November 2004

"Creating True Peace"

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Following is a publisher's review of this month's Power Book:

"Bestselling author and Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the most respected peace activists in the world. Having lived through two wars in his native Vietnam, he strives to prevent conflict of all kinds, from the internal violence of individual thoughts to interpersonal and international aggression. For the first time, in Creating True Peace, he tells vivid, deeply affecting stories of his and his students' wartime experiences in Vietnam and how they were able to remain nonviolent and work for peace in the face of the most stressful, dangerous, life-threatening circumstances. The same teachings and practices that Nhat Hanh and his students use every day can help us, too, to create peace in our own lives, in every moment.

With a combination of courage, sweetness, and candor, Nhat Hanh brings to life the ancient wisdom and stories of the Buddha and other sages and reveals a clear, practical blueprint for living nonviolently today -- no matter what your circumstances. For anyone who sincerely desires to create peace, here are practices to improve all our relationships -- friendships, partnerships, marriages, even our relationships with our elected representatives. Here, too, are beautiful, simple meditations and mindful practices for individuals, couples, and parents, along with ways to teach children how to create peace in their daily lives and to improve family communications. From this book, we can all draw the determination and inspiration to do the right thing, to make a difference. We are not helpless; we can create peace here and now. Creating True Peace shows us how." October 2004

October 2004

"How to Win Friends and Influence People"

by Dale Carnegie

Following is a critic's review of this month's Power Book:

"Originally published in 1936, this is the archetype of the practical human relations handbook. Carnegie (How To Stop Worrying and Start Living, Audio Reviews, LJ 2/15/99) opens with fundamental techniques for dealing with people, such as refraining from criticism and expressing sincere appreciation. Making people like you by smiling, remembering names, and being a good listener are encouraged. Final sections describe approaches for persuading people to your way of thinking and how to change people without causing offense or resentment.

These positive principles are stated succinctly and illustrated with pertinent, if occasionally outmoded, anecdotes. While critics have charged that Carnegie emphasized good manners and friendliness over proficiency, the author clearly states that his target audience is competent individuals who are less than successful because they lack people skills, a group that would be well served by his sensible guidance. Andrew MacMillan's confident, friendly narration is a worthy counterpart for Carnegie's advice, making this an appropriate selection for libraries that don't own the 1989 unabridged recording that includes the printed volume (LJ 4/1/89).--Linda Bredengerd, Hanley Lib., Univ. of Pittsburgh, Bradford, PA " September 2004

September 2004

"The Deeper Wound: Recovering the Soul
from Fear and Suffering"
by Deepak Chopra

Following is the BN review of this month's Power Book:

"We may never fully make sense of why September 11th happened. But healing from this national tragedy, on an individual and collective level, is within reach -- and according to Deepak Chopra, there is a way to not only create a memorial but also to eradicate fear and hatred on our planet.

This latest offering by Chopra brings to mind Victor Frankl's inspiring and groundbreaking book, Man's Search for Meaning. The author, after being imprisoned for more than three years in Auschwitz and other concentration camps, conducted extensive research on why some people survived the camps and others did not. His discovery: People need to find meaning in their suffering and to feel a purpose to their lives. Chopra incorporates this idea into a modern, spiritual context. As we recognize and connect with the inner, eternal nature of our being, we commune with God. This realization of being both inside time and space, yet outside of it, allows us to live with spiritual purpose. "Jesus described the journey with such beautiful conciseness when he said that freedom means 'being in the world, but not of it.'

This joy with detachment is the spiritual aim of life." Putting the events and tragedies of September 11th into this context gives us that freedom to live from the level of the soul, which bonds us in love with all of life. In the second half of this book, 100 daily affirmations, meditations, and exercises are shared in order to help illuminate and elevate the soul. (Jennifer Forman)" August 2004

"Touching the Void: The True Story
of One Man's Miraculous Survival"
by Joe Simpson

Following is the publisher's review of this month's Power Book:

"Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck. Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg. In the hours that followed, darkness fell and a blizzard raged as Yates tried to lower his friend to safety. Finally, Yates was forced to cut the rope, moments before he would have been pulled to his own death.

The next three days were an impossibly grueling ordeal for both men. Yates, certain that Simpson was dead, returned to base camp consumed with grief and guilt over abandoning him. Miraculously, Simpson had survived the fall, but crippled, starving, and severely frostbitten was trapped in a deep crevasse. Summoning vast reserves of physical and spiritual strength, Simpson crawled over the cliffs and canyons of the Andes, reaching base camp hours before Yates had planned to leave.

How both men overcame the torments of those harrowing days is an epic tale of fear, suffering, and survival, and a poignant testament to unshakable courage and friendship. " July 2004

"The Alchemist:
A Fable about Following Your Dream"
by Paolo Coelho

Following is the publisher's review of this month's Power Book:

"Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come. The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams. "

June 2004

"A Mind Apart"
by Peter Szatmari

Following is the publisher's review of this month's Power Book:

"Dr. Szatmari shares the stories of over a dozen children and families with whom he has worked. He reveals that people with autism and AS live in a world without metaphors; a visual landscape, built of images, not language. It's a place where friendly small talk may sound like a foreign tongue, where tree branches are more intriguing than people, where hairbrush bristles can feel like nails on the scalp or a hug like the clamp of a vise. Drawing on decades of influential research and clinical experience, Dr. Szatmari combines "big picture" information - the nuances of diagnosis, what is known about possible causes, and what the future holds for children with these disorders - with finely wrought observations that let you see the world through your child's eyes." Of crucial importance, Dr. Szatmari also illustrates ways parents can "break through" to help kids start to navigate the wider world. An intense interest in the patterns on wasp wings may be mystifying, but such visual perceptiveness also can be channeled into artwork of math. A child fixated on death may be less afraid of loss than of change in general - a common form of anxiety that parents can help soothe. Hating to be touched doesn't mean your child doesn't feel affection, but that he is physically hypersensitive - and you can find other ways to encourage closeness and offer comfort. ."

May 2004

"The Power of Intention:
Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way"
by Wayne W. Dyer

Following is the publisher's review of this month's Power Book:

"Intention is generally viewed as a pit-bull kind
of determination propelling one to succeed at all costs by never giving up on an inner picture. In this view, an attitude that combines hard work with an indefatigable drive toward excellence is the way to succeed. However, intention is viewed very differently in this book. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer has researched intention as a force in the universe that allows the act of creation to take place. This book explores intention-not as something you do-but as an energy you're a part of. We're all intended here through the invisible power of intention. This is the first book to look at intention as a field of energy that you can access to begin co-creating your life with the power of intention."

April 2004

"The Da Vinci Code"
by Dan Brown

Following is the publisher's review of this month's Power Book:

"While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci -- clues visible for all to see -- yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion -- an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others. In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who seems to anticipate their every move. Unless Langdon and Neveu can deipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory's ancient secret -- and an explosive hysterical truth -- will be lost forever.

THE DA VINCI CODE heralds the arrival of a new breed of lightening-paced, intelligent thriller…utterly unpredictable right up to its stunning conclusion."

March 2004

"Sacred Plant Medicine: Explorations in Indigenous Herbalism"
by Stephen Harrod Buhner

Following is the publisher's review of this month's Power Book:

"Author Stephen Buhner turned to the medicinal use of plants after traditional medical science had failed him, and thus began a journey that has led to his current standing as one of the prominent practitioners of the sacred use of plants.

Sacred Plant Medicine is the first book that looks at the historical use of plants by earth peoples and gives a detailed look at how the sacredness of plants is experienced in indigenous cultures. It addresses human's use of plants as medicine, and deals with plants as medicine as well as plants as sacred beings. Once, the two were inseparable. Color plates of nineteen species of plants, a short compendium of plants and their uses as sacred medicine, and an appendix that addresses ethical harvesting are also included."

February 2004

"Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life"
by Thich Nhat Hanh

Following is the publisher's review of this month's Power Book:

"In this modern spiritual classic, a world spiritual leader and Zen master shows how to adapt simple Zen principles for daily living and the way to peace--the first practical book on the subject since Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Peace Is Every Step offers ways to use everyday events--washing dishes, eating a meal, sitting in traffic--
in the quest for peace and fulfillment.

In the rush of modern life, we tend to lose touch with the peace that is available in each moment. World-renowned Zen master, spiritual leader, and author Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how to make positive use of the very situations that usually pressure and antagonize us. For him a ringing telephone can be a signal to call us back to our true selves. Dirty dishes, red lights, and traffic jams are spiritual friends on the path to "mindfulness" — the process of keeping our consciousness alive to our present experience and reality. The most profound satisfactions, the deepest feelings of joy and completeness lie as close at hand as our next aware breath and the smile we can form right now. Lucidly and beautifully written, Peace Is Every Step contains commentaries and meditations, personal anecdotes and stories from Nhat Hanh's experiences as a peace activist, teacher, and community leader. It begins where the reader already is — in the kitchen, office, driving a car, walking a part — and shows how deep meditative presence is available now. Nhat Hanh provides exercises to increase our awareness of our own body and mind through conscious breathing, which can bring immediate joy and peace. Nhat Hanh also shows how to be aware of relationships with others and of the world around us, its beauty and also its pollution and injustices. the deceptively simple practices of Peace Is Every Step encourage the reader to work for peace in the world as he or she continues to work on sustaining inner peace by turning the "mindless" into the mindFUL."

January 2004

"How to Read the Aura and Practice Psychometry, Telepathy, and Clairvoyance"
by Walter Ernest Butler

Following is the publisher's review of this month's Power Book:

"In clear-cut language, renowned parapsychologist W. E. Butler outlines simple procedures by which anyone can develop, perfect, and control the four basic psychic powers that we all possess. Using the strength of your intuition you can: Read the Aura--Perceive and understand the meaning of the glowing field of vital energy that surrounds all living beings. Understand Psychometry--Read the emanations of all objects to learn their historical and emotional significance. Awaken Your Telepathic Powers--Transmit and receive thoughts solely through your mind's Power. Experience Clairvoyance--See the past, the future, and the boundless present in vivid clarity. Research continues to confirm the existence of paranormal powers. With these techniques you can develop your higher faculties, enriching your own life and that of others, and enabling self-transformation on a new and deeply satisfying level. These tools open the path toward a lifetime of exploration and discovery."

December 2003

"Fire in the Soul: A New Psychology of Spiritual Optimism"
by Joan Borysenko

Following is a review of this month's Power Book:

"Why do bad things happen to good people? If there is goodness in this universe, why do human beings suffer? Is there a personal God who punishes us for our sins? Or do our very wounds contain the seeds of an individual or even planetary awakening to a state of greater wisdom, compassion, creativity, and love? In Joan Borysenko's view of our universe, the truth is found in the last statement. Pain, anxiety, and fear are the inner physicians that permit us to experience transformational healing, but only if we adopt a philosophy of spiritual optimism. Demonstrated in this book via personal anecdotes, stories of her therapy patients, and biblical scripture, spiritual optimism is the point of view that every difficult experience is an opportunity to grow as a person and achieve spiritual homecoming. When our souls are on fire--caught in the proverbial "dark night"--old beliefs and opinions can be consumed and new souls can emerge. Mythologist Joseph Campbell described this process as a terrifying night-sea journey and indeed most of us need a guide to find our way home in times of extreme suffering. This book is meant to be that guide, to help readers discover their own inner guidance in times of fear, trauma, and crisis."