Francis Books

Over the past few decades, the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industries have almost completely silenced alternate viewpoints to the biological model of mental disorder. So this critique of the dominant paradigm comes as a breath of fresh air. The 23 scholar-contributors forcefully argue that "schizophrenia" is a scientifically meaningless and socially devastating label. Not only is there no unitary construct of "schizophrenia," these scholars argue, but complex social and environmental factors underlie both the patterns of diagnosis and the expressed symptoms. The authors painstakingly elucidate the roles of poverty, gender, racism, and - most importantly - childhood trauma in adult psychosis. They bring back the now-taboo role of family dynamics, including "expressed emotion" (a euphemism for hostile, critical and overinvolved parenting), communication deviance, and dysfunctional relationships between parents.

Starting with a history of the concept of schizophrenia and its use to incarcerate the poor, the authors move on to an exhaustive, well-researched, and easy-to-understand summary of decades of research findings debunking the biogenetic model. Regarding the role of trauma in the etiology of "schizophrenia," did you know that two-thirds of Israeli mental patients are Holocaust survivors, who have been beaten, strapped to beds, heavily drugged and often kept in solitary confinement for decades? That the structural and functional differences between the brains of "schizophrenics" and "normal" adults are the same differences as those between people who were traumatized versus not traumatized in childhood (e.g., overactive hypothalamic-adrenal-pituitary axis, cerebral atrophy, ventricular enlargements, reversed cerebral asymmetry, and neurotransmitter abnormalities)? Perhaps, some studies suggest, many of the "voices" of schizophrenia patients are thinly disguised expressions of past trauma, projected into the external, present world as a less-than-functional defense.

In the current market-driven paradigm, patients are said to have "insight" if they go along with the biological psychiatrist's viewpoint, which thoroughly discounts their experiences. Far from blaming people, an understanding of the non-biological causes of psychosis can engender hope and - as outlined in the final section of the book - lead to effective treatments.

I could go on, but the book touches so many subjects - psychotropic medications, electroconvulsive therapy, heredity, drug companies, therapies, and much more - that you just need to buy it and read it yourself.

I work with people diagnosed schizophrenic and intensely dislike the hopelessness engendered by this label and by the medical model treatment of these individuals. I also feel frustrated at the way medication is accepted as the key intervention for this condition despite its poor record at bringing about recovery.
Expect to feel very uncomfortable as you read the extensive research that deconstructs what you have been taught (and come to accept as true) about the biological basis for schizophrenia and its reliance on the use of medication.
The book also offers thoroughly researched alternative theoretical frameworks and treatments that have been shown to be effective in bringing relief to those experiencing psychosis.
I highly recommend this book for those prepared to consider more than just the medical model framework and those who want more treatment options than can be provided by medication alone.

John Read's Models of Madness is the only psychology textbook I have ever read that pulls no punches when it comes to the mental health industry's misuse and abuse of its power. It provides, not a balanced viewpoint, but a "balancing viewpoint." Indeed it must, so as to counter the enormous colossus of wealth and influence which has become our mental health industry. It is a scholarly work, with an abundance of data to both describe the shortfalls and pitfalls of the mental health industry, as well as the techniques that have actually been proven to benefit mental-health consumers. There are actually ways to increase the happiness, comfort, quality of life and self-respect of clientele who have been pegged "incurable."

This book is Great! I enjoyed every word of it. The information that Valerius Geist shares with us is very interesting! I haven't been so excited while reading a book in a while. He provides all kinds of great information on evolution, habits, habitats, diet, survival tactics, the rut, and the raising of a new generation and some information on the moose's future and relationship with man, as well as some interesting stories from his own personal experiences! The photos are amazing as well! This book, I felt walked the line of being very informative, but not to complicated. It is definitely a book that appeals to a broad audience. If you are interested in moose, pick up this book!

Val Geist is world renown as the dean of behavioral ecologists (ethologists) of the hooved mammals (ungulates) of the northern hemisphere. Fritz Walther, an extraordinary ungulate ethologist in his own right, once described Geist as having a mind that combines the vastness of the Russian Steppe (Geist's natal homeland), with the meticulousness of Germany (where he spent his youth) and the audacity of North America (where he has spent his adulthood). Bull's eye.

I know of no wildlife biologist with greater depth of knowledge and creative insight, or greater courage and dedication in applying his knowledge to the challenge of real world conservation.

Coming full circle, Geist has finally writen an entire book devoted to the moose, an animal whose behavior he (like I) studied extensively during his youth.

We who have had the pleasure of reading his numerous other books and scientific papers know that each leads the reader on a rare and delightful intellectual journey of discovery. His insights are always fresh and vibrant, built on an extraordinarily wide knowledge of the literature combined with in depth firsthand knowledge. This book is no exception.

To any reader seriously interested in moose or just wildlife in general, this work is an extraordinary find.

Since a child, moose have always amazed me. Turning to popular wildlife texts, however, I found that very few such books ever mentioned these magnificent deer. Finally a book has come along to fill this void.

Dr. Geist is a renown expert in cervid biology and conservation. His expertise regarding moose ecology in North America and Eurasia shines through every page of this book. He has the rare ability to combine personal experiences with potentially dry biology information to produce very readable prose. I truly enjoyed this text! The accompanying photos were also spectacular. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the moose.

Any fan of Diana's will know why we mourned (and still mourn) her passing. This book however is fascinating for it's analysis of those mourners who said things like "I never knew how much Diana meant to me until she died" and "I cried more at her death than at my own father's". Why did Diana's death have such an enormous impact on a global scale, even for people who claimed not to have liked her during her lifetime? It was more than just pity at the way a young life had been taken too soon. This book is an excellent examination of the huge significance of the gobal mourning and grief that was displayed in 1997.

Any fan of Diana's will know why we mourned (and still mourn) her passing. This book however is fascinating for it's analysis of those mourners who said things like "I never knew how much Diana meant to me until she died" and "I cried more at her death than at my own father's". Why did Diana's death have such an enormous impact on a global scale, even for people who claimed not to have liked her during her lifetime? It was more than just pity at the way a young life had been taken too soon. This book is an excellent examination of the huge significance of the gobal mourning and grief that was displayed in 1997.

Any fan of Diana's will know why they mourned her passing. This book however is fascinating for it's analysis of those mourners who said things like "I never knew how much Diana meant to me until she died" and "I cried more at her death than at my own father's". Why did Diana's death have such an enormous impact on a global scale, even for people who claimed not to have liked her during her lifetime? It was more than just pity at the way a young life had been taken too soon. This book is an excellent examination of the huge significance of the gobal mourning and grief that was displayed in 1997.

Simone Weil's "The Need For Roots" demonstrates the purest understanding of Christ's teaching that I have ever come across. One need not be religious to grasp or identify with this brilliant work.

This book is held together by Christ's beatitudes, parables and prayers as a way of emphasizing the need for spirituality, not organized religion, in our lives. Weil insists on vital obligations of the soul (all of which are explained in brief detail) and the importance of spirituality and self-respect in all things.

According to Weil, everything we do is to be approached with the same intense religiosity that pervaded ancient Greek culture. Love of money and glory have buried spirituality in modern societies world-wide. One of Weil's many solutions was to completely reexamine the uses of education in order to instill this spiritual understanding of human existence.

As with all great thinkers, there are countless facets of Weil's thought. The Need For Roots, therefore, is not an easy read. I found myself reading over sentences and paragraphs several times-not out of frustration, but out of an imense craving to fully understand the saintly beauty of her words.

Those who make the effort to read this book attentively will come away with a powerful, fresh perspective of life, including an understanding of the necessity of both joy and pain. Anyone with a soul should read this book.

Two major contributions to the analysis of the modern society can be found in Weil's works. In his "Essay on the causes of freedom and oppression" of the early 1930s she had given a vision of why we are left unsatisfied by progress, substituting social oppression for natural one. Here, while in London just before dying, she gets to such a deep understanding of contemporary social and spiritual problems that has very few comparisons in this century. We needs roots, she assumes, and we find them belonging to alive communities feeding our souls. An entire programme of reform of modernity is developed from this assumption, and it is applied in detail to postwar perspectives in France. According to some of us, this is still a guidebook for understanding what can be done now, a source of inspiration for rethinking how modern societies could be eventually reconverted to serve human needs, instead of representing Plato's image (dear to Simone) of the apocalyptic Great Beast.

In "The Need For Roots," Simone Weil cultivates perhaps the purest, most spiritual definition of Christianity ever put into words. She despises group thought, i.e., organized religion, while constantly referencing the words of Jesus Christ as being the essence of Christianity and a crucial model for living a "well-rooted" life.

One need not be religious at all to identify with the type of religiosity expressed in this book. Simone Weil is no preacher. Going to church every Sunday does not impress her. Dropping money in the priest's basket does not impress her. Love, on the other hand, does. And not just love of God or of religion, but love of eveything we do in life. She stresses the need for love of truth, learning, physical labor and love for what she defines as "the good."

Religion, for Simone Weil, should not just be limited to the church. Simone Weil believes that every aspect of life, everything we do, such as the pursuit of science or knowledge, should be as religious an experience as it was for the ancient Greeks; a civilization she draws reference to many times throughout the book.

Her deep spirituality is strewn throughout these pages, and wakes up the mind to the hypocrissy, spiritual crisis, and moral "uprootedness" of human nature in the modern world. In the midst of stressing this deeply spiritual message, Simone Weil attempts to open the reader's eyes to newer, less narrow-minded definitions of patriotism and greatness, as well as noting the various fundamental uses of education. For Simone Weil, education is not just a kid going to school and trying to get a good grade. Education is for those who have a love of truth, a love of knowledge and an understanding of the importance those virtues carry. It is up to a well-rooted, healthy society to instill those virtues in each individual.

Like the works of most complicated thinkers, this is no easy read. There are many different ideas spiraling around the core of spiritualism emphasized in "The Need For Roots." Simone Weil is extremely intellectual. It is unthinkable that she attained this level of brilliance by the time of her premature death at the age of 33. Most people will find themselves reading over paragraphs several times before fully understanding them. In the introduction, T.S. Elliot suggests that one reading of the book is insufficient, and he may be correct. Anyone who thinks they have grasped this book fully after reading over it once is either lazy, or, if they are correct, a freak of nature. However, the hard work required to tap into Simone Weil's stream of thought is well worth it. This is truly one of the most inspiring and provocative books I have read. While it was written in 1943 and adressed specifically to the state of France under the Vichy government, much of this book still remains crucially relevant today, perhaps even more so.

If this book is read with discernment, rather than in the casual mode in which we often read, I guarantee that a permanent tatoo of Weil's deep passion for humanity will be left on the soul.

I had the fortune of reading this book (in manuscript form) in one of Dr. Kane's classes. He is an excellent professor and an excellent writer. Several years later, many of my views of social discourse and community involvement were shaped by Dr. Kane. Perhaps the most vital lesson from this book is the way in which speech, in its most poignant form, is action and action, in its purest form, constitutes speech. I heartily encourage people to read this book!

I had the fortune of reading this book (in manuscript form) in one of Dr. Kane's classes. He is an excellent professor and an excellent writer. Several years later, many of my views of social discourse and community involvement were shaped by Dr. Kane. Perhaps the most vital lesson from this book is the way in which speech, in its most poignant form, is action and action, in its purest form, constitutes speech. I heartily encourage people to read this book!

must read -anonymous

I am the webower of Mental Health Today.

This book includes the latest information on depression: causes, symptoms, diagnosis, latest treatments - medication, complementary & alternative. Families, children, work, suicide prevention, new hope through research and much more.

I highly recommend this book to consumers and families if you are looking for facts needed in order to recover.

Speaking as a former board member of a community psychiatric center, I recommend this book as a worthwhile reference for understanding the problems associated with depression. This book deals realistically with the kinds of situations that confront people with depression and their families. This book answers important questions regarding the problems and the hope now available. There are so many more resources available than there were in the past. A good buy.

This book is written without bias.It is intended to bring the many facets of clinical depression and its treatments to the attention of those experiencing this common, human, and misery producing condition, and/or to those with more than a passing interest in it.
It is a fair( today so necessary)and impartial exposition of the many notions concerning perpetuating and precipitating forces that impinge on people from within and without.
The author emphasizes that "chemical imbalances"occur within living,breathing, and feeling people who are more than a collection of synapses and what passes between them ; hence, there are no quick fixes(e.g."take this TV advertized happy pill") This should help people to appreciate that there are many approaches to treatment rather than just a pill .
This book should be read as well by medical students,primary care physicians,and specialists.It would help them remember that patients are people("bio-psycho-socially" based)and hence capable of active and broad (e.g.psychotherapy)participation in their own treatment programs.This would help avoid patients' being encouraged, however non-verbally,to become passive participants in treatment and thus more impersonalized(feeling impotent-read hopeless/helpless)than they are already feel.It would also add to the interest physicians could have in treating people rather than symptoms.As importantly it would then lessen the burden that physicians so often feel to be totally responsible for treatment formulations and their delivery.

WOW! Thanks Martin Martinez for having the courage to come forward with this life saving information. I am a patient who uses marijuana to treat my debilitating migraine headaches. I believe marijuana has saved my life. I have also worked with cancer, AIDS and other seriously ill patients whose lives have been saved by this magical medicinal herb. Im so glad to see a book written for the patient population that adequately explains how to heal with marijuana. Finally, we have a book written by a patient for the patients! Lets get this life saving information out there so that other patients lives can be saved by having the tools and information to heal with medical marijuana. Thanks again Martin. You definitely are an ANGEL from heaven.

Finally a concise, articulate and user friendly book on the controversial subject of medicinal Marijuana, available from Quick American Archives Publishing. "The New Prescription-Marijuana As Medicine" by Martin Martinez relies both on anecdotal evidence and scientific study to outline the myriad of positive applications the cannabis plant offers in the treatment and managment of many modern illnesses.

With an insightful forward by Seattle medical marijuana activist Dr.Francis Podrebarec, The New Prescription details the failures of past and current administrations to even allow clinical study of the medicinal properties of the multi-faceted plant, while chronicling it's extensive history dating back thousands of years.

As informative but more user friendly than it's counterpart the "Marijuana Medical Handbook" (Ed Rosenthal, Dale Gieringer, Tod Mikuriya, M.D.), Martinez' work does not limit itself to professing only the positive aspects of the illicit weed. In addition to extolling the virtues of marijuana's effect on illnesses from cancer, multiple sclerosis and even anorexia, there are chapters exploring anxiety attacks, delerium and dependence.

This is a well written, plain english layman's guide to medical cannabis in an easy to read format. Complete with appendices, extensive notes, and bibliography, The New Perscription is a thoughtful, serious work dedicated to informing the inquisitive reader from an unbiased yet accurate perspective. This promises to be a must have for activists, patients and medical professionals.

I used to smoke marijuana when I was at college and recently my dad was diagnosed with MS, I thought marijuana would help him with the pain but he was really against it. I gave him this book and amazingly he read it and after discussing it with his doctor is now eating a cookie once a day. It won't cure him but it really helps him deal with the pain. Thanks for a well researched honest book.

Grant Morrison is probably one of the most imaginative minds in the whole comic industry, and the first 1/3 of his run on "The New X-Men" is simply one of the most amazing reads I have ever been exposed to. the X-men have always been a series that had a lot of political and social themes intertwined within it, and Morrison creates a fantastic reality through fantasy that have all the political happenings that are going on now. "New X-Men by Grant Morrison: Ultimate Collection Volume 1" is a great escape from reality but at the same time, is the most realistic super-hero comic thematically that there is.

Can't wait for volumes 2 and 3 to come out this year!

In early 2000, Marvel managed to wrestle Grant Morrison, arguably the most influential writer in comics (moreso than Alan Moore, in my opinion), and gave him the flagging X-Men title.
In the first arc, he destroyed the mutant country of Genosha, created an ultra powerful foil to Professor Xavier, put the X-Men at odds with the Shi'ar empire, saved the world, and started to degrade and destroy the relationship that Jean and Scott had.
Morrison's stories in the volume are big, operatic, and loud, much like his material from his run on JLA, but grounded in team dynamics and the fragile nature of how lives can change in the blink of an eye.
On the art side, frequent Morrison collaborator Frank Quitely turns in good work, bolstered by the inks of Tim Townsend, and later on, Ethan Van Sciver and the infamously rushed work of Igor Kordey.
Overall, Morrison plays with the various aspects of the 30 years of X-Men continuity while managing to keep it fresh and forward looking. The art, however, is the weak point of the volume and the entire run. The fill-ins lack of a firm visual continuity, and the bevy of different artists hamper the total impact of the collection.
All in all, even with the uneven art, I still heartily recommend this collection of my favorite Marvel Comic.

Grant Morrison's X-Men run is probably the best X-Men run in the last decade. Ironically, it's a little different than other classic runs... and that's what makes it so special.

Without spoiling anything, Grant changes the status quo with the X-Men without really changing core concepts of the X-Men. His stories turn the entire framework for the X-Men on their face. The stories are well-plotted, and this collection really does read like one whole story. There's lots of nice character moments, as well as character arcs that get started here and will be expanded upon in vol 2 & 3 of the collections later on this year.

The only faults with Grant's run are the art and some of his 'big ideas' that sometimes don't seem to pan out. Because of scheduling problems with these issues, Frank Quintly did not draw every issue... so often times you will see different art styles every issue as multiple artists contributed to keep this book on schedule for the regular issues. Nonetheless, most of the artwork is good and the storytelling makes up for this.

This is really awesome work though. Seriously, if you haven't read it - do so. It's better than any of the new TPB's coming out. It contains so much core ideas that make the X-Men what it is today that it's really worth reading.

As of late, political consultants have become convenient boogeymen. It seems whenever the American people decide they'd rather be apathetic than devote a few minutes out of their day to voting or whenever a politician is caught breaking the law, it somehow turns out to be the ultimate fault of political consultants. And so, every few months or so, we get a lot of people demanding a lot of new laws and vague terms like "campaign finance" get tossed around by commentators who obviously haven't got a clue as to what they're actually talking about. Yet somehow, nobody ever seems to really bother with, say, investigating what campaign consultants actually do. Luckily, veteran consultant Dennis W. Johnson has written "No Place For Amateurs," an inside look at campaign consultants that manges to avoid the anti-consultant hysteria of most recent insider books while at the same time never embracing the shallow arrogance of the "how-to" books of consultants like Dick Morris (who is featured in the opening chapters of Johnson's books and -- no great shock -- comes across as an egotistical cad). Chapter-by-chapter, Johnson explains, in detail, what pollsters, direct mail consultants, and advertising gurus actually do. He also explains how political consultants came to be so powerful in American politics and shows that the situation isn't quite as bad as we might think. At the same time, Johnson doesn't allow himself to be a shill for his fellow consultants. He does highlight some trouble spots and the reforms he suggests manage to be both effective and fair without resorting to the hysterical fearmongering of so many other reformers. As well, Johnson's book is also full of several entertaining anecdotes from previous campaigns and it should be a lot of fun for people with a taste for political trivia.

I'm interning on my second state-wide campaign and this book has helped fill in the details of steps that happen before I have joined campaigns. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in politics or campaigning.

This is a great read - especially for news and politics junkies. Johnson writes with authority, candor and humor about real people involved with real campaigns and facing real ethical issues. Not only does the book describe the tools and techniques of modern campaigns, but it provides real insight into their strengths and weaknesses when used in varying situations.

I have to admit, though, the best part of the book is the anecdotes. You get a sense of the decision making speed required in the chaos that surrounds candidates and staffs. In fact, you may actually gain some sympathy for the people who choose (or are driven) to enter the political arena.

If you liked The War Room or Primary Colors, you'll love this book.

Mr. Olivo is right, small business management is nothing more than philosopies that work. This book, in the right hands, could help an individual start his or her own business. Mr. Olivo talks about different philosophies that Almost anybody can grasp and use for his or her own business. Great concept on developing your own personal philosophies on business. Also teach how to get customers interested in your product or service. People don't know what they want until you tell them what they need. Very easy to follow along too...

As Mr. Oilvo points out, business management is nothing more than philosophies that work. Unlike other business management books, Olivofonics looks at why and how any certain business action is or is not ethical. How to make people believe that they want to buy from you. It also gives philosophies in how to make your employees want to preform their very best for your business. If Plato would have wrote a Small Business Management book; it would have been simular to Olivofonics. I learned something new and I've been an accountant for 30-years.

The author Mr. Olivo took basic business principals and added some good old fashioned philosophy. Business mamagement is nothing more than philosophy. Most people know and understand why it's important to act or do certain customs. Olivofonics tells you why the small business manager would do them. It takes a long hard look at the philosophies of business and asks questions like what it is to be ethical, logical, and professional. It gives the reader and small busienss manager a wide area to which he or she can expand on. The book makes you think, which more individuals need to start doing anyhow. Nice consept to it. I highly recommend it....