I got to this book years after having read self-help books such as Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain, all of Carlos Castaneda, books about TAO and Zen, Edward DeBono, books about creativity, learning and thinking, various ancient oriental and North American aboriginal authors, etc. I have to rate it very highly as being useful WHEN YOU NEED TO GET TO ACTION. This is a rare thing.

Books that have that authentic ability to trigger you to action are rare, and Gawains book is one. The Act Of Will is also constantly useful to me, as a way to help me clarify my own strengths and weaknesses, and to quickly focus on progress. I got into publishing, but a recession came upon the market, and I got demotivated. I tell you, you can't afford to give up on your own highest aspirations. Will power, from start to finish of some act of creative endeavor, is a challenge. Failures on that path, like bodies in a vicious war, are stacked very very high.

To make your own way in any endeavor, you will find your inspirations, goals, and will power coming up against limits, both internal and external. The Act Of Will really helped me see again, and to feel again, the real value and deserved attention that my publishing was. I should not have let it drift, but I was on my own.

To anyone who can relate to either being or feeling alone when you consider some venture, then why not gather some terrific support. Best advisors are rarely there when you need them (in the flesh). So instead, take the personal advice from geniuses, and get on with it!!

Take this book home and use it. I hope the will power to do that much, is with you today. This book will greatly improve the odds that your will power will be much more consistent and powerful in the very near future.

Cheers!!!!!!!!!!!

I think this book is a great tool to write your will. It takes you through the steps one by one and lets you know exactly what to do. I think that everyone should own it.

I have not read this book. The purpose of writing this is to inform prospective buyers that there's a slight error in the book description. Checking with Kessinger's catalog, this book contains 94 pages and not the stated 226 (check book dimensions).

I did rate this book, however, based on another book I have by the same author and publisher. It is Practical Psychomancy and Crystal Gazing (1907) and at 93 pages it basically has the same dimensions as this book does.

This book covers so nmuch in a short space. Horses,email, shyness, the feeling of not belonging, the political system, standing up for what you believe in, trust, absent parent and Scottish dance. Whoa, did I forget dealing with a chronic medical condition and ecology? But the book doesn't zigzag all over the place - in fact , all the themes tie together in a way to demonstrate that people aren't always what they seem and that confidence can be created.

So much has been written about the smoking controversy, I thought I would just scan Don Oakley's book, but soon found myself reading every word and not wanting to put it down. He writes in a conversational style that makes you feel he's speaking personally to you, as he would in a letter to a friend.

Oakley's natural wit and entertaining style make the facts that he presents throughout the book anything but boring. You will laugh and sometimes shake your head at some of the stories he tells of real events, along with letters and e-mails from real people. He describes the antismoking crusade as "a monumental scam that the antismoking establishment has perpetrated on a trusting public."

Oakley has done his homework and has left no stone unturned as he shows how science and statistics can be twisted to fit a political agenda. This book is not only for smokers but also for those non-smokers who remain skeptical about such things as the "deadliness" of secondhand smoke.

It's a must-read for anyone who values truth and fairness and scientific integrity.

The author has put together an incredible wealth of information gleaned from the internet, scientific studies, and newspaper articles and organised it with serious intent AND a sense of humor that makes it all readable!

He makes a VERY convincing case for the argument that a lot of the "information" that we see on the media about smoking and secondhand smoke is actually manufactured propaganda designed to achieve a "goal" of eliminating smoking not only in America but around the whole world.

He looks at things like the "400,000 killed by smoking" figure that we keep seeing in the news, and at the tactics of some of the extremist antismoking fanatics that have caused so much misery by splitting friends and families over false fears of harm from wisps of smoke.

This book ISN'T just for smokers! If you're a nonsmoker who's concerned about the "danger" you're in from other peoples' smoke you should read this book as well... you might find yourself surprised at some of the lies you've been told!

I think the thing I liked best about the book was its style: the author is SERIOUSLY annoyed (to put it mildly) at the Antismokers and their manipulations of the facts and of peoples' fears and it comes through on every page. His personal touch makes the book VERY readable despite the quantity of information that he's managed to jam into it.

My only criticism would be the "cover art" of the book: it's too reminiscent of an Antismoking poster itself! (Though it DOES illustrate the title quite nicely... :> )

Slow Burn covers all the bases, with a well documented and reasoned look at the anti-tobacco movement and smoking in general. The motivations and junk science behind the tobacco control advocates ...from opportunist pickpocketing smokers to public funded health agencies corrupting science to further the agenda. He is no friend of the tobacco industry, and tell's you why ... nor does he exonerate smoking, as a risk free activity ... but, he does put smoking in human perspective and concludes a smoke free society is not achievable nor a noble goal.

This is a short, easy to read book, intended to give some advice to young couples contemplating marriage. This slow reader began and finished the book within a couple hours, but the length of time reading the book does not reflect how useful the book is. Some of Dobson's main points are: keep Christ as the center of your relationship (Dobson being an evengelical Christian, writing to others who strongly value Christ); make sure you see eye-to-eye on the big things and be prepared to get into big fights about little things; men and women think differently and it would benefit you greatly to learn the way the other sex thinks. Dobson writes in a fluid style and liberally sprinkles in anecdotes, research, and selections from others' works to make his points. In doing this, he makes his main points stand out and makes his book a fun, lighthearted one written about a subject that is anything but light. Recommended.

I am familiar with Dr. Dobson and have a chance to hear him on Focus on the Family each evening on my local radio station. His book, Love for a Lifetime, is a wonderful read and clearly highlights aspects that a pre-marriage couple, newly married couple or any couple needing to direct their focus on the foundation of their relationship. I plan on using his book as wedding gifts for friends that are planning on taking a leap of faith as husbands and wives. Thank you Dr. Dobson for sage and practical advise.

I learned more about building and maintaining a happy marriage from this book than from all the other marriage books I've read combined, and I've read them all. This book is funny, easy to read, and filled with practical, solid christian advise. Dr. Dobson explains the differences between men and women and teaches basic lessons on communications and co-habitation that every married couple should know. I routinely give this book as gifts to newlywed and engaged couples. I've bought myself several copies because I keep giving them away to friends who have troubled marriages. I pray that God will bless your marriage as you read this book.

For this book I had some likes and dislikes.The likes were the adventure part.He found a lot of knew things. The boy named Cloyd was a very good,hard worker.I like that in some people.Will Hobbs, the author of Bearstone had a lot of good detail to his acions and characters in this book.The book relates to me in some what way was,for instance, Cloyd can be courious,adventurous, and a very good hard worker. Some of my dislikes are a little bit of swering in the book.Cloyd would through bad mood swings or say he hated Walter.Their was to much runing away in this book.There were some parts in this book I did not under stand.Like when Walter built a fence to keep tresspassers out and walter turns around and lets them in.Or one day Cloyd would be happy and cherful the next day he would be mad and unhappy.I would rate this book three stard because their were some parts I disliked a lot.It was a good book but not the best I had ever read

Bearstone
By Will Hobbs
Published by Avon Camelot
Copyrighted in 1989

The main character name is Cloyd. The goal of the Cloyd was to have a home. The old man's love helped the character find his goal. The outcome is that the Cloyd start to live with the old man.
The setting is in Utah, on a mountain near the old man's ranch. It is true to life.
Cloyd is a person that likes to keep thing to himself. He can sometime get really mad that he decides to run away.
The old man was in a mine, on the trip to the mountain, looking for gold, in the mine called The Pride of the West. He was mining gold by using dynamites to blow up some of the cave and searching through the loose dirt and rock for ores. When the dynamite blew up, he would run out of the cave yelling, "Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole."
Read Bearstone and other book written by Will Hobbs, I highly recomend these books.

This book really put the fact that being alone is not a good idea into perspective. The book did have somewhat of a dramatic plot. It was like a heartrate line, the suspense came and went throughout the book. The characters were beyond realistic. Cloyd had a problem with the red-haired man, just like people have problems with other people in the world. This book also had a real place as the setting which was very neat! The book showed that "If you put your mind to it, you can do anything". This statement is true because Cloyd wanted so badly to climb the Rio Grande and he ..............................WAIT why would I tell you?

You'll just have to read it to find out!

Dr. Browne's approach in this book is sometimes called "reality therapy." In my opinion, she takes it a bit too far. She criticizes common wisdom, such as "Somewhere I have a soulmate," and "Confession is good for the soul," as fantasies. These views have served many people well through the years. They certainly display an optimistic view of the world and hope for the future(something most of us need). When someone has family, relationship or other interpersonal problems, Dr. Browne seems to say, "That's the way it is in this world and that is the best I can expect from my fellow human beings."

I think the truth is somewhat less pessimistic. We do have a right to expect others, especially our loved ones, to respond positively and lovingly to us, but sometimes it just doesn't happen, and there are usually reasons for their behavior.

Being able to trust and having ideal pictures of the way we wish things to be in our lives is healthy and sane. Realizing that things won't always happen the way we wish, but being willing to do our part to make our dreams come true is basic to modern life. As Earl Nightingale said, "Where the mind goes, energy flows."

Dr. Browne wrote this book as though you the reader are as intelligent as she - a refreshing change from the few other self-help books I have read. Her ideas strike me as sincerely thought out and are presented in a lively, upbeat manner. Her solutions to problems seem highly practical. I read almost the whole book at one sitting- captivated by her fresh yet feasible approach to life. I often think back to this book when conjuring up one of her no-no fantasies. A keeper!

I generally don't find psychology books very useful, too much pseudo science and impractical mush, sorry for the bias, but I am an Engineer and I am used to the "hard" sciences.

Dr. Browne's no nonsense approach is refreshing.

We are all dealt a hand of cards, that doesn't mean we have Aces or a full house, but we can play the hand we are dealt to the best of our abilities. If you accept this, and accept your responsibility to make the best of what you have, then you will have a happy life. This is what Dr. Browne is telling us in this book.

Thanks for the common sense! Remember the plaque at Engineering corner of the Michigan Quad. It has advice of the first Dean of Engineering at University of Michigan, "Young Man, when theory and common practice diverge, use your horse sense!"

The author's solution to the problem described in the book title is simply to rid yourself of all sexual hang ups; you and your partner are then free to become so much in love that sex hardly matters any more. Even if this were a reasonable solution (which it likely isnt) the book gives little useful information on how to achieve that state. The author claims "traditional" counseling can be destructive and spends a good bit of the book on sex addiction, implying that the partner who wants more sex is acting out of a pathology. She defines healthy sex as lacking urgency, expressing itself only by certain sorts of (tame) acts and existing in a state of ethereal bliss so overwhelming that one can scarcely remember what happened. The author's own (healthy) sexual experiences are recounted only because, luckily, she recorded them on paper directly after. There are cases sprinkled throughout the book but most of them will likely be unfamiliar to many readers as they do not generally include typical problems. Finally, the book is filled with bald assertions concerning what sex is truly intended for, what constitutes "healthy" and "unhealthy", what behaviours signal pathology, how couples should behave, and host of other issues (including her famous sexual moratorium which she suggests couples engage in--for perhaps a year or two!!), with no references, no explanation for her opinions and no real support for her arguments. Instead there is a bunch of jargon, unsubstantiated opining and new age posturing toward ethereal (if romantic) goals that most of us will find unrealistic, at best.

After years of sexual addiction, ..., going to adult books stores, I engaged in sexual healing. Anne Stirling Hastings' books have helped me understand what I can do in order to discover what kind of sex is possible now that I have given up this crazy kind. I didn't know it was possible to love my wife so much, and that sex could SEEM so ordinary while it is vastly better than the old kind. I have discovered that the passion that can occur with little physical stimulation is of a different nature than what I got when having sex after watching a porn video, or having sex for the first time with a conquest. I recommend this book for anyone who really wants to find out what sex was meant to be, what it can be. My shame is greatly reduced. I don't engage in sexual jokes or inuendo any longer.

This is the best paradigm shift on the subject of sex that I have read. The commercial standard that sex is portrayed in our society is revealed for what it is. The reader is faced with the choice to continue in that frustrating vein or open the mind to the possibilities of resusitating the natural sexuality that is in all of us.

In this book, Will Self explores gender. Unfortunately, he doesn't really commit. In the first book, a bored suburban woman develops a penis. She doesn't develop a true, honest to God, do-I-dress-left-or-right one, just a nub. There just is not a lot driving her, either. She just seemed like a sad little person, who never goes anywhere. In the companion story, a macho man develops a vagina on his leg. To use the AOL-type acronym, WTF? Why not commit? Why not put it where they generally are located? You certainly won't find one on someone's leg!

Both stories were too weak. He doesn't wake them up completely switched in gender, he does not really show how society treats men and women through the fresh eyes of someone who has undergone a full transformation. He just makes these oddball half-baked chimeras and has all of the consequence of the mutation be a result of their own internal ruminations.

Best ignore this one and enjoy his other, more entertaining books.

There's this woman, right, and she grows a penis!! It's soooo rude! That Will's so naughty! And then there's this subtext about antisemitism and it's so, like, deep! Crikey, he's clever.

Will Self wants to be Kafka. Or maybe he wishes Kafka had never been born then he could have got there first. Let's be thankful good old Franz did beat him to it, and with a lot more style to boot. And Brett Easton Ellis does that shocking nastiness thing a whole lot better, too.

A definite oddity of a book that explores how and why men and women are infinitely different. One woman grows fully functional male genitalia and conversely a male is disfigured with female genitals in the back of his knee. What's most interesting about the books is the emotional metamorphosis, not necessarily the physical one that these two independent people experience.

I liked the idea of the book, however I found the vocabulary to be grandiloquent at times. Reading this book with a dictionary nearby was a necessity for me. This isn't necessarily a weakness, however I found that the book should have been a little more decipherable for being such a small novelette. The story itself was grand; the vocabulary just confused and overshadowed the narrative. I liked the book, and I recommend it, just be prepared to sit with a dictionary while reading.