OK, well, I know some day I will read books that are not "thinkers" but for now, I like books that help you change for the better. Louise is a wonderful person who has found her heart by listening to it. She can truly help the blackest of souls belive in change for the better and this book is her most colorful way to prove it. The book is a bit startling in color, which makes it not a great gift idea for my male counterparts...but they will just have to deal with it. Its a wonderful book and really acknowledges the challenge in self-truth and helps you to be able to ride it out and break the addictions that this unhealthy world can offer. I would recommend this book to people who are into self-help and also those who appreciate the metaphysical realm of thinking! Louise is Great!!!

Louise L. Hay took the proverbial lemons and made lemonade out of them. She made beauty out of ashes, she truly turned her life around. And, having done so, she shares with the world how we can accomplish healing also. Ms. Hay is an inspiration. Someone had given me a copy of this book about 12 years ago. At the time I was not ready for all this what I called "hocus-pocus" back then. But because of a class I am taking for holistic healing, I had to purchase this book use as part of a research paper. I am so glad that I did, because this edition is even more beautiful than the original one I had. For those on the healing path, this is a definite buy. Keep in mind though that she is coming from a metaphysical perspective and that such things as a virus do come from sources other than ourselves.

This is truly a magnificent book. The author gets straight to the point and explains how to deal with your problem (whatever it may be) by using positive confirmation. You will actually feel the beauty within yourself as you read this book. As I worked my way through these exercise and practiced the affirmations as instructed I truly began to heal my life. It was nothing short of a miracle and pure magic. I continue to use the exercises and continue to work to change my own thought pattern. Everything that I need in this life seems to head my way. I am very happy and I am making my dreams come true. This was the most wonderful book!!!

I have all these tactics books and the question is: which one? Well, it essentially comes down to this book or Fred Reinfeld's combo book. Hays' Combination Challenge is just Fred's book in algebraic notation (but useless if you already have Fred's book, unless you hate descriptive notation), and the other book in this genre, 303 Tactical Chess Problems, is for absolute beginner's (1100-1400). I'm personally 1650-1700 USCF (1750 ICC) and would like to tell the differences between these books in my opinion. Lein's book, above, has the following good points : 1) scrambled themes (like a real chess game, no hints as to what you're looking for), 2) the last 200 puzzles (the 4 stars) are harder than anything in Fred's book by a factor of 5!, 3) far more accurate, only found 1 error, so far, by my looking with Fritz/craty18, 4) algebraic notation, 5) many puzzles feature pins+skewers+double attacks+ . . . like REAL combos, not one ISOLATED amateurish tactic. Negatives: 1) overemphasis on mate and stalemate it feels like 75% of problems involve mating threat (in some ways, therefore, oriented to beginning players, and ruining the quality of better players by encouraging you to attack always, even if the position doesn't warrant it . . . so play becomes weak and trappy with overuse), 2) if you find a weakness in your play, like double attacks were weak for me with a Chessbase quiz, you can't get a 100 problems of that theme in one place with which to train (no thematic grouping), 3) the focus on combos of complexity versus single themes makes it hard to implement this stuff in your play -- e.g. you usually plan discovered checks, so having that motif in your head helps you plan. Lein's technique just sharpens tactical OBSERVATION not tactical PLANNING, and 4) some of the problems esp number 1000 and following (at least for me at 1700) are just too hard to do without a board (people who can do this whole book without a board are either not finished, lying, or over USCF expert class . . . Lein says in the introduction to use a board for 3 and 4 stars (although only the 4 stars require, the final position in my head on the 3 stars is occasionally fuzzy . . . ). In short, I prefer ol' Fred's book for actual training, and if I want to see a fancy combo I look at an Alekhine game or read the Informant combo museum piece (Anthology of Combos . . .). Also, my 6 year old son (600 rating) does the first 100 or so problems easily, and as the end problems are like 1900+, you can see the book tries to go from 400 to master, which is a little ridiculous, so that no matter who you are, only like 150 of the 1000+ problems are pitched right at your level. Fred's book is all about 1400-1900 I think, with some reservations at both ends of that range. So for me, my chess weight-lifting tool is still --- Reinfeld's book.

This is the best chess book you can own and not use a chess board (except for Logical Chess: Move by move by Chernev). A few minutes every day keeps the chess juices flowing and my chess strength is moving up after a 11 year gap of ANY playing. Tough problems? You better believe it but when you work through them, you will find yourself seeing the chess board in a new way! I'm on a U.S. Navy ship and when I'm out to sea, this is the book that I read every night before I turn the light out in my rack. While this book is very short on words, read those words carefully! Lou Hays gives good advice. Don't see the answer after a while, look it up! Go through the book two or three times and then use it as a refresher book that sits in your reading room!

Tactics, nothing but tactics! No classification into themes, no hints, figure it out for yourself. The first 450 problems are simple to moderate in difficulty but after that they start becoming increasingly challenging (although the mix of problems continues). They all are practical examples, most from games, and their complexity level seems accurately gauged (4 stars= extremely difficult, 1 star = simple). A great book to keep with you in the car, or subway, at lunch, etc., to solve at your leisure. Probably the simplest, most efficient, easiest way to improve your chess. You can't benefit from your brilliant opening repertoire, display your middlegame acumen, or endgame skills, if you can't see tactically. Tactics, ultimately, underly everything.

This is a classic, but not as much for the sake of the book, but more for the ideas behind it. The book is not very accessible (and do we really care about how much he dislikes Tarrasch?) and beginners will struggle with it. It is worth having read this book, as it covers a lot of theory and philosophy that essentially moved the boundaries of chess knowledge. Another commentator complains that Watson has refuted some of his lines: Well, that's easy for Watson to do more than half a century later, doesn't change the milestone value of this work. It is not good as an instructive book, but if you have a good knowledge of chess, and want to look a bit more deeply into the mechanics behind the game, this is simply a book you need to have read first. So, if you are a beginner and want to improve: leave it for a while. Are you an advanced player who is prepared to put in a lot of effort to study chess philosophy, buy it. Are you a GM who hasn't read it yet, don't worry you won't need to.

Those who even have a passing knowledge of chess know that "My System" by Aron Nimzowitsch is *the* chess book.

Like a giant black hole at the center of a galaxy, this book has a great gravitational pull in the chess space. Read any competent middle-game chess book (perhaps not the "Complete Idiot's guide to Chess") and you will invariably find references to "My System" and "Chess Praxis".

My only recommendation would be for others to buy the cheaper one written in descriptive notation. The two books carried by Amazon are of similar quality (binding, paper and translation). Nimzowitsch originally wrote an entire chapter on the isolated Q4 pawn (an important subject no doubt). This means d4 for white and d5 for black in algebraic notation, but is translated as "Isolated pawn at d4" in the algebraic notation version. Nimzowitch is already being translated. There is no need to lose even more in the translation by translating descriptive notation to algebraic notation.

Besides, this is chess. Smart people play chess. We can follow simple directions. So...save yourself some money by buying the descriptive notation version...

This is the book that has turned me from a beginner (1271) to an expert(2004) in less than a year. I first heard about it when I asked an international master what he reccomended to be a 'good chess book.' He replied, "My System by Nimzowitsch is the Holy Bible of Chess," also adding: "Like the Holy Bible, it's dense stuff. If you understand it, you'll be a chess master. Guaranteed." I decided to try it out.

At first, I lightly read and studied it. It didn't help at all. And yes, it was like light-reading the holy-bible (I'm not Christian, but I enjoy the stories!) - I skipped the lines "love thy neighbor," and the genesis chapter. Simply, this wasn't the way to read it. I had to grow up with it, learn from it, and digest it's every line.

"My System," is one of those rare books in which a highly-credited Grandmaster reveals every drop of his/her thought process in a coherent and systematic way. Nothing is hidden from us. It's pure thought.

Many of the reviews, however, complain that "My System," is too difficult to read, and even charging the big N to have ruined their game. I laugh at this, since it simply means that they didn't put in the effort to understand the material. It took me half an hour a day for 3 months to have actually completed this book. And suffice to say, I still do not "completely" understand it! But I understood it enough to improve big time in short time.

The reader will develop a sensitivty of what Nimzo would have 'moved' in a certain position. The book brought me to this kind of road. In a chess tournament game, I think, "Well, Nimzo would have done this. Lasker would have done that. But I think my move is better. Which do I do?" And this kind of sensitivity has led me to be more daring, creative, exuberant, resilient, and stronger! This must be a good thing. Thanks to My System.

Get this book....

The style is direct and unpretentious. The message is simple but extraordinarily powerful: life is short, the past and the future are inaccessible, pain and pleasure have no meaning, but inside each one of us there is a ruling faculty that is touched only by itself. Only that which makes us better capable of confronting our condition with resolution and courage can be said to be good, and only that which makes us worse and more unsatisfied can be said to be bad. The only thing that is of any importance is our own private quest for perfection, which no external power can ever destroy. Marcus Aurelius delivers many insightful and inspirational observations about human nature and the human condition, and he makes an excellent rational argument for seeking the good and for acting modestly and continently. I cannot think or a more satifying and moving work, and it is all the more poignant because it was written by a man who wielded almost absolute power and lived surrounded by the luxury, yet managed to keep things in perspective and to occupy himself only with what truly matters. One sentence captures perfectly the spirit of his writings: "Where a man can live, there he can also live well." An extraordinary testimony of wisdom and fortitude.

I believe it was book four where Aurelius says that we should begin each day by telling ourselves that we will meet ignorance in the world continuously (this is, of course, just paraphrasing)...I mention this to show a mere fraction, an "over the surface," example of this philosopher's maxims. They are to live by. Marcus, a student of the school of Cleanthes and Zeno, wrote this masterpiece (indeed it is) as his solace in war...A profound, and extremely intimate, view of the world by an ancient master, this book is a classic for all....MUST READ!

It's long overdue that the public receives a modernernized translation of Marcus Aurelius's "Meditations". Up until now, all the translations that we had available to us in English of this intriguing work have been, well, rather dull and "dry". All that is changed. Gregory Hayes has done some fine work here. I personally congratulate him, and thank him for his efforts.

I still wouldn't necessarily call this book a thrill-a-minute, page-turner of suspense, but thanks to a more contemporary language-treatment, the experience is a whole lot less burdensome to get through. The ride may not be the best fun you've ever had reading a book, but it's considerably less painful now, thanks to this "user-friendly" updated version.

Comparison to older translations shows it to be accurate in meaning and tone, and if he were alive today, I think Marcus Aurelius would recommend this version of his work for us (as modern readers) to enjoy for years to come.

I always tend to take the reviews on here with a grain of salt, either people love them or hate them. And I mean hate with a capital H. There are reviews on this book like that. This books doesn't warrant that type of review. It's a fun book. The character's are interesting. It's definately worth picking up.

I picked this book up ... Let me tell you - I would have paid five times as much !!! The title really caught my eye, and the brief backpage description sold me. I fell in love with our cowboy Tucker, his horse Snort, his dog Rex, and even crusty old Dad.

Lizzie ? She ROCKED !!!!

Once I began reading, I could not put the book down. I literally read all night, and enjoyed every page and every minute. The style in which the book is written, alternating chapters written in first person by Tucker and Lizzie, is wonderful. Their unique and colorful personalities are reflected in their descriptive language. The characters are "killer" and the humor is divine.

I equally enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Tucker's childhood buddy Lenny the militia man and expert weapon creator. The plot is great and the story flow is pefect. Not once was I tempted to put this book down or skim a single page. The authors keep the reader in perpetual suspense - never knowing what to expect next.

PLEASE, oh please, let there be a sequel. If not, at least more books in the same "vein". Pun fully intended.

I've passed this book around to various friends and family members who have all loved it as much as I did .

Lizzie (Queen of the Vampires) from New York City and Tucker (real life Cowboy) from LonePine, Wyoming meet by chance and fall deeply in love. But to stay together they must deal with scores of Vampires, some good and some bad. A great cast of characters that you won't soon forget. Hey Guys... don't let the Romance scare you away from this book, it's not sappy at all. A very enjoyable read! Highly recommended!!
To the authors Clark Hays & Kathleen Mcfall... Thank you. Please give us more fun reads.

I love these cards.Every time I pull these
cards I get inspired and rebalanced.I guess you
can say that my guides speak to me thru these
cards when I forget to listen to myself.

a dear friend of mine had placed power thought cards around her house during a difficult time--i found that when i was under her roof and looking at the affirmations, i was able to stay positive and be more supportive of her. they provided insight as to how she was feeling and what sorts of directions she wanted her thoughts to move into...now i have them around my place for me.

they are also great conversation starters. (i.e. the one about 'creating a new job' really got friends and family asking questions!)

they are fun. positive. you can get out of them what you will. they are simple. beautiful. charming. they can bring a much needed boost of positive energy into houses, offices, rooms, mirrors, windows...

I totally agree with the other reviewers. These little cards are something you buy at least two of. One to keep and one to give to a friend. Very insightful and refreshing! They have a real positive inpact on the way you think and help you through even the worst day.

Maurice Dove is a visitor to the Saskatchewan farm of widower Ernest Hardy and his two daughters: Lucinda and Norma-Joyce. Beginning in the Prairie Dust Bowl years of the 1930s and spanning the decades following World War II, this story of human emotions, obsessions, and self-discoveries moves back and forth between Ottawa and New York City in a beautifully written debut novel by Elizabeth Hay. Her descriptive text of the story's varied backdrops, the cast of eccentric and memorable characters; and her richly textured, physically emotional writing style combine to present a unique and satisfying work that lingers in the memory long after A Student Of Weather has been finished and set back upon the shelf. Also highly recommended is Small Change, Elizabeth Hay's collection of short stories.

It's an interesting experience to encounter a book in which none of the major figures is likeable. Yet that very circumstance is a tribute to Elizabeth Hay's eloquent portrayal of two sisters in drought-ridden central Canada. Her people are deep and complex, intensely drawn and immensely real. Even the peripheral characters ring true, without the blemish of contrivance. Hay's descriptive ability in both urban and rural settings gives this book further enhancement. She vividly depicts the impact of environment on her chief protagonist, providing a framework for change of mood throughout the narrative. Hay, too, is clearly a student of weather. And a keen observer of people.

Norma Joyce Hardy initiates a life-long adoration of Maurice Dove with a touch on his cheek. That she's but a child is of little moment. That she's overshadowed by her sister's beauty becomes even less so. Even at nine years of age, she's driven by determination to find the means to supplant Lucinda. Resentful of her sister's looks, industry, and favoured place with their father, she becomes secretive, duplicitous, devious. Lucinda, having replaced their dead mother, is vulnerable, and Norma Joyce takes advantage of that exposure. Maurice becomes the tool for expressing Norma's envy, but she becomes the victim of her own machinations. Maurice, unsurprisingly, is following his own agenda, and Norma's place in it is problematic.

In pursuit of Maurice, Norma Joyce's life orbits like an erratic comet. From the most rural to the most urban environments in North America and back again, her loci remain vague. Only Maurice is a fixed point, but that seeming stability actually is the cause of her displacements. She is torn between seeking and avoiding him, particularly when the attainment of her goal leads to the inevitable result. Hay brings the Hardy family out of dry Saskatchewan to "golden" Ontario. Ottawa, however pleasant and green, fails to bring rest, and Norma pursues Maurice to New York City. A greater contrast to Prairie Canada can hardly be imagined, but Hay guides us through Norma's transition flawlessly. New York, however, doesn't resolve her situation with Maurice, which grows ever more complicated. Nor is the relationship of the sisters granted an easy path. Who carries the burden of Lucinda's fate will be the topic of endless debate.

Hay's account is admirable in its prowess in compelling attention to people and places. The factual nature of her characters, their failure to fulfill simple expectations is a credit to her skills. A love story of sorts, this is hardly a "romantic novel." It is a richly rewarding story, worthy of your attention. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

This little story was truly a wonderful surprise. I expected a cozy little family saga, but got much more. This quiet unassuming novel about ordinary people builds slowly into a gripping tale that once it gets going is impossible to put down.

It begins in 1938 on a farm in Saskatchewan, Canada with two lonely motherless sisters, nine years apart in age and worlds apart in looks and personality. Norma Joyce is small, dark, wiry, homely, inquisitive, provocative, and restless, while older sister Lucinda is a ravishing redhead, quiet, serene, the hard working homemaker for father and younger sister. Although Norma is just a kid, when Maurice Dove, a 'student of weather' visits the farm, both sisters, each in their own way, fall desperately in love with him, a love to last a lifetime, but with tragic consequences. The presence of Maurice will be the wedge that drives the sisters apart and alters the family fate, although the personality of each character will also determine the outcome of the story, which later shifts to Ottawa and then alternates between Ottawa and New York City.

What makes this novel stand out from the crowd aside from its careful plotting and lovely descriptive passages about foliage, flora, and of course weather, are the ways in which the author makes brilliant use of small details of personality and psychology to drive what would otherwise be an ordinary story into high gear and to create unforgettable complex characters. She gets it right on target, too, so much so, that the reader feels that he/she is a witness to real peoples' lives. This book is one of my top picks of the year!

Cape Horn looms in sailing lore as the ultimate challenge; a graveyard of ships whose rocks and capricious weather should be feared by even the most seasoned old salt. Yet, the temptation to be one of the few who have met this challenge (Cape Horners are even allowed to put their feet up on the tablein the officers' wardroom in an English warship) is as great as the danger, and the father and son team of David and Daniel Hays are not immune to this temptation . On one level, this is the day by day account of two men who became the first Americans to sail around Cape Horn in a sailboat under 30 ft long. The details of living and surviving in such a small efficient space are fascinating, not only to sailors, but to casual readers, who will marvel at spending that much time closely confined with a family member and no form of entertainment other than books or (gasp) conversation. On a deeper, and perhaps even more interesting level, this is an account of the mental and emotional journey taken by a father and son. Alternating between the voices of the romantic, dramatic David, and his cynical, directionless son Daniel, it is a vivid picture of a troubled but enduring relationship. The two play off of eachother in the narrative much as they must have played off of each other during that year-long solitary voyage. As you read, you feel sometimes the cramped environment of two such different men forced to live in such a small space, and sometimes admiration, for the almost wordless emotional partnership of two men who share love for each other and for the sea; a partnership whose strength is attested by their accomplishment. Finally, it is subtly mythical tale of a father who learns to acknowledge his son's adulthood, and a son who learns to accept a leadership role in the family. Generations of seafaring fathers weave in and out of the narrative and become part of the heroic quest. Sometimes jokey, sometimes over-sentimental, the narrative tone varies wildly (and sometimes annoyingly) but the book itself is easy to read and interesting, as the simple details of the voyage open up the interior lives of the voyagers.

This book was a wonderful surprise, one I heartily recommend to sailors and land-lovers with equal enthusiasm. The thrill of this father-son journey 17,000 miles around Cape Horn is an exciting and entertaining adventure, recorded each step of the way in a jointly kept journal. Each man has a definite perspective on the trip, and their evolving relationship is as interesting as the ports of call. Cramped together in a confined space, virtually exposed to the elements and at sea for weeks at a time, a kind of role-reversal takes place on board -- David recognizes that he's not in charge and his son is the one who'll be responsible for taking them safely around the Horn, while Daniel grapples with the realization that comes to all children, that his father is only human.

David and Daniel Hays are the first Americans to sail around Cape Horn in a boat under 30 feet in length. "My Old Man and the Sea" is the inspiring true story of a father and son's 17,000-mile voyage in a 25-foot yacht named Sparrow to the bottom of the world and back.
Although David and Dan sailed the easier route from the Pacific into the Atlantic with the prevailing westerly winds and currents they endured horrific storms that included Dan being tossed overboard during Sparrows dangerous sideways roll.
The tale is even more impressive when you learn that they chose to sail simply, without an engine and used a sextant and compass instead of a navigational system. David explains, "Our sport is to tune our senses not our instruments."
David and Dan's eloquent descriptions of the magnificence of the ocean and the magic of sailing brought back fond memories of my own six-month adventure hitchhiking on sailboats in the Bahamas. Like them, I was inspired to write a book titled "Earth, the Forgotten Temple." Tales concerning profound encounters with Mother Ocean and her other wilderness places need to be shared.
Most moving of all, despite conflicts, the deep love between the father and the son shine through to warm us all.

This book provides you with patterns for creating conceptual data models. It's not practical, though, in that it does not provide insight into how to go from conceptual to real. In fact, it's almost useless.

These "patterns" are nothing more than concepts that good data modelers instinctively know already.

Also, his ER modeling techniques are a bit outdated.

Finally, this book is very, very dense and difficult to read. He just describes how to set up the models in very dense language, without going into the why's. It becomes virtually unreadable after the second or third pattern.

There are other, more recent books out there which provide better, more up to date thinking on this nascent topic (which I believe is still years, if not decades away from truly practical modeling/process techniques).

For years, I searched for a book that would bridge the gap between the theoretical principles of relational database design and the actual application of those principles to a real-world problem; a reference with practical, industry-specific examples of complete data models. David Hay's book is that, and much more. Data Model Patterns provides models for specific enterprise "types". But it goes a step further by generalizing many common entities and relationships to emphasize that, although details differ, there are striking similarities between analogous data structures across enterprises. Along the way, he points out some of the more common mistakes in data model design and how to avoid them (e.g. building "relationship" information into the structure of an entity or failing to recognize the distinction between the existance of an entity and the actual use of that entity). This book is packed with diagrams, descriptions, and analysis tips. It's contribution to my understanding of data model analysis and design is nothing less than transcendental. David, you should rename this book "Zen and the Art of Data Model Patterns"!

Tour de force! This book is up there with Gamma et al's "Design Patterns" and Booch's "Object-Oriented Design" for helping me to achieve a breakthrough understanding of--in this case--database-oriented data models. Hays walks the reader through all the important domains of business--people, assets, accounting, contracts, document management, projects--and builds a concrete data model of each domain. As he proceeds through each model he draws comparisons to the previous ones revealing patterns common to all the domains. In the last chapter he summarizes the patterns and build a universal data model that applies to all domains. I believe this book can be very helpful in the development of data models in any field for two reasons. One, you can view the domain you are dealing with as a variation on one or more of the domains he presents and apply elements to your situation. Two, you can view your domain under the more abstract concepts that cut across all the domains. It's the combination and synthesis of both these elements that makes the book powerful and led me to a few moments of data modeling nivrana.

This book won't help you to make tough physical database design decisions, but it may be indispensable to understanding the prerequisite analysis.

Heal Your Body is essential for anyone in the healing/counseling profession in order to raise awareness of the mind/body connection. This small book is packed with wisdom. Ms. Hay does an excellent job with her vast list of illnesses and concise, yet "open" descriptions of "probable emotional causes" of illnesses. I have gained great insights from using this book as have my clients and friends. Its also an enlightening, reasonably priced gift for those on the healing path!

I only hope that the author continues to add to the list of illnesses/sources as more wisdom is acquired.

B.Brinn-MS-SLP, Spiritual and Human Yoga as well as Reiki Practioner

This little blue book has been a constant companion over the past several years. This is apparent when you see the dog-eared, scotch taped book that might be laying around anywhere in my house. It never seems to stay on the shelf where I could easily locate it! Someone is always touting it here and there as they check up on the little "chronic ailments" that crop up from time to time. "Why do you supposed I broke the fingernail on THAT finger?" "You know that is the same vertebra that keeps going out - let's look it up and see what your body is telling you" or "You know our whole family seems to favor heart disease....we're always fighting melancholy and depression." I used to get calls from family and friends to "look up" what's happening with their various ailments. Now most of them have their own volumes. The more you understand from this book, the more you can see the patterns of communication your body is using to get you to "wake up" and change your thoughts and expectations. Louise Hay is truly a great pioneer in this effort to enlighten us about how it is really true - "As a man thinketh, so is he". I highly recommend this book and the doorway it opens into understanding how each of us can become increasingly accountable for the level of health we choose to enjoy. Most importantly, I'm grateful for the understanding that you will receive MORE of what you FOCUS on. When you think about the aches and pains - you receive an abundance of those very things! It's important to remember, as you get older, to refrain from "scuffing your feet along" and pick 'em up and put 'em down with vigor and intention! I love feeling like a powerful contributor to my own good health by seeing myself well and whole and then aligning my behavior to that deeply held vision! I am grateful for Louise sharing her insights and experiences. The affirmations are great and "cut through the confusion" about "how do I change this thought!"

I just finished reading Louise L. Hay's "You Can Heal Your Life." It was wonderful. Matter of fact I've started reading it all over again. I loved it and would love to read every book by her. Thanks Louise!