Nicholson Books

Hi there,

What an interesting book. Sebatsian Haffner did a great job in this book to explain how Hitler rose to ultimate power and also what enable to fall of him and the Third Reich. Haffner's review of Hitler's "successes" is something you very rarely see. Part of these successes caused the rise, fall and Hitler's betrayal of the German people. I was born and raised in Germany and my grandparent's accounts of the time match Haffner's thesis very well.

still AGREAT BOOK TODAY AS IT WAS IN 1979WHEN PUBLISHED . SHOULD BE REPRINTED.

There have been huge volumes written about Adolf Hitler. These have gone into great depth about the nature of this evil man. Haffner writes a concise brief book about what Hitler was really about. He shows the man in all his details including successes, and crimes. Haffner experienced Hitler during his early life in Germany. He then emigrated to Great Britain and went back to Germany after WWII. Haffner details all the essentials of this man and his history. He shows the true evil of this man, and how Germans were fooled into following him. In the end, Hitler treated the Germans as a enemy too, and sought to destroy the nation.

This is my second book by this author. He was a good political historian of the German people. His treatment of this subject is right on the money. Each sentence is thought provoking and sums up the nature of this man.

As one who has read more than my share on the 3rd Reich and WW II in general, I didn't expect to be too surprised or enlightened by this book. I was wrong; it shows well how Hitler came to the point of being a demigod to many Germans and thus was able to eventually lead them (and Europe) to a destruction beyond their worst nightmares.

The one thing in this book that struck me as an idea that was totally novel to me was the thought that with the near miss to capture Moscow in 1941 Hitler knew that the war could never be won in the manner which he wanted. Basically, Haffner contends Hitler now knew that World Domination could never be attained in his lifetime and he turned to his other goal (mass murder of Jews) as his leading motive in his decision-making process. It is a very interesting theory, especially how it helped lead to his mysterious decision to declare war on America. I wish I could read historians response to his conclusions, but I don't totally buy it (although it is a fascinating view). I think it gives Hitler too much credit.

It may explain some of his strategic inertia but if he truly was resigned to defeat and wanted to kill as many Jews as possible before the end there is no reason for him to commit so many obvious strategic blunders that mounted on top of each other more and more. I think Haffner underestimates the effect of Hitler's drug use, sleeping habits, and his unshaken belief (maybe more than any other German!!!) in the "Hitler Myth".

I hope someone else with more expertise can comment. Also, Hitler's decision to declare war on America had to be madness more than anyhting else.

I know so many people have complimented this book, but I have too also. The insights that Haffner puts forth explain much of the confusion of Hitler's moves during World War II.

The book is powerful in its clear ascersions. It is also highly readable, though there are passages that must be read more than once to probe their depths.

This book is great for first time parents. This is my most referenced parenting books and I have several! I kept checking this out from the library before I finally bought my own copy. You won't regret buying this one.

This book has been incredibly helpful to my husband and I, we purchased it after hearing one of the nannies on a morning weekly radio show in Minneapolis. The nanny gives out advice to parents each week and we always enjoy listening to what she has to say. We have 3 kids under 5 and really value the advice of British nannies, this books encourages a routine and schedule, fresh meals and plenty of sleep for kids (and parents). Since reading the book we have introduced these things and have seen incredible changes, our kids are so much happier, they are now going to bed earlier, helping me out in the kitchen, and our bedtime routine is so much easier. Thank You nannies.

I have read every baby book there is, and this definitely rates in the top 5. It's nothing earth-shattering or totally new, but there are great examples and good real-life ideas to use with your kids. Plus, it's entertaining to read.

My kids are 2, 5 and 7 yrs. I actually bought this book because I saw that it had a chapter on school.

My 5 yr old had a rocky first week at school and I was really worried. I read the school chapter first and the first thing it did was it made me feel better. The book reminded me that starting school is another new experience for my son and he needs time to get used to it, which of course on one level I did know but reading it made me believe it. I started using the "Goodbye Routine" and it definately resulted in less tears than the day before. I kept doing it and things have improved.The school chapter is really helpful and I am now using their homework advice for my 7yr old and Hooray what a difference!

I had just accepted that with 3 kids weekday mornings were always going to be rushed and stressful. This book has helped me to change all that and it was not difficult to do. Now most mornings we actually all sit down to eat breakfast together and I don't have to scream at the kids to turn the TV off.

I am also using the strategies on improving communication with all my kids but especially with my two year old who likes to say no to everything I ask her to do. I didn't realize that I was inviting her to say no by giving her too many choices.

My only complaint is that Nanny Wisdom does not cover Potty Training. I am just about to start that with my 2 year old and I had a hard time with my other kids. I would like to know how the nannies do it. Also, the recipes have been so popular in our house that I wish there were even more of them in the book.

Nanny Wisdom is it is actually fun to read which is an added bonus. The book has little stories about the kids the nannies have looked after and experiences they have had in their different jobs. It makes you understand how experienced and caring these nannies are.

After reading this book I really trust their advice 100%. I always say to my husband now, The Nannies say this or The Nannies say that!!

I loved this book because it covers such a big range of parenting problems and situations and really gives parents great answers. It has helped me more than any other parenting book I own (I did like What to Expect when my kids were newborns and I do like Pocket Parent). I know it will keep on helping me as it has so much in it. I am so glad I stumbled across this book in my parenting travels!

Just finished the final chapter and although my parenting of "lovely's are now with my grandchildren, you can always learn something new. The recipe's and the "how to" approach is consistent and right on! All the advice on how to deal with a child sleeping through the night helped out my daughter immensly. The nannies are great and their knowledge is superb. I highly recommend this book to new mothers, new dads, grammies and granpies - everyone who needs "expertise" on handling all the new situations that come with the title of parent.

wow, the set of fabled lands books are brilliant, they transport you into a whole new enchanted world where anything is possible. I would well recomend these books to everyone. I just want to know what happend to the last six in the series?, i,ve been looking for them everywhere!

I strongly reccomend this wonderful roleplaying game. Absolutely non-lynear storyline, many different characters to start your game with and many mini-quests in the global quest.

I have been playing the Quest for more than 3 years, and it was a pity that only 6 books have been published. This is the most astounding Role Playing Games I have ever played. Specially for people who do not of RPG games on computers. I wish that Jamie Thomson and Dave Morris become aware of this and please publish the remaining 6 books.The descriptions in the book for places, characters and actions are so good that I have abandoned to play Fighting Fantasy Series. Best of all, for all readers, is that the adventure is unlimited and you can go back and forth.

wow, the set of fabled land books are brilliant, they transport you into a whole new world where anything is possible. I would well recomend this book to those of you who like to escape for a few hours into a land of fiction. I would just like to know what happend to the last 6 books in the series?, i,ve been looking for them everywhere!

The best solo RPG game ever!
These books create the most amazing fantasy world.
They allow you to roam about how you want to.
It was planned that enough of these books would be released to cover the map that is contained in each of this series.
However, I heard, that they charged too little for each book (in England I think they were just £5 or £6!!) so they couldn't finish the series for financial reasons!
An absolute shame - I do anything for the last few books!!

The funds for cultural revolution rest in the coffers of a bankrupt society. That's not to say that change is meaningless. Raoul Vaneigem believes - along with the rest of the troupe from THE SITUATIONIST INTERNATIONAL - that if change comes from within the very culture being critiqued, then the only way to effect change is to change the way culture affects.

UNDERNEATH THE PAVING STONES - THE BEACH!

Urban renewel and changing the economic goal posts cannot prevent the inevitable exploding of the plastic society. Sometime. When the world becomes its own refuse the voices of refusal will echo down time until it pins the world against its own refusal.

If madness is the only remedy against the insanity of our contracting world, then THE REVOLUTION OF EVERYDAY LIFE might be a good guide. Its truth will speak to anyone whose heart is passionate, whose soul is strong, and whose mind is as yet still taciturn; it will help them express the homily:

I TAKE MY DESIRES FOR REALITY BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN THE REALITY OF MY DESIRES.

I concur wholeheartedly that this is momentous writing:
one that is even now more critical and urgent than 40 years ago, when it was first published.

Each page offers words-thoughts that ricochet long after their initial bang! Here's a sample:

+ to work for delight and authenticity is barely distinguishable from preparing for a general insurrection.

+ the surest chances of liberation lie in what is most familiar. Was it ever otherwise?...
the living reality of non-adaptation to the world is always crouched ready to spring...
it confronts you at each self-evasion, it grasps your shoulder, catches your eye, and the dialogue begins...

+ docility is no longer ensured by priestly magic, it results from a mass of minor hypnoses...
ideological hypnosis is replacing the bayonet.

+ people who talk about revolution without referring explicitly to everyday life,
without understanding what is subversive about love and what is positive in the refusal of constrains,
--such have a corpse in their mouth.

+ if the word 'innovation' means anything it means transcendence, not camouflage.

+ consume, consume: we take ashes for fire.

+ the young are already old and everything we are building is already a ruin.

+ the obligation to produce alienates the passion for creation.

+ affluent survival entails the pauperisation of life.

+ the dictatorship of quantified exchange (market value) colonized everyday life... the bourgeoisie traded in BEING for HAVING.

+ the fight is unfair. words serve power better than they do men...
at this moment language swoops down on living experience, ties it hand and foot, robs it of its substance, ABSTRACTS it.

+ the system of commercial exchange has come to govern all of people's everyday relations with themselves and with their fellows.
every aspect of public and private life is dominated by the quantitative.

+ ideology still has one trick up its sleeve--that of posing false questions,
raising false dilemmas and leaving the conditioned individual with the worry of sorting out which is the truer of the two.

+ even when it is co-opted and turned against its original purposes, poetry always gets what it wants in the end...
no poetic sign is ever completely turned by ideology.

+ the long revolution means that we have to build a parallel society
which can counter the dominant system until such time as it is strong enough to replace it.

+ the fight for language is the fight for the freedom to love, for the reversal of perspective.
the battle is between metaphysical facts and the reality of facts:
i mean between facts conceived statically as part of a system of interpretation of the world
and the facts understood in their development by the praxis which transform them.

And on and on the explosive phrases go, injecting heavy doses of adrenaline into our resolve.

Even though I take exception to Vaneigem's advocacy of violent resistance,
his book comes the closest to diagnosing the cause of our present narcosis and, even better,
grounds the revolutionary turning on the rich dirt of everyday life.

How could we ever think it would be otherwise?

No Amazon review can really do this masterpiece justice. This is simply one of those classics that will sweep you away, leaving you stunned that someone was able to so precisely articulate the mechanical alienation from self and palpable inner decay that you feel daily as you sit in your cubicle (wash, rinse, repeat) and mimic the farcical motions assigned to humans in modern industrial civilization--a hierarchical vaccum in which "survival" is contingent upon our economic value, obedience to Power and our ability to force others to either consume or produce. The dominance of the lie of economic value has poisoned every area of our lives and left us defunct as human beings, most notably stealing from us the innate urge to spontaneously create and give.

Vaneigem attacks the dead, vacuous nature of modern life with all of the venomous intensity conceivable. He does not misuse or mince words. Each sentence is filled to the brim with harsh truth, the sheer brute force of which will take your breath away.

[...].
I recommend at least printing it out to fully revel and enjoy the intensity, though!

This book, along with Debord's "Society of the Spectacle", forms the core of the theoretical output of the Situationist Movement which emphasized the necessity of spontaneous, joyous creative activity to overcome the alienation and oppression of mass consumer culture, giving inspiration to the youthful insurrectionists of Paris '68.

The book is peppered with witty, canny, and memorable aphorisms on revolutionary struggle, and its emphasis on spontaneous activity motivated by felt needs for freedom and self-expression was at the time an important corrective to the Stalinist model of the revolutionary as selfless, altruistic drone. Vaneigem and the situationists go overboard at times in emphasizing the revolutionary value of selfishness, pleasure and spontaneity-- the shortcomings of 1968 are the proof. These shortcomings have been stretched to the point of parody in Hakim Bey's "Temporary Autonomous Zone" and the writings of the Crimethinc collective, but there are important elements of truth in them.

The presentation of the ideas is hobbled by Vaneigem's writing style-- you have to slog through 5 pages of bloated abstractions before coming across one of the keen one-liners that make the book worthwhile-- I think the ideas come across much more powerfully as street graffiti than in a 200 page manifesto. For a more palatable presentation of situationist ideas, check out American situationist Ken Knabb's wonderful piece "The Joy Of Revolution", available online or in his book Public Secrets: Collected Skirmishes of Ken Knabb.

This is one of the most viscerally exciting political / philosophical books in history. You can't help but be swept up by the force of Vaneigem's appeals... and though one may not assent to all of his positions or specific interpretations, all in all you will have to say that he had managed to tap into something very true.

read it, ponder it... and get out and live. you have nothing to lose but your boredom.

As a nursing student I loved this book. It gave a great perspective on some areas of nursing that nursing students may not be exposed to during clinicals. Toward the end of the book it did get into nursing/hospital politics and policy, which slowed things down. I wish that the author had ended with something better and more inspiring.

It's often said that in today's society we have no heroes. If you read this book, you will soon learn otherwise.

I really liked the aspects of this books that dealt with the three nurses performing their jobs in their perspective fields. That was great- but all the talk about nursing jobs getting cut really gets boring after a while. So much so I've been dreading reading the last chapter. Great book, just has some boring parts.

A must read for all those working IN or WITH the profession of nursing. Gordon discusses how the changes in our health care system have affected both the nurses role and quality patient care issues. The essential need for collaboration of all health care personnel is woven throughout the content. I required this book for a senior nursing course I just taught at Wayne State University in Detroit and the students were most impressed with the book and its approach to nursing, medicine and health care. A must read for nurses, physicians, hospital administration, potential students and the general public. Afterall, we are all potential patients and we should be aware of what is happening to the largest population of health care providers, the nurses!

The most under rated people in our society are nurses,this is an introduction to the ever present caregivers in healthcare today.The most varied role and most significant in all aspects of health care is the nurse.This was a wonderful read for all of those who may ever be the receiver of any aspect of their care from nurses in our country, basically everyone,a must have.For those considering the profession as a career,and the family members who would like an overview of "all in a days work", this will invoke serious thought.Yes, I am a nurse and for me to recommend a book written on nursing....kudos to all involved in the creation.

I think this is the best of what I guess you would call Pipes' "Revolutionary Trilogy." "The Russian Revolution," perhaps two or three times the length, is impaired a bit by Pipes' sometimes tedious moral-pointing. "Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime" seems a bit less ambitious than the other two, and in any event it is surely the one least likely to survive the torrent of new material that is becoming available after the fall.

What distinguishes Russia in Pipes' eye is the tradition of "patrimonialism" -- as a political category, a coinage of Pipes' own, though with its roots in Weber, in Hobbes and Bodin, even in Aristotle. Pipes means to denote "a regime where the rights of sovereignty and those of ownership blend to the point of becoming indistinguishable, and political power is exercised in the same manner as economic power."

"Despotism," Pipes continues, "has much the same etymological origins, but over time it has acquired the meaning of a deviation or corruption of genuine kingship, the latter being understood to respect the property rights of subjects. The patrimonial regime, on the other hand, is a regime in its own right, not a corruption of something else."

This is a brave assertion, and Pipes remains faithful to it. Indeed, the core of the book is perhaps his chapter entitled "The Anatomy of the Patrimonial Regime," where Pipes tries to show how utterly different is the tradition of governance in Russia from the tradition in the West -- even in Western nations that we might think of as "reactionary."

There are other virtues to this book. His introductory chapter on the environment is perhaps worth the price of admission, as he retails the grim arithmetic of topsoil and grain production. His discussion of serfdom provokes all kinds of questions about the relationship between serfdom in Russia and slavery in the West.

A work of just 318 pages can hardly pretend to be the last word on the history of a great nation, and Pipes maintains no such pretention. I take it as given that much more could be said to inform, expand upon, or criticize, Pipes' perspective. But as a framework for approaching the study of Russia, it is hard for me to see how it could be bettered. As a provative contribution to the literature of political analysis generally, I should think its claim is equally strong.

Richard Pipes does a good job at laying out the workings of Russia's Tsarist Regime. What I found to be most interesting and persuasive is Pipes' frequent contrasts between Russia and Western Europe. For instance, he looks at the status of the nobility and the strength of the church. In both instances, Pipes draws a clear path as to how, in Tsarist Russia, these institutions became virtual extensions of the state bureaucracy (in sharp contrast to Western Europe, where they often served as brakes on royal power). In addition, Pipes places Russia squarely in the sphere of Asian (specifically Mongol) influence. As evidence, he points to close similarities between the Khanate and Tsarist "patrimonialism." In doing so, he de-emphasizes the oft-stated argument that Russia was the close heir to Byzantium. Finally, Pipes continally demonstrates how Tsarist policies laid the groundwork for the Soviet system (though the latter took those policies to a far bloodier and more extreme conclusion). My only criticism of the book is that Pipes does not deal directly with the issue of Russia's "national minorities" (beyond a quick mention of the Jewish Pale of Settlement and several Polish rebellions against Russian rule) and the attempts by the Tsarist regime to "Russify" those groups. I think that this would have been quite relevant to look at in Russia during this period. I am looking forward to reading Pipes' writings on later events in Russia.

This book is an absolute must-read! Before I read this book the history of Russia was a weakly connected sequence of contradictory events to me - that I wasn't able to organize in my mind in any comprehensible way. After reading this book I see a clear picture of my country's history. I suddenly understand what is going on. Every historical event, every action of a historic person suddenly falls into place, I see their meaning. This book provides you with an understanding of the real issues that have been troubling Russia for the past 1200 years. You will understand Russia and you will understand its people. The mext time Russia is on the news, and you have some Russians making a statement or conducting some action - you will understand where they are coming from when they are doing that.

This is indeed a brilliant book. Any one who wants to understand Russia should read it. I can not praise it highly enough. Please get a copy and learn and enjoy.

When I purchased this title in a used bookstore for two dollars, I was somewhat apprehensive about its scholarly quality, author biography not withstanding. Upon reading, however, I must say that I felt Pipes admirably illumined what is a very complex economic, social, and cultural subject. Specifically, his thesis concerns the manner in which the Russian state, under various formative influences, developed an essentially proprietary attitude towards land and subject alike. In Pipes' view this has been the primary determinant of all Russian history following Mongol domination. I myself make no pretenses to be an authority on the subject, but Pipes' use of evidence generally convinced me of the credibility of his claim. I would recommend this title to anyone interested in a general account of the pre-revolutionary Russian state apparatus.

I think Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson have started something that won't stop until they've created a whole universe. The game is a little hard at first, but that's not enough to lose it any more than one star. It's a really great idea. They've actually produced something that no one has ever thought of before.

I once owned "war torn kingdom" and "cities of gold and glory"
but I lost them both in a house fire. I have always wished to own the entire series. But I would be happy with one for the time being. Info on where to get any would be great.

You're right, these books are genius. Books 1-6 in the series were released in the UK under the name "Fabled Lands". I own books 1, 2, 4, and 5 and would be very interested to know where i could get 3 and 6.

I got this book for my birthday, but didn't play it until 3 months later. I loved it!!!! I found out that Cities of Gold and Glory are part of the Series, all I want to know how many more their and and where I can get them and their name!!!!

My wife found this in a clearance rack at our local Safeway store and thought I might like it. I actually forgot about it until 2 months later. I was drawn into it last week, and could not put it down. I think it is a wonderful role-playing adventure. I only have this one, and am searching for more books. There was a web-site that had the entire series, but it was taken off the web. If anyone can, please let me know where I can find more in the series. Thank you!

This is like the handbook version of the Being and Doing book by the same author. Something like a fist-aid kit in case of an "emergency" on stage or during a take. Break glass before storming off the set in disgust.

This is one the of the best approached to acting. It makes everything clear.
Also an easy read.

I'll admit that at first glance Eric Morris's System can seem scary and misaligned. But I believe it to be a very misunderstood system.

I too was skeptical in the beginning, but after studying this technique (with Eric, but mostly with Anthony Vincent Bova in NYC, Eric's protégé), and after seeing the difference from "acting" and what this Work creates, there's no way I'd ever go back to the "acting" form.

Eric Morris teaches the actor how to react honestly and in the moment, including everything that's going on inside and out-the other actor, the props, the imagined objects that one might be working for-that impels you to "do" whatever the character is required to "do", but out of a real reaction, not just because you're doing it.

I've studied Adler, Strasberg, Meisner, and with Robert Lewis. I've hashed through the process of verbs, actions, objectives, obstacles, and onward; and they're all good and dandy for figuring out what's going on in a script, what the characters are doing and why; but other than that, these techniques never helped me figure out HOW to make it real to ME... How to get to a place where I'm actually functioning from a real, organic, truthful state ... How to get to the point where I am "doing" all the script tells me to do, fulfilling the "actions," out of an honest REACTION to what's going on.... Not just "playing" as if I am; how, in essence, creating the realities of the character....

No matter where you go, all the great teachers (and actors) say the same thing, "Acting is reacting." Even the most used and cherished word in the actor's language, LISTENING, is about focusing outside of yourself and REACTING to what is there. This Work trains the actor to create the stimuli that will fulfill the demands of the piece, specifically, wholly, and with Truth.

For the most part, plays and movies are imagined circumstances, and we as actors, have to create stimuli to react from, so we're not just faking, or indicating our performance. I'd rather watch two people have a relationship on film or on stage, than two actors reciting words, no matter how well they "act" it. If they don't believe it, I won't. This System trains you to create those stimuli and REACT to them honestly, fully and truthfully.

A crucial part of Eric's System is based on Instrumental Work, which is the process of identifying blocks and fears and tensions to expression and, one-by-one, through the use of hundreds of exercises, eliminating them. It's really about self-awareness-learning about yourself and how you function, so you can "get out of your way" and function truthfully on stage or film and get to where you need to get to in a scene. I think this is the aim of every method, but I feel that this System is the only one to address the issues of the actor on a personal level. If I'm tense and depressed (in real life; me the actor), I'm not going to be able to REACT truthfully in a scene where the character has just won the lottery and is jumping with joy. If I push for the emotion, I'll be faking and will "act" that I'm joyful. If this is enough for you, then Eric's work is definitely not your thing. But if you're looking for creating reality and REACTING with truth, nothing surpasses this Work.

I know that Meryl Streep, Brando, Ed Norton, Johnny Depp, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, and a handful of other amazing actors don't fake it, don't just indicate the realities of the character and the circumstances. They create them. Be it imagined stimuli they are creating, or through the available stimulus around them, they open themselves up and REACT truthfully to everything -the other actors, the set, the space, the props, the object or person via Sense Memory, etc. I KNOW they do this for a fact! They've talked about it for years.

Eric helps you get to the place that they do-where you can function truthfully, where your instrument is accessible and available, where you are open and are willing to go where the character needs to go, emotionally, psychologically, and physically.

My advice is read Eric's books. If they pique any interest in you, if they strike a cord, study with Eric or Anthony, or at least contact them for further information about the system. I think you'll be quite surprised and utterly amazed at the tools this Work can provide you as an actor.

I give this book a fairly high rating because all acting technique is personal. An actor's job in receiving training is to simply find the approach that works best for the individual. Method acting simply means to find one's own method. While responses to acting texts, approaches and classes are always subjective, one should always remain open for new ideas.

That said I reject Eric Morris' approach to acting on a personal and professional level.

As every actor knows (or at least should know), his/her job is "to do nothing more than to be believable while telling the best possible story that serves the script" (Bruce Morris). Or as Stanislavski defines acting: "Acting is living truthfully under imaginary circumstances". The root of an actor's technique must always be action. Again with Stanislavski: "while on stage, an actor must always be enacting something". Action verbs are the basis of all acting/storytelling craft. An audience does not pay precious money to watch an actor have an emotional moment, but rather to have the moment themselves.

All the great acting teachers, building upon the work of Stanislavski, have stressed the importance of finding and playing an action as opposed to an emotion. Robert Lewis, Sanford Meisner, Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Michael Checkov and even Lee Strassberg (although he ventured too far into the emotional realm) all taught students to find the appropriate action and embrace that reality as the basis for their storytelling craft. Emotions are the by product of a person engaging in an action and either failing or succeeding in the quest to fulfill that action.

Eric Morris' approach, centers on "Being" exercises. He asks his students to simply get up in front of a group of people and simply "Be". As related in this book, he proceeds to grill them about their day and call them on the carpet for any false emotion as he dredges for some emotional moment. Morris' approach, at least to this reader, comes off as simply another example of acting teacher "power tripping" as well as pseudo-therapy hidden in the guise of acting. This approach simply leads to the teacher holding such power over his/her students as they become obsessed with pleasing the teacher as opposed to truly pleasing the audience.

This approach leads to emotionally crippling an actor. Actor's become obsessed with evaluating their acting on the basis of whether or not they "felt" the scene. If an actor finds they cannot reach the emotion, they immediately fill themselves with a great sense of guilt and personal disgust at their inability to produce an emotion. Acting should ultimately be a freeing experience as well as a fun and celebratory bit of life. Many acting teachers and actors, bowing under the weight of thousands of years of social stigma feel that they must deny the "fun" factor of acting and make it a painful and serious affair.

As any director or acting teacher can attest, when one simply asks an actor to "be" on stage, one will watch an actor squirm, blink and fold inside him/her self. Put an actor on stage and ask him/her to push a giant stone up a mountain, one will watch a fantastic story filled with all the emotional truth an audience could ever hope to find.

The key to acting is not "being" it is in fact "doing". Apparently Morris has a workbook that combines the two concepts. I will certainly read that as well- again the justification for the high rating. I am still learning my craft and I pray I will always continue to do so.

NO ACTING PLEASE is certainly worth reading and worth trying though so that one can form their own opinion. After trying Morris' approach, this review is simply my opinion. Proceed with caution.

I am personally an Eric Morris actor. I live in Los Angeles and I attend his workshop weekly. Having actually experienced his Craft personally and by watching hundreds of others come and go, and succeed and fail: it has become strikingly obvious to me that his Work works. One of the elements of this uniquely personal Craft is that it can be very overwhelming and emotionally draining. Through my two plus years of experience in the Work, I have found that very few Eric Morris actors actually uses the Craft exactly as it is intended. I believe as do many of my contemporaries that the Craft provides the actor with a limitless supply of "acting" tools, which encourage the actor to experience truthfully. It is painfully obvious that "truth" or an organic expression of impulses and emotions is severely lacking in theatre, television and on screen. There is not one person who has come to class and gone on stage who has not gone through a substantial growth. Being a student of acting my entire life, on a constant pursuit of truth in my work, and having over 25 teachers since first grade: I have found the one teacher on the planet who can answer all of the difficult questions actors ask about the mysterious art of acting. If you have a thirst for truth in your acting and in how you live your life, you foolish to remain ignorant of Eric Morris.

A great murder mystery by a talented new author. Just couldn't put it down. Kept me in suspense right up until the end. The fact that it took place in Calgary was of particular interest. I look forward to reading more of the Kate Carpenter series.

I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to read an advance copy of House Report, by Deborah Nicholson. Deborah is an excellent story teller, weaving charactors you care about into situations that have you turning the pages faster and faster to figure out who did what to whom, and why! Kate Carpenter and I could have been friends, and I would love to meet the inspiration for Cam in person. Also, as a native Calgarian (Alberta, Canada), I found setting the charactors and story in "my" city rather exciting, to say the least. Deborah keeps the twists and turns coming right to the very end, and in the style of Agatha Christie, has you guessing "who-dun-it" all the way through. It's frustrating, really, because once I had figured out who did it, not only would Deborah exonerate my villian, she'd make me end up liking them!

I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who enjoys a good read and promoting bright new talent.

Kate Carpenter is the House Manager at the Plex theatre. Not a small job, as much responsibility is placed on her shoulder, but she loves it. That is, she did until her and Cam, her boyfriend and maintenance worker at the Plex, found a dead body in the men's room. Now things were becoming a nightmare in all areas of Kate's life.
Detective Lincoln informs Kate that the deceased was killed with a nail gun from the Plex, as if that isn't bad enough, it had Cam's fingerprints all over it. Was he guilty? But wait, the shock isn't over yet for Kate, it seems the deceased is none other than the husband of an old acquaintance of hers, Gladys Reynolds. Will this nightmare ever end for Kate?

Things are not looking good for Cam and Kate decides that she would enlist the help of her head usher Graham and the others to prove Cam was innocent. Bad move Kate! It seems Gladys was quite the 'popular' lady among the men at the Plex. Her ways caused men to leave their wife's only to be rejected by Gladys. The list of potential killers was beyond belief, but why would they want to kill her husband? Where would Kate start? And was Cam telling the truth about not having an affair at one time with Gladys? The facts seemed to point the other way.

Things begin to heat up as Kate pushes on with her investigation.
Attempts on her life become an almost everyday occurrence and her helper Graham is almost killed.
The torment that perhaps Cam was the killer tore at her heart, yet she couldn't be sure.

Wow! What a story. Murder, love, hate, adulterous affairs all spun together to create a who done it tale that will keep you guessing to the end. Colorful characters spice up the read and a heart-thumping ending awaits the reader.
Well thought out storyline set in a not so run of the mill location, this book will keep you on our toes from start to finish. You will never guess, who done it?
Shirley Johnson
Senior Reviewer
MidWest Book Review
Denise's Pieces

I picked this up in Britain and read it on the flight home. With lots of twists and turns it kept me entertained for the duration. The interplay between Kate Carpenter and her boyfriend Cam makes for fascinating reading, particularly as the plot thickens. I work in theater so this book had an added attraction for me with the theater business being the backdrop for the novel. I wish that I had an extra hand so that I could give this book three thumbs up.

I was one of the few lucky recipients of an advance copy of House Report by Deborah Nicholson. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, since I really didn't know what a "House Report" was, but it didn't take long to find out. Kate Carpenter is the Front of House Manager for a live theatre company in Calgary, Alberta, and the "house report" is something she has to fill out after each performance. Her latest House Report turned out to be a rather droll way of informing the management that a dead man was found in the washroom of her theatre.

House Report takes you behind the scenes of live theatre, which is fascinating in itself, but Kate just can't resist getting involved in the murder investigation. As the evidence builds up, she is devastated to find that her on-again off-again boyfriend Cam is one of the prime suspects. Determined to find the real truth behind the murder, Kate ends up in grave danger. Will she be the next murder victim?

House Report is the first book in a series of Kate Carpenter Mysteries. I enjoyed it thoroughly and can't wait for the next book. Ms. Nicholson, you have a new fan!

This is the overwhelming feeling that you will get from this book! How many times have I sat at my grandmother's table, my mother's, a friend's? Just as much as they have sat at mine! And there is aways something to share, to learn. Nora, thank you for sharing the wisdom you've gathered from others.

This evocatively written book is a meditation on life, cooking, kitchens and relationships. I was touched by the author's honesty and her discerning and reflective eye. It's the kind of book that becomes, like a good friend, someone who is not afraid to speak the truth and share their vision of life, warts, joys and all.

The book does not read like a linear story but is rather like a poem where the ebb and flow of images and reflections transports the reader into the author's memory. That place where stories, sensations and the touchstones of experience are lodged. What is wonderful about this book is that the author's approach triggers memories in the reader so that the reader feels they're a member of an extended 'Kitchen Congregation'.

I enjoyed meeting Ida, Senta, Cynthia, Molly, Laura, Dr Rodgers, visitors in Seton's kitchen. Because Seton generously shares her memories, the reader feels that they have known these visitors too.

Whereas speed and convenience reign in this modern age, Seton's book reasserts the importance of the kitchen as a place to prepare, nurture, reflect upon, and experiment with, not only the cooking of meals but also,life's journey. My only criticism of the book is that I found the author's use of imagery and metaphor a little overdone at times. But all in all, a book to be savoured and experienced many times over. Beautiful!

I have recommended this book to my friends who love reading and find joy in the perfect phrase. As soon as I finished reading this book, I started it again. The descriptions of friendship, raising children, cooking and best of all mothers are gifts to the reader. I hope I am able to find Nora Seton's first book.

We (women) recreate our childhoods in our kitchens. We bring to it everything we remember as good, pushing the bad and unhappy aside. It is where we gather, not to cook like the "little hommaker" but to nuture and to nourish. Nora Seton has drawn together some remarkable memories of her mother, intertwined with stories of friendships and insights gleaned during time in other kitchens, as well as her own. Friendship with Senta, the older woman who invokes angels to assist her, and who accompanies the author through one of life's most difficult journeys. Ida, sharing hard won insight into the precarious balances struck by women and men. Seton writes of a good friend contemplating divorce. Much of what is important in life is discussed as she moves through the comforting, numbing, sustaining work in her kitchen. Friends gather at the table, gaining physical sustanance. More importantly, they sustain one another, continuing a thread established by others long ago....women gathered in the kitchen. Meals are prepared,regrets expressed,dreams unfurl and unravel, recepies for food and life are shared, husbands analysed, lives discussed, children intrude and are gathered in, we tend to rehearse amd inspect what is most precious in tandem with the mundane. Never is Seton more elequent, then when writing about loss. The loss of a parent, a child, the bloom of love, the tolerence of marriage,the dreams of youth, all these are brought to the table in distilled form, after simmering over a low flame, stirring and tending, until the clarity remains. Nora Seton has crafted a remarkable book of her continuing journey in the kitchen, seeking sustanance. I was moved and comforted by what the book brought to me (it also sent me looking for the novels her mother wrote, a wonderful tribute).

I read much of it on an airplane, and cried (discretely) throughout. The guy sitting next to me thought I had a stinking cold. This is a chicken soup for the soul book. Filled with warm textural stories within stories. I am a "hard sell" when it comes to books like these...don't like to be told how I should be feeling, and I think Nora did a good job of leaving us to decide for ourselves. Not a lot of the common childhood "let me drivel about what happened to me when I was a kid" trauma-shocker type stuff that I run across a lot in contemporary novels like this, and I appreciate that Nora chose not to go there with this book. It is a very finely CRAFTED book. I noticed how carefully every word was selected - much like picking just the right peaches for your Mom's peach pie recipe. -A wonderful tribute to her own mother, and a clear sign of good things to come from Nora.