R Books

I cannot imagine living through what I have without the guidance of this book. If you are dealing with someone else's alcoholism I suggest that you give this book a chance.

It makes a great daily reader because it is divided into short chapters. And I found her insights very eye-opening. She doesn't make any sweeping statements about what decisions you should make, but she may help you clear your head a little so that you can make your own decisions.

Getting Them Sober is still one of the very best books to help people deal with a drinking alcoholic. If you follow the suggestions in the book you will finally feel sane again, life will be easier, and the alcoholic MAY get sober! I am long time sober and worked in the Alcohol Drug field for many years.
This works, it really does! Dee Brown

and the website listed is just as useless.

There are many other books which are more helpful I would pass on this one. I'm selling my copy asap.

In trying to understand the devastation that alcoholism has on friends and family....this book was enormously helpful. Knowing that alcoholism is a disease and that many alcoholics words and actions are undeniably the same, helps keep the diseased person in perspective and helps you to detach.

When I first picked up "Getting Them Sober", I was utterly astounded and amazed. I called my sister excitedly to share. I read her excerpts. She said, "Oh my gosh, the author really knows him(meaning my alcoholic)." my sister said. Toby Rice Drews knew. This God given author knew my life. The insight was incredible it was an "aha" book. Somebody put into words and explained what I was going through, in lving with active alcoholism.

Toby answered THE QUESTION. The question that I was too afraid, too hurt, too ashamed to ask...... There it was in black and white!....."If he runs off with another woman, does that mean he doesn't love me?" Whew, I felt so much better knowing that I wasn't the only one who had ever felt that way or asked that question. I was enlightened and relieved.
I had also wondered, "Why am I so afraid he will leave?" "Why have I given him a million second chances?" "Why do I take him back?" Those questions and answers were there. I was able to start putting the pieces of the puzzle together. I grew. My life was transformed from that knowledge. I am very grateful for "Getting Them Sober."

I own all five of the books in Toby's series. The "Getting Them Sober, vol 4" book (which is all about the hidden issues in seperation/divorce in alcoholic families) was very helpful to me when I was going through my divorce. I carried it with me constantly. Here is the product link:Getting Them Sober: Vol 4 : Separations and Healings (Getting Them Sober)

Fifty percent of American families have active alcoholism in them according to the NIH. This book is a must read for everybody. Families of alcoholics, counselors, teachers, and judges will gain great insight, hope and strength in their understanding of those who suffer on a daily, yearly, lifetime basis from the HORRIBLE family disease of alcoholism. It is a good read and must read for all.

Since my chilhood I've been intrigued by the X-15 and all it's amazing feats, now at last we get a extensive and deep coverage of all the aspects, and persons involved in the program, book is a page turner, informartive, well made and ilustrated, a must have¡¡¡

DENNIS R. JENKINS &TONY R. LANDIS are THE best AERO/SPACE historians.I have other titles by them.

Please provide list of ALL titles by them.

THANX VLC

Dennis R. Jenkins and Tony Landis write wonderful books about amazing machines.. (Check out America's super bomber XB-70)

Their style of writing is pure technical eloquence. They can take a complex subject and make it compelling reading whilst not dumbing it down or glossing over it.

The story evolves at a terrific pace and is neatly framed in the events and context of the era they occurred in.

The quality of the images matches the quality of the text. This is a book you will come back to year after year!

This book is an exceptional addition to anyones library on aviation. If you are a X-15 freak, it is an absolute must to have.

This research work was obviously a labor of love and reverence for the authors. They gave credit where it is due, from the pilot astronauts, research scientists, program managers, air force personnel, senior engineers, technicians, and even a handful of glad-handing politicians.
For the first time, the reader wil learn details of the B-52 mothership personnel.

The photo-documentation is vast; I find it hard to believe that a companion volume ("Scrapbook") was needed for photos and illustrations beyond Hypersonic!'s coverage.

For modelers, the AFFTC blueprint on page 179 is definitive data on the X-15 fuselage. Info in the text will enable accurate reproduction of wing and tailplane structures.

Hypersonic! will remain the standard reference volume on the X-15 for decades to come.

My children all grew up on this one, by not only learning animals, but being proud of who you are. I have been reading it every night to my 18 month old for a year. He wont go tho bed without it, and he has alredy learned how to recognize all the animals in the book.

I love this book. I read this book to my neice everytime she comes to visit. It has a wonderful moral to the story and kids are sure to really be engaged in the story everytime you read it!

My toddler son received this book as a gift for his first birthday. It came highly recommended from a teen friend who had treasured it as a childhood favorite. We weren't disappointed. I am not sure if it is the language, simple illustrations, or the premise but he never tires of It's Not Easy Being a Bunny. Not only do we recommend this book, we have already purchased it for other first birthday gifts. We give it an unequivocal A+ rating.

My little guy doesn't have any patience for books except for this one and "Put Me in the Zoo". We have to read this to him almost 4 times a day, and he can finish the ends of the sentences. It's so fun to see him enjoy books, and hopefully it will introduce him to other books too. I highly recommend this one. It's fun, helps with animal recognition, etc..

Now it's my daughter's (3 years old) favorite book.
I don't know how long it's going to last, but it's been at least 3 weeks that we read this book a couple of time every day.
She knows every word in it. And she loves the fun sounds I make( for Moose and to show the expression of P.J. when he tried to live with the skunks)
I don't know how deep she can understand it right now, but it's fun to read and our whole family enjoys it, bacause at least once a day my daughter asks everyone to listen to it.
I'm sure that it will be a nice book for early readers, because of the repetitive words.

The Joy of Freedom is like Atlas Shrugged in that reading both books ignites a passion for liberty in me. Henderson, like Rand, is a zealous advocate of freedom. The difference between the two books and their authors, however, is that Rand tends to be combative whereas Henderson tends to deliver a pleasant message.

Henderson tells of his intellectual journey as a free-market economist and libertarian. Along the way he applies the principles of freedom and free-market economics to the vital issues of the past, present, and future. "This book", he writes, "is about freedom, about how well freedom works and how government, by crushing freedom, messes up our lives."

Henderson didn't take economics until his final year of college. His evaluation of introductory economics: "The course was a profound disappointment." The text and the lectures did not raise questions that were interesting to him about how markets work. The model of "perfect competition" turned him off, as it does many students. Fortunately, Henderson attended lectures by economist Harold Demsetz who did explain how markets work, which rekindled Henderson's interest in economics.

What sort of questions does Henderson find interesting? In 1969 he asked Hubert Humphrey: "Then how do you reconcile your belief in the Thirteenth Amendment [prohibiting slavery] with your belief in the draft?" Henderson devotes an entire chapter to property rights and emphasizes their efficacy throughout. He poses the following scenario: "You walk by a yard and see someone painting a house. Pointing a gun at him is another man who orders the first man to stop painting." Then he asks: "Who is in the right?" Henderson might alter your view of the world. Consider this way of thinking about taxes: "Imagine that a thief takes your money at gunpoint, uses your money to buy a steak, and then brings the steak to your house and gives it to you." His question is: "Would you say that he didn't steal from you?" He even dares to ask: "Should we have taxes at all?" He raises the question of why the standard of living in the U.S. rises despite the shortcomings of government schools. About schools, he also asks: "If you went to a government school, or if your children go to a government school, is `exciting' the first adjective, or even the fifth adjective, you would use to describe the experience?" Concerning the environment, he asks: "How far could we go in the direction of using private property to solve environmental problems?"

A reader of this book can expect to encounter many thought-provoking points as well as serious contributions to policies on social security, health care, education, and the environment.

Most Americans are in the 15 percent tax bracket and pay 3 to 4 cents per dollar in State tax. On top of that American's pay 7.65 percent in social security and medicare taxes. Thus, even the modest-income people are in an overall marginal tax bracket ranging from 26 to 33 percent tax. High income people in states with income taxes are in a moverall marginal tax bracket of 50 percent. High tax rates cause deadweight losses in two ways: 1. loses by spending tax revenue wastefully. "When government spends money on things, there's a strong basis for believing that those things are worth less than the items we would have bought with our money." "Governments have little or no incentive to spend money carefully because it's not their money." 2. Every tax causes people to alter their behavior in some way. These distortions in behavior designed to reduce the amount of taxes they pay. The deadweight loss from a tax is proportional to the square of the tax rate. The main thing we need to do is cut taxes drastically, especially at the federal level. The flat tax will create two taxes, one for income and the other for sales. Proponents of big government oppose tax cuts. "The reason they give is that such tax cuts generate disproportionate higher benefits for high-income people than for low-income people. The top 5 percent made 32.5 of the income. Low and middle income people would gain from tax cuts. Higher-income people would work harder because they could keep more of their earnings and lower marginal taxes would give people an incentive to save. The more capital and high-skilled workers there are for low-skill workers, the more productive and higher paid the workers become. EITC has incentive problems and may encourage pushes for bigger government and EITC incentives exist causing low income people to elect not to earn additional disqualifying dollars. The death tax is unjust. The death tax is unfair because it levy on people wh have already paid tax on what they have accumulated. The capital gains tax is unjust. "The tax on capital gains is another particular unjust tax because is does not take account of the increase in asset prices that is caused by inflation." The capital gain tax does not allow individuals to index their prices so that they are paying capital gains taxes on real capital gains and not on phantom capital gains.

Roughly 80 percent of payroll taxes collected from current workers today are sent out to current retirees The Social Security Administration claims they will be solvent until 2037 meaning "the last of the special federal government bonds that the SSA has bought and kept in the Social Security Trust fund will be sold off to the US Treasury." This sale is between the left and right hands of government. 2024, the cost of benefits will exceed income from payroll taxes. In 1987, Michael Boskin presented data on the rate of return earned by the social security tax and calculated it to be minus 0.79 to 6.34 percent dependant of the peron's age, income level, and martial status. A person born in 1915, the sole wage earner for a married couple earned 6.34 percent. Every other category of income earner earned a lower return percentage. At the same time index portfolio of stocks earned about 7.7 percent adjusted for inflation. 4 percent is a good pessimistic real rate of growth. 4 percent represent a portfolio of stocks for the worst 30 year period for stocks. A person working from the period 1929 to 1994, would have been $120,00 better off with a private savings plan instead of social security. A minimum wage earning for his whole life would have still been $9,000 better off without social security. Social security cost the maximum wage earners $262,000 in lost wealth and cost the average wage earner to lose $160,000. Absent social security people would save for their retirement. In 1991, the median financial assets of households with heads aged 55 to 64 were only $8,300. Social security is one of the main reasons people don't save. Steps to save social security without increased taxes are to 1. increase the retirement age 2. change the benefits formula 3. change the index of benefits. The author proposes, "I would allow anyone who is at least 45 years old and who ahs paid social security taxes for at least 10 years to immediately leave the social security system. A person who left would never be allow back in and would give up all claim to past taxes paid and future benefits." 70 percent of generation X does not believe they will receive social security benefits. Bad proposals include : tax rate increase, government investment in stocks, and affluence tests that reduce claims on benefits.

Heilbroner pointed to the Soviet Union, China, and Eastern Europe as giving "the clearest possible proof that capitalism organizes the material affairs of humankind more satisfactorily than socialism." In the Soviet union, no one person or company could own private property, so there was no incentive to take care of the grain, so much of it rotten each year. Soviet factories were judged by quotas rather than their ability to satisfy customers. The soviet government set prices that were too high causing huge surpluses and the surpluses sometimes ended up in landfills. Likewise, much of the soviet oil production ended up costing, instead of profiting the people, the chaos of economic life under socialism. "Alchian pointed out that a huge amount of human behavior could be understood if you got straight what the property rights were." Property rights give incentives to the individual to earn a profit, produce, and satisfy the customer through generosity-courteous-thoughtful behavior. The price would be determined by what people were willing to pay for the product or service. "When something is allocated to the highest bidder, the bidders, no the auctioneer, determine who gets it." "When government hands things out or underprices them, politically well-connected people inside and outside government will take advantage of this and capture much of the value that would have otherwise been capture by property owners."

Some facts: Things are getting cheaper and better. Poverty is temporary. Americans are getting wealthier. American's live better than any king in the past. "Whatever your criterion of culture, the odds are extremely high that, with capitalism-that is with free markets- you will get more of the kind of culture you want than you will get when government rules the economy with a heavy hand. There is no greedy hand, only social, political, and financial incentives and when incentives are artificial high the system revolts, as in the case of Nixon's oil price fixing and Carters conservational efforts. Capitalism delivers the goods both abundantly and with quality. Artists and actors thrived becauses their works were popular in a freemarket. There is a labour shortage. Freemarkets are creating infinite resources. There are no shortages of resources. Welfare impoverishes individuals. Government operates on principles of force.

This is an enjoyable book. It is part autobiography and part political philosophy and, perhaps best of all, it provides well supported and practical solutions to many of our country's biggest problems -- including the environment, public schools, social security and medicare, health care, etc. I rarely read a book where I feel, as I did with this one, that I would love to meet the author and discuss these issues. A very clear and intelligent writer who doesn't pretend to know all the answers. He clearly has a great deal of experience with these issues but has none of the ego or arrogance that we so often see these days. This is an excellent book.

Henderson is one of the few economists who can cogently communicate the "Joy of Freedom" passionately to an audience new to the magic of markets without getting sidetracked. Too often, when one reads introductory economics texts they cast the science as boring, impassionate, and overly analytical. Most other introductory books I've read begin by prematurely stating that economists must be value neutral and going on to immediately talking about supply, demand, elasticity, and trying to use a graph of supply and demand with an extra line and some shading to convince new, reluctant minds that policies such as price controls and the minimum wage are inefficient. This runs in sharp contrast to the introductory texts of other sciences, such as sociology and psychology, which openly begin with sometimes corny lines about the relevance of their thoughts and feelings to society. Although I believe that the authors in these other sciences often lack a solid background in critical thought and data analysis, they generally are more effective in getting new people to think about their fields.

Henderson is the welcome and notable exception that tactfully extends the "invisible hand" to readers who might hold very biased prejudices against economics and economists to guide them to a whole new world of thought and analysis. Through a collection of personal experiences backed by a reasonable and digestible amount of economics in each chapter, he is effective in his goal of doing what most economists cannot -- explaining the most relevant aspects of economics to the most important audience. Ultimately the effectiveness of the highlighting the implications of public policy for the lives of common people is more influental in changing the world than any article in the American Economic Review. While adding to existing knowledge is vital, attracting new thinkers and altering the biased beliefs of the Median Voter is at least equally as important.

Professor Henderson does not disappoint with this book. During the early 1990s, I had the pleasure of taking a class from Professor Henderson at the Naval Postgraduate School. Professor Henderson was then, and I expect he still is, one of the most popular teachers at the school. That isn't because he's an easy grader or that he has an incredible grasp of economics. It is because he possesses an innate ability to communicate the most difficult of subjects with ease and clarity. He is an engaging advocate for liberty. In fact, economics is not the dismal science when he instructs.

He explains, in a sometimes-personal way, how markets work and many of the issues that we face today with a pointed lucidity. The arguments put forward are not new. In fact, I'd be surprised if many readers have not heard them already. What makes this book different and so enjoyable is how Professor Henderson's optimistic outlook and perspective pervades his explanation of issues so critical to our understanding of the world and our personal freedom. More importantly, Professor Henderson is an advocate for liberty. In a world that is increasingly controlled by government, this is a must read.

My nephew just immigrated from China and asked me to get a dictionary for him. I told him that I would get the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.

I bought the dictionary when I was a student in London about ten years ago. I tried a number of dictionaries before I was introduced this one. My landlady used to show my dictionary to other foreign students as I used too often to keep in a good shape.

Well, I don't use it as much as I used to but I highly recommend it to any foreign student. You cannot afford not having it ! In fact, I bought one for my niece and I will buy one for my nephew too. I am sure that it will be the best gift for them ever.

I like the book very much. I love it. I keep it in a saft place, I always put it away after studying. NOTE:
I've found a bug on page 1637, look at the entry "widow", (NOT window).
the entry has "-see aslo GRASS WIDOW" cross-reference, but I can't find the entry "grass widow", the nearest entry found is "grassy". I'm not complaining. The dictionary is very useful, very handy. I'm a foreign student studying Computer Science in US. Excuse my English.

This is perfect dictionary if you wanna learn english of all kinds: formal, informal, slang, literary. etc. It only uses the most common words to define a word. It defines a word in American/British/Australian/Canadian/NewZealander/Pakistani/ Indian meanings. This was the first English to English dictionary i ever used, i was scared at first, but i was tired of unsatisfactory results in English to my native language. This dictionary proved to be amazing, its easy as 1-2-3. The usage notes, wonderful pictures, other illustrations to define words are extremely helpful useful. There's simply no other dictionary like this. I recently moved to USA from Pakistan. Looking at how i speak and write/read english ,nobody can believe believe that i just moved here. Some people assume i'm born american. I even learned that word 'assume' with help of this dictionary that is more helpful than the dictionaries translated in my couple of native languages. By the way, after moving to USA, i soon bought Longman dictionay of american english with CD-ROM. :-)

Because of my eyes I bought the book with the CD-ROM. The explanations are well done and really helpful (they earn a 5). The size of the text is good for my eyes too. But the handling of the program is a nuisance.

If you reduce the size of the window the size of the frames and letters remains unchanged and you end up hiding parts of the content. If you want to use all the features you need a full sized window.

There is virtually no thesaurus or I am not able to use it.

Last but not least: when I had completely installed the program I put the book and the CD-ROM in a cupboard far away to leave my desk tidy, believing it was for ever. Unfortunately at Longman's they want to control you and they force you to insert the disk into the cd-rom player from time to time. As it happened to me, when you mostly need an explanation you may have to frantically search in your cupboards for the cd-rom.
5 for the explanations, 2 for the handling: 3 stars for the CD-ROM.

I've been using this excellent dictionary since the last 8 years. Actually, I can undoubtedly say that this is the BEST dictionary I have ever used for learning English! It's very simple and user-friendly.
Features include:

- Clarifications of the use of a word in a spoken compared to written English.
- Graphs to show the difference in frequency of the use between words in speech and writing, between synonyms etc.
- Highlights thousands of phrases and collocations in the nearest possible way.
- Color and black-and-white illustrations from the parts of a car to the sounds !
- Over 80,000 words and phrases with easy-to-understand definitions.
- Pronunciation key with the proper stress in the word syllabus.
- Signposts in longer entries to help you find the meaning that you need.
- References to other words and phrases, and to pictures and usage notes.
- Words that are often used together are shown in dark type, and followed by an example or an explanation e.g. under the word (argument) you will find (have an argument) (get into an argument) (win / lose an argument) etc.
- Grammatical information is shown in brackets, or in dark type before an example.
- Shows the difference between British and American English including: the pronunciation & spelling differences, words & meaning, differences in grammar, and differences in phrases & collocations.
- Appendix contains Tables (Numbers, Weights & measures, Military Ranks, Word formation, The verb "be", Irregular verbs, Geographical names,
- 3rd Edition comes in 1668 pages, published in 1997.

This is a full discipline for teaching English, not just an ordinary dictionary ! It's essential for your desk, especially if your mother tongue is not English.

No matter what area in the music or recording industry you are in, these contracts are absolutely relevant. I found them extremely useful for my company and have highly recommended it to others in the industry. I would suggest that anyone who needs help with contracts purchase this product, you won't be sorry.

I bought this book 2 weeks ago and I could not help myself from dropping by here and saying how i use and feel about this book. Basically it is a life saver for me, it cuts the time I use do deals and it's a fountain of information if you don't have an outside source. My thought it ..buy it!

I loved this pack ever since day one when i first bought it, it brought a while new perspective to my office and the work being done there has increased in efficiency not at my desk but at my colleagues to. Great title

This binder is very well balanced for such a low price. At first, I thought that these contracts would be cheap and of poor quality. However, you can easily customize these contracts to your liking. I would highly recommend these to anyone!

Let's face it- no one likes contacts. In this business though, you need them, pure and simple. This is one of the best collections of legal contracts I've seen in a while- and I've been in this business for quite some time. Do yourself a favor- pick up a copy while you still are in business.

This was actually my first L. J. Smith book ever. My roommate was reading it when I was 14 and so I picked it up. It wasn't until I was finished that I realized it was a trilogy so it definitely can stand alone but is much better if read last.
The first one was awesome because it introduced the characters and each of the characters got a chance to really show through their true personalities. Except for discovering Gabriel's weakness as a result of over exposure to the large crystal from Book One I really thought #2 was boring.
But #3 was just the best. Kaitlynn has always seen guys look at her w/ desire b/c she's so beautiful but she'd never admitt that she was beautiful b/c others always feared her at the same time due to her visions. It's totally understandable that she'd then hook up w/ the first boy who ever gave her notice w/o fear or any hidden intentions. However, there's always this pull between her and "the bad boy". Lisa Jane does such a great job of showing how we all feel at that point in our lives. When we don't know what we're feeling or what's right. And you fall in love w/ "the bad boy" because you realize the pain and betrayal he experienced that made him who he is but that he's still basically good. And then Rob is like a perfect gentleman, the nice one, the reliable one - but no passion. So it raises the question can you truly be "in love" with someone whom you have no passion for?
This book had a perfect blend of action, danger, suspense and guilt-wrenching plessure so that anyone can enjoy it.

Kait decides to go against her friends and pretend to be a memeber of the dark psychics. Lying to Gabriel, and telling him that she came back for HIM and HIM alone, she begins to get more than she bargained for. And that includes the fact that she begins to fall...for Gabriel. So, when the end comes, which will she choose, Rob or Gabriel? Light hottie, or dark hottie?

Okay, okay, so the fact that Gabriel is totally hot spiced this book up A LOT! But, it WAS a great book. See? Look up top...FIVE stars. THAT is NOT what this book deserved. If i could give this book 10 stars i would do so in a heartbeat.

Gosh Lisa has done it again! This is the third of the Dark Visions Trilogy.

Gabriel has left the group and teamed with Mr.Z. When Gabriel fails to claim the crystal from the group Kaitlyn senses his weakness torwards her. So Kaitlyn takes it upon herself to destroy the evil crystal and help him at the same time. SO she heads off and pretends to team with Mr.Z as well. But what she didnt expect were the new house guests occupying the old house and her newly discovered love for Gabriel....you do the math!
This book was SO good I cant even explain it in words. I mean this book had my heart racing at times. And the ending was absolutely PERFECT I couldnt have asked for a better book!!!!!!!..... Oh yea Kaitlyn's big DECISION was ummm...well I think Kaitlyn's choice was pretty uh......interesting.

I mean the character Gabriel alone is more than enough reasons to buy this book! Only in my dreams would I EVER encounter someone half his character!
So PLEASE buy the book, buy the trilogy. But no dont stop there buy ALL her trilogies. No as a matter of fact buy ALL of L.J Smith books she's brilliant! Trust me Im pretty picky about my authors And she's at the very TOP of my list!!!

'The Passion' is the conclusion to L. J. Smith's 'Dark Visions' trilogy that began with 'The Strange Power' which introduced us to five teenagers brought to the Zetes Institute to enhance their psychic abilities only to find that the man in charge has plans to change them into a psychic 'swat team'. The trilogy continued with 'The Possessed' in which the five of them (Kaitlyn, Gabriel, Rob, Lewis and Anna) were on the run from Mr Zetes in their search to find a mysterious house from their dreams where the Fellowship lived, a passive Utopian society rich in psychic powers thanks to the power of a large perfect crystal. However, their strict rules of conduct meant that one of their numbers - Gabriel - was forbidden to enter their dwelling-place. Blinded by their goodness and ridgid purity Gabriel summoned Mr Zetes and his band of 'dark psychics' that had dogged the teens on their road trip across the country, and together they destroyed the great crystal, leaving only a shard that was placed in Kaitlyn's care. With the Fellowship disbanded and Gabriel reverted to the 'bad guys', the teenagers only hope seemed to be to destroy the Institute from the inside - by using their crystal shard to destroy Mr Zetes own crystal.

As you can see it is impossible to read any of the books out of order as 'The Passion' starts right where the last one ended. Kaitlyn decides to abandon her boyfriend Rob and best friends Anna and Lewis to return to the Institute, in the attempt to both convert Gabriel back to the white hats and find the dark crystal in order to destroy it. She successfully infilterates the Institute and finds herself surrounded by enemies - not only is Gabriel a tad suspicious of her, but there is also her ex-mentor Joyce Piper who betrayed them, Mr Zetes's daughter Lydia, and the malevolent Mr Zetes himself. As well as this are the 'dark psychics' of Mr Zetes former group: John 'Jackal Mac' MacCorkendale, Laurie Frost, Paul 'Renny' Renfrew and Sabrina 'Bri' Jessica Gallo (where does she get these names?!) Along with the new faces comes a new range of psychic abilities such as astral projection, psychometry and dowsing.

Other plot strands include the love triangle between Kaitlyn, Rob and Gabriel; the continuing destruction of the Fellowship; Rob, Anna and Lewis's quest to help both Kaitlyn and the comatosed Marisol of book one; Kaitlyn's struggle to find acceptance among the dark psychics; the dark psychic's deadly missions, and of finding Mr Zetes's very first students...

A fault however, is that L. J. is far too preoccupied with looks - so much so that it begins to get ridiculous, as are her long-winded descriptions on how beautiful Kaitlyn is; silly descriptions such as "a medieval witch princess against the dawn" and "eyes that people called witchy, smoky blue with darker blue rings in them". At one point Kaitlyn actually stands in front of the mirror and thinks to herself - "I look extremely witchy. Like someone who might go walking down the street like this, barefoot, hair wild in the breeze, singing strange songs." Please! It's a bit much. Likewise the simile for Rob as a 'golden, avenging angel' is too overused.

All in all, fans of L. J. Smith should be satisfied with this concluding novel to the trilogy. Unlike her other books it does not deal as much with supernatural qualities (such as vampires and witches) but many of her trademark features are there such as her famous love triangles. For once her heroine chooses the 'bad boy' - quite unprecedented in L. J.'s history (Cassie chooses Adam over Nick, Elena chooses Stefan over Damon and Jenny chooses Tom over Julian). The dark psychics were interesting despite their wackiness - I hope everybody noticed they were symbolic opposites of the original five (two boys, two girls in each group with Gabriel as the fifth member of both). The story wraps up quite quickly for a swift happy ending, but all loose ends are tied up and readers get the standard happily ever after they were hoping for.

In this excitiong conclusion to The Dark Visions Trilogy Gabriel has left and joined up with Mr. Zetes. But Kait knows this isn't the real Gabriel. So she decides to save him. She leaves the group and pretends to team up with Zetes. But while there Kait starts exploring her feelings and realizes she is crazy in love and holds a deep burning passion for...Gabriel. Can Kait save the day? And who will she chose? Rob or Gabriel? The light or the dark?

Kaitlyn definately made the right choice!!! This was my favorite of the trilogy. It was AWESOME! Make sure you read this and all of L.J.'s other books.

First published to great controversy & acclaim some 40 years ago, R.R. Laing's ferocious, heartfelt cri de coeur is even more relevant today. Technically it's psychology -- but in truth, it's a poetic, prophetic work in the tradition of William Blake. Laing's horror & outrage at the needless suffering inflicted on humanity by The Normal Man blazes from every page, and he demands that we face our own inner darkness rather than gloss over it.

Many will disagree with his assessment of schizophrenia ... and they may well be right in a literal sense. We've certainly learned that it has major biological origins. Yet in the modern zeal to medicate rather than analyze, to smooth over wounds rather than delve into their roots, we do ourselves a grave disservice by ignoring its psychological & social components. It's a symptom & reflection of the times, I suppose -- the 1960s emphasized community & social responsibility, as well as the importance of the individual; the contemporary attitude is all too often one of fitting in & getting with the program. If time & science call into question Laing's medical diagnosis of schizophrenia, his philosophical & moral diagnosis remains terribly potent.

How much have we really advanced since the book's publication? We see the same Normal Man calmly talking of pre-emptive wars, of acceptable civilian causalities, of torture as rational policy ... and it's Laing's anguish & compassion that are called crazy. If he were alive today, he'd undoubtedly be even more appalled by what passes for civilization. The dumbing down of the past decades, the push for blind, unthinking obedience, the Pavlovian appeal to patriotic buzzwords -- all this would sicken him. As it should sicken us. What to do in the face of such despair?

Laing reminds us:

"Yet if nothing else, each time a new baby is born there is a possibility of reprieve. Each child is a new being, a potential prophet, a new spiritual prince, a new spark of light, precipitated into the outer darkness. Who are we to decide that it is hopeless?"

The Bird of Paradise is there, hovering in the darkness, waiting for us to join it & soar into the heavens ... if we can only break free of the chains of normality. Most highly recommended!

Not sure about schizophrenia as a strategy to deal with untenable circumstances. Outside of that, this is the most profound book I have read in my life. I have been reading it on and off for 13 years

I had this book years ago and lost it; The Politics of Experience should be on everyone's shelf and is the perfect antidote to isolationist approaches to mental health. The interaction of people, families and communities, and how that interaction affects the participants' mental health, is important to remember in in our travels through life.

Schizophrenics often--not always--have a sensitivity for the Unconscious and what might be going on the mind of the other as well as themselves,but few of us ever get to "hear" it. In the very first three pages Laing gets into the mind and mind- reading of interpersonal relations of the schizophrenic ;eg" you can only experience the fact that I am experiencing your experience..."
this goes on page after page, also in Knots (another book by him). NEVER have I been so engulfed by the thought process; one knows, as he reads these lines, that "he is there" (with the schizophrenic) and knows it unforgettably. Harry Stack Sullivan also struggled with capturing that inner world, which he often shared, of the schizophrenic. Read this book and be introduced poetically into another reality.
Martin J.Kaplan, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist

Ravings of the mad have been metaphorized as "cries for help." Ronald Laing's '67 opus Politics of Experience could be similarly cast as the doctor's cries for help, were one compelled to do so.

Drawing foremost from fellow Scotsman John MacMurray, who insisted that philosophy was only the product of @least two people in relation (& never the product of platitudinous Cartesian contemplative solitude), & then from his own acquired capacity to talk to the designated mad, Laing issued this stinging rebuke of diagnosing & treating selected scapegoats: the invalidation, mystification (the word is Marx's), & finally execution of experience, for the purpose of maintaining social order.

After MacMurray, Laing & assorted colleagues waded into Sartre's last philosophical tome, the octopus-like Critique of Dialectical Reason (which @the time was available only in French), an arduous examination of how the varieties of human groupings appear & are recognized as such.

Lest Laing be construed as a muddle-headed humanist, he knew that although the time was ripe, lepers were not yet kissing saints: in Sartre's terms, no genuine reciprocity.

Despite the general acceptance of schizophrenia by professionals, media interpreters, & the lay population as a bio-genetic anomaly, no one has yet connected THIS particular chemical imbalance with THAT particular objectionable behavior. To his eternal credit, Laing resisted the easy answers with which most of us are so readily mesmerized; the product of what he called "incautious extrapolation."

Riding With Reagan: From the White House to the Ranch: From the White House to the RanchThis is an excellent book and I enjoyed reading it. It was very well written and interesting reading. Very good book.

I had personal reason to buy this after seeing the author on C-span Book TV since I knew people close to one of those mentioned in the book. Can't say who or how it got to her, but after reading it got a nod and wink. Think you'll do the same.

Barietta lets us into the inner circle outside Reagan's 'kitchen cabinet'. He paints a picture of Reagan that allows one to understand the essence of the man; his connection with the individual, and as such, the people. The author's allegiance to the President does not cloud the reality of the relationship between these two men. Despite the professional connection, Reagan had a way, I summize, to bridge that barrier and maintain a bond that is clear through the author's typewritten words.

This was a wonderful look, and the personal side of a great man. These are truly memorable moments from John Barletta, written in an honest, detailed and interesting manner. Well worth the read.

John Barletta, through his insight and understanding, with a rock-solid foundation of character and integrity, has connected with President Reagan as few others ever have. Reagan's inner-core and genuine goodness, plus our personal contact with him and the guidelines and special bonds we forged with this uncommon man were granted to a few of us who were privileged to spend those rare moments at his side while his core values transferred, as if by osmosis, to our minds and our hearts.

Barletta's view and understanding of Reagan is exceptional and true. His pleasant,easy-to-read, conversational style of writing is reader-friendly and gives the reader a "you are there" "eyewitness" feeling. The author had to come away from each experience with RR feeling more and more as if he were part of Reagan's extended family; an almost brotherly connection for the two of them.

It sure did for a few of us who were there at the beginning of RR's political career, like Edwin Meese III, Wm.P. Clark, Lyn Nofziger and Tom Reed.
What a pleasure NOT having to wade though pages of footnotes and notes to get to the meaning of this remarkable book. Not necessary when the author is intimately aware of his subject, as Barletta is. No nonsense, fabrications or embellishments in this book; just the facts--- beautifully explained. Thanks! Curtis Patrick, author, REAGAN: WHAT WAS HE REALLY LIKE?

While this book covers all the significant technology in the area, it is a much better read for all those things you wondered about in Sci Fi Could they really do that? Also the policy issues are critical to our privacy rights and conversly national security.

Anyone who uses a mobile phone, relies upon oversees Internet connectivity, or worries about personal security should get acquainted with this book. Mr. Vacca has once again produced a very accessible yet easily readable tome on the dangers and promise of satellite encryption. Pick it up and you'll learn about or government policies regarding satellite communications management and security. By the time you put it down, you'll understand everything from pagers to the electronic battlefield. It's a must-read!

Great book - detailed and technical, but still a good read

As always, John Vacca provides an incredible level of detail in a readable manner. The Internet implications are particularly applicable to almost any reader. In our case, where the line-of-sight constraints of radio transmission in our wireless WANs are forcing us to look at satellite options, this book is an invaluable resource. And the tales told herein about encryption break-ins and techniques make fascinating reading in their own right.

Technical from orbit to chip, and immensely readable as well!

I think that the tittle of this book is a bit misleading. If one reads through all the enthusiastic reviews of the book one can actually get a clear picture of what it is about. It is a general overview of politics of encryption with some technical information included in between. I cannot understand the reason for more than one hundred pages of information about different types of military equipment. Yes, this book is interesting but it is not about cryptography and encryption. These subjects are only a small part of the book. I returned Satellite Encryption after very thorough consideration.