...Which I know sounds like hyperbole, but I've yet to read such a detailed world fleshed out with such elegance and ease. The writing is never intrusive--unforgettable characters like Lady Thondi and Brota make great entrances and are given thorough descriptions, but it never feels like the author is just stretching his characterisation muscles. This book seethes with tension and explodes periodically into some great action sequences, but it's perhaps most satisfying as love stories intertwined. No spoilers, but the scene where Jja washes Wallie after his humiliation, or Katanji with Diwa, or Nnanji wooing Thana--these thrill me every time I read them.

You're missing out (especially if you write fantasy) if you judge this series by its cover art. ;)

This three book series is fantastic! A must read! A great love story to boot!

The Seventh Sword is a great series. I couldn't put the books down. Wally Smith dies on earth and wakes to find himself in the body of a master swordsman, living another man's life in another world. Suffice it to say, his 20th century values don't quite match those of the man's body he is inhabiting, which makes for some interesting turns as he runs into people who recognize him...

I had a mental love affair with David Hume. I found myself intigued and captivated and frustrated all at once. And, in the end, there was something liberating and alienating. To believe or not to believe--that's something Hume leaves to the reader. Oh, by the way, technically, the sun doesn't rise, nor does it 'set' or fall. The earth spins around its axis--the side that is facing the sun is day; the side facing away from the sun is night. And yet, after reading David Hume, I might even doubt that explanation.

Actually, the rising sun example is often cited as something Hume was completely unsure about. (theoretically, of course) Hume was essentially unwilling to believe anything, be it materialistic or spiritualistic.

just a comment for the person below. don't be so sure that the sun will rise tomorrow. you're commiting the fallacy of causation, which hume would frown upon. read some more hume. he was a smart man.

thomas mails' honesty and humility in recognition of the potent and vibrant personality of fool's crow allows him to become a nearly transparent medium for this account of a shaman's personal methods and rituals.

at their most effecftive, shamanistic rituals use p[hysical symbols to trigger and continue cycles of effect and reaction between the individual practitioner and the world-system as a whole. this book doesn't go into great depth in presenting the fundamental metaphysic of the native american heritage that fool's crow continued, but provides a rich and meticulously detailed account of demonstrations of its practice by a healer, teacher and leader.

this book may tempt immitators and pretenders; they might find themselves playing with fire. this volume should not be taken as a single source outside of the greater context of the heritage it celebrates and partially describes, but it can be a valuable supplementary resource for a careful student, or the agile and humble explorer.

The legacy of Fools Crow is his wisdom & power as a Lakota medecine man. The path he walked, as a man called to serve his people & the Great Spirit, is recalled in this book. His simple message is that all of us can be "hollow bones" for the Great Spirit to work through. The reader learns that the power & wisdom of Frank Fools Crow's life was in his detachment from ego and submission to a higher force. Some readers may only be interested in the ceremonies & rituals described in the book. However, the message is the spirit of the man & his committment to his God & to his people. I can not imagine that any reader can walk away from this book untouched.

This is one of the most remarkable books I have ever read! If you want a book that will draw you closer to God, regardless of your religion or beliefs, this is the book. Frank Fools Crow will teach you by his example what a holy life truly is and the power that will naturally flow from living this type of life.

The beauty of the traditional way of the Sioux is also captured in this book. Yet Fools Crow reaches to the heart of all people with the love he freely gives. Fools Crow's many gifts are laid out here - his healing ability, his compassion. It is made clear these are gift's that come from God, not man, and as are to be shared with all.

A few years ago the women's Bible study in my church went through the video version of "A Heart Like His." I heard glowing reviews from one lady after another, speaking of how pertinent and powerful the material was. Unfortunately, it was then geared exclusively to women, so I never watched the videos myself.

With the memory of those glowing reviews still fresh in mind, I decided to purchase the book version and see for myself if Beth Moore's teaching lived up to its reputation. I was certainly NOT disappointed. This book is an outstanding treatment of the triumphs and the tragedies of Israel's most famous king.

Moore takes practically every significant incident from David's life and applies the spiritual principles to life today. Through her exposition here, the reader gets to know David much better, and learns why he has been called "a man after God's own heart." The author's treatment is chronological, starting from the events surrounding David's emergence on the Biblical scene as a young boy to the transfer of his throne as an old man to his son Solomon.

I recommend this book very highly to anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of the life of King David. The book is very easy reading, yet is profound in its insights. Men and women, clergy and laity alike will benefit from Moore's painstakingly thorough work.

Beth's book is a wonderfully written journey through the life of a man who sought God's own heart. She fluctuates between humorous observations on the actions of the Biblical characters I thought I knew so well, and touching parallels to the life of the ultimate "Son of Man". This book held me captivated from the introduction to the final period. I look forward to more books like this from Beth.

A wonderful work, Beth, is available to God to be used, and ends up blessing all of us. Our women's Bible Study is just finishing this work. All the women are anxious to do another work by Beth, and love her style of waiting on the Lord to speak to her, and acting in obedience. It has taught me many things that I can use in my daily life as a christian.

One of my favorite writers on human behavior, David Lieberman, shares his insight and understanding of conflict in this powerful work. He proposes that conflicts generally follow a basic recipe. The ingredients in the recipe are fear and a perceived loss of respect. If people don't act or react the way we expect then we fear a loss of control. When we fear a loss of control or perceive that there has been a loss of respect then our self-esteem is injured and we follow our first reaction to a loss of self-esteem, we fight back by turning it into anger. If this is the source of the emotional factor in conflict then the solution is to provide the other party with the ability to regain self-respect and at least some sense of control.

How to give this sense of control and self-esteem back to the other party is the focus of the book. Lieberman takes you step by step through many scenarios so that you can learn how to adapt to a situation and proactively make peace with anyone. Whether it is dealing with a long-standing conflict or stopping a problem before it gets out of hand, the book is filled with useful and practical techniques that are sure to dramatically change your relationships with others for the better. A highly recommended read.

He hits the right note with this one. It easy to relate to and includes scripts to illustrate. His conversational style is just right. I used the method a few times myself and it does get me better responses. I highly recommend this book to anyone, not just those in need to resolve conflicts. The book isn't written to help you solve conflicts, instead it helps you keep a cool head and word your words better. Keep it as a reference in your house or office and look it up whenever you need it. Or pass it on to a friend, you'll be glad you did, when confrontation arises.

Wow! This author really knows how to get to the heart of many situations. I think the content delivers the title. I especially love how Lieberman's examples brought me closer to results. I used this book at work several times and liked the ease of applying the techniques. Well done!

If Definitive Guide was wonderful this one is even better.

These guys have done a good work with the book.

Special mention to Gasperi's Homebrew Sensors section.

One of my library's jewels

If the Definitive Guide was wonderful this one is even better.

Special remark to Gasperi section about homebrew sensors.

This guys have done a invaluable works.

One of my library jewels.

Want to take your Mindstorms creations to new hieghts? Go beyond RIS? The ya have to get this book, a follow up to Dave Baum's Definitive Guide to Lego Mindstorms. You will not only see more NQC programming, but pbForth as well, and an excellent section on constructing your own sensors. If your the kid who doesn't grow up, an engineer at heart, and the owner of more than one RIS set because you are obssessed with Lego Mindstorms, then you cannot do without adding this book to your collection.

I recommend this book to everyone and anyone, this is the best book I've ever read, it was so helpful it saved my sanity- I'm not the only one

Christians, unite!!! We always knew Satan was out to get us, but this author explains exactly how. Don't feel bad, don't feel sad, pick up this book, and uplift yourself. I recommend it to be used along with your daily Bible study. We all need some strong words of edification, and this book provides plenty.

This book is my second bible so to speak. I have read it at least 5 times. It gives me hope when I feel so worthless at times. It reasures me that I am free from sins grip even thought I don't usually feel that way. The most important point I got from this book is that God is always there to help me in the fight to do his will and that I need to trust in him and not in my own strength to overcome any temptation that I may encounter. Its a great uplifting book that will get you though many a trial along with your Bible of course.

When this book came out a couple of years ago it was the first and only book on designing speech recognition systems. It was very valuable then, but now more books are available that cover the same information and more, for a lot less money.

Developing speech applications is not easy to master. Even with VoiceXML becoming more widely adopted, there are a lot of intricacies that that a developer must understand. This book will provide you with a solid foundation to become an effective speech application developer.

The book did very well in presenting the limitations of the current speech recognition technology (dialog design, large vocabularies, promtp design, etc.) and made suggestions on how to overcome such problems in specific situations.

Author, Bruce Balentine's goal with How to Build a Speech Recognition Application is to produce the Strunk and White of speech recognition. An electronic musician and composer, Balentine was a pioneer in the speech recognition field. The text's examination of the problems of navigation from human perception to machine recognition give comprehension to even the layman. The book is well organized and structured with the +,/,- system which allows a novice to follow. According to linguist, Dr. John White, the first chapter could stand alone as a treatise on the dynamics of the human speech interface with the machine.

Like so many people in these unsettled times I long for a sense of stability and certainty. What is solid and unchanging if not our love of life and nature and the inspired word. That is why I recommend 'Journeying through the days 2002' with beautiful photography by David Hay Jones. The book is a rock upon which to rest our weary and battered souls.

At last, a diary and calendar that's spiral bound so it lies flat when you write! The photographs from around the world are great; some can even be looked at and studied for as long as it takes to fill a page with text. What's good, too, is that the quotes and so-called inspiring texts are not from Oscar Wilde and other masters of the ironic one-liner but words that go deeper than that. OK, some of the photo and text combinations are obvious. It shouldn't always be necessary to match so literally. But of the hundreds, indeed thousands, of calendars on the market, this is in the Top Three.

Journal-writing is a liberating exercise in so many ways. We are freed from the notion that other people's "truths" will save us, freed from the dogma of accepting 10-point programs to salvation. Although 'Journeying' is published by a Christian outfit it resists the temptation to point a fundamentalist finger at us. Instead, we are encouraged to listen to our inner voice, reflect on the beauty of our surroundings and use the thoughts of others, such as Martin Luther King, to enlighten our minds. Thankfully, too, the pitfalls of New Age "anything goes" are avoided. At last, Christianity has understood the meaning and content of humility! The photographs by up-and-coming European photographer David Hay Jones are sufficiently subtle and atmospheric to match this sensitive approach to spirituality. They are rarely obvious, certainly not commercial. Rather, they encourage us to look at the world and find our own truths, whether they be Christian, Muslim, Hindu, New Age or agnostic.

A Studs Terkel-like verbal history of the role of the talent agency in Hollywood; with a particular focus on the Mailroom where the movers and shakers get their start. The book is a never ending compilation of interviews with the men who made it after paying their dues in the servitude of the Mail Room. For those in the industry it is probably fascinating lore. For me, it was one big bore.

Anyone that wants to be in the agent or management business should read this book. David Rensin provides a compulation of agents starting from the ground up (in the mailroom).

This book truly inspired me to work harder, never give up and provides great ideas for anyone trying to run a successful agency.

The downside is that there is alot of nepotism here.
Find out how certian stars became stars because Uncle so and so was an agent or a lawyer for, etc.

I love entertainment business books and this one does not disappoint. Unless you're in the biz, which I'm not, almost all of the names will be unfamiliar. This book has no story. It's a known fact that a way into the entertainment industry is to work in an agency's mailroom, eat sh*t, and hope for your break. This book is a series of interviews with the former mailroom attendees on the good, the bad, and the mental make-up of the wannabes struggling to get out of "mailroom jail". It's funny, informative, and one of those books you can't put down.

Many industries have a proving ground. In investment banking we put them on as a trading or sales assistant hoping they will pick up the lingo and learn on the fly. But the agency mailroom seems to be about feeding egos of senior agent's with much more screaming, yelling and attention paid to personal chores. They do mention many of the nice agents as well as the agents who were best at teaching the mailroom guys. My favorite stories are about CAA because it is next door to my favorite hotel the Peninsula and because of the Mike Ovitz aura. Mike doesn't come off particularly well in the book but partner Ron Meyer does come off as a particularly sharp and nice guy.

The positives and negatives of the mailroom run from taking your bosses stool sample in the doctor to having nude actresses answer the door. I also enjoyed the stories of the CAA mailroom which had a particularly high level of paranoia. I had met media mogul and former agent, Mike Medavoy so it was interesting seeing his son's quotes who was eventually fired due to information leaked to his father.

If you have any interest in the business side of Hollywood, you'll like this book. Other books of interest would be "Wannabe" about an MBA's attempt to succeed at the low levels of Hollywood, and Lynda Obst's book "Hello, He Lied" about her journey from journalist to producer.