Anyone who reads this book will be amazed by the unlimited imagination of man. The ways spies find to conceal and miniaturize their equipment are unbelievable. After reading this book, you'll never laugh at James Bond's gadgets. Those films don't show a fraction of it. I must say that this book's highest point is the graphic and design: the book is big, good for a coffe table, has a sleeve cover, the paper is of the finest possible, the pictures are clear, everything following the Dorling-Kindersley tradition. The introductory texts and the history of espionage I thought that were a little confuse and vague, so be warned: the book is remarkable by the equipment part (the longest section, more than half of it, I think), but if you want an insight look at history and info of espionage look out for another book. All in all, a good job by this Melton guy, he really got into the work of finding the stuff.

H. Keith Melton has literally produced "The Ultimate Spy Book!" This book is very informative on not only a large collection of tools of the trade, but chock-full of short write-ups on famous spies and missions performed during the days of spy and counterspy. Everything from silenced weapons to entry devices to sabotage devices. Almost every item listed is accompanied by color photos and a description of the item's application in wartime operations. No matter what your interest in the clandestine world of the Cold War is, this book is a must-have resource!

Very well researched and organized. Technically accurate. Just the right mix of history, technology, and crisp photography to give you that "you are there" feeling.

Many of the items Mr. Melton shares are so rare that one would never have the chance to see them (or even know of them) were it not for this book. The "fine wire kit" is one example of this.

The Ultimate Spy Book is not just for espionage groupies either. Ages 8 to 80+ everyone will find it fascinating.

Art Williams is truly amazing. From a career as a high school football coach to the owner of his own insurance company Williams went from pauper to millionaire.

This book is an incredible story of success in spite of tremendous odds and obstacles. Art Williams grew his insurance company, A.L. Williams (now Prime America I believe), when Prudential and other companies dominated the market.

Nearly everyone was telling Art that it couldn't be done and that he was nuts. They laughed at him.

Who's laughing now? Well, Prudential is still around, but Art Williams is certainly able to laugh or do whatever he wants now. Maybe you can too if you follow his lead. The first step is to get this book and read about this amazing individuals' life.

Take it from the man who made the impossible possible. Starting with a $10,500 salary and outselling the Insurance giants like Pru and Met! Educating the general public to the folly of cash value insurance, "buy term and invest the rest" great strategy.I particularly like Art Williams philosophy of being devoted to a cause, having a goal that is bigger than yourself.Great book. All sales and network marketing people must read this book.dell-ites@wbtv.net

Before 1992: I had been doing nothing and was a complete loser.

May 1992: I immigrated to Montreal and found this book by accident.

Dec 1997: I graduated at McGill University with Great Distinction.

* SOME PERSONAL ADVICE:

IF YOU DON'T HAVE A GOAL YET, DON'T READ IT, IT'S GOING TO BE A WASTE OF TIME.

BUT IF YOU DO HAVE ONE, GO AHEAD AND PUT DOWN THAT $10 NOTE. I SWEAR. YOU'LL NEVER REGRET.

** SOME STATEMENTS TAKEN OUT FROM THE BOOK:

- Believe in your God-given power

- Your life from this moment is still a blank page

- The world is full of people playing at half or a third of their ability. If you go out there and do all you can do, you dramatically increase your chances of winning

- When things are though, we tend to get discouraged and do less than we've done before. Wrong! This is the worst time to slow down. The best cure for discouragement is to double your effort, so as to calm your fears and motivate you to keep going.

- You can't live for the approval of every person you meet during your life time; you've got to live for the rightness of what you're doing

- Tough time won't last. Tough people do

Intuition is more than just the name of a beagle. Intuition walks alongside all of us. It cries out, it licks our face, it will lead us out of danger and guide us to glorious places. We just need to learn to listen to it, trust it, unleash it.

Take the time to really read this book. It may appear simple on the surface, but there are so many important messages and layers for those willing to pay a little extra attention. (just take a look at the discussion group at the end)

Want to learn about life? Want to learn about business? Want to learn about motivation? Want to learn about spirituality? It's all in Free The Beagle.

Some books are forgotten days after being read. This story will stay with you for years to come.

p.s. Listening to the CD is even more fun than reading the book.

I have read Free the Beagle twice and listened to it 8 times (with my kids, coworkers, etc). I have bought eleven copies and only have one left. The book comes with a cd version of the 72 minute story that truly grips your attention and takes you on a journey. Not a word is wasted or misplaced. What seems like an absurd story at first, humbles you when you discover that you have been reading about yourself, your calling, your relationships, your career, your company (whatever you care to insert as a corresponding journey). This morning I caught myself looking in the classifieds for a beagle puppy. Find out why.

You know it's buried somewhere in your brain - the creativity that you once had as a child, back before you obediently slipped your arms into the straitjacket of conformity that bound you tighter and tighter while the years sped by. If you could only find a way to liberate the creativity again!

Free the Beagle by Roy H. Williams points the way. It's an amazing allegory about you, your life, your responsibilities, and your relationships, and it has the power to teach you to see everything through new eyes. It's a can't-put-it-down book, a short novella that's both shallow enough for a child to wade in and deep enough for whale to swim in. It's about balancing your left brain (an order-seeking lawyer) and your right brain (a freedom-loving beagle) so that you can learn to access your creativity and be a more open, more productive and more positive human being. When you discover the principles in Free the Beagle, you've found the closest thing there is to operating instructions for your brain.

You'll read it quickly, and want to read it again. The style is spartan (though you might spot an extra adverb here and there), yet it is written in a way that the thinking reader will see layers of meaning begin to unfold. Few books with such an economy of words say so much.

Don't expect this to be another trite Who Moved My Cheese? But if you liked that book, you'll love Free the Beagle. If you hated Who Moved My Cheese? you'll especially love it. The time is right for Free the Beagle by Roy H. Williams, and the proof will be seen when it quickly becomes a best seller - one that people actually read! To top it off, an audio CD dramatization of the book is included in the miniscule price - so no one will have an excuse for not reading it.

Free the Beagle might be the best investment you'll make in a book this decade. Buy it now, and you'll be in-the-know when everyone is talking about it.

My Father bought Up Front when it was released and I read the cartoons numerous times. Later, I read the text. This book does more to capture the human experience of war than any other of its time. It prefigures and anticipates the recent oral history books such as, "The Good War", "D-Day" and most recently, "Citizen Soldier". The last two, by the way, are well worth the read. Through Willy and Joe, Maulden protrayed the absurdity and the eternal human spirit in the everyday events that make up so much of the experience of war. The cartoons alone make this a book which even the most casual student of WWII should read. His text captures the experience on the ground, the mud and cold, the rain and heat, the boredem and fear and the workman like approach to war that made up the GI's life. Get it. Read it.

This book is, without a doubt, the greatest book on the World War II infantryman ever written. Why? Because it was written by and infantryman, for infantrymen. Sgt. Bill Mauldin claims on the first page that his business is drawing, not writing, and that his text is only there to back up the cartoons. However, the text is some of the most endearing, personal, and excellent works on WWII ever. Mauldin brings the war down from the lofty views of Generals and reporters to the personal level, to the point of giving you a basic narration of the average day in the life of an infantryman. The cartoons, naturally, are the main power behind the book, and they are, even to this day, still hilarious. Hilarious, but at the same time showing you the gripes and hardships of the average GI during the war. If you want to experience World War II from the GI's perspective, read this book!

I first read this book 20 years ago, as a senior in high school. My uncle, a Korean war-era Ranger, gave it to me. My Dad, a Vietnam infantryman, liked it too. Sadly, I lost that old, faded copy somewhere along the years.

Imagine my joy to find a reprint! The book means much more now that I can understand it. I've got 13 years in the Army myself, in Infantry and Special Forces. I'm a Major now, and I pay close attention to what Mauldin writes about officers. I want to be the kind of officer that he respects: always putting the welfare of my men first, respecting my men, and leading from the front. His narrative and comments are a constant reminder to me of the responsibility I hold for my soldiers.

If you are from the World War II era, you already know about Willie and Joe, and there's nothing new I can tell you. If you are an old soldier and you somehow have missed this book, then you are in for a treat. If you are a young soldier, or a prospective soldier, or the family of a soldier, then you NEED to read this book. For anyone else, it's a great window into a world that, thanks to some brave men 50 years ago, you will hopefully never have to see.

Gitanjali is a sweet collection of poems and songs from Nobel Prize winning poet Rabindranath Tagore. These are songs that touch on love, faith, truth, life in general. Tagore has written from the heart. The wisdom contained in these works is startling. This is Eastern poetry that is a wonder to behold. Tagore embraces the personal as well as the universal. He encourages his people to transcend. I refer to this book variably over the years. Its alluring beauty has not faded in any way.

The word and the deed were never far from each other in Tagore's life and not surprisingly he advocated the Universal Man. He was a polymath: a poet, fiction writer, dramatist, painter, educator, political thinker, philosopher of science. He was also a genius in music, choreography, architecture, social service and statesmanship. Over six decades Tagore gave the world some 2,500 songs, more than 2,000 paintings and drawings, 28 volumes of poetry, drama, opera, short stories, novels, essays and diaries and a vast number of letters.

I would enthusiatically recommend this book by my favorite author. Like the Psalms of David, Gitanjali is a soothing balm to the spirit. I read this entire book in less than two hours and has been my long-trip travel companion ever since. The introduction to the book by W. B. Yeats is magical and all the poems in this book transcend your imagination. The variety and quality of the poems are unbelievable!

"Gitanjali" is a collection of prose poems by Indian author Rabindranath Tagore. The Dover Thrift Edition contains an introductory note on the life of Tagore, who lived from 1861 to 1941. According to this note, Tagore, who wrote poetry in Bengali, translated "Gitanjali" himself into English. The Dover edition also contains a 1912 introduction by William Butler Yeats.

This English version of "Gitanjali" is a series of prose poems that reflect on the interrelationships among the poet/speaker, the deity, and the world. Although Tagore had a Hindu background, the spirituality of this book is generally expressed in universal terms; I could imagine a Christian, a Buddhist, a Muslim, or an adherent of another tradition finding much in this book that would resonate with him or her.

The language in this book is often very beautiful. The imagery includes flowers, bird songs, clouds, the sun, etc.; one line about "the riotous excess of the grass" reminded me of Walt Whitman. Tagore's language is sensuous and sometimes embraces paradox. Like Whitman and Emily Dickinson, he sometimes seems to be resisting traditional religion and prophetically looking towards a new spirituality.

A sample of Tagore's style: "I surely know the hundred petals of a lotus will not remain closed for ever and the secret recess of its honey will be bared" (from section #98). As companion texts for this mystical volume I would recommend Jack Kerouac's "The Scripture of the Golden Eternity" and Juan Mascaro's translation of the Dhammapada.

This book is a great conclusion to a terrific series. I have enjoyed each of the novels in the Lost Regiment series, and they have been excellent in both conception and execution. Forstchen has masterfully handled key concepts like the importance of technology and economics in warfare while keeping the relationships and emotions of the men of war in the forefront of his stories.

While I am sorry to see the series end, it's good to know the author would rather leave the series at a logical conclusion than try to continue it for the money.

I would recommend The Gamestar Wars by the same author for those who liked this series.

Forstchen has truly created something that far surpasses anything that has come before and probably set the golden standard for the genre. Drake, Pournelle, Stirling, Niven, Saberhagen, and Forstchen's other books do not come close to this series. Rickety aerosteamers and land and sea ironclads, as primitive as they are, somehow have a superior eloquence in conveying the drama of war over the sophisticated spaceships, supersonic planes, or lasers which have up to this decade been the staple of other military science fiction. This concluding chapter itself is a true microcosm of what fans and admirers have come to expect from the series. While this means incredible battles, tense political interplay, fierce confrontations of personality and fate, surprising twists, and some heavy references to the importance of logistics, technology, and strategy, the book also carries with it some of the faults of the series; namely, the inconsistency with the characters' names begs for some coherent editorialism. True to form, Fortschen changes the Rus orthodox priest's name from Casmar to Casmir! At the end of the book one of the character's name is reshuffled in a pretty blatant mistake though it only happens once. I won't risk giving anything away, but readers will see it when they get there. However, as the series has always done, the tremendous story more than makes up for these annoyances. The conclusion to all the important threads is not COMPLETELY detailed, but the book does present a definitive conclusion to the Bantag War and the answer to humanity's future existence or extinction. By the end of the book readers will know which side won the war, what species will dominate the planet, and what the very GENERAL implications for the future of the Republic will be, so longtime readers need not despair on that account. I would have preferred a highly detailed account of the next 100 to 1000 years like one reviewer requested, but as it is, the last chapter which wraps things up is satisfying enough. Beyond that, Forstchen seems to have indicated that he is through with the Lost Regiment, and I commend him for letting this terrific series run its course and ending it with the dignity and the treatment it deserves. The new use for the aerosteamers in battle is some of the most exciting stuff I've read since the rocket barrage at Hispania or Timokin's charge at Rocky Hill! We've all wanted to see the humans on the offensive and wondering how much longer the Republic could hold out under the strain of constant war and here are the answers. This is the worthy conclusion I was looking for.

Oh, and the maps were very helpful.

I stopped everything to read this book the second I got it, and it was worth it. The strategy was understandable and realistic, the plot was fast-paced, and the battle scenes were gripping. Forstchen made a good choice when he decided not to make Colonel Keane the main character this time around. While I'm sad the series ended, the ultimate resolution is satisfying and was a strong finish to some of the best science or military fiction I've ever read.

This is the funniest book that I have ever read. Horse Badorites is a character who cannot finish any of his beginings. He will be walking down the street and he will say something that he needs to do then he will say, "But first, man, I must..." This book is so good because the author never seems to say or hint that the herb smoking, worthless object buying, racsist behavior is in any way a bad lifestyle, just an interesting one. If you liked this book, try The Bear Went Over the Mountain, by the same author. A must read.

More remarkable than the spaced out world William Kotzwinkle has created inside Horse Bedorties' head, is the effect this world has on its readers. Eveyone I talk to who has read this book has givin it away at least once. Most peopole numerous times. I personally have bought and passed on well over ten coppies. It is like a joint that is just too good to keep to yourself, it mussed be passed to anyone that is willing to take a puff. Legal pot with no munchies. How perfect, Man.

I first read this book when I was about nine or ten. My mom and older sisters had already dog-eared our copy and finally saw fit to pass it down to me. I read it, laughed uproarously, and wasn't aware of 90% of the culture, drug, or sexual references in the book. I still found it funny enough to read repeatedly throughout middle adn high school, and throughout college and graduate. Of course, as I got older, I understood more and more and found The Fan Man to be as sad as it was funny.

Horse Badorties is a loser who knows he's a loser and this makes his life that much more poignant, hilarious, and pathetic. He's on the fast track going nowhere and intends to enjoy every moment of it. He's the burnout hippie who hasn't escaped his languishing identity; he's capable of great things, but never follows through. He's a skilled musician, a magnetic group leader, and a charismatic con artist, yet never takes himself seriously enough to achieve the bliss he's looking for -- until he gives up his main ambition to watch the sunset over the Hudson River.

Like the sunset, his contentment is also short lived and leads inevitably to his perpetual dark dissatisfaction with everything he does (with the exception of his girl's choir). Yet I still find myself laughing at him and with him. Every time I read this book.

The book is excellent because it presents physiology in a very straight forward and uncomplicated manner.The contents and emphasis is more than enough for USMLE though First Aid says that it is slightly weak in respiratory and Acid Base physiology .I found both to be adequate and Renal physiology particularly enjoyable.The book assumes that you have reasonably good basics to follow its outline format and the books relative lack of explanations. But if you had once learned and enjoyed physiology you will enjoy this book a lot and go through it fast.It may not be useful with the course work as different institutions present material in a different way and a review book without much explanation and a possible different approach may be confusing. Perhaps reading STARS Physiology book( I havent checked it) with the course and then using the review for the USMLE could be helpful.Best of luck with the exams.

I used this book to study for both the USMLE Step 1 and the COMLEX Step 1. The material covered, layout and concise format were invaluable, although the STARS Physiology book by the same author is better if you're not time crunched. The Board Review Series of board texts is excellent and the physiology version is one of the best. Worth the money and a great aide for 1st year students to use during physiology courses.

That's one of the best review books I've ever read. It's very conscise and it contains pretty much everything you might need for the USMLE. The questions at the end of each chapter are NOT asking plain facts, but require quite some thinking, which in my opinion greatly helps one "consolidate" what he has learned. In addition its size lets you briefly review facts just before your exam. If you are studying physiology for the first time, or if you wish to have a more "in-depth" textbook, you might consider obtaining another great book -- "STARS Physiology" written by dr Costanzo.

A good book to keep in your collection, read and absorb the messages transmitted about the everyday life, and how to approach it and face it with all its varieties...

Easy to follow in the different chapters, and it actually gives us many new insights about a different culture and belief. The Shambhala is a complete method of living by itself with many followers in the far East, and expanding all over the world.

One book that will help for sure get you more organized, focused, and look at things a little differently.

Shambhala: The Sacred path of the Warrior is a book I read on whimsy. I read this book originally because of the relationship Trungpa had with Allen Ginsberg. I was curious so I picked up a copy of this book. It was enlightening because this is the real deal unlike a lot of the half baked Zen Buddhism invoked by many beatnik types. One need not drop acid to gain wisdom here. If you want the hokey, trippie hippie Buddhism, forget this book. Trungpa is writing of an ancient code of warriorship. It is an inward, spiritual journey drawn from the Tibetan warrior culture. One who reads this and learns the lessons it teaches will be assisted in overcoming self doubt and negativity. This is not a book of violence. It is really a guide towards overcoming violence. It is about learning mastery over oneself. I was inspired to be better after reading this book. It made me believe in the possibility of transcendence. That is saying something, too. It is a very motivational book.

"The Shambhala teachings are founded on the premise that there is basic human wisdom that can help to solve the world's problems. This wisdom does not belong to any one culture or religion, nor does it come only from the West or the East. Rather, it is a tradition of human warriorship that has existed in many cultures at many times throughout history". - Chogyam Trungpa

The book looks at the principles of warriorship, and this is non-aggressive, no swords and daggers here.

I read this book and it was like having spent my whole life walking from place to place. Then one day being given a bicycle to travel around. And one night, whilst asleep, dreaming of the awesome speed I was now able to travel at, someone sneaks into my garage and fits a turbo charged, jet powered, rocket engine.

I would recommend this book to anyone, and have been doing, if you are reading this now then your search is complete, there is no need to go any further. Put it in your shopping basket and get ready for the rollercoaster ride of your life.

While not forgetting his ancetors, Saul Williams uses a blues and jazz infused vocal style that touches on the sharp and the smooth of human relationships. This book and CD are simply beautiful, hauntingly so. It is dark, yet able to make its own light in the power struggle of a human life. I applaud his ability to transcend race. Many get so caught up in the past that there simply is no future, but Williams crosses this line and opens up his poetry like a creaking door, behind which, music plays. His topic is love and hate, sex and loneliness, but not your typical angst-filled drivel that so haunts the poetic world today. If I had to compare, I would say Langston Hughes. Quite simply, poetry at its best. Even if poetry leaves you dry, his ability to take poetry back to its oral roots makes music of breaths. Buy this book and CD set. You won't be sorry.

Some song writers were fighting for human rights before humans knew enough to fight for themselves. This is the kind of amazing thoughtfulness that comes out in Saul Williams book...She... The poetry is daring and unique. It will captivate anyone with a semi-open mind. If you go into this book close minded, I'm sure you won't appreciate the subtleness of some of the poems.

He has placed a subliminal message in the minds of us all. He's in your ear, in your books, and on your TV screens; each time with a classic sequence of metaphors. Saul Williams is the poet that we've all been waiting for; his words are a melodic metaphors of our inner thoughts: "Can we all be poets?" Each page of his book is remarkable. An actor, poet, and simply a genious!Williams is the rebirth of expressiveness in poetry. Long has it been since the world has seen, read, and heard one of our great poets; Saul Williams has made it all possible. Buy his book, listen to his CD, and watch his movies and get ready for the ride of your life. Fasten your seatbelts because it's going to be one Hell of a ride.