The universe keeps gifting us with blessings and we often miss them. Our education or culturization gets in the way. I really think the best things in life are free. The Water of Life by John Armstrong is a beginning, an opening door, that will hopefully change opinions. The cases presented are not only interesting they are convincing. My biggest complaint, is that there are not enough specifics for implementing. e.g. For application to the head/hair. How long should it remain on the hair. Should the hair then be shampooed, or just rinsed?

I read this book and was blown away. Incredible stories, unbelievable, awe inspiring to say the least. This book describles stories of very sick people trying urine fasts, as a last resort, after years of traditional medical treatment and healing whatever ails them. I would also recommend "Your own perfect medicine" by Martha Christy and "the golden fountain" by coen van der kroon, two books I also read about urine therapy. I have done a few urine fasts and they really work to help you lose weight and junk in your body.

THE WATER OF LIFE : A Treatise on Urine Therapy by John W. Armstrong. Saffron Walden, Essex : The C. W. Daniel Co.Ltd., 2nd Edition 1971, Twelfth Impression, 1998.

Since its first publication in 1945, 'The Water of Life' has achieved something of the status of a classic. Having just finished reading it, I can understand why. Armstrong, who was a British naturopath, was a very modest man who never intended to write his book. But after repeated requests, and after considering that he had a duty to his fellow men and women to reveal the details of the miraculous therapy he had discovered, he went ahead, and we should all be intensely thankful that he did. The book is a goldmine of good sense, practical advice, brief though fascinating case studies, and astute observations on a wide range of matters.

His discovery - or perhaps rediscovery is a better word, since urine therapy was and is known and practised in many cultures and is even known to the animals - came about in a curious way. As a young man he suffered from consumption, had been passed through the hands of a whole slew of orthodox medical practitioners, none of whom had been able to cure him, and some of whom made his condition worse.

But he seems to have been a religious man, and one day, while pondering Proverbs V.xv : "Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well," he had a flash of inspiration which led him to link this passage with a few tales he'd heard about the curative properties of urine. Could this reference to "waters," he wondered, be a reference to the body's own water - urine? Having nothing to lose, he decided to give it a try.

He began drinking his own urine, was restored to health, and went on to lead a vigorous and productive life by helping to restore the health of many others, both human and animal. Incidentally, one of the interesting features of his book, which indicates something of his kindly and unselfish nature, is that he has included a Chapter XVI 'Urine-Therapy on Animals.'

In 'The Water of Life' he has provided details of the threefold 'urine fast' method he worked out, details which will be found enough to go on by mature adults of average intelligence who have a bit of common sense.

The most important point to understand, which he emphasizes throughout, is that one should NEVER attempt to use or ingest any substance other than urine and pure water - whether chemicals, drugs, alcohol, denatured foods, etc., - when undergoing a urine fast or 'penance' as he liked to call it.

The whole idea is to allow NATURE to take her course with as little interference from us as possible. A fast of urine and pure water, plus frequent, lengthy, and thorough urine massages, and, if necessary, the application of urine compresses, would, he felt, cure pretty well anyone of almost anything if undertaken long enough for the body to rid itself of toxins.

Armstrong's 'The Water of Life' is a very rich book, crammed with fascinating and useful information, and interwoven with brief case histories of almost every conceivable ailment. I couldnt even begin to do justice here to the wealth of ideas it contains.

Four books on urine therapy are currently available : those of Armstrong, Martha Christy, Coen van der Kroon, and Flora Peschek-Bohmer. Of these, the Peschek-Bohmer may be ignored as being both superficial and highly misleading on essential matters. The remaining three all serve to complement each other in different ways, with one providing what the other lacks or hasn't gone into as fully.

The serious practitioner would be unwise to overlook Armstrong. True, his is an early book and we know more about the actual constituents of urine and how it does its work today. But he was a unique character, and in his own way he was a very wise man, and I think he will always have a lot to teach us all.

... Ireland is a fine place to live. The major reason for Irish emigration was economic. Since the country has experienced a growth rate touching ten percent for the last ten years, people are falling over themselves to live there. It is a relatively liberal place which does not have the death penalty, does not arm its children, does not teach creationism in the classroom, and is not racially segregated. Also, unlike the United States, it is not an insular, anonymous, car-dependent, advertisement-saturated culture where one drifts from one processed, corporate-inspired ghost-experience to another. With the possible exceptions of New York and San Fransisco, there is no reason to live in the States beyond financial gain (I admit that's a pretty good reason.)
Waters is an example of Ireland's highly self-critical culture, a culture typical of successful postcolonial states (like Canada and Australia.) In Ireland to be an 'intellectual' is to be critical of the culture. After achieving independence, economic stagnation and proximity to the imperial power (Britain), encouraged feelings of provincialism and self-hatred, the idea that 'things must be better elsewhere'. During this period, one might say that "every foreigner was a distinguished foreigner." Conversely, what was local could not be good, could not measure up on the world-stage. This lack of confidence has mostly evaporated but intellectual culture changes more slowly than popular culture. As in 'Jiving At The Crossroads', Waters is sharp enough to register these shifts ... Yet, as 'Angela's Ashes' shows, there's still lots of money to be made knocking over straw leprechauns.

I fled Ireland almost two decades ago. I've spent the time since then recovering from growing up there.

Among other things, I've decided that Irish people are mostly driven to despair by the local weather and religion, and they self-medicate on alcohol. This book makes that point clearly and well.

Other points made by the book concern the Irish media elite (they despise other Irish, but aren't honest enough to simply leave the country), the Catholic hierarchy and its hypocrisy (especially the ex-Bishop of Galway), increasing Irish dependence on other countries - especially for food. And so on.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It confirmed the good sense in my decision to emigrate.

The reader gets two stories for the price of one in "Jackson's Way." The first 150 pages tell the story of America's expansion West to the Mississippi River with objective and rich detail about the conflict and trials of both settlers and Indians, but little about Andrew Jackson. The book is also a good balance between modern apologists and proponents of manifest destiny. The second story describes Andrew Jackson the soldier and general, mostly Andrew Jackson the consummate leader. I can list with the fingers on one hand the really good books about leadership, this book fits in that count. If you're tired of sniveling and self serving politicians and generals driven more by bureaucracy and pomp than fighting skill and tired of selfish chief executive officers raking in million dollar stock options while laying off thousands of workers without adequate severance compensation then meet Andrew Jackson as described by author John Buchanan. If you teach history and want to see students sitting on the edge of their seats instead of falling asleep then this book is for you too. The story describes in detail battles in the Mississippi River watershed during the war of 1812 culminating with the Battle for New Orleans (1814-15) when we whupped the British tail. Buchanan describes Jackson's leadership traits in a way that readers in virtually any profession can relate.

Jack Buchanan is a great writer! I was enthralled by this book from the moment 15 year-old Andrew Jackson swept onto the page. Buchanan brings to life the saga of the Old Southwest and the American pioneers. The most interesting element of the book is the portrait you get of Andrew Jackson, who was so loved men voted for him fifty years after his death. Anyone interested in the Presidents or the history of the Old Southwest will want to read this book.

Nothing Can Go Wrong is the story of the last long cruise of one of the last American passenger ships, the Mariposa. Told in alternating sections by John D. MacDonald (the mystery writer) and Captain John Kilpack, the book shows a fascinating side of cruise ship travel and work that is amusing and even informative.

The book was written in 1977, and hence is a bit out-of-date. This affects MacDonald's sections much more than Kilpack's, though. Kilpack's sections, which are written in a voice so clear you can almost hear the captain speaking, are mostly stories about incidents on this and other trips, and they retain their humor. MacDonald's section, being partly a travelogue, is much more susceptible to the ravages of time - most of the places he discusses have changed a lot since he was there. Still, the book commemorates a wonderful ship and a truly funny cruise - one on which the company said "nothing can go wrong." It does, in the form of broken anchors, sinking floats, incompetent harbor pilots, and bureaucracy everywhere.

If you can find it, it's well worth reading - both for cruise-ship travelers and those of us who would never set foot on one of the floating monsters. For a more modern comparison, read Nothing Can Go Wrong alongside David Foster Wallace's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. Recommended for lovers of travel memoirs and travel humor everywhere.

One of the most delightful accounts of life on a cruise ship. The historic last long journey of a ship under the American flag reveals all of the personalities that come together and learn to relate in a confined space. The real adventures of the passengers and crew will keep you laughing through every chapter. A book that I re-read before every cruise. As any traveller can tell you, don't believe anyone when they say "Nothing Can Go Wrong".

I don't remember where I got a copy of "Pictures of the Water Trade," or why, but I know I haven't lost track of it since.

"Pictures" is a fictionalized account of the author's experience in moving, as a young man, to Japan, and his experience of 'turning Japanese.' He passes through several stages of understanding, incomprehension, accepatance and rejection, examining his feelings and reactions through the prizm of the Japanese language. He explores how concepts and metaphors embedded in a language can change the perception of someone who immerses themselves in it completely. His relationships with co-workers, his roomate and a girlfriend detail these changes. I recall a scene in which he realizes he has begun to bow when on the telephone, and he understands how his personality is changing in response to culture.

This is a poignant and intellectually challenging work. John David Morley alternates personal, illustrative events from his life with detailed explanations of sociology and linguistics. I am reminded of authors like Neal Stephenson, and Noam Chomsky. Strange and heady company.

If John David Morley's use of English does not bring a gasp of pleasure then the contents of his work certainly will. If you have the slightest interest in things Japanese then you are sure to enjoy this remarkable journey of cultural exploration seen through the eyes of a fictional Englishman. It seems very real, and for those who have traveled in Japan the context is set so perfectly. But more than that, it provides delicately woven connections and insights into a whole fabric of Japanese society of which most Westerners will never be aware. Perhaps the author's fluency in Japanese helps him unravel the thinking behind many interpersonal and cultural patterns which otherwise remain opaque to outsiders. To me the book was emotive, and real, with a captivating web of characters and a motion which maintained my interest to the last page.

i thought this was an exellent book, and they expressed theyre opinions in just the right times, they didnt really talk much about the spinnaker, but other than that its great

Although the book was written in '80s, that is why it only cover spinnaker technique and old racing rules. However, it is not felt out of date.

It covers all of the topics of dinghy race. The language is simple and all important points are well addressed and clearly explained. The chapters of Tactics and Stratey are particulary wounderful.

It is an essential reading material for dinghy racers.

The single most arcane book I have ever encountered, and a delight to all scholars of the English language. The degree to which our hertiage is maritime is made clear in this precise examination of how the littoral of the American east coast influenced the development of how we speak.

If you frequent the backwaters solo in shallow draft unmotorized craft, Stilgoe's views play right along with your wanderings. His expansions on physical entities as diverse as the "guzzles" for which you never had a word, to the lesson in full appreciation of "chartreuse" touches here and there, through the care and use of "sea marks" in places and times present and gone are just the kind of thinking you tend to do during a sixteen thousand stroke day in the marshes. New territory in a favorite place.

The book gives a detailed intro to the art of surfing. It takes the reader on a step by step guide to the basic surfing moves, and then moves on to more challenging manouvers. It details what type of boards beginners should ride (You still see first timers out on short boards getting nowhere) It also has a travel section and a world map displaying surfing regions. A must for anyone starting to surf.

I read this book after I had been surfing only three months and I wish I would have read it sooner. It has etiquette, how to, and technical tricks to take your surfing to the next level. The next best thing to practice.

Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates is a chilling tale with an unusual structure that will keep you turning pages. This book treads on a story line the American public is sure to recognize. Based in the political realm, Kelly Kelleher finds herself clinging to life after a drunken night leaves her suffocating in black murky water on the coast of Connecticut. A very political commentary, Oates smothers the book with thought provoking motifs containing loaded messages about the world in which we live. This story does not dance around long drawn out exposition. Instead, the book offers a Toyota sinking in black water as a way of pulling you in deeper. Though the novel seems to work backwards and forwards and inside out, Black Water grabs you by the shirt collar and takes you on a journey in a sinking car occasionally giving you an air pocket to catch your breath with Kelly. Follow Kelly on her political journey that starts at a barbeque and ends in death. If you think I am giving away the ending, I am not. Joyce Carol Oates gives it away at the beginning, but I have already said that. And remember it is not truly important that you as a reader know what happened rather know why it did. Politically, Oates is saying a mouthful and those who appreciate a solid thematic piece will definitely enjoy this story. I have read many of her other works like "Where Are You Going and Where Have You Been" and "Heat." I have concluded that Joyce Carol Oates captures American culture in times of desperation, of weakness, times of terror, and of shame beautifully. She does a wonderful job writing about cryptic events that stir emotion and a little fear in everyone. Black Water is sure to do just that, but for those who would rather read a flowery, comfortable, and easy novel, do not pick this book up, but for those of you who want a challenge, crave something deeper than entertainment, and / or just want to try something new, read this book, you will not be let down. This novel is a very powerful piece written with precise and methodical language. Also, if you have read any of her other works and find her writing style fascinating, you will be further amazed at Joyce Carol Oates' writing abilities.

The novel "Black Water" by Joyce Carol Oates is about a young idealistic woman, who is attracted to "The Senator", an older successful politician, in whom she sees a chance to fulfil her yearning for adventures. She accepts his invitation for a night in his motel-room and joins him in his car which ends in a terrible accident where her entire personality is put to a new challenge- she questions the sense of her being, of her life she has lived so far, and doubts if her longing has been fulfilled in the way she had in mind.
Through the literary means of a brilliantly woven narrative, which is the typical feature of the novel, Oates produces a certain picture of Kelly's thoughts and feelings which is determined for the effect the book has on the reader: The whole story is written in a very captivating and sensitive way.
In our opinion the book is very worth to read.Kelly, in her special nature shows other women that no matter what happens one should never loose his/her belief in something and gives them the strength to keep their faith and their hope.
As it is based on a real incident, Joyce Carol Oates gives through her narration the forgotten and silent become mistress of Edward Moore Kennedy a voice and with it a human soul.

This novel was one of extensive study by my part, and the more I read, the more I appreciated the fear, the possible real life correlation to a US senator, and the momentum in which Oates carries us through the scene of this horrible accident.

The entire novel is barely a hundred and fifty pages, separated by thirty-two chapters. The speed and the brevity in which she writes makes it all the more believable, and is in my opinion the best dramatic choice Oates made as far as the convention of the prose. Although these thirty-two chapters were small, they were jam-packed. That question everyone wants to know is in there and seems to be answered, which I can't reveal or I would spoil the book.

The worldview Oates' is two dimensional to me. One part of the view portrays through the accident is something we all know, accidents happen. The main character being a younger female, interested in politics, and interested in starting her life while thinking in almost every chapter, "am I going to die-like this" really wakes the reader up and moves the common "accidents happen" theme to "accidents can happen to you too, at any time." The other most significant and compelling part is shown through a young woman who is violated when she trusts an older man. As she sits trapped in the sinking car, the Senator escapes and physically uses her body as a stepstool, leaving her behind. The most intriguing part of the story for me was that she was convinced he was coming back, and yet this is a smart character. A character who makes a conscious effort to discard anything as silly as a horoscope and one who is approach is intricate in design no matter what the circumstances. So what happened? The complications Oates made within the main character really move your mind in several directions. Any female reader can really relate to the dramatic choices in dialogue and characterization the Oates makes.

The element of fear is something that Oates really plays around with through the entire book. There is the stark fear of death, fear of talking out of turn, fear of consequences from men, fear of leaving a relationship, fear of putting somebody above you in the political world down on your level, and fear of life itself. And the fear that is still surfacing after finishing the novel is the fear of trusting people. The reader watches a spark between a man and a woman as Oates so simply and naturally creates the scene and this so thought harmless afternoon fling turns into a bloodcurdling accident that details the thoughts of the victim and the disbelief-it's amazing.

This novel has an element of truth, or motivation from the 1969 Chappaquiddick Island accident involving Senator Edward Kennedy and Mary Jo Kepechne, who was in a similar position as Kelly Kelleher. However, it is obvious fiction since no author can rewrite the thoughts of a deceased individual. Nevertheless, the prose by Oates was critical in creating a believable situation.

It all takes place in Kelly Kelleher's viewpoint; at the party, interludes from her past, spliced with the slowly sinking of the rented Toyota and Kelly's body into the black water. Because of this dramatic choice Oates really benefits the reader by revealing the intentions and motivations of the main character in her life and career. A common motif through the novel was that Kelly was an "American girl" which really set a degree of normality to the character, making it all the more realistic to the reader.

This book wasn't the only work of Oates that I have read and I can see a similarity in style and the same dimensional fear and gender inequality. I would recommend this to any gender however; it affects every human in the area of trust and death.

I've read several books by Irving, and I recently finished "The Water-Method Man". Quite a disappointment, after reading the magnificent "A Prayer for Owen Meaney". This was Irving's second book, and you can see the beginnings of "The World According to Garp" in some of the characters and situations. There are some extrememly funny moments, though, and the jumping from 1st to 3rd person points of view, and from the present to the past, in each alternate chapter, is amusing. However, the first half of the book is hard to slog through, with chapters written as letters -- an annoying contrivance. It's also hard to follow what's going on, or why we should care about these characters, at least until the episodic plot is set in motion at the half-way point of the book.

To emulate a memorable character from a novel written by one of John Irving's favorite authors..."Does one 'sniff' a hint of Robertson Davies's multilayering of plot? Perhaps a bit of Buechner's comedic wit? I believe so."

Now, with that said, I'll just come out and say what I feel--"The Water-Method Man" is an often grotesque, but consistently hilarious book. Rarely do I laugh audibly while reading a novel. I did so a lot while reading "The Water-Method Man."

In "The Water-Method Man" (his second novel) Irving made a gigantic leap in plot complexity from his first novel, "Setting Free the Bears" (also a favorite of mine). "Bears" had largely a tripartite soul as far as its plot went--nice and neat. "The Water-Method Man" is a masterpiece of nonlinear, multi-plotline story telling.

Again, more than anything, this book is FUNNY (yep...all caps funny). Even the chapter headings are humorous. A few examples: "Prelude to the Last Stand"; "One Long Mother of a Day"; Slouching Towards Overturf" "Another Dante, A Different Hell."

The characters of "The Water-Method Man" really do come to life. Biggie, Couth, Dante, Arnold Mulcahy and Tulpen will all stick in the reader's mind for a long time to come.

The Trumper--Thump-Thump--Fred--Bogus character is hard not to like even at his most despicable. This could almost be a parable about the kind of trouble we humans seem to get into without fail when we have no real help outside of ourselves.

The character of Merrill Overturf is sure to strike a cord with anyone who has ever been a little "off" in their formative years. I found him the most humorous of all the characters, almost a Platonic ideal of humor.

The subplots of Akthelt and Gunnel (an old low Norse epic poem Trumper is translating throughout most of the book) and the movie Packer makes of Thump-Thump's life (the title of which I will not mention here) are both ingenious literary devices. They also provide consistent comic relief (bottled insanity) from the more toned down comedy.

While I cannot endorse the vulgarity of some of this book, I am indeed glad I read it. It has helped me to see from a perspective (in some cases mind you--other stuff here is just plain bizarre--never been through it) that I once saw the world from. It is always useful to look back.

For whatever it is worth, I just thought I'd share my thoughts on the book with you. This is one of the funniest books you'll ever get for your money. But strange.

John Irving's second novel has been lost in the wake of "The World According to Garp" and "A Prayer for Owen Meany," the successful Irving novels that it most resembles. A pity. For Bogus Trumper in "Water-Method Man" is a lost, beautiful soul -- desperately trying to find, or create, a self amid the challenges of early adulthood. Here we have some of the finest prose and most entertaining idiosyncrasies of any Irving book, and -- in Biggie and Tulpen -- two of his best female characters. Incredible real-world humor in the title character's letters to friends and bill collectors, as well as the film documentary of his life and its reviews -- and a Thanksgiving that features the most sweet-sad-honest portrait of rebirth in the author's collected works. "The Water-Method Man" is an underrated pleasure.