Bingham Books

I thought this book would be interesting but, really, was just utter disappointing. There were several factual errors, especially the one about the Ali-Liston bout. Also, many statements were made with little justification, quoting third hand sources, people who had little connection to Ali. I wish that the authors would have concentrated more on how Ali himself felt, what was going on in his mind at the most crucial time in his life. Finally, this book was dull, poorly written and very scattered.

Just finished this book and I learned a whole lot I didn't know about Ali. I just saw a documentary on PBS that covered some of this territory but the book is chock filled with interesting anecdotes and inside accounts that really show Ali in a different light than the way he's usually portrayed. The book compares Ali and his social conscience to Michael Jordan and his greed. But i would have liked to have heard what Ali himself thinks of this comparison.

Other than a couple of minor factual errors (Sonny Liston bowed out of their second fight in the 7th round, not the 8th), this is a great book, filled with the best information and inside accounts I've ever seen about Ali and I've read just about all of them.

It even blows away a few myths that I've always believed because they are repated by one writer after another.

Just saw the Will Smith movie Ali. Save your seven bucks and read this book. It's much more interesting and doesn't bore you with Ali's private life. What's more, it covers almost exactly the same ground as the movie, stopping at the Foreman fight and concentrating on Ali's stand against the war.

Will Smith just can't compare to the real thing and the real Ali definitely comes through in this book which I read last year.

I ordered this book after Rich Hoffman of the Philadelphia Daily News called it one of the two best books ever written about Muhammad Ali (along with the Tomas Hauser oral history published ten years ago).

He was right. This is the best book I've ever written about The Greatest. It has all kinds of inside information and stuff about the political Ali. Really makes you appreciate what he did for his country by speaking out and almost going to jail.

This book was really good. Its more like a book with abunch of short stories because every chapter is very diffrent.

I really enjoyed this book. Not the longest I have ever read, but it touched on some areas most medics refuse to acknowledge - though we all feel them. If all you want is blood and guts maybe this isn't exactly for you, but I recommend it to learn a little about the business

I thought Bingham did a decent job on this book. I can't find anything else by him so it must be his freshman effort. Hopefully there is more to come. I like the way he sees other people and the faults within himself. We are not supermen/women in EMS and very few actually see it that way. This book was short, but I think I got the message of what he was trying to say. Probably could use a little more "picture painting" but it was not a bad effort at all. And inexpensive. Want to read the next edition....if there is one.

This book was simply a collection of stories and memoirs from my career - put into book form to give my children something to know about their father. Never intended for wide readership, it is nonetheless listed through the publisher. While somewhat unrefined, if you choose to read please understand that EMS is a harsh business, what is defined as excitement early in a career oftens fades and is replaced by more of a deep caring for the individuals that we serve. "Blood and guts" never was and never will be my thing. This is not action packed and thrilling. I apologize to those who have found only disappointment with it's purchase. I do not market this book. I do not claim it to be a prize of literary worth. But if you choose to read please read between the lines and understand that we in EMS are in the service of our fellow man. For those in the business, learn to "see" more than injuries and pain. I still believe and always will, that we rarely save many lives, but we impact countless people everyday by our actions and care. If I have learned anything in my career to pass on it is simply this "Learn to love those you serve." Period.

Thank you, Dale J Bingham PA-C, MPAS, BS, NREMTP

While this book by Mr Bingham is not destined for the pulitzer prize anytime soon, it is filled with some marvelous pearls, more related to life in general and not simply paramedicine. Having over 20 years in EMS myself I think Mr Bingham has the inside track, though the publisher could definitely use some "editorial" corrections.
Younger medics may not get it, but there is something more profound here. At least that's what I got out of it - I hope that is what Bingham was going for. I found the book cheap to buy and fun to read, though short.
And yes, paramedics can be dumb. I have met hundreds of dumb ones in my career. They usually "shine" -but they shine dim and dull.

Multicarrier is hot right now and this book helped clarify many points not generally covered elsewhere. I find this book also a useful reference to return to for practical applications. We extend the concepts to our wireless design.

We found the book very useful as our team had been looking for some good references to understand MCM and more on DSL in general. Different perspective, excellent practical contributions too.

We use this book constantly to refer to for fundamental explanations while we also used the practical section. Great book and a must have for anyone doing digital comm, OFDM and other types of multicarrier design.

I found this book useful in understanding some of the fundamental issues as well as the implementation sections. Our team has been doing medem design for years and this gave a new perspective compared to other dsl books that are very similar in content.

Reading this book would have saved us some assumptions that were incorrect in designing DSL chip. Now I know how to do better analysis of the problem.

This book really helped change my thinking on prayer and drew me to pray more, which is Bing's intent. I just taught a seminar on prayer and used several quotes from the book. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in deepening their relationship with God. It answers a number of practical and important theological questions about prayer in a readable style. Well done!

Prof. Hunter doesn't deal in a shallow fashion with prayer, but engages the major theological mysteries concerning prayer with a scholars mind and a prayers' heart. The book is easy to read and I felt as if Prof. Hunter was having a conversation with me.

The insights on questions such as: "Does prayer change God's mind?"; "What can I tell an all-knowing God?"; "Why pray to a God who lets people hurt?" were all satisfactorily dealt with. I highly commend this book.

Simple yet profound, Hunter's indepth approach on understanding prayer comes from looking at the one to whom we are praying. The first portion of his book looks at prayer from the perspective of who God is and how he acts. Written in the fashion of J.I. Packer's Knowing God, Hunter examines prayer in the light of God's holiness, sovereign power, innate goodness and spirit compositon. The second half of the book addresses issues like thanksgiving and praying in the name of Jesus. The entire book is well written, insightful, filled with scripture; yet spiced with personal annadotes.

A previous reviewer says that he is looking for a book on the "mystery" of prayer, and this book does not provide what he is looking for. But who says that prayer is a mystery? The Bible itself does not say so. What is revealed is not mystery, but clear revelation, and this book systematically guides us to understand what the Bible says about the doctrine of prayer and related issues. Excellent.

So I'm intrigued by prayer. This strange communication, influence perhaps, we have upon the sovereign, almighty King of the Universe. Intrigued, I decide to try and learn as much about it as I can. I'm reading lots of things -- Andrew Murray, Henri Nouwen, as well as more moderns, like Dutch Sheets and whoever wrote "too busy not to pray".

Hunter's point in writing this book is a little different than what I was looking for. I'm trying to understand this profound mystery of prayer; he's setting out to show how prayer is a piece of a harmonized spiritual life. The book reads mostly like a handbook on Christian living - with chapters devoted to the holiness of God, the sovereignty of God, forgiving each other, obeying God, even church discipline. He has a good point -- that no part of the christian life is disconnected, and all of these will affect one's prayer life, ability to hear God, and God's answers to prayer.

I believe that he is a seminary professor or pastor of a large and largely successful church, and he writes like one. Everything's very pragmatic and classroomish; there's no mystery or wonder involved. And he writes like a speaker (note to speakers: writing out your speeches is not the same as writing a book.) funny or interesting story, weak and obvious tie to relevant material, then fully jump into the teaching points and forget the corny story altogether.

So basically, I got pretty bored with it. It's not bad, he has good points, he's not wrong, some people would probably benefit from reading it, maybe I did even, but it did not capture me, or change me. Ultimately, a forgettable book. Like so many others.

Does this feel harsh to you? Can you believe a christian would say this about another christian's work? do you agree with me and can't believe someone else would write that way? do you want to meet this strange guy? are you bored? e-mail me at williekrischke@hotmail.com. i'd love to chat.

I liked the old Penguin Brigade Training Log a lot, but this new 2nd Edition is even better. It has space to record your basic training details -- where you ran and how far -- but also space to record the weather, your diet, heart-rate, cross-training, sleep hours, weight, and mood. It tracks your goals on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis. I like the new I-Rate system of rating your personal effort separate from the objective measures of mileage.

It keeps me focused and inspired every day, without fail. The new photos are beautiful, too. Really nice package.

I ordered this in a package deal along with "The Courage to Start". I am enjoying the book but the Training Log could be much more practically oriented without sacrificing the motivational advice for new adult athletes. The entry slots are small, though I do give the author credit for organizing them on a week by week format. The log's organization is limited by the two questions: what did you do? and how did it feel? Questions or entry slots which gave more guidance or were more specific would be a great addition. (What are your running goals? how many days/weeks/months till you plan to achieve that goal? Weather conditions? Pace? Areas for improvement? etc.)
I found the advice included in the essays to be pretty limited, nothing more, and probably less, than what you get when you surf the web for running info. What's more, the quality of the pictures are really amateur. It's great that there's something out there for us "adult onset athletes" who run for the joy of it. It would be nice if the log book were truly inspirational instead of looking like something that your next door neighbor put together for the local running club.

I started running at the age of 40 and I wish this log book had been around when I started. I think it is a terrific book for beginners as well as seasoned runners. I have purchased four of these books as gifts. One of them was for me! I have had other log books but this one makes it fun to keep track. There is plenty of space to make notes and it is undated so you can start the book whenever. Lots of great pictures of "Penguins" and middle-of-the-pack runners and terrific quotes that are geared for you to read on the days when your mental outlook needs a pep talk. The back of the log contains additional info from Bingham, penquin testimonials, special notes for women runners, and training tips. Now lace up those shoes and go have fun!

I loved John's first book, The Courage to Start and I find myself going back to it again and again for that needed lift on those tough days...and we all know about those days. This Training Log is a nice companion to his book. With uplifting tidbits of 'wisdom' to cheer you on (I loved the one about thinking of your shoes as giant erasers, erasing some indiscretion be it food or drink), and pictures of 'real' people running and loving it (not like those you see in Runners World where you wonder if they were ever fat in their life, lol). I would encourage anyone to get this log book, since logging in your thoughts (nothing says it has to be times...thank goodness)helps you along your journey on this waddle pace we like to call running. Waddle on dudes!

I am a big fan of John Bingham, and credit his book "The Courage to Start" as a major inspiration to me to begin running and making it a part of my life. Even better (if you choose only one of his books) is "No Need for Speed" which covers many of the themes but is a more complete beginner's guide to running. John is a fine writer and motivator especially for those of us who are "at the back of the pack". That said, I found his training log disappointing. Essentially you have a some running tips from John and Jenny (which are very good, but all are found in his books) and the same single page (the weekly log) copied 52 times and spiral bound. If this is what you are looking for, it's fine. I prefer tracking my running and races on an Xcel spreadsheet. Even a regular notebook would do about the same. The bottom line for me is that if you don't own both of his books, either would be a better purchase.

An excellent read...Charlotte draws you in immediately,loved this the first book I have read by her. Now I will have to read all of her books!

While the story line was intriguing (WWII and its effects on some of the inhabitants of small town Bexham), what should have been an emotional heart-warming/rending read left me feeling flat. Bingham tried to bring too many characters to life and as a result they all seemed colourless. The "unexpected" ending to Judy Melton's romance read like a last minute idea to give the book a "happily ever after" feeling; the heroics of Meggie were too sketchy to prompt any feelings of peril on her behalf; Rusty's transformation from young war hero to debutante came off sounding rather silly. All in all, I felt that the love affairs of each of the "main" characters read like a teenage novel and the sorrow of the war tragedies come across as if written in a monotone voice. Finally, the subject of the prologue, The Chestnut Tree, was woven so loosely into the story as to be almost forgotten altogether.

This book evoked neither my laughter nor my tears.

"The Chestnut Tree" by Charlotte Bingham is a great book! Ms. Bingham tells a great tale for the coming of World War 2 forever changes the lives of four young women in English town. What many people may not realize that the War forever change England and the world. Suddenly women found themselves leaving the home and helping to defend their countries. Truly a great book.

WWII is raging through Europe, impacting the lives of young and old in major and minor ways. Four women in a small English village are chosen by the author to give modern readers a sketch of that time.

As the men march off to war, plans are made and broken. Women are forced into unexpected roles that they are reluctant to give up to become quiet, demure little things again when the war ends. Husbands and lovers go away, some never to return. Hearts are broken, rations are tight, and sometimes, the enemy has un unexpectedly human face. Yet through it all, the chestnut tree planted by the local tomboy endures and thrives. Sometimes it is the one thing that means life and hope amidst the chaos.

*** American readers, particularly the younger set, will undoubtedly find this a difficult, sometimes bland read. It focuses on the ordinary things of life greatly. Even the extraordinary times will be hard to hold the interest of a younger American woman. However, the author does do an extremely good job of painting a highly realistic portrait of people and times. ***

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore

In 1939, much of Europe prepares for the "little war" while politicians on both sides claim it will be over before the year is out. All over England, civilian residents rehearse how to behave in the case of invasion or air assaults. In the fishing village of Bexham facing France, the locals understand that a Nazi invasion could come through here or some of the nearby other Sussex ports and most males join the military. Even vets from the "Great War" sign on to serve in the Senior Corps.

Their wives, mothers, and daughters adapt to a world where France quickly falls as the Bexham villagers, mostly female relatives of the soldiers, are determined to help defeat Hitler. The younger generation whose lovers will die on the continent or become MIA defend their country joined by their mothers in ways no one could have fathomed in 1939. In this little village, nothing but the sacred Chestnut Tree will ever be the same even when their men come home victorious and expect the pre war status quo to return.

THE CHESTNUT TREE is an intriguing character study cozy exploring the metamorphosis of English women during World War II. These courageous females become the mothers and older sisters of the 1960s women's movement. Readers will cherish these feisty characters who do what they must to help their country win except revert back to their subservient prewar role once victory occurs.

Harriet Klausner

The NEW Passport To Survival. 12 Steps to Self-Sufficient Living

I've been interested in disaster preparedness for most of my life, but have done precious little to actually prepare. Why? Cost, for one thing. Lack of storage space in our suburban rambler, for another. The final nail in the coffin is a house full of picky eaters who have been raised on a diet high in meat protiens (Me included, I grew up on the farm eating beef, chicken, venison, rabbit, pheasant & ducks.).

The NEW Passport To Survival shows you how ease your family into the simpler diet that survival storage necessitates. "One meal a week, and they only have to try two bites!" I thoroughly enjoyed Rita Bingham's frank and casual style of writing and can-do attitude. She shows you how to start out cheap, intergrate your survival stores into your daily diet, then use the money you save to expand your survival stores until you have at least a year's supply of food for your household put back. One thing she does leave out though: What do you do if they take the required two bites and still say "Ewww!?" (In our house it would most likely mean Costco frozen chimichangas.)

There are recipes to get you started toward the end of the book, as well as copious recommendations for the author's storage food cookbooks throughout the text and in the appendices. I'm sure that if you hit your favorite Internet search engine, you can probably find a wealth of them on-line, as well.

I'm looking forward to my beautiful bride reading this book, and getting her feedback on it. I think we may just be embarking on the road to food security!

The NEW Passport To Survival. 12 Steps to Self-Sufficient Living

Whether you are preparing for a hurricane evacuation, the end of the world as we know it or just trying to stop living hand to mouth, there are many helpful tips in this book to become a more prepared person. I have no intention of ever becoming a vegetarian (as suggested in this book), but did find most of it interesting reading.

If you want to eat healthy, on good tasing foods, and do it cheap this is the book you MUST HAVE. The side benefit is that you will create a more sulf reliant life style that is great for the entire family. This is the book everyone will be getting for gifts this year.

Having an earlier 1974 version, I find this new update absolutely fascinating. Rita Bingham continues her mother Esther Dickey's legacy by providing us with the most current information to help us learn provident living. Not only does Ms. Bingham tell us what to do, but how, and where to go for additional information. She tells us how to use that information, and her recipes are wonderful. This is one of only two books that I recommend to my friends who want to be more self-sufficient, the other being "Making The Best Of Basics" by James Talmadge Stevens. This duo is a must have base for anyone wanting to learn more about taking care of themselves.

Not the last word by any means, the book offers a broad, easy to digest introduction to disaster planning in the context of an extended personal or civil emergency rather than an end of the world scenario. In that vein, it offers much to those who haven't considered the problems they may face when the electricity goes out and the grocery store shelves are empty. For truly comprehensive advice, however, you need to look elsewhere - this is no bible on the subject.

The most glaring flaw of the book is its new-age style food and health advice. It perpetuates junk-science claims about the alleged superiority of "live" foods, toxic effects of meat protein, suppression of the immune system by sugar, benefits of enzyme supplements, etc., etc. And she really flogs the unsubstantiated claims regarding the antimicrobial effects of grapefruit seed extract and the efficacy of homeopathic remedies.

Overall, I would award the book four stars for those who have never before considered disaster preparedness planning; and for those who have, just one star because it would add nothing to your knowledge. Two and one half stars is the average, knocked back to two stars for not sticking to proven fact. An emergency is no time to start experimenting with unproven, unsubstantiated "contemporary wisdom" regarding nutrition and health matters.

As a practicing psychiatrist, the relationship between mind and brain is ultimately fascinating, although it is unlikely ever to be solved to everyone's satisfaction. Yet we feel compelled to try, and LaCerra's and Bingham's skillfully presented book is a giant leap toward correlating brain events with human experience and behavior. The lucid writing and excellent examples make it both intellectually stimulating and a joy to read. Although I agree with previous reviewers that this book skirts the many spiritual, religious, and philosophical issues involved in this ancient "world knot," the authors' intention was clearly to remain within their paradigm, and they elegantly achieved their goal of describing the physical concomitants of human subjectivity. In no way does such scientific research negate transpersonal efforts to explore the mystery of consciousness as a thing-in-itself, but instead lays a firm foundation for philosophers to build on. Highly recommended! John Nelson, author of The Remembering and Healing the Split.

While this book is an excellent, but intensive, book discussing the neurological function of the brain, it thumps an anti-religion undertone proclaiming we are nothing but a collection of electrochemicals that dictate behavior from primordial oceans over a billion years ago.

Modern brain research is on a direct collision course with thousands of years of religious philosophy. One field denies that we may very well be an immortal spirit using the brain like one drives a car. The other screams "See this, you ARE the brain and nothing else because we cannot measure it." When you read this, keep your critical eye in high gear.

Maybe fifty years from now, we may look at this book with the Freudian era practice of measuring intelligence by associating it with physical brain size and the number of head bumps. Only this time they are using MRIs and electron microscopes instead of just a caliper to measure the brain.

If you enjoy learning intense subjects, keeping your dictionary handy, learning of the brain, and sorting out neuro-jargen you should check this one out. If you are a person of high intellect and enjoy learning of the brain and how it has evolved ( and evolving ) then this would be a good read. However, if you enjoy rudimentary leveled books, this isn't the one for you. I gave this book four stars because it was enjoyable, but not 5 star worthy.

La Cerra and Bingham provide a starting point for those wishing to gain some knowledge of the roots of human behaviour. They stress the individual - individuals ranging from the mundane to those breaking "patterns," exhibiting "abnormal" behaviour or showing creativity. They open with an explanation of how difficult it is to explain individuality in Darwinian terms, but acknowledge that evolution is basis of how our brains operate. With rich use of metaphor, and many examples from fiction, the text is free-flowing, if not "flowery." Devoid of footnotes and including what can only be described as a [sad] bibliography, the book is of mixed value.

The authors are exceptional at relative comparisons. In order to place humans in a frame of reference with other creatures, they describe the environmental sensitivity of a bacterium, E. coli. They explain that its information retention capacity lasts a duration of but four seconds. In that brief span it must decide whether to pursue possible "food" or rest and wait for a change in condition. They show that such decisions must be made by every living creature - how much energy to expend on survival strategies? This pattern, with added ramifications as you progress through more complex life forms, particularly ourselves, requires increasingly intricate reasoning powers. In humans, many of these powers have been shown to be dependent on various neurochemical processes. To the authors, this rules out any
genetic "absolutes" driving behaviour at the molecular level. This "strawperson" has been built and scattered before. La Cerra and Bingham raise their stook, then destroy it gently - but a straw man remains a straw man.

A number of scholars and their findings in cognitive studies are addressed, but only someone with a rich knowledge of the field is likely to perceive this. Many ideas are presented, but you remain unclear of their origins. Antonio Damasio and Steven Pinker are listed in the Bibliography, but the text makes no references to their views. Careful reading suggests neither scholars had much impact on the development of the authors' ideas. Daniel C. Dennett is given thanks "after publication" [??]. One yearns to read that "correspondence." To a degree this book insults the reader they wish to reach - those wanting to understand human reasoning and behaviour. It is difficult to accept that an inquiring reader is going to be diverted by a few pointers to further information. The reader is left with the impression that the authors have a new, innovative concept of thinking and behaviour. Sadly, that's false.

The rich use of metaphor guides the reader over what might be otherwise difficult concepts. The issues in cognitive studies are not simple, however, and require more explanation than the authors' seem able to give. The metaphors, instead of aiding in the explanation, become roadblocks to legitimate understanding. The authors leave the impression that all the issues in cognitive science have now been resolved by their book. Confidence in your own work is admirable, but should rest on a firmer foundation than La Cerra and Bingham provide. If the topic is new to you, this book may open a few doors. However, don't stop here, but move on to those who explain the background to the metaphors with sound research instead of simply breezy writing styles. Other scholars can write well. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

This book is a great read for anyone who is intrigued with the workings of the human mind and nervous system, the capabilities of the mind, the tiny neurochemical happenings that make possible all the automatic and deliberately chosen activities of our mind and body, and language/neurolinguistics.

The Origins of Minds sort of has the intriguing, poetic sensuality of Diane Ackerman's writing, but Minds feels by far more scientific. The sophisticated academic/medical/scientific language was worth the slight challenge it presented; the clarity with which the book's concepts and premises are laid out is awe-inspiring. Everyday metaphors are employed to make the most complicated concepts accessible, yet the authors let you know when they are oversimplifying, and why. The book is written with respect for the reader who perhaps studied biology a long time ago, or wants to nurture a recently born interest the incredibly interwoven workings and capabilities of body and mind.

The book describes some of the less complex formations and abilities of "mind" as it operates in E. coli bacteria with memories just 4 seconds long, and in bees who know to return to successful nectar-gathering sites yet know to adapt to a better segment of flowers when the previously rich source tapers off. You learn about instinct, reflex, and neocortical activity-- a person's uniquely personal history that archives the environment, inner state(s)-- the idiosyncratic `adaptive representational network' which provides you at every moment with access to memories of past situations similar to the present one, and a menu of past and present choices accompanied by how each past choice has worked out and how each choice you might make now is most likely to affect your hierarchically organized motivations and desires.

Living things are programmed to repeat behavior that assists in their survival and reproduction. The Origin of Minds explores and challenges this premise again and again, and it's quite elucidating and satisfying. What are our instincts and what ultimate purpose do they serve? How are instincts different from reflexes and why should it matter? How (and even why) does our DNA pass along certain physiological adaptations down through the generations? How is the hierarchy and intensity of our various and often competing goals organized in our psyches? What motivation underlies the development of a unique, individual personality and how does this conflict with or relate to our need for social cooperation for survival? You'll find it here.

Also, the book describes the workings of dopamine, seratonin, noradrenaline, depression and even antidepressant medication with tremendous clarity and detail. Having often seen those subjects treated by authors in a cursory, oversimplified way (to the point of being unhelpful) for the non-medical professional, I deeply appreciate this book's responsibly fleshed-out information. Very accessible. An extremely enjoyable read.

There is little insight in this book that people don't instinctively understand and either act or do not act on. The primary message of the book is to communicate problems with other people in a diplomatic way and realize that you may be the problem too. If you understand this you do not need to buy the book.

If I had the power to transport one book back in time and send it to myself, this would be the one. This is the book I needed when I became a people manager. It's also the book I needed when I began to raise my kids. In fact, I can't think of a time in my life when I did not wish I had more of the skills this book teaches. A simple but very deep book that causes a new level of understanding about how to talk to people with each reading. The authors draw on the best ideas from the great psychologists and show how to use them practically in everyday interactions. The short volume is easy to read and full of examples that can be immediately applied. In my humble opinion, this book is indespensible when managing people at work and managing close relationships at home. The conversational and entertaining style is a plus.

Here is my bias - this is a must have book for anyone in the coaching, management consulting, facilitation or training business. In fact it is a must read for everyone. The authors follow a sensible and clear route that would be a benefit to any reader. It is small, easy to read and powerful. The vignettes display excellent examples and the exercises at the end of each short chapter are practical. The italics of fantasy and fact regarding "feedback" makes for an even faster read. You can browse through it quickly to find the passages where you wish to focus.

The book is short and sweet enough but you can find it completely summarized in three pages in the Epilogue. If it sounds as if there isn't much meat to this book, think again. It is deceptively challenging but not daunting. It makes a great reference book that I like to come back to time and time again.

Here is my bias - this is a must have book for anyone in the coaching, management consulting, facilitation or training business. In fact it is a must read for everyone. The authors follow a sensible and clear route that would be a benefit to any reader. It is small, easy to read and powerful. The vignettes display excellent examples and the exercises at the end of each short chapter are practical. The italics of fantasy and fact regarding "feedback" makes for an even faster read. You can browse through it quickly to find the passages where you wish to focus.

The book is short and sweet enough but you can find it completely summarized in three pages in the Epilogue. If it sounds as if there isn't much meat to this book, think again. It is deceptively challenging but not daunting. It makes a great reference book that I like to come back to time and time again.

Here is my bias - this is a must have book for anyone in the coaching, management consulting, facilitation or training business. In fact it is a must read for everyone. The authors follow a sensible and clear route that would be a benefit to any reader. It is small, easy to read and powerful. The vignettes display excellent examples and the exercises at the end of each short chapter are practical. The italics of fantasy and fact regarding "feedback" makes for an even faster read. You can browse through it quickly to find the passages where you wish to focus.

The book is short and sweet enough but you can find it completely summarized in three pages in the Epilogue. If it sounds as if there isn't much meat to this book, think again. It is deceptively challenging but not daunting. It makes a great reference book that I like to come back to time and time again.

This is a surprisingly good read at an even more surprising value. The art is black and white, but it looks clear and clean, and great. The paper is lower quality then what you'll find on modern Marvel/DC tradepaper backs but it seems no worse then the kind of paper you get in most Vertigo trade paper backs. And there are a truckload of issues collected.
The stories are really cool and entertaining and stand well on their own despite the fact that most of the action takes place on the West Coast (L.A, San Fran) (ie. Super-star guest appearances by, say, Spider-man show up but mostly the title remains A-list free seeing as how everyone A-list in Marvel was born, raised, educated and live/work/die in New York City).
Of course when Chris Claremont takes over, prepare for some good X-men fest thrown in though.

The art by Leiloha on a whole is fantastic. The stories are more enjoyable then the First Spider-Woman Essential. The stories are more intense with real and serious threats from the villians. Great book.

If you like Chris Claremont's early work, then you will like this book. I hate how he wrote in the late '70s and early '80s, so I found myself cringing half the time. The art is okay. Claremont didn't write all of the issues in this book, the rest were written by Ann Nocenti and Mike Fliescher. None of the stories are very good. I think the first volume is much better than the second, but neither of them should replace Lee/Kirby/Ditko books on your shelf.

Not as bad as the '70s She-Hulk book.

If you are a fan of Spider-Woman, but you do not want to spend months, even years, tracking down every single issue of her series in the back issue bins of comic shops & conventions, this is definitely a collection for you. As someone who spent his high school & college years in the 1990s doing just that for any number of series, the Essentials are definitely a fantastic format. And we get to see all of the artwork from those back issues in glorious black & white, the detail and craftmanship of the artists unobscured by the low quality color printing comic books were burdeoned with in those days.

Certainly there's some great art in the stories reprinted here, most if it done by the very talented Steve Leialoha, as well as a handful of issues pencilled by the underrated Brian Postman, plus fill-ins by Carmine Infantino, Ernie Chan, and Jerry Bingham.

The writing is also top-notch, enjoyable, and fun. This volume sees the conclusion of Michael Fleisher's stint as writer, the entirety of Chris Claremont's run (featuring appearances by the X-Men, Juggernaut, Morgan le Fay, Madame Hydra, and the introduction of mutant mainstay Siren) and the four issue wrap-up penned by Ann Nocenti.

My only criticism is that this collection omits Avengers issue #s 240-241, a siginificant two-part epilogue to the Spider-Woman series finale that wraps up several loose ends from that title. Instead, this collection features a reprint of Uncanny X-Men #148, a story in which Spider-Woman appears in a minor capacity. Considering #148 has already been reprinted in Essential X-Men volume 3, it would have made more sense to include the two Avengers issues, which are much more significant for the character, and which have never previously been reprinted.

In any case, that one point aside, this collection is definitely still worth getting. Afterwards, just keep an eye out for those two Avengers back issues.