Invisible Prey

Book Description

In the richest neighborhood of Minneapolis, two elderly women lie murdered in their home, killed with a pipe, the rooms tossed, only small items stolen. It is clearly the random work of someone looking for money to buy drugs. But as Davenport looks more closely, he begins to wonder whether the items are actually so small and the victims so random-if there might not be some invisible agenda at work here. Gradually, a pattern begins to emerge, and it leads him to . . . certainly nothing he ever expected. Which is too bad, because the killers-and, yes, there is more than one of them-the killers are expecting him. Brilliantly suspenseful, filled with rich characterization and exciting drama, Invisible Prey is further proof that Sandford is in a class of his own.

Customer Reviews:

boring, slow, and contrived.......2007-10-07

Invisible Prey was a major disappointment in my eyes. Only a couple of months ago I read what I felt was Sandford's best book 'Dead Watch' and was looking forwards to more of his work. However I feel that the constraints of this series have tied Sandford's hands to such an extent that he is almost incapable of pushing any new life into it.

My main beef with this story is that everyone knows the Twin Cities are pretty calm when compared to places such as the inner corridors of Baltimore, New Orleans, or Detroit. This is the 17th time Davenport has confronted a mastermind criminal. He is so smart, so handsome, so wealthy, so comfortable in himself, that it is hard to find any sympathy for the guy. Why is it that only Davenport can take care of the Twin Cities problems. Time and time again in this story, the 'evil doers' talk about how Davenport is someone to watch out for and how only he can thwart them. What about the rest of the police force? Are they just chopped liver?

Lastly, this is just such a tedious plot. Sandford sets up a sort of Agatha Christie plot. Only he gives away the who-done-it aspect in the first few pages and we are left watching someone who can do no wrong stumble across one clue after another. Ohhhh how clever Sandford is to have the murderous couple end up on the inside of the investigation. Ohhh, how clever Sandford is in setting up a second plot that so perfectly co-insides with the murders and Davenport. Give me a break, and give me back the time I spent reading this drivel.

still the best writer today!!!.......2007-10-05

John Sandford remains the best writer in his genre today with the latest Prey novel. Even though the great Lucas Davenport is "mellowing" with age, Sandfor still weaves an intricate, interesting plot that keeps his novels moving at a brisk pace that you can't put down. Sandford's strengths are his great characters and intelligent plots that let you in on the thoughts of both lawbreaker and lawman, a good technique to keep the reader clued in. I highly recommend this work and all of the Prey novels. I have been a fan since I picked up the first Prey novel years ago and eagerly await the next offering. Thanks John.

John Sandford's sense of humour grows .......2007-09-28

John Sandford is a true craftsman. His "Invisible" works are consistent, intriguing, and growing in fun. As his charecter, Lucas Davenport, grows older an emerging note of humour (expressed through sarcasm and irony) is making these reads even more enjoyable. Invisible Prey is a fast paced, enjoyable read made all the more "fun" by the charecters as they emerge and Daveport's reactions to them and his contnuing family and friends. I look forward to what becomes "visible" next in the "Invisible" series.

This is a fine novel.......2007-09-21

John Sandford does it again with Invisible Prey. Lucas Davenport, who is one of the most believable characters in modern crime fiction, continues his career in breaking a case that is deliciously complex, involves wonderfully convoluted and perverse characters and carries you from connection to connection until suddenly it will all make sense. This is a fine novel about interesting people, some of whom are doing violent and destructive things and others whom simply want to lead nice, decent lives and catches both the way in which the innocent can without cause be destroyed by evil, and the way in which good can in the end triumph. As an optimist, I find it always comforting to read John Sandford's novels and in particular I enjoy his Lucas Davenport pursuit of justice.

Great Book - Thoroughly Enjoyed It.......2007-09-15

Lucas Davenport is my favorite - and he was up to par with this new book.
Your attention is grabbed at the very beginning of the story and keeps up the pace until the conclusion. This Prey book is different from the others but overall, it was very entertaining, a fast read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers

Average customer rating:

A captivating story of a harsh life
Poignant and profound
Excellent book
A read to get you thinking
Vivid Memoir

The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers
Harry Bernstein
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Jewish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0345495802
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Book Description

“There are places that I have never forgotten. A little cobbled street in a smoky mill town in the North of England has haunted me for the greater part of my life. It was inevitable that I should write about it and the people who lived on both sides of its ‘Invisible Wall.’ ”

The narrow street where Harry Bernstein grew up, in a small English mill town, was seemingly unremarkable. It was identical to countless other streets in countless other working-class neighborhoods of the early 1900s, except for the “invisible wall” that ran down its center, dividing Jewish families on one side from Christian families on the other. Only a few feet of cobblestones separated Jews from Gentiles, but socially, it they were miles apart.

On the eve of World War I, Harry’s family struggles to make ends meet. His father earns little money at the Jewish tailoring shop and brings home even less, preferring to spend his wages drinking and gambling. Harry’s mother, devoted to her children and fiercely resilient, survives on her dreams: new shoes that might secure Harry’s admission to a fancy school; that her daughter might marry the local rabbi; that the entire family might one day be whisked off to the paradise of America.

Then Harry’s older sister, Lily, does the unthinkable: She falls in love with Arthur, a Christian boy from across the street.

When Harry unwittingly discovers their secret affair, he must choose between the morals he’s been taught all his life, his loyalty to his selfless mother, and what he knows to be true in his own heart.

A wonderfully charming memoir written when the author was ninety-three, The Invisible Wall vibrantly brings to life an all-but-forgotten time and place. It is a moving tale of working-class life, and of the boundaries that can be overcome by love.

Customer Reviews:

A captivating story of a harsh life.......2007-09-03

This book is full of the details of a life that many of us will never experience. The authors story of extreme poverty living in a large family with a hardworking but struggling mother and a distant and often abusive father is both horrifying and captivating.

While it sounds like this should be a depressing book, the details of the moments of hope and happiness lifts it out of the dark side of life in Lancashire and made me wonder about the future for the various key characters. The book is set before and after the great War, but it could be timeless. The central location is a street of two rows of houses facing each other with the 'jews' on one side and the 'christians' on the other. For most of the book there is almost no mingling between the two sides. But at times when their lives are most difficult, they do get together to support one another.

I don't want to give away the story line too much. Some of the difficult scenes are extremely hard to endure, but the details really light up this book even things are hardest.

I would not recommend for anyone younger than about 13, there are too many difficult details here. But for the rest of us, there's LOTS to learn about the silly things that divide us and the fact that despite religious difficulties our lives are more similar than we'd like to believe.

Poignant and profound.......2007-06-26

An absolutely wonderful book written by a 93 year old author who captures the very essence of anti-semitism in pre-World War I England through his own childhood experiences. The last chapter is so descriptive and poignant...really tugs at the heartstrings. I hope Mr. Bernstein continues to share his gift of the written word.

Excellent book.......2007-05-28

Wonderfully written. This book surprised me because of its unpredictability. I couldn't put it down. Mr. Bernstein's story is beautiful, it's a wonder why he waited so long to share it.

A read to get you thinking.......2007-05-25

My six member book club read this last month, and all of us, including our most critical member, found this book very enjoyable and enlightening. The inclusion of dialog easily puts the reader in the time period. The tone and style of the author encourage empathy and understanding of both populations on either side of the invisible wall. The author conveys his and his sibling's emotions in the gentlest of ways while the reader easily grasps that at the time they were much more. While not quite a page turner, my attention never lagged and I would have willingly read more. I would have appreciated more wisdom on the overall subject such as was found in Arthur's letter to Lily.

Vivid Memoir.......2007-05-25

Harry Bernstein writes in a descriptive manner that makes all the characters seem to be living right in front of the reader's eyes. The story is so interesting that I could not put the book down until I finished. It was hard to believe that a man at ninety years of age could remember so much detail and emotion back to his early childhood. The book was well worth reading. I look forward to Mr. Bernstein's next book.

Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing

Average customer rating:

If you sell a non-tangible product or service, buy this book
Short and Easy to Read
Not your typical book on selling.
Can't go wrong reading this one!
Selling the Invisible: The Art of War

Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing
Harry Beckwith
Manufacturer: Business Plus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Advertising | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Accessories:

Business Plan Pro 4.0

ASIN: 0446520942

Amazon.com

In Selling the Invisible, Beckwith argues that what consumers are primarily interested in today are not features, but relationships. Even companies who think that they sell only tangible products should rethink their approach to product development and marketing and sales. For example, when a customer buys a Saturn automobile, what they're really buying is not the car, but the way that Saturn does business. Beckwith provides an excellent forum for thinking differently about the nature of services and how they can be effectively marketed. If you're at all involved in marketing or sales, then Selling the Invisible is definitely worth a look.

Book Description

The transformation from a manufacturing-based economy to one that's all about service has been well documented. Today it's estimated that nearly 75 percent of Americans work in the service sector. Instead of producing tangibles--automobiles, clothes, and tools--more and more of us are in the business of providing intangibles--health care, entertainment, tourism, legal services, and so on. However, according to Harry Beckwith, most of these intangibles are still being marketed like products were 20 years ago.In Selling the Invisible, Beckwith argues that what consumers are primarily interested in today are not features, but relationships. Even companies who think that they sell only tangible products should rethink their approach to product development and marketing and sales. For example, when a customer buys a Saturn automobile, what they're really buying is not the car, but the way that Saturn does business. Beckwith provides an excellent forum for thinking differently about the nature of services and how they can be effectively marketed. If you're at all involved in marketing or sales, then Selling the Invisible is definitely worth a look.

Download Description

You can't touch, hear, or see your company's most important products. . . . So how do you sell, develop, make them grow? That's the problem with services.

This "phenomenal" book, as one reviewer called it, answers that question with insights on how markets work and how prospects think. A treasury of hundreds of quick, practical, and easy-to-read strategies, Selling the Invisible will open your eyes to new ideas in this crucial branch of marketing, including:
*Why focus groups, value-price positioning, discount pricing, and being the best usually fail
*The vital role of vividness, focus, "anchors," and stereotypes
*The importance of Halo, Cocktail Party, and Lake Wobegon effects
*Marketing lessons from black holes, grocery lists, the Hearsay Rule, and the fame of the Matterhorn
*Dozens of proven yet consistently overlooked ideas for research, presentations, publicity, advertising, and client retention . . . and much more.

Based on the author's twenty-five years of experience with thousands of business professionals, this book delivers its wisdom with unforgettable and often surprising examples--from Federal Express, Citicorp, and a growing Greek travel agency to an ingenious baby-sitter, Fran Lebowitz, and the colors of oranges and lemons.

The first guide of its kind and a book already causing a sensation in the business community, Selling the Invisible will help anyone marketing a service, a product, or a career. Read it, and you almost certainly will understand why two advance readers call it the best book on business ever written.

Customer Reviews:

If you sell a non-tangible product or service, buy this book.......2007-08-06

It is much easier to sell a book than it is to sell life insurance. Why? Because the customer can hold and touch and see the book. You can't hold, touch or see insurance. (The policy is not the insurance.)

Beckwith understands selling intangibles better than anyone and he tells how in this book. It is in my top ten of business and marketing books for people who sell services. Even if you sell products, you will learn some valuable information. Well worth the money.

Short and Easy to Read.......2007-05-17

This book was suggested reading by our Marketing Department. As an Engineer, I decided to read it to find out more about marketing. The book was easy to read and understand. It summarized the basics of good client service. Most things were obvious, but probably not done nearly enough. For example, the book recommended thanking your clients as often as possible.

Not your typical book on selling........2007-03-07

This is one of the best books I have ever read on the subject of selling a service or services.

My company is a small-time operation. I own a computer service and repair business. Essentially, I am the company. That's why this book is perfect for me.

Beckwith's guide taught me what is most important about what I do and how to focus on that, and then sell it. It also showed me what customers look for, what they don't care about, and the benefits of knowing these things.

If I could go back in time and give myself a copy of this book when I was just starting out, my income would probably be double what it is today. Simply purchasing this book and making a few minor changes has already made a huge difference the bottom line.

Can't go wrong reading this one!.......2006-12-27

This is another one of those classics. The fundamental message is timeless, and while some of the companies mentioned have changed the lessons behind the stories are still relevant. The book is made up of a series of anecdotes that each delivers a punch, consisting of good solid advice. Harry was ahead of his time offering insights on the "new" world of service in 1997 when the book was published, and offering that even service companies have brand equity to care for. There are good essential marketing skills included here that many of us may have forgotten. I reread this book again recently and was reminded of a few things that are worth re-applying to my own marketing efforts and the work I do for clients. You can't help but become a better marketer after reading this.

Selling the Invisible: The Art of War.......2006-09-05

Harry Beckwith's Selling the Invisible reminds me of Sun Tzu's The Art of War in that it is not so much a manual on its subject as it is a primer on how to think about its subject. Knowing nothing of service marketing when I started to read it, I found many of its precepts counterintuitive (selling relationships?) but with the numerous examples aided by my own observation of the things Beckwith talks about, my eyes were opened in a way Sun Tzu's first readers must have been. Beckwith understands the core of service marketing is the service itself and focusing on the consumer's needs, not clever marketing designed to separate the customer from his cash or dazzle him with an empty sales pitch for unwanted products (take notice, Apple). This relationship to the customer and understanding his or her needs defines the successful business and indeed IS the successful business. Beckwith illustrates this with many practical strategies relevant to any service business.

Average customer rating:

Amazing!
Great book!
Graphic SF Reader
Great if you're clueless about comics
enjoyable and informative

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Scott McCloud
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Cartooning | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 006097625X

Amazon.com

A comic book about comic books. McCloud, in an incredibly accessible style, explains the details of how comics work: how they're composed, read and understood. More than just a book about comics, this gets to the heart of how we deal with visual languages in general. "The potential of comics is limitless and exciting!" writes McCloud. This should be required reading for every school teacher. Pulitzer Prize-winner Art Spiegelman says, "The most intelligent comics I've seen in a long time."

Book Description

Praised throughout the cartoon industry by such luminaries as Art Spiegelman, Matt Groening, and Will Eisner, this innovative comic book provides a detailed look at the history, meaning, and art of comics and cartooning.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing!.......2007-09-27

This book should be compulsory teaching in schools. Very easy to read and a great education in not just comics, but also in art and story telling. Highly recommended for everyone, even for the so called comic book experts. I have been reading comics for over 20 years, and this taught me things I took for granted.

Great book!.......2007-09-18

I highly recommend this to anyone who has even the slightest interest in comic books. Whether you're new to comics or a longtime comic book fan, you will probably learn something new and interesting about the medium. In particular, this book has really changed the way I look at manga and has given me a new appreciation for Japanese comics.

The other two books in this "trilogy" are good too, but I consider this one the real "must read" of the three.

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Not being a writer, artist, editor, or whatever, I just read them, I didn't care about the technical details, so this was quite informative, and amusing, with the style. If you are not a would be comic creator, or artist of some sort, this may be too technical, dry and textbook like, but it is clever to have a comic be a textbook about comics.

Great if you're clueless about comics.......2007-08-29

Having read comics before, the book seemed almost as if it were talking down to me. However, the section of the book that dealt with the structure of comics and their elements (i.e. Splash pages, the gutter, etc.) was a welcome education. It's a pretty quick read and if you're completely new to the comic/graphic novel genre, it's a good one to read. But if you're a seasoned comic veteran, opt for one of Mccloud's other books instead.

enjoyable and informative.......2007-08-18

I'm kindof rediscovering comic books after years of not reading them, and I was curious to know a little more about the medium when I picked up this book, and I really liked it. Not only is it full of information about how comics are written and drawn, but it also IS a comic book, making it fun to read. The author's personality really contributes a lot to the narrative, and I think anyone interested in comics and graphic novels ought to read this book.

Average customer rating:

must read
well researched
Phenomenal
It's a great start, but....
YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!

The Working Poor: Invisible in America
David K. Shipler
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Labor & Industrial Relations | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Labor & Industrial Relations | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0375708219
Release Date: 2005-01-04

Amazon.com

The Working Poor examines the "forgotten America" where "millions live in the shadow of prosperity, in the twilight between poverty and well-being." These are citizens for whom the American Dream is out of reach despite their willingness to work hard. Struggling to simply survive, they live so close to the edge of poverty that a minor obstacle, such as a car breakdown or a temporary illness, can lead to a downward financial spiral that can prove impossible to reverse. David Shipler interviewed many such working people for this book and his profiles offer an intimate look at what it is like to be trapped in a cycle of dead-end jobs without benefits or opportunities for advancement. He shows how some negotiate a broken welfare system that is designed to help yet often does not, while others proudly refuse any sort of government assistance, even to their detriment. Still others have no idea that help is available at all.

"As a culture, the United States is not quite sure about the causes of poverty, and is therefore uncertain about the solutions," he writes. Though he details many ways in which current assistance programs could be more effective and rational, he does not believe that government alone, nor any other single variable, can solve the problem. Instead, a combination of things are required, beginning with the political will needed to create a relief system "that recognizes both the society's obligation through government and business, and the individual's obligation through labor and family." He does propose some specific steps in the right direction such as altering the current wage structure, creating more vocational programs (in both the public and private sectors), developing a fairer way to distribute school funding, and implementing basic national health care.

Prepare to have any preconceived notions about those living in poverty in America challenged by this affecting book. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

“Nobody who works hard should be poor in America,” writes Pulitzer Prize winner David Shipler. Clear-headed, rigorous, and compassionate, he journeys deeply into the lives of individual store clerks and factory workers, farm laborers and sweat-shop seamstresses, illegal immigrants in menial jobs and Americans saddled with immense student loans and paltry wages. They are known as the working poor.

They perform labor essential to America’s comfort. They are white and black, Latino and Asian--men and women in small towns and city slums trapped near the poverty line, where the margins are so tight that even minor setbacks can cause devastating chain reactions. Shipler shows how liberals and conservatives are both partly right–that practically every life story contains failure by both the society and the individual. Braced by hard fact and personal testimony, he unravels the forces that confine people in the quagmire of low wages. And unlike most works on poverty, this book also offers compelling portraits of employers struggling against razor-thin profits and competition from abroad. With pointed recommendations for change that challenge Republicans and Democrats alike, The Working Poor stands to make a difference.

Customer Reviews:

must read.......2007-09-30

This was an excellent book. A real eye opener into a whole other world. I'm giving it to my college student daughter, to make sure that she graduates. The last book that inspired me in the same way was Barbara Ehrenreich's Nine to Five. This is journalism at its best, excellent writing, excellent research. I only hope that its message gets through.

well researched.......2007-08-06

I found Working Poor to be well-researched, and I prefer it's tone to Nickel and Dimed. Shipler was thorough and balanced in his view of the poor in America. In the various stories, Shipler takes us into the psyche of the "working poor", showing the different circumstances that allowed these individuals to remain, or get into poverty.

Phenomenal.......2007-05-14

If you've ever taken pause to consider what makes the world go round as it relates to commercial or economic pursuits, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

It's a great start, but...........2007-03-08

Let me start by saying what I liked and appreciated about this book before I go on to say what I didn't. First of all, it's great that most of the focus has been placed on individual families and circumstances. He's not just rattling off statistics; he's actually taking you to the living rooms and workplaces of real human beings and for the most part letting them tell their own story. It is also clear that Shipler does not have a political agenda; he acknowledges the failings of both the left and right to address this issue on pretty equal terms. The author is not blaming the individuals in question entirely for their situations, nor is he completely blaming society or "the system;" rather, he shows in an extrodinarily clear and sober manner the variety of circumstances which cause poverty and which continually leave those afflicted in its grasp.

The main problem that I have with this book is that I feel it left out a lot of people and a lot of problems that could have easily been addressed. For one, most of the people in the book are urban minorities, and that seems to be where most of the focus lies. There's not a lot of emphasis on the rural poor (with the notable exception of migrant farm workers) among whom circumstances are quite different and in many ways even harder than those of the urban poor. In addition, Shipler is constantly noting the lack of education among poor people but doesn't ever mention the fact that ever-rising and insane tuition costs prevent many perfectly capable *middle-class* people of getting to college in the first place, thus rendering them just as poor as the people who started out that way. (Financial aid actually favors the very poor, and the middle class are often left in the limbo of "too much income to qualify, not enough money to pay out of pocket" and the only way to go is through financially crippling student loans.)

I also wanted to say something about the Earned Income Credit, because it is something that Shipler thoroughly sings the praises of throughout the book. First of all, it's not that easy to get it. As a personal example, from 1999-2005, even though I made hardly any money and should have qualified, I did not because I was under 25 (a stipulation that Shipler neglects to mention.) This year, I am 25, but I still did not qualify because I had gotten married. (Which is another big issue Shipler neglects to mention: the marriage penalty.) If you are married you have to make an absurdly low amount of money to qualify, so if you both work full time like good Americans without taking any other government money (which you wouldn't qualify for anyway unless you have children), even if you both make minimun wage and are barely scraping by, you still wouldn't qualify. So it's really not the panacea that he makes it out to be.

There are a lot of other relevant issues that Shipler never brings up. For example, why does someone who makes $15,000 per year have to pay the same percentage of their income to Social Security as someone who makes $75,000 per year? What about all those people on Social Security, anyway? Why are people without health insurance forced to pay for someone else's Medicare? Why doesn't a high school diploma mean anything anymore? There are a billion questions that, as a poor person, I wanted answers to, which is the very reason I bought this book. But there is so much emphasis in here about one very specific type of poor person (urban minority female with way too many children) who also happens to be the most stereotypical kind of poor person, without giving everyone else who is struggling to survive a very equal voice. But like I said at the beginning, this book is a good starting point. If you are poor, or have ever been poor, you may not get as much out of it as a wealthier person. If you have a lot of money or are otherwise quite comfortable financially, please read this book. It may not give you the entire picture of poverty in America, but it will put a real human face on the problem.

YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!.......2007-01-28

This should be required reading for everyone in this country. This book does what "Nickle and Dimed" could only dream of doing. This is not some man just trying on poverty to see how it feels. Shipler gets down to the bare bones of poverty and details the web of causes and effects. Speaking as someone that's been to hell and back when it comes to poverty this book was spot on in detailing the vast array of circumstances that all rely on and influence each other. He does well to point out that poverty is a mix of bad circumstances and bad choices and that it's all a painful cycle. He also does a great job at illustrating the way the working poor live not only paycheck to paycheck, but crisis to crisis and disconnect notice to disconnect notice.
Not only does Shipler highlight all the gritty details of the life of the working poor he outlines very reasonable and more importantly POSSIBLE solutions to combat poverty. His solutions are more common sense and can be done if everyone gets on board to recognize the problem and agree to work on solving it.
We will never get rid of poverty, some people will always make the negative choices that keep them poor. But there is no excuse for such a wealthy country to build it's empire on the backs of the poor and then refuse to let them in the door.
Read this book, then pass it on. You will learn more than you ever thought you could about the people that you never thought to notice.

Average customer rating:

Awesome book
lightining
Over-hyped
A powerful novel, too often overlooked
Dramatic Expose; Still Relevant Today

Invisible Man
Ralph Ellison
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679732764
Release Date: 1995-03-14

Amazon.com

We rely, in this world, on the visual aspects of humanity as a means of learning who we are. This, Ralph Ellison argues convincingly, is a dangerous habit. A classic from the moment it first appeared in 1952, Invisible Man chronicles the travels of its narrator, a young, nameless black man, as he moves through the hellish levels of American intolerance and cultural blindness. Searching for a context in which to know himself, he exists in a very peculiar state. "I am an invisible man," he says in his prologue. "When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination--indeed, everything and anything except me." But this is hard-won self-knowledge, earned over the course of many years.

As the book gets started, the narrator is expelled from his Southern Negro college for inadvertently showing a white trustee the reality of black life in the south, including an incestuous farmer and a rural whorehouse. The college director chastises him: "Why, the dumbest black bastard in the cotton patch knows that the only way to please a white man is to tell him a lie! What kind of an education are you getting around here?" Mystified, the narrator moves north to New York City, where the truth, at least as he perceives it, is dealt another blow when he learns that his former headmaster's recommendation letters are, in fact, letters of condemnation.

What ensues is a search for what truth actually is, which proves to be supremely elusive. The narrator becomes a spokesman for a mixed-race band of social activists called "The Brotherhood" and believes he is fighting for equality. Once again, he realizes he's been duped into believing what he thought was the truth, when in fact it is only another variation. Of the Brothers, he eventually discerns: "They were blind, bat blind, moving only by the echoed sounds of their voices. And because they were blind they would destroy themselves.... Here I thought they accepted me because they felt that color made no difference, when in reality it made no difference because they didn't see either color or men."

Invisible Man is certainly a book about race in America, and sadly enough, few of the problems it chronicles have disappeared even now. But Ellison's first novel transcends such a narrow definition. It's also a book about the human race stumbling down the path to identity, challenged and successful to varying degrees. None of us can ever be sure of the truth beyond ourselves, and possibly not even there. The world is a tricky place, and no one knows this better than the invisible man, who leaves us with these chilling, provocative words: "And it is this which frightens me: Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?" --Melanie Rehak

Book Description

Invisible Man is a milestone in American literature, a book that has continued to engage readers since its appearance in 1952. A first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century. The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood", and retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be. The book is a passionate and witty tour de force of style, strongly influenced by T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, Joyce, and Dostoevsky.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome book .......2007-09-05

The book came in new condition and I would buy a lot more books from this company in the future.

lightining.......2007-07-20

I've only read a couple of novels in my life where I could feel the author's intensity, like he was on fire with the muse when he wrote it. One was a portion of The Idiot by Dostoevsky, the other was this novel.

It can't be sustained.The novel falls off after the first half, but how can you sustain perfection?

Over-hyped.......2007-07-06

Long-winded and boring. Those who admire style over substance may enjoy this novel. Ellison reminds me a little of Joyce, i.e., the writing, prose and style are inventive and, at times, beautiful. However, unlike Joyce, the story goes nowhere and any revelations seem naive. Even for the time, he realizes his characters as overly-broad charicatures. In the end, the novel's premise is fundamentally flawed as Ellison seems unable to separate racism from hatred of the poor and institutional (religious, corporate, governmental, etc.) oppression.

A powerful novel, too often overlooked.......2007-06-26

With the release of Arnold Rampersad recent much praised biography of Invisible Man's author, Ralph Ellison, the time has truly arrived for readers to look again at this extraordinary novel. Too long pigeonholed as "African American literature" Invisible Man doubtless stands as a contender for the greatest American novel of the 20th century. Ellison draws on a wide range of sources to construct this opus, African American folk lore, 19th Century American literature, the bible, and Shakespeare, all tools brought into service as build this intricate tale of his narrator and protagonist, the never named "Invisible Man." From the treacherous terrain of the deep south, to the hopes and disappointments of Harlem, and to the Byzantine world of the American Communist Party, Ellison brings his readers along on a well guided tore of the landscape of the African American experience pre-WWII.

Yet as I said at the beginning, Invisible Man is a novel that speaks to the very heart of the American experience with its complex pull between expectations and class, the belief in limitless potential based on meritocracy and the minefield that destroys that very dream. Through it all, Ellison tells his tale with wit and deft humor, all of which contribute to the edifice that is this awesome work of fiction.

Dramatic Expose; Still Relevant Today.......2007-05-26

The quintessential novel serving as a precursor to the civil rights movement, "Invisible Man" explores the trials and tribulations of a gifted black man in the Depression era South and Harlem. Although racial strife and inequality is the central focus to Ellison's work, larger questions of individuality and conformity in an imperfect world abound. Even though the systemic racism and Jim Crow violence of this era has been relegated to the back burner of history, "Invisible Man" is still a potent story today, regardless of one's race or position in life.

"Invisible Man" serves as an apparatus for Ellision to espouse his own beliefs on the role of Blacks in America. Although Ellison rejects a philosophy of conformance to white society and the pursuit of economic success to trump racial inequality, he also vehemently rejects the black supremacy ideology, personified by Ras the Exhorter. Yet, the most damning condemnation is reserved for the organizations who manipulate and cajole blacks for their own agenda, as personified by the Brotherhood. Initially, the narrator (the unnamed "invisible" man) is offered a job as spokesman, who will spout their socialist propaganda at massive rallies in an attempt to organize Blacks into a vital force for socialist change. However, it soon becomes evident that the White power structure of the Brotherhood is using him as a means to dupe others. Indeed, the Brotherhood ultimately decides to "sacrifice" their Harlem contingency, a nice way of saying they they will let Blacks wallow in their own cesspool of racism and horrid living conditions.

Throughout the novel blindness plays an important role. In his attempt to advance himself, the narrator is blind to the true ambitions of the Brotherhood. Ras the Exhorter, the fiery demagogue, is blind to the race riot and violence he helps to incite. The white oppressors are blind to the black individual and his ability to succeed. Indeed, it seems as if no one is immune to the blindness of stereotypes, be they black or white.

On a higher level, "Invisible Man" explores the meaning of individuality and an attempt to define one's self. Throughout the novel, the narrator lets others define who he is. Only when he realizes that he's been living a pipe dream does he wake up and cast off the illusions of equality and manages to understand himself. However, this relates to anyone who as ever struggled to define themselves.

Overall, Ellison provides a multi-dimensional and thought-provoking novel. Although it was written sixty years ago and most of the systemic racism is gone, it is still relevant today. Indeed, it may be even more relevant as we attempt to break from the conformance of society and find our true selves.

How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy, Your Assets, and Your Life (Revised Edition)

Average customer rating:

Good ideas but difficult to implement
some useful information
Ah that balancing act between freedom and law-abiding citizenship!
Keep your money and your privacy.
how to be invisible

How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy, Your Assets, and Your Life (Revised Edition)
J.J. Luna
Manufacturer: Thomas Dunne Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312319061

Book Description

From cyberspace to crawl spaces, new innovations in information gathering have left the private life of the average person open to scrutiny, and worse, exploitation. In this thoroughly revised update of his immensely popular guide How to Be Invisible, J.J. Luna shows you how to protect yourself from these information predators by securing your vehicle and real estate ownership, your bank accounts, your business dealings, your computer files, your home address, and more.J.J. Luna, a highly trained and experienced security consultant, shows you how to achieve the privacy you crave and deserve, whether you just want to shield yourself from casual scrutiny or take your life savings with you and disappearing without a trace. Whatever your needs, Luna reveals the shocking secrets that private detectives and other seekers of personal information use to uncover information and then shows how to make a serious commitment to safeguarding yourself.There is a prevailing sense in our society that true privacy is a thing of the past. Filled with vivid real life stories drawn from the headlines and from Luna's own consulting experience, How to Be Invisible, Revised Edition is a critical antidote to the privacy concerns that continue only to grow in magnitude as new and more efficient ways of undermining our personal security are made available. Privacy is a commonly-lamented casualty of the Information Age and of the world's changing climate-but that doesn't mean you have to stand for it.

Customer Reviews:

Good ideas but difficult to implement.......2007-09-01

Before you even read this book, you need to bear in mind that the author lived in the Canary Islands under Franco's fascist rule, and developed his lifestyle as a response to that.

This book is fairly good but a little paranoia-inducing, and covers the idea of creating a high level of personal security and protecting your privacy. It's a good idea, whether you're running from crazy killers or trying to avoid bill collectors or just don't want everyone in the world to know where you live. However, for many readers who are immediately spurred to take action, the suggestions are a bit unfeasible. If you have been using your home address for years and suddenly switch to a ghost address (private box or other non-residential address), how are you going to expunge your residential from all your old records? Luna recommends renting over buying, in that it is easier to suddenly vacate the premises if necessary, and so he would probably recommend moving somewhere else and never using that address on any official records, but clearly, that is not feasible for most people.
Much of what he recommends is common sense, like using a cross-cut shredder to dispose of all documents, which would seem intuitively obvious but not enough people do it. Readers of the book should use it as a guideline and follow his suggestions until they feel more comfortable about their level of personal security.

some useful information.......2007-06-14

At least this author doesn't rant against the government and tell the reader not to pay taxes. It is a more reasonable book than the last one I read. Some of the information is obvious, like not receiving mail at your home. Some of it is interesting - he recommends LLCs repeatedly, and just coincidentally happens to have someone in New Mexico who can hook you up. I don't know how useful his information is for the ordinary person who needs to hide from an abusive spouse, for instance. I still think that The Gift of Fear is the best book on that subject.

Ah that balancing act between freedom and law-abiding citizenship!.......2007-06-13

Luna (as does anyone who writes a book on how to maintain your privacy in an age of vanishing private spaces), has to walk a tightrope between being a responsible citizen, who abides by our laws, vs. establishing one's personal space, inviolable and free from intrusion. Although Luna's expositions of the various strategies to establish "invisibility" in the key areas of privacy ( residence, finances, activities, conversations, travel, and personal liaisons) requires significant effort and time investment, his thoughtful and straight discussion about each area, and how his strategies have evolved, makes it clear that he knows his territory, and that his recommendations are products of a smart, pragmatic, methodical, yet prudent man, one who is neither cowed by the myriad "authorities" who endlessly demand and document, and sell, our private information to others, nor (on the other hand) influenced by any "anti-government" axe to grind, or fanaticism. Thus, I felt I could trust his advice. In fact, Luna truly presents an inspiring model to follow: he is clearly living a life both private and peaceful, while maintaining a stance of quiet tough "standing up for" himself, and sharing with his readers his "spunk" and "attitude" as to how to still find "liberty and the pursuit of happiness", free from prying eyes and big brother, in our America. Highly recommended book! Thank you Mr.Luna, you mysterious shade-sporting guy

Keep your money and your privacy........2007-06-06

This book is awesome. I have only tried a few of his methods from his book. It is well written and easy to understand. His website gives you additional information and resource tools.

how to be invisible.......2007-06-05

This book is only for someone who is running from the law, or from the government for some reason. I did not find it helpful for me. The ideas in this book are unreasonable unless for some reason you are wanted and people are really looking for you. I should have been titled how to run from the law.

Rich Dad's Advisors®: The ABC's of Building a Business Team That Wins: The Invisible Code of Honor That Takes Ordinary People and Turns Them Into a Championship Team (Rich Dad's Advisors)

Average customer rating:

Since Everyone is on a Team - Read this book
I don't recommend this book
Well written--but doesn't quite hit the nail on the head.
DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!!
Creating a Code of Honor

Rich Dad's Advisors®: The ABC's of Building a Business Team That Wins: The Invisible Code of Honor That Takes Ordinary People and Turns Them Into a Championship Team (Rich Dad's Advisors)
Blair Singer
Manufacturer: Business Plus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0446694088

Customer Reviews:

Since Everyone is on a Team - Read this book.......2007-01-25

I read this book initially with a focus on Business Team Building. I found it it simple and straightforward. I learned about creating a code of honor for myself first, and then for my family and business. It also helped me look at what I can do to improve me, create my own code and commit to the follow through and believe the results will follow.

Simple strategies - hard work to implement - abundant rewards for the people involved in the process.

I read a bunch of the negative reviews for this book and felt for my small invesment of time and money the book was worth 10 x's what I invested.

If you are a coach, parent, or in a business this will give you a new view on team builing for long term success.

I don't recommend this book.......2007-01-04

I am a big fan of Robert Kiyosaky, but I didn't like this book at all, what is a pitty, since I liked the other book by Blair Singer, Salesdogs. I expected much more from it. The author had only one idea -- "create a code of honor for your team" and wrote a book around it. Honestly, I don't think this book has anything to add. I suggest reading The Servant, by James C. Hunter instead. This one is a really awesome book about leadership.

Well written--but doesn't quite hit the nail on the head........2006-01-31

This is a very good book on the subject of finding the type of people to work for you. What it fails to do is to point out the specialty people required to get a business running and growing. That is what I expected, after reading the title. One thing that totally put me off as I read this book. The author spoke of owning a shipping business and having a time pressure to get a shipment loaded. All of the laborers pulled together as a team, working long hours and extra shifts without complaining or asking for overtime pay. Who made the lions share of the money? Not the ones who did the hard labor, but he as the owner. Compensation was something not mentioned in this book. I very much like the concept of a 'code of honor', in which this book was almost completely based. I am still not really sure, after reading this book, what the difference between a code of honor and a mission statement is. A couple of great books that also cover this concept very well are: On My Honor I Will, and The Lost Secret of Phenomenol Success. This kind of book makes you think about your values, and what you want from life. I recommend it. Just remember, it may not be what you expect.

DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!! .......2005-07-05

I am an entrepreneur and wanted some inspiration, sadly I just found a lot of crap in this book. There's nothing I can apply, anyone can come up with a book better than this. just by reading the index you know this book was written by someone who has no idea about business. I'll write it for you:
chap.1 why do you need a code of honor?
2 who you sorround yourself with will determine your wealth and success
3 creating your code of honor
4 what's your personal code
5 how to enforce the code to ensure championship play
6 leadership that teaches other
7 the biggest impact of the code
8 ensuring account. loyalty and trust
9 standing in the heat with the code
conclusion it's your time to have a code

the book is full of phrases like: (please ask yourself if you need to buy a book to learn this:)
"nature whats you to go for it" pg 122
"when in doubt support each other" pg 115
"accountability is in the stats, no stats no results" pg 108
"the code is an awesome recruiting tool and qualifier"
"steps for creating a code: 1 create a code in a sane environment"
"sample code: 1 never abandon a teammate in need"

Creating a Code of Honor.......2005-05-23

This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I was expecting a book on how to pick advisors like accountants, real estate brokerss, lawyers, etc. However this book was about creating a team that works according to a "code of honor" that is created by the team.

Essentially the code of honor is a set of rules that the team creates and lives by in order to maintain a high level of accountability and performance. The idea makes sense as teams and people and general need rules by which to live by. Author Blair Singer does a good job of organizing the information and presenting it in an easy to read fashion.

On the downside, I wish there were more examples in this book to illistrate the points he's makes. A list of rules would have been nice, or the lists of rules that some other companies have come up with.

However other than that, the book is well done. Anyone wanting to build a team or wanting to improve the accountability of their existing team should pick up this book. 4 out of 5 stars.

Average customer rating:

A Positive Review
A twisting plot
Amazing Novel
Wow
Best read yet.

Invisible Monsters
Chuck Palahniuk
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393319296

Amazon.com

When the plot of your first novel partially hinges on anarchist overthrows funded by soap sales, and the narrative hook of your second work is the black box recorder of a jet moments away from slamming into the Australian outback, it stands to reason that your audience is going to be ready for anything. Which, to an author like Chuck Palahniuk, must sound like a challenge. Palahniuk's third identity crisis (that's "novel" to you), Invisible Monsters, more than ably responds to this call to arms. Set once again in an all-too-familiar modern wasteland where social disease and self-hatred can do more damage than any potboiler-fiction bad guy, the tale focuses particularly on a group of drag queens and fashion models trekking cross-country to find themselves, looking everywhere from the bottom of a vial of Demerol to the end of a shotgun barrel. It's a sort of Drugstore Cowboy-meets-Yentl affair, or a Hope-Crosby road movie with a skin graft and hormone-pill obsession, if you know what I mean.

Um, yeah. Anyway, the Hollywood vibe doesn't stop these comparisons. As with Fight Club and Survivor, the book is invested with a cinematic sweep, from the opening set piece, which takes off like a house afire (literally), to a host of filmic tics sprayed throughout the text: "Flash," "Jump back," "Jump way ahead," "Flash," "Flash," "Flash." You get the idea. It's as if Palahniuk didn't write the thing but yanked it directly out of the Cineplex of his mind's eye. Does it succeed? Mostly. Still working on measuring out the proper dosages of his many writerly talents (equal parts potent imagery, nihilistic coolspeak, and doped-out craziness), Palahniuk every now and then loosens his grip on the story line, which at points becomes as hard to decipher as your local pill addict's medicine cabinet. However Invisible Monsters works best on a roller-coaster level. You don't stop and count each slot on the track as you're going down the big hill. You throw up your hands and yell, "Whee!" --Bob Michaels

Book Description

She's a fashion model who has everything: a boyfriend, a career, a loyal best friend. But when a sudden freeway "accident" leaves her disfigured and incapable of speech, she is transformed from the beautiful center of attention to an invisible monster, so hideous that no one will acknowledge she exists. Enter Brandy Alexander, Queen Supreme, one operation away from becoming a real woman, who will teach her that reinventing yourself means erasing your past and making up something better. And that salvation hides in the last places you'll ever want to look.

Customer Reviews:

A Positive Review.......2007-10-18

Invisible Monsters written by Chuck Palahniuk, is a book about a model that mysteriously gets shot in the face while driving her car. When she wakes up from surgery she realizes that her once beautiful face is now completely disfigured and ugly. She also comes out of surgery to find her boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend. Along with her new found best friend a fellow patient at the hospital and her hostage ex-boyfriend, she goes across the country stealing from rich houses. Throughout her adventure she finds out more and more about her parents, her "dead" brother and her new found friends. Invisible Monsters is an interesting twist on body image, and materialism. It helps emphasize our society's constant unsatisfaction with our own self image and happiness.I would recomend this book to anyone who loves a crazy story and a twist of fait!

A twisting plot.......2007-10-10

This was the first Palahniuk book I read and is still my favorite. His clean, crisp style betrays his background as a newspaper reporter -- but it makes this and his other books quick, easy reads.

Most telling about "Invisible Monsters" is the way Palahniuk weaves together a myriad of details to form a cogent story that leads you guessing all the way to the end. The story starts in chaos, but slowly builds to order with plot twists that you'll never see coming (but in retrospect, you should have).

Amazing Novel.......2007-09-06

To explain 'Invisible Monsters' in one review is unbeliebly hard. You just need to read it to understand its importance in literature. It is well written, and I almost never put it down. Chuck Palahniuk writes novels in a way no other can. His novels change the way you think and live; Palahniuk is an important writer who needs to be acknowledged for his amazing works.

Wow.......2007-09-06

The story changes as much as fashion does in Vogue,
it keeps you thinking and wondering like only a Palahniuk novel can;
i want the say that this isn't the run of the mill Chuck book,
but i don't think there is such a thing as that,
this was the first book i was really disapointed to finish,
not because of how it ended or how the book was written,
but because i wanted to keep reading.

I highly recomend this book,

Best read yet........2007-08-26

I may be biased, but Chuck is absolutely my favorite. This book, by far is the best. A "true" sad, but funny story of living the past and wanting the future. I couldn't put the book down.

Average customer rating:

Like No Book You've Ever Read
thought-provoking
Polo Ties Khan in Filosofical Final
I bet I know the reason all the cities have women's names.
This book is a masterpiece for me.

Invisible Cities (A Harvest/Hbj Book)
Italo Calvino
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156453800

Amazon.com

"Kublai Khan does not necessarily believe everything Marco Polo says when he describes the cities visited on his expeditions, but the emperor of the Tartars does continue listening to the young Venetian with greater attention and curiosity than he shows any other messenger or explorer of his." So begins Italo Calvino's compilation of fragmentary urban images. As Marco tells the khan about Armilla, which "has nothing that makes it seem a city, except the water pipes that rise vertically where the houses should be and spread out horizontally where the floors should be," the spider-web city of Octavia, and other marvelous burgs, it may be that he is creating them all out of his imagination, or perhaps he is recreating details of his native Venice over and over again, or perhaps he is simply recounting some of the myriad possible forms a city might take.

Book Description

Imaginary conversations between Marco Polo and his host, the Chinese ruler Kublai Khan, conjure up cities of magical times. “Of all tasks, describing the contents of a book is the most difficult and in the case of a marvelous invention like Invisible Cities, perfectly irrelevant” (Gore Vidal). Translated by William Weaver. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book

Customer Reviews:

Like No Book You've Ever Read.......2007-09-18

In architecture school, I had to draw these cities from Calvino's descriptions. His amazingly descriptive and yet vauge recollections made for a great jumping off point.

Each chapter of 'Invisible Cities' is an evocative recollection of a fanciful and fantastic city. The descriptions are perfectly distilled, strikingly vivid, all-enveloping prose dream-photographs.

Loosen your ties to reality and let this book take you. Read it uncritically and let the scenery wash over you. There is no plot. There are no characters. This is a book about the intersection of reality, language, and the senses. It isn't to be missed.

thought-provoking.......2007-07-07

Great book, the kind you can read many times and still come up with something new. Worth not just reading but spending time thinking about.

The only reason it's not five stars is that I felt it limited women (who tended to be somehow half-sequestered in windows and verandas and what not) to a single role while men seemed to be the explorers, the out-and-about-ers.

Polo Ties Khan in Filosofical Final.......2007-05-27

Back in the days of my wasted youth I was really into ZAP COMIX. For those readers unfamiliar with that august publication, the content was "highly varied" but almost always politically incorrect. One kind of page aimed at readers who did not flinch from inhaling certain controlled substances. There would be, for example, a house and garden in a cartoon box. In each successive box, a little bit more would disappear. In the next to last box, there would be a tiny circle, made into a `yang and yin' design and in the last box it would go "plink" or "poing !" and there would be nothing at all left. INVISIBLE CITIES brought these stoner cartoons to mind, because what you get out of the book (or the cartoons) is mainly what is already inside you. Marco Polo regales Kublai Khan with endless tales of the different cities he has visited while travelling round the great Mongol Empire. Each city bears a woman's name and some possess modern features never seen in the Venetian's lifetime. The description of each city gives some kind of philosophical essence, so that what we are really reading is a kind of compound of Calvino's imagination and deep thoughts melded together into a kind of literary pill. It's up to you if you want to swallow it. "Futures not achieved are only branches of the past: dead branches." he intones. "The unhappy city contains a happy city unaware of its own existence." There's hundreds of mantras like this, kind of literary Chinese fortune cookies written by Khalil Gibran. In the end, Marco admits that he's made up these descriptions, but says that if the two of them did not "think the cities and their inhabitants", they would not exist. The Khan agrees. If such sentiments and literary directions are your bag, then this could be a very interesting book. I note that the majority of reviewers were people who liked the book. This is not always the best guide for surfers with questions. For my part, I grew tired of the repetitive format, the somewhat shopworn philosophy. To each his own.

I bet I know the reason all the cities have women's names........2006-12-01

He's describing women he's known, in a kind of code, describing them intimately without giving away details. Why cities? Because when you fall in love, you are immersed in a whole new geography of mind and heart and place. Khan is the part of him that just tallies his conquests, Marco is the part of him that encounters them as real individuals. Ultimately they both admit they're not real, which means that the "cities" are the only reality.

This book is a masterpiece for me........2006-10-21

This book is a masterpiece for me. It accompanied me throughout a long journey that I took in Europe in the past. It is written in a poetic way that makes you think, reflect and enter into the fantastic world of the invisible cities of Kublai Khan's empire, created by Calvino. Marco Polo works for the Khan. He has to visit many towns of the Mongolian empire so that later he can share his impressions with the great Khan. This is mainly because the empire is so big that Kublai Khan would never be able to visit all towns of his empire.

Each chapter has the name of a town, which is described by Marco Polo. In addition, there are many dialogs between Kublai Khan and Marco Polo that are, in my point of view, the most exciting part of the book. The dialogs are so intelligent and stimulating that I read some of them many times. They can trigger our natural curiosity about the way we see things around us, the future, the past, the present, etc. It is a book to be read in a slow pace so we can reflect upon each part. It helped me to slow down my frequently rushed rhythm of life. How conscious are we while we write the pages of our lives?

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