Burton Books

We know pussens are intelligent - this shows they are artistic also!!! It's truly interesting!

I had only seen the original edition of this book which is a full sized binding suitable for coffee table display. I was disappointed at what arrived, this pocket-sized version. Much of the best material has been edited out and of course the photos are now bite-sized. If you can, look for the original publication which is much more funny and looks like an actual non-fiction publication. The tiny version looks like a cute gag - which is what it has been reduced to.

My husband and I are cat people and were thrilled when we received this interesting book as a gift. At first, we were amazed as we looked over the cat's paintings and read about the "artists" histories. However, as we paid more attention to the fine details in the book (i.e. the index and footnotes, etc.), we realized that this book is purely tongue-in-cheek. For example, on the page with the cat mummies, check out the "Egyptian" names listed. One is something like "Fakt Kat." Get it? Faked cat. My husband and I also went and checked out some of the books listed in the bibliography and surprise, none exist. Go through the book and there are other examples, proving that it's meant to be a humorous read.

That said, we enjoyed this book immensely and found it to be pure genuis -- but not for the reasons we initially thought. I highly recommend it.

This is a wonderful book, with very nice photos. The art world jargon is very believable. The cats are presented the way typically artists are shown and described by the art establishment.Abstract expressionsim is covered mostly, also you will have examples of installation art. Deliciuos and heart warming!I trully recommend this book, if you are an aillurophile yourself, or want it as a gift for a cat person, or an artist.

Several theories of feline art have been put forward over the years, and this volume may serve as an excellent introduction to the uninitiated. Influential feline artists are discussed and their work reprinted in glorious detail. There is, however, a strong bias towards the mainstream of cat art. Important, indeed vital, underground movements are completely ignored. The street art of alley cats is sadly overlooked, perhaps reflecting the authors deference to the curators of that ivory tower, the Museum of Non Primate Art.
Also lacking is any serious discussion of Queer Theory, so vital in the deconstruction of any mammalian artistic representations.
Yet in spite of these flaws, Why Cats Paint remains an important and influential volume that no connaisseur of feline aesthetics can afford to ignore.

I had been struggling with understanding what sugar does to someone who is intolerant to sugar, and this book instantly got rid of all the mystery. I know what foods make me feel good, and which ones just dont sit right afterwards, and the common factor was always sugar or foods with a high glycemic index. As a healthy athlete, I wanted to learn the best fuel to put in my body, and I stick to this diet, with predictable results. What I really enjoyed about this book was the proactive approach to help me increase my energy, and to understand the supplements to take. I am now very mindful of high glycemic foods, and plainly just avoid them, to keep my mind, body and spirit operating at the optimum rate. Thanks for educating me! Andrea Samadi, author of The Secret for Teens Revealed: How Parents, Teachers, and Teenagers Can Inspire Leadership and Transform Lives

Syndrome X is High Cholesterol, Obesity, High Triglycerides, High Blood Pressure and the centerpiece: Insulin Resistance. The book provides the reasons for many people's poor heath and practical solutions to improve it greatly. It is also applicable to those who are already healthy and want to stay that way.

The authors clearly explain that Glucose is our biological gasoline and insulin is escorts the glucose from the blood into cells where it is burned as energy. As with the carburetor of a car, when this isn't working right, we are not going to be at our best!

Knowing what to eat is crucial in good health today. With our fast paced, fast food society this is no easy task. Syndrome X addresses the wide array of good foods, vitamins and nutrients to return to good health. It explains in layman's terms but never talks down to the reader about the benefits of eating right and the terrible effects of eating poorly.

Powerful topics include: The importance of diet, Glucose, the body's fuel and the secrets of living to age 100. Other subjects include, individualizing your Anti-X program, what to buy at supermarkets and more.

Vitamins C, D, E and more are explained in excellent detail. Minerals such as chromium, Zinc, Magnesium, are also addressed as well as nutrients such as antioxidants, good and bad fats and more.

The easy to understand explanations of how the body processes food and supplements is some of the best I have read. Overall Jack Challem, Dr Burton Berkson, and Melissa Diane Smith have done an exceptional job at providing a common sense guide to healthy living through good diet, vitamins and supplements!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Stop Prediabetes Now: The Ultimate Plan to Lose Weight and Prevent Diabetes

Syndrome X was a breakthrough book when it first came out in 2000. Of course Syndrome X is a form of prediabetes, which increases the risk of full-blown diabetes and heart disease. Jack Challem (the lead author of Syndrome X) has outdone himself with his latest book along these lines: Stop Prediabetes Now, which came out in October. The description of the problem, his dietary recommendations, and his supplement recommendations are all much clearer and easier to follow. The recipes are superb -- I love the curry chicken salad, in particular. Jack addresses the bigger picture of prediabetes, of which Syndrome X is only one part.

This should be required reading for all senior citizens on medicare/medicaid...all high school students...all college students and everyone else not on this list. As a nation, with the world close behind us, we are in deep trouble ALREADY and running faster down a slippery slope towards diabetes , type 1, 2 and will probably require a number 3 lable soon!!!

When a huge entity like the Federal Food & Drug Administration bows to the wishes of food product manufacturers, we are like sheep heading to the slaughter. You get a creepy feeling that some unknown, unseen persons are slowly killing you. Honestly? The Bible says that THE LOVE OF money is the root of all evil. And our grocery stores are a brightly colored, attractivly marketed example.

This book doesn't preach on the political aspect of our eating....that's me. But it teaches what your body is doing and will continue to do (and worse) if YOU don't take another path. Garbage in...garbage out.
Healthy eating...healthy body.

the menu plan was too low carb and the supplement suggestions were worse!
it claims that folks 20 pounds overweight and over should take a supplement called L-Carnitine, Alpha Lipoic acid etc.
Well when I took the Carnitine, I swear the first time I took it, my heart was beating too fast and the second time, I felt a heaviness in my chest and I had dry mouth! When I did further research on these supplements, it had said that we really don't need the Lipoic acid and the Carnitine because it is already present in our systems!
So the authors owe me $$$ back for those supplements that got me sick! Heck they should give me $$$ back for buying this dumb book lol

Very good book, the author takes you behind the scene of Wall Street and history of the market. He goes over the basics of our economy and the different avenues of investing. This is a must read for anyone who want to start investing but is confused on where to start. I would have given this book 5 stars if he had written down a step by step process to investing. I recommend this book 1st and then read Jim Cramer's Mad Money, he gives the step by step procedures I was looking for in his book.

As a novice to finance, I found this book both educational and entertaining. Highly recommended!

Would have give it 5 stars,except for the fact that they did not return my e-mail, when I had a question

This book helps to understand how the shares market works and its history.

I think it may interest all people who wants to improve his knowleadge in

investing.

The book is otherwise fabulous, but you should steer clear of the Kindle version. The Kindle handles charts poorly, and this book has a lot of them. Some are manageable, but many others contain small text that is so blurry that it might as well be written in Arabic. Quite honestly, it is not entirely clear to me how Amazon gets away with selling this item. The Kindle is great, but Amazon absolutely should not sell books that cannot actually be read on it.

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. is a must read, especially for the the youth of the 21st century. I have always appreciated the sacrfices Dr. King made to create a better America, as well as a better economical and social status for African Americans. But after reading this book I have a new respect for Dr. King. His strength through out the entire civil rights movement is without a doubt remarkable. His nonviolent strategy was truly a genious way to fight the hands of racism and evil during the times in which he lived in. He used the media to shame the racist who tried to keep all power for themselves and white America. Dr. King was a very intelligent man and I believe he had a deeper understanding of social behavior that was sharper than most.

I have read many autobiographies on extraordinary people in the world, and prior to reading this book Malcolm X's autobiograpghy was my favorite of many. But I now have to say I have two favorite books. Although Malcolm X and Dr. King had different approaches for fighting racism in America, I believe they were both effective because if nothing else they both brought media attention to the issue that was never there before. In this way they made it impossible for America to sit idlely by and do nothing.

I believe this book should be read be everyone because it truly leaves the reader with a deeper appreciation for the struggles of great leaders who shaped the core values of this country.

It's an inspirational read and clearly establishes King amongst the finest examples of portraying a 'Purpose Driven Life" in recent generations.

Martin Luther King, Jr., is without a doubt one of the most influential and pivotal figures in twentieth-century history. In addition to his work as a Civil Rights leader, his role as a father and pastor, he also was an extensively published writer. However, he never had the chance to write an autobiography in the traditional sense. We as readers in the present day and the future have lost the private details that might have been fleshed out in a proper autobiography, but this skillfully crafted work by Clayborne Carson has given us a religious and political autobiography, revealed in King's almost countless papers (published and unpublished), interviews, letters, sermons and public statements.

Carson, author and editor of many books relating to the Civil Rights struggle, edited a collection of King's speeches entitled 'A Knock at Midnight', and was selected by the King estate to put together this in conjunction with (according to Carson) dozens of staff and student workers forming part of the King Papers Project. Carson used particular methodology consistently in his reconstruction - that of relying primarily on the words of King himself (utilising early drafts of later writings to discern the difference between authorial and editorial intentions) and developing them as if this overall narrative account was constructed near the end of King's life.

King's autobiography begins at the beginning, with is childhood as a preacher's kid (who was himself a preacher's kid, who was himself a preacher's kid, etc.). King said, 'of course I was religious.... I didn't have much choice.' King explains the different strands in his life, that of being both militant and moderate, idealistic and realistic, as beginning here. Here he developed questions ('how could I love a race of people who hated me?') and some answers (he learned that racial injustice was paralleled by economic injustice, and realised that poor white people were exploited also).

King's call to ministry and call to ethical and prophetic witness in the world developed through his schooling at Morehouse College, Crozer Seminary, and Boston University, where he developed interest in theology and social philosophy that would lead him to eventually to his ideas of civil rights activitsm. This would not take practical shape, however, until he was back in the South and working at churches and participating in actual events. He describes his involvement with Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Movement as a mountaintop experience, which also led to an awakening, both in King and in the community, of the power of nonviolent action a la Mahatma Gandhi.

It is almost incomprehensible to read this autobiography and realise that in a span of barely more than a dozen years (Rosa Parks was arrested for her action in December of 1955; King was assassinated in 1968) so much of what we consider to be the central history of the Civil Rights struggle occurred. Within the pages of text, King talks about the struggles of the common people and the dealings with the powerful, from the police in Alabama jurisdictions to dealing with federal government officials and organisations.

In the midst of all of this work, King managed to remain a family man, devoted to his wife and children, and a tireless worker in the church. Carson admits to not being able to develop too much of an interior autobiography in these kinds of sections (as even in King's private papers and writings, too much remains unrecorded), but his life in this regard still comes through many aspects of his writings, sermons and speeches.

This is an incredible book, and should be read as a required part of the education of an American, as it recounts a remarkable and astonishing part of history that continues to shape the direction of the nation to this day.

I haven't quite finished the book yet but I am impressed at how well the book is written. Martin Luther King,jr. is one of the most memorable historic figures in history and this book eloquently accomplishes portraying him as such.

Martin Luther King, Jr., is without a doubt one of the most influential and pivotal figures in twentieth-century history. In addition to his work as a Civil Rights leader, his role as a father and pastor, he also was an extensively published writer. However, he never had the chance to write an autobiography in the traditional sense. We as readers in the present day and the future have lost the private details that might have been fleshed out in a proper autobiography, but this skillfully crafted work by Clayborne Carson has given us a religious and political autobiography, revealed in King's almost countless papers (published and unpublished), interviews, letters, sermons and public statements.

Carson, author and editor of many books relating to the Civil Rights struggle, edited a collection of King's speeches entitled 'A Knock at Midnight', and was selected by the King estate to put together this in conjunction with (according to Carson) dozens of staff and student workers forming part of the King Papers Project. Carson used particular methodology consistently in his reconstruction - that of relying primarily on the words of King himself (utilising early drafts of later writings to discern the difference between authorial and editorial intentions) and developing them as if this overall narrative account was constructed near the end of King's life.

King's autobiography begins at the beginning, with is childhood as a preacher's kid (who was himself a preacher's kid, who was himself a preacher's kid, etc.). King said, 'of course I was religious.... I didn't have much choice.' King explains the different strands in his life, that of being both militant and moderate, idealistic and realistic, as beginning here. Here he developed questions ('how could I love a race of people who hated me?') and some answers (he learned that racial injustice was paralleled by economic injustice, and realised that poor white people were exploited also).

King's call to ministry and call to ethical and prophetic witness in the world developed through his schooling at Morehouse College, Crozer Seminary, and Boston University, where he developed interest in theology and social philosophy that would lead him to eventually to his ideas of civil rights activitsm. This would not take practical shape, however, until he was back in the South and working at churches and participating in actual events. He describes his involvement with Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Movement as a mountaintop experience, which also led to an awakening, both in King and in the community, of the power of nonviolent action a la Mahatma Gandhi.

It is almost incomprehensible to read this autobiography and realise that in a span of barely more than a dozen years (Rosa Parks was arrested for her action in December of 1955; King was assassinated in 1968) so much of what we consider to be the central history of the Civil Rights struggle occurred. Within the pages of text, King talks about the struggles of the common people and the dealings with the powerful, from the police in Alabama jurisdictions to dealing with federal government officials and organisations.

In the midst of all of this work, King managed to remain a family man, devoted to his wife and children, and a tireless worker in the church. Carson admits to not being able to develop too much of an interior autobiography in these kinds of sections (as even in King's private papers and writings, too much remains unrecorded), but his life in this regard still comes through many aspects of his writings, sermons and speeches.

This is an incredible book, and should be read as a required part of the education of an American, as it recounts a remarkable and astonishing part of history that continues to shape the direction of the nation to this day.

Great book and classic story about learning "what you do not know". For those who do not understand what it is like to build a program without any guidance, Fred Burton gives a great insight into his personal school of hard knocks. This book is an in depth look at how the USA developed Counter-terrorism (CT) operations complete with failures and successes. You can feel the emotion, the challenges, and the personal toll it takes on normal people. He also gives some insight into the difference between "serving the country" and "being a politician." Fred is an American hero who stepped up to the plate when his country needed him.

I found this book hard to put down. The pages turned rapidly as I gleaned behind the scenes insights into events to which I had been exposed to via electronic and print media in the past. As I put down the completed book, I experienced two strong feelings: 1. I am very glad that I was able to experience a microscopic view into the activities of people working behind the scenes, with little or no publicity, to protect our nation all hours of all days 2. I am concerned that our intelligence community may still be hindering itself through a lack of cooperation between the various agencies; even with the advent of Homeland Security. I highly recommend this book to all concerned citizens.
As an aside, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this book becomes a successful movie.

Very much enjoyed reading this book, no it is not like a Robert Ludlum or John LeCarre novel. It is a true testament to the real American Heroes who tread into dark and dangerous places and situations that most of us would fear to go. What stands out here is the dedication and patriotism of these men and woman, who, though obviously highly skilled and intelligent choose a life of sacrifice and service over money and fame. They seek to protect the rest of us from horrors that we can barely appreciate, while often suffering the criticism from the ill informed. The big payoff if they are killed in the line of duty is an anonymous gold star on a wall at Langley. I would hope more people read this book if only to understand that it is a dangerous world in which we live, and perhaps, if only for a moment, take a break from American Idol and Monday Night Football to appreciate these American public servants.

OK. After glancing at the excellent reviews, I probably will continue to read this book. I am giving a rating only because posting the review requires it. In fact, I haven't finished the book. But what caused me to leave the book to see what others thought of it is this:
On page 30, upon Burton's entering the CIA headquarters for the first time, I read "" ... a statue of Nathan Hale, a Revolutionary War spy who went to a British hangman's noose with the immortal words 'Give me liberty or give me death' on his lips."
Give me liberty or give me death? Those are certainly immortal words! Nathan Hale? It's been quite a while since I took American history, but that quote is attributed to Patrick Henry. Hale is remembered for the words "I regret that I have but one life to give to my country."
So what made me pause in my reading - and write this - is that I am perplexed. Did Burton dredge up an inaccurate memory? Worse, might that what is actually written somewhere in the mysterious places of the CIA. Or, finally, is the Random House editor a little deficient in his/her American history, to let this error slip by?
I know, I know, some will same I'm picky. But it's so wrong that it stopped my reading dead in it's tracks. Has that passage caused any other readers at least a short pause?
Well, as I said above, because of the excellent reviews the book has received her, I will return to it and continue my reading.

This is a fun little book, but it's not much of a "confession" as billed. Burton was a DSS agent with an interesting career, but he was not a big player. Most of his involvement was at a low-level, conducting debriefings, meeting a few informants, and reading lots of cables. He does not document personal involvement in ANY top takedowns, no intelligence "coups" nor any real excitement. In spite of describing his countersurveillance training, his need to wear "tied shoes" to be able to fight, and running through his home neigborhoods watching for tails, he never really makes the bigtime. He does have some decent tips on countersurveillance and terrorist planning and execution cycle, and some interesting inside tidbits, but this is no true "ghost."

It's inexcusable for this book to be as bad as it is, when the author is clearly a very able writer, and capable of coming up with some lovely twists. It showed promise; but some of the things MacLean asks the reader to accept just stretch credulity too far. The plot has holes, the good guys are crammed full of contrived and tedious bravado, and, most infuriating of all to me, the hero continually endangers his soldiers and his mission through an utterly inexplicable refusal to kill nazis. I really hope the movie is better (I've yet to see it).

It's not without its charms. You may be able to enjoy the way the hero cleverly improvises his way out of one predicament after another, if you can make yourself forget that many of the predicaments are directly caused by his own astonishingly stupid decisions. You may find it possible to get your money's worth out of this book by just numbing yourself to the silliness, picturing Clint Eastwood, and accepting it as a quick-read thriller that will make - I promise - absolutely no demands on your intelligence. But I couldn't do it. Not recommended.

An important Allied general with knowledge of upcoming large-scale war theatre plans is captured. A seat of the pants mission is put together to try and get him back. Failing that, to kill him.

This is a joint American-British spook operation, so those doing the dirty work find out that all is not as it seems.

Alistair MacLean is one of my favorite novelists, and this is my favorite novel by him. The setting is World War II, and a team of seven (or is it eight) double-agents are sent to rescue a kidnapped actor (who is assumed to know something) from a castle in a mountain, accessible by cable cars.

This novel keeps you guessing, at the edge of your seats. The ending is the best one I've read by MacLean (I find his endings to be a weakness as a whole).

I know it is a much lauded classic of the genre, but i just couldn't enjoy it. The characters are not terrible deep or likable, the scenario and plot twists are implausible, and the writing is a bit distant, as if the author doesn't know his characters any better than the reader. The main character is cursed by his own bumbling incompetance, dispite supposedly being the best commando there is, but this is made up for by the clownish gullibility of the enemies.
I just don't understand why everyone seems to love this book. The McLean is clearly a very capable writer and, although i haven't read any other of his novels, surely he has done much better work than this?

This is a classic MacLean novel. Lots of action, lots of plot twists, set in WW2, with a girl named Mary.

If you have seen the Clint Eastwood movie, prepare to be surprised. The movie was a terrible translation of the book, even though MacLean was the scriptwriter. (Or maybe the book was an improved version of the movie -- I'm not sure which was written first.) In particular, the Eastwood character is a cold-blooded killer, while in the book he's a happy-go-lucky guy with a big heart and a crush on a helpful barmaid.

As with all MacLean books, the point of view character lies to the reader about his real motivation and hides crucial information until the very end of the novel. This makes the novel something like a cross between an action book and a mystery.

The classic image from the novel is the fight that takes place on the top of a cable car in the icy Alpine winter. But the big surprise is that, by the end, this British commando team has been inserted deep into Germany and yet they don't kill a single German soldier in the entire book. Very different than some other action novels (including some by MacLean) where the body count piles up quickly and the protagonist has a very itchy trigger finger.

Lisa Scottoline's humor has always been part of the fun of reading her books, but she really captures
the joy and eccentricities of the Italian-American world of South Philadelphia in this one. From the
opening chapter when lawyer/heroine Mary Dinunzo is approached by her father and his three friends
all named Tony - distinguished only by their nicknames Pigeon Tony (he raises pigeons), Tony-From-Down-The-Block and Tony Two Feet - to sue a woman from the Frank Sinatra Fan Club who publicly defamed Dean Martin by "calling him a drunk", the smiles and laughter keep on coming.

The main plot features 4 former high school friends of Mary, known as The Mean Girls, because they were the girls with big hair who smoked and "put out" (which made them popular), and were always mean to the
girls who studied, like Mary herself. The Mean Girls all grew up to mostly work in the beauty salon business,
and now one of them, Trish Gambone, is in danger of being killed by a jealous boyfriend who is a low level mob figure.

Mary gets involved in finding Trish, when she is kidnapped and believed murdered, almost losing her job as
an associate at the Rosato law firm, because of the time she is spending on the case. It becomes a matter
of "helping someone from the neighborhood" versus "advancing her own career". It also turns out that
Mary has a link to the mob boyfriend from high school that no one knows about. It's a touching and
surprising moment, when a secret from Mary's past is revealed.

There are the usual wonderful twists and turns in the story, and plenty of hair-raising moments for
Mary Dinunzio to deal with, which I don't want to ruin by revealing here. I'll only say it's a very
satisfying book, with plenty of emotion and suspense.

It's well worth your time.

It was painful to read about the talented Mary DiNunzio giving up her world for Mean Girl and Goretti alum, Trish Gambone. Mary comes off as pathetic and desperate for acceptance. She screws up work, friendships, and a potential relationship so she can help Trish. I never felt sorry for Mary; I just felt embarassed for her. Once the author revealed the murderer, I stopped reading.

There's way too much going on in Lady Killer. We've got South Philly Italian culture, Mary's low self-esteem, Mary's widowhood, kookie neighbors and coworkers, an abusive boyfriend, high school bullies, Mary's high school ex-boyfriend, mob connections, and MARY'S BIG SECRET.

I fgured out the secret in the middle of the book. It wasn't shocking, but some readers might be offended. The secret does and doesn't help the story. I think it is treated too lightly. When Mary reveals the secret, it just isn't **so shocking**. (Is that why Judy and Anthony show no emotion?) I also didn't believe that Mary was in love with Bobby Mancuso, now Trish's boyfriend. I thought she had a lusty teenage crush on the guy.

To add to the nonsense is Bonnyhart, a small town in the Poconos. How and why Mary ended up there is just too unbelievable.

Does Mary owe anything to Trish? Yes, Trish asked for Mary's help. Mary gave her legal counsel. Trish disappears. Should Mary get involved? Or, should she just wait until if and when Trish returns? And what about Mary's honor? The close-knit Italian neighborhood snubs Mary when they think she's snubbed Trish.

If Scottoline eliminated all the extras, this book would have been much better. And, Scottoline should have made Mary's involvement a little more believable. Because Lady Killer received a number of 4 and 5 star reviews, I will be reading the earlier Mary DiNunzio books.

After several years, Lisa Scottoline finally brings back Mary DiNunzio and her friends at the law firm of Benny Rosato. And even though Mary still isn't 100% convinced of her skills as a lawyer, she has become somewhat of a rainmaker for her little firm, especailly with the help of all the people from her old neighboorhood. When an old high school nemesis turns up looking to Mary for help, all her childhood angst comes back to haunt her. Unfortunately Trish refuses to take any of Mary's advice, and she ends up missing. Now Trish's friends are on Mary's case to do something, and in order to ease her feelings of letting Trish down, Mary dives head first into finding out what happened. And in the process jeopardizes her job at Rosota and Associates. The book moves along at a fast pace, keeping the reader turning the pages. While I didn't love this book as much as the others, it was great to see Mary and friends back - and Mary once again fighting for what she believes in.

Lisa's "hook" (to read her books) is delightful characters in her novels, especially her Mary D. series. I dropped one star cause the ending could have been written better (belief index too low).

People who rated this book low probably have difficulty buying in to the character of Mary, who is a current era Mary Poppins and "Virgin" Mary personality. I have no trouble being sold because I've encountered some women in my personal life of 60 some years who have similar personality traits to Lisa's main character, and her mom/dad.

I was born in Philadelphia, and my dad was Italian; so I can relate to Mary's fictional home life with her parents, especially the kitchen scene's - cooking, eating, arguing, lying, guilt tripping, etc.

Plain, nerdy and smart, Mary DiNunzio was always expected to do well in life but was bullied mercilessly by "The Mean Girls", a group of showy, good looking girls who made her life in High School a sheer hell. Mary is now a successful lawyer and when she is approached by Trish, the leader of the girl pack who tormented her in school, she is amazed to be asked for help and protection against one of the school jocks who is physically abusing Trish. Bobby was a High School hero and is now on the fringes of the Mob, selling dope. He is an abusive drunk who threatens to kill Trish every time he beats her up, but this time she is convinced that he means to murder her on her birthday. Mary tries to convince Trish to go to the police but she disappears before Mary is able to organise some help. It's a terrific read if you enjoy Mob stories which aren't too violent, and full of detail of life in the suburbs of East Philadelphia in the Italian quarter. Lisa Scottoline writes extremely well and is superb at giving the reader the feeling of being one of the locals.

He acted on Broadway with Ethel Merman and Henry Fonda, was a television fixture from its earliest days, and by the early 1980s was the first character who solved mysteries by playing with dead people. Still, mention the name "Jack Klugman", and for millions, the first three things that spring to mind is Oscar, Oscar, Oscar.

Jack Klugman was Oscar Madison for five years on ABC-TV's "The Odd Couple", a loveable slob who shared an apartment with neatnik friend Felix Unger, played by Tony Randall. In 2005, a year after Randall's death and 30 years after "Odd Couple's" cancellation, Klugman self-published this short, touching memoir about his partnership with Randall, both as fellow actors and, eventually, good friends.

The problem with "Tony And Me" is that Klugman isn't writing for the casual reader, but for someone with a vested interest in the TV show, in Klugman, or in Randall going in. If you don't know "The Odd Couple" from "Bosom Buddies" or "Waiting For Godot", you aren't going to get that much from this book. But if you are an admirer like me, you'll find this a quick read, more than a bit undernourishing in the way it comes off as transcribed casual conversation, but profoundly affecting by the end.

One interesting fact, a central one in my view though not presented that way by Klugman, is that he and Randall were not that close during the show's original 1970-75 run. "Mostly it was my doing," Klugman writes. "People don't always believe me when I tell them, but I really am a loner."

It took Klugman a long time to come out of his shell, and only when he found himself fighting throat cancer that threatened his voice and life. Yet Randall, who had of course been staying in touch and occasionally working with Klugman since "The Odd Couple's" cancellation, jumped into the breach in a surprising way, convincing the now-raspy-voiced Klugman to join him onstage two years after his surgery for a special benefit performance of the original Neil Simon "Odd Couple" play.

"In the play, Felix would yell at me for being sloppy and inconsiderate, but Tony's eyes would light up whenever I got a laugh," Klugman writes. "They'd say: 'Go, Baby, Go! I knew you could do it.'"

It's a beautiful story as told by Klugman. Reading it, the thought occurred to me that just as the "Odd Couple" TV show was a success only after its cancellation, properly appreciated only in daily doses of syndication, its two stars' friendship was likewise a slow-blossoming thing, coming to fruition decades after the daily grind of the show was over.

It's a shame the book doesn't tell more about the making of the TV series. Klugman is more interested in Randall's shared love of the theater, embodied by his leadership of the National Actors Theater, to which all this book's proceeds go. A small bonus feature is a DVD featuring six very funny minutes of "Odd Couple" outtakes. Again, one wishes for more, but of course, leave them wanting more is the credo of stage actors like Klugman. If so, mission accomplished.

I just finished reading "Tony and Me: A Story Of Friendship" by Jack Klugman and it's a wonderful dedication to the memory of his best friend Tony Randall, of whom he had the pleasure of working with in various projects for many years, including 5 years together on a TV show.

In the book he discusses the work they did on "The Odd Couple", their plays together and some personal reasons why the friendship mattered as much as it did. Their friendship is very real and he does say it grew beyond their work, and as a reader we can see how strong their bond became. He has written this lovely tribute with grace, respect and love. It's a short book, but one that I just kept reading (I finished it in 2 hours). This was a partnership that started from acting together but it grew beyond that, with their friendship becoming first and foremost. He put it best in the beginning of his book "For Tony".

I want to say thank you Mr. Klugman for sharing your friend with us. As a fan of both men I appreciate it. I highly recommend "Tony and Me". The bonus DVD is a real extra treat and it shares some funny moments....
I have a best friend too that I met while working together. True friendship is about accepting each other's imperfections and looking past the silliness we've done. Thank you for putting that in perspective. I know we appreciate this!

I recently saw Jack Klugman in a production of the Sunshine Boys and he signed my book!

Reading this book by Jack Klugman, you could almost see it written by Tony Randall. Far more vulnerable and sensitive that you would expect from the characterization we see of his public persona.

The book was very insightful and surprising on the complexity of these two individuals and the relationship they developed over the years. I was duly impressed.

He sums it up quite well at the end of the book:

"If you're like I was, or you're someone who likes to hold a grudge, or you've never really let someone know what they mean to you because you're afraid, ask yourself this question: what are you really protecting? If you look, you'll see it: nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just phantoms from old wounds that never healed. Give them up and join the people in your life who love you. Risk it all. For me, it was the best gamble I ever made."

In this, though the book is easy and quick to read, it is an epic in personal growth as well as a tribute to the effect those we let in our lives have on us.

This was a wonderful story of friendship. Jack wrote this after Tony died. It briefly tells about how they met, how The Odd Couple came to be and how their friendship became a life savor for Jack, especially after he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Tony was instrumental in building Jack's confidence back after Jack lost his voice from cancer surgery so that Jack could perform again. Tony was also helpful in allowing Jack to see how important friendship is, especially during rough times. Jack never thought much of friendships. He was a loner and reluctant to open himself up to trusting anyone. But, Tony showed Jack how much he cared and how much he was routing for him when he was trying to come back as an actor. This book is a tribute to a partnership, a very successful partnership. Included in the book is a DVD of some outtakes from The Odd Couple. This was the icing on the cake.

I have not loved absolutely everything I've made from this book, but I think it definitely deserves 5 stars. Firstly, it is a staple on my shelf. When I move back and forth for school between my two homes, it always comes with me. Also, two of my favourite recipes come from this book. And "favourite" is saying a lot when you're someone who owns over 20 vegan cookbooks. The Broccoli-Mushroom Phyllo Pie and the Sweet Potato Curry alone would make the book worth it. While I am not allergic to wheat, and while I don't have a child, I liked both these aspects of the book. I now have a better idea of what to feed my wheat-free friends. When I don't have spelt flour around, I have had no problems substituting all-purpose and whole-wheat pastry flour in these recipes. This book did, however, make my friend think that wheat-free meant gluten-free, which is not the case. Maybe this could have been made more clear.

This book has been an eye-opener in every way for my daily cooking. I own so many different cookbooks, but this and her other books are the only one I use now. Her recipes are very easy to prepare, and very very tasty! She is a busy mom for two little kids, which I also am, and her recipes are very low in fat and wholesome, which I look for in recipes. I like the way that she not only shows us how to make delicious food in the most simple way but also adds quite a few comments and notes to each recipe as to how we can re-create various other menus with leftovers. It's definitely worth it to have one whether you are a vegan or not. (My husband is a serious meat-eater, but enjoys her recipes a LOT!)

I bought this cookbook about a year ago, and we have made very many of the recipes. Everything we've made has turned out wonderfully. Instructions are clear and concise. I feel like the author wrote this book because she wants to make it easier to feed a family healthfully, and acknowledges the time constraints that come with being a parent of small children, and the need to get healthy food on the table - quickly! I also appreciate that she includes ingredient substitutions for people with allergies or intolerances. The one and only disappointment I have had with this book is its emphasis on hemp seed nut butter and other hemp-derived ingredients. I haven't been able to find any of these hemp ingredients in any of the stores where we usually shop, including our local health food store and food co-op. For that reason, there are quite a few recipes I haven't been able to try, because I just can't find the hemp ingredient(s), and I've been afraid to substitute other nut butters for fear the end product wouldn't turn out right. But, if not for the unexplainable emphasis on hemp ingredients in many recipes, we love this book. It's full of healthy recipes that are easily prepared, and that my family enjoys. Besides the hemp stuff, all the ingredients have been familiar and easy to find. I would suggest for future editions, to perhaps include possible ingredient substitutions for those who don't have access to hemp nuts, hemp butter, etc.

Vive Le Vegan! was the first vegan cookbook that I bought after becoming a vegan and although I have bought several others since then, the recipes in this book are a staple in my house. One of the most important things about the recipes in Dreena's book are that they range from moderately labor-intensive to get-it-on-the-table-now! The Cannellini bean yam hummus and creamy hummus are regulars at family gatherings now, requested by omnivores no less! The Moroccan chickpea patties and sunflower-lentil pie are outstanding as are the curries and any dessert in the book. I highly recommend this book!

I have many vegan cookbooks and, even though I often enjoy making elaborate, elegant meals with lots of ingredients, I find myself coming back to Dreena's recipes when I want something easy to prepare and yet delicious. Dreena has a knack for combining flavors to get the most out of minimal ingredients. I've made the Lemon-Herb Tofu countless times when I needed a quick dinner with minimal effort and the results are always excellent. Other favorites include the Creamy Hummus (easily my favorite homemade hummus recipe), Sweet Curry Chickpea Casserole, Lemon Rosemary Potatoes, and the Chickpea Ratatouille.

Dreena especially shines with her desserts. They are quick yet do not sacrifice flavor. She offers many alternatives to wheat-based baking (but keep in mind that it's always possible to substitute regular flour for the wheat flour alternatives she recommends); I made the gluten-free Chocolate P-nut Butter Squares for a friend who avoids wheat and they were wonderful. Her dessert recipes are "healthy" in the sense that they do not rely on processed food products like margarine, but Dreena does not shy away from using an appropriate amount of fat (in the form of canola oil) in the recipes to maximize flavor. Her Homestyle Chocolate Chip cookies are probably the best chocolate chip cookies I've had in my 11+ years as a vegan. Her Fudgy Brownies are the only vegan brownies I've had that replicate the dense, crackly-top (and not cake-like) brownies I remember from my pre-vegan days. And as someone who lives alone, I also love that the dessert recipes don't make a huge serving (although with the cookies, esp., it's easy to increase the recipe size).

Dreena also deserves credit for bringing hemp products into the vegan culinary spotlight, as hemp food products are incredibly healthful, and yet many vegans may not be familiar with them. I just made the Chocolate Hemp Squares, which were addictively delicious, and have been incorporating more hemp products into my diet as a result Vive Le Vegan.

Vive Le Vegan provides a great introduction to vegan cooking, one that will not intimidate even new cooks, and proves how delicious vegan food (especially desserts!) can be.

This review is for the Threefold Lotus Sutra...

Not great literary fare in the original Buddhist Sanskrit of previous and later Buddhist sutra standards, remarkably predictable in literary devices, it is a strange sutra that will penetrate the mind and lay dormant or wisk a person up into the air without notice. I don't know...something about this sutra. I knew the core teaching in terms of Buddhism principles, but there is something about the WAY it's written I guess that is what's driving the engine that it turns on within the reader. It's okay, go ahead and read that last sentence again.

The Buddha's true cosmological nature and role is clarified explicitly for the first time ever within this sutra, which is what makes it notable in terms of content. In terms of teaching style, it does not teach, which is equally, perhaps, what's odd about this sutra. That is to say, it does not teach, and yet it IS the teaching. This is not usual within Buddhist sutras by any means.

A strange review? Well, if you are curious enough to buy this mystical sutra (Hey, I'm paraphrasing the sutra here), you must, of course, be chosen to begin your career as a bodhisattva, like NOW, according to this sutra...so buyer beware. Buddha-to-be training may ensue with absolutely no prior notice whatsoever, and you may come face-to-face with the Buddha from time to time while reading, copying, reciting, teaching, or even owning a copy.

This book is wonderful. Shows the true buddhism.. What we fellow to this day.
How it was started and why lots of Nichiren Shoshu practices to this day. How to help others with bad things in lives in past and present day.

This is not a clued by anymeans. Nichiren Shoshu and priesthood fellow and do what Nichiren Daishonin wanted to bring to the world of peace and happiness to the world

It was easy to order and the product arrived promptly with great service if anything were to happen in shipment.

Books like this always have you wondering whether the translator has really done his/her job properly, but with this one you can rest assured that he has. I have read the original Chinese version from which the translation was done and backed it up with a comparison of the Japanese (which translates from Chinese much easier than the English) for meaning and there's little I can find to criticize. The English reads well and naturally. Nearly all the unusual vocabulary is in the glossary, but the occasional word (e.g. 'vajra') is missing. The introduction provides useful background, making the whole readable as a story. By way of criticism, the translation of the names of bodhisattvas into English seems a little overdone. A table showing the names in the original Sanskrit and Chinese versions might have been a useful addition. Overall, an extremely useful book for finding out what the Lotus Sutra is all about.

I can honestly say that over time I have cultivated a veneration for this profound sutra.
It's majesty and scope are truely breath taking.
I also accept that the key to this sutra is through faith and devotion and not the intellect alone.
This sutra will develop a unique relationship with each person that strives to unlock its door.
As the great treasure tower of Vairochana (Many Jewels) that rises up from below the earth in chapter 11. It indicates the inherent Buddhahood in the lives of all sentient beings.
It also reinforces that the truth of Buddhahood as realised within the life of the individual is equal to that of the inherent Buddhahood in the Universe.
Shakyamuni Buddha teaches that all his prior teachings (Sutras)flow into this Lotus Sutra as rivers flow into the sea.
Hence the Lotus Sutras is regarded as the King of Sutras or the Mount Sumeru of Dharma teachings.
This does not mean that sutras prior to the Lotus Sutra are not significant. Quite the contrary it indicates that all the Buddhas teachings are true and not false.
The Buddha also clearly indicates that the reason why this sutra is so mysterious and profound is due to the fact that the "Wonderful Law" of this sutra can only be fully fathomed and understood by another Buddha. Not even if all the minds of the greatest intellects for a thousand million aons were to ponder this sutra could they truely understand it!!
Hence no matter which Buddhist school you belong too or even if you are part of another religion. The truth of the Lotus Sutra is universal in its application.Svaha!The Lotus Sutra