Product Description
A comprehensive and practical guide to the ancient oracle based on the runic alphabet of the Norse.

* Reveals the symbolism and divinatory significance of the 24 rune "staves".

* Provides clear instructions on how to craft your own rune stones.

* Explains the role of runes in the Norse wisdom tradition and its influence on such works as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

Nordic runes are a potent and profoundly transformative magic system that gives contemporary readers access to the ancient wisdom tradition of Northern European cultures. The runes have deep resonances within the pagan Norse world of gods and goddesses, giants, dwarves, warriors, and wizards, which have greatly influenced the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, among others. Norse tradition attributes the discovery of the runes to the "All-Father" Odin-a god of inspiration and secret wisdom and the mythical prototype for runecasters, who established the pattern for gaining his knowledge.

Nordic Runes addresses three major areas: Runelore, the history of this 2000-year-old Norse oracle; Runestaves, the meaning of the individual runes of the Elder Futhark alphabet and their powerful mythological, magical, and practical lessons for daily life; and Runecasting, a comprehensive guide to the oracular application of the ancient runes, including their crafting, divination, and self-development. As Nordic Runes shows, the runes do more than simply reflect the path of fate; they help develop and enhance intuition. By learning to cast and interpret the runes, the user becomes receptive to the energy currents in material reality and empowered in the arts of its transformation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Nordic Runes
This is a very adequate book for people new to the runes, and in fact, I would even recommend it for those who have limited experience.The author gives solid, traditional descriptions of the runes and does a good job of explaining where he derives his meaning from by presenting the rune poems and applicable lore.In that regard, it is an excellent teaching tool for anyone who wants to delve into the primary sources.

The problem that I have with this book is that the author breaks no new ground whatsoever, aside from a few spreads he explains in the final section.Thus, for those with even a little experience, everything you'll find should be old hat.As a previous reviewer stated, reversed runes are explained very poorly.

A good beginners book on rune reading
The Author has established a niche for his trilogy on divination techniques from the ancient Celts, Norse, and western Europeans and he has kept within that niche with this book.It does not provide an elaborate discussion of the history of the runes and the different systems in use.He takes the Elder Futhark, using dagaz and othila as the twenty-third and twenty-fourth runes, respectively and provides the pronunciation guides, poetry, lore, and more needed to develop an understanding of each of the individual runes.I have a fair-sized collection of rune reading books but the spreads and casting techniques provided in "Nordic Runes" were new to me.

Two problems:(1) reversed runes are not well explained initially, however, the Author clarifies them in the spreads and casting section; (2) the Author denies any significance to the aettir - i.e. he believes that their order does not have any hidden meaning.

For folks new to rune work, the final chapter provides an overview of the major books and authors from the past 20 years.

"Nordic Runes" is a good platform for further runic studies for folks drawn to this kind of work. ... Read more

Product Description
The ancient Ogam alphabet is a magical script that, like the Runes, Tarot and I Ching, can be used as an oracle to teach us about our fate and future. This book provides an inspirational yet comprehensive guide to an ancient system used by the Celts. Readers can discover: the history of the Oglamore, a 1500 year-old oracle of the Celts and Druids; the meaning of ogamfews, individual tree-letters and the Four Treasures; and the practical art of consulting the Oglam oracle. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a selection of the songs and sayings of Noel Coward, chosen and directed by Maria Aitken and performed by Polly Adams, Michael Cochrane, Clive Francis, Jane Horrocks, Belinda Lang and Paul Rhys. ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides the reader with a clear explanation of the relationship of the landlord and tenant, its formal requirements and its benefits and burdens. Common law principles and statutory provisions in relation to each type of lease are stated and, where appropriate, critically examined and proposals for reform discussed. The book covers most of the undergraduate landlord and tenant examination syllabuses, looking in turn at residential, business and agricultural tenancies. The book also explores the reforms recommended by the Law Commission and brought into legislation by the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
This is the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, illustrated with examples of his music. The biography tells of Mozart's childhood travelling the courts of Europe, and of how, after a brief period of fame in Vienna, his fortunes declined until his early death and his last resting place in a pauper's grave. This title features over 70 excerpts, from Mozart's operas, symphonies, chamber music and choral works, including "The Requiem". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Like Mozart's music, his biography is bittersweet
Very informative and wonderfully narrated, this biography of the great composer is as bittersweet as his music.Much of the facts of his life are well known to most music lovers, but this biography includes valuable insight into Mozart's life by quoting from his letters and the letters and diaries of those close to him.

A Mozart delight
Mozart is a delight in his own right. But this "rendition," using music to accompany the story, makes it seem so much more complete. Including the music with various part of his life helps the reader to see/hear the progress of his genius.

A very enjoyable introduction to Mozart
It seems the most popular budget classical music label, Naxos, not only makes most of the Western musical output available at very reasonable prices (no top stars who demand absurd fees make this possible), but it hasalso issued three very nice boxed sets of recordings on cassettes and CDs(I have the latter)that together give you a quick, fairly accurate, andquite enjoyable survey of three major topics.Perry Keenlyside's (NA 314412) is on three tapes or CDsand more or less delivers what the title promises in about 3 hours and 40minutes. The text is considerately divided into sections--"Mozart, thechild prodigy," "January 1762, the first journeys,""Paris and London, 1763-4," and so on--with tracking cues foreach section. The narration and quotations from letters and journals of thetime are accompanied by the appropriate music drawn from the bottomlessNaxos catalogue.Nigel Anthony is the narrator, aided by Paul Rhys(Mozart), Edward de Souza (Leopold Mozart), with David Timson and AnnaPatrick in "other parts." I have not seen the original books tosee how much of an abridgment this is, if at all, but that is immaterial.The voices are personable, the information digestible, the whole projectvery worth while, especially at the price.My only objection to theNaxos recordings of books in the low recording level that makes it a bitdifficult to hear on a walkman set up on (say) a noisy train. But thisshould offer no problem to home hearing or even in your car. These sets arereally perfect listening for long trips. ... Read more

Product Description
A comprehensive and practical guide to the ancient oracle based on the alphabet of the Druids.*Describes the symbolism and mythology of the 20 "tree letters" and their magical correspondences.*Includes instructions on how to make your own Ogam divination sticks, cast the oracle, and perceive omens.*Provides historical background and bibliographic references to the Druidic mythology ruling this 1,500-year-old oracle.

The ancient Ogam alphabet is a magical and mysterious script, the Celtic equivalent of the runes that can teach us about our fate and future. Named after woodland trees, Ogam's 20 "tree letters" all have unique wisdom to impart that is linked to figures and themes from Celtic mythology.

The author addresses three major areas in this book: Ogamlore, the history of this 1500-year-old oracle of the Celtic Druids; Ogamfews, the meaning of the individual tree letters, their magic, characteristics, folklore, and related stories; and Ogamcasting, the practical art of Ogam divination, which includes spreads, castings, and how to create your own Ogam set. With these tools of ancient Celtic wisdom, readers will receive insights and guidance on how to maneuver through life's questions and challenges. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Detailed knowledge
Excellent book.You just have to concentrate and read it well.Very knowledgable.

The Gravesian Idol is still not given Up
Anti-latinism and anti-christianism appear to be standards for celtic divination, blaming these groups on page 31 for destroying the druid religion. His history of ogam is conflicted.He says on page 14 that ogam was invented around 300 c.e. by a man, but on page 11 says a god invented it. So which is it? He also associates ogam with the druids, which is a bit strained since he acknowledges that ogam is a post-christian invention, after the Latins and Christians finished destroying druidism. He also makes the error of fixating on tree ogam, even though he knows that the letter names are unrelated to trees, and dismisses all the other types of ogam (listed in the Auraicept na n-Eces) as encyclopediac lists (page 26), but the tree list is one of these. And last, Mr. Graves and his White Goddess book, which Mr. Mountfort is well aware that scholars reject, but pleads that it has 'profound insight'(page 200).

Ogam review
The book Ogam: The Celtic Oracle of the Trees: Understanding, Casting, and Interpreting the Ancient Druidic Alphabet is excellent.It explains the symbols and tells you how to make your own casting sticks.

book sale
I like this book but I would never buy any books from amazon again they rip people off by charging more for shipping then it really cost to send the books.

TREES!!!
I am learning ogham and one of the most important things that ogham offers is a path to communing with the trees.This is a fantastic book and I encourage people to use it for the purposes of communing with the wisdom that the trees can teach us. ... Read more

Product Description
Stonehenge, over 4000 years old and the most massive and striking remnant of pre-Roman civilization in Britain, has fascinated man for centuries. Yet although many theories - archaeological and astronomical, mainstream and offbeat - have tried to explain its sense and purpose, it remains an enigma. Yet Stonehenge is not a quiet enigma, it is Europe's most contentious ancient monument. The question of who has rights to the place, and what they may do there, is a much-publicized issue. Annual fights over Stonehenge have become part of the summer ritual, as festival-goers, Druids and mystics gather there in June to practice rites that are ancient or modern, moving or bogus, according to your viewpoint. Five expert contributors now set out their contradictory ideas about Stonehenge, from the viewpoints of archaeologists, ancient Britons, earth-mystery students, civil libertarians and bemused bystanders. Their debate is informed, acute, extra-ordinary, funny - and essential to understanding why the past matters in the world today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

who owns the past?!
There is a variety of views in which the past can be seen and Stonehenge has been a subject and inspiration over many centuries and especially in the period of the 80s.
"Who owns Stonehenge", is the result of a discussion about the site, at the world Archaeological congress, in Southampton, in 1986, within the larger framework of the question, who owns the past?
Due to the different backgrounds of the authors, this work approaches Stonehenge from five directions, a fact that makes the book more interesting and at the same time less subjective.
The first chapter, written by Christopher Chipindale, an Archaeologist, who also works on the history of ideas about the past, discuss issues of physical Stonehenge, as well as the intellectual history of the place and claims that have been made to it.
The next four chapters contain four individual views:P. Devereux has researched into lays and associated geomantic subjects. He attempts to show the connection of the site to the general picture of sacred ones. Peter Fawler is a professor of Archaeology and talks about aspects of archaeological constrains to the site. Rhys Jones has a particular interest in the sacred sites of the aborigines in Australia and he relates cases from there to Stonehenge. Lastly, Tim Sebastian, the Secular Arch-Druid(!)
These four chapters offer to the reader an interesting chance of thinking about the complex index of Stonehenge, as it is not just an archaeological site, but has a lot more meanings to a variety of many people.
The sixth chapter gives the whole story of the events that occurred there during the 80s and the last chapter looks to Stonehenge of tomorrow and makes some suggestions that concerna multi-purpose view of the site.
Beside the references and the index of names, there is also an additional reading compartment, for those who might want to explore further the themes of this book.
The work is well illustrated, with lot of b&w photographs, drawings, paintings, maps & posters.
"Who owns Stonehenge" is a different way of looking into ancient sites, a way, in which many more sites around the world should be approached, as it is a quite holistic approach, covering, as far it is possible, all aspects of this particular case, from its archaeological importance until administrating problems and social conflicts related to it. The writing of the book allows even to non experts to get the general idea of Stonehenge as an ancient religious and sacred site.
However, it can also be seen as a just good presentation of what Stonehenge really stands for, while a case like thatrequires further discussion. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of over 70 love poems, including the top ten chosen in a BBC listeners' poll. The poets range from John Donne, William Shakespeare and Andrew Marvell to John Betjeman, Ted Hughes and John Fuller. ... Read more

Product Description
This Second Edition of the well-received Principles and Practice of Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology has been thoroughly updated by a key team of internationally recognized experts in otolaryngology and oncology.This revised guide includes recent developments and research in the field to keep physicians informed. It has also been reorganized by anatomical location for easy reference and speedy diagnosis.Providing a useful source of knowledge and reference, this text is a valuable guide not only for trainee head and neck surgeons and oncologists, for all established specialists entrusted with the care of patients with head and neck cancer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

head and neck oncology
This is an outstadning book in the field of head and neck oncology....well written, to the point with wonderful diagrams and flowcharts.....makes pleasurable reading without being boring.....has covered all aspects of this intriguing and difficult region with the utmost clarity and finesse......definately a top-notcher from a master in his discipline....i strongly recommend this book to all dedicated head and neck oncology students.....a must have in every book collection! ... Read more

Product Description
Experience some of the most thrilling poetry and drama in world literature. This unique collection includes two sonnets and famous scenes from 11 of Shakespeare's plays: Macbeth, Othello, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard II, Henry V, Cymbeline, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Each scene is performed by well-known actors; each is prefaced with an introduction that highlights the main themes of the play, summarizes the plot, and describes the scene you are about to hear. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Wonderful Anthology
Ted Hughes always had to do everything his own way, and so his anthology of Shakespeare for this "Essential" series (which is quite good generally) is typically unique. The book is arranged more or less chronologically with passages from the plays juxtaposed with sonnets until the time at which he stopped writing sonnets. There seem to be little currents of thematic connection running through the ordering of selections, which is sometimes intriguing.Hughes decided for no particularly good reason to identify the passages and numbers of the sonnets in an appendix at the end of the book instead of having the titles (and sonnet numbers) atop each passage. The idea was to remove the speeches from their context in the plays so they could sing alone, but this has an odd effect. The speeches in the plays aren't really poems that exist independently the way the sonnets do or the way any other poem, good or bad, does. They are magnificent and the context isn't the most importantaspect but it's certainly relevant. They are all expressions by particular characters in distressful situations, so the nature of the distress and type of character are important. Out of context, they don't always have much validity, they're not universal, self-evident truths. Lady Macbeth's quotes are chilling and magnificent but relate to the experience of wanting to murder or having murdered an important person who's sleeping over, not life in general. So I wish he'd let us know what play and who the speaker was right there on the same page.

Having said that, this is an excellent selection and a useful thing to have. Most of us can't give as much time to Shakespeare as we would like to, seeing or reading the plays, so a work like this that digs out a lot of the great passages is really welcome. And they are wonderful. No one has expressed the real goings on of the psyche with so much clarity and affection as Shakespeare.

Billiantly Well Done
I bought this set of two audio CDs on a lark so I could qualify for free shipping on another item. It has turned out to be the most entertaining audio purchase I made last year. I have a 10-minute drive to work, and I listen to it every day while driving. The scenes are so well acted, the narration so illuminating, the music so appropriate, the audio so clear, and the drama so vivid -- it's no less than Shakespeare at his best -- that you simply cannot listen to it just once. I have easily listened to every scene more than 15 times, and I find something new and priceless every time I repeat the cycle. If you don't have access to live productions of Shakespeare's plays and you're like me and find his works somewhat daunting to read, this audio product is the perfect solution. The actors are consummate pros. My only complaint is that the CD insert gives credit to only four actors. I'm quite sure that I heard more than four, one of whom is surely the narrator, Mary Denham. Anyway, all of the performers shine, as does this product.

More fun than a standard audiobook
This is great entertainment in the car.Shakespeare is a nice break from the standard audiobook.If it has been a while since you last saw some of these plays performed, these scenes will bring it all back to you.The introductions are very nice in setting up the scene.

Essential Shakespeare
As a 3rd Year English Student, I highly reccomend this collection. While I already own the Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works, this book I find offers a unique way of reading Shakespeare. Ted Hughes offers a brilliant introduction in which he relates how Shakespeare can be read on two very unique levels. Plays in their entirety, and the way that this book offers selections, exerpted speeches and soliloquies. Taken out of context, the various collected tid-bits stand on their own and allow the reader to absord the text and poetry without being constrained by characterization and plot development, a more abstract quality is given to the works and the texts stand by themselves in a distinct way. Worth picking up, cheers. ... Read more

Product Description
Simon Callow, Lindsay Duncan, Paul Rhys and Harriet Walter read from the works of Shakespeare. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is written by an experienced author team representing the many areas from which the new discipline of Bioinformatics is emerging. Their common sense approach and carefully detailed presentations in Bioinformatics: A Computing Perspective blends computing and biological sciences in an engaging and unique way.

Customer Reviews (2)

Decent introduction, but needs work
Overall, this book serves as a decent springboard into further exploration of topics in bioinformatics. It gives a broad sampling of the terms and basic techniques in the field, making the reader conversant enough to research the details elsewhere. This level of involvement is probably the best approach for an emerging field like bioinformatics, where the rules of the game are hardly written down before they change again.

On the other hand, I had several issues with this book. For one, it seemed like a rough draft in many places. In addition to some copyediting issues and stylistic inconsistencies, a few of the illustrations were poorly constructed and unclear.

The book aims (according to the back cover) to be a "standalone text" focusing on the computing side of bioinformatics, but with relevant background in biology and mathematics. Though it handled computing, math, and statistics fairly well, I felt that the biology side of the material was lacking, and sometimes even off the mark. The authors have a tendency to make analogies to computing whenever they try to explain a biological process. This is not necessarily a bad idea, but they often spend too much time on the analogies rather than the actual explanation, confusing the issue by bogging down the reader in the parts that did not correspond. My recommendation: more (and better) illustrations, and fewer analogies.

Even the computing part had some problems. The exercises were all over the place. Some were trivial and had tenuous relevance ("decode this Morse code message using a table"), while others were large programming projects with latent, difficult graph theory problems. Meanwhile, a few code listings demonstrated horrible programming practices (a state machine implemented with recursive function calls, anyone?). Moreover, they were all written in Java, which is fine in itself--choose a language and stick with it--but the text sometimes referred to Java idiosyncrasies that made discussions inapplicable to other languages.

I do not want to make this book sound worthless. It had many good qualities, and it was certainly valuable as a starting point. Still, I think the authors and the publisher need to consider some major revisions to many of its sections. I hope that there will be further editions that address some of these issues: the book has lots of potential that is mired by its rough edges.

nice delivery!
MY first review. For this newly published book, there is not much to say. If you are familiar with the logrithms and biochemistry, it's a good text book. What I want to say is that this is a very nice shopper, unbilievable fast delivery, and cheapest price for this book in nice condition. ... Read more

Product Description
In-depth coverage on the foundations of Buddhism, earlygods, vedic beliefs, karma, and the life of Buddha. 89 pages 5 1/2 x 81/2 comb binding. ... Read more

Product Description
The first edition of this book gained recognition as the definitive textbook of diabetes epidemiology. The second edition builds on this success, gathering recent information on international trends and data for diabetes mellitus. In particular, the book highlights the dramatic rise of Type 2 diabetes in children, adolescents and the elderly throughout the world.One new section features prevention and screening of both Type1 and Type 2 diabetes. Other new chapters cover the epidemiology of obesity and the impact of nutrition, and review available guidelines for better worldwide glycemic control. Future challenges, including the effects of antipsychotic treatment and HIV infection and therapy on diabetes, are also addressed.All chapters have been completely revised and updated, covering:

• definitions, classification and risk factors for diabetes
• new evidence for screening and prevention of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes
• epidemiology of complications and associated risk factors
• economic aspects: the direct and indirect costs of diabetes.

The Epidemiology of Diabetes Mellitus fills the need for a current compendium of diabetes epidemiology in the tradition of the first monumental text of the late Kelly West. It is essential reading for general practitioners, diabetologists, clinical endocrinologists, cardiologists, epidemiologists, nurses, dieticians, and other diabetes care providers, as well as health care decision makers. ... Read more