I picked up this book at my library on a lark. I've always been interested in what really happened to Amelia Earhart, but always just assumed that her plane crashed into the ocean. This book, however, completely opened my eyes to a new hypothosis: that Amelia and her navigator managed to land on an island and send out radio signals for help. The information presented in this book isn't just wild guesses and conspiracy theories - the authors make a point of backing up their thoughts with cold, hard evidence. I was hooked from the first page and got so engrossed that I ended up not doing my work at my job just so that I could finish a few more chapters. The book also has a wicked sense of humor and debunks the myth that scientists are just stodgy old guys. I'd reccomend this book to anyone with even an ounce of curosity. I'm holding my breath until Dr. Tom King and the other authors put out another book on Amelia. I can't wait to see what they find!

I had the opportunity to meet the primary author of this book (Tom King) recently and was impressed with his fact-based approach to the Earhart mystery. This book describes the search for artifacts from Earhart's last flight. The book presents evidence, analyzes its value and develops a hypothesis concerning the events of July, 1937. The author is primarily a archeologist, and while no "[fool]-proof" evidence is presented, what is known is presented and explained in scientific, but easy to read prose. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. My only nits with it are the reproductions of many of the photographs are poor, however, they can all be found at the TIGHAR web site.

A visual treat for armchair travelers, this book takes you on the exciting and sometimes frustrating search for the answer to the Amelia Earhart question. Thoroughly researched and well edited, the story does not slow down for the facts. Highly recommeded.

This book is about the real world that they did not teach me or my classmates in law school! I have been in the business of real estate brokerage and buyer agency for close to a decade and I still found myself highlighting throughout the book.

Six years ago organized real estate was still in a struggle to preclude real estate brokers and agents from representing buyers. Today, every part-time, know-nothing with a license is a "buyers' agent." (The organized real estate industry is still fighting laws that force them to tell sellers and buyers who they represent!) What do you really know about agents, selling real estate, or buying real estate? What does "buyers' agent" really mean? What are the agents' and brokers' duties? What does "your" agent owe you? Why is a dual agency too often dual fraud?

If you are about to enter the real estate game, this book will tell you the rules. Every homebuyer and seller needs this book for his or her financial self-defense and for his or her peace of mind. Will it matter to you if "your" agent harms you from malice and greed or harms you from simple stupidly? Trust me, it is going to hurt either way. You can pay attorneys thousands of dollars after the problem or you can read this book and preclude the problems before they happen.

BOUGHT, NOT SOLD will help you recognize the consumer quality revolution in real estate -- it's all about customer awareness and empowerment. You now have resources at your disposal at an unprecedented level when you engage the services of an exclusive buyers' agent. Note: the term exclusive is most important.

As a buyer, your purchase prospects should be unlimited -- don't accept anything less. An exclusive buyers' agent will make available properties for sale by owner and even properties that may not be listed for sale. You didn't know that? Neither did we, but now we know that an agency's listings, or even those in the local Multiple Listing Service are not a complete presentation of what is really on the market!

For example, as a seller, you employ a real estate agent to help you sell your property; as the employer, you determine the level of service to be provided by your employee, as well as the fee you agree to pay for those services. Ray Wilson advises you on how to select a real estate agent to represent your interests -- and gives you information that empowers you as an employer, with practical advice on defining your service expectations. Insight into avoiding traps set up by the traditional commission set up in favor of listing agents is invaluable -- this is where you really can save by understanding details seldom revealed to sellers or buyers.

This book is highly recommended by the webmasters of pru-florida.com -- Prudent Florida Home Buyers and Sellers, the realty web site for consumers.

Author describes the ultimate in real estate buying service. Hiring a real estate company to represent you the buyer instead of using an agent who drags you around to all of the "in house listings". The exclusive buyer agent works only for your best interest. You hire the agent to help you buy the best home, save money, and avoid surprises. Having bought three homes and using an Exclusive Buyer's Agent on our last home, I know from personal experience what a godsend this is. A true EBA tells the buyer everything. This is so popular now that almost all agents claim to be Buyer Agents, look for the company that does not represent sellers, hence "exclusive" buyer agents. All others try to get you to buy the in house listing and think you shouldn't mind their conflict of interest.

This is, hands down, one of the best books I have read on Network Marketing. If you have never encountered MLM or perhaps have had a "bad" experience in MLM or have some preconceived negative notion about MLM, then read this book and it will help clear up the "bad" and confusion.

Dr. Barrett had spent years researching the different MLM systems and the people who work them (both successful and those who have been unsuccessful) and compiled his final research in this book.

Dr. Barrett describes how those who have been successful in MLM gained that success, what they did "right" to be successful and describes it in great detail in part one. In part two, he moves into the psychology of failure, doubt, etc. and how to overcome some of these "obstacles" in order to be successful in MLM. Finally, in part three, Dr. Barrett discusses the various approaches used to help others be successful - good leadership skills. Teach, lead and coach is the right track and Barrett details this. Putting others first is the principle behind Dr. Barrett's leadership method.

This is a great book for those who are considering a Network Business. In fact, this is a great book for those who are considering any type of business because what is taught in these pages is practiced by every major chain corporation in the world.

Anyone considering network marketing as a career needs to read this book. It is insightful and gives specific steps to a plan to be successful. Definitely one of the most useful books I have read on the subject.

I literally couldn't put this book down. Dr. Barrett tells readers frankly why most people quit MLM. Whenever I feel down, I go to a highlighted place in my book and read it and I am completely boosted! I help my team members do the same. Because of this book, I don't doubt my success ... I KNOW I will be successful in MLM. As Dr. Barrett says, it's simple (not easy, but simple) to become successful beyond your wildest dreams.

At first glance, this book struck me as highly suspicious. However, once I began reading it, I quickly came to seriously consider Gold's thesis as tenable. By the end of the book, I was strongly inclined to think that Gold has a much more credible explanation for the source and formation of oil and gas than the de facto one.

Gold does write convincingly, but moreso he presents some very cogent reasons for his abiogenic theory. I'll not attempt to rehash the details, but just say that his theory is parsimonious, involves little hand-waving and uses no dramatics.

There is nothing scientifically outlandish here, unless you have some ideological adherence to the biogenic view. In fact, the biogenic view seems now quite contrived and dubious in retrospect. Gold's view accounts not only for oil, coal and gas, but also confers reasons for formations of biogenic matter - peat and lignite - as well.

Gold's further assertion that a biosphere exists going many kilometers down may have seemed ludicrous years ago, but in light of our knowledge of extremophiles nowadays, his thesis seems very plausible.

As if that weren't going far enough, Gold further asserts that it is far more likely that (assuming life had a terrestrial origin) such life began deep in the earth, not in shallow tidepools or other surface environments. Any origin-of-life theory is very difficult to justify, but Gold's seems as plausible as any, and more plausible than most.

A worthwhile read.

This book is more than a mere milestone. If approached with an open mind, it will revolutionize much traditional thinking in the areas of energy, seismology, and the life sciences.

Professor Gold is an astrophysicist of high repute, who applies his excellent, free-thinking mind and impeccable logic to disciplines outside his chosen field with astonishing success. This disturbs traditionalists and adherents of scientific orthodoxy no end, especially when Dr. Gold, more often than not, is correct in his iconoclasms.

The instant work presents and consolidates Dr. Gold's seminal work in the area of earth sciences. Dr. Gold argues convincingly, and with easily understood reasoning, that petroleum, and even coal, are not biogenic, i.e., created from previously living organisms. Instead, he contends, so-called "fossil fuels" are the result of hydrocarbons being brought up from and through the earth's mantle, and being transformed into their present states by bacteria living in the Earth's crust. These bacteria compose the "deep, hot biosphere" in the book's title. Thus, fossil fuels are a self-renewing resource not nearly as susceptible to the depletion so often forecast by doomsayers.

Dr. Gold's logic appears impeccable to this writer, and the tests he has done to date, such as drilling in the granite of a large Swedish impact structure and finding hydrocarbons where none "should" exist are persuasive indeed. The popular conception of oil, gas, and coal being the remains of once living creatures seems hopelessly out of date in light of Dr. Gold's research.

Dr. Gold goes on to discuss the origin of life, as it relates to microorganisms found in the earth's crust and asks whether these primitive creatures may exist on other planets as well.

Another interesting theory arising from the implications of mobile hydrocarbons in the Earth's interior relates to earthquakes and their prediction. Dr. Gold notes many cultures have spoken of physical changes occuring prior to earthquakes and suggests that these tangible phenomena are related to gases moving in the crust. When a critical point is reached in terms of shifting tensions, Dr. Gold suggests the result is an earthquake.

Interestingly, much Russian research agrees with Dr. Gold on this and other of his theories. Western research appears more bound to orthodox thinking. It is this writer's belief that Dr. Gold and his cohorts have much to say on the true state of the planet beneath us, and its contents.

The book receives my highest recommendation, and it will be interesting to see how much of Dr. Gold's thinking becomes the scientific orthodoxy of the future. The book is rated a must read for anyone with an interest ie earth sceiences, energy issues, or both.

This book is a five-star must-read for anyone with an interest in Earth Sciences. Dr. Gold may be the Wegener of this era.

I could not put this book down. Once I began reading it, I had to finish it. It was full of mystery and suspense. I can not wait until the sequeal comes out. I have told alot of friends about this book. If you like suspense, mystery and a all around good book, Buy this. I recommend it to everyone.

Mr.Davis book kept me on my toes. I never knew what to expect next. It made me think,and explore the way the human mind can find a faucet to place the blame on someone eles. I cant tell you how often when asked if I like a book my respones is that it was just okay. This time I can truly say that this book is AONE. you wont be able to put this one down!!!

It was one of the most execiting books that i have ever read. i could not put it down, had to finish it. it was GREAT !!!!!!

Tom McIntyre is one of the last great storytellers. His gift with a pen places the reader right in the middle of all the action. The subject matter within the pages of this book is broad. It ranges from an account of a fantastic woodcock hunt in Ireland to the pursuit of the most dangerous African cape buffalo but never once will you loose interest. Be it his candid views of the cultures surrounding the hunt or the excitement of the actual hunt, you will leave each chapter with a better understanding and respect for both the hunter and his prey.

"Dreaming The Lion" is far from the traditional "hook and bullet" prose found in most of today's hunting publications. Rather it is perhaps more of a modern day Hemmingway approach. It is factual, adventurous and all with just the right touch of humor. All of which I found quite refreshing.

If you are a hunter "Dreaming The Lion" belongs in your library.

Ed Noonan
Member of the Outdoor Writers Assn. of American and
New York State Outdoor Writers Assn.

Tom McIntyre is a writer with a distinctive voice and an exceptional talent. His style has pith and elegance -and humor and intelligence. For a couple of decades now (maybe a little more) he has written some of the best prose we have on hunting. "Dreaming The Lion" is a treasury of his finest work, and will prove a delight for every literate hunter.

This is by no means a somber book, but it is a thoughtful one. Reflecting on the prospect of hunting in his native California, McIntyre writes, "The best thing would be to hunt the country you were born into, to make it even more your home. But what if your native country is not only a place, but a time, and what if that time is past?" Not exactly the kind of bang-and- brag drivel so common to lesser hunting writers, and to an unfortunately increasing number of "sporting" publications.

"Dreaming The Lion" is a collection of choice pieces, (mostly about hunting, especially but not exclusively about big game,) connected by one-page, inter-chapter selections from an ongoing African diary. In this safari narrative McIntrye appears more as protagonist than hero; he screws up sometimes, misses badly on occasion, has his ups and downs just like we, the readers, probably would. The book's final section, the title essay in three parts, recounts another African adventure and by any fair standard must be judged one of the finest pieces of hunting writing in our time. Comparisons to Hemingway and Ruark and Capstick or anyone else are as unnecessary as they are trite. McIntyre is his own writer, speaking with his own voice in his own (for a hunting writer, not entirely fortunate) time. Enjoy him.

This wonderful book is much more than a collection of hunting and fishing stories. The author has the rare ability to take his readers with him on both his physical adventures and his philisophical journeys. These journeys delve into the heart and soul of a particular location.

The stories told here take us from familiar ground to the far corners of the planet. Each account includes well-researched observations on the local natural and cultural histories. McIntyre's interpretations of wilderness values and hunting ethics are thought-provoking and profound.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, even those who have no interest in hunting or fishing. If you enjoy visiting truly wild places, or are simply grateful that such wild places and wild beasts still exist, this book will provide much satisfaction.

Of the Ross Thomas books containing the Wu & Durant characters, this one is arguably the best. A great story with twists and turns that keep the pages turning with very little effort.
The characters are so well developed only a photograph would offer any more insight. If a picture is worth a thousand words, Thomas has the ability to modify that statement to paint a picture using very little wordage. If your a Thomas fan this book shoud definitley be high on your list of "next" reads.

I happened upon Ross Thomas by chance and not design. As my local library had only Out on the Rim and The Fourth Durango on its shelves, I read them first. I was hooked. Through the library's inter- library loan program I have now read from Cold War Swap through Chinaman's Chance. I'm only 50 and admittedly have a lot of reading ahead of me but I can not remember enjoying reading someone's work as much as I do reading Ross Thomas. I cannot imagine that he will ever be out of my top 10 favorites.

Lifelong pals since they hooked up in a San Francisco orphanage, Artie Woo and Quincy Durant are two of the best characters you'll come across in any thriller. Nobody plumbs the depths of corruption and works a great con like this dynamic duo of the Pacific Rim. Throw in the likes of grifter Otherguy Overby, CIA master Whittaker Lowell James, and a former folk trio named Ivory, Lace, and Silk, and you've got the makings for one helluva adventure.

"Chinaman's Chance" is a delight to read. The juicy, twisted tale of opportunists on the make was tailor-made for Ross Thomas' fast-paced, witty style. He had a remarkable ability of making cynical characters likable and complex plots believable. His novels are "page-turners," but they're also insightful and poignant sketches of the human condition. He was truly an uncommon talent.

Although I am old enough to have been able to remember Don McNeill's Breakfast Club I have only heard of him, and wanted to learn more about this popular radio show. Author John Doolittle has done an excellent job in bringing out the personality of Don McNeill. Don was a devoted family man who, despite an extroverted personality when interviewing people, was more of an introvert away from the show. Don was devoted to the midwest and chose to keep his show in Chicago from various downtown locations. I would say the primary reason for the success of the show was his sincere interest in people in addition to his willingness to pay the price in preparation time. Those who filled in for him found out there is more involved than chatting with members of the studio audience. The silent prayer and the march around the breakfast table were interesting staples of this show that I wasn't aware of. Don McNeill was a sincere man both on the show and in his private life. The CD that came with the book I bought provides interesting snippets on some of his shows and was especially interesting to listen to after having read the book. Don McNeill was a giant of radio who had a lot to contribute to other people and did.

The "Breakfast Club" was a morning radio program staple in hundreds of thousands of homes across America beginning in 1933 until its final broadcast in December of 1968. Don McNeill hosted this program which was completely unscripted and involved a lot of studio audience participation. Now John Doolittle has memorialized that unique and beloved radio show host and his program in Don McNeill And His Breakfast Club. Here is the history of a man and a program that developed an enormous and loyal listenership in an era when broadcast radio was the major daily mass media for information and culture in the country. Doolittle's informative, enthusiastically recommended history is enriched with the inclusion of an accompanying CD with sample clips from the show to give the reader an authentic flavor of what the program was like and why it became (and stayed) one of the most popular components of morning radio.

The Don McNeill Breakfast Club was a comfort of home, a memory of cherished moments sitting by the radio with my family. When I heard that a book had been written about the program I had high expectations. I was more impressed than I could have imagined. Not only did I feel a stronger sense of who Don McNeill was, I also gained perspective on American History through radio, which was so perfectly encompassed in The Breakfast Club. For anyone who remembers the lazy mornings by the radio, or for anyone who is interested in American culture and history, this book is a must!

This is my 2 y/o son's favorite book EVER! We have to read it every night and take it on all our overnight trips. Needless to say, even he has the text memorized. Yes, the Tonka logo shamelessly displayed on every truck is a bit much, but I've found this book to include the widest variety of trucks. These are displayed nicely in their appropriate "scenes", and the information on each truck's capabilities is a great learning tool. My son is so thrilled when we come across these machines at work in our day-to day life, and he couldn't wait to go to the State Fair. It's been the best money I've spent on a book for him yet, even though I wish we could skip it and perhaps read Stellaluna instead just one night.

My son has loved this book since he got it a year ago when he was 1.5 years old. I have found as time goes on he always finds new things to ask about - each page is packed with detail, but not so busy as to be a turnoff. This book has provoked alot of discussion about how houses are built, how roads are made, what happens on a farm etc. There is enough there to keep kids interested for a long time!!

My in-laws gave this book to my 22-month-old son, who loves trucks, construction vehicles and machinery, and it became an instant favorite of his. They were a bit hesitant at first about buying the book because it's essentially a big commercial for Tonka products -- every truck and construction vehicle in the book (and there are many) has "TONKA" prominently written on it. That caveat aside, however, it _is_ a great book for kids who share my son's interests -- it shows the trucks in action and explains the name and uses of each. I also like the fact that it shows both women and men operating the trucks.

~
I used this as a text in a highschool class on meditation. I chose it after looking at all the translations I could get my hands on (my Chinese, alas! is not yet up to reading the original.) Other translations were sometimes more literal and accurate, and some did a better job of conveying Chuang's brilliant word-play, but the overall impression they left of Chuang was either of a pedant (the older translations) or a sneering, bitter stand-up comic (the newer ones). This is much more deeply untrue to Chuang-Tzu than any passing inaccuracy or missed word-play could ever be.

There is only one way in which Merton is more qualified than Chuang's other interpreters: he, like Chuang, was a serious, long-time contemplative, a person who spent hours a day at meditation and prayer. But this qualification seems to me to have trumped all others. Merton and Chuang were brothers: no matter that they were two millenia and half a world apart. Somewhere right now they are walking together at a river's edge, watching the fish leap.

"I know the joy of fishes
In the river
Through my own joy, as I go walking
Along the same river"

My students, by the way -- rather to my surprise -- loved this book as much as I did.

This little book is the perfect companion to Lao-Tzu's _Tao Te Ching_. Thomas Merton assembled it with admirable spiritual insight and sensitivity. Here is the path of the ancient sages. It is not a "how to" manual, for, "He who knows does not speak, and he who speaks does not know." And yet, this book somehow indirectly gives you a sense of what it is to be centered in the Tao. You get a fleeting sense of what it is like to live a life of such centerness and simplicity that it is difficult to tell where your own consciousness ends and the currents of the cosmos begin. This is the state of Wu Wei, effortless action in complete resonance with the Tao.
I suppose that what I found so refreshing during this rereading was the confirmation that men of wealth, station, and learning are not to be admired. They are the least enlightened of men. Indeed, the true man of Tao will live humble in simplicity and obscurity- and yet such beings are the true wellsprings of cosmic harmony between heaven and earth....

The Merton distillation of the essence of The Master is unsurpassed, for its concision, its wit, its ability to immediately surprise and "tempt" one to a greater openness, a gentle transformation of thought, mind and being or to suddenly awaken one. It is also superb poetry based on the nature of the Chinese character (see Pound/Fenellosa) and the collaborative wisdom of John Wu, who brings the ancient force of the Taoist winds chanting The Way our own great Master trod.

My favorite is "When the Shoe Fits," a copy of which is always hanging on my wall, along with Delmore Schwartz' "True Recognition Often Is Refused," and "City" by Shinkichi Takahashi. Pardon this Hamletian aside.

There is not much more this reader can say, but I certainly urge you; "O Taste and See that this Lord is good."

Another translation, superb in its own right brings a clear lucidity and masterful elucidation of "The Book of Chuang Tzu," which flows in concert with the four great rivers of China, "without haste, without rest." ( "I Ching," Wilhelm trns.) With no Chinese, I perceive it to as close as we have come to the surviving text with force, delicacy and consonance of thought.

Merton, walking into the darkness, slashes through the root and branches of the unknown like the pioneer he is, wielding a flashing sword of light that is also one with the darkness.