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Antidote for the Empty Nest
When my only son went to college, I was struggling with the common issue of the empty nest, and finding meaning in the new chapter of life that I was beginning. A cynical parent I knew quipped sarcastically, "Get a life!" I've had a life, thank you, I responded inwardly. An all-absorbing, rewarding one. That's why I can't just turn off a switch and disengage.This woman's trite cliché trivialized the complex process of switching gears when one's kids leave home, glossing over the grief-loss component and midlife transition issues. A wiser, wittier friend offered this advice: "Find a new source of meaning, and try not to get too fat."I perused many books about letting go of our college age kids and our old parenting role, and looking forward to the future. But this book by a Jungian psychoanalyst offered the richest, deepest perspective on the second half of life I had ever found.Like most books based on Carl Jung's depth psychology, Dr. Hollis' book is not for the squeamish or the shallow. It is not self-help lite, promising the reader magic, instant personal reinvention by learning a few superficial principles.Through a discussion of the lives of many midlife adults, facing crossroads requiring great courage, embracing the heretofore ignored "shadow" in their souls, Dr. Hollis invites the reader into the deep end of the pool. In the second half of life, the author asserts, it is our developmental task, to individuate, to become more authentically ourselves.Carl Jung's insightful quote about "the afternoon of life" might well be on the back cover of this book:"A human being would certainly not grow to be seventy or eighty years old if this longevity had no meaning for the species. The afternoon of human life must also have a significance of its own and cannot be merely a pitiful appendage to life's morning. The significance of the morning undoubtedly lies in the development of the individual, our entrenchment in the outer world, the propagation of our kind, and the care of our children. This is the obvious purpose of nature. But when this purpose has been attained - and more than attained - shall the earning of money, the extension of conquests, and the expansion of life go steadily on beyond the bounds of all reason and sense? Whoever carries over into the afternoon the law of the morning, or the natural aim, must pay for it with damage to his soul, just as surely as a growing youth who tries to carry over his childish egoism into adult life must pay for this mistake with social failure."("The Stages of Life" (1930). In CW 8: The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche. P. 787) | 1positive
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melicious is delicious
reading these tales from the track is as much fun as an elbow in the windpipe - just kidding. I loved these stories of roughneck women. Kindred spirits! GO ROLLERGIRLS!! | 1positive
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Difficult language
This book seems written in the style of Jane Austin, not Georget Hayer.I have tried to get into it but find the prose too diffficult to proceed I intend to proceed some day but for now I must leave till I am in a better mood. Or my tastes have improved | 0negative
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Fascinating, Shocking and Enraging.....A MUST read!
"Imperial Life in the Emerald City" by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, is an interesting, sometimes funny and sometimes jaw dropping (in disbelief) book. I have not been able to put in down since I purchased it a few days ago (when I really should be doing my school work). If you want to know why and how we botched up in Iraq - a step by step analysis since the war broke out - then this book tells it all. Here are some excerpts from the book:"Al-Sistani issued a fatwa, a religious decree, stating that Iraq's constitution has to be written by elected representatives. An American-selected drafting committee was "unacceptable", he said, because there was "no guarantee that such a committee will draft a constitution upholding the Iraqi people's interests and expressing their national identity and lofty social values." Al-Sistani's fatwa was all but ignored by the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority). "It didn't register," one of Bremer's senior aides said later. "The view was, "We'll just get someone to write another fatwa"."Bumper stickers and mouse pads praising President Bush were standard desk decorations in the Republican Palace (inside Iraq's Green zone).""I am not here for the Iraqis," one staffer said. "I'm here for George Bush"."The CPA did have a small contingent of Democrats. Most were soldiers and diplomats who, by law, could not be queried about their political leanings. Several of them, led by a young Foreign Service officer, formed a support group called 'Donkeys in the Desert'""Unlike almost anywhere else in Baghdad, you could dine at the cafeteria in the Republican Palace for six months and never eat hummus, flatbreadm or a lamb kebab. The fare was always American, with Southern flavor. A buffet featuring grits, cornbread, and a bottomless barrel of pork:sausage for breakfast, hot dogs for lunch, pork chops for dinner. There were bacon cheeseburgers, grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches, and bacon omelets. Hundreds of Iraqi secretaries and translators who worked for the occupation authority (CPA) had to eat in the dining hall. Most of them were Muslims, and many were offended by the presence of pork. But the American contractors running the kitchen kept serving it. The cafeteria was all about meeting American needs for high calorie, high-fat comfort food." | 1positive
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A Disappointing Continuation
After reading this book, I just have to post my thoughts. It is V.C Andrews and her ghost writer's worst book. It is not V.C. Andrews writing style, and the plot has nothing to do with the previous books. It seems as if her ghostwriter was so eager to end the book, she killed off everybody but Rain. This book is horrible-don't buy it. | 0negative
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HOT HOT HOT Heated romantic suspense
I found the characters to be multi-dimensional and the author weaves a mystery into the story without slowing it down or interrupting the romantic flow. The plot and characters seemed fresh, the pace was quick, and it was a totally engrossing read. It was written with an amazing level of intensity and feeling that my heart was pumping furiously with both the palatable passion and the keen sense of danger infused in the story. The plot moved along at a great pace. Full of enjoyable supporting characters and stories. A Match Made in Scandal was an emotional roller coaster, and I felt all the pain and joy they did. I was so engrossed, I read it in a day. Wonderfully written! And very sexy historical Romance book. A Match Made in Scandal is a book I know I will be reading for years to come. It's a keeper. | 1positive
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0 Yes ZERO Stars
Michael Moore writes and produces to promote the views of Michael Moore, nothing else. That he can do so is tribute to the political climate and arena that he so often criticizes. His efforts do nothing more than line his wallet for the sake of opportunity. His efforts on the "literary" venue are biased, and a personal agenda. That this puffy, fat man of simple mind can try to influence the masses in such a Large fashion is totally...American. | 0negative
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Love it
I saw the Oprah show talking about it and immediately knew I wanted it. I had my daughter buy it for my husband to give me for Christmas. I bought a book that day and started away. Love that you can change the typeface. The buttons can be a problem, but I've found if you always go to the home page before closing down, you eliminate the problem of pushing the page turner when turning on the unit. That solved it for me totally. The battery life seems very good. I also wish I knew how many pages there were and what page I was on. I miss turning pages of a book to see where the next chapter begins to decide if I keep reading or not.Those things are minor in my eyes.I am flying over the weekend and am exited to have it on the plane and on my vacation.If more finally come in, I probably will buy them for my 2 adult kids. | 1positive
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another poor author
To somebody who knows OOP, UML can be explained in under 30 minutes.It is simple, OOP is not. OOD starts in the head of an OOP programmer. Patterns help!I heavily recommend Sams "Teach Yourself UML in 24 hours"ISBN 0672322382Make up your own mind by looking at the books locally first.Whoever wrote the Schaum's Outline on UML also engages in doubletalk that is convoluted and based on something in the head of the author. Too bad Stephen Prata, Stephen Kochan, Ivor Horton or Bruce Eckel didn't write on patterns or UML!So many books by Booch, Fowler and Larman are heavily padded...full of repetitious sentences that tell me nothing!A professor at a local university said "I read Booch's 1992 book on OOA 3 times and asked myself what I learned...nothing"Those are my words exactly!When I was in Junior High, there was a teacher whose punishment for chewing gum was to write a 10 page essay on the benefits of chewing gum. I'll tell you I never chewed gum. Can you imagine how much you have to pad the writing to get 10 pages.Concerning a recent Booch book, I emailed Grady Booch to ask where the black diamond (in an early chapter) was defined. A month later, back came "chapter 16". Good thing I already knew about aggregation and composites.These people just can't write.Why are there so many fans of these books?There is honor amongst thieves, elitists and groupies! | 0negative
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Way too fragile
I have owned 7 kindles, only one was an upgrade, the rest were replacements (some purchased, some provided by Amaszon). I use a cover and am not particularly hard on them. They are just too fragile. After the last incidents (the screen froze on mine and my son broke his screen by putting very little pressure on it while it was in its case) I will not be using the Kindle again. I have been a loyal user since August 2008 and appreciate all of the features and the ease of reading, but will not continue to negotiate with Amazon on whether the latest problem warrents a replacement or whether I have to buy a new one. I have spent over $1,000 on Kindles and currently don't have one. | 0negative
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Awful...
I won't buy Coulter books any more. The dialog is incredibly bad the plot lines are non-existant. What was with the "ghost"? Why title the book "blowout" when the story revolves around the murder of the Supreme Court Justice. And if the author was trying to throw in a romance between the reporter and the cop, she failed miserably. Not even worth checking out for free at the library. | 0negative
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not her usual
I love the Scarpetta series. And had hoped that I would like this one. It is not up to her usual standards. I didn't make it past page 100. I put it down and got The Last Precinct. Much better. Please stick with Scarpetta, it is what you do best Ms. Cornwell. | 0negative
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An underachievement. Not very good scholarship.
I settled down to read this book, hoping I would find a stimulating rejoinder to Richard Noll's work, and was disappointed. If this is the best critique of Noll that the Jungians can muster, then the Jungian community is in deep, deep trouble. Shamdasani detests Noll -- and that is the only fact one learns after reading this short book. I wasted my money buying it. I would urge others to pass on this one and wait for more sophistated works of Jung criticism to appear. | 0negative
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Some Nuggets to Treasure
Found some nuggets that were helpful when dealing with difficult emotions, but would have liked more direct examples of how to handle difficult times. | 1positive
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Dreams of my Father & Jennifer Hudson
The item was received in a very short time; pleased with the condition it arrived in. | 1positive
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Picture of Dorian Gray
The authors style of exploring human emotions , moral ethics and how the reactions to behavior affect consciousness and actions was fascinating and frightening | 1positive
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Striking Back
This book appears to have been hastily written and edited to take advantage of the release of the movie "Munich". It is poorly written and the telling of several events uses a differnt set of facts than most of the other books on the subject. This book is also very poorly edited. For example, chapter 21 is date stamped September 8, 1972 but tells of the events of December 8, 1972. In other chapters a character is referred to as Sylvia Rafael and then in later chapters as Sylvia Raphael. Small matters perhaps, but such lapses undermine the author's attention to detail and concern of the accuracy of his story. And, this book requires that you accept the veracity of the author. Throughout the book the author makes unsupported statements of facts that he apparently just expects you to accept. For example, in chapter 31 the author states that he can now tell the reader that Dr. Wadi Haddad was assissanated by the means of poisoned chocolates rather than dieing of natural causes as has heretofore been believed. However, he offers no explaination of how the chocolates were delivered to the good Dr. through the complex world of a terrorist or how anyone could have been assured that only the Dr. would eat them.There are a number of good books dealing with this general subject but this is not one of them. I recommend that you read either "Vengeance" or "The Hunt for the Red Prince" for well written books dealing with the general subject. | 0negative
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THE BEST THING SINCE PAPYRUS AND THE GUTENBORG PRESS .
i have used the Sony ereader for about a year and enjoyed it very much. Then I got my Kindle on the 26th of December 2007 and it has been like Christmas every day since. To get books and audio books as well a news papers and magazines updated daily is a great pleasure. I hope to have one of my three manuscripts published ASAP to test it as a medium for the remaing two. I am sure there will be newer versions and I will be sure to be the first in line to get them as they are excellent gifts to other members of my family and friends.M. Mounir Gazayerli, M.D. | 1positive
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Turtledove appears to need an editor
I've been reading this series by checking it out of the library. I'm pretty glad because I'd hate to be spending money on this series. It really began to lose momentum several books ago. This volume is very repetitive and very predictable. Too little that's really interesting ever happens. Much like in the Great War, the result just seems inevitable. There's no way the South can do anything but lose this war without a real "deus ex machina" turnabout. Every possible movement that could make things interesting -- a Japanese landing on Pearl Harbor for instance, gets easily written out. Instead the two key USA generals simply do no wrong. It is likely that a government run by a maniac is going to have trouble fighting a war, but the matchup here should be closer than it is.Turtledove has really degenerated into extreme repitition. How many times do I need to hear that the blackout masking tape over headlights only gives off as much light as a cigarette? Someone should be editing this book. It isn't happening and it's at least 150 pages too long (and that's just to tell the same story).How Few Remain created an interesting alternate timeline, but the promise of that has mostly petered out. I'll plug this out to finish it because I'm stubborn, but if you are thinking of starting this series, don't do it with your own money. | 0negative
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Not as great as author says
Wasn't that impressed by this book. I think Gena has written way better books before. I am disappointed she hyped it up so much | 0negative
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Just Say No
My wife purchased this book because I am from NC and an A&T graduate. The book started out good and I enjoyed Damon and John's rise to fame. The references to A&T's campus and campus life were fairly accurate and brought back pleasant memories. Unfortunately, that's when the book became predictable. Except for the insight into the music industry which was great, the book became mired in drug and sex exploits. Then you could predict how it would end. You can not build a quality novel around the shallowness of the characters in this book. Normally I can not put down a good book, but I had to push myself to complete this one.I wish the author would have developed the characters better. There were too many unanswered questions about the main characters and the women have no depth. They sound like the "Average Girl in the Video". Maybe this it what it is like in the today's lust and ego driven music industry. Perhaps Mr. Tyree was just trying to keep it real. The music beats incorporated into the text disturbed the flow of the novel and made it much longer. This just doesn't work and does not add anything to the story. Next time add more plot better characters and less fluff. If you want to get a inside look at the music industry, read this otherwise wait for the paperback version or check it out from the library. Not Omar's best. | 0negative
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A New Spin On A Time-Honored Genre
Alien invasion stories have been done to death since H.G. Wells gave us The War Of The Worlds so it is extraordinarily difficult to come with a new slant to this time-honored genre. Well, William C. Dietz pulls it off with Death Day and the concluding volume Earth Rise. What sets Death Day apart from most of the invasion tradition is, first of all, the invading force being made up of different races. This makes an interesting dynamic and gives the enemy character as their squabbles, in-fighting and fight for freedom (some are slaves to others) make for something new, different and engaging. Also, using racism amonst the aliens as well as the surviving human population rings a true, and tragic, note. The surviving pockets of humanity withdraw within themselves, close off their borders and horde resources. The aliens favor people of color and place them as overseers as human slaves are forced to work building alien temples on Earth. And, sadly, collaborators work with the invading force to control the humans. But the seeds of rebellion have been planted. Humans and enslaved aliens are fighting back and this first book sets up an alliance between the enslaved races. All this is interesting stuff and makes for a fresh approach. I enjoyed this book and recommend it highly. Dietz is the best SF writer working today when it comes to letting character drive the story no matter the setting. | 1positive
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too cumbersome!
This is just pages and pages of nothing. Most people are not going to waste their time reading 640 pages of sayings, witticisms, etcetera--most people searching for a career want to get to the meat of the subject. I was bored after the first 20 pages and never did finish reading the book. Boldt's other book, "How to Find the Work You Love" is much better, and gets to the point much more quickly. If you must select one of his books, pick the second one. | 0negative
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Kudos to Ruth
I just read this book cover to cover on a flight back to NYC from Barcelona. My mouth watered as I read the included reprints of her past reviews of NYC restaurants - even after my five days of fantastic Spanish cuisine! But more surprisingly, I was drawn in by what seems to be quite an honest glimpse of the NYC restaurant experience seen through the eyes of many "characters". The book left me such respect for the depths that Ruth Reichl went through in order to dine as the everyday person would experience, especially in NYC's "best" restaurants. Her recounts made me actually appreciate the research and dedication required to write a truly objective (as objective as food tastes get, I suppose) review. A very easy and enjoyable read. | 1positive
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Can I give it zero stars?
The premise was interesting enough but the execution was painful. The characters were so contrived and the dialog so pedantic and heavy handed and false. "Did you know that it can be Difficult To Be Black Or Otherwise Different In the United States?" I mean, the level of condescension was unbearable. How stupid can these people be? Also, what's with the characters who suddenly decide they are "African American" because one ancestor was black and then they have to rethink their whole identity. They grew up feeling white, they don't have one single issue that African Americans have to cope with. Face it, just about every single one of us grows up with various ethnicities in our history, whether we know it or not, and it doesn't change your identity, it's part of who you are. I hated these people.Also, like another reviewer, the knitting plot bugged. | 0negative
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A phoney premise
This book is based on a phoney historical premise: that Alexander's campaigns in what is now Afghanistan (it wasn't called that back then) bear any resemblance to what the modern Western powers are trying to do there today. For one thing, unlike Alexander's Greeks, the United States isn't attempting to add Afghanistan to its territory. For another, religion was not such a divisive factor in Alexander's time as it is today. One could go on and on listing the differences.What Pressfield and his publishers are really trying to do, it appears, is to make his material seem politically "relevant". One could feel sorry for the enterprise if the ploy wasn't so transparently handled. One of the unfortunate consequences of this, though, is that it implicitly equates Americans with Macedonians. This is misleading--ancient people were not the same as moderns, no matter how much we want to admire them.The writing is uninspired stuff typical of Pressfield since "Gates of Fire." He's clearly trying to recreate the success of that book, but he hasn't really come close since. It might be better for Pressfield to try his hand at some other kind of historical material soon. The change might bring him some much needed inspiration. | 0negative
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A load of rubbish...
Wish hard for what you want, and if you "deserve" it, you'll get it. If you don't get it, you didn't wish hard enough. There. That's the whole message of this book. Save your money for something... ANYTHING... else. | 0negative
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Uplifting!
Very Southern and very funny. Fannie Flagg never misses. She always manages to slip in a few unexpected plot twists that keep you guessing - and laughing. Her books celebrate the Southern experience and life in general. Loved all the books in this series, but this was a truly joyful read. | 1positive
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Amazing find!
I picked this up randomly - I remembered hearing about this book somewhere, sometime... And I was pleasantly surprised. From the moment I started the book, I was hooked. It reminded me a bit of the movie "Pan's Labyrinth" - a fairy tale for adults. And don't expect the sugary sweet, happily-ever-after fairy tales. No, these are more like the original Grimm/Anderson fairy tales. Surprisingly, the author also tackles religion and homosexuality too in the book. The ending was so good too - very bittersweet. Highly highly recommended!! | 1positive
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Funny, Funny Franken
Al Franken's new book is hilarious! I bought it as a gift for someone else but wound up reading it myself. There are many laughs on every page. Funny, funny, funny. | 1positive
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A mordant description of the Limits of American Empire
The blunt, direct and well-written Imperial Life In The Emerald City describes a small but crucial element in the Iraq occupation - the Coalition Provisional Authority, which was ostensibly tasked with reorganizing and rebuilding Iraq in the post-Saddam era. As painstakingly illustrated here, the CPA was a rat's nest of conflicting agendas, insufficient resources and wild improvisation. Perhaps the most painful elements in this book are the lamentable decisions taken by the Viceroy, L. Paul Bremer, an honorable man hopelessly out of his depth but astonishingly lacking the self-knowledge to realize it. Two of his fateful decisions - to disfranchise the entire Baath Party infrastructure, and to demobilize the entire Iraqi Army - sowed the seeds of the four-year insurgency that we are still dealing with today. Even Jerry Pournelle, the noted conservative science-fiction writer, considers Bremer one of the signal incompetents of the Bush Administration.The book is peopled with dozens of honest and not-so-honest Americans who went to Iraq for their own motives and goals. Some were firmly convinced of their ideological qualifications for their task, frequently forgetting that ideology doesn't convey competence. Many CPA staffers, all the way up to Bremer's chief of staff and press secretary, simply used the CPA as a means of career advancement. Now, with the possibility that the military surge has finally begun to tamp down the violence that the CPA's decisions in large part led to (only time will tell if the insurgents have simply gone to ground until the American troops begin to pull out), the mistakes and incompetence of the CPA have largely been forgotten. This book redresses that ignorance, at least in small part.It's disappointing to see right-wingers on this page insinuating that this book is a product of "the extreme-left" or those who 'want to see America fail.' Telling the objective truth from a position within the actual events is not an act of treason, except to those who uncritically accept right-wing propaganda and refuse to logically weigh arguments or the ample evidence before their eyes.Many Americans seem to have forgotten the blunt statement by George Washington, whose "Avoid foreign entanglements" has never been more truthful than it is today. Washington and his colleagues did not intend America to become an empire. They saw first-hand what it meant to combat an empire. Unfortunately, 230 years later, the American political class on both sides of the aisle (except for the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party, and a few propeller-head Libertarians) has completely lost sight of America's national interest and its national origins. Drowned in a consolidated media and marketing empire, whose primary mission is to manufacture consent and thwart scrutiny, those who manage to read books like Imperial Life in the Emerald City are now the exception, not the rule. | 1positive
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The Heart of Serre
Do you know the value your heart? If you think you do, do you know yourself that well? Dive in the magical tale weaved by the firebird that reflected each one's heart desire.Serre, a mighty kingdom, with its dense and enchanted forest. Dacia, a small but wealthy kingdom, with infamous magical veined kings, except its latest one. To prevent magical war between them, Sidonie, Princess of Dacia, and Ronan, Prince of Serre, were trapped in royal marriage plan although both of them tried to flee from it. And a young wizard, tried to find and encapture his heart's true desire but attracted to dangerous side of himself that he didn't know instead. Each lost their heart and each found them again, guided by the magic of Serre in the form of firebird.Discover yourself and your heart through the tangling beauty and ugliness, light and dark, good and evil, enchanting of the heart of The Forrest of Serre, where fairytale came to life till it brought you to satisfying conclusion. | 1positive
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What a poor job, from such a good writer
There are too many characters & not enough explanations. This book jumps so much that you lose yourself while you're reading it. Do yourself a favor, save your money and your time. | 0negative
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Engrossing!
I really enjoyed this. The author uses a lot of details from the actual archaeological record of Stonehenge and the surrounding area and builds up a fictional tale of how it all could have happened. There is a lot of icky violence (primitive warfare and oogy religious stuff) but I'd recommend it. | 1positive
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Deja Vu
This book does not awaken anything in me that I haven't already been awake to already. I bought this book because I am a HUGE fan of Oprah and most of her picks are great. This one is just boring. These concepts are better taught by Marianne Williamson and Ernest Homes and A course in Miracles even does a better job than Tolle. I only gave two stars because I feel like being gracious. | 0negative
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exciting first decade after the Normandy Invasion romance
In 1072, Lord Radulf (see THE LILY AND THE SWORD) sends mercenary Gunnar Olafson and his men to check whether the widow Lady of Somerford has joined his enemies. When he arrives Gunnar is surprised to see the land surrounding Somerford Manor thriving especially in light of much of England being wasted since the invasion. He assumes that the Lady of the manor Rose has nothing to do with the golden fields.Rose knows that she has numerous enemies who covet her land and simply want her out of the way either through legal means of marriage or by treachery. She has rejected several proposals and has kept under control the betrayals through strong leadership and solid land management since her husband died last year. However, when Rose and Gunnar meet sparks fly that quickly turns towards love, but neither trusts the other leaving both vulnerable to her deadliest foes.THE ROSE AND THE SHIELD is an exciting first decade after the Normandy Invasion romance that provides sub-genre fans with an intriguing look at the transformation through the eyes of a lead protagonists who has seen much of the destructive side of the change. The story line hooks the reader from the start because of Gunnar's unique perspective. Rose is a heroine though a bit too perfect in an age filled with turmoil yet the audience will enjoy this exciting sequel.Harriet Klausner | 1positive
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Giving up on having a Kindle I can read
I bought my Kindle after giving one as a gift, and I liked it very much, right away. Enough so that, when the screen became covered with gray lines and boxes, I contacted Customer Service, returned the product, and welcomed a new one. Although I had been careful with the first one, I was even more careful with the second. I used the cover (sold separately), and kept it in a drawer when it wasn't actually in my hands. After a few weeks, I experienced the same problem. Again, Customer Service, packaged up the defective one, welcomed a replacement, and purchased even more books to read on my nifty Kindle. This time, I didn't keep it in a drawer, because I wondered if I had inadvertantly put some pressure on it when I closed the drawer. This time, I kept it pushed far under my bed. When I traveled, I didn't take it with me, because of fear that I would be unable to protect the screen. Did this help? Nope. Same problem. Amazon has been cheerful about replacing it, but when I requested a refund, they said no. I'm giving up and taking the loss. Steer clear of this product--it will only make you sad. | 0negative
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Many editions, many printings: get the Norton Critical Edition.
The story is well known; one can choose from many editions or printings. If given the choice, choose Norton Critical Editions for the classics.This edition includes factual background provided by Hardy's pre-eminent biographer, Michael Millgate, who opines on the "originals of, and models for, Tess Durbeyfield." Absolutely fascinating.Critical essays include contemporary criticism: Robert Louis Stevenson panned it; Henry James enjoyed it despite it being "chock-full of faults and falsity."Virginia Woolf's six-page essay regarding "Tess" is worth the price of this edition.But most illuminating is the verbatim interview with Thomas Hardy himself concerning the ending of the story. When asked why he gave "Tess" the ending he did, he answered: "For the simple reason I could not help myself...When I got to the middle of the story the characters took their fates into their own hands, and I literally had no power."Reading "Tess" without the supplementary material and criticism will leave you having enjoyed a most wonderful buffet but having missed out on the dessert.One will also get so much more enjoyment from "Tess" if one reads either Millgate's or Martin Seymour-Smith's biography of Thomas Hardy. I prefer the latter. | 1positive
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Outstanding - one of my all-time favorites!
What can I say that hasn't been said already? "Great Expectations" is a tremendous novel from the introductory paragraph to the final sentences. The plot is deep and intricate, and there's even a surprising plot revelation occuring late in the book about the origin of Pip's wealth and opportunity in life. The characters are all well-defined and inherently interesting, and such major characters as Pip, Estella, Joe, Miss Havisham, and others vividly live in the mind. Even minor characters such as Mrs. Joe and the Aged Person are memorable and amusing. The novel's storyline, beginning with Pip's early childhood and ending in his late middle age, is epic in breadth. "Great Expectations" treats the reader to a delightful plot and scene for all of its five hundred pages.Even better, however, is the brilliant prose Dickens gives us in the novel. It is humorous, moving, touching, witty, clever, and always perfectly phrased. Never for a single second does the reader feel bored. Like many great works of literature, there are plenty of moments where the writing is almost awe-inspiring in its beauty and language. With a talent as great as Dickens, one could write about almost anything and it would be tremendous reading. When paired with the brilliant plot of "Great Expectations," it feels almost heaven-sent.Many readers see the term "classic" on a novel and feel that it becomes a type of chore, and add it to a laundry list of literature that somebody felt would be good for them. "Great Expectations" is a classic, but it's not at all the literary equivalent of medicine. It's a delightful treat, and a quick read despite its length. I can't imagine reading this and not treasuring it. It is, quite simply, fantastic. | 1positive
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Read to get background for the later (and better) books in the series
I prefer some of the later books, but it has its moments and introduces many important characters that appear in the later novels...Highly recommended purchase / checkout for a quick read to get on to the later books. | 1positive
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Not quite enough leadership
I was eagerly looking forward to Iacocca's book, having read his biography many years back. I wanted to see what he would say in hindsight as he looked back. Although he says a lot, probably not as 'deep' as I would have liked. A great man looks back and says "This was good" or "Made a mistake here", or "we could expand on this". I was disappointed to find his book more a justification of himself, and maybe even vitriolic. Although I like and respect leaders who stand up to be counted, Iacocca has his numbers wrong. Insightful book on how not to lead! | 0negative
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Back Page Journalism
I heard about this book on The Mike and the Mad Dog show and I was very much looking forward to reading it. I've thoroughly enjoyed most of the baseball books they've discussed (The Big Bam comes to mind), but this book was a big disappointment. The book is supposed to be about the trials and tribulations of being a New York Yankee, specifically the 2006 team.If you're a big Yankee fan and read the papers and/or listen to sports radio there's almost nothing new in this book for you. One notable exception is the "revelation" of a shoving match between Jeter and ARod in 2005. This story comes from a posting on an internet blog. What I would really like to know is why wasn't this story picked up anywhere else? If there was even a hint of truth to this story I'm sure it would've been reported everywhere, but I guess I could be wrong. Another new bit of information I learned was that Matsui has a large porn collection. I'm not sure what that has to do with anything other than the author's attempt to make the book more controversial so it gets more press.My biggest problem with this book is the author's tendency to try to be cute or funny, which he completely fails to do. Here's a particularly annoying quote from the book: Here he's talking about Steinbrenner's failing health in an incident where The Boss almost falls "Had he missed the barricades, he still could've split his melon open on the concrete plaza outside the stadium. Talk about a real life Humpty-Dumpty--nobody in the Yankee kingdom would've been able to put The Boss back together again." UGH! The book is filled with junk like that.I completely agree with what fellow reviewer BigFrankie said, this book reads like a compilation of quotes from the back pages of the New York tabloids with the authors own snide and cutesy comments thrown in. I also found this book to be very biased. You can clearly tell the author likes some players and dislikes others. If the player gave him good interviews he was a good guy. If the player didn't he was a jerk. Sheffield is a jerk but he gave interviews so Morrissey makes him a somewhat sympathetic person, Randy Johnson is a jerk that didn't give interviews so Morrissey literally calls him a jerk.I read a lot of baseball books, I have about 500 of them, and the Yankees are my favorite team so I have quite a few about the Yankees. This book is one of the worst I own. Both about baseball and the Yankees. A better book could have been made by clipping out all the stories in the newspapers last year and pasting them in a scrapbook. | 0negative
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Eloquent, Insightful, Inspiring -- Just Like The Man
I've had the privilege to meet Barack Obama, and to read 'Dreams From My Father' several years ago. For those who have just discovered Barack after his convention keynote speech, what you saw was only the tip of the iceberg. This is an immmensely talented, complex, intelligent and inspiring man on so many levels. As eloquent as his speech was, his book is equally so, and offers insights into how, as he put it, 'the skinny boy with the funny name' has evolved. I can only hope there will be many more books from Barack, who promises to be one of the most exciting politicians of the 21st century. | 1positive
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Never Die Easy ( the Walter Payton autobiography)
Being so ignorant of football, I did not even know who Walter Payton was until he died. When I read the book I found how important he was to the football association. It gave a better understanding of his disease that attacked his liver. It told the story of a once unstoppable football player to someone only a fraction his normal size and weigt, but he never lost his faith and continued fighting until his last days in his home with his family. I had no idea how hard it is to find a donor for a liver. Also the medications he had to take and how sick they made him, and also having to have a cathiter placed in his chest to draw blood and for IVs since his veins were so weak. This man touched the lives of millions and even though he was sick he never asked why and made it a vow to never die easy. | 0negative
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Boring does not even begin to describe this book....
I am 70% through this book and I really do not care to finish it. I've stopped numerous times and find no interest in finding out what happened. At one point there seemed to be some sort of "evil" kidnapper who was going to show up but haven't read about him/them in awhile...Although, that could be because I've put the book down so many times because I feel like I am punishing myself because I just want to get through it.This is the first book by this author that I did not enjoy. I may purchase ones that were published before this book but I'll be hesitant to purchase any that were written after this one... | 0negative
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A warm, fuzzy feeling!
This was a great book to read on a snowy day. I loved it. The main characters, Abby and Spencer, truly were likable. Too often in romance novels, one or other of the leads is likable, but the other is just so-so. Not in this case. They both were instantly likable. Abby is an American with a questionable pedigree. Spencer has a problem which keeps him from wanting to get married, but this problem wasn't overdone or unrealistic. I won't give spoilers, but this book moves along quickly, has some really funny secondary characters, and comes to a believable and satisfactory conclusion. I have always read Sabrina Jeffries. The Pirate Lord is one of my all-time favorites and Married to the Viscount is a keeper, also. Characters from the last book are mentioned and it was nice to see them again. All in all, this was an excellent book that was hard to put down. | 1positive
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Clearly not her best...
I'll make this review brief:Cather didn't know how to write very well when she put this novel together. I have read iher style here as being comparable to Henry James... no way. This novel is too short, too abrupt, and too lacking in the details needed to pull off decent character motivation, somethng I find vital to novels dealing with infidelity and love.The scenes read as disjuncted and they do not develop very well. If you want a short Cather novel that is better and want to avoid the commonplace Death Comes for the Archbishop, then try "My Mortal Enemy" This shows Cather off at the better end of her career. | 0negative
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Superb!
I was given 'Just one look', a superb Harland Coben thriller, by my English teacher to read over our October break - she said that we should be able to finish it by the week we go on work experience, which is a week on Monday.I finished the book tonight. I found myself literally up every night until around 1/2am reading 50-100 pages each night. The book was ace!Coben keeps us gripped at every stage, shivers literally run down your spine and you can't stop thinking about what will happen next. I just couldn't handle the late nights turning into sleepless nights filled with the thoughts of what would happen next.I'd thoroughly recommend this book to all and I'll certainly be taking a read at his other books, which I'm told are equally as good.Some may say that the last few pages of the book dragged on a little as the story came to a conclusion but, for me, it was perfect. It was a time when I literally found myself saying "ahh... that's why..."A great read - recommended to all. | 1positive
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Blink
This book is worth reading. It gives you a confidence for quick judgement although warns about the pitfalls of it. | 1positive
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The organization makes it one of the easier health guides on the market
THE CHECKLIST: WHAT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY NEED TO KNOW TO PREVENT DISEASE AND LIVE A LONG AND HEALTHY LIFE comes from a popular TV show health expert, Dr. Manny Alvarez, who here provides an all-in-one preventative health maintenance book arranged to identify the most common diseases and health risks at all stages of life. Each decade introduces new risks or increases risk factors: the decade-by-decade approach allows families and consumers to understand how to active preventatively to thwart the most common ills - and how to recognize their symptoms early. The organization makes it one of the easier health guides on the market: perfect for general-interest libraries.Diane C. DonovanCalifornia Bookwatch | 1positive
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Sentimental liberalism ...
This book is in some respects interesting, but suffers from two major flaws, one methodological & one theological. Diana Eck is a professor of religion at Harvard. Her thesis is that America not only is a highly pluralistic country in terms of religion, but that this is a good thing & should be celebrated rather than deplored. The two flaws: the first is that the evidence, such as it is, for her thesis is purely anecdotal. Eck has traveled all over the country, visited many shrines, temples, mosques, etc. & attended numerous festivals & religious conferences of every conceivable descriptiion. She met hundreds of lovely people whom you would be happy to have for your neighbors. But that's the problem -- everyone & every religion is too lovely. All are benign. No one dislikes let alone hates America. Not only are they lovely; they're all patriotic & thrilled to be here. She never acknowledges the existence of anti-Americanism, anti-westernism, anti-Christianity, or anti-Judaism, let alone analyses how to respond to these attitudes. All immigrants & all religions to her are, by definition, wonderful, & should be unquestioingly welcomed to our shores. Even her addendum to the paperback edition, written after 9/11, refuses to acknowledge any problems. The second flaw in her argument is that from a theological viewpoint -- & she does identify herself as a Christian, albeit a very liberal one to be sure -- she refuses to acknowledge, let alone grapple with, the concept that all these conflicting truth claims cannot possibly be true. Eck never met a religion she didn't like or a practice she disapproves of. There's no judgment here at all -- not even common sense. While she (rightly) approves of freedom of religion in the civil sphere, she confuses this with assessment of truth claims in the theological sphere, & seems to suggest that all religions are equally valid. That view in itself is a particular theological stance, but she never identifies it as such but implies that it is an unquestioned given & that, consequently, we should all not just accept, but celebrate, all religions whatsoever. In short, an example of pluralism gone berserk. | 0negative
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fantasy
Lovely concept and refreshingly different from her other series. Nice system of magic incorporated into a whole new world. You can see a lot of thought went into this new series. You'll love it. | 1positive
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A waste of time to read.
This book is full of characters you don't care about,a slow tedious plot that is so overburdened with useless person dating relationships that add absolutely nothing to the story other than preventing the reader from enjoying it and getting involved in it. And if you don't like foul language in books don't bother with this one, it's laced with it for no other reason than Scot trying to get street cred! This book was so bad that I started skipping skimming & skipping pages and even that didn't help the trudging pace. It was like a two hour movie that was stretched into a two week mini-season. If your time is valuable save it for a better book. | 0negative
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DOING YOUR THING
THIS BOOK WAS GREAT FROM PAGE 1 TO THE END. COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. THIS IS 1 OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS. KEEP DOING YOUR THING... | 1positive
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Your prejudice is damnable
How can we decide something and how fast? This book explores this topic.The best thing about this book for me is in revealing how our prejudice miscolours the accuracy of the decisions we make. Gladwel provides some telling examples from associative thinking type questionaires that expose our subconscious assumptions about skin colour or gender that threaten making better choices than those we would make burdened with false assumptions.Blink overall is a fascinating book. Decisions made in a hurry can obviously be ace compared to compiling piles of data and analysing them in non-intuitive, statistical formats. The major buzzword in this book is "Thin slicing". Rather than having a whole cake of info on something as a basis on which to make a hopefully correct decision, how thin a slice would you need to arrive at the same conclusion. The answer is surprisingly very thin indeed.Things like a tone of voice can, according to this book prove just as decisive if not more than the content of any speech.Vast and exciting examples of decision making are explored: Simulated wars; police shooting the wrong man/men; judging art work for authenticity; assessing couples breaking up on the basis of their conversations; looking at facial expressions and even the "Pepsi challenge" and selling cars. The themes are explored in an exciting fashion.Gladwell reveals a lot about himself and illuminates many areas - helping us to focus on how we can train our faculties to make snap judgements weareas at the same time being wary of making decisions under stress or with wrongful assumptions about people in general.Gladwell conveys the problems inherent in making snap judgements that can be plain wrong. He does not expand too much on this - I suppose this is why many of us are reluctant to make too many snap judgements (on important matters), because this could be just too risky. However this book does help you to avoid any risks, especially if you like a small gamble.I read this book so fast and think it will be helpful and boost the confidence of any interested reader. It is not a long book to read. Please be warned that you should not make blink decisions and think of it as a virtue - it would be nice if you can spot your perfect partner in a blink, but would he/she agree? The fact of the matter is we continuously make snap decisions that are not especially consequential or even when we do make momentuous decisions that are good, it may rely on a good deal of subconscious input. As an example, I looked at this book for less than 10 seconds before buying it, and I'm glad I did. | 1positive
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Remember that supposed "giant sucking sound" from NAFTA ratification?
In the 1992 presidential campaign, Ross Perot opposed the North American Free Trade agreement, saying that American jobs would go south of the border so quickly that there would be a "giant sucking sound," like water sluicing down a drain.Well, guess what? The "drain" backed up and has been gushing people into the U.S. ever since. In "Enrique's Journey", Sonia Nazario has captured the poverty and desperate circumstances of millions living in Mexico and many Central American countries, leaving a significant fraction of those populations with, essentially, a Hobbesian choice. U.S. policies, including NAFTA, have contributed to the problem, and our lengthy economic boom has provided the impetus.Beyond the politics is the drama of the epic journey that hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have made, and continue to make, through the length of Mexico and across the border into the States. Nazario has told this story in vivid terms--without the need for embellishment--depicting both the heroism and gritty determination of the ordinary people who make the journey, the brave and often unlikely sources of support they receive along the way, as well as the shameful perfidy of those who rob, kill, rape and con them.No matter which side of the issue you support--if you are sympathetic to the plight of illegals or if you think they should all be deported--reading this book will be like a slap in the face. It will force you to think carefully about the true nature of the relationship you already have with people like Enrique, his mother, sister, and children. | 1positive
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A captivating story of a medieval princess
Alison Weir has done a great job of portraying who Isabella was. She uses all the information she can, which in Isabella's case isn't too much, plus the sources about the men in her life in order to draw a rounded picture.Weir was at times, though, a bit dry as she gets in a mode of listing things off. She writes for three pages about all the changes that were done to the Tower of London and where Isabella, and other queens, would have slept and what art and clothes they would have worn. Or in chapter 3 (?) she spends almost the whole chapter citing the various people that served Isabella, even going so far as to listing the servant who laundered her clothes. Or when Isabella went on progressions she would list the towns that she went to and visited and so on. All of this can be very tedious and drags the story of Isabella down some. Additionally, she consistently cites Baker, only to say that it isn't valid. I understand that you want to use every source possible, but why continue to use someone who you think is always wrong?But the strong points of this biography far outweigh the weak points. Weir breathes life into a previously ill thought of princess, allowing us to see that, although not always virtuous, she was an amazingly adept woman. For the time period Isabella fits right in. No better and no worse. Her refreshing theory of what really happened to Edward II is well researched and supported, as far as suppositions can take you, which lends an altogether different image to Isabella. Additionally, the maps in the front and the genealogical charts in the back are invaluable in aiding the readers' understanding of the overall picture. Add this to the extensive bibliography and well documented book, and you have a biography that is worth reading.I cannot say enough about this biography. It is well written and researched and conveys Weir's premise very clearly. If you ever wondered if Isabella was the evil woman of the often propagandist history, then read Weir's book. For that matter, if you are interested in medieval women, read this one. Either way, I would definitely recommend this biography. | 1positive
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compelling read with a different twist
I love Jo Beverley and she never disappoints. This Rogue book combines a plot centering on the class divisions in English society with the problems of sea travel and Indians in the New World. I really liked the main characters, although, as is typical of Jo Beverley characters, they have their flaws. I also found the book to be very fast moving, held my interest all the way through, and I wasn't sure of the villain until he appeared!! A wonderful read, and I was sorry to finish it!Cynthia Mcginnes | 1positive
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Good
I type 20 or more words as a testament to the quality or deliciousness of the consumer good and/or media product. | 1positive
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Disappointingly poor quality
I signed up for a Kindle trial edition of the Times, anticipating an entertaining, reasonably informative read (despite the Murdochian influence).What I found was an electronic publication that suffers from shockingly bad execution of basic news copy mechanics. On more than several occasions, I found a paragraph from an altogether different article landing incongruously in the article I was trying to read. So much for continuity. In addition, there were numerous copy editing errors. It's as if an early, pre-press edition of the paper were slapped together to make a deadline. I wouldn't tolerate this from an effete suburban newsweekly, and certainly will not from what is touted as a flagship international title.Unlike the web, the name of the game with the reading experience on the Kindle is prose, with nominal intrusion of graphics and photography. Unfortunately, the execution of the Times on the Kindle loses this game in disappointing fashion. | 0negative
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Couldn't Finish It
I would give it no stars if I could. If you enjoy false bravado, racism, the end justifying any means and this country's insane policies in the middle east-This is your cup of tea. I felt like this was written for people who would join a milltia or go out and shoot up roadsigns.I am not a muslim, not foreign born, and not of a minority. | 0negative
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Things you need to know
After watching the lopsided hit piece on ABC's 20/20, I read Ageless. My girlfriend is taking bio-identical hormones, and she's done a far better job of researching the subject than 20/20, who made a huge deal out of a typo (Gambia, instead of Georgia) in a sentence about longevity. When you don't have a coherent argument, blow smoke.Read this book, and then decide for yourself. But I have an old Popular Mechanics magazine from the '50's, which raves about the benefits of hormones made from coal tar. Big pharma has shown time and again that they tend to value profits over the health of people, their customers; the evidence shows that bio-identical hormone replacement therapy is NOT the same as standard horse-pee replacement therapy. | 1positive
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Love it!
The Kindle is a really neat little item! It performs exactly as the creators say it will. The text is easy to read and the books are easy to download. Overall I am pleased with the product.The only negatives I have about it are the ergonomics of it. It can be difficult to find a place to hold onto it without accidentally hitting a turn the page button. There is some work to be done there. It is easy to recover your page again, but annoying all the same. It is also almost impossible to lay the Kindle down and then pick it back up without turning a page.The convenience and ease of reading and downloading books out weigh the inconvenience of the ergonomics issue. I am hopeful that future models will address this issue. | 1positive
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Non owner hesitates
I've been a fan of ebooks since they started coming out. I have multiple ereaders on my PDA and keep quite a library in my pocket.I've read all the negative and positive comments. All that aside, I just can't see paying $400 for this thing, especially since it locks me into Amazon. | 0negative
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Proven Liar
Before reading this or any other MIchael Moore book or watching any of his movies, you might want to check out the following web address: http://www.mooreexposed.com . Among other items on this site, you can find out how Moore fabricated "evidence" for his "documentary" Bowling for Columbine. He can have his political opinions--I don't agree with them and I think his attitude is extremely childish--but his opinions should not be sold as fact. This book is NOT FACTUAL. You cannot trust anything that comes out of his mouth unless you can independently confirm it. And if you think that you can't trust George W. Bush, may I ask if you're a Clinton supporter? If someone trusted Clinton but claims that Bush cannot be trusted, then that person is blinded by political ideology. | 0negative
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Changed My Life
I LOVE the Kindell. I can always have a book with me wherever I go and the print is so easy to read. I highly recommend this to any reader. | 1positive
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I am flabergasted
As a writer, I read a minimum of four hours a day (the prescribed amount for any author worth his salt). The Kindle just arrived and this will support this requirement. Depite this clinical use, I think this is one beautifully designed machine. I received mine today and already have so much joy I will need to seek confession before long. Amazon. com, congratulations on this wonderful device. I know it's first generation, but for that, it is right on the money.Edward C. Patterson | 1positive
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Look At The Pattern Of Reviews
First, it is very interesting to note the pattern of reviews of this book. Any time there is a review with only 1 or 2 stars, it is immediately followed on the same day by several 4 or 5 star reviews, hailing the book, but without any detail as to why. About half of these immediate response 4 and 5 star reviewers have reviewed nothing except this book (perhaps we will see more reviews from them after this, in an effort to discredit me). I became suspicious when it happened first within minutes of posting my review, and a few more showed up within just a few hours of posting my review, so I went back and examined the review pattern. In my opinion, it looks like some of the stellar reviews are phony responses in an attempt to keep the book's star rating up.Now for my substantive review:Spoiler Alert: The Secret is the Law of Attraction. So read The Law of Attraction by Michael J. Losier. It is a lot of the same idea, but much more down to earth and more scientific explanation than The Secret.I am a big fan of positive psychology. But the Secret gets more religious, with its "You are God" and "the Universe is your Genie" talk. Interestingly, it cites the Bible several times, but then refers to the Universe instead of God, except to say that you are God and you are your creator. That becomes a religious teaching, and one that I don't buy into.The beginning of the book is also a little misleading. It starts with you making all your wishes in "The Secret" format by converting your "I don't want X" to "I do want Y" language, because you will get whichever one you say, X or Y, whether you want it or not (The Law of Attraction book explains scientifically and psychologically why this matters). Later in the book, it qualifies all your wishful thinking, all your genie-Universe-making desires, with a chapter on . . . oh but your actions cannot contradict your wishes or you won't get what you wanted. Well duh.The Secret claims that any time you think "I do not want X," you will bring X to you because you have identified it and sent out a vibration for it. The Law of Attraction explains that identifying what we do not want actually helps us to clarify what we do want (think of a toddler's development and their fascination with the word "no" once they learn to harness its power). Knowing what we want AND what we don't want is essential to decision-making.The book does encourage some basic, generally accepted concepts, such as "love is the most important thing" and "think positively." It also sort of implies a notion that I actually learned in greater detail as a teenager fifteen years ago (in a protestant church, FWIW), which is: thoughts lead to emotion, emotion leads to action, actions lead to habits, habits lead to character, and character becomes your destiny. So in that sense, The Secret is correct that in that where you are now is a reflection of what you have thought in the past. But without fleshing out these concepts, it just says you sent out your vibration into the universe and it came back to you . . . or came back to bite you . . . depending on whether your vibration was positive or negative (i.e. "you reap what you sow"). I can buy the positive psychology aspect of the book (I have seen positive psychology at work in my own life), but not the grandiose religious aspect, and in no way would I ever consider it to be the all-encompassing 100% absolute end-all-be-all answer to Life.If you are looking for a new age version of positive psychology turned religion, this book is for you. If not, read The Law of Attraction and your spiritual book of choice instead. | 0negative
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One of the most insightful books I've ever read
This would have been a great book even if Obama hadn't been elected President."Dreams from My Father" is not political. It's the personal story of a confused and troubled youth growing up and becoming a man. The honesty is brutal, the insights painful and joyful in turn. This is one of those rare books that can help you become a better person.I read the book through twice, repeatedly forgetting that it was written by the President of the United States. I can't think of a much higher compliment. | 1positive
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kindle opinion
i have just started using my kindle. So far I am enjoying reading on it very much. It is a little disconcerting when you change the page and you see the ink, but once you get going it becomes a non-issue. There is a lot to learn which I will do as I need to. | 1positive
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Price Hike?
What warrants a price hike higher than the competitor when WSJ doesn't even publish on Sundays? Some stuff on the Journal is good though. | 0negative
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not my cup of tea
I remember hearing a story that once a group of reporters was surveyed. They were asked: What is your job? To tell the truth? Or to make the world a better place? The majority of reporters said their job was to make the world a better place.The point of the question was to show how reporters eschewed objectivity to write in favor of an agenda that they believed would make the world a better place. I think David Relin fits into this category. Relin isn't the only reporter to fall in love with Mortensen. Throughout the course of the book he gets slavish praise from the Seattle Times, Parade Magazine, and Jon Krakauer.It's obvious they think very highly of Greg Mortensen, and who can blame him? He has a larger than life story to tell. He has led an adventurous, exciting, extreme life: climbing mountains, winging it through the remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, living on the cusp of poverty, all the while enriching thousands of children's lives with an eccentric benefactor's millions.This shouldn't be a problem if I agree with the cause, right? Mortensen is on to something in that his schools are an alternative to the madrassas that radicalize poor rural children and turn them into Islamic fundamentalists and possibly terrorists. But Mortensen makes the seductive leap to join the mythmakers who claim that Islamic terror is fueled by the lack of opportuntities for children growing up in Islamic countries. This simply isn't true, as studies of large samples of Islamic terrorists show that three-quarters are middle- to upper class and two-thirds went to college.Once Mortensen and his sycophants buy into this myth, it is easy for them to eschew the importance of the military aspects of the war on terror, chiefly destroying the Taliban and other terrorism-supporting regimes. It's clear these views color Mortensen's and Relin's thinking. The clues are dropped subtlely throughout the book until the big reveal during a presentation Mortensen gives to a group of congressmen on Capitol Hill."Three Cups of Tea" relies almost entirely on Mortensen's testimony, which isn't surprising because he is such a darling to Relin and his friends in the journalism industry. Relin interviewed other people for the book, but mostly just to confirm and to flesh out what Mortensen claimed to have happened. Without a balanced perspective, there are glaring ommissions throughout the book, such as:- not all the blame for the Kashmir conflict lies with India- the Taliban were an evil, oppressive regime- why Mortensen encourages his wife to deliver her baby at home with the aid of a midwife instead of at a hospital- why Mortensen refuses a $2.2 million donation to the CAI from the American governmentThe bias really shines through in Mortensen's slantedly described dealings with the American government under George Bush. A brief encounter with Rumsfeld at the Pentagon is agonizingly described, and the cleanliness of Rummie's suit and the shine of his shoes is interpreted as something pompous if not nefarious. Mortensen, whose work is exclusively on the ground, can't see the forrest through the trees. In other words, he sweats the small stuff too much. He bases his opinion of the conduct of the war on the unreliable story of two kids who claim an American missile struck their father's donkey cart (Relin later repeats the story as factual), that a teacher missed his salary for 5 months, that a downdraft from a helicopter knocked over a chalkbaord, and other such trivialities. Hello, it's war, and wars are messy, and things get overlooked and mismanaged. The world isn't perfect, deal with it.Finally, the observation of a Pakistani Air Force Major that George Bush united a billion Muslims against America by waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan illustrates PRECISELY the group think that so-called "moderate" Muslims need to break through. America frees tens of millions of Muslims from under oppressive regimes, and all the good will generated by that is destroyed by a picture of a boy whose family was killed because his father was harboring a terrorist? Puh-lease! But Relin is silent, cementing the Pakistani Major's observation as wisdom.Mortensen, whose fuzzy idealism you'd think would have been tempered by working the previous 8 years in the harshest terrain in the world, comes across as naive as a college freshman. When the government presents an enormous donation to Mortensen to basically fund the CAI for the next decade and shore up Afghanis' support, he foolishly turns it down because a relationship with the government would ruin his reputation. Never mind that the donation would be laundered through a Hong Kong account to cover where the transaction came from. Relin, without skipping a beat, bemoans the CAI's weak finances in the next paragraph.A good story, which itself merits two stars, but Relin is a terrible biographer. | 0negative
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Illogical and Recycled
As a long time Amanda Quick fan, I wanted to like this book but was horribly disappointed. As other reviewers have said the slow moving, improbable plot dragged until the last several chapters when everything was hurriedly tied up with a neat little bow. The characters were one dimensional, poorly developed and lacked any sort of chemistry. I also feel that neither the hero nor the heroine were especially bright. The "widow" is still a virgin? No problem. A fashionably dressed woman in black is stalking you while you are investigating a murder? Must be a hooker accidentally in the wrong neighborhood. You killed someone and faked your own death? Let's not even talk about and jump straight to the bit were we live happily ever after with my kooky yet lovable family, who hardly knows you but thinks you're wonderful anyway. Several scenes and supporting characters seemed to be lifted straight out of earlier books. All in all, this book was a waste of the time I spent hoping it would get better. I am glad I got it from the library instead of wasting the money on a hardcover as well. If you must read this book, I suggest you do the same. | 0negative
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Excellent and irritating
I found the information in this book to be disturbing in light of current debate. The writing was clear and easy for the person who has an interest or one who is trying to figure out where they stand on the issue of Iraq. One has to wonder if the book might have changed the way we approach Iraq if it had been published before. | 1positive
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Ewww
I've been a fan of V.C. Andrews' through everything-including her death! However, this book finally pushed me to the limit. As a fan of V.C. I'm clearly a fan of the grotesque and macabre, but this exploration of a seven-year-old's sexuality went too far. My stomach was churning the whole time. Yes, I understand that this is a real phenomenon-early puberty-but something as disturbing as someone who not too long ago was wearing diapers menstruating is a medical issue, not one that should be put in gothic hack fiction as "sexy". Psychologically a child of seven could never handle such an event and I found the addition of a character who wanted to "introduce" the child to her "new feelings" so upsetting I decided to give up the ghost, literally (the ghostwriter) for good. He went over the edge, and not in a good way. I felt molested reading this book, and I have a baby girl, and I certainly wouldn't ever want her to read it. I recycled it. | 0negative
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Why I won't be reading this book
Why am I going to take a pass on this book? Because I have an eight year old son. Maybe it is a failing of mine, but I can't read about kids in peril (real or fictional) without mentally transposing my own child into that peril. Having read "No Country for Old Men" I can pretty well imagine the depressing nature of this book and quite frankly, I don't need to walk down that road. People with children have to continuously try to keep themselves positive and hopeful for the future. I almost feel bad for this writer (despite his fame and fortune) for having such a bleak outlook on things. Unless he writes to exorcise himself of that outlook, in which case he should pay us for the therapy. Either way, trying to raise a family, got no time to spend in the wallow. I realize the shallowness of rating a book I have not read. But thanks for the warning from those who have read it. | 0negative
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Couldn't even finish it
I couldn't even finish this novel. The combination of completely unimaginative writing and the totally revolting portrayals of male-female interaction left me cold. | 0negative
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Spreading Appreciation for Others
This book is written in a way that helps the reader relate to each woman as an individual, while they blow away stereotypes about their respective religious groups. It demonstrates that getting to know each other, one on one, one at a time, really is the way to spread peace in the world. One poignant quote in the book (from a rabi): "Tolerance is too negative a word." We must do more than tolerate each other, we must appreciate, celebrate, and care about one another. And this book is a step in the right direction. | 1positive
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I wasted my time on this one
After having read A Do Right Man and For the Love of Money, I was not impressed with Tyree's writing style (though I've managed to keep A Do Right Man on my bookshelf). The only reason I dared to read Just Say No was because it came highly recommended by a friend. While I did finish the book, I was thoroughly disappointed. The story moved incredibly slow and at times seemed to be going nowhere. The author doesn't trust his readers to 'connect the dots' of what he's trying to say, so he tends to explain every little thing. It gets annoying to say the least. The song lyrics and "shoo-bee-doo-ooh-aahs" were too much. I wondered if the story should've been a musical instead of a novel. I would not recommend this book to anyone unless they were interested in music and wanted to read a flat novel about two guys in the business. | 0negative
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Poorly done, a real step down
After reading all of her previous works, I believe that this one was slapped together to meet a deadline. It lacks the characterization and thoughtful plot development Cornwall usually presents. Do yourself a favor - wait for the next Scarpetta novel and avoid this one entirely. | 0negative
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kINDLE READER
Fabulous device---user-friendly----small---books load within 1-2 minutes--------beats a pile of books------saves money------and you can keep your 'books' at Amazon---------I use it every day-------totally recommend this for anyone that reads. | 1positive
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this book is about to change my life
I wish I'd known aout this book years ago.This is the first I've heard of Bioidentical Hormone replacement.I think every woman should read this book, or at least research bioidentical hormone replacemtnt.Thank you Suzanne Somers!!Liz EppsMadison, AL | 1positive
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Repeats/condense/re-releases
The only time a 2-in-1 re-release book helps anyone is for those people who stumble across the author whose style they really like and decide they want to read everything they have published. They save money. Good for them. It may also help those who want to read something by that author that is no longer in print. I think that is the only good reason to "re-release" a title. I love Christine Feehan's work and she is not the only author I really like that does this. It's frustrating because you think "Oh boy, a new book by so and so" then crash! Also,I really dislike when authors re-release a title with "a few added revisions". The book is ages old and after you've bought it with new cover, etc you start reading to find its "old". I've really had to start watching those first print dates. Thank you for allowing to to blow off steam with regards to this subject. | 0negative
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A Portable Library
I've had my Kindle for several weeks now, and am quite pleased with it. It's nice to be able to carry a good-sized library with me while traveling or just going someplace where I might have some time to fill. The Kindle is the size of a DVD movie case, and that will be much better than traveling with a stack of books as I usually do. Also, I expect that this device will help alleviate a serious problem with book clutter in my house.I've added a4 GB SanDisk SD Memory Cardto my Kindle, which should be enough to hold several thousand of books.A few specific comments:DISPLAY: The electronic ink display is quite sharp and easy to read, even in bright sunlight. The display has a matte finish, so no problems with glare. There is no backlight (this is not possible with this technology), but a booklight works quite nicely. There is a kind of "flicker" when you change pages, but I didn't find this to be a problem. Also, the display is black and white -- color is not yet available with electronic ink technology.BUTTONS: The buttons give a solid "click" when pressed. It takes a short time to get used to holding the Kindle without hitting the buttons on the side, but using it while in the cover seems to fix this.ILLUSTRATIONS: The Kindle can display illustrations -- only in black and white (grayscale), but with very high resolution. Illustrations must be sized to fit the Kindle screen, so complex illustrations or figures with small lettering may not reproduce well. The quality of illustrations will depend on the publisher, so it's probably a good idea to download a sample of a book if it contains important illustrations. Technical books containing fairly simple figures and graphs tend to work fairly well.FOREIGN CHARACTERS: The Kindle is able to display a few foreign letters: mostly vowels with acute accents, grave accents, and umlauts. The current version should be able to display texts in French, Spanish, or German just fine. However, I have quite a few books in Esperanto that I would like to read, and Kindle cannot yet display the six accented letters of the Esperanto alphabet, even though Web browsers can display these letters. To expand the available languages, I would like to see the characters from the Unicode "Latin Extended A" character set added.EQUATIONS: Yes, the Kindle can display equations in technical books. I've downloaded a few books on mathematics and physics, and the Kindle can display even complex equations just fine. The equations can even scale with changing font size, so they aren't just images if they've been done correctly. Greek letters are available both in equations and within running text. The quality of equations depends on the publisher, though, so I'd recommend downloading a sample of a technical book before buying it.FOOTNOTES: If a book contains footnotes, it's possible to see the footnote by "clicking" on it using the scroll wheel. It's up to the publisher to link the footnotes in this way, though, so not all books will have these "linking" footnotes.COVER: I've found, as have others, that the cover didn't hold the Kindle very securely. The upper-left and lower-left corners fit into leather "brackets", while the back is supposed to be held by a plastic clip that fits into a groove in the back cover. It's this clip in the back that doesn't seem to hold securely -- and even when it is secure, it tends to make the back cover slide off. However, this is all easily fixed by attaching two 5/8" Velcro circles on the back of the right-hand side.BOOK SELECTION: I'd guess that I've been able to find about 1/3 of the books I was looking for available in Kindle format. At present the selection is pretty broad, but not yet deep: you're liable to be able to find at least one book in just about any subject, and many popular books (along with quite a few somewhat more obscure books) are available. There are still a number of notable omissions ("The Grapes of Wrath", "The Good Earth", and "Johnny Tremain", for example), but I expect this will be remedied in time. While not all books I'm interested in are currently available in Kindle format, the selection is large enough to keep me in reading material for quite a long time.NICE FEATURES: You can easily look up an unfamiliar word in the built-in dictionary just by clicking on the line of text containing the word. This is much handier than using a separate dictionary. The Kindle automatically saves your place in each book, but you can also set multiple bookmarks. You can change the font size in any text to suit your needs.OTHER FEATURES: You can highlight text and make your own notes (analogous to writing in the margin). I don't read books this way, so I haven't used these features myself. There is also an experimental Web browser and MP3 player for music and audio books, but I haven't used these features much either.SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE VERSIONS:(1) As mentioned earlier, an expanded character set (Unicode Latin Extended A) would be useful.(2) Subdirectories. The Kindle keeps all its books in one top-level directory, which can be sorted by title, author, or most recently accessed first. Twelve book titles are displayed on each page. I already have a large number of books on mine, so it would be nice if future versions had even one level of subdirectories so that I could organize them into e.g. "Technical", "History", "Reference", "Fiction", "Finished", etc.Overall, this is a very impressive product. I'm actually finding myself reading more than I was before, probably because the Kindle makes it so convenient to have a large library of books available whereever I go. I highly recommend this product to every avid reader. | 1positive
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Great Exposition on Politics, Class, Place, and Identity
In this book, Nancy and James Duncan probe deeply into the landscape of the affluent town of Bedford Village, New York to expose its role in the production and "performance" of the townspeople's identity and the attendant social ramifications. The authors assert that class and status are at the heart of a series of struggles for control of Bedford Village's landscape. By insisting upon the retention of a particular aesthetic for the town, enforced through laws, zoning, advisory boards, and social pressure, the people of Bedford Village are for the most part able to successfully cloak class, race, and power struggles in aesthetic terms that are less volatile and seemingly apolitical. By this they manage to create and sustain a place-based identity that isn't always savory, although--and this is an important point--this would surprise the residents of Bedford as much as it would surprise many others who took such a hard look at where and how they live.The Duncans rightly place class at the center of Bedford's issues and, with almost equal force, money. This seems right as it pertains to Bedford, where houses cost up to millions of dollars and yet where there are long-time residents who, while living much more modestly, engage just as strenuously in the pressure to sustain the particular pastoral character of the town's landscape. But maintaining the "look" of the land masks other issues. In Chapter Two the Duncans assert that "[i]n capitalist societies...where identity is linked to possessions, the aesthetic often plays an important role in depoliticizing class relations" (p. 25). The residents of Bedford cling tightly to a vision of their town as a rural, historic, Colonial town and landscape, drawing from it all the symbolic force of the New England Village (cf Meinig) from which they claim to descend and using it as the primary locus and signifier of their identity. They resist at nearly every turn the pressures of development and modernization while taking full advantage of the amenities of the modern world just beyond the borders. To a great extent Bedford Village still looks rural, still has its pastoral charm and its romantic vistas. It even has dirt roads (maintained at great expense). This is (of course/ironically) what makes Bedford the perfect place to live. Its perfection _for a certain category of people_ is confirmed in the language of the real estate ads that amount to coded appeals to Anglo sensibilities, 19th-century English nostalgia, and an invented historicism. In sum, the web of issues that surround the production and sustenance of Bedford's landscape constitutes an aestheticized view of the world and is so powerful and pervasive it seems simply natural, without malice, "uncontestable" (p. ? --sorry).When class relations are centered on aesthetics, other consequences that reach into arenas beyond landscape and beyond the town are hidden even if they are unintended. Residents of Bedford frame the most important issues in terms of protecting the environment, protecting the rural character of the town, or protecting its historic structures, trees, and greenspaces; arguments typically accepted (here, in the U.S.) as benign, even noble. While the Duncans don't go so far as to say that they never are, it is fascinating to follow them as they probe how this framework obscures an inherent hegemony of class and, worse, can lead to a latent racism against "Guatemalans" in Chapter Eight. Bedford was largely built on exploited labor and is increasingly maintained by it, even if both facts are equally inadmissible to the dominant sensibility. Although "popping Bedford's bubble" wasn't the direct aim of the authors, by the end of the book I was convinced that nearly everything about Bedford was artificial in some way, the result of a complex interweaving of class and social forces that go mostly unnoticed. I especially like the authors' use of the term "performance" to describe the interplay of these forces and their materialization on and production through the landscape. It seems to strike squarely at how Bedford is more than just a place; it is the resulting effect of many individual "actors" including people, the land, the market, the immigrants, the history, the buildings, class relations, etc. In combination these constitute the thing that is "Bedford." In this way, every place is artificial (i.e., "denaturalized") if you want to think of it that way.The Duncans write clearly and forcefully and for the most part, jargon-free. They strive (as professional geographers at Cambridge) to retain an objective viewpoint. This book is not meant to tattle or to reduce people to sets of selfish causes. I imagine other places could have served as well, but in this book Bedford Village is taken as a case study upon which to build the theoretical argument that aesthetic claims serve as convenient and effective codes for political and cultural issues. | 1positive
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Be prepared to be obsessed
I anticipated the arrival of my Kindle so much that I was certain to be disappointed in it somehow, but it turns out to be as magical as I had imagined it.Prior to receiving it my husband was thoughtfully emailing me every negative review he could find in the press, but he too is a convert. All it took was a few hours reading his beloved Wall Street Journal the other day while I was at work. His words? "I don't know what all those pundits are going on about, this thing is amazing." He is very thrifty, so he did not add "I want one too." But I think I'll get him with my Christmas bonus.As for the design, it is comfortable to hold, and I appreciate all the matte finishes. I don't want to hold a shiny thing when I am reading. I have tried reading with and with out the cover and definitely prefer reading without the cover. The cover makes the page turn buttons on the left very awkward to use. I very rarely hit an unintended page forward button, and when I do, it's not especially annoying to have to page back. I do find that in some places the surfaces don't meet perfectly, like between the buttons, and I expect that later incarnations of the device will have a tighter fit and finish.As for the reading experience, at first I was afraid that the contrast between the text and the "page" was not sharp enough, but very quickly my eyes got used to the lower contrast, and now I find it less straining on my eyes than a book when I read for a long period of time. Add to that, the ability to increase the font size, and I am in heaven as I do my typical marathon read fest over the weekend.As for the time/space collapse, for devoted readers, gosh that is dangerous. I read it; I like it; I buy it, all from the comfort of my bed, the couch, the beach, wherever. I without a doubt, I will be spending even more money on books. Brilliant Amazon! But brilliant for me too, there is always one area of my life, at any given time where I am recklessly indulgent, and better reading than many other things.Book lovers, don't lament, celebrate! Even, if you have a fetish for books, you are likely to love the Kindle and make it your latest fetish. | 1positive
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Book
So far the book is good and I plan to read the whole book. Working with Emotional Intelligence was recommended by co-worker. Have not finish but seem like a good book. | 1positive
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Not Quite Funny; Not Quite Romantic
I'm a fan of British humor and enjoy comic romances, so I had high hopes for this book. It comes up a little bit -- but a decisive bit -- short.The book has a promising start, our hero, Stephen McQueen (with a ph), is a struggling actor whose specialty is playing dead bodies in television police dramas. That sounds like a funny starting point, right? Well, that's the high point. His subsequent struggles, both romantic and professional, are more pathetic than funny, and more boring than either. One after another the book sets up (admittedly with considerable skill) potentially funny or redeeming scenes--the party thrown by the star he is understudying, visits with his ex-wife, the star's wife, his daughter, his agent, acting jobs as a Squirrel, and so forth. Each time, the set up is unavailing--the humor is just short of funny and the positive change or transformative event in the hero's life so necessary to such a story falls just short of happening. The book and its ultimately unappealing hero just keep plodding along. Ultimately I felt like Charlie Brown, with the author playing Lucy--holding out the football of the conventions of a comic romance, then pulling them away at the last second. Spare yourself. | 0negative
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Review on "The Return of the Native"
In Thomas Hardy's novel, "The Return of the Native," he portrays many different qualities of life. Throughout the book, the characters and the places, lessons can be learned. From love to hate, jealousy to confidence, nurturing to hurt, it confronts all. | 1positive
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Hated the first few pages, no cost
If you buy books, hate the first chapter and never read the rest, this is for you. The book preview is worth the cost. Download any first section of a book for free. If you like what you read, buy the rest of the book. That's it. You'll love it. | 1positive
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Meh
I don't see what all the fuss is about? The poetic language is OK I guess if you like that kind of stuff... but there isn't much of a story or even much character development in this novel. Basically it reminded me of a high school reading assignment I had to force myself to finish reading. | 0negative
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Do you want to know who Barack Obama really is?
Then you should read this book. This is a fascinating view into the complex, impressive person now running for president, focusing on his coming to terms with his absent father and the color of his skin in America--not only what it means but what it does NOT mean. It was written well before he ran for political office (he was just out of Harvard Law School as the first African American president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review), so I believe he really wrote it himself. It is very personal, not at all self serving, thoughtful, and it seems deeply honest. I have seen other reviews that criticize the book because he doesn't speak much about his mother. My view is that his mother (and his grandparents) are between the lines on every page of the book. Their love, values, and support were the foundation of his life--the rock on which he stood to ask these questions about his father. He didn't write about them because he didn't need to write about them--his relationship with them was unambiguous. | 1positive
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The Road
I read this book for my book group and it was not a good read at all. | 0negative
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Brilliant, but for thinkers, not for linkers...
Brilliant book, great story and thoughtful subjects. This book intends to cause much thinking in the reader. If you are desiring a book to lead (link) you from point A to point B to point C, etc., you might try something else...like Grisham. The subjects are intentionally not solved for you, no silver platter, no ribbon and bow.Instead, you get a believable world (on a ship - a big ship), with real people (the protagonist wears prosthetic body armour), in some terrible situations, some of their own making. This is not black and white writing, nor is it shades of gray; it is technicolor. The faceless Hollywood science fiction movies fail to tell stories as engaging, fresh and as interesting as this one.Enjoy. | 1positive
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terrifying
I was really amazed by my inability to stop reading this book. I have not read anythig this controlling in a long time...I am really looking forward to his next.....I think if you are a parent it really resonates.......... | 1positive
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Unattrbuted opinion and editorial pieces?
Only in-house editorial pieces should be unattributed. The reader understands that they represent the views of the publisher and editorial board. All other pieces should include the name of the author. The Kindle edition of the Denver Post fails to meet even this most minimal standard in its Opinion section. Is it that difficult to include a by-line? | 0negative
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Lucid, fair though leaning left, truth and principle as reflecting of love
David Gibson does an outstanding job of presenting the core controversy regarding the Ratsinger years of the CDF and fairly presents the principles underlying the actions of Cardinal Ratzinger and the early directions of his papacy. Benedict XVI would say there is a core of truth well established by Scripture and Tradition that is no longer fertile soil for argument. The Roman Catholic Church is obligated out of love to stand firm; as Gibson says as a relflection of Benedict, "divine love finds its most complete expression in absolute truth, and thus the greatest act of love is to stand on principle."Though Gibson reveals his slight reformist bias especially in his treatment of the sacking of Fr. Thomas Reese as editor of the journal "America" (understandable as a fellow journalist), overall Gibson is careful to present the counter views in such a balanced way that one can fairly come away wih the the more conservative opinion after reading this book. A popular treatment of such a controversial area that demonstraits such restraint and balance is a wonderful work of journalism and is rare in the polarizing media. Gibsons work, for med stimulated much though regarding one of the fundamental problems in orthopraxy, how can one act in love and kindness, yet at the same time judge and stand firm. The answer is truth. Determinine the truth is of course our lifelong pursuit, and Gibson has provide insight into how Pope Benedict has arrived at his answers, and how that may effect the course of Catholicism. | 1positive
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Character vs. Plot
In trying to remain consistent with the book's title, Frankel faces a problem. She makes desperate attempts to keep the actions of each sister consistent with their respective personality themes. In doing so, she has created one dimensional creatures who struggle to remain in character. People are complicated and multilayered; Frankel's characters are flat and, therefore, completely uninteresting. Writers who are able to embrace the inconsistencies of personality are better able to create characters who can confront and affect the challenges presented by a compelling plot.I believe Frankel has a good sense of the elements involved in creating an involving story. Clearly her strength lies in creating labyrinth-style "chase scenes" like the one toward the end of the book. I have to admit that I was entertained by a couple of the plot twists that she created. However, even this positive aspect of her writing seemed fraught with the overexertion of an attempt to move the plot in a direction that would be consistent with the stagnant personalities of her main characters. The colorful confusion of New York life could never sustain such cardboard characters. | 0negative
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Breaking the spell of Darwinism...
I am told this book was commissioned after 9/11 and this would explain the strange character of this empty book, with its propaganda twist. Commissioned for whom? The Al Qaeda? I certainly doubt they would read it, and will dive in a foxhole if they do. The strategy resembles bear baiting and will backfire completely. I can't recall ever reading such a vacuous book on the subject of religion. Virtually nothing about any of the world's religions is actually discussed or factually analyzed. Not being a theist (or, for that matter, an atheist) I have no agenda in saying this and would support the effort to break the spell of religious hypnosis where this is exploitative. But this book will feed what it attacks, because its foundation, based on evolutionary psychology, is so flawed it is silly. It is not helpful to claim that religion arises as some kind of adaptation in the scenarios of Darwinian evolution. Consider the Axial Age, from a secular viewpoint. We can see thqat religion is really an aspect of historical macroevolution, and something that current science simply can get a handle on with its Darwinian obsessions. There is a way to 'break the spell', sufis and Buddhists have been trying for millennia. This book is completely oblvious to its own subject matter, and suffers a gross presumption that current reductionist science is able to grasp or see through the complexities of religion.In the meantime this book gives every excuse to religionists to consider Darwinists blind and stupid, and will make them dig in their heels with some justification.If Darwinists wish to break the spell of religion they would do well to at least study it. | 0negative
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Disappointed
Too many extra characters with no purpose to the story. The tone and the the occasional wit don't make up for a story that isn't finessed to the end. | 0negative
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