This book does an excellent job in pointing out some of the real stuggles of Thomas Merton. It is very helpful in seeking to understand the person Thomas Merton. If one reads Merton, it is evident that Merton loved God and was committed to his vocation. However, it is very clear in this work that love for God and commitment to vocation does not eliminate personal struggles with right and wrong. Griffin does a good job showing a side of Merton that so many seek to ignore. Also, the book has many good pictures. This is a good book to read.

I purchased this book after reading the review from the reader in New Orleans. This is a loving look at the final years of Thomas Merton's life. (1965 - 1968) I have only recently delved into the writings and life of this incredible man. John Howard Griffin was a close friend of Merton's and writes about his friend from within Merton's hermitage and Merton's personal journals. It is a shame that Grifffin's health prevented him from completing what was to be an authorized biography of this fascinating mystical monk. The photographs taken by Griffin are a terrific addition to a very readable book on a man and a spititual figure that I greatly admire. If you have any interest in Thomas Merton the man, then you will cherish this book. One of Griffin's lines is a nice summary of Merton, if Merton can be summarized - "What mattered was to love and to be in one piece in silence and not to try to be anybody outwardly".

This book is a must-read for those seeking to understand the final years of Merton, whose importance for contemporary spirituality cannot be underestimated. Based on Merton's own journals (to which Griffin had full access during extended stays in Merton's hermitage after the latter's untimely death in 1968), the material in this book was originally intended to be part of the officially authorized Merton biography, which ill health prevented Griffin from completing. This book is not for those whose love of Merton is confined to such early works as The Seven Storey Mountain and The Sign of Jonas. However, those who seek insights into the struggles underlying the writings he produced from 1965-68, encompassing subjects such as the Vietnam war, the evils of racism, and the practice of Zen, are likely to find this book very rewarding. John Howard Griffin (author of Black Like Me) was an excellent writer in his own right, a skilled photographer, and a friend of Merton. All three of these characteristics contribute to Follow the Ecstasy, which includes a number of intimate photographs of Merton and his hermitage. Griffin's own contemplative bent shows itself in empathic descriptions of Merton's hermit existence, with well-chosen quotations from the monk's journals. Of particular interest to some will be the very detailed account of Merton's extended involvement with a young nurse he encountered while hospitalized following back surgery. This relationship, which is referred to in very vague and sometimes sinister-sounding terms in other works on Merton, is laid bare here in all its emotional splendor. Those who love Merton may be astonished at both his vulnerability and his capacity for self-deception. For most of us, to fall deeply in love with a young woman whose feelings are reciprocal, and to arrange trysts that do not include sexual consummation of such love, would not constitute a major moral dilemma. But most of us are not world-renowned spiritual writers vowed to lives of celibate chastity. To top it all off, Merton had only recently (the year was 1966) been granted long-sought permission to live as a hermit on an isolated piece of monastery property, in order to deepen his experience of solitude. Anyone who has ever fallen in love can identify with much of what Merton went through, but few can ever have known the exquisite anguish engendered by his circumstances at the time. It is almost comical at times how he struggles both to rationalize his behavior and to see through his own rationalizations. He is a man deeply and painfully torn. On the one side, he is beset by a tide of emotions he has never before experienced and is ill-prepared to handle, while on the other, he is solemnly vowed to a life he not only loves, but believes is his divinely given vocation. Although some would be scandalized by such revelations, others will see in them yet another poignant example of the divine mystery played out in the arena of human affairs. What Griffin makes clear is that Merton fully expected this episode to become public knowledge after his death, and that he wanted those who might have idolized him to see him, warts and all, in all his human frailty. It is plain that Merton was less interested in adulation than in honesty, even regarding events in his life that show him in a less than flattering light. If there was some degree of duplicity in the machinations he undertook for the sake of spending time with his beloved, I believe it is offset by his ultimate fidelity to his Beloved. Griffin handles all of this with consummate sensitivity and grace, explicitly noting that he obtained full permission from the woman in question prior to publishing details of her relationship with this celebrated monk. Although this chapter alone, with its touching descriptions of Merton's internal spiritual combat, would've made the book worthwhile for me, there are gems scattered throughout, and an informative introduction by Robert Bonazzi. A must for real fans and/or scholars of Thomas Merton.

introduction to cost control and what is a cost control

This is just what I needed to get started on my breakdown sheet for costs of job site work. Thank you.

A prosperous Aquilonia flourishes under Conan's firm rule, but Conan is deposed by an evil plot that originates with his neighbors in Nemedia. Black arts are engaged to defeat the great barbarian, but Conan makes a journey to find a way to save Aquilonia from usurpation.

L. Sprague de Camp does an admirable job as editor. The Conan books are not precisely my cuppa tea, but are an essential read for people interested in the history of the fantasy genre.

When Lancer Books started reissuing the Conan saga back in the mid-60's, they enlisted L. Sprage DeCamp and Lin Carter to spruce up Howard's grammar and soften some of the more "politically incorrect" views he voiced. They chose well. Although 9th in the series, "Conan the Conqueror" was the first book issued because of copyright problems. It was a good start. I read the book and was hooked. I haunted the bookstores waiting for each new Conan book to come out. Later I had the opportunity to read "Hour of the Dragon," Howard's book as originally written. Not quite as polished as "Conan the Conqueror," but entertaining nonetheless. Anyone who enjoyed the movie "Conan the Barbarian" should like "Conan the Conqueror."

Those interested in the structuralist criticism of the 1960s-70s will find the most joy here, with Todorov applying the rigorous structuralist stance to one of literature's most fascinating genres. His demolition of Northrop Frye's approach to 'genre' in Chapter 1 is still cogent after thirty years (and an amusing read in its own right), but it's Todorov's chapters on the 'themes of the fantastic', and his conclusion on its role in literature generally, which are most compelling. This is not, however, an easy read. As Robert Scholes notes in his foreword, "neither structuralism itself nor poetics in general is noted for its ability to charm readers." You don't say. Fortunately, Todorov uses many examples from well known fantastic texts - such as 'The Arabian Nights' and the works of Edgar Alan Poe - and also from lesser known French works which will have you rushing out to the antiquarian bookstore to hunt them down. You can accept or reject the structuralist position - but if nothing else, this book will open up a whole new world of 'fantastic' novels for you to enjoy.

This book is a great achievement in criticism, but one should be warned that Todorov is not talking about elves and dragons when he uses the term "Fantastic." In this book Todorov advances his definition of the fantastic as a "hesitation" or inability to decide whether events in a narrative are natural or supernatural. Thus, the book deals more with straight supernatural fiction, than with what we usually think of as "fantasy" fiction. All in all, Todorov is insightful and his book is a great companion to anyone who enjoys French, English, or American supernatural fiction.

If you've never picked up the original Conan as written by the incomparable Robert E. Howard, this is the book to read. For those who have never followed the continuity, Conan eventually becomes monarch of the kingdom of Aquilonia in his later years, and it is during this period which this story is set. It involves a plot by a resurrected sorceror to usurp Conan's kingdom, and follows a Conan as he attempts to reclaim his throne, on the way dealing with a savage vampire queen, killer mummies (in a fight scene I would swear was lifted by The Mummy), and a cadre of relentless assassins (in that scene, my favorite of the book, the leader of the seven scarlet robed killers address Conan when they finally catch up with him. There is a long solliloquy in which the assassin details the route they followed to find him - the many near misses, and the hardships they have endured...Conan, not impressed in the least, is already drawing his sword...). This is Conan and Howard at his bloody, barbaric best. Howard's prose is phenomenal. He is not only the grandfather of heroic fantasy, he is in my opinion, the king of action writing. Under his pen bloodletting becomes visceral poetry. The blue eyed black maned giant that is his most famous creation swaggers across these pages like a juggernaut -like Captain Ahab, Tarzan, and the Norse Sagas all rolled into one. Read this and know the wellspring that inspired all those great Frazetta and Jeff Jones paintings...

the best combat descriptions you can find. excellent at details, always interesting, suspenceful. man fights man. man fights....something darker. noone matches howard. the best at short stories. more psychological and realistic than Tolkien.

I don't understand why no one has reviewed this book. It has more insight into Howard Hughes's dealings with TWA than any other book on the market.
Instead of the scandals, we get the Genius of Hughes.

... In fact, it is a most insightful, clearly written and detailed account of the development of aircraft for TWA... Rummel is always pleasant and cooperative to an extent that surprised us all. I have truly enjoyed reading his account of these times.

this was an interesting book. at the beggining i coudnt understand anything and i was about to just put it away but i figured why not try a few more chapters? i did it and it all seemed to come together. so if you get this book dont give up! it gets easier. it was better than the movie conan the barbarian, even though that didnt have a whole lot to do with this book. it had great battle scenes and those gorry little tidbits everybody likes. the frot cover is the best peice of artwork i think ive ever seen on a book. i suuggest you buy it.

Cormac mac Art was another Robert E. Howard creation, an Irish warrior circa 400 A.D. This is a prequel to Howard's short stories and tells of the origins of Cormac. It has very good battle scenes and is an excellent introduction to the series.

One the very first fantasy novels I read, I am interested in finding an available copy. Am also searching for a copy of "The Hour of the Dragon", by Howard as well.

Take a trip into our barbaric past, when the white race did not question the necessity of manifest destiny or the need to subdue non- whites by violence, and women existed as chattel and threat to male dominance. This collection of stories is not politically correct, and hopefully readers' enjoyment will contend with their discomfort at Howard's obvious racism and sexism. Readers should know that Howard was destroyed by the very system he so faithfully represents in his stories; he committed suicide during the Great Depression due to his distressed economic situation. For a blunt representation of the mind set that led to the internment camps, the Tuskegee medical experiments, and Hiroshima/ Nagasaki, this anthology is unsurpassed. Sword and sorcery/fantasy fans may wish that these stories are "simple, escapist fun", but there never is such a thing.

This is a misleadingly named but excellent introduction to Robert E. Howard's non-heroic fantasy tales (no Conan, Kull or Solomon Kane stories here). Edited by David Drake and bargain priced, it includes some of Howard's most compelling stories, especially "Pigeons from Hell" and "Worms of the Earth" (I'd rank them both among the best of Howard's stories). Most of these yarns have very little indeed to do with the made-up term "Cthulhu Mythos," probably used here to lure the unsuspecting fan of Lovecraftian role playing games. Only about half the 13 items in the book have anything even remotely to do with this H.P. Lovecraft-inspired sub-genre, usually just a couple of names or passing reference. Howard's main contribution to the "Mythos" was Von Junzt's 1839 "Nameless Cults" which first apperared in the enjoyable but hardly special "The Black Stone," published in "Weird Tales" in 1931. For me this book's greatest value is as a graphic illustration of what a born talented storyteller Howard was. I first read them a quarter century ago and I still relish re-reading them. I can't say the same about most of the contents of the NYT "bestsellers list" of 25 years ago or of today.

Although the book claims to be about the Cthulhu Mythos, it is really a collection of stories by Robert E. Howard, one of Lovecraft's peers and the creator of Conan. These stories are excellent once you realize that with the exception of a little name dropping, the Great Old Ones are not to be found. Consider it the Howard Mythos.

Nothing to do with Lovecraft's Cthulhu, but great reading anyway. Neccessary reading for any Howard fan.

I understand Volleyball in its entirety. But, Robert E. Howard

There are a lot of volleyball books on the market today and, of course, they are mostly opinions on technique, style, etc. This book will give a good foundation for anyone interested in volleyball. Very well thought through. Very well written.
Enjoy!

Bob Howard gives a very complete and easy to understand guide to volleyball technique using the most up to date theories available today. It is presented in a format that is both helpful to the volleyball player as well as those in the coaching profession.