People Books

Jesse Stuart was a great author who lived an amazing life. His family was very poor, and though they loved the land they could never hold on to one piece of it. His parents had no book learning. Mr. Stuart went to incredible lengths to get a very extensive education but never lost his love of the beautiful farmland and wildland of the mountains. Once he had money, he set out to buy every piece of land his father had farmed. He stayed friends with the simple folks he knew when young. This book tells they story of both sides of the world he grew up in, the town, with its school and fancy people, and the hills with the plain folks he loved so much. In later life he travelled around the world telling others about the beautiful country and genuine people he grew up with and trying to fight poverty and ignorance. I am so glad "Hie to the Hunters" is still in print so young people will remember this amazing man and his world.

I read this book as a teen and have never forgotten it! It is probably the best book I have ever read and I recommend it highly to readers of all types of books. They won't be disappointed. However, they may cry! I know I did.

This is one of the most heart warming stories I have ever read. I am 64 years old and read this book when I was about 12 years old and it has stuck with me for many years. I am buying one for my Grand Children to read and hope they find the love, trust and beauty that I found in these pages.

I've read this book many times and it still brings Laughter and tears into my life. The witty "Sparkie" charactor is a Southern down to earth no nonsense fellow with a heart as big as Texas.Put yourself into this book once and take it for a spin.

I first read Hie to the Hunters as a young boy. I still read it every other year or so. This is a young person's book with many adult lessons. Sparkie is a 16 year-old, tobacco chewin', fox huntin', overgrown teenager from the hills of Kentucky. He rescues Did Hargis from two bullies who are using him for a punching bag, and takes him home to the hills. Did is a soft city-slicker kid who is the resident poster boy of the local school. When Did first meets Sparkie's father "Peg" and mother "Arn" he is amused at their homey mannerisms and country ways. But Did soon learns that all knowledge is not found in books. He learns from his new family more than he had ever learned from his own father who operates the local hardware store. He even learns to sleep in the barn's hay loft with a hound dog or two for a blanket. Sparkie and Did coon hunt, fox hunt, and run a trap-line together. At first Did is all thumbs, but he soon learns the tricks of being a mountain-man and fits right in.

Meanwhile, a feud is brewing between the fox-hunters and the tobacco-growers. The tobacco-growers blame the fox-hunters for letting their hounds run through their tobacco and so they set out poison in the tobacco fields. In retaliation, tobacco barns start going up in flames one by one. Also, Did's dad isn't too happy about his leaving home to live among these "backward hillbillies" and gets the sheriff and town locals after Sparkie's folks. Did wants to stay, and the result is a cornfield fight between the mountain people and the city people. The mountain folk are at the annual corn-shuckin' when trouble breaks out. Did has just found a red ear (and thereby earned a kiss from his girl) when his dad and half the town come over the hill. Corn-stalks, fists, and insults are flying all around that night, but the issue still isn't settled.

There's much more to read about in this warm, moving, fictional account of two boys from different worlds learning how to be men together. The language in the book reminds one of the movie Sergeant York. If this all sounds interesting, believe me, this book is fun, action-packed, and moving. I recommend it to anyone who longs for simpler days and true family values. Hie to the Hunters is a classic.

--Note: Update of earlier posting

Being a very experienced recruiter of IT and telco professionals myself, and also having written books on recruiting, I appreciate this book. There is not many books on this subject, and this along with Hodges: Technical Recruting must rank among the very best. Having said that I think the part on Internet sourcing, as well as online screening/testing, could have been much more comprehensive for a book published as late as 2004.

Finally, a book that is focused on hiring technical people. Great read, very informative.

If you want to increase your ability to attract and hire people who will help build the company while avoiding costly hiring mistakes, Johanna Rothman's book, Hiring the Best Knowledge Workers, Techies & Nerds, can help.

The book is full of detailed guidance on each step of the hiring process, from creating a hiring strategy to making the new hire's first day a great one. The book provides templates and examples to help determine the required and desirable skills for a job, identify elimination factors, and articulate interpersonal and cultural fit qualities necessary for success.

Assessing skills in an interview isn't sufficient; it's how people apply those skills and adapt to situations that determine success. So Johanna details how to use behavioral questions and auditions to gain a clear picture of how a person is likely to perform in your context.

Hiring the Best will help you fine-tune your hiring process, make the best use of your time, and increase your hiring success.

Even if you have a lot of experience with recruiting, selecting and hiring technical people or managers, this book can help. I recently needed to hire a new manager. I already knew that behavioral questions give the most insight into a candidate's experience and potential fit with the hiring organization. However, Johanna's extensive list of behavioral questions gave me a head start on writing an interview protocol that our panel of interviewers could use. I selected several questions from her lists that only needed slight modification to work for the position we wanted to fill. Not only did we get a great manager to hire, all of our candidates told us how much they enjoyed the interviews! Several said it was the best interview experience they'd ever had. Thanks, Johanna!

As other reviewers have pointed out, this book goes all the way from first defining the open position through to the new hire's first day on the job. It contains extremely detailed information on how to handle each step of complicated processes like sourcing, handing the interview day, and making a final hire/no hire decision. Admittedly, her approach is very similar to what I'm used to from Microsoft, so I may be a bit biased, but this resonated well with me and what I've seen succeed in my hiring experiences.

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who's new to the hiring process or who is finding they're not able to fill open positions as quickly as they'd like.

There were many funny stories in this book, (Sourdough and Burd being among my favorites,) but also some good heartwarming life lessons. Like the story about the lottery winner Emil and his principles, and the overall theme of the everyday ups and downs of life and family relationships. I really liked how the complexity of feelings for family was conveyed. Great read!

I picked this up on a whim in a used bookstore because I needed something to read while waiting for my son to finish with an appointment. What a find! Mr. McLean has a terrific eye and ear for wry observations and dialog, especially concerning kids and teenagers. And then there is his wit, sharpened by the fact that he laughs most readily, ultimately, at himself. I haven't laughed this hard since James Thurber, Garrison Keillor, and David Sedaris.

I picked this book out of a list given to me by my 12th grade english teacher. After searching everywhere i ordered it off amazon and am very pleased i did. it is an amazingly light, funny story about a 'stock' family that is a great summer read. i recommend it to both guys and girls, great book!

I can see why Stuart McLean is one of Canada's beloved storytellers through the warmth, humanity and humor of his stories. My favorite stories came early in the book, one of them being "Turkey" which starts off both the book and the Winter section. The description of the turkey before it was roasted had me and my husband howling with laughter. Another favorite is the one about the birthday party, especially the scene where Dave tries to frost the cake while it is still warm. My husband recently made the same mistake when he was frosting my birthday cake. I think there is enough depth to this collection of stories that most any one can come away with a favorite story or at least a favorite scene.

... a very ordinary family. Now, I don't mean ordinary in the boring sense of the term, quite the contrary. This is a collection of short stories spanning a year in the lives of a middle-class family. Everyone will be able to recognize themselves or others in these people to whom funny things tend to happen.

A quick read that will have you smiling (and giggling) on the bus.

You won't regret picking it up, and will look for McLean's other collections of stories about this wonderful family upon completing it.

Michele Serros successfully encapsulates the inner conflicts and frienship demands of adolescents with a dash of conflict and a Latinidad twist. Clever Spanish slang weaved in between teenage "hip" lingo makes for a fun read about how one girl, Evie, struggles with the pressures of high school. Her socio-economic status, surburan family lifestyle, and beachside residence illustrates a different Mexican-American youth than we are used to reading. It's refreshing! And necessary. The emphasis on Mexican culture underlying the message in this book clearly demonstrates Serros' ability to unite experiences. You will find many similarities to the characters in this book, regardless of where you're from or how long ago you were in high school. Satisfy your curiosity and buy this innovative and thoughtful novel. Read the book then buy it for your daughter, your niece and all of the Latina youth you know. They will thank you.

"Honey Blond Chica" is a very thoughtful and insightful book that succeeds in offering an honest portrayal of teen-age life, and doesn't talk down to the reader. The pressures of sex are discussed openly in a chapter that articulates the fears and anxieties, but also the potent cocktail of emotions, which make up teen-aged life. Young readers will enjoy this book whether they even know what a "chica" is or not, as the teen-age experience if fairly universal. However, young second and third generation Latino readers will find bits of life with which to relate that are sorely lacking in the literary field (especially young adult novels!). Michele Serros is an excellent writer and young readers will quickly consume this novel as they anticipate the second in the series which will soon be on shelves. Kudos to Serros for writing a novel for the young Latino audiences in America. Usually books are only written that shoot for extremely young audiences or older audiences, completely missing the untapped teen-aged Latin audience. Here's to hoping that this novel is the start of a trend of young adult Latino novels!

Ahhh, to be a teenager again; the friendships that can turn on a moment's notice, the puppy love, the parties, the self discovery... all universal themes but written about with a twist in Honey Blonde Chica. It's very refreshing to read a young adult novel where the main characters are Latino, yet the focus isn't on discrimination or financial hardships, but rather just being a teenager. Like another reviewer said, those books certainly are important and have their place, but Honey Blonde Chica is a nice change.

Michele Serros has always been my favorite writer, since I read her book How to be a Chicana Role Model. So it was natural for me to read her new book Honey Blonde Chica in less than a week just like I did with the other two. I love this story because anyone can relate to Evie(The main character) because I think that everyone has gone through that stage in your life where you want to be cool and fit in and sometimes you let peer pressure affect you. I love this book because it shows another perspective of Latinos, a different culture, a little bit mixed with living in the U.S. but staying true to yourself and your culture. The humor that Michele Serros uses is so cute because she speaks from a teenager point of view. I also wish I had this book when I was 16 to read and be guided by. I strongly recommend this book to everyone because it's a great book and you will have fun reading it.

Being that I'm a older hispanic girl, I really enjoyed this book! I would have liked to have this book as a teen.

The girls were true to form. About how they talk and treat friends. I thought this was just a good read. And am looking forward to the next book.

Author Shawn Kovacich has exploited an important niche in his "Achieving Kicking Excellence" series of martial arts instructional texts.

Shawn is quoted as saying "In an unarmed self-defense encounter, your kicking skills or lack thereof, can be the deciding factor between victory and defeat. In today's society, kicking is not only used more frequently, but it also ranks as perhaps the most versatile and underrated weapon that you have in your arsenal." I agree with him.

I found "Hook Kick" (volume 7 of 10 in the series) to be so highly detail oriented that it overcame any presupposition of dryness and boredom to which I initially attributed to it. In short, I was "hooked." Laid out in terms that the novice can easily follow and the practicing martial artist can incorporate into his or her regimen, Shawn starts out with the historical background of the Hook Kick and then introduces the reader to the physical and physiological body movements and mechanics associated with the kick.

Providing tips on conditioning and training, Shawn demonstrates foot movement by foot movement the Hook Kick's basic principles and then introduces the primary Turning Hook Kick to his audience and follows with eleven variations; (some of which I have never even heard of!).

Shawn demonstrates the principles of each kick with clear photographs that leave nothing to the imagination. Fortifying the text with chapters on "Warm Up and Stretching," "Training and Practice Methods," "Trouble Shooting Guide," and "Kicking Applications," to name a few, Shawn provides the reader with more than a full understanding of what could and mistakenly be known as a "simple kick."

Totally complete at 228 pages, and chocked with all sorts of valuable information from the "nuts and bolts" of technique description and demonstration to body dynamics, this is without a doubt the "gold standard" by which any examplar of martial arts kicking should be judged by.

This book can stand alone or be incorporated within the series. I rate it at five stars without hesitation or reservation. Well done!

I just finished reading Shawn Kovacich's book Hook Kick. I found it to be very complete and detailed, as were the other books that I have read in the Achieving Kicking Excellence series. I will not go into the front and back matter as I have already covered this material in my other reviews. Much of it repeats as things such as stretching, strength training, speed training, and the like apply to each of the different kicks equally. These specific parts of your training are covered in detail and are a very useful part of this book.

I have never really been to interested in the hook kick to be honest. I have always preferred to stick with basic kicks, but this book kind of changed my perspective on the hook kick, showing how and why is can be effective. I truly believe that Kovacich is one of the premiere kicking experts and that you should definitely take advantage of his expertise that he shares throughout his books.

I found that I especially liked the "notes" which are found throughout the book. Shawn's notes are filled with useful and interesting information. Both the kicking applications and the trouble shooting guide were also excellent. I find it refreshing for a martial arts author to be willing to show photos of himself making mistakes in order to point out what you should not do, instead of just showing you how your kick should look. I personally find this teaching technique, which is found throughout the series, very helpful.

Obviously Shawn Kovacich knows what he is talking about when it comes to the art of kicking. I highly recommend this book, as well as the rest of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series, to any martial artist, beginner or experienced, who is interested in improving his or her kicking skills. This book is technically complete and well written, and is a great addition to any martial arts library. My copy is now highlighted, pointing out tips and information that I want to go back and quickly reference. If you are looking for a great book to improve your front kick, this is it!

Dr. Bohdi Sanders, author of Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior

Like all the titles in Shawn Kovacich's Achieving Kicking Excellence series, book 7 Hook Kick is a comprehensive study of one of the important kicks used in modern martial arts today. The book is incredibly thorough with numerous photos demonstrating the every aspect of the kick in minute detail. Mr. Kovacich knows his stuff and it is obvious that he has spent many hours honing his technique. The book provides an in-depth study of the bones, muscles and mechanics involved in the kicking technique.

In addition, the book contains a wealth of supplemental information on strength, speed and power generating exercises to enhance the technique. There is also a section on stretching as well as the application of the technique.

This book is ideal for any martial artist who wishes to perfect their hook kicking ability. The beginner will find a wealth of information to assist in developing proper mechanics while the advanced practitioner will glean some vital knowledge from an accomplished teacher.

Be sure to check out the other books in this series. You are sure to find one that addresses the specific kick that you need work on.

Aaron Hoopes
author of Zen Yoga: A Path to Enlightenment through Breathing, Movement and Meditation

This is Volume Seven of ten books devoted to mastering kicks. Shawn Kovacich devotes this book to the Hook Kick. This review examines Shawn's book from a practical stand point--how well does this book enable me to learn the hook kick?
I'm 50, 6'3" tall and 220 pounds, but I'm not an athlete--just healthy. I cannot perform the back kick higher than my own waist right now--I'll need to improve my flexibility. It isn't too much of a handicap for self defense--or active military service--but for those of you involved in karate matches, you need the high kicks for the match-winning points.
So, what is a hook kick and why would I use it? Shawn writes that the hook kick is like a boxer's hook punch--and should be used only after your opponent has been "set up" by another technique.. The striking surface is the back center of the heel and the head is the target. The hook kick was difficult for me to perform but the arc of the kick is deceptive and may confuse your opponent. Getting inside another's Observe, Orient, Decide and Act loop can win a match for you--or allow you to seize and keep the initiative in a fight. Shawn demonstrates using a chair for training--for me, that chair was a must! I need considerable more training before my hook kick will be effective.
I have training prejudices: I like to employ mirrors, a video camera or two, a minimum of one sparring partner, and at least one referee when I train. Multiple sparring partners are to keep me from getting stuck kicking at the same height each time, and because in the real world, my problems usually come in bunches. Often, I must train alone or not train at all, so I have to limit my training intensity for safety. A second set of eyes can help spot flaws--and prevent injuries. It is very hard to dial 911 when one's back is thrown out. These kicking techniques can injure the practitioner if done incorrectly. I like both mirrors and video because when I initially practice, I can watch myself in the mirror. For realistic practice, I need to concentrate on technique and the target instead of watching my own reflection--instant video playback aids me in spotting what happened. I can even figure out if my kick was in the right place or not! Shawn wrote about the "crawl, walk, and run" phases of training and the basic and advanced kicking techniques are covered in detail. Exact detail. Train at your own risk. I perform a risk reduction prior to training--assess the risk level and employ risk reduction techniques to make training safe. Remember that training is synthetic reality, intended to be less expensive than gaining real-world experience.
I think that "Achieving Kicking Excellence: Hook Kick" is well organized. There are ten chapters. The introduction defines the kick and advises how to use the book. Chapter One is kick anatomy: bones and muscles. Chapter Two recommends warm up and stretching exercises. Chapter Three is Basic Principles: striking surface, target areas, and 11 other key points. Clear graphics left me with little doubt about what part of the foot to apply and where to hit my opponent. Chapter Four covered the primary kick technique. Again, the graphics are very clear. They include "dance step diagrams" showing where the feet go--footwork is critical to effective kicking. The photos have numbered labels stressing correct positioning of each part of the body. Chapter Five is variations of the primary technique. Chapter Six covers training and practice techniques to achieve skill, strength, speed, and power. Chapter Seven is a trouble-shooting guide. Chapter Eight is applications: how to use this in competition or combat. Chapter Nine is Shawn's awards and accomplishments. Chapter Ten previews the next volume in the series. There are a table of contents, a recommended reading list, and an index.
This is an excellent study guide. I can train some now, on my own, and when I find training partners (sparring partners and a referee) I might even get proficient!

Achieving Kicking Excellence

If you are a novice martial artist, a kick-box exercise video nut, or someone who wants to advance their knowledge of martial art kicks, this book looks as if it would be very helpful.

The series of books is organized by type of kick: back, wheel, axe, crescent, reverse crescent, front, hook, hatchet, roundhouse, side kick. Ten books in all.

The volumes are absolutely loaded with pictures of not only kick technique but also of helpful strength-with-weight exercises, especially gym exercises with machines like the hack squat and leg press sled and of course the all-important lunge. So you get not only a discussion of how-to, but of what exercises can improve overall performance by gaining muscle strength. There are pictures with overlays of angles and axes, giving you an idea of proper form, though there is no substitute for a sensei giving you real-time feedback, of course. So these books are a good adjunct to martial arts class in the dojo; something to read and then take to practice and work on with real-time help.

There is a section on sparring--right and wrong. There is a suggested reading list in the back. A very complete series.

The only thing these volumes suffer from is slightly dark and low contrast black and white photograph reproduction due to pictures being on paper stock and not glazed plate stock, in order to keep costs reasonable for publishing. And the cover photo is wonderful but the graphic design (showing the title being shattered by the someone doing the title kick) was a GREAT concept but you can't read the title on the front cover (because it's being kicked to bits!) This is annoying; you have to read the spine to see which kick the book is about. If this bugs you, it's easily fixed: get some stickers or a Sharpie and mark the front cover with something like SIDE KICK VOL 10 or whatever works for you.

Author Kovacich is a black belt in both Karate and Tae Kwon Do (which of course is one of the martial arts for which the kick is the premier technique.)

There are a number of books out there for patients and families, and this is one of the best--required reading. Attitude is everything in this disorder, and Hope gives people the keys to a healthy one.

Phil Ballard MD

This book came out four or five years ago. It's gone through one revision, and I continue to give it out to friends.

Originally I read this as a person related to someone with Parkinsons - it had helped my mother deal with the challenge. But I heard from others that it was simply inspirational for anyone dealing with a long term health challenge.

I've bought this book 11 times now to give to people who need some light. And I hear time and again that that's happened - and that they get it for others.

Newsom is a real inspiration.

When I was put into the position of having to learn about Parkinson's disease, the first book I read was Hal Newsom's "HOPE". It is a fast read and easily understood. I learned a lot about PD and how attitude, exercise, drugs and nutrition are so important. A few months later I re-read "HOPE". What struck me the second time around was that the book improved with the second reading. Anyone who has PD should read this book. And, anyone who cares about or cares for someone with PD should also read it. It's one way to learn what goes on emotionally and spiritually with a PD patient, in addition to physically.

Absolutely the finest tool yet to give one the incentive to get up, get out and get busy. First rate.

This is a book that offers very PRACTICAL suggestions (because they are tried and true) ways to approach life at a time and in a circumstance when you might want to give up. It is POSITIVE without overlooking the problems and hurdles to overcome. It is PERSONAL as it depicts the adventures of a very talented and vital personality coping with a life of change and uncertainty.

Whether you have Parkinson's or not, whether you are a caregiver or not - this book will inspire you to approach life with a positive attitude and a practical application.

This is an outstandingly readable book despite its sometimes dark and gruesome accounts of things gone badly awry. Dr. Blanc is capable of causing delight even with material that might not be very promising in someone else's hands. He seems to have taken into account Samuel Johnson's adage that "what is read with delight is commonly retained, because pleasure always secures attention."

This might have been an angry and difficult book to read with the horrors it recounts, but the approach reminded me of Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" since the focus is widened from medicine and includes medical and chemical history, biography, along with references to arts and literature. Dr. Blanc's knowledge is clearly wide-ranging.

Dr. Blanc frames economic and political problems in a long historical view that makes it obvious that the problems are not new and our society is not much more wise than it has been in the past. The same problems keep happening over and over (literally, the same problems with some of the same substances that have been known to be poisonous since antiquity). Adding to that, new, untested items, some very likely to cause harm, come on the market with little consideration. We should be asking ourselves how it feels to be human guinea pigs.

Any thoughtful reader of the book will be lead to the question: When do we demand something better from the incompetent leaders who say, "Trust us, we know what's best for you" while they give in to economic pressures? When do we tell the people more interested in the bottom line than the value of human life to shove it?

Dr. Blanc presents a detailed and complex story that is well researched and fascinating. He appreciates the details, the personalities, and the discoveries even when telling a story that is a train wreck in slow motion.

Despite the implications from the jacket blurb, this is NOT a book that catalogs all the dangers around the average person. Dr. Blanc mostly limits the number of specific toxins he presents and gives fairly in-depth and interesting discussion of them.

Kudos on a book that is well written, fun to read (!), and insightful.

I admit that I bought this book for its title while in the midst of a book buying frenzy, thinking that it would be a run-of-the-mill, toxins in the home primer of sorts. I spent the first 20 or 30 pages thinking, "This book is not at all what I thought it would be. Why does it have this misleading title? Why did it have that misleading product description?" Even the reviewer's quote on the book cover is misleading: "A superb tool for making our homes, finally, a safe place to raise children." As another Amazon reviewer pointed out, this is just colossally crappy marketing.

When I got past the slight disappointment of owning a very different book than I thought I had purchased, I realized, as other reviewers have, that this book is an incredibly well-researched and well-written history of modern chemical development and its consequences. I couldn't put it down. I would recommend this book to anyone who is not only interested in how chemicals in our environment can make us sick, but also in how some of those chemicals came about and how they ended up in our households despite the fact that they are well-known toxins. Read this book along with Not Just A Pretty Face, In Defense of Food, Exposed, The Secret History of the War on Cancer, The Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, etc., to usher in full-blown outrage at the fact that our government doesn't do more to regulate the poisons that corporations are happy to pump into us on a daily basis.

Excellent history of how products are made and their affect on the workers that made them. Provides insight into what motivates the production of a product and illustrates how we arrived at a world surrounded by an unhealthy enviroment. Definitely worth reading.

If you are looking for how everyday products make people sick (toxins at home and in the workplace) try a book like What's Toxic, What's Not by Ginsberg & Toal, which does a fine job of covering this topic in a style that makes it easy to find just the toxins or areas of exposure that concern you.

If you are interested in the fascinating history of toxins in the workplace, this is your book. In engaging and clever narrative, Blanc tells the stories of toxins that sicken people, the often slow process of uncovering the source of illness, the eventual phasing out of the product (often because another product rendered it obsolete, not due to health concern), and the frequent return of the underlying toxin in a new product.

Blanc brings history alive with stories of individuals exposed to invisible threats. His narrative is supported by scientific analysis, providing a reassuring direction and momentum to a disturbing, sometimes frustrating, topic.


I am the Director of Education for the Foresight Nanotech Institute and the author of Technology Challenged: Understanding Our Creations & Choosing Our Future.

I bought and read this book together with Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power and I recommend both of them. This one is written from an occupational health perspective, and provides superb history on "the industrial disease" while "Exposed" is more from a public policy perspective.

The author mentions, and I plan to sign up for if I can, the Center for Disease Control (CDC)"Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report."

The author who started out focusing on workplace toxicity, also covers household toxicity, most alarming of which was paint emitting toxic vapors.

The author laments the manner in which the government, think tanks, and corporations are all doing a slow roll on toxicity, ignoring it, covering it up, or delaying action on it. The The Precautionary Principle in the 20th Century: Late Lessons from Early Warnings is nowhere to be found, in part because of The Republican War on Science.

Among the threats covered:

· Acids
· Arsenic
· Asbestor
· Chlorine
· Dyes
· Fibers (Asthma)
· Fumes from Metal (Lung collapse)
· Glue
· Lead
· Manganese
· Oil
· Plastics (Liver Cancer)
· Solvents (Benzine)
· Toxic Gases

The author is authoritative and not at all over-bearing in laying out the case against an ignorances of toxicity that is assuredly not in the public interest. He addresses neurological impacts as the most subtle and most frightening and most cummulative in nature.

His bottom line is that the pharmaceutical, industrial materials, and household goods industries are not doing enough testing and not getting enogh oversight. From this book one can easily see the varied government agencies nominally responsible for public health being phased out as was the Office of Technology Assessment.

The author notes that emerging toxins are of real concern, but that dollars and attention are being consumed by SARS, West Nile, and other biological threats (diseases are coming together and mutating in animal hosts, then jumping to human hosts, and becoming drug resistant more quickly).

Microwave popcorn lung caught my attention. As convenient as it is to use, the microwave evidently enhances toxicity of some substances, and we literally have no menu to follow in avoiding this.

My one disappointment is the lack of a table of toxic products, a lack of dollar figures, mortality and disability figures. I believe that a second edition of this book could be much improved, and as one reviewer notes, the rich history in the book given a higher profile.

The notes and index are superb and the book overall is of sufficient value to the public to warrant five stars. This is an important work.

See also:
Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy
High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health
Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health
Manufacture of Evil: Ethics, Evolution, and the Industrial System
Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin
An Enormous Crime: The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Southeast Asia
Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq

The federal government, at the political level in both Congress and the Executive, cannot be trusted to act in the public interest. Wall Street is beginning to realize that that the "true cost" of corrupting the government has been the hollowing out of America's population, and in my view, it will be the fund managers at Wall Street who must recognize the value of public health, just as the rich in NYC realized in the 1920's that disease is indiscriminate.

Excellent book.

Recently a juror on a drug possession and distribution case, the author feels that she and her fellow jurors were duped into recommending an unusually harsh punishment. In her essay,"How Ordinary People Can Perform Unthinkable Acts", Evans sets out to understand how she could have so willingly relinquished her own ability to reason and blindly follow the advice of the district attorney.

Evans begins her analysis by discussing the experiments first conducted at Yale between 1961 and 1962 and related by Stanley Milgram in his book, "Obedience to Authority". In these experiments ordinary people, following the orders of a scientist, were willing to give increasing jolts of electricity to a subject despite that person's obvious pain and discomfort.

After explaining the experiment in detail and its conclusions on authority and obedience, the author segues into a comparison between these experiments and the court case she participated in. The essay then develops into a thoughtful discussion of the influence people in authority have over us.

This was an extremely well written and thought provoking essay. It left me wondering what I would have done in the same situation.

When I was 13, my grandfather was murdered. Sadly, this incident tore our already fractured family asunder. It seems likely that someone I know and love killed someone that knew and loved. It's a thought that chills my heart even today, some 47 years later.

Even more frightening for me, someone that I know for sure was innocent was charged,tried and convicted twice. The Supreme Court overturned both of those convictions. The judge presiding over the third trial ordered a change of venue and an impartial jury freed my step-uncle. I shuddered to think what would have happened if he'd been executed.

What makes this part of the story so hard for me to handle is that everyone in my family rabidly pursued my uncle's conviction. They were searching for justice of course -- and they believed the ugly accusation and reacted with anger and frustration the day that he was finally found 'not guilty.'

It's only human to want guilty people to be punished for their wrongs. When I'm all alone in the dark, I still feel the rage ...it's different when someone dies of disease or as a result of an accident. With murder, you have to face the fact that someone wanted your loved one dead.

Allyn Evans' essay brought all of these troubling thoughts back into my mind. How does one REALLY know what is right? None of our decisions are made with complete information. History is perspective -- not necessarily fact. Each time we judge one another, we chance creating injustice. As Allyn notes, so often we respond to the emotions of others, authority -- even our own ideas of moral superiority.

With this in mind, it seems to me that only the brave and the blind step up to shoulder this important responsibility in our society. Those who are so sure of everything that they are so sure of lead charmed lives. I long for that certainty sometimes. For the rest of us, we can only soldier on, doing the best we can with the available information -- and live with the knowlege that even the best intentioned person often makes grievous mistakes.

This is a thoughtful analysis of what it means to be aware of our own human weaknessses. Good job, Allyn!

Joyce Faulkner
[...]

America's second President, John Adams, said in 1771: "It is not only [the juror's] right, but his duty...to find the verdict according to his own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court."

"The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him."

Thus, under the Nuremberg Principles, "defense of superior orders" is not a defense for crimes, although it might influence a sentencing authority to lessen the penalty.

It was popular in the 60s. But we need to breathe life into it again.

Allyn Evans has brought to the fore a very real dilemma which changed her life - a true courtroom drama. This situation could touch everyone caught in the web of a judicial system that unfortunately (in my opinion) is fraught with corruption, manipulation of jurors, and greed.

The word "attorney" loosely translated from the French, means "word turner".

Juries are never "fully informed". If jurors truly knew their obligations, through "the fully informed jury rules" for which there is an available booklet, they would know they have the right to override judicial decisions. This is a very crucial piece of information that American juries are denied in probably every court in the land (http://www.fija.org/). It is a case of not knowing your rights and being told what your rights are and following orders, and because the author wasn't fully informed, she has agonized over the verdict to which she contributed, knowing it was wrong.

It is not her fault. Well researched, in clear and concise prose, this is a must read for every American who is asked to participate in a jury.

In a court in my county, a man carried a copy of the Constitution with him to jury duty. The jurors were pressing for a unanimous guilty verdict in the case of a young man who was pulled over for erratic driving; denied a requested blood test. The breathalizer was not working, and as I recall, he spent the night in jail.

This man argued with his fellow jurors because it was nearly midday and they wanted to settle this before they left for lunch. The man felt strongly that it was a case of reasonable doubt, since the defendant was sober, but very tired, having worked all day and was a designated driver for a friend that night.

Knowing about the fully informed jury rules, he pulled out the Constitution in front of the judge and opposing attorneys and there was a mistrial. The judge ordered the copy of the Constitution confiscated, and for the record, called it "seditious" from the bench. The judge also told the man never to come back to his courtroom or he would hold him in contempt. This is a true story.

I understand how Evans must feel. My anger still boils over at the injustice in my county courtroom as it does here in the retelling of her story. You see, even you, a "good guy" could be on the receiving end of a manipulated trial.

Always know your rights because if you don't, you have none. Then, armed with knowledge, use your moral compass with confidence. Never follow orders without questioning.

I am so pleased to review this very important piece of writing.

Reviewed by May Lattanzio - Amazon Shorts Author of "Paradise" and "The Last Striper".

Evans' simple and compelling essay speaks directly to why I had become a psychology major years ago and then a playwright and fiction writer. We human beings, good at heart, do terrible things. I first realized this most profoundly when learning about psychologist Stanley Milgram's experiment on obedience. Ordinary citizens administered increasingly severe electrical shocks to a stranger in the name of "learning." Nazi Germany was not an aberration because it could happen here. People cede control of their actions to higher authorities--it's just human nature.

Evans writes of being on a jury and meting out a harsh sentence because she listened to authority--and that listening later disturbed her. May you, too, question your actions. Our society depends on voices such as Evans'.

Since I, too, am from Portland, OR, I enjoyed this story even more, and I loved the illustrations.

In January I had the wonderful experience of living with a family in a village about one hour south of Bamako, Mali. When I returned I happened to see this book featured on Reading Rainbow and knew I needed to have it. It totally captures the feel of life in a family compound - how you are greeted by everyone, meal time, brushing teeth, time together in the evening, and the beautiful clothing that the women wore. And of course the charming story of what happens when a child loses a tooth in Mali is great - and true. If you have been to Mali you will love it because it captures the spirit of Mali, and if you haven't it will give you a glimpse of live in Mali.

I highly recommend this book for K-2 grades, because they are losing all their baby teeth during that time. I really enjoyed watching my students of all cultural backgrounds relate to the African/African-American girl in this story. The pictures are also wonderfully vibrant!
I'm an Elementary Art teacher, and I read this book to my 1st graders during an African art and culture unit. It helped them to imagine that they were traveling to Africa just as the little girl in the story does. It is also a great introduction about how different cultures do things in different ways! In this story, the tooth fairy brings a chicken instead of money!
My students also really appreciated that this book was originally written by an 8 year old girl, and later illustrated by her Dad. There is a picture of them in the back of the book, and my kids loved seeing the faces responsible for writing and illustrating the book!

The book challenges children to consider that losing teeth occurs in the life of all children around the world, but moves them beyond the notion of the "Tooth Fairy" practices of western culture. The story is the account of one little girl who travels to visit her extended family in Africa and loses her tooth while there. Her grandmother models the family's practice of putting a lost tooth under a gourd. Instead of coins, she finds her tooth is replaced with a hen and rooster, which proves to be eventful throughout her time in Africa.

I Lost My Tooth in Africa, is a charming story of a young girl from Portland, Oregon who visits her family in Mali, Africa. There, she loses her loose tooth and receives a special present from the "African tooth fairy." The text paints a vivid description of not only the way things look in Mali, but also of the way people live there. The story, which includes some words in Bambara, the native language of that region, is rich with African culture. At the back of the book is a glossary of Bambara words, as well as the words to an African Goodnight Song, and a recipe for African Onion Sauce.

The text is beautifully complimented by ceramic-tile illustrations done by award-winning artist Baba Wague Diakite, who happens to be the fourteen-year-old author's father. Reading the book, I would have never guessed that the author was a teenager. She did a very fine job. I hope that we will be seeing more stories by this truly talented duo.

I Lost My Tooth in Africa is an excellent way to introduce children, ages 4-8, to African culture. My five-year-old daughter enjoyed the book. I think other kids will enjoy it too.

It's been over 10 years now but I still remember passages of this book and how it helped me get a grip on my pride and need for control. It confronts so much more than the obvious - even meddling in why I feel uncomfortable in social situations. This book should be reprinted and revisted every 10 years or so because it should be right next to the bible for anyone who even THINKS that they just "like things a certain way." :)

I believe those "imperative people" described in this book simply have Asperges Syndrome. I met this book several years ago and found that the description of people here applied to some people I knew. However, as I came to know Aspergers Syndrome, my view has changed. The book is still informative in many aspects. But I advise readers also read books on Aspergers Syndrome.

A friend gave me the book to read a few years ago. It was great! It helped me to see the controlling part of my personality. I didn't know how damaging it was to me and others. Now, I need to share it with others who are struggling with the same issues, but I can't find a copy. Please let me know where I can find this book.

I have used this book with many clients and their families. It is a great resource tool in understanding controlling personalities. However, I loaned by book to a client and never got it back. Does any one know where i can obtain another? chastainjb@aol.com.

I learned from this book how one of my greatest strengths in controlling circumstances at work created problems with relationships with those i loved the most when i used those same techniques at home. i also learned ways to change my behavior for the better which has made life at home much more harmonious for all. i have loaned this book to so many others that have found it extremely helpful that my copy is now dog-eared. Please let me know if anyone has info on how to purchase additional copies, since i would like to have them available to give to others. badges@gate.net.