I definantly recommend this, regardless of the current climates, for a better understanding of the ways our liberties have been abused in the past, and how easily our privacy can be invaded without our even knowing.

Set up has a workbook; the student of tarot works one card at a time to really understand that card in depth. The only way to learn to read.

There is also help understanding where the cards came from, how to find a deck, how to create a spread, and how to put it all together. If you want to learn to read tarot, this is the book for you.

The Writer's Friend also includes valuable information for technical writers looking for assignments.

Reading this book and knowing what editors look for, paves the way to success.

"The Writer's Friend", it truly will become your friend. This book will give you powerful insight into the world of editors. Not only will you learn from the authors' of this book, but you will also learn from a number of editors as they tell you what they like and dislike in submissions. You will learn how to grab an editor's attention and begin earning money selling your articles.

"The Writer's Friend", in addition, gives you information on researching, giving interviews, preparing and submitting query letters, improving your writing skills, getting ideas for stories and articles, and a lot more. Not only did I find this book helpful but I also gained inspiration from it. Everytime I put the book down I found myself at my computer polishing up my articles, stories, and queries; that's how much "The Writer's Friend" inspired and helped me.

This book is a must for all freelance writers. It would even make a great book for teachers to aid them in teaching their courses on freelance writing. After you finish the book you will want to store it by your computer to keep referring to. It not only provides you with resources on and off-line, but an appendix of questions that you can always look back at.

If you find yourself down because of rejections and feel that you should just give up, think again, just pick up a copy of "The Writer's Friend" and you're sure to be back in your spirits of writing and submitting again! I give this book 5 stars for outstanding excellence!

A true gem sure to keep the reader entranced for hours at a time...

Two concerns: her use of "Borderline" is inconsistent throughout the book, used at times to denote a range between neurotic and psychotic and other times as a type, as in BPD. She inaccurately claims that the DSM uses BPD as a degree rather than type, when in fact it one of the several "clusters" of personality disorders, each distinct in presentation. My suggestion is to go with her psychological approach and eliminate the vague word "Borderline" altogether. Replace it with characterological and take Vaillant's advice to forget the "kitchen sink" BPD.

The other concern regards the Dissociative type of pathology. McWilliams ignores her own elegant heuristic when presenting these difficulties. She loses track of the neurotic-characterological-psychotic spectrum in which this type of pathology can present. A close reading of this section of the book suggests revisions for the next edition, which I hope will be forthcoming, as this is a wonderful text to use with students learning about so-called abnormal psychology.

Perhaps one criticism I would hold is that, while this work looks at women's experience, it still seems to remain very Euro-centric. I am reminded of the arguments of black women against feminist theological processes, which led to the development of womanist theological discourse.

Recently I received an email from a friend with a link to an on-line quiz, which was attempting in a Turing-machine sort of way to be able to determine one's gender from the answers given to a set of questions. As I was taking the test, I thought about it in the context of women's ways of knowing and learning, and realised that this test was very objective, non-connected, largely non-feeling, and very masculine in approach. Certainly this test did not have the kind of objectivity called for in the text. 'Objectivity in connected teaching, as in connected knowing, means seeing the other, the student, in the student's own terms.' (p. 224) This test was seeing everyone in terms of a standard model, a model derived from male-dominant considerations.

For the sake of liturgy and learning, which is my particular field of study, and the purpose behind reading this book, the kinds of issues raised here are important. The authors begin with the idea of silence. This is not a silence like monastic silence or the silence between prayers, hymns and readings, but rather a silence of voices from the shaping and practice of the community. Too often liturgy is viewed, by laity and clergy, as something handed to them from 'authority' with little or no room for adaptation or adjustment to context. When liturgical practice becomes this rigid or this 'unlistening', it can cease to have any many or validity for the community of worshippers.

The authors also develop ideas of received, subjective and procedural knowledge, all of which can be used in liturgical practice. There can be, particularly in my prayer-book-heavy tradition, a tendency to emphasise received knowledge and some aspects of procedural knowledge, while confining other types of knowledge to secondary or tertiary roles in the liturgy. Dialogue sermons and opening up the participation to others can enhance the service, broadening it to other forms of learning styles.

Applying the principles of connected teaching to liturgy can have important results. 'Connected teachers try to discern the truth inside the students.' (p. 223) Perhaps this same kind of constructed style of shaping the liturgy to be more inclusive, more sensitive to the voices of the members of the community while still paying respect to the overall shape and intention of the community, can lead to greater connectivity of the community amongst itself, and of the community members to the experience of the liturgy.

Overall, this book can yield insights into many types of practices, learning, and knowledge. While it does not constitute the final word on intelligence by any means, it is a valuable conversation partner.

Personally, as a seller on various online auctions, I found the html info and templates explained in the back of the book to be most helpful!