Of all books about Zen, this is most unassuming I've seen. There is no theory or abridged version of zen philosophy. The stories are carefully chosen and gracefully translated. They leave the reader in a state of wonder, curiosity and puzzlement. What I liked in this book is that it is not trying to educate the reader by teaching him a doctrine. It seems to me that it is true to the zen spirit in this respect. A little literary gem.

I am sure the Zen masters of this book, would give me a whack on the side of my head, for writing a review, but here goes. The book brings together 4 original Zen sources. The first, 101 Zen stories, presents koans and parables. These can be confusing and amusing, such as the Sound of One Hand Clapping, and One-finger Zen. The Gateless Gate, by Mumonkan, further adds to the syncopation, by offering seemingly random arguments about some of the koans, and then concludes with a Zen students criticism of the rascal Mumonkan. So, the first two sections may be a multiple layered koan ... and one is left mildly uneasy about the use of words for teaching Zen. The 10 Bulls section and the Woodblock illustrations are beautiful poetry, more accessible, and metaphors for the stages of enlightenment. Finally, Centering, is a transcript of a pre-Zen document, 4000 years old from Kashmir. It is surprising Zen like, for example a favorite: "When in worldly activity, keep attentive between the two breaths, and so practicing, in a few days be born anew" . A great source book, without interpretation.

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones

To a student of Zen, it is unnecessary to introduce this book. For those folks reading about Zen for the first time, this is a collection of Zen and Pre-Zen writings. For the greater part, it allows you to explore with your own mind these great insights without a lot of left-brain interference. Oh yes, you get clues but no answers, because these must come from the fusion of the neurons in your own brain.

I will have to admit that I no longer lend this book to anyone. It never comes back. My copy is old and has notations on every page, thoughts that occurred to me. While I was reading it for the first time a few years back, I had a dream. In the dream, I entered an ancient house and walked down into the black basement. As I opened each of a series of doors in this darkness, I would reach for the light in the center of the room. Light after light popped on. I am sure I do not have to interpret this dream for you. That is exactly what happened to the darkness in my mind: light after light illuminated my world. I was so excited I could hardly breathe. It was the beginning of a long flight towards freedom.

The greatest part of this is you do not have to learn to meditate. Each teaching brings you closer and closer to solving the problem of your mind, that is, relating conscious to preconscious awareness, into your every day living. It offers the flesh and bones of Zen. The marrow is your discovery of yourself.

I am 9 years old and I loved this book. It was fun to figure out the word puzzles and look for the animals. My mom had to help sometimes and she liked it too. It was the most fun figuring out the puzzle at the end. The drawings are very pretty and I want more books like this.

My 5 and 9 year old daughters and I could not put this book down. It is challenging yet still lots of fun! I recommend that an adult work with young children on this one. Some of the hidden animals were hard for me to find! A young child may get frustrated and quit the adventure. This book offers a wonderful opportunity for the entire family to work together. See if you can you solve the mystery of Puzzle Island!

I found this book in the book shelf, and I remembered having read it before. I started on the first page and could not put it down. I stil can't find two animals, but otherwise I have solved the rest. I think this book should belong in the age group 6-100 because it is fun for everyone. I love the ending and can't wait till I read the other two books by this author, "Around the World With Phineas Frog" and "One Odd Old Owl".

Dr. Hill, who was on the staff of NASA's Langley (VA) facility, presents a wonderful assessment of possible UFO propulsion methods. His assessment is based on reports of many UFO observors (calls to NASA were generally forwarded to him), as well as some of his own personal observations of UFO flight (such as seen in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia). Some of his ideas, such as "force-field" technology, aren't particularly easy to understand by someone accustomed to considering more conventional propulsion techniques, but I admit that it seems most consistent with the data he presents (such as the way automobiles often tend to lose traction when flying saucers hover nearby/overhead).

For anyone interested in UFO phenomena this is an excellent treatise by a professional aeronautical engineer. Perhaps the best available at the moment (better than any I've seen). Better ones will probably only appear after various governments of the world decide to end over 50 years of UFO pseudo-denial.

Consider that many paleontologists find that the best place to go fossil hunting is in a museum. The reason is of course, that many field collectors from the past have stored incredible fossil finds in museum archives, while having little or no time to evaluate the data and draw conclusions. What could this possibly have to do with Paul Hill's fabulous book? Mr. Hill did what real sceintists should do...he sorted through historical UFO data (including his own sighting) and looked for mechanisms and the patterns inherent to that data. By applying his own form of "back engineering" to these UFO cases, he sought to determine the power source(s), electromagnetic byproducts of those sources and other important aerodynamic components intrinsic to UFO flight characteristics. The results of his back engineering provide incredible information from "seemingly" insignificant details, much in the same way that Sherlock Holmes deduced Watsons' whereabouts by the mud on his shoes. Other physical scientists take note: All that UFO researches have asked of you for years was to look at the data, much as the late Dr. Hynek suggested. Finally, Paul Hill has done it. I know there are other scientists (personally) who are continuing to investigate using the same stringent scientific methods used by Paul Hill. I applaud you, as do all meaningful UFO researchers. For Mr. Hill, I would say that it was too bad the climate of yellow journalism did not allow the release of this important work before his death. The press in this country is veneer. But, over time, veneer peels up to reveal the oak. Take heed, read Unconventional Flying Objects. Think.

Paul Hill spent almost his entire career with NASA directing research projects. His credentials are impressive. NASA's official stance on UFOs was, "They don't exist." Hill says he saw one, reported it to his then boss, and was told to forget it and do his job. He did the latter but not the former. His book, written after he retired, reviews well-documented and investigated events from around the world. Since many of the people reporting the events are not hillbillys or crackpots but credible professionals, his approach is, "Assuming that these people are not loonies but are telling the truth about what they saw, how could these phenomena be explained using our present level of scientific knowledge?"

He takes one event at a time, and examining the reports and hard evidence where it exists, eliminates various suggested explanations if they don't fit. He doesn't answer all the possible questions that one can pose, but he does conclude that nothing the objects do violates any of our accepted scientific principles or the laws of physics. The propulsion system that he says fills the bill is a "focused force field". Although we admittedly haven't the foggiest notion of how to develop a focused force field, the scientific principle is sound. Gravity is a force field. We have electrical and magnetic force fields.

Hill also delves into advanced--but accepted--theoretical physics to explain how interstellar travel would be possible without exceeding the speed of light. The bulk of the book is written for a lay audience. Any normally intelligent, reasonably well educated person can follow it. He includes several appendices, however, which are crammed with mathematics far too arcane for me to digest.

It's a fascinating book, light enough to be enjoyed, but too heavy to skim. In the way that some people go to church "just in case", this work should be read, "just in case". I heartily recommend it.

This is a GREAT book. The authors have done an outstanding job bridging the EMS and medical aspects of disaster management with the IMS system. Surely a must include text in any disaster training program

This text is perhaps one of the finest works on the Incident Management System and mass casualty response. Written in "Plain English" the authors have taken great steps to keep the confusion to a minimum while delivering technical and operational accuracy. This is a great text for use in all disaster training programs. The chapters are designed to follow the flow of managing an incident with critical factors boxes built into each assisting you to reinforce important points with your class. Additionally, each chapter has lesson objectives and end questions to further reinforce the premises espoused. The final component that is worthy of note is sample templates for IMS implementation and "real incident" critiques by the Incident Commanders. Incidents such as the hurricanes, world trade center bombing, Alabame train wreck and other professionally drive the point of IMS use home.

As I scrambled to meet the direction of my CEO to get our disaster plan updated in order to deal with the pressing threat of terrorism it was recommended to get this text by a peer. After reading this book, I can say without a doubt, that it is one of finest disaster works I have ever been exposed. It has taken complex issues and presented them in a real world method that makes comprehension and application quite easy. Frankly this is a must have reference for emergency service and management personnel in public and private sectors. Outstanding work!

This book is a fantastic read.

It's scrumptiously entertaining. The subject matter is the band Jefferson Airplane and its spawn of musical configurations, and what a colorful bunch "the Jeffersons" are! So much dirt. So much GREAT music being made amidst the soap operatic goings on.

Thanks, Jeff Tamarkin, for an irresistable page turner.

For anyone interested in the history of pop music and/or culture during the last half of the 20th century, the story of Jefferson Airplane is a great one to be familiar with... With its roots in the early 60's and a hitmaking career that lasts into the 90's, to follow Airplane's storied career is to take a tour of decades of popular music eras that they themselves helped to define.

Many band biographies are merely chronologically arranged trivia books, with an appeal that ultimately does not extend far outside of a circle of hardcore fans. Tamarkin's extraordinarily well-researched book rises above this by painting a richly textured picture of the culture that Airplane (and its various offshoots) sprang from and contributed to.

Tamarkin also succeeds in bringing strong insights into the music with his critical assessments. Here, even the most casual reader can glean why the author would try to iron out such a sprawling, Wagnerian epic... The people who made such music MUST have a fascinating story to tell. They do, and Tamarkin conveys it brilliantly -- setting the bar a little bit higher for music journalism in the process.

It's about time! This book- a labor of love by journalist, editor and librettist Jeff Tamarkin- goes a long way to rectify the cultural revision that has marginalized the Jefferson Airplane! Which band is the basis for almost everything cool! And it, and its progeny, continue to be extremely vital and relevant today. ...

I picked this tape up for my newly-single sister. (I figured if she was offended, I could pass it off as the joke; the title is so P.T. Barnum!) Couldn't resist listening to it myself, as I'm an introverted book worm (albeit a happily married one) who has trouble meeting new friends.

I found the material helpful and fun. Whether you're looking for a life-time partner or you're someone like me who could use a few more non-romantic friends in your life, this tape offers plenty of ideas on how to meet people and enlarge one's circle of friends. Ideas like volunteering aren't new, but Hartunian offers insights that helps one get noticed (without acting like a clown!) and attract normal people rather than kooks.

Hartunian is friendly and accessible on tape, which adds to his credibility. I really expected him to sound like a infomercial pitch man, and to use this tape as a long commercial for big and expensive dating service or something. What he is is this: an average guy who saw through the BS of "this is how we've always done it" and who has the ability to motivate his listeners to try something new. None of the ideas will cost much money, none of them are terribly outrageous and there is NEVER a pitch for any other service.

I highly recommend this tape.

ELIMINATES DATING ANXIETIES FOREVER Dr. Paul Hartunian puts Cupid on your team when it comes to finding the love of your life. He provides straight forward commonsense inspiration along with the facts. By trial and error I eventually met the love of my life and "courted" her as Dr. Hartunian outlines in his audiobook, "How to Find The Love Of Your Life In 90 Days Or Less"; I was 40. Don't waste 20 years looking like I did. Buy it today!

For less than one month's internet connect fee, Cupid will materialize and put you on Lover's Lane. My wife and I have been married 12 years, BUT I used Dr. Hartunians simple dating ideas to bring life back into our evenings and weekends. This is so easy and simple. My wife asked me last weekend how come I was so much more romantic all of a sudden. Thanks Dr. Hartunian.

"How to Find the Love of Your Life in 90 Days or Less" takes the mystifying world of dating and lays out an easy to follow pattern that would make "Dating for Dummies" envious. But be warned, Dr. Hartunian pulls no punches. With the precision of a trained surgeon, he exposes and dissects the excuses that cripples us from having an effective/satisfying dating life. But he doesn't stop there. He presents an easy to follow and easy to understand system to IMMEDIATELY begin generating positive results.

I wholeheartedly recommend that anyone who has ever asked the question, "Where have all the good dates gone?" listen to this audiobook. You will NEVER need another guide.

I visit family in St. Croix (US Virgin Islands) yearly, and I have looked at a number of books in order to learn the names of the numerous fish I see when I'm snorkeling or diving. This one makes identification easy, with beautiful pictures and the all-important "Distinctive Features" sections, which give you tips on how to distinguish one fish from the next. Make no mistake: this book is the easiest to use and the most comprehensive one I've seen. I'm online to buy the other two books (Reef Coral and Reef Creatures).

When I first received this book as a christmas gift from my mother,I was shocked. It was spiral bound,but twice the size of a norma fish identification guide. At 424 pages & 670 photos,it is rather spectacular. Although I have only seen it in pictures,the west atlantic is my favourite underwater landscape,and therefore,it was a great honour to own this book.
The book begins with an introduction to fishes in the caribbean and the ecology of the reefs. A massive ID book is needed to identify fishes on the world`s second largest reef area.
Different from most other fish ID books,it is a rather special one that is dividing the fish into groups based on look rather than relationship. I`ll go through these groups one by one in this review.
ID group 1 is Disks/Oval,featuring some of my favourite fish,making a perfect beginning of the book.
Butterflyfish,angelfish,and surgeonfish can be found here.
Every description includes a short description of colors and gender differences,if any,distribution,family,size,depht and reaction to divers,and natural habitat.
The photographs are accompanied by b/w drawings of the silhouettes.
The second one is a rather large chapter,covering the silvery,stream-lined ocean hunters like barracudas,porgies,mojarras,dolphins,mullets,and the large predator cobia. Not very colorfull,but still majestic.
The 3rd chapter includes Sloping Head/Tapered body,with snappers and grunts as the main families.The grunts can be rather varied.
The 4th one includes Small Ovals,where the damselfish and chromis can be found. There are no anemonefish in the caribbean,but these are closely related to those. Also included here are the hamlets,which are all subspecies of one species.
These are very colorfull and cute little critters. The next chapter is Heavy Body/Large Lips,including the largest bony fishes here - groupers,of which the jewfish can weigh 900 pounds!
These are clumsy,but still charmy fishes. Except 30 species of those,the little fairy basslet,the most beautifull fish of the caribbean,is included here too,yellow and purple.
Swim with Pectoral Fins,which is ID group 6,includes the varied family of parrotfishes and wrasses,which are very colourfull. The Hogfish can also be found here,the character of the caribbean. ID group 7 introduces Reddish/Big Eyes,with the big-eyed squirrelfishes and the small,but beautifull cardinalfish.
ID group 8 treats the Small,Elongated Bottom-Dwellers,whose beauty is often underestimated,especially the cute gobies. The sailfin blenny is one of my favourites. Here,we can also find the yellowhead jawfish,which is a famous fish here too. Odd-Shaped Bottom Dwellers includes the toadfish and the funny-looking flounders & batfishes,who walks on their fins!I am very fascinated by the looks of the strange frogfishes. Odd-Shaped Swimmers (chapter 10) includes the pufferfish,which can fill themselves with air,and the funny-looking trumpetfish. Also found here are the boxfishes,who are covered with armor,except for their fins,eyes and mouth. They can have very beautifull colors. The triggerfish can be found too. They are colorfull,although agressive inhabitants of the coral reefs. So are their close relatives,the filefishes.
And finally,the cutest fish in the Caribbean,can also be found here. It is the little yellow porcupinefish,less than an inch in size. The famous jack-knife is also found in this chapter. It looks like a cross between a scalare and a chromis!
It is believed to be the juvenile form of the web burrfish.
The 11th chapter is the Eel Deal of the book. Here comes the snake eels,beautifull but mysterious bottom dwellers. And last,but not least,the venomous moray eels also lurks in this chapter. The 8-foot green moray is the most famous,while the most scary one is the viper moray with huge teeth!I love moray eels,so this is a paradise for me!
The final chapter "Sharks & Rays" deals with the ultimate UW predators. But not all sharks a fierce. In fact,the whale shark is one of the friendliest fishes in the world,reaching a size of 60 feet and harmless to everything but plancton!The nurse shark is also a character of the Caribbean. Other ones included here are the manta ray,lemon shark,mako shark (the fastest fish in the world)and the dangerous tiger & bull sharks.
This is a chapter I would have liked to expand a bit,but as many sharks are not reef dwellers,I understand why they did not included the great white and/or the Megamouth.
Over all,now I have gone through all chapters fastly,but you have to see this book to really enjoy it. When I go to the Caribbean or Florida,I will bring this book and see how many fish I can identify.
So go get it!

This is a fantastic book, and along with the other two books by this author you should be able to ID any marine creature you encounter!

The book lists virtually all types of fish, including angels, tangs, butterfly, damsels, clowns, and more!

Each entry has an excellent picture, the name, family, size, depth, and other information.

The pictures alone are worth the cost of the book!

This is definitely the book you want to have with you when you dive or snorkel. Buy it today, you won't be disappointed!

My boyfriend (he's Chinese) saw my copies of Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston books, he wasn't happy with my selections of these so-called Asian-American books, so he gave me the Big Aiiieeeee! I was surprised what Tan and Kingston have done (read Frank Chin's article...it's a blast!). I have to admit that I still like their (Tan and Kingston) books, but they don't represent Asian-Americans that's for sure. There are some Asian girls I know who are ashamed of being... well, Asians, so they go out with White guys (ever heard of that bimbo Margaret Cho?). I don't have a problem with that (with people going out with different races other than their own), but it seems that they're ashamed of their own heritage. They should get this book and read Sui Sin Far. Now, my favorite author! She writes about how a White woman falls in love with a Chinese man. And in spite of laws banning interracial marriage she was still not ashamed of him!

Since the publication of this book, it has been criticized for it's "machismo, misogynist" morale. Guess who these criticisms are coming from? White feminists (or those who support them). They cannot look beyond history and textual matter, instead they force and assume their principles and try (and unforunately, they succeeded) to make this a battle of Women's rights. I have read Chin's "Come All Ye Asian American Writers of the Real and of the Fake" and in nowhere is there any misogynistic dictum. Why? Because this isn't a matter of Women's views or MEN'S! It's about history and how it should be interpreted. People like Kingston, Hwang, and Tan want to deconstruct Asian American history. Feminists want to help Kingston's and Tan's deconstructive views by arbitrarily labeling Chin as a misogynist. If Chin or the editors of The Big Aiiieeeee! were misogynist why would they have women writers in this anthology? Just because there aren't that many women writers doesn't mean it's totally and utterly sexist. Could it be because there aren't that many authentic Asian American women writers?! If there are no authentic texts to Asia America, would it hurt to say that stereotypes (or whatever) are actually right?

...Amy Tan, David Henry Hwang, Maxine Hong Kingston, Gish Jen, or Jade Snow Wong (and then some!)? YOU BETTER READ THIS BOOK! These people have reinvented Asian literature that have sold out to the Christian (and for that matter Darwinian) white-racist-stereotypical form of Asian writing. You'll read it all in this book, and it is disturbing to say the least. The editors of THE BIG AIIIEEEEE! shows how these authors hate what is Chinese and invent a fake history that appease the white racist way.

Summary:

We live in a customer economy. Customers control the way of doing business. It is necessary for the company to put customer¡¦s need at the core. This book provides many practical tactics to turn what customer needs into actions.

Structurally, this book can be divided into three aspects: customer, employees and physical environment. And in each aspect, author will introduce some interesting tactics. For customer aspect, Carl suggests that company should ask customer their preference instead of just assuming what customer like. For employees aspect, Carl realizes that ¡§if you want your employees to be polite to your customer, you have to be polite to your employees¡¨. For physical environment aspect, Carl thinks that ¡§every impression is important¡¨, therefore all physical environment even a restroom should be treated well.

Comment:

Advantages:

Although minor, still need to care

For a student, this book really gives us many practical way of doing business as well as the proper manner when dealing with customers.
One of the insight that this book bring to me is ¡§although minor, still need to care¡¨. Customer will not very appreciate if company does all thing right, since customer think it is company¡¦s responsibility to do so. Also, customer will dissatisfy if company does not do well in a minor aspect such as toilet because customer will afraid how a company treat customer good if they cannot treat toilet well. Overall speaking, this book can give reader understand this concept.

Linkage between customer, employees and physical environment

After reading the whole book, I understand more about the relationship of customer, employees and physical environment. Employees and physical environment are two vital elements which are influence customers directly. Therefore, if company want to retain and satisfy customers, it is critical for them to put effort the aspects of employees and physical environment.

Disadvantage:

Some ideas may not be applied in other industries

Since the author run the business of car dealers, the content inevitable focus on car dealer. This may reduce the attractiveness of this book since some of the tactics cannot apply to other industry.

If you want to keep your customers and bring in new ones this is the book for you. Carl not only knows that customers are the life blood of a business but how the employees are a key to it. If you want your dealership (or any business) running at top speed, this is the book to read. I highly recommend it to my dealership clients.

My wife gave me her copy of "Customers For Life" that she had received a corporate retreat. When I first considered opening a gentlemen's club I pulled it off the shelf hoping to find a few useful "tidbits." This book completely changed my concept of customers and business success. In 3 short months of operation I have put a substantial dent into a highly competeitive market using Mr. Sewell's approach to servicing his customers. As a condition of employment with my company, everyone from waitresses and doorman to my general managers must read this book and attend weekly meetings to discuss how to apply it's principals at my place of business. The only business book I can honestly say is worth its wait in gold.

Paul Watkins is a terrific writer. None of his books show off his talent as this one does. It is the story of his life as an American schoolboy in England's swankiest schools. More than that it is about a boy growing up adhering to rules and recognizing that that adherence is endemic to his English life but not his American life.

Best of all about this book, though, is the writing. It is clear, melodic, rhapsodic yet forceful. It is a book to sit and savor. One can only wonder and admire the construction of sentences and thoughts. A purely enjoyable experience to read.

I have read few books in my eleven years as a bookseller that have moved me as much as Paul Watkins' coming-of-age memoir. There are only three that I have read more than once: THE SECRET HISTORY, A SEPARATE PEACE (which I have read twice a year ever since high school), AND STAND BEFORE YOUR GOD.

Watkins' ability to take everyday events and anxieties and turn them into the stuff of revelation is a rare gift. His writing is clear, incisive, and, in spite of the unusual circumstance of an American attending the most exclusive of British prep schools, universally telling. I read the book thinking of my numerous perusals of A SEPARATE PEACE and my own cherished memories of attending a small private college in the rural midwest. I read the book with a pen in hand, underlining his most illuminating thoughts about Eton, and writing "Yes! YES!!!!!" in the margins when his own epiphanies bespoke my own. I read the book wide-eyed, knowing that, alone in my living room, I was in the company of genius.

I have recommended the book to many of my customers over the years, employing both of my most heartfelt evaluations: "Oh, but you MUST!" and "Trust me on this one!" They have, all, thanked me profusely for the recommendation. In this extraordinary collection of tales that make up a short time in a still remarkably short life, we find images of ourselves, and marvel that a stranger can know so much about us.

Seek it out. Read it. Cherish it. Oh, but you must! Trust me on this one!

No other book that I have read has dealt with the everday pressures of adolesence as clearly as Watkin's "Stand Before Your God." His memory of his time at the Dragon School and Eton College draws the reader in and never lets him go. He uses references that young people can relate to and language they can appreciate. This book makes you laugh out loud on one page and then cry on the next. It definitely stands as a premier piece of literature that shares with young people the common feelings and emotions associated with growing up and discovering a personal identity.