It is very rare that one can read a religiously oriented book and end up with a feeling of respect and awe. The Shii/Sufi teachings are most fascinating. A wonderful book to read, to say the least.

Composed by the man who did 'Side Show', Dreamgirls is a Broadway masterpiece. It has so many vocal pieces that make you want to cry and applaud so loudly! This vocal selections book includes every great song from Dreamgirls with the exception of 'I Miss You Old Friend'. Songs are: Move You're Stepping On My Heart, Steppin' To The Bad Side, And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going, Ain't No Party, Cadillac Car, Dreamgirls, Fake Your Way To The Top, Family, Hard To Say Goodbye, My Love, I Am Changing, One Night Only, and When I First Saw You. 'I Am Changing' is in my top 10 of BEST SONGS EVER! Amazon.com was the first place I was able to find this book! Thank you, Amazon!

"Oct. 22nd, 1837. 'What are you doing now?' he asked, 'Do you keep a journal?'-- So I make my first entry today." Thus begins Thoreau's Journal, made up of more then two million words and covering about twenty-five years of his life. No other work of Thoreau's better exhibits his discipline as a writer and his devotion to the natural world. In the Journal can be found the fragmented foundations of masterpieces such as Walden, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, The Maine Woods, and Cape Cod. But what is perhaps more interesting to a reader of Thoreau's Journal are his thoughts and insights on topics such as friendship, love, religion, nature, bravery, heroism, war, slavery, the art of writing, and, most important to Thoreau, the art of living. Anyone with any interest in Thoreau will find his Journal to be an invaluable aid in understanding and following the life of one of America's most profound prose writers

A must read for both the people and the leaders of ALL the dictatorial regimes around the world (democracies would also surely benefit) . A book for all times to come. His understanding and explanation of where the real power lies is outstanding. What s breathtaking is how relevent his arguments are today and how strinkingly similar the working of all governments turn out to be (as generalized by Hart). He deals with issues such as "patterns and psychology of dictatorship", "power politics in a democracy" and lastly the the "desire for power" and "War".

James Trager has written a book chock full of what is normally left out of history classes--the facinating tidbits of real life. Best of all, this book shows that women weren't just staying at home and raising children, but were active participants in life. Well researched, thoroughly cross references, this is a book that can provide hours of browsing pleasure. For any writer, this is a must-have on the reference shelf. For any feminist, this is also a great way to realize that women haven't been invisible people in history.

Women, Art, and Patronage from Henry III to Edward III: 1216-1377 by Loveday Lewes Gee (Boydell & Brewer) In Britain in the high middle ages women played an active and significant role as artistic patrons. This study considers who these women were, their social status, the sources of their wealth and their motives for acting as they did, in addition to examining the various buildings, tombs and artefacts that they chose to spend their money on and the practical details involved. Questions are raised concerning the nature of female patronage as well as the means by which their aims were achieved. Focusing on the activities of women from different social strata as patrons of a range of artistic enterprises has revealed much, not only about their artistic intentions, but also about their individual piety, interests and concerns, and about the cultural and social context of their lives.
Surviving buildings, tombs, manuscripts and seal impressions provide the evidence on which this investigation has been based, together with relevant wills, documents and contemporary texts. The period chosen, from the accession of Henry III in 1216 to the death of Edward III in 1377, has provided an opportunity to assess the evolving impact of religious and social developments over several generations on the women concerned with artistic patronage.
Medieval culture was intensely visual. Although this has long been recognised by art historians and by enthusiasts for particular media, there has been little attempt to study social display as a subject in its own right, although display goes directly to the heart of the values, aspirations and, indeed, anxieties of past societies.
Contents: MAURICE KEEN Introduction; DAVID CROUCH The Historian, Lineage and Heraldry, 1050 1250; PETER CROSS Knighthood, Heraldry and Social Exclusion in Edwardian England; CAROLINE SHENTON Edward III and the Symbol of the Leopard; ADRIAN AILES Heraldry in Medieval England: Symbols of Politics and Propaganda; FREDERIQUE LACHAUD Dress and Social Status in England before the Sumptuary Laws; MARIAN CAMPBELL Medieval Founders' Relics: Royal and Episcopal Patronage at Oxford and Cambridge Colleges; BRIAN & MOIRA GITTOS Motivation and Choice: The Selection of Medieval Secular Effigies; NIGEL SAUL Bold as Brass: Secular Display in English Medieval Brasses;
FIONN PILBROW The Knights of the Bath: Dubbing to Knighthood in Lancastrian and Yorkist England; CAROLINE BARRON Chivalry, Pageantry and Merchant Culture in Medieval London; JOHN WATTS Looking for the State in Later Medieval England

...This book gives
the behind the scenes systems that Henry uses to be one of the
best presenters and authors I've ever known personally. The
book is so practical and helpful. I have been leading workshops
for years, but picked up tips from his book: Exa. Greet your
audience at the door as they come in, it creates a special bond.
Obvious, but I hadn't thought of it. Henry is a very generous
person and writer. He gives resources in the back of the book
for quality editors, printers, self-publishers, distributors,
etc. Everything you need seems to be included. A good companion
book on the same subject would be: The Unabashed Self Promoter's
Guide by Jeffrey Lant, ...
You will pick up a lot of wonderful information if you
read Your Creative Voice!

I suppose that the only reason that anyone would read an autobiography by David Lee Roth would be to either finally get the scoop on his bitter fighting with his ex-bandmates in Van Halen or to pick up the juicy bits of dressing room sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll from his heyday.

Not only does Diamond Dave shed almost no light on the Van Halen conflict, he only mentions Michael Anthony once or twice in the entire book. The Van Halen brothers rate a few more pages, but only as the reunion "scam" unfolds in the late 90's. I understand that Roth doesn't want to sling any more mud, but that's what makes a rock bio a rock bio. Without it, it's pretty much a lot of chapters about his cars and his house and which comic books he likes.

As far as dressing room stories go, there's a few. No names. And there's more debauchery about Dave in Motley Crue's The Dirt than in his own book, so I'd assume he's leaving a lot of the worse stuff out. To hear him tell it he had a few drinks, tried a drug or two, had a ball, rode his bicycle a lot, did some rock-climbing, and never really had a bad/sad moment or serious relationship in 30 years. Sure.

David Lee's no writer (surprise), and his fragmented sentences and use of words like "ginormous" make many chapters completely unintelligible. He claims that this was weeded down from 1100 pages by his editor...I hope the editor got more money than Dave did. Dave's had quite a life, but a ghost writer is sometimes a good thing. This book manages to make it all sound very bland and a little bit pathetic.

Diamond Dave wrote a book? You bet I wanted to read it... Being a fan of Get in the Van by Henry Rollins (documenting his life on the road with Black Flag), I figured this would be another series of road rash stories from one of the biggest stars of the 80s. Wouldn't you know I was both right and wrong? Right about great road stories, but about the wrong roads. The material about life on the road with Van Halen completely pales in comparison with DLR's experiences and travels while away from the band. Hearing his mountain climbing and Amazon river boat tales, you realize there's FAR more to this man than the music. He does have a brain and shows more insight into life than you might expect from a "rock star." A great and natural read that reminds one of Lenny Bruce and the aforementioned Rollins.

Being a fan of Diamond Dave, I eagerly awaited the arrival of "Crazy from the Heat" from Amazon. The wait was very much worth it. In this whirlwind biography, Dave proves why he is considered the greatest showman in rock and roll. His stories of the road and his dedication to his craft are inspirational. How many other singers would take the time to scrub the floor of the stage before a concert tour? I would recommend "Crazy from the Heat" to anyone who is a rock music fan and especially those of us who admire Mr. Roth because it shows the human side of him that many of us have not seen. There is depth of character revealed in his interactions with ordinary people and in his travels as a "Jungle Stud." I think that it is a reflection of David's maturity that he has not taken the opportunity in his autobiography to make derogatory comments about Van Halen or any other of his business associates. If you want to read about the David Lee Roth band or the mudslinging with Van Halen, I can provide you with copies of articles on those subjects. But if you're wanting to learn more about the greatest front man in rock music, then "Crazy from the Heat" is a must-read.

I have never read a book quite like this one. After I read "Henry and June", I read "Fire" and I plan to read many more of Anais' books. This is a must read for any young woman -- Anais is not afraid of her sexuality -- this diary describes her promiscuous behavior that is traditionally only acceptable for men. It is a truly liberating book. She emphasizes the importance of experience, and living life fully in terms of sexuality, creation and emotion. She was a woman ahead of her time. I highly recommend this book -- I could not put it down -- it describes emotions and desires all women have, but try to repress because of society's rules. If anyone lived their life to it's limits, it was Anais Nin.

This diary is a true, well written account about a fascinating time in the life of Anais Nin. If you've never read Anais before, this is a great book to start with, especially for anyone who's a fan of Henry Miller, the decade of the thirties, and anything Paris. Her day-to-day accounts of her thoughts are an enlightening look at a life most of us only can only dream of living.

Before Henry and June, I had never read a book by Anais Nin. In fact, the only knowledge of her writing I had was from a poem I had to read in junior English a couple of years ago. Oddly enough I went to a bookstore that was going out of business and decided to pick up this book because it was offered for 5 bucks. I started reading the book and was instantly swept away by it. Her writing is so intense and blunt, she holds nothing back from the reader. I have learned so much about myself just from this one book alone. I agree strongly with her views on men and women. With this one book she had become my favorite writer. Even above D.H Lawrence (who ironically is mentioned many times throughout the novel!) As soon as I get paid I am going to make it a point of myself to read as many of her books as possible.

This book is an excellent jumping off point for anyone who is interested in trying to gain an idea of the horrors faced by the millions of men (not only Americans) entrenched on the battle lines around the world. The selection of first hand accounts from hundreds of varied sources is masterful and Miller is at his best when he weaves together the plethora of accounts and lets those who were there speak for themselves. The narrtive he has written/supplemented is interesting and notable for its inclusion of the black experiece in the war but it often feels like he is trying to hard to incorporate it and be PC. Nevertheless the book is fun to read and gives incredible perspective on the realities of war.

Drawing on a vast trove of previously unpublished eyewitness interviews, Miller's work contains text that is more than 75 percent new, more than 100 photographs, and nearly two dozen maps. The book provides extensive new coverage of, among other things, the war in the Pacific, the air war, the liberation of the death camps, and the contributions of African-Americans, women, and Japanese-Americans. Miller places the personal accounts of soldiers, sailors, airmen, nurses, and war correspondents in a historical context that was unavailable to Commager as he wrote in the heat of the conflict

I have just finished reading this book,and I have read a number of books on World War II over the years. The Story of World War II by Donald L. Miller is by far the best it covers every aspect of the war from the invasion of Poland in 1939 to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, it is well written and very hard to put down. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in WWII or not