I purchased this book, because I love the work of Victor Hugo and was interested in this aspect of his spirituality. But the writing is terrible. Most of it seems to be a drug addled commentary on Hugo's later life by an unsympathetic critic. The writing is so bad as to frustrate the most patient of readers. If you love the work of Hugo or the philosophy of romance in literature, avoid this waste of ink and paper.

I had heard of this book for sometime before actually reading it and when I finally ordered it and began my reading; I was off on the most amazing adventure of metaphysical ideas I've ever encountered. As a student of Spiritualism as well as the Alan Kardec inspired spiritualist philosophy known as Spiritism from a historical and sociological perspective, this book brings to life the intensity of those 19th century psychonauts who in living with human mortality in a much more immediate way than we do now, documents their explorations of one of the fundamental questions of existence- do we survive death.
And the answers to those pointed questions that were revealed to the Hugo circle during his period of exile from France are simply breathtaking. First is their sheer poetic verbal majesty, secondly in the intimations of a universal mind that is both the embodiment of that "love which steers the stars" of Dante's "Divine Comedy" to the impersonal karmic justice that minimizes the inflated human ego in the scheme of things.
I cannot recomend this book highly enough, it will remain with you for thought & contemplation long after you've finished the final page.

I am telling you, what a trip! Well if you can believe it, the table did rock! Victor Hugo (1802-1885) is in excile on a lonely island and to pass time, he and his retinue conduct seances. Animals, of course, are the incarnations of criminals. (How good to know, that Stalin is now a dung beatle.) The Dove of the Ark had been guided by God to the landing place for Noahs gigantic boat. Not only animals, but also plants and stones knew what crime they had committed. Why was such knowledge not granted to man? Animals are prisons of the soul. The animal sees man and glimpses the angels. Forgiveness is Noah's Ark. Well, I think this is worth reading, even though it comes down from another century. Be curious! Gerborg

I recently started as a new hiring manager at a commercial printing company. This book was in the bookcase and I thought I'd read it over a weekend - now I wish I hadn't.
Utterly useless and pedantic.
There has to be something else out there.
Little more than a compendium of scripted questions and very light material, I would be hard-pressed to find much of value here.

So few people have solid interviewing skills, which are critical in ensuring that you consistently hire the best people. This book is incredibly useful in helping you move past the "gut" decision. Several chapters are spent on how to ask various questions so that you neither lead the candidate into giving you the answer you want, nor intimidate the candidate at the wrong time. Very helpful in redefining the typical standard questions (which any decent candidate is prepared for) so that you can really get to the substance.

The book's focus on explaining why certain methods and techniques work better is excellent. In particular it has been very useful in teaching and/or re-assuring the interviewers (both veterans and newbies) at my company that they are asking the right questions and making the correct judgement calls. That confidence is a key success differentiator from the usual randomness in interviewing that often leads to a substandard hire.

Martin Yate takes us through some of the most important areas of the hiring process and gives good advice. He obviously knows his business. I recommend the book.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author of "How to Spot a Liar in a Job Interview" and "How to Spot a Phony Resume" docwifford@msn.com

This is a very scary story that just might scare you. A mother asks her two little children to go and get her a pale of milk on the other side of town. They tell themselves that they are not scared of the Ghost-Eye tree that is in the middle of the town. Nothing seems to be going wrong until the end when they are on their way back home. It might frighten you, but if you are a person who likes a spooky ending this is a great book for you to read.

Josh V.

Granted, I haven't read this book since I became an adult, but when I read it as a child I remember being terrified and loving it! It's definately something I plan on buying and keeping for my kids in the future!

This book is well written and superbly illustrated, as perfect a match of word tone and illustration as you can find. My 3 year old daughter quite enjoys the spooky mood, the scary ghost-eye tree, and the haunting refrain, "Oooo... I dreaded to go... I dreaded the tree... Why does Mama always choose me when the night is so dark and the mind runs free?" This is a year-round book, not just for the Halloween season.

In response to the reviewer who says the language is harsh, I can agree with that although let me add that it is rather realistic (although not to be encouraged) given the ages of the sister and brother in the book. My remedy is that when the sister says, "stupid," I instead read aloud the word "silly" in its place.

We also greatly enjoy the book Barn Dance by the same group of authors/illustrators. Barn Dance is different in that it has an actual supernatural element and is less a spooky book and more a book of wonder/imagination with a touch of friendly spookiness.

Bischoff, David: "The Whiteviper Scrolls" occurs later in Whiteviper's unsavoury career than its counterpart in _Apprentice Fantastic_, and like it is narrated by him to a downtrodden peon in his old age.

Braunbeck, Gary A. & Snyder, Lucy A.: "Souls to Take" Dr. Louis Cohen never wanted to end pregnancies by anything other than a normal delivery, but rather than leave patients to alternatives that seem even worse, he keeps performing abortions, despite his own qualms. But when the "LifeGuards" ambush him on his way back from a house call, the doc's rescuer may be worse than the fate she saved him from.

Crowther, Peter: Set in a comic-book world of "Heroes and Villains", the tone is something like the realism of _Watchmen_, but from the viewpoint of the super-villains. The Comedian in particular is struggling with his conscience, as he prepares for a deathbed visit to his mother, their first meeting in many years. But even sidekicks are well drawn - one, for instance, lost his father at 12 when a run-of-the-mill superhero/supervillain struggle destroyed a few city buildings, and the apologetic superhero's out-of-court settlement wouldn't bring his father back.

Davis, R.: "King of Thorns" is the title awarded to the best of the temple's Thorns - their master assassin trainees - each year. The story follows the Thorns' final competitive exam with one another, and is recommended for _Thief: The Dark Project_ players. :)

Dungate, Pauline E.: "Nina" has a mysterious hold on people - her classmates fear her, she rarely does her homework, and the real story of her father's suicide is uncanny. The narrator's family has arranged a marriage between them, and now that he's asked around about her, he's finally got sense enough to be scared. The story begins with his reference to the marriage, jumps back to his enquiries, then works forward to the wedding day.

Edghill, Rosemary: "The Mould of Form" James Cruikshank, the narrator, will be better known by another name to readers. After Cromwell's victory, his Royalist father's death left James and his mother to their cousins' unkind charity, but James' memories of the abuses of Eton are the most bitter.

Gorman, Ed: The narrator escaped the trap set by the FBI with the help of a woman who betrayed him, and became "A New Man" - with the help of plastic surgery. But by chance, his betrayer (who no longer recognizes him) lives in the small Midwestern town he's passing through - but she's married to a cop.

Huff, Tanya: "All Things Being Relative" Cornelius Dickcissel, far from being a heroic adventurer, is an author; receiving the queen's summons, he drew up his will (the traditional response, when summoned by *this* queen). But she has read his story of a would-be dragonslayer that considered the dragon's point of view, and wants him to write *her* story - although she has his editor killed for the clunky title of Cornelius' last book. See how many fractured fairy tales you recognize herein. :) She's even read the evil overlord list.

Patton, Fiona: "Death Mage" is a Cerchicava story, but rather than following ex-carver Coll, this recounts the story of a full-fledged Death Mage hunting down one who has betrayed the necromancers' Trade.

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn: "Doubting Thomas", at the age of six, witnessed something that, far from breaking his belief in Santa Claus, gave him an unusual take on what he considers the world's biggest conspiracy, to which he later brought his skills as an investigative reporter. Cool. :)

Sherman, Josepha: "The Usurper Memos" are a series of email-style carrier-pigeon-delivered memos between Regis I and various bureaucrats of Tavara, including cryptic unofficial communications with the Hunter of Heads. Villain or not, I applaud Regis' final maneuver. :)

Tremayne, Peter: The author of the Sister Fidelma mysteries has turned to Sherlock Holmes in "The Specter of Tullyfane Abbey", the tale of "James Phillimore, who stepped back into his house and was never more seen in this world", one of Watson's famous untold stories.

Waggoner, Tim: "Horror Show" begins with the climactic scene of a story in progress - a late-night movie, the most famous of the seven in which Simon Karkull played the monster Shrike. These days, he's an alcoholic; the producer of the next Shrike film won't even send him a script. But the producer's mysterious murder that same night, a continent away, marks a turning point in Simon's life.

West, Michelle: "To Speak with Angels" For his last walk, the old saint has chosen to seek an audience with he who was once the greatest of the Host, though he must enter Hell to do so. Very fine story. I also recommend Neil Gaiman's treatment of Lucifer in the Sandman series.

The premise behind this book is what caught my eye - evil defeats good. I wasn't disappointed. I was surprised by the number of different approaches the authors took. (I was expecting a lot of re-told fairy tales...)

In much of contemporary fantasy, the bad guys seem to have no real motive other than "I'm BAD, bwahahaha!" These stories look at some familiar stories and situations from the point of view of the bad guys, and tell us something about why they do what they do. Tanya Huff's Dark Queen's take on quite a few traditional fairy tales is well worth a look, and Fiona Patton's necromancers come back, along with the slightly-twisted magical "Italy" they live in. We get to see the early years of a very famous villain, and, in the context of a four-color comic world, learn with a person obviously based on one of the most famous comic villains about why evil must be evil, and why evil must be.

I am a budding audiologist, and I can tell you that using this book was a nightmare. It is not designed for the future clinician, and even though my entire class and I tried again and again to pick out the information we needed (that was relevant to what we were learning), we were still confused. This book is better suited for a person going into research...a lot of that information is unnecessary for someone working in a clinic. It is also poorly organized and overpriced.

I have a BS in Audiology and am going back for my Au.D -- and this book is excellent in bringing me back up to speed on the materials I haven't touched in nearly 10 years. It is concise (definitely not wordy) and hits all the basics, starting from the history of hearing checks to today's detailed technological miracles of testing. Could have a bit more of the anatomy, but other than that, it really is a great start for those wanting to enter the field of Audiology.

As an intro book, I found it extremely useful and packed with necessary information. Whoever said there was too much information to be found in this book is completely off the mark, although, this book is probably best suited to those who are pursuing a career in this field. The CD-ROM could have been more fully developed...

This book is a terrible representation of the Navajo Indians. None of the information that is in this book is a valid representation of their traditions. The information that we are teaching to our children from this book is false and very stereotypical. It should be taken out of every school.

An Indian boy asks his Grandfather to tell him about the night he was born, and the Grandfather ties another knot in the counting rope. The night was windy, and when the boy was born, they thought he might die. The Grandfather took him outside and two blue horses came by and gave him their strength. The boy lived, but lives in darkness. He begs begs for a promise that his Grandfather will always be with him, to which the Grandfather replies, "I love you, boy; that is better than a promise!" A gentle story of love, blindness, and some pretty illustrations make for a memorable book.

this is a book that has more intensity and insight with each new reading. it is the story of a physically handicapped child who with the support of his grandfather takes on a difficult challege and competes to his highest potential. the story integates overcoming challenges, uncondition parental love, hard work, and aging while finishing with a realistic outcome. the reader will be moved with pride and hope.

I am one of those who was really ticked off when first they killed chewy, then they kill Anakin. I was hoping for more from this comic about chewy. I did not review this before because I was disappointed that they decided to kill chewy. Then I read Star by Star and was staggered by the mind set that would set up us for this kill the way they did. Now, I have re-read Chewbacca.

CHEWY. Some of it was warm and wonderful. But you can't get past the mediocre stories that were written. MASTADGE is no Lucas studge but he gives this 5 stars? What were you looking at? McInerney gets it about right. Handofthrawn must be an heir to the dark horse fortune. He often gives 5 stars to mediocre comic book works.

The stories are closer to mediocre, bad, choppy or stupid than to call them clever or well crafted. To bad. There was a lot of potential that was wasted here.

After Chewie's death in Vector Prime, it's nice to see that he receives a fitting eulogy. Quite a few famous SW characters take some time to remember Chewbacca as the fierce warrior, loyal family member, and lifelong friend that he was. Good artwork (poor Luke looks absolutely haggard) lends to the idea that while Chewie may be gone, the war against the Vong continues with no abatement. It's kinda pricy for its size, but again, it's a nice rememberance of our favorite Wookie.

This kind of makes up for the terrible way Chewie dies in Vector Prime, but not quite. the only thing I personally HATE about this comic book is the way the author makes Princess Leia sound like a selfish brat.

This book actually shows very little understanding of the work done by Hubble or its relationship to other NASA missions. Many of the pictures attributed to the Hubble come from other missions; further, more than one artist's rendition is given as a Hubble image.

I can't even begin to describe the affect this book has had on my way of thinking in regards to the universe we live in and my own mortality. Before I read this book(a billion times)I was always interested in the universe and what was out there. A co-worker heard of my interest and bought me this book as a Christmas present. I thought, "wow. pretty cool". But in no way was I ready for the abundance if information placed at my disposal by this book. I'm just in awe when I read it. The author really does seem to have passion about our universe and it showed in the writing. The descriptions and hypotheticals are so vivid. You don't have to be some genious to understand what this book is telling you but it doesn't come of as "kiddy" either. To me that is what makes it so wonderful. It gives you the feeling that someone has actually traveled to the ends of the universe and their just telling you what it was like. Even the chapter on Earth is suprisingly very interesting. It gave me a new appreciation(and fear) for this planet. So calm and unassuming in comparison to other planets. But so powerful to all it's inhabitants. "Before our universe existed, there was no past, present, or future. Space did not exist, nor did vacuum. There was nothing-even dark cannot exist without light". wow

This book was, simply put, breathtaking. I don't know why someone would wish to sabotage the overall rating by giving this masterpiece one star...but clearly they were not reading the same book I was. To each their own. I found the facts within the book quite accurate myself....having read more than one hundred books of its kind and finding no inconsistencies. The pictures within the book itself were magnificent and well placed throughout the book. The text itself was also very informative and showed that the author was very well versed in the ways of the cosmos...both theoretically and factually. I highly recommend this book to anyone with interest in our cosmos. You won't be dissapointed.

Excellent book it showed me all I needed to write the perfect cover letter and it was incredibly easy to read and showed excellent examples of all different types of job seeking situations. I highly recommend this to anyone...from professionals to those seeking part-time employment, well done Mr. Yate!

Lots and lots of cover letters,styles and information. Very helpful!

I used this book when I was job searching during my senior year of college. I read it cover to cover, and followed the author's advice. I was highly successful in my job search, landing my dream job. I was even complimented several times on my "very creative" cover letter. You can't go wrong with this book!

If you want some excellent photography of several great homes in the South, you will enjoy this book. It will make an attractive addition to anyone's coffee table. If you want a good collection of recipes from the south, then look elsewhere. The quantity of recipes is limited; and the ones that are there are found, for the most part, in dozens of other cookbooks. Save your money.

The recipes in this book are excellent, as is the photography. However, I could do without Mr. Taylor's somewhat elitist comments throughout the book, such as what "self-respecting" Charlestonians do and don't do. I learned to cook in Charleston, from many people who certainly consider themselves "self-respecting", and who were born and raised in Charleston (unlike Mr. Taylor), and they cook in many different ways, using many different recipes and ingredients to prepare the same dish! Also, the repeated plugging of products sold in his store downtown is somewhat self-serving. But like I said, the recipes are worth it, and I use them frequently.

Beautiful book with great photography and local insights. Taylor has my respect.