Barry Books

I read this book when it first was first published.
Over the years I have made reference to it a number of times to students and colleagues. I just mentioned it recently, and decided to contribute here reviewing it.
Amazingly, the same book that I read, is still available on the stacks...
and if I remember correctly, is as timeless as when it was first written. Right after this book "came out", there was a television movie where a child spoke into a reel-to-reel taperecorder, and accidently someone put it on a different speed and the specialists then were able to witness that the child was speaking extremely FAST, and when the speed was changed, they were able to know what the child was saying.

I highly recommend, without reservation -- SONrise!

This book has helped me with my feelings about my twin boys who have autism. It also confirmed a lot of my feelings and intuitions as a parent. I really felt like I had an inside look on this family's life, their feelings, their concerns, and ultimately their actions that turned their child's life around. Incredibly inspiring and I would recommend it to anyone who cares for someone living with autism.

When I was in college I wrote a term paper on autism. It was in my research for that paper that I had the unbelievable luck to read this book. The story had a profound effect on my life. The admiration I have for Barry and Suzy Kaufman to this day has guided my life. A couple of years ago, while surfing the internet, I came upon the Option Institute's website. I was so thrilled to get a return email from them telling me how wonderful Raun is doing. I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone who is questioning the power of love and determination. This is an incredible book of hope.

I'd like to weigh in on the "I don't have an autistic child" vote...

I read the original "Son, Rise" back in 1982 or '83. There was an interview with Barry Neil Kaufman on the radio one night, it caught my interest, and I bought the book and read it. Even though I had no direct connection to anyone who were autistic, it was an outstanding read.

I don't read a lot of "true life" stories, but this is probably the one book I remember the best of ANY BOOKS I have read. Period. As another reviewer states - this book had a profound impact on my life. And 23 years later, I still remember not just the book, the story, and Barry Neil Kaufman's name, but the way it affected my view of interpersonal relationships. Heck, I recall the radio interview...

For some reason, other reviewers seem to have missed what I found to be a key point in the story, one that I find valid in all dealings with others: Expectations are a source of much frustration.

We all have "expectations" - all the time, in every situation in life, and whether we realize it or not. When those expectations are met, the effects *usually* range from neutral to mildly satisfied. After all, we *expect* it, so there's not much of a positive upside when the expectations are met. But there's a huge downside when they're not. Because most expectations are not communicated and often not even fully understood by ourselves, those expectations tend to become unfulfilled and thus the source of frustrations. And when positive things happen, they don't *seem* positive - because they're not what we "expected".

Learning to recognize expectations - and either expressing them or deciding to let them go - is a big step towards removing many everyday frustrations.

But I can't describe in analytical terms what the original book so unbelievably well conveys - and how this real life story is simply riveting. I just can't think of a better way to describe it.

The book is a must-read for anyone - or at least the original was. I find it to most likely be unfortunate that the book has been modified, but I haven't read the "...miracle continues" so I can't say. But I'm sure the original message is intact, so if you can't find the original - a rewrite is sure to be at least the next best thing...

Does the book cure cancer, depression, or other physical, mental, or emotional issues? I wouldn't *expect* it to...

Does the book provide a cure for autism? To me, that is a moot question. Would it help someone deal with an autistic child? I can't see how it wouldn't! Any positive effect on the autistic child would be gravy!

At the same time, beware of your expectations! If you *expect* a result of attempting to use the book's approach to "curing" an autistic child - you are walking straight into the expectation trap. Can anyone or everyone rid themselves of their expectations and thereby achieve a maximum result? Probably not. Should someone who isn't able to "cure" their autistic child feel bad about it? Come on - you have completely missed the "no expectations" criteria! If you feel bad about the result, it is because you expected a certain result.

This isn't about results - which are ultimately about expectations - it is about love and acceptance. If or when that leads to an improved situation - that *should* be an unexpected side effect which would be the source of endless joy. If you follow their principles will it happen to you? If you build it will they come? All I can say is - if you DON'T build it - I'm pretty sure they WON'T come. Just don't plan on a sell out every night. Plan on enjoying having a place where you can always get a great seat...

Is Kaufman's personality an ingredient somehow? I'm sure it is - not everyone is capable of letting go of all expectations. But don't get confused by those who claim the book is cultist. Sure - Barry has a certain way of looking at things - or he wouldn't be Barry, and maybe there are some "flower-power" influences in his "love" approach. But is love a bad thing? I would think not. Is unconditional love a bad thing? I, for one, would love to be loved unconditionally!

If you have a dog, you may know what "unconditional love" means. Just think how awesome it would be to have another PERSON love you like that!!! Please - if you are a woman between the ages of ... just kidding ... :->

This is the most beautiful book about autism in creation.Barry Neil Kauffman, his wife Sumitra (then Suzy) and their daughters have shown just how strong and potent love really is.

The Kauffman's third child is a bright, beautiful little boy named Raun. Raun develops an ear infection early in infancy and from that point on develops autistic behaviors. He does not talk, he rocks and spins objects and only rarely looks at people or responds to his name.

Refusing to give up on this child, the Kauffmans devise a one on one program with Raun. They choose the bathroom as their classroom because that is the one room that "has the least amount of distractors." Raun's parents and sisters all participate with him in whatever he is doing, all the while talking to him about the activities. They turn Raun's solitary stimulation into a group activity and little by little Raun emerges from the shadows of autism.

This is truly an outstanding book. You will not only come to dearly love the Kauffmans, you will come to see that they have provided a gift to all -- the gift of a healthy child.

Barry does daring collages that may shock (thank God!) and humour. He has a refreshing approach and long may his career live! Thanks Barry!

I've read the book and enjoy Barry's work, I've even invested in a few. But, I agree art shouldn't always be serious!!!!

If you have ever spent time in a museum, wondering why everyone is so serious (and not enjoying themselves at all), this book is for you. Context is everything;when you see the juxtapositions, they make perfect sense. "Clumsy Nude" alone is worth the price of the book.

I've loaned this book to at lest 5 people; they all want their own copies now. Mr, Kite has a knack for juxtaposng totally inconsistent images that makes complete and hysterically funny sense.

Alan Bisbort gives us a launching pad to help understand and appreciate the amazing work of photo-collage artist extraordinaire, Barry Kite. It's quite obvious that Mr. Kite is more interested in letting the art do the talking but sometimes one needs a little help to realize that these are not just silly pictures but that they have provocative, and sometimes, truly philisophical meaning.

Reviewed by Danelle Drake for Reader Views (11/08)

"That's Life: It's Sexually Transmitted and Terminal" is filled with fifty-one outlandish and mildly-exaggerated (only a bit, per the author), yet true tales. Like many husbands (mine included), Barry Friedman, MD, drove his wife crazy telling "those damned" stories over and over again. He will not in the least drive you crazy but will stir up many other emotions - mostly good belly laughs along with some snickers.

In over fifty-years as a physician specializing in orthopedic surgery, Dr. Friedman, has put those notes he has taken to good use. As you read: "No stool, No school," "The Sword is mightier than the Pen-is," and so many others, you will quickly come to realize that doctor's do have a sense of humor and this doctor has chosen to share his with us.

"That's Life: It's Sexually Transmitted and Terminal" by Barry Friedman, MD, is so much more than a really good read. I will be passing my copy on to many who are facing surgery and other medical issues. What an uplifting and somewhat motivational read this will be, a sure smile on their face.

MOVE OVER MARK TWAIN - there's a new great story teller
on the scene.
With his latest page turner, Dr. Barry Friedman has once
again delighted his fans with his witty, erudite and color-
ful tales of his amazing life.
THAT'S LIFE: It's Sexually Transmitted and Terminal is one
of his best. It's on our holiday gift giving list as a
surefire, one size fits all, winner. Put it on your list
too.
SONIA & JOSEPH LESSER

That's Life: It's Sexually Transmitted and Terminal is a collection of humorous vignettes from a lifetime in Medicine. It's warmth and humor are contageous and it will have you in stitches, whether or not you had an operation! I highly recommend it.

It's a delight to recommend Dr. Barry Friedman's "That's Life: It's Sexually Transmitted and Terminal." The tongue-in-cheek, witty title perfectly reflects the spirit of this extraordinary collection of stories from the life of a man with a keen eye for human foibles and a deeply humanitarian spirit. You'll be dropped into the technology and practice of the surgeon in the mid-1900s. You'll be treated to fascinating episodes from his days in medical school, aboard a Navy ship during WWII, as a volunteer in tumultous Israel, and in the private practice of an orthopedic surgeon. You'll laugh out loud, feel deeply touched by tragedies, and for those of us old enough to remember those years, be reminded about how much the practice of medicine and life in general has changed. Each story is a unique, delightful treat from the chocolate box of life.

I have read several of the good Doctor's fiction books (very enjoyable reading, I might add) so when I saw that he had published a new non-fiction book (okay, maybe slightly embellished by his own admission on the back cover), I knew I had to purchase it.

What a delight! The reader is given a front row seat peering into the inner sanctum of Barry Friedman, Orthopaedic Surgeon, as he traverses life. We get to experience through his eyes and wonderfully descriptive memories just what it was like going from wet behind the ears medical student at NYU, to Navy Doctor serving in the Pacific during World War II, and finally to daily life experiences in private practice.

Most of the "vignettes" as he refers to them, are humorous, some are sad, but all of them well-written, insightful and a true pleasure to read. Did you ever want to know what the doctor is really thinking during your exam? You might be surprised when you read that what he says and what he's thinking are quite different indeed.

In addition to its assortment of stories which stimulate the reader's "funny bone", That's Life: It's Sexually Transmitted and Terminal touches our hearts with tales of caring and compassion, heroics and valor, as we get a glimpse of a physician who has dealt with life, death and a war that most of us never have nor never will know the likes of.

This book was such an enjoyable reading experience I hope the good doctor has another one like this coming, because for this reader, That's Life: It's Sexually Transmitted and Terminal is just what the doctor ordered!
Highly recommended.

Great poetry. If it is ever out of stock you can probally order it from bluebegoniapress.com

I don't know Barry Grimes. I know somebody who knows Grimes, though, and that's how I got ahold of This Green, which is, along with Kevin Miller's Everywhere Was Far, one of the two best titles that Blue Begonia has ever published. "Driving the Canyon Road" and "Letter to Miller Written with Rickie Lee Jones, Flying Cowboys, and Horses in Mind" are two of my favorite poems, full of what Grimes calls "the silence of no distinction." Everything is fair game here, everything on this green.

And how can you not love a book whose epigraph is from a Greg Brown song?

Thank you, Barry, for this one. I come back to it again and again.

eric must be a former student...breathe in the details of a life that has bumped into yours and then wonder of all the lives that could be...a lovely inch...

Some would classify this work as a "5". That which reaches beyond the daily complications, and steps back to view the larger picture, assembling the details. Barry Grimes has done a superb job of detailing the passion of teaching and learning. Beautiful work!

Barry Grimes captures his life as a poetry and english teacher in Washington state, and his childhood perfectly, making you feel as if you are there! A must read!

Rabbi Shafier does an incredible job of presenting life's purpose in a format that's engaging and stimulating. I found the book's greatest quality was its almost complete and accurate presentation of basic Jewish thought. The core of what one needs to know to begin exploring Judaism is comprehensively presented in an easy-to-follow dialogue. The author entertains as well, making this quite an enjoyable read.
I was inspired and gained tremendously from this book.

I can't recommend this book enough. It is one of the best books that I have ever read. It was great! Profound, yet fun. It deals with the most important questions: if GOD created the world what is its purpose, and if God created me, what is my purpose. I can't think of any more important question that needs to be addressed. And this book does it an amazingly moving way. I recommend this book to anyone is looking for answers. It addresses so many of the basic issues of life. It reawakened in me a joy for daily living, your section about the smell of oranges really hit home. It is trully a phenomanal work. I am now reading it for the third time. Thank you.

In "The Torah Lifestyle" the author chooses the format of a Jewish man seeking answers as he considers marriage in order to walk the reader through understanding the traditional Jewish lifestyle. Rabbi Shafier successfully uses simple reasoning and insightful comments to help the reader understand such difficult topics as personal happiness, who you are as an individual, thinking patterns and how they affect our view of life as well as a myriad of others. The most impressive thing about the book is the simple, insightful and at times beautiful ways in which he explains basic Jewish thought. A highly recommended read for anyone seeking answers about Jewish thought and the meaning of life from a traditional Jewish perspective.

This thought provoking book offers a clear understanding of the purpose of a Jews life on this world from the traditional Jewish perspective. In addition, it opens a window into the lifestyle of the Orthodox Jew helping to demystify their ancient practices and customs. The author courageously tackled many of the "whys" of the world and life that nag us throughout our years. He presents unique, straightforward answers grounded in sound common sense. This 225-page book was an enlightening and refreshing read and is likely to give you the tools to a happier and more meaningful life.

In "The Torah Lifestyle" the author chooses the format of a Jewish man seeking answers as he considers marriage in order to walk the reader through understanding the traditional Jewish lifestyle. Rabbi Shafier successfully uses simple reasoning and insightful comments to help the reader understand such difficult topics as personal happiness, who you are as an individual, thinking patterns and how they affect our view of life as well as a myriad of others. The most impressive thing about the book is the simple, insightful and at times beautiful ways in which he explains basic Jewish thought. A highly recommended read for anyone seeking answers about Jewish thought and the meaning of life from a traditional Jewish perspective.

If you are looking for a contemporary painter, whose craft is stunning and vision leaves you speachless, you have arrived. His love and understanding of representational imagery along with a gentle gift of irony and pathos is boundless. Gorgeous and worth every penny. The quality of printing and the design and presentation of the artist work gives you everything you could want when exploring Vincent Desidario's intimate and emotional world.

This is an excellent book covering Vincent Desiderio's work for those years mentioned on the title. My favorite subject is his own son, Samuel, who has been an inspiration to us all he has touched.

Excellent book, is a MUST, unbelievable artist, is a response to many people that surrender instead of confronting life problems, he simply takes this raw material to create ART, and he does it in a way only comparable with greatest of old times : Rembrandt, Velázquez & Caravaggio.
Photographs are amazing, the price is just a low contribution to what I have got buying the book
A modern figurative painter should buy it immediately !!!
Vincent Desiderio is undoubtedly a great master of our age, sorry : of our culture, time does not matter in this assertion

Were there a possibility of a 10 Star rating, this book would easily qualify! As produced by Marlborough Gallery and published by Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. VINCENT DESIDERIO PAINTINGS 1975 - 2005 is everything a fine art monograph should be: entertaining, informative, spiritually moving, and visually illuminating.

Vincent Desiderio is one of our finest contemporary artists in America. His long and successful career has been marked by restoring life to figurative painting, creating canvases that do not shy away from social comment, philosophical investigations, or creative explorations. His paintings vary from small works on paper to huge canvases, vast triptychs, and deeply felt personal statements from drawing to canvas. He has managed to address the human spirit, the plight of survival in a society not always friendly, matters of destiny, of altered life, of illness, of death, and other tragedies and heroisms. His own son Sam born with a devastating birth defect is the subject of a series of now famous paintings that speak of suffering in a very personal way. There is nothing maudlin in his repeated paintings of Sam: what is projected is the love a father and the innocence of a child born into suffering but somehow negating the negative aspects of it all.

As if the generous number of illustrations of over one hundred of Desiderio's works weren't sufficient alone to move the reader, the book is greatly enhanced by sensitive essays by Lawrence Wechsler who wisely opens the book with a well illustrated tale of Desiderio's 'Sleep', a painting 96.5" X 288" that belongs to Seven Bridges Foundation in Greenwich, CT - the still titled 'work in progress' says volumes about the artist and the man; by Mia Fineman; and interview with the artist by Donald Kuspit, and a closing evaluation by Barry Schwabsky based on a painting 'Cockaigne' which summarizes all the influences in Desiderio's artistic mind.

The glory of this book is not only that it finally pays tribute to a brilliant genius of a painter, but that it also takes the time to include quality reproductions including five gate fold expansive depictions of his huge canvases. Words of praise fail: this book about this artist is one of the finest books to be printed in 2005. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, December 2005

Vincent Desiderio's first major book - something many of his admirers have waited for some time to finally see - is fulfilling on a number of levels. The expansive, richly formatted book is a joy to hold and flip through. The images are given plenty of space and there are many fold-outs for larger works. This is definitely a studio book, a teaching book - perfect for in-class discussion as well as personal reflection.

The three texts in the book (two essays on specific works, one interview), provide a great insight into the ways and means of the artist's work. The in depth looks at specific works afford the reader/viewer with new perspectives on Desiderio's entire body of work, and offer rewards for more lengthy consideration of the poetic vision within each work.

The depth of Desiderio's engagement with his process, ideas, and the history of painting is both awe-inspiring and daunting. He is a master of his craft and a deft intellectual, able to very precisely describe what he's trying to do while never losing the absolute primacy of the act of painting. In many ways he is a conceptual artist and the facture of oil painting his most potent expressive tool, yet his intuitive responsiveness, his sensitivity to the nuances of the creative work - what happens that we can't plan - is so refreshing. The interview Donald Kuspit conducts with Desiderio is a real treat. It reflects an artist both deeply intellectual and sincerely feeling; yes, we can be both.

This book is absolutely essential for anyone interested in what's happening in figurative painting today.

Champion book. Better than 70% of therapists for help with any and every issue/problem/diagnosis. Believe what this book tells you!

== THERAPY HAS BEEN NEGLECTING CLIENTS ==
Barry Duncan is co-author of several two books that book explain how therapy has for too long been been neglecting, ignoring, and depersonalizing clients. Therapists have done this by their over-emphasis on methods and techniques, by following the medical model, by their emphasis on pathology, by hegemony of biological approaches, and so on. Duncan's books describe how four decades of outcome research have shown that there are four main factors of change, being: 1)Client factors (percentage contribution to positive outcome: 40%). 2) Relationship factors (percentage contribution: 30%), 3) Hope and expectancy (percentage contribution: 15%), 4) Model and technique (percentage contribution: 15%). In other words: 1) Thoughts, ideas, actions, initiatives, traits of clients are the most important predictor of therapy success! 2)Next to what the client brings to therapy, the client's perception of the therapeutic relationship is responsible for most of the gains resulting from the therapy. 3) Models and techniques are much less important than generally thought.

== PRACTICAL TIPS FOR THERAPISTS (AND COACHES)==
This book aims to describe practically how therapists can use this knowledge. It does this by providing a transaparant step by step approach. The book contains many clear examples and a useful tool to measure progress. Further, the appendix contains many useful excersizes.

== CONCLUSION AND REFERENCES TO OTHER GOOD BOOKS ==
This is a good book. It is recommendable both for 'traditional' therapists looking for change and for people already familiar with Duncan's work. I like that Duncan has explicitly mentioned the solutino-focused approach to therapy. In fact, I think he could have elaborated more on this. My belief is that solution-focused brief therapy is THE way to elicit the 4 factors that make therapy effective. So, if you are interested in What's right with you maybe you should also look at books like: interviewing for solutions (DeJong & Berg), Keys to Solutions in Brief Therapy (Steve de Shazer, 1985), Tales of Solutions (Berg & Dolan, 2001) and Becoming Solution-Focused In Brief Therapy (Walter & Peller, 1992).

Coert Visser, http://www.m-cc.nl/solutionfocusedchange.htm

From the co-author of "The Heroic Client", Duncan masterfully translates the science of change from "what works in therapy" to self-change. However, unlike many popular self-help books which seem strong on opinion and weak on research, "What's Right With You" is written from a strong foundation of 50 years of clinical research on how people change.

In the first chapter, Duncan lays the empirical groundwork for the rest of the book by pointing to the fact that change is inevitable and primarily occurs through one's own resources. In chapter two, he uses this empirical fact to springboard the reader into discovering their "heroic self". Thus, Duncan validates the human condition and one's struggles to overcome life's certain challenges and problems - thereby countering the powerful messages in our culture which purport that we are basically "dysfunctional" or "sick". Most importantly, he also introduces the reader to a validated tool which measures baseline distress and tracks progress along the way. The third chapter takes what research tells us about the power of the therapist-client relationship and adopts it to helping the reader recruit a change partner. Again, Duncan gives the reader another practical tool to measure the value of that helping relationship. In chapter four, Duncan focuses the reader on finding their own unique path to change - adhering to the scientific literature that change is a highly individualized process. In chapters five and six, the author introduces two very flexible change strategies, that are not based in a traditional "skill-deficit paradigm" and which can be universally applied to just about any human problem or dilemma. Moreover, Duncan gives the reader an insiders view of therapy from the perspective of these non-traditional approaches. Duncan's final chapter concludes with the powerful message that it is critical to always evaluate one's efforts at change and make adjustments as needed using the feedback tool introduced in the beginning of the book. Finally the author offers an added bonus - a web site for continued self-empowerment and three wonderful appendices which the reader should find beneficial.

If you are tired with "business as usual" in mental health with it's emphasis on psychopathology, diagnoses, and "expert" therapists prescribing silver bullet cures and magic pills, this book offers a refreshing alternative to your journey towards change. "What's Right With You" is an empirically-based and strength-based approach to changing your life. Filled with powerful and practical ideas, coupled with Duncan's style of interspersing real case examples, this self-help book is indeed a testament to the author's unwavering belief in the power of the human spirit.

Dr. Duncan provides an extremely helpful toolkit for personal change in this book. I will recommend it to my coaching clients to help them make the personal changes that they want to make. He has the reader start with his/her own strengths, his/her own "heroic" self. This is a small but hugely significant difference from other self-help books which usually focus on what is "wrong" rather than what is right. This difference is much like the difference between reengineering and continuous improvement. Reengineering is like starting from stratch while continuous improvement is building on what is already there. Dr. Duncan takes more of the continous improvement paradigm. This seems a whole lot less overwhelming, but gets results that are sometimes even more significant.

One of the best tools that this book provides for accomplishing personal change is the Progress Rating Scale (PRS), which enables the reader to measure where he is now and to monitor progress toward his goal.

Personal change is hard--a recent study says that the odds are 9 to 1 against successful change. This is made obvious by all the by-pass patients who are back in the hospital again for a redo, by the growing obesity in this country. The stories of people who have used these techniques to accomplish personal change are not only illustrive of the techniques but also are quite motivating. If he/she can do it, so can I!

In truth, I should probably not be reviewing "What's Right with You" because I am a counselor and a teacher,as well as a longtime admirer of Dr. Duncan and his philosophy that the client is the true hero in the therapeutic relationship.The beautiful aspect about "What's Right with You" is that if everyone who is looking to make a change in their lives read this book, not only would I be out of a job as a therapist, but Dr. Duncan would be restricted to classroom seminars and sporadic appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Our clients would have no need of an outside counselor, because they would have learned to be their own counselor and new best friend !

As anyone who dealing with the mental health system has painfully learned, for the most part self-help books and counselors like to start with what's wrong with the client and explore previous "mistakes" or "errors in judgment", before demanding the acceptance of the latest and greatest new therapy. Not so with "What's Right with You"! In a manner reminiscent of a favorite uncle, adding to your wisdom through the recitation of personal experiences, Duncan debunks the myth of dysfunction, diagnosis,disorders and disease ("The Killer D's") and instead vibrantly validates the reader's personal experiences. He motivates the reader to discover his/her inner hero,placing special value on personal strengths and talents.Barry Duncan provides a detailed guide for the reader of how to both discover and purse his/her unique and individual theory of how change might come about.The book culminates the reader's personal journey of transformation, with insightful advice on how to implement a procedure for change, how to monitor that procedure for success and growth. "What's Right with You" also administers stellar advice on soliciting feedback regarding progress from significant others in the role of "change partners."

While "What's Right with You" is well founded in scientifically validated research, it reads instead like a novel, with the plot of personal alteration taking on a life of itself as the book progresses. "What's Right with You" is worth the price of admission just for the magnificent chapter reiterating the regaling story of Dorothy in the classic "Wizard of Oz" and relating it to each of us in our personal journey of transformation.

As I previously stated, I am a counselor and a teacher.The reason I give "What's Right with You" such a heartfelt endorsement is that I taught the book, chapter by chapter, to a group of folks recovering their mental health, having been diagnosed with schizophrenia. My clients enthusiastically embraced the teaching of Dr. Duncan, complemented my course as being crucial in their recovery, and have acquired the book for personal reading. It's nice that I enjoyed the book, but I consider it magnificent that my clients deemed the work to be essential. I cannot give a higher recommendation for "What's Right with You" than my clients'"professional" recommendation.

Thanks,
Dan Smith

"A splendid Wodehouse vade-mecum; no home should be without a copy. No hotel,tavern,or public accomodation,either. Perhaps the Gideons can be persuaded to branch out and include a copy of this estimable little volume with their other reading matter."

Roger Kimball
Managing Editor of The New Criterion

This book is a great introduction for all new P.G. ("Plum") Wodehouse fans. It provides an easy to read, accessible biographical overview of Plum's life built mostly (say 90%) upon extracts from Plum's books, plays and letters. This means that whilst learning about Plum, you are actually reading Plum, so it kills two thingamajiggies with the one thingamajiggy, as Bertie would say.

So the whole damned idea behind this book is pretty damned good. And the two clever chaps who have put pen to paper here really seem to be know their onions, Plum onions. Besides the normal life history caper that most Plum beginners probably know, his English boarding school education, comic writing and that dashed nasty business of being captured by Jerry in World War II, Misters Day and Ring, dig into some less well known aspects. In particular his Broadway and Hollywood careers, rather than being a sideshow, these two adventures were old Plummy's bread and butter for give or take three decades, and if he hadn't also been something of a big shot in the old quilled pen and printing press department, Plum's career as a lyricist for musical comedy alone would have rocketed him up to the hallowed ranks of the fabulous famous flibbedyjibbets.

The book, and I read the hard cover version, published by the lads at "The Overlook Press", is not to be overlooked. It is a physically fine edition, a decent size, not so big you need your gentlemens' gentlemen to carry it for you, and not one of these flimsy five and dime jobs that self destruct after the first reading either. And did I say the fonts, paper quality and printing is a bang up job too? It even smells like a good book.

And another thing too. Poor old Plum always managed, or so it now seems to me after reading all about it in "In His Own Words", to put his foot firmly in his mouth (Bertie style) whenever he was cornered by one of those journalist johnnies into inquisition by interview. The painful story of how old Plum, recently released by the Jerries from internment ...they considered him too old to worry about, kind of like an undersized trout in a patrolled pond, ...but before moustache face, Tojo and Musso were hit for six by Winston, Ike and Uncle Joe, ...is well known. Essentially a Yankee news hound chap wanted Plum to tell the folks back home via wireless how things were in his enforced jerrie internment stay. Anyhow old Plum spun them a humorous yarn, Bertie Wooster stuff, but quite accurate about playing cricket with the other fish and catching up on his writing. Just what he thought his audience would want to hear. Unfortunately stiff upper lips back home in the Old Blightey were not, shall we say, amused, they wanted Luftstalag 17 stuff with Plum digging tunnels and all that. For a while at least our hero was sent to Coventry, without actually ever visiting Coventry. In fact Old Plummy was probably afraid that if he tried to visit Coventry he would have ended up in Dartmoor. Well if you chaps want to read about that Mr. 1984 himself, Georgie Orwell has written all you'd ever want to know about the whole sordid episode. Still Day and Ring shed extra light.

Well before I got so rudely interrupted by World War Two, I was telling you how Plum only opened his mouth in interviews to change feet. Well the same bother happened before WW2 when he was interviewed about his Hollywood career. Plum's humorous musings were received like a bally lead balloon by the puffins of Beverley Hills. He damned near had himself run out of town on a rail, at least blackballed from the club by members of the species studio tycoonicus. Anyhow as in all those Wooster books, alls well that ends well of course ...and, as in the damned embarassing business repeated just around closing time for WW number two, Plum did manage to get back into the everyone's good books in Hollywood after a brief enforced hiatus. And he did so just by being Plum. Anyhow it's a shame he didn't have Jeeves to look after him.

Evelyn Waugh admired him, and his books were at the bedside of Eudora Welty. P. G. Wodehouse's enormous output of books can be found in castles and cottages, and have been translated into dozens of languages; the Russian versions are particularly adored. It is true that he doesn't appeal to everybody; I have run into many who think he just put out the same silly comedy with interchanging characters. They are completely wrong, but we can't argue about tastes. Barry Day and Tony Ring are two Wodehouse enthusiasts who had the bright idea of taking bits and pieces from Wodehouse's amusing letters, inserting parts of his work, and tying it all together with a very few notes as a small biography. Their book, _P. G. Wodehouse in His Own Words_ (Overlook) is a great success, but it must be said (and they would agree, I am sure) that its success derives from page after page of quotations from the master.

Woodhouse had a happy early life, and loved school. His public school values of fair play, loyalty, and honesty stuck to him all during his life, and may easily be found within his stories. A dip in his father's fortunes made college impossible, and he entered commerce for which he was completely unfit. He had trouble in the basics like getting to work on time. If his supervisor was as good at dry understatement as Wodehouse was, Wodehouse might have gotten the following warning, which comes from one of his books: "I must ask you in future to try and synchronise your arrival at the office with that of the rest of the staff. We aim as far as possible at the communal dead heat." What he did do with fervor was to write stories. It was tough in the beginning, as he took a while to acquire his tone now familiar. "I wrote nineteen short stories in three weeks, I just sent the stories out... (all of which, I regret to say, editors were compelled to decline owing to lack of space. The editors regretted it, too. They said so.)" But once he found his voice, magazines and book publishers in England and in the U.S. were enthusiastic. He crossed to the U.S., working in the theater and in Hollywood. After being imprisoned in Nazi Germany, he settled into working his last decades in America, writing constantly, and tending his dogs and cats. When he died in 1975, he was in the middle of a novel, and he was writing new lyrics for a musical _Kissing Time_ that he had written in 1918. And less than two months before, he had been given his knighthood.

Wodehouse was not Shakespeare. ("Shakespeare's stuff is different from mine, but that is not to say that it is inferior.") His plots can be clever, his characters unbelievable dolts (as is Bertie Wooster, but as is not the invaluable Jeeves), but his expressions guarantee a smile, and possibly a guffaw, on every page. "The Sergeant of Police... was calm, stolid and ponderous, giving the impression of being constructed of some form of suet." "I don't suppose he makes enough out of a novel to keep a midget in doughnuts for a week. Not a really healthy midget." "I've seen worse shows than this turned into hits. All it wants is a new book and lyrics and a different score." "I was in musical comedy. I used to sing in the chorus, till they found out where the noise was coming from." Day and Ring seem to have read every Wodehouse book with total recall to find comments on butlers, golf, America, clubs, and the clergy. Even displaced from his daffy plots and characters, the many quotations here provide spiffing entertainment, and will remind even the best of fans that it is always a good time to get reacquainted with Lord Emsworth, Gussie Fink-Nottle, Aunt Agatha, Psmith, the Mulliners, and all the rest of the balmy crew.

This splendid little tome, co-authored by Wodehouse fans Barry Day and Tony Ring (the latter of whom is President of the International Wodehouse Society) will tickle every rib of anyone who has ever mined the rich, seemingly bottomless vein of humor that is the work of Pelham Greenville "P.G." Wodehouse.

If it is true that the foundation of all comedy lies in truth, then Wodehouse was a master observer of the human race, every hue, stripe and rosette of it. This book brings together so many wonderul excerpts from various Wodehouse works (and he was prolific, authoring more than 90 books in his lifetime), that it has a place not only on the shelf of Sir W.'s fan's but also in the hands of those who have not yet discovered this enduring genius with an exquisite and masterful grasp of the English language.

The only downside to being a Wodehouse afficianado is that one must own a bookshelf just to house all of the books that are "musts" (and most of them are) ... small price to pay for a library that will keep you in the proverbial stitches, come what may.

This is a great addition to that library -- or a good reason to start one of your own.

Right ho!

"A collection of quotations from the Master's letters,essays and fiction loosely connected by witty,fact-filled commentary by Barry Day,to form a concise,bried biography...This belongs on the same shelf with "Wodehouse Nuggets" and "The Wodehouse Companion" - except that you will want to keep it by your bedside or carry it around in your pocket. At the very least,"Wodehouse In His Own Words" will send you scurrying out for Plum's novels and short story collections."

- Michael Dirda
The Washington Post

As my fan club (a dwarf, an old tennis racket, and my mom) knows, I'm primarily a music reviewer, but now and again I read a particularly good, bad, or "different" book that I feel inclined to comment on, even though I probably shouldn't, considering how poorly written my music reviews, which are supposedly my forte, are.
Anyways, self-deprecation aside, this is one of "those" books. A day-by-day account, through cartoons, of a younger Mo Willems' travels through Europe, Africa, Asia, and the lower 48 states, this book is funny (at times hilarious), mildly educational, a quick but not too-easy read, insightful, touching, stupid, crazy, and generally very good in its own way. Sometimes you empathize with Mo, sometimes you disagree with him, sometimes you laugh with him, sometimes you laugh at him, sometimes you finish pooping, set the book down on the toilet lid, wash your hands, and come back to it later (whoops, too personal), but you're always enjoying yourself as you read.
As I mentioned earlier, since this book is basically 95% pictures, it's a fast read (I think reading it straight through took me an hour and ten, or something like that), which makes it a plus for those who think printed words are the devil incarnate. I'd read it if I were you, but then again, I'm not, so it's up to you. But I would (and I'm awesome, so now try and disagree with me, suckah!).

Before Mo Willems became a children's book author, he packed sketchbook and set out to explore the world. At the end of each day he drew a cartoon of a single event which stuck in his mind - and his sketch diary YOU CAN NEVER FIND A RICKSHAW WHEN IT MONSOONS: THE WORLD ON ONE CARTOON A DAY is the result. Each page holds a full-page black and white panel blending humor with observation. An excellent choice for cartoon fans and travelers alike, a foreword by Dave Barry adds to the package.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

When you think about it, picture book author/illustrators by and large do not suddenly come out with thick memoir-like tomes. Not even Maurice Sendak has done it. It just isn't done. So when I found myself hefting Mo Willems's handsome 396-some encapsulation of his time spent traveling around the world in 1990, I didn't quite know what to make of the idea. Willems is cute as a button and he pens a mean pigeon but can he ... (how shall I put this?) ... well, can he do a book that isn't five-year-old-centric? Apparently, yes. Yes and indeed and thank you kindly, m'am. Taking a concept for a book that could've easily ended up as a better idea than product, Willems has put together a thoughtful look at how we've changed in the eyes of the world, how the people of the world appear to us, and how difficult it is to cultivate an "us" vs. "them" mentality when you've just met the "them" firsthand.

It was a kind of cartoon diary. When young Mo Willems, future cartoonist/author/Nickelodeon pawn, graduated from college he took his newfound freedom as an opportunity to take the ultimate worldwide unguided tour. Patches in place on jeans and sideburns making their, "precipitous drop toward my shoulders", Mr. Willems chose to record his experiences in the form of a cartoon a day. These cartoons are of a wide and somewhat assorted variety. They may be illustrations of all the goatees seen that day, or a picture of a long skinny Mo reenacting a situation. They might even be just a view of something he found particularly touching or sweet, like a boy watering a public tree. There are some constants, of course. Each cartoon includes the date, a description, and where Mo was on that given date. Usually there is also an additional comment below this information at the bottom of the page. It's here that present day Mo gives a little context to what you are seeing. He might explain how the trip was going, the story behind the cartoon, or just riff a one-liner on what you see. Sometimes he won't even say anything at all, leaving his original comments and pictures to stand on their own. Each leg of the journey in this book is indicated by its own map. Those maps then give a convoluted but legible dotted line that shows where Mo done gone.

I gotta say, fresh-outta-college Mo had a good eye and ear for his subject matter. It would be the height of narcissism to take something you created in your youth that wasn't funny and publish it for the masses to messily consume. The moral equivalent of printing your high school poetry, say. Fortunately for everybody involved, young Mo was a pretty funny cat. Captions like, "bad day for the hand crafted tribal blowdart salesman" and "the locals call him `Mr. Socks'", hardly even need pictures. They're funny all on their own. The young artist's consistency is also something to cheer on. Admittedly I haven't gone over all 300-some pictures in this book to make absolutely certain that he wrote every day. A quick scan, however, shows that no matter how crazy his last 24-hours or wacked out his company (both if he was lucky) the boy still managed to put pen to paper and get it down.

Then there are the illustrations themselves. His style firmly in place, Mr. Willems' sketches are presented without so much as a smidgen of dirt or a crease about the edges. Good old Photoshop. There were some repeating images in this book that amused me especially. I liked how most of the women had breasts that looked like the lowercase letter "W" on its side. I liked the overly elongated hero and his shockingly clefted chin. Plus I loved the fact that there was a chicken in this book that did not look anything like the bird Willems would later draw for the illustrator compendium, "Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road".

Every five years I write a letter to myself and then squirrel it away until it's time for them to be read. It's a fun way of meeting again and again my younger stupider self. Willems mentions experiencing something rather similar when he looked back at his old sketches. Of them, he says that they are, "my gateway to understanding the weird guy who occupied my skinny body back then". Part of what makes the book interesting is the tension between young smelly Mo and wise and successful I-think-I'll-live-in-Brooklyn Mo. Obviously old-Mo has the hometeam advantage on this one. He can laugh and prod his younger self and there ain't nothing little young-Mo can do about it. Fortunately, you're on old-Mo's side. For example, there's a picture of young-Mo sitting awkwardly between two evil-eyed fellows with Saddam-like moustaches. The original text reads, "patriotic paranoia pops up: stuck between two iranian tourists". Old-Mo's response is apropos: "I shudder at the stupidity of my youth when I look at this sketch. These guys were quite happy to separate who I was from my government, but I was unwilling or unable to do the same for them. A wasted opportunity". Whether he's lamenting his own ignorance or merely commenting in hindsight on a mistake of some sort, it's nice to have two points of view from the same fella to bandy about.

The book is remarkable for all these reasons, but here's the most important one. For his last few weeks, Mo continued to draw his observations while bumming around the United States. And for all the crazy kooky things that can happen to a guy overseas, it's funny to weigh the similarities and differences to what you see them here at home. Plus it gives the ending of the book a sense of resolution you wouldn't think to find in any kind of a diary, let alone a cartoon one. In his Epilogue, Willems says that this trip and this experience drove home for him the idea that what he sees on the worldwide news affects real people. "... they all really exist, and what they do affects us". One could say the same of this book too. It will affect you. A loving look at everything that is wonderful and horrible in having to live on "this big, wide, wonderful world". A book worth visiting.

This book is absolutely delightful. When the author was just out of school, he took a trip around the world, and each day he drew the one thing that stuck out in his mind. Fifteen years later, he added commentary and occasionally context to each cartoon, and publishes the whole darn thing.

The things he records is what the rest of us usually remember the best when we come back from a trip. This book doesn't consist of pictures of landmarks and more landmarks. It's a true distillation of his experiences, and it bounces from funny to poignant to regretful and back again. His Dutch grandmother is distressed to discover that a year traveling around the world doesn't include 10 months visiting her in Holland, and he gets pickpocketed by one of three men, but he doesn't know which one. He regrets being wary of two Iranian men he met at the time, the Turks are offended when he tries to locate malaria pills in their country, and he gets embarassed when someone fusses over the cold he got from partying too much in Pamplona.

It's not geared towards kids at all--I never even heard of Mo Willems when I picked up this gem. It's a truly wonderful travelogue though.

Mo's newest book is a "page-turner" for the armchair traveler with a sense of humor. Each page has a great cartoon of a unique time and place. I especially enjoyed Mo's impressions of places I have been; his graphics refreshed and enhanced my own memories. This is a great gift idea for the college graduate (unless, of course, you want them to go get a job instead of seeking adventure first!)

This is a very helpful book and the most valuable part for me was the very small section (only one page) about having to build up the adrenals first - easy to overlook, as I almost did.

Be warned: if you have had low thyroid for several years (in my case over a decade before I finally self-diagnosed - partly thanks to this book and also thanks to the excellent "Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic" by Mark Starr, M.D. - and thus was able to take the first steps towards recovery) then you will almost certainly have adrenal exhaustion.

Although I initially ignored the warning about adrenal exhaustion, I found that even taking three times the normal dose of thyroid for over four months did not help. I had to stop, take adrenal support tablets for several weeks, and then restart thyroid at a smaller dose. I continued taking adrenal support tablets for several months too.

I am finally seeing noticeable improvements. Even a spring in my step, which I never expected to enjoy again, after over a decade of thinking I had ME/CFS or something even worse.

I am giving the book only four stars because it does not contain clear enough indications of dosages. For instance, in the tiny section on adrenal supplementation, it refers to adrenal tablets but ignores the fact that there are several dosages, one containing about three times the dose of the other. When it says you might need to take two or three, which one does it mean? Why not mention actual dosages, instead of vaguely referring to "two or three tablets" of undisclosed strengths?

P.S. I also recommend the book "Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It" by Brownstein, which I have since come across and found very helpful.

I recommend to you the book by Barry Durrant Peatfield, "Your Thyroid and How to Keep It Healthy". Peatfield was a general practitioner in the British National Health service who came to America and trained at the Broda Barnes Institute. He returned to England and started a thyroid private practice. His book summarizes over 25 years of clinical diagnosing and treating thyroid illness. One section of the book is devoted to the question, "Why thyroid blood tests can be unreliable".

Here is what Dr. Peatfield says:

"Anxiety in the medical establishment about rules and dogma has led to a slavish reliance on blood tests, which are often unreliable and can actually produce a false picture of the true situation"

"I have sadly come across very few doctors who can accept the fact that a normal, or low TSH, may still occur with a low thyroid."

"as a result of this test (TSH), thousands are denied treatment"

Peatfield lists several reasons why thyroid blood tests are flawed:

1) They measure hormone levels in the blood. What we really want to know is tissue levels, not blood levels.

2) The blood tests do not measure cellular receptor hormone resistance.

3) The blood tests do not measure conversion block. Some patients cannot convert their inactive T4 to active T3.

4) The thyroid tests do not account for adrenal insufficiency.

5) Paradoxical low TSH may occur with a low thyroid function.

These sentiments are shared by the teachings of Broda Barnes MD, and the Broda Barnes Foundation. However, Peatfield's book elaborates beyond the classic teachings of Broda Barnes by including chapters on the adrenal as well as a chapter on iodine supplementation. I found this book excellent, and it belongs in every medical library dealing with thyroid disease.

Jeffrey Dach MD

Thyroid problems are increasing yet the average person rarely recognizes the common symptoms of malfunction. Your Thyroid and How To keep It Healthy provides all the information needed to understand these common symptoms, which include weight gain, high cholesterol, poor circulation, and unexplained hair loss. Chapters survey symptoms, advocate consumer involvement in treatment options, and provide the latest details and research in an updated second edition filled with nutritional and medical advice.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I am a Thyroid patient who could not tolerate Thyroid Hormone. It caused scary things to happen with my heart. Thanks to this book I realized that there was an issue with my adrenal glands. I am quite confidant that there would have been serious complications if I had continued down the path I was on at the urging of 3 different doctors. This book is well organized, easy to understand and chock full of valuable information. It's a fiver!

I am Herman's wife, a woman sixty-three years old, diagnosed with hypothyroidism six months ago. My symptoms began in my teens and grew worse as time progressed: coldness, infertility, bouts of severe depression, etc. My father had this disease for over fifty years before his diagnosis at about age ninety. My infertility doctor couldn't find the problem, and my mother, a medical doctor, didn't catch on that her husband and daughter showed the sypmtoms.
The author explains the causes, symptoms, and treatment in terms both technical and easy to understand. The reader can merely learn why the thyroid runs amok or can delve into what the various hormones do. Since the thyroid is the body's thermostat, if it doesn't work properly, neither does anything in the body. All diabetics should be checked for hypothyroisism.
For self diagnosis, if one's early-morning temperature measures below 97.6 degrees F, one probably has hypothyroidism. The blood test for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone is less accurate, especially if one's adrenal glands are stressed out.