This book forms part of a series on the exploration of Christian traditions. It served my purposes beautifully since I was curious at probing the development and the differences between the various RC orders. Esther De Waal is quite an expert on the Cistercian tradition, being an erudite Merton scholar. In this book, she writes an easy to read synopsis of the Cistercian Order and what makes it unique. I find the book informative and invitng to read. It also introdued me to some greats such as St. Bernard and Aelred. An excellent addition to a religious library.

"Deborah and Doria Darke are twins, but they are not really at all alike. The only thing they have in common, from when they are eight-years-old, is a passionate desire to be ballet dancers." So reads the inside flap of this wonderful book by Allan (aka Jean Estoril) that I searched for over ten years. I read this book as a pre-teen and have loved it ever since (even though I couldn't remember the title). I was thrilled to have found it again. Dark-haired Doria is plagued by a feeling of inferiority towards her talented, blonde twin Debbie, especially when it comes to ballet. Debbie seems to dance through life with a breezy self-confidence, but Doria always has to try harder. The twins have a falling out after competing for the coveted spot at the ballet academy, but after enduring an emotional divide through their first year at school, they finally reconnect. And Doria realizes she is not quite the ugly duckling she thought she was, after all. Any girl who likes ballet will adore this book and its sympathetic heroine.

Of course the illustrations are adorable! But even better, Jenny shows by example what is to sacrifice something for the greater good of all. Even though she does the right thing, it does take a little thinking on her part. Young readers will be able to identify with Jenny's feelings and see how it is that sometimes you have to think of others before yourself. Older readers will just fall in love with Jenny again, or for the first time. What a spunky little cat!

This and Ether Veltheim's other books are cleraly written for the western mind. This book challenges the mind to question oneself and how one obtained the beliefs they have. It jars some of your beliefs from their comfortable positions. This book is for anyone that is seriously questioning who they are and what is real versus illusionary. This is a life changing book if you let it be one.

Thank you for the delightful book. I am not a teacher, but I know many and know what a challenge teaching can be in this day and age. I loved the inspirational stories, but was entranced with "Labor of Love." It was a true analogy of what so many of my friends are experiencing. I hope you have the inspiration and time to write further on this subject.

Admittedly the map is not the territory, but one does need a map first, and Harding's classic book fills that need very well. If one will set Ego aside for the nonce and read this book with heart and soul, i.e., openmindedly, one will be in for quite a surprise, perhaps even some healing insights into oneself. :)

Esther Myers, building on her background in Iyengar Yoga, finds a balanced and integrated style through the teachings of Vanda Scaravelli (author of "Awakening the Spine"). This book balances the history and philosophy of yoga with postures, breathing and meditation. She also includes personal anecdotes from her life, including her battle with breast cancer. Esther's approach is down-to-earth and her descriptions of the postures are clear, including drawings or pictures for each. I find myself going back to this book over and over, as a yoga teacher, to take in her simply profound wisdom and insight into yoga. "Yoga and You" is both inspirational and practical and highly recommended to anyone who is either just starting out, or has been practising yoga for years. An incredibly beautiful picture of the author with her cat shows a truly gently natured woman whom you feel you want to get to know as you read her book.

Young Esther Rudomin lived a charmed life in a small Polish city, despite World War II raging around her. She and her wealthy family had always felt removed from the war, until a knock came at the door one Sunday morning.

The Russians who had taken control of Poland were arresting Esther's entire family for the crime of "capitalism." They were loaded into foul-smelling, crowded cattle cars and shipped all the way to a Siberian outpost. Once in Siberia, the whole family, including nine-year old Esther and her frail but feisty grandmother, were forced to toil in dangerous mines or to work outdoors in brutal weather.

As the days stretched into months, Esther and her family became accustomed to the harshness of their new lives. Their priorities changed; Esther learned to value things she previously took for granted, such as a day at the fair, a chance to attend school, and a costume party.

This true story (Esther Rudomin became Esther Hautzig) serves as a reminder that indignities and cruelty happen everywhere, and that the human spirit can be resilient enough to overcome any obstacle. Despite the deprivations she suffered, Esther matured into an articulate and vivacious young woman.

Although the story could perhaps benefit from some editing in its long middle sections, it is a solid introduction to an important part of history, told through the eyes of one who lived it.

Esther's life is perfect. She loves her parents, has everything she wants, and has a lot of friends. When she and her family are exiled to Siberia during World War II because her father is a capitalist, her world is turned upside down. Esther has to adjust to all the changes. She goes from a pretty, little, rich girl to a poor, dirty, hard-working girl. At one point in the book, a pair of shoes becomes her greatest desire. When first arriving in Siberia, she just misses her toys and books, but later on she discovers the importance of family. This is an amazing autobiographical book. Esther Hautzig wrote The Endless Steppe with great descriptions and plenty of dialogue. She said, "The conversations are not exactly accurate, for then I was speaking Russian or Yiddish or Polish, but the content is [accurate]." I loved the way the author described the cold, empty steppe of Siberia compared to her easy, comfortable life in Vilna, Poland. When I finished this book I realized everything I take for granted. The characters in this story were extremely lucky if they got a shower or a piece of meat. I could not put this book down. I can't believe anyone would be able to live through these experiences. I was amazed at the description of being stuck in a closed cattle car on the way to Siberia for six weeks. The Endless Steppe has a clear and interesting plot. I think this is a heartfelt book with a powerful meaning.

Truly, The Endless STeppe is one of my favorite books. I loved it from the first sentence still the bibliographical note at the end.

I first picked up the book because it was one of the summer reading books in my school's lists. Knowing that most of the books on the list were boring by a teenager's standard, I thought that the Endless Steppe would be another mediocre book. I was mistaken. From the Rudomins' capture (they were declared capitalists in a communist-infested country)to Esther's first glimpse of the barren steppes of Siberia and the concentration camps to the final end of the World War Two, I could not put the book down. Because of the author's accurate and superb details, I was able to feel exactly as Esther did, or her mother, or her grandmother. I also experienced the injustice of the time and other emotions that other books just lacked. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to ANYONE who loves a good book to read.

I read this book cover to cover with my wife before giving it to our 11 year old daughter. If I were to change one thing I would put it in a three ring binder so we could remove some parts such as the oral sex section until she was a little older. However my wife and I are very open minded and we actually went through the book section by section with our daughter and asked her to skip those sections until she was a little older. She even closed the sections with a paperclip for us.

Our daughter is very intelligent and very curious. I can tell you right now that I would much rather have her learn these things from this book than from someone on the street!

I recommend this book for anyone with daughters in the age from 11-18. I also recommend "Our Bodies Ourselves" for ALL women AND men to read.

If you really don't want your daughter reading those sections, then hit them with a permanent marker, or do like that other woman did and rip the pages right out, but don't pass over this excellent and informative resource for young women!..

I work at a bookstore and I noticed that a lot of young middle school girls were buying this book. So out of curiosity I bought one for myself and took it home. Let me say that it tells you EVERYTHING....Every single question you have about being a teen girl is answered in that book. From your body (and even the yucky parts about it) to your brain (emotional problems) and this isn't a little corny valley girl book. And now that I am 17 I thought I knew it all, I thought it was almost over because when I turned 18 being a teen girl would turn into a legal adult girl. But even my stubborn self learned a great deal. It has a lot of pictures and descriptions and comments from other teen girls. If your a parent I suggest you buy this for your young preteen (even 10 year olds!) we all need to be prepared for this time in our lives and there are some things you just can't talk about with your parents... In a nutshell this is one of the best books I've ever read.

Ok what really gets on my nerves is all of these mothers coming on here, saying "MY BABY DOESN'T NEED TO READ THIS" if they don't read it, in an informative, factual style, they will either: Hear it off the street, or at school, by totally unfactual reasonings... or B, live it in their own life. Iam a 14 y\o gurl and I know for a fact, this is what we want to read. If we get this sort of excitment from a book, then we'll keep turning to books, and not trying to live it in real life! Ok? I don't care whether your gurl is 10 or 18! Buy this book! You will always learn special things from it!

This book is crammed with highly condensed notes on "high yield material", covering antatomy, physiology, biochemistry etc. It's been specially designed for the Step 1 exam but it's useful for any kind of preclinical exam (i.e. I'm using it for the British BM part 1 exam).

You will find this book most useful when you already know a fair bit about each subject area; then you can look through it to revise what you know and spot anything you've missed. If you can cover everything in this book you'll only know the basics, but at least you'll know ALL OF the basics ! That should be enough to get you through Step 1 with a good score.

Another great thing about First Aid is its fully comprehensive guide to review resources, both books and on the web. It's also got useful tips for planning your revision.

All in all, a great study aid with a real medstudent-friendly feel. Recommended !

I worked hard through out my first two years of Medical school. We even started studying early for the boards. However when crunch time came and there was a limited amount of time for review I used First Aid. I got the score I wanted and felt like I was prepared for 99% of the questions I had on the boards. If you can use this book during your course work-DO IT! What I did was made flash cards from this book and quized myself. I also used this along with the Clinical Vignettes which were awesome as well.

excellent review book for the step 1. word is not enough to say how much good is this book. read this book cover to cover as much as you can (I read 6 times)then take your exam. without reading this book taking step 1 is a big risk taking. I very highly recommend this book. I call it the BIBLE OF THE STEP 1.