I read this book because I was fascinated by the number of CULTivators that Falun Gong claims to have. I have read almost all of Falun Gong's books and I can say that I honestly feel that there is not merit to Li's teachings and I believe that the books are merely a way for Li Hongzhi to make money and control his followers.

This book by Danny Schechter is not the least bit objective. When I read it I felt that it was written by a Falun Gong practitioner [though Danny Schechter claims not to be one] I feel Schechter's understanding of Falun Gong is very limited, I can even claim to have more knowledge about Falun Gong than he does [and I've only been reading Falun Gong books casually for about one year.] He gets most of his information from Falun Gong practioners and discredits anything that the Chinese press says. [I also disagree with the Chinese press most of the time, but I believe most of what they've said about Falun Gong is true.] It is a shame that this book is published yet books representing the other views about Falun Gong [for example 'The Allure of Falun Gong' by Paul Dong and Thomas Raffill and the Li Hongzhi biography published by Business Weekly in Taiwan] are not published or translated into English.

this book is not informative or objective at all.

Among third party books, this is the best I could find so far. When I was a graduate student in University of California at Santa Barbara, I have been looking for a good book from an objective angle on Falun Gong. But at that time this book did not come out. When I got this book, I find it provided almost all of the information that I have spent months the collected from different sources.

Since Falun Gong is amind, body, spiritual system, it may not easy to be really understood with superficial reading. Especially for people already have other spiritual or religious tendency. I myself is a case. But when getting more and more information from books (especially the Falun Gong books), you will find why millions people in China practice Falun Gong and like to do so. Eeven the persecution in China could not stop people doing this.

First and foremost, a reader should not mistake this book as being a text on Falun Gong and its tenants. In fact, the book pays only a relatively superficial bit of attention to analyzing the core precepts of Falun Gong. Rather, this book is a description of the Chinese government's and media response to Falun Gong and whether that reaction is rational or justified. From that perspective, the book is quite good. Schechter is quite careful in indicating that while he presents alleged first person narratives of torture going on in China of incarcerated practitioners, those narratives are still alleged descriptions. They have not been verified. And in the appendix, he provides the reader with excerpts from publications that present both benign and critical descriptions of Falun Gong and its founder, Li Hongzhi. What the book is quite exceptional at is showing how the Western media has been lazy in its coverage of the Falun Gong issue in China, often adopting the lexicon of the Chinese government-controlled press, and hence becoming a mere mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party. And it also challenges the reader's ability to accept core constitutional precepts, such as if all humans are to enjoy the right of religious/spiritual freedom, than all forms of religious/spiritual thought must enjoy those protections. If it isn't Christian or Jewish, Westerners tend to deride other doctrines as "cults," which only reveals an ethnocentric ignorance and intellectual laziness endemic in Western society. A reader of this text is not asked to decide whether Falun Gong should be considered legitimate. That is quite beside the point. Rather, the reader is asked whether Falun Gong practitioners should be allowed to practice their beliefs without mollestation. This text also reveals how China's decision to drastically cut back medical benefits to huge portions of its population sowed the seeds for Falun Gong's popularity because the doctrine does boast improved health through personal cultivation. No wonder it appeals to middle-aged and elderly people more than others, because it has been precisely this demographic that suffered the greatest loss because of the Chinese government's decision to reduce medical benefits. If we believe in religious and spiritual freedom, then the answer must be yes, Falun Gong and its practitioneers should be left alone. In the United States, the debates that form the historic Supreme Court decisions that define our freedoms were and continue to be initiated by what the rest of society deems as "fringe" elements. The right we have to refuse to recite the Pledge of Allegiance we owe to Jehovah's Witness. This book is an exceptional text and evaluation of not only the Chinese government's reaction to Falun Gong, but of the United States' and other Western reactions.

Randy Shilts was a liar. So was Lt. Gerald L. Rosanbalm.

Why do I say that?

Because the facts prove Shilts bought a fairy tale from Rosanbalm, who's story Shilts tells in this book.

Shilts starts on page 52 telling the ridiculous story of Rosanbalm, who claims he started a love affair with a G.I. named Donald Winn, during basic training at Ft. Ord , CA.,,,,,,OOPS!....Donald Winn didn't go to basic training at Ft. Ord. He went to basic at Ft Leonard Wood, MO, in 1967, when Rosanbalm claimed he was already in Vietnam since 1966! But he wasn't. Rosanbalm himself arrived in Vietnam in late 67.

Shilts writes on p. 58 that Rosanbalm and Winn also went to OCS together, until Winn "washed out".,,,, OOPS! Wrong again. Winn never went to OCS. Winn was a high school drop out and wasn't eligible for OCS. Shilts also writes Rosanblam and Winn would sneak out of the barracks to "make love" during OCS training. Only an ignoramous wouldn't see a red flag in that story. Shilts clearly had no real knowledge of how military schools work. That would have been extremely difficult to do, #1, and #2, even if you could, you are so damn tired during those rigorous training schedules, the last thing you want to do is sneak out somewhere and have sex.

Shilts says Rosanbalm was stationed near Quang Nagh. OOPS! He did it again! There is no place in Vietnam called Quang Nagh.

Rosanbalm's whole story on ppg. 55-57 is also likely phony. Fact is, Rosanblam had left his post during the crucial Tet offensive, leaving his enlisted men to fend for the themselves. No one could account for him.His commanders felt he was in an area he had no business in. Records show there was only sporadic fighting in that entire area, (which was really Quang Ngai)not the heavy fire fight Rosanbalm claimed he was in. Although Rosanbalm did get a Purple Heart, it is unclear how it happened.

Shilts writes that Donald Winn died in combat on Jan. 1, 1971. Wrong once again. He did die on that date, but of a heart attack in his barracks. He had a weakened heart condition.

Shilts writes Donald Dean Winn is "one of the many gay men named on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial." Shilts has zero evidence Winn was a homosexual. Winn's fiance(yes, a woman) begs to differ. So does his whole family as well as his friends.

Military records show Donald Dean Winn and Lt. Gerald Rosanbalm were never stationed on the same post. Mr. Winn's reputation has been smeared while he lies in his grave, because Randy Shilts was too lazy to do some simple research to check out Rosanbalm's story.

Shilts, in the paperback edition of this book, claimed this information I have written here was all brought out by a "right-wing magazine", which is irrelevent. The facts and the military record show Shilts wrote a false story.

All of what I have written is available in a book called "Stolen Valor" by B.G. Burkett, which debunks this story. These falsehoods of Mr. Shilts call into question the validity of his book, even if some gays have been persecuted in the military. Unfortunately, both Shilts and Rosanbalm have died of AIDS and count be held accountable, but they were confronted when they were both alive and still stuck by their lies. Shameful.

I was overseas when this book came out, and the on-base bookstores could not keep enough on the shelves! Every "family" member would snap it up as soon as more were put out. An outstanding read...On a whole, the book IS factual. It just makes a better read is all.
I was returning from overseas and had a layover at Westover AFB, MA, site of one of the most intense witch hunts in military history. After everyone got settled in for the night, I walked around the dorms and tried to imagine what it must of been like for those being grilled by OSI. I got a real sense of history then. I was lucky. I got my 20 years in without a hitch, not even being offially questioned, thought I knew of several who were thrown out. Things are getting better in a way that most of the young troops now don't really care one way or another. And eventually some of those troops will be Generals and have influence over policy. The United States is one of only 2 nations in the western world who activly seeks to discharge those who are gay and lesbian (no, "don't ask, don't tell" doesn't work!). Some day that will change, and I hope I'm around to see it.

I bought this book because my Great Aunt is a retired Colonel in the US Army, and she is a Lesbian. She was interviewed for this book and is quoted in the book. Therefore, I wanted to have a copy of this book because I feel it holds a part of my family history.

I got my copy while at work, and immediately flipped through to find the sections that spoke about my Aunt. I started reading out loud to my co-workers, and pretty soon, a small group had gathered and was raptly listening to me read aloud. I was amazed that they were interested in the stories in the book as well as touched at their outrage at the discrimination I was reading to them.

This book is very interesting and talks about a part of history many people do not realize. I'd always been so proud of my Aunt for being one of the FEW women Colonels in her day, yet I never realized the scrutiny she lived under in the Army and the constant fear of being "outed" as a Lesbian.

Gay people have contributed greatly to our United States Military, and this book recognizes that fact as well as opens our eyes to the discrimination that gay women and men fighting for our country had to face, an added burden that didn't fall on the shoulders of the heterosexual soldiers.

I would strongly recommend this book.

First off - Irene wasn't in the series yet. She wouldn't show up until the third book (Homework Machine.) It may well be that's why this and Desert Island were first, to get them out of the way.

According to my parents, space flight did indeed seem a hundred years away in 1956. I'll have to take their word on that. But all the same, the way they got the ship to fly doesn't seem all that outlandish (though like Star Trek-style beaming, it would require a LOT of energy) particularly for when it was written.

And like most of the rest of the series (read my review for Smallifying Machine) it did a wonderful job of explaining basic science to its audience. I still remember (my mother had the original hardback from her childhood) the illustration of the ship over Mars - looking at its surface, with Phobos a jagged rock in orbit above it, and being awed by that and other things out in space.

You can forgive the bang-up ending - the authors would get better with time on that. It may be a bit dated now but it offers an interesting perspective.

Few stories, much less story series, can be remembered as vividly over the years as can the Danny Dunn books - a tribute to the authors and their product. In this story Danny and the usual cast (less Irene, who no doubt was absent due to morality standards of the day) are inadvertently launched into space through the an accident with the wondrous anti-gravity paint. Despite the initial mishap, all seems to be going well until the spacefarers discover that they cannot activate the switch that will return them to Earth! Once again Danny must rise to the occasion and save the day before it is too late.

As with all the Danny Dunn books, readers are painlessly introduced to science concepts while reading an absorbing tale. Although some of the ideas in the story seem a bit dated now, the plot development and characters make this story an excellent selection.

Danny Dunn! One of the best children's book serieses of all time. I guess I'll review all of them that I can remember. They are indeed Hard To Find these days. But I recommend them all, if you can find 'em.

This one is about a trip to space via Anti-Gravity Paint, with Professor Bullfinch, Danny, Joe, and the irascible Dr. Grimes. You sort of feel the lack of Irene to complete the chemistry, but oh well. I love this stuff.

"The Case of the Creatures from Calumet City" is a wonderful mixture of comedy and science fiction. In many ways it is pretty stock science fiction with an evil scientist, a hero (or two), and an experiment out of control. In other ways it is a refreshing production. Not your typical audio book, it is more reminiscent of the old radio productions complete with various characterizations, sound effects, and background music. This is an actual production of the storyline and not a reading of a book.

The production takes 4.7 hours to listen to in its entirety. The only thing about the production that I found annoying was the accent of Stan Hangjab. Instead of relaxing and listening and enjoying the production I found myself straining at times to try to figure out what he said quick enough to keep up with the story line. Considering the quality of the sound effects and all other parts of the production, I resented having to work so hard to understand what the main character said. In a minor character role this would not have been much of a transgression, but in the primary character it is a problem.

Other than that issue, the story line was good, the production fun, and the characters well defined. It is a recommended purchase for those who find the accent natural and comfortable. Before purchasing it go to the web page at ... and listen to the first chapter. You will know right away if you find Stan's Hangjab's accent too annoying or second nature.

Danny D'Agostino's Creatures From Calumet City!!

Billed as an audio-movie, Creatures from Calumet City!! is a 4-CD recording that traces the efforts of two down-and-out detectives against the title creature and other characters. Think of it as a book on CD, with sound effects. It's well-done. It's remindful of a better Firesign Theatre sketch, but much longer. Much, much longer.

Creatures from Calumet City!! claims to be 4 to 7 hours of comedy sci-fi thriller. Perhaps you shouldn't force yourself to sit through the whole show at once. It makes you realize how long the Creatures from Calumet City!! is, and that's long.

But it is amusing, and professional. Kudos to Danny D'Agostino for this 'full acted' audio-movie or whatever-you-want-to-call-it. It is entertaining despite its length.

As for the author's injection of authentic Italian-American flavoring, well, it's in there, but you might sneeze and miss it. Creatures from Calumet City!! also has regional humor which loses some of its kick outside the Windy City area.

Perhaps Calumet City itself is a punch line, but we didn't quite get the joke. It might be like people in Newark making fun of people from Camden?

In the long run, the adventures of Stan and Leroy Hangjab against the evil genius Dr. Stein turns out for the best, and there are some laughs along the way. The entire adventure is quite the trip without luggage.

Stan and Leroy Hangjab are two streetwise Chicago detectives who find themselves rescuing the precocious 13-year-old Richard T. McCormick IV from the clutches of the evil genius DNA scientist Dr. Stein and his mutant creature humanoids. This superbly produced, thoroughly entertaining, bluntly humorous, "theatre of the mind" science fiction story is enhanced with an electronic music score, digital sound effects, good performances, and an outstandingly written and adapted script. A four CD set with a total playing time of 4.7 hours, The Hangjab Brothers In The Case Of The Creatures From Calumet City is enthusiastically recommended for community library audiobook collections in general, and science fiction enthusiasts over the age of 16 in particular.

The book had hundreds of pages of small text, but very few pictures. The way my wife and I travel, by playing it by ear, this isn't appropriate. I'm not going to sit and read all that. I want a few pictures of a town, a small map to go along with my other maps, and some good ideas of what is good in that particular town. I don't need 80 pages of documentation on it.

Best book I've seen on France tourism

My husband and I took a couple of well known guide books with us on our recent trip to France...but this is the one we found most useful. One invaluable feature is the inclusion of maps. When we got lost in Avignon we had only to open the Rough Guide to find our way. Also, we were able to locate the bus and rail stations on the maps. There is much to be learned by reading a number of guidebooks before you go but this is the one to take with you.

I don't believe I've seen more than two of Mazursky's films but I enjoyed his book, especially the juicy chapter on his adventures with the increasingly more bizarre Peter Sellers. This is not a biography, but rather a series of essays about his involvement with different Hollywood people and some chapters about his current life and childhood. Recommended.

An interesting, light and witty Summer read that gives you insight into Mazursky's career and tales of movie production. Mazursky, born in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn started out as an actor (Blackboard Jungle), moved on to be a comedy writer (Danny Kaye, I Love You Alice B Toklas) when acting parts were infrequent, and made his directorial debut with Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice. My favorite scenes in the book? When a young Mazursky catches his zade eating his bubbe's herring on the afternoon of Yom Kippur; when Eisner and Katzenberg ask Mazursky if he thinks that the I.B. Singer story (Enemies, A Love Story) is too Jewish... maybe it can be about the Cambodian Holocaust instead of the WWII one; when Richard Dreyfus pulls out of the Enemies project; and the creation of Down&Out in Beverly Hills.

I loved reading this book, both from the standpoint of appreciating Paul Mazursky the director of many of my favorite films and reveling in Paul Mazursky the no-holds-barred storyteller. But--and, I'm sorry, there is a 'but'---why devote one sentence to the great Art Carney, who Mazursky calls the most pure actor he'd ever worked with, and then not tell the reader WHY he feels that way about Carney? There are no anecdotes to share about Jill Clayburgh or Robin Williams? Come on, Paul, give! This lapse is mostly compensated for by Mazursky's tales of traveling in the "then" Soviet Union and South America, his memories of working for Danny Kaye and his sharing the bitter and the sweet about his family, his friends and the ups and downs of his life. The chapter about Mazursky's relationship with his mother is especially powerful and a reminder that much of the pathos within even his funniest films came honestly to him. So, five stars for what's here---just would've liked to have seen more!

As an organization and leadership development consultant, I was interested in learning different methods for increasing performance, especially at the leadership level, in the nonprofit organizations with which I work. This book provided more than I bargained for - and that was good.

The author carefully and comprehensively guides the reader through four levels of business, what he refers to as the Business Sphere; the business unit, the core process, the individual and the work group and analyzes each of these from the viewpoint of the inputs, conditions, process elements, consequences, outputs, and feedback (the "proforma") involved in conducting business' work. Performance alignment is explained as being the "interdependencies" of these four levels of business.

Just when I thought I had it, the last chapters of the book emphasized the importance of including (or "layering") work support, behavior, standards and human consonance into the mix. Any good performance consultant knows that attitudes, support systems, values and explicit standards are necessary for business success. But what the author does is provide a detailed account of how to measure and include these into your performance analysis of the Business Sphere and the six elements (inputs, consequences, processes, conditions, etc) of each component of that Sphere. Sound detailed and complex? It is.
However, the author is systematic in his discussion of the process of analyzing the deficiencies in any given organization and encourages consultants to be just as methodical in their approach. For instance, he supports his argument that the order of analysis is important and necessary with a poignant example. He mentions "A CEO decided to reorganize the work groups without first investigating whether there was any problem with the processes or the individuals who produced the primary [business] outputs. He assumed the problem [with his business outputs] was with the work groups (the organization structure)." Langdon argues that the CEO, and performance consultants, should first measure primary outputs, then processes and individuals, and, finally, the work groups. This order will allow the consultant to more accurately locate the root cause of an organization's challenges.

Mr. Langdon's book is academic and not for the faint of heart. However, he does an exceptional job of providing supportive tables and templates, for us visual learners, which brought to practical life the points he emphasizes. Additionally, his many business examples and continued referral to football, as a business example that everyone can understand, all allow the reader to see how to apply the principles Langdon just outlined.

The book, however, draws on his experiences in the environmental technology field and refers to nonprofit organizations only twice. So the reader must focus on what is transferable or achievable for working groups or organizations in that sector.

This book requires an attentive mind, a notepad and a pencil. Mine is littered with paper book-marks and pencil notes in the margins. After a rough start, I starting seeing how each component of the Business Sphere and the "proforma" could be useful in facilitating discussions with nonprofit organization's leaders, staff and volunteers on defining, measuring and improving their performance. Important to understand, too, is that the author is encouraging consultants to help the organizations with which they work to develop a "Language of Work" model; a language that is common to everyone in the business so that there remains little room for miscommunication, misunderstanding or other root causes of misalignment. His attempt to explain this Language model is the heart of this book.

Table of Contents:

Chap. 1 Introduction to Performance Alignment in Business

Chap. 2 The Business Sphere: Where to Apply Performance

Chap. 3 The Work Behavior of the Business Unit: The What of Business

Chap. 4 The Work Behavior of Core Processes: The How of Business

Chap. 5 The Work Behavior of Individuals: Work by Whom?

Chap. 6 The Work Behavior of Work Groups: The Organization of Work

Chap. 7 Work Standards: The Excellence of Work

Chap. 8 Work Support: The Health of Business

Chap. 9 Human Consonance: Reducing the Interference of the Human Element

Chap. 10 Achieving Performance Alignment in Business

Performance alignment (PA) assures that all the work in a business is in harmony so that the organization can achieve its mission. This book describes how PA can be achieved inside a business. It describes the role of the performance consultant as a facilitator to help employees at all levels achieve alignment. The focus of PA is on the internal operations of the business, and serves the alignment of the organization's strategy with its markets. The methodology offered in this book for achieving PA is conceptually comprehensive; it addresses three basic questions: Where is the performance that needs alignment located in the business? How can you describe the performance so that nothing is overlooked? How can we make the performance understandable and align all performance together so that each part supports the others? This book is highly systematic and thoughtful in its approach. Recommended. 284 pp.

Reviewed by Gerry Stern, editor, Stern's Management Review and Stern's SourceFinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information and Resources hrconsultant.com.

I wanted so much to like this book, but it was impossible. Too much of the same old same old. Mr Vinik needs to learn the difference between being "making a point" and "beating a dead horse."

Vinik is the "second best writer in America today"? Dare I ask who the FIRST is? Takes more than fancy fonts and constant derogatory references to genitalia to make a great book. Try again, Danny.

where the hell are you? in tucson, or in l.a.? 5-12-99 De Los Santo

Okay. First let me say that I'm a friend of Danny Vinik's. Just so you know. People read my books and some write nasty comments saying it must be my friends who are saying the nice stuff. And that sucks because it isn't really true. I'm not here to cheerlead. I want to tell you my true reaction to this book.

Here's how it goes. Danny told me his new book came out so I went and got a copy (right here at Amazon, I might add). I'd read Danny's work before, so I knew to expect the unexpected, the sexually wierd, the literarily different. Frankly, I thought an entire book by Danny might just be a bit hard to read.

In fact, I found the book to be totally engaging. I started it and kept on reading 'til there was no more reading to do.

The characters are compelling. Outrageous? Perhaps, but then again--I've known people like these. Complex, operating on varied strata.

They're interesting. They're vulnerable. They're weird.

They're human. Paradox, paradox, paradox.

I noticed right away that the story is very Silko-esque in her apocolyptic mode, early Robbins in its characterizations, and a bit like Nichols in both character and place.

But the whispering of these other authors doesn't dilute. Rather, they serve to inspire Vinik's own unique voice and perspective. This is made complete with a book that is truly edgy and artistic, using different fonts, symbols, and other images to create and fulfill the various moods of the book.

I'm not too thrilled with the cover art. It's interesting in and of itself, but I think it's too visually upsetting for people who might otherwise find the internal content compelling. I think this serves to reduce rather than entice audience. From an artistic perspective, it works. From a marketing perspective, it's a dangerous choice to have made.

Whether you can swallow the cover image or not, do read the book. You might hate it or love it, but I guarantee you've never, ever, read anything quite like it before.

--Molly E. Holzschlag

The author does make some excellent (and scary) points about the state of modern journalism in the first 2 or 3 chapters of the book.

However, the book soon veers off course focusing mainly on the aphartide in South Africa. While this does correspond with the theme, I don't know if it deserves 3/4 of the book.

I also got the impression that the author sees himself as a saint, impervious to the trends that are affecting the rest of the media.

Not a bad book, I suppose, but there are better out there.

Despite the dead-on title, Sheckter's narrative works better as personal reminscence than serious critique of a sterile media. A chief reason lies in the general absence of structure. There is no observable principle ordering the text. This results in an unpredictable and erratic narrative, which a more astute editor, I believe, could have presented more effectively - the material is there. Unfortunately, the whole adds up to considerably less than the parts.

At bottom, Sheckter's book provides insights into both strengths and weaknesses of the New Left from which he hails. None of the Old Left's rigid dogmatism enters into the text. On one hand, this allows him to confront a lock-step media in a more agile and less preconceived manner than critics of old. On the other hand, it produces a hopeful innocence that seems to learn much less from informed experience than should be the case. Does the author really expect these corporate entities to reform themselves in a progressive manner as his recommendations indicate. Here we arrive at a crux of the dilemma confronting any erstwhile reformer. Can real, humane change be expected of those entities whose bottom line is always money, even when an inventive and dedicated gadfly like Sheckter burrows from within. Without serious pressure from outside the industry, can such gadflys serve as anything more than occasionally troublesome house radicals. Given the temper of the times, that may be as much as anyone can expect.

Great book. It magnifies the dynamics at the coalface of infortainment. This book, read alongside the scholarly Chomsky and Herman's "Manufacturing Consent", give a wholesome and accurate picture of the media. Chomsky and Herman provide a structural analysis of the 4th estate, and Schechter testifies further to the accuracy of their analysis by sharing his experiences.

This book was difficult to finish, the first one was better but not great either. As a big fan of spiderman, Iron Man and Dr Doom. I expected more. Too much time spent with the B.O.R.I.N.G acronym evildoers. Doom only showed up at the end, was thwarted, and will return for book 3

Perhaps the best of the Doom's Day trilogy. I've always belived Spider-Man would make a great Avenger and this novel shows that he works well with other Avengers like Iron Man. It's a great book full of science fiction concepts together with elements of the spy genre. A must for any reader who enjoys strong character-driven stories, and this book is certainly one of them.

I gotta say I found this trilogy to be uneven, but this was the best one. I bet it's because Askegren did more work on this than the other two (his name is first), as he's a much better writer than Fingeroth & Fein (who are the worst kind of hacks). I especially liked the way Doom was handled, even though he wasn't in it much.