We've all heard about the Cuban Missile Crisis, or at least we think we have. This book gives us an informative in-depth study of what really went on. It also allows the reader to see the rethinking of policies between the nations involved in the Cold war, the US, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. I recomend you read it!

M. L. Fischer is a street philosopher, a theological anarchist and a disturbing writer, AND, I needed to hear his prophetic voice deriding the techno-conforming world in which we live. Throughout this book he challenges the reader to rethink core belief systems - question authority and normalcy.

If you need "the system" to get you through life, then this is not the book for you. To say that "Shattering the Crystal Face of God" is radical is an understatement; i.e. "God didn't throw Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. Greed, petty and selfish people fought over it until they destroyed it. We created the gods we needed to punish ourselves for our sins against ourselves and the planet. We are the instruments of our own damnation, and no savior is going to come along to absolve us. If we are to be saved, we've got to do it ourselves.". Get his message? Fischer is not subtle.

The only thing that is sacred to M.L. Fisher is truth. His search for truth reminds me of Mahatma Gandhi's epigram "The search for truth is a search for God. Truth is God.". Provocatively, Mahatma gave his life to the search for truth, and was also an anarchist, but popular anarchists are rewritten by history to come out as revolutionaries, spiritual leaders, and sometimes Gods: Jesus Christ.

Fischer's sixteen chapters capture sixteen perspectives that are best read not straight through but in spurts. Each chapter was a joy to read. Not all of his writing is philosophical. Often, Fischer, alias "The Tripper", takes the reader on his wanderings, mostly in the California central coastal area near Big Sur. "Descending the panorama trail", he writes, "I waded through the chest deep flowers of the coastal early spring. Looking out, I lost track of the temporal". Time is a subject that M. L. Fischer often talks about and losses track of. For M.L., time is a figure of speech and is best dealt with by living in the moment.

It is interesting that Spencer Johnson's bestseller "Who Moved My Cheese?" (published in September 1998 and on best-seller lists for nearly two years) is about rethinking the concepts which define your life, your reality (especially economic) and then moving on with life. M. L. Fischer does the same thing in "Shattering the Crystal Face of God" but, as the title infers, more intensely, and he has totally skipped the 5th Ave. packaging and marketing. "Trade in your tired conceptions for some fresh perceptions. The world is far more interesting and complex than you can imagine.". This is a book that deserves to be read. Recommended 4.5 Stars

From the back...
An unparalleled Christmas! Lynn Mckinney Russell had a lot on her plate. Two new stepdaughters-one at the rebellious adolescent stage-a new baby on the way, a trainer who'd been mistreating her beloved horse, Lightning, and one new husband, whose overprotectiveness was driving her wild! Still Lynn was determined to make the best Christmas ever-till a series of harrowing "accidents" threatened to turn the festive season upside down. Lynn's lifelong cocoon of security disppeared with the cool Texas wind, and Christmas became an experience no Russell or McKinney was ever likely to forget!

In my Opinion...
We were first introduced to Lynn and Sam in 'White Lightning.' After a tough start Sam and Lynn seemed to have found love and were headed towards happily ever after. Unfortunatly, in this book real life hits. Not everything is roses in the Russell household. Allie Russell, Sam's daughter, is going through a rebellious teenage stage. Allie also seems to blame all her problems on Lynn. There is also the added stress of a new baby on the way. Sam is also having financial problems that he is keeping from Lynn. And if all that was not bad enough, there all these little accidents that seem to be happing to the Russell family and Lynn in particular. The ending has you holding your breath. It was nice to have another book on Lynn, Sam, and their growing family. It was especially sweet to have 'Little Hank' join the the McKinney-Russell clan.

I purchased this reference as soon as I could fit it into my budget. There are no references written for Crystal Decisions enterprise level products and I was excited to see one in the works.

I purchased the book for it's attempt to describe the features of the products and how they are designed to work together, from the Crystal Enterprise components to Crystal Analysis Pro. Probably a full 25% of the book is spent on customizing Crystal Enterprise for a web site or web application. The explanations are easy to understand and cover the major points necessary to make the product work.

I am not a big fan of the "Special Edition" book series because I find them to be too general. This one fits the content style of the series to a 'T'. If you need a general reference on the Crystal Enerprise/Crystal Analysis Pro products, by all means, by this book. If you have been "knee-deep" in the product since it's release, you will probably not find any grand revelations here. It succeeds at trying to be what it is: a solid, general product reference.

Also, it is written by Crystal Decisions employees and certified trainers/consultants so you will not be told about any bugs or shortcomings in the product.

I gave it four stars just for the breadth of content and since it is the only reference for Crystal Enterprise, you can honestly say it is the best. To me, it is worth the money spent.

This story puts a warrior role on Christians. It feature seven young people, who have been taken from a familar world to a strange land, with even stranger things in it, like dragons. I found "The Spell of the Crystal Chair" encouraging, and well-written. Although I got confused some of the time, all around this was a good book. If you are a Christian and need to put life into your relationship with the King, this might be just what you need!

From the back...
Something sinister is going on at the Gibson's Flying Horse Ranch, and veterinarian Manny Hernandez is determined to get to the bottom of it. But his single-mindedness might cost him the love of Tracey Cotter, the numbers whiz behind the success of the new Cal McKinney boots. The stakes are unbearably high: his career, his reputation–and Tracey.

My opinion...
Tracey was introduced to us earlier in Amarillo by morning, the story of Cal and Serena. Of course, as the local veterinarian Manny has been mentioned often in previous books. Tracey and Manny seem like two completely different people. Besides their cultural and religious differences they also have to deal with Manny's very demanding job. Manny's focus is on the Flying Horse Ranch where Bubba's animals are dying. If you thought Bubba's actions in previous books were awful, believe me he gets worse in this book. I liked this book and I would have liked it more if the author focused a little more on Manny and Tracey. Several characters from previous books made an appearance in this story. Good addition to Crystal Creek series.

The photographs are excellent! The history of the company is interesting with information on designers, jewelry, crystal, fashion and much more. Very nicely done.

"Tensor Properties of Crystals" introduces gradually the reader to the physical properties of anisotropic crystals. It is a remarkable book from the pedagogical point of view. In contrast with other books in the field it doesn't require a deep previous knowledge of mathematics and crystallography. Crystal symmetry and tensors are introduced in a very comprehensive way in the first two chapters. The remaining chapters are devoted to the areas of elasticity and electric and optical properties of anisotropic crystals. Some worked examples are very useful, specially to those who are begining with tensor manipulation. (These comments refer to the 1st edition of the book (1989)).

This classic text is a complete treatise on the concept of dislocations and their interactions with various other defects in crystalline materials. The dislocation concept is built up using basic theory of linear elasticity (Part 1 of the text). Hence, this book is ideal for someone with an elaborate background in Mechanics/Elasticity and looking to extend their backgroud in Crystal Plasticity from a Materials Science perspective. Parts 2-4 of the book will be of particular interest, as they deal with substantial Materials Science issues important at the atomic/meso-scale level.

For a Materials Scientist, while Part I might prove to be a challenge, as the references might not be as helpful as one might like (the authors do confess to not being exhaustive in their literature survey), Part 2-4 would be particularly useful in developing a basic intuition in the various dislocation-based phenomena important for understanding the various structure-property relationships that exist in crystalline materials.