Richard Books

A book built from the combined insights of two of the most successful marketers in the world. This is a tremendous resource for building the power brands of the future.

A little over a year ago I found this book while searching for a tool that could help me understand and communicate in my new boss' style. Some doubts had already been expressed about the success of our team, putting my job in jeopardy. I read this book over a weekend. The application of these concepts brought immediate results, particularly because it allowed to communicate a full, long term strategic approach to what had been perceived as tactics. The results on our brand were exceptional and my boss recognized and compensated very well my efforts.

How long has it been since you came across a book that you want to read twice? This book, with its eye-catching cover featuring the title as an embossed leather patch on the backside of a pair of blue jeans, is that kind of book. Authors Richard D. Czerniawski and Michael W. Maloney created this organized guide for marketing professionals and wrote it in a way that lets every reader learn. You are always told what you are about to learn, you're tested on that knowledge and then you are given real-life examples that reinforce the lesson. The authors debunk "established" methods, which they find condescending to marketing professionals. They believe that most marketers are tactically strong, but need to learn more about the strategic requirements of creating brand loyalty. We at getAbstract strongly recommend this book to senior managers, marketers, academics and - if you want to be savvy, too - consumers.

"Creating Brand Loyalty" delivers on it's promise. It offers proven step-by-step advice on how to position brands as well as how to work effectively with creative professionals to manage the expression of brands in advertising. Czerniawski and Maloney have distilled their considerable experience as highly paid consultants to leading consumer packaged goods brands into a practical and highly informed guide to the art and science of positioning.

The guidance, tools, templates and forms provided in the book give you everthing you need to develop a positioning for your brand and to communicate your brand's essential value proposition. Advertising agencies and public relations firms should pay their customers to read this book!

Czerniawski and Maloney developed a great strategic roadmap for brand positioning as well as creative agency management. Everyone in brand/product management should read this book. It provides a strong strategic structure to manage and develop your brands for long term success. I've given copies to everyone on my brand team.

I've read many books of this type and this one is by far the most comprehensive. It is not just a laundry list of tools and techniques, it also provides a greater guidance on the best attitude and mental approach to make the book useful. The author himself says repeatedly, not just in humility but in acknowledgement that there may be better yet unidentified methods, to not just believe everything he says but to try out all the tools in real life, and to improve upon them as necessary. At times the book reads somewhat like a tedious manual, but this is completely counterbalanced and outweighed by the abundance of information and meaningful examples. This is a lifetime reference for anyone interested in making their life more interesting via applied creativity.

Creative Problem Solver's Toolbox: A Complete Course in the Art of Creating Solutions to Problems of Any Kind
by Richard Fobes

Writing a creative problem solving book is pretty easy, but putting the ideas down & bringing them alive - in the form of workable tools - against a backdrop of real world problems, call for a versatile author with myriad pre-occupations. In this case, Richard Fobes fits the billing perfectly as he has worked as a writer, interactive multimedia software designer, systems analyst, computer programmer, inventor, electronics technician, hardware store clerk, & dance instructor. He has spent five years researching & writing this book.

Many of the author's early ideas have been published during the four years he wrote the Creative Problem Solving Tips column of the Focus newsletter from the American Creativity Association. [Readers can access the tips via the author's solutioncreative website.] That's how I got to know about Richard Fobes & his inspiring book.

A few things intrigued me when I first encountered the book during the early nineties:

1. A catchy subtitle, A complete Course in the Art of Creating Solutions to Problems of Any Kind;
2. A radial outline of the book at the end of the book (I wish all authors can follow his example!);
3. A portrait of a lady next to Einstein on the front cover. I didn't know her until I read about her: She was Hypatia, who invented a hydrometer which measures fluid density. She lived in Alexandria, Egypt, from 370 AD to 415 AD. The author has deliberately put up her portrait as a reminder that women also innovate! Bravo!
4. There are sixty five ingenious tools for solving problems in the book;

Upon reading it, I found it to be a very user-friendly book. There are a lot of examples & exercises in a variety of real world problem settings.

Personally, I have applied many of the tools in the book. At the time I had acquired it, I had just started my own strategy consulting business as well as my learning resource store. Being a novice entrepreneur, the book served in many ways as my problem solving advisor. In fact, the book was also part of my store inventory during the early years.

For the benefit of readers, I append below the table of contents:

1. Opening the Toolbox;
2. Welcome Your New Ideas;
3. Reconsidering Your Goals;
4. Exploring Your Many Alternatives;
5. Refining Your Ideas;
6. Thinking in Alternate Ways;
7. Thinking Dimensionally;
8. Understanding Clarity;
9. Considering Your Goals Some More;
10. Taking Action;
11. Using the Toolbox;
12. Closing the Toolbox;

In particular, I like the author's observations & arguments in the book:

- goals influence thinking in surprising & subtle ways & they expand possibilities;
- besides weight & money, other dimensions that defy being measured such as love, risk, assertiveness are a part of virtually every real problem;
- a failure to reach a clear understanding lies at the root of most unsolved problems;
- thinking visually, thinking in concepts & using intuition enhance the problem solving process;

My end anaylsis of this book is this: An excellent primer if you want to revv up & sharpen your problem solving skills. It's really a toolbox! You can't go to the office without it!

[I am very glad & also feel proud for the author, as his book has been translated into Chinese, Russian, Indonesian, Japanese & Korean. Watch out the Chinese!]

Creative problem solving is my passion, as well as the crux of what I do for a living. I was a skilled problem-solver even before I bought this book. And I have other excellent tools that have made me a lot of money.

So why am I recommending this book so highly? Because it's taken my problem-solving abilities to an even higher level. It's complete and practical...and less expensive than any of the other tools I've used.

If you want to drastically increase your ability to create solutions to all kinds of problems, I can't think of a single reason why you should do anything other than...buy this book.

Even after reading this recommendation, you'll be pleasantly surprised when you receive the book.

This book is both practical and useful in giving you the ability to create creative solutions to any type of problem in any field from family problems to business to science. This isn't one of those cutesy mind game books either. It gives you exercises and tips to not only create good solutions, but to create solutions that are useful, compared to creative solutions that are useless (who wants those?) Excellent. I highly recommend no matter your age, occupation, or location. The information in this book is timeless. Also a good book related to this for those who are into science, check out Robert Scott Root-Bernstein's book Discovering.

I think the saying about what kind of exercise machine to buy certainly applies to books on creativity as well, i.e., "Get the one you'll use!" My keen interest in enhancing my creativity has led me to investigate numerous creativity tools & techniques in the form of software, card decks, lists, and books. The result of my research is that I use *this* book's tools & techniques before any other. Sometimes I also make use of other resources for creativity, but I always begin with this book. Why? For me, the techniques usually "Hit the nail on the head," consistenly helping me to not just solve a particular challenge, but to widen my perspective on the problem so that I'm more confident that I'm solving the "real" problem. This book also offers me the most user-friendly experience (compared to other resources), as the examples interspersed between the techniques are typically fascinating and instructive.

The bottom line is that, for me, this book is the best single source of the most useful creativity tools & techniques, and at the least cost compared to other resources. I don't think you can beat it!

CRIMSON TIDE is an exciting story that takes place during a possible nuclear war with Russia. A nuclear submarine captain and his second in command dispute an unconcluded radio transmission that could have said, "Fire your missiles on Russia" or "Come back to base, Russia has surrendered". As each of them tries to do what he thinks is right, you wait for the suspenseful conclusion. This book was worthy of becoming a blockbuster movie. If you like militaristic and exciting books, put CRIMSON TIDE on your book list.

CRIMSON TIDE was one of the best submarine warfare books that I have ever read. With it's non-stop action from beginning to end I would recomend this book to anyone. I was expecting a good book but I finished it in 2 days. I got more than I expected to get and I will read more of Henrick's books in the near future!

This story is still the king of the techno-thrillers. Finally got around to reading CRIMSON TIDE's book version, and just like the film, it's simply amazing the amount of action that's contained within these pages. I liked the detailed character analysis of the Russian enemy, something the movie was lacking, and the nuclear launch protocol is right there to read over and over. Is a sequel in the works?

This book (and movie) is talking about leadership, decision making, conflicts of role, conflicts of policy. Ramsey (the captain) and Hunter (the executive officer) were all good soldiers, they both executed what they thought were correct. But different leadership style, different belief and grey area of policy made them confronted each other.

A good book (and movie), an interesting story that can make you think a lot. A lecturer of an university in Hong Kong even suggested his students to use this movie for leadership & organizational behavior analysis.

I loved the movie version, and was surprised to find that the novel had an incredible amount of new story material. The book helped clear up the motivation of the Russians responsible for the coup. Because of the complexity of the plot, this book is a must, and I find myself reading it over and over, learning new details w/ each study. I rank this story right up there w/ the great classics, and applaud Mr. Henrick on another job well done.

Except to making whole wheat bread, I was new to bread making, and never really understood yeast. I bought two books, this one and Artisan Baking by Maggie Glezer. I like both books but I prefer this one for the detailed pictures, and the explanations, the DVD is also very useful to actually the whole process. I found that both books complemented each other when trying to understand the yeast, poolish, starters, etc. But I still had to search on the web to get a good understanding of starters, fermented dough, biga, poolish and what the difference between them is... if there is one.
My first sourdough bread ever made was perfect, which is impressive, but I made mistakes on both my 2nd (starter misunderstanding) and 3rd recipe (oven heat problem)... But for me that is what makes baking interesting.
Great book!

Crust is the second book on bread that Mr. Bertinet has written. I can't say enough good things about the original book titled Dough, or Crust. They both come with a very informative DVD, showing his method of kneading, and shaping bread. It has made me a much better bread baker, and if he weren't located in Bath England I would be signing up for all of his classes.

The book with the DVD deserve a full 5 starts! The instructions are fantastic and the resulting bread tastes better than any bread I have ever tasted. I never realized sourdough bread could be so light crusty and wonderful.

Thanks Richard Bertinet for this book because finally I know how to bake the bread I always wanted to bake but did not know.

The very good thing about this book is its DVD. If you're new to making bread I would recommend this book to you. You will see how to work the dough, how the natural ferment is created, how a bread is baked. Even if the DVD has only 3 chapters (brioche, sourdough bread and how to create your natural ferment) it's enough to get you going. Don't expect anything else from the DVD. Even these chapters are very brief and poorly directed. It's like his wife or one of his children filmed it.

Other then that you wont find new things. I own about 20 books on bread so I haven't found many new things in this one. There was one recipe that I haven't seen anywhere else for a bread made with grapes peel flour. I don't know how good it is, I didn't try it, but it looks very interesting.

If you're interested in more serious bread book I would recommend Crust & Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers and also Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes

If you want to make a really excellent sour dough bread, buy this book. I have made 3 batches now and all have received raves from my friends. The appearance, the crust, and most important, the taste are perfect. This book lays out in detail how to get the ferment or starter going, how to properly work the dough, shaping and baking. In the DVD the author demonstrates proper technique in working and folding the bread which was very helpful. I paid full price for this book ($35) and it was worth every penny.

I am a sixth grade student and I read The Crying Rocks by Janet Taylor Lisle, its about a girl named Joelle, who was adopted when she was five years old by her adopted parents who she called Aunt Mary Louise and Vernon. In this book she looses a loved one though. She also makes friends with a boy named Carlos, who is in her Spanish class. They both spend most of their time together learning about these Indains who lived years before and where killed by a surprise attack by the English. Her and Carlos go into the woods to see an old Indian council place where she sees visions of what happened to the Indians in the land, and what they did for a living. She finds a painting in the library that she sees two girls on a hill watching the other Indians like they were out cast of the tribe but Joelle rembers them as if they meet before. When she goes to the Crying Rocks with Carlos she learns something about him that he hides from her even though see doesn't mind but she also finds something in the swamp that scares them and then to make things worse they hear a load moan. So now they are wondering what made that noise and where did it come from?

I loved this book so much it kept me reading late into the night wondering what would come next. My favorite part was when she goes to the Crying Rocks and when Carlos tells his secret . I think this was Janet's best books and I will read more of them too. So I hope you like this book as much is I did .

This was a wonderful, historically accurate fiction novel. It is easy enough for children to read and interesting enough for adults to enjoy. It covers subjects regarding adoption, abandonment, native americans and the idea of not knowing where you belong as a child. Highly recommend!

Fourteen-year-old Joelle, who is adopted and lives in Marshfield, Rhode Island, doesn't know much about her past. All she is aware of is that she was brought in from a train station when she was just five years old. "I can't remember anything so don't ask me!" she yells irritably to anyone who snoops, including Carlos, an eccentric kid in her Spanish class. But when Carlos, a collector of arrowheads and Native American lore, tells her that she resembles an Indian girl in an old mural of Narragansett Indians in their school library, she can't resist taking a look. She is dumbfounded by a spark of recognition.

When Joelle asks her adoptive parents, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Mary Louise, about her past, they tell her what happened but she doesn't believe them. Then, while on a hike, Carlos tells her about the Crying Rocks, where howls on windy days are thought to be the spirit voices of children who were flung from the boulders to an early death. Joelle doesn't believe that story either until one day, while at the Crying Rocks with Carlos, she hears crying and screaming. After her Aunt Mary Louise dies, she grows more and more curious about her past, not to mention the cries and screams. Will Joelle ever discover the truth behind the Crying Rocks and her past? Or will both stories be a secret forever?

THE CRYING ROCKS had an incredible ending, and I agree wholeheartedly with Joelle's attempts to learn the details of her past. If you enjoy reading touching books about friends and family, read this one to find out what happens to Joelle and her family.

--- Reviewed by Ashley Hartlaub

" 'So tell me about these Indians who were supposedly around here,' she says, as if she's never heard of Indians before. Which is laughable. Half the names of places in Rhode Island are Native American. There are statues of Indians in the parks and plaques that tell where this treaty was signed or that attack happened. Everyone has heard of the Indians, they just don't think about them that much. Indians are ancient history here, like three hundred years ago or more."

"One little, two little, three little Indians
Four little, five little, six little Indians
Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians
Ten little Indian boys."

I was a little kid on Long Island back in an era when in circle time songs you'd as easily count ten little Indians as you would count six little ducks or ten green and speckled frogs.

A few years further on, in the mid 1960s, I chose "The Indian Tribes of Paumanok" (a Native American name for Long Island) as the topic for a social studies report. And while this raised my 10 year-old state of consciousness a few notches, I still had a heck of a time envisioning the booming suburbs where I lived as having been a vast woodland sheltering those peoples.

In contrast, thirteen year old Joelle, the main character in THE CRYING ROCKS, has such an ability and inclination. In fact, she can sometimes imagine someone from the distant past following her. Joelle, who was adopted at five by "Aunt" Mary Louise and "Uncle" Vernon, has that hunger to know about her own roots. In sharp contrast to her "heavy and earthbound" adoptive parents, Joelle is such a tall and striking seventh grader that a group of little neighborhood girls worships her from a distance, imagines her to be royalty, and emulates her style. But it is clear to the reader that something awful must have happened to Joelle as a young child, since she cannot remember the mysterious and unspoken circumstances in which she came to be discovered at the railroad depot of the northwestern Rhode Island community where she has since lived.

" 'Back in the woods there's a place where they used to meet. A high council place. There are trails, too. You can tell they're old Indian paths because of how deep they're worn down. It would take hundreds of years of feet to wear down a path like that.'
" 'Hundreds of years of feet?' she says. 'Give me a break.'
" 'A thousand years, even. Some artifacts are that old and more. What's amazing is how their culture got wiped out when the white man came. Fifty years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, the Narragansetts were all gone, thirty or forty-thousand people who lived right around here.'
" 'What happened?' Joelle asked in spite of herself.
" Carlos stares at her. 'Disease, first, then they were killed off. The last few were sold into slavery down in the West Indies. It's one of those histories people don't like to remember.'
" 'But you do?'
" 'I'm part Indian.'
" 'Really?'
"Carlos stands up straighter and looks at her defiantly, as if she might have a problem with this. She registers again his gray eyes, his brown hair, his long thin face. " 'You don't look--'
" 'Just a small part,' Carlos says quickly. 'Like about one sixteenth or something.' "

The innocent and tentative relationship that develops between Carlos and Joelle--that of close friends whom the reader imagines/hopes will later become boyfriend and girlfriend--is impeccably drawn. Sometimes as if a pair of bumper cars, sometimes utterly in tune, the connection between these two kids who are finding themselves winds its way through the tension of the story to an absolutely fun and joyous scene where the two are dueling each other with quotes from their research.

THE CRYING ROCKS asks hard questions about the values and behavior of the Europeans who came to America as well as that of the Narragansetts who were there when the ships arrived. The author skillfully ties these questions to treatment of arguably "less fortunate" groups in twenty-first century society. Janet Taylor Lisle has an ability for crafting a story that is taut and powerful while maintaining the limits which allow for this story to be used in middle school classrooms. THE CRYING ROCKS will find a home in those classrooms and is a tale that will surely have readers thinking and asking about their own roots.

Grades 7 and up will appreciate this warm story of Joelle, who discovers a likeness to Native Americans which will change her perceptions of who she is and Native history. Her new friend Carlos who has introduced her to this history has his own hard secret to reveal - one which involves a family loss and a hidden guilt. How they change each other's life makes for a moving saga.

The book is trully great.... very well written and thoroughly analized...My only problem with it was the lack of colour plates (understanding that the study of his technique is concentrated on the orchestration of planes and volumes). I believe the study of this master requires colours... in order to fully appreciate his methods but also becuse of the pleasure of merely being a spectator and enjoying his art for what it really is...a ballet of fantasy and life!
Appart from that I do believe it is a must for any lover of art.

When I first read this book, over twenty-five years ago, I thought it was the most remarkable book ever written on how an artist composes and organizes his or her creative process. Over the years, I've returned to it many times. Having recently re-read the book I find I am still thrilled by Loran's ability to illuminate the special qualities within Cézanne's canvases. As an artist and art educator, Loran was in a unique position to comprehend how this artist balanced the formal, intuitive, and experiential aspects of composition. All of this comes through admirably and clearly. Although I imagine some people might find the graphic diagrams cold and remote from the vitality of Cézanne's painting, I think a close reading of the book demonstrates that an illustrative graphic can help us reach a deeper understanding of the artist at work, in this case Cézanne. If you are a fan of Cézanne, definitely read this book! If you are interested in understanding the artistic mind, definitely read this book.

Many of Cézanne's paintings are essentially composed of flat, homogenous planes. He has no interest in textures and takes great freedom in choosing colours and distributing them patchwise. He also disregards proportions and perspective, making receding objects such as roads, mountains and hills stand up straight, so to speak, to the picture plane. Thus each plane in the painting "remains comparatively flat and parallel to the picture plane", but still the painting has a definite feeling of depth because of "the three-dimensional effect that a sequence of the same planes creates through overlapping" (plate XIII). "Cézanne's genius in organizing three-dimensional space is the basic foundation of his composition" and doing so by the plane colour patch approach agrees with the principle that a painting "must remain faithful to its own structure, to its fundamental two dimensions" (section XV). The organisation of space is achieved by the "tension" or "movement" created where planes overlap, and this is Loran's main framework for analysing Cézanne's paintings. With some imagination and many useful geometrical diagrams we can sum up the effects of the overlaps to a general movement; usually some sort of circular movement, always staying within the picture frame. Loran is very faithful to this point of view, even blaming Cézanne when it doesn't apply. In his analysis of a Sainte Victoire painting (plate X) he finds such a circular movement and concludes: "It is this circular movement that gives the painting it ultimate 'closed' effect. Actually, this canvas has many elements of open form ... personally, I find these latter elements insufficiently resolved and somewhat disturbing." Besides this analytic framework, Loran also makes more traditional analyses in terms of balance, dynamics, etc., and he also spends far too much time nagging about two pet topics: Cézanne's famous colour modulations are in fact of incidental importance and Cézanne anticipated Picasso and Braque.

Pages 17 to 24 are a so called "Illustrated Glossary" and are worth buying the book for. The classic rules of space and depth and planes are explained in most of their complexity. Then he discusses many many examples of Cezanne's work and how they use the principles of space, planes, and depth. A masterpiece and extensive in its scope. If you really want this type of abstract picture understanding you will not be disappointed. Very highly recommended.

This book is a must read not only for students of Cezanne and Cubism, but for anyone who would like to understand how a composition is put together. By comparing photographs of subjects painted by Cezanne, to the paintings created, one can see what interested the master in his own work. Cezanne's classic remark about Monet ("He is only an eye. But what an eye!")is clearly relevant here: Cezanne is not only an eye function, but a meditation on the process of visual construction per se. A stimulating and important book.

I was enthralled by Susan Kinsolving's poetry. There are poems in this collection that have stayed with me and will continue to do so throughout my life. One in particular, "Sotto Voce", captures the intense craving that only loneliness can conjure. I am so grateful to this brilliant poet for writing what I have felt. Thank you Susan Kinsolving!

This is a wonderful, beautiful book of poems. I bought a copy a week ago, and now I'm buying copies as gifts for friends. This is a real poet who writes poems that help us give meaning to our place in the larger world. I've been thinking about these poems ever since I read them. Actually, I think the cover photograph (while is is artfully stunning) is a bit misleading. The poems are wise and mature and very thoughtful---not contemporary (in the bad sense of the word) but universal. Just lovely.

It's the kind of book you must continue to read. You will not put it down until you are finished. And then you will go back and read it again. It's simple yet complex, light but heavy, and joyful yet sad. You feel an affinity to the author, her sorrows and joys permeate your psyche. It's what poetry is all about.

Kinsolving's book is lovely. Although I wouldn't call her poems gripping, they are polished and beautifully restrained--at times, disturbing. Certainly not the typical first book of poems; I can see why it is getting so much attention.

This is simply a beautifully written collection of poems. It is listed as a first book, but Kinsolving writes with the grace and authority of a more established poet.

What a story of true courage. I commend those girls in every way. Sharing their story had to be heartwrentching and at the same theraputic. God bless them.

This was an amazing story of the triumph of the human spirit over some pretty tough early childhood traumas. Also a realistic picture of life in Montana at this time.

This book tells the life of a family during years of verbal and physical abuse by a dominating father. It is a page turner. It makes me glad that my family life growing up was relatively normal. This family is lucky that they survived.

After reading the book Dancing On His Grave, I feel very blessed not to have gone through what that family went through because of one man. Domestic Violence is very prevelant in this country and the world, why can't everyone treat others as they would like to be treated.

I know Barbara Richards and can't believe this was her life. She really should write about her life as wife and mother.Great Book

You know those books you read and loved when you were a child, pined after and searched for as an adult, but you could never quite remember the name of the author or the spelling of the title? You know the feeling of disappointment you get when you finally do find them, and discover that they don't stand up to adult scrutiny?

Finding this book was like that, except for the disappointment. It was every bit as magical as I remembered.

The Dark Lord of Pengersick is a rousing and fascinating tale that escorts the reader on a tour of the Brittish Isles before they were Brittish. It kindled in me a lifelong passion for the rich and underexplored world of pre-Roman european history, and also sent me on a thirteen-year quest to locate a misremembered title (I had remembered it as "Pengarsick").

If you know any young minds (be they in young or not-so-young bodies) looking for a new world of myth and magic to explore, this is the perfect jumping-off-point into one of the world's richest wells of story.

Read it!

I read this book as a child and just rediscovered it.

Its a rare gem of phantasy - powerful, dark and full of suspense.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !

This was a great book, I wish there were more books that compared to this one, if only there were a sequal.

This is a great book, an undiscovered gem, waiting to be read. I found a copy in a local used book store and was instantly hooked. I can't believe I never heard of this book. Terrific writing. The author apparently based his fiction on myths and legends surrounding Pengersick Castle, which still exists in Cornwall, England. Like Lloyd Alexander, Carlyon takes an old story and creates his own enchanting tale that is a sure-fire pleaser, full of action, adventure, magic, and memorable characters. Another fantasy classic that puts such popular stuff like Harry Potter to shame. Only wish the author had written more.

For all you fans of fantasy and adventure, this is the book for you! Follow the adventures of Mabby and Jago as they quest for magic to forever free their home land from the dark lord. Enter this world filled with magic, adventure, and excitement!! (ever read the Riftwar saga by Raymond E. Feist? This book is just as good, if not better!) A must read for all!! (Please feel free to write if you read the book!)

Buy this book, then buy another. Make copies, send them out to friends, congressmen and newspapers. This book is the dark side of history, what happens when the State decides freedom is subservient to so called law and order. Hint: it is mass murder at the hands of government.

This book is mainly a detailed historical presentation of the disarming of citizens in various countries, followed by their extermination.

But some general issues are discussed first. One useful point is that "gun control" is a slogan and is nonsensical. One does not control a "gun." One controls human beings. Another useful discussion is the efforts of the government to suppress gun ownership by schooling children into hating guns and by doing everything possible to embarrass people who want to purchase a gun. Gun registration and the like have always been preludes to gun confiscation. And gun confiscation has always been a prelude to the oppression of some group of citizens.

The case studies are Cambodia, China, Germany, Rwanda, Turkey, Uganda, The Soviet Union, and Zimbabwe. There is also a chapter on the Catholic Church's opposition to gun ownership. And a chapter on the soaring crime rate since Britain banned guns.

The overwhelming question, of course, is why the United States, which has guaranteed gun ownership in the Constitution, is now moving toward banning guns. This is especially puzzling at a time when Americans are facing the greatest threats in our history. If you don't know this, read While America Sleeps: How Islam, Immigration and Indoctrination Are Destroying America From Within. Americans are going to need those guns because the government is not defending them.

This is one of the best books I have read. It could also be named "Death by Government." I believe the educational value in this book is such that every adult American ought to read it. The authors repeatedly make the point: "A good government will never try to render its citizens defenseless - an evil government always will." And they provide the facts to back up their assertion.

Before you raise your voice against gun ownership, get the full picture of what happens when citizens in a country are disarmed, and denied the right to defend themselves. I also highly recommend the short movie, entitled "Innocents Betrayed". It is a real eye-opener!!

The author is the founder of JPFO, Jews for the Preservation of Firearm Ownership. Jews, of all people, should know and understand the value of private gun ownership. Jews have been the victims not only of the holocaust, but of slavery in Egypt and later, pogroms and persecution from at least 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple and set about trying to re-enslave the Jews. Jews would figure this out, one would think, from current anti-semitism in Europe and the near worldwide neurotic blaming of Israel for the evil perpetrated upon it by the Palestinians. Apparently, the world considers good Jews to be the ones who allow themselves to be herded into gas chambers like sheep, but despises the ones who have the temerity to defend themselves.

Strangely, many if not most Jews hate guns and are against private gun ownership. They need to read this book. There are only 13 million Jews in the entire world. If so many had not been murdered as a result of lacking the means and the will to defend themselves, it has been estimated there would be at least 200 million.

I am not Jewish. But I think Jews are good for the world. I want there to be more of them. And if more of them would read this book and take Mr. Zelman's wisdom into their hearts, then not only their attitudes would be changed but also others. After all, Jews are intellectually influential.

If attitudes were thus changed there would be more guns in the private hands of law-abiding citizens. And that would be good for Jews, and everybody else.