Upton Sinclair took a considerable gamble by writing this book and had to withstand a good deal of criticism as a consequence of it. It was obvious, though, that he felt this was a story that needed to be told, and we should be glad he went through with his hunch.

The book is essentially a description of a large number of experiments done in the areas of mental telepathy and remote reviewing, broken down into sets or groups of sessions. The author tends to bend over backwards to convince the public of the sincere intentions of all involved in these tests - mostly his wife, himself, his secretary, brother-in-law and several friends and associates.

The information is presented in a very frank and accessible manner, without a lot of protocol and formality, because the tests were being carried out by non-scientists who were just trying to be as diligent as possible. This in turn makes for easy reading by the layman.

Chapter 21 is a verbatim account by Sinclair's wife (whom he calls by her middle name, Craig). It is both a handbook of her methodologies and a fascinating insight into the way she theorizes the workings of the mind. This is very useful information for anyone wanting a "how to" for remote viewing or telepathic research and is a very simple sequence of instructions. Of course a great deal of practice would be necessary to achieve the necessary level of concentration required. But at least one can have a distinct roadmap to follow as opposed to a lot of vague references.

Author Upton Sinclair is ledgend. What is more complementary to the great authors saga is his soul mate and life's companion, wife Mary. A certain risk in Sinclair's time was the issue of "the occult". Even polite discussion or any association to the subject labeled it's members as outsiders or worse. So is the bravery and love that Upton and Mary Sinclair bring to the reader in enlightenment and discovery. That the "subject" of telepathy and precognitive ability is based intimatly between man and wife, it unfolds in a love story, bringing us closer to the heart and our minds deepest of mystery's. "Mental Radio" is a book of wonderment and love. The reader takes a glimpse into a couples quest to bring understanding to our lives and their discoverys. The book is justly prefaced by none other than Albert Einstien, May 23, 1930.

Leave it to Charlie to find even more Pennsylvania streams! He even includes notable waters in NJ and Ny. This book gives you the opportunity to fish streams that don't get the pressure of some of the more famous waters. The author's cover waters large and small. The book is a bargain, and at retail price equates to 39 cents per stream! Try to find a guide for that.

One of the most interesting books I've read. It has been great for someone that has "cabin fever" this winter. I read about a different stream every night before bedtime. Great reviews on Pocono, Manada, and McMichael Creeks! J. Edwards

"Mike Oliver's Acapulco" is the most captivating history I have ever read of a city. The celebrity, excitement and glamour will never been seen again. What heady times. I am glad you were there to capture them for us so brilliantly. Thank you Mr. Oliver!

Having lived in Acapulco for over 40 years, the book "Mike Oliver's Acapulco" has certainly put the spotlight on this resort

with the stories about all the exciting and world renown visitors, as well as its marvelous events. As the owner of the glass bottom boat Dinka, I find myself talking to passengers about the true happenings related in this book. Once my wife and I started reading the book, we couldn't put it down.

I've loved the art of this period for years, but had little academic grounding in it. This book lets me return to old favorites with new eyes.

This, in common with other volumes in the "Perspectives" series, offers high quality (though small) reproductions of important works, up-to-date analysis and discussion of the art and the contexts in which it was created. Harbison's tone is informative, if ocasionally a little too sententious. But it's a very small price to pay, given the overall excellence of his work in this volume. It's obvious that Harbison loves this period, and he transmits his excitement for these works to the reader in concise language that is accessible to a lay audience.

Of particular interest is the discussion of how the Northern Rennaisance related to and differed from what was going on in Italy at the time. The only major weakness: not enough of a focus on Durer. But it's hard to get sufficient focus on any artist in a book this condensed.

An excellent book for those familiar with the period, or those wanting to get acquainted with a school of art often unjustly overshadowed by its southern contemporary.

Informative, smart and well-written, Craig Harbison's "The Mirror of the Artist" provides an excellent, brief introduction to the sensibility, historical context, and practice of art in the North. From the attitude toward realism, to patronage among the growing class of government bureaucrats, to the market for art or the influence of the Reformation, the book offers an enhanced understanding of artistic interest and social situations in which the paintings were made -- without ever forgetting their aesthetic dimension. The best tribute I can offer is that I immediately went back to Amazon to order Harbison's "Jan Van Eyck: The Play of Realism", a $35 large format paperback. Minor quibble: Although well-illustrated for a paperback this size, with the book just about 6.25" x 9.5", more details should have been illustrated when details were discussed in larger works. (I'm still looking for the barely visible figure of the devil above the cow in the "Portinari Altarpiece".) But this is a rare problem.

This is my all time favorite book! When I was a child, I would get so excited about going back to school. Why? I knew on the first day of school, our Librarian would be reading to our class, "Mr. Wiggles". She would have a special "Mr. Wiggles" voice, and we all loved hearing it. When we reached the fourth grade, the Librarian said she'd no longer be reading "Mr. Wiggles" to us. We were so dissapointed, and asked her to continue. We made sure she knew we would never be too old for "Mr. Wiggles". Now that I am grown, and have a young child of my own, I read it to him. It is my son's favorite book, and our favorite time together. This book, and that Librarian, gave me the love of reading. Hopefully, it will do the same for my children. Read this book to your kids, and you will give them the gift of literacy.

Mr. Wiggle's Book is a very useful tool for the elementary school librarian who is trying to make sure that children take care of their library books. The illustrations are wonderful and very realistic. I have used this book in a story time situation and the children really thought that someone had written or torn this book. After using this book, the children really seem to enjoy making sure that their library books don't end up like Mr. Wiggle's.

I teach massage therapy here in Australia. Often, students will ask about books they should buy in order to become better therapists, and this is one that I always happily recommend. The techniques are well explained and relatively easy to apply. What's more they are safe, as well as beautifully effective. Anyone interested in improving their results with bodywork should have a look at this (and most of Chaitow's work, as far as I am concerned!).

This is the best book I've come across for introducing a novice to the concepts and practice of MET. Chaitow's other books tend to go into very minute detail about the nervous system component of these techniques. This book is very well ordered and the assessments and techniques don't get lost in the minutae. HIs very clear presentation of the far-reaching effects of dysfunction in one part of the body is excellent. If you are interested in these techniques, this is the book! You can then follow up with his other books on the subject, especially Soft Tissue Manipulations. I'm using this book in a medical massage program in which I am an instructor.

I was surprised to see this classic cookbook so far down the popularity list. Checking our kitchen bookcase, where I keep the dozen or so cookbooks I use most often, I found that the copyright date on my hardback was 1981. Well, twenty-two years later, I no longer refer to it weekly because I have learned so much of it by heart, but I certainly use it monthly, and still find it invaluable.

More 60-Minute Gourmet, like its companion volume 60-Minute Gourmet, is a collection of weekly "60-Minute Gourmet" columns published in the New York Times during the 1970s and early 1980s. The recipes comprise a wide variety of cuisines and are uniformly quick and uniformly light (a handful of recipes call for heavy cream, but it can almost always be dispensed with). The ingredients and techniques still work well today - perhaps not the "cutting edge" dishes and presentations one might expect from, say, a Roy Yamaguchi, but mastering the 60-Minute Gourmet recipes will make you capable of cooking almost anything. Consider these as high-quality building blocks for creating your own brand of gourmet cuisine at home.

Keep an eye peeled for the late M. Franey's out-of-print volumes as well. They, too, remain fresh and tasty.

I obtained this book by a fortunate accident - I use it constantly as a reference and, sometimes when I just need to read an interesting anecdote written by somebody who loves not only food, but all that surrounds it.

Pierre Franey does not talk down to his reader, but he does teach.

One of my favorite passages from his book is: "When I have been asked over the years the most basic thing an aspiring cook could be taught, the answer is almost invariable. If you learn a few baic techniques of cookery, the rest is applied logic. If you can make a basic mayonnaise, for example, you can make a sauce remoulade or a sauce tartare with the simple additions of a few ingredients such as choped anchovy, capers, pickles and so on."

I depend on Pierre, not only for his skill as a teacher, but just as much so for his ability to inspire.

I highly recommend this book for the busy professional who desires to make their house a home.

NOTES BY A NOMAD -- TRAVEL STORIES Reviewed, December 2001

There are 4 reasons for you, me, or anyone to read a travel book. The four reasons are questions and Craig Dixon's "Notes by A Nomad" answers 3.5 of them, which makes this book fine reading.

Question 1. Should We Go?

The first reason is to decide whether to go yourself. Here, Dixon excels. Consider his tale: "Foot By Foot Across England." Here, he writes of something I have always wished to do-walk across England, coast to coast. There are NO guidebooks for this type of foot adventure, unless you have fun reading dry, dreary route maps that mean nothing till the day you reach a trail. Nor do guidebooks tell you if you will have "fun"-yes, fun. Instead, they tell you where to stay, where to eat, and what to see along the route.
Dixon does more. He sets himself square in the middle of an English adventure-yes, a genuine adventure-and lets you ride along in his pack, looking out of his eyes. Some days, he has fun; some days he gets lost, or rained on or cold. Sometimes he meets weird and wonderful folk on the trail. Some days his wife Rosy plays Sancho Panza to his Don Quixote. Other days he's quite alone, thoroughly bored and casting his greetings to the passing sheep. On balance, however, he IS having fun-and so are you, taking detailed notes on the pros and cons. On the basis of Dixon's story, my wife and I decided NOT TO GO. Instead, we chose a different trail-which meant that reading Dixon's version was not only entertaining, it was priceless.

Question 2. What can go wrong?

The second reason to read a travel book is to find out what could go wrong on the trip you want to take. Normally, guidebooks NEVER, EVER tell you what might go wrong. They don't lie; they just avoid the topic. Lonely Planet broke the mold by adding a "Dangers and Annoyances" section to its guidebooks. I read it avidly, but it's too short, and tamed down. Dixon is far more honest. He writes of the things that will, in fact, bother you constantly throughout your trip. Want to go to Portugal? Dixon's story "Eight Hours Are Barely Enough" focuses on the sleep you won't get; the dogs that bark all night around your window, and the roosters, fine-tuned to wake you at dawn. He did convince me that Portugal is wonderful-to the point where we have decided to go next year. HOWEVER, THANKS TO DIXON WE WILL PACK 10 PAIRS OF EAR PLUGS. That type of advice makes this book worth reading.

Question 3. Who will we meet?

The third reason to read travel books is to learn what types of people we might meet, and how they will behave. Obviously, the people you meet in Japan will respond differently than those in Jordan. Dixon's stories focus on the people he meets, not the places he sees. One favorite, "My Industrial Strength Summer" travels the Ukraine-which means interacting with Ukrainians. It is a tale of step-and-squat-toilets, vodka, lap-dancers, wheeling, dealing, gifts, bribes and through it all a glimpse into Ukraine's Wild West, in which the cowboys all play capitalist and carry guns. Does this upset you? Go buy a conventional guidebook; it will point the way to every church and monastery in the country, but teach you nothing of life as Ukrainians live it today. Dixon will. How do I know? This time I took his advice and -DID THE TRIP. Was he accurate? Sure.

Question 4. Who is Craig Dixon?

There is a fourth and final reason we read travel books, to learn more about the author. Sometimes nomads are interesting. Sometimes their stories lift us up out of our own little worlds and let us dream. Here, Dixon only gets a half-star. This guy has visited 50 countries, in almost 40 years, finding something interesting in every one of them. Yet, the two-paragraph blurb on the dust jacket doesn't tell us anything except that he can write. We need another chapter, written by the nomad himself about himself. We want to know what started him going, why he went, why he keeps going and why he is so weird and different from the rest of us, in our cozy armchairs, reading his books. That's the chapter he should add to an expanded edition of this book.

Four of the stories that I haven't mentioned above are also worth reading. Try "Back to Bucharest", "South India Startups", "A Day in the Andes", and "Kiwi Kindness". Then start daydreaming. After all, isn't that why we all buy books?

"Notes By A Nomad"
by Craig Dixon

Reviewed by Jonathan Gubin
President, Capital InVentures, Inc.
(...)

I'm a professional writer and have had the unique privilege to be a traveling companion of Craig Dixon for several trips, as has his wife, Rosy.

Notes by a Nomad is Craig Dixon's first book. Dixon is a "TRAVELER". It's obviously the joy of his life. A joy he cheerfully shares with us through a series of short stories, some almost anecdotal in nature, others of greater length.

Craig treats each story as a miniature tableau, an impressionistic portrait. However, these portraits are far more substantial than simple narrative. Within their framework he carefully weaves a story of a trip, the area, its history, the people, the culture and its economics. And he never moves too far from the adventure itself.

By combining travel adventures with business and economic perspectives, a totally fresh synergy to the short story form becomes apparent. What a fascinating combination when you add money! This is natural to Dixon, because when not traveling, or writing, he is a professional financial advisor to wealthy individuals.

In three stories, for example, he works as a volunteer monetary missionary for the Trickle Up Program. Trickle Up, a New York City-based nonprofit, provides up to $100, yes folks just one hundred dollars in equity capital, to the poorest entrepreneurs in the dingiest places on the planet. This capital is designed to help them start their own business

One such story takes place in villages in South India where Trickle Up capital starts one family in the mushroom business, and another where they make a living as rat catchers. He describes trivial details as well as conceptual macroeconomics with total clarity.

In another trip-story, "My Industrial Strength Summer" traveling and working officially as an executive of a large U.S. financial entity, he narrates his financial adventures for the firm in dealing with politicians, bureaucrats and macro-wheeler-dealers in post-Communist Ukraine.

His keen eye discerns the details of his experience with an equally keen sense of comparison. In "Back to Bucharest" he compares two Romanias, one in 1992 at the end of Ceausescu and one in 1995 on a second journey.

He finds the absurd in reality. Like the light bulb vendors in Bucharest who steal light bulbs from hotels and resell them on the street for home use. Or the fake cops there who accost and accuse him of being a money-changer in their temples. (He tells then to bugger off and they do).

In still another adventure he and Rosy trek across England from West to East. Since it's on Craig's home turf this totally toe-twisting hiking narrative is particularly detailed and interesting.

In "A Day in the Andes" he meets the terror of the trail, as Craig on a hiking trip in the Andes encounters danger and must rely on the help of others to get back. He lives to tell the tale. In Thailand he is kidnapped and swindled. And lives to tell that tale, too.

Stylistically, Dixon reveals a sharp biting, sometimes acerbic English wit. Not particularly strange since, after all, he is from England. His narratives are diary-like, and I'm sure, as factually true as memory permits.

Beyond that, hiding behind each story and beneath each bit of travel advice, is an understanding of people. And the fight for survival. Sometimes a story becomes an implied morality play. Other times it's "what the hell" - with an O. Henry ending. But, in all regards, it's all about survival.

I heartily suggest you read the book. Since Dixon has not discussed one of our several trips together. I'll have to write that one. If I survive.

I lived on Martha's Vineyard for several years year-round, during the bustling summers and what is known as the "off season." Philip R. Craig's novel captures perfectly the sense of community that year-round Islanders enjoy. He also gives a realistic account about how everyone knows everyone else's business in a closely-knit environment. His characters Mimi and Nash are true to life. His descriptions about how people eke out a living scallopping and fishing in the off-season are also quite accurate. Craig also mixes into his cast of characters a few professional and business people, and their interaction with the native Islanders is key to his story. The suspense in "Off Season" is great, and I could not guess the outcome until the final pages of the book. I also love this book because it contains so many evocative passages about Martha's Vineyard. I feel like I am living there again when I read Craig's (a/k/a J.W. Jackson's) descriptions of my beloved Island. I know every secluded beach and back road about which he writes. When he writes about Wasque Point, I can almost see the sun setting westward over the beach in the late afternoon and feel the salty spray on my face from the crashing waves. Reading this book was like taking another vacation on the Vineyard!

L LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE THESE BOOKS!!!!! A very dear friend introduced me to this marvelous series a couple of months ago and i'm completely, totalllllly addicted!!! i think it would be great to have a recipe section at the end of each book...i'd love to try j.w.'s bluefish pate! as i was reading the earlier fantabulous books, i wondered how martha's vineyard would be 'off season' and lo and behold, that was the very next book in the pile to read....never, ever stop writing about j.w. and zee and their crazy adventures....i'd love to have this great couple as next door neighbors!!!! thanx for so many wonderful hours savoring the incredible descriptions of places and recipes!!!!! i'm simply thrilled that i have 3 more books of this fun series in order to catch up to the present!!!! and when i'm reading something else, i actuallly miss j.w. and zee....crazy, huh???

I really enjoyed this book. I admired the author for actually being able to help those children, and for being so patient and caring with them. This book really reminded me of the books by Torey L. Hayden and anyone who liked this one would love her books.

I really loved this book. If it isn't my favorite then it is probably on my list of top 10. I have a brother who is autistic and I found this a touching story and I reccomend it!