Product Description
The remarkable and challenging story of a man who dared to believe that God both could and would supply all of his needs whether personal or for the thousands of orphans in his care!

Though confirmed in the church at the age of 14, George Muller was raised without a real concept of God. By the time he was 16, he was in jail as a vagabond and thief.

In his early twenties he came in contact with a group of people who met regularly for prayer and Bible study. Through their witness he was brought to a turning point in his life and was born into the family of God. Daily Bible reading and prayer immediately became an important part of his Christian life and a cornerstone of his future orphanage ministry.

The personal story of one of the greatest prayer-warriors of the past century.

Customer Reviews (9)

George Mueller
Over a hundred years after his death, the life and faith of George Müller still ministers to me. I am constantly challenged and exhorted by his testimony.

His father sent him to seminary hoping to secure a good job that would provide for him (and his father and mother). The irony there is that George was an unconverted sinner who was reveling in debauchery and sin sick. He converted his life upon seeing someone genuinely praying upon their knees.

After this conversion, he saw the beauty and joy of prayer and gave up his regular salary and simply prayed for his every day provisions. In his journal he states that he would pray and money and food would simply show up. It tells that God answered more than 50,000 of his simple requests for daily provision. He prayer focused to building several orphanages which housed thousands of children. He also traveled and shared his faith to 42 countries up until he was 93 years old. He stated that he read his Bible more than two hundred times in his life and that one hundred of those were on his knees. What an amazing picture of a tender yearning to hear God speak.

Simply through prayer and never through public plea, this man of God was given millions of dollars in the 1800's. His life and testimony is fascinating. May you be challenged to pray and expect God to answer you.

George Muller: Man Of Faith And Miracles
"George Muller: Man Of Faith And Miracles" is a great read of the man who became known for the orphanage ministry he led.

Among the areas covered include:

1.His early life as an unbeliever.
2.Coming to faith in Christ.
3.66 years as pastor of a church in England.
4.Family life - outlived his daughter and two different wives.
5.Starting and overseeing the ministry of an orphanage to several hundred children.
6.Many missionary travels to several countries, including the USA.
7.Countless instances of God answering his prayers to provide food and money for the orphanage.

I was particularly inspired when reading the accounts of how God was so faithful in answering Muller's prayers for provision for his own needs and that of the orphanage's.Indeed, God blesses when we do what He calls us to do!

Enjoyable read.Highly recommended.

George Muller: Man of Faith and Miracles
I highly recommend this excellent book to see how God works in the hands of the faithful.Small paperback and easy reading.

George Muller: Man of Faith & Miracles--Basil Miller
Although I read this wonderful book in 1978 when I first accepted Jesus in my life, its words still resonate within my spirit. Muller's faith that food would arrive at the orphanage when the children sat at the dinner table in front of empty plates hungry, is among the great answers to prayer and faith in the God he knew so well. He truly experienced first hand the verse in Hebrews 11:1, where we are told the nature of faith..."it is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." For George Muller, faith was believing that God told the truth.

This book is a must for every Christian struggling with belief in a supernatural God who is able to hear them when they pray. Highly recommended.

Charles Hamilton Sr, Former Executive Director Northwest Teen Challenge, author: "From Darkness To Light" and "A Step Of Faith." [...]From Darkness To Light

Woohoo!
This book was very well written. I found myself filling the side margins with notes and underlining quotations.

It is inspirational and extremely beneficial to anyone who wants to read about someone who had their priorities in order. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

More Than Aphorisms
This is a wonderful collection of Buddha truths and wisdom.If you are keen on mindfulness you cannot do any better.You may end up bookmarking lots of pages, I'll warn you right now.

Buy gum instead!
I am so blessed that I got a sample first.What a mess!Cannot imagine what these others read.

Timeless Wisdom
This book is full of timeless truths and wisdom.It's beauty lies in it's simplicity. You just can't put a price on that. Highly recommended!

very spiritual
I love this book I have been suggesting it to everyone.It is easy to read and not preachy at all.I have found it to be very fulfilling. ... Read more

Product Description

To the Point helps readers construct arguments by thinking about their own experiences, reading brief, current essays, and doing writing assignments.

Customer Reviews (2)

Let's Get "To the Point"
Okay, so, to get to the point of this review, this book is a bunch of poorly written left propaganda.Several of the passages I felt sick reading.So many of the arguments are poorly written and full of flaws.The only reason I bothered to read this book was because it was required for the class.If you don't have to read this book, don't.Save yourself!

Poorly written
I haven't read that much of this book, which is required for one of my classes, but I can already tell that this book is poorly written. It is a chore to read. ... Read more

Product Description
Stretching flat across the water, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is a popular spot...for jumpers. Roger Nagasawa, a brilliant employee at a popular Internet magazine, is its latest "suicide" and veteran P. I. Sharon McCone's new case. But instead of getting closure for his family, McCone uncovers more questions than answers: Roger's stark apartment...his aloof parents, who had wanted an investigation and now refuse to talk...a cutthroat workplace...a cache of secrets in a shady waterfront deal. It's a puzzle within a puzzle with a deadly game at its heart. For the elusive, twisted trail is about to circle back into Sharon McCone's own life-and bring the danger home.Amazon.com Review
Sharon McCone, Marcia Muller's street-smart, San Francisco PI, is still dealing with the emotional aftermath of her brother Joey's suicide when she's hired by Roger Nagasawa's parents to prove that their son died of overwork, and that he was driven to kill himself by the brutal, high-pressure atmosphere at Insite, the hip online magazine that employed him. Enlisting the help of her reporter friend J.D., McCone learns that the magazine is failing, despite the millions in venture capital that's supposedly financing it. The mystery deepens when she retrieves deleted files from Roger's computer suggesting that he knew who was sabotaging the magazine and shared that information, which he characterized as "insurance," with Jody Houston, a close friend, before he jumped off the Bay Bridge. Tracking Houston to an isolated cabin on the Oregon coast, McCone stumbles over the dead body of her friend J.D., and then finds herself framed for his murder. By the time she uncovers the truth about Roger's suicide and unmasks J.D.'s killer, she's confronted her remorse over Joey's death and put a painful part of her own past behind her. As usual, Muller turns in a solidly plotted, well-paced mystery with a heroine who grows in self-awareness and complexity with every new adventure. --Jane Adams ... Read more

Customer Reviews (28)

I will give it a 4 but it really is a 3
This was a book I came across, a renter left it in our cape house.I slipped it in my bag as I was leaving and it sat in my bedroom for over a year.I had just finished reading a crappy book and wanted to read something I could get into.I ordered a couple things from Amazon but had to wait.I got bored with TV so I decided to pick this thing up and read it.It was pretty painful at first, it put me asleep within the first 10 pages.I tried the next day to get into it, I read 50 pages then put it down, still not impressed.I found myself sitting on the couch watching TV and thinking about the book, the 60 pages I read I guess had made an impression.

I began reading it and as I read on it actually wasn't that bad.It's like watching a B movie A&E mystery.By the time I was done I felt satisfied, the book had did its job and kept me entertained.Not every book we read will be the best ever.I would not spend full price for this but would easily pick it up for a Buck at a used store.

I would recommend buying this used and cheap and setting it aside for when you need something quick to read.

Suicide or Murder
Reeling from the suicide of her brother Joey, Sharon McCone is allowed little time to grieve before she's deep into an investigation of another suicide.
This time there are questions and danger to keep Sharon on her mark. Roger Nagasawa was a talented young man whose work was on the Web with a successful e-zine. The financial means were in place, but the web magazine was about to fold. It takes all of Sharon's skills to sort the good from the waste and track a ruthless killer who has her in sight.
22 editions of Sharon McCone and Marcia Muller has dealt her many fans another winner with DEAD MIDNIGHT.
Nash Black, author whose books are also available in Kindle editions.
TravelersSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelWriting as a Small BusinessNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil War

Does not measure up...
Dead Midnight by Marcia Muller is another Sharon McCone mystery that I don't think measures up to her best in this series.Maybe it's Muller, or maybe it's the fact that I have read about six of them in a short period of time.

Private investigator, Sharon McCone, is asked by a lawyer friend to do him a favor.His godson, Roger Nagasawa, has committed suicide.His family wants to file a wrongful-death suit against the high-tech, fast-paced online magazine that their son worked for.McCone's job is to find proof that the company, InSite, worked Roger to death.The fact that she would even take on such a case is a very big stretch.

As with A Walk Through the Fire, there is just way too much going on in terms of plot.As usual with McCone books, there is quite a bit underneath the surface that McCone must sort through.On top of everything else, McCone is still dealing with the suicide of her own brother, Joey.

I have yet to read all Muller's works, but after two so-so books, I think I'll give them a rest for awhile.

Tell the cover artist Roger DIDN'T jump off the GOLDEN GATE!
Sorry, as a former Bay Area resident I KNOW the difference between the Bay Bridge (which Roger jumped) and the Golden Gate (which is on the cover of the book!)I know the GG is the much more recognizable landmark, but still. . . Roger chose the Bay Bridge for a reason.

but otherwise, this was a thoroughly enjoyable book.Very easy to read with very engaging characters and good dialogue.It's the first Sharon McCone I've read and I will be reading more.

Not up to par
I just finished reading this book and it took me a month. I kept expecting it to get better but it never did. I would put it down for days before I would pick it back up. I even read another book during that time.

Marcia Muller is a good author but this one just doesn't cut it.

Sorry Marcia ... Read more

Product Description
A number of diplomats have been the target of a vicious bombing campaign. Sharon McCone agrees to help a security firm protect their client. Behind a wall of diplomatic immunity, McCone discovers a web of intrigue, corruption and murder. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Makes me want to give up on the series
I began reading Marcia Muller years ago.I enjoyed her husband Bill Pronzini's "Nameless Detective" books and was introduced to her work in Double, a fairly impressive team effort by the authors and their signature detectives.These became the authors I turned to, along with Sue Grafton (and less so the chip-on-the-shoulder Sara Paretsky), for light, straight, credible detective fiction.I read all of Muller's Sharon McCone mysteries up to A Wild and Lonely Place, as well as some of her lesser books, featuring amateur detectives Elena Oliverez and Joanna Stark (I also slogged through the unreadable Muller-Pronzini "historical" detective novel Beyond the Grave).

It was a bumpy ride.The McCone books were Muller's best.But they fell into roughly three phases: (1) small-potatoes, penny-ante local mysteries involving comfortable, small-time neighborhood stories, motivations, and marginal types; (2) convoluted, pathos-laden mysteries with many disjointed parts and often implausible, train-wreck, let-down endings; and (3) haphazard chase, action/adventure, travelogue yarns short on mystery plots and familiar faces and places.The later books all feature some social-issue undercurrent to the story.

Muller's lean, thin early books belong to the first group.They became increasingly threadbare with Leave a Message for Willie (two unrelated killings, one senseless and both impromptu, involving "Torah scrolls" and a military camp) and There's Nothing To Be Afraid of (a deranged, Yeats-spouting derelict terrorizing a Vietnamese-owned flophouse).

Along the way, Muller broke out of this mold with an interesting plot, vivid descriptions, and fast pace in the entertaining Games To Keep the Dark Away.She held the plot trajectory on a steady arc throughout the book, instead of, as so often happens in promising mysteries (like Grafton's J Is for Judgment), collapsing after a good premise and setup.

Another high point came with The Shape of Dread.The book was long and complicated but coherent and tied-together, despite some cliche elements and questionable plot points.It was an affecting story, of shifting puzzles, interesting and genuine characters, and believable details, that felt alive and real and kept the reader guessing.

Although it was good that Muller apparently realized the need to develop bigger plots and go places, her writing bogged down in increasingly contrived, turgid, bulky tomes.These were typified by Pennies on a Dead Woman's Eyes (one of her most interesting, involving mystery premises -- about a 35-year-old murder of a promiscuous society girl on a think tank estate -- that self-destructed into a tangled mess) and Till the Butchers Cut Him Down (a melodramatic, far-fetched tangle of events, personal hatreds, and vengeances tracing back to a business "turnaround" that killed a Pennsylvania steel mill).

Still, I soldiered on, getting a copy of A Wild and Lonely Place from Amazon.Unfortunately, it landed in the disappointing third heap, along with Where Echoes Live (demented prospector, environmental activists, multinational conglomerate, abandoned gold mine, vandalism) and Wolf in the Shadows (Ripinsky missing, biotech firm executive kidnapped, illegal immigration, McCone storms Baja mansion).Never have I had more trouble finishing a Muller book.It droned on for 386 excruciating pages that felt ten times as long.Unable to take more than a few pages at a time, and with the mental block to opening the book growing bigger with each sitting, it took me months to get through it.

The premise of the "Diplobomber" blowing up embassies, targeting an Arab consulate in San Francisco, and being hunted by an FBI/ ATF/ USPS/ SFPD task force and the RKI security firm, was simply too overblown and veered too much to the other extreme from Muller's early, small-scale books.It did not lend itself to a good, intricate, personal detective story or characterizations.Nor did it leave room for McCone to make enough of a credible, distinctive contribution.Although Muller was more convincing than I had expected in injecting McCone into the world of high-level task forces, high-profile terrorism, and a hot-shot worldwide security firm, the book still left something to be desired in plausibility (including her interactions with RKI).The story, characters, and theme (about diplomatic immunity) were completely unaffecting, with nothing and no one to care much about (despite the last-minute revelation of a cliché personal motive).There was barely a mention of the familiar All Souls crowd and local color (the Remedy Lounge, group house, etc.).

The novel was action/adventure fare to the exclusion of the early books' sense of character and place and of almost any detective work (among other tidbits, here the reader had to settle for McCone belatedly prompting her associate to do some quick and dirty internet research that, like magic, turned up a pattern to the bombings, which, of course, had eluded all of the law enforcement professionals on the case).

First, as if the bomber plot were not problem enough, Muller hijacked it with an endless, tedious digression.Spurred by a poorly explained, gratuitous killing, with a leg-up from one or other marginal character, and sparing no details, McCone made a one-woman commando raid on a Caribbean island to retrieve the abducted granddaughter of the consul general and led her on a cross-countries chase.This included an embarrassing scene where McCone finagled access to the compound where the girl was being held and, with the hardened abductors standing right there, engaged in an obvious word game with the girl that instructed her to sneak out to the beach.It also included a contrived, even if well-described, scene where McCone piloted a plane with a failing engine, with boyfriend Hy Ripinsky conveniently feverish and indisposed.

Then, back in San Francisco, in the wake of a new bombing, McCone was hurriedly, aggrandizingly, and implausibly thrust into a computer-chat-room-arranged hostage exchange.At risk was an SFPD pal who had conveniently stumbled onto key evidence.This episode, with McCone again going solo, ended in shouting, shooting, and a body being incinerated and blown off a boat deck by a flare gun (why, when safely back in her car earlier, could McCone not have simply re-attached the body mike after pulling the wire loose in the phone booth to show the killer, making it unnecessary to go it all alone?).

I would be even angrier at how much of an effort reading this book took for so little payoff if it were not for some small compensations.Muller is a good descriptive writer.She tied up the story, such as it was, fairly neatly at the end.McCone was familiar, likable, and admirable (determined, focused on the task at hand, perceptive but not overly sentimental, clearheaded, levelheaded, with a quiet strength and a convincing competence).The story maintained a basic, if sometimes strained, credibility.And it obviously was intended to be more of a demonstration of McCone's "growth," over the most recent books, into a "living on the edge of danger" action hero, closer to Ripinsky, than it was the mystery/detective story, with careful tending to characters, setting, and investigation, that I wanted.Frankly, after this book, I am not at all sure how much longer I want to go along for the ride.

Three and a half stars...
Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone series has developed into quite a good body of work.Although I enjoyed A Wild and Lonely Place by Muller, the story was a bit of a stretch and kept me from giving it four stars.

McCone is clandestinely helping her friend, Adah Joslyn, who is a police officer assigned to the Diplo-bomber Task Force.The Diplo-bomber has been targeting embassies throughout the US.The latest attempt is to a consulate in San Francisco for the country of Azad--a small Arab emirate.RKI, is in charge of the security at the Azad consulate and they hire McCone to assist.It turns out that the consulate has been receiving bomb threats all along, but has refused to report these to the police.As McCone begins investigating, she discovers many other strange things as well.Consul general Malika Hamid is an overbearing woman who runs a very tight ship.She also seems to be hiding many secrets.Her son disappeared several years ago and his American wife appears to be held against her will in the consulate, along with her 9 year old daughter, Habiba.

McCone believes that the secret to finding the Diplo-bomber lies in the Azad consulate.She also fears for the life of Habiba and her mother.But this is where the story loses credibility.McCone ends up in the Caribbean, trying to get to the bottom of this case while her assistants back home are doing research to find the identify of the bomber.The trip back to California takes up the last third of the book but she gives away part of the ending in the prologue.

Muller seems to take on an "issue" in each of her later books and in A Wild and Lonely Place, that issue is the diplomatic immunity used in America by foreign embassy staff to get away with crimes.There is a lot to like in this book, but I just felt it could have been a little better.

Superior McCone
I thought this book was one of the best in the Sharon McCone series (I've read them all, but not in order of publication).It introduces a number of continuing characters.There are certainly parallels with later mysteries/female detectives (such as Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone).IMHO, Muller writes a good story but she might develop her characters a bit better--as compared with some other mystery writers (e.g. Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder or perhaps even Milhone).

Not up to the usual high standards of the McCone series
I have read all the Sharon McCone mysteries in the order they were written and am a big Marcia Muller fan."A Wild and Lonely Place" was the most disappointing book in the series so far.Most of the suspects/new characters were dull, I figured out the mystery WAY too readily, and the writing was surprisingly cliched.

I hope that this book does not mark a downward spiral for Muller.But.. if it does, she's had a great run. (15 books in the series prior to this one.)If you don't know her work, start with the first McCone mystery, "Edwin of the Iron Shoes" and go forward from there.Don't let this one turn you off.

Action-packed Sharon McCone book
Private Investigator Sharon McCone continues to evolve as this series progresses.The reader is privy to many more of McCone's inner thoughts than in the earlier books, and we come to know what makes her tick.In this installment, Sharon is asked to pursue the so-called Diplobomber, who targets embassies of oil-rich nations.The bomber has toyed with officials, giving a warning before he strikes, but still eluding their efforts to capture him.During the course of her investigation, Sharon learns of the daily life inside the Azadi consulate which is dysfunctional, to say the least.She continues her very open relationship with Hy Ripinsky, becomes very attached to a little girl who is a part of the investigation, and takes some impromptu flying lessons.The action is often tense, and the conclusion is slowly but surely arrived at by McCone.This is one of the best books of this series. ... Read more

Product Description
Prayer was the vital component of George Müller's 19th-century ministry to England's orphans.In "Answers to Prayer," Müller reveals how powerful and spiritually rewarding prayer can be.As shown by the fascinating narrative in "Answers to Prayer," Müller lived a life of total dependence on God.One of Müller's chief rules was to never tell others the needs of the orphanages, but only to ask God for help. "Answers to Prayer" is a collection of excerpts, like a journal, describing thewonderful ways in which God did indeed answer Mr. Müller's prayers by providing for thousands of orphans often on a meal to meal basis for over 40 years. The powerful ways that God did provide are truly touching, with power to encourage other Christians and challenge the skeptical. There isn't a more powerful account of God's faithfulness to His children than "Answers to Prayer," an amazing testimony to the power of prayer in one man's life, that shows how every believer can appropriate the promises of God for themselves. ... Read more

Product Description
We all long to experience a sense of inner wholeness and guidance, but today's notions of healing and recovery too often keep us focused on our brokenness, on our deficiencies rather than our strengths. Wayne Muller's luminous new book gently guides us to the place where we are already perfect, already blessed with the wisdom we need to live a life of meaning, purpose and grace.

He starts, as do so many spiritual teachers, with simple questions: Who am I? What do I love? How shall I live, knowing I will die? What is my gift to the family of the earth? He then takes us deeper, exploring each question through transformative true stories. We meet men and women--Wayne's neighbors, friends, patients--who have discovered love, courage, and kindness even in the midst of sorrow and loss. And through them we glimpse that relentless spark of spiritual magic that burns within each of us.

Woven throughout are contemplations, daily practices, poems, and teachings from the great wisdom teachings. Page by page, we become more awake to the joy and mystery of this precious human life, and to the unique gifts every one of us has to offer the world.Amazon.com Review
One of the hazards of a reflective life is to grope foranswers before you've asked the right questions. Wayne Muller, aminister, therapist and bestselling author has taken a stab at askingthe big questions: Who am I? What do I love? How shall I live, knowingI will die? What is my gift to the family of the Earth? Following eachof these questions are some of the most tender and luminousdiscussions one could hope to ponder. More than a monastery for thearmchair seeker, this has potential to be a mind-altering book withpermanent impact. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

how then shall we live?
The book was in an excellent condition. I was very pleased that I have found this book through the internet and not had to pay much higher price at a school book store.

How, Then, Shall We Live?
This is a wonderful book!It really has me thinking.How Then, Shall We Live?: Four Simple Questions That Reveal the Beauty and Meaning of Our Lives

spirituality
Wayne Muller never disappoints. His words are graceful, profound and help one get in touch with the real issues of life. He does this through the sharing of real stories from real people that one can relate to. Very worth the money.

Wonderful Book
Wonderful book filled with great inspirational anecdotes. It will renew your faith in the human race. Wayne is a great writer with beautiful insight. Highly recommend this book.

the Best
This is by far the most important book that i have ever read. The writings of Wayne Muller are so real and comforting to me. You won't go wrong getting this book, or any of Muller's for that matter. ... Read more

Product Description
Pushing aside the demands of her stressful career to search for her vanished lover, San Francisco P.I. Sharon McCone follows a series of clues along the Mexican border and comes face-to-face with personal issues and a cunning killer. Reprint. PW. K. NYT. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Prize winning mystery
"Beware of the wolf in the shadows. He is watchful and patient, and when he catches you he will eat you up - skin and bones and heart."

I read Wolf in the Shadows by Marcia Muller for the Book Awards Challenge II. This book was published in 1993 and won the Anthony Award in 1994.

This book is a Sharon McCone mystery and it chronicles ten days in her life. Sharon is a private investigator for All Souls Legal Cooperative in San Francisco. Her lover, Hy Ripinsky, has disappeared and she is searching for him. At the same time, All Souls offers her a "promotion" - a desk job managing investigators and paralegals, and that doesn't hold much appeal for her. Sharon's search for Hy leads her to RKI, a security agency with questionable practices. Hy was delivering a 2 million dollar ransom for RKI when he went missing, so they assumed he'd stolen it. Sharon agrees to find Hy, but first she must shake the agents RKI has tailing her. Through a series of twists and turns (I don't want to spoil the plot), the mystery is solved and Sharon finds herself with two jobs to consider - one with All Souls and another with RKI.

This book is fun read with a complex plot that kept my interest throughout. Mystery lovers will enjoy it, like I did.

Illegal aliens, environmental terrorists, and more...
Wolf in the Shadows is another in Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone series, and McCone gets better which each subsequent book.

Sharon McCone is a PI living in San Francisco and working for a law firm called All Souls Legal Cooperative.At the beginning of Wolf in the Shadows, McCone is faced with two major issues.First, her job at All Souls is being turned into a supervisor/desk position, something that McCone knows will not work for her.Just when she has to make a decision about her job, her lover, Hy Ripinsky goes missing.Ripinsky is an environmental activist who has a shady past (maybe CIA?).When McCone starts investigating, she discovers that Ripinsky took on a job for an international security agency, RKI.The CEO of a biotech company was kidnapped, and Ripinsky was given the job of delivering the ransom money in exchange for the CEO.But now Ripinsky is missing also, and RKI wants both Ripinsky and their money.They suspect that Ripinsky has skipped town with the ransom money and they hire McCone to find out what happened to him.

McCone travels to San Diego and Mexico on Ripinsky's trail.In the process, she has to deal with illegal aliens, environmental terrorists, crooked Mexican politicians and gang members as well as the ruthless men from RKI.She also must make some hard decisions about what she wants for her future (that's providing she lives to see it through).

The only thing that really spoiled Wolf in the Shadows is that I have not been reading these books in order.Having read one that was published after Wolf in the Shadows, I had a basic idea of how it would end.So from now on, I will be a little more careful to read them in order.Other than that, Wolf is a fine book in a good series.

Wolf in the Shadows
Very well written - with atmospheric descriptions of places the detective goes to. I enjoy the Sharon McCone books - having just recently discovered them - and as a person who does not live in the USA, the descriptions of people and places help bring life in the USA alive for me.

Sharon looks for Hy
Sharon McCone is shocked and dismayed when she is summoned in to a meeting of the partners of All Souls' Legal Cooperative where she works.Instead of the reprimand which she expects, Sharon receives the offer of a promotion which would put her behind a desk and away from the action.Although this goes against her grain, Sharon knows she must accept it if she wants to continue to work at All Souls'.At the same time, she discovers that her lover, Hy, has disappeared while on a job for a company called RKI.When she talks to Gage Renshaw at RKI, he tells her that he thinks Hy has double-crossed him and he wants to find him.Sharon offers to do so, thereby getting paid for something she planned to do anyway, and also having a paying job which doesn't involve All Souls'.She travels back and forth between California and Mexico in search of Hy and the answer to a series of unanswered questions.Muller's books in this series become longer as time goes on, and this causes some extra action which becomes a bit distracting to the main plot.However, she still spins a good tale and Sharon McCone remains a very likeable heroine.

Good Plot, but most all the action quite implausible
We tried previously one of the early Marcia Muller stories (#4) about her San Fran-based private eye Sharon McCone.Having found that 1984 offering a little lackluster, we jumped ahead to Wolf, #14 of 22, written in 1993.To us, a reasonably entertaining plot was spoiled by maneuvers and border hopping and such stuff that all seemed way too dubious unless our leading lady has suddenly become Wonder Woman.Once again, Sharon ignores her paying job at All Souls and sets off on her own, gone for over a week without even calling in.Sight unseen, an international security firm president not only grants McCone an audience but hires her on the spot to help retrieve either the kidnapped executive under their contract, or the absent agent, Hy Rapinsky, who just happens to be Sharon's lover (!), who has the two-million dollar letter of credit ransom to deliver.We won't delve further into the plot, but before it's over, Sharon is running back and forth into Baja Mexico, spying, remembering trick restrooms she hasn't seen in over a decade, shooting at people, and dealing with shady characters left and right, but emerging unscathed at every twist and turn.By the end it was clear that a Power Ranger has nothing on Ms. McCone.

This series must have a faithful following to warrant 22 titles to date, but despite what the dust cover says, Grafton and Paretsky are much better -- their female leads at least seem like regular real women who are just good at what they do.We believe we'll let the other 20 stories go for now. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Review_Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
It is recommended to read Alexis Sanderson's Review in the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 53, No. 2 (1990), 354-357.

Open Heart Surgery of the Supreme Reality
This book delineates the concepts of Abinavagupta's investiture of the heart or hridaya as metaphorically analogous to the centermost reality of supreme consciousness. This exposition becomes the vehicle for a foundational exploration into the historical development and conceptual underpinning of the Kaula lineage and its interweaving influence amongst the larger framework of non-dual Kashmir Shavism.

Mr. Ortega's extensive research and refined scholarship is clearly evidenced throughout this work. While the literary style is thoroughly scholastic in disposition, one could presuppose that readers less familiar with the rigors of this venue could find the linguistic constructs unduly pedantic and inaccessible. This work is implicitly conceived as a scholarly interrogatory into the numinous symbology of the heart, and the author makes no supererogative overtures to attitudinize this as a pedagogical guidebook of mediation or tantric praxis. While those with a predilection for the trance state will find ample catalyst for such while ruminating over the significance of the weighty subject matter, the kernel of this work is largely philosophical in nature and its potency relies primarily upon absorption into one's own conceptual fabric. The onus of methodologically deciphering and putting into practice the myriad of specific kaula oriented techniques employed and espoused by Abhinavagupta, which are by and large beyond the parameters of this work, remains squarely on the shoulders, if not the heart, of the reader.

The Ultimate Secret
This book contains priceless wisdom from a first-rate scholar, who, surely, must be an experienced tantric yogin! You could sincerely say that he has discovered & revealed the secret of the real holy Graal in these pages. It's very much a practical handbook on how to become immortal - like a lamp that lights the way to the god within.
I hope Mr Ortega publishes more material like this. Better still, I wish he were my Guru to learn from first hand....

Abhinavagupta's teaching about the nature of ultimate reality
The Heart as a metaphor for the enlightened experience of consciousness was masterfully revealed by the great Shaivist sage, mystic and scholar Abhinavagupta. Abhinavagupta "taught from a level of complete spiritual awakening with the authority of one who was considered a Siva incarnate." The study of these teachings, for the student able to attain and maintain meditative absorption, may be the basis for a radical transformation in consciousness to spiritually awakened Being in nondual freedom of awareness.

Excellent!
Not only a rare and brilliant sanskritist, Paul Muller illuminates a once obscure mystical-religious tradition with the erudition of the most accomplished scholar. His rich background in the history of religion andfamiliarity with a seemingless endless variety of sanskrit texts showthroughout his writing. He explains intricate spiritual concepts instraightforward terms and unearths the complexities of deceptively simpleimages, whose meanings mightgo otherwise unappreciated without hisdetailed explanations. Rock-steady in his approach, he somehow balancespainstaking technical analysis with broad conceptual understanding. Hetraces around sanskrit words close to their sources, never straying farfrom the original texts. Moving beyond the literal, he also treats symbolsas multilayered representations of human experience. His work exemplifiesintellectual exploration and impeccable scholarship, but also packs richinsight and meaning. After reading more basic works, this is the one thatwill provoke new thoughts and a thirst for more knowledge about thecomplexities of indian religious and spiritual systems. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (12)

A grimly beautiful poetic book about an ugly reality
When I started reading one short, declarative sentence after another, I was a bit put off, but as I allowed the poetic rhythm of the book to pull me in, I was fully engaged. Written from a grim place, where society has been taken to its lowest level, we see how people who've faced war, starvation, and rape react. It isn't pretty, but it's real.
Sometimes the surrealist images have to be taken for what they are without being analyzed. Once the reader slips into the village, watches the owl circle, knows the dilemmas Windisch and his wife and daughter have faced, one starts to get an idea of what it is like to live in this stark world where choices don't exist.
It's hard for Americans to take it in, difficult to image a man sending his daughter off to give herself to the town officials (including a priest) of the village so the family can have passports, but the bare bones struggle reeks of truth.
The book is sparse, fitting of a tale told of a place and time where daily existence was a challenge and no easy paths existed. Profound. Read it several times. It's poetry.
Written by Lois Requist, author of "RVing Solo Across America . . . without a cat, dog,man, or gun."

Rites of Feedom

Windisch is a miller in a small Romanian village on the German border. He is busy bribing the local officials with bags of flour to get a passport to emigrate with his family. Ultimately flour isn't enough and he has to offer his daughter....
A haunting tale where Muller tells in short snippets Windisch's story and also that of the dismal village, wrapped up in superstitions, corruption and the constant impositions made by the totalitarian regime.The fantasy forced upon them that the Ceausescu's are the mother and father of the nation;its ptotectorate,
I've read only one other Muller book,and likethat one ('Land of Green Plums') 'The Passport' is told in fragments, each sticking in your mind adding to a bigger whole.
Brief outlines of Windisch's wife and first love Katherine's live in a Russian forced labour camp are never fully expounded on but add to the fears and paranoia about getting the passport out. As you would expect from decades of totalitarianism,you blank out the horrors just to keep on going. In this way Muller really does create the Ceausescu dystopia.
Only 90 pages long,'The Passport' demands reading and offers up more with each reading.

A grim, ponderous and clipped depiction of Romanian life under the scary dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena.
The Passport is a novella consisting of only 93 pages with the primary focus being on the Banat region of Romania and the Swabians in particular, the German speaking minority residents who occupy that territory in Romania. They are a people like the Armenians, who suffer incessantly and are folks who always get the raw end of the deal, historically speaking and otherwise. The story revolves around Windisch, the village miller, his wifeas well as his virginal daughter Amalie, a school teacher. Surrounding them in their provincial Romanian village is an assortment of rough-edged characters who clasp onto superstition and mutual economic day-to day needs; their common bond is also their suffering as well as their increasing deprivations to a productive livelihood. Being enticed away from their homeland by the progress of the West (Germany, that is), Windish has hopes of securing passports for him and his family. But to obtain them, he offers bribes of flour to those men on the upper tiers of the political spectrum. In the eyes of those in power, it is a laughable gift offering as well as a disrespectful insult for the offices they hold. They are crude and crass in their desires and yearn for something a lot more sacred and personal. It is that desire that turns The Passport from literature to literary horror story. There are a lot of approaches that one can have towards despondency, and as a reader, you're always hoping fro the character to take the right approach or maybe not depending on your own personal circumstances, for literature is often validating for people. In his case, where flour offerings are not sufficient to buy his and his family's freedom, Windish is the lone wolf where his daughter's free will is concerned; she must hawk herself like a piece of used wares, for only that is a suitable offering. She submits and does so with free abandon, weaving her web that entangles not only the village priest but also a militiaman, among others. It becomes a manifestation of the past merging with the present and thus creating an all-too horrific reality.The quenching of lust by its own right is a kind of uninhibited breakaway from the repressive police state that they're all living in. In a way, it is like an explosion of lustful individuality that cannot be contained or ruled over by socialist and totalitarian decrees. Sex becomes the act of liberty and is a personal weapon of dominance. Because Amelia allows herself to become a sexual chattel for a greater good, she still has to reduce herself to gutter trash, and many others follow suit. Her own mother is a historical example. Amelia is in an appalling entanglement, though she may not see it. But her father does. In times of utter desperation, it is amazing the actions that people will follow through on. For Windish and his family, their country is evolving into a living hell and the once good people in their lives are changing into minions of that hell, not to be too hyperbolic. Perhaps Amelia's and Windish's questionable deeds are the lesser of the two evils, but that is for the reader to decide.It is either this action or one like this taught in the Romanian school system: "Comrade Nicolae Ceausescu is the father of our country. And just as the mother in the house in which we live is our mother, so Comrade Elena Ceausescu is the mother of our country. Comrade Nicolae Ceausescu is the father of all children. And Comrade Elena Ceausescu is the mother of all the children. All the children love comrade Nicolae and comrade Elena, because they are their parents." Page 51. The laws the two of them put forth were anything but loving! Page 74 titled "Grass Soup" was really compelling, for it is almost a warped play on Goldilocks and the Three Bears but for survival mode. The Passport was a gut-wrenching read that evoked in clear and sparse language mental torture and desperation unseen and experienced in anything I've ever witnessed. It is a difficult read, one that requires rereading in order to fully flesh out all the nuances of what Muller is trying to convey. I think I only got the gist, if even that. It was a disturbingly good read that recalls writers like Franz Kafka, H.P. Lovecraft and Gabriel Garcia Marques (my opinion).

A Passport from Purgatory...
I had a difficult time wrapping my arms around this bleak narrative and mystifying (haunting) prose.
Perhaps because it was sandwiched between reading Nabokov's Lolita and McEwan's Black Dogs, the writing style did not engage me as I thought it would... given my love of prosaic writing.
I found it difficult to follow the staccato style embedded in the cold and grim landscape.
I got lost in the bleakness and oppression and was unable to soar with the promised prose.
Another reviewer here that said in part that reading this novel was like looking at a Salvador Dali painting while watching a film noir at the same time.... and I could certainly associate with that! ....It really needed the reader's full attention and I just couldn't provide that.
The purported poetry in this book is very bleak and tersely woven with menacing metaphors ...not anything to woo a reader... IMO.
I enjoy poetry, I write and read poetry with some degree of understanding and I did not find Müller's use of poetic prose inviting or easily accessible.
The book is written in clipped short sentences and reads at times like a Dick and Jane book.... For example... "There were grey cracks between the blinds. Amalie had a temperature. Windisch couldn't sleep. He was thinking about her chewed nipples."
Müller's sentences are gloomy and darkly disburbing... she paints a joyless existence of mired mournful movement. Death and clocks drearily dominate the narrative.
The 'poetic' metaphors are often hallucinatory and surreally envisioned .... "a butterfly "flies through the tailor's cheek, passing out of the back of the tailor's head, white and uncrumpled"...."An apple tree grows a mouth and eats its own apples," etc. Surely, some of her poetic metaphors suffered through the translation and that could have been part of my difficulty with her style.
I found little in the choppy, uneven, and doleful writing style that engaged me to care for any of the characters.

I tried to read this
My book club decided to read something by Gerta Mueller because she won the Pulitzer.Two of us got books of hers and I tried to read Passport.I gave up.It might be meaningful to her country compatriots, but not to me. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting Book
Nancy Woloch has written, as the title suggest, brief history of Muller v. Oregon.The book is broken up into two halves.The first half deals with the history of Muller and the second half gives primary documents related to Muller and the time period.Woloch lays out a very logical argument and looks at the constitutional issues with Muller and the importance of the "Brandeis Brief" and how the brief was successful over time became less by the time the Court heard Adkins v. Children's Hospital.Woloch also looks at the reactions and results of the Muller decision and the cause and effect with cases that came after Muller.The addition of documents, which make up the second half of the book; the documents help to give greater insight to the history and understanding of not only Muller but of the Court and ideas during the early part of the 20th Century.

I would suggest this book to anyone who has to do research or is interesting in learning about women's history.This book has been extremely helpful in the writing of my maters thesis.The book is easy to read and Woloch makes clear points and is pretty even handed.I did not overly notice a bias one way or the other.There is a wealth of information in the book, yet it is not overwhelming but makes the reader engage with the book and read more.Check it out if you want to gain a brawer understanding of the Lochner Era.If you like this book then check out Paul Kens book Lochner v. New York: Economic Regulation on Trial

Though that's just my two cents. ... Read more

Product Description
When an elderly antiques dealer is murdered, Muller's popular P.I. Sharon McCone follows a killer's trail to a museum where San Francisco's most elegant socialites gather. "Muller and McCone are still the class of the field."--San Diego Union-Tibune.MASS MARKET PAPER ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

GREAT BOOK .
This is the first in the Sharon McCone series.Sharon finds trouble around the corner in the "Antique" district. The people in this rundown neighborhood have been getting threats and lots of vandalism. Sharon is hired to find out who did it and why. Before she can someone is dead and now Sharon has to find out who before she's the next one.Great read.This is the first one in the series and its a good one!

A Decent Start to the Series, But Nothing Spectacular
Private eye Sharon McCone was hired by All Souls Cooperative, a San Francisco legal services plan, to discover who was vandalizing a small street of antique shops when one of the antique dealers was found murdered in her own shop.Sharon had no idea who had killed Joan Albritton, a pleasant older woman whose main fault was talking to the dressmaker's dummy, the stuffed German shepherd, and the little boy mannequin she kept in her shop, but she didn't feel confident in the police's ability to discover the killer.Especially after she met the unpleasantly patronizing Lieutenant Marcus who was in charge of the case.Uncertain of whether she would be paid for her work or not, but refusing to allow Joan Albritton's killer to go free, Sharon starts her investigation.

Suspects abound, with Charlie, the junkman who ran the shop across the street from Joan's, at the forefront.Charlie was Joan's former lover, recently jilted for a wealthier man, and he was the one who had discovered the body and called the police.Then there was Cara Ingalls, a real estate mogul with ice running through her veins.She made no secret of the fact that she was glad that Joan was gone so that she could buy the land and force the antique dealers out.Of course, Cara was not the only one trying to buy the land and then there was the slimy bond bailsman and the slick "antique-style" dealer who kept popping up at every corner.Not to mention the puzzling Lieutenant Marcus, who was grateful for Sharon's help and then pushing her aside the next.As Sharon takes more and more risks, she comes closer to solving Joan's death, but she also comes closer to being murdered herself...

Edwin of the Iron Shoes is the First Sharon McCone mystery and it was just okay.The book was well written, but the story was pretty simplistic and the characterization was pretty inconsistent.Sharon McCone is billed as this hard-boiled female private investigator, but I thought that she was pretty stupid myself.She took a lot of unnecessary risks and managed to solve the case more by being the only one around then following the clues properly.Also, I know that this book was written quite some time ago (I have the 1977 edition), but I have a hard time believing that the police ever invited female private investigators to look over the crime scene while the body was still there.With a stronger plot, more believe characters and some additional detail, this mystery would have been much better.Hopefully the series improves as it goes along...

Outstanding!
This is the 1st of the Sharon McCone books. I discovered it when another author's fictional detective referred to McCone on a "case." And holy cow! This book is copyrighted 1977. Where has it been hiding from me? Sharon McCone is quite a bit like Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone (or vice versa), which is truly high praise from me. It's savvy, sexy, exciting stuff. McCone is way cool. EDWIN OF THE IRON SHOES is set mostly in an antique shop with the eerie "characters" of a headless mannequin named Clothilde and a little "boy" named Edwin who has strange iron shoes. The author creates only a sketchy sense of place, but a definite sense of character, with some really fun potental villains. A very interesting ultimate motive for the murder makes for a satisfying ending. I can see why this is such a popular series. I loved it!

Sharon's First Outing
This is the first Sharon McCone mystery written by Marcia Muller. In it, we find beginning her career with the All-Soul Legal Co-Op. This is a fine first novel and gives an early taste of some wonderful stories to come.

Debut of a long-running series
It took me a long time to discover Marsha Muller, but I am glad that I finally did.This is the first installment of her Sharon McCone Mystery Series which had a strong influence on later female authors and heroines.Sue Grafton, in a quote on the book jacket calls Muller the "founding mother of the contemporary female hard-boiled private eye".That's quite a claim considering how many well-known female investigators there are in fiction now.In this first installment, Sharon McCone is the investigator for a group of attorneys called All Souls Cooperative.Her boss Hank asks her to investigate the murder of an antique store owner who has been stabbed with one of her own knives.Sharon learns that the dead woman was about to make an important decision about selling her property and she feels that this might be a motive.She also discovers some shady goings-on among the art dealers and tries to fit this in to a motive for murder.Add to this some past and present romances, and there are several possible suspects.Muller's writing is clear and to-the-point.She tells a good story and carefully wraps up each loose end.I look forward to reading the other books in this series, which has so far spanned a 25-year period. ... Read more

Product Description
First published 1899, the year after Muller's death.Muller was a Christian evangelist and co-ordinator of orphanages in Bristol. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Role Model
It seems that at least once a week I hear a reference to George Muller, and I am always challenged by this man's life as an example of answered prayers.I bought the book for a gift for my husband's birthday, but I had an sneaky motive--when he is done reading it, I want to read it!He was very happy to receive this gift.

Inspiring Read
The life of George Mueller is a fantastic example of how God will accomplish mighty things through those who willingly surrender to Him.By an incredibly substantial life of faith and prayer Mr. Mueller demonstrates the wonders achieved by God's grace in those truly wanting to glorify God.Although Mr. Mueller is well known for his work among the impoverished children of London, the orphanages were only a vehicle by which an unbelieving public could see a tangible result of God's intimate concern for His creation.The principles that hold true for Mr. Mueller of the 1800's are no less true now for all those who submit to the sovereign will of the Lord.In this way, the biography of George Mueller becomes a personal challenge that believers may aspire too.

Muellers autobiography
It's truly been an inspiration for both me & my husband. It's strenghened my faith and highly recommend it to any one struggling in trust & faith. "How greatis our God." TY

Much more than I expected!
I bought this book looking for anecdotes of some amazing ways God answered prayer in George Muller's life, especially ones that could be used as illustrations for teaching, sermons, etc... What I didn't expect was God to work in my heart so much while reading it. The book certainly contains many amazing accounts of how God provided for George Muller and his ministry, but more than anything the book is a powerful narrative of how God responds to faith and prayer. Muller's life goal was to show that God is a living God who hears and answers prayer, and God richly blessed this life of faith.

The refreshing thing about this biography is that you learn just as much about the almighty God whom Muller served as you do about Muller himself. The author also often steps out of the narrative to help the reader to apply lessons from Muller's life. However, these asides never feel forced or interrupt the flow of the narrative, they only add to the reader's enjoyment and edification. I'm certain that the writing of this book itself was bathed in prayer, and it will show in the heart of the reader.

As mentioned before in other reviews, the language is a bit formal, as was common style in the late 1800's, but it's still very accessible, even to High School students. I heartily recommend this book!

Much more than a biography!
The ultimate George Muller biography, written by a man who knew him, and the one approved by Mr. Muller's own son-in-law. This biography breaks down George Muller's life into sections and explores each section thoroughly. Tremendous insight is gained into why and how he became a great man of faith and prayer. And as if the unfolding of this isn't enough, there's theadded bonus of author A.T. Pierson's insightful commentary on biblical principles for deeper-level Christian living. I am reading this book a second time just to take in and digest all he has to say about these things, especially in relation to following the call of God on one's life. I was not expecting this from a biography and all I could think while reading it was "Where was this man when I was starting out?" It's like sitting at the feet of your own personal mentor. While some of the writing style is a bit "too late 1800's" it does not detract from what is being said. This is an extremely rich read. (The DVD "Obstacle to Comfort" serves as a great companion to this book.) ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (8)

Historical explanations of Jewish diversity
All in all, this book is what it promises to be: A series of expository essays that appear to be the crystallization of some thoughts that the author has had over the course of many years. Since there was so much information in the book, I can only give general impression thereof.

1. We all know the narrative that "Jews went into business because the trades and land ownership were banned to them." This book gives us a bit of detail about that and good references into which we can make further investigation. We all also knew that "Everyone hates the Jews because they are moneylenders," but Muller also gives us brief discussion of lots of seminal texts that helped to propagate Anti-Semitism and that characterized the zeitgeist of many different places.

2. A lot of mysteries were resolved very succinctly. For example:

a. Why were Jews so often associated with Communist movements, when they benefited more than anyone else from a free and open market? (Muller's answer is that Communism was something that promised to eliminate all barries of ethnicity.)
b. Why is the Jewish vote in the United States so heavily Democratic? Muller gave a satisfactory answer that: Philanthropy and paying more taxes than necessary are coping mechanisms to deal with the antipathy toward Jewish success.
c. Why are the Jewish people so hostile toward the idea of the nation-state? (For example, look at all the effor that the ACLU makes in weakening/ destroying the US-- and look who is heavily overrepresented in the ACLU?) Muller points out that movements of different types of nationalism always tended to have an ethnic component of which Jews found themselves on the wrong side. So, the easiest way to solve that problem is to just work hard to destroy any sense of nation in your host country.)
d. (p.87, second paragraph) What idiosyncracy in Judaism accounts for the intellectual capital of the Jews? And the answer that Muller provided was "..theirs was a religion oriented to continuous handling of texts...." and mastery of the spoken word. When one considers the long head start that the Jewish people had on literacy, their success looks less anomalous.

3. I do have some problems with Muller's designation of the Nazi Fascist Movement (and others) as being "on the right." (These movements were clearly on the left and that issue was taken up at some length in Jonah Goldberg's "Liberal Fascism.")

4. Something that the author did not intend to show (but to which one's attention could easily be drawn) was that continuous government collapse that characterized Eastern Europe.

5. Overall, I get the impression that the subjects of the book experienced the problems that they did simply as a result of being in a lot of the wrong places at the wrong time. The impression that the author gave was that the particular circumstances that he analyzed from each country worked out one way, but they could have just as easily worked out differently-- and that his subject(s) were more a product of historical circumstances than anything. Of course, the point of the essay was that it was expository and not an extended discussion of the circumstance of middleman minority groups.

6. In other texts, I have understood that if you have some nation that is being colonized/ conquered that the minority groups that are there can take on a special role with respect to the conquering nation. So, the Russians were willing to work with the Jews as administrators because they appeared to be a neutral party. The locals of the colonized country did not like the Jews because they appeared to be a 5th column. And so this is yet another of the very many different mechanisms leading to the same result (=Anti-Semitism).

7. The references were wonderfully organized and very easy to find.

This book was worth the new purchase price.

Provocative essays on capitalism and the Jews
Good etiquette advises that discussing religion, money and politics with strangers is not prudent, but, fortunately, professor Jerry Z. Muller ignores this maxim. Instead, this broadly published academician presents four exceptional essays assessing the role of Jews in developing capitalism in terms of complex social, historical and religious structures. He wrote the series, which covers centuries of history, over the course of 30 years of study. His combined notes and bibliography alone are 29 pages. Muller tellingly shows the relationships among the political, theological and economic ideas that created some of the best and worst events in modern society. getAbstract highly recommends this enlightening, accessible work of contemporary scholarship.

Read more about this book in the online summary:
http://www.getabstract.com/summary/13577/capitalism-and-the-jews.html

How the history of capitalism and the history of the Jews have been interlinked
"Capitalism and the Jews" is on the ROROTOKO list of cutting-edge intellectual nonfiction. Professor Muller's book interview ran here as the cover feature on June 14, 2010.

A Provocative, Stimulating and Balanced Series of Essays
Almost sixty years after the European Holocaust, the issue of the role of Jews in Western society remains one of the "touchiest," if not the "touchiest" of all topics in the public square. Other taboo topics are the over-representation of white males as child molesters and serial killers, as well as the over-representation of blacks and Hispanic in the U.S. crime statistics. However, this author tackles the project of Jewish over-representation in the economic sphere head-on and in a more or less historian's academic way. As an eminent historian, he is able to operate below the radar of ethnic angst, and well above the fray; and thus in the process is able to dodge the bullet of being charged with being an "anti-Semite."

That said taking the "high road" has both advantages and disadvantages. The most obvious advantage is that it raises the level of the discourse from one of "denigrating Jews" to one of seeking to better understand the Jewish role in helping to shape Western culture. But the disadvantage is that it does so at the very high cost of leaving the 800-pound gorilla sitting in the back of the room, virtually untouched. That is to say, the author carefully steers around most of the most sensitive time-bombs in contemporary American culture: Jewish over-representation in almost every aspect of American political and cultural life; their role in our disastrous Middle East policy in uncritical Jewish support of Israel; the role Jews played in advancing Communism and supporting its efforts; the heavy-handed influence and distorting effect Jewish lobbying has had (and continues to have) on the American political process, as well as the role Jewish elites (for instance the Robert Rubin clique) may have played in designing the architecture of deregulation that led directly to the recent Wall Street financial excesses and its eventual collapse; Jewish overrepresentation in the media and in moviemaking in Hollywood; the emerging ominous coalition between Jewish and Christian Zionists and its chilling effect on free speech; and finally the problem of Jewish dual citizenship and Jews who spy for Israel, etc.

Perhaps it was asking too much to hope that all these issues would be addressed under the single rubric of "Jews and Capitalism." And although I was disappointed that Muller (A history professor at Catholic U. here in D.C.) did not treat the issue of the Jewish role in American society more generally, there is nevertheless excellent history here about the obvious impact Jews have had on Western economies. It is both interesting and enlightening history that until now has been buried far too long under the weight and the banner of "political incorrectness."

He begins by quoting Milton Friedman, the acknowledged godfather of free-market capitalism, who (himself a Jew) wondered aloud why Jews, who have benefitted so much from the capitalist system, have also been its most severe critics, and in fact were at the forefront of offering up Communism as an alternative to it. The author's story here is that although Jews were central to the formation of capitalism before the 19th century, and excelled at free-market principles since, they were at the same time also champions of communism, which rejected capitalism. He argues that supporting communism turned out to be a mistake that resulted in a backlash leading in part to the rise of Hitler in Germany.

The fact that Jews have been so successful at capitalism arguably is the reason (even more so than religion or ethnicity) that there is so much hidden racial and ethnic envy, animus and hatred towards Jews. In defense of this thesis the author cites the disproportionate percentages of Jews who composed the societies of Europe leading up to the First World War (40% of Germany's corporate elite; 54% of the owners of Hungary's commercial establishments and 85% of its bank directors -- while being only 3% of the population). In the U.S. for most of the Twentieth Century, Jews have been "massively overrepresented" in proportion to their numbers (about 2.6% of the U.S. population) in academia, medicine, law, architecture, engineering, he U.S. Congress, high-level governmental jobs and high finance. According to one annual survey (Forbes), Jews who account for less than three percent of the U.S. population, constituted 20% of the faculty of elite American universities.

The author's main point in what constitutes a provocative series of essays seems to be to give a more honest and non-emotional accounting of the role Jews have played in both the evolution of capitalism and its opposite, communism, and their twin effect on modern Western economies. I believe he has succeeded admirable at this more limited task.Four stars.

Objective Book (collection of 4 essays) on the history of Jewish people in business & economics
I just finished reading this book, and although the title did raise eyebrows among my friends, the book is as objective as possible. The author, a HISTORIAN, writes on the topic of this book purposefully, accurately, OBJECTIVELY - and purely in a historical context. This is NOT neo-nazi propoganda, anti-semetic, racist, bigoted, demeaning or anything else negative in the slightest sense. I enjoyed it very much, as I do many other business, economic, and history books - and this book combines those areas perfectly. The author should be commended for writing such a unique and fascinating book. It should be read by any people in the business world who want a simple, accurate and well-written collection of four essays that explain the historical background of "Capitalism and the Jews" (which by the way was the title of a speech given by Milton Friedman, a Jew himself, President Reagan's main economic advisor in the 80s). I write this review as an atheist/former Catholic with a background in economics and business consulting.

P.S. You might also like a recent book called Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel's Economic Miracle ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

Useful beginners and teachers guide
This is an excellent guide for a beginning potter, or in my case , a high school instructor with beginning ceramic students.It has terrific photos and simple explanations .
It has a great glossary of vocabulary words.Very clear and helpful suggestions and tips.

Potters Handbook
Good smooth transaction.Item arrived in a timely matter and as described.Thanks, just what I was looking for.

Handy and helpful
While setting up a ceramics program in a 55+ active adult community, I needed a quick helpful guide with lots of guidance. I tried this book and it has been indeed helpful with lots of information on clay types, stages, firing processes, glazing, handbuilding and throwing on the wheel. It is filled with good material, directions and pictures. My students liked it so much that some even purchased it for themselves.I had taught ceramics in the public schools for decades, and this did a great job of summarizing what I had taught over a semester in a thorough and quick, easy-to-use format.

a frustrating disappointment...
I am an intermediate potter looking for new ideas, techiniques, and sources of inspiration. I expected this book to include more projects. The first 130 pages included light coverage of basic information that is available in dozens of other books. There are only fifty pages devoted to specific projects and they were uninspiring and frustrating. I was initially excited by the opening picture of a vase with clay applique. However, there were no instructions for that project... The instructions for the chip and dip dish was one page conisisting of mostly photographs and very little instruction. It gave you no indication as to how to properly join the dip bowl to the larger bowl. Do you score and slip the bottom? Also, how do you trim the bottom of the larger bowl once you have already attached the small bowl? A more experienced potter may already have these solutions. They should have been included in the instructions for this piece.
As an intermediate potter, I found this book frustrating. For the beginning potter, there are better books out there....

potter's book
This book it is very helpfull for a beginer and also I think for people that practice pottery more than a hobby. It has very good pictures and the experience of the author seems to give a complex image for the entire big lesson for pottery. ... Read more

Product Description
Fully revised and updated, Muller & Kirk's Small Animal Dermatology provides students and veterinarians the most complete, up-to-date and user-friendly textbook of dermatology for dogs, cats, and pocket pets. This popular resource thoroughly details everything concerning etiology, pathogenesis, clinical signs, diagnosis, and therapy. Lavishly illustrated with clinical, microscopic and histopathological materials, it features over 1200 illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An Advanced Look at Veterinary Dermatology
This book contains all the information a practitioner would need to practice high quality veterinary dermatology.However, it may be too advanced for many general practitioners who may want to look at more clinically minded books.This book is well referenced and the use of the references is accurate.When the experience of the authors is used it is clear to the reader.The most problamatic chapters have to do with the structure and function of skin, where the author tends to shift subjects and alternates the detail to which the subject is covered - sometimes in the same sentance! ... Read more

Product Description
Sharon McCone's flight instructor Matty confides that her boyfriend, John Seabrook, is missing and asks Sharon to find him. Shortly afterward, Matty is killed in an "accidental" plane crash. More determined than ever, Sharon discovers that, a decade earlier, Seabrook was placed in the Federal Protection Program after testifying against a man who has been missing for the last 10 years. Following sinister leads, Sharon travels to a frozen wilderness--and comes face-to-face with a cold killer.Amazon.com Review
San Francisco-based private detective Sharon McCone is tracking a man whose actions have already caused the deaths of two women who loved and trusted him in the 18th installment of this memorable series. Because Marcia Muller's books are as much about McCone's relationships with her extended, occasionally dysfunctional family as they are about the cases themselves, first-time visitors might have trouble sorting out all the relatives. But, as always, the rewards are well worth the effort. In this case, there are several evocative flying scenes that help groundlings understand why people do it, a stinging attack on the callousness of the Witness Protection Program, and more glimpses into the tangled soul of Hy Ripinsky, McCone's interesting lover. Other McCone adventures in paperback include The Broken Promise Land, A Wild and Lonely Place, Till the Butchers Cut Him Down, and Wolf in the Shadows. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Discovered in a paper bag headed to the thrift store
My friend needed more room on her bookshelf and after being a Marcia Muller fan for years she was giving up her collection. I had never heard of Marcia Muller but was headed on a long vacation . . it's a good thing too as I started with the first Sharon McCone mystery and have now read nine of them. . all in a few weeks. This book is the one I just finished.Mystery adventure authors usually run out of steam in five or ten books but Muller seems to be just heating up. Every one I pick up I vow to read slowly. . right! The appeal of this series is that the character of Sharon McCone is so believable and the writer has a vast storage of knowledge on many subjects which she uses to make each mystery/adventure real. Her writing style is rich but to the point with no unnecessary scenes but an easy time line transition that keeps you moving no matter what. In a world where most female characters are portrayed as helpless and mired in a role of expected female traits, Sharon McCone is a breath of fresh air as a capable, smart and skilled investigator. Even though the author is in touch with her character's emotions, these issues do not bog down the stories and the character becomes more and more endearing book after book.

Taking McCone to new heights...
Marcia Muller takes San Francisco private investigator Sharon McCone to new heights (no pun intended) in Both Ends of the Night.This is the best book in the McCone series that I have read so far.

McCone is a pilot and learned how to fly from Matty Wildress.Matty is not only a flight instructor but also one of the top aerobatic flyers in the nation.Matty hires McCone to find her live-in lover, John Seabrook.Seabrook left suddenly with no explanation, leaving behind his 12-year old son, Zach.McCone not only has to discover where Seabrook has gone, but also, why he disappeared.The search for Seabrook leads McCone to Florida, Arkansas and Minnesota as she follows leads, assumptions and a trail of evidence.McCone is also worried that perhaps she won't find Seabrook alive.

To solve this mystery, McCone must navigate through the Witness Protection Program, a 10-year old unsolved contract killing, a corrupt aviation company, a federal investigation, a company cover-up, and the disappearance of the owner's son.Along the way, she receives help from her ever growing staff, friend and San Francisco homicide detective Adah Joslyn, FBI agent Craig Morland, and lover Hy Ripinsky (who is also a personal friend of Wildress).In the course of the book, we also learn much about planes, flying and human nature.

The plot for Both Ends is extremely well-developed.Unlike many mysteries, the bad guys aren't all bad and the good guys aren't all good.Also, not all the good guys are still standing at the end, which makes Both Ends more like real life.

Muller has become one of those series which I am determined to read every book--it's that good.

I Keep Reading
I keep coming back for Muller's next Sharon McCone story, so it's safe to conclude that I have enjoyed the series so far. By number 19, it's become as much about McCone and her extended family of familiar characters as it is about the mysteries. For that reason, I suggest that somebody new to the McCone books not start with this one. You can, but it all works better if you have some background.

I didn't find BOTH ENDS OF THE NIGHT to be one of Ms. Mullers' most compelling mysteries. It held my interest all the way through, but there was a little more rhapsodizing on the joys of airplane piloting than I wanted. I also thought that there weren't many real surprises in this one and the climax was too straightforward and obvious. Further, given the personal history of the guy living in the woods, he wouldn't have been difficult for a wealthy father to locate over the course of ten years.

I have enjoyed Mullers' McCone novels and will certainly read more of them. This one, however, while OK, was a bit of a letdown. Not bad, but not one of the best. I'm not suggesting that people (especially fans) not read it, just that there are others I liked better. My four-star rating on this one is a bit soft.

Enjoyed it a lot
I'm a big fan of the Sharon McCone series and this one was a very good read.Fast-moving, credible.I enjoyed all the plane-related detail.Muller, like Sharon and Hy, obviously loves flying.I'd never do it myself, but I enjoyed going along for the ride, so to speak.

If you're new to Muller, I URGE you to read the McCone books in order, starting with "Edwin of the Iron Shoes."Believe me, you'll get to this one soon enough.

Flight instructor hires Sharon
Sharon visits her flight instructor, Matty Wildress, and senses that something is bothering her.After some questioning, the private Matty discloses that her lover John has disappeared and has left her with his young son.Sharon and her lover Hy fear that Matty and the boy may be in danger and they try to protect them.Circumstances go from bad to worse, there is a murder, and Sharon and Hy begin looking for the perpetrator.From California, to Arkansas, Florida and Minnesota the two investigators hunt for John to try to find out who the murderer is, and why John disppeared so suddenly.Marcia Muller's books have come a long way since the late 70's when she first created Private Investigator Sharon McCone.This book is a winner for those who enjoy mystery and adventure stories. ... Read more

Product Description
With compelling selections by some of the world's most respected and critically acclaimed writers, The New World Reader encourages exploration of some of the most significant global challenges of the 21st century. Students consider topics that affect their lives, such as the challenges and consequences of globalization, global warming, bilingual education, and redefined gender roles. Challenged by such notable contemporary thinkers and writers as Richard Rodriguez, Bharati Mukherjee, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Kofi Annan, Barbara Ehrenreich, and Arundhati Roy, students develop their reading and critical-thinking skills. A consistent pedagogical apparatus includes brief chapter introductions, author headnotes, and pre-reading questions that offer students a preview of the central theme in each section. Exercise sets follow each essay, providing for writing, reading, discussion, and exploration opportunities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The New World Reader
I ordered this book on July. I used two day shipping because I needed it quick. It arrived just when I needed it. Thank you.

not happy
This book was delivered in worst condition. I cannot believe that their reviews do not even match at all. It was totally waste of money. I fully regret to buy this book form this specific seller. Sad with this one. :(

The New World Reader
The book arrived in the conditions described. The book arrived in good conditions. I was satisfied with the book and the price.

good purchase
The book was shipped quickly and matched the description. I would buy from this person again.

A Bit Tattered
The book was in worse condition than I was led to believe.The cover was alot more than just "a little bent" as was claimed, verging more on "extremely bent" to the point where it won't stay closed. The pages were tattered, but functional.Overall, though, there is no damage that hinders the book from being used, such as missing pages or tears, and it will work well enough. ... Read more

Product Description
- Muller's McCone series has consistently received strong reviews from national publications, including the "New York Times Book Review, San Francisco Chronicle, and USA TODAY, among others. "Dead Midnight was published by Warner in 7/03 and hit the "Los Angeles Times bestseller list, grossing over 76,000 copies.- Marcia Muller is the recipient of the Private live Writers of America's Lifetime Achievement Award. All the Sharon McCone novels and Muller's two previous stand-alones were Main Selections of The Mystery Guild.- "Wolf in the Shadows (Warner, 2001) was nominated for an Edgar Award and won the Anthony Boucher Award. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Solid Mystery From Muller
I've been reading Muller's Sharon McCone stories for years. They aren't, in my estimation, on a par with Sherlock Holmes or Miss Marple, but I always find them fun to read. Cape Perdido is not, however, a McCone mystery and I wasn't sure whether I would like it as much. Happily, I found it thoroughly enjoyable. The characters were good and the story held my interest right to the end. It was perhaps not quite as dramatic as it wanted to be -- not what I'd call spellbinding -- but enough to keep me involved. A nice standalone and another solid effort from Ms. Muller.

Not a Sharon McCone mystery
Cape Perdido is the presentstory of a fight for water in northern California and the ramifications of big business against the little man.A conglomerate wants to take the water from the local river and ship it to southern California in huge rubber bags and the local people are fighting to prevent it.

Jessie Domingo is trying to get established as an environmentalist, she`s had several bad experiences and comes to Cape Perdido hoping that this will make her career.Her developing friendship with the environmentalist lawyer was one of the best relationships in the book.The two of then become involved in the personal lives of the local people and their stories.At that point, an old unsolved murder becomes the main focus and the story changes direction.Theold crime and the lives that were affected by it become the central theme.

This book was not as good as her Sharon McCone books.The background story was confusing, people overreacted and the protagonist changed with every chapter.
Ms Muller tried to present the story from too many view points so lost the continuity the book needed.

The Truth Shall Set You Free
This is one of Muller's few non-Sharon McCone mysteries, & it's very different from that series.While told chronologically, within each day are sub-chapters focusing on individual characters.Each time that character is revisited, the reader learns more about that character & others as well.There are several mysteries woven into the plot but the two main ones are the external--fight between local & NY "environmentalists" & a corporation wishing to export Perdido River water to LA--and internal--an unsolved old murder involving many of the main characters.Avoiding the pitfalls of a binary or black & white mentality, Muller skillfully rounds virtually all of her characters by revealing their shadow sides.Thus, this novel is more appealing to a mature reader especially one interested in reality & human psychology.Still, there is considerable action in it & the mystery (though difficult to unravel) is fairly presented.The environmental story shows the dark side of so-called environmentalists who would stop at almost nothing to win (both locals & New Yorkers) with the less-that-perfect heroine still a foil to them.There's a lot of role reversal too--some white hats turn dark while some black hats get lighter.The corporate coalition (including the man providing the right-of-way fares the same.Assumptions are, after all, the stock-in-trade of the mystery writer.True, the story starts out slowly, but it builds up speed--I couldn't put it down at the end.The denoument was a bit disappointing--even though I did (finally) figure out who the killer must be, but overall the book was an innovative, even remarkable achievement.If you are looking for a standard mystery, this may not be the book for you.But, if you are into characterizations, realistic depictions of people (vs. stereotypes), this book may very well speak to you.If you have any secrets, this tale of a skeleton closet may strike a chord.It also has a message: keeping secrets may seem okay on the surface, but it's a loser in the long-term.The Truth can set you free.

Not Her Best
Marcia Muller is my favorite author, and while I love the Sharon McCone series, I've also enjoyed her stand-alones. However, this one just didn't do it for me.

I found all the environmental stuff boring, so the book didn't hold my interest the way her books normally do. I also didn't really care all that much about any of the characters, since I didn't feel they were that fully developed. Had this book been written by anyone other than MM, I probably wouldn't have even finished it.

nice departure for Marcia Muller
With Cape Perdido, Marcia Muller takes a break from her Sharon McCone series and focuses on an unlikely venue for murder- water rights in a small California coastal town. When a company threatens to siphon off water from the river and float it in huge inflatable bags to dry communities further north, the townspeople join together to fight the action.

I was actually very involved in the ecological aspects of the book and was disappointed when it suddenly diverted to focus on an old crime. It seemed as though the water rights issue was just an opportunity to bring the players together so that the older mystery could unfold. The mystery itself was okay, but I would like to have seen Muller stretch herself a little bit by focusing more on the water rights issue and making this into a true conservation mystery.

She did leave things open for future mysteries involving her ecologists, and I would like to see more of them. Let's just hope that next time, she leaves the historical baggage behind and focuses on the issue of corporate rights vs. regional rights, and conservation of resources.
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (35)

Inspiring
Several years as a U. S. management consultant convinced Karin Muller she did not want to be a part of Wall Streets world of inflated salaries, empty lives and inevitable ulcers. Instead of consolidating her career and padding her 401 (k) Karin, at age twenty-nine, became a vagabond travel author, filmmaker and photographer. "Hitchhiking Vietnam: A Woman's Solo Journey in an Elusive Land" is a fascinating account of Karin's seven-month biking and hiking odessey in the mid 90s from the Mekong Delta to China's border in search of villages and people untouched by the commercial influences of the West. She lived in the homes and planted rice with farmers, saved a number of wild animals from the thriving black market trade, and endured numerous physical discomforts and arrests.
Karin's curiosity, daring and poetic descriptions of her adventures are stunning. I could picture her Saigon driver as he hurled his cyclo into three streams of traffic where life seemed measured in inches. Laughing gaily as he surged toward the next giddy brush with death.
While Karin was traveling on a local bus to Saigon she heard the ratton bag hanging from the seat in front of her take a deep breath and begin to crow.It was answered by a series of identical bags scattered throughout the the bus. She drifted off to sleep listening to the volleys of rough throated roosters with her head resting on a strange man's shoulder. I also loved Karin's description of an outdoor toilet at one of the homes she stayed in. It was a knee-deep packing crate on stilts over a fishpond. When she climbed up the wobbly plank, the mirror smooth water suddenly began to churn and boil with expectant fish.
Karin's letters to her Mom are also charming and insightful. It was Karin's mother that had taught her curiosity and passed on her restless spirit. Karin later realized that she had not come to Vietnam to fulfill her mother's dream but her own. She would carry on, not in her mother's name but in her own.
I could not put the book down.
Karin has written two other books "Inca Road: A Woman's Journey into an Ancient Empire" and "Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa" and simultaneously produced television documentaries for PBS, MSNBC Explorer and the National Geographic's global channel. She also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines for a couple of years in the late 80s.

Most true & honest stories about Vietnam
The reason I read the book mainly because I missed Vietnam, and would like to read a book that was written by an "outsider." Someone who will give Vietnam a fair portrait, someone like Karin Muller. It's refreshing to read a book that is not written by writers from Vietnam (which usually full of propaganda & fictions.)

As someone who was born & raised in Vietnam (and left in my 20's) please believe me that book like hers is hard to come by. Her stories are the most true, and honest stories about Vietnam that I've read. Some stories are just t...more The reason I read the book mainly because I missed Vietnam, and would like to read a book that was written by an "outsider." Someone who will give Vietnam a fair portrait, someone like Karin Muller. It's refreshing to read a book that is not written by writers from Vietnam (which usually full of propaganda & fictions.)

Please believe me, book like hers is hard to come by. Her stories are the most true, and honest stories about Vietnam that I've read. Some stories are just too true, hit too close to home that made me shiver with fear, but also laugh out loud & got all teary eyes :)

Please also keep in mind that this was written 10 years ago; Vietnam is changing every day! If you are to go to Vietnam now, most of the time you won't be able to see or find the things she'd written about in the book.

If you enjoy her book I also recommend "Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam by Adrew Pham.

Exciting, interesting, inspiring.I loved this adventure travel book!
I love travel adventure stories and I truly enjoyed this tale of Karin's experiences to the exotic country of Vietnam where few women travel alone. I was inspired to take off again although I dont usually need much prodding!

Honest journal
I think some reviewers are being too hard on the author. I didn't get that she was being egotistical and untruthful, but that the trip didn't live up to her expectations and she was being honest. She brought out the corruption in the government, and the difficulties in getting around, including being on a bike that kept breaking down, riding in back of a smoker (which she hated), a traveling companion that she wouldn't have chosen if anyone else had wanted to go, but she couldn't find anyone. She purposely didn't stay in tourist hotels, wanting to see the 'real' Vietnam and so she had to deal with a lot of inconveniences. She got the flu twice and also scurvy. She didn't complain a lot, but just reported what happened, Some experiences were good, some bad, and she was positive about the villagers, she just reported their living conditions with honesty.

I got a very positive view of the people and she said that they treated women well due to their Buddist beliefs. She was treated like a sister by the men and women alike. We can't be surprised that there is poverty and poor living conditions in Vietnam, especially among the minority peoples, such as the Hmong, of whom she reports prejudice from the Vietnamese people. All she wanted to do was be in a village which she kept having trouble getting to do. Because of government restrictions she was not allowed to stay with the villagers, a rule that she broke when she could, preferring to stay with them. They were extremely hospitable.

Also she tells of her sadness that all the animals are gone, eaten or used in traditional medicine or sold on the black market.And she never said she was fluent in Vietnamese, but she did learn some. She is also a good writer which made the book enjoyable.

Would I want to travel to Vietnam after reading this book? No, but I already knew about the living conditions there and didn't want to go anyway, but isn't that one major reason we read travel journals--to be an armchair traveler and let someone else have all the discomfort so that we can read about far-off places?

One small experience that stands out for me is when she went to have a meal and she said that as soon as the proprietor saw her he took out his wok and began preparing her favorite dish. She had gotten a disapointing letter and cried, then closed her eyes. When she opened them, a cake had been put in front of her and she saw the proprietor smile and go back to his work. She figured he had seen her tears.

Interesting story
I thought this was a very well written account of traveling extensively through a country without a very developed infrastructure for foreign travelers (I'm sure this has changed as Vietnam has continued to become more and more open to visitors).As other reviewers have pointed out, "hitchhiking" is a bit of a misnomer; perhaps "Wandering Vietnam" would have been a more accurate title.The author does come off as a bit arrogant at times, although she gives an interesting enough account that I wouldn't dismiss the book for that reason.Interestingly, she also seems like that not much of a "people person," which is kind of funny considering that she took all this time to go wander around exploring another culture. ... Read more