I have a working knowledge of astrology and I was fascinated by this material. It is superbly readable and gives a background to understand the symbols used in astrology and wonderful perceptions of the planets at an archetypal level. The section which draws connections between planetary forces and body parts/organs and diseases is really good and hard to find in other sources. An entertaining read, but also a great reference book for both beginners or serious astrologers.

This book is an absolute wealth of information about our planets and their deep intrinsic influences on us and the foods and herbs we eat, and basically our planet Earth.

I continue to reference it as a manual for self-healing and to better understand my own temperement and astrology chart...it puts the zodiac in perspective and places greater emphasis on the planets themselves as the greater influences on our psyche....

This book is jammed with practical ideas and exercises to help any manager's performance in dealing with people, performance and products. It is clearly written and user friendly with a clever rating scale of difficulty and resources needed to accomplish the intervention strategy highlighted in each section. I continue to suggest this excellent resouce book at every Managers Educational Seminar that I conduct!...

My bookshelf is jammed full of all kinds of management books. Most of them, after an initial reading, gather dust. Power Tools is the exception. As a consultant, I refer to it at least once a month & actually use the suggested "tools". I've utilized the Envision process numerous times & each time it works like a charm. In one day, a group can painlessly create drafts of their vision & value statements. The "tools" provided are practical & apply to common company situations. This portable blue book is my best kept secret! SShh...don't tell my clients!

This large (500+ pages) paperback is a companion volume to the 'Practical Chinese Reader' series. PCR, which is available with accompaning cassette tapes, is said to be one of the more popular teaching / learning series for Mandarin Chinese. (I'm enjoying it a lot!)

The grammar explanations in PCR leave a lot to be desired, however. (They're terse to a fault; obviously intended to be fleshed out by a teacher.) This book matches the first two books of PCR, lesson by lesson, and supplements them by giving clear, detailed explanations of the grammar points brought up. There is a wealth of sample sentences provided (simplified characters, pinyin romanization, and English translation) that clarify the grammar.

Sophisticated analysis, yet accessible to beginners - this grammar shouldn't be missed.

I highly recommend this book. Having pored over numerous Mandarin grammar books in Chinese language bookstores throughout California, Taipei and Beijing, I believe that "A Practical Chinese Grammar" is by far the best Chinese grammar book for beginners on the market (or at least the best that I have been able to find so far).

Most Chinese textbooks that I've seen do not provide adequate grammar explanations, and most stand-alone Chinese grammar textbooks are overly complicated, tedious, difficult to understand and painful to digest.

In contrast, "A Practical Chinese Grammar" provides refreshingly simple and straightforward explanations along with fairly comprehensive coverage of the basic grammar patterns of a first year university level Mandarin class. The text is geared toward students rather than grammarians, and thus much of the grammar gobbledygook terminology you normally find in other grammar books is mercifully left out. Each basic grammar pattern is accompanied by a (relatively) plainly worded explanation and then followed by several useful examples (the examples are written in simplified characters, followed by pinyin, followed by the English translation).

Although this book was written as a companion for "Practical Chinese Reader", volumes 1 and 2, the explanations would be helpful for anyone who is using a textbook that does not provide adequate grammar coverage (in fact, almost every Chinese language student I've shown this book to - including those not using PCR -- immediately wants to go out and buy a reference copy).

I only hope that Samuel Cheung and his team are working on a sequel to "A Practical Chinese Grammar" for advanced Chinese language students.

In reading historical surveying works, the Practical Surveyor stands out as an useful guide and not a theoretical textbook. Although there is a slight amount of geometry in the beginning of the book, the bulk of the work relies
on basic math, without even the use of sines and cosines. Likewise, although a variety of surveying instruments are detailed, there are complete instructions for surveying with a chain only (which would work equally well with a measuring tape).

Modern electronic instruments have largely replaced old tools, and modern computers allow vastly more measurements to be used for improved precision and accuracy. While The Practical Surveyor won't supercede hiring a professional land surveyor, it is sufficient to teach a novice to confidently survey any plot of land.

The techniques for measuring with plane table, theodolite, or cirumferentor (staff compass) are as valid today as they were in 1725. Once measurements have been made, there are clear directions for drawing a map and calculating areas and other properties. An example is provided of a survey of a small farm, complete with field notes, a field book with all of the measurements, and a finished map.

Additional sections detail determining the difference in altitude between two locations, finding true north using either the sun or Polaris, coloring maps using watercolors with details on the specific pigment materials, surveying rivers and large towns, dividing land, and drawing perspective pictures with the aid of a theodolite. Mr. Wyld prefaces the work with a lively introduction.

The text is identical to the 1725 first edition. It has been re-typeset for clarity using the original font, spelling, and punctuation. The long s (which looks like an 'f' to modern readers) is used as per the original. The book includes reproductions of the original figures from six copperplates, all of the original advertisements, and all of the original woodcut illustrations.

I have written brief notes to accompany the text. These are all at the back of the volume so as not to interfere with the original work. The notes include a few corrections to some errors in the book, a list of all of the tools and instruments used, and a glossary of words. I hope that these are of use.

A great book! It's just what it calls itself: A practical guide. It skips the hard math and teaches you to use the instruments (which really haven't changed, except for computerized models) and draw maps. This isn't only quick-and-dirty surveying. You will learn to compensate for the curvature of the earth, find your position by the stars, convey water, draw objects in perspective...

Also gives historical insight into how and why land was used and subdivided, and rules of thumb that still affect modern land (why are roads and ditches the width they are? How are property boundaries placed, or re-discovered?)

If you want to learn to survey or are interested in historic land use, map-making or surveying, you need this book.

One of the best studies ever written about Proust's novel is also one of the earliest. Beckett's reading underscores the novel's pessimism--the bleak futility of human relations, the stupifying effects of Habit, the "poisonous ingenuity" of Time--yet is itself a brisk, erudite, hilarious, dark, and exhilarating piece of Modernist literary criticism.

Beckett's 'Proust' is a powerful and revelatory work, largely because it analyses not only the writing of Marcel Proust but also perception itself: the literary high. It can only enrich the reader's life. I'd recommend it to anyone.

This 1962 book has a Foreword by Ian Fleming ("James Bond is not in fact a hero, but an efficient and not very attractive blunt instrument in the hands of government ... a highly romanticized version of the true spy") who first met William Stephenson ("A Man Called Intrepid") when he was on a mission to Washington in 1941. Stephenson was sent to New York in 1940 to protect British shipping of war material (and to gather information on enemy activities for appropriate counter-measures), and to promote public opinion in favor of American intervention on the side of Britain. Any offensive actions would have to remain secret. This was part of Economic Warfare.

Chapter 2 documents the important political decisions made at the time by President Roosevelt and others in 1940. Fifty coal burning destroyers were sent to Britain at a critical time. The Sperry bomb-sight was leased after they learned the Germans had the plans. Chapter 3 tells of the propaganda campaign to discredit isolationists and Nazi supporters, and the methods used to cripple or harass German officials. Censorship of the mails was used to track down spies and saboteurs. Chapter 4 tells of the intrigues with the Vichy French government. The personal secretary of the Vichy ambassador was recruited into a business to gain knowledge of his affairs. This was used to discredit the Embassy. A British agent was placed in close contact with the Embassy to gain information from her male friends.

Chapter 5 tells of the Special Operations of economic warfare: to manufacture evidence of the facts believed to be true but which could not otherwise be proved! They had a laboratory to fabricate letters and other documents. The imprint of any typewrite on earth could be reproduced faultlessly. It tells how letters were created to condemn a Czech collaborator! Another game was to subject Fascist sympathizers to petty persecution to waste time in confusion, and get them into trouble. It tells how a forged letter was created to cause the cancellation of the Italian airline franchise, an important Axis channel of communication. Brazil then broke with the Axis. Chapter 6 tells of the OSS during WW2. Stephenson did everything to help Donovan get the position. The new organization faced two bureaucratic rivals: the FBI, and the military intelligence departments. It was mainly through the assistance of BSC that they survived. Intelligence and other trained experts were put at Donovan's disposal. It explains how a short-wave station in Boston was used to broadcast propaganda.

Chapter 7 repeats various anecdotes from the war. They used astrological predictions for propaganda! The techniques to use polling to control voting and win elections was written in 1943 by David Ogilvy. Since then the US Government has used these techniques both overtly and covertly. It tells how stories were given to principal journalists and feature writers, and how columnist Drew Pearson acquired information. Chapter 8 tells how President Roosevelt sent a message to Stephenson on November 27: "Japanese negotiations off. Services expect action within two weeks". How this happened is a matter of history. There is a discussion on the use and value of double agents. He tells of the training given to secret agents at Oshawa. Sabotage to French locomotives alone nearly equaled the number disabled by air action. The information from a Soviet code clerk in Canada exposed their spy system. The final tribute was that the BSC helped to reduce the number of American casualties.

Does this book show how a small group shapes and controls the events that affect our lives?

This was published in America as "Room 3603" in 1963, with a forword by Ian Fleming (who worked for the British Security Co-ordination); this was one of the first books on the British secret service with official blessing.

The head of this operation was Sir William Stephenson, the man whose code name was INTREPID. It tells of his efforts to neutralize and defeat the Nazis in South and North America, before America entered the war. After "A Man Called Intrepid" became a best-seller in 1976, it was republished. It provides more history than the few pages in the later book. There are many interesting stories in this book.

One of them is how they forged a typewritten document to create a political scandal. The document was on microfilm; this prevents authentication thru fingerprints, ink and paper composition, etc. A picture of a thing is not the thing.

Another is the use of created gossip, and other dirty tricks, to harass the opposition. Watergate was an example of this: Nixon's agents originally broke in to plant forged documents; they were caught when they broke in a second time to retrieve these false documents.

Perhaps the most important is "how to use polling techniques to predetermine elections", a method used by our federal government "both overtly and secretly". Details are lacking in this book because this was still classified information. But you can read more in the "Propaganda At Work" chapter.

The most revealing fact is how Sir William Stephenson used these efforts to gain commerce for his own business.

This two-volume set is as gripping as the very best fictional thrillers. The writing quality is amazingly good -- perhaps reporters were just better educated in those days, or maybe the drama of the war brought out the very best in them. There is an immediacy to these selections that is lacking from most after-the-fact retrospectives.

The editing is first-rate. Oddly, no one is listed as an editor, so I suppose the credit must go to the four-person Advisory Board. As is typical of Library of America volumes, there are excellent supporting materials at the back of each book -- biographical notes, maps, notes, glossary, and so on -- and the bindings are very high quality.

All in all, these books are wonderful. If you have even a passing interest in history, I strongly recommend them. If you love reading history, they are indispensable.

An amazing collection of the finest pieces written on WWII for the American audience. William Shirer, Ernie Pyle, Ernest Hemingway, Bill Maudlin, etc., covering the earliest moves by the Germans into Czechoslovakia and Poland, the Pacific, African and European theaters, the Eastern Front, the Battle of the Bulge, the campaigns in Italy, the home front, the Battle of Britain, and so on. Remarkable for the quality of the writing and the sense of place and time in every piece. Yes, Americans were told the truth in 1938 about Hitler and the Nazis, and about the Holocaust shortly thereafter. Why did we not do something sooner?

The amazing saga continues...is Sagan prophesying the future in these books of the ancient past?...a few readings of them lead in that direction... Aparalgon wakes at the last minute...he represents the sleeper in all of us, willing to wake up and see things as they really are...

Wow!! This book really takes Regression to another level...

The Regression work itself is a vehicle for an energy to work with you so that deeply embedded psychological imprints and patterns can be discharged at the very source of when they began. The result is de-conditioning bad habits, behavioural patterns and reactions.

The case studies outlined in the book illustrate clearly what the process of ISIS - Inner Space Interactive Sourcing, can reveal to people.

I have worked with the ISIS technique that is outlined in the book with the professionals from the Clairvision School, and it is definitely the most powerful work on self-development that I have ever done. I have seen in myself emotional patterns that have been nagging at me for my whole life as well as physical health problems, just fade away.

A must read for those doing serious meditation or self-development work...

When I was very small, I was terrified every time I got onto an airplane: how could something so large possibly lift off the ground? Like most of the rest of us, though, I have gradually lost that fear- I simply look forward to the peanuts and trust in the engineeers, who are capable of designing things I could never possibly understand.
Reading John Hulls' book recaptured for me a sense of that wonder in the awesome feat of flying. Cody and the Wright brothers became more than just clever engineers, they were ingenious and daring pioneers who put their own lives on the line, rising hundreds of feet in the air supported by nothing more than bamboo and canvas. Cody's madcap adventures (cow hand, gold miner, variety show creator, Royal Aeronotical Society member, etc..) would make a wild story in any age, but are particularly resonant on the brink of the centennial of flight.
Hulls' book, though aimed at children, is informative and interesting for anyone fascinated by flying and the art of invention. Here is a simple story well told: the writing is clear and evocative, the characters come alive on the page, and once again history is a story worth telling.

Herding cattle up the Chisholm Trail from Texas to the Kansas railheads for shipment, young Samuel Cody became fascinated with the kites built by the chuck wagon's Chinese cook. The cook taught Cody kite building, starting the young cowhand on an odyssey that would take him to the Klondyke gold rush, then to the London stage with his KLONDYKE NUGGET, to full fellowship in the Royal Aeronatical Society and simultaneous birthing of the British aircraft industry.
The show's success, with roles for all his family, enabled Cody to indulge his kite habit on a grand scale, shown in the book's many fine photos. In 1901 they built the first practical man-carrying kite (woman-carrying, too--Lela shown in a photo aloft in formal hat and long dress, the first woman to fly in a heavier-than-air craft). The Royal Navy and then the Army bought Cody's kites, leading Cody to friendship with Colonel Capper, a British army officer ostensibly developing balloons for artillery observation but actually harboring visions of flight.
Cody and Capper collaborated in leading England into the age of flight. They buzzed Buckingham Palace and the War Office with their powered airship, then developed a hang-glider kite, finally "Army Airplane #1." Capper, who knew the Wrights, risked his career in supporting Cody but Cody went on to repeated triumphs, winning the first British military aircraft trials in 1912. The very next year Cody died tragically in an aircraft accident. The British army buried him with full military honours after a procession attended by 50,000 mourners representing every British army regiment.
Pilots who write about flying often evoke magic. Hulls writes with the clarity and humour of St. Exupery, Gann, Bach and the handful of pilots whose love of flight becomes literature. The chapter "Flyers and Liars" captures the risk of early flight and the achievements of the Wrights and Cody, quoting the 1906 NEW YORK HERALD: "Despite extravagant claims, history would show that by 1908 only five humans had acquired significant time flying heavier-than-air machines. Two were dead--Otto Lilienthal and Percy Pilcher, a Scots engineer who had studied with him, died in flying accidents." Cody and the Wrights were the only ones with more than brief seconds in heavier-than-air flight. In all the other claims, no one knew enough to ask the key question: "How did you learn to fly?"
Coupled with illustrator David Weitzman's illustrations of what it took to learn even to make a simple turn, Hulls depicts the Wrights' and Cody's bravery and brilliance as they risked death to master flight. Among Cody's inventions: the variable-pitch propeller, whose efficiency Cody tested by tethering his airplane to a tree at Farnborough (a flight-test locale that became, decades earlier, the British equivalent of Edwards AFB). When the tree died recently, the RAE honored Cody by recreating the tree in aluminium on its original site.
While directed at younger readers, "Rider" is a wonderful book for anyone of any age interested in great American characters such as Cody and the Wrights, a must for pilots or indeed anyone with a love of flight or who today flies safely in a modern airliner.

Charles Ludlam was, hands down, one of the most brilliant innovators in postmodern theatre. At a time when many radical theatre-types were resting on their laurels (or regurgitating works they created decades earlier), Ludlam and his constant collaborator/companion, Everett Quinton, were experimenting with new forms, keeping things fresh. Unfortunately (or perhaps not), he's been pidgeonholed by theatre historians as working exclusively in gay theatre; in point of fact, though, while his audience was largely "downtown" and therefore predominantly gay, his influence was felt throughout theatre community.

That's not, however, to say he was a benevolent gay genius. On the contrary: secondhand stories about his professional habits and beliefs are enough to curl the toes of even the cruelest tyrant. That, of course, is why this book is SO enjoyable--and important. Part autobiography, part manifesto, it explains Ludlam's ideas about art, life, and theatre in his own words. And while it's certainly polemic at times, it's very enlightening and always entertaining.

Ridiculous Theatre : Scourge of Human Folly : The Essays and Opinions of Charles Ludlam is a true treasure for anyone ridiculous enough to consider a career as an artist. Ludlam, the actor/director/writer/artistic director of the Ridiculous Theatre, knows a lot about creating art and as a result of his experience, has some very strong opinions on the subject. Ludlam writes about what he knows and what he loves -- the theatre. The essays included in this anthology are extremenly insightful and thought-provoking as Ludlam proffers his opinions on every subject from critics to drag to opera (and everything in between). In the end, the reader comes to an understanding of the utter ridiculousness (in a truly wonderful way) of a theatrical life.