Green is a great teller of tales, and here he definitely succeeds in bringing the ancient Norse Myths to life with vivid prose that is very faithful to his sources. This is one of those reads that is good for children (from about 4th Grade) and adults alike. The author's tone is not patronizing, but treats the reader and the subject matter seriously, and yet lightly and humorously when appropriate.
Green's novel--and it does read like a novel in its own right--is really good at introducing the reader to the world of Norse Myth, starting with the character of the Norse Men and going on to give an overview of the mythology, an introduction to all the gods, their foes, and their worlds, and straight retellings of all the famous tales... all in a narrative context.
I now prefer to read the "originals," but no doubt they would have been far too cryptic for me to read if I didn't have Green to hold my hand at first. I refer to the collection known as the Elder or Poetic Edda (0292764995), as well as the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson (0520012321). For me, those two collections plus the Volsungasaga (0140447385) round out the "genuine" Norse mythology.
But as I said, I would definitely begin with Green. I have read other modern retellings, but if you can find this one, it is the best.

This book had been sitting unread in my library for many years. Recently, I decided to pick it up after getting more interested in the Norse myths after reading the Icelandic Sagas and listening to Wagner's 'Der Ring Des Nibelungen,' which was inspired by Norse mythology. This book supplies a collection of Norse myths, beginning with how the world was created, and ending with 'Ragnarok,' the popular myth about the last battle between the Gods and the Giants. I found myself enthralled throughout the book - that is until I reached the chapter regarding Sigurd. I have had some previous knowledge of this myth, but sought to learn more about it to learn more about Wagner's sources and inspirations when composing his mythological-based 'Ring' operas. Instead, I had found that the author used Wagner's Ring as a source for his chapter on Sigurd rather than the original sagas and myths. This made me question the authenticity of the other stories presented in the book. However, I think they all convey the general idea of what the Nordic people believed in, and think it a good synthesized collection of Norse mythology for those beginning to delve into the subject. It's also an ideal mythic book for younger audiences, as it has no explicit violence and has a simplistic and blunt writing style.

"Our dreams are a second life."-Gerard de Nerval
"Dream---a scintillating mirage surrounded by shadows---is essentially poetry."-Michel Leiris

Michel Leiris' "Nights as Day, Days as Night": In the introduction to Leiris' forty year collection of dreams, Maurice Blanchot asks, "Who dreams in dreams? Who is the "I" of dreams? Who is the person to whom this "I" is attributed, admitting that there is one? Between the person who is sleeping and the person who is the subject of dream events there is a fissure..." The dislocation which seems to be the source of who exactly we are in dreams may spring from the fact that in our dreams everything takes on an almost theatrical aspect, sometimes we are spectator & sometimes we are actor, other times we are a combination of the two. One of Leiris earliest poetic mentors was Max Jacob, & two of the dreams related in the book involve him. In fact the manner in which Leiris records some of his dreams are reminiscent of certain of Max Jacob's prose poems. The following one by Jacob, "Literary Standards" would not be out of place in Leiris' book: "A dealer in Havana sent me a cigar wrapped in gold which had been smoked a little. The poets sitting with me said he'd done it to mock me, but the old Chinese who was our host said it was the custom in Havana when one wished to show great honor. I brought out two magnificent poems a scholar friend had written down translations of for me because I admired them when I heard them read. The poets said they were well-known and worthless. The old Chinese said they couldn't have known the poems because they only existed in a single manuscript copy in Pehlvi, a language they didn't know. Then the poets started laughing loudly like children while the old Chinese gazed at us sadly." As Blanchot stated in the introduction, "These were once dreams; they are now signs of poetry."

The greatest of the recorded events to be found in Leiris' book are the pages dedicated to dream elements overflowing into his waking life, communicating vessels. In the page dated May 4, 1943 Leiris describes a middle-aged man lurking around who seems to be nightmarishly fake, "A real cop or a mere civilian? Or nobody in particular? I asked myself the question but could not resist considering this shady character to be some sort of specter or macabre merrymaker who, having donned a terrifyingly contemporary disguise, was waiting for some shadowy carnival to begin."

In a few of the recorded dreams he notes that he realized he was dreaming & tried to wake himself up, he tells us it is usually by falling. This is a common dream phenomenon, & it may appear to be simple. We are having a nightmare, realize it is a dream, & then struggle to wake up. The interesting thing though is that it is usually after the realization we are having a dream that things in our dream become even more concrete & real, it is not just about waking up, it is almost as though we are trying to cheat death. Leiris records something similar which Blanchot called a turning back upon himself, "A movement anologous to the one that often tends to elicit similar screams from me just as I am about to awake. But in this case the movement was considerably more frightening; instead of those interminable pangs one experiences when emerging with difficulty from a dream, I was in a sense being precipitated downward by my dream, plunged into a sleep from which I would never escape, and which would be my death."

This book, first published in 1961, is commonly considered to be a companion to Leiris' great autoethnographic work, _Manhood_. It is simply a collection of recorded dreams spanning a couple decades. Beyond the fact that Leiris' dreams are interesting, what adds value to the work is that is that it's historical and biographical context can be reconstructed through Leiris' other work. Highly recommended for those interested in Leiris, surrealism, or the social network surrounding Georges Bataille.

I've owned this book for a number of years, and have found it really helpful for finding prime birding locations in Ohio. It could stand a little updating, & the maps are not very useful, but the detailed directions of how to get to a location are really useful, when coupled with a DeLorme map for the state.

Thomson's division of the state is also rather odd. There are locations that seem to be arbitrarily grouped into a geographic region that it doesn't seem appropriate to be in.

Overall, it is very useful if you're going to be doing birding in the state and are either a new Ohio birder, or coming from out-of-state to do some birding.

this is the requierd text for my microeconomics class. varry dry stuff but thurough and well organised

My 11 month old boy/girl twins love this book, it is their favorite. The pictures are clear, bright and well organized. When I start to read it they come crawling over to look and listen. It has started to come apart, but it is on their wish list for their birthday. My only negative comment is that I would like to see a larger number of photos in some of the groupings.

This book is an excellent introduction to Norse mythology for young readers. The individual myths are set down in a logical order so that the reader can understand the religious belief system of the ancient Norse people. I do not recommend this book to any adult who would enjoy a more in depth read on the subject; however, it would be a good read for an adult who just wants a quick and enjoyable overview of the subject.

I wish more children of European ancestry would embrace their heritage and read up on the myths of their folk. We can all learn a lot about who we are by studying the beliefs that are actually native to our respective peoples.

This books starts from zero up to Administrator level. It's very clear and contains valuable information. However, I wish it explains more detailed examples on some complex configuration like multiple domains and post offices.

A good overview of US law. There are issues which are matters of opinion and not explained well enough (ex. ethics), and perhaps needn't be addressed at all in a law book. The examples and the references make it a worthy purchase overall.

Life in the Old West was perilous and uncertain. There were fortunes to be made in the gold fields and in the enterprises that followed the gold rush. Yet law enforcement was not well-established, and stagecoach and train robbers could wipe out a fortune as quickly as it was made. The Wells, Fargo Company needed a way to protect the great sums of money its coaches were responsible for delivering. It hired James B. Hume, a California lawman, to take charge of its detective bureau in 1873.

James Hume was a different breed from the stereotypical western lawman who winked at civil rights and abused authority. He was just as concerned that an innocent man be kept out of jail as he was that he find the guilty man. And he had an impressive record of catching the guilty man, the most famous being Black Bart, the "Po8" stage coach robber.

Pioneering methods of criminal investigation which are now used widely, James Hume dug pellets out of a dead stage horse in order to do a ballistics test, and he tracked down Black Bart with the laundry mark from his handkerchief. Determined but patient, he logged an impressive number of solved cases.

This biography by Richard Dillon reads as smoothly as a novel. He used James Hume's own letters and diaries, which are in the Wells, Fargo Museum in San Francisco, for his research as very little had been written about Hume's life. He not only relates the fascinating events of Hume's public life but mines his personality as well and finds a heroic and likable figure.

In a time when we could use more heroes, I enjoyed reading about a real-life hero who contributed to the colorful past of the West and still maintained his integrity.

I purchased this book in hopes it would help me to eliminate my fear of blushing - which I only have a problem with at work - not socially at all.

I was hopeful because I have read many books and tried almost all suggestions. I felt like a complete fool sitting in my room tapping on my body in various spots while at the same time humming tunes and counting aloud from 1 to 5. Well it sure doesn't cure blushing but it did give me a laugh of how silly I must have looked and how gulible I feel now for purchasing this book. I'm really glad that it worked for others - either my problem can't be helped with this method or this method just doesn't work on me. Good luck to others!!

This book, for the first time, gives the reader the opportunity to read about state-of-the-art TFT, from its founder, Dr. Roger Callahan. I found the book to be very well written and an excellent introduction to Dr. Callahan's work. All of the TFT algorithms, complete with instructions are given in this book.

To comment on Mr. Kansky's review, the books he recommended and other similar ones were written by people who either didn't study with Dr. Callahan or who studied with him years ago, and are not up to date on the latest findings in TFT. For people who want state-of-the-art, top of the line TFT, my advice is to read Tapping the Healer Within and also another recent book of Dr. Callahan's, Stop the Nightmares of Trauma. My advice to people is don't miss out on the latest findings by reading books written by people who are not up to date with Dr. Callahan's very recent work.

The procedures in Tap the Healer within have a long track record of success with thousands of people. It is understandable if people are skeptical -- I certainly expect them to be as I was myself in the beginning -- but the good thing about this book is that it gives the reader all the instructions necessary to try the procedures and make a first-hand judgment of their effectiveness.

As a psychotherapist, I have now been practicing TFT for four years and even though I have trained in other innovative treatment approaches, I have not found anything that compares with the kind of results I am able to achieve with Callahan TFT, on a regular, very predictable basis.

Just read a few pages and tried a few exercises for OCD and depression. And, guess what, it works. That's all I can say, IT WORKS!!!!!