Audiobook Books

Really like how Mounce gives us an verbal examples of these Greek words, after all it's like learning a whole new language (yea cause that is what it is)
If you are going to learn Greek this is a product worth it's weight in gold

I recomand this cd to any one who wants to learn biblical greek. If you learn all the words from this cd and with a litlle grammar you can manage through New Testament.
This cd is helpfull if you have also the book - Basic of Biblical Greek.
I recomand you use BibleWorks as a biblical software for reading greek new testament.

While not as comprehensive as Pennington's New Testament Greek Vocabulary, Mounce has a mastery and confidence wholly lacking in Pennington. Still the caveat remains; Zondervan pronunciation borders on inept and neglects to follow its own set rules. Omicron should be pronounced as in obey; consonantal iota should be pronounced as in onion. Other than that this cd serves its purpose. I would suggest Metzger's Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek over Mounce. Just buy a pack of index cards for a dollar and save the trouble.

Outstanding product - comparable to the New Testament version. Would recommend it to anyone studying the Old Testament in the Bible. Listening to the words while reading the scripture is a easier way to understand the meaning of the message.

I brought this for my 16 year old grandd daughter and it really holds her attention.
My wife and I listened to it also and found it very good. It held our attention.

If you have trouble reading the bible this is great it's like listening to a play being acted out, only it's the bible word for word.

I absolutely LOVE this Bible. I have had the New Testiment for almost a year now. But I couldnt find the old Testiment for the life of me at a resonable price. I got it as a Birthday gift and havent stopped listening to it since. This is a great Bible for kids to listen to before they go to sleep so that they can fall asleep to something positive and they will actully soak it up faster than reading the Bible alone. Instead of falling alseep to cartoons or anything else of this world.

I have been trying to read the bible for years; I've tried many different strategies and was unsuccessful. I am so grateful for this format. To hear all my favorite actors read and project the emotions, the background sounds of animals and the crowds are great.
The actors speak as if they are experiencing the events they are reenacting. I have a better understanding of the context of where most of the phases and exerts that I have heard of most of my life come from. I am more engaged in listening then I was in reading it myself. I would recommend this for the sheer entertainment value alone.

Eldest (Inheritance)

Over all, I really liked The Inheritance trilogy and Eragon was a great book. The problem is that after Eragon, most of Eldest was a let down and I really hope that the series comes back together in the 3rd book, Brisngr, if not, I bet Paolini will get much worse reviews on Amazon.com.
A lot of the writing could have been cut off though, like most of Eragon's lessons, and many of the long, unnecessary descriptions of random events. The part I hated most about the book, which is also the part that should have been totally scrapped, is the part when Eragon gets magically healed by a dragon tattoo. From then on, other than most of the Roran chapters, the whole book started getting very bad, ESPECIALLY THE PART THAT MAKES THE WHOLE INHERITANCE TRILOGY SEEM LIKE IT IS A TOTAL TAKE-OFF OF STAR WARS!!! I mean, Murtag randomly shows up in the middle of a war, fights Eragon, beats him, and decides to spare his life to tell him the Evil kings most faithful helper is his father, pretty much like the all famous scene in Star Wars:
Darth Vader: "Luke, I am your father!"
Luke: *screams:* "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" *then starts crying like a baby"
This Eldest scene resembled Star Wars WAY TOO MUCH!!!
Paolini should just scrap all of Eragon's chapters from before the blood-oath ceremony to the end, and rewrite them, and after that, edit the book again and take out all of the boring unnecessary parts of the book including the descriptions.
I'm done explaining the bad stuff, and for the good things which is mostly just the overall story, well, all I have to say is I loved the Inheritance series so far, but I think Eragon was a much better book.
I REALLY REALLY hope that Brisingr is much better then Eldest, and proves all the negative Paolini reviews (sort of like most of my review) to a review dump somewhere on the Amazon website.

I think I liked this one even better than the first one. Probably because I felt more of a kinship to the characters this far into the story. I've read other reviewers that have accused the writer of stealing the story from George Lucas... comparing it to the Star Wars series. I do not see this comparison. I understand better the comparison to the Lord of the Rings however, but besides there being some elves and dwarves, the comparison ends there. I also don't understand why these books are being accused of copying these other writers when many other books out there have the very same characters... as alot of fantasy writers do.

Anyway, after devouring this book I was left eager to read more. Well worth the read.

Eldest, as a book, is a rip-off. Anyone who has glimpsed George Lucas' work or sampled Tolkien's eccentricities will agree that large parts of the plot are not as original as they may seem.

But so what?

In any genre, especially sci-fi/fantasy the influences of other authors, as well as movies, music, video games, and any other type of media, are often identifiable. Not even the great Harry Potter can be exempted from that. Modern literature is never completely unique to itself, so why worry?

I enjoyed Eragon and Eldest because I enjoyed Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter, and most other teen/adult fantasy novels out there. So if you go into this book looking for a great literary masterpiece, you will be sadly disappointed. But if you come into the novel looking for a little adventure, a few good sections of action, a couple of pieces of dialogue worth reading, and dragons, then you have found your niche.

I'm very much looking forward to Brisingr as a little relief from my AP Literature course and I will happily take the mediocre bits if Paolini provides some nice twists along his journey.

In Eldest, Paolini succeeded in what good fantasy should do - remind us of the hidden and depthful, often secret and special, feelings we carry in ourselves.

Paolini successfully conveys the authentic adolescent emotional experience of Eragon, and the continuing adventure awakened many of the nostalgic and sometimes conflicting emotions I felt as a teenager. Sure, as many of the reviews say: the plot can at times be predictable, much of it resembles Tolkien and Robin Hobb. Yet as any true fantasy fan should know, it's the experience that counts the most, not the complexity or any other such technical concept.

the book eldest i realy like and have read more thsn once ,but the other day i went on vacation and thought hay ill get eldest on cd and listen to it on the drive. the guy who is readen the book has one of the most annoying voices ive ever heard and he makes eragon sound like a fag and saphira is a female dragon not yoda.

I find the female voice of this CD to be too authoritative, rough and angry. I couldn't help but to stop listening after 10 minutes into the chapter 1. I stongly recommend the book instead.

There is alot of good stuff in these books for you to think about and learn from. BUT, IT SAYS INCREDIBLY HORRIBLE THINGS THAT ARE SUPPOSEDLY OK WITH GOD, SUCH AS CHILD MOLESTATION for example. I was very excited about this collection but half way through book 1, I threw them all in the recycle bin. The movie however was excellent and extremely uplifting.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU RENT THE MOVIE AND FORGET ABOUT THESE BOOKS. The movie does not delve into the things that GOD is supposedly telling him that he writes in his books. DON`T WASTE YOURE MONEY ON THESE BOOKS !

Alex

The "conversations with god" books are awesome. This is how it's all intended to be in contrast to the authority the different churches try to force on us. The books make you see the bigger scale on things and how we can reach our true potential.

For people who don't have time to read, this is a perfect alternative for in your car or on your iPod (or at home of course). Time to get wise and change this world into the paradise it could (and should) be.
I thank Neale for the enourmous wisdom in his books.. The question if it actually comes from "god" isn't that important... but I think the message is just far too wise to just invent all of it.

A lot of stuff to ponder about, good luck with it!

This book was an extreme inspiration to my life and will impact me for the rest of my awakened time on this earth. I would heavily suggest anyone who wants to live "NOW" and do it successfully to read this book. It was phanominal!

I own both the hard copy and the audio book, and like most, I prefer the book. But the cd is incredibly convenient for people like me, who are always on the road.
I do tend to be alarmed at the price though. I got my CD set over the counter for under 30 dollars.
Want a brandnew outlook on your spiritual life? Something that may appeal to yourself, rather than to the conventional masses?
This is a great way to start.

My 4.5 year old son started to listen to the stories about Jack and Annie and their adventures at 3, during our daily over one hour commutes. We have 4 series out of 5 in this package. The beautifully crafted and read by the author stories work magic for both of us. They are a food for my son's imagination and greatly enrich his vocabulary and overall knowledge. They help me to stay sane while driving during the traffic peaks. We both actually look forward to the long driving... When my son talks about Jack and Annie at school, his teachers are amazed how "mature" his interests and words he uses are, especially because he is bilingual and started talking quite late. I warmly recommend the Magic Tree House CD books to all kids and parents.

Even though a lot of people are getting tired of Robert Jordan's series and feel it's just a money making waste of paper and ink (money making, perhaps- stretched a bit, maybe- but NOT a waste)I feel that the way he gives finite detail is a lost art in story telling. I am remanis of the "Left Behind" series which did indeed(and VERY unfortunatly)become a money making scheme for the authors. My understanding was that they signed a 13 book contract and then were stuck having to write them(If they didn't have 13 books planned out, why then did they agree to write 13 books?).By the 6th book, they were relying on dialoge to carry the bulk of the pages and it was pretty much useless drivel that filled the necessary space. And also the story itself became extremely unbelievable and tiring. Unlike Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" which is still detailed, and building on charactors- their lives and reaction to their circumstances- which I happen to feel is what makes a great book. The "Lord of the Rings" series was short by comparison, but detailed by three times as much, and that is a classic worth the read again and again. I do find it hard to keep up with some of the returning charactors as well as most of the seldom mentioned appears-here-and-there "Chosen" charactors, but it's still a fun read and I for one am usually disapointed when a book or series ends. Not that I would read a never-ending series, but I do miss the story when it's finished, so to have many books to read and a tale that never gets to be simple filler is a joy I seldom find. If you are looking for a series that goes a short time span and then ends, this is definatly NOT for you, but if like me, you enjoy the ongoing tale and suspense of "What will happen next?", then you will enjoy this series.
As for this novel in particular, I found it intreaging and only lacking in the fact that it jumped from Rand in the battle with the Seanchen to being with Min again. I thought at first that Min was day dreaming, but then when it continued on, I was dissapointed. First, because there was no explanation of Rand leaving the field of battle other than the power seeming to be "wrong" for some reason, and then because it left all that happened there unexplained. Granted thre was a minor explanation from one of the Aes Sedai concerning the "Sword that is not a sword", but that really didn't fill the gap completely. I find that things are slowely explained from novel to novel, but that particular blank is bugging me to no end. I hope the next chapter in the series has some explanations in it.
And I am also becoming a bit tired of Rand's progression into a rather nasty charactor by comparison to what he once was. Granted he is under a massive amount of pressure and fears going insane, but to be such a jerk all the time is getting rather tiresome. I hope Mr Jordan turns his charactor a bit in the coming novels and makes him more likable again. Other than that, a great series with great detail.

I purchased this in audio.I found the book to be slow and the worst of the series so far. The reader selected changed from the previous books and the pronunciation of character names was so different that the distraction was unbearable .I was forced to seal up the audion and save it for a flea market.

Jordan's the wheel of time series is a great story that any fan of sci fi / fantasy will love, this is book 8 in a 12 book series I highly recommend reading this series!Sadly Mr. Jordan passed this last fall and the 12th book is being finished by another author selected by Jordan's family and is due out tentatively in late 2009 sso pace yourself if you want to keep continuity in reading!!!

I bought path of daggers on cassette and have been both confused and upset with it. I have enjoyed listening to the well done and unabridged first 7 books read by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer. For some reason on the 8th book Jordan decided to have somebody else narrate it although the original narraters pick back up in book 9.
What I dont understand is why if you are being paid to read a book, the eigth in a series no less, that you didnt at least listen to some of the previous narraters so you could pronounce names and places the same.Mark Rolston seems to go out of his way to pronounce EVERY name differently. It is hard enough in this series to keep up with who is who without trying to figure out which person he is talking about because the pronounciations are completely different.

The Path of Daggers starts where the previous book, A Crown of Swords concluded. Roughly a month to a month and a half passes throughout the 8th book.

In A Crown of Swords, Rand conquerors the city/nation of Illian and kills the Forsaken Sammael. He is then named King of Illian and presented the Laurel Crown (the "crown of swords") by one of the Lords of Illian, the head of the Council of Nine. Nynaeve & Elayne found the Bowl of the Winds and were on their way out of the city of Ebou Dar to use it to fix the weather, Egwene was still struggling to be Amyrlin Seat, Perrin was sent by Rand to find the Prophet of the Dragon (a soldier they had met in The Great Hunt, book 2, who had gone mad with his fanaticism toward Rand, preaching his coming), and Mat had left Nynaeve & Elayne and stayed in Ebou Dar only to come across the invading Seanchan Army and get caught in the cross-fire.

This book is slow moving, like the last book, the plot slows down a lot and not much in the way of action occurs in The Path of Daggers. There are a few scenes of action, and 2 brief fight/battle scenes, but overall the book wasn't filled with much action scenes.

Rand continues to try unite all the people of the world to fight in the Last Battle, and faces uphill battles within his own group of allies (the nations he conquerors) who don't fully trust him, a man that can channel. It also doesn't help that in addition to the mistrust those under him have toward him, and each other, the Forsaken are in the background pitting against him. As I read each book in the series, it becomes ever more complex and at finishing this book, I thought to myself, "How will Rand ever be successful?"

I expected the Forsaken to be against Rand, but there are also people in the world that are against him and simply either don't believe or don't want to accept he's supposed to save the world. You'd think people would put the world's interest before their own (ya know, the Dark One is going to break free and then there will be no pieces of the pie for anyone!). Rand has to continually fight these undercurrents around him to unite everyone, and he grows increasingly short-tempered and frustrated that people can't see what he sees, which is the Last Battle is coming and all the petty selfishness has to end.

Other obstacles facing Rand include the ever-present voice of Lews Therin inside his own head and his doubts of his sanity, a new fatal wound over-top an old one he received in a previous battle with one of the Forsaken. An old wound that never fully healed, and which may be the death of him in the end. Also, at the end of A Crown of Swords, during his battle with Sammael, he crossed paths with a strange man and this encounter with this strange man has caused Rand to have problems wielding saidin (blurry, double vision, and nausea). So, Rand has a lot on his plate and it only grows as time goes on. The brief fight scenes are in the Rand chapters of the book, but were very mild and short.

Nynaeve & Elayne finally use the Bowl of the Winds, with the aid of other Aes Sedai, and 2 other groups of women that can channel (The effects of using the Bowl you read about later in the book, the descriptions of storms and gusts of wind, with winter coming with a vengeance). The Kin of Ebou Dar (runaways and women put out of the White Tower that grouped together in Ebou Dar in secret) and the Windfinders of the Sea Folk (women who utilize the One Power over the weather to ensure good sailing). It is the latter group of women that Nynaeve & Elayne needed the most to help fix the weather, and it was amusing to see the interactions of the various women as they jostled for control over each other.

In Perrin's chapters, not much goes on, he was sent by Rand to get a hold of the man that calls himself the Prophet of the Dragon and reign him in (he's basically a crazy man and causing all sorts of trouble). So Perrin's perspective just details his thoughts on the matter and how he will go about confronting the Prophet.
There are no chapters from Mat's perspective, at the end of book 7, Mat had run afoul of the Seanchan Army invading Ebou Dar and a wall fell on him. For those that wonder why Mat is not in this book, there is an interview that Robert Jordan did back in 1996 (I think it was 1996) where Jordan explains the reason why Mat wasn't in this book was due to the fact, "Well, if you had a wall fall on top of you, you'd be in pain and agony. I didn't think reading about Mat's recuperation was all that interesting so he's not in The Path of Daggers."

Egwene finally gains the upper-hand, somewhat, against the 2 factions of Aes Sedai led under 2 Sitters for the Hall, and it was gratifying to see Egwene come more into her position as leader of the rebel Aes Sedai. I think it will be interesting when Egwene finally meets up with Elaida (the Amyrlin of the White Tower Aes Sedai), not to mention Egwene's eventual meeting with her childhood friend, now the Dragon Reborn, Rand. Anyways, Egwene's chapter ends with her finally leading her rebel Aes Sedai and her army toward Tar Valon and the battle between the two Aes Sedai groups. The brief paragraph describing this moment, Egwene finally in view of Tar Valon, was well-told even though it was so short. I could almost see the resolve and determination of Egwene as she rode toward her goal:

"It has begun," Egwene agreed. And the Light willing, soon Elaida would fall. She was supposed to wait until Bryne said sufficient of his soldiers were through, but she could not stop herself. Digging her heels into Daishar's flanks, she rode through into the falling snow, onto the plain where Dragonmount reared black and smoking into the white sky.

I would say the biggest weak point of this book was the fact it did move so slow. It is a lot of talking, but you do learn a bit more about other characters, the secondary characters. If you have been reading all the books up to this point, it is a decent addition, but I wouldn't recommend anyone starting with this book as you'd only be confused. It's not the best book, but it does continue the story of Rand and his friends, and that's the only reason why I liked reading this book. I love reading about the Wheel of Time world and I really want to know how everything ends for the characters in this world. Despite that weakness, I enjoy reading the detailed descriptions of characters, Jordan wrote with detail, and for some that can get annoying or tiring but I personally like a lot of detail.

Book should be a must for anyone who intends to create - and those who dont too! Atlas Shrugged is far more accurate, truethful and profetic then Orwell's 1984. The book on tape is the best way to get through this huge accomplishment by Ayn Rand. Very fine and entertanining reading by Mr. Hurt.

Every American should be required to read Atlas Shugged.
That's how important I believe the message of the book to be.
It doesn't hurt that the story is great!
I absolutely LOVE it! I've read and listened to it at least 6 times
so far.

Liz Epps
Madison, AL

This book has made me able to see only 2 kinds of people, the ones who achieive and get things done and the others who feed off of them. Complaining and badmouthing the ones who create the jobs and truly help out society. Amazing Book.

I am only half way through listening to the story and am addicted to the pure enjoyment of every word. Every man women and adolescent should read/hear this story more than once in there lives if not only for the exalting entertainment, certainly for the underlying principles the adventure denotes. The one dissapointment I have is the quality of the discs.............a bit of a let down.

Great listening well worth the money, but thought i was getting part 1 & 2 with the purchase.

If you put in a bag the words spirit, intention, field, God, source & intelligence, and then shook the bag you would recreate this book The Power of Intention which for all intents and purposes is nothing more than the workings of an undisciplined mind. The introduction and opening chapters hold promise filled as they are with profound quotations and based on the premise that mind can effect matter through intention. But the reader is quite soon struck by the realization that he is bearing witness to the rantings of a televangelist.

Indeed throughout this book we are told things like "God is writing this book through me"; "Trust yourself as a piece of God"; "Practice Japa meditation or the repetition of the sound of God" and most peculiar, "Even an atheist doesn't have to believe in God to experience God".

The central problem with the good doctor's thesis is taking the now extensively documented scientific evidence for the human ability to influence the physical world through conscious thought and intention and linking this to a literal "field of intention" emanating from a supreme being. He cites for example Lynne McTaggart's book The Field, one predicated on finding the science behind this human ability. Yet nowhere in this or in her later book The Intention Experiment does the word God appear in its indexes.

Dr. Dyer wants us to believe that "everything in the universe has intention built into it". This omnipresence has `seven faces' the essence of which is that God loves you. This logic leads to the notion that there is an all creating universal mind of intention indeed an `original designer' for all manifestation and we can connect to it or intend to come into being any experience or thing we want for ourselves simply by choice. Willpower, drive and perseverance is replaced since our goals all pre-exist: think them and they will appear. There is no need for the concept of evolution in this world where the Flint Stone's are a documentary in which humans and dinosaurs exist simultaneously each a mere choice to experience on the world stage.

As part of this religious drama the author puts forth the absurd contention that the higher octaves on a piano are better than the lower ones because higher pitches vibrate faster and are therefore more spiritually informed. This medicine of higher pitch applies to musical character as well: "Harsh pounding musical vibrations with repetitive, loud sounds lower your energy level and weaken your ability to make conscious contact with intention." Pg. 75. We must now burn all recordings of Igor Stravinsky and Bruce Springsteen.

Within Dr. Dyer's `gated community' of the mind and spirit his cartoon for living includes banning commercial & cable television, alcohol in any form, choosing alkaline rather than acidic foods and also finding people who are connected to God. Yoga, massage, and visits to monasteries and geriatric centers are advised. Dyer seems to treat emotions in the very Baroque sense, a historical period when nature of all kinds was to be controlled and molded into various contrivances: Palace hedges cut in the shape of animals, each emotion distinct from another, thought and feeling, mind and body polar opposites. The ego itself so intrinsic to healthy personality development subject to mental jujitsu surgically cutting out the `bad' parts.

Central to this author's misperception is the notion that phenomena like emotions or musical compositions can be reduced to distinct singular properties. On the contrary nothing is more complex than an emotion nuanced by all manner of shadings, multiple meanings and quite non-static impacts that evolve and change as we process them. It is simply preposterous to advocate music devoid of low vibrations and repetitive rhythm. Equally so to strive for a constant state of happiness in a Disneyesque world scripted by Steven Spielberg.

Having produced over 30 books Dyer's chapters in this one take on a boring formulaic style concluding each and every one with a multiple step program for change and for summarizing chapter contents. My advice to prospective readers of this book is to direct every one of your own steps away from making this purchase.

The two CD Set is very inspirational and on the Power of Intention. Dr. Dyer entertains and informs in a way that is very relaxing and uplifting.
I recommend this set to anyone interested in self improvement.

Wayne Dyer is writing about good intentions from his perspective. I agree whole heartedly with what he says and I think this is one of his best works. If some of you wish to come from a negative intention, then you will reap negative rewards. I prefer to come from positive intentions because I have already proven that the positive thought process has worked so many, many times in my life. None of us has all the answers to every situation that life throws at us, but as we learn to live our lives in the best possible attitude of intentions that we can muster up, we will surely discover that life, although extremely hard at times, does have its up sides.

We can wallow in self pity for only so long and then we have to realize at some point in our lives that we have to drag ourselves up out of the mire of despair and despondency and start living a better life. A better life is at hand when we learn to set our priorities higher, live with a positive intention factor, learn to laugh instead of always whining, and reach out a helping hand to those who don't quite "get it".

Thank you Wayne Dyer for your uplifting, wonderful attitude. You have helped me get through some tough times and now I know how to set my intentions at a higher level and live a more fulfilling life, even though I still have my ups and downs, I come through them much easier and can laugh at even myself.

I agree with the reviewer that had reservations about the book. Being that if what the author writes its true, that theoretically if you were to drop the book into a 3rd world country it would follow that those peoples lives would improve if they applied and accepted these truths.

To address the comment made about the Tsunami victims. Dyer in the beginning of the book, talks about how he accepts the weather as it is because it is all part of the source and the world we have been blessed to live in. So what about when disasters strike? Tornadoes, hurricanes, and people are killed by them? Dyer does not tackle these questions anywhere.

Nor does Dyer discuss why bad things happen to good people. I am not a Christen fundamentalist in the least, but at least in the Power of Positive thinking, the author talks about staying positive even through the worst of times. Dyre implies that there will not be bad times if you stay in touch with the source. Would this mean that everyone who was ever killed by a natrual disaster were not in touch with the source?

My final problem is on page 207, Dyre states that everything that has ever happened to us "This is your past, and whatever your energy level at the time, whatever your needs, whatever your station in life, you attracted the right people and events to you..." If this statement he makes is true, and everything happened in the past exactly as it should, then why am I reading his book? In other words, I thought the point for getting in touch with the source and intention was to make my life better? If nothing was ever wrong all along, then whats the point of the power of intention.

All this being said, I believe the book is outstanding, and I beg anyone to get me past my reservations above because I want to believe it...

I disagree with others' reviews that Dyer is a pseudo-evangelist or preachy, etc. He uses words like "God," "Source" and "Universe" interchangeably, not because he is diminishing their "value" as words, but because in his view they mean the same thing but a person who does not believe in "God," per se, may not feel comfortable thinking of "God" as a higher power. The bottom line is that these are words. Arbitrary definitions of concepts that are difficult at best to explain using human vocabulary and logic.

The deeper, and I believe more important message from the book, is that we have more power over ourselves than we think we do. We just don't tap into it. Whether you believe that your power comes from within yourself or "God," "Source," whatever, is irrelevant, at least in my opinion. Dyer believes we are connected to God/Source because we were created in that image. Therefore, we are a "piece of God" as he says. We are not God ourselves, but if we attempt to tap into the gifts we were given, we will see that power manifest more and more.

I have personally used visualization to manifest something that eventually happened in my life. After reading this book I was more convinced that I can learn to stop letting others control me. People are so worried about everything everyone else thinks about them. We spend so much time obsessing over other people or things we have no control over, that we waste valuable time and energy that could be better spent living out our passions. Dyer teaches the reader to be grateful, even for the hard times. If you've read Eckhart Tolle's books, he echoes much of what Tolle rights, except in much less complex language. If you have read about Law of Attraction and/or The Secret, then this book is an excellent supplement to that as well.

Dyer's main message is that you don't have to live your life for other people, you don't have to live your life hoping and wishing that things could be better. You don't have to worry all the time about things that will probably never happen. He encourages the reader to "untrain" our brains into thinking about the good stuff. If you keep thinking about the bad stuff, then you'll just keep getting more of it. He wants you to feel good. Isn't that what we all want? Doesn't mean you are God. Doesn't mean you hurt other people to get what you want. Doesn't mean you think about something and the next day it shows up. You have to work at it. It's a process. But it can and will work. I feel SO much more calm, positive, centered, and focused after reading books like this and Tolle, and doing meditation (not Dyer's--I recommend "The Secret Mediation" by Kelly Howell). Recently my Mom even said she couldn't get over how relaxed I seemed, how different (in a good way). I told her, "I can choose to be angry and bitter or I can choose to make the best out of a difficult situation." And you know what? The more I thought that, the more I felt it. It does work--you just have to stop holding yourself back.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by life, if you "what if" everything to death, etc. this is a great book to read.

I read this book to my son when he was about ten. It's a fairly easy read, he could have read it himself no problem, but I am *so* glad I read it with him. This is easily the best young adult book I've read, and actually one of the best books I've read of any kind. The story is original, and heartwarming. The way various plot elements tie together in the end is very rewarding. You are guaranteed to feel good when you read this book.

My next oldest is a nine year old daughter with quite different tastes from her brother, but I look forward to reading this book to her soon, and know she will love it also.

Holes is an easily readable, thrilling, and well-written novel about a teenage boy, Stanley Yelnats, who is sent to a juvenile center called Camp Green Lake. The campers are required to dig holes five feet wide and five feet deep every day. Stanley becomes friends with Zero. His new friend loves to dig holes. Zero does not know how to read so he and Stanley make a deal in which Zero helps Stanley dig in exchange for Stanley teaching Zero to read. Stanley's family seems to have bad luck which is the result of a curse upon his great-great grandfather. Since the adventures of the present day characters are related to events which happened to their ancestors there is much mystery and more than a few "holes." The story's climax takes place when Zero runs away and Stanley goes in search of him.

Holes is a book you cannot miss this winding tale of survival and friendship that never ends. The book is about a normal boy named Stanley yelnats. Who is walking down the road and then suddelnly a pair of Clyde Livingston shoes fall on his head. He thinks this is from his dad who is finding a way to recycle used shoes. So he hurrys home happy but to find cops chasing after him... I can't tell you any more you have to read the book your self and i gurentee you will really enjoy this book also if you are looking for another good book to read I reccomed you ginger pye. Hope you liked this review.

By elven year old Mohmad sabha.

Very clever, funny and entertaining story. It manages to tell stories within stories to explain how a generations old curse is finally lifted - all without losing the reader. The movie was great, but the book was better. A MUST READ for all kids and adults!

I read hundreds of bedtime books to my kids and I would have to put this one in the top 5 of all time.

by Alex

This is a story about a boy named Stanley who has a mysterious curse that was placed on his family for generations, but now he has to go to Camp Green Lake or jail. Then he meets a mysterious kid named Zero. Then their mysterious past comes together. Maybe they both will die...

I think people who like adventures and comedy, together are good for this book!!!! It got 5 stars from me!!!!!!!!

Great book for educators. Should be required reading for all who work with people. Practical and effective information taught in a comprehensive and understandable fashion. Our faculty is doing a group study and application to our school with great results!

A great "how to" book that should be required reading for anyone in management. We've used a couple of the strategies over the years, but not as effectively as a combined and orchestrated manner as we will in the future. This book exposes some of our strategic deficiencies that we are setting out to change. A great guide that could have saved us substantial time and money in the past, and will surely help us in the future. It's an easy & quick read - and great on CD as well.

Terribly realistic research and data. Contains absolutely practical insights and solutions for use in my leadership development organization. After referring this to over 50 colleagues, the reports back to me are; 'Grateful', 'Glad you thought of me', 'Hit me again', 'Going to put this to use immediately',and more. Phil at http://maximizeothers.wordpress.com

When your book has the subtitle "the power to change anything," you really need to deliver tools to let readers effect change. Instead, this book is dry and jargon-heavy, telling what some alleged influencers did, rather than showing how the reader can do it as well.

As a result, it's a marginally interesting read at best, and of dubious value.

In general, I am not easily impressed by these business books that purport give some great insight into how to make things work. If somebody really had the ability to "change anything" then he wouldn't be wasting time writing books, he'd be out there changing things, if not for the better, then to his advantage. With that caveat in mind, however, I have to say that I enjoyed this book.

There are a couple of reasons why I enjoyed it. First, it is so much better written than most. I don't know how its five authors actually collaborated to produce this volume but it reads very well. It doesn't show the effects of too many cooks. It delivers a series of very clear, easy to follow steps. If it doesn't support itself with a lot of quantitative research, it has a selection of well-chosen anecdotes. The Guinea worm stories and the Delancey Street stories have etched themselves into my memory. I've already shared them with a number of people.

Second, the six sources of influence, the elucidation of which takes up the bulk of the book, are simple to understand and seem very reasonable. In fact, most of us have used or experienced each of the types of influence before. It is the author's cleverness to synthesize them for us. Not only that, that demonstrate how to use them effectively. Ultimately, they make the point that, to have real success in influencing others, you must use as many of the sources of influence as possible, preferably all of them. Too often, change doesn't happen because we don't use all the sources of influence available to us.

Like many books of this type, it wouldn't have suffered any by being a little bit more compact. Still, as someone who works for change in my day to day life, I was able to draw a lot of useful information out of it. Perhaps more useful things than in any book I've ready recently. That's high praise indeed.