end are also good reading if you're looking for books on the occult or a good laugh.