This is a must for anybody's personal library. No matter where you are in life, Sir John has done us all a great favour by writing this book. He uses a range of philosiphies and theologies to explain everyday events in our lives.
Are you overwhemled or caught up in day to day events? Mr. Templeton's collections of various authors and his own works will explain sometimes difficult situations into easy to understand english. For example, lesson "No one knows the weight of another's burden" on page 20 is about the young man in a male therapy group.
The men were in a group session and the person in the story is a new participant. The mediator explained that each person would have a few minutes to explain his problem and what they plan to do about it. Natually, the new person thought with his marital break down, near bankruptcy and poor health, his would be one of the saddest cases.
Before it was his turn to speak, a handsome young man in his 20's revealed that he was terminally ill and had 6 months to live. Rather than dwell on it, he decided to take up flying lessons and live! Naturally, everybody else was taken off guard and rediscovered the gifts they have.
Templeton's 200 lessons in this book address almost every situation around. You don't have to be struggling with life to enjoy this. Everybody needs a bit of down to earth insiration and you'll have it with this!

John Marks Templeton's most important discovery is that our lives are shaped by certain eternal laws. He has established several foundations to advance spiritual developments and offers free literature plus newsletter to all who ask. Enjoy a visit to the Templeton Foundation . He rose from humble beginnings to lead a 30-billion dollar group of investment companies and established the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, which exceeds the Nobel Prize in financial value. This beloved book includes two hundred "laws of life" and appeals to all on the spiritual path. Contributors to "Laws" include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Jesus, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Gerald G. Jampolsky , and Eric Butterworth . Endorsements include Dr. Robert Schuller, Billy Graham, and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.

Great therapy. It is an easy read. Something you can open a few minutes a day to lift your spirits, and it doesn't hurt to read over and over again. It may not dazzle your senses (nonfiction), but it should make you feel good.

When Stephen Vincent Benet finished John Brown's Body in 1928 and the critics awaited its issue, the South was most anxious and skeptical that they would be portrayed honestly. They were and Stephen Benet's masterpiece is America's greatest epic poem and a most unappreciated work of literature. But, I love it and always will love it, because it makes those historic figures of so long ago - come alive. Out of the mist, they ride. Come traveler, pick it up, open its pages and from fish hook Gettysburg to the end, watch them ride and try to understand over all the years what was happening and why they were fighting. It was not all about Slavery!

During the Pax Romana the emperor Augustus commissioned Vergil to write an epic history of the Romans. The result, of course, was The Aeneid, a stunning blend of epic poetry and historical fiction that some would argue has yet to be topped. John Brown's Body is the closest thing we have to an epic poem "about" America. And while it takes place during the civil war and makes no claim to be an authoritative history, the book is no less impressive as a literary feat. No book in the history of this country has so artfully depicted our nation's great schism.

Written in the 20s, John Brown's Body redefines the word ananchronism. Its contemporaries are The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises, and Their Eyes Were Watching God. Professors widely praise these modern works for their groundbreaking aesthetics, and not without justification. However, it's hard to imagine a more daring or daunting task than the writing of John Brown's Body. Never mind the fact that he pulled it off marvelously. Stephen Vincent Benet remains the only writer to have even _attempted_ to write an American epic poem. Stephen Vincent Benet deserves high scores both for degree of difficulty and final product. Yet conventional education regarding 20th century American books never seems to give him these high marks.

Why Benet and his book don't get the recognition they merit is a terrific question. Is his book canonically superior to Gatsby and Their Eyes? No. And on some level, it's difficult to see what someone living in Taiwan could glean from this document of American struggle and triumph. To wit, the book can also be criticized for being slightly skewed toward a Yankee perspective. But as a whole, the book is outright better than a lot of works revered as American classics.

What does better mean? What it should mean. Simply a more impressive work of art. More entertaining. More provactive. More fun to read. More intellectual depth, conveyed subtly and beautifully, embedded skillfully but not invisibly in an absorbing tale. On these counts, John Brown's Body is vastly superior to classics like The Sun Also Rises; The USA series of John Dos Passos; Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis; and certainly Hawthorne's later novels. Yet John Brown's Body continues to get short shrift, to the point where it's well nigh unfindable in many a book store. One can only hope that the critics and canon-makers of later generations restore the book to its proper place, high atop our shining history of American letters.

This book won the Pulitzer Prize in the '40's. It covers the Civil War principally from the perspectives of a young, small town Connecticutt boy and the heir to a Geogia plantation. It begins with a gripping view of events on a slave ship and ends with two crippled young men and the women they love, beginning to rebuild ther lives. Part poetry, part prose, it all sings.

One of the best pieces that I ever read explaining paintings along the different periods which were passed by Van Gogh. Also, it gives a complete ride through his life and personality.

I have this book and I am so glad ,I discovered it. I am, a painter,and have always been influenced by Van Goghs work. However most of the books I own do not have very good quality , printing .This book however is excellent! It is very close to , standing in front of the original painting. I would recomend this book to anyone that loves Van Gogh. I am so proud to make this book a part of my art library. Get it while you can!!

The next best thing if you weren't able to make it to this record-breaking exhibition in Washington and Los Angeles. This book, an overview of the exhibition, is an extremely thorough and interesting overview of the 70 works on display. But it's more than that. I was very impressed with Richard Kendall's commentary in the book. Not only is this a comprehensive and thoughtful look at the "Van Gogh's Van Goghs" exhibition, it's also an excellent look at Van Gogh's life and career--period. I might have expected this--this major exhibition was superb and this catalogue is a worthy companion. Exhibition or not, this book is first-rate.

I love Vincent. Not only will children love it, but so will the entire fAmily. To All Art teAchers, this book is A must hAve. To All Elementary teAchers, this book is A must hAve. To Anyone who loves to reAd, this book will wArm your heArt.

To the author, I implore you to continue to write more about Vincent. What A lovely chAracter.

this book is a joy to read for both young and old alike. the artwork is beautiful, colorful and inspirational. the story is educational, warm, witty and entertaining. vincent will creep into your heart. once you meet him, you will desire to walk through more paintings and more books with him. this is a real treat, a charming book. the idea is genius; the product is perfection!

Very good book. There was a cute story and the graphics so detailed (very colorful).....

I wasn't sure what to expect with this anthology, but I found myself enthralled from beginning to end. Nnedi Okorafor's "Crossroads", Seth Lindberg's "Atropos", and James Dorr's "Madness" were special delights.

A great mix of chilling, horrifying, and otherwise entertaining stories.

This is a great compilation of magic, madness, culture and creativity. All of the stories were pretty satisfying, some of them terrifying! There are some writers here that are going to go places. Watch for the authors of the two longest pieces, Nnedi Okorafor (her story is called Crossroads) and James S. Dorr (he wrote a story called Madness).

The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story is an excellent historical and technical document of the ABC Computer. It traces the ENIAC lineage directly to the ABC and J.V.Atansoff. If there are any Atanasoff skeptics out there, this book is the definitive prescription to win their minds. A must have book for the personal library.

This book tells the story of Dr. John Vincent Atanasoff (a Bulgarian name; Dr. Atanasoff was native born in Hamilton, New York, 1903. He is credited by court decision in 1973 with the invention of the computer. The case in dispute was between Honeywell and Sperry Rand for claims of the computer invention. If either party have prevailed, the winner might have had patent rights. IBM was worried and introduced JV (as he was called) who showed that he had invented the computer at Iowa State in 1938 when he was in the mathematics department (JV was a 1930 PhD in physics from the University of Wisconsin). The computer invented belonged to JV and his assistant, Charles Berry (hence the name ABC = Atanasoff Berry Computer). There were several versions built, some in 1939 and in 1940.

The court decision was that as there was a prior invention (the ABC) which had not been patented by anyone, no one could patent the computer comcept. I am delighted that that was the decision and told JV that several times (I lived near him, his home was New Market Maryland and I was in Frederick Maryland) until he died about 10 years. He was always grouchy about my view but did concede (mostly by remaining silent) that the speed of computer advances was because there was no patent restriction in effect.

ENIAC owed much to Dr. Atanasoff as Mauchly saw the ABC in visits to Iowa State. Some visits were for several days ("for the better part of a week" was JV's court testimony). Programming and program languages were not part of JV contribution. Dr. Mauchly's own testimony as reproduced in the book shows he grudgedly agreed that he owed ideas and examples to others.

The original case was filed in 1968 as Honeywell v. Sperry Rand and Illinois Scientific Developments. Among the almost 100 issues pushed by Honeywell and the ENIAC, the judge, Earl R. Larsen, ruled "Eckert and Mauchly did not themselves first invent the automatic electronic digital computer, but instead derived that subject matter from one Dr. John Vincent Atanasoff". Other equally strong language was used to assert that JV and Berry held nothing back concerning the machine's theory, design, construction, use or operation; that Mauchly went to Ames Iowa and had correspondence with Atanasoff.

Judge Larsen's decision was not appealed by anyone. A blessing to us all.

Dr. Atanasoff did not realize until late in life that he had done something tremedous. He retired wealthy but not from his computer invention.

Having read VINCENT VAN GOGH AND THE PAINTERS OF THE PETIT BOULEVARD, I regret I did not get to the exhibt in Saint Louis or Frankfurt where it closed in September 2001. This lovely book was created as an exhibition catalogue, but one does not need to have seen the exhibition to benefit from reading the informative essays or looking at copies of beautiful works by Van Gogh, Gauguin and other memebers of the self-styled "Petit Boulevard" artists group.

Essays on topics related to the subject are preceded by text written by the editor and exhibit curator, Cornelia Homberg, ("Vincent van Gogh's Avant-Garde Strategies"). Homberg suggests the 'petit boulevard' was both an avant garde artistic movement following the Impressionists and an actual commercial location in Paris at the end of the 19th Century. The Exhibit featured works by members of the avant garde group (Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat, Signac, Pissaro, Toulous-Latrec, Anquetin, Bernard and others "petit" artists).

Homberg challenges the notion that Vincent van Gogh always worked alone and that his art was a "one-off" as other critics have suggested. She says Van Gogh was a member of an artists colony located in the vicinity rue Lepic where he lived with his brother Theo (Montmartre area), that he may have coined the phrase "Petit Boulevard" (he discussed it with Theo in their letters following his removal to Arles), and he saw himself as a leader of this innovative group (which he hoped to bring to Arles as a "brotherhood" of artists).

In his essay entitled "The Cultural Geography of the Petit Boulevard" Richard Thomas describes the material dimensions of the place and time within which the "petit boulevard" artists worked. He describes the "off-off-Broadway/Bourbon Street" atmosphere of the bohemian artistic community -- a proletarian territory dominated by factories, caberets, taverns, le circque, brothels, and other down scale establishments (Chat Noir, Molin Rouge) where 'decadent iconograpy' was born. He says artists such as Toulouse Latrec, Steinlin, Willith, and others developed commercial prints depicting this mileau.

In the third essay, Elizabeth Childs describes the escape of Gauguin and Seurat to Pont Aven and Van Gogh to Arles following their Paris adventures. Here the artists hoped to reconnect with the timeless cycles of nature and leave the crass, commercial, class-ridden city behind. Childs says once Gauguin reached Pont Aven, the Celtic Catholic nature of Brittany spurred Gauguin to develop a medieval stain-glass cloisonnist style of art. She contrasts Gauguin's work with Van Gogh's 'rural' art which he based on a love of Japanese prints (by Hiroshege and others) and what he fancied to be Japanese culture, as well as the Barbizon style which included Daumier and Millet. In the last essay, John House discusses landscapes by Van Gogh (who influenced by his Dutch predecessor Rembrandt and the French Millet) as well as other artists of the period including Gauguin.

The book is filled beautiful reproductions of the paintings and other works included in the Exhibit (prints and photographs of the various items of art, the people involved, and the places they lived and worked). Sadly, one would have to do quite a bit of traveling to recapitulate the Exhibit, and then the synergistic effect would be missing. On the other hand, the book is a solid testament to the art that followed Impressionism. Although I had seen many of the paintings in their home museums (National Gallery, Chicago Art Institute, D'Orsay, Van Gogh Museum, etc.) I had not seen some of the works in private hands, nor the photographs of the period. This book is a valuable addition to my collection.

The Impressionist movement never really impressed me until I went and experienced this exhibit. This book is a great companion to the exhibit, going into much greater detail than the audio tour did, but can be equally appreciated (as a stand alone art history text) if you couldn't make it to St. Louis. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for information on some of the lesser known impressionists (those of the Petit Boulevard), as well as information on this brief period in van Gogh's life.

Vincent Guerithault's book is filled with easy gourmet delights. For those too busy to spend hours in the kitchen, but love to eat meals that taste like we have, this is the cookbook to buy! I was fortunate enough to meet Vincent and sample one of his dishes at the California Wine and Food Festival. Of the fifty or so chefs in attendance, including Wolfgang Puck, his creme brulee and basil raviolli was by far the best in at the festival.

Vincent Guerithault has a keen understanding of classic cooking techniques and the ability to infuse the flavors of the southwest. His innovative and delicious recipes are truly easy to follow and the results have been rewarding.

Not only is Lukas's book easy to read and engaging, it has gotten me very excited about my career. Lukas draws not only on her own wealth of experience, but also on the experience of countless other consultants. This adds a depth to the book that I never expected. Instead of reading about one person's style of consulting, I am privy to expertise and stories from the trenches of the pioneers in the field. The worksheets, examples, appendices and bibliography will serve me well in my career. I anticipate that this book will be a constant resource for me - it will look dog-eared and well-used in no time at all!

This book is fascinating to anyone interested in the pre-Buddhist history of Tibet! But, for me, it was much more than that. It was a story of the land, the mountains and lakes and their personalities as perceived by the indiginous people. It was romantic and otherworldly as well, perhaps surreal. The book transported me to a far off magical world!