Two important elements of social "habit memory" processes strike me in Pathways of Memory and Power. The first is the apparent ease with which the colonial power asserted its program for "social amnesia" through a physical restructuring of social space (rectilinear, functional living spatial constructions) and time (the marking of Church calendrical and daily time, basically obliterating indigenous conceptions of time). The second is the reinterpretation of public and private to suit a colonial "moral code" based on the ritual performances of excessive drinking and bloodletting. These systematic, institutionalized policies effectively dismantled the indians' social habit-memories-replacing them with new ones modeled on Castilian life.

The long-standing issue of religious syncretism is (thankfully) questioned, through an understanding of how the indigenous people create distinctions between the "more Christian" and "more Andean" aspects of their deities and religions. The quipu system of knotting preserves a physical remembering which was transformed, but not destroyed, by Christianity. As Abercrombie states, "the techniques may have remained the same, but the content, the memories, were changing" (p. 260). The "imagenes de bulto," which were introduced by colonial priests, replaced the indigenous idols with Catholic saints, and initiated a long process of revisionist iconography for the indians from one source to another. The llama, as an animal that closely (to the indians) resembled humans in their social interactions, acted as a replacement for the human sacrificial victim; this helped ease the sacrificial rituals into a more acceptable Christian realm of possibilities. The origin myth, with its "multiple, not unique" origins was contentious; although re-reading and appropriating the Christ-like image of Tunupa, and the "great flood" and "tower of Babel" stories, led to a deeper understanding by colonial powers in the religion of their subjugated workers.

The historical grounding in colonial documents led to a deeper, richer, fuller picture of present-day ethnography. I think this method serves to illuminate so many elements in everyday life that seem otherwise "meaningless" or where pre-literate peoples have not developed a "linear" sense of history, as their colonizers encouraged. The ability to recreate, from historical documents, a more complete view of indigenous concepts about space, time, self, and history, is invaluable. It strikes me as a process of reading "through" (not between) the lines of the colonial texts-into the minds of the colonizers-in a way that is instructive in both the development of colonial systems for creation of dominant ideologies, and how the indigenous people actual recreated their colonizers through an adaptation of their habit-memories into a new (world) context.

This book should be a part of every financial professional's collection in the industry. Simple ideas that really work. It gives you direction and strategies to follow.It is one of those books that has to become part of your library.

... I have found this book is such an amazing one. Doctor McGinnis is such a wonderful psychiatrist. Listenning to his audiobooks made me feel delighted, more positive about my life and everything around me. I just wanted to say "Thanks" to him. I have learned much from it. Everything that he mentioned and taught was not only for depressed individuals but for the optimistic persons as well. I hope he could continue to write books and have more audiobooks available for all of us.

Speaking as someone who has long been aware of the power of visualization and self-fulfilling prophecy in my life, this is a fascinating read. It confirmed and expanded many of my own views on such phenomena as ESP, psychic abilities, the relationship between logic and intuition and so on. Yes, we are in "X Files" territiory here!

There are a large number of case studies quoted by Vaughan but mainly he draws on his own experiences and over 20 years worth of teaching psychic techniques. A wide range of exercises to help you test and improve your own abilities are presented at the end of each chapter, many of these taking experimental form. Vaughan talks of "tapping the blueprints of life" but also points out that we may need to learn to distinguish between genuine guiding visions for our best future, and "strongly held fantasies". Again there are exercises offered to help do this.

A very wide range of related subjects are intelligently explored or touched on in this book. "The inner self puts moral restrictions on psychic perception" suggests Vaughan in relation to using predictive abilities to win at gambling. Do we have the power to change an unwanted future if we see it coming? What is the relationship between fate and free will? How much of our individual and collective future can be "predicted" by observing the continuation of current trends and patterns? Vaughan suggests that by understanding how our mind works, we can understand how we are creating our dreams and our future. Excellent.

Of the three one-acts collected here, the first two have only minimal depth and the third doesn't have any. Doesn't matter. Alan Arkin and Elaine May have brilliant comic minds, and put them to excellent use on this project.

My personal favorite of the three is May's opener, "The Way of All Fish", in which a meek secretary attempts to shift the balance of power away from her difficult boss, with bizarre and side-splitting results. But there are amusing lines and intriguing situations in all three. Reading this book isn't quite a substitute for watching May and Arkin perform in their own pieces (or for watching Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss, their replacements in the original production), but it has the added benefit of allowing you to go back and excerpt the most quotable lines at your leisure.

Don't hesitate -- just grab it.

This book represents a remarkably successful attempt to present the aviation elements of the numerous branches of the Russian armed forces and their equipment. Although detailed accounts of the latest Russian aircraft have been available for years, this lavishly illustrated volume succeeds in presenting these impressive aeronautical achievements in the context of the operational requirements and national strategy of Russia. Tactics and weapons are thoroughly discussed and major shortcomings, especially in training and maintanance are dealt with as well. The organisations themselves are presented in some detail; however, the reader who expects a detailed "order of battle" of these organisations will be disappointed.
The outstanding achievement of this volume is that it combines the russian perspective on airpower with some unknown aspects of Russian operations, e.g. Russian army UAVs, the two Chechen campaigns as well as fascinating future developements.

This is a wonderful approach to leadership and holistic management of yourself first, then your associates.

This book contains many specific examples and exercises in the context of a larger, people based approach to living a successful business and personal life.

The "Power Managing" in the book title may give a false impression. This is not about the exercise of power or manipulating people, but rather the attainment of authentic power through developing, encouraging, and empowering others to attain the results that managers are accountable for.

The book is a very flowing read. The information is complete, but precise and with very little fluff or over-explaination. The author follows his own advice in that the written communication is definitely pithy.

The information is also very segmented. I can envision myself keeping this title handy for future reference on specific topics or individual issues. Again, while the information is very succint and starightforward, it is at the same time very complete and relevant to current conditions.

I have found myself contemplating lately whether addititonal formal college training would be a benefit to my development and performance. I was very interested to find the author's recommendation regarding learning to advise away from this option.

His other advice is just as relevant to current realities in the business environment.

The 3 Keys to Empowerment revisits the three keys discussed in another Blanchard book, Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute. These three keys are: share information with everyone, create autonomy through boundaries and let teams become the hierarchy. They should be applied to each of the three stages of moving toward empowerment. Many of the actions suggested for the initial stage: "Starting and Orienting the Journey," are repeated in the discussions of the other stages, "Change and Discouragement" and "Adopting and Refining Empowerment." The authors say some areas need repeated focus so readers can implement change. Unfortunately, this is repetitive.

The book's most useful feature is the Empowerment Action Plan, a clear, easy to follow list of specific actions leaders can take at each stage of the journey to empowerment. The 3 Keys is written for CEOs and senior executives.

After reading and being intrigued by the authors' previous book, "Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute," I was curious about this follow-up book. I was pleasantly surprised to find this book was written as a complementary "stand-alone" book with a much different style than its predecessor.

Unlike Blanchard's usual simple, entertaining, and fun-to-read story-telling books, this book was a detailed, practical, common-sense guideline for individuals and organizations on their journeys from hierarchy to empowerment. Besides the credible factual and objective analysis of becoming empowered, this book confirmed for me what I always suspected about Blanchard's usual powerful parables: they are backed up by extensive research, knowledge, and experience.

This book starts with a great, concise overview of "Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute," and then moves on to common, expected questions with practical, executable answers designed to assist people and organizations going through the journey from hierarchy to empowerment. The book concludes with an outstanding detailed empowerment action plan that captures the essence of how the 3 keys to empowerment (share information with everyone, create autonomy through boundaries, and let teams become the hierarchy) can and should be applied simultaneously through the 3 stages of change (starting and orienting the journey, change and discouragement, and adopting and refining empowerment).

Designed as a guidebook, I can easily see the book being used by leaders at all levels who must deal with and implement empowering, or other major changes in their organizations. As is the case with all guidebooks, the information in this book requires the readers' judgment in applying it to the realities of their situations. If viewed as a guaranteed checklist for success by people and organizations that want a quick fix with little thought, this book will likely fall short of expectations. If viewed as a practical, common-sense packed reference, I believe this book will be an invaluable leadership tool for long-term effectiveness and efficiency.

Ken Blanchard, John Carlos, and I wrote this book as a follow up to our best selling Empowerment Takes More Than A Minute. This book is designed to help any manager or team leader or company president who wants to release the power of people for astonishing results. We know that empowerment is often viewed as a buzzword, but we also know that it works for those who stick with it. We think this book can help team leaders and team members know what to do to keep moving forward. Let us know what you think and ask us any questions you have -- we will respond.

FIRST, A WORD ON HEALTH CARE PUBLICATIONS-

When looking for a book on almost any subject, it's always a good bet that DK books will have one on the subject. And whereas the overwhlming majority of them will be accurate in their presentation, it is good to remember that ALL information about health is subject to regular change and update.

Unfortunately, Doctors and nurses simply don't have the time needed to constantly pour over new journal articles and go to seminars. This is why WE must keep OURSELVES informed by doing just that. Medical libraries are FREE for use by anyone in this country that pays their taxes and their staff knows this and are more than happy to help you learn how to use them. They know that by doing this we are not only increasing our own knowledge of current practices and procedures, but we are actually creating an invaluable resource for our healthcare providers.

If your Doctor tells you that you have a condition that they are not familiar with, go to the medical library and look up any journal articles that have come out in the past year on the subject and make two (2) copies. Take one to your Doctor and keep one for yourself. The positive response you get may surprise you, and it will certainly prove to your health care provider that you are interested in being proactive in your recovery.

THE REVIEW!!

As a Clinical Massage Therapist and Father, I can tell you from experience that this book is not only well written and contains some really cute pictures, but the information contained within is mostly accurate and very easily digested. I have heard of both of the contributing authors and can say that both have good reputations in their fields.

Why not 5 stars? For the simple reason that the authors STILL not only illustrate the Indian "milking" technique, but recommend it. Being the only obvious and unmistakeable flaw in the book, it is excusable, but only just.

Indian milking is not only counter productive to the massage itself, but it does physically irreversible damage to the valves in the veins in the arms and in the legs. You should never, never, NEVER work from hip to foot or shoulder to arm; ALWAYS work with the flow of the vein, or in this case, towards the heart. To not do so is to force blood to move AGAINST natural veinous flow and can cause the leaflet valves in the veins returning blood to the heart to become damaged and useless.

Later on in life, this damage will cause painful vericose and spider veins. If you have anyquestion of this or of the medical research that proves it, just look on the legs of almost any East Indian man or woman and almost invariable you will see evidence of vericosities. There are even pamphlets being produced in India that are telling Mothers to work towards the heart to prevent this from happening.

Aside from this one problem, this is an EXCELLENT book. I say that not only because any book that promotes this kind of bonding with parent and child is on my "A" list, but also because the vast majority of the information is accurate and correct!

This book does a wonderful job of combining the physical nature of touching your baby with a calming goal. As a first father there appears to be a lot less available to help soothe a crying baby. This book shows how a simple circular motion on a chest, back or arms can help a baby feel more relaxed. This is extremely positive when we are biding time before Mommy and her food arrives.

This has been one of the best purchases I have made since the birth of my son nine months ago. It has taught me how to massage him in a way that has helped me gain his trust. Not only does it relax him before bed, but it gives us some precious bonding time that can't be matched! I sing his favorite song while I do it, and someday, when he can talk, I'm sure he will sing along. I have suggested this book to all of my 'Mom' friends, and I urge all Mom's (and Dad's) to buy this one!!

This book is an excellent example of how art critique can be used to analyze politics and history. Paul Zanker does an exceptionally thorough job as he systematically works his way through the end of the Republic to the heights of Augustan Rome. The book includes tons of photographs, coins, maps and reproductions to illustrate appropriate points in the text. The thesis of the book is to show how art was used to convey the importance and dignity of the new Imperial system. Despite the breadth of material presented here, the text is smooth and understandable.

There really isn't enough space in a review to adequately cover this book. Zanker's main thrust is to show how Augustus rebuilt and remodeled Rome with himself at the center. The styles that Augustus used were quickly picked up and duplicated by the Roman upper classes, as well as those in the provinces. My favorite section of the book concerns the coinage. Augustus minted coins closely linking himself to Julius Caesar in order to establish himself as the heir apparent (which he was) to Caesar. Coins were also used to commemorate Augustus's triumph at Actium over Antony, and also to promote Augustus's conservative legislation concerning marriage and childbirth. Although Augustus slowly consolidated power under the title of princeps, he took great pains to show Rome that he was bringing about peace, prosperity and honor, all things that had been missing during the civil wars. Is Augustan art propaganda? It could certainly be interpreted that way, even though there was no "Ministry of Information" in Rome.

An excellent book, although there are a few problems. One of them is the tendency of art critique to see things that others may not. Zanker's descriptions of statues of Augustus are a good example. While I can agree with his depictions of the later Augustan busts as showing a calm, sort of omniscient demeanor, I have a tough time agreeing with his assessment of an earlier bust of Augustus as nervous and power hungry. This is a small problem with an otherwise great book that will make you think about Rome in a different way.

A wonderful tour of the early Roman empire framed within a rigorous theoretical discussion. Zanker skillfully illustrates how an empire was built by the manipulation of public thought through the use of images, or in other words, propaganda. Shapiro contributes with a lively and nearly transparent translation.

Zanker offers a fascinating reconstruction of Octavian Augustus' agenda for consolidating his position as leader of the Roman world. He does this by careful analysis of the buildings, statues, coins and other physical objects made during the rule of Rome's first emperor. Zanker understands well the impact of visual communication and uses it insightfully. He doesn't simply catalog artifacts, he interprets them and connects them within a broad system of consciously articulated ideology. In two decades of academic reading, this is one of the two most memorable books I read.