The adventures of Dashiell Hammett's retired private eye Nick Charles and his rich, and not-quite-as-ditzy-as-you'd-think wife could be called the American equivalent of the mysteries of New Scotland Yard Commissioner of Police Sir John Appleby and his wife, Lady Judith----although the latter doesn't have an ounce of ditz in her personality. However, she does occasionally reveal a playful side to her husband.

At the beginning of "The Crabtree Affair," the reader finds Sir John and his wife strolling along a disused canal, one fine English summer day. They indulge in affectionately ironic conversation, making it obvious that theirs is a long-standing marriage (although as I remember, they also talked that way to each other before marriage---see "Appleby's End"):

Lady Judith: "It's private enough. As we were saying, this country-side seems absolutely deserted. Not a sign of habitation, population, a trace of the modern world."

Sir John: "You're wrong there, Judith. Look south."

"Judith looked south---which was towards what Appleby had called the secondary motor road. All she saw was a momentary glint of light.

"'I think,' she said, 'that I saw the sun reflected from the wind screen of a passing car. Right?'

"'Right as far as you go. What you saw was a silver-grey Rolls-Royce Phantom V.'

"'My dear John, it's terribly vulgar to name cars---particularly astoundingly expensive ones. It's only done by cheap novelists. You must just say: 'a very large car.''

"Appleby received this with hilarity."

Eventually (you knew this was going to happen), the Applebys find a body floating face-down in the scummy canal-water. The quest for the murderer of returned prodigal, Seth Crabtree, proceeds in the leisurely fashion of a Golden Age British manor house mystery. It is leavened, as are all of Michael Innes's novels, with a great deal of erudite wit and conversation. It has not one, but two snobbish butlers, and also features Judith's eccentric great-uncle, Colonel Raven whose life's work-in-progress is the "Atlas and Entomology of the Dry-Fly Streams of England."

If you are a already a fan of Margery Allingham, Edmund Crispin, or Dorothy Sayers, you definitely need to add Michael Innes's mysteries to your reading list. "The Crabtree Affair" is perfect in its class, and you will also learn quite a bit about the English Canal system.

I don't take any pride in being a hard-sell, but I am one. I thought this was the most inspired thing I'd read in maybe ten years or more. If you have any interest in advaita vedanta you won't be disappointed. This man was a direct disciple of Ramana Maharshi, generally considered to be the greatest master of the twentieth century, and you certainly get the feeling the torch was passed to another generation in Mr. Poonja. I found reading this to be like eating pure ice cream, very sweet, very nourishing, and you don't want to quit. The greatness of this lineage shines through every page. Genuine class is here and if your interest is deep, you'll resonate to it in a very happy way. Happiness dwells in these pages. Mr. Poonja's ability to bring you into his web of teaching is second to none. He was gifted at communicating the joy of his enlightenment and you won't be disappointed by meeting up with him in this book. You'll feel his good vibes welcoming you.

This book is an indication of, but not the truth of Papaji, the immense clarity he embodied shines through the pages, but he felt that to be live and in the moment is where truth is. The truth is that we are already free, no-one can sell us anything we need, or take anything we are, we are already complete. It must have been amazing to meet this man, he is like a tiger, ferocious in truth, but also big and cuddly, and everything in between and beyond. The message of these satsang excerpts will pick you up, throw you about, and play havoc with you. Great stuff!

This book is too deep for those who are new-comers to world of "Self", "Truth", "Consciousness". BUT, its the book you really want to read if you are familiar with above concepts and (Advaita) Vedanta. This book is written in prose intercepted with Q&A format. Truly, a wonderful and eye-opening book. You will love what the Truth Is.

This book is a wonderful book and it shows how all of us Christians still struggle just like anyone else does but God will always show us through all of our dark times. We were praying for Martin and Gracia for the whole year. Her strength and his is just amazing. She shares her personal struggles and also her triumphs during these dark times that her and Martin endured. Please take the time to get and read this book. It will definitely change your life and make you look at life in a whole new light. God is a wonderful God if you know Him as your Lord and Savior. We love you Gracia and thanks for sharing Martin's story with us!

Even though I knew from news accounts that Martin Burnham was killed during the bungled rescue attempt, it still hit me with such force when I read of his needless death in the jungle. He was a true hero and a man of God. He could have escaped but would not leave his wife behind with such merciless men. I was horrified by the attitudes of those terrorists, even though I should not have been surprised. I read Daughter of Jerusalem, An American's Woman's Journey of Faith, and I learned about the absence of personal accountability and and the absence of mercy in the cultures fostered by Islam. Gracia is a woman of valor and I give thanks for her and Martin.

This is an incredible account of two people who found themselves held against their will for over a year. Not only were they held against their will, but also they were mistreated and lied to on a consistent basis. The story was truly amazing, a demonstration of how love and kindness can be shown in the most adverse of circumstances. Yet the most interesting part of the book was the contrast of the captors' view of God (Allah) and the Burnhams' view of God.

I found it absolutely terrifying at how the Abu Sayyaf captors viewed and responded to their concept of God. At the same time, I was amazed at how Martin and Gracia Burnham responded to their concept of God. In the jungles of the Philippines, theory and debate about abstract terms were not important. These two groups of people lived their day-by-day lives based on their views of God. This story is an amazing apologetic for and attestation to the Christian view of God. Every Muslim should read this book and face the questions that the story so obviously brings to the forefront.

I read the book in two days. I could not put it down. But I found the last chapter the most remarkable. If nothing else, read this chapter.

I read this book with great interest. Certainly the story of Rama's tale is exciting and one that is recounted many time in the East. However, in reading the story, one thing kept getting in the way: the book keeps praising the virtues of Brahmins non-stop. After a while, this ceaseless glorification of Brahmins became extremely annoying, at least for a non-Indian like me. I am speculating here but the story of Ramayana probably had a big influence in the way the caste system in India evolve through the centuries.

Krishna Dharma's retelling of the Ramayana excels at conveying the greatness of this ancient story. The battles in the story are larger-than-life, the emotions intense.

I was put off a little by Rama's behavior from time to time, especially when you consider who he really is. The outcome of the story was utterly obvious from the moment we become aware of Rama's true identity; however, the twist in the story that occurs near the end caught me off guard.

There are other versions of the Ramayana that I've recently become aware of. One portrays the villain, Ravana, as the real hero; if this were one of Homer's poems, Ravana could definitely qualify as a great hero.

I highly recommend Krishna Dharma's retelling. He knows the story well enough, and is creative enough a writer, to fully convey all the messages and emotions the Ramayana attempts to send your way. The artwork is also very beautiful.

Rama is the most perfect of King Dasarath's sons. He is wise and kind, devout, respectful, and a fearsome warrior. In the course of his youthful exploits he has fallen in love with Sita, who he now brings back in triumph to his father's city of Ayodhya. But, on the very day he is to be named Dasarath's heir, treachery takes place. Banished from Ajodhya by the machinations of one of Dasarath's jealous wives, Rama and Sita undertake an unconceivable adventure to rid the world of evil and return to Rama what is rightfully his.

And so begins one of the oldest and most spectacular adventures in literary history. Perhaps the oldest Indian epic, 'The Ramayana' is a grand story, a cautionary tale, and a vivid picture of the Vedic culture of one of the world's larger countries. This story, like told in 'The Mahabharata,' is deeply embedded in Indian culture. The tales display many of the key beliefs that have shaped Indian thought for centuries. For a student of the area, searching for common threads, they are required reading. For many this is still a text of religious importance. As Dharma quotes, "This legend is the bestower of longevity, the enhancer of fortune, and the dispeller of sins.

Certainly, in addition to these virtues, 'The Ramayana' is a font of creative ideas. For those of us who get bogged down in Western approaches and answers it is an opportunity to see how other cultures have come to deal with questions that are common to all. As such it is a lesson in the ingeniousness of the human mind and the great commonalties of the human spirit. The difference in context and the epic scale can be a source of inspiration as well as outstanding entertainment.

This edition was created by Krishna Dharma, a Vaishnava priest and well-known translator of Sanskrit writings, is not so much a word for word translation as it is a detailed retelling. As such its style and rhythm is better adapted to Western tastes than stricter, more academic fare. On the other hand, Krishna Dharma leaves little out, and truly captures the feeling of the original. As such this is a massive accomplishment. The inclusion of various illustrations, both black and white and color enhance its value and impressiveness. Previous to buying this copy my exposure to the legend has been via excerpts, descriptions, and reenactments. These were adequate to their purpose, but reading the story in its proper sequence has added much to my experience.

The Book is an absolute pleasure to read. Often recognized as one of the fathers of the Boomer New Age Revival (along with other luminaries of that period like Ram Das, Timothy Leary, etc.), author Alan Watts skewers various hypocritcal taboos of Western culture with an incisive wit and beat poet's flair. His true accomplishment here is in his ability to convey ancient spiritual truths of the perennial philosophy in a prose style so conversational that one feel as if the ideas are being shared over coffee at an outdoor cafe. Published in 1966, this book was a critical success and a huge seller with the emerging Boomer culture of the Children's Revoltion. "The Book" (a pun: "Bible" is Latin for "book") did much to spread many of the basic ideas of Eastern mysticism (Vedanta) in a way that was easily grasped despite the enormous cultural gap and overall depth of material.

Like Hesse's Steppenwolf, this is one of those titles you give to a loved one coming-of-age to aid them in understanding the world and their place in it. Watts' brief story explaining God and the universe to a child in a way they can understand is worth the price of the book alone. I first read this book many years ago. I discovered it all over again in a recent rereading.

While The Book is very much a product of it's time, and it's style reads as sweetly nostalgic now, the content remains as timeless as it is true.

_The Book: on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are_ is the quintessential 60's counter-culture book. It is a great place to start reading philosophy if you are an amateur, and used to reading only fiction. It is also a refreshing change of pace for the most grizzled veterans of old-school German philosophy. This is the kind of book that can renew your faith in the possibility of communicating profound ideas without having to use a dense and impenetrable style of prose. Granted, it is not exactly a monumental literary achievement, but this is only because it is so short. But page for page, it is just as potent and profound as any other book ever written. Because of its slim profile, it is not a very intimidating book, so I encourage readers of all skill levels to give this one a try.

If you're like me this book will only make you want to read more Alan Watts. I encourage you to also read: _Behold the Spirit_, _Psychotherapy East and West_, _The Two Hands of God_, and _Myth and Ritual in Christianity_, all by Alan Watts. This book is only the tip of the iceberg. Buy this book, realize how great an author Alan Watts is, and then get into the real meat of his works. Even if some of these are out of print, someway, somehow you must try to find them, and discover one of the greatest American writers ever to have lived.

...'The book' is a fantastic introduction to key tenets of the ancient Hindu philosophy of Vedanta. Alan Watts exposits with convincing arguments the problems with our perspective of the self(the same thought that 'Hermann Hesse illustrates in Steppenwolf), the correct interpretation of the Blakean vision of 'Good and Evil being parts of the same coin', the problems that we carry through the rest of our lives because of the conditioning of the senses and intellect and finally the answers and route to salvation that this great philosophy shows.

And to read this book, there is no need to know any history/ jargon of vedanta which are major deterrents to people who do not want to get into sanskrit terms, chronology etc.

Just read it..its pretty much a tripper kind of book in the lines of 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'.

The word Sufi is neither mentioned in the Quran nor in any Hadith of Prophet. It is most likely the result of interaction of Muslims with Persian/Indian culture along with, perhaps, Christian Monks. The so called Sufis, in integrating these foreign elements in Islam, looked for certain verses in the Quran and gave them a far fetched interpretation to fit their philosophy. This approach wasn't limited to Sufis ofcourse, the so called philosophers did the same thing trying to prove Greek cosmology and philosophical nonsense with verses of Quran. Nowadays that most of their arguments are proven to be false based on modern science, our Sufis and philosophers backtrack and tell us that the verses really didn't mean what they claimed( duh!). Sufi phenomena happened long after Islam came into contact with other (shirk) religions and there is not even a single proof among the saying of prophet or behavior of companions and early Muslim saints that suggests this kind of superstitious philosophy and "spirituality".

After reading this book, I got interested and bought a few other books. I came across this statement from famous Ibn Ul-Arabi "If the believer understood the meaning of the saying 'the color of the water is the color of the receptacle', he would admit the validity of all beliefs and he would recognize God in every form and every object of faith." I thought if he relay meant this, then why bother writing so many books and trying to prove or disprove this or that belief. Ibn-Ularabi does this many times, he criticizes many of his fellow theologians, philosophers, even other sufi's. If he really thinks all are right, why then bother by criticism, trying to prove so many are under "illusions" except him and a few like him. Besides would Ibn-ulArabi tell us that "Satan worshipping" is also right? The second factor that is troubling to me is the authenticity and objectivity of their"theophonic experiences". If one examines the content of their "experience" it quickly become clear that what they "witness" is nothing more than the "content" of their beliefs. Whatever they already believed in, they "witness" it. Not a single one them, as far as I know, has claimed that he /she "witnessed" a reality which made him realize a certain portion of his/her beliefs about this or that was wrong. Their experiences seem to be in perfect harmony with the " content" of their already established beliefs. If they believed that there are spheres in the heaven, then that is what they "see", if they believed in certain historical "facts" they also see it. If they believe in say in crucification, as Padre Pio, they also "see" it( though it may or may not have really happened. If you are a Hindu mystic then you will " see" say, reincarnation and how it happens, if you are a Sufi or Christian mystic who doesn't believe in reincarnation then you "see" the opposite of the fellow Hindu, you "see" how "reincarnation" doesn't happen. So my guess is that, under certain condition and practices, all the beliefs of a person turns into "Images/forms" and like a dream, a person experiences them. But these experiences are no more"objective" and reflective of "reality" out there, than the good old dreams we have.

This volume, compiled and translated by Michael Sells, is really an excellent resource for those of us who are interested in early Sufism. Sells has compiled a very useful collection of extracts from early Sufi writings. I was surprised to know that writings of Junaid apparently even still exist (and this book includes some of those writings)!

A remarkable and very valuable book -- not only from a historical perspective, but also for those wanting to increase their own spirituality. (For this purpose, I also recommend W. C. Chittick's book, "The Sufi Path of Love," a collection of translations from Jalaluddin Rumi.)