This book is one of those glossy hardbound overedited editions that some cheapo company makes and sells on the discount reack at the bookstore. Not worth the price. The dimensions is about the size of a hardback, 5" wide by 8" tall, 80 short pages long. I bought it since description lists Mark Teague as an illustrator. Obviously an error since there is no way the 2 interior line drawings, or the cover art came from the wonderful artist of Mark Teague.

Machen (1863-1947) stands as one of the great figures in "weird", or supernatural, literature. This plain but functional reprint of the 1922 U.S. edition of "The House of Souls" contains two of his finest works in the genre - "The White People" and "The Great God Pan".

The book opens with an introduction, penned by Machen, which provides insight into the writing of the pieces within and into Machen himself.

The first of the four novellas, "A Fragment of Life", concerns the awakening of an "ordinary" man to his mystic and real self. This piece, rather subtle and slow moving, may require rereading for full appreciation.

"The White People" takes us into the pages of a journal written by a young girl who has been privy since early childhood, via her nursemaid, to ancient and arcane secrets. The journal is the gist of this story and is quite a gripping mix of fantasy and myth (yes, there is a difference). The narrative framework around the journal introduces us, via the discussion of two protagonists, to Machen's fascinating theories about good and evil.

"The Great God Pan" concerns the appearance of the title entity into the everyday world of men through the agency of a more or less typical "mad doctor"; or, as Machen describes the character, a practitioner of "transcendental medicine".

The fourth and final story, "The Inmost Light", is not among my favorites in the Machen cannon. Nonetheless, the narrative about another doctor dabbling in occult realms is an effective mystery and an enjoyable read.

All in all, an excellent collection from an excellent writer and requisite reading for any serious student of supernatural fiction.

Arthur Simon has written a masterpiece. Being insightful but not judging, Simon describes why our culture keeps us from focusing on what is truly important and gently instructs us how to live a life of purpose and integrity. This easy to read book leaves you with a haunting feeling that there is so much more that you can do to make the world a better place. It forces us to leave our self-centered being to reach out and serve others. How Much Is Enough also demonstrates how adopting this framework for living will in turn benefit you as well as those you serve.

"How to Be a Perfect Stranger" is the ultimate reference on how to act and what to expect when attending a religious service at any of the most common religions in America. Would you know what to do if a Hindu invited you to their infant's naming ceremony? What if a Christian Scientist family had a death in the family and you were invited to the funeral? Or what if you were invited to a Latter Day Saint, African American Methodist Episcopal, Lutheran, or Mennonite service, would you know the appropriate dress and order of service? All these questions and more are answered in this book.

The section on each faith has a short history of the faith, appropriate dress for service, ritual objects used in the service, parts of the sanctuary, appropriate conduct during the service, what to expect after the service, a section on dogma and ideology, celebrated holy days and festivals, various ceremonies related to the life cycle (births, marriage, initiation, funerals, mourning) and what to expect at those ceremonies. If you are seeking understanding of others of a different faith then this is an important place to start.

Faiths examined include African American Methodist Churches, Assemblies of God, Baha'i, Baptist, Buddhist, Christian Church, Christian Science, Churches of Christ, Episcopalian and Anglican, Hindu, Islam, Jehovah's Witness, Jewish, Lutheran, Mennonite/Amish, Methodist, Mormon (Latter Day Saints), Native American/First Nations, Orthodox Churches, Pentecostal Church of God, Presbyterian, Quaker (Religious Society of Friends), Reformed Church in America/Canada, Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist, Sikh, Unitarian Universalist, United Church of Canada, and United Church of Christ.

Filled with clear information that will allow anyone to feel perfectly comfortable visiting any one of these faiths whether for curiosity, courtesy, or whatever reason, it is a very highly recommended read that should be on the shelf of anyone sensitive to the faiths of others.

Arthur Murray is perhaps the most acclaimed teacher of dance technique EVER. This book offers detailed text, illustrations and diagrams on a wide variety of basic and unique dance styles. A very usueful instructional/reference book!!

As an employment professional and internet novice, I found this book both comprehensive and easy to understand. It offers a thorough education in how to make the internet work for you in your job search by taking the reader through step-by-step instructions on everything from posting resumes on-line to wading through the many search engines to find job postings. One of the most interesting lessons I learned was the vast difference between developing a resume to be seen in hard copy and developing a resume to post on the internet and be sent through email. I successfully used what I learned from this book in my own recent job search, and have since recommended it to all job seekers I work with. A side note, I am not the most sophisticated computer-user. Nevertheless, this book is so well done that I found it neither confusing nor intimidating. The information is presented clearly, logically, simply, but in great and thorough detail. It's worth searching for a copy and I hope it will be reprinted soon.

This 'Listen and Learn' audio book, "How to Motivate People", and it's companion book "Personal Styles and Effective Performance" are among a handful of books that make up the foundation for any manager or salesperson starting out in their career. This tape runs approximately 45 minutes. It's contents are fundamental in any approach to dealing with people of all walks of life, yet only a fraction of the population have taken the time to study and understand them. Could that be why those rare few who utilize the 'secrets' revealed on this tape are among the highest paid managers, executives and salespeople in the world? For over 5 decades Dr David Merrill and Roger Reid have paved the way for the world's 'high-flyers' to achieve levels in human relations and inter-personal motivation long reserved for those in the 'super-star' class. Perhaps, you will join them if you listen and learn.

For those familiar with the Russo-Japan War you will be very familiar with the centerpoint of the book: the battle of Port Arthur.

This book is the experiences of some of the soldiers who took part in the battle for Port Arthur. Originally written in Japanese for a Japanese audience, it was translated first in 1907 (?) and rereleased in 1920 in attempt to show the world what Japanese soldiers thought and felt regarding warfare at the time. Japan was being bathed with both admirition and astonishment for being first a nation that had only modernized a handful of decades previous (a mere 40 years) and second the only non-European nation to effectively defeat a modern power.

These are the stories of men that fought in the Japanese army during the Russo-Japan war. Reading this will give the reader a look at how Japanese fighting men saw things, and can serve as a valuable contrast to how warfare was and is viewed in the west.

This story is about an Alien conquered earth in which one man searches for his family the aliens kidnapped. This is such an underated novel, it deserves more publicity for being a great book. It has an exciting plot, well developed characters, swift, and a definite page turner. Too bad it's out of print. . .

This collection of essays provides a good slice of life for those who crave New Orleans.