This is an autobiography of the late Bill Rinaldi who died recently. Bill tells his life story where he lived a full life in spite of his disabilty. Bill talks honestly about living with his disabilty from childhood to adulthood. His story is about how he rose above the physical challenges to lead a active and full live that included Marriage and a long career in local politics. I highly recommend this book.

Writer Brian Michael Bendis set out to reinvent and reinvigorate Marvel's hallowed Spider-Man franchise in this landmark series. Judging from the critical acclaim and market success it's had, I'd say he met his goal.

Spider-Man was originally created in 1963 and while his origin story is a comic book classic, let's just say some of the elements within the story have become somewhat dated. Bendis' rehash of Spidey's origin sets him in modern times, with the look of a modern 15-year-old, and the characters speaking in...you guessed it...modern dialogue.

Bendis has done a fine job of updating the character and doesn't give in to the temptation to pace the story too quickly. He takes his time, building up the characters and the story of how Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider and subsequently given super powers.

Mark Bagley competently, though not spectacularly, illustrates the story. Bagley's artistic storytelling skills are excellent, but I think Marvel might have been better served had they gone with a less traditional artistic style on this book.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN: POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY is a great new beginning for Spider-Man and appeals to fans of all ages.

'Ultimate Spiderman' is the almost perfect retelling of Spidey for the 22nd century. I think this is a one of a kind story, because i'm pretty certain no other author has attempted such a project.

First off, let me start by saying Brian Bendis is a FANTASTIC writer, and he clearly donates some of his greatest talents to this comic-book. How? Well, the characters. Peter is somewhat nerdy, but not necessarily uncool, making him likeable. Uncle Ben is, as always, the kind uncle, but is also calm and cool, and definitely the epitome of strength and respect. Mary-Jane is definitey toned down, soft-spoken, and intelligent but hip. Flash Thompson is every bit the bully, and is complimented by new cronies.

Bendis also shows off his ability of unique storytelling by taking a slower, more relaxed approach to the spiderman legacy. New characters are intoduced slowly, and the story unfolds slowly, easily, and never misses a beat. And these reasons make Ultimate Spiderman a must buy.

'Power And Responsibility' tells the origin of Spiderman, and introduces Mary-Jane, Uncle Ben, Kong, Flash Thompson and Liz allen (breifly).

Hats off to Marvel for making comics accessible again. Ultimate Spider-Man is a great comic that anyone can read and relate to. It tells the story of a nerdy high school sophomore who suddenly finds himself in possession of fantastic powers. It's an old story, with a hero that will be familiar to almost anyone. After all, Spider-Man is one of the most recognizable characters in entertainment history.

But what's this "Ultimate" about? Spider-Man is a character who was created in the sixties, and since then he's been dragging forty years of continutity and backstory. Ultimate Spider-Man approaches the character from the ground up, with a contemporary voice and pop culture references that place the book squarely in the 21st century. This Peter Parker isn't married and successful yet; he's barely coming to grips with his powers. The origin is updated, the villains look different, and nothing about the hero's future is set.

Longtime Spider-Man fans may still be more comfortable with the original character that they've grown up with. (The "classic" Spider-Man is still thriving and his ongoing series is currently enjoying the excellent writing of Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski.) But for those who lost interest in comics years ago, or those who are approaching the medium for the first time, this book is absolutely perfect.

The writing, by comics wunderkind Brian Michael Bendis, is awesome. Dialogue is sharp and sparkling with very authentic voices. The art is attractive and expressive. The stories are easy to follow, even for a first time comics reader. It's a comic that anyone can enjoy, and one which I strongly recommend. I loved it, my girlfriend loved it, and I'm sure that you'll love it.

In Cold Anger, Mary Beth Rogers examines how the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), a network of church-based organizations, transforms the faith, religious beliefs, and values of disenfranchised, resigned, and politically powerless people into powerful public action that benefits the entire community. At the same time Rogers also reveals how not only the poor and working class have unwittingly given away their political power, but how white, upper-middle-class citizens have also consented to having power taken away from them in their benign trust of elected public officials.

The "cold anger" of the title is "not one based on sour resentments or a false sense of entitlement," but rather, "an anger that seethes at the injustices of life and transforms itself into a compassion for those hurt by life." Anger for Ernesto Cortes, co-founder of the IAF, and the people he organizes is "an emotion of hope-not of despair."

Rogers tells the story of how Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS), the first IAF-inspired organization of congregations, used that cold anger to move the city of San Antonio to spend more than $500 million for West Side improvements, including storm sewer systems that virtually ended flooding there. Through research actions, COPS members "exploded the myth most of them had accepted for years-that the city in its wisdom would take care of them in good time."

"We weren't looking for any handouts," according to one COPS member. "We're taxpayers and we found out our tax money wasn't working for us."

"The concept we're trying to develop is one of community, communal responsibility," says Cortes. "The work we do is about power and about building power and teaching people how to organize around their own interests, how to be effective. We need power to protect what we value."

Not surprisingly, many church members are initially uncomfortable with the idea of power. IAF organizers, however, seek to replace the traditional understanding of coercive power with one of relational power. According to Cortes, "there are only two ways to build power like this. It takes organized money or organized people. We're obviously not going to have a huge concentration of money, so when we're talking about power as a social concept, we're talking about two or more people coming together with a plan and acting on it." In addition, Cortes says, "we're trying to teach a system of internal accountability so that corruption won't happen." Cortes credits a large part of his understanding of relational power to Paul Tillich's Love, Power and Justice, in which Tillich proposes that love and power must be joined to produce justice.

"Organizing is a fancy word for relationship building," says Cortes. "If I want to organize you, I don't sell you an idea. What I do, if I'm smart, is try to find out what's your interest. What are your dreams? I try to kindle your imagination, stir the possibilities, and then propose some ways in which you can act on those dreams and act on those values and act on your own visions. You've got to be the owner. Otherwise, it's my cause, my organization. You've got nothing!"

Rogers describes the relational style of Sister Christine Stephens, a Catholic nun turned political organizer. "It is selective and sensitive, probing rather than prying. It is like maneuvering a freshly crafted key into a door lock, which, when it fits, seems to open you as well as the other person."

"When you sell, you tend to be arrogant," says Cortes. "You know it all ... You quit listening. You're not attentive."

"In proposing, rather than selling," Rogers writes, "Cortes believes you have to have flexibility, curiosity, patience, and a little vulnerability. And that involves some self-revelation as well as propositioning. The best organizers and leaders learn how to reveal themselves in small doses as part of the process of drawing out others ... The successful one-on-one becomes a give-and-take relationship, not a one-sided interview."

"If we don't go anywhere, it's because these one-on-ones don't develop ... This is where the spiritual action is," according to Cortes. "We teach people that the relationship is more important than the issue ... For you to grow and develop, you have to get out of yourself into the skins of others." According to Cortes, every time we engage another individual on a deep level of human understanding, we also develop ourselves spiritually and politically. "The one-on-one is the most radical thing we teach."

IAF organizers and leaders commit themselves to working with other people on a one-on-one basis "to help them grow beyond themselves and participate as a full citizen in the public life of their community."

The IAF ultimately distinguishes itself from other organizing efforts by attracting people not to issues, but rather, by encouraging church leaders to act on their gospel values, the roots of their public and private beliefs. "This is not merely politics we are engaged in," according to one COPS member, "but correcting injustice, which is God's work and the mission of the church."

This would make a great movie -- a textured portrait of the vibrant but politically powerless Hispanic-American culture which has found its champion in Ernesto Cortes. Rogers's book brings his pioneering efforts in Texas to light and life in a way that's truly inspiring.

There are quite a few books about this subject on the market, and I rate this one second best. Top of the market in my eyes is 'Warplanes of the Third Reich' by William Green (672 pages!), but this book can serve as a nice companion or indeed as a replacement if your budget is a bit tight. The main advantage this book has compared to William Green masterpiece is the colour artwork, which is sadly lacking in the Green book. The only thing in which the comparison falls out negative against Green is the amount of information about each individual plane, but there is more general information about the Luftwaffe in WW2 to make this up. Highly recommended indeed.

This work is an exhaustive study of the Luftwaffe's inventory from 1931 - 1945. Naturally the famous are here: Ju87, Me109/110/262, Fw190, He111/162, but the obscure as well: the Bv40 Interceptor Glider(!), the asymmetric Bv141 observation aircraft, and the He100 fighter. The entries (with drawings or photographs) of these one-off variants and technological near-misses make the volume worth owning. Over 150 fixed-wing aircraft, gliders and helicopters are combined with an excellent overview of the Luftwaffe from creation to destruction. Additionally, appendices contain the Luftwaffe's chain of command, and a glossary of Luftwaffe-speak.

If you are a student of WW2, and particularly the airwar, then you should definitely try to pick up a copy. Highly recommended.

Why would you want to buy just one cassette for about $8.00, when you can buy all six tapes for approximately $24.00? But for those who prefer this program to the others, I guess you save some money. "The First Storytellers" conversation explores accepting death as rebirth using the Indian buffalo myth and the Christian story of Christ; the rite of passages in primitive societies; the role of Shamans; and the decline of ritual in modern times. The Indian Buffalo myth is a wonderful metaphor of rebirth, but also highlights the reverence the Indian felt toward the animal. Animal and Human relationships are discussed at the start of the program; it begins with the hunt. The ritual and Shaman conversations are powerful, short pieces. There is a feeling that Campbell (or maybe the listener) needed about 5 minutes more on each topic. Campbell is fluid though; so everything fits and follows. From a business perspective, this tape may be useful for those interested in organizational transformations and cultures; it provides a classic framework. I can't imagine anyone studying either organizational concept without a bit of Campbell background.

This is truly a smashing book, filled with such vision. Cambells five straight years using his reading technique served him right. The content and expressions are so alive. I would reccomend this to anyone.

Mr. Larsen carefully details Bill Koch's diligently applied Total Quality Management philosophy, which always places attitude and teamwork first; it's an expert treatise on personnel management. Koch's no-nonsense approach to the pursuit of excellence in scientific research (boat design and building) is also very illuminating. Koch won the America's Cup because he earned it; money alone cannot buy victory in such a contest. A great book.

Set against the backdrop of the America's Cup, Bill Koch demonstrates his plan for success and beats Dennis Conner, the most famous sailor in the world, in his own backyard. Koch's approach to the America's Cup can be applied to yacht racing, business and life. As a testimony to the validity of his approach, while Koch spent eighteen winning the America's Cup his business recorded very respectable profits in his absence by following his plan for success. Anyone who wants to excell as an employee, employer or entrepreneur can benefit from this well written chronicle of achievement. A revealing look at a master of his environment. This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to achieve their goals

I have several books by Scott Cunningham - all of which are better than this. The concepts and ideas are solid and the writing is in the typically lucid and easy to understand style that one would expect from Cunnningham. His recommendations on the use of natural "tools" for practicing witchcraft are refreshing, as are his outlines for spells and divinations. Yet in comparison to his other works, Earth Power is lacking. I much preferred his Witchcrafft for the Solitary Practitioner, Spellcraft, and Earth, Air, Fire, Water - all of which I recommend over this book.

Earth Power is a great book for those who are new to Witchcraft and interested in Natural Magick. Cunningham provides useful information while his explanations and instructions are easy to follow. The spells featured in the book are actually "do-able"; they don't require fancy robes, prescious hard-to-find stones, and even harder-to-find herbs. They are very simple and to-the-point, which is extremely helpful for us who dislike long, complicated rituals. You wont find any long, rambling chants. Instead, Earth Power contains short, simple chants for a practical and natural form of magick.
This is NOT a book for Wiccans. You'll not find the rules and basics of Wicca nor will you find any ceremonial magick.
Earth Power is a how-to book without the rigid rules that you often see in occult books. It does not teach, it guides. It guides you and inspires you to create your own magick YOUR way.

If you're looking for an in-depth and easy-to-understand guide to folk magick, the magick of the people, with no elaborate rituals or expensive supplies, then this book is for you. Cunningham takes an insiders' view of the craft, coupled with a vast library of knowledge, and leads new magicians and High Priestesses and Priests of the craft alike down a fascinating and informative journey into the world of the most basic magickal practices from all over the world and all throughout history. When you have read this book, you will know more than you did before you started no matter how knowledgeful you are, and you will likely be able to process the information to create spells and rituals of your own inspiration. But I doubt you will stop with reading it once, I haven't, and the more you read it the more you realize, especially as your overall knowledge of the craft grows. Scott Cunningham was much loved by the magickal community and will be deeply missed. But all though he has passed on to whatever rewards I'm sure await such a man as him, you can still share in the experience of enjoying one of his many books, and unarguably one of his best.

Many Thanks for sharing these insightful morsels of information.

It was refreshing to read a book that is so honest and so revealing about the current situation women find themselves in today in corporate america. The statistical breakdown of women in power was shocking.

The insights and strategies the book lays out have already begun to work for me in my career. Thank you...

This book is truly "well-written and engaging" and "big-picture focus(ed)" as described by Toddi Gutner in her article in Business Week. Her review of the book peaked my interest and I found What Every Successful Woman Knows every bit as insightful as she stated. However, I believe that the suggestions offered, rather than being time consuming, are a challenge that will help me focus and, in the end, free up my schedule.

I've read virtually every major fitness book in the past 20 years and "Power of 10" makes the most sense for me. It combines all the concepts and strategies that work best to give you the body you want in the least amount of time. You really can achieve success at the gym or in your home in as little as 20 minutes a week, an intense 20 minutes, but it absolutely works. The book also lays out a nutrition plan you can manage for life, and it doesn't require food scales, calorie counting, or algebra. "Body for Life" and a few other plans will work, but only if you can workout daily and for nearly an hour at a time. This book allows you to give your life back to the things that really matter while still looking and feeling your best. I cannot say enough about "Power of 10"; It is a "10".

This piece was written by a proven successful professional who has the experience and expertise to explain the slow-method and how to do it. It's written in an easy-to-read straightforward approach. Some or all of this technique can be applied to get the results a person wants. By using this method you will see results quickly. I saw them after 2 workouts (some peoples' bodies make noticeable changes quicker than others.)

I do think that some cardio is important for metabolism, cleaning out the heart to prevent arthero-sclerosis. It's true that cardio workouts allow the body to break down fats in an an aggressively healthier way up to 12 hours after a cardio workout. Instead of being "all or nothing" with one's attitude to cardio it can still remain a matter of degree if one wants it to. From this book and the Zickerman approach, Some people can forgo cardio completely, some can reduce it slightly, significantly, or do the the same amount of cardio as before this method, while increasing/changing your strength-training from none-at-all, to some Zickerman, moderate Zickerman or completely to Zickerman's Power Of Ten approach.

This will work for those who get bored at the gym quickly, don't like working-out, don't have the time, or want to change their workout style while obtaining the results wanted. When people become committed to getting in shape they often have to spend the time to shape their schedules and life around the gym, AND spend the time it takes to commute to and back from the gym. Not under this system. It will work undoubtedly best for those who have access to a gym and its' nautilus equipment. Zickerman details how one can do this method at home, but the results will be better from the machines at the gym which can allow more proper form and more varied focus on particular muscle groups (just my opinion).

The ever-present and omnipotent addendum is in this book like all others: eating patterns. Yes, your eating habits greatly affect your physical health, and Zickerman's eating approach is one of practical, realistic, and plain common sense. Use your head (and your fork and spoon wisely) and you'll do OK. There are not strict patterns to follow, nor revolutionary eating admonishons here. You don't have to count calories too much, or eat special ingredients or munch on food in particular combinations.

There are many programs out there. We are constantly inundated by them. In contrast to the other books on the market at the moment, Zickerman provides more explanations and directions on how to apply the workout, while the other book spends a good deal of time on research, and how the body does what it does biologically, and nutritionally under the the slow work-out process. This system works.

Not only is this an excellent fitness program, but it's also a great read! It's easy to follow and I found myself amused by the authors' sense of humor. I have tried different workouts and weight loss programs over the years, but I haven't been able to follow them because they required too much time! I can find the time for The Power of Ten workout. Not only that, I am following the nutrition guidelines and am shedding pounds. You don't have to starve or suffer to follow this program. I wish this book had come along sooner.

I began reading JC books in the late 80's and could not get enough. The PBS Series still holds my interest and attention.
Having lost my copy of the original transcripts I purchased this edition without regard to the Editor and find this edition and this editing misses something from the original.
I am sure it will serve many that are unfamiliar with JC, but I want the un-edited version as it changed my life forever.

Since this book is basically the transcripts from Bill Moyer's excellent televised interviews with Joseph Campbell, "The Power of Myth" frequently comes off as a "Reader's Digest" coffee table condensation of Campbell's life and work. Since the interview, by its very nature is limited in its scope and focus, "The Power of Myth" simply does not possess the depth of Campbell's other work.

This really is no matter as what is present provides the reader with a fine introduction to Campbell's passionate devotion to World Myth. Campbell's life thesis, that man posseses the innate desire and need to create myth, is a compelling idea the binds us all to ourselves and each other.

"The Power of Myth" is NOT to be taken as a religious tome. In that context, it certainly does come off as a cockeyed New Age concoction of non-commitment. It is meant, however, to be taken as a work of deconstructionist literary criticsm that seeks to celebrate the common threads running through all cultures and perspectives.

Campbell openly celebrates man's ability to imagine as well as his devotion to ideas. He does not seek to debunk or trivialize the devout (one must be careful to realize this as they read Campbell). His scholarly intent as I see it, is to encourage and nurture the seed of faith inherent in all and encourage everyone to embark on their own heroic adventures of discovery.

"The Power of Myth" serves as an excellent bibliography of sorts as it lists the many great folktales and religious texts which demand re-reading. Campbell urges his audience to read for themselves and search for their own discoveries.

If one is searching for a far more in depth study of myth, I cannot praise enough Campbell's excellent "The Hero With A Thousand Faces". As is, "The Power of Myth" is a fine starting point.

This is the transcript of the Bill Moyers interview with Joseph Campbell done with him years and years ago-a stunning interview-a stunning book. Readers will enjoy the book format because let's face it-when Crazy Joe Campbell was talking-sometimes we needed more time than which was given to "absorb what was said." From talking about the Great Seal on the American dollar bill and it's mythological connections-to pouring over a letter from Chief Seattle to George Washington about the purchase of land, this book is never uninteresting.

And to give Bill Moyers due credit as well as an excellent journalist who always knows the right question to ask-and whom unlike a lot of journalists today-actually cares about what he is and was covering. In fact, sometimes Moyers says something quite insightful on his own-it is the coming together of two great minds in a question and answer format-that produces the end result of genius-pure genius. If you are unfamiliar with the Bill Moyers interview, I would recommend purchasing it on here, the 6 tapes, or waiting until PBS airs it again-they always do. Afterall, it's one of PBS's all time ratings grabber. The reason I say that is hearing the way Joe Campbell speaks, seeing in flesh just how engaging of a man he is-allows the reader to "imagine him speaking through the book." To me-that makes a huge difference.

This book is a winnner all the way-regardless of what religious background you hail from-what sort of philosophy if any you engage-this book will certainly impress you the reader. It could actually change someone's life in the context of stimulating someone's interest enough in mythology-to begin looking into it. Or, it can broaden your insight into your own spiritual life in of which you have already established. Any way you toss this book up-it's heads. So buy it.