Marius has written an extremely readable and informative book on the writing of history. He proceeds from showing readers what questions to ask in doing historical research into types of historical writing can be done, from discriptive to argumentitive.
However, the most useful part of the book is the chapter on sources and writing. He skillfully shows readers how to choose a topic and narrow their focus into a managable paper. He also discusses the use of CD-Rom and Internet sources, a necessity for any good book on the writing of history in the early 21st century, particularly due to the increase in the reliance on Internet research by college undergraduates and HS students that are comfortable with this technology. The book also makes actually doing research seem like not such a daunting scary task, which at first thought it seems like for many undergraduates. The one problem with this section is that Marius advocates the use of paper notes. As has been seen with many professional academic historians lately, the use of paper notes can end up costing the writer dearly, particularly with the use of a large amount of sources. Marius should have included a section on how to use a data base or other computerized note taking system.
Marius also uses many examples to back up his points throughout the book, even publishing one complete paper and then commenting on its strengths and weaknesses in order to give the reader a better understanding. The remainder of the book is an extremely useful three chapters on writing mechanics as well as quoting and citing a variety of sources. I found the section on footnotes quite good and useful. This section will be especially useful for the undergraduate who arrives on campus without ever having to use footnotes while in high school.
Overall, this is an outstanding book. The only real drawback is that since its publication (3rd edition) the sections on the Internet are in many ways obsolete. But with the ever changing technology and things available on the Internet, both good and bad, no book can keep up.

History prof recommended this for help in writing research papers in history department.

Compact and inspirational, the author makes his points by way of examples and citations from historians. Passionate about his subject area, he communicates this well and infuses it into his observations and recommendations for writing about historical topics.

While the jury is still out on my first paper to utilize this resource, I already know I am a better writer of history for having utilized this fine resource. Just the idea of grabbing your reader and making him want to read the rest was useful.

Richard Marius gives us in this short book an enthusiasm for the pursuit of the past that is simply infectious. Although the work is not an in-depth study of Historiography, it is a great introduction to the would be Historian on the very basic rules of researching and composing a paper on any historical subject.

Dynamic Thinking by Melvin Powers is extraordinary in every way. The price of this book can't be beat. It is 111 pages of the author probably at his finest. Clearly this book was written in a state of flow. It reads that way as well. No stretched or shorted pages; just excellent useful and engrossing content.

The foreword (which is written by the author) begins, "It is hoped that this book will serve as a source of inspiration to those looking for a new way of life."

Dynamic Thinking is both optimistic and insightful. It is interesting, and it moves the reader from beginning to end, in a consistent stream of ideas well written.

Melvin Powers knows that "opportunity is always knocking at our door." And in conjunction with that, resistance to new things and self reliance is discussed.

"The imagination must be jolted out of it's complacency, and enthusiasm must be generated by your own invasive confidence and enthusiasm for what you are attempting to inaugurate."

This book is great not because it is inexpensive, but because it is great in content. Truly this is a classic against which others might be compared. This is THE book.

Eleven chapters discuss opportunity, success, positive thinking, mental pictures, self-confidence, subconscious mind, luck, financial security, and more.

Practical examples as well as logical reasonings are given throughout the book. All with an attitude that lets the book seem as if it is a great friend talking to you, encouraging you to do your best; convincing you.

this book is a must if you want to learn how to live and succeed. make it your best friend.

THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLY BOOK THAT CAN ULTIMATELY CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDES TOWARDS LIVING LIFE THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. SO MAKE IT YOUR BEST FRIEND.

What a thrill. Although Mel graduated from Lane ten yearsbefore me, I enjoyed his book immensely. Some of that thrill wasbecause I grew up six blocks west of where Mel did. He mentions manyfamiliar landmarks: Hamlin Park, swimming at the Belmont Rocks, local movie theaters, the Lindberg Beacon atop the Palmolive Building, Lincoln Park Zoo, the Lincoln-Belmont YMCA, and of course, Riverview Park and the roller rink. I, as he, used to listen to Randy Blake on WJJD, and rode the Green Hornet streetcars. Much of the book is dedicated to Lane Tech. I thought I was reading about myself, as Mel took me to Riesz's and McGovern's stores. As a "freshie" he learns as all of us did, about the sacred campus lawn, being subjected to a penny attack, how the room numbering can get you lost, and a trip to the discipline office. He uses terminology which was part of our experience at Lane such as: socials, course book, rovers, division rooms, and of course, the Myrtle and the Gold! Thanks, Mel! I recommend his book for all alumni who would like to take a walk down memory Lane (Tech).

"George Street, Our Street" is not a book, it's a time machine. It took me back through the 30's, 40's, and 50's. By page 39, along with sneaking peeks further on, I was traumatized. I couldn't talk around the lump in my throat ... I walked through old neighborhoods, I walked the halls of Lane, I went to the "Fog Bowl" football game at Soldier Field with Mt. Carmel. I froze, once again, watching Lane's football team beat Fenwick. I was back at the corner of Damen and Diversey selling newspapers again. What a trip! Quite a trip. I would urge all Laneites from all classes, past, present, and future to read this book. Those from the 40's and 50's will be instantly trans- ported back to those times. The alumni from the 30's and before will very much identify with it. All others who came after will have purchased a window to the past and will more fully understand: "Wherever you go, what ever you do, remember the honor of Lane". David V. Radcliffe, Lane Tech Class of January,1950

Set in Chicago from the Depression-era to the early 50s, this emotion-laden book chronicles the maturing of a young boy and his brothers, all born in Texas and whisked to Chicago by their courageous mother to escape an abusive father. With remarkable attention to detail, it captures the intense, profound love this family shared, as well as the pain they endured living "on the wrong side of the tracks". It sends a strong reminder that the most important things in life do not have a price tag.

Annerino has turned...risk into a work of art with his camera.

Annerino's exciting photographs cut across the genres of sports and photojournalism. His adventure is a state of mind.

There is a warmth and vitality to John Annerino's photography that I have admired for years. His work is a wonderful mix of elements: high technical craft, beautiful places, a climber's appetite for risk, and a warm bond with his subjects. For all those who want to know how a photographer thinks and want to experience the exhilaration of wilderness adventure, I recommend HIGH RISK PHOTOGRAPHY.

Back when Fashion photogs shot 8x10 and retouching was done by hand. These prints are fantastic. Every shot is a work of art - unlike the fashion created today. This is Composed, settled, undefinable beauty.

I have been a fan of Mr. Sokolsky for quite some time. His work is always fresh and inventive. Whether the photos are 20 years old or were shot yesterday, they are timeless. He is so much more than a fashion photographer. He is the eye of an artist. He sees a world of emotion and beauty, he captures the essence of the spirit. When I look at one of his photos I am drawn into a world that only he knows. His pictures move me into a place of pure pleasure. Mr. Sokolsky's love for women and his appreciation of beauty that is real, not perfect but real beauty is what distinguishes him from any other photographer. I only hope that he will publish another book soon. I wish he would photograph me the way he did Ali Mcgraw or Mia Farrow. Such a beautiful, soft, and sensual tribute to his models. Wow! The man is truly a GENIUS!

I could begin by highly recommending this photography book with all the superlatives that it certainly deserves, but this still would not describe these photos adequately or do this publication true justice. For as the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words and all the brilliant photos in this book one would need thousands upon thousands of words and even then one could never say enough about this extraordinary collection of photograph. I will say this much, rather than having called this book 'Seeing Fashion' --- 'Seeing' would have been enough and a far more appropriate title. For it is about seeing and seeing in a way (or fashion to play on words) that is unique, inventive and an utterly original in the sense that no one takes and took (because much of these photos were taken more than 30 years - a point I will return to a bit later) picture then or now quite like Sokolsky. Photos that first reveal in spite of the fact that were for the most part taken to illustrate the haute couture fashion of the day for Harper's Bazaar, that they are photographs that stand alone for their technical virtuosity but more than this they are work of great inventiveness and a truly personal sense of composition and use of space. They are unique works of art that transcend their time and in turn are timeless in their vision. A vision that still influences photographers in general and the fashion photographers of today. One need only look at today's magazine to see the repetition of his original 'flying' pictures, the use of lighting and also the physical way models pose -- before Sokolsky models simply repeated the poses that had become so common, and yes even boring, from the fashion house's runway. Sokolsky changed all that by posing them in graceful angular articulation that represented a contemporary idiom that could be called sensual cubism, that is a cubism combined with a highly charged sexual aura permeated by the psychological impact of freedoms from social and spiritual oppression and conformities which in its way anticipated the women's lib movement that followed. And again as I looked at these photographs it was difficult to realize that they were taken more than 30 years ago and were indeed taken to illustrate fashion, for these photographs,that also include many portrait of celebreties as well as unknowns and assorted photographic studies, stand on their own merit as extraordinary works of photographic genius and art.

Also another point that I will not elaborate on, besides this publication being long overdue, some elements about this book will make it a collectors items one day.

as Darwin says, quoted in this book's introduction, and Mr. Konner succeeds well at demonstrating just that. Not that I don't have reservations: as a lay reader, the long descriptions of brain chemistry, the repeated attempts to salvage Freud, and the (not often) trite prose, were off-putting, but the wide range, the decency, the generosity of spirit, the insight and the beauty of this book make it well worth the 5-star rating. This is a book that you'll want to read in short snatches, and to savor, even though it is 500 pages long: it moves. Where E. O. Wilson, in "Consilience," sets out an agenda for a view of humanity based on Darwinian insights, this book actually gives Wilson's dream substance. It's hard to see how any critic of sociobiology, evolutionary psychology, or behavior genetics--especially those who keep saying that it's all speculation, that there's little empirical basis--can come away from this book not only edified, but enthralled.

Although somewhat repetative at times, this book is, overall, enlightening. Evidence from a broad range of scientific disciplines is displayed clearly, and the relationships and connections between subjects are elegantly exposed. This leaves the reader with a feeling that the basis for the ideas presented is solid and tangible, making the book all the more immersive. Exposition of some lesser-known studies which never the less have incited serious scientic revalations is perhaps this book's strongest point. This book serves as a jumping-off point for many avenues of thought, and is highly recommended to anyone who seeks to further their understanding of human intellegence, social behavior, and consciousness.

I have read this book three times and am still find it just as thought provoking as the first time..It seems more relevant every day....in changing times...

I remember being really taken with this book when I read it as a kid, so I found a used copy to read to my kids. We make a big deal of Hanukkah so that Jewish kids don't feel gypped compared to everyone else, but hardly anyone really knows the story of Hanukkah in all its graphic detail. We should not shrink from telling our kids this story, and Fast's book is the only popular book I know that does it. The kids will not only have a better appreciation of the meaning of this holiday, but will also have a better appreciation of current events.

This review is dedicated to all the sons and daughters of Israel who have fell in defence of that remarkable land.
This wonderful book is essential for any Jew who wants to learn about his or her roots, any Christian who wants to learn more about the Judaic roots of his or her faith, and anyone else who wants to learn about the soul of the Jewish people.]
This is the story of the Maccabees- 5 glorious brothers who lead the rebellion by the Jewish people of Judea, against the cruel tyranny of that land's Greek and Syrian occupiers.
It is particularly relevant today, when the Jewish State is fighting for its life against cruel and ungodly forces that have decided that the Jewish people are no longer entitled to their homeland, and that Israel must disappear.
"We where slave in Egypt - and we will never forget that we where slaves in Egypt. So it must have been then, in the long ago, when our people, twelve tribes of them, sick with wandering and longing for rest, came out of the desert and saw the wooded hills and fertile valleys of Palestine'.
Once more the Jews have returned from their homeland, this time after two thousand years of persecution, and soon the lion will be awaken in the souls of the Jewish people to protect their land, from those who would kill their children and take it way, as the Maccabees did so with the Greek and Syrian invaders.
We read how a pretty eight year old girl, Deborah, the daughter of the schoolmaster Lebel is brutally murdered on the orders of the Greek warden of Judea, Apelles, and we are reminded of the slaughter of Jewish children by Arab terrorists, who much of the world, today support. It is these many incidents of cruelty and the desecration of the Jewish peoples' holy places that leads the peace loving people of Judea to become fierce warriors who's message to the world is: "We have extracted the price of freedom, which is always counted in blood, even as Moses did, and Joshua and Gideon too. From here on, we will not ask forgiveness, only for strength, for strength."

In a chillingly familiar parallel the attitude of those who support Palestinian terror,we read of the edict by the Greek King Antiochus, that to kill a Jew is no longer a crime but a virtue".

We learn how the peaceful Hebrew people, a people who ask nothing more than to determine their own future, in their own homeland, are forced to become warlike and to avenge the blood of its children: "They will pay -for every lick of flame, for every drop of blood, for every hurt."
There is always a message of hope: 'Simon a free people cannot be conquered - for us it is always the beginning, always the beginning."
It is this hope enshrined in the depiction of the beauty of the land of Israel, the only homeland of the Jewish people, and the beauty of it's children living in peace:
"Never was Israel like this before in all it's time, for the children played without fear, laughing as they ran through the grass, and splashed in streams. On the hillsides, the white lambs bleated for their mothers, and between the rocks pink and white flowers grew. Nowhere was there a break in the terraces; layer upon layer, they climbed the slopes, and the crop was a good thing to see, so rich and verdant. Who could see such things and deny that this was the land of milk and honey, blessed and thrice blessed".

"My Glorious Brothers" was once given my by a friend, about
30 years ago. He told me it was among his favorite books. I
soon found out why. Written in a beautiful, almost poetic
style, Howard Fast (a great and prolific writer) presents the
story of the Maccabees. These were the heroes of the amazing
Jewish Revolt against the mightiest world power at that time --
the Syrian-Greek Empire. From the small village of Modin, a
father and his five sons organize a rebellion to free ancient
Israel from its cruel occupiers. It is a thrilling account,
written from the perspective of Simon -- one of the five sons.
Fighting perhaps the first "guerilla war" in human history,
the Maccabees lead their nation of farmers and scholars against
the greatest organized fighting force in the world. It is a
thrilling and inspiring story of the few against the many; the
weak against the mighty. Their triumphs and sorrows are told
in one of the most moving books I have ever read. The Holiday
called Hanukah, celebrated by Jews the world over, commemorates
this incredible story.
Over the last 30 years I somehow lost this wonderful book,
and have spent years looking for another copy. I finally found
a used copy on Amazon, and paid a small ransom for it, gladly.
I am re-reading this story and will pass this book to my son.
It is truly one of the most treasured possesions in my life.

This book adds more chinks in the armour to the Cholesterol theory of heart disease. The author has lots of experience, but fails to mention many double blind tests on meat eating... particularly on fat consumption. The author does present lots of information on various groups that are healthy and are meat eaters (Eskimos, tribes in Africa). He also presents some longevity statistics of vegetarians vs. meat eaters... that favors the meat eaters. I think the definitive book has yet to be written, and the cause of atherscerlosis remains to be determined. Overall I thought it was a good book and I'll keep it next to my Ornish/McDougal - vegetarian-style, low-fat books.

Easy to read, well organized.

John Dunbar

The diet of the century.Never be hungry and lose weight healthfully.I and my entire overweight family tried this diet. The perfect results were mind boggling.Try it;you'll be amazed,

I've been on this diet for almost three months now, and I've lost nearly 20 lbs (even though I've strayed quite a bit over the holiday season.) My family, friends, and coworkers all thought I was nuts to give up bread and vegetables when I started, but they've all seen the results, and now a few of them plan to start! This is by far the best book on diet and nutrition I've ever read.

This is a well-researched and thoughtfully-written biography of a man who was perhaps the most famous man in the world in the decade of the 1960's. Now, sadly, Burton's legacy and fame have dimmed considerably and he's remembered more as Elizabeth Taylor's fifth (and sixth) husband. He was much more than that. I have always thought Burton overacted miserably in most of his roles and I was chiefly intrigued with him because of his beautiful physicality and because was an erudite, deeply intelligent man. He was also a prodigious reader and a keen intellect, but this genius seemed utterly wasted on Liz, a woman with whom he shared a passionate sex life, but precious little else.

The highlight of this book is the inclusion of over 100 pages of Burton's diaries, kept meticuously from 1965 until his death. Burton writes candidly, wittily and brilliantly. It's devilishly exciting to read his words about Liz and his vicious put downs of others, including a visceral tirade against poor Lucille Ball. He also muses on occasion about his autistic daughter, Jessica, who was hidden by the Burtons and kept in an institution all her life.

Burton had a larger-than-life appetite for living, sex, booze... you name it. He was self-destructive, manic-depressive and difficult, but all of those things make for a compelling character and this book illuminates him like no other.

I approached this book simply as a comprehensive biography of Richard Burton and instead found it to be the most well-written and very detailed. It draws heavily on Burton's own Notebooks, his diary, and while "Rich" may have taken the mickey out of journos over the years, he is candid and blunt in his personal writings.

I enjoyed this book very much, and found it difficult to put it down once I began reading it. It makes me wish I had a moment to converse with Burton himself, a true bookworm and erudite man who was still down-to-earth enough.

I always admired Richard Burton as an actor but it was only when I read his biography by M. Bragg that I realized how vast his acting repertory really was. What I wouldn't give to have all of his recordings too! This is conveniently listed in the book for further research by the dedicated few. One can appreciate the personal glimpses into his life and background, his family ties and his final years. The author has done considerable work in compiling so much information which is much appreciated by lifelong fans such as myself.

I was raised Catholic but by my teens had some serious doubts about the afterlife. As most of my friends agreed (they wanted tangible evidence) and the opposition disagreed (they didn't need tangible evidence), it was always a standstill type of argument.

After a few people died in my life though, I felt that the issue wasn't satisfying enough. So, I started to do some research not related to the Catholic Church, as the people I knew had convictions and didn't want to discuss WHAT IF questions.

What was great about this book were several things:

(1) He mentioned he did an NDE on children and retold over a hundred stories; I found it less likely children would be able to make stories up on the spot;

(2) No one has stepped forward to debunk the author so he must have at least got his evidence together correctly; and

(3) The NDEs were, again, over a hundred people, retelling their personal tales. They were from all over the USA with different backgrounds . .. and they had similiar experiences of seeing a light and feeling comforted and getting in touch with loved ones who had passed on.

So, this book has been the first step in helping me believe there is something after death, and I feel a lot better for it. For those who want something more heavy duty, you can also check out John Edward's CROSSING OVER, which airs every weekday in the mid afternoon. No one has really debunked that guy either so there has to be more to life than just death and oblivion.

I just recently read this book and it shed light on what has happened to me in the past 15 years since my out of body experience.

I was transformed and went back to school; got my degree in therapeutic nutrition and have written & published four books. I have had a lot of help from beyond in writing these books,but Dr. Morse's book Transformed by the light has helped me cope with the changes in my life.

Thank you, Dr. Morse

I love this book too.Dr.Morse is a medical DR who knows that NDEs are real.