This is only a small book (less than 100 pages), but it packs a lot of ideas into it's content.

This is an "objective" view of the 20th century trend towards mass murder, and the forces described in this book, while based in a european context can be seen to hold true for virtually all "modern" societies, including Asia and Africa.

The author explains the link between a well organised bureaucratic organisation with an objective view to "processing" people through their rules. The danger of having large groups of "displaced" and "no-nation" peoples combined with a tendancy to rationlise away those peoples "rights" in society - to make them effectivley "non-people" and outside the law. It also brings home the reality that power *does* corrupt - or at least finds excuses for all it does to other people.

The author has presented us with a possible bleak future in many ways. This book is also a mirror to how we justify the choices of our modern life and the picture is not always pretty.

In the past, where "jews" may have been the target, today discrimination is trending towards the poor, and once again with the displaced and dispossed. Read in conjunction with "no Logo", this book is very enlightening - though out of the 2 books this is the better written. Worth picking up, reading and keeping.

If the words "tour de force," having become a book review cliché, means anything at all anymore, it pertains to this book. In less than a hundred pages, Richard Rubenstein writes the most intelligent essay about the Holocaust that I've ever read. I can see why William Styron was so affected by it.

Most books on the Holocaust discuss what happened and how. They are, in that sense, perversely sensationalist, dealing with our visceral reactions and moral indignation. Good writers know that a book should go a little beyond this, into wondering why it could have happened in the first place. But fewer still make the claim that the Holocaust was "the expression of some of the most profound tendencies of Western civilization in the twentieth century" rather than "the work of a small group of irresponsible criminals who were atypical of normal statesmen and who somehow gained control of the German people..."

It is indeed strange to view Auschwitz as a freak accident just because it makes us feel safe. Unless we can discount that there were social factors that facilitated the justification of massive killings, we cannot assume that it cannot happen elsewhere, and indeed more than a few genocidal killing sprees have occurred at places other than Nazi Germany in the twentieth century, though perhaps without the intense bureaucratic organization. Rubenstein's question is why did this happen in the first place, and the answers he gives are conditions that exist in many countries, including America, today.

The Cunning of History is engrossing and enlightening, and still carries with it enormous power. Even in America where we consider ourselves free and just, some lives are valued more than others, whether because of race or financial success or some other invalid reason. History is cunning because it deceives us; Rubenstein's fear is that even if we know what happened and how, history may still likely repeat itself.

I first came across a reference to this stunning little book when William Styron featured it in the documentary, "non-fiction" parts of his holocaust novel "Sophie's Choice." I went out and found a copy, and was blown away. It's rare you can find such provocation and insight about great historical themes in such a short book; it's like a larger tome compressed. Among Rubenstein's conclusions: the world is *functionally* Godless because of heavenly failure to protect the Jews. I vigorously disagree with that, but one can see that argument's plausibility "in the face of the burning children." He also concludes that Hitler committed no crime (according to the world's standards) because he had removed the Jews from the purchase of legality through such things as the Nuremberg Laws. His most terrible conclusion (and the one that inspires the title) is that the Holocaust was an unavoidable consequence of Judeo-Christian ideas of progress that led to the Enlightenment--the very rationality indispensible for progress was the Germans' great tool in their mass murder project. Rubenstein prophesies (he is a professor of theology) that future rationalistic governments will use the same tactics to rid themselves of surplus populations. One can argue about this--wasn't the genocide in Rwanda an outburst of atavistic horror and not a planned, modern event in the Serbian sense--but you can't deny the power of his grim perceptions. An unforgettable book.

I have used this book over the past three years as a weekly devotional. I used it first as a weekly guide for reflection and prayer and now as a guide for a small group study on spiritual formation with each member using it during the week. The 52 brief excerpts from the various Christian writers are perfect for reflection and to broaden perspective. The Reflection Questions and suggested exercises are excellent tools both individually and for the small group. I am a Presbyterian Elder and find it very useful in our small group.

The various studies provide a breadth and depth that few other studies could provide. I have learned through this study the thoughts and guidance from saints throughout Church history. It helps one understand not only what it means to seek God's Will, but also what it means to be a part of the Church Universal.

This is an excellent book for several reasons. First, it is a wonderful collection of 52 different devotional Christian writers from the second century to today. Second, for anyone interested in developing spiritual disciplines the exercises at the end of each chapter are excellent launching pads. Additionally, the book gives succinct biogaphical information about each writer, lending some insight into the readings themselves. And finally, each chapter ends with a brief review of and information on the availability of that writer's works.

AN EXCELLENT RESOURCE BOOK FOR CHRISTIAN EDUCATION IN OUR CHURCH. WE ARE USING THE SPECIFIC DEVOTION ON DISCIPLESHIP FOR NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION.

REV. MINH-HANH NGUYEN REDEEMER LUTHERAN CHURCH OF LEISURE WORLD SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA

This well-written, extremely thorough book takes the reader through the steps needed to build your own large Dobsonian telescope. More than a simple cookbook-type how-to book, the book takes you into the reason and motivation behind design details so you can make your own trade-offs for your own needs.

The book also takes you through the steps of building an 8 inch Dobsonian for your "small" telescope with the same detail and precision.

I am not a hard-core ATM, but read the book to understand the design and construction of Dobsonians in general, and to get an idea of how to make my own small, 8 inch Dob work better.

The book can be read at least 2 different ways: First, how to construct a large Dobsonian telescope. Second, what to look for when *buying* a large Dobsonian telescope. While the book makes the design, building, and construction of a large Dob seem both exciting and interesting, the entire time I read the book, I teetered between getting enthusiastic about building my own telescope, and the sinking feeling of truly understanding the enormous number of considerations, trade-offs, and important apparently minor details that make the difference between a good telescope and a great one. With all that goes into making a good telescope, you might be better off just buying a good quality telescope.

I recommend this book to owners of *all* size Dobsonians as an aid to truly understanding the Dobsonian design for both using, and modifying your own telescope. And to be clear, you *will* modify your telescope, even if it's just adding a finder and having to rebalance the scope. Contains and excellent section on collimation.

Excellent book and a joy to read! I am currently grinding a 8" mirror and bought this book for the 8" plans which are surprisingly compact. Kriege goes into detail on how to build a truss tube Dobsonian for larger apertures and leaves the reader with no questions due to the great explanations and pictures. Other strong points include very informative and up to date discussions on materials used to build today's modern Dobsonian telescope. My only argument is the author discourages grinding your own mirror which has been a great experience for myself and I am glad I did not listen to other astronomers who have the same view as Kriege. The selling point of Kriege's "Dobsonian Telescope" for myself include the plans for a small telescope (8") plus plans for larger scopes that will fill my aperture fever needs later. Both criteria have been met and I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in building any size Dobsonian telescope.

Excellent, interesting, and practical treatment of how you can build a state of the art, large to "giant"(8" to 40"+ aperture!) portable telescope. Uses the right amount of thorough well written engineering theory to justify the surprisingly simple component designs, materials, and construction techniques. The authors clearly want you to succeed. If your contemplating building a telescope based on your preconceptions, forget them, and read this book. The dobsonian approach featured here is a relatively recent major breakthrough in telescope design that few in the general public are aware exists. I can't imagine a "hotter" garage project for a dad to get into with his son or daughter.

Ellis, McCosker, and Giddings have produced an informative and entertaining book on the Great White shark. While the book does provide scientific information it does not require that you hold a degree in marine biology or physiology to comprehend the information being presented. Adding to the text are an abundance of quality photographs. I read this book several years ago, but still open it up again and again to re-read passages and look at the photographs. One of the best shark books I have ever read.

I found GREAT WHITE SHARK by RICHARD ELLIS to be one of the best books about GREAT WHITES ever written. I can see why STEVE ALTEN the author of MEG recommendeds it. It talks about the GREAT WHITE'S hunting instincts, swimming instincts and breeding instincts with more information about GREAT WHITE'S, like no other book before it. I admit that when I started reading it I thought I would be bored with it quickly, how wrong I was. The book was fascinating and informative, I felt that the author had really done a lot of research about GREAT WHITE SHARKS before writing it. He even goes into the remote possibility of the GREAT WHITE SHARK'S ancestor. The CHARCHRADON MEGLADON"S existence in the modern era. I felt he also researched those sharks greatly as well. All in all this book gives you a greater appreciation of these maginificent creatures and the importance of thier continued survival. If you love sharks this book is definitley a must read.

I found GREAT WHITE SHARK BY RICHARD ELLIS to be one of the best shark books I have ever read. It's imformative and interesting there's soo much information about GREAT WHITES that you don't want to put the book down. I never knew all that much about GREAT WHITE SHARKS, but after I read this book I felt that I could understand them a lot more and ther'e not what the movies make them out to be. This book is a must read for shark lovers don't miss it!!

I read this book in one sitting. He's a principled man who has a lot of wisdom to share with those with an open mind to digest what he has written on the pages of this magnificent book. If you have a desire to change your personal situation, Mr. DeVos spells out what it is that he's done in his own life. Simply take what he's written and apply what you need to and you'll be enriched.

Whether or not you like the Amway business or not is irrelevant to liking this book. Mr. Devos shares what is important in his personal life, and his beliefs. You can't argue with his success as one of the most successful businessmen in the country. His fighting spirit is an inspiration.

It gets a little tiring hearing all the Amway bashers with their crybaby attitudes saying negative things about this great man. Don't listen to them.

This book is like a life guide for me. Rich Devos really knows how to touch you deeply with simple facts of life. I'll recomend to anyone and hoping this book will be translated to many other languages so it could really reach anyone.

I have been attracted to tarot for many, many years but never could make sense of the booklets that come with the decks or the books you can buy separately. I would do a spread, read the booklet and then say, "ok this makes a little sense, but not much," and put the deck away for another year.

Then along comes this book! Wow, what an eye-opener. Michele Morgan takes the reader on a beautiful journey to their own intuition using tarot. The cards finally make sense because I intrepret them for me, instead of by trying to wade through jumbled meanings, user guidelines, and rules. Everything in the card is looked at to enhance your understanding--colours, numbers, figures, how one card meshes into another--it's brilliant.

It doesn't matter what deck you use--this book is appropriate to all of them, because it teaches you to listen to yourself.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a clear, satisfying, and EASY, tarot reading!

This is a wonderful book, whether you are a beginner or an experienced reader. The focus on intuition, with examples, enables a reader to make the cards come alive in your hands. The author's wonderful, heartfelt love affair with the magical Tarot comes alive in this book, and inspires the reader to fall in love as well. Highly recommended.

I have been a student of the tarot for the past three years, and have read so many books and how to manuals! Then along comes Michele Morgan's "A Magical Course in Tarot".- And Believe me it truly is magical! The book is at once partly traditional in nature, but totally refreshing because Michele Morgan also offers us a renewed way to view all the traditional attitudes about Tarot, while at the same time allowing and encouraging the reader to experiment and lean toward your own feelings, interpretations and intuition. Reading this book was a liberating experience for me. The expamples and excercises she uses in the book are easy to do and create an interactive tarot card adventure. Most important is Michele's tongue in cheek writing style. Never forcing or overwhelming, she has the ability to laugh at herself, and to be free to explore new territory. She incorporates simple explanations, with an often humorous writing style the reader can easily relate to. The reader will feel as if he knows Michele or would like to meet her. I read this book very quickly because of her writing style, and would highly recommend it to any one interested in the tarot. It doesn't matter if you are an oldie or a newbie. Read this book!

There are lots of wealthy people out there but most aren't truly happy. This is largely because they aren't fulfilling a higher purpose with their businesses, they're simply out there trying to survive in the often cutthroat business world. DeVos explains what it takes to make your business a positive force in the world; "positive" by virtually any standard.

Contrary to a lot of advice you may have heard out there on how to successfully build a prosperous business, DeVos claims that integrating compassion for your fellow man with lucrative opportunities is the real secret to security and happiness. It's the knowledge that what you're doing is making a difference that makes you feel worthy of the privilege and comfort of wealth. And even before the wealth comes, having a compassionate attitude along with sound business acumen (which can be learned) goes a long way towards increasing your chances of attaining wealth and influence.

A great book written in a language anyone can understand. I don't have any complaints, but I refrain from giving it five stars because it didn't "knock my socks off!" Highly recommended reading for anyone looking to understand the attitudes and principles necessary for *true* success.

This book was written by one of the most prominent businessmen in the world. He and his partner started with just an idea, as with many other large corporations we are familiar with, and turned it into one of the only debt free companies in the U.S.. Producing billions of anual revenue. Rich Devos has a huge heart and he is more generous than most, for he is willing to share with the world what beliefs and habits put him into the positions that he is at now. Rich Devos has been able to help milliions of people find hope and rekindle their dreams by using a direct selling method that many other companies alike can only wish they had. This book has great stories about success and failure alike, for one does not come without the other. If you are looking for a book with strong priciples and beliefs then this is the book for you. I would recommend it to anyone building an amway business or not, simply because of what it will teach. This book will make you feel proud to be in a FREE country and make you think "why am I not doing my part to help out?"

As the founder of Amway Corporation, the world's largest and most successful direct-selling organization, Rich DeVos is uniquly qualified to comment on a new way of seeing the world of business. Mr. DeVos is a highly respected person of impeccable character whose message of freedom and hope is becoming more acceptable to business leaders worldwide. The DeVos and Van Andel (co-founder of Amway) families have quietly become two of the wealthiest and influental families in America today. Their philosophies of fufilling financial obligations to one's family, friends, charities, etc, through helping others acheive their goals is refreshing. Although not an active Amway Distributor myself, I can't help but marvel at the number of media-driven attacks on Amway Corporation. This company, through the vision of both it's founders and distributors, is THE model for today's company attempting to balance an innovative spirit with corporate and social responsibility. This privately-held, debt-free, multibillion dollar corporation has put billions of dollars into the pockets of hard working people worldwide. As a corporate executive, I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a glimpse into the life of a man whose company stands on the forefront of the business world heading into the next millenium.

Swenson's book is an excellent and timely read for the person who wants to learn how to develop more time and space for a fruitful life.

The book's layout is orderly and the text is easily understood - thankfully, Swenson does not attempt to impress the reader with technical jargon and knows how to address his audience. Swenson organizes the book into three main parts: 1) The problem (pain), 2) the prescription (margin), and 3) the prognosis (health).

As mentioned earlier, Swenson describes the problem of pain and the prescription of margin in layman terms. Swenson describes how we can either place undue pressure on ourselves or allow society to dictate the unrealistic expectations we are expected to live up to today. Especially helpful were the prescriptions Swenson prescribes for dealing with today's insane rat race. Particulary compelling were the suggestions for balance, rest, simplicity, and healthy relationships.

All in all, an excellent read. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars was because I believe (in my humble opinion) that the author spent a little too much time describing the problem - he did not get into a comprehensive definition and description of the term "margin" until 1/3 of the way into the book. Despite this minor complaint, I highly recommend this book. The Christian will be encouraged to just rest in the love and acceptance of Jesus while the unbeliever will be encouraged to consider life is more than just career success and busy activities.

Richard Swenson has given us a "how to" book for reducing stress, increasing our quality (and enjoyment) of life by increasing the MARGIN in many areas of life. MARGIN is the difference between the resources we have and those we must have based on commitments we make. For example, financially, if we need $75,000 per year to live and we make $100,000, we have a margin of $25,000. I specifically liked the author's point that 100 years ago most people had much more MARGIN than we have today. Whether it is the MARGIN in our finances or the MARGIN in our time commitments versus how much time we have to give, the smaller the MARGIN the higher the stress and the less productive and satisfied we are as human beings! I also liked the point that Swenson made that MARGIN time can be used for planning, creative thinking and other activities that get lost when we are too busy and stressed out. The author's message is much needed in today's fast paced and hectic world - and, who knows, perhaps more MARGIN (savings, health, etc.) could impact the entire world if more people applied the principles in the book.

Margin was one of the best books I have ever read. I have read it three times so far. It teaches you how to live life in a manner that seems to me the way Christ meant for us to live. Most of us are living life the way "the world" says we should. The book, Margin, makes you step back and review your life and reevaluate your priorities. I think it can help people reduce their stress and get much more enjoyment out of life. It teaches a simple life style, and wanting less, not more. If you read these reviews, Dr. Swenson, I just want to say thank you. I am buying two more copies for stressed out friends.

Dr. Rahn explains advanced concepts of economics in a format that the beginner and simpleton, like me, can understand and use. It is an easy four hour read, is a primer in economics and is must reading for anyone who thinks the way of spending money will continue just like it is at this time. The big question is whether government will grow up in time not to get in the way of the monetary changes and whether you and I will be able to spend our money as we wish without Big Brother's nosing in. What Dr. Rahn fails to point out is that the concepts expressed in his book are basic to our constitution and to our freedom. If we do not take heed, we stand to lose both. It is must reading for every citizen.

This is a must read book for all those people trying to understand how the internet and the digital revolution will change their lives. It will bring fear to politicians and civil servants who love big Government. It describes how the internet will provide the ordinary citizen with the ability to avoid and evade excessive taxation whilst at the same time being better informed to manage his or her life without Government interference. If you are a knowledge worker, and in Rahn's digital world of tomorrow, we will virtually all be knowledge workers then you have everything to gain from the information in this book. Its comparison of two Governments, one that is minimalist and understanding of the digital age as opposed to one that is maximist and lacking in basic comprehension of the digital revolution, is timely in terms of describing the digital battleground of the next millenium. This book is a must read, it provides a real vision of where the digital future is taking us.

This book examines in depth and with clarity the implications of the electronic revolution on the institution of money. It shows how the electronic revolution is likely to make governmental attempts to monitor financial transactions less and less successful. It shows the tax system will have to adjust to compensate for the new electronic reality or tax evasion will be rampant. It also makes the case that greater financial privacy and a more limited government will bring greater happiness.

The book explains the latest in encryption technology in plain English and looks at other technological innovations such as smartcards. The book is a fine book and should be read by anyone with an interest in the areas of monetary policy, taxes or finance. This book expresses a unique and compelling vision of what our financial futures will look like. The quibbles that I have with the book are fairly technical. While I agree with the author that the advent of strong encryption technology and other financial innovations will in time make it very hard for governments to tax financial transactions, I think he does not sufficient emphasis the fact that if government simply shifts its tax burden onto physical capital, it will affect the rate of return on the financial assets that represent legal claims on the physical assets. This book is unique and powerful and right. It makes arguments that desparately need to be heard if we are to make the right choices in the years to come

This book gives lots of information that I thought was peculiar to my case. It gives cases and concrete examples of intervention. For me, it broke the isolation of feeling I was the only one. It gives ideas for writing in a journal at the end of each chapter, which is very useful. People who have epilepsy have choices. It's enlightening and hopeful. I showed it to my neurologist and he wants to read it!

This landmark publication allowed me to look at epilepsy as a challenge instead of a tragedy. Using its philosophy, the techniques outlined in it have helped me to change from a victim to someone who has taken control of her life. I have learned to observe myself inside and out and have changed the patterns which trigger seizures in me. After all, as the book points out, "the disorder that causes epilepsy is there all the time, but the seizures are not". This approach treats the whole person, not merely the symptoms of this malady and the book is written simply although the message is profound. I highly recommend this to patients and professionals.

I found this book extremely informative with a non conventional twist. The combination of the Dr and the patient teaming up to give us a "new approach" to this age old disease is enlightening for those who suffer the challenges of epilepsy. It is certainly worth reading as I feel it will be a great benefit to many. Their suggestions and ideas are very helpful and allow us yet another hopeful aspect to dealing with epilepsy.