Wallace Books

This very personal look at young Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) should be of interest to history buffs and fans of our 33rd President. The book is primarily a collection of letters that Truman sent to his girlfriend (and later wife) Bess Wallace (Truman), the letters being found in her home shortly after she passed away at age 97 in 1982. Most of these letters were written by young suitor Harry Truman prior to the First World War, when he was a struggling farmer and she a desirable beau from a prosperous (if dysfunctional) city family. Sadly, Harry didn't save Bess' letters to him, and those are lost to history. In these letters Truman comes across as decent, honest, and intelligent - if slightly prejudiced against immigrant workers in Kansas City. If his presidential talent isn't evident in these letters, his sturdy Missouri roots clearly are.

First of all, the potential buyer of this book should know that it will throw you back to the years when Harry, the lower-middle-class farmer's boy from outer Jackson County, was courting Bess Wallace, a moderately rich girl and young woman (albeit from a very dysfunctional family) from prosperous Independence. In the 1910s this was done, as it is done in every generation, but only with great difficulty and some soul-searching on both sides.

So buy and read this book if you want to read about young Harry's epic quest. Bess' letters to Harry are lost, but Harry Truman's letters are so vivid that their contents can be partly reconstucted. The two were real soul mates in the end - in the true sense of this most over-used phrase. They could actually converse by letter. How many of us are so lucky?

Buy and read this book if you want to see these two attractive people in the vanished world of 1910s Missouri. If you're looking for President Harry Truman, you won't find much of him here. By 1945 this pair had been married and living together for 25 years and were no longer writing daily letters to each other. But if you are one of those people who think that Truman was one of our greatest Presidents because he never forgot who he was and where he came from, you may want to know where he came from. He came from here, in this book.

The courtship of Harry Truman and Bess Wallace, is *the* over-looked love story of the century. Dear Bess is the most romantic book I have ever read. Harry's simplicity and honesty is a joy to read, and Bess would have been a fool to turn him down a second time.

From a historical standpoint, this book is a glimpse into the everyday, pre-presidential life of HST. The respect and dignity this Missouri farmer had for the Office of the President is refreshing. I come away from the book feeling like I know Harry. Coupling Dear Bess with David McCullough's Truman gives a picture of the man and his times in a very compelling fashion.

Dear Bess is a must-read for anyone who wants to know what love and responsibility are.

Jacob Terry Wilkinson is pictured on the cover of his book, Did You Ever Wonder. He is sitting in a pile of yellow leaves under a ginko tree. He has his hands folded and he is obviously thinking about something. Jacob proceeds to tell you what he is thinking in his first book, Did You Ever Wonder. His thoughts are cleverly organized alphabetically to produce an ABC picture book that can be used to teach young children to read. However, this isn't the real beauty of the book. The real beauty is how Jacob focuses your thoughts on God's role in creation. He asks, "Did you ever wonder who put the milk in the cows and nectar in flowers?" Kyle Bryan, a high school art student, illustrates the book in a simple but powerful media that small children like. From the first question to the last when read to groups of children many of the children will blurt out the answer. Jacob gives the answer at the end of the book. He is still sitting in the pile of leaves under the ginko tree, but now he has a big smile when he gives the answer. The answer according to Jacob is quite simple, "God Did!"

The photography alone is worth the price of the book. But, the true value of the book is that it helps small children see God in all of creation while learning their ABCs. Even better yet, the author is a five year old assisted by his grandpa and the illustrator is a high school senior. The author has read his book before a crowd of three thousand kindergarten students and their chaperones in addition to a presentation at a large church. His work is enthsiastically received wherever presented. This book is truly a hidden treasurer.

I am so happy with this book. It is not the same old; A is for apple and B for boy, abc book. This book uses new and inventive ways with colorful and happy pictures, infact even one of the pictures has a smiling sun. The best part about this book is that it uses a simple abc book to show the child that God created everything. I have bought copies of this for all my grandchildren. This is a must have for any child learning to read!

An excellent if somewhat scholarly approach to reconciling the Western scientific and Buddhist theories of the mind and consciousness. Wallace writes and is never dismissive in his commentary about traditional scientific approaches to the subject. If you enjoyed the Joy of Living this is your kind of read.

"Embracing Mind" is a work of incredible brilliance and insight - think "Divine Matrix" on steroids!! Beware, the concepts in this book range from classical and quantum physics to "The Middle Way" approach to Buddhism with a good rational argument for linking science and spirituality, and specifically studying the mind/consciousness. As each concept in the book would take volumes to completely explore, the reader is given a rather "down and dirty" overview of each, with the purpose of showing clearly that scientific materialism has merely supplanted religious dogma with a more insidious form of mind and attitude control. This well written book is deep, rich, logical and has benefits for scientists, theologians and people like me: those that would like to bridge the two disciplines. Well worth every penny and every second!

Wallace (and Hodel) do a very good job in "Embracing Mind." They break the book down into three parts.

In Part One, Wallace takes another look at science, and where science may drift off into scientism. Wallace (page 22) tells us where scientific materialism carries hidden metaphysical assumptions - " what did that interpretation boil down to? The five principles examined previously: objectivism, metaphysical realism, the closure principle, universalism, and physical reductionism." Without going into detail what the principles entail, I will merely summerize what Wallace (page 23) concludes: "So strong was their enthusiasm for an all-embracing scientific worldview that they often allowed their hopes, dreams, and beliefs to masquerade as facts. They were especially impressed with Darwin's theory of natural selection. According to their own interpretation, natural selection meant that organisms best suited to win the competition for scare resources survived, passing on their advantageous traits to succeeding generations."

Wallace (page 24) writes: "Social philosophers influenced by scientific materialism created social Darwinism, the view that nations and individuals competed for economic supremacy in an arena where only the `favored races' or toughest individuals would succeed. There was no room here for any softness or idealism and, of course, such a philosophy gave at least tacit approval to war, imperialism, and racism. In like manner, Karl Marx reduced all aspects of culture to economics."

Writing on modernity, with its scientific progress, Wallace (page 25) writes: "We have been exposed to this philosophy throughout our lives - in the classroom, in the media, by our doctors, and through the decisions of government agencies ruling on health, the environment, and elsewhere. It has been pounded into us consistently for so long that we've come to accept it as common sense. This, we are told, is what `non-believers' accept as truth."

Wallace (page 75) writes on the study of mind and brain: "It wasn't until the late nineteenth century that science attempted a formal study of the mind. Given the enormous influence of scientific materialism, it is not surprising that a physical approach - the study of behavior and the brain, the `gray matter' - held sway. By the early twentieth century, nonmaterial qualities attributed to the mind (thoughts, feelings, images, dreams, and so on) were neatly avoided by correlating them to the physical brain, with its internal physiology, and to physical behavior. This, mind was simply redefined as the brain."

Wallace (page 82) writes: "By relying on the argument of mere correlations between mental phenomena and brain physiology, cognitive psychologists remind us of astrologers, who rely on correlates between patterns in the heavens and events on earth, rather than astronomers, who have actually explored the skies scientifically with telescopes."

Wallace (page 83) writes: "Shouldn't cognitive scientists first be experts on their own consciousness, deeply exploring their subjective nature, before they tackle the complexities of the mind-brain connection? Given the rigors of science, wouldn't such self-knowledge be useful for scientists in general? After all, the scientific mind behind the eyepiece of a physical instrument (and behind the devising of theories) is the fundamental instrument of all science. Must not this ultimate black box be opened and carefully examined if science wants to be certain that its theories and data are something more than complex imaginings or projections?"

Wallace (page 84) concludes: "The preceding discussion should make it clear that science's attitude toward the mind has been hampered by historical baggage. According to the dictates of its Christian background, science explored outer, objective phenomena and avoided the inner, subjective realm. Lack of self knowledge hampered scientists by blinding them to subjective distortions that have prejudiced the scientific enterprise."

Wallace (page 102-103) writes: "What of those students who do take an interest in science, believing that the practice of science follows the open-minded, exploratory spirit of the scientific method? They study textbooks that either imply or boldly declare that as-yet-unproven theories are definitely true or will certainly be proven true in the future. They are exposed to an attitude toward science that promotes conformity to the foregone conclusions of scientific materialism even as it pretends to favor free inquiry. Those people who see the contradiction are left with the choice of buckling under or striking out on their own. Alternatively, they may become discouraged with science altogether and choose another career."

Wallace (page 105) writes: "The materialist approach to medicine has led to the desire for a `quick fix' - just pop a pill and let chemicals take care of it. Drug, tobacco, and alcohol addiction follow the same logic. There may be more to mental and physical illness than just chemicals, but the physical bias of scientific materialism has largely marginalized alternative therapies that show promise."

In Part Two, Wallace looks at a more promising science that can study the mind. Wallace (page 142-143) writes: "Through intense and lengthy practice, the attention can be honed into a precision tool that, figuratively speaking, lights up the mind's interior. First one undergoes a sustained, rigorous training in developing stability and vividness of attention. One then uses one's enhanced powers of mental perception to learn to distinguish between the phenomena that are presented to the senses (including the sixth sense of mental perception) and the conceptual superimpositions that one under normal circumstances compulsively projects upon those phenomena."

Wallace (page 144) writes: "A guilty conscience is no more conductive to contemplative practice than nervous agitation or drowsiness."

Wallace (page 155) writes: "The Middle Way proposes an alternative explanation for the appearance of phenomena of the universe - regularities. Certain things tend to occur together or in a sequence. Whereas causes imply to us some power to affect, the Middle Way defines appearances as mere regularities."

Wallace (page 156) writes: "If we conceive of one stage as an absolute, permanent, independent entity, by definition it cannot have any relationship to anything else. By definition, two completely self-contained, independent, permanent, absolute things cannot affect one other. If they did, they wouldn't be self-contained, independent, and so on. But if we back off that position and say that there is simply a `relationship' between them, Middle Way philosophers will point out that we are now viewing these things (such as seed and sprout) as relative, conventional realities. A relationship composed of regularities doesn't require absolute realities or absolute causality, and the relationship itself lacks any such inherent existence independent of the things that are related. Seed and sprout and their causal relationship, though existing conventionally, are now seen as `empty of' absolute existence."

In Part Three, Wallace takes up "tools and technologies of a Buddhist science of contemplation."

Wallace (page 213) writes: "From a Buddhist standpoint our mental afflictions, or distortions, stand in the way of enlightenment. From an empirical or scientific standpoint, such biases impede the search for truth, especially since the mind is truly the primary scientific instrument. Whether we are trying to use the mind and scientific instruments to probe stars and galaxies or we wish to understand the nature and workings of the mind itself, our mental projections and illusions of knowledge cloud the picture."

"Erotica: An Illustrated Anthology of Sexual Art & Literature," Charlotte Hill & Wm. Wallace, NY, Carroll & Graf, 1992, ISBN: 0-88184-874-3, PC, 160 pgs., Intro. 4 pg. & Ref. 2 pg., 10 5/8" x 8 7/8".

Two authors provide a colorful collection of erotic illustrations "excluding pernicious, degrading or violent material" together with erotic literature from "fiction, poetry, drama, songs, letters & journals" covering an expanse of 2,000 yrs,, purporting appeal to both sexes, emphasis on "life-enhancing qualities of good erotica."

"Erotica" has Introduction to its origin (deriv. Gk. Eros, god of love) in both Eastern & Western cultures, its pirating, rendering, expurgation but inherent reluctance of many library repositories to make their erotic cache available for research, review, etc. "Erotica" literary review includes excerpts from Kama Sutra, My Life & Loves, Satyra Sotadica, Decameron, Story of O, Tropic of Cancer, etc. Overall, the textual & illustrative contents share equally in annotation of sexuality. The 176 illutrations include depiction of art objects, carvings, pencil sketches, cartoons, oil & watercolor paintings & charcoal drawings, but not erotic photography.

Authors' disclaimer states "Women-haters and those addicted to cruelty and violence must look elsewhere - there is nothing in this book for you." The many illustrations vary from amusing, sordid, candid, wollgathering & for some a phatasmagoria of abject vs. dignified realism that the reader must judge for himself those he finds exciting, enjoyable, banal but otherwise entertaining or titillating. Obviously, much research went into the production of this anthology, a book for your library shelf & not yet ready for the coffee table.

Today, moreso than ever literature fine works of art never change .... a book, once written can easily become timed, but the works of art of the ages become more valuable with age and allows us an insight into the many hidden treasures of the past.

The erotic art contained in this illustrated anthology shows works over a span of 2000 years from all on the continents and many many cultures. From painings, etchings, drawings, snuff boxes, carvings, mouldings etc etc this book is exquisitely compiled and a pleasure to read and enjoy. If you have ever enjoyed wandering into chinatown in San Francisco to see the wide selection of erotic ivory carvings being offered then definitely you will just devour this book which also includes some fine examples of these carvings.

Most erotic literature published as little as ten years ago always included some of the drawings and etchings to illustrate the stories. Todays books however are devoid of these little pleasures which makes this illustrated anthology that much more important.

If you have any appreciation for fine art and erotica then buy this book it's a treasure to be enjoyed over the years.

This is a sexy, lighthearted book with pictures and writing that ranges from gorgeous to goofy.
A fun book for couples as well as to look over alone or with a friend.
A lot of the pictures appear in other erotic anthologies, but the presentation here is worth the buy.

By Tommy Garrett, He's an editor with Canyon News in Beverly Hills
It's impossible to write about George Raft anymore without mentioning his biographer Stone Wallace. Wallace has written over a dozen novels and nonfiction work over his distinguished career. But recently when Bear Manor, one of the nation's publishers, sent me a biography on the legendary George Raft, I found myself intrigued and excited. The foreword was by one of the best film noir authors of all time, Mr. Alan K. Rode. Stone Wallace lives in Winnipeg, Canada with his beautiful wife, and the writer is busy completing another book for Bear Manor Publishing, this one called "A Fuller Life: Hollywood, Ed Wood & Me," which he is coauthoring with the actress Dolores Fuller. It's sure to be a page turner.

Stone Wallace is a writer's writer. He has a brilliant power with words and every reader will be able to follow the incredible story he weaves of the life and career of a great actor, who should have become an even bigger star. The fact that he was such a huge fan of the multi-talented Hollywood heavy on the screen, George Raft, adds enormous depth to his writing. Raft's decision to let a role go to another actor, lesser known at the time, was the reason that we all know who Humphrey Bogart is today.

Best known as a WB heavy on screen, Raft did many movies with the great James Cagney. Raft's list of films includes, but is not limited to: "Scarface," "Each Dawn I Die," "Invisible Stripes," "Rogue Cop," and "Some Like It Hot." However, when not playing heavies and gangsters, which he preferred not to do, he also made a name for himself in some of our great classics such as "Night After Night," "Bolero," "Souls at Sea," "Spawn of the North," "They Drive by Night" and "Manpower."


Whenever I read a biography on a forgotten star, I want to feel like I didn't waste my time caring about the featured star. This book will not disappoint anyone. For those who are young and maybe have not even heard of Raft, you need to read this wonderful tome, as it will make you want to go out and rent all of his films. Oh, guess I've just dated myself; today the young people would go online to Netflix and rent the films. Do so! Raft was a very charismatic and strong presence on the big screen. But this author, Stone Wallace, is equally as strong and charismatic in his writing of this legend.

Raft had one of those faces that were tailor made for a leading man at Warner Bros. Bette Davis often said they worked very hard at the Warner's lot and she was right. No one wad more hard working than George Raft, working starting in the late 1920s and continuing through the `40s and `50s. The twice married New York native was raised in the tough streets but also became infamous for befriending real life heavies like "Bugsy" Siegel. Raft didn't seem to mind what was being said or written about him and had a few incidents where he got a bit heavy handed and tough with some who either disagreed with him or in his mind disrespected him.


But it's with great respect that one of the world's leading authorities writes about the man who made Humphrey Bogart a star. And it's with great respect that I suggest everyone read this wonderful new book, "George Raft: The Man Who Would Be Bogart." Stone, Georgie would be proud of you; I surely am. This book is a two thumbs up read, a Five Plus star biography and Bear Manor did an excellent job putting it all together, with some of the most incredible scene stills and candid shots of the great Raft with legendary actresses like Betty Grable, Carole Lombard, Gloria Swanson and even an incredible shot of one of my favorite actresses Ava Gardner with Raft. I read this book twice over a weekend, not because it was empty or filled with filler, but because it was interesting, enlightening and entertaining. Just what a great summer book should be!

As a big fan of this golden age of Hollywood classic films and the legends who starred in them, I had eagerly awaited the publication of Stone Wallace's biography of George Raft - and it certainly proved worth the wait. No disappointment with this take on one of the era's heroes, who is largely unknown to younger generations; hopefully Stone's goal of reintroducing Raft and bringing to light his contributions to filmdom will be achieved through this wonderful book. Though widely known for his bad-guy roles, in some of my favorite films - Scarface, Rogue Cop - it was interesting to learn more about other aspects facets of Raft's career. The Bugsy Siegel connection was very interesting as it touched on information related to my own research; and, I particularly enjoyed reading about the role that Humphrey Bogart played in George Raft's life.
I liked the format of the the book, i.e. using a lot of photographs and interspersing them through the text. In particular I enjoyed seeing images of two former Copa Girls (Lucille Casey and Edna Ryan) - a subject near and dear to me - included in this fine book. A wonderful, fun read - highly recommended.

In his stunning and beautifully packaged new book on the slam-bang and rugged life and career of movie tough guy George Raft, author Stone Wallace proves once and for all that he is at the absolute forefront of contemporary celebrity biographers. A veteran author of over a dozen fictional and non-fictional books, including his recent crime novel, The Shaft, Stone hits the ball out of the park completely with this latest project, bringing out all the many nuances, vulnerabilities and strengths, and most of all, HUMANITY, in Raft's character that the actor himself could have ever hoped to reveal.

A complex and deeply insecure man whose loyal and overly generous nature often backfired on him, George Raft was as memorable a film personality as they come and more than deserves his decades-long status as a true celluloid icon. And yet it is discovery of the man's heart, and who he was as a friend to the many colorful people in his orbit, that is most appealing to me, and the part of Stone's research that impresses me the most. Stone has captured both Raft's personal and professional lives with equal precision, and proves that he is, without a doubt, the world's foremost expert on the life of George Raft.

Here's hoping that TCM decides to run a full-out George Raft Film Festival in the very near future, to help promote Stone's fine work with this book. It would be a terrific collaboration and a fitting tribute to both George AND Stone.

Bravo to this brilliant author and to BearManor Media for the exquisite book cover it has designed for what I am certain will soon be deemed a modern day classic in celebrity biographies.

John O'Dowd

This book is absolutely INDISPENSIBLE. It shows all of the uniforms used by girls and leaders from 1912 to 1985, either with photographs or intricate drawings. It shows where insignia were placed, what insignia were worn throughout the various years, lists all the badges that were ever available with pictures, etc. It tells you what handbooks were used, and the years they were published. I could go on and on. It is an absolute wealth of information. Definitely a must have for anyone with an interest in Girl Scout history.

The Girl Scout Collector's Guide is the PREMIER GUIDE for use by ANYONE who is interested in collecting Girl Scout memorabilia! It is a DEFINATE "HAVE-TO-HAVE-IT" guide for the SERIOUS collector that wants to know what, where, when, and how. It is concisely written and PACKED with details on the WONDERFUL history of the GIRL SCOUTS. I recommend this guide to everyone that is interested in learning more about the Girl Scout Organization and it's uniforms, insignia, publications and keepsakes.

The Girl Scout Collector's Guide is the PREMIER GUIDE for use by ANYONE who is interested in collecting Girl Scout memorabilia! It is a DEFINITE "HAVE-TO-HAVE-IT" guide for the SERIOUS collector that wants to know what, where, when, and how. It is concisely written and PACKED with details on the WONDERFUL history of the GIRL SCOUTS. I recommend this guide to everyone that is interested in learning more about the Girl Scout Organization and it's uniforms, insignia, publications and keepsakes.

I can't recommend this book too highly for serious readers of Hegel and especially of Hegel's _Science of Logic_.

After two introductory chapters the third chapter, which is by far the longest, give a quite comprehensive commentary on the Quality section, the first three chapters, of the SL. The first two chapters of the SL go from Being to True Infinity. The third chapter explains how True Infinity collapses. This collapse more or less continues through the Quantum section. With the Measure section things start turning around, and the beginning is made of re-establishing True Infinity on a sound foundation so that it doesn't collapse.

People looking for help in reading the SL might be considering Houlgate's recent book on the subject. I haven't seen the book, but those who have think well of it. According to its description, the first part of the book is an introduction to and general consideration of Hegel's logic. The book then concludes with a detailed commentary on the first two chapters, from Being to True Infinity. It seems unfortunate that Houlgate didn't extend this commentary through the third chapter so that the whole beginning would be presented. Presumably one will finish the book not knowing that True Infinity will collapse at virtually the very moment it is established.

Chapters 4 and 5 of Wallace's book deal, respectively, with The Doctrine of Essence and The Doctrine of the Notion. These two chapters are much shorter than chapter 3 and cover more material. And Wallace always stays close to the text. So his presentation is very selective here. The first half of his chapter 4 is quite difficult. But this probably has to do with the fact that the first half of the Doctrine of Essence is quite difficult. The Doctrine of Essence concludes in a very interesting way, and Wallace's chapter then becomes correspondingly interesting. Wallace's fifth chapter, although very selective in what it deals with, is particularly illuminating and helpful.

But this points to a major problem in English language Hegel scholarship. A full commentary on the SL, similar to Harris's commentary on the Phenomenology or Petry's commentary on the Philosophy of Nature, is definitly required. I don't know that I would wish such a major task on my worst enemy. But Wallace would undoubtedly be well qualified for this undertaking. Not only does he possess a very fine understanding of Hegel's logic, but he also possesses a clear, pleasant, readable writting style.

In the sixth chapter Wallace deals with Hegel's system as a whole. It is quite remarkable how he is able to present such a comprehensive account of the complete system in the course of a single chapter. But more importantly he shows how the system is rooted in the logic. A good analogy might be that True Infinity is to the system as a whole similar to what an acorn is to an oak tree. So with this last chapter Wallace provides a very panaramic view of Hegel's system that is quite impressive.

So then, as I said, I can't recommend this book too highly for serious readers of Hegel.

This text is one of the finest on the subject that I know of. I have recommended it to everyone that I know, including a few who, for whatever reasons, have a rather intractable grudge against Hegel. I have even posted what seems to be an abstract of the book in a few news groups that I thought would benefit from it, and in doing so I felt confident to recommend the text without any caveats or slippery face-saving backdoors. That I can feel that secure about a text on the finer points of Hegel suggests quite a lot about the author.

Chapter Three is a gem. Simple, straight-forward, with an uncompromisingly
rational momentum but with a conversational sense of ease so that the text never for a moment became turgid. No mean feat.

To start there is a very lucid account of what Hegel means by "freedom" including the relationship between Hegel's view and Kant's. This becomes more detailed in chapter 2 where Wallace contrasts the positions contemporary philosophers like Bernard Williams hold and how they relate schematically to Wallace's interpretation of Kant and Hegel. W argues that while many use Kant in their discussions though many misinterpret Kant, few use Hegel and it seems simply because he is not understood. But Hegel's version of Kant seems to be the more powerful view.

p. 14 Hegel argues that "I seem to seek a standard by which to assess my desires (Philosophy of Right 17-18), that finding such a standard would involve systematizing my desires in some rational way (19), "purifying" and "forming" them into a life that makes sense as a whole (19-20)...

W critiques both Hobbes and David Gauthier ("Morals by Agreement") on morals arguing that Hegel (as interpreted by W) is the better view. This includes a discussion contrasting social contract versus Plato and Hegel on justice. Plato: one's rational part is not doing its job. Aristotle discusses this also in the Nichomachean Ethics though it seems "only a minority of readers take him to be addressing this issue at all." P. 39

G.W.F. Hegel is surely one of the most notable figures in German Philosophy. His 'Philosophy of Mind' (also known as 'The Philosophy of Spirit') is the third part of an encyclopaedia work showing, in essence, the dialectical 'nature' of the world as a Notion. In his earlier works in this triad (The 'Logic' and 'The Philosophy of Nature') Hegel dealt with, first, the logically necessary principle of explanation for the world and then, secondly, the essence of nature as prior to the development of the Mind. This work deals with the nature of Mind as it goes from subjectivity to objectivity through the stages Anthropological, Phenomenological and Psychological, producing Absolute Spirit, a notion that is then used by Hegel to explain the moral and legal. This is not an easier book to read; the language is convoluted and it may take several readings to gleam anything useful from it. This is partially due to the difficulty of translating German terms to the English and also partially due to the writing style of Hegel himself. However I do recommend that the reader persevere, as it is a very rewarding book to read. You need not agree entirely with what Hegel says to appreciate his philosophy and see the import of what he is trying to do; explain everything from a position of logical necessity. The accompanying Zusatz is also of great use, as it gives more concrete examples used in the actual lectures Hegel based this work upon. All in all, a momentuous book in the history of Philosophy itself and worth reading for the depth and breadth of ideas contained within it.

An advanced course in Hegel is probably the course which shuttled me forward toward a career in philosophy (and, eventually, theology). It is partly the responsibility of Hegel's thought and part my teacher (look up books by DG Leahy if you are interested in the first real new philosophy of the 21st century). Anyway, back to Hegel's "Mind." In this work, Hegel has created a tour-de-force in systematic philosophy following Kant.

though Kant has adopted the dualism of Plato, Hegel's synthesizing of Kant's ideas has resulted in an amazingly complex but understandable and brilliant work. Hegel proposes that the Mind is the second moment in a three-fold syllogism, following Nature but preceeding Logic (Reason). Here, Hegel explores the nuances of the Mind. Though the other two volumes of the three volume set are important, it seems Mind contains all the ideas of the other two.

If you enjoy hard German philosophy and have a penchant for the absolute idea, read Hegel as soon as possible!

This work is seminal. Every philosophy after Hegel is either a reaction to him or a footnote. His method has achieved scientific verification in the past century in the areas of developmental psychology (Margaret Mahler), in historicism, in embryological development, and theology (Tillich). It shows that wisdom is timeless and although written 200 years ago, Hegel's truth is valid and not subject to fashions as they so often are in philosophy.

This said, I have to say it is not rewarding to read this book unless you have familiarity with German idealism through Kant. Also, a thorough reading of Hegel's Logic is a prerequiste. Few people will understand this book without reading it in the original German as Hegel himself reframes the German language into a new way of thinking. I think all great philosophies shape the language they speak in profound ways. That is why it is so difficult to understand Hegel in English translation. You would have to create a whole new philosophy along Hegelian lines made for the English thinker. This is the daunting task of all translators. There obviously are concepts in Western thought that are portable across "platforms" and this is why translating Hegel happens at all in English. However the way concepts are used, the "process" of the concepts -- the "syntagms" -- is not entirely the same in both languages.

I wrote my master's thesis in philosophy on this work. At that time I could think Hegelian with the best of them but have lost the skill. Now I can't even understand what I wrote 20 years after the fact without going back to school. I have not been speaking Hegelian since then. A pity.

So, to get the most out of it, read this book in a structured environment where one has easy access to help. It will change your life as it has mine.

One of the best books of contemporary poetry I have ever read.
A poet writing today can only hope to reach the depths that Behn does.

Behn's new book is magnificent. Poem after poem, hear such clarity of complication, such intelligence, such heart. If this book doesn't win ALL the prizes, I'll be surprised. On the other hand, it's a book that in all good ways doesn't seem to care about prizes. It's ambition has some eternity in it. Any serious reader of poetry will cherish this book.

The opening poem of Horizon Note introduces a spider who reappears at intervals throughout this book. The speaker states,
"If you play the fat black note of her body/anywhere upon her intricate staff/it only sounds like her." And the word-music Behn composes within this compelling book only sounds like her.
She has all her poetic instruments in tune. Through rhyme or playful word trills or long melodious movements of thought and sound, she playfully and painfully pushes words to their limits to confront and question their beauties and their frailties. Behn is a maestro here who understands the power of language, and at every turn--even in its griefs, its failings--she finds the music there. A stunning collection of poems.

I am continually fascinated by the great works of the late, great Napolean Hill. Being familiar with Hill, I was surprised to find this title, one which I never heard of before on my favorite books tore shelf. I appears that with the renewed interest in personal development, pma and motivation, many of Hill's previously published works are resurecting. And I am glad for that.

This booki s divided into two sections, 21 chapters and over 200 pages. It is pure meat, no nonsense. Great stuff from the master himself. In particular, the chapter on the top qualities of the master salesman and insights into Henry Ford's philosophy were outstanding.

I know some of Napolean Hill's detracters will attack this book based on it's age, but this information is timeless. And who wouldn't want to take a peek into the minds of great business/salesmen like Henry Ford? This book shows you how.

There is a lot of talk today about consultative selling techniques. In How To Sell Your Way Through Life, particularly in chapters 10 and 11, Hill talks about consultive selling, qualifying the prospect and neutralizing your prospective buyers mind.

In chapter 12, The Art of Closing The Sale, Hill explains how to close sales and how to keep them closed; produce happy customers and practilly eliminate buyers remorse. He tells an interesting story of a cadillac car salesman from Maryland and how these strategies made a huge difference.

Of course some of the information will be familiar to Hill fans like The MAster Mind strategy and others. Overall a great book by a great man. Must reading for all serious salespeople.

This book was strongly recommended by Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Sales Bible. Jeffrey said that the only complaint he had was that he didn't write it and that it was in his opinion the best sales book ever written, even better than his own books.

This book has some of the same content as Succeed and Grow Rich Through Persuasion but also has much more information as well. When I first saw it I thought it was the same book with a different title.

This book is more like the psychology of selling. You won't find any fancy, smancy selling technique in here. Read Tommy Hopkins for that. There are chapters on qualifying your prospect and closing the sale, but this book more than anything, shows you the person you have to become to become a great salesperson.

To wit, both Tom Hopkins and Jeffrey Gitomer, probably the two greatest sales trainers in the world today place a great deal of emphasis in their training to attitude and personal development in addition to sales techniques. No one teaches attitude better than Napolean Hill.

The bulk of the material is in part I. In part two, Hill tells us how to develop a sales personality, how to find a job and even how to create a job and how to manage your time. The final chapter, chapter 21 tells us how to put it all together.

Overall, I was very impressed with How To Sell Your Way Through Life. And a recommendation from no less than Jeffrey Gitomer stands on it's own merit. Read this along with Tom Hopkins How To Master The Art of Selling and Gitomers The Sales Bible and you can't go wrong.

I own a pretty extensive library of books on Sales & Marketing, plus 7 other books by Napoleon Hill (Including Selling You!, which offers excerpts from this book). It was actually Selling You! that encouraged me to buy this book. The excerpt on qualifying prospective buyers was just so condensed and direct and useful (like most of Napoleon Hill's writing) that I went to a local book store and browsed through How to Sell Your Way Through Life: Highly Proven to Help Make Millionaires!. The simple fact of the matter is that regardless of how many Napoleon Hill books you own, if you are in Sales...either as your full-time vocation or as the primary driver of new business in your own company...you need this book.

As others have pointed out, the "meat" of the book...what makes it essential...is in Part One:

Definition of Salesmanship
You Need Intelligent Promotion To Succeed
The Strategy of Master Salesmanship
Qualities The Master Salesman Must Develop
Auto-Suggestion, Your First Step In Salesmanship
The Master Mind
Your Improved Concentration
Initiative and Leadership
Qualifying Your Prospective Buyer
Neutralizing Your Buyer's Mind
The Art of Closing the Sale

The above chapters fill the first 136 pages. The remaining half of the book focuses on material largely found in other Hill books such as Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised, as well as advice on choosing / creating your job and time management.

So many modern Sales authors have dipped their cup in Hill's well...Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Jeffrey Gitomer...you probably can't name a single author of merit who has not.

Highly recommended, essential reading.