Ed O'Neill Books

This book give types of Insurgencies that history has show us and the definitions that make them different to each other.

I had never thought of insurgency and terrorism as having enough material to justify having a textbook on the subject. Then again I didn't realize just how many different insurgencies are going on at any one time. In fact, he concentrates on the contemporary world, only mentioning in passing that Roman Armies also fought insurgents.

Part of a scientific analysis is to classify them into types based on common attributes. By assigning names to these classes, we make it so that we can use these names and immediately know what kinds of programs have worked against them in the past, and of course what have not.

Dr. O'Neill has looked into the Types of Insurgencies, Politics and forms of Warfare, Insurgent Strategies, the Physical Environment, the Human Environment, Types of Popular Support, Organizational Structure, External Support, and Government Response.

Through these classifications, he is, for the first time beginning to draw together a consistent approach to the study of terroism. Perhaps this is the start of a Terrorism Science to go along with Naval Science or Military Science.

This is an excellent book. The author is a well known and respected expert of the field. The book begins with an introduction that attempts to level set and baseline definitions and meanings. Although this may appear to be semantics, the differences both subtle and great is important. The book is well organized it is easy to refer to a specific chapter or section in the event you need a quick refresher and or reference. The book is well written, concise and offers a large quantity of foot notes at the end of each chapter. This book is for both the expert and the novice.

Terry Tucker, Adjunct Professor, Military Studies/History University of Maryland and Senior Doctrine Developer SANGMP, Vinnell Arabia

I have read the first edition of this book and I found it very useful to understand insurgency and terrorism. Moreover I wish I had read this book when I was in Colombia or in Haiti where we had to deal with insurgencies. In my opinion the book is an important tool for the intelligence analyst because it shows a framework to analyze the complex phenomenon of guerilla and insurgency. It was very valuable for me to learn about the four strategic approaches (conspiratorial - military focus - protracted popular war - and urban warfare)

As I wrote above, I read the first edition, so I don't know if the ideas that I'm going to write about are been included or not. The first one is about the "Legal Warfare" that was developed by the Insurgencies in Colombia and Argentina. It consists in accused soldiers of violations of human's rights. On almost every occasion they were false accusations. Therefore, they were judged and condemned by the civil authorities. However, nobody accused the terrorists of human right violations. The last one is about the insurgency that is developed from a defeated army. This is the case of what Col Volckmann said in his book "We remained" about the resistance in Philippines in World War II.

In conclusion, the book is brilliantly written and is very useful to understand and defeat insurgencies.

Terrorism and Insurgency by Bard E. O'Neill, is an invaluable resource for those interested in understanding insurgency and the relevant factors that lead to its success or failure.

This book appears to be written for a classroom audience (the author in fact provides a proposed semester-length class schedule complete with lesson plans and assigned reading). However, O'Neill also has government analysts and policy makers in mind. Throughout the book, and especially in chapters covering government response and the conclusion, he stresses the value of providing as complete a picture as possible while keeping in mind objectivity and maintaining an unbiased approach to analysis.

O'Neill begins his book by looking at insurgencies and the related fields of terrorism and guerilla warfare. His framework for analysis includes understanding the nature of the insurgency, insurgent strategies, both political and military, understanding the physical as well as human environment, organization, and the role of external support.

In the final chapter, O'Neill lays out a comprehensive lense through which a government analyst could view its adversary and policy makers can create successful counterinsurgency operations. Urging the avoidance of polemics and shortsightedness, O'Neill provides a credible and realistic lense through which to create effective countermeasures.

O'Neill helps to settle many unhelpful arguments and issues for analysts. For example, he rejects the false dichotomy of freedom fighter versus terrorist, as one deals with ends (freedom fighter) and one is a means to get their (terrorism). As such, a freedom fighter can use terrorist tactics to achieve his ends.

Also, a driving factor that many insurgencies use to determine their strategies are the physical and human environment around them and the perceived and real government response. Understanding this is invaluable both for insurgents and counterinsurgency operations.

The ideology, or political campaign, the insurgent group promotes, serves the valuable function of differentiating friend from foe. Providing an alternative to this ideology is integral to separating insurgents from the majority population (assuming the insurgents are a minority).

Many insurgencies survive through external support from other states or insurgent groups. One method students and analysts can use to find weaknesses to exploit is by knowing which insurgent groups do and do not receive external support and the motives for the disparity.

Finally, many responses to insurgency fail because of inflexibility, sloppiness, ignorance, bias, anger, bureaucratic imperative or psychological aversion. These failings create often flawed and fatally mistaken counterinsurgency strategies. Avoiding this should be of primary concern.

This is a classic young childs book. Told through the eyes of a young boy the book takes on a real young child feel. The rhyming words that make it easy to read and the bright expressive pictures have captivated my young childrens imagination.
I would recommend this book and also the first book by these two creative individuals; The Boston Ballonies.

I got this book because my son loved the "Boston Balloonies" so much and this had the same illustrator and author. This book tells the story through the eyes of the little boy, so the illustrations are even more expressive. The bright colors and expressive facial expressions on the characters helped captivate my 1 and a half year old. I'll admit that he doesn't have the attention span to get through the whole book yet, but I imagine that it would be perfect for kids starting at 2 and going all the way through grade school.

Just like Boston Balloonies, the text rhymes in a "Suess-ish" fashion, so that also is great for little ears.

It's a nice hard-cover binding with full-color pages. It's not a board book, but the pages are thick enough to not tear easily. Great price!

I like this book a lot. Great depth. Great story. Great details. Fantastic suspense. A fine book to read. A great book to buy. Buy it grab and read it all.
I love the ending. Beatty did a great job.

I just bought this book, and my 1 and a half-year old loves it! It's a great price for a hard-cover, and the illustrations are bright and catch my kid's eye.

The text rhymes, so I think that helped hold his attention, as well.

I would say that the target age range for the book would most probably start at around 1.5 and go all the way up through grade school.

The first Trevor book that made one realize that Trevor was more than merely a brilliant funny man. Which is not to say that the book isn't full of laughs--it is. But it's much else besides. Of all his books this is probably one of his richest in terms of character, moral insight, etc. At any rate, certainly a pivotal book for the most artful storyteller now working.

This text helped me to articulate the 'principles' of Standard English by examining our language in all its varieties scientifically and intuitively.

Such articulation necessates a thorough understanding of the notions of descriptive vs. prescriptive, standard vs. nonstandard, formal vs. informal, grammatical vs. ungrammatical, and constitutive vs. regulative.

This introductory text is written for the mature student who has had little or no background in linguistics or traditional school grammar. Consequently, the authors begin by demonstrating how traditional grammar instruction with its eight parts of speech and semantic definitions falls terribly short of accounting for the many rule exceptions and illogicalities of langauge.

I highly recommend this text for English Education majors and secondary school English teachers.

It is a rare novel that allows one to run the entire gamut of human emotions. It is rarer still the novel that elicits such an emotional attachment to the characters that the reader not only feels for them but feels with them.

The love that is shared by Jim and Doyler is the kind of love that all people strive for, pure, passionate, undying and true. You feel their love grow and blossom through the beautiful images that O'Neill paints with his confident wielding of words and phrases.

True, this novel does not belong to one genre but the main themes of love, passion and reconciliation of self is what touched me the most. The love of Jim for Doyler, Doyler for Jim and MacMurrough's love for both boys. The passion that they share for the things that are most important in their lives and the slow but profound finding of the place where the were truly meant to be, and their life-changing coming of age, rang as truly with me as any of my own life experiences.

The ending is poignant, achingly horrifying and more than enough to make the stoutest of hearts break with overwhelming grief... more than once. (Believe me, I cried three times and for about twenty minutes all told)

This book is a must read for one and all.

It's always wonderful when an artist truly takes the time to let a work develop. This massive yet warmly flowing work of historic fiction is worth grazing through lovingly.

I needn't go into repeating the plot, which has been aptly written up in other reviews. Simply, if you want to enjoy a large and fully developed novel on a grand yet intimate scale.

Despite its daunting length and (at first) unfamiliar vernacular, this book will creep steadily up on you, just like an old blanket would, as one gets swept into its compassionate core. Foremost it remains a love story, with every wrenching shred of angst one might expect - but like all great art it refuses a single category. Meditations on History, Politics, Religion, Family, Community, Friendship, and of course Love between Men are right at home beside a stirring narrative of events leading up to the 1916 Easter Rising, where Ireland begins its painful tumble toward independence.

But it's in the characters that a novel lives by (least thats what I hear), and it's in their brutal yet loving portrayal that this story really shines. The particular yearnings of Jim and Doyler for each other, of the wounded MacMurrough for a spirit at peace, of Ireland for her dignity, even of Jim's father for the 'good life' - ring as true for them as for any of us.

Reading 'At Swim' has made me believe that it is still possible a book can come along and change your life. For each to find a nation of one's own, is this story's great hope for its readers, and I'm inspired to find mine.

I rarely review anything on this site--not books, not movies, not CDs. I never feel that strongly about a product. But this book is different. When I bought it, I was skeptical about all the hype. Usually with a book that is so universally loved you are setting yourself up for a disappointment. Not so with this. It surpasses the hype in so many ways.

First of all--yes, the three main characters are gsy, but this is in no way a "gay book". It is a romance novel, a war novel, a coming-of-age. It is epic, and purely Irish in its nature. Don't give up after the first few chapters. This definitely isn't American English. It isn't even British English. It's *Irish* English. The prose is dense but lyrical, and reads like a song or a poem. Even if you absolutely hate the characters or plot, I can't imagine anyone who bothers to read past chapter two not completely awestruck by Jamie O'Neill's use of language. This book was ten years in the writing, and it shows.

You probably already know the plot, so I won't annoy you with that. But this book will break your heart into a million little pieces and haunt you for the rest of your life. So read it. Right now.

Read about the bond between two boys in this historical fiction novel set in the suburbs of Dublin, Ireland.

Arthur Miller never ceases to impress me. As one of the greatest American playwrights in history, Miller depicts the lives of these characters in a beautiful yet relatable way. Definitely a good read if you have a free afternoon to yourself. I would suggest reading the whole thing in one sitting. Definitely helps the pacing of the story.

What wrong button did I push? Instead of the play I got a study guide. From Switzerland. I can return it by sending it to England. I'm confused. Nine bucks down the drain.

Arthur Miller's View from the Bridge is a lengthy, emotionally packed drama that focuses on perplexing longshoreman, 40 year-old Eddie Carbone who has a disturbing inappropriate fixation on his 18 year-old niece. Lawyer Alfieri provides intermittent narration on the unfolding drama with tragic consequences.

The 50's play, considered in Best American Plays, takes place in Red Hook Brooklyn, NY, where an Italian family, Eddie Carbone, wife Beatrice, and Catherine, the 18-year old niece whose mother was Beatrice's sister. It's unclear how young she was when they took her in, but since she has become a young girl, Eddie has been in control of her actions, the normal coming-of-age sexuality, like when he accuses her of the looks she gets by "walkin' wavy".

Neice Catherine's argument to prove a short skirt isn't as short when she stands up and walks, she says, "when you see me walkin' down the street.......Eddie replys "Listen, you have been giving me the willies the way you walk in the street, I mean it."

Beatrice's two cousins, who are brothers, are immigrating from the beautiful mountains and oceans in Italy, but where poverty is the predominant force. The beautiful view is what is across the bridge.

Hiding from immigration, the brothers are respectful and here to work and Catherine is soon in love with younger brother, Rodolpho. Through his own admission, the idea "eats" at Eddie, as his torment is fueled each day. Eddie is challenging, belligerent, sarcastic and evil.

We don't learn a lot about his wife Beatrice's past or Eddie's, we just know that wife Beatrice is very aware of his actions and obsession toward Catherine. Beatrice and Eddie have not had sexual relations for months and she is craving to be his wife again.

During the first act, the set-up is done well. The reader learns quickly about the sexual obsession; we learn how dedicated and respectful the immigrants are, we learn the frustration with Beatrice, and we learn very well, what makes Eddie tick!

The drama moves quickly, it is intense and complete! There is a movie version, but I truly believe the best way to see this and get the feel of characters, is to see the entire play on stage. Movies leave out so much feeling one needs to grasp to gather your thoughts.

I recommend highly, Miller's All My Sons (Penguin Classics)"All My Sons" and The Price and of course, the popular Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays). .......Rizzo

Arthur Miller's play of self-delusion and eventual acceptance is slightly above average at best. Perhaps I was just spoiled by The Crucible and Death of a Salesman, but it seemed much sloppier than his other works that I have read.

It's split into two acts, which seem very disproportionate. The first act, which becomes extremely dull and seems to drag on, is more than half of the entire play; while the second act, which seems rushed, is less. Also, Miller should have gone into more depth with Eddie's transition from concerned uncle to confused monster. Eddie always has a sort of underlying hint of being disturbed, but it just isn't made clear enough.

On a positive note, the end of the second act became very intense. It had my heart racing at times, and Miller ends the tale at a thrilling moment which, in my opinion, is the best way.

I would recommend it only to really adamant fans of Miller who have already read his better-known work. It's absolutely not in the league of some of his other classics.

The great play writer Arthur Miller had the idea for "A View From The Bridge" when he was doing research on a longshoreman who was executed by the mob for attempting to revolt against union. He heard a story about another man who denounced his relatives to the Immigration Bureau. The play is not only about this fact, but also concerning on tense familiar and social relationships, and also there is a sexual identity subtext.

Although "A View from the Bridge" is not as famous or as good as "The Crucible" or "Death of a Salesman", it is an interesting piece since its characters are so well developed. One of the main themes in this play is the `naming names'. Just like Miller himself, the main character Eddie Carbone, had the chance of denouncing his friends. Unlike his character, the writer when inquired about his supposed communist friends chose to be loyal to them.

But certainly, the main symbol in the play is Brooklyn Bridge, that means, among other things, pathway of opportunity to Manhattan and also the linkage between American and Italian cultures. And the community where the play is set is very close to this bridge. Miller has created again some effective characters in this play, who are forced to face problematic situations. They may not always succeed, but the writer does - at least most of the time.

Dr. Guillory offers a revised and newly updated edition of his definitive guide for the one in five people suffering from spastic colon, cramping pains or nausea after eating, constipation, gas, and diarrhea--the variety of uncomfortable digestive symptoms known as IBS--Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Revealing questionnaires and special temporary diets are featured, as well as detailed information about testing and medications. Included are special stress reduction techniques along with corrective exercises and advice on lifestyle changes that provide relief

I thougth the book was very interesting and helpful.

Dr. Guillory offers a revised and newly updated edition of his definitive guide for the one in five people suffering from spastic colon, cramping pains or nausea after eating, constipation, gas, and diarrhea--the variety of uncomfortable digestive symptoms known as IBS--Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Revealing questionnaires and special temporary diets are featured, as well as detailed information about testing and medications. Included are special stress reduction techniques along with corrective exercises and advice on lifestyle changes that provide relief

When a Dr. writes a book, we all assume that all the conculsion will be based in fact as opposed to annecdotal fiction. While Dr.Gerard provides a good explanation of what IBS is and a high level guide to reducing IBS symptoms through diet and lifestyle changes...he fails to provide enough details on the diet that is needed. Also, he does not do a very through job of analyzing and discussing dietary fiber supplements, such as metamucil which have proven useful for many IBS sufferers. For example, in his writing that experts are split on whether or not Metamucil can help IBS sufferers with Dir..h and that he doesn't feel it works is not very useful to a person who just bought this book looking for a "Guide to Prevention and Relief".He should state that for those other experts that think Metamucil is helpful, how they suggest taking the supplement and what are the common issues that surround such therapy.

To answer your main questions about Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Gerard Guillory's _IBS: A doctor's plan_ is an excellent place to start. It is filled with useful tips and has a reassuring tone. I highly recommend this book, along with Dawn Burstall et al.'s _IBS relief: A Doctor, a Dietitian and a Psychologist Provide a Team Approach to Managing IBS_. Both books complement each other well and provide useful information. (see my review of Burstall et al. at amazon.com)

One of the top challenges for a good DM is to run a quality city adventure, as you have to have lots of potential NPCs that your players can run in to - and, you often have to create a lot of them on the fly as well. This book gives the DM a lot of good information about a medium sized city that can be put into a lot of generic campaign settings fairly easily. You have information about the king and his family, then the idle rich "Blackflame" nobility (who can cause a lot of problems), the guilds, as well as the underworld. Very solid information, and not over the top/overpowered like some of Ed Greenwood's past work on the Forgotten Realms. If you want political intrigue in an adventure - you have tons of potential with the Blackflames and the guilds... if you want a dungeon crawl, the city has an extensive sewer system that you can populate with all kinds of bad guys... this book has a lot to offer anybody who is into D&D and the d20 system.

Another of my large Kalamar purchase, this book initially impressed more than the Kingdoms of Kalamar sourcebook did. In the end however, it got the same rating, and the same overall impression. Nice, hung together well enough, lots of NPCs in good detail, but numerous irritations and inconsistencies dragged it down. Worse, not one immediate idea for an adventure sprang to mind reading it. This might be a lack of imagination on my part (I'll not so humbly say that this is unlikely), or more likely the kinds of adventures suggested by this book don't appeal to me.

This book is an exploration of a city in the campaign setting, and follows the same feel in that the emphasis is far more on the politics rather than old ruins or monsters. This is fine, but not quite what most people expect from AD&D. The cover is a very nice picture of a stone and a fire giant fighting while adventurers watch behind small hills, and the city in the background. Unfortunately, that's about all that these kinds of threats are seen, except in passing. The underground sewers are detailed well, but most areas are given the same "rumors of treasures hidden in the walls" treatment.

So the emphasis is on the people and their interactions. The city overall is one with a very peaceful reputation. You have five main groups, the Castle, the Guilds, the Nobles, the Priests and the common people. The Castle and leaders seem mostly good, with the potential heir being somewhat weak, leading to worries as to what will happen if the Lord dies. The guilds are builders, craftsmen, parcel carriers, etc, and basically well respected. There are one or to evil guildmasters, but very little detailed as to if they have any real plans. The Nobles are the most interesting group at first, as they're disliked by the commoners and Guilds alike. But rather quickly it's obvious that most follow a pattern.. Leader of the house, the heir is almost always a young man or woman who either seeks adventure to make a name, seeks adventurers to provide a power base for when they become the leader, or weak/not interested in the job of being house leader. One or two plots are laid out in fair detail, but they still didn't really grab me, and the sameness of each noble house got monotonous after awhile.

The religions are primarily good or neutral, and the evil religions again follow a pattern of only a few followers, want to expand their powerbase in the city, preparing to do so but not yet... One religion is truly evil, with some fleshing out of the despicable practices of its leader, but this was only a blip in the monotony. The shady dealings in the city are minimal and glossed over in the chapter devoted to this, because the town watch is so effective. The section on adventures is quite thin, and almost nothing in it really grabbed me.

Another element of this book that I disliked were some writing style choices and inconsistencies.
1. Names not always consistent between book, glossary (with page number where character is found) and the NPC list.
2. Almost every paragraph had at least one word in quotes, sometimes needed but more than often not.. Example: "If being 'noble' accords him special privileges, he will shamelessly make use of them ... However, he knows very well that anyone who truly believes Talasaarans are 'better' than their fellow Geanavese..." These quotes interrupt the flow of reading for me.
3. The authors use city-wide versions of common words throughout (at least they do explain the meaning) but this is annoying when they're for words like street, corner, avenue, left (sinister) and right (dexter). Again, it breaks up the flow.
4. The walkthrough of the city switches from guide-book style of simple description to actual guide style ("Now, as we go down this street, we decide to turn in the sinister direction and...") multiple times. Combined with huge amounts of quotes and city specific terms, plus including information already mentioned in the rest of the book, this chapter seemed a waste.
5. Sometimes the book goes into great detail about specific plots and plans (well, all of a couple of them), and other times things that it would help the DM to know are merely mentioned and then left alone as something that "No one really knows.". This seems inconsistent.

Ok, so lots of complaints.. It still gets a three for the high production quality and the wealth of NPCs and locations included. The nits and sameness drag it down to just average.