Yet another book deriding the new biologically-oriented psychiatry as dry and heartless.

Contains several case histories of classically autistic children who are deemed to be deeply emotionally disturbed (the fault of their parents, of course) and subjected to ludicrous psychoanalytic interpretations. Where has Roemmelt been since the sixties? Has he not yet noticed not only that autism has been conclusively demonstrated to be neurological in origin, but that a number of high-functioning people with autism (such as Temple Grandin and Gunilla Gerland) have backed this up and started describing their experiences, which, needless to say, bear no resemblance to Roemmelt's wild imaginings?

Any attempt to present psychoanalysis as the warm, humane, "touchy-feely" alternative to biologically-oriented psychiatry is doomed if it displays this much ignorance and lack of interest in the actual minds and opinions of the people it purports to be studying.

One reason, after all, for the surge in biologically-oriented psychiatry in the last decade is the massive number of lives that were shattered by psychoanalytic dogmas (such as the groundless claim that autism was an emotional disturbance caused by unloving parents).

Roemmelt presents some fascinating case studies of children whose lives were distorted by family and environment; children very difficult to reach, but for whom the force of a human relationship with Roemmelt was enough to keep them from a life of medicated confusion and increasing fragmentation.

This book is a counter argument against the belief that all neurotic behavior, or most, has a biological component that should be manipulated medically to correct emotional problems and inner conflict.

In the spirit of Karen Horney and others, Roemmelt takes the position that neurosis is essentially a problem in human relationship -- that many deep inner problems are rooted in conflicts arising from relationships between ideals ( the fact of what we are vs. what we 'ought to be'), self, and others.

Clearly some problems of neurosis and many of psychosis are biologically oriented, and all ultimately have a biological representation -- yet it is not the position of this book that drugs should be described as a first resort, but as a last resort.

The feeling of being truly alive -- that comes from pain, persistence and the desire to overcome ones limitations, as much as from any other set of feelings -- can be canceled out by the regulatory and often harmful side effects of medication. Many doctors hand it out like candy. (Drs. can be as bad with medication as they can be with therapy.)

This book is not about "touchy feely" as another critic suggests, but a testimony to love in the spirit of awareness; and also in the spirit of the warrior -- the fighters being the children who made it back to the other side.

Some people clearly need medicine. Some really don't -- they need a shot at a real life. Could Roemmelt really provide that chance for some of his Haunted Children -- read the book and decide.

'If you don't feel it, you're not getting it. '

By his unrestrained, somewhat suspicious condemnation of his biological father (not to mention his contempt for his mother) Niklas Frank suggests only that he would have emulated his Governor General father in all he attributes to the ruler of Cracow Castle. He was 6 when the war ended and cannot possibly speak of his personal experience. Reflecting the propagandist views of postwar "historians," he swallowed it all, perhaps to further his journalistic career while pleasing all enemies of the Reich. I find his interpretations of his father's diary entries typical of what twisting is done to form "popular opinion." I suspect that an adult N.F. would have made a fervent supporter of the Nuremberg Laws himself.

In case you make my comments available to the author, please inform him that I was 14 at the end of the war and my father perished at Auschwitz in 1942. My views, therefore, are not the views of a "revisionist."

Niklas Frank hates his father, and few sons could have better reason. Hans Frank was one of Hitler's goons and ruled Poland during the war. He was hanged at Nuremberg. Had I been his attorney at the war crimes trial, (And I am an attorney.) I would have argued that Frank was a figurehead and never had any real power for good or ill. He was no Albert Speer. While this line of defense would not have been likely to succeed, it would have been minimally better that his real defense, which was that he was really an enlighted ruler and did a great job for the Poles under difficult war time conditions. Unfortunately for Frank, his official diary and war time speaches were available. In one of them he said that he didn't care if the Poles were made into mincemeat after the war ended their usefulness.

The book is interesting both as a biography of Hans Frank, and as a psycological study of Niklas. So far as I can judge, it is accurate in its facts and opinions; but I cannot claim any expertese.

I would reconmend the book to anyone with a interest in Hans Frank, the Government General, or the psychology of children of German war criminals.

I strongly urge everyone to follow closely Mr. Ropp teachings and learn to pass judgment on which of your neighbors are and are not Christians. Until came upon this enlightened man I had foolishly been trying to follow the advice of Christ, himself, when he said, "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if ye also love one another."

Silly Me.

Harry L. Ropp developed this book out of his Master of Arts thesis from Lincoln Christian Seminary, Lincoln, IL. It was originally published by InterVarsity Press in 1977. Tragically, he died in an airplane crash in 1978 in Utah while working with Mission to Mormons.

This edition of his book is actually the second revision, once by Wesley P. Walters and now by Charles A. Crane, President of Boise Bible College, Boise, ID. The longevity of this little book, of some 130+ pages, in spite of the untimely demise of its author, is a tribute to its value.

Mormonism (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)asserts that it has four basic documents: Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and The King James Version of the Holy Bible, insofar as it is translated correctly.

Ropp's research concludes that first three of the documents of the LDS religion are unreliable as a basis for truth. His approach is direct, clear, matter-of-fact, and thought-provoking. He concludes that LDS need to know the truth about the origins, documents, and doctrines of their own religion, and others need to know, too.

His opening chapter is hard-hitting and decisive in it verdict regarding this religion which arose on the American continent, the result of the fertile imagination and clever manipulations of its founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. The LDS religion fails in its treatment of God, Christ, Salvation, and the Bible. While desiring to be recognized as another Christian denominatin, LDS understanding of the subjects above is woefully inadequate and distorts historical Christian views on these matters of faith.

Ropp treats the Book of Mormon as a document of suspicious origin and useless in adding anything historically and archeologically significant to our understanding of either the ancient western hemisphere, ancient religions found here, cultures described, or ethnic origins of native Americans.

Ropp believes the document resulted from Joseph Smith's plagarism of earlier works in combination with his own natural genius. Nearly 4,000 changes have been made to the text of the document and some of them are theologically significant, especially as relates to the deity of the Jesus Christ of normative Christianity.

Ropp similarly treats the other two key documents of the LDS religion, namely, the Doctrine and Covenants (originally entitled Book of Commandments) and Pearl of Great Price. D&C is a collection of revelations, of which many over time, were altered or corrected to suit a changing situation or reflected a measured awareness of conflicts with earlier pronouncements, documents, and doctrines of the religious leaders. PGP is comprised of Books of Moses and Abraham and writings of Joseph Smith. Notably the Book of Abraham purports to be a translation of an ancient Egyptian textual document, claimed to have been written by Abraham, the patriarch, while in Egypt. The "translation" by Joseph Smith has been discredited by competent Egyptologists. The actual document relates to funeral practices among the Egyptians, nothing to do with Abraham at all.

Ropp's book concludes with an excellent chapter on witnessing to Mormons--to do so with grace, armed with facts, and with real compassion for those in spiritual darkness.

Notes and bibliographic material are very helpful.

This is an excellent primer for introducing the uninitiated to the teachings and pitfalls of the LDS religion. It is worth having among your resources on the subject.

Thank you!

There must be hundreds of translations, retellings, and reinventions of Thomas Mallory's works available. Unfortunately, this one is not high on my list of recommendations. Only nine stories are presented here, and many essential tales, such as the "Death of Merlin" and "Tristram and Isode", are omitted completely.

Vinaver's translation is cumbersome because, although he claims to modernize spellings and standardize names, there are still many words and phrases he chooses not to translate, so the reader has to constantly refer to footnotes at the bottom of the page. If I wanted to do all this work, I would have read the original version with no modernization at all!

The only redeeming addition to this book is the preface which discusses the difference between Mallory's version of the Arthurian romance and the French Vulgate Cycle upon which he drew his material. Instead of this edition, I would refer readers to Keith Baines' modern prose edition (ISBN: 0451625676). It contains all the stories and is much easier to read.

Eugene Vinaver is the editor of the standard version of Mallory, "Works." Here he has selected a few of the author's tales, largely the stories leading up to Arthur's death. However, this remains essentially a skimming of Mallory's work, somewhat akin to a condensed version, collected I suspect for academics wishing to teach the Arthurian romances without having to delve too long or deeply into Mallory's entire narrative. As such it provides a glimpse into Mallory's version of the legend, yet remains in part fragmentary---especially the story of Pellas and Ettard---thus limiting its impact.

Also, Vinaver continues his practice from "Works" of footnoting certain words he has chosen not to translate. I found this annoying as I could perceive no apparent reason in his choice not to complete the translation, and though in most cases I was able to interpret their meaning within their context, their footnoting continued to drag my eye to the translation provided at the bottom of the page, interrupting the flow of the narrative. If a credible reason for this practice can be provided, I would love to hear it.

Those who wish to read only what the editor has chosen to highlight in Mallory's tale may be satisfied. For all others, I would direct you to Vinaver's complete edition, "Works."

As world population grows, resources are strained and the activities of each human are more likely to impinge upon the happiness and sense of well-being of others. For example, one who consumes in excess of reasonable needs leaves a smaller store of resources for use by others; one who drives an SUV consumes more gasoline than necessary, raises the costs to others, pollutes with greenhouse gases, and increases the danger of injury to others without similar vehicles. To relieve the conflict arising from such abusive personal conduct, the moral and ethical values of humans must be reconsidered and revised, primarily to the following effect: Each person should refrain from all conduct objectionable to others.

So argues this author, who provides a handy list of revised moral values that he regards as mandatory if the future (as he sees it) is to be bright.

Though well-meaning, the book might as aptly have been entitled The Death of Personal Freedom and Individualism. Majoritarianism is often not very pretty in enforcing compliance with perceived "norms" by individuals. Friendly persuasion to change moral values from those commonly described as the Judeo-Christian ethic is suitable until a working plurality is attained so as to enact laws imposing the same values on all others. Then government enforcement will be entirely acceptable as a means to achieve full compliance.

For a contrasting worldview, one that examines the importance of individuality in achieving success in the long term quest of humanity for survival as a dominant species, consider "A General Theory of Acquisitivity - On Human Nature, Productivity and Survival" by Wayne Jett. That book considers the human desire to acquire "more" as a natural mechanism designed to allocate resources to the person most willing and able to use them efficiently. That natural mechanism has proven to be astoundingly powerful in producing economic growth and improved human condition when governments allow sufficient leeway for the mechanism to function. The central debate in public policy ought to be whether government is doing great harm to the long term prospects of humanity by impeding acquisitivity, the engine that feeds productivity and innovation.

"You can change the world. This book tells you how." These words on the back cover caught my interest. That's a pretty tall promise, I thought. If anything, recent events have left me feeling like the whole world is out of control and will not be set right in my lifetime.

Author Ervin Laszlo takes a look at major historic changes (like the Industrial Revolution) and comes to the conclusion that we are in middle of the next, brought on as industrial nation-states run smack into the challenges of globalization.

In an eerie foreshadowing of current events he warns that the world is more diverse than we think, and that much of it feels left behind as the western nations consume the earth's goods at breakneck speed. "Militant fundamentalism is an extreme expression of the resentment generated by these conditions," Laszlo says. And we have seen the results all to clearly.

With change inevitable, he predicts that keepers of tradition will become more resistant, bringing on the kind of Doomsday Scenarios favored by Science Fiction writers and survivalist cults: instability, uncertainty, discontent, conflict and violence. Meanwhile, the environment will continue to be ravaged by the haves and have-nots alike.

But Laszlo doesn't think the end of the world as we know it is inevitable. He really believes, and makes a good case for, the power of the individual. He uses reliable surveys to show that approximately 25% of the population in the United States and Western Europe espouse a holistic approach to life that really can turn the world around. The problem, he says, is they don't knew their own strength.

Laszlo speaks (and the book often presents itself as if it were a classroom lecture) in the moralistic tone of turn-of-the twentieth century reformers. It's refreshing to hear someone from the western world speak up against the excesses of a market-driven economy and recommend that we help our neighbors, take up a physical activity or hobby, or read a book. His motto is "think globally and act morally." Along the way he takes to task meat eaters, smokers, big business, fundamentalists, and organized labor while questioning patriotism, efficiency at any cost, and conspicuous consumption.

Arthur Hardy, author of the most known Mardi Gras guide in New Orleans rose to notoriety almost exclusively due to his never-ending series of lawsuits against anyone and everyone else in the area attempting to publish a guide on Mardi Gras. This ex-highschool music teacher claims to be the foremost expert in Mardi Gras, which is not very accurate in the opinion of this reviewer. Hardy publishes an annual magazine, most of which consists of paid advertising, peppered with a list of krewes, parade maps and what they throw. It's hardly the "collector's item" the overly ambitious author claims. You can get more substantive information in the daily newspaper and in doing so, you don't subsidize Hardy's ongoing attempt to sue everyone else into submission who is bold enough to challenge his pseudo-monopoly on the publishing of Mardi Gras guides.

Excellent publication for parade routes and activities. There are many, many ads in the book, but all are geared to Mardi Gras. This is a good collectible guide for the Carnival season, but seems to be most useful to help a new comer understand the ins and outs of News Orleans Carnival. If you want the collectible, I recommend this. If you want the guide, wait for next year's, as this one is dated.

The book that is purchased should be the one listed. I purchased this book and the seller stated she will be sending me the 2nd edition.
An old edition is not bad , but there has been some changes

This book features a good selection of plays from a variety of times and places. I use it in my Western theatre history courses with good results. Since I use it in these "entry-level" classes, I sometimes wish it had a few more of the classics, but overall it's a well-balanced book that serves the students well. The plays that appear in translation are well chosen and easy to read without losing meaning.

I'm a junior mechanical engineering student at a university. This is the text used for my kinematics and dynamics of machinery class. This book is very poorly written, and it's not user friendly. It is hard to follow the examples in this book. If someone already has knowledge on mechanism design, then this book may be used as a good reference. But for those just learning, this book is horrible.

This book is one of the basic books every mechanical engineer has to have in his library. It covers everything starting from the very basics. There is also the second volume which covers advanced topics and completes this one.

This book says nothing new that wasn't in my text book...don't buy it.

This book is a good first book to read on theProgressive era. It covers the basic peopleand concepts very well. It would be a good introductory work. It is not for someone who is already familiar with the topic.

This book was terrible. By far one of the worst books I've ever read. The story is bland and he manages to make even the greatest tales of arthur boring.

Contained within the pages of this book, is the most notorious of all stories to emerge from the depths of the Dark Ages of European history. Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur is quite possibly the greatest work of English literature and the source of the Arthurian legends, as we know them today. This legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is an exquisite story of adventure, love, honor, and betrayal. Throughout the whole of Malory's story there is the underlying theme that a thing's making is ultimately it's undoing, be it kingdom, man, or quest. Not only is this theme evident in this story but in his own life as well. Le Morte d'Arthur is a truly legendary work of art, given new life in this splendid rendition by Keith Bains.