First (and Second) Steps in Statistics, Second Edition provides a clear and concise introduction to the main statistical procedures used in the psychological and social sciences. The rationale and procedure for analyzing data are presented through exciting examples, with an emphasis on understanding rather than computation. It is ideally suited for introductory courses in statistics. In addition to descriptive statistics, graphs, t tests, one way ANOVAs, Chi-square, and simple linear regression, this second edition includes factorial ANOVA and multiple regression. Emphasis is given to tests of median and other robust methods.

Welcome to Laos, the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Discover this landlocked country with its thickly forested landscape and rugged mountains. Learn of France and America's part in the long civil war which ended in 1975. Trace Laos' natural borders, the Mekong River to the west and the Annamite mountains to the east. Experience the extremes of Southeast Asia's tropical and monsoonal climate.

Discover India's rich tapestry of cultures and religions. See why India is now a world leader in technology. Visit the Ganges?spiritual artery of the nation. Learn about the animals that are sacred in India. Visit the Taj Mahal and discover its romantic origins.

A Thai Buddhist and US-trained historian, Tiyavanich weaves together stories about Siam in the 19th and early 20th centuries that illuminate the life of the Buddhist culture. They tell of village monks encountering giant snakes, a Christian missionary gored by an elephant, bandits and boatmen, a dog-bodhisattva, midwives, guardian spirits, and other topics. Distributed in the US by the University of Washington Press. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

The most extensive book yet written by the Dalai Lama on the subject of meditation summarizes the Mahayana tradition of meditation and inspires readers to begin practicing it as soon as possible. Original.

Named Notable Book of 1955 by the American Library Association, this is the very moving story of a peasant woman in a primitive village in India whose whole life was a gallant and persistent battle to care for those she loved.

'Comparable in many ways to Cry, the Beloved Country...if anything...better.' (Saturday Evening Post)

In this book Kamala Silva tells the deeply moving story of how she met her Guru, and how Yogananda transformed her life—carefully guiding and nurturing his young disciple, directing her steps toward God, until she had grown greatly on the path of Self-realization. Included in this volume are many letters Yogananda had written to Kamala, early poems that later were published in Whispers from Eternity, and the story of how Yogananda was first inspired to create a new scripture: his revelatory commentaries on the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Kamala also relates some of the uplifting spiritual experiences she had received through the agency of her great Guru. For those who have wondered what it would have been like to know Yogananda, and how the Master would have acted in personal moments and great occasions alike, The Flawless Mirror offers rare insights.

Il mandala è un simbolo universale della vita, dell'uomo, di Dio e del mondo. La sua forma è quella di un cerchio. La creazione consapevole di un mandala è nutrimento per l'anima e per lo spirito al fine di creare l'intima armonia, per incoraggiarsi e rilassarsi, per introdursi all'autocoscienza in un modo coinvolgente e al tempo stesso creativo.

During the first half of this century the forests of Thailand were home to wandering ascetic monks. They were Buddhists, but their brand of Buddhism did not copy the practices described in ancient doctrinal texts. Their Buddhism found expression in living day-to-day in the forest and in contending with the mental and physical challenges of hunger, pain, fear, and desire. Combining interviews and biographies with an exhaustive knowledge of archival materials and a wide reading of ephemeral popular literature, Kamala Tiyavanich documents the monastic lives of three generations of forest-dwelling ascetics and challenges the stereotype of state-centric Thai Buddhism.
Although the tradition of wandering forest ascetics has disappeared, a victim of Thailand's relentless modernization and rampant deforestation, the lives of the monks presented here are a testament to the rich diversity of regional Buddhist traditions. The study of these monastic lineages and practices enriches our understanding of Buddhism in Thailand and elsewhere.

Quest'opera spiega in un linguaggio semplice ed accessibile i precetti di saggezza di Paramhansa Yogananda, dando importanti consigli sulle vie che conducono a Dio, e che gli uomini percorrono nella loro ricerca spirituale. Vengono qui trattati molti argomenti di fondamentale importanza, tra cui: la meditazione e la concentrazione; il Kriya Yoga, grande 'acceleratore' spirituale; i tipi di magnetismo che influenzano l'uomo; le interpretazioni di Paramhansa Yogananda sulle parabole di Cristo e le sue intuizioni sulla Bhagavad Gita; la descrizione del rapporto tra Guru e discepolo; l'espansione dell'amore e della compassione attraverso la reverenza per la vita. I trenta brevi capitoli di quest'opera sono altrettanti passi nella via sulla quale Kamala ci guida, con infinito amore, verso la realizzazione e verso Dio, riflettendo su noi quella luce spirituale di cui Paramhansa Yogananda illuminò tutti coloro che ebbero la grande ventura di conoscerlo e di seguirlo nella sua terrena apparizione.