Death Books

birth == death. Heidegger is wading into eastern philosophical waters here. The impossibility of Being through the possibility of death of Being or as Being.

Dasein is not being towards death if death is non-relational and unrepresentable, and about those two points we seem to agree. Rather, dasein is death, it is not related to death. How else can one understand the equivalence birth=death? If that is the case, then the problem of the as such is not a problem, because dasein is not related to death, it is related to the nothing, and the nothing as such, the nihil absolutum, which opens up another big can of worms.Derrida does so much dancing around that he avoids the real problem.

The question of Dasein, for Heidegger always, questioning is a "way"... Heidegger does pronounce Dasein as being-towards-death, but Derrida's tiff is not with Dasein's non-relational to death; in fact he recognizes as such (not 'as such')-- the negativity of Dasein, its dying- or being-towards-death is always already before and beyond that which can be represented. So Derrida is revealing a problem with Heidegger's speaking of Dasein at all in this context (he is not objecting to 'as such' on the basis that Dasein is towards an end, rather the possibility -which is then, right then, an impossibility- that Heidegger can ever say 'as such' about that which can never be represented.

Is "death" a limit? For Derrida "death" is that which `involves a certain step / not ... pace' (il y va d'un certain pas) (p. 6). It is not a telos or a terma, a limit beyond which there is none, but rather a `step', a peras, a passage one traverses by penetrating. At the same time, it is the moment of a `not', of an impossibility. What is more, it is certain that one reaches this step as impossibility, as non-path at a certain pace.

And in bringing forth Heidegger and the Aristotelian notion of aporia in the sense of being stuck in-between, Derrida is wondering whether "death" can be conceptualized in non-vulgar terms without being stuck in an impasse.

To achieve this, he remarks that aporia is the border as limit, as oros, and at the same time as tracing, as gramme. Hence an `aporetology' (p. 15) as has been his key concern in numerous instances, when, what is at stake, is not the crossing of the border, but rather, the double concept of the border from which aporia comes to be determined. Thus the word "death" whose concept is `unassignable or unassigning' (p. 22). And to expand on this, Derrida explores two issues.

First the idea of aporia as the impossible (in § 1: Finis) along with Heidegger's definition of "death" as `the possibility of the pure and simple impossibility for Dasein' (p. 23). In using the Heideggerian distinction between "properly dying" (tod - eigentlich sterben) and "perishing" (verenden), Derrida emphasizes that the problem of "death" concerns Dasein or the mortal, `not man (sic), the human subject, but it is that in terms of which the humanity of man must be rethought' (p. 35). A possible answer lies in "demise" (ableben) in the sense of walking away from life, thus placing an emphasis on the "arrivant" with no name or identity i.e. Dasein proper - death proper. Such delimitations institute a three-pronged inquiry for Derrida in one single braid: the problematic closure (conceptualisation of limit), anthropological border (discourse on limit), and conceptual demarcation (logical redefinition).

Second the idea of aporia as the crossing of borders (in §2: Awaiting (at) the Arrival). To this purpose, to wonder what there is after death makes methodological sense if the ontological essence of death has been elaborated and existential analysis of death has been carried out. More importantly such decisions occur here, over this side (i.e. not after death): they concern Dasein in its essence of `the being-possible' (p. 63). With an emphasis on the possible, Derrida remarks that `death is the most proper possibility of this possibility' (i.e. being-possibility of Dasein): with death Dasein awaits itself, standing before the impending anachronism (contretemps) of death.

To conclude I want to go to the beginning where Derrida dedicates this text to Koitchi Toyosaki, apparently for two reasons: Toyosaki's death and his father's (p. x). It seems to me that in citing `Toyosaki' and given that `names matter' (p. 21), Derrida is echoing what Toyosaki says. Namely, `citing is a manner of translating since it is obliged to leave its milieu of origin to find another where it takes more or less a new meaning et more importantly that it enters with the words that surround it in a relation of reciprocal translation' (Les fins de l'homme p.246). Citing then is about crossing a limit between that which is original and another, this side and the other. And if death for Derrida is this limit, it is an aporia - that which prompts anyone to wonder, to interrogate ... death as a figure of difference.

A book you must have read - but keep Heidegger close by!

Derrida has Heidegger wrong. Supposedly Heidegger understands death as the possibility of impossibility as such, and hence Dasein is the sein-zum-TOd, or the being towards the possibility of impossibility as such. Derrida denies the as such and asks, how can dasein be towards such an 'as such'? Heidegger says no such thing however. Dasein is not sein zum Ende, rather Dasein, correctly understood, is Ende zu sein. It is not toward an end, it is an end. Notice the even humorous inversion of Aristotle. Death is non-relational, it is unbezuglich. One cannot adopt a relation to death because death is impossibility, and Dasein is possibility: Dasein is the possibility of impossibility. Death is not ahead of Dasein, rather death can occur at any moment, hence death never "stands before" (bevorstehende), it is rather "unbezuglich," non-relational. Derrida fails to understand, once again, that he misunderstands Heidegger by trying to jump ahead of him.

This book is fascinating--it says it's a detective story, and it is, but with a twist--it's a detective story about people, and why they do what they do. It's a mystery where the writer tries to unravel how choices and fate and relationships and everything else all twist together to make and change lives, sometimes in sad ways. To me, it is the most interesting sort of mystery ever.

Which is why reading this book was such a total delight. It's like spending time with a really intelligent, engaging person dissecting events and following shreds of evidence, and there's this sense of loss when it's all over--you kind of want to stay engaged. A most excellent read!!

In the late 1960s the author's father and mother joined a countercultural enclave in New Mexico, where their marriage floundered and Anna's father committed suicide. Anna was five years old at the time. Twenty years later the discovery of some old photos sends her on a journey to learn more about her father: her reconstruction of her past is charted in ASSEMBLING MY FATHER: A MEMOIR and provides a moving personal history which will also inspire any conducting their own family history search.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I often randomly choose books to read, without reading reviews or recommendations. Sometimes that method backfires and I'm stuck with a stinker, but not in this case - I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Perhaps it was the writing, perhaps it was the loss of my own father when I was very young (probably a combination of both) - this book touched me in a personal way that no other book has for some time.

Prior to reading "Assembling My Father" I was lucky enough to attend a writer's workshop with Anna Oliver in Boise, Idaho, and I must say she is an incredible woman. She is not only intelligent and insightful, but also extremely well read- all of which show up in her writing. In "Assembling My Father," she experiments with style and form, including extensive primary records such as pictures, news articles and writings from her father's journal which add to the overall theme of a "detective story." The inclusion of Anna's own tale of personal growth alongside her discoveries of her father's untimely demise create a depth of emotion and a unique poignancy. This is a must-read for anyone interested in writing memoir, especially family history, or for anyone who is interested in the counterculture of the 60's and 70's. I cannot reccommend it enough.

I can see I'm in the minority of reviewers of this book here. I had high hopes for this memoir that haven't panned out.

The story is simple on it's surface- a woman grows up in an off kilter family and realises as a young adult that she is adrift because she doesn't "know" her father. Of course, she can't because he committed suicide, but what she doesn't have are his stories. Slowly- and it felt slooow- she sets out to discover what she can about him.

She talks to whomever she can locate who knew him, including his childhood friends, and she gets what she can out of her mother who often refuses to talk about any part of her past. She collects what photographs she can- a task made more difficult because her father was usually the photographer. She reads his journal and tries to obtain copies of college work, including his undergraduate thesis and tapes of a "college bowl" contest which "put Rennsalaer Polytechnic Institute" on the map as a better school than people had previously thought.

She experiments with different formats in her writing- including some lists of things he would never know about her, and how she feels that he will always be a man who died at the age of 35.

Be forewarned though- it's not an easy book. It's boggy and uncomfortable. It very well may be intended to be that way- after all, the subject is a young father and the events leading up to his suicide. I kept returning to the photo montage in the front, contemplating this beautiful man and wondering what could have caused him to pull the trigger. of course, only he really knows, no matter what anyone else can say about him.

Here's my confession- I haven't finished it. At 2/3 through, I feel like I know what he did, but his daughter, like all of us, will never really know why. And he'll stay dead for her- sad as it is. If I do finish, I wonder if my feelings about the memoir will change.

I grew up in Wyoming about the same time as Lee Alley. While I wasn't in the military I know many that were and this book really helps me get a feeling of what they and their families went through and are still going through. I often wonder how I would have reacted under the circumstances these men faced. The feelings expressed in this book about how these veterans felt about their mission, about their brothers in arms and about their feelings after they returned home are very insightful. Perhaps even more insightful are the feelings expressed by some of the family members. I would recommend this book for anyone who knows a veteran.

I have read almost all the Vietnam books, even authored one myself. Gun Totin' Chaplain However, this book is unique for its personal testimonies. I can just imagine the tenacity expended in collecting them. Great kudos to the author. Most of us Vietnam combat vets have similar experiences and we all have our war stories. For a long time, nobody wanted to hear them. They now do. And, if as Vietnam vets, we have any legacy, it is the fact that we have paved the way for present day warriors. They will not have to be so shabbily treated as us because most Americans who care don't want it to happen again. For this we can be proud. Back From War is a classic. Recently, a psychologist, working with returning Iraq combat vets wanted to discuss Vietnam and Iraq. I immediately suggested she order Back From War. The testimonies are textbooks. I appereciate more than I can convey the immense effort that then Lieutenant Alley made in giving us this book. I will cherish mine given to me by a frined. I would have been honored to serve with Lt. Alley and his platoon and those who've written these incredibly useful testimonies.

I am the wife of a veteran. This book opened my eyes about the emotions by husband has fought so hard to supress. We have been married for 36 years, and until he wrote this book, I never know the pain he carried.

This should be given to every veteran of every war, and every person who knows a veteran should read it.

The book offers a first-hand account from Lee Alley and his men about the war and how it has affected them since. After reading the book, I decided to use the book as a basis for my high school students' study of Vietnam and as a means of working within the schools content reading goal. The results were powerful. The kids were totally engrossed in Lee's book. There were times when their scheduled reading time was up and they would beg me to let them keep reading!" Lee is a moving storyteller and the kids hung on every word."

The written histories and reactions really demonstrated the impact of the book and summed up its value in helping kids (and anyone for that matter) understand the Vietnam war and why we must care about those who have worn a soldier's uniform, regardless of the conflict. One student wrote, "I had always thought that most if not all men in war only cared about their own lives until I met and read about Lee. I have always thought of war as fighting and killing, but the real war is with us everyday and the decisions we make. I thank Lee for teaching me these life lessons."
Another student added "I guess you never know how someone is going to act when they come back from war because its one of those gray areas you never get to hear about in school but I look at veterans a different way now because of what Lee went through. The real hero is made when the soldier returns from war and tries to become a better person. Lee is that hero and not only that but a role model for people around the nation."

And finally, another student summed up the importance of the activity. "Although Vietnam wasn't the noblest endeavor in American history, it wasn't the worst, even though it is often portrayed as such. These men defended freedom...and that is why we must learn about it, and the sacrifices they made, or we can never truly appreciate what they did."

A great read for anyone.

This book isn't entirely about Lee Alley and his Vietnam experiences, but it easily could of been. His experiences of Nam are no different then the countless other experiences that have been shared over the years. However, what makes this book such an interesting, helpful and uplifting read is the other stories. The stories about the families trying to heal, looking for any information about their lost loved ones. The stories about the Veterans struggling with the loss of their comrades and the continual nightmares they carry around as never easy to lose luggage. The book is filled with stories of hope and how some vererans eventually find some piece of mind.
The last part of the book is filled with resource information for Veterans. How to file a VA claim, where to go to find information on line, a list of do's & don'ts for returning Veterans, even a SOP for setting up reunions.
This is a book that should be given to every service man and woman, along with their DD-214. If you know of any Veteran from any war struggling with the transition back to civilian life, get this book for them!

I was shocked, as the rest of the world about the horrible terror attack on September 11. To read this biography about this family who lost a husband and a father and by the strenght of God they moved on, that is so amazing. It was easily written, and I think I could have read it from page 1 until the in in one go, I did not want to stop reading it. I recommened it with all my heart!

Elizabeth Anderson

My faith in God has increased by reading this book. This book is well-written, honest, and one that many readers can relate their own lives to. The religious parts of this book are not "pushed" onto the reader. I recommend this book for people of all Christian faiths. This book reminds us all that many valuable things can come from horrible tragedies... even 9/11.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends BEAUTY BEYOND THE ASHES as a profoundly moving personal journey of this woman's American Dream which curdled on 9/11 into a nightmare when her beloved husband, Former Lt. Commander Tom McGuinness, Co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, never came home.

Always a searching Christian, gladdened when Tom was called to Christ, Cheryl's spiritual life is transformed when she dedicates herself, now alone, to God's ministry knowing that that is exactly what Tom would have wanted. In that dedication, fraught with despair & succour, she experiences the trauma of sacrifice & the healing of forgiveness.

In addition to revealing her touching personal story, Cheryl McGuinness also shares twelve powerful Biblical principles that guide her through her loss & her life's journey. & as every life will contain sadness & loss, her suffering, devotion & surrender to God's love & purpose through Jesus Christ, is both inspirational & healing.

Beauty Beyond the Ashes is a great book with a powerful message..."with God there is always a way through even the most difficult circumstances." There are so many wonderful principles in this book that will challenge you to depend more on God and less on yourself. I admire Cheryl for the way she has allowed God to use this tragedy to help others who have also been victims of violence.

This is a wonderful book to read. I was both inspired and encouraged, knowing that God's love is evident even in the most difficult of circumstances.

I was truly honored when asked to give my humble review on this work. My heart ached as I picked up the book and gazed upon the cover picture of a family that continues on after being touched by hell itself.

Cheryl McGuinness is the widow of Lt Commander Tom McGuinness, Co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11. The pain of the memory of that day seared through my mind as I prepared myself for what words I may find written from this woman's heart. I have to tell you from the onset that after reading her book, I have a deep love and respect for her.

Mrs. McGuinness shares with the reader the events that happened on September 11th and all that followed, but she doesn't stop there. Instead of dwelling on the deep grief and pain that she and her family suffered; she shares the sweet story of her life with her husband before the tragedy hit and the victory she is determined to have now.

In reading her words you find deep commitment to a loving God, deep commitment to a grieving family, deep commitment to a supportive nation and unfaltering faith in her God for a bright future, not only for her and her family, but for the country she loves. That is a lot to come out of such a traumatic event.

She unashamedly shares her faith in God and tells how she clung to Him in each and every circumstance that she has had to deal with. The author shares insights for the reader that may be hurting, to help them overcome their crisis and bring encouragement.
I could never put into words in a short review what is inside this book. I believe what impressed me more than anything was the fact that the author does not just dwell on her loss, although you are well aware of the pain she has suffered, but understands everyday that someone, somewhere is experiencing pain and heartache; and because of that, she opens her heart to them, reaching out to help heal their sorrows.
It is said, you cannot truly understand pain unless you have felt it. Mrs. McGuinness understands the pain and through her words sooths the soul.

This book is more than a story of September 11th, it is a hand reaching out to those who hurt and saying, there is hope for tomorrow and we must never lose sight of that.
A must read! Thank you Mrs. McGuinness for your faith in God and in the future.
Shirley Johnson/Senior Reviewer
Denise's Pieces
MidWest Book Review

So many times we let culture and background determine our friendships. Best Friends Forever demonstrates that life-long friends do not have to be just like you. It explores two very different, but very similar cultures through the eyes of two young girls. This book will open your eyes and warm your heart. And hopefully you too will learn that friendship knows no boundaries.

Friends are our reason we survive in this world, and in reading this book, I saw how much someone can touch ours lives with diffrent backgrounds and beliefs. And how we as two can become the best of friends! The book is wonderful! I loved it! A specail thanks to the author. Job Well done, can't wait to read a second book! God Bless!

Best Friends Forever is a delighful story of two girls from different cultures. One Mennonite and one Russian Orthodox from Ukraine. They discover that friendship across cultural lines brings delightful surprises and they are enriched by each others lives and cultures.

A good book to talk about being friends across cultural lines.

The author has a delightul way of telling a story and I am anxious to read more of her books.

This book is one of spontaneity. I like this book because it reflects friendship across cultural and religious boundaries. It reflects the joy of "friendship antics" and the committment of friendship through "thick and thin". Also it reflects the passing down of stories to future generations of "true friendship". I especially enjoyed learning about the differences and similarities between Mennonites and Ukranians. This is definitely a book to read and to pass on to those who have been long-time friends or the new friends in your life. To the author - JOB WELL DONE!!!!

Adults make friendship so complex. Children have a way of freeing friendship, making it fun. Best Friends Forever reminds us of the value and pleasure of true friendship! It also reminds us that friends can be very different on the outside, but very much alike on the inside. Best Friends Forever will take you back to your early years and leave you dreaming of your childhood friend!

Item arrived in just a few days. I was pleased with the condition.

I never really liked poetry. No, let me correct that. I never understood poetry. Blue Peninsula is an alluring work about poetry that bridges the gap. Madge McKeithen's book is an extraordinary, powerful journey through the author's struggle to cope with her son Ike's undiagnosed, degenerative condition. Throughout the terrible ordeal of Ike's illness, Ms. Mckeithen found solace in the words of others. Poetry became her confidant, her guide, her therapist through an overwhelming labyrinth of painful tests, pointless doctor visits, and inaccurate diagnoses - none of which provided the medical help she so desperately wanted for her son.
Gorgeously written in a style that is almost poetic on its own, the chapters of Blue Peninsula are divided into the various issues brought on by Ike's illness: the grief, the frustration, the unbearable anguish a parent endures when she is impotent to stop her child's awful suffering. Most chapters begin with a poem - a poem that carries the reader into the thinking heart of the author. There, through the words of the poets, Ms. Mckeithen discovers another way of perceiving the maddening worlds of sadness, anger, loss, powerlessness. In Blue Peninsula the reader begins to realize that poems are not the secret property of an "intelligensia." Poems are what the poets intended: insights into ourselves and our worlds - they are the shared understandings of our very human lives. Whether the reader identifies with the awareness that comes to Ms. McKeithen through poetry, or whether the reader finds a new, personal wonder in poems, Madge McKeithen's Blue Peninsula is an extraordinary experience.

In this amazing book, Madge McKeithen not only uses the poetry she loves for her own comfort, but to help inform her own understanding of a life that has broken off from the one she intended to live. Her son, Ike, is ill. No one knows what to call the illness, no one can predict its duration nor offer treatment. A mother alone in the wilderness of emotions and yet stuck in the daily grind of obligations, work, and relationships in the face of the dreadful, terrifying illness of her child.

McKeithen's book is astounding and courageous, beautiful and fresh.

Blue Peninsula, its author Madge McKeithen says, "is not about resolution, but about connection." McKeithen turns to poetry to make some kind of sense of the chaos that has engulfed her world since her son Ike was diagnosed with a degenerative, but unnamed, illness nine years ago. The poems include favorites that I too might have chosen--Whitman's "A Noiseless Patient Spider" and Rilke's "Sunset"--as well as surprising choices that taught me deeper ways to think about the griefs and complexities of life--poems, for example, by Alan Michael Parker, Kenneth Koch, and Carl Phillips. One of the most moving, especially in the context of Ike's illness, is Elizabeth Bishop's "One Art."

But it's not just the poetry. It's McKeithen's honesty, her skill as a writer, and her determination to tell the story that had to be told--that's what makes this a book I couldn't put down until I read it all the way through.

Blue Peninsula is an intimate, thoughtful, and breathtakingly fierce book.
McKeithen faces down a subject that must pain her heart every day - her oldest son's illness - and finds balance and delight contemplating poetry by authors as diverse as Sharon Olds, D.H. Lawrence and e.e. cummings.

McKeithen writes that "poems... lend themselves to fragmentary reading and re-reading," and encourages readers to dip in and out of Blue Peninsula that same way. I couldn't help but read the book straight through. Blue Peninsula will stay with me as a compass for a very long time.

Usually, these types of books raise more questions than they answer. "Circle of Death" answers the hard questions. If you want to know how Bill Clinton rose to power, on the wings of narco-terrorism with CIA pilot Barry Seal, and if you want to know how BCCI helped them make millions illegally, read this book.

Richmond Odom has nailed it. Bill Clinton's climb to political power, first in Ark., and then nationally, was financed in large part by CIA drug money. The Mena airport operation, headed by Barry Seal (who was murdered before he could talk), raised tens of millions of dollars. And Mr. Clinton was the direct beneficiary of a lot of those dollars. Odom explains why and how in this book.

Rich Odom has done a masterful job of sorting through the details of Bill Clinton's drug-trafficking money-laundering network in Arkansas. Odom even mentions the small banks in the Land of Opportunity. Several CEOs of those banks have already gone to jail for bank fraud or violations of the laws Odom mentions in the book. Every time a new story breaks, I'm on top of it because I read "Circle of Death."

I just finished Odom's book. This is a masterpiece. What I find very very interesting is that the mainstream media just can't seem to find this information. Why is that? If Mr. Odom could find it, with his limited resources, why can't the New York Times?

Looks like Rich Odom knows where all the dead bodies are. Clinton's henchmen have tried hard to hide them, but, like bodies surfacing from a sunken vessel, when it's bumped another one pops up. Odom nailed the bankers in Arkansas almost two years before they were actually arrested. Two of them plead guilty to the very charges Odom mentioned in this book. A great read if you want to know where the bodies are buried.

My parents attended the same church as Dr. Hsi but this book came to me through my fiance's mother, a retired nurse in CO, who is passing this book around as a must read after receiving a copy from my parents. Through the years, she was horrified to experience the reduction in her & her peers ability to provide proper care as a result of "managed care" & opted to move into insurance rather than continuing her successful career as a nurse.
This isn't a typical reading choice for me but was eye-opening & a quick, absorbing read. I'm sure my seatmates on two different plane rides were wondering what was wrong as I dabbed at my eyes in vain to stem the flow of tears.
Decent doctoring is something we take for granted & we don't always know how or are made to feel guilty or inadequate when we press for answers or explanations from an authority figure such as an esteemed specialist or doctor. We need to push for change & I only hope that books like this become mandatory in the medical study curriculum!

To say that this is a profoundly moving work is understatement. It should be mandatory reading for any patient or care giver, but more especially for any who would be called "Healer". Simply stated ... closing the chart is a magnificient work. It will no doubt become highly acclaimed and will be appreciated by any care giver or patient in the modern world of medicine. It is rich in texture and flavor, providing a remarkable insight into the progression of change that occurs when a family is faced with a profound illness,and must come face to face with the methdologies of modern medicine. This work will provide the next level of understanding in the process of illness, such as that initiated by Norman Cousins in Anatomy of An Illness.

He describes so well what family members go through when a loved one is terminally ill. Doctors do need to look at the whole person, their family and their spiritual side and treat people holistically.
He spoke quite well of the pain that is often inflicted on those who are the most helpless by those in the position to be most helpful. This definetly is a gift to be given to those in the medical field or those who are thinking of entering it.
Steve was my doctor when I was growing up and we went to the same church. I remember praying for him when the calls would go out that he needed surgery while praying for my aunt who was terminally ill at the same time...what he describes about being a patient is not far off from what my Aunt experienced while she was hospitalized in Arizona.

As a brief patient of Dr. Hsi's and a memeber of the healthcare industry for 25 years, this book struck at the core of my very being. I not only see what he experienced everyday in my line of work but also expierienced it on a different level for myself. Anyone thinking of pursueing a career in medicine, should let this book open your eyes and your heart. It would make sense to have this be required reading for every nurse, pre-med student, intern, resident or seasoned physician. I know with some it would fall on deaf ears, however if it only made a difference in a few, what a difference it could make in so many lives.
Many thanks to Beth Corbin-Hsi, Jim Belshaw and of course Steven D. Hsi, M.D who gives us wisdom and courage through his words even now.

I am a nursing student. I happened to notice this title on amazon. I have to tell you, that I know that I will be a better nurse because I read this book. I think that it should be a mandatory part of the curriculum in the every program for all of the health care professions. It is very difficult sometimes, to know what it is like for the patient. This book made that realization abunduntly clear. Dr. Hsi's story is an inspiration. Definitely read this book, whether you are a health care worker, a patient, or just looking for a good book to read!

My younger brother, David, just passed away after being in a car accident. I miss him dearly and am finding it so difficult to cope with the fact that his arms will never be around me again.
I read Sandy's book two years ago, and the message of the book has stayed with me. I know that although physically, I cannot touch David, his spirit is all around me and there is still a way to connect. Sandy's book taught me to write, and not to be afraid of what comes out. Through writing, we can recieve powerful messages and through words and thoughts we can learn to heal.

This inspirational woman brings us into a deeply intimate time in her life, when she is dealing with the loss of her child, and shows us how much Faith and our connection with God can guide us through life's most difficult crises. This book re-awakened a connection I had hidden for years and has helped me through many difficult times in my life. A must read for anyone searching for guidance and fulfillment.

Wow, in this book Sandy takes us into her life, and through one of the most difficult situations a parent can go through,the loss of a child.When she learns that her new baby daughter has a condition that cannot be treated, Sandy reaches out and invites God in, and finds answers that come straight from that divine source!Throught the book I cried, I felt joy, and most of all I was left with this great and powerful love. Life lessons are hard, but If we can do as Sandy has, they can also be healing and wonderful experiences. Thank you Sandy for sharing your struggle, your pain, and your ultimate re-awakening of that spiritual side that lies dormate in all of us, just waiting for us to call out and invite that source in. What great hope you offer to parents, and even those of you who do not have children. This book is a must read! I couldn't put it down.

This book opened my heart and mind to a new way of looking at life's tragedies (what we consider tragedies). The author showed such courage and strength in sharing this personal experience in an effort to help others and she was successful in helping me. It taught me a new way of looking at and dealing with challenges and that there is always a lesson to learn. Congratulations It's an Angel touched me very deeply and I highly recommend reading this and sharing it with those you love. It was a great source of comfort and inspiration.

Sandy Goldberg reveals the Treasure beneath loss--the loss of her infant daughter! This treasure is the renewed companionship of the soul, bringing solace, peace, and the awakening of "who you really are". Sandy takes the reader out of the grief that causes bitterness and anger and introduces the healing guidance of the soul which awakens one's true life purpose. The story of Talia's birth and death (before the birth announcements were mailed) is a true story, poignant in its heart-wrenching details, inspiring in its deeper message. Highly recommended for anyone who is going through or has experienced this kind of loss. Thank you, Sandy Goldberg, for your shared wisdom and compassion for all parents who have or will endure such a loss, and for your revelations of the Treasure lying beneath this experience.

This is the best book published on the death of FDR in the last 10 years! The research is outstanding and Dr. Goldsmith leaves no stone unturned in reviewing all of FDR's health problems. Some of his findings are most interesting and suggest future lines of inquiry. His inclusion of the Joe Leib incident and the material on how and why Truman was picked as Vice-President makes this truly a real page-turner. Couldn't put this down. My highest recommendation.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time and I read a lot of history books. No matter how one feels about Roosevelt as a politician, anyone should find this interesting. It is obvious that an amazing amount of research went into it.

Dr. Goldsmith has written a brilliant, gripping, and most welcome addition to the history of the last century, world war, and towering 4-term President FDR. It is as captivating as the best mystery thriller, and yet it is too true to be good.... The author martials his medical--and surgical--skills to present a vivid revelation of how illness, cover-ups, and politics can reshape history. It is as timely now as ever!

A Conspiracy of Silence is a very entertaining book to read because the plot craftily unfolds to reveal political intrigue, White House cover-ups, medical incompetence, and questions regarding FDR's health as he sought re-election for a 4th term. These questions possibly may never be answered but are nevertheless relevant to the political games that are played even today. One question that remains, what did FDR know about his own health 3 years before his death despite a bevy of doctors advising him, some of them very clinically knowledgeable and others virtual quacks. Who did FDR believe (if anyone)and how worried was he that he would never see Hitler and the Japanese defeated? Goldsmith's writing flows smoothly and skillfully over a critical time period in US history, just prior to WW II and thereafter until the President's death on April 12, 1945. There is a long list of characters that are introduced throughout the book, some of no historical influence, and others who may have driven US policy in a definitive way, whether good or bad, the reader is left to decide. A Conspiracy of Silence is recommended tp those who love a detective thriller, to historical buffs and anyone who enjoys good writing no matter what the topic.

Harry S. Goldsmith, M.D., is a renowned practicing surgeon who has invented many innovative surgical procedures, including those that help victims of spinal cord injuries and Alzheimer's. He is also a devoted medical history buff and in "A Conspiracy of Silence" takes the reader inside that critical moment in time when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was running for an unprecedented fourth term during World War II. Although there were rumors about his declining health and telling photos of him at Yalta, his true medical condition was kept secret. His Vice-president, Henry Wallace, was popular with the people and a longtime personal friend, but behind the scenes, Democratic insiders, largely unknown to the general public were conspiring to drop him from the ticket. Their heavy-handed manipulation of the 1944 convention ultimately led to the nomination of Harry Truman in his stead. One wonders if they ever realized how their own actions forever changed the face of America.

Goldsmith's interest in FDR's medical records began in 1963. Years later, he started looking for them and found at every twist and turn they had been destroyed or lost. By 1984 he himself was embroiled in a drawn out court battle for a medical document denied to its legal owner. Even with the backing of FDR's son, James, the original document was never released. What was the motivation of all these people, by what right did they take it upon themselves to keep or destroy historical papers even decades after FDR's death?

"A Conspiracy of Silence" moves along easily and holds your attention like a mystery you can't put down. Goldsmith relates his search as a personal diary and presents it meticulously documented with letters, memos, personal memoirs and newspaper articles. Would FDR have lost to Dewey if his health were clearly known? Was the public unwilling, no matter what, to change leaders during the war? What if they had known his doctors expected him to die within a year? If Wallace had remained Vice-president rather than Truman it's almost certain things would have been different. Just how different is open to eternal speculation--maybe better--maybe worse. Either way, the book is a fascinating read.