United States Books

Daughter of a full-blooded Navajo father and white mother, Lori Arviso Alvord grew up on a New Mexico reservation in a family that took pride in its native heritage, but followed few of the traditional ways. She attended Navajo schools but never learned the language; she knew her clan relationships and enjoyed the security of tribal connections but seldom attended ceremonies or understood the depth of meaning in the Navajo concept "Walk In Beauty."

Such a person might expect to shed the remnants of tribal culture on leaving the reservation to become a high-powered surgeon, a career that by its very nature flies in the face of Navajo precepts like privacy and self-effacement.

Indeed, throughout her memoir, co-authored by Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt, Alvord seems to straddle two worlds separated by an uncomfortable gulf. She first looked upon the deepness of that gulf at Dartmouth.

"For a girl who had never been far from Crownpoint, New Mexico, the green felt incredibly juicy, lush, beautiful and threatening." Unable to see the horizon, she felt claustrophobic. But the culture shock was worse. "I thought people talked too much, laughed too loud, asked too many personal questions, and had no respect for privacy." Navajos do not put themselves forward and cooperation is valued over competition. Not a good prescription for success at an Ivy League school.

At Dartmouth she began to feel her tribal identity more strongly and wonder if a kinaalda ceremony (a celebration of womanhood) would have helped empower her in such alien surroundings. But not until after medical school at Stanford, where she was forced to break numerous taboos (Navajo never touch the dead, for instance) and joined a profession where it is essential to ask prying, intimate questions and invade another's personal space at will, did Alvord really begin to explore the philosophical grounding of Navajo culture.

Becoming a surgeon at the Gallup Indian Medical Center, close to the reservation, Alvord notices that her patients do better when they are calm and relaxed, that harmony - even in the operating room when the patient is unconscious - is important for recovery.

She grows more interested in the Navajo philosophy that "everything in life is connected and influences everything else." To "Walk in Beauty" a person strives to live in balance, symmetry and harmony with everything and everyone else.

While this is an ancient precept, held in common with many other cultures and enjoying something of a renaissance in American medicine today, Alvord comes up with a particularly striking example. One of her surgery patients, a young woman, was the first to die of a strange illness that swept through the Navajo nation, killing 11.

A doctor working for the Centers for Disease Control, Ben Muneta, visited a medicine man, a hataalii, who told him "the illness was caused by an excess of rainfall, which had caused the pinon trees to bear too much fruit." There was "a significant deviation from the natural harmony of the world."

The medicine man showed a sand painting of a mouse and said that twice before in years of excess rainfall a similar disease had struck. " `Look to the mouse,' " he said. Weeks later the CDC determined that the Hantavirus was contracted from the droppings of infected deer mice. The deer mouse population had surged due to an excess of pinon nuts. "It was the rain."

Alvord's tone is quiet, reserved. It does not seem easy for her to describe the alcoholism of her charming father or the difficulties and generosity of her (married at 16) mother. Though she takes us to a nightlong ceremony for the sick and celebrates the strength her patients draw from medicine-man visits, she never explains why it takes her so long to visit a hitaalii during her own pregnancy. Or why she never approaches a medicine man to discuss cross-cultural treatments despite her growing conviction of the efficacy of the "whole body" approach.

While most of the book concentrates on her work and her struggle to reconcile cultures, she provides a wide, sad look at reservation life, beset by poverty and "white mans'" diseases. The long grief of history resides in the alcoholism and the self-loathing of so many - a balance that can never be put right.

At last Alvord leaves. Seeing it as the next natural step in her own "life trail", she returns to Dartmouth as a surgeon and a dean of minority and student affairs. At Dartmouth, she hopes, she can teach the Navajo "Walk In Beauty" principles to new doctors as well as working within the established system to bring better care to her own people.

I am full-blooded Navajo, I was taught to believe in my traditonal ways and it disappoints me that she has talked about very scared ceremonies.

Lori Arviso Alvord walks in two worlds. Raised on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico -- "the rez" -- she is the daughter of a Navajo man and a white woman. Carrying this dichotomy into her education and career, she went from the reservation high school to Dartmouth College, then found her path to Stanford University School of Medicine and a surgical residency in New Mexico.

As the first Navajo woman surgeon, she learned to integrate the science-based world of medicine and the spirit-based Native American culture. The importance of the singing cures, native healing practices, and other spiritual traditions was brought home to her when she observed her patients' outcomes. Surgical skill was often not enough when delivered without respect for the language, culture and spirituality of the Navajo patients.

The main focus of this memoir is Dr. Alvord's path to acceptance of the first Navajo principles: balance, harmony and wholeness, known as "Walking in Beauty." Along the way we learn a great deal about Native American history and culture, sensitively presented.

Dr. Alvord speaks of the cultural bases for Native American alcoholism and the prevalence of gang culture, monumental threats to the health and well-being of her people. The healing of these ills will never be achieved in the operating room alone, and many patients' stories illustrate this lesson effectively.

The outcome of Dr. Alvord's journey is signaled from the beginning, as is often the case with a memoir. While this may dilute the dramatic tension of her story, we're rewarded with a thoughtful and inspiring look at one woman's life and work, in all its contexts. I recommend this book to readers young and old who have an interest in the cultural aspects of medical care.

Linda Bulger, 2008

I picked up this book and I could NOT put it down. What a wonderful journey described here....how she interlocks traditional medicine with Navajo, how harmony and positive spirit is such a process in the healing world. You will not be disappointed with this read. I have shared this with all those close to me. Make it part of your list

--Dr Alvord writes about her journeys as a Native American student and physician. The book seems clearly designed for non-technical readers rather than the professional medical community, and there's little medical jargon. She uses her own difficult pregnancy and the death of a beloved grandmother as case studies in integrating Western medicine and Navajo ideas.
--On the one hand, it's worth reading this book just to hear such an inspirational story from such a role model. Dr Alvord tells her story with dignity and courage and she has many good ideas about listening to patients and integrating Balance and Harmony in our profession (although these ideas don't seem as radical or as rare within the medical community as she seems to imply, and I don't think she does anyone a great service by implying they are).
--On the other hand, the authors remained disappointingly abstract, even given the limitations of confidentiality and space. The stories of Navajo healing barely scratched the surface and the book was pretty scanty with practical advice that would help non-Native healers understand Native American patients. I'd love to have heard her perspectives on the magnitude of Native American health problems, how she handled the constant pressures of time and funding, or how she successfully used traditional Native American methods to help manage serious medical-social problems (i.e. alcohol use, diabetogenic diets, family pressures, basic compliance and responsibility issues, etc). In short, I'd like to have heard more about her successes.
--The book's perspective gives a good counterpoint to those who criticize Western medicine as too impersonal/sterile/uncaring/whatever, while they fail to demonstrate how to predictably improve things and still efficiently deliver technically competent health care to people with different levels of motivation and understanding. Western medicine works beautifully in its own niche, but it will be made to work less efficiently if we mess around with the wrong things. Perhaps medicine will improve if we balance the responsibilities of patients to live a healthy lifestyle with the responsibilities of healers to carefully listen to patients and then help them heal.
--This book did not practically help me to do this, so I cannot give it five stars despite my respect for her credentials. I do look forward to a sequel.
--Other books which may be of interest include Blessings (by Dr. A. Organick), The Dancing Healers, and Primary Care of Native American Patients.

This book seems to cover many great hiking areas in Sedona. It is quite explicit re: directions and information about the hiking trails. Great book for a person new to the area or even people who have been around awhile. Very informative!

I used this book for planning a 2 day visit to Sedona. I was extremely happy with the format. It has 2 pages per hike, with a high quality photo of what to expect for views, driving/hiking distance/time, as well as selections of their favorites. We didn't visit long enough to do a lot of the hikes, but we truly felt that we were able to select 3 hikes that were perfectly suited to our tastes and with nice variety. Overall, I don't think you could go wrong in Sedona, but I felt like this guide was well worth the price and only wish I could find similar guides for other locations. The Magnum's have done a great job, deserving of 5 stars.

The only shortcoming you may find is that their maps are very general and mostly help you find the trailhead (which was flawless). But, I prefer to have a quality map as well and I purchased the Emmitt Barks Cartography - Sedona Trails Map (not sure if it was on Amazon), and was very happy with it. Personally, I don't think you can create a detailed map inside the book for each hike, so I don't consider this a flaw to the book - just a bit of advice if you are planning a trip.

This book was very helpful in deciding which hikes to do. We were not dissappointed by any of the hikes. It was good that we knew about the pink jeaps ahead of time.

I have read five books about the Sedona hikes, all written approximately across the same time period, and this is why Iknow what I am talking about.I have also been to Sedona twice and know about it in a general sence. Short and sweet...this is the best all around Sedona hiking book filled with lots of bits about popular and unheard of hikes. This book is good because it is created by a Husband and Wife writer and photographer team who have lived in the area for years. The book includes maps of how to get to the trail heads and where the trails go from there. Also, descriptions of weather related to time of year and level of exertion required to do the hikes. The hikes that include VORTEXES are clearly marked. The photography is great. The five other books are best described by one or several of the following phrases: sickening and homespun; the writer as spiritual guru who is grandiose; might as well not bother; information repeated elsewhere ad nauseum. GET THIS BOOK

This book is good you want to look up a specific trail by name. I am more interested in researching trails in a specific area and found the layout of this book VERY frustrating. This book NEEDS a trail map overview where one can see where a specific trail is in relationship to the other trails. If you purchase this book make sure to purchase a Sedona Trail Map as well.

This is a very inspirational book. Great for in-service teachers. I loved their dedication and devotion to their students' success and belief that they are "human."
Wonderful.

a wonderful read... a triumph of heart, mind and human spirit. great job mike, robynn and students. The movie will be a must see on my list.
maj. davie a megahan, usa-ret, huntsville al.

a wonderful read... a triumph of heart, mind and human spirit. great job mike, robynn and students. The movie will be a must see on my list.
maj. davie a megahan, usa-ret, huntsville al.

I usually prefer fiction books, however, this true story of a teacher so dedicated to his students was too hard to resist. It is uplifting and motivating to see that there are others in education who will put their heart and soul into helping their students succeed! So many children need teachers like Mike and Robynn.

A Smile as Big as the Moon, by Mike Kersjes, is a very inspiring and encouraging book. Personally, I was happy to see a teacher who took risks to make those children with disabilities feel proud of themslves. Personally, as an employee at a school with disabled children, I know what it takes to make those children happy. I can call Kersjes a gifted teacher who devoted his time, energy, and money to help those children in special education. Based on a true story, it is very interesting and keeps the reader eager to know what happened next. I would reommed this book to teachers, parents and older children.

For most people when they think of Spying they think of the guy on ground
doing his Thing.But little thought is given to the people who make and place
the gadgets the spy uses. The book goes through the history of the departments and devices involved from the beginning till the present day with eye opening stories packed full of interesting facts.
If you are interested in Tradecraft then this is the flip side of the coin.
An excellent book that belongs in every spy buffs library !

This is the Whole Story

Robert Wallace is a good friend and a former colleague.

Cold War intelligence operations and those who managed and ran them were always highly compartmentalized so that only a handful knew the whole story.

Now, with access to former Soviet intelligence files, many things have become more clear. Still, it is for writer/practitioners like Wallace to give us a fascinating and until-now-unknown view of the long U.S. - Soviet standoff.

This book is a great read, hard to set aide. It should be must reading for anyone who wants facts about how technology supported (and sometimes failed) American (and Soviet) intelligence operations during those long and expensive years. Interested college students and their teachers can rely on this text. It is painstakingly researched and noted.

The Agency understandably has a tough pre-publication review process and I am pleasantly surprised to see how much of Wallace's material has been allowed to see print. Although I often knew only a little of the many specifics he writes about, there is no doubt that this is the whole story, satisfying and often surprising even to the Old Timers who were involved.

This is the best book I have ever read! You won't believe what you'll read in this book! They got to make this book into a movie! It is better than James Bond!

The tools of the spy trade are fascinating for their role throughout history, and SPYCRAFT tops the list as the most comprehensive account of their creation and implementation. H. Keith Melton and Robert Wallace are the wolrd's leading authorities on the subject. As one of the producers of the SPIES series for A&E, I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

I grew up in the 60's and 70's watching "Get Smart" on TV and James Bond movies in theatres. I loved the gadgets and often wondered how many actually existed in the real "spy world." Now that I live in DC and work in biometrics, I'm still fascinated by surveillance technology, but since reading "Spycraft," I don't have to wonder anymore. This book is fascinating -- not just because it details the gadgets, but because it looks at the people, politics and tactics behind the technology used by the CIA in recent decades. Forget James Bond -- the real spy heroes are in this book. I have a new appreciation for spytechs and their role in the intelligence game, and I was surprised how quickly I got through the 500+ pages. Loved the photos! Well done to Bob Wallace and Keith Melton!

I am surprised that the book got so many five star reviews. There is nothing mentioned in the book that a somewhat experienced investor will not know. I am all for bringing light to anything about investing though.

What is the best way to "stop" the "rip-off?" One way is to find an alternative to the 401 itself. Perhaps "Stop the 401K rip-off" by David Loeper is garnering some deserved sales recently. Possibly because the financial markets are in a cyclical slump, and many Baby Boomer 401K holders are getting out their calculators. This book should lead some (not all) to question whether they should have the 401K plan at all to begin with. We know the tax benefits, but there are limitations of investment options, age restrictions, and hidden expenses (fees) that erode a worker's earnings over decades and limit allocation options.

The 401K is one piece among many investments in the retirement puzzle. This puzzle is shrinking, and retirement will be an illusion for tens of millions that will rely on the balance of the 401. Of course, the old adage of "diversification" is needed but some people are using other vehicles in their attempts attain critical mass or sufficient funds for living expenses in the latter years. And, what percentage of the 401K will be used for medical care? Pharmaceutical (medicine) costs? More than many think.

Yes, there is employer matching for some, but 401K plans are dishonest and limited. Some feel even more secure investing into the S & P 500 Index funds that are non-tax deferred.

The 401K plan has been intentionally engineered to steal from and cheat the worker. Congress has allowed this to happen. The lack of knowledge and ignorance has been engineered as well. The more ignorant workers with 401Ks are, the easier it is to profit via hidden fees.

Loeper tells us how to "stop the 401K rip-off." The gravy train of hidden expense theft is the foundation of the plan. The only way to stop the institutional and legally thievery is to stay in your plan and know *everything* about your plan, or to dump it and use alternatives. This is a good point with specifics.

2 key assets to this book. Exposing it and then advising on how to take actions. Loeper explains the "whats" of the 401 and also the "hows" of trying to reduce fees, fee disclosure, and offers points on getting in and out of these plans in the most optimum way. This book is necessary, but why should it be? Because of the systematic plan to separate as much of an American worker's money from him or her as possible.

"Stop the 401K rip-off" by David Loeper ought to be handed out by HR departments across the country when employees enroll in their 401K plans.

Dave Loeper exposes the dark, hidden and arguably unscrupulous (yet legal) ways 401k participants have been (and continue to be) robbed. More significantly he gives you the knowledge to fix this injustice. Read this book and act on it or prepare to cry about it during your retirement or lack thereof.
From my experience as a retirement plan consultant, investment advisor and independent fiduciary; it is a sad commentary that almost every employer I meet isn't even aware of the basic retirement plan issues (let alone the remedies) highlighted in this book.
After reading this book you will know more than your employer about your broken 401k plan, more importantly, you will have the blueprints to help them fix it.

What an incredible book! So many people invest in retirement programs. So many companies offer these programs. Sadly, very few people or companies negotiate well or know where to start. I found this book very helpful and a special discovery to the process of reviewing a company's retirement plan.

My name is Matthew Hutcheson. I'm an independent pension fiduciary, and have studied retirement plan economics for over fifteen years. Every American worker with a 401(k) (or a 403(b)/457 for that matter) should put this book on the top of their reading list. The information contained in this book could be worth many thousands of extra retirement dollars to you down the road. Mr. Loeper should be congratulated on one of the most important and practical retirement books of the decade.

This is one of the all time great true crime books. If you like true crime, you must read this book.

I realize this is an odd heading for a review, but one of the very first things the author points out is that the crime was as incredibly stupid as it was brutal. I don't want to spoil the story too much, but added to a long list of very stupid mistakes made by the kidnappers was an apparent failure to understand how the telephone system in San Jose worked.

The author tries to explain this, but I supect that in this day and age when many people haven't even used a rotary dial phone, his explanation was inadequate. In 1933 the telephone system in San Jose was completely "manual." Telephones had no dials or buttons. When someone wanted to make a call, he or she simply picked up the receiver. This action caused a small light to go on over a jack in the switchboard, which was of course marked with the number of the calling party. The operator then plugged in one of a pair of cords from the shelf in front of her and asked "number, please?" The caller then spoke the wanted number to the operator who used the other plug to connect to the jack of the wanted number. She then had to press a small lever to ring the wanted party's bell. Consequently, tracing a call was ridiculously simple; all someone had to do was read the numbers next to the jacks in question on the face of the switchboard.

Of course all operators would have been alerted to signal the Chief Operator when anyone asked for the number of the Hart residence. The operator could also delay a few seconds before starting to ring the Hart's phone, giving the Chief Operator extra time to alert the law enforcement officers at the Hart residence that there was an incoming call.

All this resulted in Thrumond being arrested while using a pay phone to call the Hart residence. While San Jose city police were not involved in the arrest, it should be noted that he was using a telephone something like 150 feet from the main police station, not the wisest choice of locations.

This evidence would have been crucial if the case had come to trial and if Thurmond and Holmes had recanted their confessions, or if the confessions had been ruled inadmissible, which was possible even in 1933.

In other areas the author paints a vivid picture of the local political scene, and how "bosses" controlled much of city and county government. It's also interesting to note that much of the area around San Jose was rural at the time.

The brutality of the crime notwithstanding, I cannot in any way approve of the lynching, and I'm of the opinion that the governor should have been impeached for first failing to provide national guard troops to help defend the jail, and secondly for his outright approval of the lynchings and treat to pardon anyone convicted of taking part in them.

Prosecutors in three, if not four different jurisdictions were preparing charges against Holmes and Thurmond. There is simply no way they could have gone free if the first case against them for any reason had failed.

Swift Justice is more than a story about the murder of Brooke Hart, the son of a prominent San Jose businessman in 1933. It is about vigilante justice in its worst form--lynching.

Farrell starts the book off with Brooke Hart and the events that led up to his kidnapping and murder. He points out that most of his material was gathered from witnesses and/or people who wish to remain anonymous to this day. So, he cautions the reader about the accuracy of his story. The detail in which he describes the body and the lynching is gruesome. It works with the story, though, because I got the sense why the citizens of San Jose flew into a rage at those two men and the justice system. Brooke Hart and his family were revered by many, and in their eyes, what those two men did was unforgivable. The sheriff's department started receiving anonymous threats against those men and alerted the police chief. When the threats became more severe, he brought in more deputies to secure the area while the police chief did nothing. Then a small crowd gathered outside the station house. Slowly, it grew into a large mob. At eleven o'clock that night, they stormed the jail, dragged the men out of their cells, and hung them on two trees in St. James Park.

Farrell did an excellent job in depicting this scene. I felt like I was right there in the sheriff's office while he pleaded for those men to confess to their crime. I felt his desperation and terror of the crowd outside, and the adrenaline rush when he and his deputies fled for their own lives. He was a man on his own; however one firefighter helped another prisoner escape. Other than that, nobody helped them. Then there was the mob, itself. As I read those pages, I couldn't believe how good, decent citizens turned into bloodthirsty savages. But there they were, chanting and raving as the men were dragged out by their peers. The lynching was a spectator event, and everybody who knew or heard of the Harts attended with their babies and children. It was appalling and sickening. The authorities didn't arrive until it was time to gather the bodies and clean up the mess.

The St. James Lynching of 1933 was the last to occur here in San Jose. Since then, the penal system has made several improvements; however, the system leans more toward the civil rights of the criminals than to the victims. The pendulum always swings left and right, never landing in the middle. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in San Jose's history and/or the justice system. With all terrible tragedies, there is something to learn.

I'm not ashamed to stay I stayed up all night reading this book. I thought I'd read a few chapters before bed and...well, I just couldn't put it down. Brooke's murder is particularly brutal -- I could hear his final calls for help inside my head. The description of the lynching is so vivid you feel as if you're there, shouting and manning the battering ram with the rest of them. My only complaint was that the "after the lynching" section seemed to drag a bit. All in all a wonderful book, which I would highly recommend to any fan of true crime.

I must admit, I have a biased viewpoint. As a descendant of not one, not two, but three people who were summarily executed without the benefit of due process (one was most probably guilty --- the other two probably were not), accounts such as the San Jose Lynching tend to rub a raw nerve with me.

In a brisk, wonderfully written narrative, the author sets the stage and lets the events unfold to their unsettling conclusion. Along the way, he makes some interesting points about mob mentality, vigilante justice, and the abication of moral authority that our leaders on occasion display.

Most troubling for me are the points raised at the end of the book. The abrupt dispatch of the two murder suspects meant that other leads never were followed up on by the authorities. The author makes it clear that the two men were most certainly guilty --- they confessed to the crime, and the circumstantial evidence certainly pointed towards their guilt. However --- most troubling of all --- the circumstantial evidence also pointed quite strongly to additional men being involved in Brooke Hart's kidnapping & murder. Did other men get away with murder because the San Jose mob was too impatient to wait for a trial? The author does not beat us over the head with his theories, but he correctly points out that, because there never was a trial, a lot of questions that needed answering went unaddressed.

Certainly, it is a cautionary tale for those who believe that the justice system is too sluggish, and that we should just "line 'em up against the wall and shoot 'em." Maybe some time has been saved --- maybe justice has been served fully. But you can't confidently state it as fact.

I found this book very helpful. I could really relate to Judy's situation and saw many facets of my son's behavior in that of Sean's. It helped me to see that I am not the only one facing this same situation. Maybe my son will mature out of a lot of this too.

I read this book when my son was diagnosed with autism. The concept looked interesting and what I read opened up the world of autism to me. Sean gave me the idea that I had to get into my son's world and not make him come to mine! And 4 years later, my son is a very high functioning autistic child - it wouldn't have been possible without what I learned from this book!

This book is a must read for parents or relatives of Autistic children. I now understand why my 5 year old son does some of the things he does - it makes him feel good, and he does not understand why mom & dad say no. Sean tells you what went through his mind. Read this book, it will help you understand. Pray for a cure......

I absolutely LOVE this book!!! This is a very personable book that draws you into the Barron story as they share their family struggles and successes, hardships and joys. I love that Judy tells how she interpreted her son's behavior and how that is contrasted by Sean explaining what he was really thinking in his mind. The differences of thought show the confusion that easily happens between parent and child. Of course, each child is different but this does give excellent examples of the complexity of each personality within the autism spectrum. It is extremely important to communicate and try to understand what your child is thinking so that you can help him. It is equally important to be consistent to work through each issue. I love the honesty of Judy's frustration in the circumstance. And I love that Sean trusted his mom enough to share his life with the world. This book also proves the closeness between parent and child, even when their life is in upheaval. I have a nice collection of books on Autism, Fragile X Syndrome, OCD, OD, Asperger's, temperament problems, anger, and other such helps which were written by world-renown doctors and others but this simple book is, by far, the book I most relate to. Did I say that I love this book? It was the only book to give me hope. Whenever I felt I was going to give up, I'd think of this story. I credit this book for my son doing so well and being nearly normal so that people can't tell he is within the autistic/asperger's realm. :-)

Having reading essentially all memoirs of mothers with kids of the spectrum, I have to say this is the one that really "tells it like it is." Judy Barron pulls no punches on the difficulties of managing her son. Sean, her adult son, provides wonderful insight into what his often maddening behavior meant. Mother and son find tremendous respect for each other's strengths and weaknesses. Truly an inspiring book.

This is an excellent book. It is written in a very scholarly manner and exhausts the subject from a biblical standpoint, and tells the wonderful true story of an educated man being drawn into a new spiritual experience.

This is a book I can highly recommend. I believe that whatever your beliefs on the issue of tongues you owe it to yourself to read this book.

I have been a Christian since 1975, and was taught against tongues in the first couple years of my Christian walk. I was well versed in, why tongues was not for today.

Then in 1977 through a chain of events I ended up going to an Assembly of God Church. I was somewhat cautious of them as I knew they were of the Pentecostal persuasion. But from the very first service I attended I noticed an excitement in worship and over God's word (Bible) from the pastor and the members, that I had not seen in the other churches I attended. I really liked the church, the people, and the powerful preaching from the Bible, but, I still didn't agree with this "tongues" thing.

Anyway, one Sunday evening before service, in August 1977, I went to the church altar alone and was on my knees in prayer, looking at the cross and thanking Jesus for dying for me. Then I asked the LORD to fill me 100% with His Holy Spirit (with or without tongues). So there alone at that altar I lifted that prayer up to God. Just me and Jesus at that altar. There was no expectation from me of speaking in tongues. I was NOT seeking tongues, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Almost immediately from the time I lifted that prayer to the LORD, to my surprise, I instantly started praying in tongues. As I did, I felt a release in my worship to the LORD and also such a fresh appreciation for the Cross (that Jesus would die for me). A river of tears of joy flowed from my eyes.

That being said, I believe from that day I had a fresh desire to see others come to Christ and to grow in their Christian walk.

So, do yourself a favor, and read this book. I believe God can use it to touch your life. It is well written, it shows the authors own battles with the "tongues issue" and gives a good scriptural basis for "speaking in tongues".

... and it changed my life. I'm now 48 and still Pentecostal. I recommend this book at anyone seeking for a faith that is more than just "believe it or else." This book showed me that there is power in true Christianity.

This book totally caught me off guard. It examines the gift of speaking in tongues from the authors perspective and does an excellent job of convincing me that this gift is still being used in some areas that way God intended. Very well put together and compelling.

I first read "They Speak with Other Tongues" as a very young pastor, more than forty years ago. At the time I already believed in and practiced the gift of speaking in tongues. Still, I found this book to be a tremendous confirmation to my faith. It was especially interesting to me because the author was a non-Pentecostal and at that time the vast majority of people who spoke in tongues belonged to Classical Pentecostal churches. The Charismatic movement among mainline Protestant and Catholic churches was barely in its infancy. No doubt, this book served as a catalyst to arouse interest among non-Pentecostals in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and thus helped birth the Charismatic renewal. Today, more than half of the Christians who speak with other tongues belong to non-Pentecostal churches.

I have read "They Speak with Other Tongues" several times over the years; on each of those occasions it has been a continuing inspiration. I've also bought many extra copies to share with friends.

Anyone who wants to learn more about the experience of speaking in tongues will find much of interest here. The author presents his story in an honest manner which is both unassuming and convincing. Those who speak in other tongues and those who are only curious about the practice will both benefit from reading this classic. Although dozens of books on the same subject have been written since this one, I know of none that have had as great an impact.

J. Stephen Conn, Author: "Growing up Pentecostal"

I grew up in Idaho, and in school there we learned a slightly different version... I found it in a Google search for Lyrics and it said that the verse we sung as the second verse was found in the Canadian version:
"I followed your low hills
And I followed your cliff rims,
Your marble canyons
And sunny bright waters.
As the fog was lifting,
A voice was saying
This land was made for you and me."

Only we sang it as:
" I travelled low hills
I travelled cliff rims,
Great marble canyons,
and sunny waters,
A voice came calling,
as the fog was lifting,
This land was made for you and me.

In the first verse we had a difference also... instead of "from California to New York Island" it was " from California to the Bedloe's Island. Later I thought I must have heard wrong because I never saw that in print and wondered WHAT was Bedloe's Island. Yesterday I saw on History Channel that Bedloe's Island was the name of Liberty Island at the time that the Statue of Liberty was built there, and it wasn't until years later that it was changed to Liberty Island. It makes me wonder, was Bedloe's Island in the original verse or did Woody Guthrie write it as New York Island ... which really doesn't make sence because there was Ellis Island, Bedloe's Island, Manhattan, Staten and Long Island, more than three dozen islands... so if the song said "from California to THE NEW YORK ISLAND" not islands, then WHICH island??? Ok, while writing this I found the words from the original manuscript, it was Staten Island. All I know is we learned to sing about the Bedloe's Island. Oh yeah, I'm 51, born in 1956 which was the year that the name Bedloe's was officially changed to Liberty Island. Woody Guthrie wrote his song in 1940 but the first known professionally printed publication was in 1956 by Ludlow Music. By then it was THE NEW YORK ISLAND. Maybe the people from New York knew which one he meant.

into the little sayings and tidbits of trivia littered throughout. Still, nice art (a little busy at times) and a quick read with sheet music and bio at the end.

I gave this book and the Woody Guthrie CD to a friend who had just become an American citizen. She was thrilled with the lyrics and the photos about her new country. I think they do a good job of telling America's story.

My kids LOVE this book! And the CD is one of the best I've heard for kids. My two (ages 4 & 7) are singing the songs, especially the title song (w/all its verses) constantly. The illustrations in this book are also amazing. This book would make a really nice gift.

The art in this book is phenomenal and draw young and old into the book. I think that every time one looks at any of the paintings one will find something new to see. The lyrics, of course, are pure poetry. I am pleased that the original verses are restored. The only thing I did not like was that the song of This Land is Your Land does not match the order the lyrics are written in the book, so you can't enjoy both at the same time. However, it is not important enough to make me give this book a lower rating. The other songs included on the CD are also masterful and are extremely popular at the preschool I work in.

Outstanding account of what really happened on 9/11. This book takes you inside the cockpits, air traffic control centers, and headquarters of avilation / military agencies that managed the 9/11 attacks. I was unable to put this book down which resulted in a couple of sleepless nights. Some of the stories brought me to tears. This book is a must read and brings into perspective the power of courage and the human spirit despite incredible odds and circumstances that were beyond our imagination.

Incredible book!

absolutely a riveting read. I opened it and I finished it upon rising at 5 A.M. the following morning. TOUCHING HISTORY cannot be put down because you "need to know" what happens next. Masterly suspenseful and I learned so much about 9-11 that I will never forget the day America went to war.

I think we all remember where we were and what we were doing when, on September 11, 2001, we first heard that a plane had slammed into the World Trade Center. It is one of those moments we will undoubtedly always remember, just as so many people have never forgotten where they were when they heard about the assassination of J.F.K.. They are seared forever into our memories. They are utterly unique moments in history. How could we ever forget?

While the story of what happened on that day has already been told in many books and in several movies, none of the accounts has told it from the perspective of the pilots of the 5000 planes that were in the skies that day or from the perspective of those on the ground who were responsible for the air-control and air-defense systems that controlled the skies over America. In Touching History Lynn Spencer tackles the story from this new perspective and in so doing writes a book that is both fascinating and riveting. A commercial pilot herself, she is well acquainted with the decisions and the responsibilities faced by pilots and controllers across the nation.

In an interesting literary decision, Spencer opted to write the book in the present tense rather than the more obvious past tense. This makes the book read less like history and more like current events. It transports the reader to the day itself, giving a moment-by-moment breakdown of the actions and decisions of the day. The book effectively takes the reader back to that day, stirring memories and evoking emotion perhaps long forgotten. Though the reader knows how the story ends, it makes the journey no less interesting.

Meticulously researched, the book actually makes some important corrections to the official 9/11 Commission Report and introduces some interesting new details to the account. Even those who have read other books on the subject will find new information here as the author deliberately covers some of the lesser-known drama. For example, she writes quite extensively about Delta flight 1989, an aircraft officials became convinced had also been hijacked. The plane was refused landing on the East Coast and was eventually forced to land in Cleveland where it sat for hours on the tarmac before a SWAT team finally approached and cleared the plane. She tells such stories from the perspective of those involved, not as abstract history but as personal narrative. She writes also of fighter pilots who, flying unarmed planes, were ready and willing to sacrifice their lives by crashing into hijacked airliners to save lives on the ground; she writes about air traffic controllers who were faced with almost unimaginable stress and the nearly-impossible task of, for the first time in history, grounding every plane in the country. Spencer has a knack for detail and for finding and describing interesting stories.

Touching History is a book that drew me in and wouldn't let me go until I had finished the last page. In fact, I took concerted effort for me not to destroy a whole work day reading it. It is that good. Anyone who wants to have a better understanding of what transpired on September 11 will want to read this account.

On the morning of 9-11, our little Cessna was one of the thousands of dots on the radar screens of America, so as I later watched the horrific events in New York and Washington DC unfold, I couldn't help but wonder what other pilots were feeling and thinking as they were told, without explanation, to get their plane on the ground NOW. This book gives an insight into the thoughts of some of those pilots -- some who were "escorted" down by fighter jets, some who could see the towers burning in the distance, some whose friends were in the cockpits of those doomed airplanes. It is rather frightening to read of the incompetence and lack of coordination among government agencies, but it is very encouraging to read of the quick thinking and heroism of ordinary people called upon to do something they could not possibly have trained for. In moments of crisis, it's impossible to predict who will fall to pieces and who will step up and be a hero. This was a fascinating book -- well researched and well written, and with lessons to be learned before we are called upon again to respond to the unthinkable.

I have a very high opinion of this book. I found it quite remarkable.

We all remember the events of 9/11, and how ghastly they were. What we did not know are the remarkable events that happened in airplanes all over the United States that awful day. There was a tense, frightening, and deeply touching drama taking place above the United States, as military pilots worked out a way to defend the cities, and commercial pilots found ways to cope with a situation that had not been fully explained to them.

I have nothing but respect for the American military; I also have profound respect for the commercial airline pilots---many of whom are ANG pilots as well----who fly the nation's passengers around the country.
This book increased my respect.

The American aviation workers, civilian and military, were able to move from utter chaos to an organized defense of America in a very short time. These people never got the credit they deserve until "Touching History" was written and published.

I cannot recommend this book too highly. In a time when confidence in the government is on the wane, and people are feeling a sense of despair, this book gives hope. There are some remarkably competent and professional people out there. It gave me some needed reassurance.