Secrets of the Talking Jaguar

Book Description

Twenty-five years ago, a young musician and painter named Martn Prechtel wandered through the brilliant landscapes of Mexico and Guatemala. Little did he know he was traveling toward a destiny that would change his life forever. Arriving at a Tzutujil Mayan village on the breathtaking shores of Lake Atitlan, Prechtel was apprenticed to a powerful, ancient shaman, Chiviliu Tacaxoy. Ten years later, he had become a village chief and a famous shaman in his own right. Many books have been written about the ancient Mayans, but this is the first to provide an insider's view of the complex, joyous culture of contemporary Mayan village life, a culture that is fast disappearing in the wake of modernism. In Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, Martn Prechtel teaches us that all human beings possess within their souls an indigenous spirit that is natural, subtle, generous, and village-oriented. This spirit of wholeness and connection is never beyond our reach; we have only to move past the trappings of materialism and the modern world to hear that special song that is ours alone to sing. In a tale filled with enchantment, danger, rich cultural descriptions, shamanic rivalry, passion, and hope, Prechtel takes us into the heart of both untamed nature and community life, helping us find the secrets of our own hearts and souls. Ultimately, we learn, the shamans' power lies not in magic but in being fully aware and joyously alive as human beings.

Customer Reviews:

More Than a Memoir.......2005-08-29

Prechtel's journey into the heart of the Mayan culture makes for an interesting and informative read, though it would be a mistake to think (as one reviewer did) that this is the equivelant of a shamanic studies course. It is one man's experience of one aspect of an ancient shamanic culture (the Mayan culture) that has and continues to be diluted (one might even say poisoned) by the unconscious expansion of other cultures. But it is more than a memoir, as the author offers some important observations about the state of our planet and the nature of humanity. I would not get hung up on the idea of magic, gods, or Martin as a shaman, but rather enjoy beauty of the writing and the gift of the tale.

Enlightening and Entertaining.......2004-06-09

This review refers to "Secrets of the Talking Jaguar" by Martin Pretchel...

This book is a rare treat. It's a look at the Mayan culture as never revealed before and is told in a way that will keep you involved and entertained as you become enlightened by Martin Pretchel's remarkable story. The book is subtitled 'a mayan shaman's journey to the heart of the indigenous soul'..and what a journey it is...

Pretchel's own journeys of travel and self-discovery are the basis for the first part of the story. He'll keep you smiling(and maybe even chuckling out loud sometimes) with his wonderful sense of humor, as he describes his wanderings and the fantastick encounters along the way. He is down on his luck when out of the blue he is "found" by an old Shaman who tells him it's about time he arrived. The Shaman takes him to a remote Guatamalan village, that is not yet ravaged by modern civilazation. It becomes the home he has been searching for, the people he felt he belonged to, and while training to be the next Shaman of the village, learns the wonders of a deeply rich and rewarding life. The ways of the villagers may seem primitave, but everything they do and believe in has great meaning,and is never self-serving. Their sense of the earth and everything connected with nature is incredibly intuitive and complex. Pretchel's, vivid descriptions of the ceremonies, the costumes, the land and even the food will bring wonderful pictures of this world to your mind.The detalied description of his training to become a Shaman are amazing and adventurous.

This book was a wonderful journey to the "heart of the indigenous soul". It's a precious history of an important culture, that had to give way to the modern world. I could hardly put it down and wanted to start it over the minute I finished it. Pretchel's written account is an invaluable history lesson and a lovely tribute to all indigenous souls!

enjoy...Laurie

Excellent book, authentic author.......2003-04-14

This book is a beautiful journey into the indigenous spirit within us all. I have met the author, spent some time with him, and read about (and discussed with him) his background and it is obvious that he is quite authentic. Reviewer B. Ortiz (see below) has formed a very set and narrow opinion of Prechtel based on the most superficial judgements and "research." It is really unfortunate that she didn't take the time to check her "facts" before she attacked Prechtel. I suggest that you read the book, research Prechtel if you want to, go meet him if you can, and be prepared for a potentially life-changing experience.

a different view of the Maya.......2001-04-13

The events in this book take place mostly in Guatemala in the 1970's, where the author lived as part of a "traditional" Maya community. "called" by the local Shaman he was trained in the arts and responsiblities of a shaman, in order that he could save part of the "village Heart" on the old man's death.

The author has some valuable insights into values and a way of living that has been lost when modern "culture" over rides traditional indigenous cultures, proclaming all that they have as bad (or non-christian). I think he is right in saying we have all lost something valuable. Ways of living that can probabaly never truly be recaptured.

However, having looked up the author on the net, he seems heavily into the "new age" speeking circut today, despite all he was taught when he was younger. I wonder if the written word, despised by the Maya, will be his main legacy. And by his own admission you never get the whole story that way. Certinally, despite the wisdom in this book it is not the be-all answer for all of life's problems.

Interesting.......2000-12-31

Secrets of the Talking Jaguar is the story of the author's physical and spiritual journey from the southwestern US to the highlands of central America. There he becomes apprenticed to a local shaman who teaches Pretchel much about indigenous Mayan life, and about life in general.

Pretchel writes that we are all part of our indigenous, pre-industrial, "primitive" past, we only have to search to find our roots, as he has done. The story of his awakening awareness of the natural world around us to me was more interesting. Pretchel points out that something valuable has been lost though our lack of deep cultural and familial ties to the physical world. After reading this book, I am convinced he is right.

Book Description

Learning Cocoa with Objective-C is the "must-have" book for people who want to develop applications for Mac OS X, and is the only book approved and reviewed by Apple engineers. Based on the Jaguar release of Mac OS X 10.2, this edition of Learning Cocoa includes examples that use the Address Book and Universal Access APIs. Also included is a handy quick reference card, charting Cocoa's Foundation and AppKit frameworks, along with an Appendix that includes a listing of resources essential to any Cocoa developer--beginning or advanced. Completely revised and updated, this 2nd edition begins with some simple examples to familiarize you with the basic elements of Cocoa programming as well Apple's Developer Tools, including Project Builder and Interface Builder. After introducing you to Project Builder and Interface Builder, it brings you quickly up to speed on the concepts of object-oriented programming with Objective-C, the language of choice for building Cocoa applications. From there, each chapter presents a different sample program for you to build, with easy to follow, step-by-step instructions to teach you the fundamentals of Cocoa programming. The techniques you will learn in each chapter lay the foundation for more advanced techniques and concepts presented in later chapters. You'll learn how to:

Effectively use Apple's suite of Developer Tools, including Project Builder and Interface Builder
Build single- and multiple-window document-based applications
Manipulate text data using Cocoa's text handling capabilities
Draw with Cocoa
Add scripting functionality to your applications
Localize your application for multiple language support
Polish off your application by adding an icon for use in the Dock, provide Help, and package your program for distribution

Each chapter ends with a series of Examples, challenging you to test your newly-learned skills by tweaking the application you've just built, or to go back to an earlier example and add to it some new functionality. Solutions are provided in the Appendix, but you're encouraged to learn by trying. Extensive programming experience is not required to complete the examples in the book, though experience with the C programming language will be helpful. If you are familiar with an object-oriented programming language such as Java or Smalltalk, you will rapidly come up to speed with the Objective-C language. Otherwise, basic object-oriented and language concepts are covered where needed.

Customer Reviews:

Great Start to Learn OS X Programming.......2005-07-02

This book is a great start to learn the best OS X programming technology. As a professional developer. The title says it "Learning Cocoa with Objective C". Avoid the book "Cocoa in a Nutshell" until you know Cocoa and Objective C and want a good refeerence.

I also plan to read: "Programming in Objective C" and "Cocoa Programming", but only after mastering the material in this book.

OK..........2005-02-25

While this book is very detailed and has a lot of information in it about Cocoa programming, it starts off too quickly. You might be discouraged by the assumptions the author makes about how much C (and programming in general) you know. If you are experienced in computer programming, then you will find this book to be a blast and will learn objective -C in no time at all. However, if you aren't too good with programming, start off with some online tutorials or other books, as you will get lost after reading the first two chapters or so.

A good book, but not the best book.......2004-05-10

A very popular book, and greatly improved in its second edition. Very example and tutorial oriented; somewhat out of date at this point, however. Helps the user learn Interface Builder, ProjectBuilder and Objective-C, too. Possibly a bit shallow to get the reader writing their own Cocoa programs from scratch, but a good introduction. Ultimately, probably not as recommended for a first purchase as Cocoa Programming by Scott Anguish or Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X by Aaron Hillegass.

Indispensible Guide for Moving from C to Object Orientation.......2004-02-23

Being an old Pascal and C programer from the earlier Mac OS (systems 6 and 7) I was finding 1) that Carbon documentation was a mess, and 2) that Cocoa's object orientation was incomprehensible. So, in deciding which environment to work in to upgrade my old scientific apps, I felt stuck between two impossible choices. I wanted the power of quartz and the familiarity of C in a format I could learn. This book provides the indispensible introduction to object orientation that is a prerequisite for Cocoa and ultimately Apple's latest and greatest stuff under the hood. From there, the developer documentation and Garfinkel's or Hillegrass' books can take you the rest of the way. But, this is the place to start if you're conversant in c but not objects.

Good try, but needs a bit more work.......2004-01-16

This book needed one more pass by the proofreaders. There are an annoyingly large number of typographical errors and other mistakes. What surprised me is that after introducing a number of features of Interface Builder, the author tends to manually write code (e.g., outlet declarations) then load the results into Interface Builder to make the various object connections. It would have been better in my view to simply use Interface Builder to perform these tasks (certainly less error prone).

Book Description

Deep in the jungles of Colombia, an American priest is shot dead in his makeshift church.

A few weeks later an Indian shaman arrives in South Florida, armed only with a bag of totems and the fearsome power of his vengeful god.

As a Miami Homicide Detective, Jimmy Paz saw terrible things that defied rationality. Now retired, he's put the darkness behind him. But suddenly he, his wife, and their young daughter are being haunted by horrific dreams—terrifying visions of a giant jungle cat. And when affluent Miami businessmen begin dying gruesomely in their fortress-like homes—with the footprints of a massive animal found at the crime scenes—the baffled police must turn to Paz, who has experience with the impossible. Paz cannot refuse, for he's tied to this case by a shocking secret from his past. And what he loves most may be the next thing devoured in this nightmare of carnage and sacrifice.

Download Description

Science and mysticism, nature and greed collide in this mind-bending, compulsively readable thriller from the author of Tropic of Night and Valley of Bones, hailed by the Washington Post as ""miracles of intelligent fiction . . . among the essential novels of recent years.""

Deep in the jungles of Colombia, an American priest is shot dead in his makeshift church.

A few weeks later an Indian shaman called Moie arrives in south Florida, armed only with a bag of totems and the fearsome power of Jaguar, his god.

In Miami, retired detective Jimmy Paz, his wife, and his seven-year-old daughter are plagued by dreams of giant jungle cats that haunt both their sleeping and waking hours.

When affluent Miami businessmen begin to die in gruesome fashion, the local police are baffled by the lack of clues -- other than the massive, catlike footprints that appear at the scene of each murder. They turn to Paz, famous throughout the city for cracking open two previous, impossible-to-solve cases, and for reasons he doesn't dare share, he agrees to come out of his self-imposed retirement to track the killer.

As Paz investigates, Moie finds refuge with a group of ecologically minded activists who treat the strange little man as a pet until they find out exactly what mission brought him to the United States and that it's somehow connected to the grisly murders that are occurring with frightening regularity. The deeper Paz digs into the case, the closer to home the danger gets: his investigation opens the door to his mysterious and shocking past and he slowly begins to realize that the dreams he and his family are having could mean the death of his beloved daughter. To save her life -- and his own -- he must reach into the deepest corners of his soul and find the strength to hold fast against the irresistible pull of the spirit world.

Only Michael Gruber is capable of combining heart-stopping action with a ferociously intelligent examination of what makes us human, in novels that have been praised as ""bold . . . provocative, and frightening"" (USA Today) and ""dazzling, literate and downright scary"" (Cleveland Plain Dealer). Night of the Jaguar is an unforgettable blend of imagination, suspense, and thought-provoking inquiry into the nature of good and evil.

Customer Reviews:

Plausibly supernatural & a fine character-driven mystery.......2007-06-05

Nobody has done a better job of bringing the "lost" supernatural dimension of primitive folk magic and religion into the modern mystery/thriller world than Michael Gruber. He has a deep and sympathetic understanding of what we secular Westerners might regard as "alternative belief systems," and he manages to seamlessly juxtapose witchcraft, Santeria, etc., with utterly plausible crime and violence plotlines. Additionally, few authors in the thriller genre can match Gruber's ability to flesh out characters -- even bit players -- in three dimensions. By now it's well-known that Gruber is the ghostwriter responsible for the first 13 crime novels "authored" by his cousin, Robert K. Tanenbaum, which are among the very best of the genre. I will read anything he writes.

Plus one star for the CD audiobook.......2007-04-03

Night of the Jaguar is smooth and fast and consistently entertaining. In this review I want to take special note of Jonathan Davis' audio performance.

I have heard more than a hundred audiobooks. It is a distinct art form. Davis is the best reader I have ever heard. Each character in the large cast has a clearly identifiable speaking voice, precisely appropriate to age, gender, background, and ethnic origin. The voices never bleed into the narration, nor vice versa. Even sound effects - in this case, the menacing breathy growl of the Jaguar - are perfect.

Congratulations to Michael Gruber for a fine, intelligent supernatural mystery, and to Jonathan Davis for a performance that captures it in living color.

Reviewed by Barb Radmore.......2007-02-10

The lines of reality become blurred in this latest addition to Michael Gruber's series of thrillers with Cuban detective Jimmy Paz.

Jimmy Paz is happy with his decision to leave the Miami PD and work in his mother's restaurant, more time to spend with his doctor wife and his precocious 7 year old daughter Amelia. He is not readily willing to be drawn into his ex-partner's newest case when Cuba businessmen are murdered. But when the dreams of he and his family about a jaguar begin to eerily parallel the rumors that a large cat is responsible for the deaths, he becomes immersed in solving the crimes.

Moie has hidden in the hold of a ship to Miami from his jungle to confront the people he has been told are trying to destroy his rainforest home. Soon after he lands he meets up with Jennifer and her group of activists, The Forest People. All of a sudden saving the rainforest is more than just a vague cause. And when Paz realizes Moie is tracking his daughter Amelia and worships the jaguar, Moie is more than just an interesting curiosity.

This the third book in Gruber's trilogy with Jimmy Paz. While the story of Moie and the jaguar is intense, it is Paz's struggle to try to reconcile between his doctor wife's firm insistence on reality only and his mother's Santeria beliefs that makes the story take hold. Jimmy's willingness to put aside his previous differences with his mother, even after learning her shocking secret, to protect his daughter from an unseen, unbelievable enemy makes the story take heart.

This thriller's strength is its main characters that are convincing, even within the paranormal plot line. While the added plots lines of greed, misuse of the earth and the plight of foster children tangle themselves through out the novel, it is the characterizations that keep the story from unraveling.

Character-Driven Suspense.......2006-07-21

What makes this book different from lots of others in this genre is the extremely well-drawn characters and their distinctive world views. Jenny is a particularly engaging character as she slowly begins to appreciate the fact that she's smarter and tougher than she ever thought she was. By the way, another reviewer commented on Paz's wife suddenly being named "Lola"... but in "Valley of Bones", this was a nickname Paz called her which has obviously stuck now that they're several years married.

Can't wait for this writer's next book.

Clark, where do you leave your suit and tie?.......2006-04-28

When I was a little boy, journeying through black and white TV, Marvel comics, and how come Mom didn't wear high heels and stockings when she made me and Dad breakfast like Mrs. Cleaver, I also wanted to know when Clark Kent became Superman, where did he leave his 2 piece summer suit from Barney's? Shouldn't this have been an issue the screenwriters should have seen coming and explained to the viewing public? This was not a solid basis in which to develop a yearning for supernatural works of fiction. I can handle the ghost of Hamlet's father. I have trouble with small men transmorphing into 500 pound predators.

OK. I'm having a little fun here and this is an excellent novel. You just need time to read it. It's not an airplane read, maybe not even a vacation read. Like LeCarre, Mr. Gruber demands of his readers an intention to work at what he is saying.

Jimmy Paz remains one of the best characters around. He reminds me of Lorenzo Brown. the 'Dogman' of George Pelecanos fame. I especially like where Gruber has transformed him from a rakish Cuban detective in Miami with an edge to a loving father. The relationship he shares with his 7-year old daughter is warm and affectionate.

I enjoyed Tropic and Valley of Bones tremendously and this falls short of those earlier works. I also enjoyed Lorna, Jimmy's wife in earlier works with her hypochondria and weight issues, however here there is virtually no Lorna. Paz' Mom is a hoot. And the new characters of Jenny and Cooksey are fascinating, odd and enjoyable.

I guess Night didn't "grab" me. I didn't feel compelled to keep reading it. I'll give you an example. We reviewers use this phrase but I believe it probably doesn't really happen but maybe one in ten times. This past weekend I picked up Robert Crais' new work, The Two Minute Rule. I literally could not put it down. All books can't have that quality but I didn't find any of that in Night of the Jaguar. Interesting? Yes. Worthwhile? Yes. Magnetic, riveting and relentless? No. I'll certainly read Mr. Gruber again however Night wasn't up to the standards he set for himself. 4 stars. Larry Scantlebury

Jaguar Wisdom: Mayan Calendar Magic (Contemporary Practices of Mayan Shamans)

Average customer rating:

Excellent Read!
Astrology from the jungle
Layers of information

Jaguar Wisdom: Mayan Calendar Magic (Contemporary Practices of Mayan Shamans)
Ken Johnson
Manufacturer: Llewellyn Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Mayan | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Folklore & Mythology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Shamanism | Earth-Based Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Magic | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Parapsychology | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Spiritualism | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Solving the Greatest Mystery of Our time : The Mayan Calendar
Cosmicjaguar's Soul Kin Journal
The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness
Signs of Time: An Introduction to Mesoamerican Astrology
How to Practice Mayan Astrology: The Tzolkin Calendar and Your Life Path

ASIN: 1567183727

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Read!.......2006-10-16

This book is just great! It's way better than good. I have read it over and over again. The author takes a lot of effort to make the research thorough. The old Mayan books were written like fans and they contained a great deal of wisdom. Unfortunately, most of those old codices were burned by the Spanish. Here is a little bit of they old wisdom, obtained word of mouth. You should buy this book today.

Astrology from the jungle.......2002-11-05

An excellent astrological system! After having a Mayan horoscope cast for me a few years ago, I looked for this book in vain until finding it on Amazon. All information is included for casting Mayan horoscopes, with a treasure trove of information included on the signs and the stellar cycles. Note that the author puts the myth of an end time ( 2012 ) into perspective. There is also much detail on the spiritual practices of Mesoamerican adepts. Any one interested in central American culture and occultism should pick this one up.

Layers of information.......2000-06-09

This book is laid out in a great referance format and can be used immediately. In-depth study will lead to to many levels of understanding the Mayan Sacred Calander. There are layers of information that are discovered with subsequent readings, always something new and interesting that adds depth to a book that appears somewhat superficial on the surface. It's a wonderful, information book that will lead you to greater study of the Sacred Calander using the traditional long count.

The General and the Jaguar: Pershing's Hunt for Pancho Villa: A True Story of Revolution & Revenge

Average customer rating:

Pancho Villa and Black Jack Pershing
Excellent account of the events in Mexico before WWI
The Columbus Raid and its aftermath.
a little too much fluff
Good book about Villas' Columbus Raid

The General and the Jaguar: Pershing's Hunt for Pancho Villa: A True Story of Revolution & Revenge
Eileen Welsome
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Strategy | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution
Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans (Vintage)
The Life and Times of Pancho Villa
The Mexican Revolution 1910-20 (Elite)
Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West

ASIN: 0316715999

Book Description

On March 9, 1916, a band of Mexican marauders led by Pancho Villa crossed the border and raided the tiny town of Columbus, New Mexico. A military expedition was hastily organized to go into Mexico and capture Villa, suspects were rounded up, trials were held, and a virulent backlash against persons of Mexican origin erupted on the local and national scenes. General John Black Jack Pershing, once a genuine fan of Villas, accompanied by a young George Patton, was told to assemble a group of soldiers, head into Mexico, and get Villadead or alive. The last hurrah for the U.S. Cavalry, the expedition would be the first time armored tanks, airplanes, and trucks were employed against an enemy. But as they descended into the nightmare of Mexico, the American troops were followed by spies and picked off by snipers, fought violent battles, and suffered in the scorching deserts and snowy mountains. Some would never return home alive. A brutal tale of revenge and violence, Eileen Welsomes richly detailed account is equal parts Sam Peckinpah, Cormac McCarthy, and Stephen Ambrose.

Customer Reviews:

Pancho Villa and Black Jack Pershing.......2007-07-14

As one who fell in love with Mexico in 1964, I continue to read most of what comes out in print with relation to that country. This book has information about Pershing that I knew nothing about, and reveals much of a personal nature about him and about Francisco Villa.

The struggles of the U. S. soldiers as they search for the elusive Villa
make an interesting story-- one that got lost because the incursion into Mexico was followed so quickly by World War I. I wonder, for example, how many of the soldiers who were in Mexico went on to the European war.

I had the great good fortune to hear a lecture by one of Villa's secretaries.

I am still in love with Mexico after all these years!

Norma Williamson

Excellent account of the events in Mexico before WWI.......2007-06-12

The author has done her homework with this fine piece of history. I have read much on this subject and was hoping to find out more details about the Punitive Expedition mounted by America to track down Pancho Villa and his bandit army. She paints Villa and the other leaders of the 'Revolution' as most of them were: brutal killers seeking wealth and power and a few betterment of the people of Mexico. Lots of details about the Villiast raid on Columbus, NM, the numerous skirmishes between US troops and various factions of Mexican forces of all sorts.
Plenty of drama and some good information about Villa's background, experiences during the revolution as well as those of Obregon, Madero, Zapata and many others.
Worth reading as her style is easy to follow and sometimes humerous and insightful.
I give it thumbs up. Enjoy as it might lead the reader to seek more information about this fascinating period of US/Mexican history.

The Columbus Raid and its aftermath........2007-06-04

A former guerrilla ally of the United States turns his vengence on the U.S. A President who wanted to tend to the domestic ills of the United States is drawn into a foreign conflict. An intervention is attempted which results in native aggravation at the United States. History repeats itself. The time is 1916 and the terrorist act is at Columbus, New Mexico-a sleepy border town. Pancho Villa kills a lot of innocent men. Americans are now his enemy. The Americans intervene in Mexico and try to track him down. They nearly suceed. Time give Villa the punishment he deserves.

This is an interesting book about earlier terrorism. Not much is written about the Columbus raid. Welsome does a good job of describing the killings of Pancho Villa and his Division of the North in the 1916-17 period. This should be read in light of the current war on terror.

a little too much fluff.......2007-06-03

I enjoyed the book, but I thought it could have been shortened considerably if Welsome would have left out the numerous paragraphs about what someone was thinking or might have thought as they rode a horse through the mountains. It had a little too much fluff for me and for a book that has a title that indicates it is about 2 military leaders I was left with the feeling it was a so-so attempt to create a romanticized old west tale. I would have liked to seen more actual military history instead of the speculation fluff that fills so many pages. The book is nice but if you want a military history book, this isn't it.

Good book about Villas' Columbus Raid.......2007-03-19

The book is excellent from a historical perspective. Ms. Welsome thoroughly researched the topic and presented her findings in a very readable manner. The only negative is that it wasn't told as exciting as some other period non-fiction I've read. But this is really nitpicking though, as I thought it was a fine book all things considered.

Golden Era The History of Group C & IMSA GTP (2 volume set)

Average customer rating:

Golden Era The History of Group C & IMSA GTP (2 volume set)

Manufacturer: Gryfon Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0970325991

Product Description

After the great sports prototype era of 1962 through to 1971, auto racing fell back on the use of GT machinery until, with the coming of the 80's , a new golden era commenced on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, the new Group C regulations set in motion a series which was ruled by fuel efficiency as well as speed. In America, the fuel efficiency factor was disregarded - brute power, speed and close racing being the objective in endurance racing. From 1981, IMSA GTP racing in America saw first Lola and then March rule the roost. The coming of the Porsche 962 in 1985 saw this car dominate the series until the arrival of Nissan and later Toyota. From 1982 in Europe, Porsche was instantly dominant, first of all with the 956 and later with the 962. There, Mercedes, in the guise of Peter Sauber's Company and Jaguar (with Tom Walkinshaw Racing) would beat Porsche until a new 3.5-liter "atmo" class took over in 1991. With the coming of the Wold recession in the early 90's, this form of manufacturer-based racing ground to a halt. Sports prototype racing in Europe died in 1992, to be followed in America at the end of 1993. Today, these cars and races are remembered with great fondness by most racing enthusiasts around the World. In this book (set of books actually) can be traced the events leading up to the Group C and IMSA GT formulas, together with a description of every race of both series and a complete description of every car that raced in the series. 300 black and white and color photos. 2 volume boxed set.

Average customer rating:

No Stars
Secrets of What?
I LOVED THIS BOOK!
Secrets of the Talking Jaguar
beautiful & intelligent book

Secrets of the Talking Jaguar
Martin Prechtel
Manufacturer: Tarcher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

New Age | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Long Life, Honey in the Heart
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Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman (Arkana)

ASIN: 0874779707

Book Description

This powerful memoir of an American who was adopted by a shaman and allowed to study the secrets of a Tzutujil Mayan village in deepest Guatemala "offers readers a privileged and rare glimpse into [the village's] complex and spiritually rich life." (Rocky Mountain News)

Twenty-five years ago, a young musician and painter named Mart'n Prechtel wandered through the brilliant landscapes of Mexico and Guatemala. Arriving at Santiago Atitlan, a Tzutujil Mayan village on the breathtaking shores of Lake Atitlan, Prechtel met Nicolas Chiviliu Tacaxoy--perhaps the most famous shaman in Tzutujil history--who believed Prechtel was the new student he had asked the gods to provide. For the next thirteen years, Prechtel studied the ancient Tzutujil culture and became a village chief and a famous shaman in his own right.

In Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, Prechtel brings to vivid life the sights, sounds, scents, and colors of Santiago Atitlan: its magical personalities, its beauty, its material poverty and spiritual richness, its eight-hundred-year-old rituals juxtaposed with quintessential small-town gossip. The story of his education is a tale filled with enchantment, danger, passion, and hope.

"The picture [Prechtel] creates of idyllic Indian life is so beautifully drawn that his delight in their culture becomes contagious, as does his grief when civil war creates havoc in their village." --Publishers Weekly

Customer Reviews:

No Stars.......2007-04-12

If you liked Don Jaun, this is for you. A total fabrication. Even the references to geographic locations are wrong. A literary mess on top of that. Enough New Age drivel to go around. It will appeal to the same touristas that crowd Solala. No resposible anthropologist would touch this.

Secrets of What?.......2007-03-14

Martin Prechtel paints a magic world that we all at some points of the book wish we could live in. But I feel that the book is far from in the truth as any sci-fi book I have read in the past. The book outlays personal Spirits and ways in which we can find our indigenous soul. I worry that in Martin Prechtels search he lost sight of what he was looking for.
If you are looking for a book that will through you into a vivid world of imagination and full of exciting metaphors and mental illustrations this is the book for you.
However if the book details the beliefs of the Tzutujil people correctly I seriously doubt the fact of him publicizing about them. I find the book is in the wrong genre and if you want to know about the Tzutujil/Mayan people then read something else.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!.......2007-02-16

Martin is a great storyteller and transmitter of wisdom. I could not put this book down.

Secrets of the Talking Jaguar.......2006-03-20

This book is such a pleasure to read and reread.... lots of food for thought about modern culture and alternative ways of living, about aging, about wisdom, about Mayan culture, and about seeing the challenges of life in humorous ways!

beautiful & intelligent book.......2005-11-19

I give this book as a gift to everyone I know who has read Marlo Morgan's appalling book of lies about the Australian aborigines. Here is a story that actually HAPPENED, has none of the racial arrogance of many "new age" books where some rich whitey goes off and lives "with" the natives and grants them recognition. (Morgan's 'Mutant Message Downunder" has made +100 million, even though the woman made the whole thing up, stole a whole lot of religious symbols out of some anthropology journal that shouldn't have published them in the first place, stole the end sequence from a film called "Quigley Downunder", wrote absolutely absurd and stupid things about the Australian landscape and when the real aborigines demanded that she stop spreading lies and saying they want to die out and are no longer real aborigines, and to stop pretending she is the true guardian of their culture, she admitted the fraud, but her publishers sheltered her and told her to keep going.)

Prechtel's mother was a native american, and he suffered being brought up on a reservation. This book is a solid dose of reality, not sugarcoated with esoteric fantasy, but full of reality. Grief and beauty are in western culture (he says) seen as a side show attraction, but actually they are the right and left hand of the goddess of life.

It is really one of the most beautiful books I have ever read.

Jaguar Sports Racing Competition, 1954 On

Average customer rating:

The ultimate book on Jaguars in competition.
Encore to Andrew Whyte's Masterwork

Jaguar Sports Racing Competition, 1954 On
Andrew Whyte
Manufacturer: Haynes Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Jaguar Sports Racing Competition, 1953

ASIN: 1859608434

Book Description

The re-issue of the Jaguar motorsport history that is generally considered the definitive work on the subject gives enthusiasts the chance to obtain what has become a sought-after collectors' item. Every significant race or rally in which an SS or Jaguar, or even a Swallow sidecar, competed is covered with the personal accounts of those involved; comprehensive appendices listing details of every C-type, D-type, XKSS and special-bodied E-type built; information on XK-engined hybrids like the Lister-Jaguars and Cooper-Jaguars; the early stages of Jaguar's motorsport rebirth; and hundreds of rare archival photographs.

Customer Reviews:

The ultimate book on Jaguars in competition........2004-08-14

This book is huge! If you like the E-types,D-types,XJS,
Group A,group C this book is for you.Superb color and B&W photos and detailed text will impress any Jaguar lover.
Published by "Hayne's" books and the Author,the Late Andrew Whyte.Add this book to your collection.

Encore to Andrew Whyte's Masterwork.......2004-07-20

This 624 page volume 2 is a most worthy companion to volume 1. Jaguar and historic racing fans can enjoy the authoritative, detailed text, along with hundreds
of photographs (some never seen before in print). Extensive coverage is given to
Jaguar D-types, the XKSS, E1A & E2A prototypes, early E-types, Jaguar and private
owner involvment in motor racing...and more! This is a book to be treasured and
enjoyed again and again.

Cocoa in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly))

Average customer rating:

A Great Purchase
A Good Reference -- Not a Tutorial!!!

Cocoa in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly))
Michael Beam , and James Duncan Davidson
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

MacOS | Operating Systems | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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Learning Cocoa with Objective-C, 2nd Edition
Cocoa(R) Programming for Mac(R) OS X (2nd Edition)
Programming in Objective-C
Building Cocoa Applications : A Step by Step Guide
Advanced Mac OS X Programming (2nd Edition of Core Mac OS X & Unix Programming)

ASIN: 0596004621

Book Description

Cocoa® is more than just a collection of classes, and is certainly more than a simple framework. Cocoa is a complete API set, class library, framework, and development environment for building applications and tools to run on Mac OS® X. With over 240 classes, Cocoa is divided into two essential frameworks: Foundation and Application Kit. Above all else, Cocoa is a toolkit for creating Mac OS X application interfaces, and it provides access to all of the standard Aqua® interface components such as menus, toolbars, windows, buttons, to name a few. Cocoa in a Nutshell begins with a complete overview of Cocoa's object classes. It provides developers who may be experienced with other application toolkits the grounding they'll need to start developing Cocoa applications. Common programming tasks are described, and many chapters focus on the larger patterns in the frameworks so developers can understand the larger relationships between the classes in Cocoa, which is essential to using the framework effectively. Cocoa in a Nutshell is divided into two parts, with the first part providing a series of overview chapters that describe specific features of the Cocoa frameworks. Information you'll find in Part I includes:

An overview of the Objective-C language
Coverage of the Foundation and Application Kit frameworks
Overviews of Cocoa's drawing and text handling classes
Network services such as hosts, Rendezvous URL services, sockets, and file handling
Distributed notifications and distributed objects for interapplication communication
Extending Cocoa applications with other frameworks, including the AddressBook, DiscRecording, and Messaging frameworks

The second half of the book is a detailed quick reference to Cocoa's Foundation and Application Kit (AppKit) classes. A complement to Apple's documentation, Cocoa in a Nutshell is the only reference to the classes, functions, types, constants, protocols, and methods that make up Cocoa's Foundation and Application Kit frameworks, based on the Jaguar release (Mac OS X 10.2). Peer-reviewed and approved by Apple's engineers to be part of the Apple Developer Connection (ADC) Series, Cocoa in a Nutshell is the book developers will want close at hand as they work. It's the desktop quick reference they can keep by their side to look something up quickly without leaving their work. Cocoa in a Nutshell is the book developers will want close at hand as they work. It's the desktop quick reference they can keep by their side to look something up quickly without leaving their work.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Purchase.......2007-03-24

One of the best books a Cocoa programmer can buy! It references most of the Cocoa API and Objective-C, as well as providing a few good examples. I find it indispensable.

A Good Reference -- Not a Tutorial!!!.......2005-07-24

This book may be recommended by Apple Computer as reading for programmers aspiring to be OS X Cocoa programmers, but these "In a Nutshell..." books from O'Reiley are like the dictionary. They are good references, but not good to learn from.

A much better starting place to learn Cocoa programming -- the best OS X technology for new Mac-OSX only software -- is the book "Learning Cocoa with Objective-C'. This book is also on Apple's recommended reading list for programmers aspiring to master Cocoa.

The ISBN number of "Learning Cocoa..." is: 0-596-00301-3.

I plan to continue my study of Cocoa with "Programming in Objective-C:A Complete Introduction to the Objective-C language". I feel that I need this book even though I know C and C++. Objective-C is quite a bit different. ISBN 0-672-32586-1

Then, I plan to read: "Cocoa Programming" ISBN 0-67232230-7.

That brings me back to the book that I started with. "Cocoa in a Nutshell". Then, I'd be ready for a reference book, and I would also use Apple's web reference, and on-disk reference materials that are on your hard disk when you install Apple's free development tools.

The Jaguar's Jewel (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))

Average customer rating:

Series Review
Where is the Jaguar's Jewel???
I loved it,
The Jaguar's Jewel

The Jaguar's Jewel (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
Ron Roy
Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Invisible Island (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
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The Lucky Lottery (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
The Haunted Hotel (A to Z Mysteries) (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
The Missing Mummy (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))

ASIN: 0679894586
Release Date: 2000-02-22

Book Description

Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose visit New York City! Dink's uncle is the curator of a museum with a dazzling new treasure--a statue of a jaguar cradling an emerald between its front paws. But when it's discovered that the emerald has been replaced with a fake, Dink's uncle is the chief suspect. He'll go to jail if Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose can't uncover the real thief!

Customer Reviews:

Series Review.......2007-05-11

The "A to Z Mysteries" is very good. The series is about 3 kids: Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose. The author is Ron Roy. The kids solve mysteries. Book 10, "The Jaguar's Jewel," Book J, is my favorite. It is about Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose. They go to see a museum in Manhattan. There is a golden jaguar statue with gleaming red eyes. It has an emerald between its paws. Read the book to find out what else happens! The books are a little creepy. They have titles like "The Zombie Zone," and "The Deadly Dungeon."

Book J is my favorite because I love to go to museums. I enjoy this series because I have a Detective Agency. I enjoy my Agency.

by Grace L.

Where is the Jaguar's Jewel???.......2002-03-08

I didn't like this book . I disliked it because it was not a good book for a fifth grader. It's a good book for a first or second grader. The illustrations were my favorite part. They almost looked like cartoons, though they were a lot better looking. The illustrations were very suitable for the story. As you read it, you can tell it's fantasy.

I loved it,.......2002-02-02

Im nine and this book is the best A-Z mystery ever. If you want to read a good book read A-Z mystery and the Jaguars Jewel. I loved it because I love mysterys and I licked the name Dr pitts [...].

The Jaguar's Jewel.......2000-03-18

Once again Ron Roy managed to keep my 7 year old in suspense. The plot was a little more predictable than usual, but this did not detract at all from the fun and mystery! WE highly recommend this book for all young readers. We can't wait for "The Kidnapped King"!

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