Montana Books

I've read several "for Dummies" books, and in general the entire series is well written, concise, and gives you what you really need. However, I was very disappointed in this one. The book is really dedicated to the three methods of building wealth: equity (stocks, mutual funds, etc.), real estate, and small business. But there isn't enough info on any of the three subjects to do much with. You're better off getting a separate book on real estate if you plan on pursuing that. And nothing he says regarding small business is of much use to accomplish anything. That leaves stocks, bonds and mutual funds, which is what most users would purchase this book for. Regarding that, if you are completely new to mutual funds then this is the book for you as it will explain the basics. However, if you are beyond the very basics (i.e.; "What is a mutual fund?"), and are looking to seriously invest, then I think you'll be disappointed. And if you are looking to get into buying stocks directly, then this book seriously falls short. The entire section on stocks really just explains a canned stock report from a given company. Utterly useless unless you plan on subscribing to that service. No talk of forward PE's, valuation, etc.. Also, the author's continual insistence that you should stay in mutual funds because you "can't beat the market" since there are so many pros out there is utterly ridiculous. There are many gurus out there that have proven track records of generating higher than average returns. Just emulating Warren Buffet's portfolio will do that.

I was looking for a book to dig more into stock valuation, company analysis, etc. and this book barely even touched on any of that beyond definitions. I wouldn't even call it Finance 101, since there is very little about monetary policy, bonds, interest rates, etc.. If you've picked out at least one mutual fund in your life (or purchased a stock directly), then this book is way too simple. If you tremble at the thought of picking a mutual fund and have no financial sense whatsoever, then this is your book.

I bought this for my daughter, who is taking this a college course.
She seems to be happy with it. She asked for this book it as the instructor told her she needed it for the class. Sorry I can't give you more info but I am sure it's a good book.

Kathy in Las Vegas

Great service. Condition of book was stellar and it was delivered in a very timely manner.

I wanted to start investing and read somewhere you should first do some studies. That's when I came across this book. Very well written, and in simple to understand language. I used to dread 401K, IRA, Mutual Funds, Bonds. Now I am confident I know about them and what I am investing into.
Showed new ways to look at debts, as to if I clear my debt sooner, I am investing in something which gives be interest equal to the interest I pay the bank.

I would recommend this book to all who want to get into investing but are hesitant or don't know where to get information from.

This is a clear and concise book for people like myself who are starting to look closely at investing and it gives very good advice and assumes that the reader has no knowledge of investing (true in my case). It warns of the pitfalls as well and can be read straight thru, or by any chapter that you wish to know more about. I would recommend this book to the beginner.

And you'll find a picture of Larry Colton. I'd think 15 months would be long enough to find out Montantans can READ. At the very least he could have changed the names of minors before discussing their intimate lives.

It is written by a male.....lots of the individual basketball player's feelings were not there.....I would of liked to hear about the feelings of the Crow people.....the facts however were very interesting.

Raw telling of a tough story. Captivating, heartwarming, heart stopping; leaves the reader in awe of the young women portrayed in the book; their struggles and triumphs gritty and real. It's a page turner.

The minute I picked up this book I could not put it down. Basketball is a large part of the Indian school systems and culture. This tells of the huge obsticles that Indians have to overcome to succeed and survive. I read this book at least once a year and am overwhelmed each time by the adversity that the Indian culture has to deal with. They are children with dreams but often do not have the environment and support they need to succeed and leave the reservation.

Writer/journalist Larry Colton went to the Crow Indian reservation in southern Montana to write a magazine story on high-school basketball and discovered something else altogether: the life-and-death struggle of a native American culture struggling to survive in a world of poverty, alcolholism, racism and shattered family values.

The story is familiar to anyone who has spent time on the reservation or peeked behind the curtain of today's native Indian society beyond that presented by Hollywood or weekend tourist pow-wows.

Colton's first-person account revolves around a 17-year-old girl basketball player who stars on the court, but off it skips school, smokes pot and has unprotected sex with a 20-something loser who couldn't care less about her -- or anything else, for that matter.

Sharon LaForge is a reluctant anti-hero, who takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride split between periods of pulling for her to succeed and hating her for wasting every opportunity that miraculously manages to come her way.

Every time the reader wants to give up, turn their back and walk away from Sharon as a lost cause, she does something to pull them back on her side -- all of this transpiring, ironically enough, within the shadows of the monument marking Custer's Last Stand at the Little Big Horn.

This book won the Frankfurt eBook Award for Best Nonfiction Book and the Alex Award in 2001 and earned praise from the New York Times Book Review, Library Journal, Parade magazine, and Keith Olbermann, among others.

You can't go wrong here. Strongly recommended.

I really loved this book. The protagonist is Framboise, an old woman who is telling us the story of one monumental event in her life. As young girl growing up in the French countryside during World War II, Framboise had a poisoned relationship with her single mother, Mirabelle. Framboise's father has already been killed in the war, and the little family is struggling to establish a new dynamic amidst the swirl of events around them. Mirabelle is an accomplished cook with a bountiful farm, but she suffers from horrible migraines in addition to some psychological problems. Mirabelle always knows when one of her "spells" is coming, because she smells oranges, even though she strictly forbids them in the house.

Framboise and her two siblings (all, interestingly, named after foods - Framboise itself means raspberry) strike up a capitalistic relationship with a German soldier (part of the occupying force). The children provide a little information here and there about black market activities in exchange for items such as chocolate, magazines, and other products scarce in war-torn France. (Framboise always asks for an orange as part of her "payment." She uses its peel to trick her mother into thinking one of her spells is coming. This allows Framboise to not only inflict suffering on her mother, but also to gain a few hours of freedom as her mother holes up in her room, desperately trying to ward off the migraine.) The children don't really realize what they are doing. After all, the people they inform on are not killed or jailed. The soldier simply extorts them for his own goods.

And the soldier, named Tomas, ably fills the masculine void left by the children's father. In a world devoid of much affection (their mother is a brusque, busy woman not prone to displays of tenderness), the children love him. Before the end of the novel, though, the soldier turns up dead. And how he dies, and who pays the price for his death, are secrets of the novel I won't spoil here.

This book is much about mothers and daughters. Upon her death, Mirabelle leaves her "album" to Framboise - a book full of recipes, thoughts, notes, etc. By reading the album, Framboise comes to know her mother in a way that she never has before. The relationship between the two is certainly acrimonious; Framboise often refers to it as a war, trying to win this or that battle. But as the book progresses, even Framboise herself admits that she and her mother are very much alike.

Also, Harris is a master of description. She frequently writes about food - the foods that Mirabelle cooks, the foods that Framboise cooks as an adult, all the recipes in the "album" that Mirabelle leaves to Framboise upon her death. Your mouth will be watering. Have a Patricia Wells cookbook handy; you'll want to whip up some French country food.

Lastly, the novel is about secrets. It is, after all, the tale of Framboise finally telling a secret that she has carried with her for her entire life. This is where the title comes in - it's one of the secrets that Framboise has kept. Framboise tells no one, not even her siblings, of her use of the orange to trick her mother into thinking a migraine is coming. As a result, when her two siblings (and one friend) see her with one of the oranges she's procured, they ask her to share it. In order to reserve some of the peel for her secret purposes, Framboise turns her back to her siblings/friend while she "quarters" the orange. But in fact, she divides it into five pieces, hiding one of the slices in her pocket. This way, she saves one-fifth of the orange to use on her mother. The fifth quarter of the orange is the "something" that no one knows about. It is what is hidden. And for a novel filled with secrets, I think Harris chose the perfect title.

I heartily recommend this book.

This is a popular book--though it was more popular in Europe than the States. It begins with a mystery. As the mystery unfolds, it reveals character and culture. The main action of the book is told as back-story. A middle-aged woman returns to her native community in rural France. The story is wonderfully atmospheric. The atmosphere is created through an infusion of delightful food and wine and snippets of WWII era French culture. It is no doubt a popular book with the Martha Stewart crowd. But there is a more sinister story, the real story involves Nazis and a community lynching. The story itself is unique enough to keep the Better Homes and Gardens aspect from overwhelming the narrative.



I think the only thing that kept this from being a great book was the author's reliance on mystery. She holds back information. And though this technique did move me through the narrative, and the author did eventually deliver on her promises, I could not help but wonder if the strong mystery aspect was not in someway making up for something the book lacked. I hate to refer to that old American classic, Gatsby, but I will. Where Fitzgerald used the mystery only so long as it was necessary, letting the device fall away to reveal a narrative driven by characters and their actions, there is little beyond the mystery in Harris's novel. Once the mystery is solved, the novel ends.

After reading Chocolat (before the movie came out), I wanted to try another of Joanne Harris's novels. I picked up Five Quarters of the Orange at an airport and was impressed. The story is woven into a compact and powerful book that looks at life in Nazi occupied France. In the small village of Les Laveuses, you discover the small town life that stills continues even with Nazi occupation: farms, harvest, the change of people to the seasons, love, hate, gossip, etc.
Framboise Dartigen narrates this story, both from a child's perspective and as an elderly woman. The two stories slide back and forth and give a vivid and powerful feeling of what life was like on that small farm and in that small village. The interactions between the family are drawn richly and with precision. An incedence when Frambouse is younger drives the family from the town, and she only returns many years later and under another name. The story unfolds to reveal the secret but not to the very end of the book.
The story is dark and the amounts of cruelty between siblings, mother and daughter is drawn with a sharp, slicing knife. Harris' writing uncurls slowly, like the pealing orange on the cover, the sights, sounds, and smells from her wonderfully chosen words draws you in. I must admit that the book does slow a little in the middle but gets it upward momentum back again towards the end. Many who loved Chocolat may be turned off by the dark tone of this book, yet it is Harris' skill at words and character development that really lend you to appreciate the story that is being told. I would recommend this novel for both the beautiful and ugly imagery it conjures.

An adroit, mesmerising novel. I could not put this down, so astonishing and gripping was this story and Harris's subtle, impactful writing. I wanted it to go on forever, couldn't wait to get to the conclusion; the sign of a great book.

Despite beautiful and sensuous prose, this is not an easy read. It demands perseverence from the reader but in the end patience is rewarded: it delivers so much. Its structure is composed of two parallel tales, one set in the present and one comprised of 40-year-old memories of German-occupied France. Harris pulls no punches as she examines the actions and motivations of people living in times that often demanded troubling compromises ... and worse. Few are spared. The role of the good mother is turned on its head. A cold eye is cast on the myth of the noble Resistance. Provocative questions are raised about the innocence of childhood. But the stories inexorably move towards their united climax to show how wisdom and love require acknowledgment of the truth, which sometimes is slow in revealing itself. The ultimate message of "Five quarters of the Orange" is that wisdom and love have their own schedule and it's never too late for either.

The best part of the book is the causal linkage of several episodes of willpower and sheer determination by humans' "evolutionary ancestors." It is a saga on a grand time scale, if not space scale, reminiscent of classics such as Asimov's Foundation series (though "Evolution" pales in comparison to this series).

The worst part of the book, and this is in some sense a back-handed compliment to Baxter, is that it seems to have made evolution more credible to non-scientists and non-biologists. It is ironic that fictionalized accounts should have such an effect on what should be a scientific endeavor to demonstrate evolution. The problems with evolution are easily searched via the internet. Even within the discourse of the book, humans don't quite fit the evolutionary narrative. Throughout the book, the tight interplay of adaptation and environment is constantly evoked -- unnecessary functions wither away, and necessary functions evolve on cue. However, humans have clearly overadapted, unequivocally transcending environment and necessity.

If I were Baxter, and even if I were the most ardent evolutionist (which I am not), I would have added a forward in the book that states clearly that this is a book of fiction, and that while evolutionary theory is controversial, the statement that the theory has prominent scientists on both sides of the fence is not.

This is probably the best book I've read in a long time. As a dedicated Darwinist and Baxter fan, I grabbed this book the second I saw it. The stories stretch from the far past of Pangeae into the far future of New Pangeae and the ultimate destruction of Earth. I immersed myself in the characters, from lowly Purga all the way to poor, lowly Ultimate. My favorite concepts were the Hunters of Pangeae and the sky whale creatures. The entire book was like a wonderful painting of humanity's history as a species and a culture.

My only complaint is that at times the stories were hard to work through and I found myself rushing to finish them, this soon stopped when I reached the final three stories about humanity's descendants. Creation-scientists shouldn't read this; their blood pressure's high enough as it is.

I picked this one up on a whim, and found it to be one of the best I've read in a very long time. The level of geological, archaeological, and other scientific detail, and the creation of character and plot from the dust of the past reminded me of the early books of Jean Auel's Earth's Children series, and of Raptor Red, another great book. Baxter is a good scientist, and a great storyteller!

"Evolution" is an inspiring tale of plausible speculation in the framework of current scientific thought about human development. Many reviewers have commented on the broad scope, so I will instead comment on the inspirations I took from the book and some of its most memorable moments.

I had never grasped the real time-scales that evolution involves. Early in the book, Baxter points out carefully the differences in cognitive development between us and his characters. Through a careful series of traceries, he depicts just how slow brain development was in pre-history. When a character finally realizes he can crack a nut between two stones, Baxter points out that it took 25 million years for that idea to develop from the idea of beating a nut against a tree.

Another major lesson I take from the book is the fragility of archaeological evidence. Baxter plays with that fragility, asking the reader whether there would be any record whatever if dinosaurs used wood tools. Good question! The evidence we have of prehistory is extremely small, very much like the view we see of distant stars through a telescope. Baxter makes the point that for everything we can see, there are many things unseen.

All in all, one of the best hard-science-fiction books I have ever read, in the same class as Harry Harrison's masterwork "West of Eden".

I would recommend that you not finish this book. The foundations of the book, with it's historical, geological/biological background, are interesting: Baxter builds upon true science and tries to give interesting reasons and logic to the development of life.

However, I suggest that you just stop reading once you get to the modern era, as you will probably be disappointed with the change in tone of the book otherwise. Without the historical scientific backing to make his story believable, Baxter fails to use a rigorous logic and science and the story becomes inplausible.

The next section talks about the shortcomings of the books final chapters, and as such may reveal things about the story (the chapters are all relatively independent, however, so there isn't really much to spoil):
If enough humans survived to split into at least 4 different species, enough would have survived to rebuild civilization, even if they didn't remember any of their technology and had to start from scratch. Baxter doesn't give any reasoning for the change, and seems like he just wants to gloss over the current period of Earth's history. After arguing for the benefits of brain size for all mammals during the 'tough times' of the ice ages, it is difficult to accept that humans would give up the feature that made them the dangerous predator in Earth's history.

I feel the biggest mistake on Baxter's part, however, was trivializing the events on Mars. I expected that he would talk about the posibility of a machine ecosystem, evolving along the same lines as a biological system, over millions of years. However he glosses over the possible story and has them fly off on fusion drives they somehow invented in a few thousand years. I believe that this part of the story deserved a few chapters instead of the few paragraphs it got, and would have been a much more satisfactory ending. Either that or an exploration of humanity's more likely path of evolution: where we control our own genes and progress.

Overall, the ending seems like a few chapters of detritus tacked on to a solid 80% of a book.

This is the famous little book that Minor White advised his pupils to read. It's an account by German professor Eugen Herrigel of several years of archery lessons with a Japanese archer in the 1950s. My review is written with photography in mind, though the principles discussed in the book can be applied to many arts.

If you have an interest in photography, should you read it?

Here are a few quotes from this little book in which I have taken the liberty of replacing archery lingo with photography lingo:

1. "...fundamentally the [photographer] aims at himself and may even succeed in hitting himself."

2. "Do you know why you cannot wait for the shot and why you get out of breath before it has come? The right shot at the right moment does not come because you do not let go of yourself. You do no wait for fulfilment, but brace yourself for failure."

3. "If [the photographer] is to fit himself self-effacingly into the creative process, the practice of the art must have the way smoothed for it. For if, in his self-immersion, he saw himself faced with a situation into which he could not leap instinctively, he would first have to bring it into consciousness."

If these ideas interest you, then this book is for you. It is a pleasing and thought-provoking little book, written in a conversational manner lacking the overcomplicated lingo and "isms" of most philosophical and spiritual texts.

This book had a real influence on my early spiritual development. I read it when I was a teenager; the impression I was left with was one of discipline, self-mastery, and the difficulty of the art of archery. I loved the author's earnestness and sincerity. For some time, I shot my own bow with what I took to be the spirit of the Zen approach. I wished I could travel to Japan and learn from a master.

From where I sit now, I'd have to acknowledge that this book is more a description or a memoir, rather than an actual guide. That is, for one determined to walk the spiritual path, this book will be more an inspiration than a manual. For some, that may lead to frustration.

For me this book is first and foremost about Zen. Students of Japanese archery can come to it to take their craft to another level but for me the archery is just a mantle for the teachings to sit on. I've been studying Zen for ten years or so, and have read many great works on the subject. This book was a gentle reminder, ushering me back onto the path. It's wisdom can be applied to almost anything. For a more in depth look at some of the discussions in this book, see Suzuki's Zen and Japanese Culture.

One reviewer, with whom I disagree, says that this book is not a valid source of Zen because the master archer in the book had never "studied" Zen. I think he came in touch with the Zen Mind through his art. The Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng had never "studied" Zen either and came by his enlightenment through living life and carrying fire wood. "Studying" Zen, in terms of following the rituals of an institution, can be formative but is not necessary. Zenmind existed long before the Zen religion.

So whether you're studying Japanese Archery or looking to deepen your awareness of your own art (I study painting, music and Tai Chi), this book can help if you're ready for it.

there's an old adage in the acting world..'don't give a performance, let the performance give you'..so what does that have to do with this book? well, I read this wonderful book a few years back when I was studying acting in NYC and I really worked hard at incorporating some Zen technique into my acting process..it wasn't easy..but I stuck with it and I feel as if I reached a different level consciousness and ability with my craft. This book is a wonderful teacher for the ways of Zen and incorporating those lessons into real life events not just archery.

This is not a book on kyudo. As Earl Hartman says in another review, Herrigel did have little contact with kyudo in Japan (3-4 years). This book could be about many interesting things (zen, misticism, ...), but I don't know of them. But it's not a book on Kyudo. It seems more a book on Herrigel himself.
I don't says this is the worst book someone can read if is interested on kyudo. Last years saw apearing one or two terrible book's with kyudo in title.
Should be read with precaution and specially doesn't substitute pratice and guidance from a teacher or a master. Many persons come to kyudo allready knowing this book but after a few sessions they give up. and many of them continue to claim that they know about kyudo only by reading this book.

For Personal Pickup
Devil's Corner is a slow build to multiple murders and the suprising ending. The women a front an center and the dialogue crisp and accurate.

If you are from a big city, you will like her, if you are from Philly, you will LOVE her.
This book is best one I've read so far.

Scottoline steps away from Bennie Rosatto and her crew of female lawyers and takes up with a new layer - Vicki Allegretti, a 5'2" Asst. U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia. So, Scottoline remains on familiar ground with an attractve female Italian-American, young, up-and-coming attorney.

This one probably has the most potential of any of Scottoline's books of being made into a movie. Essentially, it's and odd couple female buddy book, and it works with the snappy banter back and forth between the two "buddies." The ending is a bit too saccharin, but it doesn't ruin a fun story.

A quick, fun summer read for this reviewer. I give this one a grade of "B".

I usually listen to rather than read books these days. I did enjoy this one and it kept my interest.

This has to be the DUMBEST book I've ever read - or I should say scanned. Oy - was it suppose to be a mystery? Or a bi-racial lesbian love story! Either way, it was DUMB. The heroine, Vicki was TSTL - too stupid to live! What part of "a white woman does not go into a black neighborhood to survail drug dealer do you NOT understand?" The whole plot was SO convoluted I couldn't make head or tail out of it. BUT make no mistake, Vicki thought her new friend was really, really beautiful! Hey, after the 20th time - I GOT IT! No more Scottoline for me - EVER!

After checking this book out from the library, I purchased it so I could make notes and use it as a reference along with my select few books on health and nutrition. Pages two and three bullet point interesting ideas like how certain food combinations will put a man to sleep but put a woman in the mood. Well, if that's in the book, I haven't found it yet. What I have found is endless reference to how I will feel once on the "Mars and Venus Diet and Exercise Solution." But there is no solution, just a constant reference to it.


This book disappointed me so much because I loved the book, "How to Get What You Want, and Want What You Have." The book is about removing emotional blocks that prevent you from moving forward in life. Now that I've read this diet book, with so many questionable terms like, "cold pressed aloe vera" (what does that mean?) and his ideas about chromium, I'm ready to chuck everything. The worst part of the book for me was on food combining. He just combines everything as far as I can tell. Other books will have you not combining certain foods because they cause gas and acidity when mixed together. John Gray clearly is a novice in this field and though discovered some neato stuff in his research, should not have created his own system for others.

As for me, I've been studying health and nutrition for 25 years. I haven't been over weight in 27. I don't believe in dieting to lose weight, but I do believe in proper nutrition. At a bargain rate this book isn't worth it not to mention all the time you'll waste reading and being confused.

Although the content of this book is somewhat repetitious, the suggestions for boosting metabolism and improving diet are great. I'm drinking the activated water in the morning and bouncing and shaking my way to a day with increased metabolism and energy. I'm using the Isagenix shakes in the morning as part of this program and so far so good.

The Mars/Venus Diet and Exercise solution is the missing link in my life. For 20 years, I have searched for wholeness, of mind, body and spirit. I work tirelessly to release with the emotional and spiritual pain of my past so that I may grow spiritually. I pray and meditate daily. I exercised regularly and I eat as healthy as one can in West Texas, lots of fruits and vegies, limited fried food and sugar. With all of this, I still felt fatigued, irritable and overwhelmed. After reading Dr. John Gray's book, I began using the recommended products and information in he book. I have been amazed at the results in my life the lives of my family and friends. I have since been privately trained by him as a nutritional cleansing coach so that I may help others. His information about how diet and excercise effect addiction has literly allowed me to help many people who struggle with food and alcohol addiction. The information on brain chemistry is fascinating and brings to light the differences in men and women. My marriage has come alive and my 5 year old said, "Mommy, you and my sister (hormonal 12 year old) are so much nicer now!" This book is a must read for anyone who wants to fill better and who are committed to a life change.
Here's too a healthy life filled with joy, peace and happiness.
Becky Benes, onenessoflife.isagenix.com

However, my husband twisted my arm and I was tired of him nagging me, so what the heck. We both started the Isagenix program a couple of months ago and I just finished reading Dr. Gray's book. Neither of us really needed to lose weight, but I have a history of depression and PMDD (I've been on meds now for almost seven years). So two months later, I'm eating my words of skepticism. I am completely off one med, weaning from another and going to work on my blood pressure and cholesterol meds next. I am an entirely new person. I feel good, I have a lot more energy, my marriage is much improved and an added benefit, I've lost 10 pounds and my clothes fit much better. Our son has anger and aggression issues and so we started him on some supplements mentioned in the book and he is a brand new kid. He quit junk food, soda and is no longer craving nor asking for it. He's eating a lot more fruits and vegetables and has not had a single episode of aggression since about a week after starting the supplements. I've done a lot more research beyond just the book and find agreement with other health professionals (holistic) that back up his statements. So, I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth. Seven years of hell with depression is enough to convince me that there must be something to it.

"Without a nutritious diet, we don't have the fuel to make more endophins." ~ pg. 102

If any book can be frustrating and enlightening at the same time it is "The Mars & Venus Diet and Exercise Solution." This book is filled to the brim with interesting information on dopamine, serotonin, testosterone and endorphins. You will learn about the top forty serotonin-producing foods and how to get endorphins to release into your body. There is also a good amount of information on how to make your relationships work. There seems to be a biological basis for everything John Gray has been teaching for years. He explains why women are obsessed with giving too much and how to get men to give more. It is logical and makes complete sense. He also gives some of the real reasons marriages fail. I thought some of the information was very interesting, especially about why men may become workaholics:

"By increasing mental stress by taking on too much work (deadlines and long hours), men in particular stimulate the production of endorphins to reduce mental distress and anxieties temporarily." ~ pg. 103

While this is very helpful and intellectually exciting, I think the actual diet can be confusing. In the section on following the Mars & Venus diet I came across many frustrating things. Each morning you are supposed to drink a glass of water enriched with lemon juice, honey, trace minerals and aloe vera juice. This drink is also taken after you exercise in the morning. That means you are taking minerals twice. The problem I see with this is that you are also taking trace minerals with your morning health shake. (This drink is also recommended for fasting - should you take that many minerals in a day?)

My main question really is: "Is it necessary to take so many trace minerals?" The morning shake is made with a number of ingredients that can also be found in the Mars & Venus Superfoods Shake. In fact, you can skip mixing up the shake from scratch and just purchase the shake online. My problem with the shake is that it contains blanched almond meal and I'm allergic to nuts in general.

I looked up the Isagenix products and read the lists of ingredients. There are three products you could buy even though John Gray also says you can find other brands (he doesn't mention which ones so I'll give you that information).

The products you can buy (at the Isagenix website) include the Mars & Venus Superfoods Shake ($45), the Super Cleanse ($30) and the Super Minerals (also contains lithium - $30). So you can get the entire program for under $105.

Some options for the same types of products (Total is $131 with the optional cleanse) include "Nature's Plus Spiru-tein Tangerine Dream (Nature's Plus - Tangerine Dream Spirutein Shake 1Lb - $18)" which I've taken for years (compare ingredients to the Mars & Venus Superfoods shake) and the addition of Omega 3 Fatty Acid capsules (Nordic Naturals - Complete Omega/Lemon, 1000 mg, 60 softgels - $17). If you want to add in Yucca try Solaray - Yucca - 100 Capsule - 490 mg - $6.

This is easier than making the shake and adding in flax seeds, protein powder, yucca, enzymes etc. If price is a factor then you can see the difference in price. However, I read the ingredients on the Mars & Venus Super Cleanse and found it is not as good a product as Dr. Natura's Cleansing Product Colonix - Internal Cleansing Program (Liver, Kidney, Colon, And Parasite Cleanse) - FREE UPGRADE TO EXPEDITED SHIPPING - $90). The thing to note about the Dr. Natura program is that the "Paranil" product has wormwood. This is not good to take for an extended period of time. The "Colonix" is a good cleanse on its own.

Once you read the book you can then use these ideas to your advantage. The ingredients recommended will optimize brain chemistry and this will make you feel better. I've been taking a shake with amino acids for years now and it does make you feel more healthy. The Nature's Plus Spiru-tein Tangerine Dream (or other flavors) is an excellent product that contains most of the ingredients (just take Yucca and Omega 3 capsules as well) in the Mars & Venus Shake.

To finish the book, John Gray also briefly discusses the benefits of aromatherapy. He also talks about spirituality and how dietary changes can even cause cancer to go into remission.

Overall I think this book is very enlightening. The frustrating part can be easily solved by buying the shakes in powder form. There just doesn't seem to be enough information to make the program work when mixing up the drink at home. I found that section to be very frustrating because no exact measurements were given.

~The Rebecca Review

So many baby name books just list names broken down into various categories and maybe they give you some details for the name (origin, pronunciation, etc.). I thought this book was great because it really gives you advice on naming your children. Plus it was fun and easy to read which is always good.

The names in this book are boring and really quite ridiculous. We didn't like any of the names in this book.
I wouldn't recommend it. If you want to look through it, go to Barnes and Noble and browse. Not worth the $$.

While it didn't show me any names I liked that I haven't heard before, I did like the lists of what is popular, and it categorizes names in tons of ways, so it's kind of a fun way to look for a name. We still haven't chosen one yet, but we'll keep poring through the book.

I liked some of the ideas that the authors presented, but overall I found the way that they broke up the book to be confusing. The names were not listed alphabetically, and in several cases I would read one section, and have some of the same names from earlier listed in another section. I will definitely be searching for another book to help me find a better variety of names with more organization.

I am an avid Amazon shopper, and I was disappointed with this book. It's just pages of a bunch of lists of names. A lot of names are repeated in different categories. I would recommend the book, Baby Name Wizard.

This was a good story but I thought it was too lengthy in the middle of the book with ongoing issues that I wasn't too interested in such as the environmental issues, etc. The beginning was good but it kind of fizzled out for me in the middle and end. Not a bad book though.

After a bit of a slow start (too much detail about the initial discovery, I think), this one is a real page-turner, and I could not put it down. I love Evans' descriptive style and his plot is rich and well-developed.

I was particularly impressed by how he got into Sarah's head in terms of her reaction to the breakup of her marriage. I've been through a similar experience, and trust me, her rage and hurt is right on the money. I was also impressed by the development of the Abbie storyline.

Wonderful book, albeit somewhat depressing. I like that he didn't completely sell out with a happy ending - rather, he left the reader with the sense that these people will eventually be all right.

How good is this novel? I absolutely loved it, devoured every page in fact. Evans writes extraordinarily well about emotions, conflict and redemption, particularly from a female point of view. It is something that has always blown me away about his books. His female characterisations are always superb and I can totally relate to them, something that puts his books several notches above many by his contemporaries.

The novel's plotline of the disintegrating marriage of wealthy Long Island couple Sarah and Ben Cooper, the fallout from their separation and its disastrous effect on their young adult daughter, Abbie, is fascinating. Fuelled partly by her searing anger at her father for leaving their family and as an in-yer-face rebellion against him, Abbie falls under the spell of the sinister Rolf, a member of the Environmental Liberation Front, a domestic eco-terrorist group. Amongst other activities, Rolf torches SUV dealerships as a protest against "bourgeois capitalist pigs". Abbie, awed by the older man and angry at the world in general, starts to accompany Rolf on his torching missions. When one in Denver goes disastrously wrong, resulting in the death of a young man, Abbie and Rolf have to go on the run as they are wanted for murder. The resulting impact on her family and friends is devastating and Evans writes about this beautifully and in a way that is so sympathetic that I felt their pain with them. Interestingly, the story is told in reverse, a plot device that is remarkably effective.

I highly recommend "The Divide" to one and all and I have awarded it five stars. The novel is a triumph, and I look forward to more novels from this gifted writer.

This is one of the best books i've ever read. I couldn't put it down.

I think this is one of my top ten books. It is fantastic. It has everything in it without the mushy stuff.

"Deadhouse Gates" continues "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" saga immediately after "Gardens of the Moon" with a darker story with scenes and insinuations not appropriate for young readers. However superb battles compliment the fine tale introducing numerous characters and exploring new locations while keeping Crokus and company as an integral part of the plot. The author appears to capture the internal and external struggles of a forced march by a tough foreign commander to save Malazan refugees.

Felisin, Ganoes Paran's youngest sister, justifies the brutal treatment by her desire for vengeance and ultimately her destiny. Mappo and Icarium, a Trell and a memory challenged half-Jaghut, are an interesting duo wandering the land seeking to unlock Icarium's past. Yet excommunicated priest Heboric Light Touch and the assassin Kalam develop into the most fascinating characters.

Many characters have unusually high skills, whether combat or magical, which unbalances the series. I find myself frustrated by unnecessary implied remarks or half-said comments but enjoyed the novel nonetheless.

A better comprehensive appendix would have been useful addressing racial characteristics, relating magical powers, and describing creatures along with catch phrases and terms.

I recommend this series to any fan of the fantasy genre.

Thank you.

A brief prelude to my review is in order. One of the things that drew me to this series were the 5 star reviews for Erikson's later works. There are two reasons why reviews can get better as a series continues. The first is that the author's writing can get better. The second is that people who aren't interested in an author's style of writing might drop out after a book or two. I'm of the firm impression that the reasons for Erikson's better reviews for later books is because he writes more confidently in later books.

I read "Gardens of the Moon" and had many of the complaints that I'd read in its reviews. The author throws scads of characters, places, races, etc at the reader without explaining much. The plot meanders. Erikson doesn't describe non-human races particularly well. However, as many readers also mentioned, the book picks up midway through and ends well.

"Deadhouse Gates" is almost a carbon copy of the above. The first thing for people thinking about starting this series, to know about this book, is that except for a small number of characters generally playing a much reduced role, there's little overlap with "Gardens of the Moon". You have to learn a whole host of new characters, places, races and politics.

The good news is that the plot is much tighter overall, and while I can't really summarize "Garden of the Moons" plot, I could do so with "Deadhouse Gates". I'd prefer to not have many spoilers here, though, so I won't. Yup, there are side plots in abundance which often feel again as though a party of D&D characters suddenly decided to do something else for a bit, but the main plot makes itself known quickly and it continues throughout to a series of almost breathtaking payoff scenes near the end. One thing that Erikson does exceptionally well is to create an almost movie quality image in the reader's mind for his epic moments, and he's gotten even better at it here.

Again, as is the case in Gardens of the Moon, most of his characters are pretty static, in that there's little character growth except what's forced upon them, but there are more memorable characters. The pace of the book actually feels a bit more plodding than "Gardens of the Moon", but whereas the former was more unfocusedly frantic, this was a more coherent read and one that I recommend.

This book is so amazing! The scope itself is huge. I see why people say it's like George RR Martin, except the area involved is bigger. You get to see every main character and supporting character's personality in many different situations, and you never know what's going to happen, to whom, and when. One minute your liking a character and BOOM! their gone! Or a bad character seems not so bad after all, and a good character suddenly deciding to do wrong! Awesome, awesome, awesome!

I'm thoroughly impressed by this series. It's sprawling, imaginative and just plain big. The plot is very even, that is, it proceeds at a breakneck pace throughout. No complaining here about how "nothing happens" in the series. The dialogue is snappy and the humor appropriately dark, to match the mood.

It still can be confusing, but not as much as if you require answers to every question and demand to know the minutia of every detail. I haven't really connected with any of the characters yet, however the finale to the chain of dogs march (and the subsequent events) had me deliriously stunned.

If Erikson devotes the time to flesh out some of the characters a little more so they actually appear to have their own voice, instead of being relegated to just another point of view to push the plot forward, this series will trump all that has come before. Truly impressive.

I gave up 100 pages into Gardens of the Moon, so can't say how good this one is. If it's as confusing as the first one, well...I guess 3 stars is about right. I couldn't turn off the star rating feature, so 5 was what I put in.