Arthur Books

(This is the very same review that I submitted to a online bookclub.)

A scientist accidently releases a virus that slowly makes people lose their IQ.
A first there are little things, like forgetting how to spell and say words, than you forget people, how to do your job, read, ect.
Finally, your IQ has dropped so low that all you want to do is sit on the couch all day, getting fat while watching Jerry Springer (because that is all that is on Tv!)
Can a doctor find the miracle cure before he loses his IQ and forgets how?

``Katrina

Scary idea that we could all be 'dumbed down' by a runaway virus...

This minor classic from 1978 might seem like a fairly typical medical disaster story, about yet another runaway virus. But this one has a few unique aspects to it, as Arthur Herzog did some intriguing explorations into the social and human ramifications of his plotline. In essence, scientists have accidentally created a contagious virus that makes everyone stupid. Sounds corny, and in a few places it is, though the novel is still a very rewarding read, thanks to the travails of the protagonist. The hero, brilliant scientist Dr. Healey, is the guy who's trying to save the world by finding the cure for the virus he had a hand in creating, while he also succumbs to the stupid sickness himself. What's really interesting is the way Herzog constructed the inner struggles of a man who was once an intellectual and knows that he is losing his brains, while also knowing that the world depends on him hanging on to his intelligence while going inexorably dumb. This leads to some quite effective musings from Herzog on the meaning of intelligence and smartness (which is different). He also did a pretty good job of constructing his collapsing society, as dumbness leads to some unexpected drama in politics and human interaction. Herzog's science is also complex and realistic, a la the medical novels of Robin Cook and his ilk. Pick up this old novel if you'd like an enjoyable doomsday scenario that's a little deeper and creepier than the rest. [~doomsdayer520~]

This book is great! It is about a bunch of doctors who mess around with DNA, and they unwittingly cause an accident that makes everyone in the world lose a bunch of IQ points and start acting dumb! It even happens to the President of the US. This is a great read!

My almost 4 year old son LOVES this book and even my 2 year old will sit through it. We are trying to get our boys to use more Spanish (mixed heritage) and this is a great way to do that.

Every page is full of brilliant Latin colors; we could stare at the pages and be happy. The language is rich and poetic- it breathes magic (or magica). It is mostly in English, but the Spanish words and phrases are put in a way that reader and child can understand them. There's even a glossary in the back so you can know for sure what the words mean and how to pronounce them correctly. It's even forcing me to remember that high school Spanish.

Beautiful book.

I love reading this to my 3-year old daughter. The pictures are so colorful and full of detail.

The language and tone is so fine. The author slips in and out of the two languages, Spanish and English so easily. It is the best way to read a story. It is fantastic for my daughter's imagination. She is flying just like Rosalba, just like we all did when we were young.

We also love her other book "Abuela".

This book is wonderful. As I read this book to my second graders. They feel like they are flying and actually doing what the characters are doing. They really get into the book

I read this book and the author's other children's book (Abuela) with my daughters (ages 2 and 4) who both enjoyed them immensely. Dorros does a great job of mixing the Spanish phrases in and repeating words in both English and Spanish that the story flows nicely and children can pick up some Spanish very naturally along the way. The pictures are very fun as well. I highly recommend it, in fact I came here to look for more books by the same author but unfortunately, didn't find any. I hope he has more in the works, we love them!

I have not yet finished this book, as it does take awhile to read. It is very informative and has a lot of intersting facts about this Avalon and Glastonbury; however, it can be difficult to read.

I've just come back from Glastonbury, and having read this book first helped a great deal. I'm reading it again, and am feeling so enlightened. If you love Avalon, you must have this book.

Anyone interested in the background behind the mysts of Avalon will enjoy this book. I found it well-researched, fairly easy to read, and quite informative. A great collection to my library.

Nicholas Mann captures the spirit of Avalon through the combined lenses of history, archeology, mythology and comparative spirituality rarely found in comparable texts. A must-own for anyone interested in Glastonbury, the Arthurian Mythos, spiritual history in sacred Britain, sacred geomety and geomancy. Mann brings a critical yet intuitively insightful perspective to all of the above. Well worth reading more than once!!

Sid Bernstein is nobody who would be called shy. His bold and confident approach to the music industry made him one of the most successful and historical legends among characters whose sheer presence could eclispe even superstars. Naturally, the book reads like Bernstein's personality: it's straightforward, New York-brassy, and honest. His personal, behind-the-scene accounts of the English invasion and its two major acts -- The Beatles and The Rolling Stones -- are worth the price of the book alone. But there's more to be learned about the evolution of the music biz from first-person advice than almost anywhere else. Best of all, it's a very quick read.

As a reporter for a weekly newspaper in Hudson County, I was able to interview Sid twice -- once for a profile in anticipation of his visit to the Beatlefest in Secaucus and later when he worked with a local promoter for a benefit. For both stories, this book helped bring out details of his life and his passions I would have missed, and helped me ask the right questions. It is a fun book about a special man, and for me, the book enlightened me about the details behind some of the more historic events of my life, such as what really happened when the Beatles came to America in 1964. This was a trip down memory lane. Thank you Sid.

This book is a MUST read! The impact of the Beatles on our society is immeasurable.

Sid Bernstein promoted the biggest stars in show biz to the heights of their careers. But is was Sid who put his own career on the line and brought the Beatles to America. Sid Bernstein changed the course of society!

An amazing story! "It's Sid Bernstein Calling!" is the book you should be reading right now!

"It's Sid Bernstein Calling" might seem to be one, long show business success story, but it's not.

It's way better. It's many entertaining show business success stories in the life of one man.

"It's Sid Bernstein Calling" is a well-written story of the many and varied successes of a kid from the Bronx, who took his chances and managed the biggest acts in show business.

Bernstein was the first guy to sense that The Beatles were going to hit it big; he organized the world's first modern rock concert (The Beatles, Shea Stadium, August 1965) and his tireless promotion of superstar artists is a textbook in real world show biz promotion.

The book is well written, a pleasure to read. Arthur Aaron's well-researched writing tells Sid Bernstein's story and never gets in the way of dealing with Bernstein's experiences, personal life and work ethics. The ups and downs are all there. Bernstein holds nothing back. It's a real story about the real thing.

Read it for such great ancedotes as how a piano got him to promote Abba, how he helped Tony Bennett sell out Carnegie Hall, helped promote The Young Rascals and the dozens of other superstars who have benefited from his golden touch.

Sid Bernstein is a rarity today - an honest, trusthworty and hardworking musical and theatrical promoter. A must read if you want to know about show business and treating people with class and respect.

Kevin Kelly (Wired) recommended this book - indeed a very good starting point. He's right about how Koestler compels you to his ideas, no matter if you agree with them. But believe me, if you like me is always thirsty for a text that awes you, here is one of them. Koestler writes very, very well and he entertains and disturbs you from the first to the final page. I concede that I am vulnerable to dense statements at the bottom of a chapter, but this gentleman does know how to do that. Read it, and save some time afterwards to savor the effects on your soul. Simply amazing.

Demonstrating with pissimism, "vision" and deep paranoia about the fatal schiz-phrenic human behaviour. For Koestler, the new Calendar has started since August 6,1945 with the Hiroshima bomb. Atomic bombs cannot be "uninvented", therefore they will be evantually used by man to destroy life on earth, unless we find a new injection or prescribtion to enhance the schiz contradictory social behaviour of the human race. Language is the source of human "unity", nobelity, and yet is the main source of dividing and isolating man.Since alwyas, the human history has been a continuous series of words and wars, and it will not get any better with the atomic and mass distruction weapons. It is all laid in the schizic human brain. For Koestler,it seems that through human evolution, a biological explosion has occured in the human brain,creating the new cortex, the new brain, that has the language, religion centers, etc, on top of the archaic brain, where greed, jealousy,lust are centered.A very informative book that is worth reading. It shows a great deal of unbelievably simple visionary observations.

Koestler was an acute critic of the Darwinian theory and this work is still worth reading for its short story at the end about Ali, related to Wallace's problems finally with the account of the descent of man given by Darwin. Against this theory as an adaptationist scenario lies the reality that human software is a latent aspect of man that he can barely learn how to use. This suggests that it emerges as a complete potential very early in man's real and different evolution. Where and when this version upgrade that noone can master occurred is a mystery, but the facts, completely obvious to any student of the yogic sutras, don't speak well to a selectionist scenario of adaptive traits.

Koestler is a true original, and a thinker who makes a real effort to integrate many different worlds of experience. In this work he is obsessed with the turning point event which is the use of nuclear weapons. As he understands it Mankind lived throughout its history with threats to individual life, but nuclear weapons have brought a new kind of collective threat, a threat that Mankind will completely destroy itself.
Koestler's concern here connects with his perception of Mankind as a kind of defective product of Evolution. He especially focuses on the conflict between our reptilian brain , our lower mammal brain and the brain of reason our neocortex. He too sees the human propensity for violent conflict as something which relates to our being controlled by the emotional lower brain. But he too singles out our propensity for 'loyalty' for collective bonding as source of violence. And his claim is that the kind of individual criminal act people often focus on when talking about the defects of Mankind, is secondary to the evils we do out of loyalty to the Collective.
Koestler in analyzing the human situation also makes an effort to supply an overall theory of the organization of reality. He speaks of a heirarchal principle in which things are organized in all realms in two directions. The Janus- like character of reality is that each thing is organized as independent and autonomous on one level, and as a part of a higher whole on another. This dual aspect character in which the ' wholes' or as he calls them 'holons ' are greater than the parts he seems as integrating all realms of experience.
Koestler writes a chapter on Humor and on the Act of Creation. He sees humor as operating by what he calls 'biassociation' which involves bringing two different frameworks into connection. He provides many examples. But I do not feel myself capable of adequately assessing his theories here , though I do have a basic feeling that ' comprehensive and all - inclusive explanations' cannot really cover the various kinds of creative activity there are.
This is an ambitious, challenging work. I must admit his pessimistic evaluation of human character and nature set me back a bit. The horrifying possibility that Disaster is the Ultimate end of us all does not warm the heart.
Again I do not feel I can properly evaluate Koestler's theories but I do appreciate his capacity to arouse interest and curiosity.
A truly outstanding work.

If you are proud of the role that Orthodox Jews have played in developing the modern Zionist movement, you will love this reader compiled more than 35 years ago (and back in print). Orthodox rabbis and Zionist leaders Yehuda Alkalai, Zvi Hirsch Kalischer, Yechiel Michel Pines, Meir Bar-Ilan, Shmuel Chaim Landau, Samuel Mohilever, Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook and Isaac Reines take up a disproportionate amount of space in Hertzberg's rich work. And for good measure you will find the writings of Ben-Gurion and Jabotinsky.

This is an anthology of works by major Zionist thinkers. It introduced me to the fact that Zionism was primarily a radical project of self-criticism and not a whining diatribe against the Gentiles. The ruthless mode of thought and pitiless self criticism of the founding fathers of Zionism makes one realize that this is our strength in the face of our enemies, who clearly lack the ability to engage in self-criticism. I try to follow in the footsteps of this tradition of Zionist self-criticism in my own book "The Optimistic Jew: a Positive Vision for the Jewish People in the 21st Century"
The Introduction by Rabbi Hertzberg is brilliant and worth the price of the book alone. If you want to know something about Zionism, Israel, and modern Jewish history, buy this book and read the Introduction!

the a hundred page introduction of this work is absolutely essential for people of every ilk who want to undertand the whole zionist idealogy in one fine, easy-read scoop. the rest of this work is a presentation of every important leader of zionism in the course of 19th and 20th centuries with a short description of the writers life, endeavors, and accomplishments in the beginning of every excerpt.
this book serves on two fronts which makes it into a bona-fide classic of zionist literature: (a) someone who wants to throughly understand the conception of the movement must read this book because without it even fine, scurpulous research is incomplete. (b) someone who wants to cursorly scan the movement to form a capsule of the zionist idea in his mind for all practical intents and purposes.
i'm not a zionist, but this book gave me a clearer percpective of zionism. now i'm confident to vouch that i know precisely what zionism holds and so should you!

What is modern Zionism? Is it Jewish nationalism? Is it simply an ideology of human rights for everyone, including Jews? These are questions that I hoped would be answered (and are answered) in a book that contains articles written from 1843 to 1948 by about three dozen leading Zionists.

A doctrine of human rights for all would permit any group, including Jews, to bid on land in and near Jerusalem and (upon obtaining it) pass laws ensuring their rights of life, liberty, and property there. As well as continued immigration. I wanted to see if most Zionists saw it that way, arguing that there are many Jews (and many Jewish nationalists) and that Zion is the Jewish homeland, with Jerusalem its capital.

Moreover, I wanted to know if any of these thinkers said or implied anything like the following:

1) We Jews don't care for Zion, but many non-Jews do, so we'll buy Zion and displace those who really love the land.

2) We Zionists love Zion, so we'll steal it from the rightful and legal owners.

3) We don't care about human rights. We want special treatment, so we can have privileges that are denied to non-Jews.

Not one of these authors displayed any of the above three attitudes. None of them advocated wastefulness, greed, destruction, theft, or unfairness. They did indeed argue for the rights of Jews to be equal to those of other nationalities. And they went on to discuss Jewish culture, Hebrew universities, Jewish religion, and the need for a people to have a common language and a state. These days, when the international information supply is saturated with antizionist misinformation, it's worth noting all this.

In this book, we see Theodor Herzl say that the Jews are a people, one people. A people that he thinks "will not be left in peace." And, most important, that he is not aiming to arouse sympathy on behalf of the Jews: "All that is nonsense, as futile as it is dishonorable." Those who ask that we make the dubious stipulation that Zionism is merely a claim of sympathy for what has happened to the Jews of Europe might want to note that!

We then see Ahad Ha-am say that he wants to focus on a national culture, with Zion providing merely a "secure refuge," rather than starting with a state and relying on it to produce a national culture. That's a good answer to those who ask today what Ahad Ha-am would have said about Israel's desire to continue to exist as a refuge for Jews.

Two other authors who are often quoted by "post-Zionists" are Judah Magnes and Martin Buber. I'd advise reading what they say as well. In particular, Buber splatters Mahatma Gandhi's argument that the Levant "belongs to the Arabs" by pointing out that "God does not give any one portion of the Earth away." A powerful comment for those who might otherwise think that the Jews, not the Arabs, are the ones who are regarding the Levant as theirs by Divine Right!

Vladimir Jabotinsky is often given as an example of someone who favored Jewish greed over Arab need. Guess again! Here we see him speak forthrightly about there being "no question of ousting the Arabs," And that Arabs will be a minority in Israel, but that is no hardship. And that he asks "only for the same condition as the Albanians enjoy."

If you want to learn something about Zionism, read this.

I have not yet read this book. However, I am the author of Old Comrades, a poem for which the author and/or publisher has advised the author is unknown. This poem was presented to the Mount Hope Memorial Cemetery in Bangor, Maine, in August 1995.

Fascinating tales all 201 of them. Narratives which encompass a varied and comprehensive kaleidoscope of men at War. Each yarn a gem in the overall picture of combat: its lethal firefights, the macabre comic moments, and the tedium, all blended to paint America"s forgotten combat troops, the true heroes they really were. While this maelstrom raged on,back home an apathetic American populace, dulled by the [ post WW2 ] Harry-Truman and his cohorts in DC & United Nations, as they tried to sweep the true signifigance of the WAR under the rug,the sour little WAR refused to just go away. In summation, these 201 combat campaigners saw the WAR for what it was - they were in it, up to their eyeballs nite/day. Buy this unique book, read it and you tell me [ yeah, I"m one of the 201 stories ]. We can forgive, but we will never forget!! END

It hit me with the impact of a burst of burp gun fire, leaping off page 406 like the dancing muzzle flash of that same burp gun in the dark of night. My God! I was there. Forty-five years ago, I was there. T-Bone Hill, with its valley to the east that led to the gaping "V" of the Alligator Jaws.

Yes, I'm one of the 201 who were privileged to contribute to this remarkable work. And what variety and diversity it has. What differing perspectives each contributor brings with him. One will write about banality, another brutality. It's all there -- courage and cowardice, fear and terror, boredom and horror, torn bodies and death, frost bite and heat exhaustion, blisters and thirst, brilliance and stupidity. All that and more, for all that and more is what war is all about.

Five stars are not enough. 201 stars hardly do it justice. Nor is one picture worth just a thousand words. Each picture here is priceless. Thanks, Norm, for bringing the faces of war to life. Thanks, Art, for bringing the Korean vignettes to print. And thank you both for making it possible for all to remember this decisive conflict that turned the tide of the Cold War and started communism on its road to self-destruction.

These are true-grit memories from the soldiers who fought in the foxholes of the Forgotten War. Worth reading for anyone interested in knowing what it really takes to keep our country free.

The Legend of the wandering King is certainly a treat for the senses. The story amply describes the life of a very conceited and self-confident prince name Walid, who proceeds to hold a poetry contest at the command of his father when he wishes to go to Ukaz to express his love of poetry through these means. He is beaten by a man named Hammad, whose poetry greatly overcomes Walid and swaying the crowd and judges with his poetry. The prince holds the contest two more times before finally giving up and appoints Hammad master of the archives. His first task is to put the vast archives back into order. From there `King' Walid grows angry at the news that Hammad has completed his task in reorganizing the archives. In another way to make Hammad suffer, he orders the now older man to create a carpet containing the entire human race. From there Walid's world crumbles around him as he begins to regret the atrocious deeds against Hammad. The book is quiet short but gives out plentiful description of Walid's life after the fall of his kingdom and his exploits through the desert as he strives to regain the carpet Hammad created.




The storyline is well thought out, as you try to figure out Walid's true purpose every time he meets Hammad's sons with every detour he makes. The characters, were at first hard to relate with seeing that; Walid was very vain and full of himself. But as the story progresses Walid begins to become more of a likable character, and you relate with his turmoil and regrets for his past deeds.




The description of each world Walid enters under his alias is beautiful, you can picture it clearly in your mind. All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good fantasy that's earth bound. Sure there's little or no poetry but this shouldn't bother anyone looking for a story and not poetry. (February 3d 2006)

The Legend of the Wandering King, by Laura Gallego Garcia, is a great story that is set in Arabia in the past. Walid ibn Hujr is the main character and he is a king that is bad tempered and seeks vengeance against Hakim whole stole the king's carpet which contained the entire history and future of the human race. The king meets a beautiful girl named Zahrah who is the daughter of a sheik and she is a bandit. She also helps Walid on his journey in the desert. The message I got from the story is that you should follow your dreams and don't quit. I liked the story because it is filled with suspense, mystery, action, love and it also has a sadness about it. Many things about it will keep you captivated by this story.

THE LEGEND OF THE WANDERING KING by Laura Gallego Garcia and translated into English by Dan Bellm is simply one of the best books that I've read this year. Set in pre-Islamic Arabia (5th to 6th century C.E.) it follows the adventure quest and life journey of a young Arabian prince, Walid ibn Hujr. Walid has always dreamed of being great-great man, great poet, great ruler-yet when he lets human emotions (particularly jealousy, fear, and revenge) reign over him, embittering him, he realizes that he is anything but great. And then comes a remarkable chance to redeem himself: a magic carpet has been stolen...there begins Walid's lifelong quest to find and return the carpet to its rightful owner...no matter what it costs him.

THE LEGEND OF THE WANDERING KING reads like a fairy tale; it is a tale of mythological proportions.

I am a children's librarian who was enthralled with this book. It is a neatly-worked-out fable that explores jealousy and desire, inspiration, and how a man can redeem a life in which he destroyed others through arrogance and envy.

I believe some previous reviewers have been too harsh. The characters are flat because this is the working out af a folk tale, not meant to be a modern novel. The book is populated by characters which are "types" and includes some unbelievable coincidences precisely because the plot supersedes the characterization and setting. Great works such as "Everyman" and "Pilgrim's Progress" are similarly constructed.

I would encourage readers to give this one a try--I think they will be pleasantly surprised.

Besides the bible, this is one of my all time favorite books!! A.W. Pink is a great author!!

A must read for any Christian who would like to devulge more deeply in a "Man After God's Own Heart!"

10 stars!**********

In this unique conbination of biography, commentary, & devotional, Arthur Pink offers an intimate view of the many sides of David. The shepherd, the soldier, the king and the sinner are revealed in a way that cuts to the heart of life's greatest problems.

Doesn't get much better than this. What a blessing I have recieved from Pink's expositional approach to this great King's life.

A.W. Pink's "The Life of David" is a wonderful study in the life of the great King of Israel. The book can be used in so many ways: individual study, group study, or family/private devotional. Each chapter is short, about 6-8 pages, but Pink places rich treasures in each chapter. We read of David's faithfulness, his love for God, his triumphs, and yes, his failures and periods of unfaithfulness. What a powerful look into the life of David with tremendous application for all Christians today.

I disagree with the reviewer who states that the Captain is interetsed only in the little boy; he is being sarcastic when repeatedly argues that he is *not* attracted to the mother. Indeed, his relationship began with the family *before* the child had been born. Yes, there are sexual undertones to his relationship with the boy, but Barrie seems to imbue much of his descriptions of beauty with some subtle and sometime not-so-subtle eroticism (the blue-skinned fairy women, for example). What the Captain wants most, it seems, is the family - the 'total package', but he still yearns for his 'lost love'.

Though it is the story of a captain that befriends a boy, it is really James Barries way of describing his relationship with a young boy named George Llewelyn Davies and his mother Sophia Llewelyn Davies.

Its a great book. Sometimes hard to understand because in old English writing. It is the story of a man who mentors a little boy and during that has a love interest with a woman. It is J.M. Barrie's first book with the character of Peter Pan in it.

[A] previous reviewer states: "It is the story of a man who mentors a little boy and during that has a love interest with a woman."

There is no interest in the woman in the slightest! Indeed the author states explicitly at the beginning how tiresome it is to be persued by her. He loves the boy only. Amazing that this was a best-seller and world famous in its day - a wonderful book, but you can't help thinking that if published in 1999 it would be confined only to the mail-order book list of NAMBLA, as the old bachelor even baths and sleeps with the boy! It's available online..., as are Arthur Rackham's wonderful illustrations for the Peter Pan sections (it contains an inner story which is a very early version of Barrie's "Peter Pan".