Since no one who has purchased this audiotape has reviewed it, perhaps some comments on this memorable and poignant book (available through www.amazon.co.uk) will be helpful to potential customers. Melvyn Bragg's The Soldier's Return is the story of Sam Richardson, a young man from rural England who has fought in the Burma campaign in World War II and who then returns home to a world totally different from the world he has left-everyone and everything has changed.

Sam has seen such atrocity that he is now harder and less willing to show a soft side. His son Joe, now five, doesn't know him. His wife has been successful working two modest jobs and does not want to give them up. Sam has been exposed to the outside world, a world which has shown him how limited his future is in the socially inflexible world of Wigton, while his wife Ellen, in contrast, has been supported by the friendships, traditions, and familiarity of this community, where she knows everyone.

The tensions within the family and within individual characters grow and boil over, as stiff-upper-lip-ishness comes into conflict with the human need to communicate and share--the stuff that can give real drama and intensity to an audiotape. Bragg's written dialogue is completely natural, needing only the inflections of a voice to bring it completely to life. His descriptions and his narrative style are simple, as is his choice of vocabulary, so that a listener will have no trouble following the various threads of the story while learning much about Cumbria, post-World War II social upheavals, and the kinds of personal problems that may have been typical for many other young soldiers. The cast of characters is limited enough that a listener should have no difficulty remembering who is who. Like the best of the old-fashioned novels, this one is made to be read aloud.

Homecoming is not always the pleasant experience we want it to be. This is true of Sam, returning to rural England from fighting the Japanese in Burma. He is trying to rebuild his life, fighting his own inner turmoil with flashbacks of the horrors of the war he experienced. At the same time, his wife does not want to give up the jobs and independence she gained in his absence. Their communication is nil, further jeopardized by Sam's jealousy of the mother/son bond formed during the many years he was away. The author takes the reader into the lives of many touched by the war, with every attention to detail and sensitivity.Their frustrations become very real. With the offer of relocation to Australia, Sam has a renewed spirit, but Ellen is not willing to go and leave everything she knows behind.This is a great read about the struggles, sacrifices, and bonds of soldiers during war, and those very same concerns that surface with their homecomings.

I devoured "The Soldier's Return" on a long overseas flight; I literally couldn't stop reading! Bragg's excellent novel tells the story of a British soldier returning home after years at the Burmese front during WWII. During his absence, his wife has had to cope with being a single parent, raising their young son, Joe.

Sam's return home is not as simple as it would be seem. He and his wife struggle to resume their relationship, to get to know one another again. Adding to the tension is Sam's jealousy of the bond formed between mother and son during his years away. Ellen herself cannot get her husband to open up about the horrors that he and his buddies experienced in Burma.

Always compelling and wise when it comes to dealing with the intricacies of relationships, "A Soldier's Return" by far is one of the best books of this year and should especially appeal to fans of Pat Barker's very literate war novels.

Is good book for non-English reader desiring introduction to American culture. Mister Backman has encapsulated brilliantly dynamic of American culture. Havel found this book useful in bringing down the oppressive communist regime in my native country, Czech Republic.

Backman's book is not originally intended for a lay audience, but I urge anyone with a stake in business, politics or life in the United State today, to read it. It bears patient rereading. Backman has laid out the intellectual underpinnings for our culture. His take on the world explains Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and the Unabomber, without ever taking them on specifically. This book should be used in every philosophy class, and ethics class as well. Backman is the voice of reason in an age contolled by rhetoric. And all this 10 years before the rest of us woke up to how we all have changed. Whoever and wherever you are, Mark Backman, thank you.

I am outraged at the placement of this fine work so low on your ranking. Backman captures the spirit of the age that gives rise to Clinton, Monica and Stephanopolous. Let's try to move this book into the hands of every Amazonian reader. Prophetic!

This is a good book to read if you want to explore other religions and get a personal insight into them. Real teens tell about their religion they are or have chosen for themselves. In "Spiritualized" it shows different religions such as buddism, mormonism, hinduism, etc. Even though it gives insight into these religions, some religions are not really explained in detail. I would have liked to know more about the practices, history, rules, etc. But overall, it is a good book to read to understand different religions better.

The book contains information on many various religious paths, and has essays from real teens who follow these paths.

There are no judgements made, no religion is featured over any other, and the words of these young people is moth refreshing and inspiring.

I would highly recommend this book to teens or anyone who wants a glimpse of how young people today feel about religion.

Would you have ever liked to learn about religions but didn't have the time to spend hours reading long and boring textbooks? This book tells you about teens who are certain religions and their insights on them.

I was captivated by theis book. Some religions I have never heard of such as Kabbalist and Baha'i. It told me all about them in a neat way. Telling you the information in the teenager's point of view. I really learned about religions and it helped me get more in depth with mine. I'm not that religious, but it really is a good book. I reccomend this to anyone who wants to get a look at some religions we have in today's society.

I have not read this book, but the reviews indicate it is for the current athlete with an injury. One reviewer unfairly slammed Marilyn Moffat's book since it was not right for him. I read and evaluated her Physical Therapy book from the library as a guide for my 84 year old father. He was a super fit elderly sculler who wore out his beach volleyball playing granddaughters double sculling for 2 hours at a shot, and was in the hospital for 14 months recovering from surgery to reduce intracranial bleeding, which was followed by seizures, pneumonia, and kidney failure. He essentially woke up a year later a live but terribly weak shadow of himself. He needs rehabilitation from, literally zero strength. He is learning to walk, talk, and eat, and more. He's gone from feeling like 40 to feeling like a hundred, but with no long slide of good memories. Very discouraging. Her book will help me start him back to a pleasant final years, from a zero base. I will buy that book to help him. I may be able to use this book for myself, but he could not.

An excellent book. At the age of 40 I pay for my active lifestyle with some aches and pains; this book is helping me live pain free. Unlike many PT type books, Levy is specific with his advice, not making you waste your time on dozens of stretches and exercises. He'll lead you directly to what you need to know to fix the problem. Other books seem shy about recommending specific exercises for specific problems; Levy's not. I ordered several of these types of books at once and eventually resold all the others. This is the one I kept.

Alan Levy has done a fantastic job in putting together so much in one book. It has nearly everything an athlete requires to not only stay in shape but also treating all kinds of injuries from little niggles to those that need surgery. And its all been bonded together in a very organized and methodical manner.

To begin with Dr. Levy emphasizes the importance of warming up and stretching before and after workouts and shows how to do this. Next, he explains about nutrition for athletes. After that he lays out the benefits of and what it really means to stay healthy. This is followed by First-Aid for sports.

Starting with the fifth chapter he provides detailed information about what to know about the various parts of the body, their intricacies, and how they are used in sports and precisely what occurs with them when we feel pain or discomfort. For example, chapter 10 is about the Thigh and Hip, Chapter 6 for the Shoulder, and so on. In addition, he suggests various ways of diagnosing injuries correctly and how best to treat them. Whether an economical ready-made arch support will work, or one must see a qualified physician for a particular problem, Dr. Levy seems one not to miss a trick.

Then there is a chapter each on a specific sport and the most likely injuries to take place in every one of those and what all can be done to prevent them but if they do happen, then how to treat them. From Baseball to Running, Golf to Skiing, it has everything.

At the end he also suggests what to look for in a Sports Specialist.

Its only drawback is that understanding some of the material can be a daunting task as the lay person does not possess the expertise of Dr. Levy in Sports medicine.

And last but not the least, my knee ailment got cured courtesy of following the treatment plan outlined in the Sports Injury Handbook.

This book is aimed at younger readers. THE PHANTOM MENACE is the only STAR WARS movie many young fans know about. Therefore, many of them will find the book extremely informative, even though the most basic mature STAR WARS fan probably knows most of the information contained within the book. However, there are a lot of great pictures from the first three films that almost any fan will enjoy. Overall, a nice little scrapbook.

If you like Star Wars at all, you should buy this book. It is a great colection book. It is like a small version of the encyclopidia. Defenitly worth it.

I am a really big Star Wars fan, and I try to get everything that relates to Star Wars. When this book came out, I bought it without a second thought. It was a better book then I thought! All of the pictures inside and the text are really neat.

This book is written and aimed at younger readers. The writing is rather simple, yet there are a lot of really awesome pictures from the films and a few tidbits of information that the basic fan may not even know (I learned the name of a new Rogue Squadron pilot). The book is divided into four sections each discussing a different area (the Rebel Alliance, the weapons of the Alliance, etc.). It doesn't take long to get through the book, but one may find they keep flipping back just to keep looking at the pictures. A nice little book that young readers will enjoy (especially those who think the only STAR WARS movie is THE PHANTOM MENACE) and that older readers may like to own if they are a fan.

If you are a big fan of Star Wars, you must have this book. Great pics of the most interesting moments from trilogy.

If you like Star Wars at all, you should buy this book. Great pics of the most interesting scenes.

I purchased this book in the middle of my freshman year of college and I have tried to select my courses based on Mr. Henrie's recommendations. Overall, I have found this book to be useful for its stated purpose, but there are some shortcomings present. For example, on p.48 Mr. Henrie advises students that "if you must choose between the Old and New Testaments, opt for the New." This is not remarkable in its own right, but compare it to the author's advice on p.105: "If your college offerings have constrained you to take a course on the New Testament rather than a course on the Bible as a whole, you really must proceed to the Old Testament. Not to do so is to succumb to one of the oldest Christian heresies: Marcionism."
Such confusion is not especially helpful, and neither is the author's sometimes arrogant and condescending tone. That said, this book is still worth purchasing. I recommend it especially to future and current college students.

At the recommendation of a professor with whom I was mentoring a group of first-year students, I read this book as a senior beginning my last semester at a liberal arts college where I'd had a great deal of freedom in choosing my gen. ed./ core curriculum. I only wish I'd read it my freshman year, when I was beginning my pursuit of a liberal education that ended up being very haphazard with the guidance of an advisor who was a computer science instructor. Henrie presents a clear, easy to follow approach to the core curriculum in a manner that is simple enough to engage the interest of college freshmen. I am recommending it to my high school senior sister.

This (very) short book is a remarkable find. Most universities today have completely abandoned their traditional core curricula or replaced the core with nebulous "distribution" requirements. This book is a blueprint for college students to use their ELECTIVES to assemble a core curriculum of their own. But it is also much more. Each of the write-ups of the eight recommended courses is really a short Socratic meditation, raising profound questions about central issues in the Western tradition. I suspect that a typical freshman won't realize just how provocative these questions are. But perhaps if they take the prescribed courses and then re-read this book in their senior year they will discover that they've acquired the tools for a lifetime of reflection. It has been years since I went to college, and I know that some of the book's assertions and questions startled me, once again, into reflection.

Having bought this and John Plasters book I read this one first. It's a good colourful book with plenty of photos which helps you to actaually practice various shootin positions. The book doesn't go into a huge amount of detail, but does give you a good basic explanation on how to develop a good technique. I would definitely recommend buying this plus a more advanced book to learn sniper skills. Spicer also gives details of various countries and models alot of his photo's on the Gurka snipers. There are also only a couple of pages regarding ghillie suits but does emphasise camouflage without actually giving too much detail. After that you'll need to pack up and load up and learn by experience.

I have read many books on Sniping and techniques. This book is the most thorough out of all the books. It has many pictures to give you an idea of how to conceal yourself and various rifle positions. It is a very basic book and doesn't go into much detail but that will be found in other books. This is a great book and should be owned by every sniper enthusiast.

This is a great book. It's filled with pictures and has profiles of several countries sniper rifle(s). Paked with all the aspects of sniping. You have to buy this book.

Stimulating, illuminating insights into the genius mind of Almodovar. The author paints a respectful, comprehensive picture of one the greatest living filmmakers. While we can never truly know everything about the mysteriously talented director, it sure is fun to sneak a peek and try to figure out some theories.

Finding a new book on Almodovar is always a treat, especially in English, and Mark Allinson's book is a very interesting analysis of all of Almodvar's great work.
A definate must for any Almodovar fan like me.

Brilliant.

Mark Williams ...

As I have only seen two films by the critically acclaimed and now Oscar winning director, my interest in film production encouraged my reading of Mark Allinson's "A Spanish Labyrinth" which touches on almost every aspect of Almodovar's techniques, and compares these with traditional filmmaking of, say, the Hollywood system.
The "in depth" analysis of each of these techniques, and other notable areas of the book transpire the writers clear passion for cinema, Spain, and the Spanish language. Without this, the book would lack it's captivating edge, and be "just another book about filmmaking."
Little is known of Pedro Almodovar in this country. Recources are limited and "A Spanish Labyrith" is only one of two books on the subject written in English. Whilst Almodovar produces all of his films in Spain, it is only a matter of time before he makes films for a wider audience, directing actors from a script written in English.
To conclude, the book is of great interest to anyone who enjoys watching, analysing or even producing films, or indeed shows any interest in World Cinema, Europe and particularly Spain.
Allow the book to be the basis for your introduction to Almodovar, then you'll know what to look for in his latest film releases.

I enjoyed this book immensely for myself but Im a 58 yr old retired teacher. I think the reading level of this book is too hard for most teens. Please write to me if you know of a teen who read and enjoyed this book. Thanks

The book How to Stop the Pain, Teen Miditation is a good book to read for young adults. It talks about why young adults are getting pains and why are they doing crazy things to make it better. Young adults are having pains because of money, sex, parents and many more. It also talks about how to medidate. Go to a silent, face the sun, or you can stare at a candle light for 2 minutes and when you close your eyes you can see the flame. Think straight on your topic and ask questions to yourself. Like why did you do it? What made you do it? How come?
I got this book at the library. I was looking for a book and I just found it. The title "Stop the Pain" made me wanted to read it. It seems that it interesting. You would just like to keep on going and going and going. The illustrating I admired too. The cartoons are so cute and creative.
Yes, I do like this book. It talks about your problems you have and your going to have. I mean like when you get old, your going to find a job for money, but for now sometimes our problems are mostly our friends or parents. This book takes you step by step. Even illustrate how to exercise meditate. It always says to calm yourself and be happy to who you are. Don't care about others, but yourself.

"Since pain is an integral part of life, the author encourages teens to consider meditation -- conscious attention to what is going on in the brain -- as the most healt6hy antidote...time tested meditation techniques -- from simple breathing exercies to active yoga and martial-arts forms...constructive means for dealing with negative emotions and challenges, including words of widom from Eastern and Western philosophers and religious teachers....Much good adivce is contained in these pages...resources, pictures."