Victims Books

So now I ask myself how I would react if the Flight 93 crash had happened in San Diego where I live. How would you react if Flight 93 crashed in your community? We will not know, because this type of plane crash WILL NEVER HAPPEN IN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN.
165 miles north west of Washington D.C. on 9/11, Somerset Pa, took the blow of the Flight 93 plane crash. Maybe 15 to 20 seconds more air time, school children, home dwellers, or some people playing golf could have been killed by hijacker terrorists. This book describes how the people of Somerset reacted to that.
A weedy field and wooded area in Somerset County is now the resting place of 40 people who fought back against 4 of the terrorists on 9/11. I know now after reading Dr. Kashurba's book, how alot of the people who live in and around Somerset, especially those in Shanksville and Lambertsville, handeled the aftermath of this particular crash and how they helped families of the Flight 93 passengers and crew turned heroes.

I live in the vicinity of the Flight 93 crash, but did not visit the site until several months after the crash. This book gave me the information I needed to understand the reactions of the people involved. Why I was feeling like I was when visiting the site and why I needed to visit on a regular basis.

I admit that I was sceptical at first, but after reading the preface, I was hooked. I read the book (cover-to-cover) in one sitting, and still I find myself glancing back from time to time. I am amazed how Dr. Kashurba seems to "get out of the way" of the story and allows the subjects of the book to tell their stories. I am a Somerset County, Pennsylvania resident. I will pass this book on to my children as I tell them about the horrible events that occurred 9-11-01.

You can't read this book without crying, but although you'll cry, the feelings, thoughts and stories shared will make you feel good about being human. A few of the stories recounted will even make you laugh. In addition to the first-hand accounts, the book is packed with interesting informaion and great pictures. It's a book to buy, read and hold onto.

I loved this book! It's the first 9/11 book I've seen that let's the people involved with the aftermath tell the story rather than the author. If you like Studs Terkel, you'll love this book, and if you don't know him you'll like it anyway. The oral chronicle combined with the pictures will produce a variety of emotions. This is the kind of book you'll want to keep, buy for your kids and save forever as an heirloom. It's one of those books where you need to read part of it, put it down, think about what you read and pick it back up again because of the nature of the content. By the nature of the interviews, you feel like you were right there sitting with the people being interviewed. This book has a healing effect as well. You realized others may have had the same feelings you did.

A beautiful tribute to the people who were involved with the aftermath.

This story made me cry more than any other. Flanagan breaks many "rules" of creating writing, which is to his credit. He tells a story without a plot. The characters were not attracting. He gives away the ending. But, he uses a delivery method of fantasy to tell a truth of the human condition. Brilliant! This is a book about loss, injustice, and suffering, with smatterings of love and tenderness. Beautiful. A most powerful scene takes place in a bar where Flanagan captures the heart and soul of what makes music so dramatic and driving for both musician and listener. This is not a happy book, just great literature. I read this after reading his "The Unknown Terroist," another good one with the same themes.

Aljaz Cosini, a Tasmanian river guide, is trapped under water, his body wedged between rocks in the Franklin River, into which he has dived in an effort to save a reckless rafter. "I have entered the realm of the fabulous, of hallucinations, for there is no way anybody stuck drowning could experience such things," he thinks, as many generations of his family history pass through his mind. As this remarkable narrative unfolds, it alternates between Aljaz's dying, first person memories of his family's past and his objective, third person observations about life in contemporary Tasmania. Through Aljaz's memories, the reader learns the sad history of the island, a former penal colony for the most hardened criminals, the site of total genocide for the aboriginal natives, a remote colony with little hope and no tolerance for differences. A bright boy, Aljaz himself has intentionally failed everything in school, because "by failing, Aljaz begins to fit in with people...there is a camaraderie amongst the ranks of the fallen....They expect to be failed, to be unemployed, to be pushed around, to know only despair."

This is a story of abject hopelessness, the misery of Aljaz's family continuing through the four or five generations we meet during Aljaz's final moments and culminating in Aljaz's own predicament. The author does not even hold out the hope that Aljaz himself will be rescued, choosing to confirm the death in the book's title, before the reader even opens the book. What unites the generations (and keeps the reader going) is the clear and abiding respect for nature we see throughout the book--for the power of the river, for the unique animals of the island, for the stories and myths of the old people--and the belief that there is a unity of man and nature. And Aljaz experiences the ultimate unity with nature in his death in the river, as he becomes one with the sea eagle who "carries the spirits of the ancestors."

The characters one meets in this book are memorable, as they survive the best way they can. The tales of nature and the mystical moments that Aljaz experiences are vivid and uplifting, a fitting contrast to the reality of life. The action on the river is realistic and exciting, and there is a thematic unity which connects the generations of the past with the action in the present. It may be self-defeating, however, to create a novel in which the reader is asked to become personally involved with a main character whose death is foretold from the outset. Though that confirms and reinforces the point the author is making about the hopelessness of Aljaz's life, it certainly makes this novel a depressing ride for the reader. Mary Whipple

perhaps i found this book enjoyable because i have been a river guide and also because i enjoy magical realism. the sense of time and space throughout this book captures not only a family history but the essence of a river itself, and being caught up in it. as i began reading, i found myself hating the main character for his apathy towards his own life. i resented that i would have to wait until the end of the book for him to finally end his miserable existence and drown. but then as i read on i wasn't so sure what i wanted for the main character. a very satisfying read.

Richard Flanagan has an almost unexcelled capacity to weave historical threads into his fiction. In line with many writers of the Australian scene, he deftly conveys his awareness of the Aborigine condition in this story. Despite his name, Aljaz Cosini, born far away in Trieste, yet manages to return to his ancestral homeland. Ancestral roots bear little, if any, sway on our monotheistic world. In other cultures, however, forebears are the foundation for existence, a tradition widespread and of extended duration. Flanagan's awareness of that cultural milieu is forcefully portrayed in this story of a man's final living moments.

Flanagan's method is subtle. We mourn for the drowning guide as the story opens. His fate is clearly inescapable. Strangely, he condemns neither his situation nor the river that is taking his life. The attitude is far from fatalism, however. His circumstance is opening a new realm of Aljaz' awareness. As he confronts the inevitable, Aljaz comes to perceive his ancestral roots. Visions arrive of events he could not have witnessed, yet bear no skein of fabrication nor the supernatural either in Aljaz' mind or in Flanagan's depiction of them. There are no deities or spirits here. Aljaz resents that at first - "visions ought be given you by divine beings, not ... marsupials and their mates". Yet these visions are events from the reality his ancestors experienced. They are also of those real people - his father, grandmother, and most importantly, his former girl friend and the child they lost. Flanagan accepts the Aborigine view of children - love them intently, but if they are lost, long-term grief is too debilitating a luxury. The white world didn't understand this view when they first encountered it, and it remains enigmatic even now. Aljaz meets death calmly after a tormented life, but it's not release from suffering he gains, but a fuller understanding of who he really is. He is joining with a lost heritage.

Describing Flanagan's style as "powerful" is frail praise. "Formidable" might be something of a start. This is not a book to rush through, or if done, one to turn back to again. Flanagan wants to confront you with the realities of history and become aware of the long-term effects of lack of cultural awareness. These aren't lessons acquired at one sitting. He knows there are deeply set roots underlying behaviour and this book is attempt to reveal some of these to us. He has accomplished this effort with vivid imagery and exemplary characterisation. We must applaud his effort with enthusiasm. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

I was interested to read this first novel by Richard Flanagan after reading his acclaimed novel "The Sound of One Hand Clapping". In going back to this earlier work I wanted to see if he was pursuing similar themes and if the writing was as compelling. It was. Here again was a master storyteller at work who refuses to release the reader until the last page has been read and the reader held in the grip of an idea that the broken in spirit will be redeemed.

This story of a man drowning beneath a waterfall provides the canvas to explore the emotional history of his family and by extension the emotional history of his island state, Tasmania.

This is an excellent, honest and forthright book!!!! Kudos to the author for telling the story, with respect and decency! James Mitchell, St. Michael School, Lowell MA, 1973

This book truly puts a personal face to a global situation. The approach of forgiveness, realistic expectations, accountablility, faith, spirituality and perserverance for what he believes is right was heartwarming. Excellent book. Highly recommended.

I recently read "Don't Call Me A Victim" by Gary Bergeron and I literally could not put it down. Throughout the book I laughed (the author's humor is amazing in light of his situation).. and I cried..and when I was done with the book I told everyone I knew to read it! It is truly a riveting story told with humility and passion....leaving me to believe he truly is not a victim but a survivor and an inspiration.

Here you have a heart-wrenching account of child abuse and how a father, a son, a brother, a friend lead others through a dark tunnel and into a much brighter world. It may still be spotted with clouds and thunderstorms, but it shows what can be done when just the smallest bit of light shines through.

"Don't Call Me A Victim: Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse In The Catholic Church" is a truly remarkable book. It is a profoundly moving testimony. Reading it was a deeply affecting experience.

One can only be full of deep admiration for Gary Bergeron, his brother, his fellow survivors - Olan Horne, Bernie McDaid - and all the others.

I am a Catholic priest from Belfast in the north of Ireland. I also was sexually abused as a child beginning at age four by a child-minder. It marked me deeply as a child - plunging me into a world of fear and terror. I was also trying to grow up in the midst of the terrible violence that was a feature of daily life in Northern Ireland until quite recently.

To compound the trauma I suffered at such a tender age, I was also sexually assaulted on numerous occasions by a priest when I was a young student for the priesthood. This man used force and psychological manipulation to attack me. I felt helpless and that I was to blame - that I would have been the one in trouble - victims of sexual predators will know the deal and how we are made to feel.

All these accumulated experiences had horrific consequences for me. I couldn't sleep without the most awful nightmares. I couldn't eat without being sick almost immediately afterwards. I was self-harming with knives, etc. I suffered panic attacks and so on. I was eventually diagnosed as suffering from PTSD.

A great depth of thanks to Gary Bergeron for this amazing book, for sharing his courageous journey with us. When I was reading it, so many powerful emotions were surfacing - grief and tears, rage against the institutional Church, deep sorrow and distress at all that Gary and so many other innocents had to endure - I could go on.

Thanks to Gary and all the others for taking such a courageous stand against the powerful institution of the Catholic Church - too much of which has betrayed and abandoned Jesus Christ Himself - in the person of the children who suffered so horrendously at the hands of some of the very people - who were supposed to minister in Jesus' Name.

I too think often of the ones who never made it and who died as a result of the consequences - the injuries inflicted upon their hearts, souls, minds, bodies and spirits.

As a priest, I too have taken a very strong public stand on the issue of sexual abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults by clergy. As Gary Bergeron puts it so well on p.277 of his book: "...you could be on the outside of the Church doors and when they are closed, no one inside hears you. Or you could sit inside, in their home, where they have to look at you, and they can't ignore you".

That what I'm doing - I'm staying in the Church because of Jesus Christ and to do whatever little I can to help heal my fellow human beings who suffered the crime and tragedy of being abused, as well as to heal the Church itself.

I really hope that Gary Bergeron and his friends are now doing well. I wish them much peace and continued healing on their own journey of life. How delightful to hear about the Harley Davidson and I'm sure everyone wishes Gary much joy and safe traveling as he rides around New England with the wind in his face and the sun on his back!

God bless him. His books gives hope. I trust that those who read it - especially those who suffered the horror of sexual abuse when they were children and young people - will be greatly encouraged and strenghthened.

Review: Embracing the Storm
by Kelli G. Deister
Rated: 5 Stars

Kelli G. Deister's book Embracing the Storm is a handbook for those who have found themselves locked in the chains of abuse. Not only does this book explain Kelli's journey to freedom, but her poems are amazing. Each guides the reader to the end of her journey and to those readers who are in the same prison of abuse, a roadmap, which will guide them on the same journey. Each woman's resource should have a copy of Kelli's book within their walls.
I as the reader and reviewer found this book filled with amazing poetry and good advice. Good Advice to women everywhere. I may not be one who has felt the pain as Kelli has, but I did feel her pain and her joy when she was able to say, "I am Free."


Review by Nancy Lee Shrader
IS IT NOW? The End of Days!
The Curse of Mayweather House
IS HE MESSIAH? Messianic Prophecies Revealed!

"The deeper the sorrow, the deeper the joy" must be said of Kelli Deister's book "Embracing the Storm..." Like the island on which she lives which has been formed by erupting lava from deep within the earth, Kelli has the ability to turn the deepest sorrow into pure joy, death into life, and emotions into revelation. Her poems and the thoughts contained therein ring out like psalms of praise and exaltation (originally songs) from themes of nature's "majestic mountain tops" to "motherhood" with all its trials and pleasures.

Kelli's experiences have even greater meaning for us in that having received love and support from others, she has learned to reach out and share her innermost feelings. Kelli's strong and loving words are capable of lifting burdens from others and removing mountains of fear, repressed emotions and despondence in order to effect change in the lives of those who have suffered as she has.

I have yet to write about similar experiences in my life because God has given me a different way to deal with them, but I can relate in essence to everything Kelli has gone through. It is comforting to know another soul who has chosen to allow herself to walk on a different path and to challenge the rules of a false "religious" doctrine that would allow abuse in one's life to pose as "virtue" instead of an evil to be reckoned with and removed.

Joyce Ann Edmondson
Author
The Listening Tree

Absorbing this collection of poetry authored by Kelli Deister is like taking a trip to the very pit of her soul. Each verse reveals the depth of Kelli's pain and emotional bondage; each with a message of domestic abuse shared in a different vista.

Then with a great crescendo she finds herself. "I am truly free" rings out the joy of her new liberation; the woman who had always been there, hidden behind the prison wall of sorrow. A revelation of peace, happiness and naked emotions are forever hers.

In a most courageous way, Kelli has brought the issue of domestic violence out of the closet. Her poems reveal so much depth and emotion and the comments that follow give hope to all who have been touched by domestic violence or who know someone who has been a victim. Her personal testimony is a must-read for all women. Mahalo, Kelli. YOU are a precious jewel.

Kelli suffered for eleven long years before having the courage to write this collection of poems for victims of domestic violence. Her poems are a testament to her enormous courage. Writing them was not easy. It never is, but writing about abuse is particularly painful. Each one speaks to a step she took that she is now willing to share with others who are facing or have faced abuse. I particularly appreciate the comments following each poem. These enhance her work by interpreting the poem and recommending a step the reader can take to remove herself from a destructive relationship. The poems and comments are reminders also to all those who have not experienced violence directly but who know those who have. They provide a way for all of us to reach out to help victims in many different ways. One of my favorites in the collection is "She's the One." This poem reminds us that these women are all around us, if only we would pay attention and know how to recognize and embrace them.

I just finished this book and have a couple thoughts. This author is incredibly insightful and the reader is given so many jewels of wisdom about parenting and the outcome. For instance she says: "The immature mother subconsciously believes that the magical trick is working and that the sacrifice of the child is appropriate to history and circumstances. It seemed to provide my mother with some sense of justice, of payback, "of now it's time to get mine." Profound and original stuff, and there is a lot of it in this book. Alexis Morgan has reached incredible insight and understanding here, but at what a cost to her life... it was simply horrific to read.The physical-mental-emotional torment this author went through was not only life-threatening but also stole her happiness and rippled through her family disaffecting the health and happiness of her daughter and it could not have been good for her husband and others. Ripple negative impact from a deliberately destructive individual. It made you want to reach through the pages of the book, go back in time and make the author a ward of the state at age four.

Yet, through it all... 60 years... the author's mother took pretty good care of herself.

What's kind of disturbing is the pride with which this author describes her mother's career accomplishments and "good moments" of non-abusive interaction.

While the book is intensely personal and the author's analyses brilliant on many relational points, I was concerned for this author on one important point. When it is obvious that this author's mother is pathologically competitive, jealous and cruel, I just don't know why anyone would keep going back to the well for more... it just cannot be worth it. Ms Morgan speaks of geographical distancing and gradually setting boundaries, but clearly that wasn't enough because as she points out you cannot control what other people say and do and her mother continued to sucker-punch her with abject mean-spiritedness even when the author was in her 60s. She left the house at 19; why blow four more decades on trying to make her mother into someone she couldn't be?

It seems obvious to this reader that that the sooner this author walked away the better for her. She was destroyed over and over by this mother and the mother's influence on her brother... what's the point? I understand the time frame the thinking on this took place; the author is in her 60s. I think a more enlightened point of view nowadays would be to cut it off with someone this overtly cruel, even if he/she be a parent. The author repeatedly references the Fourth Commandment, to honor thy parents, as a guide to her behavior but it is the book's bad message. If the parent is narcisstic bully with no empathy or regard for her daughter, then how is honor the proper response? It just isn't. Unconditional love in return for deliberate life long cruelty/deprivation/neglect is not reasonable. Period.

And this point is easy to make in two quick arguments. While pretty much everyone can reproduce, not everyone is psychologically healthy/mentally balanced.Clearly, in the innumerable permutations of the human personality there are people who cannot wish for better for their children or even wish them well. And, there are those, like this author's mother, who actively wish to destroy them when they have power over their lives. I see total avoidance and self-protectiveness more than forgiveness and continuing interaction as the solutions here.

Secondly, what does "honor" mean? Refusing to deal with someone that uses every opportunity to do you harm, and/or historically has basically destroyed you over and over is not the opposite of honor. And there is one more point that the author seems to miss: this author's mother functioned better, even normally, in areas of her life like her civil service job, but not with her daughter. Her daughter, this author, consistenly triggered vicious jealously, competition and vengefulness. Evidently, this narcissitic mother saw her darling four year old daughter and felt mostly rage and resentment and retaliation and then with a sense of entitlement acted on those emotions... for a lifetime, refusing to recognize or be grateful to this child for all she was forced to do. Heartless. Nefarious. Unforgivable.

I would defer to Alice Miller's point of view on the "honor thy parents" commandment when dealing with a sadistic parent. When a parent is this destructive it is a pathology and that person needs to be cut out of your life. Go to the book by Alice Miller: "The Body Never Lies: The Lingering Effect of Cruel Parenting," in regards to the Fourth Commandment, Page 130: "... as soon as we opt out of this value system it would be absurd for an adult woman to be expected to honor her parents for either being brutally cruel to her, or for looking on and failing to intervene." Exactly. She goes on to say that the idea of most therapists is that success of therapy is forgiveness of the errant parent by the person in therapy and goes on to explain the ridiculousness of that position. I would hope that this is changing in therapy-world.

Page 53 of the same Miller book: "People who have done you such harm do not deserve your love or respect, even if they are your parents. The price you pay for such filial devotion is appalling, the terrible physical torments you repeatedly go through. You can free yourself from the Fourth Commandment."

Other than the constant trying to make a relationship work with her mother the book had some outstanding analyses. I wish Ms. Morgan the absolute best.

While ultimately I found the book inspiring, it was difficult to read in a continuous sitting. I found that I had to "digest" one chapter at a time. The writer's story made me feel uncomfortable at times. Perhaps because it reminded me of things I had experienced and would rather forget. I do believe her personal discovery has important messages for the reader. And the exercises or meditations at the end of each chapter are very helpful to someone on the road to recovery/discovery. However, this is not a book for someone who is not ready to seriously examine why they have used fatness as a source of protection. It can be quite painful to do the work the author has done. It was well written and well organized.

This is a courageous account of one person's journey to authenticity. The writter's struggle was with obesity but the concepts can be interchanged to apply to anyone suffering from any addiction. I would recommend this to anyone who is tired of living with the emptiness of trying to please everyone but herself and is ready for self-awakening.

This is one of the most powerful and beautiful books I've ever read. Ms. Morgan relates her issues with food addiction back to her often traumatic childhood. I have had problems in my own life with obsessive eating and always wondered why. The questions to the reader at the end of each chapter were so helpful to me in my own discovery of this question. This book is for everyone seeking an understanding into their addiction or a loved one's addiction. It is thought provoking and so beautifully written. You won't be able to put this one down!

This book details one woman's attempt to overcome both her health problems and her traumatic past. It is useful not just for those seeking to lose weight or overcome abuse but for those looking for their internal strength to overcome obstacles in their lives. This book is more than an autobiography, it is more than therapy. It is a journey of spiritual and personal growth for readers and how one woman found the courage to overcome the haunting memories of an abusive childhood and use that experience to help others.

This is my second No Fear Shakespeahere book (last year had Macbeth) and I have come to love Shakespheare plays now that I actually know what each character is saying and what exactly is going on. The lines are clean and clear just like reading a modern play. I acutally find myself laughing at lines which is always a good sign meaning that I understand what's going on. Also I don't feel like I'm cheating like when people just read footnotes and summaries. I'm in college now and I've only read two shakespheare both using No Fear Shakespheare! Great product that I without a doubt will use in the future if needed!

This book is definitely God's gift to all college students. Truly easy to understand, I read the entire book in 1 day. Thanks to "No Fear" I got an "A" in my English class.

Bravo to the writers, editors, and publishers of the entire No Fear Shakespeare series. Rendering Shakespeare into prosaic, colloquial American English not only explains what Shakespeare was saying, but reveals how much better he said it! Here's a few examples from HAMLET:

Hamlet sees the Ghost, but his mother doesn't. In modern lingo, she says, "This is only a figment of your imagination." That's a cliche. In the original, she says, "This is the very coinage of your brain." That's vivid.

Rosencrantz tells Hamlet in modern lingo, "You're not doing yourself any good by refusing to tell your friends what's bothering you." Sounds like a reprimand. The original line sounds like a threat: "You do surely bar the door upon your own liberty if you deny your griefs to your friend."

Hamlet remembers his mother's relationship with his father: "She would hang on to him, and the more she was with him the more she wanted to be with him; she couldn't get enough of him." Sounds good, but the original sounds disturbing: "Why, she would hang on him / As if increase of appetitite had grown / By what it fed on . . ." Change the word "she" to "it" and you have the image of a parasite. That alone says a lot about Hamlet's view of women and sex.

I know of no better guide to reading, understanding, and appreciating Shakespeare than Spark Notes' No Fear Shakespeare series.

It would serve no useful purpose to write a review of Hamlet. It has already taken its rightful place among mankind's greatest works. The subject here is not Hamlet, but the manner in which it is presented:
Numbered, original text on the left hand page, modern, up-to-date language on the right hand page.

As with all of Spark Notes editors, an excellent way to present the play, for the first time junior high reader or for the 62-year old reader taking a Shakespeare course and reading Hamlet just for fun.

And as for Hamlet, the play? Like fine wine it gets better, much better, with age.

This is truly a No Fear way to understand Shakespeare. There is a modern day interpretation writing on one side of the book and the Shakespeare way on the other. It was a lifesaver!

Both as an academic teacher and as a researcher I have used Jenkins's edition regularly for nearly twenty years, and continue to marvel at the wealth of scholarly material - factual and interpretative - which it offers. I consider that no other edition of *Hamlet* is remotely as useful, though I frequently find myself in disagreement with this great editor.

Jenkins's text is eminently satisfying: sensibly and responsibly based, and scrupulously and intelligently modernised, even if one prefers (as I do) e.g. "solid" to "sullied".

His introduction is informative and well-considered, though I must admit I find his interpretative view of the play, both there and in several of his longer notes, at times less than penetrating. I feel he idealises Hamlet too much, misjudges the failure of Hamlet's play-within-the-play, and is less than openminded when it comes to making sense of e.g. the sexual elements in Ophelia's dreams (which are hard to interpret decisively, but certainly more significant than his cursory view suggests). On the other hand his information on ghosts, for example, is highly valuable and useful.

His shorter notes, explaining many difficult words and contemporary concepts, are always illuminating, frequently "spot on", and usually helpful even if one disagrees, in that he provides most of the information which one needs even if one ultimately arrives at a different judgement from his.

If banished or imprisoned and allowed only one edition of *Hamlet* I'd take this one. Not only because it is the best, but because it would help me in spending many weeks, months, or years on this riddling, frustrating, but endlessly fascinating play. Jenkins's edition is a monument to late twentieth century scholarship, and will undoubtedly continue to be recognised as such. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University, South Australia

An excellent version of the play, a balanced and comprehensive introduction, and extended notes about subjects of controversy or interest -- if you want to buy a copy of Hamlet this is the edition to get.

Most people have not read many versions of the play; nor have many people read most of the hundreds of books and articles on this play. For whatever strange reason, i have made it through much of the Hamlet criticism. And, i think i can fairly recommend this edition.

As you may or may not know, there are essentially three different versions of the play that have survived, the first (or bad) quarto, the second quarto, and the folio. Jenkins wisely relies primarily on the second quarto, but is not afraid to supplement or modify it with the folio and even the first quarto where it is appropriate.

But differences in the text of the play between this and other editions of the play is not the reason to buy this book. The reason is that there is so much more here than just the play. First, there is the 150+ page introduction, which is as balanced a review of thought on Hamlet as you are going to find. Next, the text of the play has the standard array of footnotes to explain various word meanings or relevancies. Third, at the end of the play there are longer notes that discuss in depth issues that the text raises which are beyond the scope of a normal footnote. These longer notes are great with an in depth discussion of hundreds of issues including whether a nunnery refers to a house of ill-repute and how old Hamlet is.

When Henry James sat down to write on his Venetian travels for what later became the Italian Hours, he began with a disclaimer: "It is a great pleasure to write the word; but I am not sure there is not a certain impudence in pretending to add anything to it." Turning to Shakespeare, we might amuse ourselves by writing on, say, Hamlet, but can anything be said that's not already been said, and better, a dozen times, by superior critics and closer readers? In the appropriate spirit of humility (and in utter submission to the Bard and his great gift to civilization), I offer a few thoughts on the Arden 2nd Edition of Hamlet, and not on "the greatest work in the history of literature."

Hamlet is by far the longest of the Ardens at 574 pages. It breaks down thusly: the prefatory material of editor Harold Jenkins - one of the Arden Series general editors and a Hamlet authority of great renown - alone takes up 164 pages. Three-quarters of this is bibliographical and historical. In his 40-page critical introduction, Jenkins addresses many of the plays thorniest problems, with the Talmudic attentiveness of the closest reader. Then comes the play itself, spread over 264 pages (in terms of sheer length relative to the Bard's other plays, the text is a monster, coming in at more than 3800 lines). Each page of the Arden includes an average half-page of Jenkins' detailed, argumentative, authoritative, and uncommonly helpful footnotes. The final 146 pages consist of longer (end)notes that Jenkins simply could not physically fit onto the bottom of a page. Many of these are short essays (including an appendix that glosses an earlier discussion on the dating of the play).

Each of the Arden Hamlet's three sections might merit separate publication (after a modest bit of repackaging), but as a totality, Jenkins' edition must be the greatest value on the Shakespeare market. Jenkins' ruminations on the provenance of the story and the many sources Shakespeare might have drawn on, the "Ur-Hamlet" that might have come from the quill of contemporary Thomas Kyd (The Spanish Tragedy), the complexities of determining an authoritative text, the drama's inconsistencies and unanswered questions, the import of the great soliloquy of III.i (which is emphatically NOT, insists Jenkins, a deliberation on whether to commit suicide), Elizabethan revenge dramas in general, and so much more make this a truly indispensable, illuminating, even breathtaking volume.

We think we know this play well. We have read it, and seen performed on stage and in memorable or hideously forgettable films. Many of its greatest lines are embedded in our hearts. The beginning of true understanding, however, resides in a superbly annotated scholarly edition. The Arden is one of several choices you can make and is for me the one to own, equally suitable for students, scholars, actors, and mere Bardolators. It will - provided, of course, you are not already a scholarly specialist in Elizabethan drama - knock the scales from your eyes. And until the 3rd edition now in preparation under Ann Thompson is published, this Hamlet will stand as the epitome of the Arden Shakespeare's greatness as a series.

Definitely the best Hamlet version to but. comprehensive notes both adjacent to the reading and longer notes in the back of the book. Informative yet dry introduction. BUY THIS VERSION!

We do not guild the lily by proclaiming this to be the most comprehensive edition of the greatest drama to come from any pen in history. The book is absolutely bristling with textual elucidations, notes and marginalia and a stunningly detailed, if somewhat dry, introduction. Moreover, no other edition I have used (and I have read Hamlet more than fifty times since the summer of my seventeenth year, including this edition over two enriching days during the past week) so clearly lays out the textual divergencies of the various versions of the canon, Q1, Q2 and F, as does Arden.

Than being said, it is the text itself which shines through in this (and any other) edition -- let us not mistake the husk for the grain.

Hamlet (as Harold Bloom argues so persuasively) more than any other play is surely Shakespeare's life work -- a work which he poured more of himself into over a longer period of time than any other. Written in its final version just months after the death of the playwright's only son, Hamnet, and his father, it represents Shakespeare's personal triumph over adversity and darkness.

Thomas Neff is a remarkable photographer and this book sharing the real impact of Katrina on people's lives is powerful, timeless, truthful in an inside and honest way that no casual viewer could comprehend. Neff's vision is sophisticated but pure, trained but revealing in its simplicity, visually poetic with the abhorrent facts of life that have been so cruel to so many. If that weren't enough, there are the essential, heroic and stunningly conveying essays which accompany each image. The photographs share so much comprehensive visual information that one needn't ask for more, but by conveying a much broader and richer context for each image through writing and story telling, a nearly complete cultural mosaic is spun, surrounding the milestone and epic event so unique in US History. This book will stand through time as a classic conveyance of important information about an event that we all know about, but certainly haven't had, until this book provided us with it, an insider's view of the real nitty-gritty that is life, both cruel and beautiful. Way to go, Thomas Neff. Such a brilliant work which we should all feel grateful to comprehend.

Armed with a thorough history of the medium and a flawless technique that has played out over a distinguished career, Mr. Neff has produced a timeless and distinct look into a photographic story untold by the weekend warriors of popular media. The photographs in Holding Out and Hanging On are an extended conversation, empathetic moments that live far beyond the click of the shutter and into a tragedy that has long been forgotten by it's neighbors and countrymen. The photographs are the eye and the heart of a man who is compassionate, realistic, courageous beyond belief and a model for who we should strive to be. As the portraits separate themselves from the time of exposure, the complex clarity and humanity of Neff's photographs are further revealed as a critically important document of the people who lived though Hurricane Katrina as well as an informative and poetic addition to the canon of concerned photography.

Mr. Neff has been my friend and mentor for over ten years now and I could not be more proud to own this necessary book of socially and historically necessary photography that is flawless in it's execution and communion with the spirit and people of New Orleans.

Bradly Dever Treadaway
Faculty Member, The International Center of Photography
New York, NY

The drive down from Chicago to the French Quarter in the canteen left me feeling heavy hearted & speechless. The vast area that hurricane Katrina hit left behind a sea of wasteland like nothing I'd ever seen before. Some areas were completely wiped out where others were only battered, yet the people I met along the way while serving with the Salvation Army in the French Quarter were such a blessing. It was one afternoon in the French Quarter that I met Mr. Neff--I was on my way back from delivering supplies and checking on some of the neighbors. By this time the media was swarming the streets looking for new sensational stories for the headlines. I must say that I did meet a few that tried to report more uplifting personal stories of survival but the majority did not--they were insensitive and disrespectful to the residents. Mr. Neff had a sincere interest in the people he met & photographed, and you can see it in his subjects' eyes: their transparency and trust. Mr. Neff's body of work gives the reader a glimpse into his subjects' lives during this most difficult time. Thank you for recording what words cannot fully express.

Neff has produced a magnificent book here of portraits of Katrina victims. These are the REAL people and stories from Katrina!

Of all the Katrina books, this is one of my favorites. I also have been photographing post Katrina New Orleans since October 2005 and this is one of the few books by other photographers that I have purchased. The book is done with sensitivity and insight into this once in a lifetime event. I strongly recommend.

When I found this book, I was first of all amazed that this author would be able to write her experience in the fullness she could, to reach inside and be able to describe what torture and pain "felt" like. I had dicovered my own torture at the age of 18, and even though I had been seeing a Psychologist for a year, I found strength and compassion for myself and others who have had to experience such a personal crime. Teresa helped me find within myself a new pathway of healing. Her abilities of expression in writing, as well as her description of the torture and what it did to her, were frightening, yet she caused me to go on, instead of turn inside.

A picture of her own healing is portrayed, giving others the strength to go on. A book that turned my entire life around, and even though the journey is not easy by all means, it gave me determination and a resource to view when I wanted to quit.
Thank you to this author, her beautiful ability to write, and to write about a subject many would turn away due to their own fear.

This nation, as well as the world, need to realize these types of events happen each day and many either go on, or if help is not found, commit suicide, due to the lack of society to understand or for them to close their eyes to the evils of some in the societies of our world.

A must read for not only those of rape, violence, and torture, but as well, for clinicians who practice Psychology in helping survivors heal.

I would like to meet Teresa Lauer. I would like to give her a big hug and thank her for having the extraordinary bravery to write about her intensely painful journey.

I actually came across this book by doing a search on people's experience with therapy. And it *is* a fascinating account of Teresa's experience with her wonderful therapist, Gary. However, it ended up being so, so much more.

I could not read this this book in one sitting...or five. Not because it wasn't compelling enough to do so - it truly was. But Teresa is such a gifted writer that she literally brings you into the house with her where she survived such a horrible ordeal. There were times when her words took my breath away and overwhelmed me with sadness. But she also made me want to be with her in that house...and I absolutely needed to stay with her until she made it out.

This book will make you think...and it will *definitely* make you feel. When Teresa goes through the equally devastating ordeal of losing her baby and her boyfriend, Rob, reveals his secret to her, I gasped so loudly that my husband came running from several rooms away to make sure I was okay. I was so shocked, saddened and ultimately enraged that I truly thought I would be ill. So, yes, this book will make you feel.

If you are a survivor of such an assault, or you know someone who is a survivor, you should buy this book. It will not be easy to get through...but in honor of Teresa...and in honor of all of us who have been through a similar situation, it should be read. And Ms. Lauer should be commended for her tremendous bravery and incredible human spirit.

Thank you, Teresa.

Teresa continues to inspire me, this is the second time I read this book, and I am nothing short of amazed at her courage and strength. This book outlines and details some of the most traumatic
experiences anyone should never have to endure and yet she is blessed with a hopefullness that we can only aspire to. Teresa, your gift are your words.

In this book, Teresa Lauer shares the story of her brutal rape and torture, the aftermath of struggling with PTSD, and her struggle to achieve some kind of peace and equanimity in her life. The fact that she eventually triumphs over the horrific violence she experienced is inspiring, and a testament to the strength of the human spirit. Teresa's honesty about her feelings and struggles will be especially reassuring to other rape survivors - as a victim of sexual assault myself, I highly recommend this book to anyone with a similar experience, or to anyone who wants to know the real truth about rape, and the toll it takes on a woman's life.

I bought this book for my girlfriend to help her find ways to recover from a very brutual attack that occurred when she was much younger.

This book was very effective for her because it paralleled her experience: a prolonged assault involving extensive contact with her attacker. In addition, it addressed the Post Tramautic Stress Disorder (PTSD) problems she has been encountering as a result of the attack.

If someone you love has suffered from an attack, books like this can help both you and them understand what has happened and how they might be feeling. My girlfriend had trouble articulating her feelings about the attack and this book (and others) helped her overcome her difficulties and express herself.

Her weaving of personal narrative and political context makes this book a must read for feminists of all genres and anyone interested in learning more about the real lives of activists, women and daughters. Making real the complexity of family, relationships and love is a journey for the rest of us too.

Bettina reviews a very important period; her growth, both personal and political, make for fascinating reading. I know her, and many of the persons and events in the book, and her "take" on them is very insightful. Events in her family, which took/take up so much of the reviewers time, are treated, I think, with respect and love, and don't detract from what is a wonderful story. Bravo to her.

I was one of Bettina's students when she taught at SJSU thirty years ago. Her classes were always packed. She is an amazing lecturer and scholar. She had a tremendous impact on all of her young students.

Even thirty years later, I am impressed by her will, determination, and her sense of self. I read an excerpt of this book published in a local news magazine, but even before I read the excerpt I knew I would buy her book.

Most individuals at some point in their lives reflect on their childhood and how it formed who they are today. Bettina's book does this and more...she examines why she makes the choices she did in a manner that is honest. She does not go for the "easy out", but then she never did.

Her lessons and her ability to bear witness to her own life can easily be internalized and applied to your own experiences. You don't have to agree with her politics...you just have to recognize her unique humanity and in doing that you will grow yourself.

Like many others involved in the struggles of the Sixties and thereafter, I was aware of Bettina Aptheker: plaintiff in the famous lawsuit that finally validated the legality of the CPUSA; "red diaper baby" of the famous Herbert Aptheker; and participant in many organizations and campaigns. Also like many others, I had no idea at all about the interior person, the feeling individual who was Bettina Aptheker. The revelations of this book were a bit of a shock to me, though not so much as once they might have been, largely due to the feminist movement's success in raising consciousness about the too-common dysfunction of American families.

What makes this book powerful is the way in which the author weaves in her personal experience, the dimension of feeling, with events of the time and all in the context of relationships both comradely and familial. It seems almost a cliche to say it took great courage for her to live life as she did--shattering the conventions that bound her from sexual awareness and recognition of the crimes committed against her by her famous father. Add to this the tension and very real danger implicit in being a high-profile, public Communist in the US, and we can see her as a very strong person indeed.

This book is a gift to those who may be stunted by any form of "correct" conformism, especially that generated within traditional patriarchal families. It is also of value to those who cared about the efforts against war and racism...and who still care about these issues. Finally, it is a gift to see how she and her beloved partner have distilled the essential values of their lives into a spiritual practice. Thus, Ms. Aptheker completes a familiar circle from personal anguish to struggle for social justice to personal transformation. For those who consciously walk this circle, Intimate Politics will be a deepening and worthwhile book to read.

There are two distinct and fascinating stories interwoven here.
Ms. Aptheker was part of the inner circle wherever boomers spontaneously manned the barricades for social change. She gives us a meticulous (perhaps too meticulous) first-hand account of the people she knew and the events she lived during the free-speech, civil rights, anti-war, and feminist revolutions. Hence, the word 'politics' in the title.

Then she tells another, much more interesting story. The 'intimate' passages introduce us to a very, very bright, traumatized young girl, one who is eager to please and desperate to fit in. So she steps out bravely -- her courage is astounding (especially her courage to change course in pursuit of integrity)-- but every bold action she takes also exposes her to very real dangers from the powers-that-be. A more sensible person might have withdrawn and conformed, but Ms. Aptheker staggers defiantly on. This is a story about secrets, injuries, shame, stubbornness, self-destruction, self-discovery, healing, and the courage to keep following your star, despite it all.