Works Books

The photographer has really captured the feel of Ellis Island. A visit to the island is a must for people visiting New York. Whether this was the first stop for your ancestors on their arrival to the new world, or they came through other ports of entry, I think the general experiences were the same. All the feelings of expectation, fear, joy or the disappointment of making such a long journey only to be detained or turned back while in sight of the "promised land" are tangible in Stephen Wilkes' images.

As an artist, I purchased this after my artist friend showed it to me, to use as a guide for selecting particular colors and/or color combinations in abstract paintings. It is amazing that the light in the photos has been captured as it truly was--not altered or enhanced with SW to convey a particular mood. Everyone I have showed this to has been propelled to stop and look through every image in the book--it draws you in as you flip through the pages. The colors portray emotion. Content is one of a kind. Highly recommended.

I found this book to be stunning and thought provoking-I wondered about how frightened and angry immigrants must have been to be treated in such a way after what they went through before.

The pictures speak of the passing of time with such a quietness. One can only imagine the complete opposite when Ellis Island was a sea of humanity speaking and crying and hoping while glimpsing NY's famed skyline so nearby. So many hopes realized, so many unfulfilled.

I Love this book, the pictures are beautiful, the design and layout make the pictures and quotes very moving. As a photographer I admire the quality of the work, and the bright vivid prints. I love that most of the images are full pages, sometimes spread across two pages, with small text labeling the room, or part of the property. There are no frames, page designs, or paragraphs to take away from the imagery. For more information and details the photographer includes a section of thumbnails with descriptions, stories about the room, or the shooting conditions, or even bitd of history. The thumbnails and text are at the back of the book with an arial shot and map showing the layout of the buildings. It really helps to peice together the history of Ellis Island. The quotes including add to the emotion behind the images, and I like that they were on parchment paper, so that you can see the pictures behind it. The books are being enjoyed by me and my mother, who is very interested in the hostory of Ellis Island, while I enjoy it for the photography. Great book to own, everyone should have a copy.

I purchased this book as a gift for a friend who is a New Yorker and loves to know everything about the city he loves. He was thrilled with the book, as he'd been reading it already whenever he visited his brother, and said he can never put it down once he picks it up. Covers everything there is to know about NYC. I can't speak for myself, having not read it personally, but the hard core New Yorkers at the table when I gave it as a gift all swore by it!

Wonderful book. Full of tidbits of information about NY. Some I knew already and some were eye-openers! I recommend it to anyone with a thirst for knowledge.

This is a very entertaining book. Good for a coffee table type book.

If there was anything you ever wanted to know about NYC but couldn't find the answer, this book will have it. What an amazing treasure trove of history, information and trivia. This book should be in every library in America.

Looking for very old maps of the Big City, the Mayoral and Presidential elections, Capsules of about every neighborhood in all 5 boroughs, histories of Broadway, Wall Street, MidTown, Columbia and NYU, the New School, and every other educational institution. Music from Classical to Jazz to Pop to Rock (but there is no listing for Sinatra! I think there should be.)How about the incredible skyscapers, docks, restaurants, clubs. And all this goes back to 1624, when the Dutch first settled. And sections on about every leading NYC personality ever. (though for some reason Mantle and Dimaggio are not listed separately, amoung many other famous NYC sports stars ). Even though the book is 10 years old, it is about as timeless as you can get, even with my very few small quibles mentioned!

If you're interested in Tibetan Buddhist iconography for whatever reason you can't go wrong with this detailed book. The author's original illustrations provide a wealth of examples of images in Tibetan art, and the text provides rich historical and doctrinal background for understanding why the symbols are important. Highly recommended.

Recieved the book promptly and in the condition promised. The book is an excellent source book. It does suffer from being without an index, for which the author apologizes. A source book without index is less than it should be. Still the images are excellent, and I assume the text is accurate. The author has spent a good portion of his working life in preparation: studying with Tibetan artists and craftspeople; and, becoming accomplished at rendering the brush drawings in an authentic manner. A good compaion book, especially as this does not have a index, is the "Handbook" by the same author

It's a more interesting and authoritative reference for this subject matter. This is due to Rinpoche being a qualified (I emphasise the word 'qualified') Lama and Tibetan scholar. Also at no point does Rinpoche compromise Tibetan Buddhism by giving away restricted information.

I love this book. Having found it a few years back at a tattoo shop in Santa Cruz, California, I was only able to look at it for a short time but I was able to gain so much knowledge as to the wealth of designs and deep meaning found in Tibetan art. This book stayed in my mind thereafter. Here it is a few years and a couple tattoos later and the book resurfaced on Amazon. Great price, great condition and prompt service. This book is great for one who has interest in Tibetan art and it's symbolic nature. The concepts are well articulated and with each 'type' placed into a different chapter it makes refrencing quite simple. If you are interested, get this book!

Great book, with lots of details. If you are interested in tibetan handicrafts, here you can get any tibetan design you can imagine.

This review mostly concerns the Enquiry. The Letter is primarily a defense of Hume's earlier Treatise of Human Nature, while his Abstract is an anonymous review of the Treatise. It strikes me as very funny, though not surprising, that Hume would review his own work. Funny because any author would give his right arm to get at least one favorable review when all the other critics are completely missing its point. Unsurprising because Hume was probably one of the only people alive at that time who could truly grasp all the facets of his radical philosophical claims.

The Enquiry was written after the Treatise. Hume, though he claimed the opposite, seems never to have really recovered from the blow he took from seeing his Treatise "fall dead born from the press." As a result, his Enquiry is far more cautious in the steps it takes. (For those of you who have read both, yes, I swear, Hume IS more cautious. Compare the claims.) A more robust philosophical stance is taken in his Treatise, while a more focused stance is taken in his Enquiry.

The Enquiry is mainly a work of epistemology and as such, scrutinizes our methods of acquiring knowledge. Making perhaps the most radical (and poignant) claim in all of modern philosophy, it posits, and supports, that there is NO causation, only conjunction. That, for example, when we see a glass drop and break, we cannot say we know gravity caused this (in the way we know two plus two equals four). All we see is constant conjunction. The connection is lacking, i.e., it is not inconceivable that the glass wouldn't bounce, turn to ash, or dissolve into sand (the way it is inconceivable that two plus two equals five). This, in effect, nullifies all the so called "laws" of nature that are formed by science. (Note that this does not state that there are no laws of nature, just that we really can never make the claim that we ever really know there are laws of nature.)

This could be thought of as the philosophical shot heard round the world. Agree or disagree, Hume must be answered. Hume has historically been charged with creating an intellectual and philosophical cul-de-sac with his skepticism. To paraphrase Bertrand Russell, Hume makes a claim which none can refute, but at the same time one which none can accept. In effect, Hume's philosophy seems to bind the human mind, stopping its journey of discovery and ultimately accomplishing what his predecessor, John Locke, set out to do, i.e., map the extent of human knowledge.

However, where one may see Hume's philosophy as shackles and fetters in the search for truth, one could also equally see his philosophy as liberation. Implicit in his philosophy is the idea that ANYTHING is possible. There are no shackles, no fetters, no limits; only those that we create for ourselves. Our limits are self-imposed, constructs of our observance (and inference) of connection. In this way Hume appears in the same light as the Eastern masters seeing that reality is not what we have (through experiential knowledge) believed it to be. It is something much more wondrous. In Zen, our causal thinking is the only barrier between the person and enlightenment. Hume could be seen as implying that when the idea of causality is removed, with only conjunction remaining in its place, the state of true knowledge and wisdom (true zen) is achieved.

This, of course, is only idle speculation. But it is stated so as to demonstrate the richness and immense possibility Hume's philosophy possesses when seen in the correct light. Instead of saying, "Nothing is certain," after reading Hume, one can say, with equal validity, "Anything is possible." The first statement approaches philosophy with despair. The second approaches it with a sense of childlike wonder and hope at the immense possibilities of reality. It approaches life as a beginning, not an ending. It approaches life as the philosopher approaches it.

If one accepts the methodology of Descartes in applying scepticism to reason and the senses, in effect denying the existence of all things but a "thinking thing," two entailments are logically consequent: Either Berkeley's idealism or Hume's scepticism. I don't accept Descartes' starting point, so I find the entailments confused and incoherent. But if one does accept Descartes' starting point, then the two extremes must be heeded. If for no other reason than observing the absurdity of either man's conclusions, it is valuable to read both entailments. But in their confused process, both men bring certain salient features to light.

Hume accepts Descartes starting point, making it his own. But to Descartes method, he adds Pyrrhonist scepticism: That all reason leads to infinite regress, and that all sensations (or impressions) can not be trusted.

Hume begins with the conclusion that all sense perception is either an impression or idea. Even memory and imagination, two other faculties of the mind, are conflated into these two species of perceptions, as impressions. Their difference is one of degree (vivacity), not of kind. Hence, Hume is the author of what is known as the "Copy Principle." Instead of unmediated, direct perception through the ordinary senses, all perception is mediated by the imagination into impressions and ideas. From this follows certain resemblances, contiguity, and causal associations between impressions or ideas, and from this association we develop a sense of self. But even the notion of causality here is one of implied inference, not of actual inductive reason. Hume denies there is any real causality that can be known, although we operate "as if" we infer cause from effect. Even probability is reduced to a mere association of ideas and/or impressions; because neither reason (which always leads to infinite regress) or senses (which can always be deceived) can actually be true. The Enquiry also treats of miracles and the testimony of others derisively; but don't we rely on the testimony of others who claim the earth is round rather than flat, just as we rely on others who testify to miracles in a byegone era? After all, few of us have direct experience with a spherical earth (Popper makes this observation).

Hume's method incorporates five kinds of scepticism: (i) methodological, (ii) conceptual, (ii) nomological, (iv) explanatory, and (v) reductive empiricism. His commitment to scepticism is not without some capitulation. While he denies absolute causality and inductive inference and probability in an actual senses, he relies on them for practical purposes. One can't remain a pyrrhonist for long; some elements of reason and some degree of confidence in impressions is necessary for ordinary life. But if one starts with Descartes' starting point, extreme scepticism is a necessary entailment. Which, after seeing Hume deny so much intuition, is it really worth starting with Descartes' scepticism? Answering that question is what makes Hume interesting.

David Hume was perhaps the leading light in the Empiricist movement in philosophy. Empiricism is seen in distinction from Rationalism, in that it doubts the viability of universal principles (rational or otherwise), and uses sense data as the basis of all knowledge - experience is the source of knowledge. Hume was a skeptic as well as empiricist, and had radical (for the time) atheist ideas that often got in the way of his professional advancement, but given his reliance on experience (and the kinds of experiences he had), his problem with much that was considered conventional was understandable.

Hume's major work, 'A Treatise of Human Nature', was not well received intially - according to Hume, 'it fell dead-born from the press'. Hume reworked the first part of this work in a more popular way for this text, which has become a standard, and perhaps the best introduction to Empiricism.

In a nutshell, the idea of empiricism is that experience teaches, and rules and understanding are derived from this. However, for Hume this wasn't sufficient. Just because billiard balls when striking always behave in a certain manner, or just because the sun always rose in the morning, there was no direct causal connection that could be automatically affirmed - we assume a necessary connection, but how can this be proved?

Hume's ideas impact not only metaphysics, but also epistemology and psychology. Hume develops empiricism to a point that empiricism is practically unsupportable (and it is in this regard that Kant sees this text as a very important piece, and works toward his synthesis of Empiricism and Rationalism). For Hume, empirical thought requires skepticism, but leaves it unresolved as far as what one then needs to accept with regard to reason and understanding. According to scholar Eric Steinberg, 'A view that pervades nearly all of Hume's philosophical writings is that both ancient and modern philosophers have been guilty of optimistic and exaggerated claims for the power of human reason.'

Some have seen Hume as presenting a fundamental mistrust of daily belief while recognising that we cannot escape from some sort of framework; others have seen Hume as working toward a more naturalist paradigm of human understanding. In fact, Hume is open to a number of different interpretations, and these different interpretations have been taken up by subsequent philosophers to develop areas of synthetic philosophical ideas, as well as further developments more directly out of Empiricism (such as Phenomenology).

This is in fact a rather short book, a mere 100 pages or so in many editions. As a primer for understanding Hume, the British Empiricists (who include Hobbes, Locke, and Berkeley), as well as the major philosphical concerns of the eighteenth century, this is a great text with which to start.

Hume, I and many others think, was the greatest philosopher to have written in English, and this is the book to pick up if you want to introduce yourself to Saint David's distinctive brand of classical empiricism. This is a must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in philosophy, and it's hard for me to see how anyone interested in the history of modern thought can avoid reading this book or the corresponding sections of Hume's Treatise.

As is well-known, the Enquiry concerning Human Understanding was intended as an encapsulation and popularization of the views Hume defended in Book I of his magnum opus, A Treatise of Human Nature. Hume assumed that book's commercial failure could be accounted for by its length, difficulty, and lack of accessibility, and so, being a man who desired literary fame, he hoped to acquire commercial success by presenting the same ideas in a more appealing and accessible manner. Unfortunately, it seems Hume misunderstood what the literati of his day were looking for in a philosophical treatise. For the Enquiry, like the Treatise before it, didn't bring him the fame he sought. Still, Hume did understand what goes into writing excellent philosophical prose, and consequently this book is a much easier read than Book I of the Treatise. Indeed, this book constitutes an excellent introduction to Hume's thought, and, except for maybe Berkeley's Three Dialogues, I can't think of another primary source that would serve as a better introduction to classical British empiricism.

Now, let's get to the ideas here. Hume, like the other classical empiricists, was primarily concerned with the psychological question of the origin of our concepts. About the answer to this question, the empiricists were all agreed--our concepts are furnished by experience, which includes both sensory experience and introspection (i.e., the experience of our own mental states). And the empiricists also agreed about the way we can justify our beliefs. Some beliefs are true (or false) in virtue of the ideas they contained, and we can know their truth (or falsity) simply by thinking about them; other beliefs are true (or false) in virtue of how the external world is, and we can know their truth (or falsity) only by drawing on our experiences of the world. According to Hume, all substantial conclusions about the world fall into this second category. That is, the truth (or falsity) of all substantial claims about the existence and nature of things in the external world can be discovered only by checking those claims against the evidence of our senses.

The traditional way of placing Hume within the story of empiricism goes something like this. Hume takes up the empiricism of Locke and Berkeley and pushes it to its logical conclusion. Whereas Locke and Berkeley hadn't been wholly consistent empiricists, Hume, the true believer, demonstrates that classical empiricism leads to a pretty thoroughgoing skepticism. Since he's wholly convinced of the truth of his empiricist premises, Hume is willing to accept the skepticism that goes along with them. However, those who aren't convinced of that his empiricism is obviously correct think that Hume has actually demonstrated the implausibility of his empiricism. If this is where empiricism leads, they think, then it's clear that we need to reject empiricism. Indeed, some, like Thomas Reid, view Hume's arguments as constituting a reductio ad absurdum of his sort of empiricism. On this interpretation, Hume's philosophy essentially presents a dilemma for all future thinkers: abandon empiricism, or accept empiricism along with Humean skepticism.

But a different view of Hume, one of Hume as proposing a wholly naturalistic account of the human mind, has recently emerged as a competitor to the general conception of Hume's place within philosophy sketched in the previous paragraph. This interpretation downplays Hume's skepticism and emphasizes his professed intentions to provide a positive account of the operation of the human mind that appealed to nothing beyond the evidence of our senses. According to proponents of this interpretation, Hume is most interested in a description of the operation of the human mind. He's describing what human nature allows us to know and what it doesn't allow us to know. Furthermore, he argues that our nature is such that, where it fails to provide us with the resources to acquire the knowledge we might want, it provides us with a natural habit of forming the right conclusions anyway. Even though our nature limits our knowledge of the world, it ensures that we possess the habits of mind needed to make our way in the world. Hume dubs all these habits of mind "custom."

If this view is correct, then Hume has abjured many of the normative aims of traditional epistemological inquiry. He isn't attempting to show how we can answer a skeptic or why we have good reason to believe what we think we know. Instead, he wants us to stand back from our everyday beliefs and think about the natural processes that result in them. How, exactly, do our minds operate? How do we come to think what we do about the world? Hume thinks that this sort of inquiry will lead us see that, at some point, the explanation of why we think what we think reaches certain brute facts about the operation of the human mind. When we reach these points, there is nothing more to be said. We simply can't help thinking in these ways, and we lack the resources to demonstrate that these ways of thinking constitute an accurate way to represent the operation of the external world. And, Hume claims, it turns out that many of the fundamental elements of our conception of the world--the belief that things stand in causal relations to one another, the belief that we can know that there is a world outside our minds, the belief the future will resemble the past--end up not being open to ratification by experience. With respect to beliefs of these sorts, we ultimately have to appeal to custom in order to explain their existence and popularity. Hume, then, can be seen as demolishing the pretensions of reason in order to make room for a wholly naturalistic account of human thinking.

First I would like to commend the excellent review of this book by CT Dreyer in which he correctly shows how Hume extended the empiricism of Locke and Berkeley to the point where skepticism seemed our only honest way of thinking about our knowledge of the world. Hume's questioning of induction, of how we can be sure tomorrow will be like today , his questioning of how we can trust our senses to know the outside world, his questioning of how we can hold our world logically together when analysis reveals that there is no necessary connection between ' cause' and 'effect' in everyday life action means he wakened not only Kant from his dogmatic slumber but Philosophy itself from the sense that it will provide absolute understanding.
Hume is a very clear writer. I remember reading the famous billiard ball account of causality in which our common sense view of ' before' and ' after' is questioned and taken apart. I believe Hume says after this account, something to the effect and ' still when we leave the room we leave by the door and not by the window'. A friend of mine in this class when the class ended opened the window ( on the ground floor ) and went out that way.
This is difficult and great philosophy. I do not pretend to understand it or its implications fully. A test of the mind and a necessary read for anyone who would know Western Philosophy.

By reading a daily devotional, it helps me begin the day with the proper focus. This book explains scripture in a way that I can understand it more clearly, and it helps me understand the way God loves us. Each day's reading is brief, so you don't have too much to try to grasp at one time. The passages make me think, and often, I gain new insights into the meaning of scriptures. After reading the devotional, I am better able to focus my prayers, which in turn enhances my relationship with God.

Henry Blackaby will give you an encourageing word every day. We don't need Theology all the time . Sometimes we need a word on an A.W. Tozer level of encouragement. A word that will help your spiritual maturity. On top of all this you get a journal to record you thoughts. It is the perfect Devotional. Every Christian should be learning from H.B. Now you have the best in Journals.

Relevent, thoughtful, thought-provoking. The space beside each day's reading is a great way to keep notes, prayer concerns etc.

I was looking for a devotional book that would give me a simple outline but informative spiritual messages, which I could develope my knowledge into experiences... that would be beneficial for me spiritually. I was very happy to view the subject of chapters that where interesting, and realistic in growth opportunities of learning simple knowledge, that could be applied during my christian walk on this earth.

I am looking forward to reading my daily devotionals and making notes in my fantastic journal, that will assist me in experiencing God day by day!

EXTREMELY good insights and teaching w/ room to write your thoughts, Great for a couple to use for their daily devotions or for just yourself. Not the usual thoughts/teachings/yada yada that you find in most devotiobals. Far above the pack!!

This book provides the reader with many common sense points of advice that are all very relevant and helpful. It covers many circumstances on an international scale that allows you to feel more at home taking the picture of someone you don't know as well as helpful advice on payment for the picture. This book is essential for anyone with an interest in this sort of work... Bravo to Mr Sammon for writing yet another great reference.

I found this book very helpful. It has great photos that illustrate his points, and it is easy to understand. The thing I would have found more helpful is if he had included more about where to take the exposure, etc., but I realize that is covered in another book..... I loved the book and will reread it many times. Very inspiring. Thank you, Mr. Sammon.

After reading Peterson's books (understanding exposure, beyond portraiture, understanding shutter speed, and more) this book feels not technical enough. It misses technical information that would be very useful to people who'd like to learn, such as f-number, shutter speed, distance from object, metering mode and method etc. Though this information did appear in a few pages, it was not available throughout the book.

Still, the pictures are very appealing and the author does explain how he took them. A lot of emphasis was put on the social side of potrait photography. How to approach, how to get friendly, how to share your pictures. Also, the artistic sides are covered, how to "direct" your model, how to give attention to details (background, framing, light, shadows, etc.). Some technical aspects are indeed mentioned and a few tricks on exposure and light metering and white balance. Also the last few lessons in the book are some photoshop "how-to"s.

I liked the book. I enjoyed the pictures, I did my best to learn the messages from the lessons and liked a lot the authors attitude and explanation way.


To get a good understanding of what lessons are expected in the book take a look at the table of contents. Lessons are titled by the main tip that they deliver.

Rick Sammon is known for his travel and adventure photo guides, but FACE TO FACE offers something different: a focus on the art of making people pictures using a range of methods to capture subjects. These take the form of lessons contrasting different approaches to images and people, using Sammon's own subjects and methods as examples. It's an excellent guide for any photography library, particularly those specializing in portrait photography.

Face to Face by Rick Sammon is one of my favorites books on portrait photography.

It's full with stunning pictures of people from many places around the world. The pictures alone are worth the price of the book.

But in addition to the great pictures, the text is also very informative and entertaining.

Part 2 is my favorite part of the book and full of useful stuff. For example, Rick explains why you should not place the subject in the center for most shots, or why shooting both horizontal and vertical is a good idea for most subjects.

I like the authors writing style. The book is easy to read and the text is a perfect fit for the beautiful images. It never gets boring or too technical. It's clear that the author knows and lovers what he is doing and this is reflecting in his images and his writing.

If you want to improve your photography, I highly recommend this book.

I married at 38 not thinking that by any stretch of the imagination I needed to consider my fertility an issue. I conceived a child immediately and gave birth to a beautiful son. Three years later I tried for another child and wasn't as lucky. Western medical practitioners thought I was too old. I was referred by a co-worker to an excellent acupuncturist who changed my way of thinking and living. He recommended the book Inconceivable which put into words what I was going through and gave me hope. When I saw that The Fertile Female was available I bought it right away. I read both books over and over for the two and a half years it took for me to get pregnant with my second child. I found them both to be comforting and motivating. The recipes in the Fertile Female are also great and kept me on track with my eating as it greatly affects a woman's fertility. The book as a whole encouraged me to embrance my spirituality and positivism --- all being necessary when one is trying to conceive under sometimes difficult circumstances. At age 45 I was able to give birth to a lovely baby girl and I thank Julia Indichova for sharing her story with me and the thousands of others who have benefitted from her great work.

A friend of mine suggested I read Julia's latest book, The Fertile Female. After finishing it in less than a week, I quickly ordered her first book, Inconceivable. These books, along with other changes I've made on my own, have made a huge diffence in my approach to conception. I highly recommend you read these books if you are suffering from any type of infertility. They are very valuable resource and guide and provide you with ideas around diet, meditation, changing limiting beliefs, etc. which will lead you to live a healthier and more fertile life. She's given me hope and helped me to understand my own power to bring about life. You should also go to her website, www.fertileheart.com for more information. She hosts a weekly Telebridge conference call where you can talk directly to her and other women to practice some of the Fertile Heart Conception tools. There is a $5 registration fee for the calls.

I previously read Julia's book, Inconceivable and it was suggested that I read The Fertile Female. So glad that I did. Found it very helpful and inspiring.

I absolutely loved this book as well as her 1st book "Inconceivable"! I also suffer from secondary infertility and I was very inspired by her story. This book has given me hope that I can have the family that I have always dreamed of. I plan to put a lot of the suggestions in this book into practice.

I stumbled onto Julia's books and her website while browsing on Amazon. She had commented on someone else's book, and it brought me to read about her books and website. I am generally a slow reader and rarely finish a book. I started reading "Inconceivable" and found it an easy read and highly enjoyable! I carried this book every where I went and read, read and read. I finished it in one week! - which never happens for me. In general, we eat very healthy and organic, but this book, Julia's story, brought me to another level. It is soooo worth the reading! Now, I am almost halfway through "The Fertile Female" her second book, and again, am carrying it around with me every where I go! It's one of those books that you can sit down and really, really get into and you feel like you're right there in the story, too. I highly recommend BOTH of Julia's books. I've also ordered her Imagery CD and some Conference Tapes from her website Fertile Heart. They just arrived yesterday. I have not been struggling with infertility, but more "obstacles" in trying to conceive our second child. I've had a miscarriage and my second ectopic pregnancy this time around, meanwhile, I'm just getting older... now 42! So, anything I can do to preserve my fertility, and in general just be the healthiest I can be - is well worth doing. Besides all of that - I've just really, really, really enjoy reading her books and following the exercises. They're very peaceful exercises - I LOVE IT!!!

Great book. I became interested in this book from watching the A&E movie "Lost Battalion". THis book gives you an accurate point of view that could not be expressed in a made for TV movie. Not a tough read for any WWI buff.

Robert J. Laplander has written one of the best unit histories I have read. This book is a public exposition of this private historian's lifelong passion in search of the Lost Battalion. His approach is markedly unique. His research has set a true benchmark for the accolade, "exhaustive." His style, while occasionally non-standard, is clear, simple, and often vivid. Every chapter reveals this artisan's uncompromising pride in getting it right. The cumulative effect is a labor of love, and a clearly superior achievement.

This is an outstanding book. This is not a casual read. My rough estimate is 200,000 words, or twice the standard historical narrative. I was not surprised to learn Laplander cut the length in two from his initial draft; the quality and quantity of his research and analysis suggest there was much more that he just could not shoehorn into the final cut.

American attacks in the Argonne were relentless, repetitive, and gruesome. Like the battle, this book grinds you down; it leaves you emotionally drained. But Laplander recounts the sacrifices of these men and they call you back to see them finish their dirty job.

Laplander's understanding of American infantry tactics is remarkable. His explanation of how the doughboys fought at the squad and company level, which he derived from personal accounts, is straightforward and worthy of citation by professional historians.

I found Laplander's biographic study of the Lost Battalion's commander, Major Charles Whittlesey, the most compelling passages in the book. The author examined this complex and tragic figure and revealed his uncommon leadership and his personal demons with respect, integrity, and humanity.

I would compare this book favorably to other diamond-in-the rough regimentals such as Warren Wilkinson's Mother, May You Never See the Sights I'Ve Seen: The Fifty Seventh Massachusetts Veteran Volunteers in the Army of the Potomac 1864-1865, Joseph Balkoski's Beyond The Beachhead: The 29th Infantry Division In Normandy (Stackpole Military History Series), and Shelby Stanton's The 1st Cav in Vietnam: Anatomy of a Division. I highly recommend Robert Laplander's Finding the Lost Battalion to armchair historians, military professionals, and Great War enthusiasts. This is a must-read for students and enthusiasts of the American Expeditionary Forces and the Meuse-Argonne battle.

Here for the reader is a great historical work supplementing the Author's first book on the same subject. I found it precisley what I was looking for as a avid WWI Historian and amatuer sleuth to see for myself what history had preserved for us younger Americans the deeds oof our fathers
long ago in the confines of the Argonne Forest and "The Pocket" of the
action. The maps, though hard to read, were only used as an indicater for orientation to any reader familiar with the subject. If this work does not peak your appetite to delve into the other actions by the American Froces in this 90th Anniversary year of the events, then little else will.

It is a highly recommeded book and a treasure for any WWI or Military library.

This is one of the finest books on the US Army in WW1 I have ever read, and I have read them all. It is well researched, well written and is not only the best work I have seen on the lost battalion in a scholarly way, but reads smoothly. The tale itself is a great one, but it often gets sensationalized. I don't know how Laplander did it, but he found a lot of material that others have missed and seems to have left no rock unturned in digging out the facts.

It's big, thick, and the text is a wee bit small - but I cannot see any even semi-serious library of WW1 AEF books with out this one. Seriously, I'm impressed and that does not happen often.

Author Laplander's work is simply the definitive book on the Lost Battalion and its commander, Major Charles Whittlesey. For over 60 years the best book on the subject was the "The Lost Battalion" by Thomas Johnson and Fletcher Pratt published in 1938, but this book by Laplander published in 2006 far eclipses all earlier publications.

The reader may be surprised to find out, for example, that Whittlesey's battalion twice became surrounded by the Germans forward of the main line during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, but generally attention is centered solely on the second time.

The scholarship here is simply superior, the writing crisp and never tedius or boring, and the reader's questions concerning personnel and what happened to them are answered almost before they arise. Frankly, I can think of nothing negative to say, even the maps are extremely helpful.

In short, if the prospective reader has never read a book on the First World War, this is the one to read. Explanations abound, the human interest story is riveting, and one comes away with a full appreciation of combat at the time.

I unreservedly recommend this book.

For anyone newly diagnosed with Hep C the initial reaction can be one of shock and the result can be deep depression. This book helps to shed light on some of the common stages of accepting this disease.

Excellent book for patients. I would also suggest any patient, friend, or family alos read "Hepatitis C - through a patient's eyes", written by Suzy Smith, who went through the treatment, and wrote her book to help others with hep c get through the process with a positive outlook.

I work as a therapist in a teen counseling program, and one teen girl has just been diagnosed with HCV. She's experienced all the common reactions: denial, grief, "This is a death sentence and God doesn't want me to be happy," and fear. I bought this book for her and she devoured it. Her entire affect changed, and now she's teaching US how to relate to her, how to talk about this diagnosis, why certain things WE say are insensitive or incorrect (without knowing it), and what emtional and lifestyle changes she needs to make for health. This book alone reduced her fear in half, and made her feel confident rather than powerless.

This is an excellent work for the layperson with very little
knowledge about Hepatitis A,B, C or the more exotic strains.
The authors describe a 6-7 week incubation period. Those
persons exposed have a 75-80% chance of infection with the HCV
virus and a 70% chance of developing the chronic form of
the hepatitis virus. In addition, there is a 10-20% chance of
developing the liver complication cirrhosis over a 20-30 year
period and a 1-5% chance of dying from a chronic liver condition. Hepatitis C is an RNA virus as opposed to a DNA
strain. Vaccination helps for the Hepatitis A and B strains
wherein 3 shots are administered over a 1/2 year period.
To reduce the likelihood of the disease, it is necessary
to reduce smoking , as well as exposure to all toxins.
The disease may be monitored with tests for bilerubin, albumin,
PT time and the anti-HCV antibody test. Treatment is enhanced
with reducing stress, commitments and responsibilities
until the condition is well under control. This work is perfect
for the layperson who seeks to prevent the disease or treat it
in the event of exposure and relevant symptomatology of
the disease process.

Although I think this is a good book to start with if you have recently been diagnosed, I find it lacking the depth I was looking for. It gives some great resources which is why I think it is a good book to start with, but at the same time, I would also suggest that you buy the following in addition to this. These are essential:"The Hepatitis C Helpbook"by Misha Ruth Cohen OMD and Robert G.Gish MD, "The Liver Cleansing Diet" by Dr Sandra Cabot, "Herbs for Hepatitis C and the Liver" by Stephen Harrod Buhner, and see if you can find "Who Gets Sick;How Beliefs, Moods, and Thoughts affect your health" by Blair Justice. The treatments out there are scary and can hurt you more than help you, so if you don't feel like poisoning yourself with a biotherapy, this is where to start.

This little devotional is great for families with very young children. The animals keep their attention and I like that they are learning animal facts as well as how God has designed us all for a unique purpose with special skills and talents. My kids are 2 and 4 and they really like it - although it's more like a 2 minute devotion for the 2 year old!!

Great book for children 3 years and older. I bought this for my 2.5 year old daughter and she didn't pay too much attention. Now that she is three she really enjoys going through this after dinner each night. Great colors and great stories.

Simple, easy to read for kids. Application to Biblical values is pretty good. Great pictures. May need more input from parent (to child) after reading through devotions, question time, etc...

My 5 and 6 year LOVE these devotions. A great way to take all of God's creation and apply it to our lives.

Wonderful devotional. My mother bought this for our daughter (she's 7 and in first grade) as a birthday gift and she just loves it. We have read through the entire book over and over again and she never gets tired of reading the devotionals. It's very well done. The stories are great and keep her attention. The scripture versus fit the stories perfectly and are easy for her to understand. This devotional is not over her head. All the subject matter is stuff that she can understand and can relate to her everyday life. This is very well done. Highly recommended.