This is an unusual and very ambitious book that attempts to connect many ideas, theories and phenomena. Though not very long (200 pages), it is packed with information and speculation about all things usually dubbed occult or paranormal. Joan D'arc covers UFOs, quantum physics, the CIA's (and other governmental agencies) involvement with psychedelics and mind control and phenomenology. The latter, a philosophical cousin to existentialism, is concerned with the problem of the subjective vs. the objective; is the world we perceive the "real" world, or merely our personal version of it? What makes Phenomenal World unique is the connecting of ivory tower philosophy (Husserl, Sartre, Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty in particular), fringe conspiracy theories and cutting-edge science (especially quantum physics). Another subject D'arc goes into at some length is Scientology, whose principles have apparently been appropriated by intelligence agencies. As you may gather from this review, this is not the easiest book to read --I was a philosophy major, but must confess that I understood very little of phenomenology. It could have been more tightly edited; in several places, for example, the same quotes are repeated twice in successive paragraphs. Despite these quibbles, however, I highly recommend this book, especially to those who have a basic familiarity with one or more of the topics it deals with. D'arc raises an extremely important issue --the way perception influences reality. While this in itself is not new --many new age and occult books have this theme-- Phenomenal World makes us look at many "paranormal" events from this perspective, putting everything into a new light. It's one thing to analyze things like UFOs and government cover-ups as external problems that need explaining; it's quite another to face the possiblity that we who ask these questions have ultimately created the whole scenario. The universe may be one interconnected hologram (another theory discussed by D'arc). The question then becomes, not whether this or that phenomenon is real, but how and why do we create the reality we inhabit?

Joan d'Arc has been looking into the dark corners of ufology, conspiracies, mysticism, psychic phenomena, and things that go "bump-in-the-night" for two decades. This remarkable book seems to be a comparative overview of virtually everything that has a bearing on how reality is perceived. It covers every occult, Gnostic, psychic, drug-induced, and physics-related view of reality available. All of these areas, according to Joan, have a common denominator: they are forms of mind control.
Just as the present reviewer was, some years ago d'Arc was "warned" by mainstream ufologists to stay inside the accepted boundaries of the field: she should accept that UFOs are alien technology visiting earth and promote that view. But d'Arc found that the limits that the "extraterrestrial visitation theory" created excluded a lot of genuine evidence. Rather than ignore that evidence, as most investigators of such phenomena do, she decided to follow it to its source. She writes: "The phenomenal world is truly a remarkable place, and even more so if we attempt to see it without the prejudices and practicalities we have learned to impose upon it. ...What is our relationship with everything we see, as well as everything we don't see? Phenomenal World attempts to answer these questions from the point of view of strange 'unexplainable' phenomena, and how these events may be explainable if we look at them from 'over there.'"
This book encompasses the present reviewer's own geomagnetic and electromagnetic theories of phenomena, but goes oh-so-much further in examining the multitude of others' thought. This is the kind of book many writers would like to write because it encompasses such a broad range. And it does what she promises: it looks at the world from "over there."
Those who would most appreciate the range and depth of information presented in this book should have a working knowledge of "unexplainable" phenomena and an understanding that the vast majority of simplistic explanations are inadequate. Something manipulates human consciousness routinely, and that something is known only to a small group of souls. Thus, after reading this book, you will probably do one of three things. 1) You may decide to just accept the simplistic solutions offered up to us in simple-minded books only because the alternatives are too disturbing to contemplate. 2) You may decide that the view of reality imposed on us by others is wrong and seek to find your own way out of this "reality cover." 3) You may find the "Grail" of "true truth."

Joan Borysenko puts the tenets and practices of A Course In Miracles into a handy, consise, daily-use guide. I try to read it every morning along with my regular devotional and the little book with the powerful words sets the stage perfectly. This multi-disciplinary primer offers practical applications and meditations along with calendar-appropriate suggestions for spiritual practice. I recommend it to anyone who wants a blueprint for devotional work.

I love being inspired each morning by the selection for the day from this great book, plus Alan Cohen's Deep Breath of Life, and Daily Word from Unity. Joan goes deep to lift you up, with seed thoughts and suggested meditation and prayer practices for the day. If your life needs a lift now and then, I highly recommend this pocket book of daily miracles...and the other two too!

As the last reviewer, who appears to be the author, said, this is a good book for undergraduate courses on international political economy. It does a great job of explaining the basic concepts and is a very readable book. It was an assigned reading for a course I took on international political economy and it provided an excellent structure and basis for the course.

The only downsides are a few bad examples and minor factual details. It is nothing that seriously affects or hurts the book as a whole. Also, the book has a slight slant to the neo-liberal perspective on political economy. Marxism, as a serious alternative theory, is short-changed a bit in the text, although most other texts have an even larger bias in this area. Overall, it is a good text.

This is a text book for use in undergraduate courses on international political economy. Currently, it is the top choice of many instructors because it provides a thorough but readable historical account of how the world economy has been managed since the end of World War II. The book is organized in chapters about the international monetary system, foreign direct investment, and trade in both the developed and developing countries. In addition, it contains chapters about world oil politics, theories of economic development, and economic transitions in the formerly communist countries.

It's like reading a script for a masterpiece movie. Great book, but read it only, for full enjoyment, if you are inventive enough to do the film of the book inside your head. If you're not that kind of reader, it's still an excelent book, but you may be missing a great deal of it.

This book is fragrant with familiar Bergman film images...icy black water; musty country homes with overstuffed furniture; well-ordered lives and well-ordered people quietly coming apart in a particularly polite Scandanavian manner. It makes one thing clear - the Bergman leitmotif, characters at once overcome but distant from themselves - simultaneously subjects and objects - is no artifact of his cinematic technique. He depicts his interiors much as we might imagine them from his exteriors. And as in film, images of nature represent the soul.

Read this book. It will haunt you. It most probably will not alter your conclusions about love- but it will alter the way you think about the subject. It goes beyond easy categories of tragedy (although it is certainly that). It depicts the human condition as an imprisonment so tortuous, so hopeless, so inherently perverse, that it somehow becomes sublime. Misery as meditation. It will haunt you.

Fans of Joan Hess won't be disappointed with this one.The fun starts when Claire Malloy gets conned into directing the Miss Thurberfest pageant and the reigning beauty queen, Cyndi, turns up dead? Whodunnit?? There are plenty of suspects...the slick and slimy senator Stevenson...Arnie, the drunken chauffeur..or possibly Eunice,Cyndi's "trainer" (She was once Miss Cherry Tomato)Claire solves the mystery with just a little help (or is it hindrance?) from boyfriend Peter Rosen and

daughter Caron...an enjoyable book!

Joan Hess captured a new and devoted reader with her mystery, A Really Cute Corpse. Using Claire Malloy, an appealing female investigator who is both wise and witty, Hess side-steps blood and violence and focuses on character developement and humor--attractive components to female readers of any age.

A consumate Dorothy Gilman fan (author of the Mrs. Pollifax series and other delightful books) I now search the H authors on each trip to the library--hoping to find a new Joan Hess book on the shelf.

Hess has not created a leading character as lady-like as Mrs. Marple, nor as totally charming as Emily Pollifax, but certainly her women are emotionally strong, mentally awesome, and career-wise down-to-earth, as women of the 90's must be.

There are three types of redwoods; the sequoia, the coast redwood of California, and the smaller dawn redwood of China. Like cycads and some other rare or endangered trees, redwoods are a relic of the Age of Dinosaurs, when they proliferated around the globe. Now they are confined to relatively small sections of the world. They are still capable of reducing all but the most cynical into a quick, silent state of awe.

In a well-organized book, capably and eloquently written, author Hewes brings the biology, history, and ecology of all three varieties home to the reader in a seamless, continually interesting fashion. The admirable text is accompanied by excellent historic and modern photos, some of which are heartbreaking. Examples include clear-cut areas of redwood forest and the senseless cutting and dismemberment of the most perfect sequoia, the Mark Twain tree.

The author manages to present all facets of the conservation controversy without taking sides, preferring to let the facts speak for themselves, a rare accomplishment in this Age of Advocacy. Hewes is to be commended for this even-handed approach.

No one visiting Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite, or Redwood National Parks should go without first reading this book. It will answer nearly all FAQ's about these fascinating plants from the Mesozoic, and will truly enhance any such trip. I recommend it very highly.

For afficionados of California's redwood trees, this book is a must-read. It answers all the questions tree-lovers think about when they see these trees in national or state parks. The book begins with the fascinating natural history of redwoods and unfolds to include botanical notes on all three redwood species, as well as the relationships between redwoods and people, from native Americans, to loggers, and finally to the national and state parks which now protect them.

Hewes presents her comprehensive and well-documented text in readable form, supported by excellent photographs. REDWOODS... extols the grandeur of California's giants while dealing fairly with the logging industry, revealing both its faults and strengths. This book is an excellent companion book for any traveler who sets out to experience America's greatest botanical wonders, or for anyone who just loves trees.

This story is great for the pre-k age group. My daughter was delighted with the amusing tale and the manner in which it is told. She can listen to it over and over again!

This is a great book for children when fear seems a factor to be conquered. There is just so much going on around us that we need to be fearful of and this book takes us through the jungle of everyday hazards and makes us brave. It certainly would help a novice.

Great book I reccomed reading the way of the Shaman first though.

Joan Halifax has done an great job of taking important clips of information from various interviews done with various shaman from around the world. Such famous shaman as Black Elk (from Black Elk Speaks) are contained in here. She shows the similarity between all shamanic traditions as well as the differences with specific rights. Her selections of what she included were very smart, and also gives you insite as to what future books to buy, and what to avoid. A must read!

This book is expertly written regarding the content the author chose to focus on. By that I mean the book does a great job in covering the history of the Siberian Breed as well as the prominent Husky breeders. As an owner of Huskies who is just getting to begin the breeding process, I was looking for an informative book for the do's and don'ts, how to know for sure when your bitch is is season, the average number of puppies in a litter, etc. In short, a book on practical matters. This book devotes a very small portion of its 500+ pages to things of that nature. I must say though, I have not found a Husky book that covers that focuses on this subject. The author does a thorough job of what she does cover, and does it in a way that makes me feel proud to be a Husky owner.

A wonderful pictorial history of the breed. I especially admired the inclusion of pedigrees! Fabulous content. A must have!

When I read the title and the cover blurb, I had to buy this book. A collection of stories about and related to the martial arts! As I began reading, I found myself disappointed that they weren't better stories or better written, and that I did not find myself engaged. But then, I realized that as I finished each story I found myself stopping and thinking about the lessons and morals and how they applied to my training and my life. This book is worth reading, although it is surprising.

I had the book and read it, then I let an inmate read it (I work in a correctional facility). three years later this inmate gets out of jail and stated that one of the short stories from the book helped him a lot to change his ways. I gave him the book. I saw the change from drug user and bad temper to new person.