"The Healing Energy of Your Hands", in my experience, is perhaps the most complete "how- to" book of it's kind. It addresses, importantly, not only "techniques", intent and moral issues, but also what it takes personally to be a good and responsible healer.

I RECOMMEND IT TO EVERYONE who has an interest in energetic healing.

I am a Reiki Master and as such am always looking for books about healing and energy. This book has been a real treat for me. I found Michael Bradford to be an excellent author who is able to speak to each person through his words. This book is written in a down to earth manner that anyone can understand. I am using some of his techniques for healing already. I am so glad I found this book. :-)

Healing Energy of Your Hands is an excellent book. Covers beginning and advanced concepts, distance healing and more. Highly recommended.

Majno's book is not only magnificently informative but great fun. His prose is a positive pleasure, his research and knowledge are immense, and he has the gift of combining several perspectives to explain why procedures that now seem appalling made sense to the physicians of the period. He has experimentally tested a number of ancient remedies, and he is refreshingly willing to assume intelligence and craft among early physicians, even when they seem to be doing precisely the wrong things. His discussions of how we learn what medical techniques might have been is fascinating in its own right. Of his major sections (Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, Indian, and Roman), the Egyptian is probably best and the Chinese weakest.

Most books on the history of medicine read rather like either horror novels or dusty tomes, with few authors finding that rare balance between entertainment at the price of detail or dullness for the sake of completeness. Guido Majno's work THE HEALING HAND manages to entertain the lay reader without bogging down in too much medical terminology. THE HEALING HAND intrigues without succumbing to that all-to-tempting penchant many medical history writers have of detailing the most absolutely vile and disgusting medical practices in the world while sacrificing attention to the ones that modern readers will recognize and possibly even relate to.

The driving force of Majno's work, one that comes through plainly in his writing, is that he really wants you understand what it is he's talking about. By examining available historical texts, piecing together data from archaelological digs, and even experimenting his theories on himself, Majno take you on a "journey" through medical wound healing history, starting with ancient Egypt and the Pharoahs and moving on through Hippocrates's ancient Greece, Ceaser's ancient Rome, ancient India, and ancient China. Few authors could manage the detailed tapestry of cultures and medical information Majno deftly weaves. He treats the subject of ancient would healing as few other writers do and, in the process, exposes you to how his mind works by writing how he thinks the minds of healers worked concerning wounds during the aforementioned time periods.

It's that spark of looking into his mind that makes his writing intriguing to me. It's rather like getting an easily understandable peek into the mind of a genius hard at work on an earth-shattering discovery. Combine the easily accessible text with the understandable pictures and graphics, complete and unobtrusive footnotes, and the wonderfully extensive bibliography and you have an invaluable addition to your library.

As a lay researcher in a medieval re-enactment society, I found this work a true gem, well worth the price of adding to my collection. Even though it would only be considered a "secondary source," the details were too rich and the clarity of the information too valuable to think twice about its purchase. Majno gave me the "why" behind so many medical practices I'm rather saddened that I didn't find this book sooner. Despite being written originally in 1975, I've read and reread it many times using it as a springboard for further research and experementation.

This book is a wonderful resource for gaining knowledge and insight into ancient medicine. Guido Majno not only explains what these ancient cultures did, but in many instances he explains why. He discusses their practices against the foundatioins of their whole culture, including their cultural knowledge base, their religions, their laws, and their technology. He give a great deal of background. For example, when he discusses the medicine of the egyptions, he goes through a basic primer on heroglyphics and then shows the symbols used by the ancient egyptions. This book gives you a real understanding of what these ancient healers struggled with and why they chose certain practices over others. Because of Majno's modern investigation and testing of these practices you also gain an understanding of what they did that worked and what didn't work. I recommend it to anyone who has an interest in medical history.

Dr Miller told me of his book, and as I was so impressed with him as a person and a surgeon, it was the first book I read during my recovery. Even though I was still on pain killers when I started, I couldn't put it down, staying awake longer than I should have each night.

I heartily agree with the first two reviews written before mine, and will let them stand as my views also.

To unwind from his work, Dr. Miller told me he that on Saturdays he frequently gets an intellectually stimulating book on tape, and then takes his dog for an all day hike in the Cascade Mountains (near Seattle) while he listens to the book. This gives me the thought that he really is a renaissance man.

Pain killers aside, I thought the whole theme falls together for you during the last few pages. You may wonder as you go along as to how it all falls together. He does not disappoint you at the end.

I felt it was one of the best books I have ever read.

Suspend all your usual stereotypes about insensitive or materialistic surgeons! Donald W Miller, a cardiac surgeon, is a most knowledgeable, sincere, and deep thinker who has contributed a monumental work of art to our human quest for understanding. Heart in Hand is a wonderful gift, especially in this Information Age where true meaning and personal significance are often lost to Moore's Law and the next Microsoft takeover. Miller's exhaustive reflections on the nature of life are backed by solid scientific evidence, intuition, and a passionate appreciation for philosophy (especially that of Arthur Schopenhauer), Woody Allen movies, classical music, biology, and mystical experience. Although it seems almost impossible to integrate these diverse resources into only 213 pages of text, Miller does it brilliantly, adhering to his own message in the book that simplicity is a virtue. Examples of simplicity he provides include the guileless but compassionate fool of Danny in Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose, and the ageless simplicity found in the immortal music of the Beatles and Theolonious Monk.

Heart in Hand helps us realize that we are all deeply interconnected. All matter in the universe is comprised of leptons and quarks, force is really the same as substance, and we are all products of the big bang. He advocates for scientific and analytical thinking, but admits to the limits of this approach and suggests a need for mysticism and intuitive understanding too. However, don't mistake Miller's openness to mysticism as an endorsement of Western religion. Probing questions about religion will raise many ecclesiastic eyebrows, and he may get tossed out of a few churches! For example, he doubts that we have souls if we evolved from bacteria, and describes the secret and cunning of priests as "pretending to possess the means to satisfy mans great metaphysical need by saying that the great riddle has reached them direct." His deep sincerity and honesty is evident, and his description of Schopenhauer's writings on morality is a good primer for many supposedly good religious folk who are actually more instrumental in separating the human race through judgemental thinking than encouraging true compassion.

This grand integration of multiple dimensions of science and art succeeds on many levels. This is a technical book with tons of useful information on biology, history, art, and even sex, and Miller shares many personal preferences for future reading and listening. This is also a very fun book that celebrates life while standing on the shoulders of many significant and creative minds. You may want to read Heart in Hand multiple times, and will surely come away with new insights and pleasure every time.

There are still many questions unanswered. What happened before the big bang? Could there still be a personal God? Is there a personal purpose for each person during this brief planetary residence? Miller by no means answers all these questions. There will always be more questions to ask. What Miller does offer are personal experiences, knowledge that is extensive and refined, and great insight. Heart in Hand will most surely enrich your life. The surgeon adequately satisfied this psychologists' desire for a great read! I'll refer to it often in my work with clients.

If one has trepidations about mortality, then Dr. Donald Miller may assuage his and her misgivings. His book, Heart In Hand, however, is not just about death and dying, it is about life and living. Indeed, Dr. Miller traces the beginning of life to the one-celled amoeba and carries it forward to man in its highest form, most notably, as defined by Arthur Schopenhauer, Richard Wagner, and Woody Allen. He also makes several references to himself, his family, his friends, and his patients.

He no doubt has spent sleepless nights in Seattle as a heart surgeon, and in the process, has much time to think about six facets of life, each one represented by a chapter in his book. While it may be unusual for one to cross the divide between Schopenhauer and Allen, one sees where the two are not far apart, except by 147 years between birth, and the book is filled with quotations of both, which are treats, and saves one from the tedium of heavy reading, especially Schopenhauer; all of this in just 213 pages of text, with additional endnotes, reading and film selections.

Dr. Miller's explanation of evolution has condensed the so-called theory into very interesting and coherent facts, and could be a primer for teachers. There are also many other facts that could be described as interesting trivia. And his explanation of sex, and indeed, compassion, touches the sensibilities. His chapters, "Searching for God," and the "Metaphysics of Music" are engrossing. But the chapter "Confronting Death" should get to core of everyone's being. Of course, death is inevitable, and when one is born, every day he and she creeps one day closer. But knowing it doesn't help. And for many, it is a perplexing and often debilitating experience. Dr. Miller enlightens us with one quotation from Schopenhauer, "Where was I before my birth?" "For it is irrefutably certain that non-existence after death cannot be different from non-existence before birth..." If one is hesitant to confront any of the volumes that have been written to assuage our fear of death, this chapter is enough. It takes us there without cringing, and with a simple but plausible explanation.

It is Schopenhauer and Woody Allen who are the main players in this book. Unless one has read the older philosopher, probably in his most important work, "The World as Will and Representation," and "Essays and Aphorisms," a compilation selected and translated by R. J.. Hollingdale, much has been missed about his views about compassion, living and dying. Likewise, unless one has analyzed the films of Woody Allen, and assumes that he is more than a comedian, then Dr. Miller shows where he is a deep thinker, and very preoccupied with death, which is made light through his comedy, but has a very serious and obvious cognizance. Dr. Miller is generous in his observations about Schopenhauer, Allen, and finally Richard Wagner, who was immensely influenced by the philosopher and his above mentioned book, and his chapter, "The Metaphysics of Music" is one that will inspire all music lovers, especially Wagnerians. The good doctor again reminds us about the soothing effects of music on our health.

So here we have a small volume packed with much to think about. It is a quick read, engrossing, and one which the reader will no doubt absorb in one sitting, and feel good about it.

Somehow, my 14-month-old started identifying several of her own physical features (including "neck"!) by close approximations of their names after only 3 or 4 nights of reading this book before bed. Very shortly after, she started pointing out the same features in pictures of animals and people around the house. The illustrations are crystal clear in their intent, with only the last two pages presenting any difficulty (one covers elbow, arm and chin in one breath, and the other is for skin, which I imagine is tough to illustrate). I would recommend this book to anyone teaching the easy body parts to her/his child.

This book was a gift and will be a gift for others from us. It taught my 1 year old through it's wonderful sing song rhyme to it's beautifully colorful illustrations, her body parts in two days. She brings it to me and can't read it enough. We highly recommend this for any age.

I'm buying a copy of this book for my new nephew. My son has loved this book since he was 6 or 7 months old and now, at 14 months, he still smiles when he sees us pick it up. The illustrations are realistic enough to keep his attention and the rhyming text is short and sweet. I'd also recommend another Bill Martin Jr book for older kids, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. It's an alphabet book that my 4 1/2 year old loves. Weeks after her teacher read it at school, my daughter is still talking about it. We're buying a copy of that too.

In the Hired Hand, Donna Scott tells the story of a woman sexually abused by her pastor. Part One tells The Setup: the issues that brought Renee to pastoral counseling, details of how Pastor Smith sexualized their counseling sessions, an explanation of the danger signals that might have alerted Renee if she had not been wounded and trusting of her pastor, a look inside the head of the hired hand contrasted with that of a good shepherd, and words to clergy exhorting them to not harm those who turn to them for healing and to not ignore other pastors who do.

In Part Two, Disclosure and Denial, we learn what happens when a woman tries to report her abuse. Scott explains the denial by the abuser, the denial by others, and the distortions of reality blaming the victim for what has happened. She devotes several pages to explaining why, although she is an adult, no woman who has gone to her pastor for counseling can ever give consent to a sexualized relationship and why she is never at fault. She quotes the ethics statements of five national professional organizations: psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and Christian counselors. Each forbid any sexual contact between their members and those they serve. She ends this section with why pastors try to pass the buck instead of accepting responsibility for what happened, what God has to say about those who abuse, and words to clergy and congregations.

Part Three is devoted to The Aftermath, discussing in detail how the victim is impacted by the abuse: guilt, impaired ability to trust, ambivalence, emptiness and isolation, emotional volatility, suppressed anger, sexual confusion, increased suicidal risk, role reversal and boundary disturbance, and cognitive dysfunction.

The book concludes with an Afterward, endnotes, a bibliography, and an extensive resource list including books, videos, organizations, and support groups.

So few people understand the necessity for equality in power in order for sex to be consensual. Ms. Scott does and she says it over many times in this book. Let's send copies to Hillary, who refers to her husband's "affairs". Let's send copies to all the reporters who refer to abused parishioners as having had "affairs" with their pastors. Let's give copies to all the Catholic bishops who think only children can be abused by priests. Let's make copies available to members of congregations whose pastor has abused women. Let's give copies to our family, friends and neighbors, and let us pray they read them!

...I thank God for inspiring Ms. Scott to write such an honest and true book about what happens when a trusted man of the cloth betrays a congregant. Words cannot express the devastation the victim and her family experience when a pastor crosses boundaries....The victim becomes the scarlet harlot and the perpetrator (pastor/ex-pastor) often garners sympathy and pity from the congregation. Ms. Scott has done an excellent job of shedding the true light on this type of abuse. I applaud her for "speaking" for thousands of us who have been victimized in our "houses of faith" and still cannot speak publicly for ourselves because of the continued pain, embarassment, humiliation, and intimidation we experience. She offers us encouragement and hope. If you truly want to find out what it means to be sexually abused by a pastor/priest/rabbi, read Ms. Scott's book. She speaks the truth. To those professionals who are entrusted with seeking the truth, preventing this type of boundary violation, and providing recovery services to victims and families, please wake up and take your responsibility seriously. Stop the sinful secrets, lies, and cover-ups in our churches. Thank you, Ms. Scott, for your bravery in providing this thought provoking and credible resource.

The Hired Hand, by Donna E. Scott, is an honest and well written book about clergy sexual abuse. I am a survivor of such abuse and I believe her observations and conclusions to be just and revealing. I was particularily drawn to the parts where Ms. Scott reports how many church families (secondary victims) respond badly to the primary victims. I loved and trusted my church family. They, however, made me the scapegoat for the losses they suffered when the silence was finally broken. To this day, 2 and 1/2 years after I broke the silence, many continue to harass me in my place of work. Ms. Scott's book gives me a feeling of not being alone in that regard.

Ms. Scott begins by drawing a distinction between two types of leaders based on John 10. One is the Good Shepherd and as such represents all that is good and to be honored and trusted in our clergy. The other is the Hired Hand. Ms. Scotts book needs to be read to give a clear picture reguarding the manner in which the vulnerable are manipulated by the hired hand. Hired hands rape souls and steal lives. This book is a window through which the reader can "see" how boundary violations happen. It also allows the reader to look inside the head of these cunning thieves.

This is a book for both primary and secondary victims. It is a "must read" for church leaders many of whom remain unfortunately uneducated to the issues involved in clergy sexual abuse. It contains much information as to how a church may validate the primary victims as well as heal from the trama they, themselves, endure when the trusted clergy betrays that trust. Ms. Scott reminds us all, that clergy wear a collar that says "I am trustworthy" that "I speak for God" and the wounding which occures when trusted clergy are revealed as the predators they are, is devistating to all the victims.

I'm not much for history as it is taught in our schools, but this book is great. It is a perfect blend of history, present day (in the form of the author's trip), and thoughts and stories from the author's personal life.

I recommend this tome to anyone that likes travel stories. Especially if you dont know, or want to know more about, the Cheyenne Exodus. Expensive, but worth the money.

This is a magical walk through a dark time in American History...Alan's own experiences are so materfully intertwined with history on this voyage, the past truly comes alive as you feel every step and face every fear. With each step, with every encounter along the way, you can feel the ghosts of the Cheyenne people walking in your own shadow. Make no mistake, HOLDING STONE HANDS is a Masterpiece...you'll feel the pain of endless walking, the anger for what the Cheyenne people were forced to endure, and the sorrow for the pointless death as they tried to make their way to the only land they would ever call home.

This is a story of heartache and strength, of hope and struggle...it is the story of a man's love of the land and a people's fight to keep their homeland. Boye is a gifted and talented writer whose words flow as he leads us from page to page, back into the past and then gently into the present. He is a writer that truly cares about his story and the people that inhabit it. He opens his heart and the words come tumbling out. A wonderful MUST READ for all nature lovers and history buffs.

EXTRA CUIDADOSAS CON ESE FUTURO QUE TIENEN EN LA CUNA !
Lleno de tips excelentes y originales A FAVOR DEL BEBÉ !

even if you are not :
A mother
A woman
It's a complete "Owner's Manual "

THAT HELPS MOTHERS TO CARE FOR THEIR BABIES...
My wife is still in love with it and using it..
Yes, Ladies: You are the hand that rocks...the world !

I adore this book. As a knitter, I'd been finding more and more patterns embellished with crochet details. I tried to teach myself but a lot of books were too wordy and not basic enough. I can't rave enough about the pictures in this book....they are very very clear...what the stitch should look like, where you put the hook, etc. True to the title, I was crocheting the same day I picked it up and had completed one project the first weekend.

I had signed up to take a crochet class before I bought this book. The class was so badly taught that a few of the students came over to me to share my copy of this book. By the end of the class the students using my book were crocheting! It is that good.

This book is so clear with it's instructions. I really learned how to crochet in one day (actually less than a day, I'd say a few hours at the most). This book is the next best thing to having someone actually show you how to crochet. The patterns are simple yet beautiful. This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn quickly.

This book is easy to follow with step by step instructions & illustrations on all the basics. It takes you thru each step with extreme detail and helpful hints. I bought several books to help me learn to crochet, but this was the only one I used!
I would highly recommend it for any beginner! I will also keep it as a "how to" reference.

This is an exciting and challenging work. Hand, one of the leading astrologers of our era, goes back to the basics to try to discern the essence of each astrological symbol. His discussion of why the planets mean what they mean is amazing; his analysis of signs is equally revealing and fascinating. I really recommend this book whole-heartedly on the basis of those sections alone, but I knocked off a star because I thought that other parts were much less convincing. He roots his explanation of aspects in harmonics, which is essentially numerology, virtually ignoring the elemental basis of astrology which he lays out quite clearly when he deals with signs. And his treatment of houses seems almost willful in its claim that these symbols have nothing to do with the signs. Nonetheless, this is a great book, and one I would recommend to the non-believer: It gives a sense of the depth and complexity of astrological symbolism, which has a beauty and a spiritual meaning that is independent of the question of whether birth times correlate with personalities.

Robert Hand is acknowledged everywhere as the greatest living astrologer, and this is his overview of the field. The title may be a bit misleading, and likely that was intentional. Hand's great classic is "Planets in Transit," of course, and that is a very accessible book for those with little or no background. It may be that he meant "Horoscope Symbols" to be an attempt to synthesize astrology from a very serious, even philosophical stance.

Not entirely for the beginner. It is a very serious treatment. Its fascination lies in its depth; hence it would appeal to those who are hooked by good books and good thoughts, and who are bored with the oversimplifications of magazine horoscopes. It is for the skeptic, as well.

A thinking person's astrology. The best astrology book this astrologer has ever read.

Robert Hand succeeds in distilling the essense of astrology in one master volume. Expect difficult subjects handled in such a manner as to make them learnable by even the layperson. Hand skillfully sweeps away the traditional confusing metaphorical language and lays bare the core of the primary astrological symbols. First class treatment is given to the planets, aspects, and signs, as well as a plethora of other subjects. Hand gives the reader insight into symbols based on a mixture of traditional teaching re-explored, and his own extensive experience.I have returned to this book again and again, never to be disappointed and always to come away with new insight. A must for the serious astrologer.

This is a simple story of the friendship between three men and the gifts of kindness and thoughtfulness. The illustrations are outstanding. While the concept is not unique it is told in a manner which can be appreiciated by all ages. It is my most favorite children's story. Unfortunately I lost my signed copy.

This book was shared with me in one of my children literature college classes. I fell in love with the book! It is great for all ages. This book touches the heart and teaches children (and adults) how to care and love for others in an unselfish way. It teaches all to actively engage in serving our fellow man with out any thought of personal reward. It also encourages people to reach out to others and better the lives of those around us. This book is essential in teaching morals. It is a must in every home and classroom. Please reprint it!!!!

I highly recommend this book!! I read this story to my sixth grade class. They absolutely loved it. The story brings tears to your eyes. A must read for all ages!