Events Books

Learning to live past the death of a child is the hardest moment in ones life. This book helped us! Read it and let it help you! This book is good for ANY Crisis not just the death of a loved one. Any life crisis is covered. Read it and get better!

When my mother faced a battle with cancer over 20 years ago, she sent me this book to comfort me when the inevitable time came. What wisdom. I've given away so many copies to grieving friends that I can't keep my own. I've been told by many of them that it helped them so much that they too gave copies to others. Just knowing you're not alone in your feelings of grief, and that there are ways to work through it, provide such comfort and hope. Buy it now for when you need it later.

This book is great for both people who are experiencing loss (it could be losing your house in a tornado) and for people who want to know how to be a friend to those who are grieving.

I keep giving my copy away and ordering more. This is not a "take a warm bubble bath and it'll be all better" book. The book makes several important points; you go through a whole range of emotions, it takes at a long time, you should take it easy on yourself, not expect too much of yourself, and you shouldn't make any life-changing decisions for at least a year.

But even more significant is that the book gives you permission to grieve in your own way and time -- there is no right or wrong way to grieve. This should also be required reading for well-meaning friends and family and co-workers and the book gives them permission to be tolerant and understanding of the person who is grieving.

It is a quick read, liberally sprinkled with case histories and examples.

I have a slightly older addition, which is why I'm not giving this book five stars. Some of the references are a little out of date.

Overall, this is a really useful book. Dr. Stearns clearly understands the grieving process. She provides a balanced exploration of what happens to to people during times of crisis, and helps readers to cope. I say balanced in that this isn't a typical 'self-help' book, lacking in depth, yet it isn't an overly technical, dry psychology book. The case histories and the overall writing style make the book very read friendly. Her arguments make sense and are backed up by good research. Readers who've read other work on the subject of grief, death, loss, crisis, etc., will find they may be familiar with some of the ideas already, but the presentation is fresh enough to keep this from being a big drawback. If you've gone through a major loss, or if you are personally or professionally trying to support someone who has, this is a great book to pick up.

I came across this book when I divorced. It not only helped me understand and accept the process of grieving, it helped me through other times in my life when personal crisis led me to heavy grief. I have bought it and given it to friends who also have been grieving for one reason or another. This easy to read book is surely a difinitive guide for those searching to heal.

Lockdown Madness written by Jim Daly has to be one of the most informative and intriguing books that I have ever read on what it is like in the jails across America. Jim Daly has written a no holds barred book about actual events that he has witness as a jailer. The stories that Jim Daly relates in Lockdown Madness are shocking, reveling and exciting. Some of the stories will make you laugh and others will make you realize just how mean and cruel some people really are. This book will enlighten you as to what happens in the life of jailer, as they have to deal with some of the most vile, rudest, and worst people that society has to offer. I have visited some on death row, in medium and minimum-security prisons and in jails across Oklahoma and I can attest to the truthfulness of the events in this book as I have witnessed some of what Jim Daly talks about. Lockdown Madness will help you realize just how fortunate we are to have people like Jim Daly who sacrifice so much to keep society safe from all kinds of offenders. Lockdown Madness is truly an eye-opener and a book that I highly recommend that you put on your must read list.

Tom Ward, author
The Enemy Within and
Outposts of Hell or Portals to Heaven.

This is an extraordinary Book! I spent years being the wife to an inmate and heard of stories from my husband like those of this author. To hear the side of the jailer is an extreme eye-opener and demands respect to those who live there lives with the sickest of all human beings! The Author is very truthful and open as he takes you threw years of his life. I found myself laughing out loud, and other times holding my breath! I read 75% of the book the first time i opened it! it's a book you will want to read till you finish. This book will be read more then once by me. Wonderful Job Author,looking forward to your next book!

Lockdown Madness is an absolute thriller. His experiences working as an Corrections Officer will surely grip any readers attention. Throughout his book he dealt with some of the most dangerous ruthless criminals incarcerated in the corrections facilities. One mistake with these folks meant certain injury or death for the corrections officer.The book is very informative on Correction policy and guidelines. Action packed and a great thriller for all readers who like Law Enforcement stories.~Dale Ford, Author,"Inconceivable Danger"; Chief of Southern Corrections Prison, Retired Narcotics Police Investigator, Vietnam Veteran

AWESOME, eye-opener. Never gave jail a thought, it was a place to lock up the bad guys. You feel you are right there and you have insight of what goes on IN THE CELL.Humorous too. Great book and I am looking forward to his NEXT book!

Jail is no fun place to be. but you have to give respect to those willing to protect us from the bad guy's being a former jail deputy i can say that this book is dead on the money. the author did a excellent job.

I picked this book up by chance, while browsing my local library. I found this book to be highly informative and interesting. I am very uneducated regarding the cold war and I know little about the history of any countries besides the United States.

This book paints a distinct and painful picture of life on the run.

What I never realized was just how many refugees there are. All over the world people are forced to give up everything they know, everything they have worked for, everything they have grown accustomed to. That is unless all of there possessions are destroyed before they can willingly leaving them behind.

This book shows how any major change in thinking or political structure can affect millions and millions of people.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in human beings.

... as we are sometimes so fortunate
to stumble upon. Handily makes you stop, think,
reevaluate self and everything around you.
Only criticism: too short.
I want more.

Simply stated, I was profoundly affected by this book and will never look at the world the same way again.

Everyone should read it, maybe the Earth would become a better place.

If I made a list of books everyone should read, this one would right now be number one. Everything that has happened in the last 10,11 years since the breakup of the Soviet Union, is in here- East Germany, Liberia, Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia- each story told in the context of the lives of one or a few people, which makes these stories so vivid and real. You'll remember the newspaper headlines, and the stories, but in this book it's like you are experiencing it all for the first time, and personally. Fritz is a terrific writer, I promise you won't be bored. Finally it has very special meaning for Americans. Fritz keeps referring to us a s "the world's only superpower", a concept that hasn't really sunk in for most of us, or most of our "leaders" either. So we really need to do a lot of heavy thinking about what we do, how we act, in fulfilling this historicaly unique role. Buy it!

Fritz' repertorial skill and novelistic approach make a less-than-palatable subject read like a gripping detective novel.

His eye for detail and empathy with the people - and the voices - of those tortured souls literally "Lost On Earth" make this book an invaluable document for our fragmented times.

I loved this book! I found it because I am doing a research paper for Sociology on interracial relationships. I am in an interracial realtionship myself so I am interested in finding out more inormation about experiences I may have to go through. I am Mexican and my boyfriend is black. Although Gail is white I still feel that I can strongly relate to her because I don't know if my father will accept my relationship. It felt really good to have someone who knew exactly how I felt and what I was thinking. THere were a few times where I had tears and where I was overjoyed for Gail and Mark. I recommend it to anyone who is in an interracial relationship.

This is one of my favorite books. I actually met the authors during their promotion of this book and I have a signed copy. This story is so moving, only those of us in interracial relationships and marriages truly understand the struggles and obstacles this couple faced and how they triumphed. This book helped make me strong and face all of those obstacles that I was afraid of. My marriage is a strong one, it has lasted 12 years! Gail wrote a very touching statement in her signing of my copy of this book: "Celebrate the love you share". I have never forgotten to do exactly that!

This book was simply outstanding. I waited nearly a month for it and it was worth it. It answered every single question I've ever had about interracial relationships and it helped me find ways to approach others' fears and misinformation in regards to interracial relationships. I came away much more knowledgeable--not just about how human beings interact with one another, but also about the spirit of human beings.

The best part about this book is the way it reads--the story moves fast, the writing is smooth, and many times I found myself almost forgetting that this was actually non-fiction...it was almost as good as a romance novel. And wonderfully, it's all true! I highly recommend this book.

I just so happen to pick this gem up at a library book sale. I never heard of the book, nor the author but it's title alone intrigued me, since I myself has been involved in an interracial relationship for the past 5 years (and counting :-)
This was a very moving as well as an enlightening book. I definitely recommend this for anyone pursuing an interracial relationship or even considering one. Actually I recommend this book to everyone, after all we are all of one race, and that race is called humanity.

The story of a white lady who marries a black South African immigrant, this story is a very genuine, heartfelt account of two people from two different cultures who cross the race line and despite all the odds against them, have a very loving and successful marriage. Everyday trials are emphasised as well as the cultural problems, "going public", reactions from black women, and so on. Each chapter has two parts: Gail's point of view and Mark's point of view. It is a very interesting book not only for mixed-ethnicity marriages, but for everyone else as well. Highly recommended.

I highly recommend NGNM as a starting-point for anyone with an interest in philosophical anarchism. It's an anthology of writings from the major figures that provides not only an introduction to the foundational concepts but some sense of the different themes within anarchism as well. Well done!

Let me first say that Paul Sharkey deserves a lot of credit for a wonderful job on the translation of this work. Beautifuly done, it is a major boost for the book. But in no way should it diminish the wonderful selections brought together by Guerin as well as the writers themselves. Although it can be very heavy reading at times, it is well worth it.

Both volumes of "No Gods No Masters" are a magnificent contribution to anarchist thought and its ongoing traditions of libertarian justice and fraternity.Daniel Guerin states that "the constructive ideas of anarchism retain their vitality, that they may, when re-examined and sifted, assist contemporary socialist thought to undertake a new departure...[and] contribute to enriching Marxism."

In "No Gods No Masters" Guerin is concerned not only with anarchist thought but also with the spontaneous actions of popular revolutionary struggle. He is concerned with social as well as intellectual creativity. He attempts to draw from constructive social achievements of the past, lessons that will enrich the theory of social liberation.

One of the better books on Anarchism available for those who truly wish to understand the world and who wish to act constructively to change it for the better. Essential reading for any advocate of direct action for social change.

For those who wish not only to understand the world, but also to change it, this is the proper way to study the history of anarchism.

No Gods No Masters is a work of monumental proportions. Daniel Guerin has created a masterpiece of libertarian socialist literature, a truly comprehensive look the history and practice of anarchism. The work brings together hundreds of source articles and declarations, from the original documents of the International Working Men's Association, on through Kropotkin, to Malatesta to the intricacies of the Spanish Revolution. There is an excellent balance of theoretical manifestos and documents and reports and interpretations of actual revolutionary events. This is a prime source for information on some of this centuries most important events, from the point of view of the participants.

I was quite satisfied with the huge amount of excellent information in these two books, so much so that I think there should be more. Although he covers the most important aspects of anarchist history an practice, Guerin leaves a few things out, while focusing too much on other things (Proudhon for example.)

Overall, though, it is an excellent read, and an inspiring and useful addition to the long list of anarchist literature. No God's No Masters is not so much an introduction to anarchism, or an argument for it, it's more of an enlightening look at anarchism throughout history. Definately recommended!

These books are difficult, sometimes torturous to read, at least as I read them, straight through, from front to back. However there is certainly a fair amount of good stuff in here.
In book one, Bakunin describes how the capacity of human beings for intellectual growth is severely stunted by the subordination of the worker to wage slavery, religious and nationalistic dogma, etc.
The Bakunin section includes an excerpt from a biography of the latter written by his disciple Max Nettlau, dealing especially with the Marx-Bakunin war. Marx and Engels, those well-meaning arrogant eccentrics, called a meeting of the executive council of the First International in 1870 in London. With their own flunkies being the minority of members present, they voted to give themselves dictatorial power over the International. A Russian flunky had been whispering into Marx's ear that Bakunin was an agent of the Czar and that Bakunin had intended to defraud Marx because of Bakunin's apparent inability to progress on producing the Russian translation of Das Kapital which Marx had paid him to do. Marx and Engels launched a campaign of defamation against Bakunin and his supporters within the International and had them expelled but a virulent backlash by 90 percent of the membership of the International foiled their plans. But the First International was dead.
Bakunin noted that the true freedom of the individual would be even more repressed than under capitalism under the vaguely defined State Socialism that Marx and his followers envisioned as necessary to transition to rule after the overthrow of capitalism. Giving complete power over society to a small group of people would corrupt those people, no matter how originally well intentioned they might be. Kropotkin and others are included in this book, like Bakunin giving pre-1917 warnings on the extreme dangers of authoritarian state socialism.

The issue is brought up as to what were Marx's true intentions in his embrace of the commune in Paris which briefly held power in 1871 before being crushed with a massacre of about 30,000 people. Since that institution was based on political democracy, it seemed to contradict Marx's own vauge notions about political dictatorship. However, Marx and Engels seemed to quickly disavow the Commune. The kindest guess on my part would be that they convinced themselves that it was an aberration not ever again possible as a governing institution for societies to transition to real Socialism.

Bakunin's disciple James Guillame is the first author in these books to suggest some specific operations of how an anarchist society might work. He argues for a central agency which will operate transparently, providing economic data to the public freely, etc. and which will collate such data and assign exchange values in trade between communes. Any administrative official, such as those who would work this agency, could immediately be fired by popular vote. Another author, Emile Henry, the French assassin of the dark age of anarchism (late 19th century) has a letter quoted here declaring that since there will be no waste production under anarchism like there is under capitalism, people will only have to work a few hours a day.

The Bolsheviks rode themselves to power on the principle of libertarian socialism: freely formed agricultural collectives and worker's councils controlling workplaces. But under the pretext of the Civil War, they crushed the independence of those institutions. The biography of Nestor Makhno, the leader of the anarchist movement in the Ukraine is extensively excerpted by Guerin. A vibrant libertarian socialist society of guerillas and peasants developed in the Ukraine but the Bolsheviks attempted to undermine Makhno's army fighting the Austro-German occupiers and White Armies. They cut off military supplies and then provoked Makhno's army into warfare by declaring that they considered all independent political activity as treasonous. By 1921, the foreign imperialists had been expelled from Russian soil and the White Army crushed but a totalitarian dictatorship remained. Sincere revolutionaries languished in Bolshevik prisons, guilty of nothing more than disagreeing even slightly with the divine wisdom of Lenin, Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev, etc. Gaston Laval's account of his attempt to negotiate with Lenin and Trotsky on the release of anarchist political prisoners, I found to be the best piece of writing in these two books.

With meager food rations being distributed to those highest in the party and the citizens descending into even deeper squalor than before, general strikes broke out in Petrograd. The sailors, soldiers and civilians of the Kronstadt naval base arose in rebellion and set up their own libertarian society but Trotsky started screaming that the rebellion was being financed by French Intelligence and led by Czarist generals, of which, of course, no evidence existed. Then the rebellion was crushed in a mass slaughter. An excerpt from Emma Goldman's memoir and selections of discourses from the principal newspaper of the rebellion are the principal documents shown.

Reports from 1936-early 1937 are provided from different persons, including a dry analysis from Gaston Leval, describing the creation of anarchist societies in large parts of Spain. Peasants and workers organized themselves in many areas into communes which chose coordinating agencies to organize distribution of resources. These operations apparently were fairly successful, given that they operated in the midst of Franco's army and hostility from the Republican government and the Stalinists. The latter of course, eventually launched a successful bloody campaign to exterminate anarchist institutions in Spain. Guerin includes a rather lengthy section on the romantic career of the guerilla leader Benaventura Durruti, including a 1937 account about him, after he died, from Emma Goldman. Of course, the anarchist trade union, the CNT decided in late 1936 to accept cabinet seats in the Spanish Republican government. Guerin covers the intense controversy about whether this compromise of the joining was necessary.

I understand that these two books have now been made into one, in a new edition put out by AK Press.

The book is pretty similar to the 2006 and 2007 editions. The author provides some pretty solid refutation of the most common liberal arguments. But it is nowhere near as in depth and comprehensive as Gregg Jackson's "Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies." Smith's answers are more tongue and cheek than Jackson's more thoroughly researched and documented responses. It's not a bad read though.

As always, The Official Handbook of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy undeniably lives up to its title. Now in an updated 2008 Presidential Election Edition, The Official Handbook of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy remains a solid block of strategies for debating with the extreme liberal left. Chapters attack and destroy the arguments supporting such left-wing causes as amnesty for illegal immigrants, giving constitutional rights to terrorism suspects, hysteria over global warming, unilaterally giving up in Iraq, using the Fairness Doctrine to censor conservative talk radio, "inside job" 9/11 conspiracy theories, same-sex marriage, and more. Liberals will also want to read The Official Handbook of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, the better to understand and anticipate the counter-arguments that are coming, and moderates are sure to chuckle at Smith's tongue-in-cheek take on the issues regardless of personal political preference! "...welfare hurts the exact people it is meant to help. By paying people to remain unemployed and giving extra subsidies to non-working parents who had additional children, between the 1960s and the 1990s welfare policies perpetuated poverty by removing the incentive to work while adding to exploding rates of illegitimacy. Since Congress approved comprehensive welfare reform in 1996, however, we've seen dramatic improvements in child poverty and illegitimacy rates. What a surprise - when the government stops paying people to be unemployed and to have kids out of wedlock, people find more jobs and have less out-of-wedlock children. Who could have predicted that?"

Have you ever had an epiphany and realized it was about how nasty the Democratic party is???? Well, this book will bring that realization to the front of your cranium, and give you a lot to think about!!! GET IT NOW!!!!

A quick and fun read for anyone who is sick and tried of the baseless attacks from the vast left wing conspiracy. It provides clear cut answers to virtually all of the accusations of liberals. In the past I chose to not debate most of the topics in the book. Now I do not shy away from a discussion. It provides you with enough amunition to make a liberal stammer and stutter.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is full of great reference material. In addition, the back of the book has lists of conservative books and web sites.

If you are wondering why the Black woman in your section of your company doesn't seem to want to socialize with you or seems guarded around her White co-workers or why the White women in your organization get all riled up about sexism but are silent when it comes to racism this is the book for you. I recommend this book along with Divided Sisters for those who really want Black and White women to unite in the workplace. These two tomes will give you more than a clue. They'll give you guidelines as how to build a truly "diverse" workplace where everyone is welcomed AS THEY ARE and not as stereotypes others want them to play out. If you are a Black woman, you'll understand why you see your work status merely as a "job" and not as a career and why you feel so much like an outsider looking in at your organization.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that I wanted more in-depth analysis of how the White female managers confronted the idea of Black women as equals (and not just on the job), something I've experienced that White women have a difficult time doing in the workplace.

This book is a must for anyone who is interested in the career paths of women in the corporate world. That would include spouses of, grown children of, and parents of women. It is based upon Harvard research including in-depth case studies of both white and black women from childhood to the present day, career journeys one will find fascinating. When the reader returns to his/her workplace after completing this book, diversity will take on a more significant meaning. This book is also a useful tool in college career development classes. Rather than a dull read, it keeps the reader coming back for more.

GOOD BOOK. BUT I HAVE NEVER HAD AN INTERRACIAL FRIENDSHIP WITH A WHITE AMERICAN WOMAN. MY FRIENDS WERE EITHER EUROPEAN, ASIAN, AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN, SOUTH AMERICAN, OR BLACK. IM NOT EVEN INTERESTED IN CLOSING THE GAP WE'VE HAD BETWEEN EACH OTHER SINCE SLAVERY. AND EVEN IF WHITE WOMEN AND BLACK WOMEN ARE FRIENDS IN CORPORATE AMERICA, BLACK WOMEN STILL GET PAID LESS. ITS UNFAIR AND I DONT WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH SOMEONE WHO THINKS THE WORD WOMAN, FEMININE, OR LADY MEANS WHITE.

If you are wondering why the Black woman in your section of your company doesn't seem to want to socialize with you or seems guarded around her White co-workers or why the White women in your organization get all riled up about sexism but are silent when it comes to racism this is the book for you. I recommend this book along with Divided Sisters for those who really want Black and White women to unite in the workplace. These two tomes will give you more than a clue. They'll give you guidelines as how to build a truly "diverse" workplace where everyone is welcomed AS THEY ARE and not as stereotypes others want them to play out. If you are a Black woman, you'll understand why you see your work status merely as a "job" and not as a career and why you feel so much like an outsider looking in at your organization.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that I wanted more in-depth analysis of how the White female managers confronted the idea of Black women as equals (and not just on the job), something I've experienced that White women have a difficult time doing in the workplace.

Bell and Nkomo dive straight to the heart of the matter. They base their findings on comprehensive personal interviews of African-American and white women working as managers or executives. Ultimately, the authors hit the reader over the head with the obvious: People from strikingly different backgrounds bring profound personal differences to the workplace. Too often, organizations stupidly attempt homogenizing everyone into minor variations on the existing (typically---older, white, and male) leadership theme. Unusually (Bell and Nkomo cited no such cases), organizations may wisely embrace the differences so that the organization and its people benefit from a more perceptive and inclusive world view.

Folks who need not spend their working hours "fitting in" contribute (A) more (B) less to the organization. Leaders who accept their people for who and what they are get (A) more (B) less from their subordinates. Guess where the authors suggest the readers take their outfits.

This is one of the best books of nonfiction I've read. Not only does it function as a primary-source document for study, but it is genuinely good reading. Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos is a powerful writer, and this book documents a selection of his poems, letters, communiqués and even fables for young children. Marcos, the most wanted man in Mexico, will go down as a major figure in Latin American Literature.

Since reading this book (actually, before I was even halfway finished) I had decided I needed to buy copies for family and friends as gifts and recommend it to pretty much everyone. Marcos is an amazing writer, and the story of the Zapatistas is extremely relevant and intriguing for anyone interested in modern society, politics, Latin America, social movements, civil wars, literature and poetry, what "integrity" means in such troubled times, and so much more. No matter your interest, you will not be dissapointed by this purchase.

Too often those of us who seek social justice for people who have been traditionally oppressed tend to just reminisce on the past.

However, this book proves that there is a great social movement that ordinary people CAN , RIGHT NOW make a diffrence about

The history of Mexico, like the history of Latin America, is a history of pain, struggle, and exploitation.

Marcos shows us a movement that seeks to right some of the wrong, and leads a movement of the oldest of the old, the oppressed of the oppressed: Indigenous campesinos (farmers) of Southern Mexico. Where pictures of Jesus Christ stand right there alongside of.....Che Guevara.

A people that have been traditionally been treated like dirt, for lack of a better word, now taking an inspirational and highly moving stand and demand an end to exploitation and a better way of life.

Through their charismatic and briliant leader, Marcos, he tells us the story of the people known as Zapatistas and their struggle for dignity.

The dignity of a people no longer willing to tolerate centuries of injustice.

What human being cannot be moved by such extroadinary courage?

Without a doubt, Subcomandante Marcos is one of the most important present day writers and activists in the Americas. "Our Word is Our Weapon" is a huge collection of his essays and short stories about the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas.As such, I highly recommend it for peace and justice activists engaged in Latin American solidarity work, the anti-corporate globalization movement and indigenous struggles. Moreover, it is an interesting study of grassroots participatory democracy in action. Read it and be inspired!

Subcomandante Marcos is not just a man, he is a myth in his own lifetime. The cult of personality that surrounds him is completely deserved. His poetic voice is so sharp and poignant you can not help but feel sympathetic for his Zapatistan cause.

The highlight of the book is the last third which features primarily his writing. The stories and poetry he shares are accessible to almost anyone. He is the antithesis of stuffy. His anecdotes and points are so simple yet so perplexing you wonder how he does it.

With the Roman Catholic Church as a central character portrayed in a less than flattering light, Papal Reich begs an obvious comparison to Da Vinci Code. Like the latter, Papal Reich also possesses international sweep and plot complexity with many surprises leading to a satisfying denouement, but while Da Vinci Code excels at detectiving framed by historic and artistic clues, Papal Reich is superior in character development, with many of the principals that the reader cares about revealing unexpected dimensions. Pereira's work makes accurate reference to many Roman Catholic Church documents, historic facts, processes, and practices, and it should be clear to most any reader where fact end and fiction begins. In doing so, he avoids the controversy that has dogged Da Vinci Code, whose seeming misrepresentation of fact has offended many readers. In any case, most who liked that book should like Papal Reich as well.

The action occurs mostly in modern day and near future America, but the plot is anchored in World War II era events in Germany, where a cabal of three oddly matched Nazis are tasked to undermine efforts to hide and transport Jews to safety by infiltrating Catholic parishes in Germany. In league with a Papal official, the conspirators amass a fortune in assets that only one has access to. The main storyline is dedicated to the search for those characters and the ill-gotten fortune, but along the way, the paths of many other characters of interest cross.

It would be unfair to give away more detail, because there are many mysteries that unfold throughout. This is a cleverly written page turner. Enjoy.

As the world prepares to annoint a new pope, this work suddenly becomes topical. The author shows a close understanding of history and expands it into the realm of fiction effectively. This interesting ying-yang between history and fiction keeps the reader tied all through the book and at the end gives a feel of having experienced the journey all through.

While the selection of pope has always been behind closed doors, the book raises a suspicion that we all hope is pure fiction. Or is it?

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

MB

This book is a well-researched masterpiece of historical fiction. Pereira skillfully brings to life a diverse cast of characters and weaves their disparate lives and circumstances together across time and place. The author deftly draws the characters together, building suspense page by page. The novel picks up speed and intensity until the gripping climax explodes off the final pages. Each individual's story is well-written and engaging, and although neither the Catholic church nor Nazi war criminals are typically topics I seek out, the plot easily sustained my interest. In particular, trying to anticipate the links among the various characters and subplots before they were revealed kept me focused throughout the book. Enjoy!

I didn't know what to expect from this book by a new author. But once I began Papal Reich, I found that I couldn't put it down. Each time I thought I had figured out the plot, there was a twist or a turn that compelled me to keep turning those pages! Although this is a work of fiction, the tale is nightmarishly plausible due to Pereira's careful interweaving of historical facts. The author's painstaking research and documentation provide interesting and thought-provoking information about the Nazi regime and Catholicism that is, in itself, worth the read! But, the value of this book goes well beyond a history lesson and a good story. Pereira provided this reader with much to think about regarding her own willingness to 'go along with' the leadership and influences of established institutions, which of course are headed by human beings whose passions and egos and motives can be less than pure. To me, the book encourages intelligent people to question everything in order to find the Truth that protects the essence of what institutions are supposed to stand for. This is perhaps something that cannot be underestimated in today's world.

Rather a unique blend of fact and fiction against the backdrop of the papacy, Nazi Germany and post World War II intrigues. The glitter of Da Vinci's colorful Swiss Guards compells admiration-but there are disturbing shadows in the murky corners of the magnificent splendors of the Vatican. Hold your breath as you move from one awful surprise to another incredible revelation.
Altogether a spellbinding story.

Very interesting and orginal book. It's arrived very fast. Thank you.
Alessandro Mussini - Genova

Rawls has finally brought his powerful project of sociological and political philosophy to a conclusion with insights he may not have expected when he first published Political Liberalism in 1993.
The inclusion of his 'Reply to Habermas', after having also read Habermas' critique, helped him and specially me to understand the issues raised in that exchange and to enjoy following them. The inclusion also of 'The Idea of Public Reason Revisited' is very worthwhile, as it maps out the amendments he had started to make to Political Liberalism that had been cut short by his death.

Imagine that the U.S.A. has decided to re-found itself, and you have been elected by a large geographical constituency as one of the founding fathers who must negotiate the principles for a new Constitution; further imagine that you are similarly elected to the Constitutional Convention to draft the new constitution under these principles, the Legislature which translates this constitution into law, and the Supreme Court which interprets this law in the light of experience.

You must do your duty by the people who have elected you and the generations to follow, but your electorate has no specific social character and your only mandate is to found a just constitution which will provide stable conditions for social cooperation and a well-ordered society.

How will you conduct yourself in negotiations with your fellow nation-founders? What kind of reasoning can you rely upon? You have your beliefs, but the others hold to different beliefs. And you are going to have to justify your actions to your constituency which is made up of all kinds of people, with all kinds of beliefs and all kinds of interests. You are going to have to explain yourself in a way which will seem reasonable to people who may not share your beliefs and be acceptable to those who do share your beliefs.

This is the thought experiment which John Rawls invites his readers to conduct. Rawls argues that ever since Catholicism and Protestantism fought each other to a standstill in Renaissance Europe, and the separation of Church and State was accepted as unavoidable, "reasonable pluralism" has become a fact of life for modern societies, and a fact which should be welcomed. He argues that if you conduct such a thought experiment, then you would have to come up with a conception of political liberalism something like that which he develops in his own thought experiment written up as Theory of Justice (1971) and more recently, Political Liberalism (1995).

Whether to endorse slavery, free market capitalism, democratic socialism or recreate a landed aristocracy, it is up to the "parties" to decide in due course, on the basis of the founding principles they decide, but given that the constitution must be defensible in terms which will be counted reasonable by the populace at large, Rawls is confident that such a thought experiment would come up with some kind of political liberalism. Rawls regards the relations of production as a secondary question which can be sorted out in due course, once the institutions of representative democracy and the judiciary have been settled and the citizens can legislate the social system.

In Rawls' books this thought experiment is called the "original position" though Rawls describes it in slightly different terms. Rather than supposing one is elected from large geographical electorates, Rawls proposes a hypothetical "veil of ignorance" so that the delegates do not know the social status of those that they represent nor what social position they may occupy in the state to be founded. Otherwise, his thought experiment pretty much matches the current US Constitution, barring political lobbyists, big business control of election campaigns and the naked play of self-interest within the institutions of really existing democracy.

Thus Rawls does much the same as Kant when he re-invented the Revealed Religion of the 18th century Lutheran Church by means of Reason, and Hegel when he set out to discover what was rational in the reality of early 19th century Prussia, but, it has to be said, in a way which is commensurate with a democratic republic of the 20th century, as a "self-standing" conception, limited to that which could be justified from the standpoint of any comprehensive metaphysical, moral or religious doctrine.

Like Kant and Hegel, Rawls does not validate everything that exists in the present-day U.S.A. as rational; he holds that the high cost of US election campaigns which ensures the restriction of nomination of candidates to the very rich, and the lack of an adequate health service and social safety net which ensures that a substantial proportion of the population cannot pursue the good life, are contrary to the requirements of justice. Nevertheless, for Rawls it is the constitution which decides the distribution of wealth and power, not the other way around.

The "original position" which Rawls characterises as a "representation device," is used to argue for "justice as fairness" as a candidate for an "overlapping consensus" "for the right reasons," which can withstand the test of "public reason" by "rational" and "reasonable" citizens who count one another as "free and equal," as a "self-standing" "political" conception, as opposed to a "comprehensive doctrine," and thus create the basis for a society as a "well-ordered system of social cooperation".

Where is the foreword by Martha Nussbaum?
I can not find in the hardcover expanded edition.

"A Theory of Justice" presented a conception of justice (justice as fairness) in the social contract tradition of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Kant. In "Political Liberalism" Rawls corrects an oversight in Justice as Fairness; he attempts to apply the idea of toleration to political philosophy by recognizing the fact of reasonable pluralism. Caution: Meant only for those who wish to understand political philosophy.