The second book in the "Walker, Texas Ranger" series featured a very good present-day story, strongly paralleled by an equally riveting 1901 "Hayes Cooper" story.

As with the first book, however, Mr. Reasoner continues to refer to C. D. Parker's business as "C. D.'s Place"; it's "C. D.'s Bar & Grill"!

Also, Mr. Reasoner continues to ignore the importance of "WAM's" (Walker & Alex Moments), although the 1901 sub-plot has Cooper with an Alex-type character.

Finally, Mr. Reasoner shows his lack of knowledge of poker: a full house ALWAYS beats a flush!!

I really enjoy the show, so I decided to try the books! I am not disappointed at all. The book flows well so you won't be bored. I also liked how they included in the story the story of the cowboy from 1910.

Despite the nitpickings of some readers I found Hell's Half Acre to be the best of the Walker, Texas Ranger novels so far. A story worthy of a teleplay (and why isn't Mr. Reasoner on tap to write an episode?) with all the little touches that bring out the characters to the fans while not confusing new readers with meaningless trivia. The way Reasoner handles the storyline involving Ranger Cooper shows his knowledge of the old west and Fort Worth in particular. For those readers who enjoyed the Cooper sections and good old fashioned westerns I heartliy recommend the authors Judge Earl Stark series.

Caroline Bynum's book, Holy Feast and Holy Fast, examines the importance of food for religious women in the Middle Ages. Although there has been other recent research into the lives of women saints and the way they dealt with food and fasting, for instance by scholars like Weinstein and Bell, as she mentions in the introduction, Bynum promises that in her book she will treat evidence in a different way, most importantly by focusing on the women's point of view. The first two chapters are an introduction to religious women in the Middle Ages and religious food practices of both women and men. Then Bynum turns specifically to women's religious food practices and in the next four chapters she gives a multitude of examples of different women and their different habits or even rituals concerning food. As she says in the introduction, Bynum uses examples from the lives of well known saints, like Elizabeth of Hungary, Lidwina of Schiedam, Columba of Rieti and Catherine of Siena, not because these stories reflect what were normal fasting habits in the Middle Ages, but because their lives are well documented and they would serve as role models for Medieval women. She gives detailed examples of (extreme) food asceticism, cases of inedia, women's devotion of the eucharist and not being able to eat anything but the consecrated host, eucharistic visions, food miracles and some very graphic examples of women eating and drinking the filth of the sick: Several of [Catherine of Siena's] hagiographers report that she twice forced herself to overcome nausea by thrusting her mouth into the putrifying breast of a dying woman or by drinking pus... She told Raymond: "Never in my life have I tasted any food and drink sweeter or more exquisite than this pus." (171-2). Bynum identifies the reasons for this fasting as being, among other things, ways to get closer to God by imitating the lifestyle and suffering of Christ. They would do penance for their sins and suffer to save themselves and other people from Purgatory. The reason why especially women fasted was because food and their own bodies were the only things women had control over and through that control they could manipulate their surroundings. Despite the promising title of the last part of the book: "The Explanation", the first chapter and a good part of the second and third chapters of this section are rather disappointing and cause some confusion. Chapter 6 deals with the parallels between modern eating disorders, like anorexia nervosa, and fasting or inedia in medieval women, even though Bynum states her reluctance to make this connection in the introduction. This reluctance is clearly present throughout the chapter, resulting in a narrative that skips from one subject to another. The second and third chapters of "The Explanation" consist mainly of a repetition of things that were said earlier in the book. However, in the two remaining chapters, Bynum raises some interesting issues of the meaning of the body, women as food and Symbolic Reversal. On the whole, the presentation of the book is excellent and the impressive amount of footnotes that take up more than one hundred pages shows it to be a carefully researched book. Apart from the mentioned 'problem areas' the book makes enjoyable reading and provides the reader with plenty of food for thought and further research.

This is a great read. I don't care if you're interested in history in general, history of the catholic church, history of western mysticism or just looking for something offbeat and interesting: This is a fascinating book! The history of mysticism and western intellectual tradition as it is intertwined with food is certainly there but for the reader seeking just plain bizarre to our modern eyes goings-on, that is in this text as well. In fact, for someone looking for a jump start to their imagination for their own writing, this book is a real bucket of volts. Go read it. Have fun. But, don't try it at home.

This book is truly an exciting text in the field of hagiography studies. It looks at the stories of female vitae and reads the themes behind them with regard to the issues of denial and spirituality. While in the end, Bynum might lean a bit too far towards a feminist self-image reading, nonetheless, for the most part the book is valuable, well-reasoned and shows the potentialities for scholars of ways to approach the large and somewhat heterogeneous corpus of vitae.

An easy to understand, very knowledgeable book focusing on the uses of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) in the medical field. The book includes an overview of HBO, the theory behind it, what kinds of problems can be treated, and the outcomes of those treatments. The authors have included case studies and many references to back up their findings. It is refreshing to find a book that has been written for the layperson. It is filled with facts and explanations. A person who reads it will grasp a good knowledge of HBO and will be able to decide whether to persue the therapy. The book includes chapters on Strokes, brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, Aids, treating difficult wounds, burns, bone disorders, Lyme disease, circulatory problems, and problems associated with radiation treatments. Overall the book is a good first look at HBO therapy as well as a good quick reference book for those of us in the field!

Nothing is more traumatic and challenging than brain injury: for the brain is our master conductor, the place where self resides. For those who suffer any kind of deficit in brain function - whether from autism, stroke, learning disorders, sports-injuries, spinal cord injuries, near-drowning or traumatic brain injury - it often seems there is no answer, and no hope.

But there is hope. New findings in neuroscience prove that the brain continues to develop new neurons throughout life, that the brain can grow new connections, and that with proper treatment the seemingly intractable cases of brain injury can improve remarkably. One treatment that has proven quite effective is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy - a treatment in which patients breathe pure oxygen inside a special chamber with a slightly increased amout of atmospheric pressure (less pressure than an airplane). In many cases those who suffer from these conditions show great improvement in speech, memory, social and cognitive abilities after undergoing a series of hyperbaric oxygen treatments.

In head injuries if cerebral blood flow is interrupted a negative chain reaction is started. The lack of oxygen, or hypoxia, disturbs, neuron metabolism within the alarmingly short time of just 6 seconds. neurons begin to die without blood flow. In serious injury or heart attack or significant stroke, for instance, measurable activity in the cerebral cortex - our thinking brain - can cease within 2 minutes and brain damage begins within 5 minutes. Within 10 minutes, the brain stem, responsable for our basic motor functions stops. Brain and heart tissue deprived of its oxygen supply may undergo necrosis or infarction. However, hyperbaric oxygen treatment has proven itself to help awaken the sleeping neurons in the ischemic penumbral areas of the injured brain, allowing new growth of neurons, and healing of the brain and body. Overall, there is a decrease of cerebral edema, an increase in cerebral blood flow and an increase in oxygen to the neurons which help to maintain proper cellular function. This accounts for the "miracles" that we often see with hyperbaric treatment.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is also used for respiratory conditions, carbon monoxide poisoning, wound healing and for divers with decompression sickness.

"Oxygen is to the brain what rain is to the desert ~ it creates an oasis in life".

Lane scott, PhD is a neuroscience medical researcher in Campbell, California and is the administrative director at StanfordHyperbarics.com

Summary:

A must read book if you know someone with a stroke, Cerebral Palsy, or other brain injury. HBOT has many well-established clinical applications on a widely diverse number of conditions and diseases. The most interesting is the application for restoring cognitive abilities in brain injured children and adults. After all, the brain remains the final frontier of medicine!

Send me an e-mail for any questions (parent to parent)and I can send websites for further info.

TEXAS NOW REQUIRES THIRD PARTY PAYMENTS FOR HBOT FOR COGNITIVE INJURIES!! BUY THIS BOOK TODAY, AND GET THOSE THERAPIES IMMEDIATELY!

Review:

The book is well written, and makes heavy medical science easy to read. It explains the medical and physiological science of hyperbaric oxygen treatments ("HBOT") in some detail, but was written for you and me to read and understand. It reviews HBOT for many different diseases and conditions, including MS, stroke, arthritis etc. The commonality for these diseases and their response to HBOT is they each have systemic circulatory problems and an immune response, with disruption of cellular metabolism as root problems in their etiology.

It is very helpful for parents and patients to understand whether or not HBOT would be a viable treatment alternative. It also discusses how HBOT affects the condition, or disease, and whether the treatments are curative (carbon dioxide poisoning), or simply maintain the current state (multiple sclerosis).

If you have a child, or relative who has had a stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis (yes- MS), order this book NOW! Learn all you can about HBOT, its applications to your loved one's condition. When you consider all the pain, agony, lost income and costs associated with currently insurance approved therapies, and the dismal results achieved, spend a few dollars and an hour to read the relevant parts of the book and think outside the box, a little. HBOT is not laetrile. HBOT is a well established (everywhere else in the world) and basic technology that enables your body to get a boost to naturally repair itself through its own natural physiological response to oxygen under pressure. HBOT is used every day in the US for wound care - which has much of the same basis as neurological wound care (stroke, asphyxia, or brain injury).

The Author

Dr. Neubauer is one of the world's top experts on HBOT and his work, efforts and patient care are well-respected by other top HBOT experts. He is known and respected as the "Grandfather of HBOT for neurological conditions". While at his center for my daughter's treatments I met a number of HBOT experts who visit him to confer and continue research and had the privilege of reading letters from many more HBOT physician- scientists from UK, Canada, Italy, China, Russia, the US, etc.

HBOT Summaries

HBOT is used worldwide for various injuries including various poisonings, and crushed wound injuries (sic - car accidents, etc.). HBOT is used in many advanced countries including UK, Italy, Russia, Japan and China (and many poorer countries) for treating closed wound brain injuries from birth, accidents, or strokes. HBOT is not accepted by the US medical community, yet, due to the lack of double-blinded studies as well as due to the lack of understanding of the underlying physiology. Note: the underlying physiology of approximately 50% of the drugs listed in the Physician's Desk Reference are poorly understood.

HBOT has been clinically demonstrated to be effective in treating a variety of closed wound brain damage injuries by enabling the body to re-establish damaged blood vessels, and by "waking up" neurons made dormant from injuries. Recent Russian studies show some of the underlying physiological mechanisms (for neurological injuries) appear to be the elimination of the deficit and restoration of CO2 formation and consequently the autoregulation of the O2 transport to the neuron (using minimized hyperbaric treatments - 1.1 - 1.2 ATA). Essentially, correcting the effects of oxygen deprivation from the injury by re-establishing micro-circulatory and intra-cellular O2 / CO2 metabolisms. The disrupted neuronal metabolisms appear throughout the "penumbra" of the brain injury. This helps explain Dr. Neubauer's theory "waking up" of sleeping/dormant neurons.

Personal Experience

My daughter (Rebecca, five yo) has extremely severe cerebral palsy (died at birth for 35 minutes, life support for 6 days; no viable EEG, etc.). Going into the HBOT therapies, I was excited and hopeful. But, not prepared for how I was amazed at her response, as well as the improvement in her brain (SPECT) scans. I had several leading doctors (cardiologists and pediatric neurologists) read her SPECT scan results and each expert was astounded at the changes. Rebecca gained metabolic activity in 80%+ of the areas that were previously inactive/dormant prior to HBOT treatments. Rebecca clearly demonstrated the physical ability improvements corresponding with SPECT scan improvements. Her improved physical control, coordination and motor learning were easily measured and noted by every therapist and doctor who regularly works with her.

HBOT for CP children

For children, HBOT is not a miracle cure. Children must grow, develop and mature through stages. Each stage provides a neurological basis for developing into the following stage. HBOT enables the patient to revitalize damaged, but living but otherwise non-functional neurons. However, once those neurons are revitalized, they need input on how to develop, where to establish connections, and how to be integrated into the brain and body's general system. Thus, HBOT must be co-treated with physical therapies.

Recent HBOT Clinical Findings Dr. Neubauer's recent International Symposium on HBOT for CP and the Brain Injured Child (July 25-28, 2001) presented numerous positive clinical research findings on HBOT for brain injuries. While there is substantial work to be done to better understand the underlying metabolic and physiological principles of what happens on the cellular and systemic levels, there is very little doubt about the efficacy of HBOT for treating neurologic injuries and conditions.

Many HBOT Center Medical Directors can name cortically blind CP patients who have gained sight after 40-150 HBOT treatments. This is exceptionally objective clinical information that should be pursued.

BUY THIS BOOK!!!!

This is a great book. It accomplishes what it sets out to do: to give the reader a look at the "behind the scenes" happenings of the biggest film festival in the world! The narrative voice is very strong and the dry british wit makes it quite a page-turner! You do laugh out loud...and you just want to keep reading and reading.

Another thing that also made this book very interesting, was the fact that it didn't merely focus on the "star-gazing" aspect of the industry, rather it mentions some important personalities in indie cinema and allows the readers to see the difficulties that independent filmakers face -- all this is juxtaposed to the glamorous stars and personalities of Hollywood who attend Cannes and are actually welcomed there (as opposed to our narrator here!)

A great read!

This book was fabuously written. It brings together the work and comedy element of the Cannesfilm festival and the characters portrayed within. I laughed all the way through.

A lot of supposedly funny books are tiresome because their authors try too hard to be funny. This book is not one of them. Stephen Walker has written a really funny book because he knows how to put what's funny in front of you and then get out of the way. He has a great sense of timing and an ear for the spoken word but his book isn't just about all the wild stuff that happened when he made his documentary. Walker's willing to show you himself making a fool of himself, the traditional soul of comedy, but he does more than play the clown. You can see the drive of the documentary filmmaker in his need to understand what's going on inside the filmmakers. His connection to his filmmaker-subjects is a tilt-a-whirl checkerboard of empathy and distance. The troubles he runs into on the double front of filming the filmmakers and figuring out what makes them tick are funny, horrible, pathetic, outrageous, goofy, tragic, stupid, dumb, hilarious. I like Walker because he doesn't force anything. It's definitely a funny book, a really funny book. That's because the tears are as real as the laughs. What I'm saying already is buy the book, Walker should laugh all the way to the bank.

This book is great for reading as you are driving out West. There are so many stories that saturate our folk history of the Old West, it is hard to know what is true and what is legend. This book systematically takes a look at what is true and what is bogus, and what is grey in the areas of many old legends from the Old West.

My Dad made our family stop at every historical marker in the entire West, well at least that is what it felt like, but in doing this he instilled in me an interest in the West and how it was won, etc. This book gave me a fun, entertaining look at what is true and what is not true, I would recommend it for enjoyable reading.

What makes _Legends & Lies_ so attractive is that, as the book's foreword points out, it avoids the two traditional pitfalls of Western historical writing. Typically what we get is either fanciful types whose mantra is 'I don't care if it's true or not, that's the way I want it to have been' or cold-hearted sorts who assume that if it's being repeated as a legend, it could not possibly be true. It's hard to find authors who truly love the West and respect both legend and fact, with no desire to tear down either, and Walker is that rare type.

I like the breadth of the sources he considers. He blindly accepts no one, always putting effort into evaluating the source's credibility. The stories in the book (Sacajawea, Billy the Kid, and Custer to name a few) are ones known to anyone with a nodding acquaintance with Western history; in some cases I hadn't even realized there was a question as to what happened. He doesn't pander to political correctness, but he does recognize that it took two genders and a lot of colours to make the history of the West, and writes accordingly.

Highly recommended (by a lifetime Westerner, if it matters) to anyone interested in Western history.

This is an absolutely fascinating book. Walker brings massive research to his task, which is to look at all facets of some unsolved mysteries. For instance, did Davy Crockett survive the fight at the Alamo, at least for a brief while? Was Meriwether Lewis's death murder or suicide? And whatever became of Ambrose Bierce, the author who ventured into revolutionary Mexico and never returned?

Walker gathers evidence from surprising sources, some of them overlooked by historians, and leaves it to his readers to draw conclusions.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of the American West.

Thoroughly enjoyed her essays! You had an opportunity to travel with Alice as she journeys all over the world and other worlds greeting her ancestors. Each essay gave you the feel that she was in your living room, sharing from her life. Really enjoyable.

How could I not give it 5 stars?? All the emotion that is evoked coming from her soul & compassion for all living beings truly make for a beautiful compilation. Each new story is precious & makes one feel the need to pass this book around to all friends & acquaintances...

"Living by the Word: Selected Writings 1973-1987" is an excellent collection from prolific author Alice Walker. In this collection of essays and journal entries, Walker demonstrates the essential union of her political, spiritual, and artistic "selves."

Walker writes about many topics: animal rights, her daughter's smoking habit, her father, the problematic legacy of Joel Chandler Harris, pioneering African-American thinker Benjamin Banneker, vegetarianism, Reggae legend Bob Marley, her own 1983 trip to China, and more. Particularly fascinating are her thoughts on the controversies surrounding her great novel "The Color Purple."

Although the "New Age" vibe of much of the book may be too much for some readers, I found the book to be well-written and consistently interesting. Walker is a writer who has created a remarkable body of work, and "Living by the Word" is an excellent example of her passion and insight.

These authors are well-established as the premier non-fiction authors of "Doctor Who". Here, we are presented with another familiar book in a familiar format, which works without being outstanding.

The pentultimate volume in the Doctor Who Handbook series contains exhaustive detail about all of the adventures of the Doctor as portrayed by Patrick Troughton. Since so many of this era's episodes are lost, the detailed summaries are invaluable to modern day lovers of sixties' Doctor Who. As with previous Handbooks behind the scenes and production information is presented along with the often diverse opinions of the three authors on each of the stories as televised.

The second Doctor handbook is invaluable to Dr. Who fans. It continues with the way the other volumes in the Dr. Who handbooks have always been. But this one is ever more so different than the others. It's production details of how the second Doctor was concieved is very interesting, because such a thing had never been done before on changing the lead actor in a TV series with a completely different actor, but yet as the same character (with a new persona than the previous Doctor), was completely unheard of. A huge risk at the time for the BBC, unsure if the regular viewers of the show would accept this change. Reading about this is very unique to know. The usual handbook format is here, and this book's story production focus is on the sixth season story "The Mind Robber" (1968).

The one aspect that is very much priceless is the episode story summaries. These are very good, as I could almost imagine that they were on TV again. Also, the fact that almost all of the Patrick Troughton era of Dr. Who episodes was virtually wiped out from the BBC archives, makes these story summaries ever more so good to read about.

Another great book in the Dr. Who handbook series. The author trio of David J. Howe, Mark Stammers, and Stephen James Walker continue with their reputation as the definitive research team on Doctor Who's history. This was the sixth volume in the series, published in 1997.

Scott Walker is an excellent storyteller and has the ability to see and tell of the deep meaning of life's rather ordinary events. His down to earth style is attractive; all readers will catch glimpses of his/her own life story. Mr. Walker loves the Lord and has a gift for seeing Him work in our everyday lives as He so often does in a quiet and gentle way.

This book was purchased on an impulse buy at a higher rate than through Amazon. The first chapter was tough reading because it was difficult to reconcile that chapter with normal day to day living. Lucky for me I decided to read chapter two as the author put the book on a more personal level, dealing with his own life experiences in getting "glimpses of God" at work around him. The book rapidly became very relevant to me on this more fundamental level. I decided to recommend the book (and Amazon's prices) to my men's group for use for the next three months (a chapter a week for discussion).

This is a book I keep my eye on, for it has a personal feel to it. Scott Walker writes from his heart little stories with big meaning and I might add, this is a good book for pastors; I have used it for an illustration or two. A nice feature is that at the end of each chapter are scripture verses and quotes relating to the theme of the chapter. You can get your money's worth out of this one.

Slow start and a little confusing. (First four chapters took place in the same place.) Story just didn't move. Dialogue seemed cliche and was mixed with lots of thoughts from both of them. Plot seemed see-through and just didn't grab me.

She's done it again!!! I loved "His Miracle Baby" by Kate Walker. I was hanging on till the very end, waiting to see how the story finished. I love the way Ms Walker gave an identity to the child in this book. The love scenes....hot, hot, hot! You could feel the emotion, the turmoil, and love. Give me a Kate Walker book anyday of the week and I will be truly happy and content. Terrific book, fantastic writing! Not a lot of excess garbage to have to keep up with or sift thru to get to the heart of the story. I highly reccommend this book and any other book Kate Walker might write or have written.

I have to say, I really enjoyed His Miracle Baby, by Kate Walker.

It is Morgan and Ellie's story, the tale of why young Ellie walked out on their passionate affair without a word, and why Morgan is drawn to seek her out. And whose is the baby he finds her with...

One of Kate's trademark strong, vibrant, passionate heroes, Morgan yet has a depth that escapes many writers of short contemporary romance. Ellie is vulnerable and yet resilient, easily engaging the sympathy of the reader, even without the able assistance of the baby Rosie, accurately described as, "this little charmer..."

I think it was the portrayal of Rosie that most impressed me about this book. Too often the baby in a romance is little more than a cipher, a plot device, consigned to the background too frequently to really connect with the reader. Kate manages to make Rosie a real person with character and depth, a remarkable achievement!

The story is gut-wrenchingly moving, yet stops short of pathos. The sexual tension is palpable, but always supported by heartfelt emotion.

Why is Morgan adamant he won't have children? Why did Ellie keep baby Rosie a secret? Read his Miracle Baby and you'll find out. What's more, you'll enjoy the journey.

And you WILL cry...

Anna of Cumberland

I find this deck to be useful for daily meditations as opposed to an in depth reading because not many people will be immediately in tuned with the hexagrams and therefore it is difficult to draw personal interpretations from the cards. I also recommend if the reader is interested in using these cards for readings that they buy an I-Ching reference book that contains translations of the original scripts for each hexagram and then extracting their personal interpretations from those. This is a nice addition to the tarot collection though.

I have found this set to be the most clear and accurate tool that I know of when reading for myself. The pack actually offers two different means of divination. Although the cards are beautiful illustrations for the sixty-four hexagrams, the eight special I Ching symbol cards, when used in conjunction with the "Little Book of Truth" which accompanies the set, offers a clear and concise oracle that has not let me down. Its approach is unique and special if you have any attraction to the I Ching itself.

The I Ching was the first divination system that I experimented with after reading of Jung's interest in it. I've had this set for over 15 years now. The three coin system is much, much easier to use than the yarrow stick system. I suppose that there might be an increased opportunity for "chance" (or rather synchronicity) to operate with the more elaborate yarrow technique, but after using both, I see no difference between them. Both generate equally reliable hexagrams that express the underlying currents flowing through your life. At least they do if you are appropriately centered after deep meditation.

The "key cards" that come with this deck allow you to quickly identify just what hexagram you have cast by number. After that, it is simply a matter of picking that number from the 64 traditional hexagrams in the deck. The card will give you the translation of the traditional meaning from the I Ching, as well as, the further meanings of the "moving lines."

For further explanation of the deeper meanings of the hexagrams you might like Sam Reifler's _I Ching_ as a convenient and perceptive reference aid.

By the way, there is nothing special about the three brass coins included with the deck- though they are a little easier to use than pennies.