I started listening to the audio tape some time ago in the car, and was initially somewhat ambivalent about the program. However, within fifteen minutes, I was thoroughly engaged, and fifteen minutes after that, wiping held-back tears from the corners of my eyes, wondering if "Nathaniel" (as in Hale) would be a good name for my future son.

Our forefathers, with courage and genius, created the most immitated society the world has ever known. How proud and fortunate this audio book makes one feel. I'm committed to listening to it with my teenage nieces and nephews on a "captive" drive sometime. It'll be a great topic for discussion.

This book was a gift from my uncle, and one that I was thrilled to receive. I have a passion for learning about the Founders and the War that defined the way we live today. The author brings out the best quotes, poems, and letters from the most influential men in American history. Their level of devotion is unparalleled throughout the world. I find it most admirable that these men relied on God for their wisdom and through prayer and faith they pledged their "sacred honor" to the cause. I am only a high school student, but I understand that these values apply to everyone in every class. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for God or guidance.

Our form of government has been the most lasting, widespread innovation in modern history. As wonderful as that is, in many ways it is even more wonderful to return to the frame of mind and the values that engendered this invention.

Although (as Bill Bennett rightly points out) our founding Fathers (and Mothers) often fell far short of their own ideals and were profoundly skeptical about the potential of people to do the right thing, they also aspired to a kind of virtue on Earth that combined true nobility of spirit and deed with good relations towards others.

Bennett has put these ideals into the following categories: patriotism and courage; love and courtship; civility and friendship; education of the head and heart; industry and frugality; justice; and piety. You can dip your inquisitive toe into any of these, whenever you want. .... I suggest that in addition to buying a copy for yourself, that you plan to give this book as a gift to your children and grandchildren as they reach the age when they will begin to make important moral choices for themselves. .... In most cases, I felt like the material here was stating timeless principles that do apply today ....

Bennett does a nice job as editor in explaining the context of each passage. His love of these people, these ideals, and these words is obvious. It will move you. And hopefully inspire you to follow the good advice in those words.

Nicely done, Bill Bennett! This is a good use of history . . . to help us learn not to repeat the mistakes of the past needlessly.

Barry Duncan and Scott Miller are with Marc Hubble directors of The Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change (...). These people play an important role in improving and renewing therapy. In this book, the authors explain how therapy has for too long been been neglecting, ignoring, and depersonalizing clients, by its over-emphasis on methods and techniques, by following the medical model, by its emphasis on pathology, by hegemony of biological approaches, and so on.

The authors first debunk the myths of:

1) PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSIS:
a) it lacks reliability,
b) it lacks validity,
c) it puts the blame on the client, and
d) it is often motivated by self-interest, fueled by greed, and blows with the winds of fashion,

2)DRUG TREATMENT OF MENTAL PROBLEMS:
a) they work no better than therapy in the short term
b) changes brought about by medication are less likely to persist over time
c) there often are severe adverse effects,
d) drug studies often look better than they are because they rate improvement by looking to clinicians' perceptions, not clients'
e) the relationship between drug companies and psychiatry is an unholy alliance, making most of the drug-effectiveness research very suspect

3) THE MAGIC APPROACH:
a) there is no special magic silver bullet approach which is much better than another approach
b) the role of the competence and experience of the therapist is rather unimportant

According to the authors, four decades of outcome research have shown that there are four main factors of change, being:

1. Client factors (percentage contribution to positive outcome: 40%).
2. Relationship factors (percentage contribution: 30%).
3. Hope and expectancy (percentage contribution: 15%).
4. Model and technique (percentage contribution: 15%).

Some conclusions:
1. Thoughts, ideas, actions, initiatives, traits of clients are the most important predictor of therapy success!
2. Next to what the client brings to therapy, the client's perception of the therapeutic relationship is responsible for most of the gains resulting from the therapy.
3. Models and techniques are much less important than generally thought.

The authors advocate a new and refreshing approach characterised by:
1) Client-directedness. Clients' beliefs, values, theories and goals are repected, close attention is being paid to clients' initiatives, interventions and perceptions. Much attention is given to establishing the quality of the relationship, and to monitoring the clients' perception of the quality of the relationship.
2) Outcome informedness. Progress is measured from session to session using paper and pencil questionnaires. By the way: the client's experience of meaningful change in the first few visits is emerging as one of the best predictors of eventual treatment outcome.

Two thoughts come up after having read this book. First, this book is refreshing indeed and a shock to the therapy system. Second, the ideas ventilated in this book might be relevant for work outside the therapy field as well. Consider for instance what management consultancy and managing coaching could learn from this......

In The Heroic Client, Barry Duncan and Scott Miller consider the whole field of "mental health," the roles of client and therapist, and the central question of what helps in therapy. They address mental health mythologies that affect the practice of therapy, including a pervasive reliance on medication, diagnosis, the medical model and priveleging the therapist's expertise. The book asks us to reflect on why we have lost confidence in the person-to-person collaboration of talk therapy, curious in light of the fact that research continues to show that talk therapy is more effective and enduring than medication for most of the problems people bring to therapy.

Duncan and Miller present an exciting, well-researched and thought-provoking argument for client-directed, outcome-informed therapy, which they call "co-therapy." Based on the research on what makes for success in therapy, Duncan and Miller propose we place greater reliance on the theories of change, experiences and strengths clients bring and less on our preferred causal theories and techniques.

This is a courageous and challenging book. Every mental health professional and consumer should read it. It can make a difference. Tobey Hiller MFT and Phillip Ziegler, MFT, co-authors of Recreating Partnership: A Solution-Oriented, Collaborative Approach to Couples Therapy (W.W. Norton, 2001)

This book is a must-read for all mental health professionals! Based on 40 years of outcome research regarding "what works in therapy," Barry Duncan and Scott Miller have articulated a way of being with clients that emphasizes collaboration, respect, and honors their theories of change. The authors challenge many of the dominant theoretical, political, and social discourses that have been privileged in society and unfortunately have informed psychotherapy practice in ways that tend to alienate and stigmatize clients and lead therapists astray. What they advocate for is therapy that is client-directed and outcome-informed, thereby honoring clients' voices and perspectives. This in and of itself has been a long time coming and is worth the price of admission. The Heroic Client is a thoroughly-researched book, and one that I have and will continue to recommend to my students and colleagues. It's a must for all mental health professionals!

This book, drawing on current research findings and the authors' extensive clinical experience, reminds us that it's not the hottest new techniques or the therapist's theoretical orientation that makes for effective therapy. When satisfied clients are asked what made the the difference, their most frequent answer is a meaningful encounter with a caring, responsive human being whom the client felt understood his concerns and validated his strengths and resources. Many of us in the helping professsions seem to need this reminder. Phillip Ziegler, co-author of Recreating Partnership: A Solution-Oriented, Collaborative Approach to Couples Therapy.

I am especially glad to have stumbled upon Escape From Babel sooner rather than later in my career. In a most straightforward way it cuts to the chase about what it means to be a part of effective therapy; it reminds that clients (and their experiences) are nothing less than extraordinary when given the opportunity to have a role in their therapy; and it will encourage you to look again at the role of ethics in the profession. I encourage new and experienced therapists and therapists-in-training to absorb the messages in this book. Don't spend money on all the different "latest and greatest" technique books; this is a far more valuable investment!

This excellent text for counselors, social workers and psychologists covers the rationale, value and techniques of highly effective brief therapies. It is full of interesting and useful case examples that make the challenge of brief therapy dialog easy to learn and implement. I not only use it myself, but have insisted that the entry level counselors that I supervise buy a copy and become familiar with the techniques it describes. Jonathan Williamson, MA, LPC

this should definately be a movie!!! reading this book was a great experience. it only took me a week to read this book i couldn't put it down! the detail that Mr.Clark put into this book is something that most authors are afraid to do. his detail helped me see exactly how kevin was feeling and all the emotions he felt. i cried through the whole book. this book is by far the most brilliant piece of work i have ever read.

I got this book. After like the first page, I was sucked right in. This is like the best book I have ever read. The way that it's set up, where the chapters switch from the story Kevin's telling, to the story of Kevin, and the relationships Kevin forms throughout his life, it's just awesome. I've never read a book, and have been able to see through a characters mind, as if he was a real person. I feel like I just met a guy, and actually felt bad for him. It was just astounding. Buy this book...

I am not the type to read books.But when I got this book in my hands I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.At first all I could say to myself was O MY ... In the middle of the book I laughted so hard I about wet my pants.At the end of the Book I cried myself tosleep..THIS BOOK SHOULD BE MADE INTO A MOVIE.It would open a lot of eyes and maybe some hearts,Then maybe something more could be done.This information in this book is just reading for some,but sadly it is reality for others.I think this book could change lives by being made into a movie.If it could change one life it would be worth it.I believe with all of my heart that when child abuse really happens that "The Angels Do Cry"..I will personally read anything that this young Author writes..I am trully hooked.This book touches my heart,mind and soul.If there is a fan club for Barry Scott Clark please count me in.This book can truly change lives and even save them.I am trully better for reading it.It has been a true honor.I'll never forget this book.

Based on the strong literature review, professionals in the human services field may well see an improvement in their clinical outcomes if they follow the suggestions in this book.

I found this text to be of great help. The contributing chapters and the topics covered are fantastic. The authors take therapy constructs that have always been detailed in writing styles far too thick and complex and now describes them in descriptions much easier to understand, all the better for the transfer from theory to practice. While certainly pointed at the field of therapy, this book speaks to many of the "helping" disciplines---more can be "therapeutic" by aligning with these "common factors." The authors give great review to the ingredients to effective interventions and behavior change. When I finished this book, I was left with the impression that although everyone may not be in the "therapy business" this book shows how many who "help" can now be far more involved in the positive behavior change business.

I read this with relish. A genuine "Thanks" to all those who contributed to this book. I can't say enough about it.

This book challenged what I was taught to do when doing therapy. The book inspired me--made me think about new ways to view "stuck" cases. The case examples were powerful and the writing was excellent. A bit of interspersed humor made the reading interesting. I highly reccommend this book to anyone in the field of therapy. In fact, I suggest reading this book before going in to the field so that one can avoid becoming pigeon-holed into any certain formal, traditional model of therapy.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this anthology, but I found myself enthralled from beginning to end. Nnedi Okorafor's "Crossroads", Seth Lindberg's "Atropos", and James Dorr's "Madness" were special delights.

A great mix of chilling, horrifying, and otherwise entertaining stories.

This is a great compilation of magic, madness, culture and creativity. All of the stories were pretty satisfying, some of them terrifying! There are some writers here that are going to go places. Watch for the authors of the two longest pieces, Nnedi Okorafor (her story is called Crossroads) and James S. Dorr (he wrote a story called Madness).

I picked up this book expecting it to be somewhat dry and dull. I was wrong. As the parent of a child with violent tendencies, I found things to help me. As a Social Work student planning on specializing in kids like mine, I found it a book I'll be glad to have for a long time. I have reccommended it to teachers and administrators, counsellors and other professionals as well. I'm seriously considering taking some more classes in education so that I could learn how to do this in school programs. I'm currently searching to find more information on this program and possibly attend their training.

This book is a keeper :)

If you were listening to AM radio in the '70s this book should take you back. The book reviews the artists' careers in their own words and talks about what they're doing in the '90s. It also has photos and a discography of each artist's Billboard Top 100 hits. There's also a ranking of the top 100 "Lost 45's" of the 70's (based on votes from Scott's radio show) - "Seasons in the Sun" is #1.

Some notable moments from the book: (1) Albert Hammond, best known for one hit, wrote many classics for other artists (including "One Moment in Time"); (2) Helen Reddy refuses to reveal what she thinks one of her hits is about, preferring to leave it as a mystery for listeners; (3) Three Dog Night changed the lyrics of one of Leo Sayer's songs; people who heard their version first accuse him of changing Three Dog Night's song.

This book is a look at a lot of what people were REALLY listening to in the '70s, which is not just the "classic rock" superstars the era is remembered for. "Stairway to Heaven" never made the Top 100, but the Osmonds and the Partridge Family had huge hits. Many of us in the '70s enjoyed guilty pleasures like the songs and artists in the book, and this book takes us back to wherever we were (late childhood? teen years?) when we were listening to the incredible diversity on AM radio.

Scott suggests that there may be more to come: a focus on artists who peaked in the '60s and a look at one-hit wonders.

I purchased this book on my own (was using 6 then); got so frustrated that I quit half way through. Am now taking a course on 7 and using this as text. Thank goodness my instructor has rewritten the directions for those exercises used. When I try to go ahead on my own, it is extremely confusing.

Although out of print and somewhat out of date, this book still offers some helpful hints for Corel users. The section on perspective and fountain fills is good for reference. If you see this one out on the discount table, grab it!

I loved this book and read it from cover to cover. It's hard to find the time to try out every project but they all seem really worthwhile and I've referred to some of the hints/tips when I'm starting one of my own projects and know that a particular end-result can be achieved, if only I could remember how. This is not really a reference book however - more of a cookbook. Beautifullly illustrated and clearly explained. One of the best 'how-to' computer graphics books I've ever used.

Wonderful coffee-table style book documents the tour "Stars On Ice", and is a definite choice for fans of professional figure skating. The brilliant photographs, a perfect balance of personal and professional, out-do the text...which is good but could be more profound over-all. In addition to the other stars, Gordeeva & Grinkov fans especially will enjoy the memoir and the pictures...Lipinski, Kulik, Chen, Cousins, and Meno-Sand fans might be disappointed in the only 6 pages devoted to those skaters. A little short but well worth the photos!

This book was what i expected it to be. It was full of colorful pictures, and very good description of how Stars on Ice evolved to what it is now. GREAT pictures excellent story....though if u were thinking of getting the video "The Best of Stars on Ice" ... it wasnt good at all. They were performances from the last 5 years and not the 10 years it talks about on its back cover..

Reason why I bought the book: Just one. Rosalynn Sumners. She was rather reluctant when Scott called her and invited her to join the tour......and that was back in 1986. Thirteen years and a few hundred shows later, Roz has matured into one of the finest entertainers on the ice. Her departure from the SOI tour after the 1998-99 season was rather sad, but rereading her thoughts and feelings on subjects such as Sergei's death to Scott's cancer and her own shining moments was well worth the money I paid for the book. Roz, I'll miss you when SOI starts the 1999-2000 tour. God bless!