R Books

Gothica. Cyber or reality? Maybe both. Gothica, a place where dreams were borned.. And some destroyed. A game or the written reality of people? Who knows, but for Vampyra and Timetravellar, two tormented souls, they were once again face to face or should I say, screen to screen?

Gothica. A dark tale about love and hope. Follow Calvin McLeish as he tell a tale that's not his own but a tale he remember living in a distant past. Come meet Vampyra who after centuries of loneliness still seek the only one who have conquered her heart and soul.

Gothica. A different vampire story for those who enjoy a dark tale. A story that is not afraid of words, be warned that the "cyber-sex" is explicit.

Internet vampires toying with life, love, and death. I was captured on the first page and willingly held prisoner the entire novel. Truly an original.

Calvin McLeish's life was spiraling down hill at an alarming rate. His wife had left him, he was jobless, and had only a new computer to keep him company. He soon learned all about chat rooms. His favorite was known as Gothica. Calvin called himself Timetravellar. Whenever he got online with Vampyra he could not seem to control himself. It was not long before Calvin realized that Timetravellar was as real as himself. In fact, Travellar was himself. An alter.

Vampyra was one of the few real vamps still left in the world. She had her own tormenters though, other than the normal cops who constantly searched for the street killer. The Dark Huntress needed her own champion and she hoped it was the one called Timetravellar.

Here, in cyber space, reality and fantasy collide. A final fight between the noble house of MacTavish and a cruel Marquis, will begin...and end!

*** Excellent dark fantasy that will be read and reread often by its readers. Be forewarned of a lot of cyber-sex that goes into detail though. Full of nosy neighbors, lusty online friends, and an interesting new look at the undead! Very good story here! ***

I am not usually a fan of books about vampires. I have seen recent movies with vampires as their subject matter, and was not impressed. This book, however, took me by surprise.

Mr. Cowan has captured the sadness that must exist for the mythical vampire. The loneliness of eternal life, and a life without permanent love. The sadness of taking a life to feed their blood thirst, and the sexual satisfaction of creating a lover.

He also brings to light some brilliant images of fairies and sprites. Those mythical creatures that we would all like to believe in, but few do.

The plot seems predictable at first, but there are several twists that get your attention, and make this book worth reading and re-reading. He also leaves this book open for a sequel. I would be first in line to buy a sequel when and if he writes it.

I would recommend this book for anyone above the age of 12. I have a nine year old son, and I read some passages of the book to him, and he seemed entertained by it. I even recommend this to people who are afraid of, or have nightmares about vampires, because this book does much to show the inner workings of a vampires mind. It is not all death and destruction.

Keep Gothica - Romance of the Immortals in your mind when you are looking for great entertaining reading.

After the first chapter, I was interested. After the third chapter, I could not put the book down.

This is the autobiography of John Bunyon and his life. It is about his life before and after Christ and the grace of God upon his life. John wrote this classic while in prison. He went to prison for preaching the gospel.

I've been looking forward to reading this book for years ever since I read Bunyan's classis Pilgrim's Progress, I've wanted to read Grace Abounding to learn more about his incredible man of faith. I also recently read The Hidden Smile of God by John Piper who introduces the reader to three incredible men of God including Bunyan. So actually reading the journey of Bunyan himself in his own words was thrilled...but difficult at the same time. Bunyan struggled greatly with the concept of grace; he wrestled with understanding how God's grace could be sufficient to save a sinner as great as he. Grace Abounding is a peering into the soul of Bunyan as he goes through this deep personal battle wanting to believe that God was able to cleanse him of all unrighteousness, but constantly confronted with the holiness of the divine.

Just over half way through the book, Bunyan surrenders to the will of God in his life. He finally and fully grasp that the grace of God was truly sufficient. Then his heart is set aflame to share this grace with others and he becomes one of the great preachers and writers of all time, even though he goes on to spend a dozen years confined to prison for preaching contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Personally, it was interesting to see the cultural battle Bunyan faced at the time looking back from my vantage 500 years later to see that America is the beneficiary of his great struggles with the prevailing church of the day. As Bunyan sat in prison, he wrote about the great journey from a metal worker to a pastor of the gospel of Christ - in allegory form for the Pilgrim's Progress and in autobiographical form in Grace Abounding.

I can understand why many believe this book is a classic - the thoughts and insights that Bunyan has into the Word of God were profound and significant. It was amazing to read how Scripture flowed through his mind irrigating every thought so that his life bore much fruit. I wouldn't recommend the book to a younger reader, it is a difficult read, but well worth the effort.

Grace Abounding....is an excellent autobiography of John Bunyan and his spiritual struggle to obtain assurance of his salvation in light if his belief that he had committed the unpardonable sin. Recommended to anyone who may be facing the same struggle with this question. Each paragraph of the text is numbered and, thus, it is easy to put the book down at any point and pick it back up later without losing train of thought. Since the book was written over 300 years ago, it is interesting to have insight into the thoughts of a Christian who lived during that time and to compare with current Christian thinking.

A lot of us are familiar with John Bunyan as the author of The Pilgrim's Progress, whose influence in Christendom is second to the Bible. Bunyan was a preacher, a prolific writer and a shining saint for God. However when we read this book we find out that he was an atheist and infidel in his youth, enjoying sin and rebellious towards God. Inwardly he suffered from tormented nightmares of demons and judgment, but outwardly he went on pretty much as any other sinner, taking delight in sin and being the ringleader of mischief. Several times he nearly lost his life, and even though there were several close calls, still he did not turn to God. After his marriage, he participated in religious activities, went through the motions of attending church and generally lived as he pleased, each time successfully shrugging off pangs of guilt. One day, after church, while playing a sport, a voice seemed to call out to him from heaven to his soul, which said, "Wilt thou leave thy sins and go to heaven, or have thy sins and go to hell?" Bunyan was convinced it was the Lord Jesus looking down on him in displeasure. What follows details his sinking into despair, his desparate attempts at working his way into God's good graces, and his struggles with temptation and doubt. In a strange sort of way, it is comforting to read about Bunyan's struggles and identify with them because you can see how he turned out so greatly used by God. He rationalized, made excuses and tried every way to justify himself. Bunyan did not try to gloss over his motivations but gave an honest account of his struggles from avowed sinner, to religious hypocrite before he was finally converted. He describes in great detail his doubts and despair, his yearning to be converted to Jesus Christ, and then being assured of his salvation by reading the Bible and praying. Reading this book will help you realize how God's grace can abound and save even the most wretched of sinners and gives us abounding hope.

I could scarcely imagine why this book turned up first on my page of recommendations from amazon. I checked the reasoning, using the convenient little clicker, and found that Bunyan was expected to appeal to me because I had reviewed "Gosta Berling's Saga." That, my friends, is firm evidence that computers are still short on intuition.

Fascinated, however, I read the eight reviews of this fairly obscure title, and found that they were all written by sincere believers in the strict Calvinist theology preached by John Bunyan in his lifetime, according to which we are all "sinners in the hands of an angry God" whose judgment passes our apprehension. According the Calvin and Bunyan, our 'works' and even our eagerness to be 'saved' is of no fundamnetal importance; as one reviewer writes, "we do not choose God; God chooses us." That's not a system of belief I find appealing, though I ought to be consoled by the idea that God might 'choose' me whether I like it or not.

Bunyan was a cogent writer, though his style takes acclimatization. This biography is a major document of English history, as sure a way to get a feel for bookish English Puritanism as the masques of Henry Purcell are for the other side, the party of the theater-loving Cavaliers. As such, it belongs on the shelf with other profound self-exposures - Augustine's, Cellini's, Rousseau's - but don't expect the man to be any more attractive than his fanatical faith. He was truly "an angry sinner in hands he thought were God's."

Before reading Dr. John Morella's book, "A Guide For Effective Psychotherapy", or even being in his class at SLCC i did not know too much about the study. Just by reading this book which was compressed into only eleven chapters, you can understand the most effective methods for psychotherapy if you or a freind find you might need some attention.
The book starts off with an itroduction introducing the author and the book. The next chapter tells the reader about diffrent mental health providers wich is very importaqnt. Then the book goes on to tslk about issues concerning psychotherapy and where to look to for help. Overall this book was helpful because i had a relative seeking help coping with the death of two sibling in the past few years. They were able to find the help they needed.
This book can deffinatly be useful to anyone who wants to know about psychology and the practive. i would most deffinatly recomend this book in the future.

by : Adam Duplechain

Reading Dr. Morella's book was part of my assignment for his class. I did enjoy reading his book. He gives great examples and creates a better understanding of the different treatments offered. I find myself comparing everyday circumstances to the topics in his book. Thanks

Dr Morella's book is very effective in its purpose. Which is to provide an outline one might go about finding the right mental health profesional for themselves or a loved one. He defines what it is a mental health profesional does. He also defines the different types of mental health profesional. He also provides a clear outline for a parent who is looking to get profesional help for their child. There is a list of references in the book as well on who somebody may contact for a specific problem that is already defined. He mixes in humor with the book to lighten it up a bit. A Guide for Effective Psychotherapy, in conclusion, is a valuable resource for anyone who is looking for proffesional help or seeking it for a loved one.

Dr. Morella has written a concise book on the different types of psychotherapists, forms and format of therapy available for adults, teens, and children. Prior to reading A guide for effective psychotherapy, I had the misconception that all therapy involved "talk therapy" as seen in most movies today. This book provides information a person will need to make an informed decision in choosing the right type of therapist for themselves, a family member or a friend. He goes a step further offering the reader information on understanding their diagnosis to dealing with insurance companies. Dr. Morella also provides his reader a list of agencies and resources where they can find more information further enabling the reader to be informed. This book is an excellent first step for anyone interested in learning more about psychotherapy. Dr. Morella's book would be a compliment to every home's medical reference section. I look forward to reading his next book that he is currently working on.

John Morella has written a very clear, user friendly guide for anyone who is considering any form of therapy for the first time. He is able to explain the process from the beginning to the end in terms that even the most nervous or unknowledgeable person can understand and follow.

The first aspect of this book that draws the reader's attention is the Table of Contents. Instead of just a short listing of chapter titles he also lists all subtitles in bold print and a brief explanation of the purpose and content of each chapter. It states the goal of each section up front. If there is specific information needed it is easy to know where to look and it seems to replace an index.

The chapters begin with an over view of all the various options for mental health providers and types of psychotherapy. The number and variety of choices can be overwhelming to the novice and if in crisis it is especially daunting. Choosing the correct therapist is one of the most crucial selections that must be made. Morella reviews all the types of therapists, qualifications and the various therapy models. He does an excellent job of explaining the various models in terms lay people can understand. It is not easy to explain each one without being trapped by jargon or medical vernacular. His relaxed, simple style is not demeaning but appropriately unpretentious.

Later chapters cover everything from client's rights to children's services and medication. The end is a listing of resources with addresses including web sites and a short description of services. A few scenarios finish the book to prepare future clients as to what to expect from a session.

The format of the book is well laid out. Wider than usual margins on all sides help prevent the sensation of information becoming too formidable for the reader. A combination of paragraphs, bulleted lists and, of course, the occasional joke all form a well thought out, concise look at the therapy process. A Guide for Effective Psychotherapy should be readily available to anyone who is considering therapy for themselves, friend or family member. Libraries, medical offices and crisis services should have a copy of this tome to recommend to those in need.

This is a good book for my 4th grade son. It is hard to find books on his reading level that hold his interest. The narator of the story is Hank the cowdog (also self proclaimed head of ranch security). The chapters are only 3 or 4 pages and give my son a sense of accomplishment for being able to read a couple of chapters each night.
Hank also has a few pronuciation problems, allowing the young reader to identify correct pronunciation and grammer. The stories are interesting and funny and have really improved my son's interest in reading as well as his grades in reading and language skills.

I love all the Hank books, and this is a great one for the Christmas season. These books are hilarious and more important to the young reader, fun to read. I'd also check the rest of the series.

Author of "Hobo Finds A Home" editor "Of A Predatory Heart"

Hank is a simple story, probably good for 8-12 year olds, but it is quite well done. The author does not glorify Hank. He shows his strengh and weaknesses in a well balanced way so that we see Hank's arrogance, stupidity, good-heartedness, "dog-heartedness," his judgement and misjudgements of the world, all coming together in a nice, sweet story.

I particularly like the humor in the book. A couple of examples:

1. Hank is mindful of his hygiene. He takes baths regularly in the septic tank.

2. When Hank goes exploring and needs a place to spend the night, he says,

"I started looking for a place to hole up. In my travels and research I've discovered that one of the best places to hole up for the night is in a hole, so I started hunting for a hole."

It was a funny book.When Hank goes to his sister's house he gets into a fight with a cat.It was a funny book.

Hank The Cowdog it's a dogs life is a funny book. Drover
tells Hank it's the end of the world
but when Hank gets the calendar he finds
out that it's not the end of the world
it's really the end of the clearance sale
so he was tricked by a cat. I give
Hank the Cowdog five stars

Hank The Cowdog it's a dogs life is a funny book. Drover
tells Hank it's the end of the world
but when Hank gets the calendar he finds
out that it's not the end of the world
it's really the end of the clearance sale
so he was tricked by a cat. I give
Hank the Cowdog five stars

"Head Or Tale" is an outstanding debut by author R. Daniels. His six erotic stories are so well-written. Explicit, but not pornographic. R. Daniels sets up his characters & situations that will have you wanting more once you've finished each story. Great to read with that special someone in your life. If you're looking to discover a great new author on the scene, pick up R. Daniels' "Head Or Tale". You will definitely not regret it.

It is an amazing talent to be able to write stories so intoxicating that it leaves you wanting more and R. Daniels did it in the most sensual of ways. I have never had the pleasure of a read with this much power, it was difficult to put the book down. I am continually searching for more books from this Author and am so looking forward to the next one! Absolutely incredible and highly recommended!

R. Daniels is a man's man. He took all my thoughts and desires and placed them on each and every page of this book. I could not put it down. My erotic zone has gone to new levels. Thanks, man for putting it out there for all of us to enjoy. Much success!!

Incredible!
No book I've read has ever evoked such a range of emotions in me.
This is very heady stuff.
It will arouse and tantalize and no doubt make you fantasize.
Definitely has something for everyone and I'm sure at least some, if not all the stories will hit the spot in each of us.
Mr Daniels is a master at his craft.

R. Daniels is hot and so is his book. I was captured from the moment I started reading it. It was intriguing and sexy as hell. I hope R. Daniels knows the effect his work can have on the women all around the world. Wonderful work!

This book as been a valuable resource. If you are interested in Amino Acids and their benefits this book will be helpful.

quite a bit of the research on which it is based is now dated, and some important aspects of nutrition have been completely ignored. It does however give a simple introduction to amino acids, and this is a complex topic, so that it is a good place to start

This book is exactly what I was looking for. I needed information about each of the amino acids, what functions they are involved in, how they interrelate, and what illnesses they are connected with. This book is well-organized, highly readable, and extremely interesting. It was just the right mix of research information, along with dosage and uses.

This book has been very useful in helping me find supplements that are improving my medical issues.

This is a wonderful book for those who are serious about using amino acids to balance the neurotransmitters and avoid the need for prescription medications.

The amino acids in the human body are proving to be potent healing substances. This book reveals the findings of research in the 1980s and 1990s on the beneficial role of the aminos in Alzheimer's, cancer, depression, heart conditions, stress and many other disease states.

The different amino acids are discussed in chapters according to type: Aromatic, Sulphur, Urea Cycle, Glutamate, Threonine and Branched Chain. Their food sources, nutrient interactions and proven benefits are given in detail.

The therapeutic functions of specific aminos include pain relief (Phenylalanine), fighting addiction (Tyrosine), treatment of Parkinson's (Methionine), heart protection (Homocysteine), herpes killer (Lysine). Many of them also play a part in immune stimulation or as anti-oxidants.

There are three appendices: 1. The Problems of Vegetarianism. 2. The Much Maligned Egg: The Best Amino Acid Food. 3. Continuing Breakthroughs in Amino Acids. This informative book with its good news concludes with an extensive bibliography, a glossary of terms and an index.

Everyone can benefit from the use of supplemental amino acids. This excellent book shows how to integrate them in one's own health management programme. Similar helpful books include The Amino Revolution by Erdmann and Amino Acids In Therapy by Chaitow.

This book is based on a bold new perspective on mental health phenomena that are often loosely grouped into the category of "codependency".

Where the author excels is in elaborating this idea: that severely maladjusted views about expectations about life, and ways to cope with life, are often neuroses that are self-perpetuating throughout families, from generation to generation.

The book is in five chapters, where each chapter is a step toward identifying, escaping, and recovering from these destructive patterns. Chapter 1 ("Step 1: Awareness is more than half the battle") and chapter 2 ("Step 2: Overcoming judgments and fears") lay the conceptual groundwork, with dozens, yes dozens, of examples of these multigenerational neuroses, such as: low self-esteem leading to self-defeating career behavior, which a particular family might actually encourage in all of its members, because of its shared belief that "that's just the way the world works".

Chapter 2 also begins the work of the rest of the book: providing you, the reader, with strategies for untangling yourself from these deeply ingrained neurotic patterns; and Chapter/Step 3: "Getting Past /Groundhog Day/" resumes this topic, with a focus on managing the conflicts (in yourself or with others) that this process will produce.

Chapter/Step 4: "Finding The Treasure" is about both maintaining and restoring your own self esteem by reconsidering what in you, your past, and your environment are /actually/ harming or helping you, instead of relying on past neurosis-tinted appraisals of these things.

But Chapter/Step 5: "Making a Spiritual Connection" is where the book begins to come apart. It's a very mixed bag, with some amount of anecdotes and affirmations of the powers of intuition; but simply put, this is where the author says that, in order to be sanely recovered from your destructive past, you must be, or become, religious.

She expresses this in terms that are sometimes unclear (as a nod toward the possibilities of vague spirituality), but which are still basically about requiring you to believe in some brand of Judeo-Christian religion and thus adopting an affirmative but entirely superficial theology-- for example, that "prayer" is a merely matter of asking God for something, and at times getting messages back from God through "our intuitive connection" [p138]. Page 137 stresses the absolute importance of "Connecting Your Sprit with God's". Page 146 tells us that "Our spirit knows what's best for us, which way to go, and how to get there", and that [back on page 133] "unless we allow our spirit selves to guide us-- and we're committed to change-- we typically struggle to alter our behavior patterns." (And rewinding back to page 35, the author lists disbelief in God as a destructive neurosis!)

I can understand that the author, a Mormon, very earnestly believes that belief in a personal God is the best way to live your life; but therapeutically, it is at least unprofessional, and at worst psychologically dangerous to insist on this. Notably:

Firstly, this final chapter/step's constant emphasis on the kind of intuition that is as far from reason as possible, is an open invitation to poor impulse control, essentially undoing the work of much of the rest of the book, namely being levelheaded in situations of conflict arising from ingrained destructive patterns. For psychologically vulnerable people, the line can be very thin between trusting their intuitions and falling back into their past ingrained neurotic beliefs and behaviors.

And secondly: On the one hand, this insistence on religion could put the psychologically vulnerable person into a friendly church community that will support them in hard times. But on the other hand, that church community could /also/ turn out to be a cult (The Peoples Temple was celebrated for being friendly, supportive, and charitable-- until it moved to Jonestown, Guyana...); or it could turn out to have radical fundamentalist views, such as have been fighting social progress, worldwide, for the better part of a century now.

To judge from the current state of the world (and its politics and history), you clearly need a healthy and intelligent skepticism and discernment to tell what, if any, kind of religion or religious community you should go trusting. An eagerness to simply make "a spiritual connection" is not enough to keep you out of trouble for yourself or others.

Behind this unprofessionalism, there is a question: is all this mental-health advice coming from someone with an actual psych degree?

She seems to hint that she is-- on p166 she says "a teacher in the field of psychology". But her "About the author" page says she is "a graduate of Brigham Young University". If she graduated with (for example) a Master's in Family Counseling, that's exactly where it would be mentioned. But from the fact that the sentence says no more than "a graduate", with no mention of level or field, we have to conclude that while she may consider herself qualified in many respects, she has no actual /credentials/.

I do not believe rigidly in the value of all credentials-- if someone building me bookshelves has experience, but no contractor's license, I don't care. But for critical life-changing mental health advice, I have to insist that it come from people with the credentialed education to benefit from the past century-plus of psychiatric and psychological experience with patients suffering from neurosis in all its forms. Lacking those credentials means just winging it, as Ms Hintze is doing more and more the further you get into her book.

Besides the insistence on religion in Chapter 5, the author occasionally drops in the occasional howler that also leads you to question not just her professionalism but her ability to cohere. On page 134, she says "75 to 90 percent of our emotional blocks- including our inborn (genetic) tendencies- originate from our experiences inside the womb". Her asserting this statement (leaving aside the conflation of "inborn" with "genetic") so far into the book leads us to wonder: is she actually saying that the familial neuroses that the whole book is about, are /genetic/!? First off, if true, then this is a fundamental point and should have been mentioned in Chapter 1, to say the least. But secondly, the idea that the /majority/ of the whole spectrum of neurotic behavior that she covers in the book is genetic, is the beyond even the wildest speculation you'll get out of any geneticist. It's well knows that there are genetic predispositions toward some mental illnesses (notably schizophrenia)-- but trying to claim you can have a 75-90% ability to track a neurosis like "I must hold on to all my money or it will go away" (page 33) to an actual gene, is ludicrous.

The author, and her writing and work, would benefit from getting an actual degree in the field that she's already involving herself in and generally shows a genuine and earnest talent for. But the lack of actual credentials undermines the effectiveness of her ideas and how well they can work for people trying to recover from personal or familial neuroses.

This book is on the cutting edge of a new movement toward healing family Issues.This book guides the reader, in a very pracitcal manner, through the steps of integrating mind body spirit to for ever heal the wounds that bind you.What I like best is the fact that the 5 steps absolutlely hold the individual, with the family history to heal, responsible for doing so. I can see Rebecca's book being gobbled up by those who have tried many other methods to heal the past but have fallen short.As a Life Coach, who has worked with thousands of clients dealing with past family issues, I have a new guide book to use in my practice.

"Healing Your Family History" clearly illustrates how unseen destructive family patterns visibly show up and play out in our lives. (No, it's not merely a coincidence when divorce, depression, substance abuse, child abuse, low self esteem, and poverty run in your family!) Rebecca's easy to follow five steps have enabled me to identify destructive patterns and resolve them as they've come up, and as a result, I have experienced many positive and welcome changes! I highly recommend this very effective book to anyone who wants to understand where their problems are coming from and heal them at their core.

I come from a family with some serious problems and because I learned how to think and act from them, I've made many painful mistakes that have negatively shaped my life. Reading "Healing Your Family History" has opened my eyes to what's really going on within my family and made me determined to change the dysfunctional patterns I carry so my children and grandchildren and so on won't have to suffer like I have. This easy to understand book has given me hope that I can change and my children can have a much healthier and happier future. I am very grateful that I can finally see the big energetic piture and don't have to live in the dark anymore! Thank you Rebecca for writing this valuable book.

I love Rebecca Linder Hintze's book, "Healing Your Family History." Her book is filled with psychological and spiritual wisdom. With her wonderful title and well-written content, she cleverly summarizes and merges insights from analytical and developmental psychologists with modern therapies focused on both changing beliefs and emotional regulation. I frequently recommend her book to my clients. The content and exercises help clients in their own space and time consider the value of introspection not only on their own psychology but on their immediate family's and beyond. Especially for those afraid to say anything less than positive about their families, Rebecca's book helps me explain to clients why looking into family patterns is essential to psychological and spiritual growth without having to resort to complicated language that often leaves clients more weary than excited. Thank you for this helpful book!

In the introduction, Wistrich provides an overview asking the big Why. He disagrees with Daniel Goldhagen, pointing out that prior to 1933 antisemitism had been worse in countries like Russia, Romania, Poland and Austria and that the rule of law applied in Germany until that year. The Holocaust was a pan-European event in which millions of people participated. The times were evil; even Britain and the USA experienced a rising tide of antisemitism. Unimaginable horror results when a society does not distinguish between good & evil. The lessons of this abyss are that evil must be resisted in its early stage and that individuals are responsible for their actions.

The first chapter briefly reviews Jewish history from the Hasmoneans to the Roman yoke in which era a new religion was born. Its foundational documents contain calumnies and demonizations of the Jewish People. The "Church Fathers" perpetuated this hostility in their writings; the victory of Constantine Christianity ensured ever increasing oppression. Martin Luther amplified the hatred in his writings. This chapter also covers Europe in the 1930s as night was coming on. Wistrich also considers various atrocities and genocides like that of the Armenians, the Gulags of Stalinist Russia and the suffering of the Roma.

Disillusionment in Europe after the First World War was profound. The pointless death & destruction spurred the growth of revolutionary movements like fascism and communism. The history of Austria and Germany in the 1920s & 1930s, Mein Kampf, the political parties & the reaction to Jewish refugees arriving from Eastern Europe are discussed. The depression hit Germany in 1930; that year the Nazi vote increased dramatically. In 1933 Hitler took power and German Jews started leaving.

The destruction of Crystal Night followed, the most violent attack on Jews since the crusades; 100 people were murdered. The international conference held at Evian in France encouraged Hitler since he noticed it was all talk; no country was prepared to welcome Jewish refugees. The discriminatory racial laws did not encounter resistance from any sector of German society. The German annexation of half of Poland in 1939 and the later invasion of Russia placed millions more Jews under Nazi rule. Terrible massacres occurred on the front.

Hitler's apocalypticism was a blend of Christian and anti-Christian Judeophobia, a secular salvationist ideology. He referred to New Testament passages during his speeches in Catholic Bavaria, saw himself as a messianic figure and claimed that Christ had pioneered the struggle against the Jews. Thus in the early years the Nazis mined the ancient vein of Christian Antisemitism. Only the Confessional Church openly defied the Nazis and in the 1937 Encyclical "Mit Brennende Sorge" Pope Pius XI objected to Nazi supremacism and paganism. Nazism co-existed with the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches but its bestial heart harbored contempt for Judeo-Christian values and ethics. Leading Nazis were fanatically anti-Christian. As the evidence of atrocities accumulated, including reports from Croatia & Slovakia, the Vatican's reaction was muted. It still viewed Jews as representing its modernist enemies like liberalism, freemasonry, secularism, etc.

Chapter 6 was almost unbearable, were it not for the exceptions where the Angel of the Lord must have drawn his sword or the Spirit moved the hearts of the people. Collaboration - particularly cruel in countries like Ukraine, Romania and Slovakia - occurred throughout Europe. Jews were safe in Hungary until March 1944 when the Germans invaded. Despite the efforts of especially Calvinists, more than 80% of Holland's Jews were deported to Poland. Belgium fared better - people deliberately undermined the German efforts but 44% was lost. In the areas controlled by the collaborationist Vichy Regime, French Jews were protected to an extent but not recent arrivals. In 1942 the Germans occupied all of France. I'm not sure if Wistrich mentions it, but General Franco of Spain accepted refugees.

In this demonic darkness of indifference, hostility & complicity with the Nazis, there were three areas where the divine light was not extinguished. Protection was provided in the north, east & south of Europe. Bulgaria was a German ally but the people, never antisemitic, stood firm: King, government, civil society and church! Orthodox Metropolitan Stephan of Sofia declared that men had no right to persecute Jews, whilst the King supplied many reasons why its citizens could not leave. Denmark saved almost its entire Jewish community by ferrying them across to Sweden. Of course the proximity & willingness of Sweden made it possible. In their absence, Danes tended their homes & gardens and cared for their pets. Finland flatly refused German demands. Italians openly sabotaged the Holocaust; the Italian army shielded and protected Jews in places like France, Croatia, Albania and Greece. Later when the Germans invaded, Italians hid and protected Jews to a degree unseen anywhere else but in the aforementioned countries.

One recognizes the sacrifice of Britain & Americans whose soldiers fought and died, but these countries do not have clean hands. First, they instituted restrictive immigration policies. At that time, the American Jewish community was weak, divided and afraid of antagonizing its fellow citizens. The worst action of Roosevelt was turning away the ocean liner St Louis with its Jewish refugees. Back in Germany they were all murdered. Perhaps even worse from the quantity angle, the UK established quotas for Jewish immigration to the Levant. Not only that, but the British navy intercepted refugee ships en route to the homeland, and that under Churchill! It is incomprehensible. Moron me who thought the Prime Minister had more authority than the State Department. So in the Atlantic Anglo-Saxon sphere political hypocrisy and heartless bureaucracy triumphed over mercy.

Sensitive people beware! The final chapter, on modernity and genocide, evaluates various theories and provides examples of sadism and torture in the death camps. One can skip it, just reading the last two pages which are safe. Wistrich concludes that the Holocaust was inspired by a millenarian apocalyptic ideology of annihilation that cannot be separated from the dominant religious tradition of Western Europe. But unlike Christianity, Nazism was a death cult that saw human sacrifice as the road to redemption. The book contains maps, notes arranged by chapter, 3 timeline charts covering 1933 - 1945, and an index.

Wistrich does a wonderful job of condensing information about a huge topic into a very useful small volume. It doesn't go into a huge amount of detail about every aspect of the Holocaust or the anti-semitism leading up to it, but it is a great book for beginners, particularly high school or college undergraduates looking for an introduction to this horrible subject.
As the previous reviewer said, Wistrich does do a wonderful job of documenting his sources and I too got a lot of further reading and research ideas from this book.

This interesting book by Robert Wistrich is an attempt to concentrate on the question as to why the Nazis placed so much emphasis on the extermination of the European Jews, often when doing so meant endangering the other goals they were surging toward during the conduct of the war. The author, of course, understands that the whole of the national Socialist movement sprang from the discontent and absurd racism of the Volkist history of the Reich, much of it dating back centuries. From the time Germany was forged out of the crucible of Prussia and its environs, the collection of Germanic peoples looked for those unifying themes that would untie them as distinct people and extend to them the greatness that had so eluded them and their culture. Given their history of cultural insecurity, it seems as no surprise that an entity like the Jews had to found and scapegoated to justify their grandiloquent dreams.

As the author points out (and as others such as Lucy Dawidowicz so famously in "The War Against The Jews'), this scapegoating effort was no only an expediency arising from the discontent and chaos of the Weimar years after World War One, but also a deep-seated cultural tradition extending back hundreds if not thousands of years. Indeed, questions regarding Jewish claims to citizenship had been hotly debated both officially and unofficially every place from the many legislative forums to the floors of the local pubs as long as anyone could recall. There was nothing new or novel about German prejudice against and antipathy for the Jews. And as he adds so succinctly, this was (and indeed is) a problem extending far beyond German borders. After all, we do well to remember that most European countries turned their backs on the problems of the Jewish émigrés attempting by the thousands to flee the coming horror in Nazi Germany. Indeed, many such as the Swiss and the French cooperated in handing over indigenous Jews to the German authorities during the war.

Moreover, the climate of blind indifference extended to the pulpits of the clergy, as well, and persistent rumors claim that the Pope himself was cognizant of the plight of the German and other European Jews and did little if anything to intercede. In fat, this book provides a yeoman's service by articulating and discussing a number of salient and competing interpretations, ranging from Daniel Goldhagen's controversial thesis enunciated in "Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust" to Christopher Browning's thesis as expounded in several recent books (see my reviews of both authors' works). Wistrich also recapitulates the differences between the so-called "intentionalist' and "functionalist' theories of the Holocaust, and as I have written elsewhere, I believe that while the evidence indicates a functional approach, I also believe that the same evidence is consistent with the idea that Hitler and the Nazis always intended to exterminate the Jews (along with all of the indigenous populations of the conquered territories to the east). All the functional argument really proves, as far as I can see, is that existential circumstances played into the execution of a standing policy which was a virtual cornerstone of Nazi social policy.

As someone professionally educated as a sociologist, I was fascinated by the author's discussion of the meaning of the Holocaust in terms of history, and the question as to whether or not it represented the "antithesis of Western Civilization" or its realization. This treads very close to a searing indictment made by sociologist Max Weber of the eventual drift of rationalism as practiced in western societies toward a kind of non-thinking and non-substantive form of the rational impulse, a shadow which contented itself with the forms and practices of rationalism but none of its intent and rigor. To the extent he was correct that such a society would become an "iron cage" imprisoning man and endangering everything good that he stood for, perhaps Mr. Wistrich is onto something here. Enjoy!

Although some might say this is good for introduction to Holocaust study, I'm not convinced it succeeds on that level as it should. First, the title was a bit misleading. I expected it to focus on Hitler's involvement in the Holocaust, yet there is little discussion of Hitler compared to what other angles the book delves into. I also thought that jumping to different issues, it is not focused enough to be effective as a whole as compared to other books that might be longer in reading but you come away with much more understanding. Too much is just touched upon, but not conveyed. I found "Auschwitz" by Deborah Dwork and Robert Van Pelt to give a much clearer perspective than what I read here, and it's not that much longer than this.

And I think, contrary to the author, that the entire extermination of the slavic population was practical for the Nazi's and it did serve a major ideological agenda. From reading Hitler's "table talk," it seemed to me like that was the future plan.

Also, the author says that "When Himmler instructed Rudolf Hoss to establish the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, the reason given was expressly ideological; the need to extirpate the biological roots of Jewry." In something as serious as this, I think it's important that every fact is presented where there can be no confusion- otherwise, if they learn otherwise, it can cause problems. This would lead me to believe that Auschwitz was erected at the time of this talk with Himmler, when actually, the talk with Himmler happened in 1941, and Hoss had been camp commandant since 1940- and that Auschwitz was first established as a labor camp and turned INTO a death camp for the purpose of extirpating the biological roots of Jewry." that might be nitpicking on my part and it could be said that the Birkenau addition implies the time, but since the Nazi's crime is so terrible, every word is important, every sentence is a voice from the Holocaust crying out, so you have to make sure everything is clearly said. That's what I think, anyway.

This is a good book, but something like "Never Again" by Martin Gilbert might be a better introduction than this,

As the previous reviewers have already noted, this is a great book defining how the Holocaust happened in one of the most civilized nations in Europe. Wistrich notes the rise of anti Semitism in Germany and the rest of Europe during the ninetenth and twentieth centuries. Even though thousands of German Jews gave their lives in the trench warfare on the Western Front during World War II, the Nazis blamed the Jews for the stab in the back.
In this book, Hitler's main aim was to rid Eurpe of all its Jews. His goal continued despite setbacks on the fighting fronts. Hungarian Jews were murdered up to the closing months of the war, even though Germany was in the process of being defeated. Germany's loss was also blamed on the Jews.
Wistrich gives us a scholarly analysis of why the Jews were selected, how the lack of solidarity in the Jewish population helped the Nazis kill their victims, and why the Western Allies did little to stop the killing. As Wistich states, other genocides in later years just shows how little has changed in the history of genocide. A minority group is selected for the blame of something, and revenge is exacted.
This is a great scholarly read for why the Holocaust happened. It places Hitler front and center in one of the greatest crimes of all time.

This is a great book chock full of "to the point" advice.
I like the fact that you can use it not only as a "reading" book but also a "reference" book.

This book is great and doesn't treat you like a "dummie".....it
was delivered much quicker than I expected. Excellent!

"HOW TO OPEN A FINANCIALLY SUCCESSFUL COFFEE, ESPRESSO & TEA SHOP" by Elizabeth Godsmark, Lora Arduser and Douglas R. Brown.

Coffee is a huge industry across the country and around the world. In the introduction of "How to open a financially successful coffee, espresso & tea shop" the authors point out that the coffee industry is a $5 billion industry, which is growing more and more every year.

Anyone who is interested in starting his or her own coffee, espresso, or tea shop is going to be fascinated in this book. The authors start at the beginning with developing a business plan. The give examples and even offer a CD program that has preformatted documents. Licenses, business name, choosing suppliers, and equipment requirements are all discussed in the opening chapters.

Many aspects of running a successful coffee, espresso & tea business are discussed throughout this book. The authors have done a tremendous job in giving an introduction to opening this type of business. They talk about profit planning and advertising, as well as choosing the best equipment and managing your operating costs.

Without a doubt this is a definite must have book for anyone even thinking about starting this kind of business. The author's are able to skillfully introduce all the major concerns with opening a coffee, espresso & tea business. They provide a wealth of information that will help clarify a person's views of what is actually required to open, operate, and run a financially successful coffee, espresso & teashop.

Lots of good information. Some things I would never have thought of. I was very glad that I purchased this book and continue to use it frequently.

This is the best book if you are serious about opening your own business! They thought of everything. LOVE IT & recommend it completely!

I have taught a course in computation theory for computer science majors for almost two decades. Before the first time, I had never had any of the material in a course so I was required to learn the material on my own. This was the book that I used. For about a month, I set aside a block of time each day and went through the material section by section. When I had completed each section, I would work a few of the problems and would not move on until I understood what the answers should be.
The coverage is:

*) Deterministic and nondeterministic finite automata
*) Regular expressions
*) Context-free grammars and languages
*) Chomsky normal form
*) Pushdown automata
*) Turing machines
*) Post machines
*) The relationship between machines and computers

When it came time to teach the class for the first time, it all went very smoothly. This remains the most readable book for the self-study of computation theory that I have ever seen. Cohen has written a later, more concise edition and that is what I have been using as the text in my course.

I read it during my undergraduate, it was the course book for the thoery of automata course. More recently when I tried the popular "Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation" by Hopcroft et al. for the purpose of revising the concepts, I realized how great this book is. It is definitely a better book than Hopcroft et al's, with in-depth explanations of all topics, lots of examples and exercises and in a writing style very friendly for the novice readers. Very good work!

I must say this is one of the best books I have ever read. The auther is humorous and insightful. He manages to take very abstract concepts and explain them in clear concrete terms and metaphors.

This an excellent book. Basically, the whole point of it is to mathematically define what a computer is and prove that it works. The author does this by defining and manipulating mathematical alphabets and languages without resorting to any kind of advanced math. Starting from nothing, the whole thing leads up to Turing Machines. More specifically, according to the Preface, the goals of the book are:

"(1) to introduce a student of Computer Science to the need for and the working of mathematical proof; (2) to develop facility with the concepts, notations, and techniques of the theories of Automata, Formal Languages, and Turing machines; and (3) to provide historical perspective on the creation of the computer with a profound understanding of some of its capabilities and limitations."

The author did a wonderful job of it. Plus, unlike almost all other computer/math books I've read, this book is almost enjoyable to read. Again, as stated in the Preface:

"This book is written for students with no presumed background of any kind. Every mathematical concept used is introduced from scratch. Extensive examples and illustrations spell out everything in detail to avoid any possibility of confusion."

Astonishingly, those are all true statements. At a guess, I'd say that almost anyone interested in computers could get through this book without undue stress. To make it more meaningful, I'd suggest (only suggest) prerequisites of having programmed a computer and knowing some discrete math. From that point of view, it's odd that as of last year, this book was used in Florida State University's (FSU's) COT 4420: "Theory of Computation" course, which, obviously, is a 4000 level course requiring various prerequisites that put it out of the reach of all but senior (or graduate) level students.

Now, with all that glowing out of the way, there are a couple of small problems with the book. The first is simply that the exercises don't have any solutions. For the self-studyer, that's a bad thing. In a school teaching environment, it's probably acceptable, though. The second problem is that after getting through the book, I simply have to ask: "So what? WHY should I learn this?" Again, in the Preface, the author states:

"Leaving aside the obvious worth of knowledge for its own sake, the terminology, notations, and techniques of Computer Theory are necessary in the teaching of courses on computer design, Artificial Intelligence, the analysis of algorithms, and so forth. Of all the programming skills undergraduate students learn, two of the most important are the abilities to recognize and manipulate context-free grammars and to understand the power of the recursive interaction of parts of a procedure. Very little can be accomplished if each advanced course has to begin at the level of defining rules of production and derivations."

But, in my experience, I have to say that except for one reference in one other book I've read, I've never seen any of this stuff used. Even more, I've never known anyone who even knew of anyone who used (or even knew of) any of it. EVERYTHING has been done at a much higher level of abstraction than alphabets, languages, and various levels of algorithms and machines up to Turing Machines. I'm not saying that the material in this book isn't used SOMEWHERE. But, I'd honestly have liked to have seen actual, specific, concrete cases: they'd be fascinating.

So, factoring those two nits in, I rate this book at 4 stars out of 5. If those two things don't bother you, then you could easily consider this a 5 star book.

The book has one important attribute: it's clear, undoubtedly. Having a minimum of prerequisites, I think there's no way to not understand what Prof. Cohen says through its pages. It makes the job of learning this part of theory easier than any other text.
But ... but I can't totally agree with Cohen's crusade against formalism. I agree that the first target of a book should be to clearly transmit the intended knowledge, and Cohen perfectly succeeds in this. But formalism too has its importance, thereafter. A compact and clear formalism helps to communicate efficiently, and moreover unambiguously. Like in mathematics, the first, important thing is to understand. Yet, there's no way for you to efficiently work with math without using any kind of formalism, should it be more or less "standard".
That's it: a very powerful book for a "profound" understanding of the subject; a bit more of natural formalism would make it a "complete" understanding also, and the book a five stars one.