I read this book for my Political Science course... Excellent reading of facts that obviously won't make the corporate propaganda newspapers... How can anyone ignore the hundreds of thousands of the innocent Iraqis that have died as a result of the inhumane sanctions? And the reasons for the sanctions - violation of UN resolutions... resolutions in which the main offenders, United States and Israel, go unpunished.... Such crimes against humanity are enough to make an athiest into a beleiver in an Ultimate Judgement...

Chomsky and Clark deserve credit for risking their reputations that'll undoubtedly be smeared by propaganda slanderers....

As for the commenter below... Of course the Holocaust is "the most heavily documented event in history"... Its been the subject of the grossest revisions in history.. 50 years from now, people will still be documenting their experiences in the Holocaust...

I am writing in response to the first review here. I just want to say that every intellectual person in the world takes Professor Chomsky seriously. I live in Canada and I remember that in each of his lectures in Toronto there was enormous attendance to listen to him. He is the conscience of the West. He is a person who did not sell himself to the corporations. You can read this book and learn a lot about U.S. foreign policy and its impacts in the lives of people around the world and especially Middle East. After reading this book without any bias you can demand that US foreign policy makers and their suppurates should be charged for crimes against humanity.

This is like one of my first times reading a book like this and It was very insightful and I am very much looking forward to reading more from choamsky in the future. If you don`t agree with the positions taken you will definitely get some interesting facts and I was actually impressed that the issue of Islam religion verses Jews and Christian religion is not really mentioned at all here and by the subject matter you might have thought that that would carry the whole discussion. Very much looking forward to hearing more from this guy.

Few Twentieth Century American authors were as acquainted with personal pain and tragedy as Arthur Miller. Miller, a brilliant yet flawed man, experienced personal tragedy in his tempestuous marriage to and relationship with Marilyn Monroe. He watched as many of his friends suffered the wrath of the government during the McCarthy era. Miller distilled his own experiences into one of the most memorable tragic figures in American Literature: John Proctor.

John Proctor is the protagonist of Miller's play, The Crucible. Set during the Salem witch trials, The Crucible is an extended meditation of the destruction that occurs when people falsely accuse others.

Proctor is no hero. He is a man who is deeply respected by his fellow townsfolk. When accusations of witchcraft start flying around Salem, Proctor is urged to declare that the chief "confessor," Abigail, is a fraud. The only problem is that Proctor had once had an affair with Abigail. His concern for his good name causes him to hold his tongue.

The plot begins to broil when Proctor's own wife is accused of being a witch. She is then arrested. Proctor accuses Abigail of having accused his wife out of jealousy. Yet Proctor's plan to expose Abigail fails when his wife lies to try and protect his name. Proctor himself is accused of being a witch and is arrested.

One of the ministers involved in the trials becomes doubtful of the whole situation. He tries to convince the accused of making confessions rather than face death. He persuades Proctor's wife to ask Proctor to confess. Proctor finally surrenders his personal pride and agrees to make a false confession about having been a witch. Yet when he makes his confession, the court tells him that he must name others. Proctor refuses and as a consequence, is sent to the gallows.

One gets the sense that Miller saw a lot of Proctor in himself. Miller, though not righteous, was willing to publicly decry the with trials of his own time. The Crucible had a considerably shorter theatrical run than Miller's earlier works. During the virulently anti-Communist fifties, Miller was putting his career on the line by writing The Crucible. While not on the same scale as Proctor's sacrifice, Miller's dilemma was great. Notwithstanding its contemporary importance, Miller's play, and the character of Proctor in general, speak more broadly to the ideas of America and the America tragic hero than they do the issues of their respective periods.

America is a land born of cooperation. The States had to unite in order to throw off the British Imperial yoke. Yet America has also always been a land that holds the notion of rugged individualism dear. Though Jefferson gave it clear expression, rugged individualism had been a characteristic of America since its earliest colonial days. These two elements (cooperation and individualism) have combined to form a conflicted national identity.

This same conflict occurs within Proctor. Proctor is an individual and proud of it. Nothing means more to him than the picture of personal honor he presents to others. The great irony of Miller's play is that Proctor measures his individual worth by what others think of him. It is this concern for the community that twice is his undoing.

The first time Proctor is undone it is in a negative way. His concern for his good name with the community leads him to not expose Abigail as a fraud. He is rendered silent by his fear of exposure as an adulterer. Abigail's power and influence grow in the meantime. This eventually leads to the arrest of both Proctor and his wife.

The second time Proctor is undone is depicted more positively. He refuses to falsely accuse others of witchcraft. This means certain death for the individual (Proctor) and uncertain good for the community (Salem). Proctor's ultimate choice is that the good of the many is superior to the concerns of the individual. Yet the community is malignant. It is the source of many of Proctor's woes. Perhaps this is the main point of Miller's play: the true tragedy in America is the country's unfulfilled dream of individual independence. Whenever dangers threaten the land, be they real or imagined, the individual suffers in the name of the common good.

John Proctor is a hero in as far as he is representative of all Americans. Whatever the ideological persuasion of the reader or audience member, something about Proctor's plight speaks to the American experience.

The Crucible is a great play. I recommend it.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is not really a book, but I've decided to count it anyway. The play is short, and I finished it in one afternoon because I was so engrossed. Also, I enjoyed it much more than I did The Death of a Salesman, also written by Miller. One of my favorite aspects of the play was its relevance to modern times; at points, I couldn't tell whether the action was set in Salem in the 1600s or Washington DC in the 1950s. In addition, the first act included one of my favorite lines I've read recently: "Their fathers had, of course, been persecuted in England. So now they found it necessary to deny any other sect its freedom, lest their New Journalism be defiled and corrupted by wrong ways and deceitful ideas."

This is a play that is based on the Salem Witch Trials, and I have heard that acutal quotes have been taken from actual trial transcripts in its writing, but I haven't delved into the actual transcripts to find out for myself as of yet. It is because of the historical nature of this play that I enjoyed reading it. Although the spoken language that is used by Miller for his characters is eloquent it may make this a difficult read for some. I didn't find it as hard to follow as the language used by Shakespeare, but there a few times that I had to re-read a line here or there.

The plot is surprisingly clever and gives the reader the idea that this could very well have been how it happened. The author's ability to touch on every aspect of the experience is truly moving. The writing is brilliant and I was engulfed in the tradgedy caused by the horrors of life in Salem during this time period. There are numerous moments filled with tension, and I found myself hoping for the best for all of the wrongly accused.

This is novel that points out the cruelty of human nature when survival is a person's only concern. It also points out the level of hysteria a population can reach. If a reader doesn't take those two lessons away as learned, then perhaps they will take the simpler lesson that is rarely touched upon away with them. Be kind to your neighbors as ou never know who will have the next profound effect on your like.

Right after I was caught for molesting one of my young children, I bought this book to learn who the hell I am and a little bit about how I got into that narrow-minded hell-hole of child sexual interest and action. This book REALLY opened my eyes, and gave hugely rewarding insights into myself (not ones I expected to find!). The author writes clinically and compassionately, and offers superb suggestions at the end on how our criminal justice system could do an awful lot better with family offenders. I've since plead guilty and was sentenced to jail time, treatment, and many years of probation. This book helped me understand myself as an offender, the impact on the child, and the range of conventional and possible public responses to punish and treat this terrible offense. I highly recommend it for troubled offenders who WANT insight into this mindset, as well as for loving spouses and close relatives that want to better understand and support the offender. The writing is good.

I was one of Douglas Pryor's students, and I had to read the book for a class assignment. The best book I've read so far, it's easy to read, and full of interesting case studies. I highly recomend this book for everyone interested in sexual abuse.

I read this book for a paper in my psychology class and this book is like no other on child sexual abuse. This is a real candid look into the abusers' mind, told by the abusers themselves. The stories go into enough detail to understand what the abuser was thinking at the time, while not going into too much detail making the book extremely disturbing to read. If you are into psychology, sociology, or just want to know what makes these men do these Unspeakable Acts, this is a great book to read.

CWA literature is overwhelming, dense, and confusing. This book is a refreshing change - the progress under the Clean Water Act is presented in a very simple manner. Good for basic technical and legal understanding of the subject. EPA and state-level programs and reports are brilliantly critiqued (no wonder, the book is produced by NRDC!). The text is supported by excellent research of legislative history of the CWA.

Only Chapter 2 (out of 8 chapters) is a little dull. In Chapter 2, the figures could have been more illustrative, and the discussion of numbers could have been livelier. Overall, the most interesting and understandable book on CWA.

This is a very readable book for parents and clinicians. Clearly outlines what attachment disorder is and describes holding therapy. Cline speaks eloquently of the societal issues that combine to result in children who are seriously disturbed. Challenges treament providers to evaluate current methodology that is often ineffective with these children. Provides information about treatment that is effective with many seriously disturbed children. First printed in 1995, it is timely reading given our nation's current epidemic of violent, conscienceless children and adults.

This is, without a doubt, an outstanding piece of literature, beautifully written and well executed by author Arthur Miller. While it is a deeply moving play, you MUST allow yourself time to feel it and understand it fully. I wasn't even completely into the story when I reached the middle. It takes time....but it's a great story that I came to appreciate very much. It follows the older life of Willy Loman, who truly lives up to his name, which can be likened to "LOW-MAN." Willy has two children, Happy and Biff, and a passive wife named Linda. Having said this, it is important to remember that Willy is ashamed of Biff, and he walks all over Linda. Happy falls somewhere in-between. He certainly isn't perfect, but he's managed to stay away from Willy's psychotic insults. Willy is a struggling salesman who wants nothing but money, success, and worldwide fame. His desire for these things is so intense, it kills him. This is definitely a very original and well thought out story, and it will leave you with mixed emotions. A part of you may even feel pity for Willy, hard as it may be to believe that. He is an unforgettable character. I definitely recommend this one.

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman basically revolves around 'the American Dream' which was based on the 'Declaration of Independence':'Men are born with the inalienable rights--life, liberty and most importantly the pursuit of happiness. Willy Loman, the main character of the play, had the pursuit of this faint dream of wealth, power and respect he figured he would achieve in the business world because he believed he was 'well liked'. I don't really blame his pride as his downfall, because afterall, it's not his pride that leads to his suicide. He's more obsessed with making something of himself and his sons, like his brother Ben...which is a good example of someone who has achieved the 'American Dream'. 'I walked into the jungle and came out rich'is expressed by Ben a number of times throughout the play, although in truth, Ben has emptiness inspite of his success and wealth. 'Death of a Salesman' contains much that is critical of modern American society. But, this was not Arthur Miller's sole purpose in writing it.
Willy's misjudgement of his failure in life is demonstrated in 'Death of a Salesman'. He feels as though he has failed because he has nothing to show for his years of work, in either his or his son's names. To kind of make up for it, Willy kills himself believing that he has done something right by helping Biff become someone with the insurance money that they get from his death. Sometimes 'a man is worth more dead than alive'. But what he has truly failed in is his family life, and his married life. That is the corruption of the true 'American Dream'.

Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," while confusing when just read through the text alone, is an awesomely crafted play that takes drama to the next level. Now being interested in plays, I decided it was time to read this one, being that this is considered a classic by many (which I could easily see why). Reading this play makes me want to write plays. Reading something like this makes me believe that I can some up with something great too. I am glad that I finally took the time to read it.

The story is about a broken-hearted salesman, Willy Loman. He is a man no longer living in the real world but is mostly trapped in his own delusional world. He can't let go of the past no matter how hard he tries, and it's eating him up inside. He wants to believe that his family is a shoe-in for greatness, no matter how lonely and sad his wife is, or how much of a player/swinger his youngest son is, or how confused and anti-business his oldest son is. You put all of this together and you get a glimpse of an American tragedy that is so powerful and sad that it makes you think these things happen all the time. From Page 1 you know it's not going to end on a happy note, but you decide to take the path anyways. And a path worth taking it is.

I admit that I was confused at certain points, because through the text alone it is very hard to separate Willy's reality from his imagination. There are places where Willy departs from reality and goes back to the past and it makes it very hard for us to figure out what is going on if we're only reading it. When I saw the movie version after reading this, I was able to appreciate the play more. I understood what confused me and I was able to figure out what was happening. Despite some confusing moments it is still a tremendous play that is very involving from start to finish. You are able to sympathize with the main character, and with the rest of the characters as well. You know a writer has done the job right when you are able to feel or care for every single character (or at least almost all of them, being there will be a few minor characters you're really not supposed to care for that much. This is something that always happens in the world of fiction and is to be expected). Arthur Miller did an amazing job of writing such a realistic and emotionally driven play. The characters were realistic as well as the dialogue.

"Death of a Salesman" is more than just simply a stunning play; it is a beautiful portrait of a family dealing with hardships and troubles. As soon as I began the play I was unable to put it down until it was finished. If you want to read a great play and are interested in great works of drama, this is the one for you.

(Note: If you are confused by the play, see the movie afterwards. It really helps.)

This book is a notorious fraud from the 19th century.

It pretends to be contemporary accounts of the death etc of Jesus. Actually they're all bogus. The editor expanded this book into the 'Archko' volume, but was caught because he created some of his 'ancient' documents by copying verbatim from the novel 'Ben Hur'.

The motive appears to have been money, and the intended victims rural Christians with no way to check his claims.

Full details are available in E.J.Goodspeed's "Strange New Gospels", which is online. In the late 19th century a fair few people had a go at making money this way, targetting different groups. Mahan's effort is the only one still circulating, but Goodspeed details a collection of them.

It is too bad that the Reverend W.D. Mahan really did not shelter a Mr Whydaman in the winter of 1856 who really had seen the documents found in Mahan's book. It would be wonderful to read an authentic interview of the Three Shepherds. It would be wonderful to read an authentic report of Pontius Pilate to Caesar. And it would be wonderful to read the report of Caiaphas concerning the execution of Jesus... if these documents were authentic.

_The Acts of Pilate_ begins with transcripts of letters between Mahan and Whydaman wherein Mahan pretends to procure transcripts of copies from the Vatican. Mahan did his homework fairly well. He includes some authentic details. However there are some flaws as noted by Edgar John Goodspeed in _Strange New Gospels_ (pub 1931).

These ancient documents, preserved for hundreds of years in their original language deep within the Vatican, corroborate the Biblical accounts of Jesus' trial, crucifiction, and resurrection.

Some of the writings are straightforward reports of the period, like Josephus' writings. The author takes enormoous pains to establish their authenticity in traceable steps as well as his credentials for finding and publishing these documents.

Some of the accounts are truly astonishing. Pilate wrote a full description of the "Jesus issue" to Ceaser. He describes how he wept at the sight of bent and broken Joseph of Arimethia ascending Pilate's steps, stained with the blood of Jesus, asking for the dead body of his friend and Lord.

Caiaphas gives two accounts of his actions to the Sanhedrin. In the latter, he describes himself locked in his bedroom, studying the scriptures for prophecies concerning the Messiah. Suddenly, the resurrected Jesus appears before him and offers him salvation if he would but believe in the risen son of God. Caiaphas is convicted and forlorn. He resigns his position as high priest, unable to perform its functions with honor and integrity. Was he saved at the last?

Pilate writes to Ceaser that he had dispatched 100 Roman soldiers to stand guard over Jesus' tomb. "The very event they were supposed to prevent," he said, "they became witnesses to." What a profound illustration!

These accounts are compelling, believable,and illuminating of the Biblical accounts. The book is fun and edifying to read.

This book was a nice easy enjoyable read. The characters were very interesting and you cared what happened to them. It was a story of great love and courage and found it to be an inspiration. Jessica overcame and found love and laughter in her life again. A book I would recommend to read more than once.

I read Inheritance written by this husband and wife team a few years ago and truly enjoyed it. Deceptions was also a good read, and I followed that with Pot of Gold, entertaining as well. I felt Acts of Love was terrible by comparison! Pages and pages of dialog that dragged on without getting to the point. I finished this book but getting motivated to do so was a real challenge.

I loved this book to death! I swear, this is one of the greatest books ever. Not to mention the fact that my name is Jessica and I'm in love with a Luke...just like in the book. Hehehe, well, what are you waiting for? Go read it!

I am a current Texas resident, who has been dancing for ~18 years.

I decided after getting my 'bread and butter' degree, that I would now pursue my dance degree. I went on the internet, and found some schools whose programs looked fabulous! My friend recommended this book to me, swearing it to be the 'Bible of Dancers'. I even had the book special ordered. Upon arrival, I opened it only to find the schools I had pursued were not listed. On top of that, I had taken some dance classes at the University of Oklahoma, only to find Mr. Jones refers to Ko Yukihiro as a 'she' in the book. I can promise you, as I have taken one of Ko's modern classes, that Ko is a male, not a female.

Texas Woman's University has one of the Top 10 Programs in the nation, both for graduate and undergraduate studies, yet Mr. Jones doesn't even have TWU listed. TWU has several guest artists, and all the faculty have incredible resume's. How well did Mr. Jones do his homework? The University of North Texas; one of the largest Universities in Texas, is not mentioned either.

I was also at a loss when I tried to find an area that would help me write my dance resume'. One would believe that for such a comprehensive, well-written book, surely advice on how to write a good dance resume' would have been included. After all, it tells you about your taxes!

I give this book 3 stars. I hope revisions are in the making.

Hecate