Berg Books

As a guide on religion and religious freedoms, this book was disappointing in that it did not address neo-pagan religious groups and religious viewpoints in America... especially one of the fastest growing religions in the States: Wicca. In federal court in 1985, Wicca became recognized as an "official" religion in the U.S. (See Detmer v. Landon) And in light of the religious freedoms that have been trampled on over the years for non-mainstream religions in schools, prisons, employment, etc., it would have been great to see some of this addressed in this book.

This book is an excellent summary of the law in this area. The writing is so clear and interesting. Even though I am not a lawyer, I was able to understand it. What a great way to add depth and context to the issues of law and religion that are so often discussed superficially on the news.

A return to a simpilier time. . . . It does seem simple on the service: the references to movie stars of the time, hair styles, food, speech, etc., but actually...things were extremely hectic. A horrible war was going on. Boys left for the war and it was not known if they would return. The family were left to worry, write letters of encouragement, and wait.

I enjoyed reading that the Heaney family was so close. Their warmth seemed to keep the members of the family together. Their closeness acted like a buffer to the realities that they had to face: life in wartime. What with rationing, war posters (even Mickey and Donald got in the act), and feelings of fear (will he make it home alive) it was nice to read that the family kept together and were there for each other.

At first, the ending did seem a bit hasty, but then it made sense. The relationship between Kitty and Hank seems to be dissolving in previous chapters. He wants a stay-at-home wife and she has tasted independence- so the conflict begins here. He is more suited for Louise. Afterall, a cookie-cutter ending (where Hank marries Kitty) would really not make sense and would be so ho-hum (boring). I thought it was so refreshing and creative.

I did love this book-couldn't wait to see how everything turned out. I would recommend this book. The school reunion at the end was fantastic.

I enjoyed The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg so much that I rushed out to get audiobook versions of some of her other work. Why do authors read their own material? It never works. I couldn't get through the first CD. A thin voice. Irritating. Grating, in fact. Especially after the creamy richness of listening to Jill Tanner's narration in Atonement.

Publishers should discourage authors from reading their own work, much the same way movie studios discourage them from writing screenplay adaptations of their books. It's another art form. Leave the narration to the vocal performers.

You might have a different experience with the written word, but I don't recommend the audio version.

Anyone interested in "homefront" style stories will enjoy this one. A lovely, simple story of an engaging family, somewhat predictable, and I would not be surprised if Hallmark picks this up as a movie. Thankfully, it is not written in the first person present; that extremely annoying, self-absorbed recounting of every action and thought of the narrator as it is happening (!) as most of Elizabeth Berg's books are written, which is why I can't get through any of her other books, though I have tried.. She has wonderful ideas for stories but of all her books, this is the one that I DO recommend.

I bought the book, read it quickly, then returned it to the store for a full refund. I don't usually do that, but even paperbacks cost a fair amount of cash now and my shelf space is at a premium, and frankly I didn't want to waste either one on this piece of trite garbage. The story was very strange, with characters being built up, then acting out of character, and it seemed to be an excuse to try to take some of the shine off the Greatest Generation. I was so disappointed when I read it, I didn't even want to send it along to my mother or sister, like I usually do when I enjoy a book but don't want to keep it. It's not that I'm cheap, but I plain didn't want one cent of my money going to this author, or to the publisher who put out this drek.

Dream is a WWII home front novel that reads something like a 1940's movie starring Ginger Rogers or Betty Grable. The Heaney Sisters (aka the Dreamy Sisters to all the guys who meet them) are the archetypal, golly gee, let's do it for the boys, characters that populate the books, music, and films of the era. Salt of the earth Irish American parents, good Catholic daughters and sons,and brave, selfless soldiers. Meatless Wednesdays, mystery meat, Glenn Miller, and USO dances. All this would work if it were written in the 1950's, and era of idealism and celebration. Nowadays, these characters simply come across as too good to be real.

Dream is fun to read for its nostalgic value, for its reminder of the genuine sacrifices that those at home made for those "over there", but too much sentimental, saccharine ambience is never a good thing. Worth a read, but not great.

I was very drawn to read about the relationship between Mary and Joseph, and see them in a more down to earth manner. However, it is my impression that the author describes the characters as shallow teenagers, with concerns belonging more to an American 21st century, than actual Nazareth in the year 4BC. She fails to inlcude in her story the dedication to prayer these two people probably shared, after all they were the chosen ones to raise God's only Son. The connection with God is hardly mentioned. Mary and Joseph spend a lot of time praying, in direct contact with God, Even at the birth, they were in the presence of the Lord, can you imagine the extasis of one 's soul in such presence! Mary and Joseph were spiritually evolved compared to the rest of humanity, not only they come off as merely man and woman in this story, but really shallow and silly at it.
Needles to say I was very dissapointed...Sorry!

She used to be one of my favorite writers, but what has happened to her? She hasn't written a book that I enjoyed in years. I loved her earlier works because they were contemporary real stories with characters you could get lost in. I felt so satisfied after reading those books.
This book is awful. Plain awful.

I thought Berg's take on the birth and young life of Jesus, with Mary and Joseph was interesting. Because the story in the Bible leaves a lot of questions unanswered, it is easy to want to hypothesize what the more in depth, detailed story was. I think Berg did a pretty good job. This story did not flow as nice as some of Berg's other works. I think it was because she tried to pull in as much as the Biblical story she could and expand on it. I am sure that had to be difficult. This is a very unique book. One I may read again around Christmas time when I want to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.

Although this book is fiction, the story is real. It reminds us that Mary and Joseph were "human" and had the same feelings and frustrations as the rest of mankind. The book is not great literature, but it allows the reader(both adult and teen) some time for reflection during the hectic Christmas season.

I really appreciated that Elizabeth Berg set her writing skills to create a wonderful unique story of Mary and Joseph. Her outlook on these holy characters from the Bible gave me a totally new insight into their world. I was also glad that she spun a good bit of the story around Joseph. Typically, he is usually given a small part in religious stories, so it was refreshing to read her point of view into this biblical character. The story was a bit short but overall I enjoyed it very much and would gladly recommend it to all my friends.

Sharon Shinn is one of my favorite authors so I was excited to see this in my local bookstore. Should have saved my money. Shinn's contribution is slow and I couldn't find enough interest to get through the whole thing.

I skipped to the last story in the collection (about the werewolf master, I think it's the one by Jean Johnson). What the heck?! This read like something I could have found on the internet by an author who would never even be considered by a respectable print publisher. The characters were worse than two-dimensional, writing style sounded like that of a 6th grader, premise was unbelievable, no emotion, what else can I say about this horrid story?

What is happening to the publishing industry? I didn't have the heart to even leaf through the other stories--I may in the future, but it's not looking good.

Just pick up Sharon Shinn's novels or her work in anthologies like the Queen in Winter, but stay AWAY from this one.

I bought this book because I really enjoy Sharon Shinn's work and have been able to find great new authors through anthologies she's been in, but this book was a real let down. I really wish I'd read the reviews first because I'm definitely not going to keep it.

I mostly agree with the two star reviews, though I give only one star. I liked two of the stories, any other product that's 50% trash would not get two stars.

"Bargain with the Wind" (Shinn) Pretty interesting, though not up to her usual quality of story telling. Worth reading, but not wonderful.

"Birthright" (Johnson) The premise had potential, but delivery was poor. The storytelling was on a little kid level, but the content was adult, but totally unsophisticated to the point of being inane. I actually got so disgusted with it I gave up halfway through. The plot was implausible Arasa:"Oh, I have to go on a quest. It is going to be a very long. It is going to be very dangerous.(for vague, unsatisfactory reasons) It must include a barefoot pilgrimage through a dangerous desert inhabited by unlikely sand demons. This will mystically reveal if I was 'supposed to' be born born before my twin, since we were delivered by surgery" Elrik: "I am a mage. I think you are very beautiful. I will help you on your quest. Guess what? It's not as long as you thought. Oooh, your barefoot pilgrimage may still be uncomfortable. If the rules allow it, maybe I can put magical protection on your feet"

The "romance" was not very well developed or plausible, either.

"Unmasking" (Berg) Probably the best story in the collection. I'll be looking up more of her books.

"Huntress Moon" (Johnson) Basically a bodice ripper. The fantasy was peripheral. It had a few interesting ideas, but the plot was not believable and unless you derive some satisfaction from explicit descriptions of sex forced on a slave, the story was not very satisfying.

I like Shinn and Berg and thought I'd like to read two new authors in this collection of 4 short story-novellas. And the Shinn and Berg contributions were as good as I'd hoped (hence the two stars) but hoo boy, hang onto your seat (or bodices!) for the York and Johnson pieces. I like good sci-fi & fantasy, but you can keep your thrusty, musty, overheated prose. Should have at least one X on the cover.

BARGAIN WITH THE WIND by SHARON SHINN (3 ½ stars)

After a whirlwind courtship, the new owner of Grey Moraine estate marries the love of his life, Lady Charis. But the narrator, Grey Moraine's housekeeper, is worried. Lady Charis is certainly charming and seems to be honestly in love with her kind and loving husband, but she is also capricious and mysterious and has an odd grudge against the powerful Horton family. Although no exact time period is given for this book, it does have a Regency feel, with balls, teas and social calls (and social snubbings) prominent. However, it is also a world where superstitious beliefs of elemental spirits persist: protective earth spirits, mercurial water spirits, and dangerous air spirits who can give a person anything she wants--for a terrible price.

I originally read this collection for this story in particular, as I love Sharon Shinn. I have read nearly everything she's written, including her other short stories in To Weave a Web of Magic and The Queen in Winter. Not only do I like her writing style, but I also enjoy her consistently happy endings. However, while she manages to create an interesting story with a very intriguing main character in the form of Charis, this is not the light tale of Cinderella romance that the book description suggests. From the first line, the dark undertone of the story is clear: "I was there the first time the master caught sight of the woman who would destroy him." Those who are looking for the typical romantic Shinn story will be disappointed. If you don't have such expectations then you can enjoy the story for its own merits (and it does have many).

BIRTHRIGHT by JEAN JOHNSON (4 ½ stars)

Since Arasa and her twin sister were born via C-section, no one knows which one is the first born and heir to the throne. After setting off on a quest to find the answer, Arasa encounters Elrik, a young mage who helps give her the final clue on how to prove who is the first born: both twins must make a dangerous journey together and the rightful heir is the one who is protected by the land itself.

I thought this was a very well written story and especially enjoyed the climax, where Arasa must protect herself and Elrik from a terrible betrayal. Arasa and Elrik are both highly likeable characters, although I did feel that the story dragged a bit when they have a short "I want you," "I want you, too" scene and then an intimate encounter which is rather unnecessary in a story that's only a little over 80 pages. Of course, I am not a romance novel fan, which might put me in the minority considering how popular that genre is.

UNMASKING by CAROL BERG (5 stars)

Joelle is training to be a Searcher, a sorcerer who uses her magic to exorcise the demons that plague humanity. When a spy from a hostile kingdom enters her homeland, she is chosen to be part of a plan to convince the spy that the people of her kingdom are primitive and know nothing but simple illusion spells (and thus are not a threat). She is paired with Gareth, who as a person with no magic is forced to be a labourer at the very lowest rank of society. Joelle is to pose as his servant girl, and make it appear that Gareth is the one who can cast illusion spells. A non-magic user is necessary because if the spy becomes suspicious and attacks, Gareth cannot betray his country by protecting himself with stronger magic. Likewise, although Joelle finds herself impressed by Gareth's intellect and strength, she knows that she doesn't dare to save him with her own magic if the spy turns violent.

This short story is set in the world of the Rai-Kirah series (Transformation (Rai-Kirah), etc). It is also, hands down, my favorite in this collection. Although the romance doesn't go as far or as fast as in "Birthright," I enjoyed Joelle's growing respect and admiration for Gareth, who defies all her preconceived notions of a member of the magic-less class.

HUNTRESS MOON by REBECCA YORK (2 stars)

To get her dying mother the care she needs, Zarah agrees to be sold into slavery and spy on her new master, Griffin. Griffin, the leader of his city, has a dangerous secret and his enemies want to know what it is. However, Zarah finds herself falling in love with him and struggles with the idea of betraying a good man in order to save her mother.

As far as I can tell, the author wanted to see how many sex scenes she could fit into a short story, as character development and plot get dropped by the wayside so that the two main characters can get it on as often as possible. Although I've already stated that I'm not a fan of romance novels, I can still appreciate those which are well-written (such as "Birthright"). However, "Huntress Moon" is bogged down by silly dialogue such as "You like that?"; "you know I do." By the end I just had to laugh at how bad it was. The hero is also not what I'd call a romantic lead, as he sees no problem with going to a slave auction to pick out a virgin to sleep with and secretly watching prospective buys as they bathe. That's more creepy than romantic to me. Which is all too bad, because the essential idea of the story is good and the revolution in society caused by the "psychic change" that they keep mentioning could have been very interesting if it had been explored more.

Overall, this collection is worth reading. Although the last story is a waste of time, the other three were quite good and York and Berg especially created impressive short stories.

I buy all of Sharon Shinn's work because she is one of my favorite fantasy authors. This was an odd collection of stories. Shinns' story was more on the mystical side with no romance. Yorks story was a paranormal romance with sex scenes. Carol Berg's was more of a fantasy with a hint of romance. Jean Johnson's story was a a combination fantasy with a romantic subplot.Overall an odd mix.

This Book covers too many topics unnecessarily, so when you really want to go a little deep into a specific field and make yourself clear, that will be not possible.
This book is not really suitable for real multi-threaded programmer.
New multi-threaded leaners maybe will found it useful for basic concepts.

If you have no clue what a pthread function name is, or what this crazy multithreading idea is all about, then maybe this book will help you some...but I have my doubts. Otherwise, this serves as both a poor reference, a poor primer guide, a poor advanced guide, and poor toilet paper. I've never seen a book manage to miss as a reference, miss as a primer, and miss as an advanced guide. There are easily better books and online resources available, as it's hard to be much worse than this.

This book is akin to learning French by teaching some basic grammar, some advanced grammar, and then shouting: "Je ne sais pas!" "Je voudrais un peu cherise!" without telling you what these mean...and leaving you clueless as to how to find out about them.

The authors of this book, in addition to their knowledge of threads, also know how to teach. The only shortcoming I could point out is that certain topics are treated shallowly, while less important topics are explained with too much detail.

What's really interesting about the book is the authors' ``don't do that'' style. Another reviewer found this style to be bad. I found it highly helpful. Instead of presenting a single solution for a problem (``The One and Only True Solution''), and leaving the reader wondering about alternative solutions, they go on to explain what's wrong with these other solutions. People learn by making mistakes, and the authors point out lots of mistakes that can be avoided. This is an invaluable feature, not a bug.

This book didn't supply source code for download neither attach CD-ROM. How can I verify whether it's true?

As technical books go, this is the second worst book I've ever personally bought - and I have five book cases full of books (mostly technical ones).

The book covers far too much material, in far too small a depth, to be of any use to anyone. Since it's published by Sun Microsystems, whose main operating system is Solaris, I thought there might be a decent coverage of threads on Solaris, with less devoted to NT, Dec and whoever elses. But no, there is as much coverage on Solaris threads, as there is on any other. You could say it's a balanced coverage, but at such a depth to be useless to anyone really. If you need to know about threads on Windows, find a specific book. If you need to know about pthreads, find a better book on pthreads.

Just avoid this book. However Sun Microsystems, a respected producer of hardware and some excellent technical books, published such rubbish I don't know.

Do youself a favor, take a look at 'Multithreaded, Parallel and Distributed Programming' by Gregory R. Andrews. That is a good book on parallel programming, with an indepth discussion about algorithms, and code to implement them in threads, openMP and MPI. It's coverage of algorithms, barriers, locks etc is excellent.

The author, Dan Berg, has also been the operator owner and Captain of the local dive boat 'Wreck Valley'. He has lots of experience in potentially dangerous wreck diving and shares his techniques here.
P.S. The Wreck Valley is a great dive boat

In recent weeks I have become most concerned about 2 books by Capt. Dan Berg because the content simply does not match their titles.

This is my review of the second of those books and I repeat; I have been an active diver for well over 30 years and am regarded as something of a shipwreck authority within the UK. In short, I study and then write about shipwrecks for a living. I do not, however, claim to know anything about any shipwreck - anywhere in the world, which I have not studied in great detail. Sadly, the modern shipwreck diver is being openly ripped off by so-called authors who get into print without checking every single fact before so doing.

That said, the diver can still enjoy a great shipwreck even if the guidebook does have the tonnage, names, year lost and other details recorded incorrectly. What cannot be allowed to pass without comment is for a book to describe itself - in it's own title, as being "A Complete Diver's Handbook to Mastering the Skills of Wreck Diving," when it is not.

My big fear is that those who are new to wreck diving will finish this book believing there's simply nothing to it - because this book suggests there is nothing to be learned. It does not even begin to cover the complexities involved with wreck diving.

Wreck diving is an incredible aspect of scuba diving. It is exciting, enthralling, compelling. It can also be very, very dangerous. This is especially so when the diver is deep within the wreck and cannot simply "surface" because he (or she) has encountered a problem. But every diver who ever wanted to see a ship's engine room must go deep inside - because that is where they are found.

Clearly this so-called author would be better employed on the beach cleaning whatever artefacts have been retrieved by those who know about their wreck diving. Truth is, the content is so far removed from the title of this book - I can only suggest any disappointed reader asks for a refund.

NM

This was an informative book that I will probably consult again when it comes to preserving artifacts. I expected more on the subject of how to safely wreck dive but instead found more on the subject of what to expect from wreckdiving. I still found the text readable and will use it to select gear and preserve artifacts but would not recommend it as a guide to wreckdiving. Good book which contains valuable information, just not the info I was looking for.

I was very disappointed with this book. Most of it deals with how to strip and preserve wreck artifacts, rather than how to safely dive wrecks. If stripping portholes from wrecks is your bag, this is the book for you.

This book is a long way from what its title leads you to believe. Sure its a great book for new divers but I've been diving for ~15 years in a recreational capacity and spent lots of the time diving wrecks all over. I've recently wanted to learn more technical diving and real penetration skills. I thought this book would describe "in detail" the gear needed and the proper configuration. Its an overview book to be sure and was written in 1991 so the material is definately dated when it comes to equipment. If your new to wreck diving.. good book. If you looking for preparation prior to a technical wreck class.... save your money.

I wouldn't recommend this book to any serious researcher. This is completely inaccurate picture of the agression on Bosnia.

This book is a pathbreaking piece of research into two underexplored aspects of contemporary terrorism. Author Evan F. Kohlmann outlines the trajectories of Arab-Afghan veterans of the anti-Soviet jihad and subsequent civil war in Afghanistan during the 1980s and early 1990s. He also looks to the origins and patterns of mujahedin activity during the 1992-1995 wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The result is a deeply disturbing illumination of late twentieth century Islamic militancy. Both troubled states attracted fighters from across the Greater Middle East and North Africa, and although many of the leading jihadists in wartime Bosnia made their reputations in the earlier Afghan conflict, Kohlmann portrays both states as roughly parallel forges of extremist sentiment. Al-Quaida's Jihad in Europe traces terrorist trajectories from the Peshawar-based Mujahedin Services Office, across the mountains of central and southwestern Bosnia, to London's infamous Finsbury Mosque and the metropoles of Western Europe and North America.

The weight of the book is on the Arab-Afghan migration to Bosnia-Herzegovina. As organized combatants, the contribution of mujahedin units to the Bosnian Muslim war effort was clear: their fearlessness under fire, and their consequent impact on military goals, was undisputed. Their lack of discipline and total disregard for the laws of war, on the other hand, were a liability to the government of Alija Izetbegovic. As religious colonizers, their promotion of conservative Islam also conflicted with the laissez-faire attitudes of Bosnian Muslims. Kohlmann addresses this ambiguity quite adroitly, exploring official reluctance to deal with the post-war settlement of foreign fighters who shed blood in defence of their admittedly obscure Bosnian Muslim brethren. Between 1995 and 2001, these contentious remnants of war became regional outposts for transnational terrorist networks. Numerous post-war terrorist incidents have been traced back to the Afghan-Bosnians, but intervention forces in the Western Balkans ensured that the security spotlight never wavered far. The Al Quaida attacks of 11 September 2001 precipitated a sudden shift in foreign policy attention to Bosnia, and in its own government's approach to domestic counter-terrorism. The country quickly became a second front in the war on terror, at a time when patience with the Balkan quagmire had worn thin.

Equal parts travelogue, journalistic exposé, think tank inquiry, and independent research, Kohlmann's work is part of a newly emerging strand of scholarship that explores some of the hidden micro-histories of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Such authors as Cees Wiebes, Marko Attila Hoare, and Charles R. Schraeder have touched on this uncomfortable aspect of the conflict. Kohlmann addresses the issue in unprecedented detail, exploiting a wide variety of available sources to piece together a largely neglected segment of contemporary Bosnian history. Extensive North American and European media coverage, declassified intelligence documents, and legal case files form the backbone of the study, but interviews with radical clerics, and excerpts from jihadist internet and video propaganda, provide critical insights into terrorist preferences, motives, and interests. Kohlmann offers no overarching theoretical arguments. The book, instead, is descriptive and empirically rich: the author's main accomplishment is to document the many terrorist incidents the Afghan-Bosnians perpetrated in wartime Bosnia, and post-war cases of terrorist activity rooted in their far-reaching network.

This book is also useful for the light it sheds on two related issues that have taken on striking policy relevance since the global war on terror began: the nature of terrorist sanctuaries, and counter-terrorist approaches to stamping them out. NATO's intervention in Bosnia after 1996, interestingly, is given the feel of an early denial-of-sanctuary operation, of the sort more commonly associated with post-9/11 Bush Administration counter-terrorist doctrine. For the professional mujahedin of Afghanistan and Bosnia, constantly in search of violent outlets for their religious convictions, sanctuary has clearly not been the same thing as safety. Many of them were committed jihadists before they ever fought the Soviets in Afghanistan and the Serbs and Croats in the Balkans. They remain a mobile diaspora whose members have been unable to return to their countries of origin, and the sanctuaries they sought out have been a mix of combat zones, staging areas, logistical bases, planning centers, transit points, and ideological enclaves. This reader, for one, anxiously awaits further scholarship on sanctuary in terrorist thought and practice. The one major failing of Kohlmann's study is the poor quality of its editing: the text is full of the sort of typographical errors that should have been picked up in a thorough copyedit. A work of this importance deserves better treatment by its publishers, and one hopes that a second printing will see a more polished product.

Michael A. Innes
book review in Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, March 2005

First, allow me to state the obvious fact: Mr. Kohlmann seems completely oblivious to the long history of secularism in Bosnia, particularly among the Muslim population. For corroboration and a meticulous analysis of Islam in Bosnia, please see Noel Malcolm's masterpiece Bosnia. Furthermore, of all the Muslims in the world, Bosnian Muslims are irrefutably the most secularized ones. In point of fact, religion has always had a rather insignificant role in the social life of the Muslims in Bosnia. Given this incontrovertible fact, how can anyone even attempt to link the Muslims of Bosnia to the Muslims in Afghanistan?

Mr. Kohlmann claims in his book that Bosnian Muslims were collaborating with the Muslims from Afghanistan in a joint effort to unleash unprecedented terror throughout the Christian world. This assertion is so absurd that it warrants no serious comment. Kohlmann bases his argument on the fact that a small number of Mujahedeens arrived in Bosnia in 1992 in order to aid Bosnian Muslims in the war. While this is true, Kohlmann simultaneously fails to mention another equally important fact, namely that many Greeks and Russians also came to Bosnia in 1992 to help Bosnian Serbs. Pertinent to the context is also the fact that the Bosnian Serbs were heavily armed whereas the Bosnian Muslims were practically powerless and defenseless. Bosnian Serbs not only received reinforcements from the neighboring Serbia, recruits from all over the world, mainly from Russia and Greece, joined their Orthodox Christian brothers in a crusade against Islam. Mr. Kohlmann simply ignores this fact because after all in his mind the Muslims do not have the right to defend themselves even though he knows that the war in Bosnia was a clear and unequivocal case of Serbian aggression.

Paradoxically although unsurprisingly, one cannot find a single word in his book of the Orthodox Christian fundamentalism. Kohlmann also does not mention in his book that Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic have been hiding in Serbia for almost 10 years now despite that they are wanted for war crimes by the War Tribunal in The Hague. These notorious war criminals guilty of egregious atrocities are considered heroes in Serbia; this does not bother Kohlmann at all, nor does the fact that the Serbs committed one of the worst massacres in Europe since World War II in Srebrenica killing approximately 8000 people. Why do not these abhorrent war crimes against the Muslims infuriate Mr. Kohlmann? Why is it Kohlmann that of the six hundred mosques in Bosnia, every single one was destroyed by the Serbs between the years 1992-1995? Conversely, if the Muslims of Bosnia are such fundamentalists as you so adamantly assert, why did almost every church remain intact following the war? Why is it that when you ask the Serb population of Srebrenica what they think about the massacre of 8000 Bosnian Muslims, they simply reply: "I do not care, that was a long time ago".

Thus, this book contains nothing but cunning and pernicious propaganda, the sole purpose of which is to promote hatred and vicious lies. If you want to make some money very fast, all you have to do is to write an anti-Islamic book. What is more, you do not even have to base it on facts, lies and distortions will do just fine. If you really want to learn the truth about Islam, then read books by intellectual writers such as Edward Said, John Esposito, Karen Armstrong and Bruce Lawrence.

I really hope that people will one day be able to judge others not by their race and religion but solely by the content of their character. Will that day ever come?

This book is the most comprehensive analysis of the foreign Mujahideens role in Bosnia. Concerning Larissa 1 star review of this book: I find it hard to believe she even read the book enough to realize the authors intentions in his writings. She complains that Kohlmann does not see the whole picture of the Balkins and is under the impression that the author was trying to give an overview of the entirety of the Balkins and its culture. She says, "Kohlmann should perhaps confine himself to the details of the terrorist groups and avoid writing about areas such as the Balkins." That is exactly what Kohlmann did in this book and which was the purpose of this book: to write about the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign Muslims in general who came to Bosnia to fight, and Kohlmanns analysis of the after effects these elements had. Larissa's critique is irrelevent. If you want a book that explains the Balkins, its culture, with emphasis on Yugoslavia (Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia) then yes, one should look elsewhere. If you want a book that covers the element of Islamic radicalism, then this book does exactly that, and Kohlmann was not attempting to do more than that! Infact, Kohlmann does not even bother to give a brief summary of what the war was about and its probably wise that a reader should do some basic research on the war before starting this book, as this book was written with the intention that the reader already understands the basic macro topics.

As for Srebrenica review of the book, I doubt this person even read much of the book. Srebrenica claims Kohlmaan could not see the secular trend of Bosnian muslims as opposed to extremist ones, when the book covered this topic in-depth throughout the chapters, even stating that Al Qaida's failure to setup a perminent base in Bosnia, similar to Afghanistan, was the result of incompatibilities with secular Bosnian Muslims who love to drink alcohal! This was a major aspect of Kohlmann's thesis covering the post-war stance of the Mujahideens in Bosnia.

Ignore these 1-star reviews, as they really are irrelevant to the data in this book as well as Kohlmann's objective in writing this book. The book is not about the Balkins and its many ethnicities. It is about the role of Mujahideen in Bosnia and the compatibilities of Islamic radicalism and Bosnia's secular Islam. If the book tried to be anything else, it would go off topic. This book deserves attention for covering a such topics that are overlooked in the world of Islamic resistance. My only complaint is that it would have been nice if this book had a map in it.

Professor Kohlmann may have good facts on specific terrorists but he does not see the whole picture of the situation in the Balkans.

The region is known for having many languages, ethnic groups, and religions. To be sure there have been problems but the groups have co-existed for a very long time and that it is unlikely to change.

It is likely not to be doubted that there are alliances between the Afghani groups such as Al Qaida and others in Bosnia and elsewhere. But to assert this lacking the overall context, it is not useful.

Professor Kohlmann should perhaps confine himself to the details of the terrorist groups and avoid writing about areas such as the Balkans where he lacks the expertise to make incisive comments.

As just one example, he fails to grasp the role of the various Orthodox Christian groups in the region. Even though this would be a book of its own he should certainly make some mention as he establishes a theological backdrop by invoking the Islamic element.

This book does not convey much of anything. Save your time and money. Read Searching for Bobby Fischer. The details and honesty are lacking in this made for MTV summary of kindergartener makes good.

This is the best book I ever read! If someone doesn't understand the book, I suggest reading "Modern Chess Openings."
The 3 games taught me: pawns are important, 2 rooks is better than a queen, and gambits are not dangerous, lik the QG. For beginners and experts, chess knowledge blongs behind this book!!!

please go to ............................ to see an in-depth review of this book from an adult chess players point of view. In fact, the reviewer, Mr. Winer actually played Michael Thaler at an open tournament in Wash.DC last year and had some astute and very positive, thought provoking conclusions about the value and content of this book. This book is clearly a wonderful primer for the young chess player both from a practical standpoint as well as a guide to the rules of preparation for all challenges to the young student.

Six-year-old Michael Thaler became the National Kindergarten Chess Champion in 1999. The book follows his brief career to date and imparts the life lessons Michael has learned through chess: prepare, focus, win some, lose some, have patience, etc. These are difficult to learn lessons for most adults, let alone children. Still, the author very clearly demonstrates Michael's passion and talent for the game.
The book takes a turn for the worse when the narrative details three games Michael has lost and learned from - and rehashes them in complex chess code without any explanation save an unexplained diagram! Who is this book for? Not for the novice chess player, and not for your average 8 year old. A brief chapter on basic moves, or even a glossary (what is an opening? An endgame? The Scandanavian defense?) is decidedly lacking.
The art design of the book is a little disturbing - the designer opted for contrasting colors instead of chess-themed black and white. The cool tones on the cover are nice, but inside, nothing seems to fit together. A checkerboard motif is repeated throughout, and the border wittily changes from pawns to kings as Michael progresses. Lots of white space makes the book easy to look at, but the readability of the text is very uneven. David Hautzig's photos are evocative, but it is disappointing that the same picture was used at the beginning of each new chapter.
A thoughful afterword by Michael's dad encourages parents to introduce their children to chess, and mentions its benefits. Suggestions for starting a local club or finding a teacher or evening contacting the National Organization could have made a useful appendix.
Hardly a necessary purchase, briefly consider it for chess fans. Best to save your money until - or if -- Michael reaches master status.

This book falls way short of my expectations. The book has a grand total of 44 pages -- and 3 of those are totally blank sheets. If you're expecting a story even remotely similar to "Searching for Bobby Fischer" you will be very disappointed. If the Waitzkin book is a 10 on the chess prodigy scale then this would surely be a 2 at best. The editorial reviews are almost as long as the book and tell you exactly what's in the book. There is nothing more. If you expect to learn much of anything about this kid you will surely be disappointed. The chapter by Mr. Thaler is the best but only a couple pages long. It is a nicely produced book -- slick paper, hardcover, color photographs -- but the real content could have been summed up in probably less than 10 pages. If you find a copy to borrow and skim it for review you'll have already read the entire book. Save your money. It get's two stars only for the production value of the book and very very limited content.

While I found this book easy to read, it is one where the reader needs to be alert, aware and open to the author's important statements, insights and ideas, as there is no clear lead up to them, they just seem scattered here and there. It is perhaps a book more suitable to the person who has read material covering topics such as the power of the mind and the subconcious, as well as metaphysical and astrological interpretation of the Bible.
I did find that the numerous editorial/descriptive comments relating to the book and its aim misleading; such as, 'In these pages, Rav Berg reveals: How to reclaim the power of self-determination in every area of your life..' but the book itself never does this as a stand alone book. In order to understand and incorporate the ideas of the author into one's own life, one would really need to read his other books. For example, central to the author's work are his concepts 'The Desire to Receive for Oneself Alone', and 'The Desire to Receive For The Purpose of Sharing', yet one reads on and on waiting for a discourse on them, never to arrive, Even the chapter headed 'Restriction' doesn't go into what restriction stands for.
I think it would have been honest to say, 'read this book, but you need to read much more of my works, or become a student'.

Good book, but not of the caliber of the others I have read on the topic. Maybe a little too advanced for me at this time.

This book is poorly written. Perhaps it would be helpful for someone who has already studied Kaballah, but I did not find it to be a helpful introduction.

I don't know where to begin. The "teachings" in this book simply have nothing to do with any form of Kabbalah. Berg is attempting to create a non-Jewish, for-profit version of Kabbalah by creating his own religion, and its just plain embarassing. This book in particular is just pop-psychology.

Frankly, all of Berg's books on Kabbalah are full of terrible translations, censored and edited texts, and horrible commentary. His "explanations" are rejected by all Jewish authorities, Orthodox and non-Orthodox, religious and academic. Berg is attempting to create a non-Jewish and for-profit version of Kabbalah, and it is just embarassing. Instead of reading his nonsense, please check out books on this subject by real authorities and good writers:

Read, for instance, "The Jewish Mystical Tradition", by Ben Zion Bokser; "Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism", by Gershom Scholem; "Zohar: Annotated & Explained" by Daniel Chanan Matt and Andrew Harvey

I would also suggest "The Wisdom of The Zohar: An Anthology of Texts", Ed. Isaiah Tishby, and translated from the Hebrew by David Goldstein.

This book will teach you that you have the power to change your life and take control of it. It will help you discover how to take away your "ego" that controls you and brings chaos to your life. This book is a book to discover yourself and your potential.

This book really didn't accomplish what it set out to do. It started off with the claim that the reader will not only read faster, but that reading comprehension will increase. The only real speed reading excercises are for viewing (not reading, as the book says) large chunks of text quickly. But it ends there. There are no tips about comprehending material while viewing it quickly. There are tips for memory retention and classic conditiong for relaxation (both of which you can find in an Intro to Psych class), as well as smart ways of how to read texts (look at charts, topic sentences, etc...), but nothing about understanding the chunks of text we are "viewing" quickly. I admit that after doing these dizzying excercises, my regular reading for comprehension increased in speed a little bit. However, it is still not up to the rate I would consider "speed reading."
Final Verdict: If you really want it, check it out at the library or buy it used. But look for a better book first.

This book is a real disappointment. There's very little actual helpful material to improve your reading speed. Moreover, it hardly covers sub-vocalization, which is a mayor factor inhibiting your readingspeed. The hand exercises are silly and will not increase your speed. A large and useless part of the book only covers texts for practising, like you can't practise on any other texts... Buy another book.

After ordering this book I let it sit around for several months before getting to it. I was not expecting much at all. I had some free time this morning and read the whole thing. My reading has gone from 200 words per minute to about 800 in just a few hours. I am quite impressed. I have now been reading all day. The more I practice the techniques in this book the faster I read. This is after just a few hours! More importantly, I am now comprehending and retaining printed material much better. A great book for the price.

Save your money. More than half of this book consists of "practice" texts--and, of course, you can practice on any book you happen to be reading.

There are a *few* useful exercises, which include reading two lines at once, then 5, then whole paragraphs, then whole pages. You can't read like this for comprehension; the authors have you do it to get used to scanning segments of text at once , rather than single words. Another exercise has you read for one minute for comprehension, another minute at double that speed, and another minute at triple. These exercises DO help, but as far as speed reading instruction goes, that's it. Really.

There is also some very basic instruction on memory-enhancement techniques, nutrition, posture, previewing texts, and so forth--standard stuff.

In short, this book is a waste of money. Tony Buzan's book "Speed Reading" is far better. Some of the older speed reading books offer far more in the way practical instruction than this book does. "Double Your Reading Speed," published in 1964 by The Reading Laboratory, comes to mind.

Wow, it's amazing how much this book will help you improve your reading time. I can't believe I've been reading word by word my whole life when i could be reading huge blocks-and comprehend everything!