Product Description
“A triumph.”—Steve Weinberg, Boston GlobeThis is “must-have” information for all presidents—and citizens—of the twenty-first century: Is Iran’s nascent nuclear capability a genuine threat to the West? Are biochemical weapons likely to be developed by terrorists? Are there viable alternatives to fossil fuels that should be nurtured and supported by the government? Should nuclear power be encouraged? Can global warming be stopped? 73 figures and illustrations ... Read more

Customer Reviews (83)

A No-Go
This book is very dull. The content is dry and based on the author's personal theories and opinions, not facts.

Pretty good book
After reading this book, I have to say that it was pretty informative. I am not a scientist, but it was completely understandable, and didn't go overboard on chalk-board explanations.

While I am sure I am not politically on the same side as the author - which means I did not agree with some of his conclusions - he at least acknowledged they were his opinions and did realize there are differing views. For the most part, I didn't see any political spin in the book, which was refreshing.

To that end, it is a useful book when I get into discussion with my politically opposite friends, as this book was written by one of "them", and he debunks a lot of the drivel you hear these days from that side.

All in all, not a bad book.

Not worth the money
I bought this book mainly because it had a chapter on energy and I'm very interested in that subject area.After reading the book I would have to agree with many of the comments that say this author has a bias and also it would appear some sort of axe to grind with Al Gore.I will try not to touch on what has already been said about the inadequacies of the book.

The most important topic I believe is energy and in this book the author dedicates only three chapters to this very complex problem.One key issue is oil depletion which really if you want to have any insight you must get a book that is totally about oil depletion.On this subject one of my complaints is that the author talks about converting coal to oil.The issue I have is that the author did not talk about any of the environmental consequences that would arise from making coal into oil.The biggest one that even a 5th grader would ask is what is that going to do for the fresh water supplies that are more important to life that would be need for this coal to oil process.

One other issue on the energy front that I think the author simplified way to much is the use of the automobile.While I agree that conservation is the best way to approach the energy problem, the author talks a great deal about putting more technology into vehicles to make them more efficient.The author did not mention the easiest and cheapest way to conserve: walking, biking, riding a bus, and basically relocalizing our living arrangement.Relocalizing is going to happen whether we like it or not so I advise looking into books about this subject.

This is the first review of a book that I have ever been compelled to write.I think these are very complex issues (except for 9/11 conspiracy bunking) and each one should have had a book unto itself.This book doesn't even have any references listed to back up the authors statements.Do yourself a favor and by a nice bottle of wine instead of this book.

Terrific book
Terrific book.it has cost me a fortune, because I have bought so many copies for my friends...

A needed help to read the papers
Its clear that the "for future presidents" means "for those wanting to understand the complex world we live in". And it does that, gives you the basic understanding needed to be able to read the papers and feel you can judge for yourself the leaders decisions on issues that are technical but not only techincal.
so, the contents are excellent but the writing is also pleasant. I read it in 36 hours pretty much without a stop.

and two final comments
a) I never took the time to write a review in Amazon, in spite of the fact that I bought tens of books in this web site, so, this means how much I enjoyed the book
b) I wrote for my friends a text whose title is "21 books one should not miss". Well, this one is one of them

A must. ... Read more

Product Description
"Dios me ha dado un campo de misión aquí mismo y viviré y moriré en él".

George Müller se quedó mirando a la niña mendiga. No tenía más de cinco años y llevaba a cuestas a su hermanito. Su madre murió a causa de la epidemia de cólera que azotó Inglaterra y su padre nunca regresó de la mina. En medio de la enlodada calle, esta niña pequeña prestó su rostro a los numerosos huérfanos de Bristol.

A pesar de la precariedad de alimentos y dinero para cubrir las necesidades de su propia familia, George Müller abrió su corazón y su hogar. El Club del Deayuno de la casa Müller, sostenido por la provisión de Dios, pasó de treinta niños a llenar cinco grandes edificios que fueron hogar de más de diez mil niños huérfanos.

George Müller confió en Dios de una manera plena y poco frecuente. Su fe y su generosidad establecieron un modelo de vida para los cristianos de todas las generaciones.


Sustained by God's provision, George Müller's vision of caring for orphans grew to five large homes that ultimately over ten thousand children would call home (1805-1898).


This best-selling, missionary biography series - Christian Heroes: Then & Now - chronicles the exciting, challenging, and deeply touching true stories of ordinary men and women whose trust in God accomplished extraordinary exploits for His kingdom and glory. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

New generation now has access to George Mueller
This is an excellent and inspiring story of George Mueller who started a Christian orphanage in Bristol England.His personal transformation led to his work with orphans, always depending on God's provision and leading. His exemplary administration of funds was one of his strengths.I sent this book to the director of a childrens center in the Dominican Republic who is doing similar work today, and she found it helpful.I recommend this book! ... Read more

Product Description
Year-round fun is the idea here with 100 described outings for any level of hiker, snowshoer, and skier.

· Contains many of the best outings in the state from the Colorado Mountain Club, the hiking and climbing experts in the Rockies for nearly a century.
· Full-color guidebook
· One of the first two titles in a new series from the Colorado Mountain Club: CMC's Classics

Colorado's spectacular mountains are known for year-round backcountry adventure. Enthusiasts lace on their hiking boots for summer trails and switch to snowshoes or cross-country skis when the snow flies. There's a pair of outings for every week of the year with detailed access and route descriptions, must-have color maps and elevation profiles, equipment checklists, safety tips and a full-featured index.Dozens of informative side-bars, on everything from history and nature to tips on photography and "fun facts," add to an enjoyable outing experience.

Color-coded symbols make it quick and easy to find the outing that's right for you, including identification of the type of outing and the difficulty level. There are even special hikes for wildlife viewing, for families or persons with disabilities, or for people with dogs. ... Read more

Product Description
Juxtaposing reality and fantasy, nightmares and dark laughter, Nadirs is a collection of largely autobiographical stories based on Herta Müller's childhood in the Romanian countryside. The individual tales reveal a child s often nightmarish impressions of life in her village. Seamlessly mixing reality with dream-like images, they brilliantly convey the inner, troubled life of a child and at the same time capture the violence and corruption of life under an oppressive state. Herta Müller has been one of the most prolific and acclaimed German-language writers of the last decade. Born in 1953 in the Banat, a German-language region of Romania, she emigrated to West Berlin in 1987 and currently resides in Hamburg. She has received numerous literary awards, including the Kleist Prize. In 1998 her novel The Land of Green Plums was awarded the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

A scrapbook of haunted recollections that carry a wider message.
Herta Muller's little book of juxtaposed vignettes is really like a book of diary entries. In each story the conveyance of old world village life is expertly imparted as an encapsulated sometimes primitive realm that is only glued together by superstition, animal cruelty, endless gossip, a blurring of moral codes and amorous liaisons that distort and stunt the religious and moral development of the next generation, a broken lot in every conceivable way. When the foundation of normalcy is broken, what is there to cling to and follow as an example? And while all the aforementioned happenings are grim and evocative of a wider sense of despair, Muller's honed literary craft points to the source of all the misery: Communism. The socialism that is expressed has a negative trickle down effect that makes a bad life even worse and changes once normal and self-respecting human beings into the exact opposite of their God given good potential. Up is down. Black is white. And 2 + 2 = 5. Everything is off kilter, but there is not a natural ebb and flow to it. The hardened fluidity of the language mirrors the hardened life. The lifestyles of the farmers and villagers are forcibly held together by sheer tenacity or perhaps fear. Although that is not as tangibly expressed as it was in Muller's novels The Appointment or The Land of Green Plums, the implication is defiantly there. The black pall is an ever present character laced throughout all the stories, even though the reader is never bluntly told of such a shadowy form, for it is felt more than anything else. Though labeled fiction, this work is absolutely autobiographical. One can almost sense Muller herself with her eyes closed recalling her warped and brutal past, each vignette slowly pouring forth in a stream-of-consciousness manner. The observer in the stories (supposedly Muller herself) is like a pure child who has yet to be contaminated by the evils of communism/socialism. The village elders (by their actions) don't help, either. With their licentiousness and venomous verbal backstabbing, there is a sense that something is not right or copacetic, but it is just not pinned down. The observer of these tales just doesn't have the 100% grasp that what she is experiencing and seeing is evil, is totalitarian, is mind altering in all the worst ways. The observer and her family are castaways in their own community. As that is so, there is a constant element of re-victimization.While all the stories in Nadirs are exceptional, the title story alone, Nadirs, is worth the price of the book. In one part of the story, jack-o-lanterns are seen being used as lanterns, but their carved faces of horror express what the repressed villagers and farmers must perpetually mask. All in all, I would highly recommend Nadirs for a first time reader of Herta Muller; it is a work that will give the reader a greater insight of the the future books to come. Under the socialist regime of Nicolaeand Elena Ceausescu, Muller (through each book) tries to peel away the warped homage and reverencethe megalomaniac and his wife thought they were so deserving of.

Painful
NADIRS was the first published book of the most recent Nobel laureate, Herta Müller.It first was published in 1982, while Müller still lived in Ceausescu's Romania (albeit after state-censorship).It consists of one lengthy story or novella, "Nadirs", and fourteen other stories or pieces, some very brief, somewhat like a Kafka parable.I was impressed by the one other Müller work I have read, "The Passport", but NADIRS leaves me cold - indeed, it is painful.

One principle I had set for myself in reviewing books on Amazon was not to review a book unless I had read it (recently) in its entirety.That is the chief reason why to date I have not posted any one-star reviews; as soon as I realize that a book is that execrable, I will not waste further time and read it to the end.Now, I confess that I was unable to read NADIRS from beginning to end.Nonetheless, I am breaching my own principle, in large part because I feel I did read enough of it to fairly judge it by my own critical standards, such as they are.

As in "The Passport", Müller's prose is stark and choppy.There is even more of the surreal and the fantastic than there was in "The Passport".The theme of the book is the brutal, nonsensical, and oppressive conditions of everyday life in the Romania of Müller's girlhood.Those three aspects combine for some very unpleasant reading - like a ball-peen hammer continually tapping on my skull while atonal modern music plays at high volume, accompanied by (although on a different rhythm entirely) a searingly bright strobe light.It is painful, at least intellectually.

In trying to figure out my strong adverse response to NADIRS, I first tried out a theory I have from time to time entertained in the past - namely, that for me literature and the arts should make life more enjoyable or meaningful.Since I know enough about the miseries and cruelties of the world (pretty much vicariously, thankfully), I don't need another dose - at least given the ever-decreasing amount of time left to me.But that theory doesn't adequately explain my discontent, because (to say nothing of Dante and Dostoevsky) I did appreciate "The Passport", which also is a grim, depressing portrayal of life in Ceausescu's Romania, told through a mixture of fantasy and stark realism.What, then, is the difference?For one thing, "The Passport" is not as saturated with nightmarish breaks with reality as is NADIRS, perhaps because in that earlier work Müller had to be less direct, more opaque, in her critical depiction of life in Romania since she still lived there.But more so, I suspect that "The Passport", although only a few years later, simply is the work of a more mature and accomplished writer.

I cannot recommend NADIRS.My two-star assessment may be on the generous side.But I will give Müller at least one more try, probably "The Land of the Green Plums".

Quirky but interesting
Anamazing work by the Nobel Prize-winning author.I shared this with a native of Romania, whose father told her a great deal about the German-speaking section, and she said the book was highly realistic.

Nadirs by Herta Muller
Nadir [ney-der] (n): The lowest point; point of greatest adversity or despair.

Nadirs is a series of short stories of varying lengths, though they follow no strict storylines and are instead rather like surrealist portraits of how a child perceives their (brutal) environment. It is difficult to review this book from a critical perspective, because the majority of it reads like a simple Romanian countrygirl's innermost thoughts, but transmogrified into a repression-tinted art. She has every right to her dreams, as everyone does, though the Communist regime would snatch them from her if they could. Because of Muller's defeated yet indifferent tone, the stories read like stark still pictures peopled with those resigned to their fates. The language is small but dense with meaning and imagery, and while it sometimes veers off into poorly translated gobbledygook ("The rotten pears creep back into her skin" -really?) it is never less than captivating and original. Of special note are the book's two closing stories, "Black Park" and "Workday", whose simplicities (like the other stories as well) belie an almost tragic psychological insight. A more than worthy addition to any Eastern European lit collection.

Scenes from a Romanian village
This collection of short stories and one-page snapshots depicts in a naturalistic manner (`feces with white worms crawling on them') a Romanian village after World War II seen through the eyes of a child.
It is a world of flowers and urine, of desolate poverty, alcoholism (`in the summer the whole village smells of schnapps'), adultery, sickness and violence by drunken fathers and by children against children (`the school children write on him with chalk till he cries').
The villages still suffers from the ravages of the war.

In this stagnant world the child has dreams of beauty: `I lay down in the tall grass and made myself trickle into the earth. I waited for the big willows to come to me to root their branches in me and spread their leaves in me. I hoped they would say: you are the most beautiful swamp in the world.', but also nightmares: `I saw Mother lying naked and frozen in Russia, with scraped legs and green lips from the turnips.'

Overall, there is a lack of real emotion (also for the reader). The text nearly never transcends the pure descriptions (`Village Chronicle'), the dry sense observations or the jejune repetitions.

Only for Herta Müller fans.
... Read more

Product Description
This book attempts to understand Calvin in his 16th-century context, with attention to continuities and discontinuities between his thought and that of his predecessors, contemporaries, and successors. Muller pays particular attention to the interplay between theological and philosophical themes common to Calvin and the medieval doctors, and to developments in rhetoric and method associated with humanism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

R. Muller, A Phenom
I am not a seminarian. I hardly have a knowledge of the reformers' lives and works. I'm a US history student. However, I'm interested in the Reformation and Post-Reformation period. I chose Muller's book to help me understand Calvin and his work (the Institutes, I'm reading through them). More than this, I chose this book because Muller wrote it. And I'm glad I read it. Muller is a historical theologian who stands heads and shoulders above most historians in any field, including that which he specializes in. His ability to analyze pertinent material is incredible. You'd also think he's read everything written in the sixteenth century. He does such an amazing job presenting his theses, and then forcefully making his conclusions.
To say something about the text for readers: he shows how we must understand the historical context of Calvin and his Institutes in order to properly understand Calvin and his Institutes. He does this by comparing Calvin and his Institutes to reformers contemporary to him.
Sorry I can't say more. I'm not going to sit here and give a book report. I will put it simply: get the book if you dare. A warning: this is heavy reading. It is also reading that greatly rewards its readers, I mean deeply. Muller is a phenomenon. He truly presents an unaccommodated Calvin, i.e. Calvin on his own terms.

Reading Calvin for the First Time
By writing this book Richard Muller has done a wonderful service, both for serious students of Calvin as well as the casual reader who has the slightest interest in the Reformer's thought. Muller presents Calvin's thought in its own context, demonstrating in the process how often hiswritings have been misconstrued by modern scholars asking modern questionsof texts that were written over four hundred years ago.

One of the keysto Muller's work is his use of original documents, whereby he unfolds therelationship between the various genres in Calvin's body of works. He showsthat Calvin's magnum opus, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, servesa limited purpose in his corpus, and must be carefully read in the contextof both his sermons and his biblical commentaries. This insight aloneclears away generations of false conclusions, and reveals details thatother scholars have failed to note. Further, Muller provides importantinsights into the development and structure of The Institutes.

This bookis a must-read for anyone who seeks to understand Calvin. It is also amodel for how documents from earlier ages of church history ought to beread and studied. No serious student of church history should be withoutit. ... Read more

Product Description
Edited by Lars Muller.

7.5 x 10.5 in.
415 illustrations ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

this is excellent!
A good introduction to Muller-Brockmanns work, the book takes us from his very early works to later exhibitions and poster design. It even mentions 'Grid Systems', which I am a firm disciple of. Graphic Design is a subject of which to have strong oppionions and Lars Muller has just that. I enjoyed his comments in the preface which were valid and sound. All in all an important walk through past design, which should stay contemparay for times to come. ... Read more

Product Description
- Mutter's previous novel, "Cyanide Wells, was published in Mysterious Press hardcover in 7/03, and will be released in mass market simultaneous with THE DANGEROUS HOUR.- "Dead Midnight (Mysterious Press, 6/02) hit the "Los Angeles Times bestseller list, winning rave reviews from the "New York Times Book Review, San Francisco Chronicle, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly (starred review), and "Booklist. The mass market edition was published in 7/03.- Muller's McCone series has consistently received strong reviews from national publications, including the "New York Times Book Review, USA TODAY, and the "Los Angeles Times, among others.- The McCone mysteries are being developed by Spring Creek Productions and CBS-TV into a pilot for a new television series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Magical mystery tourism
Sharon McCone doesn't actually have to do any detecting or put herself in danger, except self-imposed danger like leaving her phone on when she is breaking into the suspect's house. She just shows up and people immediately start vomiting useful information to her, regardless of the amount of time they are taking off work to do so.

This is TV detecting.
* The characters are all stock: the friendly old Jewish lawyer, the good cop/bad cop duo, the gruff but good-hearted pawn shop owner, the colorful street informant, the helpful Mexican park ranger, the archetypical Hispanic bad guy who could have been modeled on the guy who sneered, "I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!"
* The setting is just as bad: really expensive offices with a view of the Bay, just like the $5,000/month apartment in Friends that a waitress and a cook were able to afford.
* Has Marcia Muller ever run a business or even worked for one? What's all this about taking a detective off a billable case and then hiring a replacement? Who is paying for all of this?

The San Francisco coverage of the book isn't bad, although it is like you are seeing a TV show San Francisco with a few well-chosen views but little real understanding of the city.

I specialize in reading and reviewing San Francisco based detective books.

A Few "Strangers" Too Many?
I have to preface this review by stating that this is the first Sharon McCone mystery I've read (but will certainly be reading more).Heroine Sharon is undoubtedly a personable sort of lady, and even as a first-time reader, I felt that I'd got to know here pretty well by the end of this tale.Feisty, independent, strong-willed, but nonethelesswith a beguiling sense of fragility in the face of danger.

The inclusion of her pet cats Alice and Ralph is a clever way to personalise Sharon's away-from-work persona.Being a cat owner myself, I had to laugh at Ralph's experience - having to be injected with insulin by the fumbling Sharon, who ends up paying her young neighbour $20 a month to do the job!

The plot is easily and well constructed - not overly complicated - but with enough twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes.The dialogue and idiom feel spontaneous, and appropriate to the times and natural to the people speaking.

One insurmountable problem for me (as a first-time reader, remember) was the character of Hy Ripinski, Sharon's on-again, off-again, maybe husband-to-be.Obviously, Hy's character has already been more than well-developed in Muller's previous McCone stories, but to this new reader he made no sense - either as a foil to this story, or as Sharon's life-partner.While she's being stalked and attacked and otherwiseterrorised, Hy's up at his farm chilling out!What the...?And what's with his disconcerting use of Sharon's surname as a term of "endearment"?How many guys, in reality, would ever get away with that?All a little too unbelievably idiosyncratic maybe.

Ultimately, I had no idea what Ripinski was like as a man, either from a purely physical viewpoint, or as to what his philosophies on life were...or even what his relationship with Sharon is all about (from his standpoint).Is he a user, or worse a guy who lacks commitment?Is Sharon aware of his intentions, or is she as much in the dark as this reader was?

Incidentally, the "strangers" in my review title refers mainly to a few characters who Sharon mentioned in passing, or socialised with whom I'd never heard of, and who didn't seem to have any bearing on the story one way or the other. Hank Zahn; Habiba Hamid; Molly, Lisa and Jamie; Bette Silver; the Halls; to name a few.

Apart from those few hiccups as a new reader, I'm definitely going to be reading quite a few of Muller's McCone stories; she's whet my appetite to the extent that I feel I need to get to know Sharon and her "gang" a lot more.

Almost a 5 out of 5.

An Entertaining Suspenseful Read
Every time I buy a novel by a well-known author I haven't read before, I soon realize that the book is already well into a series. Guess I'm a sucker for a great cover and tantalizing blurbs and, so far, I haven't been disappointed. This is especially true for my first (and I'm a little embarrassed to admit this) Sharon McCone novel.

The adventure opens with Sharon feeling pretty good about her expanding PI practice. So good that she's about to celebrate with her staff when the police show up and arrest her newest operative, Julia Rafael. Julia's allegedly stolen a credit card from former client, Alex Aguilar. The situation worsens when a complaint's filed against Sharon, prompting a rep from the Investigations Bureau of the Dept. of Consumer Affairs to want to scrutinize her files.

Neither Sharon or Julia's lawyer believe Julia stole the card, so it's a matter of finding who set her up, and why? The more Sharon digs, the more dangerous things become for her and her staff.

THE DANGEROUS HOUR is an entertaining, suspenseful read filled with twists and turns, plus an interesting subplot about her strained relationship with her lover, Hy. Although Hy doesn't appear until midway through the book, he's an interesting guy, and I'm looking forward to going back and starting this series from the beginning. It should be quite a ride.

Reliable Book from Reliable Author
When you pick up a Sharon McCone book by Marcia Muller, yuo pretty much know what you are going to get-- a solid detective novel that integrates nicely with Sharon McCone's personal life--and that's okay. In The Dangerous Hour, one of McCone's employees is arrested for credit card fraud and the McCone Detective Agency is the subject of a BBB complaint. Not only that, but they are fighting against allegations leveled against the agency by an Hispanic San Francisco mayoral candidate.

While dealing with all of this, in addition to covering her cases, McCone is also working through the twist that her romance with security operative Hy Ripinski has taken.

One of the things I like about this series is that the McCone character is allowed to grow and become professionally successful. She follows an actual life pathway, as opposed to characters in other series who seem to be frozen in time.

The Dangerous Hour is another solid book in a solid series, with strong, likable characters and believable villains. It's nice to see a mystery author who is able to keep up the quality of her books with the release of the 23rd book in the series.

Classic Sharon McCone mystery
This is the kind of mystery that you look forward to getting back to and that will get read quickly but will not keep you up until 3 in the morning because you can't bear to put it down.That's not such a bad thing -- sometimes those keep-you-up-all-night books aren't such a good idea.I've read quite a few in this mystery series and character Sharon McCone feels like an old friend.In this book, there are a number of references to events and people in previous books that might make parts of this book less accessible to new readers, although they really don't have much to do with the plot.

The plot involves the arrest of Jules, one of Sharon's employees (Sharon runs a very successful detective agency in San Francisco).Jules is accused of stealing and using a credit card from the client in a case she was assigned to, and for reasons that aren't very convincing, even before Jules is even arraigned, Sharon's agency is being threatened with losing its license to operate because she is responsible for her employees' actions on the job.Sharon has to prove that Jules didn't do it in order to save the agency.Although Jules has a colorful background, Sharon believes in her innocence, and it quickly becomes apparent that this is a frame with Sharon's agency as the real target.The plot then becomes Sharon trying to find out who is framing Jules, which involves finding out who has a grudge against her that is motivating this frame.

I wouldn't describe this as one of those mysteries that you ought to be able to solve if you read the clues correctly -- it's more of a procedural, where you follow along with Sharon as she tries to solve the case.The real strength of the book is Sharon's likeability -- she's someone you enjoy spending time with in a book -- and Muller's writing skills, which create a whole exciting San Francisco world.
... Read more

Product Description
Based on the Celtic folktale of Tamlynne, The Nightwood tells the story of the young daughter of the Earl of March, who is enticed into the nearby wood by the haunting strains of Elfin music. Inside the mysterious forest, Elaine meets Tamlynne, an enchanted young knight in the court of the Elfin Queen. Elaine and Tamlynne fall in love, but in order for Tamlynne to escape the elves, Elaine must pay a terrible price. In the end, mortal love proves stronger than the power of the Elfin Queen and the two lovers are set free. Beautifully illustrated by Robin Muller, this edition of The Nightwood is sure to enchant fairytale lovers of all ages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Gorgeous, Lyrical Retelling of Tamlynne
Reason for Reading: I love traditional fairy tales and gorgeous illustrated ones even better!

This is a wonderfully lyrical re-telling of the classic Celtic tale of Tamlynne (Tam Lin). Elaine, the daughter of the Earl of March, knows not to go into the woods as The Elf Queen has set up residence there and young men and women have disappeared in those woods for years now. But denied attendance to her father's first ball since she has become a woman, she resolves to attend the Elfin Queen's Ball that night. It is upon her way that she meets and falls in love with Tamlynne, one of the Queen's knights, a mortal who has been cursed. Elaine in her love for him must risk her own life to set him free. Written in true fairytale style with a passionate and soulful text that could standalone as a short story without the illustrations.

But, the illustrations bring this story to a different level. Muller's paintings are exquisite and finely detailed. Filled with emotion, atmosphere and magic they make this a book to own, not just borrow from the library, as one is pulled back to it often. Though a picture book, it is very lengthy text wise and tells a tale of romance making it appealing to a wide range of ages. The book itself is an anniversary edition and oversized (even for a picture book) with beautiful endpages, once the dustjacket has been removed there are picture boards and the back side of the jacket is a fantastic poster!

Incredible Artwork!
This book not only has a wonderful retelling of a fineceltic legend for kids (and positive role-models to boot!),but the artwork is fantastic!Robin Muller's painstakinglyrefined artstyle of painting by toothbrush is unparallelledand quite amazing.Even if the story doesn't catch yourfancy, the pictures are worth owning it.Definately somethingyou'll want to track down! ... 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 the significant global challenges of the 21st century. Students gain a deeper understanding of the 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 Andrew Lam, Ishmael Reed, Moises Naim, Barbara Ehrenreich, Anna Quindlen, Thomas L. Friedman, Octavio Paz, Bill Gates, Al Gore, and Jane Goodall, 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 deeper writing, reading, and discussion opportunities. ... Read more

Product Description
The Most Comprehensive Monograph on the Pioneering Swiss Graphic Designer Ever Published

"A visual poet, a resourceful designer, and a pioneer in education--across all forms his creations spoke with the same unified harmony of line, color, and image.He taught discipline, clarity, honesty, and integrity through example.In a profession critically short on such values, his life and work continue to personify the ideal of a committed, humane, and conscientious designer."Kerry William Purcell, author

Josef Müller-Brockmann (1914-96) was one of the most important and prolific voices of graphic design who created many of twentieth century's most significant and memorable posters.He was a leading practitioner and theorist of the Swiss Style, which emphasized cleanliness, readability, and objectivity.Beginning with the opening of his own studio in Zurich in 1936 and working until his death in 1996, the mark he left behind is immeasurable.

JOSEF MÜLLER-BROCKMANN by Kerry William Purcell, is the most comprehensive monograph on the graphic designer ever published--including over four hundred images culled from the designer's personal archive.Presenting the entire range of Müller-Brockmann's career, ranging from his most famous works to never before seen projects, this volume is essential for design students, professional designers, or anyone interested in the history of graphic design.

Müller-Brockmann's work ranged from social/civic projects such as posters for the Swiss Automobile Club and Zürich Police to commercial projects for IBM (for whom he was the design advisor in western Europe), Rosenthal, and Hermes Typewriters.He was also an influential mentor to contemporary designers, writing a number of books on graphic design and its history.His contributions to magazines such as "New Graphic Design," his design philosophies, and his ability to create design systems secure his status as a key figure in spreading the Swiss design ethic internationally.

Müller-Brockmann began his career as an illustrator, where his keen awareness for the quality of forms first emerged.He is perhaps best-known as graphic design's foremost proponent of grid systems to assist in functional and objective design.The grid system allowed him to organize his subject matter to create the most effective design.Even his designs that appear free of structure were rigidly organized by Müller-Brockmann beneath the surface.Müller-Brockmann was also an accomplished photographer, often integrating experimental photography, photomontages, and light paintings into his design work.The grid system, industrial typefaces, and the use of photographic images rather than illustrations were Müller-Brockmann's trademark and, ultimately, the classic emblems of Swiss graphic design.

This new book offers readers the ability to approach Müller-Brockmann's work from several points of view, resulting in an extension of his influence on graphic design beyond his familiar poster work.Illustrated by images of the final designs, sketches, and production drawings from his archive--and with long captions explaining in detail the design structure and the client's instructions--this extraordinary monograph traces Müller-Brockmann's life from his childhood through early training, rarely seen designs for the theater, famous posters for the Zurich art scene, corporate design work for clients, and, finally his efforts to educate young designers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Swiss school leader

Muller-Brockmann is rightly regarded as one of the leaders of the Swiss school of graphic design which had a huge influence on other designers, especially in Europe but also in North America and Kerry Purcell has written, what will probably be considered, the definitive biography.

Large in size and published by Phaidon I was expecting something that would put his work in context and in particular I wanted to see extensive examples of this creative output which I had seen in many other books and magazines but being able to see them all in one place would be fascinating.

I found the book disappointing though, both in the editorial and production.There are too many pages devoted to his early life, upbringing, paintings and especially graphic design up to the fifties and Muller-Brockman (when he was thirty-five) considers much of this work mediocre.I think his output really only becomes interesting from the early fifties onwards with a series of stunning concert posters and the sort of work shown in New Graphic Design magazine.Issue seven had a long (thirty-seven pages) article he wrote called `A Training System for the Graphic Designer' and I would have expected to see more than just the one spread from this article shown on page 149 of the book.The covers to four of his books are shown but not spreads from inside, the distinctive brochure work for Rosenthal ceramics has too few examples to really convey the beauty of the work he did for them.The concert posters, fortunately displayed large, do look a treat, though here it might have been useful for readers to have seen more than just the one grid Muller-Brockmann created for them.

My other disappointment is with the book's production and perhaps not surprisingly so.Phaidon in the past have created a reputation for publishing quality art books but in recent years I think they have become hopelessly over-designed.This book is a good example of this.They can't even get a little thing like page numbers right.Throughout the book they appear in three different positions on the outer margins of left and right-hand pages, three different positions when next to each other near the book's spine, the index pages has another position for them.Picture captions likewise meander across spreads and usually tend not to be near the relevant image.Text columns fall short on many pages because there are no paragraph indents, a line space is used instead.Pictures are too small despite there being huge amounts of empty page space.

This is just trendy designers doing their own thing and taking no interest in providing information to the reader with legibility and clarity.The surprising thing, to me as a publication designer, is that no one queried any of this and the book was published.

As I said earlier this will probably become the standard work about Muller-Brockmann, a pity because I think he deserves something much better.

***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT
Not only is this book an informative view at Josef Muller-Brockmann, it's beautiful enough to display. We've really enjoyed the series, including OTl Aicher, Max Huber. Because they're all the same size and thickness, we display them together. Phaidon does it right. ... Read more

Product Description
When Charla Muller’s husband turned 40, she gave him something memorable. Sex. Every day. For an entire year.

The Mullers had a solid marriage and two wonderful children, but over the years sex had fallen low on their to-do list. The lack of intimacy wasn’t causing them to drift apart, exactly, but their connection didn’t seem as great as it could be. Charla decided she couldn’t go on pretending the relationship they once had wasn’t important.

The couple would embark on a year of scheduled sex, falling over Tonka trucks and piles of laundry in an effort to make time for each other. There were obstacles along the way (work implosions, faking it) and questions came to light. Will sex every day strengthen a marriage, or reveal the cracks? Pull a couple together or drive them apart? Does good sex (even mediocre sex) make up for things that aren’t so good? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (53)

book review on intimacy
I was not a big fan of this book.I loved the concept of the book, but felt like it was missing more of the intimate details regarding married sex.I felt like she needed more courage in her writing, however, again, the concept was great.jclarremore

Disappointed
I was disappointed in this book for a couple of reasons.First, the book is purported to be about having lots of sex with your spouse.I was really wanting to hear at least some details on how they kept things fresh and exciting in the bedroom so things wouldn't get boring.Second, the author can not seem to make up her mind on whether she liked the experience or not.She talks about how this new found level of intimacy is bringing her closer to her husband and making her appreciate the great man that he is.However, in the following chapter she will talk about how she is not enjoying sex and even celebrates once the one year mark has been reached.Bottom line, I just don't feel like the author enjoys sex at all and I didn't care for her referring to it as a "gift" to her husband when she doesn't exactly sound like someone who is a sex goddess in the bedroom.

A good read, but be cautious
I read this book up until page 167 with great delight at her "bloglike" style of writing that was full of dry humor and great stories of her life. The title was a little deceiving as it was more of a biography of sorts, with stories of her life more than intimacy for 365 days with her husband. I enjoyed the content as an easy read and found some of her musings inspirational to my life. More than anything it made me think about my own marriage more and wonder if there are areas I could improve in the intimacy department. Once I got to page 167 I was pulled into the disappointment that the premise that she lived a Christian life was not necessarily fair. If you are a Christian reading this book you must have a bowl of salt nearby to ingest a grain or two whilst reading. It is definitely not a true picture of biblical intimacy so do not go into it thinking you will glean what God has in store for your marriage. An overall entertaining look at a woman's life who took a daring leap, but not an informative book that can be applied. I guess that's why "memoir" is used in the subtitle.

A Memoir of Reconnecting
Twenty-something, childless, and single I'm probably not the target audience for 365 Nights: A Memoir of Intimacy. I had heard a bit about it when it came out and when I stumbled upon it I figured "what the heck."It was different than I expected (as most reviewers seem to mention), but enjoyable nevertheless.This book really isn't about Charla having sex with her husband every day for a year (although she does think of many creative ways of alluding to the fact that she does), but instead about the dynamic relationship between husband and wife (especially during the stage of juggling careers and raising small children), and about making time for one another to reconnect and strengthen their relationship.I found the author to be quite funny and it read more as a memoir of her life and how it relates to her husband rather than explicitally about intimacy.(Several reviews expressed criticism that the husband's voice isn't heard- there aren't many memoirs I've read where another party chimes in and gives their side, so I didn't find this disappointing).Overall a truly funny and lovable author with all her many quirks and imperfections shares her journey of reconnecting with her husband.I think many couples could be reminded of what Charla touches on in her book- that it takes some effort to stay close with your spouse.I'm glad she shared.

Misleading title and the point of view was one-sided.
The author decides that she is going to give her husband a unique 'gift' for his 40th birthday; a year of sex.The author pops in and out hilighting specific instances that transformed not only her sex life but her entire family's lives.

Compared to "Just Do It" (another book of similar topic), I found this story lacking.If I had never read the other book, this would have been enthralling and touching.Instead, you find out very early on, they did not have sex for 365 straight days.They had sex most days but took many days off when they 'didn't feel like it' (sick, travel, etc).

Also, it was 95% from HER point-of-view while "Just Do It" felt like it was written by both the husband and wife.

... Read more

Product Description
Wine is radioactive? Organic foods have more poison in them than those grown with pesticides? Best-selling author Richard A. Muller enlightens us.Richard A. Muller demonstrated in his recent bestseller, Physics for Future Presidents, that he has a unique talent for delivering the “aha” moment—making difficult topics accessible. In The Instant Physicist he shows his ability to entertain, too, by presenting the best of the scientific curiosities he has assembled over his distinguished career. Assisted by award-winning cartoonist Joey Manfre, who has created an original color cartoon for each “physics bite,” Muller will have readers chuckling while they’re absorbing more science than they ever thought possible. From the surprising (chocolate has more energy in it than TNT) to the scary (even kids can make a bomb), this book contains a revelation on every page. Once finished with this page-turner, readers will be the stars of their next cocktail party.

The book consists of a color cartoon on each right-hand page and explanatory text on the left. Color cartoons throughout ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Love this book
My kids and I love this book. It is a great read and has lovely art work. It is a great way to explore the seasons and the beauty of nature inside then take that outside and really see it!

Heather mom of 5 ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
Nearly every line of the Dhammapada, from the first "All that we areis the result of what we have thought," is quotable and worth ruminatingover. Eloquent, insightful, and brief, this Buddhist scripture is the kind of book that finds its way into purses, backpacks, and briefcases for perusal anytime, anywhere. The call of the Dhammapada is to the path of awakening, to undertake theeffort of meditation, and to see through the veneer of the suffering life. Inthis rendition by author and Zen student Jack Maguire, it retains its purityand insight while offering more in the way of textual understanding.Maguire begins with Max Muller's late-19th-century translation, which,although problematic at points, stands the test of time. He then polishesand adds numerous notes on facing pages about the text itself and aboutBuddhist concepts. A fluid and critical translation of a masterpiece ofBuddhist literature, Maguire's Dhammapada is worth taking out of yourbag anytime, anywhere. --Brian Bruya ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Awesome
A good book to read. The condition of the book is extremely very good. This book will teach you what should be ones thinking and what should be avoided.

Awesome
A good book to read. The condition of the book is extremely very good. This book will teach you what should be ones thinking and what should be avoided.

Simple. Short. Profound.
Simple. Short. Profound. Kind of like Christ's Sermon On The Mount, the title of these 422 verses can be translated as "Path of the Buddha's Teachings." I read a few of the many books on the Dhammapada. I liked this one the best because it is easy to read, and with just enough additional explainations.

The text begins by describing the fundamental role of mental conditioning in making us who we are. It then paints contrasting portraits of three types or levels of existence: the fool, the wise one, and the enlightened one. It goes on to address specific aspects of experience, conduct, and belief that characterize an individual's transformation from one of these modes of being to another.

Here are a few of my favourite verses:

For never does hatred cease by hatred at any time. Hatred ceases by love. This is an eternal law.

Before long - alas! - the body will lie on the ground, bereft of consciousness and despised, like a useless rotten log.

Even as a lotus may grow from roadside garbage and spread joy to many traveling souls with its scent, so a true follower of the Buddha shines and brings light to multitudes of blind mortals.

Do not have evildoers or low people for friends. Have virtuous people for friends. Have for friends the best of people.

Nice Translation but falls short of spiritual goal.
It is a nice translation and a good starting book. I have to read some Pali translation in some other more Pali like language because it just whetted my appetite but did not quench my thirst.
The whole concept of life from Bhagwan Buddha's point of view is mind boggling and I am quite confused at this moment as to why Mahatma Bhuddh spoke of life in this way and hence my continuing quest.
It is a simple sentence to say you control your desires but how will you negate the existence of western world and America in specifics. From last 2000 years or in history no one has scientifically established destruction of any society to lower control of desires. It has always been superior fire power of the victor or genetic advantage the victor had.

The heart and soul of Buddhism
There are numerous translations into English from the original Pali of this most sacred and most fundamental scripture of Theravada Buddhism, a book that is of course revered by all Buddhists.It really doesn't matter much which one you choose since "the path of the dharma" or "the sayings of the Buddha" are fairly easily understood on a denotative level regardless of which professional did the translating.Such was the Buddha's intention (and more) as he transversed northern India some twenty-five hundred years ago speaking to people from all walks of life of his "awakening" and his formula for transcending human suffering.By tradition the Dhammapada is said to be derived from the very words the Buddha spoke as taken down from the oral recitations of disciples some years after his death.

This edition from the Skylight Illuminations series edited by Andrew Harvey does everything in a modest and easy to assimilate fashion.The translation is that of Max Muller from 1870 as updated by Jack Maguire who also wrote a short Introduction and did the page-facing annotations.The changes in the text are mostly to make the word choices more in accordance with nonsexist language and to use a vocabulary more in keeping with the twentieth rather than the nineteenth century.There are some style changes, but they are unimportant.

When I first came across the Dhammapada some thirty years ago I was not much impressed.Certainly the Buddha's opening dictum, essentially that "we are what we think" was not to be argued against; and certainly his injunction to do no harm to sentient being is advanced wisdom.Even as a young man that was obvious to me.But what bothered me was that again and again the Buddha would say do good, refrain from evil, follow the right path, etc.Ultimately there is the Eightfold Path: right understanding, right purpose, right speech, right conduct, right occupation, right effort, right attention, and right meditation.But, I wanted to know, just what is right and what is wrong?How great a thing is it to say that we should live life with the right understanding, the right purpose, etc., without defining exactly what right is?

And then after some years and some study in the Buddhist literature and elsewhere it became clear to me what is right and what is wrong.And then I returned to the Dhammapada and found it all spelled out in deceptively simple language.My "problem" as a young man was that I had prejudged the text (and my experience with the text), expecting some great and momentous revelation leading me dramatically from darkness to the light, when in fact the truth of liberation is to be found in the most mundane ideas and actions--which, by the way, is why there is a Zen tradition in Buddhism that eschews all the weighty tombs in the canon and cries out for spontaneity and simple living.It can even be said that all of the voluminous literature of Buddhism--more, much more than anyone could read in a lifetime, or several lifetimes--is superfluous.

Except for the Dhammapada.Toss all the rest of it away and take the Dhammapada with you wherever you go and you will be very well served.In fact, all the other Buddhist writings, some of them wondrous and magnificently insightful, may be just an obfuscation.Better to just study the Dhammapada.

The sayings themselves are dialectic.There is often a point and a counterpoint, or an illumination and then a variation on that illumination.There is plenty of repetition, but the text flows gracefully from the opening "Couplets" or "Twin Verses" through advice on joy and pleasure, on evil and anger, on the fool and the wise, on the nature of the self and its relationship to the world, to the final chapter on the "Brahmin," whom the Buddha sees as one who is liberated from the pairs of opposites, has conquered death and is ready to enter into nirvana.Still it should be remembered the Buddha's words are aimed most directly to those who would don the saffron robes.

In this translation and in the annotations and commentary it is taken for granted that the words of the Dhammapada are literal except where the Buddha clearly intends a metaphor or a parable.However, after years of study of not just Buddhism, Vedanta, the Tao, the main yogas and other ideas from the East, it is my belief that much of what is in the Dhammapada is to be taken symbolically.As in all great works of religion there is both a level for aspirants and for the laity.An "intentional language" is used so that the sage may speak simultaneously to both beginners and those with some considerable experience along the path.

Thus, from my point of view, the karma that befalls us is psychological (although often quite concrete and coming from without, and soon).The rebirths are the rebirths of consciousness.And when the Buddha spoke of the self, note well he also spoke of the non-self.Impermanence is all, change is all, and the self is a powerful illusion that can be dispelled only through insightful meditation.

These things and the illusion of death and the fact that we are always alive (which is why the Buddha was famously silent on the hereafter--it was irrelevant) cannot be gleaned at a first reading or even a tenth.Or if you are gifted perhaps they can be.But take the Buddha's advice and meditate as he did and then some enlightenments will follow, soon or late.And they will be lost and then they will be regained.Combine your meditation with reading the Dhammapada again and still again and gradually the weight of the Buddha's argument and the illumination of his insights will become clear and the dharma will be obvious. ... Read more

Product Description
It's 1948, an era when newspapermen were stars — and San Francisco sportswriter Billy Nichols is no exception. Known as Mr. Boxing throughout the city, he is the West Coast's answer to Damon Runyon, an insider's insider who plucks and polishes his pearl-like stories from the nonstop hustle of the city's nightclubs, gambling dens, and ringside seats. Nichols is right where he wants to be, until he stumbles onto a shocking crime scene. Heavyweight boxer Hack Escalante has killed his manager, and for reasons he doesn't understand himself, Billy makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to protect the prizefighter. Soon Billy's in too deep, caught in a conspiracy of desire, deceit, and betrayal, and he sets off a chain of events whose consequences may cost him his beloved career — and his life. Winner of the Shamus Award for Best First Novel, this hard-boiled thriller is given a gritty authenticity by author Eddie Muller's knowledge of boxing and film noir. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Smashing debut
I knew of the author through his fine work on the film posters of famous film noir movies.I had no idea he could write a great novel, but that is exactly what his debut novel is.

The Distance covers the boxing scene in the Bay Area in 1948.The author's father was a sports columnist for over 30 years covering boxing, and it would seem that his understandling and love for the sport passed through to his son.

Not since James Ellroy's The Big Nowhere has a crime novel caught the sense of place that The Distance does.The reader experiences mid-century San Francisco and the many larger than life characters there as if he had been transported there.One literally feels that he could walk the streets of San Francisco with nothing but this book serving as a map.

The novel opens with a bang and does not let up all the way through.There's great tension between the charactes and we care greatly about the protagonist and his many challenges.The argot of the period is expressed with panache and complete realism.

All I can say about the plot without spoiling it is that it crackles all the way through the book.I read this book in a very crowded coach section of a trans-continental flight and completely forgot how crammed in and tired I was.

If you're a fan of sport, the Bay Area, and or noir, you can't go wrong with this book.it will stick in memory for a very long time.

A knock-out.
Picked this up on a whim, it looked interesting enough. But the book is taut, engaging and very noir, with effortless writing. Certainly a KO-- am now reading the sequel and looking forward to more of "Mr. Boxing." ... Read more

Product Description

The first book to present the innovative Vietnamese method of facial reflexology

• Includes simple pressure-point massage instructions that can be self-administered and that provide immediate results

• Fully illustrated with easy-to-follow diagrams of 57 facial pressure points and their correspondences within the body

It is possible to rub certain zones of your face to relieve a backache or the beginnings of a migraine. It is likewise possible to stop a common cold from developing in less than a minute. Facial reflexology, one of the simplest and most effective healthcare methods, provides rapid relief for many of these common ailments. Developed in 1980 by Vietnamese doctors in Ho Chi Minh City as a less invasive alternative to facial acupuncture, facial reflexology uses healing principles based on the I Ching and Buddhist teachings. The therapy is simple enough that it can be self-administered by a beginner with immediate results and is also a valuable tool for healthcare professionals.

In Facial Reflexology Marie-France Muller introduces this healing practice to the English-speaking world for the first time. She describes the mechanics of facial reflexology--facial diagnosis, facial pressure points, reflex zones, massage and pressure techniques--and provides healing routines both for treating acute ailments and maintaining overall good health. Included is an extensive dictionary of more than 200 common ailments, accompanied by therapeutic instructions and easy-to-follow diagrams of the points to be stimulated, for complaints such as indigestion, asthma, pinched nerves, fatigue, insomnia, menstrual cramps, migraines, high blood pressure, sprains, pulled muscles, and even the common cold.

Customer Reviews (7)

reflexology
l have bought other books on this subject. This book is not that simple to follow.

Wonderful Book
I have not practiced the techniques in this book yet, but I have read it and I really enjoyed it. It seems that there is a real science behind Vietnamese Face Reflexology, as there is behind other reflexology modalities. I will definately write a review for this when I have had results.

Facial Reflexology
This book was so much better than I expected.The information is well written and, although I collect books on Reflexology, I learned so much new information from this one.I plan to put much of it into practice.

A Must-Have for Self-Help
This is a thorough and well-written guide to using facial reflex points, specifcally Dien'Cham' from Vietnam, to help the body heal.The author is a French doctor, naturopath and Ph.D. and has been using these techniques for many years.This is her second book on the subject.

The book starts with a thorough and interesting explanation of facial reflexology: the different positions of the points of the face and how to give a session.The remainder of the book is focused on different health conditions and how to treat them using Dien'Cham'.This section is very well done and includes a diagram of the face with the corresponding reflex points as well as an easy to understand explanation of what to do.There is also a section on how to use Dien'Cham' on your dog's or cat's face and an explanation of Japanese scalp massage.

This is an excellent guide for anyone wanting to learn how to help themselves or others with health or healing techniques very quickly; body workers, estheticians, care-givers, and parents would all benefit from knowing some of these points.

As a reflexologist, I highly recommend this book as both a working manual and a great reference guide for any therapeutic work on the face.

facial reflexology
A little confusing as to remembering the number and place of each spot to be worked. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (37)

Amazing humor
Karin Muller, at age 34, wanted to improve her Judo and get a fresh perspective on the meaning of life. Most of her Judo instructors, who seem to glow with an almost ethereal calm and inner strength, made it clear she needed to understand the philosophy behind Judo to master the sport. To better understand the transcendent state of harmony, of flow, of being in the zone called "Wa" Karin learned to speak Japanese and spent twelve months traveling in Japan. Her memoir, "Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa" is a brave and passionate attempt, as a westerner, to immerse herself in an eastern Japanese culture.
Her four-month stay with the Tonakas, her host family, was both challenging and painful. Yukiko, her host mother is very traditional. Karin is not. Karin said Yukiko took it upon herself in the nicest possible way to turn her from an uncivilized barbarian into a proper Japanese homemaker, and if she's very lucky, a wife. Karin admits she's afraid of Yukiko as she cannot tell the difference between her smile and her grimace. Genji, her six-foot tall host father and judo instructor is gracious and catlike in his agility. Until recently he ran one of Tokyo's largest corporations. Both were in their 60s. Their wish was to find a husband for Junco their daughter who must get married in two years or loose her job. Most Japanese companies only hire females till age 30 as women are expected to marry and have children.
When Kerin's relationship with her host family became strained she traveled from one end of the country to the other. Her brilliant story telling, honesty and entertaining vignettes bring to life a colorful cast of characters. She participates in the traditions of sword-making, fire-walking, sumo, geishas, samurai, taiko drummers, pachinko parlors, criminal yakuza and the challenges of the gay and the homeless communities. She also made a 900-mile pilgrimage to 88 sacred Buddhist temples, attended an eight-day Yamabushie training in the mountains, joined a samurai mounted archery team, learned how to handle a longbow on a galloping horse and helped to light ten thousand floating lanterns during Obon, the Festival of the Dead.
What I love most about all of Karin's books is her amazing humor. My favorites in "Japanland" are when Roberto introduces her to Kaneko-san, the thirty-fifth Yabusame master. Karin says she knows just how low to bow because Roberto's hand is pressing discreetly on the small of her back. With her face on her knees, she suddenly notices how muddy it is. She also notices that, despite slogging around in the mud, Kaneko's socks are still snow-white. "What is it about the samurai arts that makes these men impervious to dirt?" she wonders. When the pressure eases off she bobs back up. Kaneko nods and clicks his teeth. Later Karin's face is stinging from a long day under the relentless sun and her legs are rubber. Roberto pokes his face over the horse's withers and tells Karin Kaneko-san has invited them to his home to see the saddles. Her muscles go mushy with dread. "Great!" she says and pastes a smile on her face.
While sharing a meal of boiled crickets with sugar, soy sauce and sake with friends Karin's quipped,"Japanese may not use much pesticide, but at least they get to eat the pests."
I also loved Karin's story while staying with a crab-fishing family in Shimoda. After several days of rain Karin was down to her last set of clothes. After washing her laundry in the shower and not finding a nail or line in her room she pinned a damp pair of socks and some underwear to the inside of her ankle-length skirt and headed down to dinner. Once she was safely tucked under the table-blanket she discreetly flipped up the skirt to let her laundry dry under the heating lamp. When she finally climbed the stairs to bed, she heard a burst of laughter from the living room. She looked down to see a long white sock trailing behind her like a puffy tail. After that the family took her in like the daughter they never had.

Fascinating look inside Japan
I read this in preparation for a trip to Japan, and found it to be the most thought-provoking of the travelogues I read. The author is very American, and while she tries hard to fit in with the people and country, she meets with limited success. For anyone interested in indulging in a touch of anecdotal cultural analysis it's a great read.

An outsider's insider's view of Japanese culture.
I have what some might call a minor-- er, major obsession with Japan. As such, it didn't take much convincing for me to buy this book, which is an account of the author spending a year in Japan in search of harmony and balance for her life.

What this is not, I should say, is a travel guide to Japan. It contains a lot of fantastic insights into the culture, both mainstream and more esoteric, but if you plan to read this book thinking that it will make your trip to Tokyo easier, you'll be disappointed.

On the other hand, if you have an interest in what Japanese culture is like for both an insider and an outsider, then I definitely recommend this book. From her stay with a host family to her Buddhist pilgrimage, Karin Muller weaves a wonderful story with skill, honesty, and respect. She's not ashamed to reveal her own ignorance of some situations, nor is she ashamed to point out when other people are just plain baffling, at least by Western sensibilities.

I have read this book more than once now, and it's one of the few books that I can safely say I take more away from it each time I read it. It's an engrossing book, with plenty to amuse those who nothing about Japanese culture and those who know quite a bit.

By the end of the book, whether the author feels they've achieved a sense of inner peace and harmony is almost irrelevent. She's learned a great deal, experienced more than most people ever dream of, and she's taken away a little piece of another place to keep inside herself. In a sense, her pilgrimage toward the end of her time in Japan was only a fraction of the pilgrimage she embarked upon, and it left an impression that even the reader can feel as they share the journey from beginning to end.

A wonderful book by a selfish American who doesn't understand Japan
What a wonderful book.She knows all about Japan, yet understands it only very little, all the while thinking that she understands.

She does an incredible job of describing what she sees and who she talks to - and she gains access to amazing people and places.The truly remarkable thing about her is that she gradually comes to understand how little she understands Japan and the Japanese, and we get to see this slowly dawn on her.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down.I lived in Japan for three years and have been there 60 times since.I don't know if the book would appeal to those who know little about Japan.

There is some saying I heard years ago when I lived in Japan - visit Japan for a week, write an article, visit Japan for a few months and write a book, live in Japan for ten years and publish nothing.

Japanland
Karin Muller is all that I want to be and more: strongly independent; multi-lingual; adventurous; documentary filmmaker, writer, and judo maven. Yet by her own words, at age thirty-four she felt lacking in focus. Harmony. Wa. So in typical Mullerfashion she decided to move to Japan for a year in an attempt to discover the spiritual peace and dedicated focus prized by Japanese society. Despite being a bold blonde amongst the dainty and conservative, Muller details her attempt to fit into Japanese society - and manages to reveal the Japan most can only dream of. ... Read more

Product Description
Creator of the modern female private eye story, MarciaMuller has been writing novels and short stories about Sharon McConesince 1977.In the process McCone has gained a host of associates andformed her own detective agency.Some seven years ago, Marcia Mullerdecided to show readers different views of her sleuth by relatingcases through the eyes of McCone's colleagues.

McCone and Friendscontains three stories told by McCone herself, as well as a novellaand a short story narrated by the agency's investigator Rae Kelleher,a story from the viewpoint of its office manager Ted Smalley, aninvestigation conducted by McCone's nephew Mick Savage, and one by herlong-term lover Hy Ripinsky.The settings range from small planes toa sweatshop which puts Asian women into virtual slavery, and themysteries surround a 1950's jukebox in a rundown hotel, a sculpturewelded together by a long-missing and now very-dead artist.Inperhaps the most moving story of all, a teenage girl has vanishedleaving as a clue only a collage on her wall.

The McCone Filesshows why Marcia Muller is one of the greatest mystery writers of ourgeneration. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Fascinating McCone Short Story Collection
As a mystery author with my debut novel in its initial release, I hold Marcia Muller in the highest esteem.Her creation, Sharon McCone, revolutionized modern mystery fiction.McCone broke the old stereotypes.She became the first human private eye.She is also the oldest sister of all those women private eyes practicing today.MCCONE AND FRIENDS is a short story collection with an unusual twist.Ms. Muller provides unique perspectives on McCone by allowing her supporting charaters to tell some of the stories in this collection.Rae Kelleher, Mick Savage, Ted Smalley, and Hy Ripinsky all give their views of McCone.McCone, herself, tells three stories.MCCONE AND FRIENDS is a great book that any reader of mystery fiction should have in her collection.

McCone & Friends Hits the Spot
I have a signed limited edition of this book and couldn't resist the urge to read it.If you are a fan of Marcia Muller, this is a must have book.The stories in this book are told by Sharon's friends, giving the reader an insight into her personality that you would not normally get. And lets face it, characters in a long running serious develop personalities of their own.This book gives you the opportunity to see Sharon from another perspective.The reader is given this rare opportunity in 8 stories that live up to Marcia Muller's excellent writing abilites.ENJOY!!

FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVERS
Sharon McCone is probably the best loved detective in the mystery genre. Readers have seen her career evolve from All Soul's Cooperative to her becoming an independent investigator with her own staff and career. She has got it all together but she didn't get there on her own.

In this collection of short stories we see another side of Sharon through her office manager, lover, hacker nephew and co-investigator. They share with us their own thoughts about working with Sharon. They also move beyond talking about "the boss" and reveal something about themselves and how they go about solving a mystery with or without "the boss". Each one has their own distinctive voice that gives you a different perspective on how the team operates.

Of course Sharon has her own story to tell. Sometimes she doesn't appreciate the "help" from an amateur sleuth such as her big brother but who can choose your relatives especially when they are "annoying" you about a case. You will be delighted in listening to these stories and sharing in the escapades of Sharon's loving team. A limited collection of short stories suchas this is a great addition to your mystery library. ... Read more