I loved reading this book as it holds many spiritual gems straight from the writers heart. Jackie Woods is powerful in her teachings and shows simple steps to work through patterns we've all gathered throughout our lives. The format of Spiritual Energy Cycles makes it easy to apply to any situation.

Since reading the book I have MANY times caught myself wrapped in emotion and stuck in a mental thought and said, 'Now, what's the bottom line here?!' This grounds me and allows me to move through my creation of growth! Then comes the manifestation part of the cycle. That's what it's all about ... it's a cycle! I would reccomend this book to anyone who is on a spiritual growth path. I re-read this book on a regular basis.

The information provided in this book is absolutely amazing. I've been a highly dedicated student of metaphysical teachings since 1984, studying dozens of different teachers, and I THOUGHT I was on a powerful Spiritual path - until I came across the information in this book. That's not to say that I did not have tremendous Spiritual growth before - I did - but anyone who is interested in TURBO-CHARGING their growth will count this book as "mandatory reading". If you liked "Conversations with God" by Neale Donald Walsh, this little 75 page book can take you even further down the path than you imagined. I've had dozens of favorite teachers over the years, from Stuart Wilde to Ram Dass, Deepak Chopra to Wayne Dyer - but the information in this book helped bring about wonderful healings in my physical body that all the other teachings did not accomplish. To be specific, I had cronic rib neuritis - VERY painful - that would go away after 3-4 accupressure sessions, only to fire back up 2-3 months later. The teachings in Spiritual Energy Cycles healed this problem - never to return! In addition, I suffered cronic, perpetual anxiety for over thirty years before coming into the understanding of how to put these teachings into effect in my life. Needless to say, I highly recommend this book - and ESPECIALLY the "companion tape" by Jackie Woods on "Meditation and Needs" - to anyone who is serious about maximizing their Spiritual growth. I noticed in the interview of Jackie Woods that she is writing a new book, so I'll be the first in line!

There are some books you pick up and open where the information on that page is EXACTLY what you need. This is that kind of book. I've read many metaphysical books with exercises at the end of each chapter. This book is about CHANGING YOUR LIFE!

I think this book is a good read. The idea of SF is to present radical sociological or scientific notions in safe environment. All it needs to make it work is a great story and a good writer. I think he has accomplished all that and a little more because unlike a lot of SF these days that rely to heavily on science gadgetry he focused on the message.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Stars Bear Witness. It was a terrific first novel, appropriate for adults as well as young adults who enjoy science fiction or stories that grapple with moral and spiritual themes. I found the friendship between Francis and Salvatore quite compelling, and identified with Francis's search for significance as a universally familiar and yet poignant storyline. At the same time, I enjoyed the action and suspense that occurs throughout the story, providing a context for Francis's own spiritual awakening and growth. An excellent, thoughtful story that I've already recommended to several friends.

I really enjoyed The Stars Bear Witness. This book travels with Francis as he finds faith and learns to rely on God's timing. I look forward to a possible continuance of this story. I couldn't put it down.

As others have stated, the content of this book is a tremendously important contribution to object-oriented analysis and modeling. The authors have successfully analyzed and pared down OOA to it's very essentials. Until you read this book you will not truly understand the significance of this. They have discovered an amazingly small set of irreducible patterns (not to be confused with design patterns, these are analysis patterns) and rules which can be applied to the modeling of any business domain - large or small, simple or complex. And which, when applied, lead to accurate and consistent models in the most direct and timely manner possible. No matter what methodology you subscribe to, if modeling the domain is one of the practices then this is how the modeling should be done. Study the patterns and rules, internalize them, your productivity will soar, your colleagues and customers will consider you a genius. It should not be hard as the presentation is clear and logical and the patterns and rules themselves have the simple elegance that fundamentally correct solutions usually exhibit. However, the authors are not ivory-tower academics presenting some arcane theory that is purely descriptive. They are practitioners with years of real-world experience, thus they show us the whats AND the hows. And they do not stop at analysis, the authors also do us the great favor of showing us how these patterns and rules actually end up being implemented in real code. This book now sits at my side as an essential reference. I plan to refer to it for my work, of course, but also to 'test' models I come across in other books.

I'm very surprised at the low Amazon.com sales rank of such a unique, insightful, and practical book. With agile and "extreme" methods and practices all the rage you would think a streamlined, dare I say 'agile', approach to modeling would have recieved more attention. I suppose the publisher missed a great opportunity by not putting "Agile" somewhere in the title. Having been the XP 'evangelist' and coach on an XP project I think it even has a place in XP (though purists will argue that point). This is my biggest problem with XP - XP recommends coming up with a "metaphor" for an application which gives the project "conceptual integrity" and will allow the customer and programmers to communicate clearly about the application. In the famous C3 payroll system project the sytem was likened to a manufacturing line in which paychecks were 'assembled' from hour 'parts' and various other 'parts'. Sorry, it may have worked but it is overly contrived and not "the simplest thing that could possibly work and no simpler". The other problem is that Beck himself says that coming up with a useful metaphor cannot be taught and that he can only come up with one on half his projects. So what if, instead of racking your brain to come up with a useful metaphor, which you will only come up with 50% of the time at best, you used a simple-as-possible-but-no-simpler modeling approach to model the *actual* business domain? Wouldn't that model provide the necessary "conceptual integrity" for the system under development and allow the customer and programmers to communicate clearly about the system, and do so *directly*? In the C3 case, paychecks would be paychecks and hours would be hours. No translating back and forth between different domains. I understand the purpose of having a good metaphor - to capture and allow communication of the essential entities and of the essential relationships between those entities. But I think that creating a basic domain model, quickly and iteratively, by applying the patterns, rules and techniques in Streamlined Object Modeling, is a cleaner and more direct practice than metaphors and fits in fine with XP. And creating such a domain model is possible not just 50% of the time, but 100% of the time. (The authors do make certain suggestions and recommendations here and there reflecting their own methodology and implementation preferences which do not always jive with agile and, especially, XP practices. But those are easily identified and agile/XP practitioners should not allowed them to distract from the core of this work.)

In the interest of full disclosure I should state I know and have had the privilege of working with all three of the authors. They gave me an early draft and I did not read it. The book was published and they gave me a copy and I did not read it. Sorry, guys and gal! But finally, this past week, I got around to reading it. Fantastic piece of work. I just wish I would have read it sooner!

Nicola, Mayfield and Abney take up the work that Mayfield and Coad did in their earlier book "Object Models". Nicola et al take a slightly different slant from Coad's 1999 book "Java Modeling" which introduced 4 Archetypes and the DNC. The Coad book was a quantum leap in the emerging science of business modeling. The book itself was hard to penetrate and wasn't as highly regarded as it ought to have been.

Nicola et al don't make the same mistake. This book is easy to read and well explained. It introduces some related ideas to the DNC and Archetypes from the Coad book. They call them Collaboration Patterns and Pattern Players. The techniques here are easy to understand and easy to use. They should be repeatable. As such this extends the state-of-the-art in business modeling.

There are very few people continuing to extend the knowledge in modeling business logic. However, the Coad Series authors including Nicola, Mayfield and Palmer continue to develop this valuable area. For those of us who value thought first and gaining an understanding of what we are doing before we cut any code, this new book from some of the World's best object modelers is a must read.

I'm relatively new to modeling and object programming. Up to this point, I have struggled to find objects and to develop their attributes and their relationships with other objects. This book has broken that barrier for me. It describes an intuitive set of patterns and rules for analyzing and modeling the business systems that form the basis of most software. The patterns are like pieces of an Erector set. Each one is simple; they are combined to form structures as complex as one needs. The rules describe how to combine the patterns. The Java prototypes are straightforward and easily implemented, providing a complete framework for development. If you are just starting out in modeling, I would recommend UML Distilled for an overview of UML and this book for a tutorial on how to use it. I'm moving a lot of other modeling and pattern books to the back room-- I think this book will be my primary modeling resource for the forseeable future.

I cried unconsolably for days after reading this book. The pathos, the sheer bleakness hit me like a ton of bricks...oh, I'm sorry, wrong book. I liked this book, cats are inherently funny, so when you combine cats with that other great element of comedy, Samurai, you have total comic genius. I laughed, I cried, I'd read it again.

This is literally the funniest book I have ever read. Although, if you don't have a good base of knowledge concerning weapons in general and firearms in particular, you probably won't find it as amusing as I did. It also helps if you read a lot to be able to recognize the "Guest Villains" as they appear. And it doesn't hurt to like cats

This is without a doubt the best Samurai Cat book written. They all rank as the best fantasy-adventure-historical-comedy books avalable. Rogers is the funniest man alive

This book features analysis by Taimanov of 60 of his best games, mostly from the 1950's and 1960's, but a few are from the 1970's. The games are organized into different chapters by schemes, motifs and themes, and are not arranged chronologically. Taimanov highlights his wins over the "best of the best" of the Russian grandmasters, and also his best games against Bobby Fischer. Algebraic notation.

This is Taimanov's crowning acheivement- a collection of 60 of his best games spanning several decades. Each game averages 3 very large pages of analysis. Very clearly written and stands as one of the best games collections ever published.

Contains 60 games arranged by attacking themes- this is a manual on how to attack the king. Excellent layout, easy to read and instructive as well as entertaining. Russian chess at its best.

Nancy Rexin Evans did a wonderful job in this telling story of her Mother's courage. How brave Cecelia was in saving lives at the risk of losing her own, her strength was amazing, to face death every day and evil , an evil we all wish and hope to never see again, is her testament OF courage. I am of German heritage and it makes me sad to think how horrible all of these people were treated. If not for the love and courage of this brave woman, an entire generation and culture would have disappeared from the face of the earth forever. God Bless you Cecelia, up in Heaven and God Bless your daughter, Nancy, for having the courage to re-live this story so we all may learn a valuable lesson.

My name is Lacey and I am sixteen years old. I just finished reading "Testament to Courage" by Cecelia Rexin, translated by her daughter, Nancy Rexin Evans. Being partially of German descent, I felt a kinship with Cecelia and her strength as with my grandmother, but at the same time ashamed of how people could act like that, being of the same heritage, that could be so evil incarnate and have no regard for human life.       As I was reading this I tried to compare my world with Cecelia's, but nothing could compare. We live in a world today where we can go run to the store for soap, milk, bread, anything your money can buy, go to sleep whenever we want, have decent shoes, socks, clothing, toiletry items and much more. All the while Cecelia worked her hands to the bone, with no food, water and hardly any clothing to save not only her life, but others too. As she described what they wore, where and how they slept, what they didn't eat , it made me feel selfish of what I have and all the petty things I fight amoungest my siblings and others about.               As I was reading one night, I had just gotten home from a friends house and I had gotten something to eat, it was towards the end of the book where things got real bad and 2,000 people are crammed in a box with nothing to eat, drink, and no way to bathe and barely had a restroom ( actually it was a bucket ). I got so sick to my stomach. I stopped eating and started crying, as I felt so bad for these people. I felt as if this was partially my fault being from their descent, but it is not. We take life for granted when "Life" is all that some of these people wanted.

I found the memoirs of Cecilia Rexin to be incredibly moving and inspirational. It is heartwarming to read of the depth of soul, conscience and human dignity that can prevail even in the face of unspeakable evil and horror. It is a must for good people of all faiths and creeds.

I appreciate it when a mystery writer can combine a truly complex whodunnit with character development, humor, and humanity. This Tinker Marks book has it all! I cracked up at some of the one-liners; too many to single one out. I did guess the perp fairly early on, but didn't guess the motive, yet it made perfect sense. Only problem I had was how much of a door mat Claire is for Emma. Nothing's perfect, but I'm already looking forward to the next book by this talented husband/wife team.

Tinker Mark's book happens right here in Iowa....with references to my hometown. The two main characters were real in their every day emotions and life. As a whodunit...it kept me waiting until it was almost too late. Imagine running all over town trying to keep a test tube frozen! And then the humanitarian side where they assist their elderly neighbors in coping with a gay son. It was suspenseful, funny, and heartwarming. Loved it.

This book is GREAT!!! Easy-to-read, and hillarious. The plot keeps you glued to the book. The character of Claire comes up with the most remarkable sayings as she tryies to find out who killed a world-famous philosopher at an Iowa college symposium. This is a must-read for anyone who likes a good mystery wrapped in a humorous style.

A coffee table book sure to inspire you. This book was one of the things that really sparked my interest in nature photography. The stunning vistas and colors will capture your imagination and inspire you to travel to the beautiful places of this country!

Jorstad's photographic review of each of America's 54 national parks is an absolutely amazing look at some of the most beautiful places in our country. Jorstad visited each park several times, during different seasons. His visits enabled him to capture the light of each park, and provides the reader with incredibly nuanced and beautiful panoramas of each location. The pictures are accompanied by a lovely, lyrical text.

Overall, this book is a great investment for armchair travelers who want to experience the wonders of nature. Very highly recommended.

One of my favourite books with wonderful pictures by Stan Jorstad and intuitive texts by Mark Strand which helped me to understand more about the importance of the American National Park System and which overwhelmed me with its beauty. I was attempted to go there immediately and enjoy the pure beauty of nature again as I will surely do soon !

My young nephews love - love! - this book. It reminds me of the Richard Scarry books that I was into as a kid. This is a numbers book--perhaps Mark Todd will do a storybook next time. After all, his audience are getting older every day!

Guess what? My 17 month old daughter loves Start Your Engines as much as the boys do. She has something that she does for each page (i.e. when "five foxes test the shocks" she bounces up and down; and when "four flamingoes fix a flat" she says "UH OH!!"). It's a great book with which to interact.

This book rocks! The illustration is wonderful. Super fun to read, and easy for kids of all ages to relate to.You can look at the pictures over and over and still see something new each time. Its the kind of book you want to keep for your whole life, and look back to fondly when you're an adult. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

What are the characteristics of an effective and powerful board? For Mark Light, it is a board that is "visionary about the future, explicit in delegating that future into the present, clear about the tasks that must be executed today, and disciplined about monitoring performance." It "...focuses its energy on making sure that the organization achieves its chosen destiny."

The process for creating such a board is the focus of The Strategic Board. In Light's view, the ideal board builds its agenda around the creation and implementation of a governance plan consisting of four sub-plans:

1. a leadership plan, articulating vision, mission, strategies, critical issues (he calls these "imperatives"), and success indicators;

2. a delegation plan, defining the responsibilities and performance standards of the board (including its members, officers, and committees) and executive director;

3. a twelve-month management plan for the board and for each functional area of the organization stating annual objectives, challenges to be addressed, and budget;

4. a "vigilance plan," that serves as a monitoring schedule and provides the main agenda items the board's meetings for the coming year.

The book includes examples of each type of plan, drawn from the theatre company where the author serves as executive director and from a Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization. The examples are very helpful in following the logic of each planning process.

In an interesting introduction, Light suggests that any effort to improve nonprofit governance must take into account seven realities of nonprofit organizations:

1. part-time volunteer directors are able to give only limited time to the tasks of governance;

2. boards operate with something less than perfect knowledge, creating a dilemma for the both the board and executive director as they must each be both servant and leader to the other;

3. boards tend to be fairly large, making decision-making a lengthy and complicated process;

4. for many boards, the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required for effective governance are not seen as a prerequisite for recruitment;

5. there are few consequences for poor performance, and little recognition for excellent board performance;

6. consistency and continuity are problems for many boards from year-to-year and even from meeting-to-meeting due to poor attendance and turnover of members and officers;

7. nonprofit organizations are led by relatively inexperienced executive directors. (based on an article from Board Member which is available online at [URL]

The author draws upon a number of sources in nonprofit literature to support his thesis, making the endnotes a useful link to follow-up reading. He also sprinkles the text with the wisdom of motivational writers and speakers. This will be enjoyed by readers who are inspired by such writing. Personally, I think these oversimplified inspirational messages detract from the otherwise strong and thoughtful text.

Overall, there is much in this book to stimulate creative thinking. The concepts are well-explained and illustrated with good examples. On the negative side, it suffers from too much jargon (e.g. "high-impact governance") and like so many "how-to" books, tends to underestimate the time and effort necessary to transform intentions into action. Still, it is a serious and thoughtful effort to build boards capable of the leadership needed by strong and effective organizations. Most executive directors and board members will find some new and challenging ideas to consider.

Literally dozens of books about boards have come out in the past few years. This one stands out from the crowd because it's written by a seasoned and successful nonprofit executive with a pragmatic and reality-based approach to governance. If you're a nonprofit executive, this book acknowledges the limitations and frustrations of nonprofit governance, then gives concrete suggestions for turning your board into a high-impact team. If you serve on a nonprofit board, you'll be informed and inspired by the author's concept of strategic governance. The Strategic Board should be in every nonprofit executive's briefcase!

Who among us, often serving simultaneously in both roles of nonprofit executive and board member, would not relate in a heartbeat to Light's seven "realities" and four "questions of great governance?" The importance and usefullness of Mark's insights and tested plan are immeasurable to all of us who wrestle daily with this #1, always-in-your-face management challenge. Check it out!