Very well laid out, with the verbal drill sections being the best aid. This book helps in studying and teaches you how to study on your own. This is the only book I have ever found that teaches grammar in a clear and relevant format

I have purchased MANY help books in my quest to learn Italian. But this one has caught me by surprise. It is the first one that seems to be actually helping me, especially remembering the rules.

Of all the reference books and grammars out there, this is the single best: comprehensive, clear, nonacademic (in the best sense) and very intelligently laid out. Don't miss it.

I liked this book. I would really give it 4 and 1/2 stars. It's interesting, educational, and fun if you are the type who is curious about the psychodynamics of human behavior. Most people just want a pill to cure what ails them, but sometimes the only cure is finding out what is really going on in the mind. This book gives you some insight into that mysterious and fascinating world.

I read this book under its previous title, "The Pornographer's Grief," and am glad to see it has been re-published under the title "Sexual Mysteries" (a better description of its contents). This is a charming book of insightful stories from the author's general psychiatric practice. Each of the chapters discusses a different patient in dialogue form. While these are true stories of therapy, they are so well written they read like good fiction. They provide an unusual opportunity to look in on someone else's life and their problems, how those problems play out in their sexual life (or how they are manifested in sexual symptoms), and how the problems are solved through therapy.

For example, the chapter called "The Acrobat's Stocking" tells the story of a man's longstanding problems with using a condom. Through therapy the man discovers the psychological roots of, and solves, his problem. Some of the other chapters are titled "The Pornographer's Grief" (exploring the psychological roots of a man's addiction to pornography), "The Woman Who Thought Her Orgasm Was A Gift," "Don Juan's Regret" (about a womanizer coming to terms with his behavior), and "Sexual Appetites" (about a bulimic college student and unconscious sexual elements of her binges).

"Sexual Mysteries" is easy-reading but intellectually stimulating. I recommend it highly.

As a graduate student in counseling I found this book fascinating. (It had the same effect on my fellow classmates) Many of us wrote reaction papers on different chapters plus we spent quite a bit of time discussing it in class. Initially I was shocked by the material, later I was in awe of where the counselor went with the clients.

Beautifully illustrated and simply written, this version of the "Silent Night" story hit home with our family as we are descendants from the little-known, but incredibly beautiful Austrian Tyrol, the setting for the story. A copy is being sent to 80-year old Tyrolean grandparents (in NY) to enjoy!

See how a univerally-known song, "Silent Night" can stop men from thinking about war. From a song that was scrawled on a crumpled piece of paper inside an old church organ to a melody that stopped gunfire during the Korean War, we see the power of music through this simple holiday carol. Beautifully illustrated, and a wonderful lesson to read aloud.

This is a beautiful picture book which tells the story of how one of the world's most loved Christmas carols came to be written. The story is sure to loved by children and adults and could easily become part of a family holiday reading tradition.

page 10/7: "E. Medical Treatment....And dependents and survisors of a veteran who has a service connected disabilities, or who receives a veterans pension, are entitled to care in VA facilities if they are unable to afford private care."

I have been a VA employee for 16 years. The above is WRONG. There IS a pilot program in a handful of VA hospitals allowing dependents to use the VA hospital. Otherwise, this is NOT the case.

..."The VA can also pay for long-term care of an elderly or disabled veteran in a private nursing facility if there is no space in a VA facility."

This is also not entirely correct. The operative would is CAN. However, the VA is only obligated to pay for the care of veterans who have a certain percentage of Service-Connected Disability. If they pay at all for any others, most VA's only pay for care for a VERY limited period of time.

The authors of this comprehensive guidebook come close to achieving this feat. As they point out, many Americans are not receiving all the benefits they deserve under our current system. By explaining the various benefit programs and laws in conversational English, they hope to help readers ensure they are getting everything to which they are entitled. It's also helpful that the text is presented in a visually interesting two-column format with plenty of headings, boxes, and even the occasional illustration.

Each chapter explains a different benefit program or set of laws designed to protect the rights of older Americans. Security and Medicare take up more than half the book. The discussions of Medicare claims and appeal procedures are particularly thorough, complete with samples of Medicare summary notices explaining what the sometimes confusing columns of numbers mean. There also are chapters on Medigap policies, Veterans benefits, private pensions and 401(k) plans, and federal civil service retirement benefits. However, if you're looking for in-depth information on Medicaid coverage of nursing home costs, this is not your best resource. While Medicaid's basic eligibility rules are briefly discussed, the complexities of transferring assets to qualify for Medicaid benefits are not.

The authors mainly stick to the facts, but every once in a while they reveal their view of our society's tattered safety net. For example, they call our failure to enact a comprehensive, universal health care plan a "national disgrace."

This happens to be the best all-around book concerning the difficult subject of Social Security that I have read. Understandable and very well written. The sections regarding disability are filled with just the info I needed to know.

What happens when a group of ordinary men find themselves in the middle of chaos, disorder, and violence? This is the question explored by author, Joseph L. Phillips, in his new book, THE SOLDIERS OF SUMMER. The main characters, Welles, Devlin, and Griffin, a group of New York City police officers, journey into the throes of chaos at a two-week summer camp for the Army Reserve. Mr. Phillip's offers his readers an intimate look into what "can" or "might" happen to a person and the choices growing out of such unexpected events. Set in 1978, THE SOLDIERS OF SUMMER, is a crazy beer-soaked romp that travels from New York to Canada and back again, skillfully incorporating the anti-war sentiment of Vietnam into the storyline. It mirrors the world in which we live as well as some people we would rather not meet! A poignant and disturbing look at the various sides of human behavior and character, THE SOLDIERS OF SUMMER is a novel intended to enlighten and challenge its readers, as well as to make them take a deeper look at the positive and negatives sides of humanity. The "good guys" head off to summer camp in good spirits, while trying to recover from hang-overs, in the comical opening scene. The characters are realistic and will be familiar to many as an old friend or the neighbor down the street. They are the "average guy", caught-up in his middle-age-years during the late 1970's. Phillips gives extensive background scenes on the characters, relating their mishaps and obstacles to past experiences in a way that aids the reader in understanding the complexity of the characters, their motivation and their goals. A good book for audiences who enjoy genre fiction novels of this nature, THE SOLDIERS OF SUMMER, is not without some problems. Mr. Phillip's presents an interesting, action-packed story, but he leaves the reader confused and distracted by some of the "telling" interspersed in the story. Elaborate sentence structure, and a seemingly "too literate" langauge from characters at certain points in the story, detract from the flow of action. However, Mr. Phillip's does an excellent job overall with the dialog and is most often real, true and vibrant. This brings the characters to life and creates clear personality traits and tendencies that the reader will recognize and identify with. There are some passages that leave the reader a little off-track and confused. Still, THE SOLDIERS OF SUMMER succeeds in its effort to tell a story about real people who must deal with situations unusual and foreign to them. The fact that these people are police officers simply makes the tale more intriguing. Even with its problems, THE SOLDIERS OF SUMMER is a vivid tale that engages the reader as it explores the harsher side of humanity. A good book for the "summer reader" to take along to the beach with them.

I have always been more the fan of literay works with emphasis on characters than the genre novels that seem to dominate today's market and in The Soldiers Of Summer I have found one. Mr. Phillips, a retired police officer, takes us on what could have been just another cop tale but this one has a twist. These men are members of the Army Reserve doing their two weeks summer camp during the summer of 1978. It should be a vacation but it turns out to be a nightmare they can only cope with by sequestering themselves into their own tight knit group where whiskey and their camaraderie becomes their only source of relief. They also have their own personal demons to deal with from problems on their job, lingering nightmares for some from the Vietnam War, to broken marriages and relationships that have made their lives a bitter pill to swallow. There are a few comedic interludes along the way, a weekend trip to Lake George that ends in a fight and a trip to Canada that goes awry. This novel has all the makings of a damn good movie also along the lines of The Last Detail, and if someone doesn't snap up the rights they're crazy. This is a great read with characters that will stay with you long after you've put it down, so don't let this one slip by.

I'll admit it, I've always liked books by ex-policemen about life in the cop shop and beyond. Joseph Wambaugh's Lines and Shadows is still one of my favorites. The Soldiers of Summer, however elevates the genre several steps beyond ordinary fiction and into the realm of literature. Joseph Phillips, who patroled the streets of New York in the 1970s and 1980s, in the pre-Guiliano wild days, paints a portrait of policing that is at once compassionate and compelling, with riveting characters who will remain in your head long after you put this book down. His prose style is short, sweet and to the point, enough so that Hemingway would be proud! Even if you're not an avid fan of cop books, this one's worth a read. Give it a try--you won't be sorry.

This is not a great biography of Ford. It doesn't add anything new, and it's probably 100 pages too long(I never thought I'd say that about a book on Ford)! Read Scott Eyman, Print the Legend, and you won't even want to bother with this book.

This is a very good biography of Ford. Yes, McBride relies on Sarris and Carey Jr. a good bit of the time, yet this book remains very interesting and does a thorough job covering the many films Ford made.

Strengths of the book include an eye-opening look at Ford's WWII service, (How many other guys were at both Midway and D-Day and managed to get to Burma and Yugoslavia as well?) a clear presentation of Ford's relations with the different studios (the list of "better" titles for The Quiet Man the head of Republic tried to force on Ford is hysterically funny) and an evenhanded evaluation of Ford's behavior during the blacklist era.

Perhaps the evenhandedness of McBride's tone is what I liked the most about the book. One could take Ford's life and turn it into a straightforward case of hero-worship, or one could take an axe to him up and down the line, pointing out his failures in family life, his bigoted comments, his questionable actions in some controversial issues. McBride avoids falling into either extreme camp. We get Ford warts and all here, and it is left up to us to decide.

My only complaint is that the book is too short. I would have liked more discussion on a few films, and I would have liked a chapter on Ford's posthumous reputation. McBride raises the issue in his introduction that Ford is being forgotten by the new generation of writers and filmmakers, but he never quite tells why.

Still, this was a fine book, one that I read quickly despite its length.

As a fan of the master filmmaker John Ford, I was enthralled to find this wonderful biography. It is both entertaining and scholarly, filled with fascinating anecdotes that provide the reader with an in-depth view of Ford's complex personality. In spanning Ford's life and career, this book also provides a panoramic overview of Hollywood itself and the dramatic changes it went through over the years, many of which are reflected in Ford's work. I really enjoyed the analyses of Ford's films which provide many new insights and perspectives. A must-read for anyone interested in film.

I agree with the previous reviewer. The beginning of the book provides a wonderful explanation of the I-Ching and how to cast coins and read. However, the biblical references provided for interpretation are somewhat vague. I highly recommend for anyone interested in learning about the I-Ching. I prefer to use to The Everyday I Ching, Sarah Dening, for hexagram interpretation.

This book has much to recommend it. The strongest chapters are the first few, in which Murphy gives the background of the I Ching and talks about synchronicity and the linkage between the subconscious and universal minds. His description of how to consult the oracle (using pennies) is very clear and easy for any novice to understand. As far as his view of the I Ching goes, he sees it as being closely connected in spirit with Western metaphysical thinking. The entire second half of the book comprises the interpretations of the hexagrams, using biblical passages instead of the original Chinese judgements and images. For me this doesn't really work, as most of Murphy's biblically based interpretations are far too general to have much application. Like the newspaper horoscopes, with imagination they could be interpreted any old way.

Thus, if you are a purist who wants a translation of the I Ching which most closely follows the Chinese version, I would not recommend this. I would instead go with the Wilhelm/Barnes version published by Bollingen--this is the translation Jung used and it's very good reading in and of itself. However, for learning to use the I Ching, Murphy's book is a fine introduction.

I am a fan of Joseph Murphy. His books have helped me this past year more than any other to create my future and understand that I need to control my thoughts. This book is my first I Ching book. It is well written and easy to understand. I find that when I ask a question, the answer easily goes to the topic at hand and of course helps me to heal my mind in that area, besides helps me choose a course of action. This is a good first book.

William J. Slim was an interesting soldier. He served for forty years in the British and Indian armies, rose to be a field marshal, served as governor general of Australia, and wrote what is considered to be one of the best memoirs to come out of the war, certainly among the best written by a senior officer. All of this, and many who read about World War II have never heard of him.

Slim was born the son of an unsuccessful businessman from Birmingham. His father sold wholesale hardware, and went bankrupt when Slim was in his teens, prompting the young man to look for a job that would afford him a paycheck for little outlay. He joined an army officer training course at Birmingham University (somehow without being a student of that institution, and neat trick) and when World War I started, he was mustered into the army as a lieutenant, and sent off to war.

He served first in Gallipoli, then Mesapotamia (later known as Iraq) and when the war ended, joined the Indian army, serving mostly with Gurkha regiments. By the mid-thirties, he'd seen enough service that when the war started he soon bounced up to corps command, and was instrumental in the retreat of the British army from Burma. The first offensive back into the country (the Arakan offensive) almost got Slim sacked, but someone perceptively relieved his senior instead, and he got the man's job. He fought, and won, the battles of Kohima-Imphal, and later Meiktila, and reconquered Burma. Afterwards, he was again almost sacked, instead promoted Field Marshal, and made Chief of the Imperial General Staff over the objections of his predecessor, Montgomery. From there, with some diversions, he became the Governor General of Australia, which he did almost until his death.

Lewin is a competent writer, but no master of prose or anything, and he concentrates on Slim and his career. There's little information on Slim's family, such as when his parents died, and almost nothing on his silblings. The author does spend a little bit of time on Mrs. Slim, and the children, but not much. There are some amusing anecdotes (especially concerning his time as Governor General of Australia) and a few myths get put to rest. The most prevalent one is the story that Slim enlisted in the army as a private and was eventually promoted all the way to Field Marshal. This is shown to be just not true, unfortunately: he joined the army through an officer's training course, much like the American ROTC.

The middle part of the book covers the war in Burma, and does a good job of it. The principle issue in a book dealing with Burma is whether you come down on the side of Orde Wingate and the Chindits, or against them. Wingate was a strange, fanatical, brilliant, annoying soldier who formed the Chindits, a unit of light infantry that fought in the jungle behind Japanese lines, supplied by air. Slim, and many soldiers in the conventional army, thought Wingate heedless of difficulties, and unscrupulous, to say the least, while his defenders think he won the war in Burma, and despise those who tried to "hold Wingate back." Lewin comes down gently on the side of Slim, as you might expect, but carefully lets you know how deceitful and devious Wingate could be when he wanted something.

Altogether, while this isn't a masterful biography, it is a good book and a worthy tribute to a wonderful soldier.

Read in conjunction with William Slim's "Defeat into Victory", Lewin provides a superb appreciation of the forgotten WW2 battles in Burma and the life and times of Britain's outstanding Army commander of the 20th century. A splendid portrait of the soldier, general, proconsul and man. A must read for any serious student of 20th century warfare.

This book concisely tells the story of an indomitable, brilliant in a practical way, yet wonderfully human warrior. It is a must read for anyone who wants to find out about the embodiment of leadership.

I am a great admirer of Field Marshal the Viscount Slim, who in my opinion was the finest general officer of the war anywhere in any army. He molded the magnificent British 14th Army and led it in a victorious campaign against an implacable, often fanatical enemy, performing the impossible against insurmountable odds.

It is interesting to speculate on how differently Slim would have handled matters had he been in command of the British-Canadian forces on D-Day instead of Montgomery. Slim, who was accustomed to having to get along on a shoestring, but who also moved boldly and decisively whenever opportunity presented itself, would almost certainly have taken Caen on D-Day given all the men, munitions and air power which Monty possessed. That achievement alone would have shortened the war.

On the other hand, I don't believe Monty would have fared well in Burma. He was far too cautious and always refused battle until he had amassed overwhelming superiority in manpower and munitions. I doubt he'd have ever gotten round to attacking the Japanese given the threadbare logistical situation in India and Burma.

There are lengthy biographies of Solzhenitsyn by Scammell and Thomas, and specialized studies (e.g. Ericson's). Pearce's book meets the need of public and undergraduate libraries for a very readable, concise, and up-to-date biography of this controversial Nobel Prize winner. Pearce's book includes some otherwise unavailable recent material by Solzhenitsyn -- the prose poems at the end of the book -- so graduate libraries ought to have it, also.

Individuals who have read Solzhenitsyn's own autobiographical works and open letters might not need this book, but for most readers it will be a good introduction. It has the salutary effect of prompting one to go and (re)read works such as The First Circle. Pearce doesn't go into depth in discussion of Solzhenitsyn's books, but says enough to quicken interest in them.

Pearce shows affinity between Solzhenitsyn's positive ideas and those of people such as E. F. Schumacher (Small Is Beautiful). The critique of Enlightenment progressivism and positivism isn't detailed, but there's enough to remind me of writers as otherwise diverse as Phillip Sherrard (The Eclipse of Man and Nature), Russell Kirk, and the author of Ideas Have Consequences. I was also reminded a little of C. S. Lewis's prophetic novel That Hideous Strength, where Lewis presents a distinction between Britain and Logres, as I read Solzhenitsyn as quoted by Pearce, on the souls of nations. Familiarity with these writers -- who are often not known, or well known, to persons who presume to speak of their ideas -- can help one to understand where Solzhenitsyn is coming from.

Alenandr Solzenitsyn is a man certainly worthy of full scale treatment by a biographer. DM Thomas' biography a couple of years ago was strangely unmoving,and barely mentioned Solzenitsyn's religious views, which are at the core of his beliefs. At one time.AI solzenitsyn was the darling of the right in America,a virulent anti-communist who scorned ANYTHING resembling a welfare state{his attacks on free-market capitalism was soft pedalded by these same people}.Slowly, though, he became more and more removed from the centre of attention, and his novels became more and more obscure{and ,truth be told,rambling and quite boring.The red wheel trilogy...}This Biography places solzenitsyn's religious beliefs front and centre and the core of his being{and the reason he was able to survive the hell of the gulag}. While these are quite interesting, and really have rarely been covered in the West, Solzenitsyn's disdain for the West, his dismissal of pope John Paul II during and audience,his Tsarist tendencies and his almost messianic xenonphobia are not touched{though all are of one piece.] Solzenitsyn in many ways reminds me of Gandhi{without the charm}: wanting Holy Mother Russia to rise again to her greatness without the taint of western Decadence through a spiritual revolution. While he is a moral giant and an extraordiany example of the resilience of the human spirit, he is not served well by fawning, uncritical praise. Alexandr I solzhenitsyn deserves a full ,massive critical biography covering all of his life{his return to Russia has been bittersweet,his tv show was canceled for LACK OF INTEREST.Amazing how short peoples memories are!} This is one small step in the process. Interesting,but...

Solzhenitsyn: A Soul In Exile is a new biography of Alexander Solzhenitsyn portraying a complex man of integrity and faith, and whose anti-materialist stance and call for a "moral revolution" are as relevant today as they were fifty years ago. Biographer Joseph Pearce reassess this influential Russian writer who gave voice to the more than sixty million victims of Soviet terror, and who won the Nobel Prize for "the ethical force" of his literary work. Even with the collapse of Communism, Solzhenitsyn continues to be an outspoken critic of Russian leadership's role in that country's economic collapse and consequent rise of lawlessness. This impressive, highly recommended biography showcases Solzhenitsyn's life and work as a courageous stand for truth rooted in Christian and moral beliefs as evidenced in his life, poetry, plays, novels, and pronouncements.

This book will appeal to all who are interested in reading about real life-like stories. I enjoyed it very much, however, it was depressing to know that family members who love one another so much could not express their true feeling to each other. "Song Of Fire" remains my favorite book by Mr. Bentz. I have read it twice, and look forward to reading it again. Maybe it is time for Mr Bentz to revisit "Caladria". PLEASE!

I read "A Son Comes Home" this weekend. An interesting adaptation of the story of the Prodigal Son. More of a prodigal son, daughter, and father story which takes place in Indianapolis IN...you'll have to read it to get this. I particularly enjoyed the characters in the midwestern Indiana setting. The descriptions are so real that the book seems almost autobiographical in places. As a new father, this book spoke to me. I enjoyed it more than Song of Fire.

Reminiscent of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, Bentz manages to capture the spirit and breath of each of the several characters through which the story is portrayed. Whether the plot is being told by a teenage girl, an aging father, or a seeking son, the reader gets a chance to glimpse into the real soul of each personality. With skill and subtlety, Bentz explores timeless issues of family ties, loneliness, and acceptance, and how they relate to a series of generations. No matter where in life readers find themselves when reading this book, they are sure to feel at home with at least one of the emotions explored in this true-to-life story.