Cohen Books

This is an excellent scientific study which methodically argues several strains of evidence to support the overarching theory. The arguments are very well supported with many graphs and data tables.

Excellent book! Used in my M.P.A. Thesis (ARP) literature review for "DO MESS WITH IT! A Sociopolitical Study of Littering and the Role of Southern and Nearby States" (www.uweb.txstate.edu/~ps07/sspacekabs.html). Nisbett and Chen mention the historical yet negative effects of prevailing Scotch-Irish temperament dominating the entire Southern United States. An "absence of the state" and the region's remote population and geography conspired against law enforcement demanding citizen compliance with regulatory edicts. "A man's personal strength," not always based on good character, determined his social credibility, leading to a might makes right mindset and accompanying violence--"a Culture of Honor." My thesis takes Nisbett and Chen further to plausibly explain why this "Culture" helps contribute to a negative legacy of southern environmental attitudes: a corrupt, elitist, Traditionalistic Political Culture; leading high state murder rates; year after year low quality-of-life scores (in comparison to non-southern states).

The culture of honor is a fascinating look at the role that cultural traditions can play in determining the incidence of homocide and other forms of violence. What I liked most about the book was the way Nisbett and Cohen used all the tools of social science, from survey and archival research to clever laboratory experiments to test their thesis. The way in which they "broke down" their data was particularly convincing. For instance they showed that where cultural influences were strongest(for example, in small towns rather than big cities)the North-South differences in homocide rates were greatest.While there were a lot of statistical tables and graphs, the book was easy and entertaining to read. I would especially recommend it for people who are interested in understanding about regional differences in American ideas about taking the law into your own hands, and for undergraduates who want to get a good look at the way social scientists can tackle complicated questions.

Gives great definitions of basic but much confused terms like nation,culture, state etc. Beyond , it is wise, learned and and a real call for an end to hierarchy and domination , superior and inferior statuses in our thought and in society. We need more books like this that really critique American society.

"Culture of Intolerance: Chauvinism, Class, and Racism in the United States," by Mark Nathan Cohen, is a fascinating book. Cohen writes in a clear, accessible style, and handles controversial issues with a firm and non-sensational confidence.

Cohen begins by considering the impact of the controversial book "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life," by Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray. Cohen goes on to deconstruct prevailing notions about "race." He claims "'Races' as depicted in the popular imagination do not exist and have never existed" (chapter 2) and considers such scientific evidence as data about blood types in order to support his assertion.

Cohen examines human culture, language in particular, and considers the often arbitrary nature of cultural phenomena. Among the phenomena he discusses are "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," breast feeding, IQ tests, and the debate over "Ebonics." Overall, an intelligent, thought-provoking book.

This is a tremendous achievement: the book is readable, insightful, and original in the way it describes bias and inequality in America today. The book adds to a large number of books in the social sciences that try to understand why there is so much inequality today -- so few African-Americans, women and others at the top -- when so many people say that they don't intend to discriminate. Social psychologists have spent lots of time developing elaborate experimental theories of ingroup favoritism and concepts like aversive racism. This book, however, makes very similar points without getting bogged down in the technical details of experiments. It is an excellent book for an introduction to thinking about bias -- a superb book for an undergraduate course and many graduate seminars.

This is one of the best books to learn how to play the blues on piano you will ever find. The book and accompanying CD gives you all you need to learn the blues from the basics to more advanced as well as to create your own style.

I'm going to sound like I'm gushing here, but I can't say enough about the series 1 and 2 book/cd combos from this artist. I had searched for exactly this for quite awhile. After purchasing several other "Blues" books I was a bit discouraged. Then I found these. WOW! As he's teaching you can tell how much he loves the music, loves teaching, and genuinely desires it to be useful to you. I can tell from these he's a good man. Using simple basslines and written out solos, along with improvising ideas and rythm patterns he takes you quickly to the point of sounding like a real bluesman(blueswoman). Between the two volumes (you really will want both, trust me) he teaches you some beautiful slow blues. Some of the other basslines he provides lend themselves very well to the Slow Blues. Plenty of shuffle rythm blues in volume 1, and some really cool, driving straight time rythm boogies in volume 2. Thank you very much for these David!

Over the past two years, I have laid hands on just about every "learn piano blues" book I have been able to track down. Some helped me a lot, others less so. Some were fine for an outright beginner, others needed you to be a fully trained musician to make any sense of them.

Daniel Cohen's book is based on an assumption that you know musical notation as far as you would learn it in the first few months of normal piano lessons. Apart from that, he starts at square one.

Daniel Cohen's book includes a CD. Even if you read music 100%, the inclusion of a CD is important. Blues rhythms are only approximated by musical notation, so you need to be able to *hear* them if you are going to play them right.

He starts from ground level - the is no assumption that you already know the chords for a 12-bar blues. Step-by-step exercises quickly get you playing simple but satisfyingly authentic sounding blues patterns.

Then he shows you a number of simple building blocks that can be put together to make your own blues solos. He goes on to cover turnarounds and endings - more blues building blocks.

The way Daniel Cohen presents his material all hangs together - for example he gives a demonstration of how the blues scale of the root note sounds fine when played over the three main chords of a blues tune. As soon as you have heard this and learned the notes of the scale, you will be picking out your own blues solo patterns.

One of the nice aspects is how Daniel Cohen's enthusiasm for the music comes across and how he gets you to avoid hangups that might otherwise inhibit your blues progress.

Obviously, one 24-page book (and its 54-track CD) won't cover everything. But if you work through each of the exercises, it will get you off to a very good start on your way to playing blues piano. And you will be on the way to REALLY playing the blues - not just being able to trot out two or three songs with no further way forward.

"Daniel Bennett Cohen Teaches Blues Piano" gets my wholehearted recommendation, with no reservations at all.

I am an aspiring beginner pianist, and this book is for a beginner much better than all the other blues / rock compilations which I browsed or purchased, because the author manages to start with more easy left hand combinations, which are then gradually developed. There is real thought in this (even if you might not realize that at the beginning) and obviously a lot of teaching experience. A great book and for its price a tremendous value.

The book explains the essential of classic rock'n'roll piano technique in the most handsome and 'user-friendly' way. The basics explained are useful for understanding and breaking down some more 'modern' piano styles too. Thanks Mr. Cohen!

I have a couple of books that teach rock n'roll piano, both of which are quite good, but I think that this one has easier voicings for beginners. I like David's commentary on the tape; these things are all very helpful. This book was so good that I am interested in getting some of David's other books.

This book is perfect for parents whose child loves Disney. It has different parties for different age groups, from toddlers up till pre-teens. My two favorite ideas are the Sleeping Beauty Princess sleepover, and the Cinderella party. It has ways to make invatations, recipes for food to go with the party themes, including drinks, and the all important cake. As well as games and party favors. The ideas in here are really cute, and the not only are perfect for birthdays, but for other holidays, like Halloween as well. And most of the ideas in here are realitivly easy, and all are very creative.

If a child (or adult) you know is fond of Disney movies, be sure to pick up this book before you plan their next birthday party! From invitations to food to activities, this book will guide you through planning a party themed to a specific Disney movie. A great resource!

I loved this book. It has excellant ideas for birthday parties that can be along the Disney theme or a similar theme.

There is a lot of detail given to every aspect of the party-and everything can be handmade!

A complete menu is included with theme appropriate foods and desserts!

I have done several parties out of this book and recommend it to anyone that wants to give an awesome party!

MY SON RECEIVED SEVERAL OF THESE BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS. HE LOVES THE BOOKS. AS AN ART STUDENT IN SCHOOL, HE IS REQUIRED TO TURN IN ONE SKETCH FROM HOME EACH WEEK. THE BOOKS GIVE HIM SO MANY IDEAS. WE ARE VERY PLEASED

I teach art in a middle school. When students have finished their assignments early, they may choose one of the how to draw books in my classroom. This book is always chosen first for those that like to draw fantasy pictures. I like to see their excitement after they try one of the pictures. I recommend this book for the 12-14 year old age group, because it is the most requested how to draw book in my classroom.

When I began to read this book I couldn't draw dragons for my life. Now I am the best dragon drawer in the class. It was really helpfull to me, and will be to you to!

You don't need to be a professional to read and enjoy this book. Wish I had read this years ago. It's an amazing book.

This book is astounding! The method of internal dialoguing is simple and very effective in calming those troubling thoughts and feelings that plague us all. If you have a brain, a heart, and want balance, happiness, peace... it means you're human and you will benefit greatly from this book. You will not be disappointed. Well worth it. My only question is... where has this book been hiding?

I loved this book! It made so much sense of the chatter that goes on in my head. Like Eckhart Tolle, Cohen-Posey teaches people to become conscious of how they identify with over-bearing beliefs that keep them trapped in destructive mental/emotional patterns. She breaks the ego down into controlling, protective, pushy, people-pleaser, and critical voices, making them easy to recognize. The "Self" is more than an awareness or a presence and can also point out or guide. The book is full of real-world examples that made it interesting and relevant to read.

I was glad to find out about this book from a Parade magazine review. I've heard some real scary stories from friends about their emergency room experiences. This book tells how to get the best care possible in the ER and what to do to protect yourself from mistakes, long waits, and other ER problems. For anything life threatening, call for an ambulance as you are likely to get attention faster when you arrive at the ER. For a cough, any chronic condition, really push your regular doctor to squeeze you in. That's better than sitting around for hours being exposed to flu and diseases in the ER waiting room.
Don't go alone, as you need someone to be an advocate for you. Their help can make a difference, since you aren't in the best of shape to fight for good care.

Hospital emergency rooms are typically understaffed, overstuffed, and manned with inexperienced doctors and nurses rendering them potentially hazardous to patients. This is the persuasively argued premise of Dr. Joel Cohen's ER: Enter At Your Own Risk. Dr. Cohen goes on to recommend a solid plain of action to avoid real and perceived dangers inside contemporary hospital emergency rooms that will enable non-specialist general readers on how to get treated by experts rather than the inept; how to provide children with the best care; and how to decide when and where to seek emergency professional care. ER is a welcome and invaluable compendium of sound advice in dealing with doctors and medical personnel on call so that when an emergency strikes, they will have all the facts and strategies in hand for being healed and not harmed in a hospital emergency room environment.

If you're like most Americans, it won't be long until either you or someone you love becomes a patient in an emergency room. And, if you're like most Americans, you will blindly trust the doctors and other ER personnel to provide optimal care. That might be a reasonable expectation in a perfect world, but we don't live in a perfect world. We live in a world in which the quality of emergency care is considerably variable from one hospital to another and from one practitioner to another and even from one minute to another. Are you willing to cross your fingers and hope that everything goes well?

Fortunately, you need not leave your fate to chance. If you follow the advice given by Dr. Cohen, you can become an intelligent participant in your care and proactively take steps to reduce a myriad number of risks, any one of which may put you at increased risk of death or disability. Or you can play the blame game, in which you or your survivors point fingers in a courtroom. That's great for lawyers, but is it good for you? Obviously not, if health means more to you than money. Malpractice attorneys like to justify their existence by believing that they're performing a useful public service: namely, punishing doctors for real or imagined errors and thereby enhancing the quality of medical care. In theory, that sounds great. In reality, that system just isn't effective.

If everyone read and followed the advice in this book, Dr. Cohen would do far more to enhance the delivery of first-rate emergency healthcare than every malpractice attorney in this country. Collectively, Dr. Cohen's advice could save billions of dollars and an untold number of tragedies. I don't know of any other book that offers so many helpful ER tips. If you don't read this book, some day you will probably wish you did. Even though I'm an ER doc, I learned some helpful things from Dr. Cohen. His splendid advice could help so many people in so many ways. Do yourself a favor, and read this book.

Review by Kevin Pezzi, M.D., author of "Believe It or Not! True Emergency Room Stories."

This is a recommended reading text in a 3rd yr Env. Science paper here in N.Z. I find it relevant and pertinent - highly recommended

Ms. Cohen and Mr. Nazaroff make environmental science spring to life in this comprehensive, fascinating work which will undoubtedly become the standard text for serious students of the environment worldwide.

3 cheers! When is volume 2 coming???

J. Cahn MSEE Stanford

Nazaroff and Cohen-Alvarez: Where were you when I got interested in this field a long time ago? I used to buy several texts to cover the material ccvered in this great book. It combines information from various disciplines and provides a comprehensive resource that is invaluable. It covers the basics and takes the reader-user through to applications. It is obviously a valuable resource for engineering students and faculty as well as practitioners.

Raphael Cohen-Almagor from the University of Haifa has investigated, studied and published on the issue of euthanasia over the past many years with a special interest in the policy and practice aspects of physician assisted suicide.
This book is a case study over several years of the experience and practice from the Netherlands, where physican assisted suicide has taken place for a long period with this Dutch experience often used by other countries in their ethical and legal search for a solution to this complex problem.
The book is divided into three parts: the background with research reports on the medical practice of euthanasia in the Netherlands from 1990, 1995 and 2001 and the interpretations, fieldwork by the author in the Netherlands in 1999, 2001 and 2002 and finally the conclusions.
The author has produced a well researched addition to this complex and controvertial issue of mercy killing on the basis of an in-depth study of the situation in the Netherlands. The author had published and supported the performance of euthanasia before his study in the Netherlands, but he visits changed his mind and views concerning the practicality and implementation of euthanasia. The shortcomings of the Dutch experience is presented in a clear language and in the conclusion the author provide a set of guidelines for physician assisted suicide to prevent abuse and misuse.
This book has relevance for physicians, nurses, public health professionals, lawyers, sociologists, policy makers and professionals dealing with ethics and the topic of euthanasia.

Professor Joav Merrick, MD
Director, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and Medical director, Division for Mental Retardation, Box 1260, IL-91012 Jerusalem, Israel. E-mail: jmerrick@internet-zahav.net

Euthanasia in the Netherlands is an excellent book on an important topic. It succeeds in giving an even-handed appraisal of Dutch euthanasia practices, providing a better understanding and valuable insights of the Dutch experience with euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Cohen-Almagor analyses clearly and accurately the weaknesses of the policy and offers recommendations for correcting the deficiencies and developing a sounder policy. He combines an overview of the literature with analyses and interpretations of the intriguing interviews he conducted with key people in the Netherlands.

Cohen-Almagor's book is critical but judicious. He gives a balanced account of the views with which he disagrees and he carefully explains the basis for his disagreement. His style of writing is straightforward, clear, easy to follow, logical, and coherent. Bioethicists and other scholars in medicine, public health, and law will be interested in this book. College teachers of medical ethics will also find it valuable, and educated general readers with a special interest in euthanasia will find it helpful.

Writing a book on the Dutch experience with euthanasia is not an easy matter. Several reasons can explain the difficulty. First of all the ethics of the present palliative and terminal care has not been spelled out in detail until recent years. The difficulties every physician meets more than once in his career when confronted with a sincere wish of the patient to die in a humane way in a situation of unbearable suffering, are still puzzling for moral and legal thinking. Secondly, our ways of legal and public thinking are still not adapted to the situation in which death is a part of life, not so much as a natural fact but as a process that can be controlled. The goals of medicine to uphold human dignity and to alleviate suffering are at stake in this process. The Dutch policy to aim at a system of both legal clarity and control is perhaps at this moment the most articulated answer to the difficulties, but will almost certainly not be the last word in the issues of death and dying.

Rafi Cohen-Almagor has contributed much to the ongoing discussions by interviewing all the prominent legal, moral, political and medical people involved in the development of the Dutch legal ruling. His analysis of the interviews is based on clear, lucid thinking and argument. Unlike some others he tries to stay with the facts without entangling them with moral or political prejudice. Instead he tries to develop a view according to best standards of academic thinking. In the end he gives his own conclusion based on his experiences. One does not need to subscribe them in order to appreciate the work Prof. Cohen-Almagor has done. This book will certainly be helpful in every discussion on the legal and moral principles of assistance in dying, in traditions of legal philosophy such as the schools of Dworkin, Rawls and Kelsen. It can help physicians, nurses and others engaged in palliative care to sharpen their views in the ethics of palliative care as well in the forms of public and legal control that are needed in the burdensome but rewarding work of assistance in dying.