Edward Books

The sagas were written down in Iceland as a sort of middle-ground between history and historical novel (in this way, it is not that different from the classical histories we have from, say, Rome). Although this particular saga is unusual in translation in that it occurs outside Iceland, it is part of a larger body of such works which occurred in Iceland in its day.

A number of important things distinguish this saga:

1) Violence. The Orkneys lacked democratic legal institutions found elsewhere in the Norse world and essentially amounted to a purely feudal system. Hence there were none of the checks on violence that occurred in Iceland, Norway, or Sweden.

2) Christianity. The Orkneyinga saga occurs after the conversion of Norway, and it is distinctly Christian (almost proto-Calvanist) in its outlook.

3) Location. It is the only saga to my knowledge which is set in Orkney, Shetland, and North Scotland for the most part.

Hence I think that this is an important saga to recommend all saga-lovers.

What an amazing compilation of stories. The Vikings really were horrible, just like Hagar. Written about 1100, 900 years ago, these stories tell the horrible truth about Vikings and what they did to get by, as collected by an unknown author from that time. Life was primitive, just like this book.

I highly recomment this book.

This is a marvelous book. I bought it to find out more about the people involved there during Viking times. I found all I wanted to know about that, plus I found a very interesting and entertaining read. The information contained in this saga is priceless.

I am a fan of all things to do with Orkney and Shetland. The viking history fascinates me. The complex Norwegian/Scottish history of Orkney is extremely interesting. I would recommend this book to people interested in Vikings, western European history and on the distinct culture of Orkney,U.K.

This saga cover eight or ten generations of Norse rulers of the islands north of Scotland, from the 900s up to about 1200AD. Despite its subtitle, it's not a history in the sense that modern reader might expect. Instead, it's more a series of vignettes or anecdotes, strung together in more-or-less chronological order.

Like other sagas, this was put in current form and written down by an Icelander. Until then, the stories had been part of the oral tradition. Small surprise, then, that events of minor interest were dropped and other events dressed up after the fact - despite the book's historical value, it can't always be taken at face value.

This is quite unlike Icelandic sagas in many ways. First, is that Norse paganism was largely supplanted by Christianity. Bishops appeared in positions of power, and pilgrimages to Rome were part of the tale. St. Magnus gets more attention than just about any of the other Earls, even the later ones whose stories had less time to fade.

The difference that struck me most was that, compared to the Icelanders, this was a very violent crowd. They lacked the realtive peace of Icelanders' democratic rule of law and system of courts. Instead, more depended on the authority of kings or of the best-armed thug in the region, not always a clear distinction. Many of the characters, Svein Asleifarson in particular, seemed to rely on twice-annual plundering as their major source of income. Those trips get generally minor attention, as if the vikings were shearing sheep or harvesting grain, instead of reaping plundered loot and human life. I know that peaceful times don't make history, so the stories that are kept always present a skewed view. Still, this sounds like a very different culture.

There's no real plot or character development, and names come and go at a dizzying rate. The translator has provided a glossary of personal names at the end, and that helps keep track of all the players. Still, it's a somewhat dry book by the usual standards of recreational readers.

Anyone interested in medieval Europe, Scotland or Norse culture in particular, will find a lot to like here. It's not the most exciting of the sagas, but gives a remarkable look at a powerful influence on English history.

//wiredweird

This book was suggested to me by my Pastor and has served me well. There are many good prayers and blessings in the book. A good resource for any Clergy.

My family and I have for many, many years used and enjoyed Fr. Ed Hay's book, Prayers for the Domestic Church and have gifted many, many couples with a copy as a wedding present for engaged couples that we sponsor for Marriage Preparation. As Director for our Diocesan Family Life Office, we also advocate for families using this prayer book. Just yesterday I recieved a phone message from a newly married couple saying how much this prayer book has touched their lives and thanking my husband and I for it. I have to say that I really miss the format of the original way the book was published and presently do not like the reformating of the book; maybe I'll get used to it. Is there a chance that you would be publishing the book in both formats? I am assuming that the change of format is to keep the cost of the book at a reasonable price. Either way, it is a DEFINITE all time favorite and will continue to be for many generations.

Although now out of print, there are used copies available, and I highly recommend this wonderful book by Fr. Edward Hays. My copy, which a dear friend sent to me many years ago is now dog eared and worn from much use.

I have borrowed and adapted many of these prayers for use in a vast variety of liturgies, both in my parishes and at home. Fr. Hays' creative use of words will stimulate your own creativity and open your soul to the Holy Spirit.

Fr. Hays has a new book out which I also highly recommend: Chasing the Joy, Musings on Life in a Bittersweet World Actually, I have found everything I have read by Hays to be filled with such a richness that I stand in awe of his writing and the many gifts God has given him.

The Rev. Dr. Prentice Kinser III, Author of LIMITLESS LIVING, A Guide to Unconventional Spiritual Exploration and Growth

This review refers to the 2007 edition of Prayers for the Domestic Church, designed to help those in every style of household to grow spiritually and become more closely united. In his preface to the new edition, Father Hays reminds us that the purpose of blessing objects, places, and special family times is not to change them, "but to awaken us to the already abiding Presence of God within them."

As background, Hays traces the evolution of the primal church, the home, with hearth and dinner table as its altars and family elders as its ministers. Today, he writes, we are again drawn to the home as a basic religious center for prayer and worship. He offers guidelines for getting started, such as establishing a prayer space and becoming aware of events and occasions as "sources of the domestic liturgy." The work is organized into 12 categories, each with a brief introduction followed by a variety of prayers. The section on the home calendar with its prayers and blessings for "celebrations of remembering" comprises more than 20 entries including a New Year's blessing for clocks and calendars. Other sections address meeting the sacred in our lives, praying in gratitude and praise, and devotions to Mary. A 20-plus page section near the end of the book consists of morning and evening prayers for each day of the week. Additional chapters are devoted to prayers of reconciliation within the home and blessings in times of sickness and death. Hays has also provided a topical index (for example, meal blessings and thanksgiving prayers).

Initially this work will be a rich resource of itself, but with time it will inspire original blessings, prayers, and rituals unique to those who create them.

Over the years we have bought about 15 copies of this book. Others see us using it and ask to borrow it. Of course it never returns. We have used it for many occasions and have alwsys found the right prayer. Most of all it lives up to its' title "Prayers for the Domestic Church".

I recommend it without reservation.

Deacon Bob Tomonto
Miami, FL

This is a fantastic tool for getting primary kids excited about math. My "mathletes" love the characters and fun problems.

The book is organized into chapters, with each chapter presenting a type of problem and the ways to think about that problem. And then there is a series of related story problems to solve, divided into 4 levels. For example, one chapter is about calculating whether an item (rope, building, etc) is strong enough for the intended use. Another chapter is about figuring out how much change you'd get in a store transaction. Another is percentages. Midway through, the concept of algebra is introduced and applied to the later chapters. The chapters are presented very conversationally, and explain how to think about the problem and approach the solution. They are illustrated with cartoons, and with characters discussing the problems.

My second grade daughter loves this book. She is gifted in math, and I was looking for some way to add extra challenge without "teaching ahead" in the normal curriculum. This has been great. It's not teaching new methods of computation (which she'll get in school thru the years), it's teaching approaches to problem solving. She usually does the level 1 problems with no help (but has to think fairly hard), but needs help on level 2. She is very proud of herself after conquering these questions. Levels 3 and 4 are beyond her for now. I can see us revisiting this book every year, and using it through about 5th grade.

What an exciting way to present additional math problems: the writing and illustrations capture one's attention, and the subsequent problems are at four distinct levels (from easy to very difficult. The student may solve all of the problems, or the parent/instructor can "save" those difficult levels for later (perhaps next year?) after the student has conquered certain tasks to facilitate success.

Although this may be implemented at various grade levels, I suggest second grade as the youngest starting point. You know your child best, however, and it would be wise to preview book pages at this site before purchasing.

I highly recommend this book for children in all types of classrooms: "regular" school, gifted school, and home school. It is a great supplement for students, and offers a challenge to all.

I'm teaching Challenge Math to 2nd graders and found this book to be very helpful in my preparation. This is my first time teaching this program, so, the examples, structure and illustrations in this book have come in quite handy.

My son's gifted teacher gave him homework from this book in third grade, and now his 4th grade gifted teacher gives him work from Zaccaro's next book for in-class enrichment this year. He enjoys working through it and I like the straight-forward approach and graphics. I teach and I bought it for my parent volunteer to use with our school's first grade math enrichment group. My kids love to go to group!

I recently read, The Road to Organic Growth How Great Companies Consistently Grow Marketshare From Within by Edward Hess. Companies do it by:


1. They are generally in one business most can define their business in one sentence.

2. The companies are relentlessly focused and disciplined - they do not take their eye off the ball.

3. They drill down to the line-employee level to ensure that their people understand the business and why their job is important, why certain measurements are being made, and how employees can contribute to their own success.

4. They incrementally improve with continual top-line and bottom-line initiatives by

They involve and engage their staff:

The people doing the work need to understand the business and the importance of their individual jobs, as well as how their success will be measured and what is important to the success of the business.
Everyone has to buy into a system of accountability and a culture of constant improvement.

Only by giving employees "ownership" of their jobs can a company truly have a constant improvement culture that works.

People need constant, reliable, and objective feedback in order to learn and improve. So they have a high focus on measuring results.

It was a good book - not great but just good. I did get some ideas and it was an easy, quick read. Certainly was attracted to the title.

Ed Hess' book helped me a great deal. I own/run a small business that espouses similar values that can be found in this book, but it also taught me that in our quest for growth that some of our priorities have clearly been wrong. As a result of this fine, easy to read book, I feel more confident that our company will be kept firmly on the growth curve.

G.M. Ball
[...]

This is a phenomenal work. This book provides the attributes and tools of what it really means to "grow" a business. Hess brilliantly reveals some of the most fundamental concepts that make a "great" business great. Pages full of evidence and stories about engaged and loyal people, humble servanthood leadership, dynamic client service, and clear and conscise business models will stir entreprenuers as they read this excellent volume.

Hess has done it again. The Six Keys to Organic Growth
cuts through traditional leadership thought to show what great organic
growth leaders really do - execute. This book offers terrific insight into
some of the great organic growth companies. The Six Keys to Organic
Growth should be required reading for all young executives and MBA students who want to win.

A great book! I loved it. It is broken into nine chapters as follows:

1. Why is organic growth important?
2. Discovering the DNA of organic growth.
3. The organic growth winners: Interesting Facts.
4. An elevator-pitch business model.
5. Instill a "small-company soul" into a "big-company body."
6. Measure everything.
7. Build a people pipeline.
8. Leaders: humble, passionate, focused operators.
9. Be an execution and technology champion.

Chapters 4 - 9 are the ingredients to building a company through organic growth. If a biz can be explained in a just a few words while riding up an elevator, then it's leaders/managers can probably focus well on growing the business from within. If a biz is comprised of workers who care about the company instead of just showing up to work and collecting a paycheck, then the business will probably grow from within. The business will probably also have a pipeline of new managers if the employees care about coming to work for reasons other than just collecting a paycheck. These are the types of things discussed in the last six chapters of the book.

Generally speaking, companies either grow through "organic growth" or by "mergers and acquisitions." Many companies grow by using both methods, but the author only discusses the organic growth method in this book. There is talk that growth may take place by playing accounting games and engaging in financial manipulations. However, this really is not a method to create growth. Manipulations are just that - shifts of revenues and expenses from one accounting period to another. If there is gain today via manipulation, then there is going to be a loss next week or next month - guaranteed.

A small company soul is what this book is about. And I really enjoyed reading it. I liked the list of "Growth Questions" at the end of each chapter. They helped pull the chapters together for me. If you are putting together a business plan for a start up company, then I recommend you read this book. You will want to incorporate many of the ideas and concepts discussed here into your business plan and your implementation of your business plan.

I would have liked the book better if the print had not been so large. And since the spine of the book was not all that thick I got the feeling that the book was padded by increasing the font size of the text. The book could have been longer if there had been more examples of real world situations regarding what was being discussed. And I would have liked a chapter comparing organic growth to mergers and acquisitions. To discuss organic growth as the best way to grow a company, and to ignore M&A's as though they were a bad way, just didn't feel right to me. In fact, M&A's are a great way to grow a business. But the book was well-written and informative. 5 stars!

I have about 20 books on the Titanic and had lost hope that I would find anything new about this sea disaster.This book tells everything about the Californian's role and uses facts to back up every example. I loved this book!!!!!!

The only reason this book got 4 starts instead of 5 is the slight anti-American tone at times (for example, the US inquiries are treated as a almost a joke) and something in this much detail could not help but be tedious at points (the discussion of "port" and "starboard" lights comes to mind),but it is extremely well-done, leaves no point untouched, examines minutely any evidence in Lord's favor, and comes to the point of the matter- he saw what he knew "might have been" distress rockets and did nothing- and really, that is the end of it.

I think you should not only read this book, but the other side of the story to get a full picture - A titantic Myth. I think Lord is given too much blame. He was the scapegoat, and he was not given his full rights when the US interviewed him. That is without a doubt a fact. However, I can't help but believe he could have done more. However, he wasn't the one who hit an iceberg, nor the one who lost members on his ship.

No matter what your view is on this particular aspect of the Titanic tragedy, you cannot help but be impressed by this book. This is, without question, one of the best-researched Titanic books ever written. If you happen to come across this rare gem don't hesitate to pick it up, because it's likely that you won't see it anywhere else!

One may wonder why a book like this should have to be written. Clearly Lord is guilty as sin! On that cold April night he just didn't want to be bothered with a strange ship firing rockets in the distance. It was easier to do nothing, hoping everything would go away. But it wasn't so easy or comforting to deal with the blame that fell on him. How dare we blame such a responsible captain? But the facts are there. Reade goes through them step by step like a first class lawyer. This must be done because many still feel that Lord did nothing wrong. Like OJ Simpson's defenders, they believe what they want to believe. My only fault with this book was that it was not the thriller other Titanic books have been. It tended to bog down in jargon and nautical language.

My Dad bought this book when I was a kid over thirty years ago. He never got as much out of it as I did. I'd spend hours looking at the many firearms listed in this large volume. It got me started in collecting old military arms and I refer to it still to this day.

This was purchased as a gift for a person that had been looking for it for several years; he is very pleased with it!

I highly recommend these Small Arms of the World books, due to the good coverage of Curio and Relic firearms, how you can take them apart to clean them, how they operate, pictures of individual weapons, interesting diargrams of some popular guns, and just simply the most information you are going to get on semi-automatic and full automatic firearms, at least that I can find. Seems that especially machine gun technology is some kind of restricted information somehow, at least in newer books, but at least these Small Arms books can help a former U.S. Army machine gunner like myself understand a little better how the guns I was checked out on,actually worked in principle. So, if your quest for knowledge is machine guns, then I defintely recommend these books. And if your quest for knowledge is Curio and Relic classified firearms, then especially the older versions of the Small Arms books are what you need. The newer ones kind of water down really old technology, while paying special emphasis on what was hot technology at the time, like a early seventies Small Arms will talk in depth on current American small arms like the M16, but will have minimal space on bolt action rifles, for instance.
I definitely recommend the 1969 9th edition as a good all around "get you by", if you just wanted one edition on older Curio and Reic Firearms, if you are a collector of Curios and Relics like me.

Small Arms of the World: A Basic Manual of Small Arms
is a classic. it is one of the best fireames books ever made, it is a real pity that it is out of print. they realy should rerelease it, I know I would buy it.
But until that happens I'll just have to keep getting it from the library.

If I could only have one firearms book I would choose this book hands down.

For the person interested in modern military small arms, this book is the place to start. It presents the material well, with good photographs, understandable diagrams, and interesting text. Hopefully an updated version will come out someday, but I don't think anyone will regret buying this one now. In fact, I have an older edition from the 1960's that I treasure for it's better coverage of now-obsolete firearms, special emphasis on World War 2 German designs, and more complete history of firearms through the centuries. This edition, on the other hand, gives more attention to weapons developed during the 1960's and 1970's. No doubt, after some future edition finally brings us up to date on modern high-tech weaponry this book will still be a valuable snapshot of the variety of arms in use throughout the world during the final decades of the 20th Century.

I highly recommend this book as the starting point for a good understanding of the small arms field, or as plain old good reading for the relatively technical-minded gun enthusiast.

Great read, but it jumps around a little too much. There was a lot to be said but not enough pages.

This is without a doubt one of the best L.O.T.F.R. books written by Edward Blume. A new writer to the series, he does the already fantastic series justice. Taking place a little after "The Lion" this is the prelude to the for winds saga. I look forword to reading the next books in the series. I would recommend this book to any one interested in Asian folklore books.

The Steel throne is a very excellent book. Takeing place a little after the lion, Mr. Blume does an excellent job re-creating the mysticical land of Rokugan. At the back of the book it tells about each of the main characters so even if you forgot what happened or never read the origanal books you can get a good idea of what happened. I would recommend this book to any one that likes a book with acton, adventure, and a good plot that takes place in futile Japan/Asia

As has been mentioned on some listservs, this book has certain continuity errors; this is to be expected, as the book is produced by Wizards of the Coast, while Alderac Entertainment Group now handles the story. But, contrary to the dire criticisms I'd seen, the divergences did not hurt the book much. There were definitely some scenes I would have liked to see that were not included, but then again, this was only one novel :) It is not a great work of literature like Faulkner, Dickens, or Proust, but it is engaging and interesting, especially for a "gaming book". I also greatly enjoyed the human-human conflicts (okay, human-back from the dead human) as opposed to the clans versus the overwhelming evil story of the Clan War storyline. Overall, I have to give this book a very high recommendation!

Having read them all, I'd rate The Steel Throne in the Top 3, along with The Crane, and The Dragon, in no particular order.

While the previous 7 books in the series deal with the doings of one main character within a short timespan (a few months, at most), this one spans the decades long conflict known The War Against Spirits and there is no main character. Instead, each chapter centers on one character, then jumps forward one month, or several years, to the next. This, far from being confusing, makes for an entertaining and dynamic read.

When dealing with game-based fiction, or shared-world fiction in general, one must thread carefully the narrow line between fulfilling reader expectations and crafting a compelling read, with a few surprises to boot. In my opinion, Mr. Bolme has succeded. Most bases are covered, questions long raised are finally answered, and a plot and characters only hinted at in one-liners on a piece of cardboard are made alive in this most satysfing novel.

Edward L. Beach is easily one of the top five most fascinating people I've ever had the opportunity to know. A friend of my father's, he would keep me on the edge of my seat during lunches and later, as I got to know him better, at Navy functions I would arrange for him.

Even so, I wish I could say he was a man of singular bravery and heroism, but as I've gotten more involved in the submarine community, I've come to realize that he was but one among many of dedicated men who served in the "silent service." Sadly, there are many like him who didn't make it through the war, and their bodies were claimed by the great deep, which was their home.

This book is a written legacy of times past, of men who lived, fought and died in the depths of the sea. Ned Beach was a man who, though he is gone, left his story for future generations if they will but read. When he served in the Eisenhower Administration, Beach would return home each night and, using a pad of paper and a clipboard, write at least one page. The story he wrote was the best selling RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP. He was criticized by the Navy at the time because they saw it as a self aggrandizing work, something he wrote on the job. They were wrong on both counts. Beach drew on what he knew and had experienced, and his work paved the way for future submarine thrillers, some great and many more not so great.

SUBMARINE! is like listening to Captain Beach relating the story of his life aboard subs. From the first time he saw TRIGGER moored at the docks, and he found himself wondering if it might be his coffin, to the time he learned of her loss with all hands on board, the story is one of love, honor and the tragedy of war. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I consider myself a WW2 buff, I never really got into Submarines until as another reviewer pointed out, til I got the Silent Hunter 4 PC Game or simulation.Submarine life in WW2 must have been rough to say the least.
I wanted to educate myself further as to what these men went thru in WW2 and the Submarines they dedicated there lives too.
Submarine by Captain Beach was a great start as he introduces its readers his own Adventures aboard Trigger,Trante and the Piper. Throughout the book in different chapters he tells it readers about the Great WW2 American Subs such as the Wahoo, Tang Etc.
It set the stage for me at least to continue reading the books dedicated to each boat such as the Wahoo, Batfish, Tang..
Nothing but respect for these fine men that Served.

I picked up this book after seeing a recommendation over at the SubSim gaming forums. Being a fan of the Silent Hunter 4 submarine simulation game, I wanted to learn more about how submarine warfare really was in World War 2. Needless to say, hearing the stories from someone who was really there is incredible.

Edward Beach does a great job of describing life on a submarine. Everything from the utter boredom of fruitless patrols to the sheer terror of being depth charged by multiple enemy destroyers is here. I particularly like how the book is divided up. Every other chapter talks about a particular ship's triumphs or tragedies, while the chapters in between discuss the USS Trigger, a ship on which Mr. Beach spent a great deal of time.

If you like World War 2 history, and you want to learn more about US submarine warfare during that time, this book is for you. It's a book that I found very hard to put down.

You could populate a small city with people who were introduced to submarines with this book and an even larger city with those that stuck around for Ned Beach's subsequent works. I have recently re-read this book after who knows how many years and am blown away by all of the aspects that pulled this thing together! The writing is as knowledgeable as it is visceral, it packs a punch like a torpedo's warhead! It is also personal, technical, emotional and (auto)biograhical as Beach weaves his own story into that of the greater "silent service" of the World War II years. The book staggers the experiences of Beach's boats against those of notorious skippers like Morton, Dealey, O'Kane and others. There is a small amount of sanitizing of events (guess which!) which is understandable given the original date of publication. You owe it to yourself to re-read this epic! Lucky you if you are a first-time reader, it won't be your last!

I have read many books on submarines and how they were used in World War II, and this book gives great short stories on some of our best subs, interwoven with stories of the author's own sub. This book will lead you to want to find out more about the other subs in the book, and get the full story of their exploits.

The portrayal of our defense industry in this story is unfortunately accurate. We have placed so much emphasis on "smart weapons", that we have forgotten the real effectiveness of our military. The action and pace of this book will keep the reader enthralled and they will not want to put it down.

In an author's afterword, Peters decribes this book as his homage to Chandler, Hammett and Cain, which it most certainly is. But there's no overt emulation of the style of any of those authors; what one does experience is the exhilarating momentum of plot, vivid characterization, and the acerbic wit that those authors brought to bear in their work. Peters' protagonist is an honorable man making his way through a chaotic present, similar to Philip Marlowe in Chandler's novels, with a comparable eye and ear for the "luminous detail." And the first-person perspective makes for some great interior monologue throughout the book. Readers who are dismayed by the lack of moral center in the books of such authors as James Ellroy might find Peters' writing a worthy alternative.

I've read almost all of Ralph Peters' novels, and this is probably my favorite to date. I passed it over in hardcover--frankly it didn't sound very interesting. I couldn't have been more wrong: it's one of the best written, engrossing novels I've read in a long time. Peters is one of the few military thriller writers that can name drop Thomas Hardy novels and actually make us believe his characters read them. I know what a cliche this sounds, but I couldn' t put it down. Peters has within him his best novel yet--some day he'll write the Once An Eagle of his generation of officers.

I just finished another excellent novel by Ralph Peters --- Traitor (hard cover).

I placed it at the bottom of a stack of books I brought home from the library, two weeks ago. I generally put his books at the top of my reading list, but the cover art was so impressively unappealing and the title so blasé that I almost took it back to the library unread.

It seems to me that Mr. Peters has proven his ability to write exceptional, and well plotted, thrillers. Why would anyone stick such an uninspired cover on a truly extraordinary read?

If someone likes Clancy, Higgins, et. al. they should love Ralph Peters.

After 25 years in the defense industry, watching the Services buy big things they don't need while neglecting small things they do (like enough pay so the troops don't have to be on food stamps), it continues to disturb me that the American taxpayer continues to allow Congress to sell out to what Ike Eisenhower called the "military-industrial complex". TRAITOR could have been a documentary. This is a great novel, thrilling and unpredictable, but it is also based on the real world and all the more gripping because of this.

Well laid-out book with awesome pics and logical flow. Definitely a professional work. It does not get very deep in explanations but there is enough material for a novice to get started. Overall: VERY GOOD!

A friend and I are taking an intro to astonomy course and this is one of the recommended texts. I can certainly see why. It's a very clearly written work with a heavy emphasis on planetary and solar astronomy and a lucid discussion of stellar objects visible with personal telescopes, subjects that the noviate astronomer is most likely to find of interest. The author also dedicates two chapters to the subject of theoretical astrophysics at the very basic level of cosmology, ie) the theory of the origin, the possible ultimate destiny of the universe, and the liklihood of the existance of coevil universes parallel to our own. Dickinson also throws his lot in with those who would believe in UFOs, to the extent that while he doesn't believe in the sightings people report--however well meaningly--he does believe that intelligent life is out there and may well already know of our existance. He gives a thorough and lucid outline of why he believes this to be the case. He also summarizes the SETI project and the ultimate change in position on this topic of high visibility astronomers like the late Carl Sagan, Iosif Shklovskii, and Ben Zuckerman. A very interesting book, and one that whets the appetite for further information.

I have always been interested in astronomy and just recently picked it up as a hobby. Terence Dickenson does a wonderful job conveying concepts to the average person. He has made it so easy to understand and so interesting it is difficult to put the book down. The pictures are perfect for those of us with little imagination. My ten year old is even reading it with me. Excellent!

For the layman who is often intimidated by the scope of astronomy and science in general, this book is the ideal place to get started. I've been fascinated by the universe and outer space for as long as I can remember. There is nothing that is quite as majestic and beautiful in the physical world we observe as the unimaginable grandeur of the universe.

The book starts out with a good general overview and then starts out from home (Earth) and then gradually moves out towards other objects in the Solar System, the nearby starts, our Milky Way galaxy, and ultimately out to the farthest reaches of the universe (quasars, galaxies out in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field), examining the deepest cosmological questions.

The writing is non-technical and is easy for the uninitiated to understand. There are plenty of the latest breathtaking photos from the Hubble Telescope as well as clear illustrations. I bought a copy for my mother who has never delved into astronomy and she advised me that the book has been most enjoyable and that it opened her eyes to the wonders of space that she had never known about.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in astronomy but never had the chance to really dig in for whatever reasons. I also recommend this book to the experts who want to encourage their loved ones and friends to appreciate the universe as well. It makes a great gift to high school students, parents, and friends as well. It's one of those books that people will refer to over and over again and contemplate our place in this amazing structure we know of as the universe.

I have never, and I mean never, had my mind blown as much as when I read (still reading, will never stop reading) this book. I can't believe the pictures in this book. You think you've seen everything insane and out of this world there is to see and then you open this up. Ever seen one galaxy side-swipe another galaxy? The images in this book will change you, you will never be the same. I feel so small yet I feel like I'm part of this insane monster of a grand scheme. The descriptions are fantastic, you need no prior astronomy/science education to totally immerse yourself in the cosmos. Starting from earth and reaching out to as far as we have gone this book reads as if you are the explorer aboard your space craft taking it all in for yourself. There isn't a dull second during this read. Every paragraph will make your mouth drop. Realize the creature around you that is your Universe.