sadly the author despite alot of indirect speculation does not reveal the mystery as the introduction claims,though he does cover the overall history very well.Anyone who has read the SVP stuff will be dissapointed with the lack of interesting scientific analysis ,so JW Keely remains an enigma, nevertheless worth the effort.

Theo Paijmans' book is compelling, well researched and loaded with facts and intrigue. The variety of information stimulated me to ask many questions and form many ideas. I enjoyed reading and pondering, reading and pondering. I am already looking forward to reading this researcher's next book.

Throughout this book I found references and footnotes to Keely and His Discoveries by Clara Bloomfield-Moore - the only book by a contemporary who was a close personal friend and financial supporter of Keely. Originally published in the late 1800s, her book - ISBN 1589636139 - is back in print and makes a wonderful companion to this book.

This book grabbed me and I read it from cover to cover in one sitting. Something I've never done before. This first novel by an actual prison chaplain gives the reader a view never before seen inside the prison system. None of the prison cliches we're used to are there. The unique viewpoint of a man of faith and his take on an inside murder prison officials want him to solve is refreshing. At first glance I suspected a message disguised as a novel because of the author's ministry and the main character's religious calling. However this is a no-holds barred, in-your-face action-packed book. Rev. John Jordan relies on his faith to get him through this life-threatening ordeal, but the author doesn't use his first novel as a platform to preach to the reader. Blood is a very powerful element in this thriller. It begins awash in it. I was actually quite surprised. I would never have believed a Chaplain could have written something so raw, gritty and violent as this excellent first novel.

Too often, a "Christian" mystery isn't Christian at all. It may include a clergyman sleuth or a church setting, but the Christian faith has no bearing on anyone's conduct. Happily, that is not true here.

POWER IN THE BLOOD is Michael Lister's first novel. It relates Fr. John Jordan's initial year as the prison chaplain at Potter Correctional Institution in north Florida. Raised in the area by his daddy, the sheriff, Jordan has returned after a disastrous fall from grace. He's now divorced, a recovering alcoholic, and followed by rumors of scandal. He's delighted to discover, however, that he likes ministering to these "low lifes" better than the wealthy Atlanta congregation he lost.

Lister is himself a prison chaplain. His mystery (the death of a prisoner trying to escape in an unlikely way) and its surroundings witness to his experience. The prison wants a quiet investigation of the death of Ike Johnson and drafts Jordan to assist, because of his rapport with the inmates. As it becomes obvious that only a prison employee could have arranged such a death, Jordan's life and the lives of his closest friends are seriously endangered.

When he's not worrying about getting killed, he's coping with his alcoholic mother, a new romantic interest who can't believe he intends to remain celibate until marriage, and pressure from powerful townspeople. Prayer, a desire to care for God's weakest children, and a growing commitment to his vocation help Jordan fight back to a solution. I hope this isn't the last appearance of this thoughtful sleuth.

We may never face murder, but this Christian "detective" can teach us how to apply our faith in situations of stress and fear. Not bad for "light" reading!

Kathleen T. Choi HAWAII CATHOLIC HERALD

The reviews speak for themselves:

"Power in the Blood provides an unflinching and disturbing look at contemporary prison life, and prison chaplain, John Jordan makes for a convincing and altogether appealing detective/protagonist. An auspicious debut." --Les Standiford.

"Lister, a real life prison chaplain who knows his turf, delivers gritty portrayals of inmates and prison workers." --Publisher's Weekly.

"Lister gives his leading character the depth and shortcomings of a 'regular guy,' a refreshing change from the typically flawless clergy found in much of pop fiction." --Booklist.

"Michael Lister, a North Florida prison chaplain, is a first-time author, but you'd never know it. His book, Power in the Blood, reads as if it had been dreamed up by a skillful old pro. The cruel, small world inside prison could make for an unpredictable, claustrophobic series. Something untried, different, interesting. Thank heaven."--Miami H! erald.

The great thing about this book it that it's fun to read. It has a lot of pics about legends that are somehow similar to the events depicted on Star Wars. If you are a fan of the Star Wars films, or just a fan of mithology, you will love this book.

It's a great gift for children who are beginning to read, and are somehow familiar with Star Wars.

This thin, colorful book is a trifle formula, yet despite this it reads itself very well (i.e., hard to put down). Its streamlined, "pure protein" format also make it a likely candidate for multiple, enjoyable perusals...

It's brief, it's light reading, and it's fun...

As Roger Ebert rightly observes, a large part of the SW appeal is its visual richness. The book captures and conveys this well: nicely choreographed presentations of lovely color illustrations illuminated by succinct descriptions of mythological parallels.

It is well-known that George Lucas wisely modelled his universe on the work of Joseph Campbell, (note title). The recurrent mythological themes in SW are sufficiently presented to make this book a nice gift for anyone interested in either subject, child or adult.

Recommended.

This book is besides a nice Star wars picture gallery alsoasplendid popular analysis of the Star Wars myths and legends. Theepisodes and various elements of the movies are compared with episodes in world history, the bible and Greek mythology ect. Luke Skywalker is paralleled with Wilhelm Tell, King Arthur and so on. Lukes companions and enemies and dominating themes as his relationship towards his father Darth Vader, treason, self-sacrifice and heroic deeds are compared with well-known existing myths and legends. World historical events is also clearly felt in the spacefighting (Second World War - Battle of Britain) and the pod racing in Episode One (Ancient Rome - Ben Hur in Circus Maximus). The Jedi-philosophy has many element from the Zenbudhism and the Imperial Storm Troopers are in many ways like medieval armoured knights. The book is nicely illustrated with lots of pictures from the movies. It will appeal strongly to children from 12 years and every Star wars-fan up 99 years. Star wars. The power of Myth will be a great help in guiding you through the rather complicated personal relationships and myths in the Star Wars universe of the four movies. Rasmus of 14 said to me: "Now I suddenly realize how everything works in the four movies and how they are linked together." I can clearly recommend this book to every Star wars-fan.

terry buck, of americus, ga. dennis rodman, formerly of the chicago bulls. jesse "the body/the mind" ventura, governor of MN

Joseki are sequences of play, normally in the corners of the Go board, but sometimes on the sides. Basically, a joseki is intended to be of equal benefit to both players. Sometimes the players split the territory, sometimes one gets territory and one gets influence. They are not really 'fixed' patterns, although beginners are encouraged to memorize several. Instead, there are countless variations. The art of choosing which Joseki to play in what corner is a crucial part of the early stage of the game, with the fuseki or whole board opening giving way to the Joseki and finally to the tactical warfare of the middle and end games.

There are some 20,000 of these patterns that have identified and evaluated, although far fewer are in common usage. Still, the number one needs to be at least familiar with can seem daunting. Hence, the importance of something like the 'Dictionary of Basic Joseki.' Ishida Yoshio patiently works through some 209 joseki (80 in this first volume) in enough depth to give the reader some sense of confidence as he or she approaches them in a real game. Do not expect real deep dives however, simply enough information to make sensible choices and get a good game under way.

Yoshio Ishida focuses on popular joseki for the 3-4, 5-3, 5-4, 4-4 (star point), and 3-3 point. Volume one is all about the 3-4 point, which is a very good reason to make sure to track down the other two volumes. I'm a fan of star point openings in even games, and they are also vital in handicap games, so volume three is possibly more important than volume one. Other writers, such as Sakata Eio, have made studies of particular joseki, but nothing approaches the general coverage of this set in the English language.

I have to admit I have the least patience for learning joseki. I find the fuseki phase fascinating, but joseki study is frustrating because the stronger player will often deviate from the pattern to introduce some confusion. Thus, the key to study is not learning the pattern, but learning what to do when one's opponent does something he should not. This set of books manages to give me that information without trying my patience too greatly. They have been reprinted recently in 2001 and should still be readily available from the publisher (Kiseido) if Amazon cannot provide them.

This is an excellent encyclopedia that introduces, instructs, and initiates the reader into the nature of joseki, the fundamentals of openings in the game of Go.

Consider this book to be--to use a very rough analogy--to that of a openings encyclopedia for chess, such as MCO (Modern Chess Openings) or Nunn's, etc.

John Powers has done a number of admirable translations of Go texts, and this is a fine example of his abilities: his translation is crisp, tailored, and tidy (I've compared it to the Japanese originals.)

Enjoy! Dear fellow Go enthusiasts, we don't have many tomes, compared to our chess brethren, but this is one of those books that's indespensible.

Get them before they're out of print!

Best wishes on your games.

"Machining Fundamentals" by John R. Walker is a quality production. What I mean by that is this hardcover book is printed on good paper stock, the text is very descriptive and it is filled with an appropriate number of illustrations and photographs. In addition, the coverage of various topics is scaled to provide information consistent with what a typical reader of a "Fundamentals" book needs. Yeah, I know, what does that mean? Only that lathe, milling, drilling, and grinding operations, including relatively elaborate setups, are covered extensively, while manufacturing automation received a well written single chapter.

What is the value of all of this information ? I purchased the book in anticipation of buying a bench lathe. I found myself reading the book in front of the TV, nodding in acknowledgement, and verbally expressing in ways I'm sure were irritating to my wife, "Oh, so that's how they do that. Duh! Of course that makes sense. Gees, you're kidding me. Why didn't I do that?" And when I was done, I realized how far off the mark I had been in assessing what I would need to upgrade my shop area; better now than after those trucks dropped 20 tons of less than useful equipment in my driveway.

"Machining Fundamentals" won't replace equipment shop manuals, or classroom training and shop experience, but it is a good reference book. As an example, it does a good job of explaining the differences amongst 3 and 4 jaw chucks, Jacobs chucks and collets. The book even explains when they apply, why they apply and how to clean, maintain, inspect and install/remove them. Still, 9 very good pages on lathe cutting tapers, from setting up to measuring and checking, 10 pages on thread cutting, and even a few on cutting threads on tapered surfaces, will not qualify you to knock off a related project. But there is enough there to illustrate how the job is done, which may steer the reader to further detailed research, armed with enough conceptual information to attempt the job, and maybe practice the same type of work for a non-critical purpose while developing hands on experience. I liked the book.

Joe

This book is very good and when you ask yourself what is missing to make it complete encyclopaedia for the field, you see that you only need more tables and data for specific appilication.
But.
Concept of technical encyclopaedia that gives you all available data related to some field NEVER has invaluable features that this book offers: clear and patient explanations, extremely well illustrated, allways beginning "from the bottom" (very basics) to a very reasonable level of sophistication. If you start form zero level knoledge or if you need pragmatical reference book that covers whole field, choose this book. All you further need to master machining is: some good desk reference book i.e. collection of practical table data (there are couple of them very useful at really modest price), manual of a particular machine that you have and practice, practice.
That combination is, in my opinion, of muche more value then some hard-stuff encyclopaedia.

The previous reviewer probably never read the book very closely. There is no cover page picture for the chapter on the computer numberical control. The chapter starts by describing the differences between manual and computer controlled machining -- hence the picture of a machinist on this page operating a manual machine.

This is an impressive pocket resource for Buddhism. Unlike some earlier reviewers, I did read it from cover to cover, and am very impressed. Powers' explanations of basic Buddhist concepts is very clear and straightforward. Of course in a work like this he had to be selective, but the range of entries is staggering, with good choices of what to include as most representative/interesting. He covers all the main Buddhist traditions, including modern western Buddhist movements. My only complaints are that he puts disproportionate stress on the twentieth century and on Tibetan Buddhism. His coverage of southeast Asia and Sri Lanka is very light. But it's definitely a VERY good reference work for anyone interested in Buddhism.

Michael McCormack, Your review of this book shows your ignorance. You state the author needs more research yet you admit you did not even read the entire book! This review shows you are both stupid and lazy. I found it had impressive coverage for a book this size. You should stick to watching those Buffy The Vampire Slayer reruns You love so much. That is obviously your intellectual level!

I found this an exceptionally reliable and useful one volume reference book for my studies. For its size, it has an impressive coverage of terms, history etc. It is also affordable. I highly recommend it.

wriiten simply so that anyone could follow it advice, this book is a good read

I picked up this book because I was about to negotiate a venture funding deal for a company. Boy was this book helpful! From how to best prepare for the negotiation to how to gain respect from your opponent to how to actually handle the negotiation, the author explains the subject with enthusiasm and humor. Lots and lots of examples make the subject matter easy to understand.

That the author emphasizes that negotiation is not just for "big deals" but for everyday living makes this book more valuable. I have re-read this book three times and continue to learn tremendously. I esp. enjoy the chapter on "insider" techniques. These pro secrets sound so simple yet how many of us really follow them? Again, the everyday examples enable the reader to immediately apply these techniques to all kinds of negotiations, big or small.

My only complaint is that there are quite a large number of grammatical and word usage errors.

It's too bad they put "Idiot's Guide" in the title - this book has very useful instructions for both new negotiators and veterans alike. The cover has a handy checklist of things to consider when preparing your negotiating strategy, and Ilich reinforces the importance of considering your opponent's objectives as well as your own. He introduces the term "equalization" and makes a good case for it (you'll have to read the book - I'm not going to give his idea away here). I would rate this book 4th on my list of negotiating reading, behind Getting Past No, Getting to Yes, and Getting Together. I've read about 15 books on the subject, so 4th is high praise.

I have to agree with the other reviewer who said that this sequel is not as good as the original. While "The Art and Science of Dumpster Diving" was a great how-to book, "The Advanced Course" is more of a long rant about dumpster diving.
I found that only two of the chapters contained any real information, while the rest of the book only contained interesting stories. One of the biggest differences from this book and the first one is the change in the attitude of the author, John Hoffman. In his first book, Hoffman came off as a far right wing, gun welding, isolationist. While is this new book he has become a left wing, peace loving, hippie. If this is a good or bad thing depends on your point of view. Needless to say this book is a complete 360 turn from its predecessor. I must confess that I was disappointed in this book.

I expected to find alot more useful information, but often the book falls short. Such as in the chapter on finding keys to locked dumpsters. Hoffman simply recommends asking for the key from a person who works for the business that the dumpster is used by. I have to believe that getting the key is not that simple as just asking for it. The rest of the Key chapter is filled with a long story about how useful the key that Hoffman once found (by accident) was in his dumpster diving. The author offers no "plan B" in case the dumpster's owners don't feel like handing over the key to a total stranger.

Also, there is a chapter that is called "The really really weird chapter." This chapter title could not be more fitting. I could not make heads or tails of this acid trip of a book chapter, I ended up skipping it entirely after just a few paragraphs.

I really wanted to love this book. But sadly it left me feeling diappointed. None of the original DIY feeling of the first book is to be found in its sequel. Instead, Hoffman seems to be more focused on telling us about how his first book made him a "cult hero" and all the fame and fortune it brought him. Time after time Hoffman continues to brag about how he is "street wise" and "famous" and "stands still while going down on a dumpster so the reporters can get a good picture." Blah!

If Hoffman's first book left you hungry for more useful tips on scoring great dumpster goodies, I suggest you speak to other divers in your area for the real straight dope. No information will be found here that is of use to the experienced diver.
Read Hoffman's first book, and forget the sequel.

Don't be read this "Advanced Course" and think that you're going to learn anything technical. This book is creative non-fiction, a hint at a broader field of inquiry... a ... chant of a "No World Order" and a first draft of a Doctrine of Discards worthy of Foucault, as interpreted by Henry Miller.

I know because I was there. I'm Biker Bill (introduced on page 9).

Hoffman sent me the book in the mail today and I've underlined the sections where I'm mentioned, then I tried to reconcile my feelings of those days of Seattle's cultural rise and materialistic fall. Myself, I left in early '99 and gave it all up as a lost cause.

This is Fear and Loathing time! A real Hunter S. Hoffman treatment. He's not delusional or a liar... a bit manic, perhaps, but he's honest.

The best thing the reader can do is set aside all preconceptions about what the book "should be." Hoffman's trying to explain what we found in the back alleys of the U-district in the 90's. You want Grunge? It's deeper...

Dig a little. There's a cosmology to be discovered this ... heap of a book and it's not pretty.... this is a primal, raw, transcendental leap into America's Vomitorium of Unabashed Excess: the discards of society in the mental wards, linked loosely to his father's maybe encounter with Thomas Pynchon and the odd entropic chill of a hopeless task... to bring existential meaning to a life lived at the edge of a society hell-bent on devouring itself to death.

There's a Solid Waste Sutra in this collection of essays, and it may be different to each one who reads it. While I've never really agreed with Hoffman's politics, I still admired his brash ability to shake things up, keep ideas moving forward... shaking loose the cobwebs...

I still have the key he gave me. It's an arrowhead trophy of that time and place... Hoffman's rendering make it sound like we were among the Beat poets in '50s San Francisco. Perhaps we were.

So read the book and start a Enlighted Diver's Cult, maybe... DumpsterFest Weekend is the last weekend of school in the U-district each May. You meet a lot of nice folks there! Maybe get your church youth group or girl scout troop to join in!

But you must dive for your own wisdom. It's better than Yoga for stimulating the bloodflow to your brain.

Find that diamond for yourself.

Dumpster Diving: The Advanced Course takes trash picking to a level far beyond the occasional find on the side of the road. In a world of "extreme" games and "survival" shows this book could easily provide the base for a few Michael Moor-ish "reality" shows.

One of these shows would have teams competing to unveil the most corporate crime, another could have teams competing to create the largest Media moment for social/political/environmental change (not implying that any of these topics are separate from each other in any way). Less challenging and more network marketable would be something that goes along with the new Millionaire mania... "Treasure Trash". Who ever makes the first million through selling trash-picked items wins. The last show (and probably the least likely to air) would drop a few millionaire types off on an island dump site. These folks would have to live on our garbage for an entire decade. What could we possible offer someone of such wealth that would motivate them to play such an extreme game? Maybe they could be President of the United States...or President of the world? It wouldn't be very different from the way thing's are currently run... and the optimist in me says that maybe such a person would have some revelations over that time period, and actually DO something that positively affects the whole of the planet instead of positively affecting the hole in their own pocket.

Ok , enough of that ranty tangent! If you don't mind tangents, this book will certainly entertain you. Hoffman's backward and forward style artfully mirrors some of his explanations and beliefs about time, the power of thought, and the big effects of small actions. And you have to make it to the "Really, Really Weird Chapter." May your wings cause a hurricane of change!

If political change is one of your motivating factors, check out this book.

If the idea of recycling for a living, a GOOD living, motivates you, check out this book.

If living on less motivates you, check out this book.

If nothing motivates you - check out this book and get moving!

This book is great for people just looking for some impressiv Shakespeare phrases to spice up their speeches. The book is full of common sense and does not provide any in-depth analysis of the characters. Beside that the endless desriptions of how the authors succeed in their businesses (good for them!) is boring and do not provide concrete ideas or strategies.

John O. Whitney managed to relate business strategies to many of Shakespeare's plays; I truly was impressed... Many of his own experiences are related and it might seem as if the author is showing off but the stories he talks about are really interesting.
Before I read this book I really respected and admired Shakespeare and now my admiration goes beyond his literature, with the help of the author, his lessons on leadership and management are essential for any person working in a large corporation.
SHAKESPEARE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A CEO!!!

O.K., we all know it's a gimmick, but it's such a good gimmick that you can't help but be won over. John O. Whitney and Tina Packer extract timeless truths about human nature from the works of Shakespeare and apply them to today's business world. Theme by theme, the authors tackle power, communication, trust, decision, action, hierarchy and women in management. Linking business dramas and dilemmas faced by today's companies and corporate leaders to those faced by Shakespeare's characters, the authors serve up a treasure trove of valuable insight and guidance in this immensely satisfying book. We [...] recommend this book to anyone in business or outside of it. Because like the works of Shakespeare himself, this book, while aimed at a specific audience, aspires to, and in many cases reaches, more universal truths.