"Fire & Ice - The Korean War, 1950-1953" is a well written and meticulously researched publication. What were the major battles of the war? Which country members supported the United Nations efforts -- and to what extent? Who were the key battlefield leaders for the United Nations? the Chinese forces? the North and South Korean forces? Michael Varhola provides all the answers - and more - in this outstanding reference work.

Nearly 50 years ago as a U.S. Marine, I was medically evacuated from the small airstrip at Hagaru-ri in North Korea. The C-47 cargo plane that carried me out had Greek markings and a Greek air crew. I have always wondered about that plane and despite the numerous books that I have read on the Korean War, I have never seen a reference pertaining to Greece's air contribution to the war -- only their contribution of ground forces.But, on page 138 of "Fire & Ice," I learned that Greece provided an air transport squadron comprised of eight C-47 cargo planes. Obviously the plane that evacuated me was one of these eight. This bit of information is but one example of the many facts contained therein.

There are many books written about the Korean War - each with many statistics and facts. However, Mr. Vahola is the first writer to put it all in one book. Whether the reader is a Korean War buff, a serious military history researcher, a student with an interest in the Korean War, a casual reader, or like myself, a Korean veteran, this book is too good to be dismissed. "Fire & Ice" is reference material at its best.

As a former soldier who was stationed in peace time Korea, I have developed a special interest in Korean history, espicially the time period covering the Korean Conflict (1950 -1953). However, there is little information out there. After leaving the Army and starting college, I constantly looked for college courses which covered these topics. However, no such luck. I beleive this book provides a good solid time line of the events leading up the Conflict and through the cease fire in 1953. The book provides the reader with the facts and figures of just how much a sacrifice the United Nations forces and the Koreans (both North and South) made during the Conflict. Additionally, the books covers some other areas not typically found in history books such as sections on equipment, uniforms, the environment, etc. Overall, I believe this book provides an excellent foundation for an individual interested in beginning a serious study of the Korean Peninsula and the truely Forgotten War.

Mike Varhola has done it again. "Fire and Ice," his reference work on the Korean War, follows his very successful guide for writers and historians, "Everyday Life During the Civil War." "Fire and Ice" is a superb reference for teachers, veterans, war gamers, and military enthusiasts. It is an easy read for the armchair historian. Mike has packed his book with a wide variety of comments about international uniforms, unit organizations, the often overlooked naval role, military pay rates, and a section on POWs. He deftly combines his historical observations together with recently uncovered information. His list of Korean War films is most informative. As a retired Army veteran with a tour in Korea (75-76), who now teaches US History in a public high school, I highly recommend this work to my fellow teachers. It will help you bring the conflict to life for your students. For the children of veterans and the citizen, it will help you understand the grime, grit, and horror of war these men and women experienced. Great job, Mike.

Though synonomous with the victory of Zama, there is a wealth of information about Scipio Africanus, military, political and social, that has been tragically lost among the annals of history. Better than any other book of which I am aware, Hart's title does a great service in bringing much of this information back into the limelight in a manner that was easily readable and enjoyable, a clear cut and direct approach to an immense topic. Saying that book opened up my eyes to the exploits of one of history's greatest captains would be an understatement, as in fact it thrust my attention upon what is certainly antiquity's and possibly history's finest captain. Scipio's military campaign in Spain, an endeavor clearly captured in this book and described in detail, may be the greatest forgotten campaign in history. Displaying a strategic and tactical sense that seems unrivalled until the days of Napoleon, Scipio won victories with a decisiveness under overwhelming odds and the oppression of a jealous senate that set him high above the military mastery levels of Caesar without a doubt and probably even Hannibal and Alexander as well. However, it is these lesser captains that have been immortalized in history and Scipio that has been forgotten, and Hart's discussion of this reality is one of the most spectacular portions of the book. That chapter alone would be well worth your purchase of this fine selection. The claim of this book holding relevance for even modern military students is also highly justified, as the intellectual ability of Scipio on both a military and, often more importantly, diplomatic level, serves as an example for all future leaders of men. Without a shred of doubt, I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history, military, government or humanities in general, as the relevance of it cannot be understated, as it unfortunately has been for so many centuries.

This was such an excellent book I had Amazon find the hardcover edition for my collection. Lidell-Hart has done an excellent job of a military review of Scipio. He has done a superb job of comparing Scipio's campaigns in Spain to the battles that were fought in Spain during the first world war. This is a very easy reading book while at the same time presenting the evidence found within Livy and Polybius in a very clear and concise manner. Although Lidell-Hart does not cite his evidence(I don't believe that this was as such a big deal at the start of the century that it is now) he does provide a bibliography of the ancient sources he used and it is pretty easy to follow if you have a good translation of Polybius. (The Rise of the Roman Empire would be best suited for reading before hand) Scipio who helped Rome to a fourth quater comeback (please excuse the footbal jargon)in perhaps one of her worst crisis and establish Rome as the military might of the Mediterranean world deserves his place in history and this book does a very fine job of doing just that.

Liddell-Hart has delivered a godsend for military enthusiasts & readers alike,by finely narrating the campaigns & quite convincingly the achievements of this brilliant & great but quite appropriately forgotten general.

One of the greatest crimes of this book is the way the author undermines the greatness of the other three immortals of military antiquity:Alexander,Hannibal & Caesar.Though I would not go into great length to prove this,point by point,I would humbly suggest readers that after reading this book,to please look for other sources on the great generals aforementioned,so one could compare & see things in a much better,clearer,more factual light.I strongly suggest reading Theodore Dodge's books on these men.For if one were to rely on this book as a main source,one would be terribly misguided into believing Scipio as the greatest man & general in history.Which is definitely not the case.When all is summed up,comparing him to his rival,the case paves to this irrefutable fact:Hannibal was the original,innovative master,& Scipo his greatest pupil.

My other criticism,in a more technical term,is the lack of more maps in the book to detail & highlight his campaigns.Maps detailing the maneuveres in the Battle of the Great Plains,the burning of the Carthaginian camps,the battle against Andobales in Spain,The Siege Of Cartagena,etc.,would have made it a more instructive & fulfilling book.

Other than these,I would say that this is the best book on Scipio ever written,a great contribution to humanity in fact,in the sense that it brings to every reader the importance & achievement of a great man who is almost forgotten in the annals of history.And convinces him.And for this alone deserves the highest merit.

If you ever expect to find that little bistro on Pas. de Clery, or a park on R. du Fouarre, you'll need a detailed map. This is it. This has the stuff that is not on the other tourist maps.

There's a key map (a city map with a numbered grid showing the page numbers of the detail maps that follow for each section of the city). And there's a complete street index.

The 29 detailed city maps are divided into two-page spreads. They're labeled with sights, Metro stops, and establishments.

The bus routes are shaded gray, and the bus numbers are printed in red alongside the streets. I spent some time in Paris and came to love commuting by bus on clear days. If you plan to try it, leave some extra time to figure it all out, it's worth the effort. You'll need more info than is provided here. A current bus map would be a big help in planning your day trips, ...

Metro stops are marked on the street maps, but the metro routes are not shown. There's a small metro map on pages 2-3, followed by some very condensed practical information for tourists. (If you need guidebook information, don't rely solely on this book, get a Michelin.)

The detail maps leave out substantial parts of the 12th, 13th, 15th, 18th and 20th arrondissements. If you want something comprehensive, though not as user-friendly, look for "Paris par Arrondissement - Plan Net" by Editions Ponchet. That guide also has detailed bus routes.

I prefer the book map format over fold-out maps, because it gives me a detailed map, but I don't have to fight with it to get it folded and back into my pocket. Ironically, I did end up folding this book to get it into my back pocket. I wish the form factor were slightly narrower.

Bon Voyage!

I am not an impulse shopper, but I bought this little book when I went to Amazon to buy Rick Steve's Paris guide (also great). It has an amazing amount of information in a small but easy to read format - and this means easy to read for eyes that are not so young anymore. It fits in a pocket and weighs almost nothing. It has a Metro map, of course, but also maps of the city in small sections as you would expect in a really good atlas. You can find Metro stops, bus routes and numbers, small streets, and sights in each area. Because it is so much smaller than a typical atlas, it is easy to take with you and use - on a crowded Metro train for example. Although free maps are easy to come by in Paris, this is worth every nickel. It even has great sightseeing information. A bargain at twice the price.

Middleditch's mapguides are the best I have used (I also have used his London mapguide). The maps are larger in scale than most others, which makes them much easier to use. He indicates bus routes on the maps themselves and includes a larger-than-most Metro map. He gives you everything you need to get around in a compact booklet--no irritating folding and unfolding. His commentary on the museums and sights is informative with a personal touch. I just returned from a week in Paris and feel like I couldn't have done without it. If you purchase only one guide to Paris, make it this one!

Forgive the plot for its convoluted nature and give up the notion of any true clarity. This Collins contends is how his book should be read at a recent reading in Boston. With that in mind, the blurred sense of time and action do in the end serve to mimic real life. Real life is at the heart of this novel. With a loose plot that does end with poignancy, there is closure, but through much of the book we are seeing through the eyes of an emotionally scarred man, a man who underwent shock treatment. His wading through modern life, from the fantastical violence of holding up an old man, to the dead time at his job as a security guard at a small college in the Upper PI, Collins finds a perfect balance, lets us see into the full emotional weight of his character. This is where the novel finds its true grit, in a realism that makes your skin crawl.
Half mystery, more than half psychological, The Resurrectionists is a novel that resurfaces on so many levels.
One could talk forever about the marginal characters in this novel, Honey the new wife with a husband on death row, awaiting execution. This sidebar adds an eeire dimension to the novel, a dual journey. The effect on Honey's son, Robert Lee, is probably the best defense I've read on why we should not use the death penalty - for the sake of those left behind.
Radically different from The Keepers of Truth, this book further establishes Collins as one of the foremost writers writing about America.

In this dark, twisted tale of hidden secrets and America's secret history, Collins tears assunder our idea of genre, of the crime or the literary novel, and creates a fluid masterpiece that ebbs and flows through the emotional crisis of the book's characters who react against the political landscape of the Cold War and Nixon era.
At the center of the book is a murder, the murder of man on a remote farm in Michigan. The killer awaits arrest, then hangs himself and goes into a coma. So begins the journey of the main character back home to claim the farm of the murdered man. Of course, it's not that simple, and the mired history and psychos of the main character undermine any notion that this is strictly a murder mystery, and so begins one of the most cleverly conceived socio-political novels I've ever read.
The motif of looking for salvation is an example of how rigorously Collins treads his plot and themes throughout the book. He borrows from the Loave and the fish story, Lot's wife etc., secularizing these stories, putting his characters into modern situations, but keeping the essence of the Bibical stories alive. He makes the characters sense of religious loss all the more poignant. The surreal miracle that the narrator, Frank, performs while robbing a man of his life savings, is one of the great moments in the novel. It's such a cinematic moment of revelation that treads the line between what could end up a brutal slaying or a moment of redemption. Creepy stuff...

What Collins has done is taken a strain of gritty realism with its focus on violence, loss, struggle, day-to-day survival, giving us an almost documentary footage rawness of real life. These characters at their worst,are despicable, but at their best the shine with such humanity that we can, if not forgive, at least understand the stain of madness and violence that runs throughout most of the book.
What is so brilliant and unsettling is how when you put the book down, it's then that its undertone of political and social critique resurrects itself. It's like the aftertaste of a fine wine. That the book can live on these two levels, that its very structure and content always plays with the visible and the invisible, with the surface and the buried, is truly remarkable. This is a book to read twice, once for the mystery, the second time to ruminate on just how many things this book addresses.

This catch-all social/political/sardonic/war/murder mystery/family story harkens back to what a literary novel should be - a novel of ideas, a fluid space where all life is meshed together. This novel reeks of place and atmosphere, resurrecing two periods in american history, the late seventies, and the cold war paranoia of the fifties. I can think of few writers who have evoked the tenor and fear of that time like Collins does in The Resurrectionists!

Sold as a murder mystery, I bought this through a handsell from a local bookseller. However, perusing the first few pages, I knew this was more than suspense, the density of the writing, the lyric quality of the prose is just as arresting as the plot. There are times when the sheer brilliance of the language is overwhelming, when you have to just re-read sections. Isn't this what the literary novel is about, the last bastion of language, of ideas?
In the last few years, there have been other literary pretenders, so called "All American Life Captured Here Books" but I don't think any are quite like this one.

Before I even finished this book I began using the "dispassionate" techniques Dr. Bradley recommends. The results have been dramatic. My 13 year-old and I have not had a screaming fight in a while (they were happening every other day) AND we have been communicating in a way I thought was lost forever. Dr. Bradley uses an upbeat and candid style to get across all that ails today's teens, from medical insight that supports the notion that our kids are crazy (his term, not mine), to an environment that inundates them with sex, drugs and rock and roll at a very early age. His case studies are enlightening, and sometimes terrifying, but a wonderful way to get his point across without bogging down the reader with too much psychobabble. I highly recommend this book not just for parents of teenagers-my relationship with my 10 year-old is already benefitting from my newly learned parenting skills-but for every parent who has, at one time or another, been frustrated while trying to communicate with his or her child.

I've been a long-time Amazon customer and this is the first time I have felt absolutely compelled to write a review. I have a 17 year old son, and I wish I had read this book 5 years ago! The book is written in 3 parts - Part 1 on teens and the issues in their lives, Part 2 on parents, and Part 3 on strategies for dealing with those issues. (He even includes a section on internet obsession - a big issue in our house.) When I finished reading this book, I felt so hopeful. The author provides a guideline for staying sane while dealing with the craziness, and at the same time maintaining a connection with your kids in a way that fosters strength, love, compassion, and most and best of all - mutual respect. Not a small feat, and he does it with a warm sense of humor to top it off. I would have given this book more stars if I could!

This book offers much insight into the teenage mind. Being an average teenager myself, reading this book really helped me understand, well, Me! I was astonished by the wisdom offered by Dr. Bradley. I will warn that this book is for parenting but can be used as a guide for the MATURE teen too. This is a well organized guide to becoming a more educated parent for your teenager! Dr. Bradley helps us see that the parents and the teenagers, are all fighting the same battle, those dreadful Teenage Years. I highly recommend this book. "Yes Your Teen is Crazy" expands and updates one's mind in the scary realm known as the teenager. Buy this book!

This book, War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars, by Andrew Carroll (Editor) is a touching book. With the recent release of the movie Pearl Harbor, the questions that my generation wants to ask the veterans of war are rising out of the ashes once again. Carroll did an excellent job of putting together a collage of soldier's letters which portrays the true emotions of our freedom fighters. Recently having studied many of the wars included in this book, War Letters pulled everything into one book; from the Civil War all the way through Bosnia/Kosovo. The letters in WWI and WWII seemed more hopeful, and 'the great generation' seemed more patriotic. While the soldiers fighting Vietnam had more of a sense of urgency, kind of 'get this over with already' attitude. A common theme with all the letters was they were writing to loved ones, and would claim they would see them soon. Unfortunately, many of these letters were the 'last letters' to the families, some even written on backs of photographs, on scratch paper, or on Hitler's personal stationary. Also, these letters are written a few hours, days, or weeks after the events happened. The soldier has no opportunity to hear what the media said, or how the nation reacted to such a horrific event. They write with their souls, spilling their guts to their families, and shedding their blood for their nation. Granted, having just completed one year of US History helps me understand these events just that much more, but all in all, this book was everything from terrifying to heart warming.

Let me start this review by confessing that I am biased. One of my letters from Vietnam is included in the book. I therefore view the book differently from the average reader.

I also got an advance copy of the book a week before the official release date, and have been able to read it.

Andrew Carroll produced this book by reading through almost 50,000 letters and selected roughly 200 that best show what everyday life in the military - and in war - are like from the viewpoint of the average soldier, sailor, marine, and airman.

Andy was able to get these letters by persuading Dear Abby to publish an appeal in her column on Veteran's Day in 1998. The column urged readers to contribute these letters so that the sacrifices of the writers would not be forgotten. The result was a flood of 50,000 letters - some faded, some muddy, some blood-stained, and one pierced by a bullet. One letter was written on Hitler's personal stationary by an American sergeant who worked in Hitler's personal quarters in Germany just after WW II. What could be a better symbol of justice?

The letter writers' views are very different than the views you will get by reading the memoirs of a general or an admiral. When I was in the Army, there was a wonderful comment that explained life in the Infantry:

"The general gets the glory, The family gets the body, and We get another mission."

Your view of the military - and of war - changes depending on your position in this food chain.

Overcoming an enemy machine gun is an interesting technical problem when you are circling a firefight in a helicopter at 1,000 feet. You take a very different view of the problem when you are so close to the machine gun that your body pulses from the shock wave of the muzzle blast.

These letters were written by soldiers while they were in the military. They are describing events that happened that day, the pervious day, or the previous week. Their memories are very fresh. Their views also are very different from the views that someone might have when writing his memoirs thirty years later. In thirty years the everyday pains, problems, and terrors could very well be forgotten or become humorous.

The book groups these letters by war or police action. There are sections for letters from the Civil War, WW I (the war to end wars), WW II, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and Somolia/Bosnia/Kosovo.

Some things never change. The Civil War letter writers grumble about poor food, tiresome marches, mindless sergeants and incompetent officers. The Vietnam letter writers (myself included) grumbled about the same things.

One anguished letter was from an officer in Vietnam who was torn by his need to hide his opposition to the war for fear of demoralizing his men. At the end of the letter is a brief comment explaining that the officer stepped on a mine and died shortly after writing this letter.

Welcome to life in the military. Welcome to war.

You should read this book if you want to see what life was like and is like in the military and in war.

Let me start this review by confessing that I am biased. One of my letters from Vietnam is included in the book. I therefore view the book differently from the average reader.

I also got an advance copy of the book a week before the official release date, and have been able to read it.

Andrew Carroll produced this book by reading through almost 50,000 letters and selected roughly 200 that best show what everyday life in the military - and in war - are like from the viewpoint of the average soldier, sailor, marine, and airman.

Andy was able to get these letters by persuading Dear Abby to publish an appeal in her column on Veteran's Day in 1998. The column urged readers to contribute these letters so that the sacrifices of the writers would not be forgotten. The result was a flood of 50,000 letters - some faded, some muddy, some blood-stained, and one pierced by a bullet. One letter was written on Hitler's personal stationary by an American sergeant who worked in Hitler's personal quarters in Germany just after WW II. What could be a better symbol of justice?

The letter writers' views are very different than the views you will get by reading the memoirs of a general or an admiral. When I was in the Army, there was a wonderful comment that explained life in the Infantry:

"The general gets the glory, The family gets the body, and We get another mission."

Your view of the military - and of war - changes depending on your position in this food chain.

Overcoming an enemy machine gun is an interesting technical problem when you are circling a firefight in a helicopter at 1,000 feet. You take a very different view of the problem when you are so close to the machine gun that your body pulses from the shock wave of the muzzle blast.

These letters were written by soldiers while they were in the military. They are describing events that happened that day, the pervious day, or the previous week. Their memories are very fresh. Their views also are very different from the views that someone might have when writing his memoirs thirty years later. In thirty years the everyday pains, problems, and terrors could very well be forgotten or become humorous.

The book groups these letters by war or police action. There are sections for letters from the Civil War, WW I (the war to end wars), WW II, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and Somolia/Bosnia/Kosovo.

Some things never change. The Civil War letter writers grumble about poor food, tiresome marches, mindless sergeants and incompetent officers. The Vietnam letter writers (myself included) grumbled about the same things.

One anguished letter was from an officer in Vietnam who was torn by his need to hide his opposition to the war for fear of demoralizing his men. At the end of the letter is a brief comment explaining that the officer stepped on a mine and died shortly after writing this letter.

Welcome to life in the military. Welcome to war.

You should read this book if you want to see what life was like and is like in the military and in war.

Whether one is an actor, director, writer or teacher, Shurtleff's book is simply a critical must read. Shurtleff who spent many years as a top casting director possessed an absolute love for the brave souls who dare to place themselves on the stage. His ultimate legacy to his beloved craft is this indispensable "How To" bible.

Much has been written already about his twelve guideposts, and I have nothing new to add to those already glowing (and well deserved) comments. What I did find most illuminative and refreshing is his comments on how to behave at the job interview. It is in this chapter that this book becomes helpful to even the non actor. In this chapter/section, Shurtleff urges all people to realize that ultimately the pressure in the job interview is on the employer and that a good prospect will immediately put the interview board at ease. All too often actors become so self centered and fail to realize that their performance is really about their audience, not them. The same is true therefore of the job interview. It is about the employer, not the employee.

As a teacher, Audition has been most helpful to me as it has provided objective certainty to an area filled with far too many subjective judgements. In other words, Shurtleff has helped define the skills and tasks necessary to train actors in a manner that will help them transition successfully from the educational venue to the professional market. He has given us clear, active objectives to teach toward.

In Audition, Shurtleff articulates what constitutes good, effective acting. Once that becomes defined clearly, then success becomes not a nebulous ideal, but rather a concrete proposition.

If this is not in your theatre library, it is time you add it now.

I had no acting experience. None. Not even in school plays.

I got into acting on a lark, as a hobby. I had been studying and auditioning for about three years with no success, and very little progress.

An instructor recommended this book. I read it, and then read it again. All of a sudden, things that had been drilled in my head during acting classes finally started to make sense. Within the following 6 months, my skills grew in a series of leaps, and I began booking at auditions. Not a lot, not yet. But the sudden increase in my abilities was astounding.

I am still not a great actor. But this book helped me get out of the "student" mode and into the "working" mode. Well worth it.

If you want to be a WORKING actor in Hollywood, the read this book - several times, and continue re-reading it every year or so to your skills honed, to remind you of what got you where you are.

Outside of a masterclass with a Sanford Meisner-type or a Ute Hagen, this well-written, well-crafted book will teach you a tremendous amount in regards to make a character yours with little or no time to prepare. It will give you the skills to leave a lasting impression on casting directors everywhere.

Shurtleff's technique extends to once you have the role as well, preparation required to get the role will also assist you in making the role memorable.

It's also extremely helpful for screenwriters and playwrights, because it should give you insight on how to craft scenes for maximum impact by understanding how actors mine scenes for character, passion and emotion.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking to give their child a head start in reading. I purchased the book along with the CD-ROM for my 5 yr. old daughter. She enjoys the reading lesson so much that she reminds me daily, "it's time for the reading lesson". Before purchasing the reading lesson I downloaded the first two lessons (free) from thereadinglesson.com website and my daughter was thrilled that she knew how to read. Prior to the reading lesson my daughter had trouble remembering words and letter sounds. But just after a few lessons she would remember words and sounds easily. We read 3-4 pages a day for maybe 15 minutes. It's been about a month and a half and my daughter is now on lesson eight and reading (words in lesson eight) with minimal help. She also just had her interview for kindergarten and her teacher was amazed at how much she knew. Each lesson begins with brief instructions and tips on reading. I would suggest purchasing the book along with the CD-ROM (not only because it's fun) but the child would learn the correct way to sound out letters. The program is so simple with amazing results!

I am teaching my son to read with this book. The book has twenty lessons each about 20 pages. We are on lesson seven and he is showing real progress now. This book is all a good reading program should be. You can open it on any page and you know exactly what to do. It is reasonably priced for the quality, which is very high indeed.

What is so different about this book is that is not a "how can I teach my kid to read" book. Instead it is really a course with lessons that are goal-oriented. At the same time, it is not boring for the child. The pages are beautiful to look at and the drawings on every page are very cute. My son likes to color the pictures. We do about 3to 4 pages a day and that can take about 20 minutes. Sometimes the going is slow but everything is clearly expalined in a few words at the start of the lesson without making it too complicated or rigid. Little symbols under the letters and combinations such as "sh", "th" and "ea" help him to remember the sounds which are taught at the begining of the lesson.

The book covers phonics and sightwords. Each lesson has key words that child need to know. The stories are just 4 to 6 lines which is just exactly right for a six year old.

All in all, I am glad I found this lovely book. It one of those rare books that is actually better than it seems from its description. Dr. Levin and his wife have done a good job and I am sure you will feel the same way.

The Reading lesson has turned out to be one of the most effective learning lessons I have ever used. I run a preschool-preK and this program has proven to be successful and enjoyable. My youngest reader is 2.5 years old, and yes, they can read. I recommend this program and book to every parent who wishes to give the gift of reading to their child. Its simple and easy.. and your child will love it. All my kids wait for Giggle Bunny every day.
Great awesome product,..worth every dime and more !!!
Rennu Dhillon, Founder Genius Kids/Fremont, Safari Kid/Newark
[...]

Through his Youth Specialties publications, previous work in THE DOOR magazine, and other writings, Mike Yaconelli has always tackled issues in very fresh, non-conventional ways. His willingness to challenge us to see things differently has enabled me to continue to believe that God is worth pursuing, even when most Christians were unknowingly persuading me otherwise. The same holds true here in this incredibly powerful book.

If you are tired of hearing the same cliches and thoughtless pragmatism of most current Christian authors (such as "5 Easy Steps to a Happy, Spirit-Filled Life"), let Mike help you rediscover the true nature of what Christianity is intended to be. Mike highlights the importance of doubt, questions, wonder, mystery, passion, honesty, and "wild abandon" to God... themes that are seldom spoken of in Christian circles today but are in desperate need of inclusion. Christians who may have become stale (and boring) in their persuit of God can rediscover the joy and wonder of what drew them to Christ in the first place. And for new or potential Christians who may not be corrupted yet by the current version of happy, quick-fix, Americanized Christianity, here's a chance for you to start on the right foot. Skip the fluffy stuff. Yac is back.

Dangerous Wonder greatly moved me. It expanded my view of God and of his love.

Mike Yaconelli does the almost impossible with this brief, easy to read, book -- he helps us see the God Who is beyond words. He helps us see the love of God which is beyond comprehension. And he challanges us -- me -- to break out of the boxes we put ourselves and our faith in.

This is the best book I've seen on childlike faith and what it looks like to live it out. If you find your faith getting stale, dusty, and, yes, boring, get this book -- now.

Mark Marshall is the author of God Knows What It's Like to be a Teenager.

Through his Youth Specialties publications, previous work in THE DOOR magazine, and other writings, Mike Yaconelli has always tackled issues in very fresh, non-conventional ways. His willingness to challenge us to see things differently has enabled me to continue to believe that God is worth pursuing, even when most Christians were unknowingly persuading me otherwise. The same holds true here in this incredibly powerful book.

If you are tired of hearing the same cliches and thoughtless pragmatism of most current Christian authors (such as "5 Easy Steps to a Happy, Spirit-Filled Life"), let Mike help you rediscover the true nature of what Christianity is intended to be. Mike highlights the importance of doubt, questions, wonder, mystery, passion, honesty, and "wild abandon" to God... themes that are seldom spoken of in Christian circles today but are in desperate need of inclusion. Christians who may have become stale (and boring) in their persuit of God can rediscover the joy and wonder of what drew them to Christ in the first place. And for new or potential Christians who may not be corrupted yet by the current version of happy, quick-fix, Americanized Christianity, here's a chance for you to start on the right foot. Skip the fluffy stuff. Yac is back.

This is to me the most important book I have ever read in my entire life so far. It has been my companion book for over 25 years now. The first time I read this book was a Brazilian 1975 Edition. A memorable translation. I did the mistake of lending it to someone else and I have never had it back. Then, three years ago, I found that Brazilian Edition and I bought it. I read it over and over, particularly when I needed someone to teach me something really important to my life. Then, I decided to taste the English (American) Translation. I bought this one. I wasn't disappointed. The translation seems to be very carefully done. But although it is a good edition it misses few paragraphs and letters if compared to the Brazilian edition I have. Was this English translation "censored" in any sense ? I doubt that. I simply think the translator just "missed" some pages of the original (in German) edition. I hope one day I will be able and have the opportunity to read the original in German to find out what Jung really meant by writing this monumental book.

Oh, by the way, I have never read any of Jung's "scientific" books. This is by far everything I had to have to face Life and people and myself confidently. Jung is by far the wisest soul of the 20th Century.

By all means, buy this book and read it! You will understand what Life is all about. I would give it 10 stars if I could.

These writings come straight from Jung's own inner experience and it is his last book before his death in 1961. I have read and re-read this work because at different times in my life I needed to re-evaluate where I was and where I was going. Other books by Jung are more intellectual and scientific, whereas, this autobiography has the wisdom of a person in the later part of life and it was written not so much to teach but to leave with us his legacy. Having myself had a near death experience, I was especially re-affirmed by Jung's own near death experience and his dealings with this phenomenon. His acceptance of his own humanity and his returning from this state to share with us his knowledge and vision is a gift to all of us. It is not easy to return to our humanity and deal with the sufferings we encounter but growth is the only evidence of life. We have to come down from the mountain top and work in the valley. This brings to mind two books written by Hannah Hurnard called Mountains of Spices and Hinds Feet in High Places. Allegories about living our lives with others and not in solitude. Solitude is a wonderful place but if we stay too long we become self-centered, afraid to reach out to others. Another author who gives a good perspective on life is Henri Nouwen and his books Out of Solitude and Reaching Out.

Read along exploring the mind and spirit of this century's (and possibly the next) deepest thinker as he takes you on a reflective journey through his inner and outer lives. A wonderful book to bring us back to our grounding in the spirit. Jung not only speaks of but lives out the archetypal truths of mankind. His description and recounting of his discovery of the Biblical "stone the builders left untaken" which he had his builders use as the cornerstone of his castle is an inspiring revelation of a turning point in his life and beliefs from this most eastern of western philosophers. One comes away from the book with a fulfilling sense of wholeness that remains a part of the heart. It is a book to buy, read, and reread at different times throughout life