HarperCollins

The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands

4 stars (Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands CD) - Very good book. It gives you a dose of reality and makes you take a look at your relationships. It helps to see the things that are taken for granted and to appreciate and understand your spouse. 5 stars (Wonderful!) - I love that Dr. Laura tell's it like it is. Every bit of her advice caused me to step back and take a look at myself and how I can better support and love my husband. 5 stars (to close to home) - Sometimes the truth hurts. Dr. Laura always tells it like it is, even when we don't realize it. My husband actually bought me this book for his birthday. After I loaned it to someone and never got it back, I decided to buy the cd. ...
HarperCollins :: Self-Help & General :: Wives :: Psychology :: Marriage :: Love & Sex & Marriage :: Love & Romance :: Husbands :: Family&Marriage :: Family Relationships :: Family & Rel :: The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands

The Zahir - A Novel of Obsession

1 stars (Narcissism ne plus ultra) - This guy is so self referential that I kept reading mostly from complete astonishment. I bought this because I had five minutes and twenty choices in an airport; why do other people do it? It is self indulgent navel gazing drivel. Mary 3 stars (Not my Coelho's favourate) - The Zahir did not mesmarize me like Coelho's other books. It is not that it is a bad book, not at all, but I just found it to be below my expectation from a book by Paulo Coelho. 5 stars (A FABULOUS FABULIST COMPELLINGLY READ) - British stage, film and TV actor Jamie Glover gives a sterling performance, immediately intriguing listeners with a mesmerizing story of obsession. Told in the first person by a nameless narrator, Glover ably carries us along on a journey, a search not only for a loved one but also perhaps for meaning, answers to the riddle of life. The narrator is a successful author living in Paris with his wife, Esther, who is an accomplished journalist, a war correspondent. She has just returned from Iraq only to disappear again. It's not known whether she ran away or was kidnaped, whether she is alive or dead. She was last seen with a man younger than she, a man who hid his true identity but was known as Mikhail. Could he be her lover? According to author Coelho the idea of the zahir stems from the Islamic tradition, it means "incapable of going unnoticed. It can refer to an object or a person, and that object or person gradually takes over our every thought, until we are unable to think of anything else. This could be considered a state of holiness or a state of madness." We'll leave it to the listener to decide which description is most appropriate for our narrator as he undertakes a journey to find Esther. He knows that she felt a deep unrest and was unsatisfied with her life, although he cannot comprehend why. He was stunned when she announced that she wanted to become a war correspondent, yet he also understood that h...
HarperCollins :: Fiction & General :: Portuguese (Language) Contemporary Fiction :: Literary :: General :: Fiction - General :: Fiction :: Brazilian Novel And Short Story :: Paulo C :: The Zahir - A Novel of Obsession

Empires of the Word - A Language History of the World

5 stars ("The Tongue is a Sword" ) - This is a history of the rise and fall of languages from the time of the Sumerians to the present day. The author is fascinated with why some languages became more important and widely-spoken than others and the relationship of language to empire. He asserts quickly that history offers no pattern or pat solution to this question. Among the language histories that Ostler examines are the very-wide ranging Afro-Asiatic group, which encompasses Arabic, Aramaic, and Coptic among others, Turkish, Persian, Chinese, Sanskrit, Greek, and the major European languages. He focuses mostly on the literate Old World languages, although he has a chapter on Quechua and Nahuatl, the languages of the Incas and Aztecs respectively. As could be expected in a wide-ranging book, I found some chapters to be more interesting and informative than others. Scattered amongst the chapters are plenty of good maps and a large number of quotations and reproductions of inscriptions from a large number of languages. This is a well-produced book. I'll give this book the highest rating, but I must comment that I was a bit disappointed with the cautious conclusions of the author. One of his more interesting statements was that Arabic, an Afro-Asiatic language, became established only in "territories that had previously spoken an Afro-Asiatic language" That suggests that the conquest of one language over another may have something to do with the similarity in structure of the language -- or, in other words, English is not likely to supplant Chinese or the reverse. This point is not really developed to its fullest extent. Also, the section of the book I most look forward to was "What makes a language learnable?" but it is very brief. I would liked to have seen a lot more discussion of his point that "the essence of a language, its structure, can play a role in its viability." That's a dangerous and intriguing statement in that it implies that some lan...
HarperCollins :: History & World :: World - General :: Social History :: Linguistics :: Language and languages :: Language :: History- World :: History - General History :: History :: H :: Empires of the Word - A Language History of the World

Men Are from Mars- Women Are from Venus- A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting W

5 stars (Classic Genius) - This is one of the books that every adult should read. I found several stories in the book which seemed like they were right out of my own life situations -- and you probably will too. It is very universal and will help you. 1 stars (Attention Sister Venuvians: We Must Punish This John Gray By Forever Denying Him Sex!!!) - The most sexist, biased, silly, unfounded, unhelpful waste of time to come from a publishing house in many a moon. This supposed relationship enhancer is the biggest example of playing with a loaded gun since the serpent in the Garden of Eden offered marriage advice to Eve. I know this is now a cult hit but I wonder how many relationships this exercise in stereotyping has busted up? Gray would have us accept that humans are without variation walking examples of either Martians or Venuvians. JMJ, but who on earth falls for this hogswallow? Apparently a lot of people by the sales numbers. Gray would like to make us think all men are confrontation-seeking warriors who reason at waist level. (Actually only half of that statement is true.) He makes a case that men dwell on this plane to spread their DNA, make quick, simple decisions and scratch themselves in public. Women, the less than sage Gray wants it know, are emotion-driven machines turned on and off by nesting instincts, the desire for endless communication and a snuggly need for flattery and security. We are supreme manipulators employing sex as the coin of the realm in the marketplace of romance. This book has all the depth of a three-panel Sunday comic strip. Unfortunately rather than going through the talk show circuit and dying a natural death in the 1990's, I saw a new edition of this was out since the one I read for a class. "Updated!" it proclaimed. What, Gray's going to admit we've evolved a little and are now in the stone age instead of the protoplasmic mating pool he seemed to think we all lived in when he first tossed this inflammatory little cartoon ...
HarperCollins Publishers :: Self-Help :: Marriage :: Love & Sex & Marriage :: Love & Romance :: Interpersonal Relations :: Interpersonal Communication :: Human relations :: Communication i :: Men Are from Mars- Women Are from Venus- A Practical Guide for Improving Communication and Getting W

The Chronicles of Narnia

1 stars (Don't be so silly) - This book is silly. Fancy positing the idea that a lion rules the land. It's almost as silly as this book I read the other day about a man who does magic tricks and then people get suspicious of him so they kill him but then he comes back as a zombie, a nice zombie, he doesn't eat brains or anything and then he flies off home. The lion in this story has been compared to him I believe... 5 stars (Good clean fun!) - I enjoyed the stories again after 30 years between the first read. 4 stars (Fantasy for Children at it's best!) - I wanted to purchase the Chronicles not because of the upcoming film series (Come On, you know Disney will #$@? it up)...but to read to my child. Reading them again to him has shown me just how deceptively complex the stories are; and what is amazing is how moral and civil lessons, in true Christian sense, are taught and exemplified by the children's adventures: Most importantly is the ideal of forgiveness; which is the core of Christianity but which seems to have been forgotten, particularly by the right-wing lunatics who I am appalled by hearing themselves called Christians...children of Mammon, perhaps, but Christians? Riiiight. Anyway, this edition is wonderful, I gave it four out of five stars for one flaw, which is the type-setting. It seems alot of the page-breaks were left in, resulting in one sentence being cut almost half a page early, and continued below it, as well as a few words which are still hyphenated but shouldn't be as they are in the midst of a line, and not the end of the margins. Nonetheless, the binding is great, sturdy and heavy, which has not been the case with all my hard-bound books of late. This is definately a volume I would recommend, and excellent to keep for the grandchildren and so forth, on your best shelf. It is nice that it contains all of the original art, and the stories are placed in the order the author intended. Fantastic. ...
HarperCollins :: Juvenile Fiction & Religious & Christian :: Fiction & Classics :: FICTION GENERAL CLASSIC & ALLEGORY :: Science Fiction :: Fantasy :: & Magic :: Juvenile Fiction :: :: The Chronicles of Narnia

If Football-s a Religion- Why Don-t We Have a Prayer- - Philadelphia- Its Faithful- and the Eternal

If Football's a Religion, Why Don't We Have a Prayer? : Philadelphia, Its Faithful, and the Eternal Quest for Sports Salvation...
HarperCollins :: Sports & Recreation & General :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Prayer :: General :: Football - General :: Football :: Jere Longman :: :: If Football-s a Religion- Why Don-t We Have a Prayer- - Philadelphia- Its Faithful- and the Eternal

How Soccer Explains the World - An Unlikely Theory of Globalization

4 stars (Good writing and reporting, though the title's a stretch) - Reader Derrick Peterman's review here on these pages nails it squarely on the button for me: while these 10 essays by Franklin Foer are good writing and reporting, to say for each of them "How Soccer Explains..." is really quite a stretch. Who knows if Foer himself came up with this hook or whether it got foisted on him by editors and PR types, but it really doesn't do the book or its well-meaning author justice. For example, in the chapter "How Soccer Explains the Jewish Question," we get some good reporting on the anti-Semitic overtones of some teams and well as the Jewish roots of others. But to say, therefore, that soccer 'explains' the 'Jewish Question'? Ummm...No. But don't let that dissuade you from picking up a copy of Foer's work. Again, there's terrific reporting here - standouts include chapters on "The Black Carpathians" (my personal favorite) which focuses on a Nigerian import to a top Ukranian club team, and "The New Oligarchs," an excellent overview on soccer's shift from paternalistic industrialists like the Agnellis (owners of Juventus) to new-styled "oligarchs" like Silvio Berlusconi (owner of AC Milan). By using a term like 'oligarch,' I was hoping for some red meat on Chelsea's Roman Abramovich. The oligarch's oligarch, he gets only passing mention in "The Sentimental Hooligan" chapter. Still, Foer's discection of the machinations and interactions of Italian media, business interests and the game are fascinating. And, for those of you wondering: yes, Franklin Foer is the brother of novelist Jonathan Safran Foer, author of "Everything Is Illuminated." 4 stars (The book I wish I had written!) - This is a work based on an interesting concept and complemented by well-researched journalism, with the exception of a few overt inaccuracies such as this one: "Celebrations for Romania's 1990 World Cup qualification carried over into the Bucharest squares, culminating in a firi...
HarperCollins :: Sports & Recreation & General :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Sociology Of Sports :: Soccer :: International Economic Relations :: Globalization :: General :: Fra :: How Soccer Explains the World - An Unlikely Theory of Globalization

Lance Armstrong-s War- One Man-s Battle Against Fate- Fame- Love- Death- Scandal- and a Few Other Ri

1 stars (Lance is A Star, This Book Is Not!) - The writer spends time with Lance Armstrong during the 2004 season, but spends most of his pages covering other racers, and nothing that I can recall about Lance's struggle with cancer, his early racing years, etc. I did find some of the statistical information interesting - eg. there are about 5 serious injuries/week during cycling season, spread among the approximately 400 professional cyclists. In comparison, for NASCAR 2002, there were only 5 serious injuries the entire year. Lance's maximum heart rate is 185 beats/second, and can sustain an output power level of almost 500 watts for 30-60 minutes. (Try one of those 100 watt light-bulb power displays - damn tough, though only arms are used.) According to the author most can only sustain 500 watts on a bicycle for about ten seconds. A TV report stated that Armstrong's heart was about 10% larger than average upon birth, and is now about one-third larger than average; still another source stated that his lungs can consume more than double the amount of oxygen of a normal, healthy man. "Losing weight is the most important thing you can do," according to Lance. Each ounce adds about a second for an eight-mile climb. Trek sponsors Lance, and builds his bicycles - the new one for that year involved about $250,000 in expense, and it didn't help him so he threw it on a trash-pile. His tires are glued to the rim after being aged two years in the darkness of a basement. Finally, I'd always heard that riding behind someone takes less energy - the author reports that its about 30% less. Quite a lot, and hence the logic of bicycling teams. Armstrong's "It's Not About the Bike" is a much, much better and more interesting work 5 stars (Inspiring and Captivating) - I began this book with very little knowledge regarding professional cycling and the Tour De France. I was unaware that competitive cycling is to Europe what boxing is to the United States; a sport where most ...
HarperCollins :: Sports & Recreation & General :: United States :: Tour de France (Bicycle race) :: Sports - General :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: General :: Cyclists :: Cycling :: Lance Armstrong-s War- One Man-s Battle Against Fate- Fame- Love- Death- Scandal- and a Few Other Ri

Sunday Money - Speed- Lust- Madness- Death- A Hot Lap Around America with Nascar

5 stars (reading pleasure) - "Sunday Money" is all about NASCAR. Subtitled: "Speed! Lust! Madness! Death! - a hot lap around America with NASCAR", it fulfills its promise of an exciting ride. The author and his photographer wife bought a motorhome and spent an entire racing season following the NASCAR circuit. The book describes the allure of NASCAR from the several different perspectives of superstars, fans, history and politics, mythology, American culture. To this non-fan, it provides a vast amount of information and insight and reading pleasure. Jeff MacGregor is a fine storyteller. 4 stars (Sunday Money) - This is both a whimsical as well as a fast paced work about the fastest paced sport in America. Jeff MacGregor has a personal story to tell about his year in a motor home with "The Beep" and the inside story about the NASCAR culture. Both stories are well told and attention gripping. MacGregor's insights into the fact and fiction of NASCAR are penetrating. At the same time he has a puckish, tongue in cheek attitude toward the sport and his own adventure. Even if one has little or no interest in the world of auto racing, this will be an enjoyable companion on a trip or a pleasant escape from the every day world most of us inhabit. By the way, although it isn't mentioned in the bio on the book jacket, I think this is the same Jeff MacGregor who hosted a game show some years back. 4 stars (NASCAR fans-got to read!) - This book details the dream many of us NASCAR fans have-traveling the whole circuit in an RV, experiencing every race. I really liked the book-the history of NASCAR, the money, and the good stories of drivers, all were great! Having camped at races, I understand the joy of it. It is like you are one big family! ...
HarperCollins :: Sports & Recreation & Motor Sports :: United States :: Stock car racing :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Sociology Of Sports :: NASCAR (Association) :: Motor Spo :: Sunday Money - Speed- Lust- Madness- Death- A Hot Lap Around America with Nascar