1 stars (Narcissism ne plus ultra) - This guy is so self referential that I kept reading mostly from complete astonishment. I bought this because I had five minutes and twenty choices in an airport; why do other people do it? It is self indulgent navel gazing drivel. Mary 3 stars (Not my Coelho's favourate) - The Zahir did not mesmarize me like Coelho's other books. It is not that it is a bad book, not at all, but I just found it to be below my expectation from a book by Paulo Coelho. 5 stars (A FABULOUS FABULIST COMPELLINGLY READ) - British stage, film and TV actor Jamie Glover gives a sterling performance, immediately intriguing listeners with a mesmerizing story of obsession. Told in the first person by a nameless narrator, Glover ably carries us along on a journey, a search not only for a loved one but also perhaps for meaning, answers to the riddle of life. The narrator is a successful author living in Paris with his wife, Esther, who is an accomplished journalist, a war correspondent. She has just returned from Iraq only to disappear again. It's not known whether she ran away or was kidnaped, whether she is alive or dead. She was last seen with a man younger than she, a man who hid his true identity but was known as Mikhail. Could he be her lover? According to author Coelho the idea of the zahir stems from the Islamic tradition, it means "incapable of going unnoticed. It can refer to an object or a person, and that object or person gradually takes over our every thought, until we are unable to think of anything else. This could be considered a state of holiness or a state of madness." We'll leave it to the listener to decide which description is most appropriate for our narrator as he undertakes a journey to find Esther. He knows that she felt a deep unrest and was unsatisfied with her life, although he cannot comprehend why. He was stunned when she announced that she wanted to become a war correspondent, yet he also understood that h... HarperCollins :: Fiction & General :: Portuguese (Language) Contemporary Fiction :: Literary :: General :: Fiction - General :: Fiction :: Brazilian Novel And Short Story :: Paulo C :: The Zahir - A Novel of Obsession
3 stars (Good but could be better) - The program is very useful & easy to use. It is only suppose to be a quick overview & not a complete course. What they give you is good; however, I kept coming up with words I wish they had included. It's divided into specialized groups...First words, numbers, food, shopping, time, colors, countries, body. I didn't need countries or body at all. I'm not going to have a conversation with someone & recite all the countries I can say in Brazilian, same goes with parts of my body. Maybe a few body parts could have been included in other sections...but besides "take my hand", "I'm touched in the head", or "my ear aches" (you get the idea) I'm not going to be discussing details with anyone. As a first time traveler there I felt I wanted to know many words & phrases that weren't included. Restaurant, What's your name?, My name is..., address, ocean, mountain. Fish was included but beef, pork, and chicken weren't. Numbers only went to 20. I think 30-100 at least would have been useful. I still would recommend this as an easy, helpful beginning. It needs to be supplemented with other information to be better. ... EuroTalk :: Learn learning :: Portuguese :: Spanish Espanol :: Foreign Languages (Language) :: Reference :: Education (Educational) :: Computer software (programs) :: Mac Macin :: Talk Now- Learn Brazilian - Beginning Level
5 stars (A must-have reference book for any Brasilian Jiu-Jitsu practicioner) - This book is wonderful. I use it everyday after class to see what I could have done wrong and what are the little things you can do to truly lock a submission or gain the sweeps you need. For example: I always had a problem quickly executing the "Americana." I would always end up getting it but not quick enough. I flipped through this book and discovered that if you rotate your opponents wrist slightly while applying the lock like you would reve a motorcycle, you create a much more painful lock causing the opponent to tap immediately. That tip alone helped me to actually master not only the Americana, but has helped my Kimuras as well. And that is just one of hundreds of little pointers that can help your game. I have been doing BJJ for a few years now but I know that I will always refer to this book even if I reach Black Belt. Also check out Carlson Gracie's book, "For Experts Only." It is another must own. 5 stars (Great for beginners) - When I started BJJ lessons 2 months ago I picked up this book right away. It really helped my learning curve in jiu jitsu and taught me to be more sensitive to every move my sparring partner made allowing me to better react. This book has really made a difference in my training. Now I give it to my classmates and they too all have said it has made a big difference. 5 stars (Great Book) - This book gives an interesting history of how Jiu Jitsu started and how it came to the Gracie family who perfected it. The techniques sections are great. The techniques are categorized by belt colors (easier techniques being under the white belt section, harder in the black). All the techniques are thoroughly explained and the pictures are in color and of good quality. There are 110 techniques explained in this text. My only complaint is that they don't have the techniques categorized based on what position you are in (mount, gaurd, side control, etc.). This is... Invisible Cities Press :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Martial Arts & Self-Defense :: Jiu-jitsu :: Brazil :: John Danaher :: Kid Peligro :: Royler Gracie :: Renzo Gracie :: :: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu- Theory - Technique
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