D Books

I have read a lot of self help books over the years (I'm over 50) and this is the best one to come out in a long time. If you are at all unhappy with any aspect of your life or ready to make change for whatever reason, this book is a "must read". =)

As I read the case studies in this book, I recognized many of my peers who are in need of the resources that the author provides for developing a renewed personal passion for life. Anyone trying to energize the search for personal direction for the next life stage will appreciate the specific suggestions and examples. I have read this book twice already. Another book that I recommend is" The Five People You Meet in Heaven", and "He Never Called Again."

Her book is magic! Best of all, she is an author who genuinely cares about her readers! An amazingly kind and knowledgable person. Do yourself (and Suzanne)a favor and buy this book. You will absolutlely love it. I am a real fan of hers: you will be also if you read her books.

A dear friend of mine gave me this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Dr. Zoglio does an excellent job of describing the keys to happiness. Long ago, I independently arrived at many of the same conclusions about happiness, but I have never been able to articulate them as clearly and simply as Dr. Zoglio does in her book. While reading it, I found myself underlining text and writing notes on almost every page. I have subsequently bought my friend her own copy and also bought copies for my two grown-up children with the hope that the book will "tickle" them, too.

I was a little disappointed in this book. I had expected something original and different. It seemed to be a summary of books I had already read. The ideas were good and there was nothing wrong with the book but it was nothing new. I really didn't find one idea that wasn't similar to something I had heard or read before.

My mother-in-law gave this book to my kids when they were young and they still remember the story of the little boy and his pet fish. A must for any kids' book collection.

Almost every nite we read "Mr. Carp" as my son calls it. Such a sweet story. I don't even mind reading it 700 times. I take it on vacation too. You'll love it.

This was one of my favorite books as a child and it was my daughter's absolute favorite book as a child.
Every new child in our family gets a copy of this book and it has become a favorite for all of them.

When my son was a little boy, this was his favorite book. He wanted to take it out of the library so many times that I finally bought a copy and gave it to him for Christmas.

My little grandson is two years old and he has 3 goldfish. I thought the book would be appropriate for him -- and he loves it.

This book is so cool. You just got to read this book. You'll laugh your pants off. You just got to read this book.

Interesting, detailed story. Typical Kertzer. A must read for students of Italian, Church and/or Jewish history.

We are accustomed to viewing excellent documentaries on the TV and the big screen. It is nice to find a literary documentary just as enjoyable. The mid 19th century was an incredible time for change. Europe was adjusting to the post Napoleonic ideals of political and religious freedom. The United States was fighting against the secular immorality of slavery. Prussia was building a military machine to dominate Europe. Italy was struggling with a unification which would require shedding the medieval yoke of the Catholic Church. In the midst of these changes a 6 year old Jewish boy , Edgardo Mortara, is kidnapped within the Papal States under orders of the Inquisition. The charge is that the boy has been secretly baptized. The baptism cannot be undone and therefore the boy cannot continue to live with his Jewish parents. Governments from around the world protest the kidnapping and Pope Pius IX responds with traditional dogma. This is a wonderful researched narrative which brings together themes which will be of interest to Christians, Jews and any reader curious about the changing role of the Roman Catholic Church in this period of European history.

The excellent DVD, "Secret Files of the Inquisition", (available from Amazon and Netflix) dramatizes part of this story and includes commentary by the author, David Kertzer.

Simply one of the most insightful books I have ever read. Thank you Mr. Kertzer for illuminating this fascinating event in our history.

Douglas Wood has already summarized and evaluated this book, justly praising its historical worth. I'd like to add a note about its shock value; in a moment of history when anti-semitism seems to be a joke in some people's minds, surely this is a book that might make the pain and folly of bigotry "real" in terms of a single family, and therefore accessible to readers who can't empathize with mass tragedy.
It's also quite a thrilling book to read, by the way, a better detective story by far than Dan Brown could manufacture.

A Jewish family's illiterate Catholic housekeeper sprinkles well-water over an infant child and furtively mumbles the baptismal sacrament. When the Inquisitor learns of the deed, he orders the kidnapping of the then six-year-old Jewish boy. This foul deed is almost certainly sanctioned by the highest levels of the Catholic hierarchy. The police forcibly remove the child from his family's Bologna home and swiftly transport him to the Church's House of Catechumens in Rome for reeducation. Despite all protests from the boy's family and the Jewish community and in the face of a destabilizing international uproar, the Holy Father refuses to yield. By holy grace, the boy has been miraculously saved and the Church keeps him, inculcates him in the Catholic Christian religion, and assiduously converts the boy.

The boy kidnapped in the name of religion? Edgardo Mortara. The Holy Father in question? Pope Pius IX. The year? 1858. That's right 1858, not 1458, not 1658, but smack dab in the middle of 19th century Europe.

Historian David Kertzer tells the complete tale in his excellent work, `The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara.' As Kertzer relates in the epilogue he learned to his surprise that there was no reliable work on this topic. Kertzer sets out to remedy this gap and succeeds by examining the episode in fine detail. Using detailed court and police investigation records, Kertzer explores numerous evidentiary questions such as whether the baptism took place at all, whether the proper conditions for a valid lay baptism existed, who put the girl up to it, and how did the Inquisition find out about it?

The story is told against the background of the movement to unify Italy under secular rule. And here is yet another surprise for the uninitiated reader, including this one: until 1861 the Pope was still the temporal ruler of a wide swath of the Italian peninsula (this rule continued on a lesser scale to 1870). The treatment of young Edgardo was one of the factors that helped build support across Italy and internationally for the Risorgimento or Italian reunification.

The episode also hastened Pius IX's evolution, shall we say, to reactionary beliefs. Pius IX not only made papal infallibility part of Church dogma, but he also issued his infamous Syllabus of Errors in 1864, a broad attack on rationalism, science, and religious freedom - really a frontal assault on the Enlightenment and most other signs of progress in the previous three centuries. If Kertzer's book does nothing more than direct his reader's attention to this astonishing document, he has succeeded in the historian's task.

Kertzer examines the trial of the Inquisitor in detail and the formidable difficulties facing the prosecution. For example, what crime did the Inquisitor commit when his acts were legal at the time he committed them? Would the new government prove willing to violate the fundamental principle that the accused must have had notice of the illegality of his acts?

As for Edgardo, he remained with the Church fathers until he reached his majority and by then his conversion had firmly taken hold. He went on to become a famed proselytizer for Catholicism especially among the Jewish peoples. This role may help explain why this story has remained untold: it embarrassed Jews and Catholics alike.

Some readers may find the detail devoted to the investigations and trials to be excessive, but bear in mind that Kertzer is writing the seminal history of Edgardo's kidnapping. A fascinating tale full of surprises, very highly recommended.

I have had a Stedman's and Taber's medical dictionary for years (20+) and they had gotten a bit long in the tooth so I bought this book and Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary as I thought Dorland's looked slightly better than Stedman's. I decided to compare definitions of a word in both books and Mosby's definition was impressive enough to have me make the purchase (amiodarone was the word, a cardiovascular drug). I used it while studying for a recertification examination and found it by my side as I went through several other books.

This book was the single best resource I had after purchasing almost $1k worth of new books!

The quantity of definitions may not exceed Dorlands, but the QUALITY of the definitions is SUPERB. You get not only a skeleton, minimalist definition but a mini-tutorial of each topic. Just the dermatology related definitions alone with pictures kept me from buying a dermatology book. Definition after definition I looked up - and this went well over a thousand words, perhaps 2 or 3k words - resulted in getting an excellent authoritative discussion of a topic, giving the most salient points in a concise and highly readable form. I had in excess of a 99% 'hit rate' of finding highly useful information with each lookup. Doing this with Dorland's gave me the most trivial definitions in comparison, often little more than the pronunciation of the word and a circular reference to another definition. I gave up after about 100 words as an exercise in time wasting.

I put this book right up there with the Merck Manual as absolute must haves for any serious student of medicine - from the senior specialist to the beginning nursing student. I give it the highest accolades.

I have two more words for how this helped me study for my exam - THANK YOU !

I am glad I bought this one to cross reference and for more thorough definition for my med term course; it got lots of vivid pictures which I even like. I highly recommend this book.

I purchased the Mosby's Medical Dictionary and I am extremely pleased with it. It has many color photos throughout the book so you can see examples of diseases, skin disorders, etc. It is a great book, well worth the money, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Item came just as described and on time. I would definitely work with them again.

I got this book because it had such awesome reviews. I'm going to be taking a test in the near future, and you're allowed to use a medical dictionary, and I picked this one.

I've been taking practice tests. On the first practice test I took, the first 6 out of 7 medical terms I tried to look up weren't in the book. I was stunned, and several of them were pretty basic words that I just wanted to get a very clear definition of.

I'm not sure it's even going to be worth lugging this book to the test, or even keeping the book. I may just sell it and try another book.

Jane

It's not often I get a chance to read a book for pleasure these days however I was sent a book a few months ago which I have only just picked up at the beginning of the month.

The book is entitled "Sound health, Sound wealth; The biology of hope and manifestation" by Dr. Luanne Oakes, PH.D. this was written for the personal development blog www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/blog

Frequency treatment CD

The book comes with a frequency treatment CD which I have pretty much played every day since I received the book. I would say the CD alone is worth the price of the book. I play it in the car, every day, on the way to meeting my clients. I have found it keeps me centered and focused on my job. I also play it when I am picking my boys up from the scouts. My eldest son has asked me to play it on the way to school as it helps him to relax, which is a huge accolade, as he is currently listening to the `Nickelback' and `Guns and Roses'CD all the time and doesn't like any of my CDs.

The book

The book resonated with me from the introduction as Luanne speaks about the power of changing your thoughts to change your life, which is of course the title of my blog. So I was grabbed straight away as I firmly believe in the power of thoughts to change your life.

The book itself is split up into eight chapters, each with a principle:

Chapter 1: The principle of resonance
Chapter 2: The principle of future memories
Chapter 3: The principle of Your Magical Diving Experiment
Chapter 4: The principle of Energetic Boundaries; The power of `No'
Chapter 5: The principle of transforming time
Chapter 6: The principle of Sound and Light, Part One; The biology of hope
Chapter 7: The principle of Sound and Light, Part Two; How to enhance your life force
Chapter 8: The principle of True wealth; Sound wealth is true wealth.

I don't want to go through all the principle above. Instead I have chosen the two that resonated with me the most and the ones which I could use in my daily life.

The principle of future memories

Luanne has introduced a new phrase `Quantum Hologram' which, as I understand it, is your own personal belief on the being, or the force which is helping you in your life. She takes great care not to bring religion into the book but it is clear that she is speaking to people form all beliefs and faiths and the Quantum Hologram is your belief in what controls the world around you including synchronicity. The Quantum Hologram sounds like something from Star Trek (The Next generation) but it is a good way to visualise the life force which helps us in life.

Your thoughts are part of that life force and ultimately you are controlling the life force which in turn helps you to create the life you want.

Luanne describes a system using `Feeling based faith' to create your future memories and is quite powerful. It is a way of connecting your feelings and mind to the Quantum Hologram to get what you most desire in life. The analogy she uses for this is `like sending an e-mail'. Luanne advises keeping a feeling based journal, describing the different feelings you have experienced throughout the day. By writing these down you are releasing the energy of them from yourself out into the open, which leaves you feeling lighter, more energetic and less burdened in order to send your own wishes out into the universe. Or

Although I didn't use a journal for the feeling based writing I tried it for a few days in my head and it does help. It's like putting a label on your feelings and then releasing them out into the open, quite powerful.

Luanne litters this chapter with stories about science and personal experiences which I found very interesting.

The principle of true wealth

I am deeply interested in prosperity and wealth and am forever clearing my thoughts and actions for the attainment of wealth and prosperity. Every day I am coming to an understanding of true wealth and what it really means and the more I understand the more I am receiving.

That's what this chapter is all about. Luanne tells a story of a homeless person by the name of Simon who taught her about true wealth through the friendship they struck up over the years.

I am slowly beginning to realise about wealth being an inner game and this book and this chapter reinforced this for me.

Luanne advises that there are certain principles to true wealth which are:

* Being in the present moment
* Being in divine flow
* Frequent experience of Compassion, Reverence, Love Peace and Joy
* The ability to forgive
* Giving without attachment
* Certainty that we are all one
* Certainty in a power greater than yourself
* Certainty that there are enough resources for all of us
* The ability to accurately assess your own and others strengths and weaknesses
* The ability to be grateful for something
* The ability to reduce the intensity for negative thoughts.

Belief is also an important part of attracting wealth into your life. If you believe you can't make money or don't deserve it you will never receive it.


Conclusion

I found the book a great read and I particularly liked the stories in the book. Although it said it is a scientific look at health and wealth there is not much science in the book that explains manifestation. I also found that Luanne was using new phrases to describe old concepts but you will recognise these straight away as trying to bring the old concepts into the minds of a newer generation.

I enjoyed the book and particularly the CD and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the `law of attraction', `Manifestation' and becoming healthy and wealthy.

This is a book for those who are searching for answers. Sound Health Sound Wealth is packed full of higher wisdom with a quantum leap into future changes we can all live with. I have bought several copies and given them to friends. Thank you to the author, Dr. Luanne Oakes.

This is a good read and more. The text sets the stage and atmosphere for understanding and give the tools to change for the better. The CD enclosed is beyond wonderful. I have used this both for humans and animals to calm and center them. I often work with TNR of feral cats, wild creatures, whether getting them ready for surgery or calming them post-op, the tones and natural sounds calm them into 'Buddha cats.' Luanne has done a fine job. I use this resource almost daily.

One of THE BEST books I've read on sound and energetic healing.... and I have a HUGE library of integrative healing books! I enjoy the CD often... especially in the evening.

This book and also the cd in the back of the book by Luanne Oakes have been a huge gift in my life.

I literally started downloading information from Source while listening to the cd . The guidance coming through to me now is Clear and Divinely Inspired. I can feel myself opening through blockages that have been in my way for years.

Thank you for sharing yourself and work with the world. We are ready and grateful to receive it.
Sanandra Black
Creator of Sea Chi Organics skin and haircare products

As a Vietnam combat vet I cannot be objective about this book. As I read it, I couldn't help comparing it to my own experiences of re-integrating into civilian life following my service. As I read The Bonus Army I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the sacrifices these men and their families made, not just in war, but in the aftermath.

Paul Dickson and Thomas B. Allen set out to chronicle an event, but wound up giving us a look at how politicians deal with the pesky problem of what to do with returning veterans. One of the most shocking aspects of The Bonus Army is how quickly the same men who cheered from the grandstands as these soldiers went off to war in 1918 now wanted them washed away and forgotten.

As an American war veteran I am grateful to Dickson and Allen for writing this book. It should be read by every returning Global War On Terror (GWOT) vet. Like freedom itself, when it comes to holding government to their promises after the trumpets fade, you only get what you are willing to fight for.

I knew little about the Bonus Army, other than Patton's role in breaking up their camp in Anacostia. Little, indeed. This book brings to life a rich period of U.S. history where the nation--or parts of the nation--came together in a period of economic desperation. There are a few villians, but far more unexpected heroes of high and low station determined to see fellow American treated with dignity and respect. This is truly a wonderful read that places the veterans in the Bonus Army in the same tradition as those who kept our republic alive at Valley Forge.

In the Prologue, the authors state victorious war veterans have long vexed politicians noting that "Early in the Revolutionary war, the Continental Congress provided for both disabled veterans and the dependents of soldiers killed in battle" and that "The last surviving dependent of the Revolutionary war continued to receive benefits until 1911." The authors write "By1932, the amount paid to Civil War (Union) veterans and their survivors amounted to twice the cost of the war." After World War I, in 1924 Congress passed a law that granted the WWI veterans a bonus. However, payment of the bonus was constantly delayed. The end result was the WWI veterans formed a bonus army that marched to Washington D.C. in 1932 to lobby for the bonus. Historians have given only passing references to the bonus marches, however their significance was great and their influence continues to today.

The first half of the text gives an excellent account of the 1932 bonus march. They called themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force (BEF), and they traveled in freight cars, state trucks, private autos, motorcycles and some even walked. They began arriving in June 1932, and upon arrival in Washington they were politically supported by the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars as well many members of Congress, principally Wright Patman. Fortunately, in 1932 the Washington Police Chief, Pelham Glassford, was a competent and fair chief who looked to the welfare of the bonus marchers. The BEF Commander-in-Chief was Walter Walters who was also competent, and was able to exercise control of the BEF that could have become a vicious mob. The major issue was by law the bonus couldn't be paid until 1945. However, by 1932 the nation was mired in the Great Depression, and many veterans desperately needed the bonus. However, the bonus exceeded the income of the government so both Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt vetoed early payment of the bonus.

The military erroneously thought the 1932 bonus veterans consisted of ex-criminals, radicals and non-servicemen and; were controlled by communists. However,Walter Waters bitterly opposed the communists. The BEF and splinter groups were encamped in Washington in vacant buildings plus 15,000 veterans and about 1,100 wives and children were camped in tents and shacks at Anacostia. Most interesting was the fact that at Anacostia and in the other camps, the color line didn't exist. The text contains several interesting personal stories. After the veterans made several attempts to secure payment of their bonus, Police Chief Glassford was told that beginning July 22 and completed by August 4, the bonus veterans had to be out of their camps; the Army now had control of the bonus armies. The army burned camp Anacostia and used tanks, bayonets and tear gas to expel the vets and their families from Washington. Two civilian casualties were attributed to Army eviction activities.

The text next covers two subsequent bonus marches on Washington in 1933 and 1934. In order to keep veterans from camping in Washington, the administration set up work camps for veterans in South Carolina and Florida. The hurricane that struck the Florida Keys on Labor Day 1935;was devastating and especially hard on the veterans in work camps on the Florida Keys. 259 veterans lost their lives. U.S. Government officials tried to cover-up the government's failure to take proper measurers to prevent lost of life maintaining it was due to "an act of God." Most interesting Ernest Hemmingway who lived on Key West wrote an excellent critique of the government's failure to take proper actions to evacuate the keys and avoid injuries and lost of life. The text provides an interesting account of this sad affair.

On January 27, 1936, Roosevelt's veto of a new bonus bill was overridden and the cash bonus finally became a reality. `The new bill differed from the earlier Patman bills in that this bill called for the issuing of bonds in $50 denominations.... that could be redeemed on June 15 or held at 3-percent interest to maturity in 1945."

With the United States entry into, World War II, Congress introduced legislation to provide benefits for the men and women in the military. By the end of 1943, 243 bills on veterans legislation were pending before Congress. Amazingly beginning on December 15, 1943, a special committee of the American Legion drafted a rough version of veteran's legislation laying the groundwork for what eventually became the GI Bill of Rights. The bill was signed by President Roosevelt on June 22, 1944 and provided six benefits: education and training; loan guaranty for a home, farm or business; unemployment pay of $29 a week for up to fifty-two weeks; job-finding assistance; top priority for building materials for VA hospitals; and military review of dishonorable discharges.

The text ends stating "Millions of Americans have since peacefully marched on Washington in support of various causes, their way paved by the veterans of 1932." This book is excellently researched, well written and hopefully will place the bonus march in its proper place in American history.

If you went to college or bought a house on the GI Bill you can thank the Bonus Army, a ragtag group of WW I vets who converged on Washington, DC in 1932 demanding payment of their dollar a day bonus promised to them after years of political wrangling. They were called communists, criminals and freeloaders by the president and members of congress during the worst years of the depression. President Hoover used US troops commanded by General Douglas MacArthur to drive them out of the city and the American voters were so outraged the incident helped carry FDR to the White House that fall. It would still be several years before the bonus was paid but the saga of the bonus army paved the way for the GI Bill of Rights and provided a model for every mass protest held in the capital since.
Dickson and Allen provide a stirring narrative with an all star cast that includes Herbert Hoover, George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, Andrew Mellon, Dwight Eisenhower and J Edgar Hoover.
The Bonus Army has faded from view over time and this worthy book brings an important era in or history back into focus.

Allen and Dickson have written a very compelling book on the history of the Bonus Army, veterans from World War I who converged on Washington in 1932 and subsequent years to demand their promised payment known as the "bonus". The authors give us a good background as to who some of these veterans were, what conditions were like in the country during the years of the First World War and the next two decades after that, who some of the major players were in the debates and issues concerning the Bonus Army and their time in the nation's capital, and lastly how our nation would treat veterans of future wars.

This book details some of the men who made up the bonus army and where they came from in their move towards the nation's capital, with special emphasis on Walter Waters and his group of men from Portland and their journey eastwards. In addition to these Bonus marchers we learn of Pelham Glassford, the Washington D.C. Police Chief who oversaw the gathering veterans, citizens and groups who gave aid to the veterans on their journey to Washington and while they stayed in the city, politicians like Representative Wright Patman who became a leading advocate for the veterans in the halls of Congress, and of course other political and military figures who would play crucial roles in the issues and events surrounding the Bonus Army.

We also learn of how America perceived these veterans as they marched towards Washington and during their stay there. One of the constant worries of some in power at the time, those in the Hoover Administration, the Congress, and the military was the threat of communism, i.e. the Red Scare. Some believed many of these veterans weren't real veterans, believing many had criminal backgrounds and held communist views who wanted nothing less than to incite violence in the nation's capitol or even overthrow the U.S. Government. These worries were vastly over exaggerated as there were very few communists in this group of veterans, and those that were had little or no influence. These were loyal Americans who had fallen on hard times and needed and deserved some help from their government.

The events of the end of July 1932 have garnered the most attention and left the most indelible impressions on the minds of those who have any knowledge of the Bonus Army. This was when the military was called out to disperse the veterans who had encamped in vacant city buildings as well as the larger concentration of veterans who had gathered at sites like Camp Marks on the Anacostia River.The use of force to disperse the Bonus marchers became a damaging symbol that left a stain on the Hoover Administration as well as the reputation of Gen. Douglas MacArthur who had led the effort to rid the city of these veterans. The authors of this book are fair in spreading blame and correcting some myths that had developed after these events, for example there were not upwards of 100 casualties in this event, which is detailed in one of the appendices at the end of the book.

Even FDR did not support the bonus payment, but his veto was overridden by both houses of Congress in 1936, thus the bonus became a reality. But the real accomplishment, as the authors mentioned, was the piece of legislation known as the GI Bill passed in 1944, helping veterans from the Second World War to secure the needed and well-deserved assistance from the federal government to help them fit back into civilian life. As the authors believe, the Bonus Army of 1932 and those that followed had led the way in securing even greater promises for future veterans who deserved and still deserve the thanks from a grateful nation. Allen and Dickson are to be commended for writing this compelling and important book on an often all too summarized period in American history.

We love dogs especially and we used to have a beautiful black lab but she's gone to heaven now! Our children got this lab for their stepfather years ago for Father's Day and of all the pets we have had over the years; this one was extra special to us! The book is great but the hubby cannot read much of it right now as he misses lady a lot. But, from what I've seen, I like it and believe others will too! I am a big fan of the Chicken Soup books and have always been impressed with their books and this one is no exception!

Haven't had time to read a book in quite some time. I made time for this one. If your a dog lover, you can't go without reading this book. LOVED IT.
Purchaed 3 copies and gave two away.

This book is for you! Typical Chicken Soup fare but on the plus side, dogs are the lead characters. Lots of tearjerkers, heart warmers and amusing anecdotes. The format makes for perfect short reads (bathroom, waiting for appointments, lunch breaks). I recommend it highly.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I love the stories and many of them bring me to tears. They're all great & really show the unconditional love of our dogs.

Bought this for my doggy-loving husband for Christmas. He travels a lot, so he says it will be perfect airplane reading material! He's already read a few of the stories and loved them.

Great book especially for novices! It gave you enough information to prepare for the birth, understand and know what to anticipate. We had 2 books handy while our chi gave birth to 6 puppies! Puppy birth is very similar to human birth in alot of ways. So, if you've been through child birth whether it's yourself or a loved one, the main thing is to remain calm and be there for your dog. They will appreciate you for it!

This book was of great help, particularly when our pups began to dehydrate after birth. There were only 2 things it did not prepare us for, having smaller than normal litters and the mother's nervous behavior affecting her care of such a small litter. According to the emergency vet on holiday call, there are breed specific behaviors which play into the mother's care and can interfere. My only wish was that I could have found a book more specific to my breed. As a general instruction manual, it was of great help. The two little pups are dear and are doing well now, 2 weeks later.

We just had a litter and everything went great. There are nine healthy pups. We had to do the slinging thing with one pup, and with the illustrations and directions it worked and the pup is healthy. We didn't loose one!!!

I bought this book to help me get through breeding my two Yorkies. It was comprehensive and easy for the non-vet to understand. If I had a question, it had the answer.

Excellent book. My dog just delivered 8 healthy puppies. I had read the book several weeks earlier and kept reffering to it as the whelping approached. It directed me all through the process and I learned many things that helped me avoid what would have been costly mistakes.

Being a bit of a nostalgia freak, I have more than a few books highlighting 50s and 60s pop culture. This is my second favorite, with only Populuxe rating higher. It's a memory-invoking rush of nostalgic nosh, with plenty for your mind to delightfully delight in. You'll treasure this book. Ton of full color pictures and lively appreciative writing makes you want to read this book again and again. Holy Nostalgia, Batman!

After hearing about this both the book and the CD, both by Hal Lifson, I just had to get these. I could not put this book down. I called my mother about it and thanked her for letting me born in such a cool year! I have always been a fanatic for that type of pop culture in the '60's. My sister once told me that I was born twenty years too late! After reading this book, I couldn't agree with her more! If you know someone who was born in 1966, and looking for a birthday gift for them, look no further than this book. This book rocks, and so does Hal Lifson!

What a groovy book, baby! I was only three years old in 1966 but I remember just about everything in this delightful scrapbook that's a time capsule for everything from that hip decade.

Hal Lifson has collected photos, ads, album covers, toys, etc. that brings back a very cool, swingin' period in American culture. The Beatles, Batman, James Bond, Playboy, Nancy Sinatra--they're all here!

Definitely a book for anyone alive at the time. Or anyone interested in what that was like.

Hal Lifson took me on a journey that was so exciting, I couldn't stand it! From Batman to The Monkees to the Beach Boys song "Wouldn't It Be Nice", I feel like I've relived my childhood all over again. Now if I only had my Batman utility belt again....

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to take that journey, even if you weren't born yet!

"Hal Lifson's 1966" is, indeed, the ultimate time machine. It works on two distinct levels. First, having lived in the San Fernando Valley during that period, I found the book to be the most delightful, teary-eyed journey back to the old stomping grounds...who says you can't go back home?! To see a picture of the old Encino Bowl...the last time I even thought about it was when I was sneaking a smoke in the parking lot on the way back from ELEMENTARY school! Second, and more important (yes, important), "Hal Lifson's 1966" captures the innocence of the period...perhaps the last innocence the country enjoyed before it was forced to grow up during the Watergate hearings. Indeed, the lack of any political references keeps the journey a magical mystery tour. Honey West, Catwoman, NANCY SINATRA...many a 13-year-old boy lost his innocence "appreciating" these classically sexy women. Thanks, Hal.

I come to the conclussion that The Man Who Laughs is the most descriptive, saddest, romantic and most beautifully written book that Victor Hugo has written. It is unfortunate that this book doesn't have the standing that Les Miserables or Our Lady of Notre Dame occupies. Also, it is a very hard to find book, specially in Spanish, which is my first language. The traduction is done extremely well (I have verified it with a Russian version I have). It is highly recommended.

This is a difficult and demanding read, but entirely worth it for those who want more from a novel. The story is of a confrontation of moral opposites set in England in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as a deliberately disfigured outcast named Gwynplaine faces a powerful conflict between the simple life of a mountebank, with the love of a pure-hearted blind girl, and the power, glamor, and corruption of nobility, with the love of a depraved, self-loathing noblewoman. Gwynplaine's disfigurement hides his true identity from all, including himself; and out of the eventual revelation of this truth, Hugo constructs a magnificent and heart-wrenching symbolic drama that is as filled with meaning as anything you'll find in literature. Again, this is not light reading, and it is not made for those who prefer to breeze through an action thriller in an afternoon.

Hugo has much to say about the destructive nature of political power, as well as the envy and injustice that conspire to keep the high and low in their respective places. The Mohawk Club of the nobility exemplifies these themes through their vicious and destructive pranks, victimizing the helpless in the name of "fun."

Hugo's contempt for the period's institutions of power is evident throughout the novel; on the wicked Barkilphedro's rise to prominence, he writes: "He had crawled where he wanted. Flat beasts can get in everywhere. Louis XIV had bugs in his bed and Jesuits in his policy. The incompatibility is nil." Clearly this is a novel of ideas, written by one who had a great deal to say and knew how to express it. Even so, I must acknowledge that Hugo's expository passages, although witty, impassioned, and eloquent, occasionally become a distraction from the story.

Hugo's style is astonishingly lofty, in a way that just doesn't happen in the present day. It is an ambitious and demanding discipline, now so far gone that we scarcely even know to miss it. As such, it may strike today's readers as unnatural and overdone; or so it did to me, at first. But by the finish, I was fully seduced into Hugo's stylistic world, and left unable to choose what to read next -- for what is there today that is even conscious of this standard of craftsmanship? I can only imagine how much of the effect of this high language is lost in translation from the original French.

If you are interested in this book, I strongly recommend the Paper Tiger edition, with its afterword by Shoshana Milgram. This afterword was of great use in understanding the book's ending, which to me was difficult; it clarified how the ending was necessitated by the novel's overall theme -- and it made the extent of Hugo's achievement that much more evident.

I read this book as a teenager, along with "Toilers of the Sea," Ninety Three" and "Hunchback of Notre Dame."
I have re-read only "Toilers of the Sea" and found it as riveting now as were all of Hugo's book then. I can't imagine a library system not containing these timeless classics or their being out of print.

I have read almost all of Hugo's novels and I feel he was a master beyond most as far as story telling goes. This particular books is ingenious with the various characters and the twists and turns and the tragedies and political statements. It broke my heart, while exciting me to cheer on the lead character in his efforts to right the wrongs of the parliament. I loved the characters of this books and the story line and I would strongly recommend it to any who are fans of "Hunchback" or "Les Miz" (forgive me). While I really loved Les Miz (and again, it broke my heart, as did the musical,which I thought was brilliant), this is the one that stayed with me. I read it many years ago and have a number of copies (some very old). When I bought this movie, I had no expectations, and I was amazed to see how much of the story was included. It was brilliantly produced, directed and acted. Even though it is a silent movie, it speaks volumes. I highly recommend the book and then the film. I also urge everyone to see the musical "Les Miserables" because it is all so wonderful. Hugo was a true master!

This is extremely well written and the story is easy to follow. The story had me smile and cry. The method that Victor Hugo collected the sections of this book is similiar to the style Ayn Rand used in writing Atlas Shrugged-my favorite book. The Man Who Laughs is one I think every Victor Hugo fan would want to read and read again--I loved it!