The author faithfully documents his archeolgoical findings over the last three decades. The book is easy to read and has many excellent pictures. Dr. Kenoyer categorically states that the decline of this ancient civilization was due to natural causes and not because of destruction by invading nomads. Some of the seals such as the "Proto-Shiva," and the Swastika are very intriguing and may ultimately establish a firm link between the Indus civilization and the present day Hinduism. A lot of research still needs to be done, but this book is the first step in acknowlegding the true antiquity of the Indus-Sarasvati civilization.

What a wonderfully illustrated and thought provoking book about such a rich civilization.

An excellent reference on the subject. It is modern in its approach, and updates a number of previous studies. It makes a number of new observations about the circular objects in Harappa. Perhaps they were not granaries as previously believed, but objects for dyeing textiles. It also suggests that there was another river parallel to the Indus River that has gone underground. One may be able to access this underground river using modern technology, and bring agriculture to areas that are now a desert.

The book should be of interest to archaeologists as well as general readers. Maps and photographs make the story very tangible.

Mark Twain promptly proves with this volume that he is, indeed, as the title states, "America's Master Satirist." Having grown up in a fundamentalist Presbyterian community, Twain knew his Bible well; and, like any thinking person, his beliefs and attitudes relating to it changed as he grew older, wiser, and more experienced. Although Twain - due to many factors, such as the death of several children and his wife and his failed investments - grew famously bitter towards the end of his life, his vision remained remarkably clear-headed, though clearly suffued with pessimism - indeed, his zest for the truth and absolute intolerance for mankind's accepted irrational beliefs became even more razor-sharp during this period. Although there are writings in this volume from all phases of Mark Twain's career, the majority of them do come from that latter period - a period in which, indeed, the exploration of these themes was the main facet of his writing. Included are such well-known items as the Diaries of Adam and Eve (as well as several other Old Testament characters), Captain Stormfield's Visit To Heaven (published here in full for the first time ever), and, of course, his masterpiece, Letters From The Earth. In these, and the other, oftentimes more obscure pieces, Twain burlesques and satarizes freely, calling mankind on both his steadfast taking to irrational and illogical beliefs, as well as on his sheer stupidity and gullibility. If one is looking for a satire along the lines of Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn, then this is DEFINITELY not the place to look; however, if you have a fondness, as I do, for the darker, more probing side of Twain, then this is a volume that you must most definitely pick up.

I am a very religious person, and I was somewhat skeptical about reading this book when I received it as a gift. My husband and I read each other the diaries of Adam and Eve, and by the end we were both so moved we cried. True, it is excellent satire, but it is hardly offensive. Mark Twain manages to weave in sincerity and bits of truth with his masterful parodies.

NEWSFLASH: I am a very religious conservative (aka "right-wing nut") who believes in the Bible and other books of scripture as the word of God, yet (unlike another reviewer would predict) I love Mark Twain's religious satire. I think that he has a keen eye for truth -- he sorts out the garbage of man-made religious fluff from the stuff that really matters. In many ways, his religious writings actually support my own beliefs in his tongue-in-cheek way. I don't think this book has any use if you intend to "bash" right-wing religionists with it. Anyone who would be shaken by Twain's writings probably doesn't really believe what they profess anyway...

I have read most of the writings in this book, although not in this edited compilation, so I cannot give my rating based on that. The five stars I have given in my review are for Mark Twain's works themselves.

This book is easy to read. Takes a couple of hours. The author does a good job of painting a picture of what life in a team-based organization is like.

I recently read Mark's latest book, "Mastering Team Leadership: 7 Essential Coaching Skills", and decided to buy this one as well. I really like this one better because it is written as a story.

It's a lot like "Who Moved My Cheese" and The One-Minute Manager Series by Ken Blanchard. Short, in story form, easy-to-read.

This book also focuses on the team and individual team members, showing the reader their perspectives, challenges and successes.

Another customer comment wished for this book in Spanish. And it is! We got ours by calling Mark and he got them to us.

As of 2001, sales of "Adventures" have topped 50,000! Thanks to everyone who has bought a copy over the last 10 years.

Check out our new book, "Mastering Team Leadership: 7 Essential Coaching Skills".

I bought this book six weeks in advance of taking the GMAT. This book is great for getting you familiar with the test and showing common testing pitfalls. I felt like I needed the most help with the Verbal section and this book helped me to decipher what the GMAT question was really asking me instead of what I thought it was asking me. My unofficial results show an OUTSTANDING grade.

I thought that a few of the answers might have been erroneous, and then I confirmed it. There's a few errors in the math section (i.e. pg 109 prob 10...x can equal 1 or -1). But other than that, this is a great book...quick and thorough...doesn't waste time...review is the best I've read. It explains how the test is scored better than the other books too which I think is vital. If you only have time for one book, use this one.

I used this book as the capstone to a self-taught GMAT course. It provided adequate review of the quantitative and verbal concepts on the exam, challenging practice problems, and good answer explanations. The AWA section was also helpful.

In addition, I used Kaplan's CD and the GMAT PowerPrep software, both were also excellent.

Several years ago I read the Artist's Way and it changed my life. For years after that I searched for of the same but nothing was available until I came across The Artist's Way at Work. This book of course follows the same guidelines as the first book but I feel is more suited to those who work in large offices and organizations. I was a little disappointed as it did not really apply to my situation although I found some parts helpful in dealing with some of the people around me. Certainly for those people who work in a large company and have not read The Artist's Way this would be a good book to start you thinking in different directions.

If you've read the Artist's way, this book will seem very familiar. However, don't stop there. The different flavor of this book makes it worth pursuing in addition to the Artist's way. I went through the Artist's way book and then took a 4 week hiatus and then jumped into this one. I have been doing morning pages for over 6 months now. They have value to me, even more than the 45 minutes of sleep, I give up each day for them

This book is strongly geared toward the working world. As with the Artist's way book morning pages and time-outs are necessary to help you work through these and other issues. In addition this book is arranged in a similar weekly sequence with excercises and a weekly check in.

PUTS THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH IN PERSPECTIVE:
This book unlike the Artist's way, deals with personal interaction not just personal creativity. Let's face it we all work with people and how we relate to them does influence our ability to get the job done.
As the Artist's way does, it also recognizes there are certain people (crazy makers) that complicate our lives, there are also personality types and roles we all play in any interaction. This book gives great tips on how to recognize these and work with them.

IDENTIFIES WHAT MIGHT BE SLOWING YOU DOWN AT WORK:
Similarly, with working with people, we have priorities to adjust and readjust. If we are stuck in a point in our career, maybe these need adjusting. This book if you objectively do the exercises helps us understand where some or road blocks might be.
Sometimes we are the road block.

IN GENERAL LIKE THE ARTIST'S WAY, THIS BOOK LEADS YOU TO EXAMINE YOUR LIFE
For the most part the Artist's way presses the reader to examine what they want out of life and how they can get there. Also it helps you to understand what your true desires are, not just what you think you want.

LIKE THE ARTIST'S WAY, THERE ARE QUOTES TO PONDER IN THE MARGINS
It is a small thing but like the Artist's way there are quotes in the margins from famous people. It makes you think the confusing path we are all on, is one many have taken. Some of the quotes really connect.

To give you the full flavor of the book, here is the Table of Contents:

INTRODUCTION: Entering the gate

FIRST TRANSFORMATION: PART ONE: WEEK ONE: EMERGENCE
Morning pages/Creative Collegue/Secret Selves/Listening to the Chorus/Inner Mentor/Check-in/Creativity Contract

FIRST TRANSFORMATION: PART TWO: WEEK TWO: THE ROAR OF AWAKENING
Timeout/The Dialogue/Archaeology, Round One/Archaeology, Round Two/The Us and Them list/Imaginary Lives/Affirmations and Blurts/Customized Affirmations/Dumping the Albatross/Walking your Wisdom/Check-in

SECOND TRANSFORMATION: PART ONE: WEEK THREE: SOARING
Secrets/Watching the rapids/Wish list/Leadership Quiz/Explore a sacred space/Secretly I'd like to.../Watch the picture, without the sound/Filling the form/Check-in

THIRD TRANSFORMATION: PART ONE: WEEK FOUR: THE ABYSS

Admitting our emotions/Anger as a map/Metabolism/Footholds for optimism/Countering our Critics/True confessions/Define your inner wall/Workaholism Quiz/Bottom line/Signposts/The Fraudian Slip/Check-in

THIRD TRANSFORMATION: PART TWO: WEEK FIVE: SURVIVING THE ABYSS
Personal accounting/Emotional solvency/Counting/Luxury/Lapping up Luxury/Nasty Rules/The dream account/Explore your feelings about God/Going to take a miracle/Wondering/Check-in

FOURTH TRANSFORMATION: WEEK SIX: THE PEARL OF WISDOM
Body English/At the wheel of a new machine/A letter to the self/Positive/Negative poles/Media Deprivation/Reconnecting the Dots: Detective work/Beyond price/Meeting the inner rebel/Check-in

FIFTH TRANSFORMATION: WEEK SEVEN: LEARNING (AND TEACHING)
Being a Beginner/The jealousy map/Creativity Quiz/Feel, Think, Wish/Getting Current/The Hidden Resume/Becoming right sized/Taking note/Nuturing nutrients/The forest environment/Check-in

SIXTH TRANSFORMATION: WEEK EIGHT: TEACHING (AND LEARNING)
Roles, Biosketches, Family Functions, Containment, The power dance, Unmasking, Machiavelli, Practicing the present, Mentor magic, Going sane, "Dear Boss", Stopping the Spiral, Releasing Resentments, Check-in

SEVENTH TRANSFORMATION: WEEK NINE: OWNING OUR AMBITION
Clearing fear, Contacting Clark Kent, Local color, The resentment resume, Blasting through blocks, Succeeding with Success, Framing our lives, Check-in

EIGHTH TRANSFORMATION: WEEK TEN: LIVING WITH PASSION
Positive Inventory, Laugh or Lament, Box Seats, Heartbreak Hotel-Loss as a Lesson, The net of nurturing, Check-in

NINTH TRANSFORMATION: PART ONE: WEEK ELEVEN: THE LEDGE OF AUTHENTICITY
Name your poison, Creative U-turns, Ten-minute time outs, Valuing our values, The Ledge of authenticity, Exercising our options, Creativity center, Choose a spirit mentor, Spirit Mentors, Check-in.

NINTH TRANSFORMATION: PART TWO: WEEK TWELVE: RESTING IN AUTHENTICITY
Trusting trust, Mining our mystery, Building a house, Suceeding at success, Playing at play, Every picture tells a story, Gratitude, Checkin.

Epilogue
Suggested Reading
Acknowledgements
How to reach us
Index

I find this book to have a plethora of practical, useful suggestions for thriving instead of surviving in the workplace. The workbook format stimulated my thinking about how we can get beyond our usual progammed "survival" techniques and find new ways ways to address old problems. I also have found it helpful for stimulating creative opportunities in my own life. This book is just what the doctor ordered for those of us who aren't satisfied with just getting by and collecting money. Not only is it a pathway to uncovering and discovering a fresh kind of meaning to work, it also offers us a real chance to forge new directions in both our professional and personal lives.

If you like books (which I presume you do if you're hanging out on the Amazon.com website :)), and especially if you like book reviews (ditto!), you're going to LOVE this book. Gleaned from a century of New York Times book reviews (plus interviews and letters to the editor), "Books of the Century" gives us the some of the best in 20th century literature, as seen through the eyes of some great reviewers (e.g., WH Auden on Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings"). I can't decide which is more entertaining and edifying -- reading a well-written review which really "nails" a book, or laughing over a ridiculous "panning" of what would turn out to be a great classic.

My only MAJOR criticism of this book is that it includes almost NO science fiction whatsoever. Besides being one of my personal favorite genres of literature, there are just some great all-around WRITERS missing here: Philip K. Dick, Olaf Stapledon, Alfred Bester, HG Wells, and many more. I mean, I can understand that "Books of the Century" wasn't thousands of pages long, and obviously couldn't include EVERYTHING, but leaving out an entire GENRE of literature? I seriously question the editors' judgment on this omission (and that's why I give "Books of the Century" four stars instead of five)!

Besides that problem, which can be solved by checking out David Pringle's "The Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction," I strongly recommend "Books of the Century." The New York Times Book Review section is a national treasure, and this is a select sampling of that treasure. An excellent book for a lazy summer afternoon...enjoy!

Do you ever wonder how some of the most highly regarded and influential books of the century were reviewed when they were first released, without the benefit of hindsight? This book, a collection from the New York Times Book Review, gives you the answer. It's a tribute to the reviewers that they were often right on the money in their evaluations (like the reviews on "Ulysses", "The Grapes of Wrath", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", etc.). It's also kind of a hoot to read the "Oops!" reviews, where they dowgraded books like "Catch-22" and "Catcher in the Rye" when they first came out. There is a lot of fascinating reading here. I just wish it were more comprehensive, which may not be realistic on my part, since that would mean about a 10,000 page book. But for what this book sets out to do, it succeeds with flying colors.

I would suggest that all who are interested in obtaining this book put it in your "Shopping Cart" IMMEDIATELY, because if you come back later and put "Books of the Century" in the search engine, it will inexplicably bring up a bunch of books about architecture. HUHHH?? C'mon, Amazon, let's tweak that search engine a little here!!

This book selects hundreds of representative reviews from NYT's "Book Review". This's a great book! It reflects the taste and the trend of American (or put it boldly, contemporary) literature and lit-crit. Numerous witty articles and perspectives prevail here. While in retrospective, we can find how precise the words were to some great literature works when they were just published. Typical examples like reviews of "Ulysess" ,"The grapes of Wrath". Such reviews undoubtly testify the high-standard of NYT's review. This is a must for book lover.

Even if you've never listened to a soulful country song, you'll enjoy this book. Filled with heartwarming stories from country stars, country music lovers and simply folks who live in the country, this book is another perfect Chicken Soup For the Soul. Each night my husband lets me read one story (such a tyrant!) and some nights I cry over the story, some nights I read it aloud to him. Each is a gift that touches the heart.

I loved reading all the stories. I thought that they all touched the heart. It was nice to read things from some of the more "mature" country stars. The song "In the Shade of the Family Tree" was wonderful. I think a lot of people could picture their own families. Good work to the authors of the book and to the songwriters of the song!

What a great book! For everyone, but especially the country people. If you're a country fan you're in for a treat! It makes you remember just how blessed you after reading the experiences of these people. It's "touched by an angel" country style. Plus the CD is a real bonus!

Great native speaker. (I guess the guy is a professional
voice person, not your average 'geek' Spanish voice).
I enjoyed learning from a native born American who speaks English without a foreign accent.
Nice combination.
A beautiful professional native Spanish speaker's voice and the clear voice of an American instructor, both which
literally demystify the language learning process.
I really learned to speak Spanish from this course, and from what Spanish speakers tell me, the quality of this Spanish speaker is the highest.

A former diplomat with the US State Department says: 'Language Dynamics courses are the only courses I know of that are truly dedicated to effective and immediate communication in the target language. Academic courses often reflect the literary interests of professors, many of whom never had the experience of learning the target language as a second language. With these courses, you can hit the streets after every lesson knowing you can say more than you could yesterday'.

'Absolute Spanish' is in my humble opinion, if not the best Spanish course on the market, it is the very best I have ever experienced. I base this not on superficial impressions but on the rock solid results that I got from the course. I learned to speak Spanish quickly and easily and while I may not be a fluent native speaker yet, I do now speak and understand quite a bit of Spanish. I feel confident that I now have the foundation I need to learn more whenever I want. I thank 'Absolute Spanish' for what I have learned.

While James West Davidson's "After the Fact" is thought-provoking, much of what he writes is simply inaccurrate. His lack of research or deliberate withholding of certain evidence to merely prove his views is disdainful. This is especially evident in his chapter on Vietnam War movies in which he gives some completely inaccurrate information (such as claiming the Russian Roulette was not played in Vietnam, while some vets admit they were forced to play it while prisoner). He also shows obvious liberal bias by accusing most Vietnam films to be unrealistic because they do not include an event similar to the My Lai Massacre. With all due respect to Mr. Davidson, events such as the My Lai Massacre are given much press time, but did not really occur very often. How can every movie about a war be expected to show a certain event the way Mr. Davidson wants it depicted? A final gripe with this section is the author's claim that it was "wrong" to portray Viet-Cong soldiers as inhuman in "The Deer Hunter", and that this contributed to making the film unrealistic. "Deer Hunter" was obviously meant to show the American viewpoint of Vietnam, and how the war affected not only those who fought in it, but almost everyone at home in America. While portraying the American viewpoint, it is necessary to show the Viet-Cong as evil (would you revere someone who forced you to play Russian Roulette with your best friend?). Many other sections of the book show Davidson's obvious political bias, and if you truly desire to discover how (and are not averse to extreme suffering), read the book (but don't say you weren't warned).

After the Fact is a book that every serious historian should have in their library. Davidson and Lytle do a great job elucidating the various aspects of exploring the conundrum of history. From the very basic task of exploring the veracity of the Declaration of Independence to the monumental task of discovering the reasons why history was made in a certain context. Every chapter is interesting and captivating, and a "must read" to supplement the history seminar. If you do not have this book already, I strongly suggest purchasing it.

After the Fact is a fantastic introduction to the field of historiography. It is a very easy read as well as providing concrete examples of how writing history is a selective act, dealing with different kinds of evidence, and the general practices and problems of historical methods. I would recommend using this book in an introductory history course because of its understandability. It would serve as a good introduction to beginning historians to the problems and philosophical concerns of their field.

This book is pretty good. I thought the characters advanced a lot in this book, as well as got more interesting. However, if you are looking for BIG action, this isn't the book in the series for it. There is lots of action in this book, but the final blow-out has been saved for its own book.

Basically, the main characters are split into two groups--the group in present-day Eldh and the group in 1883 Colorado. The Colorado group has to deal with fitting into the society and waiting for Jack to show up. Interestingly enough, they have to deal with a vigilante group called the Crusade of Purity. That could lead the reader to some conclusions between the book and a commentary on real life.

The group on Eldh splits when Aryn has to go home to meet her future husband & takes Melia with her. However, this is ok, because she ends up facing up to her past actions that she thought were justified, and becomes stronger in her Craft. The other group is trying to find Grace's sword and make it to the black tower. Along the way, they meet some VERY interesting people....

By the end of the book, everything is in place for the beginning of book 5. I can't wait.

I liked this book a lot and in fact like this whole series. First off I've read books with homosexuals as the main characters, however I never read a book where one of the main characters is bi-sexual (Travis). It's pretty obvious that he likes both men and women and yet has the darnest time making the decission. I thought it was pretty funny with the scene of Beltan and Vani.

A lot of people don't like Vani but I happen to find Beltan more than a little annoying, this is just me however. For one Beltan gets all [mad] just because Vani happens to love Travis. One thing I don't understand is the whole destiny thing and find this to actually take away from the book. However over all this was a decent read.

Warning: This review contains spoilers, so I suggest you skip it if you haven't read the book yet.
I absolutely love these books. Sword and sorcery fantasy is rarely written this well. I really care about all the characters and what happens to them. That is why I am in agony until I get to read book 5. I SO badly want Travis and Beltan to get together. I'm pretty much indifferent to Vani. I think that the author is drawing it out to add suspense. He keeps hinting that Travis is going to get both of them, but he won't just SAY it. I realize that this is great storytelling, but it's killing me. And what the hell was that at the end, where Travis goes to kiss Beltan, and Beltan pulls away? WHAT?? Aaaagh!!