Impeccable, a must read for investors, bankers, corporate finance pros. Highly recommended.

The funny thing is that I have read over 20 books on financial analysis and investing, and I believe that every penny that I have spent on this book was well worth it. The price of the book scared me at first, but where all of the other books that I read fell short, Financial Warnings did not. I was very impressed with the detail to which the book describes each investment scenario. There is no shortage of financial warnings to look out for. In fact, I was shocked to learn of how many warnings lenders and investors should be aware of. Not only has this book taught me about what to avoid, but also about what to buy. Did you know that the CEO or CFO going through a divorce is a financial warning? Did you know that a company entering a new business is a financial warning? Did you know that beating earnings expectations by one penny every quarter is a financial warning when your competitor fell short of expectations? This is a must read. Reading Financial Warnings has changed my life. It is a must read.

The book is an excellent treatise which provides the readers a systematic framework for figuring out whether the books have been manipulated or if the accounting has been aggressive, through finding out non-recurring items in the income statement and balance sheet. I have tried other books but, they just do not compare with this treatise. The book uses a systematic step-by-step approach which introduces the reader to how to read the fine print. This book should be invaluable to finance and accounting professionals, and also to amateur investors, who would be willing to do a little research into the company books.

For those who not lucky enough to attend Dr. Mulford's class, this book should do a great job.

Extremely well written book and fantastic to read, it gives a well-documented history account of how times change through the decade's spanning the 1900's to early 60's from the beginning of organized crime, the politics, the economics' right through to a future out look as to where it was all going. A very clear look at one-man perspective of himself and everyone he knew, and just what it took to stay one step ahead.

Straight from the horse's mouth. Lucky's testament jives with other reliable accounts of the inner workings of organized crime while filling in a lot of gaps on the development and early history of the five NY families.

For the most part the information appears reliable, although in some cases, such as Lucky's professed denial of his significant involvement in the international drug trade, it seems clear that he 'dost protest too much.'

Lucky's claims about his involvement --or lack thereof-- in Operation Underworld, the WWII Naval Intellegence op to keep the NY docks safe, as well as the invasion of Sicily, also seem to ring true. Like Giancanna, Trafficante and Rosselli in a later clandestine relationship with CIA to kill Castro, it was all a scam. I can even believe Lucky's claim that he actually engineered the sabotage of the Normandie to kick the whole scheme off.

But what the 'Testament' provides best of all is a close look from Lucky's perspective at the personalities and relationships of the most infamous members of Cosa Nostra and their associates:
Lucky knew them all.

Lucky was indeed, The Godfathe

I give this book five stars because its the most accurate accounts of the begining the middle and the future of organized crime. I've read the book five times before I was eighteen years old.and it helped me seperate fact from fiction when studying further on subject. If you want the truth about the mafia, then this is the book for you!!!

After reading the book 'Modern Buddhist Healing' by Charles Atkins I lent it to a friend who has suffered from illness for many years and tried all sorts of therapy. She is already feeling the power of the healing recommended in the book. It is an honest, clear account of how anyone can change their lives and free themselves from disease, this is not a crank book as the method Mr Atkins uses really works. He even cites his own account of how he freed himself from a life threatening illness. It is a book to keep by your bedside and read over and over.

This is IT
I recently just happened to be in a bookstore recently when Mr. Atkins was there discussing his book and experiences. I always have my "BS meter" on full alert...suffice to say that this book is not religious froo-froo or dogmatic salesmanship. The principles that he teaches here make sense for anyone and apparently work too. I'm impressed. If you buy it, Modern Buddhist Healing can change your life for the better on every level.

As a master's level clinical psychology student, I appreciate this book on several levels. I was fairly unfamiliar with Buddhism before reading this book, in part because of the anticipated complexity of the subject. To my surprise, I discovered Atkins had written a book comprehensible to those new to Buddhism. For those with a knowledge of Buddhism already, it provides much more insight into the topic. The connections to psychology and therapy are too vast to detail. As a therapist, you are simply a faciliator for the client in his quest to learn more about himself, very similarly to Buddhism. Through sharing his experience, Atkins proves the great power we each obtain through our minds and faith in healing.

If you like sorrow, action, and adventure, you will love the book The Lantern Bearers. It is one of many great historical fiction books by Rosemary Sutcliff. This is a wonderful book about Aquila, a man in the Middle Ages, who fights alongside Ambrosis, the prince of Britain.
There were many different settings in The Lantern Bearers. They were all in Britain during the Anglo-Saxon period like Ullasfjord with its harsh winters, and Arfon with its beautiful mountains. Some of these settings put me "in the book". For example, when Aquila was in Ullasfjord, I could almost feel the blizzards!
I liked some parts of this book more than others. In some parts of the book it is a little too slow. I liked the book because most parts are exciting, like when Aquila gets married. Also it is descriptive: the author describes the characters well, like the detail of the dolphin on Aquila's shoulder. You may or may not like this book, but you will still want to read it again!

Although the third book in the trilogy about the family with the dolphin ring, The Lantern Bearers is maybe for more mature readers.
(Notice I said more mature, NOT older.) One of the things I love most about this book is that, even though it is sad, the sadness is REAL, not Romeo-and-Juliet type, with a tragic ending. The ending is not exactly hopeful about the future of England, but Aquila has finally found inner peace. However, the middle, in which Aquila is a slave of the Jutes (not Saxons, that's just what the British called all the invaders), and when he- oops! Don't want to give away the story!- is very bitter, and that's why it's perhaps for MORE MATURE readers. This book is one of Rosemary Sutcliff's best.

I am an avid adult reader of Arthurian legends. I read this book after hearing it is a prequel to The Sword at Sunset, also by Rosemary Sutcliff, and I loved it. I am captivated by the romance and chivalry of this passionate era in our history - and also by the great battle scenes as described by the better authors of this legend (Bernard Cornwell in particular). This book kept my adult interest and made me more anxious than ever to get to The Sword of Sunset...a continuation of the story line in The Lantern Bearers where a young Artos is introduced to us - and by the end of the book can be recognized as the great King Arthur to come.

This book was very helpful on my recent trip to Beijing, but only because I've had a few years of formal Mandarin classes. If you've never taken any Chinese, this book, or any phrasebook for that matter, may not be of much help simply because of the difficulty of the language. Believe me, even after 3 years of Chinese I still had trouble getting cab drivers to understand me!

Even if you've been studying Chinese for a while this phrasebook will be a great resource for a multitude of day to day words and phrases. In fact, I often just read it page to page as sort of an interesting textbook. I love that it includes both the pinyin with tones and the characters side by side. Unfortunately, there are more than a few editing errors with the characters which could cause problems if you're using the book by pointing at phrases. Another issue is that the pronunciations often include the "er" ending on words which is only a Beijing thing, not heard much in the south.

Overall it is a great book that managed to survive being thrown around in my backpack, and now that I'm back home it will be useful as a textbook as there are still MANY words in it I have yet to learn.

This little book is filled with phrases one may encounter daily during travel to China. It is also small and compact so that it won't add bulk to your backpack or purse. I recommend getting familiar with the layout of the book before you go.

I'm not a scholar of Mandarin although I have completed the Pimsleur Mandarin course level 1. My experience as a relative novice was that this book was extremely useful.

Every Chinese person that I showed it to, when trying to communicate, also thought it was very good and several asked where they could buy it. I looked in Beijing and couldn't find it.

Chinese pronunciation is fairly difficult although grammar is straightforward. I've got by in Vietnam in the past with the Lonely Planet's Viet phrasebook without any previous tuition. If you can retain phrases and remember to transliterate words down quickly before you forget then even this book on its own would be very handy. Pinyin is frequently not pronounced how a Westerner would expect from its spelling. For example the word "wo" for "I" is pronounced like "war" and not "woe".

Charles Schulz was the most brilliant man who ever lived. That said, even brilliance starts to fade after a while. "Peanuts 2000," the last year of his magnificent comic strip, doesn't live up to some of the great strips done in earlier years, but it's still "Peanuts," it's still fun, and it's still a lot better than 99% of the stuff in newspapers today.

As Schulz got older he did less continuing storylines and more single-panel daily strips, which were probably less taxing on him. As a result, you don't get quite as high as the quality of the strips of the 60s and 70s where Charlie Brown got a rash on his head and was elected camp president or where Linus struggled with his Christmas Pageant lines... but even to say, "It's not as good as the best 'Peanuts'" is to say, "It's pretty good."

Worth getting for any "Peanuts" fan.

I have loved Peanuts since childhood, and have an almost complete collection of Peanuts books. Charles Schultz has always been an inspiration to me in my work as an occasional professional cartoonist. Not only is Schultz unsurpassed as an artist, he is also one of the great philosophers of twentieth century life in America.
This book is, first and foremost, a celebration of the comic strip. It is a work of art in its own right. All the cartoons in the book are photographed from either their original drawings, or directly from the newspapers. The reader can see the artistic details that Schultz has used in creating each frame in photos of the originals. And the use of the original strips, with their rough paper and newsprint lines, brings back the joy of reading the comics for the first time in the funnies. The Sunday comics are complete with the little color dots that created the color images. There are literally hundreds of comic strips, both daily and Sunday, in this book, and they give a good overview of Schultz's long career.
There are many photos of Schultz's doodles and rough sketches, of his desk and his artist's tools, early cartoons 'Sparky' sold to the Saturday Evening Post, early drawings of certain characters, some of which pre-date 'Peanuts' itself. One can actually see the characters develop, artistically and as human beings. Interspersed with the cartoons are textual explanations and stories about Schultz and his characters, including many insightful comments by Charles Schultz himself about the evolution and personalities of his characters. Also included are photos of early Peanuts toys and dolls, and even these are photographed lovingly and with attention to detail and shadow.
This is a magical book, and any Peanuts fan would love it and treasure it. It is a book one can return to over and over to enjoy. Leave it lying around the living room where everybody can enjoy it and relive the joy Charles Schultz and the Peanuts gang gave us for over fifty years. Better yet, introduce a new generation of kids to the strip. The Peanuts gang is a microcosm of us, and reading it reveals much about ourselves and helps us to look on life with tenderness and humor.
Buy this book, read it, and share it. It would make a wonderful present as well. It is the best Peanuts book to date.

Make sure you get the edition that has the final farewell Peanuts comic strip dated 2-13-2000.
This book is a gem...my copy still say First Edition Sept.2000.
My edition has 9 blank pages at the end, but more importantly, it has ALL the daily and Sunday comics for 1999. The daily comics ended on 1/1/00;
The Sunday comics continued for 1/2/00, 1/9/00, 1/16/00, 1/23/00, 1/30/00, 2/6/00, and finally 2/13/00.
All the comics are in COLOR INCLUDING the daily strips.

I long ago determined that the world of those interested in the Classical Literature of the Ancient Greeks that when it comes to Homer's epic poems there are those who prefer the "Iliad" and those who prefer the "Odyssey." My choice is for the story of the rage of Achilles. From Achilles's fateful confrontation with Agamemnon over Briseis of the lovely arms to the magnificently emotional ending where King Priam comes to beg for the body of his slain son, Hector, from the man who killed him, I find this story has greater resonance than the tale of Odysseus. The epic story also seems to me to be more classically Greek, with the great hero who acts out of anger, comes to regret his folly, and seeks to make amends with a great deed. Achilles is similar to Hercules in this regard, and although they are both strictly considered demi-gods, the Achaean hero ultimately seems more human. Plus, Achilles stature is enhanced by his opposition to the noble Hector; acknowledging the better warrior does not take away from recognizing the greater hero. Add to this the fact that all the gods and goddesses of Olympus are actively involved in the proceedings and I am convinced the "Iliad" is the more worthy book for inclusion into most classes dealing with Classical Mythology or the Ancient Greeks.

The main question with using the "Iliad" is class is picking a worthy version in English. The Lattimore translation is certainly above average, but I think the Fagles translation is far and away the best available (hence the one star deduction for this translation, which I have been compelled to use in the past) and I would not really consider using anything else in my Classical Greek and Roman Mythology course. I also like to use the "Iliad" as part of a larger epic involving the plays of Euripides, specifically "Iphigenia at Aulis" and "Trojan Women," as well as relevant sections from the "Aeneid" and other sources on the Fall of Troy. But the "Iliad" remains the centerpiece of any such larger tale, mainly because of the final dramatic confrontation when King Priam goes to weep over the bloody hands of Achilles. Not until Steinbeck writes "The Grapes of Wrath" is there anything in Western Literature offering as stunning an end piece.

very good rendition. pace of reading is good and passionate without being melodramatic. very entertaining for long commutes or car trips. however, if you haven't read the book or are not somewhat familiar with the story already, it can be difficult at times to keep all the characters straight. however, there is a brief synoptic insert that comes with the CD and will help to read quickly before listening.

It's the first piece of history in the world. It shows how the Greek/Trojan war began. Paris, a trojan prince, runs off with the queen of Greece which started the war. Her husband wanted to force her back. Achillies, a demi-god, has to choose between two fates. A boring long unmemorable life, or a glamorous short one that will change the war. This books has gods, ghosts, destiny, dreams fortelling the future, and betrayal among all.

Let me preface my remarks by saying that I'm a HUGE fan of brother Chuck, and I have great love and admiration for him as one of today's preeminent Christian leaders. Of all the persons I could choose to emulate, it would be Chuck Swindoll. In reviewing this book, my comments are intended to be totally objective and not a criticism of the author.

My main impression of this book is that, while it provides some valuable insights about some spiritual disciplines that every committed Christian should undertake, it stops far short of being a truly practical resource. Chuck Swindoll steps aside briefly from his hectic life to take stock of some key things that many (most?) Christians miss in their day to day walk with God. He introduces some disciplines which we would all do well to practice, but doesn't really talk about the "how."

In other words, and at the risk of sounding flippant, my reaction on finishing this book (about a one-hour undertaking) was: "Tell me something I don't already know." As a believer who seeks a closer relationship with God, I have long since recognized the need to try to slow down my lifestyle and find time to get alone with God for prayer, study and meditation. I have been struggling with these very issues for some time: how to balance work, parenthood, church activities, household chores, rest, etc. while still finding a way to spend a meaningful amount of time communing with God.

It was my hope that this book would be more of a "how-to guide" than just a simple overview of these truths, and in that sense I was a bit disappointed. Don't misunderstand me, I think the book is great as far as it goes, but I wish Chuck had taken the time to take this important subject into much greater detail. He speaks of "depth" but doesn't really provide it here. Had he done that, I'm sure I could have derived much greater benefit from it.

This small, quick read packs quite a powerful punch for the Christian looking for a closer walk with the Almighty.
The author shares with us his experiences with his walk with the Lord and helps us to see, through his life how he was able to draw closer to the Almighty, bringing him to a more fulfilled relationship.

He uses examples, such as turning from our busy lives and being still to know that He is God. He speakes to us of what it is to trust God and to surrender to One that loves us. Tenderely he leads us step by step into a deeper knowledge of knowing the way to a closer walk with Him.
This is a very good read, not too long, but extremely useful to the Christian seeking intimacy with their Maker.

If every Christian followed the principles in this book, the world would take notice. No American Christian should neglect meditating on the truths Swindoll delivers in this short audio book.

Coming from the premise in Ecclesiastes, "God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated," Swindoll suggests four principles to overcome ourselves for a better, more God-honoring life. Simplicity is a discipline 21st Century Christians need, and we aren't going to find it at the mall or in many other Christian books.

I think this was one of the best thriller stories of its time. I personnally think it also is one the best water thrillers ever. I think any who is scared of the water should read this book.

If anyone out there either surfs or enjoy's Surfing as a way of life, this book is for you! Go out there and purchase this book! Jaws is more than a book, the colourful pages come alive in front of you, looking at Laird Hamilton coming down the faces of massive 50+foot surf, it's like your right there below him (holding the camera) Blue Max did an amazing job of illustrating these waves for us, I was lucky enough to have visited Maui, for others out there, what are you waiting for..? Killer Waves..Best Surfers in the world.. see it all..? or save your money and buy this book

aloha Jim Mellanis :-)

Jaw Maui has much more to offer than your average coffee-table book. It is an incredible blending of inspirational writing and insightful interviews with the watermen themselves. Charlie & Leslie Lyon have done a great job letting us in on the inner workings of these accomplished athletes. Everyone that visits us gets a chance to read Jaws, and has come away mightily impressed (and longing for a trip to Maui!).