Tao Te Ching means "The Classic of the Virtuous Road," and the author´s name, Lao Tzu, can mean either "Old Master" or "Old Child," depending on whether one thinks literally or mythologically. The basic text is a thin volume of 81 brief, concentrated chapters, arising in China in the first millennium B.C. Since James Legge´s first translation slightly more than a hundred years ago, the book has become one of the most translated books in the world, testifying to its enduring appeal across cultural, linguistic, and national boundaries.

The book is commonly characterized as a classic of Chinese "philosophy." While recognizing the rationale for this classification, this translator believes that good reason exists for a different conceptualization of the book. What is called "Taoism" is the result of the extraction from the work of principles which are then rationalized into a "philosophy," which gives the impression of abstract, systematic thought. The Tao Te Ching has parts that seem abstract, and it has thought that soars like an owl on a moonlit night, but it´s not systematic, and the philosophy abstracted from it does not truly represent it. After decades of study, this translator sees in the text, not system, assuredly, but order, pattern, coherence, and grace that few other translators seem to have found in it. And in these latter days of spiritual crisis, when "system" leaves a bad taste, what more could one hope for in a book than sheer meaning, ordered, patterned, coherent, and full of grace?

The present translator believes the book to be closer to myth than philosophy and more akin to poetry than essay; thus his subtitle: "Poetry and Archetype." He believes the pathetic quality of most translations to date is due to the tradition of treating the text abstractly rather than recognizing its roots in myth and symbol. The result has been, too often, erratic translations of words in which the spirit is lost. Dr. Finley fixes the blame for this failure squarely in the overly complex, academic mentality of the translators, a mentality incompatible with the book´s terse simplicity. Most translators have recognized in the book some connection with "mysticism" but too often they have not understood mysticism and treat is as a commodity that can be inserted into the text like bologna into a sandwich. This translator sees mysticism as more like the salt in seawater.

This translator bases his definition of mysticism on the Oxford Universal Dictionary, which provides both a pejorative and an appreciative definition. The OUD´s definition of the first kind is: "a term of reproach applied loosely to any religious belief associated with self-delusion and dreamy confusion of thought." And its definition of the second kind is: "reliance on spiritual intuition as the means of acquiring knowledge of mysteries inaccessible to the understanding." Expanding slightly on the latter definition, mysticism may be seen as akin to Gnosticism, by which is meant the ability of the "spiritual intuition" to transcend conventional logic, religious tradition, and the dictates of empirical science. This translator sees Tao Te Ching in these terms.

Seeing the Tao Te Ching as an expression of mystical insight grounded in the cosmogony of ancient mankind, this translation does not accept the division of the world into opposing domains of "objectivity" and "subjectivity" where the former describes "reality" and the latter is the wastebasket term for miscellany such as feeling and intuition. This translator believes that Lao Tzu would not understand this bifurcation of reality; and he believes that those in whom this bifurcation has taken root will not understand Lao Tzu.

This translator questions the contemporary view of scholars that the book is a mere compilation lacking organic integrity, specifically rejecting the view of one specialist who claims that treating the chapters as organic wholes distorts their meaning. On the contrary, this translation assumes organicity in the chapters and proceeds to find it there. Where traditional scholars have understood the book from the outside as an historical artifact illustrating this or that trend little capable of speaking to them in personal terms, this translator´s drive from the start has been toward enhancing and developing and making manifest the innate voice of the book whose whisper he heard on first reading 30 years ago. His approach to translation can be compared to the approach of Jane Goodall in her revolutionary study of the chimpanzees of West Africa, who proved that bringing the whole person to the task, emotions and all, did not distort but enhanced the outcome, making possible results unavailable to disembodied intellect.

In a robust introduction giving an account of the personal evolution of the translation in the translator´s life and attempting exegesis of the book´s key terms, the translator calls on certain esteemed thinkers for aid in developing the psycho-spiritual context out of which the book originated, which results in an expansion and clarification and deepening of the meaning of the book itself. The first thinker he brings to the task is Fritjof Capra, whose The Tao of Physics establishes the parallels between the cosmology of modern science, as developed in quantum physics, and ancient mysticism. At the same time, Dr. Finley contrasts this new/ancient cosmology with the materialistic world-view of Newtonian physics (which, since it was based on sense data, continues as our everyday cosmology.) This translator uses Capra´s findings to support the ultimate intelligence and correctness of Lao Tzu´s vision, and then joins Capra with C.G. Jung to sketch a contemporary science-based worldview entirely consistent with Lao Tzu´s in which the ultimate reality transcends logical discourse and can only be represented in image and myth, a view Jung spent a lifetime developing in his writings on archetypes and the collective unconscious. The view that thus emerges of the Tao Te Ching is of an archetype (a timeless symbol) which is itself filled with archetypes. This translator quotes an example Jung himself uses to illustrate the contrast in seeing the world in terms of archetypes versus seeing it in terms of the concepts of outmoded materialistic science: For untold millennia people of all places and ages have referred to the soil out of which they (and everything else) has sprung with respectful phrases such as "Mother Earth" or, in Lao Tzu´s phrase, "the mother of all things." Jung points out that in the cosmology of Newtonian physics the once-living mythic reality of Mother Earth shriveled to the concept of inert and lifeless "matter."

Having laid the foundation for a new understanding of the context of the book, the translator moves on to exploring the book´s central images. He calls on Mircea Eliade´s The Myth of Eternal Return to elucidate the motif of return that echoes through the book and to set the book in its proper cultural environment, which is the mythic world of "archaic man" who occupied a cosmos of cyclical repetition best symbolized by the moon in her phases of birth, growth, decline, and extinction but in which the totality had neither beginning nor end and in which mankind felt inherently bound to the cosmos. And finally our translator calls on Erich Neumann, a Jungian psychiatrist and researcher whose The Great Mother elucidates the motif of "the mother of all things" and grounds the book in a superabundance of ancient symbolism, which reveals matriarchy to be mankind´s original psycho-social order.

In keeping with the view of the book as mystical through and through and the view that ordinary discursive language is incapable of expressing mystical insight, this translator, while not neglecting the literal level, brings out the spiritual values of the original as never before. As a means of a

“Joe was very much at home both in contemporary logical theory and in American philosophy…. The readers of the present volume … will find the clarity of expression and the rich understanding of the background literature, history, and concepts of the tradition he addresses to be an important access to and perspective on Chinese philosophy.” ---- Elizabeth R. Eames, Professor (Emeritus), formerly Director of the Graduate Institute of Philosophy, SIUC“Professor Wu provided … deft comparisons between Chinese and Amero-Eurocentric philosophies, … [and] challenges us to revisit and rethink our unexamined assumptions about reality, knowledge, value and the very enterprise of philosophy itself. … As a traditionally trained junzi, Professor Wu’s impressive range of expertie ranged from the Confucian classics to philology, poetry and calligraphy, certainly qualifying him for the designation of a Sinological renaissance man. Few of today’s scholars are able to draw on such rich resources in their exploration of Chinese philosophy, which undoubtedly contributed to Professor Wu’s sage proposal for “Philosophy as the Art of Making Sense.” ---- Sandra A. Wawrytko, Associate Professor, San Diego State University, CA. “Indeed, the pocket edition de luxe of Chinese philosophy revisited in a new light, the best invitation to the field long over-due! Deceptively lucid, simple and clear; yet witty and provocative throughout. Every output from Joe Wu’s pen is, in one word, EXQUISITE! Bear in mind the essence of Chinese mentality: depth, breadth, simplicity and, above all, delicacy. (Ku Hung-ming) The author is capable of “expressing with clearness [not only] what he thought with vigor” (Maugham) but, more significantly, what he felt with delicacy. The readers, though appreciative of such a feat of brevity and lucidity, may feel as we do, wishing that Joe have more to enlighten us with, but for his premature passing in 2006! ---- Suncrates, Editor-in-Chief, Comprehensive HarmonyAbout the Author: Joseph S. Wu, Professor (Emeritus) of California State University at Sacramento, CA., USA, was awarded a Certificate of Merit for Distinguished Service in Comparative Philosophy and Culture, by the Board of Dictionary of International Biography of London (1971).

“Joe was very much at home both in contemporary logical theory and in American philosophy…. The readers of the present volume … will find the clarity of expression and the rich understanding of the background literature, history, and concepts of the tradition he addresses to be an important access to and perspective on Chinese philosophy.” ---- Elizabeth R. Eames, Professor (Emeritus), formerly Director of the Graduate Institute of Philosophy, SIUC“Professor Wu provided … deft comparisons between Chinese and Amero-Eurocentric philosophies, … [and] challenges us to revisit and rethink our unexamined assumptions about reality, knowledge, value and the very enterprise of philosophy itself. … As a traditionally trained junzi, Professor Wu’s impressive range of expertie ranged from the Confucian classics to philology, poetry and calligraphy, certainly qualifying him for the designation of a Sinological renaissance man. Few of today’s scholars are able to draw on such rich resources in their exploration of Chinese philosophy, which undoubtedly contributed to Professor Wu’s sage proposal for “Philosophy as the Art of Making Sense.” ---- Sandra A. Wawrytko, Associate Professor, San Diego State University, CA. “Indeed, the pocket edition de luxe of Chinese philosophy revisited in a new light, the best invitation to the field long over-due! Deceptively lucid, simple and clear; yet witty and provocative throughout. Every output from Joe Wu’s pen is, in one word, EXQUISITE! Bear in mind the essence of Chinese mentality: depth, breadth, simplicity and, above all, delicacy. (Ku Hung-ming) The author is capable of “expressing with clearness [not only] what he thought with vigor” (Maugham) but, more significantly, what he felt with delicacy. The readers, though appreciative of such a feat of brevity and lucidity, may feel as we do, wishing that Joe have more to enlighten us with, but for his premature passing in 2006! ---- Suncrates, Editor-in-Chief, Comprehensive HarmonyAbout the Author: Joseph S. Wu, Professor (Emeritus) of California State University at Sacramento, CA., USA, was awarded a Certificate of Merit for Distinguished Service in Comparative Philosophy and Culture, by the Board of Dictionary of International Biography of London (1971).

Publication Date: July 2006

The Confucian civilization is thoroughly examined and explained in this volume, historically, philosophically and psychologically, by its two most prominant examples (Chinese and Japanese cultures), after a multi-year research effort, with ground breaking findings and analyses not available elsewhere.

Historically Asian civilizations followed a dramatically different path than that of the West from the very beginning, adopting in ancient times a distinct social structure that has never appeared at any point in Western history. Asian values grown out of that social structure (subservience) diametrically contradict core Western values of freedom and justice, and Asian societies have their own distinct internal dynamic.

This book attempts to give the reader a comprehensive understanding of East Asians through a detailed analysis of the nature, historical roots and evolution of their uncompromising doctrine (Confucianism), which still dominates East Asia including China today. The author takes a bold and honest approach, ignoring cultural taboos, to reveal the inner workings of the Asian mind. This is not a typical history book, though all major historical periods up until the present are analyzed and explained; nor is it a typical philosophy book, though all major schools of thought in this tradition are analyzed and explained; nor is it a typical psychology book, though the defining aspects of Asian psyche are analyzed and explained. It is an ambitious and unprecedented attempt to take stock of the entire civilization, its breadth, its scope, and its essence. It traverses the evolution of the Asian mind through the centuries, explains the how and why of Asian cultural and historical dynamic, and presents a clear trajectory of Asian history and future. (also available on amazon.com, barnsandnoble.com)

Heroes, Sages and Madmen is not a book for everyone, but its potent message is about everyone. It reveals a direct and honest no nonsense revelation for spiritual aspirants who with courage, heroism, and sincerity are ready to go beyond the limitations of popular religion, academic philosophy, physical exercise yoga, and mental meditation. It is a revealing new, fresh, and amazing look into the four major traditional Paths of Enlightenment. It takes you where very few will go. It takes you into the midst of the personal attainments, blisses, challenges, pitfalls, and dangers of spiritual practices. And, it takes you into the consciousness and personal strategies of the far reaching socially popular and pretentious “pop-guru.” The seventy-nine short conversations in this book are guaranteed to convey many key secret spiritual teachings of the past. These secret spiritual teachings are traditionally known only by true and “ripe” spiritual Heroes and authentic Sages, Saints, and Yogis. Within these pages, you can discover what causes the social bondage, personal dissatisfaction, and the failing habitual struggles for inner Happiness and Peace. In the midst of the enigma and quagmire of “ordinary” thinking and analytical minds, the author reveals and restates many ancient esoteric secrets of spirituality. And, most importantly, the author shows how you can find a way out of your spiritual, social, and personal dilemmas. In the questions and answers in these conversations, many universal truths are delineated from major philosophies, religions, and spiritual practices and then their apparent differences are explored, summed up, and reconciled. The questions and answers in this book originated from dozens of sincere spiritual aspirants from group sessions, e-mails, personal notes, formal letters, telephone conversations, and one-on-one sessions since the early 1980´s. Each question and answer is paraphrased by the author. The information, knowledge, and wisdom in this book have been distilled directly from personal experience from a lifetime of spiritual study and practices. The questions and answers are direct and sometimes surprising. At other times, the author’s direct answers may challenge the spiritual assumptions of many neophyte and mature spiritual aspirants. The purpose of each answer was to directly serve the sincere spiritual aspirants’ spiritual development and awakening beyond their popular religious, academic philosophical, and social belief assumptions. In addition, popular misunderstandings surrounding classical spiritual teachings and their four major traditional Paths of Enlightenment and practice of yoga are described, evaluated, and discussed in depth. And lastly, the thinking-analytical meditation methods of popular spiritual movements in the West (European cultures) are considered in contrast to the contemplative meditations of the great Sages, Saints, and Yogis of the classical East (Non-European cultures). Unfortunately, the English language does not lend itself to explain and define the metaphysical principles and concepts of contemplative spirituality. Contemporary English is predominately a language of definitions, names, forms, and objects as demonstrated in English as used throughout the material world for business and commerce. Other languages such as Sanskrit, Pali, Tamil, and Hebrew are spoken and written to understand and verbally communicate both the dual physical world of objects and the multidimensional transcendental spiritual world beyond social psychology and formulative physics. For this reason, the author has modified many spelling, grammar, and syntax rules to emphasize and endeavor to explain contemplative concepts that cannot be explained by academic English. Therefore, you may discover that many sections may contain imperfect spelling, grammar, and syntax that are ordinarily absent from professionally produced books. To assure the author’s metaphysical meanings that may be misunderstood by professional editors, this book has been unmodified and remains in its original manuscript. Therefore, this book has not been edited or modified by a professional editor as customarily required by most publishers. For example, the author loosely uses capitalized words to indicate meanings that include the common dictionary definitions and subtle metaphysical meanings beyond official dictionary definitions. At other times, the author places certain words in quotes or italics to help capture the special meaning of a particular word, spiritual concept, or metaphysical principle. Sanskrit (Sanskritam) words that were originally written in the ancient Devanagari script have been interpreted and spelled phonetically using the English alphabet. It is impossible to directly translate English into Sanskrit or vice-versa. Therefore, the English interpretations of Sanskrit are written phonetically in italics and placed in parenthesis. Remember. Many Sanskrit words are conceptual or metaphysical principles that point beyond a limited physical, mental, and causal universe. To attain the maximum value from each concise conversation, the author recommends that the sincere reader carefully consider each section independently and then collectively with other surrounding sections. Next, review each section in the context of the entire book. Considering each section is like going into a grocery store with numerous choices. Peruse the aisles in the store and read each package’s title and its contents for nourishment. Next, decide to place a particular package back on the shelf or to take it home and consume its contents. If a particular package’s contents are not to your taste at this moment, then leave it on the shelf. It is not necessary to trash the other packages in the store! Someone else may be famished and hungry for another package’s content at that very moment. Or perhaps, you may be hungry for the nourishment of other contents at a different time. As you consider the seventy-nine short sections, you may spontaneously lapse into a deep and quiet meditation. If this happens, relax, breathe deeply, and enter the flow of consciousness as you absorb the teachings from the inside out. If you do this, amazing inner secrets about your “ordinary” mind and the transcendental causal realms of your existence may be revealed. Treasure these moments! If you are ready to treasure these moments and go beyond your “ordinary” mind’s strategies and illusory appearances, then the contents and spiritual threads of this book are for you, here and now! Open this book and your mind and temporarily leave behind your daily fears, doubts, and worries. Set aside any argumentative circular debates or personal posturing for another day. Say “yes” to the Path, Way, and “Cosmic Dance” that can lead you to the discovery and direct realization of your inner Happiness and Peace that is your birthright.

Heroes, Sages and Madmen is not a book for everyone, but its potent message is about everyone. It reveals a direct and honest no nonsense revelation for spiritual aspirants who with courage, heroism, and sincerity are ready to go beyond the limitations of popular religion, academic philosophy, physical exercise yoga, and mental meditation. It is a revealing new, fresh, and amazing look into the four major traditional Paths of Enlightenment. It takes you where very few will go. It takes you into the midst of the personal attainments, blisses, challenges, pitfalls, and dangers of spiritual practices. And, it takes you into the consciousness and personal strategies of the far reaching socially popular and pretentious “pop-guru.” The seventy-nine short conversations in this book are guaranteed to convey many key secret spiritual teachings of the past. These secret spiritual teachings are traditionally known only by true and “ripe” spiritual Heroes and authentic Sages, Saints, and Yogis. Within these pages, you can discover what causes the social bondage, personal dissatisfaction, and the failing habitual struggles for inner Happiness and Peace. In the midst of the enigma and quagmire of “ordinary” thinking and analytical minds, the author reveals and restates many ancient esoteric secrets of spirituality. And, most importantly, the author shows how you can find a way out of your spiritual, social, and personal dilemmas. In the questions and answers in these conversations, many universal truths are delineated from major philosophies, religions, and spiritual practices and then their apparent differences are explored, summed up, and reconciled. The questions and answers in this book originated from dozens of sincere spiritual aspirants from group sessions, e-mails, personal notes, formal letters, telephone conversations, and one-on-one sessions since the early 1980´s. Each question and answer is paraphrased by the author. The information, knowledge, and wisdom in this book have been distilled directly from personal experience from a lifetime of spiritual study and practices. The questions and answers are direct and sometimes surprising. At other times, the author’s direct answers may challenge the spiritual assumptions of many neophyte and mature spiritual aspirants. The purpose of each answer was to directly serve the sincere spiritual aspirants’ spiritual development and awakening beyond their popular religious, academic philosophical, and social belief assumptions. In addition, popular misunderstandings surrounding classical spiritual teachings and their four major traditional Paths of Enlightenment and practice of yoga are described, evaluated, and discussed in depth. And lastly, the thinking-analytical meditation methods of popular spiritual movements in the West (European cultures) are considered in contrast to the contemplative meditations of the great Sages, Saints, and Yogis of the classical East (Non-European cultures). Unfortunately, the English language does not lend itself to explain and define the metaphysical principles and concepts of contemplative spirituality. Contemporary English is predominately a language of definitions, names, forms, and objects as demonstrated in English as used throughout the material world for business and commerce. Other languages such as Sanskrit, Pali, Tamil, and Hebrew are spoken and written to understand and verbally communicate both the dual physical world of objects and the multidimensional transcendental spiritual world beyond social psychology and formulative physics. For this reason, the author has modified many spelling, grammar, and syntax rules to emphasize and endeavor to explain contemplative concepts that cannot be explained by academic English. Therefore, you may discover that many sections may contain imperfect spelling, grammar, and syntax that are ordinarily absent from professionally produced books. To assure the author’s metaphysical meanings that may be misunderstood by professional editors, this book has been unmodified and remains in its original manuscript. Therefore, this book has not been edited or modified by a professional editor as customarily required by most publishers. For example, the author loosely uses capitalized words to indicate meanings that include the common dictionary definitions and subtle metaphysical meanings beyond official dictionary definitions. At other times, the author places certain words in quotes or italics to help capture the special meaning of a particular word, spiritual concept, or metaphysical principle. Sanskrit (Sanskritam) words that were originally written in the ancient Devanagari script have been interpreted and spelled phonetically using the English alphabet. It is impossible to directly translate English into Sanskrit or vice-versa. Therefore, the English interpretations of Sanskrit are written phonetically in italics and placed in parenthesis. Remember. Many Sanskrit words are conceptual or metaphysical principles that point beyond a limited physical, mental, and causal universe. To attain the maximum value from each concise conversation, the author recommends that the sincere reader carefully consider each section independently and then collectively with other surrounding sections. Next, review each section in the context of the entire book. Considering each section is like going into a grocery store with numerous choices. Peruse the aisles in the store and read each package’s title and its contents for nourishment. Next, decide to place a particular package back on the shelf or to take it home and consume its contents. If a particular package’s contents are not to your taste at this moment, then leave it on the shelf. It is not necessary to trash the other packages in the store! Someone else may be famished and hungry for another package’s content at that very moment. Or perhaps, you may be hungry for the nourishment of other contents at a different time. As you consider the seventy-nine short sections, you may spontaneously lapse into a deep and quiet meditation. If this happens, relax, breathe deeply, and enter the flow of consciousness as you absorb the teachings from the inside out. If you do this, amazing inner secrets about your “ordinary” mind and the transcendental causal realms of your existence may be revealed. Treasure these moments! If you are ready to treasure these moments and go beyond your “ordinary” mind’s strategies and illusory appearances, then the contents and spiritual threads of this book are for you, here and now! Open this book and your mind and temporarily leave behind your daily fears, doubts, and worries. Set aside any argumentative circular debates or personal posturing for another day. Say “yes” to the Path, Way, and “Cosmic Dance” that can lead you to the discovery and direct realization of your inner Happiness and Peace that is your birthright.

“Joe was very much at home both in contemporary logical theory and in American philosophy…. The readers of the present volume … will find the clarity of expression and the rich understanding of the background literature, history, and concepts of the tradition he addresses to be an important access to and perspective on Chinese philosophy.” ---- Elizabeth R. Eames, Professor (Emeritus), formerly Director of the Graduate Institute of Philosophy, SIUC“Professor Wu provided … deft comparisons between Chinese and Amero-Eurocentric philosophies, … [and] challenges us to revisit and rethink our unexamined assumptions about reality, knowledge, value and the very enterprise of philosophy itself. … As a traditionally trained junzi, Professor Wu’s impressive range of expertie ranged from the Confucian classics to philology, poetry and calligraphy, certainly qualifying him for the designation of a Sinological renaissance man. Few of today’s scholars are able to draw on such rich resources in their exploration of Chinese philosophy, which undoubtedly contributed to Professor Wu’s sage proposal for “Philosophy as the Art of Making Sense.” ---- Sandra A. Wawrytko, Associate Professor, San Diego State University, CA. “Indeed, the pocket edition de luxe of Chinese philosophy revisited in a new light, the best invitation to the field long over-due! Deceptively lucid, simple and clear; yet witty and provocative throughout. Every output from Joe Wu’s pen is, in one word, EXQUISITE! Bear in mind the essence of Chinese mentality: depth, breadth, simplicity and, above all, delicacy. (Ku Hung-ming) The author is capable of “expressing with clearness [not only] what he thought with vigor” (Maugham) but, more significantly, what he felt with delicacy. The readers, though appreciative of such a feat of brevity and lucidity, may feel as we do, wishing that Joe have more to enlighten us with, but for his premature passing in 2006! ---- Suncrates, Editor-in-Chief, Comprehensive HarmonyAbout the Author: Joseph S. Wu, Professor (Emeritus) of California State University at Sacramento, CA., USA, was awarded a Certificate of Merit for Distinguished Service in Comparative Philosophy and Culture, by the Board of Dictionary of International Biography of London (1971).

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Publication Date: July 2006

The Confucian civilization is thoroughly examined and explained in this volume, historically, philosophically and psychologically, by its two most prominant examples (Chinese and Japanese cultures), after a multi-year research effort, with ground breaking findings and analyses not available elsewhere.

Historically Asian civilizations followed a dramatically different path than that of the West from the very beginning, adopting in ancient times a distinct social structure that has never appeared at any point in Western history. Asian values grown out of that social structure (subservience) diametrically contradict core Western values of freedom and justice, and Asian societies have their own distinct internal dynamic.

This book attempts to give the reader a comprehensive understanding of East Asians through a detailed analysis of the nature, historical roots and evolution of their uncompromising doctrine (Confucianism), which still dominates East Asia including China today. The author takes a bold and honest approach, ignoring cultural taboos, to reveal the inner workings of the Asian mind. This is not a typical history book, though all major historical periods up until the present are analyzed and explained; nor is it a typical philosophy book, though all major schools of thought in this tradition are analyzed and explained; nor is it a typical psychology book, though the defining aspects of Asian psyche are analyzed and explained. It is an ambitious and unprecedented attempt to take stock of the entire civilization, its breadth, its scope, and its essence. It traverses the evolution of the Asian mind through the centuries, explains the how and why of Asian cultural and historical dynamic, and presents a clear trajectory of Asian history and future. (also available on amazon.com, barnsandnoble.com)