I did not read her first book, however, after reading this book and being interested in alternative thought for many years, I found this book most interesting and enlightening. It gives me hope about a future unknown and deep inner confirmation of of who where and why I am. There is much to look forward to and feel confident about. Many thanks to Vera for bringing such a book to enlighten the dreary mind.

This is an extremely confusing book for one who has not spent anytime studying and practicing spiritual doctrines. I myself found the various topics especially the 'The Sun Rays' & 'The Hierarchy' to be extremely hard to understand and grasp initially. I would suggest to readers to read her first book 'Finding of the Third Eye' and Paul Brunton's books in the order listed 'Search in Secret India', 'The Secret Path', 'Search in Secret Egypt' & 'The Quest of the Overself'. Then put his teachings into practice before reading this book.

The author splits the book up into two parts - 'Review of Spiritual Science' & 'Review of Material Science'. The explanation provides one who has studied spiritual matters a sigh of relief and an understanding as to why spiritualism and science are at an impasse with one another, with each failing to recognize the importance of the others work. She also explains surely but slowly how science is starting to validate the 'Wisdom of the Ages'.

'The Initiations of Man' chapter give us an understanding of the various Initiations into illumination. Reading this chapter all of us will be able to relate to a particular stage that we are at, and where we are heading. 'The Initiations of the World' chapter provides us with a deeper understanding of evolution and God's 'Plan for Creation'. She explains how the mineral kingdom is worked upon by the plant kingdom, which is in-turn worked on by the animal kingdom, in turn worked upon by man. Each inflicts 'Pain' on the other by using them, thereby transmuting them into higher vibration.

She also touches briefly the evolution of the various races and their purposes in 'Plan for Creation' with focus on the Atlanteans, the Indians, the Chinese, the Japanese the Aryan-race and the Jews.

In her second book (after "The Finding of the Third Eye"), Vera Stanley Alder reveals the teachings of the Ancient Wisdom. She condenses the teachings to reveal many aspects of the esoteric knowledge and Initiation (including Alice Baileys' "Seven Rays").This book is mandatory reading for those seeking esoteric truth. Further recommended reading are the books- "ZELATOR"; "KYBALLION"; and all the books of Rudolph Steiner and Alice Bailey. Seekers of esoteric knowledge and truth can also join the Rosicrucians (AMORC), for further advancement.

I have 3 yr old twin boys who can fight as only siblings can but they are also the best of buddies. This book is useful in helping explain what makes people angry, what people do when they are angry and how to "stop" feeling angry. It is geared for the preschool/kindergarten age and uses words and actions seen in this age group. My boys can talk through the concepts presented and *hopefully* are learning how to deal with angry feelings.

I love this book for it's words and pictures. Little Bear and his best friend argue over something as simple as clay. Brandon does not share the clay, a fight ensues and Little Bear ends up biting Brandon. Little Bear remains angry for several days. He feels lonely and left out as his friend gets extra attention. He thinks about apologizing, but he feels the fight resulted from Brandon's behavior. His feelings finally get the best of him and once his friend initiates the apology, he agrees that it is better to be sorry and have his best friend back.

My only problem with this book (and discussing it with my children) is that neither bear is required to be responsible for their bad behavior. Brandon does not share AND he flushes the clay down the toilet. Little Bear bites Brandon, but his only "punishment" is angry feelings and loneliness. None of these behaviors are tolerated in my house, much less in a kindergarten classroom. At the very least, a discussion on sharing should be covered in a page or two, not lavish attention given to Brandon with Little Bear being isolated by his classmates. Granted, I do make this part of our discussion, but for a 5 or 6 year old who is a little more savvy, seeing these behaviors not addressed in the book may confuse them. ... I still give it 4 stars since the overall content and message are wonderfully presented.

I thought this book was a really good one that teaches you the value of friendship. The main characters in the story are Little Bear and Brandon. They are best friends and one day while they are at school, they get into a fight because Brandon doesn't want to share. This causes Little Bear to get mad at Brandon and he bites him. They don't talk to each other after this. Much like most children do in real life. Little Bear starts feeling lonely and wants to be friends with Brandon again, but he doesn't want to appologize. This teaches little kids that staying mad at their friends does nothing for them. There is no use in staying mad at your friend when all you have to do is apologize. The story teaches little kids to just let go of their anger after a fight, but it is not easy. I think it would be a great book for parents to buy and read to their children.

I reviewed this book at my local library. I loved it, so I bought it for my grandchildren. Little Bear and his best kindergarden friend have a fight over not sharing pink clay. Little Bear stays angry for two days, so it shows anger as a normal emotion. But, they finally apologize to each other. The illustrations show the emotions of not feeling good with anger, then feeling happy when it is resolved.

I read this book, in Spanish, to my Dual Immersion kindergarten class and they were very interested. Young children respond well to the simple illustrations, which support the text very well. One of my students said, "When you go for a walk in the forest, you shouldn't take an animal out of its home." He understands very little Spanish, so he must have figured out what was going on from the illustrations. I recommend this book for ages 0-6.

What an adorable and imaginative story. An animal wishing for a pet finds what he thinks is a puppy...but it turns out to be far from a dog. They become the best of pals forever. Colorful pictures, too.

This book is great for any artist to have even if they don't use colored pencil. While the title says it is a step-by-step guide it is only minimally so. Only a few artists are shown giving the steps of their creating process. The rest of the book is page after page of wonderful finished colored pencil paintings. It shows just how sophisticated the results can be with this simple medium. Colored pencil, especially watercolor color pencil is one of my favorite mediums to use so a book like this one is quite a treat. I never fail to find inspiration when I open it. I would recommend it to anyone.

The book collects a very good portfolio of composition by colour pencil techniques. I chanced upon his book while looking for references for pastel painting. Both techniques can share some of their common painting techniques since they are direct and do not need time for the composition to dry.

The meticulous detailing in colour pencil techniques is very well discussed in the book with steps by step examples given to illustrate the built-up of the composition. This helps the beginners with techniques and help build up their competency and confidence through its detailed breakdown of sequences and techniques. It's alomost like having a tutor who is not physically present but the teachings effectively conveyed.

I greatly recommend the book to all beginners and intermediate painters who are keen to develop further into the techniques of colour pencils.

"My Precious Legacy" is a story about the power of the human spirit. Author Vera Dalia provides her readers with a personal account of the crushing power of the Nazi occupation of her homeland during WW II. Dalia's story is a tale of victory and hope and the resiliency of the human spirit. Her story is told through the eyes of a child and her tale restores the sanctity of our humanity. My Precious Legacy is the memoir of a child and an important retelling of a portion of the history of Man's darkest hour.

A collection of touching stories based on Vera Dalia's return to the land of her birth (Czechoslovakia) to find out what happened to friends and relatives left behind at the time of the Holocaust. The book represents the culmination of a ten year effort to memorialize on paper the deeds of some vary courageous individuals who risked everything to help their Jewish neighbors escape persecution and certain death at the hands of the Nazi. Dr. Dalia shares her reflections as she meets the survivors of a horrific time for Jews and others during World War Two. Thank you Vera for sharing.

This book, Positive Thinking: Everything You Have Always Known About Positive Thinking but Were Afraid to Put into Practice by Vera Peiffer, has been popular in England for some time, which is how I first came across it. The book presents a clear and helpful approach, focusing on how to translate your learning and insights about more effective thinking into actual practice -- really becoming a more effective thinker. An excellent focus for a thinking book. In my opinion, Peiffer ranks up there with Glickman, Norem, and Seligman as a writer of popular psychology books about effective thinking for general readers. So I am also looking forward to Peiffer's new Happiness book that is coming out this summer.

For 28 years I struggled with my always stressing colleague. I found this book by accident and gained insight in her problems. It helped me very much to deal with it.

Talking With Artists volume.3

This book is pretty interesting. It is about artists who share what they like to draw and about their lives. They are asked questions such as, "Do you have any kids or pets?" The illustrators show some of pictures that they drew when they were children. They also show how the children illustrators got their inspiration to draw.

I liked this book because it was neat to see how good some of the kids are at drawing and then to see them draw as they are older. Also that was cool it showed how to draw pictures in the back of the book. I recommend this book to people who are just stating to draw and people that want to read an interesting book.

I got this book at the library for my children, but I think I enjoyed it as much as they did! (I plan to buy a copy of my own!) Instead of a cool, impersonal presentation of artists and their work, this book provides a refreshingly personal view. The artists talk about their childhoods, how they spend their days (the answers are fun & honest!), their families, and best of all, they give us peeks inside their studios. I don't know about you, but I love seeing inside of an artist's private workspace! It's like a glimpse inside his/her mind.
The styles of the artists are very diverse and they use many different techniques that kids and adults alike would like to try out. I highly recommend this book!

It was quite an enjoyable read for us Brittain and Holtby fans. It interesting how she is still relevent in this day and age, how she really doesn't seem "dead" from a forgotten era. In this book you can find the little tidbits about Vera that speak to your own emotions even now, that make the person whole.

A collaboratively written biography by the late Paul Berry (who was Vera Brittain's close friend for 28 years and her literary executor) and London-based biographer Mark Bostridge, Vera Brittain: A Life is a lengthy and informative survey of the life and times of the writer, pacifist, and feminist Vera Brittain (1893-1970), who is perhaps best known as the author of "Testament of Youth," the memoir of her traumatic World War I experiences. The crushing loss of her fiance, younger brother, and two friends in World War I, her uphill battle to earn recognition as a writer, her controversial stance against the Allies' saturation bombing of Germany in World War II, and a great deal more are engagingly examined in thorough, candid detail. Vera Brittain is very highly recommended as a solidly written, deeply engaging, and totally involving study of a unique and outspoken woman's life.

My niece loved this book, it was one of her favorites. It's a great start to helping youngsters with their words!

Adorable characters, colorful pictures and large print combine to create a charming and fun book for preschoolers to learn phonetics. I was also impressed with the introduction of rhyming words such as "box" and "blocks." Perhaps most importantly, my 3 year old enjoys the Word Bird series.

Let's get this straight. This is a fairy tale for adults. It's about love and food... or is that food and love? It's also about sex. Magic. Religion. Fame. Loyalty. That seems like a difficult order to fill, but that's true of many of the traditional fairy tales. They're sweeping epics. The Little Cinder Girl is, in a way, a story about discrimination and poverty. Briar Rose deals with envy and friendship. Bluebeard examines the relationship between truth and happiness. It can be argued that, at the core, a fairy tale is a lesson about life. It's wrapped up in glamours, true, but one needs only to read the Tales of the Brothers Grimm to realize that fairy tales are meant not only to entertain but to teach.

So how does Woman on Top measure up? On an entertainment level, it does very well. There is the romance between the young heroine, Isabella, and her faulty prince, Toninho. The gods bestow curses and gifts in equal measure. The relationship between the two lovers is threatened, tested, and ultimately...? But I won't ruin the ending for you. Suffice to say that it was fun to read, not only because I wanted to know what would happen to Isabella, but also because I delighted in picking out the classic fairy tale elements. Not to mention seeing them treated with a Latin flair.

On the instructional level, it does just fine. There are lessons enough, and I didn't feel as if I was being hit over the head with them. Even more interesting, these lessons are meant for adults in real relationships, not the fairy tale ideal that is so often shown in modern fairy tales and Disney films. Although there were elements of the fantastic in this book, I could imagine Isabella, Toninho, and the other characters as real people. This made their story (and the lessons it teaches) all the more effective.

So why did I only give the book four stars? I'm a fairy tale fan, yes, but I also love to cook, and I was disappointed by the recipes. There are a few drinks, a few sauces, barely enough to make a full meal. I finished the book with the wish that they had either left the recipes out entirely or included a more extensive section at the end. As it was, there was only enough to whet my appetite and not enough to satisfy.

I bought this book for its recipes. After watching the exquisite Isobella (Penelope Cruz) sauce it up in the racy motion picture version, I had to know how to bring some of the magic into my own kitchen. Her recipes are all in this charmingly illustrated book:

shrimp in pepper sauce, black beans, snapper in banana leaf, fried bananas, how to extract coconut milk, coconut flan, palm souffle...there's even a recipe for a spell to cure heartache (you'd need things like artichoke, eyes of boiled catfish, midnight rain, rooster feather, etc.). The food enhances the fairy tale aspect of 'Woman on Top'.

Beautiful Isobella suffers from motion sickness. She can only control it by controlling her motions (driving the car, leading in dance, and being "on top"). Her talent is for cooking. She meets the handsome Toninho, who needs a chef for his restaurant. It's love at first "bite". Ah, but wait, there's a twist. Tonihno cheats and Isobella runs off to San Fran to stay with her cross-dressing best friend. There she lands her own TV show and discovers things about herself and her "true love" that you have to read (or watch-the flic is sexy) to believe.

I shelf this one in the kitchen, of course! Get the soundtrack - the Brazilian tunes are amazing. It's a romantic bossa nova mix! Some of the songs that Tonihno sings to Isobella are translated in the book.

I loved the movie. The book is great. It is basically the movie but with great illustrations and in between the story are Isabella's recipes. If you like fun, charming and happy stories, this book is for you. Even if you haven't seen the movies, it it still a cute story to read and the recipes are really yummy!!!!