Ethics Books

It wasn't until about 1/3 of the way through this book that the light bulb went on. I knew in an instant what the Holy Spirit had been gently knudging me about all along for so many years. This book confirmed many truths in my life. I am reading it again for a second time, NOW to put into practice the matrixs and find closure for several issues I have struggled all my life with. I am forever grateful that our Lord Jesus has inspired Tom Paterson with these teachings, giving the rest of us clear,concise guidelines to refocus our energies and establish a LifePlan the way the Lord intended. Thank You.

I found Tom's approach to analyzing one's life extremely helpful. He breaks down the process into small, digestable steps and at the end you end up with a wonderful, rich set of information about yourself. He makes you see your life in a way that breaks it down and disects it and then you extract the juice, the core of you, your experiences, abilities, strengths, passions, dreams that make you who you are. It is a genious approach. I highly recommend reading Now, Discover Your Strengths, as a complementary way to identify one's strengths, especially if one is unsure about their strengths or talents. I completed the final step, my action plan, with a LifePlan coach on a 2-day Life Planning session. It is the best 2 days I've spent and it has transformed my life: I understand the reason for my reaction to certain past and current situations based on key discoveries of patterns in my life; I see areas in my life (domains as he calls them) where I am overloaded and areas I have ignored and need to address to balance my life. As we go about our every day, busy lives we are so consumed with the day to day, that we lose track of the big picture of God's plan for our lives. This book forces you to be still and hear God's voice and his guidance for your life. As a result, doing the exercises and the life plan session made me closer to God. And that in the end is the key to a successful life review.

I was first introduced to Tom's book 3 years ago. Since then, I have come to know Tom personally and consider it one of the great blessings of my life to know this man of God. As a certified LifePlanner (TM), I am a witness to a the life altering power contained in this book. I give away 5 or more copies a month. Read it, Live it, Give it away.

I met Tom Paterson in 1995 at a crossroad time in my life. I spent two days with him as he facilitated my LifePlan. Those two days changed my life. The LifePlanning process transformed my future and set me squarely in the center of the life I am meant to live. My life is authentic, fulfilling and flows from my passions and talents. Tom helped me get clear on these issues. Since that time I have sat at his feet and learned how to facilitate LifePlans. The process is genius - the technology is brilliant - the outcome is amazing. The content of this book reveals the core of the LifePlanning process. Read it...do the work...and you will be living the life you are meant to live. Tom Paterson is the real deal.

I read this book a year ago and now it is one of the books that I most recommend to others. Tom Paterson has an insight into God and mankind that help a person as they go through life changes.

His analytical approach makes one look at his life through a "big picture" lens and see what God sees. He breaks our life into 5 areas and challenges us to examine each area to see how God is at work.

Just as the wise prophet once said, "An unexamined life is not worth living" so Tom Paterson gives us the keys to examining our life and see where God is at work. This book can be used by anyone at any stage of life, but particularly one who is going through Halftime in his or her life and is questioning "what is next."

This book is well worth your time. You can do the exercises right from the book. In addition, there are a number of people, including myself, who have been trained by Tom Paterson to take a person through this process. Let me know if you want help in this life journey.

I just finished this book, and my title says it all...well, almost--

Owen has you nailed. Your Old Man has certain strategies for interfering with your communion with our Holy God. Your Old Man wants to flee from His presence, and he will prompt you to sin, forcing you to grieve the Holy Spirit in order to give himself a breather from your fellowship. That's one of his motives. Your Old Man is you, with all your imagination and creativity, and pet sins. Owen will teach you how to recognize, track, and thwart his stratagems by prayer and watchfulness.

One noteworthy lesson from Owen will prove familiar to all spiritual warriors, and that is the Old Man's line, "This far and no farther." Sound familiar? "I'll just look at this one thing on the web, but go no farther." "I'll just have dinner with her, no more." May I add here that I've noticed just how prominent the word "just" is in the Old Man's lexicon. When you hear it echo in your mind, drop to your knees and start praying, because "it's on!"

Think of this book as critical intelligence on enemy movements and dispositions that has been stolen from enemy headquarters by a stalwart agent of proven worth. You might win without it, but you'll suffer a number of defeats along the way that could easily have been avoided. Our final victory is indeed assured, for He Who has begun a good work in us will finish it unto the day of Christ Jesus Our Lord, but whether you start beating the guts our of your Old Man now or only much later depends largely on how well you now "know thy self," for to know thy self is to "know thine enemy." To wage war while despising critical intelligence is the height of folly, for it is to give your enemy victories that might easily have been yours and is to prolong the suffering needlessly. Sure you have an enemy army without your walls, the Evil One and his minions, seeking to sift and devour you, but you have a tireless enemy within as well, who desperately wants to cooperate with him and throw open your gates to let him in. You must identify this spy, track, pursue, seize and bind him in chains and cast him into your deepest dungeon; but keep watch, for he fights furiously to free himself and turn the tables on you. Owen will show you how to put his neck under your boot, and through prayer and watchfulness keep him there, but it is up to you both to read this book and yet also manage to remember its lessons once the fog of battle descends on your mind in the heat of temptation and obscures your love of Christ.

If you read this work prayerfully, perhaps in conjunction with "Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices," by Brooks (ISBN: 0851510027), and "The Christian in Complete Armour," by Gurnall (the full 1244-page version, ISBN: 0851511961), you'll find yourself promoted to officer in His army in no time. J.C. Ryle's "Holiness" is a goodie, too (ISBN: 0967760356), but this one by Owen is the clear winner for crucifying the flesh with its passions and desires.

If you're a purist and desire to read only undistilled versions of Owen and others, insisting on the Complete Works of..., or whatever, be at peace and buy this. It's by no means distilled, and though it is still a little bit of work it is by no means as hard to get through as Death of Death. I too prefer the works in the original, and that is indeed what you're going to get here, but with footnotes to explain archaisms and a few corrections to Owen's errant citations, etc. You can tell the editors love Owen in the original, too. I guarantee you won't regret this purchase.

Stop reading and start buying! For the Christian is from moment to moment, day to day, either advancing or retreating, conquering or being conquered. Put on the whole armor of God, read this intelligence on the ploys of your traitor within, and get on with your conquest!

Absolutely at the top of the list, just under The Holy Book of God, you will find this masterpiece. Of all the oceans I have dared to surf, the ocean of Owens' "Overcoming Sin & Temptation" will quickly grab at your heels and pull you under. However, after returning to the crest of the water, you are ready to dive again. Endless thoughts he ponders on the awfulness and despicableness of sin to which he offers God's Holy Word as the ONLY balm of healing. Any scholar or student of the Word of God must take on the challenge of digesting even "parts" of this book. I will for the next twenty years be scouring the pages of this volume to understand the depth of the wisdom of John Owen.

I'm about a third of the way through having owned it for a little over a month, and the book is phenomenal. This is not light reading though, and one must be in a state of high mental and spiritual aptitude, as well as prepared to reread a sentence or two now and again. Concurrently, I'd say this is a book to spend some time with rather than trying to rush through in a week or two.
They just don't write 'em like they used to...America we need revival!!!

Takes plenty of work to read, but magnificently rewarding. I don't know of anything that compares to it on these topics of sin and tempation. It took me over a year, but I read all 400 pages and loved just about every minute of it.

This is a well written and thought out book by John Owen. The editors have done a great job making it accessible to laymen like myself. After reading the forwards I was intimidated to even start, but with their "modernizing" of the language and useful footnotes at the bottom of each page, they have helped make this a book that many will understand and learn from.
I would highly recommend it. You may spend a lot of time on one page, but you will grow in your faith and find scripture passages enlightening in new ways to you.
Take up and read!

Mark Albion explains a very contemporary balancing act: how to run a business based on values and still make a profit. Companies ranging from Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's to small bakeries and toy makers have prospered while supporting the social concerns of their founders and employees. Building such values-based businesses is not easy. They face the same profit-and-loss problems as other small companies, plus they take on an additional layer of social issues. Albion tells his personal story, buttressed by corporate examples and interviews with 75 owners of values-based businesses. getAbstract suggests this book full of practical advice to anyone who is willing to sign up for the challenge of running a values-based business.

This book gives good insight on how to build a successful business that goes beyond just profitability. Mark Albion describes how to strike a balance between personal values, profitability, corporate social responsibility, and environmental contributions by what he calls the "five values-based leadership practices". I do recommend this book to those interested in learning the characteristics of a values-based business leader.

Joseph Morgan
MBA Student at Loyola University New Orleans

Poor. It consists of fillers and redundancies that could hypothetically be widdled down to a small pamphlet. Albion throws around trendy managerial phrases throughout, but fails to inform the reader as to how to seriously apply them.

Great information and I will use in my life. Thank you Dr. Mark Albion, you are the best!!!!

While most of my Babson classmates are pursuing jobs in the corporate sector, I am working on a business plan for a values-based business which I hope to start after graduation this December.

Mark, thank you for providing me with a guideline.

--Derek Marin

I enjoyed this book. It reminded me a lot of "Grey's Anatomy" only it takes place in the early 1970's so it's interesting to see how many things have changed since then (women in the surgical field, major technology differences, etc.) Good character development, I felt like I really knew the characters by the end of the book. Sequel! Sequel!

The struggles, challenges, and rewards of being a medical intern are realistically and graphically portrayed in Pierce Scranton's "Learning Curve". The vivid accounts of medical conditions and procedures described in the book are offset by the constant reminders that doctors are, after all, human! The downside of that humanness is that medical mistakes can and are made, resulting in adverse affects on patients...sometimes in death. The upside of the humanness of doctors is that most of them really do CARE deeply about healing their patients, and they work so very hard toward that end.

The author has given us a very honest and insightful account of the everyday high drama that surrounds our physicians as they practice and learn how to blend their professional skills and knowledge with their humanness and love and respect for life.

Thank God for duck hunting!

I read Death On the Learning Curve while recovering from ankle surgery and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, someday in the future, I plan on reading it again! It was a hard book to put down and I couldn't wait to see the outcome of the medical drama. I now understand how hard it is for interns to make decisions that could cost another's life. While reading this book, I often gasped, laughed, and got teary eyed. You won't be disappointed if you invest your money and time into this book.

This review was written by Linda Gardner.

A really excellent book for anyone interested in the medical field. A true insight into doctors in training.

Dr. Scranton's book is a candid and realistic portrait of internship in the 1970's. Although some things have changed, many more things have remained the same. His attention to details makes this story very real and delightfully entertaining. This is a wonderful read for anyone in the medical profession, but medical knowledge is certainly not needed to follow the story line and thoroughly enjoy.

All around a very informative and well-written book. Great for anyone that would like to see positive changes in this world.

I have been a vegetarian all my life and have stopped using animal products (tested or material) for a decade or more. And still this book gave me ideas about plenty of more things to do to make my commitment more valuable to earth and me. One of the few 'How to' books that actually gets you started. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is considering becoming animal and earth friendly in their daily lives. I would also recommend Karen Logan's Clean House, Clean Planet for the people who are specifically looking for eco-friendly non-toxic house keeping tips

This book shrugs off all shrill rhetoric and provides many resources for animal-free products and animal-friendly services. Where it falls short is in its reliance on pointing out particular companies and services rather than being prescriptive. While interest in green products is on the rise, its still a business model that has more risk than average. In short, there's a good chance that many of these companies will close up shop. A better approach would have been to spend more time on how consumers can evaluate products and services. What are the best-in-class standards PETA expects? A good first effort for tone, but I will wait for the next edition in hopes that it will have more than a list of references.

I picked up this book mostly out of curiosity. I was curious about small choices I could make that could make a difference. I went to school and I have a degree in environmental science, but I never applied it in my work. I have always tried to make good informed choices as a consumer. As I feel while I can not change the world, but as a block on informed consumers together we can make kinder choices for our environment.

I liked that this book is broken down into sections that apply to all ages. Home and Garden, Fashion and Beauty, Food and Entertaining, Recreation and Vacations, Animals in the Home, Children and Family, Business and Education, Health, Volunteering and Getting active. So you can see the topics that go well with all members in a family.

She gives very practical suggestions substitutes for products that we currently use. She gives recipes for replacements that are harder on the environment. She gives tips on how to keep your pets happy and content. I liked that she gave a wealth of ideas and substitutions for things we currently do. Some books give one suggestion that isn't always workable. I feel that through reading this book that I can make better and informed decisions as a consumer.

My roommate bought me a copy of this book and it's really opened my eyes! Although I've been vegan for several years I didn't realize how much more I could be doing to help the world around me by making smarter choices. It's not only inspiring but a great resource book as well.

Estoy atravezando una crisis en mi relacion el cual me ha hecho sentir culpable al mismo tiempo que me han culpado de todo lo que ha pasado. Pero este libro me ha demostrado que no es asi. Ahora siento una gran paz interior. Me ha hecho entender que nada de esto esta en mis manos, y que solo tengo que esperar a que el huracan pase y vuelva de nuevo la calma.

Helps free us mentally from the past. I started reading it and it's so true what has been past from our ancestors (grandparents, to our parents) affect our success in life and how we cope with our problems because of those believes.

I recommend it to anyone that it's feeling tied up in life, one who is fearful or anxious. It's a great book for those who are willing to be open minded, and wants to receive the best. One who wants to move up in life and enjoy it while forgiving those who we have held captive in our insecurities and gruges.

Must read and give as a gift. It's food for the mind, and easy to read.

It is a good book about how you should act in your life. How our parents are doing what their parent do with them. It is good to read and try to put in practice.... It is dificult when you put in practice, but remember practice make the master!!

No words to describe the amazing content of this book.
A must! It changed my life.

Compre este libro por curiosidad por que lo vi en Jamba juice pero la curiosidad a sido fantastica. No solo es una guia pero mas una reflecion a las cosas que sabemos y no queremos enfrentar. Me a ayudado en mi relacion con parejar, hijos y hermandos. Despuesto compre 6 copias mas para regalar a mis queridos. Por que amor es de dos no de uno. Miedo es de dos no de uno. Si no crees en un dios cree en la reflecion del humano oh ciencia de la sabiduria.

This book was almost impossible to put down, with such compelling content that I actually forgot I was having lunch in a restaurant while reading it! This book takes little time to read but should provoke considerable reflection in the reader. We ALL need this reminder of the impact of our words and that we CAN CONTROL our reactions to events and to others and that we MUST consider the consequences of our word choices on others.

The best book around on this subject. Intelligently written without being scholarly and academic. Get copies for yourself and all of your friends. The Bible and Jewish tradition have much to say about speech and that muscle in our mouths that causes so much trouble. Applying the wisdom in this book can change one's life. Be quick to listen, slow to speak. Heed the words of Proverbs and James 3:5-6. Speak like you want others to speak to you. Speak words that build up--not those that tear down.

Wonderful, thought provoking, life changing book. Really caused me to examine my speech habits and to consider the great power of my spoken words. This would be a great book for a club or even a study group. Jew or Gentile could gain much from reading and applying this book.

This book's awesome! Powerful messages that change the way one looks at the words. Loved it. Received as described!

I have owned this book for many years, both my son and daughter have a copy. This is an absolute must read not just for those of the us who are Jewish; but for anyone who struggles with the truth or is incapable of telling it. I have given this particular book many, many times. Only recently I thought of a business arrangement involving a particular couple who would benefit from this book. I have ordered this book for them and hope this reading sets them free.

I first encountered the books of Schaeffer in the mid 70s when I was a new Christian at the University of the Philippines. My cell group leader would often quote him. What I like about him then was he was able to explain the Christian faith in a rational and philosophical manner.

Reading again his "The God who is There" thirty years after brought these fond memories of him. I am privileged to renew my acquiantance with this intellectual giant.

A good friend who knew that I just bought Schaeffer's five volumes commented to me -- "Don't forget your wife and kids". Yes I intend to read the rest of the remaining 21 titles in the collection. This is my way of paying tribute to this great man. Mabuhay ka!

Thank you all for your reviews. You have already said just about everything I would have said far more elegantly than I could have. About the only thing that I would add is that were it not for this man (his "How Should We Then Live" film series to be precise) I would not be a Christian today.

Dr. Schaeffer was the first man in my life who said (without words), "It's OK to be a devout Christian without getting lobotomized."

Prior to Schaeffer I backslid twice. After Schaeffer I have been steadfast and stable primarily because I developed a fully formed Christian World View and Reformed Theology. (30+ years and still going strong)

Then I discovered Edith Schaeffer and the "softer" side of my Christian faith began to bloom.

I owe a tremendous debt to Dr. and Mrs. Schaefer and can't recommend this particular imprint highly enough. If I could give it more than 5-Stars I would!

Here a list of Edith's work that will help you develop the "softer" of your Christian faith:

The Tapestry: The Life and Times of Francis and Edith Schaeffer

L'Abri

Christianity Is Jewish

Forever music

A Celebration of Marriage: Hopes and Realities

Art of Life

Common Sense Christian Living

The Life of Prayer

10 Things Parents Must Teach Their Children (And Learn for Themselves)

Affliction

P.S.
Personal note: My faith has even survived the onslaught of the Schaeffer's obnoxious, abrasive, loud-mouthed, narcissistic son! I thank God that Dr. and Mrs. Schaeffer also taught me how to put my faith in God not men. However, Franky's sad outcome is a constant reminder to me that ministry to the world must never, never, never supersede ministry to my family (which seems to be the take away lesson of Franky's book "Crazy for God" - as in, "Don't let your kids end up like Franky Schaeffer!")

this collection is well printed and bound, contains all the books in 5 easy to handle volumes, good clear fairly large text and diagrams accurately reproduced. Francis wrote the foreword to this collection and explains some minor differences in the printing to previous stand a lone books.

an excellent buy

Francis Schaeffer pinpoints the problems of humanism and how they affect the 20th century. He give insights to the Christian to help him understand history and art and philosophy from a Biblical point of view. Schaeffer discerns the meaning and lack of meaning in the humanities for the bewildered secularized Christian.

Having recently reread many of the works of Francis Schaeffer, it seems right to list several lessons he can teach Bible-believing Christians (and others) today. Schaeffer was a prophetic generalist, pastor, apologist, and primarily an evangelist. That latter is how he typically explained himself.

1. Schaeffer had a passion for God and truth. This came out of his intellectual conversion as a teenager, after he read both classical Greek literature and the Bible, as well as from his intellectual crisis that hit him after over a decade of ministry. Having not see the reality of Christian love and the work of the Spirit, he questioned everything for several months, yet returned stronger, spiritually and mentally to the task.

2. Schaeffer cared deeply about the lostness of modern people. NonChristians were not "objects" for this man of God, but image-bearers of God who were hopeless apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Schaeffer exegeted culture, he did so with an angle on how so much of culture reveals a lack of hope and meaning. In his apologetic conversations, Schaeffer would not cognitively spare with opponents, but try to lead souls to truth through love and reason--and not without tears, as he often said.

3. Schaeffer was an unapologetic generalist for the cause of Christ. He studied the areas he thought pertinent to ministry and the calling of the church in his day. While some wrongly took his judgments as the last word, they were almost always a vital first word and call to further study and prophetic engagement with the world under Christ.

4. Schaeffer was not a self-promoter, but sought God for life and ministry. The L'Abri ministry of apologetics, evangelism, and study in the Swiss Alps developed as Francis and Edit responded to the needs of questioning students. Later in his ministry, Schaeffer was sometimes promoted too heavily. This may have been the fault of his son, Franky, who produced the film series, "How Shall We Then Live?" and "Whatever Happened to the Human Race?" (Franky is a sad story. He went on to leave Protestantism for Orthodoxy and to write series of not-so-thinly disguised autobiographical/fictional works criticizing his parents and their religion.) Schaeffer never even planned to write books, but wrote when his lectures and discussion were so well received that books were requested.

5. Schaeffer loved the arts, could recognize aesthetic goodness even in nonChristian (or anti-Christian) art, and gave Christian artists permission and vision for artistic endeavor. On all of this see Art and the Bible, recently republished with a foreword by musician and author Michael Caird. He often spoke of bringing "beauty" into the Christian life.

6. Schaeffer had a deep knowledge of and love for Scripture. The Bible was a living reality for his man. He said in The God Who is There that we must be studying the Scriptures daily in order to present the truth to unbelievers. He himself read at least three chapters from the OT and one from the NT each day. His writings exude biblical truth and wisdom. Let us do likewise (Acts 17:11).

7. Schaeffer was "a man of the Reformation," who, nevertheless, was not doctrinaire or haughty about his Calvinism. Schaeffer realized that the Reformation was necessary and that we must remain "a reformed church always reforming." The Reformers, while hardly perfect, brought the Scripture back to its rightful centrality and also opened up social and cultural wonders for the West, as Schaeffer pointed out in How Shall We Then Live? and A Christian Manifesto. While Schaeffer believed in and taught The Westminster Standards, his appeal radiated far wider than Reformed and Presbyterian circles.

In a time when some, such as emergent author Brian McLaren, are calling us to be "post-Protestant," this means needs to be heard and headed. The Five Solas of the Reformation are not optional for Christianity, but are its life blood. Nevertheless, those who hold to the Five Points of Calvinism (the TULIP), as I do, should do so with conviction, but also humility. Five Pointers can and should work with Christians of other persuasions so long as the essential gospel is not compromised.

Therefore, let read and reread Francis Schaeffer. I suggest you purchase The Collected Works and work your way through them--for the glory of God, for the good of his church, and for the furtherance of the Kingdom. If you think you have "no time" to read, then make time. Eliminate distractions and immerse yourself in these books.

Before I read LIFE ON PURPOSE I participated in several of Brad Swift's Teleconferences where he outlined the process in his book. What and how he shared touched me and I wanted to experience going through the passages he spoke of and discover what it might reveal for my life. I found the book filled with questions, big, small, simple, easy and quite a few challenging - by far almost all worthwhile answering. The text is peppered with wonderful quotes that range from profound to hilarious. It is easy reading and light of heart for a 'serious' book about a big topic.
For myself, I found Brad's 3rd passage, UNCOVERING WHAT'S BEEN SHAPING YOUR LIFE, the simplest and most direct approach to 'examining the past' I have ever come across. Brad takes the seemingly complicated issues that often unconsciously shape our lives -survival patterns, role models, socio-economics, religion, nationality, etc - and renders them understandable in a 'non-psychological' manner - without bypassing powerful emotions such as fear and vulnerability. His path of questions reveal the pattern of the "wall paper" that you have been staring at in your everyday life and perhaps never noticed. Then, this pattern is distilled into a concise description he terms your "Inherited Purpose" which is from then on contrasted with the evolving discovery of your "Life Purpose" throughout the rest of the book. This distillation proved extremely useful to me, as I explored the rest of the passages and as I continue on in my Life Purpose. Every time the "Inherited Purpose" infiltrates my thinking I can easily identify and dispel its deadening presence. Now, my Life Purpose is an evolving endeavor that has the very best of me at the forefront of my life. LIFE ON PURPOSE is not a silver bullet with fast answers but an excavation that frees one's intuition and liberates consciousness for the purpose your heart cries out for.

After retiring from the Federal Government in order to move from DC and pursue a teaching career I had all but given up. No one was interested in hiring this late 50's veteran who just wanted to teach. I heard Brad at church and bought his book Life on Purpose. I did all the exercises which reinvigorated my belief the I was to BE a teacher. Within another month I was offered a job as a co teacher of Exceptional Children, teaching two Language Arts and two Science classes in a middle school. Brad's book was a significant part of my commitment to being a teacher. Read the book, do the exercises it may just work for you too.

I interviewed Brad on my radio show and found both Brad and his book to be sincere and enthusiastic. This book provides easy-to-use steps to a life more filled with awareness and contentment. Lee Channing.

It's fairly easy for many people to agree that we all came to this world for a purpose. That we have a divine reason to be here, with our specific set of gifts, to put them at the service of the world and all those we come in contact with, and transform our lives to be a reflection of our divine purpose. The big question is "HOW?" Dr Swift's book - "Life on Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life" is a practical and inspirational guide that walks you by the hand through the process of first reaching clarity on the why are we here question, and then on the second stage, how to make our life a reflection of that divine reason.
I have gone through his Tele-Course on "Living a Fulfilled Life" and also have read the book and are using it as guide for me and also for others dear in my life, to help make the dream of creating a "World on Purpose" a reality. I strongly recommend it!
Ricardo

By accident I came accross this book, looking for marital advice I came across a web site that had really nothing to do with what I was looking for and one of the recommended readings was "Life on Purpose" so I bought it. What could it hurt?! It is great! I have started reading and each time a question comes up or a test is given, what ever it is, I pull out a blank sheet of paper, write it at the top and answer it but if I have trouble answering the question I finish reading and come back to my piece of paper. Then I add it to a three ring binder and am creating a workbook of sorts that I can go back and refer to. This helps you see your progress and gives you a "paper trail" so you can see where you are and where you came from. It has really opened my eyes and makes you think and see things from different angles than you normally would. I recommend it. What could it hurt?

A friend maintains that "very few conspiracies don't get found out".. this is definitely true in this case, but how many other experiments have been done on children, perhaps wards of the state in numerous states using private agencies subcontracting with state child care agencies that we might never hear about?

Of particular interest is the Fernald school chapter, where MIT researchers befriended vulnerable kids and traded "friendship" and "caring" for doses of irradiated milk the kids were made to drink without their knowledge or consent in Massachusetts.

This book was completely amazing.

First, you want to be appalled {as well you should} with the amount and type of experiments that were carried out {radioactive cocktails for pregnant women!!}. How could anyone do this to another person??

Then, you think of the people in your own life who have gotten bone marrow transplants, or radiation treatment for cancer. It gets harder to hold the original doctors as evil monsters. Don't misunderstand me - informed consent is a must. How do you inform them of outcomes that are absolutely unknown - how do you start to know?

I thought a lot about this book as I read it, and continue to think about it now that I'm done. I'm sure there must be a middle ground between what they did, and what needed to be done. It is riveting and amazing.

The release of Eileen Welsome's book "THE PLUTONIUM FILES- America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War" in paperback will hopefully make this important book more accessible to the general public.

Detailing the effort of the US government to test the effects of Plutonium and other radioactive substances on people, the book outlines first the creation and evolution of the nuclear program that created the need for such testing, and then the US government's attempt to conduct such testing on its own citizens without their knowledge or informed consent. On strictly a superficial level there is much here which will attract the "x-files" crowd: Super-secret installations, eccentric scientists and far-fetched experiments on unsuspecting citizens. The kind of information that makes conspiracy theorists sit back from their computers in darkened little rooms, pump their fist in the air and utter that now-hackneyed phrase: "The truth is out there"

Fortunately for the reader, Welsome assiduously avoids such sensationalism and instead draws a largely compassionate picture of the US government's program and of the people who perpetrated it and who participated in it. Welsome's well structured and organized account of the growth of the plutonium testing programs involving critically ill persons across America during the Cold War years teems with information and insight, yet it manages to treat victim and perpetrator alike with a measure of respect and empathy that places this book well above the level of the standard "Shocking Expose". To her great credit Welsome goes beyond merely packaging the results of her extensive research and alarming discoveries in a "tell-all" book.

Certainly, THE PLUTONIUM FILES introduces information which, by its nature is bound to shock and disturb many, but the book also addresses the too-often forgotten issue of context: Was what happened acceptable by the standards of the time in which it occurred? In addressing this question Welsome probes more deeply into her subject, examining the duality, the moral dichotomy, inherent in the decision to implement this program. In a time when the world was still dealing with the results of a devastating world war and the possibility of another seemed likely the need for answers had an immediacy which could be ignored only at the world's peril. Hard decisions had to be made and extraordinary measures taken; Welsome is clearly cognizant of this as she assess each program and as she examines and balances the need against the action and its end result, the author treats the reader to some of her best analysis.

The Plutonium Files- America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War is certainly an important book; one which adds a significant chapter to the recorded history of the growth of atomic science. Despite its scientific topic and exhaustive sourcing the books narrative is direct and engaging, its organization straightforward and its conclusions informed and objective. A book that is well worth its price, Welsome's book would be a great Christmas present for everyone from an avid historian to the omni-present x-files fan; who will find much in here to confirm their most exotic fears. Overall an excellent book for which the author has received two much deserved awards.

This book has been haunting me since I finished it almost a year ago. How could we justify human experimentation? In the name of national security in the time of war? In the name of national pride in the age of nuclear arm race? Or, simply for the sake of personal career advancement? The answer is: WE CANNOT. What strikes me is that some of the scientists in question were building their career and reputation by conducting these secret experimentation. They were enjoying their fame and success while their victims and many generations after (if the victims still managed to have children) continued to suffer. What disgusts me the most is that even in the final moment of their life some of these scientists still denied any wrong-doing. When I read to that part, my heart ached and I could not hold back my tears, for I was a scientist too. Now a year later, I am still haunted by those stories. But more so I have come to realize a new question: If those experiments were done on other animals instead of human, would the book still raised the same controversy and interest?

This book is scary to say the least. It is well researched and details what is a practice probably still going on today in experiements we do not know about. I was particularly troubled by the Fernald school, where unwanted kids were befriended by MIT researchers who took them on trips and gave them presents in return for the kids drinking radioactive milkshakes. Was some of this done to generate data for use in bringing the first commercial microwave to market by Raytheon?

I was a guinea pig of sorts growing up in state child care and years later was confronted in an interview with what i suspect was a NSA employee as to whether i knew what " a controlled experiment is". As a young child, a former Pentagon official befriended me and tracked me,keeping files for research purposes over a 20+ year period.

Whitey Bulger is alleged to have been a participant in the MK Ultra experiments involving LSD.

I strongly recommend this and Jonathan Harr's "A Civil Action" to anyone!