V Books

There is only one word to describe the author and the book, simply amazing..the book was very informative and very detailed and covered many important different aspects of life. The book opens your mind and thoughts to things you wouldn't even thought of. Very impressive!

There is only one word to describe the author and the book, simply amazing..the book was very informative and very detailed and covered many important different aspects of life. The book opens your mind and thoughts to things you wouldn't even thought of. Very impressive!

This book succinctly explains how lack of emotion is affecting our world in negative and destructive ways. This book explains how compassion and cooperation gives hope for our world. One of the first steps we must take is to acknowledge that differences exist and to respect the differences even though we do not all think in the same way. We must feel comfortable with ourselves and with others even if they are different from us. This will lead to better communication which can only lead to better lives for us. Finally, we also need to realize that communication is not just between people, but also between people and the world we live in

I have recently read compassion: a new philosophy. It has opened my eyes to other religions and religious thoughts. Although not converting me to perspectivism the book was insightful. It also made me think about the cruelty to animals.

Before reading this book I thought I knew alot about everything, this book has helped me to see things from many different points of view. There is so much information in the book that I found facinating. Reading this book has changed the way I think about history and other cultures.

I enjoyed reading each and every single advice contained in this book. Some of them are quite simple, even obvious. Some are more complex and profound. Nonetheless, everyone deals with those little details, the small things that can be a huge problem, or a great blessing. Awesome choice for a gift...you can hand-pick some of them to make them more giftee oriented or even write a Hopscotch in the manner of Julio Cortázar famous novel. Hope this helps. Worked for me.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr. is among the best advice givers in today's world of literacy. This book is the best gift for anyone starting a whole new lifestyle. I recommend this book to all young adults, especially those who will soon go on to College. For the game of life is always a hard game to play for young and old alike, and we can ALWAYS use a little or a lot of motivation every now and then.

I purchased these books for a group of college students that worked together as a staff. Some graduating, some still studying. I can only hope they do take the time to read it (here and there - not all at once) and it helps each one of them be better people. I believe this book has the ability to create role models and help people to treat others with kindness.

I first found this book on a bargain shelf at my local bookstore and picked it up for just 4 or 5 dollars. It really was a good buy.

It really is not a book that one would want to pick up and read but rather a book that you would want to have lie on your desk at work or on your coffee table at home so that visitors (or clients) can pick it up and turn to a random page and find any assortment of good philosophical sayings.

Each time I pick it up I find myself smiling at the fact that it gives something new each time you open it. With over 1500 entries, it really does give advice on everything. It gives advice on the things that we ethically know, but not necessarily are written down anywhere.

I bought a second copy not long ago for a friend of mine for a Christmas gift. It's a simple little thing that can make a big reaction.

I loved this little book! This is the result of a dad sitting down to write out a few words of wisdom and advice for his son who was going off to his freshman year at college. The first list was 511 entries, and then, he mailed his son a new collection every two years.

There's some great advice all through this book! And no long stories attached either. Short and straight to the point, each numbered piece of advice is no more than a few lines long. The suggestions cover a broad range, some are serious while others are funny or trivial, but all are honest and good advice, and many are just interesting. Like #841: "When your dog dies, frame his collar and put it above a window facing west" -I've never heard of that before.

I highly recommend this little book as a gifts for anybody in your life and for anything from birthdays to graduations or just because. Would also make a good coffe table or bathroom book too.

It's amazing how soothing just reading William Blake's poetry is on the troubled soul. I always look for his work to ease my mind and lift my spirit. Everyone should treat themselves to his work. Peace be with you.

A wonderful paperback edition, containing all the works of
William Blake, with a excellent introduction
of Harold Bloom. An priceless tool for students
and teachers

This is an outstanding resource for anyone interested in the works of William Blake. It's well organized and easy to work with. I'm very pleased with it.

What to write for my last review? That was tough. Since I was a little boy I have always been one of those who had his face in a book. Books, books, books. When I began my jobs as a paperboy, and later at the grocery store, I began buying books. This hobby grew so large, that my father made our rumpus room a library for me. And it grew ever larger. By the time I enlisted in the Air Force, I had amassed quite a large number of volumes. While in Europe and the Middle East, I would scour book stores and began purchasing leather books. Some very old, and many in foreign languages. Since the Air Force only allowed for a 5,000 lb limit, I spent a fortune sending books home. When I left the service my house looked like a library. Running out of space, I began to make my garage a library. However, it grew ever larger. Therefore, I made use of my brothers garage, then my mothers, and eventually even had to make due with having to rent a few storage spaces.

Yes, it's that large. I was hoping to make a large home library some day. Books have been my life: Even though I write mostly about Asian films. And I was glad that VHS films came into vogue, as they afforded me the opportunity to begin amassing a large collection of Japanese films which I have a soft heart for. That got real big too! Anyway, back to the question as to what to write for my last review? Well, I just happened to stumble across this book last night, one of many. There is a poem by the gifted and enigmatic poet, engraver and painter William Blake. I do recommend the book by the way. Events in my life have gone in a very negative way, therefore, I have decided to impart a poem as my last review. Hope you like it. It's one I have remembered from my childhood. There are too many great things to write about, and I figured this would not be a bad goodbye. It is William Blake's "THE TYGER"

THE TIGER

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?


William Blake (1757-1827)

It has all his writings: letters, anotations scribbled in the margins of other people's books, everything. Only downside: it doesn't show his illuminated printing.

I just got this cookbook the other day and all the recipes look soooo delicious and simple! The hardest part is choosing which one to try. Today I made the apricot cashew bars for friends who just had a baby (and I made a batch for my family of course!) and got rave reviews! I cant wait to make more! Its also a great cookbook for parents of little kids- because they get to help put on all the fun toppings (if they dont eat them first)! My 4 year old daughter had lots of fun making these and eating them too!

After just flipping through this book I knew I HAD to own it. I already have a list of about 20 recipes to try, but figuring out which one to make first is the real problem! Will it be the Lipsmacker Lemon Bars, or the Coffee & Cream White Chocolate Chunkers? The list goes on and on, I will have to choose soon so I know what to take to the "Cookie Fest" we are having at work next week. I think whatever I make I will have nothing to bring home but an empty plate. Books like this do not come along very often, so grab a copy, preheat the oven and have fun!

It's funny how some books end up getting used more than others. I'm not sure I would have predicted I'd have used this so much, but I've ended up making more cookies from this one little book than any other on my shelf (and there are many). I'm an ambitious baker, but when it comes to those night-before moments when I need to bake a batch of cookies for somewhere or someone, I'm more often than not a bit too tired. This is simply a very handy book and I've had lots of success with the recipes (although, looking back, almost 100% of my choices have been citrus-type cookies. I think the addition of bright flavors is what makes the dough taste like homemade). The lemon poppyseed tart is also quite good, very pretty and people were impressed (I put fresh blackberries on top--gorgeous).

Thanks for a lovely, useful book.

If you baked your cookies from scratch, or used the recipes in this book using regrigerated dough - nobody will know! You'll know though, because you'll have less mess and more free time.

I used to love baking everything from scratch, and I still do from time to time (seems like twice a year now - Christmas and Easter). But when you become a Mom, although you're intentions were there, baking from scratch is often something there is just not time for anymore. This book gets you bake sale ready cookies that will win you raves as well as raise funds, office coffee room cookies that will be gone within minutes and gourmet cookies that your friends and family will want the recipes for. People will be whispering behind your back that you're the next Mrs. Fields.

Using the refrigerated dough is also less ingredients for the baker on the go - just grab a few rolls and you're halfway there. Stock up on the mix ins, and you're done!

Highly recommend!

This is a cookbook I really do use--a lot. I like some of the very easiest recipes in here, especially the variations on the chocolate chip cookies. They really taste unique. A friend of a friend who worked as a pstry chef thought the peppery ginger chocolate chip cookies (they have cryst. ginger and pepper mixed in) were brilliant and wanted the recipe--thy're that good. Smart ideas, smart book, worth the money.

While it's size may seem like overkill, this book packs a punch! Once you open it you'll see that it is definitely worth the money you'll pay for it. The photographs are really great and they give you a really cool behind the scenes look at the sets of the entire Star Wars Saga. Many of these pictures have never been published, so that alone is a very neat feature! And this book is more than just a pretty picture as it has some really well written and informative bits that I had very little understanding of before I read it. I now have a better grasp of set building and computer animation and special effects. I recommend this to any Star Wars Fan!

WOW - photos I've never seen anywhere else! What a fun non-read this is!!!! For sure a book to talk about and keep on a coffee table! Small, packed and colorful!

This book offers a very nice mixture of inside views to the making of the original Star Wars movies as the new series Episode I to III. Each day (or double page) is showing one aspect of this amazing series with lots of pictures and information waiting for you.

Only downside in my opinion is that it is a bit too much focused on the new Episodes even though there is tons of information about the original movies too.

On the other hand you have a CD with 360-degree-views of some sets and some rare pictures on your PC!

All together this might be the perfect gift for a Star Wars fan like me ;-) 5 Stars!

This book is not the same old thing. It features pictures I'd not see anywhere else. Its a very heavy, very thick book full of great behind the scenes stuff. Worth every penny. I just wish John Knoll would make an equivelant book for Pirates of the Caribbean.

This book is really cool for most Star Wars lovers. It shows you how they filmed the movie. You can see who played the Wampa. I think the coolest part is Mustafar because you can see the lava river bank. You can also see on one page all the Astromech droids. You can also see alot of cool other stuff.
You should buy this book if you're a Star Wars fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My kids are usually finicky and they are going crazy over these crepes.
Easy to make and delicious. They do freeze well too - the instructions for storing are helpful and accurate.

I bought this for my daughter for Christmas along with a crepe maker. We've used it THREE times since Christmas...three different recipes in three days and each has been DELICIOUS! Great pictures...wonderful recipes and tips!

I originally found this book at a library, but after checking it out over and over again -as I love it, I checked on Amazon and it was here!! Love it! It has such a wonderful variety of crepes, using different flours etc., sweet and savory, and so many tips and ideas. I share this book title with everyone at my cooking shows. Definitely worth the price and then some!

I took a crepe making class just to learn the technique and take the fear out of crepe making. While I took away from that class a few recipes, none were interesting enough to make at home. This book is wonderful--what closed the deal on purchasing it was when I saw that it included a recipe for blue corn crepes. While vacationing in Santa Fe, I fell in love with their blue corn pancake/muffin mix. I can't wait to make the blue corn crepes with the blue corn mix I brought back to Houston. The recipes in this book are exactly what I was looking for--diverse and simple to follow.

I opened the book, and made excellent crepes right away, within minutes. Can't do much better than that!

This book teaches with extreme clarity everything you need to know to program for Director/Shockwave 3D. A rarity amongst programming books due to the didactics, organization, and clarity/accuracy of code. It is current with Director MX 2004 and I suspect it is current with Director 11 given the information Adobe just released. You cannot go wrong with this one. The only problem is that it is hard to find, I had to buy my copy from a reseller.

I have every book publish about developing interactive 3D using director. This is the best one of the bunch. After reading this book I wish I hadn't purchased any of the others. Although the book is for director 8.5 it still the best book for Director 3D +

As anyone knows reading this review knows Director is the only program that will allow you to create 3D games and programs for the web. Hopefully Adobe will update it rather than let a very powerful program fade away.

This is an excellent book for Director and Director 3D. It is very in depth and involved, although a bit hard to understand at times. This book is not for beginners and requires a lot of hard work to obtain its end results, but they are very much worth it.

Other reviews have captured the gist of this wonderful, accessible, and thorough treatment of Director's 3D functionality. What I would like to add is that Catanese's book is just as current with Director MX as it is with Director 8.5.

If you plan to do 3D in Director MX, either games or presentations, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

I'm an IT student and possessing VB & C/C++. I have never learn about 3D and Director before. So when I want to make a Director project (game), I need a book!
And this book is the great answer. Everything you need about Director 3D is in this book! (although this book doesn't cover about Havok Physics Engine).

This book tells you WHAT and HOW, I mean, this book not only tells you HOW to make something (ex: primitive object) but also explains about that thing. (ex: what is a primitive object). So, you're not only able to programm but also understand about WHAT are you doing.

This book explains from basic and the last page explains advance technique. So, if you start from first page and finish the book, you'll become an advance 3D Director programmer (even before you read this, you're nill in 3D Director).

OK, I'll tell you what I get from this book, here is my project: a Multiplayer First Person Shooting (FPS) game! (like Counter Strike, Quake, etc). Notice that this is my FIRST 3D Director project! And I got A!

NB: if you're NOT a programmer and don't WANT to possessing 3D Director programming SERIOUSLY, I don't recommend this book, for this book is code heavy, full of code programming, just try "Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio for 3D: Training from the Source" (by Phil Gross).
Just a note: I learn about Multiuser form Director 8.5 Studio (you won't find about Multiuser in Director's Third Dimension).

This book is a "must have" for ANYONE whom is either dealing with a liver disease, has a relative that is, or even a medical professional! Considered the "liver bible" by those of us dealing with liver diseases.

Excellent book to help those who have liver disease or family and friends of those with liver disease. The books answers questions
that arise when your personal doctor may not be available. Or that
you may forget to ask during your office visit!

This book is very insightful. It explains a lot about what is going on with several different liver diseases. It answered some questions that general physicians were unaware of about rare diseases.

i bought this book for my mother who has cirrohsis and recently had a ct scan show up with what appears to be a tumor on her liver. There are no heptologists in our area and the dr's around here don't even seem to care. this book gave my mother some concrete advice how to eat and how to
live. Since going on a super reduced salt free diet, my mother is feeling 100% better. She has lost 30 pounds and has really been encouraged. i am extremely grateful this book was written.. Overall it was written in easily understandable terminology.

Since being diagnosed with Hepatitis C, I've read Dr. Palmer's book, & continue to review it as questions come up. It is irreplaceable as a resource book.

Jennie Shortridge introduces Eating Heaven with a quotation by Karen Sunde: "To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven". But instead of setting her novel in the clouds and giving us a glimpse of heaven, Shortridge sets her novel in Portland with erratic weather, and unpredictable imperfect human life. Her characters are as far from heaven as we are, with secrets and obsessions like our own.

Ellie (Eleanor Samuel the protagonist) is a food writer who experiments making traditional recipes into low-cal delights. Her love/hate relationship with food, which has sent her to a food-issues therapist, is a continuing thread of the novel. Her conflicted relationship with food is not the only difficult relationship she encounters. She struggles with romance--the men in her life: Stefan, her editor; and Henry the chef, her heart throb. She struggles with the identity of Uncle Benny--why is he so important to her family? And finally Ellie struggles with complicated female relationships in her life: her sisters, Anne and Christine, Yolanda, Benny's wife, and more importantly her narcissistic mother Bebe whose life is full of secrets.

Shortridge employs flashbacks to narrate Ellie's past. The flashbacks provide the reader and Ellie with a way to uncover family secrets. Uncle Benny, the beloved neighbor, more a father to Ellie than her own distant father, is often in her childhood flashbacks. Uncle Benny supports and cares for her in a way her own parents did not. But some memories of him with her mother alarm her: a memory of herself as a child, sick with the flu and covered with vomit, seeing her mother and Benny in the car in a hot and heavy embrace. What is the connection between this complex man whom Ellie loves and her mother?

When Uncle Benny gets terminal cancer and Ellie becomes his chief care-giver, she finds an old photograph album in his house, which reveals surprising new understandings about her paternity, her mother, and the lies her family has been living.

Shortridge knows the human condition. She displays its imperfection in the lives of Ellie, Bebe, Uncle Benny, Henry, Anne and Christine. Mother/daughter conflicts, death and dying, sibling rivalry, and out-of-control personal obsessions are part of the story. Through Ellie, Shortridge suggests love is the most appropriate response to this human suffering. Ellie, who expresses love by feeding those around her, learns to love her imperfect self, her imperfect mother and sisters, Uncle Benny and Yolanda, and Henry. The food she serves them is an opportunity for a taste of heaven. Rainy Portland, with its imperfect life, is not heaven, but it is transcendent. "To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven": a fine quotation for this very human novel.

Eating Heaven is a great book. I could not put it down. It was just what I was looking for.

Set in Portland, Oregon it's fun to read about real locations. The book details the struggle of the main character who is caring for and dealing with the terminal illness of her uncle. Humorously she is a food writer who has her own issues with food and weight. Of course, her mother is a skinny minnie who is concerned with appearances. The book has some great twists and turns and things happen that keep you wondering. Don't want to say too much about this because I don't want to ruin the ending for readers. Well worth the money to buy this book.

When I bought the book I was on a book buying frenzy. When I finally got around to reading it I had wondered why I had ordered it. I guess my preference choices had changed since the purchase date. Since I love to read and it was next up, I thought I would give it a try and I am so glad I did. What a wonderfully entertaining book. The main character was likeable, funny and real. Uncle Benny was lovable and his life, loves and losses left me with a heavy heart and tears. Each character was brought to life as if I knew them personally. The laughter, smiles and tears left me glad I gave this wonderful book a try.

Eating disorders, tense mother daughter relationships, affairs, and cancer are a powerful mix and yet so real that life pours out of every paragraph. What a combo, I enjoyed the book and finished it in a few days savoring it even when I had to go brush my teeth.
This is the kind of novel that makes me want to stay home with a blanket tucked in my own world and living the world of the characters.
Ellie the main character is lovable, insecure, bulimic, and has problems with her mother and father, and well with her sisters, as well as, with food.
She loves to cook and her dishes are unique. You will love her and you will feel for her and with her the pain she experiences when her uncle Benny is diagnosed with Cancer and she takes on the role of care taker.
The author uses food as a catalyst for feelings, moods, and even eras, its very creative and I can say I will not forget her characters anytime soon.
Splendid, deep and utterly real.

This book is what it is: an unambiguous & insightful summary of why & how we struggle so much. I'm still reading it (trying to savor every sentence), but I doubt I've ever been happier about any other purchase.

I have read Emotional Clearing over the past year and have been extremely inspired by it. It is definitely the best new age book I've read, and I've read quite a lot. The concept of acceptance has been essential for me because for 21 years I've suffered terribly with anxiety, stress, and panic attacks. I've always fought it and suppressed it with alcohol and became as a result alcohol dependent. The book has given me relief from the attacks and I've been sober for 10 out of the past 12 months.

John Ruskan has put together a very well thought out system of understanding feelings, karma and life. He has been working at this for quite some time, but the material has a timeless quality. I've read the book twice and took a great deal more from it the second time. There is something the rings true about karma and how our suppressed feelings and conditioned patterns attract that which is needed for them to come to the surface and give us the opportunity to grow through them. Of course, sometimes we do not chose or are not able to grow through difficult feelings. Emotional Clearing offers a deep, thorough treatment of the concepts that underly the challenage of this universal truth. Thus, this book helped me grasp the very spiritual nature of self work. I'm indebted to Ruskan for this, simply put. This book is not, gratefully, scientific or academic. Yet it is precisely assembled and thorough, affected by Ruskan's well-organized logic, but also by his practiced access to feelings, instinct and intuition. The modality he has developed takes the theory further by offering therapeutic techniques that are based on long standing practices. Like yoga, like breathwork. So it is more than theory. If you want a book or process or modality that also guides you directly to effective action, this book does that. But don't get me wrong, the theory can occupy a thoughtful person for quite some time too. I would know, having found the book two years ago and finding myself still involved with it and even now using my experience with it as a jumping off point for writing and working. There has been a decided improvement in the flow of my life since first discovering Ruskan's website and then buying the book. For spirtual seekers and people wanting to improve thier life in a deep, authentic, sustainable manner, this book is effective.

I have read Emotional Clearing over the past year and have been extremely inspired by it. It is definitely the best new age book I've read, and I've read quite a lot. The concept of acceptance has been essential for me because for 21 years I've suffered terribly with anxiety, stress, and panic attacks. I've always fought it and suppressed it with alcohol and became as a result alcohol dependent. The book has given me relief from the attacks and I've been sober for 10 out of the past 12 months.

I have read Emotional Clearing over the past year and have been extremely inspired by it. It is definitely the best new age book I've read, and I've read quite a lot. The concept of acceptance has been essential for me because for 21 years I've suffered terribly with anxiety, stress, and panic attacks. I've always fought it and suppressed it with alcohol and became as a result alcohol dependent. The book has given me relief from the attacks and I've been sober for 10 out of the past 12 months.