Law of Connection by Michael J. Losier - Book Review

Title: Law of Connection
Author: Michael J. Losier
Pages: 145
Publisher: Wellness Central (New York) 2009

After reading and writing a review of Law of Attraction by Michael J. Losier, I decided based on that good experience to give his second book a try. Law of Connection did not disappoint. As a pastor and communicator in many forms I am always looking for ways to improve my communication skills and so this book promised a simple yet foolproof way to do just that by using Neuro-Linguistic Programing (NLP).

Like Law of Attraction this is work through book; that is, you are going to be doing something not just reading it. The basic outline is Rapport, Calibrating and Understanding Communication Styles. It is the third part that he spends the most time. He breaks down communication styles into four groups: Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic (Feel), and Digital (Mental). The basic idea is to identify the style of the person you are talking to and then adjust your language and listening skills to that style to build rapport. It talks about both the strengths and challenges of each style and how to relate better to people who are not your style.

The real strength of the book is the test that allows you to identify you dominate style and more importantly your weakest. This way you can know what you need to work on to communicate better. The test, if you let others take it, will also help you identify their style so you can know the challenges of how to communicate with them and build better communication because of it.

Probably the best way to illustrate this is using myself. When I took the test, I scored a 33 Digital, 25 Auditory, 22 Visual and 20 Kinesthetic. That means my dominate way of communicating is by sharing ideas and thoughts. My weakest being Kinesthetic means I have a hard time with people who use feeling language of touch or heart. It means when I talk I use words like "think, understand, I know ..." but it would be rare for me to use words like "How does that feel? etc." For me to improve my communication I need to work on this and start balancing my language between all four styles.

Another great feature is the many ways Michael shows how to use the Law of Connection in real life situations. Groups, Business, Dating, Marriage, Parenting, etc. are all covered. One that caught my attention was website issues and it gave me some real tools to evaluate my blog to see who it appeals to and how to make it appeal to more people. I have something for everyone but there are some areas that are more strong than others. Thanks Michael, I am going to put this to use.

Stylistically, the book is written to appeal to all styles of communication so it practices what it preaches. It also is another book that is a quick and easy read so it has a mass appeal and wont kill your time to read it.

Rating: 4 and a half stars: Law of a Attraction was a good book, Law of Connection I liked even better. This book was extremely helpful and I plan on putting it into practice. It is one of those rare books that breaks things down simply and gets its point across: I see it, I hear it, I feel it and I know it.

Between Planets by Robert A Heinlein - Book Review

Published in 1951, Between Planets is a basic science fiction adventure, but because Robert Heinlein writes it; it is not basic. In Heinlein's day Venus was still pretty much a mystery and so he was able to cast it as a jungle/swamp planet inhabited by various creatures and aliens. Even though it is juvenile science fiction, the publishing went off without a hitch and it became a reasonable success.

The basic plot revolves around the main character Don Harvey as he is unwittingly drawn into an interplanetary war between the Federation of Earth and Venus. Harvey was born between planets and so has dual citizenship both on Earth and Venus. The story is a great boy to man story where the backdrop is both space and an alien world. With the help of friends, including a dragon from Venus named 'Sir Isaac Newton', he discovers how important a simple plastic ring can be as he tried to deliver it to his parents on Mars and gets sidetracked to Venus.

The book explores the politics of interplanetary relationships and how the idea of 'home planet' can change depending on where you were born. It is also another book about human-alien relationships and the possibility of a major breakthrough in technology and how it would affect the world. It is also a great view of how some thing might change and some things would stay the same despite technological advance and interplanetary colonization.

This book has many Heinlein themes. The idea of freedom and rights being sacred and the faults of colonialism are present. The human race is not alone and does not have the inherent right to dominate everyone else in the universe is also there. Not many of Heinlein's moral issues come out as this is a juvenile book, but the hint at how space travel would change family and relationships is there.

Rating: Four stars. Solid Robert Heinlein but the story seems like Space Cadet redone a little. Even so the story telling is great and the science a little more solid this time.

Law of Attraction by Michael J. Losier - Book Review

Title: Law of Attraction
Author: Michael J. Losier
Pages: 152
Publisher: Wellness Central (New York) 2006

Books like this used to make me laugh a little, but now that I look at human behavior a little more, I can see that people do tend to attract more of what they think about and speak about than they realize. My idea of reading this book was to see what value this approach has in modifying my goal setting and other issues. As it turns out, there is some value to the ideas in this book and how significant they are depends on how much you take its message to heart.

I have to remark on style to start because this is one of the simplest books you will read, which is a good lesson if want to write a book with mass appeal. It also has several illustrative cartoons that help as well. At 152 pages it is quick read as well. In addition to all this, it is a work through book where you have to work though your own desires and wants into a workable plan of using the Law of Attraction.

The book starts out with the basic science of the law of attraction and the idea of positive and negative vibrations that influence each persons life. The idea is that we attract the same things as the vibrations we are putting out. If we are negative we attract the negative, if positive we attract positive. If mixed we get mixed. The book then goes on to help the reader come up with a plan to take deliberate action to move them from negative to positive vibrations in our life.

If one can have faith in the 'science' of attraction, I guess this would work. I have come to see this same idea from a spiritual perspective of faith but the principles are much the same. But the book does bring out that being positive is a far better way to live than the alternatives. It is not some unrealistic book either as Losier brings out that some negativity is from others in our lives that we cannot help but be there (family, coworkers). The idea is to control your own sphere of attraction and work on the rest. The book also give tips for teaching and dealing with others who are negative.

Rating: Four stars: If I (and this is me being the scholar) have a complaint, it is lack of depth. It also loses half a point for being somewhat incomplete but then again it assumes that you are going to buy Losier's other book the Law of Connection. That said, this is a good book if you want some basic information on the Law of Attaction. It also is a good help book if you want to apply that law to your life.

Sixth Column / The Day After Tomorrow by Robert A Heinlein - Book Review

Title: Sixth Column (aka The Day After Tomorrow)
Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Pages: 144
Publisher: Signet Publishing (New York) 1949

Review:

Nothing makes things more fun when reading a book than when that book has a great albeit confusing history. First the book has two titles 1) Sixth Column and 2) The Day After Tomorrow. It was originally published as a serial in pulp publications in 1941. Later it was put into novel form and published in full in 1949. The original backdrop for this story was the communist rebellion of China and the historical prediction that all Asians would unite under one flag to take over the world.

The basic plot is that the Pan Asians have indeed conquered America and subjugated the entire country. Major Ardmore assumes command of the last US military post: The Citadel an underground secret base in Colorado which only has five men left. His plan is to drive the invaders out and he gets unexpected help in that some of the scientists have discovered a unified theory of physics that allow them to do 'miraculous' things. Using the only thing the invaders have left free; the free exercise of religion, they create the cult of Mota, which allows them to work fairly freely to build a sixth column that eventually starts a rebellion against the Pan Asians.

The book explores what would you do if a sudden major technological advance allowed you to kill discriminately, lift heavy objects, cure disease, trans mutate any material to another material (lead to gold), etc. The added twist of leading a rebellion starting with six people against the whole invading force is a good angle as well. The only problem the rebels face is the limited availability of the technology.

The use of religion in the book is heavy and Heinlein sets some of his original observations about religion as a whole in this book. The book also has race as a heavy theme although both sides are racist by modern standards. Heinlein's politics also come through as the army maintains its mission with out a working government because they exist to defend and preserve the constitution. Once done the plan is to restore representative government.

Rating: Three and three quarter stars. Even Heinlein himself did not like this one overly well as he considered it a 'non-artistic success'. For me, the religious being combined with the scientific as an interesting angle, but some of the technology advances are way out there. It is still a good read if you like Heinlein as his style is still very much there.

The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction by Philip Athans - Book Review

Title: The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction
Author: Philip Athans
Pages: 244
Publisher: Adams Media (Avon, Mass.) 2010

Review:

Every once an a while, I buy a book on writing and read it to see if it has any good advice on bringing me out of the realm of writer obscurity into published bliss. Being both a fantasy and science fiction fan, I thought this one would be good read seeing it was written by an editor and writer of both genres. The book also promises an introduction and original story by R.A Salvatore a fantasy writer known for his work with the Forgotten Realms books connected with Dungeons and Dragons. The book promises six steps to writing and publishing your bestseller.

The book is laid out according to those six steps: Storytelling, Characters, The World, Details, Nuts and Bolts and Finishing Touches. There is also a section on the business side of writing as well as an original short story by Salavore that has never been published before to illustrate what the author is talking about as an example. Each part has several chapters and covers both fantasy literature and science fiction.

Stylistically, the chapters are short and focus the writer on asking questions and Athans tries to get the writer to think of everything and goes through much of the process of writing: from idea generation to final touches for each genre. He also give an insider's view from an editors point of view of what he is looking for when a book crosses his eyes.

From an information standpoint, this was a great insiders viewpoint that allows a writer to see what editors are looking for in a book and makes note that in the two genres involved people are looking for different and unique ways of doing things and writing a story. If there is a failure in it it is that the chapters do not go into super depth but the hit the intermediate and basic levels.

The bonus story is one for which Salavore had a rejection and both he and Athans look at it to see how things work and don't work.

Rating: 4 stars. This is a solid book on writing science fiction and fantasy books with an eye toward publication. The chapters are short and the read is engaging. If your looking for an insider's view on how to get published in the genres of science fiction and/or fantasy this is it. The bonus story is OK as well.

Red Planet by Robert Heinlein - Book Review

Title: Red Planet
Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Pages: 229
Publisher Ballantine Books (New York: 1949)

Review:

When it was first published in 1949, Heinlein's editor tore large chunks out of it to make it able to fit on a public middle school library shelf. In so doing, the book was stripped of much of its Heinlein charm. In 1992, after Heinlein's death the book was re-published with the edits restored. I have read both versions and let me tell you I like the one that is restored much better. The third of Heinlein's juvenile books, it remains a classic.

When Heinlein wrote this book in 1949, Mars was an very much unknown place. It had canals and the possibility of life much like our own. It remained a science fiction paradise and playground for many years and in many ways still does. In Heinlein's Mars, there is life, Martians, canals and water. It has an almost fantasy quality.

The central plot of Red Planet centers around two teenage boys who discover a plot against the colonists of Mars by the company government. Through their actions with a little help from the Martians (in particular, a Martian bouncer 'pet' named Willis) they are able to help save the day. It is a solid adventure story and has some interesting twists and turns.

The romance of being a human colonist on another planet is the driving force of this book. The colonists are free people with a great deal of liberty and aim to stay that way. Heinlein explores the nature of some of the difficulties of colonizing another world both from a technological point of view and from a diplomatic point of view. The most charming part of this book is of course the Martians. They are truly different from humans and it is this large difference that makes the struggle even more interesting.

The style (once the edits are put back in) is very Robert Heinlein. Fierce loyalty to individual liberty, an understanding of the science of colonization and realistic characters are distinctive Heinlein traits in this book.

Rating: 4 stars. While not my favorite of Robert's juvenile books, it is extremely well done and merits a read. Just make sure you get a copy published after 1992; it is much better.

God of the Possible by Greg A Boyd - Book Review

Title: God of the Possible
Author: Greg A. Boyd
Pages: 175
Publisher: Baker Book House (Grand Rapids, Michigan) 2000

Review:

Someone once asked me if there was an "Open Theism for Dummies" to read. Yes, this is it. Greg Boyd is probably the person most responsible for getting the message of open theism out there and this is the book that has done most of the work. It is and will be regarded a classic among the open theist community of theologians.

God of the Possible is a book that addresses the fundamental questions of God's foreknowledge. It has one of those questions across the top: Does God Ever Change His Mind?. Boyd, through this book attempts to take on this question and at the same time presents the basics of what has become known as the open view of God's foreknowledge.

The book is divided into sections. In the first, Boyd presents the classic view of foreknowledge and the Bible verses that support it and why he feels they are wrong. In the second, he then presents the case for the open view and the Scripture that supports it. In the third section, he presents the practical advantages of the open view as compared to the classic view. In the forth section he answers common questions and objections to the open view. There is also an appendix with further verses that support the open view as well as a solid index.

Boyd has a couple of key objectives that he states in his introduction: 1) to present the open view relying as much as possible on the Biblical support and 2) to present this in a easy to read and understand book. He succeeds on both counts. While there is some reasoning and philosophical arguments, the main appeal is to the direct wording of Scripture. It is also an easy to read book.

Rating: Four and a half stars. I like books like this. Make your case, use the Bible and do it in a way that everyone can understand it. If you are looking for an introduction to the open view of God's foreknowledge and want it in plain language - this is it.