.I'M LOOKING FOR THE BOOK BY PEG HEIN LIFE'S TOO SHORT NOT TO LIVE IT AS A TEXAN

This book changed my life. It helped me see the gifts of midlife, and provided practical advice on entering midlife without any self-defeating regrets about the aging process. I recommend this book to anyone going through a "mid-life" crisis, regardless of their age.

Great book for anyone who reflects upon life and the events that dynamically control all of us. In a time of crisis in your life, or just a time to sit down and reach our for sound thinking about life's experinences and how to handle them, this book is a valuable resource. I loaned mine out a few years ago. I kept good notes in my daily diary taken from it, and I am reordering a copy today solely resulting from reading the gems in it. It is practical, informative, educational, and well documented.

I don't read too many short story collections. I'm usually too immersed in novels to take the time to read them. However, last year, I was browsing through the bookstore and saw an intriguing cover for Year's Best Fantasy, edited by David G. Hartwell. I picked it up on a whim, and loved it to pieces. I made a point to keep an eye out for this year's volume, and scooped it up as soon as I got a chance. This collection is just as good as last year's, and well worth a look-see from the choosy fantasy reader.

This book contains all sorts of fantasy types. There are urban fantasies that take place in the modern day with fantastical elements, fantasies that have traditional wizard type characters, religious fantasy, and many more. It's all here in this one volume. All of the stories (bar two) are at the very least interesting. The overall quality of this book is excellent, however, with most of the stories (with the exception of the Ursula Le Guin story at the beginning) being short enough for you to read right before bed.

The best story in this book is the first one, "The Finder" by Ursula Le Guin. It's reprinted from her Tales From Earthsea collection of stories. After reading it, I had the urge to go out and read the rest of the Earthsea books, as it was that good. It's the story of Otter, a young son of a shipbuilder. The story takes place in the distant past in relation to the other Earthsea books, in a time when magic was looked down upon and feared. Otter has some magic power, especially the ability to "find" things by thinking about them. He is captured by the "king" of the area and given to the king's wizard in order to be made useful. The story becomes one of Otter's attempts to escape, how Otter learns to use his powers, and how he becomes a part of Earthsea history as well. The story is at times poignant, and at other times just plain fascinating. Le Guin has such a wonderful sense of character and setting that she literally draws you a picture. Otter is well-portrayed, going from young innocent boy to a responsible young man and teacher in the space of the story. The other characters are also interesting, including a truly evil antagonist who is still well-rounded, even though the reader hates him. He's not a cartoon character, which is very nice. This is the longest story in the book, at 95 pages, and it's worth every one of them.

Then there is "Apologue," a 2-page story by James Morrow, where three former big-city nemeses (a giant ape, a giant lizard, and a giant rhedosaur) return to New York to help out in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. I couldn't believe that this much feeling could be contained in a 2-page story, but Morrow does it. It is a truly touching tale of formerly destructive beings doing what they can to help. It really is a moving experience to read this one. If you simply do not want to buy this book, then you should quickly read this story in the bookstore. It almost brought a tear to my eye.

Other particularly strong stories are "In the Shadow of Her Wings" by Ashok Banker (a story of political assassination and reincarnation in near-future India), "The Black Heart" by Patrick O'Leary (a story of good and evil at an airport, which takes a surprising turn at the end), and "To Others We Know Not Of," by Kate Riedel (a story of a married woman and a man from her past, returned to seek her help and explain why he left so long ago). These are the particularly noteworthy ones, though the rest of the stories are good as well (with the two exceptions below).

The two exceptions, for me anyway, were "Hell is the Absence of God," by Ted Chiang, and "Stitchery," by Devon Monk. Chiang's story takes place in a world where Heaven and Hell are real places, God is a real being with an intrusive agenda that has nothing to do with love, and angelic visitations are relatively common occurrences. These visitations don't always have good results, as sometimes they happen with so much force as to cause wholesale destruction, injuring and even killing people. Neil Fisk's wife is one of these casualties, and thus Neil completely loses his faith in God. This is the story of his attempt to be with her in the afterlife, because he knows that she's in heaven (when you die, your spirit visibly moves to one area or the other). He has to have true faith, or he won't be able to join her, but he can't get over his anger. The concept is intriguing, but the story never really holds together for me, and none of the characters are particularly likable or interesting. "Stitchery" is just a rather dull story of a southern woman who can "stitch" people back together again once they have died, her two-headed lover, and a "granny" that she bought who knits wasted time together into a tapestry. Again, some of the concepts are intriguing but the story itself isn't very interesting.

Overall, though, I would certainly recommend getting this book. It has a great mix of stories, mostly well-told (and really, you should expect a clunker or two in any collection) with a nice mix of "name" authors and new people. If you like fantasy, you will find something to like in this book.

This book presents a massive collection of excellent "hard" science fiction stories. (The precise definition of "hard" s-f is left as an exercise to the alert reader.) While the stories are unimpeachable, the introductions and section headings written by the editors range from merely dull to painful. Buy the book, love the book, read the stories, skip the editorial matter.

"The Ascent of Wonder" should be on the shelf of any reader, and especially any writer, of science fiction. There are enough stories packed inside to keep any fan, new or old, drifting through the myriad universes that some of the best minds in the genre could concieve.

This weighty tome, is absolutely packed with some of the definitive stories of hard science fiction. The introductions to the stories illustrate the trends from the late 19th century to today. Although there is an annoying misuse of the word 'affect' for 'effect', the story reviews are illuminating as to the great authors and their stories. To have read this book is to have gained an overview of the evolution science fiction, to see where it all came from, to see the stories that started the subgenres, to know what IS the core of SF, hard SF.

This is the best book about self-improvement, group facilitation, and business that I have read in years, going all the way back to Covey's "7 Habits... Book."

Dr. Cramer exhibits unbridled optimism grounded by realism, and expects the same from those following her advice. The constant themes of creativity, resilience, and constructive growth over reactivity, despair, and corrective discipline make a lot of sense.

My only reason for not giving this 5 stars is I would have preferred a shorter book... though I am hard-pressed to recommend what should be cut. On that note, the book is very well-organized, and you can quickly find the main points and exercises if you wish.

I heartily recommend this to anyone facing insurmountable obstacles and not enough resources, especially someone in an organizational setting.

Somebody once told me that when the clothes washer was invented, it freed up an enormous amount of time for women, who then did...more laundry! They ended up right back where they were, only with larger piles of clothes to wash.

These days we use our Palm Pilots and Day Planners and cell phones and multi-tasking skills to squeeze more productivity out of each day. And with each precious minute we save, we do...exactly the same things.

Now Dr. Cramer has come along to wake us up. Faster, harder, and smarter sometimes works in the short term, but for the long haul we need to rethink our whole agenda. Tackling the world's largest "to do" list is not really a life plan. Using Dr. Cramer's six steps, we can shape a compelling vision of what we want to achieve, so that everything we do fuels - and is fueled by - this greater purpose. Instead of faster, harder, and smarter, we learn to live richer, deeper, and wiser.

Dr. Cramer shows us how to recognize our deepest desires and how to tap into our greatest capabilities. By infusing our lives with meaning, we can let go of frustration and irrelevant tasks, and intead focus on what we need to do to achieve a future that will bring us joy and satisfaction.

What happens to enormously capable people when they are vastly overloaded with work? In too many cases, these individuals will focus all their energies on work, while building intense stress loads that reduce their effectiveness. The result is either failure to get the job done or eventual burnout. The personal lives of those involved are often left in total disarray in the process.

Dr. Cramer instead suggests that you step back and find a new solution that does not rely on working faster, harder and smarter. For example, ask yourself whether the task needs to be done at all. Often, the overwhelming task is a waste of time. A good example would be marketing programs that primarily bring in unprofitable customers.

In this interesting book, Dr. Cramer emphasizes ways to manage your psychological state that will help you step outside the day-to-day tasks to establish an effective strategy for accomplishing what you really want. When Faster, Harder, Smarter Is Not Enough is intended to be your coach and personal guide to "enlarge our capacity to be creative under fire." As a result, you will turn "stress into success" and be "energized rather than drained."

Her advice is supported by case histories from her executive coaching practice over 20 years, and exercises to help you build awareness and skills for being more creative. One of the most interesting ones is building a life map to see your patterns for getting into and out of overload situations. The book contains a continuing case history of a CEO who got out of touch with his real goals, and wanted to change. This example also shows the many ways that these methods can be employed throughout an organization.

She emphasizes 6 elements:

(1) " . . . see the big picture (externally) and . . . be aware of your emotional landscape (internally)." To do this, she encourages you to be curious and committed, while being intuitive and aware.

(2) " . . . imagine the best possible outcome and . . . become energized by how excellent it is."

(3) " . . . concrete yet flexible plan for achieving your goal, and . . . give up any counterproductive ideas or habits that might sabotage your efforts." This requires being imaginative, visionary, observant, and innovative.

(4) " . . . involve in your game plan those you love and those you need." Here you need to be influential and collaborative, articulate and persuasive.

(5) " . . . implant your plan, watch your progress, overcome the obstacles that present themselves, and learn to capitalize on conflict." Here, you are trying to be resilient and resourceful, fearless and authentic in your actions.

(6) "Enjoy your achievements . . . and do it all over again!" To do this, be passionate, proactive, inspired and confident.

You start with developing a list of long-term personal and professional goals, " . . . then connect the dots." You will do this by becoming richer in mental and emotional resources, deeper in your thinking, and wiser in your choices. You will also become better at avoiding your deepest habits of harmful blind reaction.

Having co-authored a book on developing better decision-making and action habits, I found this approach to creating the right psychological environment for such changes to be very interesting. I thought that points two and four above are important, and are often forgotten in the rush to accomplish. I suspect that the best use of this book is in combination with any of the many excellent books about how to become more creative, to add more focus into the psychological space that this book creates. Without more specific content on the technology of creating these solutions, those who employ this book will create better solutions . . . but ones that I suspect are much less than their full potential to achieve through their organizations.

After you finish exploring these more resourceful states, I encourage you to think about how you allocate your time. Breaking patterns of where you spend too much time that is not supportive of your real intentions is a great way to get started!

Always spend time to think through the questions of whether the work needs to be done, how it can be done vastly better, and how you can get enormously greater results from the same effort. The more overwhelming the situation seems, the more important it is to do this!

I really enjoyed this collection, particularly George Martin's contribution (I can't remember the title, for fans of his series, it deals with Daenerys Targaryen- "Drogon, *Dracryas*"... and the air was full of blood and dragonfire') The first story was also a favorite, Taliax gives a new perspective to all those mighty dragons knigts go around slaying in traditional heroic fantasy. A few of the stories were disappointing, the one about the golem didn't seem to exploit the situation to its potential. But that could be a matter of personal taste, none of the stories were really mediocre. This is an excellent collection of stories, and highly recomended.

I bought this first "inaugural" volume of short fantasy stories on a whim. Some of the longer stories (George R.R. Martin & the Terry Goodkind stories I have already read, but read them again!). This collection doesn't limit itself to "sword & sorcery" stories. There really is something for everyone here.

If you are a reader, who truly enjoys something imaginative,intelligent, & entertaining, you DESERVE this book. I think you will find it's many twists, turns, and writing styles irresistible. Take a chance on this one. I truly think you will find yourself unable to put it down for long!

This is one of the best short story collections I have ever read... Go on... pick up a copy!

j

Throughout my read, my head kept shaking with disappointment. If the "renaissance" of hard SF relies on stories a full decade, even two decades, old, then the genre's future is feebly fixated on its past. Not to say that some of the stories here aren't wonderful ... emphasis on "some." But dredging dead decades to claim a rebirth of hard SF fails to deliver on the title's promise. This is more nostalgia than renewal, and you should read a library-borrowed copy if you want to reminisce about great writers past/passing. But don't drop any real money expecting a glimpse into Sci-Fi's future.

A monumental anthology waith many of the best stories published in the last ten years, including many novellas not easily included in smaller anthologies.
Some particular favorites: "Reasons to be Cheerful" by Greg Egan. A young boy finds himself a little too happy with his life. He has a tumor in his brain that has the side effect of making him happy, even when faced with the news of his approaching death. He undergoes a radical new surgery, but afterward, can he ever be happy again?

"Into the Miranda Rift" by G. David Nordley. An exciting new variation on "Journey to the Center of the Earth," except here to journey is through the middle of Uranus' moon.
"Great Wall of Mars" by Alistair Reynolds. A pyrotechnic, breathtaking tour-de-force space opera from one of the most exiting new SF talents.
"Fast Times at Fairmont High" by Vernor Vinge envisions a near future where the junior high science projects of techno-savvy young students can have global repercussions.
"Understand" by Ted Chiang shows how deadly it can be to become smater than everyone else.
"Griffin's Egg" by Michael Swanwick is a captivating depiction of a future lunar society.
"Think Like a Dinosaur" by James Patrick Kelly is both a re-examination of the issues in Tom Godwin's classic "The Cold Equations," and a thoughtful examination into the implications of dealing with alien intelligences who have alien mores and priorities.
"Marrow" by Robert Reed. Humans living and traveling on a gargantuan alien-constructed starship populated by millions of beings invesigate a mystery deep in the center of their own ship, finding there a world stranger than any outside of the ship.
All the storoes in this book range from very good to excellent. There isn't a stinker in the bunch. A worthy addition to any science fiction bookshelf.

There are a couple of things which I don't like about this series. First the contents; the reviewer from Tucson is partly right. For some reason the _modern_ stories just don't get near the splendour of the _old_ stories. But there are good _modern_ stories, but they aren't represented in this anthology.
That's the first major flaw. The other is the poor looks of this book{s}; Poor binding, poor paper.
If I were you I would go for the Dozois _Best of the Year_ anthologies. Higher costs=more stories. It also has _better_ stories.
Still, this book contains the Bow-Wow story by Swanwick. That's the highlight of this anthology {for me at least}. Dozois included it in his selection too.

To illustrate the shortcomings: Where is the story Cut, by Megan Lindholm? That's a good story. Fitting title too.
Where is Creature, by Carol Emshwiller?
Where the _HELL_ is Hell is the Absence of God, by Ted Chiang?
Anyway, good luck with choosing a fine anthology for this year.

Hartwell's not a particularly adept editor. He's taken with a lot of star power and evidently lets a writer's prestige be the only criterion for inclusion in his anthologies. Most of these stories are competently written, but they lack spark, that sense of wonder that used to fill the field until about 15 years ago. It's like a lot of rock music these days: great talent with nothing much to say. How some of these stories made it into a "year's best" book is beyond me, but one thing is clear. The science fiction field is running dry. No story here has a decent (or even a twist) ending. Nothing here is genuinely memorable. I so much wanted these anthologies to be a counterpoint to the drab Dozois anthologies, but they aren't. If this is the best we can do, then I'd say we're in trouble. (And the sad part is that younger readers don't know how good science fiction used to be.)

I just love this collection. I tend to not read sci-fi because so much of it is poorly written, but this series is wonderful, full of so many great things, and for the most part well-written "The Measure Of All Things" is the real stand out this year but even the slower moving stories end up with something that really stretches the mind. This series of anthologies bring back the wonder of the stories I was introduced to in my youth. My favorite yearly anthology.