Richard Books

Everyone should read ee cummings, even non-poetry lovers will love cummings whimsy and clever wordplay. He has also written the most beautiful, most romantic poetry of anyone in the English language.

It really is a great collection of e.e. cummings - certainly everything I wanted.

But what's to review - it's e.e. cummings, it's great

Now I must get back to my toboganning into know

Enjoy.

P.S. e.e. cummings was emphatic about his name being in lower case, so I do have to criticize the Editors of this book for putting his name in caps

One of the great poets of the 20th century gets a nice treatment here. A few of my favorites were not included (disappointed!!), but all in all this is a solid, representative anthology.

This is not a review. It is a complaint about the review I just read critisizing the editors of this fine collection. E.E. Cummings HATED that his publishers put his name in all lower case. He was not emphatic about it. He thought it was gimicky and exploitive of his publishes.
Whoa, when'd this horse get so high. ooop
S.

This review is from a strictly prose guy, as poetry usually goes right over my head. In my efforts to understand poetry, I have discovered that the work of e.e. cummings breaks through the stylistic barriers that make many people shy away from poetry altogether. cummings' use of bizarre spacing, punctuation, and phrasings keeps the reader away from the "sing-song" routine that tends to damage the credibility of many a poem, and cummings uses the art of style to say many things and make many points in just a few words. The most fascinating aspect of cummings' work is letting the small number of words in a poem really sink in until you gain many insights. This book usefully arranges cummings' most noteworthy poems into categories so you can more easily dwell on his major areas of subject matter. cummings did not live the hard life of many noteworthy poets, so a good number of his poems are musings on abstract concepts like life, love, mythology, and mortality. However, his much sharper observations on war, prostitution, politics, and the dark side of urban life can be truly shocking once you delve into their deeper meanings. Contemplating the title of this review, which is also the first line of the poem on page 181 of this book, will help any poetry-fearing reader to dive into cummings' world.

I love this book! Robin Jeep and Dr. Richard Couey have teamed up to create a healthy nutrition plan that will work for everyone who's serious about reclaiming optimal health--physically, mentally and spiritually.

My husband and I have now been following this nutrient-dense diet plan for over 30 days. We both feel great and have lost weight. My husband's chronic acid-reflux is now history and the "brain-fog" has cleared away completely for both of us. Robin's creative recipes make this lifestyle eating plan interesting and delicious (no deprived feelings whatsoever).
It just feels so good to know my cells are happy to receive the nutrients they need to thrive and keep me healthy.

Thanks Robin...now I'll be looking for you to publish a full cookbook soon! God Bless You.

Who says good health can't be fun or easy? Robin Jeep's book lets it be both. Her information is practical and her recipes are delicious. The whole book feels as appealing as the food is for body and soul. Like anything new, it'll take a little practice to make this way of eating a habit, but it's worth it. I like feeling the extra energy available to me for other things now. This is important to me because I'm committed to living my life with clarity, focus, ease, and grace.
Ingrid Martine
Personal Development Coach

This book has changed our lives. My husband and I have never felt better in our lives. This plan is easy to follow and Robin's receipes are fantastic and you are never hungry. We wanted to lose weight and lower our cholosterol and triglycerides and we have done just that. We were fortunate to be able to take Robin's 7 week class which was wonderful and made us accountable to this way of eating to achieve optimum health. We both never realized that we were not feeling good and now we have more energy and clarity and we have lost weight too. My husband has 20 pounds and I have lost 11 pounds and feel great. We don't want to end up being a cancer statistic and we have learned the science behind eating a whole and organic food plan. Dr. Couey and his input are fantastic and the results of this plan are wonderful. Our medical doctors are amazed. You will not be disappointed with this book, it is amazing.

What we eat is indeed what we are. Filled with healthy, easy to prepare recipes that when you read it, makes perfect sense, which means that intuition agrees with the food recomendations. An excellent, capsulized version of what to eat every day for vibrant health. Includes guides for not only healing the physical, but also those other parts of us that are not as tangible, yet directly affect the physical when those are not correctly balanced. An excellent reference that will remain in my kitchen

The Super Antioxidant Diet and Nutrition Guide by Robin Jeep and Dr. Richard Couey is outstanding in my opinion. The lifestyle changes that are recommended provide both weight loss and improved health. When I started the class and purchased the book, I was not interested in weight loss, but had been sick for about a year. This program has improved my immune system and helped me to to feel energized and healthy. As stated in the book, the body has a miraculous way of healing itself if nourished properly. I highly recommend the guide and the class. Additionally, the book includes delicious, world-class recipes, a section on how to arrange your kitchen, tips on shopping for healthy foods, and much more. For those interested in weight loss, ideal weight can be achieved as a natural progression following this guide. If you are fortunate enough to have access to the class, don't miss it!

I searched for hours for a coffee table book for a Christmas gift for a close friend who lives in TN but is from New Orleans. She told me she stayed up all night looking at it. When I gave it to her, she pointed out everything from local businesses to personal landmarks. More importantly, the pictures reflected a pre-Katrina city. They captured sites that she remembered but that don't look that way anymore. I would recommend this book for anyone whose heart is in New Orleans.

This is a gorgeous book full of information and amazing photos of some of the most prominent plantations that are on River Road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Some of the most amazing photos were from plantations that have all but been destroyed. I'd be really interested to see an updated version as some of these homes have been completely transformed since these photos were taken. Most noteably would be Houmas House and Laura which both in this book are nothing like their now restored selves. Regardless, this book is an excellent addition to anyone's plantation library or coffee table!

I was born and raised on the River Road. I have grown up and almost all of the wonders in this book. Nothing comes close to the accuracy and beauty captured in these photos. I would HIGHLY reccomend this book to anyone that would want to know or learn about the grand homes along the Mississippi and South Louisiana. This book is second to none in my rating. A MUST HAVE and a MUST OWN for EVERYONE!

This is a fantastic coffe table book. This book is all about the pictures, with interesting text to accompany each image. Pictures are loveley, colour and large. If you are considering buying a copy without the dustjacket- go for it, as the cover image is on the underneath as well.
A great addition to any bookshelf or coffee table, my family have all had a look!

I am fascinated with New Orleans and the River Road area and it's history .This has to be one of the best publications about this subject. Sexton seems to capture so much of it's history in the pages of this book, more so than any other author has. The photography is also wonderful and straight forward. I recommend it to any one who wants to learn more about southern Louisiana plantations.

I couldn't add anything else to the other comments; just buy it - you will not regret.

This book is truely well written. Hard to put down. If you have read: President Nixon, Final Days and Abuse of Power this book puts it all together. It is the AH! HA! you've been looking for. It will also make you curious about the Pentagon Papers. All these books are written from a historical perpective by well know historians. Not journalist looking for a quick buck.

If your goal is to understand the depth of Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal, Stanley Kutler's `The Wars of Watergate' is the book for it. It's a great introduction to Watergate without that qualifying caveat, of course, but Kutler perches his narrative squarely on Nixon's shoulder. This book doesn't take extended side trips to the creation of the Plumbers, to that dirty trickster Donald Segretti, or the back desks in the Special Prosecutor's offices. The wars of Watergate, Kutler writes, are "rooted in the lifelong political personality of Richard Nixon," a personality that is marked by political paranoia, a determination to wreak vengeance on his enemies, and an overweening concern with winning his own elections. For those who dismiss Watergate as a third-rate burglary, or a vague `everyone else does it,' Kutler provides a substantial "discussion of the abuses of power that precede the burglary and the obstruction of justice that followed it."

Kutler sets the stage with brief chapters on the LBJ Administration, Vietnam, and a biographical sketch of Richard Nixon prior to the presidential election of 1968. We're taken closer to our subject with Kutler's next few chapters on Nixon's first term as president, where Nixon's relationship with the media (antagonistic,) and congress (disdainful,) as well as his executive style (obsessive micro-management) are surveyed. Providing as they do a context for the crimes of Richard Nixon, these prelude-to-war sections properly prepare us for the battles of Watergate.

An American constitutional historian, Stanley Kutler is well qualified to guide us through the battleground that was the second term of Richard Nixon. The war analogy is apt. For Nixon the Wars of Watergate officially begins with the immediate Administration response to the break-in at the DNC headquarters by the Watergate burglars. The first phase may be called "The War of the Burglars' Silence," a phase that is marked by Nixon's active participation in those acts that would lead to his resignation less that two years later.

One gets the strong impression that `The Wars of Watergate' is Kutler's response to future revisionist historians. The revisionist template was already being hammered out by Nixon, and others, when this book was published in 1990. If Kutler is forestalling an alternate interpretation, he does so with a well-coordinate, thoughtful, balanced, and overwhelmingly convincing presentation of facts. His interpretation - that Nixon was at the center of the Watergate cover-up from the beginning - is, with the evidence he provides to back it up, irrefutable.

Although `The Wars of Watergate' is not a complete history of the scandal, it's a good chunk of it - the heart of it, if you will. It would make a good introduction for the uninitiated. Even for Watergate wonks its expanded chapters on the Rodino chaired House Judiciary Committee, which considered impeachment, will provide fresh insights and a more complete story of an under-reported Watergate subject. This may not be the best single volume on Watergate, but if it isn't I haven't read its rival. Highest recommendation.

At least for those us who cut their political teeth during the 1960's and 1970's, Watergate and Vietnam were the watershed events. There was life before Watergate and Vietnam and life after. Stanley Kutler's work is one of the first to bring an historian's perspective to the Watergate story. As the saying goes, if you read one book about Watergate, this is the one.

Kutler is by no means neutral on Richard Nixon, but one of the unique things about Watergate was that Nixon's own taping system provided the record to hang himself. If nothing else the tapes proved Nixon was a habitual and flagrant liar. Kutler, whose regular job is as a professor at the University of Wisconsin, was drawn into a lifetime of work by his expertise on the sprawling scandal that was Watergate. His work has continued as he battled first Nixon, Nixon's estate, and then the National Archivists for full access to the White House tapes. Nixon kept up his lies and deception to his last days, with far more success than one would have hoped. In the long run, history's judgment of Nixon will be harsh and will start with Kutler's work.

Not just about Watergate, but a comprehensive look at RN's political career. The Watergate break-in came to symbolize the abuses of this imperial presidency. Excellent historical analysis. Comprehensive history not just at RN's presidency, but the evolution of the office during the Cold War. Thank goodness G. Gordon Liddy was such an incompetent stooge that the whole bag of "White House Horrors" came to light.

This easy- to- read- page- turner provides new insight into a truly great man. I had admired him for years, but with reservations, due mostly to rumors. After reading this one-on-one report by a man who experienced the good and the bad of Ted Williams, I came away with tremendous insight into a sensitive, caring, loving, beautiful human being. Who knew?? I'm grateful for Richard Ben Cramer's memories of his thought provoking time with Ted Williams, so the rest of us can realize that there was SO much more behind this man than his remarkable life in baseball. I have purchased this book for many of my friends, due to its' uniqueness, and they have all loved it as much as myself. This little book can be read in an evening, but packs a powerful punch!

In a paper-thin volume, Richard Ben Cramer manages to capture the many contradictions of the greatest hitter who ever lived and the last man to bat over .400, Theodore Samuel (Ted) Williams. His book is must reading for any Red Sox fan, and for that matter anyone who wonders why baseball heroes like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Pete Rose, Joe DiMaggio, and Williams lead such dysfunctional lives, often estranged from their own families.

Contradiction: Williams respected authority (never argued with umpires and liked the military life), but he refused to conform to societal customs, e.g. wearing a necktie.

Contradiction: He was an obsessive perfectionist, but often half-hearted on defense or while running the bases.

Contradiction: He was a self-centered loner, but unfailingly generous toward charities.

Contradiction: He resented the Boston sports press, but wanted no publicity for his unselfish work for the Jimmy Fund.

Contradiction: He came from poverty, was poorly educated, yet became a dyed-in-the-wool Republican and establishmentarian.

One thing Ted never lost was his potty-mouth, which he used to rail against the "knights of the keyboard," Boston's habitually self-righteous sports reporters who attacked him not only for his lackadaisical defensive habits but even for his failure to call his mother on holidays (she was a Salvation Army worker who wasn't home, anyway) or stay home for his daughter's birth (she was born two months prematurely, but he was supposed to have known it would happen). The more Ted cursed at his enemies in the press, the more they'd dig up irrelevant dirt to throw at him. Things never improved. He also refused to tip his cap for the fans after a home run, resentful of earlier booing.

So why did Ted Williams enjoy such a renaissance in public aspect, especially in Boston? It wasn't because he changed as a person. On the contrary, as Cramer makes clear, his later life (with his life partner, Louise, whom he settled down with after three unsuccessful marriages), was filled with the same profanity, the same volatile temper, the same need to be right all the time that the younger Ted Williams exhibited.

What happened, apparently, was that the public was no longer exposed to the constant friction between Ted and the press, and so remembered only the good stuff: his .406 batting average in 1941, his home run that decided the All-Star game that year, and the home run in his last at bat in 1960, all of which were replayed via TV highlights regularly. John Updike's dissertation on the 1960 home run helped, too.

Cramer makes us understand Ted Williams. Like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Pete Rose and Joe DiMaggio, he was no scholar. Also like them, he was able to cultivate a specific skill set on the baseball diamond. He became (arguably) the greatest hitter who ever lived. Still, his lack of education and lonely childhood left vacuums in his life...he compensated for the first by having to be right all the time, and for the second by finally admitting to Cramer, "I was a terrible husband and father."

In the interest of full disclosure, the present writer met Ted Williams at two Red Sox fantasy camps.

Richard Ben Cramer wrote a somewhat controversial but well-researched biography of Joe DiMaggio. The major difference between this excellent portrait, and the latter project, was that we see and hear the protagonist in his own words. At times, it is a loud, booming voice full of life, stories, regrets, and accomplishments of one of our sporting legends.

Mr. Cramer does a masterful job weaving this interesting portrayal. This book is rather brief compared to the DiMaggio biography; however, it has more "life." The bulk of this work concentrates upon an interview that took place in 1986. It is written in such a way that the author fades into the background. In a strange sense, the reader feels present. As if we are sitting with Mr. Williams in his living room, and spellbound to imagine what will come next. The sheer force of his personality makes this a very entertaining and informative read.

Compared to the modern day ballplayer, Mr. Williams was indeed a rare bird. He had interesting and intriguing opinions about hitting, fishing, flying jet planes, marriage, lemonade, fickle fans, and the traffic patterns of the Florida Keys. ;-) He is both arrogant and enchanting, if one can imagine such a thing. Mr. Cramer draws out Williams in a way that writers of his own era failed to do. He showed him respect and deference, but like so many of the fish that Williams loved to catch, didn't allow him off the hook on tough subjects. In a way, this interview perhaps was a cathartic exercise for Mr. Williams.

The unfortunate circumstances that surrounded his death made this book quite pertinent. What do we think of him now? The best hitter to ever live, a true American patriot, a lover of the great outdoors, and a man who defined life in his own strike zone.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this excellent work by Mr. Cramer.

This book is deceptively short, yet like Ted Williams swinging at a baseball in his prime --- it packs one hell of wallop! Amazingly, the reader gets a very well-rounded picture of Williams the man, Williams the out-sized legend, Williams the S.O.B. and of course in his most famous guise as baseball's "greatest hitter who ever lived." The last man ever to hit .400 for a season with 521 career home runs to his credit (including one on his last ever time at bat), he was also the only man ever elected to both the baseball and fly-fishing halls of fame. His life was extremely rich and full and reads like it was five lifetimes rolled into one. A fighter pilot during WWII, many argue he may have even forfeited some of his best years in baseball to serve his country.... Considering his well-established contributions to the science of hitting, that's a scary thought! Anyway, if you're looking for a short and breezy read on one of baseball's all-time-greats look no further than this book by Richard Ben Cramer.

Ted Williams lived the kind of irrepressible life that Hollywood tried to invent for its toughest actors; old-skool masculinity personified, he was the finest baseball player of a generation (if not all time), a fisherman worthy of Hemingway's prose, and a lifelong Marine who served his country in not one but TWO deadly wars, the second of which nearly cost him his own life.

He was the eternal paradox, the New England sports hero with the "When Guns Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Have Guns" bumper sticker on his pick-up truck, the all-time All-Star outfielder who practiced his swing while playing defense, the surly bane to those in the sports press charged with selling his image to the Boston public, and the eternal cynic who could never fully give himself to the public's adoration because he would always hear the 2 or 3 boos among the thousands of cheers his very presence on the field generated.

This book does a fine job of encapsulating the highlights of Williams' career, covered sparingly among a (then) current interview of the man as living legend approaching his 70's. But the real joy and success of the book is the author's capturing the essence of the magnitude of Williams to the point that you can't possibly help but feel that you are listening to the man thunder away in your own living room, rather than from a far-off house in the Florida Keys (or from the more appropriate peak of Mount Olympus). Most enjoyable to me is the author's penchant FOR PRINTING WILLIAMS' QUOTES IN ALL CAPS (wherein I can't help but read them aloud -and at suitable volume- to my fiancee', much to her dismay).

We have a suitable account of Williams' life after his time as an active player and manager, but before his health began to rapidly deteriorate. It is a full portrait, balancing the more infamous qualities of the man with those that Williams fiercely guarded during his lifetime; that he was, beneath the callous exterior, as warm and giving a soul that baseball would be far more fortunate than it deserves to have as an ambassador today.
It's a joy to read, seemingly almost an afterthought in its brevity, but when considered that it was only ever supposed to be an article for Esquire magazine, it surely ranks among the finest sports writing of all time.

The second installment of one of the best scifi anthologies around and also the first where my all-time favorite Joker of all time Jube the Walrus is introduced (or is he a joker or something else entirely you will have to read to find out.

The story forces on an invading force from outer space dubbed in typical pulp fashion "The Swam" the stories focus on the attempts by Aces and Jokers to fight it and by a tyrannical cult to control it in the mistaken belief that the swarm's arrival is for the greater good of all humanity.

There are also appearances by other Aces including Cord, the Great and Powerful Turtle Captain Trips and an unfortunate teenager named Kid Dinosaur who can change into any of the long dead reptiles that he has knowledge of...unfortunately his mass doesn't change.

This is another time where my powers of description do not measure up to how great this book is

If you are a fan of

Lewis Shiner
Walter Jon Williams
Pat Cadigan
George R.R. Martin
Roger Zelazny

Then do yourself a favor and find a copy of this book.

Aces High is a high class, and high up restaurant catering to the Aces, the Wild Card victims with powers. It is expensive and snooty, run by one of their own, a man named Hiram Worchester, who has the ability to control weight.

The Aces have two serious problems in this book, and the stories all relate to these somehow, the menace of the alien Swarm, and the crazy black magic style power use of the Astronomer, a geeky crazed black magician type.

The other memorable nasty, Demise, with his death gaze and regeneration abilities, also is introduced in "If Looks Could Kill".

Wild Cards 02 : 01 Pennies from Hell - Lewis Shiner
Wild Cards 02 : 02 Jube: One - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 03 Unto the Sixth Generation: Prologue - Walter Jon Williams
Wild Cards 02 : 04 Jube: Two - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 05 Ashes to Ashes - Roger Zelazny
Wild Cards 02 : 06 Unto the Sixth Generation: Part One - Walter Jon Williams
Wild Cards 02 : 07 Unto the Sixth Generation: Part Two - Walter Jon Williams
Wild Cards 02 : 08 Jube: Three - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 09 If Looks Could Kill - Walton Simons
Wild Cards 02 : 10 Jube: Four - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 11 Unto the Sixth Generation: Epilogue - Walter Jon Williams
Wild Cards 02 : 12 Winter's Chill - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 13 Jube: Five - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 14 Relative Difficulties - Melinda M. Snodgrass
Wild Cards 02 : 15 With a Little Help From His Friends - Victor Milán
Wild Cards 02 : 16 Jube: Six - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 17 By Lost Ways - Pat Cadigan
Wild Cards 02 : 18 Mr. Koyama's Comet - Walter Jon Williams
Wild Cards 02 : 19 Half Past Dead - John J. Miller
Wild Cards 02 : 20 Jube: Seven - George R. R. Martin



Fortunato meets a nice girl to go along with his geisha collection, but his pursuit of the Masons through rare coins has terrible consequences.

5 out of 5


Walrus boy ain't what he seems.

4 out of 5


An ally makes a desperate teleportation attempt to warn Jube of the Swarm.

4 out of 5


The death of his alien ally and the loss of the singularity shifter and a garbled message of warning distracts Jube from the xmas cheer.

4 out of 5


The death of his alien ally and the loss of the singularity shifter and a garbled message of warning distracts Jube from the xmas cheer.

4 out of 5


Jube hires Croyd to find the alien corpse, and anything with it. Devil John biffo.

4 out of 5


Modular Man made, Swarm invade.

4 out of 5


Singularity shifting. Don't try and mind-control androids.

3.5 out of 5


When Jube realises his ally meant the Swarm, he knows he needs the power of the Singularity Shifter rather more urgently.

3.5 out of 5


Astronomer hires Demise eyes.

4.5 out of 5


Jube enlists the transparent infobroker.

3 out of 5


Punks find Shifter.

2.5 out of 5


Girl shy Turtle.

4.5 out of 5


Astronomer, Swarm, Takisians all prove to be a little overwhelming.

3 out of 5


Captain Trips drops back in, as Tachyon's relatives show bad timing, capture them, Turtle, and others.

5 out of 5


Tachyon and Trips vs Takisians and Swarm for the fate of the world.

5 out of 5


On the Mason trail.

3 out of 5


Astronomer has hostages and Shakhti machine, but the Aces rally for a raid.

4 out of 5


Swarm sighting.

3 out of 5


Yeoman finds the Singularity Shifter while taking out Egrets. When Tachyon learns of this, he has a plan to take the fight to the Swarm.

5 out of 5


Jube tells Red about some aliens and decides his allegiances are local.

3.5 out of 5

A great installment in the Wild Cards universe. An alien swarm is headed on a collision course with earth and the Aces must unite to fight the impending doom of the world. However, "the Astronomer" - a super-villain- is trying to stop the heroes, and employs any devious methods to reach his ends... There are new characters presented such as Demise - who can look in your eyes forcing you to relive his death, and thus die yourself...and Jube, the walrus-like newspaper salesman with bad taste in jokes and equally bad fashion sense... who knows what motives he has?

This is a great story, and I can't help but think that the wild cards would make an excellent series on the sci-fi channel.
I look forward to the next episode!

Relic113

This is the second book in the Wildcards series. This book focuses on the lives of many of the aces of the wildcards universe, with the main unifying plot of the stories being the threat of an alien invasion.

Aces High is a more focused book, dealing with a smaller group of aces and returning to them more often rather than the sampler that the first book was. Many of the favorites return; Fortunato, Dr. Tachyon, The Great and Powerful Turtle, but there are some really nasty villians that appear in this book, as well. The villians are not nice people, so be warned, but they are interesting characters. The leader is pretty much evil to the core, but his hirelings are much more human, each with their own motivations which are explained pretty well in the book. They aren't all evil; many are just looking to get ahead and backing the team that they think will win. Well, and perhaps are a bit more accepting of the "win at any cost" mentality.

I can't think of a story I didn't enjoy in this book, either. All were well written, and were tied together well. I think my favorite story may have been the exploits of Modular Man, but Captain Tripps is a very interesting character as well. I hope to see more of them in future books.

So far, it seems that these books should be read in order, so if you skip Wildcards 1 and start here, you may be lost. Just a word of warning, since I know the books can be hard to find.
I recommend this book to all Wildcards fans and any superhero fan that has not read this series yet is doing themselves a disservice.

The continuing short story collection set in the shared world as introduced in 'Wild Cards,' this is the continuing stories of those Aces and Jokers (and sometimes plain old natural humans) in the fallout of the genetic Wild Card virus. We're in the eighties now, and a new menace looms on the horizon - a dark alien organism is on its way, and the Swarm Mother sends terrible creatures down to attack earth in many places - and who else can stop them but the super-powered Aces?

The nice thing is the story-arc merely starts with the swarm assault, and from there, the weaving in of new and old characters is superb. We revisit some of the best characters from the first volume (The Great and Powerful Turtle is my favourite so far), and the story of the Swarm Mother certainly doesn't end in that single attack. This is solid stuff, and very well organized to say that it's a shared world.

Now I've ordered book three in with the last of my online gift certificates, and hope it arrives soon! Nothing quite like a new literary addiction.

'Nathan

"William Shakespeare in 'Measure for Measure' wrote 'The law hath not been dead though it hath slept'. In 2004 the Supreme Court of the United States revivified the 215 year old Alien Tort Claims Law in deciding that aliens who are victims of human rights abuses deserve protection when the abuses cannot be redressed in the country where they occurred. The case that earned the court's thoughtful attention was Filartiga v. Pena-Irala. The thrilling and dramatic story behind this case is very well told by Dr. Richard Alan White in his book Breaking Silence: The Case That Changed the Face of Human Rights. The book takes on added significance because Dr. White was an active participant in the drama, and his first person knowledge has produced a historically accurate and outstanding thriller of a story. The book is a well written, true story of the abuse of a man and his family by the military dictator of Paraguay and his henchmen. Richard Alan White puts you in the middle of the unfolding tragic events, beginning with the torture and murder of the son of a noted and admired Paraguayan physician, poet and artist. This is non-fiction at its best! "

Let me start by saying that I am NOT a non-fiction book reader in any way shape or form. BUT, this book was so amazing that (unfortunately) it read like fiction. You were mesmerizied by the drama, gripped by the human emotion and sorrowed by the resulting tragady. It is really the truth when we say that "true life is stanger than fiction". Richard Alan White can testify to it. He lived it. He suffered through it with the Filartiga family and we feel it in his words. DO NOT MISS READING THIS BOOK BECAUSE OF IT'S CATEGORIZATION; A WORTHWHILE BOOK CAN BE FOUND ANYWHERE! AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM.

Outstanding!!!! Extremely readable, educational, thought-provoking, inspirational, a mystery -- everything rolled into one. Having been in Asuncion with the author shortly after Joelito's murder, I can personally attest to the horror of this tragedy and its effect on the Filartiga family. My mother read the book, too, and liked it so much that she wants to join my Paraguay/Uruguay tour next year. I'll definitely put "Breaking Silence" on the recommended reading list for that trip.

Richard Alan White's account of the heroic Paraguayan physician Joel Filartega is a is an extremely captivating and well written account of fact that reads like the best of fiction. The story documents the case that affirmed that the US court system can protect aliens who are victims of human rights abuses that occur in other countries and can not be fairly adjudicated.

The author, a close friend of doctor Filartiga and his family, writes not as an observer but with the fervor and conviction of a participant in a remarkable drama. A must read.

In Breaking Silence: the Case that Changed the Face of Human Rights Richard Alan White tells the story of the family tragedy that led to the ground-breaking case of Filartiga v. Peòa. The case affirmed that the US court system provides protection to aliens who are victims of human rights abuses that cannot be redressed in the countries where the abuses occurred.
Elegantly written, Breaking Silence is a page-turner that should appeal to any reader. It's a great gift book because, published by a university press, it is not yet widely known.
The details of the Filartiga story come alive because White himself was part of the drama. While he was a graduate student living and studying in Paraguay, Richard Alan White became a close friend of a Paraguayan doctor, Jose Filartiga, and his family. A deep friendship continued long after White's return to the United States. When Dr. Filartiga's son was tortured and murdered by authorities, Dr. Filartiga contacted White instead of ignoring the torture/murder, as Paraguayan custom and politics dictated. White immediately flew to Paraguay to be with his friends. Breaking Silence is a story of the resulting search for justice.
Not only will this book appeal to lawyers and others familiar with the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Filartiga case, but also to those working or otherwise interested in the field of human rights. The book has special importance for those who hope to work in an NGO or to work internationally at the grass-roots level, because it shows how committed individuals can learn to use governmental systems to make a difference. It should be a must-read for students.
Breaking Silence recently received an "Outstanding Book" rating from theAmerican Association of University Presses Books Committee. University presses published 6,000 books this past year, and Breaking Silence was only one of six political science books to receive this award.
A longer review of this book is the feature story in Lawyers Weekly USA, April 26, 2005: "Family Tragedy Leads to Revival of Pirate Law."

Richard's book of survival during one of this nation's worst crisis and most poorly responded to events is well written and shows how badly we are prepared for disaster. it alsoshows what levels we can rise to when needed.

I started reading this book and couldn't put it down. It pulls you in making you feel like you were there also. I'm just thankful to God I wasn't. I highly recommend this well written personal account of that day in history and the events that followed.

Once I started reading I could not stop. I thought I might be getting myself into a book that, although I felt compelled to read it I was afraid I would cry throughout. Not so. This book told the real story and revealed how moronic the entire situation became, day by day, hour by hour. I could only chuckly at how rediculous the situation became. If I didn't know better by personal experience I would think it was a satirical comedy that someone made up after a bad dream. Sadly it was all true. I agree with one of the other reviews, this is a must read for anyone that could potentially face any type of disaster, expected, unexpected, natural or manmade.
Thank you Dr.D for taking the time to chronical everything. Especially, considering that post-K there isn't much time for the luxury of such things. It is amazing your mind and memory could focus on this project.
Thank you.

This account by a professional is an easy to read, yet fascinating, portrait of the scene and happenings within the hospital during the Katrina episode. It is not overly dramatic or accusing, but a straightforward and creditable observation. I really appreciate the first-hand knowledge from a respected source. It was a while before we locals could deal with too much knowledge on too many happenings or were capable of facing and digesting how and what transpired. This is a study of dedication and courage of the staff at Memorial Hospital and is uplifting and healing because of those qualities that the staff displayed for all of us out here... It gives us hope and offers redemptive healing for the sins of the community because of their sacrifices and willingness to do the same in the future. I am grateful for that and this book.

We lived in New Orleans for nine years and during that time used several doctors at Memorial Hospital. Dr. Deichmann was our Internal Medicine physician. Later we moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and lost everything in Katrina, so we have a special interest and bond with those who experienced it. I remember Dr. Deichmann as a kind, quiet, professional physician and to picture him in these horrific circumstances is almost unbelievable. This book contains everything - sadness, frustration, courage, and even humor in the most dismal moments. I read it in one sitting, and will recommend it to all my fellow friends and survivors.

You can tell when you pick up the book: quilting stitches are embossed on the cover. Quilt patches make up the cover: eggs, pie, soup, chicken. There are no photographs inside. No garnishes. Nothing about piling up the food into teetery towers and drizzling essences of something or another on a gigantic plate. YET these are America's best-known chefs. At least half of them must be James Beard Award winners. Their own cookbooks and restaurants have won most of the other awards. Cooking from the Heart is 100 chefs making up this treasury of family recipes, of familiar (to them) favorites, all designed for a home cook. Sure, there are a few recipes with a couple sub-recipes (you can't make a pie in one step...but we all do it without grousing). Sure, there are a few (but only a few) that have an ingredient that might require a trip to specialty market. But that's part of the joy in this kind of a book: finding something new to add to the standards in your own recipe file.
Unlike a lot of chef-written books, this one tells stories. Funny accounts of travels or mishaps or family members. Really touching tributes to grandparents, mentors, loved ones. And then the recipes themselves make this book a stand out. Try these titles: Brown-butter apple tart, blue cheese grits with wild mushrooms, crab cakes with a fried corn sauce. Or try something incredibly festive: a leg of lamb cooked for three days with a pound and a half of garlic--that's 1 1/2 pounds: marinated for a day, cooked for 7 hours, and rested for a day, resulting in something so tender and aromatic... A wild recipe from Philip Boulot in Portland, Oregon. The book is full of these simmered recipes that fill the house with something that's divine and earthly: Emeril's Sunday pot of bolognese sauce, John Ash's grandmother's beef stew, Suzanne Goin's devil's chicken with mustard and leeks.
Which makes this book sound too strong in the meat department, which isn't the case. Tons of great seafood, lots of homey desserts, and a big range of starters and first courses. It really is a quilt: bright patches from all across America, from every cuisine, from so many great talents. And like a quilt, something to pass on and cherish.

Sure, pick up the book because it features new recipes from umpteen James Beard Award winners, from most of the affable chefs who have television shows, from these "chefs who are the new rock stars." Okay, that might be the way you find the book. But inside, it's all storytelling. Rosen, the book's writer, coaxed the most familiar and family-inspired stories from these celebrity chefs to accompany their recipes. (And the recipes themselves also have a very accessible, personable feel to them: nothing too fanciful or formidable.)
A review, which put me onto the book said, "you know feel-good movies...this is a feel-good cookbook." It's a book to read at the kitchen table while you have breakfast, dreaming up what to cook for dinner. Dreaming of those anecdotes you tell about your own family's favorite meals. It's a fireside book. An emotional book: it about WHY we want to go to the trouble of cooking wonderful things for people we love. It's THE ideal book to give as gift, full of heart.

This book exhibits exceptional taste. The panko-crusted goat cheese on arugula and asparagus salad is worth the price of the book. And then there are 99 other great recipes.

Since we've elevated chefs to "star status" these days, we want to know all about what appliances and ingredients they use, what they themselves eat, etc. So ONE of the great things about this collection is the inside look you get at each chef's personal history. Really touching stories like Marcel Desaulnier, while stationed in Viet Nam, sharing the homemade chocolates his mother had sent. All this besides the fact that the book itself is gorgeous and just reading the recipes is entertainment enough. And as if I needed another way to rationalize buying the book, the fact that a portion of the proceeds go to an organization committed to ending hunger (Share Our Strength) had me sold. Buy this book!

At first I thought, wow! a nice book, a good gift. The premise of 100 great American chefs sharing stories and recipes for a good cause. But both the tales and the recipes exceeded my expectations. A terrific addition to my extensive cookbook collection.

Your own body can cure itself of disease and Dr Ross is giving you the tools to work with in finding the root cause of any problem. Read this book and then re-read it as often as you wish. Step by step you can achieve the vibrant health and energy you were meant to have. If you are already healthy and well you certainly want to stay that way and prevent any disease from occuring in the future. I am fortunate to know Dr. Ross and have been a patient of his for several years. I am 66 years old and I feel better now then I have ever felt. Thank you Dr. Ross for your wonderful book and inspiration that it brings.

Dr. Steven Ross is an expert in the field of functional diagnostic medicine and is a knowledgeable, compassionate practitioner. His book, Curing the Cause & Preventing Disease, is highly informative. During a time when more and more people are interested in establishing true health, this book is a welcome and timely perspective on how to obtain that.

"Curing the Cause and Preventing Disease" is a book that everyone should read. It is easy to read and follow, and it is full of information that I have never read before. By applying this book towards my life and health habits, I feel better and have more energy than before. At the same time, I have not had to give up on the things I enjoy. The instructions are easy to follow and apply at the same time.

It is a MUST read for everyone.

This book is my first introduction to Functional Diagnostic Medicine. Dr. Ross really makes understanding this amazing new science easy. I enjoy thinking outside the box when it comes to my health. If you want a new approach to your own health, buy this good and easy read.

This book is a must read! If you are interested in becoming healthier or dealing with a health challenge then Dr. Ross's book is a great resource. It's written in a way were you can take immediate action in your own life and implement numerous proven methods to "Curing and Preventing Disease." This book is not only easy to read but Dr. Ross has managed to take complicated issues and put them in terms that we can fully understand. I plan on reading this book again to get every once of info out of it I can!