The California Idea fills a big need in the scholarship on higher education: a broad and comparative analysis on how an important state has approached the issues of broadening higher education access. This book is well written, good for both scholars, policymakers, and those generally interested in a public higher education system that has benefited so many Californians.

camille pissarro gets much less notice than many of his contemporaries -- renoir, monet, degas, cezanne, van gogh, sisley -- yet in many ways he's the most interesting and innovative of the lot. born and raised in the caribbean, he emigrated to france as a young adult and worked as a productive (though often near impoverished) artist for five decades. in that time many painting fashions came and went, yet pissarro was often at the forefront of them all. one of the founding impressionists, his paintings were early on more radical than other painters working at the time (his artistic convictions cost him dearly in market success); he befriended and mentored the likes of cezanne, gauguin, signac; he was among the first to apply the science of color vision to his painting, and with much more care and insight than the mechanical dotmaking of the neo-impressionists. his influence was vital to the development of 19th century painting and is brought to life in this well written and comprehensive survey. the many full page color reproductions of his beautiful, sensitive, skillful and continually evolving paintings show the depth of his artistic sentiment and insight. pissarro is a painter who looks better in the perspective of time, and this handsome study does him full justice.

This is a book from which practitioners of all levels can pick up something useful. It contains the transcription of Master Sheng Yen's talks in the first retreat he conducted in Wales. Master Sheng Yen used the poem by Wang Ming as a starting point to help participants navigate their practice. Not only does the material clarify the practice of Chan (Zen) in very concrete terms, it also serves very well as a practical guide in daily life. His comments are insightful and in many occasions--moving. The editor povides a brief description of the daily routine as well as the rituals and chanting materials used in the retreat. Practitioners will also find the retreat reports interesting.

Books by John & Mariah Bear have literally changed people's lives. This is no less true for this book. Although not quite the behemoth that the larger "Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning (14th ed.), this book instead provides a tight focus on specific programs for those who either need a little more guidance or for whom smaller/less expensive works better. It still provides the same solid advice that readers have come to trust from the Bears.

College Degrees by Mail and Internet provides all of the information necessary to earn a degree (BA, MA, PhD) through distance learning. Now in its eighth edition, this book has stood the test of time.

If you're looking to change your life (more money, better work, etc), you need to check this book out.

With so much disinformation regarding nontraditional schools offering higher degrees, it's comforting to read a book based in both reality and calmness. No high sales pitch here, just good advice regarding a lot of good, nontraditional schools and programs. Highly recommended.

The Dawn Horse Testament is the ultimate guide to the mastery of transcendental awareness, and enlightenment. The incomparable western master Adi Da exquisitely illuminates the mystery of Who you Ultimately Are, intensifying meditative awareness through the ajna door into the incredible mastery of Divine Ignorance, Divine Realization, and Divine Being. The ultimate answers within transcendental awareness await the arrival of the newly wakened meditator's assimilation of the four samadhis of Adi Da.

The Dawn Horse Testament is an invaluable companion to anyone on the path of the mastery of awareness. Other seventh stage teachings are Self-Realization of Noble Wisdom: The Lankavatara Sutra; Mahamudra: Quintessence of Mind and Meditation; and The Four Yogas Of Enlightenment. The exploration of consciousness through the four samadhis of The Dawn Horse Testament is without parallel and sublimely transcendental.

This is a marvelous novel of adventure based loosely on fact. The book details the Thuggee cult of India, known as The Deceivers. Members of this cult worshipped the goddess, Kali, and were called Thugs. They were known to each other by way of secret phrases and rituals. Thugs were an organized group of professional thieves with a most interesting modus operandi. They would murder innocent travelers by garroting them with a weighted scarf, relieve them of their worldly possessions, and then bury them, so that they would seem to have vanished off the face of the earth. This killer cult flourished for centuries in India, until the British, with the cooperation of the exiting Indian government of the time, decimated their ranks, making them a curious relic of India's colorful past

The events in the book take place in early nineteenth century India, circa 1825. William Savage, a newly married Englishman in charge of the civil administration for a specific Indian district, inadvertently comes across this murderous cult in action and narrowly escapes death at their hands. Subsequently, he investigates, but his efforts prove futile. Savage ultimately decides to infiltrate this cult, disguised as a native of India. He is able to do so with the help of a Thug who has become disenchanted with the cult. It is Savage's intent to garner the requisite information necessary to wipe out this widespread evil society.

William Savage, leaving his now pregnant wife, manages to infiltrate a society heretofore unknown to Englishmen. He calls himself Gopal and, under the training of his Thug informant, is able to successfully make the transition. So completely does he immerse himself in the culture and activities of the cult, that he is in danger of losing himself to its tenets. His Thug informant realizes this and, ultimately, sets in motion a series of events that make Savage/Gopal realize the grasp that the cult has exerted upon his mind. What happens to Savage will keep the reader turning the pages of this book.

This is a wonderful and unusual adventure story told by a master storyteller. Grounded in a little known, though fascinating, segment of Indian history, this well crafted novel will hold the reader in its thrall.

Just love this volume 1 of a 3 volume book/CD set of Dr. John, sitting at a piano just playing and talking about the music. You will not find a structured teaching course in the blues here - There are no "lessons", just a virtuoso playing and speaking about what he does best. The accompanying book has many of the solos written out in standard musical notation (with chord symbols) along with excerpts of what the left hand is playing etc. It is by no means a complete and exact transcription of every note played on the CD, but it is very good. It will get you started on the road and is very helpful.
Be warned however: I have a degree in music and have played piano for 20 years, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to play like Dr. John. You really need to know music to get much out of it technique-wise. A solid background in theory is a great help in understanding what Dr. John is talking about when he refers to the chord structure / inversions/ substitutions/ progressions etc. If you are looking for a quick "play piano like Dr. John in 10 easy lessons" you will be sorely disappointed. There is a LIFETIME of material in these 3 volumes.
What I love about this book/CD the most is that it is all piano SOLO. I can really hear everything Dr. John is doing - you will never get that from his albums with a band backing him up. He does sing along with a few tunes, but it is 95% piano solo. I listen to it over and over and never tire of it - It is good enough to be a solo CD on it's own without the teaching aspect, and hearing Dr. John talk about his influences and the different styles is something I think any real fan would appreciate, even if they never intended to play a note on the piano.
Buy all 3 volumes - and then you'll go out and get the videos produced by the same folks so you can see how on earth anyone's fingers can play like that!

If you are interested in 17th century english dancing or historical dancing this book is a must. It introduces you to all Playford dances which are from 17th century. It deosn't only give you instruction for dancing, but it also gives you notes to played with violin.

Well Playford has it's downsides also. He is very precise to not say which foot starts or which hand. Directions are sometimes left to the readers imagination to fill in. But you have to think it this way. This is only dancebook from that time. If you don't get this book there is no else. So that way this book is must. And that's why I give it two thumbs up.

and absolutely blows me away with their Discworld supplement. before i read the Gurps books, i had never even heard of (let alone read) the Discworld book series or their author, Terry Prachett. now, of course, i am in love with the Disc. SJGames had disappointed me before with their attempts to adapt things for GURPS (the World of Darkness adaptations, in particular), but i could have read Gurps: Discworld, ignorign the rules, and still have laughed my ass off, marvelling at the imagination of Prachett and the beauty with which they condensed a huge (14 book) novel series into about 200 pages of humour, drama, adventure, and yes, stats. this is, of course, not to mention the absolutely GORGEOUS art littered about the insides. i don't know where they found Bill Kidby, but i hope they paid him enough to keep him interested in doing more work for Steve Jackson. basically, if oyu want a good sourcebook for the Discworld, well...world, if you want a book full of fabulous (and hilarious) fantasy art, or even if you want another GURPS book, make this it.