Lawrence Books

I am doing historical research on Italy and Sicily and this book gives a wonderful view into the lives of ordinary people of the Sicilian countryside. Very frank accounts that are not sugar-coated.

The perfect book for the avid reader, these are well written and enjoyable. These tales bring a flavor of life to the reader that is rare in writing today.

This is a wonderful little collection of short stories by the Sicilian author Giovanni Verga. I had never read any Sicilian literature before Verga, and I'm so glad that I started with this book! It has further piqued my interest in Sicilian culture and the Sicilian language. Verga uses his words very carefully in order to paint the pictures of the sorrows, joys, sufferings and moments of rejoicing in eastern Sicily. This is definitely worth the money for anyone who is interesed in Sicilian or Italian literature.

The whole world is a small town is a sicilian phrase that means no matter where you travel, people will be basically the same. Reading this work by G. Verga gave this saying a whole new meaning for me. I learned that people in Sicily are basically the same today as they were 120 years ago. Giovanni Verga was born and lived in a small town in Sicily called Vizzini. This is the same town that my parents are from. I have spent many summers with my grandmother there. The distant past was always portrayed as somehow better by my grandmother. According to her, our ancestors did not succomb to petty human weaknesses. After enjoying these short stories I realize that my grandmother remembered her youth more with nostalgic fantasy than historic accuracy. This work wonderfully portrays human motivations, strenghts and weaknesses. It was a wonderful revelation to realize that the whole world is a small town, not only in the dimension of space but also in the dimension of time.

When I was producing a video biography of Longfellow for Macmillan/McGraw-Hill in 1992, I needed a one-volume selection of Longfellow's poetry, and this book did the job very nicely. It includes Longfellow's best-known poems as well as two others that were never published during the poet's lifetime but must be classed with his finest work. The introduction by Lawrence Buell provides a useful biographical sketch and a thoughtful discussion of why Longfellow--the most famous American of his time--is not more widely read today. Buell's observations may get you thinking about this schoolbook poet in a different way.

Longellow is the poet of the American public school. 'Evangeline' 'The Courtship of Miles Standish' 'Paul Revere's Ride' ' The Village Blacksmith' ' 'A Psalm of life' and others. His reputation in the nineteenth century was great and overwhelming. Yet his reputation in the realm of poetry today is not with those artists of the canon, Tennyson and Browning in England, and Whitman and Dickinson in the United States. Perhaps it is because his poems are taken to be not inventive enough linguistically. Perhaps it is because the very thing many have praised him for his musicality seems today to be less than the irregular music of a Hopkins or Dylan Thomas.
In any case in Longfellow one will find sound solid lines, a certain moral stance , a kind of American integrity. For someone like myself reading Longfellow is a nostalgic trip and a new perspective on what I read so long ago. He has much to give even if it is not quite at the highest poetic level.

I love this book it is something that men and women would enjoy. I have tons of information on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow because our house is a remake of his he lived from 1807-1882. If I were you I would buy it I am the biggest fan of his I have every single book of poems,songs,and more on him in paperback and hardcover. Buy it!

Whether you are simply exploring an interest in poetry or are a seasoned reader of the great poets, Longfellow's poems will move you. There is a poem in this collection that is perfect for every mood you could be in. If you are down and need to be lifted up, if you simply want to smile about the beauty of life, or if your heart has been broken, Longfellow's works will speak to your heart. Longfellow's works have spoken to my soul as no other poet or writer has ever before.

Earley was trying to write a history of turpentining. What he ended up with was a spectacular essay on the natural history of longleaf pine forests, the human history of the forested south, an essay on conflicting views in forestry, and....oh yes...turpentine!

Reading this as an ecologist, I found everything I wanted with just enough of the human element to flesh it out without boring me. Oddly enough, I suspect those reading this from an anthropological view have the same opinion about the natural history aspect of the book. Earley is that good in weaving his tale.

It flows well, is well organized, and the research and references are stunning. Twenty-three pages of references make me wonder how he ever finished the book. (In his acknowledgements he seems to wonder the same thing himself!)

This book belongs on the shelf of every forester, ecologist, and southern historian. I'm just thankful I stumbled across it on a rainy day in Congaree National Park.

mr. earley goes deep into everything you could want to know about this native tree species,a cornerstone to both the natural world of the southeastern united states and the economic growth and development of the country as a whole.......he tells all about the past history,present day status,and projected outlook of the longleaf pine tree:it's one-time dominance of the coastal plain landscape,compared to it's present day status;all about the naval stores and timber industries,and their heavy dependence upon it that led to it's near demise and current numbers;and the changes in land management of the longleaf forest and it's various ecosystems,with much insight to the controlled burning philosophy that has gained in popularity during the last 50 years or so.....with photos, including some impressive shots of long-gone virgin growth trees dwarfing the grown men standing among them.

For years I have been concerned about the disappearance of the South American Rain Forest. What was shocking from Earley's book is how we had our own expansive Forest with it's own ecosystem and let it disappear before our very eyes without anyone noticing.

It is not only a wonderfully told story of the Longleaf pine but it is a genuine history of how the South's economic development between the time of the settlers and up until today nearly destroyed it's most valuable resource and the ecology that was a part of it.

The only problem with this book was not being able to put it down after I started reading it.

This book is as accurate and detailed as any scholarly paper but is written so well that it is certain to be a classic of literature like Archie Carr's "The Windward Road."

I LOVED this book!! I thought the author captured life as it really was in Baton Rouge, La. in the mid '50's!! And,yes, as your reveiwer said, it sounds like "Pleasantville", and it was, except for those who were trapped in mental illness!! Her contrasts of those who were allowed to "run free" and those who had "special needs" is really the heart of this compelling and heartwarming story!! She portrayed this loving, once happy family who was torn apart through ignorance and fear, and the GOD-AWFUL SOCIAL OUTCAST horror,in a loving and yet painful way!! And, yeh, folks, that's the WAY IT WAS in So. LA in the 1950's!!! NO ONE was mentally ill!! NO ONE committed suicide!! At least in "nice" families!! Thanks to Ms. Lawrence for helping us remember that maybe some of our "old thoughts" and values aren't quite so CORRECT anymore, and that those of us from this Faulkner-esque mentality from the South should re-think it. I have to give her many thanks for her portrayal of the mental institution and long-time care facility in Livingston Parish that I THINK she is speaking of in this book!! If not, then many thanks to her anyway for bringing a long-time problem to light!! A 60yr old reader from CT who grew up in Hammond, LA.

I can't believe this is the same book that the editorial reviewers so rudely panned! The story was riveting and very well written. I can't remember the last time a book affected me so deeply. I picked it up off the new book shelf at the library on Saturday morning and finished it in tears Saturday night. The characters are still with me as I write this on Monday morning. I highly recommend it.

I picked this book up at my local library without much hope of entertainment -- which is why, after all, most of us read in the first place. Sure we hope to be enlightened, but in the end the book has to be in some way enjoyable otherwise any truth becomes insufferable. But this book and these characters held my attention. Lawrence manages to mingle heartbreak and hope in a way that is neither absorbingly heartbreaking nor neatly hopeful. One of the reviewers noted a "stilted" style. I found the style a terrific reflection of the main character's stunted development, and in any case, it isn't an affectation, just a subtle quality that denotes the trauma Bonita faces as she carries on her life in the face of family secrets and family burdens. Overall, a good read from a writer of great promise.

After reading some of the critics' comments (as opposed to customer reviews), I have to wonder if the same book was released to the public as was sent to the press. I found Carole Lawrence's novel far from `stilted' and `hackneyed' - I thought it a well-written story, one that is both entertaining on the surface and potentially eye-opening for those who have not had the experience of dealing with people affected by mental illnesses. Reading this book is an experience that could very well lead the reader to a greater understanding and empathy for those of us among us who are touched by mental disease and disability - and allow them to be treated more like human beings and less like freaks.

The cruelty perpetrated on Mary Gabriel in this novel - not only by the neighborhood children and her classmates, but by well-meaning but ignorant and prejudiced adults as well - is hard to watch, but it's unfortunately not too far-fetched. `Kids can be cruel' is the excuse too often mouthed by those who would just as soon ignore the problem when it arises - but there is a lot of guilt bubbling under the surface of the Gabriel family, and it causes a lot of harm when it's ignored, or when it's dealt with in an inappropriate manner.

Dr. Gabriel is like many physicians of his day - suspicious of psychiatrists, seeing them as out to steal the patients of general practitioners and place the blame for the mental illness of children on the shoulders of the parents. Dr. Landry, the psychiatrist who lives across the street from the Gabriels, is firmly ensconced in the professional beliefs of the day (the 1950s), and holds firm that Mary's mental illness is a direct result of a lack of proper attention by her mother. Medical professionals today believe that schizophrenia and other mental disorders are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, some of which might be hereditary. Ironically, Dr. Landry's pronouncement that Mary's mother is to blame for her daughter's disease is - somewhat obliquely - pointing in the right direction. However, suggesting that Mrs. Gabriel's mothering skills - or lack thereof - are to blame for her daughter's condition placed an unbearable amount of guilt on the shoulders of the mother.

Dr. Gabriel himself is not much more help. Eager to keep Mary's problems `within the family', he lays far too much of the burden of her care on the shoulders of Bonita, her older sister. The effect of this on Bonita is shattering - when something bad happens to Mary, she feels like it's her fault, that she's let both Mary and her family down. This guilt piles higher and higher within her until it wreaks its havoc on her own psyche - it's a sad but inevitable result of placing too much inappropriate responsibility on a child.

The author utilizes two time planes in relating the story. One of them is told in the first person by Bonita, and is set in the present day. The other is told in the third person, set in the 1950s, when Bonita and Mary were children. Even though the 1950s portion of the story is told in the third person, the author skillfully - and wisely - gives these chapters the voice and innocent outlook of a child. The time frames alternate from chapter to chapter very effectively, allowing the reader to follow events in the present day and understand what has happened in the past that shapes them. The characters are fully developed - and the author has treated the character of Mary Gabriel with incredible respect and love. She is believably depicted as a schizophrenic patient, and the scenes involving her as a child are heartbreaking - but she is never treated as a caricature, never ridiculed by the story (although she suffers several indignities from other characters). She comes across as her own `whole' person - and it's easy for the reader to understand how much people like her deserve more dignity than they receive in this world.

The tension in the story - both parts of it - builds nicely. I thought I could see where the 1950s story was headed, but some clever (and completely plausible) twists by the author surprised me nicely. The part of the present-day story wherein Bonita comes to terms with her sister's condition at last, and recognizes the place they have in each other's lives, is particularly moving.

This is a book that could be valuable to mental health caregivers - maybe not the doctors themselves, but those who meet the day-to-day needs of mental patients. It's also a very entertaining read for the general consumer.

This book provides an excellent discussion of key economic principles needed to make managing cybersecurity resources more effective. I really liked the nice examples provided throughout the book. The examples reinforce the economic concepts and applications. I foresee this book becoming a prime reference for me.

Managing Cybersecurity Resources (MCR) is an excellent book. I devoured it in one sitting on a weather-extended flight from Washington-Dulles to Boston. MCR teaches security professionals how to think properly about making security resource allocation decisions by properly defining terms, concepts, and models. The only problem I have with MCR is the reason I subtracted one star: its recommended strategy, cost-benefit analysis, relies upon estimated probabilities of loss and cost savings that are unavailable to practically every security manager. Without these figures, constructing cost-benefit equations as recommended by MCR is impossible in practice. Nevertheless, I still strongly recommend reading this unique and powerful book.

My favorite aspect of MCR is its explanation of economics and finance terms to the security audience. I felt like applauding when I read on p 47 "[M]any managers... are merely calling the IRR an ROI or ROSI (return on security investment). Given that the concepts of "return on investment" and "internal rate of return" are well established in the accounting, finance, and economics literature, as well as among nearly all senior financial managers (e.g., CFOs), security managers should be careful how they use these terms. Indeed, misusing these terms can only lead to problems for the security manager." (See p 45 for a comparison of ROI, IRR, and NPV.)

In a similar fashion, MCR explains what a "return" is for security on p 21: "The benefits associated with cybersecurity activities are derived from the cost savings (often called cost avoidance) that result from preventing cybersecurity breaches. These benefits are difficult, and often impossible, to predict with any degree of accuracy. Moreover, since the actual benefits are conceptually the cost savings associated with potential security breaches that did not occur, it is not possible to measure these benefits precisely after the security investments are made."

What of "investment"? Pp 28-30 say: "[O]rganizations tend to treat the bulk of their cybersecurity expenditures as operating costs and charge them to the period in which they are incurred," unlike capital investments, which "represent assets of an organization that should appear on the organization's balance sheet." The authors recommend us to "view all costs related to cybersecurity activities... as capital investments with varying time horizons."

So what is a cost? P 5 says "The cost of information security is essentially a negative network externality associated with the Internet... [It] arises when malevolent individuals and organizations [which the authors properly label "threats" on p 12] join the network, thereby imposing costs on all well-intentioned users. These costs take the form of losses caused by actual security breaches plus the cost of actions... designed to prevent such breaches."

P 30 wisely states "[N]o amount of security can guarantee that breaches will not occur... The goal of the organization should be to implement security procedures up to the point where the benefits minus the costs are at a maximum." The footnote on p 31 continues with "An alternative way to view this discussion is to think of the goal as one of trying to minimize the sum of the costs associated with cybersecurity activities and the costs associated with breaches... the optimal level of cybersecurity for an organization would be the same under the cost minimization goal as it would be if the organization were to maximize the net benefits." I think most managers prefer to think in terms of cost minimization, which is a prevalent throughout IT.

Costs are dissected on pp 56-58: "The direct costs of cybersecurity breaches are those costs that can be clearly linked to specific breaches... the indirect costs of cybersecurity breaches cannot be linked... Explicit costs of cybersecurity breaches are those costs of breaches that can be measured in an unambiguous manner... implicit costs are opportunity costs (i.e., costs associated with lost opportunities), which cannot be measured without ambiguity... the benefits derived from spending funds on cybersecurity activities come largely from the cost savings derived by avoiding the implicit costs of breaches."

Page 63 explains why companies have "Chief Privacy Officers" and the like, even though preserving privacy is the confidentiality aspect of the CIA triad and could be a CISO responsibility: "The findings from our study show that, on average, information breaches that compromise confidentiality do have a significant negative impact on the stock market value of corporations experiencing breaches. Indeed, the average decline in the firm's stock market value... was approximately 5 percent."

So far so good, right? The major flaw with MCR arrives in ch 4, on p 68: "The variables affecting potential cost savings include (1) the potential losses associated with information security breaches, (2) the probability that a particular breach will occur, and (3) the productivity associated with specific investments, which translates into a reduction in the probability of potential losses." This is true -- but this is the key problem: devising even rough estimates of 1, 2, and 3 is nearly impossible in practice. The authors' examples (see figure 4-2 for one) assume these factors can be determined (like $10 mil total potential loss without countermeasures, 75% probability of loss with no countermeasures / 50% with $650,000 of countermeasures, and so on). When I saw these contrived examples I wondered "what is the origin of these figures?" The fact of the matter is that they are all guesswork, which means the calculator can say anything the analyst wishes to produce.

In some sense we are back to square one, although much better educated in economics. (Note that Andy Jaquith's book Security Metrics also observes how calculating these figures is nearly impossible in real life.)

Because MCR is so right in all of its other discussions, the book deserves 4 stars. A proper acceptance of the difficulty or impossibility of determining 1, 2, and 3 might have resulted in 5 stars. Perhaps a second edition will address these concerns?

PS: I would be remiss to not quote the authors' exceptional insights into the problems with security auditing. P 132 says "[T]he checklist approach tends to shift attention away from the cost-benefit aspects of such security. That is, the checklist approach usually assumes that conducting a particular procedure is inherently worth doing." P 137 hits the nail on the head: "[F]or some firms, it is quite possible that the costs of cybersecurity auditing will exceed the benefits. If this were to occur, then cybersecurity auditing would in effect decrease the firm's value." Amen.

This book is very timely and extremely useful as a tool for key decision-makers in organizations - Chief Technology Offiers, Information System Managers, and general managers, including CEOs, as well as academics. How do you allocate scarce resources to increasing cybersecurity, in the context of other competing claims ? Professors Gordon and Loeb provide a solid economic framework to do this. They bring their decades of experience researching and teaching about a cost-benefit approach to managerial decisions to the table, in the context of cybersecurity investments.

What I like about the book is its appeal to practitioners and academics alike. There is a nice section on developing a business case for cybersecurity investments. Empirical evidence to support their arguments are provided throughout the book. Complex ideas like real options and cybersecurity investments are nicely explained with simple and insightful examples.

Overall, whether you are a manager making or evaluating the case for cybersecurity investments, or teaching in this area, this book is a must-read.

Managing Cybersecurity Resources: A Cost-Benefit Analysis is excellent! Information security practitioners will appreciate the insightful economic analysis on how to determine the right amount to spend on cybersecurity projects and how to prepare a business case to justify such projects. I especially liked the chapter on risk that included perspectives and analysis not found in any other information security books. The book discusses many topics (for example, economics of cybersecurity and its role in national security) in a manner that novice and expert alike will find appealing. Its clear that the authors, chaired professors from a top business school and pioneers in cybersecurity economics, have a strong understanding of the security environment along with great technical skills. Of more importance, is their intuitive understanding of problems in the cybersecurity trenches. Policy makers, CISOs, CFOs, and managers at all levels, should find enormous value in this book. While at times I wish the authors would not have condensed their discussion, the good news is that they have left some important issues for a follow-up book. I am recommending this book to co-workers and friends.

If you are just geting into jazz chord melody this is an excelent choice. I got a more complete but harder to get thru book on chord melody before this one. That book was just to much for me at the time. I then decided to give this one a try and it was the right thing to do. As oppose to the other book the pogressions here are all in the light side of jazz guitar. It allows you not only to develop the technique but to develop your Ear!!! That is very important. Now i can internalize better the concepts I'm learning from the other book much better. Beware, this is not a begginers guitar book; but it is a begginers chord melody jazz guitar book. For the price, scope and quality of arrangents in the CD it is a keeper! Definitively what i was looking for.

This book has some pretty good information in it. I think it is more for the lesser experienced,but wanting to progress style guitarist,but a few things will help the intermediate player. If I had not opened the cd, I probably would have sent it back, but since, returns have to be unopened, I'll make the best of it. I haven't started in the book at the moment, but did hear a couple things on the cd that I thought I could benefit from. Don't get me wrong, You can learn from this,but I thought there were going to be some jazz tunes on it,that were familiar. I would love to see some more work from this gentleman, I think it would be really interesting,and I think John Larence is probably a great teacher, from what was put in here.

This book while not too simple is a great start to understanding chord solos. I went from completing this book to taking simple melodies and creating my own arrangements. It is a good book and I would refer it to anyone

This is an exellent book for learning how to play chords and melody at the same time. I find I can use some of these chord progressions to add to songs I already play. The progressions are very nice and jazzy.
I play gospel music but my I really like jazz and classical.
Very nice.

The book is a excelent review of investigation about "Men of maize". I'd apreciate if you could send me the address (email, phone, city etc.) of Gerald Martin. I want to contact him because I'like to send him a article about Asturias book. Sincerly yours Dr. Oscar Vinueza.

Men of Maize is an incredible tale of Indian life in Latin America during the early twentieth century, woven poetically by Asturias. In six parts he simultaneously creates and re-tells history, blurring the distinctions between reality and myth. He interweaves the past, present and future, giving the background tale, then continuing on to show how that tale would become the folklore of the future.

In Maize, there is a strong undercurrent of the clash of cultures that fuels the fires of conflict between the Ladinos, Mestizos and Indians. The Indians see themselves as made of maize, and to have their flesh and blood grown by foreigners for profit is abhorrent to them. As they are evermore forced off their land to clear fields for the commercial maizegrowers they begin to rebel. It is here that Asturias starts his novel, with an attack on Indian Chief Gaspar Ilóm led by soldiers and maizegrowers. The death of Ilóm, one of the magical firefly wizards, wreaks a cycle of revenge that affects all who were involved. A series of battles ensue, and tensions rise, giving way to permanent distrust and dislike between the two groups. Asturias then takes the reader farther through time, showing how the past discords (and the legends that arose from it) give hope and motivation to the generations of the future, as they struggle against the same forces their ancestors struggled with. He creates the tales of many different players in different periods of time, such as the great Chief Ilóm, the Indian postman, and Goyo Yic, the blind Indian beggar. Asturias connects these seemingly unrelated lives with a common theme: each man is gradually alienated from a "progressing" society through losing his land, his woman, and eventually his own self. By this Asturias describes the reality for an indigenous person living in an ever-fluctuating post-colonial Latin America.

Crucial to understanding this clash of cultures is understanding the Indian way of life. For the indigenous of Latin America, the answer to everything lay in the every day activities and choices of the people. The Maya are a highly ritualized culture, even the smallest activity, such as eating or drinking, is governed by unwritten rules. The clothes, the huipil, the essential food, maize, and the petate mat on which they sleep, each play their part in appeasing a higher power (by now syncretized into a Christian God). Asturias makes hundreds of references to these daily activities and the beliefs they represent. Of central importance is the maize, the crop of the Maya, their sustenance, and the basis for their existence. To interfere with the growing of the maize is to interfere with the very core of a Maya, himself being made of maize. Another recurring theme in this book is the importance of the nahual, or "soul double" that each person is assigned at birth. The nahuales take the form of animals, and those animals serve as a connection for each person to the animal world, as aides and companions.

In a loose sense the novel does progress linearly through the years of the early 1900's, though the reader immediately feels a more cyclical motion of time. Often unsure of how much time has passed between stories, and whether the events being described are in "real" time or dream time, the reader is swirled into the reality of the tale. However, by the end of the book the reader, almost surprised, finds each story tied to another in some form, with the final revelation of the identity of the betrayess, María Tecún, completing all cycles.

Asturias' ability to write from the native perspective is amazing. He has succeeded in making this novel a mystical and magical experience for the reader. Through his poetic language Asturias places the reader right in the heart of the forest, with magical fireflies swarming about and rain pelting down on the dusty paths. He has masterfully recreated in writing the lack of acknowledgement of time that is pervasive throughout Latin America. It is no easy feat to put in writing la magia de lo real, or, the magic of reality, and Asturias has done it well. He has shared with the reader an existence contrary to "Western" consciousness, where no thing is governed by "Western" rules, yet this existence found itself trying to reconcile itself with the ever-"Westernizing" world. Through fiction Asturias painst the picture of reality - the cruelty and tragedy of the idigenous struggle to survive in post-colonial Latin America.

Asturias writes like no one I have ever read before, but what irked me was the constant dependency on the back of the book for keys as to what anything meant. Much of it comes from the legends of the Mayan culture which I'm sure most people don't know concisely enough to know parts of the Mayan "bible." For the more patient reader, it is an amazing set of tales, but without the critical edition, I think one might become devoured by the profundity it entails, and comprehend only the title. From what I read however, I realized that we are dealing with an unorthodox writer, a shaman with words, and the predecessor of Marquez.

Some people said: Asturias is a writer. I say Asturias is an artist who paints the reality of a magic land: Guatemala. You could feel it. Sorry for my english, but I'm another "woman of maize". (Usually we dont speak english).

By far one of the best (how to) books we've read for both the Erotically Challenged as well as those willing to challenge their erotic selves. Any and all couples (straight - bi - gay) will benefit from this book.

This delightfully well written book explores dominance and submission through the perspective of educating people about the pleasures of erotic bondage, spanking and much more. Educating with entertainment can and does result in opening ones mind to the imaginative possibilities.

"Guide to Forbidden Eroticism for Adventurous Couples" is well written, fun to read and stimulates our most important erogenous zone, the mind. If you and or your partner are looking to expand your relationship with new ideas of being naughty, sexy and very erotic with each other, get yourselves a copy immediately.

Lawrence Elliot is a wonderfully entertaining author. My wife and I look forward to more books from this author. Ladies or those who think they are leave the stiletto's home run don't walk and get yourselves a copy of "Mistress Allure's Guide to Forbidden Eroticism for Adventurous Couples" before the stores sell out and you have to wait for another printing.

Start exploring your newfound erotic adventures.

Told with wit and charm. Takes a frightening subject and not only demystifies it, but makes it seem like fun. Mistress Allure is entertaining and informative. I learned a few trick myself.

Now I fully understand what all those Anne Rice novels were all about! And this book actually gives you step-by-step instructions on HOW TO DO all these wonderful and very naughty delights. I liked it a lot! Between being so steamy, nasty, SEXY and filled with humor and wit I never expected, I was always on the verge of doing it in my pants either with sexual excitement...or laughter.

You want a REALLY GOOD READ? Forbidden Eroticism will exceed your expectations, as it did mine. Leave it on the coffee table. Share it with your lover. If you're married and bored with your sex life, this could save your marriage. At the very least, you'll discover a whole new world of sexual fantasies that will stay with you forever.

This may be kind of a scary topic for many, but worth understanding better. My apprehensions were dispelled immediately. It's really an enjoyable read, done in graceful language, sounding more delicious than dirty, and full of well-turned phrases and well-placed witticisms.

This is a heckuva sales job promoting practices and cultures that may be threatening to the uninitiated. Elliot's breezy conversational tone is appropriate and effective. It's like learning about the (advanced) facts of life from a well informed and lighthearted friend.

Sometimes the joys of other-than-vanilla sex are over-elaborated, like a thesaurus of kink, but maybe that's necessary to overwhelm (or overcome -- so to speak) the readers' resistance and inhibitions.

Harder to overcome may be the readers' decrepitude. The spirit may be willing, but advancing age doesn't always promote passion, except in memory and imagination. "Old age is when it takes you all night to do what you used to do all night..." Still and all, some of these recipes for gourmet sensuality might be what the doctor ordered, and this friendly and comprehensive pep talk might be the ideal form of delivery.

And it's imbued with a constant appeal to artistry, from the graceful language to the underlying attitude of offering creative ways to improve our lives by enhancing our sensual repertoires and expanding our emotional palettes.

I like that in a book, and in my friends and lovers too. I'm ready to get me a harness and ball gag. Maybe a Prince Albert too.

Ouch! Maybe not...

This is not a clinical account of a kidney transplant. Rather, it is a very personal account of the author's experience with his sister back in the 1070s. Back then, such transplants were not nearly as common as today. The author recounts the toll his sister's kidney disease had on the entire family and what the family went through both before the surgery and in the remaining decades of his sister's life. One minor criticism, the author does not state which hospital the surgery took place in. I am interested in such details. Nonetheless, this is a very moving personal account of how the donor, recipient and family coped with kidney diseaes, the transplant and it's aftermath.

This true story is told in a gentle, caring manner, and is easy to read for both young and old alike. Lawrence Liebling reflects on the conflict that he encounters about a decision that will not only impact on his life, but on his sister's and family's life forever. This story is about love, faith, courage and trust that every reader can relate to. It gives the reader a chance to reflect on his/her values. The author ultimately conveys the power of love through his story. Liebling's sensitivity and insights are meaningful, and touch the heart. The reader will reflect on the meaning of life and relationships, laugh and cry, and be touched by this beautiful story.

Liebling writes with warmth and depth on a most difficult subject: donating a kidney to his sister. It is a surprisingly easy read for such a topic.

I read this most sensitive book about the lives of both a brother who donated his kidney and his sister who was the recepient. The book reveals how the transplant effected both of their lives. This is a timely book since there are many more transplants today than when they went thru their ordeal. The book should be read by those who are about to be a donor, and those who will be a recepient. In addition it should be read by any close relatives and friends. There are many sensitive,revealing and beautiful passages The book was well written by Mr Liebling and is easy to read.

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Nicholas of Cusa is a rare and lonely genius who straddles the time of change between the late medieval period and the early Renaissance. A cardinal in the Roman Church, Cusa like many more modern mystics, led a highly active as well as contemplative life.

This collection of writings includes Cusa's most important work, 'On Learned Ignorance' as well as several smaller works including 'The Vision of God' and 'The Unknown God.'

Cusa's mysticism is deeply speculative and intellectual, perhaps more so than any other Christian mystic except Eckhart and Eriugena. At the heart of Cusa's mysticism is God's absolute infinity, which renders God utterly and entirely incomprehensible to the human mind. Because incomprehensibility is not merely due to a defect of the human mind but is an attribute of God himself, Cusa rigorously adopts a strongly apophatic approach to God, developed along lines already laid out by Dionysius the Aeropagite, Eckhart, and Scotus Eriugena.

In the Learned Ignorance Cusa likens God to the 'absolute maximum' who while ineffable, contains the fullness of being and reality. The absolute maximum is God's essence as it is in itself, what philosophers might now call the Absolute. In the absolute maximum, which is basically God's infinite nature, all coincidences and opposites merge into one basic unity. In other words, the many become the one and the one becomes the many in God's plenitude of being.

Cusa then goes on to describe how God is related to the universe. The universe is the absolute contractum or minimum, crudely a mirror of God's infinity and infinite itself, but not God. The universe presents the believer with an overwhelming expression of God's ineffability, however God himself by virtue of his absolute infinity remains shrouded in incomprehensibility and mystery. One of Cusa's favourite sayings is the ancient maxim 'God is a sphere whose circumference is everywhere and centre is nowhere.'

Cusa also argues that as God is radically unknowable, also the universe is in a way radically unknowable. Humans are engaged in an ever deepening vision of God through creatures, though God himself will forever remain unknown to the created mind. Like Eriugena and Eckhart, Cusa pushes his apophatic theology and mysticism to the very limit and seems to argue at times even creatures themselves are somehow theophanies or appearances of deeper realities or reality which we can never know. In this sense he seems to anticipate Kant, who put a radical barrier between the knowable and the unknown.

Cusa's vision of God contains astonishing philosophical and theological depth which remains unmatched until the arrival of Spinoza. His vistas of an infinite universe are perhaps unmatched until the arrival of the mystical cosmology of Giordo Bruno and the universe of Isaac Newton.

While perhaps Cusa's vision may not be appropriate for today's universe, his courage in exploring the hidden deeps of God's being are to be admired for their profoundity and originality, and one looks forward with hope to the next Cusa who will integrate all things into a grand vision before which one feels only awe.

Of all the great Christian mystics that I have read, Nicholas de Cusa is one of the finest. In the masterpiece "On Learned Ignorance" he reveals the "coincidence of opposites," which is the point in infinity when all opposites unite and become blended together in God's infinity, the Infinite Line, which is the Absolute Maximum and Absolute Minimum combined, i.e., the two points (contradictions) of a finite line converging and becoming unified, or equal in God's un-being existence, where there is no proportion between the infinite and the finite. He believed that Jesus Christ is the Gate Keeper of the "coincidence of opposites." We can only understand God through a "learned ignorance" because God is beyond being, beyond all understanding. This work alone is worth the cost of the entire book. Also included are "Dialogue on the Hidden God," "On Seeking God," "On the Vision of God," and "On the Summit of Contemplation." All these works together form a synthesis in Nicholas' philosophy/theology. Nicholas was very gnostic. He takes Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite's mysticism to the next level, if that is even possible. You will also see the obvious influence that Meister Eckhart had on him. There's a wonderful Foreward, Introduction, Abbreviations, Notes to the Text, A Brief Glossary of Cusan Terms, Select Bibliography, and Indexes. This book is a must have for any Christian-mysticism collection. I highly recommend this volume.

This book affords the scholar and novice alike a wonderful foray into the thought of Nicholas of Cusa. A fine collection of principal titles by Cusanus, this book is one full of enigmatic charm and probing insight! The forward and introduction provide a helpful entryway to the texts which are supplemented by a useful glossary of key terms and several notes.

This book is one of many translations that are currently being made for English language readers on the 15th century writings of Nicholas of Cusa. New translations of Cusanus writings began to appear in the late 1970s by Jasper Hopkins of the University of Minnesota. Free copies of some of Hopkins translations are available on the Internet at http://www.cla.umn.edu/jhopkins/. Today, translations of these 15th century writings are also being made by the American Cusanus Society. The author of this book is past president of this society.

The writings of Nicholas of Cusa are significant because his writings, on God and our world, initiated the modern world in which we live today. To me, his writings are the most important religious writings to be found on amazon.com today. His writing will help people transform the out-dated ancient views of God and our world they have been taught into modern views supported by modern science. Without this transformation, a person becomes conservative with a closed mind and will not understand the natural changes that are taking place among liberal and open-minded people.

This book is a necessary addition to any home or public library. It is necessary by any person who is working on the unification of science and theology. And, it is necessary for any person who believes that a pure spiritual/modern world is possible beyond the materialistic-driven spiritual/modern world in which we live today today.