All of Baker's works are well written and nicely illustrated- this is a good overview of the Bailey system and anyone interested in the Theosophical system of personal development. Baker has the ability to clarify many of the more difficult ideas as stated by Bailey so that the lay person can understand her writings. The quality of all of his books is top notch and well worth their high price.

Baker is a master author and this is one of his best works. It covers the subject of personal enlightenment as only one who has been there could. It offers secret techniques to achieve a better understanding of your inner self and its relationship to the universe. A must read for anyone on the Path.

This is a great book full of magic mystery and exsitment.

We love reading all the Jewel Princess books as a family. My girls have begun acting out the stories. (My son likes them too) All the Jewel Princess books have good strong girl characters. The stories have fine messages. I highly recommend this book to all parents.S

"Consider the Lilies of the Field," and then consider The Jewel of the Lotus Flower, a fragrant new novel by L.T. Viteritti.
Viteritti is a story-teller with a fresh, convincing voice. In Jewel of the Lotus Flower she introduces us to Jackie, a gutsy, sensitive young girl who grows into her power as an artist, a passionate lover and a visionary. Viteritti writes beautifully and honestly about adolescent sexuality as Jackie's childhood friendship with Stephen blossoms into love. Then she takes us on a wild ride through Jackie's struggles to stay in touch with her true nature and talents while attempting to please her family and prove herself in the world.

If we accept the idea that life is mainly defined by the conventional momentum of our relationships, then how do we break from the current safely enough to be able to understand ourselves outside of its context? In her first novel, LT Viteritti explains the purpose of our most prominent relationships (those with family, friends, our present and future selves, co-workers and, most importantly, lovers) as that which furthers the momentum of daily life. Starting in pre-pubescence, Viteritti explains in lyrically colorful detail the many ways in which her protagonist is effected by these currents. As the character (Jackie) and the book mature, Viteritti identifies self-consciousness as the primary tool of the analysis of convention. Dressing philosophical speculation in an effectively poignant use of language, Viteritti essentially discusses how humans can see themselves outside of these forces via a character whose desire for the truths of self inspection is universally relate-able. Her conclusion combines the acute self-consciousness that is detachment with the relationships from which it is detached. From a new writer, there then is born a very new thesis on the fundamental existence of humans as compassionate beings whose strongest tool of self-preservation is belief in the attainability of happiness.

I had a radio drama show on a public radio station for five years and would vary scripted, acted radio dramas(live w/ music and foley artist or taped with sfx and music) with talented actors reading their favorite stories. I first read Jewel of the Moon ten years ago and received such a response that the local booksellers sold out. Later, as I have been asked to read at various events, I often select JEWEL OF THE MOON and insist that I'm last on the docket, as it has such an impact. Of course, some of this is from the way I've read it but the written artistry is all Kotzwinkle. I've often thought of creating an entire spoken story theatre piece around this particular story and taking it to Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it would shine. Gonna have to wait for the lottery sometime next year:> BUY THIS BOOK IF YOU CAN FIND IT!!

The very best short stories i ever read beside brautigan s tokio montana express. A summary of funny, erotic, sometimes fairytail-like jewels of a mastermind. the stories are as freaky as the author himself. i would go nowhere without this book. i will read it and read it and read....

This was a really good book from the Magic Attic Club series. In fact, I think it was even a little better than The Ghost of Camp Withering Pines! Everyone should read it if they want a book with adventure!

All of the Magic Attic Club--Heather, Megan, Keisha, Alison, and Rose--find themselves on an exciting Carribean cruise on a beautiful ship named Jewel of the Sea. Dressed in fancy party dresses, the girls meet a stand-offish young girl from England named Lady Ashley.When they find out Lady Ashley crying in her state room, they discover her secret. Can the girls come up with a plan in time to surprise Ashley on her special day? Read this book and find out!

I love this book. I could never put it down. It was so so adventureous

An authoritative, if somewhat dry, presentation of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition from a Tibetan perspective. I have instigated the use of this book in a study group setting, in which people agreed to read a particular chapter and topic ahead of time. It was very useful in giving people an opportunity to bring their understanding and misunderstandings to the surface, to be clarified (or at least narrowed!) by discussion with others.

This is an excellent book presenting the stages of the Mahayana path to all those interested in Buddhism. Written in the 1100's by Gampopa, a great Kagyu scholar, it is invaluable to all beginners and especially to those on the path. This book never gets old, and you can always use it as you proceed on the path. A wonderful achievement in spiritual literature, and a great gift to the English reader who does not have the ability to read the original Tibetan text.

This book might be a bit of a hard read for a newcomer to Buddhism, since it is so concise and assumes knowledge. Yet there is an excellent glossary in the back, so anyone with interest should not hesitate.

I found it such a wonderful reminder of the different aspects of the path that I have memorized the hundred verses and recite them several times a week.

This short book of 100 stanzas is so complete in its discussion of Vajrayana practice from the beginnings of Ngöndro to the practice of Mahamudra it is all here. Complete and concise it is amazing in scope and beauty. Khenpo Könchog Gyaltshen's translation does poetic justice to this great text.

An absorbing book. Full of intrigue, romance and action. It was very hard to put down.

This was a fantastic story. It kept me moving along with the story and charachters as if they were real. I just couldn't put it down. Great Job!

For lovers of the Art Nouveau movement, this book is a must! Lalique was an amazing artist/jeweler, and this book covers the jewelry portion of his career well.

So you missed the exhibit in Dallas? True, this exhibit is possibly the only time these items from private collections will be on display. But do not despair. There is still a wonderful catalog out there to be had.

When my friends and I went to see this exhibit, we were so enamoured by the beauty of the jewelry, we wanted to carry it all home with us. The catalog was the best we could do.

The items in this exhibit that were designed and made by Rene' Lalique moved classicism to modernism. Although the luminosity of the jewelry is certainly lost in the book's photographs, like the sheen of the perfectly matched opals and the glow of the glass enamels, the level of detail is not.

The exhibit was set up to light the plique-a'-jour from the rear of the pieces as well as from the front. Plique-a'-jour is similar to cloisonné. Both techniques use glass enamels separated by cells created from metal, but cloisonné is applied onto a metal surface, whereas plique-a'-jour is openwork, more like a stained glass window. The difference in effect is that plique-a'-jour has a glow that lights up the jewelry, whereas cloisonné receives its shine from the metal behind it.

The plique-a'-jour technique was not new, having been used during the Renaissance but had been virtually forgotten. The influence of the relatively new trade with Japan opened up the eyes of those artists who were participants in the new arts & Crafts movement centered in London. In fact, Lalique studied in London and picked up on the Japanese influences. In addition, there was also a religious movement centered in Germany at this time that centered more upon appreciation of nature than a single deity.

These influences combined in Lalique's jewelry that stunned the world when he unveiled over a hundred pieces of bijou at the Exposition Universalle in Paris in 1900. Critics of his work charged that he was merely trying to provoke the public. The public crowded around the exhibit during its run nonetheless, although not all of the items in the exhibit sold during the Exposition. The opal necklace that all of us loved when we saw this exhibit in Dallas was one that did not sell, surprisingly enough.

So, if you simply could not get to Dallas, then the catalog rates a good look so that you can study Lalique's breathtaking style. He was never matched and, in fact, abandoned making jewelry for glass when cheap, shoddily made knock-offs began to appear. Lalique felt he had gone as far as he could go with jewelry and became a direct Tiffany competitor.

Jewels of the Dragon is the begining of the Rikard Braeth saga. Our young hero is a university trained historian who is tracking down his father who abandoned him and his mother to return to his old life of adventuring, and seeking out the final fortune of all fortunes. For years Rikard has followed his fathers movements (though his father left over a decade ago, before Rikard was barely a teen). Rikard tracks his father to Kohltri, a sort of self-exiled penal planet, where the citizens cut you down in the middle of the street in broad daylight, if they think it's worth their while. Kohltri is not a planet for acedemic types, as Rikard soon discovers. He must learn either to blend in with the criminal element, be accepted as a tourist, or go home to the the safe halls of the university (providing he can find a way off-planet). While searching for his father on Kohltri, Rikard makes some unlikely allies, and quite a few enemies, as well as several amazing discoveries, that would seal his career as a historian and archaeologist, if he can survive Kohltri, and then find a way to leave the planet. There are several twists to the plot which keeps you glued to the book waiting to see what'll happen next.

The characters are engaging, and spirited. I really enjoyed this book and have re-read it several times. The whole atmosphere of the book was intriguing, and I found myself wishing for more details, or possibly spin-off novels about the Belshpaer, or Atreef (alien lifeforms). This book however, did not bog down with a lot of insignificant details, there was enough to keep interest up, mixed with enough action that I do not recall one dull moment. I truly recommend this book to anyone looking for a something a little different, than the traditional interstellar-war or futuristic styled spaceaged-monarchy common in so much main-stream sci-fi.

The author introduces us to Rikard Braeth, a young man in search of his father. On a strange planet, our hero becomes involved in ancient mysteries and forgotten races. Rikard makes new friends and enemies in his search for his father, ending the story in an unforseen direction. This is the first book in a trilogy which combines archeology, adventure and strange alien races in a futuristic "Indiana Jones." The next two books in the series, "Crown of the Serpent," and "Lair of the Cyclops" are also highly recommended.