The Last Well Person

Lama, Dalai: THE SPIRIT OF PEACE, London Thorsons/Element 2002
ISBN: 0-00-713151-8 As New Condition

From Barnes & Noble This book has three aspects. The first section is autobiographical, providing personal details of the Dalai Lama's life in Tibet and in the West. The book also contains the Buddhist leader's thoughts on compassion, mortality, and rebirth. The third aspect? The sumptuous color photographs of His Holiness's homeland laced throughout the inspiring text. From the Publisher This is a wonderful collection of inspiring words from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, one of the best-loved and most well-known spiritual leaders of our time. Publishers Weekly Observations by the 14th Dalai Lama on the true nature of life are presented here in paragraph-sized bursts, a strand of philosophical pearls skillfully strung together by Hatier, who shaped the text from years of talks, interviews, teachings and writings. Readers are first introduced to the Dalai Lama as a young boy via brief but candid reflections on his mother, the loneliness his enthronement engendered and his rigorous study regimen. These and other intimate details of his life, including his meeting with President Mao and his exile to India, are telegraphed through an accessible and elegant first-person narration. The latter part of the text is dedicated to the Dalai Lama's philosophies on an assortment of topics, including religion ("All religions share a common root, which is limitless compassion"); anger ("If your mind is dominated by anger, you will lose the greatest part of your human intelligence: wisdom"); and marriage ("making love is alright, but for marriage, don't hurry, be cautious"). A novice-friendly glossary of Buddhist terminology and a stunning array of stand-alone, full-color photographs round out the volume. Though His Holiness solemnly admits that due to political and historical reasons he may very well be the last Dalai Lama, his teachings, illuminated in books such as this, will undoubtedly continue to influence generations of individuals seeking enlightenment. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information. Synopsis This is a wonderful collection of inspiring words from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, one of the best-loved and most well-known spiritual leaders of our time. Publishers Weekly Observations by the 14th Dalai Lama on the true nature of life are presented here in paragraph-sized bursts, a strand of philosophical pearls skillfully strung together by Hatier, who shaped the text from years of talks, interviews, teachings and writings. Readers are first introduced to the Dalai Lama as a young boy via brief but candid reflections on his mother, the loneliness his enthronement engendered and his rigorous study regimen. These and other intimate details of his life, including his meeting with President Mao and his exile to India, are telegraphed through an accessible and elegant first-person narration. The latter part of the text is dedicated to the Dalai Lama's philosophies on an assortment of topics, including religion ("All religions share a common root, which is limitless compassion"); anger ("If your mind is dominated by anger, you will lose the greatest part of your human intelligence: wisdom"); and marriage ("making love is alright, but for marriage, don't hurry, be cautious"). A novice-friendly glossary of Buddhist terminology and a stunning array of stand-alone, full-color photographs round out the volume. Though His Holiness solemnly admits that due to political and historical reasons he may very well be the last Dalai Lama, his teachings, illuminated in books such as this, will undoubtedly continue to influence generations of individuals seeking enlightenment. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information. <strong style="display: block;">More Reviews and Recommendations Hardcover 26 cm.

[SW: Peace -- Religious aspects -- Buddhism, Religious life -- Buddhism, Buddhism -- Doctrines, Buddhism and social problems]

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McLarty, Ron. THE MEMORY OF RUNNING. [New York, NY]: Viking, 2004
Tall 8vo - over 9" - 9 3/4" 0-670-03363-4 First edition (with "First published in 2004 by Viking Penguin..." on copyright page and with complete printing number line beginning with "1"). Tall 8vo (6 3/8" x 9 1/2"). 358 pages. Navy blue paper-covered boards, gilt lettering and decoration on spine, small gold star design on front board (hardcover binding). Dust jacket design by Paul Buckley. Dust jacket photo illustration by Jethro Soudant and Shasti O'Leary. Book weighs 1 lb., 8 oz.<p>First novel by Ron McLarty, a well-known Hollywood character actor (best known for his role as Sgt. Frank Belson in the television series "Spenser: For Hire," 1985-1988).<p>"Once in a great while, a story comes along that has everything: plot, setting, and, most important of all, the kind of characters that sweep readers up and take them on a thrilling, unforgettable ride. Well, get ready for Ron McLarty's The Memory of Running because, as Stephen King wrote in Entertainment Weekly (Stephen King's "The Pop of King" column for Entertainment Weekly), "Smithy is an American original, worthy of a place on the shelf just below your Hucks, your Holdens, your Yossarians."<p>Meet Smithson "Smithy" Ide, an overweight, friendless, chain-smoking, forty-three-year-old drunk who works as a quality control inspector at a toy action-figure factory in Rhode Island. By all accounts, including Smithy's own, he's a loser. But when Smithy's life of quiet desperation is brutally interrupted by tragedy, he stumbles across his old Raleigh bicycle and impulsively sets off on an epic journey that might give him one last chance to become the person he always wanted to be. As he pedals across America - with stops in New York City, St. Louis, Denver, and Phoenix, to name a few - he encounters humanity at its best and worst and adventures that are by turns hilarious, luminous, and extraordinary. Along the way, Smithy falls in love and back into life.<p>McLarty's novel has already received significant attention for its unusual genesis as an audiobook. Now, in a major publishing event, Viking heralds the arrival of a major new voice in American fiction with his stunning debut, The Memory of Running."- From publisher.<p>About The Author: "Ron McLarty is an award-winning actor and playwright best known for his appearances on television series, including Law & Order, Sex and the City, The Practice, and Judging Amy. He has appeared in films and on the stage, where he has directed many of his own plays."<p>"This is a great first novel. Smithson Ide, 43, is a heavy drinker who weighs 279 lbs. As a teen, his beautiful sister slowly descended into mental illness. The family got him a Raleigh bicycle so that he might find Bethany more quickly when she ran away. Eventually, she disappeared, and the Ides couldn't seem to go on. Smithy begins his story as he learns that his parents have been seriously injured in an accident. At their wake, he finds a letter that states that Bethany's body is in a morgue in Los Angeles. Drunk, dressed in a suit, and with no money, Smithy gets on his bike and begins to pedal west. Readers are hooked once his odyssey begins. He meets unique characters and experiences many perils, and is supported throughout his trip by phone conversations with his neighbor, who has always loved him. The real story, though, is about Smithy's visceral response to the plight of his family, whose dignity has been beaten down because of their years of struggle. In the tradition of literary heroes, Smithy Ide rallies as he rides west to rescue his sister one last time. McLarty's writing is notable for its juxtaposition of humor and heartbreak. Smithy's matter-of-fact tone belies the often surprising and laugh-out-loud situations that he unwittingly falls into. At the same time, readers get a sense of his gentleness as he tries to cope with a world that for the most part treats him badly or ignores him."- From "School Library Journal" review by Catherine Gilbride, Farifax County Public Library, VA.<p>"Smithy Ide is a really nice guy. But he's also an overweight, friendless, womanless, hard-drinking, 43-year-old self-professed loser with a breast fetish and a dead-end job, given to stammering "I just don't know" in life's confusing moments. When Smithy's entire family dies, he embarks on a transcontinental bicycle trip to recover his sister's body and rediscover what it means to live. Along the way, he flashes back to his past and the hardships of his beloved sister's schizophrenia, while his dejection encourages strangers to share their life stories. The road redeems the innocent Smithy: he loses weight; rescues a child from a blizzard; rebuffs the advances of a nubile, "apple-breasted" co-cyclist after seeing a vision of his dead sister; and nurtures a telephone romance with a paraplegic family friend as he processes his rocky past. McLarty, a playwright and television actor, propels the plot with glib mayhem - including three tragic car accidents in 31 pages and a death by lightning bolt - and a lot of bighearted and warm but faintly mournful humor. It's a funny, poignant, slightly gawky debut that aims, like its protagonist, to please - and usually does."- From "Publishers Weekly" review..

First Edition, Hard Cover With Dust Jacket, Near Fine Book/In Near Fine Dust Jacket

[SW: LITERATURE * FICTION * NOVEL,]

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Michele Urvater; Simms Taback. Monday-to-Friday Cookbook. Workman Publishing Company,
1563057484 ISBN:1563057484 Softcover, 357 pages. G. Light corner wear; very slight water stain on lower right corner of approximately last 10 pages, otherwise a solid unmarked copy. Workman Publishing, 1995. Cookbook, Recipes, Cooking. A cornerstone of my cookbook collection., April 7, 2000 Reviewer: J. Gillespie (Seoul, Korea) - We received this book as a wedding gift and mistakenly ignored it for several years. Two years ago, we rediscovered it and have been using it almost exclusively ever since. An incredible range of recipes, from 30 minute start-to-table meals to more elaborate menus for when you are entertaining. It's a great cookbook for the person just learning to cook as well as the more experienced chef. Michelle includes several chapters on how stock your pantry and kitchen equipment (I never learned that in Home Economics!) as well as well-organized recipes that make menu planning easy. I have given this book as a gift to most of my family - my four siblings and parents, too! I do have one complaint - we've exhausted the recipes in this book! So, am going to buy the M2F Chicken and/or M2F Pasta book to supplement. Hopefully that will keep us for another 2 years! THIS IS MY FAVORITE COOKBOOK!!, March 20, 2005 Reviewer: Mary Yvonne Harley "Mary H" (Cleveland, Ohio) - This was a wedding gift for my husband and me, who love to cook. This is a good balance of both meatless and meat recipes. We have learned to cook so many different "beans and rice" recipes that are delicious - and the ingredients match the basics we have in our pantry. We have often resorted to this book for "last-minute" dinners when we haven't been to the store or made up a menu. Our kids love the recipes, since Ms. Urvater thoughtfully mentions ways to work in milder versions of many recipes. Finally, the ideas for leftovers that follow many recipes are invaluable. I would highly recommend this cookbook and is a favorite one to give as a gift..

PAPERBACK, Good

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A Collection of 10 Handwritten travel/memoir Diaries/journals from 1964 to 1992 with Ephemera (a travel/love story) Englewood, New Jersey

This is a group of 10 handwritten diaries - the books are of all different sizes - two of them as small as 4 inches tall, others are 7 and 8 inches tall. They range in dates from 1964 to 1992 and were written be a woman from englewood, new jersey who I will call "A" due to the personal nature of the diaries. The name is on the diaries if one wants to conduct geneological research. (the dates are 1964/66//77/79/86/86/87/88/91/92. They are a combination travel, stream of consciousness, memoir, diary, journal. Reading them from the start to the finish brings one into this woman's life when she is a young mother with sons into older age and all told through these travellogs. It is a story of a growth of a woman as she finds herself and her husband with all their ups and downs that life brings to us - but in this case one that allowed quite a rich travel life. They travelled to greece, rome, florence, england, russia, wyoming, copenhagen, ireland, france, scotland, versailles, amsterdam, new zealand, hawaii, etc. Her husband had to travel often to portugal and they lived the rich life on these travels and her heart we find is in portugal. The author starts in 1964 with a family trip to greece, rome, florence and we begin to see her insight into people and her keen eye for her surroundings. You can feel the place and see what she sees. When she sees rhodes and the acropolis - "one is so aware of how little man has learned over the years and centuries - merely refined basic knowledge...principles of architecture, physics - they knew it all." THey had a personal guide for "The David" and saw how Michaelangel signed his sculptures. On portugal (which will now be the source of many more trips because of her husband's business she states - "it was a wonderful evening - one of the most perfect of my life." Scattered throughout the books are costs associated with the trip and gifts bought. This one book has over 125 hand written pages. The 2nd diary - Europe 1966 - they go to copenhagen, reland, france, scotland. You can tell she is now becoming a world traveller for she states on seeing copenhagen - "give me Rome, Florence any day." She meets up with many people and comments on them. " I feel as if I was in a story - we're the only americans here- surely the only Jews." "On to Grossmere - like woodstock, NY - same fraility" - "British are so formal - street cleaners in shirts and ties" The Ireland trip is very well written, This book has some ephemera, tickets, bills, etc. Portugal 1977 - they stay in the same room they have been going to at the Evrosol Hotel. Her husband goes there to see a fellow named Roggerero - who is featured in many of the next diaries. She seems to be a teacher "seems my fate not to be able to get away from adolescents", This diary starts her stream of consciousness remarks on her husband and herself and her life - which starts to involve the reader into her life, her personality and her vulberability and her womanness. Portugal 1970 - a little book - 33 pages with some notes and prices, "The british seem delighted the americans are having economic problems - especially gas - after all they've been paying through the nose for years." These books not only are travellogues and memoirs of her life but also a diary of the economic times - as she comments on the costs of the day and the changes from year to year. another quote - "maybe we travel to the wrong places. maybe we are the "wrong" people - we seem to be on the fringes of things. J is worries about his job - the reorganization - she thought this might be her last trip to Portugal and she is nostalgic. One gets caught up and wants to find out - does she go back - how does her husband's career turn out - how do they turn out. The next journals the 1986 (46 pages) to portuagal and amsterdam and the 2nd one to new zealand and hawaii - bring us further into her mind and life. There are more characters in the story - and you also want to find out what is happening to them - as she is so articulate about these people in her life. One of the great areas is when she descrbes the most obnoxious person she ever met. In 1987 - we find she is preparing for her own seminar scheduled for Portugal re education. In 1988 - she is at a seminar in Wyoming and husband accompanies her - quite the reverse trip. Life keeps on going and we ride the train with her as she travels through her and her husband's life. I found I couldn't wait to find out what happens in the next diary - and the next after that. This is truly a love story, a trip through life with some very interesting strong characters and - can bring a tear at the end. Quite a wonderful look at an educated, well travelled woman's life in the last century and what long time marriage means. There are also two books with prices, notes and gifts in them. - some other single papers with notes and 6 postcards of portugal. Handwriting is very very easy to read and they are all well written. Various Handwritten Dairy

[SW: Handwritten , Diaries, Diary, Memoir, Journal. England, Portugal, , Copenhagen, Ireland, France, Scotland, Cliffs of Moher, Versailles, , Amsterdam, , fatima, New Zealand, Hawaii, , Wyoming, russia, Greece, Rome florence , Postcards, Collectibles and Ephemera, Collectibles and Ephemera, History, Hobbies and Leisure, Women's Studies, WritingAmerican History Biography Ireland Great Britain Writing Women's Studies Diaries/Journals Russia Handwritten Collectibles & Ephemera Hobbies & Leisure]

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