Breaking News Books

I think my favorite part was where he told a group of seminarians to ask God for the island of Trinidad.

This prosperity gospel nonsense is the most destructive popular theology to come out in the past hundred years, and this time it's drawn from an obscure genealogical table in a faux-historical book in the Ketuvim. The implication of this book, of course, is that the prayers for mercy rising up from good Christians in impoverished Africa are just, well, not sincere enough.

most powerful, and lifechanging books. God listens.
i can't keep this book on my shelf. i must have given
away over 20 copies.and will probably continue to share
more than that.

Another ploy from a smart, savvy t author to sell a quick fixer for needy souls. Pity they prey on people's spiritual need and begin a while marketing campaign using one verse of the Bible. Shame on you, money makers!

I promised myself I'd read this for a dear friend who asked me when he was passing away. I kept my promise, almost. I read 75% of it but never really got the prayer deal other than bless me and bless me some more. Sorry folks but I dont see what the hoopla is about?

This is a marvelous gem of a book with the potential to change the world

In the God Delusion, Dawkins makes an argument against religion and articulates what he believes to be scientific theories that prove god does not exist. In God Isn't Great, Hitchens gives what reads more like an indictment of organized religion throughout history and spends less time trying to disprove the existence of god (at least as scientifically as Dawkins).

In Breaking the Spell, Dennett spends most of his time articulating arguments that would explain the existence of religion. He does not really attempt to prove or disprove anything, including the existence of god. Rather he states repeatedly that his purpose is to "break the spell" of holding religion on a different level and keeping it immune from rational, scientific inquiry. As Mr. Woolard states before me, Mr. Dennett's central idea is that religion is a very important topic in the world today and is arguably the topic most in need of a rational, open, scientific discussion. This book is an attempt to make some of those rational arguments and foster discussion. Mr. Dennett concedes quite early in the book that that is his intent--to raise important questions and give possible answers that need research, not to provide definitive answers.

Regardless of the fact that definitive answers aren't going to be found in this book, it is worth the read by anyone interested in the subject. Mr. Dennett does a great job of "breaking the spell" and bringing some illuminating arguments regarding the existence of religion and its continued ability to thrive in human society. I would also recommend doing a search of "Daniel Dennett" on youtube for an introduction to some of the arguments he makes in this book.

This is a fantastic book, which really grapples with belief and why people believe what they do. Of the four major works on atheism out there (Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens) this was the most thought provoking and nuanced (although Dawkins was the most forceful and clearest.) Dennett's chapter on the strength of the belief that "a belief in God" is a good thing and therefore people choose to believe in God even if it makes no sense to them is just a magnificent insight, and useful in reading other books that argue for the existence of God. So many arguments are actually arguments about "Why it would be great if God did exist" rather than whether he actually does.

The text can get just a little dense at times, but generally it's pretty easy going for a book as philosophical and thoughtful as this.

This is the third book I've read from the Four Horsemen of atheism, Dawkins, Harris, Dennett and Hitchens. I read Hitchens immediately after this one.

Dennett takes a completely different view on religion. He considers it as a natural phenomenon. He steps carefully, but never shies away from discussing it as he sees it, that is, what does the evidence show us?

This is unlike Harris, who said, "Come on! Why are well still talking about this?" and Dawkins, who says, "These are the facts, if you don't believe me, you're stupid."

Dennett makes it very clear that he isn't out to abolish religion, just to understand it. He is also quite clear that if religion is useful and the analysis would remove that usefulness, then it would be a good argument for not continuing.

He asks how do we study religion scientifically? Should we study religion scientifically? Defense of why we should study it. What current theories tell us. Examples of how religion could have arisen. What it is. What it accomplishes. How it propagates and eventually, where to do from that point.

Of course, Dennett, as a philosopher doesn't really know and is really just giving an overview of what we know now and speculating on how these things might be related. He gives good reasons for all of his conclusion.

Some interesting statements:
- A shark and a dolphin look a lot alike but are completely different species with completely different origins. Islam and Buddhism looks a lot alike to an impartial observer (prayer, temples etc.. etc..) but might be a completely different thing with a completely different origin.

- B.F. Skinner, a behavioral psychologist in 1948 did an experiment where he stimulated pigeons with a random "click" and the drop of a food pellet. After exposure to this, pigeons began assuming that something they were doing was influencing the sound and drop of the pellet and began to do all kinds of weird movements and neck craning and dances etc... Skinner saw it as primitive religion (rain dances, sacrifices to gods etc...)

- "Belief in belief" - it isn't just about believing in God, it's also a lot about believing in the idea of belief. This seems related to the usefulness of religion.

Dennett examines religions from several viewpoints and compares them to well known ideas in genetic evolution:

- sweet tooth idea i.e. why humans' have a sweet tooth, maybe we like the "taste" or religion and it formed in a similar way.

- symbiont (the way we biologically have symbionts like bacteria in our gut, so may religion be a symbiont idea that duplicates itself and survives) - maybe religion evolved as an idea that was useful for us the same way the bacteria is

- sexual selection theory - are religious partners more stable and more sexy?

- economic theories - this is a group selection idea where religion makes a more stable group where the elite are like the top of a pyramid scheme. Economically for a group, and certain members in it, religion is good for their wallets

- Pearl theory - where religion is beautiful for its own sake
and finally

- religion may be a phenomenon or include phenomenon of human culture with no analog in genetic evolution

Overall, the book is well written, has quite a few excellent points and is well researched with many interesting twists and turns. You don't always know where Dennett is going with his analysis, but it is often interesting, even if you don't agree.

I did think that the book was unnecessarily top heavy with meme theory, which Dennett is a huge fan of. He makes his arguments for why he believes that they are worth discussing and several prominent scientists disagree with his use of memes.

I also thought that while the ideas were good, he could have used a more aggressive editor and it could have been written better with fewer words.

It was much more readable than Harris, who was dense and hard to read, but less readable than Dawkins who was very straight forward, well organized and clear. I found that it was far more subtle than the other two though and searched deeper into the phenomenon of religion.

If you want to enjoy a book on religion and God, read Hitchens, which was my favorite of the recent atheist books.

I picked this book up at a Borders as I have recently become interested in discovering a new understanding of the universe (seeing as I have abandoned organized religion for hopes of something more real), and felt myself daunted looking at the page count. I'll be the first to admit, I am not much of an evolutionary biologist or a scientist of any kind... not at all, in fact... but I do enjoy having a base understanding of what I'm made of and what is out there with aspirations of... un-making me. I suppose that is why this book first caught my attention...

The book is MOST informative... Dennett, I have seen, is not afraid in the slightest of citing himself, but at the same time shows tremendous respect for numerous other both contemporary and past scientists (thus, I guess the copious and seemingly self-centered mention of his own work can be forgiven). I suppose what I originally thought this book would provide was a profound, confounding, and enlightening, single statement that would verify my own inner atheism and help me come out, guns a'blaze, into the open air of mainstream "disbelief". I did not find this... but then again, I suppose Dennett never ACTUALLY promises something like this insofar as I originally expected (and hoped?) He seems to be delivering more of a symposium on hypocrisy and the carefully camoflaged persecution and prejudice against those who might have intellectual qualms against mainstream religious behavior... encouraging, of course, but as I said, not more to me than just a pep-talk.

I liked the book, most assuredly, and intend to look for some of the authors he recommends (namely Dawkins)... will this book turn you into an atheist? More than likely, no ... at least not in my opinion. But! It will definitely bore its way into the thinking centers of a intellectually religious brain.

If you're only going to read one of Dawkins' The God Delusion or Dennett's Breaking the Spell :

Read The God Delusion to explore the God existence question and the case that atheists should get out of the closet to advocate for a world without religion.

Read Breaking the Spell to explore using scientific method to understand, validate, and develop ideas about religion and its pervasiveness. Ultimately, to build an understanding on how to exist and progress with religionists.


Here is a brief summary of Breaking the Spell's 11 chapters :

1. Breaking Which Spell? - Religions are among the most powerful phenomena on the planet and it is important for us to better understand them as we move into the 21st century

2. Questions About Science - Makes the case that science is a valid tool for exploring religion. (If you're not willing to accept this, you probably don't want to buy this book.) Dennett uses a comparison between music and religions to draw some interesting parallels.

3. Why Good Things Happen - Why natural selection is relevant to the formation and development of religions.

4. The Roots of Religion - Exploration of how folk religions might have formed in human prehistory.

5. Religion, the Early Days - How did religions survive and the role of the "shaman" in perpetuating them.

6. The Evolution of Stewardship - What are the features that allow religions to become formalized? Especially secrecy, deception and intentional design to resist even the start of a challenge.

7. The Invention of Team Spirit - Exploration of group dynamics and religion

8. Belief in Belief - Makes the case that not just belief, but belief in the value of belief, has become an important part of modern religions and culture. This becomes one of the main reasons that even religious professionals cannot explain what they are professing. He then spends a few pages at the end of this chapter describing why he is an atheist.

9. Toward a Buyer's Guide to Religion - Argues that religion should be considered for its value to people. First several protective barriers need to be penetrated such as love/loyalty blindness and academic territoriality.

10. Morality and Religion - Addresses the common opinion that religion is the basis for morality and concludes that it is "problematic at best". There is a lot of overlap in this chapter with The God Delusion Chapter 6 - The Roots of Morality: Why are we good?.

11. Now What Do We Do - Dennett wraps up his book by advocating that the many questions and theories raised be refined and tested with scientific method. He also makes the case to increase religious education so that children learn about all religions so that they can make informed decisions.


For me, Breaking the Spell is a great book, not so much for its answers, but for its questions:

How much can religion be compared with music as a cultural/evolutionary phenomenon? How is religious loyalty like sports team loyalty? How is being in love with a religion like romantic love? Could it be damaging to society to de-mystify religion? Why do religions often have "father" figures? Could religion, like sweet foods, be a good thing to a moderate extent? Could religion be a parasitical evolutionary phenomenon? How does the evolution of language and religion inter-relate? Memory and religion? Why is there secrecy in religion? Does fundamentalism "market" better? Why is faith for its own sake considered so valuable? Which is more fundamental - morality or religion? How is religion like a swimming pool (attractive nuisance)? Do moderates enable/encourage radicals? Is it really possible to have a society that lets children choose their religion?

I have nothing against game shows, some are fun. But this book makes God out to be a celestial Monty Hall, ready to give out favors if we can only pull the correct trinket out of our spiritual wallet or handbag. I can't think of a single religion that is as self-centered as the author's take on Christianity.Isn't religion about gaining understanding and developing a relationship with God? This book makes God out to be a sugar daddy! Read a bit of "Psalms" every morning instead of misguided efforts like this one.

A friend of mine recommended this book and I could say that it is an instant eye opener of how we should pray to God. Jabez's prayer is a simple yet powerful one. I've tried it ever since I read the book, and it has worked for me. Miracles really happen through prayer.

The Prayer of Jabez Devotional is even more powerful than the original introductory book. Using practical and reachable illustrations the author(s) brings accross an all important truth: "God wants to bless us indeed, in spite of ourselves, notwithstanding what we may do or who we really are." It takes the simple act of asking, beleiving that He will, and allowing Him to use us to accomplish and attain the unimaginable. Sounds pretty simple, but we have failed to get it for so many years.

This devotional not only enlightens Christians to the incredible possibilities that are theirs for the asking, but it gives a new perspective on what God is capable of doing with and for us. All it takes is a shift in paradigm.

"Oh that thou wouldst bless me and enlarge my border, and that thy hand might be with me, and that thou wouldst keep me from harm so that it might not hurt me!" And God granted what he asked." 1 Chronicles 4:10

Next to the basic message of salvation, this must be one of the most powerful messages from God I have come accross.

My life has been dramatically changed since I read this book and applied its wisdom.

Dr Wilkenson uses his very pleasant narrative style to show to his readers the power of a short scripture contained in the Old Testament, if prayed on a consistent basis.

There is much to be learned from this wonderful 31 day devotional, not only in what it teaches, but in the questions it asks one to think about, and seek the answer within.
It is a helpful companion piece to Dr. Wilkinson's "The Prayer of Jabez", his first book in "The BreakThrough Series" ("Little Books/Big Change").
The format is excellent, dividing the month into weeks, each week focusing on a part of the Jabez prayer:
# 1, "O Lord, Bless Me Indeed !"; # 2, "O Lord, Enlarge My Borders !"; # 3, "O Lord, Put Your Hand upon Me !", and # 4, "O Lord, Keep Me from Evil !".
For each day there are 3 pages which include Dr. Wilkinson's insightful piece, 2-3 marvelous quotes from other sources that apply to the theme of the day, and a question for one to dig deep into one's motives and activities, and use as a springboard for the journaling one does afterwards.

The prayer of Jabez, from 1 Chronicles 4:10, is life changing, similar in so many ways to The Lord's Prayer ((Matt. 6:9-13), and the full understanding of it seems to only come when one is ready for it, and prepared to serve the Lord in a larger capacity. Many misunderstand it, thinking the blessings asked for are for one's own gratification, but this is not the case. The lesson of Jabez is in doing more for the Lord, as stated on pg. 54, "God wants you to urgently desire a larger life with more opportunities to serve Him".
A well constructed and aesthetically pleasing little book, with light peachy-beige marbleized pages and dark brown easy-to-read print, reading this every morning for a month is time put to good use. For a powerful 365 day devotional, I highly recommend Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest".

Well there is just so much time in one day...as a practicing lawyer in Texas I have come to realize my intellectual shortcomings. As a priest, canon lawyer, Gregorian University trained..."sentire cum ecclesia"..and now 80..life has been wonderful.. Love of the Church was reenforced with Pope John Paul II ...in Threshold of Hope...and confirming in my soul Christ died for all..and living by one's principles, let's him take us with Him....so I am amused by those who want to restrict Catholics..who may not know or be psychologically able to accept various moral teachings...and call them hypocrites...
I love the Rosary..and travelling around from city to city..as I ponder the mysteries, know the love Christ has for His Body...I ask Mary to let His Body, the Church, drop some of its juridical requirements so a group united with Him..would be in each..And how can that happen without dropping the restrictions established by juridical moralists?

Cornwell is obviously confusing true Catholicism with some form of political socialism. He forgets that the Catholic Church has always been a form of counter-culture. It teaches a form of restraint and discipline as an anwer to the unbridled freedoms found in society which are now more pervasive than ever. He seems to be seeking a way to express himself without any constraints thus his criticism of Church teaching with regard to sex. The existing teaching does not just come from the present Pope but has been handed down from many previous Popes. He might be happier in another denomination that could give free reign to his passions.

An honest and thouroughly researched study of the political struggle
and polemics between the Vatican, and Catholic theologians, academics and laity.

Among many other Catholic issues, the book focuses on the disturbing discrepancy between what the Pope says in his public addresses and letters, and what he actually does. As the book progresses, the grim picture of Vatican's repressive policies towards what they term as "relativism" begins to emerge. The persecution of pluralism and the enforcement of absolutism is reminiscent of repression in Fascist or Communist regimes. Cornwell refers to those individuals who disagree with the Vatican's officialdom as dissidents, which brings to mind the repression of free speech and thought by the Soviet regime, with much the same techniques, such as public humiliation, intimidation, removal from employment and exile (excommunication).

It should be noted that John Cornwell's criticism is targeted at the Vatican and not at Catholicism, which he makes very clear in the book, being a devout Catholic himself. In fact, after reading the book, I have walked away with a new respect for the Catholic faith. He also stresses that Papal dogmatism and Catholic catechism are not one and the same, and on many serious issues facing the Church today, such as contraception, ordination of women, gay priests, the participation of laity in Church affairs, denial of communion to remarried or divorced individuals etc., they are in partial and often in total disagreement. Cornwell argues that inclusiveness is inherent in the Catholic faith, and that Vatican's policy remains obstinately exclusivist.

The book is sprinkled with numerous excerpts from speeches, letters and media publications; dozens of names are mentioned; the bibliography takes up about 10 pages. The writing style is clear and more journalistic than scholarly, making it easy to follow the astonishing amount of facts.

Galileo's words serve well to summarize: "the scriptures do not err, those who interpret them do."

Mr. Cornwell is at it again with yet another piece that accurately reflects his own beliefs without answering some very obvious kneejerkers that arise concerning his own hypocricy in such an endeavour. He is indeed a modernist who really wishes to seek solace in something, i.e. the Catholic Church, that makes him comfortable even if at the moment it is inconveniently littered with things that poke at him, e.g. the male priesthood, papal authority in faith and morals, &c.

The better picture would be that of a runaway child who thinks better of it and comes home only to realize that the strictures of living in a family under the authority of parents still exist. He's shocked that in their luck of having him back, they haven't learned their lesson and changed to suit his wayward appetites. He then expresses, to anyone who will listen, his dissatisfaction that those same parents who feed and clothe him also give him a curfew, don't allow him to throw drunken parties while they're away, and are right piss poor excuses for human beings at that. Analogous to reality, there is no lack of those who are just as dissatisfied as he is (for whatever reason) to confirm his hypocritical stance and tell him, "yeah, your parents are sooo stupid." This of course encourages the lad to yell louder. Such is this follow up to Hitler's Pope.

Why would one wish to be a Catholic if the teachings of such a faith are grossly at odds with one's deepest convictions? Such a person wants to change that faith from the inside and make it into something of one's own liking and after one's own image. As soon as that happens, it ceases to be what it was at the start. He says, "I am a part of an apple. It is only a matter of time before this apple becomes an orange lest it die." Absurd, laughable. The apple will die, or it will live, but it will never become an orange.

Some reviewers have characterized this book as "Catholic bashing" and "liberal." These viewpoints are very short-sighted and, coincidently, are the very same viewpoints that led to many of the problems that are explored in this book. Like it or not, the Catholic church of today is facing many challenges. I need not go into these challenges here, but most people will know what I am referring to. These challenges arise not from the teachings of the Bible and traditional Catholic values, but they arise from the heirarchy's unwillingness to reform vital areas of the church and the heirarchy's unwillingness to listen to the majority of the faithful. The Catholic church must become more democratic and less centralized-- reform need not be equated with "liberalism."

Cornwell lays out all these challenges and offers thought-provoking insight through sharing his own experiences, statistical facts, historical antecdotes, etc. Cornwell does not push for specific solutions; rather, he lets the reader contemplate how we can solve specific dilemmas. One thing is made clear: the church must change if it wishes to retain its credibility and its moral authority. Anyone who does not recognize this should consider whether they really belong in the Catholic church.

I did not care for this book at all. It was not very informative. It did not provide any information that I did not already know

This is hands down the best book on codependency. Most codependency books I researched involved religion which is an oxymoron. This book however explained in clear unbiased ways the causes AND solutions to codependency. If you feel this is in your personality and is affecting your quality of life, I highly recommend this book for valuable insight and workable solutions!

The medical profession in general see's co-dependency as a disease that is permanent, progressive and incurable. So you can imagine my delight when I opened this book and read, that this is not so. I am co-dependant and have stumbled through my life not really knowing why I attracted time after time negative and distructive situations within my relationships. This book has given me a glimmer of hope in that I can turn this around. One of the biggest challenges I face is understanding what happened in my life for me to be in the position I am now. This book has given me the answers to my questions and more....it has provided me with a starting point to recovery and to acquire the life skills that will enable me to have the kind of relationships with others that is my divine right.

Co-dependency has become one of those buzzwords for our modern culture. Most of us use the term to describe someone who suffers from alcoholism or drug addiction. Therefore, when we think of co-dependency, we tend to think of programs like AA.

Breaking Free of the Co-dependency Trap states that possibly 98% of the human population is co-dependent. It's not lack of self control. It's not a disease. It's not even about the alcohol, the drugs, the food, or the people pleasing behaviors.

Co-dependency is merely the way that the mind attempts to adapt to its experiences. In the first six months of life, babies are meant to learn that the world is a safe loving place and that his or her parents will always keep them safe. Once they are assured of these facts, then they can start to explore the world in an increasingly independent way.

Unfortunately, parents aren't perfect. The majority don't even know how to give this sort of unconditional love. Most are too busy worrying about day to day concerns. So for most people, their psychological development gets stuck and they spend the rest of their lives trying to gain (or dampen the need for) that love, acceptance, and security. When they have children, their children continue the same cycle.

The authors have some good insights, like that America is full of co-dependants and encourages co-dependant relationships (not always on purpose of course) but they get much wrong.

There is also some odd contradictions and nonsense in this book, for example on page 76 they define dishonesty as a form of denying the truth. That makes no sense because dishonesty is not a form of denying the truth, IT IS denying the truth.

On page 80 they suggest a poor way for detecting "Denial" which they define as self-dishonesty: They recommend that you look for muscle tension, especially in the head and stomach area.

It would make more sense to see if you are lying to yourself by simply thinking about what the reality is, and what you claim it is. You could also ask someone known for being truthful to evaluate what you believe or say. And of course, the best standard to gauge truth is the Bible.

I would totally avoid using this book as a self-help guide. A simple and quick solution to life's miseries is turning to God, start from there.

I've never been a fan of the Big Three nightly newscasts, and after reading Mr MacNeil's "Breaking News" I know why.

The younger producers these shows now have do not understand the tradition of how news was (and should still be) presented. During WWII, Mr Lorne Greene was one of the readers of national broadcasts at CBC Radio. With his deep voice, and taking into account the sometimes overwhelming reports of how the war was going in the early days, he was called the Voice of Doom. These broadcasts were not for entertainment, but to inform, and I suppose considering the time, to combine the strengths of a nation towards one task.

Today, it can easily been seen, the function of TV is to advertise. Viewers expect dramatic pictures, and feel good stories: video from the latest plane crash or which vendor on Broadway has the best pretzels.

Mr MacNeil also presents in detail just how crazy things have got to when it comes to paying these talking heads. The newsreader HAS to draw the audience, not to inform them but hold them for the commercials. I guess that is one of the reasons I always liked the MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour on PBS. No commmercials and a whole hour of news. The networks should learn you can't present a whole day's worth of national and international news in 22 minutes.

Mr MacNeil also shows us, from the inside, how the media makes the news instead of only reporting it. I don't want to give away anthing from the plot, but when one 'reporter' does an interview that became the news.

Finally, I have to add, the concept of the Hollygo character was some of the most interesting reading. If there was any mystery in "Breaking News" it had to ber 'her'!

I've read the reviews posted here previously, and agree with much of what has been said. But the comments of some reviewers are puzzling. You're right -- this book is not "great literature". But then, it wasn't meant to be. This is an insightful novel, nicely written, by an author who knows the world of TV news and has some interesting things to say about it. I found the characters to be believable, the situations engaging, the dialogue realistic, and the humour bang-on. This is, I believe, Mr. MacNeil's third novel, and I look forward to reading many more from him in the future.

I loved this book! MacNeil write with piercing clarity of the world he knows so well. Food for thought, it made me want to race to watch the next newsbroadcast. I'll be searching for Brenda and Gregory Peck at 6 o'clock tonight for sure!

I found the book revealing and easy to read. The story is quite good, although Munro is portrayed a bit too one-dimentional. Having read MacNeil's previous biographies, I recognized many of the situations, especially in reference to historical events. I came away with the feeling that MacNeil drew heavily on his own experiences as a journalist. This book is not so much a novel, but an observation of the current state og network news, based on personal knowledge.

I work in the broadcast news industry, so I liked reading about a lot of the behind the scenes scenes in the upper echelons of my business. As a novel though, there were some shortcomings. As posted earlier, the ending was underdeveloped. The last 20 scenes or so were no longer than one or two pages, and many of them were shorter than one page. If MacNeil could have extended some of these scenes to 3-5 pages long, the reader would have benefitted from the extra details. The short chapters he uses throughout the book are a bit ironic, especially after his main character Grant criticizes Marty for constantly making edits and stories shorter. MacNeil does the very thing he criticizes the younger generation, represented by Marty, for doing. Also, the whole plot had the feeling of a big office soap opera at times.
The strong points come from the insight MacNeil spreads throughout the book about the tv news industry. And the Hollygo blogger idea was ahead of its time, for the late 1990's.

I am a Fox News fan. And it is here than I first became aware of Harris Faulkner. I find her to have an on camera charisma. So when I later discovered she had written a book about herself, I thought it would be interesting to read. And it was.

But unfortunately I do not think it was particularly well written, and there are also places where I must doubt her sincerity. At times what she wrote simply did not ring true. For example, if God really plays as big a roll in her day-to-day life as claims, she failed to make her deep relationship with Him convincing. Merely, claiming her closeness with God at various points in her book is not enough for me. Her relationship may very well be every bit as close as she claimed. But if it is, she was not convincing.

At another point in her book she is presenting selected sections of court transcripts which were a result of legal action she had taken against her stalker, some one she had once dated. (I have no doubt that there was such a person.) As per the transcript, the stalker had scratch some very sexually explicit words on the passenger door of her new car. In the court transcript she was asked what words were scratched on her door. Embarrassed by them, she asked the attorney if she had to repeat them. She was required, and so she did. O.K. this is all fine; she was required to say the scratched words in court when she clearly wished she wasn't. This makes sense to me! But why in the world did she later reproduce this section of the transcript in her book? Certainly this time the court did not require her to do so. So then why did she? That's what I mean by some things not ringing true. There were some others things as well, but this is enough to illustrate my point.

If I was not already aware of Ms. Faulkner, and liked her on camera persona, I would have quickly become bored with her book. But because I was already aware of her, I thought it worth reading.

This book is very preachy. The woman is self absorbed and only looking to make a name for herself.

Boring

It is painfully obvious that the only thing Harris Faulkner wants to do is talk about Harris Faulkner. This so called autobiographical account is really a cry for help from an insecure person who desperately wants everyone to think she's courageous. As a victim of stalking myself it is obvious to me that she is making stuff up and warping the truth to make everything about her. This is pure fiction. Don't waste your time buying or reading this garbage.

Harris Faulkner has written a wonderful book. It is moving, compelling, and poignant. She is truly a courageous woman. Her story is a must read for other women who are being abused or stalked. It talks about her faith and how she survived a terrible ordeal. One more thing: the two negative reviews are absurd, attacking Faulkner for being self-absorbed because she writes about herself in her own autobiography. In an autobiography, you are supposed to write about yourself!

In my opinion the Fox News Channel has the most engaging and attractive newswomen of all the cable news outlets: Dari Alexander, Julie Banderas, Laurie Dhue - even Rudi Bakhtiar, one of the more popular anchors at CNN, is now on Fox. But for me the best of them all is former A Current Affair correspondent Harris Faulkner. She has a quality of elegance and poise that is rare to find in today's broadcast journalism. And those eyes and smile are simply beautiful!

Until recently I was unaware that Harris Faulkner was a victim of a stalker. This book tells the story of a smart, gutsy and beautiful woman. Harris, a speechwriter and motivational speaker in addition to being a journalist, proves that one doesn't need to abandon one's values for ambition.

Sparta wakes up to find a very serious gap in her memory. Looking in the mirror, she realises she is no normal girl. There are people out to get her, so she bails.

Superhuman senses and the ability to directly interface with computers through your fingers come in handy in times like this.

She manages to disappear into a government job, until she is promoted to become an investigator, and sent to investigate an accident on a space liner.

By the end of this, she begins to learn about the organisation behind the program that created her, and their desire to create superhumans.

I've owned this book for years and finally started it a couple days ago. I really wish I had read it sooner. The first third to half of the book jumps from one storyline to another. If you can get past the disjointed beginning, the different storylines quickly come together and make sense. I've read some complaints about this, but I find these techniques interesting.

Preuss does an excellent job of combining science fiction and mystery/thriller. I used to read a lot of mystery books, but quickly tired of the genre. This was a refreshing read in that it wasn't predictible as a mystery or science fiction novel.

Ellen Troy, aka Sparta, was enhanced with biotechnology when she was younger and something happened to her that caused her to forget everything that has happend in the past few years. Troy decides to join the Space Board of Control in order to find out what happened to her. Along the way she has to figure out what caused a hole in a spaceship headed to Venus.

What that drew me into buying Breaking Strain was the image on the front and so is an abject lesson in judging a book by its cover - this text pales in comparison to films such as Assassin and The Long Kiss Goodnight and reads instead like The Sixty Million Dollar Man. There is superfluous obsession with technical detail, such as the protagonist's cybernetic abilities. As we don't get to learn much about her before the action kicks in she remains a superficial character, and since we are privy to more than she is in her amnesiac state, she is a difficult character to relate to.

I have to admit I bought this book by mistake, thinking it the work of Arthur C. Clarke. You see, Clarke's name is big and bold above the title, while the actual author's name is rather hidden.

In any case, the story revolves around SPARTA, a.k.a. Linda, a.k.a. Ellen Troy, a genetically altered genius. Apparently, their are bad people who want to abuse poor SPARTA, so she must escape.

The problem is, about a third of the way through the book, it briefly becomes about Nikos the shipper and his efforts to keep his father's shipping business alive.

Then it's about Sondra Sylvester and her attempts to own an antique book.

After that, it's about an accident in space and the crew of the "Star Queen."

Finally, we get back to SPARTA. In short, this book meanders all over the solar system attempting to find a consistent plot. I realize this is only volume one of a six volume series, but try a little story cohesion. If the first novel struggles with a through line, how can you expect the series to hang together?

An excellent book and an easy read that combines a good mystery with a SF setting. I have read four of the six books in the series so far, and each has been excellent. The author combines great immagery and vocabulary and a great story line. With 6 books in the series, there is plenty to keep up the interest. Although it is a light read, this is a pure SF book. There are few ,if any, fantasy components.

PUH-leeeze! Jana has some growing up to do. Why does she get so jealous every time she sees Randy so much as talk to another girl? What if, in worst case scenario, Randy and Laura had been having a fling for real? Is Jana that petrified of losing Randy that she runs out into the street on impulse Jana comes across as the victim again.

I LOVED this book. I don't care what some people say, it's great. Okay, Jana decides that she and Randy should break up for a while and date other people to see if they are REALLY right for each other, since neither of them have ever dated other people. Randy doesn't want to, but he agrees, and the experiment begins. After a bad date with Parker Donovan, Jana begins to wish she'd never broke up with Randy, especially when she hears Sara Sawyer has a mad crush on him and is going to ask him out. Can things get worse? Definitely. Beth is also having problems with Keith and then he asks Jana to tell Beth he wants to break up with her! That's bad enough, but then he tells Jana his reason- he has a crush on Jana and wants to date her! How can Jana tell her best friend something like that? Things get even farther out of hand and Jana knows she's going to have to do something FAST, before she loses her reputation and ALL her friends. You HAVE to read this book! It's one of the best in series! And will Jana and Randy get back together, I'm not going to tell! =)

I love this series, and this was one of my favorites. Yes, it was kinda lame that Keith had to step in to save Jana at the read-a-thon, but I thought that the part where Randy stood up for Jana was cool. he wasn't 'saving her', he was showing he cared. This book is where Jana and Randy break up for awhile and instead of everything going smoothly like Jana hoped, everything goes wrong! Jana ends up in the middle of a huge mess, and could possible loose all her friends! Definitely read this!!

I LOVED this book! The Fabulous Five series is the coolest, I too am hooked! I wish the library would get more books in the series, or that they would go back in print! I think Jana and Randy are the neatest couple, and I don't think they should ever have split up! Not that I think it is realistic they will be together till college, but still.... I think it was really cool how Randy stood up for Jana in the end. This was a book I read over and over.

Lame. Not only does Keith thoughtlessly break Beth's heart, but gets Jana in the middle. On top of that, Jana must be rescued twice...once at the library read-a-thon when Jana tries unsuccessfully to break up a fight between two little kids, it is Keith who must step in a break up the fight FOR her and the second part, when Keith spreads rumors about Jana at school and Randy, her ever devoted boyfriend jumps to her rescue.

Bethesda (Beth) Barnes grew up in a household where she and her sister led a sheltered existence. Their parents never wanted them to know about the harsher realities of life for African Americans. They kept from their daughters the true state of race relations in America. As a result, Beth grew up looking at life through rose colored glasses, never seeing (or not paying attention to) the inequities and injustices Blacks faced at the hands of the racists views of some white Americans. Although she works at a prestigious university as a professor, it doesn't really faze her that her's is only one of a few faces of color on staff. She becomes complacent and tries to go along to get along. In any event, she loves her job, her students and the man in her life. Life couldn't be better.

Then the unthinkable happens. Beth gets approached by four African American female students about an incident that has rocked their world. While practicing for a Greek show on campus, the young ladies were humiliated and debased by a group of White male students. They were cursed, called racially insensitive names and had garbage thrown at them. They intend to pursue a lawsuit challenging the university's policy on harassment and want Beth to be their faculty advisor. Although not entirely sure about the merits of the case, Beth takes on the job and is immediately propelled into the chasm of racial injustice and just how far some are prepared to take it. This case and the near simultaneous loss of her father and sister will force Beth to take a long look at the way she was raised and the life she currently lives. Will she go along or break away?

In BREAKING AWAY, Kristin Lattany has written a thought-provoking, suspense-filled chronicle on race relations that could be representative of any university campus in America. Lattany writes in such a way it causes you to look within yourself and question your complacency as far as race. Have you been going along to get along, or have you stood up for your rights and those of others? Her characterizations are excellent and go a long way in providng insight and explanation as to motives. I was able to identify with many of the emotions emitted and the thought processes that were derived. Although this is my first read by this author, it was well worth the effort and I'm sure others will benefit from this insightful read.

Reviewed by Brenda Lisbon
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

I was impressed with book, but it wasn't great. I have read better. It was a little predictable.

In Breaking Away by Kristen Lattany, we are shown how one racially motivated incident can affect the lives of many. For Bethesda (Beth) Barnes, a college professor of English, life is good. Although she is one of the few African-American faculty on a college campus, she loves her job. Everything is going fine until four African-American sorority sisters are assaulted by some white male students. The women decide to take action and ask Beth to be their advisor. Even though Beth sees the fight as a losing battle, she agrees to take on the girls' cause. During the tumultuous months that follow, Beth discovers how ugly racism can be and the leaps and bounds you may have to jump to overcome it.

The characterization in this book was excellent. Although minor characters, Beth's family played a major part in helping us figure out what made her tick. The righteous cop sister, the Queen of De-Nial mother and the inquisitive niece help to add dimensions to the story. The same could be said about the students on campus, Beth's man friend, Lloyd and her best friend, Sherri.

This is the second book that I have read that focused on racism this year and it was interesting to see how they differed. This one presented us with a main character who was oblivious to the racial injustice that surrounded her. We were able to see how her naivete was chipped away after each incident. The setting of the college campus also seemed appropriate since they are so many different walks of life in one area.

Breaking Away was a good read and I would recommend it to my friends and family.

Reviewed by Nicole
APOOO BookClub

In 1993, five African-American female students at the University of Pennsylvania were bombarded by foul epithets spewed by Caucasian males in a dormitory. Were the taunts racially motivated, as the Black women assert, or were they the juvenile rantings of White men frustrated by a loud sorority celebration that allegedly made studying impossible? That is the question that Kristin Lattany apparently tries to answer in this novel of racial hatred.

The main character of the book is a Black female professor of English at Penn. She is also the faculty advisor for one of the aforementioned female students. Previously oblivious to the racism that surrounds her, the professor's eyes are forced open by her experiences supporting the students' efforts for equal justice under university policy. This awakening is also played around her relationships with a more racially aware sister and best friend, while she struggles with a mother who espouses a more traditional Black role.

Lattany is no unaccomplished writer. She has been nominated for the National Book Award for previous work and, for the most part, ably presents her storyline in this book. There are a few moments of jumbled dialogue, minimal confused plotting, and a weak finish. But those small errors do little to interfere with her strong message.

And her strong message is where this book's weakness lies. Her message is that non-African America hates its Black populace. That White America will look askance at the neo-Nazi skinhead movements while it intimidates by violent means African-Americans. For good measure, her message belittles that sector of the African-American population that believes in a more gentle and quiet approach to minority life than that espoused by the more vocal sector.

All too often, fiction is written where a more complete nonfiction treatment would be more worthwhile. I fear that this is one of those situations. The African-American angle of the events of 1993 has likely been under-represented. The experience of those five female students deserves to be heard. But not like this. This book can only be recommended for the most uncompromising of anti-White Blacks. What a shame.

This book had a greater impact on me than I expected. By the time I was done reading about the neo-Nazi attacks on tbe black sorority sisters and the racist threats aimed at the black professor who is the main character, I was angry and wondering whether I, like Beth Barnes, have been living a deluded life. It made me sad to think that the safe little world I live in -- where I eat out and spend recreational time with white people, thinking we all see each other as equals -- could possibly be a figment of my imaginiation. I was reminded of how many times I've encountered white colleagues outside of our usual settings only to become invisible to them. Many times it seems they barely speak and often act as if they don't recognize me. I'm reminded of how often at work I'm given a big assignment and then given one or two white folks to help me with it, while white co-workers are given the opportunity to succeed (of fail) totally on their own. Either way, at least they are trusted. Bottom line: The book made me think and reevaluate how I see my world. Any book that makes you do that is a good one. It's just sad to think that after my reevaluation, what I come up with is a picture of a world that hasn't made nearly as much progress in race relations as I thought prior to reading this book.