This book is pretty lame compared to other texts on the market today. The YI Jin Jing description is terrible and of no use what so ever. Neither is the Shaolin 5 animals forms that are discribed in minute proportions. I don't care what the history of the manuscripts are, this book offers no definitive information. It is very vague and elementary, a lot like Smith's other books. The fighting methods shown are a poor representation of Shaolin skills. The true essence of Shaolin is beyond any manuscript, let alone a hoax manuscrpit from Taiwan, which is the inspiration for this book.

The book was alright, although lacking the excitement and in depth explanation of other kung fu books. The work did not contain any "secrets" of Shaolin Temple as the title implies, simply the basic facts and techniques that anyone with any knowledge of Chinese martial arts would know. Not necessarily the greatest book for your martial arts collection, but a semi-interesting read nontheless.

I have found that many treasures are understated. The same applies to this book. The essence of Shaolin tradition, I believe, can be found in the 68 pages. It doesn't look like much, but I believe that the essence of Shaolin is represented.

This volume purports to be an account of how early AA members depended on the Bible as their primary source of spiritual guidance. But, as in so many cases, the "historian" here has a definite agenda. In this case the agenda is to advance the author's religious beliefs by attempting to use the "historical record" to show that AA is today minimally successful (a "tiny" recovery rate in the author's words on page #8) compared to the "early days" when the author purports the Bible was widely used as the primary spiritual sourcebook.

A great example of the "scholarship and objectivity" of the author's research is on page #7 where he makes his first and chief argument concerning the success rate of early AA. I quote his first paragraph of that section exactly:

"Early AA claimed at least a seventy-five percent success rate among those who really tried. Early AAs, who were "medically incurable" in the late 1930's, actually recovered from their seemingly hopeless disease at that very high percentage rate."

This quotation is footnoted specifically with footnote #20. At the bottom of page 7, footnote #20 is there as expected. It looks quite impressive. Again, I quote exactly:

(20) Big Book (3rd ed., 1976), pp. xiii, xv, xvii, xxiii, 17, 20, 29, 45, 90, 96, 113, 132, 133, 146, 165, 309, 310.

There are exactly 17 pages referenced in that footnote. Anyone can open up that most widely distributed edition of the "Big Book" (Alcoholics Anonymous, ISBN 0916856003) and find that there is not one single reference to AA's success rate on any of those pages. Not a single one. I checked each page referenced, just to be sure, and so can anyone else. On most of the pages referenced, there is nothing even remotely related to the author's footnoted subject-matter.

A typographical error perhaps? Seventeen of them in a row? Historical scholarship? A desperate attempt to document a tidy revision of AA history? You be the judge.

In contrast to this author's "scholarship", here's an actual fact that can be easily verified by thousands upon thousands of AA members, including my own 25 years of AA experience. Every day in AA meetings all across the world, people are happily sharing their personal spiritual success stories and their authentic relationships with God and the resulting relief from their addictions. A significant number of those people (if not most) do not find it necessary to claim any religious affiliation whatsoever, or dependence on the Bible, or any other particular religious text. This state of affairs is evidently very, very disturbing to the author. It shakes his particular "the Bible is the only way" belief-system. I believe that undeniable reality motivated him to write this book.

If this book had stopped with researching early AA's spiritual roots, it would have been a success. When it crossed the line over to evangelism, it failed, especially when its foundation is built on the unstable sands of research of the quality of the above example. Definitely not recommended, unless it is reclassified as fiction.

The A.A. program came into being by breaking away from the Oxford Group. There have remained splinter groups which attempt to practice 'pure' Oxford Group programs. Such groups regularly claim that their special version of AA is '100% successful.' This is easy to claim if all failures are rationalized away as failure to comply with this religious program. One pamphlet makes this clear by stating that drinking cancels AA membership.

AA states: 'The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.' There is NO religious requirement for AA membership.

The A.A. pamphlet "44 Questions" includes the following:

"Is A.A. a religious society?

"A.A. is not a religious society, since it requires no definite religious belief as a condition of membership. Although it has been endorsed and approved by many religious leaders, it is not allied with any organization or sect. Included in its membership are Catholics, Protestants, Jews, members of other major religious bodies, agnostics, and atheists.

"The A.A. program of recovery from alcoholism is undeniably based on acceptance of certain spiritual values. The individual member is free to interpret those values as he or she thinks best, or not to think about them at all.

"Most members, before turning to A.A., had already admitted that they could not control their drinking. Alcohol had become a power greater than themselves, and it had been accepted on those terms. A.A. suggests that to achieve and maintain sobriety, alcoholics need to accept and depend upon another Power recognized as greater than themselves. Some alcoholics choose to consider the A.A. group itself as the power greater than themselves; for many others, this Power is God - as they, individually, understand Him; still others rely upon entirely different concepts of a Higher Power.

"Some alcoholics, when they first turn to A.A., have definite reservations about accepting any concept of a Power greater than themselves. Experience shows that, if they will keep an open mind on the subject and keep coming to A.A. meetings, they are not likely to have too difficult a time in working out an acceptable solution to this distinctly personal problem."

There's a whole new rush to find out what early A.A.'s did with the Bible. I'm a Christian and a Bible student. And I'm delighted to see the trend. I've read Dick' book; and it think it meets the growing need for information that's been missing in 12 Step movements for many years now.

The test of a true prophet is his accuracy. Cayce has been wrong and does not glorify our lord and master. Check your bibles and verify everything

This is another good Cayce book, and it's unfair to bash this very spiritual man without a through study of his words. If we read what Cayce specifically said regarding Jesus Christ, we see how every reading he gave in trance, as in all areas of his waking life, he never once denied Christ or his divinity or his love for us. Rather, Cayce often said that nothing we do in any lifetime is as important as loving God and our neighbor as ourselves. In one very powerful group of readings, he taught that by his suffering and death, Christ actually took upon himself all our worst karma and thus freed us from that endless Karmic-Wheel-of-Rebirth Hindu's long to be done with. If we accept this salvation of being released by Christ's sacrifice from the necessity of subsequent births, but choose nonetheless to reincarnate, we do so as servant-souls: that is, our lives become a gift we're not obliged to make. Mother Teresa is a good example of such an evolved soul who came back not for her own spiritual gain, but to lead humanity closer to God. When people questioned Cayce about the safest place to be living during the coming earthquakes/tidal waves, he would reply, "Why do you worry so about where your body will be? You should be more concerned about where you are in your relationship with HIM every day!"

I don't take the Bible literally, and I don't mindlessly swallow everything Cayce says either. But I liked the exercises, which more or less focus on a "resonance" method -- that is, do the pictures, time periods, etc. resonate with you.

A good book of letters should bring its subject to life for the reader. This book is dry to the point of being brittle. At no time time during the reading of this book did I get any sense of what Oppenheimer was feeling or experiencing. Oppenheimer was involved with one of the pivotal events of this century and the whole experience comes off like a trip to a neighborhood store. The recollections mentioned in the title are not those of Oppenheimer but of friends and family. Like the rest of the book their thoughts and memories add little to the understanding of Oppenheimer's life and work.

J. Robert Oppenheimer was better at keeping himself hidden than most people, and you won't learn a lot about him from these letters, but it does a give a rare, patial glimpse of a very mysterious person.

This book is not meant as general reading. For more colorful writing, see Smith's _A Peril and a Hope_. Letters and Recollections is, however, an incredibly valuable resource for those of us researching the time period and Oppenheimer. There were letters, interviews, and insights that I simply could not have obtained anywhere else. Smith has a personal connection with Los Alamos, and that shows in her writing and sources. She gives an side to Oppenheimer like no other book I've read (and trust me, I've read a lot of them). Thank you, A.K.S.!

It really does only take one generation to take the martial out of the art. Smith looks to take an art based on circular theory and turn it into a linear mish-mash to 'help practitioners of other arts understand its nature'. But wait! Isn't the nature of Pa Kua circular? This book is good for very little beyond its small dose of Pa Kua history. So if you have any experiences with Pa Kua leave this book on the shelf.

Mr. Smith presents the first ever English book on the linear Baguazhang of the notorious Gao Yiseng as taught by Hong Yixiang in Taiwan during the 1950's. Smith's teacher Hong was famous for his no hold's barred fighting skills, and was feared during a time when all out street fights were a common event and popular pastime. Many of his students went on to become expert bagua and xingyiquan practitioners and continue to teach today.

Mr. Smith never claimed to have attained his master's skill, but he did do his best to present the art for the benefit of those in the West unable to witness this extraordinary martial art first hand.

This volume inspired many to travel to Asia and many more to seek out teachers of the internal arts. You too will find lots of interesting instructional advice, history and presentation of classical linear and circular forms to enjoy.

Unfortunately there are a few ignorant souls among us who don't understand very much about the history and development of Bagua. This is understandable as there are many different branches.

I advise the innocent to go out and find a teacher of Gao style Baguazhang who can swiftly show you that the linear Bagua forms are very useful. When you recover consciousness you can begin to study them. In the process you will hopefully learn to keep your mouth shut about things you know so little about.

Sincerely, a fellow student

The author has fallen into the trap of dividing the animal world into herds and preditors. Ecologically the most sucessful preditors have been pack hunters. If he had understood this, he might have developed his argument for Promethian Satanism more convincingly. As it is, he has missed the mark with regard to love. No K-selected species can endure with out it, since it allows for the investment in progeny. His view that to a Luciferan the ultimate predation is predation of God, I found odd, since I haven't found many on the Dark Path who take God seriously. On the positive side,this book does point out the distain many feel for agape. It was a valiant attempt, and the logic sound, in that, the conclusions did flow from the premises. A better grasp of Ecology should improve his next book.

Crafted by a master of hyperbole, this author has mastered the art of bringing coffee table reading on genetics to the masses

Robert Smith, a student of Avraham Gileadi's works, makes some bold, but unconvincing attempts to look into Gileadi's study of Isaiah. Where Gileadi opens some wonderful vistas of Isaiah from a macro-level, Smith tries to build upon Gileadi's work from a micro-level. However, the reader will find that Smith really stretches in many of his conclusions.

Instead of leaving the reader some suggestions on what things could mean, Smith forces his beliefs down your throat and leaves no room for another point of view.

Smith believes that the Davidic Servant is John the Beloved based on D&C77:9&14. However, Smith fails to give commentary on scriptures that oppose that view like D&C 27:6-7 and JST John 1:21-28. He also stretches when he says that food storage is the "oil" that the five wise virgins must have to be "raptured away" onto the exodus by Angels.

Unlike Gileadi that will give the reader parallels and types to demonstrate what Isaiah and other prophets are telling us, Smith attempts to make huge jumps across the Grand Canynon based on one scripture here or there which he is unable to clear with so little material.

For the serious student of latter-day prophecy, I would suggest that one not waste their money on Smith's works and just study Gileadi's research.

No question, the author is opinionated and states his beliefs without any mention of other possibilities or intrepretations. I, unlike the other reviewers, find this attitude refreshing. I like an author that says what he means and means what he says. It gives you something to sink your teeth in and this book led to a much greater depth of study and understanding than I would have without reading it. Of course it's offensive and controversial, but I've no doubt that Christ's coming and judgements will also be offensive and controversial.

I'm not at all saying that I agree with everything the author says,however. But I found when looking in other Isaiah commentaries, and that's what this book really is, time and time again I found more main-stream Mormon authors at least stating that these interpretations are plausible. I recommend you try it if you wish to follow the Savior's admonition to search the words of Isaiah.

Mr. Smith has interpreted one of the most difficult books of the Bible because it was written in metaphors and types in order that the true meaning would not be understood until the last days when we most needed this information. Because he is a brilliant man who took the time to learn Hebrew and study with an elderly Rabbi who knew the way of translating of the Jews, that is how he unlocks the message in this most prophetic book. He is a very conscientious writer. If he is not sure of something, he will qualify it. This book gives the last days in chronological order. If you want a translation straight from Isaiah, see his book, "Scriptures of the Last Days." For people who truly want to know the truth, these books give an experience in understanding and will clear up rumors and untrue things that have thus far been circulated.

Like other reviewers, I will read a book to the end no matter how bad. Characters were too predictable as was the outcome. Too much meaningless detail e.g. "and Randi's blond hair was barely visible from underneath her watch cap." Who cares! A number of parts were simply ridiculous and never connected. Another example: Marty gets the bright idea of posting a message on the internet in an attempt to find out how to rescue Jon Smith who is bound and gagged by the bad-guys ... Peter (MI6) and Randi (CIA) agree that this is a great idea. How stupid is this??? The man is captured and they are going to give him a laptop with keyboard and internet access??? I suppose the bad-guys were going to give him a StarBucks card and wireless connection. My wife and I read this pig out loud and just howled at the poor writing -- towards the end we just invented our own senarios to get through this disaster. My advice: Avoid Gayle Linds.

If one is fond of this genre, one will find an interesting trend beginning to develop. Several well-known authors are taking on co-authors (apprentices actually) in their latest offerings. Patterson with his latest, Cussler with his latest, Clancy for some time and now, Ludlum with his previous two and this one, THE PARIS OPTION. Of course, Mr. Ludlum passed away over a year ago (an incredible loss to the literary world) and anything with his name will be co-authored or a reissue. For those of us who are die-hard Ludlumites, any taste from the Master is welcome. However, these co-authored books are less than authentic and THE PARIS OPTION is no exception.

Robert Ludlum was the absolute ruler of intrigue. If you are reading this review and haven't read a "real" Ludlum, pick up The Parsifal Mosaic or The Matarese Circle or the Bourne series (unlike a previous reviewer, I felt the Bourne movie didn't do the book justice). These books will absolutely put you on your heels. Ludlum had a way of telekenetically transporting the reader into the story. You are there...with the characters....truly spellbinding! In the co-authored books, apparently Mr. Ludlum's only contributions are the short outlines and a mentoring review (this, per an interview with Gayle Lynds). In the combined efforts, Ms. Lynds (and Philip Shelby in THE CASSANDRA COMPACT) develops the storyline and characters, which is what most hard-line Ludlum fans miss the most from Mr. Ludlum himself. While Ms. Lynds does a reasonable job of creating a suspenseful plot, it falls short of Ludlumite expectations. I would even go as far to say that if this was a standalone offering from Ms. Lynds, it might receive a more favorable critical review if for no other reason than not having to live up to the Ludlum standard.

To the story.......Jon Smith, our resident M.D. and superspy of Covert-One, returns from THE HADES FACTOR to unravel the mystery of the missing DNA computer. The brilliant French scientist, Emile' Chambord, is clandestinely putting the finishing touches on the world's first DNA computer (a computer combining life and computational sciences thereby creating a "living" machine) in Paris' own Pasteur Institute when an incredible explosion shatters the Institute and ostensibly Dr. Chambord and his invention. When Smith discovers that his friend, Marty Zellerbach, was in the Institute working with Chambord and was seriously injured in the blast, he drops his current research and heads for Paris.

Once there, the mysterious explosion, the frightening potential of the DNA computer and the uncertainty of Chambord's death throw Smith into the middle of an international crisis. An unknown cabal calling itself the Scarlet Shield, a pan-Islamic organization, is apparently behind the terror. Ultimately, Smith is joined by his spook cohorts from HADES, Randi Russell of the CIA and Peter Howell, retired (sort of) with MI6.

The plot is timely and has the requisite sharp edges. The character definition is moderate (better if one has previously read HADES) and the climax is probably the best part of the book. All-in-all, a decent read but if you're looking for this book to have the delictable flavor of a Ludlum thriller, you're likely to be sorely disappointed.

I'm beginning to think that this book has gotten so many negative reviews because the reviewers have decided in advance to resent anything Ludlum coauthored with anyone. If you respect the man's other work, then let's respect his decision to collaborate on whatever level it worked out to be with Lynds, and give the Paris Option and the series a chance.

The Paris Option was, in my mind, even better than the two earlier ones and a heck of a lot better than a lot of Ludlum's standalones, particularly from 1992 to 2000. Many of them were tedious, painfully overwritten, almost unreadable.

This book reads fast, is highly suspenseful, and I learned a lot along the way. Obviously a lot of research went into the authors' creation of the molecular (or DNA) computer. We're going to see one in maybe twenty years, but in this novel we get quantum physics on an understandable and exciting level. I don't know anyone who's written so convincingly about a DNA computer.

Plus, there's the growing political and economic conflicts between the United States and the European Union. Again, Paris Option delivers. Political suspense at its best. Yes, of course, the world is in serious danger in this book. This is not just a spy thriller, it's a political thriller ... a THRILLER. If you want something small and intimate to be the source of conflict, go read one of the wonderful so-called literary books that are out there.

One of my favorite aspects of a Ludlum novel is the intricate intrigue he creates. I don't know how much of this is Ludlum, and how much is Lynds, but it's one heck of a terrific entwining of villains and maybe-villains. One group of terrorists seems to be behind everything, then . . . no! It's another group. Finally, the heroes figure out it's another party. And mind you, the clues are there all along. The authors play fair. When each twist happens, you feel as if you should've spotted it. For someone who usually does, I was really happy. It's no fun if you figure out everything in advance.

And finally, I found the supporting cast ... Peter, Marty, and Randi to be fresh and unusual. Interesting. They're tough, and fun, and they talk like real people. They have moments of black humor. There are times when they're on top of everything, and other times when they fail --- both individually and as a group. You stick with them because you know they're in there pitching, and you hope and hope that they'll triumph in the end. They make a great counterpoint to the seriousness of the hero.

And one final thought about who actually wrote and who actually outlined and who actually edited ... or whatever else one wants to complain about. If Lynds did it all, more power to her. If it was a collaboration based on outline and notes left behind after Ludlum's death, more power to both of them. I've heard that the way the two men who created Ellery Queen collaborated was that one wrote the outline and the other one wrote the book. They grew to detest one another and never met unless they had to. Nevertheless, that's a respected "collaboration." Let's get off our thrones and quit judging.

Personally, I'm going to give Lynds's books a try.

Well, to put it short, this is a boaring book. Mr. Ludlum skill, knwoledge and writing style are been buried with him and what last is a naif atteimpt to imitate his "way".
The plot is pretty like a soap (including the "idea" of the US President's father who live since 50 year in a light security chinese prison) and some passage (as when Jon Smith enter in the carrying company ran by the bad people, just picking the locks with medic disguised pick tools) are really light year far away from a serious confidence with the covert operations literary topics.
Not to mention what happens when dealing with weapons: it seems that the gun/rifle universe of Ms. Lynds stops to "old AK47", Beretta and a few others.
I don't think Mr.Ludlum would be happy with this book.

In addition to the novels Robert Ludlum wrote before his death and which are being published posthumously, he also created the idea for the Covert-One series. He wrote brief outlines (approximately eight pages) for the plots of the introductory books in the series and then critiqued the work of the authors assigned to write the stories. Thus, the early books were quite Ludlumesque in the intricacy of the plot and the intensity of the action. However, it is now sevral years since his death and this story could best be dubbed "Ludlum-Lite" since his actual involvement in this story appears minimal. The plot is complex but much more straightforward than his own novels; the action is not as heartstopping although just as deadly, and the geopolitical intrigue is much more straightforward. Gayle Lynds (this is her third Covert-One book) has the genre right, but not the Ludlum intensity and surprise factor.

The story involves a potential showdown between the United States and China regarding a ship that has a cargo bound for Baghdad that is suspected to include chemicals used in weapons of mass destruction. The suppposedly true manifest of the ship's cargo has beeb acquired by an American agent in Shanghai. Captain Jon Smith is sent to rendezvous with that agent and obtain the manifest so that the US Government will have the proof required that any attempt to board and search the ship before it enters the Straits of Hormuz is not an act of aggression. However their meeting results in an ambush and the death of Smith's contact before the manifest can be transferred. However, the agent did have time to inform Smith before Jon's escape from the assasins that President's Castilla biological father is still alive after fifty years of captivity in a Chinese prison.

The efforts to both obtain a copy of the manifest and ascertain the truth with regard to Castilla's father are complicated by the fact that a human rights treaty is in the final stages of negotiation and there are hard line factions in both governments that would like to destroy the increasing detente between them. Finally, there appear to be leaks at the highest levels of the US Government regarding all secret actions taken during the heightening crisis. As usual, Covert-One Director Fred Klein is the link to Smith's clandestine operations. And to the surprise of no reader of this series, CIA operative Randi Russell (the sister of Smith's dead wife first introduced in THE HADES FACTOR) plays a key role in Smith's survival and the ultimate success of his mission.

As the above summary should make clear, this is an action spy thriller in the Ludlum style - the heroic operator with powerful forces arrayed against him and with only minimal help. There is also the usual cynicism regarding the political motivations of most leaders and the necessity for political considerations often overwhelming simple choices between right and wrong. What is missing is the Ludlum touch that turns the routine thriller into a story that you can't put down and are often surprised by the outcome. My rating is intended to convey that this is an average novel of this genre. I enjoyed it, especially the fact that the series involves a continuing cast of characters who we are gradually coming to know. So, if you have read and enjoyed the earlier books in the series, you will probably find this worthwhile. And it is a very fast read. But you should read this series in order. One warning, the book suffers from inferior editing and proofreading.

Most importantly, unless you find Ludlum too time consuming and complex or the violence too graphic, all the books published under his name exclusively are far superior to this series. Their consistent quality helped create and define the genre, and even the recently published THE JANSON DIRECTIVE continues that tradition. Reading them will not only prove truly enjoyable but show you why he is the bestselling American author of all time. So read the BOURNE triology and all the others first, then read these if you have time and still want more.

This book was wonderful! Timely with its issues, keeps you locked to the page, rich with information and characters - you move through this book at a frenetic pace, devouring page after page until the end - an oh what an ending! From the cover, it looks like this was written by Gayle alone based on the series with Ludlum and to be honest, I think she's outdone the master! This one will keep you turning the pages until well in the morning. Bravo Gayle! On another fantastic read.