Powell Books

Anthony Powell's masterpiece "A Dance to the Music of Time" is essential reading for any lover of literature.

One feels somehow quite melancholy in turning the last page to Powell's Third Movement. There are several reasons for this emotion, not the least of which is the gradual manifestation of a reflection Nick makes about halfway through The Soldier's Art, the second book in the movement:

"That is one of the conceptions most difficult for stupid people to grasp. They always suppose some ponderable alteration will make the human condition more bearable. The only hope of survival is the realisation that no such thing could possibly happen."

Then, too, there is Stringham's demise: From the first of these movements my favourite character, his witty, dashing, insightful bravura, even when reduced to the lowliest of ranks, always added poetic sparkle to the pages. When last seen taking his leave of Nick with a book of Browning's poems in his hand, I felt this tremendous deflation in that I'd seen the last of the most prodigally heroic of Powell's characters (a suspicion borne out later in the text, unless reports of his death turn out to be greatly exaggerated in the fourth movement.). Perhaps his niece, introduced in these pages, will turn out to be his avenging, well, not angel, but more than capable of doing damage to the loathsome Widmerpool all the same.

If there were any doubters of Proust's influence on Powell, the third book here, The Military Philosophers, should put their doubts to rest. Proust is quoted at length, reflected upon, and, in his capacity as foreign Attaché, Nick manages to convince a high-ranking official that he should be included in the French curriculum.

This is turning out to be a lovely work of literature indeed, though I find myself in sad agreement with another reviewer here that it's probably, like Proust, "not everyone's cup of tea." As Nick reflects in The Valley of Bones, the first book herein:

"I was impressed for the ten thousandth time by the fact that literature illuminates life only for those to whom books are a necessity. Books are inconvertible assets, to be passed on only to those who possess them already."----Powell's opus is that sort of book.

A curious Widmerpoolian point: What Jenkins calls General Liddament's whimsical recourse to "Old English" at times, such as in his dispatch to Widmerpool, "The General bade me discourse fair words to you, sir, anent traffic circles." is not Old English at all. It's Elizabethan or Shakespearean English. Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, is the language Beowulf was written in. It's so completely different from anything approaching modern English that it has to be translated by specialists to make any sense at all to the modern reader. It would have been just as alien to the Elizabethan ear, come to that. ----This sort of slip just won't do when there's a war on. ---I wonder Widmerpool didn't catch him out on it.

This summer I started reading Powell's series in consecutive volumes --just finished "Books Do Furnish A room" which follows "The Military Philosphers" --It's fine, completely up to the quality of the preceding volumes but now treating the post-WW II period, our characters and some new ones, in a more hum-drum time. I don't know about the quality of the followng books but so far Powell is not in his dotage by any means .

By the way, I took each individual book out of the library-- didn't use any of the compound or collected books.
easier to handle, and on the eyes ---

The so-called Third Movement of British author Anthony Powell's master twentieth-century opus, "A Dance to the Music of Time," comprises the three novels in which it was initially published:" The Valley of Bones," "The Soldier's Art," and "The Military Philosophers." It covers the military career of our narrator, Nick Jenkins, during the Second World War, opening during the period when hostilities had not yet completely begun, the period known as the "phony war," which Jenkins' friend and brother-in-law Chips Lovett, who will not survive, describes as a "tailors' war." Jenkins, whose father was a career military officer, has mused that his family has served in the military for centuries, always without distinction. He begins the war as a line officer, without distinction; he will finish it in a London staff position. The book is probably more easily read by those with a bit of military knowledge, particularly of pay grades and awards, but it will gift any reader with its undeniable lived experience of that great worldwide conflagration.

"The Valley of Bones" opens with Jenkins, who has managed to get into the army, as a mediocre, older than usual, regimental line officer, during the phony war. It mentions the British evacuation at Dunkirk and the fall of Norway, and closes with the Germans about to take Paris. It introduces us to characters we'll see more of later, Odo Stevens, David Pennistone, and Bithel: Widmerpool's not around. Pennistone's a literary type - he and Jenkins discuss the views of war of French philosopher Descartes and poet-soldier Alfred de Vigny, and the doings of English poet Lord Byron, and his friend Caroline Lamb. It's pretty strictly about army life: it's quite funny in spots, but some readers may find it dry.

"The Soldier's Art" opens as Jenkins has been called to a staff position, serving under his old nemesis from school days, Kenneth Widmerpool,while that former schoolmate continues his irresistible rise to money and power, fueled, Jenkins is now in a position to see, by his prodigious ability to work. The story also centers on the character arcs of two more former schoolmates, Charles Stringham and Peter Templer, Jenkins's closest friends from that time. We are kept in suspense as to their fates, but we come to see that Widmerpool does not mean them well. Stringham remarks early on that "it's awfully chic to be killed," and several relatives of Jenkins's wife will die: brothers at the front, others in the London bombing blitz. Jenkins will lose several more old friends and acquaintances. The book gives the impression of having been written in a white heat.

"The Military Philosophers" opens with Jenkins at London's Whitehall, in his final posting of the war, a staff position providing liaison to England's allies. We see the fates Widmerpool has arranged for Stringham and Templer, as we meet Stringham's niece Pamela Flitton. She's introduced while working as a military driver; a beautiful girl, but considered difficult from childhood. She fascinates many men, Widmerpool among them. Surprisingly, to me, at least, the author mentions the findings at Katyn, where evidence emerges of a massacre of Polish military officers by the Soviet, thus predicting the shape of the postwar world. This volume ends with the war; it certainly has its funny bits, but is sometimes written in a more difficult style.

The vast majority of people who read this volume can have had no first hand experience of England at war at this time, nor will any future readers. It's an invaluable telling of the way it was, well worth reading despite its sometimes somber tone.

I chose to read the Dance series for a graduate school course over the summer of 2003. This third volume is delicious. It logically ends the most important story lines. The volume also contains perhaps the two best loved books in the series, "The Valley of Bones" and "The Military Philospohers". I have studied military history for over the past 25 years. In my opinion these three volumes provide one of the best insights to the bureaucratic dimension of war. They are an opposite yet complementary view of World War II as compared with a more corporeal work such as Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead". Powell the penultimate characterist becomes an expert narrator in this volume. As usual he continues to dazzle thorugh his use of the English language. Practical yet esoteric words that I added to my vocabulary from this volume include "palimpsest", "aperient" and "anent". Beware, exemplary writing ends with book nine. Volume IV, written in the novelist's dotage, is perhaps the very reason many view this series as dull and plodding. END YOUR PLEASURABLE EXPERIENCE of this series WITH VOLUME III.

Not a bad book. Some cool Beastie Boys photos and a few Run DMC pics as well. Sure, there are other 80's rappers in here, but it is mainly comprised of Beastie/DMC shots. Ricky was one lucky dude. I remember him during the Check Your Head tour soundcheck in '92 (in Mesa, Az). He asked all lesbian girls to meet him at the side of the stage after the show. He also ran around the Beasties with a camcorder during the show. Lucky man.....Good book for the price.

Known in some circles as the "4th Beastie Boy" or the "Rap-arazzi," long-time Greenwich Village, N.Y., native and man about town, Ricky Powell truly delivers the goods in Oh, Snap.
This photo guru has been in the game a long time, which is evident in his body of work, especially with the old school Def Jam recording artists he shot including Public Enemy, LL, and the Beasties, just to name a few. Powell has an uncanny ability to showcase an era of both hip hop and NYC culture that seems to have faded in recent years. Like Glen E. Friedman, Powell was in the right place at the right time, capturing a movement that was explosive, dangerous and elegant all at the same time. This book is a must have for all hip hop fans and those who remember the way NYC was prior to the Rudy Giuliani administration.

Ricky Powell has constructed a visual textbook regarding the rise and subsequent dominance of rap/hip hop within the urban domain. Complete with rare photos of living legends in their own element, this book is a requirement for any fan of rap/hip hop.

this book is soooo dope! i'm a diehard beastie's fan so this made me extremely pleased. the pictures in here are ones that i've never seen before and it doesnt just feature the boys: it includes Run-DMC, a few pics of LL, and various hip hop artists... i suggest it to any fan especially teenage girls like me who enjoy looking at pictures of the Boys in their prime hotness...

I saw this book at my chiropractor's office and wanted to slip it in my bag. So glad Ricky put these sincerely taken photos out in the public. The subjects never seem tricked into posing they seem more spontaneous and free , just like the mood of the music at that time . I miss that.

since John lectured at Loyola. It changed my life and when I got divorced, I realized that I loved my wife and if she needed to go to be happy, I needed to support her. I lost my son a few years back and haven't felt anything since until I met a new woman in my life. I recognized almost immediately that I love her totally, and unconditionally. We have some things to work on but this book reminds me of what unconditional love is and isn't. Boundaries and strength and openess and honesty. I am alive agian.

The Christian author portrays unconditional love in a beautiful and refreshing way. In a world of self-help books and broken marriages, this book epitomizes what real love should be like without making it impossibly idealistic.

No matter how many times you have answered this question, in your life, to focus upon this question, is to love yourself.

And don't worry about the answers that come to mind. Whatever answers you arrive at, really represent part of your one life principle, which is what you filter all of your decisions through.

Mine is "Serene Samurai," or, "Creative Self-Expression."

Both terms come down to unconditional love.

And both come down to John Powell's message, "True self-esteem and a true sense of identity can be found only in the reflected appraisal of those whom we have loved."

I especially enjoy reading these 2 messages, in "Unconditional Love:

"There may be days when disagreements and disturbing emotions may come between us. There may be times when psychological or physical miles may lie between us. But I have given you the word of my commitment. I have set my life on a course. I will not go back on my word to you. So feel free to be yourself, to tell me of your negative and positive reactions, of your warm and cold feelings. I cannot always predict my reactions or guarantee my strength, but one thing I do know and I do want you to know: I will not reject you! I am committed to your growth and happiness. I will always love you."

"To choose to love as a life principle means that my basic mind-set or question must be: What is the loving thing to be, to do, to say?"

This wonderful book is a continuation of the ideas in "Why am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am;" also by John Powell, S.J.

I picked this book up on what I figured was a fluke. I was at a used book store and the title seemed exactly what I was looking for. I had no idea how true that was! I definitely believe that this was God's plan, and boy am I glad I listened! :)

This book has completely changed my life, and I am thrilled to recommend it to everyone I know! Just ask my friends... LOL I had no idea what I was getting myself into! I have always had a close relationship with my Father in Heaven, but have struggled with self-esteem my whole life because of abuse issues as a child.

This book is SUCH an incredible view into the souls of those who have suffered any kind of abuse -- or for any reason have low self-worth. I could not put it down, and learned SO much about myself!

Thank you SO much for writing such a wonderful book! My life will never be the same again... isn't it great! :)

JL

November 17, 2005 - A settlement has been reached in connection with a Roman Catholic priest accused of sexual abuse. At least six adults claimed father John Powell abused them in the late 60's and 70's. No criminal charges were filed against Powell but the priest has admitted to the abuse.
--ABC News
Two of the former Chicago Jesuit priest John Powell's victims spoke out Thursday. Patrice Regnier says Father Powell -- a former Loyola University professor -- started abusing her when she was 12 years old. She just received a settlement.
"The idea people found from me speaking the truth that they could come out themselves and speak the truth is a good thing," said Patrice Regnier, victim of sexual abuse.
Diane Ruhl says she was abused at 17 years old by Father Powell on the Loyola campus when she was a student. She confronted him 30 years later by writing him. He responded and admitted to the abuse in his letters.

Arrived in specified time, no issues. Use the book all the time. Pretty good reference.

The future is Javascript. Being a Microsoft technologies fanatic, I always wanted to make use of the AJAX library. My javascript needed some brusing and this was the book I went after. The complete reference, and a good companion to HTML/XHTML Complete Reference. David Flaganan's book is good too. Both deserve 5 stars.

This is a fairly comprehensive book. This is not the best "beginner" book. The "beginner" info is in there - but it's mixed with so much advanced stuff that it can seem overwhelming. If you have previous experience, there's a lot of good stuff here. This is an excellent "second book."

The text is a very good and complete explanation of JavaScript. It describes the best usage of JavaScript with the latest common browsers at the time of writing (early 2004). There are numerous examples which express the programming ideas in a simple fashion.

If you have programmed in other languages, JavaScript should be an easy learn with this book. Programs written in it tend not to be very long, as they are associated with a single web page. While JavaScript deals nicely with the various objects in a browser, like a window or document, the programs tend to have a procedural flavour.

The book is pleasantly written and easy to read, but unfortunately there are some important ommissions as far as describing the JavaScript language itself.

Inheritence is barely mentioned. There is no explanation at all of how to invoke the parent constructor with parameters.

Exceptions are not explained at all in the first part of the book, which is the language guide. Instead they are mentioned at the very end - in the applied programming examples.

There is no good explanation of the internal logic of the language - why certain things are as they are and how they fit together.

Considering the recent trend of writing full blown JavaScript applications, there is a lot to be desired.

The book is much better as a guide to applying simple JavaScript. It covers a wide variety of topics in sufficient detail - DHTML, XMLHTTPRequest, etc. The example scripts do not seem to be production quality, but they serve the purpose of illustrating the ideas well enough.

Reading this book was like being present at the creation of America. It will appeal especially to U.S. history buffs and to anyone interested in the American West. Worster's telling of the feat that won Powell fame, leading the first expedition down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon, has definitely renewed my passion for exploring the West. Powell was a man of ideas, as well as action. For a quarter century he was at the forefront of debates over reserving land for American Indians, how to foster family farming in the arid West, and the thorny issue of water rights. For many years, Powell was a prominent official in Washington, as head of the U.S. Geological Survey, which he helped create, and in other positions. From what I gather in this book, Powell may have been as important as any single individual in making support of scientific research a normal function of the Federal Government. From the perspective of one man's career, Worster touches on a multitude of topics: railroads, telegraph, photography, landscape painting of the West, Mormon settlements, and many more. For the comprehension one gains of American life in those times, this biography is the equal of a first rate novel. Although a work of scholarship, it is written to be enjoyed by the general reader.

My comment at the end of my title refers to Wallace Stegner's "Beyond the 100th Meridian." While that is a very good book, it comes close to perpetuating a myth of Saint John Wesley Powell.

Compared to Stegner, who may be a point of reference for many readers curious about this book, Worster paints a far more complete picture of Powell, delving much deeper into journals and letters kept by colleagues, underlings, and exploratory co-travlers of his.

We see a Powell who was NOT totally Stegner's beknighted prophet of a kinder, gentler Western development. Powell did favor independent farmers over corporate conglomerates, but just as much as Nevada's Sen. Stewart, he wanted to drain every last drop from the Colorado. And, Worster also shows how he ran afoul of the most ardent forest conservation advocates late in his Washington career.

In short, Worster indicates the semi-mythical Powell, not just of Stegner but some other writers, should be taken with a grain of salt.

Worster puts Powell's evangelical -- yes, evangelical -- fervor for irrigation in the backdrop of his childhood Methodism. While there's no way of proving this, it is certainly a reasonable interpretation.

He also paints a broader picture of Powell the bureaucrat. Here again, he differs somewhat from Stegner, suggesting that Powell bears a bit of the blame, at least, for his own wing-clipping by Stewart et al late in his career.

At the same time, Worster gives a detailed portrait of just how hard-working Powell was, both as a Washingtonian and the explorer of the Colorado River and Plateau.

In essence, this is "revisionist history" at its best and most proper.

The title a River Running West is something of a misnomer. One could infer from this title that the bulk of this work centers upon Powell's Colorado River excursions (the front cover might lead one to believe so as well), yet barely 1/5th of it actually does. The beginning, as to be expected, recounts the early years of John Wesley Powell, but the entire second half of this weighty tome is dedicated to his time in Washington DC as head of the USGS. Indeed, to be fully accurate, if matching title to content, a more appropriate appellation might be A Bureaucrat in the East, but bureaucracy just doesn't sell well.

Worster's underlying thread in this effort is Powell's transition from son of devout Methodists to enlightened, agnostic scientist. All well and good, if this is the Powell story. But, Worster bangs this drum so incessantly that it leaves one wondering if he was more concerned with Powell's religious upbringing than Powell himself. There's a whiff here of an agenda.

To be fair, the Colorado River excursions are suspensefully told, but as with most books of the genre, the maps are sparse and dreadful. I can't believe I am in the minority for desiring detailed maps with which I might closely trace the route of intrepid explorers. This becomes especially desirous when I have personally visited sites along their journey for then I may more accurately transform the text into mental imagery. But with sub-par maps containing spotty detail and far too many blank spaces, this becomes a mere exercise in frustration.

Despite this, Worster's biography of Powell is no less than mediocre. It follows the standard format of the genre leaving the reader educated if not exactly enthralled. It is not a book I leapt towards at every opportunity, though there was no need to coerce myself into continuing. A River Running West is but an average account of an indomitable man synonymous with western expansion. 3 stars.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Thorough, evocative, thrilling, and comprehensive in its scope, it was a delight from beginning to end.
I completed a major in Geography at Illinois State University many years ago, where Powell taught at one time, and I am embarrassed to admit the sad truth that in all the courses I took nary a word was ever mentioned about the great man. Considering his extraordinary contribution to our understanding of the natural world, it is all too sad.

The book is well written and informative about the events of Powell's life and the geological survey in which Powell played such a major role. My primary disappointment with the book was that I felt I didn't know the person John W. Powell much better after reading the book. The book provided very little information about Powell's life outside of his work.

If you run IIS you most definitely need this book. The information in it is awesome, much more complete than any Microsoft class could ever give you. I took the MCSE test on IIS 4 and still didn't know what I was doing untill I read this book. If you have IIS do yourself a favor and buy this book. You won't be disappointed!

I was a completely newby to IIS and Web Servers. In this book I found a clear and complete path to follow in order to learn the technology beyond this product and, most important to me, to have IIS run the way I needed it.

Since becoming a network manager I have found that IIS is a necessary part of every NT network and with little exposure to the applications associated with IIS my job was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be.

This book is good for information about install and configuring IIS, monitoring and the monitoring tools, overview of the Index, FTP, news, mail and transaction servers. Also there is good coverage of security and security issues.

Another section of the book covers topics like Internet application server, ASP, scripting and working with the application associated with IIS. What I found missing or shortchanged was the troubleshooting of the IIS and the errors that you get.

Great book for IIS administrators. Steps you through the basics and into the EXTREMELY Advanced and has everything you need to be a successful IIS administrator.

I wasn't able to find all of the answers I needed, but there wasn't much that wasn't answered. The coverage of CGI is a little thin, but pretty much expected given the size and scope of the book.

the order matched the product description perfectly and i got my book in 2 days as promised. i was left extremely satisfied with my purchase.

This text is easy to read, easy to understand and therefore not intimidating as far as Stats Texbooks go.

This book is a good but it truly does not cover biostatistics as well as Clinical Epidemiology by Fletcher or Designing Clinical Research by Stephen Hulley. I think that the other two books are a better buy for your buck. This book is well written but very specific in whom it will appeal to--namely those users who need assistance in the use of the computerized statistical packages.

The book was brand new and arrived very promptly! The only thing I would caution you when buying this book, is that is does NOT include the CD with it...so research a little further before purchasing. Overall, great experience and a great book!

This book really helped to simplify much of the statistical information that I received in class. I warn that some chapters are more digestible than others but overall it is a good book for someone who is likely to struggle in a statistics class.

This book is good for basic information, but the best thing, or things about it are the tidbits of information that lead one to further reading. It is a great source for pointing the reader not only to great thinkers, but also to works by great thinkers worthy of further investigation.

Powell deserves great credit for surveying the last two millenia of Western history to find liberty's "greatest champions". I found myself at the end begging for more analytic input from the author to "put it all together". But I am grateful for his compiling this list of the good guys in the struggle to attain the freedom which we all say we want, and are too often willing to sacrifice by pieces to other ends. The book would benefit greatly from better editorial attention to correct obvious syntactical errors and repetitions. Overall, an admirable addition to the literature of classical liberalism.

"The Triumph of Liberty" is best purchased with the notion that you will chew on one or two short nuggets at a time to capture the essence of each "freedom fighter" profiled. Like Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation", it's a compilation of vignettes that illuminate and sometimes inspire, and which can be read in short bursts.

"Liberty" is short on historical analysis and long on basic biographical formula, which made my own read feel somewhat monotonous. Still, it's a worthwhile contribution to the bookshelf of anyone who cares about the rights of the individual, and who knows how precarious those rights have been throughout man's history.

With this book, Jim Powell advances the notion that modern history can best be viewed as a quest for freedom, and even the most cynical among us must agree that "wresting liberty from tyranny's iron fist" is indeed worth fighting for. In a series of short biographical vignettes, Powell looks at the lives of sixty-five historical figures that he deems heroes in this struggle, making for a fascinating and inspiring read. However, any such grouping of people is bound to spark debate, as very few of these individuals would call themselves "libertarian", nor would all libertarians be quick to claim them all as ancestors or heirs.

Historian Paul Johnson may sum up this book best with these words from its foreword: "I do not agree with all of it". That luminaries like Cicero and Thomas Paine belong in this canon is almost without question, but the case for Beethoven, Goya, and Robert Heinlein (among others) requires one to adopt the modern "big L" libertarian perspective in its entirety. I, for one, would prefer to see Margaret Thatcher's place in the book removed, and replaced by a section on Nelson Mandela; economic issues aside, surely most people would place the latter above the former as a champion of liberty and justice in our time.

Thus, the greatest weakness of this book is also its strength: it forces the reader to think, to consider what "liberty" really means. Given the state of the world today, that fact alone merits my recommendation.

In this book Jim Powell attempts to tell us the story of liberty by illuminating the lives of it's greatest champions.Mr. Powell is a great storyteller and for the most part he succeeds in his mission of telling us the story of freedom's champions from Cicero to Ronald Reagan.The book might have been better if Powell had started out by giving us a definition of liberty. In the biblical sense liberty implies the ability to be morally self-governed.This was certainly how Locke, Jefferson and Franklin among other libertarians understood the term.If the concept of self-government is understood as it relates to liberty the author would have to eliminate the chapters on H.L. Mencken,and Albert Jay Nock among others.I agree with a previous reviewer that the book's inclusion of Martin Luther King Jr. is highly questionable.Dr. King was certainly a great man who achieved great things.But He was not a libertarian, He was a socialist.But beyond these criticisms this is an excellent book.My favorite chapter is the one about William E. Gladstone. Mr. Gladstone's life was the personification of liberty.Like John Locke and Hugo Grotius Gladstone was a devout christian who practiced moral self-government in his personal life and attempted to impose that same sense of self-discipline upon government. Once again this is a great book, which ought to be required reading in all of our schools. God bless you Jim Powell.

This book comes out of the twilight years of Nisargadatta. As some of the other reviewers made mention, there is no sugar-coating here. In fact, I will tell you right here and now all you have to know to understand Advaita, the rest is fluff (really)...You are awareness itself. Bang. That's it, the whole ball of wax. If you understand this, you understand all. In fact there is no need to read endlessly, endlessly, endlessly. You are not the body, nor the mind, you are aware of such things, and That gentle reader is what you are. This book lays it on the line. Everything he says points to this fact. Everything that happens in awareness is merely a play. There is good and there is evil -apparently - so play your role well - and purchase this book for the details. P.S. Oh by the way, your true nature - awareness - is that of bliss (love!) so don't worry, O.K.

The Ultimate Medicine, Dialogues with a Realized Master, is Nisargadatta Maharaj in the final years of his life.

His earlier work, I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, is a classic and the core message of Advaita Vedanta. The Ultimate Medicine continues where I Am That leaves off, cutting to the core of the message.

Nisargadatta points directly at that I AM prior to thoughts, prior to the experience and idea of being a "person". His illness took away the patience to deal with the normal "spiritual" questions and forced the "seeker" to look straight in the direction of the looker, the witness, THAT which IS, the ACTUALITY of timeless being.

Most find the words of Nisargadatta difficult to understand - this is because the mind is utilized - isn't this the normal way of trying to attain, trying to add to the knowledge and wisdom to "get it"?

Nisargadatta would say that what you're seeking already IS, already is witnessing the very concept of a questioner. See the false as the false, the rest is irrelevant.

love
randall
http://avastu0.blogspot.com

This book is a collection of some of the later question and answer sessions between Sri Nisargadatta and visitors from around the world. After finishing `I Am That' I read this book. There is a noticeable difference between the words of Nisargadatta in the two books. `I Am That' is unquestionably the better of the books, and the pinnacle of Maharaj's teachings.

During His earlier days, Maharaj was eager to teach, and would continually answer beginners questions. In this book, which collects talks during which He was ill and close to death (the body's death), he stated that he no longer desired to teach, and was a little intolerant of beginners unfamiliar with the basics of his teachings. So this book deals with some of Nisargadatta's more advanced teachings.

Maharaj in this book talks about the necessity of understanding your own incarnation, and what you were before the body was born. He talks about the interdependence of the vital breath and consciousness, stating that both consciousness and the sense of `I-Am-Ness' are dependent on the body. This book gave me a better understanding of the principle method taught by Sri Nisargadatta, which is holding onto the sense of `I Am.' He taught that this method will lead to the realization that you are not the body, but consciousness. However, He also said that this isn't the Ultimate, and that even the association with consciousness has to be given up eventually. If I understand correctly, realizing that you are consciousness is Brahman, and when this is realized you become the totality of manifestation. But the Ultimate, Parabrahman, is the witness of the Brahman and the full and final enlightenment. All of this is elucidated in `The Ultimate Medicine.'

So, while not the monumental work that `I Am That' is, this book is still very worth reading, especially if you want to go deeper, and read some of the more advanced teachings by this great Master, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.

After reading I AM THAT, I expected (based on readers' reviews) this book to be less tedious and more for advanced "seekers". I was disappointed. Maharaji gives us more detailed dialogues about who we really are. We are SPIRIT, not a body. He explains that consciousness comes into the body on birth and exits the body on "death". He tells us death is an illusion. In a nutshell, anything that is not REAL (eternal) does not come from God. Thus the body is an illusion because it does not last forever. If we identify with our real (eternal) Self, our desires leave us and we experience bliss. All of this could have been printed on one page. Many of the dialogues are convoluted and lack punch. Compare with Ramana Maharshi, who says you don't have to do anything, just be your Self. OK, easier said than done, because once we start working on being our Self, the ego takes over, we begin serious meditation, chanting, singing, and whatever. What a waste of time! The trick is, to kill the ego. This is not simple. If you study Ramakrishma, he tells us to love God. If we love God, all else is pushed aside, we become purified. To paraphrase the COURSE IN MIRACLES, as we get closer to God, He helps us by taking the final step.

Unlike the first book produced on Nisargadatta, "I AM THAT" which was stripped bare of all religious trappings, the discussions recorded in "The Ultimate Medicine" between Nisargadatta and his visitors have many more references to Hindu terminology and concepts. I would therefore recommend that anyone new to Nisragadatta's teachings begin with "I AM THAT".

Something I found very interesting in this book were the discussions that centered around one understanding one's birth, which is not really discussed in "I AM THAT". Nisargadatta says several times that alöl will be clear when one can, underrstand, experientially, (through meditation), how this consciousness came about, how birth came about.

The book was written shortly before Nisargadatta died from cancer, and he was suffering from the illness at during these recordings. His comments concerning this illness are also something to ponder over.

This is really a unique and important book, and anyone who seeks enlightenment through *knowledge* should look at this and Nisargadatta's other books. You won't find these ideas more clearly expressed anywhere else.

Nisargadatta was a unique teacher, and we're fortunate indeed to have his teachings available in book form like this.

The art is great, feels almost animated (and i hope someone will animate it). There is humor, but it's mostly in the art rather than in the text and ideas.

However, i felt a little dissapointed for two reasons:
1. Even if this is the first volume, you should read volume 0 (Rough Stuff) first since this one makes some important references to the origins of Goon and its enemy, the Zombie Priest
2. It's too similar to Hellboy. Not VERY similar, but enough to notice it easily. Even the looks and one-liners of the Goon remind me of Hellboy. Also his absurd supernatural enemies and friends are from the same pool of ideas (zombie gangsters instead of nazis, talking fish and sea monsters, hot chicks with a noir shade of character)

The Goon volumes make for a great looking and entertaining collection and should be appreciated by Hellboy fans. But this being the first volume that i read, i expected something fresher and more genuine.

This is my first foray into The Goon. I loved it. I usually read superhero books but lately I've weanted to get into something different. First it was Hellboy and now it's The Goon. This is Hilarious but it's not just jokes there are real stories here too. These other reviewers mention these great horror writers and what-not, I have not read their stuff (but I probably should), but this is a great read for anybody.
And The Atomic Rage is hilarious.

I am not a huge graphic novel fanatic, not that I do not appreciate great artwork and the compelling stories that come out of a variety of fantastic stories, it is just that it has never been something I have latched onto as much as many of my friends have.
My fascination has been with zombies and that has led me to different graphic novels where zombies play a part in them. From The Walking Dead Series to Xombie to Reces Pieces, I have found plenty to entertain me with along with the strictly written word in zombie books.
I picked up a couple of Goon titles, thinking that My Murderous Childhood and Nothin' But Misery would be the first two in the series. I was mistaken but after reading these two, I will be hitting up Rough Stuff and moving forward with the rest of the series.
I love the almost schitzophrenic way that Eric Powell's brain works with this series, how he brings in totally lunatic elements with both a dark and malevolent sense of humor that had me cracking up through this entire book. The advertisements are hilarious, the different tales both big and small are intriguing, and overall I thought it was a fantastic read.
Zombies play a part in the Goon series, which is what drew me to it, but it is far more than just that. I honestly cannot wait to read the rest of the various tales of the Goon, because the art is great, the stories are rolicking, and the bottom line for me is that this was fun to read.

This was a wonderful read. I do not normally laugh out loud when reading comics, but this one keeps me rolling. Despite the fact that the characters are much the antihero, you just can't help rooting for them.

After reading this I am determined to buy and read this title as long as he is publishing it. The Goon is my favorite comic out today, and I would definitely pick this product up.

There are comics that have more depth and some that have more subtlety than The Goon, but few that exhibit such sheer joy of the comics medium and "low-brow" art. It's obvious that Eric Powell knows not only the value of good B-Movies and pulp tales, but of all other pop-culture discards as well. His stories, freeway collisions among gansters, monsters, Frank Capra and drive-in "sci-fi", are pure, simple, direct, and often outright funny. They invoke everything from Ed Wood to Norman Rockwell. Although Powell adopts a beautiful cartoony style in drawing Goon (with suggestions of Jack Kirby, Will Eisner and other comics greats), what makes it work is the talent of an accomplished artist capable of far more complex renderings. The Goon is a wonder and well worth your attention.