Brian Books

Absolutely one of the finest books ever created on the subject of the American Civil War that I have seen. It is simply a "Must Have" for any family who has roots that stretch deep into the soil of this era of America. Unlike so many other books that address this popular subject, there is no differentiation of importance by glorifying only the known names, yet somehow skipping over the common man. Kristoffersen elequently makes all men equal with heart-wrenching statements from the loving and often unforgiving view of the camera. You'll never view the Civil War quite the same.

I've gone through three copies of this book so far. As a reenactor I'm sometimes asked what it's like to be in one of these events. I used to give vivid accounts of the smell of smoke; the taste of powder in your mouth when you tear open a cartridge; the sounds of men and horses moving into line; the clash of steel on steel during a ripping good cavalry sabre fight; the awful beauty of a straight line during the charge. Theater of the Mind only goes so far; this book takes you the rest of the way.

Bugler, 7th Texas Cavalry

A fellow reenactor who marched along side me on the muddy fields of Shilo told me about this book. He said the photographer captured us on film at the Shilo reenactment. I bought the book and was very impressed with the authentic photographs of living history (civil war) reenactors at camp, on the march and on the battlefields. This book really captures what the war must have looked like and felt.
Even my mother and sister had to have a copy. A great book for the coffee table. A real conversation piece.

I have to say that I have seen this book form the inception. Kris is my mentor in photography and my very close friend. We traveled from Shiloh in the knee deep mud to Gettysburg in the boiling 4th of July heat so Kris could capture these historical images. Had Brady and other photographers of that era had the equipment that we have in 1999 there would have not been a need for these photographs, however, he didn't and there is a need. I hope that eveyone who receives a copy of this book feels the emotions that are intended. The many thousands of re-enactors who take part in these events are delivering a very special form of education to all spectators, and as we all know our past can never be forgotten.

I am a salesperson for a professional photography house in Nashville Tennessee. Over the past few months I've had the fortune of waiting on and somewhat getting to know Kris. A few months ago, he mentioned to me that he had a book going to press sometime in April or May. When asked what it was about, he told me that it was a collection of photos of Civil War reenactments shot as if the photographers of that era had the equipment of today. I must say that I was intrigued. Then, a few weeks later he brought in a page of proofs of photographs slotted for the book. OUTSTANDING!!! As a photographer, and from an emotional standpoint I was deeply moved. On that single page, he managed to capture the essence of what battle must have been like for those brave soldiers during the darkest times this country has ever seen. This book is a must see, and I am anxiuosly awaiting this finished masterpiece.

My 3 y/o loves this book! It made me happy when she told me one day, "Mom I have to go to the bagno!" The rhyming story is great with a spanish word at the end of the line!

When we got this book, I thought that it was a cute book and nice the way they had both Spanish and English in the story, but when we brought it home our children just loved it!!! I would recommend this story to anyone it was fun to read to the kids and they enjoyed it as well.

I'm a elementary school librarian and happened to pick this book up in the bargain bin at a discount bookstore. What a great find! I read it to my 1-3 grade classes and they LOVED it. English learners love that there is some spanish and English speakers liked learning a little spanish. That the spanish rhymes is a big plus. Of course, most kids can completely relate to being on a car trip and suddenly having to go to "el bano".

A humorous story about a young girl who has to go to the bathroom "rapido". They are riding in the car and the daughter announces that she needs a bathroom. The story brings the car and the parents through town, in search of "un bano". One of the huge attractions of this story is the fact that it is a K-3 book with stores, buildings, colors, and common greetings which are all written in Spanish. Because it rhymes we are able to determine the pronunciation of most of the words: because of the paintings and context clues, we are able to determine the meanings of the Spanish words. The glossary and pronunciation guide contains spelling and translations of fifty-two words and phrases.

This picture book will be a marvelous addition to the bi-lingual classroom. Children who speak or read Spanish will be able to explain greetings, colors and familiar buildings to their English speaking classmates. English speaking children will learn some Spanish and empathy for their ESL friends. The watercolor pictures in the book feature the parents in the front seat and the small girl in the back seat. There are single and double-page spreads, pictures of the girl bordered in flowers and colors. The street scene with buildings labeled in Spanish paints their red car angularly, in the middle of the street, to indicate it does not know which way to go. The double paged line at the bathroom appears interminable with strollers, grandmothers, infants, teens and women of color and diversity. Cut ending!

This is a cute book that my six year old son and I got a good laugh from and had to reread immediately. It introduces some basic Spanish words and phrases in rhyme. The pictures are bright and colorful. An easy, fun read.

Brian Meehl's OUT OF PATIENCE tells of pre-teen Jake's father's dream of opening the American Toilet Museum. The town they are in is cursed with obscurity and bad history and Jake's tired of waiting for it to dry up and blow away - he wants out. When his father brings home a relic to fulfill the town curse's last prophecy, trouble and mystery begins in this fun story of baseball and intrigue.

I loved this book when I read it over the summer. Lots of "LOL" places for me, and I don't often laugh out loud when I read. But when my 11 year old son started reading it this week, he was not only "LOL" but also reading passages out loud to me! Instead of playing basketball or a video game, he was reading this book non stop. He is now talking it up with his middle school buddies.

Teachers of YA Lit should note: "Out of Patience" is a wonderful selection for a reluctant reader, yet also appeals to adults and a more sophisticated YA reader. On the surface it may appear to be a guys story but it really appeals to both genders, thanks to the terrific female protagonist!

I disagree with the prior reviews that indicate a weak or unbelieveable ending; you are looking with too much of an adult eye, and need to consider the (main)audience. Does a book about toilets and manure really need a "believeable" ending?

I enjoyed every page of this novel and look forward to future works by Meehl.

By the way, "Out of Patience" would make a terrific summer movie. Are you listening, Disney?

Brian Meehl's book incorporates some of the srongest elements of the best contemporary young adult's authors such as J K Rowling and Roald Dahl, and plunks it all down in the middle of a small town out in the vast, grassy plains of the midwest, where Mr. Meehl grew up. Yet his writing style is distinctly Meelish from first paragrasph to the last, as he dispalys a daring, occasionally bordering on reckless willingness to follow his muse and resist making safe or homogenised artistic choices. The midwestern-ness is wonderfully authentic, and he writes from a point of view that's compassionate yet brimming with a witty thread of (sometimes dark) irony.
Jake, the twelve year old hero of the book, dreams of someday escaping what he considers a terminally dead beat town. His optimistic plumber dad is convinced that he can bring tourists (and life) back to the town of Patience by opening a toilet museum, so he's been collecting antique plungers, toilets, odd pairs of men's/lady's rooms signs and the like. The flashback subplot follows suit, delving into the tale of how Jake's frontier ancestor purchased one of the first flush toilets and brought it to Patience. This, in turn, leads to a humerous and intriguing exploration of the evolution of the mechanical technology, sociology and superstition that surrounded toilets and outhouses in frontier times, which like any aspect of human psychology is a lot weirder, funnier and more colourful than one might imagine.
Jake is plunged into anxiety (so to speak) when his father aquires the antique so-called "Plunger of Destiny" on E-Bay for the museum, fullfilling the crazy frontier preacher's prophesy from a hundred years ago that when the "Plunger of Destiny " comes back to town, a curse will be set in motion. It sounds a little hoaky on paper, and personally, I'm not too fond of "curse" plots, so I was mentally daring Mr. Meehl to make it work. So I was surprised and gratified he made it work so well and so organically, in part because one's never quite sure if the events that unfold actually are the curse, or just coincidence. This book is never preachy, but has plenty of between-the-lines insight into human relationships and the true nature and value of community.

With bookstores so depressingly full of kids' novels that are straining so hard to be hip it hurts, "Out of Patience" is a breath of pure oxygen, even with the knockout stink of the local fertilizer farm. First of all, it paints the most endearing portrait of Kansas since... well, okay, The Wizard of Oz. And Brian Meehl has so-called "prairie eyes" of his own when it comes to telling a terrific story: he keeps a sharp eye on the old-fashioned ground of great plot, humor, and vividly drawn characters, but he's just as likely to sucker-punch you with descriptive writing of unexpected gorgeousness that rolls in like a midwestern storm. Kids will think all the historical gems and toilet trivia are a total blast, but never intrusive. The young heroes are smart, funny, refreshingly unobnoxious kids who are a credit to 12-yr-olds everywhere (I LOVED Sira and her motel-owning Pakistani family). I loved the Nowheresville atmosphere where the line between adults and kids is blurred by the sweet necessity of respecting everybody's weirdnesses, and EVERYONE turns out for the baseball game. But most of all, I reeeeally want the experience of eating Thunderstone Ice Cream (you'll just have to read it to know what I'm talking about :)). The action and mystery will hold readers til the very last page, the homespun wit ("Howie held a secret about as long as a dog holds onto a slice of lemon") is a total treat, and some moments of real peril are extremely effective. All in all, this is a wonderfully unique and entertaining book that deserves an extra star for that ever-elusive quality of Boy Appeal... my son said it was his favorite summer reading choice ever. "Patience" pays off!

When I review a children's book, I have a highly sophisticated system of keeping track of a book's funny passages and interesting moments. I take tiny pieces of paper and stick them between the pages. By and large, this is a good system and one that, until now, worked for me. That is, until I came across Brian Meehl's, "Out of Patience". By the time I reached page 50, there were already 15 tiny pieces of paper sticking out of the book. As indications of quality go, I can't think of any better sign than a book that resembles nothing so much as host to a million tiny paper bookmarks. Meehl has a talent and a sense of humor that hoists him heads and tails above the competition. Unfortunately, while his book has a brilliant conceit, fabulous characters, and the zing of small-town credibility (i.e. he knows what it's like to live in one), he's better on set-up than on pay-off. Nevertheless, reading "Out of Patience" is a joy. I don't think I've enjoyed reading a book as much as I enjoyed this one in a long long time.

It's good for kids to have dreams, right? Well Jake has one but it's a secret. Jake dreams of someday leaving the town of Patience as soon as he is able to do so. He can't tell this to his dad, though. Mr. Waters, the town's plumber, is too involved in the idea of creating the ATM - American Toilet Museum. He's been collecting toilet memorabilia for years now and in his quest he's gone and done something that leaves his son speechless in horror. He purchased the Plunger of Destiny on eBay. According to the town curse, the final destruction of Patience, Kansas will occur when the Plunger of Destiny returns to the tiny dying town. Now that event has occurred and Jake is fully convinced that the curse is in full swing. He's going to have to become, "a detective on curse patrol", keeping a watchful and vigilant eye for anything that might indicate the final destruction's form. Unfortunately, it may be too late to do anything at all.

People have been comparing this book to Louis Sacher's, "Holes", and they've got their reasons for doing so. Both books involve family curses and buried treasure. Both authors know how to make something funny. I mean guffawing on the subway funny and not the tittering behind your hand in the salon variety. But while Sacher may lead in the storytelling department, Meehl wins in the One Liner and Bon Mots category. It's really Meehl's writing that makes the whole book worthy of reading aloud to anyone and everyone you know. For example, when Jake wants to know if his father's girlfriend is leaving them he knows that, "Asking her a direct question was like doing a search on Wanda.com and getting a dozen pop-ups". When something inexplicable occurs in nature it's, "for reasons only scientists who have yet to be born will someday understand". The phrase for someone who's a bit loopy? "A half-bubble off plumb". The term for reading a lot? "Butt travel". And someone who's lived in Kansas might acquire "prairie eyes". "Prairie eyes see two things at once. They see the ground at your feet, which delivers the fruits of labor. And they see the distant horizon, which delivers the destructive acts of God. Prairie eyes are quiet, neutral, ready for whatever the ground or the horizon delivers".

I would love to know where Meehl collected all his information. From prairie eyes (is this a true term or did he make it up?) to toilet facts (is the portion on the prince who wanted to be a plumber true?) to weird and wacky Kansas info (definitely all true), I was kind of hoping for a Bibliography at the end. Maybe it would have been a bathroom bibliography, but that's okay. It still could of been cool. At the same time, I think that Meehl should copyright his rules for playing baseball with just eight players. They make sense in an odd way, but they're also so beautifully convoluted that by the time to you get to, "5) Committing an error costs players 12 years old and older 1 point. Players under 12 are not penalized for an error", you'd do anything to view a game of this nature first-hand.

And I adored the characters! Jake's best female friend is Cricket, a daughter of Pakistani parents who run the local motel. She's been memorizing weird and wacky facts about Kansas or Patience corresponding with years between `00 and `99. Say a number near her like 8 and you might end up hearing something along the lines of, "In 1908, the Kansas legislature passed a law against eating snakes in public". And there's Jake's best male friend Howie. Howie's a good natured sort, but he's the kind of fellow who would hold onto, "a secret about as long as a dog holds on to a tossed slice of lemon". This turns out to be particularly problematic later on in the tale. Of course, it was kind of an odd choice making the book's villain an employee of the EPA. Meehl makes it somewhat clear that this villain has a personal vendetta and isn't representative of the Environmental Protection Agency proper (they even repave the town's streets), but it's tricky territory. Frankly, I think the book didn't need to bother with a contemporary villain when the fellow who cast the curse in the first place was fulfilled all the requisite bad guy duties.

Which sort of brings up my problems with the book. This hurts to do, cause I feel a great affection for "Out of Patience". Plucking any portion of it apart from the rest and criticizing it just makes me feel all kinds of crummy. That said, I think there may have just have been a smidgen too much... um... potty humor (for lack of a better phrase) in this story. When a story involves a town getting covered in biological muck (wink wink) then you've kinda pushed me too far. "Out of Patience" is certainly not for the squeamish. If you're not into poop in all its glorious wondrous forms then keep this book at arm's length. Then again, it certainly will teach a heckuva lot of kids about nitrates. The other problem with this title involves its ending. The first three fourths of "Out of Patience" is strong. It doesn't quite know what it wants, but it's a wonderful ride. Then the last fourth kind of falls apart. Not too terribly. I understood how (a) led to (b) led to (c). But the villain seemed forced and the climax came way too early. It's not a terribly objectionable series of events, but they seemed a little too convenient at times. That's just me, though. You might have an entirely different take.

In spite of how you view the book's success, I think we can all agree on one thing. It's hee-larious. Funniest darn thing I've read all year, no question. Kids will adore it and adults will turn up their noses at the bathroom jokes while secretly succumbing to its charms. I have great faith that Meehl will bring us even more brilliant fare in the future. In the meantime I will wait for that fare to surface.

How on earth I ever managed to enjoy Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels before reading Anthony Gary Brown's wonderful dictionary is a mystery. Brown's book is a must have for all those who wish to get the most out of reading O'Brian's excellent naval stories.

This book is an invaluable resource for the O'Brian fan. Knowing the allusion to real people and the historical background tremendously enhances my enjoyment of the O'Brian series - well worth re-reading all nineteen books with this reference in hand, looking up the name of each character, animal, ship and cannon for the delicious humor of knowing WHY O'Brian named each entity as he did. A five-star book!

This book is an astonishing piece of research, a listing and historical analysis of thousands of items--well, characters, animals, ships, and cannons--from Patrick O'Brian's series of novels. I cannot imagine how he did it, but what a delightful treat for the rest of us. This book is not just an indispensible companion to the Aubrey-Maturin novels; it's also a great pleasure just to leaf through and read. If you like the O'Brian's books you need to have this one too.

Anthony Gary Brown's "Persons, Animals, Ships and Cannon in the Aubrey-Maturin Sea Novels" is a wonderful resource for anyone who loves the nautical fiction of Patrick O'Brian. The depth and breadth of research evident in this companion volume to the Aubrey-Maturin series is truly awe-inspiring. Every "proper name" reference -- no matter how slight or obscure -- has been diligently tracked and, where ever possible the historical reality behind the fictional is revealed. Characters I had assumed to be merely creations of Patrick O'Brian's imagination are shown by Gary Brown to be based in actual persons. Whenever Stephen Maturin speaks of an obscure botanist or philosopher, Brown has explained who he or she was and what was the significance of their work. There are many, many hours of delightful browsing in this volume for any Patrick O'Brian fan.

I've been sampling this book for a couple of weeks and I can't tell you how much I've been enjoying it! For a fan of the Aubrey/Maturin books its almost as good as having a new POB come out! I think of someone I want to look up, then by the time I've read that entry I've been led to another, and then another and I keep stumbling on the most amazing facts and interesting historical stories.While just keeping track of all the names in the books is useful enough, the "enhanced" information - all the details about "real" people and ships and historical events - is the most exciting treasure for me.I can not begin to imagine the hours and hours invested in this masterpiece, though the careful attention to details and proofreading suggest it was a labor of love. All I can say is that I'm very grateful to the author for having written it. It will make reading and re-reading the Aubrey/Maturin books an even greater delight, and for me at least, it will lead deeper into the historical literature behind the series.Every bookstore in the country should stock this on the shelves next to the Aubrey/Maturin books so new converts will have it in hand right from the start.

My Favorite Childrens' Book Of All Time! This book has a very good moral about recycling and saving the earth, it's a great book to read to a child. If I could I'd rate it with ten stars!

A Pig Tale is a very catchy poem about a little pig named Ziggy and his dad, Pop Iggy. Ziggy gets made fun of by everyone because his dad collects junk. Then one day, his dad announces that he will make something spectacular with all of his junk and everyone waits to see what it will be. When the barn doors open, everyone sees his "amazing invention, a most beautiful thing!" It's a beautiful balloon! Ziggy and his father circle the globe in their balloon and Ziggy is very proud of his father. The story has a wonderful morale: "Protect our dear earth. Don't throw it away. You, too, could make magic from garbage someday. This is an excellent book to have around during the study of Earth Day, especially for younger children.

I think when someone has great talents such as Olivia they need to do something with them. Of course, to a certain extent, but to not share them by acting, singing, or writing or whatever it takes to express/share the talents is selfish & wasteful. I have loved Olivia Newton-John since she first hit the scene & have never been able to get enough of her. I am not meaning to sound weird or anything, it's just that Olivia has rare qualities & if she shared just a little more of herself through acting or more importantly a book on her self it would prove to be a great asset to the world & the many people who would benefit from it, like myself. I would love to have a recent book of Olivia Newton-John on my bookshelf to reinstate juvenation, as an inspiration & just to enjoy in my leisure. I don't know about others but I find many people interesting; however, Olivia takes the cake. I'm not saying she's obligated in anyway or that she should be obligated to do these things with her talent, because of course she is human, too, & deserves her freedom; but if I had talent like that & someone said these things to & about me, I think I would be encouraged to fill their request(s) not due to obligation but simply in the term of that "IF I CAN HELP EVEN JUST ONE PERSON GET THROUGH LIFE A LITTLE EASIER, THEN I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT!!!" & I believe the world would greatly benefit from a person with Olivia's talents & therefore a recent up-to-date book on herself. I would really like to have something from Olivia to this effect. Olivia is a fantastic person & is a Blessing in disguise.

Sit down with your children and read a very pleasent story. They will love it and so will you. A great way to have some real family time together.

I've read this book to my kids time and time again. The message of the importance of recycling has really hit home with them. They enjoy the rich illustrations and the rhyming verses are very catchy. Your kids will love it too!

"Poised to Kill" is a fine story, very well written and excellent in pacing. Lutterman is well in command of his plot and characters. Very satisfying read!

Allen J. Hubin

Poised To Kill is the gripping story of corporate executive Hal Dwyer. His twelve-year-old daughter has been kidnaped and the ransom is a top secret anti-missile software. If Hal doesn't steal the software from his defense contractor employer or his daughter will die. The action takes Hal from the corporate boardrooms of California to the wilderness backcountry of Minnesota. Author Brian Lutterman has proven himself to be a master storyteller in this masterfully woven tale of tycoons and terrorists. Poised To Kill is highly recommended reading, especially for enthusiasts of contemporary action/adventure thrillers.

I really enjoyed this book....the character was memorable and interesting. The plot had a number of twists and turns - with an unexpected ending. A bit of romance always adds something to a book as well. Great read...I coudnt put it down.

Lutterman has a gift for keeping the surprises coming until the reader is certain the puzzle has been solved, only to find one, last piece of the puzzle which causes the story to fall satisfyingly in place, just a different place than originally thought. The detailed settings put the reader "in" the story and provides a satisfying framework for the fantastic storylines. If you're not already a Lutterman fan, you will be by the end of this book! When is the next one coming??!!

Author has turned out a fast paced mystery/thriller novel that keeps you on your toes trying to figure out the twists and turns of the plot. Highly recommend!

I am working with one of my sons using this book and it is excellent. There is a video series that goes along with the book that is great too. I would recommend this for anyone who wants to learn algebra or work with their kids - using the videos, it can be a self paced course that was well thought out and very detailed.

Being a mathophobe, I was terrified when I registered for the class. But since I had to buy this book for my math class, then math all of a sudden was really easy! I actually understood the WORD problems with ease and what not!! The only thing that keeps me from giving it a 5 star rating is that there are many typos in the book, especially in chapter 6.2: there are at least three typos in this specific area if and when you are assigned the odd problems; and what's more, if you want a good laugh, check out pages 455-456. You'll see what I mean!

I am a 34 year old student that has struggled with math my entire life. I have failed many math classes in college because I just did not clearly understand how to do the math problems. I enrolled at Harbor College in Willmington, CA this fall 2003 and purchased this required book. To my amazement, this book is written in a way that a dummie like me can easily learn all the lessons. I now have a class grade of 95 and FINALLY because of this book, I can do algebra word problems, and I understand how to check them. I am even tutoring some of my classmates, WOW! thats not too bad for a dummie! I thank the author for creating the best prealgebra book I have ever seen. It is written STEP-BY-STEP and in the most basic format that can be explained. Please only purchase this book. You will not be dissapointed and you will pass prealgebra. All thanks to K. Elayn Martin-Gay, what a job you did putting the book together!

This workbook is packed with a lot of examples and rich exercises; which are presented in incremental development fashion. My two children, 10 and 11 year old, have high math aptitude; two grades beyond their average level. I bought this workbook to help them in the transition to algebra and trigonometry. They are able to go thru most of these execises in one summer. I must admit the quality of the lessons and exercises have this quite enjoyable and intuitive for my children to absorb.

Being that I am 28 years of age and a freshman in college, I was placed in the remedial math class for which this text was required. I was terrified due to the fact I failed math in high school and even the WORD Algebra scared me. This book has great examples and it really helped me understand the concepts of Algebra. I have a 97% average in my class and when I go onto Algebra I next term, I won't be so terrified! :)

I'm a professional clown/entertainer and have been playing with fire for some time. This book is a must have for anyone in the fire business. Good information for beginner and professional alike.

While you should seek a mentor to learn the fire arts; it simply isn't possible to do all the time. This book has alot of information. Well worth the price paid.

This book is the ultimate on the current way to work with fire eating SAFELY.
If your going to try this dangerous activity, you would be absolutely foolish not to read this first! (As opposed to being just foolish to try messing with fire.)
A great book for the beginner or experienced entertainer.I highly recommended it. Brian also has a partner video to complment this book.

This "THE" book on fire eating.
It doesn't get any better than this.
But as a fire eater, I do not recommend eating fire.

Well, you won't get burned in the figurative sense. This is a fantastic book that covers a wide spectrum of fire eating. Brian has been at this for a long time and is easily able to convey his expertise to the reader. I reccomend this book for anyone interested in learning the craft or as a supplementary resource for those already eating the stuff.

Brian Brushwood has mastered the art of book-writing as powerfully as his art of fire eating. This book teaches you everything you need to know about how to SAFELY eat fire and perform dozens of other tricks. It even tells you things you didn't know you didn't know. I bought the book to learn to eat fire for a part in a play and now it has become a hobby. People are always asking me to demonstrate because they just can't believe it's real. Well it is. The book shows step-by-step how to build torches, get used to the flames, and how to put it in your mouth without getting burned. It took me less than two weeks to be comfortable enough to show off my new skill. The author has included some very powerful safety information including MSDSs for the various fuels you can use.

Very good book for a beginner or experienced show-off! Highly recommended. Also, if you MUST learn to eat fire without personal instruction, you should consider purchasing the video also.

Brian Walker, Program Director Resilience Alliance and a scientist with the CSIRO. Canberra Australia, has, with the assistance of science writer David Salt, written the best and most straightforward work on ecological resilience entirely suitable for a wide audience of readers; activists, teachers, scientists from any number of disciplines, interested in gaining a familiarity with a study area that is of critical importance in this present world of catastrophe, forever changing with the calamitous onset of climate change and where stategies of adaptation are quite indequate mechanisms for survival in the white-water world we will have to navigate.

It is not a scientific treatise but a work from which all interested readers will benefit substantially no matter what their background or credentials. This is a twentyfirst century production coauthored with a skilled science writer and a model for any NGO or scientific group who wish to influence and inform policy makers with something they can readiliy understand.. Resilience capability and building such capacity is perhaps the best, but still uncertain, way to buffer social-ecological systems--your everyday environment--from unpredictable, disastrous events and accompanying change. Adaptation and models based on orthodox science are unfortunately inadequate to meet such crises. I recommend this book to any concerned person no matter their level of understanding. They will find something new and enlightening here.

This is a gem of an educational book. Mixing case studies with elaborating chapters on key concepts, it's as a good a volume as I have found for teaching undergraduates, graduates, and practitioners (farmers, factory managers, investors) the core ideas needed to restore a sustainable social-ecological system.

Highlights for me:

+ Optemization is a false premise, simplifies complex systems we do not understand, with the result that we end up causing long-term damage.

+ Resilience thinking is systems thinking. I cannot help but think back to all of the excellent work in the 1970's and 1980's--the authors were simply a quarter century ahead of their time.

+ In a nut-shell, resilient system can absorb severe disturbance.

+ System resilience is affected by context, connections across scales of time and space, and current system state in relations to threshholds.

+ Fresh water, fisheries, and topsoil depletion are major failures.

+ Drivers of environmental degradation are poverty, willful excessive consumption, and lack of knowledge (from another book, I recall that changes to the Earth that used to take 10,000 years now take three, one reason we need real-time science).

+ Key concepts are threshholds and adaptive cycles. Adaptive cycles have four phases: Rapid Growth; Conservation; Release; and Reorganization.

+ Redundancy is NOT a dirty word (just as intelligence--decision support--should not be a dirty word within the United Nations)

+ Ecological networks cannot be understood nor nurtured with a tight linking and understanding of the social networks that interact with the ecological networks.

+ Subsidies are a form of social denial, as they subsidize unsustainable practices and prevent adaptation and change.

+ Lovely--absolutely lovely--chart on page 89 about time-scales of climate and natural disasters like major fires.

+ One size does not fit all--solutions for one social-ecological network, e.g. in the USA, will not be the same as for another, e.g. in Norway.

+ Diversity is the key to regeneration.

+ Governances must be able to see and act upon key intervention points.

+ A Resilient world would be characterized by:

1. Diversity
2. Ecological variables
3. Modularity
4. Acknowledgement of slow variables
5. Tight feedbacks
6. Social capital
7. Innovation
8. Overlap in governance
9. Ecosystem services

Within this small and very easy to absorb book one finds a great annotated bibliography of recommended readings, a fine reference section, and a very solid index.

Other books that come to mind as complements to this one (limited to ten links by Amazon):
The leadership of civilization building: Administrative and civilization theory, symbolic dialogue, and citizen skills for the 21st century
Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People
Ecological Economics: Principles And Applications
Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution
Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design
High Noon 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them
Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy
The Blue Death: Disease, Disaster, and the Water We Drink

A MUST read for environmentalists. And for business, community and anyone willing to adapt the thinking to their situation. Brian and David have done a superb job in translating resilience theory and its close ties to complex adaptive systems. I have been looking for a book to recommend to my clients and students and this is it. I would also strongly recommend that the 'old guard' sustainability brigade have a look at this. The strategies that sustainability largely pursues are unsustainable. Resilience thinking is a more accurate path for us to head toward something that resembles sustainability. Well done.

This book is Latour's actor network theory in another guise, with the physicalization of Kuhn's paradigm shift thrown in for good measure. It is a very interesting book on an emerging way to look at environmental crises (note, not the environmental crisis. We seriously need local knowledge and local experience to manage each individual ecosystem).

My major issues with this book are twofold. One is that it is not well written, though not altogether poorly written, you can simply tell when the science writer came in to jazz things up. Secondly, the authors spend a little too much time trying to convince the reader that resilience thinking is NEW, DIFFERENT, SUBVERSIVE, and the like. We get, on page 29, something that I just cannot stand: a little briefer than brief history of challenge to dogma. Galileo spoke out about the Copernican model (which was still perfect circles, Kepler had it right but Galileo ignored him) and the church shot him down. Darwin dared to say species change and the world exploded! Now, we, the humble new scientists bring you a new challenge to the dogma of ecology today. Give me a break! I would have thought a science writer on the team would have had the experience to leave out this trite nonsense. Just tell me about your idea and spare me the drama! Sorry, but poor history of science is a real pet peeve. :-)

But either way, this is still an important book that should be read by ecology students, politicians, resource managers, and anyone interested in new ideas. The case studies are really informative and clear, and the message is properly urgent

This is a great book. I've read several books on this topic, and so far, they have all had a similar issue: They are written by people who are scientists first, writers second. This book has two authors. One is a scientist and the other is a science writer. This made for a well put-together, understandable explanation of complex adaptive systems, which are what ecosystems are currently understood to be.

The authors have done a few things to make the book great. First, they have broken the topic down into a set of subtopics, with one chapter explaining each subtopic. At the end of each chapter is a summary of important points so it's clear what the authors are hoping you get out of the chapter. Each chapter is then followed by a case study that is used to illustrate the ideas just covered.

If you are looking for an introductory book on ecosystems and how humans affect their ability to maintain themselves, this is the book to read. The authors also provide several good resources at the end of the book if you would like to expand your knowledge further.

Eric Voegelin was one of the most profound philosophers of history of the twentieth century. More than any other thinker I know, he was able to articulate a body of thought that recognizes the human need for a grounding in transcendent truth and analyses the vicissitudes of the inevitable search for meaning. His work deserves to be widely read, but perhaps because of its imposing bulk--his masterwork, "Order and History," weighs in at five fat volumes of complex reasoning, vivid exegeses of the symbolic forms of the past five thousand years, and indepth and illuminating readings of philosophers from Parmenides to Heidegger--it is not. "Science, Politics, and Gnosticism" is a perfect hors d'oeuvre of a book, and serves well not as a systematic introduction to the full scope of his vision but as a tasty morsel of his maturing thought at a crucial point in his oeuvre. Voegelin's incisive critique of ideological thinking in this book is lucid and mercifully accessible. I would hope that a reader comes away from this potent little classic inspired to dig deeper into the mine of wisdom that Voegelin's work offers.

Science, Politics & Gnosticism presents two essays, the title piece, "Science, Politics & Gnosticism", and "Ersatz Religion: The Gnostic Mass Movements of Our Time" by Eric Voegelin (1901-85), one of the most influential political philosophers of the twentieth century. Voegelin contends that certain modern movements, including positivism, Hegelianism, Marxism, and the "God is dead" school are variants of the gnostic tradition. Striving to settle the confusion that arises from the dominance of gnostic thought, Voegelin further strives to classify distinctions between political gnosticism and the philosophy of politics. A lucid yet in-depth scrutiny of the interplay of complex ideals and their reverbations upon mass political movements, Science, Politics & Gnosticism is especially recommended reading for advanced students of philosophy and political science.

Oh, the visionary has a new system to save the world? Put that in section II B, tray 5, right next to the same idea that sprouted 1000 years ago under a different name.
Voegelin has boiled down the rules for understanding all secular visions of salvation, which invariably play on some human dissatisfaction, the diagnosis of which always omits a key "given" of human nature, which is thus marketed as changeable, but isn't, leading to fanatical attempts to control people, devolving into scaring them into submission with the threat of death.
The opposite of the Christian love ethic which posits a brotherhood in relation to a heavenly Father, according to Voegelin.
Voegelin here achieves a scientific method of explaining how non-christian ideas relate to Christian ideas of social organization. He was very popular in Cold War times, but is also versatile enough here to help with the great conversation we are all having in relation to terrorism. This book is simple, direct and profound.

These two essays describe the inability of modern political thought to get a grip on the confusion and horror of the 20th century, mainly because that thought itself has not been immune from the very disorders it seeks to study. The roots of modern disorder are found in "Gnosticism," which is usually defined narrowly as a form of Christian heresy, but thought of by Voegelin as a typical response to the universal human problems of uncertainty, meaninglessness and alienation. Thus seemingly disparate movements like communism, fascism and positivism are placed within a Gnostic tradition stretching back to antiquity.

After describing the characteristics of ancient Gnosticism, Voegelin defines his own approach to the "science of politics," derived mainly from Plato and Aristotle. He then proceeds to analyze thinkers such as Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche and Heidegger and to isolate what he feels to be their dominant motives. The one great theme of all Gnosticisms, ancient or modern, is the desire to do away with the notion of a given, "objective" world. If the project of world-transformation is to be made plausible, then nothing can be seen to be outside of human power. Social reality is a constructed thing, not a thing given or found, thereby allowing it to be "deconstructed."

In the second, shorter essay, "Ersatz Religion," Voegelin describes the complex of ideas characteristic of modern Gnosticism such as millenialism, utopianism and positivism. As the title of the essay suggests, the religious impulse does not die after the murder of God; it gets redirected into "political religions." Politics then becomes a matter of belief and fanaticism, instead of rational discourse and debatable opinions. Despite the abstractness of some of its theoretical concerns, this book is very readable and jargon-free. Those with no prior reading in philosophy may need to look up a term now and again such as "ontology." I recommend it as a good, short introduction to the kind of sober and ordered thought that we so desperately need after the century of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot.

Voegelin has done the public a great service by tracing a common thread of gnosticism amongst modern political philosophies. He goes to Marx's juwish roots in order to expose the theme of the golem that underlies Marxian thought as laid out in Marx's Political and Economic Manuscripts. The Kabbalistic underpinnings of socialistic philosophy forecasts these philosophies as gnostic philosophies.

Although Voegelin indulges in almost pure abstraction (characterisitic of his German education) it is quite accurate since it exposes the naked truth a la Jack Kerouac of these ideas.

The gnostic character of modern philosophies, such as Hegel, Comte, Marx, feminism and so on comes out in the theme of "alienation." Alienation from the rest of society is the result of some form of discord or disharmony. Recourse to a "secret knowledge" will reveal the solution to this problem of disharmony. Applying this secret knowledge will result in an "immanenitizing of the eschaton."

The last concept comes from Roman Catholic scholarship in defining the heresy of gnosticism. In article 676 of the Catholic catechism, it says that: "The AntiChrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the "intrinsically perverse" political form of a secular messianism." Voegelin says that gnosticism tries to bring about a heaven on earth or "immanentize the eschaton." When Kabbalists such as Marx go to the tree of life to get enlightenment to solve problems here and now, zen buddhist like, he tries to be the divine savior of himself.

Thus, Marxism is gnostic since it teaches of alienation of the proletariat whose special knowledge of communism, as embodied in the communist manifesto, assists him in remedying this defect in the socio-economic structure, this disharmony, and the very possibility of this ability to heal his own problem is an immanentizing of the eschaton, of creating heaven on earth without God's help.

The feminist argues that there is discord in the social structure due to patriarchy. The special knowledge of the superiority of matriarchy will remedy this and bring an end to wars, domination and so on. Thus, female chauvanism is to replace male chauvanism (clearly reaching a hypocritical end).

This is just the icing on the cake. Voegelin goes through many ideas, but the aforementioned summary constitutes a common theme uniting all of his discussion in this terse yet dense book.