John Warden is the unsung hero of the Gulf War. He was the architect of the air campaign that brought a million man Iraqi army to its knees in 38 days. He now has taken this great ideas to the corporate and non-profit worlds. Probably the best strategic thinker in the world today, you can see and hear Warden on all the networks commenting about the war against terrorism. Great book--easy to read. Highly recommended.

Darnall's book covers was bought as a requirement my Master's Degree Program. It not only made sense but helped me understand how really good project managers made a difference.

As others have commented, this is a very good introduction to the basic topics of philosophy from a great 20th century philosopher. Russell focuses almost entirely on epistemology in this book, offering a thorough grounding of the most fundamental issues of human knowledge. The writing is very clear and straightforward in a way that is good for both the philosopher and general public. I couldn't have dreamed of a better writing style for such a book topic.

I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 because the focus is pretty much entirely on epistemology and I feel Russell does not discuss metaphysics or ethics as much as he could have. But don't let that discourage you...this book is valuable to the philosophical newcomer.

I bought this book because it was recommended for further reading in my philosophy class. I figured it was going to be a pure drag...you know, Huge words, vague sentences, so on and so on. I have to say that this book is the complete opposite. Bertrand Russell brings the topics right down to earth and explains them in a way that the average person can understand. The last chapter, "The value of Philosophy" is written with beautiful style and is an enjoyment to read. Here is a qoute from this chapter

"Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many possiblities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom. Thus, while diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it greatly increases our knowledge as to what the may be; it removes the somewhat arrogant dogmatism of those who have never travelled into the region of liberating doubt, and it keeps alive our sense of wonder by showing familar things in an unfamilar aspect."

This book definetely has sparked in me an interest in philosophy. If you are even remotely interested in the subject, I recommend you buying it too.

This is my favorite book of Bertrand Russell's, both as an introductory and technical work, and it is probably so because he wrote it before he went too deeply into analytical and empiricist philosophy to remember his rationalist roots. ...His summaries of Rationalism vs. Empiricism are also excellent, though 20th century rationalism is probably today what he describes as the middle ground position between both views in his book. Most 20th century rationalists accept the *causal* importance of sensory perception in forming many *a priori* beliefs, so the new term is not *a priori* knowledge, but *a priori* justification. Empiricism is the dominant school in philosophy today, but I think that will change in time because empiricism cannot justify many of its epistemological conclusions in any way that do not undermine the justificatory role of thought.

Some of the accounts of "sense data" and "knowledge by description" are a bit tortured, partly because Russell tried to avoid metaphysics as much as possible, and I personally do not believe that they are ultimately correct. However, the discussions are still good introductions. People who read more rationalist philosophy from the likes of Brand Blanshard and Laurence Bonjour as well as analytic philosophers like David Armstrong will get a better insignt into where the real debates about some of these issues lie.

On the whole, a good introduction to philosophy, even though it doesn't touch upon ethics and politics. However, philosophy is a difficult subject and one book, even the best introduction, cannot make clear all the problems that some of the best minds in history have wrestled over...

Exceptionally well-written book which helped me through a most difficult time in my life. This book is an incredible gift to someone who is grieving. The authors share their most intimate griefs, thoughts, and outcomes with the reader. The book is easy to read. Could not put it down until I had finished it. I have shared this book with many of my friends and relatives who were experiencing loss and grief in their lives. They, too, have benefited by the wealth of information provided in this book about loss in our lives. The book leaves a reader with a sense of understanding about what and how we grieve. I now carry with me one of the most eye-opening thoughts from this book which is: "we are taught all our lives how to acquire, but never to grieve". How true this is. Once we learn how to go through the process, we can then open our eyes to the world again.

"So much of life depends on how well we deal with the inevitable losses that occur. It is wonderful to know that something as helpful as The Grief Recovery Handbook exists to help those who are dealing with death, divorce, and other losses." Jane Seymour, Award Winning Actress, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

"You don't know me, but you probably knew of my Dad, Michael Landon. I have known and been helped by John W. James and Russell Friedman, in seminars and through the incredible process outlined in The Grief Recovery Handbook. Whether your loss was recent or a long time ago, this book is invaluable in dealing with all of the feelings caused by significant losses of any kind." Leslie Landon Matthews, Ph.D.

"I am familiar with the life affirming work of Russell Friedman and John W. James at The Grief Recovery Institute. I am pleased to recommend theri new book, The Grief Recovery Handbook. While we all know how to grieve, completing the pain caused by loss is essential. This book is the toolkit for recovery." Tom Campbell, United States Congressman.

"The Grief Recovery Handbook is an oasis for anyone who finds themselves wandering in the desert of grief and loss. It is refreshing water to a thirsty soul." Rev. Bob Sands, Hollywood, FL.

"I have referred many congregants to The Grief Recovery Handbook, they have all found it helpful. I will continue to use it in my counseling sessions." Rabbi Mel Glaser, N. Brunswick, NJ

"As the bereavement care director for a mortuary, I find The Grief Recovery Handbook an invaluable resource. One of the strong points of the book is its respect for widely varying religious and professional principles when dealing with unresolved grief issues." Agnes Lestico, Lompoc, CA

For more than a year after my father died, I felt as if I was going in slow motion, while the world raced past me. Time didn't seem to have done anything to heal me, in fact I was feeling worse. My friends tried to talk to me and help me, but I couldn't hear anything other than my own despair. One of my dear friends, in desperation, gave me a copy of The Grief Recovery Handbook. That simple act of kindness changed my life. In the solitude of my own home, without having to try to feel good so others would think I was okay, I began to read the book. Almost against my own will, I began to take the actions and do the exercises outlined in the book. One of the hardest parts about them, was that they were too easy. I began to realize how much I had been complicating the possibility of recovery by trying to use my head to fix my heart. As the direct result of creating an accurate picture of my entire relationship with my father, and completing what had been unsaid or unfinished, I regained the gratitude I felt toward life, and the energy with which to live it. While I have normal sadness and miss my dad from time to time, I am able to sustain a life of meaning and value, even though he is no longer physically here. What happened for me feels like a miracle, but in reality is the result of the safety and encouragement to take action provided by The Grief Recovery Handbook. I am eternally grateful.

. . . to really achieve its full potential, this play needs to be acted out on stage. Still, highly excellent, involving twins, cross-dressing, love tangles, sword-fighting, secret marriages, music, disguises, mistaken identities, high speech, and lowbrow humour.

The entire play takes place in Illyria. In the main plot, Orsino is in love with Olivia, who unfortunately does not return his feelings. Viola is shipwrecked on the Illyrian coast, and dressed as a boy, comes to serve in Orsino's court, where she of course falls in love with Orsino. Meanwhile, in Olivia's court, some of her courtiers plan a cruel--but funny--practical joke against her pompous steward Malvolio. There is also a third plot later on involving Viola's twin brother Sebastian, who has been shipwrecked likewise. Naturally things get quite confusing, but, true to Shakespeare's comedic style, everything gets worked out in the end.

This is an enjoyable book to read, and the notes are very helpful. However, it is still better as a performance.

"Twelfth Night" is one of the famous romantic comedy written by William Shakespeare. Many critics said, "Twelfth Night" is the masterpiece among his comedy because his fully developed style and insight are in the "Twelfth Night", so it has special value and attractiveness.
There are four main characters in "Twelfth Night" ; Duke Orsino, Olivia, Viola, and
Sebastian. Duke Orsino who lives in Illyria loves Olivia, so every day he send one of
his servant to Olivia's house for proposal of marriage. However, every time Olivia
refuses his proposal for the reason that she lost her brother before long, so she is now
in big sorrow and can not love anyone. One day, Viola comes into Illyria. She and her
twin brother Sebastian are separated in a shipwreck and they are rescued by two
different people in two different place, so they think the other one is dead each other.
Viola disguise as a man and become a servant of Duke Orsino, and then she fall in
love with Duke Orsino. But, Duke Orsino loves Olivia and he send Viola whose new
name as a man is "Cesario" to Olivia for proposal. Unexpectedly, Olivia fall in love with
Cesario!! Therefore, love triangle is formed. In the latter scene, Sebastian also come into
Illyria, so the confusion getting worse. However, in the end, all misunderstandings are
solved and Cesario become Viola, so the four main characters find their love.
There are also four supporting characters in "Twelfth Night" ; Clown, Sir Toby Belch,
Malvolio, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. They make the readers laugh through their funny
behaviors and comments in subplot.
"Twelfth Night" is very funny story and enjoyable book, so I recommend you.

I didn't read this particular version of Twelfth Night, so I'm rating the plot, not the editing. This book was the first play by Shakespeare that I read, and I loved it! It starts when Viola and her brother, Sebastian, are seperated in a shipwreck. Viola decides to disguise herself as a boy and work for Orsino, the duke. Orsino sends Viola to tell Olivia that he loves her. Viola does what he says, but she wishes she didn't have to, because she has fallen in love with Orsino! Then Olivia falls in love with Viola, thinking that she is a boy. While all this is going on, Andrew Aguecheek is wooing Olivia, who scorns him. Also, Maria, the maid, Sir Toby Belch, Olivia's uncle, and another servant write a letter and put it where Malvolio, a servant, will see it. The letter says that Olivia is in love with Malvolio. Malvolio immediately starts trying to woo Olivia. Maria and Sir Toby pretend to think that he's mad, and lock him up. Meanwhile, Sebastian comes to town with Antonio, the man who saved him from the shipwreck. Antonio gives him his purse and says that he must stay away from the city because he fought against the duke in a war. A few minutes later, Antonio realizes that he needs money for lodgings and goes to find Sebastian. In the city, Viola is being forced to fight Andrew Aguecheek for the right to marry Olivia. Antonio sees the fight and hurries to intervene. Orsino recognizes him and has him arrested. Antonio asks Viola for his purse so that he can pay bail, thinking that she is Sebastian. Viola denies having had a purse. Then Sebastian comes up. Olivia had found him and married him on the spot, and he, deliriously happy, had gone away to give Antonio his purse. On the way, he met Sir Toby and Andrew Aguecheek. When they try to force him to fight, he punches them and goes on. They come up too, bitterly accusing Viola. (No one has seen Sebastian yet.) Then Olivia comes up and speaks to Viola, who denies being her wife. Orsino becomes angry with her, thinking that she has married Olivia, and accuses her of treachery. Just as things are looking bad for Viola, Sebastian reveals himself. Then everyone is happy (since Orsino falls in love with Viola on the spot) except Andrew Aguecheek and Malvolio, who is later set free. The plot of this book is a little hard to understand, but it is halariously funny and makes for happy reading.

Everyone deals with grief at some point. "When Children Grieve" by John James and Russell Friedman is an amazingly helpful book. After the recent death of a dear friend, I needed help in understanding grief from a child's perspective. This easy to read book explains that it's healthy to grieve, and that adults need to allow children time to heal. "Children need to feel bad when their hearts are broken. Adults should never try to fix a child's loss."
Also, the book explains that grief doesn't just come from death, but instead can be motivated by divorce, pet loss, moving and even a parent's job loss. Grief stems from sudden change in ritualistic behavior. As adults, it is our role to facilitate the child's emotions by helping them discover "undelivered communications." This book teaches adults how to reach out to children and guide them through difficult times. It's a must read for all parents who want to encourage emotional growth and mental wellbeing in their children.

I am a conservative, grumpy, old, Lutheran pastor, vehemently opposed to all things "New Age." I despise the fads of pop-psychology. "Touchy-Feely" advice from so-called experts, who demand exorbitant fees, often makes me want to wretch. So, I approached this book filled with trepidation.

There was no need for my concerned.

Writing with extraordinary gentleness and common sense Mr. James, Mr. Friedman and Dr. Matthews have provided adults with an invaluable outline on how to shepherd the children in their lives through loss, grief and recovery. Every parent, grandparent, teacher, pastor, priest, rabbi, nurse or physician who expects the children in their lives to suffer the death of a pet, suffer the death of a relative, move or endure a divorce will benefit from reading this book.

Do yourself a favor. Read this book for the sake of the children whom you love. It is well worth the investment of your time.

Then, do yourself a second favor, and place a copy of this book in your church, synagogue or public library for the others who will grow by reading it.

After reading this book my eyes have been open to the conversations I have had with the children I teach and those that I come in contact with. I felt that this book is one that anyone in any profession could relate to. The book's focus is on how to help our child deal with grief or loss but I feel that it even teachs us, as adults, how to communicate with children in an every day conversation.

During the first 7 chapters the authors focus on the myths that we as adults communicate to our children, and inturn see the myths that were communicated to us as children. Everyone at some point in their life will deal with loss/grief of some sort and also helping someone they love deal with loss/grief. We all must be equipted with the knowledge of how to do this effectivly. This book is an easy reading book that at anytime can be pulled off your home library shelf and put to good use.

Pretty well done. Golf Rules Plain & Simple is a book that I hope only gets better with future editions.

With that in mind, I offer some suggestions that the author or other readers may want to comment on.

Some suggestions:

While there is a footnote that gives the author's opinion as to the more important rules, he doesn't use them to order his book. Rule #1 (for example) is about seeking advice on golf club selection - and of his five key rule situations - the first one drags in at Rule Number 18. Also, it would seem to be much more helpful to put yellow and red staked hazards on adjoining pages for the reader to compare and contrast.

After stating each rule situation, the author gives the most common mistake made (first) before giving the correct procedure. This is not helpful and potentially confusing. When telling someone how to do something - do you want to start with the wrong way or right way? Nothing wrong with pointing out the common errors - just put it at the end.

Some more could have been expected as to the top issues. For example, how to come to agreement with others as to where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard. Things to say to an opponent could make this a lot less trying in match play, for example.

To the author, page 67 talks about a provisional ball played for a ball that you think is lost in a water hazard. Agreed. But the more common argument is when it is unclear. Where is your explaination in the book that if you don't see it land (and stay) in a water hazard - the ball is assumed to be lost? Another point that your book appears deaf on - what happens (for example) if you are playing a match and hit a ball towards the woods bordering the fairway. You don't have any indication that it is a hazard (it looks like normal woods from the tee) - you announce your intention to hit a provisional ball as you may have a lost ball. You and your opponent both agree as to where the ball seemed to drop down. You find your ball but those nice woods actually turns out to be a red stake marked lateral hazard. You have a shot to the green (without penalty) that you would like to try. Your opponent says no. He says, "you can't use the provisional ball rule when a ball lands in a hazard. Lack of knowledge of the hazard's existance offers no help. You need to play your second ball (i.e. no longer provisional)as it is the live ball" (in other words, no five options for a lateral hazard). Is he correct?

Finally, while you give the five options for a lateral hazard correctly, a note that "playing it as it lies" also means no grounding of the club (while covered elsewhere) would be a helpful reminder here.

Hope these suggestions help.

Though the rules of golf are not as difficult as they are often said to be, they can nevertheless be arcane at times, but this book does a good job demystifying them. Knowing the rules can save you strokes, as you can sometimes use them to your advantage. In a format small enough to fit in a golf bag but with print big enough to read easily, common situations are presented, then common mistakes in this situation are shown, followed by the correct way to play. To help even further, one or more pictures accompany each of the 37 situations. All this, along with a modest price, combine to make this an excellent purchase for the golfer without the patience to read the official rulebook.

Like most golfers I think I know the rules, but I don't. Who has the time to read the very confusing USGA rules book?

Mark Russell simply and clearly explains the basic rules of golf. O.B., lateral hazzard, lost ball-these are the rules that 95% of golfers DO NOT understand.

Thanks Mark!

Alan

Written from the perspective of Owen Brown, son of John Brown there is a great deal within the pages of Cloudsplitter that can be admired. It is in many instances well written, evocative, moving and extremely powerful. The strengths of the novel are to be found in its depth of description both in terms of events and environments. For example the reader gains an excellent understanding of the hardships of existing in certain parts of 19th century America. Furthermore, the author develops the characterisation of both Owen and John Brown with a great deal of skill.

However, at 758 pages this book is far too long and at times I found that length of description replaced depth of description which for this reader was reflected in a lack of momentum and development. Consequently, I at times became frustrated at attempts to flood me with language rather than lead me with it. The second half of the book - after Owen and his brother Fred head off to Kansas ( a move which would lead them to Harper's Ferry) - picked up pace and I felt that I had more invested in the story. I do wish however that this could have happened before page 549!

I gave this book three stars because that's right in the middle of what I could have given. I suppose this is because Cloudsplitter for me hangs in the balance, one side represented by fine writing and the other by at time over indulgence. Ultimately I'm glad I read the book but for me it isn't an epic or the great American novel (as it is described on its cover). A measure for me of how much I've enjoyed a book is how many times I'll loan it out to friends and family - Cloudsplitter I regret to say will spend some time of my bookcase.

This is an impressive book in scope and execution. It's told through the tortured memories of John Brown's third son, Owen, who survived the doomed attack on Harper's Ferry.

The book pays little attention to the Harper's Ferry adventure and to the Browns' adventures in Kansas, and concentrates instead of the social and familial context of Brown's actions. There is considerably more attention paid to Owen's relationship with his father and his obsessions about sex and human relationships than to the cowboy style adventures in Kansas.

While it is written in a stately and measured tone, it does not have the feel of something written in the late 18th century, and Banks' narrator seems comfortable using words and constructions which sound quite modern. Perhhaps because of this, the book never drags in spite of its enormous length.

The central question the book seems to me to ask his the eternal one about ends justifying means. The Browns' seemed to know that the actions that they took in Kansas were morally wrong--yet they believed, and Owen believes at the time of the writing, that had John Brown and his gang not perpetrated the Pottawatomie massacre that the entire course of American history would be different. They believed that the moderate free-soil politicians would have sold out, that Kansas would be admitted to the Union as a slave state, and that Lincoln would never have been elected and the NORTH would have seceded. Of course we'll never know, but we have to ask ourselves if their actions were justified given what they believed. Definitely shows you the terrorists point of view.

Very good book on a fascinating subject.

Russell Banks, whose novels are set in the Adirondack Mountains where he lives, now takes on the life of John Brown, whose grave lies close to his residence. Telling the story through Brown's son, Owen, years after the famous invasion on Harper's Ferry, Banks gives a tale of fact mixed with fiction and speculation. Owen tells of a man devoted to the ending of slavery, and to an unyielding God, and how this affected his family. Though Browns exploits are described, Banks is not intending this to be a book of history. Like many historical fiction novels, Banks focuses on what might have been, based on letters and stories of fact. Like most of his narrators, Banks' Owen has somewhat of an ambivalence toward the events of his life. He feels guilty becouse he survived the invasion, and escaped prosecution. He tells of sexual frustration, and his inabilty to accept his father's religious convictions. In Cloudspltter, Mr. Banks has given his readers an interesting perspe! ctive on how a all encomapssing athourity figure leaves those under him unable to get a solid grasp on thier own identity.

Shakespeare's play, "Othello" is usually recognized as one of his "great" tragedy's (with Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth). It certainly has a quite exciting plot and great poetry. If you have not yet had an oportunity to read this great work, I recomend it strongly. It is still an intelligent treatment of race, family and civic duty, and sex. It also has one of the most interesting bad guys around - Iago.

I read it in the Arden edition, edited by Honigmann. Honigmann argues that Othello has a strong claim at being Shakespeare's greatest tragedy and makes a strong case for the work. He has a good introduction that gives a quite balanced and clear overview on many topics regarding this play, from the "double" time method Shakespeare uses, overviews of the various characters, as well as a the stage history. Amazingly, he can be remarkably balanced, even when he is talking about his own views. While he is a decent writer, Shakespeare is better... In the text itself, he gives quite ample footnotes to help explain the language, why he picked particular readings, as well as where themes came from...

Like all scholarly Shakespeare editions, the notes are in danger of overloading the text. This reader, however, recognizes the distance between myself and Shakespeare and so I find it comforting to be able to look at the notes when I have questions. At times his "longer notes" were awkward, but there is no easy way to handle this amount of material.

Jealousy is perhaps the ugliest of emotions, an acid that corrodes the heart, a poison with which man harms his fellow man. Fortunately for us, Shakespeare specializes in ugly emotions, writing plays that exhibit man at his most shameful so we can elevate ourselves above the depths of human folly and watch the carnage with pleasure and awe.

In "Othello," the "green-eyed monster" has afflicted Iago, a Venetian military officer, and the grand irony of the play is that he intentionally infects his commanding general, Othello, with it precisely by warning him against it (Act 3, Scene 3). Iago has two grievances against Othello: He was passed over for promotion to lieutenant in favor of the inexperienced Cassio, and he can't understand why the Senator's lily-white daughter Desdemona would fall for the black Moor. Not one to roll with the punches, he decides to take revenge, using his obsequious sidekick Roderigo and his ingenuous wife Emilia as gears in his transmission of hatred.

The scheme Iago develops is clever in its design to destroy Othello and Cassio and cruel in its inclusion of the innocent Desdemona. He arranges (the normally temperate) Cassio to be caught by Othello in a drunken brawl and discharged from his office, and using a handkerchief that Othello had given Desdemona as a gift, he creates the incriminating illusion that she and Cassio are having an affair. Othello falls for it all, and the tragedy of the play is not that he acts on his jealous impulses but that he discovers his error after it's too late.

It is a characteristic of Shakespeare that his villains are much more interesting and entertaining than his heroes; Iago is proof of this. He's the only character in the play who does any real thinking; the others are practically his puppets, responding unknowingly but obediently to his every little pull of a string. In this respect, this is Iago's play, but Othello claims the title because he -- his nobility -- is the target.

Shakespeare's Othello is an interesting and dramatic tragedy. If you like imagery and irony, you will like Othello. Shakespeare uses the power of imagery skillfully to develop themes throughout the play. For example, recurring animal imagery is used to sharpen the contrast between people and beasts, showing how Iago and Othello begin to act more like beasts than human beings. Irony also adds much to the plot of Othello to make it interesting and exciting for the reader. Much of the irony used is dramatic irony because the reader knows of Iago's plot, while the characters in the play have no idea what is about to unfold. The relationship between men and women in Othello is another aspect of the play that makes it interesting to read. Iago's wife Emilia, for example, is very cynical towards men, probably from years of living with Iago. Othello and Desdemona's relationship is also intriguing. In the beginning of the play, Othello and Desdemona are seemingly deeply in love with each other. Othello, however, is rather easily convinced that his wife is cheating on him and becomes angry to the point where he cannot forgive Desdemona. He decides to kill her. As she is being murdered, Desdemona tries to protect her husband's innocence in her own murder. Another interesting aspect of the play which makes it stand out from other Shakespearean plays is the race of the main character. Othello is black and a Moor, or Muslim. This fact brings up issues to be explored in the play. Shakespeare shows the characters being separated not only by status and rank but also by their place of origin and their religion. Overall, Shakespeare's Othello is dramatic, well-written, and thoroughly explores how evil a human being can become.