Don't let the dismal fact that this book is twenty-zillionth on the bestseller list discourageth you.... it is well worth orderething.

I first came to this book through the published endorsement (hence, not personal) of the great C.S. Lewis, who made his first reading of the Well in November of 1914. He read it many times thereafter.

In my ONE reading of the two volumes, I can attest to the fact that this is a beautiful story, a rich fantasy, a vibrant fairy-tale with no fairies. Among other things... a love story. Strictly speaking, as regards genre, it is a "romance". The chivalric, bardic story of Ralph of Upmeads, the least likely of the King's four sons, who devotes his life to the quest of the Well at The World's End... a fabled well which promises to reward its discoverer with perpetual youth.

If you are in love with Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings (and who isn't) you should definitely consider having an affair with The Well At The World's End. Let me defuse the daunting issue of Morris's use of archaic language. Be ye warned, in every sentence you will constantly encounter words such as forsooth, hitherward, quoth, whither, rideth, erstwhile, deem, draweth, betwixt, and I wot not else. At first I thought this would be really intolerable. But I quickly adapted to it, and even found it kind of "not vile".

Remember... Volume 2 is essential. It's NOT a sequel, it's a conclusion. Get both volumes, and escape the world of car horns and remote control for a bit.

I applaud this new re-issue of what is definitely a fantasy classic. Previously, one had to search a hundred used-book stores to find it. Now it's a click away.

And as regards it's place on the bestseller list? I am reminded of the wise words of the great Henrik Ibsen, who once suggested that "the solid majority is always wrong."

I rank this book up there with the Gormenghast series and the Lord of the Rings. A fantasy masterpiece, it is the precursor for everything that came after. Yes, the archaic medieval language is tough to get into at first, but after ten or twenty pages it becomes natural to the mind and presents no problem. One sees that the language is part of the beauty. Overall, this book is like one of those medieval detailed tapestries, with kings, adventurers, knights and noble women trotting through forests toward distant castles. This is medieval romance at its finest, and because it dates from 1898, it is happily free of the Tolkien imitativeness that has so infected a large portion of modern fantasy. Forget Terry Brooks, read The Well At the World's End.

I've been interested in the history of fantasy for a while, and I was definately intrigued when I happened upon this title. I immediately ordered it and read it. The Well at the World's End is marvelous. Every once in a while I start wanting to read a romance, and this is a good romance. The story is pretty original and was very different for its time. The story follows Ralph as he searches for the WELL AT THE WORLD'S END. He has enemies and intrigued galor to fight through. Along the way, there is also a love story, too.

The Well at the World's End is a good read even for modern readers. It is an excellent example of "romance." It is also good just as a curiosity read. Fans of Tolkien, Lewis, and Eliot should visit William Morris's writings. Personally, my favorite thing about the book was the archaic prose. For the first twenty pages I thought it would be bothersome. After that, I was used to it and the book flowed nicely. It is sad that few people read William Morris today.

"The human race, without intending anything of the sort, has undertaken a gigantic uncontrolled experiment on the earth. In time, I think, this will appear as the most important aspect of twentieth-century history, more so than World War II, the communist enterprise, the rise of mass literacy, the spread of democracy, or the growing emancipation of women." (J. R. McNeill)

Over the past few years there have been a spate of histories of the 20th century. Most of them have been written from traditional, often Eurocentric, historical perspectives that focus upon political history set in the context of socioeconomic development and ideological and military conflict. J. R. McNeill's *Something New Under the Sun* replaces the political narrative, usually found at the center of histories, with an environmental one. It invites readers to reevaluate the legacy of the 20th century.

By any measure, the 20th century is, as McNeill characterizes it, "a prodigal century." In terms of growth of population, economic development, and energy production and consumption, it is a case of 'quantity having a quality of its own.' On the one hand, it is a triumph of the human species. (McNeill suggests readers consider that over the past 4 billion years of human history, 20% of all human life-years took place in the 20th century.) On the other hand, this prodigal century - this triumph of human ingenuity - has also exacted an unprecedented environmental cost. It is this trade-off that McNeill's book explores.

McNeill's approach is interdisciplinary, and the book is divided into two sections. The first section is organized around transformations to the lithosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere, and the resulting pollution and resource depletion. Each topic includes a (very) brief conceptual introduction, case studies from around the world, (black and white) photos, maps, and tables. This section also includes the best example of unintentional environmental consequences. McNeill introduces Thomas Midgely, the inventor of leaded gasoline and Freon, "[who] had more impact on the atmosphere than any other organism in earth history."

In the second section, McNeill introduces the 'engines of change" - 1) population growth, migration, and urbanization, 2) energy, technology, and economic growth, and 3) politics and environmental awareness. The pulses of 'coketowns' and 'motowns' take place amidst the tumultuous social, economic, and political events of the 20th century. Environmental awareness doesn't take root until the 70's - a critical period for women as well. (His examples of Rachel Carson and Wangari Maathai were well chosen - and gendered.) In his epilogue (So What?), McNeill's history portends an environmental crunch, a change of circumstances - a dilemma unlike the world has witnessed so far.

"With our new powers we banished some historical constraints on health and population, food production, energy use, and consumption generally. Few who know anything about life with these constraints regret their passing. But in banishing them we invited other constraints in the form of the planet's capacity to absorb wastes, by-products, and impacts of our actions. The latter constraints had pinched occasionally in the past, but only locally. By the end of the twentieth century, they seemed to restrict our options globally. Our negotiations with these constraints will shape the future as our struggles against them shaped our past." (J. R. McNeill)

*Something New Under The Sun* is written in a popular style well suited to both non-fiction readers and students. Readers of environmental historians like William Cronon, William McNeill, or Alfred Crosby will certainly find McNeill's book interesting. Personally I think that McNeill's global perspective of the 20th century will stand the test of time.

McNeill's basic thesis is that in environmental terms, the 20th century has been unprecedented in human history and planetary history in general. He points out that the impact of humankind's breathtaking technological advancements in the last 100 or so years can be likened to a major cataclysm, like an asteroid hitting the planet. The book provides a wealth of background information on a number of major technical/technological developments, and how they have improved the lives of many people but also damaged or imperiled the air, water and soil that sustain all life. McNeill is hardly a Luddite or a primitivist, but he does make some reasonable calls for restraint and, perhaps, a worldwide assessment of where human economic/industrial/technological activities are taking the planet. Interesting in this vein is his consideration, toward the end of the book, of how the economic thought of the last century, with its adherence to the concept of unlimited growth, has played a key role in preventing such an assessment. As he points out, overcoming this way of thinking represents a daunting task, since these (Anglo-American) economic doctrines have assumed the status of irrefutable dogma - like any system of religious beliefs.

For a throughly researched, densly written , book of facts to be readable is almost a contradiction. Yet this is exactly what J.R. McNeill has accomplished. He is a Historian, most interested in change, objective in his assesment of those changes (Who and What benefits, Who and What doesn't), anthropocentric(a viewpoint too often missing in environmental studies), and broad-minded concerning possible approaches to problems (the shark has done very well for a very long time).

What makes this such an important book aside from its readability and penetrating analysis, is perspective. J.R. McNeill considers history without consideration of the life-support system of Earth or ecology that neglects social forces, incomplete and capable of leading to dangerous conclusions. Further, "Both history and ecology are, as fields of knowledge go, supremely integrative. They merely need to integrate with one another."

Having grown up in Pittsburgh, Pa., I can attest to the author's history of Pittsburgh and to his grasp of the complexity of problems there (for instance: Andrew Carnegie found the level of pollution intolerable, later some unions fought smoke-control). In today's world, no matter where we live or what work we do,environmental issues will arise.

This book by elucidating the processes and trends that underly today's world, gives us a foundation on which to base our opinions and choices, working toward the day when we , in the author's words, "Make our own luck, rather than trusting to luck..."

Aside: Doesn't Maxwell look like the teacher/monitor from the 80's movie, The Breakfast Club? Anyway...

I applaud John Maxwell, who writes books integrating Christian principles into non-spiritual topics, like leadership. In this book, Maxwell brings up three things that we need to understand in order to be a success: 1) To know our purpose in life, 2) To maximize our potential, and 3) To sow seeds that benefits others.

In defining success within these three principles, he defines what success in NOT, namely wealth, power, or a number of other things that we normally equate with making it in this world. He brings up some good examples of the wealthy and powerful industrialists of the early 20th century who died penniless or miserable.

Principle #2 really spoke to me. Maximizing potential is something, by nature, that I constantly strive to do. Maxwell's chapters devoted to this principle were the most beneficial to me. The inevitability of change in our lives brings us to the point of what decision we will make. It's not like we can avoid change, we can't. This becomes an inflection point in our life and can determine what will happen to us over the next one, five, ten years. We can go into the unknown (which is hard to do) or keep the status quo.

Principles #1 and #3 also brought up some good things for me, but I have to say that the chapters relating to maximizing potential were the most interesting. But that is where I am in life. Perhaps the other two chapters are more suited for you.

The pits of the book that I feel compelled to highlight are few, but nonetheless present. While the material is useful, I found it rather simplistic. Some chapters had a bullet point list of "fix-it" solutions. Abstract areas like leadership are rarely solved by concrete methods of A, B, C, etc., although it can be a good start. I wish it would have gone deeper. Also, this may be a pet peeve, but Maxwell uses a lot of insightful examples using references like, "It is said that Abe Lincoln said this..." or "According to a 13th century monk..."

Like I said, the examples are useful in illustrating a point, but these roundabout references lose a little bit of legitimacy to me. I'm sure that he has a good research staff, but I am used to seeing more solid citations when referring to a story or person.

But this is a good overview of success, which is not derived from wealth or power, but of knowing the purpose that God created us for and to actually go out and realize it.

it changed my lifelong, discouraging concept of success. I was encouraged to see my life with hope again. please write more books like this. i have been telling my friends to buy the book. my negative attitudes are changing. best of all, this is so God-inspired. i just chanced upon this book, not realizing how much it was going to help me change . thank you. the bookstore said it's so hard to obtain it and i just didn't let go of it anymore at the store. hope i didn't say too much.

I really enjoyed this book, and learned a lot about my journey towards a successful life. John Maxwell has put together years of research about leadership, and the pursuit of success for this book. He uses a very straight forward approach towards the subject of success, and what it really means. Additionally, he reinforces his ideas with many quotes and stories from people of every walk of life.

Although some of Mr. Maxwell's thoughts and concepts were not new to me this book really challenged me to take an honest look at my life and where I am heading. Since I am currenlty in the middle of a huge career change (and trying to focus my thoughts on what my future should look like), I think that I discovered this book at the perfect time. It has helped me gain focus and motivation for the upcoming changes.

I especially enjoyed the practical exercises that are at the end of each chapter in the book. You can't just read this book and expect your life to change. You have to do some work, and the author constantly reminds you of this fact throughout. When I forced myself to answer some of the tough questions that he throws at you, I gained some real insight into my life's work, and where I am heading.

I also liked the fact that John Maxwell includes an entire chapter about family relationships and the fact that you cannot be successful, unless you are successful at home first. I have seen too many people make this mistake, so I am glad that he included this angle in the book. My wife and I had a great discussion about what we value when we completed the exercises at the end of this chapter together.

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for insight into how to fulfill your dreams, how to become successful, or just want to improve their outlook on life. It can help give you a new perspective, and gives you the tools for an honest assessment of where you are, and where you want to go.

One of the better books of this genre and suprisingly intelligent and witty. Winkle tackles targets that legitmately annoy him (and us, his readers) and doesn't give up until he gets a satisfactory resolution to his complaints. For some authors in this genre, simply getting an answer to a stupid letter is the punchline. Not so for Winkle, who demands real answers to his complaints. It's his targets' own unwillingness to co-operate that makes them look foolish (and reveals their real attitude toward consumers) and this provides much of the humor for the book.

This is less a "prank" letter book than it is a manual on the art of effective consumer complaining, but this doesn't detract at all from its laugh-out-loud humor. Winkle is an odd and wonderful mixture of consumer crusader and merry prankster.

I enjoyed this book so much that I decided to become president of his fan club. The letters I enjoyed the most were those trying to get a pet gorilla on Carnival Cruise Lines and trying to get free soda refills for the entire family at Wendy's. This book provides hours of fun for everyone.

I enjoyed the "Letters from a Nut" series of books. But this book is even better. The author not only writes with his strange requests/questions, but he continues to reply over and over. It's almost unbelieveable how some of his letters are responded to. He puts a lot of thought into his letters, making them outright hilarious. Letter's from a Nut is good, but Wilber Winkle is great!

Wow! What a great book! I highly recommend this book to every alternative health care and professional health care practitioner. Health Care practitioners are usually so busy caring for the health of others that they seldom have time to seek help themselves. The information in this book will assist these people in keeping their health and energy up so that they can better help others.

"Your Hands Can Heal You" is a excellent introduction to Pranic Healing and several of Grand Master Choa Kok Sui's courses; Basic Pranic Healing, Advanced Pranic Healing, Pranic Psychotherapy, Soul Realization and Arhatic Yoga Prep. Grand Master Choa Kok Sui is the founder of Pranic Healing and all his courses are interconnected and designed to enhance every area of our lives.

I have been a student of Pranic Healing for the past seven years. Prior to Pranic Healing my life was very chaotic. I was always emotionally overwhelmed and emotionally driven. During a most difficult period in my life I got on my knees and asked God to "show me something different". The following day I was guided to a class on Pranic Healing. Immediately after a one weekend course of Basic Pranic Healing my life stabilized.

Thanks to practicality of the teachings of this ancient wisdom I am better able to handle all of life's challenges today. I experience greater clarity of mind, inner peace, more energy to accomplish tasks at hand, more focus, better health and a fulfilled life. Today I can sweep away any physical and emotional discomfort before it fully manifests into a greater problem. I can walk away from chaotic situations without getting drawn into them. And I can better assist those I love by being detached and objective.

What a great blessing to have all this information available in one easy to read book!

One of the most fabulous reads ever! Turning pages you realize what you have always known but couldn't quite put your finger on - what makes people sick, how to prevent it and how to fix it! I highly recommend this book for those who have illnesses that doctors couldn't quite diagnose or cure. And best yet, using the techniques taught in this book will allow you to show your friends and family love in a way they have probably never known before - through the gift of healing that is within us all.

This book will really empower you. It is presented in a very simple yet systematic manner revealing ancient secrets of the healing arts. Pranic Healing is easy to incorporate into your daily life and it works! My entire family has benefited from the teachings presented in this book.

This self-published, spiral bound volume details the experiences of Lloyd Wright, who contracted Hepatitis C during a blood infusion. In the years that followed, the author began what became an almost two decade long search for a cure. Finding the medical community largely unreceptive to alternative treatments, the author embarked on his own research and using a variety of alternative treatments is now Hepatitis Free. The author, no friend of traditional medicine or drug companies, definately takes sides here and argues for more recognition of alternative remedies for Hepatitis. The last third of the book comprises a list of remedies and their therapeutic effects. Although these alternative remedies may not prove to be a cure-all for everyone, as they were for the author, the author is on the right track in calling for more incorporation and testing of alternative remedies in the conventional medical world. Perhaps this book will help in that effort.

I bought this book after finding out that my best friend has hepatitis c. I like the fact that the book is straightforward, Lloyd talks about his ridiculous experiences in dealing with doctors who don't know enough about the disease and certainly don't know how to treat it. He has great, solid ideas on how to improve your health and become hepatitis c- free. It's a tried and true method, it worked for him and he is now free of the disease. The ONE thing I didn't particularly care for and was at times quite shocked about was the language he used and the sexual undertones. I write this so those of you who purchase this won't be too shocked as I was, as well as my friend! Don't let it deter you, let it make you laugh. This is a must read for anyone suffering from this debilitating disease and for anyone who needs info in order to help a loved one.

I was recently diagnosed with Hepatitis C and had been feeling afraid & overwhelmed. My wife found Lloyd Wright's book which I read cover to cover without setting it down. I immediately felt so much better! The book is a little rough, but very funny, engaging, and full of specific, understandable, useful information. All of the alternative treatments are clearly explained and are well supported by historical reference and descriptions of how they work in the human body. His explanations of what to stay away from and why are equally detailed and enlightening. Try to get the run of the mill doctor in this country to explain ANYTHING as clearly as Mr. Wright has. I feel hopeful and almost "normal" again. Thank You

John Berger's to The Wedding traces a poetic and delicate path, elliptically circling round an initially undefinable story; the reader has to stick with it to find the many ways of seeing its intricate web. The writing seems quite detached and even sometimes cold, but certain brief and passing phrases cut so close to the bone that they have brought me and many friends of mine close to tears. (The book is somewhat reminiscent of the The English Patient in its detachment, although the lyrical style of To The Wedding is quite different, much more compact and spare) The other thing that's interesting about the book is that at first it seems like a scene set in a time past, but as you get a clue of the real "story", it's ultimately quite surprising in its modernity and specificity in addressing issues of our time (i don't want to give anything away plotwise!). The juxtaposition of this specificity of purpose and the timelessness of the symbolism and the fact that it deals with universally recognisable human emotions of nostalgia, sorrow and loss are what give the book its strength. No doubt the fact that it is based on actual events and characters in the author's family lends it its special poignancy

This is one of those jewels that, by itself, make learning to read the most important thing we learned, and having a heart the most profound gift we were ever given. The story is a story of love. Of how love survives on love alone, and we are its humble witnesses. Berger weaves the longings and fears of people, like you and I, wrestling with living, meeting and knowing, carving some faith out of this world. I purposely abstain from telling the story in concrete terms. I leave it to you to discover it and paint their lives with your own colors. This is about a story of faith, faith on love and its simplicity and depth. Faith on another whose faith is offered to us. Berger's narration is a lesson to every writer who ever long to disappear behind his or her words. A gift to every reader hungering for the beauty and warmth of true language. In times, like ours, when self-reflection is invaded by the jargon of self-help, and everyone seems to sound like everyone else--pain a! nd experience stripped from their detail--John Berger gives us people with souls and doubts and joys of their own. If this book doesn't make you better, it sure will make you kinder.

I love this book and recommend it to all of my friends, no matter what their tastes are. "To the Wedding" is intimate and yet epic in spirit. what Mr. Berger does with voice is daring and remarkably effective: a blind man tells us what he sees, and characters are revealed in both in first and third-person. Like Ondaatje's Hana, Ninon and will remain with you for a long, long time.

Crowley's early books were definitely in the "SF" genre, but as time has gone by we more and more frequently find him in the "Literature" section of many bookstores.

If this is a compliment, it is one that is well-deserved. Crowley's writing has a magical quality that creates a unique atmosphere unlike almost any other (the nearest comparison might be Keith Roberts' "Pavane").

"Aegypt" appeared as an individual volume with virtually no clue to the fact that it had a sequel ("Love and Sleep") or that in fact these two books were the first of a four-volume set (the third, "Daemonomania", seems to have been delayed - it appeared in Books In Print in 1998 but has, according to Bantam, been "withdrawn").

The books are set in two worlds - a small-town, modern, north-east US environment and the world of Renaissance magicians like Dr John Dee. At the heart of the series is the idea that great changes of direction in human civilisation - such as the Renaissance or the advent of the Age of Reason - not only place culture on a different path into the future, but also, looking over our shoulders as it were, we see a different past. This is a concept that, in itself, has serious philosophical merit.

Thus the past of "Aegypt" is a magical, occult "alternate history of the world" with which modern materialist society has lost touch - or nearly so.

Crowley weaves the threads of both realities together in an astonishing and unique way that holds the reader in thrall, wishing it would never end.

All his books are worth reading, but this one - and its sequel(s) - especially so.

Initially, Aegypt is an all-out barrage of images and information, in the midst of which it is difficult to assimilate the major themes that are developing. However, as you continue your journey along with Pierce Moffett, this mass of somewhat obscure imagery and information slowly begins to unravel. The miracle of Crowley's prose is that he guides the reader through a series of small revelations along with the main character that culminate in one entire running synchronistic metaphor. His brilliant excerpts from other sources, ie. his own fictional writer Fellowes Kraft, serve as slivers of allegory relating to Pierce and some of the other characters in the book's main story. Crowley patiently weaves a web of coincidences, of synchronicity, that serves as a sturdy metaphoric foundation to support all of the synapse-igniting ideas presented to the reader to be delineated and digested. This novel is so cleverly plotted, that I cannot help but wonder if it is somehow based on the ancient geometric principles that are discussed and reffered to throughout the book. This is not even to speak of the potential Jungian archetypes presented by the characters surrounding Pierce. Rosie as anima, Spofford animus, Pierce the ego, Fellowes Kraft the Shadow? Even these archetypes do not do the interconnectedness of the characters justice. In the Prologue in Heaven, when the skryer is looking into the stone, he sees an angel who holds another stone, in which there is a child with yet another stone, and within that stone the immense void, the eternal truth. Just as this ancient knowledge of Aegypt that Pierce is uncovering comes through himself, Kraft, Bruno, and so on. One more running metaphor to drive it all home is the reoccuring imagery of bouncing balls with stripes and stars, croquet balls colliding, and finally the dozens of hot air balloons filling the sky, again synchronicity. Crowley sets his sights high, and does not disappoint.

P.S. Pierce (Inverarity) Moffett, Rosie MUCHO. See The Crying of Lot 49. The horn from 49 and the ring symbol in Aegypt. Many similarities.

Carried by a fanciful play between fact and fiction, Aegypt soars as one of the best novels I've ever read. Using history as a jumping point, Crowley guides the reader through lives lived in regret, hope, fear, and the awe of realization, finally landing in a world made magical only by the minds experiencing it. Crowley also has a knack for laying out patterns, looping from character to character, as well as from author to reader. Despite the book's sometimes questionable veracity, the feelings it describes and the insights about the human condition are almost always dead on. Read this book (and make sure to look up the names you read about, a lot of them are real).

Love action thriller, folks? Then please read this one, and you won't regret! There is only one thing that I'd like to remind Mr. Clarkson: Don't let Devlin to mix up in a mass battleground with automatic weaponry, because it sucks! If Mr. Clarkson's 2nd and 3rd books could be like this first and the best one, allowing Devlin to use his wits and martial art technique to do the jobs, instead of using sub-machine gun or grenades, it would be more fun. Once the hero could only solve the problem by automatic weapon and made the shoot-to-kill wipeout become the only choice, it would kill the whole thing

Three books I've read by John Clarkson are the best action thrillers you can find in English. I read about one action/thriller/suspense book a week but haven't read anything better than this. Fast-paced, realistic, great characters, good story - they have it all.

having read all of Mr. Clarkson's book as well as hundreds of other action dramas I'd rate him right up there with anyone. Well written, hot, furious, and fun. It's a one day read, PERIOD!!!