Buell Books

Liars, Cheaters and Evil doers helps us chart a course for civil debate...not a polyanna treatise, but the importance of real debate,
calling things the way you see them based on information, reason and justice, not hysteria in which relative truth is subjected to the acid tongoue and the basist instincs, but one that tries to articulate points of view in which people of good intent can forcefully disagree in a way that promotes truth rather than inflames the worst in us. It is an ancient desire and De
Luca and Buell should be commended for risking to take up this mantel in these dangerous times.

Before reading Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers! I was certainly conscious that the tone of our political discourse has always left much to be desired. In the back of my mind, until the last few years when the demonization deepened, I assumed this was to be expected in adversarial situations like politics and we had to live with it. The last few years, though, has only left me feeling hopeless that the situation has progressed beyond the possibility of it ever being civilized.
Since reading Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers! I have become aware that there are so many facets that contribute to the current climate than I ever dreamed of. It is like trickles of water washing down from the melting snows of the mountains. A trickle here, a trickle there, and soon it unites and a mighty river flows. We seem to be in that might river now feeling a force that seems beyond our control.
That is not necessarily so. Reading the thorough and deep analysis of political demonization by Tom De Luca and John Buell will educate on all of the ways in which this situation came about. You can't solve a problem unless you first understand it. This book does that and more. It offers insightful solutions.
This is a must-read book for anyone who cares about having a country that does right by all of its citizens. We can't have serious debate over issues that affect all of us if we can't learn to be civilized, respectful of differing opinions and, most of all, to listen to each other with an open heart. Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers! is a first, and major, step toward that end.

Although I agree with other reviewers that this is a much-needed and thoughtful study of a serious problem in American political discourse, I found the text tough going. I suspect that previous reviewers might have some background in Political Science that I lack. Although I have a PhD from the University of Chicago, it's in a Humanities field, and not Social Sciences.

The title suggests a lively, down-to-earth volume, with a lot of specific examples, but instead the book turns out to be dry, abstract, highly theoretical, and filled with the kind of jargon academics use in communicating with one another, while shutting out the general public.

Despite this problem, the book does have many interesting insights to offer, particularly on the role president Bush's religious fundamentalism plays in his political behavior. But that's old news. Anybody who's been paying attention in the years since Bush became president knows that he and his circle are determined to turn the United States into a fundamentalist theocracy, and are succeeding at a terrifying rate.

In a televised speech, co-author Tom De Luca noted: "It's not demonization when you have the goods on somebody." De Luca's book did not succeed in changing my opinion that America is now in the hands of the most absolutely and irredeemably evil people ever to hold power in the entire history of this country-- and we DO "have the goods" on them. But the opposition (the spineless and cowering Democrats) lacks the courage to do anything with the edivence.

This book rewards close reading but be warned-- you're going to have to work to get the message!

In "Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers!" authors Tom De Luca and John Buell admirably examine the corrosive phenomena of "demonization" in American politics and the harm it has done to our civic discourse and democratic institutions. The scope of their work is breathtaking as they trace the trajectory of "political demonology" in America from its infancy as a clash between puritan conservatism and hedonistic liberalism, to its contemporary manifestation in the virulent culture wars of recent decades as "culture warriors" on both sides of the political divide disparage and demonize their foes. Delving deeper, De Luca and Buell uncover a "moral paradox" inherent in our national character that appears to fuel our need to transform political opponents into enemies. The authors contend that our political culture has now reached a zero-sum impasse engendered by the approximate parity of the two political parties as each seeks victory through mobilizing their core constituencies by exploiting wedge issues and engaging in character-driven politics. Liberals, conservatives, and moderates have all been guilty of this, while those victimized and demonized are very often the most vulnerable among us. De Luca and Buell offer a thoughtful antidote to the polarized partisanship that has seized hold of us. Their goal, a "more generous democratic politics" forged out of a new political covenant based upon true equity and opportunity, is a noble one. This well-crafted and insightful book should be read by everyone who feels strongly that our political discourse must match our best ideals.

"Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers!" by Tom DeLuca and John Buell is a welcome antidote to the shrill ideological slugfests that fill the airwaves disguised as political discourse. Their simple formula, "proper condemnation requires appropriate distinctions," is a call to end the simplistic retreat to demonization in civil debate, and demands that we aspire to, and require, a higher standard of discourse from ourselves, colleagues, elected officials and the media. This book offers valuable analysis and a hopeful conclusion to so many of us who despair of the current political climate.

I read this book because someone recommended it to me. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I believe that when we set an intention and communicate it to all physical, mental, and emotional parts of ourselves we can effect positive changes in our lives. On the other hand, I find two problems with the author's thesis.

First, the body/mind is not really like a corporation. Corporations are hierarchical structures with a top-down chain of command. Even in the most advanced, enlightened corporations, decisions are not made democratically. You have a board of directors or a CEO who enact policy and see that it is carried out.

In contrast, the body/mind is a non-hierarchical system. Its organization cannot be compared to a pyramid or a ladder, but rather is something more akin to a multi-dimensional globular webwork of relationships. All parts communicate constantly with all others, and decisions evolve out of the exigencies which the whole experiences. All parts are as necessary as others, and thus, you cannot "downsize" it. Many decisions happen simultaneously in the body to maintain physical and psychological homeostasis. "You" as supposed CEO cannot possibly track or act upon all the data that goes into maintaining homeostasis.

Second, the "you" in the title seems to refer to you as your ego-self, your persona. That's the self that wants this or that, the self that sets intentions. It's all very well and good for the ego to have desires and plans for the body/mind to carry out, but I disagree that the ego can be compared at all to a CEO. If anything should be called the CEO, it is what Jung referred to as the Self, or what some other teachings refer to as the Higher Self. All true evolution proceeds from that unseen psychic center, which, when we ignore it, can derail the best made plans of (mice and) men.

If one must keep with the corporate analogy, the ego is more like a middle manager, and must feel-- and create from-- the tension between the demands of the soul and the world in which the body/mind finds itself. How does the ego figure out what the Self requires? There are many good books on connecting to one's own inner wisdom, but this is not one of them. That is a shame, because neglecting that wisdom, and claiming that one's own ego is in charge of the body/mind is not only arrogant, but also counter-productive.

This is quite an amazing book. It presents ideas that had never crossed my mind before but now that I've heard them, I'm fascinated. I don't know yet if everything in it is true but I do know that I'm having the best time finding out by trying out the exercises it suggests. And I know that my view of myself, my mind, and my body is never going to be quite the same again. Highly recommended if you like a book to be extremely thought provoking and life changing.

This book presents some ideas that seem radical when they are first presented but come to seem entirely logical and practical when you consider them for a while. The proof of the pudding is when you do the drills in the book. I felt a little foolish in the beginning, communicating with my "corporation", but then as it "answered", I began to realize how much it had been trying to tell me over the years. It was like floodgates opened. I've learned more about my "self" in the week since I bought the book than I had in many, many years. How amazing. The answers were all inside the mind of my corporation and I just wasn't listening. This book has changed how I run my life as well as how I run my business. Life is never gonna look the same!!!

My attitude toward my mind, my body, and every single cell that resides in them has changed so tremendously, I feel like a whole new person (or maybe I should say corporation). I didn't just learn to treat myself better here: I'm a better manager, employer, friend, lover, and person. I really wasn't taking much responsibility for my corporations before (physical and business) and it hurt me and everyone connected to me. I'm having so much more fun now.

You're probably well aware that plants and single cell organisms have thoughts and feelings from having read or heard about books like "The Secret Life of Plants" -- yet do you know that you have a virtual planet full of individuals hanging on your every emotion and mental direction? The average adult is made up of 100 trillion cells, and each and every one of the cells in your body is alive and actively involved in the process of evaluating how to perceive what's happening to you right now and act appropriately.

Janet Buell's excellent book, YOUR MIND & BODY ARE A CORPORATION -- AND YOU ARE THE CEO is based on the metaphor of a company with various departments and a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) -- you! I guarantee that after you've done the exercises in Buell's book, your corporal self will be feeling much healthier, prosperous, and harmonious.

YOUR MIND AND BODY ARE A CORPORATION is packed with fascinating concepts such as the notion that, "... your body has its own sense of closeness to the bodies of your sexual partner, children or parents. The cells recognize and have great affinity for each other. Even a divorce that you welcome may be a loss to the cells of your body who had established an intimate relationship with the body of your soon-to-be ex." Buell then provides exercises for recovering from such losses that have occurred in the past, looking to your body for help.

I was a bit surprised at first to find this book consists of so many blank worksheet pages, but was delighted to discover it is designed to be a workbook you can use as you become a more competent manager in charge of all those trillions of cells. The process of developing your managerial skills involves a great deal of two-way communication between you (the CEO) and all your cells, and Buell provides an excellent starting point. Numerous messages are provided for you to say aloud to your cells, so they will understand your new dedication and commitment to their well-being. You may be surprised at how exciting it feels to begin such a discussion! If you're like me, once you get started with this two-way dialogue, you won't want to quit.

I highly recommend Buell's book as the perfect way to pull yourself together. It's worth doing, if only for the fact that your cells (all 100 trillion of them) will thank you for it!

Having a close family member recently diagnosed with Panic Anxiety Disorder, I found the book extremely useful in both understanding the illness and knowing how to support this person. The author provides easy-to-understand details about the illness and solid ways of supporting loved-ones. Now, I feel like I can talk to my family member and no longer have to side-step the discussion. A must-read for anyone who has loved ones with this condition.

Having personal experience with an anxiety disorder, I found Linda's book to have practical, reassuring information that I have been searching for for a long time. No one can really understand an anxiety disorder unless they have first-hand knowledge of it. The author speaks from her heart. Many of the mental-health professionals I have spoken to do not have this level of insight.

I'd heard about Linda's upcoming tips book on Panic and Anxiety Disorder, but wasn't really interested in reading it, mainly because it was a "tips" book; I've seen those booklets in the check-out line, and always considered them vague and rather gimmicky. So, when I first picked up "Panic and Anxiety Disorder, 121 Tips, Real-life Advice, Resources & More", not only was I surprised by its book-like appearance, I was also drawn to its calm, down-to-earth approach to self-help. Yes, there are numbered tips, but as I read, I realized this wasn't implicitly for someone coping with anxiety disorders; Linda has written to everybody. Her tips, while pinpointing individual aspects of anxiety, actually address the very simple, basic, moment-by-moment steps to follow in order to successfully survive just about any stressful inner conflict. From digging in the earth to truly relearning the art of breathing, Linda's guidance is straightforward and simultaneously profound. Not leaving any stone unturned, Linda has dedicated an entire chapter to folks who've found themselves in the challenging role of support, and included numerous sources of additional literature and information.

Linda Manassee Buell has written this book with the compassion and personal landscape of someone who's lived in the cave of fear, and who's triumphantly emerged into the sunshine.

'This is a little book.......filled with
amazing tips....in order to overcome anxiety
and panic attacks....I am majoring in Clinical
Psychology at the University.....and I am too
suffered from panic attacks since 17 years old..
so the advices she give us in her book....are so
simple and practical..coming from a wonderful
woman who also knows how to experiment a full
panic attack...I recommend this book to all
people who is feeling alone.......who feels that
nobody understands.......you will connect with
the compassive Linda...who shares with us....all
the tips available to handle this uneasy condition...
Buy this book....you will not regret.......the message
there is.....THAT YOU CAN LIVE A FULL LIFE EVEN
WITH THIS CONDITION...like everyone else!!!

This book is a valuable addition to the others on the subject. Written in a direct and compassionate voice, it provides great insight and assistance to anyone connected to this disorder. I myself do not suffer from it; however, I'm close to a number of people who do. This book is a tremendous help to those of us who must learn to cope with a loved one who has a panic/anxiety disorder. And it provides an excellent tool to begin safely discussing the topic with that loved one. Lastly, I've had the privilege to meet the author on a couple occasions and talk about the issue -- she is truly knowledgeable, sensitive, and passionate about it.

I found the audio tape to be a great source of entertainment. My imagination was captivated. It's a great source of family entertainment, personal journey and pure fun.

We have just listened to the audio book of "Stickeen" produced by Mara Purl and thoroughly enjoyed the story! I have already told my daughter and she is anxiously waiting for my next "care package," because I told her I would be sure to enclose the tape of "Stickeen" so she can enjoy it also. The story was wonderful and it was so beautifully produced with music and sound effects. I will look for some of Muir's other stories to enjoy, especially if Haven Books Audio does some more.

I first met Stickeen by reading an exerpt on a Pomeranian calendar. I immediately went to Amazon to get the book. It is a thrilling and emotional testamony by John Muir of his most memorable day on a glacier with a brave little dog. It is a story you just can't put down and by the end you love and admire Stickeen as much as Muir. I did some research and found that John Muir worked on this story for decades perfecting every word. He considered it his most important work because it showed the dog Stickeen as an emotional and thinking being therefore requiring mankind to consider how we treat our canine companions.

Our family loves to travel by car. In a huge state like Alaska, there's plenty to see, but not much to listen to on the radio, as stations are few and far between. One of the best things we listened to on our trip was "Stickeen," the remarkable dog story by John Muir. We loved Lee Salisbury's voice, and the beautiful music on the tape. This was an hour that flew by, and a few dollars well-spent. We're sending copies to all our relatives.

Every doglover will be swept away by this captivating audiobook of John Muir's adventure with STICKEEN. I had never known the story before I listened to the tape, and I was completely captivated by the bravery and heart of STICKEEN - and by the voice of Lee Salisbury. John Muir's words capture the innate goodness of EVERY dog - and somehow explains why we can't help but love them so!! I bought 5 copies to send to my dog loving friends, and I'm sure I'll be buying more! This is a story you'll want to share with everyone who loves animals.

This is nature writing which deviates quietly and profoundly from the main American currents. In the 1940s, Sally Carrighar spent her summers in a cabin in Sequoia National Park. She distilled her observations into this exploration of the experiences of nine creature during a single day near the same granite cliff. The interlocking portraits are engaging and convincing. Carrighar keeps the inevitable anthropomorphization to a minimum. Her descriptions allow us to enter into the animals' sensations and impulses. A deer mouse "wanted the walls of the nook to press her all over, but however she crouched, one of her sides had no touch of shelter on it." A lizard is tempted by "a gamey, delicately tart green leafhopper." A chickaree giving an alarm call "jerked, as if he were a little bag filled to bursting with bright sound that piped out whenever the bag was jostled."

Unlike Thoreau and all his literary descendants, Carrighar does not focus on the spiritual reverberations of nature in the human soul, and she does not speak of herself. In his introduction to the California Legacy Book edition, David Rains Wallace highlights her "down-to-earth, impersonal" approach. Today's nature writers, perhaps influenced by postmodernism and multiculturalism's emphases on individual perspective, rarely attempt to enter the consciousness of other beings. Perhaps they avoid cuteness, projection, and presumption that way. They also miss a chance to help us realize that other creatures exist as hungrily as we do.

As a veteran reader of nature writing, I am embarrassed to say that I felt surprised when this book made me remember that the animals I glimpse and don't glimpse on the trail must have continuous, emotional and sensory lives. I felt like going outside to watch a bluejay for an hour. I felt that the jay wouldn't bore me and I might be able to figure out what the he was up to.

Carrighar didn't entice me with the promise of objective knowledge of a secret kingdom. Rather, she made me wonder if I could achieve a sense of home in that kingdom through intimate knowledge. Though she never describes her own process of observation, Carrighar offers herself as a teacher. With her clear, faithful gaze, she comes as close to joining the community of Beetle Rock as a human can.

I haven't finished reading this book because I don't want it to end. Each chapter takes you through the same day as the other chapters, only from the vantage point of a different animal. Most humans don't have a clue as to the life of any other species 24/7. The detail, the nuance, the empathy that Carrigher brings is stunning, without being anthropomorphic. I'm starting a book club based on this book.

Each chapter is about a day's adventure of one of the animals (Weasel, Sierra Grouse, Chickaree, Black Bear, Lizard, Coyote, Deer Mouse, Stellar Jay & Mule Deer) on the rock and surrounding forests and meadows. Sally Carrighar compresses her observations into one day and weaves a fine tale of the activities and imagined-thoughts of each animal.

This is one of my favorite books. Carrighar writes about the lives of nine animals during one day in Sequoia National Park, one chapter per animal. Each animal interacts with the world and fellow creatures in its own way, and each has its own problems and anxieties -- which creates dramatic interest. Carrighar anthropomorphizes her characters, but convincingly and unobtrusively -- how could you avoid it in a book of this type? The writing beautifully describes sounds, scents, the play of light on leaves, etc.

This book, written from the point of view of each of a series of animals living around Beetle Rock, follows the web of life and illustrates the beauty of the natural world. This is a book for anyone seeking to understand the natural world, and anyone who truly loves animals.

This is a first class narrative by a Naval Aviator who through flying skill and a good bit of luck lived throught 16 major battles in the Pacific during World War 2. Having gone through the Naval Cadet Program and receiving my wings much later than Hal I would love to have this book on my book shelf.

This is the first book I've read of this type that follows the war experiences of a dive bomber pilot in World War II. I've read other books about bomber pilots (I remember Harry Crosby's "On a Wing and a Prayer" especially fondly) but this is (as far as I know) the first book of this type by a dive bomber pilot from the war. The title should clue you in that this is going to be a good book: the Dauntless was the early war dive bomber of the US Navy, and it was replaced by the Helldiver. It turns out that the author graduated from flight school just prior to Pearl Harbor, and so was on the Yorktown at the Battle of the Coral Sea. He didn't really participate in the battle, only flying one anti-submarine patrol, but he *was* there. He then was assigned to the Saratoga, and arrived with that ship just after the fighting stopped at Midway. He flew patrols in the aftermath of the battle, however, and helped recover downed pilots and look for enemy stragglers, so he qualifies as having participating in that battle. He flew a mission at the start of the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, and when his flight leader decided they wouldn't be able to make it back to the carrier (by now the Enterprise) they wound up on Guadalcanal, and Buell flew from there for a month. He then returned to the carrier and participated briefly in the battle of Santa Cruz. He spent much of 1943 in the states building a new bomber group, then went with it to the new Hornet (the old one had been sunk by a Japanese sub the previous year) and was with that group through a series of raids during the rest of the year and much of 1944, which culminated in the Battle of the Phillipine Sea. In that confrontation, Buell's division of the squadron crippled and almost sank the Japanese carrier Zuikaku. He also led his division as it sank several vessels, including two destroyers, several merchant vessels, and at least one combat transport.

Buell's account of all of this is lively and intelligent. He recounts everything in an interesting fashion, telling of training, combat missions, shipboard politics, and the plane types that they flew. His discussion of the Dauntless and its replacement by the Helldiver is lamented, though he does note that the Helldiver was faster and had a larger cargo capacity. While the Dauntless had numerous nicknames and was a very popular plane, the pilots referred to the Helldiver as "the Beast".

I enjoyed this book a great deal and would recommend it to anyone interested in World War II.

If you know anything about U.S. naval aviation during World War II, the title alone will grab you. "Dauntless Helldivers" is an outstanding tale, superbly written by someone who was there and did it all. It's a "you-can't-put-it-down" book, which is rare for a work of nonfiction. If you've read some of the other great naval air volumes by Walter Lord, Gordon Prange and others, you'll definitely want this one alongside them on your bookshelf.

Hal Buell was one of the most experienced--and most effective--dive bomber pilots in the US Navy during WW II. He also owns a PhD in history; a unique combination which comes together in this engaging memoir. Flying SBDs in the 1942 carrier battles, and later SB2Cs in 1944, Buell had a great story to tell at the outset. His observations on human beings under lethal stress, as well as the challenge of combat flying, are well worth the effort. We can only regret that more dive bomber pilots (and crewmen) haven't committed their experiences to paper. Like the bumper sticker says: fighter pilots make movies; attack pilots make history!

Buell's book on environmental crisis is that rare breed of serious book. It's really important, and it's also thoroughly readable and entertaining. Every major aspect of environmental crisis is discussed, and how the crisis has played out in American politics and culture is also fully presented. It's a must read for anyone who wants to really try to imagine the next hundred years.

Well-written, intelligent, daunting. One of the best environmental books I've read in a few years, and I teach, write, edit, and review in this field.

I know of no better book about the environmental crises in the US today than this one. It is full of ideas and information but is also full of feeling and is a great read! The book also tells the often sad and outrageous story of environmental politics from the conservative "revolution" to the present and explores many of the very bizarre ways in which we Americans have attempted culturally to adapt to living with and in environmental crisis. I highly recommmend it.
Diane Dudzinski

From Apocalypse to Way of Life gives a riveting account of environmental crisis in all its many forms--as a catastrophe in progress in nature, as a threat to human health, and as a dysfunctional aspect of society. It deals with trashed ecosystems, chemical and other pollution, the extinction of species, the risks of new technologies, scary human health problems, and the environmental effects of global inequities. It gives an often amusing (sometimes hilarious) and sobering account of the various attempts to convince us that environmental crisis does not exist (or more blatantly, that it is actually good for us) that have entered American politics and culture over the last three decades.

When I was producing a video biography of Longfellow for Macmillan/McGraw-Hill in 1992, I needed a one-volume selection of Longfellow's poetry, and this book did the job very nicely. It includes Longfellow's best-known poems as well as two others that were never published during the poet's lifetime but must be classed with his finest work. The introduction by Lawrence Buell provides a useful biographical sketch and a thoughtful discussion of why Longfellow--the most famous American of his time--is not more widely read today. Buell's observations may get you thinking about this schoolbook poet in a different way.

Longellow is the poet of the American public school. 'Evangeline' 'The Courtship of Miles Standish' 'Paul Revere's Ride' ' The Village Blacksmith' ' 'A Psalm of life' and others. His reputation in the nineteenth century was great and overwhelming. Yet his reputation in the realm of poetry today is not with those artists of the canon, Tennyson and Browning in England, and Whitman and Dickinson in the United States. Perhaps it is because his poems are taken to be not inventive enough linguistically. Perhaps it is because the very thing many have praised him for his musicality seems today to be less than the irregular music of a Hopkins or Dylan Thomas.
In any case in Longfellow one will find sound solid lines, a certain moral stance , a kind of American integrity. For someone like myself reading Longfellow is a nostalgic trip and a new perspective on what I read so long ago. He has much to give even if it is not quite at the highest poetic level.

I love this book it is something that men and women would enjoy. I have tons of information on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow because our house is a remake of his he lived from 1807-1882. If I were you I would buy it I am the biggest fan of his I have every single book of poems,songs,and more on him in paperback and hardcover. Buy it!

Whether you are simply exploring an interest in poetry or are a seasoned reader of the great poets, Longfellow's poems will move you. There is a poem in this collection that is perfect for every mood you could be in. If you are down and need to be lifted up, if you simply want to smile about the beauty of life, or if your heart has been broken, Longfellow's works will speak to your heart. Longfellow's works have spoken to my soul as no other poet or writer has ever before.

The illustrations are amazing. The scenery and characters look like they are made from cloth. My children wanted to read this book over and over and over :). The last page was especially fun with the lamb hiding under the little girls school desk.

the book was very colorful i loved the pictures easy for children to connect. i love sally mavor's work she is an excellent artist. i will continue to buy her books. and the shipment time was great

Mavor is a genius in using scraps of whatever to create a textural world that is as comfortable as this classic story poem. Look at each page, and look again, there seems no end to details that embellish these sewn illustrations. Yummies for your eye, and if only we could touch!

Our daughter keeps asking to read this classic poem/song again and again. Mayor's illustrations are a masterpiece of three-dimensional textile work, combining many different techniques. She has also captured many historical details of the era in which the poem was originally written. The result adds depth and detail to a simple story, which makes it a pleasure to read again and again.

OK, I admit it, I am very gullible. When I first saw the title of this book, I thought it was a serious treatise. It wouldn't have surprised me considering how obsessed with self-help this culture is! Upon a closer inspection, the joke was obvious - and hilarious. The humor of this book is good-natured and clean enough, but made me laugh out loud on several occasions. It takes psycho-babble and political correctness to absurd extremes and proves how ridiculous they can get. Cartoons accompany the text perfectly. My favorite is the graph showing how much money the government has spent on educating cats (a flat zero from the beginning to the end). Highly recommended!

Don't let the title of this book fool you. It is a well-written, hilarious account of psycho-babble gone beserk, told in the form of a how-to manual for pet owners. Spoofs many of our modern manias. Great fun. Highly recommended.

My teacher's friend wrote this book, and I'm good friends with my teacher so I've heard much about about this book. The most funny part is not the book, it's that people actually think that it's a real guide to boosting your pet's self-esteem! Ha ha ha. Great book. No doubt about it, it's a must-read.