Dr.Mark Pitstick is a therapist and has many years of experience in dealing with every kind of human ailment. While the author makes it clear that he believes in an afterlife, his aim and motivation in writing this book is for everyone to be able to make his or her earthly life into a Heaveny experience NOW. The book is filled with specific and effective programs,exercises, nutrition guidelines and methods of positive thinking, even when things seem at their worst. Dr. Pitstick's lectures and seminars are devoted to help all of us to attain a fruitful, loving and caring life TODAY! Don't miss out on this opportunity to take advantage of this therapist's ardent desire to help humanity and make this Earth a better place to live in.

I'm a sucker for any anthology that ends with Richard Petty accepting the National Book Award. . . This one also has a lot of heart. The first of what promises to be an annual collection of stories promoting "a rebirth of beauty and life-affirming values," the Silver Rose Anthology offers a strong mix of voices and attitudes. Not every story here will appeal to every reader (the opening story, for instance, does little for me), but the collection overall is outstanding. Personal favorites (in addition to George Singleton's outrageous "Richard Petty Accepts the National Book Award") include Robert Olen Butler's seamless "Rafferty and Josephine," Julie Orringer's touching "Note to Sixth-Grade Self" Patry Francis'"Limbe," and Patricia Hackbarth's provocative "A Brief Geological Guide to Canyon County."
Move over Bill Henderson, Katrina Keneson, and Larry Dark. Watson's in the house!

When Kevin Watson gathered the stories for this anthology, he was doing us a public service. This is a hard world: hearts break, and lives are shattered. Stories that don't deal with those realities aren't true to life. But there's so much more to life--and should be to art. These stories are "life-affirming" in the best kind of way: They don't stay sunk in gloom, but they don't stoop to easy answers. Each one shows us a new facet of getting on with life, making things work, following the path. The individual stories are excellent--I especially like the story by Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Olen Butler, although it's one of several strong stories--and in their cumulative effect, the collection becomes (and I mean this in the best kind of way) inspirational.

i only gave this book 5 stars because i could not give it more. i went to a reading of one of the writers and soon went on to read the rest. it has a good mix of voices, but by far the best writer is Heidi Shayla and her story "The Coffin Builder's Romance", it is a beautiful story of quilts, boxes, and of course, coffins. it is my all time favorite anthology, and i would definetly recomend it.

What can I say about this book? Something around the lines of... I absolutely think this book is one of the greatest ever written!

Going to OCNJ was always the highlight of my summer. A week right before the 4th of July - what better to watch fireworks then right out on the boardwalk? So obviously when I now spend my summers in Stone Harbor, I still go to the boardwalk at OCNJ just for old time's sake. So in Stone Harbor, I went to the nearby Atlantic bookstore. There was a long section of books on the Jersey shore and so I picked up this one. I recognized some of the storms, knowing how these had gone through some of the times I had been at OCNJ. Most of them however I didn't know, but nevertheless some of them DID come back to me. So I decided that this book will, although in the years I've been coming, I definitely will buy it -be the best book ever!

In March of 1962, my father drove us down to Atlantic City to visit my grandmother and see the damage. It made an indelible impression on me. I cannot drive the Jersey coast without wondering how much of the ugly, new beachfront development will survive a great Jersey storm. & I secretly hope not much of it will.

The most hair-raising tales in this book are from that 1962 whopper. But these great storms have hit Jersey shores throughout the ages with regularity, with & without warning, everywhere on the coast, changing the coastline & serving important environmental purposes. Even Keansburg, a bayshore town, has been knocked flat.

So enjoy the stories & eye-popping photographs. But don't overlook the other message the authors are conveying: We won't beat the sea in the end.

Bob Rixon, WFMU-FM, Jersey City, author of "Boardwalk" (Vendetta Books, 1997)

This book is gripping, thanks to its well-written descriptions of coastal storms and the spectacular photographs of storm damage. Two of the most frightening and destructive of the many storms described in the book are the Great Atlantic Hurricane of September 1944, which "was so powerful it pushed World War II off the front page" and the three-day March 1962 storm, a northeaster "more furious than any hurricane" that ever hit the New Jersey shore, a storm that "battered and bludgeoned the shore until...almost every trace of a human presence had been washed away." It happened to be raining heavily when I was reading the chapter about the latter storm; between the rain pounding on my window and the vivid descriptions by the authors (and the storm survivors) of the rising tide sweeping away houses and cutting Long Beach Island into five islands, I admit I was holding my breath in fear and excitement. A fact-filled, moving and thought-provoking book!

I don't read much non-fiction, but I couldn't put this book down. Susan McDougal's courage was absolutely amazing. It would have been so easy to give Starr's zealots the lies that would have kept her free, but she didn't. She made poor choices out of misguided loyalty, and she paid dearly for them. I admired her frankness in admitting her errors in judgment and never looking for the easy way out. Bravo, Susan!

This book is one of the most important books I've read in years and I urge everyone to read it. What Susan McDougal tells us about the right wing zealots who threw her in jail because she refused to lie about Bill Clinton is truly a story that needs to be heard loud and clear throughout our land. Surely there is a special section of hell reserved for Ken Starr and his henchmen and women.

McDougal's voice rings true and clear, and she is laugh-out-loud funny. Clearly, her sense of strong humor was one of the many great character traits that helped her survive in the various prisons that the Office of the Independent Council dragged her through in their quest to make her tell lies to suit their own self interests. And the stories she shares of the women she met while encarcerated are truly heart-rending and equally deserving of your attention.

Most of all, this is the story of a woman who finds her own strength in the most harrowing of circumstances. Even if you're not interested in politics one way or the other, you should read this book

McDougal's story deserves to be read by every person in America who has ever wondered why they should do the right and painful thing in the face of powerful enemies and overwhelming temptation to save oneself at the expense of another. This is a tale of heroines and heroes, of good friends and false friends, of villains and the lowest scum to ever stride a courtroom. Ken Starr and his cronies, and those in various jails and federal prisons, who tried to assist him in breaking the spirit of this courageous and honest woman, have much to answer. She was an ordinary woman who faced a difficult challenge with rare courage. Her story is an inspiration and a source of encouragement in these difficult political times. The tale is fascinating and well written, and you will keep thinking about the book after you put it down. Susan McDougal took the hit for a lot of people when she went to prison for refusing to talk about Whitewater, and the Clinton land deal that went bad. In reading this book, you get a strong sense of McDougal's honesty and integrity, and how difficult it must have been, in the presence of so much insanity, to maintain that integrity.

This book really gets to the core of successful selling. It emphawsizes identifying and understanding the decsion makers wants which are personal, emotional, and under the surface. Too many sales people focus on the surface stuff especially customers needs. What we really should do is tie in want based selling into our successful needs based approache we are curretnly using.

This book is a very easy read. Key points are emphasized and repeated several times to make sure they sink in. The charts and exercises used really help you grasp the concepts.

The only downside is the first helf of the book tends to be very repetitive and you wonder are they having going to get to some other points. However the second half of the book is fantastic! It really gives you excellent ideas and techniques for identifying decsion makers wants and applying the concepts to your customrs.

Enjoy and Good Selling!

If you think that there is such a thing as the "science" of sales, this is the book you need. Easy to understand and apply to whatever product or service you sell. It helped me change the way I approach new clients and service existing clients. Worth the money and more...

I feel that experienced players should pass on this one. There are some minor adventures in here, so I suppose it can count as an adventure module of sorts rather than a box set.

The most useful thing in this item is the dungeon cutouts. Using them is so much easier and quicker than having the players map the areas they explore on grid paper.

Basically, the cutouts are generic illustrations of standard dungeon parts (30 Foot Hallway, 20 Foot Hallway, 30x20 Chamber, etc.) As the PCs explore you simply attach the parts to each other in Leggo-like fashion. Its actually quite workable and the art and detail on them is very good (for what it is).

The Monster counters are simple cardstock punchouts. They're messy and you'll lose half of them in 2 weeks.

You get a set of dice, so thats always nice. Unless you feel that some minor adventures and the dungeon cutouts are worth the price, don't get this item.

But, I can agree with the Lothaire, its a good introduction to Diablo/AD&D. Experienced players should think about it before purchasing.

This is a great way to learn Dungeons and dragons, and is a great intoduction to RPG's in general. It is a very low cost investment, so if you find you dislike roleplaying you have only lost a few dollars as opposed to buying several books and dice sepratly which could cost you [more than the Amazon price]. This set comes with five color charecter sheets, one for each class. They are Barbarian, Paladin, Necromancer, Sorcereress and Amazon. There is a set of dice, all those you need to play. There are "adventure tiles", which are essentially interlocking tiles which can help you form small dungeons to help your players visualise their enviorment. The book contains three small phamplets. One is a rules intro, one contains the monster statistics, the last is a book with a "quest" for the players to run through. Th Dungeon Master should only let the players see the rules book, the rest needs to be kept to himself to avoid spoiling the plot.

Essentially the plot of the quest is to have the players retrieve the Butchers Cleaver. Yes the Butcher from the first diablo. There are new npcs. This adventure does not take place in Tristram from the first diablo, but rather a smaller town some distance away.

The verdict: If your an experianced roleplayer: Pass on, maybe you should take a look at the AD&D Diablo 2 book "Diablo 2: the Awakining"

If you are new to pen and paper rpgs but have played Diablo: Definitly pick this up. It is an inexpensive intoduction to a great hobby.

If you haven't played any kind of RPG: A maybe, if you are interested in RPG's you should gather a group of five friends and divide the cost of this between you. Make sure you have friends willing to play, as you don't want to but this book and not be able to play the game.

Oh and by the way, this was supposed to come with minitures, but WOTC decided not to include them as it would drive the cost of this game up. Also, this product comes packaged with the collecters edition of the Diablo 2 game (its supposed to be around $60, only ten more then just the game and, it also has a soundtrak cd and a DVD with cinematic scenes from the game) No one knows when Diablo 2 the computer game will come out as blizzard is notorious form delays. So if you want this product you might as well pick it up now. And if you later buy the collectors edition, you can give the D&D Adventure game to a pal, so more people can learn to play.

If you're an RPG veteran and want more info on the world of Diablo, get this book. If you love the computer game but want even more adventure (or want to run your own games), get this book. It's got everything you need to explore and adventure in the world of Diablo 2, using Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition rules.

I only wish that this (and D2 itself) had come out sooner. With D&D Third Edition only one month away, the rules in this box set will quickly be outdated. Still, it's a good buy if you're: 1) staying with 2nd Ed 2) willing to convert the rules (WotC is publishing a conversion booklet) 3) Just want tons of cool background information about Diablo 2

"Back from the Dead: How Clinton Survived the Republican Revolution," is a crisp behind-the-scenes examination of how William Jefferson Clinton ultimately defeated a determined Republican Party. To this end, Clinton's extraordinary political skills and a smart move away from the left and to the soft center of American politics paved the way for victory.

Evan Thomas also cites three other critical factors..."it is the economy...stupid," the unpopular personality of Newt Gingrich and the polling genius of Dick Morris as helping Bill Clinton defeat Bob Dole. But the main theme of this book is that the former governor of Arkansas had an enormous appetite for work and an uncanny ability to communicate with the American people. Certain parts of the narrative is a passionate upclose account of Bill and Hillary Clinton as husband and wife as well as political partners. Other parts of this book looks at how the prospects for a second term were shadowed by the scandals of Clinton's first four years in office.

In the final analysis the "Comeback Kid," great man or not...did have a remarkable gift for politics and this won the day. Baby boomers had come of age, moved to the suburbs, borne children, and planted the seeds of a postmodern political agenda. They wanted a president that would help them cope with the cares of everyday life...work and family, schools and doctors, safe streets and clean water. The Republican Party offered a solid political platform but Bill Clinton's colorful promise of a "Golden Age" outlasted Bob Dole's plain "Black & White" strategy for America.

Bert Ruiz

Making the 1996 presidential election interesting and excitingis a difficult task. But Evan Thomas comes very close in this gem ofa book. It focuses not only on the Republican primaries and thegeneral election but also on the Congressional battles in 1995-96 that made Clinton's victory possible. Candidate media strategies are also explored. Thomas also provides insight and analysis throughout the book rather than just at the end like other authors have the habit of doing. These insights, especially concerning the birth of a "Small Deal" in government policy, are fair and accurate. For political readers interested in the 1996 presidential election come here.

This series is by far the best action/adventure of it's type out there today.
If you like SEAL TEAM 7 then you will LOVE this series even better. The rawness and savagery are written extremely well with characters that are not perfect - but extremely interesting to delve into time and again.
Sgt. Night Runner is by far the most interesting of the team with his American Indian background coming more and more to the fore with each novel, turning him into a warrior of old with new technology helping.
What I like about this series is Mr. Smith always starts right off in the thick of things without bogging you down with boring political jargon. His action scenes are very colorful and well thought out. You can tell that he is a writer with firsthand experience with this.
I normally don't read this type of genre, but thank god for Amazon.com for getting me interested. I have purchased all of the novels and will be a James R. Smith fan for as long as he writes this top-notch adventure.
Thanks Mr. Smith!

This 3rd in the FORCE RECON adventure series is an all-out assault on the combat senses, giving the reader a front row seat for high octane action/adventure.
The only complaint I have is that they are too short. The Team Midnight are at it again in Kosovo, fighting Serbs as well as their own bombing raids.
The new character called Perfect was delicately written and was a plus for this growing action series.
You can tell that the author loves to write about his favorite character - Night Runner - because even though he is not the main character - he is by far the most interesting.
Jack Swayne, the leader of team midnight, is a great character whom is both smart and deadly when the time is ripe.
Being stuck behind enemy lines and surrounded by armed Serbs isn't enough, throw in a crazy dictator and Swayne's love interest as his captor, and you have a great action read.
This is a must for action fans of all genres. Man, this author was a great find. If you haven't tried this guy out - then hurry and order your books now, or look in your used book stores for past novels by this author. He doesn't disappoint!

Not to put the previous reviewer down, but which culture hasn't studied the constelations ("fixed stars") & plenets ("wandering stars") for centuries?

This is a great book. The wording is very practical and down to earth. The subject matter in most of these chapters is formidable (given the limited space), and allows dialog between the reader & writer. What I enjoyed the most was not the diversity that was braught to the book, but the depth of knowledge that was braught to it. The chapter written about Chinese "Five-Element" Astroloy was my favorite. For more info about "this stuff"; I recomend anything written by DEREK WALTERS.

Now if you'll me let complane (which is what most of the critiques on Amazon.com do), I'll share with you what I don't like about most practicing astrologers. Most people (including Fagan) try to dispute the validity of using one Zodiac over another (sidereal vs. tropical). But the fact is that some Zodiacs don't even use the ecliptic! Incuding Chinese astrology. Or the Nakshatras, which most western astrologers "throw in"! And this is my point, that these Zodiacs are a cration. Our creation! And that's what makes astrology valid! Remember Arroyo. Don't forget Arroyo. He said, "If astrology is in fact an emination of universal mind or 'Collective Unconscious' or anything like that, then instead of imposing foreign dogma on astrology, I would say, let us open our eyes to what astrology already is! Let's acknowledge its inherent, extremely sophisticated, psychological [soulful] dimentions. It's all there. It's a tremendous tool, a language of consciousness and inner experience... This is one reason why traditional astrology has become quite meaningless to many of us; the astrology has not for the most part evolved to keep pace with our growth [in] consciousness. And it's why every culture has it's own astrology-the consciousness of that culture determines what level of understanding they can have of astrology."

I really need to emphisise this feeling I have about these truths! It seems as though all we need to do is look up and astrology becomes valid, alive because we are!

For another "good read" try The Origin of The Zodiac by Rupert Gleadow.

This is a book about astrology from China, India and Tibet. I do not know of any other book in which there are so many different astrological techniques from the East. Everything is clearly explained. In this book, you will find the wisdom of the sages of the East who have spotted the stars and planets for centuries. Now you can learn about their insights.

After receiving a few mean-spirited e-mails about my review of this book, I feel I must clarify a few issues.

Again, I've gone through nearly 30 books about 9/11. After you get past the austere black cover, this paperback falls with a thud.

Simply put, this book tries too HARD to be profound. You see images you've seen before, such as the sequence of shots of one of the jets slamming into the south tower of the WTC. Nothing new.

Two things bug me: Layout and content.

In the layout, you get the feeling the editors are trying to SLEGEHAMMER the reader with the obvious. I hate this. For example, in some essays, certain words and phrases are laid out into single lines, as if they are poetry. Then there is the awful decision to use fonts of varying sizes to EMPHASIZE certain passages. This is a pretentious device that, I'm sorry, calls TOO MUCH ATTENTION to itself. It is completely unnecessary and smacks of a patronizing tone intended to magnify the depth and gravity of what occurred on 9/11. We all know about that dark day. We DON'T need it pushed into our faces under the umbrella of "literary art."

Meanwhile, about the Chomsky essay: It's short but it's awful. It's laid out, again, in a way that feels like "padding." His message reads like an "I told you so" lesson. Here's what he does: He points to America's "sins" of the past and then turns them around in a way that makes you want to believe that it's NOW THE UNITED STATES' TURN TO SUFFER. This is horrible. His opinions are the stuff of fiery pamphlets handed out on street corners. (BECAUSE WHO WOULD PAY FOR THIS?)

OK, what's good about this book? Well, some of the transcripts of phone calls and a handful essays from victims and witnesses are well done. Why? Because they ARE NOT pretentious. But when others try to be "inspirational," they end up stating the obvious. I can't help but feel most writers were given an outlet to "vent" their own emotions, which have more relevance to the writer than to the reader.

If you want more for less, pick up the December 2001 issue of American Heritage Magazine. There you get five-star opinions about 9/11 from individuals of world repute. It has a "permanence" this book lacks and it doesn't feel rushed together.

In sum, it's fine to read what people like Joan Rivers, Deepak Chopra, Richard Dreyfuss and others "feel" about 9/11. But is it worth PAYING for? You can't judge quality by "good intentions." This is a rush-to-market volume featuring opinions from most who have (or who will have) little if any impact on our lives. Why not opinions from Giuliani, Bush, Blair, Sharon and Arafat, even those recorded by the news media in the AFTERMATH of 9/11? Why not more views from individuals who can effect CHANGE? This book could have been GREAT.

Trust me, this is NOT the definitive book of "think pieces" about 9/11/01.

If you disagree, fine. It's your money. But my advice is to borrow before you buy. There are other books worth buying. This one isn't.

Features a collection of moving photos and thoughtful essays, which capture much of what the world saw and felt September 11, 2001. Notable contributors include Deepak Chopra, author; Gary Fabiano, photojournalist who was trapped under the rubble; Robert Kennedy, Jr., politician; Liam Neeson, actor; Shashi Tharoor, Senior UN Official and author; and more. . All proceeds from this book will go to support the International Red Cross Federation.

This book is not easy to find. I finally ordered it from Amazon.com and I was amazed by it. I read all the critiques to this book. I usually like or do not like a book. I love this book, it is very factual, accurate and explores the feeling of about 30 people that had somenting to say about 9-11. It does not matter to me who they are and what they do, what matters is that the essays touch on fears that I had and still have. I do not pretend this book to change the world but to give me feeling and images to hang on to. On each essay I can find someting I can relate to and this makes the book special, it makes it personal. Highly recommended.