This is classic, and very very good. But it is way too short, and the "The Art of Wealth" translated by Thomas Cleary also, is alot better. Much good wisdom in this book.

This book is more philosophical than some others of similar titles and natures are. It views leadership and strategy through the lens of Taoist thinking, and as such is more concerned with the spiritual and ethical development of a leader. The book is broken into four sections: State and Society; Warfare; Peace; and Wisdom. Each is linked to the other, and follows the previous topic. There is a lot of discussion on the health of a given society, and how both the heads of a society as well as the people within it reflect and affect its overall health. There is a lot of focus on the causes and effects of warfare, as well as the ethics of waging war properly.

This is a small book, one that you can keep in your pocket or briefcase, perfect in size for reading on the train into work or while sitting in a doctor's office. It's full of essays that will make you think, and perhaps re-evaluate how you deal with certain situations in your life. It is worth buying, no question about that.

i read on the subject of eastern philosophy and the book of leadership and strategy is one that encompasses a typical taoist thought. very informative, and makes more sense than most holy books. thomas cleary is on my list of authors

A must for anyone from a small plains town or for those who just visit and wonder what it's all about. As a HS graduate of the book's time frame and the actual town portrayed (Toulon), the book brought full-color memories back on every page. The only complaint I have is that the character's could have been developed more thoroughly and perhaps several plots could have been woven together to create a book with more depth. I am looking forward to a sequel -- it is obvious that the author did not put all of his eggs in this one basket.

The Itinerant is the Midwest before Wal-Mart and the "Net", when the Midwest was the heartland of America. This book is like "The Bridges of Madison County", only better written and more suspenseful. You will learn about politics from this book. Nowlan writes with accuracy and knowledge; there is "ink", Printers and Political, in his veins. The strength of small town America is reflected in this book, and, what a great ending! You can smell the hot lead, cheap cigars, and beer.

The Itinerant rides into your head and the characters into your heart! A wonderful mix of love and the search for the truth. It brings to mind The Bridges of Madison County and the dilemna of should she leave or go with the photographer; but with more depth and detail of small town folks and the era. Canoe sales should go up around the Spoon River and possibly a run on Rhubarb wine!

Sometimes one plus one does't add up to two. When twins write a mystery about twin sleuths and twin killers, it doesn't really compute. My problem with the book is that it alternates from one twin's life and thoughts to the other. It is not confusing, but seems to rely too much on this gimmick and not enough good story telling.

The Bert and Nan Tatum books are well-written and a joy to read. The sisters, although twins, each have their own strengths and quirks. The chapters in the books alternate between each sister telling the story. Lots of humor along with a good mystery.

Solving the DOUBLE MURDER in the first book has made identical twins Nan and Bert local celebrities. Still, they have no desire to investigate another murder. But then Nan meets Crane Morgan. He's handsome and romantic, and Nan is swept completely off her feet. But Bert has reservations, especially when Louise Eagleston tells her that Crane's identical twin was accused of murder but committed suicide. When Bert goes to hear more from Louise, she finds Louise shot. Now, Bert wants to know more about what's going on, but Nan doesn't want to hear anything bad about Crane or his late brother. Can Bert find the truth while keeping both herself and Nan alive?

This is a fun book. The twins alternating narration is a nice and often funny touch and their personalities get better defined. I figured out the ending before the twins, but by then I was so concerned for them that I had to keep reading. These are great characters that I hope I can keep reading about for years to come.

If you are looking for steamy love scenes, this book has it! It was a good story and I could not put it down. She is a wealthy American heartbreaker who is abducted by an wealthy Arab Sheik who was born an Englishman. He plans to use her to stop her family's munitions manufacturer from selling to the hated Turk's. He is very powerful and in control, until he falls for her. She is very stuborn and has always been in control, until she falls for him.

Excellent story! Perhaps I find it so because it's the first romance I ever read!

A desert sheik finds his deepest love in the daughter of his sworn enemy! What's an honorable man to do but seek vengence - by carrying her away to his desert paradise while she's touring his country! Is she to be his love slave? Or his heart's desire?

The couple overcome jealousy, evil rulers and eventually past hurts to fall madly in love. Sigh.

I didn't think I would like it but I was wrong because I really liked this audio cassette recording of Nan Ryan's Cloudcastle and I liked the characters Natalie Vallance and Kane Covington. It's an abridged audio cassette but I thought it was fine and didn't mind the condensed story!

I have read many novels of Nan Ryan's and they have all been wonderful. Cloudcastle was no exception. From the first chapter, I was engrossed. All the right elements were there. Good plot, settings, action, suspense, romance and most of all PASSION. This book is definitely hot.

I have greatly enjoyed this anime series. The antics of Keitaro keep getting him into trouble with the girls in his house. Eventually they grow to love him, and you will too. On the other hand, I have read both this version of the Love Hina series and the Bilingual version. While the text is almost identical, the bilingual version translates the in frame descriptions off to the side. Things like "chop chop", "ashamed", etc are only translated in the bilingual. Beyond that, the bilingual version is printed on higher quality materials and features the outer cover common to manga, which the english version does not. Also, all of the volumes are available in the bilingual form, so you dont have to wait until december to get 6, 7, and 8. So, my final summary is that the story is very amusing, but you should get it in the bilingual form, which can be found online for only [$$] more.

Love Hina is definetely a great manga for everyone. It follows the antics of 19 year old ronin (student who fails his college exams) as caretaker of a womans dorm. I own both the Tokyopop version and the existing Kodansha bilinguals, but I think that the Tokyopop version is a bit more of an ejoyable read than the bilingual. For one, the Japanese cultural references are made easier for a Western reader to comprehend, and the dialogue comes across as being much more fluid. However, the bilinguals tend to translate some things that the tokyopop version skips, like sound effects and dramatic asides from characters. If you're looking for an exact translation at the expense of the plot, stick with the bilinguals. But the bilinguals are much shorter than the Tokopop version, so really, #6,7,8 of the bilinguals are just #4-5 on the tokyopop, so don't think you can buy the bilingual to get a jump on Tokyopops stupid release schedule. (One book a month!? don't they know how long that is to wait??) I haven't seen the anime yet, but I hear it compresses a lot of the plot and downplays the character depth, which is by far the best part of the series. No matter who you are, you'll love the eccentric cast of characters and the way the interact with each other. I've read some of the as yet un-published manga online, and it just keeps getting better (and weirder.) Hope this review helped you a lot. All that said, this is the coolest manga ever, and is a great buy for anyone who likes manga or just Japanese culture in general.

First let me say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Nan is not the stereotyped femdom you might be thinking of though she can clearly dress up and put on a well-scripted and eleborate scene. The descriptions are not pornographic though they are careful to mention both physical and emotional aspects of the scenes. There are both male and female submissives and bottoms discussed throughout the book, the most extreme scene involve Nana and her primary female lover (she also has a husband). It should stimulate your mind and your groin so be prepared. I would have been better if Nan had gotten more personal -- why she does it, what it feels like to her, how she has changed over time -- as the title suggests.

This is the first book I've ever read that I feel is real. This woman has experienced what she has written about. It is NOT fantasy. She has honed her skills to a point that she is an expert at the exchange of power that is paramount to a BDSM scene. This book isn't all about pain or bondage. This book isn't all about fantasies. This book is about power, control and sensuality. You hear about her feelings while she is doing what she is doing. You hear about what her bottoms are feeling. You learn how she gets into their heads and hearts. I'm amazed at the candor with which she writes. This woman is obviously gifted with an amazing power, and is amazingly generous in sharing it with the public.

This books gives an excellent insight in the life-style of the Irish travellers, as well as it is an enjoyable read. The main character, Nan, is a woman from a travelling family, living like nomads in the developping Ireland that is becoming more and more modern around them. Her life is very harsh, and harsher than the normal life of a travelling person, as the author points out. Nonetheless, or maybe just because of that, it is a gripping story and its contains are very interesting. You don't only get a good read, you also get a good and interesting lesson in the subsociety of the Irish travellers, a group that to a large extent maintains their nomadic lifestyle up to this day.

I have used this book several times in anthropology classes I teach and this coming fall I am going to use it again. I think of it as a classic because it addresses so many important aspects of a good life history. First, it represents the everyday life of a person living in poverty, an area worthy of academic study. It is also a close study of how women are sometimes, and in some societal situations, subject to abuse and have little recourse. Then, this study is also an interesting look at how historical changes influence the lives of people, in this case the travellers who used to make their living as tin smiths and horse traders and are now forced to adapt to an urban and highly technical world. The book is beautifully written and has always been well received by students

In 1895, Benjamin Star leaves San Francisco for Denver at about the same time that Diane Buchannan leaves DC for the Mile High City. Benjamin was raised by the Shoshoni who rescued him from a fire as an infant, travels like a native; Diane rides the train to join her grandparents who raised her when her parents died. Diane plans to help her beloved family with the financially failing "Colonel Buck Buchannan's Wild West Show" as a trick rider and lariat artist.

Employees of the show led by the Cherokee Kid bring in a savage dubbed "the Redman of the Rockies". Though afraid of him, Diane feels sorry for the captive. Unable to ignore the ignorant brute, she frees him, but he abducts her. On their trek she pleads with the "Beast" to free her when he suddenly speaks perfect English because he is Benjamin. After overcoming the shock that he is not some feral savage, Diane frees the attraction she hid from herself and soon she and Benjamin fall in love. However, the nasty Cherokee Kid wants Diane for himself and he will not stop until he kills the Beast and takes the Beauty his style.

Indian romance readers will gain much pleasure from Nan Ryan's latest tale, WRITTEN IN THE STARS that is more of a westernized Beauty and the Beast. The action-packed story line never slows down even before the abduction. The lead couple is a delight and most of the support cast provides depth to their personalities. However, the Cherokee Kid is so nasty he subtracts from a powerful historical romance.

Harriet Klausner

The beginning of the story was a little slow, however, things soon picked up and ended with a bang! Great, great romance scenes!

Like the other reader before me stated in his review, the story started out a little slow...But that all changed as soon as the Redman of the Rockies came into the Wild West Show, and Diane finds herself helplessly compelled to the man. A MUST READ! This has to be one of the best romances I have ever read!