A wonderfully-written, powerful approach to self-realization. Two main resources have been helping me transform my consciousness and habits into a life of fullness and joy: this book and Pema Chodron's audiotape series, "Awakening Compassion." I recommend both unhesitatingly.

People have been writing manuals for transformation for millenia. One only needs to pick up a copy of the Dhammapada or the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali to find instructions for self-transformation that go back as far as civilized man. A trip to the bookstore can show you that this certainly hasn't changed- self-help books on the shelves today range from the practical ("Achieve Optimal Health in Eight Weeks!") to the unlikely ("Pick Winning Lotto Numbers Every Time!") to the downright wacky ("Awaken your Gerbil's Psychic Powers!"). Many of these books promise change and transformation in a short period of time... a few days or weeks. Instant enlightenment.

Michael Murphy and George Leonard have been watching and inspiring the human potential movement (the fountainhead for the "instant enlightenment" approach) for decades- in fact, they gave the movement it's name. And, in the four decades that have passed since Murphy founded his world-famous Esalen Institute, they've learned an important lesson: there is no quick fix. No instant moksha, no express nirvana, no overnight transformation. Real change takes years or decades of intensive work. To this end, they have founded a new kind of practice for a real new age: Integral Transformational Practice, or ITP- which is introduced in "The Life We Are Given".

ITP is not a seminar, it's not a weekend retreat. You have to be willing to give up, evolve, and let the chips fall where they may. Moreover, you have to be willing to engage in intensive practice over long periods of time- years, at least. Combining a set of physical exercises based upon akaido, tai chi, and yoga, an aerobic and weightlifting regimen, a simple vegetarian diet, meditation, affirmations, visualization, philosophical and spiritual study, and community work, ITP practitioners can make changes in their lives that they never thought possible. Physical changes, improvements in health and fitness, reversing diseases and age-related ailments, improving emotional health and learning ability, and attaining spiritual states of mind are all possible for a practitioner who is willing to work dilligently and intelligently at the practice. Whole new worlds of opportunity are availiable by living the balanced yet aggressively evolutionary lifestyle proposed in "The Life We Are Given".

Recommended as companion volumes to tLwaG are Ken Wilber's "Sex, Ecology, Spirituality" (an important text on evolutionary psychology and philosophy with a focus on transformation), George Leonard's "Mastery", and Michael Murphy's "The Future of the Body". They are all excellent guides to the integral paradigm.

Good luck, and good journeys!

There are lots of books out there that offer hope for genuine transformation. This is one that actually works, because it doesn't pretend that transformation is instantaneous, easy, or without some physical and mental work. However, by applying some discipline, the changes that are possible by following the methods described in "The Life We Are Given" are truly astounding. One way to confirm this without reading anything is simply by being in Leonard's presence. He radiates an extraordinary, palpable vitality that just can't be faked.

Because Mr. Kohl will blow you away!!!! This is a fine book. The research is impeccable. The photos are sublime. Kudos to the author!!! I saw Mr. Kohl give the commencement address at the University of Chicago and the crowd was mesmerized. Most likely, because he hadn't been invited by the school to give it.

Leonard Kohl's first book is a fine effort, a splendid purchase for any fan of the big three horror icons who made serials. It is loaded with interesting facts. Where else could you discover that silent comedy star Harry Langdon almost co-starred with Lugosi in THE WHISPERING SHADOW. The book is chock full of rare photos, and they are a genuine treat. Fans of Charle Chan would be happy to find rare photos of Warner Oland from silent serials. This volume is a recommended purchase. As an author myself, I can see the hard work and dedication that went ito this volume.

Kudos to Kohl, who has done a fine job in presenting an informative, and always fair-handed, look at a fascinating period in movie-making. This is clearly the product of pains-taking research, resulting in a heaping-helping of historical data, elucidating testimonials, with a rich array of pictures to boot. No true fan of "the screamsome threesome"--Karloff, Lugosi, and Chaney--and the too-often overlooked serials gentre, should miss this.

This book is fundamental in running a Mage chronicle. It gives plenty of background and setting information for those interested in that sort of thing. As any storytelling book, it gives tips and tried-and-true methods for storytelling. Additionally, there is a chapter dedicated to the explanation of philosophy, which is important because of Mage's philosophical nature. Also, the book further explains various systems like Paradox and Resonance and gives different options to change them to your liking. Moreover, the book gives an explanation of Seekings according to Essence types. All in all, the book is essential in fine-tuning and running any Mage chronicle.

This is probably the most invaluable resource for any mage player or storyteller. It provides alternate rules for both magic and paradox and how to apply mage to alternate historical/fantasy settings. In terms of usability, it is indispensible and probably much better than the Guide to the Traditions.

The book is a cookbook collection of procedures and methods in molecular biology. It is written in a pragmatic and didactic fashion so that the understanding of the process is clear. There is a comprehensive list of reagents and solutions. It is well worth the buy!

I'm a French studient and I'm studying English at University. The University library had it and I find it very instructive so I recommand it to the other students.

Leonard Sweet is a visionary. He looks at what's going on today, and he can see changes that need to be made if Christianity is to remain a viable option for people. His style of writing is unique, and his outlook is fresh and exciting. Anything Sweet has written is worth reading!

What's amazing about Michaels is how seamlessly he transitioned from an experimental realist to a master of the realistic short story form. His early stories are marked by a linguistic self-apparency, though he's funny enough to keep it interesting. And, unlike others in this vein, his style is blatantly influenced by Kafka and Beckett. Sometimes the description in the early stories can be too thick, exhausting the possibilites of each situation. The language in the best of them, however - "In The Fifties," "Manikin" (The one about the Turk, I think) - have a wonderful interplay of signifiers, like poetry. "In The Fifties" is an ironized (sp.) list poem in the style of Ginsberg's "Howl".

The later stories acheive such a transparency you can forget how funny they are. Michaels is a master of form. They are narrated in a natural, subdued manner, unlike the glossy, journalistic style we get from some of our other first tier writers. The differentiated narrative strands merge together gradually as the story progresses.

Thematically, Michaels' stories are interesting because they are often set on the cusp of the sexual revolution, and there is much confusion about gender roles in relationships. All in all, one of the best books I've read in awhile.

This is one of several translations of an ancient (date disputed) compilation of summaries of stories of the gods and heroes of Greece (but not Rome), based, where it can be checked, on excellent sources. If the name of the author is correct, he cannot be the "Apollodorus the Grammarian" to whom the work used to be attributed, but, given the lack of fraudulent internal claims, the bare name seems better than "Pseudo-Apollodorus". Given the huge amount of classical literature that has been lost, and the primary sources to which this compiler seems to have had access (whoever and whenever he was), it is even more regrettable that a portion of "The Library" survives only in an abridged form. (Fortunately, part of the re-summarized material is Homeric; unfortunately, some of it is not.)

This translation features extensive commentary giving detailed comparisons to other classical versions of the divine and heroic stories, combined with surveys of modern literary uses of the stories. The latter is now dated, of course, and Sir James Frazer (of "The Golden Bough") gave even more information from ancient sources in his commentary (with translation facing a Greek text) of 1921 (two volumes in the Loeb Classical Library). But Michael (not Micahel!) Simpson is clear, and, on the whole, well organized. Some readers seem to have found the language too American for their taste. It should be remembered that the author, whoever he was, used a kind of "international literary Greek," which probably seemed fairly up-to-date to his well-educated readers. Whether academic American English is a good substitute is certainly arguable. (By the way, my copy of the 1976 edition is of a large trade paperback; is this considered a second edition, or was there a later revision, whose date is not given?)

The index is not nearly as comprehensive as that in Keith Aldrich's rival version of 1975 (now out of print), but it usually helpful, and Aldrich does not discuss other ancient versions in any detail, or refer to modern literary versions. A recent translation by Robin Hard also has a better index (more than one, in fact), and is fairly good on ancient variants, but likewise avoids treatment of modern versions of the old stories. Simpson's commentary appears as endnotes to sections of the main text, which makes for frequent interruptions, but I have used this edition for a quarter century with considerable enjoyment, and frequent enlightenment about other ancient works.

Simpson's translation lacks the textual notes and apparatus of Robin Hard's 1997 translation, and Hard's introduction and commentary show both a later stage of classical studies and a more sophisticated view of the structure of "The Library". The two translations meet different needs, and it is good to have both available. If Aldrich was reprinted to join Frazer's more expensive translation, one might have to make a hard decision about how many versions can be afforded, and how much shelf space they deserve. As it is, the serious student and the love of ancient literature may want to have both Simpson and Hard at hand, or in a convenient library.

The Leonard Baskin illustrations are, in my opinion, an attractive feature. Aldrich's translation was also illustrated. However, a good selection of ancient art portraying (or possibly portraying) some of the stories or characters would also have been welcome. (The Illustrated Apollodorus - now there's an idea!).

What a magnificient analysis full of profound and original insights.This book was done with such exemplary clarity that one need not be a student of philosophy in order to comprehend the ideas that are discussed.I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in discovering the important pathway into the lives and thoughts of the great minds.

Leonard Michaels has, in the last six months, become one of my literary heroes. "I Would Have Saved Them If I Could" features his talent at writing extremely short stories as well as more fleshed out pieces. It's a shame this book is out of print, try finding it at your local libraries. "Murderers" is perhaps one of the best short stories by an American writer I have ever read. Do yourself a favor, read this book.