Todd Vickers spends much of the book showing his knowledge of the deceptions of ego. He's well versed on this. Although informative in that area, he failed to give a clear idea into the how's of self-inquiry, which would bridge into self-awareness/enlightenment. I walked away from the book saying, "You're right", but that's about it. I'm sure dealing with Todd one-on-one someone might fair better into the bridging process than by reading this book. If you're looking for little gems of understanding of your minds attachments to thinking, then this book has them. Additionally, if you don't buy the book at full cost and feel his message was helpful, donate to his publications as a thank you. Everyone needs to make a living. I suggest the author might think about venturing into writing about tantra and sex as a path to enlightenment, for that seems to be where most of his attention is focused; and his candor is refreshing.

Remarks on the two books
TRUTH LIKE FIRE & THE PARADOX OF SELF-REALIZATION

What these books can be like for at least one person, myself: Suppose there's something important you ran into sometime back. You meant to follow up on it, but it was rather disturbing and you didn't get around to it. Then you run into a reminder, and remember that there have also been other reminders. These books can be like that.

I hesitated to give a high rating to these books because that is a general statement and their value will depend very much on the individual. Very high for some, perhaps of no value at all for others. I thought maybe the reason these books "got" to me was that I knew (though slightly) some of the individuals named (though before they took on those names). However, my son saw them lying around, picked them up, read them with considerable interest, and refers to them now and again in conversation. You would have to know something of me, my son, and our relationship to appreciate how remarkable this is. Think I'll buy him copies. They'll probably just be around for a while. And then someday he may look into them again.

I heard of this book because a friend was criticizing it. He was quite vigorous in his spiritual judgment. It sounded like a witch burning. I thought, what is so alarming about this book? I decided to see for myself. Now I understand, What Todd is writing about in TRUTH LIKE FIRE is so obvious that it is shocking. I don't know what else to say other than I am glad I read it, and I will read it again and recommend it to those I love.

Lee Waldren

If someone was only looking for a guide to introduce them to the correct ways of migrating from NT to 2000, and their main goal was not taking the Microsoft Exam, then this would be a great title. The author does a good job walking you thought the general terms and concepts, planning, pre-migration preparation work, how to migrate and troubleshooting techniques. It's like a step one in a five step process.

The title, however, serves only as a secondary tool for studying the 70-222 exam. The Microsoft exam is very exacting. There are precise guidelines and rules to follow for any of the three types of migrations you can do. Unfortunately, the author quite often conveys information which contains his personal opinion on the way it should be done, or leaves you with a hazy feeling of 'well, which way is it supposed to be done?' Many parts of the book are a little bloated in that the concept for the whole chapter really could have been summed up in a paragraph while still conveying the information correctly. Looking back over the book post-exam, I notice that many heavily tested on components are either not mentioned, or so briefly as to not supply the information needed.

In summary, it's a good introductory title for users wanting to know how to migrate their networks and worth the read. For test preparation, the reading should be in conjunction with Microsoft's Domain Migration Cookbook white paper and the help file for the Active Directory Migration Tool.

I passed exam 70-222 by using this book and the Domain Migration Cookbook....

Every Chapter is detailed extremely well, but the end of chapter questions are NOTHING like the exam.

This book is great, but in order to earn 5 stars I would like to see the cd include a more accurate depiction of the actual MS test.

I was blown away by Case Studies! The case studies in this book are child-like compared to the real deal.

I've passed all of my MCSE tests with Sybex, but they need to upgrade their testing software to keep themselves above the pack...

Hope this helps.

I used both this book and the Syngress book to get ready for the 70-222 exam. I found this one to be far superior, and would highly recommend it. Author Todd Phillips is one of the best technical writers I've come across -- he gives good explanations without becoming too bogged down in meaningless detail, is well-organized, and covers all the bases. And he writes clearly (no re-reading paragraphs umpteen times to figure out what he means!). The end-of-chapter review questions are somewhat superficial and don't go nearly as in-depth as what you'll find on the exam, but they do serve as a good refresher at the end to make sure you're familiar with all the main points. If you're planning to take 70-222, I'd urge you to get this book first.

Even if you're willing to believe that these two men are channeling the thoughts of 3 spirits, at the very least, these spirits are not particularly inspired. This book is basically a long-winded over-explanation of a familiar theme in self-help books and New Age spiritualism: Everything happens in your life because you subconsciously want it to and you can consciously channel that internal energy to attain more desirable and focused goals. With this follow-up book, Fengler & Varnum have now stretched this simple idea into about 500 pages overall. If you read Hernacki's "Ultimate Secret To Getting Absolutely Everything You Want" you'll get the same idea in 400 fewer pages and save yourself $25 to boot. Or just read "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" again and get the same basic message.

I read Manifesting Your Heart's Desire by the same authors. So I decide to try this book and absolutely loved it. Their style is so easy to read. The book is very clear with lots of examples. A must read for the more difficult manifestations like relationships, prosperity, and health. My hat is off to the authors on this one.

I just love all the personal examples taken from average people who are on the spiritual path. This book shows how these people handle difficult things in their life while being both in the physical world and on the spiritual path.

A neat little board book. Basically, each page has 3 clues drawn on it, and you draw the answers to the clues. Not too much reading involved.

I went on a treasure hunt.And I found a crystal ball.
It was red, it was ruby,it was a slipper, it was dorothy's.
dorothy gale from the wizard of oz she follow's the yellow brick road.

I really enjoyed the book and the game ideas...it's great for kids and even adults for when those long trips get longer! I recommend it for anyone - it'll even keep the kids busy just driving across town! I look forward to more creative ideas from Susan Todd. Keep up the great work!

This book was great, since we have been taking many road trips this summer. It keeps my kids occupied and out of my hair while I am driving.

A brilliant way to explain the rehabilitation work of the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, in Philadelphia. Good for parents of recently diagnosed children, as well as siblings trying to understand why their disabled brother or sister needs so much attention and love!

It is a well written story showing how much a brain injured person suffers along with their family. This book tells you that people who are brain injured can get better and can overcome this setback. In order to overcome this though many people need to spend hours and hours each day, every day until their job is done.

Finally a Celtic baby names book with both pronunciation and background on the names! I am a writer and I found it particularly useful with my writing. Alternate spellings are also given.

Ms. Todd brings us an assortment of 2,000 Celtic names from six Celtic countries/regions, including Cornwall and Brittany. All entries are cross-referenced and include variants of spelling and pronunciation guides. Commentary includes the names in myth, as well as regional popularity of the names. Writers of historical fiction and historical romance will find this book to be a handy, well organized resource.

On the back book cover of this book it bills itself as The Mother of All Comedy Books...and it is.

Comic Relief is a quick-read, laugh-out loud collection of some of the very best comedy routines that appeared on the Comic Relief HBO specials from 1986-1995. Among the many (not all are listed in this review) comedians' work contained here are: Louie Anderson, Richard Belzer, Elayne Boosler, Billy Crystal, Whoppi Goldberg, Richard Jeni, Richard Lewis, Bill Maher, Dennis Miller, Paula Poundstone, Gary Shandler, Bob Saget -- you get the idea.

A question does arise: if you READ a comedian's routine (his or her "set") is it still funny? The unequivocal answer is: it depends.

I loved this book. I laughed at loud when I read this book. But it's interesting how some comedians you like a LOT are not as funny when you read what they are actually saying. The reason: their personna (their body language, their speech pattern) has a lot to do with the laughs they elicit. On the other hand, there are others who you may not have appreciated whose material is an absolute howl when you read it on the page.
It's easy to see which comedians have achieved success partly due to their personna and which other ones seem to have risen to the top largely due to sharp writing and editing that's funny even when you read it without seeing the delivery.

So this book is worth OWNING for several reasons:
--If you love comedy, there's some great stuff in it. You can put this book down, then go back after a year and read it again and it's still funny.
--If you are a student of comedy, it shows you some great comedy scripts. You'll be amazed at how you'll react at some of these bits if you don't SEE the comedians...and how amazed you'll be at how well written some of these monologues are. If you're doing comedy writing or performing it has some excellent routines that you can analyze to see what makes audiences laugh.

Standouts as far as being funny in script form include routines by Louie Anderson (the most anecdotal of all comedians), Gary Shandling, Richard Belzer, Richard Jeni (truly hilarious), Elayne Boosler, Rita Rudner, Stephen Wright (the best modern comedian to read in printed form), Bob "Bobcat" Goldthwait (whose mantra is "Scott Baio is the antichrist...") and Richard Lewis (who seamlessly blends strong personna and extremely strong comedy script).
This book also has short sections on homelessness and is a pitch for getting more money for "the cause."

Overall, a fun book to read, to own, to study (if you're into comedy and/or a comedian) and to re-read.

Comic Relief was excellent. It was probably the fastest I have ever finished a book. It had all the stand-up comedians from comic relief years past and they kept me laughing non stop. If you like to laugh then you'll love to read this book.

This book is written as it has been culled from Brassai's personal journal and notes over a period of almost fifty years.

It reads more like a compendium of valuable snippets and insights rather than as a continuous narrative. Brassai as a photographer met Picasso in Paris and was invited by the painter to take some photographs of his work. Most of these photographs were actually of Picasso's small (and not so small) recent sculptures. It was common practice for all sorts of artists at that time(and earlier) to have professional photographs taken of their output so they could see their creations from a different, more removed perspective (vanity?). Picasso was certainly no different.

Picasso himself was an avid amateur photographer and as John Richardson has pointed out in his excellent Picasso Bio. he was not merely content to paint the paintings he also tried to somehow install himself in his pictures via self portaits with various paintings as backgrounds. The camera had become an instrument of magic tele-kinesis.

Brassai's notes show us how enthusiastic Picasso was about his new friend's talents in portraying Picasso's sculptures as if new. Brassai goes on to render much detail of the retinue of followers and sycophants that daily alighted on Picasso's doorstep in Rue Grand Augustin during those mostly war years. One sees completely how it was none other than Picasso himself who craved such fawning even if he did ignore most of their attentions.

It is obvious that Brassai wished to cause no offence with this publication as he discounts all of Picasso's nasty foibles as necessary bohemian artistic exigencies.

The book is full of wonderful photographs of the characters that came into contact with the great man as well as various photos of Picasso's studio, output and abundant clutter.

There is even a complete listing of Picasso's paint requirements. I found that fascinating. One is reminded of Marcel Duchamp's comments that all paintings are really the same in as much as they all start out as a given colour range of tubes of oil paint.

There is little humanity in the observations and maybe that is no bad thing. Picasso and Sabartes are portrayed as two scheming nuncios whose Catalan dialect was the spoken code of choice. Much is given to calcuation of Picasso's position with Byzantine nuance and deliberation. Should he sign this picture? Should he see that dealer?

Overall, a valuable addition to the ouevre on Picasso and a book that can easily be dipped into from time to time.

This is quite simply a wonderful book, and a splendid new translation of a great classic about the Paris art world during the 30s and 40s. Brassai was a witty, wry observer of Paris life and an excellent writer as well as photographer. The episodes he captures of Picasso's life are irreplaceable, often hysterical--and not recounted in other, stuffier books on the great modern artist. Highly recommended for art lovers. A pleasure to read

Don't Get Caught in the Teachers' Lounge

The novel, Don't Get caught in the Teachers' Lounge, by Todd Strasser, is a story about three kids trying to pull off a scam at their school. If they get caught, they could get expelled. Wilson, Dusty, and Kyle, are buying drinks from the teachers lounge, and selling them in the boy's bathroom.
They novel takes place at the Harts Mark's Middle School, but the theme of the story is, when you do something bad, but you know you won't get caught, you shouldn't do it anyways. The main characters of the story are Wilson, Dusty, and Kyle. Wilson, is the kind of guy that likes to invent things and is always getting into trouble. Dusty, on the other hand, is a slick guy that can talk his way out of anything. Kyle, is just a nice guy that no one would expect to get in trouble. I like Dusty, Kyle, and Wilson, because they are funny when they mess up. I like the way the author wrote the book. I liked how he told about the different things. I also liked the way the author ended the novel.
Todd Srasser, keeps the reader interested by making things funny. The vocabulary is about right for the complication of the story. I liked the way the author told about everything. However, I think the author might have described everything a little too much. I recommend this book for right year olds to eleven year olds. It would be too hard for younger children and too easy for older children. I would recommend this book because it's funny, has some action, and isn't boring. From a scale from 1* to 5* I rate it * * * *.

K.A.B

It is a really good book about three kids who are really thristy and the teachers' lounge is the only spot that has pop. They go into the lounge and ... you will have to read the book to find out what happens to them. I would recommend this book to all kids in elementary school.