Book Description
In this powerful and provocative manifesto, Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy. For the first time in human history, he observes, more is no longer synonymous with better -- indeed, for many of us, they have become almost opposites. McKibben puts forward a new way to think about the things we buy, the food we eat, the energy we use, and the money that pays for it all. Our purchases, he says, need not be at odds with the things we truly value. McKibbens animating idea is that we need to move beyond growth as the paramount economic ideal and pursue prosperity in a more local direction, with cities, suburbs, and regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment. He shows this concept blossoming around the world with striking results, from the burgeoning economies of India and China to the more mature societies of Europe and New England. For those who worry about environmental threats, he offers a route out of the worst of those problems; for those who wonder if there isnt something more to life than buying, he provides the insight to think about ones life as an individual and as a member of a larger community. McKibben offers a realistic, if challenging, scenario for a hopeful future. As he so eloquently shows, the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.
Customer Reviews:
Ok, How did Communities get their wealth?.......2007-10-08
I read Deep Economy with an open mind, however, I found it to be riddled with particular political emphasis rather than real data about economics. In short, the ideas advanced are communal farming, environmentalism through global warming mandates, and outright communism.
These are not tools for the advancement of society, as McKibben suggests, but a return to the comfort of the Dark Ages.
I was very disappointed in the content of the book, being lectured for the first 36 pages on the same uncredited drivel that Al Gore had preached about in his tour on global warming, the very irony of which, wherever Al Gore went, it snowed.
In later chapters, McKibben actually comes out as a liberal by advocating what he believes is the solution for all the societal 'chaos' going on - state socialism.
Truly this book would have been better written if it had been left blank.
If You Care for the Earth.......2007-09-29
This book is a must for anyone who wants to make a change to save the earth. The author has insight and experience about how our present course of living will lead to the destruction of the world as we know it. It's real, but there is hope and Mr McKibben shares that hope with the reader.
Useful Inefficiencies.......2007-08-29
McKibben is one of our best modern thinkers on environmentalism and conservation, ever since debuting with his classic "The End of Nature" in 1989. In this new book he has largely tackled mainstream economic theory and how it has inflicted worldwide damage on the environment and on human communities. Standard development economics suffers from an unyielding focus on efficiencies and consumption, but this more often than not leads to widespread damage and unhappiness. Planners and politicians focus obsessively on per capita utility and efficiency, and vehemently disdain anything that may reduce efficiency for some individuals but may very well improve communities and the planet. McKibben's great contribution here is his coverage of new studies of human happiness. Especially in America, we have passed the point of gaining any more happiness from increased consumption of things, and we have become largely unhappy over the ensuing loss of community and nature. A new worldwide understanding of how economics really works has become imperative - more is no longer better.
McKibben has located many useful examples around the world of communities practicing new sustainable development strategies with demonstrated benefits for all involved. Unfortunately, the areas in which such great things are happening have particular political and economic conditions that make such experiments beneficial (including the American location McKibben covers most often - politically distinctive rural Vermont). The underlying flaw in this book is that McKibben must resort to pretty wishful idealism when applying these local success stories to the world economic system. A related problem is that the second half of the book, where the rubber should be meeting the road in realistically applying the local to the global, largely degenerates into repetitive descriptions of benefits in lieu of real prescriptions for change. However, McKibben definitely deserves credit for explaining in an accessible way all the tragic flaws of mainstream economic theory (see the books and articles he cites for the real lowdown), and it's about time us regular folks resisted the power players - for the benefit of ourselves and our larger community. [~doomsdayer520~]
Turbines and Prayer Wheels.......2007-08-06
This is a wonderful book that swings your emotions from despair to joy and back. I marveled over the story of the village of Gorasin in Bangladesh where the people said no to pesticides after living with their devastating effects and the village has become an organic oases. That is the theme of the book, communities with members from near or far working together to make lives better.
McKibben mentions Heifer International, one of my favorite organizations, and their impact on one man in China with the donation of 48 rabbits and lots of technical advice and the wave of change in his community because of his successful rabbit enterprise.
A group called Future Generations trained some villagers in Tibet and the villagers devised and installed a system that carried water "through a series of split-bamboo pipes, and then through a turbine that used the dynamo from a junked car. A hydrology expert could have helped them build a more efficient system, but all the locals knew how to repair this setup."".....(Also, the hydrology expert might not have thought to use the water pouring out of the turbine to spin a prayer wheel.)"
World community - helping local people meld the old and the new.
But, McKibben asserts, it is time for the haves of the world to share more than knowledge, it is time to cut back on what we use. "Most obviously, if the rich world began making less extreme demands on the planet, poor countries would have more physical margin to work with - a little slack. ...If we Americans can use less coal and gas and oil, we'll in effect free some of the atmosphere to absorb the carbon that the poor world must emit to meet basic needs."
There is so much more in this book to ponder and act on, put it high on your reading list.
Quite a scary future.......2007-07-23
Wow, makes me want to move to Vermont and become an organic farmer. I found this book to bring up some very good points about our current unsustainable economic situation. Over the past 300 years we have created an economic "machine" based on efficiency and production that will be very hard to change intentionally. McKibben offers some ideas on what the new New Deal will need to be if we want to continue a sustainable economy, which includes taking everything back to a local scale. Food, work, consumer goods need to develop inside the community where one lives. Less efficiency, more community and "neighborliness". It's a great idea. I just wonder if people will choose this before the collapse of our current system or try to figure something out after it's too late. I pesimistically think the latter.
Book Description
On dry land, most organisms are confined to the surface, or at most to altitudes of a hundred meters—the height of the tallest trees. In the oceans, though, living space has both vertical and horizontal dimensions: with an average depth of 3800 meters, the oceans offer 99% of the space on Earth where life can develop. And the deep sea, which has been immersed in total darkness since the dawn of time, occupies 85% of ocean space, forming the planet’s largest habitat. Yet these depths abound with mystery. The deep sea is mostly uncharted—only about 5 percent of the seafloor has been mapped with any reasonable degree of detail—and we know very little about the creatures that call it home. Current estimates about the number of species yet to be found vary between ten and thirty million. The deep sea no longer has anything to prove; it is without doubt Earth’s largest reservoir of life.
Combining the latest scientific discoveries with astonishing color imagery, The Deep takes readers on a voyage into the darkest realms of the ocean. Revealing nature’s oddest and most mesmerizing creatures in crystalline detail, The Deep features more than two hundred color photographs of terrifying sea monsters, living fossils, and ethereal bioluminescent creatures, some photographed here for the very first time. Accompanying these breathtaking photographs are contributions from some of the world’s most respected researchers that examine the biology of deep-sea organisms, the ecology of deep-sea habitats, and the history of deep-sea exploration.
An unforgettable visual and scientific tour of the teeming abyss, The Deep celebrates the incredible diversity of life on Earth and will captivate anyone intrigued by the unseen—and unimaginable—creatures of the deep sea.
Customer Reviews:
Gorgeous, brilliant, beautiful book.......2007-10-15
I've always been fascinated by the deep sea. As David Attenborough has pointed out in the marvellous BBC series "Blue Planet", half of the world's surface is covered by water more than a mile deep, and we still know very little about what goes on down there. More men have walked on the moon than have penetrated the deepest ocean depths. This magnificent publication helps redress the balance. It takes you down to this bizarre world with its pitch blackness and crushing pressures and shows you some of its inhabitants (I believe a new species is discovered every ten days). The pictures are augmented by fascinating descriptions. The only sad note is that two of the creatures depicted, the two enormous squids (giant and colossal) with their dinner plate-sized eyes, will probably never be seen the way they have been depicted (artists' representations, as opposed to photos) - it was only recently that Japanese researchers got actual photos of the live animals. Still the artists' representations are fascinating and excite the imagination with the knowledge that there be real monsters down there and that this is what they look like.
Claire Nouvian has done us a great service by producing this book showing us an extraordinary world, and one which man is in the process of destroying without even knowing what's down there.
Magnificent Book.......2007-10-03
An incredible journey to the under sea world of mysterious aquatic life.
Fascinating photos of extraordinary creatures and their habitat. We purchased the book as a gift for our son, a recent art school graduate who specializes in creating concept art. He absolutely loved the book, and will be a valuable tool and reference work for his library.
buy it!.......2007-09-30
This is one of the best coffee table books I have! The pictures are amazing and numerous guests have used it as a conversation starter in our living room. For anyone who loved marine biology as a kid (and who DIDNT?!) this book is stellar.
FASCINATING!.......2007-09-23
This is the most amazing book that I have seen in a long time! Extraordinarily beautiful fotos of equally stunning and fascinating creatures! The beauty and creativity of nature takes your breath away! A must to have!
AMAZING!!!.......2007-09-23
Beautiful, depending upon what your definition of "beauty" is.
The animals in this book could very well be the inhabitants of YOUR nightmare, but not mine.
The incredible creatures, which we are privileged to view are breathtaking.
And yet another example of the world we have not seen...and are probably destroying.
Book Description
Twelve-thousand feet beneath the Atlantic Ocean . . .
scientists are excavating the most extraordinary undersea discovery ever made. But is it the greatest archaeological find in history—or the most terrifying?
Former naval doctor Peter Crane is urgently summoned to a remote oil platform in the North Atlantic to help diagnose a bizarre medical condition spreading through the rig. But when he arrives, Crane learns that the real trouble lies far below—on “Deep Storm,” a stunningly advanced science research facility built two miles beneath the surface on the ocean floor. The topsecret structure has been designed for one purpose: to excavate a recently discovered undersea site that may hold the answers to a mystery steeped in centuries of myth and speculation.
Sworn to secrecy, Dr. Crane descends to Deep Storm. A year earlier, he is told, routine drilling uncovered the remains of mankind’s most sophisticated ancient civilization: the legendary Atlantis. But now that the site is being excavated, a series of disturbing illnesses has begun to affect the operation. Scientists and technicians are experiencing a bizarre array of symptoms—from simple fatigue to violent psychotic episodes. As Crane is indoctrinated into the strange world of Deep Storm and commences his investigation, he begins to suspect that the covert facility conceals something more complicated than a medical mystery.The discovery of Atlantis might, in fact, be a cover for something far more sinister . . . and deadly.
Like Lincoln Child’s spectacular bestsellers coauthored with Douglas Preston (The Book of the Dead, Relic), Deep Storm melds scientific detail and gripping adventure in a superbly imagined, chillingly real journey into unknown territory. Child is a master of suspense, and Deep Storm is his most ambitious novel to date.
Customer Reviews:
Not a Deep Connection........2007-10-09
I just finished reading "Deep Storm". It was okay, but not great.
There was a very...clinical element in the way the story was told. We never really find out any personal details about the characters. As a result, the story ends without the reader forming a substantial emotional bond with any of the characters.
While this doesn't prevent the story from being told, it could definitely have been told better. Adding personal details about the characters is just one way this could have been accomplished. Another missed opportunity was adding more details to those characters who said they were hearing voices. It would've been interesting to eavesdrop on those [Spoiler Warning!] voices/alien transmissions.
The book was a quick read, but unfortunately nothing that I would be motivated to read a second time.
"It's all broken ..." (possible spoilers).......2007-10-04
One of the more idiotic characters of the book keeps uttering this, and boy how right he was. There were a number of just plain holes in the plot. Here's a little one. A character who's role was to just be murdered sets up a meet with a bad guy at a gas station. He has the air compressor tire pump with him. He invites the bad guy into his car. He gets into the car and shuts the door. He *still* has the compressor hose in his hand. Did he thread it through the open window before getting into the car? Who knows? Somehow it ends up being long enough for his killer to take from him, jam down his throat, and turn on.
Here's another one. The bad guy later has to insert an encoded message into an image file. All he has to work with is a dumb terminal with no hard disk. So he writes a program and, uh, *compiles* it, then runs it. First, what dumb terminal is going to have a compiler? Second, if you compile a program you have to save it somewhere. Well where do you save it if you don't have a hard disk?
The book is full of little pieces of foolishness like this. For instance, 2 miles down in the ocean, there's a flash of light, and the ocean bottom is packed with all the funny looking denizens of the deep. If you're going to write a book you should know a little about the location of your main action. Like: the deep ocean isn't just packed full of funny looking fish.
Last one: all marines are violent robots who follow their evil overlord to death without individual thought ... especially the "special ops" ones.
Anyway I could go on, but you get the idea.
His Best Yet.......2007-09-13
This is Lincoln Child's best book yet! I have read every book by Child and his co-author Preston. Loved the imagination that went along with the story, you could almost feel yourself down at the ocean floor with all the characters. The ending, I hope, leaves room for a continuing novel.
Not nearly deep enough for me.......2007-09-12
An adventure unfolds in the deep sea several miles below an oilrig in the north Atlantic in Lincoln Child's Deep Storm, where a phalanx of scientists, doctors and marines in a massive seabed complex prepare to excavate a great discovery, perhaps the greatest discovery of all time, we are told.
And thus the adventure unfolds; it unfolds and unfolds and unfolds and yet, sadly, it never really arrives anywhere special; the author's attempts at any sort of real depth flounders despite his crisply written pages. Yes they are scribed with scalpel-sharp techno description, jam-packed with medical and science fact. But in all honestly, the wealth of research packed into the novel does nothing to develop the spirit of the main character, Peter Crane a navy doctor who's been dispatched to the undersea science complex to help solve the mystery of an outbreak of mysterious illnesses. In fact, none of the characters pop to life in Deep Storm.
The narrative leads Crane and the reader into first believing that Atlantis has been discovered, but that notion is soon dispelled when further investigation reveals that the top-secret mission is actually a dig for some alien technology buried some 600 years ago just inside the Mohorovicic Discontinuity, or "Moho" as it's called, the boundary between the earth's crust and mantle, which under the sea is not as deep as in other areas. It's still deep enough to be causing all sorts of problems and mishaps. For starters, the medical outbreak, (mental disorders mostly, which, for story purposes is quite lame) might be due to the depth or the alien technology or something else. Then there's a saboteur aboard (of course there is, it's one of the elements you need in every undersea tale). There's also a mystery involving some miniature alien technology that appears to be transmitting a binary code warning: do not dig here, danger to the solar system!
Throw into this mix a caricature naval commander hell bent on carrying out the mission at all costs even if it means losing every man and woman on board or, worse, blowing up the entire solar system. But in the end, Crane saves the moment. The earth and the solar system live to see another day. Although in the final page, Child's lays down yet one more spin on the tale: perhaps it isn't over after all. This is an okay read but it's clinical and dispassionate in style. If Crane's character had been built upon, if the author had tempered his urge to reveal all that he'd researched in favor of some heart and passion, if he'd penned it with his partner (Thunder Head, Preston and child, what a ride!) it could have been great. Into the Abyss
Incredible Ride! .......2007-08-11
Ok... so I started reading this and said "been there...done that" then suddenly the story started to morph and one of the wildest and most exciting rides I've been on for a quite a while unfolded! Great read! Well written! Lincoln's best since Utopia (which I also recommend!!)
Average customer rating:
- The Beginning of a Wonderful Journey
- The Best Yoga Nidra CD one can get
- could be better
- Good for stress
- serious and the best it can get
|
Yoga Nidra Meditation CD: Extreme Relaxation of Conscious Deep Sleep
Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati
Manufacturer: Tranquility Productions
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Binding: Audio CD
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Book Description
Yoga Nidra means "Yogic Sleep". It is a deep relaxation in which you leave the waking state, go past the dreaming state, and enter into the deep sleep state, while remaining fully awake and alert. This state of awareness is extremely beneficial, both for releasing stress, and for experiencing the joy of subtler spiritual explorations or experiences.
The voice will systematically guide you to explore your physical body, then move through 61 specific points within the body, and then practice ascending breath awareness along the body and spine. Your attention will be brought to the space between the eyebrows, then to the throat, and finally to the heart center, where you will go deep into stillness and silence, beyond the activities of the mind.
Following the custom of the ancient sages, the depth of Yoga Nidra comes from inner awareness of the levels of your own self, including your body, breath, and the subtler mind, rather than diverting attention throuh music or inner fantasies. This inner exploring through self-awareness is a more refined form of meditation that leads you deeper into the stillness and silence of your own being, while remaining fully awake and aware. The Yoga Nidra methods bring you to a place of awareness where you are able to completely let go of any words, thoughts, images, impressions, or pictures in the mind. You are guided to allow your mind to "empty, empty, empty" though you remain fully awake and clear of mind.
The practices on this CD will gently train your ability to direct your own attention, which is the primary skill in the art of meditation. You will find that you are gradually able to use these methods on your own, without the CD, and the benefits will be with you not only during your practice time, but also during the activities of daily life.
The Yoga Nidra CD has five tracks. The first track is an introduction (8:02 minutes), describing the state of Yoga Nidra and the practices on the CD. The next four tracks move through four sequential practices that are listened to together, so as to form a complete practice of 57:24 minutes (CD is 65:36 minutes in total). These four tracks can also be listened to individually, as complete practices unto themselves, which allows you to have the benefits of practice when less time is available.
After some time of practicing Yoga Nidra, you will naturally find it to be a most enjoyable and spiritually inspiring part of your life.
Customer Reviews:
The Beginning of a Wonderful Journey.......2007-09-28
I just got my Yoga Nidra CD yesterday. My husband and I put it on last night. The sound quality is very good. The voice is very clean and clear. Unfortunately, we fell asleep before we could really get into the meditation. Actually, he fell asleep and his snoring was not conducive to my meditation! I turned the CD off and tried it again later. Then, I fell asleep within a few minutes.
I thought this morning would be a good time to try again and I must say, I was amazed. I didn't fall asleep, but at one point, I did pass quickly through a "dream." It was quite vivid, but very short. During the first part of the meditation, my mind was very active. The voice would say, "Be aware of your forehead." I was aware of my forehead and within a split moment, I was aware of something else! The voice said, "Be aware of your nostrils." I was aware of my nostrils and the breath going in and out, then suddenly I was aware of the bills I had to pay today. Towards the end of my meditation, though, I noticed the stray thoughts started to become fewer and I was able to focus longer on the body part I was supposed to be focusing on. I made it to the 10 minute silent part, the last track, of the cd before my dog started scratching on my bedroom door. I was a bit disappointed at not being able to make it through the entire CD, but what I did do had a very calming effect on the rest of my day. It wasn't a sluggish calm, but a refreshing calm. My muscles felt relaxed, as well as my mind. I can't wait to try again tomorrow. This time, I'll bring the dog in the room with me, so she won't scratch on the door. Maybe she'll make it to Nidra, too!
The Best Yoga Nidra CD one can get.......2007-08-28
Finally I got what I was looking for....peace.
Extremely Relaxing CD, with crystal clear recording and the guided voice of god realized soul makes the spritual journey more enjoyable. If you are a person set out in the path of sprituality, looking for liberation or else just looking for peace or stress free life, then this is the best you can get. Please don't see it as a product, its a gift by swamiji to us and to mankind.
Highly recommended!!
could be better.......2007-08-23
this tape is good if you want to relax and focus your mind and body.
It's not the right product if you are looking for tape that allows you to fall sleep
Good for stress.......2007-06-20
Giving in to this CD gives you a good hour of relaxation. And puts you into a relaxing deep, yet conscious sleep. I personally remember laying on my mat and starting, within what seemed like minute all I remebered was the voice telling me to awake. But when I looked at my clock an entire hour had passed.
serious and the best it can get.......2007-05-13
It is the most serious and deep material I have found so far. It is the real thing.May be not for everybody, because it is only for real searchers of the soul and mind!
I highly recommend it .
Customer Reviews:
"Universe" Astronomy Textbook.......2007-09-30
It was very easy to order and the price was the same as my bookstore at school. The only thing that made it more expensive was the shipping and then it took about 5 days to get to me. When I received it it was in a very solidly sealed box that I couldn't open without a knife. When I finally opened it, the back cover of my "soft" textbook had poke holes all over it from where I tried to open the box on the back seam.
The book itself is well written with great pictures of the cosmos.
Great introduction to astronomy with well thought out steps.......2006-11-05
This textbook is well written with well thought out sequence of topics and its bundled softwares are superb. It expounds the items of astronomical subject in clear unambiguous words arranged in logical order requiring only a modest mathematical skill, well suited for a freshman student for science requirement as well as an intelligent and curious lay reader. The content is quite up-to-date; more remarkable for its online companion for prompt updating for currency. For instance, in barely 2 months after new definition excluded Pluto as a planet, the webpage supplement already informs its reader of it. Included exercises and problems are thorough and complete, and thus allowing students to critically refine their grasp of the preceding topics. There are a few minor errors which are easy to be discovered by a reader, and how to access additional websites and CDs are not clear enough in the preface to the student. I base my review only on the first 5 chapters that was covered in my first academic quarter of study. However. browsing the subsequent chapters to the end lend me confidence that the quality has been maintained.
Descriptive Astronomy for the Astronomy Student.......2006-06-11
Most introductory astronomy texts take the descriptive approach and subject the student to very little mathematics. Such tomes assume that the student is taking the course to fulfill a core science requirement or to satiate non-technical interest. This text is a rare exception to this rule.
Throughout the book simple explanations of the scientific phenomena discussed are detailed using algebra and trigonometry. Basic formulas are illustrated and ample problems are given to drive home the mathematical nature of astronomy. This text is perfect for the freshman or sophomore science major who requires a deeper knowledge of astronomy than a non-mathematical text could provide.
Make no mistake, the text can be used easily in a general astronomy class that requires no math prerequisites. However, for the physics or astronomy major who is just starting her study of the subject, this text is the perfect blend of description and mathematics. It would also make a fine introductory graduate text for elementary and high-school teachers who wish to pursue a master's degree.
The software on the enclosed CD-ROM disks makes visualizing the concepts presented within the text much easier. If one's physics department doesn't have access to a planetarium the software offered remedies the problem quite nicely.
Quality of the delivered product........2006-02-21
While the reason for buying the book was met (required text book for university study) the condition of the delivered item was very substandard. When the book arrived it was bent and creased and the front cover had been "pushed" in such a way that it was starting to come away from the spine. The book was not secure in its packaging and was able to slide around inside the box scuffing both front and back covers. I would not be happy if this happened to a $20 book let alone a book that cost me AUS $135.
I will seriously consider next time I need a book whether I will get it from Amazon.com . The amount of money I saved was not worth the damage that occured to the item.
Not Happy!!!!
Fabulous In-Depth Intro to Astronomy.......2005-10-12
I'm an amateur astronomy nut, and have read several dozen books on astronomy, cosmology, etc. This is probably the most clear, in-depth, understandable treatment of astronomical issues that I have ever read. Be it stellar evolution, stellar death, theory of relativity, black holes, galactic evolution -- you name it -- this book presents the research clearly, and explains tough to explain issues in terms I can understand. Bravo! My only complaint is that it's a bit heavy on Solar System research (first half of the book); I found the last half more to my interest.
Book Description
"Unique among survival books...stunning...enthralling. Deep Survival makes compelling, and chilling, reading."—Penelope Purdy, Denver Post
After her plane crashes, a seventeen-year-old girl spends eleven days walking through the Peruvian jungle. Against all odds, with no food, shelter, or equipment, she gets out. A better-equipped group of adult survivors of the same crash sits down and dies. What makes the difference?
Examining such stories of miraculous endurance and tragic death—how people get into trouble and how they get out again (or not)—Deep Survival takes us from the tops of snowy mountains and the depths of oceans to the workings of the brain that control our behavior. Through close analysis of case studies, Laurence Gonzales describes the "stages of survival" and reveals the essence of a survivor—truths that apply not only to surviving in the wild but also to surviving life-threatening illness, relationships, the death of a loved one, running a business during uncertain times, even war.
Fascinating for any reader, and absolutely essential for anyone who takes a hike in the woods, this book will change the way we understand ourselves and the great outdoors.
Customer Reviews:
Captivating Read.......2007-10-06
This book is a captivating read. Once you start reading it you won't want to put it down. This is a must read for anyone venturing off of their couch and beyond the bounds of their metropolitan life style. Lawrence Gonzales provides real life examples of the human plight in our world where nature is king.
Where was his editor?.......2007-09-17
There is the potential for a great book hidden in this one. Unfortunately the authors ego hamstrings his own ability to bring it to fruition. A good editor coulda/shoulda done it for him. 60% of the book is the author's attempt to review the latest neuro- and other science explaining how our brains work when under extreme stress. 20% of the book is devoted to the completely superfluous stories of his own brushes with danger and palling around with famous buddies like Lyle Lovett and Lyle's Dad. That leaves 20% of book left for the meat - the real stories of real people in extreme situations. The science is interesting, but his attempts to synthesize wildly diverse fields is rambling, repetitious and often just boring.
Apparently I am in the minority.......2007-09-10
I thought this book was VERY poorly written and primarily a pontification of the author"s very boring, "oh and then I survived again aren't I amazing and wonderful, this little humble miracle that I am" *accomplishments*. Personal perspective is certainly valid, but not to the degree that he took it. I would have prefered to have heard other people's stories. I am a RN, EMT, trained as a wilderness first responder,climber, skier, trekker,runner, horsewoman, former river guide and I do not underestimate the value of his information and the importance of sharing it, but his style of writing and his boasting just turned me off. I say borrow it from the library, don't waste your money by buying it.
Great book for insight into the psychology of survival.......2007-08-28
I found this well written, informative and very enjoyable to read. If you are studying wilderness survival skills then consider this as the flip-side of your training. Studying the psychological aspects of survival is as important as the physical skills. This is a very good book.
The Human Spirit.......2007-08-22
There are a number of reasons why you should read this book. It is well written and engaging. It gives you an insight into the human spirit. And, the descriptive tales of survival when people are stranded in conditions that seem beyond hope are extraordinary.
Book Description
Don't let your company kill you!
Open this book at your own risk. It contains ideas that may lead to a profound self-awakening. An introspective journey for those in the trenches of today's modern organizations, Deep Change is a survival manual for finding our own internal leadership power. By helping us learn new ways of thinking and behaving, it shows how we can transform ourselves from victims to powerful agents of change. And for anyone who yearns to be an internally driven leader, to motivate the people around them, and return to a satisfying work life, Deep Change holds the key.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent read w/some weaknesses.......2007-10-10
This book is an excellent book for generic change issues. Quinn covers a lot of issues that will help business execs in a variety of situations. Having been a small business owner for years, I saw a number of things that would have helped me in those days. For example, he talks about willingness to change. He couches this topic with the sentence that starts out with 'walk naked into...'! He knows how to hook a reader, yet doesn't throw in a myriad of illustrations (like some other authors in this field). I found myself wanting to immediately apply every chapter as I read it.
After years of small business activity, I find myself now leading a church in Illinois. An excellence course I am taking recommended this book. I can see a lot of applications for churches as well. However, I find that I disagree with his premise that you can change yourself. So many people I work with lack the ability to transform themselves, and I am unconvinced his 'alignment' idea is all that is needed.
For the Christian business leader or church member or pastor, the power to change must come from an encounter with God through prayer and scripture meditation. Instead of reinventing ourselves, we die daily to our old nature and put on the new man in Christ Jesus. This enables us to flexibly apply Quinn's excellent principles.
So I would only add some good old Christian theology to the power points in his message. Otherwise I think this is a great book and I heartily recommend it.
An excellent read..........2007-01-22
I had to read this book for my executive MBA program, and the class agreed that it was a very relevant and enlightening experience. I work for a large company that had a big merger pending, and I ordered copies for the senior managers that report to me. It is thought-provoking and helps one re-examine oneself with rich anectodes and vignettes that keep the book from descending into psycho-babble or abstract theory.
I highly recommend this book for anyone that is interested making difficult changes in their lives. The fact that Quinn addresses change in both a personal and professional environment makes this book a useful tool for self-enrichment or teams. There are thought-provoking discussion and/or self-reflection questions at the end of each chapter that allow the reader to take what the author has discussed and relate it to their own situation.
Excellent read on real change.......2007-01-10
Quinn's purpose in writing Deep Change is to challenge the reader to recognize that everyone is a potential change agent, if they are willing to take the difficult, yet necessary steps to experience deep personal change. He lays a strong foundation by first differentiating between deep change and incremental change. There is little doubt that most change that takes place in the life of an individual is incremental. Because people are uncomfortable with major change they choose to move in small steps. The possible exception to the choice of incremental change occurs when a person is faced with a major crisis. For example, when a person experiences a heart attack, they are motivated to make deep lifestyle changes in habits such as smoking or dietary chooses. Or when a marriage is on the brink of divorce, marriage partners are motivated to make sweeping changes in how they communicate or handle conflict. However, beyond these periodic times of being motivated by crisis, people usually make changes slowly and incrementally, rather than making needed deep change.
The tendency towards incremental change over deep change is also true on an organizational level. Rarely do organizations, including the church, make deep major changes. While it may be argued that leadership needs to be mindful of bringing people along in the midst of change, there are certainly times that organizations need to experience deep change to survive. Quinn is correct in stating that without deep change, routine patterns move organizations increasingly toward decay and stagnation. This is true in the life of the church today. The church has grown comfortable with the patterns of ministry from years past and as a result has lost much of its influence in the changing culture.
One of Quinn's foundational themes is that personal deep change must precede deep change within a system or organization. While most of the time organizational change is seen as a top-down process, Quinn argues that it can also happen from the bottom-up. He states that deep change requires a personal evaluation of the ideologies that under gird the organizational culture. This is a refreshing insight that has application to other relational contexts. As people desire to see change in the lives of others, whether in parenting, marriage or work relationships, they first need to examine what changes need to occur in themselves. It is true that we do not easily recognize the part that we play in the problem. This thought is consistent with the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:3, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
Another topic that is very applicable to numerous arenas of life is Quinn's discussion of the logic of task pursuit. Most people, under the pressure of task completion, have no opportunity to consider routine maintenance. This is true in the life of the individual on multiple levels. If a person does not take time to experience physical renewal through rest and exercise the body will experience exhaustion. This is certainly true with the spiritual life as well. People need to carve out time from the pursuit of tasks to spend time alone with God. The logic of task pursuit is also true in the life of the church. Each church needs to set aside time to revisit its mission and to ensure that the work of the church is in alignment with that mission.
Other helpful insights are found in Quinn's discussion on why organizational change doesn't take place. He states that the dominant coalition in an organization is seldom interested in making deep changes. Therefore, deep change is often driven from the outside. This has been true in the life of many organizations. Furthermore, there are pressures within most organizations to conform to the prevailing structure. Quinn does an excellent job of identifying the barriers of bureaucratic culture, embedded conflict, and personal time constraints. It is helpful to recognize that in most cases people do not need new skills and competencies, but instead they need a new perspective that allows them to act as empowered leaders in a changing organization. While this section on overcoming resistance to change was helpful, it would have been strengthened with practical examples of how individuals brought about significant change.
There is also much to appreciate with Quinn's emphasis on the transitions from the technical, the transactional, and the transformational paradigms. Quinn's description of each paradigm and the paradigm's representative would prove to be very beneficial to any organizational leader's attempt to understand those that they lead and the unique perspective they hold about the organization.
Finally the culmination of Quinn's emphasis on empowerment and ultimate transformation of an organization is what he refers to as the transformational cycle. The cycle is a helpful visual reminder that deep change does not come to a point of completion. It is a cycle that will itself become routine and stagnate if there is not a time of reinvention and realignment of self and the organization.
While written from a business perspective, Deep Change is applicable for anyone who desires to bring about change within an organization. The book is structured in an easy to follow format and includes reflection and discussion questions at the end of each chapter to provide further assistance to the reader in taking steps towards deep change, on both a personal and organizational level.
Deep Change.......2007-01-09
Absolutely one of the best personal and leadership books I have ever used.
Very practical applications. Plan to use as a reference for my managerial library.
Easy to follow recommendations.......2006-10-24
It is interesting that out of the many books that I have read this one does not hit me across the head. However with that said, I re-looked at the book before writing this note and I did mark a lot of text that I found highly useful. I particularly liked the solid recommendations for implementing personal and community change at the end of each chapter. Maybe the fact that the authors do not try wow you with their brilliance but provide solid and easy to follow recommendations is why this book is so valuable. The structure also lends itself to a study group within your management team helping to drive implementation of the principles introduced.
If you are more interested in solid principles to implement rather than the "my way is the best way" often presented, I highly recommend that this book be part of your arsenal to improve personal and community performance. A must for your library.
Book Description
Skin Deep
Chantel O'Hurley has parlayed talent, breathtaking beauty-and indominable will-into stardom. But though she needs Quinn Doran's protection now, the sexy, cynical P.I. Utterly infuriates her. . .threatening to melt her icy façade and ignite her heart.
Without a Trace
A life of adventure and intrigue has left Trace O'Hurley bitter and world-weary. But in the innocent arms of spirited damsel-in-distress Gillian Fitzpatrick, Trace finds himself longing for the life-and family-he left behind.
New York Timesbestselling author Nora Roberts creates unforgettable families--so prepare to be captivated by the O'Hurley's, whose lives are as remarkable as their unconventional beginnings. The dazzling O'Hurley triplets and their renegade older brother have each followed a very different destiny. Now the family is reunited in this special 2-in-1 volume.
Customer Reviews:
O'Hurley's Return.......2007-10-18
wonderful to finish the series with this book - completed all of the charcters and they all ended up happily...
Mom's gift.......2007-10-18
I bought this for my mother, who loved it! She then passed it on to a friend, who also loved it!
O'Hurley Return.......2007-02-01
I just love reading Nora Robert's books. Thes two story's are just great.
Oldie but goodie.......2006-10-22
This book contains the last 2 stories of the wonderful O'Hurley siblings.
In Skin Deep you have the story of Chantal the oldest triplet. She is the beautiful Hollywood actress who finds herself being stalked and harrassed by an unknown over eager fan. She reluctantly hires Quinn Doran to protect her and help find out who is messing with her. Quinn soon discovers her beauty is more than just Skin Deep.
In without a Trace we finally find out what older brother Trace O'Hurley has been up to all these years. Dr. Gillian Fitzpatrick offfers him $100,000 to help her find her brother and neice who have been kidnapped for their scientific knowledge of a project called Horizon. Gillian and Trace have an adventure ahead of them. Finally there is an O'Hurley reunion at the end.
This is a good early Nora Roberts book. I think you will enjoy it.
O'Hurley's Return: Skin Deep/Without A Trace.......2005-07-21
Nora Roberts' characters become your friends and you can't wait to see what happens!
Book Description
Two genuine relaxation methods from the Nyasa Tantra, 20 minutes and 45 minutes - and a piece of music. 20 page information booklet included.
Swami Janakananda guides you into a deep relaxation of body and mind. He also uses the tantric mantras and visual symbols to awaken and harmonize the chakras. With a background of nature sounds and music. Roop Verma, on sitar, is the first musician to record the chakras' ancient music symbols.
Customer Reviews:
Experience Yoga Nidra.......2007-10-03
Excellent Yoga Nidra experiences. Swami J has an especially gentle and soothing voice, ideal for deep relaxation. Different from other Yoga NIdra CD's, this one has a musical background which is a really nice touch that helps take you into an even deeper experience of Yoga Nidra. There is also a track of music for an experience of Nada Yoga, or the yoga of sound.
Scandinavian Yogi???.......2007-09-26
I ordered this CD based on all the glowing reviews it received. Maybe I missed the part about this guy being Scandinavian. (I'm sorry, I already listed and sold the CD, so I can't tell you from which country Swami Saraswati originates). I found his accent so off-putting that I could not really get into the relaxation. I also found the cows "mooing" in the background a kind of bizarre reference when trying to induce a state of deep relaxation. Actually, I don't think I realized what Yoga Nidra was. Even when reading the enclosed booklet, I was more taken with the implied promise of positive creation than in obtaining near sleep.
If one is not bothered by Scandinavian accents and pastoral backgound noises, I'm sure this would work for relaxation. However it is NOT meditation, at least not in any sense of which I'm aware.
fantastic practice.......2007-09-20
I have had this tape for about 7 years and used it on and off. I cannot say enough good things about it. It is deeply relaxing and rejuvenating at the same time. You are supposed to stay awake, but I always drift in and out of consciousness, which is fine with me because I always feel fantastic later.
If you want to learn more or "go deeper" as the yoga people say, get Yoga Nidra by the Bihar School. It is very comprehensive and balanced-not a my way or the highway attitude.
More a kind of fantasy journey than yoga nidra.......2007-08-27
Yoga nidra means yogic sleep, a state of mind where you are in a deep sleep state and at the same time awake and aware that you are sleeping. With all due respects to Janakananda I don't think he accomplies this on his CD.
According to Swami Rama, and I consider him a far more experienced and advanced yogi, the real yoga nidra requires concentration on the heart center after some 'warm-up' excercises', because the heart center is the center of deep (dreamless) sleep. And it requires quietness around you. Something that's not on this socalled yoga nidra where the voice speaks all the time, and when the concentrationpoint is on a postulated "golden egg" in the middle of the brain.
I have done this excercise many times over the years, and I have to say I've come to find it a rather confusing mixture of genuine yoga nidra related practises like mentally contacting various parts of the body, and working with the seed mantras traditionally associalted with the chakras in yoga and tantra on the one hand. And on the other hand some fantasy journeys, walking in a wood, contacting different animals etc. that has absolutely nothing to do you with yoga, and come from a totally different tradition.
In true yoga nidra you give yourself up and let things happen spontaneously, while Janakananda forces and manipulates you in to feeling this golden egg, something that has nothing to do with genuine meditation, that is always a state beyond the verbal mind.
The best about this CD is Roop Vermas beautiful music.
It's certainly moving to read the many happy accounts of people thoroughly enjoying this CD, but if you really want to dig deep into this fascinating field, Janakananda is not the right place for you.
wish they had six stars..........2007-07-14
so I can really highlight this CD. I am very happy with my purchase. Being the obsessive researcher/googler, I read and studied for about a week before deciding to get this particular CD. I went to sites selling self-hypnosis and self-help, listened to samples, British gurus, yogis... in the end my dilemma was, do I seek higher enlightment (or at least a good relaxation) or do I try to awaken that awesome potential inside me, and make millions, and reach my full potential, and... I actually asked my husband which path would he take, and, oddly enough, he balked at the millions. What I mean to say is, peace and relaxation are more valuable, and that is exactly what you get with this tape. It is not boring in the least, there is no music, but there is a very good sound background, and I look forward to doing it every day. My 10-year old does it with me, and is soothes her too. (she is a patient child, don't know how would other kids do.) The speaker has a Danish accent, and at first I thought oh, great, I am going to start laughing in the middle of my relaxation, but you get used to it, and it becomes part of the experience. For those with higher aspirations and a yoga/philosophical bent, the CD leaflet instructs you to envision something you would like to occur in the future, and use that in the guided imagery. Well, I am doing it, and, kinda spooky, it might be working. I will have to post later if that really works, but I don't know if I would really go on record promoting reality-altering programs. Well, it's a great CD, and my heart problems have subsided, most likely because of the reduction in stress. Can't recommend it highly enough.
Book Description
From one of the most celebrated travel writers at work today—a vibrantly observant, witty, utterly captivating account of a lifetime’s worth of travel between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Part memoir, part travelogue, all passionate appreciation, Tales from the Torrid Zone begins in Iririki, Alexander Frater’s birthplace. On this tiny island in the South Seas republic of Vanuatu, his grandfather, a Presbyterian missionary from Scotland, converted the inhabitants, his father ran the hospital and his mother built its first schoolhouse in their front garden. And it was on Iririki where, on the eve of his sixth birthday, Frater fell victim to “le coup de bamboo . . . a mild form of tropical madness for which, luckily, there is no cure,” and which has compelled him, again and again, to return to the “seeding, breeding, buzzing, barking, fluttering, squawking, germinating, growing” deep tropics.
His travels take him to nearly all of the eighty-eight countries encompassed by this remarkable, steamy swath of the world. He delves deeply into the history and politics of each nation he visits, and into the lives of the inhabitants, and of the flora and fauna. He is, at once, tourist, explorer and adventurer, as fascinated with—and fascinating about—the quotidian as he is with the extraordinary. But certainly, he does not lack for the extraordinary: dining with the Queen of Tonga in a leper colony; making his way across tropical Africa—and two civil wars—in a forty-four-year-old flying boat; delivering a new church bell to a remote Oceanian island.
From Fiji to Laos, Mexico to Peru, Senegal to Uganda, Taiwan to Indonesia, Frater gives us a richly described, wonderfully anecdotal, endlessly surprising picture of this diverse, feverish, languorously beautiful world—as much a state of mind as it is a geographical phenomenon.
Customer Reviews:
Didn't like .......2007-05-26
Somehow this book simply didn't appeal to me. It meanders all over the place, with no dates so you're often left to guess the chronology. Occasional reminiscences about bygone missionaries, their wives, church bells and so on. Not a travel book by any means. Although to be fair, the parts about flying boats and tropical diseases were quite interesting. If you are interested in the South Pacific, I'd reccomend as light fare "The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific" by J. Maarten Troost and the best I've ever read "The Fatal Impact: The Invasion of the South Pacific, 1767-1840"
Wandering through the tropics.......2007-05-07
My first reaction to Frater's "Tales" was mildly negative. He offers digressions within digressions, often jump cutting from place to place with only the mildest narrative logic. After a while, though, I adjusted to the pace and style and became thoroughly engrossed with his account of a life-long passion for the tropics. The book is filled with interesting detail, and thoughtful musings on a wide variety of subjects. I would love to travel with Frater, and reading this book is the next best thing.
Deep Tropics.......2007-04-27
The ellipical structure of the anecdotes will either enchant you or drive you batty trying to figure out when and where he is at any given moment. If you like Paul Theroux's travel books you may like this. It is more ephemeral, but in the end there is a linear tale with somewhat of an arc. I really enjoyed this book and hope to read more by him. You will want to visit most of the places when you put down the book. Just bring mosquito repellent and a wry sense of humor.
So Many Fascinating Stories ... But When Did They Happen?.......2007-04-10
The structure of Frater's book is built around his birth to a missionary family in the South Pacific, the love of the tropics that never left him despite many years in rainy England, and his purchase of a new bell for the church founded by his grandfather. A long time travel writer for a British newspaper, Frater has many good stories to tell, and they surface in this book in strange ways; a moment in, say, Fiji, wil remind him of a previous moment, in Mozambique for example, which will remind him of yet another story. Although this is certainly a change from itinerary-based travel writing, I would have liked to at least have footnotes saying when exactly a set of events took place. I often had to re-read paragraphs and sections after I realized that he was in Vanuatu, reminiscing about someplace like Burma.
Books:
- Doing the Animal Bop: With Music CD
- Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
- Dry Ice (Dr. Alan Gregory Novels)
- Earthcore
- Eclipse (Twilight, Book 3)
- Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time
- Firing Back: How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters
- Good Night, Sleep Tight: The Sleep Lady's Gentle Guide to Helping Your Child Go to Sleep , Stay Asleep, And Wake Up Happy
- Grandfather Tang's Story (Dragonfly Books)
- Graven Images: The Best of Horror, Fantasy, and Science-Fiction Film Art from the Collection of Ronald V. Borst
Books Index
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