Works Books

I am so glad I purchased this book. The layout is wonderful with excellent pictures of the crafts. The directions are clear and easy to follow. I am looking forward to making many of these projects.

If you like to make cards at all, this is the perfect book for you.
However, there are also other paper crafts like calendars, gift boxes, and little books.
Several quick and cute gift and gift packaging ideas.

Just like on the show, the best part is the shoebox quick ending.

Shhh, this is being put up for my mom for Christmas. If I can give it up, that is.
I am a crafter, but not much of a paper crafter. My mom is crafty with paper for her Sunday School kids, grandkids and just for fun....and she is a huge Carol Duvall fan.
This arrived today slightly damaged (thanks a lot Amazon) so I was thumbing through it to be sure it was only the cover and corners that suffered superficial damage, not the contents.
Now I am hooked! The clear, bright photos and easy to understand instructions are making me re-think the idea of avoiding paper crafts....also re-think the idea of giving away this book.
It has templates for the projects such as gift boxes and envelopes.
My favorite thing is that it mostly only calls for simple materials such as scrapbooking papers. You can make several beautiful projects without a huge monetary investment with elements and such that can quickly run into big bucks.
These projects are also kid-friendly which will be perfect for my mom's 4th graders in Sunday School...and for my homeschool Craft Day gatherings, when I borrow this book back from Mom.

And the damage: This book is not shrink wrapped. Putting it in a way too oversized box with no protection caused it to be banged back and forth in shipping and put a slight crease on the front cover and bumps on the outer corners. Does not hinder the use, but does take away from the beauty of the gift.

I received this book and immediately wanted to begin several of the projects. They seem very easy with readily available supplies. Carol is a genius and really enjoys paper crafting. I watch her show all the time and now am enjoying her book.

Needed some fresh ideas for paper crafting. Saw carols' book at a book store and thought it was very interesting and offered an assortment of ideas. I came home and found it at a GREAT price on Amazon. Wonderful book and a must-read for paper crafters.

This well-written book has extensive information and photos on all of the primates in the world, including homo sapiens. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants an in-depth look at our own "extended family."

This has every primate and all the stats you could possibly imagine for each one. As I am a stats man, this is all that's needed to make me happy. Also, there's a color photo for each individual primate, except for the EXTREMELY RARE ones. Also holds the record for sparking my interest in PRIMATOLAGY about a month ago.

I bought this primate book as a gift. It has so many beautiful photos, very comprehensive! I would recommend it to anyone looking to discover more about lesser known primates.

I bought this book when I was doing reserach on primate behavior and it was a great resource. This book has wonderful descriptions and beautiful pictures. It's an awesome book for anyone who's interested in primates or for those who simply love them.

Excellent text for veterinarians, research scientists, zoology and/or biology students or anyone interested in taxonomy and classification of primates. The color pictures are stunning, plus the information is informative and concise. The text shows geographical distribution biology and behavior.

This texts is a definite must for primate students.

this book is like
WOW
KA-POW
a sock in the gut
a kick in the butt-
on fly jeans that were
often worn by torn men
and broken women
who called themselves

beat

this bible is a meet-
ing ground of sound tribal mind
open heart prose
souls that want to rise with
those that have al-
ready rose

each chapter contains
some laughter
about how things came together
during that magical time
of free
verse
and holy ryhme

ginsberg
kerouac
burroughs
ferlinghetti
and more
dissolving their flesh
exposing their spirit driven core

oh, i love to read and bleed this book dry
i love to cry with sad saints
and be healed by words revealed

in the city we are
"constantly risking absurdity and death"
but we
who
are brave
and
not
a slave to tyrants
can freely take a chance
and take a new breath
and dance
with Holy Men
gone
bye.


Peace & Blessings,
john, 'the Light Coach'

This reader is a good overall introduction to beat literature. While I could have done with a few more examples of writing from the women in the movement, that probably would not have kept the book as "portable" as its title promises.

An absolute wonder, a perfect selection of Beat writings: Poems, fragments of novels, essays, history, mythology, philosophy... The Portable Beat Reader is one of the most essential books in my collection and rarely leaves my side. And it is, thankfully, portable, and much easier than bringing everything with you all the time. Aquire it, open it, and just start reading.

This book features some excellent beat writers and includes informative blurbs on their history and style. Each artist has a little chunk of their writing for you to sample, and the material is everything from stories to letters to classically bad prose.

What impressed me were the essays by each other, on the actual generation hype.

"Young people seemed more intense, clutching, and I couldn't help feeling they took themselves too seriously... 'good, clean fun' appeared to be a thing of the past. Or perhaps the aura of suspicion and defensiveness was merely a reflection of my own fears..." --Carylon Cassady

It's a great book for deciding which authors you want to read more of.

Simply put, this is what I turn to when I need inspiration for reading, for creating, for anything. It combines wonderful bios of everyone from Kerouac to Bob Dylan, and their poems, book excerpts, and lyrics galore. Absolutely enjoyable, absolutely essential. Thank god for Ann Charters.

This is a book for all the pug lovers out there...I enjoyed all the pictures and stories about people just as obsessed with pugs as I am. Highly Recommended.

Pugs are a unique breed and if you like Pugs or know someone who does they will LOVE this book! It is gorgeous with many great pictures of Pugs all over New York. It doesn't have much information on the breed but that is not the point of it, its a small coffee table book with some lovely anecdotes about Pugs. I am away from home at uni so when I miss my Pug I flip through this book!
I definitely recommend it!

I purchased this book few weeks ago and it is already one of favorite pug books in my personal collection. I am a friend (instead of being called a master or an owner) of several pugs since I was about 8 years old. Now two of them are living with me. Pug is an amazing creature and I have been trying to make others understand why I feel what I feel about pugs. This book is a wonderful way to show others the amazing Pug world!

This book contains pics of pugs. Pugs are perfect. Need I say more??

Nice book about and for people who pamper their Pugs. Not intended to be a "useful training tool" (I don't know where the reviewer below got the impression that it was supposed to be..!) but just a cute fluffy book about a select group of upscale NYC pugs and their eccentric owners. Photos and more info of "Pug Hill" in Central Park would have been nice (but perhaps too common?). Makes a good mini-coffee table book or x-mas gift for your uppity Pug pals.

An interesting, very convicting book about the action that the Christian faith demands that often goes unfulfilled. It was a quick read but you will continue to think about the words long after you are finished

In many versions of the Bible, Jesus' words are written in red ink to emphasize their importance. It brings attention to His words and underscores their urgency.

Red Letters is a call to action, an urgent book calling on Christians to get off their collective bums and return to their roots. In the first and second centuries, Christian groups had a reputation for kindness to the poor, widows, and the downtrodden. But today's Christians largely ignore a vast population of the suffering: those suffering from the AIDS crisis in Africa.
Although written for Christians, Tom Davis' message is universal to all faiths (and even the faithless): thousands of Africans are dying daily because of disease and starvation. He throws out statistics at a frenetic pace. Children are being orphaned at an alarming rate; they struggle to survive without parents at ages of five and six. For a loaf of bread, a ten-year-old sells her body and risks infection. Most African countries lack the infrastructure and the funding to care for these dying and parentless, even though medicine is more affordable than ever. Misinformation abounds; Davis recalls hearing from men who believe that if they have sex with a virgin, they'll be cured of HIV. (Uh...WHAT?) It's a self-propagating cycle of suffering and misery.
Davis wants to stir his audiences' emotion and sympathy, and he largely succeeds. Indeed, after a few chapters I wanted him to dive right into a "What You Can Do To Fix This Problem" solution manual, but there were many more chapters of depressing, grim facts to read first. Eventually he did share good news: if each of us in wealthier countries started giving just five dollars a month to help those in Africa, we could make a huge difference. His literature is targeted at Christians, with reminders of Jesus' call to his followers to be good Samaritans and care for the unloved. However, I think this is really a call to everyone to be the best they can be, and to recall what it means to be charitable. When so many are suffering, and so little sacrifice on our part can make such a big impact, what excuse do Americans have?
In spite of common protests that it's all futile, Davis (and Bono, who is frequently cited) believes that we really can change the world. He lays out a plan that he calls 5forFifty. It requests those of us who have been blessed with plenty to:

1. Give 5 minutes a day to pray for those infected by HIV/AIDS.
2. Give 5 hours a day to fast for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
3. Give 5 dollars a month to the Five for 50 Fund and support worthy causes.
4. Give 5 days a year to travel overseas and help alleviate poverty and suffering.
5. Give 5 people an opportunity to join you on your journey.
-- http://www.fivefor50.com/

Tom Davis' blog can be found here: http://tomdavis.typepad.com/
In addition to talking about his book, he writes about his experiences in orphanages in Russia and in Swaziland, one of the areas hardest-hit by AIDS. He often posts video and photographs, and it's definitely worth checking out.

Living A Faith That Bleeds
Tom Davis
David C. Cook, 2008
ISBN: 9780781445351
5 stars
Inspiring...
Tom Davis's book Red Letters focuses on Jesus' words. Jesus showed compassion; he offered hope. He touched lives wherever he went. He was not passive or inactive. If we are to imitate him, to be his hands and feet, then, we should offer the same compassion, hope, and kindness that he offered.
There is much suffering in our world. What is the Christian's response to HIV, starvation, and calamity? Tom Davis begins his introduction with a statement sure to grab the attention of the reader. "The Christian church owes an apology to the almost fifty million individuals in our world currently infected with HIV/AIDS."
Davis' writes with great compassion. His words ring with authority and compassion. He attempts to challenge the readers to step out of the church pews, to step out of the church walls into the real world. Reach out a helping hand in the name of the Lord.
I want to give Red Letters a big Amen! Tom Davis gets his point across in a concise manner. I recommend Red Letters to Christians.

This book is life changing! I could not put it down, and finished it in a couple of hours. As Christians, we are called and commanded to care for the orphans and the widows. We are told that which we did for the least among us, we also did for our Lord. This books shares real life examples of how to live out your faith in this day and age.

A child becomes an orphan every 14 seconds because of AIDS.

The number of children orphaned by AIDS is expected to exceed 25 million by 2010.

With these realities, someone is desperately needed to "stand in the gap" (Eze 22:30) on behalf of Christ's church for the children and adults in the world suffering with HIV/AIDS, especially those affected most in Africa. Author and President of Children's Hopechest, Tom Davis, has answered this call. In his book, RED LETTERS: Living a Faith That Bleeds, effectively persuades all of Christ's followers to be Jesus' hands and feet to our neighbors effected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and around the world and provides practical steps on how each follower of Christ can begin to do this. In RED LETTERS, Tom Davis beautifully captures and portrays God's heart for the poor and oppressed, namely those living with HIV/AIDS in Africa, and what it means for those who confess to be Christ-followers to live out their faith by being Christ to the hurting world. Through his gift of storytelling, Tom brings the reader into the lives of those suffering because of HIV/AIDS. Tom builds a bridge by helping the reader relate to those suffering, by putting faces, names and stories on individuals who were once merely seen as statistics. Being confronted with the reality of the enormity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, it is easy to become overwhelmed and frozen by not knowing where to start ministering. Tom clearly gives the reader practical ways to help and minister to the children, women and men in Africa and around the world who are suffering because of HIV/AIDS.
I was deeply moved, encouraged, inspired and empowered by RED LETTERS. Just like Tom's other book, Fields of the Fatherless, I am sure I will use RED LETTERS time and time again in my ministry to orphans. I enthusiastically recommend every Christian read this book and then give it to a friend to read. RED LETTERS will inspire and empower you to see Christ in others and, by living the words of Jesus, become His hands and feet to your neighbors, those suffering because of HIV/AIDS in Africa, the orphan, the widow, the stranger and those living right next door. Please purchase this book (by purchasing it you will feed and orphan for a month), read it, and live the words of Christ.
[...].

Historical Realism. Middle elementary.

Summary
This picture book is story of Rose Blanche, who lives in Nazi Germany. After she sees a boy trying to escape, she wants to know where the little boy went. When Rose discovered a death camp and the starving people, she started taking them food without telling her mother. "Rose Blance was getting thinner. In town, only the mayor was staying fat." The Russian soldiers come and the camp disappears. Flowers grow where the camp was.

Illustrations
The colors are primarily brown, with detailed and interesting pictures. Each page has a little color, which stands out and reinforces the words (e.g., red dress of Rose, gold Jewish star).

I'm in 7th grade and my teacher read this book to the class when we were learning about World War II. This book has stuck with me for a long time!!! After she read this book I could not stop thinking about it. If you read this book, make sure you have a box of tissues nearby.

I have never heard of this book I picked it up because the pictures are so lovely. I began to read and was struck by it's simplicity and power at the same time.

I became confused at the end I did not know what happened because the author switched from first person to third person.

This book explains so much in such a simple, soft spoken way in the eyes of a small child.

Nothing could be more profound

Congratulations! You have successfully located the best translation of the book "Rose Blanche" available on the market today. While the British and German translations may change significant portions of this tale around and about, the American version (all thanks to hard work of excellent translators Martha Coventry and Richard Graglia) is true to authors Gallaz and Innocenti's original plot and vision. So well done you! Give yourself a pat on the back and a hanky. You'll need it after you finish reading the book.

It's Germany during World War II. As we watch, our little heroine, Rose Blanche, describes the early days of the war. The soldiers are being packed up and shipped away and everyone is cheering them on. Swastikas are plentiful. One day, Rose sees a small boy escape from a van in the middle of the street. The boy is quickly caught and placed within the cramped van once again. Curious, Rose Blanche follows the van to the edge of town and into the forest. There she comes face to face with the children of a concentration camp. After offering them some of her food, the first person narrative abruptly begins to be told in the third person instead. We are told that Rose Blanche continued to bring food to the hungry children. Finally, the citizens of the town flee, wounded soldiers amongst them. Rather than escaping, Rose Blanche makes one last trip to the camp, only to find it empty. A single shot rings out and we see the Communist soldiers filling the now abandoned town. The book ends with, "Rose Blanche's mother waited a long time for her little girl". Flowers bloom, but the single purple bloom the girl placed on the barbed wire has wilted.

Tragedy in the key of E. The text is rather well written, giving no specific person or persons blame, but rather suggesting a collective guilt. Admittedly, I was a little taken aback by the sudden switch in narrative. One minute you know exactly what Rose Blanche is thinking and the next you can only interpret her emotions through descriptions and visual images. A review of this book in the March 2004 issue of "Children's Literature in Education" suggested that this is done so that the reader is given a bit of distance when the girl is shot. Admittedly, I don't expect my heroines to die in the picture books I read but I think we can chalk that up to naivete on my part more than anything else. This is, after all, an incredibly realistic work of fiction. The character of Rose Blanche even attains a kind of religious piousness at the end of the tale. In her final picture, she stands in the position of a saint. Her eyes are downcast, one hand lightly touching her heart, and the other placing a small purple flower on the broken fence.

Which brings us to the illustrations. Innocenti's pictures deftly tell a story within the actual text. In the first few pictures, Rose appears in happy crowd scenes. Then, as she discovers more about the world in which she lives, she is placed farther and farther away from other people. Rose is continually set apart from the others by her clothing as well. Where everyone else is resigned to grays and browns, Rose sports a pink dress with a bright red bow on her head. The illustrations are strikingly realistic, never becoming cartoony or visually inconsistent. Innocenti is deft at the millions of different ways in which light changes a scene. And to top it all off, he's done some of the most brilliant fog I've ever seen put down on paper.

This is a book about seeing what other people won't. The name "Rose Blanche" is explained by the author on the book flap. The Rose Blanche was a group of young Germans that protested the war. Like the heroine of this tale, they were unduly executed for the crime of thinking differently. The best use of this book is to utilize it in such a way that we can never forget how important it is to question authority at all times and to always fight for the truth. It seems that message is more important today than ever. A tip of the hat to the Rose Blanches of the world.

The time period is World War II. The main character is a small girl, named Rose Blanche. This is her story.

Rose is walking about one day through a forest when she comes to a tall barbed wire fence. Inside the fence is a concentration camp, where many people are being held. Rose goes to this place everyday, bringing food to the children.

Then, one day, when she reaches the small clearing where the children are, she finds it gone. Bits of wire and wood are lying littered on the ground, and she holds a small purple flower above the scattered wood.

The flower is a single ray of hope, shining brightly through the darkness. It is a hope that the war will end and hope that the lives of people across the world will return to normal. This book is a symbolism of what one little girl did to make the world a better place. Rose Blanche is truly an interesting, and touching read.
~~**Jessica**~~

This book is worth much more than what you'll pay for it! These masterful portraits are beautiful, simple, personal. Executed with fluidity and rapidity, the people captured here practically breathe within the pages of this book. Every artist can learn something about Sargent's quiet intimacy here.

I selected this book as a gift for my husband. He was delighted to see the drawings of Sargent and is planning on developing his skills by copying the works found in the book.

This book is one of the best buys i did this year. Sargent paintings are very famous but the drawings from this little book are amazing! Some of these portraits were done in the later phase of Sargent work and show great mastery of the drawing media (pencil, charchoal). There's a small text about Sargent that is very good too.

A good book full of great drawings by one of the best artist I have ever studied. The price is right and you should not waist one more minute before you order it.
I always like to see how the great artist draw, since drawing is the back bone to good painting in my mind.
I really get a kick out of artist who say they can't draw and can only paint, sure.. Thats like saying you never learned to walk and that you can only run.
Sargent used to say you should draw every day and I think he was right.

The book is great. The ones who sent it didn't package it well. It is a paperback book and it came all bent up.

Although the famous author's last years brought her much sorrow and depression, she continued to depict the world as it once more became plunged into yet another world war. In her famous journals, she described movies she saw, including GWTW, air conditioning, and the frustration involved with generational gaps. It is a must read for those who followed the previous books.

Poor poor woman. I could scarcely put it down. But it brings up many questions. Why did she think that Mr. Leard, the Love of her life, was not worthy of her? Why did no one ask her husband Mr. McDonald what the heck was bothering him? Why did she not know in 5 years of courtship that something was terribly wrong with him? Poor, poor woman. The synthesis of this book is when she asks herself why a woman that she felt was mean and hateful was happy and she was not. Indeed, why?

IF YOU LOVE THE OTHER DIARIES YOU WILL ENJOY READING ABOUT HER FINAL DAYS. I ENJOYED ALL OF THE OTHER DIARIES BUT THIS ONE IS THE SADDEST. SHE HAS HER GOOD DAYS AND BAD, BUT SADLY SHE STOPPED WRITING IN THE LAST YEARS WHEN LIFE BECAME SO UNBEARABLE THAT SHE COUDLN'T EVEN WRITE ABOUT IT SO THIS DIARY IS INCOMPLETE. YOU WILL LOVE SEEING INSIDE THE LIFE AND MIND OF AN AUTHOR WHO ACHIEVED SUCCESS IN HER OWN LIFETIME AND LIVED TO WRITE ABOUT HER PERSONAL LIFE FROM CHILDHOOD TO HER LAST DAYS. THIS DIARY IS HER LAST, BUT LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE ON IN HER WRITINGS. HER DIARY WAS A WAY TO SHARE HER INNERMOST THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS THAT SHE COULDN'T SHARE IN HER NOVELS. YOU TOO WILL FEEL LIKE A KINDRED SPIRIT.

Obviously this is for fans of L M Montgomery - if you know and love her writing, you will recognise among the friends and acquaintances of her youth the characters that people Anne of Green Gable's turbulent world. But this wonderful journal is much more than that - it is a fascinating insight into a world which is long gone.

We read of Maud's complex family arrangements, her desire to be a good teacher and disappointment with some of her placements. Her small victories selling stories to publications, and the seemingly endless stream of suitors who proclaim love for her (my favourite is the hapless Mr Mustard). It is a tale of love found and not acted on (and the agonies that accompany it), familial obligations, frustrated talents and beautiful Canadian country side. It tells of heppiness, despair, joy and nostalgia, and is as engagingly written as any fabulous novel.

By all means read this if you wish to understand the creator of one of the world's most engaging literary characters, but also to have a glimpse of a world none of us will ever see the likes of.

These journals, are beautifully put together. I remember when I found the first one and then each suceeding volume. I knew this one was coming. I even called the author at Guelph University to ask her how much longer I would have to wait.

She said then that they had to wait for some of the people in the journals to die before they could publish them. I would guess Dr. Stuart Macdonald was one of them.

They thrill me and make me feel closer to thise amazing woman. I've read everything she's written now. The sad thing is that once this volume is finished there is nothing new to read.

My greatests thanks to L. M. Montgomery and to Drs. Rubio and Waterson for their great work.

It has the most up to date material about science and he puts it in a funny way.

This book may be advertised as a polemic, but it actually provides straight common sense where it's most needed. In a political era where ideology often takes second place to facts, Stebbins lays the science bare on a host of controversial issues--from stem cells to genetic testing. You might not always agree with him, but he'll definitely get you thinking.

Doctor Mike Rocks! I urge you to read this book. The Dr. lays it out there, whether you know anything about science or not it doesn't matter - you will after reading this book. It's funny and really terrifying at the same time. A tell all, hard-and-slamming-clash between the myths, truths and politics behind the world of science. I couldn't put it down, bought three copies for friends. Brilliant piece of work!!

Being able to explain scientific concepts to nonscientist is an art. Michael Stebbins has accomplished the goal of explaining several areas of scientific research that sometimes gets drawn into politics (embryonic stem cell research). He takes every subject and explains it in language that the lay person can understand. He does a great job of showing how special interest groups can take some segment of the subject, distort it and promote opposition to the research and make it look legitimate to the unknowing public. We need more books like this and more scientist like Michael Stebbins!!!

Sex, Drugs and DNA is a fantastic literary find. Michael Stebbins shares a voice seldom heard in today's news and politics, that of an independent and experienced scientist. Most of what you hear on the news about science these days seems to consist of "expert" journalists with no more information on the subject they are discussing than a brief overview of a watered-down scientific abstract. This is a man who has devoted his life to science and is not afraid to give his opinions on what is wrong with today's society, and, more importantly, how these problems might be solved.

I was personally very impressed with his first chapter. It is something that I would highly recommend to most young and developing scientists. I feel it gives an honest and needed look at what they will be dealing with in the near future.

Michael Stebbins makes this foray into the world of a science an entertaining and informative journey. I highly recommend it.

This is a great book!!! I encourage all adults who want to be more informed about the health care industry to read it. You will be able to make better decisions about your own treatment. A great challenge to the conventional wisdom about routine testing.

This is a great little book. In a little over 200 pages Welch reviews the science and data about cancer screening and concludes that it is not worth doing it. Cancer after cancer (prostate, skin, breast...) he shows that screening has very little benefit if at all in terms of life expectancy (I recently saw a scientific article defending mammography on the basis that it added 3 days of life to women having one regularly...) .
The main justification for cancer screening is the belief that a cancer caught early is not lethal. The problem is that a lethal cancer is in general not caught early. A lethal cancer is usually very aggressive and by screening time it has already spread (unless as Welch points out you are willing to be screened every other day...).
What screening is very good at is catch cancers (and Welch explains that the definition of cancer is not clear cut) that are growing slowly if at all and will probably never kill you... Have you noticed the epidemic of breast cancers or is it just me?
The only thing missing from the book is the broader implication of generalizing cancer screening. By devoting so much money to an irrational health policy the general population is deprived of many services that could really impact its health and improve the sorry health statistics of the United States.

This book is truly an eye opener. Millions of people are being screened for cancer every year, but is it really necessary? Is it really making a difference? Are people harmed by these tests in anyway?

Dr. Welch explains brilliantly, in my opinion, what these cancer screenings really mean. He argues that we are taking healthy symptom-free individuals and looking for cancer.

What most people do not know and I did not before reading his book is that:

1-There is no evidence that these screenings have actually saved lives. In fact despite increased detection of early stages of prostate cancer and breast cancer, the death rate for prostate cancer has stayed the same and the rate of late stage breast cancer has increased over a 25 year period.

2-Autopsies of people who have NOT died from cancer have shown cancer in the lungs, thyroid, kidney, etc. This means millions of people are living with cancer and die of other causes and not even know they had cancer.

3-If the screening finds cancer, it does not necessarily mean that it is the type that will grow rapidly.
a-It could regress on its own as our immune system eliminated abnormal cells, including cancers regularly.
b-It may stay the same for many years and never cause a problem
c-It may grow so slowly that cause no health problems and the person dies of something else before it does

4-Studies conducted by John Hopkins, Harvard, and others have shown that different pathologist give different diagnosis for the same tissues. They may look at the same tissue and some think it is cancer while others think it is not. Especially when it comes to the a few abnormal tissues found from screening a healthy individual.

5-Also between screenings it is possible to develop a fast growing cancer. So how often do we need to do mammograms and colonoscopies?

6-The statistics, such as the five year survival rate, are not always reliable and maybe calculated in a misleading manner.

So you have a mammogram, PSA test, colonoscopy, fecal occult test, etc done. This is what may happen:

1-You end up with a false positive, depending on the test, 10 percent false positive is the average.
2-You get the cancer scare unnecessarily.
3-This can begin a cycle of retesting, biopsies and other tests. Some can be very unpleasant and have side effects.
4-If they find an abnormal tissue, what does it mean it mean? May the pathologist made a mistake; maybe it has been there for many years; maybe it is a slow growing one; maybe it will go away on its own; maybe it is a fast growing one! Of course, your doctor can't take a chance with your health, and also does not want to get sued for malpractice, so most likely she recommends the most safest (which could be the most aggressive) course of action!

Here you were living a relatively healthy symptom-free life and now you are told you need surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy.

BUT once you or I know about they have found cancer, it is hard to know what to do, not to speak of the emotional toll. That's why Dr. Welch believes sometimes it is better not to know. However, as Dr. Welch cautions: If you have any unusual symptoms and your doctor recommends screening for cancer, make sure you are screened.

After reading the book I decided I do not need any screening. As long as I am symptom free and healthy, why put myself through tests that may or may not extend or save my life. I think as long as we don't do anything to harm our immune system, such as smoking, and do the things that enhance the immune system, such as exercise, there is no need to become a patient.

We all need to make the decision for cancer screening based on our priorities, family history of cancer, and other factors. Perhaps a good course of action is to read the book and consult your doctor for best options.

Thank you Dr.Welch for an excellent expose: Well researched and well written.

Before reading this book, it had never occured to me that there were pros and cons re cancer testing. Welch has excellent credentials.He is on the staff of Dartmouth Medical College and writes articles for JAMA. In this book (which was also favorably reviewed in JAMA) Welch succinctly explains the perils of cancer testing in asymptomatic patients. He provides ample numerical data to support his contentions.The book is short and interesting and easy to read.

If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. This is possibly the most valuable book you will ever read regarding your health. Dr. Welch has impeccable bona fides, and his arguments are well-reasoned and well documented. He is a wonderful writer who makes sense of complicated, nuanced statistical analysis for the rest of us.

Of particular importance to this 53 year old woman is his detailed analysis of mammography and breast cancer. He completely debunks the hysterical coercion of women to have this test, and points out why declining to have one is a completely reasonable decision. This is of particular importance now in light of Elizabeth Edwards doing public penance for "letting down" the country and her family by skipping a mammogram! Elizabeth, honey, read this book! It is doubtful that mammography would have made any difference in your outcome.

Welch's dicsussion of DCIS, which is probably the most horribly overtreated fake "disease" in the history of modern medicine should be required reading for every woman over the age of 20.
Just buy it - I plan to give a copy to every person I love. It's that good.