Just as Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi has established itself as peerless and eternal among the masses of spiritual biographies and surveys published each century, God Talks to Arjuna is becoming recognized as that singular presentation of the Bhagavad Gita which will be studied and restudied by sincere seekers and scholars for ages to come. The handsome and lavishly illustrated 1200-page, two-volume set is available in both a finely bound slipcased hardcover edition ... and a surprisingly inexpensive paperback printing ... For a volume that will likely be reconsulted, Bible-like, many times over the years, the hardcover edition is to be recommended if your budget can possibly permit.

Each of the 700 Bhagavad Gita verses is presented in both Sanskrit and English. More importantly, each verse is followed by commentary and expansion that integrates your study of the Gita with the entire spiritual science of Raja (meditative) Yoga. Hundreds of thoughtful commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita have been published over the centuries; some have been finely crafted by brilliant intellects; only a handful have come from realized sages; in this long-awaited Self-Realization Fellowship edition we have the insights of a soul who has experienced and mastered all the spiritual heights extoled by this dearest of Indian scriptures.

Yogananda dictated his commentaries to his most trusted students during retreats to the southern California desert during the late 1940s. Those disciples related how the yoga master would, from his state of samadhi (conscious communion with God), pour out this uninterrupted stream of spiritual erudition throughout the night, surpassing the endurance of his much younger scribes. One close disciple vividly recalls today how merely to enter the room during these divine dictations had the feel of being ''in the very presence of The Divine.'' In meditating lovingly upon his words in these volumes the modern reader may again dip into that Presence.

READING RECOMMENDATION: These volumes are highly distilled spiritual liquor - unsuitable for casual guzzling. The extensive introduction alone provides a spiritual-eye-opening background to the Himalayan heights of India's most venerated scripture. Yogananda therein explains how he applied the special intuitive approach to scripture taught him by his guru, the Puri sage Sri Sri Swami Yukteswarji. From his ability to sustain the highest spiritual state of Nirbikalpa Samadhi, Yogananda would derive his Gita commentary by uniting his consciousness with that of the Gita's author, Vyasa, and of its principles, Bhagavan Krishna and disciple Arjuna. Your intellectual analysis of Yogananda's resulting masterpiece will immediately impress your mind with his ability to reveal multiple levels of meaning from the complexities of the Sanskrit verses; but it will require a gradual digestion of these meanings and quiet reflection (ideally: interspersed with periods of meditation) to begin to assimilate their spiritual potency. As an example of 'gradual' I will mention the approach our local study groups took: reading one page per day, then meeting weekly to meditate and share insights and questions. At this rate the two groups I facilitated each took three years to complete the two volumes - but provided us with our richest spiritual rewards ever. However you pace yourself, first of all SAVOR. Then, best of all, PRACTICE... the guidance offered by Krishna, Vyasa, Arjuna, Yogananda: meditate on The Divinity within and around you.

Namaste. --rp

I have enjoyed many noteable works of great inspiration, but reading "God Talks With Arjuna", was literally a breathtaking experience. Not just another Gita commentary - this work contains many original spiritual insights and practical, balanced, religious approaches to life that are desparately needed in to-days world. But most of all, PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA was a Living Example of that ideal Christlike perfection as taught in the Gita and has inspired millions with his "Autobiography of a Yogi". A rewarding in depth revelation awaits any serious, sincere seeker of truth. Especially recommended for the serious religious scholar and devotee. If you have not yet found a satisfying answers to lifes most profound questions, this would be a good place to find clear, simple, practical, spiritual direction and understanding. A complete reference book for living the Spiritual Life and guiding your journey to Self-Realization.

Essential reading for anyone interested in yoga, whether as a practictioner or as a scholar, this book also offers a lot to those interested in other paths of transformation. This is a brilliantly executed work: verse by verse, the book provides the sanskrit text, the English translation and Yogananda's comprehensive commentary mining the Gita's many levels of meaning. For example, Yogananda explores the Gita's depiction of events (the armies of Arjuna and his brothers arrayed against their foes) as an allegory for every aspirant's internal struggle between the forces leading towards spiritual realization and the forces (e.g. sense-slavery, sloth, lack of discrimination)that thwart it. Within this context, he also examines the dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna as a reflection of the inner dialogue between Spirit and soul (hence the "God Talks" title). On other fronts, Yogananda makes connections between the Gita and Pantanjali's Yoga Sutras and the Sankhya philosophical traditions. In ways I am not yet able to articulate, this book helped me bridge the gap between what I categorize--imprecisely I'm sure--as yogic and non-yogic traditions. (By yogic I mean any meditative tradition that predicated on the existence of Spirit, the realization of which serves as the final goal, vs. non-yogic by which I mean meditative traditions that assert Emptiness as the final goal.) Ultimately, what makes this book so powerful is that Yogananda clearly knows whereof he speaks. The result is a book that speaks in direct and practical terms to the aspirant, while also able to satisfy the pedant.

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao."

So begins this version of the Tao Te Ching. This book provides an experience of the Tao like few others. First, there is the blank page. Lots of white space. The absence, the void.

"The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used, but never filled."

"Profit comes from what is there, / Usefulness from what is not there."

Emptiness is the vessel which contains the words and images of this experience. Each chapter is written in both English and Chinese. I don't even pretend read Chinese, but the characters evoke a sense of something beyond ...

"The form of the formless / the image of the imageless / it is called indefinable and beyond imagination."

The English translation reads smoothly. This is not the awkward prose frequently stumbled over when a scholar attempts to reproduce the ambiguities of the original in a foreign tongue. These words play smoothly together. The text does

"not tinkle like jade / or clatter like stone chimes."

The final element in this alchemy is the photographs:

"Less and less is done / until non-action is achieved. / When nothing is done, nothing is left undone."

Absent in this volume are the reams of footnotes which clutter most Taos I've read. Absent, too, are chapters on historical background and the relationship to Confucianism. If you seek these things, seek elsewhere.

For me, this book has opened a way to the Tao.

It is hardly difficult to understand the enduring quality of the Tao Te Ching. Written by Lao Tsu in the sixth century BC is a simple, quiet book that reflects upon our true nature and our behavior. Broken up into 81 'chapters' or short poems, it comprises a mere 5,000 words. Every other sentence is a memorable quote, and one can read it in an hour and study it for a lifetime.

What I do find remarkable is the durability of this particular edition. My copy is ancient, dating back to my college days. At frequent intervals it seems to come to hand and I will peruse it again and enjoy the clarity of this translation by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English. They have carefully chosen a simple, accessible style which I feel completely captures the nature of the Tao. "What is a good man? A teacher of a bad man.

What is a bad man? A good man's charge."

Accompanying the text are many fine examples of Gia-Fu Feng's calligraphy and Jane English's photographs. While I like Chinese calligraphy, I lack the understanding to make any judgement. I can only report that it shows flow and grace, and works perfectly with English's photographs. These latter capture, most often with natural images, a play of contrast which often is as calligraphic as the accompanying handwriting. Thus, the book itself is a careful balance between content and form.

At the end of the day, or in an otherwise tense moment, this volume has often been the source of the tiny bit of sanity that makes the next day possible. There is much to meditate on here and this edition is a precious resource for the seeking mind.

For me, the Tao Te Ching is the most profound book ever written. This version is my personal favorite. I find the the gorgeous pictures go a long way to helping my limited understanding of the text.

Mindfulness is not an easy concept to explain in words yet H. Gunaratana does a nice job of doing just that. First and foremost, this book is a beginner's guide to the practice of Vipassana (or Insight) meditation. Having it's roots in the Gutama Buddha's life over 2500 years ago, Vipassana meditation is a skill that takes only a short while to learn but a lifetime of dedication to master.

The introduction gives a brief look at the roots of the practice and tells the reader that meditation is intrinsically experiential so the best way to get started is to just sit and try it. In the following chapters, Gunaratana helps the reader to understand exactly what meditation is and what it isn't. From there he goes into more detailed instructions as to what your mind and body should be doing while you meditate. This is accompanied with useful tips on dealing with problems that may arise in your practice, including the 5 major hindrances that nearly all meditators face. The book wraps up with a more in depth look at exactly what "mindfulness" is and how to "take it from the cushion" and integrate it into our daily lives.

I found this book very easy to read and understand and feel it would be an excellent guide for people just getting into Buddhism and meditation. Already being the owner of a collection of books on Buddhism, this book didn't offer any new revelations but I was extrememly pleased with the sections on mindfulness and have already used some of the author's suggestions on integrating it into daily life. The main reason I did not give the book 5 stars is because it offers much more for the new reader than it does for one with more experience.

If you buy this book and still feel like you could use more detailed instructions on meditation, I recommend you also purchase "Change Your Mind: A Practical Guide to Buddhist Meditation" by Paramananda (ISBN: 0904766810).

Somehow I feel that a long review would be unfaithful to the spirit of this great book. Not since I discovered Alan Watts some ten years ago have I read such clear words in the context of buddhism. You will find great introductions to meditation in your local bookstore, from which I recommend the books of Chogyam Trungpa, his student Pema Chödrön, the American Surya Das, and last but not least Sogyal Rinpoche (all from the Tibetan tradition). But "Mindfulness in Plain English" (from the Theravada tradition) stands on a class of its own. If you are a rookie practitioner like me and you do not have the good fortune of having a qualified teacher around, I believe this little manual alone, and discipline, can take you a long way. And you will not exhaust it in one reading. The language is deceptively simple and the book contains some very nuanced discussions (e.g. the distinction between "mindfulness" and "concentration" should be required reading to philosophers of the mind; by the way, when will the Searles and the Dennetts ever discover the buddhist insights about consciousness?) This review is long enough: read the book and meditate everyday. You will be better and so will the world.

Sometimes when I pick up titles on meditation, yoga, or other practices associated with Eastern philosophy, mysticism or relgion, I am overcome with the author's inability to say what they mean in language that is useful to the rest of us. My relief was enormous, therefore, when a friend gave me this book by Venerable Henepola Gunaratana! This book is exactly what the title implies...easy to read and understand because it is not written in mystic hokum, rather it is written in plain english. The result is a manual for the beginning student of meditation that is sufficient to get you well on your way to benefitting from the practice of Insight Meditation.

In "Mindfulness" you will gain an understanding of what mindfullness is, how to cultivate it both during sitting practice and the rest of the time, tips on how to sit and how to overcome some of the most common distractions (including your feet going to sleep and your back hurting), and what to look for and what to avoid. I have not been practicing meditation for long, and this book was of enormous value in helping me identify the things I was doing that served as barriers to effective insight meditation, as well as giving me ideas on how to enhance the effectiveness of my meditation.

This is an extremely practical book for the western practitioner. It draws heavily upon the Buddhist paradigm, but the techniques for effective meditation cross all sect boundaries, and the beginning practitioner of any faith will find this book of enormous benefit. I would strongly encourage the reader to suppliment this book with "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Nhat Hahn. The two together are a delightfully easy to read but complete and well rounded introduction to the practices of Insight Meditation. If you want to know how but don't want to hire a Yogi to translate, this book is the place to start.

There's a lot of very interesting material in this book. I found descriptions of the human condition and basic tenets of Buddhism to be intelligently written, and to be inspiring at times. However, I'd like to issue a warning to skeptical people like me who have little interest in unproven or unprovable opinions and expressions of "faith" in their Buddhism. This book spends a lot of time on Tibetan ritual. It cites numerous examples of things the author has seen that seem to prove reincarnation, the possibility and power of enlightenment, karma, near death experiences, etc. When enlightened monks die, did you know that their bodies often don't rot? Or that their bodies disappear into thin air, or that rainbows appear thousands of miles away? That dead monks bodies stay warm for weeks? These things may or may not be true, but I'm just skeptical enough to not want to take the author's word for them. If you tackle this book, brace yourself to read about a lot of belief topics, and then prepare to be accused of being too cynical and capitive of your own ego for doubting it. I would categorize this book as religious Buddhism, as opposed to philosophical Buddhism. An aside: the author's reverence and love for his teachers and his faith is truly touching. His knowledge is great, his love is great, but I'm not sure that makes him the best possible reporter for those who are seeking truth instead of opinion.

This book should be read by or to everyone at some point in their lives. It not is not just for the buddhist. As His Holiness, the Dalia Lama explains, no matter what religion you practice the goal is the same: happiness. This book can be an inspiration at all times in life. Once you have read it through once, it is organized in such a way, so one can go back and read certain sections to help along the way. Sogyal Rinpoche captures the essence of his purpose of creating the book when he writes: "to learn how to die, is to learn how to live." That simple statement is a social commentary on the development of modern society and the direction it is heading in. The ageing and dying are quickly isolated and doctors are rarely educated in emotional or spiritual care. Sogyal Rinpoche's proposes a new attidute to those who are in a stage that we all will reach at some point. His beautiful writing style and comforting compassion radiates from the pages themselves. I do not associate myself with any one religion, but consider myself a wanderer following my own road in search for answers, for all those who feel the same, this book can illuminate some of the darkness that surrounds us all who have not yet awakened.

This book gives you a spirutal, personal and intimate understanding of death and dying. More than that, it compels you to stop and take a deep and serious look at your own life and your own death. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying helps to alievate your own fear of dying and helps you take the responsibility to prepare for your death. At the same time, it gently helps you prepare yourself for the death and dying of a loved one. The teachings and personal experiences of Sogyal are simple to understand and intrepret and incorporate into your personal life. I wholeheartedly recommend this book for every introspective person as well as for those facing the death of a loved one.

This has long been a best seller and justifiably so. Kabat-Zinn works clinically with people who are stressed and his earlier book, Full Catastrophe Living, was written for people who are almost pathologically stressed, to bring them the beneficial effects of meditation. The present book is written for average people on the street, who may not need so urgently the therapeutic effects of meditation, but in the belief that we can all of us use a healthy dose of it. It is written with no religious strings attached, and even avoiding the word "spiritual," and yet it has the ability to open up the spiritual realm for us, no matter what we wish to call it. It is an introduction for the beginner and a source of good advice for the practitioner of meditation. It's written in bite-sized chapters, in clear, easy and very readable prose. It is a delight to read. The book's three parts explore the why and how of meditation and its many applications in daily life. Many chapters conclude with suggestions for reflection or meditation. It is concentrated wisdom that deserves much rereading and a permanent place on your library shelf.

a way to slow the pace of your busy world, Jon Kabat-Zinn can express the "out of body" concepts of meditation in a way that no one else can.

You get to choose: "Wherever you go...." is a book that can be explored over and over, that can start you on a path to a new habit to find within yourself what you need to survive today's busy world; that can help you find a new habit to renew the life you lead. Or, utilize its message just as a brief "chapter read" to jump start the positive if you are not looking for a lifelong habit.

It is very difficult to express, in words, the inner activities that result in becoming comfortable in your own skin. Kabat-Zinn writes thoughtfully and honestly about how he has accomplished this, and what things might work for you. There are many treasures in this book. For me, his ability to describe the rewards one gets from practiced patience, and to impress upon the reader the simplicity of the "body scan" and how it can lead to the habit of lying down meditation are two examples of things that readers can take away at any given time from his book.

Many self-help readers today are looking for the "quick fix" or some small coping practice they can employ to keep their days positive. In some ways, in addition to helping you understand why meditation works and why it can change your life, Kabat-Zinn writes a poetic and illuminating version of the "one minute help" chapters that the "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" series provided to these readers in the busy working world.

When you couple his vision and ideas with the lovely verse that liberally sprinkles his book (Kabir, Thoreau and Whitman are favorites) you have a quiet and inspirational message that can do more to help you understand and eliminate your stress than can all the meditation, control and organizational techniques advocated in today's America could ever do.

Read "Wherever you go, there you are" and learn how mindfulness can change the course of your daily life for the better. It works.

In Jon Kabat-Zinn's first book, Full Catastrophe Living, he details the relationship between stress and health and outlines his program for reclaiming your life. True to his style of revealing the extraordinary aspects of the otherwise ordinary, this book shows the reader how to enrich many day-to-day activities through mindful living.

I particularly enjoyed the format. The book first introduces the reader to the concept of mindfulness and then it provides short chapters about how mindfulness can be applied to various aspects of life. Making the chapters short and focused on a particular facet allows the reader to quickly read and apply the techniques in a step-wise fashion, incrementally applying mindfulness to different aspects of life.

I first became aware of Kahlil Gibran when I read a poem of his that was on the menu at my favorite Lebanese restaurant. Ever since then, I have sought out his books. The Prophet is my favorite. Several of the "poems" or passages are fully relevant to parts of my life. The book makes one feel good and inspired to do good for others. There is barely an aspect on life that the poems do not touch on-love, marriage, death and all of our own insecurities and doubts about people and life. This would be a good book to give to a friend who is going through a rough time, or just has unanswered questions at a certain point in their lives. The writing is lucid, insightful, and will be relevant for as long as time goes on.The drawings add to an already great work. At my favorite Lebanese restaurant, I not only found good food-I thankfully found Kahlil Gibran.

Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet is a book that has touched many people very deeply since it's publishing in 1923. It has been translated into more than twenty languages, and the American edition alone has sold more than four million copies. It is considered both by Gibran himself, and by the general public to be his literary masterpiece. The Story is about a prophet leaving a town, and as he leaves he imparts some of his knowledge to the towns people. Gibran himself was born in Lebanon in 1883. He was a poet, artist, and philosopher. His fame and influence has spread through the world, superceding linguistic and cultural barriers. His poetry has been translated into more than twenty languages, and his drawings and paintings have been distributed and showcased all around the world. In the last twenty years of his life he lived in the United States, and began to write in English. The book The Prophet was written during this time period. His words and pictures change the way that people look at life, and people find them to be an expression of the deepest impulses of man's heart and mind. The Prophet is about a man who is leaving a small town called Orphalese where he has made his home for the past twelve years. He has, for that time period, been waiting for a boat to take him back to the land of his youth. We are not told where that land is, only that he has been waiting to return there for twelve years. The entire book occurs on the date of his departure. As he is about to leave, the townsfolk stop him in the town and request that he tell them about certain things. He talks to them about life's lessons and imparts his wisdom to them. He is asked about giving, and he tells the people to give without recognition, because their reward is their own joy. He also talks about things like marriage, work, friendship and also love. He speaks about each, and more, describing the way that people should deal with each issue. This book is an interesting book. It is ninety-three pages of life's lessons set down in writing. These are words to live by, and tell others to live by. This book is certainly a book that everyone should read. Even if people don't agree with some of the beliefs, they should still read the book, if only to get their mind thinking about life, and it's many quandaries from a different perspective. This book is not unlike the musings of an aging man imparting his life's lessons to an audience of just about anyone whom he can gather to listen to him. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's lessons and stories are wise beyond the ages, and still hold up to be as true today as they were when Gibran wrote them in 1923. The lessons enumerated within this pages are lessons that one would hope were followed by the general population, and I know that if more people read this book, then the world as a whole might become a more easily survivable place.

Gibran gets right down to the bedrock of what it is all about. He was obviously a very enlightened man, and The Prophet is so completely, psychologically and spiritually healthy. Anyone who would not consider this work a standard for healthy living, is simply simple-minded. This book should be offered to all high school students as a guide in gaining perspective on what is really important in life. I first read The Prophet about 10 years ago, and I typically read it about once a year, just to remind myself. However, I gave my copy to my son who showed signs of being "at risk" at age 17. I believe the book had a significant, positive impact on him, and he is now 20 and living a very responsible and balanced life. After my son had read this book, I found him on the telephone one evening reading passages to a friend. It made him think, and any time you can get a teenager to think, it's a very good thing.

In the Initiation, the Author Dr. Donald Schnell takes the reader through a truly magical journey of self discovery and unfoldment that leads him to the "Deathless Avatar", Babaji who initiates him into a sacred order of swamis and becomes Prema Baba Swamiji. For a western man outside of India to have the profound privilage of not only meeting the ageless 2000 year old living spiritual legend Babaji in physical form (who one may read about in 'Autobiography of a Yogi' and many other great spiritual works)but to also be initiated in Babaji's sacred order of swamis is beyond amazing.

Any reader lucky enough to pick up this book will go through this incredible journy and initiation that Dr. Donald Schnell was blessed to experience as if you were right there by the side of the author as he travels the depths of India, his heart, his mind, and into the timeless here and now where God resides. If one is open minded enough to pay attention to the proufoundly simple yet immensly powerful mind, heart and sould opening universal truths and teachings that are so humbly and subtly put forth to the reader by this great man then the reader too will experience the beginning of the magical unfoldment of the human personality that begins with the realiazation that the path to god begins with the understanding that devine love is not a distant, new age concept, but is a devine reality that is available to all of us right here and now. ...

For those who read and were influenced by such books as The Autobiography of a Yogi, and Be Here Now of Ram Dass, or are simply walking their own path looking for inspiration, this is a new book of a powerful spiritual journey, that of Dr. Donald Schnell, initiated as Prema Baba Swamiji and of the avatar Babaji's continued teaching through him. I was greatly moved by the story of his initiation and the playful mystical experiences he has with Babaji and his humility as he shares those experiences with the the reader. He shares what he has learned and received through his initiation and now brings forth for those who wish to receive such divine gifts. I was also very touched by a great love story, that of him and Leelananda, his wife Marilyn Diamond. I hope to do a workshop with them soon to receive the blessings of their teaching. This book points a way to bringing divine love into our everyday awareness and as a way of being in the world and truly transforming our world.

If you've ever wondered what it feels like to experience divine enlightenment, THE INITIATION is the book you've been waiting for. Author Donald Schnell shares his extremely personal journey to India where he meets the immortal Babaji yogi, and describes what many would consider to be the indescribable. After all, how can one adequately convey the way the world looks when all illusion (maya) is stripped away? Yes, miracles are possible, but they are only "siddhis", or sacred gifts which are not the true essence of reality. Siddhis like manifestation, teleportation, and levitation are joyous to behold, but are not meant to distract us from seeing the miraculous nature of the universe which is present here right now.

Schnell not only describes the way the world looks when one feels the joy and bliss of divine awareness, but he does so in such a way that the feeling of this loving state of consciousness is bestowed upon the reader. I felt like I had received many blessings as I read this book, and I know my life will be ever the richer for it. Schnell describes many details of how it felt to undergo a very special kind of initiation from the moment when he felt suddenly called to India, to the wondrous miracles he encountered as he traveled across India, to the culmination of his trip in his initiation into the yogic order with his new yogic name, Prema Baba Swamiji. The accounts of his meetings with Babaji are a joy to read -- Babaji appears to still be in his early twenties, in spite of the fact that he's been teaching students for hundreds of years. He grants Schnell's request for a photograph of him by materializing one. He also materializes a very beautiful and sacred crystal, which is still molten-hot and malleable when it appears in Schnell's hands out of thin air.

While THE INITIATION is ostensibly an autobiographical account of one man's journey to enlightenment, this book is actually much more than that. THE INITIATION feels like it has been blessed to convey the inner vibration of love that Babaji and Prema Baba Swamiji wish for readers to feel and know. For when we come to recognize this state of blissful awareness, or Premananda, we realize that we, too, have made the journey to enlightenment.

As a lover of history, I've read many books on WWII, but I've never read anything as brutally honest and compelling as The Forgotten Soldier. Sajer lived through the horror of the Eastern Front, and even more, he had the gift to tell us about it. It's not a series of war stories, or a soldiers telling of his great exploits; it's a decent into hell with a young, innocent man as the guide and his words will move anyone who has a heart. When he tells you of the terrible Russian winters, you will fill the chill in your bones. When he talks of hiding in a hole while artillery shells churn the ground all around, you will get a glimpse of how the rabbit must feel just as the wolf takes it from its hole. Sajer doesn't tell you just about the hopes and fears of men in war. He takes you to a level where men were afraid to hope, afraid to dream, even afraid to pray lest God take from them the nothing they had left.

To quote from the book, "My companions sat huddled on their ragged pallets without talking...they were dreaming in the heavy silence...dreaming of the deliverance which must be near at hand... they were dreaming, staring from their dark sockets with mad, transparent eyes, and it was understood that no one would speak. They were dreaming, and so that the war wouldn't catch them at it, they tried to hide it."

"I was still alive, and was afraid somebody might notice. I had given everything else I had: my feelings, my anguish, my sorrow, my fear. I had also forgotten Paula, and, so that I wouldn't still seem too rich, I had forgotten that I was too young. ...I still had a spark of live, which I kept hidden. One must no longer ask anything of anybody. Even if God heard our prayers, whatever we received would be consumed....I was afraid to ask too much, afraid that the least desire might seem like a demand."

In his book he says, "Only the victors have stories to tell. We, the vanquished, were all cowards and weaklings, whose memories, fears, and enthusiasms should not be remembered."

Then he proves this assertion wrong by telling one of the greatest war stories of all time. A must read!

How did I not discover this Book before now? I have read all the reviews posted on the Net & realise it was published some Years ago, I have never been interested in War novels but Stumbled on to this in the Russian section in a large Bookstore - read the back cover & took it home. As Sajer himself says throughout the Book -words cannot describe the Horror that these men were catapulted into - forget wether it's true, forget the critics who drone on about facts & details , this is a book that shows the Horror of War & the shocking cruelty that stems from this. Sajer enters the War & from there is caught inexorably in the Guts of the whole machine - he responds in the same way that you or I would under the circumstances , I have read reviews where some describe him as a coward for surviving only because he was the first to hit the ground when the firing started-so would I have been - who but a lunatic would'nt! The Book describes a Man's terrible journey through War - forget wether he was French German or Russian - this story is every Soldiers account of War on the Front, I am going to lend this Book out to a friend & read it again when I get it back. When I was reading the final chapter I could'nt speak the whole story consumed me, I do wish that he had found Paula again or that he met up with Hals after the War - but this was real life , it did'nt have to have a happy ending. Go on read the Book yourself - post your own review, & be forever changed by what you see in your minds eye.......

This is an example of the horror of war from the perspective of a German soldier on the Eastern Front. His day to day life is exemplified by his attention to detail. I am also from the show-me state and a self-educated individual on the life and times of the Germans who fought there. I would also like to caveat this statement by stating that all soldiers in the German Army in WWII had a "Soldat Buch" which is a book presented to the soldier upon his graduation from his respective school. Further, one must remember that, unlike the American Army, the German Army did not lend itself to testing it's soldiers, thereby, creating a caste system where the smart went into military intelligence and the not so smart went into the infantry. Unless you went into the officer corps, minus battlefield commissions, education for the most part was not in the equation. This 20 year old's perspective was resolute and yes some of the minute details may have been forgotten or misrepresented, however, having spent 24 years as an Infantryman, I will submit that I've read books on Vietnam who's authors have misrepresented locations and/or weapon nomenclatures. All and All this book is fantastic reading for not only the novice military historian, but also the seasoned veterans. Must read.

LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF THE MASTERS OF THE FAR EAST caused me to search into the deeper realities and meaning of Life. After reading these books, I realized that I was living in the mundane world of religious doctrine and dogma. I was given what I wanted to hear, not what I should be hearing. In 1966 I left the world of organized religion and I will never return to that again. I was a dedicated person to the church and the bible studies.

I have read the Life and Teachings six times, not just reading, but studying. What made me think that this is a truth? There is no scientific evidence to back this up? There is no mention of these things in the Wall Street Journal or in the New York Times? No matter where I looked none of these things were mentioned. Could it be a something within us that intuitively draws a searching person? The skeptics, critics, "unbeliever," that I knew did not stop my spiritual resolve and I persevered. For the first time was I thinking for myself.

In 1991 a book called "The Kybalion" and "Divine Pymander" came into my life and was a major puzzle in resolving the mystery of Life that revealed the laws and principles that enabled the Masters of the Himalayas to do the things they were able to do. My path in Life was forever changed because of the greater awareness that gave me mental poise and a firm direction in Life. For the first time was I able to live in the now and not be swayed by misinformation, skepticism, or even the malicious conduct of other people. I am not affected by political opinion. I can read and understand between the lines. Yet, I am able to maintain a flexible mind and not have to defend my opinions. My past was left to history and I was looking forward to the new teachings of Spirit. I am experiencing true freedom for the first time.

Why am I writing all this? It is not in the reading of books that a person will benefit, but what a person will do with it. Some people will read and life goes on in the usual manner, while others will take it to their heart and increase their Spiritual Knowledge and acquire true freedom and they experience true Spiritual development. They become changed persons. To the skeptic and "defender of opinions," Life will always be a mystery and they will always be stuck in their mundane world of materialism as a self made person and continue the struggle in their unawareness.

"LIFE AND TEACHING OF THE MASTERS OF THE FAR EAST" will give a person a reason to look into the greater realms of reality and if they will but "look," the answers will be surprising and refreshing. Scientific evidence and verification of these things is not possible at the moment because it has not completely unfolded in their field of awareness. However, science has made tremendous progress in revealing the structure of the Universe, which to the Spiritual aware person indicates that our "material" world as we are able to perceive it, is not as "material" as we think it is. In this view, we can understand why the Masters of the Himalayas travel effortlessly through the "invisible." They used a higher LAW that that for the most part escapes the collective race consciousness....

J. R. Seydel

Baird T. Spalding takes you on a wonderful, remarkable journey to meet the Masters and see the Truth they live in their everyday lives. As a Christian, I find these books to be in complete agreement with Jesus's teachings in the Holy Scriptures. Though the Masters are not Christian, they profess that Christ IS the Way. The Masters take off the "religious" hat, and put on true Spirituality. No New Age mumbo jumbo, just timeless Truth. We are Children of the Living God as the Saviour taught, and the Masters teach and exemplify this in their day-to-day living. Spalding's writing is superb. I felt as if I were there on location with him. After reading the Masters, I read the Bible in a whole new light. Christ's teachings come to life in these short, easy-read volumes. I would like to have some contacts and exchange ideas with other readers of these books and perhaps start a discussion group.

When a friend of mine gave me this series of books as a gift, he made me promise that I would read them. He knew that I do not have much time to read. He also knew that these are rather "deep", and therefore could not be properly read in ten minute segments fit into a busy day. I waited until a recent vacation, and I took the set of books along. Once I started, I could not stop. It took me over a year to fulfill my promise, and I blame myself for losing this year of my life. These books are absolutely incredible. No matter what faith you have, or do not have, you will be inspired. Although the content is amazing and sometimes incredible, it is presented with such honesty and straightforwardness that it is believable. I found that I WANTED to believe it. And I NEEDED it to be true. All limitations have now been removed from my life, and I cannot fail in my renewed mission to serve others. Thank you, Baird T. Spalding. And of course, thank you, My God.

This book is mandatory reading to anyone interested in the Wehrmacht's campaigns on the Eastern Front. The study has been meticulously researched, is reflective, well written, and evidence that the author is one of the foremost experts of German military operations against the Soviet Union during 1942. The book is a scholarly, detailed study of the Luftwaffe's campaigns during this critical year, yet provides perfect analytical context by explaining army operations, which the Luftwaffe was closely affiliated and therefore necessary for understanding its own activities, and also the strategic/political factors driving the Wehrmacht's overall campaign. It also demonstrates, to often overlooked in most campaign studies, the significant role that individual personalities can, and do, play in war. This book is a MUST read to anyone that is especially interested in the Luftwaffe, joint warfare, dynamic leadership and airpower. All military practitioners, scholars and commentators will thoroughly enjoy reading it.

Recently I ordered 'Stopped at Stalingrad' from amazon.com. It was well worth the puchase, as the book is both a profoundly researched study and an interesting read. It's a scholarly work which, undoubtedly, will become a classic in its field.

Dénes Bernád, Aviation Historian and Author

Hayward believes that German air doctrine was too narrowly focused on tactical air support and ignored strategic targets. In his book, Hayward supports his thesis by stating that during the battle for Stalingrad,the Luftwaffe paid too much attention to supporting the ground forces and not enough attention to interdicting the ferries carrying Russian soldiers across the Volga river. Hayward also criticizes the Luftwaffe for not bombing the Caucasusian oil fields which could have severely hampered the Russian war effort. Finally, Hayward writes that the Luftwaffe was spread out to thinly to support the main thrust at Stalingrad and Manstein's southern advance in the Caucasus. I would strongly reccomend this book to anyone whose interested in the faults of German military doctine during World War II.