Sheep Books

Dennis Silk has a grand insight into how things work in theater. HIs extensive work with large puppets, his poetic soul, his life long love of theater make this a must have book for small theater groups to use. More of these pieces should be seen.

This journal rocks!! The cover is SO cool and cute, and (as always with this company) the paper is great as well! If you can find it, get it!!

My little guy loves to feel the textured items on each page. He is fascinated by the thistles. He rec'd this book on his first birthday and it has held up extremely well over the last year. The story is not the main draw here- It is very simple. The pictures are sweet and gentle. The fun is touching different items with different textures. IF your little one likes Pat the Bunny- they will enjoy this book too!

But since one word in disallowed, let Midleton's words speak for themselves. Based on my reading, there is little Middleton doesn't know or know about. The book is a compendium of knowledge and lore, the whole delivered with a masterful feel for form and, I judge, a profound love for life. This book would make, among other things, a marvellous textbook for just about any course in subjects ranging from etymology to ornithology.

Man's best friend can also be one of man's best workers. "Working Sheep Dogs: A Practical Guide to Breeding, Training, and Handling" is a comprehensive handbook to raising and training one's sheep dogs to serve their tasks. Covering every aspect of raising and educating a dog in terms that one doesn't need to be a veterinarian to understand, "Working Sheep Dogs" is a seminal book on the subject. A deftly composed and highly recommended pick for community library pet and wildlife collections.

This book is very educational about what it takes to raise a lamb, in the basic terms. My 6 year old loves the beautiful photos and the story. If you have a child who loves lambs, this book it great!

there are many types of people in this world, but this review simplifies them into just two, the ones who love murakami work and the ones who dont. my guess is that there would be a fairly sizable contingent on either side.

others have reviewed the book fairly well. i would like to suggest that you read the first 5 pages of the book, before you decide to buy it. it may save you some money if you are not one of those who love it.

the story of this book if said in a plain vanilla fashion would sound absurd and perhaps even boring. However murakami puts things across in such an amazing way that it feels nothing short of fabulous. i loved it and i hope you enjoy it too.

Usually the second something happens in a novel that separates it from reality, whether it is visions of the dead or aliens invading the earth (just to name examples, not that both those things happen in A Wild Sheep Chase) I start to dislike a book. But Murakami's calm, reasoned, well-described mysterious quest on which he sends his main narrator overcomes my usual distrust of the unbelievable in books and I was willing to enjoy and even love the novel despite its slightly fantastical twist(s). Murakami's characters are fresh--you can see pieces of people you have met or know, but his characters are unique, the plot proceeds despite the completely illogical assignment given to the main character, and the bad luck on the quest makes the happy coincidences that much more easy to swallow. The descriptions of landscape and weather lend authenticity and depth to the novel. There are many traces of Japanese culture in the characters, but the stories and characters are universal. Murakami defies description, he blends so many threads of brilliant writing together. I highly recommend this novel!

This is the best Murakami in my opinion and I've read almost all of his work.

This story starts with a funeral and ends with a dead person. What a lot happens inbetween. I felt that I was missing something because of all the references to animals: rat, sheep, dorks. It was well written and a very good story. I was taken aback by the final chapters. It was not what I expected at all, and yet it was a really good ending. I guess that it ended with mediocrity winning. That is reality for all of us: we are mediocre, with flashs of excellence. The excellence may be what gets us by, but we live with reality, mediocrity.

Japan, 1978; after a brief introduction of our un-named main character and his own description of a casual fling he had with a former classmate that has recently died we are brought forward 8 years to 1978. Now 29 years old and partner in an add agency. A friend had sent him a postcard with an unusual picture in it and asked that the picture be used in something that would be viewed by a lot of people. What our protagonist doesn't know is that captured in the picture is a sheep that isn't supposed to exist in Japan and a very powerful politician/business man is very curious as to the whereabouts of the sheep. With the threat of financial ruin placed over his head, our protagonist sets out with his new girlfriend to locate the sheep...

"A Wild Sheep Chase" is another interesting story by Murakami. This is my third encounter with Murakami, with "Kafka on the Shore" being my first and "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel" up being the second. When comparing the 3, "Kafka" stands out as the best with "Wind Up" bringing up the rear. For those not familiar with Murakami, his books are filled with metaphysical elements, and mythological elements. His characters tend to be very average people caught up in situations that are much larger than they themselves are. The protagonist from "A Wild Sheep Chase" is no different. He is a very average person who begrudgingly takes on the task for no other reason than he really doesn't have anything else to do.

The Good: The characters, even though very average for the most part, are still very interesting. Murakami's writing is full of the main character's internal musings which are as crazy, or more so than your own internal dialogue. The story itself and the character building aspect of it unwind in an interesting and atypical way. There are lots of metaphysical and mythological aspects that add to the Japanese flavor of this book which is one of the things that I enjoy about Murakami.

The Bad: Nothing memorable for me.

Overall: Enjoyable book and if you haven't tried Murakami before this may be a good place to start.

Author, Philip K. Dick is best known for his substantial body of work in the science fiction genre.

I became acquainted with DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP by viewing (several times) the now cult classic sci-fi film, BLADE RUNNER.

Philip K. Dick has the talent for addressing and questioning the dualities of our existence.

Born a twin, his sibling tragically died six weeks after their birth. This event and the emotional challenges of growing up in a conflicted family created the backdrop Dick's work.

He did not consider himself so much a story teller as one who utilized plots to express his ideas.

The dilemma presented in "Electric Sheep" which was translated onto the big screen in Blade Runner is:

Can androids be human?

The story explores how we humans treat species separate from ourselves. Enslaving androids who look, act and on some levels feel like humans... could this be right?

Read the story to find out.

Don't just rely on the film... "Electric Sheep" will take you on a page turning journey that veers from the script of Blade Runner.

You will see the core concepts that have influenced so many current science fiction films. TOTAL RECALL and MINORITY REPORT (starring Tom Cruise) are both based on Dick's work.

KERNEL OF WISDOM FROM THE BOOK:

"He thought too about his need for a real animal; within him an actual hatred once manifested itself towards his electric sheep, which he had to tend, had to care about, as if it lived. The tyranny of an object, he thought. It doesn't know I exist."

(p.37, Blade Runner :Do Andoids Dream of Electric Sheep, a novel by Philip K. Dick, copyright 1968)

I really wish I had not seen the movie until after I had read this book. But it was Ridely's amazing vision of Blade Runner that made me want to read "do androids dream of electric sheep?" The film deviated greatly from the book, as many others here have also pointed out. I kept expecting several parts to play out in a certain way and they really differed - not that this is a turnoff. That said, I found the movie to be better than the book, not because the book is not enjoyable -because it is very much so - but because I felt the overall idea and ending has been done more tastefully in the film. You can also see how Ridley incorporated his original vision and interpretation of DADOES?, and by doing so took BR onto new dimensions.

I felt the book was overall very good. It had a deep build of characters (although I could not stop seeing Harrison Ford in my head, as detective Deckard...) and it also had sundry unexpected twists and turns. Part of the beauty of this book is that it makes you think a lot. You cannot help but ruminate about the depressing, dystopian world PKD has created. The concept of trust constantly yet implicitly keeps turning up in both the book and the movie. I highly recommend reading this book. NON-SPOILING SPOILERS AHEAD. Albeit thoroughly enjoying reading DADOES? I had two problems with it, the first, and the lesser of the two, was that I thought the whole Mercerism (religion?) scenes were, well, beyond strange, and although they served a purpose in describing mankind's need to feel empathy and join in with others, they were nevertheless very weird. The second problem I had with this book is the way it ended, specifically and generally. In many ways the book ended where it started. It seemed like there was no real progress accomplished by the end of the book whereas in the film, Ridley went to great lengths to enhance the ethical issues, so at the end of the film, viewers had even developed empathy for androids. The ending of the book however, left no complex aftertaste, but rather, the initial attitudes in the book, that is, those of the unquestionable legal retirement of androids.

I finally saw the movie Blade Runner - The Final Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) a couple of weeks ago, and shortly after that I ran across the book in the library and read it. The similarities between them are so slight that I wonder whether it is fair for them to share a title (actually I guess they didn't, originally).

I was struck by two of the major elements in the book that are not even hinted at in the movie: the fact that the earth has been through a cataclysmic war that has wiped out a lot of natural life, and the religion of Mercerism. The movie's lack of these core elements leaves it seeming hollow and pointless.

In the book, people are divided into "regulars" and "specials." "Regular" people are eligible to leave earth to become colonists on Mars or other (never named) planets. "Special" people are either too unintelligent to be considered worth shipping to another planet, or they have been affected by radiation to such a degree that they cannot reproduce healthy children, so they are not desirable colonists either. ("Regular" men wear uncomfortable lead-lined "codpieces" to protect their sperm factories from radiation.)

The role of Mercerism is never fully explained, but you get the impression that it helps most people, regular and special, to hold themselves together by mutual interdependence on what seems like a desolate wreck of a planet. The movie really misses the boat by omitting this pervasive part of the fabric of the story.

This book isn't what I consider one of the great works of science fiction, but like lots of good sci fi, it does get you thinking about some potentially knotty ethical issues. I think clones are a more hot-button issue these days than androids, but I suppose that both looked about equally distant and threatening in the 1960's.

This is NOT the movie. It is bigger, deeper, more meaningful and philosophical -- one of Philip K. Dick's best books ever. (It has been explained to me that the primary significance of the movie "Blade Runner" was that it presented a fully imagined future.) I wish I could get this book with the original title, so much more revealing of the core -- "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (I owned it years ago, and wore it out -- wish I had bought extra copies then!)

I bought this book because I am planning on buying the completely massive and awesome collection of Blade Runner movies. I saw this at the bookstore for $5 (This exact edition) and so I bought it and read it in two days, finishing it yesterday.

As an introduction to the world of the movie (Which I haven't seen yet) it is simply awesome and astounding. The world of the book is so expertly crafted with what really amoutns to a small amount of description and detail. The characters and story are well thought out, and it fits the form that I have come to expect from Philip K. Dick even though I've only read this and The Man in the High Castle-no real ending, just an odd one.

The book is really just truly brilliant, and even after only one read-through I can honestly say that it is one of my favorite books ever. Also, it is much easier to read than some of his other books. I struggled through The Man in the High Castle for awhile until I got used to it and then I kind of got it and understood it and kept going, but this was one that I could just pick up and read an it's just awesome.

I highly recommend it to anyone interested in science fiction at all, as it is a true classic as well as one of the few Philip K. Dick books still available fairly widely.

Dr. Simon teaches the mechanics of popular tactics used by manipulators and how you can identify and thwart off these attacks so that you control the situation and outcome.

Dr. Simon also challenges the popular tenet held sacred by most psychologists: "One who is a manipulator must have been a constant victim of manipulation themselves." Dr Simon teaches that many cruel manipulators were never victims, they just mastered the tactics because they believe hurting, embarrassing, insulting, or belittling others gets them what they want fast.

How this book helped me: There is a person that I have no choice but to see around almost every day for the past few years. After the end of every "friendly" conversation I felt depressed or insulted but could not figure out how this person was doing it. This book helped me to understand what was really happening and by following Dr. Simon's guidelines exposed this person and took control. Because this person knows it can no longer control me, it does not even look at me when we pass. Not a perfect relationship but it is better than the alternative.

After reading this book my manager's behavior makes perfect sense. I had never encountered someone as twisted as this person. And it took me quite a while to see his true colors. Now I know exactly where he's coming from, why he does what he does. It's sad that there are people out there that make life so much harder than it should have to be for the rest of us. But being able to identify such people in your life (both at home and at work) is very important and can be of invaluable help to:

1) not go crazy oneself,
2) take corrective action.

Summarizing: the book is written with amazing clarity and exposure. Also the examples of life situations are excellent. If you read only 1 book this year, read this one.

The book makes use of examples and has a chapter that describes the basic tools of a manipulator. I congratulate the author for rejecting the notion that manipulative behaviour stems from some sort of 'insecurity' or 'feelings of inadequacy'. All to often it's used as a rationalization for the behaviour of a manipulator. They are not insecure and they certainly do not consider themselves inadequate, far from it! He also suggests that manipulators do not need counselling - they need correction. I couldn't agree more!

The books falls down in that it does not discuss in detail how to combat the tools of a manipulator. Yes, it does give a few examples but the descriptions are shallow and do not tell the reader how and why they work. Mainly it seems to focus on offering 'win win' situations to manipulators - frankly this is something I would hesitate to use. It seems like 'feeding the beast' rather than correction - which is what the author states manipulators need in the first chapters. Overall the book is easy to read and provides a guide to identifying a manipulators - but it does not give you the tools to protect yourself....

I would recommend this book to anyone. It has redefined how I judge people and helped me to become a stroner person. I used to be very naive and unaware of people's ulterior motives, and I have learned a tremendous amount from reading this book.

This book helps you deal with those people who make you feel bad at saying no. They manipulate you by making you feel like you are the bad guy. Its easier deal with someone who is overtly aggressive than covertly, because you can see their manipulations. That is why I highly recommend this book for everyone!

This is a nice book. Very pretty and easy to read for a young child. Great story.

This is a beautiful and sweet story. One lamb has a problem and has to learn that God has a plan for all of us.

But the video is a bummer -- way too far from the original story. It introduces a scary mountain lion, and there is a PIG in this Israeli stable... hmmm... can you say unclean?

This book is AWFUL! First, the title is offensive. I'm in a wheelchair and I hate the term "crippled". It's demeaning and insensitive. I thought Max Lucado was supposed to be a compassionate Christian? By naming the book this title, it not only teaches a new generation another "hateful" term it promotes treating people different because of their abilities or lack thereof.

Furthermore, I found this to have the message of "pity the disabled" not treat them as normal and productive parts of society, which many of us are. If you truly want to educate your children about differences DON'T buy this book. It's "well meaning" but inaccurate books like this one that further alienate those of us with disabilities and perpetuate ignorance and misunderstanding.

I'm a big Max Lucado fan, but consider myself more of a mature, masculine, discerning male when it comes to biblical fiction and non-fiction.

I bought this book as a Christmas gift years ago and took the time to read it. And yes, there were tear-drops. I've got a hard religious shell sometimes, but Max is one of the few authors today I allow into my devotion time. Believe me, the story of this book will stick with you for the rest of your life. It's a Christmas story unlike any you've ever heard.

A crippled lamb, who, because of his condition, gets to witness the Savior as he enters into this world. Not only is this a story of the nativity, there's a deep undertone about the kind of people God chooses to help and bless.... and who are to be his witnesses. It reveals God's love for all of us, shown especially by the fact that he sent His only begotten Son into this world to save us.

A really, really awesome children's Christmas story that anyone will love.

Being the mother of a physically challenged son, I absolutely love this story. Although it brings tears to my eyes everytime I read it, the story never fails to fill my heart with hope and renewal. There is a God who sees the Big Picture and who knows how all the "Joshua's" in the world are needed to help carry out His perfect plan. It is a reamarkable story that teaches us all not to pray for perfection, but for purpose.