Bates Books

This is an excellent book and should be part of every percussion revolver fan's library. It does contain some flaws as the proofreading cycle was not completed (see the author's review) but it is a valuable extension to the previous volume nonetheless. When the errors are encountered one must keep in mind that the authors themselves are not satisfied with this product but did not have the opportunity to give it the necessary finishing touches. If you can get beyond that you will be very pleased with the book.

I was lucky enough to read a proof copy of this book and found it to be a wonderful expansion of the excellent earlier work by Messrs. Bates and Cumpston. I still refer to the proof copy as a reference. It's a shame that iUniverse didn't handle the proofing/editing well and the project wound up stillborn as a result - this is one of those works that would have proven fascinating and useful to shooters, collectors and historians. This book really would have been appreciated by anyone with an interest in percussion revolvers. Maybe sometime in the future . . .

this is an early release of marketing information for a book that does not exist. I cancelled publication before printing began because of unacceptable errors in the final draft.

Apparently this is a Pre-publication release. Amazingly it already has a sales rank. Probably orders by Amazon and others that will never be filled. I gave it a five star rating because of what It might have been and because I co-authored the book. It was ready to be sent to the printers when I discovered that there was a repeated spelling error in relation to the table of contents, The Starr Revolver Chapter and the index. To add insult to injury, the header in the above chapter read "Treason with a Hair Trigger- The Star Revolver." all the way through.

I am not an adequate proof reader and neither are the line editors and proof readers employed by iUnverse Inc.
Not wanting to endure a three year run of hearing about this, and possibly other spelling errors, I cancelled the contract and withdrew the book from print.

Had it been handled better, It would have been good.
Sorry about that.

I am an executive in a business planning and strategy function. I have read many books on the subject of Innovation. This book was unique to me with the focus on strategy innovation and the well defined methodology described to work through the process. Believe me, it caused several nights of insomnia as I couldn't help thinking about ways I could use this information on different problems I was trying to solve. In addition, I found the authors highly responsive as I followed up with them to explore potential opportunities to collaborate. These guys know their stuff! I have recommended this book to others in my company who were looking to develop new product strategies. I think this is a must read for people who are serious about customer and market focused strategy execution.

One of the challenges I have faced with much of the innovation literature is that it is written exclusively from the historical "case study" perspective. Hindsight is easy, foresight is difficult, and finding effective generalizations applicable beyond the narrow retrospective of an author's case studies is nearly impossible.

Johnston and Bate have succeeded in achieving this nearly impossible task. These authors take a different perspective (from other innovation authors) and offer a framework for Strategy Innovation - which not to be confused with Strategic Planning. Strategic Planning focuses on building value in current markets through an analytical analysis of the current business conditions and models. Strategy Innovation, by contrast, is defined as creating new value through a creative - insights-driven - iterative approach, where companies leap ahead to define where they want to be and then "work backwards" in order to achieve the future goal.

The strengths of this book are three-fold.
1. The book is more than a retrospective case study - it is about developing the process of how to go about incorporating innovation.
2. The Strategy Innovation process described by the authors can be implemented without first requiring radical disruption of the organization or its processes - thus reducing the initial cost and organizational resistance to implementation. For example, Strategic Planning remains - but it should be guided by the Strategic Innovation process.
3. The book is well-written and well-edited.

The last time I checked, Amazon and Borders offer 53,515 books which discuss strategy; 12,520 on innovation and 1,036 on strategy innovation. Is there anything new to add? Perhaps the more appropriate question is: Given the needs and interests of my organization, which approach to strategy innovation makes the most sense? In their Introduction, Johnston and Bate observe, "What we describe in this book is a phase-by-phase approach to the process of strategy innovation, not step-by-step. We provide the blueprint and encourage you [their reader] to customize it for the specific needs of your company and your industry." That is a promise on which they deliver. In fact, they provide invaluable advice on how to "customize" the phase-by-phase approach they describe.

They carefully organize their material within three Parts. In Chapters 1-4, they outline what strategy innovation is, what it is not, and suggest how to integrate it effectively. In Chapters 5-10, they offer specific guidance for implementing a strategy innovation initiative which they call the "Discovery Process." It has five phases: Staging, Aligning, Exploring, Creating, and Mapping. I hasten to add that, with appropriate modifications, this process can be use by any organization, regardless of size or nature. Then in Chapters 11 and 12, they offer a rigorous and probing analysis of the Discovery Process within a real-world setting. Of special interest to me is their use of FAQ in Chapter 11 and their outline of "key considerations" in the final chapter. In the Epilogue, Johnston and Bate share their thoughts about the future of strategy innovation. I also appreciate their clever use of a series of "Process Tips" (accompanied by brief comments) which should be highlighted (or otherwise noted) to facilitate a periodic review of the book's key points. Here are three examples:

"Strategy Innovation is best achieved by leaping ahead and working backward." (page 34)

"A strategic frontier is that unexplored area of potential growth that lies between today's business and tomorrow's opportunities." (page 113)

"It is easier to build feasibility into an innovative idea than to build innovation into a feasible idea." (page 203)

The material is sound, well-organized, and skillfully presented. I think those who read this book will my high regard for it while realizing, as Johnston and Bate correctly point out, "Strategy innovation is not a typical, quantitative goal, so it should not be communicated to employees in a rational, quantitative way. Strategy innovation is a bold leap into a new future. It is a rallying cry for growth, a clarion call to lead others into the future, to achieve new levels of performance and success." Quite true.

But if strategy innovation initiatives lack passion, if they fail to excite the heart and stimulate the mind, and if they are incremental and cautious, they are certain to fail.

For those of us who are familiar with the more traditional approach to strategic planning, beginning with vision, mission, goals & objectives, strategies and tactics, this book presents a novel approach to strategy. What I particularly liked is how Johnston and Bate use creativity and innovation as a key element in their process to increase the chance of getting breakthrough results rather than incremental improvements.

While more "out of the box" techniques are used, it by no means lacks structure in the process. At the end of each planning phase, process tips provide a summary of the key points. The book also includes a number of case studies that grounds the process to real industry examples.

If you are interested in understanding how making the future clear will make the present even clearer, read this book.

Support for the Central American death squad regimes was organized by many of the people currently in power. The Reaganites, the author writes, spied on activists opposed to such support and the director of FEMA drew up plans to intern Americans on a massive scale if such opposition got too intense. Cheney and Powell presided over the murderous Panama invasion and to that resume should be added the massive war crimes against Iraqi civilian infrastructure, etc

The democrats are no different. Bates quotes George Kennan, the State Department policy planning chief under Truman in 1948, explaining that the United States should devise a pattern of relationships where it could keep a large part of the world's wealth.. Jimmy Carter sent arms to Morrocco,Indonesia and Turkey to support their ethnic cleansing in their occupations of Western Sahara, East Timor and Cyprus respecively. He covered for the South Korean military's Tiannamen square style massacre at Kwangju, sent officers from the Argentinian neonazi military regime to train the Contras, etc.

Clinton's welfare reform forces mothers with children to go to work for minimum wage, which even for a full time worker is not close to a livable income. Poverty decreased slightly during the Clinton years. After years of decline, wages rose back to their level of 1974. The slight improvements in the plight of ordinary Americans in the 90's is contrasted by the author (quoting Pollin) with the fact that from 1974 to 2000 the Gross Domestic product rose 70%, productivity rose 61%, etc. But the "booming" economy was based on fraud, huge debt-financed consumption and speculation. The democrats helped the Republicans effectively repeal the Glass-Steagal Act of 1934, eliminating much government oversight and restrictions on close relationships between corporations with stock, accountants and other sectors. Thus banks, accountants and corporations could conspire to cover up bad corporate financial data to keep the corporation's stock high.. During the Clinton years, the gap between CEO and worker pay went from 113 to 1 to 449 to 1. According to Bob Woodward, Clinton privately said in late 92' that his administratiion was Eisenhower Republican and that his policies would "help the bond market and hurt the people who voted us in."

Bates shows how provisions in his first budget to restrict gold mining and federally subsidized grazing and timber sales on federal land were removed by his chief of staff Mack McLarty. This reduction in corporate welfare and land preservation could have saved the taxpayers a billion dollars. Clinton signed an Act in 1996, which lifted the ban on the export of Alaska's crude oil and limited the government's auditing of corporate profits on oil taken from federal lands. It allowed oil companies to sue the government to get interest payments. Bates then points out how Clinton-Gore curiously used the Antiquities Act of 1906 to preserve mountainous areas and forests in swing states. Other than election periods in 1996 and 2000(both of which Bates suggests was to take steam out the Nader campaign) the Antiquities Act was never utilized by Clinton.

Mr. Kerry recently announced that he is willing to appoint anti-abortion judges. He has called for lowering corporate taxes, already very low or non-existent, to bribe manufacturers to bring jobs back to America. His health care plan consists of nothing more than partially subsidizing some corporate health plans. He voted for aid to the Contras back in 1988, when two years before the world court had ruled that support illegal. At the World Court, a French priest training nurses told of horrific atrocities of the contras, gouging out eyes, forcing a girl into prostitution,etc. The Bush II regime has been handing off the Iraqi economy to American corporations often without any bidding, regardless of what the Iraqi people might think. The author quotes the Wall Street Journal explaining that the "democracy" imposed in Iraq consists basically of commissions with American representatives that can veto anything detrimental to American interests. Mr. Kerry is not against any of this-he just claims that he can do it better and not alienate the allies. Kerry refers as an ideal to the coalition Bush I assembled in 1991, which was got together with bribes and threats. His foreign policy advisors include Rand Beers, architect of the odious fumigation campaign in Colombia. Another is Richard Morningstar, pusher of a disgusting pipeline project in Central Asia. Kerry is well aware of the need of American imperialism to vigorously participate in the new "great game" in Central Asia.

The author writes that Kerry is such an unbelievably weak candidate; a leftist needs to fill the vacuum. Bush has an economy that may or may not rise on the strength of his Keynesian military spending. He has the support of large numbers of people, fearing the terrorist bugaboo. In many swing states, gay marriage bans will be on the ballot; thus the evangelical base of the Republicans will be out in full force. Kerry has hid behind the "civil union"/state's rights position on this issue, failing to encourage the many Americans who already support some rights for gay couples to become more progressive. President Kerry might be more militaristic and socially regressive in some ways than Bush. The democrats can often put through extreme measures favorable to the ruling class better than the Republicans can. The democrats have kept hanging the bugaboo of Republican extremism before voters, but keep moving to the right themselves. The author suggests that socialist Norman Thomas's 1932 presidential run might have played a role in forcing The New Deal on the democrats.

I do not agree with the author that Nader had no responsibility to build the Green party after the 2000 election. He's not my ideal canidate; he seems to have something of an authoritarian leadership style. I'll probably vote for him as I did in 2000. Gore might have won that election if he had carried his home state or Clinton's .

It is farcical that the left demonizes the current president and his administration as being particularly egregious in their criminality, and by doing so affirms the lackluster Kerry as the antidote. Bush is more successful at being cruel says Bates, and little more; compared to Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy and Truman, he is "bushleague by comparison.." There is much analyzing too of the rightward drift of the Democratic Party here, and explaining how this is likely to continue without the threat posed by a serious and necessarily third party challenge; or second for that matter.

Nader has easily done more for the American people than all of the other candidates and their running mates combined. Contrary to much even progressive conventional wisdom, he has continued his public service since 2000. When his name and the words "public servant" are uttered together it is not a cliched and perfunctory gesture. As opposed to the frontrunners and their ubiquitous cant and subterfuge, on the stump, in an interview, Nader's every word frames real issues in their proper context, is urgent, without a trace of superfluity, aware of the magnitude of the problems we face, with viable solutions. By natural right his message ought to appeal to the vast preponderance of the electorate.

It is unfortunate, although not to underrate its significance, that the strongest argument Bates makes to encourage support of Nader's campaign is that of voting strategically under the rules of the Electoral College. Bates says the upcoming election is really 58 elections, each state's and the District of Colombia, and Maine and Nebraska wherein each district counts its votes separately. It is crucial to consider this in building momentum for a third party. Bates avers that in the other than about fifteen swing states, progressives will not be supporting Bush by voting for Nader. He goes even further and examines meticulously scenarios that may likely develop in which progressives even in smaller states with few electoral votes should feel safe voting for Nader. Noting that it is easier to sway power when it feels vulnerable Bates says in any event, progressives would do well to make a potential Kerry win as narrow as possible.

Bates here clarifies that both Noam Chomsky, who wonders aloud how anyone could have taken his ABB comments otherwise, and Howard Zinn plan to vote for Nader because they are in the safe state of Massachusetts. Beyond that, however, he cites the ever astute Chomsky: "Activist movements, if at all serious, pay virtually no attention to which faction of the business party is in office, but continue with their daily work, from which elections are a diversion - which we cannot ignore, any more than we can ignore the sun rising; they exist."

It hardly goes without saying that a Kerry win does not at all promise a progressive agenda. Kerry's supposed high minded ideals, says Bates, could translate into nefarious deeds. He points out that often the party that supposedly stands for a certain principle, the Democrats for social programs for example, is better able to lead the charge for its amendment, even its destruction. The Republicans were better able to open China under Nixon because they didn't have to fear being called soft on Communism like the Democrats, notes Bates. Similarly Clinton and the Democrats were able to destroy welfare, for which the Republicans would have faced outrage and wide resistance. A Kerry presidency may well more legitimate an attack on Social Security or a stepped up war effort in Iraq, writes Bates.

A large part of this book rightfully critiques the political positions of Kerry and the demise of the Democratic party, as much as it forwards the Nader run, who just happens to be the progressive alternative. Kerry has backed every major regressive policy of the Bush administration, including among others, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Patriot Act, expansion of the military budget, and the tax cuts for the rich, according to Bates. As senator, he has also advocated sanctions against Iraq which killed more than a million Iraqi children, perennially promoted Israel's murderous seige of the Palestinians, and approved NAFTA and GATT. He wants to build coalitions and exercise multilateralism reports Bates, not because it would allow for international decision-making through the U.N. or so that the U.S. obeys international law, but because it would strengthen and extend U.S. imperialism.

Bates observes that Kerry wants to cut corporate taxes still further. Roger C. Altman, a top Kerry aid, thinks the right tax code is the way to help the poor. "Gone is any whiff of aid to the poor," writes Bates, "any sense that government could reinvigorate the New Deal politics of FDR." Kerry's proposal for national health care is not single payer, the most efficient and effective way to provide such care, says Bates, but more corporate tax subsidies. Of Kerry's economic program, Bates cites Altman as saying, "It is a credible, enforceable policy that will position Kerry to the right of Bush on fiscal policy."

There are other strategic factors to consider in supporting Nader, according to Bates. He writes that in 2000 Nader brought a million voters to the polls who otherwise wouldn't have voted. A similar number could be decisive in helping the Democrats make gains in congressional elections, where not all Democrats are as regressive as Kerry, and help stymie a Bush agenda.

Greg Bates takes every hardcore Nader haters arguments and throws it back proving them wrong! He compiles all of their reasons why Nader should not run and delivers factual, logical counter explanations that prove them dead wrong. Backed by Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, this book explains that there is nothing out there that is accurate that the Democrats can use to vilify Nader. "Ralph's Revolt" will maim all Democrats who think they have a reason why they need to break the rules of the Constitution and obstruct someone's right to run for public office.

This is an outstanding summary of the case not only for Ralph Nader but for a third party. Great facts, lucid thinking and well presented with no wasted words.

Purchased for my niece, who is expecting a little brother or sister-

She enjoys it very much!

We've purchased a few books on this subject to prepare our two-year-old for our new baby, and this is the favorite.

The text is very simple and straightforward, keeping mostly clear of emotional descriptions and dialogue. I appreciate this because I don't want to give my son ideas regarding how he should or shouldn't feel about having a new baby in our family. I just wanted something to help prepare him for all of the changes we were going to be experiencing, and this book did exactly that. For example, the story talks about all of the changes in the house, like getting the baby's room ready and getting out all of the baby stuff to get it cleaned and ready, Papa and Granny coming over to visit for awhile to help with the kids, visiting Mommy and the new baby at the hospital, and Mommy and baby being very tired (and needing lots of extra help) when they come home.

The illustrations are darling, and even funny. I liked that it showed a picture of mommy nursing and daddy being tired from all the extra work he's had to do around the house - it made me chuckle a little.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with small children expecting another one. We love it!

I recommend this book for anyone having a baby and have other young children. It is realistic, with great pictures, and is simple, easy to understand for a young child. It shows all the things that will happen and things that mommy will have to do with a new baby, even breast feeding, and all the things that a young child can help with. It's great for later conversation with the child. Enjoy!

This small book has a lot going for it. The storyline is straightforward, the illustrations are funny, and the book doesn't get bogged down in what kids might (or might not) feel toward their new sibling. It also shows mama nursing the baby, which can be difficult to find in children's books. Recommended, especially for families expecting a third child.

Being a disabled vet with a spinal cord injury, I have to be as educated as I can get on my condition or I'll either loss a limb, internal organ, or worse die. This book has got to be the "best" book I've found since the "Handbook on Peripheral Neuropathy" by Mark Bromberg. The cover says for Therapists and Nurses; but on the contrary, the material is very easy to understand and has many, many actual color pictures of patients with different levels of wound stages. It is very graphic. IF YOU HAVE PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY OR DIABETIC SYMPTOMS...BUY THIS! You do not want the information from pamphlets obtained at the doctor's office. This book will help you to save toes, feet, and legs. This book covers preventative care, early diagnosis, cleaning, bandaging, drainage, to severe loss stage. It was a definite WAKE-UP call to me to manage my neuropathy in my legs better. I was never told I was in stage 2 or to expect some of the things I saw in the book and I'm going very good doctors in a large city. I'd wish they'd scared me with the information I found in this book. This book provides very good information on how to manage ulcerations to prevent them from becoming something more severe. VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

As a Physical Therapist and head of a rural health consortium's wound management team, I found this to be an invaluable tool for assesment, planning, monitoring and reimbursement. I feel this is the best clinical resource currently available for PTs.

if you're looking for wound care decision pathways, protocols, documentation guidelines and how-to instructions on basic dressing change type wound care - then this is the book for you. the book's shortcomings are an almost complete lack of specificity on therapeutic interventions such as debridement techniques designed to activate certain tissue processes, and a wordy superficiality in most of the text. not a text for physicians or experienced clinicians looking for sophisticated interventions. a good comprehensive guide for beginners

This is a great reference for pressure ulcers, surgical wounds, vascular ulcers, and management of neuropathies. I found the title misleading because I expected it to cover all types of wounds including treatment of fresh lacerations and puncture wounds from accidents. If your looking for information on these last two subjects, this is not the book to use. However, if you care for people with pressure ulcer risk or wounds, diabetic risks, surgical incisions, or venous or arterial ulcers in long term care, rehab, home health, or are a wound care specialist, this reference is the definitive resource. As an RN who works in a multidisciplinary environment with PTs, I found the information on the PT role in wound management collaboration very informative. It actually has a section on managing wound healing with physical therapy technologies such as diathermy, ultrasound, and electrical stimulation to name a few. If you prefer to buy hard cover books for your reference library, don't let the "paperback" disuade you. This book is really a hardback similar in type to school textbooks.

I recommend these books (Your ONE Year Old, Your TWO Year Old, Your THREE Year Old, Your FOUR Year Old, Your FIVE Year Old, Your SIX Year Old, Your SEVEN Year Old, Your EIGHT Year Old, Your NINE Year Old, Your TEN-to-FOURTEEN Year Old. These books were writtten by Louise Bates Ames, PhD, Fances L. Ilg, MD and Sidney M. Baker MD of the Gesell Institute of Human Development. They are NOT a "how to" book for parents -- but rather provide a perspective of life from the child's various ages. I found the books to be of such value that I purchase the entire series for new parents. Somehow I forgot to purchase these books for my niece when she started her family. She expressed some concerns about her seven year old son's behavior (that I knew from experience to be that typical of seven year olds). I purchased the books from the series that will help my niece from here on. She LOVES them! I have a feeling she will use them and pass them along to other parents. My original set are part of my permanent library. I highly recommend these books for your permanent library as well!

Reading this book has helped make nine very enjoyable. This series of books is great. Understanding the different stages takes out the frustration and makes watching and helping your childern grow and develop a JOY.

When you know what behaviors are "normal" for your child's age you can relax, stop the worry, and focus on appropriate solutions. This whole series of books accurately defines the ages and stages of children. These books keep your expectations realistic and allow you to avoid anger caused by a lack of understanding of your child's developmental stages.

If you want to take the guesswork out of understanding your kids, read her series, it's excellent!! Sections are broken down for quick read...no need to read cover to cover, just whats baffeling you at the moment. You'll tune into your kids incredibly. Instead of thinking "If I repeat myself one more time..." you'll understand their developmental stage and see in their other actions why you are repeating. Try to get the book one yr behind and one yr older in addition to your childs age. You will find your child may have some older characteristics at his/her age or not have quite developed a certain cognitive skill yet. We're so focused on "Babies Development" that sometimes we forget every year is a developmental process thru adulthood. I'm a much better parent having kept up with her series from year 3 forward. I'm at year 9 now. I get comments all the time from how well behaved my child is and how tuned in I am to him from teachers and friends. If you want parenting confidence....you'll definitely get it with this series.

The book, written by Lysette Scholls is fully dedicated to
palming, stretching, yoga relax, breathing, exercises fit for
the eyes.
I have cast a glance through the whole book and I have been
suddenly in the right mood: the whole matter is interesting
and stimulating. I think the result of the training will be
good not only for the eyes but for the whole body and for the
mind too. The book should be seriously read because it leads
a way of life.

I wanted to ditch my reading glasses and thought I'd give this a try. I was pleasantly surprised at the content and find it very informative and useful. We'll see over the next few weeks how things progress but so far I'm happy with this book.

We hold our breathe too often and too long.(may it be from stress, busyness , over-focussed ). This book teaches us to breathe, stretch and relax. Its simple to read and less technical than other ones I have read on this subject. From there, with a series of eye excercises, your eye vision will improve. Our eyes are dynamic , why get locked in by a pair of glasses. Without eye exercises, our eyes will only go down-hill with glasses. If your prescription is very strong it will improve it to some degree. Works great especially when the distant from your outstretched arm cannot provide the correct focal length.

THE REASON I READ THE BOOK IN THE FIRST PLACE WAS BECAUSE I HAVE A DAUGHTER NAMED ANDREA BATES IT WAS A GOOD BOOK L.

This is the best of the hydrotherapy books that I was able to find at the National Institute of Health Library in Washington, DC.

This book was amazing for the physical therapy setting. It had explanations on exercises, muscle groups used, and innervation levels. The book also had specific sections on diagnosis-specific exercises. Easy to use and patients loved the out-of-the-ordinary exercises!

A Must Read
I highly recommend "Becoming A Christ"
I highly recommend it for all those whom are truly ready to let go of their addictions and descructive habits and behaviors. I am a counselor and published author myself with over 20years experience, and have found not only Gary's honesty regarding his own path of facing his demons, but the actual transformational techniques to be refreshing and extremely helpful in assisting me in moving forward into the magnificence of my true identity.
In light Eloryia RA, Life Coach/Counselor, Author "Ascension, A Trilogy of Transformation"

"Gary's book 'Becoming a Christ', is the next step beyond the internationally renouned film 'What the Bleep'... Taking modern psychology and ancient wisdom, Gary has fused together the often complex world of the mind and come away with answers that would almost totally free the Health Services of the burden it is placed under!

Becoming a Christ is not a Christian book or any other religion for that matter. It is a union of ancient wisdom and modern theoretical science - a way forward for the human race that I wholeheartilly endorse.

We are all Christ's if only we knew it. The trouble is we spend most of our lives being submerged in the darkest of desires - greed, lust, envy and just about any other negative human trait you care to mention; are all used against us by those that would manipulate us for profit and even by ourselves.

The eradication of these "additions" to our true self is a work that alchemy for hundreds of years has spoken of and what Gary has done here is a work of modern alchemy. That said, it is not in hidden code, there are no cyphers and no blind alleys. Gary opens up the world of the self and reveals what its all about in language that anybody today could understand.

I fully endorse this work and ask that you do you and your friends the service of spreading the words within. The true Christ is the true enlightenment we achieve when we uncover ourselves from the mirky depths of darkness and reveal the light within. Go on - become a Christ.

Philip Gardiner, 2006."

Strange title? I know...
Challenging? Yes...
Religious? Absolutely not!
Informative? Will blow your cover and seek out your Soul!!

I personally enjoyed the chatty easy going style in which Becoming a Christ is written. It's honesty may be hard to deal with at times and for this the author seeks no forgiveness.

In Part One you get a somewhat graphic account of Gary's life and realise that he has lived it to the full, made many mistakes, been very human; and that he is definitely on our side!

Yes it does contain some wacky stuff that some readers may not be ready for but my advice is to just read it and see what it brings up. If something feels right and resonates with you, then that's great; but it's important not to dismiss the books messages - because to question is to know.

Do not give up on this book because I had a fantastic sense of achievement when I'd finished it. Although it's only 240 pages, it took me around two months to read (four kids and life permitting!). I admit in parts it is very challenging but even the faint-hearted will find it a character-building experience.

Smack you in the face it does. And sometimes it will knock you out cold! You may have to put it down at times to contemplate its wisdom and arrive at your own truth. You may even throw it across the room as your ego battles it out with your soul, to rewrite the words, before the truth is realised and registers in your brain.

I pride myself that I did not rip one single page in temper as I wrestled with myself, my life to date and everything that I thought I believed in.

I did highlight loads because it had some truths that were so beautiful - they pierced my soul with understanding. Here are just a few examples: -

"Just imagine if the whole world took just one day off and sat still in darkness and silence and contemplated upon the unconditional love of God. I tell you, within twelve months, we would have peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind."

"Think for a moment about the vast number of people there are on this planet alone. How many pairs of eyes is God looking through? We only need to consider people because we are the highest principle of God. Each and every one of us is constantly gathering intelligence and adding to the mind of God. What does God not know?"

"Guilt is wishing you knew then what you now know. This is particularly relevant when you come into new knowledge and then you look back at your past and judge yourself in the light of the new knowledge."

"If wisdom is garnered through experience, and it is, what have we got to be ashamed of? We want to come to a place in our mind where we say out loud, I forgive myself for my past, those memories that stick out in my mind. I let go of my past and forget it. My past is no longer a part of me. I am healed and made a new being. I come to the river in my mind, I bathe in the river and the holy water washes away my past. I am no longer my past. It is no more. I walk to the other side of the river. I don't look back. I leave no footprints in the past."

"We either give up our suffering and start living again or we die clutching onto the past."

"It is a journey of self-love from conditioned mind to unlimited mind."

"The only way you can successfully cross the troubled waters is to keep your focus on the distant shore. For a new energy to form the old energy has to die and as it dies there will be chaos in your life. But when the chaos subsides and you come out of the fire, you will be one with your God. The caterpillar has shed its past and the beautiful butterfly is born."

So to end: I recommend this book because it has changed my life for the better. It made me think differently. At times it made me angry but after much soul-searching I realised that he only got to me because he spoke a higher truth and although hard to accept, I wasn't prepared to hide from it and deny myself that truth. Gary has achieved what he set out to do in that I am now living my truth without fear or the need for approval from others!!

Tracy Edgington

This is probly the best non-fiction book I've ever read. it's packed with information and the illustraitions are beautiful. In the back of the book, there's a "glossary of owls" with short essays of a few types of owls, containing their size, call, latin name, what they eat, etc. This book is definitly a must-have.

The pictures are amazing and they have a page for many of the different owls. Each picture is filled with detail and the author gives lots of information. If you have a research project due on owls this is the book to get.

This is a great, easy to understand, thorough book on North American Owls. I have worked rehabilitating owls and in doing educational programs with non-releaseable owls for five years. I'm using this book as an educational tool, I have bought copies to share with other wildlife rehabilitators. If you love owls and want to learn more about them, this is a great source of knowledge, the art work is beautiful the text covers just about everything that a person could think to ask. Dianna Sue Bryant