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This book is my favorite for any beginner in meditation. It was also the book I read before I sat down on the mat for the first time.
To begin with Ram Dass is a great teacher. He's a westerner to which I can relate much easier than an Indian guru.
The book describes various meditation techniques and what you can expect following this path.
But the best part are the quotes. Ram Dass took a deliberate effort to pick great inspirational quotes which will create your 'must read' list.

This book is great. Ram Dass helped me get a better understanding of what meditation really is and how not to take myself too seriously.

I'm doing a form of meditation called brain entrainment called Holosync through Centerpointe. I wanted to know about meditation: what to expect and perhaps some tips on how to get the most out of it. This book provided all of that and more.

Ram Dass is the best!

I've been a big Ram Dass fan for over twenty years now. I "knew" him when he was just Richard Alpert and worked closely with fellow doctor, Timothy Leary. But like all of us, he wondered, "What's next?" And so he went to India on a Spiritual Journey and had an awakening and came back to the states as Ram Dass which means "servant of God". Since that time he has devoted his life to writing and teaching about spirituality and how we can wake up to the Truth that God is not external to our being, but is our being.

I read this when I was taking my foundation course work to being a Practitioner at my church. I ate it up like a kid eating candy. I was always classified as the "weird" one of the family and learning to meditate would firmly cement the title in place. My stressed out dad would complain to my equally frazzled, recovering fundamentalist sister, "He's crazy, I tell ya...why would anyone wanna learn to meditate..."

Mmmmm...I wonder...

One never really "learns" to meditate...we remember how to meditate. Don't tell me that you don't know how because you do. You just forgot. You still think of yourself as a human doing and not as a human being and it is our nature...our True Nature to simply be and when we allow ourselves to have periods of just being who we are, that which is unlike this beingness falls away.

This book goes through various ways to experience this beingness. Meditation can range from sitting in the lotus position and chanting "Om" to taking a slow and gentle walk being mindful of every step.

Meditation is not something one "gets" and then that's it. To me, daily meditation is a gift I give to myself to remind me of the Truth that the Living Spirit is within me and I am within the Living Spirit and that just as God can never be completely known- because God is Infinite, I can never fully and completely know my mind because my mind is God's Mind. I can, however, "touch the hem of the garment"...in other words, have glimpses of Truth and in these glimpses be encouraged to continue on with my practice. It's never about "getting it"...it's always about "being it" and when I am in that place of Pure Being, I know I am It but I also know that you are It and they are It and We are It and I know that It is us, as well. In Truth, there is only It.

So, I'm still the weird one of the family even though my dad and sister both practice meditation now. I guess I need to have some kind of identification that's tied in with the world. Heaven knows I don't want to "shine" too much.

Yeah, okay, dad...

Shine on, children of Light...shine on...

Peace & Blessings.

john, "the Light Coach"

If you are a point in your life where you've had more than a fleeting thought regarding "there being something more", this book is certainly a fantastic place for beginning your journey to self-discovery (and/or awakening).

I have never been inspired enough to write a review about a book but this book deserves my most profound endorsement.

Best of luck in your journey.

buy it used. good read for the beach. then see her movies.

I enjoyed Lauren Bacall's autobiography better than any autobiography I've ever read. Her style of writing is so personal, it's just a pleasure to read. It's written with heart, it's witty, poignant, and so honest. You'll also learn about the original "Rat Pack", and other celebrities. I can't say enough about this book!

I read this book 20 years ago when it first came out and I couldn't put it down. The love story between her and Bogey was sweet, but tragic. His death was so detailed in this book that when my own father was dying I couldn't help but relate back to her description of Bogey's final hours. It made me sob for her. The mention of Hollywood in the 50's and all of the corrupt politicians trying to blackball performers is deplorable. I believe Ms. Bacall is our current Kate Hepburn - a no BS kind of Hollywood woman that is still well-respected and greatly admired.

I have never considered myself a Lauren Bacall fan but having recently rewatched To Have And Have Not, her film debut, I became intrigued about her and Bogart so I picked up this book after reading such positive reviews here at Amazon.

Well, was I surprised. First this is a very well written autobiography that demonstrates a keen intelligence and a reflectiveness on the past that is truly admirable. It is also incredibly honest and not just a recitation of a Hollywood star's accomplishments.

From Bacall's youth in New York where she tried desperately to find a place in the theater to her ultimate return to the stage as a star after spending years in California as Mrs. Bogart and raising a family, every stage of her life is well examined.

Bogart emerges as a truly good guy, not perfect but clearly they were a great match despite the obvious age difference.

Some of the episodes in her life with Bogart have the added quality of capturing a period in Hollywood and the film industry that is long gone. Bacall isn't and doesn't need to be a name dropper but so many famous characters pop in and out of her story that it is a virtual who's who of 1940's Hollywood.

What I initally picked up as a casual read turned into something much deeper. Lauren Bacall , who I knew little about before reading this is a woman who I came to really like as a result of this book.

Well written and well worth checking out for filmfans, fans of Bogart or anyone interested in acting and theater and the celebrity life of the 40's and 50's.

Lauren Bacall's 1984 autobiography details her humble beginnings, how modeling led to acting, and her marriages and love affairs. She met Bogie on the set of her first movie when she was 19 and he was 43 and married. They fell in love at first sight and had a good marriage until his death. Her next husband was Jason Robards, Jr.; his drinking made for trouble from the start. The ups and downs of her movie and Broadway careers and her love of politics (and politicians) round out the book.

The woman who emerges from the pages is pretty much what I expected - strong, independent, and passionate - but also quite self-centered and spoiled. She's had a charmed life and makes no excuses for her shortcomings.

The book is full of famous tinseltown names and fabulous jet-set locations. She writes as if she were talking, often using ungrammatical half-sentences which slowed me down sometimes, but that is a minor quibble. I heartily recommend it to her fans.

This is a fantastic book, though it's more of a global history lesson than a lesson in entrepreneurship. Monique Maddy covers the history of Liberia in depth and in less depth the history of several other African countries. She talks about economic development and the failures of the UN, IFC and World Bank. She is clearly an advocate for economic development via private investment. Her perspective is shaped by growing up in an exemplary company town. It was part of a mining project in Liberia sponsored by a joint venture named LAMCO. The project had a social development component that both supported the mining company by developing employees, and supported the citizens by developing them. The book is significantly a biography of Maddy herself and how she came to start her venture. That core of the book is surrounded by chapters that describe her efforts to start a pan-African telecommunications company- Adesemi - and its ultimate demise.

Maddy writes a warm, but penitrating review of the life of her family, as well as the nation of Liberia.

She gives great insight into the exploitation of Africa by the west. She makes recommendations that companies and individuals should heed as they work in this great continent.

Her writing style is easy to read, and very to the point.

REVIEW BY IAN MOUNT
www.ghanaweb.com: Business News of Monday, 1 October 2001

The Last Place to Start a Company
Monique Maddy tried and failed to launch a telephone service in Africa. She's moving on. Africa isn't.

Three short years ago, Monique Maddy was boasting that her company was going to "change people's lives" and "revolutionize things." Adesemi, the wireless pay-phone company she founded in 1993, had raised $37 million dollars, built a network in Tanzania, and moved into Ghana, and was planning to expand its service to the Ivory Coast. Maddy was the new face of African business. A Wall Street Journal article in September 1998 even proclaimed, "If the disenfranchised of Africa ever join the global economy, it won't be diplomats, politicians, or church people leading the way. It will be entrepreneurs like Monique Maddy."

It hasn't turned out that way. Maddy walked away from her company in disgust in the fall of '99. Her story is a familiar one, full of the government corruption that has become an African clichi, but the 39-year-old Maddy doesn't blame her company's demise on the bribery requests or Kafkaesque red tape. For the Liberian native, who's writing a book about third-world entrepreneurship to be published by HarperCollins next year, the real reason for Adesemi's failure and Africa's continental mire can be traced to the international development agencies that are designed to help the region. "Africa is worse off today -- in many countries -- than it was at independence, even though billions and billions have been spent," says Maddy, who herself served for five years as a United Nations Development Program officer. "As long as you have these kinds of institutions, you won't have any change."

Take Maddy's experience getting a pay-phone license. In mid-1995, a year after the Tanzanian national phone company granted Adesemi the license (and Adesemi had spent $1.5 million on its network), the phone company president said that it was no good because Adesemi's pay phones were wireless. Only after an acquaintance at the Harvard Business School, her alma mater, put her in touch with World Bank president James Wolfensohn did the matter get settled. The World Bank pushed the government just so far, however. The phone company insisted on charging Adesemi inflated rates to use its infrastructure. "When we asked the World Bank to do something about the rates, they said they couldn't tell the government what to do -- but they could lend them millions of dollars," says Maddy, referring to a $75 million interest-free loan the World Bank made to the national phone company. "They had a conflict of interest," she says.

Still, Adesemi kept at it, eventually building its network up to 600 pay phones and a pager service with 5,000 customers. The sell was easy, Maddy says, because Adesemi's phones actually functioned (the street nickname for the system was "the phones that work," she says).

When an Adesemi backer, CDC Capital Partners, refused to invest more money for the company's expansion into what Maddy argued were more profitable markets -- it wanted to see profitability in Tanzania first, despite the stacked odds -- she finally gave up. Maddy, who now lives in Boston, hasn't been to Tanzania since; her investors are selling off the network.

Not surprisingly, Maddy says her book will call for a radical departure from a system based on an international aid bureaucracy. "You basically have bureaucrats trying to develop countries," she says. "How many bureaucrats started Microsoft?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Ian Mount

As I read this book I couldn't help but notice how similar Monique's tale is to the story of Africa. She weaves us through a maze of emotions as we feel her joy, hope, determination only to be suddenly brought to earth with frustration, anger, desparation.

For anyone ever been to Africa rarely has a book come along that so perfectly captures the daily difficulties of survival in Africa. Though tongue-in-cheek Monique certainly understands clearly the difficulties facing that part of the world and I would hazard we'll be hearing more from her on this subject.

Oh by the way did I mention that she became a World Class marathon runner in her spare time?

As someone who grew up overseas much like Monique, i deeply admire how she chose to use her acquired skills and network to give back to a continent in dire need of what rare individuals like her have to offer.

The book is enjoyable to read and deeply inspiring to anyone interested in contributing to third world development.

Published in 1959, Level 7 is presented as the diary of a military man who is permanently stationed thousands of feet underground in a self-sufficient bunker. His job is to sit in a roon awaiting the command to push a button to fire nuclear weapons at an enemy country. When the command arrives and the button is pushed, he is forced to deal with the consequences of a nuclear holocaust that wipes out life on earth as he knows it, and is left with nothing to do but await the fallout that must inevitably reach the bunker and slowly kill the few humans remaining on a dying planet.

Level 7 is bleak and terrifying, but it's just far-fetched and cold-war enough that it doesn't depress you too much. Read it and reflect on the self-destructive nature mankind can show, and the priority revenge and victory can take at the expense of quality of life.

What makes sci-fi and fantasy fun is the ideas. What makes great sci fi are those works that are still meaningful after decades of technical and social change.

Level 7 is one of those books. I read it for the first time 30+ years ago, and it's still scary. Nuclear winter may be less on our minds these days, but this tale will stick with you.

I have the the original hard back edition, but it's available in paperback now.

I have read this book during my schooldays, some 15 years ago, and it remained in my mind ever since. Im really happy that I finally found it at amazon and that i can wonder again into its fascinating and inspirational pages. Definitately the best story I ever read about the end of the world. And the ending.... ah the ending... i was with tears in my eyes...

Powerful. If only because its related in such a simple matter-of-fact way up until the buttons are pushed. And then the mounting sense of ?? as you realise level by level that all humanity will die when level 7 dies.

Maybe I read too much into it, but the 7th level in Dante's inferno is populated by the violent, the assasins (Push Button Technicians who will release the bombs?) . The 7th level is also overwhelmed by a powerful stench (X127 thought he could smell the dried waste that took up space beside the dried 'food'.) Dante's 7th level had woods of stunted gnarled trees (the emotionally stunted inhabitants of level 7 unable to make real emotional connections to others? Willing suicides of the 7th level are perhaps equivalent to level 7's willingness to be dead to the outside world?)

Level 5's politicians and important men that fall into civil disorder (killing those believed responsible for the End) before their own end is reminiscent of Dante's level of wrath where they tear at each other with their teeth.

Except, no levels 8 & 9 in Roshwald's Hell.

Afterthought:
Once the people had gotten down to level 7, the level was permanently cut off from the rest of the levels and the surface. My question? How were they going to get back up to the surface after the 500 years and food ran out? And was ther no way to override this mechanism after the damaged reactor was discovered? Move up to level 6 or 5 (presuming it *was* just the water that was contaminated) and remain there until the reactor was fixed?

Though the impact would not have been nearly as tragic...

Level 7 represents the journal of Officer X-127, a member of an elite Armed Forces unit. X-127 has been ordered to the bottom-most layer (level 7) of a highly secure facility, where he is ordered to set off a massive nuclear attack. The facility is a city unto itself, four thousand feet underground and fully prepared to withstand a direct attack and the resulting radiation for many decades.

Chosen for their ability to follow orders and to withstand the confines of the facility, X-127 and his fellow officers must now come to grips with the fact that they may, in fact, never leave. The surface of the Earth has been transformed into a radiological wasteland, but those in the facility -- some of whom represent a "continuity of government" operation -- will be safe.

Or so it seems. Reports of radiation poisoning begin to filter in from the higher levels of the facility. With a gripping, impending sense of doom, Roshwald takes us into a journey into the true meaning of mutually assured destruction.

I first read this book upwards of 30 years ago. It has never left me. Was it because I was young? Impressionable? I don't know, but the book certainly left an indelible footprint in my mind that few, if any, other work can match. Whatever Roshwald constructed in Level 7 was utterly unique and memorable beyond description.

I'm Kenneth Scott. Indeed you are correct concerning what you have written on the perfect passive tense of the Greek verb. You also brought up MATT. 16:19 as an example. Truly, just as the Greek verb emphasizes "kind of action" (called "aspect") more than time of action, you are correct in saying that the perfect passive verb indicates a completed action with results that continue into the present. Also, the passive voice in Greek (as well as in English)indicates action done to or upon the subject of a verb, not by or from the subject.

However, in Matt. 16:19 it is the Greek participles that must be analyzed; not the main verbs (bind or loose). Therefore, since the Greek participle is more involved than the verb it must be further elaborated. The participle "participates" in the modification of another part of speech: The participle is a modifier with verbal qualities. Hence it can be a verbal adjective, substantive or adverb while maintaining an active verbal quality. This means that as an adjective it will modify a noun with an attribute that is contemporaneous, simultaneous or habitual depending upon the nature of the noun; and the scope of it's modifying extends along with the scope of the noun (ex.: "the shepherds, SEEING the star, rejoiced."). Also a particple can stand alone as a substantive (ex."THE ONES SAYING these things are the disciples."). Finally, the participle can modify the main verb (ex."But you beloved,BUILDING UP yourselves on your most holy faith, PRAYING in the HOLY Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, AWAITING the mercy of our LORD Jesus Christ unto eternal life." JUDE 1:20- [here, "keep" is the main verb and the participles modify it adverbally by denoting the circumstances, means, manner or the "how,when" etc.. depending on context]). Here also, it's modifying extends in step with the scope of the main verb.

To determine the participle's function (adj. subst. adv.)involves three main things: 1) of course, context. 2)whether or not it is precede by a Greek article. 3) it's position in reference to the word, phrase or clause in which it modifies. POSITION: If attributive, it will conjoin with a noun that has a definite article(the), Greek doesn't have an indefinite article(a,an), and the participle may also have the article (if not, it must immediately follow the noun). If substantive, it will not immediately follow a noun with an article, although it will have the article. If adverbial, the participle must be in the predicate and it will not have the article.

Therefore, since in MATT.16:19 each participle is in the predicate position of it's respective sentences, each modifies it's respective main verb (bind or loose); thus,it is adverbial. Futhermore, since the PARTICIPLES here are in the perfect passive and there is a contrast between WHERE this binding and loosing occurs- earth in contrast to Heaven: the beginning of the participle occurance will be in the past with it's results effecting the full scope of the main verb's occurance; and since it's in the passive voice, it CANNOT be caused by the subject of the verb (Christ's disciples-apostles to whom He was speaking). for when the subject of the verb is the cause of an occurance or action then it is represented by the ACTIVE voice (not the passive). Finally, since the authority of Heaven is irrefutably sovereign over, and thus preceeds, earthly authority (ROM.13:1) and church authority (EPH.1:22-23;5:22-23) and since the participle is passive; the participle's modification of the main verbs (bind and loose) must represent the occurance of these verbs as NOT being caused by those on earth who bind and loose (the subjects of these verbs) but must be caused from Heaven beforehand with it's results influencing the binding and loosing actions (verbs) by those on earth. For this can be the only true interpretation of a participle with the passive voice and a perfect tense. So, i affirm that the translation of MATT. 16:19 in the LITV by MR. Green is accurate.

Each page has the source language word, and over each source word is the Strong's number. Below each source word is a literal English equivalent. Because the Hebrew reads from right to left, English readers can observe the syntax and flow of the original words as well as a severely literal translation into English below each original language word. This literal translation is so literal that it frequently does not make sense to the English ear and mind, but absorbing the differences and style is very informative and educational. A second literal English translation is placed in normal English left-to-right style in the far left margin of each page, written in beautiful, lean, precise, words. This left-margin translation is as arguably close as English can get to the source language and still make English sense, and reading it together with the severely literal translation below the Hebrew words gives the reader an appreciation for the interpretation that is necessary for even the most literal translations.

I am not a King James Only-ite, but I have come to appreciate the King James Bible as a highly accurate and beautiful translation written in the blood of martyrs. This interlinear uses the same manuscript family and thus has no troubling deletions.

The print quality is dark and even and the thick, opaque pages have no sheen under incandescent light.

The translation in the left margin alone is worth the price.

The publisher/translator of this version thinks he has a better solution to Mt 16:19 namely:
And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven. And whatever you bind on earth shall occur, having been bound in Heaven. And whatever you may loose on the earth shall be, having been loosed in Heaven.

The explanation they gave:

For centuries this verse has been misunderstood as giving power to the clergy over the laity with eternal consequences. The misunderstanding is fostered by the disregard for translating the exact tense of the verbs dedemenon and lelumenon. These are perfect passive participles and should be translated "having been bound" and "having been loosed", respectively. Both the NIV and the KJV translate these words as if they were in the future tense. The consequences of this common mistranslation have been disastrous throughout Church history.

However this is a misunderstanding of the Greek perfect passive meaning the same as the english perfect passive expression -- it doesn't!!! [note: following references can be found at www.textkit.com] The Gree perfect means an action finished in the present time, or expressing a present meaning [for a past action] [Goodwin,1900]; or an action completed in the past the results of which still remain or a present existing state [Nunn 1913]; denotes a completed action the effects of which still continue in the present or marks an enduring result often translated by the present [Smyth, 1920], or a past action of which the consequences remain [Green, 1911]. Thus the correct translations, respectively, for the verbs dedemenon and lelumenon, are "remain bound" (or "still be bound" or "(still) have been bound") and "remain loosened" (or "(still) be loosened" or "still have been loosened.") Thus the correct translation is :

doso soi tas kleidas tes basileias ton ouranon,
I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens,
kai ho ean deses epi tes ges estai dedemenon en tois ouranois,
and whom if thou shouldst bind on the earth will remain bound in the heavens
kai ho ean luses epi tes ges estai lelumenon en tois ouranois.
and whom if thou shouldst loose on the earth will remain loosened in the heavens

I will give to thee, the Heavenly Kingdom's keys. And whom if thou shouldst bind on Earth, will remain bound in Heaven. And whom if thou shouldst loosen on Earth, will remain loosened in Heaven.

Compare:
Douay Rheims (Catholic):

And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.

Even the Lithuanian with its more than sufficient participles gives just about the same translation:
Lithuanian (Protestant):
Tau duosiu dangaus karalystės raktus;
to thee I will give heaven's kingdom's keys;
ką tu surisi zemėje, bus surista ir danguje,
whom thou wilt bind on earth, will be bound also in heaven,
ir ką tu atrisi zemėje, bus atrista ir danguje".
And whom thou wilt untie on earth, will be untied also in heaven

I will give to thee heaven's kingdom's keys; who thou wilt bind on earth, will be bound also in heaven, And who thou wilt untie on earth, will be untied also in heaven.

The translator needs to go to school on his Greek. The emphasis in the Greek perfect isn't on what happened in the past, it is on the current result.

I own many different bible versions: the NIV, NASB, KJV, NKJV, NWT, WEB, YLT, the LITV Interlinear, and the ISR and JPS versions, along with many more digital versions on computer. The Literal Translation of the Holy Bible by J.P. Green Sr. is without a doubt my absolute favorite. I read it online and in the margins of my gigantic LITV Interlinear. It is rendered from the Masoretic Hebrew and the Textus Receptus Greek, two of the most reliable compilations of manuscripts and also the foundations of the beloved King James Version.

Another reviewer was correct in stating that word-for-word renderings are not hard to understand. They may be a little awkward when speaking aloud, but that is a small trade off for accuracy. After all, the holy bible was given to mankind for intense study, not for poetic repetition. That said, the words have been rearranged so as to provide proper english sentence structure and flow of thought, so the awkwardness is practically nonexistent. See for yourself at www.litvonline.com

There is bad news, though. I have not received my copy from Amazon, yet. And it has been about a year since I first tried. The book is out of stock, and I let my order expire after a few months of waiting. I ordered used copies twice, both to the same end. All the book dealers are waiting on the same printer, Sovereign Grace Publishing (owned and operated by Mr Green and his family), to spit out some copies.

It appears the family has run into dire circumstances for a few years now. Green Sr. is 87 years old, and his health and that of his wife is declining. He continues to proofread the "KJ3" (new name for LITV) and his son, Green Jr., and his two granddaughters do the printing work.

Green Jr.'s wife tends to their four grandkids (16/19/19/29 months) and works full-time. Two of their grandkids are twins, Jayda and Nidra. Both twins suffer from cerebral palsy. One twin though, Nidra, also suffers arm and spine deformities, disjointed hip, and a head disease of some sort. The kids also require up to four doctor visits per week. Read the announcements at this link:

http://chrlitworld.com/KJ3Update_020204.htm

Please pray the Father for this family. They are still trying desperately to publish this most accurate version of His word. After many vendor complications, and production costs, and attempting to outsource over seas to both India and China, they found a more affordable American printer/binder. But, the upfront cost to start printing the first run is $15,000. They are waiting on pre-orders, donations, and layman's income to reach this amount before any copies can be printed.

If you are hoping to acheive a copy of this version, you will have to preorder through Sovereign Grace Publishers (www.sovgracepub.com) or Christian Literature World (www.chrlitworld.com) and then sit and wait for others to do the same. That is what I finally did, and I wish I could afford to donate some extra cash. Maybe soon, who know?

Peace and love.

I have been following this work since 1976 when I purchase the book of Job in paperback for $1. Brother Green's work through the Holy Spirit has been nothing short of magnificent. This work is the actual translated words from the Hebrew-Greek texts all in one volume. With this translation, who can dispute the true and living God's word? This work is the answer to many prayers!

This book gives great insite into the problem of dealing with alchol.
It helped me a great deal.Hazelden is known to be one of the best resorces on the subject

This good book of course stresses love. And if it were an ideal world, we would all just love the afflicted alcoholic/addict -- but in this imperfect world, we are all just human. And us family members get so angry when we are so chronically made to feel crazy by them. They are under the influence, but we go through their stuff, stark raving sober. I got that phrase from the book that has given me and my patients literally hundreds of ways to cope on a daily basis----and get better---- when we live with their addiction, whether or not we are in a position to accomplish an intervention. That book, "Getting Them Sober", is endorsed by Dear Abby and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and Melody Beattie (who says it is "the best book for the still-drinking alcoholic". It has changed my patients' lives overnight.Getting Them Sober: You Can Help! (Getting Them Sober)

The subject of alcoholism was approached so lovingly in this book that it brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful way to encourage the alcoholic to seek treatment. I could relate to so many instances when I had tried to get my partner, who I love dearly, into rehab, without success. I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking information and answers on this very misunderstood disease.

This book really opened my eyes to drug and alcohol addiction. With great care the authors help the reader understand what addiction truly is, and then arm the reader with pertinent information and tools to help the reader rethink how to approach a loved one who has an addiction. Great book.

I found this to be one of the best books to help a person struggling with a loved ones addiction. I have read many, many books, but this book has to be one that I recommend to everyone with this type of problem in their life.

Men To Match My Mountains is the perfect follow up to Chittenden's The American Fur Trade of The Far West. Since H. M. Chittenden covers 1800- 1840ish, this book gives you detailed history of California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado beginning with the Oregon Trail movement. It contains some very well studied hard to find details of historical events. It's sure to please the serious history buff.

What a great book as an in depth introduction to the formation of modern day California.

Everyone I know that has read this book has loved it. If you are interested in learning about settling of the west, take a chance on this book.

A Great book, that really informs the reader. Hard to put down.

First, this is not my normal genre, but came as a highly recommended book. If one wants to learn about the immigration and exploration of the west, then one can not go wrong by reading and enjoying this wonderful history lesson in story form. As the title of the book indicates, it took a special stock of men (and women) to overcome the many obstacles that the mountains (and desert) requires of one. The book takes you on this journey from the viewpoint of the true early explorers, and adventures, to just people trying to make a better life, or escaping religious persecution. Either group provides the struggles required of all and the high adventures to get where they eventually landed.

It is hard to imagine that prior to year of 1830, that there were probably less than 5,000 non-Native Indians living in the far west. Even more so that most Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, Russians, (and others) that thought the far west presented far too much danger to even attempt the crossing, and once there, not much to reward your effort. This was based on some facts as the story unfolds from the Donner Party tragedy, and Indian attacks, to continued religious persecution, and vigilante groups of early settlements. All told though, there is only greed or great opportunity that can overcome a rational repugnance of such hardships to justify the costs which to overcome man's avoidance of living in such extremes. That greed comes in the form of gold and silver for many that ultimately made the effort to expand the far west.

All in, this is a page turner with both drama, color, and interwoven events to keep the story (i.e. immigration) moving along to the far west that we know today. A wonderful and educational story indeed.

I am a student of Eastern philosophy and I looked at this book insofar as what it has to say from a Western, Jungian perspective. I was curious. At it's core Middle Passage explains Jungian theories of personality development and complexes that grow and change over time. The problem of the mid-life crisis, according to Hollis, is that we tend to hang on to ego-centric dynamics that worked in the past, perhaps out of necessity, but no longer work. The coping techniques run their course and rather than letting them go, growing, and accepting responsibility for our well-being and spiritual development, we cling to our former selves and projections on other. The book, however, tends to be abstract, more theoretical than practical. It explains more about HOW we get into mid-life in crisis and precious little about WHAT to do about it. But this is just the intersection with Buddhist teachings on essentially the same subject. Buddhism, in a sense, picks up where Jung leaves off. The Four Noble Truths, for instances, starts with the premise that human beings are prone to suffering for all the reasons Hollis gives in Jungian terms. It does not explain so much HOW we get into trouble with too much ego. Yet in 2,500 years of history, Buddhism and it followers have developed a rich set of tools centered around meditation for "staying awake" and living in the present as a practical anecdote for the ego -- namely, WHAT to do about it. In fact, toward the end of Middle Passage, meditation is one of the suggestions Hollis recommends for working through mid-life crisis. So I would say after reading this book take look at the writings of Pema Chodron, my favorite being Comfortable with Uncertainty. Get her seminar, How to Meditate, and see for yourself if this doesn't line up with Hollis and Middle Passage.

I had read all the reviews for this book before I purchased it but in the past that has not always been a guarantee. This was also the first Hollis book for me. Happy to say it won't be my last. I have a minimal amount of psychology studies (I minored in it) but am starting a master's program this summer. I picked it up mostly because I'm turning 50 this summer and felt the urges to put some "order" to the chaos I've been chasing the last decade or so in my life. It hasn't really been traumatic for me as much as it has been unsettling but I needed a name for it and Hollis names it well - the Middle Passage. I look back now and understand more clearly now why I seek out what I do and why I needed to reconcile what wounded me in the past. It gave me tremendous hope for the second half of my life and Hollis has a way of writing that is not intimidating. Too bad it's not a "must read" for every adult hitting 40 or 50. Marriages might have a better chance of staying stronger. People in general might not be wired so tight with superficial undertakings as they mature in life. I am grateful I found this author and intend on reading his other works.

This book was recommended by a friend who read it when she was going through her own mid-life passage. I found it extremely helpful and continue to use it as a reminder to myself when I am feeling like I 'm floating in outer space. James Hollis writes very succinctly, in Jungian terms, what takes place in the psyche of a person in the second half of life. I found it comforting, useful, and true for me. I highly reommend it to anyone who needs a light of hope and a map through the terrain of mid-life transformations.

I have had the priviledge of sitting through hours of James Hollis' lectures at Houston's Jung Center. His writing style is very compact but pacts a punch (Hemingway for Jungian Wanderers, if you will). He takes the notion of the "mid-life crisis" to the appropriate realm of "mid-life transformation" by illustrating the WHY of the formerly named "crisis". Taking his words (and always keeping in mind TS Eliot's "The Wasteland") will help any reader better understand why they feel "unfullfilled". His book will also give them tools to direct them back to that path of command/control of their own lives. Additionally arming them with the notion that there will be plenty more goofy (read unconscious) activities with which to deal in the future.

This book is a tool and a useful tool indeed.

An amazing number of people in Vancouver are reviewing midlife crisis books ... is that city going through it's own midlife crisis ?

This book is perhaps the best one out there. The reasons are many as others have pointed out, but in my estimation is this: Hollis does not jump into the mechanics of the midlife period, in fact this is not the main emphasis at all. He starts with an in-depth retrospective on childhood and does a thourough analysis of our early years, then guides us into our present state and our future.

Highly recommended, yes.

I AM AN AVID READER AND HORSE LOVER! I STUMBLED UPON THIS SERIES LOOKING FOR A BOOK FOR MY NIECE. THIS SERIES IS PERFECT FOR ALL AGE'S!! I AM 27 YEARS OLD AND THIS IS CAPTIVATING BOOK FOR ME TO READ AS WELL AS MY NIECE!!!! A PERFECT SERIES TO COMPLETE YOUR FAMILY LIBRARY!!!

This is one of many Phantom Stallion books. I would say it's my favorite one so far. The reason this is my favorite book is because I like action books, and horse books. This story has both.
This story is about a girl named Sam and her old horse the phantom(Blackie). Mr. Solcum was accusing the phantom of stealing his new filly. Sam knew that the phantom had nothing to do with it because a blue roan had come and stole her gram's horse, Sweetheart. Can Sam find Sweetheart and the other horses that are missing.
I would recommend this book to people who like horses and adventures. I wouldn't recommend this book to boy because it has a lot of girl things in it like crushes and some stuff like that.

Mustang Moon is probably one of my favorite PS books. It's got such a great and different story line then the others. Linc Slocum is out to get the Phantom-anyway he can. He buys this fancy appaloosa named Hotspot and then this stallion comes and starts stealing all these mares, Hotspot to name one and Sweetheart too. Sam knows it's not the Phantom but Linc tries to prove it-even posting an award for the capture of him! Sam has to prove that the Phantom is not stealing the mares!

I love all of the books except #3 because she lets a bratty girl train her horse. This book is awsome. Every book has an adventure especially number 1 "The Wild One". I love these books and I recommend them to anybody who loves horses. I recommend them to 11 and up becauseyounger children won't understand the amazingness of this book. Do not read this if you don't like horses. You don't have to love them but don't hate them or you won't understand the girl's deep love for the horses. I love horses and would have done everything she did to save them. I'm currently on number 7 and I just bought number 8. I have yet to read it.

Ok, I think I've read every horse book or series in the world. Not to brag or anything. I've read Heartland, Pony Pals, The Sadlle Club, Hoofbeats, Black Beauty, National Velvet etc. I think the Phantom Stallion is better than all of those, even the classics. After reading the first book, I jut had to get my hands on the second. I have to say that Mustang Moon has one of the best storylines in the whole entire series. And that's saying something. It's about how an escaped stallion named Hammer/Diablo invades the local ranches and tries to steal tamed mares. But the problem is, everybody thinks that the Phantom Stallion is responsible and Sam must prove to the town that the phantom is innocent. But that's not it. That's what I like about these books. The plot has other things going on. Sam also has to get used to Darton High School and make new friends. So you see, this book is really good and you have to get out there and read it right now.

Origional New Orleans recipes! Easy to work with and helpful hints for substuting what you have on hand. How to make the special seasonings that make Cajun/Creole food unique! Spicey does not necessarily mean, hot! Great history of the different folks and festivals that make New Orleans special. Great place to visit and taste the food for yourself. Or buy the cookbook and cook it for yourself.

"New Orleans Cookbook" By Richard Collin is a terrific introduction to the cajan and creole cooking styles that NOLA is known for. To be able to understand how typical New Orleanians cook, one must attempt to understand both the culture and the region of Southern Louisiana. The recipes within this cookbook resonate with the traditional and innovative varities. Anything and everything that has come out of that area is easily found within these pages. The layout of the book is charming, and is very readable. The directions are not overcumbersome, and the reciepes are all simply preparable. A novice or an experienced chef will appreciate this cookbook.

I've got the Eighth, July 1980 printing. On page 40, The Collins' indicate that the Oyster & Sausage Jambalaya is their favorite. Use the cast iron for preparation, follow the directions explicitly (You'll use a little "elbow grease" on this one), and you won't be disappointed. It's my favorite Jambalaya, too !

10 years I lived on the Gulf Coast and spent
many, many days in New Orleans. When the time came I knew I was eventually going to leave, I spent months searching for a book which would allow me to take the food I loved with me. This is the book I chose & have loved it for years!!!!!!!!!!
It is authentic New Orleans food.....pre-Paul!!!!
You can open this book and trust that any recipe you choose will be successful.....except for the Red Beans & Rice which has too much meat to be the REAL LOCAL AUTHENTIC version.
I am a Chef & I can't imagine being without this book. It's REAL New Orleans food!!!!!! This
book is a REAL WINNER!!!!!!!!!! A CLASSIC!!!!!

Thank-you Rima and Richard Collin!!!!!!
K & Roo & Tessa TOO!!!












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My husband received this cookbook for his birthday, by my sister, some 15 years ago. But I am the one that used and took it over!!! I didn't even know how to really cook, but was able to make superb dishes, without fail, everytime. And since then, this cookbook has been well used!!! There are stains and pages slipping out from frequent use!!!