This book fills in a lot of the information other martial arts books leave out. It dispells many common myths and untruths associated with the martial arts community. It contains a lot of practical information useful for both the novice and experienced martial arts practitioners. This book is a very fun, informative, and easy read. A must for any martial artist.

I thought it was informative and interesting. That it was written so that a large variety of people could understand Martial Arts.

The martial arts world has been waiting for a book like this! The Martial Arts Info Guide is packed full of extremely useful knowledge. This book covers everything from how to punch and kick correctly, to how to avoid bar fights, along with answers to such puzzling questions such as, "do black belts have to register with the police?" In all my years of reading I have not come across a book as fun to read, while still instilling the basics of martial arts training. I believe that I am a better martial artist because I have read this book. Chris Pellitteri is a wonderful author, and I hope I am fortunate enough to read more of his books in the future.

I recommend this book for fungi lovers old and new. Great tips and fabulous recipes, along with cute family stories. I use this book often for dinner parties and family dinners. The colorful cover makes a great coffee table addition, but I use the book so frequently I can't keep it out of my kitchen. I have given many as gifts to my culinary friends. It's a winner.

I watched my husband glace at the book and he just started reading it and about 15 minutes later I realized he was still reading it. He doesn't even cook! Anyway, inspired by his attention to this tome, I grabbed my tea yesterday and hung out on the pet's couch for a good read! I was not disappointed! I now feel I wouldn't be shy about cooking with exotic mushrooms. I can't wait to try the mushroom chile (which I read about in Metropolitan Home mag.)for the Superbowl Party tomorrow. Wow! Thanks Amy Farges!

A mouth-watering compendium of more than 175 recipes, Amy Farges' The Mushroom Lover's Mushroom Cookbook And Primer is enhanced with a "Mushroom 101" guide and an innovative shopping and preparation primer for more than 30 edible fungi. From Crepe Pouches with Shiitakes, Seared Cod with Porcini a la Grecque, and Lamb Broth with Autumn Mushrooms and Pearl Barley, to Mushroom Cornmeal Muffins, and Old-World Polenta, The Mushroom Lover's Mushroom Cookbook And Primer offers a cornucopia of delicious eating inspired by common and exotic mushrooms, and eminently suitable both for family meals and special event celebrations.

(Below is a series of quotes from the book, some of them slightly modified, plus a small number of "glue" sentences I've added to make transitions smoother. My goal was to distill the key ideas in this exceptional book.)

Every design problem begins with an effort to achieve fitness between two entities: the form in question and its context. The form is the solution to the problem; the context defines the problem. We want to put the context and the form into effortless contact or frictionless coexistence, i.e., we want to find a good fit.

For a good fit to occur in practice, one vital condition must be satisfied. It must have time to happen. In slow-changing, traditional, unselfconscious cultures, a form is adjusted soon after each slight misfit occurs. If there was good fit at some stage in the past, no matter how removed, it will have persisted, because there is an active stability at work. Tradition and taboo dampen and control the rate of change in an unselfconscious culture's designs.

It is important to understand that the individual person in an unselfconscious culture needs no creative strength. He does not need to be able to improve the form, only to make some sort of change when he notices a failure. The changes may not always be for the better; but it is not necessary that they should be, since the operation of the process allows only the improvements to persist. Unselfconscious design is a process of slow adaptation and error reduction.

In the unselfconscious process there is no possibility of misconstruing the situation. Nobody makes a picture of the context, so the picture cannot be wrong. But the modern, selfconscious designer works entirely from a picture in his mind - a conceptualization of the forces at work and their interrelationships - and this picture is almost always wrong.

To achieve in a few hours at the drawing board what once took centuries of adaptation and development, to invent a form suddenly which clearly fits its context - the extent of invention necessary is beyond the individual designer. A designer who sets out to achieve an adaptive good fit in a single leap is not unlike the child who shakes his glass-topped puzzle fretfully, expecting at one shake to arrange the bits inside correctly. The designer's attempt is hardly as random as the child's is; but the difficulties are the same. His chances of success are small because the number of factors which must fall simultaneously into place is so enormous.

The process of design, even when it has become selfconscious, remains a process of error-reduction. No complex system will succeed in adapting in a reasonable amount of time or effort unless the adaptation can proceed component by component, each component relatively independent of the others. The search for the right components, and the right way to build the form up from these components, is the greatest challenge faced by the modern, selfconscious designer. The culmination of the modern designer's task is to make every unit of design both a component and a system. As a component it will fit into the hierarchy of larger components that are above it; as a system it will specify the hierarchy of smaller components of which it itself is made.

"Notes" begins the published books of Alexander's task to investigate the methodologies and formulas for extracting and creating patterns that are Beautiful and functional. Although the book is for Architectural design, Alexander's understanding is philosophical enough that his writing can be read from the lens of any human interested in creating programs for form design. This can cross into Software engineering, which Alexander has already made a profound influence with his book, A Pattern Language, web design, graphic design, or anything the requires planning in order to achieve a complex end. He focuses on encapsulating each element of a form into it's own study and then later combining all elements into the Whole Form. This method he stresses will tear away all arbitrariness in form and create structures that are seemlessly beautiful and functional.

I bought this book at the same time as Stuart Kauffman's recent Investigations (from a local independent) and began reading them in parallel.

While this was intentional, serendipity happened as it is wont to do and I found more parallels than I could follow. These two books come from radically different fields (Architecture and Complexity theory) and were published nearly 40 years apart yet are highly resonant with eachother.

Alexander effectively discusses the synthesis of form in the context of functional goals and/or constraints. He draws from architecture for his examples and ideas but the results are much broader.

He outlines the ideas which will eventually become his Pattern Language and "The Quality Without a Name".

Meanwhile Kauffman is speaking contemporarily of the underpinnings of "life itself" also from what is essentially a structural arguement.

Both are essentially speaking to the same thing: How form emerges from functional constraints in the context of evolving systems. In one case it is the artifacts of living spaces we build while in the other, it is the more intimate artifacts of the phenotype of a species or more generally, evolving complex systems such as our universe in all of it's glory.

Many have criticized Kauffman's work as being unoriginal in the sense that most of what he says has been said before, only separately and differently. In some sense, all works are "derivative".

I believe that the parallels between these two books are more an example of parallel evolution. Alexander was studying the essential qualities of a design discipline as old as man and therefore highly evolved. The topical area of architecture, built spaces for human work and habitation is extremely rich and complex in it's own right. It is not surprising that he would have discovered in this narrow field something as essential and interesting as Kauffman seems to be exposing if not discovering about the mathematical and structural underpinnings of "life itself".

An excellent (pair of) read(s)!

I look forward to Alexander's _Nature of Order_ whose title reminded me of Kauffman's _Origins of Order_ which in turn inspired me to read them together while awaiting Alexander's new books!

It's hard to believe that James's theatrical turn of the late 19th century ended with his audience "booing" him off the stage. This novelized play reads quickly and delightfully. I've read more than twenty of his novels, and this was the quickest of them all.

The plot is simple enough (at least for James): two houses, apparently back to back, in Wilverley, a small English village, set the scene. One contains a widow, the other a young married couple. The young wife widows the young husband, and he becomes Wilverley's "most eligible bachelor," except for the fact that he promised his dying wife that he would never marry again, at least not during the life of his child. So somebody has to kill the child, right?

Enter James's genius for character. There's Paul, the huge, infinitely imperturbable son of the wealthy Mrs. Beever; the diminutive and impetuous Dennis Vidal; Tony Bream himself, a remarkably good-natured but insensitive fool; and the powerful Mrs. Beever, whose awful determination cows every one else before her. Like James's best writing, his characters become interesting on their own; his fictions become an opportunity to satisfy curiosity. I think that's what makes this book a "page-turner"; the characters are interesting enough that I want to know what's going to happen.

In the end, I suppose, what makes this book succeed is what would have made the dramatic version fail: James's endless fascination with the workings of the human mind must have become either painfully boring or just incomprehensible to a theatrical audience. However it came about, I recommend it unequivocally.

This book is a novelization of the play by the same name. And you can see the stageplay - the characters are continually coming and going - and there's stage business - all of which I think shows some stiffness - yet about half way through the novel I was startled at how much the characters were real, rounded - I could just about see them - they ached with life - I was always aware of the stage during the novel - the story itself is rather shocking - it's a mystery novel! - it's all very well done - it's short - and it's very psychological

I am impressed with The New York Review's revival of this unexpectedly non-Jamesian title. A truly unique James choice to bring back to life--it's been done so with a cover so compelling (I'm not a tradional James fan) I opened the book which I found locally in a brick and mortar as they are now called, book shop. The internet cannot do justice to the thoughtful sophistication of this book's packaging. (But I can purchase another copy here more easily!) The publisher's comments about the work were also compelling and complimentary to the cover art. The Other House is a mystery, a detective story, a love triangle with more than three angles--a true page turner--with a timelessly human plot and "modern" characters. Anyone thriller fan would be enchanted with it. And turning every page, holding the book, is a sensory thrill. Paper, writing, art--all representative of what any literary rebirth deserves. If it's worth bringing back--do it with quality, I say! They did--along with a whole marvelous collection of equally intriguing books, with well written new introductions. Good choices--the pieces themselves, the introduction authors and the book artist designers. Truly timeless in all ways!

Lord Cochrane won an astonishingly brilliant series of victories in three different British ships against the French and Spanish during the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. The first 80 pages of this biography cover his astounding career in single-ship actions, and the inability of the Admiralty to understand his innovations. The next 55 pages deal with his ignominious Radical parliamentary career and financial fiascos. Another 46 pages cover his attempts to free a series of colonies from their Iberian or Ottoman masters, and how the rebels repeatedly frustrated victory and, of course, didn't pay up. The final 21 pages cover his attempts to restore his honor and his contributions to the deveopment of a recognizably modern navy. The editors say this 1947 book was selected for its congenial style and vignettes of Cochrane, not because it is the last word on the irascible man. This biography is superseded in accuracy by those employing additional family and governmental papers made public since the 1960's and listed in the brief bibliography.

Fans of naval fiction should note that Forester's Hornblower frequently adopts Lord Cochrane's audacious naval exploits, as do many other series' heroes. Forester having appropriated Lord Cochrane's real adventures, Dudley Pope's Lord Ramage series seems to depend more on invented exploits to fill out the same general historical progression. O'Brian's Jack Aubrey also partakes of Cochrane's political ineptness and suffers his finanacial scandal (see especially the early Aubrey novels). While occasionally you see inspiration from Cochrane's later attempts to aid South Americans win their freedom from Spain (Forester, O'Brian, Cornwell), no novelist has taken up Cochrane's inventions (like ship lanterns, tar derivatives, chemical warfare!, and steam warships). This book might slightly disappoint some fiction fans because it lacks details or even a brief description of ALL of Cochrane's remarkable exploits in his Biscay or Mediterranean theaters of operation. But for any fans of Fighting Sail, Lord Cochrane is the inspiring source, and Lloyd's book a well-written introduction.

A thoroughly researched and beautifully written treatment of the life of one of Great Britain's most important heroes from the Age of Fighting Sail. I've devoured everything I can find on the Royal Navy for years -- this is among the most memorable volumes available! Lord Cochrane was a naval commander in war (and peace) whose talents almost rivalled the great Nelson's, and unlike Nelson he lived to a ripe old age. In a surprisingly "modern" twist to Cochrane's biography, he was duped into a financial scandal that led to bad headlines, ugly partisan politics, and a nasty court case. His subsequent efforts on the part of Latin American nations to help them win independence from Spain make him a veritable nautical Simon Bolivar. Author Lloyd brings this amazing man to life with compelling prose.

Lord Cochrane was, by all accounts, a superior naval officer. He was inventive, bold, imaginative, extremely meticulous in his preparations for action, and capable of great theatrics in the service of victory in battle, in capturing prizes, and in befuddling the enemy. He treated his men honorably at a time when abusing them was the norm and he rewarded them handsomely from the prize revenues he engendered. As a result he was adored by his subordinates and never had trouble recruiting personnel to serve under him.

He was a model which inspired aspects of Jack Aubrey and Hornblower and other fictional characters of the Anglo-French wars. His true life was even more tumultuous than the fiction it spawned, for he became a naval hero in Chile and in Peru, in Brazil, and in Greece as he participated in each of those countries' wars of independence.

When on land, Lord Cochrane was an inept, impetuous, cantankerous politician (he was a member of parliament for 10 years), who had no notion of the art of politics, and therefore was repeatedly demolished by his enemies, which were many. It is amazing that the brilliant and disciplined naval officer and tactician would become a bumbling, disorganized politician, but that is precisely what happened. He was involved in financial scandals, his honors and medals were removed, and his purse squandered and lost. It is likely that this honorable man was never guilty of the charges for which he was convicted (stock fraud), but the truth shall never be known for sure.

He lived a long life (1775 - 1860) and by the time he died at 85 he had managed to (mostly) repair his honor, his finances, and his reputation, more as a result of the political changes around him than as a result of having learned political lessons.

This book by Christopher Lloyd, a professional naval historian, has the scholar's convincing tone and language throughout. It has a fair index and bibliography. The book is highly recommended to the Aubrey-Maturin fans who are forever expanding their collections with ancillary historical volumes that allow for additional enjoyment of the series.

The author is a local from my area (NYC) and I got my hands on a copy of LOST WINGS the first day it was released. The book started off a little slow but once I got into it, I could not put the book down! While the book involves the story of a police officer that lost his job, I think it's something that just about anyone can identify with. It is also interesting because the cop himself wrote the book. Overall a great book!

What a book!! I know the author but never expected to read a story like this. He wrote one of the most amazing real-life books I have ever read. I enjoyed it so much, I could not put it down it took me only two days on the train to read it, that is how good it is. I can only hope that it brings him much success and hope he continues to write more books like this one.

It has been a while since I've picked up a book that has intrigued me from beginning to end, and has still kept me wondering. This young author seems to have a talent to tell a story and make it interesting even though most biographies fail to do so. It doesn't matter if you believe or disbelieve his story, the telling shows that either way, he has found his calling. I read the story from cover to cover and enjoyed every up and down in his young roller-coaster experience. I highly recommend that you buy, beg, steal or borrow this book!

I have been troubled by anxiety for many years and have not been too optimistic about finding a book that would deal with my particular problem. Managing Your Anxiety by Christopher J. McCullough and Robert Woods Mann comes very close to dealing with it. Although initially intended for people with Agoraphobia (fear of open places), the book gives a detailed account of how to manage anxiety using journals, lists, and other methods of making you realize what goes into your anxiety. I like in particular its specificity and the non-technical way in which it explains the roots of anxiety and its effects and, especially, the ways in which it can be coped with. I have used it with continuing improvement in my condition and I can recommend it to anyone who suffers from anxiety.

The wisdom in this book is simple. Fortunately, it was one of the first I came across when my problems with anxiety began. Using this book as a guide, I have helped myself begin to recover from agoraphobia by taking care of basic physical needs that required change, such as nutrition and exercise, and through exposure work. I believe that recovery does involve healing many of our basic, but neglected, needs.While medication appears to work for some people, the change in consciousness that occurs if you really work through the agoraphobia and your fears, while at the same time practicing ways to manage the panic,cannot be shaken by relapses or regressions where medication invites the possbility of continuing ups and downs. I don't blame people for seeking it, but I don't think it's necessary. This book was the only one I found that had a solid, well-rounded treatment plan for anxiety. Thank you Dr. McCullough!

This book's thorough and philosophical explanation of the many factors involved in panic and phobia disorders gave me a much deeper understanding of the roots of my own anxiety. The excersizes in self-care program were an essential tool in helping me overcome a phobia I had for many years. It is an excellent resource for anyone who is struggling with any form of anxiety, panic, or phobia disorder.

Christopher Hilton's biography of Finnish racing driver Mika Hakkinen was written before Hakkinen won the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship at the wheel of his West McLaren Mercedes last year.

Hilton opens his story with the final fateful moments leading up to Hakkinen's serious accident during qualifying for the 1995 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, and days later, Hakkinen's regaining consciousness in the intensive care ward of an Adelaide hospital.

He then takes us back to the beginning, retracing Hakkinen's childhood and early racing career in Finland through to his inevitable move to Britain, his progress through the junior racing formulae and the break into the big-time with the now-defunct Lotus F1 team.

The story ends towards the end of 1997 ‡ just, it can be argued, when it was getting REALLY interesting!

Hilton's style is idiosyncratic, but readers who are happy to put up with his asides and personal touches will be rewarded with an empathetic, well-researched and ultimately authoritative work on the latest F1 World Champion.

But despite Hilton's claims that Hakkinen remains one of the most accessible F1 racers of his time, this book lacks a certain something.

Hakkinen certainly comes across as unaffected, accessible and supremely talented ‡ racing a car at breathtaking speed is, after all, only ìdoing what comes naturallyí, as Hilton's book is subtitled.

But unlike biographies/autobiographies of previous world champions ‡ Alan Jones' collaboration with Keith Botsford, ìDriving Ambitioní, or Botsford's collaboration with Keke Rosberg, ìKekeí spring to mind immediately ‡ one leaves Hilton's book with a little sense of knowing the man.

Even one of Hilton's own previous efforts, Ayrton Senna ‡ The Hard Edge of Genius, gave a far greater insight into its subject. Perhaps that was an indication of Senna himself; he was known to be a man given to deeper thoughts than many of his contemporaries and rivals.

Work may be underway even now on a book by Hakkinen's own hand. But for his fans, and they are legion, for the time being at least this book is about the best there is.

Hilton has done a fair job, and shown impressive prescience in selecting Hakkinen as a candidate for a biography. It needs to be updated, to take account of the 1998 championship-winning season.

Hilton's book will sell well and satisfy the inevitable post-championship demand for information on the man of the moment. But it's not the definitive essay on Hakkinen that his fans, and fans of motorsport generally, are waiting for.

This is another great piece of work by Christopher Hilton. Now, don't think I'm a Hilton fan. I'm simply familiar with Hilton's work. I purchased this title for the simple reason that Hakkinen is my all time hero. I recommend this title to any Formula One or Hakkinen fan. Do note that it only goes up to the 1997 season, but that is what you want to know about anyway, right? Learn about Mika's "casual" living style and sometimes a little too "carefree" life as an up and coming driver. There will be laughs along the way without doubt!

Enjoy!

Now that Mika has one the World Drivers Championship (twice), this makes an interesting read.

Although seemingly distant, and lacking interest in his chosen sport, this book highlights the talents that Mika clearly has in order to achieve his dream.

With help from his boss, Ron Dennis, Hilton highlights how Dennis and Hakkinen spent many long hours coupled together, penetrating each other's heads and, ultimately, getting the best out of each other. The book's title expresses this in concise terms.

While illustration is sparse, it spares us the pointless "page filling" of many lesser books, and gets to the point.

A great read for any fan of Mika, and McLaren.

Very good reference book. We pick a trail then plan a long morning ride in advance. I was not aware of so many places to ride within a reasonable driving distance.

I ordered this book on a whim (I don't know him but the author is from my hometown). Very nicley done, accurate on trail ratings. Maps give a good direction of where to go on road as well as on trail. You may need a road map for more direction. Trail maps give a pretty good idea of what's available and/or direction to start off. Not as accurate as running into some locals but how can u beat that! I've been to approximately 6 or 7 parks mentioned . Recently I rode six mile run. Great find. Most of my riding buds never heard of it. (A nice thing about this book. There's trails that aren't in some of the other mtn biking books). Many little loops off of the 2 trails mentioned. Moderate terrain true to form w/ lots of technical, if you want it. Several switchback crossings over water. Better to ride on a warm day. You will get wet! Oh well you know what they say "Dirt is good!"

Christopher Mac Kinnon's Mountain Biking In New Jersey is an effectively quick reference guide showcasing thirty-seven off-road mountain bike rides specific to New Jersey, a state of surprising contrasts and excellent outdoor recreational resources. Each ride is accompanied by a clearly written and descriptive text enhanced with a detailed map. These mountain bike rides are uniquely designed for easy use by the off-road cyclist, with each map containing all the pertinent information required to enjoy the excursion. Map pages can also be removed from the book and carried alone for easy and on-to-spot reference. Whether you are a novice mountain biker or an experience off-road cyclist looking for great New Jersey rides, plan for your trip by browsing through Christopher Mac Kinnon's Mountain Biking In New Jersey!

I'm not a big poetry buff but Qabbani just grabbed me. He's an amazing poet who spills his heart throughout this book.

So powerful, so sensual, so incredible. His poetry is earth shaking and primal.

Don't let the fact that his words have been translated from their original Arabic dissuade you from believing that somehow the work isn't as honest as it should be. Qabbani's work is so powerful it hardly matter shwat language it is in. In short, easily read dollops of wit measured out with a voice of quiet urging, he has given us work that transcends time and politics, while being above-it-all.

"If you know a man
who loves you more than I
guide me to him
so I may first congratulate
hom on his constancy
and later, kill him."

If poetry ever had a Luther Vandross, it was Pablo Neruda. If it ever had a Barry White, it was Qabbani.