Lawrence Books

I bought two of these Bibles for my children and absolutely love them! I showed them to my Pastor's wife and we're talking about ordering more to give out as prizes for Vacation Bible School. As said in another review, I was disappointed that Christ's words are not in red or at least highlighted. But that is the only thing I'd change!

These Bibles were purchased for my grandchildren. They love them and they are colorful but they are complete KJV Bibles which was hard to find in stores for kids.

I was so happy with my purchase. My son is 9 1/2 and he was very intriqued with all of the pages that helped him look up stuff that he found interesting.

For those committed to the use of the Authorized Version of the Holy Bible this is an excellent resource for children of all ages. There are many helpful features to keep the child's interest in addition to the faithful text of the King James. Most importantly, there are no pictures of the Saviour. Most of the children in our church now have a copy.

I purchased this Bible for my then 4 year old son. He was begging for a Bible that we could use to study in at night. We searched forever to find a King James Version children's Bible. When I found this one and saw all of the great reviews, I knew it would be perfect. Now that he is learning to read, it is perfect for him. He is able to follow along with our pastor during church service and the extra little sections and study guides are perfect for us to use at bedtime. The illustrations usually catch his eye and give us a place to start studying. I highly recommend it. I am thinking about getting one for myself!

The first few pages of this book drove me to my dictionary repeatedly. Hardly a single page left me without the intense need to dive into my dictionary - and an excellent dictionary at that. I found more often than not that the words searched for were not there, or that the meanings that made sense were obscure, or idiosyncratic. I realized quickly that I could not possibly get through the entire book that way and decided to just relax, understand what I could, and forget about struggling with what I could not. Mr. Millman is an independent soul and he makes up words, uses slang I am not familiar with and also uses obscure words in common and sometimes uncommon ways. I think this delights him. His travels delighted me. And Mr. Millman appears to be a delightful, jocular person who is comfortable in strange, lonely places. I am glad to have been taken on this trip with him through his book. I highly recommend this book particularly to people who are not so compulsive as to need to understand every nuance of what they are reading. Unfortunately for me, I am that compulsive person. Like Mr. Millman's journeys, it is often a journey into an unknown place.

As one who loves adventure travel I rate this as one of the best accounts ever for one chasing through this part of the world. It was especially meaningful as I have traveled the same route...The Shetlands, The Faroes, Iceland, Greenland and Labrador. How much fun to re-live it through the eyes of Lawrence Millman. Unlike Millman, I never had the chance to meet and live with the folks like he did. His encounters with the locals are so funny and engaging that you'll find yourself laughing throughout the book. If you are the least bit interested in this part of the world, read this book first and you'll hardly be able to wait to start your trip. This man is truly a great story teller and the kind of guy you'd just like to sit down with and rehash his adventures. What a great book!

There is a reason why every rating here (so far) is 5 stars - read it and you will find out why.

The best travel book I have ever read. I picked it up becasue I had been in a couple of the places covered in the book. Millman truly captures the sense of place, people, life and environment and is funnier than you can ever imagine travel writing being. He gets involved with the locals and this leads to our discovery of some very interesting local customs. He provides the best description of being sea sick that I have ever read - I could almost feel it!

I have loaned this book to so many people that it is dog-eared. It is the book we always talk about year after year and have great laughs.

A June through October vagabondage in the shadows of the Viking far-farers. Lawrence Millman wanders from Norway to Newfoundland by way of the Faeroes, Iceland, and Greenland. His engaging mix of descriptions of the local color and his own wry humour make for some fine and entertaining reading. Written in a journal travelogue style with just enough history and customs mixed in to tempt you to visit these "last places".
An excellent adventure story. Highly recommended.

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts

As a polar regions travel junkie, I devoured Millman's account of his journey through the Faeroes, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, and places in between. I thought he did an admirable job of relaying the harships of life (especially in Greenland) while always coming back to the mysterious appeal that this region holds for many.

Although Lawrence's book has many of the same guidelines for success as other books, she adds something a bit different too. It's technique called Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT.

EFT is a tool used to clear away emotional patterns and beliefs by tapping (yes, literally) on parts of your body. The locations are illustrated in the book. Tapping clears your energy field. The exercise also includes visualization techniques and affirmations.

The book centers on couples, but is directed at removing fear and fear based actions that sabotage relationships. Singles can benefit from the principles taught such as how to clear money fears, creating a vision for love, and remove the fear of commitment.

If you ask me if it works, I'd have to say it depends on the individual. If you believe the mind can be reconditioned, then yes. Maybe I sound a bit cynical, but it's been my experience these types of books are only as powerful as the person's desire to change.

When I started the road to self-improvement, I had become sick and tired of who and what I had become. So if I was told that I'd have to dress up in a pink flamingo outfit and handout flyers to the alligators that said "Eat Me!" I would have. Luckily LOVE'S SECRET doesn't have something like that in the guidelines, but some of the exercises can be perceived to be as uncomfortable or frightening. It's all about taking risks and getting out of the self-destructive cycle. Lawrence's book is easy to understand and covers problems that hold couples back from genuine happiness. It's a book I'd highly recommend.

Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (2/08)

When I started reading "Love's Secret: Live Your Life in Love" I knew very quickly that this book was more than just the usual self-help book. The author not only counsels people about love, but she lives the principles herself. The cover of the book depicts this perfectly as it is a picture of Lawrence and her husband, the love of her life.

The book is broken into twelve Love's Secrets. These include: commit to love, clear beliefs, developing trust, open your heart, vision for love, love habits, create a safe place, keep passion alive, focus on love, celebrate love, rituals of love and create support. Each chapter addresses the topic of choice and Lawrence tells patient stories to get her point across. At the close of most of the chapters are Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) exercises. These are used to clear emotional energy and blocks from the body. The author describes this exercise best "This technique includes tapping on nine major points that correlate to the energy meridians that traverse the body. When we either deny or ignore emotions, that we are uncomfortable with, these emotions get stuck and cause both emotional and physical reactions." During each exercise you will begin by making a statement and then tap on the correlated emotional center. An illustration in the appendix shows you exactly where to begin the tapping.

I found the chapters to be very useful not only in relationships, but also in helping to get in touch with myself so that I can be completely open in a relationship. I read the book straight through but plan to take Lawrence's advice and go back and spend time working on each chapter by reading, journaling and performing the EFT exercises. My favorite chapter was Secret Number 11 - Creating Rituals. I will not spoil the chapter by describing the rituals, but suffice it to say that they should spice up even the dullest relationships!

When Lawrence is not writing, she is running her retreat center in Sedona, Arizona. There are personal, group and couples' retreats held in Sedona, California and Hawaii. I went to the website, www.retreatandheal.com, and the retreats sound wonderful and healing. I am definitely putting the personal retreat on my own personal to-do list. I highly recommend "Love's Secret: Live Your Life in Love" to anyone who is thinking about going into a relationship or already in one. The techniques taught here will assist in making your relationship the best that it can be.

Abuse, molestation, abandonment, neglect, emotional isolation - we are all familiar with the realities of childhood trauma. For those who have experienced them, such events have left indelible emotional, spiritual, or psychological scars. As a result of the pain, traumatized children become ill-adjusted adults, still struggling to maneuver through the maze of everyday life with limited trust and faith as their guides.

Nowhere is this reality more manifest than in the world of interpersonal relationships, particularly love. An often mercurial and confusing practice, the act of loving someone is made more difficult by unresolved emotional conflict that restricts our ability to open ourselves fully to such an unknown, unpredictable concept. Add to that the uncertainty of trusting the innocence of another individual's motives (especially if such trust were a major factor in childhood trauma), and it becomes nearly impossible to imagine ever knowing and embracing true love for one's own.

Enter Love's Secret: an informative, enlightening tome by Annie Lawrence. Reading like an expert how-to guide to spiritual harmony, Love's Secret is an insightful, integrative manual designed to address the realities of childhood trauma head-on in an effort to reconcile lingering pain and trust issues once and for all for the sake of emotional healing and spiritual well-being.

Most refreshing about Love's Secret is that Lawrence does more than offer simple platitudes or vague, general nuggets of advice. Instead, she provides the reader with specific case histories of individuals with a range of underlying emotional trauma, addressing each individual situation with a detailed analysis of its true cause/nature, as well as the particular solution best suited to resolve it. In an age of cookie-cutter self-help gurus, such a focused, personalized technique is both welcome and refreshing. Moreover, by including a broad base of subjects in her observations, Lawrence presents a kaleidoscopic collection of humanity, ensuring that her message will be received by a broad cross-section of individuals from all walks of life.

From illustrative guidance to helpful quotes to practical everyday exercises, Love's Secret is a balm for wounded souls everywhere. Highly recommended.

Love's Secret Live Your Life in Lovewas awarded finalist in USA Book News in self-help relationship. It is a book that all couples can benefit from that want more love and passion.

Annie Lawrence is ready to share her 12 secrets to living a life full of love and purpose in her new book, Love's Secret. She focuses intensely on the relationship and what it takes to make the union one of positive growth and support. Not only can we grow as a couple in relationship, but also develop as a person emotionally and spiritually. Lawrence's writing is truly magnetic and her ability to connect with the reader is superior. If you are ready to walk away with a great deal more knowledge than before, it's definitely time to begin this particular journey.

Relationships can bring out personal fears; humbling "fall to your knees" type of fear. We are faced with aspects of intimacy and self knowledge that can be challenging to address. Intimacy is scary to some who may not feel familiar with it, especially in childhood. Relationships can also force us to acknowledge shadows in ourselves that are sometimes difficult to see. We must make a commitment in relationship to attend to our core issues that we develop in youth. "Core issues created in your childhood are the magnetic pull that draws you toward your perfect partner in order to begin your healing journey." It is a place where our life's work begins if we remain committed to growth and healing.

In Love's Secret, Lawrence discusses a process called EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). "EFT is an effective tool to clear away emotional patterns and beliefs in the emotional body and energy meridians in your physical body." It includes tapping areas of the body that "correlate to energy meridians" and using affirmations of self acceptance, love and forgiveness. The author extends resources for readers wanting to learn more.

As she continues through each secret, she shares her own personal experiences, as well as the experiences of clients who benefitted from the 12 secrets. The author writes of healing, which is basically the spiritual journey of life. We are here to face our core issues, love, and heal. First, however, we must clear our belief system. "Preprogrammed beliefs and patterns passed on to you through your environment and families are your life lessons." We must take time for inner reflection and find what is true for us. What patterns exist? It is a path for the brave of heart to seek out a healing of spirit. Lawrence recommends journaling so that we become more aware of our moods, thoughts, and habits that can sabotage our greatest intentions. Her questions posted after each secret are quite helpful to gain a better understanding of where we are and where we want to be.

To become vulnerable enough to take an honest look at ourselves, we must develop trust in ourselves, the relationship, and in a loving universe. Being able to give up our need to control everything is where change begins. According to the author, this is where we own our true power. Sometimes in childhood, we learn to close our hearts as a self protective device. This soul journey can only be done with an open heart...a heart open to intimacy. As our issues surface, we focus on our healing, and life is anew with each resolved issue.

With increased awareness, we are ready to create a new vision of love. "Meditation and yoga had taught them (Judy and Larry) how to access their inner wisdom. This gave them a mutual tool for connecting to their heart to access their heart's desires." We are ready to share our dreams and truly hear what our partner desires and envisions.

Love's Secret goes on to share valuable wisdom through the remaining secrets addressed. This wisdom can change a life and it can change the world as we see it. True change begins within and cannot help but transform the world. Annie Lawrence is a healer of relationships and injured spirits. This is truly her contribution of guidance. She urges her readers to look beyond the surface of daily living into the spiritual aspects of healing the pain that can control the lives we've created. We can reach beyond the pain, from a healed heart, into the passion of divine possibilities. Love's Secret is for the couple and the spirit seeking more love and greater peace. It is a significant source of comfort and counsel.

Annie B. Lawrence is obviously a great teacher. Her book contains everything you need to let go of the old and prepare yourself to bring new love into your life. Love's Secret is filled with exercises and examples that make everything clear and simple yet life changing. I feel so much love in my life after reading and experiencing her book. Thank you, Annie.

I bought this book as a graphic design student upon a teacher's recommendation and it saved my butt on many a homework project when I needed to figure out how to get something done. I've since gone on to become a professional graphic designer and though I'm up to QuarkXPress 6.5 this book is still valid and has still come in handy for looking up the odd hotkey or some odd paragraph formatting.

The book is clean and concise and very logically ordered. The index in the back makes it very easy to find what you're looking for and if you can't think of the name for something you can find it easily by browsing since the book is so well organized.

Each element is plainly described and accompanied by a picture - don't let the greyscale images fool you, they get directly to the point so you can see exactly how to accomplish something.

I've seen a lot of XPress books out there, many 5-times the thickness of this book but all those other books seem to add superfluous text just to fill pages where this book gets to the point. Of all my books for design and design software, this has by far been my most helpful and most used.

Just what I needed to learn QuarkXPress!

If you're like me, and you'd rather jump into a manual than sit in a classroom, then this Visual Quick-Start is for you. This is the fourth VQS book I've bought and it doesn't disappoint. Actually, I'm a Quark Xpress power user, but needed to train some non-design trained coworkers on basic Quark usage. The simple step-by-step sections are easily digested and build on each other as you progress. Alternately it serves as a great reference is you just want to learn how to do a single task.

I bought this book as a last resort because my Computer Graphics professor told us we would need lots of tutoring in order to pass with good grades. I was totally "Quark illiterate" before taking this course and buying the book. Honestly, this book explains a lot more than a tedious 3 week course in class could. The book has taken me step-by-step through all the process of learning style-sheets and type-boxes. This is all stuff I would have never been able to learn if not for the book itself.

Elaine Weinmann's very well illustrated and easy to read/follow excersises are what any student needs to reach their goal in QuarkXPress. My copy is different in color to the one sold here, but it looks exactly like the one my professor uses.
And, because the book is not really that thick, it can fit in either a backpack or a briefcase. The only main problem I have with the book itself is the paper-back style. It will fray and dog-ear pretty fast, so take good care of this "Bible for Quark".

And...for those whom are not too sure of their Keyboard shortcuts, thank God, they put them in the back of the book.
At least I don't have to search my binder for my photocopies! That little extra is a Godsend. Especially when you are being tested on the shortcuts.

Get the book. Hope my review helped you.

I'm a graphic design student and bought this book to aid me with the learning process of Quark. I found the book helpful and easy to read. There are parts that need more work, but it explains how to do things step by step. A beginner can use this book to guide him/her through the process of making a layout and using all the tools available in Quark.

This is an inspriring book. I highly recommend this book for young scientists and anyone who is thinking about a life of research. This should be recommended reading for CS students everywhere.

"The Art of Scientific Innovations" by Professor Syed Ahamed and Dr. Lawrence provides invaluable insights into the great minds and history behind key innovations that continue to greatly impact our lives today. I had the pleasure of meting authors on a number of occasions and have great respect for their vision and dedication to help advance knowledge with a view to improve the quality and well being of our existence as a humanity overall. I can not think of a more inspiring and motivating book than the "The Art of Scientific Innovations" for Doctoral students and alike for whom this book has been dedicated to. Written in a clear and concise manner, the book enables appreciation of the efforts spent in the advancement of science as well as understanding of the characteristics and common threads of great scientific innovations.

I always think that how the artistic ppl think about the things, how they comes up with the new ideas.This is true that the way we looked up the thing is different from the ppl who are scientist.This book help me a lot to improve my creativity skills.

Ideas presented in this book, "The Art of Scientific Innovation: Cases of Classic Creativity", and taught by the author Professor Syed Ahamed in class are proven fruitful for many of his students including myself. The book actually leads "from realization of a concept to the development of a device intended to serve a commercial or social need". It helped a great deal to successfully finish my research on a subject (financial networks), defend my dissertation, implement my ideas in industry and keep working on a patent.
The broad audience of researchers will greatly benefit from this book.

The Art of Scientific Innovation by Professor Syed V Ahamed and Dr Victor Lawrence is a contribution to graduate education not readily found in other scientific text material. What the authors have done is to share their personal experience with guiding Ph.D. students in graduate dissertation work. They elicit the essential ingredients of performing seminal contributions to the field of endeavor. They have created a stream of outstanding flow of scientific creativity by researchers who have made some of the largest contributions to the art of scientific innovation. This report of these contributions combined with their personal analysis of the dissertation process make this a work that should be read by all Ph.D students.

In 1979 Alexandr Romanovich Luria's autobiography "The Making of Mind" was published. Luria, no question about it, represented during the XX century one of the most influential researchers in social, behavioral, and neurological areas. His theoretical approaches and clinical interpretations, as stated in this book, continue being contemporary ideas.

Luria lived one of the most exciting historical moments that any person can live, not only from the scientific, but also from the social point of view. It was a time of rapid scientific development and profound social changes. He developed different research programs and worked in different environments. But throughout his life, his contagious enthusiasm in understanding human cognition was his life passion; this passion was the guiding thread in all the different research programs that he developed across his life: measuring emotions, comparing identical twins, studying conceptual abilities in illiterate people, testing patients with brain pathology, analyzing mental retardation, approaching the role of frontal lobes in behavior, and others.

Now, his 1979 autobiography becomes alive, visual, and real, with the DVD that is included in this book. Michael Cole -very likely the person who best knows about Luria's life and work- initially makes an extraordinary presentation of Luria's life and research. It becomes easy to understand Luria's scientific career and social context since his beginning in Kazan until his death in Moscow. Further, a series of interviews with people who worked with Luria or had some significant professional relationship with Luria are included. Luria's life appears as something direct, and specially, very real. His enthusiasm, generosity, and profound understanding of human's nature, are repeated over and over by all the people who had the opportunity to meet Luria, or had any type of relationship with him.

It is true -as Luria frequently stated- that people come and go and only the solid work remains. But in human history some times a unique combination of scientific understanding, intelligence, and personality characteristics is found. Those people do not simply "come and go", but become a symbol of the most significant human endeavors: to understand the world, to understand ourselves, and to understand that we socially share our lives.

This book is, simply speaking, a unique book about a unique person.

This autobiography with introduction and epilogue plus DVD is essential Luria reading. It brings him to life in the present era when traumatic brain injuries in Iraq make Luria's work more relevant than ever. Beyond simplistic brain localization of psychological functions, Luria attuned us to the fundamental importance of phenomelogical processes essential in rehabilitation.

Luria's Autobiography is an immensely readable book. It is also very informative about the lasting contributions that Luria made in many fields of psychology, from his work on language and thinking to the neurosurgical rehabilitation of traumatized victims of the Second World War and the resulting creation of the discipline of neuropsychology. For me personally, the most valuable feature of the autobiography was Luria's account, in Chapter 3, of the work that he did in collaboration with Vygotsky, which provides an easy to understand and succinct overview of their aim "to create a new, comprehensive approach to human psychological processes." Having read what Luria did, both in his own work and in preserving the sociohistorical tradition that he, Vygotsky and Leont'ev initiated, one can see why Toulmin wrote "Luria was Beethoven to Vygotsky, and Vygotsky can be seen as the Mozart of psychology."
This new edition of the Autobiography is subtitled A Dialogue with the Making of Mind. The dialogue takes the form of several chapters: a preface that puts Luria's text in its historical and intellectual context; an Epilogue by Michael Cole entitled A Portrait of Luria; and two further chapters by Cole and Karl Levitin, which provide a rounded picture of Luria as a human being and of his intellectual and moral tenacity in managing to sustain his driving interests through the changes in the nature of his professional work that were forced on him by the political upheavals that took place during the years of Stalinism.
It is to Luria, in great part, that we owe the survival of Vygotsky's work. What this autobiography makes clear is how much Luria himself contributed to that legacy and to the evergrowing, world-wide interest in socio-cultural-historical theory and its conceptualization of the Making of Mind.

The book is a second addition of Luria's autobiography that was first published in 1979 under the tile " The Making of Mind. A personal account of Soviet Psychology", accompanied with the attachment "Luria in retrospect" written by a distinguished American cross-cultural researcher and theoretician Michael Cole and a Russian science journalist Karl Levitin. Of special interest is the Preface, in which the above authors set up an ambitious goal of bringing together Luria's own account of his scientific life and "the extraordinary social context that accompanied and often shaped the lines of work" described in that account.
The new materials included are of great interest, particularly for western readers whose ideas about being a scientist in the Soviet Union tend to be limited by stereotypes, such as GULAG and Stalin's repressions. In reality, the link between a social context and the development of scientific ideas is a complex and indirect one. For instance, a prominent Russian and Soviet philosopher Alexej Losev went all the way through GULAG, yet he remained faithful to the great traditions of European philosophy and published his top class philosophical works at the same time with Luria. While I agree that Luria's work has indeed been framed in an extraordinary social context (the Russian revolution, the Great and the Second world wars, Stalin's persecutions), I don't think that this context had a final word in shaping Luria's evolution as a scientist. For instance, the episode when Luria is persuading his student Goldberg to join the Communist Party, with Goldberg politely avoiding the offer, is curious and a characteristic feature of that time, but the reader learns little from it about either Luria or Goldberg as scientists. It is true that Luria's life and career were aggravated by the political situation in the country, but so were the lives of most Russian intelligentsia, among whom Luria was yet one of the luckiest. The Epilogue written by Michael Cole is interesting and rich in personal detail but tends to explain major shifts in Luria's science career by changes in the political atmosphere in the Soviet Union rather then by the inner logic of Luria's growth as a psychologist. For instance, the late 1930th, when Luria dropped his cross-cultural research, was a tough time indeed, but this does not explain why Luria never returned to these studies in later and much easier times. Most importantly, the new materials miss the real drama of Luria's life as a scientist - the drama that, indirectly, emerges from Luria's own account.
This drama began in the 1920, when Luria, as a young scientist, was confronted with the two possible ways of approaching the human mind: the explanatory and the "descriptive" ones. The explanatory mode modelled a study of the mind on the study of natural phenomena, by establishing "causal" links between stimuli (the causes) and reactions (the effects), and the descriptive mode drew on the fact that an individual (a scientist) has a privileged access to his or her own mind and can therefore, directly observe the effects that the stimuli produce. Having tried himself in both approaches (reactological and phenomenological ones), Luria dreamed of finding "a third way" - an objective way of studying human emotions "that were an integral part of people's real life"(p.36). The way that Luria followed in his studies of "The nature of human conflicts" (1976) (establishing the links between verbal stimuli and combined verbal and motor reactions) was objective but completely within the existing "reactological" approach. This way did not satisfy Luria as it was missing the rich phenomenology of human emotions (e.g., was not part of people's real life), and the phenomenological approaches offered by psychoanalysis and Dilthey's "descriptive psychology" seemed to lack objectivity. He was not clear about what this third way should be like. Luria was unaware that the impossibility of the "third way" had been shown three hundred years ago by Renee Descartes (1993/1641), and even in greater detail about a hundred years later by Immanuel Kant (1929/1781). More strangely, he paid no attention to the important and philosophically profound works on that matter published by his older contemporaries and compatriots Grot, Lopatin, Astaf'ev, and Chelpanov (see, for instance, Grot, 1889, and others in this volume). It is also clear from Luria's account that both Chelpanov and Pavlov, though from two opposite positions, clearly understood the inevitability of the dual (e.g., mentalistic and behavioristic) way of studying the mind. Coincidentally, Chelpanov (a founder of the first Russian psychology institute) fell a victim of the revolutionary political games for his "philosophical idealism", and the whole line of the Russian neo-Kantian tradition in philosophy and psychology was terminated. In his memoirs, Luria mentioned this tradition only collaterally, as an influence of German psychology of the XIXth century on psychology in Russia - the factor that in his view was impeding, rather then promoting, progress of psychology. "I found little of value in the dry, pre-Revolutionary academic psychology..., which was strongly influenced by German philosophy and psychology" -- Luria writes (p.21). "Most psychologists were still working out problems that had been set many years before by Wilhelm Wundt, the Wurzburg school, and the neo-Kantian philosophers" - he continues. So, when young Luria entered the battlefield of methodological debates in psychology, he was full of energy and hope to find his own way to the human mind - the way different from those two that have been found before.
One can only speculate to what extent Luria could have benefited in his later career had he considered seriously the lessons of the European philosophical tradition of approaching the mind. For instance, Wund published a fundamental multivolume "Volkerpsychologie" in which he showed that individual psychology can not be understood properly without taking into account the fact that it is influenced by cultural traditions, myth and religion (see Green, 2001). So, there was no need in rediscovering the cultural-historical approach. There was also no need in wasting time for the search of the "third way" - the two ways that existed were good enough to accommodate Luria's great talent as an experimental researcher.
In his struggle for the "third way to the human mind", Luria put his hopes in Vygotsky who was obsessed by the same idea of "revolutionizing" psychology via finding the objective way of studying subjective phenomena. For some time, it seemed to Luria that Vygotsky found the solution: "The naturalists and mentalists had artificially dismembered psychology. It was his goal, and our task, to create a new system that would synthesize these conflicting approaches" (p.41). Of course, Vygotsky's "third way" to the human mind (which he called "cultural-historical" or "instrumental" approach) was an illusion. The "instruments" or "mediators" -- language being by far the most powerful of them -- were nothing but auxiliary attachments to stimuli that made the connections between stimuli and reactions more complex and less predictable. In the extreme case, predictive power of these overcomplicated stimuli, such as culture, becomes so poor that it enters the grey area of guesses. For instance, in his classic cross-cultural study of thinking Luria assumed that analytical (formal logical) orientation of thinking is a result of the western type school education, yet recent developmental research has shown that this orientation can be traced even in 4-year-old children (Harris, 2000).
When Luria started his studies on the brain localisation of psychological functions, he was faced with a dilemma again: the phrenology type "strict localisation" theorists versus holistic theorists who "assumed that the brain functions as a whole to produce the psychological functions expressed in behavior" (p.120). As before, Luria voted for the "middle way" - this time quite successfully, as long as both of the extreme theories, as well as Luria's own "functional system" theory, sat comfortably within the reactological paradigm of studying the human mind. Although Luria never stopped mentioning his work with Vygotsky, since the late 30th his romance with the "cultural-historical" theory was over, and he was well back on the track of the reactological approach, by developing behavior based methods for diagnostics and rehabilitation of brain disorders. Here, Vygotsky's concept of higher mental functions proved useful, because it rejected the idea of a rigid link between brain and behavior. Instead, the idea of the systemic structure of "higher mental functions" implied that the link between a function (behavior) and the brain is loose and flexible, and, if damaged, can often be restored by using various auxiliary stimuli. Developing and using these methods, for which Luria coined the term "neropsychological", resulted in his most outstanding achievement: the book "Higher cortical functions in man" (Luria, 1980). Studies on orienting reflex (in cooperation with Sokolov), and on the executive function in children proved quite fruitful as well. Yet, Luria realized that explanatory approach that he devoted most of his studies to was still missing the most important and essential part of the mind - phenomenalistic experience. This realization resulted in his two essays "The Mind of a Mnemonist" and "The Man with a Shattered World', both of which relied on the phenomenological descriptive method which Luria now called "romantic science". However, Luria never considered these phenomenological writings as a match to his reactology based neuropsychological research.
I was a student of Luria in 1971-1973. On Luria's suggestion, we studied the development of programmed behaviour in 2- to 5-year-old children. As a method, we used the "double stimulation" (by visual and verbal commands) of children's actions, similar to that used in the studies of frontal lobe patients. Thought in his early 70th and suffering from a hart condition, Alexander Romanovitch was as energetic and enthusiastic as ever when talking about his beloved executive function and the regulatory role of speech on behaviour. The results of this study were quite interesting (Luria and Subbotsky, 1978), yet very soon I got bored of this approach, viewing it as a version of Luria's earlier studies on the regulatory role of speech in children. But whenever I tried to persuade Luria to change the emphasis of our research in the direction of social, moral and personality development of children, Luria was reluctant to talk about it - reluctant to the extent that suggested a complete lack of interest. Having acquired a worldwide recognition of his studies, Luria was already too tired or too busy to attempt something really new. Or was venturing in these areas going too far away from the solid ground of brain functions and into the misty territory of philosophical debates? In my premature interest to theoretical issues, did I remind him the early years of his own career when theoretical mistakes hade been made? I don't know. But I do remember that Luria was never tired of saying to me "Hold on a theory, attend to simple methodical issues first, the theory will come later". So, how did it happen that a scientist whose attitude towards deep theory was rather cold still managed to achieve so much?
Saying he was well educated and talented is saying not enough. Luria had extraordinary intuition for what they now call experimental cognitive research. It is true that his studies on combined motor reactions, cross-cultural studies on thinking, studies on identical twins were decades ahead of his time. In the 1950th, just before Piaget's studies on cognitive development came into fashion, he and his students extensively studied the development of executive function in children - a hot topic in contemporary cognitive developmental research. His battery of neuropsychological tests is still in great demand in both clinical practice and experimental research. He was a workaholic as well.
In the end of his Epilogue, Michael Cole recalls being present at a dispute at the University of California when the same dilemma of "explanatory versus descriptive approaches to the mind" was discussed that Luria had been faced with more than half a century before. Well, some lessons are never learned. At least, there was no a "third way" proposed in this discussion. "It is indeed ideas that endure. But it is human beings who give them life" - Cole concludes. May be yes, may be no. Perhaps, Plato was right and ideas exist independently of man. Even so, only chosen are lucky to catch a glimpse of them on a back wall of the cave, and Luria was one of them.






Bibliography

Descartes (1993). Meditations on first philosophy. Selected philosophical writings,
Cambridge University Press. (Original work published in 1641)
Green, D. (2001) Classics in the History of Psychology.
YorkUniversity,Toronto,Ontario http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Wundt/Folk/intro.htm
Grot, N.Ja. (1881). The critique of the concept of free will. In "Works of the
Moscow Psychological Society", Moscow, issue III, p.1-96.
Harris, P.L. (2000).The work of the imagination. Oxford: Blackwell.
Kant, I. (1929). Critique of pure reason. London: MacMillan (original work published
in 1781).
Luria, A.R. (1976). The nature of human conflicts, or emotion, conflict and will. New
York: Liveright.
Luria, A.R. (1980) Higher cortical functions in man. New York: Basic Books.
Luria, A.R., and Subbotsky, E.V. (1978). Zur frühen Ontogeneze der steuerden
Funktion der Sprache. In: Die Psychologie des 20 Jahrhunderts, Zürich: Kinder Verlag, pp.1032-1048



Eugene Subbotsky
Lancaster University, Psychology Department
Lancaster, LA1 4YF, UK
E.Subbotsky@lancaster.ac.uk

In this 2005 book, the life of Alexander Romanovich Luria is composed through various attempts to understand and preserve that life. With the additional sections of this book (prologue, epilogue, DVD) that enhance his original autobiography, the reader comes away with the notion that it often takes a few different versions and perspectives to weave together a mosaic of a life and come away with a more complex picture than any one perspective can offer. Therefore the prologue, epilogue and two chapters that put Luria's life in social and personal context breathe life into the otherwise dry and distant autobiography.
In the final section of the book entitled "Luria in Personal Context," the reader learns that Luria "could not write truthfully about the linkages between his personal experience and his scientific work without sever reprisals from the State." Although Luria never states this fact in his own 1979 autobiography, the pressures of the times in the USSR become especially apparent to the reader in the epilogue and the two following sections of the 2005 book. Thus studying an autobiography from a man who lived in a severely repressive social context is a very interesting exercise in observing what happens to a life story when pieces are left out or the life is censored. In Luria's case, his life was censored by the Soviet copyright agency (VAAP) but also by Luria himself, who "firmly believed that the facts of his personal life were of fleeting interest . . ." (255). Luria's telling of his life focuses mainly on his academic studies and research in neuroscience and psychology and therefore comes across as a sort of skeleton of a life story. In reading the epilogue and especially the last two sections and also watching the interviews on the DVD, the reader is able to connect to the life of Luria much more and begin to piece together a more comprehensive picture of his life.
Thus Luria's life is revealed in a much fuller and more personal way by outside people such as Cole, Levitin and the interviewees. Because it is very difficult to relate to the Luria in the 1979 autobiography on a personal level, the interviews really give life to the personal struggles and political pressures faced by this leading Soviet psychologist during his tumultuous lifetime.
Furthermore, with the 2005 book the reader is given fragments of a life that range from clinical research, personal interviews, entries from "The Great Revolution" diary written by Luria during the period of civil war in Russia, an account of a young American psychologist and an attempt to put Luria's life into a social and personal context. Therefore the reader is given a range of perspectives that show Luria as the psychologist, the Russian intellectual, the friend, the father, the teacher and the husband whose environment brought chaos and fear alongside of excitement and invention. Finally, Luria says on page 43 that "Man in not only a product of his environment, he is also an active agent in creating that environment." Thus it becomes very clear that his life was driven by what the social and political context of the times allow but also by individual agency. It was Luria's passion and ambition to create a well-rounded and complex psychology that combined laboratory analysis with simple observation and considered the influence of the social environment that allowed this man to make long-lasting contributions to the field of psychology. Furthermore, the realization that he could have control over what he chose to do in the given circumstances of his environment also allowed Luria live in various directions, engaging in different fields of medicine and psychology and interacting with many patients, colleagues, students, friends and admirers.
Furthermore, Michael Cole's investigation into Luria's work and life is motivated a passion to figure out and do justice to the life of this Soviet psychologist. In Cole's contributions to the 2005 book, it is as if he is trying to fill in the blanks of Luria's life left by the ellipses in the 1979 autobiography. Thus the 2005 book comes across as an attempt to know the person, not only the milestones and accomplishments of a life but also the motivations and emotions that drove such a life. Therefore Cole's curiosity and need for a personal connection to Luria, which is difficult to extract from the 1979 autobiography, allows this story to come alive. Cole immediately puts Luria's life story is into context in the preface, using orientation clauses in a very comprehensive and straight-forward narrative, telling the reader that Luria was born in Kazan in 1902, that he was one of the leading psychologists of the 20th century and that he died in 1977. Cole also points out to the reader that "No where did Alexander Romanovich hint at the complex ideological and institutional constraints that had produced his various research careers . . ." (222). This great difference between what the two men thought a life story should contain is especially apparent in the motivations given by each man to write the two books: First, Luria states in his autobiography, "People come and go, but the creative sources of great historical events and their important ideas and deeds remain" (188). He calls this his "excuse" for writing his life story and therefore one comes to realize why he focuses on his ideas and studies rather than his personal life. Similarly, Cole reveals his own reason from writing the 2005 book in the last sentence of the epilogue: "It is indeed ideas that endure. But it is human beings who give them life" (225). Therefore Cole is interested in giving life to the human being behind the ideas by paying homage to Luria himself with a completely different version of his life. With this motivation to look at the human being, Cole softens Luria's autobiography by guiding the reader to see Luria in a new way by revealing personal information about the focused life.
After reading Cole's prologue and epilogue and realizing that Luria was a very passionate and humanistic neuropsychologist, a good host, a great "adopted father" and teacher to many pupils and a loyal friend, the reader realizes that the 1979 life story of Luria that relies solely on his work is a self-effacing and therefore incomplete representation of this man. It therefore takes Cole's contribution to this life story along with the interviews by Cole and Levitin to fill in the personal life of Luria, which nicely complements his own autobiography.

If I would only have the joy to read one book in my lifetime, it should be See Under: Love.

See Under: Love took my breath away, moved me to tears and touched me in the tenderest reaches of my soul. It is brilliant, imaginative, engaging and humane. The way characters, themes and time wind into each other transport the reader to a place far beyond the mundane. I loved every word. Immediately upon finishing, I went back to the first page to reread. My second reading was more deliberate and careful, and I caught much that I had overlooked in my first pass. I am sure that I will reread it again and again.

I originally bought this book after Jonathan Safran Foer enumerated it in his "Five Most Important Books" for an August 2007 Newsweek piece. Foer called it, "The novel of the 21st century" though it was first published in English in 1989. I thank Jonathan Safran Foer for his own works and, here, this recommendation. And in turn, I hope that I can pass this rare jewel on to others. This is my first review (well, not really a review which is elsewhere on Amazon but a recommendation) but I am compelled to do so. Months after the reading, I find myself thinking about See Under: Love and feeling grateful that I experienced it. This is not an easy book to read but the rewards are multifold. And when you are done, read the transcript of a talk that the author gave for a San Francisco Symposium at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0411/is_1_51/ai_85068470 for even greater insight.

David Grossman has taken the worst that man has to offer and spun it into a magical, magnificent ouevre which will touch you with the human spirit and make you proud to be alive.

Words fail. I beg anyone who has been considering buying into Jonathan Safran Foer's hype to instead find themselves a copy of this, the book from which he appears to have stolen most of his ideas, instead.

All hyperbole aside, this wonderful book has few equals. It demands attention, and reflection, and time, and it rewards those willing to invest those things in it beyond compare. Nothing short on a meditation the way our lives are impacted by the moral calculi of others, and the way our own actions reverberate throughout the generations.

As an Israeli who have read it in Hebrew, I would like to add a few words. One thing: this book is entirely different if you read it in Hebrew. It losses a lot in the translation, and not because the translation is bad, rather that the combination of different layers of very special Hebrew combined with Yiddish, along with the cultural context, makes it a book that is an impossible mission for the translator. Of course, you can't ask someone to learn Hebrew just for this book (and this still won't be enough, because he has to be born again as an Israeli and grow up here to understand everything...), but the book has numerous universal aspects that can be translated, and it's still, even after the translation, a must-read.
And now, for the book itself (if there is such a thing the book itself...).
This is by-far the greatest Israeli book that I have ever read. I had one feeling that went along with me throughout the journey: I don't know how the hell he did. I just don't know. Like a magician that makes a trick you just can't figure. The scope. The depth. I cannot describe this book. It defies space and time. It is a masterpiece.

I don't think I am qualified to write a review of this piece of art. Think Toni Morrison on LSD, or maybe Falkner writing in Hebrew as Isaiah, composing in a way never before conceived, about of all things, The Hollocaust! I guess this most twisted example of human depravity requires such a book. However, if I had not read Mr. Grossman's beautiful love narrative, " Someone to Run With" I would not have known at first if it was a work of genius or a tale told by an idiot, and might not have hung in there long enough to declare it the former - 5 stars! However, a second reading may be required to understand the nuances.

One of the best novels I have ever read. Don't miss it!

This book is one of the most "I can't put it down" books I've read. There are several story lines and it flows extremely well. Just when I thought I had figured out the mystery, there'd be a turn in events. Those who grew up in small town America will definitely appreciate the hometown feel. I look forward to passing my book along to others that look foward to reading it as much as I did!

I don't like murder mysteries, so when a friend recommended Schulenberg's debut novel, Dead at the Desk, I was somewhat reluctant to buy it. I am really glad I did, though. Anyone over 50 and anyone from a small town will instantly relate to the characters and the situations. Anyone who attended a small college will feel right at home. Schulenberg's style is witty and fast-paced. His character and scene development is precise. As I approached the end of the book, I found myself slowing down, because although I did want to know how the mystery would be solved I didn't want the book to end. I'll buy anything else this author writes. I want to see how his characters will evolve in his next book.

Mr. Schulenberg's "Dead at the Desk" is a quick and entertaining read. For a murder mystery, there are the obvious suspects that are targeted but the plot's twists and turns which lead to the true murderer and the reasoning behind the murder was fantastic. I was floored! Since I am from Kansas, Mr. Schulenberg's familiarity with Kansas and Missouri facts added an extra bonus to my reading enjoyment. I found myself thinking of these characters and this school during the times when I wasn't reading the book. I highly recommend "Dead at the Desk".

I was lucky enough to preview this book and I highly recommend it to those who love a good mystery. This book has a colorful cast of characters, and I do mean "characters." As the plot unfolded and I read further, I continually changed my mind about the murderer's identity until at last the story ended and the guilty party was discovered.

Great Read!
Grace

An excellant, easy to read, riveting story! Couldn't put it down from the minute I opened the cover. Was reccomended to me by a friend. I found the characters believable. The setting and atmosphere came alive for me. Would definately reccomend this book to others for some easy, relaxing and enjoyable reading.

This book of mine, Gibraltar, with the ISBN shown above, never should have ended up on Amazon; it was a fluke! I signed up for a free trial of Amazon Advantage for publishers, found out it was too expensive, canceled it--but then Amazon had my book's information, and now I'm stuck!

This book was just a first try at writing fiction. A lot of nice people have said nice things about it, but I've churned the whole thing out myself; there is no publicity, and, being a first book, I'm not satisfied with it, and I'm going to change the whole thing.

The copies offered here for sale were copies I had sent out to be reviewed--other writers and small publishers be warned: if you don't have "Advanced Reader Copy" printed on the books you send out to be reviewed, they will NOT be reviewed, but rather sold, here on Amazon and at other similar type outlets.

I wish I could have this book removed from Amazon, and I've written them to request this, but they wrote back to say that they like to have "everything available."

So, anyone who actually lands on this page to read this: go ahead and move on to another page! ;)

I have never reviewed anything before so please bear with me. I absolutely loved this book. I found the characters exciting and intriging. I really wanted to be at Gibraltar with them. There was so much packed into this book but put in a format that was easy to follow. I seriously could not put this book down and read it in one day. I will be awaiting more in this series of books. I can't wait to buy number two. It is well worth the money. I highly recommend it!!!!

I had pretty much written off contemporary fiction, especially Christian contemporary fiction, until I read this novel. It snuck up on me and grabbed not just my mind, but my heart, in a subtle yet profound way. The storyline, the characters, and the dialogue are realistic and relatable, rather than feeling concocted/contrived. The elements of mystery and romance are intriguing but not sensational or sappy. The deeper significance of the story is spiritual, but not preachy. The heavier themes are offset by humor and warmth without being superficial. Like the setting (a small town), it has a slower pace, but it's never dull. Some books are devoured, but this one should be savored.

With the publication of her first novel, Gibraltar, author Cami Tapley has gone beyond the telling of a good story. Although the book is not overtly Christian, Tapley draws on her own spirituality and family resources to share a yarn that is at once enticing and inspirational. Gibraltar moves beyond today's all too formulaic "chick lit" genre to share a story of family relationships, of intrigue, and ultimately of the true meaning of love.

In the book, which Tapley published under the banner of Lindenville Publishing, the reader meets the Borderline family through the narration of eighteen year old Clary. This young woman, in concert with her father and paternal grandfather, seems to live somewhere off the beaten path. This picturesque backdrop is the setting for a tale of twisted interactions and a web of lies that is ultimately and lovingly unwoven through Tapley's lovely talent for storytelling and dialogue.

Gibraltar is one of those highly readable books - once you've become involved in the storyline (which happens quickly), you won't want to put this book down. When you reach the end, you'll find yourself wanting more from these characters and the world of Gibraltar. The good news for new Tapley fans like me is that this book is the first in a planned series.

Gibraltar by Cami Tapley is a novel to be savored like quiet afternoons with a good friend. While deceptively simple on the surface, this is one of those books that readers will find themselves remembering long past the final page.

Clary Borderline, an 18-year-old woman living with her father and paternal grandfather, has grown up living in a rural town along the St. Lawrence Seaway. Raised with unconditional and nurturing love, Clary possesses well-developed values, as well as an independence of spirit and mind, all of which provide her the foundation to handle the struggles she will meet in this heartwarming story.

Into this idyllic, serene world comes pain and difficulty for Clary and her family as their world is turned upside down through the discovery of a complex web of relationships, secrets and lies. The unraveling of this web requires all of Clary's quiet strength and caring nature to allow her to face the challenges, while helping all those whose lives she touches, ultimately creating a circle of healing love.

With strong theme of the power of love and its ability to redeem and heal being at the heart of Clary's story, Tapley has created a beautiful gem. This subtle yet compelling novel pulls the reader into a special time and place with such memorable and realistic characters you will wish you could visit Gibraltar to visit these delightful people.

Gibraltar is the first in a series, and I look forward to reading them all.

Armchair Interviews says: Tapley has created a story that reaches your heart, makes you care and want more.

Caroline Lawrence writes incredibly detailed, fascinating stories. This one is no different. The well-paced plot keeps you turning the pages to find out what is going to happen next.

However, this is a very bloodthirsty book mainly because the Roman games were bloodthirsty games. The children explore their feelings about the violence and find that the bloody nature of the sport can be both frightening and addicting.

I really felt that some of the descriptions bordered on too graphic. One of my main problems with this book was the part with the little girls being eaten by hippos and crocodiles. The main character, Flavia, just barely manages to escape death through the intervention of her former slave, Nubia. I found the entire scene with the girls in the water to be disturbing. It was fairly graphic and heartbreaking. I have a fairly vivid imagination and I actually ended up dreaming about this scene the night after I read the book.

The bottom line is, if you have a child who is prone to nightmares or who has an over-active imagination, then this would be one I would have them skip. However, since the plot line is important to the rest of the series, it would be good to read it and summarize the events for your child. This is what I did for my son.

These books are just great for kids who love adventure, excitment and like to learn about history in entertaining way. My kids can't put these books down and now have a real image in their minds of what it was realy like to be a child growing up in this time in history. Kind of scary!!!!!

Flavie, Nubia and Lupus are all mourning the death of their dear friend- Johnthan. But when rumours start spreading of him being alive in Rome, Flavia and Nubia, with Lupus, decided to investigate.

This was once again another great book from Caroline Larence- an amazing author who depicts ancient rome in a truly outstanding way. I enjoyed this book immensely and it is a must-read for any historical fans.

The Roman mystery series is as good as it gets. Three of the children--Flavia, Nubia, and Lupus, go in search of their friend Benjamin who was last seen during the burning of Rome. Rumor through the city says that a dark, curly haired boy set the fire and Emporer Titus is searching for him. Emporer Titus is also opening the Flavian Amphitheater, now known as the Colesseum, with 100 days of celebration that will include gladiator fights and executions. The three friends find mystery and danger as they search for their best friend. Nubia holds the means to save either Benjamin or her brother, a gladiator, which will she choose? This series is exciting and in the process describes the life in Rome of 80 A.D.

If your pre-teen reads this book, she/he may want to run to the nearest bookstore to buy an armful of books on ancient Rome. Not because there's too much in it that's incomprehensible, but because Lawrence makes it a very realistic and compelling world--both the "good" and the "bad." The protagonists--all children--adroitly negotiate a morally difficult world where men, womnen and even children are victims of spectacular (and bloodthirsty) games in the Flavian amphitheater. However, the narration is also quite sensitive to the young reader's possible reactions, and sympathetic views are always heard from at least one character. The subject of personal loss and family tragedy is well explored here. I'm not a a mental health professional, but this books feels like the type that might help a child who has had to cope with the loss of a loved one. I've read every book in the series and as an educator in literature, I highly recommend it, and also the other books in the series.