Rating: 
Summary: You Got To See It To Believe It
Review: Absolutely amazing book. It is a "huh" book, you pick it up, ask yourself what is this, until it dawns on you that one person, the anonymous Zeek has put out a idiosyncratic, encyclopedic , wonderful book about a lot of useful things. I bought it for all the Martial Arts advice and techniques he provides ( useful for almost everyone). But there is so much more, from acupressure to determining character from handwriting, from how to really breath right to ways to stay beautiful, storing food and how to beat ...a bully. Full of sometimes bizarre interesting illustrations by the author, commentary that can border on the mystical, the book is artistic, crazy, and very useful all at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: Shen Ku for you
Review: A travel and survival book all rolled into one. Full of Asian Secrets. Interesting drawings and subjects too numerous to list. Learn Kung Fu, Accupressure, Navigation, Fire Starting, Numerology, etc. Similar to the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, but The Art of Shen Ku is a much better book. Go out and get this book.
Rating:
Summary: The index is 41 pages long!
Review: Imagine, if you will, that you are in the company of a man who has travelled the world, seen many things that are NOT in the guidebooks, been in the company of many people both great and small, taken a lot of hard knocks, learned much to prevent repeating any mistakes, and lived to tell about it.
This is the book he wrote.
Equal parts Boy Scout Handbook, Whole Earth Catalogue and "Junior Woodchuck Guidebook" (the impossably complete reference book that Donald Duck's nephews carried with them), with painstakingly detailed illustrations on each and every page, tinted with Oriental wisdom.
Just a sampling of the contents (with randomly chosen pages): "Asian secrets of walking stick combat", "A traveler's guide to self-hypnosis", "Rapid reference accupressure treatments", "Emergency entertainment for bored, whining or fighting kids", "Effective beauty treatments with simple natural ingredients", "How to survive disaster situations", "How to condition for martial art strikes", "Non-violent child control", "Simple and healthy vegetarian recipes", "How to execute classic Kung Fu moves".
My friend, this is the one! From boating emergencies to avoiding a fight, from preventing food poisoning to physical fitness information, from natural therapies to preventing bedwetting, from Laws of the Sea to preventing skin problems, from tying knots to yoga postures....
I cannot say enough about this book. Buy it. Better yet, buy two and hide one copy. Someone is bound to "borrow" this from you.
(ADDENDUM: I sent a copy to a friend of mine. He has paid me to send him four additional copies to give away as presents.)
Rating:
Summary: Extremely fascinating and useful
Review: I'd give this book ten or more stars if I could. The amount of knowledge presented in this book is staggering so I won't even attempt to list them all. The only thing you need to know is to buy this immediately. Better yet, buy multiple copies and give them out as presents to loved ones. Zeek has given the world a true gift with this basic manual to living on this planet. Thank you Zeek. You have absolutely nothing to lose and so much to gain by giving the book a read.
Rating: 
Summary: Great: From the Arcane to Mundane
Review: The Art of Shen Ku has a lot of elements that draw me to it. It reminds me of a type of book that came out in the 70's: The Whole Earth Catalogue, The Joy of Sex, etc. Books that tried to become a reference point for a new culture for the counter culture.
TAoSK fits the mould. No everything, but much fascinating knowledge is here, from survival techniques to... well you name it.
The art reminds me of R. Crumb and greatly enhances the clarity of what Mr. Zeek is trying to teach. The humor that comes through projects positivity and optimisim, which makes the book not just a manual of knot tying and pseudoscience, but an inspiration and fun.
The problem with any book of this type is that many of the wisdoms contained within are deep and in all fairness should be studied for years. I've studied aikido (one of the subjects covered in the book) and know that a lifetime is not enough. A page or two, even with drawings can't do these subjects justice.
I have not yet found out what Shen Ku really is, but then again... it is to complex for a genius, but for armchair survivalists and eastern monks the book is a good read!
Rating:
Summary: Jack of all trades......Master of LIFE!
Review: I didn't purchase this book through Amazon.com, but I felt like I needed to write a review for it anyway. I think this is one of the best books ever written for the person who wants to learn a little bit about EVERYTHING. Yes, the author's name and the "cartooney" artwork leave alot to be desired. But, if you ignore all of that, then you have what I think should be the basic "manual for life" that should be given to everyone when they are born. ;) I plan on making full use of the book whenever possible.
Rating:
Summary: The Art of Shen Ku
Review: This is a great book of information. It covers such diverse subjects. This book can teach you about self defense, how to remove stains, how to grow plants, how to improve you eyesight, uses for different herbs, how to survive certain situations such as storms or being lost, math reminders, tying knots, food storage, and many, many more things. This book covers so many interesting things. This book is not a quick read. It's the kind of book that you like taking your time to be sure you are absorbing everything. I have had this book in my possession for a couple of months now and have not been able to go through it all, because every time someone comes over and sees it on my table, they start going through it and ask to borrow it for a few days. It's amazing the attention this book seems to attract.
Rating:
Summary: OoOoOo It Has Pictures
Review: The Art of Shen Ku uses humor to give remedies for every possible problematic situation one could find themselves in. It gives you a great laugh while learning how to get ink stains out of your favorite shirt, or how to treat stomach cramps or other various ailments with natural methods. This book is also great for campers since it provides pages of information on survival and what items are important in survival situations. I strongly recommend this book, and suggest to keep it handy because you never know when you might need some ideas for stress relief.
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