O Books

Mark Gold is a bright doctor indeed and this book is a comprehensive source of modern psychiatric information for depression and other mental illnesses. However, treatment resistant depression is a serious problem and that fact is that many people simply do not get better from medication, no matter how many strategies they try. Medication has a tendency to stop working and only now are new therapies being invented including transcranial magnetic stimulation, and recently, vagus nerve stimulation. Gold says that "only the rare person will fail to get better." Fact is, medication is usually not the answer for complete relief in of itself and should be combined with some type of psycotherapy for maximum effectivness.

I found this book to be very helpful. Mark Gold has been a pioneer in this field. He has also wriiten extensively about the abuse of cocaine.

I would highly recommend his books to anyone thirsting for knowledge in these areas.

I recieved the tests described in the book. These tests pinpointed the type of depression and the proper anti-depressant.I had relief after taking the first two capsules and have been fine since. (1986-Fair Oaks Hospital,Summit N.J.) Thank you Dr.Gold.

In 1986, the psychiatrists in Canada insisted on trying a series of antidepressants on me, even though I told them that I could not tolerate them. I could not tell them exactly what was going on, but suffice to say that the things that you hear about anti-depressants instigating suicide, violence, and/or homicide are true. The doctors then wanted to hospitalize me and give me Halperidol to suppress the effects of the antidepressants! If I had let them do this, I am sure that I would never have recovered to a stable state.

In 1987 I came across a newspaper review of an earlier edition of "The Good News About Depression" by Dr. Gold. I read the book, and immediately made arrangements to go to Fair Oaks Hospital. I was tested and interviewed as a clinic outpatient, and within three days, the psychiatrist informed me that persons who exhibit the characteristics which I do (positive on depression indicator tests, intolerance of standard antidepressants) often respond to lithium treatment, even though they do not present bipolar symptoms. None of the MANY doctors with whom I consulted in Canada, including those at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, knew about this important fact. I responded quickly to lithium, and within a month I was able to work, after being "unstabled" to work for a year and one-half. Since then I take lithium prescribed by my family doctor, I have not been to see a psychiatrist since, and I have had no other therapy of any kind for 17 years. You will find lithium listed in the monograph as an "anti-manic agent", but for me it is the opposite, an antidepressant. Who knew? No one except the experts at Fair Oaks in Summit.

Dr. Gold and his associates are The Best, and this book is The Word! If you, or a member of your family, or a friend, has anything that seems to be incipient depression, then get this book. Get your physician to refer you, make an appointment and go right to the Fair Oaks Hostpital. It is your life. They are the real experts, and you will never be sorry. They will give your life back to you, just as they did for me.

The work of Mark Gold and his associates was an eye-opener for me when I was researching (author's book plug alert) the first edition of my book, Dealing with Depression Naturally. It was they who discovered, over 20 years ago, that there is a substantial subgroup of depressives - mostly middle-aged women - who are resistant to therapy because they have a relatively mild or subclinical degree of hypothyroidism that eludes diagnosis unless sensitive, seldom employed tests are used. Thankfully, "the thyroid solution" is finally being recognized by the mainstream. But Gold et al. (and other "biopsychiatrists") are hip to a much, much broader array of established medical/physical illnesses and conditions (literally 100 or so) that also can cause or promote the symptoms of depression, without attracting the attention of the average doctor bent on whipping out the old prescription pad after a cursory physical examination and history, at best.

This book - written with the help of a popular writer to make it an easy read for the average Jane and Joe - will educate you (and your doctor, if s/he is willing) about the range of hidden (if you don't look, they're still "hidden") medical/physical causes that could be causing or contributing to your depression (but not including some of the fringier ones, like brain allergies and Candida) and how to rule them in or out and, in many cases, treat THEM instead of the secondary depresion. With authoritative estimates that up to 50% of depressions are accompanied by physical illnesses that could be playing a causative role - and preventing depressives from recovering fully or at all, even when treated with the latest, greatest drugs (which Gold also discusses in depth, but circa 1995, along with a few natural alternatives and adjuncts) - this kind of knowledge is real power.

I'm not going to review this work as much as recommend it. They simply don't make scholars like Lovejoy anymore. I remember reading this as an undergrad in the 80s (bought to supplement my summer reading) and found it a most refreshing read compared to most of the trendy post-modernist "see-how-clever-I-am" works a la DeMan, Foucault, Derrida and their epigones that were de rigeur at the time. Read this to see how one can be a great thinker and write lucidly all at the same time. Amazing!

With this book Lovejoy invented the area of study called ' The History of Ideas'. His tracing of a single idea through all its historical transformations gave a new interpretation to the concept of ' idea itself'. Ideas were not 'eternal unchanging concepts' but were evolving forms who took on new meanings in new situations.

This is the landmark book of the field Lovejoy single-handedly invented (and of which perhaps he is still the sole master): the history of ideas. He wrote some other essays about different ideas and their histories (one of my favorites is about the concept of the "fortunate fall"), but this is his magnum opus and it reads like a thrilling detective story. He's a sleuth looking underneath the various intellectual currents over a 1500 year period in western thought, finding a culprit lurking in many of the failed philosophies and fashions we think we know -- the idea of the "great chain of being" foisted on us by Plato and his heirs.

The book is worth the first two exhilarating chapters alone. After that, the book can get pretty heavy at times; and Lovejoy's long-thought-train, multi-disciplinary, multi-lingual approach can leave one a little lost in some passages. Keep going to the end, though -- the book gradually builds up to an amazing set of climaxes in the last few chapters. He shows how the various thinkers draw out all of the contradictory implications of the the original idea until the thing peters out into a strewn splatter of waste.

It's funny and thought-provoking, and it will peel your mind like an onion.

No one should read this book (or, for that matter, Tillyard's "The Elizabethan World Picture") without supplementing it with some of the later counterarguments to the "chain of being," or so-called "natural order"--e.g. Persig's dismantling of Platonic dialectic in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and Derrida's deconstructing of Plato's logocentric cosmology in numerous essays. Above all, when reading Chaucer, Spenser, Milton, Dante and, especially, Shakespeare, the reader must resist the temptation to interpret the text through the template. At best, it's no more than an organizing tool or convenient metaphor for the poet, an alloy that can be disposed of once the text is in place, inviting the reader's participation in the life of the language.

It took me 30 years to realize the limitations of Lovejoy's scheme, which can be as deadly to the life of the text as the litmus tests conducted by feminists, Marxists, new historians, and those who "use" literature to practice group identity politics. The dismissal of the character of Falstaff is just one example of what happens when readers bring to literature an agenda other than experiencing the life and play of the language, the sheer pleasure of the text. As for an artist like Shakespeare, to the extent that the scheme outlined by Lovejoy is abstracted from human experience and limited to a "pre-modernist" mentality, it would best be taken with a grain of salt. The Bard's instincts about life, language, and consciousness insure that he can no more be held hostage to a dated, heirarchical scheme than to the flawed character whose articulation he entrusts it to (Ulysses in "Troilus and Cressida").

_The Great Chain of Being: A Study of the History of an Idea_ is a publication of the William James Lectures delivered at Harvard in 1933 by philosopher and historian of ideas Arthur O. Lovejoy, by Harvard University Press. Arthur O. Lovejoy (1873-1962) was a professor of philosophy at Johns Hopkins University who had studied under William James and Josiah Royce. He developed the study of the history of ideas, which study he outlines and explains in the first lecture presented in this volume. The lectures presented here develop the history of an idea ("the great chain of being") which played a central role in the development of Occidental philosophy. Lovejoy explains in his preface to these lectures that the use of the phrase "the great chain of being" to describe the universe was used to refer to three characteristics of the constitution of the world: that these characteristics implied a certain conception of the nature of God, that this conception was conjoined with another to which it was in latent opposition to itself, and that most of the religious thought of the West has thus been at variance with itself. Lovejoy further maintains that the "great chain of being" was used to supply the basis for resolving the problem of evil and showing that the scheme of things was both intelligent and rational. Two further principles play a central role in Lovejoy's explication of the "great chain of being": "the principle of plenitude" and "the principle of continuity". The principle of plenitude may be traced back to Aristotle and simply states that all things that are possible will be, and it lies behind the ontological proof for the existence of God of Saint Anselm. The principle of continuity maintains that the qualitative differences of things must constitute a linear or continuous series. In providing a history of this central concept, Lovejoy traces the development of Western philosophy from the ancient Greeks (Plato and Aristotle), through the medieval period, to the rationalists (Leibniz and Spinoza), through some Eighteenth Century attempts to understand the universe, to the Romantic period (the German romantics and the metaphysical poets), to the modern day (in which the "great chain of being" was overturned and temporality came to play a unique role in the philosophies of individuals such as Bergson, Whitehead, and James). Lovejoy's lectures are very learned and show an incredible depth of philosophical understanding, as he traces the history of this idea. At the end, Lovejoy is to maintain that the idea eventually was overcome because it involved a static picture of the universe, and new philosophical systems (mentioning those of Schelling and Whitehead for example) came to allow for a temporal understanding of the universe and a God that evolves with it. (While his rejection of the notion of the "great chain of being" is perhaps over-hasty, particularly in light of what we now know about the "Big Bang" and the creation of the universe, these lectures nevertheless provide an enlightening tour through the history of ideas.)

Lovejoy begins his lectures by defining what he means by the "history of ideas" (the framework which he will use in his presentation of this particular concept). Lovejoy maintains that the "history of ideas" is both more specific and less restricted than the history of philosophy. Lovejoy suggests that the "history of ideas" is much like analytical chemistry and that "Though it deals in great part with the same material as the other branches of the history of thought and depends greatly upon their prior labors, it divides that material in a special way, brings the parts of it into new groupings and relations, views it from the standpoint of a distinctive purpose." Lovejoy then proceeds to further explicate what he means by the "history of ideas" and the role that the concept of the "great chain of being" plays in that history. In his next lecture, Lovejoy focuses on the genesis of the idea in ancient Greek philosophy. Lovejoy begins by noting that Whitehead regarded Western philosophy as "consist[ing] of a series of footnotes to Plato", and thus he begins by explaining the role of "otherworldiness" in Western philosophy and the philosophy of Plato and the Platonists. Lovejoy mentions Plato's _Dialogues_, Plato's notion of "the Good" and "Absolute Being" (comparing this to the Vedanta), and the NeoPlatonists such as Plotinus. Lovejoy also examines the thought of Aristotle and explains the development of the principles of plenitude and continuity from his philosophy in the _Metaphysics_. Lovejoy also explains the role of "the One" in Plotinus, and then turns his attention to the medieval thought in the subsequent lecture. Here, Lovejoy mentions the writings of the Pseudo-Dionysius, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas. Lovejoy explains the role of the principle of plenitude in the thought of Saint Thomas (noting the tendency of Thomism towards "illusionism" or otherworldliness, similar to the Vedanta) and the other Schoolmen. Lovejoy also mentions Jewish sources, the philosophy of Robert Fludd, and the role of Christian heresies (Gnosticism and Manicheanism). Lovejoy's next lecture deals with plenitude and the new cosmography. Here, Lovejoy explains the Copernican hypothesis (and how it would lead to subsequent attempts to rectify the notion of the "great chain of being"), the beginnings of modern science in Roger Bacon, and mentions Bruno and Galileo. Lovejoy also mentions the philosophies of Descartes and Pascal and the beginning of the modern era. Lovejoy next turns his attention to the principle of plenitude and the "principle of sufficient reason". The principle of sufficient reason (which was to play a role in both the philosophies of Spinoza and Leibniz) states that everything that happens does so for a definite reason. Lovejoy expounds upon the philosophies of Spinoza (mentioning his pantheism) and Leibniz (mentioning his _Theodicy_ and attempt to solve the problem of evil). The next lecture consists of Lovejoy's reflections on the "great chain of being" in Eighteenth Century thought. Lovejoy explains the subsequent attempts to maintain the concept of the "great chain of being" among the philosophers of the Eighteenth Century, noting attempts to rectify religion with science, the philosophy of optimism (that this is the best of all possible worlds), and the role of Eighteenth Century biology (mentioning the concept of design as seen in the writings of Paley for example and contrasting this to Darwinism). Lovejoy next turns his attention to temporalizing the chain of being. Here, Lovejoy mentions the thinking of Kant, Bergson, and others and their attempts to provide a temporal understanding for this concept. Lovejoy next turns his attention to Romanticism and the priniciple of plenitude. Lovejoy notes the role of this concept in the Romantic poets as well as in the philosophy of German idealism. Finally Lovejoy ends by noting the culmination of this concept and its eventual overcoming by modern philosophers. Lovejoy mentions for example the concept of God (as evolving) as seen by thinkers such as Schelling and Whitehead.

This book provides an excellent introduction to an important concept in the history of ideas in Western thought. Lovejoy was to found this study and his thinking is both profound and unique. Lovejoy's learning is very impressive and his references are sure to provide much source material for further reading in philosophy.

"Great Day for Dying" is a pretty fascinating (and bold) idea for a mystery: What if the Grand Marshall of the St. Patrick's Day parade was murdered? This fast-moving (I finished it an afternoon!) and often hilarious book is a must for anyone who's interested in anything Irish -- with some great glimpses of the REAL Irish culture of New York, which Harrington chroniciles with the fine eye of an anthropologist. On top of that, it's a neat little mystery, which had me guessing -- and laughing -- 'till the end.

A first-rate novel here, from all angles. The mystery story twists and turns engagingly. This time Danny O'Flaherty is back in New York, and it's not in wannabe hip circles downtown but far uptown above 200th Street where the work is tough and the people live in fear of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Harrington moves with authority from the complications of a Dominican neighborhood to the internecine strife of the Irish community. And along the way he offers incisive and often funny characters - Detective Washington, Mr. Zhang, surly Ian Masters, and above all, the opinionated Fintan Conway who, even dead, is larger than life. These creations linger in the mind long after the story is over. The climax is a fitting mix of resolution and tragedy, with a promise of romance to come. Highly recommended.

A GREAT DAY FOR DYING Jonathan Harrington

A Great Day for Dying is a fast-paced, thoroughly enjoyable mystery. In Harrington's two previous books Danny O'Flaherty solved murders while teaching in the quaint, Irish town of Ballycara. In the third book in the Danny O'Flaherty series, A Great Day For Dying, the tone changes somewhat as Danny returns to his job teaching in an inner-city high school in New York. His girlfriend from Ballycara, Fidelma Muldoon, has also come to New York and wants to go to the infamous St. Patrick's Day Parade on Fifth Avenue. Danny hates the parade, believing it is more about politics than Irish pride, but eventually agrees to go. Finton Conway, the Grand Marshall of the parade, is killed right in front of them and Danny is an eyewitness. Clues seem to point to another Ballycara resident and friend, Brendan Grady, who may be mixed up with the IRA. Danny is determined to prove his friend innocent, although Brendan makes it clear he does not want Danny's help.

A Great Day For Dying is spiked with enough Irish history and politics to peak my interest without overwhelming me. I am Irish American and learned more about my ancestry.

The characters in the Danny O'Flaherty series are growing and maturing as the series continues. I really enjoyed A Great Day for Dying, and recommend it.

Mystery connoisseurs who have not discovered Jonathan Harrington's Danny O'Flaherty series will be delighted to do so. O'Flaherty--New York City Irish--after the death of his father, visits Ireland to research his roots. Ultimately, this protag finds himself investigating two seemingly unplumbable mysteries in, The Death of Cousin Rose and the Second Sorrowful Mystery. Harrington's latest mystery novel, A Great Day for Dying, is anything but small town. Back in New York City O'Flaherty resumes his role as a tough but fair inner-city high school teacher. While attending a St. Patrick's Day parade the controversial Grand Marshal, Fintan Conway--whose enemies stretch from the IRA to the Papacy to Miami drug traffickers--takes to the chest, three bullets from a masked assassin and is left for dead. O'Flaherty, witness to the events, soon finds himself unraveling the mystery behind the shooting at the urging of his fiancee, Fidelma Muldoon. Muldoon is a modern day Maureen O'Hara equal to her beauty, spirit, and individuality. Harrington knows the mystery genre well and it's obvious that he demands of himself taut writing, swift pace, bushels of humor, Irish wit, and above all, fairplay plotting. There's no sorcery in O'Flaherty's conclusions and there are no wasted tributaries on the road to culpability. A Great Day for Dying also introduces Detective George Washington. A seasoned, New York City cop--McCoy from the get go. readers may at first feel uncomfortable with the author's "George Washington" device, but much like Arthur Upfield's shamus, Napolean Bonaparte--"Boney" to friends--Washington quickly emerges as a keeper. He could easily carry a series on his own. In a Great Day for Dying Danny O'Flaherty and his world around him develop wonderfully. An excellent, swift, and satisfying read. --Andrew McAleer is the editor of Crimestalker Casebook and the author of Appearance of Counsel.

While teaching in Ireland for a year on an exchange program, Danny O'Flaherty solved a couple of murders. He recently returned to his home in New York City where his fiancee Fidelma Muldoon illegally stays too, though her Visa expired. Fidelma persuades Danny to accompany her to the St. Patrick's Day parade, an event he hates because it has become more revelry than a celebration of ethnic pride.

Someone shoots the controversial Grand Marshal Fintan Conway near where Danny and Fidelma are observing the events. The police arrest illegal immigrant Brendan Grady, a friend of Peter and Fidelma. Since Danny provided an eye witness account of what he observed and Fidelma knows he has solved at least two homicides, she insists he find the real killer. Brendan was in the room where Conway was shot, but he refuses to explain why. Despite misgivings on becoming involved, Danny investigates the killing only to learn more than he ever wanted to know about ethnic loyalties.

A GREAT DAY FOR DYING captures the ambiance and gala feeling that New York's St. Patrick's Day parade provides to much of the locals and visitors. The tale also looks at the politics that go on behind the scenes, especially that of the Big Apple's Irish community. Danny remains a terrific character who in spite of his doubts instinctively champions justice. Readers will enjoy Jonathan Harrington's latest work while eagerly awaiting more novels in a tremendous series.

Harriet Klausner

An excellent publication for all those who have desired to implement eastern theology and the soul's path into the corporate realm, but didn't have the tools or know how. This book is revolutionary in providing the practical tools to bridge this tricky terrain.
Apply the soul's work in an "acceptable" format that won't raise the eye brows of CEOs. Execute exercises that seem sincere and truly contribute to well-functioning individuals and organizations. Review organizational and personal experiences with the new perspective of eight steps of the change journey realizing that they do exist, and how you can work with each step for the best possible outcome.
Highly effective in my work as a consultant and organizational behavioral specialist.

Guiding Change Journeys is a masterful fusion of Eastern and Western wisdom,science and mythology presented with great insight,clarity and warmth.It is full of new ideas,tools and practical applications that are guaranteed to energize and re-orient your thinking and approach to organization transformation.

Rebecca Chan Allen has written a masterful book that bridges
ancient eastern wisdom and modern western organization problems.
The book illuminates both the practical and theoretical side of some of our greatest organizational issues, and supports leaders
in playing full rich transformational roles in organization change.

Finally!... A book providing both practical guidance AND sound theoretical reference materials for change leaders and organizational effectiveness practitioners. Chan Allen's book is clearly organized, easy to use, and accessible at whatever level of conceptual depth her reader wishes to work (or to start from). Her examples are creative, original and fun to use -- in both professional and personal contexts. I highly recommend this for organization development professionals and those interested in transformation methodology.

One of the greatest challenges an author can undertake is to write a book that is both theoretically complex and strongly pragmatic. Rebecca Chan Allen has accomplished this in Guiding Change Journeys. In combining the philosophical underpinnings and conceptual bases of a wide variety of organizational change strategies with practical approaches, examples, exercises and illustrations, she skillfully supports change practitioners in integrating Eastern and Western perspectives. Through her integration of stories from mythology and concepts from organization development, new science and wisdom traditions, Chan Allen takes us on an "Archetypal change Journey" based on Jungian archetypes, which describe enduring patterns of transformation.

In a spirit of integration, the book implies throughout that successful organizational change is dependent upon individual and group psychological approaches, conceptualized within a systemic framework. The author's intention seems ultimately holistic, in that she continually addresses issues of mind/body/spirit, whether individually or organizationally.

Though the book may seem esoteric and philosophically dense at times, it carefully balances the more theoretical introductions to each chapter with a plethora of practical examples and exercises, which bring the theory to life and make the concepts infinitely usable. The overall impression is a treasure-trove of ideas. The many insights, methods and resources are offered by the author as gifts, with the invitation to "tinker and improvise" in order to adapt them to one's own needs.

In this simple offering, Chan Allen summarizes the heart of her book as a journey of discovery - which may well alter the life of the change practitioner, as well as the very nature of his or her organizational context.

"Guilty of Dust and Sin" is an easy read with a style somewhat like Chandler or Hammett. It's set in New Orleans just after WW II. The story starts out when two boys come running into Detective Lucien Caye's office. Apparently, a dead body was discovered nearby when their errant football went over a fence. From there, Lucien follows the clues, as a good detective should do. He starts out by wondering why a woman would be wearing a flashy red and yellow dress, as if she was going out on the town, while doing gardening. The local police are a little clueless at times, but Lucien is there to help. The plot unfolds in a straightforward fashion, albeit a bit plain, I'd give that part 3 1/2 stars. However, the story telling itself and the attention to detail is excellent, I'd give that part 4 1/2 stars. On the whole, a really nice piece. Overall rating -- 4 stars.

De Noux hit the ball out of the park with this one. The characters are quickly brought to life with rich descriptions and attention to detail creating a moving visual image of tension, agony and a touch of humor. If you love mysteries, you'll love this story.

I loved this story. "Guilty of Dust and Sin" reminds me of some of the best of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain. It's a tale of a world-weary PI with a sharp mind and a strict sense of justice, one who does things his own way. O'Neil De Noux's characters are marvelous and his dialogue is snappy and real, but I think the strongest element of this story--the one I'll remember the most--is the setting. His detailed description lets readers see and feel the New Orleans of the late 40's. It makes me look forward to more of Detective Lucien Caye's adventures. An excellent, beautifully written story throughout!

This story is a beautifully written paean to a city (New Orleans) and a time (just after WWII) in which the boundaries between right and wrong were more sharply drawn and the consequences to someone who crossed them more immediate. Guilty of Dust and Sin, by one of Louisiana's best authors, is a story to be savored.

I've been a fan of O'Neil De Noux for years. Here's another great story by a great writer.

Well known in New Zealand for his fantasy/science fiction books, Maurice Gee's "The Halfmen of O" was the winner of the New Zealand Children's Book of the Year Award and is the first of a trilogy that most kiwi kids have read (or been read to) in primary school. Although in many ways it is a generic fantasy story (complete with dark lord, inter-dimensional travel, lonely hero with a destiny, exotic creatures and treasure hunt for magic relics) its quick pacing, delicate language and New Zealand atmosphere make it something a bit more unique.

Energetic Nick Quinn and dreamy Susan Ferris are cousins that have nothing in common, except an annual summer holiday to the Ferris farm in Golden Bay (where I used to go camping with my family!) However, things are about to change when Nick meets a strange old man in the countryside who instructs him to give his cousin a message: a pebble engraved with a strange symbol. Susan seems to understand this odd calling, particularly since the symbol on the pebble matches the birthmark on her arm.

Catapulted into the world of O, Susan finds herself the prisoner of the terrifying Halfmen, as well as the last hope of the other inhabitants of the world who look to her to restore the balance of this beautiful, but dying planet. The meaning behind her birthmark is revealed, as is her duty: to find the two Halves of the mystical Motherstone and rejoin them. By doing so she will not only restore the balance of good and evil, but she will destroy Otis Claw, the being responsible for destroying the Motherstone in the first place. Helped by her innovative cousin, the untrustworthy Jimmy Jaspers and the other inhabitants of the world (the Woodlanders, the Birdfolk and the Stonefolk), Susan struggles against the dark influence of Otis Claw and his right-hand man, the vicious Odo Cling.

There is quite a lot of exposition on the dynamics of this world; which is ultimately concerned with the placement of good and evil in human beings, symbolized in the yin-yang-type symbol of the Motherstone and Susan's birthmark. When the Motherstone was destroyed, evil consumed mankind and resulted in the "Halfmen" who either completely good or completely evil, with no ability to choose between the two states. It is interesting then, that Susan's primary objective is thus to return *choice* to the inhabitants of O, to allow them to become complete people and decide their own destinies, for good or for evil. She's not eradicating evil, she's restoring the status-quo.

This is an interesting philosophy to introduce into a genre that's usually all about killing the bad guys, but I can't help but wish that Gee had found a slightly more interesting way to do it then have Susan fetch two Halves (which are kept secret in with the Birdfolk and Stonefolk, respectively) and return them to the Motherstone (in Claw's horrific city). It is a fairly typical "find the McGuffin and return it to its rightful place" gimmick that you find everywhere in fantasy stories. However, Gee does compensate by having the two Halves have a profound effect on Susan herself, and by making the cultures of the Bird and Stonefolk as interesting as possible.

The world of O is beautifully realized in terms of its landscape, with landmarks such as the Morninghall and the Throat of the Underworld. Despite being a completely different planet, there is an uncanny resemblance to New Zealand that readers just can't miss! Should this ever be made into a movie, there's only one possible location it could be filmed.

This installment was followed by two sequels: "The Priests of Ferris" and "Motherstone", which are also worth tracking down, particularly since they are even better than "The Halfmen of O!" Together, they make an interesting look at the fantasy genre, as it is written and conceived in the country that helped bring "The Lord of the Rings" to the big screen.

Priests of Ferris

Motherstone

I first read this book when I was eight years old and was required to read it at school aged twelve. I love it and have read it many more times since. I am currently getting the books to read to three of the children I look after, promising them a story equal to the Harry Potter Stories. I am a Kiwi living in the States and am glad to see such a favourite is being read here if only more people would do so. Battling classic elements of good and evil there are important messages in these books as well as being enjoyable to read and have read to. The opening gives a glimpse into the New Zealand landscape but from then on is fanatsy, a book to be enjoyed by all nations and ages.

I first read the story when I was only ten years old, it's as heart warming now as it was then. A Fantasy adventure set in a parallel world, similar to the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Beginning in New Zealand, it is a story about Susan Ferris, chosen at birth by the guardian of O she is the worlds last hope. She is kidnapped and taken to O, but with the help of friendly natives is rescued and begins her task to unite the Halves, the good and evil inside the inhabitants of O and bring order to the chaotic realm. 'The Wizard of Oz' with a New Zealand charm 'The Half Men of O' is a wonderful story for children and adults alike, you will be taken in by the poetic beauty Maurice Gee adds to this wonderful story and hopefully you will love this story as much as I have. Prequel to 'The Priests of Ferris' and 'Motherstone'.

The Halfmen of O is a stunningly powerful novel which places the force of evil up against Susan Ferris a small girl who is magically whisked away from her beautiful home in Southern New Zealand to a land of good a evil, along with her cousin Nick she must claim the "halfs" (mysterious relics of power)before it is too lat for them too save O and even earth along the way they'll meet friends like Jimmy Jaspers,Brand,Breeze and many other well described characters.

I can't praise this book enough! I first read it as a class book when I was eleven and was totally drawn in by the vivid imagery and the wonderful story of good over evil. I read it again when I was fourteen and was equally enthralled. At seventeen I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and don't know how I ever lived without them before, and I would put The Halfmen of O up there with Tolkien (seriously!). Now at twenty-eight I still get visions from the book (the Halfmen) coming to me from time to time - quite regularly in fact, so much so I'm in dire need of reading it again. I couldn't remember the authors name and I was pretty sure it was set in New Zealand. Knowing that it is set in NZ makes it feel more 'local' to me and makes me wanna cheer for the the fab Aussie and Kiwi talent. I'm going to send a copy to some young friends who are fans of Tolkien and Harry Potter, I know they will love it.

This highly engaging book makes the Hittites accessible to the general reader. It opens with the story of the discovery of this culture with reference to the Old Testament, Egyptian records and the work of various scholars in the 19th and 20th centuries plus discussions of their various publications.

The main text is divided into State & Society, Life & Economy, Law & Institutions, Warfare, Religion, Literature and Art, as well as Languages & Peoples which includes discussions of Hittite, Hattian, Luwian, Palaic, Hurrian, Mitannian, Akkadian, Sumerian and Tabalic (hieroglyphic Hittite).

The book includes a Table of Hittite Kings, a bibliography and an index. There are black & white figures throughout the text and many plates with works of art, statues, seals, pottery and cuneiform tablets and photographs of the remains of Boghazkoy, Yazilikaya and Alaja Huyuk, plus a map of the Middle East and one of the layout of Boghazkoy (Hattusas).

For a brilliant discussion of the Hittite language, please consult Whence The Hittite? by Jaan Puhvel in the book Sprung from Some Common Source: Investigations into the Prehistory of Languages, edited by Sydney M Lamb and E Douglas Mitchell.

Gurney's book was my first introduction to the Hittites. And despite the passage of years and several revisions, it remains one of the three best general introductions. Even a general reader limited to the English language, however, should not stop with this book. Two books by Trevor Bryce ("The Kingdom of the Hittites" and "Life and Society in the Hittite World") complement Gurney's treatment and are both up-to-date, well-informed and written in a readable style. Well written and inexpensively priced collections of Hittite texts in translation authored by G. Beckman and H. A. Hoffner can be found in the Society of Biblical Literature's series "Writings from the Ancient World".

If you are not very familiar with ancient history, but want a good popular introduction to the Hittites, this is the book for you. Hittite is the oldest known Indo-european language, known mainly from thousands of tablets unearthed in central Turkey. The language is so archaic it is not classified with the others, but is considered derived from an earlier version. Hittite is the only language that preserves an explicit trace of the laryngeals, sounds that disappeared from all the other languages. The culture of central Turkey is identified with the Biblical Hittites. They just may have founded or helped to found Troy, and they may just be among the pre-Greek inhabitants of Greece. There are relatively few popular books on the Hittites, mainly because the field changes so fast. You scholars that are popular educators, get busy!

When Israelites arrived at their "promised land" land in Canaan, they met several other peoples, already settled there. One of them was the Hittites of Northern Syria - a civilized but also a "warrior" nation. The Old Testament told something about the Hittites but this civilizations' existence remained an enigma until the early 20th century. Since that time we learned a lot about this Indo-European people, especially after Hugo Winckler's excavations in Hattusa (Bogazkoy) of Central Anatolia. Oliver Robert Gurney, a well known hittitology specialist, presents us a rich summary of both Hittite history and culture in this excellent work. There are only a few books on Hittites, written for non-specialists, and this is probably the best one.

The Hittites are one of the better-known unknown peoples - they are well known from the Bible; mentioned as one of the peoples in the Syro-Palestinian area during the time of the Patriarchs, they continued to be mentioned through a long span of the history of the Hebrew Bible. At some point, they stop being mentioned - most likely, the Hittite Empire collapsed just as Israel was growing strong under the united kingdom monarchy (or perhaps just before) and was later absorbed by the various empires (Assyrian, Greek, etc.) that swept across Asia Minor.

There aren't many texts on the Hittites; what books are available are often written for archaeologists and other scholars. O. R. Gurney was a professor at Oxford specialising in Assyriology, that branch of archaeology and history that studies the empires of the Fertile Crescent. This book is accessible and interesting; originally written in the early 1950s, it has been updated to take account of later archaeological finds and interpretations. The history of publishing in this kind of field is such that often the 'latest' book will be something decades old, so the 'antiquity' of the book here should not be an issue, and generally isn't, for the student and for the general reader.

Gurney discusses in his introduction the earliest archaeological discovery of the Hittites, lost for millennia to the world under the sands of Asia Minor (Turkey) and other countries at the northern end of the Tigris and Euphrates. From here, he looks at Hittite history in broad strokes - the earliest cities, the Old Kingdom, the period of Empire, the decline of Empire and subsequent rise of neo-Hittite kingdoms, possible connections with the early Greeks and Trojans, and finally the Hittites found in Palestine.

Gurney's following chapters look at the different aspects of Hittite life and culture - society structure from royalty to commoners; government and foreign policy; economy and lifestyles; law and institutions (there are tablets of laws found in various locations); warfare (some things shared with other nations at the time, and some uniquely Hittite features); languages and literature; religion; and art. With regard to languages, this continues to be a rapidly developing area, but the connection of Hittite to the Indo-European language family (through the Anatolian line) has been known since 1915; this was rather surprising, given that the other languages in the area are of the Semitic line, a non-Indo-European language family that included Sumerian and Akkadian, languages in evidence in Hittite areas, showing regional connections for trade and foreign relations. This shows that the Hittites are most likely of a different stock of people from the rest of the peoples of the ancient Near East -- strangers in the land, in a way.

Gurney's text adds details for the student that are worthwhile. For example, while reading about the downfall of the Hittites, Gurney mentions the Peoples of the Sea who were sweeping across portions of the eastern Mediterranean at that time, and tells how Palestine came to get its name, not data directly relevant, but useful and interesting nonetheless. The text is full of such things.

The book also contains many pictures, plates, and line-art drawings of inscriptions, maps, buildings and building plans, and other pieces of interest. There is a chronological list of the kings of the Hittites, ranging from early kings of unknown timing, to the known dated kings from 1740 to 1190 BCE. The bibliography is excellent, divided topically into eighteen different topics, for scholars and students to pursue particular subjects in relations to the Hittites in earnest. The index is very good, useful for Hittite, English and other words and names.

A fascinating book!

A must if you plan on going to any of the historical areas of the Holy Land. Much superior to any of the "name" travel guides, incredible detail and historical perspective.

Very informative with good descriptions. The language is a little difficult to interpret at times and I wish there was a little more history with each site, but overall a great guide.

Unique guide for archaeology minded traveler

The little known Oxford Archaeological Guides series provides information that you cannot find elsewhere This guide was written by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor in 1980 and was revised for the new Oxford Archaeological guides series in 1997 as the initial offering of the series. O'Connor provides a wealth of information here that you wont find in regular guidebooks. The topic of biblical archaeology is too large to be addressed by any one book. The author squeezes all he can into less than 500 pages. The section dealing with Jerusalem is most detailed. Outlying sites receive less attention. There is useful information about hours of operation and practical matters such as directions to remote sites. In addition to describing the various areas of interest, there are sections giving the history of the different peoples of the holy land, both historical and present day including sections on the Druze, the Philistines, the Samaritans, the Essenes and the Nabateans. There is a good attention here to changes over time with an emphasis on how the appearance of each site evolved over the years. Interesting comparisons are made with the condition of sites in the present day and their description in ancient texts including Josephus' "The Jewish War" and the Bible itself. This book would be inadequate as the only guidebook for a visit to Israel. I would recommend the Knopf Guide to the Holy Land and Baedeker Israel for routine tourist information. Some minor drawbacks: the drawings and maps are not as detailed as they could be and the few photographs that are provided are black and white and of poor quality. These complaints are not critical flaws; the book would still be invaluable even if it didn't contain a single illustration.

Recommended to me by an archaeolgist long active in Israel, I found this book quite helpful in appreciating a number of sites (and sights) I recently visited (and saw) in the Holy Land. For folks who are looking to learn more about various ancient sites than the typical tour guide can offer, this will be well worth its price. In addition to its being informative, I found the personality of its author evident and engaging.

If you really want to separate the wheat from the chaff - this is the way to begin.

In this book, Jerome Murphy-O'Connor will take you behind the hidden doors, under the altars, down secret stairways and forgotten streets on an amazing adventure. It's not a lesson in theology - you have to bring your own. It's a guide to what can be seen, what can be touched with your hand.

With all the digging that's been going on since this book has been published, I'm eagerly looking forward to an updated edition.

I have a new author I must tell you about.

Her name is Kristina O'Donnelly.

The first book I have read of hers is "The Horseman".

First in a series titled "Lands of the Morning".

This book is listed as a Romance novel. (something that would not be my normal category).

The description of the book at Amazon.com caught my eye and I thought I would give it a look.

This book is not only Romance but also Adventure, Thriller, Mystery and more.

Kristina O'Donnelly takes you on an around the world trip from Turkey and Mecca to New York, Ireland and points in between.

Her writing is beautiful and has a depth that few others have. You are hooked from the first page.

It is a must read and a book that you cannot put down.

I have already purchased the sequel "Clarion of Midnight".

Kristina O'Donnelly has written a powerful novel, and not surprisingly, she has won two awards for this.
The Horseman is one of those stories that stay with you long after you have finished reading the book and placed it aside.
As a native of Ireland, of course I enjoyed the parts in the Old Sod, after all the heroine's father Patrick O'Neill is a jolly Irishman, a loving father and husband, open-minded, and a fearless entrepreneur, whose work as an architect has taken him to Istanbul, Turkey.
But of course what was most intriguing in this novel is the intimate look I gained about the heroine's triumph and tribulations in Turkey, and the various issues she grapples with. Ariadne, the heroine, has two loves, one of them is an idealist of Kurdish origin, whose name is Mehmet Ali Mesut, a Sociology Professor in Istanbul, a man who wants to bring land-reform to his fellow Kurds who are under the feudal yoke of his uncle (who is a Senator of a conservative political party). Later Mehmet Ali runs on the platform of the Labor Party, in his hometown, Tarsus. And Ariadne's other love, whom she marries, is Burhan Kayhanolu, of Turkish origin, liberal newspaper columnist, later Labor Senator.
Ariadne (our heroine) is connected to these men through a past life, from a Neolithic town called Chatalhoyuk, in Central Anatolia, a town or call it a city, that thrived about eight-thousand years ago.
Burhan and Mehmet Ali are two friends in contemporary Turkey, but used to be brothers eight-thousand years ago, who had loved and battled over the same woman, Treebranch, Daughter of Acorn. One of the brothers was a warlord used to getting everything he wants, and the other, a charmer, dreamer, with a special touch of handling animals. The evil brother kills the good brother to take his wife. Well, so here is a bit of a Cane and Abel situation, dating to 8,000 BC, showing we really have not changed in all this time.
These two brothers, named Wolf and White Roebuck, have returned to slug it out in the 20th Century. The moral is: whatsover a man soweth, so shall he also reap.
Another intriguing part of this novel is the neolithic settlement, Chatalhoyuk. Kristina O'Donnelly has written about life in this era, in the mists of pre-history, quite knowledgeably, I would call her the Mother of Chatalhoyuk :-).

Ariadne is a Catholic, and she weds a Muslim, even ends up traveling to Mecca on a pilgrimage. Her husband is a liberal, secular Turk, but as it is shown while he thinks about God and mosques and churches (as he sits on a bench in the garden of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh, Ireland) he has known himself as a Muslim from the moment he has known his name is Burhan. But his beloved Ariadne's mother will not consent to this marriage unless he weds her in the Church.

I am not a very good critique writer, I mean this is not my profession and I don't think I can do this novel justice.

The best I can say is that buy it and read it, you will be intrigued as I was.

Ariadne, a blond American teen living with her parents in Turkey, suffers a prophetic vision while on her way to an archeological dig. Sometimes the vision is of an ancient past, and sometimes of a cruel future. In every case, though, she is caught in a love triangle.

When she's rescued from a kidnapping by a handsome Kurdish nobleman, Ariadne believes she may have found her great love--and certainly Mehmet Ali falls for the beautiful and energetic teenager. Although she does love Mehmet Ali, though, Ariadne is obsessed with the crusading journalist Burhan Kayhanoly--who falls for her the moments she walks into his office to interview for an internship at the newspaper where he writes a regular column.

Burhan exposes Ariadne to the poverty and ignorance that, he believes, are holding his beloved nation down. Ariadne is especially sympathetic with the poor conditions for women--a sympathy made much stronger when Mehmet Ali's sister weds a much older man--and then commits suicide. She dreams of a life with Burhan, together stomping out the corruption that is such a blight on Turkish society and politics.

Award-winning author Kristina O'Donnelly mixes past-life regression, tarot, and traditional Turkish magic with sensual passion and with adventure as Mehmet Ali, Ariadne, and Burhan sometimes cooperate and sometimes battle over the path to be taken by their nation (or even whether there should be a nation of Turkey rather than an independent Kurdistan). O'Donnelly blends in the past-lives over which these three have carried out their eternal triangle of love and dispair.

If you're looking for a sexy romantic thriller with a fascinating setting, plenty of action, and a touch of magic, you won't go wrong with THE HORSEMAN.

The Horseman is so elegantly and beautifully written! Its smart style and the richness of details will bring you right in the middle of the action, you'll become the protagonist herself. You'll ride with the flow of events and believe me the ride is a real roller coaster!
It is the fascinating, ultimate epic that will immerse you through the midst of Love, Kharma and political intrigues. It will make you travel all around the world and will open windows of awareness in cultures that are more than often misunderstood.
The author is a well of knowledge in an array of topics and she generously offers it to you in an unusual and entertaining way.
I was so taken by the Horseman than when the enchantment was ending I had to read its following book "the Scorpion Child".

"A gripping epic of passion, politics, spirituality and more." That is what the back cover promises. And this is precisely what this magnificent book delivered. From its mysterious beginning, it traces the journey of a young girl leaping toward womanhood, at a dizzy pace that is at times in it self, breath-taking. Set in Turkey in the turbulent 60's, I was immediately immersed in a kaleidoscope of rich culture and intrigue, that slowly started to burn inside me as if I were there as witness, until at last I was nearly consumed. The rich pageantry and insight of a little understood culture comes to life between the pages of The Horseman, taking you on a break-neck journey of romance, passion and self discovery, as well as the realization of past life experience. Fragile alliances, mysterious dreams of the past, action and adventure intertwine into an excellent tale both realistic in its scope, but powerful in impact. As the story travels full circle to the twist in the end, the hint of a greater twist to come inspired me to grab the next book of the series, "The Scorpion Child," And ride off into the sunset......

I'm a roadgeek and figured I would like Erik's book. But it greatly exceeded my expectations. It is well organized, full of detail, and has terrific photography. The history of how roads came to be what they are adds an interesting dimension. Erik even discusses facets of road construction which I had never considered, such as lighting. Overall, what could have been a dry subject is coverered in a fascinating manner.

Wonderful book: totally comprehensive with incredible pictures and maps. A must buy for anybody interested in the history of Houston or in freeway design. Put it on your coffee table and amaze your friends: "So that's why that road is like that." "Wow, look how much this part of town has changed!" "So that's what a Texas T-ramp looks like." (ok, so maybe not that last one...)

Words cannot describe how intelligent, classy, and thought-provoking this book actually is. Of course, one should not expect anything less from Slotboom, a detail-oriented perfectionist.

Tremendous use of fascinating photos and maps makes this book a pleasurable read. This book will captivate the engineer and mesmerize even the most casual of highway buffs.

This book will not disappoint. The only negative point I can make about this book is that it is impossible to read a small number of pages; I set out to read 20 pages and, instead, ended up reading the entire book in one sitting.

Easily rates a 5/5.

This is the best book I've seen about the history of roads and highways in Houston I've seen. It's got a ton of full-color photography, historic photos, and is a well-written book. I'd been waiting on thia book for over a year, and when I found out that it was finished, I went straight to the bookstore (only in stores in Houston and Austin, I think: go to http://www.houstonfreeways.com to be sure) and bought it. If you're a roadgeek, or just want to know about how Houston grew, this book is well worth it.

I moved to Houston in Summer 2003 and wanted to know more about the when/where/why of Houston's freeways. I found the web site for the book, and when I got the book it answered all of my questions and then some.

Being a history buff I loved all of the historical photos, and when I drive these days I love looking around at the development and then remembering the pics I saw in this book. Amazing.

If you want to know why I-10 West outside the 610 Loop is a disaster and inside the loop is fine, Slotboom knows the answer. Every time I go to Ikea I think about those decisions made decades ago and how they impact me/us every day.

If you like history and/or are a freeway buff, this book will not disappoint.