This book contains some history, 8 palm changes of Wang Shu Jin's Baguazhang (presented by Mr. Pittman) and a little discussion on philosophy of art.

At first - this is not book for beginner who do not know the body mechanics of Bagua.

At second - there is nothing written about Bagua fighting. There are no applications of palm changes, nor combat principles of Bagua. IMO, this is the great disadvantage of the book.

But this book is not as bad as it seems for the firs view - it contains several training tips which could help you in understanding of Bagua.

Finally - there are better books on this subject, but also worst. My advice is: do not buy this book unless you are very interested on Wang Shu Jin's form.

Smith and Pittman have done a wonderful job in condensing vast knowledge in a short,concise and easy to refer book.Diligent practise of the presented forms answers many questions and insights which continue from where the text has left off,a natural way to learn and comprehend any Neijia system(from an eastern teaching point of veiw).It will not be helpful however to someone who is used to being "spoon-fed".Practise correctly and diligently and the system will reveal itself to you.

Robert Smith, in 94 pages, introduces us to philosophy, lineage, concepts and the internal power of bagua masters. There are no martial applications described in the book but there is an excellent presentation of a standard intermediate bagua form set. This type of set is usually done after learning to walk the circle with the eight mother palms. This book recommends walking the circle using the basic dragon palms.

This book is an easy, economical way to begin an exploration of Pagua without being ovewhelmed. It should be in everyone's Pakua library.

This book features works from across Kerouac's career and so, of course, has some good and some band. When he uses sentance stucture he is great (Good Blonde), when he does the free form thing, he is not (almost the rest of the book). Only pick this up if you want to own everything by Kerouace. If you are a casual fan, stear clear.

"Good Blonde" is the jewel of this collection, but I was quite pleased with the quality of Kerouac's sporting stories, specifically "Ronnie on the Mound." Some of the personal essays on the values and characteristics of the Beat Movement get a little redundant (although I did enjoy the one that differentiates between "talent" and "genius"), but overall this is a great read.

Good Blonde and Others offers a wonderful collection of short essays and newspaper columns on topics ranging from writing and the beat movement to sports and jazz. I have read many of Kerouac's novels and poetry collections but this was the first opportunity I had to see him try sports writing and science fiction. Although the former sparkles with his trademark enegergetic style the latter is more mundane and seems overly-influenced by Orwell's 1984 and the Lucas film THX1138. Nonetheless this book is a must-read for all fans of the beats.

I cannot believe that John Douglas was head of the FBI's BSU until I remember that those FBI folks have absolutely no experience or knowledge of homicide or criminal investigation. The sections on crime scene staging appear to have been written by children. Try throwing in a corrupt exchange between organized crime and a district judge that involves a convenient murder in exchange for the judge's "insider" tips. The FBI has jurisdiction over judicial corruption. However, to create a mole the crime scene staging must be successful. Bet they would blow it! Probably, a rank amature could solve the case though.

I am studying forensic psychology and this book has been insightful and helpful. I have read everything john douglas has written and this is just perfect, precise, and organized in every way. Bravo!

I think this book is such a wonderful resource. As someone who is in school studying to work in Forensics this was a great book to read. It was not too technical and I would recommend this to anyone in law enforment, anyone who wants to some day work in law enforcement or anyone interested in learning from the masters.

I have always been a fan of the intellectual debates in the New York Review of Books letters to the editor pages. This book consists of two articles by Crews and the subsequent debates surrounding them. I would have liked to see better defenses of Freud, but none of the eminent defenders of psychoanalysis is able to mount a serious challenge to Crews's devastating attacks.

This devastating book has two parts: (1) The Unknown Freud, where the reader gets a picture of Freud as a dictator, a megalomaniac and egotripper. A pope who alone knew the truth and who founded a secret commission to protect his 'church' against the heathen. He was a bad psychoanalyst (e.g. the Wolf Man case) and a venal man (e.g. the catastrophic Horace Fink case, where he tried to get his own hands on some money of the heiress).
I agree with the author that psychoanalysis is a pseudoscience - statements cannot be tested and the research results cannot be verified uniformly. Although it is not totally without meaning (Karl Popper), it is not a science.
(2) the revenge of the repressed
A frontal attack on the caste of the psychoanalysts, depicted as 'religious zealots, self-help evangelists, sociopolitical ideologues, and outright charlatans who trade in the ever seductive currency of guilt and blame, while keeping the doctor's fees mounting.'
The author is particularly severe with their latest 'school' : the 'recovered memory movement', based on the rape of children by their parents (really!). This lead to false accusations and condemnations of innocent people. No wonder the author predicts an accelerating collapse of psychoanalysis as a respected institution.
A much needed and courageous book to halt a profession riding at full speed on a misty highway. And a much needed angle on Freud as a person, written in a style to slaughter the not so innocent father of psychoanalysis.
After reading this book, I agree with Peter Madawar, who called doctrinaire psychoanalytic theory "the most stupendous intellectual confidence trick of the twentieth century".

Frederick Crews really knows how to tap that deep reservoir of hostility found in modern Freudian psychoanalysts. In 1993 and 1994 FC wrote two essays in the New York Review of Books debunking Freud in the first, and tearing to shreds the recovered memory movement in the second.

These two essays and the letters in response to them have been put into the book The Memory Wars. As someone trained in experimental psychology you can guess my own personal bias in this matter. Crews discusses Freud's botched cases; his frequent vacillation in theory formation; some of his sillier theories; and his serious interjection of personal bias into the formation of his beliefs. The main problem with the whole Freudian system is the total lack of scientific evidence supporting it. Freudian psychoanalysis is founded on anecdote and supported by anecdotes. To be fair, much current non-Freudian therapy is also based on anecdote. Indignant Freud followers write back, and their letters are indeed interesting (and often pompous).

The second half of the book takes on the recovered memory movement. It would be great to poke fun at this movement if it weren't for the fact that it has caused so much damage to all parties involved. Symptoms checklists are published with the statement if you suffer from these symptoms you may be a victim of sexual abuse. Read the list and you will find that the majority of Americans will find that they have been abused. It's all a patient seduction game with the intent to make big money. Hospitals have even set up units to treat such patients (Having worked in the psychiatric hospital industry I am well aware of the "product lines" that such facilities set up in order to fill beds). Crews does an excellent job of dissecting the memory movement, and once again we get to read the indignant responses.

Those who believe that psychological therapy should be based on sound scientific evidence will love this book. Those who have accepted Freudianism with a religious like faith will, of course, hate it. To me this whole subject is analogous to the evolution vs. creationist debate. It's science versus pseudoscience.

First written in 1980 and updated for 1990. Robert G. Allen's book has sold over a million copies and is the all time bestselling real estate book. When I first read this book in 1980, I was very impressed; and after taking Robert Allen's "Nothing Down" seminar and meeting him in person I was more impressed. Though I had bought real estate including a personal residence and investment property before reading his book, Nothing Down made an impact. The message was you can buy real estate without cash. What a great message for somebody who doesn't have any cash. There are certainly portions of this book that are out of date. He writes of 10% annual appreciation in properties, as if its etched in stone. But where I live the appreciation rate has been more like 3% on average.
Rents and purchase prices listed in the book are also out of date, as you would expect for a 13 year old book. A four unit example in the book is listed for sale at $78,000, not many of those left today. In addition there are references to the Resolution Trust Corporation, which no longer exists. Some of the techniques for Nothing Down were the result of brainstorming between the author and other investors and associates. Some of these techniques were great in theory but are difficult to apply in the real world. In one chapter of the book the author states that when you buy properties in foreclosure that "you pay sometimes 60 to 70 cents on the dollar." Two factors have affected foreclosure sales. The first factor is more and more property owners are deeper in debt and there is often little, zero, or negative equity. The second factor is that there is much more awareness of foreclosure sales and they are much better attended by investors looking for bargains. To the author's favor is his credit to John Schaub and Jack Miller for their input to the chapter of 5 year retirement.

Prior to Robert Allen's "Nothing Down" there were only two significant real estate book, to my way of thinking. Those would be "How I turned $1,000 into 1 Million in Real Estate in My Spare Time" by William Nickerson (1959) and " How you can Become Financially Independent by Investing in Real Estate" by Albert J. Lowry (1977). Oh there were other books some of them were even fairly decent. But none with the impact of Nickerson and Lowry until Robert Allen, who not only spawned many real estate books, courses, and gurus of the last 20 years. There is a historical significance to "Nothing Down" by not only its message, but also what came after it and what had come before it. The Nickerson and Lowry books mentioned here are also recommended reading. The Nickerson book is harder to get and more expensive, but the Lowry book is almost as good.

Allen writes in an easy to understand style, that shouts out that real estate is an investment that the average person can comprehend and accomplish goals of financial success. There are chapters in the book on paper, lots of owner financing ideas, and overcoming roadblocks. If you are just starting out in real estate this is a great first book, because if you read most other books of the last 20 years, there will be some of Robert Allen's influence there. Go to the source. If you're an experienced investor, you probably already read this book. The book is dated as mentioned before, and some of the techniques may not apply today, and some may even be illegal today, like "silent second mortgages." Mortgage seasoning was not even a term used 20 years ago, but now you hear it almost every day. Additionally the book does not mention other current aspects of real estate investment such as limits on the number of mortgages one person can have. When I first read this book in 1980 it was clearly a 5 star book. And even though I still appreciate the historical significance of this classic book, there are clearly portions of this book not updated to today; and for those flaws the rating today is 4 stars.

I must admit that this is not a get rich quick plan. This books shows a simplified, easy to read, excellent 10 to 15 year get rich plan, through long term real estate investing. The author never suggests that you will become rich overnight. The book starts with some basic ideas and continues to give many examples of nothing down purchases, negotiating hints, financing hints, creative financing hints and much more. The best part about this book is that you learn to invest with o.p.m. (other peoples money). I can honestly say that I have used many of Robert Allen's techniques over the past few years and believe me, they work! I must have read this book 20 or 30 times and each time I learn more techniques and motivate myself. I read many books about investing "Charles Givens, Gordon Pape, David Chilton, Discounted second mortgages etc etc etc etc. When Robert Allen talks about nothing down real estate investing he means nothing down. My purchases were made with 100% financing and I even borrowed enough to cover the closing costs. This is by far the best. A must read for any real estate investor.

Two previous reviewers both mentioned that the techniques in this book are not for the faint of heart and that they are do-able. I will agree with those thoughts whole heartedly. I have a biased opinion of real estate because I'm a real estate broker and own real estate. Real estate investing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Like anything that is worthwhile, it takes a lot of hard work. The techniques in this are analogous to a toolbox. You really shouldn't drill a hole with a wrench or tighten a bolt with a hammer. The techniques and examples are excellently described with a no-nonsense approach. Perhaps to the novice real estate investor, it can be a bit confusing due to the fact there is some real estate "lingo". The nice thing is the author is good at describing the lingo. I can attest that you can buy good properties for little or no money down. From a personal standpoint, for about every 20 properties I have been able to identify as possible no-money-down purchases, only one or two are seen through to closing. If you take on the challenge of this book, be prepared to learn how to negotiate and be prepared to handle some rejection. You will learn not to get emotionally attached to a property. By that I mean real estate investors are looking for a positive net operating income (NOI) and a positive cash flow. The author talks about putting all your eggs in one basket...and watch that basket! I am not counting on Social Security to be there for me when I get into old age. I have two daughters to get through college within the next 10 - 15 years. My plan is to sell off properties I own (bought with little or no money down) so my kids can go to the college of their choice. All I'll need to do is sell off properties, profit from the build up of equity, and pay Uncle Sam what he is due for Capital Gains. And you can also defer Capital Gains by doing what's called a "1031 Exchange". There's a lot to learn here, and this book is inspiring as well. Buy this book. Do just what Robert Allen tells you to do and start watching your eggs!

This book, by the editors of the Washington Post, does a good job of describing the events which led to the deadlocked 2000 Presidential election. In addition to detailing the paths which led to the deadlock, the book discusses all the post-election issues in a very readable format. Surprisingly, the books editors seem only slightly tilted towards Gore (especially considering it is the Washington Post, which is noted for its liberal bias), so no matter who you voted for, there is much to be found here for anyone with an interest in contemporary politics.

Two things struck me while reading this book, the first is that I doubt there is a book out there that is truly balanced and not somewhat biased. The second thing was that Gore really got the shaft, not so much by the recount wars, but by the election official that came up with the Butterfly Ballot. In the history of the USA this decision ranks up there with new Coke and the XFL, what a mistake. As far as the reporting in the book it was not bad for a review of all the articles they had in the paper, but it did not really dig into the particular issues very deeply. I wanted more detail and behind the scenes with both the candidates. I also wanted more details on the court cases; I felt like the sky-high overview of the issues of the cases did not do such an important issue justice.

In reading the book I think a little bit of a democratic bias comes out, just a little, but enough to notice. I also thought it interesting that they had far more details of the Gore group then the Bush camp, it follows the perception that the Post is somewhat liberal in its views. The book is an overview that came out almost 10 minutes after Gore hung up the phone on the second concession call so there are a few more details out now that they did not get in the book. Overall it is a good effort and a readable book, but not the end all be all on the subject.

Deadlock: The Inside Story of America's Closest Election is a workmanlike and emotionless recollection of the events surrounding the most controversial election of the past 100 years. It is a well organized, easy to follow and not visibly biased view of the relevant events leading up to and following the November 7 Presidential election. Seemingly accurate and double checked to a fault, reading this book left me with the impression that I had just read an excellent 275 page newspaper article and not much more. With almost no humor, lacking any sidebar comments, it is a book Joe Friday would be proud to call his own. While I am a Texan and Bush supporter, I much preferred Jake Tapper's Down & Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency. I guess this means that like most people, when push comes to shove, I'd rather be entertained than informed. I do regret this intellectual weakness and like some of the votes in Florida I may change. But probably not in the next 36 days.

When one first approaches this book, one can't help but be drawn in by Ginsberg's knowing smile. His life experiences, loves, and tragedies can all be summed up within this book. However, the many monumental poems in this book("Things I Will Not Do", etc.) are spaced apart with lymerics, catchy tunes, and mostly toilet humor. When both reading about Ginsberg, and reviewing his earlier work, a person feels a sense of awe and wonder. A person begins to look upon the world with new eyes. However, I felt a little let down after reading this one. I just felt most of the poems to be far too juvenile, and this really detracts from the over all concept, and sentimentality of the book. I'd really consider this a "half-n'-half" book. Half was good, and half was not. If anyone is looking into this book for a first look into Ginsberg, I strongly advise you read his earlier stuff first.

Ginsberg happens to be the father of the beat generation, a generation that many dismiss. Ginsberg comes to understand death in the pages of political tongue lashing's and calling them out like a showdown at the "OK". Buy this book and understand a dying man's dream of innocent fame.
.....

I recommend this title to anyone who enjoys good poetry. There is something extremely "real" about Ginsberg, always has been, and he shows that realness in these last few poems before he died. "Things I Will Not Do," which was the last poem he wrote before dying, brings a tear to my eye almost every time I think about it. We could all hope to approach our ends with the kind of dignity that Ginsberg seems to have.

When I first picked up this book, I was eager to learn about modern psychology and its interactions with everyday life, particularly with men and aggression. Instead, I found a book that conveniently pegs a hole of abnormality for every single one of us. It's not original. It's purely a rehash of the DSM-IV, and not once did it even mention that it's a derivative work in the verso. Throughout the book the DSM-IV is constantly quoted and requoted, which, if you were to remove the quotes, it would leave you only with a preface and introduction to what the DSM-IV already covers. [...]

All that aside, what really annoyed me was its classification of human behaviors. Sadness, lonlieness, isolation, aggression, anger, jealously, fatigue--the list goes on, like some kind of psycho-recipe book. Just mix up the "symptoms" and you could come with a disorder that they've conveniently named. What's your dish? Show me one person that's never been angry before. Show me one person who's not felt sad before, or lonely, or tired or afraid--and the author's want to call it a disorder? What arrogance! Negative emotions, ups and downs, are all a part of human life, but this book presumptiously implies that EACH of us has a syndrome of some kind. Whether male or female, rich or poor, there is a convenient hole for which your character or lifestyle can be pegged. So, we've all got a disorder. I guess what the book is really saying is that we're normal after all. If someone has a problem that deviates to the left or right of center, a medical journal or the original source for this book--the DSM-IV--already exists. Did the authors think that we didn't know about it? The only reason I gave more than one star is that the pages are easy to read and the English usage is good. Other than that, "Caring for the mind..." is insulting to the intelligence. I'm not buying it. Not recommended.

I have to say that I felt let down by this book. It was recommended to me, and I picked it up with anticipation, ready to buy a copy. I was very disappointed, (as a psychotherapist specializing in recovery issues), to find that the dual diagnosis approach to recovery and mental health was mentioned exactly once, then ignored in favor of the old "either/or" paradigm discarded by most of us in the eighties; thus the sections on addiction and mental health are of limited use, since the interactions between the two are ignored. This book is better than nothing, but you'll have to infer your treatment plans if you let yourself be limited by its contents. Hopefully a forthcoming edition will bring it's recovery paradigm into the nineties, before they're too far behind us.

My husband and I just found out our 13 year old daughter has a personality disorder (schizotypal specifically). We didn't get much information on either the diagnosis or how we could help our daughter from the mental health institute we have access to. So we first turned to the internet and looked up the diagnosis. Most of it was very technical, hard to understand and cynical. I found this book at our local library and it has helped us tremendously. It is clearly written for the general public to understand. We felt torn between finally finding something that helps us understand what's been going on and feeling depressed by the prognosis for the future. We think this book's a good start. Now what we'd like to find is a book that's written specifically for a teenager dealing with a personality disorder.

This is the fourth book I've read in the past couple of weeks that tells me to just go out and buy properties for 30% off, get the seller to finance it for nothing down, and then flip it for a great profit. What world are these authors living in? More to the point--how can so many gullible readers buy this stuff? Even worse, Shemin spends a chapter trying to sell you a prepaid legal service with which he's involved.I agree with Kansas City. For meat and potatoes and techniques that make sense see M&E's Investing In Real Estate. Shemin has destroyed his credibility with me with this entry into the Carleton Sheets school of nonsense. I expected better.

The author structures most chapters around vague generalities. Each chapter contains several pitches to get readers to subscribe to the authors pay site for the "real" information. Secondly the author repeats himself so many times if you cut the book in half and gave each half to a friend neither friend would miss anything.
The book is clearly a get rich scheme for the author akin to stuffing envelopes. The two stars it does get are for being semi motivational even though it lacks content.

I finished this book in a single sitting and filled the book with notes in margins, underlines and highlights along the way. I've read lots of real estate books and taken lots of "Real Estate Riches" courses, but none of them have given me the clear cut, no-nonsense direction a typical person needs to really make it as a Real Estate Investor. I love it!

I enjoyed some of the writing vignettes, other than that, ya stretch, ya breathe, ya throw some punches. Nice.
If your only gonna buy one martial arts type book, buy another one.

A straight-forward guide, it provides coverage of the five elements and the twelve animals of Hsing-I and should be useful to beginners. Heaven knows, my copy has been well-used. The illustrations and descriptions of the movements are fairly easy to follow. It's not an in-depth coverage and does not claim to be, but it does present the basics and touches a bit on the history and philosophy behind the art.

Allen Pittman and Rober Smith offer a simple, insightful introduction to the internal art of Hsing-I Chuan. A short history and some general guidelines are followed by a complete forms section including 5 Elements and 12 Animals sets. The book is not meant to be comprehensive, and it achieves its goal of giving the reader a real sense of what the art is about. The only down side is in comparison to Robert Smith's orignial Hsing-I book, this one comes out a bit the lesser. It is missing the pictures of the old masters, and their chapter of invaluable advice. It is also missing the two-man exercises and applications. Hsing-I players will want to have this book, however, as it gives a valuable reference in terms of forms comparison, and offers some valuable advice on the goals of practice. The final piece of which is :"Therefore, in order to best perfect your Hsing-I skills, always work hard and remain humble."