This is one of the most useful and impactful books on Ramana Maharshi. Having read "all" of his works, when Matthew Greenblatt first presented this book, it really changed the standard on how to access Ramana. So much of Ramana's teachings are visual, or in silence, that, more than virtually any other teacher, this is a uniquely powerful way to convey his messages. If you buy no other book on Ramana, buy this one - everything is there. Among many "hard core" Ramana Maharshi folk, this has rapidly become the great favorite. Buy it - it can change your life.

This book has become one of my favorites. It is filled with clear black and white photographs of Ramana Maharshi. Inserted on the pictures are GEMS of Ramana's teachings. The quotes are distilled and arranged in such a way to make them tremendously potent. I read a few pages at a time as I look at the pictures. I start feeling enlightenment. The words are dripping with profound simple insight into our apparent condition. The phantom self begins to drop away, peace begins to bring it's light, there is no need to seek. There is nowhere we need to go, it's all center, nobody's going anywhere. Time and space are but an illusion. Reading the words in this book. It's so simple and clear. All seeking, even religious seeking assume a separation from the infinite but the infinite is always here and now. Seeking objectifies and distances the infinite from us. It can even strenghthen the ego, now one has become a super holier than thou ego. There might be a certain readiness needed for this teaching. Some methods use seeking and a distance from God. Sometimes one needs to keep seeking because of all the commotion going on in one's soul. A tempest is blasting in one's soul and sometimes we are too in a hurry to be in the present. We've got things to do and places to go, you know. If you've begun to see the futility of seeking then you are ready for this book. You'll experience quiet, peace and stillness and an ordinary contentment with what is. What you feel after this depends on how much you contemplate and meditate upon these words and finally go beyond them into your REAL SELF. There is the phantom self and your REAL SELF. This book can help you find your REAL SELF that has been here all along, remember...?

this beautiful book is a treat for anyone interested in spiritual insight. ramana maharshi was a wise man and more: an illumined man. the photos are beautiful, the text, though brief, is sublime. he insists we are o k just as we are. we fail to realize it because we fail to know ourselves as we really are; infinite and divine. to read this book is to partake in a visual and philosophical feast. its brevity demands attention. its truths have the power to enlighten. enjoy this book as a meditation which will help you see and know your true Self.

This is a funny book that will keep you laughing as well as give you tons of excuses to use in sticky situations at work, school and excuses to use when straying from a diet plus many more. Most of the excuses are outrageous, all of them funny. This is a hilarious book that if nothing else will make you smile.

This is one of the funniest books I have seen in a long time. It's just got some hilarious excuses, and it has excuses that people have used on me. It's just a riot to see them all in one place, and, if I ever get in a sticky situation, maybe a good excuse is just what I'll need!

Folks: I read this book in my dentist's waiting room, while waiting for some crown work. The excuses are compartmented in categories: excuses for not having sex, excuses for having sex. Political excuses, criminal excuses, excuses for sinning; not sinning, etc, so you can suit the excuse to the occasion. No offensive words are used, and the book is so hilarious that I laughed through an hour's drilling and shaving and forgot all feelings of apprehension usually felt in the chair. Now that is a powerful soporific to put it mildly, and it did not cost me anything. (Of course, I had to order the book to read the rest of the excuses.)

>We are truly pleased about your interest in our book and hope that
> >it will help you to become a good programmer. The book represents a
> >radically different approach to programming, an approach that emphasizes
> >systematic design rather than tinkering. In other words, the distance
> >between this approach and the conventional way is as large as the
> >distance between Eastern and Western ways of thinking.
> >
> >The book is gaining acceptance in the English, German, Polish, and

> >Spanish speaking parts of the world. With this Chinese editition, we
> >finally hope to reach the largest language block in the world, indeed
> >the population with the fastest growing share of programmers.
> >
> >A special thanks to the translators, Huang Linpeng and Zhu Chongkai,
> >and to Hsing-Huei Huang for her help proofreading the translation.

It is a great book.
The Chinese Version will come at the begining of next year.
>We are truly pleased about your interest in our book and hope that
> >it will help you to become a good programmer. The book represents a
> >radically different approach to programming, an approach that emphasizes
> >systematic design rather than tinkering. In other words, the distance
> >between this approach and the conventional way is as large as the
> >distance between Eastern and Western ways of thinking.
> >
> >...

Have you ever looked at other people's codes and said to yourself something like "No... this isn't the way it should be written!". Or, worst yet, have you ever been asked by someone who wants you to read his/her codes and tell him/her what does it do?

Both things happened quite often, though.

The problems are mainly because they don't know how to "design" their programs properly. Being able to progam doesn't mean being to design/organize a good code at all. And being good at finding/inventing algorithms for problem solving doesn't mean that either.

One another thing, I (maybe just only me, I don't know) think that C shouldn't be taught as the first language (at least, not anymore). This is mainly because, in C, you can hardly express yourself. Also, C codes look cryptic to those new to programming. And you must know a lot, and practice a lot, (that takes a lot of time, friend) to be able to express what you want.
And also, several times, I saw many people just playing around with the * and & (well, the pointer-dereferencing, and address-taking symbol in C/C++), adding one more, deleting one off, to see which will make their programs work. (Sometime, it just works by miracle...)

This book, using Scheme (a modern dialect of Lisp) as the language of choice. I, personally, agree of choosing it. Scheme was designed in the way such that programmers can focus on what they want to express, rather than imprementation details. From my own experience, I became a better programmer after learning it. (I was already a C++ programmer by that time. I just have to use Lisp on my study/research).

One thing that I like is that, it focused on how to "design" programs, not just how to program, while college classes are mostly focused on how to write programs. No matter how students write their codes, if it could run, then it is fine.

Then, I think, a lot of people do have ability to program, a lot are good at it. However, the number of people who knows how to design programs are much lesser. And this would result in something like those silly examples at the beginning of this review. Therefore, this book had emphasized on quite an important thing.

And the last thing to say about this one is: MIT Press' textbooks are very high-quality, and this one is not an exception. It is very easy to read and to understand. And, even the html version is available at the book's official homepage, it is nice to have the printed version.

How to "design" programs is very important for every CS major people, and is important to everyone else in general (to program your "everyday life schedule", etc). Whether you want to become a professional programmer (write codes for living, etc) or not.

As a new manager working with Nortel products, I have found this book quite useful. It is not necessary for me to be able to configure a router. I do need to have a general understanding of the technology and the products. This book has accomplished both of these requirements for me. I would recommend this book to any person looking to gain a clearer understanding of networking in general. Although it does cover Nortel products, it covers the technology in general, so this book would be valuable regardless of whose product is being used.

I received my copy of this book less than a week ago, and I am very impressed with the way the book was presented. I work in a "Cisco shop", but this book has offered insight to some of the wonderful offerings that Nortel has. I have read some of the other beginners guides out there, and can honestly say that this book is the easiest to understand and to follow. There are many boring books out there, this is NOT one of them. I read it cover to cover and will do so again. I highly recommend this book for all networking professionals. A must have!

Certainly one of the better beginners' guides out there. I was able to read most of it in one sitting. Found that the read was easy and less "mind numbing" than most computer/networking documents. I would recommend this guide to anyone that wants to get into networking, switches, & routers. Maybe you're just interested in understanding the fundamentals of Nortel networking or LAN/Wan technologies.... Get this book!

I first heard of Greg Matthews in a Stephen King book (he mentions him in the introduction of "Nightmares & Dreamscapes), curious, I found "Power in the Blood" at a local used bookstore. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Full of twists and turns you never see coming as you read along. This book is brutal, funny, surprising and always engaging. I saw an earlier review that warns of not reading the synopsis that is on the book...GOOD ADVICE! All you need to know (if you must) is that it is about three orphaned siblings who go west. The book follows thier seperate lives as they each experience the American West. A great read.

It's been 5 years since I read this book and I still think about it often. Impossible to put down! I'm so happy I did not get rid of my copy as it is now out of print. I just ordered the sequel(?) from an out of print book service. I hope it is as good as the original!

This book will stay with you for a loooong time it is truly awesome! Reminds me of Gary Jennings works its that good! I gotta find a copy to reread!

This book is a beautiful witness to all mothers about our special treasures. Whether we have one child or ten each is precious. Elizabeth Matthews tells of the joys and trials of her very special little boy who brings her so much "golden treasure." The book reminded me that it is our perspective on things that makes them a burden or a treasure. This is a wonderful Mother's Day Gift!

This is a wonderful book that pertains to everyone. My husband read it and loved it too. We both laughed and cried. It taught me to count my blessings and stop complaining about little things we have no control over. The book is based on how Beth relies on her faith to get her through difficult times. I recommend this book to everyone -not just mothers with a special needs child.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for ways to strengthen their spirituality. Beth reveals how her faith comes into play daily, hourly and moment to moment. Her son Patrick is one of the main focuses of the book. He is autistic. I learned about autism, yet felt that the focus of the book was much broader than autism. Beth is married and the mother of 10 children. She has a lot of wisdom and faith from her own personal journey. Anyone could benifit from this book who is looking for ways to enhance their life in difficult and/or not difficult times in their life through faith and trust in a power greater than themself.

"The Handy Geography Answer Book" is a great book for all ages. As an individual who has taken courses in geography and geology at the university level, I have found this book to be refreshing as it explains things that many might never think of. For example: "Why did Macedonia's name cause problems between that country ang Greece?"; "How do trains help establish time zones?"; "How do the Netherlands keep getting bigger?"; "Which states are earthquake-free?"; "What is the leading cause of disaster-related death in the United States?"

The questions are fun. The answers are concise and not long winded. There are 'tons' of information packed to keep you busy for awhile. Quiz your spouse or children. Use the knowledge on "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?" Or, just feel good knowing that you are learning something new!

The book I have is the 1999 copy with a yellow face. I don't know if the information has changed or not but I could not find the specific version I own in the search engine. However, I am certain it is similar.

My only complain is the craftsmanship of the book. As a paperback, it lives up to the flimsy feel. The quality of paper is cheap and the covers are thin. If you can get past that and look at the book more for the information than the physical quality, you'll be okay. Get it! You'll be glad you did.

I give this book a 5-star rating because it really kept me intrigued. On a campout, i stayed up and continued reading it by moonlight. If you are a person looking for assistance in the National Geography Book, this is an excellent book. A whole bunch of questions appeared on my written state qualification exam (which i passed). Questions that helped included "What is Pinyin?" "What is Manifest Destiny" "What are the horse latitudes?". A lot of the questions appeared at the state bee, but, unfortunately, i didn't get any of them! But still, this is a must have and therefore gets my 5-star rating!

I have at least 7 of the "Handy Answer" series and this one was my favorite. I simply couldn't put it down. I was up till 2AM reading. The author was knowledgeable and the book was very readable. I stocked up enough facts to play even the toughest trivia games.

...The kids aren't always good.if you've ever read #59 you would know that.The girls do get bad hair days. The only reason the BSC is always thirteen is because people won't read the books if they were twenty or something.I have about 100 BSC books and I say they rule!

In Mary Anne and too many babies it shows the real life responsibility of being a parent just like Mary Anne and Logan and all the other babysitters had to do. It also shows that sometimes it is not possible to do everything at once, especially when you are looking after babies and small children at once. I think that the way all the babysitters handle the situation is something others should think about when in this position.

This is a good book. Not the best book out of The Babysitters Club Series but good. Ann M Martain is a brilliant autor. Her book are very entertaining for children aged 9 - 13 they ar e a must read

This was interesting coming from Ann Martin, Queen of All Happiness. I used to read the BSC religiously, but now looking back on the books, I think this one was one of the better. I mean, most have absolutely no plot, and are totally unrealistic, but this one is a pretty good example of a breakup. I don't think it's quite completely what a breakup is, but coming from Ann, this is a better one.

Looking back on my youth and teenage years, I used to read BSC religiously. I have all the books that were made from the time I was in 5th grade, up until I graduated high school a few years ago. When I first read Mary-ann vs. Logan, I was shocked because I really didn't think that they'd really do it. I was heartbroken, and happy at the same time. I found this book the other day in a box while I was moving, and in the front flap of the book I marked off each time I read it, and I had marked it a total of 15 times, so that's how good the book was! I recommend it to any BSC fan.

You know, people are always saying that Anne's books are too unrealistic. I say that those people are just the "party poopers" as the eight-year olds would say. But look, she's a very positive person, in my opinion. Who wants to be writing about sex and drugs when you could imagine being happy on an almost-daily basis?I mean, come on! Which would be more interesting? I rest my case. I guess I'd better write my summary. This was a good book. It should that Mary Anne stood up for herself, and she knew that was she was doing was right; giving she and Logan some time to cool off. I think that that is what books are about; finding your problem, and your solution, even if your answer isn't the one you want to hear. Two thumbs up, Anne!

This book briefly discusses important aspects of communication; including proper listening and getting your message through without noises or communication blocks that hinder the communication process. Besides, it describes how to communicate with your mate, children and how to improve your assertiveness.

The discussion is concise, but the important aspects are very well discussed. This a very valuable book that should be read by everybody who has any concern about achieving a better communication.

The authors have created a very in depth but easy to read psycho analysis of poor communication skills and ways for individuals to help themselves change their attitude and methods of communicating with others.

Listening is probably the most important skill of communication that most of people lack. Many do not even think of listening as communication. I was guilty of trying to ancticipate or guess what the other person was going to say, already working out my reactive answer and therefore not hearing the last half of the conversation. It takes a bit of self control and discipline to be able to really listen.

People have a habit of not coming to the point for fear of being rejected or hurting the other persons feelings. The person giving the message learns how to take the sting out of the message by not blaming or accusing but still being direct. It is a different way of wording your sentences but I was amazed at the way this technique can defuse a tense situation.

If you find that you are sometimes missunderstood or fear of the reaction from telling your boss, wife, girlfriend or work colleague what you really think, then I would highly recommend purchasing this book. It is a great book for everybody.

This is a self-help book that cuts through all the big words and psychological concepts and gets immediately into helping you change. There is something for everybody here -- parents, teens, managers, and children. Their explanations of screwed up communication patterns are concise and their "solutions" are elegant. One of the few self-help books I have bothered to keep on my bookshelve. Worth every penny.