Williams Books

This book is a perfect messiah's handbook (ala Richard Bach's Illusions). Succinctly written by an 'itinerate woodcutter' each page contains a gem of wisdom. I have had this book over twenty years and it has been revisited often in my quest for awareness and spiritual growth. I purchased it as a gift for my favorite aunt. A must have book for spiritual seekers.

a highly unique exploration of interesting systems of thought and philosophy. A one-of-a-kind sort of book, for sure.

I dicovered this wonderful book (or maybe it discovered me...) when I was 16 in a B. Dalton's bookstore during a lunch break in High School. Immediately I felt this book was like my mentor during the remainder of my teen years. It's the kind of book that you can open up to any page and find wisdom, beauty, strentgh and love. The style of writing reminds me of the Dhammapada with a dash of Heraclitus' philosopical prose.

Some of my favorite passages...

" Get to know the truthful, if you would become accquainted with beauty."



"Let go of everything you're holding onto

now let go of everything else."




"security is quicksand

can it really be ANYone's ambition in life
to become one-half the couple in the life insurance ads?

security. life insurance.
how much are you worth dead?

more than you're worth alive?
hurry up and die, then

hurry up and be born again."





"Do not be afraid to love."




"Decision-making is a vice. Some addicts reach a stage where they do almost nothing but agonize over decisions.
It's a subtle form of hesitation.
Like all addictions, the only cure is cold turkey.
You could spend the rest of your life trying to decide whether to take the cure."



"take everything that is strong in you
and put it to work
set it free
never mind what anyone thinks
take all your muscles
and stretch them to their limits
you'll amaze yourself, how good you'll feel
and how much good you'll do
just by radiating pure energy outward
-contact high the ultimate form of communication-
you are beautiful
be
be
be!"

This book predates most of the post-modern self help books we see on the shelves in bookstores or advertised in the media. Most of the authors of post-modern self help are focusing too much energy on manipulation to achieve a re-defined version of love and abundance. I personally feel it's an imitation of the "real thing", but then again I wax nostalgic over the simple hippie philosophies that came out of the 60's as notably this book attests to that. Even though I wasn't born until 1969! But a lot of things that came out from the 60's are truly classic. This being one them.

"This is God speaking", says Williams at one point. Well yes, reading this book does rather feel like that much of the time. "Das Energi" is a mighty powerful and inspirational read. A dynamic (VERY dynamic) mix of Zen ideas, taoism, positive thinking and maybe a bit of Christian morality thrown in for good measure. However, some of the language does place the book firmly in the late sixties and early seventies (man!). Its still brilliant.

Paul Williams presents us with quick, sharp "blows to the head" such as "Beware means be aware.", "Vote with your life. Vote yes.", "Stop showing off. It isn't what you do. Its what you are that matters.", "Babies see things as they really are" and so on. The uneven format of the book (could be a sentence on one page, a short paragraph on the next, then a short essay on the next) helps you to think more consciously in itself.

Having read the book several times over, I finally realized what was missing for me. A sense of humour! An inspirational classic such as "Illusions" by Richard Bach for example, has the same enlightening quality but gives you a good chuckle too. Still, this is an extraordinary book and I thank Paul Williams for it wholeheartedly. Read this and WAKE UP! ;o)

i found a copy of this book in a thrift store in okc when i was 17. for a year i would read it everyday. after the southern babtist had their way with me i was looking for some truth. i found this book and formed my belief system around it. it has guided me thru life and now that i have learned more about life from experience, i'm glad mr. williams book was there to arm me. i emailed paul williams and told him how his book changed my life and not only did he write me back but, sent me a copy of waking up together. he's an awesome guy still trying to change the world.

I use this book as a grammar reference and conversation stimulus in my ESL classes and private tutoring.
It's very well organized although the cd only contains every 4 chapters which is a bit disappointing. However the students like it which is essential.

I love this book. It should not be used as a reference but for practicing your American English. Perhaps the exercises should be a little harder. It is well organized into sections and explains things in a clear way.

Great grammar book for anyone whose grammar is rusty. This would be a great tool for ESL teachers because each 2-page lesson is self-contained with grammar explanations and exercises. I like the format that lets someone do one lesson at a time at his/her own pace.

Students love this book and so do I as their teacher in English as a Second Language or ESL in the El Paso TX area. This puts the polish on the vocabulary, comprehension, pronunciation, and confidence I attempt to instil in my students...the answers are in the back to aid self study and the CD allows them to hear correct pronunciation prior to coming to class so the class acts as a review for thier homework. Thank you.

My children studied the basic version of Grammar in Use. As non-English speaking family, I am happy that our children are enrolled in GT classes or in a Magnet school. They have gotten 'A's in Reading and/or English. Now they are learning this version. Well organized expressions and rich examples are guiding them to the 'fast track'.

March 18, 2004

This is possibly the best book on Greco Roman Wrestling in print. I have a copy of Greco- Roman Wrestling by M. Briggs Hunt which has drawings rather than photos and is no longer in print, which is also very good. Greco Roman teaches holds for above waist, and is practiacal for street fighing, and has holds you can use staying on your feet ...
Train hard and have fun!
Guro Dennis Servaes

this book covers some basic greco-roman throws, as well as some exercies to build you up for the throws so you can proform the movments required. overall i would say get this book if you are looking to add some stand-up throws to your grappling or fighting game.

Excellent book. I recommend it to all wrestlers, Judo, BJJ and Submission grapplers. Upper body moves and applications are discussed in great detail along with body positioning. The book emphasizes that even though you can not use legs to trips your opponent positioning you body nonetheless is paramount. Will little modification these techniques can be applied to MMA as well.

I would like to describe how extremely helpful this book is to a spectator of the sport of wrestling. Since I am merely a fan or observer of this great sport, I don't have the inside knowledge to understand exactly what I am seeing when I watch wrestling. This book has been an excellent reference text and teaching guide for me to learn more about my favorite sport.

Since so much happens in such a short amount of time in wrestling matches - which is one of the reasons this sport is truly special and so exciting to watch (no endless waiting for something to happen, no standing around, no lengthy time-outs) - this book does a wonderful job explaining in depth what actions the observer is witnessing.

I know this book is intended as a training/how-to manual, but I feel it is great for non-participants (cheerers) too. I intended to pass this book on to a family member to encourage participation in the sport, but I am afraid I am keeping it for myself, at least for the time being.

Great photos, easily understandable technical/strategy information, and a nice history/background section - this book has it all. I already had a tremendous appreciation for the sport of wrestling as far as the sportsmanship, strength, endurance, strategy, training, skill, etc. Now I have a greater understanding of the complexities and nuances as well. This has given me wonderful insight into something I could admire, but only slightly understand before. And I am planning to employ some of the flexibility exercises in a non-wrestling context. This is simply a wonderful book for everyone to enjoy, not just wrestlers and coaches.

J.H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles, and wrestling fan

This is possibly the best book on Greco Roman Wrestling in print. I have a copy of Greco- Roman Wrestling by M. Briggs Hunt which has drawings rather than photos and is no longer in print, which is also very good. Greco Roman teaches holds for above waist, and is practiacal for street fighing, and has holds you can use staying on your feet.
Train hard and have fun!
Guro Dennis Servaes

I would compare this book to a box of chocolates, dark, light, sensuously innocent but rich enough to enjoy one story at a time. A wonderful "what if" and imaginative take on the female characters of Shakespeare's plays. I would recommend this to any young apprentice to Shakespeare or actor who is interested in finding new viewpoints on major and minor characters within the scripts. Berkman definitely goes beyond the stereotype female and cultivates a beautiful bouquet of realistic, emotional, and flesh bound women. Yes, I loved this book. I would also recommend it to readers from late teens to adults.

I am a fan of historical fiction and I really enjoyed this. It has smatterings of all the women in Shakespeare's lives ~~ starting from his mother to his wife, Anne, and friends, daughters, characters from his plays, and lastly, the Queen Bess.

This is a well-written book of short stories. I normally don't care for short stories but I do enjoy these! There is a chapter devoted to Lady MacBeth and you'd see where her love for her husband shines through as well as her ambition. There is Juliet's mother who is in love with Romeo's father. There are letters between the playwright and his daughters and wife.

The stories focus on different aspects of women and Shakespeare's muse seems to be all the women in his life. There is his wife, a lusty woman who he left behind. There is a friend whom he has fallen in love with but never touched improperly except once. There are his daughters. There is his landlord's daughter who adored him from afar. All these women and Shakespeare borrowed from them to write his famous plays to make each character human.

It is an interesting book ~~ and easily readable! I found this by accident and now I am looking forward to reading more of this author's books.

12-18-03

This is a great theme for a collection of short stories, I,m surprised it hasn,t been attempted before. Both fictitious and real life characters are featured here. We are given interesting new perspectives on well known figures eg a much more pro-active Ophelia than we,re used to seeing and a Lady Macbeth motivated by other than greed and ambition alone. We,re also given much insight into Will himself, a socially ambitious single-minded figure though kindly and well-intentioned; he fails to grasp that his family would rather have him around than live in Stratford,s finest house. All the tales were involving and moving but particularly the wealthy and educated Jennet,s struggle with childlessness and Judith Shakespeare,s love for a man her family dislike, these are timeless dilemmas.

Charming, inventive, and fun. The prose was beautiful. The characters were rich. I did not want it to end.

To read *Her Infinite Variety* is to be dazzled by Pamela Berkman's imaginative capacity. From story to story, she displays a rare ability to intuit the gaps in our knowledge of Shakespeare's women--the ones in his life as well as the ones in his art--and then to fill in those gaps with the delicate filigree of her fiction. Yet while these stories display a delicately rigorous structure, the language holding them together is as vibrant and sexy as the women they depict. If you have never enjoyed Shakespeare, buy this book. Berkman's tart-tongued Titania, her haunted Ophelia, and her utterly down-to-earth Bard (rescued, finally, from both scholars and souvenir-sellers) will make you reconsider.

The author's key premise is sound--high tech companies have lots of positions that low tech liberal arts types can fill. The key is how to break in and how to learn the jargon. This book is nuts and bolts, not an elegant read, but quite useful as a "how to" guide. This is for the person who doesn't mind "working up" into a position from the bottom. It's a good guide. Too many folks feel "stuck" in low paying "non-tech" jobs. This need not happen. This book has some good guideposts out.

Thanks to Bill's book, I made the career change from being a horticultural consultant for a laboratory to being a technical writer for an ecommerce company in the Silicon Valley. I got serious about my job search in November, finished Bill's book in January, started networking and going to industry meetings, started interviewing with companies in April and started my new job in May. Bill's book was right on the money. I work reasonable hours for a well-managed, successful company. THANKS BILL !

For us "low-techies", this is probably the best book out there to help cross the digital divide and begin a great career in high tech. Not only does Bill detail, in normal language, the industry and how to crack it, but also how to build your career once you're in. Everyone considering the leap into high tech should read this book!

A good book to include in your job search library. It will build your confidence in approaching high technology companies. You will see how to translate your low-tech but important skills into good positions in the contemporary job market.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author of "The Accelerated Job Search" docwifford@msn.com

I went to a seminar taught by Bill in April, and bought his book on the spot.

It is informative even to a person with no computer background, I was a bio major in college!!!

Now I am in software, as a Assistant Product Manager and really exceling, it is true what Bill says, it is the mindset and savvy that will carry you, the technical stuff you can and will learn along the way

I was able to apply the principles in his text in giving advice to ppl on how to get their own tech jobs (advising them to buy the book)

his book is fun to read, inspring, and chalk full on insider stuff it would take yeeeeeeeeeeeears to figure out on your own, frankly, it is one of the best investments you could ever make

I had read this book years ago and loved it - then promptly forgot it. I went to a Civil War Roundtable recently and someone remarked on the book and I remembered how much I had enjoyed it. The second time around is even better.

As as voracious teenage reader in the 1950's, I read every novel in my small town public library. Then I was allowed access to the older books in the basement. This is where I found "House Divided." I don't know why it was there, because it was not an old book at that time. I was entranced with it, and hopefully searched for a sequel, but there was none. I think I will buy a copy, if available, and read it again.

I first read this book in College 20+ years ago and have re-read it several times since. Before the internet made it easier to find copies of the book, everytime I came across a copy in a used bookstore I would buy it and give it to a friend because I didn't want the book to languish on a bookshelf unappreciated. It is a fantastic novel the follows a complex southern family throughout the entire Civil War. Be sure to also read the continuation (sequel) to the novel - "Unconquered," which follows some of the family through the reconstruction period.

This book had been sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of years, passed along to me by my mother. I just learned Williams is the grandnephew of General James Longstreet, which makes the story even more interesting.
The title is apt since the story deals with the bitterness of my country split in two for four agonizing years.
Williams toggles back and forth between the Currain family matters in Virginia and North Carolina and the lead up and their involvement in the Civil War. Each chapter is given a time period so the reader can read outside sources of these time periods.
When the five Currain siblings learn their long-dead father is the grandfather of Abraham Lincoln, all are affected in different ways. Williams does a good job with the psychological aspect of each sibling's response and subsequent actions to this unfathomable news. Williams does an admirable job in his character profiles.
What is most interesting about this story are the elaborately detailed battle scenes. The author described these so well I was able to see the planning and execution of the "work" (battle)--north and south--in my mind's eye.
General James Longstreet plays prominently in the story and was a Currain family friend before the War. "Jeems" and his wife Louisa are a house undivided, as they give the reader a picture of what unity can accomplish.
The jubilation and angst Longstreet feels as he bears the responsiblility for the work he is given is palpable. His highs are quite high and his lows are very low. As he goes into the last work of the War and assists General Lee with preparations for surrender, we grieve with Longstreet. I wasn't expecting to cry when the surrender was made known to the barefoot and bone-weary southern soldiers.
A good long read. The author captures the easy elegance of the minority Southern wealthy and their journey to a new South four years later.
A postscript: Williams' sequel to this is "The Unconquered" which gives a greatly detailed picture of the Reconstruction, mainly in Louisiana and set in New Orleans. Another good read.

This is the best book I have ever read. It has so much history of the Civil War and the reader will learn so much about this important time in our history. The characters are the pivot points for the telling of the South's history. Mr. Williams is really a genius in his technique. He includes political commentaries of the South from the perspective of the poor on up to the slave owners but done out of the mouths of the characters. He very concisely states the "reasons" for the war in a single paragraph stated several times and in different perspectives. He very exactly depicts the scenes and you truly can believe you are there viewing from afar and experiencing in reality the way life must have been for all the characters.

The only reason I did not give this book five stars is because I am REALLY careful about doing that with any book . . . BUT I loved this book! I loved the two women, Shelley and Mai, and wanted, especially, to know everything about Mai's former life in Vietnam and how she'd handle going back there after so many years. I also loved the way the author did Mai's dialogue in such a way that I could understand the limitations of her English and yet not not want to laugh at her. Mai simply fascinated me. Another aspect of this novel that I really respected was the way Sachs writes about children, especially 2-year Hai Auo. He is such a realistic picture of a child that age! Cute, but also capable of emitting a "scream that sounds like an electric drill." Sachs so expertly captures a toddler's personality (his fickleness, bouts of crying, clinginess, etc.) that I felt like that child was in the room with me. I wanted to adopt him myself! Finally, I loved reading about Vietnam (a country that's always fascinated me) and I have already purchased a copy of Sachs' memoir of living in that country. Can't wait to read and review that one, too!!!

If You Lived Here: A Novel
I was drawn to Dana Sachs' novel "If You Lived Here" because one of its settings is Wilmington, North Carolina, where my son lives. But the moment I picked up this wonderful book and started to read, I felt myself gently guided into a world much more complex than any locale. The two main characters, Shelley Marino, a mortician's wife who desperately longs for a child, and Mai, a Vietnamese entrepreneur who owns an Asian grocery in Wilmington and who fled Vietnam and carried a desperate secret with her, have become as real to me as my own family.
Both of these women and the other characters who people this novel walk off the pages and stand before me in flesh and blood. And the story Ms. Sachs tells exposes their hearts in a way that very few books ever have for me. And I am an avid reader who, at the age of 60, has a hard time finding anything new under the sun! Today, it takes a very rare and exceptional book to move me. Ms. Sachs is a wordsmith beyond compare. Not only did I love the path she carved for me, but I found myself savoring the way she used words to exactly tap and reveal her character's souls.
Shelley and Mai are two very strong women who, despite different cultures, forge a wonderful friendship which carries them both on a journey to Vietnam and on a journey of healing and discovery. I simply opened my own heart to them and, while reading their story, I felt suspended from my own life. That is how compelling this book is.
I also received a special bonus while immersed in this story. I am old enough to have lived through the years of our war with Vietnam, and I had a front row seat to its horrors on television newscasts. My myopic view of Vietnam hasn't changed since I was a teenager. In fact, I had put "Vietnam" aside as a memory and as a country which no longer plagues us.
Ms. Sachs, with her beautiful words and her heart's investment in her story, has changed my vision! Her story is so well told and so consuming that she has managed to draw me in another direction entirely.
I plumbed the depths of two women's lives. I struggled with Shelley's husband Martin until he finally opened up and told his story. And when Shelley and Mai and Martin and other characters forgave each other and themselves, I wept and forgave too.
But while doing so, I awoke to the story of Vietnam. The flickering black-and-white images of destruction and human pathos from my teen years have permanently been replaced. I have now discovered, through Ms. Sachs' eyes, a Vietnamese people with beautiful souls and a Vietnam of greens and reds and yellows and blues as palpable as the country right outside my own front door. What a gift! What a release!
Tonight I will settle down into my pillows and start reading Ms. Sachs' memoir of her time in Vietnam, "The House on Dream Street!" I am now hungry to hear more!

This is a must read for anyone who has adopted--or who has given a child up for adoption (trust me).

This author swept me up in her story from the beginning......twirled me around on her journey.....and put me down gently....all while keeping my heart and mind in the hearts and minds of all innvolved in the story. I loved this book!!!!! Sachs can certainly write...with knowledge, reality....and imagination! What more does a GOOD novel need!!! I need more from her!!!

Adoption is a special way of understanding feelings of other people. When you start this process you need support and help. The reactions of people around you make it clear who really cares for you who loves you
This is what happened to the two women in the novel

I did things a little backward and read Crosby's second book first, and when I read Long Time Gone it ended up being an irresistible forensic study of Crosby's life. It was a fabulous read. It made you wonder how any person could do that to himself and live to right about it. Make sure you buy both of Crosby's books. If you are a child of the 60's or 70's, it will transport you back to Woodstock and all of those confused feelings of your youth.

Whenever I may be asked to recount books I have enjoyed / lives I've enjoyed reading about - THIS book and THIS life will forever be upon that list.

David Crosby - the genuine article.

Long time gone provides an insight into one of the great survivors, nay legends, of the 65-75 era as well as entertaining observations on the culture of the times. fascinating reading for anyone of a certain age.

I am reading a first edition used hard-cover of this book and it sure brings back some memories! Like the one reviewer said,if you lived in those times,came of age in those times,this book will flood your mind with a-hankering for the good old days of mellow music,mellow weed and mellow and friendly girls. what an age of innocence!
i miss it very bad...gottlieb i think got it right,the "60's" were actually the decade of 1965-1975...a fantastic time that will never be back.i think the times we're in now could use some of the attitudes of the 65-75 era.good golden and red marijuana included. too bad human nature took it all and trashed it.thanks,david crosby for making me think about my youth as it developed into adulthood.
god bless you.
i was on the edge of the CSN and CSNY,Byrds,Springfield music...i was into the British groups and was gone on the Beatles and Who especially.
alot of my amigos were heavy into CSNY,much more than i was and i should've been myself-just never got around to them...(except for the Deja Vu LP- a top 10 classic.)i was also involved w/ the grateful dead and jazz and pink floyd.i liked the electric attitude of hendrix,too.
CSNY,CSN were too acoustic for my tastes at that time.it was a stroke of genius to get neil young-he made all the difference for me.
anyway,i am ranging...the book is great.read it and be prepared to go down Memory Lane.

This book is an amazing document about an amazing performer, born at the right time, in the right place, with the right set of talents needed to succeed (and fail, spectacularly).

If you are interested at all in American culture from the sixties to now, this is essential reading. Basically, David was born in Santa Barbara, grew up in the 50s loving sailing, cars, and women, later to be joined by music. He fell into the folk scenes then emerging in the early 60s, and by dint of personality and talent, worked his way into the Byrds, then CSN, then a sybaritic lifestyle that broke the mold.

Holy cow -- this is a highly entertaining, engrossing story of the American Dream gone good, gone bad, then gone good again. You will not put it down.

Hooray for the survivors, the dreamers, the lovers, the music-makers.

I will describe my reaction to these volumes in two ways: first, I have never read a work of criticism that provoked a standing ovation at the end of a chapter, as Goddard's work did and does in me; second, I wish Shakespeare had written more plays so that Goddard would have written more, not "criticism," but illumination.
In a post-modern world where critics see literature as contingent signs pointing to gerry-built meanings, Goddard takes a more traditional, refreshing moral view that points back to Emerson, Thoreau and Dickinson: a view that sees the universe, and Shakespeares plays, as morally structured and sensitive to consequence. "Our lives are startlingly moral" and what Goddard does is illustrate this through Shakespeare's plays, teasing the more or less superficial pageant of "drama" from the substantial "poetry" that flows like an underground river through all the plays. One reviewer hit the nail on the nose: this is wisdom literature.
Very few times in my readings have I felt such a deep impulse to thank a writer for what he or she has left us: I feel that impulse for Harold Goddard. Read what he wrote and you will see what I mean.

There's not much praise I can add to that offered by earlier reviewers. Goddard is, for me, one of the premier Shakespeare critics -- up there with Johnson, Coleridge, Bradley, and Frye. I much prefer his work to that of the two popularist contemporary critics, Bloom and Garber. Goddard lacks, thankfully, the self-aggrandizement of Bloom and Garber; his criticism is insightful and brilliant while remaining extremely accessible and enjoyable to read.

The two volumes of The Meaning of Shakespeare should be on the reading table (don't let them linger on the shelves) of every reader who respects and wants to enjoy Shakespeare.

This is Goddard on the play he considers Shakespeare's greatest: " The predestined end of unmastered human passion is the suicide of the species. That is the gospel according to 'King Lear'. The murder- suicide of Regan- Goneril is an example.But it is more than a picture of chaos and impending doom.What is the remedy for chaos? it asks. What can avert the doom?The characters who have mastered their passions give us a glimpse of the answer to these questions And Shakespeare through them, gives us more than a glimpse. But that is the culmination of the play and should come last."
The 'readings' given here of the work of Shakespare are informed, and insightful.

I don't know much about Shakespeare, but I know great writing when I read it. This book is an absolute pleasure to read (with volume 2). The author has great insight into human nature and brings his insights to his understanding of Shakespeare. The book makes me want to dive into Shakespeare myself!

Barbara

I once knew a young man who thought Polonius was a wise and noble character. He had taken Polonius's advice, such as "brevity is the soul of wit," at face value without noticing the irony that Polonius is not brief himself, and is in fact a meddling old fool. Reading Goddard makes me feel like that young man; he shows that Shakespeare's subtle irony is far more extensive than most theater-goers and readers realize. For example, whereas conventional wisdom holds Henry V to be Shakespeare's ideal king, Goddard interprets Henry V as the portrait of a hypocritical strongman.

If Goddard has a fault, he is too contemptuous of the theater. He sees the audience as an unthinking mob that laps up surface effects. His Shakespeare gave the groundlings the cheap thrills they crave so he could make money, but used irony to tell a poetic truth that was sometimes the opposite of what is seen on the stage. I think Shakespeare loved the theater more than Goddard did. Without the brilliant drama and comedy, his plays would be read as much as "The Rape of Lucrece," which is to say, only by scholars and devotees of Renaissance poetry. Even so, Goddard's insights are a revelation. After reading this book, you will have a greater appreciation of Shakespeare's artistic integrity.

I have previously spent a year living aboard a Hans Christian 38 on the west coast and in the Sea of Crortez. The sailing bug has hit me again and plan to get out again in a few years. This book rekindled knowledge that I already believed in and offered insights that I wish that I had had before. A true joy to read.

So many ideas, most will save you time, some safety tips could save your life.

I recommend this book to all novices and many experienced offshore sailors to prepare for the unexpected problems that you need to address or avoid especially when you are so exposed to the extremes of nature, and completely disconnected from any immediate help. Lots of good lessons learned and references.
Chris C.

This book looks disappointing at first because it is a thin expensive hardcover, but it is worth the money. There is very little fluff and the content is well structured and to the point. It covers most things necessary to prepare your boat for offshore sailing including tool lists, weight distribution, polars and VMG, secants and many other useful tips. Lots of pictures, tables and diagrams.

This is a very comprehensive book explaining what you need to know about offshore sailing.