Brian Books

The book's well documented examples of corporate commerce and proper legal positioning on the internet piques my interest in how this field continues to evolve. As e-commerce players come and go, you start to wonder which ones didn't read this book. I'd like to see every CEO with an internet presence take this book into account - executive summaries provide quick reference, and summarize exactly what the details of each chapter provide. However, it's really like listening to a legal professional when you read each chapter. I typically follow favorite websites and newsgroups and I come across legal issues that need clarification. Should this fan-based website be using this other corporate trademark or logo? Should the same corporation refer to the fan-based website to promote it's product? This book provides insight and perspective on both sides. Everything is not fair game, and the internet needs a reference that explains the rules to both sides of e-commerce issues. This book does that and more.

I keep my copy handy at work to dig into the legal clarifications of issues that aren't covered in my copy of Barron's Dictionary of Computer and Internet Terms. Since the internet is more than buzzwords and slick advertising, we all need to know what makes electronic commerce really tick. I'm certainly not a CEO, but I do take part in on-line auction sites, and this book applies to my personal auctions as well as large scale commercial ventures.

* This book is full of clear, useful, and often fascinating info for anyone involved in electronic commerce. Chapter 3 alone (on what an employer should know about his employees' use of e-mail and the Internet) is worth the price of the book.

* As far as I've seen, there's nothing else like it in print. It's up to date and easy to follow. No lawyer-speak.

* The concept is a natural -- giving an overview of all the legal issues involved in e-commerce.

* Glad I read it.

The book is full of real-world examples and the content would make it an excellent text book for a class on eCommerce or ebXML in any University. However, it was written with a personal flair that makes it very readable and easy to follow and understand. It will continue to be a valued reference book in my eCommerce library for years to come as it hits on subjects that are relevant for today and tomorrow, as well as giving a good historical perspective of EDI and other standards for business messaging.

The real difference of this book is that its focus is on how to use ebXML to solve real-world problems with examples, rather than providing an overview of the ebXML specification itself.

This is a beautifully ornate detailed pop-up turn-of-the-century dollhouse. It is a 2-story house with 8 rooms. It's a great gift for anyone who loves an old fashioned romantic collectible.

This is a very creative idea. I wish there were more house styles. My daughter and I both loved this book. I would like to see a victorian, an italianate, maybe even a Frank Lloyd Wright style house.

I had written a review of this book previously (in 2005) and had forgotten all about it until yesterday (Sept 30 2007), when I got an e-mail from a person who was interested to know my latest thinking on Brian Nager and this book. A lot has changed for me in the last couple of years as a consequence of intense interaction with Brian over a period of more than six months and more importantly, deeper immersion in the teaching of Dr David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD, on my part and it would be misleading to leave my previous review on this site without this follow-up. I do not want to be seen as endorsing Brian's teaching any more, since I do not follow it any more.

I was with Brian for a few months as I thought his teaching is not different from Dr Hawkins but my main interest was always Dr Hawkins teachings, ever since I found his books in Sept 2004. I left Brian as soon as I found out in Summer 2006 from info@Veritaspub.com that Dr Hawkins does not approve of Brian as a teacher of Dr Hawkins work. My sense is that Brian works mainly to give energetic experiences whereas Dr Hawkins teaching is focused on personal transformation which sometimes at some stages may result in spontaneous energetic (kundalini) experiences but those energetic experiences themselves are not the focus of Dr Hawkins teaching (spiritual development is, and that is a way of being in this world). To focus mainly on energetic experiences without having reached a corresponding understanding/discernment of Truth versus falsehood can be rather counterproductive. I suggest people read any or all of the books of Dr Hawkins (The Eye of the I, Power Versus Force, Truth versus Falsehood, etc.) before reading this book by Brian.

Have you ever asked yourself.. "Who am I? "What is the purpose of my Life? What is an Ego? "Why do bad things happen to good people? "What is Enlightenment? "Who or What is God? You are not alone! All humans have an innate push to discover ones True Self. Isnt that why you are here at this moment reading and searching for Lifes seemingly tough questions? Anyone with an inquisitive mind or those who need a more modern approach to connecting with God and are searching for the UNIVERSAL TRUTH than this book is for you. Brians book is the quintessential handbook for Enlightenment. I have read other Enlightenment and Self-help books from Dr. David Hawkins, Deepok Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Dr Wayne Dwyer, and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, and find that Brian Nagers The Ego Identity Crisis is another spiritual classic and must read book. It is easy to follow and understand the concepts presented in this wonderful book. This book will help clarify concepts presented by other popular authors as mentioned above and present new material such as Duality and Non-Duality Levels of Consciousness The illusion of form (duality) and how it is created through the Ego. Deprogramming the ego to reveal your True Self Meditation and Chakra work He has helped me tremendously in my search for Truth and I am very grateful for his guidance. I plan to someday help others as he has helped me. Thanks Brian. Fear & suffering is only an illusion, as infinite love is the only Truth; Krane

National Geographic has a well-deserved reputation for quality writing and even greater photography, and in this text, they do not disappoint. Author Brian Fagan and photographer Kenneth Garrett have put together a stellar offering here in 'Egypt of the Pharoahs'. This is an historical period that lasted several thousand years -- Egypt is one of the original civilisations in the world -- and quite an undertaking for any author and photographer. This is meant as more of an accessible survey than an in-depth, critical analysis of ancient Egyptian history; a coffee-table book and a gift book, this text is also good for students and generalists for basic background on Egyptian history.

The major sections of the text follow the historical progression: Egypt before the Pharoahs (circa 3100 BCE), the Old Kingdom (to 2000 BCE), the Middle Kingdom (to 1500 BCE), the New Kingdom (to 1000 BCE), and finally the late period, ending with the overthrow of Cleopatra (actually, Cleopatra VII) by Octavian (later Augustus), who brought Egyptian independence to an end.

Egypt is perhaps best known for the pyramids, and in particular, the pyramids of Giza, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world (and the only one still standing). However, the vast richness of Egyptian history, as a regional superpower for literally thousands of years, extends far beyond the pyramids. The development of writing in the hieroglyph manner, while not adapted much beyond the Egyptian sphere of influence, nonetheless became symbolic of literacy and artistic ability in the ancient world. The fantastic cities, temples, and other public works beyond the pyramids show a high degree of engineering and cultural development, made all the more impressive by the fact that Egypt was almost entirely isolated for much of its existence by deserts, mountains, and seas.

The fame of Egypt spread early, attracting settlers and conquerors from beyond. Egypt was not always a unified kingdom; in addition to being occasionally divided, it was for the last thousand years (at least) of its independence ruled by foreign rulers (rather akin to a German royal family ascending the throne of England); even the last of the pharoahs, the Ptolemy family, was an 'import' from Greek lands.

This text traces the development of Egypt in glorious photographs, from the earliest inscriptions and constructions, to the final days of Cleopatra, including the inscriptions and engravings showing the presentation of Caesarion in the temple as heir to Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Every page is a glorious glossy plate, and practically every page has a full-colour photograph to enhance the story. Some photographs are of objects currently residing in musuems (both in Egypt and abroad), while others are in situ. True to National Geographic form, there are maps of Egypt during the different periods, giving geographic context for the stories and photographs.

A basic timeline is introduced early in the text, and repeated throughout at the beginning of each chapter. At each repetition, the particular time segment of the timeline is expanded to show the names of all the pharoahs in that particular era, grouped by dynasty. These lists are not always complete, however; sometimes our knowledge of the era is incomplete, and sometimes space in the text demands certain omissions.

Even for the advanced student of ancient Egypt, this text will make a nice addition to the library due to the quality of the photographs. For all others, this makes a fascinating read of a well-known but little understood period in human history.

This large and lavishly illustrated volume is wonderful in nearly every aspect. The photos are new and fresh, and not the average, generic things you might expect to see in a book on Egypt, like pictures of the pyramids and Tut's tomb. This book is well-written, and aesthetically pleasing. I recommend it, particularly the leather, collector's edition.

This book achieves to horrify and fascinating in many different ways. Whereas much of popular horror today seems devoted to novels, Hopkin's novella is an accomplishment of style, depth and tension. This is more than a book about the reawakenings of old Aztec gods (wolves perhaps best left sleeping) but also a book about despair and heartbreak, and what individuals are willing to do in light of their sorrow. In that sense, it works as a novella.

If you believe that good horror is not just about chills, thrills and the occassional gross out, but also in capturing a sense existential angst in an uncertain world, you'll enjoy this. This is what horror should strive for. It protrays a darker more complex world that man is perhaps best left being ignorant of.

It also appeals to the issus of the relationship of Man and God, turning back to a more primitive Gods and religions where the divine is less beneficient and religion less narcisstic, a harsher sense of faith. I enjoy notion of horror and the weird in dealing with man's faith and existential fear, as in Harlan Ellisons Deathbird Stories. I highly recommend this to those interested in the relationship between man and the divine.

My only major criticism- It's a bit too expensive although that's understandable with limited printing. I would have preferred to see this in a collected work of short fiction by this author. That said, collectors of good horror should not miss this one.

Please note that this book is NOT written in Spanish (the listing here is wrong). Winner of the Bram Stoker Award in 2002. Good stuff if I do say so myself. Info on the author and the book can be found at http://bahwolf.com

Eleanor and Franklin were no only heroes to millions of Americans, they were people who attained power without losing their humanity. From the turn of the century, when Eleanor worked in Settlement Houses among the poorest of the poor in New York City's worst slums until they were in the White House implementing programs which would mitigate the suffering of the Depression: they were always on our side.
A great book about us and them, along with the TV Series "The Waltons" it proves that we were better people then.

This is a bittersweet biography about Eleanor and Franklin that ends when FDR dies. Maybe that's why the novel is abit sad as it doesn't go on to Eleanor's triumphs post-FDR.

Yes, Eleanor is a goody two shoes, that we know. And that we know ultimately enriched mankind. Because this book is about relationships rather than policy, it is easy to imagine how annoying Eleanor's goody two shoes nature can be very annoying to FDR.

It is very tempting to pity Eleanor for FDR's infidelities in this book. I did but I know there was life after FDR for Eleanor so it eased my sadness.

Overall, a well-written book authored by a man who admired and respected his subjects.

The best coparative study for European and pther countries electorial systems. Great!

This book is just one of Lijphart's works to provide an excellent analysis of the impact of the shape of institutional structures on the behavior of political systems. A very useful read for anyone wishing to understand the new institutionalist approach to political science, as well as for anyone seeking a more particular understanding of electoral systems and the variables of such systems having a significant impact on the structure of political party systems, electoral outcomes, and legislative processes.

If you are a music and literary lover, this is your book. Sure, we know Elvis copied more Black music than Pat Boone, the Beastie Boys, Vanilla Ice, and The Osmonds combined, but this book takes you to Harlem, the center of Black Culture, so that you can understand the severity of the cultural theft. This book will make you a sophisticated musical genius. Buy it now! Elvis Presley Is Alive and Well and Living in Harlem

This is a fabulous first book by a very good writer and poet. The poems here are well crafted, full of colorful language and are topical for the time in which they are written. There is everything from South Africa, to the lack of black writers in the educational system discussed. It is all done well too. Third World Press hit a home run with Gilmore's first book. And, of course, what an incredible title.

Ike.

"Embracing Mind" is a work of incredible brilliance and insight - think "Divine Matrix" on steroids!! Beware, the concepts in this book range from classical and quantum physics to "The Middle Way" approach to Buddhism with a good rational argument for linking science and spirituality, and specifically studying the mind/consciousness. As each concept in the book would take volumes to completely explore, the reader is given a rather "down and dirty" overview of each, with the purpose of showing clearly that scientific materialism has merely supplanted religious dogma with a more insidious form of mind and attitude control. This well written book is deep, rich, logical and has benefits for scientists, theologians and people like me: those that would like to bridge the two disciplines. Well worth every penny and every second!

Wallace (and Hodel) do a very good job in "Embracing Mind." They break the book down into three parts.

In Part One, Wallace takes another look at science, and where science may drift off into scientism. Wallace (page 22) tells us where scientific materialism carries hidden metaphysical assumptions - " what did that interpretation boil down to? The five principles examined previously: objectivism, metaphysical realism, the closure principle, universalism, and physical reductionism." Without going into detail what the principles entail, I will merely summerize what Wallace (page 23) concludes: "So strong was their enthusiasm for an all-embracing scientific worldview that they often allowed their hopes, dreams, and beliefs to masquerade as facts. They were especially impressed with Darwin's theory of natural selection. According to their own interpretation, natural selection meant that organisms best suited to win the competition for scare resources survived, passing on their advantageous traits to succeeding generations."

Wallace (page 24) writes: "Social philosophers influenced by scientific materialism created social Darwinism, the view that nations and individuals competed for economic supremacy in an arena where only the `favored races' or toughest individuals would succeed. There was no room here for any softness or idealism and, of course, such a philosophy gave at least tacit approval to war, imperialism, and racism. In like manner, Karl Marx reduced all aspects of culture to economics."

Writing on modernity, with its scientific progress, Wallace (page 25) writes: "We have been exposed to this philosophy throughout our lives - in the classroom, in the media, by our doctors, and through the decisions of government agencies ruling on health, the environment, and elsewhere. It has been pounded into us consistently for so long that we've come to accept it as common sense. This, we are told, is what `non-believers' accept as truth."

Wallace (page 75) writes on the study of mind and brain: "It wasn't until the late nineteenth century that science attempted a formal study of the mind. Given the enormous influence of scientific materialism, it is not surprising that a physical approach - the study of behavior and the brain, the `gray matter' - held sway. By the early twentieth century, nonmaterial qualities attributed to the mind (thoughts, feelings, images, dreams, and so on) were neatly avoided by correlating them to the physical brain, with its internal physiology, and to physical behavior. This, mind was simply redefined as the brain."

Wallace (page 82) writes: "By relying on the argument of mere correlations between mental phenomena and brain physiology, cognitive psychologists remind us of astrologers, who rely on correlates between patterns in the heavens and events on earth, rather than astronomers, who have actually explored the skies scientifically with telescopes."

Wallace (page 83) writes: "Shouldn't cognitive scientists first be experts on their own consciousness, deeply exploring their subjective nature, before they tackle the complexities of the mind-brain connection? Given the rigors of science, wouldn't such self-knowledge be useful for scientists in general? After all, the scientific mind behind the eyepiece of a physical instrument (and behind the devising of theories) is the fundamental instrument of all science. Must not this ultimate black box be opened and carefully examined if science wants to be certain that its theories and data are something more than complex imaginings or projections?"

Wallace (page 84) concludes: "The preceding discussion should make it clear that science's attitude toward the mind has been hampered by historical baggage. According to the dictates of its Christian background, science explored outer, objective phenomena and avoided the inner, subjective realm. Lack of self knowledge hampered scientists by blinding them to subjective distortions that have prejudiced the scientific enterprise."

Wallace (page 102-103) writes: "What of those students who do take an interest in science, believing that the practice of science follows the open-minded, exploratory spirit of the scientific method? They study textbooks that either imply or boldly declare that as-yet-unproven theories are definitely true or will certainly be proven true in the future. They are exposed to an attitude toward science that promotes conformity to the foregone conclusions of scientific materialism even as it pretends to favor free inquiry. Those people who see the contradiction are left with the choice of buckling under or striking out on their own. Alternatively, they may become discouraged with science altogether and choose another career."

Wallace (page 105) writes: "The materialist approach to medicine has led to the desire for a `quick fix' - just pop a pill and let chemicals take care of it. Drug, tobacco, and alcohol addiction follow the same logic. There may be more to mental and physical illness than just chemicals, but the physical bias of scientific materialism has largely marginalized alternative therapies that show promise."

In Part Two, Wallace looks at a more promising science that can study the mind. Wallace (page 142-143) writes: "Through intense and lengthy practice, the attention can be honed into a precision tool that, figuratively speaking, lights up the mind's interior. First one undergoes a sustained, rigorous training in developing stability and vividness of attention. One then uses one's enhanced powers of mental perception to learn to distinguish between the phenomena that are presented to the senses (including the sixth sense of mental perception) and the conceptual superimpositions that one under normal circumstances compulsively projects upon those phenomena."

Wallace (page 144) writes: "A guilty conscience is no more conductive to contemplative practice than nervous agitation or drowsiness."

Wallace (page 155) writes: "The Middle Way proposes an alternative explanation for the appearance of phenomena of the universe - regularities. Certain things tend to occur together or in a sequence. Whereas causes imply to us some power to affect, the Middle Way defines appearances as mere regularities."

Wallace (page 156) writes: "If we conceive of one stage as an absolute, permanent, independent entity, by definition it cannot have any relationship to anything else. By definition, two completely self-contained, independent, permanent, absolute things cannot affect one other. If they did, they wouldn't be self-contained, independent, and so on. But if we back off that position and say that there is simply a `relationship' between them, Middle Way philosophers will point out that we are now viewing these things (such as seed and sprout) as relative, conventional realities. A relationship composed of regularities doesn't require absolute realities or absolute causality, and the relationship itself lacks any such inherent existence independent of the things that are related. Seed and sprout and their causal relationship, though existing conventionally, are now seen as `empty of' absolute existence."

In Part Three, Wallace takes up "tools and technologies of a Buddhist science of contemplation."

Wallace (page 213) writes: "From a Buddhist standpoint our mental afflictions, or distortions, stand in the way of enlightenment. From an empirical or scientific standpoint, such biases impede the search for truth, especially since the mind is truly the primary scientific instrument. Whether we are trying to use the mind and scientific instruments to probe stars and galaxies or we wish to understand the nature and workings of the mind itself, our mental projections and illusions of knowledge cloud the picture."