The book begins with a decent 5 page intro to the Buddha by Robert Thurman. There is nothing wrong with the intro, but one can tell he mainly studies Tibetan Buddhism -- there is a great emphasis on gods, heavens, divinity, and the like. The intro would have been better had it been representative of Buddhism as a whole.

The actually images of different Buddhas, which constitute most of the book, are extremely interesting, varying widely in style, media, composition, and even subject matter. (It is fascinating how many different forms of the Buddha have been created.) The differing Buddhas vary from serene to silly (such as Jim Crump's photo of the Putt Putt Buddha.) More famous Buddhas include those done by Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Nam June Paik. Some images are awesome (as in inspiring awe), but a few just aren't very good.

This book won't do anything for a scholar of Buddhism -- there is nothing that tells what the Buddha's different positions, hand gestures, etc. are supposed to mean. But does contain some beautiful works of art, and in that respect it fulfills its purpose.

This book is great, with art for Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg to photos of the Loshan Buddha and a great photo of a Buddha surounded by skulls in Kampuchia.

The original Lancer paperback was supposed to be the 2nd in an 8-part reissue of the Conan stories. All 3 stories are by Robert E. Howard; none are 'finished' by L. Sprague De Camp.

"Red Nails" is one of REH's best. Unlike the typical tale of the lost city, dying race and monster-menaced ingenue this tale gives us the tough female pirate Valeria, who I wish we saw more of (in a different sense from what Howard provides!)

"Jewels of Gwahlur" is more typical of the lost- city genre, with Conan breaking up an attempt to defraud an African kindom of its mystic gems and rescuing the girl at the same time.

"Beyond the Black River" is classic Conan, as the mercenary- barbarian fights the Picts on behalf of Aquilonian colonizers.

Great stuff!

This is Robert E. Howard's best Conan novel, in my opinion. In one of the stories, Conan is forced to battle a prehistoric lizard, and outwits it rather than using "mighty thews" and "barbaric primal fury". Also, at the end of the same story, Conan is actually trapped for a while, and doesn't kill the main arch-enemy, but has to settle for eliminating the last bit of sword fodder. Overall, a good book.

Non-scholarly approach, obscures facts and makes unsupported assumptions.
Adequate as first person, unacademic approach to history of FLW

This is the personal story of the author's architectural discoveries and insights after buying a spacious old house that turned out to be one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most liveable Prairie houses. She evokes the amazing ever-shifting quality of light and reflections, how its architectural forms guide furniture placement, the functions (and dusting) of woodwork and its thorough patterning throughout, why an overhanging roof is great, the eternally surprising views, the role of landscaping, and even explains how one lives in a bedroom without curtains. She does not reveal as much construction detail exposed during the restoration process as I had hoped, like electrical upgrading, the use of steel in the cantilevers, or exactly why Wright's roofs always leak. She discusses adapting the kitchen, and shows how her Tomek House is the prototype for the famous Robie house, and friendlier to boot by being less insistently exaggerated. The many illustrations emphasize the outcomes rather than the process of restoration. Moran is not a professional writer, and the text wanders a little, but she truly gave me a feel for how wonderfully right it would be to live in a house by Wright, or one designed by his modular procedure. Yet one also needs an artistic streak of one's own, lots of energy (and money), and patience for all the avid visitors who treat you as an unpaid guide and caterer. For building a Wright house, see Jacobs' Building With Wright; for living with one today, get Moran.

One of the most interesting things about Van Gulik's Judge Dee books is that the Judge is usually juggling three or four mysteries at once. Your brain definitely stays awake as he shifts his attention from one to the other. "The Red Pavilion" takes place on "Paradise Island", a town in which the main industry is the selling of pleasure--sort of a Las Vegas of ancient China. Between current murders and murders of the past, the Judge has his hands full, and with only one of his usual four assistants he is a busy guy.

I enjoyed the interesting characters of the various courtesans, bouncers, businessmen, and mysterious beggars no end. His Excellency is not beyond making a guess at a solution and then proving himself wrong, which is quite refreshing in detective novels. If you like detective novels combined with ancient culture, you may well enjoy these books.

Oriental sleuth Judge Dee, based on a historical character, is brought to life in 'The Red Pavilion'. While Judge Dee shares many traits with traditional quirky Western detectives, this novel has a definite Chinese feel. The cultural interplay is very interesting, and allows for different scenarios than the typical mystery. A nice change of pace.

I'd been looking for it for quite a while, because it is, shamefully, out of print. I can't think why! For fans and students of Frank Lloyd Wright's work, 'Teater's Knoll' is even better than 'Frank Lloyd Wright's Hanna House: The Client's Report'. The Archie Teater Studio is the only FLLW house in Idaho, and one of his most fascinating. Not only is it a beautiful design, it is one of the best-documented FLLW houses; the original owners saved every scrap of paper with any bearing on the house's design and construction. After falling on hard times and disrepair, the house was saved by Henry Whiting II, who found the Teater archives when he bought the place in near-derelict condition. Whiting has used that material to tell the story of the house's construction. It nearly didn't get built at all, owing to the irascibility of the clients; they hired, fired, and sued contractors and labourers with what can only be called mad abandon. Whiting goes on from this tale of woe to tell of his hands-on restoration of the house; it's one of the few FLLW restorations done by an owner, albeit an owner with a background in architecture. There's also interesting material in the book on Whiting's uncle, Alden Dow, a friend and disciple of Wright's. This one gets four stars- I'm docking it one star only because the photography of the restoration fails to give much sense of the flow of spaces within the house. HIGHLY recommended, nonetheless! You won't regret it.

Amazon helped me find this book, and I am grateful, indeed. I'd been looking for it for quite a while, because it is, shamefully, out of print. I can't think why! For fans and students of Frank Lloyd Wright's work, 'Teater's Knoll' is even better than 'Frank Lloyd Wright's Hanna House: The Client's Report'. The Archie Teater Studio is the only FLLW house in Idaho, and one of his most fascinating. Not only is it a beautiful design, it is one of the best-documented FLLW houses; the original owners saved every scrap of paper with any bearing on the house's design and construction. ....Whiting goes on from this tale of woe to tell of his hands-on restoration of the house; it's one of the few FLLW restorations done by an owner, albeit an owner with a background in architecture. There's also interesting material in the book on Whiting's uncle, Alden Dow, a friend and disciple of Wright's. This one gets four stars- I'm docking it one star only because the photography of the restoration fails to give much sense of the flow of spaces within the house. HIGHLY recommended, nonetheless! Put Amazon on the case and get a copy. You won't regret it.

It is an almanac it is real pretty it has good information and you can find it easy

Frank Canton was sheriff of Buffalo, Wyoming in the 1880s and during the Johnson County War. Later he was a Deputy US Marshal in Oklahoma Territory, rising to high rank in Oklahoma law enforcement. He wrote an autobiography titled "Frontier Trails" that is a classic of western adventure about his life as a western lawman. Only, Frank Canton completely left out a significant part of his life history--his real name was Joe Horner and he was a convicted bank robber and murderer from Texas who had escaped from prison.

Alias Frank Canton fills in the blanks Canton left in his story, and does it very well. The reading was interesting and appeared to have been very well researched.

This short collection of essays is published by the free market Institute of Economic Affairs in London. The occasion for launching this volume was the introduction of an annual lecture series, 'The Templeton Forum on Markets and Morality' based on an idea by Michael Novak.

The four essayists, Brian Griffiths, Robert Sirico, Norman Barry and Frank Field approach the issue from their own philosophical standpoints but in general are in agreement that morality and markets are compatible. Norman Barry's paper for me is the most interesting in that he postulates the development of rules from the emergence of a spontaneous order rather than having a pre-established framework of rules or ethics. While others may argue that markets require a framework of rules to operate in and cite minimal government or an established church, Barry's paper opens up the whole question of what constitutes moral and ethical behaviour to begin with.

It is this particular proposition which holds out particular interest for more lectures like this in the future. Historically there have been thoise in favour of the market who wish to circumscribe it's impact and who cite all sorts of reasons such as the possible collapse of society if free markets are allowed free rein. Ranged against that position are those who despise markets altogether and those who believe that free markets bring true freedom. As someone who believes in the latter, it seems to me that the political changes in the world over the last twenty five years or so have resulted in large gains for those who believe in the controlled markets view at the dtriment of followers of the anti-market view. Organised religion has much to lose by increasing choice for individuals, and much to lose by democracy but that is another story, and has resisted strongly.

This collection of essays seems to be the first shot in a major debate between conservatives and classical liberals which will go to the heart of the arguement about the market.

Why only four stars? Well, I would have liked to have read more papers.

Robert Frank's book "Choosing the Right Pond" is a thought provoking book that offers significant explanatory power to behaviors that we see every day. Utilizing the author's economics background, but ably drawing on the fields of psychology and public policy, this book is an enjoyable read. The concepts presented within easily lend themselves to other circumstances not discussed by the author.

While the demarcation is not explicit, chapters 1-8 are applied more toward interpersonal issues of status, whereas chapters 9-12 have more to do with how status is applied on a policy or societal level. The first chapter covers who we choose to compare ourselves to and the more obvious cues we use to identify standing. The second chapter looks at the impacts that biology and proximity has upon the value we give to status. The third chapter uses income and productivity to discuss observed status behaviors and collective agreements to minimize competition in the workplace. Chapters four and five discuss the impact of proximity between status seekers to explain the disparity of incomes within the same pool of individuals. Chapter six discusses fairness within the system of progressive taxation and why the wealthy are generally willing to shoulder a disproportionate burden of payment. Chapter seven discusses how when one individual's attempt to obtain advantage are imitated by others, the advantage disappears and everyone's relative position is the same as before.

Chapter eight covers how people allocate their incomes when seeking status. Of particular interest to me was the discussion on savings. While the life cycle hypothesis, permanent income hypothesis, precautionary saving model, etc., all play roles in savings behavior, in my own explorations, I have come across very little that attempts to account for the impact of status seeking on savings, or the lack thereof. I was particularly intrigued with the author's discussion on the lack of visibility of savings (as opposed to obvious things like a large house or fancy car) reducing it's ability to connote status as yet another explanatory factor in household behavior. The remaining chapters, while I'm sure they will be of interest to some, were of a larger perspective than is of importance to me.

I found "Choosing the Right Pond" to be an engaging book that has resulted in significant discussion between my co-workers and myself. Many of the concepts found in this book are explored further in the author's later book, "Luxury Fever." "Choosing the Right Pond" offers much to anyone who enjoys understanding the role they and others play in our daily games of interpersonal status.

I've recently enlisted in the Army, and was looking for some good sorces of information, besides my recruiter! I got this book on a whem...and it turn out to be very useful. There is alot of information in this book about everything, your Class A and Class B uniforms from how to salute, and vacation time. Housing pay, and if you have family..can they go with you. It talks about overseas and hazard pay also. About being promoted and how to excell. There really is alot of information, with enuff depth to help you understand, and it tells you books to look at for more in-depth information. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to know all they can, and it would be a good book to look at before you sign your papers...or after...for some good questions to ask your recruiter or any Sergeant.