Maurice Sendak's lusciously illustrated edition of E.T.A. Hoffmann's _Nutcracker_ is the most thorough and engaging edition of the book I have seen. The story was interesting to me on one level as a child and it still captures my attention as an adult. It is not a black&white, good&evil translation--the grey areas are emphasized. I *will* agree with the review preceding this in that Amazon does need to clean up its reviews of this book! Please.

This book was a gift to my family when I was a child - I loved it then, and enjoy it more every time I re-read. The story is more than just the plot for a ballet. There is a lot of background, description, and insight included, and they do a lot to make the book fantastic. What elevates this work to magnificent is the artwork done by Sendak. It is lush, detailed, and beautiful. I can't say enough about the quality of this book, and urge everyone to find their own copy. This is not just a Christmas story, but a wonderful parable for every season

Mr. Friedman's book is fun. Using it is like going on a treasure hunt. Browse through the different regions in Oregon and discover things you didn't know were there, but because of his book you " . . . just have to see."

Oregon is my chosen state to live in and I really want to get to know it intimately. "Oregon For The Curious" is the perfect guide for me to take along on my travels.

Places are easy to find with directions to each listed down to the tenth of a mile. Enough detail on the highlighted places to visit is given to get you curious, but not to give the surprise away.

I'm curious and this book has made me "curiouser and curiouser."

This book has been a part of our family since childhood. I remember my Mother taking it along on family vacations, and we'd stop at all of these cool spots that were recomended by Ralph Freidman. Now that all six of us are grown, we all have our own editions of this book. Whenever I take an Oregon getaway, this book always comes along. Whether it's geology, history, architecture, or anything in between that you're interested in, this book will be a great companion to your explorations.

Holly Newstein and Ralph Bieber grab your attention with the first chapter, and if you're not careful, you might read the entire novel in one sitting! But you shouldn't do that, if you can possibly fight the urge. This book needs to be savored! I highly recommend OUT OF THE LIGHT for anyone interested in suspense or horror!

After the first chapter I was glued to the book. I think this is a well-written story with plenty of points of view. I am waiting on a twist in the plot that is foreshadowed nicely. Some use of language, this book is not for young readers. I look foreward to the end of this one and the next book from this duo of Author Extrordinaires.

I wrote this book with priorities in mind. First I should let you know that I was a full time emergency medical services provider (EMT, Paramedic and related instructor) for over 20 years and have been a law enforcement officer for over 15 years. I now work full time as a conservation officer. Hobbies have included flying, camping, canoeing, hunting, fishing and photography. The photography expanded to a business that now includes writing. With all of that mentioned to give something about my background, I will mention that my first priority with this book is to save lives. The most important life saving skills and preventative measures are basic. This book covers them.

The reader should have, upon completion of reading this book, a knowledge of what to do or what not to do to prevent "situations" from happening and if they do happen, how to correct them.

Other priorities I had when writing this book were to inform the reader how to choose equipment germane to nature photography and protect it as well as make the photographer safe and comfortable. I have included information on supports, bags and vests, clothing, "gadgets," safety issues, survival skills, and emergency medical care and much more.

Other issues discussed are how to find and get close to wildlife and how to use resources that are out there.

Thank you for considering the purchase of my book.

Some of the skills in this book I hope you will use freqently and some I hope you will never have to.

Ralph LaPlant

Where was this book when I needed it? While photographing outdoors, I have had hypothermia, heat stroke and dehydration. Twice I have been hopelessly lost. This book does an excellent job of zeroing in on issues for outdoor photographers -- and that means a combination of outdoor photography and survival skills. The authors clearly are very knowledgeable about their subject. The book is well-organized and well-written. It even gave me new ideas to try and included other helpful resources. Don't leave the paved trail without this book!

I had the good fortune to spend a bit of time with Mr. Heiskell, and, certainly, he is a generous, accomplished, and fascinating man. In so many respects, he represents the best of his era and his city, and this book tells the story with elegance and grace.

I worked at Time Inc. from 1979 to 1996, and witnessed the end of the management era over which Mr. Heiskell reigned. The book accurately captures the politics of the profound changes that took place in the few years prior to, and during, my tenure. The most fascinating accounts of Time Inc. are of the earlier days, of which we have broad access to the creative thinking that was at work shaping the editorial products, and building the business into the empire that finally succumbed to the worst temptations of capitalism.

Back in 1981 when this book was compilled at the US Center for World Missions. My class reviewed and help determine which articles would be in the final copy. This book changed my life. I went to India as a missionary and applied the information in this reader. Anyone who wants to truly understand missions and the World Christian movement this book is a MUST. If you read with an open mind it will change your life as well.

This book completely blew my world view apart! It ended up propelling my family to the wilds of Outer Mongolia for three years during which time we planted a church movement among the Mongols - all by using principles learned thru Perspectives! A MUST READ FOR EVERY ONE WHO PROFESSES TO LOVE CHRIST!

The book is brilliant! Just one thing I would add; Take everywhere it says LSD and replace it with Amanita muscaria (Which was the real entheogen this manual is experientially based upon). Then you have it! Keep in mind that NONE of the world's religions tell the whole truth, and this includes Tibetan Buddhism. All Patriarcal religions have severe problems and you should know what those problems (false dogmas) are before experimenting. The discovery that this book is not necessarily a book for the dead but a book to map the consciousness of those experiencing the Shamanistic 'Death Experience' is crucial to humanity's understanding of Tibetan Buddhism and other world religion.

In the 1960's Leary, Alpert, and Metzner were experimenting with psychedelic chemicals. All being trained psychologists, the experiences they were having with these chemicals did not fit into the zeigeist of what they have learned concerning the "maps" of the mind. They were suprised to find that there experiences were documented step by step in a book over 3500 years old known as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. This book is an explanation of the process of psychological death and rebirth using psychedelic chemicals. If you explore with psychedelics, this book will give you a context in which to explore and achieve the desired goal...Nirvana. A true gem of the era! Highly recommended. Anything positive that can be said about this book is an understatement.

Tim Leary first introduced Lao Tzu to me in the late sixties. He translated the Tao Te Ching into American from the English. "No one has ever done it better." Tim's version of "Psychedelic Prayers," still stands as essential Tao. The Tao many of us will travel forever.

The I Ching came to me in a completely different way. I had read the introduction to John Blofeld's translation of Richard Wilhelm's version of the I Ching; not knowing it could me used as an oracle. That night a few mystifying ladies from Yale University campus, took me home and in an incense & candle lit session, showed me how to enter the mysterious consciousness of the Tao.

My concern then as now has been the philosophy of Tao. Book two of Wilhelm's I Ching teaches of the philosophical background of the pattern of change. Everything changes but change has a design.

This probably led to my trading Commodities Futures for a living.

Recently I found Richard Wilhelm's similar magnificent masterpiece "Tao Te Ching: The Book of Meaning and Life by Lao Tzu."

Anyone who has had an interest in Psychedelic Prayers, these last thirty years may want to consider Wilhelm's views on Lao Tzu's consciousness.

Just as in Book Two of the I Ching, Wilhelm dives right into Lao Tzu's mind with clarity like no one else.

"How does muddy water become clear? Muddy water becomes clear through stillness. How does one become still? One becomes still, by moving with the stream.".... With these words Timothy Leary set the cornerstone of Hippie philosophy in Eastern Mysticism. The hidden influence of "Psychedelic Prayers," will come to light in the passage of time. It's influence on music ("All things must pass." Beatles), TV ("Kung Fu," series), Film ("Easy Rider"), Hollywood, ("Star Wars"), just reflect the imprint on our collective consciousness... The general acceptance of the Tao's "I Ching," (High Priest), " The Tibetan Book of the dead," (The Psychedelic Experience) and later "The Art of War," (Sun Tzu), all you can see, trace there acceptance by the Hippies and later the baby boomers to this great work... In a search led by Harvard Scientists and students of religion. They looked for ways to map and understand awareness. Map Consciousness in ways that would empower people to program there own lives... Suppressed by many forces the "Tao Te Ching," is now, in the wake of Dr. Leary's death being re-released. This is only the second printing. Of what may be looked upon as one of the earliest, if not the first prayer book of the unnamed, unseen, as yet unformed philosophy of the group of people who have grown out of a tribe called Hippies. This was the first translation into American... Released as One of two guide book on how to explore higher con-sciousness before the prohibition. "Psychedelic Prayers," expanded on knowledge of set and setting, learned by the "Hashish Club of Paris," a century ago. They linked these techniques to ancient sacred texts of consciousness exploration... While it appears on the surface that these manuals are guide books to temporary trips. They are really guides to the use and abuse of consciousness. The first effort the "Psychedelic Prayers," offered here, was based on the "Tao Te Ching." "The Psychedelic Experience," based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead was the second more serious text book version... How you can be fulfilled, enlightened, more aware. How to wake up to live. How you can have anything you want, whenever you want it, wherever you want it. with whoever you want to have it with... Amazon books please send me a copy as soon as its re-released. You have my order. My 30 year old copy has been my constant companion. "...In the best sessions one does not know there is a guide..."

Everyone should own this book. Many people make assumptions about religion, such as its effect on people's moral behavior for instance, without actually taking the time to find out if their assumptions are true. (As it turns out, level of religiousity including atheism is not a good predictor of whether or not someone will engage in helping behavior, or cheat on an exam, for instance.) Instead of repeating prejudices and inventing wild armchair theories, this book describes actual experiments and other research studies concerning a wide variety of topics concerning religion, in an objective, unbiased fashion. One interesting finding is that religious fundamentalists as a group are the most prejudiced toward all minority groups, while atheists are the least so. Is it the fault of religion? Not that simple! The authors explain that since the scores of mainstream Christians on measures of prejudice turn out to be much more similar to the atheists, and since fundamentalists also score very high on measures of authoritarianism, it's authoritarianism that leads to prejudice. However, these particular subtopics are just a tiny sliver of what this book actually covers.

"The Psychology of Religion" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy" http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy

Dr. Ralph Kilmann's magnum opus, Quantum Organizations, should seriously be considered as a watershed moment in the history of organizational change management literature.

Dr. Kilmann, a best selling author, professor, and consultant to Fortune 500 companies and the Office of the U.S. President, lucidly and systematically busts through the traditional barriers separating business, science, and western philosophical thought to create a new paradigm likely to change the scope of how we view our careers and lives in general for decades to come.

On my book shelf, I have purposely placed Quantum Organizations next to Drucker's The Practice of Management, Peters' In Search of Excellence, and Grove's Only the Paranoid Survive. More importantly, it is also not too far away from De Tocqueville's Democracy in America, Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, and Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind. Quantum Organizations is that important to our culture and how we organize and adapt our businesses and lives for optimal performance and personal growth.

It is my guess that folks who won't take this book seriously are also those who are susceptible to fads, buzzwords, and quick fixes. It is also these exact same folks who seem to end up more vulnerable than most to strategic inflection points, layoffs, takeovers, and liquidation.

An added note, although this is an organizational change management treatise, career-minded individuals struggling with their jobs and lives after the events of 9/11/01 will find added depth and meaning after reading this work. Additionally, B-School graduates can utilize this work to fill some the void left as a result of academic specialization. Dr. Kilmann is particularly adept at connecting the silos of the liberal arts and sciences with "Business 101."

The author puts organizational transformation into the context of a shift from the Cartesian-Newtonian to quantum-relativistic paradigm. He places, and links together, the study of organization and change initiatives into the context of cutting-edge transformations in physics, evolutionary biology, and the study of the brain/mind that are changing our view of reality.

The quantum organization is profiled by seven attributes including: inclusion of consciousness in self-designing systems; cross-boundary processes; and, internal commitment of active participants. Kilmann presents a five-stage process for closing the gap between the old and the new (i.e., quantum) organization.

The author delves into the primary change initiatives for achieving self-transformation consisting of quantum infrastructures, formal systems, and process management. Eight tracks are used to address these three components. These tracks concern: culture, skills, teams, strategy-structure, reward system, learning process, gradual process (continuous improvement on a unit level), and radical process (cross-boundary redesign on the macro level).

Self-awareness and growth are critical in the overall scheme. This emphasis on the individual makes this a highly unique work. Stern's Management Review Online (hrconsultant) finds this book to be fascinating, eclectic, and HIGHLY innovative in its approach to deep organizational change. The liberal use of full-color, lively diagrams greatly helps convey the meaning of key concepts.

The author has tried to bring together just about everything having to do with organizational transformation into one grand design; we believe he has been successful. For those searching for a different perspective on organization, out to 'push the envelop,' this is a book well worth your time. Highly recommended.