Way Books

The amount of detail in this first volume is staggering! When I received my copy, I could not put it down and am now anxiously waiting for volume 2. I put this publication in the same *essential* category as the Lewisohn tomes. This book has helped me identify and catalog many of the previously vaguely-detailed interviews & press-conferences of the Fab 4 plus the description of many of their studio-sessions has been most informative as well as entertaining. Bring on volume 2!!

This book is simply amazing. John Winn has obviously dug and sifted through an immense archeology of Beatles recordings and films, TV and Radio appearances, listing reviewing and analyzing every known appearance--be it hand-held 8mm home movie, reel to reel tape, vinyl acetate, as he says: "If it's out there, it's in here."

Beatles collectors, from the amateur fan to the die-hard completist have been waiting for this book for decades. From the earilest Quarrymen's performance where John met Paul, for EVERY known film and sound recording, the reader is told what to listen for, if and why the recording is significant, and where it fits into the bigger picture; stereo mixes, mono mixes, film mixes, studio sessions, it's all in here!

Unbelievably exhaustive. Thousands of entries. This book is the perfect gift for any Beatles fan! My *only* complaint is having to wait several more months for the release of Volume 2!

WARNING: Learning about *all* the Beatles material out there may cause obsessive collecting, trading, and downloading from obscure websites.

WAY BEYOND COMPARE is the first of two exhaustive volumes chronicling all known recordings of The Beatles. John Winn's insightful study details far more than just the recordings that have been officially released over the years. He's heard every available studio outtake, concert performance, interview, press conference, newsreel, and TV & radio appearance. The author documents where and when each of these recordings were made in addition to identifying the sources you can hunt down to hear them for yourself.

This is an important work that already ranks in my top five of the best Beatles books. Winn painstakingly details each Fab recording, yet he does so in an eminently readable way that belies the scholarship behind each entry. You can read WAY BEYOND COMPARE from cover to cover for shear enjoyment or you can use it as an indispensable, chronologically arranged reference to the recorded legacy of The Beatles. Either way, you will not be disappointed.

But you needn't take my word for it. Search out John C. Winn's WAY BEYOND COMPARE page on the World Wide Web and read a couple of samples from this authoritative and satisfying book for yourself.

Definitely one of the finest reference works available for collectors! Mr. Winn has taken on a project that even Sulpy and Lewisohn wouldn't touch: Identifying and cataloguing every known interview, film clip, and newsreel featuring one or all of the Beatles. Studio sessions, concert appearances, and Radio/TV performances are also chronicled in a very clear and concise format, which complements rather than competes with the aforementioned authors.
This book is absolutely essential for serious collectors, while being an enjoyable read for the casual fan. Volume Two is due in the near future, and if it's even half as good as Volume One, it will be "core collection" as well.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The other reviewers have it right: This Is Essential.

So is Part 2: 1966-1970, and here's where you can find it: http://members.aol.com/multiplusbooks/ .....or via a Google search on Multiplus Books.

And if you're feeling flush, there's a Volume 3, too -- this one catalogues the EMI tape library and is necessarily a somewhat drier read, but still an essential companion to Lewisohn's Recording Sessions.

I have been a Druid for twenty-three years and I have recommended this book to my adult children and others who are interested in the Druid path. It is a thought provoking read - but it is not a book for reading in one sitting. I found myself going back, re-reading, and contemplating the intent of what was written. I enjoyed it a lot, and recommend it highly. It should be on every Druids book shelf. It represents the metaphysic principles of the Druid path that I have not found anywhere else. It defines and explains the essence of what a Druid should be in the here and now based off of historical evidence of the Celtic culture and the Druids. It briefly explains the past of the Celtic culture without becoming a boring thesis. This naturally sets up why Druids were Druids and how they interacted with the tribe.

It suggests doctrinal and theological principles that Druids likely taught in relation and perception to the Celtic way of life and perspective. Many of which we would do well to emulate and thus the title - it is very appropriately title for the contents of this book.

It does not have any rituals, but these are available from several other sources. It simply reflects what a Druid should be, steeped in Celtic lore of one living in our harried world of today. Good read - get it.

In addition to being the best book on Druidry that I've seen in the last few years, this author includes extensive information on Celtic history. Highly recommended reading for anyone interested in either of these two subjects.

This book is perfect for the established Druid or those who are just curious. It offers a lot of important background information that other books I have read leave out. After reading this book, I feel a renewal in my Celtic and Druid beliefs.

Seemingly effortless in it's portrayal of a complex subject, I agree with the other reviewers who consider this the best book on Druidry available. I only wish I had found it 15 years ago! Easy to understand, accurate, encompassing a wide variety of topics, practical, well organized & engrossing. Kudos to Graeme Talboys!

Graeme Talboys is to be congratulated on the writing of such an effortlessly readable yet intellectually satisfying account of the history, nature and practice of the modern Druidic tradition. This book is written for Druids and non-Druids alike and both will learn from it. The book begins with a succinct but useful history of the Celts and then proceeds through philosophy, cosmology, ritual and practice. One of the most difficult aspects in writing a book of this type is getting the structure right - taking the reader through the various aspects of Druidy in such a way that they receive the right information in the right quantity and in the right order; this is the book's strength. The writing at times seems to suggest a preference for solitary practice over the institutional. His section on modern organisations could have offered the reader more information on contemporary orders. It was interesting to note that the Bibliography contains no books by either Philip Carr Gomm or Emma Restall Orr, both leading figures in major contemporary Druid communities. The Way of The Druid is an excellent addition to contemporary writing on modern Druidry and I recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about its beliefs rituals and practice.

I purchased this book several years ago and have misplaced it since moving so I'm back for another copy. Why? Because this book was an integral part of my life and gave incredible insight on how to manage conflict from a spiritual perspective. If you're looking for "entertainment reading" ( 3 stars? C' mon!)this isn't it.
However, if you are like me...a spiritual person who has to deal with conflict somewhere in your life, and would like to do it without losing something precious...your integrity...this is the book for you.
This is also not a "feel good, everything's gonna be ok" type book. Definately, as the the other reviewer said NOT metafizzy in the least. It is a book that will help you discover ways to deal with conflict and confrontation with grace. If you are like me, and had parents that were too busy/dysfuntional to teach you how to defend yourself (in an honest ethical way) you will find great insight here. Like the i-ching, I would just randomly open a page and read it's meaning. This is also a great book to give to a friend who may be having passivity issues.
This book is not for the faint of heart..or someone who does not realize the value of sticking up for yourself when the time comes. It is for those who realize that conflict just IS...like it or not, and those who would like to fight back with honor.
Thanks Frank Rivers...your wisdom is sorely needed. :o)

This extraordinary book by Frank Rivers deserves more stars than would fit on this page. Frank Rivers deals with ideas formerly reserved for mysticm and the most esoteric disciplines in a charmingly down to earth manner. He gets a lot of mileage out of the Owl analogy, and it works. The reader, male or female, can easily identify with both the fledgling and the wise old owl of Frank River's examples. This fascinating treatise on conflict, paradox and martial principle has so much more substance and clarity than one would expect from such a relatively unknown work. I especially recommend it to readers who don't normally enjoy warm and fuzzies, or self-help conflict-resolution type books. I also recommend it to those struggling with the inconsistencies and injustices of life. Again and again Frank Rivers makes the principles of life, of reality and conflict, as concrete and usable as an idea or words on paper can get. I plan to read this book several times in the next few years. I put Frank Rivers "The Way of The Owl" right up there with James Carse's "Finite and Infinite Games" and consider it much more accessible to the person with an average interest in this type of subject. Although I found the book deeply spiritual in nature, I also found it well in line with fundamental beliefs. A Baptist minister and a Buddhist monk would both enjoy the insights Frank Rivers presents to the reader. A great book for carrying around and reading at those odd moments.

I have always considered the owl as my totem, yet didn't make the connection between owls and tai-chi, and integrity. Soul work is taxing to the spirit, we are not always dealing with people whose goals are harmony, co-operation, reverence for life. We need to be reminded that the Yin and Yang of daily life brings struggle, we cannot escape that fact, but we can be guided thru these conflicts with awareness, the most important of which is *Know Thyself*. It's a HOOT of a book, and I am delighted to have it.

To know one thing is to know one thousand things. To know one's self is to know the universe. This book provides reflective wisdom, which is self evident, that only serves to nurture the soul. The book does not provide answers, it provides questions. And the questions is more valuable than the answer.

This is one of the best books I've read in terms of changing behaviors and self-realizing your own potential. It is self-reflective and talks in plain, simple language that I was able to relate to AND talk about with others. I say forget about Covey and his 7 habits because most likely, you already have "his" identified 7 habits. I wanted to go deeper...to build my intracommunication with myself and understand how I can change to become more successful. Rivers' book helped me do this and it can for you. This is one book that doesn't buy into the new age spiritualism mumbo-jumbo that everyone is jumping on. The Rivers' book is for real and it is a keeper...I'm rereading it now.

I was told by a friend that this was a really good book, and So I bought it. At first I was a little put off by the many different names that were hard for me to pronounce let alone read, but soon I was unable to put the book down. I was finished in 2 days and it only took that long because I have kids to look after. I fell in love with the period in which the story takes place and you'll be drawn to the books that follow Musashi. This is the perfect book to read when you want to retreat from the hustle and bustle of modern times.

I first read this story about 12 or 13 years ago when I was entering my teens. Corgi originally released the first book in the series here in the UK at about that same time, and it took over a year for the series to be completed. However the story itself was written in 1935, first being printed in serialized form in one of Japans most famous newspapers, the Asahi Shimbun. The story is a very powerful one that keeps you within its grasp all the way throughout. As well as captivating your mind it captures your heart and your soon so entranced within the story itself that you actually feel that your there, experiencing it with Musashi. Along with a well devised plot that doesn't drift too far from the truth, there's an educational side that goes with it, that teaches you in great detail about feudal Japan, its people and its places and it does this without ever leaving the story. You will finish this book with a good knowledge and understanding of japans history and all without the need for history books. The characters are so well detailed, you can actually picture them very clearly in your head. Its a story that is so well written, so detailed and so enthralling that you actually forget that your living here in the present. Yoshikawa tells the story in such a powerfully romantic way that it might actually make you stop and think about yourself. All in all this book is a must buy. Out of the many books that I have read, this story is not only the best, but it's a story that I will hold in my heart for eternity. You may find yourself never ever wanting to lose this story but most of all, you will be so grateful that you found it.

I felt that this was an amazing book! There was action that was in no way excessive as well as intrigue and philosophy. It is the first book in an amazingly well written series the chronicle the life of Miyamoto Musashi, the man who was the epitome of bushido. This book would be a great read for anyone who finds fuedal Japan even remotely interesting.

Probably the best book of feudal Japan that I have had the pleasure to read. Can not wait for Book II to be printed again.

My lord! This book, as well as the other four have changed my very way of life. This is by far the best series i've ever read. i can only recommend this to all, and i mean all. this book along with the others have gotten me into swordsmanship, and the way of the samurai. anyway, I couldn't put this thing down, so i doubt you will be able to. read it!

This short book offers a concise introduction to the tenets of Buddhism in general and to Tibetan Buddhism in particular. Beginning with a brief outline of the life of the historical Buddha, English scholar and Tibetan mediatation practioner Dr David Stott (writing here under his Buddhist name, Lama Jampa Thaye) leads the reader through the historical and philosophical development of Tibetan Buddhism.

Written in unpretentious, everyday English, Stott stays on topic and, except for a lengthy middle section readers already familiar with Buddhism might like to skip, presents in less than 150 pages a succinct oultine of what makes Tibetan Buddhism unique as well as to what separates Tibetans in matters of Buddhist philosophy.

Tibetan terms are not overused and are explained as they are introduced. A glossary is provided but unfortunately a guide to pronunciation is not. Also available for your edification are the author's opinions on theism (you cannot practice Buddhism and be a Christian, Jew, Muslim or any other kind of theist), reincarnation (which he claims is the conerstone of Buddhist philosophy and without which the entire system would collapse), and orthoxody (anyone wishing to be a Buddhist must accept it whole, the complete 2500 year accretion of study, practice and tradition).

This is the only introduction to Tibetan Buddhism I've read which avoids the speculation or downright mystification which most writers on Tibetan Buddhism seem to be unable to do without. The Buddhist path as practiced in Tibet by the four main schools is set out very clearly, and comes across as a logical extension of the teachings of Shakyamuni. The fundamentals are set out in a traditional fashion by Lama Jampa Thaye, with the minimum of interpretation. There is a refreshingly honest review of the main exponents of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, and a question and answer chapter in which the teachings discussed in the earlier part of the book are addressed to Western concerns. A great way in.

Way of Tibetan Buddhism is an excellent overview of the Buddhist path. Lama Jampe Thaye clearly shows how the different level of teachings within Buddhism relate to each other. It also contains a comprehensive history of all the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Lama Jampa Thaye writes with a great understanding of the difficulties facing western people approaching the practice of Buddhism and explodes many of the misunderstandings and misconceptions prevalent in the West today. I found his style both direct and approachable and thoroughly inspiring. I recommend Way of Tibetan Buddhism as an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Tibetan Buddhism.

This book is so clear and precise... It is most certainly the best introduction to Buddhism I have ever read. It is very rare to find an exposition on the subject written by such a highly qualified author, which lacks any controversy. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the Buddhist tradition in general and in Tibetan Buddhism in particular. Much, much better than all the other items in this category!

Lama Jampa Thaye's book is scholarly, comprehensive and above all crystal clear. The author begins with a valuable history of Buddhism and it's journey from India to Tibet and then proceeds to examine the fundamental stages of the path to enlightenment in detail, starting with Refuge and dealing progressively with the Three Vehicles. The section on vajrayana dispels the fog of misinformation and inaccuracy that can confuse and bewilder the newcomer to this vast and profound subject and is particularly useful. A central theme of the book is the significance of the teacher in Tibetan Buddhism and the importance of receiving the teachings from an authentic lineage. The book finishes with a description of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism and a very helpful Question and Answer section. This is, in my opinion, the best introduction to Tibetan Buddhism available and is essential reading for anyone seriously interested in practicing the dharma.

My daughter received this book as a gift when she was two and, at age three, it's still one of her favorites. She's even memorized each page so that it looks like she can read it on her own. Great book with wonderful pictures.

This story was super. I used it as a introduction to poetry and imagery with my third grade students. They were able to visualize the thunderstorm and hear the sounds in their heads. As a result they came up with some super ideas themselves in their journals. This was Super!! I look forward to reading more of Mrs. Meadow's work with my students.

I recently saw this book and thought my kids would like it. Well, they love it!!! I really enjoyed the rhyming which made it easy for my kids to follow along and try to memorize. My 5 year old is learning to read and he likes to try and recognize the words as we read it over and over and over... It is HIGHLY requested in our household! It's a fun read for parents too, and helps to give the words to soothe during those scary storms. All four of my kids are really enjoying this book and also the great pictures that illustrate the story. I highly recommend this book to anyone with young children!!!

This is the perfect book to soothe any child back to sleep. Ms. Meadows captures the feeling of a storm in a way that makes it seem rhythmic, even soothing to a child. Her words are warm, perfect for making a child feel safe and loved. This is the ideal book for any parent needing to read to a child in the middle of the night!

I found this well-rhyming book to be very soothing. This is just the sort of comforting story children have come to depend on in uncertain circumstances. What a delightful story with beautiful illustrations. My kids are older, but I bought one anyway because I love it so!

The first cool crispness of fall sends many home cooks back to the kitchen, eager to cook something new and different. Julian and Riven, who write a weekly column for the Boston Globe's food section, understand this seasonal urge for something new to cook. Their first book is designed for "accomplished" and busy home cooks and features straightforward, unfussy recipes with plenty of room for variation and timing options.

After "Salads" and "Appetizers" the book is organized around occasion. "When You're in a Rush" features weeknight meals like Ten-minute Bolognese Sauce, Pork Chops with Apples and Onion, and the five-ingredient Shrimp in Coconut Milk with Red Curry Paste, which takes longer to say than to cook. Not all of the dishes are so quick - Eggplant Lasagna requires assembly and baking - but they share a simplifying "one-pot meal" approach.

"Dishes We Make All The Time" includes homey fare like Baked Meatballs and Tomato Sauce, Yankee Pot Roast with Caramelized Vegetables and Bow Ties with Pot Cheese and Peas. There's also a French Onion Soup made with roasted onions and Mussels in Spicy Tomato Sauce that can be served in bowls or over pasta.

"New Classics" offers tweaks to the tried and true to reflect the modern tastes for leaner, more highly seasoned food, like Oven Fried Fish and Chips and Roasted Coq Au Vin with Sugar Snap Peas. "Good Enough for Company" features Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce, Chicken breasts stuffed under the skin with Ricotta and herbs, Roast Side of Salmon, Salmon and Mushroom Pot Pie.

There's a chapter of stews and braises - Spring Garden Stew, Braised Beef in Balsamic Vinegar and another of side dishes like Harvard Beets, Sautéed Apples, and Noodle Pudding. "Rise and Dine" features Salmon Kedgeree, Warm Cheese Pie and Blueberry Muffins; a baking chapter focuses on cakes, cookies and pies and the book ends with Simple Fruit Deserts from Apple Crisp to Baked Peaches in Brown Sugar.

Attractively designed, the book is a comfortable combination of the familiar and the new, with simple, practical advice for serving combinations, do ahead tips and variations. A book for cooks who like a relaxed feel in the kitchen, and who doesn't?

I don't even cook, but the photography motivates me to give it a try. These are fantastic looking dishes! I want to find more of this photographer's work.

I love to cook.
I like to try different books and see how their recipes are.

This one is great, and the recipes are easy to follow and the
ingredients are ones that you would have on "hand" in your home.

I loved how their catgorized it-"meals for when you are in a rush" excellent idea.

I would recommend this to someone who likes to cook but doesn't want to spend the day or the time looking for ingredients that are hard to find.

`the way we cook, Recipes from the New American Kitchen' is written by two food writers / journalists in the Boston area, which gives this somewhat pregnant title the expectation that it is nothing more than a collection of `Boston Globe' food columns. If it were, I would dismiss it with three stars and little comment. The first clue that more is afoot here than culls from the Wednesday food section are the blurbs on the back of the dust jacket from Christopher Kimball, Anne Willan, and Steven Raichlen. Kimball I could expect, being a good old boy Yankee New Englander from way back, but Anne Willan is serious stuff.

The chapter titles are a bit unusual, but they are exactly the range of topics you would expect to find in newspaper food columns. They are:

Appetizers such as deviled eggs, liver pate, ceviche, crab cakes, eggplant caponata, toasts, crackers, etc.
Salads such as Eggless Caesar, French Market Salad, Creamy Potatoe Salad, Fattoush, Greek Cypriot, etc.
When You're in a Rush with Soups, Chicken, Tuna, Salmon, Bass, and Scallops, quick Bolognese, etc.
Dishes We Make All the Time such as Vege Soup, Chili, Yankee Pot Roast, Meatball, Lamb Stew, etc.
New Classics such as Corn Chowder, Oyster Stew, Boulangere, Baked Beans, Salmon Cakes, etc.
Good Enough For Company with Rack of Pork, Leg of Lamb, Ossobuco, Duck Breasts, Roast Salmon, etc.
Simmering Pots with lots of soups and stews such as Cuban Stewed Chicken and Beef Daube, etc.
Sides such as Fresh Corn Risotto, Scalloped Tomatoes, Quick Couscous, Blue Cheese Popovers, etc.
Rise and Dine with Frittatas, Muffins, Soda Bread, Quesadillas, Banana Bread, Blueberry Loaf Cake, etc.
If You Love to Bake with Strawberry Shorkcakes, Carrot Cake, Pies, Tarts, Cookies, Gingerbread, etc.
Simple Fruit Desserts with five recipes for apples, oranges, and peaches.

The first thing which bumped my opinion up from three stars to four was with the description of how to cook hardboiled eggs. For starters, they recommended my preferred method of pricking a hole in the shell and dropping the eggs into just boiling water. Then, they gave the additional tip of rolling the just dropped eggs around a bit in order to center the yolk in the cooked egg. To cap things off, they gave a recommendation on how to crack the hot eggs to make them easier to peel when they cool.

The next thing which warmed my opinion of the book was that I could not find any steps in any recipes which I would do differently. There are few fancy techniques called for in the recipes and almost all of them take no more than a page, but there were also no short cuts.

The last thing which appealed to me was the lack of processed ingredients. All pie crusts are made from scratch and I detected no cans of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. I did find the directions for the pie crusts to be less than perfect, as it was lax in calling for very cold ingredients, combined in such a way to keep them cold and to leave bits of butter to fluff up the crust. But then, this is not a book on pie baking and I'm sure the technuque they give works well enough. Another less than ideal baking recipe was the carrot cake, which called for but a single layer. If I am going to the trouble to make a carrot cake with butter cream icing, I will make three layers for sure.

This is not a book for died in the wool foodies. Were I not reviewing it, I would not buy it myself, but for that very large number of people who need to make good meals at least three times a week and don't have time to wade through 800 pages of `The Joy of Cooking' or `James Beard's American Cookery', this book is just the thing.

I think Steve Raichlen's comparison to Julia Child and Simone Beck is misplaced because the latter duo was doing an in depth survey of a very specific local cuisine while the current authors are collecting recipes originating from all over the world and presenting them for a particular audience. So, their emphasis is on a specific audience rather than a specific cuisine. Sorry Steve.

This is an excellent book which accomplishes it's mission at a reasonable price. Just be warned that this is NOT low carb or low fat cooking, just very tasty cooking.

I bought this book after reading a review of it. The recipes are simple and easy to follow. They do not use any ingredients that you cannot get at a regular supermarket. No recipe requires the cook to stand over the stove stirring or watching it cook. I highlighted all the recipes I want to try and easily have a month's worth of dinners. I'm so glad there's finally a cookbook for cooks who don't have time to cook!

I loved this book; and I cannot tell why. For me it was one of those disturbing reads that I could not put down. The imagery is pointed; the themes uniquely universal. I say uniquely because this story grows out of its setting, but is imaginable in Durban, Gaza, Burma, or Sarajevo (of the last century).

WAYS OF DYING is one of the most fascinating novels that I have read in years. The book is set in South Africa during a period that seems to span the end of the apartheid regime and focuses exclusively on the lives (and deaths) of poor South African Blacks in rural villages and urban shanty towns near what I suspect is Durban. Fans of Marquez will feel very much at home here in a world of "magical realism", yet while Mda may have been influenced by novels like 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE he has a voice that is uniquely his own, and one that I sense is profoundly rooted in Africa. Mda's "hero" is a self-declared Professional Mourner, who ekes out an existence at the edge of society. Some aspects of his life are almost grotesque in form, and the deaths that surround him are often truly horrifying, yet somehow I found this a profoundly optimistic and human book. In spite of the worst that the world can throw at him the Professional Mourner is able to transcend mere existence & by the end I was shamelessly rooting for him. I should add that I used this book in a course on the Turn of the Century, and one of my toughest-case students, whom I had failed to excite with anything else, came into my office today saying "I just LOVE Mda" You will too,

This book is simply great, it was a lot more than i had expected...i recomend it very much to anyone who is looking for an intersting piece that explores what the end of of one of the darkest times in south africa

Recently i had the pleasure of reading material from one of South Africa's most celebrated black authors, Zakes Mda. An Oxford University Press published book titled "Ways of Dying", this is a South African fiction selection. Being a fiction, it is wtitten in a very creative manner that i could hardly associate with any of the books i had read before.

This is a story of love written with expectation of one's imagination to take over. The wording, grouping, style and context of this book make it so. It is mainly based on two characters and the way they live their lives. Toloki is a man consumed with the profession of mourning the dead whilst his love Noria has lost immensely through life, still has the ability to show Toloki how to live.

There are various different characters in this novel, which make it as interesting. Even with their differences, they jell well together making the story line easily readable and understandably creative enough to follow. The vast lines go from Toloki who grew up as the ugliest boy in the village and people taking no note of him to the same character turning into a man who is widely respected for his chosen profession in the city outskirts where it was the only place he found recognition. In the village where he grew up Toloki had a friend who had the identity he wanted. Her name was Noria. Toloki hated and loved her with the same heart. Noria was everyone's favorite in the villafe; she had her mother's beauty and brought all the boys and towns' man attention and had the most amazing laugh that made all the village people happy whenever they heard it. When she was sad, everyone was too.

The writing style used in this book is that which is very easy to follow. There are no bombastic (big) words used nor are there times where you could lose the story. Every word flows into a paragraph that combines to others that make this a brilliantly written story.

One of the other things that make this an interesting read is the humor infused.

This is a brilliant written book that everyone with a sense of adventure and imagination will enjoy.

I am an avid reader of African literature, both fiction and non-fiction (especially memoirs). I am always searching for contemporary non-white writers (the white writers are good, but it is not unreasonable to want other perspectives), so I was happy to learn about Zakes Mda from a recent New York Times book review column, and I ordered his two books immediately.

'Ways of Dying' is not about post-apartheid South Africa, though the blurb suggests that. I estimate it to be set in the late 1980s, shortly before the end of the old regime was drawing near.

It's a short book, but it's well written, and paints a vivid picture of life in South Africa. And yes, the 'black perspective' is different, and very interesting, and most welcome.

Ways to Better Breathing is the best book about breathing containing experiments. This is a simple book that helps people to regulate their breathing and achieve a relaxing moment. Speads teaches how to use breathing experiments for various purposes such as in stressful situation, to overcome fear and grief, to relax and so on.

It looks like the reader is having a private class with Speads when it comes to learning breathing experiments.

I would recommend everyone to do all the breathing experiments at least in the morning right after waking up and preferably on an empty stomach. These breathing exercises result in a phenomenon effect on your mind and body. As a result, it will invigorate and refresh your energy even after having a sleepless night.

I find the thought of doing breathing exercises based on readings from a book a bit daunting. I am the type that would much rather prefer a class or one on one instruction on how to properly do a breathing exercise. But... you don't need that with this book. It's so clearly written that you feel like the author is right there giving you instructions. Granted from time to time I would have to stop what I was doing and read it again but I always looked at the first couple of tries as a practice session and then I would do the full blown exercise once I thought I understood what it was I was to do. It's clear, concise and to the point....

This is the most complete, down to earth guide to working with your breathing. Carola Speads is a profound and generous teacher and both of those qualities come through in "Ways to Better Breathing". Read this book and, more importantly, do this book. It will be a friend to you for life. A true classic.

This excellent book provides you with the essence of how to gain skill and confidence in better breathing. Since breathing is a part of all that we do, it is a key to mastering life for everybody no matter what their situation is, and the author does an excellent job of conveying this. Thus an olympic level athlete or a person recouperating from a serious injury will find guidance and improvement in learning these experiments.they are extremely effective, yet taught by Carola in a way that is gentle, and adapts to everyone's varied situations. Just as learning the alphabet gives us access to create and also read many words, learning these breathing experiments is a key that will open us up to a much fuller potential in all our life situations. Once these experiments are learned, they can be applied, even with just a few seconds of time to improve our breathing.Carola Speads is a master teacher, who lived for 98 years and taught this work for 83 years of her life. We are fortunate that she shared her brilliant ideas in a do it yourself format so that we can all benefit from her expertise. I recommend this book to all my friends, colleagues and patients, since it is so basic and effective to improving their lives, no matter what challenges they face or aspirations they are reaching for.

Relatively few works are likely to concretely impact the quality of our everyday life. According to my opinion, and based on the experiment which I made of the practical tools described in this book, this one is one of them.
Do not mislead you there, this work has nothing to do with the majority of the "doubtful" works devoted to breathing.
In short, this remarkable book is a great classic, you will understand quickly why. I sincerely wish you to discover it soon.

Romance, horses, and a touch of mystery are a "winning" combination in this novel by Toni Leland. Young professional Liz Barnett attempts to establish a veterinary practice in the farm country of northern California. With the intention of gaining a prestigious reputation for her farm and breeding line, she also exhibits her Arabian horses in shows. Along the way, she meets difficult obstacles and rival trainer Kurt DeVallio, a man with a mysterious past. The plot is fast-paced, the characters believable, and the setting interesting and informative. Winning Ways is definitely a winner!

"Winning Ways," is both a spell-binding novel and a treasure trove of information about today's equestrian culture and industry. The novel is woven around an engaging plot, while romantic aspects are mature enough to engage the most masculine of readers.
From the first sentence, the reader knows that this is a writer well versed in her subject matter. Even the fast pace of the book does not leave the reader wondering about detail. It's a rare talent that can inform about subject matter, while retaining the reader's intense interest to the very last line. This book does that, and even the most casual of readers would be rewarded by engaging it.

Winning Ways is a romance with a focus on the dark side of the Arabian (or any) horse show world - competitors that want to win at any cost. The story builds satisfactorily with a nicely rounded group of secondary characters and a very believeable villain.

Definitely a FUN READ.

I've had little experience with horses or the world of competitive horse shows, but I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in this book. The story left me with a desire to know what happens to them in the next phase of their lives. I'd love to read a sequel.

Winning Ways is a romantic novel set in the high-stakes world of showing prize Arabian Horses. A young female veterinarian seeking to make her plance among stubborn ranchers, and a horse trainer struggling to cope with the loss of his wife and infant son ten years ago, are thrown together by circumstance yet must work together to find their place in the show ring and among the many hurdles of their professional and personal lives. Winning Ways is a story of second chances; the author's love of horses and horsemanship shows through in this captivating saga of striving of and for one's heart.