This was a incredibly funny book. I've read 5 times and it just gets funnier. Jardine is my favorite chacter because he reminds me of my self. Gordon Korman Rules. He is the funniest author in the world.

Peace and all that!

I first read this book in high school. I got hooked on Gordon Korman books after reading Don't Care High. Son of Interflux was also great, but without a doubt, Sean and Raymond were the absolutely best characters I think I've ever read. Everything that goes on in this story just keeps you constantly rolling on the floor with laughter. I'm 22 years old and I re-ordered this book through Amazon last year and they finally sent me a copy after 4 or 5 months of waiting. It was well worth the wait. Somebody please write Korman and tell him we need a sequel to this timeless classic.

This book is one of the greatest. Gordon Korman is, in my opinion, the best fiction author of the 20th and 21st centuries. I LOVE his books, and wish all the great old ones were back in print. I highly recommend his books to all the readers I meet. Thankfully, among my siblings and I, we have several of the old books, but I wish they were all more readily available, as we don't have some of our favorites. I don't think words can adequately express how beloved these books are; they are a delightful read. The person who decided they should go out of print must be insane or have no taste. If I were a school administrator, I would have all the children read these books, especially this one. They are a shining star among the trash that is out there today for young people.

Abandoned for centuries and overgrown by dense subtropical forest, this awesome city in the sky has been the subject of speculation and conjecture since Hiram Bingham first disclosed it in 1911. Now, for the first time, the wonders of Machu Picchus' construction and water supply are revealed in a new book by Kenneth R. Wright and Alfredo Valencia Zegarra. Anyone who has read Bingham's Lost City of the Incas, or who has visited this ancient city of the Incas or who yearns to journey there, should read this new and searching volume that delves into and solves many of the mysteries of Machu Picchu. Why was it built, how the site was selected, and what were the critical criterial criteria that were met to make the ridge top site suitable for an alternate home for the Inca Pachacuti? Machu Picchu served as a residence, a fortress and a holy place. The developement of a water supply, the construction of terraces for agriculture and the remarkable and enduring granite structures were well concealed by its unique location. Near vertical cliffs, the roaring Urubamba river all contributed to the concealment of Machu Picchu from the Spanish invaders How an ancient people, without the written word, without instruments and steel tools so capably built and prospered there for more than a century is now revealed in this landmark book that will increase both the awe and respect of the reader for the Inca people.

Machu Picchu, A Civil Engineering Marvel is an extraordinary accomplishment. It is not merely a travel book or ruins guide. It is the result of at least five years of study, exploration and detailed mapping by a competent civil engineer and actually is a tremendous contribution to serious archaeology on the history and accomplishments of the Peruvian Inca empire.

Mr. Wright, a water engineering specialist, worked with close cooperation with a government archaeological expert from Peru headquarters. His particular specialized interest was the drinking and waste disposal system for the people who inhabitated the site, which is called a "palace" but is actually much more than that. He also detailed the construction of the agricultural terraces. It is a scholastic textbook of the first rank.

I expected a civil engineering perspective on one of my favorite subjects, Machu Picchu, to be at least a little dry. Machu Picchu; A Civil Engineering Marvel is anything but. The book melds technical information on a compelling topic with observations, insights and scads of breathtaking photographs. The result is a technically substantial engineering survey presented as a coffee-table book. I have read a lot of materials on Machu Picchu, yet I can't remember the last time I encountered so much new information in one place. The book explores such engineering facets of Machu Picchu as planning, hydrology, hydraulics, drainage, agriculture and construction, and demonstrates why these things are significant and interesting. Machu Picchu; A Civil Engineering Marvel breathes extra life into this basic information by providing context, analysis, archaeological perspective and even a walking guide for touring the site.

Machu Picchu; A Civil Engineering Marvel has application, understandability and appeal for such diverse individuals as anthropologists, archaeologists, travelers, scenery-lovers and historians, as well as engineers. Machu Picchu buffs like myself will certainly enjoy the book's refreshing, new angle.

You know those books that you get really sad once you get to the end? This is one of those. Noah Gordon will take you to London's century 11, to the life of Robert J. Cole, a boy who was made an orphan at the age of 9. Barber, a surgeon-barber, very common on those days as a alternative of doctor to poor people, taught him the art of malabarism, food, women and of course the simplest form of cure, traveling all around England.
Rob, not satisfied with the poor knowledge that he had on curing people and eager to learn more, decides to travel to the Orient to study on one of the best medicine schools in that time.
The book is a mixture of love, happiness, sadness, adventure, fiction, history, religion... I just couldn't stop reading!

This engrossing book traces the life of 11th century Englishman, Robert Cole. Cole begins as a normal child, is quickly orphaned, and is then apprenticed to a barber-surgeon. As he travels throughout England with his master, the reader is introduced to all aspects of English peasant life. Family life, morality, religion, sexuality, medicine, xenophobia and history are all presented in an interesting, subtle, and easily read writing style. When Cole grows up and decides to be a physician, he comes in contact with Jewish doctors who explain to him that the best universities are in Moslem-ruled Persia, where no Christian may go. Determined to learn, Cole overcomes this obstacle by pretending to be a Jew. As he travels and studies in Persia, the same questions of lifestyle are addressed, only this time within the Jewish and Moslem communities. This is a great read for anyone who likes adventurous stories about growing up, or who is interested in sociology, religion, medicine, or history.

Just after the last turn of the millenium, a young boy is orphaned in London. Raised by a travelling barber-surgeon, Rob J. decides to be a great physician. Problem: the best medical school is located in Persia. Problem: they don't much like Catholics in Persia. Solution: Rob J. masquerades as a Jew in order to attend the school. Through the seven or eight years he spends in Persia, Rob J. falls in love, gets married, has kids, gets some really great friends, meets up with the Shah, nearly gets killed, and discovers appendicitis. This book isn't gory despite its medical scenes, and is actually a really interested read if you like reading about long-time-agos or medical lore. Though most things I've read that have taken place that long ago are really difficult to read, this one wasn't.

Though Gordon Korman's books are geared toward young readers, his words hold meaning for everyone. My fifth grade teacher read us "I Want to go Home!" and I fell in love with it and purchased it for myself as a child. I still have the book, battered and torn, however I can honestly say I've probably read it over 20 times, even in adulthood! It's funny, witty, and really brings you back to the days when kids were just kids. This is especially memorable for those who ever went to summer camp themselves.

I first picked up "I want to go home!" when I was around 10. I loved it the first time just as I've loved it all the other 29 odd times I've read it. I wish I could say I was exaggerating but I'm not. Once I even picked up the book again and read it twice in the same afternoon! Rudy Miller is someone who could never really exist. Like Melanie Wilkes in Gone With the Wind. The power that these characters generate is so strong that you get to like them a lot. Or you wish they actually existed. The story of 'I want to go home' is about a boy who's good at everything without trying. In his inscription Gordon Korman says "There's fun, and then there's fun. This is dedicated to those who know the difference." The fun of the chase, the game. Rudy has to find trouble to make things fun because everything else comes so easily to him. The situations that he creates are what seperate this book from any other comic childrens book ever written. I don't care if you're 100 or 15, like myself, if you like humour you'll like this book!

I first came across this book in the 6th grade, when my teacher read it to our class.. It kept our attention, it moved along swiftly and was the funniest book ever. I remembered it years later and when i had the chance to come across it in used book stores I bought it, to this day (I'm almost 27 right now!) I still find it one of the best books i've ever gotten to read. I just finished reading it again for the zillionth time and i don't mind admitting i loved it even more. I realize people think it's silly for an adult to read such a book but i have to tell you that the story of Rudy Miller and Mike Webster (and who could forget Harold Greene?) at camp tickles my funny bone even now.

If you get the chance, don't let this one pass you by.

This is an excellent study of what must be one of the most horrific among Civil War battles. Though one reviewer's comments about sloppy notation are well taken, Rhea's scholarship overall seems solid, and he uses quotes to great effect to make the fighting come alive.

Not only Spotsylvania but the tragic cavalry battle at Yellow Tavern are covered here. Relevant to this, no other study I have seen, not even bios of Stuart, brings out Stuart and his troopers' role in initially forming the crucial defensive line on Laurel Hill and then deploying the infantry in ideal positions. Little known, but perhaps one of Stuart's finest hours.

Rhea seems even-handed ideologically speaking, and his criticisms of Grant and Sheridan seem well supported by the facts. I would recommend this book not only to scholars but to amateurs who want to know why the Civil War was a horrible conflict. This is not light reading. It is a story of appalling human suffering, courage, and unbelievable sheer endurance.

With the year only four-and-a-half months young, it would still be a safe bet to put your money on Gordon C. Rhea's "The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern-May 7-12, 1864" for "Best Civil War Book of 1997". Rhea, who gave us his "Battle of the Wilderness" in 1994, has only improved upon that award-winning volume with his latest effort. "The Battles for Spotsylvania" covers the vicious and nearly-disastrous engagement between Grant and Lee during the middle weeks of May, 1864. Here, near this sleepy little village southwest of Fredericksburg, Grant's bluecoats met Lee's butternuts in a mortal maelstrom of some of the most bloody fighting the Old Dominion had yet seen. Long neglected by Civil War writers, this pivotal and oft-confusing series of continuous combats was brought to the modern Civil War buff's attention by William Matter's fine "If It Takes All Summer" in 1988. Rhea, however, takes the torch from here and weaves a masterful narrative, both highly-detailed and smooth flowing at once, to give us, perhaps, the best coverage of this engagement we shall ever have. How so, one might ask? First, Rhea adds to the records and histories, a plethora of unpublished accounts from diaries, letters, memoirs, newspapers, and the like to give this book the comprehensive personal side of battle. Yet, the strategic and tactical concerns of the fighting do not suffer at all. To be sure, the author, once again, has found that special touch in blending the larger and smaller "pictures" into one without detracting from either. Nearly every imaginable aspect of the battle is covered in deft fashion, always maintaining the easy-reading flow in the text. Especially inviting to buffs and important to historians is Rhea's coverage of the concurrent cavalry operations between Phil Sheridan and JEB Stuart, including a riveting account of "Little Phil's" Richmond Raid and Stuart's subsequent death at Yellow Tavern. From the initial fighting at Laurel Hill, through Upton's heroic charge and the battering assaults against the "Bloody Angle", the reader will find and feel that they are seemingly in the midst of the battle itself. I just got my copy and read it in two days--you will find this one very hard to put down! Theodore C. Mahr Dayton, Ohio ------------------------------------------------ Former Seasonal Historian Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania Natl. Military Park Author: "The Battle of Cedar Creek: Showdown in the Shenandoah, October 1-30, 1864"[1992]

Gordon C. Rhea has done it again. Mr. Rhea wrote a compelling battle narrative on the desperate fighting in the Wilderness that appeared on the book shelves in 1994. After I read that history, I wondered to myself, how in the heck would he follow up on his excellent treatment on the Battle of the Wilderness. With his latest volume on the Battle of Spotsylvania, he has certainly done that. Rhea, with this latest book has established himself as one of the finest historians writing about the war today. He has brought all of the elements together...Bravery, tragedy, incompetence, and yes, humor in a narrative that truly describes the horrors Americans went through during those awful days in early May, 1864. Mr. Rhea's description of the events on May 12, 1864 are harrowing, unbelievable, and heartbreaking. The struggle for the Bloody Angle becomes all too real for the reader. The unbelievable, heroic combat for those earthworks on the hallowed ground of the Spotsylvania Battlefield makes me proud of both sides as they fought during that rainy day. Each side gave their all....and they showed what Americans are all about. Special thanks for the maps of George Skoch. Mr. Skoch's work really helps the reader understand the campaign. A must for all students of the Civil War....Rhea has written a classic!

Not only have I read Gordon MacKenzie's "Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace", but I have also had the pleasure of interviewing the author for a newsletter piece and attending one of his workshops (better described as "performances").

The book is generally seen as "humor", even though book stores may display it in their business section. It could just as well be classified under "philosophy", however. Its message is a mix of the funny and the profound, examplified by the last chapter: "Paint Me A Masterpiece", which starts with God dispensing you at birth with a canvas rolled under your arm and the request to "paint a masterpiece for me", and ends with the writer's reflections on his now-abandoned doubts about his own talent, his current use of the wider brush, the Cadmium Yellow, Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine Blue, and this reminder to you: "If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece, it will not get painted. No one else can paint it. Only you."

The book is a written form of the workshops Gordon MacKenzie has been teaching since 1991. Workshops on maintaining creativity within bureaucratic environments. If Corporate America is to be the place that beckons us each day, that we long to go to every morning and leave fulfilled every afternoon, it had better get a grip on its hairballs, discard them and let its work places be filled with the creativity Gordon MacKenzie encourages us to reclaim.

Orbiting the Giant Hairball provides many stimulating approaches to creativity, especially in the often stiffling environment of the corporate world. From personal experience, I know that creativity, hence innovation, is also unfortunately under-appreciated and under-compensated by the short-sighted individuals (aka. managers) in most corporations. On the same subject, if you enjoyed Orbiting this Giant Hairball and its creativity lessons, I would like to recommend the true-to-life episodes in the book, MANAGEMENT BY VICE. Written by a scientist (C.B. Don) with years of experience, this book shows the struggles of innovators in high-tech R&D industry fending off counterproductive management, with much wit, lots of hilarious humor (prose, verse and illustration) and the kind of candor rarely encountered beyond the "Giant Hairball". I greatly enjoyed both these books and feel that everyone should have them at hand when dealing with corporate fools and battling to salvage the innovative spirit!

Have you ever had a good idea snuffed out, simply because the powers that be in your corporation (or whatever organization) were too involved in politics/committees/old ways of doing things? Then read on.

This is by far one of the most liberating books I've ever read. It says that anyone can be creative and get their ideas across, but it's not about being "arty", it's about finding ways to get new ideas into corporations, minus the yucky experience of getting stuck in corporate red tape (the famous Giant Hairball, as Gordon calls it). But it's not a string of boring lectures like a lot of the other corporate advice books out there. It's a collection of fun, short anecdotes. Real stories about Gordon Mackenzie and his HallMark days as he learned how to become a creative guru for his organization. That's right: he was learning. He tells the stories from this kind of perspective, and it is quite hilarious. Not to mention approachable. A must read. Maybe you, too, can be a creative guru...

Read the reviews written on 1/24/97 and 2/8/00. To that I'd add that the book divides into fourths: (1) The first 1/4 is Mr. Oppenheimer's autobiography (entertainingly written and interspersed with funny anecdotes). (2) The second 1/4 is his career as a comedy writer for radio (also humorous as well as an interesting perspective from an insider). (3) The third 1/4 is what I thought the book would be about from the title and sub-title--the "I Love Lucy" show (combining humor and historical writing style of the first 1/2 of the book). (4) The last 1/4 is the appendix, complete with the CD (each especially memorable for Lucille Ball fans). A purchase well worth the money; an easy, interesting, entertaining, and fun read. Enjoy.

I Love Lucy - Behind the Scenes is a fabulous look back at the career and antics of one of t.v. and radios funniest ladies. With all of the demoralizing venues on the "boob-tube" today, it is refreshng to recall a time-gone-by when good clean fun could still be funny. Jess and Gregg Oppenheimer have compiled a wonderful memory book of everyone's favorite comidianne. The reader - Larry Dobkin who as I understand it, was a guest actor on several I Love Lucy episodes, delivers this story with the warmth and humor it so deserves. I give this audiobook 5 stars!

This book is full of insight on the show I Love Lucy; also on the radio show My Favorite Husband which inspired I Love Lucy. Lucille Ball stared in both shows. The book was written by Jess Oppenheimer and his son Gregg Oppenheimer. Jess Oppenheimer was the creator, writter, and producer of I Love Lucy. Sixteen chapters full of information for any Lucy Lover, would like to read about. The book has exclusive photos of the stars and other people behind the show. Each photo has a description about it. The book also comes with a Lucy's Lost Scenes CD. On the CD there are some episodes of I Love Lucy's lost scenes, also some episodes of other I Love Lucy episodes such as "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" There is also some episodes from My Favorite Husband. The book also has scripts from I Love Lucy and My Favorite Husband inside the book. The scripts are original scripts that as you can see when looking at it had lots of changes to make it better. Inside the book talks about the authors. Full of information that you probably wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. This is probably the best book to read it all from the beginning. How and why did I Love Lucy ever existed. Who better to explain it than the man who created it!!

The excellent photography made this book hard to put down. I paged through the entire book looking at pictures before going back and reading it. A must read for every Nascar fan.

I am a huge Jeff Gordon fan and I will be the first to tell you that this is a wonderful book! I have been a fan for a little over 4 years and this book goes into detail about everything that you would ever want to know! Very well written...if you are a Jeff Gordon fan this is the book for you!

Jeff you are the best driver that I have ever seen.I have been following you through your whole racing career. I hope you do well for the remaining of your career. You and Brooke are so great. Have a great race sunday. Your biggest fan, Brad Kelderman.

This book tells how to massage every part of the body. Scalp to toe. It's divided up by body section, so if you just want to do a back massage or a hand and foot massage, you can flip to that section and learn in a few minutes. There are beautiful pencil drawings of the inner workings of various parts of the body, where the most nerve endings are in the foot, which muscle is responsible for neck pain and some headaches (it's not in your neck), etc. He also talks about atmosphere and mood, which type of stroke is best used where, and what not to do during a massage (always important).

I work with my hands all day and my husband sits in an office chair. I find my hands feel LESS tired and stiff after I give him a back massage, and I usually lose track of time. What starts out as a quick 5 minutes lasts at least 20.

I became an expert at back massage after one reading. After my first try, my husband was so relaxed he was fast asleep before I got back from washing the oil off my hands. And he usually tosses and turns for at least an hour!

In short a wonderful book for those who wish to raise ones skill of touch to another level. Both for sexual pleasure as well as physical therapy. I suggest that anyone who will take the time to learn sensual massage, read and adopt this writting. Clear, consise and creative.

To read, understand, and use the things you learn in this book is definately one of the nicest things you could possibly do for a lover. I bought the video (it helps teach you the basic techniques), and together, I learned enough to make my girlfriend feel wonderful.

If you want a very well-writen, well-depicted, complete book to teach you how to "give pleasure with your hands", this is definately a book to buy. It describes numerous strokes for each section of the body, and concatenates them into a one-hour-plus, full-body massage.

In the next few weeks (as pay checks roll in), I'll buy Gordon's other books. This one teaches enough strokes for an hour-long full-body massage, and I'm hoping that the other ones teach all different strokes.

I've been disappointed by a lot of the books I've gotten on this type of subject, but this one does not disappoint in any way.

An American doctor once asked Viktor Frankl to explain the difference between conventional psychoanalysis and logotherapy. Before answering, Frankl asked the doctor for his definition of psychoanalysis. The man said, "During psychoanalysis, the patient must lie down on a couch and tell you things which sometimes are very disagreeable to tell." Frankl immediately replied by saying: "Now, in logotherapy the patient may remain sitting erect but he must hear things which sometimes are very disagreeable to hear." By this he meant that in logotherapy the patient is actually confronted with and reoriented toward the MEANING of his life. The role of the therapist, then, is to help the patient discover a purposefulness in his life. Frankl's theory is that man's search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life and not a "secondary rationalization" of instinctual drives. Whereas Freudian psychoanalysis focuses on the "will to pleasure" and Adlerian psychology focuses on the "will to power" it can be said that Frankl's logotherapy focuses on the "will to meaning." Does man give in to to conditions or stand up to them? According to Frankl, the strength of a person's sense of meaning, responsibility, and purpose is the greatest determining factor in how that question will be answered. He believed that "man is ultimately self-determining" and as such, "does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment."

The first (and largest) section of this book is the searing autobiographical account of the author's experience as a longtime prisoner in a concentration camp. These camps claimed the lives of his father, mother, brother, and wife. Frankl's survival and the subsequent miracle of this book are a testimony to man's capacity to rise above his outward fate. As Gordon W. Allport states in the preface, "A psychiatrist who personally has faced such extremity is a psychiatrist worth listening to."

I agree, and highly reccommend this book. As the sub-title says, it is an "introduction" to logotherapy, and anyone who wants to go deeper into the principles and practical application of Frankl's existential psychiatry should go to his excellent "The Doctor And The Soul".

Frankl was fond of quoting Nietzsche's dictum..."He who has a WHY to live can bear with almost any HOW."

I wish I read this 20 years ago, it would have created a whole new perspective on my life. I won't repeat what many of the other fine reviewers have mentioned, but will add the following:

According to Frankl, man's search for meaning is his primary motivation for life, not a secondary rationalization.

Existential Vacuum, in today's Modern Society, we all have basic food, and shelter, we all can survive (thank goodness we don't have to endure what Frankl had to), we are all comfortable in our existence, and yet this comfort creates boredom, and therefore, our search for meaning is even more compounded. Thus is what Frankl refers to as existential vacuum, we exist today day to day, but do so in a vacuum of existence, until we know our meaning.

Man should not ask what is the meaning of life, but rather BE asked. In response, man must answer in his responsible, to whom is he responsible to, to what, to whom?

True meaning is discovered in the world, not within man himself. Seek out your experiences, the meaning is out there in the world, not within yourself.

You cannot avoid untentional suffering, but you can change your attitude towards it, to give suffering a meaning to you.

Live your life as though you were living it the second time. View life as a series of movie frames, the ending and meaning may not be apparent until the very end of the movie, and yet, each of the hundreds of individual frames has meaning within the context of the whole movie.

View your life from your funeral, looking back at your life experiences, what have you accomplished? what would you have wanted to accomplish but didn't? what were the happy moments? what were the sad? what would you do again, and what you wouldn't?

A must read for anyone searching for a deeper meaning in life. The book won't give you the meaning, only you can, but it will certainly help you get started.

I have an natural aversion to psychology books. I was recommended this book and when I first time I picked up I made it to the title page and lost interest after seeing the subtitle: an introduction to logotherapy. A while late the book was again recommended to me, this time by another person, and I became determined to read past the subtitle.

Although this is "An introduction to Logotherapy" the implications of this book are much more profound then simply a psychology text-book or a do-it-yourself self-help book. This book does not play the part of creating a sugared life, denying that real struggles, real trials, and real pain do exist. But in acknowledging suffering, this book does not attach meaninglessness to life, which is so easy to do when a person does profoundly suffer. Instead Frankl asserts a beauty to life that is inclusive of both suffering and meaning.

In one of the many beautiful passages in the book, Frankl states that, "What is demanded of man is not, as some existential philosophers teach, to endure the meaninglessness of life; but rather to bear his incapacity to grasp its unconditional meaningfulness in rational terms."

This book manages to transcend psychology and the usual "self-help" books to express in sincere and honest terms that life is worth living. Regardless.