Berg Books

Carla Berg has done something new in the field of oracle cards -- those ubiquitous card decks that now come in half-a-zillion styles, each one performing the same intuitive trick. Pick a card, any card, to reveal some aspect of your life. But, with Divine Demons -- a book and set of 30 illustrated cards -- Carla Berg offers far more than a card trick. Unlike most authors of oracle cards, she relates the personal story that led to the creation of her book-and-card set as a groundbreaking, self-transformational tool.

Berg's story, much simplified, is this: nearing middle age, she was a successful, but not happy human resources manager. Like so many of us, she felt unfulfilled by her job and stuck in her life, but didn't have a clue how to change her situation. Unlike many of us, she was persistently moved to find out why. What she eventually found, led her to the tools she used to at last discover her most fulfilling work, which she offers readers in Divine Demons.

Throughout this wise book, the core underlying premise is that we each have a purpose in being here, and embracing this purpose is what makes our lives fulfilling and worthwhile. To live our true purpose, we must first find out what it is; then remove the obstacles ("demons") that keep us from it. And removing those obstacles is the transformative process that Berg, an astutely therapeutic guide, leads readers through, step by step.

She has, in fact, created an enjoyable system for finding and working through issues that many seek therapy for. But Berg's pioneering tool allows a reader to move gently through the brambles and underbrush alone (although those who want the support of a partner or therapist are encouraged to go through the process that way).

Here's a brief example of how Berg's system works: After shuffling the 30 Divine Demons cards -- illustrated appealingly with mythic figures dressed mostly in flowing medieval garb -- you draw, let's say, the card labeled "Uncertainty." Turning to the "Uncertainty" section in the accompanying book, you read: "Our heart knows that the only true and lasting solution to the fear of uncertainty is trust. Trust that all things happen for a divine reason, trust that we are always provided for, trust that we have the power to create the life we want, and trust that our intuition will guide us there. The true antidote to uncertainty is complete trust in oneself."

But how can you feel "complete trust" in yourself, you ask? Finding self-trust is what Berg's "Standard Transformation Exercises" are for (all eight of them), which she recommends completing in conjunction with her "Four-Week Starter Program." A chapter on what to expect when actively engaging with the Divine Demons system is reassuring for readers, who then can't help but notice how well-organized and carefully designed this book and its cards are.

Perhaps that's because the author developed and tested the tools in her book within the crucible of her own life. It was, in fact, by using these processes -- as she both discovered and refined them -- that Berg arrived at the work she came here to do (this book and cards are a big part of it).

Divine Demons offers an intuitive and intelligent way of locating the real purpose and meaning of your life, while providing a pragmatic and self-transforming method for clearing the obstacles that prevent you from living your true purpose. What more might you ask from a set of cards?

I've read the book and have given it to many friends as gifts. For those people who are looking for historical data on our cultural histroy (and there's not much out there that's as good as this!) - THIS is the book that you want.

My daughter (age 9) loves every book in this series & will read them without stopping (if possible). They are smaller, easy to read books, that would be great for kids just beginning to read chapter books, or reluctant readers. My daughter doesn't care that they are a bit under what she could normally read- she wants them all & says "this person is a really good author"! Great stories & gets kids thinking.

Fashion is fun, and the study of fashion is an engaging hobby. But at some point we all ask ourselves, "WHY would anyone wear that?" For the Elizabethan and Stuart eras, author Vincent has provided an easy to read and very informative study of that question. A survey of why clothes matter--and how they were acquired and by whom in the 16th and 17th centuries--adds to our understanding of the times and rounds out the picture we acquire from standard history texts. This is a good introduction to an up-and-coming subject that is just starting to attract scholarly attention. (While historic costume enthusiasts have debated these ideas for decades, that hasn't always been the case at the university level.) The publisher seems to be promoting this volume for academic use but I think it is useful for a wider audience. Re-enactors, "Renfaire" visitors, and theatrical costumers may all find something of value in this discussion.

I've enjoyed all of the Duct Tape Guys' books (all four of them), so it was an easy decision to purchase their fifth book. I wasn't disappointed. In fact, it's my favorite yet! This book is a departure from their previous "hint per page" books. Duct Shui is still a duct tape hint book, but now couples the Duct Tape Guys' duct tape humor with a smart and very funny parody of the ancient Chinese philosophy Feng Shui - which is way trendy, and borders on the ridiculous. If Amazon had six stars in their rating system, I would have given them an extra star for this one. Congratulations, Duct Tape Guys! You have outdone yourselves!

Read Two-fisted Tales as a youngster and loved them. Great to be able to revisit those days and the great stories.

This is an excellent economic development book for the undergraduate and masters level audience. The focus of this book as compared to other development books (i.e. Todaro) is that it emphasizes the importance of economic growth rather than equity issues. I find this approach refreshing. Van den Berg uses historical and current case studies to bring the theory out of the book and into the real world. Overall, Economic Growth and Development is an informative and stimulating read for professors, students, and anyone else who is interested in understanding why some countries are developed while others are still developing. Five stars!

This book follows the amazing life and career of Edmundo Lasalle a mysterious Mexican national who became a spy for the U.S. in Spain during WWII. The author's frustrations doing the research for the book are almost as interesting as the story itself. You can't help but wonder why some much of this information is still classified.

After working for Disney, the cover for his spying, Edmundo married successively richer women but never seemed to find what he really wanted from life. He obviously was an incredibly charming man who used that charm to create quite a life for himself, one well worth reading about. This book also corrects some misinformation about Edmundo that appeared in the book The Spy Wore Red.

I learned a great deal about the operations of the OSS the precurser of the CIA and highly recommend this fascinating book.

This 47 page catalog so thoroughly describes the materials in the New York Library's 1992 exhibition commemorating the anniversary of Edna St. Vincent Millay's 100th birthday as to tell the story of the poet's life. One can read reprinted letters and poetry. There are pictures of Millay not published in biographies of her. In particular the cover holds a rare photograph of Millay with her mother and two sisters.

The delicate wisdom of Rav Berg's writing touches the heart from the very first page. "Education of a Kabbalist" is as much a fairy tale without being a fairytale. What a fantastic adventure!!! Rabbi Berg speaks whole-heartedly of his experiences growing into Kabbalah, as inspired by the sagacious teachings of his teacher, Rabbi Brandwein. The book delves so deeply into this simple yet profound 5000 year old wisdom that we can actually feel (even if just a tiny bit) what it truly means to have endless fulfillment in our own lives. From this point on, we have little else to do but be thirsty for more. With a humble heart, Rav Berg reveals the deepest secrets of this ancient wisdom through the sharing of his own experiences. If we want to understand the essence of the Kabbalah, or we ever had any desire to be a little closer to infinite happiness, let's read this book....because... "the proof is in the pudding."