As a certified massage therapist, I work on many people with this "CRS." The authors' suggestions for exercise are what I've seen recommended by the physical therapist I work with, and I've seen results. Of course, massage is very beneficial, and I was glad to see it was also recommended to provide some pain relief. The only way to truly beat the chronic pain cycle is through good posture and strengthening/stretching, and the authors do a good job of providing effective, easy to perform exercises. There is a way to gain relief from this chronic problem...it may require a little work on the part of the sufferer, but follow the suggestions given in the book, and you may soon be pain free. I've seen it work. I plan on giving this book to all my favorite clients for Christmas.

Legends of the Delaware Indians and Picture Writing is beautifully amplified by Deborah Nichol's introduction and brief biography of Richard C. Adams(1864-1921), a self educated Delaware (Lenape) Indian who devoted 25 years of his life to the furtherance of causes of the many trialed Delaware tribe. The Legends are part of his scholarly and historical legacy. The tales teach homilies on desirable attributes such as pride, courage, promise-keeping, modesty and courtesy as well as courting customs, gambling games, and other pastimes. The picture writing and photographs enrich and complement the text as do the appendices of Lenape translations of several of the legends by Lucy Parks Blalock and Nora Thompson Deane. Legends Of The Delaware Indians And Picture Writing is a very valuable text both because of the enriched script of the tales but also because of the complex, condensed history of the persecutions suffered by the Delawares detailed in the introduction. The cover illustration gracing Legends of the Delaware Indians is a color painting reproduction of Delaware Women by Ruth Blalock Jones.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

Upon randomly picking up a copy of the 'Spellsinger's Scherzo,' I was instantly thrust into the 4th book of the Spellsinger series. (And yes, since then I have read all 8 of Alan Dean Foster's journeys into this fantastical world!) This book chronicals the further adventures of the Spellsinger Jon-Tom, as he travels with his otter companion Mudge to the distant city of Polastrindu, seeking to meet a mysterious magician who he suspects to be from the planet earth. Filled with humor and direness, lighthearted anecdotes and gripping action, this book, though it was the 4th in the series, grasped my attention as easily as if I had begun at the start of any epic series. A must have for any fantasy fan!

While some of the methods described have faded out of sight (primal scream therapy, est, etc) this book is still a useful (and entertaining) tool in analyzing the continuing flim-flammery of popular psychology. While expressing sensitivity towards those seeking help with real emotional and mental difficulties, Rosen questions the power and effectiveness of pop psychologists and their painful, expensive, and often humiliating methods.

The duology of the first two books in the Spellsinger series, "Spellsinger" and "Hour of the Gate", by far eclipses the rest of the series. This book, with its stirring love stories, fantastic sights, wonderful characters, and epochal war, deserves to be counted as one of the classics of science fiction. And how many books count as their main characters a Brooklyn bat and a talking otter

I recently decided to rekindle my LOVE for Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger series and have been blasted back 20 years to when I first read them!! It took me on a wonderful adventure as a teen and has taken me back on that journey again. This is an AWESOME trilogy and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anybody who would enjoy a fun, easy reading series with interesting places that only Foster could paint a picture of in your mind!! You'll find yourself cheering for Jon-Tom and Crying for Talea. I actually called out "Falameezar" when he returned!!! (You'll have to read the book)

If you don't have time for all 6 Spellsingers (sorry, I don't consider books 7-8 part of the trilogy) DON'T miss the chance to at least read the 1st (Spellsinger) to meet the characters and this one to enjoy the war, as only Foster could tell!!

Believe me, once you read the first 2, you'll want to keep going, to see what other adventures Jon-Tom and Mudge embark on! THEY ARE A BLAST!!!

Beyond doubt the best of Foster's Spellsinger Series. It brings together some of the most memorable characters you could hope to meet in any Science fiction or fantasy novel and mixes them all together in a story that takes your breath away.

Magic and mayhem,fire-breathing marxist dragons and a voyage into the very mouth of hell itself lead you gently (!) toward a finaly that culminates with an almighty war.

Journey along with Jon-Tom, Mudge, Talea and others as they are forced to take a journey from which they may not return!

Despite being part of the Spellsinger series, this novel could quite possibly be a book unto it own. Enough action and adventure to fill any palatte, this is one book you MUST read.

I bought this book because I'm a huge fan of Mr. Lederer's work.

Little did I know it would destroy me!

The rules are a bit unclear in parts, however. While most of the puzzles are made of rhymes and puns, not every word in the puzzle falls into these categories. Sometimes you may be searching for the rhyme of your solution for an hour, then realize no rhyme is required.

It may not be for me, as I don't spend too much time with crosswords. However, if you consider yourself rather agile with your vocabulary, or a master of puns, this book will be a true test of your skill.

Bought this for my mom, who is an avid, competitive crossworder.
She fell in love with this and had a hard time forcing herself
to put it down.

This crossword puzzle book provides a satisfying collection of crosswords by a 'word wizard' whose books on language both entertain and educate, and a puzzle constructor. Word Play Crosswords Volume 1 is recommended for advanced crossword puzzle solvers who want a greater challenge than most. Theme puzzles abound.

This is a must read for any admirer of all those great television variety shows, as well as the many fans of Rat Packer Dean Martin. The ONLY book written by anyone who EVEN MET Dean Martin, author Lee Hale spent nearly two decades with him as musical director and later his producer. Aptly titled, "Backstage at the Dean Martin Show" is an exciting and loving inside look behind the scenes documenting this great top ten show and its star, with fascinating anecdotes of the biggest names in the business. I caught myself laughing out loud, then I would turn a page and be totally blown away by something that I didn't expect.

Mr. Hale divides his book into one chapter for each TV season, with extra ones going beyond to 'The Golddiggers', 'The Roasts' and 'The Specials', with over 200 color and b&w photos of great stars, most never before seen. The index itself lists hundreds of celebrities from Hank Aaron to Ed Wynn.

As chairman of the current 'Dean Martin Fan Center', and someone who was actually there at NBC during those golden years, I was lucky to have a firsthand look at the Dean Martin Show phenomenon, but Lee Hale uses a magnifying lens... and no one can get closer than this! It is truly a wonderful story from the bizaare beginnings to the touching end. I can't say enough!

admin@deanmartinfancenter.com

Lee Hale lived, breathed, and helped run the Dean Martin Show for its duration, even when the variety show was no more, replaced by the Dean Martin Roasts. Lee actually played Dino during rehearsals, so got to meet and know all of the stars that guested on his show. If you loved the show, as I did growing up, you will be fascinated by this inside look (Dino's wife Jeannie loved it, as she knew nothing about it either! )into one of the most successful variety shows of all history. A warning, however, is: don't expect to learn a lot about Dino; his manager didn't let Lee (or anyone else) get especially close to him, just small talk from time to time; the only extraordinary insight from Lee regarding Dino was that YES, that WAS scotch in his glass! Actually, Lee, an observant man, made several interesting observations of this legenday performer as he drifted away from his wife and pursued what can only be describecd as a mid-life crisis, "Rat Pack Style", which in the end, he seemed to highly regret. To wrap it up, the book was a lot of fun, its a good read; its chock full of photos of the likes of Duke Wayne, Orson Welles, etc, so you can't lose! Give it a try!

"Backstage at the Dean Martin Show" is a body of work with three bloodlines...

TV variety shows,talented stars, and Dean Martin. If you are a fan of any three, you will find how they mixed together through the 'heart' of the "Dean Martin Show", with the 'eyes and ears' of Lee Hale, musical director-turned-producer.

Starting his internship with the credit "Special Musical Material By...", Mr. Hale was responsible for every note that was heard on the series. He was also the one responsible for choosing every girl that provided the'skin' (Deanís Golddiggers and Dingaling Sisters), and later utilized his 'hands' at editing, which won Mr. Hale an Emmy nomination (one of many).

The 'guts' of the Dean Martin show had a lot of vital parts, and Mr. Hale tells us which ones were kept and which were operated on or replaced. Of course,the heart of the book is in the soul of Dean Martin, the body whom Lee Hale also stood in for six days a week, dancing, singing and joking with EVERY guest star that was admitted through those star crossed doors at NBC.

The whole operation was a phenomenal success and now you can see the itemized bill... from who was admitted, who paid their dues, to the life support and what led to everyone finally being discharged.

This book won't be in anyone's waiting room... it will always be in someone's hands reading it!

I'll agree with the many other reviews that rate this book as an extremely knowledgeable reference on ASP, perhaps the definitive reference.

However, there are several points that make this book somewhat unappealing from a practical perspective.

First, note that it was written by 15 different authors. This incorporates many different writing styles, making it unwieldy. The previous edition was written by 8 people. Do not attempt to use either book as a cover-to-cover tutorial.

Second, the code examples are written almost exclusively in VBScript, although the book acknowledges that Javascript (also known as JScript) would work just as effectively. From a real-world perspective, I have found that many ASP programmers prefer to use Javascript for both server-side and client-side development.

The use of 2 scripting languages in one application is simply impractical. VBScript persists mainly because it is a Microsoft invention, as is ASP itself. However, Javascript (or ECMA Script) has become the industry-standard scripting language for web-based applications.

Another issue with the code examples is that they are not line-numbered. For short examples, this is not an issue. But for larger code modules (as one would encounter in the real world), line-numbering is considered part of best practices in explaining and debugging code before it is deployed.

For readers with any ASP background, this book would be a useful desktop reference. Carrying it around in your briefcase may cause lower back strain.

Professional Active Server Pages 3.0, by Alex Homer, is
a book on developing web applications using Active
Server Pages 3.0. This book goes in depth into
developing web applications with discussions and
examples on advanced topics such as, CDO/Microsoft
Exchange Server, ADO/Microsoft SQL Server, and
ADSI/Active Directory. Homer presents the reader with a
wealth of information on advanced enterprise level
topics based on Microsoft technologies. This book is
excellent for intermediate/advanced users who wish to
learn about Active Server Pages using Microsoft
technologies, however due to the fact Homer does not
goes in depth with fundamentals of programming Visual
Basic Script, this book should not be recommended to
novice developers.

Throughout the book, Homer discusses the importance of
COM/COM+ and what that technology can do for your web
application. He writes examples of a COM+ component in
Visual Basic and shows the user how to register/load
the component into memory along with utilizing the
functionality of them in an Active Server Page. Homer
further explores the features of Windows 2000 by
introducing the features of Active Directory and
explaining/demonstrating how ADSI can connect an Active
Server Page to the Active Directory. The book goes into
further detail on enterprise level topics by discussing
how CDO interfaces with Microsoft Exchange Server.
Using CDO, a developer can access all of users Exchange
account information including mail, contacts, calendar,
etc. The book ends with performance and security issues
for web applications running on a Windows 2000 Server
and how an administrator should configure a Windows
2000 Server for maximum performance and security.

The software/technologies the book uses are based on
products/technologies developed by Microsoft. Since
Active Server Pages is a Microsoft technology, it would
be reasonable to use only Microsoft
products/technologies. However, in the real world, many
businesses have heterogeneous environments with Oracle
database servers and JavaScript web developers. The
fact that this book only exposes the reader to vendor-
specific technologies could be a down fall, however
creates a centralized focus for the reader.

This book covers a wide spectrum of advanced knowledge
with Active Server Pages, however is completely based
around Microsoft technologies. Several other authors
composed this book, which helps the reader get a
dynamic flavor of knowledge from chapter to chapter as
one can see. Any intermediate/advanced web developer,
interested in enterprise web application development,
should purchase a copy of this book for reference
purposes.

Being an enterprise web developer, I found this book to be the absolute best in its field. It covers a very wide spectrum of fields any web developer working with Microsoft web technology should know, including ADO, ADSI, ASP, CDO, COM+, error handling, MSMQ, Windows DNA, XML, and a whole lot more (note that this book is primarily oriented at web developers who's target platform is Windows 2000 and IIS 5.0, but I also found it to be extremely useful for use on Windows NT 4.0 and IIS 4.0, since the authors clearly indicate features that are new to Windows 2000 and IIS 5.0). The writing style is absolutely excellent and gives clear tips on code optimization and performance. I have read literally dozens of different books on these subjects, and none has come close to this one. Although this book is not for beginners, it is, in my opinion, good for anyone who wants to advance their career on the web or become an web developer. This is definitely a book you will want to read from cover to cover, and use as a reference. At just about any price, it's a steal.

Novels written in the last century are not everyone's cup of English tea, so taste thereof with literary trepidation. This book is quite different from Blackmore's AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND; no intertwined Fact and Fantasy here, but a curious blend of Romance and Adventure, as if the author were not entirely certain which genre he was brewing up in the wild countryside. In my opinion, LORNA is much more readable and almost enjoyable.

If was slow getting into, but one must make allowances for Blackmore's (to us) antiquated style: archaic vocabulary, country dialect to slog through, plus religious and political warfare--obscure historical references for most Americans. Expect highly improbable plot contrivances, with unrealistic events thrown in to help the romantic protagonists. Yet for the majority of the novel, the plot moves right along over several years, to reach a satisfactory denoument, with most of the young people married off and Justice being served.

The tale opens when 12-year-old John Ridd (the hero/narrator) of Somerset returns home from school to discover that his father has beem murdered by a renegade band of footpads and cutthroats--the Doone clan. That den of some 40 thieves has long been a thorn in the side of honest landowners and the local constabulary. John encounter their sweet young "Queen" Lorna, who wants none of their mayhem, on several occasions during her childhood, until they finally meet as teens, though he is much older.

His heart is instantly captivated; thus he undertakes to win her love, which is difficult considering the bitter feud between their families and her elevated social class. As if Love cares for mere class distinctions! Many years pass with counterplots and revolutionary hopes, espionage for the King and a secret gold mine. Yet our hero will have none but his beloved Lorna, as he researches her mysterious background. Blackmore's style includes sly humor, wry wit and jibes at London in general, as he spins this rustic tale of Romance and Adventure. The plot is chaste and the vocabulary might prove too great a challenge for junior high kids. The novel was written before there was a Young Adult market, but it would be fine for diehard Romance fans or students of 19th century literature.

I'd read Lorna Doone years ago, and fortunately, was re-reading it when I had to spend an emergency stint in the hospital. The book kept me enthralled, in another world entirely, day & night. Oddly enough, the very problem I'd had, erysipalis (don't mind the spelling) was mentioned in the book (the woman died of it; I didn't!) We don't need Reality! We need Passion, Moors, Wicked folks, Good folks, and Love!!!!

Lorna Doone is a classic tale of romance and bravery, vengance and villany. What is important about the book besides the story is the societal subtext. When you read this book you get a picture of what made the British Empire great. We see Master Jan, or John Ridd, a simple squire, who catches his own fish, harvests his own wheat at the head of his labourers. This humble man is not afraid to take matters all the way up to his king and expect justice in return. We see a comedy of errors as militia groups vie with each other and end up fighting each other instead of the enemy. The whole tale is told amid the last battles ever fought on English soil during the little known Monmouth rebellion. A remarkable and noteworthy book, which tells more than the main story. It is both a great read and a portrait of English rural society of the time.

Returning to her desk in the Donnerville town library just before closing time, librarian Jane finds an envelope on her chair. Inside she finds a fifty dollar bill and a message: "Dear Jane, Come and play with me. For further instructions, look homeward, angel. You'll be glad you did. Warmest Regards, MOG (Master of Games)."

Guessing that the mysterious Mog is referring to the classic book by Thomas Wolfe,Jane locates it on the shelves. In its pages she finds a hundred dollar bill and further instructions. Thus begins a high stakes game of cat and mouse between her and Mog, a game where risks and rewards escalate at each stage. Appealing to Jane's greed and competitive spirit, Mog gradually ups the ante to the point where Jane is battling for her very life, a battle where the odds are most definitely against her.

I'm pleased Leisure saw fit to reprint In the Dark, one of my favorite Laymon novels. Displaying all his strengths--expert pacing, a great sense of atmosphere and a winning sense of humor--it also features two of the most fully developed characters he's created, the aforementioned Jane, and her
companion Brace, a man she meets at the beginning of the game. The novel focuses on Jane's transformation from a dowdy wallflower to an assertive, aggressive and attractive young woman, equal to any opponent, even an apparent psychopath. Laymon captures her inner turmoil quite well, making her reactions to Mog's increasingly outrageous,dangerous
tasks are that much more believable. He's also careful in his approach to chronicling the budding romantic relationship between Jane and Brace, taking great pains to show an initial chemical attraction blossom into a deeper love based on shared experience and mutual respect. It's nice to watch Laymon tackle an
adult relationship for a change, instead of providing yet another (albeit accurate)glimpse into the skewed psyches of the horny teenagers who populate so many of his stories.

What's most interesting about the novel is the nature of "the game" itself. Mog's tactic of offering money to Jane to provoke uncharacteristic behaviors, and in placing her in increasingly untenable situations, prefigured reality shows like Survivor, Temptation Island and Big Brother by several years. The sad thing about reading quality work like In the Dark is recalling Laymon's sudden death last year, and the fact that there are no new Laymon books to look forward to.

In The Dark is considered to be one of Richard Laymon's best work of suspense. And suspenseful it is! This is the kind of book that grabs you from the very first page to take you on a roller coaster ride that never seems to end. This is like reading a good B-movie; it's completely unbelievable, full of twists and turns and surprises and very very fast-paced.

When Jane receives a note coming from a man who calls himself MOG (short for Master Of Games), she decides to follow the stranger's instructions just to see where it'll take her. And when it brings her to an envelope full of cash, she doesn't shy from obeing his next command. And with each new command, comes a new envelope filled with even more cash.

But with each new envelope, the stakes get higher and higher. How far will Jane go for money? And who exactly is that young professor who keeps popping up at the strangest of times?

Laymon's writing isn't brilliant. His style is simple; short sentences, lots of dialogue and internal dialogue. And yet, this style helps to elevate the novel to a whole new level of suspense. It's also very interesting to see how Jane changes through the book; she starts out as a fragile, shy woman and ends up confident and even full of herself.

I loved this book. It was so much fun! It takes you on a wild ride that you will not soon forget. Laymon does live up to his reputation once again. This is the master of suspense at his thrilling best.

If you're a fan of Richard Laymon novels, then you'll no doubt enjoy "In the Dark". All of the Laymon staples are present, i.e. great characterizations, sympathetic lead characters, gratuitous sex and violence, copious amounts of blood and vividly graphic scenes.

"In the Dark" is the story of the 2 week adventure of a small town librarian who, starved for excitement and love, finds both as she is manipulated by a heinous villian known only by his acronym, M.O.G. or "Master of Games". Why MOG picks out this librarian named Jane is never really explained, but he sends her scurrying all over town at midnight picking up envelopes of cash as she deciphers his clues and poems.

Laymon's books often take ordinary people and puts them in extraordinary circumstances bordering on the unbelieveable. "In the Dark" is no exception. Jane's greed, as she searches for MOG's envelopes of money and clues is sometimes hard to fathom, especially since most of the searches take place during the "witching hour". She's a brave young lady, but portrayed as almost TOO brave! Along the way Jane finds love in the person of Brace, a college professor. As she pursues MOG's money, she begins to lose track of what's really important in life - that the love of a good person is much more valuable than any amount of money.

I'll stop here because it is not my intent to give away the entire plot. As long as you can put aside some of the unbelieveable portions of "In the Dark", then you'll find this to be a extremely fast read which will keep you up way into the wee hours of the morning. Laymon has done it again, reinforcing the credo of his fans that "he can't write a bad book!".