Francis Books

Never a subway ride will be the same once you read, & have, this book. And the beauty lies in that you'll always come back to your book to enjoy further.

Aware...of everything that surrounds you.

Very good work, is what everyone of us sees around and is not able to shoot. Every pic is a world of sensations, a description of the daily culture of the place. Pesaresi not only travels around the world, he gets into private worlds in public places.

I love the works of Pesaresi being shown in this book. Although a photojournalist, Pesaresi shows in this collection of photographs, that he is capable of creating works of art that are so incredibly personal and beautiful.

Street photography is a subject that mainly is portrayed in black and white. Pesaresi's depiction of the world of the underground transportation done in color photography is really something quite special. The usage of colors don't simply become a decoration to the photographs. Instead, they strengthen the athmosphere being captured in the photographs themselves.

Excellent essays on practical issues -- a fresh, valuable read for museum and top gallery professionals, as well as serious collectors and students.

This book is a gem. Even for the people who don't know much about the art market, it's still a book worthwhile reading. The writing is very polished, yet easy to follow; the information is in depth. There are a lot of books on Art History; but this is the book on Art Market History with the most comprehensive analysis of economic, political and social impacts on art, artists and art market. The humor and sarcasm in the book make the reading fun. If you enjoy philosophy, politics and history or art critics, this is a great book to have.

Iain Robertson et al. is presenting this very sound introduction to the non-expert of the arts international market. It is a collection of articles from different authors; therefore expect a non-linear writing style, which is however easy to understand. It is written from the point of view of the curator, or of someone who stands outside the market as an observer. What one could find as missing, are other perspectives such as the artist themselves. Nevertheless, this book discusses a very wide range of the arts market and even includes chapters such as art crime. The reader can thus easily gain a very good (though theoretical) insight of how the arts market works and of who are the actors in the market.

Five stars are awarded for this book, as I would recommend this book to all those who have an interest in learning how the arts market works and as this book delivers.

An excellent and comprehensive guidebook for professionals involved in the area of threat assessment and incident management. This is a sorely needed text that covers the critical issues that the practitioner in this relatively newly developing field faces everyday. Corcoran and Cawood share the knowledge gained from their years of experience in a readable and well organized format. I highly recommend this book for either novices interested in this area of study, or for experienced practitioners to use as a primary reference.

Mike and I have attempted to provide a very detailed and practical book to aid practitioners in managing case load. Sometimes it is with teams of talented people (wonderful when it happens) and sometimes it is triage, by yourself, late on a Friday afternoon when no one else is around. We assume that you know how to form teams and know why you would want to do violence risk assessment, the question is how to do it the best possible way, considering as many factors as possible to guide the best outcome. I think this book provides a variety of tools, insights, and ideas in one place that you, the practitioner will find helpful and that anyone who is working with emotionally and mentally destablized people will find of practical benefit, including law enforcment in any assignment, mental health practitioners, legal professionals, human resource professionals, and people interested in the field.
We hope you find it valuable and that it enhances your safety and the safety of the people and communities that you work for and with.

I am new to the field of violence assessment and this book is an excellent tool. I now use it as the guide line for my cases. I have learned so much from it as well as earning the confidence of my employers with the tools it helped me to develope. I encourage eveyone who is associated with the field of threat assessment to purchase this book. I think that even very experienced professionals will learn something important from reading this handbook.

Im blessed with a mother that read me this book. From Florissant, MO. We had Firefly's, raccoons, coyotes, foxes, molasses popsicles ;) ....i am 29 now and the lessons still sit with me. Great for both sons and daughters alike.

Sharing the joys of nature between parents and children is a rare topic. This book is a simple, yet joyful, description of a parent's decision that bedtime doesn't always take precedence over discovering nature.

My mother read this to me while we were living on a farm in southwestern Wisconsin, where this book is set, which made the stories even more important to me.

A wonderful bedtime story for any child longing to see the natural world at night.

This book describes the author's nighttime walks with her children during each of a year's thirteen full moons. Through these chapters the reader experiences the thrill and awe of moonlit discoveries. Reading this book to children is a wonderful way to introduce them to nature. Most children and parents who read this book will want to follow its example, and both will benefit if they do. It would be an excellent resource for elementary school teachers. Very well written and illustrated.

Dr. Schaeffer and Dr. C. Evert Koop have written a masterful book on the "roberry of life" in the world, and particularly, Western Culture. Interestenly, this text, written over 20 years ago addresses the "devaluation of human life" and prophetically predicts the acceptance of redefining what it means to be a person and alive.

Ideas now coming to the forefront on news programs and the like, are already discussed here. Items such as "genetic" knowledge and its impact on abortion and infanticide. Further, Euthanasia is also discussed.

The last two chapters deals with "The Basis For Human Dignity" and what should be the response of the Christian. The arguments are solid, yet, written in a style that lay-people can easily understand and follow. This book crosses educational lines and denominational barriers between Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox; since it is a subject of great importance to all Christians. A must have.

This book was originally published in 1979 and revised in 1983. Before Terri Schiavo, before assisted suicide laws, before Dr. Kevorkian, even before C. Everett Koop was Surgeon General of the U.S., he and the late Francis Schaeffer, a prominent theologian, were sounding a warning about the growing devaluation of human life and how it would lead to infanticide and euthanasia.

I'm just in the process of reading this book right now. It is so right on that it's eery to read it now more than 25 years after its first publication. I recommend this book for background reading for everyone who is continuing Terri's battle for justice. Share it with your friends, too, who think there is nothing wrong with what was done to Terri Schiavo.

This book is very accurate prophesy as to what would happen when abortion became legal in any country that legalized it. First came taking life in the womb before it is born, then came taking it in infancy (i.e "Baby Doe" cases in the 1980's, China's infanticide of second children and our country's Susan Smith murder case and "prom parents" in the 1990's). A must for those who think abortion, infanticide and euthanasia are "rights" that are freely chosen.

As a law professor, I thought I knew everything about schadenfreude, but then I read John Portmann's fascinating book, and it made me think about the terrible things that happen to people who deserve to have even worse things happen to them in a completely new light. Why is it that we feel such satisfaction at the misfortunes of others? Portmann explains, in a wonderfully lucid and elegant style, the differences among the various senses in which we view the bad things that might happen, ranging from comedy through true tragedy. This book is a real crossover between scholarship and a delightful read.

The real title of this study might have been something much less appealing, like, Schadenfreude: It's Meaning, Experience and Social Ramification. Or, The Anatomy of Schadenfreude. That would have seriously limited its appeal to the average reader perhaps. (So it's just as well that the title parallels the recently very popular, but not so good, book called When Bad Things Happen to Good People.)
But, the fact is, that really is the content of the book, and fascinating and delightful it is. The prose style is crystal and orderly, almost like a serious dissertation that went through a top-notch editor (although there is a typo here and there, but who's counting?).
This emotion that has no proper English name is dissected not only in a variety of ways, but also at a variety of angles, revealing unexpected relationships between this pecadillo and our construct of justice. For example, Do we take pleasure in the justice that is served when one who "deserves" it gets his/her comeuppance? Or is it that we take pleasure in the knowledge that we were lucky enough to have been spared the same nasty spill of fate? Is Schadenfreude the same thing as malice? What about the element of anticipation? Even if we may not consciously wish any person any harm, but still find it somewhat pleasurable to discover that so-and-so was laid-off or demoted, are we guilty? Why is that some tiny little part of us "dies" when our friends succeed, and do better than we do?
How is Schadenfreude different from envy, malice, jealousy, and resentment?
Questions such as these and many more are carefully examined by cross-referencing Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and modern scholars of ethics, including John Rawls. Complex theme but Portman is a gentleman scholar, goes out of his way (albeit effortlessly) to make clear all his references.

Why do we (sometimes) delight in the suffering of our fellow humans? Should we fell ashamed of schadenfreude and other "outlaw emotions," as the author calls them? John Portmann has produced an elegant and readable meditation on the significance of the pleasure we take in the spectacle afforded by the misfortures of others. Portmann carefully distinguishes schadenfreude from garden variety malice in the course of his examination of what great philosophers and the world's major religions have to tell us about the subject. Throughout the book, the author comes across as brilliant and compassionate, but never dull or stuffy, even when he argues (in the conclusion) that the satisfactions of mercy can be every bit as great as those of revenge. When Bad Things Happen to Other People is an important contribution to the growing literature on human emotions.

About the Author: There is a fairly long history of Dr. Mackey's life and career already on this site. My own knowledge of Francis Mackey is more personal. He is a resident of the same retirement community in which my mother lives. I met Dr. Mackey at the retirement community. I know him as an extraordinarily caring and compassionate physician. Although retired, Francis is always available to offer his caring support to all. This book arose out of Dr. Mackey's own battles with colon cancer and is his gift to all of us - women and men who have been diagnosed with colon cancer, their wives, children, and friends.

Who Should Read this Book: This is a book for men and women over 50 and their families and friends. In my view, medical students, nurses, and physicians should also read it.

What You'll Learn: About the Normal and Not-So-Normal Colon - The book begins with a description of the normal colon, along with a helpful diagram. Dr. Mackey then goes on to explain the importance of polyps, the "culprit" in colon cancer. In easy-to-understand language, Dr. Mackey explains the various kinds of polyps, where they are likely to be located in the colon, and the various tests to reveal polyps. Later in the book, Dr. Mackey makes a strong case for the use of a colonoscopy. Currently, many health insurance plans don't cover colonoscopies, finding them too expensive. The book argues persuasively that the failure to cover colonoscopies not only results in unnecessary deaths but also costs all of us more over the long run. In chapters 5-8, Dr. Mackey recounts his own experience with surgery and chemotherapy. These very personal chapters contain invaluable information for those fighting colon cancer. Here we learn about the importance of personal hygiene, dealing with depression, fighting pain, the need for exercise, checking your medications, the use of complementary medicines, prayer, etc.

Reviewer's Summary: Why Die of Colon Cancer? is a well-researched and clearly written book. Those of us who follow Dr. Mackey's advice will no doubt live free of colon cancer. For many of us who have health insurance that will not cover a colonoscopy and who do not have the personal means to pay for the test, this book is a call-to-action.

Why Die of Colon Cancer? by Francis G. Mackey, M. D., describes, in laymen's' terms, how one can virtually "immunize" oneself and one's loved ones against colon cancer, the second-largest form of cancer-killer that claims 60,000 lives a year. As such, this book is literally a "gift of life." The key: getting a colonoscopy, a painless procedure, every 7 to 10 years (upon reaching 35 if there's a history of colon cancer in one's family, or other risk factors; or, starting at age 40-50 if not).

Written in an engaging, straightforward, highly readable, and conversational tone- and a quick read (the main body is 80 pages)-Why Die? is one of the most important books to read this year for every adult who is 30 and over.

Why Die of Colon Cancer? is important and timely because it debunks as inadequate, misleading, and a waste of time and money the four other unpleasant colon-cancer diagnostic procedures that still remain widely recommended: the digital rectal examination, the fecal occult blood test, the sigmoidoscopy, and the barium-enema x-ray. Read this book, and you'll be armed with all the facts you'll need to talk your doctor out of these hugely flawed and dreaded procedures! As one who has had an uncomfortable and useless sigmoidoscopy and a painless and reliable colonscopy, I guarantee this knowledge is worth the price of the book alone!

The book (a) describes the colonoscopy, the procedure you should ask -- no, insist-- of your doctor; (b) persuades you or a loved one to get a colonoscopy, if you or (s)he is reluctant to get it; and (c) relates first-hand testimony by a very knowledgeable, insightful and compassionate doctor-patient-author of the consequences of colon cancer and how to cope with them. It is an excellent resource for those who have been struck by this terrible disease, and includes 33 pages of a glossary and appendices with reviews of helpful books and web sites.

Executives, doctors, and regulators of the health care delivery and health insurance fields will find Why Die? invaluable. It makes the medical AND dollars-and-cents case for the broad adoption of colonscopy screening by all health maintenance and care organizations. It also makes a great hand-out to patients who need colonscopies but are resisting recommendations.

Dr. Mackey wanted to make sure his last act of medical careÐ this book, a gift of life for us allÐ was published before he died of colon cancer. Please accept his gift. No one need die of this disease as he did March 17, 2001.

Dr. Mackey offers a wealth of practical, informed, and first-hand advice on how to avoid a basically avoidable disease - colon cancer. From his own experiences and medical knowledge, he talks sensitively, but persuasively about the power each of us has to take charge of our lives. If nothing else, I learned two things: One, that a colonoscopy is far more preferable in the proper course of prevention of colon cancer than a Sigmoid by itself (or even in combination with anything else). And two, in today's time-pressed and dollars-pressed medical environment, it is extremely important for each of us to ask questions of our medical professionals and to learn as much as possible about the diseases they diagnose in us and the efficacy of the various options that exist to combat them. But most importantly, the best way to combat cancer or most any other disease is education, communication, and prevention.

Why praise God? is a refreshing attempt to marry religious devotions to modern thoughts on cosmology. With broad strokes, the author combines modern scientific concepts to 'old-fashioned' piety. Many will particularly like the prayerful reflections at the end of each chapter. The author sweeps the reader up and takes him on a journey from the Big Bang to the end of his own worldly tenure and peers beyond for a glimpse of the other side from which none has ever returned.

A most commendable book.
It is indeed a very interesting and well written book

Paul Pang CSSR

What strikes me very much is that the author very eloquently express those questions many of us have deep within about life and God but are unable to convey. And he goes on to provide some very convincing and uplifting responses to those questions. A must read for anyone who wants (and is brave enough)to ponder on the meaning of our lives, beyond our careers, material acquisition and 21st century lifestyle.

Well-written and well-researched thriller that can't be put down. Keeps you breathless from beginning to end.

A fast-paced adventure novel of intrigue, action, and suspense. Your interest is held high right through to the end!

Set in Norway in the early 1960's, `Wolf Winter' is a mystery thriller that keeps you turning the page to find out what happens next.
Against the backdrop of the Cold War, it centers on well arctic explorer, Halvard Starheim, the beautiful widow of his best friend Jan Johansen, Ragna, and the villainous leftwing playboy-journalist Rolf Berg.

Someone is betraying Norway to the Soviets, and has been responsible for the death of several of Hal's friends? We explore the icy tundra of northern Norway, the politics of the Cold War, and interpersonal relationships, in this thrilling novel, which is impossible to put down.
You will be compelled to always ask `What is going to happen now?' `What will he do? , what will she do?'.

Written in 1979 and revised recently in 1996, Douglas and Isherwood's classic breaks through our own love/hate relationship with consumption and the biased interpretations of history and the present to look in a reasoned fashion at the patterns with which all people choose to buy things and the affiliations we create using these things. Lamenting the fact that economics has restricted itself by limiting human tastes to a black-box phenomenon, Douglas (a renowned, now retired, anthropologist) rips open the box and finds many convincing arguments for the uses of goods as a means of communication in all societies.

Additionally, they discuss previous and current ideas about why people save, or don't consume, and provide excellent comparative analyses between societies in Great Britain, blacks and whites in the US, the Nuer of the Sudan, and Zimbabwe's Lele people. What the reader comes away with is a deeper understanding of how people use consumption, both consciously and unconsciously, to provide information about themselves, send messages to others, and try to control the flow of culture and information to best benefit themselves and their interests.

The writing, which I have the impression was mostly written by Douglas since I'm familiar with her style from other books, feels a bit cerebral but is extremely lucid and will keep you on your toes with novel interpretations of familiar cultural phenomena.

In this book, a renowned structural anthropologist collaborates with an economist to propose an explanation for one of the great mysteries of economics: where do "preferences" come from? Much of neoclassical economics rests on the assumption that, once we know the basic desires and tastes for a given population, we can then understand how people make rational decisions about how to acquire them and how to allocate their resources. The actual preferences themselves, however, are a black box. Douglas & Isherwood tackle this problem, evaluating several theories of "rational" economic actors from cross-cultural and systems theoretical perspectives. Their answer is that many of these mysteries are not so mysterious after all: we have good reasons for valuing the things we value, and many of the apparently frivolous fads and fashions are in fact life-and-death matters. "Good taste" is an index of social connections, of reproductive fitness, of one's ability to mobilize resources -- and in a society increasingly dependent on information and services rather than physical products, the race to remain on the cutting edge becomes like traveling with the Red Queen, faster and faster just to stay in place. Along the way, Douglas throws out a number of gems which are incidental to her argument, including a proposal for why women's work is always and everywhere valued less than men's. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in what anthropologists can tell us about the deep logics of behavior in the consumer society.

This is one of the early anthropological critiques of neo-classical economics. Many of the ideas expounded here are now being seriously pondered by economists who are attempting to find ways around them. Douglas,who is arguably the best known British anthropologist of her generation, has a particular insight into the way economist think - possibly because her husband is an economist. This makes her uniquely qualifed to provide us with an anthropology of consumption, that does not dismiss economists, as much as show how much they miss by not understanding the cultural dimensions of consumption.