Jesse

I read 'Foundation' on the recommendation of a friend and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was figuring with 'Foundation and Empire' that I would enjoy it as much or more. I was also thinking that this book would lead to the recreation of the Empire. I was wrong in that regard. This book opens a whole new storyline or dimension to the story line. Here we see the Seldon plan fail and then be reborn. We also catch our first glimpse of the 'Second Foundation'. One thing Isaac Asimov has made clear throughout all his books is those that try to control everything will fail along with those that will do the same with time. People have to be given freedom to choose their own paths in life. The unexpected can throw off all plans and controls. It can also move everything in a new direction that is better than the control. I recommend this book to anyone of says otherwise.

I've read the entire series all the way through and I've enjoyed it until the last two books. Here as with the last book the stories are rushed and not well done to get in the mythology of the bible. C.S. Lewis had his own view on Christianity and that was shown throughout the series. Here is the last book in the series and the author didn't live much past it. It seems that somehow he knew this and wanted to finish the series before he died. We know from his estate that he was working on other books concerning Narnia and maybe he decided just to end the series. Anyways, this book reminds me of the new book of revelations in the sequence of events and then end of it. In the end I tell my kids to read to a ‘Horse and his boy’ and no father. From that point the stories ruin the series as I've learned from other little kids who have read the series and didn't like nor understand this one. The story line maybe too advanced for the intended audience.

I was really disappointed in this book. The first ones being quite good. I really think C. S. Lewis was trying to come up with something to keep the story-line going. Like a TV series that should have ended years earlier, but didn't. I won’t call this work garbage, I will call it something that should have been left out of the series except all the references to GOD and the need to explain some aspects of religion in the series. Really, this could have been a story from the Old Testament without the wrathful GOD. In the end in order to understand the last book you need to read this one.

Here we see a talking horse helping out a boy who is lost. Instead of telling the story from the perspective of the boy, we see it from the horse's perspective. We see a young orphan making his way across a country wondering why people keep wanting to catch him. We see the kids from the ‘Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ as adults leading as they talk about at the end of that book. We see Arsheesh coming back and playing the prophet/Christ figure in the story. In the end it’s a good story for kids to listen to.

In ‘Pandora’s Star’ we learned about the ‘Commonwealth’ and how it came to be and ultimately that it isn't much different from what we would call our society today. The author picks up right where he left off in the first book following the multiple story lines. The second book reads as if it was written with the first book and intended to be released as one book. In most series you can tell where the author wrote the first book and then waited to do a second book. Here you can’t see that gap. I enjoyed the whole story line and I can say that no one online saying they've read the book as accurately put the true ending online. I won’t spoil it for you. I will say that Steve Gibson was right and the story is worth the read. At no point does the author gloss over any part of the story. Each story line is played out to it’s fullest and its end. I will say that the author could take one part of the story and spawn a whole new series the would be worth reading.

I read this book years ago and then it hit home with what I learned in the Marines. Hard work does pay off in the end. Waiting for someone else to get you moving toward the goal you want to reach is a sure path to failure. Today our political leaders talk about how we don’t start and run a business, that is a team effort. That is true once the business is started. I’ve started and closed three companies. If I had waited on other help I would never have started them. If I had waited on others I wouldn’t have closed them. Each failed for their own reason. If I had listened to others I would have kept the last one open even though it was bleeding money. You can’t spend more than you take in unless you’re the government. Here I was reminded that I’m exactly where I am because of all my past thoughts, actions and beliefs. Without having read this book I’ve begun once more to change my thinking. I re-read this book because its a good source of information and a swift kick when needed. I recommend it to everyone who is or isn’t running a business.

Having read the first book I decided to plunge into the second one immediately. I’m glad I did because I wasn't disappointed. I also don’t have to try to remember all the events from the first book that led to the second book. The storyline picks up right where it left off. We continue to see the government blind and not seeing what the special interest groups are doing. We corporations doing all they can to remain in power. We see sheep-people being let by special interest and corporations to their new ‘enslavement.’ This book really continues to pull the covers off what most people don’t even want to consider possible. This moves from a tech angle to relating to what is really happening around the world. It is sad that if you combine this book with ‘Aftershocks (2nd edition)’ you get a clear pictures. How did two authors reach the same conclusion? Wait! It’s more than two. Read the book and watch the news to see the parallels. Remember: “If you’re not playing the game, then the game is playing you!”

Working in the tech industry after working for the government this book points out exactly what ‘could’ happen. Look at STUXNET that was designed to attack Iran and has been modified by other ‘governments’ to attack other countries. What stops someone or a group of people from doing the same thing? Everyone applauded the creation of these ‘targeted BOTS’ and then feared what would happen if they were turned against us. Look at the recent news (2013) of people leaving the WiFi on, on their phones and when they connect to an open WiFi points all their data can be stolen or worse. Why isn't all WiFi encrypted by default with no way to not have it encrypted? Why aren't WiFi access points requiring people to change the default admin passwords? Because if we did then when we have to create the next STUXNET we’d have to build it with the ability to get past the encryption. Then what happens when it’s turned back on us? This book makes us take a real hard look at this very real possibility. It also takes a look at why the government doesn't want this. Ever here of Patriot Act? It further goes into why corporations don’t want to do this. It will cost them too much in tech support for forgotten passwords. We've even seen CISCO setup WiFi where you plug it in and they remotely manage it. People said no, and here we are. Can a program with human help attain what the author talks about? Yes. Read the book and understand why this is true.

I read many books by the Dalai Lama and each one I find more and more fascinating. When I first started readying his books I thought he was a bit nuts. However, 10 years later I'm reading new books by him with others help and re-reading old ones. I'm finding that he's not nuts at all. In-fact if the world leaders would just listen to him then we wouldn't have half the wars going on or the undeclared wars going on! I find his advice here about getting over depression by getting out in the community to be very true. I tried this a year ago and it worked. Several people I've met tried this same solution and met with great success. One person told me without even know what the Dalai Lama had said. They were told by their physiologist to get out and mingle with people. They were able to get off all their meds. I found all the information useful and found it applicable in my life. I recommend this book and all the rest in the series.

I've been reading all the classics and Audible makes this very easy to do with unabridged editions of each. Along with Amazon syncing between the eBook and audio book. Which enables me to read the book when I can listen to it. This is my fourth Jane Austin book in a row. The others were either read or read/listened to. I see a lot of similarities between the events in this book to how some people live their lives today. I had a friend actually convinced the same way Ann was to not marry someone. This supports the theory that everything happens in cycles. Unlike some of authors book this time the 'beautiful' woman or main character doesn't marry the ugliest man described in the book. I won't spoil it for you. I will say that the narrator was perfect for this story. I have four more books of Jane's to go before I've gotten through them all. I find it enjoyable learning about how people saw that era of time and how some people want to go back to it. It's too bad that the author is no longer with us because she could teach a lot to the screen writers in Hollywood and a lot of the new authors righting books. These new writers don't know how to balance a book properly.

This is three of her books in one and will save you some dough.

I know people that follow Pema Chodron’s book like some people follow the bible. However, I don’t think they've ever heard her talk. In the first book (talk) she talks about recent to the events before the events of this talk like weeks before she talks about losing her mind with her granddaughter. She talks about how monks that are suppose to be these people in complete harmony with the world around them really aren't. She talks about learning to deal with this and why its hard even for the Buddhist masters. In the second book she talks about compassion for everyone. She goes into depth concerning tonglen meditation. Which I've tried and it’s very hard at first. It’s very powerful once you get the hang of it. It’s about changing our relationship with pain and pleasure. Why run from pain? Why embrace pleasure? What is the real difference? I learned that the difference between pain and pleasure is perception. And it’s not easy to see it. I learned in the third book that doing tonglen meditation is very helpful.