5 comments about The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology.

1. I did find this story interesting but its drawn out way too long. This story would have made a nice feature article in the "New Yorker" but I suppose the distribution is better in a book. Still it could have been told in about 1/2 the words used. Not that I'm not fascinated by geology, I am, it's just that I can take only so much about walking England and picking up shells.



2. I'd read Krakatoa and enjoyed that, so I thought I'd give Map a try. It took me a while to get into it, but I was well rewarded. The author does a nice job recreating the pre-Darwinian geology scene in Britain. I'd never known much at all about the whole coal-and-canal connection and found it fascinating. I did think that I knew a lot more about geology and paleontology - obviously, I was wrong, as I'd never heard of William Smith, whom the author has convinced me is an extremely important figure.
   
   The author is a good writer who writes books about very interesting subjects. I hope he keeps 'em coming. My only complaint is that, at least in this book, the writing is somehwat repetitive (though this wasn't a problem with Krakatoa, as far as I remember).



3. Prior to about 1800, Geology did not exist as a science. Oh, there were people who were interested in various aspects of it, but the science was born with the publication of James Hutton's book on "The Theory of the Earth" in 1795. Then, in about the next half century, what we now regard as "modern geology" came into being. Most of the leading characters in this fascinating history were from the British Isles. Let's say that this was the period of time from the publication of Hutton's book up to the Publication of Darwin's ideas regarding evolution. Well, it was a scientific revolution that led to our understanding of the Earth and it's complex history and led to the understanding of the history of life on our planet. It carried profound social implications that are argued right down to the present time.
   
   William Smith was one of the most important contributers to the development of modern geology. He's an interesting character in that he was not highly known or highly regarded until after his death. Scientists, in those days, were mostly from the elite classes and were tied in with a museum or university, whereas Smith was an orphan from a working-class family and he was largely self educated, both in civil engineering and in geology. He somehow managed to get a job with a coal company that involved constructing a canal from the northern coal district southward to the population centers of southern England. This task brought him into contact with the earth and he recognized that he was crossing major layers of the earth's exposed crust. He recognized each of the layers (now referred to as formations), recognized that they followed in a sequential order and plotted their distribution on a base map. Well, this type of thing is rather routine in the present world, but it had never been done until Smith's time and was a revolution in itself. As he was mapping his formations he became interested in the peculiar petrified remains (what we now call fossils) that he observed in the sedimentary rocks. Smith recognized them as formerly living things, but he had little knowledge of biology and many of the remains were of a type that were wholly extinct. No problem. There were a lot of more educated amateur collectors around that aided him with their understanding. Smith observed and collected more and more fossils and finally announced that each of his formations contained it's own distinctive remains and these remains followed one another in a determinable order. This was a stunning discovery and proved to be very controversial. The prevailing thoughts of the day said that fossils occurred at random. No one had ever guessed that they occurred in an order. Well, Smith had his maps and could demonstrate his discovery to anyone who might be interested. Furthermore, the formations followed superposition with the oldest on the bottom and the youngest on the top; thus, if you showed the order of fossils you showed the order in which the different types of life appeared and disappeared through the interval of time represented by the formations. It was a simply amazing discovery and led to the development of the modern geologic time scale. It is now known as "faunal (and floral) succession," one of the basic principles of geology. All of this might seem rather elementary in view of today's knowledge, but this was about 30 years prior to the publication of Darwin's book on evolution. Darwin, by the way, was said to regard William Smith as a most ingenious man.
   
   Simon Winchester steps in and chronicles this most important period in the history of geology. He portrays Smith himself and the early 1800s world in which Smith functioned. He really does an excellent job. I've always regarded Smith as one of the most important early geologists and Winchester does a fine job of giving me a feel or the early 1800s social and scientific setting in which Smith operated. Oh, one might remark that Winchester is a bit of a windbag, or that he writes with a British accent. No problem at all. He gives a wonderful account of William Smith's life and times. I highly recommend this fine book to anyone who is interested in the history of geology.



4. As a fan of the history of science, it is not that moment of "Eureka" that fascinates me but of "Is that supposed to happen?" And this book fits that perfectly. It follows the story of the father of modern geology, William Smith, and some of the obstacles he faced. Unlike some other books of this genre, this book takes an in-depth look at William Smith's life, and the outcome was not always flattering. He faced many obstacles, some imposed by conservatives within the world of science and some self-imposed. Interestingly, Smith did not set out to discover geology, he just happened to be observant while working on canal construction and he connected the dots --more like rock strata-- much the same way that Fleming did in the discovery of penicillin. This book is a must read if you are interested in how needless conservatism can hold back good science.



5. I am not an expert on geology and although I had just learned about rocks and minerals in school, this book seemed very edious at tmes. I remember cute little details from the book and the main ideas but when they talked about canals, coal, strata, dips etc, my mind went blank. I really tried to read it and absorb it all but I found it difficult. I still think you should give it a try but I found it very "unstable"

5 comments about When the Impossible Happens: Adventures in Non-ordinary Reality.

1. I would be glad to be proven wrong but having read half of this book it has lead me to feel skeptical...even though I was looking for information to make me believe more (see angels and aliens, deepak chopra, etc.)
   
   Unfortunately this book reminds me more of the whitley streiber style of taking too much time talking of personal experiences (with much apparent filler of unrelated personal life details and name dropping).
   
   And also of the Streiber style of completely condemning the scientific method and methodology in general. At least STan does not go so far as to talk of a scientific conspiracy but he does throw the baby out with the bath water.
   
   Case in point and the chapter that really disappointed me was on the quartz crystal skull. Stan gives vague annecdotes with little research into these episodes, including a jaguar in the living room which left Stan's subject in (giggles here) "metaphysical horror". The chapter ends not with an assessment of this mysterious object but stans failure to meditate infront of it and instead right a fiction story.
   
   Hey, kudos to him for researching the mysterious, but am I the only one who is disappointed their is not a more sober, investigative approach? Stan to me gave me no more insight into the supernatural than you may get from someone at a busstop with unsubstantiated claims other than his apparent own experiences which even those have little to back up.
   
   BTW: found much more intriguing info on the skull on wikipedia of all places.
   
   I hope stan's other books are better, with less filler of his personal life and less like flaky books like "connecting the dots' and more like "angels and aliens" or the spirit molecule. the last two being much more sober, investigative and objective.
   
   I like books on spiritualism and the supernatural a lot but am very tired of people exploiting the genre with their empty supposed studies. Anyways the cover was cool. I will do my research better next time.



2. This fascinating book by one of the intellectual giants of our time falls somewhere between Jung's "Memories, Dreams, Refelections" and Timothy Leary's "Flashback". It gives an overview over Grof's life and his personal experiences with realities that lies beyond what the materialistic-scientific worldview considers 'possible'.
   
   Some of the anecdotes are taken from his previous books, but they are certainly worth telling again. Experiences with esp, reincarnation, energy-transferring (Swami Muktananda) and not least lots of experiences with all kinds of mind-altering drugs, often taken at exotic places like old mayan temples and the australian desert.
   
   Many of the examples are taken from his own life-story, but a lot of them comes from his yearlong work as a therapist, with LSD and later holotropic breathwork.
   
   Few people challenges the ortodox scientific worldview with such vigor and depth as Grof (guess a book like this could give Richard Dawkins nightmares for weeks, if he had the courage to rewad it). But having said that there seems to be in his works a strong tendency to make spirituality synonymous with 'experiences' and to underestimate the value of Silence, introspection and emptying the mind.
   
   In this book Grof certainly comes across as more of a 'head' than in his previous more scientific works, like a man who likes to take drugs and let the vision of the world be altered by chemical means.
   
   All in all an important collection for anyone interested in a more comprehensive picture of the world around us.



3. As always - simple and genius! This book is especially well-written and could possibly an eye-opener for many readers.



4. Grof throws it all at you in this delightful little book on consciousness and transpersonal psychology, which is also an easy read. He discusses and elaborates on many topics that are of interest in exploring paradigm shifting views on the nature of consciousness and existence and so migrating us out of the straight jacket of materialistic monism and Freudian psychology, that have so dominated western thinking.
   
   Topics reviewed include Holotropic breathwork, Crop Circles, Siddha Yoga, LSD and Ketamine Based therapy sessions, past life regression therapy, Synchronicities, Shamanic Influences, Primal Therapy, ESP, Remote viewing, Basic Perinatal Matrices (BPM), Astrological Archetypes etc. and it is mostly through direct experiential based vignetttes garnered from the authors 50 years in the field.
   
   The Holotropic breathwork itself seems like a variant on Osho's dynamic kundalini pranayama, and active meditations that is combined with music. Knowing from my own experience the relationship between breathing rhythm and the quality and one's conscious state and moods, ( a fact that is also known for millennia from the teachings of Siddhas such as Thirumoolar), it is highly likely that it can be used to raise deep unconscious and traumatic states so that they can be therapeutically resolved. Just like people remember things based on a trigger from the time the memory was implanted, each traumatic event in a person past life or past lives will have its own characteristic breathing rhythm and going into this upsetting breathing rhythm can be used as a trigger to raise it once again. Unfortunately, in this book Grof does not go into too much detail on how the mechanics of this breathwork but does describe some stories of those who were able to use successfully to heal themselves from trauma or phobias developed in the birth canal and in past lives.
   
   The LSD experiences he describes paint reality in the same words as those of the yogic Siddhas, namely that the real world a highly expansive interconnected infinite and spaceless intelligence capable of manifold manifestations and meanings. That it is never separate from the experiencer but a is a vast phenomenal game of play of the cosmic consciousness. That the apparent separation and sedimentations of objects arises out of conditioning and dullness and lack of flexibility in the conscious apparatus. That LSD can be used to alleviate this dullness and conditioning temporarily and so dehypnotize one from the dream of separation and limitations. That the experiences induced by it are not neurochemical artifacts, symptoms of a toxic psychosis as mainstream psychologists called it, but genuine manifestations of the human psyche itself. Personally, I use yoga, pranayama and meditation to achieve the same results.
   
   On one occasion, in an LSD session, and OBE the author takes a trip to his mother's house and the experience is so real, that he believes like in the dream of Chuang Tzu that it is his life in America that is a dream. He considers taking back a picture from the house to proof to himself that the nature of the world is entirely dream but is fearful that he may find out something he doesn't want to know and messing with powers beyond his conscious abilities to assimilate. He should have took the picture, and then he would have known that all is dream. Also, there are no powers to be fearful off because there are no devilish mystic archetypes or black forces beyond your own mind. Unpowered by your mind, they dissolve into nothingness.
   
   In another experience, he describes a ketamine session in which he experiences identification with petroleum as an evil metaphysical archetypal entity and later he says "I became every jew in the nazi gas chambers, every sprayed ant and cockroach, every fly caught in the sticky goo of the fly-traps". I think the author needs to make a clearer distinction here, that he did not become these things, in his Ketamine session, he has just achieved a clear and noise free perspective as one gets in the Eka Grata state of consciousness. You can experience things close up and real, to the exclusion of all else. However, you are still only experiencing it from the outside and so seeing only surfaces and heightened sensory perceptions and thought superimpositions based on your understandings and unconscious reservoir of experiences- you are not experiencing it from within as it is in the field of the one-consciousness. This is a qualitatively different experience.
   
   In another session, he experiences himself becoming a towel at a neighboring swimming pool in Esalen, and seeing all those at the pool and watching all that was going on. This is a remote viewing experiencing and he says later those at the pool validated what he saw and experienced and he takes this as indicative of proof that he did astrally project and have an OBE.
   
   However, I feel the author may need to take the quantum leap in consciousness into better understanding himself on this one and in so doing transmigrating his current conscious onthological vision.
   
   Consciousness does not go out and astrally project or have OBEs etc. It is always stationary, what changes is that different perspectives and views are brought into the field of consciousness as the objects of consciousness. I feel the author still things that consciousness (transpersonal or to alternative) exists in the field of the world and travels around it freely - he needs to make the radical revision that the world exists only in his field of consciousness. A Course in Miracles says this very succinctly in the line "Ideas leave not their Source" . Remote viewing works because all mind is joined and this mind is spaceless, - moreover there are no objects and no world apart from mind - they represent just projections of thoughts. It is this that makes it possible to experience things in remote corner of the world from your own living room. The Zen folk say this also very clearly when they say "No Vehicle - is the Great Vehicle of Zen" and the Buddha is one who travels all day without traveling anywhere at all.
   
   In this case, he simply brought the experience of the being a towel at the swimming pool and his friends there into his field of consciousness. It is a conscious substitution interposing one thought stream with another and not a going out of mind. Their words and actions just represent his own ideas projected out of his mind - afterwards they have to validate what he saw because there is no "they" and no out-there - just his own mind validating his own thoughts and conscious experience at a later time.
   
   Anyway, thought the book was a thought provoking read but good conceptual content and is open to later validation by each reader by their own direct experiences. It represents new life and oxygen and a major revision to the stuffy, reactionary, conditioned and positively Victorian and Pavlovian thought systems underscored by current psychological modalites that depend heavily on neuroleptic bombardment, Freudian psychology and rigid DSM IV diagnoses.



5. Sorry Captain Kirk.
   
   Space is limited to the known universe which, vast as it is, pales in comparison to the unknown universes that exist just behind the shadows of our consciousness.
   
   Like millions, I too have enjoyed the fabulous imaginary worlds, incredible futures and technological wizardry that bubble up from the minds of great science fiction writers.
   
   Then I began to read about a part of each of us that we know relatively little about: our consciousness. What we know about consciousness comes from the very limited vantage point of our waking state, and a bit more from our dreams. This experience fools us into believing that this reality is all there is.
   
   Western Science reinforces this idea since it is grounded in a philosophical worldview spread by a distinctly un-spiritual Christian mindset that sees true mystical experiences as the domain of only saints and psychotics.
   
   But in 1943, a Swiss chemist named Albert Hofmann gave to the world a molecule that could allow anyone to experience conscious states far beyond our survival-mode highly-filtered reality.
   
   This molecule, of course, was LSD and before the United States government rushed to judgement and declared all psychedelic substances as wholly unbeneficial for human research, amazing results were being published in the literature about the effectiveness of psychedelics in psychotherapy, in drug and alcohol addiction, in easing the fear of death in terminal patients and in non medical areas as creativity, problem solving and other intellectual and artistic endeavors.
   
   One of the original researchers in the area of psychedelics was psychiatrist Stanislav Grof who added enormously to our knowledge of the mind and expanded greatly on both Freud and Jung in their understanding of how the mind works.
   
   Realizing that much of what was being discovered regarding the psychedelic states of consciousness had been explored for thousands of years in Eastern philosophies as well as indigenous shamanism, he developed his Holotropic Breathwork technique to achieve these same states of consciousness after psychedelics were banned around the world in 1970.
   
   His astounding findings over the past fifty years using both psychedelics and Holotropic Breathwork is the subject of this book and for me goes far beyond the imaginary worlds of science fiction into realms of reality that offer glimpses of not only our consciousness before and after our material deaths, but even the ability to experience the consciousness of any material entity; organic or inorganic.
   
   Dr. Grof's work has given Western man something those in the East have known for millennia; that this span of time we call "our life" is simply a tiny momentary escape from the unlimited pool of consciousness that makes up the ALL of a Creative Consciousness.
   
   The only downside to reading this book is that I fear I can never read science fiction again without feeling that no matter how creative and exciting the book is, it can't begin to compare with what exists just beyond the limits of our physical universe through our own consciousness.

5 comments about Edie: American Girl.

1. Book came very quickily (within 2 days) in excellent condition. I would buy from this resource again.



2. When the movie "Factory Girl" (god-awful by the way) came out, it renewed my interest in this book and Edie Sedgwick. My interest in her dates back to when I first bought this book, way back in 1982. The test of a great book is that is grows richer and deeper upon re-reading. And this one does.
   
   At first, this was simply the story of a notorious party girl. Upon re-reading (I've read this countless times), "Edie" becomes the story of how the thread of mental illness traveled through generations. This book is truly unforgettable and haunting. And I'm sure, while suffering another bout of boredom, I'll read it again. - Siouxie
   P.S. Someone should give this book to Britney Spears. She's traveling the same path at age 25; Edie was dead at 28.



3. Great photos, great commentary from those who knew Edie on the most personal levels. Great and eye opening accounts of what it was like to live in the sixties, the drug use, the sex, the music, the scene. Really great book that I'm thrilled to add to my library.



4. This book is interesting. It is a little hard to follow because of the way it is written and some of the pictures are a little vulgar but I guess that sums up Edie. It is worth a read for anyone interested in this poor girl. There is something so so sad but so fabulous about her.



5. I believe this is a great book about Edie Sedgwick, it's very well documented and original, you can read a lot of opinions, versions, from her brothers and sisters, to her friends and companions. I enjoyed it very much!
   
   The beginning of the book talks about the ancestors of Edie's family (the narration is a little bit slowly in that part, and personally I only wanted to read about Edie), anyhow you'll find this information very useful in the next chapters to understand the whole life of this amazing girl. The price is amazing, is a big bargain!.
   
   The book is a little bit bigger than the other kind of books we're used to read. Isn't paperback completely, don't know what material. It has a lot pictures, all in black and white, very helpful to the beginners or novice people that are interested in Edie's life.

5 comments about When Fear Falls Away: The Story of a Sudden Awakening.

1. I really enjoyed spending time with Jan and hearing how her fear had reached such a point in her life that there was no where to go but fearless!
   
   I am working on my own spiritual journey and I sometimes wonder if it will be similar to what Jan experienced.



2. There is a tendency to think of a state of liberation as magical, strange and remote. This memoir/journal recounts the naturalness and simplicity of liberation from fear and desire. The author recognizes simultaneously that she has discovered a causeless, ceaseless joyfulness; and at the same time acknowledges there may be more yet to come. What is valuable and inspiring here for one who practices spiritual development is the clear sense of possibility--and the simultaneous transcendence and humanity of this expanded state in which she now lives. In reading it, one finds echoes of one's own best moments magnified and extended as a way of life; and it does not seem so remote and unattainable as perhaps it once did. I found myself reading with gratitude and appreciation. Likely that there is more to attain, a more thorough-going unity and dissolution of the individual ego, in the great masters than what is described here; yet what is described here is our nature and our birthright, and the simple conviction and directness of the tale I found inspiring and delightful.



3. I read this book last summer and it woke up in me a strong desire for Liberation. I followed it by reading "Pathways through Space", which she talks about in the book, and I really connected with Franklin Merrell Wolfe's words as well. But the book I would most highly recommend after reading this is "The Most Direct Means To Eternal Bliss".



4. I highly recommend this reading to anyone who is looking to be being happy. It is not a "how to" book, but leaves one with the feeling that all things are possible. The author is to be congratulated on her honesty. I even purchased a loaner so that others could share the experience.



5. This book was recommended and I picked it up with ambivalence thinking, "I already have a spiritual path and Teacher. Do I really want to invest my time in yet another story?" Well, I am immensely glad I did. Frazier's intention to share her experience and let her reader know that enlightenment is here now, available to the reader as well as herself was a gift to me. Since reading the book I am aware of my own moments of Self Awareness and my faith is renewed. Because Frazier has shared her inner life so beautifully and carefully, I recognize that I too can (and do!) live in this state of amazing grace.

5 comments about A Year in the World: Journeys of A Passionate Traveller.

1. I looked forward to reading this book but found myself not knowing a lot of the foods or areas that the author spoke about and had to turn to "googling" about them many times, thus throwing my momentum of reading this book off.



2. There has been a lot of (unjustified, to my way of thinking) criticism of Ms. Mayes book here...
   
   Perhaps to balance the generally favorable reviews of her earlier books, which were indeed inspirational to (mostly) Americans who cannot conceive of the fact of starting another life 'out there', beyond the US imperial borders.
   
   I for one think that her most recent book deserves a better fate...as do all books that look beyond our borders. God knows, we have a lot to learn.
   
   I would wish her to continue to write and publish her semi-memoirs (more power to you, Ms. Mayes), so that we can read about her travel impressions...which is nothing more than what they are (everyone who reads travel books wishes they were there, and their impressions would be different).
   
   Her book is not meant to represent anything more than a single, literate person's reaction to what is encountered.
   
   If I wished that her impressions were more biased toward a historical account, or an 'anchored in early 21st century' mindset, so what? Places are what they are. Each place has its own history, its own time frame, its own this-ness, That's why we read (instead of or before going).
   
   Who among us would not like to live the life she describes?
   
   So what if she seems to be overly-critical of the cruise passengers on her 'free trip'? Paul Theroux did the same thing on his cruise described in the 'Pillars of Hercules'.
   
   I too have been cruises on which I wondered how did these folks even get on board unassisted, given their age and weight?...let alone show up every night for dancing, etc?
   
   The way for me is that they 'earned' their condition. Give these folks a break.
   
   It's a good thing and a positive thing and and a lfe thing...especially given the death culture the US is currently 'enjoying' as a result of the current administration's insistence on same.
   
   Just my own thoughts on what should be encouraged in this culture...
   
   There are a lot of things to complain about, but Frances Mayes is NOT one of them.



3. This book disappointed me because I expected to find the quality of writing in A Year in Tuscany. Instead, A Year in the World rambled along interminably. Where was the editor of this overwritten book? Too much erudite history and too many long attempts at poetic description make getting to the end a long slog. Also, I would have liked some description of husband Ed. Occasional, brief, stilted conversations between Frances and Ed revealed next to nothing about Ed's personality, background, thoughts or appearance. Finally, I can't help wondering how much Frances and Ed weigh? A great deal of the book is about food, and the many snacks and meals they enjoyed each day. A photo of the two would satisfy this reader's curiosity. I liked A Year in Tuscany, but A Year in the World is about six months too long.



4. I'm sorry, but this book was ultra boring. I couldn't muster up enough energy or interest to even finish it.
   
   I myself, suffer from wanderlust. My extensive travels have taken me to some of the same locales as Mayes, so I was looking forward to reading about them from her perspective.
   
   However, I'm a writer myself--and while I haven't published a book about my travels I do keep a popular travel blog and write editorials for my local papers upon my return. But, trust me I've written more interesting narratives on a postcard home to my family than Mayes manages to do in 20+ pages.
   
   My advice--skip the book, and opt for a nice program on the Travel Channel instead. I guarantee it will be more fascinating and informative and you get the pleasure of avoiding Mayes's pretentious ramblings.



5. I just finished this book and loved it, I don't really understand the bad reviews. One I read said she didn't think Mayes's heart was in it. Unbelieveable! It makes me wonder if she really read the book. Mayes' "heart", her heartfelt impressions of the places she visited, ran throughout the book. I strongly recommend this book if you love to read about travels and particularly if you like the way Mayes writes.

No comments about Somewhere in Heaven: The Remarkable Love Story of Dana and Christopher Reeve.

5 comments about On the Edge of Nowhere.

1. Jimmy Huntington wrote the best read I have seen in awhile--not too flowery, just basic truth. I loved it!!! Bonnie



2. I think I bought the last eight copies, so please order more, Amazon. I teach high school in the Alaskan bush, and it is extremely difficult to find books that my non-readers enjoy reading that also have academic value. This book, and "Shadows on the Koyukuk" by Sidney Huntington, Jimmy's brother, have given my students insight into the transition between traditional Native culture and current native culture with its White influence and inclusion. My copies are going into the Alaska History tub of materials from our district resource center, to be shared by the other schools in our district. We will need more copies.



3. Recently, I have been fascinated by Alaska and the people that inhabit(ed) its interior. The life of Jim Huntington is to be admired by everyone. This book was a fast read and a real page turner. It is more adventurous than many fictional tails I have read. Excellent and should be read by everyone.



4. I spent time in the village of Huslia and actually taught in the school Jimmy started there. I met Jimmy's brother Sidney, who also wrote an awesome book, SHADOWS ON THE KOYUKUK. This is a beautiful, but harsh country where survival was not a given. This is a marvelous book..... unforgetable........ a must-read for a lover of adventure and the wilderness!



5. What a great read! Awe Inspiring, Alaskan all the way. Does not get more raw than that! I grew up in the bush hearing tales of the good old days. This is a story worth every word.

5 comments about Authority and Submission.

1. This book is excellent. It is just what I needed. It has made me rethink many things, from how I talk about my President and other elected officials to the way I act toward my church, to the way I drive. Submission is the key to a full christian life and it permeates all areas. Mr. Nee shows that in a great, effective way. This book is best read with it in one hand and with a Bible in the other hand. If all Christians could practice the message given here, the church would be much more effective. It humbled me in many areas. So simple but yet so deep.



2. Watchman Nee is so original in his presentation and reflections on the Bible and the Christian life in general. This book really challenged me to accept certain patterns of authority and guidance which the church often neglects to teach. This is one of those books that I highlighted many a paragraph!



3. This is a must read for any practicing Christian. It will change your life.



4. I would like to give all the glory, honour, dominion to our Heavenly FATHER for being such a Sovereign FRIEND, who other than Him, to put the keys of the kingdom in our hands (Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.), in books written by HIS friends & servants, and then to be able to order them on amazon.com. He has given people talents, which are wonderful & such a blessing. But Brother Watchmen Nee was a man after GOD's own heart for submitting to His leading & writing so many books. My Beloved family I would like to tell you that the books written by Brother Nee are not just self help books. They are not just things a man has put together from the Bible hoping to make a dollar. They are words that proceed out of the mouth of GOD (Matthew 4:4 "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.") A person has to have a close relationship with our Heavenly FATHER to received such a grace to write such weapons of warfare [2Cor.10:4 "(For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)] Do you understand that Brother Nee wrote these books with the Anointing to break the yokes of bondage that are on us; not only in the natural, but in the spiritual. Where fear bind us to only tread upon things that we can see & leave the true things of our Heavenly FATHER alone in the spirit. Talents cannot allow you to walk in the supernatural. A book written about how to grow in prosperity (money) isn't it supernatural. The riches the Bible tells us of is in Matthew 6:19-20 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:" What riches can we take that are earthly & carry to heaven with us? NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! So what Brother Nee is saying to us as we read the divine revelations of the FATHER's lips are life, the way & the truth to eternal SALVATION(JESUS)(John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."). The things we do for our Heavenly FATHER is what counts when we get to heaven. Not the things we have accumulated here while on earth. We need spiritual things to carry us through this way, this truth, this life because the GOD that we need to serve is SPIRIT & LIVING (John4:24 "God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth."). Beloved Family, we need to understand that there is no excuse as to why we don't move up in the things of GOD. We must be discipline in our efforts to seek Him diligently. We must not be slack in pursuits in HIM. There are books that are written by talents. Talents are skills or learned things people are able to do through education. But the Anointing is something that a person must be qualified in the eyes of our Heavenly FATHER to do (2Tim. 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."). We must take seriously that we have an adversary named Satan that seeketh to destroy, kill & steal from us. He is as real as our LIVING FATHER is. And Brother Nee submitted to the will of our Heavenly FATHER to set us free from the bondages that Satan attempts to keep us in. I write with a passion for all of you to passionately seek our FATHER with diligence. HE loves you & doesn't want these spiritual weapons to work against you. HE has provided you with that you need (Psalm 23:1 "[[A Psalm of David.]] The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want.") The want here says "LACK" He has not given you any lack concerning the tools of warfare to win souls to and for HIM & to defeat the Devil & his works 2Cor.10:4 "(For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;). 1Cor. 15:57 "But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Read Beloved Family.... Read what HE has for you. Grow spiritually... Remember the church of Laodicean in Rev.3:14-22 " And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked(spiritually blind without the Gifts of the Spirit revealing the way, the truth, nor the life to you): I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire(the things which the FATHER has revealed to you in prayer while consecrated & fasting through holiness & righteousness{right standing with GOD}) , that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."



5. Very thought provoking. I'm in the process of studying this book along with the scripture references

5 comments about Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper.

1. I THINK THIS WAS AN EXCELLENT BOOK. IT HELD MY ATTENTION THROUGH OUT THE STORY.I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR EVERYONE TO READ BECAUSE IT IS ABOUT A TRUE HERO.



2. Read this if you want to put out the welcome matt "When Johnny Comes Marching Home."
   Calculated killing in war can sharpen wisdom and appreciation for life.
   Coughlin's words are the gemstones of a genuine sage and his insights are as sharp as his shots.
   He reveals his marriage problems with way more class and grace than "a human being should be allowed to have."
   A platoon of Jeff Foxworthys or Jerry Seinfelds could not have conjured, in their finest hour, the real-life and hilarious laser war chaos created by Jack the Sniper.
   The man is a legend and a genius.



3. This is a great story. Jack Coughlin is a great Marine and a great sniper. The book is written with a real cocky, type-a personality kind of tone. It doesn't come off all that bad, but you have to get used to it. It's written as if Jack Coughlin were standing in front of you, and talking at you. This is a good buy if you like military books. I got it for free from a co-worker, so the price was right and I wasn't out anything even if it sucked...which it didn't.



4. Overall a good and well written book. It surprised me how flowing the narrative was in this book, seeing as it was a biography,and autobiography at that. Shooter has none of the long drawn out side paths to the story, nor setting up one part of the characters life, then another. There is a bit of set-up in the form of the first chapter, and some side paths to the story, non longer then a page and most a single paragraph. The bulk of the story focuses on Gunnery Sgt. Coughlin's envelopment in the training and invasion of Iraq.
   
   There is the occasional cliche' and the book is as gung-ho as would be excepted from a Marine, but the smoothness of the storytelling and the Coughlin's clarity in retelling events far surprised those rather minor complaints.
   
   A quality book all around.



5. The author/sniper seems to enjoy shooting Iraqis a little too much. Of course, shooting enemies is one of his duties, and he has a right to feel good about doing it well. But the book overflows with cocky statements like "I considered the ill-trained, poorly led soldiers of Iraq to be hamburger in my scope, practically begging me to kill them, and I was more than ready to grant that wish." Still, if you can tolerate the author's apparent machisimo and arrogance, and his constant whining every time his superiors order him to do any job that does not involve shooting, you will get a little piece of action-packed history from the perspective of a person who lived it.

5 comments about The Art and Flair of Mary Blair.

1. Beautiful and unique look into the life and developed portfolio of a retro animator. This book is nostalgic, child-like awe packaged. Wonderfully whimsical images.



2. When I visited Disneyland last year with my daughter I expected to fall in love all over again with various attractions at the park: Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Carousel. I honestly didn't expect to fall in love all over again with "It's a Small World" but I did.
   I had already heard the name, Mary Blair, but I didn't know anything about her so I decided to research her online and I found this book.
   What an incredible artist she was! John Cane tells her story and her contributions to everything Disney. She was an incredible artist! Her works now sell for many hundreds of dollars. It's too bad that she didn't live long enough to see herself become famous. Like most artists, she became famous after her death. At any rate, here is the story of the woman who created so much of the Disney magic. It's very well illistrated and an enjoyable read.



3. The work of Mary Blair is well-known to animation and Disney aficianados, but there is a dearth of material available about her. Her influence on animation and Disney design was enormous. John Canemaker, as one has come to expect of his work, has written a terrific book on Blair. Well-illustrated, carefully noted.
   Although this book is very good, Mary Blair deserves a full-length biography.



4. For anyone interested in the cartoon drawings of the familiar Disney era, (think Cinderella and Peter Pan)Mary Blair's art will delight. Her style was decidedly "folksy" in the early days and it's simplicity told the story with clarity. Disney commisioned Blair to create the characters in the exhibit "IT'S A SMALL WORLD" at Disneyland. With Mary Blair, Disney found a foil to show his unique view to the world...a truly American look.
   This book, THE ART AND FLAIR OF MARY BLAIR, is very well produced book by Disney editions, that shows the prolific Blair's drawings and art work, not only from the Disney era, but beyond.



5. Great product! As always, Amazon delivers a quality product at a great price in record time! Very pleased with item.