It was something we had not done in nearly twenty years; My wife and I actually read this book together! We were both so intrigued by the first chapter of "The Greatest Networker in the World" that neither of us was willing to yield the book to the other to read first. So, we took turns, alternating chapters, and read the story to each other over the course of two evenings. John Milton Fogg so masterfully draws his readers into this "first-person" account of one man's discovery of the real secrets of success in network marketing that we were genuinely disappointed to find, at the end, that the caharacter was fictional and not autobiographical. Our hearts were touched by the "narrator's" personal struggle to find the solution that would bring he and his family the success and financial security he so deeply wished to provide for them. Fogg evokes genuine emotion from the reader, revealing the real-life success secrets in this business as the main character learns "what he doesn't know that he doesn't know." Highly recommended for anyone seeking success in sales or simply looking for practical advice and encouragement on rediscovering your dreams and renewing your belief that they CAN really come true! Inspiring and "Amazing!"

I've read it twice and I'm now reading it again! For those who believe network marketing is just plain 'sales', think again. Since reading this and some of his other works on TGN, I've become more focused on helping people and that in turn grows my business.

You gotta read this one.

I have been in the Network Marketing Business for two months. This is the third book I've read on Network Marketing and by far the most influential. I don't want to hear someone tell me what to do, I want to hear an awesome story about a successful person. Read this book, if you're looking for the same story.

This book was great! From the moment I started it I couldn't put it down. Paul Dogolov is a man who has many ghosts haunting him in his brain. He feels locked inside of a prison from many things that happened in his past. When he decides to teach a writing class in a maximum security prison to convicted killers he is swept up into a search for some meaning in both his life and theirs. Feeling that one of them may be innocent he takes it upon himself to try and solve the murder. From this point on hold on cause you are in for a non-stop ride till the very end. Full of twists and turns and non-stop edge of your seat suspense, this novel has it all. I laughed out loud, I held my breath and I felt much of Paul's pain as he tries to find both himself and a killer. Can't wait for more from the author!

David Scott Milton's "the fat lady sings" is a great book. From beginning to end it keeps you involved with the characters and the plot.

If you like mysteries, action, twists, turns and deep thought all roled into one, you will love this book.

The story takes place in the central valley of California. Paul Dogolov, the main character, is complex and driven. He becomes convinced that one of his students (he teaches in a prison) is innocent of a murder and he embarks on a quest to find the truth.

This book is a must read for anyone that enjoys a well written, interesting and thought provoking novel.

This book is a rare combination of genres, both literary and mystery, not unlike books by Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett. The story centers around novelist Paul Dogolov, 48, who is stuck in his own existential hell. His wife recently left him with their two kids, he cannot write anymore, and memories of Vietnam haunt him. He decides to teach a writing class to prisoners at the local maximum-security prison on the edge of the Mojave Desert in California. The prisoners "must have interesting stories to tell, I reasoned. I wanted to get to know them and learn what it's like to have your freedom bounded by real walls instead of the walls inside your head."

There, Dogolov falls for a female prison guard as well as for a story of innocence by one of the members of his prison writers group. The young man, Travis Wells, was convicted of murdering his grandfather, as well as his half-brother and -sister, with a baseball bat. Compelled to look into it in much in the same way he's drawn to the prison guard who soon spends the night, Dogolov finds himself in real trouble. He's investigating in Joshua Crest, a small desert town where the police, judges, and others don't want him nosing.

Once Dogolov is caught up in the intrigue, the book is utterly brilliant. The tone reminds me of Dashiell Hammett's "Red Harvest," perhaps because the portrait of Joshua Crest is as bleak and compelling as Hammett's Poisonville, and the narrator is a kind of modern Continental Op, dark-humored, self-effacing, and in need of the truth--which is to say why I'm in awe.

Each chapter ends with a dramatic punch, and the action is constantly engaging and just wonderfully odd and bold. For instance, when Travis's ex-girlfriend Millie decides to not only tell him of a motel but go there with him, I was on the edge. Who did she call? Was he going to get a slug from a .45? Then she strips because her costume chaffs. I love the sentence, "I ached for her, not only in a sexual way, but in the way you ache to come near to astounding art."

Other lines spoke deeply to me, too, perhaps because of the way life's come at me. For instance: "I thought how rare it was even for the bravest not to be crushed and broken by the force of life...in jobs, marriages, relationships with children and friends; dreams; ideals." And the line: "There are small things in this life that are can openers to the soul." I teach English at Santa Monica College, and I'm going to assign this book next semester to help in my never-ending quest to have students discover that novels can be both engaging and enlightening.

Milton Erickson was not only the greatest hypnotist that ever lived, but was also the greatest therapist. He could hypnotize someone by simply telling a story, or shaking their hand. He could change a person's life with a single sentence. In the book there is the example of how he cured a man who was an alcoholic and came from a family of alcoholics by simply telling him to go to the botanical gardens and contemplate the cacti, which he said could live for three years without any water.

An event that had a significant impact on the development of his skills occurred when he was a teenager and became paralyzed for a time, unable to move anything except his eyes. During this time, in order to avoid extreme boredom, he studied the most minute details of the body language and speech patterns of the people around him. This led him to a deep understanding of how unconscious processes affect behavior, and how change almost always occurs at the unconscious or subconscious level.

The reader should take particular note of the anecdotes involving his own children, which indicate that like Erickson, they turned out to be remarkable individuals. Some of the anecdotes that involve how he dealt with his own children's behavior illustrate what a remarkable parent he was, and how being such a parent does in fact produce amazing children. For example, it is discussed in the book how it was only necessary to discipline one of his daughters three times in her life.

This book is required reading for any psychologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, hypnotist, parent, or anyone who has an interest in human behavior and the most effective way to institute change in such behavior.

Sidney Rosen has done a masterful job conveying the therapeutic tales of a master hypnotist. Erickson comes alive, and the reader gets a first-hand experience of Erickson's use of conversational therapeutic metaphors. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Erickson's novel approach to clinical work.

This is a great collection of stories that erickson tells his students to teach them about hypnosis. It's amusing and great to have in learning about how stories can be therapeutic. You can even analyze his stories and model from them to create your own stories. there is so many resources you can find by looking at each stories from different perspectives. the cool thing is that you can see how erickson tell stories from his mind view.

I first read "Great Comedians" in 1972 when I was starting out as a comedian. I found it to be just what I needed as a young aspiring comedian. The interviews of Woody Allen, Shelley Berman, Jack Benny, and Phillis Diller resonated with me and helped me immensely in my standup comedy development. It also inspired me to write my own book probing the methods of my generations great comedians ("Comic Insights") in order to help today's young comedians get a better idea of what it takes to do quality standup. I recently read "Great Comedians" again, and my original verdict still stands. This book is still of immense value to all aspiring comedians.

It's no secret that comedians -- great and not-so-great -- are influenced by the WORK of other comedians. The advent of film in the 20th century made this a lot easier since when a comedian died the work was still available...and now with videos etc. it's easier than ever.

But what about HOW these comedians made laughs...how they were inspired...what specific techniques they used and did not use...and what advice they would give anyone interested in going into any area of comedy?

Those have been tough answers to get. To do it you'd have to buy a slew of good and sometimes rotten bios, many of them out of print. Until now. Stand-up comedian Larry Wilde's Great Comedians Talk About Comedy brings it all together.

Great Comedians is a superb, singular achievement that collects within one lively, 402-page, info-packed volume, detailed interviews done over several years with some of the 20th century's greatest comedians and comedy actors.

The selection is absolutely mind-boggling: Woody Allen, Milton Berle, Shelly Berman, Jack Benny, Joey Bishop, George Burns, Johnny Carson, Maurice Chevalier, Phyllis Diller, Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope, Dick Gregory, George Jessle, Jerry Lewis, Jerry Seinfeld, Danny Thomas and Ed Wynn.

Each interview is presented in straight Q&A format so you get to "hear" the question and "hear" the response, from what the comedian/comedy actor says to his/her own speech pattern. These folks worked in venues from vaudeville, to radio, to night clubs, to radio to early silent movies to talkies to TV. And their responses to questions contain revelations and constant inspiration.

A key theme: how "making it" in comedy requires timing, good material, dogged persistance, constant analysis of jokes/laughs and being LIKEABLE to an audience. Copying someone's stage personna or stealing their jokes just won't do it.

My favorite interviews were with Woody Allen (how he writes ten jokes on everything from matchbooks to napkins and only uses a few; how he won't try jokes out on friends since they're often too negative; how audience appeal MATTERS...and his pointing to Jackie Gleason as someone who often had a lousey show but people loved him), Jack Benny (the importance of learning comedy and advancing step by step...an explanation of his legendary timing), Joey Bishop ("...Luck cannot sustain you.Only talent can sustain you.."), George Burns (tips on timing, attitude and the importance emulating but not copying other performers), Phyllis Diller (five truly SUPERB short inspirational tips that can advance MANY careers...Her high laugh per minute standards), and Jerry Seinfeld (timing, getting into a focused mental framework and how his love of comedy as a kid blossomed).

This book an essential for ANYONE interested in comedy, or for students of comedy, public speakers, or anyone who simply wants to be funny in public. It's ALL HERE: the inspiration, the tips, the stories, the bios...the TOOLS.

It's now a cliche to say "comedy isn't easy" and the whole process is mysterious. Larry Wilde's Great Comedians Talk About Comedy makes it less mysterious and -- a a bit easier.

Anyone interested in stand-up comedy Must read this book. Especially the people who hang out at "The Improv" bar who THINK they are a comedian. The Woody Allen interview is more important today than it was 35 years ago. About time the neophytes learned some history of the art form. A GREAT BOOK!

Milton is just so cute! I LOVE this book. As a matter of fact, our next cat already has a name waiting for it -- Milton! :-D

This is the cutest book ever. The creative and inspiring cat Milton is fun and always exciting to read again and again! Great for all ages!

I picked this book up in a store that sells things such as rolling coasters and [costly] art deco toothbrushes. I picked it up first, because I'm a cat lover, and second, because I have not gotten over my fascination with children's books. I don't yet have a child, but I plan to protect this book in the next few years in order to share it with my child. As children's books go nowadays, the illustrations and the story are unique and simple. Milton is made to be endearing and sweetly feline in only about ten sentences. If you have a cat, you'll appreciate this book. If you have a child, share it with him/her to heighten the imagination and the mystique around our furry friends. And, if you don't have either, consider getting this book anyway-- it might convince you into one or the other!

Fascinating study of the psychopathic (now called sociopathic) personality. Well written in a style that's easy to read. Many case studies, some funny, most tragic, of people who behave as though they grew up on Mars! The title refers to the fact that these people wear a "mask of sanity," but are in fact insane. Or at least, unsane. I recommend the book highly.

Several other good reviews explain what this book is about but I can add a personal note. Some years ago I was describing to an older lawyer a bizarre, frightening man who had filed suit against my clients. "They guy's obviously a psychopath," he said. "Haven't you read Cleckely?" He gave me a copy and after reading it I understood what I was dealing with. A judge had recommended it to him many years before when he had his own first encounter with a psychopath (nowadays a person suffering from "anti-social personality disorder"). Those who work with people in stressful circumstances -- doctors, lawyers, social workers, etc. -- owe it to themselves, and to their patients and clients, to know this book.

Cleckley wrote the definitive book on psychopaths. This is a complex subject which is not easy to explain, but Cleckley's writing style makes it very entertaining and easy to read. He describes each of his criteria for psychopathy, then he presents a brief vignette, which is often very amusing. His examples are so real that you start to recognize people in your life in these descriptions (Pretty scarey). The only book which compares with this is Robert Hare's "Without Conscience," which is also brilliantly explained and easy to read. Understandable, since Dr. Hare based much of his work on Cleckley's work with psychopaths.

AS AN AVID READER OF SUSPENSE NOVELS, IT'S HARD TO FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN SURPRISE ME WITH A "WHO DONE-IT" BREWSTER MILTON ROBERTSON WITH "RAINY DAYS AND SUNDAYS" DID JUST THAT! THE SURPRISE ENDING WILL KEEP YOU AWAKE NIGHTS TO FINISH THE BOOK. A GREAT READ! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

Brewster Milton Robertson's hot thriller, RAINY DAYS AND SUNDAYS, set at the Carolina seashore is a heck of a read. The protagonist, Buchanan Forbes, star pharmaceutical salesperson, devoted father and family man, intellectual, and all around good guy, finds himself on the wrong side of a Federal drug bust. The Feds are aiming to clean up the multi-billion dollar black market in prescription drug and medical device samples involving manufacturers, crooked detailmen, and physicians. To make matters worse the Feds are following the lead of a dingbat conservative President who has just outlawed all abortions and seems determined to return to dark ages politics of the 1950's.

Forbes finds himself in the middle of this mess when several young Carolina women die as a result of botched abortions involving experimental IUD's. The Feds pour on the heat and Forbes is wrongly accused of prescription drug theft and sales. His life is further shattered when his faithless wife leaves him taking with her Forbes's four beloved sons. Forbes sets out to put his life and reputation right and he has to fight mighty odds. If and how he is to succeed makes great suspense and a powerful read. Get the book and read it now. It won't wait for a "Rainy Day" or a "Sunday."

couldnt put it down.... was reading it during traffic stops.
oh...was truely great enjoyment... a must read...

Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare were indeed grand masters of literature for all time. "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Regained" is enough to put John Milton in the same category. Like Marlowe and Shakespeare, Milton demonstrates extreme scholarship and a superb mastery of the language. It is interesting how Milton takes figures that are mentioned briefly in the scriptures and turns them into major characters. It is also frightening how Milton was able to make God and Satan 3 dimensional as opposed to simply good (in God's case) and evil (in Satan's case). This book is not for everyone. But if you do not mind an unorthodox portrayal of God and Satan and if you want to enjoy beautiful language, superb images, dramatic confrontations, and powerful images, you must read this masterpiece composed with superb and delicate skill.

While Paradise Lost features some of the most wonderful passages ever written in the English language, the poem also provides an unwitting expose to the absurdity of Christian mythology. There is a palpable tension evident in every aspect of the work, as Milton endows Satan with nobility, Adam and Eve with compassion, and God and the angels with preening vanity and megalomania, only to pull back after every passage and try to negate his own words with addendums or disclaimers. The verse isn't consistent in its brilliance, but much of it is first rate, particularly in the first hundred pages or so as the rebellious angels recover from their disaster and map out their defiance.

A few days ago I finished Paradise Lost for a book club I'm in. It took me the whole first chapter to get adjusted, but then the book really swept me away. The language is beautiful and the concepts very deep and thoughtful. I can't always agree with Milton's thoedicy, but it definitely provides rich and spicy food for thought. The book requires a lot from the reader, but it's well worth every moment. We also read all 3 books of Dante's Divine Comedy for the book club. I was frequently lost, especially while reading Purgatorio and Paradisio, but Milton is different. You can understand - and enjoy - most of what he says even without the footnotes (though you'll miss 90% of the allusions without them). The poetry is sublime. Like a really great novel, this work hangs over you for days after you finish it, tugging at your heart.

This dictionary was required for the three years of Arabic that I took at the university. It enjoys a unique status as a "famous" dictionary. According to the introduction, it is an updated and expanded English version of Mr. Wehr's 1952 Arabic-German dictionary. And it is not a bad book! Though I wouldn't say that it is intended for travelers, beginners or armchair linguists. (My review refers to the pocket-book sized edition.)

THE GOOD: 1) It is small and easily transportable. This makes it especially pleasing to the university crowd. 2) It has quite a lot of words. All of these entries mean that I was almost always able to find the word that I was looking for. 3) Useful entries. The entries include all of the stuff that you would usually find in a foreign language dictionary, but they are also incredibly tailored to Arabic learners. For example, the verbs in the dictionary include Roman numerals indicating the meanings of the derived stems - and believe you me - this was very nice! Also, the nouns include the plural forms - also a very helpful feature. 4) While the Arabic words in the dictionary don't have diacritical marks indicating Arabic vowel sounds, it does have phonetic transliterations. This makes it easy to pronounce unfamiliar words, plurals and case endings.

THE BAD: 1) It is a small paperback dictionary. This makes for two problems - the covers wear out extremely fast, and the book doesn't stay open to any page without some sort of major intervention. 2) This dictionary is for MODERN WRITTEN Arabic only! This is too bad, because you won't find and spoken colloquialisms or dialect expressions. In fact, the first six pages of the book explain the problems and difficulties associated with creating a multi-use Arabic dictionary. 3) There are no example sentences for the entries. This would have been useful for those "ten definitions" type of words. 4) There are no appendices. Also too bad. 5) I said it before, and I'll say it again: this dictionary is not for anyone who does not have at least some Arabic under his or her belt! Users need to know how to read and write in Arabic, as well as how to look up words based on their root. If you can't do these, or have no intention of ever learning how - then you shouldn't get this book.

Even though I have written more bad things than good things, I just want to make it clear that this is an incredibly useful dictionary for serious Arabic learners. In fact, as far as I could tell, it was THE ONLY DICTIONARY among my colleagues. Worth every dinar!

This English-Arabic dictionary is second best to E.W. Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon. For those Muslims who have been studying Arabic for several years then you will benefit from this book only in regards to the Arabic Verb Forms. Hans Wehr did an excellent job of arranging the verb forms but the only offset is that he did so using the Roman letters and not the standard Wazan that the old Arabic Scholars have observed in explaining the different verb forms. I do not recommend the Hans Wehr for study of the classical Arabic or Islamic Studies as it contains modern meanings of words as Arabs use today and not as it was understood in the time of our beloved Prophet(may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). However if you do buy this dictionary buy both the small hardback and the large hardback as they will last longer. The small hardcopy is very hard on the eyes though for you students of knowledge who spend long hours studying. I have found this dictionary helpful when I could not walk around with the Arabic-English Lexicon but it also came in handy when I completed my studies of the 3 Madinah Books commonly used in the Islamic University of Madinah, K.S.A. May Allah make us all to know and understand His Book and the authentic narrations of His Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)in the Arabic Language.

I'm pretty damn serious. I have found rare words and rare synonyms of good words. If a word can not be found in the Oxford Arabic-English dictionary, or any other dictionary I've used, at least 50% of the time I found it in the Hans Wehr. This is an excellent resource for Arabic speakers and non-indigenous speakers who are learning or learned Arabic. A life-saver in many take-home essay exams.

Over the past year I have read extensively about the 17th century. "The Age of Louis XIV" is the best book which I have found on the period. Volume VII of Will and Ariel Durant's multi-volume "Story of Civilization", this book documents more detail of the era than any others which I have read.

The book begins with sections on France and England. The next section is "The Periphery" dealing with Russia, Poland, Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, and Iberia. After the geographically oriented sections, the reader is treated to sections organized along intellectual topics, such as science, philosophy, and faith and reason, which contain chapters dealing with specific philosophers or scientists. The conclusion wraps it all up with the denouement of Louis XIV.

This book makes the 17th century understandable. The premier character of the era was Louis XIV, the Sun King of France. During his reign, the policies of he and his ministers established France's day in the sun. Absolute ruler of the most populous and powerful kingdom in Western Europe, Louis made France the center of Western Civilization. On these pages we learn about the Fronde, the revolt by the nobility at the rising of his Sun, from which Louis acquired his life long aversion to Paris, Louis' aggressive support of Catholicism, while at the same time maintaining illicit personal relationships, and his generous support for the arts. This era, rich in French literature and theatre, as represented in Moliere, is revealed.

The forces threatening to rend the Catholic Church further asunder, as well as the relationship between King and Pope, are dealt with in detail. I was surprised to learn that Louis exercised a power over the Church in France similar to that which Henry VIII had previously established over the Church in England.

England, meanwhile, endured Cromwell, The Stuart Restoration, and the Glorious Revolution, while spawning Milton, Dryden, Swift and other literary giants.

Interesting contrasts are illustrated. Whereas in France the monarchy was strengthened into absolutism, England was making hesitating steps toward democracy. Whereas Louis excluded much of the nobility from government and military service, essentially forcing them into the role of idle rich, the English nobility gradually gained power and responsibility for the governance of their country. We can see how these trends may have encouraged the resentment of the aristocrats on the part of the French peasantry, which may have contributed to the intensity of feeling during The Terror of the French Revolution. By contrast, the empowerment of the English nobility may have helped solidify the tradition of peaceful political maturation.

On the Periphery, Charles XII brought Sweden to the zenith of its international power, while Peter the great modernized Russia. Germany survived the onslaught of the Turks, while Italy and Iberia, the "Old Europe" of the day, slid through an era of decline.

Intellectually the era was one of giants. Many of the names with which we are familiar come alive as we read of Isaac Newton, Thomas Hobbes, John Lock, Spinoza, Leibniz and others.

The conclusion of the era was the sunset of the Sun King. Having exhausted his country with dynastic war, bled it with unequal taxation and incurred the enmity of the world, Louis negotiated a peace which left his kingdom a shattered hulk of its former greatness.

For anyone desiring an introduction to the history of the 17th century, this is a great place to start. It has me ready for other books in the Durants' "Story of Civilization".

Though the central figure of this book is Louix XIV, this book is not about French history, but about European history as a whole.

The focus of this book is not on political and military history but on the history of religion, art, literature, science and philosophy. Or I can say politics is deeply involved in religion, art, literature and philosophy. I have never studied European philosophy before, and I thought it would be exttremely difficult to understand philosophy. But while I was reading this book, I found that phlosophy could be much easier when it was explained in a political context of the times.

And in this book English history was emphasized as much as French history. It is quite natural because Louis himself was deeply involved in and greatly responsible for the 17th century English history, and Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were Englishmen.

I believe that this book is the best book I've ever read. I'd like to read all 12 volumes of Will & Ariel Durant's "The History of Civilization" series.

By the way, I found 2 trivial mistakes in this book.
According to p 505, Halley identified another comet, seen in 1680, with one observed in the year of Christ's death; he traced its recurrence every 575 years, and from the periodicity he computed its orbit and speed around the sun. According to my own calculation, however, 575 x 2 + 33 = 1183, while 575 x 3 + 33 = 1758.
According to p 513, Mariotte amused his friends by showing that "cold" could burn: with a concave slab of ice he focused sunlight upon gunpowder, causing it to explode. To focus sunlight, however, we need a convex lens, not a concave lens.

The Durants succeed again in encapsulating the 17th century in Europe. They label it as the landmark century intellectually and scientifically and there is much truth to their assessment: the 18th Century, the "Enlightenment" and "Aufklarung" usually takes pride of place given the American and French Revolutions that dominated them and the general retreat of superstition and obscurantism that marred both Catholicism and Protestantism in the previous centuries. The Durants clearly show that all the 18th century did was develop themes initially sounded and expounded by 17th century thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, Newton, Leibniz, Spinoza and the English Deists. These writers, and others, laid the bedrock for the various revolutions that shook Europe in the 1700 and 1800s and which have culminated in our own day: The Industrial, Political and Scientific.

Thematically, the book is erected upon the scaffolding of the Le Roi Soleil's life. They present his wars, mistresses, patronage of art, political autocracy as well as murderous bigotry. In my opinion, in their conclusion they let Louis off far too lightly. He was a man who countenanced, nay, actually encouraged and gloried not only in wars to dominate Europe--a common enough failing amongst the crowned--but in the Persecution of the Huguenots he left a blot on his record that, in light of the deadly century we just left and the religious fanaticism of 11 September, should sink his record in the humanitarian sense.

His vanity and thirst for "la glorie" (which he admitted himself to have been his worst failing) bankrupted France and left the Peasants in a savage and degrading poverty they hadn't experienced since the calamities of the 14th century. His refusal to use his power to actually reform government and tax the nobility mark his reign as regressive and disastrous in many ways. Still his impeccable taste in the visual and plastic arts-as opposed to his love of second-rate playwrights and third-rate opera--make him the supreme art patron in history. And the prestige and admiration that accumulated acted as a sort of bank that his incompetent, worthless successor cruised upon. Only under sixteenth Louis did the credit of the Sun King's name finally run out...

Still, the Durants must credited for making this error sparkle and shimmer with life and the lovely prose still entrances and pleases regardless of how dull or recondite the subject might be. Again, they are two of the greatest of all American writers. Someday, I hope, they will be acknowledged as such.