Ventus

Average customer rating:

Not Free SF Reader

Underrated, I think

Don't let the first 150 pages fool you

Epic scope, human scale

Good start, bad ending

Ventus
Karl Schroeder
Manufacturer: Tor Science Fiction
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Space Opera | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0812576357

Book Description

After terrifying and titanic struggles, a godlike artificial intelligence gone rogue has finally been destroyed. But not before it scattered seeds of itself throughout the galaxy.On the terraformed planet Ventus, benign AIs -- the godlike Winds - which shaped and guarded its transformation, have fallen silent. Calandria May is sent down to the surface where she quickly finds that an extension of the rogue AI, a cyborg called Armiger, has planted a strange and powerful device in a young man named Jordan Mason. Jordan has visions. He is desperate to find their meaning and source -- desperate enough to risk awakening the Winds, perhaps invoking the power that can destroy technology to protect the environment they created. Ventus is an epic journey across a fascinating planet with two big mysteries -- why have the Winds fallen silent? And is Armiger, or Jordan, carrying a Resurrection Seed?

Customer Reviews:

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Ventus is the story of a conflict between artificial intelligences with different aims. Some want to do what they like with planets. Others work with human agents to stop them. These humans have been modified and upgraded with body armor, nanotech, and other ability boosting devices.

The conflict in this story is played out on the planet Ventus, where an underling of one of the rogue AI is experimenting with some of the local primitive humans.

Underrated, I think.......2007-01-10

A good story in which all the many dangling threads are resolved, but without seeming overly tidy about it. As others have pointed out, Vernor Vinge is probably the best point of comparative reference here: the numerous, complex characters (including women); the multiple, intersecting plotlines; and most of all, the contrast between a low-tech, quasi-medieval society and an advanced, space-faring culture. I could have used a bit more of the latter, especially further elaboration of the rogue AI backstory, which was intriguing. (I understand that he picks up some of that thread in his later novel Lady of Mazes.) I definitely can recommend this one, though, and I certainly think Schroeder is a talent worth watching.

Don't let the first 150 pages fool you.......2007-01-04

This is a science fiction novel even though it starts out sounding like a feudal fantasy. Stay with it and the plot runs the gamut of big idea SF. The majority of my SF book discussion group enjoyed this book. As a computer professional, some of the ideas appealed to me because of their basis in nacient current computer technology.

Epic scope, human scale.......2004-07-15

Two things I'd add to the customer reviews already posted:

Although it's an epic, it's told on a human scale. Little of the narration is from a god's-eye point of view; it's mostly from the point of view of people on foot or horseback, tired, cold, hungry, lonely and lost. Schroeder made me feel, hear and smell the planet Ventus.

Also, there are deft "culture shock" touches which I enjoyed, like a nobleman laughing at (under-cover) off-worlder Axel's idiom, "I'm all ears."

Good start, bad ending.......2004-03-19

Ventus starts out very promising - good prose, good characters, good setting, great science - but halfway through it seems the author decides his characters aren't important, or not as important as the plot and science. Characters we come to enjoy fade or nearly disappear while new ones jump in and steal the stage, though they are obviously just tools to move the story-which they do poorly. The end of the novel is a jumble of characters running to collide while spewing lengthy monologues about the meaning life, man's relationship with nature, and several other deep thoughts which are hard to care about. Overall Ventus is disappointing.

Developing a Successful Physician-Hospital Organization

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Developing a Successful Physician-Hospital Organization

Manufacturer: American Hospital Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Hospital Administration | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1556481365

Ipa, Pho, and Mso Developmental Strategies: Building Successful Provider Alliances (Hfma Healthcare Financial Management Series)

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Ipa, Pho, and Mso Developmental Strategies: Building Successful Provider Alliances (Hfma Healthcare Financial Management Series)
Maria K. Todd
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Public Policy | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Health Care Delivery | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Hospital Administration | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Practice Management & Reimbursement | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Emergency Medical Services | Allied Health Professions | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Physician & Patient | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Book Description

IPA, PHO, and MSO Development Strategies is the hands-on reference you need to create the business entity that will maximize economic clout, provide quality of care and retain the traditional values of autonomy. In IPA, PHO and MSO Development Strategies, an understanding of your local hometown integrated delivery system is what you'll get, along with: Government and legal issues pertaining to the development of IPA, PHO and MSO models

Capitalization concerns involved with each model

Administrative, billing, human resource management and other operational issues involved in the MSO model

Book Description

This new book summarizes the pertinent federal laws, identifies risks, and presents strategies by which hospital executives can structure and operate joint venture.

Customer Reviews:

Tremendous User Friendly Resource For Hospital Executives.......2004-07-15

The book is an extremely helpful resource for hospital and health system executives who need assistance in understanding the regulations governing joint ventures between hospitals and physicians. The author presents the material in simple prose and in a practical format. Moreover, in addition to identifying key compliance concerns, the author suggests potential safeguards to minimize risk. Perhaps most importantly he presents the material in a manner useful to an administrator or physician, breaking down the legal issues and potential safeguards into chapters on selecting investors, structuring the joint venture, and operating the joint venture.

Hospital-Physician Integration: Strategies for Success

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Hospital-Physician Integration: Strategies for Success
Terence M. Murphy , and C. Thompson Hardy
Manufacturer: American Hospital Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Health Care Delivery | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Hospital Administration | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Public Health | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1556481241

Hospital-Physician Joint Ventures: Results and Lessons from a National Demonstration in Primary Care

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Hospital-Physician Joint Ventures: Results and Lessons from a National Demonstration in Primary Care
Stephen M. Shortell , Thomas M. Wickizer , and John R. C. Wheeler
Manufacturer: Health Administration Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Integrated Community Healthcare: Next Generation Strategies for Developing Provider Networks

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Integrated Community Healthcare: Next Generation Strategies for Developing Provider Networks
Christopher J. Evans , Robert L. Wilson , and F. Gene Deporter
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Strategy & Competition | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Emergency Medical Services | Allied Health Professions | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Physicians | Physician & Patient | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Integrated Community Healthcare shows you strategies to successfully implement, manage and grow your IDS whether you are a hospital, HMO or physician organization. Used as a practical reference tool, this book will spur you to think creatively about your current circumstances and about future alternatives for positioning your organization.

Joint Ventures Between Hospitals and Physicians: A Competitive Strategy for the Healthcare Market

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Joint Ventures Between Hospitals and Physicians: A Competitive Strategy for the Healthcare Market
Linda A. Burns , and Douglas M. Mancino
Manufacturer: Aspen Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Hospital Administration | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Physician & Patient | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0870947109

Book Description

“One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”
For more than sixty years, this insight from The Little Prince has been quoted in more than 130 languages by fans around the world. Now, for the first time, quotations from the collected works and letters of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry are presented in a charming gift edition. Six chapters--“Happiness,” “Friendship,” “Responsibility,” “Fortitude,” “Love,” and “What Is Essential”--offer inspirational and thought-provoking words about the subjects held most dear by the author. A perfect gift for graduates—or for anyone who wants gentle guidance.

Customer Reviews:

Exupery's Essential Wisdom Distilled For a Quick Drink.......2006-11-09

This is an extremely short read. It took me 10 minutes, and I am a slow reader. The quotes have been pulled from Exupery's seven works. I am not crazy about Exupery's storytelling such as The Little Prince, but I can tell that he was a deep and caring thinker. Every now and then one of his observations is so artistically succinct and beautifully rendered that it bears restatement.

Here are my favorite quotes from this book:

"People haven't time to learn anything. They buy things ready-made in the stores. But since there are no stores where you can buy friends, people no longer have friends."

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction."

"People have forgotten this truth... But you musn't forget it. You become responsible forever for what you have tamed."

"A civilization is built on what is required of men, not on that which is provided for them."

"The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then a dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky."

"What ought we be? That is the essential question, the question that concerns spirit and not intelligence. For spirit impregnates intelligence with the creation that is to come forth. And later, intelligence is brought to bed of creation."

"Experience will guide us to the rules. You cannot make rules precede practical experience."

"Life creates order, but order does not create life."

"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eye."

Four Stars

From the Author of THE LITTLE PRINCE.......2005-08-16

This is a very tiny book of excerpts from the writings of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, who wrote THE LITTLE PRINCEbut also much more. The book is a great gift item. You wish it were much longer and that the quotations were cited, so that you know where to go to read the context. Beautifully produced and bound.

Must read for all adults........2005-08-14

This is a must read for all adults. There are so many explanations about emotions and the meaning of love and respect for other humans. After all, we are a disgusting species considering what we do to each other and what we do to ourselves. I am a better man for reading the book.

"It is always in the midst, in the epicenter...".......2004-11-08

"of your troubles that you find serenity."-from Wartime Writings 1939-1944

This small, 83 page book, Guide for Grown-ups, contains selected quotes from the several books and poems that Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote during his lifetime. The title for this review contains the only words found on page 72. I picked up this book the other day and this quote really spoke to me at this time in my life. I bought several of these with the intention of giving them out as gifts. I still have one left; the quotes are great ones to meditate on. Antoine de Saint-Exupery, writer of The Little Prince, was an aviator who served in the French Air Corps during WWII; he presumably died in 1944 during a mission flying over the Mediterranean. I haven't read any of his books, however, I do love this little one.

Quick read but would be better off with The Little Prince..........2004-08-18

I read this last night and, while it is good and I'm glad I have it around, The Little Prince offers up MUCH more sage advice. However, I will say that I have not read Exupery's other works so I might be speaking hastily but I value my copy of the full text of The Little Prince much more.....

The Saints' Guide to Happiness: Practical Lessons in the Life of the Spirit

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The Saints' Guide to Happiness: Practical Lessons in the Life of the Spirit
Robert Ellsberg
Manufacturer: Image
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0385515669
Release Date: 2005-09-27

Book Description

“What is happiness and how can I find it?” may be one of the most frequently asked questions there is. Perhaps that’s because it is so hard to experience lasting happiness.

In The Saints’ Guide to Happiness, Robert Ellsberg suggests that some of the best people to show us are holy men and women throughout history—from St. Augustine to Flannery O’Connor, Thomas Merton to St. Theresa of Avila and Mother Theresa.

These people weren’t saints because of the way they died or their visions or wondrous deeds. They were saints because of their extraordinary capacity for goodness and love, which—in the end—makes us happy.

Average customer rating:

Joy Exemplified
Absolutely inspiring book
Happiness Where We Are
A Book Destined To Become A Spiritual Classic
Robert Ellsberg Does It Again

The Saints' Guide to Happiness
Robert Ellsberg
Manufacturer: North Point Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Happiness | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Inspirational | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Devotionals | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0374253536

Book Description

A noted spiritual writer seeks answers to life's big questions in the stories of the saints

In All Saints---published in 1997 and already a classic of its kind---Robert Ellsberg told the stories of 365 holy people with great vividness and eloquence. In The Saints' Guide to Happiness, Ellsberg looks to the saints to answer the questions: What is happiness, and how might we find it?

Countless books answer these questions in terms of personal growth, career success, physical fitness, and the like. The Saints' Guide to Happiness proposes instead that happiness consists in a grasp of the deepest dimension of our humanity, which characterizes holy people past and present. The book offers a series of "lessons" in the life of the spirit: the struggle to feel alive in a frenzied society; the search for meaningful work, real friendship, and enduring love; the encounter with suffering and death; and the yearning to grasp the ultimate significance of our lives. In these "lessons," our guides are the saints: historical figures like Augustine, Francis of Assisi, and Teresa of Avila, and moderns such as Dorothy Day, Flannery O'Connor, and Henri J. Nouwen. In the course of the book the figures familiar from stained-glass windows come to seem exemplars, not just of holy piety but of "life in abundance," the quality in which happiness and holiness converge.

Customer Reviews:

Joy Exemplified.......2005-01-04

It is not so much the great amount of interesting information about some very special (but also very normal) people that makes this book worthwhile, but rather the slow and patient vision of true happiness that it weaves. The chapters of the book are structured as lessons to be learned not in order to reach some eventual place of happiness but to lay hold of it now: Learning to Be Still; Learning to Relinquish; Learning to Work; Learning to Suffer; Learning to Die... What is so life affirming about this book is the overwhelming assent to happiness and to its pursuit embodied in persons whom we usually take to be super human in their efforts at self-renunciation. Yes, these were disciplined men and women, but they were also driven by and in pursuit of a Joy that they discovered as the true essence of their human lot. I like the way the book slowly and engagingly transforms our usual, narrow, paltry, notion of a happiness dependent on comfort to one founded on that inner certitude (which can exist even amidst suffering) that we are traveling, slowly but surely, on the path we were meant to travel. And along the way we meet some pretty inspiring fellow travelers not as different from you or me as you would first think.

Absolutely inspiring book.......2004-08-19

Robert Ellsberg deserves sainthood himself, for putting this wonderful material within easy reach of the lay public -- without losing the depth and nobility of his subject. This is GOOD reading -- inspiring as well as educational. What a delightful surprise to find a book that gives us a new spin on some very old names, and a fresh look at what it means to live a life of depth, devotion, and reverence. I really could NOT put it down until finished it.

Happiness Where We Are.......2004-03-11

When Robert Ellsberg's All Saints was reviewed on the campus of Adrian Dominican Sisters, book orders flowed from our well-seasoned readers in the spiritual life. Now with The Saints' Guide to Happiness our community was ready for more substance from Ellsberg, and we have it.

This latest work translates the lives of the saints in ways that are helpful, and most importantly, believable to our everyday experience. The eight 'Learning to' chapters offer something for everyone whether we are content with our lives, or living with boredom, or even find ourselves suffering and burdened by doubt.

Half the book is taken up with two chapters-Learning to Suffer and Learning to Die- addressing some of the most urgent questions of today in how to put together happiness with suffering and death. After reading those two chapters, one of our members whose illness once took her to the edge of death said, "After coping with a life-threatening illness ...you get a clarity of vision and you don't waste time on small things.... The Chapters on suffering and dying in The Saints' Guide to Happiness speaks much to me... I love this book and will keep it with me and read it from time to time so that I get some more encouragement in the 'hard parts' of life."

The Saints' Guide heightens our sensitivity "to the way God is present in our lives.... The path to happiness is rooted in the place where we are, and not just some holy place somewhere else." Ellsberg's words have found a warm home here in Adrian as he has preached to the preachers a good word!

A Book Destined To Become A Spiritual Classic.......2004-01-14

Robert Ellsberg's ALL SAINTS was well received by many Catholic readers and deservedly so. The biographies found in the first book are well researched and his selection of famous and not so famous Christians (and in a few cases non-Christians) is interesting. Ellsberg once again turns to the well known figures in Christian history in his newest work THE SAINTS' GUIDE TO HAPPINESS.

In Billy Joel's song "Only the Good Die Young" he has the famous line `I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints; the sinners have much more fun.' Joel's assessment is a somewhat popular misconception of the saints. In many cases we view saints as long suffering men and women who hardly see the joy in life. Ellsberg would not agree with this misconception. Using the writings of many of the traditional saints of Christian history, as well as leading religious figures who are not officially recognized as saints, Ellsberg shows that many of the saints strove to love full and vital lives while on earth and were not simply concerned with enduring life on earth to merit the joys of everlasting life. Ellsberg uses Aristotle's definition of happiness as a springboard, that happiness is not merely a feeling of joy, but rather the fullness of life. Saints lived lives to the full, whether it was through their ministry, their interactions with others, the ways in which they endured hardship and suffering, or the way that they died. Throughout the book the reader sees that Ellsberg has great admiration for his subjects and sees their lives as examples of how we can live our lives.

The book appears to be a self help book, but it is not a book that gives the reader answers. Rather, it presents the significant aspects of our lives: being alive, work, loving others, suffering, and death, and presents the saints as guides who can assist us as we navigate our own lives.

The book is a rather easy read. Ellsberg's writing has a nice flow to it and the book is well organized. Readers can easily sit and read an entire chapter, or read the book slowly in a reflective manner. The hardcover edition of the book has a ribbon which serves as a bookmark, which makes it easy to use as a devotional tool.

Robert Ellsberg Does It Again.......2003-12-07

I couldn't wait for this one because Robert Ellsberg's "All Saints" has been my favorite daily reading ever since it came out. "The Saints Guide to Happiness" is even better than I expected. It helps that Robert Ellsberg was personal friends with at least two of the stars in this book, Henri Nouwen and Dorothy Day. For those mourning the loss of the great Catholic spiritual writers in these harsh days, they can look to Robert Ellsberg. I want many more books from him. He keeps getting better and better. The positive editorial reviews above have it right. This book will make an incomparable Christmas gift. I am right now rereading it from the beginning. There aren't many books I own which I can read over and over and this is one of them.

Finding Wholeness and Happiness After Divorce

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Finding Wholeness and Happiness After Divorce
A. Dean Byrd , and Sally H. Barlow
Manufacturer: Deseret Book Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Divorce | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Accessories:

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 1573452947

Book Description

The statistics are alarming--in the world, in the Church, in temple marriages. Divorce is all too common among today. Of every 100 U.S. couples who marry, 40 to 50 couples will eventually divorce. In this new collection, a variety of mental health professionals and others present their Latter-day Saint perspectives on divorce and related issues. The book discusses women and divorce, men and divorce, children and divorce, dating again, blended families, remarriage, marriage counseling, and so on. All but one of the contributing authors can speak from personal experience about divorce. This book, which will help couples contemplating divorce and men and women who are working through divorce, offers guidance, ideas, comfort and gospel perspective for those struggling through the painful experience of divorce. Author Dr. A. Dean Byrd writes, "After divorce lives can be put back together. Healing can occur." This hopeful message can help people begin that healing process.

Critics' choices for Christmas.(The Saints' Guide to Happiness)(Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life)(All We Know of Heaven)(Book Review): An article from: Commonweal

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Critics' choices for Christmas.(The Saints' Guide to Happiness)(Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life)(All We Know of Heaven)(Book Review): An article from: Commonweal
James Martin
Manufacturer: Commonweal Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Commonweal, published by Commonweal Foundation on December 3, 2004. The length of the article is 938 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Critics' choices for Christmas.(The Saints' Guide to Happiness)(Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life)(All We Know of Heaven)(Book Review)
Author: James Martin
Publication: Commonweal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 3, 2004
Publisher: Commonweal Foundation
Volume: 131 Issue: 21 Page: 29(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Happiness in holiness;: A little guide to holiness of life for members of the Third order of Saint Francis and for other devout souls, adapted from the French of Very Rev. Joseph of Dreux

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Happiness in holiness;: A little guide to holiness of life for members of the Third order of Saint Francis and for other devout souls, adapted from the French of Very Rev. Joseph of Dreux
Joseph of Dreux
Manufacturer: The Bruce publishing company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Average customer rating:

SAINTS' GUIDE TO HAPPINESS
ROBERT ELLSBERG
Manufacturer: Darton,Longman & Todd Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQ4OF2

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