Every day, or so it seems, another 20 or so "Self-Help" books hit the shelves, reminding us that we are quite a bit less perfect than we would like to be, or at least think we should be. What fuels this river of words, pictures and techniques for making us more acceptable is nothing less than that voice from somewhere inside us telling us we're still not 'good enough', 'smart enough', 'thin enough', 'rich enough' or 'loved enough'. We have no clear notion of whose voice this is, how it came to occupy a place of such prominence within us, why it is so easy to hear and hard to ignore, and worst of all, what might actually constitute "enough" of anything.

The simple truth, according to one of the author's insightful models, is that:

"In relation to emotional history, the mind predicts and projects that if you behave a certain way...people are going to respond to you in a predicted manner...If you violate a "known" rule, behave non-habitually, allow yourself to be seen or your feelings to be known, a previously felt "negative" will be repeated." (p. 71 The Body's Map of Consciousness.)

We all know the variety of ways our own caregivers defined and expressed their "negative" messages to us, and learned that the easier way to not have to feel them again was to anticipate their judgments and apply them inwardly, before they did.

Our perception of judgments from without, coupled with the emotional pain we self-inflict when distancing ourselves from the nurturing we so desperately needed from our caregivers, translates unintentionally ands reflexively to physical patterns of defensive posturing. These postures (like cringing, ducking or hunching the shoulders) can quickly become habitual and unconscious defenses that insure that we don't allocate more energy or attention to potential hurts than is absolutely necessary. Consciousness IS an efficient, if occasionally short-sighted ally.

Integrated Awareness® is a gentle, non-invasive method for helping us to become more neutral and objective observers of our own non-conscious, defensive habits so that we may opt to drop some of them, or at least make adjustments to them that more appropriately reflect current, adult circumstances. "The Body's Map of Consciousness, Vol. 1" distinguishes itself from most other mind/body/emotion self-help books by clearly and coherently describing both how the various interwoven Physical, Mental, Emotional and Energetic systems constituting Consciousness interface and influence each other, and how we can help 'ourselves' by making better choices about how those systems might work more effectively for us in the days ahead.

The authors have taken great care to make the information in this book easily approachable to a wide audience. The movement sequences are extremely user-friendly and clear and all requirements for practicing some disciplined set of exercises "correctly" (like yoga or tai-chi for example) in order to succeed are thankfully absent here. This is an exceptional introduction to 'mapping' Consciousness, compassionately prepared and coherently presented, in a tone that encourages us to see ourselves more positively and to "be" who we are, instead of that person we thought we were "supposed" to be. This is a large order for a small (100 pp.) book, but it more than accomplishes its mission and whets our appetities for the next two projected volumes.

This book has served me well as a way to further my healing experience, and as a way to share information about Integrated Awareness with others. Lansing and Julie have done an outstanding job capturing the compassion and grace inherent in Integrated Awareness, and providing further opportunities for me for change, growth, harmony and healing in my life. I love this work, and I love this book.

The Body's Map of Consciousness, Book I is the story of Integrated Awareness, a healing modality that is based on discovering for oneself that we can take responsiblity for our own health. The book guides one through certain movements that helped me discover feelings, beliefs and attitudes I was not conscous of holding. I have re-experienced body memories of my childhood that helped me remember what I really felt as a kid about my family, about the death of my grandmother and about the decisons I made as a kid. This helped me reassess beliefs I had about my childhood. Maybe my childhood wasn't as bad as I thought it was! Anyway, I really liked the book and I hope you will too. - Mary Caldwell

Having read all three parts of the Divine Comedy; then examining this reference book/work, i.e., The Dante Encyclopedia (Special - Reference) by Richard Lansing(Editor), Teodolinda Barolini(Editor) was a natural conclusion. The Encyclopedia is divided into 13 parts; starting with a well written and entertaining preface; then we have a few pages of abbreviations; which is followed by the list of contributors (which is a nice touch and shows the user, that undertaking this task , i.e., creating The Dante Encyclopedia (Special - Reference) by Richard Lansing(Editor), Teodolinda Barolini(Editor) was indeed a daunting task). Later with have maps and illustrations and then the encyclopedia starts. I was very interested in the chronology of the life of Dante and then there is a list of popes from 33-1334, followed by Roman and Holy Roman Emperors. Furthermore there are four quite interesting additions; these being, Recorded musical settings of the comedia, reference works, index of Italian and Latin proper names in Dante's Works and finally (and last but not least by any means or stretch of the imagination in any shape or form for that matter) is the general index. I would verily say, state and write that I was extremely pleased, impressed and satisfied with this encyclopedia, i.e., The Dante Encyclopedia (Special - Reference) by Richard Lansing(Editor), Teodolinda Barolini(Editor) and I do consider to be a must have for the learned man/scholar.

Prof. Richard Lansing's Dante Encyclopedia is a reference work of deep interest, wide scope, and unimpeachable authority. General readers, students, and scholars--especially those who are English-based--are bound to make this volume their Dante reference of choice. Hundreds of clear, intelligent, and up-to-date entries from today's best-respected Dante scholars discuss every person and place mentioned in Dante's works as well as a vast number of biographical, historical, and cultural topics. The encyclopedia will appeal to anyone who is looking for a better appreciation of the poet's background, achievement, and critical legacy.

The maps and schematic drawings at the beginning of the encyclopedia are the best of their kind. The text is interspersed with an abundance of fine photographs and illustrations. Appended to the work are a detailed and reliable chronology of the poet's life, useful lists of the popes and emperors, a chronology of musical settings of Dante's Comedy, a list of available recordings of these settings, a list of reference works (including electronic resources), a complete pronouncing index, with textual citations, of the Italian and Latin proper names used by Dante, and an exhaustive index of subjects and illustrations.

So big, so accurate and comprehensive, the Dante Encyclopedia completely supersedes its predecessors and promises to remain authoritative for many years. No college or university, no lover of poetry and world literature will want to be without it.

A fantastic accomplishment! As a longtime Dante enthusiast, I have been waiting for something in English (my Italian not being up to snuff yet) that combines breadth with depth.

As my own metric, I like to pick a topic that is not altogether esoteric and that is the subject of at least several competing theories. In studying Dante, that topic for me is numerology. I was especially pleased to read the article on numerology because the Dante Encyclopedia fairly explained the competing theories on the use of numerology by Dante. Never have I seen one source that provides the in-depth overview that this book does. For the serious student of the classics, this is a must-have! Gracie! And bravo!

This book is both fascinating and broad enough to be reliable as a reference. Can be picked up and flicked through or read topically. Rivals Madigan et al. Excellent illustrations and on the right level for undergrads.

My professor intended this book to be a reference for the microbiology course he taught. I personally found the book to be so interesting and well done that I just dived right into it, and still find more new things each time I crack it open. As a dual Biochemistry and Microbiology major, this book is going on my reference shelf.

The included microbes in motion CD is easily worth 50$ or so. The program is organised into modules with video, audio, animation and interactive quizes. It is significantly large and covers two-semesters worth of information. One of the best programs to aid in study around. Done by a group in Canada. I can't give it adaquate praise. If I was going to study micro undergrad again I would buy this package regardless of what text was recommended by the prof.

This book is one of the best basic texts for microbioloby I have ever seen. It has remained on my self and has been repeatedly used from undergrad (with Dr. Prescott)through medical school. Its diagrams and pictures are wonderful and add to the appropriately in-depth texts. Broad topics covering all aspects of microbioloby from marine to medicine. Simply the best.

We received this book as a gift when my son was probably six or seven. He still loves the book three years later. As a parent who enjoys reading to my children, this book is especially fun to "perform" as the words are exaggerated and the pictures are fantastic. There's nothing better than storytelling at its best; this book really lures children to love to read at an early age. Highly recommended. We plan to order the other books by Richard & Randy Lansing!

This book and the other three books by Richard Lansing offer parents, teachers and other readers a wonderful opportunity to read to children. The involvment of the listeners and the delightful conclusions to each of the stories are unique and surprising. Mr. Lansing's books are a must for every elementary school library.

With exceptional clarity Professor Carol Lansing profiles the lives and underlying social climate facing everyday Cathars in the medieval town of Orvieto. Scavenging from a paucity of first-hand documentation, Professor Lansing skillfully weaves together a factual vista, based on anecdotal testimonies researched in Italian archives, on medieval Cathar life in Italy. The book is enjoyable to read on a number of fronts, above all, Lansing writes in a factual yet entertaining manner. There are a number of historical curiosities that grace the pages. Far from exercising a categorically defined homogenous faith system Lansing portrays Cathar life in Medieval Orvieto as a heterogeneous community comprising a varying and often contradictory belief system that combined forms of Manichean dualism along with Apostolic Christianity as well as strong Catholic influences. It seems there was an important cleft in degrees of religious belief and practice that separated lay Cathars from Perfects who appeared to epitomize the full faith of Catharism in docrtrine and praxis. Power and Purity is a fascinating read that provides a valuable contribution to this rare and often overlooked historical subject.

I keep coming back to this title where other texts like Foley and Van Dam and Angel come short. All the basic hidden surface and shading techniques from which today's architectures are derived are described in detail. Modeling techniques are left out. My only wish was that there was a more recent collection including current hardware accelerators, plus some modeling techniques like subdivision surfaces and DirectX 8's patches.

This is a wonderful collection of very important papers on image synthesis. It's all there: hidden surface removal, ray tracing, radiosity, texture mapping, and anti-aliasing. The annotated bibliography at the end is very helpful.

This series is one of the best of the Vietnam action/adventure genre. Although some of the men do seem super human, Black Eagles is distinguished for the fact that some of the good guys die during the course of each book. And lest the reader grow complacent, this time they lose a charter member of the squad. The Eagles are trying to stop a spy ring that is sending information on them to the Russian KGB. Instead of having the haven of their usual jungle battlefield, the squad is stuck in the streets of Saigon trying to rescue their female agent from the enemy.

The McFie family were active in the history of Mesilla Valley, New Mexico. In 1903, Maude Elizabeth McFie (Bloom) as a senior at New Mexico A&M, and for her regional history drew from original interviews with the men and women who settled in the Dona Ana Bend Colony Grant (and the other grants in the Valley), members of the Missouri Volunteers who marched south through the Valley to El Paso in order to participate in the Battle of Brazito, the California Column which arrived in the Mesilla Valley during the Civil War and remained to settle. Edited by Lansing B. Bloom with annotations by Jo Tice bloom, A History Of The Mesilla Valley, 1903 is a small gem of regional history made available for a new generations of readers. It is as engaging as it is informative, and would aptly serve as a model for similar histories for other parts of the American southwest.

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OK, just go order this book right now and read it.

Now that we have that out of the way. Wow what a story! Ernest Shackleton what a man. Since the south pole had already been "discovered", in 1914 Shackelton decided to dog sled across the continent of Antarctica! Unfortunately opon reaching the east coast his ship became locked in the ice eventually completely demolished by the ice flow. Cast out they lived on a floating ice pack for five months! When they were down to one small berg they abandoned the ice and sailed in very small lifeboats to a barren rock Elephant Island. Here the majority stayed behind and Shackleton and small group sailed again in one of the lifeboats over 600 miles to a whaling port! Talk about endurance, the word pales in the accomplishment of these men. And mostly in the fortitude of will that one man Shackleton had.

Some enlightening aspects:

The men on Elephant Island so desperate for cigarettes they smoked the inside packing of their boots.

Shackleton dirty, stinky and having just climbed over impassible mountains knocking on the door of the whaling portmasters door and stating:

"My Name is Shackleton".

I highly recommend this white-knuckle, bone crunching, gut-wrenching adventure story that you will not be able to put down and will enthrall you. I was so excited I also bought the complete photo record by Frank Hurly.
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I literally couldn't put this book down. And that rarely happens. Yes, the story begins slowly as Lansing has to give us some background on the crew and some context for the expedition, which goes as planned for the first few months. But both the story and Lansing's telling of it become increasingly compelling as the events become more and more unbearable.

I mean, think about being stuck on a floating island of ice for 5 months, eating seals and penguins, exposed continually to sub-freezing (even sub-zero) conditions roughly 1000 miles from civilization's last outpost. And the truly horrendous conditions are yet to come! The story pushes you well into the territory of the unimaginable... and just keeps going. There seems no end to their trials, no constraints on the degree of their suffering. And yet all survive.

Others have said the Lansing version is the best, and I was very satisfied to read it first. It has narrative power. But I would also recommend you buy Caroline Alexander's book as a companion, mainly for Hurley's amazing photos but also for even more context on the flawed aspects of most expeditions during this period and the class differences among the Endurance's crew.

Still, this a story everyone should know. It really stretches the limits of what one imagines is humanly possible for one to endure. It's as if Shackleton and his men made definitive claim, for all time, to some capacity for survival that should make us all potentially much stronger than we tend to think we are.

The story of the ill-fated 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, bent on glory, but ultimately humbled to the barest thread of survival. The Endurance becomes locked in an ice pack in the Weddell Sea, and is eventually crushed and sunk. The ship goes screaming into the icy deep. The men scurry for safety onto the surrounding ice. And that's just the beginning. I'm frankly surprised ANYONE survived this horrendous ordeal; if this were a novel, I'd say it's far-fetched. But it happened, and all hands survived. Imagine an acute scarcity of food, months on end in darkness, an interminable landscape of featureless whiteness, no sanitary facilities, and all through this you're cold and wet, and it's windy, and the temperature's below zero. You eat your sled dogs. You're nauseated from undercooked food. Your face and hands are frostbitten. You shiver even in your sleep. And no one knows you're marooned. Your only escape is to travel by open boat through the gale-wracked Drake Passage-the most treacherous body of water on Earth. Imagine your fingers are frozen numb, and yet you must chip off ice from the sail, and raise the sail, and tie the lines fast. Otherwise you'll sink and die. These men did the impossible-and they lived to tell about it.