J Books

This book is well written and easy to understand. The explanation of how the various parts of the brain and how to get your brain working for you was very good. An easy read that doesn't require a psychology degree to understand the material and how to use it. I have used some of the described exercises to help my clients envision their future the way they desire it to be.
I recommend this book highly!!!!

I am a high achiever and always looking for an edge. This book was excellent, simple and easy to follow. The exercises were relevant and contributed to the learning and integration process. It had a profound affect on multiple areas of my life!

Not a bad book at all. The author has done a superb job in approaching the bad habit problems we humans have developed over our lifetime into another way of thinking about it. I think if you are like most people and have tried everything out there including reading various books on goal setting this one might be worth trying. It has helped me, I'm not completely there yet but I feel I am at least on the right path.

This is really one of those you can change your life books that actually work. I loved the way it was written and I really felt like she cared about me. I would highly recommend for anyone who wants to make some changes in their life but is have a hard time doing so.

I'm someone who spent years stuck in a rut. I spent a lot of time wondering why I never got anything done but never did anything beyond wondering. I've spent the last few years turning my entire life around. I quit drinking, quit smoking, started working out, started taking my job seriously (which has garnered me two promotions in three years), and generally started taking charge of my life and I've found that I love getting up and getting to it every day. Something I never could have claimed before in my 30+ years. A lot of these changes have been hard work. I've read a LOT of self help material and found hidden gems here and there. I only wish I had found THIS book years earlier. Everything I've learned. Everything I've known. It's help me put all of that into action. Have you ever run across a situation where you KNOW you could teach the world how to do something but you just CAN'T do it yourself? Well, this is the book for you. I'm on my second time reading it and I just bought three more copies, bringing my total purchased to eight. I've given them away to a lot of the people I kind of left behind when I started changing my old life. Even the ones who don't read are reading it. I've seen weight loss, better jobs, less stress, less anger, reduced drinking, happier relationships... all as a result of things myself and these people have learned through the steps in this book.

If you find yourself in a rut and just can't seem to move forward. Or even if you're doing fine and think you might just need a little push. This book is a priceless work.

Thanks to the author and good luck to everyone else who reads it!

This third book in the tale of Urza the Planeswalker is much better than the second, Planeswalker, and possibly even better than the excellent The Brothers' War. Picking up where PLANESWALKER ended, TIMESTREAMS tells of the continuing war between Urza and the minions of Phyrexia. Similar to the previous two books, this one spans around 50 years of time, skipping multi-year periods in which armies are built and characters grow older, resulting in a action-packed and exciting read. J. Robert King is a very talented writer, bringing the world of Dominaria to life like few (if any) other MTG authors have.

Most of this book is taken up by battle sequence after battle sequence, with Urza's armies of students and artifacts fighting off a never-ending stream of attacking Phyrexian mutants. While there is action galore, this book also introduces some great and intriguing characters. Jhoira, Teferi, and Barrin are Urza's disciples and proteges and are each developed into believable and highly individual characters that you'll really get to know as the story progresses. Karn, a silver golem that appears in a number of other MTG books (Rath and Storm, Mercadian Masques, and others), is created by Urza in the first chapter, and much of the book is devoted to developing his personality and purpose. The idea of Urza's Legacy, including Karn and the Weatherlight, is also developed here.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about this book is the exploration of time rifts, where the flow of time is either faster or slower than normal. King does an excellent job of making this concept seem somewhat believable and uses the rifts masterfully to make this story one you're not likely to forget. I'd feel comfortable saying that this is the best MTG book I've ever read.

Highly recommended.

This is where so many of the characters are developed that lead to the other series. Seeing the obsession of Urza as he seeks a way to destroy Phyrexia and his interaction (or lack thereof) with those around him made the story compelling.Great addition to the cycle; I just wish Jeff Grubb or J.Robert King had done the second book in the Cycle.

This book was pretty good,... I felt that this novel was very choppy. Years would pass all of a sudden, leaving you to wonder what happened during that period of time. I'd lose interest sometimes, leaving the book to sit for weeks before picking it back up again. Despite these faults, I really liked the concept of the "Alliance" of races, and I thought the battles were well written. I'm glad Yavamaya finally got some attention as well. Hopefully Bloodlines will keep my attention better.

This book is so refreshing. Some of the recent MTG books I've read have been rather dissappointing (Mirrodin cycle and Kamigawa cycle) compared to the beginning of the entire series (Brother's War, the Thran, the Ice Age cycle). This book is one of the best of the series... I think I enjoyed it more than the Brother's War.

It gives the a good glimpse into Urza's mind and world post-"insanity." His research is interesting, his artifacts are very cool, and his "relationships" with his students is ever awkward (but then again, how in the world can Urza Planeswalker carry on with mere humans). The metal golem, Karn, also plays a very powerfuly role in the book, exploring his purpose in the world and his role in Urza's plans. He is trying to discover, dare I say, his "humanity."

The whole time manipulation plays a very interesting role in the book, and as always the phyrexians are punks to the very core. I thought it was so facinating how the phyrexians were in a different time speed than Urza's school and the problems that resulted because of this.

I recommend this book to everyone, MTG fan or not. It is fun and interesting. J.Robert King writes a very compelling story with relatable characters on the verge of destruction.

I read this book during my lunch breaks while I was teaching SUmmer School. I found it extremely enjoyable and I particularly liked the way he used time paradoxes when he described the Time Bubbles.

Very Good. My students liked it too.

Great book. Was recommended reading for a college class. Class or not, excellent book. A must read for all pilots.

It's a very good reading for flight enthusiast, simple yet complete; not so good for aviators or flight ground school. Only drawback: the cd is very poor, since its contents are little more than the book figures. A short index of turbine airplanes could be more up-to-date and more detailed.

Very informative book, a must have for any pilot transitioning from pistons to turbines. Each chapter gives precise details of what the airlines would ask you about systems etc...

If your looking for a good way to learn about turbines and advanced flight principles, this is the book!! It covers things ranging from a turbofan engine to pneumatic systems to flight controls to FMS systems! Great book to be pre-studying for that airline spot!

This is a great product and I highly recommend it for anyone that is transitioning to turbine equipment, weather it be turboprop or turbojet/turbofan. This easy-to-read book made it easy for me to understand the new equipment that I'll be transitioning into. I read this book right before i started ground-school for my type-rating and I was surprised at how much easier it was for me to grasp the material... The ASA version is the same as the hard-cover version which sells for $25-30 more and the material is the same... There is a cd included that is excellent because it has animated examples of the material in the book.

I am still digesting "Ulysses." I read it while walking around Dublin a few years ago. It was marvelous to trace the steps of Leopold and Molly, and to see what they "saw," but the novel remains a distant pleasure to the reader. I must admit it is not the most accessible book ever written, but it gets four stars for its intent ... and that it is better than "Finnegan's Wake." Be warned: This book is not for the casual reader. But this annotated edition makes it all worthwhile. You'll get genuine, comprehensible guidance. If you must read "Ulysses," this edition might be most helpful.

This book was a shock to me. It's not just a book of annotations, it's also a history of Ireland, literature, language, and nearly everything else Joyce decided to allude to in his masterpiece. I never would have guessed that just reading the annotations (without the source text) would make good reading, but that is certainly the case here. You do not by any means need this book to enjoy Ulysses, but it does give remarkable insight into the mind behind it

Gifford's book offers fascinating glosses and contextual annotations for Ulysses, but was not quite what I was looking for to help me with my first attempt at the book. The annotations are mostly disjoint explanations of specific allusions and references.

There are other guides to Ulysses that are better suited for the novice Joyce reader, helping the reader to keep track of the plot, the progress of the Odyssey and Hamlet corelations and explaining the shifts in style through the book. This kind of hand-holding may be unnecessary for more sophisticated readers, but for my first read, it was essential!

Just a heads up that this is NOT an annotated edition of Ulysses (as I mistakenly thought in purchasing)(duh). It is 600-some pages of notes only and does not include the text of the novel.

When I first tucked James Joyce's ULYSSES under my arm, Don Gifford's ULYSSES ANNOTATED was tucked under the other. (My biceps became very well developed because of this.) It took me an entire summer to read the books side by side but how worthwhile it was. Gifford's essential line by line, almost word by word, guidance made ULYSSES less overwhelming than if I had tried to tackle it alone. Once I got through ULYSSES the second time (the following spring) I was able to go to the more overarching analyses of Joyce's masterpiece. Stuart Gilbert's ULYSSES and Richard Ellmann's ULYSSES ON THE LIFFEY were particularly helpful.

The book is very inspiring and useful especially to those who are at the crossroads of their lives. It's a life-giving book and brings you closer to God. In fact, a friend who's in her challenging stage in her life is using this book.

This book presented itself to me when I was deep into a project and just needed some factual answers. It's only 94 pages. I thought I could read it very quickly.

Ha.

It did give me answers, but it wasn't a quick read. It was the kind of book that had me reading a page, then pacing the floor, waiting for the million thoughts it excited to settle down so I could read the next. This went on for a week. And then I read it again, and read it out loud to friends. The cheap copy I bought is already wearing out.

What's it about? Simply, it's about the ancient practices of the Desert Fathers, of solitude, silence and prayer, how and why they came about, why they are needed now, and how they can be made to work in our crowded, noisy, distinctly non-contemplative lives.

The thing that first got my attention, was Nouwen's description of the problem of worldliness in the church, our tendency to think the way everybody else thinks. Worldliness, not simply in the way we've all come to see it, drinking and carousing, that sort of thing. He talks about the sneakier form, the kind that creeps in without our noticing, that has us convinced that what makes us valuable, what makes us worthwhile, is what we own, what we have accomplished, and what people think of us. Take those away and we have no reason to exist.

Think what that does to us. Think how it drives our choices, how it colors our view of others.

That's what began to get my attention - but I knew the book would be precious to me when I read the story of St. Anthony, who after some twenty years of practicing the disciplines of solitude, silence and prayer was finally able to pray genuinely - talking to God as himself, not the person he thought or wished or hoped to be. When he rejoined humanity, his very presence was healing to people because at last he could look at them with clean eyes, he could really see them as they were, not as accessories to his own self esteem.

Can you imagine how that way of being would change everything?

Buy this book. If you can, get a good strong copy. It's going to have to hold up to much reading.

This book is about how people who are engaged in active work to help others also need to spend time in prayer with God so that they can be more peaceful and more in touch with who they are and who they need to be.

This is a book that should be required reading in highschool or maybe earlier.

Had I previously investigated the author and the content, I wouldn't have purchased WOTH. Nouwen draws heavily from the "Desert Fathers," a group of hermits who lived in a Middle Eastern wilderness during the Middle Ages. They based their philsophy and practice of spirituality not only on the Bible (which is why I awarded two stars instead of one) but from eastern mysticism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. If you want to learn more about the beliefs of these mystics, it's an excellent sourcebook. As a reformational Christian, there wasn't much in this book I can recommend to those seeking to know the God of the Bible.

I found this classic in the library the other day and what a treat it was to read. To read--but not to accept. It's a sad but inexorable fact that editors today are more salesmen and paper pushers than shapers of authors. What comes through in Berg's fine biography is that writers like Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolf would likely fall through the cracks if they toiled at the desk now. Although Perkins is best known for his troika (the first two authors mentioned) and Hemingway, I had not known that he was largely responsible for Douglas Southhall Freeman writing his multi-volume history of Robert E. Lee. This superb work is as disciplined and fascinating as its subject.

Max Perkins was the great editor at Scribners who handled quite a few of the finest writers of the twentieth century, F. Scott Fitzgerad, Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe being especially noteworthy (and dealt with at length in this biography). One might envy such a man with such a job, but Berg makes it clear that having to deal with the likes of these authors was like walking around with a huge millstone around Max's poor neck. His job was endless and thankless (Wolfe actually betrayed him). You see from the many letters quoted that many of them are blatant pleas for money. Saying that Perkins had to coddle some of these authors like children would be putting it mildly. Berg does an admirable job relaying Perkins's life and hard times. Recommended.

Berg's work rallies all aspiring authors to the cause of sainthood for Max Perkins...maybe even deification. He tracks Perkins's career vis-a-vis the literary careers of important 20th century American authors. Gives a peek at the largely ignored man behind the curtain...and stands as a monument to his contributions to our literary heritage. A must read for anyone who enjoys books.

Scott Berg's biography of Max Perkins is a warm, sparkling account of America's greatest editor in the prewar period, the midwife for works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe in the twenties and thirties, when big-time publishing converged on New York. Berg's book is cunningly organized: the reader steps at once into the rough and tumble of editorial work at Scribner's, leaving Perkins' early life, marriage, and family to be described in concise digressions taken only after we get another satisfying dollop of publishing history. Unhappily, once Perkins has delivered his discoveries to the public, the rest is mostly about their boozy extravagance (Fitzgerald), bullying ego trips (Hemingway), and petulant indiscipline verging on insanity (Wolfe). So even if, for this reason, you stop two-thirds of the way through, your curiosity about this key figure in modern literary history will be very well satisfied.

This is a wonderfully written book, very informative and inspiring for authors, editors, agents and anyone else involved or interested in publishing. Berg does a terrific and subtle job of painting these larger than life characters, allowing their own letters to speak for them. He shows remarkable restraint and good taste and yet has created a book that is enriching and very difficult to put down. Highly recommended!

I could say so many things... and the other reviewers have said plenty.

Instead, let me tell you how this book makes me feel, and please let me use this words: I WISH I COULD TAKE THIS BOOK WITH ME WHEN I DIE AND BRING IT BACK TO MY NEXT LIFE, I MEAN, TO BE BORN WITH THIS BOOK IN MY HANDS (LITERALY) ALONG SIDE MY OTHER FAVORITE BOOK "THE YOGAS AND OTHER WORKS" BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA.

If the information that this books has is taken to the heart, then, you will become the "master of your own destiny".

Here is a glimpse, but, do not read lightly... furthermore, is you don't read slowly, you will miss the "in between words" enlightenment. One sentence is the equivalent of pages, if not entire volumes! How I wish I could have read these books (Vivekananda's and Weed's) as soon as I learned how to read when I was a child!! (Inside brackets is mine):


****************************************

What is the difference between good and evil and how may I distinguish it? ...A good thought, wish or act is one which conforms to the law of nature; evil is that which is at variance with nature's law. As to know the law-this requires the application of intelligence and good judgment. In the ultimate you will only know the law, really know it, through your own experience. However, you can learn it much more quickly and save yourself grief if you will accept and act on advice from more advanced souls who have already traveled along the road through life and encountered the same problems that beset you.

It is very difficult for us to see ourselves as we really are. We have been conditioned from earliest childhood to ignore all but the most vigorous and solid impacts upon our consciousness. We are trained by life and by our elders to be materialists. Small wonder, therefore, we give so little value to the spiritual and attach so much importance to the physical and its correlative emotions. Since that is true for all of us, it is foolhardy to ignore the physical or, worse still, try to pretend it does not exist. Far better, give it full recognition and use it as the foundation upon which a higher awareness is built. This deliberate expansion of consciousness is a step-by-step progression along a path for which this book serves as a guide.

So this book deals in facts and offers instruction only in those skills and abilities that have been successfully demonstrated by men and women like yourself.

Every man, woman and child in the world is advancing and developing, whether he or she realizes it or not. For some the rate of progress is slow; others go along at an average pace, a few are far out ahead. Each person is different. There are no carbon copies. Some strive to improve and others care for nothing but their own physical satisfactions. Those who want to develop and really try soon outdistance their fellows and come earlier to a true understanding of life. Their open minds, their intellectual curiosity and their persistent efforts bring them eventually to a Teacher who can lead them on the path to illumination and Cosmic Consciousness.

No one is contacted by such a Teacher until he has trained himself and is ready for the disciplines involved. You have often heard, "When the student is ready, the Master will appear." The important word in this promise is `ready.' No one is ready by accident or by gift of Divine Providence. You get ready by training yourself, by study, by practicing certain exercises and by becoming skilled in the prescribed mental techniques. Along with this must go better understanding of who and what you are and why you do the things you do. All this, plus discipline and self-control, is part of the process of "getting ready." [all contained in this book]

We learn by doing-so waste no time. If you would discover your hidden abilities and put them to work, start now. Thoughtful experiment and persistent striving are the keys. You must do. The techniques have been given [in this book]. Your rate of progress is now up to you.

Chapters:

1-The human body: How to understand yourself and attain harmonium
2-The principle of Karma: How you can make and remake your future
3-Birth, Death and Reincarnation
4-The power of thought: First steps to the control of your destiny
5-The power of thought: Physical-Etheric and emotional energy
6-The power of thought: Controlling mental and psychic energy
7-Healing through the power of psychic energy
8-Understanding the Law of Cycles
9-The power of prayer
10-How to understand and use telepathy
11-How to generate and apply psychic energy
12-Achieving psychic development
13-The secret of psychic projection
14-The Rosicrucian way of life

****************************************

Here, I will remind you of what Buddha said (extracted from Karma Yoga by Swami Vivekananda and The Secret Doctrine by H.P. Blavatsky): "Believe not because some old manuscripts are produced, believe not because it is your national belief, because you have been made to believe it from your childhood; believe not because a holy man preaches you; believe not because of holy books; but reason it all out, and after you have analyzed it, then, if you find that it will do good to one and all, believe it, live up to it, and help others to live up to it."

Now, the fact that you are reading this review, and probably you will read this book, means that you want to advance faster by trusting others; otherwise you will be learning by your own experience and would not care to do this (read reviews, books, and follow someone else's advise), so, I'll say this: read the book and put it into practice, just like Buddha suggested. Take what is useful to you, leave what it is not... no matter what, I assure you, this book will help you change and shape your destiny immediately!

Again, a word of advice: don't read it lightly... read it and re-read it, and then, read it again, and again. Every time, you will discover something new!! Don't forget to read in between the lines.

It is well known that H.P. Blavatsky made only two books of the "Secret Doctrine", and she said that the third one was almost ready but never got published. She did hint that it was going to deal with the psychological (in a very esoteric yet practical way) aspect of man. I don't know what she wrote in that third book (I have an idea though, and it has nothing to do with the "third book" of the Secret Doctrine that has been published by Annie Besant) but this book "Wisdom of the Mystic Masters" and "The Yogas and other Works" by Swami Vivekananda (both books) can very well take its place.

For those who want to start on the mystic path and would like to save years of hard search and "trial-and-error"... this is your book.

Here you have a little more from the same writer... and it is free (write together everything inside quotations):

"www" period and then "arosicrucianspeaks" period and then "com" and "/index" and finally ".html"

Mr. Weed is a former Rosicrucian Grand Councilor who has written other, less pithy books as well. His "A Rosicrucian Speaks" is very different & IMHO far less valuable than this masterwork. I believe Mr. Weed was strongly criticized by AMORC for publishing this book which succinctly reveals much private information that Rosicrucian students receive over years of study & practice--it was felt that people were not ready to receive this information in such a condensed format-- p. 167: "The unknown is always discovered through the known. This is the way we learn." In accordance with Mr. Weed's several warnings, beware of delving too swiftly into these practices. As he states, p. 123: "Energy that is built up demands release, & if we do not open doors for it & guide it in the proper direction it is likely to break out in an undesirable way." Patience & a step-by-step approach is strongly recommended. Some of the teachings in this book, though based on Rosicrucian principles, are specific to Mr. Weed, but this does not detract from them as he was an accomplished Rosicrucian. Topics in the book include: harmonium, karma, reincarnation, types of energy, thought, healing, the cycles of life, prayer, telepathy, developing psychic ability, & psychic projection. I agree that many people could be successful in such practices. Whether people are ready is another story. Still, if you find this book & really practice these techniques as given, you are probably ready. I would also recommend reading the works of H. Spencer Lewis, former Imperator of AMORC, for further information, esp. on "The Cycles of Life." For more on Rosicrucian philosophy, see the works of his son, Ralph M. Lewis.

This book is written in a concise, yet easily readable style with many experiments/exercises. I notice many parallels with Tibetan Buddhism herein. For example: p. 6: "From the very beginning you must learn to be more aware, not less so" & p. 168: "Energy flows from you to whatever you direct your attention [kavvanah]. We can also turn our attention to Great Beings that do not ordinarily manifest in physical form & from them receive a corresponding return of high grade energy which will stimulate & rejuvenate us in every way, physical, mental, & spiritual." This reminds me of Kabbalistic kavvanah (intention) as well as Tibetan Buddhist guru/deity yoga. For the right student, this is a great book. Even for an accomplished Rosicrucian, it's a wonderful refresher. It is NOT a new age book, but is, rather, based on old, tested, efficacious principles.

I read a friend's copy of this book and was so impressed I had to own my own. I've seen some of these principles before, but it is laid out very concisely and easy to handle. I love the "homework" problems which bring it out of theory and into your day-to-day life. Two thumbs up to Joseph Wood.

Very good book, many of the reviewers have already stated what I would say as well. One thing I would like to mention, is this book contains exercizes for developing one's psychic abilities, and although one may find them a bit out of the ordinary from what they hear today, Mr. Weed is very reputable and his words can be trusted.

Being a neophyte myself, it takes a leap of faith to fully embrace the ideas Weed presents in his book. For instance, he talks about using the power of thought to control your destiny and sending/ receiving telephathic messages. Such ideas defy reasoned thinking, so in a way its almost delusional to accept everything at face value. I've tried to keep and open mind yet proceed with caution.

Believe me, I would love to surrender my skepticism. But, instead I have chosen the hypothesize, test, and evaluate what Weed has to say.

With that said, I am entirely fascinated by the idea of studying one's own thinking process in the techniques he has provided.

The writing style is concise and easily understandable. Well written!

The only thing that could have made this book more enjoyable was if it listed an index of all the meditation techniques. This is because Weed includes them within his writing. As you begin reading you may want to jot down a list of all the practical techniques as you go (at least the page numbers).

Its hard to describe but the meditation techniqes Weed provides for releasing positive and negative energy really worked (for me). Also, they were easy to do. I really feel its a strategy that will help one control his/her emotions and bring them to a steady equilibrium (harmonium). I have to give Mr. Weed credit here. Chapter 1, How to Understand Yourself and Attain Harmonium really worked! Though, I suggest you decide for yourself.


The Amazon testimonial for this book is gimmicky and the same one that appears on the back cover of this book. It promises wealth, power and happiness! Weed's own writing doesn't quite match that tone. Instead he provides compelling techniques that are easy and enjoyable to work on. Wealth, power and happiness ends up being more of a side-benifit Weed mentions. You don't have to worry that Weed is giving you a sales pitch the whole book. He doesn't.

(You will not find a history of the AMORC or other Rosicrucian orders in this book. This book really is a self-study guide.)

In a way, I almost suspected a slight sales campaign for the AMORC in this book. To paraphrase, he often makes the comment "only students of the AMORC will have full access to the monographs that teach this [or that] lesson." What I mean, is there is a bit of an enticement for the reader to explore more about the AMORC. However, this may simply be my perception.

My hope here is that my review tells the skeptic "Don't worry, its ok to be skeptical and keep an open mind too." I hope what I've said is helpful.

Weeds book deserves 5 stars. Its earnest, sincere and well written.

Good Luck finding your path in life!

-AO

MY kids liked this book pretty good. It is a bit hefty in pricve but it is good.

Book arrived when expected and how expected - can't expect much more than than!

My four year old daughter and I love this book. If you're looking to buy a preschooler a story for Halloween--this is the one. It has witches, magic, and some not too scary mischief. It's quite satisfying and teaches that what goes around comes around. The book is even endorsed by former President Jimmy Carter!

Alice and Greta arrived serendipitously the same day that my son got in trouble at school and therefore lost privileges at home. Until we read this book together, he was having a problem understanding why talking too much at school meant he lost TV at home. Once he learned "The Brewmerang Principle" from the book, however, he got it. Now, he begins each day stating, "I'm going to be like Alice and do good things for people so that good things happen to me. I'm NOT going to be like that bad Greta." In addition to the great moral, the illustrations are very attractive, and kids who are interested in magic will love the story just for that aspect. Highly recommended for young readers.

Magic and wizardry are just some of the thing's you'll find in the book called Alice and Greta by Steven J.Simmons. This story is about Alice who is a wich and does nice thing's for people and girl named Greta who is also a wich and does mean thing's to people.
So if you like magic, you'll like this book. I like this book because everything that Greta did to people comes back to her in the end. So the lesson you learn is it doesn't matter what you do to people it will always comes back to you.

I concur with most of the points addressed by earlier reviewers, and found this book to be one of the best about history that I've read. Many of the letters were eye-opening, detailing facets of America's history of which I was unaware. As an example, I found the letter detailing the My Lai Massacre both illuminating and horrifying. The letter from Roosevelt to 'The President of The United States in 1956' honoring the first American soldier to give his life in WWII is one of my favorites, along with the letter to the Warner Brothers from Groucho Marx that an earlier reviewer mentioned. A few additional thoughts:

1. The choices of letters from the 1990s were the weakest of any decade. I suppose that's to be expected in the days of e-mail, chatrooms, and the demise of the letter writer, but I'm sure there were better selections than one detailing the results of testing performed on the stained blue dress worn by Monica Lewinsky, or the letter to a Star Trek fan.

2. The majority of the letters related to negative aspects of the century, which while powerful to read made it a bit depressing to read more than 30-50 pages at a sitting. As the various forms of media have always realized, bad news makes for better stories than good news. I wish, however, that there would have been more letters evincing triumphs, humor, and/or optimism. Such letters were in evidence, but not in abundance.

3. I agree with an earlier reviewer that noted the liberal bias of the letters selected. There appeared to be an inordinate amount of 'coming out' selections and letters voicing disapproval of the System. They were important letters, however, that gave me a different view of the country's past.

4. One of my favorite history-related books is A People's History of The United States by Zinn. This book of letters reminded me of that text, required in a college history class.

Overall, I strongly recommend this collection to anyone interested in the history of 20th century America.

This is a collection of over 400 letters that attempts to summarize the century using such. It's a fool's errand, of course, but this is a valiant and fascinating effort.

Some of the letters are famous ones: Einstein alerting Roosevelt to the possibility of developing a nuclear bomb, Martin Luther King writing from the Birmingham jail, and Nixon's terse letter resigning the presidency. Others are less-known but still from famous people: Mark Twain complaining caustically about the inefficiency of telegrams, Charlie Chaplin ecstatic about his first movie contract, Bill Gates trying to discourage early software piracy.

And others are from and to obscure people while still being remarkably telling: an immigrant writing to his relatives about his new life in America, a Jewish woman writing of her experiences being captured and interrogated by the Nazis, a letter left at the Vietnam War Memorial, an erstwhile Compuserve user giving up on his connection problems when confronted with technobabble in response to his request for help. It's really a fascinating read, a hodge-podge of life across the century, from mundane domestic problems to the key issues of the day. My only complaint is that there's a bit of a liberal bias, with plenty of letters describing the hardships of the downtrodden masses and not a whole lot celebrating human ingenuity and accomplishment. But perhaps that is a telling point as well, considering it's a bias that has dominated this century.

This book is a wonderful collection of stories from every year of the 20th century. The authors of the letters are famous people and ordinary citizens. These letters express every human emotion love, loss, triumph, joy, and hope. This book is a pleasure to read.

My favorite story is about a young woman writing to her best friend about her bad marriage. Her husband is physically abusive to her and her son. She yearns for the courage to escape and become an independant woman which she eventually does. Another story by a young man who actually survived the sinking of the Titanic He writes his girlfriend about his experience of getting off the ship and waiting to be rescued.

There is a letter by a woman in Hawaii to her brother in Ohio. She recounted witnessing the bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War 2. She recounts going to a bomb shelter and depicts the commaraderie among the people of the time.

There is a Dear John letter addressed to Ernest Hemmingway from a nurse who cared for him while he was wounded in World War 1 He loved her but their relationship was a mere fling to her. She lets him down gently. This relationship inspired Hemingway to write the novel The Sun Also Rises. There is another letter written by a young unwed pregnant woman in the 1930's seeking advice from a doctor. Her father has no knowledge of the pregnancy and her mother is dead. She has nobody to turn to and her desperate plea for guidance is very touching.

There is another poignant letter written by the sister of a Vietnam Vet who died from lymphnoma as a result of exposure to Agent Orange. She expresses her disbelief, loss and sorrow to an anti war group. There are several stories written by expectant parents to their unborn children. Each letter is filled with anticipation and hope. Buy this book. You will never be able to put it down.

I did not expect to like this book. I had avoided reading it for some time, thinking it would be dull, pedantic, not worth the effort it might take to read it, and generally unpleasant.

I am so glad I found out I was wrong.

It's actually enthralling, well-done, and a worthwhile addition to anyone's library. I am not generally fond of ultra-personal non-fiction, or of the twentieth century in general, but _Letters of the Century_ overcame all of my doubts. The explanatory paragraphs and notes are extremely helpful; the letters are generally of medium length, diverse in subject matter, and uniformly fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it.

Every library should have this treasure. I can't think of any book that is as immediately accessible or as fascinating to anyone who reads it. It's a fun way for anyone to learn about America's last 100 years. It's a great gift for a teenager who may consider American history a sleeper subject; it can help put all the facts into context. I wish I had this book when I was in high school!

It's worth picking up a copy, alot of information in there. Good thick book. Glad i bought it.

This book must have taken a life time of research and work. It is the most comprehensive and complete work on the Maya I have read. I was particulary interested in the Maya Calendar history and their methods of working the calendar.

This is by far the most comprehensive book about the ancient Maya. There are several excellent shorter ones; this is the go-to book for thorough reference. It has become almost as "classic" as Maya civilization. Sharer reminisces about being "hooked on" Maya studies by the third edition (by Morley and Brainerd, 1956); so was I, back when it was newly minted. How much has changed since. Scholars can now read Maya. We now can match written history, sculptured portrayals, and archaeological findings to identify the actual skeletons of some of the greatest and most famous Maya kings, such as Yax K'uk' Mo' of Palenque. We have entire dynastic lists covering centuries, for many of the major cities. We can use bone chemistry to find out what the Maya ate. All of this was almost beyond the wildest dreams of the 1950s.
The Maya turn out to have been as brilliant, original and creative as anyone ever thought, a truly homemade civilization, one of the few in a tropical forest environment. They are said to have "collapsed" due to ecological maladjustment, but this book notes that modern research shows the civilization lasted well over 1,000 years before the "collapse" around 900 AD, and it was a fairly local phenomenon. This local collapse was due to drought, warfare, and some ecological overshoot--too many people doing too much (including burning too many trees to make lime for stucco and cement). The Maya kept on. They took on the Spanish and often won. The last independent state held out till 1697, and Maya continued holding out in remote backlands; in 1846 the Mexican Maya rebelled again, and created an independent state, finally reconquered after 1900 and turned into the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. As for what has happened since, suffice it to say that 3 days ago I saw an election sign painted in huge letters on a wall in central Quintana Roo: "PRESERVE YOUR PRIDE IN BEING MAYA!"
There are very few errors in this book, but some need correcting in the 7th edition. Most are in the very early sections, and are often left over from previous editions. Page 5, 16th-century Europeans are said to be "secure in the knowledge that they alone represented civilized life...." No, they revered China, and knew plenty about India, Persia and Arabia. P. 9, coffee is said to have come "soon" with the Europeans; not till the 19th century, at least as a major crop. 23, Nahuatl loanwords reflecting rise of central Mexico in the Postclassic: Well, a lot of those Nahuatl loanwords came with the Spanish (who had Nahuatl soldiers with them). Page 33, caiman: The book confuses the animal called "caiman" in English, an alligator-like creature not found within hundreds of miles of Mayaland, with the crocodile, which is called "caiman" in Mexican Spanish; also, pythons are claimed as native to Mayaland! The nearest they get is Africa; evidently "boa constrictors" are meant. Then nothing till page 640, where a typo (apparently two decimal places missed) has given us a preposterous yield figure for beans (in the table at the top of the page). The yields of maize are also pretty high, though not ridiculous. There are a few other errors in the book, but nothing of consequence that I can pick up.
The book uses the "new" transcription system for Maya languages, but sometimes slips and uses the "old" system, and sometimes mixes them up in the same word (e.g. "dz'onot" on p. 52). One related annoyance--not Sharer's fault; alas, it is becoming standard--is respelling "Yucatec" in the new transcription system. "Yucatec" is a SPANISH word, with no excuse in Maya, and should not be respelled. (For the record, the Spanish coined "Yucatec" from a misunderstood Maya phrase and a Nahuatl ending. They also popularized some Nahuatl ethnic names for Maya peoples. These names, like Huastec and Aguacatec, should be spelled in whatever system in now standard for Nahuatl--not in a Maya system. Better yet, they should be replaced with the actual Mayan names, like Teenek for Huastec.)
The one place I would respectfully disagree with this book is on ancient Maya population. Sharer has "tens of millions" of Maya in the 700s AD and around then. On the basis of some years of field experience with (mostly modern) Maya agriculture, I don't think this is possible. Granted that the old myth of purely-swidden agriculture is long dead, "tens of millions" would require agricultural intensity of a sort found, in preindustrial times, only in the wet-rice lands of east and southeast Asia. Mayaland is small, and only some of it is at all fertile. Sharer's evidence is a couple of surveys showing high densities of settlement in particularly favored areas; not only are they atypical, there is no guarantee the houses discovered were all occupied at once. I would guess the peak total for Mayaland was between 5 and 10 million; at least, the agriculture I know would support that many, if it had some additional intensification of the sort well documented. Beyond that, all is speculative.
One more thought. The Maya were supposed to be "peaceful" back in my student days. Then, with reading the Classic Period texts, scholars found they were pretty warlike. This led to some exaggeration the other way. Fortunately, Sharer is far too careful and comprehensive a scholar to fall for either the "peaceful" or the "warlike" view. The "warlike" view was justified by the big monuments in the Maya city squares. These commemorated wars and victories, just as do those in town squares in the midwestern US. Alas, we lack the ordinary writings--the equivalent of midwestern newspapers, with their record of marriages, births, corn and hog prices, store openings, and the like. Surely the Maya had their equivalents. What interests me here is the incredibly long life spans of Maya kings. Many lived, and even reigned, for 50, 60, even 70 years. Compare that with the Roman or Chinese emperors or the kings of France. Clearly, Mayaland in its glory days was a pretty peaceful, healthy place--though, indeed, not the paradise dreamed by romantic archaeologists of the early 20th century!
The ancient Maya are still a pretty mysterious lot in many ways, and there is a huge amount to learn. We had better do it soon. Sharer provides a long, excellent, very disturbing account of the looting that has destroyed much of the Maya heritage and will destroy all of it (at least in Guatemala) if a massive effort isn't mounted soon.
On the other hand, nothing is more heartening than the number of Maya who are becoming archaeologists and ethnographers, and studying their own past. More power to them.

Had this book been less than half its size readers would end up learning much more about the Maya from it. Unfortunately, there's much too much that belongs in an Archeology 101 class here and by the time you get to some discussion of the Maya, you're half asleep. Those of us who are not reading archeology for the first time will wish the author had just kept his discussion to the Maya, as the title suggests he will, and assumed we understood the basics.

Personally, I'm still looking for a book on the Maya so that as I travel from site to site in Quintanaroo, Yucatan, Guatemala and Honduras, I will have a basic understanding of the site I'm driving to. I just booked a trip that will book me in the area of Chac Mool soon. I'll see what I can find.

By far the most thorough book on the Ancient Maya I have ever seen. It covers all the history and gives a great deal of arceological information. There is also a lot of information on the religious, social, and economic life of the Maya. The book covers in great deal the history of each Mayan polity and it is very well organized. If there is anything you want to know about the Maya it will be in this book.