Customer Reviews:
Deadly is the female--and how!.......2007-08-07
A decade after college-football glory, Lee Scarborough has fallen on hard times. With a paltry $170 in his kick, he's sold everything but his car. When the prospect of a cool $120,000--to be picked up after he performs some shady, quick work involving modest risk--is dangled before him, he bites. And that's the setup to this ferociously entertaining 1953 thriller by the prolific Williams, whose minimalist style brings with it enough excrutiating detail to keep you in a mesmerized state located somewhere between a fever dream and the bughouse. Like his fellow Gold Medal-original author, John D. MacDonald, Williams plumbs the psychology of his protagonist with grim insight--a neat trick when the protagonist is also the book's narrator. Scarborough isn't stupid, but his imagination is limited. To him, nothing matters but the money. When things begin to break bad, and the modest risk becomes a whole catalog of enormous ones, Scarborough keeps his eye on the prize. He's plenty cognizant of the mess he's in. Trouble is, the money always seems more real than the mess. Scarborough steps off the cliff completely when he gets mixed up with un-grieving widow Madelon Butler, a babe so beautiful she can stop traffic. Circumstance glues the pair together, which wouldn't be all bad from Scarborough's point of view--except that Madelon is an uber-sociopath. She's one of the great inventions of crime fiction: alluring, funny, and horrifying. Oh, yeah, she's smart, too. Way smarter than Scarborough. Chuck Pyle's period-perfect cover painting for this Hard Case Crime reissue captures Madelon in an oddly significant moment. The painting is faintly disturbing on its own terms, but look at it again--hard--after you read the scene in context. It'll scare the hell out of you. A Touch of Death might be the best title yet from the folks at Hard Case.
Thank you Hard Case Crime........2006-06-19
Sure, the plotting of A Touch of Death by Charles Williams isn't 100% airtight. But that's easy to forgive in view of the wonderfully hardboiled dialogue and the compellingly captivating and suspense filled narrative.
It wasn't too many years ago that Lee Scarborough was a college football player of some renown. But today he's a down on his luck salesman looking for a break. When he learns that there's $120,000 in embezzled bank funds ripe for the plucking, he decides to go after it. Little does he realize he is about to cross paths with Madelon Butler, an aristocratic beauty with ice water where her blood should be.
Lee naively believes he can outsmart Madelon. Trouble is, he's playing checkers while Madelon is playing three dimensional chess. As the fast paced story unfolds, Lee's straits become more and more dire and he finds out the hard way that crime doesn't pay (at least not for him).
Charles Williams was a great writer and A Touch of Death is one of his best efforts. Highly recommended.
Classic pulp fiction at its pulse-pounding best.......2006-06-16
From the instant Lee Scarborough spotted Diana James sunning herself sans bikini top, he should have known she meant trouble. The ex-football star was trying to sell his car to pay rent money. Diana James just happened to live in the same building as a prospective buyer. And she recognizes a useful pawn when she sees one: the healthy, athletic Scarborough has all the tools she needs to pull off a caper.
Diana invites him up to her apartment, tests her mark, and then lays out what seems like a simple plan. A banker had embezzled $120K of currency and then hidden it in his estate home... just before turning up up dead. Diana knows the embezzler's wife and intends to take her on a drinking binge up the gulf coast while Scarborough enters the home and locates the dough. Scarborough and James agree to split the $120 grand after they pull off the caper.
Soon Scarborough finds himself in the dark and cavernous home, scrounging around for the bankroll. One little problem: the widow, Madelon Butler, is in the home, drunk as a skunk. And, to complicate matters, someone else is also in the house...
As the tale unfolds, you'll find yourself startled and impressed with the crafty Ms. Butler -- who plays all of the characters around her like fiddles. Charles Williams has created an elegant, captivating story of exceptional quality: built like a Swiss watch, the plot just keeps unwinding... along with Scarborough's life. This is a tremendous story and one that should be optioned into film, just like Williams' Hot Spot.
Hot Women and Cool Case.......2006-05-13
I've read several Hard Case Crime books now and A Touch of Death is one of the best. It starts with one hot woman soliciting a man to do a bad deed, moves on to a even hotter woman getting the man to do even worse deeds. Extortion, insurance [...], murder, mayhem, sexy men and hot women. What more could you ask for in a mystery?
The cover is very nice too and I kept wondering when we'd get that scene and we did. Whoever is putting these Hard Case books together is doing a great job.
the female of the species is deadlier than the male.......2006-02-23
Lee Scarborough is a young man who almost had it all and that's his problem. After a bad knee ruins his chance to go to the NFL he sinks into sullen bitterness. He apparently has no family, no close friends and no rich alumini boosters to give a former football star a job after college.
When he runs into a sunbathing beauty named Diana James it seems like a dream come true becuase Diana has a fascinating story of love, death and revenge to tell. She also has a simple plan for retrieving $120K in stolen money. If Lee plays along with her he could walk away clean with half. But of course since this is a pulp crime novel the plan falls apart when our anti-hero meets Mrs. Madelon Butler, the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. She looks like an angel but is tougher, smarter, and meaner than Lee or Diana can even imagine. And to make a dangerous situation even more so there are a pair of blonde siblings hanging around who would also like to get their hands on the money and are willing to kill to do it. Lee is totally in over his head but greed, pride and a fixation on Madelon prevent him from walking away.
A Touch of Death has one of the most complex plots you'll ever find in a Hard Case novel. People smile and lie and triple cross each other left and right. The ending was a complete shock and it's perfect. If you've never read any of the Hard Case series this a great one to start with.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent Book
- Body Wisdom
- ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS
|
Body Wisdom: Light Touch for Optimal Health
Sharon Giammatteo
Manufacturer: North Atlantic Books
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Reflection Therapy (Body Wisdom Books)
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Integrative Manual Therapy for the Connective Tissue System: Myofascial Release
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Integrative Manual Therapy: For the Upper and Lower Extremities
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Functional Exercise Program for Women's and Men's Health Issues (Functional Exercise Program Series)
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RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device
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Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)
ASIN: 1556433565
Release Date: 2002-08-09 |
Book Description
Sharon Giammatteo teaches readers a self-healing method that can return life to areas deadened by shock or trauma. The technique is based on neurofascial process, a calculated laying on of hands and subsequent release of emotional and physical pain. The author widens her scope to include any pain, strain, or fracture, and extensive illustrations make the process simple and rewarding.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Book .......2005-11-02
I am a massage therapist practising Deep Tissue, Trigger Point, Strain Counterstrain as well as MET and an Upledger Craniosacral therapist and have found this book to be most amazing! The techniques work better than some of my Craniosacral techniques. Best of all every treatment in this book can be done without a therapist! Allowing the client/patient to assist in his/her own care is the fastest way to healing I know! Great Book for EVERYONE!
Body Wisdom.......2005-08-28
Recommended to me by my integrative manual therapist, Body Wisdom presented excellent protocols for self healing. Placing one's hands (or the hands of others for difficult to reach spots) promotes healing according to the author. Because of copious illustrations the protocols are easy to follow. Those I used seemed beneficial. I would recommend the text to anyone wanting to improve health and promote physical well being.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS.......2004-06-22
My wife frequently suffered from tiredness, chest discomfort and breathing difficulty. Doctors diagnosed she suffered from stress and prescribed tranquilizers, but the symptoms still surfaced on and off. I asked her to try the Heart Process in this book. One month has passed since she practises this process and the symptons of stress never returned. The best part is that she only spends 5 minutes on each step instead of 15 minutes as recommended by the author. We are very grateful to the author for revealing this healing method to the world.
Average customer rating:
- A funny yet useful little book
- Lots of jokes and some info too
- Humorists will be especially pleased
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I Died Laughing: Funeral Education With a Light Touch
Lisa Carlson
Manufacturer: Upper Access
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Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of Love
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Dealing Creatively With Death: A Manual of Death Education and Simple Burial
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The American Way of Death Revisited
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Profits of Death: An Insider Exposes the Death Care Industries
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You Only Die Once
ASIN: 0942679253 |
Book Description
The author, a long-time consumer advocate, has regaled her audience for years with funeral humor as an ice-breaker for discussion of consumer issues in dealing with the funeral industry. This book is full of her favorite jokes and witticisms, with each chapter ending with a few pages called "But Seriously . . . " with important consumer information. This book is a fund-raiser for Funeral Consumers Alliance, a nonprofit consumer organization, and many famous artists contributed their cartoons and illustrations in support of that cause. These include the late Edward Gorey, Rina Piccolo, and P.S. Mueller.
Customer Reviews:
A funny yet useful little book.......2002-06-08
Death is not a topic many of us enjoy talking about, and as a result many people are unprepared for the business side of death once it strikes close to home. The underlying goal of this little book is to increase readers' knowledge of death, funerals, and the like. Thus, there is information on burial vaults, caskets, funeral homes, cremation, etc.; much of this information is useful and interesting. There are even money-saving tips for families in financial straits. Surrounding these tips and suggestions, though, are an assortment of humorous remarks and stories: famous last words, cartoons, jokes, funny epitaphs, poems, and recollections. You will also find "A Dying Person's Bill of Rights" and--my favorite--a list of suggestions for "Putting the 'Fun' Back in Funerals." This book is in no way irreverent or disrespectful of the dead and those who mourn for them, and there are no religious overtones that might upset certain readers. This short little book (it can easily be read in half an hour) will certainly not make you an expert on funerals, but there is some good information to be found on the serious pages scattered throughout the book, not least of which is a discussion of the information funeral homes are required by law to give you in writing before you make any buying decision. The author emphasizes the fact that you are not required to accept everything the funeral director recommends and stresses the importance of reading through the price guidelines and relevant information before making your decision. No matter how much we deny it, death is a part of life we all must face, and this little book celebrates life through its humor and makes death a little easier for people to consider and talk about.
Lots of jokes and some info too.......2002-01-03
This book has tons of jokes and cartoons with a death theme. Most of them are pretty funny. Interspersed are some 'but seriously' pages with real information about various aspects of death, dying and funerals. There is a table of contents in the front so you can go right to the serious stuff if you want. There is also a good list of funeral directors in the back of the book.
Humorists will be especially pleased.......2001-08-06
Most of us should have a little more death and funeral-related information in our knowledge base, and it would be a good idea to get it before we actually need it. But who wants to read about dying? I knew I'd need some guidance in this area eventually, so when I saw Ms. Carlson's book I thought I'd give it a read. Her "But Seriously..." sections contained all the information I'm likely to need, surrounded by pages and pages of humor, good humor. Jokes and cartoons -- there's something for everyone in "I Died Laughing: Funeral Education with a Light Touch." Humorists will be especially pleased.
Average customer rating:
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Stronger Than Death: When Suicide Touches Your Life
Sue Chance
Manufacturer: Replica Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Suicide
| Death & Grief
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ASIN: 0735100195 |
Customer Reviews:
a very helpful book.......1999-01-10
When I was putting together my anthology, DYING: A BOOK OF COMFORT, this was one of two books I found particularly helpful (and used selections from). I'm sorry to see that Victoria Alexander's book WORDS I NEVER THOUGHT TO SPEAK; STORIES OF LIFE IN THE WAKE OF SUICIDE is not in print now, although another of her books is, but Sue Chance's book is definitely something to consider, if someone you know is dealing with the emotional problems of surviving the suicide of someone close to them
Average customer rating:
- Great Book!!! Hope there is more to come!
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A Touch of Death (Alias)
J. J. Abrams , and
Christina F. York
Manufacturer: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
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ASIN: 1416924469 |
Book Description
A brilliant Alliance geneticist who disappeared years ago walks into a police station in Siberia wearing a hazmat suit and claims to be responsible for the deaths of his wife and three children. But before he can be questioned, he is kidnapped by his former employer, Gai Dong Jing, an ex-Alliance officer who is head of a terrorist network conducting bioweapon research of deadly proportions.
With the threat of a worldwide epidemic looming, Sydney and the APO team must locate Jing and decode the toxic scientist's medical diary, which holds the answers to the virus he carries and the fate of the scientist's family. In the meantime, the highly contagious geneticist plans to rid himself of his illness in the most unimaginable way....
Customer Reviews:
Great Book!!! Hope there is more to come!.......2007-06-09
Just finished this book and was hoping to order the next in the series
but can't find it. Hope they are still writing these books!!
Book Description
"Extraordinary! In 20 years in the editing publishing business, I've not seen anything like it. Detailing the lingering effects of a death, whether recent or past, this insightful guide explains why writing heals, and how to do it." Marilyn J. Stutt "When death intrudes, we all need help. This guide to thoughtful, reflective writing is sensitive and powerful. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED." Anna L. Ulrich, Ph.D. International Reading Association Consultant "I've seen no other book that comes close to covering the range of reactions and issues that assail a survivor. Dr. Walker guides you through them all. A step-by-step blueprint for finding peace through writing." Robert Knox Clinical Social Worker
Book Description
Brimming with optimism and trust, Heal My Heart, Lord pours out a message of hope and assures women they can bring their needs to God and He will provide. Bestselling author Emilie Barnes leads women to quietness and peace through heartwarming chapters that focus on God’s remedies for difficult situations and offer words of encouragement to everyone facing difficult times.
This uplifting collection of compassionate meditations offers the gentle reminder that it is precisely during times when “the valley of the shadow” seems too long to endure that we come to know the abundant reality of God’s presence.
A treasured addition to any woman’s library or a thoughtful gift to a friend seeking to trust God and rest in His embrace.
Average customer rating:
- Some good some bad.
- some good-some not.
- Not Suggested Reading Material
|
Master's Death Touch: Unarmed Killing Techniques
Hei Long
Manufacturer: Paladin Press
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ASIN: 087364543X |
Book Description
Here Master Hei Long describes the most devastating targets of an opponent's body and points out how to recognize physical characteristics that would limit the lethal effectiveness of certain techniques. He then outlines the merciless use of the hands, feet, elbows and knees to overcome any assailant bent on doing mortal harm. For academic study only.
Customer Reviews:
Some good some bad........2005-03-09
I liked the line drawings very easy to follow. The book contains some spinal dislocators which I thought were workable. As for the high kicks that he feels that he must put in his books they should be left for the TKD competitors. The have no business in the true pavement area.
some good-some not........2004-07-24
My impression is that the tecniques described in this book gets more and more complex during each turn of the pages, chiefly because of the need to get enough material for a book.
The last technique for example:
The victim gets a couple of subduing strikes, thereafter a shuto to each of the collarbones, then cross your arms, grasp the shoulder of your victim and pull the supposedly broken collarbones into the Pulmonary/circulatory system...then if victim still stands upright, a elbow to the temple concludes..
overly complex?? naah..
Still, for the person who wants to learn how to execute fast and efficient, this book do have some good ones..
I feel however that in order to sort them out, one must have prior experience/knowledge...this is not the first book on this subject that should be read, but rather the tenth..
Also, please understand that this is not the tecniques you learn in your local dojo, this is more connected to the world of military CQB..many people thing they are "lethal weapons" just because they have a black belt in a martial art...that is just not true..but you need some experience from both worlds to pick the goodies, discard the inferior stuff, and understand this book.
in all:
10% of the pages are really good...
Not Suggested Reading Material.......1999-08-03
I must say, that out of my many years of training in martialarts, I have learned many techniques of killing. This book containsseveral more. I have trained in martial arts most of my life and have learned over 200 ways to kill a man with my bare hands, but, when I opened the cover of this book I was honestly disgusted. When you take this material in to serious concideration it is not a pleasant thought. If you want to learn to defend yourself, then buy the U.S. Marines Close-Quarters Combat Manual, but please, do not buy this book.
Book Description
The martial arts world is rife with tales of ancient masters who could cause instant or delayed death or illness by attacking secret points on the human body. But to the Western mind, the concept of striking acupuncture points to disrupt the internal energy, or chi, seems like hocus-pocus. Thus, many serious martial artists dismiss the ancient art of dim-mak (also known as kyusho jitsu), which is literally translated as "death touch," as nothing more than fiction. However, if one can accept the idea that a dim-mak point is an avenue for attacking the nervous system, then it becomes easier to understand how striking specific points or groups of points can devastate the organs and the cardiovascular system. In this book, Dr. Michael Kelly, an osteopathic physician and experienced dim-mak practitioner, explains dim-mak's effects based on medical science. In layman's terms, Dr. Kelly reveals the physiological basis for what is clearly a very real and dangerous method of fighting. In the process of unraveling the mystery of this legendary art, Dr. Kelly makes the true genius of its founders brutally, and painfully, apparent.
Customer Reviews:
Exceeds Expectation.......2007-04-18
I realize there are already a lot of reviews, so I'll try to be brief.
First, about the osteopath controversy, in the US, osteopaths have the same privileges as MD physicians, and can take specialty training. I personally am acquainted with at least one osteopath who's an anesthesiologist and another who's a neurologist. I understand it may be different in other countries.
I'm a neuroscientist of sorts, a surgical neurophysiologist, and I approached this book with great skepticism, and only because one of my bagua brothers wanted my opinion on it. I am very surprised and favorably impressed. I also still have serious reservations.
I don't believe in the existence of acupuncture points and meridians, and as far as I know it hasn't been demonstrated that acupuncture, acupressure, moxibustion, or ear candling, foot reflexology, whatever like that, actually work (other than for anesthesia). Up to know I haven't seen why there would be any connection between dim mak points and healing points.
This book does a great job of explaining these things, in a very simple and logical way. The points and meridians are all on nerves, and attacking, or massaging, a spinal nerve (in the arm or leg) or a cranial nerve, can conceivably affect internal organs through convergence in the sympathetic nervous system, or directly in the case of the vagus nerve. The pressure point knockouts could be due to induced vasovagal syncope. The concepts of facilitation, abererant referral, and convergence explain a great deal, including a few things I hadn't previously understood, though I'm sure they're common knowledge in neurology. It ties a lot of things together, and provides a simple, rational explanation for a lot of things that I didn't think could be so explained. So to me, this is very impressive, and extremely welcome. There's nothing New Age or pseudoscientific about it at all, no need to believe in anything ineffable.
All that said, it's true that there's a lot of speculation about things that would be hard to test, and haven't been tested. I personally still doubt if acupuncture and so on work reliably for healing, but this does provide a possible explanation for how they could work.
One of my bagua teachers once pointed out to me that the open secret about attacking dim mak points is, you can't really do it in a standup fight. Once you have your victim down, and maybe a little stunned and unable to defend himself, then you could actually attack dim mak points. I guess Earle Montague claims you can also do it in standup grappling. I don't know. I still think there's plenty of room for skepticism, but for the first time, it doesn't all seem totally mysterious and incredible to me.
I'd like to add that I don't see any constructive purpose for dim mak in modern times. If it works at all, it's dangerous as hell and certainly constitutes excessive force. This should only be an intellectually interesting issue, imho.
On the other hand, this offers some possible validation of acupressure etc. as healing techniques, so further research is definitely indicated.
The way it is........2005-06-13
In all actuality Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine are Medical Doctors plus. The school is longer. They are required to take the same coarses as a M.D. then additional coarses that specialize in the muscular, skeletal, and nervous system. This is only in the U.S. Other countries have no such requirements, and are pretty much glorified chiropractors.
In my honest opinion concidering what all information is in the book I think he did a damn good job. There really isn't any good research out there explaining why dim mak works. Really the only things I didnt care for were the diagrams, a little hard to follow. Even so he recomends getting an anatomy book. Also you have to have alot of patients to handle the info. But still great info, and definatly worth it concidering it costs like a whopping 16 bucks. Well have fun kiddies.
The best Western medical explanation of Dim Mak to date.......2005-05-26
I have a black belt,an earned doctorate, and over a decade experience with pressure points/kyusho jitsu/dim mak. Therefore, I am not unexperienced when it comes to the topic. I can say without reservation that this is the best Western medical explanation of the topic written to date.
In reading this book, it must be understood that many things about pressure points are not completely understood by Western science. This book provides an excellent theoretical framework for understanding some complex topics. I have also read some of Dr. Kelly's postings on Kyusho.com and found that he is a very knowledgeable person.
In reading the reviews, I found that one physician agrees with me and one doesn't. I respect both of their learned opinions. When you read the Endnotes at the conclusion of the book you will find that Dr. Kelly is a scholar who has done his homework.
One footnote, an osteopath is a physician, by law, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. You may safely dismiss ignorant comments by uninformed sources to the contrary.
An "osteopathic physician" is an osteopath, not a physician.......2004-11-04
"Dr" Michael Kelly appears to have identified a profitable niche market in the overlapping space where bad science meets bad martial arts. Complaints about this book could reasonably be divided into these two categories.
On the science, the problem with the claims made is basically that, beyond fairly basic concepts like the fact that the nervous system is made of nerves, and that most nerves meet the spinal column at some point, they are not true. Most of the technical terms used to describe the interaction of one nerve with another nerve somewhere else in the body appear to me to be madeup words to describe madeup effects. I deeply doubt the credentials of the "professor of neuroscience" who appears to have reviewed this book, because Kelly's scribblings look much more like a rehash of speculative work on Chinese traditional medicine than any solid science.
And this is the issue. Western science simply does not recognise that there are "Dim Mak" points where trauma to the end of one nerve can cause organ damage elsewhere. Neural impulses are trasmitted as extremely subtle electrochemical changes; the pupported effect is out of all proportion to the cause. In traditional Chinese medicine, accupuncture and accupressure points make a lot of difference. I am personally agnostic about whether there is anything to TCM other than snake-oil, but it is clear to me that anyone who is serious about learning about accupressure points should do so from a qualified TCM practitioner and should learn the underlying chi-theory, rather than attempting self-education from a book which tries to translate TCM into a half-genuine, half-bogus framework of neurological buzzwords. (I would note that Western medicine has pretty little time for osteopathy as well, and this appears to be Dr Kelly's field of expertise. Perhaps the book's subtitle should read "The New Age Babble Behind The Legend of Dim Mak".)
If anyone is genuinely interested in "the science behind Dim-Mak", they should consult an anatomy textbook. Most of the key Dim-Mak points are things like the trachea, the liver, the eyes or the testicles. It is hardly rocket science to work out that a punch in the gonads is going to hurt. The rest of the Dim-Mak points simply don't work. The only "nerve point" I am aware of is the major nerve on the outside of the upper thigh which accounts for the effectiveness of Thai leg kicks or "dead legs". But leg kicks do not disrupt one's small intestine.
And now we reach the subject of the martial arts applications. The disclaimer that Dr Kelly aims to "educate" the martial arts community about the dangers of Dim Mak is of course as hypocritical as a Mafia hitman's paternosters. He wants to sell books, to kids who believe that by learning the Dim Mak points from a book they can take a short way round the difficult business of training in the martial arts and become superheroes, taking out the local bully by manipulating Triple Warmer Point 15. I would be more cross about this irresponsible practice if I thought that there was any danger to the public involved in teaching Dim Mak, but there isn't.
It has been known for years and years that acupressure points Simply Don't Work, apart from the ones which happen to be situated on the testicles, eyes, thigh muscles etc. Most of these points are really quite small, and thus very difficult to strike accurately on a resisting opponent. If you have the speed and muscular control to hit three acupressure points in succession on someone who is trying to hit you, then you are a champion boxer anyway, so why do you give a damn about Dim Mak? If this book encourages people to go into a fight looking for tiny points to press on their opponent, then it will result in a few more idiots getting a kicking, and to be honest, I find it hard to get to worked up about that.
I would also like to, by extension, express similar vitriol toward all the books in the "Amazon also recommends" section on this page. Without knowing the specific titles, I'm guessing that they are also part of the subgenre of books aimed at convincing people that it is possible to succeed in unarmed combat without prolonged and uncomfortable physical training. I personally don't have the stamina or interest to carry out such a program of training; that's why I do not pretend to be a badass, avoid confrontational situations in the street and endeavour to maintain a middle-class lifestyle in which the police and nightclub doormen will do my fighting for me. Perhaps I should write a book on this survival tactic of the mystic East (London), but I doubt that "How to Avoid Being Hurt Through Common Sense" will ever sell as well as "How To Disply Physical Prowess Without Effort Through Magic".
Beware of Danger: Know the risks of practicing Dim Mak........2002-11-14
I have been training in Ryukyu Kempo and Dian Xue for nearly 15 years. In 1991, I attended a lecture offered by Dr. David Ellis and George Dillman that discussed the neuroscience behind pressure point fighting. Until a few years ago, that information wasn't available (now on George Dillman's tape #18).
This book contains roughly the same information, but in a hard copy version with references that you can easily review. I highly recommend it! It is a real concise reference.
What's not included in this book is detailed breakdown of forms or techniques or a discussion of the methods of analyzing kata. In fact, a couple of the examples aren't even best ones for the techniques shown (that might have been intentional based on the authors premise of deterring people from practicing the techniques). Revival techniques are discussed for those who know them but it definitely is not a "how to" book. There are a few other books on the market that focus on form interpretation. If that is your interest, look for one of those and find a qualified Kyusho Jitsu, Dian Xue, or Dim Mak instructor. Having Dr. Kelly's book should help you stay safe, i.e. don't just let anyone practice on you -- know the risks, have everyone learn both western CPR and eastern revival techniques, and learn from the experience of others so no one has to get hurt intentionally or accidentally.
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