P Books

Brendan tells his story & is very inspirational. He offers ideas and recipes. A good book to give to any one into sports. If Tiger Woods read this he'd win even more!

A truly inspiring read that won't end up on the bookshelf but remains handy every day!
I completely restructured my pantry and more so my thinking about what I put where my mouth is.
Supplements are just that, the true benefit comes from whole fruits and vegetables. I've been a lacto-ovo vegan for about 18 months and still going strong. My biggest challenge was the proper intake of protein. After reading Brendan's book I'm closer to an inner and outer nutritional balance than ever.
Astrid Kratzat, RN, 42, avid runner, Las Vegas, NV

First, let me comment on all the criticism that the author is selling his own product (Vega)... how can you complain when he gives you the recipe to make it?? The recipe "Nutrient-rich shake" is on page 87. You don't have to buy his product, you can make it yourself. Personally I did this for a while and found it too time-consuming (just as the author says). I ended up ordering his product, but have no regrets. I really like Vega and will continue to purchase it - it's expensive, but you can tell when you use it what high quality it is.

Now about the book... For such a short book, it's PACKED with information! This book deserves a lot of credit for providing such a complete picture of stress - what it is, where it comes from, how it affects your body, and how to deal with it. Stress is stress, regardless of the source. Although this book is mainly concerned with stress from physical exertion, the information will help with whatever kind of stress you have.

The recipe section in this book, though short, is excellent. Several of these recipes have become regulars in my diet and are committed to memory. One unique thing about the recipes is they show which nutrients each ingredient is adding. For example, a banana adds electrolytes, a half tbsp hemp oil adds Essential Fatty Acids, pumpkin seeds add iron and zinc, and so on. I really enjoy this feature; it helps me better understand the nutrition (rather than just following a recipe). It's probably my favorite part of the book, next to the information on stress.

I've read at least a dozen different raw food health books and they all have their merits, but I have to say that this book is unique. I am so glad to have it in my collection. I'm giving copies to some of my health-conscious friends for Christmas this year.

If you want to be a super athlete and stay healthy, or you want endless stamina, ever-increasing strength, and a healthy body, or you are vegan and want to lift weights or other intense workouts, then Brendan Brazier has designed a diet plan for you! If you are already vegan, have food sensitivities, and love whole foods but just haven't been able to put it together so everything works, then this diet plan is for you.

If any of these descriptions fits, then skip this book and go directly to Brendan's Thrive Diet. It incorporates most of the material here and adds recipes. The Thrive Diet

If you're not sure, go ahead and get this book to check it out first. Brendan is amazing!

I've been a struggling lacto-ovo vegetarian for 16 years. Busy career/life made me take the easy route...whatever you can lay your hands on to eat that was meat free. PU! This book helped me in my search for a better way to eat, especially on the run.

This is one of the most awesome soundtrack sheet music books I've ever seen! All of the pieces sound like they do in the movie, and the grand staff notes are close enough to the original melody to sing along to. The key is hard to get used to, but once you do, it's amazing!!

This book is a challenge even for the most experienced pianist. His music is fun and intricate and complex. I recommend this book for anyone who is not only a fan of the movie but a fan of excellent music who is looking for music that takes their knowledge of music theory to the max.

I love all things tim burton, especially the soundtracks to his movies. danny elfman is possibly the most talented composer in hollywood and it baffles me that not all his music is sold as a piano vocal series, since it is so very suitable for just that. consequently I was thrilled to find this little book, and I was not disappointed. it is simple enough for a novice to play along based on the chords, and yet sophisticated enough for the more experienced pianist to get a lot out of the instrument. as has been noted elsewhere, the guitar chords are indeed systematically drawn every tim they occur, which to me is a fantastic idea. every tim burton/danny elfman fan who likes singing and playing the piano should own a copy of this!

the second I got my hands on it, I went directly to my piano and did not get up for the next four hours. that's how great it is to be your very own nightmare before christmas soundtrack!

I'm not musically gifted like the rest of my family; I only took 4 years of violin to get out of gym, but wouldn't know what to do with one if I picked it up today. But I do know that this music/lyric book has every song from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" movie. anyone that's watched it KNOWS that every song is hauntingly, melodiously beautiful, just like any other Tim Burton production. Even if you can't carry a tune or don't know the words, you have to try to sing along. But with this musicbook you can! -at least know the words -you know best if you can actually sing... I would highly recommend this product! Kudos to the Hal Leonard Corp for making it available! :)

There's lot of stuff in this tiny cheap book. It's obviously not aimed at orchestrators but more at the movie fans who expect some nice evenings, singing these excellent tunes.
I give this book a 5 because of the guitar chords which are systematically drawn each time they occur. It wasn't expected, especially as we're dealing with a piano vocal song book, so: 2 thumbs up=5 stars !

I have experience as a Care Manager for an Area Agency on Aging. The Alzheimer's Action Plan is a book that I would highly recommend to families dealing with this disease. The book is not only filled with a plethora of information, it is also easy to reference and easy to understand. Barbara Matthews

This is a great book for anyone dealing with a family member with Alzheimer's. A friend recommended the book just in time.

For those caring for a loved one with dementia, The Alzheimer's Action Plan is a helpful and hopeful guide to understanding diagnosis and treatment of dementia. But, the chapters on caregiving offer the most important advice on how to normalize life with a loved one suffering from dementia. Written with great wit and wisdom, the authors deliver a rich and easy read. This book will help you if you are living with or caring for a person with dementia.

This book has been a godsend for myself and my family. My Dad was recently diagnoised with Alzheimer's. This book helped me ask intelligent questions when speaking to his doctor. It's a diesease people know so little about. It's very helpful in helping determine what type of doctor a alzheimer suffer should be seeing and the test available. I wish I'd had this book when we first suspected there maybe a problem. I'm an avid reader and have read many self help books and this has to be one of the most helpful books I have ever read.

If only this book had been available to my family when our mom was alive.
As a family, we had so much to learn in order to cope with the dynamic changes that occur with alzheimer's disease and dementia.
Despite the fact that we are a family who has several of us with medical backgrounds, and had a good network of connections, the information was never as clearly outlined and accessable as it is in this book.
Already, I have referred this comforting resource to several others since I purchased it a month ago.
Thank you to the co-authors for creating a book that offers the opportunity of wonderful support for so many who are trying to learn and to deal with this disease process.

I very much enjoyed this book. It is well written and will take you back to your college days!

written very well,although there was a little to much of the f-word. I would like to read more of this authors writtings.

I don't know exactly why I picked-up a copy of "Assault on the Senses" -- likely because I thought it would be a funny book about boozing-- but when I began reading it, I realized that what I had bought was a coming-of-age-novel; a book about teen angst, anomie and unrequited love, and I was prepared to hate it. When it was revealed to be a halfhearted mystery story too, I almost stopped reading it.

Having nothing better to do, I kept slogging on, and never has a book turned me around and won me over as this novel did. True, there's much poor writing (the protagonist can share his thoughts only with a pet hamster) and broken grammar in it, and one could write an equally long book about the novel's faults, but it is my sincere feeling that this novel is a masterpiece of the first chop and a genuine piece of literature.

All the other reviewers here seem to regard this as light reading and a comic look at college life, another National Lampoon's Animal House, but it is nothing of the sort. I consider Michael P. Ferrari to be the F. Scott Fitzgerald of a new generation, and I'll be certain to watch for his whatever he has published in the future.

Bravo!

CollegeHumor.com contributor Michael P. Ferrari presents Assault on the Senses, a grimly humorous novel about the downward self-destructive spiral of college student Kalvin Gray. The repercussions of a bad breakup plus the lack of direction in his life are further compounded when he discovers a "wanted" poster warning students of an attempted rapist, featuring a police sketch that looks suspiciously like him. Despite his innocence of the heinous crime, he fears that his reputation and sex life will be ruined - until he crosses paths with the seductive school newspaper editor Katie, who becomes his ally in the search for the truth. His life just might have the potential to turn around - if he can stay sober long enough for that to happen. A tongue-in-cheek look at the dark side to the campus experience.

Kalvin Gray is a college student with a taste for beer and a talent for self-hatred. While his fraternity brothers (Wally, Jay, Dutch, Doug, and Barry) provide ample support for his wild behaviour, the emotional backing comes from his female friends, Molly and Lana. Still suffering heartache over his lost love, Jill, Kal's world becomes even gloomier when the whole college assumes he is the attempted rapist pictured in a wanted poster. After establishing an unlikely alliance with Katie, a vivacious campus newspaper reporter, the pair set out to prove Kal's innocence, find the true culprit, and possibly develop their own relationship in the process.

This is a funny read, with plenty of crude laughter peppered throughout. Much of this is based upon Kal's own witty comments, both spoken and commented, together with the antics and primitive opinions of his various friends. His five frat brothers do rather blend into one without particularly establishing their own characters, but the laughs they introduce make up for this and Dutch's party trick never fails to deliver.

Early-on the pace of the novel is good, with entertaining introductions to Kal's beer-soaked life as well as plenty of plot suspense. There are many darker moments too, as Kal's downward spiral progresses. While the book's middle section struggles to live up to the promise of the beginning, there are still moments of comedy to make the read thoroughly worthwhile - Kal and his friends crashing an 'alternative' house party is one prime example. Towards the end we have twists and turns aplenty, with things never quite ending up as you expected them to. Some of the twists could have been introduced earlier in the novel to keep the plot ticking on at a higher rate, but Ferrari is to be commended for tying up all the loose ends of a clever storyline.

Overall, 'Assault on the Senses' is a very enjoyable read with plenty of crude laughs and a plot that will keep you guessing right to the end. If you're looking for a similarly entertaining campus comedy novel then you should also enjoy A Foreign Education by Craig Alan Williamson.

All of Michael Kahn's books have been favorites of mine, but his newest, Bearing Witness is outstanding. Anyone looking for a thrilling mystery should definately check out this book!

Just finished reading this Rachel Gold mystery. This is my fourth one and I have enjoyed them all. However, in this one, Michael Kahn kicks it up a few notches. In this book he tells the tale of Ruth Alpert. Her case evolves from an age discrimination suit to a qui tam case. Michael Kahn does a good job of explaining what a qui tam case is. He also re-educates us on Kristallnacht, die spinne and April 20, 1898 which are events none of us should forget. I live in the area of St. Louis and I loved the descriptions of Union Station (the Arch of Whispers)and the restaurants he names in the book. I can picture everything. Keep on writing.

a legal thriller worthy of the name. an age discrimination case evolves into a multi-million dollar whistle-blowing expose. narrative flow is steady if occasionally ponderous. nice balance of trial prep,personal travails and courtroom squirmishes- all fueled by an inescapable desire to root for the good guys.

Michael Kahn's books seem to just keep getting better and better. This is an absorbing and sobering adventure with Rachel, Benny and the rest of the crew. Rachel's relationship is progressing nicely with the "Wolf Man" and I hope it continues in future books. Keep writing PLEASE -- when you are sitting at your computer late into the night, be assured your fans are eagerly awaiting your next Rachel Gold adventure!

I discovered Rachel Gold through a short story in EQMM - thank heaven, as I don't think I would have found them otherwise; for anyone who is looking for a terrific mystery, interesting characters and courtroom drama - run don't walk to buy one of Michael Kahn's Rachel Gold books.

This is, by far, the best of the lot; full of history (Nazi treasure), present day issues(age discrimination and excellent sleuthing. The plotting and the characters are so well drawn that I find I have re-read this book several times even though I know "who dun it" and enjoyed it all over again.

Bell, Book & Beyond debuts over twenty new talents who feature tales of witchcraft, from comic scenes to witches dark and brooding. Readers interested in fiction stories of witches will find this an involving, revealing guides which will prove hard to put down. S.P. Somertow provides an foreword.

Hattie's Head was very crafty, weaving suspense with humor, and the present with the past. The last sentence tied it all up in a neat little package and left me dumbfounded! I felt as though I were beside the boys on their hunt for Hattie. Kelli Campbell told the story so cleverly that I could see everything clearly and isn't that what a good writer does? They let you "see" what you read. I'm anxiously looking forward to more of this writers' stories in the future. She's on her way to success as a well known Horror Writer.

Hattie's Head was very crafty, weaving suspense with humor, and the present with the past. The last sentence tied it all up in a neat little package and left me dumbfounded! I felt as though I were beside the boys on their hunt for Hattie. Kelli Campbell told the story so cleverly that I could see everything clearly and isn't that what a good writer does? They let you "see" what you read. I'm anxiously looking forward to more of this writers' stories in the future. She's on her way to success as a well known Horror Writer.

Don't consider this book to be just another collection of Wicca lore or black-hatted crones, there's much more on the menu than your typical witch tales. Ranging from the fantasy genre 'The Child's Tale' to a modern mom in 'As Promised', to the creeping tingles of 'Le Bete Est Morte' to the comedy of 'That Old Black Magic', this book offers up some of the best, most witchy tales on the market today.

Table Of Contents:
· The Child's Tale by Carole Nomarhas
· The Power Lunch by Janet L. Hetherington
· Six Guns & Six Spells by Paul Victor Wargelin
· A Dichotomy Of Belief by Michael Oliveri
· Spiders Grace All Of Me by Michelle Scalise
· As Promised by Walt Jarvis
· Madly, Deeply by Greg Kishbaugh
· Le Bete Est Morte by Nicholas Kaufmann
· That Old Black Magic by John R. Platt
· Stadium Square by Eric Gregg
· Elena by David A. DeFalco
· Hattie's Head by Kelli Campbell
· Her Place by Joel Ross
· Endemoniada by William O'Donnell
· The Nice House by L.H. Maynard & M.P.N. Sims
· Heavy Sybil by Bob Beideman
· Harm None by Dean H. Wild
· The Island by Whitt Pond
· Trailertrash Annie by Peter N. Dudar
· The Power Doctor by Ward Parker
· Celia by R. Michael Burns

At the end of the book are brief biographies of each writer. All (at the time) were affiliate members of HWA, though many had previous publications and many have gone on to grace us with further proof of their writing skills in other anthologies, novels, and edited collections.

My favorites would be 'The Child's Tale', a fantasy type story of bitter revenge; 'As Promised', the story of how far a witchy mom will go for the daughter she loves; 'Le Bete Est Morte', a creeping story of the witch next door and "it's" ticklish, old time habits; 'That Old Black Magic' which brings a tone of comic relief to witchcraft; 'Heavy Sybil', another semi-comedic tale of an idea that turns on a young heavy metal fan when he drops his girlfriend; and 'The Power Doctor', which will surprise you with its grisly ending.

Ancient and new witchcraft, spiders, spells, love potions, westerns, fantasy, modern, unbearable beauty and hideous ugliness - it's all here in this fantastic collection. If you love witchy tales, don't miss out on this excellent anthology! Enjoy!

Whether your just dabbling in the lore of witchcraft, looking for a great read, or trying to find some great authors; this book is sure to please! It contains a bountiful collection of some of the most talented non-mainstream horror story writers to date. This anthology contains enough laughs, gasps, and feelings of dread to accomidate even the toughest of critics. I've found myself running into work late from lunch on more than one occasion due to my unrelenting need to fit in a couple of extra pages despite my tardiness. The characters and settings are quite colorful (if not vibrant) in each tale, making you an invisible bystander to these events..........even if you wish you weren't!

As a lover of the french philosopher and his time i can only
recommand with passion his works and especially Candide together with the other stories issued by the so prestigious Oxford
world's Classics -its a genuine pleasure

Voltaire is a master saterist, not a comedian. As with all satire, it hslps if we understand the contemporary world in which the author writes, but Voltaire's skill raises Candide above this level of satirical writing. He is masterful in the use of comedy to poke fun at the customs, mores, and beliefs of his time and show us the silliness to shich theunenlightened mind can go in the pursuit of perfection in an imperfect world. As a commentator on human culture he is followed by Mark Twain. Not that Twain can match Voltaire in his skill, only in some of his perceptions. This is an "old" book by new world reckoning, but as a masterpiecce well worth the time and effort of exploaration it is a timeless masterpiece. I highly recommend it to both believer and non-believer.

A great selection of stories where Voltaire shows off his literary style and espouses his philosophy on different topics.
He is a great story teller and has a great sense of humour too.

This was a first source cited in "A Visit From Voltaire" which turned me on to the man with its lightly comic approach to a formidable subject, BUT I have to add that I only understood it bettert after knowing what role Candide played in the political mayhem of his life fighting "infame," and only after I knew more about his social/irreligious context, did I really "get" what he was doing in Candide. I'd send light readers to "Voltaire in Love," and wannabe scholars to the Portable Voltaire and whatever basic biographic texts they can find, as well as Visit from Voltaire, A which is hilarious fun.

Voltaire's Candide is a scathing satire on one of the more popular metaphysical theories of his day: that is, we live in the best of all possible worlds. In spite of the disasters and disappointments that befall mankind, Candide and an array of companions attempt to make sense of their personal tragedies while shoehorning it into the Leibniz theory.

Candide is well-written, and sprinkled with cute and clever irony. I also enjoyed the references Voltaire makes to his personal enemies in Candide. However, the optimistic theory that prompted this satire has been rejected, which leads me to believe there isn't much purpose for this book any longer. Really the only reason left to read Candide is to become 'culturally literate', I suppose. Don't get me wrong; the ultimate message of this book is a good one. However, I hope readers don't think Candide's lesson must preclude optimism all together, or love, or friends, or God. That fact is obscured to make a literary point.

The only interesting question that remains to be asked from this book is: why does such cyncism accompany 'enlightenment'? Both French and American societies are rife with it after all, so much that I doubt even Voltaire could manage much of a smirk. All he could do would be to join the choir and tend the garden he has sown.

Very interesting book.
I had a hard time laying the book down.
Everyone should take a look at this.

Dr. Becker is a brilliant medical researcher who has devoted his life to the study of something most doctors barely understand that it exists: the body's electrical system.

Among many other topics, Dr. Becker describes
- the body's inbuilt electrical systems,
- how he was able to use electrical current to get bones that would otherwise not have grown together to do so,
- how he offered to create a means of inducing anesthesia with electrical currents, but was politely turned down by lesser doctors,
- how one can measure electrical currents flowing at acupuncture points (in other words, why there must be something to acupuncture),
- why he thinks there may be something to homeopathy,
- to what extent electrical systems play a role in the salamander's ability to regenerate tissue,
- the harm that (everyday) electromagnetic fields can cause.

The tragedy of Dr. Becker is that he is so far ahead of his time that he is largely overlooked. All the same he sometimes paints with a little too broad a brush. All the same, I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the life sciences.

A great job by Dr. Becker. Electromagnetism affects all lifeforms on earth. The effect it has on our health is dramatic and cannot continue to be ignored by mainstream medicine. Becker is a true pioneer.

The one criticism that I have with this book is that Becker failed to mention the excellent research done by Albert Roy Davis and Walter Rawls.
Davis was the first scientist in the world to discover that magnetism consists of two separate energies with different effects, it's not a singular form of energy with a singular effect, as is still widely believed today. The North and South poles have opposite effects.

Davis found that South pole magnetism is harmful to our health and will cause bacteria, germs, and even cancer to grow and spread at an accelerated rate in the body, while North pole magnetism will quickly stop the growth and assist the body to overcome disease. Just as Becker has said, Davis and Rawls found that many devices used in hospitals actually compound the problem. Radiation, for example, emits positive and negative electromagnetic energies. The positive energies can actually stimulate the growth of the cancer cells, similar to the way positive (South) magnetic energies do.

The first book by Davis and Rawls, "Magnetism and Its Effects on the Living System", goes into detail about how magnetism affects the physical and mental development of animals, the growth of plants, and among other topics, a detailed account of the effects both negative and positive magnetic energies have on cancer. "The Magnetic Blueprint of Life", the last of their books, expresses the relationship of air ions to health, how magnetism can be utilized in energy production, and it has in-depth information on how these positive electromagnetic energies, which are all around us, endanger us to a greater degree each and every day. We are being lied to about the safety of many electrical products on the market today, cell phones included.

If you have the books by Robert Becker and Davis and Rawls you'll be way ahead of the rest of the population in your knowledge of electromagnetism and its effects on all living beings.

If you really want to understand how the body works and is being influenced by our environment you must read this book. What an eye-opener. The author is someone thinking ahead of his time and much of what he predicted has come true.

1. "Most technological cures for cancer, for example, were found to be carcinogenic themselves"
2. From the beginning, life has been dependent on Earth's natural electromagnetic environment. Today this natural environment is submerged beneath a torrent of electromagnetic fields that have never before been present...In Cross Currents I will show how both the human body electric and the Earth's body electric have been damaged by this alteration; I will then explain what steps we must take to prevent the disaster that is fast approaching.
3. Hospitals were becoming dangerous places to enter; patients sometimes entered with minor illnesses and left with permanent disabilities resulting from complication after another. Some patients discovered the various disciplines of energy medicine, which appeared to have three outstanding things to offer. First, they would do no harm; second, they often seemed to do some good; and third, they were much less expensive than orthodox medicine.
4. The physicist, biologist, and physicians were absolutely certain that life forces simply did not exist, and that all living things were simply chemical machines. They knew that the living organism was simply a collection of structures, which work chemically and were integrated by means of central nervous system, with no involvement of electricity or magnetism.
5. Nature must have a mechanism of self-repair; otherwise, life would not have succeeded. Self-repair requires a closed-loop control system-that is, one in which a certain signal indicates injury and causes another signal to effect repair. As the repair proceeds, the injury signal diminishes, and when the repair is complete the signal stops.
6. Salamander limbs regenerate at the Neuroepidermal junction and negative electric current signals primitive cells in the blastema to redifferentiate and growth back the limb. As the blastema grows, the salamander current becomes highly negative and slowly returns to its original baseline.
7. In a number of experiments, I was able to show that the DC electric currents I was measuring from a variety of tissues, including nerve fibers, were actual semiconducting. As a result of interest stirred up by these experiments, many people began to make electrical measurements of other growth processes. All rapid growing tissues were found to be negative in polarity. Interestingly, cancers in animals or humans always showed the highest negativity.
8. The frog's red cells could be dedifferentiated by electricity, but only with vanishing small amounts (measured in the billionths of amperes). Electricity was clearly a stimulus to regeneration. Instructions to regenerate were retained by mammals. Therefore, the growth control system required for regeneration was present. For electricity to turn on the control system for regeneration the right amount of electricity and right polarity was required.
9. I proposed that the acupuncture pointes were just such booster amplifiers, spaced along the course of the meridian transmission lines. Metallic acupuncture needles inserted in or near such a point would produce sufficient electrical disturbance that the amplifier could not operate, and the pain would be blocked.
Input DC electrical signals carried the information that injury had occurred along the acupuncture medians to the brain, where parts of this group of signals reached consciousness and was perceived as pain. Output DC signals caused the cells and chemical mechanisms at the site of injury to produce repair.
11. In the 1880s, Dr Allison Apostoli treated cancers of the cervix and uterus with DC electricity by inserting a positive electrode into the tumor and passing between 100 to 250 milliamperes of current through the tumor to a large negative electrode on the abdomen producing electrolysis within the tumor. He reported prompt relief of pain and bleeding, and shrinkage of the tumors, but he reported no long-term results.
12. All rapidly growing tissues were found to be negative in polarity compared with the rest of the body. The highest negativity was found in malignant tumors. In 1977, Doctors Muriel Schaubel and Mutaz Habel used stainless steel needles inserted directly into the tumors. Doctors Schaubel and Habel used three leves of current: 3 milliamperes, ½ milliampre, and 960 millimicroamperes. With the 3 Ma current there was significant destruction of the tumor, with about twice as much at the positive as the negative location. At the ½ MA there was destruction of the tumor at the positive electrode. At the lowest level of current there was a reduction in the weight of the tumors with both the positive and negative electrodes. The conclusion was the tumor destruction was the result of local electrolysis at the needle electrode.
13. The local toxicity of electricity kills cancer cells, but the real hazard is stimulating other cancer growth with the use of electricity.
14. Dr Kenneth McLean claimed that rats inoculated with cancer survived if they were treated with extremely high strength DC magnetic fields.
15. Pulsed magnetic field treatment for bone nonunions also has been reported to slow the growth of animal tumors. Pulsed magnetic fields have a major effect on the stress-response system. Exposure of the whole animal for a short time causes a rapid stress response, with a marked increase in the activity of the immune system. For a time, the immune system has the upper hand and defeats an increased growth of the cancer. However, continuing the exposure beyond the short term results in a decline of the stress response and the immune system falls to below normal levels. Tumor-cell growth is then enhanced by both the drop in immune-system efficiency and the direction of the pulsed magnetic field on the cancer cells themselves.
16. Dr Becker discovered that some human cancer cells in a culture appeared to dedifferentiate when exposed to electrically generated silver ions. An electrical-charge transfer sends a signal to the nucleus of the cancer cell that activates the primitive type genes, and the cell dedifferentiates.

This book is a work of scope and insight that is still quoted and referred to often. Although written in the 1800s it still speaks to us about what we were with a clarity and accuracy that makes it an essential if you care about the early development of this country. It has past the test of time and may be more important now then it ever was. READ IT.

George Lawrence's translation, which migrated from Harper & Row to Doubleday back to HarperCollins, is far and away the best translation of this classic study of democracy and American life. Lawrence is more accurate than the old Henry Reeve translation (even as revised by Phillips Bradley) kept in print by Vintage, and livelier than the stodgy translation inflicted on us by Harvey C. Mansfield Jr. for the University of Chicago Press.

De Tocqueville was an amazing man who posessed amazing insight into the workings (and not-workings) of American society. One only laments the fact that he was not a middle caste American politician arguing amongst great minds during the Constitutional conventions. Then again, we are equally lucky of the fact that he was a curious Frenchman of the leisure class who happened to be passing through. This is what gives de Tocqueville the ability to refrain from emotionalism and give us an outsiders view of what makes America good, bad and just plain different.

See, de tocqueville recognizes, as did our founders, that liberty and democracy are key ingredients to a healthy society. On the other hand, he points out that too much freedom or democracy lead to lazy, public-opinion driven conformity, over-emphasis on materialism and restlessness. Another contradiction de tocqueville points out is that although self-government is generally a good idea, there are times when an all powerful aristocracy is just more efficient. He can see all sides.
The best part then is that de Tocqueville doesn't come to any final conclusion. He just observes and reports on America's inner workings as seen by an aristocratic Frenchman.

A few reccomendations to the de tocqueville virgins. First, as this is the unabridged, it may be advised to read the first book, pause to read something else, then read the second book. I read it straight through and found that not only would I have benefited from reflection, but much of the second book is a rehash the first. Second, keep in mind during the second book that the word 'democracy' is also de tocqueville's word for 'capitalism'. The word 'capitalism' would be introduced only years later by one Karl Marx. So when de tocqueville says that democracy increases industriousness, what the reader should hear is that capitalism increases industriousness. This in itself is a brilliant observation by de tocqueville. Democracy and capitalism really are the same thing, different scale. The producer, like the political candidate, cater to the consumer or the voter. Both systems allow the individual to choose the goods and services he wants and reject those he doesn't. This is why one may also want to read 'Wealth of Nations' with this book.

The only other thing I can tell the reader before he or she embarks on a fascinating reading adventure is to keep in mind why de tocqueville wrote the book. He intended it to be read by the french who were not familiar with or had misconceptions about America. Of course, it provides contemporary America with an amazing historical survey. Like the introductory exclamation to MTV's 'Diary' show says, "You think you know, but you have no idea".

The Transformation and Guarantees of
American Democracy
-An analysis of Tocqueville's worries for American democracy and an illustration of American democracy's current state

The beguiling title of Tocqueville's Democracy in America seems to suggest that the book might go well in a state department propaganda packet. As a proud citizen of America flips through the pages, however, he soon discovers Tocqueville's admiration at American democracy stems not from an intrinsic love for it, but from the amazement that something so dangerous has somehow avoided falling off of the cliff. In fact, Tocqueville spends most of his chapters listing his endless concerns about democracy.

In all, to Tocqueville, democracy in general presents three intrinsic dangers for its citizens: it does not guarantee them a secure life, it does not guarantee them a prosperous life, and it does not guarantee them an enlightened life of freedom. Against these general tendencies, Tocqueville lists three essential factors which secure democracy in America-the lack of which would mean the end to American liberty. They are: America's geography, political system, and religion.

Looking at America today, Tocqueville's three securing factors for American democracy are long gone, however, the loss of its guardian angels has not resulted in the materialization of the three dangers and America today is as democratic and free as it has ever being. Tocqueville has been proven wrong because he misunderstood and discounted democracy's ultimate force-the drive for equality. Tocqueville thought the search for equality would ultimately draw people away from freedom, but to the contrary, the demand of equality is the ultimate guarantee of freedom in democracy.

The Three Dangers of Democracy

The foremost duty of any civil society is to provide security, and to Tocqueville, the democratic state can not guarantee this. The democratic people have been loosened from the old ties of society, and living independently, they no longer see the need to help another in danger until they themselves are attacked. When they do see danger, however, the whimsical nature of democratic deliberation and the lack of central control especially in the American confederation prevent a timely and sustained defense against the enemy. Tocqueville writes, "...I refuse to believe that, with equal force on either side, a confederated nation can long fight against a nation with centralized government power." (p170) Indeed, if a great army could indeed be assembled, this necessarily entails greater centralization, which only brings more dangers to democracy.

Beyond security, the people will also desire prosperity, and prosperity requires the building of an economic infrastructure that only the society as a whole is capable of. The nation must make laws that encourage innovation, construct roads, regulate industries, fund schools, etc. Many of these activities require sustained efforts which, again, a short sighted and frequently changing government by the people can not commit to since "habitual inattention must be reckoned the great vice of the democratic spirit." (p611) Additionally, even when the people do commit to an act, their officials who are not the "fittest man" (p199) can not accomplish much because they spend their whole time worried about reelection.

Democracy promises to set each free through voting, but sadly, to Tocqueville, the lack of security and prosperity must engender Democracy's fall toward centralization which will create a benumbing voice of the majority that will silence opinions and suffocates freedom. The minority will surely suffer, but even the majority, believing that they are in charge of the government, will lose their sight on the exact operations of the government which they have relegated away and will lose freedom. Tocqueville writes,

"The Americans believe that in each state supreme power should emanate directly from the people, but once this power has been constituted, they can hardly conceive any limits to it. They freely recognized that it has the right to do everything." (p669)

The worry here is not that the government will exploit the people's inattention, but that the citizens will no longer be enlightened by their daily political "exercises" and that the activity of the entire nation will lose its vitality, turning the society into a stony machine of bureaucrats and the people into dusts on a chessboard.

The Three Guarantee of American Democracy

Countering the three above impacts, Tocqueville thought that American Geography, politics and religion preserve freedom, prosperity, and security.

Stretching between two oceans and with only two weak neighbors, the geography of the United States gives America the leisure to have a confederated government. The Continent also offers open space for the young and the ambitious. Although the nation is weak in achieving collective projects, with boundless opportunities and population growth, the collective result of individual expansion is sufficient for prosperity. Indeed, as people move on, "it is the seed of life and of prosperity that he bears." (p281)

The governmental structure of the U.S. also allows it to prosper and helps to preserve freedom. The Union has enough power to fight against small enemies such as the Indians, yet it avoids centralization by empowering the locals. Certainly, localized and centralized democracy both suffer from short-sightedness and suppression of the mind, however, local policies are easier to observe, and taking part in politics, the people are enlightened and freer. Tocqueville writes, "The New Englander is attached to this township because it is strong and independent...in the restricted sphere within his scope, he learns to rule society" (p70) As one learns to rule, he will also be empowered and emboldened to start prosperous private enterprises.

More than politics and geography, to Tocqueville, Religion has the greatest impact on freedom and also improves prosperity. Religion always marches along with the adventurers and secures in the Western frontiers not only the equality based American political system but also American commerce by helping to establish law and order in new territories. Tocqueville writes, "...the spirit of man rushes forward to explore it in every direction; but when that spirit reaches the limits of the world of politics, it stops of its own accord..." (p47) It stops because of the taming power of religion, and without this restraining stability, a people can not have security, prosperity, nor freedom.

At the same time, by connecting people together through churches and providing them the warmth of family life, religion also moderates the Americans' excessive "habit of thinking of themselves in isolation and imagine that their whole destiny is in their own hands." (p508) This habit would have induced men to delegate political concerns to central authority, and as they only see small things at hand, they would have lost the enlightenment which the independent political life provides.

Today, the Three Guarantees No Longer Exist

Today, America is certainly no longer the America which Tocqueville saw, the three conditions that maintained the democratic institution are severely weakened.

Today, the deserts of the West have been converted into hundreds of miles of suburbia, and America spends billions of dollars guarding its southern border. People still dream, but unlike in the old days when anyone with any background can gain a piece of land through hard work, people today must compete against others for the limited pie. Additionally, America certainly still has no fear of the Canadian or Mexican army, but it has enemies throughout the world who are capable of attack.

Just as Tocqueville predicted, after each war, the central power in America became stronger. Today, local politics no longer excites the passion of the crowds, and states are more provincial. The national government controls a tremendous percentage of the national wealth, directs economic policies, sets regulation for every industry, and leads the greatest military in the world. Alarmingly, political apathy has also increased. Surely, the average American says he loves his democracy, but in the democracy he talks about the percentage of people who vote is far from 100% and even for those who do vote, the thousands of pages of Washington laws and decrees are out of their control.

The religious landscape has also changed. The morality of Christianity certainly still holds sway over many, however, the average American today certainly does not have the religious zeal of people 200 years ago. There are also large parts of the population that are atheists or believe in non-western religions. Strangely, some vocal Christians seem to promote an ever increasing share of religion in politics, or rather, politicians are becoming ever more agile at using religion for politics-two things which Tocqueville believed must be separated for either to be truly powerful.

Without the Guarantees the People Are Still Free

Despite losing the old guarantee of security, America today still has security, prosperity and freedom.

Despite Sep. 11, America is certainly secure in the sense that the average American does not wake up worried that he will die simply because he lives in a democracy. Some groups might attempt small attacks, but no groups or dictatorial regimes can dream of winning a war against this super military power and internal security is also largely guaranteed by a large police force.

Despite the loss of the Wild West, local energy and uniform religion, America today certainly enjoys great prosperity. American companies dominate all lists of top companies in the world, and American innovations have improved the living conditions of mankind beyond imagination. There is certainly disparity between the richest and the poorest, however, the majority of the people enjoy prosperous middle-class life, and even the poorest are supported by a generous welfare system.

One might say that America has achieved the above security and prosperity exactly because power became centralized and the cost of these was the loss of freedom. This is a misconception. Indeed, political participation is limited to fewer people today and sometimes one wonders if the blind search for wealth should be tempered by some uniform religion again, but perhaps Americans have constructed an economic and political system that does not need much more innovation, and the works politicians today even if localized no longer heighten one's mind, but merely bore a person with their regularity.

Today, the citizen's rights as consumers instead of voters define American freedom-when one goes into a store and chooses from a thousand different products, he knows that he is free. No longer must men be suppressed by the opinion of the majority, but each can freely buy the niche models personalized just for him. Shopping is the daily act of wallet voting-the modern equivalent of 19th century town hall meetings; the same restless agitation, excitement, and heightened sense of self-worth and joy pervade the modern marketplace. Of course, each person's mind is not only enlarged in her role as a consumer but also in his role as a marketer or producer who must dig out creative juices to satisfy customer demands.

The effects of the vibrant consumer culture extend into the sanctified realm of intellectual endeavors. Institutional and individual consumers/investors/sponsors support in the U.S. the best researches in the world for practical and basic researches and vote with his wallet at who gets the tuitions or research grants. Perhaps the nation is a little too agitated, but if they wish, those who want to enjoy the serenity of life can certainly go to the country side or some forest and sustain a more peaceful existence.

The Truth about Equality

From the above analysis, we could see that although Tocqueville argues convincingly for the three dangers of democracy and three cures of democracy, in fact, the dangers were not so dangerous and the cures were not the only cures. It might surprise Tocqueville that despite of the loss of the West, centralization and the weakening of religion, Americans today are as free, prosperous and secure as they have ever been.

The key of Tocqueville's miscalculation lies with his analysis of equality and freedom. Tocqueville believes that the democratic search for equality engenders jealousy which undermines freedom by dragging everyone down and letting some anonymous force rule over all. He writes,

"There is indeed a manly and legitimate passion for equality which rouses in all men a desire to be strong and respected .This passion tends to elevate the little man to the rank of the great/ But the human heart also nourishes a debased taste for equality, which leads the weak to want to drag the strong down to their level and which induces men to prefer equality in servitude to inequality in freedom." (p669)

To him, the geography, political structure and religious mores in America were the restraining factors that limited the downward tendency of equality which induces people to simply follow without thinking. The loss of free thinking would not only prevent men from reaching a more enlightened and dignified state, but also ultimately undermine the security and prosperity of the nation through its benumbing effects on the nation's overall social, political and economic situations.

In reality, equality is the greatest guarantee of freedom. America's worship of equality does not incite jealousy like Tocqueville asserts, instead, Americans happily admire at those who through their efforts build up great wealth, and imitate them as they march on in their own dreams. Democratic people are only jealous of others if they win without a more or less fair competition. It is true that nothing can ever be perfectly fair, but the American society is generally merit based. One only has to look at Governor Schwarzenegger to realize that anyone in this Country has got a chance. Even for people with connections, they still need to work hard to prove themselves-Bush Senior certainly helped Bush Junior, but Bush Junior still had to win the hearts of Americans to become the President.

When a democratic man does not achieve as much worldly success as someone else, he is not troubled. Unlike the surf in an aristocratic age who feels intrinsically inferior to those with more honor than him, the average man in a democratic society might have achieved nothing great but yet feel perfectly certain that he has achieved for himself a happier life than all others. He is certainly right, after all, freedom and elevation of the mind does not rest on the material well-being of an individual, rather, it is the confidence that he has in his existence and the love he puts into his work that elevates him to the greatest glory of existence.

It is precisely the general equality of opportunities and everyman's belief in himself that has allowed America to grow into the most powerful nation in the world with the greatest prosperity and security ever experienced by mankind. Tocqueville was certainly right in pointing out that the western territories, localized controls and a common religion helped America democracy; even today, America has less population density than many nations, the states are more powerful compared to the provinces in most other countries, and all Americans share the most basic principles of Christian morality even if they are not Christians. Degrees of these three forces certainly contribute and contributed to making America a equal society, however, it is equality itself that is the soul of American liberty, prosperity and security, and the loss or weakening of its supporting factors do not change the soul itself.

Time changes and Tocqueville's worries about democracy have luckily turned out to be false. Today, not only are the new Americans as free as ever, democracy is proving resilient in every kind of culture. On the one hand, the fact that Japanese, Indians, Russians, French, Chileans, Indonesians and Nigerians have all adopted democracy shows that Tocqueville's prediction that Democracy was unstoppable has proven true, and on the other side, his worry that democracy might need some channeling has also proven true considering that all these nations experienced decades of fake democracy before democracy was fully established. Tocqueville certainly deserves much credit for contributing to the spread of democracy with this masterpiece Democracy in America, but the small blemish is that, a little down in his perhaps prejudiced aristocratic mind, the great man thought Democracy to be less versatile than it has proven to be.

In all, the ultimate wonder of democracy is that it allows each one of its members the equality to craft out a world for himself within which he quietly finds comfort.

Anyone wishing to better understand how it is that America achieved it's current position in the world must read this book. De Tocqueville's seminal work rings true today and gives a great perspective on our past, present and future. Everything that has ever happened in America's relatively short history, up to and including our most recent presidential election and the attacks of September 11th are better understood after reading this timeless classic.

Anthony Trollope is a favorite author of mine, and this audio CD version of Framley Parsonage, read by Simon Vance, is well worth the investment. Deft use of language and a keen sense of human motivation, time, and place characterize all Trollope's writing, and those who enjoy period literature will be more than satisfied with this book. It starts slowly, as Trollope's stories often do, but once the background information is given, there are many interesting social, political, financial, and romantic plot developments to engage the reader and listener. Simon Vance's reading is superb, as always. The only caveat is that his rendering of the voice and character of young women is not as good as his pitch, tone, and inflection when narrating the voices of mature women and all men. His skill in rendering different dialects for different social classes and geographical regions is matchless. By all means, listen to this book.

In this novel we find one Mark Robarts, clergyman and parson of Framley. He is an ambitious young man desirous of rising in society. He is friends since childhood with Lord Lufton who makes an unfortunate introduction in the person of Sowerby who seduces poor Mark into signing his name to a debt which the parson cannot afford.

Mark Robarts's father passes away early on and his sister Lucy joins Mark and his wife at Framley Parsonage where Lord Lufton falls in love with her. Two more couples form and while I won't reveal how any of these relationships work out it wouldn't really matter if I did. Trollope's plots usually vary from bad to good but they are hardly ever of any importance anyway. What is important in a Trollope novel isn't what the plot is or how it concludes, it's how it works itself out and how Trollope paints his characters.

The characters in Framley Parsonage are a little whiter and blacker than those of the previous novels in the Barsetshire series. Sowerby is by far and away the blackest and Trollope was so effective in painting him black that towards the end he clumsily appeals directly to the reader and assures us Sowerby isn't really as bad a fellow as he seems.

Dr. Thorne and his niece Mary Gresham appear (from Doctor Thorne) as do the Grantlys and the Proudies (from Barchester Towers). Lucy Robarts is a fascinating woman even more headstrong here than Mary Gresham was in Doctor Thorne, but my favourite character in this novel is Lady Lufton. She opposes her son's desire to court and marry Lucy but does so politely and with consideration. At the same time, Lucy behaves in way Lady Lufton can only find irreproachable. So of course, not having anything with which to reproach Lucy, Lady Lufton has nothing with which to oppose her son's suit. And yet she does. How will this three-sided battle of wills, pitting Lord Lufton against his mother against Lucy against her suitor, resolve itself?

Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it? Let's just say that Lady Lufton has painted herself into a corner and let us leave it at that.

All in all, another fine example of Trollope's mastery of moral calculus.

Vincent Poirier, Dublin

Framley Parsonage is the fourth in Trollope's Barsetshire novels. Trollope (1815-1882) wrote the novel as a serial in the influential Cornhill magazine in 186-61, This novel along with the others in the series: The Warden; Dr. Thorne, The Small House at Allington, Barchester Towers and the Last Chronicle of Barset is a delightful return to mid-Victorian middle class society in a rural mythical county named Barsetshire.
In this long novel of over 600 pages there are several stories. The main character is the Rev. Mark Robarts, a
doctor's son, who at a young age becomes the vicar of Framley Parsonage. He has children and a kind wife Fanny. Mark has visions of grandeur in his head. He lends money to the unscrupulous Member of Parliament Mr. Sowerby. As a result of this fatuity Mark falls into debt. His friends rally to his aid.
Mark's sister Lucy Robarts is novel's heroine. She falls in love with the wealthy Lord Lufton who lives at Eustace Court with his formidable mother Lady Lufton. Lady Lufton wants her son Ludovic to wed Griselda Grantley the statuesque but dull as dishwater and cold as a cucumber daughter of Archdeacon Grantley. Lufton is torn between these two women. We see Lady Lufton overcome her prejudice against Lucy. Lucy is a kind girl who minister to the family of the poor clergyman Josiah Crawley. She wins over the heart of Lady Lufton and the reader.
Secondary plots concern the midlife romance of Miss Dunstable and good Doctor Thorne. Olivia Proudie daughter of the fussy busybody and scold Mrs. Proudie and the uxorious Bishop Proudie weds a clergyman Mr. Tickler who is a widower. Griselda Grantley is courted by the stupid Lord Dumbello who possesses a name and title to the Hartletop lands and fortune. Will she win Lord Lufton or choose Dumbello?
All's well that ends well in this classic Trollopian tale. Long before Jan Karon, Anthony Trollope wrote humorous, moving and plot driven tales of the lives of the clergy dealing with real life problems, romance and challenges. In my opinion, an Anthony Trollope novel is a good way to spend a quiet evening before the fireplace. Enjoy this wonderful author and the world he created.

The fourth of the Chronicles of Barsetshire, Framley Parsonage (1861) is a gentle novel filled with memorable characters, including many characters from The Warden, Barchester Towers, and Doctor Thorne (Barsetshire Novels). Mark Robarts, a young vicar with a devoted wife, has a comfortable situation at Framley Parsonage on the estate of the indomitable Lady Lufton. Her son, now Lord Lufton, had been a friend of Mark Robarts at school, and it was their friendship which resulted in Mark's position. Mark, though conscientious in his duties and grateful for his situation, is ambitious, however, anxious to expand his horizons beyond Framley.

Lady Lufton, who rules with an iron hand, is appalled when Mark decides to spend a weekend with a "fast" crowd, one which he believes can advance his career. Young and naïve, he becomes the dupe of an aristocratic "con-man," an MP named Nathaniel Sowerby, who persuades him to help him out of a financial jam by signing a note for five hundred pounds (more than half Robarts's yearly salary), allowing Sowerby to draw funds on Robarts's name. In the meantime, Robarts's sister Lucy arrives at Framley Parsonage upon the death of their father. Lucy, a sweet ingénue in mourning, soon comes to the attention of Lord Lufton, but Lady Lufton has many more "significant" matrimonial prospects in mind for her son. As Robarts's financial miseries become more pressing, and as Lucy's disappointment in love increases, the scene is set for a final showdown.

Numerous peripheral characters, many of them known to readers of the series, add to the drama of the primary action. The implacable dowager Lady Lufton, wishing to maintain her family's social position, pushes Griselda Grantly, daughter of Archdeacon Grantly, as the Duke's suitor. The competition between the (Archdeacon) Grantlys and the (Bishop) Proudies for suitors for their daughters adds great comic relief to the story, and the internecine manipulations among the clergy provide gentle satire in a novel which seems to be remarkably domestic in its focus.

Trollope provides a full picture of Victorian life, representing many aspects of society, and though his view of the clergy has in earlier novels been a bit jaded, he is sympathetic to many of its representatives in this novel, seeing them as humans, rather than as types. A sweet novel, part love story and part social commentary, Framley Parsonage is charming, memorable for its characters and picture of Victorian England. Mary Whipple

The fourth of the Chronicles of Barsetshire, Framley Parsonage (1861) is a gentle novel filled with memorable characters, including many characters from The Warden, Barchester Towers, and Dr. Thorne. Mark Robarts, a young vicar with a devoted wife, has a comfortable situation at Framley Parsonage on the estate of the indomitable Lady Lufton. Her son, now Lord Lufton, had been a friend of Mark Robarts at school, and it was their friendship which resulted in Mark's position. Mark, though conscientious in his duties and grateful for his situation, is ambitious, however, anxious to expand his horizons beyond Framley.

Lady Lufton, who rules with an iron hand, is appalled when Mark decides to spend a weekend with a "fast" crowd, one which he believes can advance his career. Young and naïve, he becomes the dupe of an aristocratic "con-man," an MP named Nathaniel Sowerby, who persuades him to help him out of a financial jam by signing a note for five hundred pounds (more than half Robarts's yearly salary), allowing Sowerby to draw funds on Robarts's name. Though Sowerby swears he will resolve the problem within weeks, he needs an additional four hundred pounds when the note comes due.

In the meantime, Robarts's sister Lucy arrives at Framley Parsonage upon the death of their father. Lucy, a sweet ingénue in mourning, soon comes to the attention of Lord Lufton, who is fascinated by her naivete, a marked contrast with the women he has known to date. Though Lady Lufton has much more "significant" matrimonial prospects in mind for her son, the courtship begins, and though Lucy declines Lord Lufton's initial proposal, she remains in love with him. As Robarts's financial miseries become more pressing, and as Lucy's misery at having turned down Lord Lufton increases, the scene is set for a final showdown.

Numerous peripheral characters, many of them known to readers of the series, add to the drama of the primary action. The implacable dowager Lady Lufton, wishing to maintain her family's social position, staunchly opposes the Duke's relationship with Lucy Robarts, pushing Griselda Grantly, daughter of Archdeacon Grantly, as the Duke's suitor. The competition between the (Archdeacon) Grantlys and the (Bishop) Proudies for suitors for their daughters adds great comic relief to the story, and the internecine manipulations among the clergy provide gentle satire in a novel which seems to be remarkably domestic in its focus.

Trollope provides a full picture of Victorian life, representing many aspects of society, and though his view of the clergy has in earlier novels been a bit jaded, he is sympathetic to many of its representatives in this novel, seeing them as humans, rather than as types. A sweet novel, part love story and part social commentary, Framley Parsonage is charming, memorable for its characters and picture of Victorian England. n Mary Whipple

The Warden
Barchester Towers
Doctor Thorne (Barsetshire Novels)