Roberts Books

So far I am pleased, am trying to get my 2 older grandaugthters (8 and 6) into reviewing recipes for their nutritional value, visual appeal, and enjoyment. Am just getting into doing so, it looks good so far, may send another review at a later date. Thanks again, Dianne

I purhcased this book two years ago for my then 13 year old daughter (an extremely "picky" eater) in the hope that she would expand her food horizons. In my wildest dreams I wouldn't have expected this to work so well. She has made several of these tasty dishes for the family and we all love them. We're vegetarians and we have discovered many delicious recipies in this wonderful cookbook. One of our favorites is the "Carrot Ginger Soup" recipe. If you enjoy cooking healthful, tasty meals from simple, unprocessed foods you will be pleased with this book. Thank you, Chef Bobo!

This one has great food for the little people. Well received by mothers concerned about what their kids consume.

I just love this book! As a mother of 2 boys and a Holistic Health Counselor to many families as well as individuals, this book has been a great resource. The recipes are easy to make and delicious. People of all ages enjoy the food and the children are having fun helping to prepare meals. Thank you Chef Bobo for what you are doing in the school and now sharing it with the world at large. I am buying copies for many people and I hope that more people will become aware of your work and that of your assistants.

I can't say enough good things about this book. The recipes are quick and easy to make, no hard to find ingredients, and everything I have tried has been good. The whole family enjoys this book. Get this book and you won't be sorry.

I loved this poem and laughed...enjoyed...and re-read it. Just a fun tale and the illustrations are really quite vivid and enlightening adding a quality to the storyline.

I saw this book in my son's school library and bought it through Amazon the very same day. A great rhyming story to read aloud. My son and I both enjoy reading this book. Highly recommended!

I recently saw this poem recited in a vaudeville show in the Yukon. A couple of days later when I saw the book I just had to buy it. Although the story is morbid, I think the sound of the words and the colorful pictures will appeal to my 10-month old grandson (if he's allowed to hear it read). Great book!

This was one of my favorite books as a kid. My dad used to read it as a bedtime story. The pictures in this version are not as big as those in the original which was a little dissapointing. Otherwise the book is exactly as I remembered it.

I recently saw this poem used effectively with a sixth grade Social Studies class studying the Yukon Gold Rush. The poem with it's morbid/supernatural theme is intriguing to kids in the middle school years and the colorful yet somewhat archaic and ambiguous language led to a great beginning Socratic Seminar. This type of "picture book" should be used more often with older students and as another reviewer mentioned this poem would make a great extension to a literature unit on narrative poems or as a supplemental reading to a classic novel like Jack London's CALL OF THE WILD. And though I had never heard this poem before someone recently told me it is a classic to tell around the campfire especially when camping in the snow.

Very interesting book.
I had a hard time laying the book down.
Everyone should take a look at this.

Dr. Becker is a brilliant medical researcher who has devoted his life to the study of something most doctors barely understand that it exists: the body's electrical system.

Among many other topics, Dr. Becker describes
- the body's inbuilt electrical systems,
- how he was able to use electrical current to get bones that would otherwise not have grown together to do so,
- how he offered to create a means of inducing anesthesia with electrical currents, but was politely turned down by lesser doctors,
- how one can measure electrical currents flowing at acupuncture points (in other words, why there must be something to acupuncture),
- why he thinks there may be something to homeopathy,
- to what extent electrical systems play a role in the salamander's ability to regenerate tissue,
- the harm that (everyday) electromagnetic fields can cause.

The tragedy of Dr. Becker is that he is so far ahead of his time that he is largely overlooked. All the same he sometimes paints with a little too broad a brush. All the same, I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the life sciences.

A great job by Dr. Becker. Electromagnetism affects all lifeforms on earth. The effect it has on our health is dramatic and cannot continue to be ignored by mainstream medicine. Becker is a true pioneer.

The one criticism that I have with this book is that Becker failed to mention the excellent research done by Albert Roy Davis and Walter Rawls.
Davis was the first scientist in the world to discover that magnetism consists of two separate energies with different effects, it's not a singular form of energy with a singular effect, as is still widely believed today. The North and South poles have opposite effects.

Davis found that South pole magnetism is harmful to our health and will cause bacteria, germs, and even cancer to grow and spread at an accelerated rate in the body, while North pole magnetism will quickly stop the growth and assist the body to overcome disease. Just as Becker has said, Davis and Rawls found that many devices used in hospitals actually compound the problem. Radiation, for example, emits positive and negative electromagnetic energies. The positive energies can actually stimulate the growth of the cancer cells, similar to the way positive (South) magnetic energies do.

The first book by Davis and Rawls, "Magnetism and Its Effects on the Living System", goes into detail about how magnetism affects the physical and mental development of animals, the growth of plants, and among other topics, a detailed account of the effects both negative and positive magnetic energies have on cancer. "The Magnetic Blueprint of Life", the last of their books, expresses the relationship of air ions to health, how magnetism can be utilized in energy production, and it has in-depth information on how these positive electromagnetic energies, which are all around us, endanger us to a greater degree each and every day. We are being lied to about the safety of many electrical products on the market today, cell phones included.

If you have the books by Robert Becker and Davis and Rawls you'll be way ahead of the rest of the population in your knowledge of electromagnetism and its effects on all living beings.

If you really want to understand how the body works and is being influenced by our environment you must read this book. What an eye-opener. The author is someone thinking ahead of his time and much of what he predicted has come true.

1. "Most technological cures for cancer, for example, were found to be carcinogenic themselves"
2. From the beginning, life has been dependent on Earth's natural electromagnetic environment. Today this natural environment is submerged beneath a torrent of electromagnetic fields that have never before been present...In Cross Currents I will show how both the human body electric and the Earth's body electric have been damaged by this alteration; I will then explain what steps we must take to prevent the disaster that is fast approaching.
3. Hospitals were becoming dangerous places to enter; patients sometimes entered with minor illnesses and left with permanent disabilities resulting from complication after another. Some patients discovered the various disciplines of energy medicine, which appeared to have three outstanding things to offer. First, they would do no harm; second, they often seemed to do some good; and third, they were much less expensive than orthodox medicine.
4. The physicist, biologist, and physicians were absolutely certain that life forces simply did not exist, and that all living things were simply chemical machines. They knew that the living organism was simply a collection of structures, which work chemically and were integrated by means of central nervous system, with no involvement of electricity or magnetism.
5. Nature must have a mechanism of self-repair; otherwise, life would not have succeeded. Self-repair requires a closed-loop control system-that is, one in which a certain signal indicates injury and causes another signal to effect repair. As the repair proceeds, the injury signal diminishes, and when the repair is complete the signal stops.
6. Salamander limbs regenerate at the Neuroepidermal junction and negative electric current signals primitive cells in the blastema to redifferentiate and growth back the limb. As the blastema grows, the salamander current becomes highly negative and slowly returns to its original baseline.
7. In a number of experiments, I was able to show that the DC electric currents I was measuring from a variety of tissues, including nerve fibers, were actual semiconducting. As a result of interest stirred up by these experiments, many people began to make electrical measurements of other growth processes. All rapid growing tissues were found to be negative in polarity. Interestingly, cancers in animals or humans always showed the highest negativity.
8. The frog's red cells could be dedifferentiated by electricity, but only with vanishing small amounts (measured in the billionths of amperes). Electricity was clearly a stimulus to regeneration. Instructions to regenerate were retained by mammals. Therefore, the growth control system required for regeneration was present. For electricity to turn on the control system for regeneration the right amount of electricity and right polarity was required.
9. I proposed that the acupuncture pointes were just such booster amplifiers, spaced along the course of the meridian transmission lines. Metallic acupuncture needles inserted in or near such a point would produce sufficient electrical disturbance that the amplifier could not operate, and the pain would be blocked.
Input DC electrical signals carried the information that injury had occurred along the acupuncture medians to the brain, where parts of this group of signals reached consciousness and was perceived as pain. Output DC signals caused the cells and chemical mechanisms at the site of injury to produce repair.
11. In the 1880s, Dr Allison Apostoli treated cancers of the cervix and uterus with DC electricity by inserting a positive electrode into the tumor and passing between 100 to 250 milliamperes of current through the tumor to a large negative electrode on the abdomen producing electrolysis within the tumor. He reported prompt relief of pain and bleeding, and shrinkage of the tumors, but he reported no long-term results.
12. All rapidly growing tissues were found to be negative in polarity compared with the rest of the body. The highest negativity was found in malignant tumors. In 1977, Doctors Muriel Schaubel and Mutaz Habel used stainless steel needles inserted directly into the tumors. Doctors Schaubel and Habel used three leves of current: 3 milliamperes, ½ milliampre, and 960 millimicroamperes. With the 3 Ma current there was significant destruction of the tumor, with about twice as much at the positive as the negative location. At the ½ MA there was destruction of the tumor at the positive electrode. At the lowest level of current there was a reduction in the weight of the tumors with both the positive and negative electrodes. The conclusion was the tumor destruction was the result of local electrolysis at the needle electrode.
13. The local toxicity of electricity kills cancer cells, but the real hazard is stimulating other cancer growth with the use of electricity.
14. Dr Kenneth McLean claimed that rats inoculated with cancer survived if they were treated with extremely high strength DC magnetic fields.
15. Pulsed magnetic field treatment for bone nonunions also has been reported to slow the growth of animal tumors. Pulsed magnetic fields have a major effect on the stress-response system. Exposure of the whole animal for a short time causes a rapid stress response, with a marked increase in the activity of the immune system. For a time, the immune system has the upper hand and defeats an increased growth of the cancer. However, continuing the exposure beyond the short term results in a decline of the stress response and the immune system falls to below normal levels. Tumor-cell growth is then enhanced by both the drop in immune-system efficiency and the direction of the pulsed magnetic field on the cancer cells themselves.
16. Dr Becker discovered that some human cancer cells in a culture appeared to dedifferentiate when exposed to electrically generated silver ions. An electrical-charge transfer sends a signal to the nucleus of the cancer cell that activates the primitive type genes, and the cell dedifferentiates.

I lost 20 lbs after reading Arnots books. He offers safe and effective advice for folks who want to live longer and healthier lives.

Dr. Bob's "Guide to Turning Back the Clock" is 100 percent accurate and a good motivational tool for both men and women. I had no idea that enriched flour ... is so bad for your body. He has some very good ideas on how to eat and "fuel" your body. I especially liked the sections on roller blading and cross country skiing. This is the "one" diet/fitness book to have at your side. Cousin Arnold is right: "Be the best you've ever been. Now is the time and this is the book!"

Very informative book. It contains a lot of useful information. I became bored with many parts of the book especially when Dr. Arnot went into long discussions on topics like which sports equipment to purchase. Overall the book contained very practical information. I found the diet information extremely useful, but a little hard to actually implement. For a short time after reading the book, I actually did follow Dr. Arnot's eating advice and felt better than I have in a long time.

Sensible and practical. No quick fixes, but collects a bunch of good tips into one place.

great book, very informative, talks about not only diet, but also the importance of exercise and mixing it up. Not just cardio but muscle building/strengthening as well. No BS in his book, everything makes sense. Oh yeah, Arnie recommends it.

Loved it! I can't wait for the sequel, captivating, fun, wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!! Please give us more!

Thank you, Robert Elmer, for a charming book. It warmed my heart as I followed the storytelling.......and loved each character.

I could almost hear the music from the old Steinway. As a child I remember practicing the piano.....wished I'd stayed with it!!

Thank you for weaving two people together who had been alone since the loss of their mates. Tenderly done!!

The sounds and fragrances of the paragraphs were exciting. Wanted to pull up a chair at Gerrit's kitchen table knowing ahead of time that there would be good conversation.

And, thank you for the fellowship of believers throughout the book.....it makes God real.

Looking forward to your next book in the spring.

C.Gale
friendwife@aol.com

A retired dairy farmer and a college professor ... the most unlikely couple you could find.

But not in THE DUET. Here you will find not only Gerrit Appledoorn and Joan Horton, but also a charmingly written novel that will have you smiling from cover to cover.

Gerrit Appledoorn is the retired dairy farmer, struggling with too much time on his hands, a computer that won't co-operate, and a family crisis.

Joan Horton is the college professor on a year's sabbatical. She arrives in rural Van Dalen to be closer to her pregnant daughter and immediately takes up as the new piano teacher.

Gerrit's granddaughter, Mallory, is a student of Joan's, but as time goes by, Gerrit is also drawn to the music, leaving room for a sweet story of romance in the senior years. But Joan has a secret from the past, one that is about to catch up with her and possibly destroy any happiness on the horizon.

Weave into this the subplot of different denomination acceptance and you have a beautifully layered story that will keep you enthralled.

THE DUET is a wonderful witty novel full of lovable and memorable characters. At first I was a little dubious. Robert Elmer wasn't an author I associated with adult romantic fiction. After all, my six-year-old daughter loves his AstroKid's series. How does a children's writer cross over to adult fiction? Remarkably well, if Mr Elmer is anything to go by. He now has two fans in our house.

What's a Dubbel Zout, you ask? Hey, go read the book! You'll find out.

The Duet is a charming novel set in the fictitious town of Van Dalen, Washington. With a thinly disguised Lynden as the background, author Robert Elmer shares the story of two very different families as they struggle through painful, life altering events.

Elmer deftly offers Joan Horton as one of the novel's main characters. Joan, a music professor from New York, moves to Van Dalen for a one-year sabbatical. As she battles between her prim and proper façade and steadfast belief in her own inadequacy, Joan is determined to accept her husband's death and her son's downward spiral into depression. While Joan's son and daughter are secondary characters, they serve the novel well in capturing Joan's emotions and presenting a well-rounded picture of this self-doubting matriarch.

Gerrit Appeldoorn, a retired dairy farmer and staunch Calvinist, becomes Joan's reluctant piano student. Rooted deeply in his faith, Gerrit is quite set in his ways and does not flinch at the prospect of telling others how they should live their lives. Despite his sometimes curmudgeonly attitude, Gerrit is a likeable, old school gentleman.

Gerrit and Joan, both suffering from the loss of a beloved spouse, come together as friends, learning about each other's different backgrounds and beliefs. Predictably, they lean on each other for companionship and support, barely aware of the emerging relationship between them.

Elmer, who has primarily been a children's author, successfully provides the adult reader with an interesting, relatable romance. His characters are well defined and likeable, creating a genuine fondness for the families who are lovingly depicted. While the plot is somewhat predictable, Elmer skillfully draws the reader in through the use of articulate language, realistic dialogue and appealing descriptions. In addition to an already well written novel, Elmer sprinkles in famous quotes that bring added charm and breadth to the story.

Widow Joan Marie Horton takes a leave of absence from teaching at New York's Gaylord School of Music to spend time with her pregnant daughter Alison and son-in-law Jim in Van Dalen, Washington. To earn money, Joan Marie fills in for piano teacher Linda Klopstra, who is in Romania for a year, teaching students.

Elderly Gerrit Appeldoom still mourns the loss of his beloved long time spouse Miriam and almost as much the loss of his family's dairy farm. His beliefs shattered and with nothing to occupy him, he feels empty.

Gerrit accompanies his granddaughter Mallory for her piano lessons. When he hears Joan Marie playing, Gerrit finds his old appreciation for music beyond Johnny Cash has resurfaced. He is even ready to dance to the music and decides he wants lessons from Joan Marie. Through Joan Marie, Gerrit also rediscovers the Lord. Though concerned how their loved ones will react, they fall in love; now both know that Jesus will guide them and their families into doing the right thing.

This is an engaging inspirational character study focusing on the relationships between two older individuals to one another, their children and grandchildren, and the Lord. The story avoids being to maudlin because Joan Marie and Gerrit are real people wanting to do the best for others, but now have a second chance to do something for themselves. Although there is little action, readers who appreciate a powerful insightful look into the souls of protagonists will want to accompany the DUET as they play a beautiful melody.

Harriet Klausner

I am a [...] student and I have read the entire Eagles Encyclopedia. I am a consistent reader and, being one of the biggest Eagles fans, have to say this is my favorite book of all time. It consists of everything you want and need to know to be a true Eagles fan. I would even recommend this to non-Eagles fans. It includes:

*The Frankford Yellowjackets
*Bert Bell and the founding of the Eagles
*All of the big time Eagles players in history
*A complete recap of the Eagles greatest moments including The Miracle in the Meadowlands, Cunninghams 91 yard punt, 99 yards:Jaworski to Quick, and more.
*An All-Time Roster
*Scores and Schedule for every Philadelphia Eagles season

and more!

I highly recommend this book to everyone. Ray Didinger is an amazing writer and I also recommend his latest book "One Last Read."

This one-of-a-kind almanac of facts about the Philadelphia Eagles would make the perfect gift for any Eagles Fan.

The book is really great. The history of Philadelphia football is very good. The stats are absolutely remarkable. I often refer to the book during an Eagles game. Every Eagles fan should own this gem.

The Eagles Encyclopedia is a great tool for your guide to the Philadelphia Eagles past and present. A franchise with this much history, The Philadelphia Eagles need to have their stories told. From Bednariks' hit on Gifford in the 1960 playoffs to Superbowl 39 it's all there. Great book.

A comprehensive easy read. Full of facts, and interesting stories about the franchise that is really "America's" team. Little bios of many of the personalities that have worn the green and white. Every time I opened up the book there was something new to learn. Written for the everyday Joe, you will not be dissapointed if you love the Eagles. The Eagles are my squad so this may be slightly biased... Shout out to Randall...

The book does a very nice job of describing one of the more important, but forgotten, figures in US political history. Smith's role as governor of New York and the various groundbreaking reforms he introduced, his mentorship of various figures from FDR to Robert Moses, and of course being the first Catholic to run for President would be enough to rank him right up there with some of the more widely written about icons of America. When you consider two of his top four advisers were women (this is the 1920's, mind you), his role in building the nation's tallest building at the time, his emergence as a spokesperson for the immigrant masses who became a political force during his era (and the subsequent, seismic shift this caused in the nation's political landscape - he was the first Democrat to lose the Solid South since the Civil War), his being one of the first politicians to speak out against Hitler, and that he did all this without even attending high school, Al not only deserves a high quality biography but perhaps a major motion picture as well. John Cusack in the lead!

The book is occasionally "cheerleady" - superlatives come landing out of left field in the midst of other, more traditional descriptions of events. It is, however, critical and frank in other areas of Smiths career, so it reads in a balanced fashion overall. It is a great read and one that should be read by anyone interested in the US political landscape and how it got to what it is today.

Growing up in New York, it was hard to avoid the name Alfred E. Smith. The huge housing development on the Lower East Side is just one structure that bears his name. But it wasn't until I had read Leon Stein's "Traingle Fire" (for a college paper), when I learned something about the man himself. Later, as another reviewer mentioned, Al Smith was highlighted in the Ric Burns "New York" documentary. Intrigued, I picked up Christopher Finan's "Happy Warrior", which was a very good introduction. However, Professor Robert Slayton's "Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith" has completed the picture for me.

Slayton painstakingly examines the complex relationships between Smith and many of the players in his political spectrum, especially FDR. How this contrasts with the simple but deep relationships he had with friends and family is astounding. One of Professor Slayton's main theses--that Smith embodied the best qualities of turn-of-the century immigrant New York--is smoothly argued. For New York, Smith was the right man at the right time. But then Slayton switches gears, with convincing authority, that Smith was the wrong man at wrong time for 1928 America. It is a devestating irony, and grippingly described.

I found the final sections about Smith's reconciliation with FDR and America extremely moving. The entire "Finale" section, including the deaths and funerals of Smith's wife, Katie, and then Smith himself, had me choking back the tears. Finally, there is Professor Slayton's reminder of the legacy that Al Smith left behind, both for New York City and the nation. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Rocco Dormarunno
Author of The Five Points

The election of John F. Kennedy to the presidency occurred when I was in the seventh grade of my local parochial school. In the Catholic/Democratic atmosphere of East Buffalo, and probably in Tim Russert's South Buffalo as well, the resulting ascendancy of a Catholic to the White House was a vindication. We knew that a Catholic had run once before; in fact, he had been governor of our own state. The popular wisdom of the Catholic grass roots held that the first intrepid candidate had lost because he was a Catholic, and a lot of America did not like Catholics. It did not occur to a seventh grader that people vote for lots of reasons, and that this was true in 1928 as in 1960.

Alfred E. Smith, a man of no small accomplishment, lost miserably to Herbert Hoover in a 1928 presidential election that added little to the American character. It may be true that his Catholicism was a major factor in his defeat, but biographer Robert A. Slayton provides a balanced study of Smith that gives reason to pause. We see early in this work that Smith [particularly when compared to Hoover] suffered from major deficiencies in his political upbringing that affected his judgment and contributed to a naiveté about the nature of the American electorate.

Born in 1873 in New York's infamous Fourth Ward, there was no way that young Smith would not be baptized into the two religions of his neighborhood: the Roman Catholic Church and Tammany Hall. At his local St. James Parish he received his elementary school education from the Christian Brothers. It is doubtful that he absorbed any particularly subversive tendencies of church and state at St. James. Catholic schools of the time were a laborious financial undertaking for Catholic bishops of the day, who considered them a necessary refuge against the virulent anti-Catholic attitudes of many public school curriculums. What Smith certainly absorbed from his Catholic upbringing was New York's multiculturalism, a phenomenon not understood and generally feared in the predominantly agricultural and Protestant Middle America.

Tammany Hall, one of America's most notorious yet beneficent Democratic political machines, would also demonstrate in Smith's day that same ability to adapt to cultural diversity despite its Irish heritage. Tammany was the incarnation of Tip O'Neill's dictum that "all politics is local." Slayton has no argument with this philosophy except to note that it is notorious bad presidential politics. Thus from the formative years Smith emerges as the Catholic/Tammany wounded duck.

But Smith postponed his inevitable denouement for a long time. For much of his life his personality, loyalty, affability and attention to detail, not to mention his "made man" status with the Tammany war horses, were enough to see him through his political climb. Despite its size and stature, New York State government was Byzantine and unwieldy. The legislature itself was a purgatory for a man without some kind of particular agenda, and Smith found his in the very organization of state government. With little to do, he became that body's best studied member and probably the best informed of the lot; he had something of Bob Taft's feel for the paper of legislation but with a much more extroverted personality. His counsel became cherished and his respect among his peers flourished.

And, he was lucky, though it is also true that men can make their own luck through hard work. On March 25, 1911 a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire in New York killed 146 workers. The dimensions of this tragedy and the accompanying neglect of worker safety made labor reform a statewide issue, allowing Smith to conduct emotional public hearings throughout the state. This exposure, and his public advocacy for a popular issue, put him into the New York State governor's mansion in 1919. With the invaluable help of Belle Moskowitz, Frances Perkins, and Robert Moses, among others, Smith continued his program of reform of the state constitution and generally pleased voters enough to maintain office more often than not in the dreadful decade of 1920's national Democratic defeats.

When William McAdoo declined to seek the presidential nomination in 1928, Governor Smith was virtually unopposed within his party. Suffice to say that once he stepped onto the national stage, however, all of his assets of many years became liabilities. His New York bonhomie, his Catholicism, his parochial accent, and his enjoyment of spirits in the age of the Volstead Act doomed his campaign from the start. He was running against the extremely popular Coolidge legacy, against a candidate who knew how to avoid mistakes. To borrow a metaphor from this century, the "red states" were really red, and there were many more of them in 1928.

Having said that, there is no denying that the 1928 campaign set the twentieth century low water mark for bigotry and ugliness. Slayton points out that the KKK of the 1920's was primarily an anti-Catholic movement; Jim Crow laws made Negro intimidation relatively unnecessary at the time. Catholicism was understood as a foreign invasion of lower class degenerates who drank excessively and usurped the jobs of present American citizens. The Democratic ticket was seen as an endorsement of this demographic shift, and voters turned upon the top of the ticket with a particular vehemence. Smith's parochialism had not prepared him for this, and the intensity of feeling against him, along with the size of the defeat, seems to have left psychological scars that remained with Smith for the rest of his life.

After this grueling ordeal, it galled Smith all the more that the perceived savior of his party was a man he considered a political lightweight, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As long as FDR lived, Smith would never get his electoral revenge. Coupled with the debacle of managing the day's tallest white elephant, the new Empire State Building, Smith's "redemption" makes only a cameo appearance in this work.

there is a largely-forgotten statue of al smith on the lower east side at the corner of monroe & catherine streets, but i like to think of the empire state building as the true monument to al smith. at the time perhaps the building was a financial failure, but it was simultaneously a symbol of hope even during the depression when it was being built. only a man like al smith had the vision to help create a monument of such optimism during such bleak times - but more importantly, he did so with the intention of providing a symbol of hope to his fellow nyers. (a symbol, i might add, that has renewed importance in post-9/11 ny.)

i appreciate & love the fact that reading lists in nyc have been expanded to include the writings & histories of all the races & creeds & cultures that have come to nyc. but as a white, working-class, catholic nyer, i have noticed a real lack of identity awareness or cultural heritage. this biography of al smith fills that void: by presenting al smith and his beliefs, it not only describes the immigrant experience of catholics at the turn of the century, but shows too how great men like al smith were key in helping the various catholic immigrant groups (irish, italian, polish, etc) to become mainstream, integrated americans in this formerly predominantly-protestant country. the anti-catholic impulse in america is largely forgotten, & in fact it is also forgotten that there was a time when white catholic americans were certainly not considered part of the white ruling class.

in addition, i love the fact that al smith's life & legacy point to another subculture: the progressive catholics. this term is not an oxymoron; at one point in american history, catholics were on the frontlines of many progessive agendas. this book provides an insight into a church that might have been.

i strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in american history or politics, but moreso to anyone who wants to examine the relationship of ny to the rest of america or how the aspects of class and religion (& not just race) influenced the poltical and cultural climate of america in the 20th century.

al smith was a hero of the working class, a hero of immigrant groups, a hero for catholics, for liberals, for new deal democrats, and ultimately for all americans. it is a shame that most people - even nyers - don't even know his name. this book is a huge step toward remedying that tragedy.

very highly recommended!

In his short 1958 study of Al Smith, Oscar Handlin noted that "[t]he written word did not come as easily to Al Smith as the spoken word." Because of this, there it no great body of correspondence or private papers for Smith biographers to consult, ultimately hampering any effort to understand "the Happy Warrior." In this respect, Robert Slayton's book stands as a major achievement. Having conducted extensive archival research and interviewed the children and grandchildren of many of the key figures, he presents what is the most thoroughly researched work on Smith that we are likely to have, and easily the most definitive one currently available.

Slayton uses this material to present a compelling interpretive portrait of his subject. Tracing his idealistic, even naive view of America to his upbringing, Slayton argues that Smith never grew beyond viewing the world through the prism of the lower East Side. This was not a problem in the context of New York state politics, where he rode the crest of a wave of change in the state, one which brought him into the governor's office as the first holder representing the urban immigrants who were to plan an increasingly important role in politics during the twentieth century. When Smith ventured onto the national stage in 1928, however, his naivete about America's essential decency and tolerance crashed up against the prejudices of an America still dominated culturally by rural Protestant values. Slayton sees Smith's defeat as a decisive event transforming his character, leaving a streak of bitterness that only grew as he saw Franklin Roosevelt - a man he dismissed as his political junior - capture the prize that Smith would never obtain.

Yet for all of its strengths of research and analysis, Slayton's book suffers is in its writing. Throughout much of the book Slayton peppers his text with unnecessary slang, and at points such as when he is discussing Tammany or Smith's old neighborhood he adopts a more casual, colloquial tone. The effort jars with the more readable narrative of the rest of the text, appearing as if he were attempting to evoke the conversational style with which Smith was most comfortable. Instead of appearing atmospheric and creative, however, it comes across as amateurish and ham-handed, hobbling rather than helping the rest of the work.

These compositional gaffes can distract from the overall quality of this book. Slayton as provided a biography of Smith filled with insight into his character and his times. It is a book, however, that doesn't quite embody the legendary nature of this political figure, who dominated Democratic politics in the 1920s and who heralded many of the changes that America would undergo. Until the book that can capture this is written, Slayton's biography is the best work available for anyone seeking to understand this fascinating individual.

This is the fourth book by Robert Bruce that I've purchased and I've been extremely impressed with each one. This book, like the previous books, is well researched, well written, amply illustrated, and filled with exercises and detail that teaches the reader not only why it works but how to do it.

this is an excellent book for those interested in building energy for healing or whatever else

ROBERT IS REAL AND THE BOOK IS GREAT IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ENERGY HEALING

Over the years, I have worked with many systems that aim to develop one's energy body, including yoga, Tai-Chi, breathing-based and other techniques. I have found that Robert Bruce's Energy Work methods are by far the most direct and effective in stimulating and developing your energy body. You can feel the results within 2-3 minutes of doing these exercises. Thank you for this gift, Mr. Bruce!

I have read many books on Qigong and Chigung all are great very informative but this book if there would be any would be the one I would use as a quik reference I learned straight forward things about the energy in the body while other books give an excercise but dont tell why it works now I know.
The system will not take years more in one session it builds off tactile sensations or more takes something we already know and helps us understand something we see as mysterious. Visualization is not the main part of this book but you can still incorporate the exercises into any routine you already do and probably be able to better feel energy than those who dont know the great techniques in this book.
1.Learn about the different energy storage centers in the body .
2. Learn how to feel the energy in as little as one try I did.
3. The secret or thing unique about this book is touch everything builds off of a sense of touch that helps to recognize energy.
4. Have the ability to heal yourself and others most importantly you'll actually feel the energy not just imagine it though you can still do whatever routine you already do this will be an unbelievable compliment to it.

Great for any Internal Martial Art's practitioner, this book can be understood on a different level as your level of understanding increases. This book is one for beginners and experienced IMA practitioners alike.

A wonderful little book of thoughts and peoms to go with T'ai Chi. It's title is extremely apt. I would recommend it to all who love T'ai Chi

Great book! It showcases the Tai Chi Classics from centuries of martial masters.I highly recommend this to all martial artists.

The tai chi classics are essential study for any halfway serious student of tai chi, martial arts, or life in general. There are now many translations of the classics - when this one was published there were few or none.

The nice thing about this version is that the translators let the words speak for themselves. Most others include commentary by the translators (which is, ultimately, their own opinions, and may or may not be helpful). Here you let the words sink in, you ponder and reflect, and gradually gradually develop your own sense of these important ideas.

I found that this book contains the best writings on Wing Chun available. It was recommended to me by my teacher's teacher. I know it's about Tai Chi concepts but the astute Wing Chun practitioner will benefit immensely from it. No it doesn't show any forms. It's not a "how to" book. It's a "learn deeper things about what you already know" book.

We learn to pray by repeating what we hear others say. Our first prayers may be nothing more than a simple memorized prayer before bedtime or mealtime that we learn as a child. I was raised in a tradition that looked down on "prayer books" and instead advocated using one's own words in prayer. Inevitably, however, one would end up using the words and phrases they heard others say when they prayed. A prayer book is essentially the same thing, except that the prayers have been carefully constructed and often refined and polished through years of use.

One advantage of Boa's wonderful prayer book is that it incorporates the words of scripture to form the backbone for one's daily prayer while, at the same time, provides a rotating list of instructions which encourage one to pray, using their own words, over a variety of topics.

The book has provided a helpful jump start for my often lifeless attempts at prayer. It helps me pray when that is a low item on my priority list for the day. It has also helped me develop consistency in prayer. I give these books often as gifts and in the beginning of 2008 each family in our congregation was encouraged to purchase a copy that we might all grow together in our devotion to prayer.

I love the format of the daily prayers in this book and the way that scripture is incorporated into the prayer as well as promptings for personal prayer time as well. This is a great way to have daily worship and prayer time, as well as reinforcing God's word into our memory.

This is a prayer book that turned my quiet time into something i began to look forward to. Dr Ken Boa shows how verses from the Word of God, when prayed in the structure of the Lord's Prayer can transform your relationship with Him. Buy the book for yourself or better still, gift it as a blessing to somebody else!

Face to Face has become a mainstay for my time in the Word of God. The daily scriptures always apply to personal life - always timely. I like the size and covering of the book - I can take it with me anywhere - usually it goes with me daily to the gym. It is a great source of refreshment and getting my thoughts grounded back on the absolute Truth of God's Word. There's always a verse or two that I end up copying on an index card to keep before my eyes regularly.

In the introduction to this book the author writes, "The problem with prayer is heightened by the fact that people often succumb either to the extreme of all form and no freedom, or the opposite extreme of all freedom and no form". I was pretty much in the all freedom trap and felt my time spent praying was wasted a lot of times due to my inabilty to get my mind in order. This book has really helped me to improve my prayer life.

I really enjoyed the way the book is organized with gentle nudges at the end of each section to get you going in the right direction. My previous prayer efforts consisted of me basically free associating. Since purchasing this book I have found myself getting to my point or just finding what I want to say much faster and with much, much more clarity. I also learned work in a time to stop and listen for a change, too!

Another problem I had had with my prayer style was the pure inabilty to pray out loud. I'm not talking about in front of people or groups; I mean just praying out loud, alone, in my house. It was like my brain would freeze when I opened my mouth. Reading aloud the passages inluded in each section allowed me to let my mind get 'warmed up' and my prayer just flowed out after I finished reading a section.

This isn't a Book of Prayers that you just read out loud. Rather, this is a book that lets you pray God's word back to him and then nudges you in a general direction that you fully expand on yourself. I found this book series recommended on my church's website and am very glad that I found them. Just to be clear, the book isn't a Bible replacement or a list of prayers. Face to Face is organized based off the Lord's prayer and is merely a guide to developing more meaningful prayer. I highly recommend it.