I bought this book for a friend's fiftieth birthday, and she absolutely loved it. I recommend it highly for its beautiful artwork and inspirational writing.

I have been captivated by this artist's book. I keep returning to it; and each time, the combination of delicate photographs, changing colors and inspirational words evoke new thoughts on the human condition.

As a person who thinks about why I'm on this planet and how I spend my days, I am intrigued by the offering of "the thread of meaning" on this subject.

I have given this book as a gift to friends, who are impressed by both the message and the beauty of this unique artist's book.

As I search for reasons why I might be on this planet, or contemplate the need for a sense fulfillment in my life, "the thread of meaning" offers new insight into the concept of seeking and finding meaning in my life. I keep returning to this captivating artist's book with its combination of photographs, colors, and words. It evokes a new thought or feeling with each reading. To me, it is like a visual meditation.

I have given "the thread of meaning" as a gift to friends and they cherish it not only for its inspirational message, but also for the beauty of the book itself. It is truly unique.

Marc Dupont has written a very timely and vital book for the Christian church. In the age of increasing situations of spiritual abuse it is vital that somebody like him to write a book on this topic.

This book was required reading in a pastoral leadership school I was in. The issues of abuse, control, manipulation and rebellion are the key themes to this wonderful book. I found this book to be a real eye opener to my own ways of relating to people. After reading this book, people will understand how easy it really is to slip into spiritual abuse and that not all spiritually abusive people are evil to the core. They are just deeply wounded people who have mastered survival skills that hurt others.

Whether or not you have ever been in a spirituall abusive church, you owe it to yourself to read this book. This book will enable you to discern an abusive or "toxic" church and how to identify them. We don't even realize that we can be manipulating and controlling others and that's another reason why this book should be read by all Christians. This is need to know information.

This book has gained a very special place in my library. Among my collection of 200 or so other Christian books, this is in the top 5 hands down.

This book can help you discern whether or not you are in a spiritually abusive situation, to what degree, why and how to get out. It can be used by God to cleanse out the wounds, forgive and begin the process of healing...and to not repeat the same mistakes.

This was a wonderful book. My husband and I were highly encouraged to read this book by friends as well as elders of another church we went to for help. We had thought we were going crazy. We couldn't believe that our pastor and friend as well as other leaders in our church were lying to us, manipulating us, and teaching us scripture out of context to control us. They would continually use the scriptures refering to 'obey and submit to your leaders', as well as other scriptures manipulating people for money and justifying their own lack of integrity. This book clearly stated the facts and as we read through it, helped us process what was happening to us, and what surely was to come as we began to walk out of that abusive situation. It seemed that every time the Lord directed me to read the next part, it was exactly what was needed at that time. This book has helped over 100 people I know personally to walk out of an abusive church situation. The Lord is faithful, and He will lead your steps. This is a must read for anyone attending church today, especially in the charismatic, non-denominationally affiliated church. Pastors and leaders need to read this as well so that they can minister to those who have been wounded, and so that they can avoid falling into traps and mindsets that they, too, should be treating their congregations in abusive ways.

Work and Rewards is chock full of useful information. Crandall and Wallace write mainly for organizations that resemble their clients -- corporations that manufacture goods for profit. But I think this book is even of value for non-profits. While obviously helpful for human resource people, this book would be beneficial reading for CEOs, top organizational leaders, and even frontline supervisors.

"The job is dead," the authors declare. "Job" is part of the "old deal" marked by cradle-to-grave security. "The New Deal will require us to act as adults, not children." Employees will be increasingly responsible for acquiring the skills needed by their employers. Narrow job descriptions are already giving way to broader, more flexible skill sets. The authors claim this shift will help organizations run more effectively and will increase worker satisfaction.

Don't be mistaken; Work and Rewards is not a pie-in-the-sky futurists dream. It is based on the real life experiences the authors have had with dozens of clients, including Sony, Corning, and others. Work and Rewards is packed with practical models, steps, outlines, case studies, plans, and formulas. These tools can help organizations evaluate the cost of going virtual, determine what key drivers the organization wants to reward, and how to manage the transition.

I highly recommend Work and Rewards.

Chapters include:

1. Forging a New Compact Between People and Technology
2. Working in the Virtual Workplace
3. Exploring the Virtual Workplace
4. Work Design
5. Skills and Competencies
6. Rewards in the Virtual Workplace
7. The Blended Workforce
8. The Economics of the Virtual Workplace
9. Getting to the New Deal in the Virtual Workplace

"Economic and technological forces have converged in this last decade of the twentieth century to create an entirely new form of business competition. The New Competition", N. Fredric Crandall and Marc J. Wallace, JR. write, "encompasses a global economy and is driven by information rather than product and by time rather than space, creating a revolution in the way we do business...The New Competition has emerged in three parallel developments: (1). Former competitors forming alliances to command the market, (2). New marriages of technology, markets, and opportunity, and (3). The creation of new business entities that replace traditional ones, defining the entire length of a value chain-a form of organization that has been characterized as the virtual organization...The virtual organization requires a virtual workplace. The virtual workplace is a work environment where goods and services are created and delivered joining employees beyond the traditional bounds of time and place. Technology is a foundation for the virtual workplace, creating the means for innovations in working relationship such as teams of people who work together via teleconferencing or transfer work in progress from one venue to the next across time zones to keep work going on a continuous basis."

In this context, in Chapter Six, they examine how the role of rewards and compensation changes when an organization evolves from a traditional to a virtual workplace. Firstly, they define job in a traditional organization and argue: "The job concept served traditional organizations well. Work has been organized in a command-and-conrol bureaucracy characterized by functional specifications and hierarchy. It is a paradigm shaped by early twentieth-century thinking of Max Weber and Frederick W. Taylor, implemented by Henry Ford, and cast in the legislation of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal of the 1930s. Unfortunatelly the paradigm no longer serves us because the job has died. Globalization of production and technological revolution have forced us into a post-industrial model for producing goods and services. The work designs of the virtual workplace have forced companies to tear down hierarchy do away with functional specialization, and organize all activities according to entire business processes that cut across traditional departments and occupations."

Hence, they compare traditional and virtual base pay models, and argue that in the new workplace people are paid not for the job they hold but for the role they are expected to play.

I. Base Pay Model in the Traditional Workplace:

1. Unit of analysis: Job

2. Basis for determining value: Job evaluation

3. What pay is for: Work performed

4. Base pay progression: (a). Modest movement within grades to mid-point. Pay is controlled to mid-point. (b). Promotion required for significant advancement.

5. Base pay structure: Many narrow grades, hierarchically arranged.

II. Base Pay Model in the Virtual / New Paradigm Workplace:

1. Unit of analysis: Personal role

2. Basis for determining value: Personal evaluation

3. What is pay for: Capacity to perform

4. Base pay progression: Significant movement from entry rate to target rate based on capacity acquisition.

5. Base pay structure: Few, broad bands

Finally, they define this new paradigm as skill-or-competency-based pay, and argue: " the base pay progression policy that best serves the virtual workplace is skill-or competency-based pay.

I highly recommend.

Like the industrial revolution before it, the Information Age is giving rise to new types of organizations, new ways of working, and new approaches to human resource management. This technology-driven economy, with its virtual realities, is profoundly reshaping the nature of relationships between organizations, as well as between the organization and the individual.

On a macro level, the authors aim to show how a new social contract (New Deal) is developing between individuals and organizations, replacing the traditional employer-employee relationship. Through this virtual revolution, the conflict, as many see and experience it today, between people and technology will be overcome. And free market dynamics make it inevitable that virtual organizations will and must continue emerging.

Moving from the macro to the micro, the authors explore some of the pivotal changes taking place today; changes in the nature of the workplace, the design of work, the use of competencies, the characteristics of reward systems, learning, career opportunities, and staffing. Numerous tables and diagrams, as well as illustrations from company experiences, highlight key points and make the distinctions between traditional and virtual workplaces vivid. There is a lot to be gained from each chapter. Guidelines are presented to help practitioners address their needs for taking action. The authors are also helpful in laying bare serious problems that companies have faced in applying such concepts as skill- or competency-based pay and broad bands which I, as a consultant in organization and compensation, welcome seeing in print. Additionally, the authors present a model to demonstrate the economic value of the virtual workplace. This is an excellent book, impressive in scope and rich in substance.

Terrific find---found wonderful restaurants I've never heard of and now have become favorites.

This makes a great no-brainer gift.

This is the most intelligent, comprehensive and useful guidebook to Philadelphia dining that I have ever seen. It is honest and on the money, and it has certainly saved me from dining disasters, and introduced me to some of the best dining in the city. Most importantly, it is laid out in a fashion that makes it super-easy to use.

I highly recommend this book for Philadelphians who love to eat out but don't have the budget to match their good taste. Similar to Zagats, but less with less pretension, it is full of great synopses of restaurants throughout the city arranged by cuisine and neighborhood. My only minor complaint is the lack of entries for restaurants in the suburbs. But who cares about restaurants in the suburbs when there are so many great ones in town?

This book is the best resource I've found for dining in Philadelphia... It tells you where to go, what to expect, and what it will cost, all written honestly, without advertisements. I highly recommend it, particularly for those who are new to, or visiting, Philadelphia

Harley riders develope a passion for the bikes. Maybe it has something to do with a safe vent for midlife crisis. If you are looking for a Harley novel read "The Second Coming Of Age" by: C. Vedrine

While the title suggests a listing of parts you can buy for your Harley, the book actually covers "What you can do to your Harley". The sub-title says it better: "A Guide to Personalizing Your Bike". The book is loaded with fabulous photos (and diagrams, where needed, like where they tell you about the real meaning of dyno numbers). I read every single page with great care and attention, and I know I will do so again.

The table of contents clues you in right away about what awaits you inside: Paint, Seats, Handlebars and Foot Controls, Powertrain, Suspension, Wheels and brakes. The subtitles in each section go much further. Installing inspection covers, re-jetting the carb, how to lower your bike (and why you may not want to), practical advice on changing handlebars, choosing an exhaust system, and setting up your suspension are just a taste of what you'll be getting into in here.

If you're wondering what are the possibilities for modifying your Harley-Davidson, here's the place to start.

My 4 year old loves to have these books read to him. Before I introduced these books to him he was at a much simpler level of book, but his interest - because of the droids (robots) has helped him grow into these. My 7 year old devours them by reading them to himself and to his brother.

It talks about the fate of Anakin Skywalker. I thought it was a good and detailed book. It gets right to the point.

I absolutely LOVED this book... ...I've been reading it since I was little! I can NOT get over the stories! I lost the book years ago and am thrilled to be getting it again... it is definitely my favorite and the poems are so easy to get into! I think all kids will love it... it's a great book. Check it out!

This book is SOOO good. It was written for smaller children, but the lessons are incredible even for older children, teens, and adults. The Nonconformist Splat, for example, is about someone who is so "immune" to peer pressure that they do everything the opposite way everybody else does: they jump off a cliff when everybody else decides not to.

Blag Dahlia just continues to flaunt his talent in the face of all who dare doubt him. With an amazing book now to his credit... Blag Dahlia is sure to be one of the most incredible artists of our generation, who unfortunately, no-one will ever give a shit about.

Blag Dahlia Forever!

While not based on Blag's band The Dwarves there are enough subtle references for fans but not too many that anyone would be left out. Funny, twisted and thoroughly entertaining.

(Cue detective-style voice) Let me tell you about a book. It's a very ordinary kind of book, the kind with both a front cover, a back cover and pages in between. The kind of book in which anything can happen - and usually does. (End detective-style voice)

Generally, when you pick up an "Arthur" chapter book, you can rely on an amusing as well as educational story. Any story feature Buster in his detective mode, however, is in a class of it's own.

Buster gets a detective kit and starts looking for a mystery. He even gets really into the role, donning a coat and fedora. At first, though, he can't find a mystery. Then, Arthur is accused of stealing the quarters that he was collecting for the "Buy a Puppy For the Fire Department" project. Arthur knows he's innocent and so do we, so needs somebody to help him, giving Buster his first case. Solving mysteries though, Detective Baxter, soon learns, isn't as easy as it seems.

This book is enjoyable for readers of just about an age, assuming they've reached the reading level to read a 58 page story in chapter book format. For the best effect, watch the TV version of this story first and pay attention to Buster's voice when he's speaking as a detective. Then read the story using that style of voice.

This is a teriffic Arthur mystery. It has a good mystery, it has a smooth plot, and so what could be better? You have to read this book to see Arthur mysteries at their best.