The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

Amazon.com

Sit at the foot of a native elder and listen as great wisdom of days long past is passed down. In The Four Agreements shamanic teacher and healer Don Miguel Ruiz exposes self-limiting beliefs and presents a simple yet effective code of personal conduct learned from his Toltec ancestors. Full of grace and simple truth, this handsomely designed book makes a lovely gift for anyone making an elementary change in life, and it reads in a voice that you would expect from an indigenous shaman. The four agreements are these: Be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't make assumptions. Always do your best. It's the how and why one should do these things that make The Four Agreements worth reading and remembering. --P. Randall Cohan

Book Description

In The Four Agreements, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting agreements that rob people of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform anyone's life to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love. These agreements are deceptively simple: Be impeccable with your word (speak with integrity; say only what you mean); Don't take anything personally (nothing others do is because of you); Don't make assumptions (find the courage to ask questions and express what you really want); Always do your best (and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret). Peter Coyote's resonant reading emphasizes the power in these remarkable tenets.

Customer Reviews:

A good foundation.......2007-10-01

This is a compelling book that provides a straightforward, easy-to-understand methodology for improving one's quality of life. In this work Ruiz first reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that tend to rob people of joy and create needless suffering. He then recommends a technique for overcoming these beliefs: adopt four new agreements with respect to how they approach the world and conduct their lives.

Is this some new, revolutionary technology for self-improvement? No, the fact is in one way shape or form we've all heard these types of admonitions from other sources in our lives. What Ruiz does well is package them in a novel way and provide practical insights into how we can best apply them. Bottom line, even if you've heard something like this before it never hurts to be reminded about good advice you've received in the past.

PLEASE... Read the 1 star reviews BEFORE you buy this book!.......2007-09-27

I am shocked at all the 5 stars and positive press this book has received. PLEASE, read a few of the 1 star reviews before you purchase this book. Quite often people who rate something with just 1 star are grumpy individuals who just want to argue... not this time. Many writers of the single star reviews are extremely well spoken, very well read and positive minded individuals. They are worth reading! (More so than this book.)

Everyone on this Planet should read this book, it should be a teaching material in Schools.......2007-09-25

The four agreements is not only a book, it is a lifestyle. Most of the wisdom in self helping books i have read thruout the years has mostly washed away, vanished in to the sea of mind few weeks later after i read them. This one is different. It has somekind of power. And it forces you to do the doings not just read about them.This one stayes with you cause you wan't to pick it up over and over again.

Critical information, so powerful it should be taught 7- 12 + college.......2007-09-24

I did not receive any critical information about my role in relationships from any source including school, religious education, parents, or advisor's.

The Four Agreements and the Mastery of Love has now provided this knowledge and it is and will always be a reference source for living the rest of my life

It is so ingrained and with me every day as I work to improve on my relationships with my family, friends, and business relationships. After you listen to the message of the Four Agreements, you will see the need for this information to be made available to your family and friends.

My wish is for this to be a part of the curriculum for the public school systems.

Cecil Sterne
Pawnee County, Oklahoma

Easy to read, let's see how easy in practise.......2007-09-18

I think we've all seen this stuff before in various incarnations (e.g. Bible - "Do unto others...") but it is a very easy read and the agreements are plain and unambiguous. They are not cluttered with ceremony but come down to principles of values and self context. And like alot of similar readings, the battle or challenge lies in the effort to achieve and not only the achievement itself. I like that it advocates largely a position or development of an inner strength that is personal. All too often, I have noticed some of these personal freedom type writings from authors who present their writings in a stadium type environment and whip the crowd up in a frenzy to create a mob frenzy that attempts to portray the message. That's clearly the domain of some charlatans that we've all seen. I'm looking forward to the challenge involved in implementing these agreements. It won't be easy but most thnigs worthwhile aren't so they say.

Average customer rating:

If You Know Someone Feeling Blue, Give Them a Moore Novel and They'll Be Smiling Again!
One of Moore's best
A Fantastic Journey
Interesting parts that don't add up...
A Must Read

Coyote Blue
Christopher Moore
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060735430
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Amazon.com

This is an accelerating comedy with shadows setting off the wry, polished humor. Trickster deities thrive on contrariety, which is why one finds them bringing life into dead landscapes and disorder into order. A Santa Barbara insurance salesman's too-tidily-contained lifestyle, far from the Crow reservation he grew up on, is an irresistible target for Coyote, who wants to make sure his chosen people don't forget him. Coyote descends on Sam Hunter like one of Job's plagues, albeit a charmingly disingenuous one. "Why me? Why not someone who believes?" asks Sam, suffering from god-induced chaos. "This is more fun," says Coyote. He's right.

Book Description

From Christopher Moore, author of Fluke, comes a quirky, irreverent novel of love, myth, metaphysics, outlaw biking, angst, and outrageous redemption.

As a boy growing up in Montana, he was Samson Hunts Alone -- until a deadly misunderstanding with the law forced him to flee the Crow reservation at age fifteen. Today he is Samuel Hunter, a successful Santa Barbara insurance salesman with a Mercedes, a condo, and a hollow, invented life. Then one day, shortly after his thirty-fifth birthday, destiny offers him the dangerous gift of love -- in the exquisite form of Calliope Kincaid -- and a curse in the unheralded appearance of an ancient Indian god by the name of Coyote. Coyote, the trickster, has arrived to transform tranquillity into chaos, to reawaken the mystical storyteller within Sam ... and to seriously screw up his existence in the process.

Customer Reviews:

If You Know Someone Feeling Blue, Give Them a Moore Novel and They'll Be Smiling Again!.......2007-09-25

Coyote Blue is Moore's second novel. It probably has, in my opinion, characters which are his least likeable, but that doesn't mean you still don't want to know what is going to happen to them. Less overall eccentric characters than his other early novels but still enough for you to enjoy. If you've never read a Moore novel before I would recommend starting with Practical Demonkeeping or Bloodsucking Fiends first to really get a feel for what Moore style is all about but if this is the novel you've purchased you'll still get a fairly high dose of it.

In Coyote Blue we follow the life of Samson Hunts Alone, a Crow Indian who fled the reservation 20 years ago after killing a sleazy corrupt cop and took up the white persona of Samuel Hunter. He's become quite successful, has a nice condo (complete with eccentric neighbours), has a fair bit of money and good job. He's about to meet an ancient Crow Indian who goes by the name Coyote (who wanted to be called Eagle but you'll have to read the book to find out why he missed out). Coyote isn't the brightest ancient Indian god on the planet and certainly is happy to partake in pleasures of the flesh. His flesh can however resemble a number of creatures one being his namesake a Coyote. He's about to change Samuel's life forever and give him an understanding of his cultural heritage wether he wants it or not.

Fans of Moore will be delighted to meet a character named Minty Fresh, in Vegas who appears in the later Moore adventure A Dirty Job.

If you like the surreal eccentric character novels and have read everything Moore has written also check out the authors Bill Fitzhugh (Pest Control's a great place to start), Carl Hiassen (Stormy Weather's as good as any other), Dave Barry (Tricky Business) and Max Barry (Syrup).

One of Moore's best.......2007-06-29

Having read pretty much all of Moore's other books, this one was at the top of the list for me with regards to his work; second is "Lamb" for entirely different reasons. I read this book while traveling for business, and trust me, I drew many odd glances when I'd burst out laughing. If you enjoy Tom Robbins, you'll probably enjoy this book, though it may lack some of the intricate details Robbins lends through notably diligent research.

A Fantastic Journey .......2007-03-10

This is a fantastic book, like and unlike every other Christopher Moore I've read. Christopher Moore's witty and intelligent humor pour through yet another eloquently detailed and researched story.

Moore takes us on an incredible journey into Samuel (Hunts Alone) Hunter's life and into his spirit. Through this journey we discover the essence of truth in life, and a way to dig ourselves out of the monotony.

Interesting parts that don't add up..........2007-01-06

This book has all the ingredients for a dynamite book - endearing and interesting characters, funny scenarios and dialogue and a fast and engaging story line that leads up to a larger than life Act III. Unfortunately, when all the parts are added together the sum doesn't amount to much more than a pleasent smile.

Moore fans will be happy to know that the book is populated with his trademark wry comedic genius in addition to a variety of left-of-center characters. Fans will also appreciate the light and quirky story that details the trials and tribulations of a man as he comes to terms with a past that he has long denied.

But Moore fans will arguably agree (that an oxymoron?) that Coyote Blue is by far not his best effort. It is weak in it's ability to develop an attachment to the characters and to provide a plausibly unrealistic plot into which a reader could sink his/her teeth.

Coyote Blue is by no means a bad book - its a fun, fast read. It's good clean fun with a handful of smart laughs and unusual characters, but in the end it's just that its not a book that totally satisfies. Moore fans will read and enjoy. Moore neophites will wonder what all the talk is about.

A Must Read.......2007-01-05

I recently discovered Christopher Moore thru a friend and am still thanking him! The characters are so well developed that it seems they are actual individuals. The narrative flow is amazing and it was hard to put it down to do real-life stuff, like sleep, cook, clean, etc. I didn't want to leave the people or places Mr. Moore was taking me to. My husband, who has read a total of about 6 fictional books his entire life, read this book and is currently reading everything he can get his hands on by Mr. Moore. What a wonderful, magical, imaginative, literary ride that everyone should take. I LOVED IT!!!

The Harry Bosch Novels Volume 2: The Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight

Average customer rating:

a serial killer
Gift
Another 'can't put down' book
A great read!
Well up to his high standard

The Harry Bosch Novels Volume 2: The Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight
Michael Connelly
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316614564

Book Description

THE LAST COYOTE: LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch is suspended from the force for attacking his commanding officer. Unable to remain idle, he investigates the long-unsolved murder of a Hollywood prostitute-his mother. TRUNK MUSIC:Harry returns to the force to investigate the murder of a movie producer with Mafia ties.Up against both the LAPD's organized crime unit and the Mob, Harry follows the money trail to Las Vegas, where the case becomes personal. ANGELS FLIGHT:The murder of a prominent attorney who made his career suing the police for racism and brutality lands Harry's friends and associates on the list of suspects-and he must work closely with longtime enemies suspicious of his maverick ways to investigate them.

Customer Reviews:

a serial killer.......2007-09-18

Several weeks ago, I picked up a Harry Bosch novel in a local book store. Since then I have ordered 12 other of the series from Amazon. I only have three left to read. Each novel stands alone, but if you read the series in order, it's a lot more fun. Great detectuve stories by a very readable author.

Gift.......2007-01-12

I have no idea what this book is like, I ordered it for my niece for Christmas. He is her favorite author :)

Another 'can't put down' book.......2006-11-04

Harry Bosch is now a 'friend'. When I needed relief from my busy life - I
escaped by reading his cases. I am ordering more Michael Connelly books!!

A great read!.......2006-08-28

After reading the "Dark Tower" series, twice, I was looking for another series for my reading time. I never had read any kind of mystery/crime/police type novels before. I kind of feel like I started with the best which is kind of depressing, I will always compare anything else in this genre to Harry Bosch!

I love Harry! Yea he has an attitude, and you would too if you were lugging the steamer trunk of baggae he does.

This book is essentially 4-6 of the Harry Bosch run. Worth the time and money!

Well up to his high standard.......2006-03-10

As I write this I have only read book #1, The Last Coyote and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It is probably best, I think, to read the Bosch novels in sequence; then you may appreciate better the developing plots which sometimes refer back to previous events. But each novel can, of course, be enjoyed on its own.

Coyote Dreams (The Walker Papers, Book 3)

Average customer rating:

Fresh, deft, gripping
To sleep, perchance to dream ... then dream some more ...
better
Short Story
great book

Coyote Dreams (The Walker Papers, Book 3)
C.E. Murphy
Manufacturer: Luna
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0373802722

Book Description

Much of the city can't wake up. And more are dozing off each day.

Instead of powerful forces storming Seattle, a more insidious invasion is happening. Most of Joanne Walker's fellow cops are down with the blue flu—or rather the blue sleep. Yet there's no physical cause anyone can point to—and it keeps spreading.

It has to be magical, Joanne figures. But what's up with the crazy dreams that hit her every time she closes her eyes? Are they being sent by Coyote, her still-missing spirit guide? The messages just aren't clear.

Somehow Joanne has to wake up her sleeping friends while protecting those still awake, figure out her inner-spirit dream life and, yeah, come to terms with these other dreams she's having about her boss...

Customer Reviews:

Fresh, deft, gripping.......2007-09-09

A lot of writers who have instant success (as in the publishers buy several books in a short period of one to three years) fail to retain the freshness that they had in their initially successful book. Not so with Murphy, this one has all the strengths of the first tale and moves the main character forward at a reasonable pace.

The progression of Jo's world view over the three books thus far show that the author has a vision for the series and intends to write the main character like a real person who grows and changes instead of letting them stagnate and go from one hair raising adventure to the next with no personality evolution.

Great story, its as fast paced as the first two books and manages to be very much its own book while still nesting comfortably into the series.

To sleep, perchance to dream ... then dream some more ..........2007-08-23

People in Seattle are falling asleep, and they're not waking up. Since there doesn't seem to be any physical or medical cause for the sleeping sickness, Joanne Walker, newly-awakened shaman, decides to investigate.

I had a tough time on the star rating for this book, because I REALLY wanted to love it, but in the end, I thought it was only okay.

I DO like the fact that Joanne is now actively training to use her powers. She's finally quit being in denial mode, and she's owning up to her responsibilities as a shaman. I'm worried, though, that the continuing theme of the past two books seems to be that Joanne makes a mistake, and the world almost goes boom. (Why is she so all-powerful that her mistakes cause such monumental disasters, anyway?) This time around, Joanne's decision making skills aren't NEARLY as bad as they were in Thunderbird Falls (where she bordered on Stupid Heroine territory), but I still figured out who the bad guys were long before she did.

My other main quibble with the book is that much of the story is spent inside Joanne's head: in trances, flashbacks, and strange, trippy dreams. I never considered myself an action junkie, but maybe I am (a little bit, at least). In the book, Joanne basically runs from home (where she'd have a dream), to the hospital (where she'd have a vision), back home (where she'd have another dream). I thought the first few dream sequences were interestingly quirky. They shed some light on the situation (and on the characters) in a roundabout way. But as the book progressed and the number of visions increased, I started getting bored, waiting for something to "happen." (And - honestly - there are only so many times a person can read about Joanne's eye gook.)

I'll probably continue with the series and see where it leads. But I admit, I'll be reading more for the characters at this point. And I DO adore the characters. Joanne is engaging and amusing, Gary's a doll, and I'm rather fond of the gruff Detective Morrison, too. I'm just hoping that Joanne will work through her past guilt, learn to control her abilities, and help solve a problem that wasn't her own making in the first place. Since she's being pushed into becoming a "real" cop, I'd like to see her learn some police skills, too. It would be nice to see her do some real detecting and not rely so much upon magic. Maybe that way she'll spend more time in the outer world, and less time in the inner one.

I really liked the first Walker Papers book (Urban Shaman): it had equal parts action, magic, mystery, and humor. And I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a light, funny, fast-paced urban fantasy. Unfortunately, I think the first book in the series is the best one, and I'm still waiting for another one like it.

(3.5 Stars)

better.......2007-08-09

C E Murphy is improving. I liked this one much more than the first two, and will hope that her writing continues to mature. The premise is quite good; I appreciate the idea of a real Shaman. Recommend to those who like urban fantasy with American Indian lore as the focus.

Short Story.......2007-08-04

I really liked the third installment of the Walker Papers and I'm ready for the fourth book to come out. The reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is the inclusion of back information from Banshee Cries,a short story from Winter moon. I was convinced I had managed to miss a major story line form the other books. Having lent out my copies of Urban Shaman and Thunderbird Falls; I couldn't go back and check. I only figured out I was missing a short story by looking for an fan web community so I could ask fellow readers If I was missing an Anthology or I speed read and missed a whole subplot. I don't like to have to do research to be able to finish my otherwise very well written story!

great book.......2007-07-26

this third book is great; more involved with her personally; easier read in regards to imagery this time around. i hope she finds love in her next book!

Average customer rating:

A blend of psychological thriller, mystery and police procedural!
Sensitive Cold-Case Crime Novel
Twisting and turning until the end...
Another good one
One of Michael Connelly's best books in the Bosch series

The Last Coyote (Harry Bosch)
Michael Connelly
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312958455

Book Description

Harry Bosch's life is on the edge. His earthquake-damaged home has been condemned. His girlfriend has left him. He's drinking too much. And after attacking his commanding officer, he's even had to turn in his L.A.P.D. detective's badge. Now, suspended indefinitely pending a psychiatric evaluation, he's spending his time investigating an unsolved crime from 1961: the brutal slaying of a prostitute who happened to be his own mother.Even after three decades, Harry's questions generate heat among L.A.'s top politicos. And as the truth begins to emerge, it becomes more and more apparent that someone wants to keep it buried. Someone very powerful....very cunning....and very deadly.Edgar Award-winning author Michael Connelly has created a dark, fast-paced suspense thriller that cuts to the core of Harry Bosch's character. Once you start it, there's no turning back.

Customer Reviews:

A blend of psychological thriller, mystery and police procedural!.......2006-12-24

LAPD's Harry Bosch is a troubled man with what the lay person would call lots of issues and some serious psychological baggage. His childhood as a county ward was unhappy and troubled, his wife has left him for good and his home is condemned to the wrecker's ball as a result of recent earthquake damage. When Bosch shoved his superior officer through a plate glass window in the precinct office as a result of his interference in an interrogation, he is summarily suspended, put onto stress leave and his return to active duty was stalled pending a positive report from mandatory psychiatric counselling with Dr Carmen Hinojos. Conversations with Hinojos on his personal life vision, "Everybody counts or nobody counts", together with a review of his family history, prod an angry Bosch into the realization that he (like the LAPD of some thirty years earlier) had swept his mother's murder under the carpet because she was just a prostitute - a life that didn't count for anything and one whose murder wasn't worth the time, effort and expenditure to solve. Against all the rules of his suspension from duty and all of Hinojos' best advice, Bosch pulls his mother's murder book and the scanty box of evidence from the police vaults and sets himself on a belated personal mission to solve his mother's murder and bring her killer to belated justice.

In a superb blend of psychological thriller, mystery and police procedural, "The Last Coyote" is told strictly from Bosch's point of view but Connelly masterfully flicks from one scene to another - the proverbial psychiatric couch of Dr Hinojos' office; the memories of his troubled youth as the son of a prostitute and a ward at McLaren Hall; Bosch's musings and self-recriminations as he gingerly walks the tautly strung high wire of his own nerves and personally evaluates his life, his actions and his conversations with Dr Hinojos; and, of course, the exciting discovery of his mother's murderer as the events of thirty years earlier impact on those still alive today.

I think it's safe to generalize that psychological thrillers only succeed when the characters are superbly drawn and I think it's also safe to say that Connelly has succeeded once again in bringing an irascible, self-absorbed and driven yet self-doubting Bosch to life for his faithful readers. We are happily witness to his growth and pain as he meets and falls for Jasmine, a lady whose troubled history competes with Bosch's own!

In a marked departure from his other works, Connelly has also treated us to a small slice of mysticism with the introduction of Bosch's dreams of a coyote - his animal totem appearing to him in a vision quest, as it were! It is Bosch's personal identification with the lost, wandering coyote that provides him with insight into his own personal travails as he seeks to re-establish purpose and meaning into a life that is drifting aimlessly!

And, of course, like all well crafted thrillers, the ending comes with a twist that will catch you totally flat-footed. Five stars and two thumbs up to a totally enjoyable read ... again!

Paul Weiss

Sensitive Cold-Case Crime Novel.......2006-08-30

Harry Bosch delves into the/his past to come to terms with his mother's murder that happened 33 years ago. He gets pretty aggressive and clever at digging out facts that might help him find the killer. If you enjoy whodunits: use the facts and think it through to get the killer, it should be fairly satisfying.

I was more interested in the character than in solving the crime, but both are intriguing. Harry becomes increasingly lovable and a surprising romance is delightful. Just enough to set off the imagination. Even better, the new love interest isn't tossed aside (but I do not know if she resurfaces again in future MC novels). I like MC's overall philosophy, which comes out in his writing.

Two MC books read so far (Lincoln Lawyer is the other one). Still, saw a formula and these books were years apart. I'll be reading more for sure.

Twisting and turning until the end..........2006-05-31

In The Last Coyote, number 4 in Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series, the LAPD homicide detective finds himself in the cooker. This is not an unusual place for Bosch to be as even his own colleagues call him "an outsider in an insiders job." But things are even more serious this time around. LA is still recovering from an earthquake, and Bosch's cantilevered house has been condemned. Bosch's girlfriend has left for Italy (a permanent move). Bosch is also recovering from his own earthquake in a meltdown that caused him to put his boss through a glass window at the office. The Last Coyote finds Bosch on forced leave and his return to the job is based on the findings of police psychologist, Dr. Carmen Hinojos.

In Bosch's sessions with Dr Hinojos, one theme keeps coming up--the unsolved murder of his mother, Marjorie Lowe. Lowe was a prostitute and lost Harry to an orphanage when the city determined she was an unfit mother. She was trying to turn her life around and regain custody of 11 year old Harry when she was brutally murdered. Lowe "knew" a number of police officers and men in high places, and it is obvious that there was a cover-up. With his free time, Harry decides to try and solve this 33 year old case. This is not always easy as some of the key players are dead and some have disappeared. Also, he has to do it without a gun or a badge, which makes the situation even more dangerous and also makes witnesses more reluctant to talk. As with all Connelly books, The Lost Coyote will keep you twisting until the end and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

Connelly is an incredible writer with a keen eye. When Bosch discovers one of the original detectives that investigated his mother's death, he muses "Something about the old case was like a pebble in his shoe. He had worked it over to the side where it didn't hurt when he walked. But it was still there. Bosch had to make him want to take it out." I also stumbled upon Connelly's website which enhanced the book even more with the many photos included that tie in with each book. His books have enticed me to think about a trip to LA--something that never appealed to me before.

I'm hooked enough on Connelly and Bosch that I have already started the next book, Trunk Music. I'm not going to stop until I'm done them all.

Another good one.......2006-03-23

Bosch is back and finally diving into his mother's murder case while he's been place on involuntary leave. Our favorite detective is put through the ringer and has to come face to face with some rather ulgy demons from his past. One girlfriend hits the road and another is quickly picked up on the rebound. For a workaholic, Bosch gets around. This time, however, our rebound chick has some baggage--then again-so did our last girlfriend. Her husband was a psycho-cop. So maybe he just attracts women with serious baggage. Though this was another multi-layered and complex case, I was able to figure out the real killer pretty early. But with Connelly, the journey is just as intriguing as the destination.

One of Michael Connelly's best books in the Bosch series .......2006-02-28

Harry is on suspension for hitting his commanding officer. Part of the suspension includes seeing a psychologist. Less than thrilled Harry participates reluctantly but begins to understand why he's been so angry lately. He has a job that he's been putting off. He must find out who murdered his mother, a prostitute. This book really gets inside Harry's head like no other. We understand who he is and what makes him tick. He discovers his mother's murder may have been swept under the rug by the politics of the 1950s, involving an aspiring attorney general and his lackeys. While the pace is a bit slow, the investigation and end is truly thrilling.

Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest

Average customer rating:

Coyote wants to fly!
Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest
A great book about a funny coyote!

Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest
Gerald McDermott
Manufacturer: Voyager Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0152019588

Book Description

Wherever Coyote goes you can be sure he’ll find trouble. Now he wants to sing, dance, and fly like the crows, so he begs them to teach him how. The crows agree but soon tire of Coyote’s bragging and boasting. They decide to teach the great trickster a lesson. This time, Coyote has found real trouble!

Customer Reviews:

Coyote wants to fly!.......2006-10-21

My son ([...] years old) enjoys a lot this funny story about the silliness of the coyote and the tricky birds. We read it often and have a little song for the dancing of the craws.
The design makes it easy for children eyes to understand the story without words.
Another lovely book from Gerald McDermott, but not as good as Zomo The Rabbit or Papagayo. These are really great!!

Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest.......2006-01-15

This was a fair tale children seemed to follow the story better but did not want to hear this book again and again,I was disappointed.

A great book about a funny coyote!.......2000-03-30

I like it because when the Coyote meets some birds he wants to fly with, all the birds give him one of their right feathers, but he didn't balance. So they each gave him left feathers, but he still didn't balance. And the reason he didn't balance was because he needed one left feather and one right feather. - AMD, Age 7.

Tony Hillerman: The Leaphorn & Chee Novels: Skinwalkers, A Thief of Time, Coyote Waits

Average customer rating:

Hillerman mysteries

Tony Hillerman: The Leaphorn & Chee Novels: Skinwalkers, A Thief of Time, Coyote Waits
Tony Hillerman
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060753382
Release Date: 2005-05-03

Book Description

Three of New York Times bestselling author Tony Hillerman's most popular novels are together for the first time in one volume.

Tony Hillerman is one of the most revered and honored mystery writers published today. This stunning collection includes the critically acclaimed novels Skinwalkers, A Thief of Time, and Coyote Waits, all of which have been adapted for PBS by producer Robert Redford. This is a must-have anthology from one of the great masters of suspense.

In Skinwalkers, three shotgun blasts explode into the trailer of Officer Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police. Chee survives to join partner Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn in a frightening investigation that takes them into a dark world of ritual, witchcraft, and blood -- all tied to the elusive and evil "skinwalker." In A Thief of Time, a noted anthropologist vanishes at a moonlit Indian ruin where "thieves of time" ravage sacred ground for profit. When two corpses appear amid stolen goods and bones at an ancient burial site, Leaphorn and Chee must plunge into the past to unearth the astonishing truth behind a mystifying series of horrific murders.

And in Coyote Waits, it wasn't the car fire that killed Navajo Tribal Policeman Delbert Nez -- a bullet did. Officer Jim Chee's good friend Del lies dead, and a whiskey-soaked Navajo shaman is found with the murder weapon. The old man is Ashie Pinto. He's quickly arrested for homicide and defended by a woman Chee could either love or loathe. But Pinto won't utter a word of confession or denial. Leaphorn and Chee must unravel a complex plot involving a historical find, a lost fortune, and the mythical Coyote, who is always waiting, and always hungry.

Customer Reviews:

Hillerman mysteries.......2007-01-10

As always, Hillerman mysteries are great reads and give an opportunity to learn about the culture of the Southwest. Thief of Time is one of my all time favorites, but I never miss a chance to read anything by Tony Hillerman

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What is forever - Green Grass, Running Water
Window on the Indian mind
" In the Beginning , there was just the Water "
Green Grass, Running Confusion
Interesting...

Green Grass, Running Water
Thomas King
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0553373684
Release Date: 1994-06-01

Customer Reviews:

What is forever - Green Grass, Running Water.......2007-03-26

Thomas King captures Native Humor as an excellent tool for teaching, for sharing wisdom and as a means to cope when others cannot grasp the meaning of what Natives have to say. The humor of the book and its cyclic rather than linear paterns may be new to Non-Native readers. But, this is the richness and beauty of Native storytelling and liturature at its best.

Window on the Indian mind.......2005-10-27

This is an inventive, magical book for anyone who knows, or wishes to know, American Indian ways of seeing the world. Rather than ponderously attempting to explain the Indian mind, King simply puts it on display: storytelling, puckish humor, memory, quiet persistence and all. Through that Indian lens, the book examines the interactions of men and women, white and Indian attitudes, modern and traditional ways, Hollywood and real history.

It is understandable that those not familiar with Indians might find the book disjointed or hard to follow or less laugh-out-loud hilarious than it is. Much of my enjoyment came from seeing all my Mohican aunts, uncles and cousins -- and the Blackfeet who is married to one of them -- reflected in King's Blackfeet characters.

Nonetheless, for those who know -- or take the time to understand -- Indian ways of thinking, this is a simply wonderful book, a more polished companion to the delightful movie "Smoke Signals" and the Sherman Alexie short stories in "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" from which that film is drawn.

" In the Beginning , there was just the Water ".......2005-05-07

Thomas King with " Green Grass Running Water " takes us on a Journey of Spirit and Adventure. Witty , Engaging and Entertaining , this is a must read for those who enjoy Quirky Slice of Life stories. His words flow as if Carried on a Breeze. He plays with Indigenous Philosophy , Christianity and Creationism with Tongue in Cheek. This is a Simple and Sincere , Warm and Charming read that will Entertain and Enlighten.

If you like Talking Coyotes , Women who fall from the Sky , Virgin Births and more than I highly recommend this book. Throughout this Theatre of the Imagination Mr.King proves that he is an Engaging Literary Voice to be Respected and Treasured for Generations to come. In all Thomas Kings writings we are made to Smile and Think while being left with Hope for a Greater Tomorrow.

There is Common Sense Wisdom thoughout as we are Taken on a Journey where Dreams come Alive and the Heart of the Human Spirit is Tested. This is Truly a Delightful Book , Food for the Spiritual Seeker. Green Grass Running Water is an Inventive Interpretation of the Human Spirit. Thomas King is a Writer whose Voice is Unique and his books are Enlightening , Inspiring , Wise and Generous.

Green Grass Running Water is a Literary Tree of Life. To truly enjoy it you must Read Between the Leaves.

I have read this Story and now I will Live my Life differently.

Green Grass, Running Confusion.......2004-12-10

This was a very readable book. I liked the characters and their development, and the many sub-plots are woven together remarkably well. That being said, what is going one here? There are these four Indians with names from famous literary works, like Robinson Crusoe and Ishmael. What they smybolize or mean, I wasn't clever enough to pick up on. If you like a challenge, you can try to figure it out, but be warned. The Indians fit in with the book; the confusion stems from trying to divine their roles and their overall contribution to the book. With the multitude of characters, it's a little tricky keeping all of them straight, but once you've got them figured out, you'll find yourself wanting to read more and more to find out about them. One of the characters is said to have made three major mistakes in his life, and you'll want to read and read until you find out what they were. This is a highly enjoyable book if you can learn to let go of all the confusing aspects of it.

Interesting..........2004-09-22

I found this novel aesthetically pleasing, well written and interestingly structured, as well as witty in places, but hardly hilarious as others here have suggested. Regarding the book seeming to be written by a female (with all the presumptions of enlightenment that that carries with it - in this text and in literati generally) due its satirical reworkings of phallocentric myths and legends, I would say that the first 'novel' in history by Cervantes did just that, so phallused author's have a decent tradition in that area; having said that, this comment made the course material of my literature course at university, so you can see how pervasive it is. I don't blame the book for its strident and parochial feminist/misandrist and postcolonial themes - there is almost a complete cultural saturation of it. The book works in very well with current literary theory and should be used by all like-minded people as a text to place new 'Portias' and 'Shylocks' in different racial/cultural groups - same sort of hatreds with different wrappings. It's a shame, because King's talents as a writer are very great, despite the ideolatry.

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Enchanting setting
Fun and fast paced romance
Great Characters in a Great Setting
Doesn't Get Any Better Than This
Top Notch

Coyote Sky
Gerri Hill
Manufacturer: Bella Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1594930651

Book Description

Kate Winters, author of the popular mystery series The Masters, finds herself in a bit of a predicament - she doesn't seem to be able to write any longer. So when her old friend and wealthy widow Brenda invites Kate to spend the summer in Coyote, New Mexico, Kate decides that a summer in Coyote might be just what she needs to clear her writer's block.

Leaving behind the Dallas heat - and her girlfriend Robin - Kate retreats to the high mountain desert and soon finds herself surrounded by Brenda's eccentric friends and artists. But it's the local sheriff, Lee Foxx, who soon grabs her attention. It doesn't take long for Kate to discover that Lee has a penchant for dating the young tourists that flock to the river canyon each summer - and that Lee has no intention of ever settling down.

Then an unexpected visit by Kate's girlfriend sends everyone scrambling. Torn between safety and desire, Kate has no idea which way to turn. And as for Lee -- she can't quite believe that she's actually fallen in love... for the very first time in her life.

Customer Reviews:

Enchanting setting.......2007-09-20

I generally like books that help me experience an unfamiliar setting, and introduce me to characters like I may never meet or interact with in my life, but that I can believe exist. In this book the author deftly accomplishes both things. Her descriptions of the New Mexican countryside are enchanting, the colors, the smells, the grandeur, the mystery. She takes the time to contrast the slower and quieter pace of life in Coyote with the more fast-paced, noisy urban world many of us live in.

But in addition to the setting, which is almost a character in itself, the author is able to seamlessly weave many disparate lives together. Brenda and the other secondary characters provide a good chorus to the main players in this romance, nudging our heroes along, helping them look at things from other perspectives, trying to save them from themselves.

In addition to a good use of an interesting supporting cast, the main characters are believable and sympathetic as well, though I thought things were a bit too drawn out by the end, and I began to get a touch frustrated with Kate's inability to make a decision. Fortunately, there were many clues as to her motivations, to I never lost hope as a reader, and her novel (the one she went to New Mexico to write) provided a fun parallel that also helped you understand where she was coming from and where she was going.

This book provided solid entertainment. Not the best, it wasn't quite plotted tightly enough for that, but certainly a cut above average, and worth the read. Who ever thought I'd want to vacation in the high desert?

Fun and fast paced romance.......2007-08-08

Perfect beach read with lot's of laughs.

The cast of characters are laugh out loud funny.

City girl Kate is completely lost at home and in her writing career. Meeting Sheriff Foxx (the town player) is the best thing that ever happened to her.

The Wild ride they take to love is all good! Interesting Foxx - Kate - Robin triangle.

The best parts for me were the humor and the locale. Excellent writing.

If you liked this book you will love the author's other romances -

Sierra City
Dawn of Change
Gulf Breeze

Great Characters in a Great Setting.......2007-06-13

Gerri Hill does an excellent job of developing characters and relationships. As always the scenery is beautifully described. A great romance!

Doesn't Get Any Better Than This.......2006-12-23

Let me say up front that I would be the first to admit that this is a formulaic romance. I don't care. All of Gerri's books have the same formula: two women meet, feel an attraction to one another, and struggle to overcome it. The book chronicles the struggle. In the end they surrender to love and passion. Fade to black. Fine with me. She is still one of my favorite authors.

A friend of mine insists that in this one both main characters are also stereotypical. Lee Foxx: a player who beds so many different women that she doesn't always remember their names. Kate Winters: a serious type who eschews wild women like Lee. Logically these two completely different stereotypes shouldn't be attracted to each other. In reality they are. Launch the conflict.

Granted, the plot is thin and recycled. For example, the role of Lee Foxx was played most recently by Trystan Lightfoot in "The Flip Side of Desire." The most recent occurrence of the selected nuance of the infidelity issue is found in "Just This Once." And so what? It's still a great read.

Gerri Hill is one terrific writer and I will continue to buy all of her forthcoming books.

Top Notch.......2006-12-20

As usual, Gerri Hill skillfully gives us an in-depth understanding of her characters. Both Kate Winters, an author suffering from writer's block, and Lee Foxx, the local sheriff, are partially damaged human beings, and therefore all the more lovable. The reader gets to observe Kate and Lee grapple with their own hangups and their feelings for each other against a backdrop of the gorgeous high desert of New Mexico.

The author's descriptions of the area are superb. I felt like I was right there with them. The secondary characters, a unique bunch to say the least, are vividly portrayed. The only thing missing is the action/adventure of the type shown in "Hunter's Way" and "The Killing Room." I would love to see a lot more of that. I stayed up way past my bedtime and read this book in one sitting. Gerri Hill's writing always has that effect on me.

Coyote Medicine: Lessons from Native American Healing

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Tremendous Source of Insight
Essential Reading on Holistic Medicine
Take the risk and make the leap
Moving, educational and inspiring.
Excellent Reading

Coyote Medicine: Lessons from Native American Healing
Lewis Mehl-Madrona
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Healing | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Native Healing | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Alternative & Holistic | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Accessories:

ASIN: 0684839970

Book Description

Inspired by his Cherokee grandmother's healing ceremonies, Lewis Mehl-Madrona enlightens readers to "alternative" paths to recovery and health. Coyote Medicine isn't about eschewing Western medicine when it's effective, but about finding other answers when medicine fails: for chronic sufferers, patients not responding to medication, or "terminal" cases that doctors have given up on. In the story of one doctor's remarkable initiation into alternative ways to spiritual and physical health, Coyote Medicine provides the key to untapped healing methods available today.

Customer Reviews:

Tremendous Source of Insight.......2005-09-26

"Coyote Medicine" is a tremendous source of insight and experience within the path of shamanism and health. Dr. Mehl-Madrona's story-telling is magnificent and at times very suspenseful hitting directly on our sensitive health and spiritual issues we face culturally. But, he doesn't give you easy answers, because his path to becoming a healer was very complex. For me, this book opened up parts of my consciousness and answered questions I was asking and some of those I hadn't yet asked. This book was truly a God-send and I am savoring every word I read.

Essential Reading on Holistic Medicine.......2003-06-22

This book blew me away. I have reread much of it so many times and bought multiple copies for friends. I have filled the margins of my copy with notes and filled notebooks with essays and thoughts inspired by Dr. Mehl-Madrona's book. It is nothing short of miraculous itself, in addition to describing medical miracles and how they are brought about by spiritual intervention and Native American healing.

A child prodigy, Lewis Mehl-Madrona hitchhiked to a local college while still in high school, read philosophy science voraciously and was the youngest peacetime graduate of Stanford Medical School. The more impressive since his childhood was at times difficult.

At medical school, Dr. Mehl-Madrona became interested in shamanic traditions and attended some sweat lodge and tipi ceremonies. Here he encountered otherwordly phenomena such as blue light, sparks, sensorial stimulation and miracle cures in cases that were deemed too far gone by western doctors. Most importantly, Dr. Mehl-Madrona learned how shamans talked to patients, asked questions about their families and lives and spent long periods of time with them. The author learned that shamans tap into the inner healer of the patient, and consider themselves only partially responsible for any cure.

At the same time, Dr. Mehl-Madrona was encountering negligent and dehumanizing healing practices in his western medical pursuits. A few spine-chilling tales display the callousness and arrogance that exists in some hospitals and clinics. One example: two obstetricians made a bet concerning the fastest C-Section birth and the winner, very triumphant at seventeen minutes, accidentally tied something shut in the woman's internal organs. It was fixed and the woman even wrote a letter of thanks to the hospital! Such is the blind and sometimes unjustified trust the public has in the medical establishment.

The book is wonderfully woven with many colorful strands of storytelling. On one level, it is a memoir of Dr. Mehl-Madrona's journey to reconcile his western medical training with holistic and in particular Native American healing. He is part Native American, so this pursuit poignantly reflects his mixed heritage. Poignant because Dr. Mehl-Madrona often felt like an outsider in all areas of his life, as a Native American man, as an American man, as a western doctor and as an aspiring and ultimately successful shaman.

Another strand of his story is the Native American tradition of healing itself, which we discover in almost the same timeframe that he does. We are introduced to the traditional practice of storytelling as a healing technique at the same time that he is. Early in the book, when the doctor is a resident, he is tending a man whose medical condition is exacerbated (and perhaps caused) by his intensely critical nature. A wonderful passage in recounts Dr. Mehl-Madrona's tentative attempt at telling a story to the cynical patient, himself a psychologist, who groans with sarcasm as the story begins. As it continued, he was intrigued, however, and even hazards a guess at the meaning, to which guess the doctor gives an ambiguous confirmation. The great part of this passage is how Dr. Mehl-Madrona successfully enacts the role of enigmatic shaman even though he himself is still unsure of the story's meaning.

Coyote Medicine also discusses the role of the supernatural in shamanic healing, and the perception of magic and nature. For anyone who ever sat in the woods or even on his aparment steps late at night and felt a mystical connection to something unseen and bigger than himself, Coyote Medicine is a kindred spirit.

At one point the author goes on his vision quest and meets his power animals and is given shamanic healing tools. We as readers are present at many important moments in his life, including personal and family struggles (his first wife, according to the book, seemed to wrestle his children away from him and resented his shamanic efforts), professional travails (Dr. Mehl-Madrona's questioning intelligence, sense of dignity for the patient and also his holistic beliefs created friction with several different western medical institutions). When, at the end of the book, the author finds an accepting partner and on a professional level, a venue where he could combine holistic healing with Western, we feel as thought a close friend has triumphed in the face of great odds.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in healing, either for herself or others, and also about finding one's own individual path, as difficult as and untraveled as it might be, but that is true to the traveler.

Many blessings on this book and thank you Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona.

Robert Murray Diefendorf, Author of Release the Butterfly

Take the risk and make the leap.......2003-01-10

Coyote has always been a special animal to me, so the title jumped out at me. The two feathers and physician's symbol on the cover present a beautiful balance. The physician's symbol has the twin serpents and the two wings of the one. In the background is the four, the Mystery.

Lewis' experiences are related in an interwoven manner. He rushes through life in the quest for medical expertise and validation. In doing so, he trips himself into bouts with infinity as his beautiful plans fall through, day-by-day, year-by-year. However, his rapidly depleted physical/mental being is slowly but surely filling from the inside out. The book is a wonderful, candid sharing of one human's journey to clarify his purpose, his vocation, and to realize such.

He seems like a powerless pawn at times. Have you felt that way? I have. It takes courage to choose the walk toward balance with a fellow being. Lewis had to learn the way of the warrior to survive his path as a healer.

The sweat lodge accounts are beautifully done. I felt it better than any other accounts I have read. Although I have not participated in a lodge, I have experienced years of "spirit stuff". He is talking from experience. Lewis tells us without violating the trust of his friends, manifested or otherwise.

The visions he describes are direct accounts, rather than attempts to relay deep knowings into a form the reader may understand. Visions come in dreams, in rituals, in waking, everyday consciousness, you name it. If we need it and are open to input, we will receive guidance. A vision is experiential, so there is no way to relay the richness and life of such an experience.

Ya gotta walk the walk--it's the only way.

I laughed pretty good at his experience learning to talk with the desert. I too learned this while out alone walking in the desert. At first I thought my spirit friends were nuts--and said so--but I did it and learned a lot. You'll have to read the book to find out.

There were tears of joy and tears of sorrow while reading this book, and a lot of laughter. Thank-you for making the great leap and taking the risk of sharing, Lewis!

Moving, educational and inspiring........2001-08-09

This book is a well written merging of two subjects. The first is a personal sharing of Lewis Mehl-Madrona's upbringing and life experience as a half N.A. Native, his pursuit of a medical degree and specialty and his increasing disillusionment with the "science" of medicine as it is now widely practiced. The second is about Lewis' discovery of N.A. Native spirituality and shamani sm. He leads us on a winding path of discovery that introduces us to the intriguing characters who use shamanism to heal others, often while their own lives are in disarray, to those who sought healing and perhaps most importantly, to the spirits who assisted in the ceremonies. While pursuing this path of curing the individual, rather than the symptom, it seems that Lewis will lose site of his original goal to obtain his medical speciality. But, as so often occurs, as he helps others to heal, the path circles around to encompass his own needs and he completes his original path, a more well-rounded and enlightened human. More capable of understanding. More capable of giving what is really required. I found the writing to be powerful, the personal drama riveting and the glimpse into the ceremonies, symbolism and spiritualism of the N.A. shaman both moving and educational. After all these years of hearing the stories shared by N.A. natives, but not really understanding, I finally "got it". This book slaked a thirst I didn't know I had. Lewis not only shared his story but acted as a teacher and I know that I've grown as a result. I highly recommend it and hope that we'll hear more from this writer.

Excellent Reading.......2001-03-05

I enjoyed this book very much! It is full of truths ! I believe as does this man. I look forward to reading any book he writes.It was a easy read and on a level that I understood completely.I laughed and cried with his stories.I just loved it!

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