Elliott Books

Hollow Kids opens with some very surprising statistics about self-esteem and how it has become infused in our culture and our collective psyches. The authors present these facts in a fast paced, hard hitting, yet entertaining way. I was amazed that with each new chapter, new information about a variety of topics was presented in the same interesting format. I would never have believed that overly high self-esteem could lead to problems such as violence, aggression, and even eating disorders. The authors' points are often rather counter-intuitive, but they back their assertions with compelling evidence and research in addition to their own clinical experiences. The chapters on education and parenting were fantastic. Hollow Kids goes further than most books critical of current cultural trends in that it provides surprisingly useful advice and solutions. Great book!

The older generation is always very critical of the younger one, even though the older one did the parenting. Hollow Kids makes the indictment that young people in the U.S. are more self-absorbed than ever before, and lack values and the skills to accomplish their potential compared to their parents and the world at large. In surveys, teens report feeling pretty good about themselves, but are concerned about appearance and popularity. The key issue for them is whether to have sex or not. On the other hand, depression and other psychological issues are on the rise. Other problems relate to teen violence, addictions, and learning difficulties with basic skills. The book goes on to suggest changes that parents and educators should make to help young people develop more maturity, effectiveness, and obtain more lasting satisfactions from life. The authors are psychologists who draw on their own clinical experiences, research they have conducted and reviews of research done by others to support these points.

The authors connect these observations about what's wrong to the popularity of a theory of boosting childhood self-esteem at home and in school, independent of a child's performance. "You're so special" is the cry, regardless of what lousy thing the child just did. Historically, this idea emerged from Maslow's hierarchy of needs, on the assumption that each person could fulfill higher needs by eliminating artificial barriers at school and at home. The theory as it developed argued for more self-esteem as the solution for almost every developmental issue. Positive thinking theories are also part of this movement.

In contrast, the authors point out that many dysfunctional behaviors are related to already having way too much self-esteem (rapists are often such an example). While some problems are related to too little self-esteem, a better psychological choice is to be relatively self-aware in an accepting way.

The authors' proposed model is to create a better life perspective and balance by encouraging the traits of forgiveness, gratitude, friendship and belonging, marriage, religion and spirituality, and self-control.

The book's points begin with poignant case histories that will really grab your attention. One especially powerful one entailed a child who was marched through prepping at age three to make it into a competitive preschool. With continued parental pressure, he developed so much anxiety that he could not peform academically. He burned out on his academic career before reaching college. It's a sad and extreme story, and shows the problems with taking anything to an extreme. The French have a term, the "juste-milieu," which captures the idea of balance in everything. Americans often ignore that concept.

Parents are often either overachieving and underachieving with their children, and the results show in the younger generation. I think that what we are dealing with has more to do with the ideals (or lack thereof) of Baby Boomer parents than any single psychological theory.

As a result, I found this book overly focused on psychological theories. After all, there must be other factors holding back young people than simply the psychological theories that their parents and teachers subscribe to. The other factors did not get very much attention in the book. For example, obesity is a problem among children and that relates to poor eating habits in part. Until you change what you put in your mouth and how much you exercise, you cannot do much about obesity. That requires knowledge and parental support by buying and preparing better foods, and stimulating healthy exercise.

Knowing a little about the problems of illiteracy from my work with adults who have this problem, the authors are too quick to assume that adding phonics would eliminate most reading problems. Phonics are great for some kids, but others would benefit more from other specialized approaches. I agree that we have a growing illiteracy problem in our schools, but the solution relates to a broader strategy of diagnosis and specialized teaching than it does to psychology alone. If you want to destroy someone's self-esteem and limit their life, however, just be sure they don't learn how to read well in school.

Those who will get the most benefit from this book are parents and educators involved in assessing what the curriculum should be and how the curriculum should be conducted. Parents who are interested in having their children enjoy a better psychological balance will also find the research summaries in the book to be helpful.

As the authors point out: Be concerned about the issues your child has, and provide a good example, encouragement, and assistance to deal with those issues. Encourage your child also to learn to help others. That's the best way for your child to help her- or himself in the long run!

May all notice where they can improve, and take helpful actions to get the results that will do them, and those they care about, the most good.

Just one more teen bashing book, I thought as I started to read Hollow Kids. It didn't take long before I realized something much more profound was in the offing. Drs. Smith and Elliott convincingly demonstrate that our culture has bought some seriously misguided myths about self-esteem-specifically that more self-esteem is always better and that raising self-esteem will cure most anything that ails youth today. They further show that raising self-esteem has become a cultural mantra that has worked its way into school curriculums, psychology journals, and thousands of self-help books. The authors then provide a logical analysis backed up by hundreds of studies demonstrating that overly high, inflated self-esteem poses far more dangers than you would imagine. It appears that, although for decades everyone assumed low self-esteem caused aggression, eating disorders, and substance abuse, quite the opposite appears to be the case. You really have to read the book and review the authors' evidence. You'll never think about self-esteem in the same way again! Finally, I was delighted by their surprisingly useful solutions and advice for overcoming the problems they critique. Most such books fail miserably in the area of solutions; this one doesn't.

What I found particularly disappointing is that although the authors claim to be presenting coherent and evidence-based arguments, I did not find this to be the case. Quite often the authors make considerable leaps of logic.

In addition to finding the book poorly reasoned, I found the tone to be highly rhetorical and condescending; not to the reader, mind you, but to the ambiguous "self-esteem movement." For instance, they label proponents of self-esteem as "traffickers" of self-esteem.

To give you a better picture of what I mean, I will quote a larger section and provide my commentary at the end of it.

[Begin Quote: pp. 33-34]

"[Nathaniel] Branden describes self-esteem as a fundamental human need....one can never have too much. Yet most of us recognize there is such a thing as conceit and arrogance....How, then, do self-esteem promoters rationalize this myth?...Branden [is committed] to the idea that self-esteem is an unqualified good. Branden has responded with a truly ingenious solution. In order to propose you never much too much self-esteem, Branden turns what most people call excessive self-esteem on its head. He has decided that a feeling of superiority over others, boastfulness, arrogance, and self-glorification all represent inadequate self-esteem "rather than, as some people imagine, too high self-esteem." If this seems illogical to you, it should. It is difficult to juxtapose boastfulness, arrogance, and self-glorification with Branden's description of low self-esteem, which includes lack of confidence, self-deprecation, and feelings of worthlessness....Logic aside, no research has supported this notion."

[End Quote]

First, in terms of tone, they preface their argument with the rhetorical and condescending language of how Branden (which the authors make clear is a major proponent of the self-esteem movement) "rationalize[s] the myth." That is, that self-esteem is an qualified good. Using a respectful tone, such disagreement could have been stated in more civil terms as Branden's "unsupported conclusion" or "inadequately reasoned argument."

Second, the authors don't explain the logic of Branden's argument, which is how self-aggrandizing behaviour functions to protect or defend against feelings of low self-esteem. This explanation is central to the defensive self-esteem hypothesis, but the authors fail to mention it.

Finally, contrary to the authors's claims, there is research demonstrating differences between narcissism (defensive self-esteem) and genuinely high self-esteem people. In other words, there is evidence that does support Branden's position. For a few references of this research:

Johnson, E. A., Vincent, N., & Ross, L. (1997) Self-deception versus self-esteem in buffering the negative effects of failure. Journal of Research in Personality, 31, 385-405.

Lobel, T. E., & Teiber, A. (1994). Effects of self-esteem and need for approval on affective and cognitive reactions: Defensive and true self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 16, 315-321.

Smalley, R. L., & Stake, J. E. (1996). Evaluating sources of ego-threatening feedback: Self-esteem and Narcissism Effect. Journal of Research in Personality, 30, 483-495.

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In sum, I found many sections that were problematic in terms of tone (i.e., lack of respectful dialogue), poorly reasoned arguments (i.e., considerable leaps of logic and unsupported claims), and misrepresentation of their opponent's position.

As a recommendation, if you want to understand Branden's work, it is best to read him first-hand (for e.g., "The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem") and arrive at your own conclusions.

Another recommendation, if self-esteem really does interest you, a helpful book that summarizes theories and research in self-esteem is Christopher Mruk's (1999) "Self-Esteem: Theory, Research, and Practice."

It is reported that an employee of the usher staff has become a crime victim. Pamela Rush-Hodgeborne, one of Mrs. Roosevelt's secretaries, is a suspect. She is taken to jail where Mrs. Roosevelt visits her. The girl's former employer, a member of the English nobility, urges Mrs. Roosevelt to get to the bottom of the matter on Pamela's behalf.

Pamela was formerly a member of the entourage of the Countess of Crittenden. Mrs. Roosevelt tells Pamela that proof of her innocence is merely waiting to be found. The current crime seems to be related to an earlier one of the theft of the Earl of Crittenden's gems. The victim is a rather slippery fellow. He is the son of a Congressman, a machine politician. Pamela feels that he was superficial and insincere. The tainted bottle of bitters found in Pamela's apartment was provided by the victim. It is necessary to ascertain who beside Pamela had access to the bottle.

The writing is witty and entertaining. The plot is fairly convoluted and involves a false identity. Throughout the book Mrs. Roosevelt's wonderful interest in people of every sort is portrayed.

A young woman who is in Mrs. Roosevelt's employ is suspected in the murder of her boyfriend. Mrs. Roosevelt is certain that the young woman (Pamela) is innocent and with the help of a few officials, sets out to prove it. This is not an easy task, since the murdered boyfriend is the son of a Congressman who doesn't take too kindly to Mrs. Roosevelt's involvement, especially since her investigations reveal a few not-so-nice details about the young man's personal life and hobbies.

The plot involves a jewel theft and false identities. You'll get to meet a few seedy characters from the gambling world. Mrs. Roosevelt mingles with these people in an effort to get information, and it's rather amusing.

Overall, this is a fun, easy to read book with a good plot. I wouldn't call it intriguing or suspenseful, since the guilty party/parties are made sort of obvious. But it's fun nonetheless.

Enjoyed the plot - but wasn't impressed with the wordage. So much so, I even checked to see when written, as it appeared to be from much longer ago than 1984! Possibly the author was schooled elsewhere than the US?

Generally, I liked this book, but I think that's only because I like the concept of Eleanor Roosevelt as a sleuth. The major plot twists were too obvious--without their purpose being very clear, which is quite a feat indeed. And I'd have to go back and read some of Elliot Roosevelt's other books to make sure, but I'd swear he's plagiarized himself in a few spots. Those club scenes sounded *awfully* familiar.

Bought this for my wife, but she didn't like it at all! An older dictionary had was more usable, so ordered an updated version of the older crossword dictionary. I was able return it for a full refund-no problem-thanks.

This large print crossword dictionary is wonderful for my 85 year old mother. I had not been able to find a satisfactory one at Borders and was grateful to be able to send her this one from Amazon.

This was for a gift for my mother. She is reaching 90 and her sight is failing but she loves to do crossword puzzles. The last dictionary she had was too small and falling apart. The new one is bigger, easier to handle and better print. She loves it. We also use it alot when playing scrabble, another of her favorite activities. When I ordered it, it came quicker than expected and in perfect shape. I have ordered from Amazon befor and will again. Thank you.

I received this crossword dictionary last week & I am very disappointed in this book. It doesn't have all the words and it did not help my crossword puzzles at all. The letter are very large which helps my eyes.

We got our son a new Mindstorm for Christmas - the NXT. This book was designed for the previous generation of the Mindstorm, so was of no use to us. The description on-line was not clear to us that we were wasting our money.

Once again Syngres has put together a top notch team of Lego builders. The robots in here are incredible to say the least. I was amazed to see that CS Soh had a hand in this book as I've been a big fan of his LEGO work on the web for some time. I just finished building all of the robots in the prequel to this book for the Star Wars Dark side lego kit when I saw this become available. These are all top notch robots built by people who know their lego robots. They don't beat around the bush-they give you step by step instructions for buidling these robots. They go one step beyond the first book by giving you alternate building instructions for download. I'm going to use this in my high school robotics class. Top notch.

This is the perfect compilation set of fun, and challenging projects which can easily be manipulated for your own robotic tastes. The sources of this book are the masters in the field, and do an astounding job sharing their wealth of knowledge.

I have been a fan of train since I was little, and therefore admit to a certain bias in favor of travel by rail. However, there is more to travel by rail than the romantic version of the sleeping car and the rhythm of the rails.

This "book" is more a monograph on the economic feasibility of continuing to subsidize rail travel in this country. Arguments in favor of subsidy include environmental benefits (air uses 85% more fuel per mile traveled), national security issues (Amtrak remained running even on 9/11) and general economic principals.

While Amtrak does lose money, so too would every other form of transportation if not for subsidy by the government. Privatization is not the answer. In fact, the author makes a very valid point for increased subsidy to rail to reduce dependence on foreign oil and improvement of travel capacity. If the US would move into the 21st century, it would be possible to travel by rail from Washington DC to Chicago in about 4 hours and coast to coast in less than 18 hours. In addition, this would benefit the movement of freight and allow for cheaper, more fuel efficient transportation of consumer goods.

This is a well written little book, and it deserves to be read by every supporter of rail, but more importantly, by those that wish to cut rail funding.

I love riding on trains, and wish I was live during the golden age of the railroad. They are far more enjoyable than planes or cars for medium distance trips (50-250 miles). That all being said, Sclar's title along is completely insane. Amtrak's privatization would be a failure! How to it be any more of a failure than Amtrak already is. Railroad privatization has worked in every country that it has been tried - Britain most notably. I would love to ride Amtrak, but rarely goes where or when I want to - and when it does, its usually almost cheaper and far less time consuming to fly! Based on Sclar's bio, he's probably just some delusional puesdo-intellectual socialist.

The author here is absolutely right in his assertions about Amtrak privatization. The previous reviewer hasn't done his homework--British privatization has been such a failure that many members of the public are asking the British government to re-nationalize the rail system there.

Looking at the book objectively, the author has done a fine job with a difficult subject.

I can smell the food, feel the atmosphere at the street markets and the excitment of the cycle races. This is a personal experience of Rhae's time spent in Central France, getting to know the local people and their customs. There are some amusing stories of visits to fetes, brocantes and street markets. The book tells of the all too familiar contretemps with builders and shop assistants caused by a limited knowledge of the French language. The author's web site www.lifeincentralfrance.com is an unusual way to illustrate a book but it works and includes pictures of the region where the story was written and the pretty local towns and villages. The diary style makes the book a personal invitation to share the author's experiences and it depicts how the English/French relationships have to be worked on to settle successfully in France.

This book was written like a journal or a WebLog and is a hodgepodge of random thoughts. There are numerous typos and outright misspellings (lose is spelled incorrectly throughout as loose). Either an editor was needed or the person that typed the US version needed help, but the overall quality is poor. If you are interested in the subject matter you might enjoy the book. The reviewer from Vancouver, Canada may be related to the author as that is where the book says that the author moved to after living in France. An example of the writing in this book is that the author refers to "kissy kissy" in what appears to be an impatient way when referring to the French greeting by kissing on both cheeks. I was also amazed to see comments about going to a store in France and being irrirated that the people speak French and not Englsh. How amazing is it that in France the French people speak the French language?

What a great book! I bought this book thinking it would be just a factual book about moving to France but it has so much more. The book was infact very informative, it does explain how to deal with all the obsticals that come your way when moving to another country but it was also amusing and very entertaining. The author has detailed alot of personal information, funny incidents and typical situations that make you feel part of her journey. It really enjoyed reading this book and hope to see another by the same author.

The two-volume Coues set contain the complete journals of both the Mississippi and the "Arkansaw" expedtion to Colorado, and detailed explanatory footnotes by Coues who was a reliable western historian and naturalist. The journals will be too long and dull for a casual reader looking for an entertaining adventure - they are a rough field log, not a novel - but are essential for anyone who wants to know the expedition in detail, and will reward the enthusiast and historian. "Coues" (pronouced cows) was the standard of Pike scholarship for most of the 20th century.

For the latest thing see: Jackson, Donald, ed., The Journals of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, with Letters and Related Documents. 2 vols., Univ. Oklahoma, Norman, 1966.

Volume I: Pike exhaustively recounts his daily activities on board. In almost no instance except for the frigid winter is there much drama or dialogue between he and his men. Even when he reaches what he thinks is the source of the Mississippi, he is actually mistaken, though "correct" as far as the assumptions of the day. Toward the head of the river, it is difficult to assess where Pike even is without the notes (which in themselves almost swallow the book, but of sheer necessity to the reading). We reach the headwaters of the river and return to St Louis without much fanfare or dialogue, save that Pike spoke with the English fur traders near the source and explained America's new ownership of the territory (one of his objectives).

Volume II: In this volume Pike is no better. There is an extremely boring journey across Kansas and into Colorado, and he the real drama sets in. Pike and his men are without winter clothing and now in the Colorado Rockies. The frostbite on some of his men forces them to stay behind, unable to continue. This occurs day after day, week after week, until the expedition reaches what is believed to be the source of the Arkansas River. Otherwise the volume meekly runs through Pike's capture by Spanish authorities and his return to the U.S. via Spanish escort. This last is a daily log of conversations with French or Spanish military figures, and of little interest in general.

This review refers to Volume Two. Although at times quite verbose and long-winded (due to the historical notation), the book did illustrate the adventure and hardships of early American explorers, along with political intrigue between Spanish and American relationships in the early 1800's. Pike left St. Louis in 1806 to explore the present southwestern United States.He and his men suffered and endured many misfortunes and hardships while in the Colorado mountains, then only to be arrested by Spanish authorities for trespassing into their territory. I suppose the debate will go on forever, did Pike intentionally get arrested in order to further explore Mexico so that the American government would be more enlightened as to their culture, military strengths and weaknesses, geography, trade possibilities, economy,etc.? It is a creditable, thorough and absorbing account of early American western history.

My insurance class was unanimous in their disappointment with this textbook. Why?

1) VERBOSE - Takes twice as long to explain a concept as the concise authors in the Kaplan or Bisys book series. Also recommended is Principles of Risk Mgt. and Insurance by George Rejda (http://www.aw-bc.com/rejda/). I found out about these alternates mid-semester after it was too late to switch - don't get stuck like I did.
2) NO ONLINE QUIZZES OR POWERPOINT SUMMARY SLIDES - Kaplan, Bisys and George Rejda offer these helpful study aids.
3) POOR FORMATTING - definitions are not bolded, italicized or presented as bullet points; sample problems are incorporated within long paragraphs, rather than separated out; margins are razor thin on the top and sides, allowing no room for notes.
4) BIASED - The authors generously sprinkle the text with their obvious bias favoring the insurance industry, especially regarding health care coverage. New approaches to health care and access are characterized as "attacks" (p.369 & 382) and "crusades" (p.382); "Patients rarely object to more testing because it might do them some good, even if it is not cost effective for society as a whole." (p.367); and "the debate over availability and affordability is a thinly veiled demand for cross-subsidies in the insurance market." (p.114). That's just the tip of the iceberg.

If it was possible to give this book zero stars, I would. Whatever you do, don't buy the book new - it's so poorly written that my entire class is offloading theirs at the end of the fall 2007 semester, so it will be on Amazon soon.

I thought it would be a sleeper,but quite the contrary..I wish I would have read this book 20 years ago.

Well, I guess I can try to review this book from the only perspective I read it from: that of a student. I had to read it for my CFP class on Insurance, and, as an introduction to most forms of insurance, it explains the forms in a very methodical and systematic way; it was very easy to follow and tough to get completely lost.

Honestly, I was never really fascinated with insurance. My life-licensing class was 24 hours of classroom time spread out over one weekend, so maybe that has created some insurance-related intellectual scars. The sections on Life Insurance and the basic components of any insurance contract and the whole insurance process were already familiar to me, so I found those sections incredibly uninteresting. The other forms of insurance were much more interesting and gave me a great foundation for other insurance studies I've done since.

The prose of the book, too, flows extremely well. In fact, I usually just lightly read passages explaining computations and formulas because I come back later to review them in-depth; however, while reading this book, I actually felt I fully understood most of the computations even while I read (which almost never happens because most formula-explaining reads much like Kant's "Metaphysics of Morals").

Just one closing point... I guess you'd have to be either Insurance Commissioner or a professor of insurance to be really interested in this material, but the authors write in a way that allows even the average CFP or insurance student to come away from the book with a good sense of how insurance works and where it fits into an individual's financial plan.

These photos cover so many facets of daily life in Japan. I traveled through Japan last year, even visiting a few of the places depicted in the book, and these photos evoked the same kind of emotion I had while being there. From the sumptious food and diverse culture to the juxtaposing of modern and ancient Kubota captures it all. If you love or are fascinated with Japan, then you will not be disappointed with this book.

I have sent 7 emials and made 5 phone calls and I still haven't received the book - its a month overdue and every emial I try and send you bounces back - your help page on the website doesnt work with my IE latest version browser - when I click on your customer service page it closes my browser everytime.

You suck - I used amazon several times and there are always problems - I want my money back and go elsewhere

Hiroji Kubota takes the reader on a wonderful visual feast of Japan. His photos cover all aspects of Japanese life, from the very ancient to the very modern. The captions for the photos are at the back with an accompanying black and white print of the photo.
A beautiful coffee table book.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. In fact, I think this is the best book of the three books that Mr. Hazelgrove has written. It draws the reader into a family web of secrets and connects current events in the book with events from the past. The ending of this book is a true surprise but not an unreasonable result. For mystery lovers it is truly addictive. I couldn't put it down!

It handles topics of racisism from the typical white southerners 1940's view. I find it offensive from todays standards. It is set in the 1910's through the 1960's. The author doesn't seem to know much about cars, and to car buffs this will show itself. It also seems as if someone hacked the hell (editor perhaps?) out of this story, which has some confusing jumps in storyline. It is still very nicely and dreamliy written overall, and a good book to read. The author is still not a tight storyteller like Hunter Thompson.

This novel was a complete surprise for me. I picked it up on Sunday morning was compelled to finish it before I went to work on Monday morning. The southern ethos is beautifull developed, the characters realistic, and the plot twists are unexpected. It is, unfortunately, probably too politically incorrect for the movies, but I cast it as Jimmy Smits as Charlie Tidewater, returning to Richmond 30 years after the death of his mother, Jason Robards as Austin Turin, the mysterious grandfather, Robert Duvall as Judge Barrek, the almost archetypal aristocrat and Mary-Louise Parker as the love interest. This is a thrilling, poetic, suspenseful novel.