How to Raise the Perfect Dog

How to Raise the Perfect Dog

Rating:  How to Raise the Perfect Dog:  Through Puppyhood and Beyond, by Cesar Millan.  Harmony Books (2009), 303 pages. This is not a book that will teach you how to train a puppy.  There are no detailed instructions for housebreaking, leash walking, or any...
A Beginner’s Guide to Tibetan Buddhism

A Beginner’s Guide to Tibetan Buddhism

Rating:  A Beginner’s Guide to Tibetan Buddism: Notes from a Practitioner’s Journey, by Bruce Newman.  Snow Lion Publications (2004), 212 pages. This is the must-have manual for any Westerner trying to understand the Vajrayana path.  In the...
Pot Bellies and other Miniature Pigs

Pot Bellies and other Miniature Pigs

Rating:  Pot Bellies and other Miniature Pigs, by Pat Storer.  Barron’s Educational Series (1992), 64 pages. This book was a huge disappointment. I was looking for some basic information on pot bellies—what it’s like to live with them, how to...
Introduction to Tantra

Introduction to Tantra

Rating:  Introduction to Tantra: The Transformation of Desire, by Lama Yeshe, Jonathan Landaw, ed.  Wisdom Publications (1987) 167 pages. Although Tantra is, in general, too esoteric for many Buddhist readers, those looking for a beginning understanding of...
In Defense of Food

In Defense of Food

Rating:  In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan.  Penguin Press (2008), 256 pages. Though I am a huge fan of The Omnivore’s Dilemma (a 2007 Gustine  Award winner), I had some concerns about Pollan’s new book also being about the food we eat. Could...