Shoes Books

I have always been interested in costume design and role playing. Footwear is an area that seems to be the most neglected when attempting to re-create a costume from a past era. For those who strive for accuracy in putting together the perfect historical outfit, or even if you just have an interest in shoes in general, this book fits the bill. Wonderful, colorful photos, a highly readable text detailing the history of the crazy world of footwear--the book covers everything involved with shoes and answers most questions the reader may have. From the grotesque to the mundane, we are presented with styles that run the gamut from shoes of leather and iron (ouch!) to platform soles of 12 inches or more. What is surprising is that some styles are still with us today, modernized but still very recognizable. We also learn the painful lengths that people will go for the sake of fashion. Time has changed nothing in this regard, as we still wobble around on stilleto heels and end up with bunions, corns or worse--but we still look marvelous, darling!!! Seriously, if you love to learn about footwear, like to dress in period attire, or are simply a "shoe freak", don't hesitate to buy this book. You won't be disappointed.

An interesting, informative book, full of historic details and colourful pictures. From court shoes of Henry VIII's time to Vivienne Westwood's famous 12-inch platform shoe of the 90s, this book is full of description and history of the item we cannot live without. Features the shoes exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Reading the book is almost as good as going there to see the shoes yourself.

This is a great modern day historical trip throgh shoe history and is a must for those who love shoes in any manner shape or form. A great read with perfect images. Just get it!

My daughter got this book to use as a resource for a school report, and it does have some interesting history and great sections, like the Chinese shoes. But where are Birkenstocks and Earth shoes?? These also have changed shoe history, so why were they, and other "bohemian" shoes not included? Just because they are ugly to certain people, some of us are more concerned with comfort after years of wearing fashion (feet and posture killing) shoes, and now wear these, or similar "clunky" shoes. A real history would include everything.

How incredible cool was this book? It is one of my favorites of the Tennis Shoes series and I loved the wild madness of the South American horror of human sacrifice and all the other horrible concepts. But, beyond the gore, we have a truly emotional and spiritual experience that is revealed with... (duh duh!) the coming of Christ to the Americas. There is romance, adventure, good and evil. Perfect adventure story.

I liked this book because there is a lot of adventer.
and because the auther is very discriptive and writes good storys.I also like it because it also keeps you reading.it also has very good discriptive words and big words.some i dont undrstand but I just figure out what they mean by reading the words before and after.

THE RED SPIDER is the jewel in this collection. The other two are the sort of standard detective yarns that the series turned into in the last stages of it's run (with the exception of the finale, UP FROM EARTH'S CENTRE). Doc rides a rocket to cross the Iron Curtain into Soviet Russia on a secret mission. This tale was discovered years after Lester Dent's death (the magazine was cancelled before it could be published) and first printed by Bantam in the 1980's. A nice story, entertaining.

received on time. quality of the product was excellent. an overall good
experience.

I found this book to be very elegantly written, never once hesistating to paint the harsh reality of the author's world. This book is startling, poignant, bleak, and somehow surreal for it is a journey, a numbing journey that does end in triumph. In a day and age where hip hop seems the dominant voice for urban Black America long gone are the eloquent yet forward and rebellious books of the harlem renaissance. This book stands out in the writings of today on Black America and gives diginity to the struggle that goes on every day in this country. All may benefit from reading To Walk In My Shoes as it leads to much needed awareness and adds another pin prick to our social consciousness.

Dr. Rudolph Willis, in this honest, personal account of achievement despite the odds, reflects on where he has been and how that has led him to be the man he has become today. He thoughtfully considers how race, socioeconomic status, and environment impact who you become, yet inspires us by demonstrating that despite these factors, our goals can be reached with the right combination of intelligence, passion, and drive to overcome our station in life. He does not wallow in the injustices of his upbringing or of the system; rather, he finds strength in the lessons he has learned. A gifted and loved physician, he speaks also on the state of medical care and the goal of a good death when the goal of a cure is gone. If you cannot know Dr. Willis, you can still come to learn from him through this exceptional book that will inspire, energize, and educate you.

I lost my husband Aug 21,08. He was on a motorcycle and someone had ran thru a red light striking him. Married for a short 29 years. I never knew such pain existed. I desperately needed help coping with my loss. I was surrounded by my loved ones, yet felt so lonesome and isolated. I wanted to curl up in bed and fade away...my daugher wasn't allowing it. She bought me this book. I started reading right away, I was looking for comfort from any source I could get my hands on. June's book showed me I was not alone in these feelings. I was amazed at how everything she felt, I was, and am now still feeling. If you have have lost your husband, or know someone who has, I would strongly, strongly recommend this book. I was sad when the book came to an end. A friend who also lost her husband once told me, "it doesn't get better, but it does get easier." With the help of my grief counseling as well as a book such as this, from someone who has walked in my shoes, I am finding comfort and strength to move forward.

Tolstoy said that happy marriages were all alike, but unhappy marriages were each unhappy in their own way. The grief felt at the loss of a significant other in one's life is always personal and unique in one sense, but it is also universal. In her book, WALK IN MY SHOES: Living with Grief, June Stout Bradley shares the first year of the loss of her beloved husband in a way that has relevance for anyone who has lost a loved one.
After the gathering of friends and family a widow is inevitably left o her own resources as others return to their busy lives. She shared the ambiguity of wanting to be left alone with her grief and feeling abandoned at the same time. Whatever life one has had is irrevocably shattered. This is her personal account of the rebuilding that must be undertaken at a time when one feels the least able to summon the strength and stamina to start life anew.
This is not a book of lists of how to do things, or advice on what to do. It's like sitting down with a friend who has been in an experience ahead of you and knows what you are going through. A friend who offers you the assurance that you will make it. A voice that says, "I know. I know.", when no one else really seems to understand. And in her overcoming, many will find help in making the small steps day to day that accumulate in healing.

I enjoyed reading this interesting account of an ordinary woman's extraordinary life. She managed to go on after so many crises, it is truly inspiring. Best of all it felt like I was having a long conversation with the author since it is so personal and easy to read. I hope there will be a sequel in the future.

The author has a great story telling ability, I look forward to additional works from her. I found it haunting that the stories could have happened to a neighbor or even your cousin and you never put them together as a picture of an important persons' live. You will have a renew interest in contacting old friends and relatives as you picture Maureen's stories as parts of the time that you have missed in their life.

First non-fiction book I've read by Crichton. Of course this guy can write, almost everything he has put out has been entertaining so it's interesting to see how he does writing about his own life. This book consists of Crichton's anecdotes over his life, what he likes to do in his free time basically. Lately I've felt depressed and was looking for something to cheer me up. If you are searching for something in life this is will be interesting because so is he.

Some of the stories are straight up travel adventures intertwined with his personal life. I especially enjoyed reading about his hike up Mount Kilimanjaro. It's quite a detailed account of his ascent and made me want to try it on my next holiday. Also notable were visits with mountain gorillas in Rwanda, scuba diving on wrecks and with sharks, fighting with his girlfriend while on holiday in Jamaica. The woman inadvertently invites a convicted murderer and would-be mugger into their daytrip. He also explores the spiritual world and visits psychics, which is not my cup of tea, but quite interesting at times to explore through his eyes.

The capstone of this book is actually the postscript where the author argues with a group of leading scientists that they should not discount the paranormal and spiritual. If nothing else it provides an excellent basis for how one should go about in a serious debate. Personally I have never believed in mysticism, spiritualism, any of these non-scientific views of the world. I was interested to see the outcome after having read the book because Crichton really enjoys exploring these ideas. You could say he's a believer.

He writes, "science offers a picture of the world, but its picture is not to be confused with the underlying reality itself". For example a map of the world provides a detailed image of the geography, but it in fact it's not really a true reproduction of the underlying land. Science is able to express some of nature's unknowns in mathematical theory but it can only show a fraction of what is truly occurring. Crichton's argument is that there is much more to the world than science can explain and that we should be open-minded about where we might fight it. For some reason I found myself agreeing with him.

As a book-lover, you probably have a favorite that you read a couple of times a year. It sits there in your bookcase, and as you pass by you glance at it and smile, thinking of how much it's meant to you. And one day as you notice it, you say to yourself, "It's time I read this again!"

And so you do, visiting this old dear friend. You see aspects of its personality you hadn't fully noticed in previous readings, concepts that had escaped you before.

"Travels," by Michael Crichton, is my old dear friend.

Crichton was the author of "Jurassic Park," "The Andromeda Strain" and so many other books; and was the creator of the TV show "ER."

But did you know when he was a medical student at Harvard, he wrote a mystery he called, "A Case of Need"...using the pseudonymn "Jeffery Hunter" so no one at the university would know he was the author (students were supposed to study, not write books)? And he'd have been sucessfully anonymous, only....ooops! His book won the Mystery Writers of America "Edgar" as best mystery novel of the year.

The first part of "Travels" is "Medical Days," a fascinating look into the lives of medical students and their patients. It's not written in dry medical terms but in arresting vignettes of different patients, fellow students and teachers.

This takes us from 1965 through 1969 and to page 81 (paperback edition). Then he wrote about his travels (1971 through 1986).

He climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, and when we read it we're taken right along with him. Wore me out. In Rwanda, he went looking for gorillas and found them. A zoologist with him said that she couldn't study gorillas because they "were men." At the end of his stay there, he understood what she meant by that remark.

In northern Kenya Crichton went eye to eye with an elephant in the middle of the night; in Bonaire he almost died when scuba diving with his sister; he found Shangri-La, which is no "Shangri-La;" in Jamaica his girlfriend invited a murderer into the back of their car and he came THIS close to being killed; in Pahang he was literally covered with bees in the jungle; he went swimming with sharks in Tahiti...so many countries, so many adventures, and through them all he was totally open about his feelings, about who he was (he learned this along the way.)

Crichton was self-deprecating, which is odd, because this 6'-9" man was handsome, brilliant and talented.

A little more than half-way through the book, things take an interesting/weird/off-the-wall (depending upon your point of view) turn. These chapters are about his "inner travels."

Can you picture Michael Crichton believing in spoon bending, seeing and fluffing auras, talking to cacti? He did, and the chapter "Cactus Teachings" so affected me that years ago I bought a huge cactus and have it yet.

The chapter "An Entity" is one I'll read more than once when I get to it.

At the end of the book, Crichton listed his conclusions about psychic phenomena. There are three. First, consciousness has legitimate dimensions not yet guessed at. Secondly, at least some psychic phenomena are real. Third, there are energies associated with the human body that are not yet understood.

(At his web site, he was asked once if he still believed what he wrote about in "Travels," and he answered that he did, but that he went on to other things.)

He did NOT believe in levitation, flying saucers, the Bermuda Triangle, extraterrestrials, palmistry, numerology, astrology, psychic surgery, biorhythms, coincidence or pyramid power.

Well, neither do I, but still...that chapter on "an entity"....

And now it's time to get comfortable in my beat-up recliner. sweetened tea at hand, and begin to read for perhaps the fortieth time, "Travels."

Oh, Michael, we miss you so.

No arm chair traveler here. Chrichton shares adventures climbing Kilimanjaro, exploring New Guinea, hiking through the Himalayas, and participating in metaphysical retreats. He also shares his inner-most thoughts, insights about meaning of life, and impact of geography and culture on his world view and inner child. He willingness reveals his frailties but not to demonstrate humility but as object lessons on how to observe oneself and hence to better understand and benefit from how our mind works. Chrichton is willing to bare his soul to help himself and the reader have a better understanding about what is possible.

This is not just a travel book. It is a collection of experiences as well that will appeal to travelers of the spiritual realms as well the physical world. Michael has led a truly remarkable life and it is well worth the read!

At the time that I picked up my copy of Travels I had read just about all of Crichton's novels with the exception of The Terminal Man and Eaters of the Dead (I'll read them someday). So, I had formed quite a liking for Dr. MC and his writings and thought Travels would be a perfect way to get to see more about the real life of my favorite author.

Travels takes you as the reader back in time during his med school years at Harvard and the troubles he experienced throughout the way. Many of his stories dramatically shock you, or make you laugh...they're all so readable. After his med school years, we are taken to the years of his being a writer, and his amazing journeys he took around the globe.

The best thing about this book is just reading the raw text of MC. Many people may not know how witty, clever, and sarcastic he really is. I see some comparisons to the No Reservations star Anthony Bourdain...as they are both very tall, lanky, and witty people. Anthony is far more bitter and sarcastic than MC however.

His detailed descriptions of his travels really pull you in...like one of his adventure novels. Some of the highlights are the diving adventure with his sister where they nearly run out of air and die, or the climb up Mount Kilimanjaro.

I couldn't put this book down - it was that enjoyable. It was amazing to see how such a great writer had such amazing adventures. I know now that he has first handedly been to most of the settings of each of his novels.

I was so pleased with Travels and will probably read it again someday soon. Getting to look inside the life and times of one of the best novelists of our time really is a special opportunity that no one should pass up. It shows how detailed and how much time he puts into his work.

Read this book and you won't be let down.

I found this book by complete accident in the remainders section of Stanford University bookstore, and it was the perfect summer reading for an East Coast academic spending the summer in Palo Alto. I think this is one of the most elegant and lovely books on contemporary religious community I've read - I don't really understand the editorial reviews that say it is an indictment as such or that it is an attack as such on Baker. The facts really seem to speak for themselves. I have read the customer reviews here at Amazon, and think they, too, are some of the most thoughtful I have read on any book on Amazon.

I have little experience of American Buddhism. But I do have a lot of experience as a nonprofit expert, as a legal expert on nonprofit organization governance, and as a long time board member of several organizations. I was particularly struck in this tale by the inability of the members of this community to come to grips with the fact that they were a community with communal obligations, issues of membership, control, governance, etc. One of those is the obligation to pay for the community; another is to figure out how much to pay those who labor for the community. The most telling detail in the entire book, for me, was the comment that Baker needed money to pay his child's tuition at Brown University. People refer constantly to Baker's lavish lifestyle; it was, but at the same time, what is the right lifestyle for someone in such a community?

On the one hand, the community had adherents who over time would be unable to care for themselves, having devoted themselves to sitting exclusively or, worse, laboring for the community's enterprises but with no long term benefit for themselves. On the other hand, religious pastors, rabbis, etc., particularly those in which marriage and family are permissible, have to be able to maintain a certain life - including one that is responsible toward those who depend on them, their children, for example. Does that include a Brown University tuition? A middle class or upper middle class lifestyle? Certainly it was not going to be that for many of the ordinary faithful. Was it right that this be so for Baker?

But the inability to answer this question - or only to answer it by saying, a vow of poverty - as a matter of nonprofit governance, is essentially to preclude the religious community from reproducing itself, at least in the biological sense. Sure, continuous waves of converts can extend the community. But unless a religion finds a way to accommodate marriage and children within the faith, and in some way that takes account of who, in terms of class and society, the faithful are - well, it will be a religion whose longterm trajectory more closely resembles the Shakers than Catholics or Mormons, and is not very likely to reproduce the "project" of a community of American Buddhism.

I'm a student of Zen Buddhism myself. I'm also an anthropologist. I'm also a Chinese living in the U.S. I think these parts of my background influences my commentary below.

Any Zen student who is considering deepening his/her practice or considering forming a formalised student-spiritual teacher relationship should definitely read this book. Often in Zen Buddhist circles (or any religious circles, for that matter) matters of spirituality are talked about, but there is not much space and/or opportunity for reflection on the human institution that the religious practise comes out of.

Let me repeat that: any religious or spiritual practise in this world comes out of some form of socio-cultural institution simply because we are human beings (and so is the teacher). The institution is of this world because human beings are part of this world.

This books does not deal much with the spiritual practice side of American Zen which isn't its purpose. Rather, it deals with the human institution of American Zen as it was formed and practised in the 70s and early 80s at San Francisco Zen Centre (SFZC). While not an anthropological or sociological look at the institution, it is very much persons-centred narratives about the experiences of SFZC providing interesting glimpses of the human side of the experiences of Zen students and ordained priests and also words from the highly controversial Zen teacher Richard Baker.

For me, (and I do own this projection) it was amazing to see quotes from Richard Baker who time and time again says he could not see the kind of impact he held as a teacher and who, according to this book, still is surprised by the fallout that happened. He says he didn't realise how much authority he had or how much authority students had imagined him to have. To me, it seems that Richard Baker, while might be spiritually wise, lacked profundity and awareness of human social interactions. For someone practising awareness, I find that amazing, but certainly very human. At least this is how my reaction is towards the portrayal of Richard Baker in this book.

The book guides us in the direction of understanding the SFZC fiasco with ideas about charismatic personality, American Puritanism (work ethic), undemocratic administration, idealism and some leanings about American culture with the fascination (and sometimes reverence) of personalities (imagine Hollywood). One aspect that this book does not discuss or suggest but I think is still part of Buddhism as practised and experienced in America today and I very much would imagine it to be part of the SFZC fiasco is the idea of "orientalism".

Orientalism is a term coined by the late post-colonial scholar Edward Said. The idea is that in the western world, oriental and occidental worked in opposite directions so that the idea of the orient was constructed in as a negative inversion of the west. It should be noted that Said's Oriental refers of the Middle East but it also can be extended to Far East Asia. Western portrayal of the oriental world was that it was an inversion of the occidental world--mystical, exotic, fantastical. Coupling with Foucault's idea of the relationship between power and knowledge, Said analyses how the power of the coloniser (occidental) forms the knowledge of the colonised (oriental) and this knowledge of the oriental in turn empowers the coloniser's further actions of colonisation. And on it goes.

While there are certain critiques of Said, I think Said's idea of orientalism (the mysticising and exoticising) can be brought to a reading of the SFZC fiasco and American Buddhism. Downing (author of Shoes) does not refer to the term orientalism but throughout his book, one has to wonder whether a mysticisation and exoticsation of the east did not play a role into how SFZC practitioners practised. For instance, on page 236 Downing describes how Zen teacher Richard Baker "speculates that some of the confusion Zen teachers in America began to experience was cultural confusion, a difference between Japanese and American sensibilities and ethics." Baker, as explained by Downing, is saying that some of his behaviours were acceptable coming from a Japanese perspective but perhaps not as easily understood from an American perspective. I want to further push the idea for us to think about: that is it possible that acts of exoticising and mysticising the east sometimes led students (and teachers) to not question certain practises? Those practises were possibly led to the realm of "holiness" or "untouchable" or "inscrutable" because of that exoticising. I would strongly imagine so. For me, I have experienced certain practises in Buddhism in America which leads me to question whether those practises are orientalist. That is, what kind of meaning can it hold for Americans beyond the realm of exotic?

This book reminds us that any spiritual practise is embedded in and part of culture. One of the first tenets of anthropology is that there is nothing outside of culture simply because as human beings we all operate within it and cannot get outside of it. (I actually think Zen says this too). But even if you're not an anthropologist, you could certainly (I hope) see that! Certainly then, the history of Zen in America (coming through from Japan) carried with it Japanese cultural elements which need not be replicated in America if those elements and practises carry no meaning (aside from exotic and mystical) for American society.

As a longtime Zen practitioner who has attended retreats led by senior teachers of the SF Zen Center, I could barely resist the urge to read this book cover to cover in one sitting. Morbidly fascinating it is, and deeply enlightening as well---for me it connected a huge number of dots, yielding insight into the social, cultural, historical and institutional baggage that is inextricable from the Zen experience that SFZC (often referred to half-jokingly as "the Vatican of American Zen") and many other American Zen organizations offer.

The book is also frustrating in that the author does jump around a bit...though it appears that he has spent a little time around Zen centers and may have done a bit of sitting meditation himself, he often seems to veer off on various tangents. Until the last 1/3 of the book that is, when he keeps coming back to interviews with Richard Baker, who keeps selling us the same maddening horse manure about being, why, simply unaware of the consequences of what he was doing during his tumultuous tenure as head of SFZC. This repetition quickly becomes monotonous.

Baker is clearly a highly developed narcissistic personality (a google search of "Narcissistic Personality Disorder" sums him up pretty well) which is both hilariously ironic and doubly unfortunate---and I'm afraid to say, hardly uncommon---for a leader of a religion that's supposed to be all about teaching us to let go of our conditioned egoistical delusions.

This book begs the question: how on earth did such a borderline-sociopathic personality become head of what would become the largest, most influential Zen group in North America...and how did he get away with so much for so long? Zen Buddhists, especially the Western variety, are hardly idiots or cult-addled automatons...yet how was Baker able to do so much damage for as long as he did before the feces finally hit the fan?

Downing barely brushes up against the answer, and makes no attempt to synthesize all the information that he manages to unearth. (It's worth noting that he gained access to SFZC senior members through the pretense of writing a book about SFZC, rather than about Richard Baker's 1983 scandal that nearly wrecked the place. But perhaps this was his editor's commercial-minded imposition.)

What comes through loud and clear is just how INSTITUTIONAL (i.e. mainly concerned with its own survival/prosperity rather than its spiritual underpinnings) Shunryu Suzuki's mushrooming-mega-sangha quickly became, despite its cultural and religious pretensions. It is obvious that Suzuki appointed Baker to succeed him mainly because he knew Baker was a phenomenally charismatic fundraiser and networker. It is also obvious that Baker got away with murder for so long in large part due to the community's dog-like devotion to upholding Papa Suzuki's legacy, i.e. his decision to grant to Baker alone the dubious "dharma transmission" ritual.

Most of all it is sadly obvious that the great majority of the well-educated and socioeconomically priviledged Americans who built SFZC, were desperately thirsty for what they perceived as institutional validation of their Zen practice through this sort of mindless adherence to Japanese Zen's traditional forms and formalism, which are of course also themselves byproducts of the mother country's own sociological and institutional pressures.

Downing's book is a much needed wake-up call for those who would practice Zen with an uncritical eye towards its inherent institutional biases and limitations, which are not much different from those of any other religion.

Had it contained a bit more analysis instead of just repetitive interviews, I would give it 5 stars.

The author attempts to tell the story of the San Francisco Zen Center using the events leading up to the dismissal/resignation of Abbott-for-life, Zentatsu Richard Baker, in 1983. In the process, he interviews many people who experience euphoric or dysphoric recall about events that happened over twenty years ago. His achievement is a book which it seems tries to tell the story of almost anyone tangentially connected with SFZC during that time. As a result, he relates a perjorative tale of recrimination, grudges, and generally bad feelings that exist to this day. It is unfortunate that Professor Downing could not have used better literary technique and more restraint to shape the raw material he mined in these extensive interviews. This appears to be a genuinely lost opportunity. Instead, he gives us a gossipy, slanted piece of he said/she said, portraying the general membership of SFZC as mindless androids, who sit zazen and do their master's bidding without privilege of free will. Baker is painted as a Svengali-like character, who only becomes your friend or teacher so that he can use you for his own devices and priorities later on. Downing lays out this character study as the familiar absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely tale with the victims of that power having no control over their lives. Recently, non-Abbotts like Tom DeLay and Jack Abramboff served as examples of these types of personages. Regardless of who you believe in this National Enquirer rendering of Buddhism in America, the value of what is related is that the SFZC survives to this day and in resonably good health. It weathered a crisis as an organization and individuals, no matter how well or how poorly. As a symbol of Zen Buddhism in the United States, it remains on the journey to enlightenment, as do its members. You don't need 380-odd pages of war stories to illustrate the point. Unless you want to look for this title in the two dollar bargin bin at your local book store, go to the SFZC's website. They seem capable of telling their own story, warts and all.

An interesting, unusual accout of Zen in America. Unusual in its stark honesty and detail, interesting for those same reasons! Michael Downing's book is built around a scandal (sex, greed, power, all of the usual suspects involved) which errupted at the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC) in 1983. Much of the book details the actions of Richard Baker, the only American to receive Dharma Transmission (often called Enlightenment) from noted Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki. Quite a bit of other material is covered as well, presenting a full picture of life and relations at perhaps the most successful Zen organization in the West.

In presenting events in their historical context, Downing explains the structure of the Zen Buddhist Sangha (church), history of Shunryu Suzuki and many of the early pioneers who first explored Zen Buddhism in San Fransisco after Suzuki began to teach. Reading this book over the course of a week, I didn't get the feeling that Downing took on this project to do damage to adherents to Zen or the SFZC. Rather his mission seems to have been to figure out exactly what had happened to cause the 1983 melt down (it was actually a long time festering before it broke and Downing sets the stage completely), how such a thing could happen in an organization where one of the main principles was to Cause No Harm, and then exploring why it happened with a critical eye towards absolute power and some of the more traditional processes.

I liked the detail Downing exacted throughout, introducing the vast array of real-life characters who were part of "The Scene" during the 1960's and 1970's in California and nationally. He does a superb job connecting the relationship web between people. So many folks are covered sometimes I had to flip back to remind myself--it does jump around a bit, but I couldn't think of any other way to present a series of connected events like this. Downing also does an admireable job of explaining how SFZC grew into such a huge organization. I learned more about the SFZC and its place in history than from many of the other books I've read about Buddhism in the West. Certainly I obtained a better understanding of how processes such as Transmission work and relate to the political process inherent in this Zen body politic.

While the entire book is certainly not a slanted diatribe, Downing does not claim to be a hands-off Bodhisatva with no opinion. He expresses distaste for a selection of teachers, transmition holders and other claimants to enlightenment who abuse their positions of authority by using and personally profiting from others in a variety of ways. Downing's book demands that the reader confront sexual and financial misconduct and the abuse of trusting disciples. He strips away the varnish of position, money, high titles and robes to expose simple humanity--good, bad and in-between.

Downing explains the problem-solving process SFZC went through, and how it regrouped and restructured in response to the problems, and in an effort to prevent future abuses and disasters. There are also a number of accounts of individuals who moved on from the devestation to heal others as well as themselves. I have often heard the phrase that life is stranger than fiction. In this case, it is most certainly true and probably not what most of us have come to expect.

By far the best book I've read... you have to get the second one tooo... the secret life if a show addict! AMAAAAAAAZING! I'm not much of a reader but I couldn't put this book down. I also made my friends buy it. I can't wait for another to come out!

I was immediately drawn to this book from the first few pages. A group of 4 women from different backgrounds that have a same common interest, their love of shoes.

Likes -
1) The end of each chapter wanted to keep you reading more.
2) The main characters were very likeable
3) Enjoyed the beginning and middle of story
4) Detailed characters very well
5) Very easy and fun read

Dislikes -
1) Didn't see too much development in characters, they miraculously jumped from being one way to another
2) Detailed certain characters (Transvestite & Sandra's regular Caller) but they never eclipsed like you would expect. No real explanation why they did what they did.
3) Detailed the beginning and middle very well but then wrapped it up too quickly in the end. The end was VERY rushed.
4) Characters developed this tight bond overnight, which was somewhat unrealistic
5) Sandra miraculously recovered from her agoraphobia almost overnight
6) The car chase - that's all I have to say...
7) Ending was completely C-O-R-N-Y. It was pretty much just "summarized" as if the author got tired of writing and just quickly summed it up.

I really liked this book in the beginning but as soon as the car chase (involving all the main characters) it went down hill from there. Too cheezy. The author so quickly unraveled the story after taking so much time developing each character that she jumped from one plot to the next with no realistic flow. The ending was really disappointing. Pretty lazy if you ask me.

About 80% of the book is enjoyable, so I would recommend it and take the ending with a grain of salt.

This is the typical, generic, chick-lit that one would expect when picking this up. That is not bad thing. It's an enjoyable tale of four women with an obsession for shoes (well, 3 of them). This is nothing revolutionary, but it is the perfect beach read or pick-me-up to any woman's day.

I love shoes, and the book was an easy read, but it really didn't "grab or hold me" until the last quarter of the book

Also a shoe addict, although my budget runs more to Clarks and Eastlands, I could definitely identify with the "high" these ladies get from buying shoes!
A fast and fun read. Lorna, the waitress, has no fiscal responsibility, Sandra is agoraphobic, Helene is living a lie in her marriage, and Joss, the nanny, allows her employer to take advantage of her good heart. Women can certainly find themselves in these dead-end situations which I enjoyed seeing the four main characters overcome.
I'm waiting for another Evanovich, and this one "filled the bill."