Morris Reviews

It is filled with easy to understand suggestions that I've followed with amazing results. I shy away from saying affectionate things sometimes, but I think them to myself. Then along comes the book, From Me To You, and it helped me to write and send messages to the people who mean so much to me.

And look at me now , I'm even writing this review from my heart to you, someone I don't even know.

From Me To You is a book that made a wonderful difference in my life and I hope you'll get it and allow it to change your life too.

This book was quite entertaining, and is written in an easy to read style. I really enjoyed the way it began to spin off surprise after surprise late in the book. I have not read any other of Gerald Morris' other books, but I now intend to!

For the purists, this novel does not portray a "realistic" Fifth Century Arthur, but is an example of a High Medieval, chivalric Arthur.

Quite annoyingly, a killer knight has appointed himself the champion of Lynet's sister, Lyonesse. Lyonesse is an air-headed, blonde ditz, while plain Lynet sets off to King Arthur's court to find a champion-without revealing who she is. She ends up taking a fancy-talking kitchen boy to do battle with the knight, but virtually everyone she meets has a strange secret...

Lynet is a glorious heroine, a gal who is unafraid to threaten someone with a spear or venture to Camelot. Roger is wit incarnate, with a very surprising secret at his core. And you MUST read more about King Arthur.

Some of the favorite characters return, including the excellent Morgan le Fay, who teaches Lynet some excellent lessons. It also teaches the quality of a good heart above a pretty face.

On her quest, she meets Roger the Dwarf, who helps her on the way to Camelot, as well as through the events afterwards. She also meets Beaumains, a kitchen boy who agrees to help her in her quest.(for all you Morris buffs, there is a short appearance by Terence and Eileen, Sir Gawain's squire and his lady friend). Will Lynet succeed in ridding her home of the abominable Knight of the Red Lands? Are Roger and Beaumains really all they seem to be? These are just a few of the questions that go through the reader's mind as they read this incredible story.

Like most of Gerald Morris' books, The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf is full with humor that doesn't require the reader to have read Morris' other books, or to have much knowledge of Arthurian legends. As a matter of fact, quite a bit of it is slightly reminiscent of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, except that Morris' story actually follows the Arthurian legend that it's based upon, and the humor isn't quite so silly. There's really something for everyone here. Romantics, cynics, and Arthur buffs are all going to be satisfied.

As a matter of fact, the Collins Unabridged is a very good dictionary but doesn't go the extra mile for ALL the words I was looking for and which are found in contemporary books and magazines. This may be explained by the characteristical feature of the german language which allows us to construct composite words from basic words, thus making a kind of word competition to see the largest german word avaiable (the greatest I have read is 34 letters long).

But, in fact, the medium-sized ones from Langenscheidt (German/english), with some 120.000 entries and the one from Editora Porto (portuguese/german), with 60.000 entries, that I have cover some 99% of the words found at Collins, both in entries as in content. The 1% left which is found in Collins is for me justifiable enough for having bought the Collins Unabridged dictionary, but I don't know if anybody would feel the same as I do, given the fact that I love to study words and its minimal variations.
Also, some more explanations on the meaning of the words would be helpfull, but, in all, is a pretty good dictionary.

I had been using a predecessor edition (2nd ed., 1991) for some 10 years, and even when it was published it was the best of its kind and constantly on my desk. This 4th edition raises the bar by featuring improvements across the board. The benefits derived from the increased computerised analysis of the huge word corpora Bank of English and Deutsche Textbörse are increasingly visible. Vorsprung durch Technik, indeed.

1. This exhaustive dictionary embraces, on 1000 pages in either section, every register from formal officialese via the standard language right down to vulgar slang. But it is in the real-life language where Collins has the finger right on the pulse. Many word entries are awash with examples of usage/idioms/set phrases/proverbs as actually used by natives as well as their natural translations. (I wish there were a way to download all this information into my brain because I would be able to handle any situation in flying colours.)

2. Inclusion of German words like Kardanwelle, Rochade, das Pull-Down-Menü, Überlaufanzeige etc. indicate extensive coverage of specialist terms in many fields as well as loan-words from the 90s.

3. The English section is equally impressive, listing e.g. cyberpet, establishing shot, trick or treat, decontextualize, nuclear reprocessing plant, memory expansion card, look-in, supergrass, wicked (UK slang). The word "go" and its associated phrasal verbs have an astounding range of translations.

4. Idiomatic phrases such as "to get away with sth" and "jdm etwas zumuten" which are contextually dependent are given several alternative and appropriate translations.

5. Certain bon mots and expressions which are used mostly in situations on one side of the Channel (or those whose counterpart is much less colourful!) are well translated.
Examples: set piece, pub crawl, single-track mind, car-boot sale, off-the-record, stomping groud, pipe dream; Stammtisch, Führungszeugnis, Geheimtipp, Kuschelrock, Dreitagebart, Wohngemeinschaft, Dunkelziffer, nicht mehr der jüngste sein etc. In fact, even "Ich schau dir in die Augen, Kleines", the classic line from the dubbed version of Casablanca, is listed. Hut ab!

6. This edition includes an audio CD with pronunciation (because they understand that there is a practical limit to phonetic script). The layout has been given a face-lift with 3 columns per page instead of 2 resulting in improved readability.

7. The dictionary's vast scope, depth and usability for both English and German learners and speakers (in equal measure) leave virtually no room for valid criticism. Yet some words and expressions seem to have escaped the researchers' keen eye for detail (so far); missing English words are e.g. polenta, present/current value (Fin), brown-noser, case-sensitive. Im deutschen Teil sind die folgenden durchaus geläufigen Wörter nicht aufgeführt: Quereinsteiger, Marktabschottung, Kasslerbraten, Regelwerk, verhandlungssicher, Töff (CH). But this is nit-picking.

Summa summarum: Kudos to the team of meticulous professionals behind this work for having brought out the Mercedes S-Klasse - with all the optional extras - of dictionaries. It's also an exemplary cross-border collaboration optimally blending British practicality and German precision.

Buy this dictionary - you may still be using it in 2012.

Its main drawback is that the binding tends to collapse with frequent use, even though it is a hardback.

While abbreviations are listed in alphabetical order in the text, their definitions are not given to you immediately. For example, if you look up "usf.," you are told that it is an abbreviation of "und so fort;" then you must look up fort to discover that "usf." means "and so forth." The Collins listing of German verbs is at the very end of the dictionary, which makes it hard to find.

Note that there are a variety of Collins dictionaries. The unabridged version has 800,000 entries, while the College Edition has 380,000 entries, and the Concise edition has 195,000 entries. Some of the smaller dictionaries have entries listed in red or in blue, which is helpful for finding words more quickly. If you are beginning to learn German, it is useful
to have a smaller dictionary to save time while looking up the
same word over and over again.

I also dissagree with the view on war, but that's my personal view.

Very Highly recommended.

Morris describes his philosophy of ninpo (ninja way, path of ninjutsu) as he relates amazing experiences with men such as Masaaki Hatsumi who is one of the world's few ~practicing~ ninpo historians (at least 6 of Hatsumi's 9 ranks in traditional Japanese martial arts have been verified), and Stephen Hayes who is Hatsumi's seniormost American Student (see chapter 8). There are a plethora of other individuals whose names will no doubt be recognized by Bujinkan folks, esoterica buffs, and amateur martial arts historians alike.

Morris is an interesting man, and has no qualms about candidly sharing his spiritual beliefs and personal experiences with his readers. He describes seeing different colored auras around people during their practice, sending and receiving chi,and his own experience with the spirituality of sex. I'm not too sure the colored, shimmering auras Glenn Morris sees are anywhere but in his own mind, and I don't buy his inflated views of his own psychic prowess which he sometimes seems to cloak in selflessness (notably absent when he describes his first two failures during his Go-dan test). My skepticism however, hasn't stopped me from appreciating his unique point of view. If you enjoy reading the autobiographies of martial artists or interesting people in general, Glenn Morris has written this volume for you!

Glenn Morris manages to weave a great deal of humor and wisdom into a fascinating autobiographical account of his physical and spiritual enlightenment. I highly reccomend this book to any open minded person who is interested in the supernatural and internal aspects and possibilities of the martial arts.

For those that are not true seekers of the supernatural, this book is still very good. It reads well. Morris has an easy-going way of telling his story, his humor is not lost on anyone, and whether or not you believe him, he tells a story so out of phase with the popular notion of reality that you are sure to love it.

If you are interested in or have allready read this book, then check out:
Shadow Strategies of an American Ninja Master (Glenn Morris)
The Way of Energy (Master Lam Kam Chuen)

You have been writing inspirational novels about young teenagers facing life-altering situations. All your novels are hard-hitting and realistic, but also leaves readers like me with inspiraton and hope. One of your books that I've read is called, Six Months to Live. I enjoyed that book very much. The reason that I enjoyed this book is because you wrote the book in such a way that it influenced me to read and not stop. From your book I understood that the main character Dawn, who was thirteen had leukemia and she didn't have much time to survive from this illness. When Dawn goes to the childerns hospital a girl name Sandy who was going to be her room-mate had cancer too. They both suffered together to fight the cancer by giving each other hope. When they became friends and after they each had to go back to their town Dawn recived a letter from Sandy's parents saying, "We lost our beloved Sandy yesterday, 10 A.M. She died peacefully-no pain. We are flying her home to West Virginia for burial. Package for Dawn to follow. The Chandles." That was the most sad letter and it really influnced me to read the book to see if Sany is really death or alive. I just loved your book and it was all based on a real life situation.

Sincerely, Mariam Semerdzhyan

McDaniel did a wonderful job expressing the feelings of the main character, Dawn Rochelle. It was easy for me to relate to Dawn because she is in my age group. She was diagnosed with cancer when she was 13. The setting is in a rural area. The overall writing was easy to read and made you feel like you were a part of Dawn's life. She was a strong willed person who was not going to give into her disease.

The plot of the book is about teenage girl fighting for her life through an irreversible disease. Dawn went through tough times and eventually was dismissed from the hospital. In the summer, Dawn went to a cancer camp. Kids with all types of cancer attended the camp and had two-weeks of games and fun. The camp helped her forget her problems and have a good time. The camp interested me because the writer made it sound so beautiful and perfect.

The main lesson of Six Months to Live is that in order to overcome hard times, you need to work hard and have faith in yourself. Dawn was not willing to give into her problems and give up in the fight for life. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good source of inspiration.

As the story opens, Erma Lee hits the breaking point. Her husband has abused her for years. Her drug-addict daughter has landed in jail. And Erma Lee is raising her granddaughter. When an accident at work brings ridicule from her mother and further abuse from her husband, Erma Lee finally flees her hometown to seek a new life - in Wiregrass. There, Erma Lee settles into a rented mobile home and takes a job in a school cafeteria, but her life finally starts coming together when she accepts a position as companion to Miss Claudia, a fatally ill woman. With Southern grace and tenacity, Miss Claudia helps Erma Lee develop confidence in herself and rejuvenates her faith in God.

Michael Morris writes so convincingly of living with abuse and within limited budgets, readers will find themselves clipping coupons and thinking twice about spending money while living within the pages of this story. Erma Lee leads the reader carefully into her life, to share the secrets she and Miss Claudia finally disclose to each other.

A good read. A great premier novel.