Systems Books

This book is absolutely amazing. I ordered it for my blind grandson and then ordered another copy for myself. The text is accurate and the illustrations are amazing, awesome and out of this world. The illustrator has truly brought a new level of learning to the blind. Good Job!!!

My 6 year old loves this book. Much of the content will be current and relavant as he gets older and while he may not understand everything now he certainly enjoys it. The book is great for all ages and I have learned quite a bit. Of his library of braille books, this is his absolute favorite!

An excellent book to teach students who are blind or visually impaired about the sun. The tactile representations and the descriptor for each tactile representation are just what is needed to bring these abstract concepts home.

Fun to read. Really enjoyed the illustrations. It was a whole new experience for me. Thanks

I bought this book as a gift for my 11 yr old Daughter who is Blind.

I think the idea of having pictures that she can feel that are also illustrated so that myself and anyone else reading the book with her can see is GREAT! There is also printed text on every page so that sighted people can read it as well.

Out of all of the braille books she owns or has borrowed this is the best one in my opinion.

She was absolutely enthralled by this book.The information is presented in a way that was easy for her to comprehend.When I ordered this books I wasn't sure how she would react to a non-fiction book. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she absolutely loved it. All braille books should be done this well.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Sara, teaches how to turn your life from a Stone to a Gem. She motivates you to get rid of the debris in your life by coming out of the the Rock Pile and surrounding yourself with other Gems.

She tells about how she sat back and let God control her life. Sara Freeman Smith, is truly a GEM. A must read book!!!

After reading this powerful book,I was inspired, motivated and empowered, to seek my true God given purpose. This book offers practical and simple tools to aid in finding direction in every area of one's life.

Great job!!

This book is quite an inspiration to me for I am reminded of myself and the difficulties in life that befell me at an early age. I am greatful that the Love of God is displayed in the life of ordinary people.

I was moved and touched by the candidness of the author to share things that are quite senitive and kept close to the heart. That is something I want to do, yet the time is not right. To share how elderly people loved her enough to adopt her and rear her as their own child touched me in ways that are identifiable to my own situation.

It is my opinion that any oridnary person who is struggling to make their life worth while in the mist of difficulty would do well to read this book and discover that God knows how to intervene and provide you with what you need.

I must say that this is a very inspirational writing on what one could use to turn their life around and walk into a status of brillance. The author has explained in a clear format what it takes to accomplish the task of becoming a Gem...

Thought provoking questions are asked that will cause you to search your life and see where you've turned and maybe you should have walked straight or taken a step back and meditated for 15 minutes more. She realizes what the foundation should be in becoming a stronger person and uses sound doctrine to substantiate her findings.

She addresses throughout her writing expressions of possitive thinking and guidance on what process should be implemented to reach the next level in your life. You can not miss the mark once The Six P Process is setup and you are focused on obtaining change in your life.

As a writer and inspirational speaker, I can honestly say that this book inspired and motivated me! Sarah Freeman Smith does what few writers have the courage to do....she lets us see her as a person, not as a critical expert sitting up on a throne. After only a few pages, I found myself in awe of Sarah's life story. If anyone can tell us how to turn dull lives of stone into shimmering gems, it's Sarah. I put her in the league with Iyanla Van Zandt and Jewel Diamond Taylor!

This is an incredible book. The author articulates the dynamic of abuse in the most understandable language. Helpful to victims, as well as professionals.

"APPLICABLE TO BOTH JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES. The coping strategies and intervention techniques that are outlined provide guidance in pinpointing the sickness at its source and restoring felicity and order to religious leadership and the community."

Reviewd by: Adolescence

"Dr. Benyei's perspective expands the conceptualization of clergy sexual misconduct beyond the individual . . . to an occurrence within a community that is affected by a wide range of community issues and dynamics. . . . AN UNFLINCHING LOOK AT A TOPIC THAT IS CONTROVERSIAL AND PAINFUL. Highly recommended reading for both clergy and laity."

Reviewed by: Christine A. Courtois, PhD, Author, Healing the Incest Wound: Adult Survivors in Therapy and Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse; Clinical Director, The CENTER Posttraumatic Disorders Program, The Psychiatric Institute of Washington, Washington, DC

For the last decade or more an item often landing in the news has been the misconduct and abusiveness of clergy. In the late eighties this often had to with scandals surrounding TV evangelists, but lately much attention has been focused on the sexual abuse scandal within the Catholic Church. However, clergy abuse and misconduct have no boundaries as far as denominations, and unfortunately there does not seem to be a denomination yet with a good track record for dealing openly and truthfully when these things occur. The web site "Pokrov" for Orthodox victims of clergy abuse and misconduct stated:
"Over the last three years we have received several copies of letters our readers have sent to their churches to tell about their abuse -- letters that never received any response from the hierarchs. Some of our readers have even met with bishops in person. Many of our readers find that their letters and pleas to authorities come to a dead end because the bishop or hierarchs ignores them or discredits them. They end up feeling even worse than they did before. These stories have prompted us to write the Pokrov guidelines which are from a victims' perspective." This web site warns victims not to go alone to their church authorities to report abuse. This is disheartening to say the least.
A significant book that addresses the issue of clergy abuse and misconduct is Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems: Scapegoating, Family Secrets, and the Abuse of Power by Candace R. Benyei, PhD. This vital book demythologized spiritual leaders and helps the reader to see the negative effects of placing them on a pedestal. It is an incisive look at the outrage of abuse from the perspective of victim, perpetrator and counselor.
In most churches and religious systems when abuse or misconduct occurs, it is generally covered-up and kept silent. Though there may seem to be good reasons to do this, Benyei documents how this secret keeping is destructive to the victim(s) and the congregation, whether they know it or not: "The keeping of the secret produces more pain to more people than the original insult itself"(Pg 104).
"The secret may be closely held by a few main players; the secret may be vaporous and no one may know anything for sure. . . nonetheless, a great deal of energy is used in keeping the lid on Pandora's box, which includes not only the secret but the resultant rage, anger, loss, fear and shame" (Pg 106).
One of the worst results of abuse or misconduct is the fact that the victim often becomes the scapegoat. Benyei notes, "Because it is unbearable to believe that the beloved spiritual leader could commit such acts, since that would shatter the fantasy that one had at last found the ultimate caregiver, victims are often unforgivable." (Pg 95).
It would be an advance if the clergy and hierarchy and spiritual leaders of churches and religious systems would make it their responsibility to inform people about abuse and misconduct they themselves might commit, but this is highly unlikely. Therefore it is incumbent on lay people to educate themselves and others when it comes to abuse in religious systems. So often we portray the Church as a safe place to come, a sanctuary, a haven. It often is a place of healing. However, it can also be a place of deep wounding and sin. As Mother Gavrilla of blessed memory once said, "The Church is like a huge ship full of sailors, biting each other in the throat, tearing hair, punching, but the wonder is that the ship is coming into port because Christ is at the helm." This side of the Church must also be revealed if it is ever to be healed. For healing to happen, we must understand the illness. I highly recommend Benyei's book as a place to start.
* * *

Using systems theory Dr. Benyei presents a balanced and fair approach to clergy misconduct. She astutely outlines the power dynamics in a church and the difficulty a lay person will have when bringing a complaint against a minister. She challenges us to give up our idealization of ministers and see them as the flawed human beings they are. This will not only help prevent abuse and hold ministers accountable but will also free ministers to be more genuine and receive the help and support they may need. In her final chapter she presents specific proposals to reform our churches and promote safer communities. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone concerned with building better, healthier church communities.

Russian banking is 'inventing' a new Russian social process for individual and small group entrepreneurial pioneering and providing people with new pathways for economic growth. Every decisive step in the history of economic development ha been the result of deliberate decisions to open up space and enable people to pioneer. This deliberate incubation of the free enterprise of ordinary people has always worked to produce great results. This is not nostalgic, not romantic, not greed. It is the simple principle of applying "opportunity" to the great driving hunger of millions of people to transcend their inadequate past

A far better description of the actual situation in Russia than what is available in the U.S. or Russian Press, or other alternative sources. Opened my eyes to what I should be aware of.

I found this book provided a clear description of possibilities for collaboration and cooperation with Banks in America. Our methods and practices differ but Dr. van de Waal-Palms explains the common denominators.

A surprisingly insightful description of the banking industry and the moral tenants of commerce which will undoutedly change the view of many Russians.

I found in the book a very professional and profound analysis for specialists in the securities and banking financial markets in the Russian Federation

I have had quite a few Unix Command books. THere is none that I use more than this book. There are more than enough examples and references to answer quite a few questions.

I have had this book for a while, and have found many uses for it. I've learned about UNIX from it, but even more-so, have used it to find out what commands are. It's great for newbies and experienced UNIX users. Great reference... does not pretend to be anything other than it is.

If you want to do something in UNIX this book has the command. It won't hold your hand and teach you unix step by step, but it is an excellent reference. The book lists zillions of commands - from common to obscure - and clearly explains what they do (in different flavors even). Anyone working with UNIX should have a copy.

This is my most valuable UNIX book. The real-life examples, both stand-alone commands and piped-together commands always come though when I don't remember exactly how to do something. The keyword index is grouped by functional categories, so, if you know that you want to do "job control" and not a "printing" command, then you are 80% of the way to finding the command that you want in the index. The authors did the work, so I don't have to. What a great, great book for anyone dealing with UNIX.

This book is great when working with various platforms like I do in Customer Support. The only problem is they have to update it from 1994 to include more and/or less terms and their definitions. Otherwise most of the terminology is good, accurate and concise when one is trying to work with scripting or just using the commands in the book. Otherwise, an excellent book. I hope they come up eventually with an update on it.

I own the first and second editions of this book. I keep a copy at home, and one at work. It is comprehensive guide to the UNIX operating system. I always look here first for any questions or help I need with UNIX. I would recommend this book for anyone that uses UNIX.

The Bible of Unix. The one (and final) book you need in UNIX. Your search ends with this book. Well defined examples, explanations, notations. Be it a beginner, intermediate or expert you SHOULD have this book, if you are a Unix user.

Finally, a Unix book that is so comprehensive!

Had to give this one four stars, though, instead of five. The chapter on Tcl/Tk and Expect (chapter 20) is loaded with errors - probably editorial in nature (lots of places where parentheses are used instead of brackets "{}" and these WILL cause errors if you try to run the commands.). Otherwise, this is a fine book for learning Unix or going beyond the beginner level. The authors not only know their stuff, but they communicate it well. Highly recommended!

I bought the original version of this book in 1991-1992. It's still the best UNIX "How-to" book on the market. Absolutely no other book in my "UNIX library" provides more useful information on such a wide variety of topics: shells, networking, user environment configuration, mail, etc., etc., etc. It's all in here. It's especially great for beginners, since it covers all of the basics that normally provide stumbling blocks for beginning UNIX users. I highly recommend it.

As someone with a background in the comparatively 'easier' (and more stable) Mac world, I found this book, more than any other Windows 98 guidebooks, to be the most useful in terms of explaining why my Wintel product was failing. The book is exceptionally well-designed. Not only is the materially organized in a useful fashion, the page-layout makes things easy to read. The author's writing style is crisp and engaging, and that which he is trying to teach is genuinely useful. Indeed, _Using the Windows 98 Registry_ is so straightforward in its approach, I felt like I was reading a tech manual for a Macintosh product. I would second another reviewers' comments, though, that future editions could benefit from the inclusion of case studies.

I purchased the book to understand how Windows 98 registry really works. I had sometimes to correct corrupt registry entries arising from my heavy user actions and this may be very scary.

Hunneycutt's book was the right choice. This is a book written by an expert with high pedagogic skills. I found not only the whys of registry but a number of tips that helped resolving my issues. Reading this book felt me more in control of the machine.

Also useful are some of the freeware and shareware described in the book, like regmon. To be frank, however, I didn't find much use for the featured software that come with the book's CD.

The book offered a lot more than my immediate needs requested. For instance, as a programmer I found it may be a powerful reference tool for those needing to write code accessing the registry.

As a hint for the next edition I suggest increasing anedotical contents for troubleshooting application entries and other heavy user issues.

This book has tons of useful information and goes into detail in the areas where you need it to. Lots of good desktop edits, good CD, and very easy to read & follow.

This book is excellent for understanding the "theory" of the Win 98 registry, but I have not found it very useful for guidance in the practical aspects of actually tweaking registry settings. It usually contains enough information about a particular registry section to know if it is not worth editing, but it often does not give enough coverage to important keys. It would definitely benefit a lot from input by a person who commonly solves problems using the registry. That said, I have sometimes found it helpful when trying to find which key contains a given piece of info that I am interested in tweaking.

This book is one of the best written registry books that I have read. It explains all the hard to find details that most other books barely touch on. It's the only registry book that I recommend!

Sherry Bell's Visiting Mom is a practical guide to caring for a person with Alzheimer's, including coping with the difficult decision to institutionalize a parent. Sherry's concern for her mother's well-being and happiness is evident throughout the book, and she offers some very specific suggestions for making the visit more productive and more pleasant for all members of the family. Her agonizing over the ultimate decision to put her mother in a nursing home is a reminder that this action induces guilt in everyone, no matter how hard they have worked to maintain a good quality of life and to look out for the parent's best interests.

The suggestion to create a Memory Book was a particularly strong one, one that would give the patient something to focus on, and would help the caregiver direct the conversation toward topics that give the patient pleasure. I also liked the suggestion that tapes of music be used to calm the patient and help them reminisce about happy times in their life.

I wish this book had been available when one of my family was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years ago. This disease was new to us, and we expected some general confusion and slowing down, but did not know other symptoms that characterized the disease - the paranoia, the sense that people are stealing from them, the hiding of objects. This book is a fully realistic look at the progression of the disease, and would be extremely helpful for people caring for newly diagnosed patients. I recommend it highly.

One of the most painful elements of dealing with illness in a family member, especially a parent, is the feeling that no one else understands, no one else knows or cares what you're going through. For that reason alone, Sherry Bell's book is worth reading, as she provides her touching, often funny, often painful story of her mother's struggle with Alzheimers. Even more valuable, however, are Bell's generalized comments on pain and loss, which will move and inspire anyone who is watching a loved one slip away.

Wow, what a book now written! No only are practical suggestions given but the heart of a daughter's love is woven throughout this book. Obviously this mother/daughter relationship is close, as is ours. I read, with tears falling, some of the observations of her mother changing. I related it to what my dear grandma is now going thru. Soon, our family will know what the Drs. have in their files about my grandma. I want to share this book with my mom yet I'm waiting for just the right time...there will be one. I have been taken on a journey as I absorbed this book. I now have a better understanding of what may come, of what I should expect. The appendix in the back is a wealth of information to pursue over time. The service Ms. Bell has provided is too great for words! For families watching a loved one failing mentally...this is a must read. It shows compassion and practicality. Obviously, written by a loving daughter. The glimpse of "Visiting Mom" is indeed a gift. Thank you!

I am a psychiatrist who has referred this book to many families to help provide examples and insights regarding the care of parents with dementia. This is not a "perfect" book with cookbook instructions of what to do and when to do it. This is initially a painfully frank discussion of the author's experiences with her mother's illness and the author's ambivalence regarding the illness.

The latter portions of the book offer examples of strategies in dealing with parents with dementias, with dealing with emotional reactions to parents, and with dealing with the institutional resources often encountered. As Rosethorn notes in her excellent 4star review, it is a quick read and isn't universal in approach or application to the plight of parents with dementia and their children's reactions. Yet the examples can be a good starting place to formulate more appropriate and specific strategies in individual situations.

...but the book was a wee bit of a disappointment for me.

On one hand, it is an intimate and endearing record of one woman's experience with an Alzheimer's parent. Sherry was the kind of daughter every mother would be proud of and grateful for. She stood by her mother through the whole experience and provided support in every way. And that was my favorite part of this book - the story of how Sherry handled different problems and remained her mother's number one cheerleader and support.

But as far as the practical wisdom I could glean from the book - there was not enough of that for me. The book is a quick read - and I found the second part of the book a little slow and impractical. The treasure bag was a cute idea, but not one that would be useful in our circumstances.

Of this type of book, I'd more highly recommend "The Alzheimer's sourcebook for caregivers" by Frena Gray Davidson. That book was a little more polished and had more tidbits and details on getting through the day when the depression and exhaustion starts to swamp you.

"Visiting Mom" is an important book and has received glowing reviews from everyone here - so maybe it will be the book that speaks right to your heart. But other than a few lines here and there, it was not the book for me.

A great book that outlines my ideas on facing the caregiving of someone with dementia!

It's a wonderful book. Its power is in the innocence and simplicity of the quotes. It moves you from complete unawareness of the disease, up through recognition and understanding.

I bought it for my husband, whose mother is in the middle stages of Alzheimers. He read it, or should I say, devoured it, immediately. Then he bought one for his sister (he didn't want to give away his copy).

It's a text book on the progression of Alzheimers, written by people who were there, and woven into a beautiful story. It brings about a sense of peace after reading it.

This book is a small treasure. I keep picking it up a reading different passages. It helps me understand and appreciate my father, who has Alzheimer's, in ways that I have forgotten.

It helped the whole family, even dad picked it up to read.

Thanks for a fabulous book,

My name is Doreen. I am one of the people in Betsy Peterson's book. She mailed me a signed copy which I have lent to other people and they also found it very useful. I am writing this to let people know that even though the book is called Voices of Alzheimers, it is really a book about Dementia in general (my diagnosis is Pick's Disease, not Alzheimers and as the book indicates they later changed Betsy Peterson's husband's diagnosis from Alzheimer's to another dementia). So if you have a family member who has a dementia other than Alzheimers, you can also find helpful (and hopeful) information in this book.

This small book is a treasure of honest and deep sharing on the part of dementia patients and their caregivers and loved ones. The book is visually very attractive, the content is well organized, and the quotes--covering the full spectrum of sadness and anger to wisdom, humor, hope, and gratitude--are interspersed with the author's own moving story. Reading this has enabled me to relate with much greater understanding and confidence to those with Alzheimer's, and there is an excellent section on available resources. Voices of Alzheimer's is unique in the literature on the subject and deserves to become a classic in the field.

Jenneke Barton

I just started using this system a couple of weeks ago and I feel great already. The music selection is excellent. Kathy Smith is an excellent coach and motivator. The tape is great for outdoor walking in fair weather and for the indoor treadmill when the weather does not permit outdoor activities.

This three tape set starts you off slow and easy, great for beginners. It gives you choices in the length and intensity of your workout.

Tapes two and three work you up to a full scale workout with intervals. terrific fat burning workouts. The music keeps you moving at the right pace.

Teaches form first, then speed.

Excellent for outdoor walking or treadmill workouts.

Once you start walking with these tapes, you'll find it hard to walk without them. You can choose among the 30, 40, and 60 minute workouts. Kathy Smith really gets you going and coaches you along. A great way to start, and keep, fitness walking.

I have ordered this tape 3 times, because I keep washing it in the machine with my workout clothes. By far this is the most motivating tape trio I have had. I have used Kathy's tapes for alot of years, and this set is my favorite. I never get tired of it and she is am amazing person to listen to. I hope she comes up with more walking tapes soon!!

I drag myself out of bed to walk and once I get started with one of Kathy Smith's tapes, I'm gone! She is motivating, exciting and absolutely wonderful. I couldn't make it on my treadmill (in the winter) without her tapes.