Highly Recommended for those who wonder about where we come from and our role in the Play of Life, particularly fighting against injustice and oppression.

Chesterton lovers and lovers of poetry in the classical English forms will enjoy this collection of poems by one of the 20th century's greatest stylists, G.K. Chesterton.

After a section of juvenalia, the poems are arranged by broad subject. My only complaint with the volume is that it is not complete, and that Ignatius Press has not yet released Part 2 of the Collected Poetry.

But you will find many things in this volume in no other collection of Chesterton's poetry, including his poem about Notre Dame football. So if you enjoy Chesterton, or poetry, or both, check out this book.

G. K. Chesterton on Charles Dickens. If you love one, you are probably genetically determined to love both. So why haven't you read this book yet? What are you waiting for, a personal haunting from the ghosts of London humorists past?

Like all Chesterton's bios, this one is not so concerned with dates and influences, and not always even with its nominal subject. But Chesterton delights in Dickens, and does manage to stick to the point most of the time. And watching Chesterton go off on a philosophical tangent can be just as much fun as watching Dickens allow his plot to get hijacked by one of his own characters. He may be fuzzy on mundane facts, but he is always clear-headed and often lucid or even brilliant when it comes to human nature and ultimate truths. In the end, Chesterton finds a way through to a vantage that is worth visiting. Here are a few sample insights from the first chapter: "Dickens had all his life the faults of the little boy who is kept up too late at night." "The bores in his books are brighter than the wits in other books." "'I am a fond father,' he says, 'to every child of my fancy.' He was not only a fond father, he was an overindulgent father. . . they smash the story to pieces like so much furniture." (Chesterton pointing out that another writer gets carried away sometimes! I like that.)

This may be the best of Chesterton's biographies, and one of his best books. I did learn a few "facts" about Dickens, but mostly got to know him a lot better. If you're a newcomer to Chesterton, the talk below about him being a "fuzzy dreamer" for whom a "miss is as good as a hit" may be true in regard to biographical detail. But don't dismiss him as a thinker to be taken seriously, until you've read and thought deeply about Everlasting Man. There is an intellect incisive and sharp as any modern precision instrument.

Author, Jesus and the Religions of Man d.marshall@sun.ac.jp

To begin with, G K Chesterton loved Charles Dickens so much that he wrote several books and numerous essays about him. Both men loved what is most characteristically English. Dickens, on the one hand, created hundreds of characters who remain etched in our memory as being somehow quintessentially English. On the other, GKC was himself like a Dickens character, perhaps Mr. Dick in David Copperfield (who could not get the idea of King Charles I's severed head out of his mind).

Chesterton was probably the inventor of fuzzy logic. What he says usually makes sense, but he is notorious for being too sloppy to check up on the exactness of quotes and facts. If you are a stickler for facts, you will probably not like Chesterton. But if you are a bit of a dreamer who thinks that a near miss is as good as a direct hit, he's the man for you.

Dickens and Chesterton were among the greatest optimists of our time: Dickens because he felt that people who were good and kind were always rewarded, Chesterton because he felt that there was a God who forgave small transgressions.

So when you read the books and essays in this volume, you will not come away with any new-found knowledge about the great Victorian novelist; but you will become party to an agreeable conversation and greatly enjoy the company.

Finally, a book that gives the basics of power. The author shows that one needs valid knowledge and a lot of practice to be a master. Although this seems obvious, many people miss the forest for the trees. This could be called a manual on how to use knowledge. He gives some exercises from his training in the martial arts, but this is not a martial arts manual. The book gives the keys to becoming a master at anything. The keys of valid knowledge and practice is the way to master anything. He also shows that mastership is an endless road. You can never say your perfect and stop. You keep learning and getting better. The book appears simple on the surface but dont underestimate it, its full of wisdom. Although in our society there are those who call themselves masters and even grandmasters, true masters are a rarity. Shakespeare in writing, Bruce Lee in the martial arts, Capablanca in chess, Einstein in science are examples of true masters. But this book is for individuals who are willing to go through the very hard work and study to be a master. A very good book for those pursuing excellence.

When you are fortunate enough to stumble across true wisdom, you may find it usually has a few recognizable characteristics:

1) it is presented with exceptional clarity, usually with sparing use of words.

2) the concepts or ideas presented are simple at first glance, but have profound implications hidden below the surface.

3) only a minority will truly appreciate it and benefit from it. The majority will either shrug it off, ridicule it, misapply it, or flat out miss the point entirely.

George Leonard's book contains valuable wisdom. Forget about the zen / new age hype in the promo material. You don't have to be a fan of eastern religion, aikido, or west coast liberalism to appreciate Leonard's observations. (Back covers and chapter headings are designed by sales hungry marketers at publishing houses- they almost always inflate claims and try to draw the attention of a dumbed down target audience.) This book won't change your life, only you can change your life- if you expect to walk away with some new power or magical understanding that you didn't have to earn, you'll be sorely disappointed (see wisdom characteristic #3 above). But the main concept that Leonard presents here, and the advice he gives regarding it, is worth taking a serious look at and pondering in depth. Like most books that center around a powerful concept, the book is weak in the areas where he strays away from the main focus. But the main focus remains extremely valuable.

This is not really a self help book, and it is not really a motivational book. Leonard's goal is more to explain and to guide than to motivate. To stay on the path of mastery he describes, the passion must already be in place. This book will not help you do better at your job if you are only working to bring home a paycheck, and it will not help you improve in the sport of your choice if it is just something to do on the weekends. Books like this only show you where to direct your efforts, they don't do the work for you. Without the passion, it does not work. If you don't have at least one area, any area, where your motivation is in some part excellence for the sake of excellence itself, then pass this one by as it will have no application for you.

As a trader, I would recommend this book to all who take their craft seriously. If you are already on the path, 'Mastery' will clarify an understanding that has been in the back of your mind all along.

This is a book that will help you master any subject that you are looking to learn: Accounting, Dancing, Martial Arts, Photography, you name it...

The author breaks down the nature of improvements as being a gradual rise of plateaus of steady performance. He then explains several pitfalls to improvement, and how to enjoy the activity for it's own sake. At the end you're given tips on how to keep the journey going.

Most of the examples are based from the author's study of aikido, but the principles are universal. Anyone that is looking to improve longterm at a skill or vocation will find great use of this book. (& it's thin enough not to be too much of a waste of time if you disagree!)

Marcus Aurelius is truly the pioneer in writing the first How-To book in history. His chapterized memoirs gives the reader to individually divide each insert and analyase it. For all who wish to live a better, hassle-free life, must read this book so they could implement the instructions given in it.

This is a truly great book, and I've read it three times now. This is inspite of the fact that the style is a bit dense for the modern reader.
Personally, I have always been attracted to the Stoic emphasis on inner peace and ethical living according to the example of nature and the cosmos.
It is not surprising that Aurelius was also a great influence on Henry David Thoreau. I understand that President Clinton cited this as his favorite book, though for the life of me I cannot concieve of him as a Stoic- Epicurian perhaps, but not Stoic....
I was struck by Aurelius's repeated admonition that it makes no difference whether one lives 40 years or 10,000- you will still have experienced everything, for nothing is new and everything repeats in endless cycles. He is right, once you get past 40, these repeating cycles become more and more apparent....

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is the most insightful book I have ever read. I think that young people would especially benefit from Marcus's wisdom. His advice about how to deal with life's trials is invaluable. He teaches that the praise or censure of others is meaningless. This is so important to teenagers trying to discover where they belong in the world. He teaches people to have courage in the face of adversity and to always live their lives by the highest standard.

George Long's translation of the Enchiridion is really a rough translation. In some places, it requires some thought to understand what exactly is being implied by the wording. In other places, however, it is cleared up by providing in footnotes what Schweighaueser (another commentator) has to say.

This is a nice work to read for an introduction to Stoic philosophy. This work in particular is about how to respond to that which is within or not within our power, how to view others, how to be a philosopher, and much more. Sometimes, great insights; other times, what was he thinking? In any case, good book, easy to follow, and can be read in an hour... Side note: Tony Robbins is the motivational speaker that appeared in the movie, Shallow Hal, in case you were wondering who he is.

this is a book that should be on everyone's nightstand. it offers clear perspectives on how to live. by releasing yourself of what you cannot control; by controlling that which is in your power, you will lead a happy live. this book is so simple in scope and so powerful in nature you will wonder why you didn't think of it yourself and thank epictetus.

I am so glad that this work has survived for 2,000 years. read it and you will understand it also.

this book is a must have. read it and live it.

This short book is a gem of Stoic philosophy, whose origin is the ancient Greece, but whose most powerful expression is achieved in the Roman Empire at the time when it was already on the decline. Epictetus gives us terse and to the point Stoicism--a philosophy of unperturbed mind and calm rationality. The book is written aphoristically, yet it is a smooth read. You can also clearly see similarities between the Stoic and Christian world views after you read this book. I highly recommend it.

it added nothing to what any one knows about Strategic Thinking. all the usuall stuff: think in the futer, plan ahead,...I didn't like it

The ability to develop and build long-range strategic plans is as much art as science. But once you have your plan defined, the real trick is making it happen. Effective implementation of a plan is one of the toughest skills to master. Add in the need to both control and respond to uncertainty, and as the proverbial statement goes, "when you're up to your knees fighting alligators, it's easy to forget that you're goal was to drain the swamp". Well, Morrisey on Planning, Tactical Planning Guide provides an excellent framework that enables you to keep sight of the goal at all times. The charts and checklists serve as excellent examples, easy to modify to suit your business. Although the early chapters exhibit a stilted and somewhat simplistic writing style (call and response: for example, Who does the Planning? You, that's who!) the author has obviously thought out his presentation carefully, and does not bombard you with unnecessary comments, etc. If you really need to get that swamp drained, then this is the book for you!

It is a great task by itself to condense a subject as difficult as strategic planning into a book as thin and lean as George Morris' (100 pages). Yet, Morris Book is easily readable, and a clean, very systematic approach: I recommend it highly over any other Book on the market. It gives a real cooking-recipe with great checklists to put it into action. Style: Just do it. And the best of all: It is easily readable by non-MBA's (I have a Software engineer backround). I would recommend to get all 3 books in the series: A guide to tactical planning. The best thing I've come accross for a long time.

I like reading history. I enjoy with it. I am not a professional historian.

In the last few years I have tried and read books offering a broad scope and general overviews of history (you may well say that globalization has reached history too).

I daresay that the technical content of this book is excellent. But unless you really like the technical side of global history do no read it. It is written by scholars for scholars. I have rated three stars, taken into account that, because of its content, I should rate it five stars, but if I think of its readability, it would be one [there are exceptions: after all, it is written by 18 different persons-]. As they explain "this volume is designed as a fundamental starting point for the transdisciplinary study of continuity and change in the global social, economic, and political system over the longest of historical term"; and "these papers were originally presented at a special conference that took place in 1995 at the University of lund in Sweden. They were subsequently refined in light of the interaction made possible by that meeting".

Which books would I recommend then you to read? Well, that, of course, depends so much on each person's tastes! Kindly let me reccommend a few ones: "The Rise of the West" by William H. McNeill, "Origins of the state and civilization", by Elman R. Service, "The Great Divergence", by Kenneth Pomeranz, "The dynamics of Global Dominance. European overseas empires 1415-1980", and, above all, "The History of Government", by S.E. Finer.

I agree to the previous comments about this book being hard to read, and it is indeed for scholars, hence the price!

I wouldn't go so far as calling myself a scholar, but I am certainly "in" on the subject of the book, and enjoy the arguments presented, especially ones by Gunder Frank/Gills and Chase-Dunn. For those who might find it hard to read and comprehend, you can start by reading basic theories that founded this book, works like The Colonizers Model of the World from Late James Blaut or ReOrient of Gunder Frank (although that is not easy to read either, but Frank has a great treasury of vocabulary!). Even reading Fernand Braudel's History of Civilization might help, although he is still out there in the realm of Eurocentrism for this book.

When I first picked up Deadlands, I felt somewhat cheated by the fact that most everything in the Marshal's section comes out to "This secret will be revealed in Lost Colony." Then I went back and read some of the older stuff and realized that it was basically designed to be a play in three acts, and that I had come in on Act Two. (I first got into the game via Hell on Earth.) Well, this book will give you some background on Faraway from the folks who were actually there. That's it's main value to me. Beyond that, it's the standard Deadlands class book. Quite useful, new edges, hinderances, and abilities. And, of course, the special adventure just for that class at the end. For me, though, the book was worth it for the background.

Written by CSA' General Joe Johnston's daughter, this first volume is an entertaining novel. Written at the turn of the century by one of the bestselling novelists of the day, this book is full of surprises for the modern, well-read reader. The first two chapters were difficult for this reader to adjust to the early 1900's style; but, became thoroughly enjoyable for the next 600 pages. Set primarily in Virginia, several characters are fully developed from 1860 through 1863. Several women attended to Confederate soldiers in hospitals around Richmond and they view the Battle of Seven Pines from the rooftops; this segment is very interesting due to the fact that the civilians view the battle through a variety of telescopes and interviews with stragglers from the battlefield. The Valley Campaign is viewed at times through the eyes of a CSA private who avoids fighting but nevertheless ends up between battlelines and charges a battery. Like other products of the times, their is a romantic interest that is conventional and suspensful. There is a military injustice which results from love denied and there are vignettes of bitter feuds in the relationships of Lee' lieutenants. Among the best battlefield scences, are the fates of three nameless CSA soldiers caught between the lines somewhere on the Emmitsburg Road. A long, well paced novel that not only gives a good story but also takes you back to the mindset of those who read for pleasure before TV and radio shortened attention spans

If you're interested in this sort of thing as I am this book could be of great value however the price is unreal. I have a CD that does much the same for the entire country at a third the price of one state however this book is MUCH more accurate and shows county boundaries that only occured for as little as three days. The CD is also easier to use. That said I'll likely ask for the book as one of those Christmas presents I wouldn't buy for myself.