My Great-Aunt introduced me to many things - astronomy, biology, and origami. This was in her personal library and when I'd visit we would always pull it out and make at least one of the figures in the book. She had already managed to do nearly every figure but she was patient and I would try my best to keep up. When she died, I looked for the book but it had mysteriously disappeared. I saw that it was back in print and I snatched a copy up right away. This is the best folding book that I have ever run across. It has models that range from the very simple to the VERY difficult. You can fold out of this book for a lifetime and never fail to learn something or see something new. A great book... grab it while you can and fold your heart out!

The book which launch my interest in origami in the late 60s. If not for the discovery of this book, my interest in origami would have been lost.

The models are still very fresh even for the origamist of today. There is a very good range from traditional models, simple models to the intermediate stage. An excellent first introduction to origami.

It contains works of experts who are not around today. Among my favourites are those by Ligia Montoya. Simple but extremely effective.

Nowadays origami experts tend to concentrate on details making folding the models extremely difficult for a beginner. I prefer to concentrate on representing the subject just right with just the sufficient details to differentiate the model and avoiding the complexity of folding it.

There are also models with sufficient difficulty to challenge the slightly more experienced.

A must for all enthusiasts.

Rejoice, origami lovers of the world: Harbin's "Secrets of Origami" is back on the shelves. One of the first of my 40+ origami books, the old, battered, early 70s hardcover still holds a place of honor on my shelf. This is one of the best origami books EVER published. For the beginner, it opens the door to a wonderful array of simple to complex models, for the advanced folder, it provides a survey of the best Western folding from that formative period of 1960s. Fred Rohm, Adolfo Cerceda, Ligia Montoya - these are names that must NEVER fade from the annals of origami. Buy this book. Use this book. Treasure this book. Very few like this have been printed before or since.

A devotee comes along and asks "why is there no meditation during dreaming?" Ramana's response: "Ask it in the dream."

Most of the answers from Ramana Maharshi in this huge volume of ultimate spiritual Q&A are as disconcerting as this one -- which by the way has a double entendre for those who know the advaita equalization of waking life and dreams (the devotee did not get he WAS INDEED asking "in the dream"...). What strikes the reader first is the brilliance of this humble man, his razor-sharp intelligence. But as we turn the pages and ponder his words in hundreds of dialogues, little by little we realize we are dealing here with the real thing: a man who has crossed over to the other shore, a jivanmukta ("liberated while alive"). I have read quite a lot in the last few years on philosophy and spirituality, and my feeling regarding this book is one of reaching rock bottom: you simply cannot go deeper.

The question "Did you exist in deep sleep?", for example, sounds to me the best argument for the unreality of the ego, which Ramana sometimes call the "small I". Very ingenious. No one denies, while awake, his own existence in deep sleep. But whence comes our certainty, if we where unconscious? It comes from a silent witness. If you understand that the same witness is the indestructible background of the bundle of thoughts we call "mind", it is game over for the ego and the suffering it brings to you.

My limited exposure to advaita vedanta suggests that it may not be suitable for some (perhaps most) spiritual seekers, because it may be misconstrued as nihilistic. If you want to take the risk, this may be one of the best books to read. Overall, a very fine edition, compleat with sanskrit glossary, anotated vedanta bibliography and full thematic index. A work of love.

Ramana Maharshi's technique of Self-realization is simplicity itself. This should already be indication enough that he has discovered the profoundest truth. This book is a bit like a Mozart score. When you look at the pages there doesn't seem to be very much there. It all seems so simple. Yet when you play the Mozart, as when you apply the principle of Self-Inquiry, something very unexpected and altogether miraculous happens.

When one correctly applies the single and singular principle he expounds in these talks, the result is well-nigh infallible. Which is not to say that one sees bright lights or is consumed with ecstasy or anything of the sort--that's not what is supposed to happen anyway. What happens simply is that the mind is stilled, and the true nature of mind, ego, and Self is glimpsed. With practice, this glimpse turns into a gander and then turns into a wide open view.

Alas, as one very wise reviewer below put it, many people "enjoy being lost." What Maharshi makes absolutely crystal clear in these talks is that Realization is right there for taking, and always has been, and always will be. In other words, "The Kingdom of Heaven is within." Those who do not realize do so because, in the final analysis, they either enjoy being lost or they are profoundly afraid of what realization implies--even those who claim to be seeking the way. And so the endless rounds continue: the books, the tapes, the discussion groups and meditation retreats, the trips to India and Tibet, the fumbling attempts at Tantric Yoga, the crystals, the gurus, etc. This is all well and good: the Self is always still there, watching, and will still be there when one has tired of the spiritual circus.

My own words crumble and dissolve in the face of Maharshi's very modest-seeming but singularly pure and profound wisdom. I don't know what else to say except that Maharshi's words show the way, and then provide the guidance and inspiration to abide in the Self that is always already there. I give this book all the stars in the cosmos!

The best book on Spirituality, Advaita and Ramana Maharshi. Reading the book itself takes one close to his true nature (Self). Ramana Maharshi is the greatest teacher of our time. Every page in the book is witness to that. I will be reading that book many many times.

A great book to read again and again and contemplate!

I first ran across this book a few years ago when I had just been bitten by the travel bug, but did not know how to plan or to pack. This book was a wonderful introduction to traveling; full of stories advice by the author from his extensive travels through the world. Those who are still unsure about traveling will find themselves steadied by the introductory chapters which suggest reasons for traveling. What is even better is that the author makes very good suggestions as to how to pack and what essentials to bring. Things that you may not have thought of bringing that you will find useful. Plus for someone just beginning to travel, such a well though out list is a great help. Although I have now lived on three different continents and traveled extensively, I still find myself referring to the lists of things to pack or the suggestions for how to find inexpensive fares. So, even seasoned travelers will still find this book a good resource.

If you are just thinking of traveling in the world or have already been bitten by the bug, I highly recommend this great resource as an aid for your travel plans.

Quite possibly the best and most useful general travel reference book that I have seen. It has basics for planning, preparing for, and going on your trip. Outstanding bibliography and checklists. This book will serve as a great introduction to all aspects of trip planning, but you will probably want to consult other resources for further information about specific topics (such as courier flights, packing, rail travel, destinations).

Reviewed October 2001 by Charles McCool on LowerAirfares.com

I could rave about this book in so many different ways! The organization is wonderful, the advice Sangster offers is practical, and his style is extremely encouraging. Unlike many other travel advice books, Sangster does not come across as a travel snob nor does he talk down to his readers nor is he intimidating with his approach.

Additionally, Robert Sangster is also accessible to his readers. I sent him an email, commending him on such a wonderful book and shared with him my up-coming travel plans. Within a short time, he replied personally, offering additional advice (even though I really hadn't asked for it) and wishing me the best on my travels.

I highly recommend this book for every possible reason. Happy trails!

I found this book very useful with my highly active, challenging three-year-old daughter. Before reading this book, it seemed like I had to yell before she paid any attention, and even then she usually didn't listen. This book helped me see that the messages I was giving my daughter were inconsistent and overly emotional. Now I can deal with her in a calmer, more effective way. Now I feel much happier with my disciplinary style, and I am getting much better results.
I prefered this book to some other discipline books I have read. It seemed to be more concrete and practical than the Dr. Sears book on discipline. I recently read 1-2-3 Magic, which has a similar theory to Setting Limits (use time-outs, be consistent, don't get emotional) but gives you just one technique and style for every child and every situation. The Setting Limits book gives you more choices and ideas.

I have a strong-willed child. This book has helped me realize that my kid is perfectly normal. That I can change the way we've been relating to each other and make both our lives better. I've been using the methods listed and have been yelling less, and getting upset less. My child is behaving better and is happier. He still tests but that's only to be expected. I would recommend this book to parents with any type of child - not just those with strong-willed children.

I bought this book after being fustrated with my very strong willed 20 month old. It's not really geared towards toddlers but it applies all the parenting and discipline principals you need to use it on a toddler. It teaches you what parenting style you are and how it will relate to your childs attitude and then how to adjust the two to work together. I truly think this book has saved my life and both my husband and my sanity. We implemented the time out's as the book explains and after 1 week we saw a huge difference in our son. We no longer needed to raise our voice or smack his bottom to get a response from him. He would tune us out if we didn't. After the first week of using these methods he reverted and tested us more but the book says this is normal and by the third week we were finally getting another turn around in his behavior and responses. He no longer kicked and punched or bit when he was having a tantrum and if we asked him to stop playing with something that was off limits he would weight the consequences and 50% of the time test us to see if we would follow through with the time out. After 8 weeks I am proud to say he is an angel child. Temper tantrums are almost non existent and if you ask him to stop doing something he stops because he knows that we will follow through with the consequence (ie. time out or taking something away from him.) I am now telling everyone I know about this book. This book is not just for strong willed children it would work on any child and the chapter on different parenting styles is the key. I learned I was actually fueling a lot of the conflicts with my son. It helped me to see that both my husband and I had as much changing to do as we expected from our son. I also like that you achieve this with no yelling and no hitting. It's all based on consisitency. We hope everyone has as much good luck as we have had with this book.

I found this book in 1973 at age 13 after reading a TV guide profile of the show Kung Fu. It said that the show's philosophy was based on the Taoist writings of Lao Tse. I found a copy of this book in a used bookstore and it started me on a lifelong love and appreciation of this simple, natural and profound philosophy. I have found myself turning to this book at nearly all of my life's crossroads. I am now looking for a second copy because my original is so extensively highlighted and underlined, the binding's falling apart and I want to start all over again with a clean copy.
I have since read every collection and translation of Laoste and Chuangtse that I could find. They ranged from great to bad to unintentionally hilarious. This is still my dearest and most treasured one by far. Yutangs translation is direct and poetic. I love his idea of using Chuantse's parables to expand upon Lao Tse's verses. This book should still be in print.

Outstanding translation into Western idiom of Taoist concepts. This book is especially useful for linking Chuang-Tsu and Lao-Tsu allowing the reader to develop a systematic understanding of the two major thinkers of the Taoist tradition.

There are more than one hundred translations of Lao-tzu's TAO TE CHING in Western languages, and more than forty versions in English alone. Lao-tzu speaks to those searching for a more meaningful way of life in a society degraded by economic, militaristic, modern values. Robert Henricks' translation is notable in that it is one of several new translations based upon the Ma-wang-tui texts. These texts were discovered in 1973, preserved in the tomb of an official's son. That tomb has been dated to 168 B.C.

Professor Henricks is Professor of Religion at Dartmouth College, and he is a well-known scholar of the Ma-wang-tui texts. His translation is a work of impressive scholarship. He follows the classic two-part, eighty-one stanza form of the TAO TE CHING, giving us two versions of the text, the first his bare-text translation and the other delineated with his commentary and notes. His translation is more literal than Stephen Harrison's more popular poetic rendering of the TAO TE CHING, and more scholarly than Red Pine's translation. It is easy to compare Henricks' translation to Moss Roberts' more recent scholarly translation. Professor Henricks has given us a superior translation of Lao-tzu's TAO TE CHING.

G. Merritt

This Island Isn't Big Enough for the Four of Us is about the boys against the girls. The girls keep teasing the boys and the boys try to get them back but keep failing. One night the boys try to be sneaky and take down the girls tent. They thought the girls weren't around but the girls tricked them and cought the boys. They really scared them away. The boys were scared that the girls were going to see their little gingerbread tent. The girls ended up catching them and really laughed at them. The war between the boys and girls is hilarious. The boys are always trying to show off but the girls are always are always beating them. So the boys decide to put them to the ultimate test. They challenge the girls to race them up the hill. Then they have to grab the flag and race them back to the tree house. Who will win?

I got this book when I was 9 and I loved it immediately for its phantastic adventurous plot and twists. I think it is the best book I had as a child, making me laugh from the first page to the second last. It is so hilariously funny I still love to read it today - I'm 22 now and passing it on to my little niece. I know she will enjoy it as much as I did...

When Scott and his friend Pete think that they are going to a deserted island for five days they don't know whats in store for them. On the way to the island, Pete and Scott fall out of there canoe, they get laughed at by two girls. Scott and Pete know that they now have to get along on an island with two girls and find a way to get them back.

I liked this book because of all the pranks, jokes, and skrew ups that go on between the boys and girls. There is also a mystery on the island that Pete and Scott must find out. I reccomend this book to anyone who has a sence of humor and adventure.

An experienced colleague recommended this book to me at a conference. The title simply does not do this book justice but I bought it anyway. If you ever wondered how some consultants and professionals do such a good job obtaining and keeping clients, then READ THIS BOOK.

I have recommended this book to all my clients and they agree. More importantly, very few so-called "advisors" do what this book explains clearly. Tremendous resource for any professional but many very powerful techniques to help you close contracts without sounding like a used car salesman. The case studies and examples hit home and force you to stop and think about your own style.

Whether you are in sales, are an attorney, or providing any kind service or intangible, this is a great book. If you think you've read all the client oriented, consulting oriented "sales and success" books - but haven't read this ... then you are never going to be at the top of your field. This book is about bringing real authenticity to the relationships with your clients. Client executives can smell a sneak or a fraud a mile away. Today, business is more competitive than ever, making losing a client relationship a crime. Knowing how to keep a client, build a relationship and continue nuturing it, is an art. Maister points to great examples and gets you to thinking ... "if only I'd done that ..." or "next time I'll ...". This is a thinking persons book, one to be reviewed over again through the course of your career, but only if you want to be among the "trusted few" with seasoned, senior executives. Other great books along this line I recommend are: any of Maisters books, Patrick McKenna's material (see their web pages too), and Clients for Life by Andrew Sobel.

My introduction to David Maister came from the former managing director of Burson-Marteller's Tokyo office, who recommended True Professionalism. That book became one of the "required readings" for my training company's staff. Since True Professionalism, I've read Managing the Professional Service Firm and found it heavy, over-detail-oriented and difficult to apply. Now comes The Trusted Advisor (with other authors) and I can say without a doubt this best book on trust development I've read--putting real meat in those abstract concepts like "credibility." His chapter where he introduces the equation where Trust = Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy, all divided by Self-orientation, would be worth the price of the book. No, there probably is nothing new under the sun, but Maister in this book (and in Practice What You Preach, another gem) provides the keys to create better results for clients, and shows us how to turn those keys to start the engine. If there were 10 stars to give, I'd rate this a 10.

This book was my first taste of Robert Farrar Capon's writings. One of those underground treasures which makes its way by word of mouth, The Supper of the Lamb was a seminal book in my spiritual and literary development, along with his book, The Parables of the Kingdom. It may include recipes, but The Supper of the Lamb is a cookbook for life.

Each chapter offers lyrical insight on what it means to be human. Read about cutting an onion in "The First Session" and you'll never take an onion for granted again. "Wave Breast and Heave Shoulder" is one of the most beautiful and biblical passages in the entire book. I have read the final pages of "The Burning Heart" many, many times and never fail to be moved. Some sections of the book are reminiscent of Annie Dillard's descriptive style in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek or some of the best of M.F.K. Fisher's writings. Capon's salty observations balance the high spirituality, creating a complex blend of philosophy and kitchen craft.

As Capon himself says, "We were given appetites, not to consume the world and forget it, but to taste its goodness and hunger to make it great." This book continues to inspire my writing, my cooking, and my spirituality. If you want a flavorful literary feast, buy The Supper of the Lamb. I highly recommend Robert Farrar Capon's other books as well. Each one is a treasure.

I grew up around Bob Capon. My father is also an Episcopal priest, and our families often got together to break bread. The kitchen was the place to be. This book, which I hadn't read for many years, brought back lots of memories. Capon was one of the first "crazy" people I ever met. (I was around 9 years old.) I am a better person for it. Food and God. God and Food. They go together especially well in this book.

Lets face it...all of us who cook (unless we are filthy rich) do a lot of work with leftovers (Ferial cooking). Yet most folks buy cookbooks that give us these grand, one time and you're done (Festal cooking) recipes. This is not what you get from Robert Capon's "The Supper of the Lamb." This book is all about Ferial cooking--and proud of it.

Capon is a true wild man. He has become one of my favorite authors (His book Between Noon and Three is one of my top ten). "The Supper of the Lamb" is earlier, yet vintage Capon.

The book is indeed a cookbook. It is also so much more. What the reader will find here, besides the recipes, are reflections on life and reality. The theme of Ferial cooking is transferred to a kind of manifesto on Ferial living. Capon sees food, and life as well, through a lens of wonder.

Capon's book is really a recipe for living life more fully. While his recipes for food are great, it is this "larger" recipe that holds the greatest appeal for me.

I recommend "The Supper of the Lamb" to you with all my heart.

A fun read, and an excellent reference filling the huge gap between datasheets and most texts. A must have for anyone who touches hardware. I can't count the number of times I've gone to this book whenever I'm not quite using a device as intended, or I've got a sinking feeling I'm about to shoot myself in the foot with a design. I own *lots* of books and this book is packed with useful info that isn't found in any of them and isn't all that intuitive to start with.

Even for a seasoned engineer, there are useful tidbits and tricks in here that can really save you.... Lots of stuff is just common sense, but it's the little nuggets of gold hidden within this book that make it a worthwhile read. If you're just starting your career as an Electrical Engineer or technician, this book will make a tremendous resource. For the amateur, there's lots of good stuff in here such as diagrams for nifty and inexpensive test equipment - learn how to build your own active scope probe for [very little]! Well written and humorous it's not a heavy technical read, but one that will definitely impart some very valuable knowledge.

Great book! I got this book and read it in a matter of two days, its really good!

This books has lots of great advice and interesting ideas! I highly recommend it, a rather interesting book!

Asimov in his introduction to the short story, put it as a "tear-jerker" and his second favoutite story. It is my all-time favourite though - a wonderful read. The novel is good - there is some expansion on the Neanderthal times from where the boy is brought as a specimen to today's world. But what is truly relevant here is the way the maternal feelings grow in Nurse ???(whats her name) and how mutual love develops between the two. The finale is brilliant. I would recomment all to read this one. There is nothing special in the "Silververg" part as I see it. The short story of Asimov is what carries the thing through - and so, you may as well read the short story. Its his finest tale.

"A remarkably moving and chilling tale of what happens when past and present collide..." A charming and nostalgic trip into the past when SciFi really had a plot...

Wow, Asimov and Silverberg really know how to tell a story. This is the best sf novel I've read in a long time.