Close Books

I voraciously read all of von Daeniken's stuff when I was a kid, and thought it was all great stuff. Then, in high school, I got ahold of a slim little number entitled _The Space-Gods Revealed : A Close Look at the Theories of Erich Von Daeniken_, by Ronald Story, and in the span of a couple of hours saw the chariots of the gods tumble into the sea. My first real encounter with the power of rational thought (something not taught in school, in my experience to that point). I have to admit, though, that von Daeniken, on top of all the science fiction I read, did help to solidify my budding atheism, and for that I suppose I owe him some credit.

This is a hilarious and brilliantly-done refutation of Erich von Daniken and the whole "gods from other worlds" con. Among other tidbits, Ronald Story reveals that von Daniken's core "ideas" were borrowed from other writers. He also reveals how far von Daniken strays from scientific method when presenting anicent-astronaut theories, how far he strays from scientific fact, and how relentlessly he substitutes assumption and supposition for evidence. We are given the facts behind the construction of the Easter Island statues and Egpyt's pyramids, as well as explanations for cave-paintings of "astronauts," one-eyed Martians, etc. The book's only fault lies in its assertion that ancient-astronautology is some kind of pop religion. To wit, from the chapter "The New Mythology": "The ancient astronaut theory does seem to represent to many people a solution to the uncertainties that now plague the world." It's too bad that something so silly and specious must follow many pages of meticulous and thorough debunking, but the reader can always skip the occasional mundane digression. This is a skeptic's-bookshelf must.

Tom Lang's book lays the out stick and cane techniques in a format that a beginner can follow and understand, but he doesn't talk down to the advanced students. The format of breaking down the techniques into steps is not new, but adding a list of common mistakes and adding his personal commentary is more what I expect in a training seminar rather than a book. This format makes this book far more user friendly than the other books on stick and cane in my collection.

The illustrations include excellent close-up shots of hand and wrist position which reduces some of the uncertainty for the beginner and the number of techniques presented provides a good core of locks, chokes, takedowns and disarming techniques for beginning and intermediate students.

For the students looking for more intermediate/long range techniques, the Tom Lang Martial Arts web site has information on striking techniques.

I just wish Tom had expanded on his chapter on "less than reliable techniques." After spending quite a few years working with a cane and finding out the hard way how many of the techniques taught are too slow, complicated or easily countered, this type of information is invaluable and saves precious training time and effort.

The book is not error free and even with the Errata provided, some of the publishing omissions may confuse a beginner until they think about. For someone with a background in stick and cane, these publishing related errors may not even be noticeable because we're used to filling in the blanks when we run into them. These are minor problems, but probably obviously frustrating to any author.

While the cost is a little bit more than I would like to pay, I see it as money well spent. I will definitely recommend this to my students and will be using much of what I learned from Tom Lang's book in future training.

This book is really great. The humility of the author and his writing style are excellent. The techniques are well described and the pictures are clear and well sequenced. The high point of this book is the author's exploration of techniques that are questionable or perhaps weak combat techniques. The reality of this sort of discussion is that it exposes the depth of his knowledge, which can only come from trying a technique over and over with different training partners.

There is lots to play with here, so be prepared to spend time to learn the material. You will not be disappointed. It's a great follow on to Hatsumi's book.

TFOS is perhaps the top comedy roleplaying game I have ever played. It's amazingly simple and easy to get into weither you're experienced or new to the roleplaying genre. DEFINITLY a must buy.

The premise of this game is very simple. In the universe, aliens were hatched, budded, born, burst out of a host chest, etc. Learned a job, did that job, and then died. Then aliens discovered our very own Earth, and most of all Teenage culture. Suddenly an entire generation of aliens discovered they too, were teenagers. In a heartbeat Earth schools become overcrouded with aliens wanting to be cool like the Earthlings. With great writing, dirt simple and easy to learn rules, and intelligent human and alien powers. You cannot go wrong pickin up this game RIGHT NOW!!!!!

The Unicorns and The Angels[Former Unicorns] both get German Measels,The Unicorns get Quarintined in Lila Fowler's Mansion,and The Angels get Quarentined in The Wakefield's house.The Unicorns treat Kimberly like a queen.

This is my favourite in the UnicornClub series.Elizabeth and Jessica are arguing so they have seperate slumber parties.Anyway,both sets of teen girls come down with measles and must be..what waas that word again?...isolated will do..isolated from others and stay put wher they are.So what follows is lots of fun and lots of fights.

I thought this was a really good book. I learned alot about Oprah's life, alot of things I did not expect. Up Close books are great books and I would recommended all Up Close books to anyone intrested in reading.

At first we may thought about Oprah, a pure TV product...but the book is a wonderful story about a born poor, black, woman, a rebel who was suffering during her childhood but Oprah is a God's child and has been supported once she was a young woman. Why? How? read the book and you will know a compassion and authenticity.
I am a leadership expert and can tell you how I was surprise of her simple way of life: perseverance!
I was living the story of Oprah Potter! but harry is only a fiction, OPRAH is GENUINE.
Dear Oprah, with all my love for what you have done and continue to do.
You are a role model and it is just the beginning!
Prof.Franck Renand
Thank you for your attention. franckrenand@yahoo.fr
Oprah Winfrey: "I Don't Believe In Failure" (African-American Biography Library)

This is a wonderful collection of letters from my grandfather to my grandmother during WWII. Just a wonderful slice of family intimacy in the mist of crazy times. This volume was edited by Hal Close (my father) and will appeal especially to the Closes & Spitzers. This includes many images and reproductions of the actual letters, all of which add to the feel of that time... great for families, historical societies and WWII enthusiasts!

Truly compelling, V-Mail: Letters to Luette is a unique collection of letters that gives a fascinating account of life in Europe in the months just before the War ended as well as the short months that followed. Poignant and at times, funny, Joe Close gives us a side of the war and a side of what it was like to be an American in places like England and Germany that falls outside of the familiar academic discourse. Many families have these kinds of letters kicking around an attic or basement, we're lucky Hal Close chose to share what he had with the rest of us. A must read for any World War II historian.

For technology lovers and technophobes, and even for those who don't think about the man/machine relationship at all, Stone's book offers intimate accounts of how humanity is dealing with the computer age. Some are anecdotes, some are discussions of theory, and there is a corporate history of Atari that had me on the edge of my seat (really). War of Desire and Technology is a quick and fun read that gives you much to think about

Allucquere Rosanne Stone is one of the most fascinating writers in this moment. Her book, "The War of Desire and Technology" explores a changing world, in transicion between science and mythology. As Orwell and Huxley warned about, our world is fastening its pace around the axe time and place. Machines and tools are executing the utopias, making dreams and nightmares come true. Stone's book is a challenging book, with questions and a few answers, a book for seekers and poets. The encounter between feelings and facts is described by Stone as a meeting between two worlds in permanent fight, two pictures painted by blind painters, who has never seen any colours. The War of Desire and Technology is a book about nomads and cyborgs, lonely hackers and autists, leftovers from the time before the beginning, when the earth was new and the ages were newborn.

I really enjoy John McPherson's humor! He has a great talent for turning common, everyday events and topics into hilarious comedies! I started reading his early comics that were published in Campus Life magazine and have been an avid reader ever since.

If you are a Close to Home fan you can not go wrong with this book. I LOVED the mamogram one!

Our company has made this book required reading for all salespeople within the organization. If you're a SR sales person or new to the business Tim's book will be entertaining and helpful. His motivational techniques and situational selling principles will be an asset to any level of sales person.

As a Sales Manager I found this audio book to be a valuable sales tool. I highly recommend it to anyone in sales, no matter what the product.