Bond Reviews

It all started before May 10, 2003 before my daughter's wedding and I was so overwhelmed and overpowered by such a special and rather unexpected event that my body practically began to "fall apart". At first it was my knee that gave way, together with severe back pain; a week later, my stomach started hurting, and then came the scary moment when I felt that skipping beats of my heart. My doctor called it "atrial fibrillation". He told me that it could not be reversed and gave me medicine to take and so I was taking altogether 5 kinds of midication altogether. My cholesterol level was high and so was my blood pressure. Out of desperation I went to Honolulu just to get away for a few days thinking perhaps that would help me to calm down.

It was at the Ala Moana Mall that I met Master Luk Chun Bond who was demonstrating chi kung, the ancient art of healing, and immediately I joined the crowd and started learning the techniques of breathing deeply and also its various movements. A day later, I bought this book called, "The First 16 Secrets of Chi" and I started reading it and also following its techniques for healing.

Today I went to see my doctor to see for the results of my blood tests. I was so afraid that, like before, my cholesterol level was very high and so was my blood pressure, but to my surprise, Dr. Fong said to me, "You are the best among the 98% population, for your blood pressure and cholesterol level are excellent now and your good cholesterol is exceptional high." After doing the deep breathing method, my heart begins to calm down.

Now I have finally found the self-healing method that could help me to improve my health. For years I was looking for something that could help me. Finally I am so thankful I have found it. This book is very good for me and I know it will also be helpful to those who are in the same situation as I am. Whoever reads it I know will definitely also be helped by it.

Being a writer myself, I probably tend to look at the books I read with more of an analytical eye than the average reader. I was quite impressed with Chi Kung Master, Luk Chun Bond's The First 16 Secrets Of Chi, Feng Shui for the Human Body, so much so that I would give it a 5 star rating. It contains a wealth of information and even includes a diet chapter, yet it is neither boring nor technical. The personal information on Master Bond is quite fascinating and his instructions on how the exercises are done are exceptionally clear and well illustrated as they are shown in the sitting position as well as standing so that even handicapped individuals can learn the exercises. It is well organized and even indexes specific ailments, telling which exercises target them.

"There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same." Chinese Proverb:

“The First 16 Secrets of Chi: Feng Shui for the Human Body” by Luk Chun Bond, the Chi Kung Master of Honolulu offers us some very direct paths to the top of the mountain.

After reading Master Bond’s book, from its beginnings in rural China thru the Tai Chi exercises to the final chapter on self-healing I was mesmerized. Learning to understand all of the elements of Tai Chi, took on a whole new exquisiteness, the rapture in just being and an awareness through physical practice.

In ancient times there were great Taoist Sages; they taught that the task is complete, but the Sage doesn't seek credit or take pride in the task well done. Because the Sage is not attached to the success, the achievement lasts forever. The secrets of Chi are forever.

If I could give this book a 10-star rating, I would -- without any hesitation! The relationship developed between women and their therapists is so unique, powerful and virtually universal among women in therapy; ironically, it's rarely given public attention or focus, even in the therapeutic session itself. Lott (the author)is not a therapist, nor does she attempt to portray herself as one; rather, she is a journalist/author/woman who knows how to ask thought provoking questions that make for extremely interesting reading. This book is easy to read (I couldn't put it down!) and easy to identify with (there are real-life stories throughout). If you are a client and are uncertain how to talk about this important relationship with your therapist, this book can become a great vehicle for opening a deeper level of communication and understanding between the two of you. If you are a therapist, it's a great book to recommend to your clients, too. It's a continually thought-provoking book, almost guaranteed that any client and/or therapist who reads it will strongly identify with it.

I am just an average person struggling through my first real experience with therapy. I never knew what strong feelings I would have or what I was really getting into but sometimes it overwhelms me. This book was great. I have read approximately 10 books on therapy and specifically the relationship in therapy. This one was by the far the most helpful. Not only is it well-written but for me it really helped me to know what other people have gone through in therapy -- that I am not the only one. I think this is particularly good for those of us who sometimes feel madly in love with our therapist! Thank-you to the author!

Thank you so much for writing this book. Reading this book has been so beneficial to me and my therapy. I too had transference. It didn't make sense and was uncomfortable to deal with. My therapist was very understanding and helpful but this book answered so many questions and provoked many questions about myself, my therapst and as well as my past that I had never considered. I recommend this book to all who consider therapy. This should be required reading for therapists as well.

Thanks again to this author! Suzy

This is one of our favorites. The words are such an easy flow and the pictures bring the whole story together in a beautifully poetic way. We absolutely love this story at bedtime. My toddler and I can't get enough of this one.

Goodnight Moon gets all the hype, but I like Big Red Barn even better. This is a simple story about all the animals who live on a farm and the things they do during the day. No humans are anywhere to be found in this tale. The illustrations are simple and sweet. My 8 month old daughter just loves this book! It's very soothing for bedtime, especially because at the end of the story, all the animals go to sleep in the barn. Wonderful!

My 10 month old daughter loves this book. Do I need to say much more? She pays attention when I read it to her. That's saying something. And, oh, yes, she loves it when the Mooing page comes.

The downside of the massive popularity of James Bond on film is the shadow cast over the extraordinary Ian Fleming source novels. In truth, nothing Fleming wrote - the 13 novels, two books of short tales, a children's book (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and two non-fiction journalistic works - falls short of high inspiration. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", a book written in the glow of the first Bond movie success in 1963, is among Fleming's best. It is poetic, ingeniously plotted, and shows a full-dimensionality of character in Bond that John Grisham or Freddie Forsyth can only drool for. This is the book in which Bond finally falls in love (it came late in the book series), and it shows the maturation of Fleming's style - a style much admired by Raymond Chandler and the poet William Plomer, to name but two stalwarts - and also reveals the cynicism of battle scarring that Fleming personally was suffering in his copyright disputes on the earlier "Thunderball". The novel begins with a description of beachside, late summer, that is as richly evocative as a sonnet, and takes us into an Alpine Christmastime. Here was Fleming's "secret": like Dickens, he had the ability to create ambience so intense that one could taste the soft shell buttered crabs, and feel the cold sand of a winter strand. No recommendation is more heartfelt. So much snobbery pollutes novel reviews, but the driest academic will see the deep wells of Fleming, and the pure thrill of fantasy. Rider Haggard and John Buchan come close, but Fleming is perhaps the best escapist romancer of the twentieth century and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (along with "Dr No" and "From Russia With Love") are his masterworks. It is nothing short of criminal that these great romances are no longer available in their elegant Richard Chopping-designed hardcovers, or in well-styled mass paperbacks. They are, in short, the stuff of connoisseurs. Forget the sugary dribble of Kingsley Amis ("Colonel Sun": not bad), John Gardner (better with his originals, like "The Werewolf Trace"), or Raymond Benson. Go for gold.

This is probably Ian Fleming's most interesting and personal James Bond novel. This book precedes "You Only Live Twice" as it sends James Bond on a mission to track down the head of SPECTRE. This is a very well written novel and is very interesting trying to fathom what Fleming had been contemplating for his hero at that time in his life. I found this absorbing novel very difficult to put down once I started reading it as I did with its follow-up. If you do decide to read it I recommend that you read it before "You Only Live Twice." I will go one step further, if you read both of these novels then read "The Man with the Golden Gun" after you finish "You Only Live Twice." These three novels make up a sort of trilogy. One hint: "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is very close to the movie version. "You Only Live Twice" and "The Man with the Golden Gun" movies have very little at all to do with the Fleming novels in any direct sense of plot and conflict. So don't be discouraged. I have read these three novels several times over.

In Ian Fleming's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, James Bond is chasing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the villain from Thunderball. Bond has to do a bit of role-playing in this classic Bond thriller, and he plays the part of a professional from the College of Arms (an organization dealing with genealogies and family trees) with panache. The novel begins with a terrific display of suspense, as Bond is in eminent danger. This feeling also lasts through most of the novel.

This novel is set mostly in the Swiss Alps at a sort of combination ski facility/ scientific lab. Bond is posing as a man from the College of Arms because Blofeld has expressed interest in his heritage. The novel continues as Bond attempts to find out all that he can about Blofeld's strange facility on this Alp.

The first part of the book was not quite as exciting as I had been expecting, but it provided enough humor for me to be satisfied until it got to the more action-filled sections. However, this book provided more than humor and action. The plot was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The skiing scenes were especially suspense-filled and exciting, Bond's romantic interests complemented the plot, and the characters were full and vibrant.

I decided to read a Bond novel after having watched several of the movies (you know how they all come on tv at once,) and I am glad I did. This novel was surprisingly good even though my expectations were high. This book is better than the movies because instead of mere sound-byte-intensive humor, it provides a real humor that I found to be much more affable than the movies. Also, Bond is portrayed somewhat differently than in the movies. I found that the action scenes were just as vivid as they are in the movies, something that is not often successfully managed by authors. I believe that any Bond fan should read the books, not just watch the movies. Trust me, they are at least equally enjoyable.

I think that this book is at least comparable to today's suspense novels, and my only complaint is that I was not around in the 60's to read it when it was a new and, I suspect, rather progressive novel.

My 2 Year Old and I love this book. He get's to complete the rhyming sentences for me. It's becoming one of the his favorite stories to hear even without the book. The rhymes are catchy and the animals are very cute. I'm not sure why the Editorial reviews rate this for 3-5 year olds. It's definitely great for the younger ones. I didn't realize until reading another review that this is the same author as "If you give a Moose a Muffin." The author has a way of engaging children - she's wonderful!

After reading this book at a store, I just knew I had to have it. I recently read this book with my first grade class. They love *anything* that rhymes, and I have always loved Felicia Bond's cute illustrations. This book is just as appropriate for 5-7 year olds as it is preschoolers. They'll love to tell you all the word pairs that rhyme! It's also a great tie-in with the Napping House.

I don't give 5 stars to many children's books (except Boynton books). Tumble Bumble earns all 5 though. The rhymes are cute, the story sweet and drawings warm and clear.

Like the Beatles at the same time, the popularity of the James Bond films of the Sixties simply steamrollered criticism. The quality of the individual flicks ranged from near-schlock to iconic, but the Bond style always set them apart. This coffee-table book digs deep into the history of the series, from Ian Fleming's books down to the most recent Pierce Brosnan vehicle. And the authors gathered comments from practically everybody, from the stars to the producers right down to the guy who wrote the famous James Bond guitar riff. An enjoyable look into the past, through the barrel of the Walther PPK.

I started reading this on the recommendation of a friend and I was quite simply blown away. This is the best book on the subject of films and filmmaking that I have ever read. I am not the world's biggest Bond fan and I haven't seen all the movies...but this book manages to pull an interesting trifecta(sp?)--It is a great book about the history of James Bond, drawing you into WHY so many people love the character. It is also a story of how pop culture and history intersect and influence each other in fascinating ways. Finally, it is a great look at the history of movies for the past 40 years, albeit from the perspective of one franchise. I have never sat down with a huge coffee table book that I couldn't put down....until now. If you love movies, you will love this book.

I've read quite a few books on the Bond films and recently had become bored with the new titles. The new books had been simply rehashing the previous books. However, I was pleasantly surprised with this addition to my library. The authors obviously did their homework in writing this book. Great information about Bond , his creators and the world around him.

Super job!

By far the most realistic of the Bond books. Fleming's description of the MGB (later KGB) headquarters in Moscow's Dzherzinsky Square, where the plot to lure British agent James Bond to his death is first revealed, is reputedly based on information to which he was privy in his capacity as a WWII officer in British Naval Intelligence -- likewise the recruitment and training of the psychopathic killer Red Grant, one of the most formidable of Bond's enemies (and the only one in the films who looked for a while about to kill Bond for sure! 007 meets his match in Grant!) This is the book behind what in my opinion is the best of the Bond movies, steeped in the atmosphere of the Cold War into which the Bond series was born. 007 travels to Istanbul in pursuit of the bait, a Lektor decoder which can read top secret Soviet military and intelligence signal traffic. Another form of bait is the beautiful Tatiana Romanova, an MGB cipher clerk allegedly in love with Bond, willing to defect with the Lektor if only 007 will come and fetch her. (Fleming takes yet another jab at the Reds by choosing this name for Bond's love interest -- Romanov was the family name of the last Czar of old imperial Russia, the family doomed to extinction by the Russian revolution.) Kerim Bey adds a bit of panache, mischief and mystery as "Our man in Istanbul," Head of Station T (for Turkey). A truly great and suspenseful plot!

Fleming seemed to have used his first four novels (Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, and Diamonds are Forever) to warm us up to the Bond character and used the same plot style for the first four novels. In From Russia, With Love, Fleming takes Bond and his writing style to a higher, more intellectual level. Fleming is masterful in setting the scenes without being too boring. Bond doesn't appear until the second part of the book (Part II-The Plan) and you hardly even notice. Another interesting note is that of the James Bond movies, From Russia, With Love the movie follows the novel pretty well, even in lesser scenes such as the gypsy fight. This, perhaps, is due to the fact that Fleming was alive only for the filming and release of Dr. No and From Russia, With Love. This book is clearly Fleming at the top of his game and an outstanding entry to the series.

Considered by many to the be the best James Bond 007 book of all time, From Russia With Love delivers the perfect formula for a James Bond novel. Originally, Ian Fleming's tales of 007 were not going so good, so he intended with this book to kill off James Bond once and for all. The end of this novel is quite a surprise to a first time reader.

The book begins by telling of the commanding rule of SMERSH. The leader of this organization is General Grubozaboyschikov. Also working is Colonel Rosa Klebb and director of planning Kronsteen, who treats real people as if they were chess pieces. The muscle of the group is a homicidal madman, who follows orders, and is in practically perfect physical shape, Donovan "Red" Grant. These evil minds have planned the perfect way to destroy the life and reputation of James Bond. Their plan is to lure 007 with the beatiful Tatiana Romanova and a Spektor cipher decoding machine as bait. Then Grant will meet up with them eventually and kill them both. However, SMERSH will take it a step further to lie to the public that Bond and Tatiana were in an affair, and that Bond commits suicide. It's a perfect plan.
Bond indeed does travel to Istanbul, believing that this girl wants to defect, and will give him the Spektor machine only if he personally helps her. 007 meets Darko Kerim, and a wonderful gypsy fight adds to the fun of the story. Bond and Tatiana travel on a train back to Europe, where he meets Red Grant and is told of the plan to kill him. An extremely bvrutal gun and fist fight breakes out between the men with 007 shooting Grant. 007 goes to Paris with Tatiana to catch Rosa Klebb in a meeting. However, Klebb releases a poison knife from her shoe and kicks 007 in the leg, before being taken away by the police. The story ends with 007 lying on the floor of the hotel room...

Perhaps the finest story of Ian Fleming, filled with the excitement and adventure to give this book it's reputation as on of the best 007 novels ever!

Outside of scripture this is the most important and profound book I've read. Nearly every page adds insight to relationships and self.
I was shocked when I got to the chapter dealing with self-victimization and saw myself described in the pages of the book! I have changed how I relate to my spouse, my feelings towards her and my communication with her.
The chapter on collusion has me thinking and trying more to improve relations and feelings with my son. My point of view has changed with regards to all my children. I have never felt more motivation to improve relationships with all my family as well as others.
After one read, there is much I don't understand intrinsically about all the concepts taught, but my intent is to read, think and act until I do understand. My life has changed direction, I will continue on the path to emotional freedom as described by the author.
I intend to gift a copy of this book to everyone near and dear to me in hopes they will read and have an epiphany of their own.
If you are wondering if you should read this book, stop. Order it, read and prepare for a fundamental change in your outlook on relationships and self.

I think Dr. Warner's book is absolutely profound. I can't recall a book with such great insights into why we do things; why we're so needing to wallow in the role of victim and how destructive of ourselves and our relationships when we feel the victim. I want to read this great book again, studying more thoroughly its ideas and how I can apply those ideas to my life.

Perhaps the most compelling question Warner asks us to take up in this book is: Am I in the wrong? In a world where war comes before political leaders admit their own faults and where 50% of marriages end in divorce, often because partners can only see the problems with their spouse this question could have powerful effects.

I believe Warner has chosen his title carefully using the word "free," which is so loaded today. Being "free" today has been confused with being able to choose between 10 brands of VCR or do whatever you want with no thought of the consequences. What Warner advocates is a real freedom, freedom from your human self and its weaknesses. Warner's book will not ensure you won't make bad decisions but it will teach you about the courage to admit when you are in wrong and how to change for the better. That is real freedom.

We've finally grown out of this book at our house - but it took a long time. My soon-to-be 9 year old will occasionally (in secret)read this book now, but from age 3 to 6, it was a bed time favorite!

The story is funny, as are the illustrations of the little mouse, making a mess and asking for more things - and it all started by just giving the little fellow a cookie.

The hardcover book alone is a great gift item, but it's better yet as a mini book with the cute little stuffed mouse. If you add a small package of chocolate chip cookies, this would make an exceptional gift. Or, if not cookies, a crayon set with some paper is ideal (you have to read the story to understand why!)

For kids who want to read and listen, the audio tape will be listened to again and again. This is also one of those books that adults enjoy reading to their children!

Simply put, this is a wonderful book. Our 19 month old daughter has enjoyed this book since she received it on her first birthday. The story is simple and easy to follow and the pictures are big and bright and wonderfully drawn. There aren't alot of words on every page so if you have a younger child that likes to turn the pages frequently, this makes it easy to keep the story going. Although the story is whimsical and involved enough for an older child to enjoy as well. We have read this book so many times that my daughter has memorized some of the words on every page and pretends to "read" it herself. Personally, I feel this is the best of the "If you give a ....." book series (we have them all). I think the only improvement this book could use is if it came in a board book version as the paper pages in our hardback version are quickly becoming worn from all the frequent reading and toting around! A true classic that I feel any parent with a young child can't go wrong with.

As a mom I love these fantastic books! "If you give a Mouse a cookie" is so much fun to read. There are many others in the series as well. Great!

Forgive me for disagreeing with this book's many content-free, clearly-cropped back cover quotes, but this is not a serious effort by any intelligent measurement. Hassan's prose is plodding and devoid of any nuance or invention. It's no wonder this one was self-published. Where's the insight? DO NOT waste your time on this one. Relevant subject matter has been trampled on with half-coherent, pseudo-expertise. I want my money back.

I wish this book had been available when I walked away from the Moonies. It's a must read for anyone involved in a cult, or who knows someone who is.

Counseling members of destructive cults has come a long way since the old days of "deprogramming," and Steve is leading the way into new and compassionate methods with his Strategic Interaction Approach. His method involves not only the cult member, but his family, friends, and sometimes ex-members. It takes the form of family counseling; an important, even vital way to help the cult member relate to his "pre cult" self.

Steve is careful to distinguish between destructive and non-destructive cults, as he has no quarrel with beliefs, only actions. The focus is on freeing the mind, a precious freedom that destructive mind control is intent on taking away.

As another reviewer has said, this book can save lives. I can't recommend it highly enough for families and friends who have a loved one involved in a destructive cult.

They can educate and entertain but it is a rare and precious book that saves lives. This book is such a treasure.

Written in straightforward, clear prose, Hassan describes how cults exert their influence over idealistic but vulnerable people (who are often at transitional stages in their lives--away from home, newly divorced or widowed, or experiencing some other kind of loss or trauma). Many of us who come to his book are baffled as to how our loved ones--typically creative, intelligent and caring people--became involved with a destructive group. Former cult members wonder how they ever got recruited in the first place. Hassan shows us how.

And he does so with an insider's perspective. Hassan was an idealistic college junior from a loving jewish family--and newly broken up from his girlfriend--when he was deceptively recruited by 3 attractive female cult members. He rose quickly through the ranks to become a cult leader. One night while running a cult mission, he was involved in a near fatal car crash which provided an opportunity for his parents to have him deprogrammed. Hassan's deprogramming took a full five days but it set him off on a life path. Furious at how the cult and its leader had systematically deceived him, he set out to learn all he could about destructive mind control and to make public what he learned.

That was over 25 years ago. Since then he has become a licensed mental health counselor, human rights activist, and internationally known leader in the field of destructive mind control. He has helped get hundreds of people out of cults. This book reveals how. Hassan begins by describing how cults and their leaders deceive and manipulate people, playing upon their innate psychological mechanisms and the basic human need to belong to a group. He has obviously thought a lot about this and his discussion is the most insightful and thorough I have seen.

But the real reason to buy the book is for Hassan's unique method, the strategic interaction approach, for rescuing loved ones from destructive groups. His approach is more compassionate and sophisticated than the (now illegal) deprogramming that was used on him. It draws on recent work in psychology, his own experience helping hundreds of families, and his creativity and intelligence.Most important it is effective. I can personally say, it works.

The moral: there can be a happy ending to a cult story. It does not come easily but this book makes it possible.