After reading many titles and authors dealing with strange phenonema Jim Brandon is one of the rare authors who actually makes sense of all these strange goings on - on this planet. This book is a detailed, state by state listing of some of the weirdest places and occurances in North America. Jim Brandon writes with hunour and with an open mind. If you've read the reviews above they mention that copies are stolen frequently from libraries. There is a reason for that. It a rare and wonderful book. Its strange that it hasn't been reprinted. Used copies go for over [$]US. Maybe there's a conspiracy afoot.

This book should be required reading for school kids except that it might create a generation with open minds. If you can afford the money to buy a used copy, follow it up with "The Rebirth Of Pan" if you can find it. That book tells more about specific sites. If you've done a search for this book and want more try: Loren Coleman, John A Keel, or Salvatore M Trento. But do a search for Sourcebook Project on the web first. You'll thank me later.

There is an alternative to this reality and you'll find that it overlaps at many of the points Brandon sites in this beautiful book.

Good luck.

I bought this book in the 70's due to my interest in unusual places and happenings. What a goldmine! I still posess this wonderful road map to the weird and highly recommend anyone with a mistrust of reality to pick up this gem, if you should be so fortunate to run across it. It covers the gambit from bigfoot to big mounds, giving directions and advice on how to reach the location of some of our country's strangest places and/or happenings. Jim Brandon, where is our sequel to your amusing and fascinating book? Now, there's a mystery...

If you ever get a chance to read this book, you will find it amazing. I went on a trek in 1993 to follow up on some of the listings and I had a great time across three states. Some things have changed, of course, in the intervening years. The strange beehive structures that used to sit on public land in Arizona are no longer available to the public because someone bought that parcel and named it "Beehive Ranch." Still, the photos alone are worth the cost of the book...

Artful Italy is a wonderful book. I checked out Florence and Venice first because those are the cities that I really know. I was daring Artful Italy to come up with something I didn't know. And it did.. The Stibbert Museum which sounds like a delight I missed entirely. But the thing I really regret is not knowing about the Bomarzo Gardens, a bit of a trip from Florence; as a teen I was always after the odd, hidden statuary that you turned a corner and came suddenly upon.. Both sound like winners and make me eager to return to a place I thought I knew well.
Artful Italy's prose hits just the right tone, conversational without being condescending, funny without that guidebook jokiness that can be so off-putting. And it sometimes can take your breath away. When the 17th century architect , Borromini is compared to an origami master, suddenly we see again how Mannerist architects have turned stone into paper - to give just one example. And you have a nice discursive air that proves always to have a real point to it. The book is unique and a pleasure. It will make those who know Italy start looking for cheap air fares, and even those making a first trip to Italy will find the book valuable.

Even if one never travels to Italy, there'd be no harm in reading this book. It is well-written, entertaining, and loaded with fun and interesting facts. I disagree with the notion that this is a tour or travel guide; what it is in fact is a semi-scholarly appreciation of Italy off the beaten path. (It is meticulously researched and documented, to boot.)

Ann Brandon must be a kick at a cocktail party. Historical examples trip off her tongue and add just the right humor, import, and context for each bit of art appreciation. Reading this book is not a necessity for travel planning; the volume is a standalone orchestration of Ms. Brandon's love affair with Italy.

I have a few qualms with the book, but they are merely intellectual disagreements with some of its premises. First, I would not focus so much on art, but on the whole invisible lifestyle of the Italians, the life that "turisti" probably never see. I would also go beyond visual arts, and talk about music, as well as the culinary and design arts. Even in the visual arts there is so much architecture that one could find off the main trails. But Brandon promises more books in this vein, and will no doubt address these topics.

Second, I do not feel that the Parco dei Mostri qualifies as a hidden treasure. I consider it an excellent yet run-of-the-mill tourist attraction. A lot of people go there.

Finally, I disagree with the glowing assessment that Vasari's "Lives of the Artists." I have always considered this book at best uneven. It apparently draws its inspiration from Diogenes Laertius' "Lives of the Philosophers," which suffers from a similar spottiness in insight and accuracy. If I had to recommend a book that does what Brandon purports Vasari's does, it would be Burkhardt's "Civilization of the Renaissance."

All these quibbles aside, anyone who wants to learn about Italy should buy and read this book. It does not disappoint. I learned so much from this book, and it was if Ann Brandon was telling me what I learned in a personal conversation. So warm is her style of writing that it just makes for a quick and delightful read!

This book is for all visitors to Italy-even the jaded few who feel they have seen it all. Ann Brandon has covered
so much art that most of us have neither seen nor heard of. I was totally captivated by just reading the book, Ms. Brandon has great writing style and wonderful detail covering all of the pieces. What I found most exciting was visiting sites that I hadnt been to before-expanding upon the content. This book isnt just about museums!!-

Dolores Brandon has written a jewel. Using poetry, oral history and prose she communicates with depth and tension the joys and travails of her life with her family, most notably her father. Before manic depression or bi-polar disease was part of our collective vocabulary, Dolores experience spanned her father's ups and downs from everyday victories to down right fear. However, in this book Dolores manages to give each character a clear and resonant voice. She allows us to read her father's poetry and listen to her mother lullabies. She has also been able to forgive her father and understand her mother, which is something that eludes many of us. I was particularly fond of the way she brought to life the whole experience of growing up in the 50's. I was close to tears when I finished this book. Not from sadness but from that sense of communion that we always share but seldom tap into. It took courage, insight and understanding to write this book. I hope there will be more from Dolores Brandon.

Because the illness Delores Brandon describes in her memoir appears in my family through the generations, I have read several books to help understand the experience, and to connect with others going through it, and as a social worker to broker this knowledge to others, both sufferers and helpers. Kay Jamison has written an autobiography dealing with manic-depression, and Jackie Lyden described life with her mother who suffered the same illness. Because so many of us in my family were afflicted I have approached each of these writings with the eagerness of an 'insider'. Ms. Brandon describes how it is possible to both be horrified by and love a parent at the same time, something that is difficult to communicate to people who have grown up in more 'normal' families. It is possible to enjoy and celebrate people who are also really demonic and complicate the lives of their children. This kind of love and optimism combined with a realistic view of the destructive rage of the afflicted person is a rare combination that seldom finds expression in any media, and is especially clear in Brandon's spare and poetic style. It is immensely encouraging to those of us who live with the illness and I would ask people in the helping professions to use it to further their understanding of such families and persons so as to avoid simplifications and reductionisms. There are blessings and curses in these mostly genetic inheritances that beg to be appreciated, and must be lived with in any event. Though we are farther along in the humane treatment of manic-depression than we were in the time when Ms. Brandon's father was careening about, there is still much lacking especially in the so-called 'objective' approaches of 'treatment' that this book is a corrective for, and that makes this literary approach not only an adjunct to medicine and rehabilitation, but perhaps even a higher form of communication about the illness. Thank you for this wonderful work, Dolores Brandon!

Dolores Brandon has written a memoir of clear-eyed courage and enormous compassion. In a vivid, organic style that brings together poetry and monologue, memories sweet and bitter, Ms. Brandon tells an often harrowing tale of growing up with a father in the grip of mental illness and a mother incapable of protecting herself or her children from the devastating fallout. In a unique narrative rich with evocative images and finely tuned, lyrical passages, the author unfolds for the reader the shifting, volatile world in which she grew up and from which she emerged with the passionate need to create, to act, to write, to dream. It is an arduous but heartening birth out of chaos and pain, much like that experienced by Brandon's mentor, Anais Nin. In the Shadow of Madness is remarkable for its perception and candor; that candor invites her readers into the very inner corners of her life, and by example, frees them to explore disturbing areas of their own psyches.

I bought this book two days before I took the Journey seminar in Los Angeles on May 17 & 18, 2003. I loved the book; it was an easy read about a deep subject - getting in touch with who you really are - could sound like new age woo-woo to some but let me tell you this is the most cutting edge healing and freeing process available that I have found. I've taken tons of seminars and have been a healer myself for many years but this is a gift of astronomic proportions. If you are ready for it, the freedom you have been seeking is here. In my opinion - and it's only my opinion based on my actual experience - it is the most important work being done for individuals in pain on the planet at this time.

The book is very valuable to me. The book is to the point and very clear. A very simple and highly effective personal liberation process.

There should be no question that you can't be healed. Wheter it is physical or emotional. THis book will give you the confirmation and if you still doubt, try a journey and you will experience it yourself. It is very clearly written and it is a book that gives you the way on HOW to do it yourself (with a partner). Try it and Experience it. Once you feel it you will not only do it more often, for you will feel so liberated, but you would want to share it with everybody you know! Thank you brandon!

What an engaging story! My children (both boy and girl), loved this book, especially the accidentally funny antics of the uninterested little brother. A great book to read over and over to little ones. Highly recommended!

Upon pondering what gift to get all three of my flower girls for my recent wedding, I came upon this book. Not only was it cute and informative for my little cuties, it was also an inexpensive and totally appropriate gift for each girl. The colorful pictures and cute story line helped assure all three of my flower girls that they were going to do just fine on the 'big day'!

If I had been a subscriber when this book first came out I would have written a review back then. Thankfully I came across this book again which I bought for my daughter several years ago when she was picked to serve in her aunt's wedding. She made me read this to her so many times over the years that I'm sure she'll remeber the book long after she's forgotten the wedding. This is a priceless gift for any child who (a)is going to be in a wedding (b) is going to attend a wedding or (c)wants to read a good book. It is an affecting,, but not sentimental, story that touches on a child's(or even an adult's) emotions, but not in a ham-fisted or instructional way. If I were a wedding planner, I buy it and give it to the kids in the wedding who can read; it might not prompt them to better behavior, but it will keep them occupied for hours while you deal with other things. Like Lion King and Aladdin (but, for some reason, in my family not Fantasia) it has that special elxir for children that makes them like repeat performances much more than the first one. Is there a sequel? (and I don't mean the books about what to do when Mommy and Daddy divorce)If not, why not? If so, when or where will it be or was it published?

The Spirit of Seventy-six by Henry S. Commager is possibly the best collection of writings from the American Revolution. The book has thousands of exerts from journals, diaries, and letters
by participants. The book also has great maps to refer to while studying a certain battle or campaign. This book has a "contents"
that is handy in finding your interest, the book is over one thousand pages. The Spirit of Seventy-six is a great reference book for the Revolutionary War enthusiast.

A great book ! I spent the better part of this year reading this book. But the beauty is that does not pose a problem because the writings included in this work are all relatively short. Make no mistake this is a very long work but well worth the effort. Especially since it is a collection of an incredible number of very short works.

The collected works are as the title states contemporary accounts. It is a real treat to read what the contenders had to say about each other. Also the reader may think that the style will be difficult. Not at all.

All in all I would most heartily recommend this work for either the student who would like a resource or anyone interested in The Revolution.

This is a great book! You can read it cover to cover, or read parts here and there, putting it down and taking it up as one has time or the inclination. The editors place all of the writings in perspective and context. The selections are not just those of the big name founding fathers--many common folk, officers and soldiers, civilians and women have their say in these pages. British, Americans and Loyalists are represented as well.

I read The State of the Art Tae Kwon do by Master Jun Chul Whang. It was a guide to my favorite martial art, Tae Kwon Do. I take Tae Kwon Do and as a practitioner of the sport, I can tell you that this book is very accurate and informative. It covers the 3 aspects of Tae Kwon Do: forms, sparring, and training. I found this to be unusual. Most of the Tae Kwon Do books that I have looked at have stuck to one or two of those topics instead of covering such a wide variety of information. I would recommend this book to practitioners and anyone who may be interested in starting Tae Kwon Do. The best part was the techniques section. It provided very detailed and accurate descriptions of the techniques such as sidekicks and spearhands. Sometimes my master may leave out a small detail about a move and this book helped me correct my mistakes. I would give this book a 5 out of 5.

This is a very well written book on all the aspects of taekwando. IT has very detailed drawings for every concept, and covers everything from Sparring to Forms to Self Defense. If you have just started taekwando, this book will show you the basics, the different parts of taekwando, and the history. For older students and black belts, this book will greatly improve your sparring game, and technique.
Also, taekwando: The State of the Art, has some of the most detailed and helpful drawings for forms I have ever seen. I review this book often to check up on the different teguks.
So whether you've just started taekwando, just interested, or have been doing it for years, I highly recommend this book.

The book will surely become the foremost reference for training skilled and novice TKD martial artists. This is a reflection on the quality of teaching of Masters Whang, who are well known for their expertise. The detailed presentation of the forms is extremely helpful. These are surely the contributions of Mr. Saltz, a national poomse champion.

Individuals interested in purchasing an American History book for the sole purpose of quickly researching a specific historical happening need to look no further. Scarcely illustrated, this is a fully encompassing text which provides a brief description of each event. Most descriptions range in length from one-quarter to one-half of a page. For example, it required less than two-hundred words to recount the assasssination of President Kennedy. Lengthy historical events such as the Vietnam War are also discussed in a concise manner. The Vietnam War required seven pages, including the full page map, to educate the reader. Those interested in an American History book that can be enjoyably read cover to cover must look elsewhere. Brief, fragmented event depictions cause the reader's attention to quickly wane. This book is being awarded four stars for its use as an encyclopedia.

The Encylopedia of American History is a wonderfully detailed and comprehensive reference book on almost everything to do with American history. Practically every conceivable aspect of America's history is within these pages; if you have a query concerning anything about the USA, then look no further than here. Neatly laid out in mainly chronological form, the book varies through subjects from politics, military, literature, science and many more. The biographies section contains brief biographies of over 400 influential Americans, from presidents and scientists to Stephen Spielberg. Whether you want to become a walking reference on American history, or are already familiar with the subject and require a reliable reference source, then this book is for you.

The Encyclopedia of American History by Richard B. Morris is an outstanding source of information for the student of history or the professional educator. It contains factual information for the consensus historian. It is not revisionist. I highly recommend this book.

The one flaw that most classical guitar methods have is that the authors assume that a student has "proir experience". This is not the case with "The Christopher Parkening Method Vol 1" Mr. Parkening" starts the beginning student with a solid base of technic and prepares the student for a well rounded course in concert guitar. This is a well paced and consistent method, teaching a well rounded technic. This method is not boring or overly academic. There is also a brief history of the classical guitar from its Spanish origans to international prominance. I highly recommand this method for the aspiring concert guitarist as well as for the teacher.

Reading everyone else's reviews I'd have to say I agree. This is a very good little book. Mind you, it's taking me forever to get through it...9 months to get to page 55/87...but I think I'm learning.

I'm buying the second book just as soon as I get through this one. I do have one complaint/complement. Parkening has includes numbers next to notes. These are to show the student which finger to put on the string. It's very useful, but I've found it gets in the way of learning musical notation.

This book is extremely well written and complete, covering everything a beginner needs to know, and in my case, things an intermediate student never learned but should have. I'm sure I will refer back to it as long as I play. It's just so "complete". There are very detailed drawings and photos of how to hold, finger, and stroke the strings, backed up by the written word. Everything is very specific. The musical pieces are quite well chosen and lead the student through a natural progression from easy to difficult. Mr Parkening and his collaborators obviously have great insight as educators and took great care in assembling this book. The only criticism I have is the cover art picture of Christopher Parkening, which looks like it was taken back in the 70's. I don't think I'd leave this one laying around on the coffee table. I'm looking forward to purchasing his second volume.

Okay, here's the scoop. I was fortunate to be accepted into the Kellogg Business School at Northwestern and earn my MBA there. However, I exhaustively studied the admissions "game" of the top schools, and learned that there are simple, but effective, steps you can take to dramatically improve your chance of acceptance. In addition to purchasing some half dozen admissions books, I went to several b-school promotional seminars, interviewed admissions committee members, and made numerous visits to MBA school websites. So, for what it's worth to other readers, I'll state my case.

I gave a five-star rating to "88 Great MBA Application Tips and Strategies" because I feel it is the highest quality book in the market (notwithstanding a couple of books I might have missed). Probably what made the book a genuine pleasure is that it is so distilled. The author avoids the hyped-up writing style that shrouds most other books. A good example occurs in Chapter 2, Frequently Asked Questions, when he answers the question: "Is it better to apply early rather than late?" He states that, in general, earlier is better but says that it is not categorically correct to say "early is better than later". This is due to three different theories relating to the potential advantages and disadvantages of each of the three rounds. The advantage of round #1 is "vacancy" theory (lots of spots); the disadvantage of round #1 is "eager beaver" theory (i.e., strongest candidates may apply early). The advantage of round #2 is "middle-of-the-road is best" (i.e., avoids round 1 and 3); the disadvantage of round #2 is either "vacancy" theory (some spots are gone) or "theory of the diverse candidate". Round #3 may be advantageous due to "theory of the diverse candidate" (i.e., truly diverse candidates may be favored in round 3 best because ad com members look most strongly here at tweaking diversity) but obviously this round is disadvantageous because of the "vacancy" theory (i.e., many/most spots are gone).

This is only one of many examples of crisp writing. Also, the book contains the best overall sample essays including some truly cool, longer, meaner sample essays written by determined candidates.

One of the books I purchased was "ABC of Getting the MBA Admissions Edge" written by Matt Symonds, as it appears to be one of the better selling books on Amazon.com. Many reviewers of this book said things like "five stars...it helped me with the application process." This struck me as a bit ridiculous because any book will help some but the real question is, "how much did it help me relative to other books?" Isn't this what happens when we apply to business school? We get accepted or rejected depending on how compelling our background and application is compared with those of others.

So, in terms of direct MBA application help, I give a 5.0 rating to "88 Great MBA Applications Tips and Strategies" while other comparable books receive scores of 3.0 or 4.0. Of course, it depends a little on what you're looking for. "ABC of Getting the MBA Admissions Edge" is a big book of some 600 pages. It contains a lot of general information, so if you're up on the curve, its benefits, frankly, will be diminished. Probably the most useful information in this book is the information about the schools and programs themselves. But then again, if you want to learn about the school themselves, then a great book is BusinessWeek's "The Best Business Schools". The "ABC book" is built around individual schools and its mantra is "figure out what the schools want and then target this." Initially this sounded like a stellar idea until I heard one admission director say that you should be leery about trying to presuppose what we want and then tailoring an application to our "strengths". She mentioned that "what the candidate might think is attractive to us (the schools) might not be what we (the schools) find attractive in a candidate".

"88 Great MBA Applications Tips and Strategies" describes itself as a pure application book and, although its appendix contains various useful contact information for all leading schools, I noticed it doesn't address information about programs themselves (e.g. what percent is female, international, what are some of the professors names, what the students, professors, or dean think). The book focuses steadfast on each of the seven MBA application components and its mantra is "focus your 'career goals' essay and add creativity in your 'who are you' essays". Richard Montauk's "How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs" is also a fairly big book, approximating 500 pages. My overall criticism is that he doesn't have a real distinctive writing style and tends to waffle (he was a consultant in his past life!). Phil and Carol Carpenter's "Marketing Yourself to the Top Business Schools" is a nice little book with a clear writing style but it's outdated (the authors' claim it was one of the first of its kind in the mid 1990's) and the strategies and examples are not potent, particularly when put alongside "88 Great MBA Applications Tips and Strategies". Donald Asher's book entitled "Graduate Admissions Essays" is clearly written but includes only a few MBA admissions essays. Beware of buying books that try to cover all types of graduate admissions. As clearly brought home to me after studying "88 Great MBA Application Tips and Strategies", the writing of MBA essays is really a science all to its own. Hope this is helpful.

This book beats the rest hands down! I found this book to be both a comprehensive yet well structured road map of the MBA application process. What I found most helpful were the essay tips and examples which helped me tremendously to create my own essay templates to gel my experiences and thoughts together effectively. I believe that this book has given me an understanding of the key tasks and issues that I will need to successfully address in order to give myself a legitimate chance in turning myself into a leading candidate for admission to top-ranked B-schools.

Before I got this book, I perused several other books on the MBA application process such as the Princeton Review's Book of Business Schools, the ABC's of Getting the MBA Admission Edge, and How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs. The best book, comparatively, was this book, "88 Great Tips". It helped me the most in my application process, and the tips I gleaned helped me to get into my top choice business school.