I became familiar with Stanley Lombardo's work after reading his translation of the Iliad, so when I saw that he also had a translation of the Odyssey available, I eagerly went out and bought a copy. As in his Iliad translation, one encounters the same trademark modern-day colloquial style that, depending on the type of person you are, you will either enjoy or hate. I happen to love it, and I also applaud the choice of cover design for the book, since it suggests not only the nature of the story, but of the translation as well.

Whereas Lombardo's Iliad was full of adrenaline and very energetic, I thought that his version of the Odyssey was definitely more calm and introspective, focusing on Odysseus' personal anguish and quest for retribution. It was easier for me to identify with the world of ordinary humans (and their feelings) described in the Odyssey, than with the world of godlike men and mindless warfare and violence described in the wide-ranging Iliad. For this and other reasons, I consider the Odyssey to be the superior work. As in his previous translation of the Iliad, Lombardo drops the use of dactylic hexameter in the present work and treats the use of similes and epithets in a special manner - all in an effort to minimize the problems encountered in translating from the original Greek to English.

It has already been suggested that Lombardo's translation would be an excellent starting point for both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and I wholeheartedly agree. His translations may not be the only versions you'll want to have on your bookshelf, but they would definitely be ones to have in your collection.

This quarter, I decided to focus on Homer. I took two classes concentrating on him, one where we read the Greek text of the Odyssey, and the other where we read both the Iliad and the Odyssey. I was a little sceptic about the Lombardo translation to begin with, especially because I already owned the Lattimore translations. After reading Lombardo, though, I realize how great a translator he is compared to Lattimore. Lattimore gives a more direct translation, but his choice of words conveys the "classic" portion of Homer a bit too well. Lombardo, on the other had, uses colloquial speech when translating. Usually, that is not a great quality, but it seriously works with the Odyssey. Both Homeric epic poems are orally composed, and Lombardo's translation conveys the casualness of the words. The Odyssey shouldn't be considered an old archaic boring text, because it isn't... I feel that Lombardo is a great translator and should be used more in high school readings of Homer and for first time readers of these texts.

Like Lombardo's translation of the Iliad, the Odyssey is a pleasure to read. The characters jump out and the plot moves at a good clip. I frequently have the feeling that the Odyssey was actually written in English as Lombardo has translated it, received directly from the Muses. All I can do is thank him for giving me Homer!

I *love* this book! And so does my 3 year old daughter. The artwork is beautiful and so wonderful to look at. The story is *awesome* and just great for little girls [and boys!].

The author has a superb wit and a gift for storytelling. This has quickly become one of our very favorites and my daughter spends lots of time now pretending to be "Rumplestiltskin's Daughter" [who also had a name!]. I'm very happy with the impact this tale has had on her sense of what it is to be a woman.

This tale encourages girls to be clever and self sufficient without being tedious or overbearingly feminist. [And without being anti-male]. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

This book has a great message for young girls (and boys!), and the illustrations are very clever. I think I enjoy this book as much as my daughters do! It makes a great gift.

Sometimes I run across a book that has such a well-crafted story and such exquisite illustrations that I just sit back and say, "Wow!" This book by Diane Stanley is one of those "wow" books. In this version of Rumpelstiltskin, the miller's daughter, Meredith, is not a brainless wench who jumps at the chance to marry the king. Rumpelstiltskin is not an evil child-snatching gnome. In fact, he's a sweet soul who only wants one thing in life -- a child to love and care for. No wonder Meredith decides to ditch the king and marry Rumpelstiltskin. Besides, she has a weakness for short men. Rumpelstiltskin and Meredith marry, work on their farm, and raise their daughter. Although the family could use Rumpelstiltskin's talents to become exceedingly rich, he only spins a small amount of gold to buy those things they can't make or grow themselves. The rest of the people in the kingdom are not so lucky. The greedy king has rooms full of gold while his subjects are penniless and starving. No wonder he needs a contingent of armed guards who have elevated teeth-gnashing and sword-clutching into an art form.

When Rumpelstiltskin's daughter is sixteen, her parents let her take the odd bit of gold into town to exchange it for coins to buy necessities. Eventually the old greedy king hears about this, kidnaps Rumpelstiltskin's daughter, and locks her in a tower filled with straw. "Rumpelstiltskin's daughter looked around. She saw a pile of straw the size of a bus. She saw a locked door and high windows. She gave a big sigh and began to think. She knew her father could get her out of this pickle. But she had heard stories about the king all her life. One room full of gold would never satisfy him. Her father would be stuck here, spinning, until there was not an iota of straw left in the kingdom. "After a while she climbed the pile of straw and thought some more. She thought about the poor farmers and about the hungry children with their thin faces and sad eyes. She put the two thoughts together and cooked up a plan. . ." Instead of spinning straw into gold, Rumpelstiltskin's daughter puts her plan (which Ms. Stanley develops so cleverly that you really should read it for yourself) into action and saves the kingdom by teaching the king some simple lessons in economics and public relations. By the end of the story, the king offers her his hand in marriage, which she wisely declines. "Why don't you make me prime minister, instead," she suggests.

The best word to describe the illustrations is sumptuous. Diane Stanley's greedy king with his elegantly styled coif bears a striking resemblance to Louis XIV, and the artwork mirrors the Sun King's opulence. The palace shines with gilded ceilings and elaborate tiled floors. On the palace walls hang masterpieces so famous that my six year old can recognize most of them --works by da Vinci, Van Gogh, Picasso.

Charles Stanley's book can help you get on the right path when you are going through a tough time. I was lost when someone I loved passed away. My faith for the first time waivered. I've learned that when we are the most in need is when we need God most. I have a closer relationship with him and am learning more every day.
There is another book that is helping me to cope, Write from Your Heart, A Healing Grief Journal.
Immersing myself in the word has made a huge difference in the way I am healing.

I have to say that this was one of the most enjoyable books I have read in a long time. Reading about a chapter a night it took me through a course of revelations and growth, both introducing me to new concepts and renewing me familiarity with others. I liked that he wasn't afraid to quote scriptures (and let us know where they are so we can read them in context.) This book, coupled with much prayer, changed the way I look at life.

This book is beneficial for everyone to read, christians and non-christians alike. It can be helpful reading for those who are going through difficult and challenging times. Charles Stanley examines some very tough questions of "Where is God" during our most strenuous periods in life. If you think you have gone through the worst that life has to offer, hit rock bottom, then this book can help you understand the true grace, mercy, and love of God. Challenge yourself and read God's message of why you need to be broken.

As a Reading Specialist, I enjoyed this book very much. Not only does it deal with social issues that children encounter in school, but it also is told using language that is easy to understand. It is very readable, and I highly recommend it.

I just finished Enough Is Enough. It was very good. And now I realize that it's not nice to pick on others. I enjoyed it because it taught me to stand up for myself instead of letting kids be mean to me.

THIS BOOK SHOWED AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF HOW TO DEAL WITH AGGRESSION, WITHOUT RESORTING TO VIOLENCE. MY 10 YEAR OLD GRANDDAUGHTER AND 8 YEAR OLD GRANDSON ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH,AND OF COURSE I DID ALSO.

Miki Frank's stunningly honest book about the most difficult subject to imagine -- the death of a spouse -- will be of tremendous comfort to anyone who is faced with the sudden quiet and soltitude after a robust life lived fully with a loved one. The author doesn't flinch from considering issues around her own emotional stability once "contact" with her deceased husband is established. In fact, what happens -- and what is detailed so compellingly in this fine book -- is so antithetical to everything the author THOUGHT she believed in beforehand that it is all the more powerful. This book is not for everyone; you have to be in a place of depth and have had a strong love connection of one's own to have it make "sense". If this describes you, this book will move you and keep you riveted. I finished it wanting more, and I certainly hope Miki Frank will return for a second volume. Bravo.

From first page to last, Miki Frank's heartwarming book totally gripped me. I couldn't put it down even at the end of a long day. Through vignettes written after her husband Stanley died, Miki shares the story of her relationship with the love of her life and the pain of her bereavment. Flesh and blood Stanley was larger than life, and much to Miki's surprise, during the first year of their separation through death, he turns up again to engage her in his own inimitable way, to challenge her assumptions, make her laugh as he always did, and share his new world.
This stretches Miki beyond belief, but she can't deny what's happening in their daily rendezvous at the typewriter. Slowly but surely, kicking and screaming, Miki learns to accept that
"Death ends a life but not a relationhip", and a new chapter in their life together begins. A most beautifully written book, full of fun and compassion inspite of the pain, it will also be of great help to those losing a partner or those coming to terms with the possiblity of life after death.

From first page to last, Miki Frank's heartwarming book totally gripped me. I couldn't put it down even at the end of a long day. Through vignettes written after her husband Stanley died, Miki shares the story of her relationship with the love of her life and the pain of her bereavment. Flesh and blood Stanley was larger than life, and much to Miki's surprise, during the first year of their separation through death, he turns up again to engage her in his own inimitable way, to challenge her assumptions, make her laugh as he always did, and share his new world.
This stretches Miki beyond belief, but she can't deny what's happening in their daily rendezvous at the typewriter. Slowly but surely, kicking and screaming, Miki learns to accept that
"Death ends a life but not a relationhip", and a new chapter in their life together begins. A most beautifully written book, full of fun and compassion inspite of the pain, it will also be of great help to those losing a partner or those coming to terms with the possiblity of life after death.

If you love to laugh you must have this book. Great reading for those with a few 24 hours. I have shared a few parts of this book with some people I sponsor, they could not stop laughing. Wonderful way to get people to open up. Superway to get a meeting going.

An excellent book that is very cleverly written.If you are like me and you came to the fellowship with no idea of;
(a)the cunning, baffling, nature of alcoholism.
(b)of how to name different types of emotions and feelings
then this book is of enormous help.(or it was to me anyway!)
It also hit home in a number of ways especially with its side comments on the behaviour of some members of the fellowship.It gave me a bit of a kick up the backside as to how I contribute to meetings and how I treat people who are new to the fellowship. Definitely a good read!

This is the most clever, entertaining, and enlightening book on recovery I have ever read. I know that you will love it too. -- Frank D. - Author of The Annotated AA Handbook

I wouldn't recommend this book as your first translation of the Tao Te Ching, hence the 4 stars, but I absolutely would recommend it as a second copy if you finish reading a translation and are craving more Tao, more depth.

The authors do an excellent job of describing their approach to this translation - a more literal and less interpretive approach than most. It allows someone familiar with the Tao Te Ching a more flexible look at what Lao Tzu had to say. A glossary includes the direct translation of several of the characters, and the authors have left in one line of the original Chinese characters in each section.

Because the translation is so literal, the intrinsic underlying points of the Tao Te Ching seem more obscured to me, rather than less, and if I did not already have some history with the Tao Te Ching, I would lose interest in this before I found my way through this book.

I am by no means a scholar of Chinese. Much as I'd like to, grasping the vagaries of classical Chinese characters is still beyond me. I'm just a philosophy student looking for understanding and inspiration.

However, bar none, this is the best translation of the Tao Te Ching I've ever read (I own 2 and have browsed 6 or 7 more.). It strikes the perfect balance between literalism and interpretation. Anyone who's looked at the original Chinese characters knows that it's tough to literally translate into English - many connectives we use to make things flow are just not present in the Chinese. Addiss and Lombardo don't overdo it, though, in making the verses comprehensible - they add only enough in the way of connectives to allow the verses to register in an English speaking mind.

If I were to recommend any edition of the Tao Te Ching to someone, this would be it. It is the best English approximation of the simplicity of the original epigrams and phrases. Where other translations can be bogged down with frilly adjectives and add-ons, this one strips itself down to the bare essentials - not only approaching the spareness of the original, but also the theme - 'ten thousand things' are 19,999 too many!

Addiss and Lombardo's translation is simply the best translation of the standard (Wang Bi edition) of the Daode jing. It's also one of the cheapest, and is beautifully illustrated. The translation is terse, crisp and rhythmic, like the original Classical Chinese. This doesn't make it easy for you to understand but instead you have to do the work to make sense out of it yourself. I use it in all my classes.

My mother is a friend of the author, and for a while in 1999, she took care of "Griffin", one of the dogs described in this book. She talked often about his remarkable face and demeanor, and raved about Mr. Stanley's stories. Twice now I have been amazed at how right she is-- Griffin is an amazing dog-- he can look at you in a way that almost goes through you. And then to see that translated into these short stories is just amazing. "The Dog Who Walk Himself" has much to teach us, even though he probably doesn't know he's doing it. As this book shows us, God has many ways of teaching us His lessons. I think even my cat-loving self can agree with that!

A few minutes ago, I finished Mr. Stanley's book. I had wondered if there were others who learned from those special dogs who are insightful, attentive, intelligent and totally devoted. Obviously, Gary Stanley is one of those, and he communicates so well the blessings of sharing life with another of God's creatures.

I just finished reading this book and discovered an abundance of chuckles and many insights about my own life.

A very comprehensive structured analysis of one's training and sparring agenda. Excellent for the novice, and very beneficial for the advanced fighter.

This book is a must for the serious tournament fighter. Darin Waugh offers a comprehensive, yet easy to understand, analytical tool for those who wish to excel. A cobmination of work sheets and sound advice makes this a highly usable book. I highly recommend it!

Learning more about yourself, not only your fighting style, is a major strength in this work. The book is extremely detailed, and gives one plenty of food for thought. The charts and graphs included are very helpful, and the book's unsual format allows the reader to easily copy and use the information given so freely. This is indeed a quality work. The author's years of experience and rational mind shine through. Anyone intersted in martial arts, from beginner to black belt can use and benefit from "Analyze Your Fighting' by Darin Waugh. I can't wait to check out his software package. I give it a big thumbs up, and 5 stars.

This work of Gardner is so great! Gardner was able to combine suspense with a tinge of humor. It will keep you glued to your seat and keep you guessing who is the real murderer.

When I first read this book, I was going through a book store, looking for Agatha Christie, when I stumbled upon this book. At first I was sceptical, not sure how good it would be, after all, it was about a lawyer. As soon as started the first chapter I fell in love with the book! The different characters. The smooth talking Perry Maon. The reliable, feminine Della Street. Paul Drake, the detective relying on soggy hamburgers to fill in for steak dinners. A very compelling book to read!

and that's good! Of course, I am talking about the old black and white one hour episodes, which , even though before my time, I enjoy immensely in syndication. This was the first Perry Mason I have read and I was amazed how well it stacked up to the show. Or, I should say how well the show measures up to the book. As I was reading the story I could visualize Perry Mason (a la Raymond Burr), and his cast of Paul Drake and Della Street as if I was watching the book as a movie. There are plenty of nasty characters, convaluted motives, and a slick attorney in Perry Mason. If you liked the show, the book follows the same pattern of developing the storyline. Nasty person that no one likes, murder, many suspects, wrongfully charged heroine, and the savior Perry Mason. Lot's of fun!