I admit it. I love to read in the bathroom. I've even been known to stay in there much longer than I need to (personal best... 1 hour... hey, I was enjoying what I was reading!). Uncle John's Bathroom Reader is a great way to pass the time in there. It is full of history, puzzles, stories, and other useless, but interesting, tidbits. Admit it. You want something to read in while you are in there. Go ahead and buy it. You'll be glad you did.

My husband loves this calendar. Everyday there is an interesting and often funny fact written. He just loves reading it before he goes to bed. I recommend this calendar to everyone who enjoys a bit of a laugh before going to bed.

This book is one of those "useless facts" books, but the useless things are so interesting and unlike other "useless facts" books, it actually held my attention because the things they talk about are interesting and relevant.

Doing the Universal Form can improve your physical and mental health and you don't need special shoes, clothes or place. You only need to bring your mind and body in harmony with your breathing and movements. The Universal Form's simple techniques conceal the powerful benefits gained for those who practice the three-minute program every day. Master Lawrence Tan has devoted his life to the study of Martial Arts. He has devised a system that strengthens the body, with emphasis on the philosophical and health payback you give to yourself. Combat for the average Joe, doesn't take place in a ring; it takes place with our boss, significant other and even with our-selves; the every day struggle. The book guides you through the program to help bring you the Power, Energy and Peace that we all seek; to live each day to the fullest. I would highly recommend the book and video tapes.

I have studied Martial Arts for some time now and I have studied Tan's Tri-Harmony system for two years. When learning Master Tan's style, The Universal Form is the first form you are taught. It becomes the foundation for the rest. It is both subtle and powerful. It incorporates truly universal principles of Body, Breath and Mind. So often in life today, especially in the fast paced city life, we do not breath fully and deeply. We deprive our muscles and organs of oxygen and open the way for stress and illness. When working the form you are alternately using and stretching all the muscles in your body, while flooding the body with oxygen. This strengthens the body from within, while maintaining and improving flexibility. One year ago I was hit by a car while riding my bicycle to work. I shattered a one inch section of my left collar- bone into fragments. The Orthopoedic Surgeon said there is no way to operate on this type of injury and that I would not likely regain more than 50-70% mobility in that arm. I waited for two and a half months for sufficient bone growth to take place, then worked with Sifu Rich Huang, who teaches Master Tan's Style. In only 8 more weeks I had regained all my former mobility and my strength was increasing again. Master Tan's Universal Form I feel is directly responsible for my full recovery. I had been practising it daily for a year prior to the accident and I'm sure this helped to create an atmosphere within the body that made full healing possible. The Orthopoedic Surgeon was astounded when I last visited him, only four and a half months after the accident. He could not believe after that severe a break, that I was able to regain full flexibility and strength. This excercise can be performed by any age group, in any space in just three minutes. Yet, the benefits are long reaching and pervasive. I have studied several movement forms, but this is the one I will be teaching my children. I cannot recommend it enough!

"The Universal Form" is a very interesting yet skeptical concept. The Universal Form is a moving meditational exercise which combines movements of many Kung-Fu styles but is very different in that this form is orchestrated into a three minute meditation designed to alleviate stress. The logic of The Universal Form created by Lawrence Tan: Martial arts training teaches us what to do under extreme life-and-death circumstances against an opponent though disciplining our body, soul, and mind. Tan demonstrates that these same techniques utilized correctly can empower us against a more ordinary adversary, stress an obstacle that faces everyone mentally, physically, spiritually, in one way or another more commonly than others. In Tan's 35 years as a Martial artist he has taught many people to defend themselves however, in realization that the chance of a person being attacked on the streets is relatively small compared to the guaranteed assault of every day stress. The Universal Form inspired by Bodhigharna the Legendary master of Zen and Saolin Kung-Fu aspires to improve posture flexibility, strength, balance, coordination and your respiratory cardiovascular and central isolated muscle groups and the abilities to control them. Like Bruce Lee Tan teaches according to principles, not just techniques. As with tai chi or yoga, you can energize and relax, calm and focus your mind, improve your posture and enhance daily performance. However Tan states the Universal Form is easier to learn but must be learned and practiced properly.

This book contains the most stunning, breathtaking collection of photographs ever taken of the deep space. There are SO many gorgeous photos, each one more indescribable than the one before. There is also the first photo ever of a black hole.The text, written by astrophysicists Nemiroff and Bonnell, is educational and serious but totally accessible to a layperson. Perfect for anyone interested in science but anyone who appreciates awe-inspiring photography will appreciate this book.

If you've spent some time on the Internet, you've come across the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APoD) website, run by astrophysicists Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell. Once a day they post up a space-related picture, provide a handy description. I've said to myself on several occasions, that these guys should write a book. Well, now they have.

The Universe: 365 Days is a print version of APoD, and it's one of the most gorgeous astronomy books I've ever seen. Open it up to any page: on your right is a full-page photograph, and on your left is a paragraph description about the picture. That's it, 365 pages of description/picture, rinse, repeat. Not much else to say. If you like pictures of space and astronomy, then you're going love it, page after page.

Because there are so many photographs, the authors were able to draw from a large pool of images. So, it isn't just the same old NASA/Hubble pictures that everyone uses, there are some from more obscure observatories and even amateur astronomers. There's a handy index at the back so you seek out images by topic.

I understand why they decided to go with the whole 365 days concept; it's a connection to their website. But then, it's not like you're going to read the book one day at a time, like some kind of yearlong astronomical advent calendar.

Let me just stick my drooling tongue back in my mouth for a second and let you know my complaints with the book. First, the text is really small. Unreasonably small considering that it's swimming in white space. The layout person should have been thinking about all the people who might be reading this book, and steered well away from 9 point font. My other complaint is that it feels fragile. Imagine you're holding a stack of nearly 400 photographs bound together on the left-hand side. I'm worried that it might come apart with all the use it'll get sitting on a coffee table. I'm afraid to let my kid look through it, as she'll render it into pulp in minutes.

Still, complaints aside The Universe: 365 Days is a fantastic book. Gorgeous photographs put into context by scientists who've had years of experience boiling complex concepts into handy, bite-sized write-ups.

This is book is absolutely amazing. The pictures are each spectacular, and the descriptions that accompany each picture are informative and understandable. The book is quaint, and perfect for a coffee table. What a deal, too!

What a find! I was looking for something for my 8-year-old to read when I came across this fantastic novel. The protagonist is a young boy, Frankie Brown, who lives in Cape Cod in 1944 and who magically can predict the weather. Word gets out about Frankie's "gift" and pretty soon General Eisenhower is enlisting his services to help the Allied Forces in WWII. I bought this for my son and we couldn't put it down. Suspenseful (wait to you see what is in "the magic case")! Great characters (like Dr. Proctor, Dr. Stagg, and Cap)! Tremendous climax (Frankie helps to rescue his father who is behind enemy lines)! Funny! Educational (readers learn about Churchill, Normandy, the London Bombings, and Paratroopers)! I would recommend this book to readers of all ages, not just kids. My son always asks me to read it to him and to be honest I think I enjoy it more than he does.

This is really a great read. Every child and adult I know who's picked this up can't put it down. Weather Boy is the story of a 10 year old boy who plays an important role in the landing of D-Day. The book is full of adventures (including an exciting parachute jump with his father, who is a paratrooper), humor, poignancy and, of course, history. My grandchildren have learned a lot reading Weather Boy, as have I. I recommend this to all. Enjoy!

History and fun in the same book - what a concept! My kids, and my friends' kids, couldn't put it down. Weather Boy is the story of 10 year old Frankie who is shocked while listening to a weather report on the radio. The U.S. Army finds out and brings his family to England, where Frankie helps predict the weather for the D-Day landing. I loved his adventures - especially the parachute jump with his dad - and the characters. Be sure to share this book!

This is the best book I ever read because of the pictures. The pictures and the colors are very beautiful because they are light and dark. This book is great.

I think that it is very rare nowadays to come across a book that be as entertaining as it is educational. my kids love this book for the entertaining qualities, and i love it for the latter.

My 20 month old daughter and I enjoy looking through this book at the beautiful paintings. I am sure she will love it for a long time to come. The author did a wonderful job describing each month of the year and what was special about it for a certain animal. Very nice!

This book I have never forgotten. I first was introduced to it in the Reader's Digest Condensed Book Section when it first came out. I was so fascinated by the writing style and well-documented information that we went to the library and read the entire book; but that was not the end of it. I figured if my Father could entice me to read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" than he could appreciate my "great read". He did and because he enjoyed it as much as I did,it made the book doubly attractive and memorable to me. The survivalist thrill that is all the rage now has nothing on Ivar Ruud's adventures! Ann and Evan Maxwell did a great job making this a reading experience never to be duplicated.

The book begins with Ivar Rudd setting on a 9 month trapping journey on an Isle in the North Atlantic. This was the days when good wages could still be made from trapping fur bearing animals, especially polar bear. I remember reading until 4:00 am the first day because I was riveted to the story. It is worth the reading to be reminded that life is precious and worth the fight. You'll not be disappointed if you enjoy the outdoors or humanitarian true to life stories. My local library has a book, but it is hard to find.

I loved this book! It was able to hold my attention as I read about one man's survival in the wild arctic. It showed me that humans can survive even the most extreme circumstances. If you can find yourself a copy of this book...you should give it a try! Who knows? You might just like it too!

There is no exile worse than the internal kind. There is no pain greater than the pain of alienation. There is no craving stronger than the desire to be seen. There is no urge more urgent than longing to belong. And there is no one who knows these truths more than Moshe Benarroche and who expresses them more faithfully. Whether in straightfoward and wistfull narrative, or in fantastic and naively colourful prose, Moshe is there and you are there, surrounded by generations past and engulfed by an all-pervasive yearning. His poetry is an hand extended, an ablution, the smells of childhood, the silent scream of the suppressed and the ignored and the mocked. Moshe knows that the meek shall inherit the earth - but the price is dear. The lost is never found. There is no resurrection in his poems, just a netherland of peripatetic people, looking to connect, looking to comprehend - ultimately, striving to be. A tour de force. But it - and learn Hebrew to read his other tomes. I can't remember the last time that an author's work kept me awake and talking to myself.

This book is out of print but most poems in this book appear in the books

TAKE ME TO THE SEA (IUNIVERSE.COM)

THE IMMIGRANT'S LAMENT (WPC PRESS)

BOTH BOOKS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE AMAZON SITE.

Benarroche's poetry is born out of the crucible of his own life's journey -- the deep influences of Spain, Morocco, and Israel, a virtual metonymy of Exiled Man, a poet powerfully modern, but one who brings to his readers the terrible centuries of the past. Throughout these 147 poems, Benarroche poignantly speak to discrimination, exile, and immigration, as the reader hears echoes of the Jewish quarters in Seville and Gerona, the ancient Moroccan festival of Mimuna, and the modern streets of Tel Aviv. But he is more than a glimpse into the fascinating worlds that have long since disappeared. From out of this milieu Benarroche weaves marvelous narrative poems, indictments against human pride in our time, resonating with clarity of voice and intensity of vision. Witness how his verse becomes proverbs of our modern world: 'I asked exile to be my country' (Country); 'the only homeland left for me/is the land of poetry' (The Swallows); 'if you see me in the street and I don't say/hello/it is not a declaration of war/but a look/into the future' (If You See Me In The Street). Benarroche is a poet much deserving of a wider audience!

I am in the process of implementing some of what this suggested, and the step by step approach makes it a lot easier.

Every book I have read about shareholder value has been long on theory and short on application, but Value Planning is different. It provides a hands on blueprint for creating a value management system to grow shareholder value. It's about time!

A lot has been written about shareholder value, but there has been little written about how to put theory into practice, which is what this book does. I highly recommend it.

Ms. Groves does a marvelous job at introducing yoga to people in the the west.

Yoga is not for me per se. Qigong, and the idea of the meridians ring true for me (based on first hand experience), but if Yoga, and the idea of the chakras ring true for you by all means do something instead of being a couch potato.

My ONLY nitpick with this book is Ms. Groves assertion that if you only have time to do one cycle of "The Sun Salutation) that is enough.

I would recommend a *minimum* of 5-10 minutes of exercize to get the heart rate up. If you want a speedy (but intensive) workout that is still in the Yoga model of exercize check out the five exercizes in either of these books.

"The Ancient Secret Of The Fountain Of Youth" Peter Kelder

"The Five Tibetans" Christopher Kilham

Both books describes the same exercize regimen but calls them by two different names. This exercize regimen took me 6 minutes to complete the five exercizes.

Of the two books above; I suggest the Kilham material because he does a better job in describing the exercizes. Plus it teaches various meditations to keep the mind in shape.

Please E-Mail me if you have questions or comments about this review. Two Bears.

Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)

This is a great book if you want to decrease stress and increase energy. Since I've been following Dawn's suggestions I feel more energetic and relaxed while increaseing productivity. I highly recommend this book!

I bought this book to be a companion to a Yoga videotape I use. While my videotape takes me through a simple yoga routine, it was not very specific about how to perform poses correctly. Yoga for Busy People says "How" step-by-step (with drawings), "Modifications If You Have Difficulty" step-by-step, and then "Remember" step-by-step. It has helped me understand how to prevent injury ("Don't overbend. This posture is meant to stretch the upper back, not the lower back. Keep your naval flat on the floor.") and also when and how to breathe while doing a pose.

VERY easy to understand! I looked at several books before finding this one. It seemed the others had helpful bits and pieces here and there, but Yoga for Busy People is completely practical and helpful all the way through.

This is an excellent guide for those seeking God. As I read it, though, I found I wanted to read John of the Cross' words more literally (this book is a paraphrase). Having tried translations by Peers and Kavanaugh, I prefer the latter. Hazard's paraphrase is very helpful even as an introduction, but I've discovered that as I'm ivest myself in following John's rather complex sentence structure, I find incredible richness. At this point in my journey, I find his writings far more significant and helpful for me than any contemporary writer from any stream of christianity.

I have used this for personal retreats and for Lent. My experience of this tool changes with each circumstance, it has helped me grow and the beauty of John of the Cross becomes richer and richer.

Please, read this book! Read it for your spouse. Read it for your children. Read it for everyone you love, but especially for those who you don't love. And, above all, read it for your relationship with the Lord, for it will never be the same.