Broken Wings is a simple story which serves as a canvas for Kahlil Gibran's flights of beautiful prose and philosophical insight. Gibran's prose is simply redolent with images. His evocative narration paints pictures with words which both took me away and taught me. Gibran's point is so much more clear and simply arresting for the crispness of his imagery, such as when he writes: "Those ample treasure chests that the energy of the father and the thrift of the mother fill up are transformed into dark, narrow prison cells for their heirs. That mighty deity whom the people worship in the form of money metamorphoses into a horrifying demon who tortures the people and kills the heart." (p.51)

There were several thoughts of Gibran's that I found similarly significant. In talking about the blossoming of love, Gibran writes that love is not "born of long association and unbroken companionship." Instead, he writes, it is "the daughter of a spiritual understanding, and if that understanding is not achieved in a single moement, it will never be attained -- not in a year, not in a whole century" (p. 41). My limited experience leads me to believe precisely this. Likewise, I agreed with Gibran when he writes that "Limited love demands possession of the beloved, but infinite love desires only its own essence" (p. 97).

If Gibran has a fundamental message in Broken Wings, though, I think that it is surrounding the tension or balance between putting everything that we can into our love and our endeavors, and the need to contextualize that love or endeavor in such a way that it does not consume that which we are. Gibran's narrator struggles with this tension. He wants to spirit Salma away to a life of true love. He wants her to break her word to her father and follow her heart. Mostly, he doesn't want her to give up on their love. His defense of this course of action is passionate: "For the soul to experience torment because of its perseverance in the face of trials and difficulties is more noble than for it to retreat to a place of safety and calm. The moth that contines to flutter about the lamp until it burns up is more exalted than the mole that lives in comfort and security in its dark tunnel" (p.73).

The imagery is again evocative, and certainly, I think, speaks to me: if you are to pursue life, pursue it like the moth -- soaring to unimagined heights and experiences. Don't be a mole who attempts to prolong his life by simply hiding himself away -- but never really experiencing life. Live, don't simply preserve an unlived life. Such a good reminder for us.

Love (and any endeavor, I imagine) isn't always so black-and-white, though. Salma's understanding is deeper and more complicated: before even her emotions and her love, she places her commitment to her father and to her (unloving) husband. There is incredible power in her choosing integrity over running away to a love which Gibran paints as being the fulfillment of all of our hopes for love. There is some unspoken insight here about integrity and commitment, I think. It is, perhaps, part of the foundation of love itself, a necessary ingredient for its presence.

In the Broken Wings, Gibran touches a variety of subjects like love, plight of women, hypocracy of self serving religious heads, false values on which human socities are built, and true prayer and sacrifice. And all is told in very few majestically beautiful words without malice to any one.
"Love is the only freedom in the world because it so elevates the spirit that laws of humanity do not alter its course."
" Love is the offspring of spiritual affinity and ..........is created in a moment."
Gibran says of the plight of the women by describing them as
" the bird with broken wings in a cage."
Of heads of religions, Gibran says, "Thus the Christian Bishop and the Moslem imam and the Brahman priest are like sea reptiles who clutch their prey with many tentacles and suck their blood with numerous mouths." How true are these words!
Gibran tells how "in some countries, the parent's wealth is a source of misery for the children."
Yet the woman in the story, although falling in the abyss of miseries, prays "help me, my Lord, to be strong in this deadly struggle and assist me to be truthful and virtuous until death. Thy will be done, oh Lord God."
And finally she sacrifices her own life fot he sake of her beloved thus bringing glory to "sacrifice."
Tears rolled down my cheeks while reading the tragic end of the story. But I felt these tears have cleansed my spirit.
The reading of The Broken Wings is a must for any one who wants to experience a tearful smile or a sorrowful joy or miseries for a true prayer.

The power to love is God's greatest gift to man, for it never will be taken from the blessed one who loves.(Gibran) I am a fan of Kahlil Gibran and more than that I get steered spiritually when I read his books. As for Broken Wings well that book is surely one that has the greatest love story ever told. This first love of his was inspirational and has brought him along way into many many books. All of them written with emotion and with what we would say as of today with truth. How many of us would agree to social norms? Well as teenagers surely we hated society as they curbed our very life style, but this man with his first experience has really written so many books. He was truly an inspired person as no one could write so much on spirituality. Whatever his lifestyle, we are no judges for that. The books are what matter most. Most authors till date are not as young as he was and probably envy his being young and gifted into the world of TRUTH. We are still seeking what he already had.

I read the second book first as I had to order this one. On the whole, this is a good book, and my uppermost thought is, I wish more souls on the "Other Side" would undertake more such books so that we could gain a more balanced perspective. This book (and it's companion) are very unusual as it is written from the perspective of one who has passed to the Other Side...a real treat! I am not aware of another such book which is written from the perspective of the soul on the Other Side.

Since what I have read to date have been books on past life regressions, prolific NDE accounts, and books by mediums and psychics about the Spirit Worlds and the Afterlife, much of the content of this book confirms what I have learned from the others. So I am encouraged, about its contents.

However, in fairness, I do have a few concerns. Foremost appears to be any perception on the part of the writer of reincarnation. It is not only NOT mentioned, but presented with the sterotypical view that we only live once on Earth and then live for eternity in the Spirit. This is in contradiction to all else I have learned.

The author is very verbose and has a tendency to overstate and add considerable text where less would have been sufficient...thus I found myself skipping text which was redundant or excessive.

The author had at times a very defensive tone, with his many, many references to our human ignorance (which I found lacking in spiritual understanding, as we are all born into this world ignorant of our true spiritual selves). I would have expected an author whose mission it was to enlighten us with the facts, less defensive, and at times, condemning of us here on Earth who struggle to make sense of life or what is to come hereafter. What humanity needs is more understanding, especially because we do NOT have the facts at hand of these higher truths.

I found it hard to be critical of such a wonderful, and unique attempt, and wish to not do injustice to these works...but rather encourage more souls on the Other Side, to contribute similar works, which in their entirety, would constitute more enlightenment for us all.

My singular impression overall, is a job well done, with some reservations of its content, as I have noted above. Both books, this one and its companion, are well worth the read! : )

This book just proves what I have been reading before.Written in a very colourful language, easy to understand. Very powerful!! Gives you a piece of mind and hope.
I encourage you to read this book and compare to your own knowledge of the Spirit World and its laws.

Thank you very much,

Alex

If you ever feared the after life, then this book may answer many concerns you might have. It gave me a sense of hope, and something wonderful to look forward to. While reading the book, I felt a kindship with the protagonists, and a friendship that transcends time, and spiritual limitations.

Do yourself a favor, pick up a copy of the book, and enter a new dimension in your life.

Some things in life are best kept simple. This book does it. For any son that loves his father (uh...provided they are under the age of 10)

This is a fantastic book, especially to give dad on Father's Day or his birthday. It is a charming tribute to the daddy who is the funniest, nicest, strongest, bravest and just plain best in the eyes of his little girl or boy. It is good humored and happy, written in a style children find very appealing.

My grandson lives a long ways from me. He spent a couple weeks w/me while his parents went on vacation. We read this book every night and he loved it so that he could finish all the sentences on the pages. When he went back home, he could talk w/me on the phone and I'd start the sentence and he would finish it. It made a great bond for us and somehow made the miles seem shorter. He's only 1 1/2 years old and I miss so much. Maybe thru this book he won't forget me!

After reading "Flanders" by Patricia Anthony, and loving it, I decided to read another of her books, and "God's Fires" was the one I found at the bookstore. The decision to purchase it is one that I will not regret, for it is a wonderful, and well-written, work of fiction. The year is 1662, and a feeble-minded but good-natured teenager reigns in Portugal, but the Inquisition actually rules. In a remote village strange sights appear, and an "acorn" crashes to earth, leaving two live, and one dead, "creatures". But what exactly are these beings, and what about the other signs and wonders appearing in the area? The Holy Office of the Church will get to the bottom of the mystery, or people will burn. This book shows the fine line between faith and fanaticism, courage and foolishness, and love and lust. The language is all that I had expected from the author of "Flanders", and the pure emotion of this book practically leaps off of the page at you. The Church, and certain clergymen, do not fare well in their portrayal, but then, the Church has much to apologise for concerning the Inquisition. As I said when I reviewed "Flanders", read this book!

A "star" falls from the sky near Quintas in Portugal during the days of the Inquisition and the town is shaken by rumours of miracles and an outbreak of blatant heresy---all of which we folk of the 20th century might instead leap to interpret in terms of a clash between modern science and our own popular UFO mythology, although of course our theologians and politicians would also find plenty to say. Likewise, Quintas becomes the focus of an urgent Holy Office investigation conducted by an incompatible, bickering team of harassed priests and secular lawyers whose views range from the skeptical to the credulous, the politically expedient to the mystical. The mentally retarded, adolescent King Afonso sets up camp near the fallen "acorn", convinced by telepathic dialogue with the damaged space-vessel's failing computer that God is granting him personal revelations about the nature of the universe. While the confused young king shocks the assembled clergy with his Galilean heresies, including a quaint though accurate (according to current astronomical tenets) description of the formation of the solar system, his brother Pedro mounts an efficient political coup and wrests the regency from Count Castelo Melhor. And two silent, passive, enigmatic aliens docilely allow themselves to be imprisoned, gazing upon their captors with huge, unfathomable black eyes. Imps, demons, angels, pygmies from Africa or Borneo, strange New World animals "catapulted" into Portugal by the Spanish foe in a fiendish plot to sow civil disorder?

Anthony's ruthless and provocative account of the imaginary happening provides a lucid demonstration of how the unprecedented and the mysterious can only be analyzed and (mis)understood in terms of the prevailing beliefs of the time---its religious and philosophical convictions, the state of its scientific knowledge, its political prejudices, its popular myths and superstitions.

But this is also a novel of great humanity, with a cast of well-drawn, sympathetic, and lifelike characters whose interplay is both tragic and exalting: the soul-searching Jesuit Manoel Pessoa, a rationalist without faith, who hopes at first to defuse the dangerous situation with a cursory proforma inquiry sparing the Quintans dire consequences; his lover Berenice, a herbalist of Jewish origin, who cures the town's sick and is shunned as a witch; the kindly old Franciscan Soares, who believes in the angels; the selfish and gluttonous Inquisitor-General Gomes, who overrides the tribunal with his authority to light the pyres; the tense mystic Bernardo; the enchantingly quixotic King Afonso. "God's Fires" is a story of passion and doomed lives written with insight, biting humour, and bitterness---a far larger book than its disguising science-fiction component would immediately suggest.

What a fine (if lengthy) novel. High themes and low farce combine in this genre-busting book. It ain't quite science fiction and it ain't quite historical fiction, but who cares? I would guess that fans of this book will enjoy "An Instance of the Fingerpost," and vice versa.

This is Nietzsche's first, and in some ways the best, philosophy book. Prior to Human All-Too Human, he penned The Birth of Tragedy and Untimely Meditations. But it is only in this book that Nietzsche comes into his own as a philosopher. The book was written soon after his retirement from teaching, due to ill health, and Nietzsche suffered a lot from physical pain, while writing the book, having to take hashish to relieve it. The book contains opinions on almost everything under the Sun. Although it is clearly broken down into distinct chapters, the thoughts within chapters are not arranged systematically. This is intentional and represents Nietzsche mistrust of grand theorizing and excessively systematic thinking. He retained this aphoristic writing style till the last days of his productive life. Thus in his approach, Nietzsche anticipates both existentialism and post-modernism. He views life personally, passionately, and with distrust to grand system(narrative) building. Thoughts slither through the labyrinth of human life, revealing strartling insights and forcing us to reconsider received opinions and conventional wisdoms.

By Nietzsche's standards, the perspectives presented in the book are fairly measured, and the author's voice is not nearly as shrill as it would become ten years later, in his last books. Because Nietzsche settles at a high level of generalization, some opinions do sound narrow-minded and prejudiced. In this, Nietzsche was also a victim of his time and culture: his comments on women and "the youthful Jew of the stock exchange" are not intellectuals gems, to put it very mildly. Some of his other opinions, on marriage, for example, also strike me as strange. Overall, this is a book by an all-too-human philosopher, yet it is a path-breaking work, a precursor to existentialism and post-modernism, written in a style that can appeal to the reader sheerly as good literature.

In order to give form to his Overman, Nietzsche had to call to account many human failings and weaknesses, and then reveal their baseness to the world. Nietzsche identified so much that had to be rejected in human life and affairs, (and so much that constituted greatness), which is the reason for the sheer scope of "Human, All Too Human". In 638 short aphorisms it covers politics, warfare, ascetics, morals, art, poetry, marriage, crime & punishment, the soul, and the gamut of human feeling, emotion, motive, instinct, will to power, habit and need.

In Human, All Too Human", Nietzsche outlines the basis of his later, more focused works. It is distinguished from these by its lack of arrogance, lack of aggression and its lack of real direction. Chapters are harnessed together by titles such as "A Look At The State", "Man Alone With Himself", "Signs Of Higher And Lower Culture", Man In Society", and "Woman And Child".

The book was written just after Nietzsche gave up his professors chair at Basel in Switzerland, and around the time of his break from his erstwhile father-figure, Richard Wagner. Nietzsche had now lost the shackles of youth and employment and was at his most free-spirited and this book is testimony to that fact: "Human, All Too Human" is dedicated to deliciously-malicious free-spirits everywhere.

Less intense than some of his later work, this book evokes a walk in the mountains enjoying pleasant conversation with one of the most penetrating and enlightened minds in history. Less intense perhaps, but no less compelling or unsettling.

Nietzsche is often said to have entered a new period with the publication of Human All Too Human and the book is considerably more positivistic than his earlier writings. It aims at debunking unwarranted assumptions more than at defending a grand interpretation of its own, and it marks the high point of Nietzsche's interest in, and applause for, natural science.

Nietzsche describes what he means by "free spirits" in the preface to the second edition of Human All Too Human. Free spirits contrast with the typical human being of his era, who was, as the title suggests, all too human. Free spirits in contrast, are ideal companions that do not yet exist but may appear in the future. They are those who have freed themselves from the chains of the dominant culture, even from the bonds of reverence for those things they once found most praiseworthy. The dangerous period of the free spirit is introduced by the desire to flee whatever has been one's previous spiritual world, a desire that leads to a reconsideration of matters that previously had been taken for granted. The ultimate aim of this liberation is independent self-mastery and supreme health in a life of continual experimentation and adventure.

Human All Too Human is the first published work in which Nietzsche defends his famed perspectivism, the view that truths are one and all interpretations are thus formulated from particular perspectives. This perspectivism figures importantly in his debunking critique of morality which is first presented in Human All Too Human. Nietzsche denies that morality is anything but perspectival. Contrary to the claims of moralists, morality is not inherent in or determined by reality. It is, in fact, the invention of human beings. Moreover, morality has not been the same in every culture and at every time. Nietzsche explicitly contrasts Christian and Greek moral thought, typically claiming that Greek thought had been vastly superior.

Nietzsche, himself, considered the book a breakthrough because it openly articulated his unconventional conclusions for the first time. It also sealed the break with Richard Wagner, who received the book in silence. Nietzsche also considered himself to have moved far beyond Schopenhauerian metaphysics at this point in his life.

Human All Too Human was also the first of Nietzsche's published aphoristic works, where prior publications had been in the form of essays or similarly structured works.

Powerful Prayers is a Must Read Reading Powerful Prayers provides you amazingly simple examples of commuincating with God through personal everyday prayer. It opens the door to an otherwise complex arena of thought. The discussion between Larry King and Rabbi Katsof is sensitive and thought provoking. The interviews add incredible depth to the discussion. They also legitimize informal prayer, and the many different ways people have found to communicate with their respective spiritual beings. I recommend this book to everyone who is open to exlporing their individual communication with God. It is a must read. It has changed my entire understanding or paradigm in regards to my relationship with God outside of a house of worship.

Mr. King delved into the foundation of Spirituality and Religion and made simple an otherwise complex and controversial issue. The book focuses on the individual and his or her communication with God, while setting aside religious beliefs. I would like to recommend to friends who are too formal about prayers and to those who maybe agnostic such as Larry King in his book.

Unlike most "religious" category books, this book lacks the preachy quality that causes most readers to not absorb the text. This book insightfully breaks down barriers between different religious beliefs and simply brings forth the universal belief in a higher power. The people that Larry King and Rabbi Katsof chose to interview are made more personable and are made more tangible through their everyday prayers, which are similar to ours, and their quest to be closer to God. This book would make a fabulous holiday gift that is sure to please a recipient of any religious background.

The Red Fox is a great spy novel, which we all love. It takes place about ten years ago, so the KGB is still out there and that's a lot of fun. The main character in the book goes to many places including Toronto, Georgetown, and Leningrad (St. Petersburg). He even goes to my hometown of Detroit, and I must say that having dead bodies in garbage bags is pretty accurate for Detroit. A word of advice: READ THIS BOOK!

The RED FOX is, quite simply, the best spy novel I have ever read. It stands out against a fairly accomplished field of competition by being what the others are not--deep, atmospheric, and utterly believeable. Read this book at once!

I've read several spy and espionage stories, some very good ones. None hold a candle to this one. The story's main character is trying to locate the missing father of his friend/lover. His journey takes him all over the globe. Action, suspense, intrigue and mystery hit you on every page. It just never lets up and the plot constantly twists and turns. Just when you think you're figuring something out, Hyde throws something new into the mix. And if you can see the end to this one coming you are one clever cookie!

This may have been Hyde's first novel but he is certainly no stranger to writing, he's done his homework. The characters are authentic and well-fleshed out. The storyline, which takes place back in the late days of the Cold War, is superbly thought out. His prose moves along very well. The whole point here is that's it's real tough to criticize much of anything with this book. One of the 10 best books I've ever picked up. Hard to find any more, its out of print and disappears from used bookstores right now. If you see it, grab it!

This is a very complete and good book on NT 4.0 device drivers. The book takes you through lots of architectual issues in the first 400 pages or so, then walks you through details of drivers. The authors have a readable style and know what they are talking about. The biggest short coming in the book is a lack of real information on NT 5.0 drivers. Paul Lever, BlueWater Systems, Inc.

Before this book, I have written several NT drivers based on DDK samples and another book from Art Baker. Although I could make my drivers work, there are many mysteries to me. It is a little frustrating experience, coz NT driver is much different from those old VxDs in Win95.

This book is surprisingly clear. Chapter after Chapter, It is such a joy for me to get answers to some questions which perplexted me for a long time. :)

Strongly recommended!

David

Windows NT Device Driver Development (W3D) does an incredible job at explaining what is going on. Chapter by chapter (there are 24 chapters) a story unfolds explaining what events lead device drivers in Windows NT to run part of their code. Much detail covers what environment device drivers will find their code running in and how they should deliver things when handing over the next player.

I found the core chapters of this book to be the most interesting. For the first time I was reading about NT, and getting a good feel for the flow of control. While much detail is being presented, care was taken to keep the discussion moving. Cleverly topics that could distract the readers the train of thought are postponed a page or two and then given full attention. Source code is mostly discussed after the principles have been covered, and the code is all well commented, but also clear enough to be read without comments.

This book is an absolute must for anyone doing NT kernel programming or having a detailed interest in it. It is focussed on NT only and perhaps it is a pity that this wonderful discussion does not draw analogies with other operating systems, which often share similar principles. The clarity of the discussion is marvelous and enticing. Through the eyes of the masters, Windows NT appears to be a very interesting system.

I seem to remember Arthur Miller dismissing the notion that this Book is biographical, but it certainly reads that way....
One can not help but draw comparison to marilyn monroe from
the maggie character...in a most unfavorable way.
The main character's relationship with the various characters in this book reveal Arthur Millers feelings about his own Life...it's almost like a comment on his marriage to the movie legend and an explanation what happened to her.
As a Marilyn fan i find this to be an interesting read and a glimpse into Arthur Miller's side of it all.

An explicit play of the mind, with diction in the place of fiction, the trumpery of illusion forced into an epithalamion of sorts.

Everyone's read Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, myself included... but in my opinion, this play is Miller's most exceptional work! It is presented in a much less formulaic, more postmodern arrangement than his other works. He tackles goodness and sin in a manner uniquely his own, examining what modern man must seek out in life. He offers a hope for humankind which can only be achieved by the acknowledgement that we all exist "after the fall" from innocence and the necessity of each of us to relearn to live and to love in our way.

I think that says it all. If you are a chicken at heart, this book is not for you. This books tells it like it is, and that is good. We need to know that African Americans are the kings and queens of this world. That how the white man protrays us, is his distorted view. When you want to be like someone you will many times, mock what that person is or has. Mockery is the greatest form of flattery---I read that somewhere---and it is true. Whites want to be like us so badly, they could taste it. This book tells us, what we need to do to get back in line with how the Great Spirit inteneded for us to be. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

This book should be read by everyone of African descent. Discussed in this book are subjects such as religion, skin color, hair, the need to free your mind, the mysteries of melanin, sports and African Americans, your responsiblity to the future and many many more important topics. At the end of each essay, there are books that Mr. Browder has suggested for further reading. Read and enjoy!

THIS BOOK SHOULD BE PLACED IN OUR HISTORY CLASSES. IT WILL BE PASSED ON TO MY CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.