Ethics Books

Laura and Guy bring life and humor to what can certainly be an unpleasant topic for hikers and users of our woods: wilderness protection. Read this, but do not dread it.. this is not a dry presentation of credos that is going to tell you what to do and not do. Rather, Laura and Guy tell you that they were once part of the problem (as surely we all once were) and that we must realize the larger implications of small decisions. From this creation of affinity they encourage a vision that should inform our actions and dialogue. This is a book to share, re-read, and live by.

Reading Guy and Laura Waterman's Backwoods Ethics is like flipping through a vintage scrapbook; their collection of memories and insights from decades of hiking, climbing, and camping in the Northeast coalesce into a journey to another era. When Backwoods Ethics was first published in 1979 it was hailed as a prophetic call to protect the backcountry: the wild landscape of mountains and forests the authors have long called home. Today, more than two decades later, many of the Waterman's passionate proposals continue to blaze the way towards a new relationship between recreationists and wildlands, not only in New England but throughout North America.

Although Backwoods Ethics details practical techniques for "low-impact hiking, camping and cooking, and alpine management" it delves much deeper than the typical how-to manual. The Watermans believe "if something in the world of nature is to be preserved, it must be by our accepting the role of stewards. This need not, must not, be undertaken in a spirit of arrogance, but on the contrary in one of humility and recognition that we often do not really know what we should do. But we must try to learn, and to act responsibly." The authors make no claim to be "profound philosophers," in fact they advocate the opposite, yet their understanding that recreation need not be just another form of exploitation, that it can be undertaken in a spirit of reciprocation with the land, is the essence of the ever-evolving wildlands ethic.

Like outdoor educators at their best, the Watermans are humorous, kindly, and thoughtful in their attempts to steer others from the high-impact backcountry practices of the past towards the minimum-impact ways of today. They readily acknowledge that the habits of an earlier generation-washing dishes in the nearest stream, cutting spruce or fir boughs (an entire trees worth!) to make a springy mattress, hacking down trees with the trusty axe for a blazing campfire, or tossing empty cans and leftover food into a communal trash pit-were not necessarily wrong for their time. We may shudder to recall these practices now, the Watermans observe, but when only a handful of campers could be found in the backcountry the land could absorb the impact of such practices.

Today, the authors note, "we have become more numerous, by manifold, and so we have been forced to change." If the reader is willing to toss the Waterman's denial of philosophical skills aside this simple quote can be applied universally (in all senses of the word). Backwoods Ethics, like the wildlands ethic it helped to inspire, reaches far beyond simply attempting to preserve the backcountry experience. It is an attempt to "reach people's minds" and allow them to connect with the planet that gives them life.

If you are an outdoors-person, then this is a must read. Anyone involved in any outdoor groups should read this and have members read this! Newcomers and old pros alike may love this literature, for its leasons are timeless! Thank you, Laura and Guy Waterman!

This title and "Wilderness Ethics" are pioneering works forming 'a code that we can live by'. Guy chose to climg the high ridge one last time, on a trail, 'beyond the ranges'. His true farewell will be publication of his collected works forthcoming.See also books by the late Scott Nearing & his wife.

This book was one of the originals in this subject, not to mention one of the best. What is great about this book is that not only is it a how-to manual for leave no trace camping, but it also explores the multi-faceted issue of "what are we trying to preserve" with our remaining wild lands. As someone who works in the field of backcountry land management, I couldn't recommend this book more highly to both hikers and land managers alike. Check out the companion book, Wilderness Ethics as well. Pete Ketcham, Green Mountain Club, Vermont.

this isn't the highest quality paper, but it's an economical way to get three works. there is not much in the way of editorial content, but depending on your interests that may be fine.

I read this book for a graduate class in Philosophy. Dr. Dale Miller who was the editor for this book was my professor. He is excellent and an expert on J. S. Mill. Recommended reading for anyone interested in philosophy, political science, and history.

John Stuart Mill, 1806-73, worked for the East India Co. helped run Colonial India from England. Minister of Parliament 1865-68 he served one term. Maiden speech was a disaster his second was great success. He was first MP to propose that women should be given the vote on equal footing with the men who could vote. He got 1/3 support, England gives franchise to women after U.S. He was a great Feminist, his essay "Subjection of Women" is written with great passion and prose. It was a brave position for him to take he was ridiculed for it. He favored democracy, and letting more men from lower classes the right to vote, but believed that people that are more educated should have more votes then less educated because they would make better decisions about what government should do. He would have wanted to extend education to the masses, so that all may have gotten 2-3 votes and so on. He didn't think it should be extended to where a small elite could carry the day on votes. The idea was that if the working class, and middle class, where divided on an issue, the people with more intelligence would have the power to tip the balance. Mill thought that people with more education would probably not only be better able to make political decisions, especially in terms of intellectually being able to see what would be best for the government to do, but that they would also be more concerned about the common good publicly then people in general. He was intensely educated by his father James. John could read Greek, and Latin at 6 yrs.; his Dad tutored him at home. Dad thought environment was everything. He was treated like an adult, never played games with kids; he had a very cerebral upbringing. He had a period of depression in his twenties, it changed his philosophy, and he recognized the importance of developing feelings along with the intellect, this is something that he stressed in his work. He read poetry to get out of depression; he became devoted to poetry and became a romantic. He fell in love with a married woman Harriet Taylor, was a platonic relationship, after her husband's death they married 3 years later and probably never consummated the marriage maybe due to Harriet having syphilis. His dedication to "On Liberty" is to her, very devoted to each other. Both buried together in Avignon France where they used to vacation.

Mill as a moral theorist subscribed to a theory we call Utilitarianism. It means---In some way morality is about the maximization of happiness. Whether actions are right or wrong depends on how happiness can be most effectively maximized. I say in some way, because there are allot of different kinds of Utilitarians. Allot of different ways of saying exactly how it is the maximization of happiness comes into morality. Therefore, happiness is clearly an important idea for Utilitarians. Mill has a hedonistic view of happiness, he thinks that happiness can be defined in terms of "pleasure in the absence of pain." What is distinctive about Mill in this area is that he believes that some kinds of pleasure are better than others are, and add more to a person's happiness than other kinds of pleasures. He believes in what he calls, "higher quality pleasures." These are pleasures, he says, that we get from the exercise of faculties that only human beings happen to have. So the intellect, imagination, the moral feelings, these are the sources of higher quality pleasures people use. His view seems to be that a certain quantity of intellectual pleasure just adds more to your happiness, and a given quantity of some lower pleasure like a kind we would share with the animals such as sensation, taste, sexual pleasure, etc. His "higher quality pleasures" in a way echo Aristotle's ethics. The idea of those things that make us distinctly human that are the real key to our happiness, that is in Mill also. It is not as limited to reason and intellect as Aristotle thinks. Mill recognizes the importance of the appreciation of beauty, aesthetic pleasure, and moral pleasure. He frankly owes a debt to Aristotle that he never properly acknowledges, never gives him proper credit.

"On Liberty" is Mill's is his most widely read and enduring work. It is an indispensable essay on political thought, which strenuously argues for individual liberty. He is defending what he calls the "liberty principle." It is a principle that guarantees individuals quite a bit of personal freedom. "That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant." These quoted sentences in John Stuart Mill's book, "On Liberty," embody the crux of his argument; that the power of the state must intrude as little as possible on the liberty of its citizenry. In essence, Mill was against using the power of the state through its lawmaking apparatus to compel citizens to conduct themselves in ways that society deems moral or appropriate. Mill thought that people had not only a right, but also a duty to develop their intellectual faculties, which is indispensable to maximize their happiness. He believed that society improved for all its citizens when they where left unfettered to the maximum extent possible, allowing them to use their imagination and intellect to improve themselves. Mill postulates a theory that societies usually institute laws based primarily on "personal preference" of its citizenry instead of established principles. This lack of clarity of opinion often leads to the government frequently interfering in the lives of its citizens unnecessarily. For Mill, there are very few times when the state can infringe on the personal liberty of others. Firstly, the state has the right to promulgate laws that prevent a person's actions from harming others. Secondly, the state must protect those citizens who are not mature enough to protect themselves, such as children. Thirdly, he exempts, "... backward states of society in which the race itself may be considered as in its nonage." In Mill's view, immature societies need a benevolent leader to rule them until they have developed to a point where they, "... have attained the capacity of being guided to their own improvement by conviction or persuasion ..." Mill said this third exemption did not apply to any of the countries in Europe. Mill believed that forced morality by the state on its citizen's liberties was destructive to their inward development, and could even lead to a violent reaction by them against the government.


There are different parts of his defense of this, different arguments that he gives. He has a long chapter on freedom of speech and press. He has some very specific reasons why he thinks those freedoms are important. Always in the background for Mill is the idea of development, and making it possible for more people to enjoy these higher quality pleasures. How do we help people develop their distinctly human faculties, in ways that will help them enjoy their higher quality pleasures? Because for him that is the way, we maximize the total amount of happiness that is enjoyed in the world, and that is the object of morality as far as he is concerned. Utilitarianists believe that maximizing happiness is ultimately, what morality is all about. That does not mean maximizing your own happiness that means maximizing the total amount of happiness that is enjoyed, not only by yourself but also by everybody else as well.

Roger Kimball, in his book "Experiments Against Reality" wrote, "On Liberty" was published in 1859, coincidentally the same year as "On the Origin of Species." Darwin's book has been credited--and blamed--for all manner of moral and religious mischief. But in the long run "On Liberty" may have effected an even greater revolution in sentiment.

Not that Mill was ever obscure or inaccessible, but while Prof Schneewind's Introduction adds little value, the notes and annotations by Dale E Miller certainly renders this compendium transparent, even to folks like me who have been dumbed down by years of television debates as primary intellectual nourishment. He enlightens each of Mill's chapters with a short and easily assimilated introductory overview. Complementing this with text annotations, collected at the back of the book. The annotations appear to be very well selected, as they are never too numerous to make flipping to the back of the book tedious, yet they manage to illuminate every aspect or item I might have found even remotely confusing, ambiguous or otherwise incomprehensible in the modern idiom.

This text is an excellent starting point for reading JS Mill, and is very well suited to the armchair philosopher who wishes to get into the material with ease and without encumbrance. However, there may be too little in the annotations in terms of external references, or cross references to Mill's other writings, or background information to satisfy the more academically inclined.

Of course anyone with even a nominal interest in what liberty is... NEEDS to read JS Mill. But then, you wouldn't be here if you didn't know that, right?

I am interested in Mill's contributions to utilitarian philosophy. Utilitarianism holds that morals should be based upon those acts which promote the greatest good to the greatest number of people. Human actions which foster happiness are held to be right, while those which yield the converse are wrong. Mill defines happiness as intended pleasure with the absence of pain. Also, he maintains that intended pleasure and freedom from pain are the only things desirable as personal ends. Pleasure which employs one's higher faculties tends to give more satisfaction than baser pleasures, or mere sensations. Few humans would exchange their limited, fleeting pleasures for the fullest ration of the pleasures of the "lower" animals. Since a noble character is made happier by its nobleness, utilitarianism can only attain its end towards the multiplication of happiness through a general elevation of the nobleness of the character of the larger population.

Mill states that pleasures and pains have different values to the actor. Only the judgment honed by experience can assist us in assessing appropriate trade-offs in acquiring a particular pleasure at the cost of gaining a specific pain as well. This type of cost/benefit analysis advocated by utilitarians gives rise to the criticism that utilitarianism results in coldness and lack of sympathy towards others. However, Mill claims that the proof of the worth of utilitarianism, or any other moral system, lies in its ability to produce good results.

Although it is sometimes difficult to wade through the dryness of Mill's rhetoric, it is truly worth it for the philosophical insights contained. This book is a good survey of Mill's thoughts on utilitarian ethics and many other subjects of value.

One of the main writers on liberty, J.S. Mill is often overlooked in introductory courses in Political Theory courses. I bought this books as a supplement in my class and it was a wonderful read that gave me an advantage. This book contains some of Mill's best work and the notes added by Schneewind give them an extra dimention and a few explanations that I am glad I had.

If you are tired of the daily negative headlines in the daily newspaper and daily media news, Bill Halamandaris's book offers the reader inspirational and heart tugging portraits of people who give of themselves to help others in their community. These people should be in the headlines everyday to show all of us that there are many special people in this world who put others ahead of themselves in their everyday life. Anyone who reads about them will be moved and inspired.

These are short little encouraging stories... each just a couple pages long. I compare it to a way more "grown up, more sophisticated" version of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books.

A very unlifting and responsive book. Bill Halamandaris does a great job of showing the best in people. He gets to the heart of what motivates us to do "acts of kindness." Good analysis on the who, what, and where of our better side of human nature....

This book strikes me as a reliable guide to happiness. It is understandable, applicable, and an antidote to the counterproductive 'me' philosophy ­ Hugh Downs, ABC News.Be the Light is a remarkable little book with a big message! As I read it I found myself nodding yes, yes, yes enthusiastically ­ Art LinkletterTeaching by example of lives well lived, Bill Halamandaris has drafted a blueprint for a happy and successful life from which we can all benefit - recommended to read and practice ­ Senator John Glenn

If you are tired of the daily negative headlines in the daily newspaper and daily media news, Bill Halamandaris's book offers the reader inspirational and heart tugging portraits of people who give of themselves to help others in their community. These people should be in the headlines everyday to show all of us that there are many special people in this world who put others ahead of themselves in their everyday life. Anyone who reads about them will be moved and inspired.

This product is for any parent out there interested in raising children successfully in this very scary and backwards world! By success, I mean "children that are happy, healthy, and know who they are both as persons and as memebers of their family". Besides being a great buy, it's also a GREAT GIFT! That came from the family that I purchased this CD set for. =-) If you ever get a chance to hear the speaker in person, I highly recommend it!

Matthew Kelly has taken a complex, difficult subject and made it simple. Not easy, but simple. He engages the reader in a series of conversations that run parallel to developing as an adult-and what we want for our children (or grandchildren).

Oftentimes his advice is a blinding flash of the obvious-but more often than not is something we know at some level-but are not acting on. For example he explores the four needs that every child has-and clearly differentiates between what we all can clearly recognize as a need-and something that is simply a want. I'd be more specific, but frankly, I want you to be curious and buy this book-it's that good.

He also clearly spells out the four things a child really needs from a parent, and then peppers the chapter with specific how-to's. One of the most poignant stories in the book is that of a five-year-old child asking his father how much he earned. The father got upset with this line of questioning, but eventually told his son "twenty dollars." Armed with that information his son asked if he could have ten dollars. This infuriated the father who proceeded to educate (or rather berate) his son in a very loud voice. He then sent him to bed. After a bit the father realized how harsh he had been and went to the son's room, apologized and asked forgiveness. He then gave his son the ten dollars that he had requested. With that the small boy pulled some crumpled bills out from under his pillow. This immediately caused the father to be upset again-until the boy said, "I was ten dollars short, but now I have enough. Can I buy an hour of your time?"

What a humbling experience. And this is the type of compelling story Kelly tells over and over again to make his key points come to life. This book is for anyone who truly wants to be a better parent or grandparent, and who is looking for answers to questions like:

* When should a child really have a cell phone?
* What types of video games are appropriate?
* How can I help my child deal with peer pressure?
* How can I have conversations that will help my child develop the values that will help them truly be their highest and best selves?
* How can I become the role model that I want to be as a parent (or a grandparent)?

Not only will the answers make sense. You will find practical strategies that can be readily implemented.

Armchair Interviews says: Run, don't walk to your bookstore and get this book.

This is excellent advice to raising amazing children. I only wish my children weren't grown. I will be utilizing the information on my grandchildren. Don't wait another minute. Order this CD set today.

Grandparents, you know all the advice you give your children and you are not sure they are listening ? Give them this book. This is a great book for raising all grandchildren and not just the amazing ones. The messages and directions are simple, similar to Rhythm of Life which is an earlier book by Matthew Kelly (and should also be shared with your children, especially the CD version, because we all know they don't have time to read.)

The ability for all of us to share messages of love and affection and caring, the approach to valuing time, the need to develop sincerity, and the need to show parental love as a real emotion and not an abstract, not a throw away remark to justify doing something unpleasant, are well laid out and solidly applied.

The goals espoused are all attainable with some reprioritization and focus. They do not require joining a commune, adopting holistic practices, or removing all wheat based products from your diet.

The book is an easy read for grandparents who will find themselves shouting out "yes", and crying out "listen to this" and wanting immediately to jump up and hug them all, big and small, toddler and teenager, and, yes, their parents. Maybe they will even start going to church.

Matthew Kelly is a motivating, dynamic and incredible messenger of truth for all. I would recommend Building Better Families to all members of the human family not just to the people who are raising children at the moment. He emphasizes filtering all your choices for yourself (or for those you are entrusted with caring for) through the question of "Will this help me to become the best version of myself?" That question brings clarity and reason back to the big decisions and the smaller choices in life.

This book discusses the shift in American education from "values-neutral" and "strictly content" education toward a different and necessary ideal: educating youngsters to live a "good life." (This is the goal that movie watchers saw in the final scene of "Saving Pvt. Ryan," where the older Ryan asks his wife and children, "Did I lead a good life?") Both authors are from the Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character at Boston University. They write primarily for educators and have teachers in mind. They promote the idea that education is in "its fullest sense is inescapably a moral enterprise" (p. 190).

I found the book to be well writeen and filled with many good examples. I particularly liked the Appendices (76 pages), filled with good advice. Ryan and Bohlin also discuss how character education is different from "values clarification" and "teaching a viewpoint." In character education, students discover the importance of (or lack of) virtues; that there are multiple answers to moral questions; that characters in literature and history "grow into" their moral positions, and that character education wishes to inculcate the importance of "knowing good, seeing good, and doing good."

This is the coming age in U.S. education. This book along with some others (William Damon, The Moral Child; Bringing in a New Era in Character Education; Thomas Lickona, Educating for Character) will provide a good theoretical background. Ryan and Bohlin warn us away from pre-packaged character education activities, and, as a result, I am not quite sure where to go from here (which is why I took off one star).

I hope you enjoy the book.

Few are the resources that leave parents and teachers both inspired and eager to continue in their task as educators. Engaging, practical and easy to read, 'Building Character in Schools' provides an uplifting view on how our children and young can become the great persons that they can be. A must read for anyone who cares about the young and our future society.

This is a wonderful, easy-to-read book about character education. It provides coherent, *non-religious* arguments in favor of character education, and then provides some practical guidelines and resources for implementation. In the wake of Columbine, how can anybody question the need for character education, particularly in the public schools?

This excellent book shows teachers and school officials how to create a character-building educational program and make it work.

Timely and on target, Building Character in Schools reads quickly and provides practical insights for today's educators and parents as they struggle to help children develop integral personalities. It is a must read for teachers who see their students as the future of our society, who need to develop habits and a vision that empower them to become honest, upright and noble citizens.

THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED. IT WILL REVOLUTIONALIZED YOUR THINKING. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN BEING DELIVERED AND BEING FREE. THIS BOOK WILL SHOW YOU HOW.

This book was very powerful for me, more timely than words can possibly express. Burden of Freedom shed light on many questions that I had for years concerning oppression and what I perceived as signs of an oppressed people. I think the best part of the book for me was the fact that Dr. Munroe spelled out a solution that we have heard time and time again, renewing the mind. He also clearly stated what the end result would be if we as a body of professing Christian believers, the oppressed and their oppressor, chose to retain our current thoughts towards each other. Dr. Munroe, I thank God for your profound and hard hitting truth. There is still a chance for us to choose life on purpose.

The Burden Of Freedom explains that too many people use past oppression to remain mired in hatred and irresponsibility today. The spirit of oppression has specific telltale effects on individuals, communities, and nations. These are identified by Myles Munroe as a hatred for work, laziness, fear, low self-esteem, selfishness, lack of creativity, low initiative, and distrust of those in authority. To break free from these self-replicating cycles of oppression there must be a mental transformation. Paradoxically, freedom requires the need to impose control on self, require more responsibility than slavery, and the decision to accept a destiny of freedom, recognizing the process and discipline that personal and political freedom require. Simply put, The Burden Of Freedom should be available to every citizen and on the shelves of every high-school, college, and community library in the country.

Are you tired of living on a merry-go-round? Can't figure out which way is up in life?
Get detoxed and liberated by renewing your mind with timeless wisdom which is priceless.
'Freedom is libeality of the mind both physically and mentally, it requires responsibility and it demands discipline and maintenance."

PLEASE IF YOU NEVER SELECT ANOTHER BOOK, THIS IS THE LAST BOOK ON EARTH TO READ PRIOR TO THE BIBLE!!

THIS IS NO JOKE! PLEASE READ IT TODAY AND SEPARATE YOURSELVES FROM THE CROWD AND Get FREED UP Today!!!!

In a public place, with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat I whispered the prayer " Father I am sobered by this reality. Please help me grow in my management calling. I promise to be a better manager from this day forward".

Sometimes we forget that in order to succeed we need to pay attention to little things such as ethics. This book really is an eye opener... I agree, it should be mandatory for every student in America.

This is the story of ethics, choices, and business presented the tale of one Edgar Benchley, a nerd who studies well and enters the world of business, where his questionable dealings keep resulting in his being fired. Ethics are brought to real life in this fable, which uses the story format to impart basics of ethics in the business world.

I have a unique relationship with the author. While I was an MBA student at Arizona State, she was my teacher. Now, I'm her literary agent. Not only is Jennings the nation's leading authority on ethics, but she's an incredible writer who will make you think and make you laugh. The book is a fable--in the spirit of WHO MOVED MY CHEESE and THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER--that you'll be able to read in one sitting, yet the lessons will last for a lifetime. If you own a company, this is a book you should buy for all your employees.

I absolutely love the new book on ethics by Marianne M. Jennings. She uses a parody to follow four students through their life from high school to middle age. One student, Edgar, has a big rabbit as his conscience. The rabbit appears whenever Edgar faces an ethical dilemma. Edgar repeatedly struggles through life as he sees his three friends achieve major financial gains by being unethical. Ms. Jennings does a wonderful job of illustrating the long-term benefits of running one's personal and business decisions through an ethical filter prior to action. This book should be mandatory reading for all college students.

The basic tenet of this book is that the author believes businesses can't truly build shareholder value without instutionalizing sound ethical practices. The author illustrates her position by creating four fictional characters who must all face various ethical and moral challenges throughout their lives as well as face the consequences of the choices they've made.

One character in particular; Edgar, has a competitive advantage over the others in the form of a very tall, and very pushy, invisible rabbit that fulfills the role of moral and ethical conscience for our hero throughout his life. I found the approach creative and entertaining.

Marianne Jennings punctuates her fictionalized lessons in ethics with many real-world examples from recent and distant history that perfectly capture the widespread pain and suffering that almost always result from unethical behavior. Companies such as WorldCom, FINOVA, Beechnut, General Motors, and John-Manville have paid millions of dollars in fines, and some of their top executives have served prison terms because of their inability to "do the right thing." In addition to the damage done to the economic base of the enterprise, there is the further toll taken on the employees, shareholders, and pubic at large.

The cornerstones of the book rest on the following ten "pointers for playing by the rules":

1) Honesty is a tough thing.
2) Playing by the rules means living with an occasional setback.
3) Doing the right thing often means more work.
4) Being ethical sometimes means running behind in the race.
5) Expect a little mockery for playing ethically.
6) Being ethical means you have to speak up.
7) Sometimes the ethical route is opportunity knocking.
8) The ethical finish first eventually, and with peace of mind.
9) Ethical indiscretions haunt the sprinters.
10) Success comes from doing what's honest and right.

The silver lining in the ethical behavior debate is that in the long run, companies who routinely engage in sound ethical practices usually win. No better example of a highly successful business executive that is renowned for his personal ethics can be made more forcefully than by the authors repeated references to none other than Warren Buffett.

At the corporate level, the highly ethical and brilliant handling of the potentially devastating public relations disaster faced by the makers of Tylenol pain products is a textbook example of how sound ethical behavior by a business can turn a losing situation into a major win.

But before the reader is ever treated to this delightful story with its carefully interwoven life lessons, Dr. Laura Schlessinger kicks off the book with an insightful and thought provoking Forward in a style that is uniquely hers to deliver a major coupe de tat for Ms. Jennings.

I have to agree with another reviewer that if you own a company, you should buy a copy of the book for every employee. Your future success may depend on the lessons it contains.

Beauty, brains and spunk are only a few of the traits that pass down through the genetics of Dr. Derrickson's family. What Carinian's family doesn't pass along is the chance to live a long life. Having most of her family die at young ages from one ailment or another has turned Carinian's sole focus in life to the research of gene therapy and the chance to combat what she knows to be an early demise in her future. Using the fables of vampire myths as her guide, Carinian attempts to create the equivalent of vampirism to save herself. In comes Jon Bixler, a Seeker for the Vampire Council of Ethics, whose mission is to find a rogue vampire by using Carinian any way he sees fit. Bix's uncontrollable emotions where she's concerned soon leads to another discovery; that the mouthy doctor is more than just a ways to a means, she's also his fated mate.

Talk about your untypical vampire story. Using a little urban flair, with an off brand sense of humor, T.J. Michaels creates a captivating story that had me laughing all the way through. In Carinian's Seeker, Carin, a feisty female doctor that has more brains than brawn, but enough heart to make up for her lack of physical power. I almost spit out my milk when, in the heat of a battle, she said how she wasn't a "punk b*tch". The last thing I expected, but just the right attitude for a woman whose vampire lover is pure alpha and all male. Bix, her vampire assassin, was just the right blend of controlling yet loving hero. Vulnerable when it comes to his woman, but still invincible in the heat of battle.

I found Carinian's Seeker to be a light read with arousing sensuality and plenty of action. I'm really looking forward to a follow-up story featuring Bix's best friend and a few of the other Seekers who I'm sure will be just as exciting to read about.

Indy
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I loved this book! The heroine was smart and sassy! The story moved along briskly and the sex was HOT! This is must read!!

"one of the best female leads I have read this year"

Carinian Derrickson is a scientist trying to find a cure for illness and a way for the cells to genetically fight off disease. She has a terror of dying young like the rest of her family and is determined to prevent this, no matter the cost or ethics she breaks. Carinian knows she is getting close if she can just prevent any one in her biotech company from finding out what she's doing. Then Bix walks into her life, does she trust him and give him her heart or run with the fear that has controlled her life?

Jon Bixler is one of the main seekers for the Vampire Council of Ethics, and he's investigating the biotech company and one of the scientists that works there. His plan was to use Carinian to get closer without giving the investigation away. He doesn't count on the attraction or the need to protect the doctor, so does he tell who he really is or continue to hide it from her and risk the best thing to happen to him in his long life?

I loved this book. The heroine is strong, determined and extremely intelligent. She is more than a match for the hero, in fact at times you wonder if he's strong enough for her. I have read other books by TJ Michaels, but none as good as Carinian's Seeker. This book is a keeper that no vampire fan will regret buying. I cannot say enough about how strong and smart Carinian is, she is one of the best female leads I have read this year. I can't wait until the next book in the series comes out; at least I hope there will be another.

Reviewed by Christina Hopper
Posted March 19, 2007

This is by far the best Vampire Love Story I have EVER read. Can't wait for the next book.

Carinian is a scientist minding her own experiments when Jon Bixler, or Bix as he prefers, begins to pursue her. She doesn't know it, but he's a vampire, she's his target, and things are about to get very complicated. There's a rogue vampire on the loose, and Bix thinks Carin can help him track her down and figure out exactly how he's trying to change vampire DNA. But the closer Bix and Carin get, the hotter things get. He's thinking forever, which for a vamp is a very long time. Carin is just hoping to get through this fling without having her heart broken so she can continue her experiments into prolonging her lifespan and break the long chain of early deaths in her family. But there's more surprises around the corner than either of them know.

Carin and Bix are both really strong characters. The brains and the brawn, respectively. But Carin is no pushover, and you like that about her immediately. Bix is sexy and alpha and very determined to make Carin come around to his way of thinking when it comes to their combustive relationship. The sex is hot! And the cast of supporting characters very cool. I predict that everyone will be clamoring for Alaan's book next.

This book is beautifully written and the story is powerfully, artfully told. Alex Prud'homme's eye for telling details and anecdotes brings to life all of the egos, greed, outsized appetites, and fat wallets that intersected in Sam Waksal and Martha Stewart's world. I couldn't put it down.

This fascinating story has appeared just as the Martha Stewart trial is getting underway. The book is crammed full of details not only concerning the principal characters, but also cancer treatments and the burgeoning world of biotechnology. Sam Waksal comes across as a mercurial salesman with no true sense of right or wrong, a classic striver seeking recognition and aspiring to great wealth, but also dissing the hopes of many with cancer. It's a good read -- fast-paced, up-to-date and accurate. If you really want to know why Waksal is in jail for seven years and how Martha Stewart became involved with his world, read this amazing and well-researched tale.

This is about the Cancer Game, which might be seen as a part of the Cancer Industry, a kind of bizarre and ghoulish phenomenon of modern times that exists precisely because there is no cure for cancer. Indeed, Alex Prud'homme, who is a gifted researcher and prose stylist, whose work has appeared in such prestigious journals as The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, etc., might very well have called his book "The Cancer Game." I wonder why he didn't. Would such a title have offended those who play the game?

It is specifically about the rise and fall of one Sam Waksal, oldest son of Jewish emigrants and Holocaust survivors, a man of irresistible charm, fabulous energy, and great intelligence, a man driven to success and the high life, a man who had bounced around academia without much success until in the 1980s he saw an opportunity to become a player in the cancer game, and, along with his younger brother Harlan, founded ImClone Systems, Inc.

It is also about an anticancer drug called Erbitux, originally known as C225 because it was the 225th drug tested by its discoverers, John Mendelsohn and Gordon Sato in 1980. It showed promise because in tests it stopped the growth of tumors in mice.

And finally it is a story about how drugs get discovered, how they are developed, and especially how they get approved (or not) by the Food and Drug Administration. And of course it is about the Byzantine and incestuous relationship that exists between that August government agency and the massive pharmaceutical industry.

The curious thing about all this is that Imclone never turned a profit, Erbitux never came to market, and most of the people associated with Waksal and ImClone either made out like bandits or got stuck holding the bag. The drug itself, which works against cancer tumors, particularly colon cancer, by cutting off the blood supply to the tumors (an "antiangiogenesis" drug), was touted as a miracle that would save the lives of innumerable patients and make possibly billions of dollars for ImClone.

At least this was the hype delivered by Sam Waksal, and bought hook, line and sinker by pharma giant Bristol-Myers Squibb, and by desperate cancer patients as well as salivating Wall Street investors who jumped on the bandwagon as ImClone's stock rocketed skyward. Because of the promise of the drug, Waksal himself was able to live his dream life as a New York socialite, throwing lavish parties for celebs (including Martha Stewart while he dated her daughter), collecting fine art, popping open $600 bottles of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild while secretly selling stock on the side, sending the proceeds overseas, buying expensive apartments and houses for himself, etc., etc.

But the cold hard facts of Erbitux, like those of almost any cancer drug one can name, are very far from the hype. As Prud'homme notes on pages 332-333, "these agents...[Erbitux and others like Avastin and Iressa] are remarkable scientific advances, [but] they still only benefit some 10 to 20 percent of patients, and they only extend patients' lives by a matter of months."

That's it. That's the bottom line. And yet these drugs are so valuable that the companies that end up selling them can make hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars.

Waksal apparently came to this understanding sometime during the early eighties. He realized first the simple fact that the way the cancer industry works is doctors have to prescribe something rather than nothing. Then he realized that living a few months longer can mean a lot to people. Therefore any FDA-approved cancer drug will automatically fill a need. What this means is that the PROMISE of a cancer drug, if cleverly promoted, will spark a rally in the shares of the company that owns the patent. If, like Sam Waksal, you own millions of those shares, you can get rich on mere promise alone.

Furthermore, should the drug have any real value at all, and be approved (or even look like it's going to be approved) by the FDA, you might be able to get some pharmaceutical giant like Bristol-Myers Squibb to front a whole lot of money on that promise since they are desperate to find a cancer drug to replace those that have gone generic.

This works because even drugs with very limited effectiveness are better than no drug at all. This is true for many patients, for many doctors, and is especially true for the big pharmaceutical companies.

Note that these drugs are valuable because the people who need them are typically people of relative means who can afford to pay large sums of money for them, either through their HMOs, their government, or their own funds. In contrast a drug that would prolong the life of poor people in third world countries would be of only marginal value to the big pharmaceutical companies.

I should also mention that Prud'homme spends some serious ink in this book on Waksal's long-time friend Martha Stewart and her troubles. Her personality, her empire, and the way she handles herself are vividly detailed. In fact, some readers might find her story the most interesting part of the book.

This book is a fine character study of an amazingly talented man whose endless need to gratify his own appetites and emotional needs led him to careless and even cruel behavior. There is no denying the great talent of Sam Waksal, but to this day he doesn't seem to understand that his talent and accomplishments do not provide a license to indulge himself at other's expense.

It is amazingly sad that all of this misery was so pointless because Erbitux has at last been approved. It almost certainly could have been approved earlier if the talented team at ImClone would have had a culture of discipline and getting things done and documented in ways that everyone knew the FDA required. If they had, all this pain and loss would never have occurred and Dr. Waksal would be a real hero instead of the one he only pretended to be.

Mr. Prud'homme writes with style and vitality. The book moves along well and has a great feel for keeping the story personal and emotionally accessible for the reader. We don't get overwhelmed with the scientific side of things, although it is always interesting to read about this emerging science and the wizards who are making it happen.

I could hardly put this book down. Never mind the Martha Stewart trial, this is where the excitement and drama in the ImClone story lies.

Sam Waksal, a scientist and business developer with a checkered past, lives a celebrity lifestyle, hanging out with the rich and famous, owning several fancy houses, driving fast cars, and heading a firm that is working on a cancer drug so promising that people with no other hope of treatment are flinging themselves at ImClone, begging for a merciful dose of "Erbitux."

The drug apparently does reverse inoperable tumors in a few test patients who had no other hope of living. Now the race is on to fast-track the drug through the FDA approval process based on the glowing clinical trials. But the FDA reviewer is unaccountably unencouraging when meeting with one of ImClone's top scientists. What is wrong? Is Erbitux, instead of being approved , instead going have its application refused? Why! And what will this mean for the high-flying ImClone stock?

The book reads like the best thriller, and author Alex Prud'homme is adept at making you feel like the proverbial fly-on-the-wall during the action. If you are at all interested in what happened behind the Martha Stewart debacle, you must read this. It's fantastic.

There is no doubt that this thought-provoking book capitalizes on the passions which prove to compromise the human condition. The author utilizes moral wisdom handed down for nearly two-thousand years to confront the perplexed and wounded soul. It was very nice to read about the fact that those who engage in same-sex attractions should never be hated, scorned or dealt with unjustly or even uncharitably in any way! Bravo to this author for a well balanced approach to this contemporary and often thorny issue. I found the book to be replete with sage advice for all readers. No where did I perceive any Christian propaganda, as some may think and attempt to excoriate a most beneficial commentary of this kind. As we all may see the signs of the times, this book although short,will cast some light on relationships that's for sure. A smooth read, to say the least. If you want to gain a dramatical and somewhat humorous slant on the things of the flesh and the human condition that struggles, see the product link following. The Den of Iniquity

Thomas Hopko's sensitive and inclusive look at relationships is an excellent opportunity for anyone to fine tune and explore the meaning of relationship in their lives. Highly recommended reading for anyone.

Below is a review of Fr. Hopko's book that was unfortunately received by the publisher after the book had already gone to press, and was therefore not included with the final publication. Dr. Elizabeth Stuart is a Professor of Christian Theology at the University of Winchester. She is also a lesbian and a leading UK theologian specializing in Queer Theology. I believe the review speaks eloquently to the value of this book for those on both sides of this emotionally-charged issue. Her review is as follows:

"Although I profoundly disagree with the stance taken towards homosexuality in this book I found it a delight to read. It is a careful, compassionate and comprehensive discussion of contemporary same-sex attraction from the perspective of the Orthodox tradition. It is informed by gay and lesbian theology and other alternative perspectives. I would recommend it to all who study or who are personally involved in the issues around same-sex relationships in the Christian tradition, perhaps particularly to those not part of the Orthodox tradition, for the rich theology of that tradition frames the debate in very different terms to those of other denominations. This book holds out the possibility of a debate which need not fracture the Church nor create alarming levels of animosity between Christians. For this reason alone, it is worth reading and engaging with."

The Author: Father Tom Hopko, one of America's leading Orthodox theologians, author of many books, professor emeritus at St. Vladimir's Seminary.

Writing style: Succinct, clear, to the point. The whole book is just 126 pages, about half of those being notes.

Topic: The relationship between Orthodox Christianity, love, and same-sex attraction.

You will expect the author to scripturally and traditionally explain why same-sex genital relations are incompatible with Christianity. He does a good job of this, citing not only the Bible and Patristics but many current authors who disagree.

Father Tom also does a superb job of differentiating for Enlish-only readers, that Love has four components, Agape (charity), Storge (affection), Philia (fraternal love), and Eros (sex). He points out that in our fallen world, that it will be inevitable that many of us will have sinful passions of every sort, including an interest in same-sex pornia. He clearly separates this manifestation of God's providential permission from God's Essential Love.

In so doing, he shows that platonic same-sex love- in the form of agape, philia, and storge, is quite normal but argues convincingly that same-sex genital attraction joins a pantheon of other sinful desires, from gluttony to theft, as something we may have urges towards and even natures towards, but that we must deal with, not succumb to.

He then spends that last third of his monograph suggesting ways to live a Christian life and be welcome in the church and to deal with not only same-sex eros but a host of serious vices.

Perhaps his two most telling quotes are relegated to the footnotes. He quotes Saint Anthony to point out that all asceticism and mortification is not good, and that it can be pointless at times. He also has a wonderful quote about Christian living from the late Father Alex Schmemann; "It's how you deal with what you've been dealt."

Many readers who are same-sex practitioners won't want to read that their eros is a cross to bear, not a divine love. On the more fundamentalist end of the spectrum, some might have expected more condemnation from Father Tom (because they don't understand the Orthodoxy hermenuetic of Love, perhaps?).

Yet, Father Tom does a passionate defense of civil law, the civil rights of those in same-sex unions, and passionate chastisement of those who are too judgemental.

All readers will have to admit that this work is logical, compassionate, well-organized and researched, and in synchrony with mainstream Orthodox theology.

This is not a ponderous tome; it is a fresh and modest monograph. Those interested in the topic should take time to read it.

Christian Faith And Same-Sex Attraction by Thomas Hopko (Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir's Seminar) is an informed study presenting the visionary perspective of the church and the religious ideals towards same-sex attraction. Clearly defining theological and pastoral insights concerning the experience of same-sex-desires and acknowledgements, Christian Faith And Same-Sex Attraction analyses the nature of gender identity and sexuality through the perspective of Christian Orthodox theology and is very strongly recommended reading for members of the Orthodox Christian church seeking to understand the theological doctrines relative to the issues of same-sex attractions experienced by themselves and/or their friends.