I'm not going to babble on and on about this book. I'ts an excellent reference material. I only wish it had color schemes.

This book is not only an incredible collection of art, it is also wonderfully explanitory. R. Beer tells the mythos and history behind each set of images in a logical and easy to read format. I only wish that it was in full color (rather than just black and white); however, the author gives full details of how each image is traditionally coloured.

I -highly- recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Tibetan culture.

This is a great book, a customer brought it in to me to show what she wanted for a tattoo and I was amazed at all the rad stuff in it. Lots of cool stuffs for tattoos and whatnot- I did a big ol' snake headed deity on her arm, it was so killer looking- thanks to this book, I am going to sleeve out her whole arm now with images from this tome. Thats how well the art translated into tattoo designs...A must for any tattooer (or regular artist) interested in this style or japanese/ asian motifs.

This book deserves five stars because it includes lots of information. It isn't as easy or funny as the lessons, but it's still really good

My daughter received a copy of this book as part of a cotillion class. She has reviewed various sections of the book as different social situations have presented themselves. The book is written with a young person in mind; it is concise, funny when appropriate, and answers a lot of questions the kids might not even know they have yet. As a mom, I found it very helpful not only in teaching my child the rudimentaries of etiquette, but in providing me with a refresher course for both business and personal situations. I have also found it extremely helpful for the dance steps; the combination of the written instruction and the ubiquitous feet make it easy to learn a new dance.

Reviewed by ATH, age 12: I thought that the book was excellent! It explained many hard-to-understand topics pertaining to etiquette rules. After reading this book, you will have no more questions about manners and will never feel uncomfortable at parties. This easy-to-read and understand book tells you everything you need to know about etiquette and more!(Tips on dressing, dancing, manners, etc.) It is a good value for the money since you can keep it and refer to it whenever you have a question. I highly recommend this book to anyone over the age of 11.

I have to say from the onset of this review that Mr. Estko's novel "Evil, Be Gone" is
truly a readers delight.
Drawing you into the story from page one, the author quickly assimilates you with John Lelankevitch the main character.

John or Lilly, as you will soon find yourself calling him, is a good man, a man of strength and character, but one that in his past committed certain acts on behalf of his country; acts that haunted him deep in the recesses of his mind. But that was behind Lilly now, as he made a new life with his wife and son, or was it?

William Randolph Pritchett wanted his son in the White House and would stop at nothing to see that achieved. That was his dream and he would make it happen. When his son's wife decides she has had enough of her husbands affairs and bowing to his controlling father, she announces her intentions to divorce her husband. This could not happen at a worse time, as public
opinion would turn against William Randolph Pritchett IV and he would never win the election.

Father Pritchett was not about to let this happen and devises a plan using the kidnapping of Lilly's young son as a controlling devise, to make Lilly bring his plan to fruitation. The plan was dark and evil and would involve Kidnapping and killing the Senators wife in hopes of swaying public opinion and win the election.

Lilly only killed to rid the world of evil, never had he killed the innocent; would he begin now, to save his son? The pressure was on!

There are many twists and turns to this chilling novel. I breathed a sigh of relief when Lilly's son was rescued, only to moan when his wife took his place as the captured. Who was betraying Lilly and why? Emotions covering father-son relationships, friends, husband and wife
are all dealt with as you ride along the journey of this story. It held my interest from beginning to end. A very good suspense
novel, with some interesting turn of events
that will surprise you.

Good read!

Shirley Johnson/Reviewer

Not only is "Evil, Be Gone" an exciting mystery/thriller that introduces a new hero to the genre, but the book also delves expertly into the themes of friendship and father-son relationships. Friendships, as "Evil, Be Gone" portrays such valued relationships, can run the gamut from loyalty to betrayal. Additionally, three different father-son relationships are contrasted and make you think about the sons that fathers create. Finally, the main protagonist, Col. John "Lilly" Lelankevitch, walks a psychological tightrope when it comes to good versus evil. This is one highwire act well worth your time!

This book was very exciting and I had a difficult time putting it down. It kept my interest throughout the story. The characters were real and I could relate to the various settings the action took place in. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery and constant entertainment.

This remarkably thoughtful and carefully researched study reports on the changes in religious belief and practice undergone by Holocaust survivors as a result of their ordeal. Most valuable are the personal testimonies of the survivors.

A sensitive study, carefully constructed and empirically based, that supplies substantial, balanced insight where before there were only opinions and surmise. The full range of the victims' religious feeling is revealed, often in their own agonized reflections. Everyone concerned about the contemporary religion, responses to catastrophe, and the state of Jewish belief will want to read this book.

The originality of the theme, the accuracy and vastness of the research - over 700 questionnaires and 100 in-depth interviews and the eloquence of language - surely cast this as one of the important books to emerge from the evergrowing literature of the Holocaust.

As someone who has been in group therapy for a while, I must say this is a terrific book. What I like about it is that it is not a "self-help," feel good book. The book doesn't necessarily tell us anything we don't already know. But it crystallizes things with astonishing lucidity. Get this book--and share it with your partner. Talk about it in bed.

This book has something for everyone that is experiencing some form of difficulty with cultivating healthy intimate relationships. By this I mean it will help those that have not acknowledged that they have difficulties and it is especially powerful for people like myself who have been searching for answers to their problems with intimate relationships. Firestone's clear and succinct writing style makes it possible to relate and identify with various issues that may apply to you. His approach is clinical at times but his formula is very simple: identification of issue, cause of issue and alternatives for dealing with the issue. Before reading this book make a promise that if you see yourself in any of the descriptions, don't run or turn to denial, be honest with yourself. Read the particular passage a couple of times. It helps with acceptance. I highly recommend this book.

Robert Firestone and Joyce Catlett bring almost 40 years of combined clinical experience to bear in Fear Of Intimacy, challenging traditional ways of thinking about couples and families. They argue that adult interpersonal and familial relationships fail because of psychological defenses formed in childhood acting as a barrier to closeness in adulthood. A range of cross-generation case studies and personal accounts illustrate and document how the "fantasy bond" has become a destructive form of self-parenting, jeopardizing meaningful attachments. An important, scholarly, and "user friendly" addition to psychology and counseling libraries, Fear Of Intimacy is impressively written in clear, jargon-free language making the work easily accessible to psychologists and counselors seeking to help couples identify and overcome distortions of the self, thereby fostering healthy bonding and relations with their loved ones.

I was just at the point in my life where believing in Santa Claus seems extrememely childish, but then I read this book by Robert Sullivan. Pretty soon it had me convinced that Santa does exist and reindeer really do fly. The pictures are very interesting and the context is quite convincing, esp. the interviews. Many people (or Helpers) are questioned in this book. Some people that give testimonies are George Bush Sr. and Al Roker. Will Steger relates his conversation with Santa Claus to Robert Sullivan, who, fortunately, wrote it down in this book. Sullivan finds a lot of useful evidence too. Glenn Wolff illustrates the book wonderfully, and I like the fact that there is at least one picture or photo on every page. I do love the format of the book and all the extraordinary photos Sullivan puts in The Flight of the Reindeer From Santa's finding of Rudolph to Santa's current sleigh, this book gives an explanation for just about everything. Every Christmas season, I read this book. Without this book, I would probably be a non-believer.

This book is great! If you need help believing in Santa, read this book. It has an interview w/Santa, curtousy of Will Steger, the only man to visit Santa's viliage. Also, there are amazing pictures of Santa's Villiage, Reindeer flying, and much much more! This is a must have book. Totally.

This book uses various experts and historical data to prove there is a Santa Claus. After reading this book even my wife (a non-believer) was convinced he is real.

The book does a very nice job of describing one of the more important, but forgotten, figures in US political history. Smith's role as governor of New York and the various groundbreaking reforms he introduced, his mentorship of various figures from FDR to Robert Moses, and of course being the first Catholic to run for President would be enough to rank him right up there with some of the more widely written about icons of America. When you consider two of his top four advisers were women (this is the 1920's, mind you), his role in building the nation's tallest building at the time, his emergence as a spokesperson for the immigrant masses who became a political force during his era (and the subsequent, seismic shift this caused in the nation's political landscape - he was the first Democrat to lose the Solid South since the Civil War), his being one of the first politicians to speak out against Hitler, and that he did all this without even attending high school, Al not only deserves a high quality biography but perhaps a major motion picture as well. John Cusack in the lead!

The book is occasionally "cheerleady" - superlatives come landing out of left field in the midst of other, more traditional descriptions of events. It is, however, critical and frank in other areas of Smiths career, so it reads in a balanced fashion overall. It is a great read and one that should be read by anyone interested in the US political landscape and how it got to what it is today.

there is a largely-forgotten statue of al smith on the lower east side at the corner of monroe & catherine streets, but i like to think of the empire state building as the true monument to al smith. at the time perhaps the building was a financial failure, but it was simultaneously a symbol of hope even during the depression when it was being built. only a man like al smith had the vision to help create a monument of such optimism during such bleak times - but more importantly, he did so with the intention of providing a symbol of hope to his fellow nyers. (a symbol, i might add, that has renewed importance in post-9/11 ny.)

i appreciate & love the fact that reading lists in nyc have been expanded to include the writings & histories of all the races & creeds & cultures that have come to nyc. but as a white, working-class, catholic nyer, i have noticed a real lack of identity awareness or cultural heritage. this biography of al smith fills that void: by presenting al smith and his beliefs, it not only describes the immigrant experience of catholics at the turn of the century, but shows too how great men like al smith were key in helping the various catholic immigrant groups (irish, italian, polish, etc) to become mainstream, integrated americans in this formerly predominantly-protestant country. the anti-catholic impulse in america is largely forgotten, & in fact it is also forgotten that there was a time when white catholic americans were certainly not considered part of the white ruling class.

in addition, i love the fact that al smith's life & legacy point to another subculture: the progressive catholics. this term is not an oxymoron; at one point in american history, catholics were on the frontlines of many progessive agendas. this book provides an insight into a church that might have been.

i strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in american history or politics, but moreso to anyone who wants to examine the relationship of ny to the rest of america or how the aspects of class and religion (& not just race) influenced the poltical and cultural climate of america in the 20th century.

al smith was a hero of the working class, a hero of immigrant groups, a hero for catholics, for liberals, for new deal democrats, and ultimately for all americans. it is a shame that most people - even nyers - don't even know his name. this book is a huge step toward remedying that tragedy.

very highly recommended!

A great story, about an individual who personifies everything great about America. Alfred E. Smith was the son of immigrants, whose parents ended up in Manhattan's Lower East Side. His Father died early in his life, leaving Smith to take care of his family.

Take care of them he did, leaving school as a child to get a job in the Fulton Fish Market, and thereafter becoming a self-educated man, who never forgot his origins. He associated with
Tammany Hall, and found his way to Albany as a state representative. From there, he ran for and became Governor of The Empire State. He rose to greatness from the humblest of origins.

As noted, no less than Franklin Delano Roosevelt paid the highest compliment to Smith, saying that the foundation of his own New Deal came from what Smith had done first as Governor of
New York. He said: "Practically all the things we've done in the federal government are the things Al Smith did as governor of New York." Smith was the champion of the working man
and woman, first distinguishing himself after one of the country's worst industrial tragedies, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire.

Sadly, most Americans outside of New York who know of Smith learned of him through what biographer Slayton accurately called the nastiest and most vicious political campaign in the history
of the Republic, when Smith was the first Catholic American to run for President in 1928 against Herbert Hoover (ironically, the candidate called best for business at the time). According to the author, by any measure of analysis, the reason Smith lost was due to those narrow minded individuals who would not accept him as their President because of his choice of religion,
otherwise guaranteed him under the Constitution.

But for Smith, we'd have a different feeling about what makes America great. He blazed a trail which shamed America into revealing a level of greatness it had never acknowledged before his time; culminating in the election of John F. Kennedy more than thirty years later. The commitment he had for the least of Americans became the saving grace of the country after the
depths of the Depression. Before the buzzword of the day was diversity, Smith was unabashed about celebrating it in his City, State and Nation.

He remains to my mind one of the greatest statesmen the Country ever produced. Biographer Slayton has done a phenomenal job in bringing his story to life.

Very generic, some nice figure drawing but on the whole not worth the expense.

This is the best book for the art student that has ever been written, or ever will be written.

Mr. Hale's book has been invaluble in understanding figure drawing. He uses wonderful examples from the great masters. At times his commentary seems snobbish but if you can get past that then you will learn a great deal. I would highly recommend this book to anyone (novice to intermediate) interested in drawing the figure.

This is the first book which i read on Sufism and it taught me alot not just about this topic but as well as about life in general. The book teaches you how u can live a quality life. It defines sufism very well and then goes on with each chapter focusing on a different topic like love, prayer etc. Anyone interested in reading something quality rules of life must read this book.

The Sufi practitioner is a mystic. Sufi practices are the mystical practices of Islam. Many of those whom Islam heralds as saints and sages were Sufi masters. For nearly 1500 years, Sufi practices have co-existed with a diversity of other practices and cultures in which Islam has survived and thrived.

'According to many Sufis, the essential truths of Sufism exist in all religions. The foundation for all mysticism includes the outer forms of religious practice, plus a life based on moral and ethical principles. The roots of the tree of religion are founded in religious law.... The branches of the tree are mysticism.... The fruit of the tree is the Truth, or God.'

Edited by James Fadiman and Robert Frager, this book reaches from the very beginnings of Sufi practice to the present, and pulls together materials that are luminous and spirit-provoking, from prayers that have survived a millennium to contemporary poetry. Writers such as Ibn al-Arabi, Ahmad al-Ghazzali, Hafiz, Rumi and Attar fill this book with an enchanting sense of a divine presence in the curiously distant yet all-to-present reality.

Many of the teachings of Sufi are very basic and practical, much moreso than one would think a mystical framework would be. And yet, God is practical in many ways. God particularly expects those with wisdom to impart the wisdom, and this is best done practically for many hearers. Action is the final essential component of wisdom.

The task of the Sufi is to recognise the Truth, to learn and remember it, and secondly, to help others to the Truth as well. As the task evolves, it becomes one process, which infiltrates daily life, worship, and all of existence. Nothing is apart from God. The Sufi strives to recognise this wholeness.

'Oh heart, sit with someone
who knows the heart;
God under the tree
which has fresh blossoms.'
- Rumi

For many of the Sufi, the path to Truth is the path of Love. 'Whatever we wish to know well, we must love.' Yet, there is resistance and fear in this love. Love can transform us, make us unrecognisable even to ourselves, and this is worrisome. Yet God will always know who we are.

Sufi literature also has a humourous aspect to it; the Hodja stories of Turkish collections is illustrated here. These are interesting, because they always illumine more upon closer examination.

'I can see in the dark,' boasted Hodja one day while sitting in a tea shop.
'If that's true,' said his friends, 'why do we sometimes see you carrying a light at night?'
'Well,' he replied, 'I only use that lamp to prevent other people from bumping into me.'

Ultimately the goal of all mystical practice, and perhaps most especially the Sufi, is the experience of knowing God. The paths to God are as numerous as the seekers, the Sufi believe, which is why the path through other religious faith is not discounted. Through prayer, remembrance and service, the Sufi comes to know God, and join with God.

One day a man asked a sheikh how to reach God. 'The ways to God,' the sheikh replied, 'are as many as there are created beings. But the shortest and easiest is to serve others, not to bother others, and to make others happy.' - Abu Sa'id

The call of God is powerful, and Sufi practice is one of the most powerful responses to this call in the world. Sufi are an impatient lot, who long to see God now. May your journey be enlightened by walking some of their paths.

.....to Islamic Mysticism. I first became interested in Sufism when a friend told me she had been following the Sufi path for many years. She is a person who has faced very serious challenges in her life (which I greatly admire) and I wanted to know how she had done so with such poise and equanimity. The answer for her was Sufism.

This book does an excellent job of explaining the Sufi path. Prior to reading this book I knew literally nothing about the subject. Now I understand Sufism to be a deeply personal path and one that is based on love of God, a dedication to service, a search for spiritual knowledge, and uncovering one's pure self. The wisdom of Sufism is learned through art, prayer, poetry, stories, readings and rituals, all of which is guided by a Sufi teacher.

The history of Sufism is traced in this book and the beliefs and path of the faith are thoroughly explained. Discussed are: Sufism's four great books (Jesus' Gospels, the Quran, Moses' Torah and David's Psalms), the Five Pillars of Islam, the four stages of Sufi practice, transforming the self, the importance of a Sufi teacher and much more. After reading this book I feel I have a sound knowledge of the basics of this faith and an understanding of why my friend has found such peace in following it. I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn about Sufism or who is on a spiritual path that is open to new discoveries.

This book is written to increase ones faith and boldness in prayer. Some of his approaches to prayer are challenging both in technique and from a theological perspective. I cannot say that I agree with all he says, but he does have success on his side. Furthermore, he causes one to stretch their own view of what is possible. And, this is a good thing!

The book is about how to live with prayer guided by Bible.
The metaphor of fourth dimension is apt one. In one context, a couple phones the author asking for blessing for divorce whom he has married;he prays in the night;sees the fact that they are healed; next day, when he meets the couple, each one starts to blame the other;exhort him "Don't pray for reunion";He knows that he seen in the fourth dimension their reunion. Within few minutes, they weep and find themselves reunited. In another context, he shows how once a rich couple started to give seed faith( a donation), they got themsleves encouraged to claim healing for their son, who was suffering for three years. He explains the relevance of both faith IN GOD and faith OF GOD, in getting miracles by prayer. His chapter on GOD'S address is very relevant for the oriental context. He also exhorts how sin of hatred,sin of fear, sin of inferiority and sin of guilt has to be got rid for effective prayerful life and how they can be done, with a lot of interesting examples. He also give a vivid picture of his own evolution of Chrisitian faith.
The message is:
Look at JESUS and walk on water .
Be a student of ANDREW school.

The Bible tells us that each of us has been given a measure of faith. Dr. Cho teaches in this book that it has been given to be used. He then proceeds to show how to use faith in the practical world of daily life. He describes the incubation process of "things hoped for" as consisting of: 1) envisioning a clear-cut objective 2) having a burning desire 3) praying for assurance and 4) speaking the word. Cho discusses the importance of what goes on in the heart and mind. The incubation takes place in one's thoughts. On page 31 he ties this into verbalizing what is in one's heart by noting "your word is the material which the Holy Spirit uses to create."
This mysterious fourth dimension is the dimension of the spirt. Dr. Cho teaches that it governs the material dimension. "Visions and dreams are the language of the fourth dimension, and the Holy Spirit communicates through them" (p. 44). He points out that both good and evil are created in that mysterious dimension. He goes on to bring into his discussion various passages from the Bible about desires and dreams.
Perfectionism is addressed. Dr. Cho says God does not use you because you are completely faultless, but because you have faith.
This book is solidly based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Dr. Cho has the results to verify that he has practiced what he teaches.