Truly spellbinding, nicely paced, and perfect length. After you read this book you will be amazed at what is left out of the history classroom. Don't miss a chance to read it.

Gene Smith is a well-known historian who sticks to the facts. Yet his writing keeps his readers intrigued every step of the way. Of course, he is working with a family of thespians and a thick plot to begin with, which always helps. But Smith refuses to include any heresay or rumor - his writing is respectable AND creative. Smith remains unbiased, which is unusual with such a heated set of events. I have read dozens of books on the Booth family, and this is by far the best!

All I'd ever heard about was Booth the assassin of Lincoln. I had no idea he came from such a fascinating and talented family! So many details are given of his life and the lives of those surrounding this one event in history and yet his life is generally summarized in a few sentences. This book (and audio tape which I highly recommend) should be filmed and shown in schools, it's that interesting. Hearing it read brings up images as from the days of radio programs, only more rich in color and depth. I like this book so much I'm trying to find a copy. It must be better the second time around.

I have had this book since i was young, and every time i read it, i cry... After just having to put my one and only pet to sleep (a golden retriever) and having her in my life for 10 years, i went back and read The Visitor... this time i not only cried, but i really felt the story deep within me... It helps me believe that she truly is at peace now...

This book touched my heart so much I have been looking for it for my daughter. I read it as a child and again in 1992 when I found it at a lib. I could have bought it 2 years ago but lost the web site I had found it on. My heart broke when I saw it for sale for $3000.00 because she may never read it. We are a big dog loving family and the story about this Irish Setters life is is so poignant.

I read this book as a kid and it was one of my all-time favorites. I donated it to my local library to share with other kids because it moved me so much. I was a passionate animal lover, so this story for me was not about people, but Irish Setters.

Reading this book is a great way to help kids exercise emotions. The feeling of loss that I had at the end of the book was very painful, but even so, I felt it was something real. So many times, kids' books can be sugary sweet with perfect endings and we don't give kids a chance to learn about more difficult feelings. This book will give kids that chance without scaring or traumatizing them. Instead, the story gives a warm and alive feeling of having lived the experience. After reading the book, I felt like I had grown up a little bit more.

Moment by Moment is just what I needed to give me some focus, balance and perspective in my busy life. It is very attractive, challenging in its probing questions, and reader-friendly. The authors have taken the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius, a 450 year old classic, and skillfully adapted it to the hunger and needs of busy people. I bought the book as gift for family and friends. They loved it!

This book presents a tremendously practical, simple method of incorporating Ignatian Spirituality into everyday life. It effectively combats the hustle and bustle of the times by providing the reader with pointed 5 minute, or "Moment", reflections. These reflections progress over the course of 32 "Moments" and help the reader come to an understanding of the meaning of everyday life, be it glamorous or not. There is much wisdom to the breadth of collected insights found in the book. I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks there is no time for daily prayer and/or reflection. It will make a significant difference.

Gene Hill and Steve Smith are the masters of shotgunning prose and this book is definitive proof.

The book is formatted in chapters of essays and yarns written either by either Hill or Smith. Some of the essays are how-to articles; most are anecdotes. The Steve Smith yarns will leave you laughing, while Gene Hill, as was his style, will leave you deep in thought or simply crying.

Some of the essays had me rolling on the floor laughing...yet there is alot of how to and practical knowledge...discussions on habits and habitat are first rate.

It is impossible to overestimate the impact Gene Smith has had on Tibetan Studies. Smith is universally respected by Tibetologists, Western Buddhists, and Tibetan Lamas. The essays compiled in this book have something for everyone. Their scope covers all four of the major Tibetan lineages, their depth and specificity will interest specialists, their brevity and clarity will interest amateurs. Unfortunately so many publications these days lose their value shortly after publication. Despite their age (up to forty years old), Smith's essays still read like cutting edge research because he proposes so many roads of enquiry yet untrodden.

Gene Smith has the real scoop on Elvis Presley's life's accounts. From rags to ritches; lost to found; and shame to glory-- Elvis goes through it all through his cousin, Gene Smith's eyes.

In this day and age where what seems to make it in this worldis that and those people who conform to the do's and don'ts ofcorporate America, or perhaps I ought say america with a small"a", FM is a most refreshing change that renews my belief that there are still original thinkers out there making personal and important statements that are not only artistic, but personal, cultural, politically relevant, psychologically astute and desperately needed. It is hard to hold onto the hope that individuals can grow up in this world, develop and hold onto and feel good about an authentic sense of self - so kudo's to Lisa Adams for creating this book, and for those whos work appears. I am always impressed by the work of Lauren Hartman who seems to really have found a path to her authentic self - may she never lose that, and may this book inspire others to find theirs.

Gene Smith's treatment of the l868 impeachment and trial against President Andrew Johnson is beautifully written and presents fair, yet compelling portraits of all of the major players. In the wake of the most recent impeachment crisis concerning President Clinton, this book becomes more important than ever.

Being a student of the War of 1812 and of the Battle of New Orelans in particular I eagerly awaited the delivery of this book. The book has four main parts; firstly, the atlas; second, Gene Smith's introduction; third, the extensive appendices; fourth, the narrative or memoir.

The atlas (actually a series of maps in a seperate docket showing the contemporary battlefields and approaches used by the US and British forces)is worth the cost of the book alone. Coming as it does from Latour's hand, Jackson's principal military engineer, it is, put simply, priceless to the serious student. Not only does it help visualise the struggle but much can be deduced by a simple comparison of Latour's battlefield and environs maps with, say, John Peddie's equally contemporary print for the British forces. Also the maps illustrate a host of detail not covered in the general histories (i.e. the correct anchorages and approach points for the British fleet - these I checked with the original ship logs that survive in England).

Mr Smith gives a very interesting introduction. His detail of Latour's life before, during and after the Battle is informative and really helps underpin the memoir by putting it in its proper place (i.e. he highlights the 'blurring' around Latour's actual location on the 8th January itself - was he with Jackson or Morgan? If so did he actually see the battle?) As good as the introduction is, however, I must point out that it is imperfect. The Commander of the British forces was EDWARD and not EDWIN Pakenham and I wish he had said more about Latours relationship with the Jean Lafitte and why Latour latter became an agent for Spain.

The appendix table is extensive and full of that incidental detail that brings history to life. It gives an added dimension to the memoir. Most students will be familar with the key documents repeated here but hidden in the despatches, letters and orders are nuggets of pure gold (i.e. the exchange of letters between opposing commanders - many not always in the official archives). Some of the items appear direct transpositions from already published sources particularly on the British side (i.e. from the London Gazette). This is unfortunate as Lambert's despatch of the battle was censored and an important paragraph excluded which, is turn, is likewise excluded from the tables.

Turning to the narrative itself it is surprisingly short. Of some 400 pages Latours memoir accounts for only 160 pages plus some notes. Of these not all are of real use to the student (i.e. Latour's preface and the war's origins I found superficial and vague). However, Latour more than makes up for this in his specialist areas such as his description of New Orleans and its defences and his descriptions of the Battles of Lake Borgne and New Orleans (not to be read without the appropriate maps) are vivid and substantial. Latour obviously conducted a lot of far ranging research (i.e. with bearly concealed contempt he provides tantalizing details of the fishing village and inhabitants and a number of Pensacola inhabitants who helped the British in their approach. He lists names and places and these too are borne out by the surving records (i.e. Guillemard p.71 received a large some of money from General Keane for his services).

All in all I found Latour's memoir to be an excellent and rewarding read. However, to get the maximum benefit from this book it is suggested that it is read in conjunction with a more modern work on the subject perhaps Frank Oswley's 'Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands' or Robin Reilly's 'The British at the Gates'.

Harding wants to convince us, literally, that we do not have a head. It sounds preposterous but he is rather insistent and, incredibly, it starts to dawn on us that somehow he has a point. The phrase "I have no head" says something new not about the word "head" but about the word "I". Actually what Harding should have written is that "I am not a head": our experience of the world is something much more basic and elemental, and only later do we learn about our head. This becomes clearer when one finds that Harding also claims that we don't have a body. In fact, even after reading the book I shall continue to talk about my head as something I have - it sounds more natural.

I think that Harding is talking about one of the most intriguing philosophical problems of today, which is consciousness. He wants us to become aware of our awareness, and to show how this experience fundamentally changes the way we see everything else.

To my mind, his connection to Zen Buddhism is strenuous. He mentions many passages from Zen Buddhism (and also from some Christian mystics) to make his point. Zen Buddhism is about rational thought being an obstruction of truth, but thinking about awareness is a very rational enterprise. I am not convinced that when the Zen masters talked about the disappearance of the self they meant the same as headlessness. Anyway the connection with Zen adds little to the main idea of the book, which I think can very well stand on its own.

All in all, I think this book touches on something that is really very important, even fundamental. My only criticism is that the book contains much that I thought peripheral and even unnecessarily opaque.

Is the world you experience "inside" your mind or "outside" it?

Puzzle over that little question while you read this underground spiritual classic. Douglas Harding is dead serious (though far from solemn): he wants to show you that you have no head.

You see, he noticed one day while wandering in the Himalayas -- where this sort of thing is apt to happen -- that _he_ didn't have a head. And, in reflecting on the experience afterwards, he worked out a way to bring other people to the same awareness with no need for either abstruse scholarly appartus or esoteric meditation techniques.

All you have to do is turn around the arrow of attention, and try to look back to see who -- or Who -- is looking _out_ from wherever it is you're looking out from. Go ahead. Try it right now.

See?

Well, if you did, you don't technically need the book any more. But Harding is still a lot of fun to read: he has a light touch, a subtle sense of humor, and the ability to compress the keenest of insights into the simplest of prose, so you'll enjoy him even if you've already gotten his point.

And if you _haven't_ gotten it yet, he'll help you to do so. It's really the same point Alan Watts wanted to put across in _The Book: On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are_ (which, for my money, is his best work on the subject). Watts wants you to see that the world is your body; Harding wants you to see that the world is your mind; and they're both right.

This is just a charming book all around, and it will grow on you over the years without ever getting old. Buy a copy and keep it; when it wears out, buy another. Pass it out to your friends. Force it on your enemies (and thereby turn them into your friends). I've gone through at least a couple copies of it myself.

Of course, if you're one of those people who thinks spirituality isn't _supposed_ to be fun, and that anything this simple is somehow unworthy of God, you should probably stay away from it for a while. Read Raymond Smullyan's _The Tao Is Silent_ first and (chuckle) lighten up.

Is the world you experience "inside" your mind or "outside" it? Read Harding, and then _you_ tell _me_.

Douglas Harding's On Having No Head: Zen And The Rediscovery Of The Obvious is a philosophical look at "headlessness", or the psychological state of "no-self" of mysticism that opens one's mind and senses to the workings of internal and external nature. Harding places "the headless way" within a Zen context, as well as comparing it to other spiritual traditions in this insightful and thought-provoking treatise. On Having No Head is a highly recommended contribution to Buddhist and Eastern Philosophy supplemental reading lists.