This is an excellent book, both for reading and as a resource. Hulse gives an incredible amount of information in an easy to understand format. This book is invaluable in helping to understand the connections between various cultures and their methods.

This book and its companion: "The Eastern Mysteries" provide a wonderful compendium of cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary information. They make it possible to understand the deep connections between all peoples of the world.

Definitely a "must-have," whether novice or expert.

This book and it's "Western Mysteries" companion contain extensive amounts of interesting and valuable information. They truly bring together so many of the fundamental aspects that are shared across cultures and disciplines. Even though the books may appear, at first glance, somewhat complex, their many, many entry points provide easy access for both casual reading and deep exploration.

This is a excellent reference for all students of Magick.
The volume abounds in tables and cross references for many Magickal Systems, the section on Hebrew, is an outstanding resource. With corrispondances from a number of major sources, including Golden Dawn, Aliester Crowley, and Eliphas Levi. with correlations between them.

If you want a reference to Magickal systems, Alphabets, and corrisponding number systems, this book is Great.

This book is the first volume of a two volume set that took me over 20 years to research and write. As a child I was drawn to the magic of the ancient alphabets. At nine years old, I had already committed to memory the Greek alphabet. I was able to write in my child's hand the Egyptian hieroglyphic phonetic alphabet. I also copied out from an encyclopedia the Phoenician alphabet, and saw the connections between Egyptian, Phonecian, Greek, and Roman script, and how our own English alphabet of 26 letters evolved from the picture images of these ancient scripts (i.e, A was a bull, and B was a house). In the late 1960s I discovered the number values for the ancient Hebrew alphabet. I was fascinated by the concept that every letter of the alphabet had a different number value, and that the range of numbers spanned from 1 to 9 to 10 to 900 to 100 to 900. This revelation somehow triggered deeply within me past life remembrances of previously studying the sacred nature of the alphabet. From my first exposure to Hebrew, I searched out other cultures and other languages that were isopsephic (i.e., languages that use the letters of the alphabet as number value in addition to phonetic values). What really fascinated me was that any word in an isopsephic language could be measured and numbered by the number values of the letters composing that word. And if two words equalled the same number, they served as poetic metaphors to define the mystical nature of that specific number. As my research progressed, more and more languages unfolded, until I discovered languages in both the east and west that held this mystical property. When I finally recorded all of my research, my occult archaeological discoveries fell naturally to two books, one dealing with the eastern mysteries and one with the western mysteries. The Eastern Mysteries contains so much new material that have never seen print before in English. This includes the numbering of Sanskrit, including a key to the letters on the flower petals known as the chakras. The Tibetan alphabet is also deciphered for the first time, as well as the stroke count of the Chinese language based on Taoist Spirit practices. A key to the actual layout of the I Ching is also deciphered for the first time, and connected back directly to the stroke count of Chinese calligraphy. Beyond these rare discoveries the middle eastern languages of Cuneiform, Hebrew, and Arabic are fully deciphered. There are also many appendices to the 6 chapters in this first volume that offer additional insight into the number philosophy of the ancient world, including the number system of Gurdjieff and the ancient eastern elemental system known as the tattvas. This work, though highly detailed, is aimed at the lay person, and does not require any previous knowledge of any of the alphabets or symbolic systems. I would recommend this book alone, on the merits of the last chapter. For I have written the best possible explanantion of the I Ching that has yet to see print. For in my research with the I Ching over the last 30 years, I had discovered the key to all of its symbolism. That key is the 8 basic trigrams that make up the 64 hexagrams. Once the reader understands these 8 basic shapes, then all of the complex oracular vocabulary can be understood. The Western Mysteries should also be purchased, since the two volumes complement each other, and were originally written as one large volume.

People, places and things are all described in this dictionary. If it holds any significance in the bible, it's in this dictionary.

This dictionary isn't the most compact book in the world, so it kind of has a limitation there. There are really quality facts and ties in this book. Some symbolism is identified. This is really a top quality bible dictionary. There are ties of some biblical figures/stories to others in the bible. Many terms are identified. Some Hebrew names for God are explained. Things like the Dead Sea Scrolls are explained thoroughly.

If you want to know the bible on a deeper level, this dictionary can really help you. it is a really easy to use reference. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know the scriptures more thoroughly.

Dictionary Of The Bible is a weighty reference which provides a new tool for reading and studying the Bible, offering nearly 5,000 alphabetically ordered articles explaining all the books, people and terms of the Bible. Accompanying discussions of cultural, geographic and literary influences provide Bible readers with a wider range of insights than most, with nearly 600 Bible authorities contributing their articles and insights.

This dictionary is the best on the market. The articles are indepth and provide a wealth of information. At the same time, the style is understandable and easy to use. The contributors respresent a wide range of Christian backgrounds and give the book an excellent scope of views.

If you are interested in getting a better understanding of the Bible, a good Bible dictionary is a must -- and this is the best one to have.

It should be obvious that Shakespeare wrote great literature. That fact is assumed by the authors of this book. However, Allan Bloom and Harry Jaffa demonstrate a deeper awareness of Shakespeare than one will find in literature departments. Shakespeare combined poetry with an acute knowledge of politics, and these excellent scholars have written a clear and convincing account of some of those facets of political wisdom. Read this fine book and help rescue Shakespeare from political irrelevance.

I am admittedly not too familiar with much of Shakespeare scholarship out there, but I would venture to suggest that (considering the elgance of Bloom's prose as well as the depth of his insights) this work should rank among the finest in Shakespeare scholarship. Such a statement would surely offend the academic snobbery of the Shakespeare scholarship cabal who would reflexively question the authority of one who is not a Shakepeare specialist, in particular, the authority of one who has specialized in expounding the thoughts of Plato and Rosseau. However, I would argue that this is precisely the very reason that elevates Bloom the political philosopher in a privileged position in understanding Shakespeare. The rationale is supplied in the beginning of Bloom's study itself: the great classical dramatists or poets were not proponents of the art for art's sake or creating art for purely aesthetic reasons. Instead, through their art, the great dramatists and poets sought to convey certain timeless truths about human existence, in particular, about political existence, for man is a zoon politikon according to Aristotle. Hence, Bloom's account is a necessary corrective to those language nabobs who would rather prattle about the meters and stanzas and in so doing lose sight of Shakespeares account of the Whole.

It is difficult to convey how wonderful I found this thin little book to be. It is no larger than a slice of rye bread, but the food for thought contained therein could feed a soul for a thousand days. It took me two mesermizing hours to get through the Introduction and Bloom's essay on 'The Merchant of Venice'. At first, I mistrusted my recollection- was there really so much there? Had the dry old play decayed so completely in my estimation, or had Bloom inserted his own opinions? No, after more blissful consternation, I relived what I had long taken for dead. Allan Bloom really sees things. His deft insight makes Shakespeare seem real and urgent again, despite how unfashionable and out of vogue the debate may seem to contemporary minds. The Jewish and the Christian come to light, the entire legacy of each Faith revealed keenly, sharply, and decisively in favour of one higher power. The authority of thought, the power of unaided reason brought to bear nakedly on an eternal, ever-so tender, sore. Bloom's essay on 'Othello' and 'Julius Cesear' prove out this reviewer's intial wonder at the work. To readers familiar with Bloom's other works, I include myself, this book was additionally worthy because it showed that the issue Allan Bloom later became famous for, the decay of education, was already at the forefront of his mind in the early 1960's. He states in the book's introduction and claims it as his motivation for publishing the essay. This was 1964, several years before the signifigant events of the 1960s took full shape and bore full weight on American society. The introduction includes Bloom's stark assessment of Poetry and Philosophy. He quotes Napolean (one of very few direct quotes, the footnotes are rich, but few) to argue for the superiority of poetry over politics and then slyly demostrates the superiority of philosophy, or the philosopher, true and proper, over poetry. This is a book you could own and keep and reread often, even secrete it undercover and carry it across hostile borders, real and imagined.

This is a wonderful book that gives the reader a feel for all social levels during the medieval times. I especially enjoyed The Wife of Bath's Tale. I recommend this book to anyone. It is interesting while being entertaining at the same time.

Chaucer has given me a greater insight into life in the 14th century. We see the hypocrisy of the "genteel" people of the time. He has also transcended the boundaries of time for we can still see evidence of this hypocrisy in todays society. The Wife is a strong female character and the reader can not be certain if she is feminist or anti-feminist nor can they be certain if Chaucer is laughing at her or with her. This was a very crafty device by Chaucer's and he must be commended for it. This device is shown in how long Chaucer allows the Wife to speak about herself, it is the longest prologue in the book except of course for the General Prologue. The Wife's views and issues can also be seen in her choice of tale but her voice seems somewhat more subdued here and we can distinctly see Chaucer's own views and ideas coming out in the tale.The very poetic style in which it is written also intices the reader to read on. Altogether quite an insightful piece of literature.

It was so lovely

This is a great overview of Beat Poetics. Check out Ted Joans, who remains the most lucid of the Beat poets and who still writing and reading strong. He has just published a new collection of poetry called Our Thang, also available on Amazon. He and Bob Kaufmann are possible the two most extraordinary writers of this extraordinary generation.

after reading this selection many times, i have become enthraled the lives of kerouac, cassady, and ginsburg. for a new fan of these great poets, this book is a must. it will give you a great work of information that can allow you to discover the works of many innovative poets

David Allen is a well trained classical psychiatrist who has written a practical book that addresses behavior from a unique vantage point. The unique feature of this book is the fact that classical psychiatry is framed in a clear Christian light. My experience with "Christian" self help books is that they are so frequently based on the premise that if you "believe" everything will be OK and if its not then obviously you really don't believe which could not be further from the truth. David Allen has it right, read what he has to say.

Everyone desiring to travel the road to spiritual discovery, experience emotional closeness, a richer, healthier, loving life and "compassion of a child's soul", look no further. This book is like none other on the market, you owe it to yourself to have it in your collection of "great books."

I am impressed by the skill in which Dr. Allen integrates psychiatry and Judeo-Christian values. His recounting of personal challenges and triumphs gave me courage. I have discovered why "hurt people, hurt people," how past hurts can stand in the way of developing honest, deep, caring and loving relationships, and I have learned how to abandon my "hurt trail" and live a more productive life.

I especially love the statement, "the heart is a metaphor for the center of the person...essence of who we really are involving our body, soul and spirit. We reach out to others through our hearts. The heart is a repository for those painful feelings, but like a sponge it can only absorb so much emotion. Once it's saturated, there is no room left for love and joy and beauty."

IN SEARCH OF THE HEART is so plainly written even a child could benefit from reading it. This book is more than a self-help book, it is a study guide. When I finished reading it I felt like I had an anchor. As the author puts it, "spiritual discovery anchors a person in the reality of love and peace, faith and trust."
I am having fun living and embracing the principles found in, IN SEARCH OF THE HEART.

This 54-page 5-chapter book tells the story of Joe Browder's successful 1969 effort to defeat the planned construction of a major airport 50 miles from Miami in the Big Cypress Swamp. As head of the Miami chapter of the U.S. National Audubon Society, Browder felt that his only chance to stop the destructive development in the swamp would be to gain support from others. He convinced both old-time alligator hunter Gator Bill and Miccosukee chief Buffalo Tiger to join his fight.

Next Browder drafted Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Douglas had written her legendary book, River of Grass, in 1947. He drove her to the site of the jetport, where some trees had already been cut and the swamp drained. She decided then and there to help. The people of Florida could have a jetport or the Everglades, but they couldn't have both. The former, if constructed, would destroy the latter.

Douglas formed the Friends of the Everglades and took the fight to Washington D.C. and then Interior Secretary Walter Hickel and Secretary of Transportation John Volpe. They ordered an environmental study, which found that the jetport would so pollute the Glades' water, its lifeblood, that all wildlife there would be threatened.

At last, Joe Browder too made it to Washington, where he met with President Richard Nixon. Transportation Secretary Volpe supported the jetport, while Interior Secretary Hickel opposed it. Nixon sent his daughter Julie to Florida to see the Everglades. When she returned to Washington, she told her the President that the Everglades were a national treasure. Nixon called a press conference and opposed the jetport.

This is a great book for children, which shows what can one person can accomplish if only he tries. And of course, it extols the virtues of one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Alyssa A. Lappen

While written as a social studies textbook for young children, Save the Everglades is the most accurate account ever published about the time so many years ago when environmentalists, Native Americans and the people who lived and hunted in the Everglades joined together to protect America's most endangered National Park.

Save the Everglades is part of a series of 28 books edited by the late historian Alex Haley (of Roots fame), written to help children understand how change in America is made by real people. Haley placed this book about a conflict between protecting nature and building an aiport in the same category with the series' book about the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott -- books about people working together, making choices about what kind of communities they want to have.

Save the Everglades tells how very different people who all shared a love of nature fought to stop political leaders and real estate developers in Miami, Florida from building what would have been the world's largest airport, just a few miles from Everglades National Park and within the Big Cypress Swamp, the wildest and richest part of the Everglades. Hunters, alligator poachers, Miccosukee Indians, school children and environmental leaders started a national campaign that convinced the President of the United States to withdraw federal money and permits for the airport project, and then to buy the Big Cypress and make it part of the Everglades protected by the National Parks System.

This book is about one of the campaigns that helped bring together the national environmental movement of the 1960s, but the book is also important for people who care about today's environmental issues, because Everglades National Park is, in the year 2000, once more threatened by another airport project sponsored by Miami political leaders and real estate developers. So people in Florida and across America are once more appealing to the President of the United States to Save the Everglades.

To make the publisher's first draft more suitable for children, the author added some false drama (fear of flying) and eliminated some true drama (death plots by real estate promoters, oddly enough referenced inaccurately in a more recent book about Florida, Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief). The writer of this review is also the principal subject of Save the Everglades, and so can personally confirm that with those exceptions, the story is accurate.

What a SHOCK to open both of Sibley's Eastern and Western Field Guides and find Alberta transposed with British Columbia on the endpaper map at the back of each book. I opened a book at the back to read the bio and look at Sibley's photo and glanced at the map and I stared and stared, not believing my eyes. I checked all the provinces and states to make sure that was the only error. Other than that, these books are great, with super illustrations and I appreciate the range maps on the pages with the birds.

The Sibley Guide to Birds, as most mention, is a great guide but too heavy to tote into the field...this field guide solves that problem.

Yes, the illustrations are smaller, but just as useable. Yes, some of the illustrations in the original guide have been deleted, but the guide you take with is better than the one at home. (You should have the original at home anyway!)

I find that the addition of Status, Habitat and Behavior in the text more than makes up for fewer illustrations.

Well made and sturdy...buy it!

I started birdwatching a year and a half ago and the Sibley Guide to Birds was the first guide I purchased. Although I had been told it was for "expert" birders, I just thought the illustrations were much clearer than any other guide. It was a joy to look at, at home on my couch. But I never wanted to take it with me in the field because it's too darn heavy.

So the Sibley FIELD Guide is the exactly the guide I've been wishing for. The illustrations are just as clear, even though they've been scaled down, and the format is a managable size and weight. The original guide had many variations, by region, sex, age, etc., and I think they had to drop a few of these, but at my level of birdwatching I don't miss them. The guide DOES still show male and female, first year, etc. I took this guide with me to Prospect Park, Brooklyn, last weekend, and I saw and ID'ed 45 species. Not bad for an amateur!

Expert birders will already be familiar with Sibley and can make up their own minds, so I would like to say to beginning birdwatchers, give this guide a shot. I really think the illustrations are the best and most helpful.

Here is where Ginsberg's brilliance is perhaps best shown. In conversation, he revealed his passion and sharpness for all topics. His "poems" should probably not be called poems, but instead exercises in poetic freedom, which is ultimately a futile task, especially when approached for the mere sake of asserting more freedom. One is baffled at the mere badness of his poems, which are not in the Whitmanian vane at all, but in the vane of bloated mounds of words. Nonetheless, Ginsberg, the "excitable visionary Jewish Budhist," is beautifully and swiftly rendered in these interviews.

i am a ginsberg fan and so i am biased but this book of interviews is really an enjoyable read. sure some of the interviews are dated but they really show the great intuitive thinker and off the cuff debater the allen ginsberg really was.
especially fun is his debate with john lofton who attempts to bury ginsberg in his born-again brand of conservativism. also fun is allen's transcripts from the chicago seven trial. i actually found this a hoot.
also his discussion on poetics is quite enlightening.
we miss you allen; your shining mind, intelligent wit and your shaman boddisattvic spirit

David Carter edits this compilation of selected interviews with Allen Ginsburg from 1958-96, providing a chronological arrangement of material which in some cases has not appeared elsewhere. The extensive interviews from decades of changing experience result in an excellent survey of Ginsberg's changing life, works and times, and provides a fine commentary on his social and literary life.