This precious book is not just another pretty face offering penny candy for a life gone awry. I was dealing with a serious health situation with my son, had disappointments with my birth family....many things building up and nowhere to hide. Well....What can I say...I did hope for some light, some help from this book as the cover alone is promising in this regard with the beautiful water lily inviting one to just turn the cover and get started. And getting started is so easy with the clear and gentle leading by Rachel Harris which is in complete opposition to what actually happens when one does turn past the cover. HEALING begins...soothingly and gently and lovingly. Thank you Rachel Harris for caring enough to share the best with those of us struggling with inner issues. I have just ordered two more copies for my two best friends...It IS that good!

Rachel Harris offers meditations on many different topics that are easy to find and simple to do. With the hustle and bustle of our lives today, it is hard to find time to fit 10 minutes in for peace, quiet and connecting to our spirit. Rachel Harris helps us finds that time.

This book is wonderful. You are able to just goto wantever kind of retreat you need. So it is something you can do as you need not from beginning to end.

The overall theme of the book is fighting myths of Christianity with sober historical facts. He does not ignore the not-so-friendly aspects of those doing bad things in the name of Christianity. For instance he mentions the people killed in witch burnings is appalling and admits there were some missionaries that did more harm than good. But he does let readers know legitimate and relevant information of history that paint a rather different overall picture than what many popular myths have insinuated. Some of the historical information he presents might raise an eyebrow or two. Below are a couple of examples.

Some myths of Galileo made it appear that this scientist had the scientific facts on his side and that the Church was against heliocentric theory, ignoring the scientific evidence, for religious reasons, thereby making this a simple "science vs. religion" dispute. To give a taste of what he says, what the author puts into light is that the secular scientists of that era were actually against heliocentric theory, the evidence supporting heliocentric theory had not yet arrived, and that the Church really didn't care much about defending geocentricism at all, pointing out that it had let Copernicus publish the idea before Galileo was born and that many of Galileo's supporters were in the Church rather than among secular scientists. The motives behind the Catholic Church forcing Galileo to renounce heliocentricism and the lenient punishment are also explained, though the explanation of motives could have been done more thoroughly. While the Catholic Church is not portrayed as perfectly saintly, the notion of the whole conflict centering on "science vs. religion" is refuted fairly well.

The witch craze is put into perspective with some surprising facts. The number of witch trials was lowest precisely where the Church and the Inquisition were involved. The Church was also more skeptical of witch accusations than one might expect (the more radical ones anyway, such as claiming to have slept with Satan), and the author provided examples to illustrate that point. In the so-called burning times, the substantial majority of towns and villages never experienced a single witch trial. While he acknowledges that the number of people died in Europe, North America etc. (most recent estimates total to about 150 to 300 people per year, a total of 40,000 to 100,000 overall; he mentions that some exaggerations of the numbers have been falsely stretched into the millions) is a terrible enough catalog of human suffering, he puts it into perspective with the far greater amounts of bloodshed in recent history. For instance, the Battle of Somme in 1916 killed a million people in five months, twenty five thousand the first day. The point is reinforced with several more notable historical facts of the twentieth century.

What is somewhat disappointing is that he goes into a little, but only a very little, into how these myths emerged. I would like to have learned more about that in a book such as this. Another possible flaw is that on the section of Darwin, he mentions that the acceptance of Darwin's theory was patchy at best (which is in fact true), but what he leaves out is that most (though certainly not all) still nonetheless accepted some form of biological evolution; many scientists accepted evolution because of the book yet rejected Darwin's theory of it. This may have inadvertently left a false impression in the mind of the reader. All things considered though, the benefits and enlightening historical data still outweigh its possible flaws and I highly recommend this book to those who have a historical interest in Christianity, as well as those people who have been suspicious of such anti-religious claims of Christian history.

No need to hesitate. Buy this beautifully researched, insightful book.

The author looks at 6 primary beliefs that define the modern world, tracing their development as fictions cultivated by 18-20th century Enlightenment humanists who distorted their opponents beliefs and history, even fabricating quote attributions in the process. The goal was to replace Christian understanding of God, reality and man with naturalist beliefs, derived from Greek paganism, thus move authority from God to man (specifically, them).

Because of the author's gentle style, some readers new to the debate over humanism vs. religion & science may find it valuable to first read "Atheism and the Erosion of Freedom" (Morey), to understand the underlying assumptions driving the Humanist project.

"Inventing the Flat Earth" (Russell) is another outstanding book that focuses on a single issue: the fabrication of the idea (in the 1820's) that medieval people thought the world flat, so as to discredit the church and construct a Dark Age to be be corrected by Enlightened moderns.

Included in "6 Myths":

#1) Remember plucky Galileo, who stood against the might of the church armed only with the flame of reason and a telescope? Tortured by the Inquisition and condemned as a heretic for showing humans lived on an insignificant speck orbiting a common star nowhere special in the Universe, a realization that devastated a now-undermined church? Well, nothing in the above humanist story is true.

Copernicus proposed the Earth revolved around the Sun decades before Galileo. It was widely discusssed, but evidence was lacking. The Roman Catholic Church provisionally accepted the view of Aristotle, that everything revolved around the Earth, pending other information. Geocentrism was a Greek idea, not a Biblical one.

While people debated heliocentrism, a matter of no significance in the Bible, (the main opponents of heliocentrism were other astronomers with pride vested in understanding of concentric spheres, NOT clergy), Galileo got in trouble for implying the Pope, who had gone out of his way to befriend Galileo, (even penning an ode to him in 1620), was a simpleton. Further, Galileo asserted that the Bible was written for the common man and did not need a church to interpret. This was strikingly similar to arguments of the earlier John Calvin and the Protestant Reformation, to which the Roman Catholic Church WAS acutely sensitive, contributing to Galileo's arrest.

The choicest morsel here is one that always baffled me: the notion that heliocentrism somehow devastated the church by removing Man from the center of creation. This shows total ignorance of Biblical Christianity which ACTUALLY says all things were made NOT for humans, but for the Son of God. Their value arises from God's delight in them.

When the Enlightenment lapsed back into Greek idiom, it confused mankind being given "dominion" (leadership responsibility) with the Greek understanding: "domination". The idea that nature's reason for existence is its usefulness to mankind is a Greek one, coming from Aristotle, not the Bible. It was extended by the Romans, who treated the natural environment as a conquered province. At times the confusion did seep into the church, via writings influenced by Hellenism, such as Aquinas, but was expelled during the Reformation.

At the time of Galileo, the Earth being at the center of the universe was NOT AN HONOR. It was the outer celestial spheres that were pure and divine. The Universe became more corrupt as you moved to the center, which is why Dante put Hell in the center of the Earth. The Earth was held to be corrupt due to mankind's Fall and sinful nature.

When Galileo asserted the Earth was ACTUALLY a heavenly body, far from demoting it, he elevated it (and mankind) in importance. And he wrote so. Which is what endeared him to the humanistic (ego/pride-centered) "Enlightenment" intellects.

Chapter #2) Darwin: completed the Copernican revolution for humanists, by seeming to remove God and Original Sin. Materialistic, undirected evolution meant human thought, ego/pride and power were the actual pivots around which the universe revolved, not God. The book documents an array of historical fabrications used to caricature the church's position on evolution. Humanists need to reinforce their view of themselves as rational and tolerant (because they are not), needing an enemy to attack so as to avoid self-examination (see my review of "Why People Believe Weird Things"(Shermer)). This is one reason there seem to be countless books railing against the danger of believing in pseudo-science like dowsing, but one is hard pressed to find anything pro-dowsing. Shadow-boxing?).

#3) The Environment. Shows how, contrary to the humanist myth that Bible-based human "dominion" caused environmental degradation, it is actually Greek and Roman thought, revived by the Enlightenment project (while suppressing Christianity through caricature and demonization), that gives the go ahead. To a Christian, a tree is part of Creation, designed by God. The Puritans were strong, original environmentalists, opposing animal cruelty even as their detractors lied to cartoon their motives as the opposite. It is in Christian societies where modern environmental awareness was founded and developed.

#4) The Missionaries -- shows how terms like "savage" and "barbarian" and "civilization" are foreign to Biblical understanding, but are prominent in "Enlightened" thought. Actual Christianity sees all humans as being made in the image of God thus having intrinsic worth. Accordingly, it is in Christian societies where slavery was legally banned and the idea of "human rights" has root.

#5) Human body -- punctures the idea the Christianity means sexual repression, and shows why humanists needed to invent the caricature.

#6) Witchcraft -- documents the real history, grossly exagerrated by humanists. 20 people died in Salem. But hundreds of millions have been killed and enslaved this century trying to create secular Utopias, be they communist, socialist, or fascist.

This skeletal summary doesn't do the book justice. Get the book. Read carefully.

Phillip J. Sampson, Phd. in social sciences, has written a very readable book on six anti-religious myths that permeate modern society about Galileo's condemnation by the Christian church, about Darwin's evolutionary theory, about Christian religion legitmating the ruination of the environment, about missionaries oppressing indigenous peoples, religious repression of the human body, and persecution of witches. For example, Sampson shows that 70 years prior to Galileo, Copernicus had the same idea that the earth revolved around the sun. Copernicus was supported by the church, as was Galileo, and both were honored by Catholic popes. Galileo suffered a short detention and mild, but honorable, reproof from Pope Urban VIII for calling the Pope a "simpleton." Likewise Darwinism is shown to reflect "survival of the fittest" capitalism more than science. And the notion that Judeo Christian religions legitmated the exploitation of the environment is shown to be a Greek, not a religious idea. Sampson convincingly shows that such stories do not fit the historical facts and are modernistic narratives meant to repress competing religious narratives and alternative worldviews. Unfortunately Sampson doesn't fully tell us why he believes such myths persist and how they are legitimated. This is a book for those who do not want to get their history or stories from movies or television.

I found this book gives a lot of insight to evaders and some of the less well known facts of the war. The book has a fairly fast pace but also has a lot of detail. The first three stories deal with downed flyers in France and Belgium who eventually made it to Spain and then British held Gibraltar. Spain was sympathetic to Germany, and treated evaders harshly until 1943 when it became politically necessary for them to develop a better relationship with the Allies.

The fourth story is of a later evader in Belgium who was able to meet the oncoming Allies in 1944 instead of going to Spain. The fifth story details the evasion of an entire bomber crew from the island of Corfu over to Albania. They stayed at a guerilla camp in the mountains and eventually escaped by ship to Italy after much hardship. The final story is of of a flyer who evaded through Italy. Originally captured by the Germans upon landing, he was released from jail with many others when Italy signed an armistice with the allies. He spent the rest of his time evading the Germans and travelling around Italy (with much help from Italian partisans) and finally escaping to the Allied lines after many setbacks.

One of the central themes of the book is the sacrifice made by the occupied population to feed and help the Allied fliers escape. Every story has a follow-up at the end about the later life of the evader and what happened to the people that helped them evade (if known).

Do not start reding this book if you have important things to do because you will not be able to put it down. The book chronicles the evasion of several downed airmen in WWII Europe, how they evaded, the people that helped them and the trials and risks they endured. It is well written and informative and will make you glad that you never had to fly in combat, bail out of a plane or crash land and find yourself in a lonely and hostile land.

Telling the stories of 6 separate evasion episodes in Europe in WWII, General Caine writes a gripping book. I literally could not put down this book once started! Other than screaming "screenplay", the true tales are incredible and fascinating. The evasion stories are detailed enough to make sense, but not a textbook to confound you. The risks taken by the underground and resistence are as powerful as the efforts of the airmen who get back alive. This is a GREAT book; ideal for anyone with any interest in history, WWII, human courage, and escape sagas.

Anyone who wants to understand the history of "French theory" would be well advised to start with Philip Watts's important study of French writers and intellectuals (Sartre, Celine, Duras, Blanchot, and Eluard) caught up in the period known as the Purge, when some 350,000 French citizens were judged for acts of collaboration with the Nazi occupier. Sartre calls for a commited, responsible literature, while Celine clings defensively to style over ideas, and so the stage is set for a debate over the role of the writer that is still raging. Watts reminds us that the literary and philosophical classics we read today were born in a period when words could cost you your life. This is a brilliant essay, elegant and probing. I recommend it not only to students of France but to anyone interested in the interplay of politics, literature, and justice.

A clearly written work on the difficulty of separating art and literature from reality. How far should "art for art's sake" be allowed to go? How far can anyone distance himself from reality? Watts has done an excellent job of analyzing the works of four authors in relation to the reality of the postwar purge, and of dealing with the difficulty of remembering that in this century, in a democratic country, authors could be - and were - executed for their writings. Allegories of the Purge is a very intelligent, well-written work which gives the reader a new and important view of post-war France.

This remarkable study explores the complex interaction which took place in France, in the immediate aftermath of World War II, between the purge trials and literary theory. As French collaborationist writers were tried for treason and intelligence with the ennemy, prosecutors and defenders debated over the role of literature, and the role of the intellectual, in modern societies. After presenting and explaining the stakes of these debates, Phil Watts analyzes how novelists and poets have echoed (and sometimes anticipated) either side of the arguments in their literary works. Celine, Sartre, Blanchot, Eluard are interpreted in a new and powerful perspective which also offers the reader invaluable insights into the literary and intellectual debates held in France during the 1960s and 1970s, all the way to recent events like the Paul De Man affair.

Should civilized nations kill their poets? Certainly not. Should these poets be above the law for the sake of the autonomy of literature, even after they fed and led the anti-Semitic hysteria? "Allegories of the Purge" raises a whole set of fascinating questions at the crossroads of history, literary theory, politics and ethics, without ever succumbing to the temptation of providing oversimplified answers, but avoiding with equal mastery all the traps of escapism. A brilliant and stimulating book!

This is a great book in the category of muscle-cars and one of the best offered by Amazon.com,however its not recommended for todays youth who werent around when these great cars ruled the roads.To enjoy this book,you need to be at least in your mid to late thirties.This book is not intended for todays teens or early twenties,theyre only permitted to enthuse about todays cars.

This is a great book for the muscle-car lover.Its comprehensive,offers accurate and complete technical specs and great photos of some of the hottest american cars ever produced.This book is recommended only for men 45 years old or older,its not appropriate for these young guys that werent even around when these cars were conceived and built!

I am a muscle car lover through and through and this book has all the info a true muscle car guru could ever hope to find. The pictures are well done and I liked the overall style of the book. I hope to find more like it using amazon.com!

I'm reading the book The Art of Purposeful Being a few pages at a time on the bus on the way to work everyday. I'm reading chapter 9 now and does that ever apply to me. I realize now how externally controlled my whole life has been. The example on page 150 about anxiety and difficulty in a new job is what I am going through. I have started to look at the situation differently, I realize that I chose that situation and using positive pre-choice to see the positive benefits has reduced my anxiety. As my fears around issues drop I seem to be able to think more clearly but more importantly as I relax so do my co workers especially my boss and that makes for a much improved situation. I am seeing my own value for what it is no matter what others may think. I like shifting to my own God Self values now I know I can have them.

Mmark Dugent, Victoria BC

Absolutely loved your book. My wife and I are the process of deciding whether to separate or stay together. I started to read your book (which my wife picked out for me) soon after my wife and I split. It was a particularly difficult two months for me. When I entered such a stressful time your book helped me out of it. Also I started to feel waves of energy come through me and I believe it was from the stress of the situation (being tuned up as they say) and the understanding coming from your book. My wife is now reading it and starting to come to some understandings of her own. Thank you for writing this book. I am trying to get others to read the book. It is very inspirational. I must confess I did not do the exercises but I will when my wife returns the book to me. Kudos' to you for writing such a simple and clear message on how to have a full and happy life.

Scott Aitken; Tofino, BC

The Art of Purposeful Being is an amazing book that holds the secret keys to life.I have read various self help books over the years and have never found a book like this which along with so much exciting information has given me all the tools required to implement positive and lasting change. Tools to quickly and effectively work through all of the problems standing between me and happiness.Happiness and contentment that only a short time ago I never knew existed! A book that has been full of new and wonderful emotion,a book that has brought remarkable change and new meaning to every aspect of my life. It is still a marvel to me how one person could put together this much information in one book

Yachiyo is someone from a previous era whose life is very contemporary in many ways. Her struggle to assert herself and find her place in the world is constrained by her time, place, class and status as an immigrant woman. It's a bittersweet story that portrays some harsh realities about life in Hawaii in the early 20th century. Highly recommended.

i love how this play tells the story of 1919 hawaii, through the playwrites family history. very beautiful and moving.

A must-read, even for those who don't normally read plays. He tells a beautiful and captivating story through an exquisitely choreographed dramatic work. My complimentary words cannot do justice to him - I will just say that, as an aspiring writer, he is someone I truly admire.

So rare to see in historical fiction a work that gets the things right: the historical facts, the social atmosphere, and the characters. But this book achieved in all three...

My original decision to buy the hardcover copy of a previously unknown author was mainly because I am fascinated by Philip and Alexander of Macedon, while there are so many books about the son; the father has been relatively ignored by fiction writers.

This book turned out to be one of the best historical novels I have read (if not THE best). Because of the author's expertise in ancient warfare, I am not surprised to find the vivid account of battles and the military genius of Philip of Macedon. Beyond the military stuff, the book gives excellent description of the geological, religious, economical, and social realities of that era. This book brings me back in time more than 2,000 years ago, among the Macedonians and Greeks, I can feel and understand their environment, their beliefs, their everyday life, and their struggles; each men and women are creatures of their own time but have meanings for eternity. Among them the most vivid character of all is Philip of Macedon. This is the way a historical fiction should be: as accurate as historical textbook while at the same time vivid and fascinating as telling a great story. You feel you are there, as the history unfolds itself...

...The only problem? The book stopped at Alexander's birth. There are twenty more years of great battle and conquering that follows before Philip's death; I really hope this book has a sequel.

Thomas Sundell's A Bloodline Of Kings is a superbly crafted historical fiction novel set in the fourth century B.C., and is the story of Philip of Macedon, who in many ways forever altered the world of the Greeks and set the stage for his legendary son Alexander. A riveting book of rivalry and kingship vs. Athenian democracy, A Bloodline Of Kings is filled with conflict from between two men to between disparate ways of life. A fascinating and involving novel that absorbs the reader into the clash of culture past, A Bloodline Of Kings is highly recommended reading from beginning to end!

While Alexander the Great is widely known as a general and conqueror, his father, Philip, has remained a footnote. This novel takes that footnote and brings him to life. Philip is presented to us as an intelligent, thoughtful boy who grows to young manhood. But, more importantly, the entire spectrum of life in ancient Greece, the world of Macedonia and the tribulations and ambitions of those who ruled or wished to rule, are brought vividly to life.

These are more than history book characters. That's why I liked the book so much. They spoke and acted like real people. They loved and hated with an intensity that stayed with me.

Historical novels such as this one take history and present it with all the relevance of today, the panaromic view of a movie, and the incisiveness of cafe table gossip.

I highly recommend Bloodlines to anyone who likes history and wants to know more about what came before Alexander's greatness.

This book is a wonderful guide to people of all sorts. I would recommend it to every parent for their child, and every child or teenager for their own betterment.

Even if you choose not to take all of the advice, there are many things in this book that you hear and simply nod at the rightness of it. The kind of simple wisdom that we sometimes need to be taught to know it.

It is a book of much depth, ranging in the absurdly obvious advice, to some quite profound advice on how to live a good life.

And excellent gift for a young person in your life, or even an older one :-)

A selection from the letters of Lord Chesterfield to his son. Lots of good advice that is as applicable today as it was then. This book is formatted for children, though I imagine that Chesterfield's writing style is a bit too sophisticated for today's children with low reading skills. A thoughful parent could make good use of this book, and not only for the benefit of his child.

One quote from Lord Chesterfield: 'One who has no experience of the world is enflamed with anger, or annihilated with shame, at every disagreeable incident. A worldly person seems not to understand what cannot or ought not be resented.' Or how about this: 'Be extremely clean in your person.' Or: 'Do as you would be done by.' Or: 'There is nothing that people bear more impatiently or forgive less than contempt; an injury is much sooner forgotten than an insult.' Another: 'Always look people in the face when you speak with them.' Here's one: 'There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once.' And: 'The steady and undissipated attention to one object is a sure mark of a superior genius.' Here's some good wisdom: 'Let your enemies be disarmed by the gentleness of your manner, but let them feel at the same time the steadiness of your just resentment; for there is a great difference between bearing malice, which is always ungenerous, and a resolute self-defense, which is always prudent and justifiable.' Worldly advice on manner, grace, speaking and conversation, dress and appearance, self-improvement, virtues and vices, etc., etc., etc... The kind of advice, some of it, like cleanliness, very basic, that not everyone is introduced to in their youth for whatever reasons... Here's something that can be used interestingly (or, misused...): 'I recommend to you an innocent piece of art: flattering people behind their backs, in the presence of those who will not fail to repeat and even amplify the praise to the party concerned. This is, of all flattery, the most pleasing and, consequently, the most effectual.' This is a children's book. It has many clever and humorous 19th century illustrations. It's very inexpensive, and it's hard to think where one might come across this type of worldly, everyday advice other than in a book like this if you don't have adults around you who are really on the ball...

It is a good book, small but with lots of information. It introduces in a simple form the urban problems of the world and tries to focus in it's solutions. After I read it I showed it to teachers at my school and they now quote it in class.

Unusual and very well thought-out propositions for the architectural/urbanization problems that arise today as society everywhere struggles with increasing overpopulation. EWspecially noteworthy is the inclusion of small town issues, a topic normally overlooked by other architects/scholars who write on urban planning. Some interesting research, and of course the intriguing sketches and drawings I associate with Rogers, Foster, Piano, and all thoes other postindustrial architects. It's a small little book that is great for reading on the plane. Usually something not too common with architecture books.

After reading this book, I wanted to pack my bags and head to London to study with Richard Rogers. His observations on the importance of balancing population, resources and the environment is right on. He identifies the need for compact cities, but seeks to reinvent the dense city model to be a cleaner, greener, more integrated place. Rogers pays specific attention to positive social changes that compact cities can make, and he addresses the importance of regionalism to acheiving sustainability goals. Also, he explains how proximity allows for creative reuse of resources and efficient building design. The book is unique; Rogers makes concrete suggestions and offers actual examples of ways to acheive sustainability.