The 1999 edition of this book is available from the publisher, Builders' Book Inc, at 800/273-7375).

Do you want to build a dream house? Do you want to build a home that soars into the hills, or do you want one of those tiresome boring homes on the flats?

For me, there could be only one answer. "A boring home? NEVER!" was my rallying cry. But, after checking out many books about homebuilding, I could find no information about building on a hillside. And I mean that: None. Everyone assumes you have some boring flat (preferably gently sloped) lot on which to create an impossibly dull home just like all the others.

What I wanted was "Hillside Building for dummies". What I got was this book. I'm not sure if it's deliberate, but the book feels like it contains just enough information to tell you "Hire Authur Levin. He's good".

He is. The explanations of the basic concepts of hillside building are lucid. The examples are interesting, albiet a bit lacking in detail. This book is a shade too technical for the layperson to fully comprehend, but you'll most likely get the gist.

This book talks about many hidden problems and potential disasters lurking in the shadows, cruel traps for the unwary. "When is a flat lot not actually flat?" is but one of the questions he answers that you probably didn't know enough to ask. (The answer: When part of that flatness is created by fill. The fill will settle, leaving you with a broken house. So make sure you have "compacted fill" or you'll face big trouble down the road).

So why didn't I give this book five stars? Two reasons. First, the book has a number of highly technical passages that laypeople are unlikely to understand. You'll get the gist, but not the whole story. Second, and more importantly, the book is a streamlined 172 pages, including index. Once you get intrigued by one subject, the author is off to the next. His single-paragraph anecdotes are interesting and even funny at times, but they would have been a lot more interesting as entire chapters. I'd say he's crammed a 600 page book into 172 designer-short pages (fully half of the book is pure white space), but I would have loved to buy the 600 pager instead, even if it had been more expensive. This book gives you a taste of what you need to know, but in the end leaves you hungry.

To be fair, legal requirements insist that you hire an engineer to design your foundation in any event, and it had might as well be Arthur Levin. As I said, he's good. But I shudder to think what his professional fees would be, let alone those for the architect, geologist, surveyor, etc, etc, etc that he says you need to hire.

So if you want a taste of the hills before taking the plunge, buy this book. If you've already decided what to do, call Arthur Levin. He's good.

But can you afford him?

(The 1999 edition of this book is available from the publisher, Builders' Book Inc, at 800/273-7375).

Good book, well I don't know much else to say, I read it a long time ago, but I remember being enthrulled with it; I couldn't put it down!

Sloane takes us on a journey through Hoffa's life. From his early childhood, to the end. Sloane spends time on Hoffa's relationship with Ferral Dobbs and the tactics and strategies that he learned in Minneapolis that Made Hoffa one of the most effective Union organizers of all time. This book literally cuts through the crap and vilification and shows Hoffa the man, the Union organizer, and the Union leader. A must read

Much has changed since 1990, particularly in patent law, with the advent of the provisional patent application. Still useful, but many details will be incorrect.

I don't know whether or why the 2d edition would be on sale, as the first reviewer implies in his or her nevertheless good review. The third edition has been out for two years and it is complete, accessible, understandable, and better than the competition--by far! If you want to understand patents, copyrights, trademarks, this book will make you an expert in an afternoon.

Romping good fun and sharply satirical. Fielding has none of the puritanical prejudices of his contemporary and rival Samuel Richardson.Rather he gives a graphic, humourous and insightful glimpse of eighteenth century rural shannanigans. Both stories are to some extent a response to Richardson's goodie goodie novel Pamela or Virtue Rewarded, Shamela in fact so much so- mimicking then epistulatory narrative and burlesquing the characters and style of the original novel- that you'll miss most of the jokes unless you've read Richardson first. Jospeh Andrews is far more substantial and rewarding containing the full range both of Fielding's humour and social concerns. Vividly presenting the self-serving cynicism of English society his particular speciality lies in puncturing pomposity by comically abrupt opposistions between what his characters preach and practise. Detached, sarcastic and well-read Fielding somehow manages to mix slapstick with Homer, blend eupheimism with innuendo and mangle anyone that he has a grudge against. A novel of the road- if you liked this, you'll love Tom Jones.

I loved this book. The adventures of Joseph Andrews are colourful and riotous. Highly recommended! Shamela, however, is a lesser work. It is a bawdy caricature of Samuel Richardson's "Pamela". Amusing, but slight.

This book is only 160 pages and filled with illustrasions but it is very good. I think that this book would be good for eighth grade and up because sometimes it is hard to understand and follow. It also has wonderful illustrations and a summery of each one.

This book is small in size but beautifully illustrated. It is ideal for the person who wants a taste of both Arthurian legend and scholarship and delights in richly colorful reproductions of great masterpieces of art that have been inspired by the legend. It deals with sources for the legend, including reproductions of some documents, themes, main characters, major works, etc.

About half the text is in Sanskrit. I wish I knew this before I ordered. I can't read Sanskrit. The rest is good, but I really feel like I'm missing something...

This is one of the major primary text sources for detailed descriptions of cakrapuja and panca-makara, two ritual protocols that are central to the understanding of Tantric cosmogonic beliefs and sociopolitics. A welcome reissue and a must for any serious student of Tantrism.

This book is an interesting introduction to reading about the beginning of the labor movement in America. The story unfolds after the Civil War in the coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania. Irish coal miners pit themselves against the owners of the mines and the railroads in this exciting class struggle. As you read the book, you may question the author's point-of-view regarding labor vs management events. Were the leaders of the various Irish communities cold-blooded murderers or working class heroes? Were Jack Kehoe, Alec Campbell and others framed by a Pinkerton detective? Why was the work in the mine pits the most dangerous job in America? Did the bosses and owners undermine the efforts of workingmen to organize and improve their lives in the coal pits? Did the "secret society" of the Molly Maguires actually exist? Read the book, do some research, and decide for yourself. The controversial film, The Molly Maguires, starring Sean Connery and Richard Harris was "suggested" by this book.

Arthur Lewis' prize-winning account of the infamous Molly Maguires, the small secret group of Irish immigrants who terrorized the coal regions of eastern Pennsylvania with murder, mayhem and political corruption in the post-Civil War period. This is one of the more readable books on the subject, and tells the story in an entertaining narrative that succeeds in conveying the true excitement of the Molly era, and well depicts the astounding courage of the famous Irish Pinkerton detective, James McParlan, who risked his life to infiltrate the deadly, terrorist society. Arthur Lewis was a journalist by training, not a professional historian, and therefore this work should not be judged according to academic standards. You will not find pages of footnotes or scholarly references. However, Lewis grew up in Pennsylvania and his personal familiarity with the facts was bolstered by an impressive amount of historical research. Some people have criticized Lewis for siding with the coal companies and the prosecutors against the Mollies in this book, believing that this makes him "anti-Irish" or "anti-labor," but the stance is well justified by historical events. A very good book.

Pink's letters add an insightful look into a man so loved of God, that He used him to write volumes of biblically-sound writings of theology, and encouragement in humility and devotion to God to believers who so want to wholely serve their Lord Jesus Christ in all they believe, say, and do. Pink considered his letters his God-given ministry to his flock, aside from his work in composing monthly Studies in the Scriptures (over the course of 30 years). It is especially touching to read of his fatherly care, embracing all in life as of spiritual concern, towards Lowell Green who became a life-long 'son' after reading Pink's The Sovereignty of God. I highly endorse this little book, and only give it a rating of 4 as it is not to be looked at as of the value of his other writings (which allow him far more considerable delving) in leading believers into a deeper and more committed walk with their dear Lord. However, as with all Pink's writings, he indeed does, and encourages believers to always glory as Paul did, not in anything of himself, but only "in the Lord" (1 Cor 1:31).

Many people have derived great benefit from the books authored by A. W. Pink (The Sovereignty of God, Spiritual Growth, The Life of David, etc.). His letters will be no less rewarding. This collection of letters, written between the years 1924 and 1951, address all kinds of practical subjects such as methods of Bible study, seeking God's will for decision making, seeking a marriage-partner, developing spiritual character, etc. There are also numerous insights into the author's views on such subjects as supralapsarianism, premillenialism, the Christian's role in war, and the state of religion in the first half of the twentieth century. Other interesting nuggets in this book include Pink's recommendations of good books and authors and some clues about his personal life - interests, routine, relationships, personality, etc. While some might raise their eyebrows at some of the "prickly" statements made by Pink, no mature believer will walk away from these letters without a deeper appreciation for the wisdom and maturity of the Godly man who wrote them. Highly recommended.

I read this book for a book report. The idea of the book may sound catchy and interesting to most people, but the reading is too long for the context. Some sections were a little bit boring, but overall its a thrilling classic.

This is the original and the best. Forget the Chricton version. Doyle's version is much more adventerous with heroism and true grit being a central theme.In Conan Doyle's Lost World (1912) the story centers around the trials and life of a certain young newspaper journalist named Edward Malone whom is in search of an assignment involving "adventure and danger. This stems from his beloved Gladys refusing to marry him for the reason that he's not "a man of great deeds and strange experiences." Professor Challenger enters the picture. The proffesor is an impetuous man who claims to have seen and spotted a live pterodactyl deep in the Amazon jungle. A beast that was presumed to have been extinct for several million years. When the professor offers to lead a group skeptics on an expedition to this "lost world,", Malone joins in to get the hand of his loved one by going on this daring expedition. The book is very well written and chracter development is outstanding. Highly Recommended.

In recent decades, the wholesale rejection of many Western ideals by large chunks of society has meant that people have turned to other sources... in many cases this has meant that they see those other sources as a little too perfect through their ignorance of them and/or they actually forget the better points of Western culture, because they see it to be totally "bankrupt".

While there are better guides to the overall "texture" and ideas of Asian philosophy and religion, Koestler doesn't flinch here from telling us some of the uglier details that don't generally reach the west. Yes, Koestler is at times a little prejudiced coming from a Western religious tradition (His family were Ashkenazi Jews), and you can see that in this book... but his descriptions of REAL Indian yoga, will show you how much it has been cleaned up and bowdlerised for western consumption. Koestler also reveals some of the darker side of Buddhism, particularly Japanese Zen, which as he shows can produce a doublethink which can avoid morality, and such thinking may have been partly responsible for darker moments of WWII in the East. He also comes up with many ideas that I haven't seen elsewhere... for example he considers meditation as almost a practice for death. He also reminds people of the similarity of lesser known Western movements to Oriental ones, and of the massive influence of the west on the east of the time (far greater by now of course). Koestler himself was not uninfluenced by certain Eastern thought, indeed he titled one of his other books "The YOGI and the Commissar", and often referred to the "oceanic feeling" in his works, a close lift from Buddhism.

Koestler was no Hippie (he had seen enough of *real* war and totalitarianism not to fall in that trap)... but in some ways he anticipated some of their concerns by investigating eastern thought, doing laboratory tests with LSD and being involved in the anti-nuclear movement.

This book is interesting, because it gives both sides of the story... not many books give a balanced view of the topic.

By 1959, Koestler had a wide variety of life experiences that could have easily stimulated him to continue exploring the intellect in the unique way that was his style. Yet, as have many before him, he succumbed to the temptation to explore the Eastern traditions of self-realization in order to gain perspective on the predicament of the West and humanity in general. The Lotus and the Robot is the story of year and a half long journey to India and Japan and his study of Yoga and Zen in each respective country. With well balanced critical eye coupled with an open mind, Koestler's account reads like a spiritual ethnography, observing the implications of spiritual traditions within their cultures, their psychological manifestations, historical trends, and contrasts with his own collective Western ideals and biases. His ultimate conclusions are ambiguous; he is both fascinated by these traditions yet does not believe that the cultures studied can particularly "help" the West with the problems that they face. The deliberate irrationality of the East is not a direct antidote for the excessive rationality of the West, though a hybridization of the two may be beneficial. He also highlights similarity in Eastern traditions to diluted, forgotten, and vestigal Western traditions amd the vice versa unique embracement of Western technology and ideas by the East. While some sections lag, others show flashes of profound insight. All in all, a very instructive and illuminating book for those interested in the East-West dichotomy written by a brilliant observer of both.