The designs in this very slim book are very basic and few; more suitable for a beginner,since they are not overwhelming in the least. My ten year old daughter seemed to like working with this book a lot. The simple designs include a cornflower,silverweed,chicory,poppy,tufted vetch,foxglove and a few others. My favorite project was the flower panel shown on the cover which is as complicated as it gets in this book; Shirley Watt's "Flowers in Cross Stitch" is more appropriate for higher skill levels.

The designs in this book are lovely but somewhat limited. The designs are broken into 9 sets of projects, such as gift tags, and bookmarks with a different floral motif per project. I was not particularly taken with the book as I was looking for something with more wild flowers and not "projects". There are roughly 17 different flowers or use of flowers in this small book. If you like flowers with long stems this is a great book for you, as most of the designs contain long stems. Not bad but not great.

The designs in this book are simple, nice, and useful for a variety of pieces of stitching. You could do cards, samplers, sachets, towels... just about anything. I like this book, and I have a lot of cross stitching books. I'd recommend this one for stitchers of any level.

As dull as a freshman thesis. The coincidence of the author's name being the same as Belle's maiden name (Shirley) might tend to establish him as an authority. However, no actual familial connection is established. The book seems to proclaim itself the final authority on Belle's life and claims to separate fact from fiction though there seems to be little proof that the book is any more factual than any other. The book's boring narrative turns one of America's most colorful female characters into nothing more than a one-dimensional criminal with no regard for the other aspects of her personality. By belittling other more interesting texts, it ignores the conflicts that were bound to have existed in a well educated Confederate woman who can only defend her family from the Union soldiers who have killed her brothers and destroyed her home in the only way a woman can fight -- with her feminine wiles. She probably fought in the only way the disorganized Confederates in Missouri could fight, by robbing and pilaging Union strongholds. Belle must surely have been confused by the depravity of war and its must surely have conflicted with her refined upbringing. She attended a fine finishing school and was an accomplished musician and singer as well as an expert equestrian. She used her education to defend the downtrodden American Indian in court and defended the Confederacy to the end of her life. She married men only to see them die in violent conflict. She provided for her children and according to the descendants of those who knew her in Southeastern Oklahoma, to the end she was a lady. By depicting her as nothing more than a one dimensional depraved specimen of criminality suitable only for academic study, the author has done exactly what the he criticizes other biographers of doing. He has mingled his own interpretations (fiction) with fact and used the facts to benefit only himself. Perhaps that's the tragedy of her life -- No one will ever know the facts and everyone will change them to their own advantage.

Many books have been written about Belle Starr, and Glenn Shirley's is the only one that reveals the known facts and leaves the rest to folklore. Living in Fort Smith, part of Belle's old stomping grounds, I've met many people who to this day still proclaim to know who Pearl Starr's father was, and at last who killed Belle Starr. Unless the bodies of Cole and Belle and Pearl and Jim Reed are dug up for DNA testing, the "truth" will never be known. And as for Belle's death, it will always remain one of the great mysteries of the Old West. Glenn Shirley does the best of any author in comparing fact and hearsay about this great legendary figure, and if anyone wants to read the best book on Belle Starr, this one is it. Steven Law, ReadWest.com.

I have just one question for Mr. Gordon: does he find that condescension and old-fashioned ridicule really works in convincing people to abandon their beliefs? I find it hard to imagine but like so many Promethean debunkers out there, they must, as a group, collectively believe it does, for why else do they rely on it with such regularity? It's not that Channeling Into The New Age isn't a relatively entertaining and highly readable work, it's just that I found Gordon's demeaning personality and arrogance tiresome and juvenile. I know he believes he's only attempting to save the ignorant and superstitious masses from themselves-a commendable goal to be sure-but I can't help but believe he's not into debunking more for the sheer enjoyment it brings him. To refute Gordon's work topic by topic would take some time; suffice is to say he takes the New Age "gurus"-and Miss MacLaine in particular-to task on a number of issues, from channeling and the use of crystals to reincarnation and UFOs, all of which has been done before and since by better writers. There simply was nothing new in any of this. While I found myself agreeing on a few points, most of it was just another litany of insults (he especially enjoys working the words "nonsense" and "gullible" into every other paragraph) with little meat on them. His status as an outsider puts him at a great disadvantage; much like trying to attack Roman Catholicism without once stepping foot inside a church or making any effort to understand it's precepts within the context of its own history, it just can't be done on anything more than a superficial level. The New Age movement cannot be attacked the way one would take on an established religion, for it has no set doctrines or dogmas that one must adhere to. The entire idea behind it is that one is free to explore their own spirituality as they wish and pick and choose those elements that speak for them, while ignoring other ideas that do not. I really don't think Henry understands that, preferring to attack it en masse as one would, say, Mormonism. For example, he castigates reincarnation without, I think, really bothering to try and understand it. In one instance, he rejects more enlightened interpretations of how karma works-that as an "educational" element designed to encourage spiritual growth-by declaring that that isn't how it has been traditionally taught (as though ancient concepts can't be refined and rethought over time.) In this and other areas, Gordon talks at great lengths about things of which he knows little, dismisses entire concepts out of hand as "nonsense," again without taking much time to discuss their merits or weaknesses, and generally dismisses all psychics and parapsychologists as con artists, fruitcakes, or-at best-well-meaning but seriously deluded quacks. Of course, Gordon saves his most voracious attacks for Miss MacLaine, whom he seems to admire even while attempting to humiliate her. Not a huge fan of the actress/New Age guru myself, I still felt his efforts to attack her beliefs to be mean-spirited and juvenile. Instead of confronting her philosophy on rational/logical grounds, he instead devotes whole chapters to listing various remarks she has made and then writing some cute rebuttal designed, I suppose, to enlighten us to the dangers her statements represent. While Gordon makes a few good points and does us some service, I guess, in making us aware of the potential pitfalls and dangers the New Age movement-and Shirley MacLaine in general-represent, the general tone of the book is that of a bratty schoolkid who snickers at others who aren't as smart as he imagines himself to be. Good try, but there are better books out there.

Shirley MacLaine, while talented as an actress, has certainly made a name for herself. She's made some of the most absurd statements in history, especially that we are all God. Comforting, huh? And, because she's a public figure, she's known to have made them. I mean, it's not like "my sister's friend's cousin told my uncle..." i.e., scuttlebutt. And she's written it! People actually buy her books on her communication with the great beyond. And they pay a fortune for her seminars; the book refers to an estimate of $4 million she grosses from one of her tours.

Has Shirley toned down? It's irrelevant to the book which was written in the late 1980s.

Overall I like the structure of the book. The author attempts to define the "New Age" and describe its motives. I think there's more to be said than he does about that "New Age," but he adds a shade or two to it that I hadn't thought off, notably that its tendency to provide quick and easy answers is a sign of our times. He then covers many of Shirley's statements, and those of other gurus, e.g., J.Z. Knight, channeler of Ramtha, whose words of the wisdom of some 35,000 years ago I long for to guide me through these troubled times. He even covers WHY belief in such nonsense is dangerous--and that's something many of the books do little of.

And MacLaine reveals an irony: The author refers to her liberal political action, e.g., her participation in McGovern's campaign (1972) and her opposition to the Vietnam Warm. But I see her New Age pronouncements as the ultimate in conservatism: Your condition you brought to yourself (karma, or a dozen other concepts depending on the country/religion). That must be comforting to her and to the people who pay her thousands for a weekend seminar on how to be no less than God.

Gordon reviews many of MacLaine's statements. And they speak--or don't speak--for themselves. People who complain of the cynical nature of the book need only read those utterly meaningless statements. And one of the final chapters is on the crossover between science and the mystical. Shirley, for example, frequently nonquotes Albert Einstein. She, like that other guru not covered in the book, Deepak Chopra, frequently refers to "quantum" physics--while laughably understanding NOTHING about the subject. However, the sardonic nature of the text makes it more appropriate to those already skeptical of MacLaine and other such gurus. While I'm not confident that a more reasoned, scientific, or even educational text will convince those who believe in MacLaine's absurdities to reject or at least challenge them, it may help us all argue more effectively with those who do subscribe to her flatulence.

The book is fun, but not one I would use for a course, say, in critical thinking.

Learn the basic words necessary to communicate when traveling Tapes provide correct pronunciation and are easy to listen too when driving. Each Lesson can be mastered in one day if one is diligent, however, it may take others 10-12 days!! Give it a try, you have nothing to loose

The idea that anyone can satisfactorily learn a language in seven days is ludicrous but, I took the bait and bought the book. Given the fact that it is popularly priced, I didn't waste any money. The seven days are actually seven lessons. Each lesson might be mastered in a week, not a day. The premise of the book is that a family takes a trip to Spain and each lesson represents a day in their week's journey. Each day presents different situations. The characters in the book are in Spain for seven days but the lessons cannot be mastered that quickly. If you accept the fact that you should use the book over several weeks, it's not a bad book but I am relying on other sources to learn Spanish .. most notably, Berlitz's fine cassette course "Basic Spanish"

I actually read this book cover to cover, I'm still not sure how. Phillips work reads like one long rambling run-on never getting to a point. The entire book could be summed up by the following: "Mediation is good, litigation is bad" and "Mediators are great." If you read these statements you can throw the book away. It is a steady repetition of these themes told through less than interesting cases and accounts. This book oversimplifies the subject and has little in the way of concrete, applicable information.

I found this book to be an excellent guide to the topic of mediation. Concise, and very well written. Should be required reading for anyone looking into alternative dispute resolution methods.

If you are looking for a real discussion about these important prophesies...one with a researched and clear understanding of the prophesies and their *traditional* meanings, then you should avoid this book. If you want to read an uninformed stream of consciousness that is a cross between babble and rant with a lot of airy opinions and unsubstantiated woo-woo thrown in, then this is your book. These two "writers" are profiteering off of sacred teachings and people's fears. They come across as underqualified and overly self-impressed. They should be embarrassed...

Upon reading this book I was thrown into new thoughts and more culture than the average American neighborhood. Hearing these words of wisdom turned my soul unto a brighter level. I really enjoyed reading this and I think anyone interested in Prophecy would be well tuned to read this book as well. I simply read it in 3 days time in my free time and I find myself wanting to read it over and over. In these times of global warming and the severe heat and fires on the Earth and Political change I found that this was a suitable guide to making change in my personal life and getting in touch with a side that often remains hidden from myself and others. I hope to read more from this Author and I highly recommend it. Thanks. God bless.

As a die hard Redskins fan, I was very sorry to see this excellent concept so badly muffed. The idea behind this book is to cash in on the Washington Post vault, providing great photos and articles combined with new pieces by long-time Skins beat reporters to tie it all together. Sadly, whoever edited and proofread this thing reeeally dropped the ball. Sentences at the bottom of the page are repeated at the top of the next, photographs are mislabeled, pieces of sentences are missing, words are chopped off in the middle. Probably still of some value for the die hard Skins fan, but a real black eye for the Washington Post. If their newspaper were produced as shoddily, Richard Nixon would have finished his second term.

Yes, there are some typos and such in the early chapters but the book isn't as lousy as described in the 2-star review. Most of the problems are hyphen-ated words that are not at the end of a page or line. It is like the typeset was changed but the book was not reproofed.

Still, there is a lot of good information in the book. I think it covers items that Loverro's book (very good as well) ignored or glossed over-- how Gibbs wanted to sign and trade Riggo and how Joe Jacoby ended up sticking around in that first camp. The Times summary makes it sound like Gibbs and Beathard were geniuses building a team. This book shows that they were also lucky geniuses. If you are a Skins fan, you should own this book.

I see there is also a newer edition out with the Synder years (ugh).

Dreary style makes for bad reading. There are other better titles on the same subject(s). I can't help thinking Powell comes across as pompous sometimes.

We see in your list that Robert Powell narrates many of your books. It is imperative for us to contact him to invite him to a celebration in Jerusalem. Please advise us how to contact him. Thanks

If I were to rate this book on marketing and appearance, it would get 5 stars. The cover is nice, the title is catchy, the paper is high quality, and the text is nice.

But all that glitters is not gold. And maybe not even silver, or come to think of it, worthwhile. This book glitters, but definitely isn't gold.

The main problems I had was that it is full of logical fallacies and irrelevant, anecdotal, and circumstancial "evidence." Actually that's two problems. Big ones.

But don't believe me because just *I* said so. Here's an example: she says that because the Hebrew equivalent for the letter "h" has a particular meaning within Kabbalistic Numerology (itself a distinction she slyly fails to make), the letter "h" in English therefore has the same meaning. Since when are different languages interchangeable? Next thing we know it'll be Greek, or better yet, Korean!

And her "evidence" is largely anecdotal. Most people know that if you set out looking for something, you'll find it; if you have a preconception about the way it's supposed to be, it quite likely will end up being that way. And of course she found the "evidence" she needed to "flesh out" her dog- er, I mean beliefs. As such, her stories become very shaky "evidence," at best circumstancial.

This reminds me of another thing that bothered me a lot. Ms. Lawrence should probably study physics along with metaphysics; there are four elementary particles so far discovered: neutron, electron, proton, and neutrino. She also made several other scientific errors - perhaps the next version will correct those "minor errors" as well. Bad Science isn't such a big deal ... unless your book has "Science" in the title.

All of this -[in my opinion] - thoroughly destroyed Ms. Lawrence's credibility.

I don't have anything against Ms. Lawrence or numerology (I'm quite fond of the latter, actually), but it was seriously disappointing to buy this book and find it to be so uncredible. If I disregard what I knew both before and after reading this book, the "hidden meaning of numbers and letters" would still be "hidden."

I've been enchanted with the Science of Numerology for several months now and was delighted to happened upon this book. The study seems to take off and form a personality of it's own..insatiable! Each new discovery is a victory, but leads to an even greater need for more information. Ms. Lawrence seems to be a tuned-in kindred soul in that she addresses all those questions that come to mind. She addresses the history of every number/and corresponding letter, she validates what you've discovered on your own and shares her own invaluable findings. The book is well thought-out, beautifully written and jamb-packed with facinating information. Wonderful Read..thanks.

Glenn was an Oklahoma Lawman and as such his predjudice keeps this book from being as good as it could be. Your reviewer is the son of Oklahoma bootleggers and a descendent of a Doolin gang member...as you read the book notice how many times Marshalls supposedly call from perfect ambush positions.."hands up"....For someone who has seen Oklahoma law enforcement at close range I find those scenarios tough to swallow....not that I blame the Marshalls for this, these outlaws were desparate men and have already killed 3 marshalls in a direct confrontation in Ingalls....to his credit he does show the importance of informers as opposed to smart detective work...all in all if he wasn't so ready to swallow whole all the Marshalls accounts this would be a better book..but then in so many instances the lawmen were the only surviving witnesses

Glenn Shirley provides a wealth of information on various outlaw groups of the Old West. West of Hell's Fringe earmarks the accounts of gunslingers that occupied Indian territories inside what is today Oklahoma. Shirley has gone through what seems to be great detail in separating what are factual and fictional accounts of the episodes that occurred. Such names as the Dalton Gang, Bill Doolin, Charley Bryant, the reader not only gets lured into the eyes of these outlaws, but it gives them a taste of how life was in an era infamous for lawlessness and liquor. The book is brought more seemingly to life through the pictures shown of the outlaws and their captors. The book places repeated emphasis on the U.S. Marshals of the time. The book not only tells the story through the glimpses of the outlaws' eyes, but it allows one to stare down the barrel of the lawmen's guns as they and their posse's ride for the wielding of justice and the standing reward. Glenn Shirley does an excellent job documenting the accounts given in the book. Every complex and tangled idea that is presented is well annotated with: where the information is gathered, and where further information can be located. What is really exciting about the book is it offers up the accounts of the United States Marshals and their rides by giving up the false deception, and by offering the information that this is the most widely held belief. It also says this is what could have happened as well. The subheading of this book tells all Crime, Criminals, and the Federal Peace Officer in Oklahoma Territory, 1889-1907.