The book promises a lot. It can easily be read in an evening. All it delivers is a lot of trite sayings that you could pick up in any essoteric book. It does not contribute 1 iota to the overall knowledge on Huna. The best thing in the book is the five pages of Bibliography at the end, because all she does is simply review others works. It is the standard of a research paper by a high school student which I would have difficulty in passing. Overall all I have purchased is an expensive bibliography which I did not need.

Professor The Grand Duke of Avram, D.Litt.etc.

ALTHOUGH "HUNA" IS NOT OFFICIALLY PART OF HAWAIIAN CULTURE, YARDLEY PROVIDES AN EXCELLENT AND VERY READABLE REVIEW OF THIS TOPIC. HER RESPECT AND EMPHASIS ON KAHUNA BRAY AND HIS KNOWLEDGE IS HEARTWARMING. THE USE OF A "SPIRITUAL GUIDE" IN HER WRITING REFLECTS A TRUE HAWAIIAN OR KAHUNA EXPERIENCE. NO OTHER BOOK ON THIS TOPIC SPECIFICALLY DOES THIS. I WAS IMPRESSED. AN ACADEMIC NATIVE HAWAIIAN WROTE THIS REVIEW.

If you are interested in a brief overview of HUNA that is an easy to understand volume that you can read in one or two sittings.

I appriciate Laura's tribute to the late Max Freedom Long.

This is NOT a HUNA handbook. For that I recommend "The Secret Science At Work", "Growing into Light" Max Freedom Long, or "Fundamentals Of Hawaiian Mysticism" Charlotte Berney.

The Long material is superior in my opinion.

Now I direct my comments to "The Grand Duke of Avram" a reviewer below. None are as blind as those that refuse to see.

If you have questions or comments; E-Mail me. Two Bears

Wah doh Ogedoda

... and with about as much personality and selectivity. Like the Moon guide, a very useful book to have once you find yourself in Town X but not very useful for figuring out whether it would be better to plan a trip to Town X versus Town Y.

Lonely Planet's Baja book is an excellent guide to the peninsula. I especially appreciated the detailed info on how to get around in Baja. The section on health in the front of the book came in handy after a small altercation with a manta ray! It was excellent for travelers on a budget. The descriptions of cities, places to stay and restaurants were all very accurate, but left enough room for our personal tastes to guide us to the spots that seemed especially fitting.

I felt as though once we arrived at our final destination there was a lot more there than was really covered in the book, but I guess they only have so many pages to work with!

This was the only book we brought with us, and it made for a great trip!

I bought this book because I enjoy David Catrow's wonderfully vivid illustrations. For a book with a delightful message to match, please see ''Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon'' a must-read for any child struggling with self-acceptance. Elizabeth Spurr's writing in this book, however, stutters and starts...flowing and rhyming on one page then reaching on another. It's not half as fun to read as I'd hoped.

I love this book! I checked it out from the library while on vacation, read it to the kids, and loved it so much that I ordered it from Amazon as soon as I returned home. The prose is pretty and lyrical and the illustrations are colorful and inviting. The story is about a lonly aunt waiting for a letter from her family, when it finally arrives the overwhelmed aunt receives help from everyone in her town and she is no longer lonely. It gently inspires kids to reach out to those around them.

Henry Morris makes a number of valid points in this book - but then again, Jack T. Chick makes a lot of valid points in his viotrolic fundamentalist cartoon tracks. The real question is: is it worthwhile to shift the wheat from the chaffe in Morris's work?

The answer is no. Henry Morris's "flood geology" or "young earth creationism" has been rejected by every - read that again, literally - EVERY Christian who has seriously studied science with an open mind. (If you think that I - a card-carrying, evangelical Southern Baptist - am implying that all young earth creationists are deluded, YOU'RE RIGHT!) The Biblical evidence and the scientific evidence simply isn't there to support the assertion that the earth is merely 6,000 years old. If Morris had simply made a mistake in handling the Word, he could be forgiven. But Morris has been a vociferious advocate of the Young Earth position for more than 50 years! He continues to use arguments, such as the moon's dust or the earth's magnetic field, that sound good to laypeople, but which have been definitively rebuked by scientists. This is BEARING FALSE WITNESS, people! To make matters worse, Morris and his disciples have been at the forefront of slandering true scientists with a heart for God (e.g., Hugh Ross, who has probably endured more unjust slander from so-called "Christians" than any man since Luther).

Morris has good points to make about evolution, but none about the age of the earth. Consider this: Darwinian evolution is such a sham that even growing numbers of non-Christian scientists from every discipline from biochemistry to neuroscience (e.g., Michael Behe, Robert Jastrow, John Polkinghorne, and Jeffrey M. Schwartz) have denied Darwinism's validity. But NO SCIENTIST, NONE, EVER has EVER EVER EVER EVER disputed the ancient age of the earth based on scientific data alone. And if the Bible is so clear that the earth is 6,000 years old, why do so many arch-conservative Christian leaders (e.g., Norman Geisler, James Dobson, Gleason Archer, Chuck Colson, to name but a few) believe that the earth is old?

Morris is bad news. The good things he has to say are overwhelmed by the falsehoods and misconceptions.

Morris' book is arranged in a reverse chronology, discussing the role/effects of evolutionary thought from the present into the past. Morris does make some good points, and at least presents some of the currently fashionable ideas in the world. The book is fairly well-documented and reasonably thorough, but has some problems. Having read a fair amount of modern creation literature over the past year, I've noticed that the key arguments in favor of the position tend to be trumpeted ad nauseum. That is not to say they're wrong, but personally, I'm suspicious of anything recited in a manner resembling a slogan. I say all this because the many contra-evolution arguments made by Morris are approaching slogan status. He's not alone, because many proponents of evolution state their views in a similar manner. The problem in both cases, is that the points of issue become analyzed and discussed in a decreasingly thorough and critical way. The result is an "I'm right...no, I'M right..." dialogue that is both wearisome and unhelpful. At any rate, here are my problems with the book: #1 (closely related to my previous point) The scientific points interspersed within the book are stated in a very "now of course you know this as obvious" manner. As I discussed earlier, this isn't helpful. These points must be covered in more depth. If the publisher won't allow another 100 pages, then don't publish it. #2 Despite the thoroughness with which Morris discusses the more recent socio-political roles of evolutionary thought, the book becomes progressively more speculative. The further into the past Morris travels, the more elucidation of brain children we find. We all speculate. We take things for granted and make assumptions all the time, rarely giving them much thought. However, speculating on the quality of hamburger McDonald's is going to sell you is a far cry from speculating on the primeval, Satanic conjuration of the idea of evolution. This leads right to #3...In addition to Morris' speculation noted above, he has a certain fondness for numerology and the "gospel in the stars" idea. Biblical support for these ideas is ambiguous at best (fully lacking at worst), yielding interpretation that's inconclusive. More recently, I've been getting my feet wet in genuine biblical scholarship: original languages, literary-cultural-historical context, etc. Though a profound neophyte in this area, I've become very suspicious of SOME, not all, of the exegesis performed by the writers of creation literature. What biblical research is performed by these writers seems very narrow, focusing almost solely on creation support. That borders on eisegesis, i.e. reading INTO the text your own ideas. This is not to suggest the bible doesn't indicate creation. That actually IS fairly obvious. However, there appears to be a tendency to strengthen the creation argument by seeking to impose creationary support on biblical passages that have nothing to do with creation. The bible is a collection of 66 books written (**with a specific intent**) by many men over many miles over many years, and within many literary, cultural, and historical contexts. In light of that, the interpretational method employed by many of the creation writers is highly questionable. Are they wrong? I don't know (yet - smile), but given the magnitude of the bible's implications (if true), surely greater care in it's study is warranted. Morris is almost deified in some Christian/creation circles. Though his prolonged vocal stance on this issue is admirable, I've grown to mistrust him. To Morris' disciples who may be preparing an effigy for me now - I'm being honest, and as fair as possible. The truth is no small matter, and that's what I seek. This book is not recommended.

Creationism is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. To be Christian you cannot at all be an evolutionist, despite what some people say. To say that you are a Christian and a believer in evolution is to just spit in the face of Christ as He was crucified and as He rose from the dead. To say that you are a Christian and a believer in evolution is to spit in the face of God the Father, Son, Holy Ghost because you are believing in something that says there is no need for salvation, that there is no personal relationship with God from the beginning. You cannot be both, like a man riding on two horses...one foot on each...sooner or later you will have to choose which horse you'll ride on...and usually believers in evolution and Christianity usually turn into unbelievers in the end...

Time and time again, Creationism shows that the apostles behind evolution created this "scientific religion of evolution" to try to destroy Christianity. These apostles of evolution themselves say there is no firm facts or reliability behind evolution, but they cannot believe in creationism because...for one thing...that means they would have to face their sins before the judgment of the holy loving God.

Henry Morris' book shows the terrible impact and war between the truth of Creationism and the satanic lies of evolution. The more Christians don't stand up to the evils of the world (like evolutionists) the less holiness and love and hope in the world. I directly blame the taking away of Christianity's morality and truths in our governments, in our schools, to school shootings date rapes and drugs in our children's hands.

Like Henry Morris' book shows, we as Christians must stand up to the evils of the world, fight back with Christian facts and truths. It is all a part of the great commision the Lord Jesus gave to us who believes that He and only He (as the Son of God the Creator, the Sustainer, and the Soulwinner) is the way, the truth, and the light.

As much as I would like to rate this book more positvely I really can't. Not only do I find the author's tone very arrogant at times but because the book is supposed to be an introduction for new jazz lovers the highly personal tone and comments the author makes about certain jazz styles and musicians is very innapropriate. How can someone who turns to this book for help in understanding jazz, sort through the biases the author has towards certain artists if this is their first jazz reading? I'm also sorry to say that the book also appears to have not gone through a proof-reading...there are several (10+) spelling mistakes in the first chapter alone. I suggest you browse through it at your library rather than buy it.

Another in the seemingly endless series of "...for Beginners" books that began with a few Marxist tomes but later expanded into other areas. There are some useful bits and pieces here, but overall it's a rather narrow selection that spends too much time on the politics and history and not nearly enough on the music. Mingus is given a number of pages, and rightly so, given his stature as a composer and bassist- but there's not much about his music or why it's worth listening to. But where's Scott LaFaro? He was possibly even more influential than Mingus in redefining moden jazz bass playing, but there's nary a mention of him. There are too many omissions of this sort. Not one of the better books from this group, and not a good choice for someone interested in exploring jazz

It's funny. It also takes the subject by the horn(s). The passion of this music needs a voice that understands that you cannot build the house of jazz history with the master's tools...so it takes a different approach to the history, one that uses the "for beginners" form as a way of talking politics. That makes this volume essential for a basic understanding for what is at stake in the history of jazz. This is what Ken Burns (and my old friend Wynton) need as a corrective. No, I don't agree with all of it...but that outcome should always make one suspicious...

Once again in an effort to be humourous about the foibles of America, an author has dragged out the tired and predictable. It's not that this work isn't occasionaly amusing, it's simply that the writing is stale and formulaic. Perhaps it's a function of his radio persona, writing to fill a certain time slot, but each essay has precisely the same rhythm and pace. It's like repetitively humming the same tune; it's tiresome at best. As for substance, Bill Bryson and many others got there first in contemporary times, and Mr. Bouchier is certainly no H.L. Mencken. The former is a pale imitation of the latter with respect to incisive observation and is vastly Mencken's inferior regarding the bon mot. I'd borrow this and other works of the author's from the library; I certainly don't recommend owning them.

Growing up in St. Louis in the early and mid-eighties, I was a big Cardinals fan (now refered to as the Arizona Cardinals). And Neil Lomax, being the quarterback, was my favorite player. Now, this novel is written before Neil moves with the team to Phoenix, so that chapter of his life (his hip injury that ends his career after only one season in the sun) isn't included, which is somewhat of a shame, cause it would have made for a great dose of humble pie.

Neil Lomax was the loudest critic of the city of St. Louis in their support (or lack thereof, as far as he was concerned) of the Big Red. He was full of sour grapes, citing that he belived that "Fredbird the Redbird", the St. Louis Cardinals baseball mascot, was more popular than he cause Fredbird hit more homeruns than he did. This comment, along with many others muttered by Lomax, led to the feeling that St. Louis was a "baseball town". No one, and especially not Lomax, cared to mention that St. Louis was a baseball town cause they were the only team in the city that EVER WON. Anyone who followed football in the seventies and eighties knows that the Cardinals lost WAY more games that they won, and were the primary laughingstock of the NFL (with the exception of the Buccaneers).

I mention this because in this book, which as I stated earlier pre-dates the move to Phoenix, Neil Lomax makes numereous statements of glowing praise regarding the wonderful support of the St. Louis fans. Did he say this to sell a few more copies, which to my knowledge wasn't even carried by bookstores outside of Missouri? Or is he the prime example of the new, modern "fickle" athlete primma-donna? Here's a thought Neil...St. Louis fans put up with the losing ways of the Cardinals for 28 years, which to be honest with you is 28 years longer than any other city on earth would have. I believe Lomax recognizes this, because since his departure from professional sports, he has made numerous attempts to launch business opportunities in the Gateway City.

The book is basically like all other sport-star biographies...long on information you could care less about, short on the knowledge you do seek, and rose colored glasses regarding the authors life. This book is a waste of time. Sorry to be so harsh, Neil, but maybe next time you'll actually win a few games before you started bad-mouthing the city who supports you...or should I say, SUPPORTED you. GO RAMS!