The Stone of Destiny or Lia Fail, also called the Stone of Scone, was for centuries the coronation "throne" of the Celtic Kings of Scotland. Nearly 700 years ago, Edward Plantagenet, King of England supposedly stole the Stone from the Scots in 1296 after his forces defeated John de Balliol's army of Scots at the Battle of Dunbar. Edward carried it back to Westminster Abbey and had a throne built around it in 1301 for the English Monarchs. So the last King of the Scots to sit up the Stone was John de Balliol. In 1996 the English returned the Stone of Destiny in a big production on the eve of Scotland's partial independence from England.

Only the question has been asked for 700 years: is this the real Stone of Destiny or a mockery? The drawings of the Stone from that period (you can see them on the seals of the Kings), show a taller stone, high enough to be a true chair, with Erse drawings and symbols all around the base. Described as a hard, glassy black stone, it was smooth, slick on the sides - a far cry from the rough-cut, slab of red sandstone Edward the Longshanks dragged back from Scotland. So the questions came. Had the Scots hurriedly made the substitution and hidden the true Stone of Destiny away? Did they hurried quarry this red sandstone slab and put it in Lia Fail's place giving the English King a fake to carry away? Two years after taking away the Stone Edward came back to Scone Abbey and ripped it apart. Was he hunting for the real stone? Another scenario, Edward arrived to find the Stone gone, and in a bit of perverse humour, had the sandstone slab quickly chiseled out and paraded before the Scottish Nobility in August 1296 at Berwick when they arrived to sign the Ragman Roll and take oath of allegiance to an English King. He knew it was fake, knew the Scots knew, but also was aware they could not say so out loud or else risk his Angevin temper when they refused to produce it. At one point after Edward's death, Edward II made a promise to return the Stone to Robert the Bruce. The promise went unfulfilled. Some say the Bruce refused it knowing it was a fake. This only added fuel to the belief this was not the real Stone.

If this stone sitting in Edinburgh Castle today is not the real Lia Fail, then what happened to it? That is the question Scotland's great writer the late Nigel Tranter turned his attention to when he penned The Stone. This book, written in 1958, has been reprinted several times, and again drew a lot of interest in the middle 90's when the discussion came up about returning it to Scotland. Finding a copy was hard. Tranter blends myth, fact and speculation into a satisfying tale of a race to discover the hiding place of the real stone and protect it from those bent on using it. He weaves his love for Scotland, its history and legend in to one of his best works. Those not familiar with the lore of the Stone of Destiny or perhaps has not read Tranter before, I cannot think of a better introduction. Once in a great while, there comes a writer that has the ability to 'walk in the past', to make you join him on that journey. Tranter was just such a magick talent and this book shines with it.

I've just finished reading "The Stone" (my first Tranter novel) and am reminded of the great books of my childhood which left me feeling sad as I turned the last page. I didn't want the book to end! Mr. Tranter's lyrical depiction of Scotland was transporting and I'm afraid I will always believe the story to be true somewhere in the back of my mind. His story and characters are amazingly real and believable. Maybe the real Stone of Scone truly is buried in a bog in the Highlands?

This is a great book for any "Sunset Blvd." fan. Although it's out of print, I was able to find numerous copies (on sale) at most Waldenbooks stores.

This book is the most sensational bit of reading and viewing avalible today, the pictures are stunning and the book will capture your heart and bring back so many wonderful memories of one of the best musicals of all time - ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER, I HOPE YOUR READING THIS! YOUR FANTASTIC!

"Super Threats" is the poor man's answer to fighting back. When I first heard about this book I had just lost some money to some one promising me they could get me a homr equity loan. But I had to put some money up front to "process" the paper work. After getting this book and reading it I decided to launch my own "Super Threat" to try and see if I could get all or part of my money back. Following the books instructions to the letter I sent a letter in the format outlined in the book. I even went out and got the "Certified Mail" stamps with the certified number so I could put that number in my letter. One of the tips in the book. Within four days I not only got my all my money back, I got a great letter of apolagy from the CEO of the company. Need I say more?

I have used the suggested templates for 2 different consumer complaints, modifying them to suit each situation and in both cases the results exceeded my expectations.

Dexter Dunphy and colleagues have written an excellent volume based on their work in Australia pulling together the environmental community and the corporations they criticized to find common ground. They develop a solid framework for assessing sustainability in a sense far broader than just the environment, establishing stages by which corporate and community action can be assessed. Carefully selected examples and cases illustrate their points. Their intellectual framework is similar to the one used to look at diversity here in the United States, and manages to demystify and depoliticize at the same time.

The environmentalist, the corporate social responsibility advocate and the organization development practitioner will all find what they need in this book. The last chapter reads like the proposal for Dexter's latest book, but this one is the place to start.

I can't wait to hear Dexter keynote at the Organization Development Network's Conference in Portland, Oregon in October!

A terrific compilation of contemporary Australian thinking about actioning sustainability. Essential reading for all those involved with transforming organisations around sustainability principles.

This book contains a wealth of information for serious Tai Chi practitioners. It may feel a little difficult to learn the complete long form from this book alone , but it can act as an useful companion to the author's beginner's tape on Taijiquan (MTG1). Tai Chi is being constantly abused by con masters many of whom happen to come from the land of its origin and as a result myriad short forms are being devoloped to make it easy and accessible. But, there is no substitute for hard work. As someone who had been practicing the complete long form for sometime now and greatly benefited from it, my advise to beginners would be to learn from authentic materials such as this. Begin slowly. After one learns the 'opening form' and 'grasping sparrow's tail', even repeating these two forms perhaps a dozen times on both sides would give one actual tangible benefit. And, don't rush to the next until you truely master the previous form. May you realize the Tao.

This is a beautifully illustrated book. The demonstrations in the photographs are extremely well done. As one of the greatest martial artists teaching publicly today, Erle Montaigue really knows his Taiji. Although the instructions seem simple, they are actually very adequate and very clear. The clear, large pictures allow the readers to see not only Erle's postures, but also his eyes and facial expressions. Although an absolute beginner might not find eye movements and facial expressions important, proper Tai Chi performance does involve getting the eye movements and the mood right. So the extraordinarily clear pictures are really a wonderful boon to the reader.

I have only two complaints about the book: 1) Like a lot of other martial arts books, the spelling of Chinese names and terms does not follow any consistent rule. This makes it very difficult for readers to do cross checking between books. 2) The photos in the introduction showing various Chinese people exercising (probably selected by the editor(s) rather than Erle) are somewhat misleading. Only one of the five photos show Taiji practice--and the practitioners in the pictures are obviously beginners.

I have found in recent years a growing interest in Christian mysticism and a growing pleasure in books that offer the insights of the mystics for the general public's enjoyment (as opposed to denser more scholarly tomes, which, while having a valuable place and worth accessing, don't really add to one's daily activities the way devotionals do.)

This lovely little book has a very nice variety, although not all entries are from "mystics" in the way that we usually think of that term (e.g. Gregory of Nyssa, Mother Teresa, George Herbert, Gerard Manly Hopkins). But that's fine, because these are still valuable spiritual voices. Don't worry, though, for most of the entries are from well-known mystics (Hildegard, Mechtild, Angela of Foligno, Catherine of Siena, Julian of Norwich, St. John of the Cross.)

Some names were unfamiliar to me, but pleasant to read nonetheless, such as Saint Isaac the Syrian, one of whose entries could be a rallying cry for animal rights supporters everywhere, and which enjoins charitable folks to pray even for demons and reptiles. : ) Feminists will delight in Marguerite of Oingts cry, "Jesus are you not my mother?"

Very welcome passages include some of the sayings of the desert fathers (lovely, brief, instructive stories) and some pertinent Scripture passages (excerpts from the incomparable Sermon on the Mount, from the gospels of Mark and John,from the Revelation, and from the writings of Paul).

It closes blessedly with a familiar passage from Teresa of Avila, which, if you haven't heard it done musically by John Michael Talbot, you ought to try and do so!-- "Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours, yours are the eyes through which he is to look out Christ's compassion to the world..."

*Mir*

This book has earned a permanent place on my bedside table as a valuable source of comfort and inspiration. The entries are brief, thought-provoking, and heart-opening. They provide an excellent way to center the mind and heart in preparation for meditation and prayer.

As a big fan of Jim Clark and the Indianapolis 500, I had to have this book for my very large Indianapolis 500 memorabilia collection. Although Lotus wasn't the first rear-engine race car in Indianapolis 500 (Jack Brabham did it in 1961 with a Cooper-Climax), the Lotus was the most successful of the mid-1960's marques. Jim Clark won the the 1965 Indianapolis 500 and the Lotus he drove was the first rear-engine race car to win the race. The "Old Guard" was upset that they got beat by a Green car but soon everyone either had a Lotus or a Lotus clone. In addition to winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1965, Jim Clark finished 2nd in the 1963 and 1966 races.

Many fans of motor racing and of the Indy "500" in particular are always on the lookout for more inside stories and details about the men who race and the teams behind them. This book gives the inside story of Lotus' involvement at Indianapolis in great heaping handfuls. Unlike many motor racing books which focus primarily on facts and statistics, Ferguson adds a great deal of his personal perspective into the book. There is even an account about the author and Colin Chapman competing for the attention of the same woman! Even though the book focuses on Lotus, it is a valuable reference for anyone who wants to learn more about the big bucks and politics involved with racing at "The Speedway" in the 1960's. Packed with great B&W as well as color photographs.

I enjoy reading history books. This has to be one of my all time favorite history books. The fact that many years after its publication, it is still in print speaks to its continuing popularity.

If you are interested in presidential history, this is the book for you. Dr. Williams has done a lot of intense research about the U.S. presidents who hail from Tennessee.

This is a must have book for all history lovers. Dr. Williams does a great job of bringing the Tennessee presidents to life. I learned so much I did not know about the presidents and their lives.

It's not easy to write a book, it's even harder to write the perfect book, but Caroline did it.

For years I've bought dozens and dozens of home, garden and crafts books. Some of them are really good books, most of them are just beautiful editions with magazine like editorial content, and the smallest part of them are composed by some really, really, marvellous books.

In my large collection of home and garden books I choose "Textile Style : The Art of Using Antique and Exotic Fabrics to Decorate Your Home" as my number one book, what means the best of the bests.

Since I bought it turned the most important among the others, the most read, the most manipulated, the most talked about.

So, I really recommend it!!!

The other books of Caroline are not pieces of art like "Textil Style" but they all show she's a very good home designer.

This is a fantastic design book. Beautifully photographed and organized in a sensible and intuitive way, anyone interested in design or textiles will love it. Most of the interiors pictured are in London, and there is a bias for that quirky British "more is more" style. So it you're looking for decorating inspiration for your minimalist home this book may not be very helpful. Otherwise, it's wonderful. I find myself referring to it again and again.

If your child enjoys the Thedore Tugboat shows on PBS, he or she will really like this book. Most of the usual characters appear -- Emily, Foduck, Hank, George and the Dispatcher are all on hand as Theodore learns that his unique "Toot! Toooot!" not only feels right but expresses his personality to others.

At twenty-three pages, this lovely book is best suited to children who are ready to hear a little bit longer story, and is most valuable to those who are socializing and learning self-acceptance.

This little tugboat learns a lesson about himself as he struggles to find his own identity. First, he was worried about others' opinions of him. Then, he tries to mimic his friends' whistles because he wants to sound important, strong, and confident. He ends up losing his "toot" in the process and gaining it again only after realizing that he is special just the the way he is (or sounds). This is a wonderful story that gives the active reader for preschool children and young readers alike, a wonderful opportunity to engage their attention and open the doors to predictions and participation with the text.