Product Description

Customer Reviews (37)

Average advice
For the new parent struggling with toddler issues that may not come as common sense for you. There were a few helpful hints in this book, but as a whole there are better suggestions out there in chat rooms or advice boards on the web. No one knows your kid like you. And as this book suggests, kissing your kid at the end of the night and walking away may not do it for you. I personally need to gate my little one in his room and hide in the basement until he passes out on the floor. The only thing this book has taught me is to curb my temper. The Chaos to Calm part of the title applied more to my nerves.

A great book
This is a great book. My three-year-old was refusing to sit in time out and I was getting frustrated trying to figure out what to do next.We had entire days that felt like one big power struggle - no fun for anyone.This book offers a few simple steps that have made me feel like a much more effective parent - less frustrated and with more energy for the fun side of parenting.

Wow, I wish I'd read this book two years ago...but better late than never
I'm embarrassed to think about how out of control my four and a half year old was by the time I came across a review of this book in the newspaper. The title of the article was something like, "What do you do when your child spits at you?" There was a time I would have laughed at this sort of thing, scoffing at any parent who would allow themselves to get to that point. But I had to admit that they were talking to me. And that wasn't the worst of it. At the worst point, I couldn't take my child to a class or a playgroup without some sort of embarrassing incident (I'm talking really embarrassing...him running away from me while laughing). I couldn't even take him to the grocery store! And to add insult to injury, he would go to preschool and act like a model student!!!

It wasn't always like that. Challenging behavior started around two and a half, and got progressively worse. I read a lot of books...books on temperament (okay, I have an active child), books on emotion coaching, books on positive discipline and redirection. I tried things like empathizing, giving choices, picking your battles, ignoring bad behavior so as not to reinforce it, etc. And occasionally I was able to finagle the result I wanted, but not in any predictable or sustainable way. It was clear to me that I did not have any control. Nice people would tell me, "It's just a phase, he'll grow out of it." No. This was not normal.I was on the road to adolescent hell.

It has been about a month since I ordered this book.As soon as I read it, I felt silly and relieved at the same time. This was nothing new...I used to train camp counselors to use very similar techniques when I was in college. Duh! How had I become so misguided in my parenting?

But no longer. Mama's in charge now. I have no problem saying it (not to him of course, I speak to him through action), but to myself. Do I respect his feelings? Of course. Do I want him to feel heard? Absolutely. Do I value his individuality? Without question. But he's four, and now I treat him as such. So THANKYOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to the women who have, in merely stating the obvious, helped restore peace and harmony to my home.

I read it. It worked. I bought three more for friends!
This book has helped greatly with our 4 year old son (our 2 year old is a bit young for the same dramatic results but we will use this approach with him too). Really, this is just good old common sense and a reality check for parents who have been sucked in to the popular, yet useless, forms of discipline that rule the day. The analysis of parenting types is very helpful and offers great insight as to why parenting certain ways is detrimental in the long run. We solved a major sleep problem in ONE NIGHT by using the advice on sleep problems in the book: That alone made the book worth buying!!! I have bought three copies as Christmas gifts for friends.

Finally advise that works
I have a child with ADHD and have read all the books and even ordered the Total Transformation as a desperate parent needing help.The one and only book or advise that has worked for us has been Beyond Time Out (From Chaos to Calm).My son's Psychologist had suggested that we read it, and our lives have improved tremendously.I read the book twice before implementing the techniques, but once we started, we stuck with it and it is like having a different child.From a child who would sleep in my bed and hit, kick, etc, to a child who now sleeps in his own bed without a fight and the tantrums/aggression has deminished to almost none at all. This book unlike all other books does not make excuses for ADHD, although I was.I have recommended this book to every person I know who is having difficulties with their child.My advise is to stick with the techniques in the book, it may take a few weeks, but you will see the results and be very happy with them and so will your child. ... Read more

Product Description
A Formatio book.

Life is often chaotic. And no matter how hard you try to find space, to slow down, the chaos always seems to win.

Tricia Rhodes's life is chaotic too. And it became even more so during an eight-month period when her son and daughter-in-law and two grandchildren moved in. Gone was her time for morning prayer, gone was any quiet at all with a house full of people.

But God broke in. And Tricia learned to see him and communicate with him in whole new ways--not on a spiritual retreat, but right in the midst of the chaos of life. She offers us here a fresh view of connecting to God, one that focuses on quality time and frees us from the rigidity of a devotional life that may feel stifled, grow stagnant or bring about guilt when we can't keep up.

These pages will help awaken your heart to the reality of God's presence in your life--just as it is--providing new ways to pray, to listen to God, to view others the way God sees them, to be guided by God. "Making the Chaos Sacred" sections at the end of each chapter and suggestions for prayer experiments give practical suggestions for connecting with God and noticing his work throughout each day.

God is not afraid of chaos. If a chaotic life has you running, let Tricia's words offered here help you run to God in the midst of it and discover the ways he can turn even chaos into something sacred. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great book to simplify the important
There are many disciplines that we want to undertake as Christians in our efforts to know Christ deeper and walk closer to Him. Unfortunately, we sometimes get so caught up in the "have to's" and "how to's" that we lose the reason why we are doing them in the first place.This book takes these disciplines and simplifies them, makes them easier to incorportate in our daily lives. By incorporating some of these into our lives, I believe we will be able to stress less and worship more.Worth the money and the time to read.

excellent book
This is my second book by this author and I am just as pleased with this as the first. I have only read a few chapters and have already found so much practical advice on how to have quality time with God in the midst of an extremely busy life. I am in full time ministry, and anyone who is will admit that sometimes to have a decent devotion is a struggle because you are always taking care of everyone else. The author shows us that we are indeed spending time in prayer and God's presence in the everyday things we do. She gives practical simple advice on how to make the most of every minute to assure that you are experiencing God and not just doing something out of habit or obligation. This is an author who I will always look to for books that will assist me in continued spiritual development.

A keeper!
While I'm an enthusiastic fan of the spiritual formation movement, one of my hang-ups with it is the lack of space in my life to implement practices like silent retreats or prolonged times of contemplation and meditation.It's not that I don't long for such times.It's just that, with two small children, a job, marriage, and household to manage, there is hardly enough concentrated space in my day to use the bathroom alone, let alone carve out extended quality time to spend with God.I might catch a half-hearted 15 to 20 minute quiet time once or twice a week, and then spend the other days feeling guilty that I didn't stop to read my Bible or say a prayer longer than two or three sentences.

Such is the background on why a book entitled Sacred Chaos: Spiritual Disciplines for the Life You Have caught my eye.In the first few pages, Tricia Rhodes relieved a good portion of my guilt explaining the blur of her own life, and how she would wearily attempt to read her Bible and end up falling asleep.She tells how God orchestrated inevitable chaos in her daily routine in order to take her out of her comfort zone."He was drawing me into new territory, expanding my borders by exposing my tendency to be far too focused on hours set aside for prayer as the barometer of my relationship with him," she writes. "What I experienced in ways I'd never imagined was God entering the fray, injecting my busyness wit respites of peace in his presence, punctuating my chaos with the stunning sense that he was drawn near."

The book offers many concrete and practical ways to integrate practices of the spiritual disciplines into daily life.Each chapter is short, and focuses on one specific way of connecting with God throughout the day.Each chapter also ends with a short practical activity.Throughout the book are ideas for specific `experiments' in spiritual practices. As I read through the book, I kept a quick-reference notecard recording Rhodes' suggestions for "making the chaos sacred". Samples of these suggestions include:

* Using feelings as a springboard for prayer
* Praying about God's presence in your daily schedule
* Praying for spiritual insight about others
* Practice lectio divina.Read. Meditate. Pray. Contemplate.
* Breath prayers

While I've read some books in the spiritual disciplines genre that either too ethereal or too common-sense-y (i.e. `I could have googled `spiritual formation' and written the book myself'), Sacred Chaos is simple yet profound, practical yet deeply spiritual.Don't let one more "Sacred ___" title scare you away.This one's a keeper.
... Read more

Product Description
Fiendish dungeons and elemental battlefields await...

A hotbed of adventure opportunities await you in the roiling maelstrom of the Elemental Chaos–a plane of titans, elementals, genies, slaads, and demons. This game supplement builds on the overview of the Elemental Chaos presented in the Manual of the Planes™ game supplement and explores the tumultuous plane is greater detail. From the City of Brass to the githzerai monastery of Zerthadlun to the spiraling depths of the Abyss, adventure lurks behind every lava waterfall, across every icy battlefield, and beyond every raging lightning storm.

This game supplement describes the Elemental Chaos in detail, featuring key locations throughout the plane. It also presents a multitude of new monsters, mighty primordials, and powerful demons, as well as adventure hooks, encounters, hazards, and everything Dungeon Masters need to make the Elemental Chaos a featured setting in their campaigns. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Ok, but...
Compared to Planescape's depth and tone this is a bad book.

There are pages devoted to encounters filling the space which could have been used for fluff. It's not an evocative book...

If you play 4E you can consider buying this, but there are better books to spend on.

Some art isn't good.

A new and interesting look at an old topic
I had honestly thought that the Abyss and the lower planes of Chaos had been done to death in previous editions of dungeons and dragons.I picked it up because of one of the authors and I am glad that I did.It's a new take on an old topic and manages to weave together some new ideas that arise in the 4th edition cosmology.The linking of giants to elemental Chaos was cool, new and interesting.It continued in the 4th edition tradition of inserting new and interesting monsters but the real element that is worth it in this supplement is the refreshing cosmology.New and old blend together just enough that grognards will be caught off guard (but newcomers can enjoy it).

Very well done.

Pen & Paper Games Review of The Plane Below
The Plane Below greatly expands on the Elemental Chaos, which is one of the fundamental planes of the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition cosmos. To be sure, this supplement is primarily intended for Dungeon Masters and is best suited for paragon and epic tier games. There is no doubt that the Elemental Chaos is aptly named, for although there are some relatively stable places to visit, much of the plane is filled with a roiling chaos of raw elements from which the rest of creation is derived. It is a hostile and alien place -- just the sort of place to drop your players into unexpectedly to watch them squirm.

The first section of the book, Chaos Incarnate, tries to tackle the very difficult task of describing an ever changing and completely alien terrain. We're presented with a dizzying array of terrain features, hazards, obstacles, and information on how to put these to immediate use to create fantastic battle grounds and lively encounters. This approach of focusing on using these elements in building encounters works well in beginning to paint a mental picture of just how insane a place like the Elemental Chaos really is.

By the time I read through the first couple dozen pages, I found myself scratching my head and wondering how I could possibly create a campaign that centered around the Elemental Chaos. The authors most have foreseen my apprehension, as they immediately continued on to provide a framework for building campaign arcs featuring organizations and adventures set in the Plane Below. Indeed, the Elemental Chaos is more than just a mix of a hostile environment and even more hostile inhabitants - although it is that in spades. The adventure hooks and potential adversaries given in this chapter are a good way to prime the storytelling pump as it were, although they came across a bit stilted.

Plowing on, the Races of Chaos chapter gives us an overview of some of the inhabitants of the Elemental Chaos, including detailed sections on the archons, djinns, efreets, genasi, giants, githzerai, and slaads. Many of these creatures have been presented in past editions, but here we find out more about their life and civilization in the Plane Below. The archons in particular are fairly new in concept in 4th edition, so the section on their life and society was particularly enlightening.

The real gold to be mined from this supplement is in the Elemental Locales and Into the Abyss chapters. Both of these are a treasure trove of fascinating locations for your players to explore. Some of these places are more unique features of the Plane Below and others are permanent locations - pockets of stability in an otherwise completely chaotic plane. Places like Gloamnull, a genasi city with a dark secret, and the Mountain Builders Barrow really come alive and could themselves be the focal point of an entire campaign. Other locations such as The Brazen Bazaar, a travelling marketplace originating from the City of Brass, could be exciting diversions to spice up your campaign. Here you will also find a number of ready-to-go encounters that you can plop directly into your game or quickly tweak them to suit your needs.

Closing this book out is the Creatures of Chaos chapter, which stats out nearly fifty new creatures to challenge your planes-hopping adventurers. There are a fair number of interesting solos and elites to pick from, and plenty of others spread out between 8th and 34th level. My only real complaint for this chapter is that not all of the creatures are illustrated. The most conspicuously missing art was for creatures that were particularly difficult to conceptualize based solely on the descriptions.

* My Thoughts *
Rather than igniting a fire within me that would rival that of even the most severe Cinderstorm, The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos left me lukewarm. There is no doubt that this book is a valuable resource for anyone who is running a campaign set in the planes. The opening chapter offers an impressive list of fantastic terrain and obstacles for setting up memorable encounters, and the Elemental Locales and Into the Abyss sections gave me some great ideas for locations that my players could visit or even originate from. Does it succeed in making the Elemental Chaos a must-visit destination in any planar campaign? Probably not. Then again, it is a far more intriguing place to visit than the fundamental planes (fire, earth, air, water) of previous editions.

Excellent Suppliment
This book is one of the better written supplements.It does a good job of covering and emphasizing fantastic nature of the terrain and the locals.

Great Book!
This is one of my favorite books in the 4th edition catalog.Lots of interesting new terrain and monster types and an amazing fluff element.I really like where Wizards are going with the new books. ... Read more

Product Description
Apophenion attacks most of the great questions of being, free will, consciousness, meaning, the nature of mind, and humanity's place in the cosmos, from a magical perspective. Some of the conclusions seem to challenge many of the deeply held assumptions that our culture has taught us, so brace yourself for the paradigm crash and look for the jewels revealed in the wreckage. This book contains something to offend everyone; enough science to upset the magicians, enough magic to upset the scientists, and enough blasphemy to upset most trancendentalists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Worth a visit.
It had been nearly a decade since reading Liber Null and Psychonaut when this book came onto my radar. Chaos has been my home since I first encountered it. Yet somehow, by my own design, I until recently was in the throes of an enormously disturbing 4 year jaunt with a hilariously failed experiment in Chaos Christianity (DO NOT ATTEMPT IT). After "coming down" I found myself in love with Thor and with very little support structure. Things were working, but I felt adrift.

Fortuitously I happened upon The Apophenion, and it has righted my ship quickly and painlessly. Sales are up, my teeth are the whitest white, and the future is once again filled with hope and mirth. Thank you, Peter.

Sacrament of Chaos
Pete's power lies in originating powerful idea's.

In his work one can encounter a rare uniqueness of authenticity, integrity and directness,that is mindblowing.

The reader can be assured, this book is a Sacrament of Chaos.
Dripping from the mind of a magician, that has ripened with time
and as good wine has become more flavored.

A must read for Chaos Magicians and those who are interested.

vintage Carroll
Peter Carroll was the first author I read who made magic magical and one of the few whose writings have repaid close repeated reading. Carroll is to be congratulated for writing this book and Mandrake for publishing it. The Apophenion is a gold mine of Carrollisms, and I could cite a score or more, even if few of the insights are original and some have been phrased more elegantly. That said, their power is undiminished and their application to magical working as timely as ever. No one with the slightest interest in magical theory should miss this book.

Much of the work is a description of Carrollian physics. I know barely enough physics to keep my tires inflated and not a whit more, so any attempt by me to evaluate "the maths" would be idiocy in its most literal sense. Indeed, I can barely even picture the simplest of Peter's demonstrations and I suspect I have a great deal of company. If you figure yourself among the numerically disabled, be warned. It may well be that Peter Carroll is the Giordano Bruno of our era and that he has demonstrated the elusive physics of magic, and if so, I am exuberantly pleased if ultimately quite unenlightened in spite of it. I'm just saying...

The artwork: first rate cover and the Muses (pg 112) are suitable for framing.

Two quibbles: either the proof reading of the book or the software used to compose it is deplorable. There are there are annoying repetitions of repetitions of words and the punctuation occasionally appears derived from an alien-as-in-not-of-this-world grammar.

An introduction to Apophenia
I was really intrigued when Carroll released a new book on chaos magic. The Apophenion is the introduction to a goddess, more space/time specualtation, theory, and practice from Carroll, an exploration of the multi-mind and much more. It is a book worth picking up if you're into chaos magic or experimental magic, or if you're curious as to how someone who has training in math and science is applying that training to magic.

What I liked about the book was Carroll's succinct explanations of his theories about time magic and the multi-mind. I also liked his explanation of Apophenia and how one can work with her. I already consider her a deity of space/time workings from his description of her. I will note that the Apophenion is mainly a book of theory and that it assumes that readers already know a good deal about magic. Any practical applications of it, are left entirely in the hands of the readers to produce.

With this book, Carroll charts new path for chaos magic, while also updating readers on his own work. I highly recommend it as an inspiring and thought-provoking read.

5 out of 5 chaostars

Stokastikos Delivers Yet Again
As co-founder of the chaos magic movement, any new book by Peter Carroll would complement a serious chaote's library by default. However, his new book, "The Apophenion," need not rely on any of that, and would serve as the basis for his reputation if he did not already have one.

In "The Apophenion," Carroll takes his over a decade's worth of scientific exploration and seamlessly weaves it into the application of magic so that it becomes a workable theory by scientific standards.

All that said, the book has a number of typos. They don't detract from its immense worth, but I will keep my fingers crossed and my eyes out for an updated edition. ... Read more

Product Description
The latest developments in chaos theory — from an industry expert

Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets was the first book to introduce and popularize chaos as it applies to finance. It has since become the classic source on the topic. This new edition is completely updated to include the latest ripples in chaos theory with new chapters that tie in today's hot innovations, such as fuzzy logic, neural nets, and artificial intelligence.

Critical praise for Peters and the first edition of Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets

"The bible of market chaologists." — BusinessWeek

"Ed Peters has written a first-class summary suitable for any investment professional or skilled investor." — Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities

"It ranks among the most provocative financial books of the past few years. Reading this book will provide a generous payback for the time and mental energy expended." — Financial Analysts Journal

This second edition of Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets brings the topic completely up to date with timely examples from today's markets and descriptions of the latest wave of technology, including genetic algorithms, wavelets, and complexity theory.

Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets was the very first book to explore and popularize chaos theory as it applies to finance. It has since become the industry standard, and is regarded as the definitive source to which analysts, investors, and traders turn for a comprehensive overview of chaos theory. Now, this invaluable reference — touted by BusinessWeek as "the bible of market chaologists" — has been updated and revised to bring you the latest developments in the field.

Mainstream capital market theory is based on efficient market assumptions, even though the markets themselves exhibit characteristics that are symptomatic of nonlinear dynamic systems. As it explores — and validates — this nonlinear nature, Chaos and Order repudiates the "random walk" theory and econometrics. It shifts the focus away from the concept of efficient markets toward a more general view of the forces underlying the capital market system.

Presenting new analytical techniques, as well as reexamining methods that have been in use for the past forty years, Chaos and Order offers a thorough examination of chaos theory and fractals as applied to investments and economics. This new edition includes timely examples from today's markets and descriptions of cutting-edge technologies-genetic algorithms, wavelets, complexity theory-and hot innovations, such as fuzzy logic and artificial intelligence.

Beyond the history of current capital market theory, Chaos and Order covers the crucial characteristics of fractals, the analysis of fractal time series through rescaled range analysis (R/S), the specifics of fractal statistics, and the definition and analysis of chaotic systems. It offers an in-depth exploration of:

• Random walks and efficient markets — the development of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) and modern portfolio theory
• The linear paradigm — why it has failed
• Nonlinear dynamic systems — phase space, the Henon Map, Lyapunov exponents
• Applying chaos and nonlinear methods — neural networks, genetic algorithms
• Dynamical analysis of time series — reconstructing a phase space, the fractal dimension

Tonis Vaga's Coherent Market Hypothesis — the theory of social imitation, control parameters, Vaga's implementations

Plus, Chaos and Order now contains a Windows-compatible disk including data sets for running analyses described in the appendices.

Written by a leading expert in the field, Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets has all the information you need for a complete, up-to-date look at chaos theory. This latest edition will undoubtedly prove to be as invaluable as the first. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Poorly explained
I have a university maths degree and found the book very obvious and drawn out for the first few chapters. In spite of this I looked forward to what was going to be explained later. Suddenly from a very simple and easy to understand explanation on the EMH he starts to use mathematics in his equations that I had a lot of difficulty following. There was very little or no explanation of how these equations were arrived at and a lot of mathematics and statisics is assumed. This book does not apply the theory in ny meaningful way to the markets let alone the capital markets in my opinion. I found that I took very little away from this book and would not recommend it to anyone who has basic mathematics like myself or is looking for some deeper insight into the markets. I would hate to have Mr Peters as a teacher based on his book.

A very good introduction
I read this book, the 1991 version, years ago. Around 1980 my own attempts to crack share prices statistically convinced me that all share prices behaved like a Gaussian random walk meaning that all speculation was comparable with playing roulette andI am not one of those guys who usually wins when gambling. This view was strengthened when the option pricing model came up, meaning that even thereal pro's in the field assume that share prices are nothing but a random walk. This book has opened my eyes to the fact that there is much more to randomness than just the Gaussian curve. Share prices are not fully random. Impressive is the demonstration that an RS analysis on the real data is different when applying the same RS analysis on scrambled data. So there is information hidden in these time series, somewhere. Since then I have picked up the subject of cracking time series again with great pleasure. I think this book is exceptionally well written and without it I doubt if I would have been able to follow Mandelbrot's book "scaling and fractals in finance" that I bought later. The book is about understanding a subject, not about learning a simple formula to apply on a time series.

A dated overview, with little real meat
The second edition of this book was published in 1996.The book
seems to be largely based on Feder's 1988 book "Fractals".The
dated nature of this book means that it is missing later work
on long memory processes, which Peters estimates using the Hurst
exponent.

As one reviewer already noted, don't assume that this book will
provide much in the way of useful equations.For anyone who wants
more than an overview, this book is a disappointment.Peters does
a poor job of explaining the equations and I did not find enough
detail to implement the algorithms discussed (I turned to Feder's
book and various journal articles).The book does come with a
"floppy" disk containing the Visual Basic algorithms.This is
a poor choice, since C is pretty much the lingua franca for
algorithms.

The various chaos and fractal techniques are applied to a handful
of financial data sets, but this is far from even a solid
suggestion that these techniques might be useful to anyone
developing real market models.

Some of the conclusions that Peters draws (cycles in financial
data) do not seem to be supported the evidence he presents.

In summary, if you are looking for something beyond an overview,
save your money.Feder ("Fractals") has a better description of
RS calculation."A Non-Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Lo
and MacKinlay has a chapeter on the application of the RS
statistic and long-memory processes which is much better than
Peters.For those who need to simulate fractal brownian motion
(data sets with a particular Hurst exponent) "The Science of
Fractal Images" by Barnsley et all is a good reference.

Good overview, bad balance
If you're looking for a purely conceptual introduction to how chaos theory can be applied to financial markets, this book is as good a source as any. Peters's discussion of R/S statistics and the graphical examples drawn from the markets are clear and intuitive (Ch. 7-8). The key point demonstrating long-term memory effects in the market is well made.

However he spends an inordinate amount of time attacking the foundations of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) to the point of being boring, yet the argument boils down to "it has errors when compared to reality". Duh, so does every other theory, including fractal. The real issue is "for the error in theory A, how bad are the results X, and is theory B much better at it?" If you're not going to do that, don't spend 40 pages (Ch. 1-4) on it. This is misleading to those not familiar with EMH, and boring to those who are.

Don't look to this book for good math. In my edition (1991), careless and erroneous notations abound. Also, the equations are written in BASIC notation which is notoriously hard to visualize, but this is probably the fault of the editor/publisher. Peters makes frequent and unannounced jumps between the apparent rigor of math and loose conjectures. The math is distracting to a qualitative reader, and the conjectures irritating to the quantitative one. Better to cater to one audience, and do it well.

Still, I would recommend this book as a good conceptual introduction to the subject. But if you're planning to go deeper, use the equations in this book at your own perils. Go to the source.

Commit it to the flames
For those of you intrigued by chaos versus the financial markets, I would suggest you get the basic knowledge in Garnett P. Williams "Chaos Theory Tamed" (if you don't mind being explained in the first twenty chapters things like the laws of exponents and logarithms), or the Devaney books, for people with some maths. By the time you finish these honest, carefully and painstakingly written books, you will have a fair understanding of what chaos theory is about, and you will also see that while it is interesting stuff, it is hard to imagine it having any practical relevance to finance, since finance is the realm of stochastic, not deterministic phenomena.

Mr. Peters' readers will not have the chance of gaining such a perspective on chaos or on finance, alas. Mr. Peters hasn't produced a clear, comprehensible text, but rather a imprecise and frustrating piece, presumably written in a very short time, filled with a huge number of graphs having epsilon informational content. It is also full of conceptual mistakes - Mr. Peters most probably doesn't have a good grasp of what he's speaking about, but to be fair, it is hard to tell since the implicit message of the book is: "Hey, like I'm going to give out all my secrets...! Forget it, baby!", so the readers are never given all of the story. Readers therefore have to decide whether they believe that the author has found a meaningful and secret way to use chaos, that unfortunately will not be revealed, or whether the author should be put in the same category as those who write about Crystals or Financial Astrology.

Can smart people make profit with chaos theory? Certainly! However, the only way to do so is by writing books about it...

Profit which seems interesting, since Wiley accepted to publish a second product from Mr. Peters, thereby losing all credibility as an editor of financial books. ... Read more

Product Description
Best-selling author Kathy Bostrom offers this book of devotions to help women create calm in the chaos of their busy lives. The book is comprises twenty-eight days of devotions for each month of the year, so that readers can begin using the book during any month. Each week’s devotions, prayers, quotations, and "Spirit Boosters" focus on one Bible passage, which is read each day of that week. Each week ends with a "Sabbath Celebration," a time for quiet prayer, reflection, and renewal. The "Spirit Boosters" for each week are divided into "Reaching In" and "Reaching Out" sections. They offer suggestions for ways to be kind to yourself and to others while nurturing your own faith. This book is ideal for women’s prayer groups, to give as a gift, or to give to yourself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great Devotional Book!
I love the way this book helps the reader to chew on scriptures from different angles, a single scripture at a time. Great for busy women!

A Bit Disappointed
The Title of the book does not clearly define the pages that follow.I am disappointed in the way the book was setup, and content thereof.I expected the information to be more inspiring than it is.But, its an okay Devotional.

Outstanding Christian Devotional
This devotional is truly exceptional.It is written using a weekly format that makes it easy to use, with some variety in the components of the weekly devotions. There are personal anecdotes that are full of warmth and wisdom, scripture lessons, and much wisdom.I have loved this book so much that I've started giving it to friends as gifts. I highly recommend it!!

A wonderful devotional book for women -- and men!
Kathy Bostrom has written a wonderful devotional book that encourages readers to reflect on and engage with scripture and prayer in their daily lives.One of the book's strengths is that Bostrom has the reader reflect on one scripture in a variety of ways over the course of a week.New understandings and ideas may be revealed with each day's reading of the scripture.At the end of each week is a Sabbath Celebration, a time to incorporate light, prayer, scripture and silence into one's personal worship.I appreciate Kathy Bostrom's writing, which illuminates the sacred in daily living and encourages the reader to enjoy the gift of daily devotional time. ... Read more

Product Description
Two complete volumes in one. Liber Null contains a selection of extremely powerful rituals and exercises for committed occultists. Psychonaut is a manual comprising the theory and practice of magic aimed atthose seeking to perform group magic, or who work as shamanic priests to the community. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Not Magick 101
For Beginners: This is not a good book for providing an intro into magick. There are plenty of foundational books out there that will teach you the basics of casting a circle, uses for candles, invocation, etc. Its not even really that good at providing an insight into the Chaos Magick paradigm. It does, however, give an insightful overview of P J Carroll's viewpoints (rantings?) on Chaos Magick. If that's what you want, then this is a good start, and even better, as it is two small books in one.

For the rest: Why the surprise that the book is derivative? That's Chaos Magick for you, take what you want and leave the rest, mix and match, like a salad bar. For P J Carrol fans, I don't think its a disappointing book if you enjoy his philosophical viewpoint, and want to experiment with his ideas. However, he doesn't give much in the way of practical guidance on how to carry out these operations.

A little deeper than I expected
This is a good book, but to be honest it scares me a little.It's the only book about magic that I have read so far which has a warning in the front that tells you NOT to use the rituals or excercises found in the book if you suffer from certain health ailments.There is one ritual where it is explained if you don't do it correctly you could go insane or die. I've been looking for the real thing for a long time and I feel this book is a stepping stone to that world.I have only been studying magick for about 14 months and I have alot to learn, so I know there are alot of people who will probably not agree with what I have written, I really don't care. This is what I have gotten from the book. My suggestion is just know who you are and have no doubts about it before using this book.

You can't solve new aeon problems with old aeon thinking
I've always had a problem with western magic(k), or Abrahamitic religion on drugs. People dressed up in costumes and playing at remixes of catholic rituals: it's like "I'm so cool to be doing this taboo stuff" - that's great for those who can't let go of the old hierarchical paradigm - you know, the king is powerful because he is god's symbol, or god is his - whatever. Trickle down magick. Ha. Hiding out from the inquisition drawing the secret angelic language on the walls etc, etc, I know that works out for some people, but why, if this is about god, encoded in the bible, and the secret science of pure washed clean and white holy heaven, does magick work for pagans from Iceland to South Africa, atheists (Buddhists and Taoists among them) and all sorts of people who never heard of Gematria or Metatron or doesn't feel like meditating on the layers of mythology that may or may not have been the origin of the formula they are using to get someone to sleep with them.

Well anyway, even the modernists who follow the "magick is really science" theory have something to contend with, since Quantum Physics basically excuses us from the old-school paradigms of Newton and company, who "magicians" of the last aeon base their theories on. Some people compare Carroll to some of these folks (including Crowley - just an hour spent in any of his books will prove that he was simply a fascist, monarchist, pre-modernist thinker who was just louder and more contentious than any of his contemporaries and a little bit better a writer than L.Ron Hubbard), but I think that's a sign of the inability to tell the marketing from the message.

Chaos is the coming paradigm. It allows and expands on the old, while embracing and creating the new. If you're a fundamentalist of any sort (and the huge majority of magical practitioners and authors are) Chaos magic is something that would be better left alone. It might put a hole in your security blanket, or take the color out of your Ray-Bans. In fact, there are definite procedures to help you with that, but most who have built their 'magical careers' on old-school thinking don't want to see their credentials undermined - which is why we still get determinism and Freud in school instead of Quantum physics and NLP, and why we are alone in our gas hogs instead of socializing on mag-lev trains. Status Quo is Status Quo, and that kinda sucks.

I had thought about giving the book one star, so I could get people to read the review (I often look at those first to see why the person didn't like it) - LOL - but people new to the craft, who need to be steered away from the stuff that's going to fix (should I say ruin?) their thinking processes in unhelpful concrete, may not have the sense of humor to get that contradiction until after they've touched the chaosphere -

Not much need be said
Excellent book, the author is undoubtedly a genius (a bit full of himself but i imagine with good reason) I do not believe Carroll has written the definitive magic book for our modern era like some do. I do not believe that all previous books from times gone by on the subject have been rendered null and void based on his ideas like some do. What i do believe is that Carroll has made a perfect compendium of occult thought for our modern society. An amazing Meta Map that acts as a stepping stone from the world of modern thought and logic to the head-space of very real and very workable magic. This book represents a significant accomplishment in making magic relevant. He sheds the occult of the cumbersome clothing and armor of gods goddesses, myth, and ceremony. Not by throwing them away but by showing us what they truly are and why they are useful. Magic does not start and stop with this book but it is a POWERFUL tool for how we can begin to see magic in a whole new light.

good information, disappointing presentation
I ordered Liber Null & Psychonauht at the same time I ordered another Carroll work called Liber Kaos. Kaos was written after the first two (1992 as opposed to 1987) but I received it first in the mail. I cracked open Kaos for a peek, though I would fully read and digest Null & Psychonauht before giving it a real go. It seemed to be what I had been searching for. An objective magickal system based on the scientific method without dogmatic attachment. I personally get tired of reading ego-centric esoteric authors that try to tell us "how things really are" and what the "truth" is. Kaos got me excited, and I was beyond enthused when Null & Psychonaut arrived. I am sad to say I was disappointed.

I became annoyed fairly quickly because this work is chalk full of dogma. Chaos Magick comes off to me as "just another system" more or less based on A.O. Spare and Crowley with some shamanism thrown in for measure. It really annoyed me when I came across the essay on Chemognosis and the lengthy disclaimer equating all psychoactives (natural or otherwise) to poison. He spends quite a bit of time speaking of the value of shaminism, but he hastily downgrades the shaman's chief tool. I don't feel Carroll is humble at all in this work, many times coming off as a magickal elitist.

This all said, there is a large amount of valuable information and material contained in these volumes. Though I dislike his approach, Carroll seems to know what he is talking about. I just warn the reader to take things with a healthy helping of salt. Whatever resonates with you and your goals, take it as a valuable addition to your ever growing arsenal of knowledge. Leave the rest behind. I still hold out hope for Liber Kaos. ... Read more

Product Description
The Creation of Flowing Forms in Water and Air

Theodor Schwenk

Translated by Olive Whicher & Johanna Weigley

More than ever before, today we need "water consciousness" and we can begin with this essential and classic book on water as the universal bearer of living, formative processes.

Beginning with simple flowing phenomena of water and air, Schwenk gradually builds up, with the help of marvelous photographs and drawings, the "letters" of an alphabet that will allow us to "read" the living meaning of water.

The spiritual, formative processes are gradually brought to light, and we come to recognize the Creative Word in the universe.

Fully illustrated. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

neither science nor art
I've got to say, I was pretty darn dissapointed with this book. I looked forward to seeing this book for a long time so it hurt especially bad when I saw that it was full of quasi-religious new-agey worthlessness and conpletely devoid of any interesting commentary of the intersections of artistic and scientific inquiry.

Water, Water, Everywhere
It's out-of-print. No one you know has ever heard of this book. No matter: the trouble you may have in finding a copy of Sensitive Chaos will be worth it. The images will remain with you. The text will teach the old dog (you)new tricks. And years and years from now you will still recognize thespiral of water in the things you see, and you'll even feel a little moreconnected to the world. Beautiful book.

A beautiful and poetic view of science
This beautiful book remains scientifically accurate while describing in poetic and spiritual style the flowing of fluids in nature. A beautiful collection of pictures illustrates how even living things follow the rulesof fluid flow as new cells flow forth in the growth process. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

A pleasure to read
I finished this book less than a day after receiving it in the mail.It was fast-paced, gritty, and very imaginative.I look forward to book three.

Disappointment
I never made it first the first 50 pages: Then I threw it away. I can only read so many descriptions of what the heroine was wearing and how it was coordinated before I want to throw up. This is Soap Opera, possibly Space Romance, not science fiction. I will avoid this author in the future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Definitely TOP SHELF ,,, unsurpassed !!!
Aristotle ,,, Leonardo Da Vinci ,,, Descartes ,,, I would compare this man Immanuel Velikovsky to NO ONE !!!

Yet ,,, in my eyes he would be surpassed by NO ONE !!!

I just LOVEImmanuel Velikovsky's writing style, his method of communication, his words of choice ,,, mesmerizing !!!

Other authors I've read convey such laborious detail [historic names, dates, action] in a borrrring rat-a-tat fashion ,,, even when I'm reading subjects I enjoy like "Devolution".

But Immanuel Velikovsky takes-the-cake !!!Reading his books bring back my love of reading ,,, which sadly was being castrated perusing "authors" [illiterates] of today :-(

"World's In Collision" - I've always felt, like Immanuel, some CATACLYSMIC "cosmic" event some conflagration took place, i.e. circa 4th and 5th century BC, sparking such folklore as "the days of Exodus" as in the Bible.

Amazing Book
Velikovsky has done an excellent review of historical records and concludes that Exodus occurred at the end of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, not during the time of Ramses II. He compares many ancient records from Egypt and other countries showing in great detail how the biblical stories fit much better to such a revised time line than to the present accepted time lines. Anyone interested in Middle Eastern, Israel, Egypt or biblical history should read this.

Ramses II by Velikovsky
Good service and the book is in at least as good condition as described or better. Happy with purchase which can be tricky with used books.

placing events and peoples on a timeline
Any book about lineages and dating and placing kings and events in ancient history is going to be a bit dry, not matter how well the subject is dealt with. Of the three major works by Velikovsky, this is probably the driest. However it is still an essential work for the serious researcher.

All too often we get told by the mainstream archeologists and anthropologists that such and such event occured at such and such a time. They will never tell you that they are not sure of these "facts". So all too often we assume they have done the research and their theories are baced on solid evidence. For example did you know that in almost all instances no two pharoes are positivley placed correctly in a time line...and that even thier direct heir is usualy not known. Behind closed doors Egyptologists rearange the kings of Egypt on a timeline and the order we see is only their best guess based on consensus.

Velikovsky in "Ages in Chaos" shows clearly there is a lot of chronolgogy that is incorrect or not even certain, far more then any Archeaologist would likely admit. Anyone researching ancient history would be well advised to consider this mans research and findings. And stop listening to the anti Velikovsky rhetoric. This man did his research. Perhaps some of his conclusions are incorrect, but he made honest apprasials of the evidence he had at his disposal, and some of these conclusions were so counter to accepted chronolgies that he basicaly caught the mainstream theorists with their pants down.

If for no other reason this book is valuble to the student to be willing to re-evaluate the evidence. If a "fact" has an 85% chance of being correct, that means it has a 15% chance of being 100% wrong! This man checked that 15% and found a lot of incorrect stuff there and kudos to him for daring to make the path plain. And considering the vociferous reception he got for his work suggests that he hit a sore spot indeed!

Velikovsky was a quack
Although Velikovsky's absurd astronomical theories have attracted considerable critical attention, his equally ridiculous revision of ancient chronology has been mostly neglected.This is perhaps unfortunate, as this stuff is incredibly silly, and a good debunking would be fun to read.At any rate, this book is full of patently absurd notions.He brings Egypt's 19th Dynasty, normally dated to the 13th century BC, down 5 centuries or so and makes it identical to the 26th Dynasty.Seti I becomes Psammetichus I, Ramses II becomes Necho, and so forth (I can't recall the specific other identifications).To make this work, he then has to turn the Hittites into the Neo-Babylonians, (which is, to say the least, geographically ridiculous, if nothing else) whose own chronology has to be messed up to get it to fit right.

The whole thing is just a complete mess if you think about it at all, but in spite of this Velikovsky still manages to have people who believe in these ridiculous theories.So, if you like crackpot theories, this is probably a good book (although you would perhaps be wise to read his other books first), but don't read it expecting to actually learn anything about history. ... Read more

Product Description
As the planetoid Thanatos Minor explodes into atoms, a specially-fitted cruiser escapes the mass destruction and hurtles into space only a step ahead of hostile pursuit. On board Trumpet are a handful of bedraggled fugitives from an outlaw world - old enemies suddenly and violently thrown together in a desperate bid for survival. Among this unlikely crew of allies are Morn Hyland, once a UMC cop, now a prisoner to the electrodes implanted in her brain; her son, Davies, "force-grown" to adulthood by the alien Amnion and struggling to understand his true identity; the amoral space buccaneer Nick Succorso, whose most daring act of piracy could be his last; and Angus Thermopyle, unstoppable cyborg struggling to wrest control of his own mind from his UMC programmers. Amazon.com Review
Punisher is on the run from Billingate Space Station,as well as other predators that follow: UMCP Enforcement Divisiondirector Min Donner aboard a crippled Punisher, Nick'sarchenemy (and slave to the aliens) Sorus Chatelaine aboardSoar, and the mysterious hired gun, Free Lunch. Corruptcyborg Angus Thermopyle and ruthless Nick Succorso battle for controlof the ship and the situation. Their trail leads to Valdor Industrial,where geneticist/engineer Vector Shaheed seeks to redeem himself bymanufacturing an antidote to the mutagen used by the alien Amnioni tomutate human beings against their will. Brutalized yet resilient MornHyland, her clone/son Davies, tough officer Mikki, Pup, Sib, and therest continue their suffering and sacrificing.

Meanwhile, back in Earth space, police and politicians battle forpower as UMCP director Dios continues his grim revolution against theDragon. Assassin kazes, political fears, and provocative billsthreaten to paralyze the Governing Council for Earth and Space.

Ships battling in space? Laboratory space stations developingantimutagen antidotes against the aliens who seek to conquer humankindby mutation? Outrage, brutality, betrayal, and secrets? Donaldson laysit all out with sharp dialogue, tense scenes, and zippy action. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Very Memorable
Donaldson wrote his 5-book Gap series after finishing the Thomas Covenant set of chronicles.He needed to rest for a bit and simply get away from fantasy (his words as I corresponded with him at the time) --- so therefore he wrote this space epic which is worlds apart from his Covenant books.The Gap books are good but do not expect the same as the covenant books --- and, to get the full effect of the books, they need to be read from volume 1 consecutively...

sadly, these books did not receive the rave reviews from his fans that donaldson was expecting and he was a bit disappointed about that.

since then he has written a number of short stories and other semi-fantasy epics --- however, a few years back he resurrected thomas covenant and the last book of 3 is scheduled to come out this fall...

On the brink of war
Following the thrilling "A Dark and Hungry God Arises", Angus Thermopyle and his crew aboard Trumpet flee forbidden space with several craft in pursuit and the Amnioni prepared to commit an act of war to recover or destroy Trumpet.While this is happening, the political struggle back home at Earth between Dios and Fasner intensifies.

Though the plotting is looser and less intense than in Book 3, this is a satisfying tale of cat and mouse.Except with four cats after one mouse.Trumpet, already carrying people and information of vital importance to both species, raises the stakes even higher by paying a visit to a very capable research installation hidden in an asteroid swarm.The ship combat at the end of the book was laughably unrealistic (only one way in and out of the asteroid swarm despite three dimensions of movement??), but it still made for an exciting climax to the book.

Not Free SF Reader
Explosive rescue, force grown kids, cyborgs, implants, and space chases.


The aliens have grown Morn's kid up fast, the asteroid has just blown up, and Nick actually rescues some people this time, including the usual suspects.

Cue space chase and battle, as they still have the problem that nobody seems to like them, from aliens to the mining company.

Working together may be harder than avoiding all this death and destruction given their sordid past.


3 out of 5

A wild ride
Yet again there is action, counter-action, plot twists, side stories..it's almost dizzying in its MTVish momentary presentation. Maybe that's why it was either widely acclaimed or panned to the skies.For some time, humans have been working on an anti-alien (mutagen) drug that prevents them from converting to something not human.

Thantos, that hell of a place, explodes and Nick manages to rescue several people including Nick (downgraded from hero to simple pirate with illusions of grandeur), Morn, Davies, her son who was aged rapidy by the evil aliens, the sadist Angus, etc.We have lovers, family, enemies -the whole gambit, from good and bad and they are all on the same small vessel.One undercurrent is the struggle against the evil mining company that has control of their brain.

Superb, best one yet
I felt bad giving A Dark and Hungry God Arises four stars--it was sooo close to five. I'm glad to say that this book is even better than the last. Actually, I see why some people are liking the third one more, as there are differences.

Many people, including myself, raved about the complex political intrigues in the previous book. So many new characters were introduced and fully developed with simultaneous plot development. Sometimes it was a sensory overload...a good sensory overload, but an overload nonetheless.

Chaos and Order sticks with the same characters as in the third one. Consequently, readers are better prepared to deal with the lightning pace of the plot, as they are now familiar with the characters orchestrating it.

The bulk of the story takes place aboard the Trumpet, Angus' ship. Morn, Nick, Angus, Davies, Mikka, Vector, and Ciro agree to head toward the Massif 5 (pardon the potentially incorrect spelling) system in order to concoct a counter to the Amnion biological threat. On their tail, however, are three dangerous ships: the Amnion controlled battleship Calm Horizons, the rogue Free Lunch, and Sorus' Punisher.

This is a great addition to the series with a smattering of unique ideas introduced. I like the singularity gun, with ammunition that upon detonation creates a black hole. I hope This Day All Gods Die can maintain the momentum with which the series has coasted for the past three parts. ... Read more

Product Description
Instead of treating art as a unique creation that requires reason and refined taste to appreciate, Elizabeth Grosz argues that art-especially architecture, music, and painting-is born from the disruptive forces of sexual selection. She approaches art as a form of erotic expression connecting sensory richness with primal desire, and in doing so, finds that the meaning of art comes from the intensities and sensations it inspires, not just its intention and aesthetic.By regarding our most cultured human accomplishments as the result of the excessive, nonfunctional forces of sexual attraction and seduction, Grosz encourages us to see art as a kind of bodily enhancement or mode of sensation enabling living bodies to experience and transform the universe. Art can be understood as a way for bodies to augment themselves and their capacity for perception and affection-a way to grow and evolve through sensation. Through this framework, which knits together the theories of Charles Darwin, Henri Bergson, Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari, and Jakob von Uexkull, we are able to grasp art's deep animal lineage.Grosz argues that art is not tied to the predictable and known but to new futures not contained in the present.Its animal affiliations ensure that art is intensely political and charged with the creation of new worlds and new forms of living. According to Grosz, art is the way in which life experiments with materiality, or nature, in order to bring about change. ... Read more

Product Description
A gutsy, sincere, scientifically-based business case for bringing more heart into organizations. Presents HeartMath's impeccable biomedical research and highly practical tools for humanizing business, building people and organizations that respond gracefully to change, crisis and challenge. Clients such as Motorola, Hewlett Packard, Canadian Imperial Bank of Canada, Nortel, Cisco Systems, Lucent, BP and Royal Dutch Shell are empowering their talented workforce with these tools. Well-documented examples and organizational case studies illustrate impressive changes.

The book introduces Inner Quality Management(r) (IQM), which has four dynamics: Internal Self-Management, Coherent Communication, Boosting Organizational Climate and Strategic Processes of Renewal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A great presentation to understand Heartmath background and application
This CD ROM based course is an excellent review of application of The HeartMath Solution: The Institute of HeartMath's Revolutionary Program for Engaging the Power of the Heart's Intelligence in improving business effectiveness. This course provides the scientific research and concepts on how Heartmath works and provides detailed instruction on Heartmath techniques: Freeze frame and Heart Lock-In. It also provides several forms that one can use to apply Heartmath in business (and personal life). It also comes with suggested use of these forms in common business situations.

Definitely a great course to have for someone who is looking at reducing stress and improving their emotional capacity to handle situations that came up in today's fast pace of business.

From Chaos to Coherence
I purchased this along with the emwave stress reliever for my boyfriend that has a high stress job.The two together seem to help him stay more focused on dealing with issues at work.They were a good investment.

Much more than a book
This CD gives almost two hours of video clips, mostly by Bruce Cryer with Rollin McCraty, who has done much of the research behind HeartMath and Alan Watkins and many others. Though the image is small and resolution poor, it is a great help to attend lectures by these outstanding personalities through this CD.[Bruce seems to use a predominantly left hand gesture in talking. I wonder if that would indicate more right-brain dominance. When he speaks about coherence, he tends to use both hands more often.]Key points are summarised in bigger power-point slides that help you to grasp what is being said.6 relevant questions on the use of HeartMath and IQM (Inner Quality Management)are answered in video clips by many experts.In the "Tools" section, you get guided audio exercises on Freeze-Frame and Heart Lock-in, various forms for practising HeartMath skills and "Needs Assessment" on when to do what.Internet links are given to the HeartMath websites and for more case studies and a bibliography of 48 books.The section "Getting Coherent" gives you various textual tips on being a coherent: "you", "you as manager" and "your organization"."Deep Content" gives most of the book (first edition) in text.There is a search function for these two sections.In a revised edition, I hope the texts will be based on the new edition.If Doc Childre could also appear in the video clips, maybe playing some pieces of HeartMath music, together with all the other key HeartMath personnel, that would really enhance the heart feeling of appreciation.

Microsoft of Emotional Coherence
I have been recommending the first edition to friends in the field of management.The authors are admirable in their willingness to make a fair amount of revisions and expand on their book in less than than 2 years.Such is the speed of change!This is a very satisfying and useful book.It is interesting and easy to follow.Given many good reviews, including those for the first edition, I'll refrain from adding more praise or give any summary ideas.As Scott Shuster, the Founding Director of Business Week, has said well in the Foreword: "There is no limit to the potential of HeartMath because at root it is a simple, physical act: a mental formation, a thought with physical effects.It is neither philosophy, faith, nor belief.The essentially physical character of the practice enables its easy application across all the barriers that customarily divide humanity.... Within this potential universality lies HeartMath's immense promise: If everybody did this, what a wonderful world."It won't be surprising if HeartMath becomes as widely known and used as the Microsoft of the world of emotional coherence.

An important book
This is an important book.At some level we all know there must be a better way to be in the world.Quite simply this book, and the simple but powerful tools it provides, can help you to transform the quality of your life.It has for me.

The Freeze Frame tool, and its associated variants, can be applied quickly and easily in a wide variety of situations to improve one's performance, productivity and personal satisfaction. These tools are based on the simple fact that it takes only a minute to shift your focus and change your perceptions.From Chaos to Coherence invites you to see for yourself what such a shift in focus and perception can mean in terms of your ability to deal with stress effectively, enhance your creativity or improve your leadership abilities.

Whether you are an employee trying to cope with change and an increasingly demanding work environment, a middle manager who is trying to balance many conflicting forces, or an executive who is seeking to inspire excellent performance this book provides many valuable insights and practical, powerful tools.What's more these approaches have been tested and proven to be effective through careful research in many Fortune 500 companies, government agencies as well as many private businesses.

This is an important book because it presents a simple technique that is so fundamental and sound that I have trouble understanding why everyone isn't already using this approach.

The Freeze-Frame methodology is sure to provide a significant competitive advantage for those corporate leaders and managers who are interested in creating healthier and more productive environments in the information/internet age.God knows we need such approaches to help us keep pace with the demands and changes of our times.

I highly recommend this book, and the HeartMath tools and approach.Bruce, Doc and the staff at the Institute of HeartMath have done a great job in developing and bringing these approaches into the corporate arena.It is now up to us to use them to determine the fruits they can bear in our own lives.I encourage you to buy this book and try these tools and see for yourself what they can do to increase the quality of your life and the performance of you, your team, and your organization. ... Read more

Product Description
Isaac Asimov's renowned Foundation Trilogy pioneered many of the familiar themes of modern science fiction and shaped many of its best writers. With the permission and blessing of the Asimov estate, the epic saga left unfinished by the Grand Master himself now continues with this second masterful volume.

With Hari Seldon on trial for treason, the Galactic Empire's long-anticipated migration to Star's End is about to begin. But the mission's brilliant robot leader, R. Daneel Olivaw, has discovered a potential enemy far deadlier--and closer--than he ever imagined. One of his own kind.

A freak accident erases the basic commandments in humaniform robot Lodovik Trema's positronic brain. Now Lodovic's service to humankind is no longer bound by destiny, but by will. To ensure his loyalty, Daneel has Lodovic secretly reprogrammed. But can he be trusted? Now, other robots are beginning to question their mission--and Daneel's strategy. And stirrings of rebellion, too, are infecting their human counterparts. Among them is a young woman with awesome psychic abilities, a reluctant leader with the power to join man and robot in a quest for common freedom.or mutual destruction.

The Foundation Saga Continues

Read Gregory Benford's Foundation's Fear, the first novel in this bold new series and Secret Foundation, the concluding volume from David Brin.Amazon.com Review
This is book number two in the new Second Foundation Trilogy being written by hard science fiction authors Gregory Benford, Greg Bear, and David Brin, otherwise known as the "Killer B's." In this book, Bear continues where Benford's Foundation's Fear left off, as the trial of legendary psychohistorian Hari Seldon is about to begin. Bear writes with a style uncannily similar to Foundation creator Isaac Asimov's, and he even manages to incorporate some of Asimov's own writing in the novel. Aside from thetrial, Bear also focuses on the nearly immortal robots that serve theFoundation, including R. Daneel Olivaw, who is set to guide one of theFoundation's first great undertakings. But Olivaw runs into trouble froman unexpected quarter, his best operative, Lodovik Trema, whose positronicbrain has been irrevocably altered in a strange accident that has given himfreedom from the supposedly immutable laws of robotics. --Craig Engler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (54)

Not Too Bad, But . . .
no, it's not Asimov:but Benford's first volume of the three ('Fear') was a first rate piece of writing, offering fascinating characters and possibilities that the other two others virtually ignored:at least Bear tries to do something with them in his 'Chaos' and spins a worthwhile story and creates a fascinating possibility with a new character:and then Brin threw it all away ('Triumph') in a nonsensical poorly constructed space opera, ignoring the other characters and creating very poor one dimensional ones of his own

5 stars for Benford

three stars for Bear

and a measly half a star for Brin

Bear writes an excellent addition to the flow of psychohistory
Eventhe master varied the pace, detail, and action from volume to volume in the original series. I find Bear's contribution fits very well into the original stream and I suspect Dr. Asimov would have enjoyed it immensely.

Review from a non-foundation fan
I have read the Asimov foundation series, but it was in my teenage years (a looong time ago) and I don't remember much from it.So I came with fairly new eyes to this book, judging it independently from the Asimov books.

I am giving it 3 stars, because it is a good classic sci-fi read, with a wonderful subtext about how thinking machines can become very similar to humans, but also incredibly alien, and vice-versa.I would give it 4 stars, but I think though that trying to fit into the foundation series hurts the non-initiated reader a little, i.e. you miss the little in-jokes and you don't understand the full meaning of all the events.

Hari Seldon on trial and rise of mentalics
Hari Seldon, originator of predictive psychohistory, is tried by the authorities on Trantor, capital world of the Galactic Empire, for his treasonable thesis that the Empire will soon fall and that measures must be taken to allow some subsequent restoration of order. At the same time the new breed of humans, mentalists, are springing into existence. One of them, Vara Liso, a deeply disturbed mind, joins the Imperial officers and start to help hunting others of her kind. But she also senses different mind patterns, robots that are she fear are taking control of humankind. R. Daneel Olivaw's plan, Hari Seldon's masterwork, is at stake if this woman can't be stopped. Is there still a chance to save psychohistory?

Of the three add-in books to the Foundation series, this is the most true to the Asimov who died 1992. Where the book 1 Foundation's Fear (1998 by Gregory Benford) -- full of sims and meme entities of neural mesh networks -- almost alienated readers from the to Asimovian universe, this second book (1997 by Greg Bear) manages miraculously to shock absorb the damages done. The last years of Hari Seldon, his agonizing trial, the power struggles behind the aristocrats and surprisingly the robot entanglement are masterfully knitted together. The mystery of the robots and their rebelling groups are revealed; one of the minor flaws of the book because Asimov was keen to keep robots strictly at the background so that reader was kept guessing their influence on the settlement of the Foundation. After this book, there won't be much of a mystery left about the robots. The trilogy ends at book 3, Foundation's Triumph (1999 by David Brin).

Three (3) stars. Foundation and Chaos goes back to the roots more in line with the universe Asimov made and the book has well rounded end where the Psychohistorians are exiled to the remote planet Terminus. The narrative smoothly flows between plot lines and words are bursting of good suspense; action is always there or just around the corner. The introduction of Lodovik Trema, which became almost human -- not subjected to the three laws of robotics -- is skillfully mastered. If the gaudy simulations introduced in book 1, Joan D'arc and Voltaire, were banished altogether from this book; if tiresome sounding mathists were called mathematicians and if the robots would have appeared less in the lead roles, the book would have been solid 5. Still twice as good as the book 1. A sturdy read in tradition to the Great Master.

One star is too much already
Not even close to the concept, the narrative, and the eloquence of the Master (Isaac Asimov). There is no mystery. What it is is a soap opera with pages upon pages of silly dialogue. If allowed, I suppose that Mr. Bear would throw in a few light-saber fights and describe them blow-by-blow, grunt-by-grunt. A silly, silly book, but to be fair, Benford's Foundation Fear is in the same league (and "Forward" and "Prelude" by the late Master are no gems either.)

The two most interesting characters are Tritch and Mors Planch. Tritch gets a few lines and Planch some more, but not enough.

Why can't Dan Simmons or Vernon Vinge be asked to write a sequel to "Foundation and Earth". Now there's a mystery worth pursuing and with them the Asimov Estate would do well to preserve and honor the spirit of the "Foundation" series.
... Read more

Product Description
As our culture shifts from modern to postmodern, pastors and church leaders are finding that old, rigid church leadership systems and structures no longer seem to work. Church leaders are searching for and discovering new, creative ways of leading--emphasizing intuition, creativity, narrative, and an embrace of the chaos and tension of our time.Tim Keel, pastor of a thriving emergent church and a rising leader in the emergent church movement, offers a thought-provoking yet practical exploration of this new style he calls Intuitive Leadership. His fresh approach will be welcomed by pastors and lay leaders interested in the emergent conversation and how Christian mission should look in our rapidly changing culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Leadership in the postmodern world
AUTHOR: "I am a full-on mutt"writes Keel of himself. The product of mixed spiritual heritage (Methodist, Baptist, Evangelical Presbyterian, Benedictines), Keel recognizes the deep influences these (and other) "deeply and widely different streams of the Christian tradition"have had on his spiritual formation. Keel serves as the founding pastor of Jacob's Well, and serves on the Board of Emergent Village.Keel's writings resonate with a Hauerwasian flavor, reflecting his early fascination with narratives of all kinds. He seeks to illustrate rather than explicate, and seems at ease with the chaotic currents of post-modernity.

THESIS OF THE BOOK: There are no leadership silver bullets.Today's effective leader will influence followers in the context of narratives (biblical, national, ethnic, familial, individual, etc.), embracing the tensions of intuition, creativity, and chaos to follow the Holy Spirit wherever He leads.

PART 1 ("Entering Story") uses stories to demonstrate the validity and need for a narrative paradigm.Keel paints a succinct history of the enlightenment, modernity and post-modernity, asserting that even the assertion that we have no story is really a story.Narrating his story and that of Jacob's Well,Keel asserts that we have "failed to engage God, ourselves, and our world faithfully for the sake of the gospel"by failing to live a truthful narrative.

PART 2 ("Engaging Context") explores the radical engagements of faithful, communal discipleship: the contextual,theologicaland structuralaspects of using intuition, creativity and chaos. Using another's approach can leech God from ministry. Instead we must follow God's lead.

PART 3 ("Embracing Possibility") encourages us to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit by allowing "life to grow naturally out of the environment in which it exists"rather than by imitating the latest fad or best practices from a mega church. This goal can best be achieved from a posture of learning, joy, vulnerability, availability and surrender while listening to God.

Keel reflects my dissatisfaction with the "Acts 2 church," as if such a church were possible today simply by reinstituting the forms and rules of the First Century AD. He notes that the church in that form did not last, being replaced by new, vibrant and different forms of church, all of them authentic. "[We] observe barely contained chaos as churches faithfully seek to keep pace with the life exploding under and around them."Keel also brings systems thinking into the mix, noting that easy fixes just do not work. We need to apply what seem like chaotic solutions that "pull us (me) out of our (my) comfort zones and into the world around us (me) in a radically engaged way."

a completely different book on leadership
wow. tim keel has written a leadership book that, well, isn't like others. i suppose i could put it in the same kind of category -- roughly -- as max depree's books (leadership jazz, and leadership is an art), in that tim doesn't prescribe a method, or give 5 or 10 or 21 irrefutable laws. instead, he brings his artist's perspective to the role of the leader, spending the biggest portion of his page real estate talking about cultural discernment.

killer stuff, really. when tim suggests, in the subtitle, that the kind of leadership we should embrace is one of narrative, metaphor and chaos... well, let's just say he clearly lives these three words out on the pages of this exceptional book.

Great Book
This was much more than just a book about leadership.It was a book about the postmodern approach as well as an encouragement that faith does not and should not just be of the mind but also of the heart.

MUST READ
This book is a must read, and a must own!I am NOT an emergent village participant, and have NO plans on being one.I am a church planter, however, and this book has it!It is amazing, even if you are not an emergent follower, EVERY pastor should have this book of leadership in their library, and they should reference it often!

What we have been waiting for
If you have been going around in the Postmodern conversation for any amount of time, or are at all curious about the "Emergent Church", or are feeling like you keep stubbing the big toe of your faith, here is some real help. And do not let the title keep any one from reading. This is not just one more dry book on leadership. It is for you. Tim Keel brilliantly (please accept the praise Mr. Keel) weaves history, scripture, experience, and culture into something truly inspiring and useful to those with an eye on things to come. Or even on things that have been. I cheered out loud more than a few times as my heart was being reclaimed by Jesus. So many connections were made with the loose ends of my faith. And not in the form of easy answers, but with the asking of better questions. Did I mention that this is a brilliant work? The bottom line is that this is most likely the most important and engaging book i have read to date. And if in fact you are in a position of leadership, ( as I am ) this is a catalyst for honest growth that you will look a long time to better, or even equal for that matter. I could go on but instead will plead with you to trust your intuition..... it is as good as you would hope. ... Read more

Product Description
Unstable markets, fierce competition, and relentless change are the only certainties in today's chaotic business world.In their startling new book, authors Brown and Eisenhardt contend that to prosper in such volatile conditions, standard survival strategies must be tossed aside in favor of a revolutionary new paradigm--competing on the edge.To compete on the edge is to relentlessly reinvent, and it's the only way to navigate the treacherous waters of tumultuous markets.Competing on the edge is an unpredictable, sometimes even inefficient strategy, yet a singularly effective one in an era driven by change.It requires charting a course along the edge of chaos, where a delicate compromise is struck between anarchy and order, to the edge of time, where current business is the primary focus, but actions are shaped by past legacies and future opportunities.By adroitly maneuvering through chaos and time, managers can avoid constantly reacting to nonstop change and instead set a rhythmic pace that others must follow, thereby shaping the competitive landscape--and their own destiny.

In the first book to translate leading edge concepts from complexity theory into management practice, each chapter focuses on a specific management dilemma and illustrates a solution.Linking "where do you want to go?" with "how will you get there?" here's a bold and surprising strategy that works--when the name of the game is change.Amazon.com Review
What do the Atlanta Braves, Microsoft, 3M, Nike, and Intel allhave in common? According to Shona Brown and Kathleen Eisenhardt,authors of Competing on the Edge: Strategy as Structured Chaos,each of these organizations are predictably unpredictable. They'releaders not because of their ability to predict the course of theirmarkets; rather, these companies have learned to embrace the notion ofchange. They're successful because they've learned to find that edgebetween structure and chaos that allows them to be innovative andcreative, while maintaining just enough discipline to focus onexecuting a plan.

The authors contend that competing on the edgeis not an efficient or predictable way to do business. Instead, it'slearning how to adapt and lead in a business environment that's in aconstant state of flux. "The underlying insight behind competingon the edge is that strategy is the result of a firm's organizing tochange constantly and letting a semicoherent strategic directionemerge from that organization. In other words, it is about combiningthe two parts of strategy by simultaneously addressing where you wantto go and how you are going to get there."

Brown andEisenhardt offer dozens of examples of companies that are successfullyand not so successfully finding that balance between anarchy andorder. If, on the one hand, you feel like your company is bogged downby rules and bureaucracy or if,on the other, it seems like no one inyour company knows exactly what they're doing, you'll find thatCompeting on the Edge is a valuable handbook for change. Thebook is clearly written, full of insight, and belongs on everymanager's bookshelf. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

A must read for strategy consultants
Outstanding work - each one of the cases is well documented and based on real experiences.Subsequent managerial research has confirmed many of the hypothesis, which are particularly relevant for industries subject to dramatic changes in the value chain on an ongoing basis.

Also, companies committed to the proposed framework have been able to thrive in uncertainty and profit from disruptive innovation.

Roughly 10 years after its publication, the recommendations and case studies of this book have performed significantly better than any of the players in blockbusters such as "good to great"

MBA speak
If you want to learn how to speak like a typical MBA (full of buzzwords but low on substance), this book should be very helpful.Otherwise, it is a waste of time.One of the authors teaches at Stanford business school -- don't they have higher standards there?

Predicting the Future is Easy, Being Right is Hard
One of the things I found most objectionable back in MBA school or today in reading/writing business plans is the orientation towards thinking that all those beautiful numbers predicting the future had any meaning whatsoever.

If you think fancy long range planning makes sense, just go ask the American auto manufacturers what went wrong. We've known that oil is getting in short supply, that its source of supply is in an unstable part of the world and that something drastic will have to be done. So what do they do - build more factories to build pickups and SUV's.

Where are the fuel efficient diesel engines? (My daughters Volkswagon diesel from 20 years ago got 42 miles per gallon.) Where are the hybrids? (Oh, they are manufactured in Japan.)

The computer industry learned to think in terms of rapid change a long time ago. (Those companies like DEC. Honeywell, RCA, GE and many, many more are defunct or out of business.) You would think that a book like this one would concentrate on the computer business. To some extent it does, but it also talks about companies like 3M, Nike, the San Francisco Symphony, the airline industry. It also talks about companies like Sears.

This book cannot give you specific advice about what the future holds, but you can make some guesses - energy costs are going to go up, global warming is going to cause water levels to rise (a bunch), overseas competition is going to go up, we may see a major religious war. How will your company react?

A must read
If you are managing a business today, I suggest you read this.Learn the lessons from this Google Manager.It stresses speed, quality to the customer, innovation, leading and staying ahead of the competition.

Fresh View of Strategy
As a business school student I have covered a plethora of theories and frameworks regarding strategic analysis, planning, and development. Brown & Eisenhardt provide a fresh look at strategy. Competing on the Edge provides the latest thinking on emergent strategy and succeeding within high-velocity industries. Regardless if you are in industry or the classroom, this book is a must if you ever plan to drive strategy at the business level-no matter what the pace of change is in your industry. This book will teach you to think in new ways about how you create, manage and defend competitive advantage. This read will take you far beyond Porter, Mintzberg, and Barney. ... Read more

Product Description
Explore the unexplored - enter The Wilds of the Forgotten Realms(R)!

On the borderof a dangerous, magically unstable area called the Plaguewrought Lands, the leaderof a cult seeking the spread of this wild magic and an alchemist who wants to controlit join forces and create an elixir that allows pilgrims to survive the PlaguewroughtLands. But only one can succeed. A young man with strange powers and a priestessof the god of death will help determine who. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Edge of Chaos by Jak Koke
The Edge of Chaos by Jak Koke- This is the third book in The Wilds series ofstand-alone novels set in the Forgotten Realms universe. The first novel is The Fanged Crown by Jenna Helland, the second novel is The Restless Shore by James P. Davis, and Wrath of the Blue Lady by Mel Odom is the last. This is Jak Koke's first foray into the Forgotten Realms, he as written other novels in different settings.

The story is about an elixir that could help prevent death from exposure to the Spellplague, a storm that caused magic to go wild and either kills things it touches or scars them, giving the individual powers. We are introduced to a monk named Slanya and a rogue named Duvan, who embark to recover some plaguegrass for the elixir to work. In order to recover the plaguegrass, the duo must travel into the Plaguewrought Lands, a place were the Spellplague is contained. It's almost certain death. However, the elixir as drawn interest from parties that want it to be able to unleash the Spellplague again. Does the duo recover the plaguegrass, come out of the Plaguewrought Land whole, and uncover the plot to release the Spellplague and stops it?

Negatives:
1) Cliché Main Characters. Slanya and Duvan are extremely cliché and it can get bothersome. Duvan is like any other rogue, a mysterious person who is bitter and cynical of everything. He doesn't have many friends (actually he has none), likes to do things on his own, and can be a little headstrong and bitter. Slanya wants to change this mysterious person (am I starting to sound like every movie made about a love story yet?). Then you realize that the two become in "love" (love is used loosely). Seriously sounds like almost every love story doesn't it? While these characters themselves are interesting and engaging, the whole clichéd premise of it does become really distracting and annoying.
2) Errors. I usually won't put something like this in a negative spot, I'd just mention it. However, the whole book is plagued (get it?) with editing overlooks and grammatical errors. I know I may not be the best at grammar, but when a comma is in place of a period and the next word isn't capitalized, the whole sentence becomes drowned in confusion. But that's not the worst part. The editing mistakes are just horrible. There was a sentence in which it reads something like, "change and make and." Now at first glance, that may not be a problem. But then you realize that either "change" or "make" would work in the sentence. So then you come under the understanding that whomever added whichever word meant to take out the first word but forgot to take out the first word. Yes, my previous sentence may be hard to read, but that's what it felt like. It was confusing and just lazy. This has to be the first book that the errors really bothered me. You have an editor for a reason right?
3) Predictable Ending. While the story up until the ending is wonderful and not all that predictable, the ending just gets bogged down in knowing what is going to happen. At least you don't know what is going to happen until a certain person's spellscar is activated, then you pretty much know how it's going to end. Also, you can tell right away what someone is, if you pay attention. I'm not going to give who these people are away, but you can easily figure it out. Even though the ending is a tad bit predictable, the story nevertheless is still interesting.

Positives:
1) Main Characters. While I did say that they were really cliché, the really were still engaging. Duvan's past and what happen to him make him mysterious and interesting. His past is horrible and heartbreaking at the same time. You really do feel sorry for this character and what horrors he'd been through. Slanya's struggle with control and chaos is interesting and well written. You can feel her hatred of disorder and her attitude regarding town life compared to her monastery home. Then you have the way she tries to help Duvan, you begin to see that she does want to be his friend. This aspect of the duo really seems to work. You can believe that they are friends. The end, to see the emotion from the characters about what happened was just beautiful and powerful, sad and heartbreaking.
2) Plot. The plot is fairly interesting, yet basic. It's basic because someone wants to destroy the world (of course!). What makes it different is that it doesn't seem like it's that way. The plot, for me, revolves around the two main characters and how their friendship can change things. But even the basic, everyday plot is engaging. The main characters don't know that what they are doing is going to be for evil. They don't find that out until much later, instead you have pretty much the bulk of the story about these two people changing one another. It's interesting and engaging.
3) Description. Wow. That's all I can say. The way the Plaguewrought Land is described is just breath taking. Now I've read other story that involve plague changed land, but here it's just so chaotic and it's written in a way to make it feel and act chaotic. Honestly, at times you don't know what is even happening, but that's the point. When the duo enter the Plaguewrought Land everything changes so rapidly that it's hard to follow at that you really can't picture this amount of chaos. Now, I may not be sounding like this is a positive, but it is. I really felt so disoriented and confused that I, at times, felt what Slanya or Duvan must be feeling. It's chaos at it's best, and it's written so chaos reigns supremedoing these scenes.

Side Notes:
1) Spellscars. It's about time I find out what these this can do! I've read a few stories involving them, but nothing about them. But here I really understand what they are. And is it me or do they remind me a lot like superhero powers? Or an even better example, they remind me of the television show Heroes.
2) Tyrangal. Duvan's employer (so to speak). Is she really trying to fool anyone? Seriously, from the moment you meet her, it becomes obvious what she is. It was absolutely no shock when you find out.
3) Cover Art. I like it. The other books I didn't really care for (The Fanged Crown and The Restless Shore). Those didn't really seem to have anything to do with the story or were every interesting. Here, however, the vortex that your eye is drawn to appears in the story and the whole wilderness around it really is described like that within the story. Even the two people in the picture are Duvan and Slanya (except Duvan has black leather armor, not green). The only problem is that it's too dark, way too dark.

Overall: 4/5
Final Thoughts:
While I don't really have any major problems except that everything is so cliché, the characters are wonderful, the story is decent, and the descriptions are marvelously chaotic. While The Edge of Chaos isn't the best stand alone novel out there, it is the best one of the previous three (The Fanged Crown and The Restless Shore). I really liked the two main characters and were heart broken at what happens at the end.

Beware the Plaguewrought Lands
First off, I would like to welcome Mr. Koke to the Forgotten Realms. The Edge of Chaos is his first novel in the FR setting and the third in the stand alone series called The Wilds. The first was The Fanged Crown by Jenna Helland, the second, The Restless Shore by James P. Davis and the forth, Wrath of the Blue Lady by Mel Odom is due out in December.

The main plot of The Edge of Chaos revolves around the border of The Plaguewrought Land near Ormpetarr. People are talking a pilgrimage to the town in the hopes of becoming spellscarred and thus receiving magical abilities. The only problem is that the chaotic nature of the spell plague lands mostly results in death. There is a better chance of survival here though since an alchemist named Gregor has an elixir to make people immune to the fatal effects. Vraith, the leader of the Order of Blue Fire has plans for the elixir. Then there is the main protagonist, Duvan, who works freelance acquiring things. Mostly he works for Tyrangal who is head of the Copper guard. Duvan is joined by Slanya who journeys with him on a quest. There are subplots of a couple of the characters pasts, and evil ambition, and an eventual love interest.

Like all new FR novels, this one takes place 100 years after the spell plague events. The plot takes a different approach to the spellscarred people. Usually people who have become spellscarred are shunned or prejudiced against, however, in this one the people are looking to become spellscarred. The pacing was done very well. It never bogs down and moved nicely from one scene to the next and kept me interested. The book also flowed quite well even with a few hiccups here and there. I cam across 12 mistakes which could have been taken care of with some good editing. I won't claim to know the ins and outs of creating a book, but I have noticed lately that there are a lot of mistakes in the FR books. More so than before. I still enjoyed the book very much otherwise.Mr. Koke does a really good job of developing the characters. Each one had their own voice and they all had flaws adding to their realism. Vraith was about the only character that I really didn't care for. I just couldn't connect with her and as the main antagonist, she didn't feel that threatening. Aside from a couple, the secondary characters, I felt, could have added a bit more to the story, especially at the end. This story runs in at 278 pages. In order to get it to over the 300 page mark, WotC put in a long excerpt to a forthcoming novel. These pages could have been used to provide some more background of a couple characters or added more the ending battle. Those are just my thoughts.

Some Criticisms

1.I would have liked more about Vraith. I feel a little more depth to her character could have enhanced her and made it easier to connect with her.

2. ]The climax at the end could have had more to it. Also it was mostly predictable. Sometimes I like it when I can predict the outcome of certain events, however, for this one, even though I did not get everything predicted, a different approach to the ending or more expansion may have improved on it.

3.This is minor and most readers may miss them, but the differing mistakes throughout, became annoying, especially at the end. Like I said, I don't know all the processes that go into creating a book, but there have been more mistakes than usual with FR books.

4.To avoid spoilers, I will provide limited info here. There is a place that the characters travel to and I don't know if there could have been monsters there, but a battle or two would have been nice during this section.

Some Positives

1.The main characters had nice depth to them. Even the main protagonist had flaws and seemed more real. The character development was well done and the majority of the main characters were easy to connect with.

2.The pilgrimage plot line was nice and fresh. I really enjoyed the fact that people were going out and trying to receive spell scars. It was a different take on the subject and I liked that angle instead of everyone fearing those that are spellscarred.

3.The spellscars themselves. When a person becomes spellscarred, they can obtain abilities and just about anything can happen. The possibilities for the different abilities are endless. The ones that Mr. Koke uses for certain characters were awesome. They added to the enjoyment of the book very much. They were not over the top and were very believable.

Overall, I was entertained greatly.There were times that I just could not put the book down. If this is just an introduction of the things to be expected my Mr. Koke, then I believe he could have a long and successful career with WotC. I look forward to reading his future FR novels. I believe that veterans and new readers of the Realms will enjoy this book. It can be read, understood, and enjoyed without prior knowledge of the Forgotten Realms. I recommend this this one for all readers of fantasy.

-Dimndbangr

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Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

The ONLY book you'll ever need on the subject!
This book is written in easy to scan language.It doesn't get you caught up in yet another thing to aid in the avoidance of organizing.It kept answering questions I would come up with as I read within a paragraph or two.It's very easy to follow, motivating and isn't cookie cutter or requiring of a lot of new expen$ive equipment.It's a one-size-fits-you solution.I highly recommend this book!

No Pressure Organization!
I received this book for Christmas. I read and implemented much of it in 2 weeks.

I love that each of the two authors givs their perspective on a particular topic, like to-do lists...weekly or daily. You automatically have 2 choices, plus they give you more options. This book is not a "do it exactly this way, no matter what your actual life look like." It's all about making things fit for you and your situation.

Some people might find this a plus, but I wished they would have pointed out where some of their www.getbuttonedup.com products fit in. If they already have the perfect calendar, I want to know! They did, however, give lots of low- to no-cost ideas to implement, so that's helpful, too.

Love this book, especially for organizing papers and managing your time. ... Read more

Product Description
Monkey King  tells the story of 28-year-old Sally Wang, a Chinese-American woman whose mental breakdown and sojourn in a hospital set her firmly on the path of memory.Her recovery takes place against a rich tapestry of culture and personality that unfolds before our eyes under the Monkey King's ghostly shadow.For Sally has been living with a terrible family secret, one that has shattered her life.How she pulls together her Chinese and American identities into a cohesive self and rejoins the land of the living is recounted with a wry and refreshing honesty.Amazon.com Review
Recent novels by Chinese American authors often describe aworld where private life is far messier than the public facefamilies put on it.To an extent, Patricia Chao's debut novel,Monkey King follows this pattern: heroine Sally Wang's"perfect" life obscures a childhood riven by sexual abuse andsecrecy. After attempting suicide, Sally must confront the past andlay her demons to rest.What separates Monkey King from othernovels of its kind are the surprisingly sympathetic renderings ofSally's parents, the evocative portrayal of immigrants' sense ofdislocation and loss, and the fine writing with which Patricia Chaobrings Sally's world to life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

artist, interrupted
At the start of "Monkey King," twentysomething graphic artist Sally Wang is sent to a psychiatric facility, after an aborted suicide attempt.Once there, she will continue the work begun in therapy: facing the incest that destroyed her youth and confronting her mother and sister about their denial, as her father has since passed on. Sally takes the reader back to her experience as a Chinese American daughter of immigrant parents, both of whom suffered culture shock on their arrival to the U.S. Helped by a sympathetic therapist, other family members and friends, Sally slowly puts her life back together.

The author brings alive what it is like to be a young Chinese American girl whose parents are struggling to assimilate. She also handles the topic of incest with tact and sensitivity. However, one thing that bothered me was the amount of compliments and praise showered on the heroine. The sister, who witnesses the abuse and feels overshadowed by Sally, complains about this, and I started to think she had a point. Given such abundance of love, Sally did begin to seem a bit self pitying after awhile. Also, the portrayal of being a mental patient seemed more like what would happen in the sixties than in today's insurance-conscious world.

Critiques the Monkey King Tradition
Readers of Journey to the West (a.k.a. Monkey) will find this book interesting for the way she subverts the popular Chinese literary figure in order to critique both Chinese and New England culture. The heroic characters of the Monkey tales are turned upside-down, suggesting the darker side of the tradition and its effects on women. Fans of Monkey and his colleagues may be upset by Chao's inversion of these characters, but for students of Asian America, the book presents an intriguing meditation on the effects of lingering Chinese patriarchy upon Chinese American women.

A captivating novel
I just finished Monkey King and I have to say it's one of the best and most original books I've ever read.Patricia Chao has an incredible talent of bringing the reader along on the protagonist's journey so that you feel like you're experiencing every emotion, sound and touch first-hand. I think this was particularly important since the protagonist, Sally, is an artist and her senses are naturally acute. I was impressed that Chao did not make Sally paralyzed by her depression.Rather, I perceived Sally as emotionally stunted by her childhood trauma, but through intense self-analysis was finally able to play "emotional catch-up."I also really appreciated how Chao captured Sally's hunger for parental approval, a theme that most people can identify with regardless of their age or station in life.

Well written, great characters, but what was the point?
Patricia Chao is a very accomplished teller of tales.Her prose is very vivid and senual -- smells and vistas and tactile sensations are everywhere.The characters she creates are memorable and vivid: the protagonist Sally, painter, American-Born Chinese, veteran of childhood trauma, and depressed person; her sister Marty, spoiled, full of life, beautiful; their mother, an immigrant, professor at Yale, well- meaning ice-queen, still strongly clinging to tradition, shaming Sally about her divorce, her career choice, her "feeling sorry for herself"; and the winsome, Uncle Richard, whose compassion, humor, and decision to include Sally in his betting at the dog track make us love him.There are great scenes, in the mental hospital, with her mother and sister.But ultimately, what is the point?Sally goes through her journey into the darkest night and seems hardly changed by it.She appears to have some revelation at the very end, but it comes from nowhere.Her depressive and self-loathing thoughts seem worse at the end than through most of the book.Yes, it is important to say that the struggle goes on, but there should be something learned or some knowledge gained.Have I just read the story of a thick-skulled person unwilling to change?It certainly seems so.ALSO -- Sally, and Patricia Chao -- are dishonest about mental illness in general and depression in specific.Sally and her friends' interaction with the hospital staff is all the same and featureless.Is no one helped by their medication?Does everyone have to have the same high school-type rebellion against the staff?Why are the grass and sky described with such specificity and detail but the medications (for all different disorders) are lumped together as "meds" that don't do much but make you dopey?Where are Prozac and Wellbutrin?Was this written about being in-patient in the '50s? Sadly, no.The result is a shame.There's so much talent here (in Chao) yet this kind of denial and stubborn unwillingness to confront all the realities of depression makes the book a partial truth (though filled with other resounding truths).Let's hope the author grows more than Sally did.

Relationships between people
Monkey King was recommended to me by someone who had noticed that I liked memoir-style writing. Written in the first person, the novel explores the relationships that Sally, the protagonist, has with her mother, sister, grandmother, aunt and uncle, and of course, father. The portions of the book dealing with Sally's mental illness are very real, quite frightening, in fact. For some reason, the detail that Sally's handwriting became illegible as she slipped closer and closer to becoming completely unhinged really stuck with me. The relationships that Sally has with her family members are quite complex, as those things tend to be, I suppose, and the end of the novel offers no resolution, so I wouldn't recommend the book to anyone who likes their ending nicely packaged. This is one of those books, I think, that affects its reader in slight, sneaky ways. Little bits come floating back to you now and then as you make your own way through life. As with any book that deals with difficult topics, it's not as easy to write a review. It wasn't a joyous read, or a "satisfying" one, per se, but compelling and well-crafted. ... Read more

Product Description
In the fiery aftermath of apocalypse, America, as we knew it, disappeared - and was reborn as the Tri-States. Under the Rebel law of Ben Raines, there are no slums, no gangs, and no crime. But a new breed of anarchists and malcontents have banded together to destroy everything Ben Raines and his army have risked their lives - and the future of America - to build. As devastating civil war turns race against race, brother against brother, and the nation's once-peaceful citizens into a modern-day barbarians, the Tri-States explode in a firestorm of violence and chaos. Now it's up to Ben Raines and the Rebel Army to put the Red, White and Blue democracy back into business ...before the red dawn of Armageddon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Fast Moving Action But Hardly Believable
In author William W.Johnstone 304-page continuation of the "Ashes" Series, Ben Raines, having taken some setbacks previously, now feels strong enough to not only regain the lost ground, but press on to other (former) states, setting up two of the regions that will eventually make up the Tri-state set up he envisions for the USA after it was destroyed in the Great War 10 years before.

As a former infantry combat Marine operator, I tried not to be too harsh, but some of the military descriptions reached pretty far out there. As an example, on page 49, the author advises us the MBT's had been reworked to allow them to run on diesel, gasoline or aviation fuel. Hmm, not real sure I would want to be in the vehicle with 22-1 compression ratio needed to run diesel fuel, when avgas was dumped in. Pieces of your vehicle the size of your fist would be found in the next county. You....would be vaporized.

He also discusses his Air Force which is made up of P-51 Mustangs. Let's get real here, North American Aviation's Mustangs were the finest of the last prop-driven fighters, but that would have been 7 decades before Raines' time.

Movements of large armored formation just doesn't seem real in a world of very limited manufacturing of fuel and material'.

But in his defense, Johnstone keeps the action going for a fast-paced survivalist novel. But I felt it could easily have been made more believable*.

* See review of James Wesley Rawles survival novel "Patriot".

chaos review
I received the book in a decent amount of time and it was in the condition advertised.What more can I ask for?Thank you.

The Whole Ashes Series
I have read every book of the series at least twice. I think the
series is one of the best. I have also read some of his other books.
I would like to know if the author ever comes to Portland,OR.

Another Great Novel in the Ashes series!!
"Chaos in the Ashes" is an action-filled novel in the continuing saga of thedynamic"Ashes" series and Ben Raines is the quintessential hero representative of the kind of leader we would all hope to have in the event of government breakdown ... Read more