Research Books

This is one of the most enlightening books I have ever read. I've always know that narrative was an essential part of human life, but had never had the process of story so succinctly and eloquently spelled out. Taylor is obviously from an academic setting, but he parses the elements of story and elevates the role of narrative in way that is very clear and personable. I could see the book used in a variety of settings: church, school, university, book club, etc.

Daniel Taylor's book is a wise and authentic book about creativity as it applies to the spiritual self. Any aspiring writer and, actually, anyone who has felt the urge to create (that would be everyone!) should buy this book and read it. It is a permanent addition to my writing book collection.

this book was one of the most meaningful books i've ever read.not only was the read enjoyable,but the content was at a life changing level for me.i learned from this book what recognizing your own story did for you.the importance of story in not only books and movies,but in every art form.even the 12-step community and in the world of psychology,understanding your story and sharing your story are vital.the importance of each of our individual stories and how we must understand them to grow and mature.it is a book our chidren and our culture really need today.i continue refer to and give copies away today.

This book is so good I kept putting off writing a review on it, afraid my words would not do it justice.

Daniel Taylor explores the ways that STORY has power in our lives. We have our master stories which shape the way we view our world. We have our cultural and community stories. They all are interwoven in the core of our beings.

Somehow, reading this book, I got an image of Daniel Taylor as a gentle little English professor (Me being over 200 pounds, it's not hard for me to picture people diminutively.) I met Dan last month, at my StoryCon meeting and he is a biggg guy. But gentle, very gentle, and soft spoken. Yet his stories and his understanding of story are so powerful. This book should be required reading for anyone who works with story, any psychologist or minister.

I mark up books with wise words. This one must have [drained] the ink out of two or three pens with all the quotable, wise words I triple starred.

This is an excellent book, both for writers and for readers who are interested in analyzing stories. It is also an excellent book for those who want to reclaim their lives from the meaninglessness and fragmentation of our day and age.

Taylor provides a thoughtful rationale for the role of narrative in giving voice to those who are all-too-often voiceless, and meaning to those who see their lives as being a series of fragmented events.

He also explores epistemological questions as he examines the specific type of knowing that narrative knowledge provides; which stands in contrast against, but also complements, fact and statistic-driven knowledge.

His chapter on plotting examines how people search for patterns and order in their lives, and his chapter on characterization moves beyond merely creating a personality or an image, to the use of fully complex, multi-dimensional characters in order to build character in readers of the story.

Taylor includes an excellent chapter on the relationship between story (narrative) and the formulation of different worldviews. This is a particularly important chapter to read, given the tendency of most people to take their worldview for granted.

Throughout the book Taylor illustrates his points with, well, stories of course. There are quite a few well selected references from literature (mostly a few paragraphs at a time -- to illustrate a particular point) as well as stories from his own personal experiences or those of people he knew.

It is an engaging book but it is not lite reading. On the other hand, it is not overly "academic" either. Graduate students who are interested in doing narrative research and who care about principle and moral integrity in their work would do well to begin with this book. Others will benefit from a refreshing point-of-view that it can give them on life, and on how to become actively engaged in making choices in one's life, as opposed to being a mere spectator.

The former First Lady's book is a very compassionate effort which can help a person who has to deal with mental illness for the first time no matter what the setting. Mrs. Carter gives a good over-view of the "whole picture" concerning all mental illness with enough detail to give the reader a good foundation in the subject. I think the really profound thing that I read in every line of the book was the real sincerity that Mrs. Carter has for her work. She really is serious about changing the way some in society look at individuals with mental illesses. I applaud her for her work and her book.

This was one book I did not hesitate to buy as I know so many people with the mental illnesses.

I must applaud Rosalyn Carter one of the former First Ladies for her help in understanding Mental Illness and for trying her utmost not to see it as a stigma in this twenty first century......but for us to learn that getting help is the priority here.

From Depression to Panic attacks......Paranoia to Schizophrenia, caregiving with lots of love and understanding can go a long way. Buy this book to assist you if not now, sometime in the Autumn-time when friends and love ones will be taken under that dark umbrella. The treatments for each mental illness is remarkable.Thank you Roslyn Carter with help from Susan K. Golnat for a book that's going to help millions.
Congratulations.
Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar (SUGAR-CANE 26/10/01)

An excellent resource for family members and friends who wish to help a person with mental illness. I especially appreciated the book's emphasis on biological *and* social risk factors for various forms of mental illness.

The section on building resiliancy in children at risk for mental illness is reason alone to purchase this book. It is a wise, compassionate, humane treatus on a very important topic.

Rosalynn Carter's book tells it just the way it is and how you can treat the mental illnesses' the way they should be. Reading her book you cannot miss having the right treatment. I myself also believe a lot of the treatment comes from support of the family and guidance that is a must ,a mentally ill person whom does not have that benefit will become a difficult road to travel.

Mrs. Carter started her journey many years ago and never tired of it, she is a true believer that if you want to get well you can never stop searching for the answer of which she never did.

Understanding the illness is the first battle. When I seen Rosalynn on the Larry King Live Show and she had introduced her new book, just by listening to her speak I knew she gave a lot of her years on research, she is very sincere.

Thank you Mrs. Rosalynn Carter, as I have someone in my family with the illness and you could not explain it any better than you did in your book " Helping Someone With Mental Illness ".

Rosalynn Carter's new book evokes compassion from the reader as she unfolds her personal experience of becoming aware of persons with mental illness. This affliction has many facets and is painful for the family as well as the patient. Carter leads the reader through various types of mental illness, noting symptoms. The reader may use the book as a reference and not a 'read for pleasure' book.

Carter writes simply and without exaggerating, so she is easy to read and to understand. With the resources listed in index "D", she equips the uninformed reader to bring understanding in his interaction with his/her co-workers and friends. This is especially important as mentally ill patients need support of those around them. They also need the same financial help that patients with surgical and medical problems receive.

There is no question about David Stuart being the master in the decipherment of Msya hieroglyphic inscriptions as this book plainly shows. David was Linda Schele's mentor and it is obvious how much he was indebted to her as he gives her credit throughout the book not only to her scholarly deciphedrment of Maya inscriptions throughout most of her adult life but her enthusiasm for her chosen field. The photographs of Jorge Perez de Lara throughout the work are thrilling and show almost a perfect collaboration between the two. I awaited the book with much anticipation and certainly was not disappointed.

This book shows the newly discovered stone inscriptions of Palenque. Some of them are as well produced as any other Maya stone engravings.

Very well written and excellent photography. Even if you have many other books on the Maya, this one is unique, and deserves a space on your shelf.

Dr. David Stuart has presented an in depth study of Temple XIX at the Maya site of Palenque, for Maya hieroglyphic aficionados this will greatly enhance the knowledge of the Maya writing system. This is a scholarly work for both the novice and expert of Maya studies and illustrates how far decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs has progressed.

While the topic of this book on the inscriptions at Palenque is highly specialized, the photographs are marvelous and the quality of the Maya art extremely high. This book will be of great interest to anyone who believes or who would like to believe, that Mayan art, at its best, is part of the world's finest art along with the art of the Greeks, the Chinese, etc. The book has been carefully and lovingly produced.

I am a student of the author, David Stuart, and I have just finished his "Advanced Maya Epigraphy" class at the University of Texas. I was thrilled when his book about Temple XIX was released, because he had already shared some of his insights with his students about these new inscriptions; and by reading the book I knew that I would learn even more about the inscriptions and about K'inich Ahkal Mo' Nahb, the grandson of the Pakal the great. Within this book, Dr. Stuart unravels the texts and iconography of Temple XIX and its associated sister, Temple XXI, to reveal a story of how the king ingeniously used deep-time mythology and sacred geography to try to bring order to his rule and how the king employed the age-old Maya tradition of impersonation, linking himself directly with the two most holy Palenque characters, one historical and the other mythological - the great ruler, Janab' Pakal, and the powerful god, G1.

The book is also a scholarly asset for me because, as a student of Maya epigraphy and a Palenque data monger (I can't get enough of it), I know that Prof. Stuart is the "go to" man for information on both. (He and his dad, George Stuart, retired head archaeologist for National Geographic, have a new book in press on ancient Palenque to be released soon). If you have ever wondered how Maya epigraphers go about deciphering a text, the Temple XIX Inscriptions book is the perfect case study. The volume is remarkable in that it contains here-to-fore unpublished epigraphic ideas and observations that have recently been exchanged between the top Maya epigraphers, but have never gotten into the printed record. He calls this material the "grey literature" of letters and e-mail that only the few get to see. Thank you Dr. Stuart.

Jack Johnson remains perhaps the most controversial athlete in American professional sports. And for that, it has been the constant rewriting of his life by his critics and/or racists.

His autobiography, published in 1927 when he was approaching his 50th birthday, should dispell the myths surrounding the greatest heavyweight champion ever. But more than his ring exploits, Johnson truly believed in a world without labels, a world where a celebrity can truly make a difference in people's lives and a world where dreams can truly be sought after and achieved.

He has pointed comments concerning critics who never gave a balanced account of his life and has a lengthy account on the fix he claims was arranged for him to lose the heavyweight title to Jess Willard. A chapter on physical fitness is timely today and demonstrates how Johnson was setting new standards on working out for his sport and general fitness.

You may have viewed the PBS special and read the recent biography on his life, but nothing beats reading Johnson in his own words. Johnson was truly a champion for honest play inside the ring and - most importantly - in the game of life.

Jack Johnson was the first African American Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World. He became the heavyweight champion in 1908 when African Americans were exploited by Racism in a close-minded White America where hundreds of African Americans were murdered without trial by white mobs of hatred.

With this context of hatred, Jack Johnson, matter of factly talks about his life during this troublesome time in American history as if it were a minor annoyance. In over 250 pages, he discusses his childhood and boxing career. He also speaks of the adventures in his life and anecdotes that all have an excitement, the kind that makes "Carpe Diem" seem like a non-event.

Bull Fighting in Spain; fleeing to Europe from a US government intent on exploiting the marvels of his success with grotesque technicalities of Laws biased against African Americans; storms through the rough ocean off of Mexico; encounters with wild Indian tribes; Russian spies prior the Bolshevik's revolution; somehow managing to win a poker game with 4 Aces when two others with 4 Queens and 4 Kings accused one another of cheating not realizing that they'd both been defeated.

Jack Johnson is the most underrated American Hero. To me, after reading his story, I felt no bitterness in his diction. I read no scars from all the hatred thrusted upon him. On the contrary, I read the voice of a man who probably would have lived to 200 years old had it not been for his tragic auto accident death when he was in his late 60s.

The book has amazing historical insight. He discusses the implication of the "Jazz Age" and how it affects family values. Oddly, today, the Jazz Age was when the family was still in tact. I thought Devil Worshipping Heavy Metal destroyed the family. No wait, wasn't it that rebellious punk rock music? No, wait, wasn't it that selfish "me-generaton" Disco? That evil Rock'n'Roll? No wait.... It's amazing how musical trends imply collapsing humanity. Still Johnson's insight was intellectually pragmatic and insightful.

The book is an amazing read when one considers that Jack Johnson had only a 5th Grade education. Yet we read of a man whose expressive skills excede those with Doctorate Degrees. Notice how I forgot to emphasize that he was a heavyweight boxer? When, fights were often 20, 30 rounds long? All those punches, yet his mind extremely sharp in his autobiography.

He's entertaining with much to say and with deep insight few autobiographies have.

If you find true individualists to be a source of inspiration, Jack Johnson's "In and Out of the Ring" is a must for your collection.

This autobiography is a much-needed corrective to playwright Howard Sackler's artistically over-licensed opus "The Great White Hope", dramatized on stage and in film in the late 1960's. As a self-portrait of a Black man living in a particular time and place, it is not only a record of Mr. Johnson's matchless skill as a boxer, but more importantly, it is a journey into an all-encompassing Black mind, an intellect as well as a striking physical specimen, who broke out a new mold for the image of the athelete as someone capable of possessing as much "brains" as they had "brawn." Johnson was so clearly head and shoulders above his peers and detractors that it is no wonder why he was hated and feared by many whites. When enough people of color have read this book, it is likely that Mr. Johnson may be put under the same sun that shines on the likes of Paul Robeson and Jackie Robinson: Black "Renaissance" men whose lives outside of their sport(s) have been obscured because of their insight, outspokeness, and general refusal to be limited by their "race." Don't let "Black History" month slip by without attempting to get onto, and into this priceless autobiography by a true "giant" of a man.

This book is a must read, not only for boxing fans seeking more information about the first black heavyweight champion, but also for students of American history and specifically race relations in the U.S. Johnson's writing is insightful, eloquent and scholarly. He refused to allow the abysmal prejudice of whites to deter him from his goals, and enjoyed his life to the fullest. He maintained his dignity and judgement despite the efforts to break him. His book shows him to be a man of immense intellect, who could have excelled in any field of his choice. His views on the pace of 'modern' life, diet, physical fitness and race relations are as relevant today as they were in 1927. This book was a great surprise to me as I picked it up as a boxing fan, but the scope of Jack Johnson as a man goes far beyond the squared circle. His life was epic and his words timeless. This is a book for all times, by a passionate, inspired and inspiring man.

This autobiography is a much-needed corrective to playwright Howard Sackler's artistically over-licensed opus "The Great White Hope", dramatized on stage and in film in the late 1960's. As a self-portrait of a Black man living in a particular time and place, it is not only a record of Mr. Johnson's matchless skill as a boxer, but more importantly, it is a journey into an all-encompassing Black mind, an intellect as well as a striking physical specimen, who broke out a new mold for the image of the athelete as someone capable of possessing as much "brains" as they had "brawn." Johnson was so clearly head and shoulders above his peers and detractors that it is no wonder why he was hated and feared by many whites. When enough people of color have read this book, it is likely that Mr. Johnson may be put under the same sun that shines on the likes of Paul Robeson and Jackie Robinson: Black "Renaissance" men whose lives outside of their sport(s) have been obscured because of their insight, outspokeness, and general refusal to be limited by their "race." Don't let "Black History" month slip by without attempting to get onto, and into this priceless autobiography by a true "giant" of a man.

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?(Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.), Roman orator, philosopher, statesman. Orator, 120.)

As humans we not only should look into the future, but into the past. Without considering our past history-how can make appropriate observations, conclusions and judgments? And this is why I find this book of value.

About the Book:
Crow, a student of spiritual healing, left his acupuncture practice in San Francisco to travel to Kathmandu to pursue the path of the healers in Buddhist and Hindu culture. He discusses his experiences with Nepalese traditional doctors and Tibetan healing practices. Crow believes Ayurveda is the medicine of the future and the antidote to disease caused by our increasingly toxic world.

David Crows book is a must read for anyone interested in herbal medicine, Eastern philosophy, and their relevance in todays hectic world--especially for those interested in the ancient yet highly topical teachings of Ayurveda.

This book is urging us to create a new renaissance in healing, but it is not another superficial New Age book. This book is written with care and depth of heart by someone who is not interested in simple answers to complicated questions. I was struck by the authors integrity and ability to make sense out of such diverse yet interrelated topics as herbs, healing, culture, sustainable economics, and ecology. The authors central theme is that we need to both revive and advance herbal medicine and our own sense of sacred environmentalism in order to live in harmony on this troubled earth.

In Search of the Medicine Buddha is not only a book about herbal medicine but also about the need to renew our ageold spiritual connection to plants. Moreover, the book is refreshingly honest, rich, and poetic in its descriptions of Nepali and Indian culture. Highly recommended for anyone interested in creating a richer, more fulfilling and balanced life for themselves and all other living beings!

David delves into the subject of miraculous medicinal plants around the world and explains why botanical medicine is so crucial for the long term health and care of our planet, our healthcare system and our economy. David writes about how you can get involved in creating a grassroots healthcare system in your community by growing your own living pharmacy among many other natural wonders.

The perspective and insight that this books contains is overwhelming. The content was great, but what struck me most was the nature of the author. He has such an incredible respect and love for the Earth, other cultures, and human beings. If the world was full of David Crows, we'd be in good shape. I recommend this book for the fascinating look at Tibetan medicine, but even more for the spiritual development that Mr. Crow inspires.

The text itself is medicinal. The story speaks often of the ancient and rare, but is something everyone struck by the unrelenting madness of the modern world should read. The author's sincerity comes through clearly, and I would be pleased to see more from him. It is difficult to do justice to this book in a short time; it is very rich, even poetic. Do yourself a favor: just trust me on this one.

As a producer for two national talk show hosts, I can honestly say this is one of the finest and most thought provoking books I've read. Ed Haslam's book is a major dot connector. Think about it. We already know thanks to A & E's Investigative Reports that Oswald did NOT kill Kennedy, but that's not the big jist of this book. What needs to be understood is that the polio virus vaccine all the baby boomers received via shots and sugar cubes in the 50s and 60s was contaminated with SV-40 Simian Monkey Virus...the results...an epidemic of soft tissue cancer. And SV-40 shows up in autopsies of cancer victims. However, even more horrific is that the SV-40 contamination does not end with those of us that received the polio vaccine. It is passed to our children and grandchilren even though they have not received the vaccine. Who is responsible? Ed Haslam's fabulous research was given to us in this book in 1995, and five years later, in the February, 2000 issue of Atlantic Monthly, it is finally discussed by the "regular" media. Stop and think about this...Plutonium experiments from 1936 through the cold war on unsuspecting Americans,radiation experiments on military men, the Tuskegee, Alabama syphillis experiments, the depleted uranium issues from Desert Storm, and countless others...this book exposes another form of deception and coverup. If this book doesn't make you think and do even more research, then you're in denial and have your head in the sand. There are countless other books that should be on the suggested reading list after reading Ed's fabulous work, but Amazon hasn't listed them. Please read Pulitzer Prize winner, Eileen Welsome's book, THE PLUTONIUM FILES, then read Martin A. Lee's THE BEAST REAWAKENS, and if you can find a used copy, get Borkin's THE CRIME AND PUNISHMENT OF I.G. FARBEN.

Ed's book is superb and written in a style that is easily assimilated. Buy it, buy two, give one to a friend, loan your copy, but get it out...and connect the dots!

An eye opener. I was loaned this book by one of the reviewers on this site and then ordered one of my own. I had to fight to get the book back from anyone I loaned it to.

I knew many people who were associated with the Kennedy assassination. Worked for Willard Robertson, when he funded the Garrison investigation. Know people who employed Oswald as a numbers runner in New Orleans, know people central in the book "They Killed Kennedy", and knew people in the Cuban resistence movement who were in training on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain in the late 50s until the mid 60s.

One friend whose father was in the Cuban movement pointed out David Ferrie's house to me on Louisiana Avenue Parkway a few weeks before he died and said at that time that Ferrie was a part of the Anti-Castro group.

So, it was with interest that I read this book. My interest got peaked the more I read and this is one story that should be made into a movie and it will be thought of as fiction, because it will be almost too strange for people to believe, though it comes closer to the truth than anyone would like to admit.

So, when I think of the 60s I remember the CIA people I met through others and the strange characters in the once international city of New Orleans and can only hope that the truth can be allowed to be seen and read.

I give it a five star rating and hope that everyone gets a chance to read this strange and interesting book.

Ed Haslam has written a landmark book of investigative journalism. It is a well-written page turner that is a "must read" for anyone interested in what has really gone on in this country in the last 40 years. I have lived in New Orleans since Mary Sherman was murdered here, and personally know many of the people mentioned in this book. As far as I can tell this book is completely truthful. Mr. Haslam tells you when he is speculating and when he is giving you facts. This book has my highest recommendation.

Growing up in the same home as Edward Haslam, I remember so many of these events as they happened -- an apparent series of unrelated and bizarre events, the significance of which would only become clear to me years later when I read an early draft of my brother's book, years after my diagnosis with breast cancer at the age of 39 (as mentioned in the book.) If you are a thinking adult whose life or loved ones have been touched by cancer, you need to find the courage to read this book. A new edition is about to be published under a new name and you can pre-order it from Amazon at an attractive price.(I have 5 copies on order myself to share with friends.) The new title is "Dr. Mary's Monkey: How the Unsolved Murder of a Doctor, a Secret Laboratory in New Orleans and Cancer-Causing Monkey Viruses are Linked to Lee Harvey Oswald, ... Assassination and Emerging Global Epidemics". I have no financial interest in the book, only a belief that the time has come to reveal this information to a wider audience.

This investigation into the unsolved murder of Dr. Mary Sherman is a well-crafted and original expose, arguably of one our nation's worse mistakes. But also perhaps of one of its best-kept secrets.

Over a period of nearly 30 years, the author juxtaposes and correlates a collection of disparate medical facts, police reports, and related events with the activities of an assortment of characters in an around the environs of New Orleans during the Garrison investigation of the JFK assassination. The main characters include a world class Orthopedic Bone Specialist (Dr. Mary Sherman) and an eccentric washed-up CIA operative implicated in the assassination of JFK (Dave Ferrie), and Lee Harvey Oswald, no less.

The question that animates the investigation is why should a world class Medical Specialist like Dr. Sherman be running in the same circles as a self-taught egomaniacal misfit like Ferrie? The book is the author's search for an answer. From these elements, he weaves together a very plausible story about how medical experiments at a secret run underground government medical facility, may have gone awry -- resulting in Dr. Sherman's death and in the current silent epidemic of soft tissue cancers. There is even a hint that what went on in that secret facility may also be implicated in the inadvertent creation of the current AIDS pandemic.

Far from being the convoluted and speculative machinations of a conspiracy crackpot, the author's fiercely logical approach and resourcefulness would put some of our most seasoned investigators to shame. To say that it reads like a novel would be an understatement. Five stars.

I went through Allan G. Bluman's Pre-Algebra Demystified book and found it to be absolutely enjoyable. It is so clear and so thorough that the material just seeps into your head. He seems to have perfect pitch as a teacher. I am ordering his Math Word Problems Demystified book on the strength of how he wrote the Pre-Algebra book. I can't imagine that it will disappoint, thus the 5 star rating.

I have always struggled with word problems. Due to changing schools a couple times and different curriculum in each, I ended up taking Algebra I three times (needless to say, by year three, I was completely bored!), then later took Algebra II and College Algebra. Nevertheless, on the ACT I did rather poorly on the algebra section because it is made mostly of word problems. Same on the GRE. So before starting another degree program that is heavier in math than my first, I picked up this book to help me learn the concepts with which I struggle.

Somehow, in all those classes (plus one more in college), I just never got it, but with this book, I finally did. I actually began to enjoy them! This book explains things very simply and gives just the right amount of problems to help you practice. The explanations on how to solve the problems and on how the practice problems are solved are very easy to understand as well.

All I can say is THANK YOU, Bluman! I wish I had picked this up 5 years ago! :)

I highly recommend this book as a "must have" for any entrance exam refresher. Very easy to understand how to break apart the 10 different type of word problems.

This book is great. It breaks the various word problems into categories and then develops a plan to help solve that category. This book is easy to understand and has helped me tutor my children in this area. Most people roll their eyes at math word problems this book has changed that. I highly recommend it.

Get this for your 6th grade student. It reviews math they have had and teaches how to figure out word problems. It has great explanations and examples. It has practice problems and then quizzes at the end of a unit. Answers are either right after the problems or at the back of the book. Parents can use this to help kids, and math teachers can certainly use it for probably 5th through 8th or 9th grades.

I read this book and watched the Sagwa TV series and I want to see more stories by Amy Tan aimed at children.The two stories are well written and in my opinion would recommend it to all parents even though I am not one.The best thing I like the two children's story Amy Tan wrote is that they keep you glued to them.Thanks Amy for the two good stories and I want to read more of them.

Beautiful illustrations will entrance children of all ages as Amy Tan shows she can entertain both children and adults.

Amy has shown she can captivate children as well as adults. Her illustrations are beautiful and wonderful and my 5 yr old daughter loved them as well. Wonderful story.

In The Moon Lady, Amy Tan author of The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter's Daughter, presents a small tale for young children which adults will also enjoy. Focusing on a story set in China, Tan brings her wealth of knowledge about China and its folktales as well as her love for this country and its traditions. In addition, the illustrations by Gretchen Schields add a wonderful dimension to the story since readers can also visualize the tale by viewing these pictures.

On a rainy day as grandchildren whine that they can't play outside their grandmother tells them a tale based on her own experiences as a child. Using this method Tan provides an allegorical tale concerning children and their wishes. Telling the children of her wishes as a young girl, Ying Ying tells the children a story about her own wishes at the times of the Moon Festival. And as all folk tales provide, Tan is adept at providing her readers with an adventurous tale compete with the mysterious Moon Lady and a moral to the story.

This is a good book for young children who cannot only learn about the Chinese culture but the saying "Be careful what you wish for." I also recommend this book at any age since it is also important to remember this as we move on in life.

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. The Moon Lady was one of her picks.

Adapted from Amy Tan's best selling book, The Joy Luck Club, The Moon Lady is a perfect book for encouraging children to read with and talk to their grandmother. The book also very subtly encourages children to take more responsibility for their own lives. The story provides a model for parents and grandparents for how to create their own stories to help children learn important lessons.

The story begins as three girls, Maggie, Lily and June, are bored because they have to stay in on a rainy day and can think of nothing that they want to do. Their grandmother, Nai-nai, is with them. Nai-nai tells them a story about when she was a young girl in China, and she ran and shouted and could not stand still also.

The story is about the day she told the Moon Lady her secret wish. Then unfolds a wonderful story of a young girl's adventure on a special trip to see the Moon Lady. Along the way, she sees many things she has not seen before, falls overboard, is rescued by a fishing family, and finds her family again after meeting the Moon Lady. In the process, she has one of those epiphanies that make all of our lives better -- that she is in charge of creating her own future.

The story is filled with references to family bonding and what is and is not proper behavior. The story also shows what family life was like for a somewhat well-to-do Chinese family in China at the beginning of the 20th century. These references are made all the more realistic by a wonderful series of drawings by Gretchen Schields with bright colors, beautiful detail, and authentic depictions of the China of years ago. It's almost like living a beautiful dream.

Then Nai-nai takes her granddaughters out to dance in the moon after the story is over.

Of all the children's books I have read, I place this one in the top ten for the 4-8 age category.

A central problem for many children today is that too much television, too many structured activities, and too little free time leave them feeling lost when nothing is on the agenda. Our misconception is that they need regimented lives like those that soldiers lead to fulfill their potential. This book will encourage you to readdress that misconception, and focus on how to make your children more competent in thinking about others, being more independent, and designing their own beneficial activities. That is all very important to actually unleashing their full potential. When you are done, think about how perhaps your own life needs a little improvement along these same lines.

Enjoy!

Donald Mitchell (donmitch@2000percentsolution.com)

As a fan of the TV show "The West Wing", and considering how much the Situation Room was an integral part of the shows storylines, I wondered and wondered what the real Sit Room was about. Even more, I always wondered if there was a book that takes you inside the Sit Room, just like a book that takes you inside the Pentagon, or inside the White House. Naturally, there is such a book in "Nerve Center". Even better, it's the only book on record that takes you into the Sit Room.

This book has it all: political intrigue, history, secrets, clashes of personalities, clashes of organizations, character development of those who functioned in the room, even a bit of fiction. It greatly clears up the perceptions about how the Sit Room is depicted in TV and in the movies.

A bit of warning! If you were not a political junkie before reading this book, you will become one after reading this book. The book influenced me greatly. I am now one of them, whether it is fact or fiction...I want more. You WILL NOT be disappointed after reading this book. Great reading!!

Excellent sneak peak into the White House Situation Room, dispelling myths and showing us the American people how our leaders handle a crisis.

I first read this book 2 years ago after purchasing it from Amazon, and loved it the moment I saw it. Sitting down to read it was almost like opening a chocolate box, with wonderful anecdotes from dozens of men and women who have served in the nexus of American Military decision making. I highly recomend this book to anyone who would like to find out more about the White House Situation room and it's impact on the world and the West Wing itself.

Bohn, Commander Bohn. Shakes not stirs events in the White House from the Situation Room. He takes the pulse of the Sit Room and displays it with humor and humanity. This is the first account of the people who watch and report on events that shape our world. Well done and well written!

Mike Bohn has succeeded in opening to the reader a portion of the White House that few understand - let alone acknowledge its existence or function. The Situation Room truly is the "Nerve Center" for the country - both in times of crisis and in peace time. It is a central briefing room for the President, and a contact center for countries around the globe. Before reading this wonderful book, I hadn't thought about how calls to heads-of-state were made on behalf of the President, but now I can see why they would all go through the Situation Room.

If you are a fan of political movies, and want to know the truth behind the Hollywood fiction, or are just a political junkie, then this truly is the one book you want on your shelf!

Here Chomsky compares and contrasts the responses of western governments (specifically, those of Clinton's USA and Blair's Britain) to two instances of "ethnic cleansing", both of which received extensive media attention at the end of the millennium. In Kosovo, there was NATO intervention, a 78-day bombing campaign, and a much-publicised war crimes tribunal; in East Timor, at the very most, a few regretful shakes of the head and perhaps the suspicion that we are not, as yet, quite living up to our high ideals of truth, justice and liberty. Chomsky collates some of the facts underlying this apparent irony and shows that, as usual, the paradox has a rather simple solution. For example: (1) The indictment against Milosevic confines itself largely to crimes committed after the bombing began; it seems logical to assume that (a) "ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo was not a major motivation for the bombing, and (b) any crimes committed before the bombing are not a major concern of our new generation of moral crusaders. Nevertheless, on the grounds that they sanctioned and participated in "ethnic cleansing", Milosevic and his cronies have been routinely portrayed as the worst enemies of human life and moral decency since Adolf Hitler. (2) The 1999 massacre in East Timor (much advertised in advance as the inevitable consequence if a referendum concerning independence from Indonesia should go the wrong way) was the latest episode in an extremely well-documented record of slaughter dating from the Indonesian invasion of 1975. All the atrocities, including the accession to power of the Indonesian leader Suharto in 1965, with its attendant third of a million casualties, were carried out with western backing and with US armament and training. The solution to that paradox, then, is obvious: the west has, as is traditional, no problem with genocide just so long as it's done by the right people. Chomsky is adept at drawing out the salient points (e.g. the timing of the Serbian war crimes indictment noted above) from voluminous and often skewed information; and, as befits a scientist, his sources of evidence are painstakingly documented. The focus on two contrasted sets of events throws the Standards of the West into sharp and unpleasant perspective.

Chomsky uses the NATO bombing of Milosevic as a framework for analyzing the direction of Western foreign policy, specifically in East Timor. While NATO (remember, not UN) forces were destroying non-military targets and infrastructure in the name of a "just cause", US sponsored paramilitaries were rampaging through E Timor slaughtering thousands. It is the awareness of this hypocrisy (as well as the well documented FACT that NATO bombing would worsen the humanitarian crisis it was designed to alleviate) that forms the framework for his analysis. With recent events in the world (easy to predict for those of us who actually know our own foreign policy, our history, and the history of the regions and people in question) Chomsky is one of the few, non PC, intellectuals who are willing to actually hold their own nation to the standards that we hold other nations to. Not surprisingly, CNN, Fox, and the other worthless entertainment disseminators masquerading as flag-waving "news" outlets refuse to cover the obvious issues raised by Chomsky (or Zinn, Fisk, Pilger, Nader, Roy, Herman, Said; the list is much to long to list). Oh well, its just the bodies and misery of the "evildoers" (read: Bush Daddy's old friends who no longer know their place) that are piling up in the name of corporate US hegemony. Also, beware of negative reviews like the one above (nothing wrong with negative reviews, but it woiuld be nice if they would at least attempt to deal with and refute Chomsky's thesis) that quote passages completely out of context.

This is scholar and public servant Noam Chomsky at his analytic best. The focus is "new internationalism where the brutal repression of whole ethnic groups will no longer be tolerated," as thunderingly stated by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Never content with rhetoric, Chomsky examines the record of new internationalism for actual results, paticularly in test cases like East Timor, Kosovo, and NATO member Turkey with its repressed Kurdish population. The tone is sober, the style searching, the results depressing for a new millenium, demonstrating that more of the same old bloody double-standard wine is being served, this time in new rhetorical bottles. There's no need to editorialize on the professor's findings. They speak eloquently for themselves. Instead a salute is due him: his tireless ongoing pursuit of truth, pleasant or not, his refusal to bow down before the gods of government and media, his steady deep regard for the powerless and voiceless - all in modest, accessible fashion - recommend him as the conscience of the nation and the hope of a better America.

This is Chomsky at his continued best. His insight into and knowledge on American's involvement in Kosovo and East Timor is once again unparalled by other intellectuals. Chomsky is one of the most important assets to truth and knowledge ever to exist.

(...). I had always towed the party line about the evil Serbs and their misdeeds, but have changed my tune after reading this enlightening, if disturbing book. Some may accuse Chomsky of being an apologist for Serb atrocities, but it is clear after reading this text that all sides, most notably NATO, were engaged in quite troublesome behavior that cost many thousands of lives. I heard Bill O' Reilly dismiss Chomsky as a "revisionist," and it is sadly interesting that most critics of this and similar works simply stick a "communist", "liberal", or "revisionist" label on the author without ever addressing the points made within the work. If you are looking for a wealth of facts on deceitful and imperialist American policy in Serbia/Yugoslavia and Indonesia/East Timor, I doubt if a better source could be found.