Machines Books

Andrew paints a picture in every story - reminds the reader what NLP is all about - and practices in a creative and useful way. A delight and a surprise in every story.

'With hindsight, maybe dressing up as Satan was a step too far, but sometimes I just cannot resist. When a consultant psychiatrist called me to book an appointment to "confront her Catholic guilt", then something inside my head just started shouting "Go on!! She's a psychiatrist! Do it!! Do the session dressed as Satan!!"'

If you like that extract, then you'll love this book. It's a series of bite-sized articles, case studies and "Tales from a neurolinguist's journal" drawn from Austin's practice as a hypnotherapist and former career as a psychiatric nurse.

The book comes with heavyweight endorsement from the likes of Steve Andreas and Bill O'Hanlon, who describes Austin as 'the British Milton Erickson' - although given the degree of irreverence for the psychiatric establishment and the willingness to satirise some elements of the NLP community, "the British Richard Bandler" might be a little bit closer to conveying the flavour of the book.

Published by Real People Press, the Mark Andreas hippy-art cover makes it look like classic NLP works such as 'Frogs Into Princes' and 'Trance-Formations', and it's good enough to stand in that company. There really is an insight on nearly every page. The psych nursing background gives Austin an unusual depth of knowledge of the oft-neglected 'neuro' part of NLP, which provides useful perspectives on disorders like OCD.

Many people will be familiar with the "That's so obvious - why didn't I notice that before?" moments that come thick and fast when you first encounter NLP. I'm pleased to say that after 10 years as an NLP trainer, this book could still give me plenty of those. Of course a decision-making process that uses movies is going to get better results than one restricted to stills! Damn!

Did I mention that the book is often laugh-out-loud funny? He got away with that "Satan" thing too - in fact the client was so pleased with the results that she paid about six times what he asked. One thing I'm taking away from it is to be braver in my changework sessions.

For my money this is the most significant NLP book of the last five years. Luckily it's also one of the most readable. More please!

NLP has taken a lot of heat over the years for not being "scientific". It's not! And, with that being said, Andrew shows us once again, that if you are willing to access the right states, NLP can be a tool to work seeming miracles. More than anything, Andrew demonstrates the willingness to adjust as wildly with his behavior as Bandler, Farrley, Erickson, etc. My hunch is that the "magic" is found in the state of the therapist, and NOT in the technique being utilized. That has been my own experience.

This is a most surprising lesson in the unexpected. Andrew comes up with unique and innovative responses that get the person to think, interpret and change. A forward moving book that readjusts your thinking as you read it.Flexibility and freedom from frozen maps of reality breathes life into this work.Thank you for your courage and inspiration.
Tobias S. Schreiber, LPC,CTS

I got this book in the mail on a busy day and didn't surface until I finished it some five hours later, smiling. Full of outrageous stories showing therapeutic NLP in action, this book is loads of fun. Although intended for people already familiar with NLP and/or therapy, it's accessible to anyone. I've read it twice so far and learned lots both times. Prepare to be shocked, to laugh, to change, and to look at the world differently after you're done.

Wilma Keppel, NLP developer

It is immensely informative but well written so that it's easily absorbed. Great book.

This book sets a standard that would be hard to beat. The author knows his subject and the production is superb. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the field covered, and to others as an example of how a book should look.

An excellent review of automatic weapons for the technically inclined. There is little or no operational history involved, but this book's detailed development histories of weapons and their ammunition is more comprehensive than anything I've seen since Johnson's books from the '40s. If you are into the details of automatic weapons and the ammunition they fire, you must have this book. If you are looking for operational military history of how these weapons were employed, this is not for you.

Very informative, easy to read text - not too dry or technical. Great photos & diagrams. Really helps to understand the auto loading mechanisms of many different weapons, their performance data, specifications. Glad to have this in my collection, definately recommend it.

This book is a very well written history of large caliber automatic weapons. It gives a good coverage of the mechanisms and characteristics of the weapons, but it's real importance to me is it's well illustrated gallery of the rounds used in the weapons, complete with specifications of the rounds and the weapon and country using them, something that is rare to find in other works.In a library of over 1000 volumes on weaponry, this is one of the most used references I have.

A friend of mine lent me his copy of this book and was blown away by the information Mr. Williams presents. His friendly and educational writing style makes the book easy to read and understand and he explains exactly how slot machines work, which is different from other writers of slot machine books who tell you how to beat them. Mr. Williams is a slot technician and so knows more than these other guys. I would trust his information better. Too bad it's a limited supply to Amazon. I think if this book was easy to get here instead of from the publisher it might be worthy of a picture of the cover. Anyway, if you want a real good book on slot machines, get "Slot Machines. Fun Machines or Tax Machines" by Ian Williams.

I bought this book from the reviews on Amazon and was very impressed by it. The only thing it lacks is pictures so that why I only gave it 4 stars, but the explanations of how slot machines work is very detailed and informative. I had to order this book from the publisher. I don't know why Amazon is not carrying it, even though it shows up when you look for slot machine books.

I am a counselor on gambling addiction and was shown a copy of this book at a recent conference. I was quite impressed with the information contained therein. Although Mr. Williams writes for the players of slot machines, his insite into slot machine addiction is true and parallels what we know to be statistically factual: that those whom are addicted to slot machines get there from believing in the wrong information put out in books and newspapers and, of course, on television. This book is the only one on slot machines so far to address this issue and we were so impressed by it that we are adding it as a reference guide to our training material. It is controversial and will definately raise some eyebrows. It may also help some addicts to get their disease under control. We feel it will. Jason

I can't believe that I finally a book that really says it like it is. Slot machines are a passion for me and I got all the books out there that tell me how to win. But Ian's book tells me how I am not winning. I got his book after hearing him interviewed on local radio station. I read the thing and I am amazed. I never knew how slots worked and now I know how. I used his hints just the other day and man it works! I didn't spend all my money and I did have a more happy time at the casino. Those other writers just promote fluff. Ian really does know what he is talking about. I know that this book will be a super best seller and too bad I can't give it 10 stars! Jeremy

.... Ian B. Williams is a former slot machine technician. This puts him into a very special place in knowing all about slot machines. He describes how slots are designed and programmed. Blew my mind! He explained all those things that I had known about slot as being garbage. Bravo, Ian, on a book well written. When is your next one out? Tbone

I needed to have background knowledge of the Emerging Markets and this book was recommended by a colleague.

One of the most common (mis)interpretations of the east Asian currency crises of the late 1990s is that they were caused by George Soros and other speculators, hedge fund principals for the most part, who shorted those currencies and the respective bonds in order to create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I was happy to se that Mr. Pettis knows better. He writes that he was in regular contact with three large macro hedge funds in 1997, in his capacity as an emerging markets specialist for Bear Stearns, "including the most famous of these, and our discussions about Asia generally centered on ways to gain protected access to LONG rupiah positions. There was very little interest in shorting the currency."

Indonesia and its rupiah provides a particularly vivid example of the capital structure trap that Pettis adumbrates so admirably in this book.

This book completely transformed the way I think about sovereign financial crises. Michael Pettis creates a simple yet elegant framework by which to think of sovereign crises, the fundametal problems which precede them and potential solutions. This book should be every finance minister's primary reference tool for the development of sovereign capital structure.

Michael Pettis has succeeded in mystifying the collapse of EM economies. His approach is new and indeed very methodical. I found the book intellectually challenging and have learned quite a lot reading it. I highly recommend it for those who want to understand how LDC economies rise and fall. Having a background in corpporate finance is crucial to enjoying the book though.

This is a MUST READ for institutional investors worldwide! For the first time I have a confident sense of what is at the core of emerging market instability. Now if only some government policy makers would read this (even they would understand it!), the causal conditions might start to improve.

Eliezer Sternberg's "Are You a Machine?" provides a simple, short introduction to many contemporary ideas and discoveries related to the philosophy of mind and cognitive neuroscience. He provides a gentle overview of the ongoing debates swirling around consciousness, artificial intelligence, and robotics and introduces the audience to many of the thinkers in these areas including Cynthia Breazeal, Rod Brooks, David Chalmers, Hubert Dreyfuss, Ray Kurzweil, Doug Lenat, Marvin Minsky, John Searle, Alan Turing, Joseph Weizenbaum, and others. At times, this thin volume comes across a little sketchy. Apparently, Eliezer wrote this as a student at Brandeis. He shows considerable promise.

In "Are You a Machine", the reader will find insight, inspiration, clarity of mind and spirit. In this book, you will find yourself. Eliezer has contributed a masterpiece to those who are interested in philosophy, technology, and human consciousness.

Sternberg's book examines the question of what makes us human, and more specifically what makes us different from machines, computers, and artificial intelligence. At a time when people talk about carbon-based intelligence versus silicon-based intelligence at dinner parties in the suburbs, posing this question in a scientific manner is both relevant to our times and much needed.

In particular, Sternberg examines what it means to be conscious-not just awake, but aware and processing our surroundings in a uniquely human way. And, what makes us different from machines. Is it possible that some day scientists could understand enough about the way our brains work to understand how we love, how the creative process begins, and what constitutes joy and despair?

Sternberg poses the fundamental questions: What is the difference between our brain, our mind, and our consciousness? What separates us from robots? He brings together science and philosophy and weaves them together in an easily accessible way that draws on biology, neuroscience, and common sense examples to illustrate his points.

Sternberg asks us to consider our consciousness-how much we know about it and how ultimately private and unknowable it is. First, no one can know what we are thinking or imagining until we tell another person. Even then, we can filter out what we want to share from what we want to remain private. We can imagine things that are not tied to the physical world. In our minds we can be greater than Michael Jordan on the basketball court, receive the Nobel Prize or and Academy Award, walk on Mars, or reverse the course of previous actions.

This short book is a fascinating examination of the mind and the brain. It is definitely a book for the layman, and Sternberg offers additional reading suggestions at the end of each chapter.

He raises fascinating questions about who we are, addresses them in vivid ways, and challenges his readers to consider what discovery about consciousness might be just around the corner.

Armchair Interviews says: If you're looking for a fascinating book to challenge your thinking about thinking, pick up Are You a Machine?

Could we ever construct a robot with consciousness? If so, does that mean that we--all human beings--are machines? If not, what is it about a human being that could not be replicated by a machine?

These are the questions that are addressed in this book, and in a really gripping way. The book is structured so that it feels like one long, interesting discussion between experts in the fields of neuroscience, philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence and others.

Filled with illustrative examples, the book draws you into every concept immediately and doesn't let go. At points, I felt that it read like a novel that I couldn't put down. I haven't read many books on this topic, so the questions raised in the book really took me by storm and got me thinking about things like consciousness and free will in radically new ways. It's a really cool book. I definitely recommend it.

This book is certainly one of my favorite books. It is clear and easy to read, and the topic is extemely clever. I would recommend this book to anyone! I never found science particularly interesting before, but this book gave me an entirely new perspective on the brain and intellect. I anxiously await the author's next book.

The author is an expert in quilting. She generously shares her experience and knowledge with the readers in a format that is easy to understand and appreciate. The samples are adventurous in both color and structural design.
A must-have in your library.

Sally Collins' Art Of Machine Piecing [...] tells how to use precision piecing methods to help attain quality quilts. Almost fifty traditional blocks are represented in the course of explaining how machine piecing works.

Sally Collins has outdone herself with this book. In our modern day society, there is an emphasis on speed - everyone rushes around trying to squeeze in as many activities and projects into each minute of every day. This sometimes has the unfortunate consequence of less attention to detail and the result is sloppiness. In this book, Sally shows the quilter how to slow down and enjoy the process of creating each quilt block.

She starts her book with a chapter on Philosophy and Creativity and her deep love for quilting is very evident in the words that she uses. Phrases such as "..take pleasure in the journey", "..experience the joy and bliss that quiltmaking gives each of us". She views errors as "gifts...opportunities for success" and says that "problem solving is a real key to finding the joy in quiltmaking". With these statements, she removes the fear of making mistakes and turns errors into learning opportunities. She states that quality workmanship is not just about perfect sewing, but also knowing how to solve problems as they occur. One would be tempted to skip this introduction and jump right into the technique and block sections - this is a mistake. It may sound a bit corny, but after reading these pages, I was inspired at the prospect of making miniature blocks rather than being intimidated as I know most quilters are by the tiny pieces used in small scale blocks.

She follows the introduction with a detailed section on tools and explains what they are used for which is very helpful. A chapter on Color and Fabric is next and she does a wonderful job explaining the importance of color and fabric selection in general and also how to select appropriate fabrics for small scale blocks. There are a number of helpful example images that accompany the text. As we progress further into the book, we begin to learn about designing blocks and drafting. She goes into detail on how to draft blocks from beginning to end, a discussion that I found fascinating. Sprinkled throughout this chapter and each of the ones that follow, there are tip boxes titled "Noteworthy" that are filled with valuable information.

For the quilter interested in improving their accuracy in assembling blocks, the chapter entitled "Workmanship" is without question, the most valuable one to read - and should be read through several times to reinforce key concepts. Sally discusses various factors that cause problems from cutting to sewing to pressing. The bottom line is that the quilter needs to pay careful and close attention to each step of the process. Her quilting experience is evident in the tips on pinning, blocking, and measuring that she includes.

The last chapter before starting the block section deals with various construction techniques, such as assembling half square triangles, English Paper Piecing, and using bias bars. But, she does not stop there - she ends the chapter with a detailed and well illustrated tutorial on matching seams, a very important factor in sewing quilt blocks and one that is rarely addressed in instructional quilting books.

The Block Collection consists of forty-nine blocks with familiar names such as Churn Dash, Dresden Plate, or Bear's Paw and six of the blocks are her own designs. Each block is accompanied by a color photograph and includes template outlines and color coded measurements for three, four, and six inch blocks. She always includes a tip or two appropriate to the block, perhaps about construction or color selection. Each of these blocks is used in her quilt that she discusses in the last chapter. I was fortunate to see this quilt at a show and can vouch for its beauty and attention to detail. I spent several minutes looking at various blocks and marvelling at how well she put it together. If you are interested in making a similar one for yourself, she includes the instructions for the quilt along with fabric requirements.

She concludes the book with more eye candy in the form of a Gallery of full color photographs of quilts that she has made using the blocks in the book to whet the appetite of the reader. An alphabetic index and a brief biography of the author can be found on the final pages of the book.

It is well worth taking the time to read the book from cover to cover before embarking on the blocks. The instructions are clear and concise and well presented from a visual standpoint. This is definitely one to add to the collection!

this is a wonderful book for a quilter of any level of skill or experience.

i have no plans (right now!) to work at the scale the author enjoys, and i do not intend to enter any comptetitions, but i still want to do the best work i can. just one quick reading has improved my technique. thanks to ms. collins, i am more aware of how i am cutting, piecing and sewing, and more aware of what the machine is doing, can do, or will do. some of what she writes about i knew, some i never considered, some advice i've seen in other publications, but having all of this information in one source reinforces the lessons.

even if you have other technique or block books on your shelf, you will benefit from this one. as other reviewers have mentioned, ms. collins accepts the time and attention that good craftmanship requires, and encourages her readers to put that time and attention into their work.

This book is a must read for ANY quilter, whether working with regular or miniature pieces. Thanks to Ms. Collins for sharing all these terrific ideas.

I first read this book when I was about 12 and loved it. It is one of the few kid's books that are really funny. It also has a very original plot. Most modern libraries don't have it any more and so most modern children have never read it. Bring it back into print!

I remember enjoying this book very much when I was a kid in the fourth grade. Rereading it I see the writing isn't really superb but the story (and cartoon illustrations) create many memorable images and the whole thing is still a fun, breezy ride, from the same author who brought us the "Matthew Looney" sci fi books. When kid inventor Bob Fulton creates a machine in his garage to make a single bottle of soda pop fill the cups of the whole town, the machine explodes. However, the explosion has created a new hybrid substance that has even greater scientific implications. Soon the government and an amusing array of spies are out to get the secret formula, and Bob and his sea captain father must do everything they can to keep it out of the wrong hands. This story has a comic touch and a pleasing premise that kids will remember long after reading it.

Bob Fulton is a boy inventor. His latest invention is something he calls the Soda Pop Stretcher, which is able to turn 1 bottle of soda into about 50 (that is, with the help of some miscellaneous ingredients, plenty of water and 50 pounds of sugar!). He's the most popular kid in his neighborhood until the Stretcher unexpectedly explodes, coating the inside of the garage with sticky, foul-smelling goo!!

Bob's father, a delightfully ridiculous character who is the town's ferryboat captain (he wears an eye patch over his perfectly good eye, stomps around on his healthy left leg like he's got a peg leg and is fond of whale blubber steaks and hardtack), decides that enough is enough. Bob should clean up the mess, give up inventing and join him on the ferryboat for the rest of the summer.

However, this book is subtitled "An International Spy Story", and it doesn't take long for Bob to discover something interesting about the gummy goo from his blown-apart pop stretcher: it totally eliminates friction! This means that any machine parts it's applied to (his sister's bicycle, for example-it was in the garage when the pop stretcher went kablooie) now will run practically by itself because the slowing effects of friction have been eliminated. Once this substance-called Ingredient Zeta-reaches the local scientific research community, it's only a matter of time before sneaky, international spies are hot to get their hands on some of the good stuff!

I was first turned on to this book back in the late 70's in fifth grade when a girl I had a crush on presented it to the class as a book report. Out of loyalty to her (or perhaps so we'd have something mutual to talk about), I read it and was immediately hooked. I have reread it about 8 or 10 times more since then, enjoying it more and more each time.

Bob's adventure starts off innocently enough (if you can call an explosion in the garage "innocent"!!), but soon he's embroiled in groundbreaking research in physics with a professor who speaks about 30 different languages...at the same time! Soon spies are lurking about the house trying to steal the secret formula, the science research lab is constructing a HUGE model of the stretcher, the world goes through a sudden sugar crisis, and automobile manufactures are in a panic because cars will no longer wear out!! (this was a wonderfully funny touch that, as a child, I had totally missed).

"Bob Fulton..." is, of course, out of print. This is a terrible shame because it's as funny and gripping NOW, in 2001, as it was back in the 70's at the time of its publication. Somehow it got unfairly passed by while other great works from that time period went on to be printed over and over again. It's an easy read, a great choice for intermediate readers, and with an explosion within the first 15-odd pages, it's sure to hook even reluctant readers in!! Highly recommended; track this one down!!

I, too, enjoyed this book, but I must mention that it pre-dates the 1970s. I read it in 1965 when I was 9. I believe I found mention of it elsewhere on the internet, giving a publication date of 1963.

What can I say? This book got me hooked on science fiction. I remember reading this book over and over again in grade school. If you want to introduce a child to science fiction, more specifically time travel, this is the book for you if you can find it.....

This is the only bread book I use . . . despite owning many!! Easy and delicious recipes that are consistant time and time again!

I am going to make this short and sweet. Kind of like the bread. I hate to cook. I love to eat. We have had a bread machine for a year and hardly used it. The bread did not come out right or it took too many ingredients we did not have. I happened to see this book (very eye catching), read the first recipe. It looked easy and there was no magic to it. It used ingredients we already have. The machine has not been back in the cupboard since. The author makes it easy to read, fun, and you get good bread. This book is a must for anyone with a bread machine that is getting dusty. It also has a large and interesting variety of recipes.

Every recipe I tried was excellent and so different from each other. I love the season themes. The recipes were easy for me to adapt to my machine.

I am completely new to the world of bread machine baking so, of course, I ran to Amazon and bought several books of recipes. This book by Connie Merydith is, however, far and away my favorite and the one I turn to the most. The book is beautifully laid-out with clear, easy-to-read type and nice small illustrations of bread at the bottom of most pages. The recipes are arranged by season with hearty wheat, nut and spice breads made with molasses, rolled oats and dried fruits for fall and winter, and lighter breads with honey, yogurt, fresh fruit and vegetables for spring and summer. The author also includes recipes for non-loaf breads such as bagels, breakfast and dinner rolls, pita bread, pizza dough, bread sticks, focaccia, and bread rings. I used this book to make an assortment of rolls for Thanksgiving last week: oatmeal-molasses, peppery parmesan, orange spiral, wheat spice and rich dinner rolls (the bread recipes can all be made into rolls -- just stop your bread-maker before it begins to bake). There are also instructions for making and using a sourdough starter and a very complete index. If you're only going to buy one bread machine cookbook, then this is the one to get.

I bought this book based solely on the other reviews I read here, and I'm awfully glad I did. Though the book might not be for bread machine novices (there's hardly any information about the machines themselves, or advice on how to make sure your breads come out well), the recipe ideas are creative and tasty. The black olive bread is especially wonderful, and I'm looking forward to trying more.

Any person involved with music will enjoy this book. It takes the reader along for the ride as The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps make their start and move through the years to the present day organization. The lessons learned were worth it and the mission behind the organization has not wavered through it all.

If you have a young person (or know of one) who is interested in music, get them this book as a gift and see what doors open in their mind regarding what can be done with music, a little hard work and the great people that are met along the way.

High school band was my previous idea of and experience with precision marching. I'd heard of drum and bugle corps, but had never seen one in action, let alone heard of The Cavaliers. The book came as a gift. The more I read the more amazed I was at the dedication of the leadership, staff, and the kids to this form of musical performance. Colt's research and writing brings it alive as we watch the whole development of drum and bugle corps evolve. One can sense the change in perspective in the last few chapters as he travels with the corps. He gives real life to a subject matter that could be dry as dust. My tickets to one of their summer shows in TX are on the way.

Building the Green Machine will take you back to the beginning when The Cavaliers were just another Boy Scout Troop. But the man with the plan, Don Warren, took these boys and turned them into men by starting a drum and bugle corps that has risen in the ranks to be one of the best in the world. For those drum corps history buffs wanting to know more about how Drum Corps International got started, this is the book to read. Don Warren helped found DCI, which "turned the activity into the free-wheeling sprinting artistry of today."

Colt Foutz, (a person who never marched with The Cavaliers or any drum and bugle corps for that matter), does an amazing job as he explores the making of The Cavaliers with amazing detail. You'll feel like you're right there with them living in the moment. It's one of the best drum and bugle corps books out on the market.

Who should read this book? It's a "must-have" for anyone ever associated with The Cavaliers or who want to be. For everyone else, it's a wonderful history of enduring some positive "life lessons" as one polishes the perfect show. I recommend it without any reservations.

~=Gregory M. Kuzma=~
Author On the field from Denver, Colorado...The Blue Knights!: One member's experience of the 1994 summer national tour (N)

Anyone who's been part of something bigger -- band, choir, theater, or another really close-knit group -- will find something familiar in the tales told in "Building the Green Machine." I laughed out loud at all the antics these seemingly disciplined young men got up to on tour. If you're already a drum corps devotee, this gives you the inside scoop on the Cavaliers and the many other corps they've met over the years. Even if you've never seen a drum corps performance, the theme of friendship is universal.

Colt Foutz weaves an amazing, informative, and well written account of the history of the "Green Machine" - the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. Students, fans, alumni, and current members of DCI will enjoy this book from beginning to end. Colt's narrative style and attention to detail makes the history interesting.

Pelevin's fantastic The Clay Machine-Gun (in Russian the title of this novel is Chapayev and Emptiness) is a great introduciton to the Russian post-soviet (and, believe me, quite postmodern) literature. It incorporates an element of philosofical mystification into a dual story-line construction with wit sparkling like a crazy diamond. Have you ever wondered, who is constructing the story line you are reading, the author, or Roland Barthes, or you? and what is, at the same time, constructing you? here we are, Chapayev!

What fascinates me most is how brilliantly the novel captivates the twists of the post-soviet Russian frame of mind, at the time where the whole world as we knew it has gone to bits, and in this loosely associated cultural field ideas and artefacts breed, while reason sleeps. The time is out of joint.

On the meaning of the universe, the concept of reality and the truth of one's existence - this book really is one of the best things I've read in a very long time. It is also one of the strangest books you're ever likely to pick up, filled with Murakami style pasta-making anti-heroes.

The story begins in Lenin's Russia with a murder, a heap of cocaine following a series of events where the plot pivots between modern day Russia and a revolutionary red army camp. This absurd story throttles right ahead until the very last page which includes one of the best and most fulfilling endings ever.

Written in a insane dialog, Pelevin manages to create a first class thriller about mistaken identity with meditations on metaphysics. In short if you are a Delillo/Murakami/HTS (Hunter S Thompson) fan, or just a reader of truly great literature then this is for you.

Pelevin gets deeper into reality--or maybe just questioning reality-- with each novel. I love that every plot point, even name and character could be completely crucial, or could not matter at all, simply depending on what you get out of the novel. His delicately detached protagonist (aptly named Voyd) reminds me of Murakami Haruki's pasta-making anti-heroes (who in fact turn out to be heroes after all). Most importantly, perhaps, I could probably read this book again and get something new and different out of it.

I read it in Russian. It's an amazing book. I am ordering an English translation out of curiousity. In my opinion, it is beyond translation (you will still have a lot of fun but unless you know Russian history and culture you will miss a lot of its power!) There is so much subtle beauty and deep meaning... + icredible humor -- even though it is a very profound piece of art, that explores the most mysterious puzzles of life. READ IT!

I'm rarely impressed with "absurd" books - in many of them, the plot and the message seems to disappear in all the weirdness, and the authors often seem to take easy ways out. Not so with Pelevin. This contemporary Russian writer has written a delightfully weird and sometimes hysterically funny book - I still haven't figured out what exactly it is he's trying to say, but I have a feeling there's something there...it's an impossible book to describe, but one that leaves you wanting to recommend it to everyone. Try it.