I am a student at Virginia Tech, where Dr. Turner teaches a sociology course. His course is one of the best I have taken. He really knows his subject matter. His book is great! Anyone interested in any part of sociology will love it.

THE FIRE AND THE ROSE is the best synthesis of sociology, psychology, and spirituality to appear since the sixties. Turner is a brilliant, compassionate, and transformative writer. His book communicates on many levels and it offers essential instruction for beginners as well as for the most sophisticated readers. Anyone trying to understand the problems facing humanity in the Twenty-First Century will find powerful insights and helpful perspectives in this indispensable volume. (Maurice R. Stein, Jacob S. Potovsky Professor of Sociology, Brandeis University)

Anyone who has ever considered taking a trip to the beautiful island of Sicily, should not even pack before reading this book. My friend and I just returned from a trip to this remarkable island and during the trip, we coincidentally stayed at a few of the places mentioned in this book and had an incredible time. While at one of the locations, I spotted the book. After only a few minutes of perusing, I knew I HAD to have this book. The Donovans, Simon and Robert had pretty much experienced a similar trip and I knew their vivid recount would help us remember the breathtaking land, the proud, gracious, full-of-life people who live there, and the indescribable food they produce. Their travel tips are right-on and a must for any Sicilian traveller. It has also inspired me to compile a travel journal of our trip. As a graphic designer myself, I also compliment the incredible layout and design. A wonderful coffee-table book for anyone to cherish.

Molto bene.
Grazie tanto Gail, Kevin, Simon and Robert!

When you read this book - should I say 'sample' it - and see the wonderful photographs of Italian landscapes, architectural features, and mouth watering food, have your 'plastic' ready, and a telephone nearby so you can book your own adventure.

This book may just be the best combination touring/cooking/picture-taking guide to Italy that you will find. And hats off to the book designer who made it into a wonderful travel scrapbook. The design alone is the definitive guide to producing your own travel journal/diary/photo album. You will want to make a book like this for your own journey(s).

For [the price], this is as close as you can get to being in Italy. In fact, if you play some of the Cieli di Toscana CD by Andrea Bocelli, drink a nice dry Italian red wine, and eat a little Bruschetti as you browse the pages of this coffee table book, you may be magically transported.

Salute!

As a practicing counselor and therapist, I consider, "Understanding Life-Style, The Psycho Clarity Process", to be a big "breath of fresh air" for the profession of applied psychology. For too long this field has been mired in mechanistic-reductionistic approaches which emphasize labeling over understanding and a "therapist knows best" mentality over true collaboration. Finally, a book that speaks in an artistic and scientific way about a psychology and process that helps people understand how primitive childhood and often unconscious beliefs are responsible for the many emotional and social maladies of our times. Rather than framing human processes as mental disorders, "Understanding Lifestyle" frames them as "creative processes designed for a (non-conscious) purpose" - amazing! Rather than viewing therapy as something the therapist does for the client, this unique book focusses on the client and therapist as "co-workers" - equally amazing! This unique and wonderfully written book is not only beneficial to the therapist attempting to locate a pathway through the cobwebs of psychological theory and human difficulty, but also to the layperson wishing to understand self and others. Filled with practical examples the therapist and average human being can readily relate to, this book is a must read for anyone intersted in "Psycho Clarity" vs. "Psycho Complication" and "Psycho Babble". You will never think about your clients, yourself or others in the same way ever again. A truly life altering book!

It is a relief to read a text on personality development, and to discover that it is about the histories of distinct, unique persons. It is a further relief to discover that when one's way of having grown up and stayed in character until now is understandable, it is a way of living and thinking and feeling that is no longer necessary. This is a liberating book

Ab initio development of the "consistent-histories" formulation of QM, which avoids the classical, measurement-related paradoxes. Could be used at upper undergrad level, but I think one should be at least at grad level to appreciate this book. Great examples ("toy models") for building intuition, comprehensive review of mathematical machinery. Best textbook, IMO, for someone who wants to advance their *understanding* of QM (forget the Copenhagen interpretation!).

I AM GOING TO START MY TRAINING IN THORACIC SURGERY AND I WANT TO KNOW WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO PRINT THE NEW EDITHION OF THORACIC SURGERY (PERSON). THANK YOU.

The "Writing Clear Essays" book is used at Opp High School in Advance English classes and I had the privelege of getting to use it. It helped me with outlines and showed me how to improve on alot of skills that I already had. The book helped me overcome many obstacles in papers that I had to write and also on my term paper. The book is a great asset to all classes and for many ages.

It's about time this book is written. I remember that day very clearly. I was only 11 years old and did not know if my father was alive or dead. Thank God he survived, he was one of the last survivors....John Gadomski and his half brother George Mazur.

This was very good for my project

Provided much information about the Knox Mine. It was a big help with my research paper.

The subject of teen suicide is a difficult one and one never easy to deal with. The suicide of a gay teen is even more of a problem because it is difficult to study without enough documented research. Inserting religious beliefs into the equation, along with family values, make for a very interesting story. The suicide of any teen or anyone is tragic. The initial teachings/actions of Mary Griffith make for difficult reading for a gay Christian; however, her ultimate acceptance of her son (and herself) in a way make this book somewhat validating. After the tradgedy, she does begin to review her thinking, but the point is, she is referencing it with the same scripture that she had been reading all along. After her son's death, there was a time where she seemed to act in a way that was against her families wishes and yet she was doing it just for that reason (part of her family.) "Prayers for Bobby" blends many common problems/themes together of being gay or having a gay son in a "straight" world, and yet, it is candidly honest and intelligent. My main praise for the book is this: It blends many difficult themes and reveals enough of each to educate the reader. It is important not to forget the difficulty of the subject matter when reading this book. It doesn't give answers or attempt to sway the reader into believing one thing or another, it only speaks.

Author Leroy Aarons chroniles Betty Griffith's journey after the suicide death of her gay son, Bobby. While some readers may claim that this book is "too sad and depressing" I actually found it filled with hope, as I saw Mary's 180 degree turn and transformation from Prebysterian religious fundalmentalist to a woman who questions the church's position on homosexuality. Simply put it is not God who finds fault with homosexuality. It is more those that interpret the Bible and their interpretations on it. This is one book that I wish more people would read, because I think their is something here for everyone, given the current political nature of this country. Readers of this book may never know all the reason why Bobby Griffith took his life, but we can hope that out of his death many lives can be saved.

This is one of those books that should appear on the shelves of every high school, college, and church library in the country.

The statistics about gay teen suicide are frightening; this true story about the suicide of Bobby Griffiths puts a human face on this tragic and avoidable phenomenon. As an gay adult, I cried in anguish as I read Bobby's journal entries; they touched too close to home for comfort. As an adult human being I cried tears of compassion for Bobby's mother, who wanted nothing more than for her son to be pleasing in God's eyes, but because of her fundamentalist understanding of God was blinded to the fact that Bobby was already the person God created him to be. Perhaps this book will help other mothers and other sons (and fathers and daughters and sisters and brothers) see through the veil of misinformation which so destroys a young person's self esteem that he or she gives up on life itself. And perhaps it will awaken the church to the truly destructive consequences of its outdated understanding of the human person.

As a minister I have given away copies of this book to youths struggling with their sexual identity, to their parents, and to their own ministers. And I have heard back words of thanks, especially from the young people, who have begun to realize that they are God's creation, and that they are good and acceptable in God's sight precisely because they are God's creatures.

Thank you, Mary Griffiths, for having the courage to share this very important story. God bless you!

Dr. Robert Lang takes David Wark Griffith's un-scripted film (The Birth Of A Nation) and breaks it down shot by shot.

I really enjoyed reading Don Knotts' autobiography.It was a very fast paced book. There weren't any chapters, instead it was a series of headings that chronicled his life. It was very straight-forward and easy to follow. Readers should be prepared to read a lot about Don's life leading up to the Andy Griffith Show. His home life as the youngest child in a poor family and how he survived that to begin a career in show business as a ventriliquist. He spent time overseas entertaining the troops and later got into radio which led to stints on Steve Allen's various TV shows and ultimately led to his role as Barney Fife.I was a little disappointed in the section on The Andy Griffith Show. I wanted more details of how he felt about the other actors and what it was like to be on such a popular show. Mr. Knotts also skimmed over his time on Three's Company as well but he did devote a lot of space to his movie career. I must reiterate that although I longed for more "dish" on Aunt Bee I thoroughly enjoyed this glimpse into the life of a TV legend.

This is a very charming, simple book filled with fun stories. Nothing earth-shattering, but then it really shouldn't be. You can almost imagine this as a transcript of Barney Fife and Andy Taylor on the porch, shooting the breeze.

This is a very pleasant read from a marvelous talent. Don Knotts is so good, but there is not a drop of ego to be seen, which also makes this quite refreshing.

I have really enjoyed reading this book, and have read some of the other reviews of it. I think Andy Griffith summed it all up in the foreword he wrote for this book, when he stated..."Don was not Barney Fife. Barney Fife was a character that Don created. I know Don to be a bright man and very much in control of himself. As everyone knows, Barney Fife had very little control of himself." Obviously Don did not write this book as Barney would have, but there are little traces of that personality hidden in it, if you infer it that way.
People who buy this book expecting to hear the caustic ramblings of a Hollywood burnout will be sorely disappointed. Mr. Knotts seems as warm and fuzzy as your favorite stuffed toy, without a harsh word to say about anyone. If you want more real background information on him from a more objective standpoint, watch the excellent Biography Channel special on his life and career. Or visit the website www.interestingideas.com and look for the essay someone wrote about him, that was gritty and much more candid and philosophical. You will be fascinated!
However, if you are new to watching the Andy Griffith Show, like I am, and this is the first book you read on the show, like it was for me, this book is a great way to get introduced to the show, and prepare you for the more theoretically advanced books you will read about it in the future. Especially if you are a "Trained Noticer" like me!
Now, if Howard Morris (Ernest T. Bass) would just write his autobiography...