Bernard Books

This is probably the best monsters of mythology book I have read yet. We all know Hercules's first labor was to kill the Nemean lion. But what if Hercules wasn't a boy? What if he was a girl? That's what this book does, changes Hercules into the girl Heraclea! Who knows, maybe Hercules really was a girl. The reason I like the monsters of mythology books so much is because they tell all about the monster's background. The only problem with this is that the Nemean Lion doesn't have much of a background. So the book tells about the history of it's exocutioner instead. So really the book tells more about Heraclea than the Nemean Lion. I don't mind. Heraclea has a VERY interesting past. She's a daughter of Zeus and doesn't know it! There's also very much more cool stuff about her. See for yourself!

Speaking in Mednicki's colorful venacular, the book, as told to Ken Wachsberger, transforms the man's wit, and charm into sheer guts. We feel drawn irresistibly around the campfire: as a child, street-smart in Belgium, Mednicki survived WWI. As adult, he led his family into French mountains, stumbling onto guerilla war, and the inevitable

I am a first grade teacher & have been using this book for the last 6 years in my classroom. It finally bit the dust last year! The kids' love all of the fun poetry! Great book to read with your kids.

I have studied English since 1995. But I could not find the most suitable textbook for myself. Now I'm finding it. It is the best textbook from Peter Viney and Bernard Hartley.

This book is both, simple and usefull to learn or to improve English as a second language. I myself have been working with it and I have gotten not only grammar but also vocabulary. I strongly recommend it.

Bernard Lewis makes a number of good points in this essay about anti-Semitism. One is that in previous centuries, persecution of Jews was linked to the fact that Jews, by not being Christian or Muslim, did not submit to the rulings of local Christian or Muslim authorities. Jews often escaped from this persecution simply by converting. Converted Jews could even join the persecutors. However, in the twentieth century, persecution took on a racial aspect. Conversion did not help.

Today, as Lewis explains, anti-Semitism has become more ideological than racial, so Jews can once again join the persecutors. And it's easy to see that some have indeed taken advantage of this opportunity. As a matter of fact, it is theoretically possible that a majority (or even almost all) will do just that.

Lewis mentions the fact that when the Levant has been divided between Arab and Jewish areas, it has been taken for granted that Jews must not be permitted to dwell in Arab regions and Arabs must be permitted to dwell in Jewish regions. Lewis regards this as symptomatic of anti-Semitism. But I prefer to, um, dwell on the arbitrariness of such a policy and note that in the long run, such policies are counterproductive.

Another point that Lewis makes is that while today, one may realize that it benefits a society to abide human rights for all sorts of minorities, such opinions were rare just a few hundred years ago. Back then, it was taken for granted that for a majority to give rights (or, as the author says more precisely, "equal opportunities") to a minority was a "dereliction of duty."

The author also notes that "Polytheism was essentially tolerant, each group worshipping its own God or Gods [the capitalization by me, not by Lewis], offering no objection to the worship of others."

One more point is the way some folks regard Jews not as people but more like some sort of Cosmic Evil. It is very rare for other groups to be thought of in such a manner, and as a result, this is considered by Lewis to be a major aspect of what he calls anti-Semitism.

There is also the question of dual loyalty. As the author explains, we rarely hear about this issue when the Irish complain about the British or the Armenians and Greeks complain about the Turks, but we often do when Israelis complain about their oppressors. In some cases, this can be explained in part by anti-Semitism. A simpler test is the reaction when people get killed in the Middle East. If the killers and victims are all Arabs, very few Westerners show much interest. If Jews are involved, or if Jews can be blamed, there is enormous interest. One can see the difference between the killing of tens of thousands of people at Hama (which had nothing to do with Jews and thus was almost disregarded in the West) and Sabra and Shatilla (where less than a thousand people were killed and once again, the actual murderers were almost ignored but the possibility of blaming the Jews excited a huge number of folks).

Lewis cautions us to be careful about obvious differences in standards applied to Jews and non-Jews. In some cases, there may be more going on than simple anti-Semitism. But I don't worry about what we call it. We're all humans, and we need to value truth and justice. If we're being unjust and arbitrary, we have a problem no matter what motivates our biases. And I think Lewis has supported that point rather well in this article.

This is a great book for parents who are looking for ways to survive their child's freshman year of college!

I have not yet reviewed the book but will and maybe even buy it if the book has the information I am looking for.

I have read dozens of books on hypnosis. However the most detailed history of hypnosis I have found is written in this book. Benard also uses the Scientic Method to prove cold hard facts about why, how and when to administer certain suggestions. It is a must for any hypnotists library. Its suprisingly better then some books I have paid twice as much for. Took a month to recieve from Amazon, but its well worth the money and the wait.

The new edition of New Homes For Old by Sophonisba P. Breckinridge (1866-1948) is enhanced with an informative introduction by Steven J. Diner (Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University) is an amazing, exhaustive history of American immigrants, focusing in detail on how they lived, cared for their children, coped with cultural shock, made an economic living and much more. Covering immigration from all over the world, from the Ukraine to Italy to Sweden, New Homes For Old is a fascinating qualitative study of family life as well as cultural and economic adaptation. Highly recommended reading for students of Gender Studies, Ethnic History, Progressive Era social research, and the history of social work in America.