W Books

This book is by far my favorite book on the subject. I would recommend it to anyone starting out in their teaching career. Don't be put off by the "dummies" title.

This book is very easy to read and written in an informal style, but manages to provide great tips and information to make teaching a lot easier. I haven't started teaching yet, but this book has served to warn me about some problems and experiences I may encounter. It doesn't go over what they teach you in education courses, like lesson planning and educational psychology, but it does tell you things like what to do if you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of your class and gives management, organizational, and networking tips to help you avoid having to reinvent the wheel in some areas. Overall, a good read that I found hard to put down, because it was entertaining, helpful, and oh-so-true.

I really liked this book. I was an easy read, very helpful, and humorous! I was hesitant at first because it's written by a high school teacher, and I am elementary. However, his advice, tips, and warnings apply to ALL grade levels. This book skips the educational theories, and dives right into the important things that rookies really want to know: setting up your classroom for the 1st day; getting to know parents; how to deal with your administrators; and keeping your kids under control, among many other topics. The author includes many anecdotes from his teaching career. This book is excellent; I definitely recommend!

This book is one of the best I have read on being a teacher. I am a new teacher, but have been in the classroom for 10 years. The author has a very good insight on what it is all about, from dealing with the kids, the never ending responsibilities of being in charge of a classroom and dealing with the adults involved. W. Michael Kelley has a fantastic sense of humor and gives so many inspiring examples of how to make teaching fun, not only for the teacher but for the students as well. I highly recommend this book to rookie teachers as well as veteran teachers who feel they need to revamp their teaching styles and methods.

I am in the stages of deciding whether teaching would be a good career change for myself. Michael Kelley's book has really helped me get a clear picture of what to expect in the world of teaching. It is very easy to read and fun too -- he has a wonderful sense of humor and has some great antidotes. I highly recommend this book. This one will be going in my "to keep" pile as I have highlighted quite a few passages worth remembering.

This series is great and this was another chapter in the ongoing story of Maturin and Aubrey. Their adventures are of another world and provide a great contrast to other books.

This entry in the Aubrey-Maturin seagoing saga was probably my least favorite that I've read so far in this series. My quibble was with the novel's plot, which was pretty thin and derivative of other action novels and movies. And Diana Villiers, Dr. Maturin's love, is starting to remind of the character of Irenee in The Forsythe Saga. Everyone is always talking about how fascinating she is, but darned if I can see why. On the plus side, as always O'Brian serves up amazing historical details and makes Jack and Stephen witty and real. And the on-going story of their lives advances to a very eye-opening and surprising ending. So you can bet I'll look forward to the next installment of this series.

The focus is on Stephen Maturin in this seventh installment of the Aubrey-Maturin series, which, though it isn't the best or most exciting of the first seven books, is still a ripping good read. Returning to England following their escapades in North America, Aubrey and Maturin try to settle into life at home -- Jack with his family and Stephen with his scientific pursuits -- but their pasts catch up with them, compelling them to join forces for a spur-of-the-moment mission to the Baltic. Will they succeed? Will they overcome the old problems that dog them? And just who is the surgeon's mate? Read this tale of spying, diplomacy, and (of course!) naval combat to find out.

Patrick O'Brian's scope of imagination is staggering. We are now into the seventh book in his series, and Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey and surgeon/naturalist/spy Stephen Maturin continue to find themselves in realistic-yet-dire circumstances of a personal, military, and intelligence nature. Through it all, these two characters never seem like invincible juggernauts, but instead very human, very capable men living by the best their wits and luck can offer.

At the outset of the novel, Aubrey and Maturin need to flee the New World for the old, but find themselves hard-pressed to do so. Thanks to Dr. Maturin's single-handed destruction of French spy networks in Boston (including a wee bit of murder), a wealthy intelligence figure hires ships to track down the fleeing Maturin. The result is a thrilling chase off Nova Scotia and the nearby waters - while I prefer Aubrey's sinking of the Dutch 74 the Waakzamheid in "Desolation Island," this chase is one of the most thrilling in the series so far.

And the joys of this novel don't stop there. O'Brian once again finds various ways to inject humor into his novel. Dr. Maturin hits a personal and professional high (as a naturalist) when he gets the chance to address a body of learned scientists in Paris . . . only to bungle the presentation horribly. Aubrey allows himself to be seduced by a wanton woman while celebrating his escape from the jail in Boston, and is confronted with news of the natural biological result of such a transgression. Maturin and Aubrey are accompanied on many of their adventures in "SM" by the Swedish captain Jagiello, a supremely attractive young man, and Aubrey finds himself at a loss as to why the women fall all over themselves for this young buck when they could have a sailor "with the handsomest set of whiskers in the fleet." There are joys in this novel that you just don't find in most swashbuckling thrillers.

But at its heart, "SM" is an adventure yarn, and O'Brian does not disappoint. In a story that sweeps from the New World to Paris to Denmark to the infamous Temple Prison back in France, Aubrey and Maturin find themselves thrown from one pan into another fire. And God bless them for it!

Confession time. THE SURGEON'S MATE is the fifth book in the "Aubrey/Maturin Series" of seafaring novels that I have completed; however, it is the seventh book in the logical series order. Having subscribed to receive the entire series, I began reading the books in the order that they arrived, assuming that the publisher would send them in proper sequence. Such turns out not to have been the case, and some of my discontent with other volumes I have reviewed derived from the fact that I had missed some events because of reading the books out of order. Allow my experience to stand as evidence that, for maximum enjoyment and even comprehension, these books should be approached in their logical sequence.

I have now edited those earlier reviews to correct any misstatements as to the books' places in the sequence of novels and have removed comments pertaining to missing events that actually were addressed in preceding volumes. Nonetheless, I find that my overall assessments of the books remain unaltered. I feel that Richard Russ (Patrick O'Brian's real name) is essentially a "three star" author. When he writes of naval engagements aboard men-of-war, sloops, frigates, and the other fighting ships whose maneuvering capabilities are largely at the whim of the prevailing winds, he is a most engaging author. However, when he delves into the interpersonal relationships of his characters, he is less successful in engaging his readers.

Two other continuing weaknesses in Russ' writing are his heavy use of now-archaic seafaring terminology that often clouds the meaning of the passage and his frustrating lack of time transitions. The first problem could have been alleviated by judicious use of explanatory footnotes. The latter could have been corrected by use of transitional commentary. As it is, however, in one sentence, the captain may call for one of his officers, and in the very next sentence he is speaking to that officer. It is as though a time warp has occurred and the officer has materialized next to his captain at the very moment he is called for. This annoying truncation of time appears in each of the five volumes I have read thus far, and I fear it is a weakness to which the author is blind and may well continue throughout the series.

By itself, THE SURGEON'S MATE, while subject to the general criticisms I have mentioned, is, by and large, readable and engaging. Is Russ/O'Brian improving as he writes additional volumes, or am I becoming accustomed to his style and more accepting of it? In either event, I found this volume a much faster and more intriguing read than some of the others I have already encountered. The single most perplexing thing about this book is its title. There is no focus on any "surgeon's mate" whatsoever, and where Russ/O'Brian found his inspiration for the title remains a murky mystery! (Some reviewers have identified the title as referring to the character of Dr. Stephen Maturin; however, he has hitherto been described as being much more than a naval surgeon, being a skilled physician while a naval surgeon was essentially limited to chopping off shattered limbs. If this is indeed Russ/O'Brian's intent, then his choice of title essentially demotes Maturin from his former position, which is not, I think, the author's intent.)

If, gentle reader, you are determined to read the entire Aubrey-Maturin series of novels, you will certainly not want to miss this one. However, you will perhaps enjoy it most if you have read the preceding six volumes first. On the other hand, if one is interested in merely sampling Russ/O'Brian's work, this would not be a bad example to choose, although I would still suggest reading at least the first work, MASTER AND COMMANDER, before delving into any of the succeeding books, including this one.

I grew up reading books like the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, The Three Investigators and the Danny Dunn series. I loved these stories and now my children read these old favorites in addition to many of the new offerings. It was my love for these stories that shaped my own children's book.John Fastramp and the Dakota 3000 Challenge

Lost books from my childhood. The writing is very clever and witty, with that old 1950's charm.

My [...]son loved these books. I've always had a hard time finding books that keep him interested all the way through. He picked up the first book and read it cover to cover.

This set of books has caused quite a stir in our home! My boys (8 and 6) love to hear us read to them so much that bedtime has often been delayed because of "just one more chapter!"

For a wonder, I never read a Hardy boys novel when I was growing up, probably because they weren't on the shelves at the librarywhere I got most of my books. Of course I saw the Disney versions and the tv series, but I never read one of the books until I was sixty one years old. Then while shopping online I found this boxed set and decided to buy it and read what the books were like.
The first thing I found was that these are not the original versions of the stories written in the late twenties and early thirties. The giveaway was when some of the villains stole a case of transister radios, which were not even invented til long after the forties. So this is the series rewritten in the sixties.
That said, the stories were ingenious and well written. Also, I liked the group of friends that were always ready to help the heroes with their adventures. Television lost out on a good thing when they did not mention these guys and girls on the shows.
After reading through the books, I passed them on to some of my friends, who are eagerly reading them, too.
These books are a good read and a fine memento of a time when it was considered possible for a pair of teenagers to take on a gang of criminals and not get killed out of hands.

As someone who works in a library I always check out books with a library theme and have to say Judy Sierra's storyline is one of the best I have ever come across.

Wild About Books is really well written, done in the style of Dr Seuss (which Sierra tributes in the actual story and after at the end as well). With lots of humorous rhyming verses this book is a fun read for all ages. The illustrations although children may well still enjoy trying to figure out and name each animal are a bit average at times, with many not resembling the actual creatures at all. Also a bit of research by the illustrator Marc Brown into what a mobile library looks like rather than just looking out his office window at the mobile lunch van in the car park, as well as visiting an actual zoo or wildlife park to base his drawings of on rather than using a factory would have been a good idea too.

Wild About Books is the tale of a mobile librarian named Molly McGrew who drove the library into a zoo. As she reads out loud a Dr Seuss novel the zoos various residents became enticed to read and write books as well. McGrew also teaches them how to look after library material and inspires them to open a run their very own branch.

A great story who if the publishers had found a better illustrator no doubt would have rivaled Animalia by Graeme Base and other wildlife picture books. Another great library picture book is Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Florrie Binford-Kichler, Founder of Patria Press, Inc.- an award-winning independent publisher and Member of The Children's Book Council; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

I just love reading this book! I think it is fun and appreciate all the references in it. We first found it at the library and I had to own it! Also love all the pictures of so many different animals. My daughter really enjoys naming all the animals.

Wild about books is funny, well written and beautifully illustrated. It's clever and has a very smart story. Our son loves this book and can recite it from memory. Get this book -- it's a gem.

"It started the summer of 2002, when the Springfield librarian, Molly McGrew, by mistake drove her bookmobile into the zoo..." This fun book shows how enticing reading can be, for animals and humans alike. The animals of the Springfield zoo all find books containing stuff that is of interest to them, and the animals are all very different. The story shows that even though people are all different too, we can all still find some sort of book that would teach us something.

The poem uses many different literary techniques, including rhyme and alliteration. This adds to the funniness of the text and makes it that much more interesting for children. The poem is full of imagination and helps children to see reading in a new way. The purpose of the poem is just that, to give children a different way to look at books and reading. The animals in the story like reading so much, they actually build their very own library in the zoo! The author also describes how books should be treated, and what not to do with them.

The illustrations are very comical and in lush exciting color. They would be found delightful to children and really add to the text. The pictures definitely appeal to the senses, showing texture, color, detail, and sometimes even sounds.

All in all the book is a great one. Not only does it introduce many animals that children may not be familiar with, it also shows how books hold something for everyone. Learning is another thing that is highlighted in the rich text of this amazing book.

This is a no none sense view of precious talent. Tulgan does an excellent job of showing managers don't have to just let their talent walk out the door. Sometimes the solution to keeping good people is a simple change of schedule of 30 to 60 minutes. This book has good ideas that don't cost money!

Winning the Talent Wars: How to Build a Lean, Flexible, High-Performance Workplace is the recent softcover edition of Tulgan's workplace classic. His workplace philosophy, "Talent is the Show" is applied to all areas of HR: staffing, compensation, coaching-style management, training, and career paths. The only difference between this book and the original hardcover edition, Winning the Talent Wars: How to Manage and Compete in the High-tech, High-speed, Knowledge-based, Superfluid Economy, is a new forward.

So we're not in the go-go late 90's early 2000's anymore.

That doesn't change the basic theme of this book.

Even in the recent economy, the power at work is shifting from the employer to the employee, especially when that employee is among the best performers.

The point Tulgan raises is that that this is not a matter of salary, but a matter of *compensation* Employees, especially the best employees, are seeking more and more to craft their own dream job or dream career. If someone doesn't get that with one employer, they are likely to leave for a place where they can come closer to accomplishing that.

What is ideal for one individual is not likely to be ideal for another individual, so Tulgan advocates a negotiation process, where the company and the supervisors, work to figure out what makes a person "tick" and to change the nature of employement to make the work environment fit that as much as possible. This could be flex schedules, work conditions, more/less travel, office location, etc.

However, this is not solely the employee in charge, as, by doing this, the business will keep their best and brightest and most productive employees, instead of losing the valuable training investments. Also, productivity will increase, and the carrot is mightier than the stick in Tulgan view (how strong is the threat of firing when people are more likely to pick up and leave?)

Tulgan also mentions thinking in terms of "work" rather than "jobs" and devotes sections of the book to management by coaching (in a number of respects) rather than "command and control."

While this book was written in 2001, the arguments are even more relevant as the economy has gotten more global, especially for the top performers. While some of the "power" may have shifted back to companies in the workplace for industries subject to outsourcing, giving them a larger worker pool, the top performers have a greater pool of EMPLOYERS. The need to have the top performers is stronger than ever.

Whether you're managing, looking to manage, or just looking at how to deal with managers (and what you CAN and SHOULD ask for as a term of employment) this book will tell you how the workplace will operate in at least the early part of this century.

The book lucidly explains the fundamental shift in employer-employee relationship in the new economy. Bruce Tulgan does an admirable job of showing that managers do not have to just let their talent walk out the door. This book has useful ideas that can save your company a lot of money. It is written in an immensely readable style and has some good humour.

Tulgan argues persuasively that in the new economy, every term of employment, including schedules, training, career paths, location, assignments, co-workers, pay, among others, will best be agreed through a negotiation process, so as to tailor it to the individual needs of the scarce talents, which he explains will enable the organization to retain the talent. Naturally, the most precious talent will have the most negotiating clout. All this entails a novel set of organizing principles for employing highly productive people in the new economy.

Companies are advised to reflect and take note of the kind of work place that Tulgan describes in his book. Unless action is taken timely to recruit and retain talent, then the future prosperity of an organization may be in doubt. As a senior manager in my organisation, the book was a wake-up call and showed me the things I can do right now to make the workplace a place where the best people will want to come to work.

The book is essential reading for both managers and workers. The managers will learn how to build a lean, flexible, high-performance workplace. The worker will be able to understand better the background of some people policies, such as why managers are more accommodating to "talents" demands and how they can adapt their aspirations accordingly.

In Good to Great, Jim Collins and his research associates learned that the great companies "...first got the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats -- and then they figured out where to drive it. The old adage 'People are the most important asset' turned out to be wrong. People are not [italics] your most important asset. The right [italics] people are."

The right people share the same values and, together, sustain their organization's commitment to those values. If involved in their organization's recruiting and interviewing process, as they should be, they will help to ensure that the right people will be hired (i.e. allowed on the "bus"). Obviously it is important to get talent and task in proper alignment. It is equally important to keep an organization's values in proper alignment with its objective.

Tulgan's important book is even more relevant and more valuable now than it was when first published about two years ago. As its subtitle correctly indicates, he explains "how to manage and compete in the high-tech, high-speed, knowledge-based, superfluid economy." That is to say, he wrote the book for decision-makers in all organizations (regardless of size or nature) to help them determine HOW to get "the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats"...and then keep them there.

All of the companies which Tulgan discusses (e.g. Johnson & Johnson and J.P. Morgan Chase) demonstrate one of Tulgan's core concepts: "In the new economy, every term of employment -- schedules, location, assignments, coworkers, pay, and more -- will be negotiation, whether you like it or not. The most valuable talent will have the most negotiating power. Every employment relationship will last exactly as long as the terms are agreeable to all parties." There is a new set of organizing principles for employing people in the new economy:

' Talent is the show.

' Staff the work, not the jobs.

' Pay for performance, and nothing else.

' Turn managers into coaches.

' Train for the mission, not for the long haul.

' Create as many career paths as you have people.

Tulgan devotes a separate chapter to each of these principles, explaining with meticulous care how to apply each to his reader's specific business situation. Note how these principles apply to any organization which competes for available talent and then is challenged to keep its best people who, more easily now more than ever before, can leave the "bus" whenever and wherever they wish. This situation is as common among the great companies whom Collins discusses as it is among the local merchants from whom we purchase various products and services.

Extensive research indicates that only one in 28-30 dissatisfied customers ever complains to the provider of the given product or service. All others simply never do business with that provider again...while continuing to express their dissatisfaction to family members, friends, and business associates. More often than not, customer dissatisfaction is the result of an unpleasant personal experience rather than because of a product defect. To extend Collins' metaphor, customers are among the "passengers" and can also get off the "bus" whenever and wherever they wish. Much has been written about the power of BUZZ (i.e. word-of-mouth) and the importance of creating "customer evangelists." From my perspective, winning the "talent war" is essential to winning the competition for customer's repeat business. A careful implementation of the strategies and tactics which Tulgan recommends in this book will help to achieve that ultimate objective.

Otherwise, not having "the right people on the bus...and in the right place," the "bus" will either never reach its destination or in the highly unlikely event that it does so, arrive with few (if any) "passengers" aboard.

As a parent of a child with autism, I have faced many struggles.
Working with the public school system to provide my son an appropriate education has been the hardest struggle by far. I have read Wrightslaw: Special Ed Law and From Emotions to Advocacy by Peter Wright and have found them to be an invaluable resource for parents of special needs children. As with any disability, parents must educate themselves in order to help their child. These books are loaded with information that is essential for parents who wants to be strong advocates. I recommend these books to every parent who has a child in the public school system.

I found this book to be an excellent resource for getting the special education my 10 year old son needed. Not only does it point out the "common" methods school systems circumvent the Law (and your childs education), it tells the reader how to deal with it. Also of note was the text of several court cases on special education law and how it relates to the parents. Yes, we have a lot more rights and control of our childrens education than the school systems are willing to acknowledge! Especially educational was how it pointed out that school systems often do not have all the members present for a meeting, but the law requires ALL members to be present. This is a must have for parents of Special Educational need students.

This book is a must have if you have a child with special needs. It is the most comprehensive book around for helping your child get an education! I call it my special education bible. If you can only afford one book to help you through the special education maze, this is the ONE to buy!

Sissy

This book is extremely well written, concise and incredibly practical. As a parent of a special needs child, my copy is dogeared with tons of stickies coming out the sides and highlighted paragraphs throughout. The unraveling of caselaw portions and the clear writing style help you understand the nuances of special ed law, expectations you can have, how to be smarter in and out of an IEP meeting, and how not to be bushwacked. It has the good stuff, but doesn't skip on the real language either. Well balanced with nothing fluffy. I'd rather lose my dayrunner than my copy of Wrightslaw.

This book, is THE guide to protecting your child and making sure he receives the special education services that he needs. The author's give some VERY good, sound advice throughout the book. Just having the laws handy makes it worth the price, the legal commentaries are just the icing on the cake. It it the best book I have bought and highly recommended to anyone who has a special needs child. Whether you are familiar with the laws or not, you should own this book. There is also a companion strategy guide available from the same publisher that is very good. And there is also a Advocate's Guide coming out soon from the same author's and I will buy that as soon as it is released. Knowledge is power. The best way to help your kids is to learn as much as you can. This book is your best resource to do that.

I had been working with Unix and Linux flavors for sometime, and this book has been a blessing for me. I need a book that was willing to detail every aspect of the OpenBSD ( at least the most relevant), kernel, workarounds, etc. And it does its job. Many Thanks,ed

I purchased this book from Amazon on March 4th, 2007. Two months and five days later, after two conversations with Amazon employees who assured me that I would receive the book, they still have not shipped it.

It appears that Amazon simply does not have the book. I phoned the publisher, No Starch Press, and they don't have a copy either. A PDF is available for download, but that's all.

At this writing, the Amazon listing still says that the book "usually" ships in one to two weeks. Amazon is apparently selling a product that it does not have to sell.

If you want this book, you might do better to buy one of the used ones.

So many computer books today are 800 pages of word bloat. Michael not only keeps the writing lively, but in K&R fashion, he gives a lot of information in a succint way. Highly recommended and an easy read. Also note, he gives a complete picture of openbsd from A-Z Not too tedious and not too broad. I have not found a linux book this nice.

I'm no security freak, but I love the OpenBSD concept: security above all. When I took a course in Unix operating systems, I was introduced to OpenBSD, and recommended to purchase this text. Albeit outdated (it covers version 3.2, and OpenBSD is now at 4.0), the book offers an overview of all the basics, including 3 whole chapters on the pf firewall.

Because of its general nature, the author, Lucas, does not solely focus on pf, but instead adds flair to an extremely hostile operating system environment. I don't recall ever working with a more difficult system from scratch. Lucas really helped in getting me through some of the more cryptic areas of installation and configuration. The book itself is quite basic, so if you need something specific, like a korn shell book, look elsewhere. His style also makes the book itself a fun read, I must admit, because of his colorful presentation.

I've had this book for more than a year now.

This may be the most fun textbook-with-no-pictures I've ever read.

Realy I bought the book, I didn't have any OpenBSD contact and I bought the OpenBSD CDs to try it and play, and the book arrived before the OpenBSD's CDs and I begun to read, and learned me how to install OpenBSD, When the CDs arrived realy was very easy to install and get my first steeps in this OS.

Max Lucado addresses a pretty fool-proof section of the Bible here. It's a decent book; however, like serving someone a hard-boiled egg, it's pretty hard to screw up.

It is a helpful book for anyone unfamiliar with Jesus' most simplistic yet profound sermon. But, for those already familiar with the Beatitudes, this book serves more as a good reminder than it does as a provider of new insight into Biblical text.

For that reason, I found the book lacking in intellectual/theological stimulation.

Max Lacudo explains the beatitudes in such a simple yet enlightening way one can't help but say "yes" as you read! He literally changed my life as I realized through this book that I too wanted to be up on the Mountain, and not left in the valley. And King of the Mountain is not the goal! For anyone looking to find the light this is the book! I keep extra copies to pass on and give as gifts. A wonderful book!

Great study on the beattitudes for small groups.
Chapters are short enough not to be a burden on busy people.

I have read this book at least 5 times. Without a doubt this book has the happiest ending a story could ever have!

I read this several years ago, and just read it again. It is a great book over the beattitudes. Max Lucado does a great job of teaching through stories and this book is no exception. It gave me a fresh perspective a very popular Bible passage.

The Psalms, often described as the Prayer Book of the Bible,has been translated by a scholar of Biblical texts, to produce not only, probably, the most accurate translation of the Hebrew Text, with detailed notes, but more importantly from a layman's point of view, the most beautiful poetically up-lifting hebrew poetry, and indeed,truly prayerful at that. Highly recmmended.

Executive summary: Going back to oldest available texts, Hebrew scholar Robert Alter has produced an unbiased and accurate translation, with copious explanation and footnotes. While the prose is inelegant compared to the familiar KJV, it is beautiful in keeping the economy, syntax, reflected meanings, etc. of the ancient Hebrew.

The author: Alter is a Professor at Berkley. His translations of the Pentateuch and other parts of the OT are also fabulous and noteworthy.

Author's special approach: Aside from being faithful to the Hebrew, Alter has struggled mightily to avoid selecting English that might lard Psalms with Christian meaning not actually there. He also uses copies annotations to explain when he has chosen between multiple meanings, damaged texts and why. He also explains when known what the intent of each psalm was, how it might have been sung, etc.

Surprises? yes-- Alter comes up with literally dozens of places where the much later Mesoretic texts appear mistaken. he explains just why the numbering in the Septuagint is correct, for example. This should be enough to prompt Christian readers to perhaps consider reading their English-language psalms from the newly published (Conciliar press) Orthodox Study Bible rather than, say NIV.

Conclusion: A valuable bit of research; wonderful translation effort, handsome edition (nice paper, built-in bookmark, etc.)--a must have for Bible scholars

This was high on my daughter's Christmas and birthday list. It was a high spot in her birthday celebration. It arrived on time and in great condition.

I read this over the course of almost a year, one psalm a night just before bed. I found it illuminating and inspiring. Much has already been written about how Alter's translation of the Hebrew word "nefesh" or "nafesh" as "life's force" instead of the traditional "soul" changes the whole perspective. Ditto for "l'Hoshua" -- to rescue instead of to "save or redeem." Simply by doing this, Alter reorientates us away from a later Christian world view back to the original. The writers of these poems did not have a concept of an immortal soul. As the Psalms themselves repeatedly say, the dead cannot praise God. That is the job of the livimg.
I also am fascinated by his insights into Temple worship -- the musical instruments we can no longer identify -- the "ayalet hashachar" or morning star. What kind of music did that make? The "almut laben" -- another lost instrument. When Alter doesn't know what something means he says so. When the text was jumbled through scribal mistakes many centuries ago, he unjumbles it and points out the mistake.
This is an intellectual and spiritual feast, good for the mind and the soul. Take your time, savor it and appreciate anew the genius that went into creating it.
For more on me and my bookThe Nazi Hunter: A Novel go to www.alanelsner.com.

Not being a scholar, I cannot review this book appropriately. But I can tell you why I am enjoying it and why I recommend that you read it and use it for reference (or reverence)

Alter writes, "What I have aimed at in this translation - inevitably, with imperfect success - is to represent Psalms in a kind of English verse that is readable as poetry yet sounds something like the Hebrew - emulating its rhythms wherever feasible, reproducing many of the effects of its expressive poetic syntax, seeking equivalents for the combination of homespun directness and archaizing in the original, hewing to the lexical concreteness of the Hebrew, and making more palpable the force of parallelism that is at the heart of biblical poetry."

Now ... with regard to two Psalms you may know by heart...:

Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd...", in this translation is rendered:
The Lord is my shepherd / I shall not want. / In grass meadows He makes me lie down, / By quiet waters guide me. / My life He brings back. / He leads me on pathways of justice / For His name's sake. /
Though I walk in the vale of death's shadow, / I fear no harm. /For you are with me.

But what i truly enjoy are Alter's commentaries. Alter's commentary states, "Although the likening of God or a ruler to a shepherd is a commonplace in this pastoral culture, this psalm is justly famous for the affecting simplicity and concreteness with which it realizes the metaphor. Thus, in the next line the shepherd leads his sheep to meadows where there is abundant grass and riverbanks and where quiet waters run that the sheep can drink... [he makes me lie down] The verb used here, HIRBITS, is a specialized one for making animals lie down...... [My life he brings back] Though "he restoreth my soul" is time-honored, the Hebrew NEFESH does not mean "soul" but "life breath" or "life." The image is of someone who has almost stopped breathing and is revived, brought back to life... ...[in the vale of death's shadow] The intent of the translation is not to avoid the proverbial "in the shadow of the valley of death" but rather to cut through the proliferation of syllables in the King James Version, however eloquent, and better approximate the compactness of the Hebrew - BEGEY TSALMAWET. Though philologists assume that the Masoretic TSALMAWET is actually a misleading vocalization of TSALMUT - probably a poetic word for "darkness" with the UT ending simply a suffix of abstraction - the traditional vocalization reflects something like an orthographic pun or a folk etymology (TSEL means "shadow" MAWET means "DEATH"), so there is justification in retaining the death component... ... ... [You moisten my head with oil] The verb here, DISHEN, is not the one that is used for anointment, and its associations are sensual rather than sacramental...

And so.. you get a more in-depth understanding of the Psalm and its intentions in the original Hebrew. Or, take Psalm 137, you may recall it as, "By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion."

In the Alter translation, we get:
By Babylon's streams /
there we sat, oh we wept, /
when we recalled Zion. /
On the poplars there / we hung up our lyres. / For there our captors has asked of us / words of song, / and our plunderers - rejoicing / "Sing us from Zion's songs."

But it is in the commentary that the esteemed Alter shines, when he writes, "This psalm was almost certainly composed shortly after the deportation of the Judeans by the Babylonians in 586 BCE - the experience of exile is fresh and acutely painful... The first Hebrew noun, NEHAROT, generally means "rivers," but because the more probable reference is to the network of canals that connected the Tigris and the Euphrates, "streams" is a preferable translation here. It should be noted that in keeping with the evolution of Hebrew poetry in the later biblical period, semantic parallelism within the lines in this poem is weak, an absence occasionally compensated for by interlinear parallelism."

Alter goes on to explain how the Hebrew use of the word SHAM (there), twice, in the next line is used poetically to express the alienation of the collective speakers from the place they find themselves, and how "hung up our lyres" can refer to the hiding of their lyres in the foliage, or a gesture of renunciation of their use.

The Erotic Mind is a wonderful book full of helpful exercises and ideas. I would recommend it to anyone interested in erotic growth.

I bought this book after reading all the reviews and couldn't NOT write my own. After reading this I felt NORMAL and wonderful about who I am sexually. All the old messages from childhood, all my inhibitions and fears all of a sudden became secondary and unimportant next to my emerging comfortableness with my own fantasies and preferences. I suddenly began remembering all sorts of childhood experiences that have led me to be who I am today and with that recognition I feel (I know it sounds cliche) liberated. But just ask my boyfriend! I shared a lot of this book with him, read to him sections and since he is so understanding and a willing participant in our ongoing evolution of sex, we were both able to confide in each other our deepest secrets. Now I realize how really normal I am and not as odd as I thought and it has boosted my confidence to try new things.

I would tell anyone grappling with their sexuality or that of a loved one's to go out and get the book immediately! It definitely spiced up our life!

This is simply a wonderful book that explores the parodoxes of human mating. It is well organized, easy to follow and contains a wealth of fascinating information.

Jack Morin centers his discussion around what he calls the "erotic equation." This is that attraction plus obstacles equals excitement. He then goes on to explain how lust and romantic love operate as well the dynamics of what he calls emotional aphrodisiacs. These are emotional states that could lead to the transformation of an emotion into sexual feelings. Some of these are obvious, but others such as anxiety or guilt are less obvious until you read Morin's detailed explantions.

I also think this book is useful for those who are trying to understand some the dynamics underlying infidelity. If you have interests along those lines, I also recommend "The Evolution of Desire" by David Buss and "Private Lies" by Frank Pittman.

Unfortunately, many of the other books I've found that deal with the erotic imagination or motivation for sexual behavior are sorely lacking in depth or treat the topic in an overly academic, clinical or arm's length manner. This book has a lot of meat and is written in a style that makes the concepts accessible to everyone, not just professionals working in this field.

I loved this book. I thought some of my turn-ons and bedroom behaviors were strange....maybe even abnormal, but Dr. Morin opens new ways of approaching your own thoughts.

I found that the answers, for what I thought were strange behaviors, were inside of me the whole time, they just needed to be explored. Now I love myself even more for understanding myself in a much deeeper level.

If you have had even one sexual thought (that's everybody who is reading this)...you need a copy of this book. All sexual orientations, male and female alike, can find something in this book that will make you think that Dr. Morin is speaking directly to you.

This book is like a discovery that I'd been searching for myself. It didn't come out of left field for me- I've often asked myself why I could feel frustrated when I didn't know what I wanted. The discouragement from not having an answer to that question was enormous, and it wasn't just a question I'd ask myself of sex, but of many aspects of my life.

That is why this book is great, because Dr. Morin challenges you to appreciate the impact that your erotic life and dilemmas have on your whole life. Feelings you may have buried in fear or shame turn out to be real messages about who you are. I recommend this book for anyone who feels they've had a complicated sexual adjustment, which I suspect is everyone who has gone through puberty. If you are ready to be compassionate towards yourself, this book can help to change your life.