This is a great book for people who are just starting out with an exercise regimen as well as for people who are already active. I used this book to help me train for the Avon 3-Day Walk (60 miles in 3 days) and am proud to say that after doing the stretches in this book (even at the beginner level), I could walk 15-20 miles in a day and never have even shin splints. This is a great way to make exercise (relatively) painless.

This book was wonderful and detailed. Not only is it a great book but it has great pictures of the stretches. I recomend this book to anyone who needs to be more informed on stretching properly. I am a person who works out consistantly but felt like I always did the same stretches and never felt like I was getting all of my muscles. Now I know a lot more and feel I am compitant enough to work every muscle group.

I own this and have given it as a gift many times. I challenge you to learn and do the series of stretches "For All Active People" every day for a week, and see how much more un-tense and flexible you feel! You may not even be aware of just how tight and tense your muscles habitually are from your everyday living, until you release them with these stretches.

There are also other stretch series included, some examples being for Dancers and Professional Athletes, or People Who Sit a Lot. Alter lists stretches which benefit every part of the body from head to toe, and gives easy to follow instructions on how to do each one, with troubleshooting text on how not to do them as well, and clear line drawings.

I have found that the best time to do these stretches is at night after exercise, then take a hot shower and go to sleep. I wake in the morning feeling utterly relaxed, with my leg muscles twitching as though they'd LIKE to tense up as usual, but can't :-D Unfortunately I am a morning person with a fairly physically stressful job, and am almost always way too tired to do this... it takes me a good 45 minutes to work through the "For All Active People" series. So I usually end up doing them in the morning before work, since that is when I have the most energy. If I'm on the Nordic Track by 5:15 I have time to stretch and shower before running out the door to work :-D

When this book was first released, I gave a copy to my 75-year-old mother, who has osteoarthritis. Over and over, she's told me about consulting this book when trying to decide whether or not to try some remedy that a friend has suggested. She feels that it has kept her from spending a fortune on snake oil, and has made her bold enough to try alternative approaches that have been helpful, such as glucosamine-chondroitin supplements. Obviously it was the perfect gift.

I found this book very helpful in making sense out of the confusing array of alternative therapies out there these days. Ms. Horstman provides a no-nonsense overview of many traditional healing techniques, together with a comprehensive bibliography and medical references. The organization of the book makes it very easy to use, too. Overall, this book shows a high level of quality on all levels, and is a valuable resource for those of us in search of health and healing!

Overall, a finely-written and much needed compendium of arthritis information. Judith Horstman did a wonderful job of sifting through the medical literature to produce an easy-to-access resource for the (often) confusing world of alternative arthritis treatments.

First of all, if you can, consider picking up the audio book version of this novel, by Griot audio. I didn't see it here, so I'm reviewing the PB version.

I met this author at a writer's conference this summer, and she was so friendly and personable (just like her main character) thatI thought I'd pick her book up. I'm not a big mystery reader, but if the author is talented enough, or the characters interesting enough, I grab it up. This one is worth grabbing up. Staletta Duval is an incredible character, an African-American woman (I kept picturing Pam Grier, and if the book were turned into a film, she'd be perfect) who has worked her way up to Detective Liutenent in the homicide division. The book starts off with a bang as a homeless woman is horribly burned alive in St. Francis park. Then a prostitue is killed, and Starletta and her cool Italian partner, who would probably take a bullet for her, start seeing a pattern- the killings seem to be based on a computer game called Vampire's Lair. And guess who secretly plays a lot of the game? Pampered rich kids at the local academy... but there's much more to it than that. The author --who actually has worked for the police-- fleshes out the characters well. When you hate a character, you REALLY hate a character, and when one is likeable, the author knows just how to make us fall in love with them. I also thought I knew just where the book was going, but I was proved wrong several times (I don't read a lot of mystery because I have an annoying habit of guessing the endings).It reads not only as a mystery, but also as a police procedural and crime thriller. Fans of NYPD Blue (and other similar shows) will love the book. I found the storytelling so entertaining and the chacters so likeable that I'm going to pick up the other books in the series-- and read them in order. And if I can get my hands on the audio versions...

The audio book is read by the actor Marc Damon Johnson, who does a tremendous job and is great at voicing different characters-- he does an especially hilarious job with a pimp in St. Francis park in one scene, and a prostitute in two others. The audio version is over ten hours long, but he (and of course, the talented author) made it fly by.

This is a very talented author who created characters I definitely want to spend more time with. Check it out-this series deserves a wider audience!

Green Money is the first mystery/thriller that I have read and I enjoyed it thoroughly. This was the first time in a long time that everyone in our book club truly enjoyed reading this book. It was just what the doctor ordered. I do however, have one question, can anyone provide any insight on the title of the book? Why is it titled "Green Money". Great Job Judith Smith-Levin.

I have eagerly awaited the release of this book. I'm a big fan of Ms. Smith-Levin's. She could write her name and I'd buy it, because I know whatever she puts on paper is going to totally engulf me as a reader. This is the third book in her Star Duvall series and I'm so hungry for another one that I'm going to go back and start reading from the beginning with Do Not Go Gently. Seems to me writing of this quality and caliber should be front and center on every bestseller list there is. This woman knows how to tell a story. Her characters live and breathe. I think I'm in love with Dr. Mitchell Grant, but Star is the woman for him. This savvy, foxy, smart woman makes me proud to be female. Ms. Smith-Levin gives us someone and something to root for. Here are the cops on display, all the good and all the bad, and you love them. Even the bad guys have personality and depth. No cardboard stereotypes here, every character breathes. Star's life away from the Homicide Squad that she commands is real, with friends, family and that gorgeous doctor Grant. Her world on the job is brutal, but Star and her partner, Dominic Paresi make us feel protected, even in the face of the most horrendous brutality. These are two cops you'd want to see coming, if you were in trouble. On top of the fine writing, Ms. Smith-Levin also opens the window into just what it takes to be a police officer, and to maintain your humanity doing a job that most of us would run from. If you haven't read Ms. Smith-Levin's books, I urge you to do so. She has never disappointed. I only hope there's another Starletta Duvall on the way. I can hardly wait.!

This is a wonderful book that I always loved as a child. I am so glad to see that it has a 30th edition out. Any child would really enjoy this book...I know I sure did!!

I had the Mog book when I was young and lost it when I finally had children of my own. I have been trying to find the book until I found the 30th anniversary edition on Amazon. I am so excited to get my new Mog and share the happy memeoires with my children! I recommed this book with all my heart! It truly is a keepsake!

I must have gotten Mog when I was 3 or 4 years old. I loved it as a little kid, I still get a kick out of it now. My nieces love cats, as I do, and so it's a joy to find it's still in print. Anyone who knows a cat can identify with Mog, the perpetually absent-minded cat with the 10-second attention span. Miraculously, she saves her owners *because* she's not the brightest bulb on the billboard.

I plan on ordering (eventually) a few copies...mine has survived 25 years, been on cross-country moves, chewed on by the family dog, and it's still a family treasure. Hopefully it'll be in print for another 30 years.

The book was very interesting and informative. It really opens one's eyes to secretive cults.
I did find it a bit graphic, but maybe it had to be so so that it would let people know how bad some things really are.

A friend let me borrow this book about 4 years ago. Since then I have desperatly searched to find it. It has been an obsession. I found this book to be incredibly dark, and odd. I think this book is incredibly interesting, and I would recommend highly to anyone that is interested in the inner workings of the mind.

i have read this book many times over and i still can't get enough of it, it's amazing. I would highlt reccomend it to anyone, and not just people who are interested in the mind and how it works. This is a very powerful story

I am more into the science fiction and never found the romantic stuff that intresting.....i happened to borrow "Deceptions" from my friend just to kill time....now its one of my all time favorites...i bought the book and its sequel too,which is not inleast disappointing(as sequels generally are). "Deceptions" is just not a light hearted romantic 'story' its the best in its kind that touches every aspect of our dialy routine in the most amazing way.we come accross a lot of little details we experience in our everyday life and yet fail to recognise and enjoy them.We are taught to make the best of what we have and be grateful for all the good things in our life.It describes the subtle emotions between two indivisuals with an amazing scrutiny.Its a master piece a "not to be missed" novel.Highly recommnded.

I have read the book 3 years ago and I still can tell the deepest details in the story, It's really breathtaking, every new page holds passion, love, and care within its lines......I'm planning to read it again and wish it never ends...I highly recommend it.

The husband and wife writing team of Judith Michael have produced certain popular novels which are NOT the typical, superficial, and forgettable reads that flood the market. Although in Deceptions, they do lure readers with a soap opera plot (twins switching places), and the reliability of glamorous and exotic locations such as London and China, the authors have included sharp and witty insights and observations in several of the novel's scenarios. We learn about the strong bond between identical twins, Sabrina and Stephanie, and how they developed into two different women leading two different lives. Thankfully, this is not a good twin/evil twin plot. We become immersed in Sabrina's exclusive world of London high society, antique dealerships, and exquisitely designed townhouses. Her more brazen personality allows her to survive quite nicely and make astute dealings among London's elite. Stephanie lives more obscurely in a small university town in the States with her professor husband, Garth. Their domestic, suburban life with their two children and supportive neighbors is surprisingly realistic and at times endearing. The major premise is that the sisters tire of the complications in their lives and decide to switch places. The novel is well structured as the reader flows from Stephanie's adjustment to Sabrina's jet-set life while Sabrina brings her strength and determination to life as a suburban professor's wife. Deceptions is definitely escape literature, but an intelligent read. If you enjoy reading good descriptions of the finer things in life and excellent character development, this book comes highly recommended

Judith Cornell has written a beautiful, many layered biography of Ammachi. It is an incredibly difficult task to convey the depth of Amma's mission with the words of a finite language, yet Judith has more than succeeded.

It is a blessing to know Amma, and a gift to know the life she lived before I was even born. For others and myself who were in India during the time that Judith was writing this book her offering also has the added gift of recounting what we all experienced. It is a rare blessing.

I am especially thankful that Judith wrote this book. It was very timely to retell Amma's life story and to place it within the context of our changing times (especially with what women have achieved and still must work to gain).

Amma is "Healing the Heart of the World" in giant acts, and also in reaching within the very core of each individual, healing the personal wounds and sufferings of this world.

In the wake of what we now face in our present world there are few books other than this one that have the power to bring insight and change on a global level.

I was on vacation in India for a month and I visited a niece of mine. While talking to her I heard the chanting of Bhajans from the neighborhood and I inquired as to what was going on. She reported that in the neighborhood was a house where the devotees of Mata Amritanandamayi gathered every week and prayed to her in front of a framed photograph of hers. I was curious and went in to ascertain it. There were about 50 men and women seated in front of her picture, chanting hymns. It was an eye-opening experience for me. Earlier in the week, I had passed through the front of the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Cochin and had heard from many about the facilities over there. Now, I decided to learn more about this person considered a saint in India.

Reading through this book helped me to situate the phenomenon of Mata Amritanandamayi. No doubt the book is trying to depict in an objective light this charismatic woman, Amma (Mother) as she is understood and looked upon by thousands of her devotees. As a miracle healer, prophet and mystic she has established her fame. Her world tours have attracted attention to herself as an incarnation of the Divine Mother. By now she has grown into a big institution worthy of attention by the world. Judith Cornell by this book is presenting her along with her ideas and gifts to the western world. She tries to bring in personages familiar to the American readers, like Padre Pio, Bede Griffiths and C G Jung in relating to the ideas and message of this Hindu saint. She also refers to the black Madonna and the Christian understanding of Virgin Mary the Mother of God. The Catholic and Orthodox Christian belief in the Blessed Mother is very different from the concept of the Divine feminine found in Hinduism, though there are some comparisons possible. What Cornell ends up doing is to bring the East and West closer. The story of the rise of Sudhamani, an ordinary girl from the family of a poor fishermen couple on the coast of Kollam, India to the world renowned Mata Amritanandamayi is fascinating. Her story is told as it is known and spoken of around her birthplace, by her family members and her devotees around the world. Her ideas are presented in simple words, understandable to the ordinary folks, though they are typically Hindu in their perspective. The Hindu pantheon could absorb any number of seers and sages as incarnations of the Divine. So there are repeated mentions of Buddha and Jesus Christ in the book.

I found this a valuable book, useful for anyone who wants to know more about the saints and sages of the land of India. It gives one a somewhat objective look at the phenomenon of Mata Amritanandamayi along with her humble past, her mystic experiences and her compassion for the poor; it provides one the opportunity to hear the various opinions of many of her devotees deeply touched by her. All these contribute to the immense popularity of this saint of today, whose activities in favor of the poor are widely recognized.

This book is an excellent introduction to Ammachi's life - especially for a Westerner. For those who already know Amma, the offical biography by Amma's senior disciple might be better.

This book also touches upon the fact that downfall of Indian civilization occurred at the hands of unfriendly external cultures. Notably Arabs from the present-day Afghanistan and later from European Colonials (please note - I draw a distinction between a European and a racist European colonial).

Even a strong economy like America's will collapse if it comes under sustained terrorist attacks over a period of 100 years or more. In a similar fashion the reason for economic depravation of India was not mismanagement by Indians (as another reviewer has written) but sustained attacks on India by violent and unfriendly cultures. A person who wins a war and kills thousands of people cannot be stamped culturally superior to the person who lost the war (on contrary, the more violent and brutal a culture is, more likely it is to go on a successful rampage).

Lastly, one must note in Vedic culture there was no place for skin color and such nonsense. Most of India's ancient saints were black in color (from the description written by their followers).

Casteism was a social order, not a hardened discriminatory practice. In fact the sage who compiled Vedas and wrote Mahabharata - Veda Vyasa - was born to a fisherwoman and not of high caste. Another example is Valmiki - the sage poet who wrote Ramayana - he was a hunter who lived near a forest, but who undertook great penance and became a sage. Through ages Indians and people who respect Indic culture have revered them.

The hardened casteism came about because of external influences in later periods, even then brahmins have never burnt lower-castes or people of other religion at stakes as has happened elsewhere.

Christine Bennett is in the process of readjusting to "normal life" after spending 15 years as a cloistered nun. At a town meeting, she speaks in defense of disabled twin brothers accused of killing their mother 40 years before and to her surprise is put in charge of researching the case. As she starts to dig into the past, she meets a helpful (and smitten) police officer who helps in her search for the truth.

Christina does not run around accusing people of the murder without evidence, judge suspects harshly for their past actions or deliberately place herself in danger which is a refreshing change. This is a refreshing cozy mystery with likeable characters and an engrossing mystery.

If you can read (or listen to the audiobook version) this story and not be in tears by the end, you are a stronger reader than I am. This was one of the most moving stories I've ever read. Ms. Harris is able, in the guise of telling the simple tale of a nun who left the convent and gets involved in a mystery simply through the process of living her everyday life, to create characters who are so sympathy-engendering as to make them part of your life. They become like family--and their deaths had me sobbing.
Add that to a well-crafted mystery story, and you have the beginning of a mystery series of books which one will want to read, and re-read in later years.
May Ms. Harris be able to keep on writing Christine Bennett
mystery stories!

This was the first Christine Bennett mystery I read. It was so good I recomended it to my family. I was in my fifties then but the book was rated as superb by my daughters in their twenties and by my husband. From then on I've read all Ms Harris' books. She's fabulous. Maybe you could say they're cozies but I don't think so. She has a deep sense of plot and characterization. Kix is a real person, the men and women involved in her investigations are psychologically correct. To make things short, I love Ms Harris books. They are not only good mysteries for the dentist's waiting room: they are very good novels.

There is no way that everyone would agree as to what events, or even list of events were the most noteworthy of the 20th Century. I do believe that most would agree that the splitting of the atom, the creation of atomic and then thermonuclear weapons would likely have a place on any list. If the controversy surrounding the use of nuclear power to create electricity for public consumption is added, I think the topic has a place assured on any list.

One person among many who was at the center of these topics, events and developments is Dr. Edward Teller. He stands out from the groups he was involved in for many reasons but two are for his longevity in to his 90s' and the participation in the direction of all the associated research his long life has allowed him, and secondly for the controversy he often found himself at the center of. Another book I read not long ago, "Brotherhood of the Bomb", went in to great detail about the very controversial decision to strip Dr. Robert Oppenheimer of his security clearance and the role that Dr. Teller was said to have played in the security clearance not being renewed. In this book of just over 600 pages a large portion is spent on the issue including many pages of transcripts from the actual hearing when Dr. Teller answered questions with Dr. Oppenheimer present.

I don't believe it is fair to judge from a handful of pages culled from over 1,000 whether Dr. Teller alone was the cause of the non-renewal of the security clearance. My impression from what I read was that it was clear there was a strong group that did not want the clearance continued, and to the extent anything negative was said about Dr. Oppenheimer they were going to make the most of it. Unless the pages that are shared intentionally mislead, Dr. Teller repeatedly stated he did not believe Dr. Oppenheimer would intentionally harm the security of The United States. However, if Dr. Teller believed that stating that Dr. Oppenheimer's actions slowed the development of the Hydrogen Bomb development by several years were not going to greatly harm Dr. Oppenheimer, he was either naïve or calculating then, and or now. Only he knows the answer.

There are many large topics this book deals with but one that fascinated me was the perception of Nuclear Power Generation plants for electrical production for civilian use. Unless the reader knows the answer prior to reading the book they may be surprised by what percentage of electricity is still produced by nuclear plants in the USA today. It does not rival France or Japan, but the numbers are still quite large.

In the end perception will carry the day. On average over 50,000 people die every year in The United States in car accidents. An Iranian airliner crashed yesterday killing 307 people, 400,000+ die annually from tobacco use in the USA annually. However, we continue to drive, fly, and about 50,000,000 continue to smoke.

Are nuclear powered plants 100% safe, they are not and the book does not suggest they have been or that they are. The book does discuss the Three Mile Island accident, the incident in England, and the folly that was Chernobyl. Chernobyl must be in a category of its own for the shear scale of stupidity, negligence and intentional harm that was allowed to take place at that plant. To use the former USSR's conduct with nuclear energy as a measure for the rest of the world is absurd.

Despite decades of knowledge that remaining dependent largely on imported oil is shear negligence the reality remains that we as a nation continue to do so. Events are still fluid but we may have a second war in just over 10 years because an individual that controls a nation in the heart of the planet's current oil supply makes us nervous. All the talk of alternative methods of energy have amounted to meaningless practical change, environmental concerns prohibit the pursuit of much domestic oil, so the question remains, what are we going to do?

There are indeed some hybrid cars on the road and there are some that use natural gas, and there is the latest promise of hydrogen fuelled cars that made for a sound byte at the most recent state of the union address. Taken as a whole, their practical impact is nearly meaningless.

Many may not like Dr. Teller's suggestions, and I too would prefer clean production of the energy we need. But the reality is we will change nothing until there is a massive and permanent impact on our economy and or way of life, and then it will be a prolonged painful transition, as opposed to being serious about the issue now and using all talents available to create reliable, sustainable clean energy sources. This man who is in his 90s' has seen decade after decade go by with no change to our consumption of fossil fuels. Those decades are lost, how many more will be?

I am only 12 years old, but believe me when I say that this is one of the best books I've ever read! I had to do a report on a scientist for school and I chose Edward Teller because I had heard of him from my mother and he sounded interesting. Rather than being just another boring book report, I really did enjoy this book. It gave me a lot of information for my report and was not incredibly hard to read. I decided to do a movie for my report and filmed it as if Teller were writing journal entries. I got a 100++ on my project which is what I would give this book...a 100++!

"Memoirs", by Dr. Edward Teller, is a straight forward telling of the life of one of the twentieth century's foremost physicists. Dr. Teller describes his exodus from his native Hungary to Germany, Denmark, England and finally the United States. He has worked in the company of some of the great physicists of all time, Fermi, Bohr, Von Neumann and others. He was also instrumental in developing the atomic and hydrogen bombs as well as Los Alamos and Lawrence-Livermore national laboratories.

This book is not an apology for his work in atomic energy, weapons or his testimony regarding Oppenheimer. Dr. Teller goes into great detail to describe his thinking and motives in these areas. Having escaped the Nazi's and communists his right of center views on nuclear deterrence and missile defense are well founded. He discusses being ostracized from the scientific community, views on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, as well as his political and scientific contributions to among others Nelson Rockefeller and Ronald Reagan.

The book is extensively footnoted; Dr. Teller uses his teaching skills to describe to the reader the concepts being discussed in the body of the work. A basic knowledge of the terms used in physics is helpful but not necessary. The book is exceptionally well written and doesn't get "bogged down" in scientific jargon.

"Memoirs" is a fascinating documentary of the birth and development of nuclear energy in both its destructive and constructive forms. Dr. Teller is straight forward but modest about his role and generous in praise of his many colleagues.