Written in the 1970s, this book details O'Neill's vision of space colonies - huge space stations built from lunar material, selling solar power beamed to earth. Although his timetable of such colonies by the 1990s turned out to be too optimistic, this book is very much worth a look, both for historical reasons, and also to see what will happen once the price of access to space drops.

Packed with technical detail, O'Neill's plan is based on two assumptions - that the price of access to space would drop, and that the price of energy would rise. Neither came true in the early 1980s. The Space Shuttle did not make space flight cheap as promised, and low energy costs did not make space based solar power economical. In the near future though the space frontier may very well develop just as he foresaw.

THE HIGH FRONTIER is an excellent book on the practicality andeconomics of the human colonization of space -- very entertaining toread and full of interesting technical information. It is the classic work on the subject -- highly regarded by folks such as Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, and Thomas Paine (former administrator of NASA). When this influential book was first published, it changed a lot of minds throughout the world. Is human colonization of space achievable even with 1970's-1980's technology? Could it be profitable on a global-economic scale? The author thinks so and tells us why and how; and his credentials are impressive. The author, Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill, was a tenured professor of physics at Princeton and one of the founders of the Geostar Satellite Corporation (a company that worked on implementing GPS satellites). Many of the conclusions in the book are backed up by actual experiment and by numerous studies done both within and without NASA. This is one of the handful of books that have helped to shape my outlook on the future of mankind -- a strong statement reserved for an excellent and influential work. -- Brooke P. Anderson

I used this with my children (ages 2-13) in 1999 as an introduction to different musical instruments. We enjoyed the photos of instruments being played, diagrams to clarify details, and historical information on the instruments. In the first 51 pages called Making Music, topics covered are the orchestra, conductor, composer, groups of instruments (stringed, woodwind, brass, percussion, and keyboard), and chamber music. Each instument section includes how the instruments actually make the sounds and is correlated to the CD. I wish the CD tracks could have been longer and sometimes the track included several instruments playing. It was hard to just pick out a particular instrument, especially for the younger children.

The music on the CD is Concerto in Pieces by Poul Ruders played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Andrew Davis. In the composer section there are photos of Ruders working on this score, in the orchestra section there are photos of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and in the conductor section there are photos of Andrew Davis conducting.

Part 2 is the History of Music. We enjoyed an interesting timeline with historic art from 40,000 BC to 2000 AD. (Since they have so little information, it really starts in 2600 BC.) Major divisions are ancient, medieval, baroque, classical, romantic, and national music. A reference section on composers, musical forms, and a glossary of musical terms completes the book.

I didn't really care for the CD, especially now having listened to it many, many times through. I wish it could have more clearly indicated individual instruments too.

I think this was a good start in our study of musical instruments. The children were interested in reading from it each day (2-4 pages per day). They enjoyed the diagrams and seeing the instruments. The CD added to the book. I just think it could have been better.

I gave the book 3 stars simply because I think the author could have gone into more detail and supported his ideas and points more strongly. The content and general ideas, however, I know to be true based on my own research and many other sources.

There is quite a bit of documented evidence of the activity and goals of the New World Order (NWO), Trilateral Commission, Bilderburg Group, The Pilgrim Society, and so on. There is indisputable information on InfoWars.com, FromTheWilderness.com, RealityZone.com, StratiaWire.com, PrisonPlanet.com, PropagandaMatrix.com and many more sites. In fact, many eye-opening facts are well published by Bloomberg, Associated Press and newspapers all over the world. However, most people either do not pay attention to the facts here and there or they are buried in these sources and people do not see these articles in the first place.

A book well worth reading by the world class researcher G. Edward Griffin is "The Creature from Jekyll Island". This book discusses many important topics although the focus is on the deceptive history and purpose of the Federal Reserve System.

Zbigniew K. Brzezinski describes what is now happening in the Middle East and Afghanistan in a book called "The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives". People should be concerned because the book was released in 1998 and Brzezinski knows what he is talking about because he is a founding member of the Trilateral Commission and has been heavily involved in US policy and more than one administration, etc. The book was written in 1998 and describes what would need to happen for US supremacy and some of those things have happened and are now happening.

Everyone should buy "911: The Road to Tyranny" from InfoWars.com or "The Truth and Lies of 911" from FromTheWilderness.com. These videos are very, very well documented and sourced.

Those that have said this book is just an attempt at a quick buck, that the author is paranoid, etc... they are speaking out of ignorance and from their conditioned state. These people usually say something along the lines of "If this was true, surely we would know about it." One needs to realize that almost all newspapers, even down to the local newspapers, TV news stations, major radio stations, and even many web sites are owned and therefore controlled by about 10 mega corporations, such as Disney, and these are controlled by the elite such as David Rockefeller.

A few quotes that are worth thinking about are:

Henry Ford once said "It is well enough that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning."

When it comes to why most Americans, in particular, don't know what is and has been really going on, Allen Dulles (which helped in designing the CIA and has been involved in many other areas of governmental activity) said "The American people don't read".

Author Ane Rann said "There is no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. When there aren't any criminals, the government makes them. The government declares so many things a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."

Herbert Agar said "The truth which makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear."

Dr. Mothieth's book has much to say about the world we live in, but more about what has shaped it and what will shape it. After reading it, you start looking at things you thought were just part of ordinary life, and realize that it might be a secret organization trying to infiltrate society. This is a must read for anyone interested in some background of secret societies.

If you've read Committee of 300, then this book is the icing on the cake. It discusses a wide variety of secret societies and hierarchical organizations linked to the worldwide conspiracy and asks the question, "What's the ultimate source of power behind these people and why are they so united in purpose?" The book is very well written and easy to read, unlike many of this genre. The writer takes you through a history of secret societies from their early origins to present day. Always with the same thought in mind, "What motivates them to hunger after world domination." Your historical perspective will be altered and your worldview will never be the same again. When he finally reveals the awesome secret of their power, you already know what to expect. This is a Spiritual battle of the most universal magnitude. Waged for the souls of mankind since the foundation of creation. Good versus evil. Darkness versus Light. As God has His disciples working to spread the message of Truth, Satan also has recruited his minions to work destruction and human misery. Rewarding them with power and wealth beyond imagination. Dr. Monteith breaks it down in no uncertain terms. Although it appears in many forms and is called by different names, the author of this madness is none other than the Price of Darkness himself! He is hidden behind every man made ritual and ceremony, lurking in the shadows, passing down the 'secrets' of his power to those seduced by his evil. Mankind is without hope except in Christ. No wonder the great Apostle Paul said, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age." Aside from the Full Armor of God, we cannot stand a moment against such evil. Read Dr. Monteith's book and Walk toward the Light!

For those familiar with Lee Smith's work, some of these stories seem very familiar, like rehashes of themes and ideas from some of her previous works. The mood of this collection is darker than her other collections and the stories seem disconnected. They do not engage the reader as so many of her works do. As a huge fan of Ms. Smith's, (I have read all her work), I was a little disappointed and left a little flat.

Lee Smith has become one of the writers I have learned to count on for a consistantly good tale. News of the Spirit contains some of the best so far. As I read about Alice Scully's scandelous writing submitted to the Happy Memories Club (the writing group in her old folk's home) I could relate. There is the tale of the wild brother "Bubba" invented by a young woman away from home at college and hoping to increase her chances of being accepted by her more worldly roommmates. These and other tales remind us of those we know, the ones we were raised with, the relatives, friends and the "talked about" that come and go. Each Lee Smith character is fleshed out, and becomes alive, she enjoys her characters and exploring the human condition. I hated to see this book end, and found myself turning the pages back to have just a little bit more time.

Another example of Lee Smith's wonderful insight into the human condition

I was surprised at the lack of balance in the reviews of "One Crowd Hour". Neil Davis might have been a "typical Aussie bloke" but he was a typical Aussie bloke with lots of differences. Firstly, Davis did not share the racism of his "typical" fellow Australians: he only covered the Vietnamese troops and he said the Vietnam war was "their" war. Davis may have little to say about the Australian troops because he didn't cover the Australian troops. He only filmed the Vietnamese troops, and then the Cambodian troops, who did most of the fighting. Secondly, Davis worked for an international news agency so he was not in Vietnam to cover the Australian troops. Thirdly, to accuse Davis of not identifing with the Vietnamese and Cambodian people is plainly untrue and a smear on Davis's name. Davis refused to leave Vietnam and Cambodia when his employers wanted him out. He loved Cambodia and made that country his home. He only left Cambodia when the Khmar Rouge took over. Davis was recognized by his journalistic peers as an expert on the Vietnamese and Cambodian wars. How many cameramen write articles for magazines like the Far Eastern Economc review. After the war end, Davis remained in South East Asia. Davis greatest weakness in eyes of people like Ash Long is not his drinking with his mates or womenizing but his failure to endorse the left-wing position on the Vietnam War that meant supporting North Vietnam and the Khmar Rouge. Davis know enough about the war to be sceptical about the champions of the left. "One Crowd Hour" has become a classic of Australian biography. I recommend it because Davis was not a typical Australian: he did not show any of the racism that was SO typical of Australians in the sixties.

i was surprised at the critical review i just read. neil davis just lived life beyond what most of us would ever expect. most extraordinary lives are never perfect and do not go searching for the moral high road. he did more than i would ever hope for and in the circumstances did it well. one crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name. how many of us get that far much less do it right. he had courage and individuality that led him to experience history in the making - isnt that enough.

"Sound, sound the clarion, fill the fife, Throughout the sensual world proclaim, One crowded hour of glorious life Is worth an age without a name." -- Thomas Osbert Mordaunt

I enjoyed "One Crowded Hour" a lot, and re-read it a couple of times. It tells the story of an ordinary Australian bloke in extraordinary circumstances. For some 20 years Neil Davis covered the conflicts in South-East Asia. Always on the front line, he brought enduring images of the horror of modern warfare to the world's television screens. Davis was a man as honest about his faults as he was modest about his achievements.

To get the most out of this book you must read it with an open mind.