Independent Books

To many Americans, the CIA and KGB are things of a James Bond movie. Lots of sex and violence with the KGB being at best stupidly evil. In addition,many Americans today think of the CIA as almost more of an enemy to the Republic than Moslem terrorists, the Chinese, or the resurgent Russians. Far too many people today blame the CIA for not having clearer information about Iraq or worse actively plotting with the 'Government' to get us into a war.

This book of Bearden and Risen though, is one that both popular historians and casual reader alike can get into. They show that often intelligence services make educated guesses on fragments of information that may or may not be compromised by the enemy. Concerned with a period of global turmoil that was surprisingly governed by understood rules of intelligence gathering and other activities, this book brings the reader into the world of the CIA. Far from the James Bond style killing and counter killing by the Allies and Soviet Empire, it was one of limited violence between the two principal powers. A busted or captured agent was interrogated briefly and put on a plane for home, no killing and seldom more than a mild roughing up.

The dying days of the Soviet Empire were ironically the period that that the KGB (with help from American traitors like Aldrich Ames and Robert Hannsen)had wiped out most of the CIA operatives in Russia. The Americans had been sent home and the Russian agents of the Americans killed. The US had virtually no human intel assets behind the Iron Curtain. This is some of the most interesting parts of the book, seeing how much damage a couple of American traitors did as we blindly tried to understand what was going on. The bewildered KGB agents simply cannot believe their Empire is collapsing while they have gotten the upper hand over their Western enemies.

Bearden's insider accounts need to be taken with a grain of salt but his recounting of that period and the US efforts in Afghanistan are informing. Many of us who have studied the period or were in the Armed Forces knew in a general manner what was going on, but seeing the CIA somehow keep Congress on their side while turning on the heat on the Russians in Afghanistan is a both a pleasure and source of wonder. One does not have to think hard to wonder what our present Congress would have done in similar circumstances.

This book illustrates a critical period in our history. Depicting intelligence services being blindsided by events is something critics should remember happens far too often. No intel service of any country has a 100% batting average, not even the legendary Mossad of Israel and that is something Congress and the American public too often forget.

I read this regular book, here in Brazil.This book was writen by two CIA's men.This book is about the last years of Cold War.The years between 1985 and 1991 are the focus of this regular book.
The failures of this are:
1-Has too much space dedicated to Afghanisthan.
2-This book is very biased.
3-Even having some little paragraphs about years, before 1985, this book almost talks about 1985 and 1991.
War in Afghanisthan wasn't so important, in Soviet Union's defeat.The real thing was that socialism was defeated in Afghanisthan, years before Soviet Union invasion of Afghanisthan.As a source of lives, Afghanisthan killed (in almost ten years) just about 15,000 soviets, against more than 23,000,000 just between 1941 and 1945.The authors were in afghanisthan and they use this experience as a big part of this book.
As a external way to broke Soviet Union the fall of oil's price, between 1985 and 1986 was a sucess.Soviet Union paid its food, from oil's money and money from weapons selled to oil's exporters.When the oil's prices fell between 1985 and 1986, Soviet Union became a crippled country.And this fact has too little space in this book.
This book is too much biased.Aldrich Ames made so much calamities, not just because of himself, but because of CIA's failures.Before of CIA's men, the CIA's agents are americans, having the american failures.To search for confort and happiness are americans, but they can be a calamity, because spies are to be looking for duty, not confort.

Good book. Gives unique insights. Shows to what degree the heroes in the CIA go to protect this great country.

There's lot of spy vs. spy folklore here but it's presented in a format that really jumps around, making it unnecessarily confusing. The story of the CIA's operations in Afghanistan could have made a separate book and doesn't fit with the rest of the more familiar spy games. In fact, that book has already been written- Ghost Wars, the Pulitzer-Prize winner by Steve Coll. It seems like Bearden wasn't sure whether he wanted to write an autobiography or a history of CIA operations.

This reads like a Tom Clancy novel only cheep. We have seen this story before in many spy movies. There is little substance and a lot of editorializing (which I thought was a bit heavy on the US side). At one point the author tells us the CIA boss was so wonderful even the KGB studied him for his professionalism. PLEASE!!!

What can I say? I've read all the Mankell books I can get and find them superb and Wallender, the protagonist, a man I'd like to know. Thank you, Henning Mankell.

My first Mankell book was a good experience. Now I'll head for others that appeared earlier in the series. The details about small town Sweden were interesting, and the introspection of Wallander readable and pertinent to the story. The plot, unfortunately, is also believable in this day and age of computer geniuses (genii?). Who knows what will happen? The interaction between Wallander and his co-workers helped bring the plot along, though the final relationship between him and Martinsson was not worked out well. A question about the English version: does Mankell really write in such short, choppy sentences, or is this the work of the translator? Not exactly Hemingwayesque, but leans in that direction. And I never got the answer to why one of the victim's two fingers were cut off. Anybody know? But a good read for a long vacation time.

The cases that Kurt Wallander has to solve are becoming more and more complicated: a dead man is found at an ATM and at the same time a taxidriver is molested by two teenage girls. What is the connection? At first glance nothing, until one of the girls escapes from prison and is found dead and the corpse of the ATM man disappears from the morgue and is found back at the location where he was originally found. The dead man is an IT-expert and Wallander, who hardly knows how to turn his computer on and off, hires a young hacker to find out what the IT-expert was doing. And meanwhile Internal Affairs threatens to start a case against Wallander because he hit a suspect, his colleague Martinson tries to take over his position and he gets a reaction on an ad that he has put in the paper to find a wife. In the end the cases are solved, but Wallander and his team can barely prevent a worldwide disaster.


A wonderful book, but it is understandable that after this book Mankell stooped writing about Wallander: Wallander is deadly tired and constantly wondering whether he can still do his job. Say goodbye to a hero...

I love the Kurt Wallander mystery series. No, serioulsy, I LOVE the books.

But this book rehashed everything previous WAY too much. Also, there were just glib references to things that could have been real life changers for our protagonist (e.g., diabetes) that were never fleshed out. Then there's the whole aspect of KW becoming a grumpy old man.... but again, since these are largely procedural novels, showing the process would be good... And then the end didn't wrap things up the way Mankell usually does. I'm hoping the next one is as good as all the previous ones...

If you like police detective novels that have a dose of realism in plot and setting, the obsessions of Mankell's Inspector Wallander provide a fine antidote to the usual run of serial/maniacals. The mystery is composed of subplots that come together slowly until they quicken as the end nears. What drives the plot is a larger-than-life, computer-enhanced doomsday clock, but Wallander's family in and outside the office give a strong sense of the man who makes it all come together. The brooding and well-realized town where the story takes place seems like the home you always wanted to run away from.

Undoubtedly, the best work on the Masonic, Jewish conspiracy there is. Hoffman's work is original, unique, hard-hitting, and something one can read repeatedly, and always find something new.

Hoffman takes the reader from the dark cauldrons of John Dee to the occult trail of Route 66, to JFK to Son of Sam. This work is a refreshing, fascinating look at the modern world from a traditionalist perspective. The author is obviously extremely well-read, and understands the current state of affairs better than anyone else I've seen. This is not your typical Alex Jones, David Duke, Pat Buchanan look at Zionism and the new world order slave state. This book thoroughly covers the occult ritual all of us have been taken on, by OTO Satanists to Judaic Kabbalists, to an American people that have been repeatedly psychologically raped by the inner sanctum of political witchcraft. This is a look at the inner workings, the darkest objectives, the most psychotic, mind-boggling demonic events that are "out of style" for discussion amongst the latest wave of 9-11 neophyte truth-seekers.

The reader can only leave this book with a completely new world-view, even if you already thought you had it all figured out. Even if you are not a Christian, this book will make believe in the supernatural, because only someone completely possessed could be responsible for the hell described in what I consider to be Hoffman's best work, "Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare" -the number one book on the Cryptocracy.

Because I study collegiate history and mystical orders, secret societies and such, I thought this book and "revisionist history" would be interesting. However, this book is poorly researched, and the terminology is inconsistent. Having previously studied many of the subjects and organizations mentioned in this book, it is easy for me to see that the author either only skims or deliberately obfuscates both the terms he uses and the connections he professes to exist between various organizations and agencies.

The author must have only skimmed the surface of the organization known as "The OTO," because he makes no differentiation between the legitimate, legally recognized OTO (see book: "The Equinox: The Review of Scientific Illuminism : The Official Organ of the O.T.O. Number 10") and the "Typhonian OTO" of Kenneth Grant. There are several supposed "OTO" organizations, several of which are very misleading.

The author of this book attempts to obfuscate the fact that he refers to several "OTO" organizations as one organization; this is absolutely false, therefore he either needs to do much more research or he is deliberately making stuff up.

I also found that his usage of the term "Twilight Language" makes no sense, because he obviously has not studied the various aspects of what he attributes this term to; in other words, he attempts to apply the term to several different incompatible scenarios. He stretches shaky concepts and fills empty research with gleaned fodder from conspiracy theories.

There is no question that he neglected to properly research the OTO, yet he does mention some interesting people who actually were connected with the legitimate OTO (such as John/Jack Parsons).

This entire book can only be taken with a grain of Salt, however it is interesting, and could be a decent book if it were properly researched instead of thrown-together in such a sloppy manner. The photo copies are so blurry that they add nothing of value to the book. Mimeograph copies would be easier to decipher--the pictures mostly look like ink blots.

Over all, this is a very poorly written book, minimally researched, and the photos are abysmal; however, those with more knowledge may be interested in acquiring this book as a good laugh, and a collector's item. The author's conclusions and theories are highly dubious, silly in many cases, but entertaining.

If you purchase the book as part of a Truth Quest, you will be highly disappointed, because it is mostly bunk; however, if you purchase the book as entertainment, and for the subcultural context, this can be a fun read.

The author cannot be taken seriously, yet the book could lead to personal research, by branching off his work, following names and organization names the author uses. The overall impression I had was that the author was trying too hard, and adding too many layers of justification for his theories (because they are weak); the more he adds on to the original premise, the shakier his foundation becomes. More than anything, however, he completely undercuts any validity by blatantly mixing up facts; this can easily be verified by doing a few Internet searches. He simply lumps various groups together as a whole, thus undermining his own attempts to convince the reader. Clearly defined organizations are thrown into a blender by the author, thus resulting in mush and nonsense. Also, a trend that I am seeing in this genre is that authors will make a statement about Charles Manson, then tack-on a completely unconnected statement about the OTO, in order to trick Lazy readers into thinking the two statements are connected. This is an old trick, and follows the tradition of using outdated (proven false) nonsense such as The Leo Taxil Hoax which permeates Anti-Mason and Anti-Occult writings.

Much like authors who attempt to use false premises such as the Baphomet Taxil Hoax to promote Anti-Masonry and Anti-Occult rhetoric, this author uses false techniques to attempt to trick the reader into mentally connecting two independent statements about different groups into one visually constructed (misleading and false) statement, through word construction tricks.

This is a light read to be taken lightly, and with a grain of Salt.

Interesting book. As above, Vigoda got it right. Read this book on a dark windy night and wonder what tomorrow brings.

The other reviewers pretty much summed it up already: This book is THE classic. Read in combination with the other classics: Rule By Secrecy by Jim Marrs, Behold a Pale Horse by William Cooper, The Carnivals of Life and Death by James Shelby Downard, Programmed to Kill by David McGowan, Lucifer Dethroned by William Schnoebelen, etc. And find out, for one thing, what everyone is talking about, and also, who is controlling the world, how they operate, and how they communicate to people in the know that they are there operating. Hard to explan, go ahead and read to find out. Becoming fleunt in translating the cryptocracy's twilight language definetely adds another dimension to perspective, and to existence. If you think that Skull & Bones members like George Wanker Bush are good Christians simply because they said so in front of a Fix Noose Fox News camera, then maybe you should start thinking for yourself a bit. I thought the Bible said not to kill, let alone by the thousands of boatloads. Many people seem to think of the few elitists controlling and demolishing the rest of the world as saints, strange opinion on your part. How about you find out how they are nomadic pedophocratic satanists with no national obligations whatsoever? Pop yourself out of the matrix, through the rabbit hole, reclaim your own mind and keep in mind, billionaires with nothing but time on their hands communicate occassionally to us lowly commonfolk, albeit in a sick and psychotic way. Start here. For uninitiates and Inititates alike, the real deal, 10 stars.

Was so excited at the premise of this book, but could not stomach it after a couple of chapters (VERY rare for me). A pro-life, Christian agenda slithers beneath the surface. Very irresponsible, opinionated "journalism".

This is an excellent book for anyone working toward raising a child to be an effective, responsible person. Not only does it put manipulation into a cultural context, but it also speaks to the need to develop values and personal responsibility in children and adolescents. The authors do a great job of analyzing motives and weaknesses and they also offer practical advice on how to accomplish the goal of raising your children to be effective adults.

You can analyze and criticize this book but proof is in the pudding. I followed the principles taught in this book and with some follow through and commitment, it worked! This is not a light weight "how to" book. It is about principles, honesty and self responsibility and how to pass those values on to your child. The title of the book doesn't do it justice. As one of the previous reviewers suggested, it could be titled "Guide to Non-Manipulative Parenting".

A better title for this book might be "The Anxious, Overly Reactive and Overly Involved Parent: How to Regain Control of Yourself and Raise Resilient, Resourceful, and Independent Kids," but that title is probably even more off-putting than the real one. The advice and methods are straight forward, uncomplicated, and just common sense. Most of the best teachers and parents I know use something very like stop/pause/redirect to teach their students and children to manage themselves.

To those reviewers who complain that the book is padded with too many examples, I think most readers want examples in parenting books because they provide a framework for applying the parenting advice. The most difficult thing about stop/pause/redirect is that it requires time and patience, and the authors do caution parents not to try it unless they can commit themselves to making the time (and managing their own behavior well enough) to be consistent.

Where to begin?! My head is spinning with the amount of information and introspection this book provides. If you enjoy the payoffs of getting to the root of issues, this book is for you. The payoffs are sometimes right there and simple to achieve and some may require more persistence. If you prefer a life with little growth, confrontation and self awareness then keep watching tv, eating drive-thru fast food and most of all, forget this book.

Nothing worth while is ever easy, but the work done to get great results shows you that you're strong enough to stick it through. When you crack this book open, its a bit like opening Pandora's Box. You will find that each member of the family plays into the behavior we're trying to stop (avoid). If you can't take a bit of self-criticism, you'll miss valuable clues into the drama at hand. The book is not direct in the sense that it openly says 'parents are idiots and do everything wrong', but speaks to us in a gentler way by describing how our being manipulated serves something within ourselves as well.

So, as much as we would like to focus on the child (which this book does), we also need to run a parallel thought process on the hand -we- play.

There are 'assignments' provided which invite you to delve deeper and become better at identifying what you've just learned. It also provides clear information to resolving manipulation behavior and its fallout.

Its refreshing to read a book with such emphasis on self responsibility and integrity. I'm so happy I ordered this book, I think lessons learned will bleed over into other aspects of my life and allow me to improve at parenting and myself! Time to stand up and be the parents our children need us to be!

Another reviewer commented that this isn't for every kid because some kids aren't the same "The book does not addresss children who do not fit into the box". I think he's wrong- I have one of those impossible kids that tests EVERY thing you say and has skillfully found every weak point in our parenting styles and is so energetic that he doesn't stop ALL day long. The authors are dead-on- and the solution is easy but takes lots of consistent effort and time (and cooperative parents). This book has been an eye-opener for how much manipulation takes place on the part of us as parents and how my child learned to out-manipulate us to get out of doing things, for example: "I'm too scare to walk upstairs by myself to brush my teeth", etc. We basically train our kids to get what they want because we often are at a loss (and afraid/tired of dealing with their outbursts) of how to consistently set limits (do we send our kids to time-out, spank, or make reward charts, etc). These authors point out these are all methods of manipulation that just teach our kids to out-manipulate us, the behavior returning once the "reward/punishment" is gone. In three days I have been at "war" with my son- constantly on him to do what I ask- using the stop, pause, redirect method. By day 2 I asked him to please go upstairs and brush his teeth- inside I was weary and afraid he would say no- but you know what happened? He says, ok mommy- and walked right up the stairs without a word of how scared he is. My job was to acknowledge his accomplishment as if it was expected of him "good job, you did it"...
whewww, I am so happy to finally feel like I can do something about his behavior that has really affected the happiness of our family - and child!
good luck, and please try this out! I recommend this book because it works!

Just do qbank or qbook. Don't buy, don't borrow, don't waste your time.

Hopefully you have more time than that. I took my step 3 in 2005, used both NMS and Qbook for questions and review, given this edition of NMS was published in 2002 and Qbook 2004, and I was paranoid. But if I only had time for one question book, I'd prefer NMS, as Qbook tends to go into too much detail that I probably would not need to pass my exam, and NMS really did a very good job in the explanations.

Do you need Qbank? I didn't get it because, 1. it is very expensive; 2. it lacks the flexibility in studying as it requires you to sit in front of the computer; 3. it can be very tiring, as if I no longer feel bad enough that I had to dish out $600+ for the test and sit through 2 days of exam; 4. after step 1 and 2, I really do not need to familiarize myself any more with the computer interface (NMS also comes with a computer question format along with the hardcopy); 5. Qbank is pretty up to date if that's a concern. And I have always wondered if the questions overlapped between Qbook and Qbank. I wrote to Kaplan, they never wrote me back.

Now, hopefully NMS will come up with a newer edition soon, otherwise if you are taking your step 3 in 2006 or later, you may want to think twice. However, I will still give this a 4 star in 2005.

Regardless of what one prefers to believe, physicians tend to be, on average, of only slightly higher intelligence than the standard person. As such, most of their learning is obtained via the same methods as the general population: repetition and forced, timely recall. I invoke this bit of information in order to provide an appropriate frame for the flavor of my review.

"Review for Usmle Step 3" is essentially a question bank--and it is a colossal one at that, with 750 questions available spanning five examinations. The questions are of the "single best answer" variety, with a few negative (i.e., which of the following is NOT...) inquiries thrown in the selection. Following every examination, there is a question-review section, within which evidence is outlined for why one answer is right and the others are incorrect.

There is also a CD-ROM included with this book--encoded within it is a software program with which one may practice the same questions present in the book on their computer.

I found this book to be an excellent resource for self-assessment prior to sitting for the USMLE step 3. The five written tests were a great way for me to home in on my weak areas, as every question explanation includes a mini-legend which demarcates the question's medical discipline focus (i.e., OB/GYN, internal medicine, pediatrics, etc., or some combination).

This medical-discipline-area information enabled me to do some rough calculations as to my knowledge deficit in each area. Before I challenged the next practice exam, I would "bone up" in the discipline in which I calculated myself weakest. It was in this way that I was able to review weak areas systematically, instead to just "reading everything". There are several online question bank services which perform this same evaluation automatically, but none can claim that they provide this information for $40!

There are several caveats:

1. The book is somewhat dated.
2. Some questions drift from the case-format seen in a majority of USMLE Step 3 items.
3. There are too many questions per case (up to 5 or 6, while the USMLE contains a maximum of 2 or 3).
4. A few questions require remarkably specific knowledge regarding numerical parameters which designate disease (i.e., fasting glucose tolerance test disease cut-off values)--in modern exams, laboratory min-max tables eliminate nearly all "number-knowledge" requirements.
5. Presence of several "negative-answer" format questions (NOT, EXCEPT, etc.)

There is a CD-ROM included with the book. The CD-ROM is essentially a rehash of all questions covered in the book--if you really need your questions to be available to you at all times, then perhaps the CD-ROM will benefit you.

To the medical student/resident with a limited budget: great book for diagnosing your weak spots.
To the medical student/resident with an unlimited budget: subscribe to Qbank or another, equivalent, online question bank; by the way, the rest of us hate you. Kidding.
To all: this book alone is not enough; questions are important, but you need to create an "information scaffold" in your mind--pick up an adjunct review textbook as well.

Good luck on your exam.

I'll admit, I made a mistake. I decided to hold off taking Step 3 until two months before my pediatric residency was finished. Back then, it wasn't required to maintain your residency in this state. So you can imagine, after nearly 3 years of pediatric medicine, how far removed I was from a lot of adult medical issues. I used two books, this one and "Crush step 3." Both were definitely helpful, but I felt this one by far helped me the most. Sure the question formats are not exactly like the real test. But Q and A style studying tends to make me retain the information much better than just passive reading. The explanations are quite thorough and the difficulty of the questions were just about the same for the real test. NMS has always been good to me when taking the previous two steps of the USMLE, and they didn't let me down with step 3.

This question book is an okay review of subjects if you perfer a Q/A format way of learning. However, the question format and style of questions are not similar to the USMLE Step 3. There are few Negative questions (eg. all of the following except) in the USMLE Step 3 and at the most, there are 3 questions following a passage (In NMS, there can be up to 6-7 questions following a passage). I found the NMS review to be too detailed (like questions we see in Step 1 and 2- eg) indirect inguinal hernias are medial to what structure.....)
I found the Kaplan Q book the most similar to the style and content of USMLE Step 3 (However, the passages in Kaplan tend to be very long and detailed). A good review book is Crush Step 3 as well. Good Luck!

I'm a typical space nut, and to me, any space book is a good space book. I read this book all in one day and I was not disappointed. It gave me a lot of information about the Russian's race to the moon, and I learned stuff that I never knew before.
The part about Slayton in Russia is particularly funny. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this book for yourself. You won't be sorry!
The only disadvantage is that there are a lot of cuss words in it, which should have been censored out before the book was published. Oh well!

This book is really great. Read it!

I must agree somewhat with one of the early reviewers that essentially trashed this book...the only real value that I got was the detailed account of the Apollo 14 mission and , to a lesser degree, the Apollo-Soyuez mission in 1975. Shepard's "great friendship" with Deke Slayton that is gone into in almost sickening detail here is re-buked in "Deke!", a book written by Slayton alone and published at almost the same time! Even the video version (titled the same "Moonshot") is weak and you can definetly get better accounts of the program elsewhere.

This review is based on the original (1994) hardback edition. This book is much more than a history of the space program from about 1957 to 1975. It includes the inspirational determination for Shepard to fly again and for Slayton to fly even once. I had the pleasure of meeting Alan Shepard and getting his autograph on this book.

The book captures the intensity of the space race. When Shepard saw Sputnik 1 (or, more probably, the upper-level rocket stage also in orbit), he chagrined at the fact that it didn't have "Made in the USA" written on it. Later, the Soviets were sad that the men circling the moon on Christmas Eve 1968 didn't have Russian names.

Some seldom-discussed information is provided in this book. For instance, the US could have orbited a satellite over a year before Sputnik (p. 45). Were it not for an overcautious NASA, Shepard could have beat Gagarin into space by a month (p. 89, 91). The dog, Laika, is said to have lived for several days in space (p. 44). We now know that she died several hours after launch--from an overheated cabin.

The authors discuss the politics behind the space program. For instance, the grounding of Deke Slayton had been for political and not medical reasons, as there was no evidence that Deke's heart irregularity would interfere with space flight. Rather, the fear was that, were Slayton's flight to end in disaster for any reason, his heart condition would automatically be suspected, and those who cleared him for flight would face automatic recrimination. The authors also allege that politics was behind the choice of Houston as the site for the Space Center. Both astronauts also had to contend with politics in the wake of the Apollo 13 near-disaster, notably the call, by some politicians, to cancel all remaining Apollo moon flights. Shepard also realized that, were his Apollo 14 to fail to land on the moon, there most probably would be no further Apollo flights.

One is thrilled by Alan Shepard finding a surgical treatment for his Meniere's syndrome, and getting restored to flight status. Up to that time, he had considered himself an eagle whose wings had been clipped and who had been forced to be a turkey--in more ways than one.

Then, over ten years after his grounding, Deke Slayton got his chance...in a joint US-Soviet flight that would have been equally unimaginable at the time of his grounding.

I re-visited this book, which I read (and got autographed by Shepard) when it was new, after watching the great "From the Earth to the Moon" series again. The book has its four-star moments, but I settled for three.

The content is not particularly sophisticated, and to be honest, the competition among the Apollo books is strong. For example, books by Lovell and Cernan are both better than this one. Even so, it's worth reading by students of the space program for the additional perspective and occasion detail.

Perhaps a root problem is that the book is a mixture of autobiography and story of the space program, with the perspective of the two astronauts not given very often. When that happened effectively, the book was at its best. I liked stories such as NASA's attempt to keep secret who had gotten the first flight, Deke's grounding, Shepard's return to flight status, Apollo 14, and Deke's reaction to the Apollo 1 fire. There are several scenes like that, enough to make the book worthwhile.

In contrast, some other incidents had superfluous reference to the authors. I didn't really care that Deke and Al sort-of high-fived each other when Apollo 11 landed. Their thoughts on the end of the Apollo program or what the program really meant to them aren't really captured. Few insightful comments about the other astronauts were made (unlike Cernan's book). Many opportunities were lost.

The Apollo-Soyuz mission is presented as a relatively big deal, which it was to Deke, obviously. In reality, it was pretty meaningless, other than as an exercise in international cooperation.

Deke comes across pretty well in other books and in the "From the Earth to the Moon" series. His character shines at times here, too. Maybe some remarks by other people about Deke, besides from Shepard, would have helped convey that image. How did others feel about how Deke ran the astronaut office, which was his core contribution to the space program? You won't find that in this book.

The author clearly loves Star Wars (original trilogy). She saw it when she was 17 and explains some interesting Cosmos (Carl Sagan) type concepts related to Star Wars. e.g. could a planet have 2 visible suns (as Luke looks), is there enough moisture for condensers on a desert planet, why Ewoks seem unlikely to have evolved the fighting tools they use in ROTJ, etc. Also, several other PhD types give various input in the chapters - like saying "we all know there is no explosion noise in space, but it makes the Sci-Fi movie fun". So, this would be a 4 star book for the select audience that is science geeks like me, and loves the original trilogy films. The 5th (of 5) chapters gets weak and lowers this book a star for me. The author covers "The Force." In this chapter she brings up Remote Viewing, ESP, clairvoyance, etc. with quotes from non-credible scientific types like Dr. Utts. My issue is that the author is scientific and wise enough to know science from pseudoscience yet gives far more credibility to farce. Dr. Utts is referenced on 13 pages with gems like "although each ESP experiment may be flawed, since all show some effect, there MUST be some real phenomenom there." Really? Try to get a peer-reviewed journal article published under that guise Dr. Utts. Meanwhile, voices of sanity like James Randi (his Flim Flam book is excellent by the way) get referenced on merely 4 pages. I understand the author wants to give "A New Hope" that these sci-fi fantasies are possible, an "Undiscovered Country" (ooops, Star Trek ref), but this is irresponsible to present known frauds from the fringe with equal (or in this case greater) treatment. The last 20% of the book really turned me off and it is a shame, because the prior 4 chapters, although more scientific than some may like, appealed to me. Also, I did enjoy that the author clearly loves the Star Wars movies and books. The Phantom Menaces stuff is tacked on and other than the minor stuff about Jar Jar Binks eye placement and heat disapating ears, nothing to write hope about. However, I'm an original trilogy guy, and that is what this book dives into - so that is good too. I would hope a future edition would refute the pseudoscience about ESP and other stuff as fiction (as the author does do well with the Leia in the Box argument about quantum mechanics).

The book mainly deals at "how" some of the things (we all love) and see in the Star Wars films could be explained or achieved from a scientific perspective. Certain aspects and themes addressed in the book are interesting such as space travel, what would life in other planets look like, and gadgets such as lasers and lightsabers. The author however frequently gives oversimplified and "empty" solutions to these themes. Sometimes no solution at all. Probably because Star Wars is just that... a work of fiction and was not necessarily written to uphold any specific scientific laws. Other times the author gets a little bit too "technical" and scientific in her explanation which makes the reader get distracted (Unless you work for NASA or a fan of Stephen Hawkins). I do like her little humor bits and the allusions to IGMO (her Iguana pet)which she uses to illustrate certain points.
Overall I think maybe an interesting book to read for the Star Wars fan who are curious as to how science may one day "takes us" to a world (albeit far from the same) similar to what we see in Star Wars films.
May the force be with you.

I loved this book. Like all Star Wars books I read, I could barely put it down. The only reason it's not perfect is that the whole Star Wars series is very loosely based on science, so this book really has a very shaky fundamental basis. The fact that Jeanne Cavelos can write a great book around this weak foundation, though, is a testament to the skill with which the author writes.

What I loved about the Star Wars saga is the fact that travel
across the galaxy is as commonplace and taken for granted as
car and air travel is today. And I love the alien world our
heroes visit like the Fourth Moon of Yavin,the Moon of Endor,
Tatooine,Hoth,Bespin,Dagobah and Coruscant.

This book explores the possibility of rapid interstellar travel
and alien planets and extraterrestrial life and the even how to
build lightsabers and blasters with incredible detail. Cavelos

explains that such breaktroughs may or may not happen in a few
thousand years. Who knows what breaktroughs humanity will make?
We may not be at war with aliens or other civilizations and I
hope it won't happen. But I do hope that someday people will be
able to travel to other solar systems and galaxies as quickly
and easily as crossing our oceans. Cavelos gives interesting
detail on wormholes,warp drives,and even what it would be like
to travel at warp drive with the stars stretching into streaks
of light. That will be a very exciting time. I hope that galactic
travel and even intergalctic travel will be used for tourism as
well as exploration and colonization. People will travel to exotic planets and moons like Yavin 4,Endor,Hoth,Coruscant etc.
and even view our own galaxy from above as a glowing celestial
spiral. That would be a very exciting time!!Perhaps it
will happen in the next thousand years or so.

Quality entertainment is its' own reward, so in many ways the plausibility of the scenarios is not an overriding concern. However, there is a threshold of believability that cannot be crossed, for if it is, it can cease to be entertainment. The quality of the entertainment has a great deal to do with the location of the threshold, if the story is very good, the bar is higher, but for a mediocre story it can be much lower. In the Star Wars movies, the bar is generally considered pretty low, as most people who watch them are fairly uncritical of the scientific basis for the events. George Lucas was brilliant when he opened the series with the phrase, " A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." This is equivalent to the classic "Once upon a time" opening to fairy tales. By immediately giving the Star Wars events the status of a fairy tale, Lucas provides himself with a great deal of scientific poetic license in his Star Wars movies.
However, there are always people who examine the actions on the screen and consider the plausibility based on the current theories of science. In this book Cavelos critically examines the major events in the Star Wars series from the perspective of modern science. The opening chapter is a discussion of the major environments where the action takes place. It starts with the questions concerning how prevalent planets are in the universe. In this case, recent research indicates that there are an enormous number of planets, so the focus moves to planets that could support life, in particular, human life. Here, the odds drop substantially, as the range of temperature, gravity and atmosphere that humans can function in is in all cases very narrow. The existence of specific planets such as Tatooine with its' two suns, the moon "planets" of Endor and Yavin and the ice planet Hoth are all seriously examined. Given the constant number of new surprises that the study of planets in our solar system has provided, while unlikely, most of these environments cannot be ruled out.
Chapter two, which deals with the characteristics of alien life forms, was my favorite. Many of the main species, such as the Wookies, Hutts, Banthas, Jawas, and Ewoks are examined from a biological perspective. How their bodies are constructed and if they could function in their environment makes an interesting exercise in comparative biology. By examining Jar Jar Binks, one can reach many conclusions concerning how his species functions. This is a chapter that would make an excellent study topic in high school biology classes.
Chapters three and four deal with the technology, with chapter three devoted to the artificial intelligence (AI) of droids and four the technology of the spacecraft. Despite many problems in implementation, there appears to be no reason to doubt that droids with the capability of R2-D2 and C-3PO will eventually be constructed. However, the development of interstellar craft that travel through hyperspace will require substantial advancements in harnessing energy and the presence of scientific realities that we currently know nothing about.
The Force, that all-encompassing energy field, is the topic of the last chapter. It is also the most difficult to envision, although in many cases, it is just another name for God. The difference is of course that using the force would mean that an individual could channel the power of God for their own purposes, independent of the goodness rating of the action. Extra-sensory perception and the current "evidence" for it are also examined.
I am a devoted fan of Star Wars, and as I scientist I recognize when scientific laws are broken on the screen. Nevertheless, it was a very fun book to read, because there is scientific evidence that indicates that some of what happens in these movies could actually take place.

The rise of independent film in Hollywood is an event which boils down to the efforts of one man: John Cassavetes. ACCIDENTAL GENIUS: HOW JOHN CASSAVETES INVENTED THE AMERICAN INDEPENDENT FILM is thus a biography any film buff will want: it holds an essential key to understanding the foundations and evolution of independent film as a whole, revealing his life and work in context of the evolving Hollywood industry. Any film library needs this.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Not sure why I picked this book up. Knowing next to nothing about Cassavetes before attempting this book, I decided halfway through it, that I don't care who Cassevetes is. Not my cup of tea at all.

I just saw one of John Cassavetes' early films as a director, 1963's "A Child Is Waiting", which he apparently disowned once producer Stanley Kramer edited it to make the story of mentally disabled children in a state-run institution a more sentimental movie. Despite Cassavetes' misgivings about the finished product, what remains has some truly unexpected moments of emotional honesty. Author Marshall Fine, film and TV critic for Star Magazine, has written a thorough, sometimes effusive biography of the film auteur who died in 1989. Cassavetes is most definitely a worthy subject for a comprehensive book, as he was a groundbreaking filmmaker who made gritty, low-budget independent films well before Sundance.

His style was polarizing, but there is no getting around the fact that he dared to go to places other filmmakers feared, primarily the dark spaces where self-pity and hurtful actions were predominant. Even though his favorite director was ironically the supreme optimist Frank Capra, Cassavetes liked exposing the chaotic nature of life among the middle classes and refused to tie up loose ends for the sake of a happy ending. Fine does an illuminating job of showing the filmmaker's psyche at work and how he kept the focus constantly on the actors, especially as he created an intimate environment where spontaneity was encouraged and prized. Lacking the desire for a more formal process, Cassavetes employed a hand-held, semi-documentary style to elicit the naturalism he wanted to capture even when it meant constant script rewrites.

The author also explores the downside of the filmmaker's work techniques: his quick temper, his megalomania, his lack of savvy in dealing with studio bosses. More importantly, Fine takes us behind the scenes on each of Cassavetes' films beginning with 1959's jazz-infused "Shadows" of which he did two versions. From there, we see him at work on such acknowledged classics as "Faces" and "A Woman Under the Influence" all the way through the end of his life when he took over from Andrew Bergman on 1989's "Big Trouble" as he was dying of cirrhosis of the liver. Recollections are meticulously detailed but do not feel extraneous. It's a fascinating career well documented by Fine, though I wish he could have been more critical on the finished films and more interested in letting us know who is carrying on Cassavetes' legacy.

Biographer Marshall Fine (Harvey Keitel and The Life and Times of Sam Peckinpah) introduces us to John Cassavetes by describing a 1954 night on a deserted New York street when the actor frightened away four thugs by "pretending to be a madman having a full-blown psychotic episode."

From this incident we learn as many would later discover that Cassavetes was someone who enjoyed turning things around, he loved spontaneity. Later he would become known as a gifted actor, an innovative director, the man whom many consider to be the father of independent films.

Although she declined to be interviewed, responding as she always did that John did not want a biography, Cassavetes' widow, Gina Rowlands, did give Fine her approval and access to many of the actor's close friends and associates. Thus, we are rewarded with an intimate portrait of this enigmatic individual who so changed the way we view and think of movies today.

After success as a star in 1950s television, Cassavetes began his highly acclaimed motion work work and made his first film, Shadows (1959). It was while he was serving as director of an acting workshop that he came up with a blueprint for films other than the ones made inside the then accepted system. In order to do this he tackled subjects other film makers wouldn't touch - race relations in America, marital relationships.

Faces, which many consider to be one of his finest works, received three Academy Award nominations, one of which was for best screenplay by Cassavetes. Later, Woman Under The Influence garnered an Oscar nomination for Gina Rowlands as best actress in a leading role and Cassavetes was nominated Best Director. Those were not his only accolades - as an actor he won an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor for The Dirty Dozen.

Much of the richness in this extensive bio is found in the recollections of Cassavetes' close friends, such as Peter Falk and Ben Gazarra. Accidental Genius is a fascinating account of a dynamic and driven man who said, "It is not so important that people like your films. It's only important that you make something you like."

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

After years of either being forgotten by the genral public or written about in the most pretentious, yawn-inducing dirges, author Marshall Fine finally got it right in his bio of actor/director John Cassavetes. The author's style is accesible, his subject fascinating and the theme is undeniable. Cassavetes is to independent cinema what Elvis Presley was to Rock and Roll: Neither one invented their respected venues but they definitely created the way in which they are percieved today.
Not only does the author give the man his due, but the freshly recounted anecdotes of Cassavetes' cohorts certainly brings the man back to life. No, it's not like having him in the room with you -- it's more like being at the Irish wake in which friends recount with a glass held high what it was that made the man so great.
To the naysayers who have already written about this book, what did you guys read?? Fine does not state that Cassavetes 'created' independent American films but is the progenitor, as in laying down the groundwork that others have followed. Before Ruth Orkin and Morris Engels, there was also independent black filmmaker Oscar Michenaux and Kenneth Anger, and countless others but the original consistency of effort and undeniable style belonged to Cassavetes alone. All hail the Acciental Genuis!!
One quibble: Why no index? It makes looking up remebered moments MUCH eaiser to find.

My class uses it as the main textbook. Overall, it's a good book. A big chunk in each chapter discusses the contents of each book in the New Testament, which is NOT what we want. But it's worth reading.

Great overview of the New Testament. Gundry looks at many different issues and gives little tidbits that help in understanding the Bible.Survey of the New Testament, A (4th Edition)

I am using this book for a college course and I have found this book very interesting. I am not a big reader by any means. However, I have enjoyed reading this book and learning about the history behind the New Testament writers. It gives me a new perspective when I read my bible and a greater understanding of what's going on in within each of the books of the bible. This is a keeper for future reference and to use in my personal studies.

Very good presentation of various viewpoints. Pictorial and written illustrations are outstanding. Occasionally the author's personal viewpoint is presented as an undisputed fact.

I believe that Robert Gundry has written the best introduction to the New Testament for several reasons:

1. easy to read, but not lacking in content
2. not intimidating, yet still academic
3. wonderful pictures! :)

I read the 3rd edition when I was in college. However, I like the 4th edition much better. Compared to other surveys... this one is an over-all superb treatment of the New Testament. There are plenty of illustrations, maps, timelines, and charts. The fourth edition has updated bibliographies, maps, pictures, and pronuciations of important terms. This introduction will help the reader to enter into the context of the New Testament and will strengthen your knowledge of the situations and circumstances of the original biblical author.

I recommend this book to the common man on the street... as well as the student who is able to give his time and energy to the study of the wonderful world of the New Testament.

I also recommend reading:
Grasping God's Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible
Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul and His Letters
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Theology for the Community of God
The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?

I failed the csa on my first attempt. I took this exam easily. I took on 2001. I wanted to let those people (ECFMG) who think that it's "mainly an interpersonal skills test" know that that idea is complete? I was born and raised in Texas; I have absolutely no problem with communication skills or English. According to my score report I failed because of my patient note. So don't take this exam lightly because it's not worth failing. Then I put more attention to prepare for it....I been forced to buy a book!!!! Which book I say ??? I went to my local medical library and I found this book. Now I passed and I new where I failed on my first attempted. Yes, finally I pass and I am feel very happy, If you want pass the CSA exam my advice is take a look this book.

I recommend this book highly, specially if English is not your native language. This book will teach you how to make a medical note as you need in the CSA exam. Furthermore is a short a concise review.

I posted this message in other webs because I consider pertinent to do it and I like to share with everybody my happiness. I passed the CSA exam in my first attempt. English is my second language and I no had previous United States clinical experience. I am so happy with this book. I just get the results and I passed!!!!. I just read the NMS book. This book has an excellent coverage for the CSA. Many people think in the CSA exam as the USMLE boards and they try to memorize many things in mind. You need to have a different method for this certification test. The NMS gives you a good approach for the exam; there are many tips how to deal with the patients and it has a good review for patient maneuvering. Furthermore gives you many examples of how to compose medical notes as a real scenarios (this is specially helpful if English is not your mother tongue). I am so happy because I pass this expensive exam and I didn't expend extra money in one-day costly courses in Philadelphia. My advices are; get the NMS, study it with time (one month is enough), on the exam's day, relax, relax and relax !!! Do not attempt to approach the patient tying to complete a checklist or objectives, just do a clinical exam in realistic manner a focused but in the same time complete, for example; if you have a patient with impotence, talk with him, ask for medications, social factors à Etoh abuse?, etc, an do a quick general exam, examine his heart, lungs and abdomen. I had one case of tension headache, one of impotence, one stroke an so on. Many of the cases had been covered in this book some not. In summary perform a medical exam to all patients, even psych or other patients, do not perform a detailed extensive maneuvering, just one time if you consider pertinent, do not repeat painful maneuver, always explain the patient what are your tentative diagnosis and possible therapeutic / work up plan. Finally I can say that I am going to be ECFMG certified.

The book discusses everything that is needed when you are taking the CSA. It gives you pointers on communication skills, it teaches you how to do a systematic physical examination and how to write a clear, concise patient's note (the latter being the most important component of the exam). The discussions are very extensive and the author will clearly say the things needed and not needed for the CSA.
This book definitely helped me passed the CSA.

Though NMS publishes OK books for USMLE, this one just barely makes it. It does not have all the information one would need for CSA. Coverage is inconsistent, either some topics are covered elaboratley or just ignored. Though it says CSA book, wonder if author ever took CSA, as there are not many tips or information relevant to the exam. It is more like a physical examintion ( sketchy though ) book. Not tailored for CSA, not at all. It wont be enough to read this book only for CSA.