I first heard of this book in the Feb. 1997 issue of LIFE magazine which showed excerpts from the book and explained how the 3-d images were captured. The article prompted me to get the book. The body used in the Visible Human Project was a convicted murderer who was executed and donated his body to science. The images are so amazing! They truly reflect that the body is a work of art.

This is one of the best biographies I have ever read and it is the an incredible work done by authors. They describe in detail all relevant facts about the Pope and, based on these facts, the authors explain his ideas and his influence under the modern church. In this book, the reader will be able to understand many of John Paul II's thoughts and actions that were performed and will be performed by him during his period as a Pope. A book worth reading in order to understand the real man behind the Sant Peters Throne.

Like it or not, everyone who lives long enough is sooner or later going to become disabled. Read about it here and now from a brilliant writer and extraordinary person. Mr. Hockenberry covers every aspect of disability, from sensitive descriptions of his feelings about his body, to the horrendous insensitivity with which many so-called able-bodied folk react to him, to vital discussions about the social injustices perpetrated on disabled people at every turn. All this and more is woven into a tale about the amazing world of a courageous, iconoclastic, humorous, and outrageous individual who lives a very exciting life. Thanks, John, for one terrific read, with a hundred or more important messages for all of us.

Hockenberry doesn't really need more people to tell him how good his book is. However, he does need a person considered to have a disability (Deaf) to tell him--Great JOB! And to recommend to all those undergoing the process of learning to deal with a disability and grieving over loss of abilities, to read this book. It will help significantly. He learned in a shorter period of time, and had a significantly better outlook on his new disablement. He also brings up the fact that sometimes the obstacles placed in our way are of our own making. The Americans with Disabilities Act is not going to solve all of our problems...and as a country we are lucky to have it. But many of those problems won't be fixed until we the Deaf and the disabled get off our collective butts (excuse the pun) and do something about it. This means becoming active politically and otherwise. Mr. Hockenberry needs to write a followup since his career has gone in different routes now...and we see him more often on television. How has this newfound fame added or detracted from his life? I didn't always agree with him...I too have worked with mentally disabled adults, and sometimes found his attitude shocking, though I think he was merely very young at the time. But I am recommending this book to my students, to people I work with who are disabled, to my computer group (the SayWhatClub--we all say 'what') and anyone else I can think of. Ok Mr. Hockenberry, get busy writing the sequel! Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

First book I've ever read that I feel compelled to recommend as a MUST READ for everyone. It's extremely eye-opening (at least to this reader) on the subjects of physical limits, our relationship to our physical selves, and even the meaning of life. You don't need a spinal-cord injury to appreciate Hockenberry's perspective on friends, family, work, American society, or journalism. This book is intelligent, reflective, funny, tragic, introspective, and, as far as I can tell, brutally honest. When John Hockenberry is the lens, the photo is exquisite

The Northwest part of america is one of the most magnificent areas that this great country has to offer. It is rich in it's natural beauty, it's history and cultural makeup. It is an area that is ripe in subject matter in which to write a book, I use the wonderful story of "snow falling on ceders" as my example. So I was looking forward to "A river out of Eden", containing the ingredients of salmon fish, northwest indians and the ever volatile battle between history and the future. I was sure of an enticing story. I am afraid to say though that I was presented with a story line that took over 200 pages to solidify. A cast of characters that always seemed to stop short of their potential. And their interaction with each other could have been a bit more detailed. I always felt that the story shifted too quickly and left parts underdeveloped. I needed to know more about Francine's father and less about her mother, more about Duke and less about his father, more about the history of the Chinook and their transformation and less about how to be profanic towards blacks. The story has great potential but I don't feel it ever reached it. I commend Mr. Hockenberry on this attempt, but found the results disappointing.

"A River Out Of Eden" sounds like it might be a very pastoral and peaceful novel about a beautiful river. Yes, the river is beautiful, and the country it flows through is likewise pastoral -- and the river is very real. It is the mighty Columbia. Hockenberry has done a great deal of research of the region. Many issues make up this fascinating novel about the Chinook native peoples, the dams on the river, white supremacists, a plutonium researche at Hanford, excessively heavy rain that treatens the strength of the dams. When people begin to show up dead by a strange but familiar harpoon, Francine Smoholla, a marine biologist who happens to be part Chinook Indian decides to do some investigating. This is a real page turner, well worth your time.

This first novel of Hockenberry is promoted as a thriller or a mystery. I think both of those designations do not do justice to this book. This book demands that the reader think, and it is hardly light and banal reading. As another reviewer has stated, the author uses 'stream of conciousness' which was very difficult for me to understand at first. There are so many characters involved with such different backgrounds, values, and belief systems...that at first it was extremely difficult to follow. However, this is one of those books that the reader must stick with and ultimately not only is it worth it, but after closing the book when finished, the mind is racing and wondering "Is this a real possibility?"

Hockenberry has the background as a journalist to acquire information about subjects that many writers do not have the ability to do. He takes full advantage of this to weave a story with a basis in reality that is shocking in its telling. Like most people, I know a little bit about all the topics he raises: the rights of Native Americans, our historical past concerning nuclear arms and nuclear energy, the prejudices that exists against people and their beliefs, the all too real tendency of corporations and government to discard their loyal workers after years of grueling and thankless work, and the environmental impact of our country's energy needs. This book greatly expanded my understanding of many of these topics, and piqued my interest in both the Northwest and the Native Americans from that area (I immediately went to the web to look up the dams on the Columbia River). To me this is a sign of a great book and a good writer. When people are moved to find out more about subject matters because the author has made it so interesting, then the author has more then succeeded.

I hope that Hockenberry continues to write, and continues to provide us with books that make us stop and think. Definitely worth the time and the money... Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

We should all be for Mr. Ravi Batri. By selling enough copies of this book and its sequel ("Surviving the Great Depression of 1990"), he singlehandedly prevented worldwide economic collapse!

Batra's 1985 prediction of a world-wide depression in 1990 did not happen. This guy continues to pump out economic trash. Those who buy his books - - and believe Batra's wild-eyed rantings and ravings - - are in serious need of help. Get a life!

Batra predicted in 1985 that a grotesquely unequal distribution of wealth would cause a depression in 1990. Establishment economists mocked his book. Yet, lo and behold, there was a recession in 1990 which lingered for quite some time. Even after the slow and weak recovery, real wages for the bottom 80% of the labor force did not start to rise until late 1996. Batra combines an interesting eastern theory of social cycles with modern economic theory. His reforms are fundamental and humane. He basically argues that inequality causes purchasing power to decline, thus precipitating recessions and depressions. Batra also notes that all the standard modern economic theories -- from Keynesianism to supply-sideism to monetarism -- have failed to rid the world of poverty and instability. He argues convincingly that these theories only address the symptoms of the problem, and not the root cause. All in all, Batra made a bold forecast which pretty much was on the mark. His reforms are interesting also, for they combine the best features of dynamic capitalism with the best features of egalitarian socialism.