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Book reviews for "Kelsall,_Malcolm_M." sorted by average review score:

The Assassinations: Probe Magazine on JFK, MLK, RFK, and Malcolm X
Published in Paperback by Feral House (2003)
Authors: James DiEugenio, Lisa Pease, and Judge Joe Brown
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This is not a book for conspiracy buffs
"The Assassinations" is one of the very few books which present a comprehensive and well-organized look at the *big* picture. It is a volume which deserves the attention, not just of people who are convinced that the assassinations of the Kennedys, King and Malcom X were not the work of "lone nuts", but of everyone who is genuinely interested in the recent history of the United States. Whether you are convinced, skeptical or simply curious, this is the book to read if you want to find out the facts, not the latest spin from the mass media.

A Must Read For True Patriots
If you want to read the most current knowledge about the truth of the political assassinations of the 1960's this is the book to read. The Assassinations is a collection of the best articles to appear in a little know publication called Probe magazine from 1994 to 2000. These articles were written by serious citizen researchers who invested the time and money doing the work our major news media failed to do--that is to sift through the many new declassified documents about the assassinations that have become available during the past decade. With an introduction by Judge Joe Brown of TV fame the book is filled with in depth articles that you won't read anywhere else.
Examples of offerings include Professor Donald Gibson discussing how de-classified telephone transcripts from the early Johnson Presidency in the days after Nov. 22, 1963 show us how the Warren Commission was created, and for what purpose. John Armstrong has spent years of his life devoted to the study of Lee Harvey Oswald. Here Armstrong shows us that there was much more to the Oswald story than we were ever told.
Radiologist David Mantik has spent many more hours studying the JFK autopsy x-rays than did any offical government investigating body. Mantik has submitted the x-rays to sophisitcated tests unavailable during the 1960's and 70's and has proven that the x-rays now in the National Archives are forgeries.
Lisa Pese fleshes out the details of the RFK murder that have never been published before. James Douglass explains how a 1999 civil trial in Memphis proved beyond any doubt that our very government executed a man whose birthday it honors with a national holiday. And much, much more.
Perhaps the most enlightening and disturbing part of the book is the section titled, "The Failure of the Fourth Estate." Here the reader will learn why the news media never informed you about any of this information. You will learn of the all too cozy relationship that exists between our mainstream news media and the U.S. government intelligence agencies. You will learn specific names of well known journalists who got their stories cleared with intelligence agencies before writing, and who acted as government informants and "propaganda assets."
The book closes with a thoughtful afterword by one of the editors, James DiEugenio, who places the assassinations in their political context and explains how they impacted our lives and changed the course of our collective history.
This book is not for those who practice the superficial, shallow, "my country right or wrong", flag-waving type of patriotism so in vogue these days. This book is for true patriots who care about their country and aren't afraid to look straight into it's ugly, evil side. This book is for those who want to learn from the past and want to understand when and how the United States began to go from being a much loved beacon of democracy to becoming a loathed and feared nation. This book is for patriots who want to help ensure that we once again return to having a government " of the people, by the people and for the people."

Tantalizing truths, cover-ups, obvious and hidden motives
Collaboratively compiled, organized and edited by James DiEugenio and Lisa Pease, The Assassinations is an extensive collection of articles drawn from Probe magazine concerning the murders of President John Kennedy, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, and Malcolm X. A questing compendium of tantalizing truths, cover-ups, obvious and hidden motives, and the struggle to track trails and pin down culprits, The Assassinations is a fascinating, involving, informative, and occasionally iconoclastic resource especially recommended to the attention of conspiracy buffs.


The amateur naturalist
Published in Unknown Binding by H. Hamilton ()
Author: Gerald Malcolm Durrell
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Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
In one lavishly illustrated and well-written volume, Gerald Durrell takes readers on a pocket tour of the infinite variety of the creatures that inhabit planet Earth and at the same time provides a brief tutorial on the methods and importance of simple, hands-on biological research. This is a gift of the first rank for any scientifically-inclined child, and great for adults too.

A marvellous guide for the beginner by the ultimate amateur
As readers of 'My Family and Other Animals' will be aware, Gerald Durrell's passion for animals was a constant throughout his life, and his legacy survives in the form of the Jersey Zoo, an institution devoted to the preservation of endangered species. Durrell was also a writer of tremendous charisma and charm, recounting his adventures around the world in a prose that is often unmatched in nature writing.

In 'The Amateur Naturalist', Gerald and wife Lee set out to create the sort of guide for which the much younger Durrell, loose among the wildlife of Corfu, would likely have killed (humanely, though). Broken down by habitats, with coloured illustrations and thoughtful, enjoyable text descriptions, 'The Amateur Naturalist' is a treasure trove for anyone interested in studying the world around them, no matter the part of the world in which they might live. Although you needn't be an actual collector in order to enjoy this book, there is also information on how to begin collecting wild flora and fauna (there is no recommendation, however, on the keeping of snakes in the bath or spiders in matchboxes).

For anyone that knows and loves nature, or would like to know more, this is definitely the book to have.

This I a great book - read it
I found this in my local library and loved it. Now I'm trying to get a copy and I hope this works. I you find nature/biology at all interesting, this is the book for you. If Durrell wasn't my favorite author anyways this would make him my favorite for sure.


Flowers
Published in Paperback by Transworld Publishers (Division of Random House Australia) (1988)
Author: Malcolm Hillier
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Difficult to top!
This book is tops! I am trying to find another book on flower arranging as a gift for my mother-in-law who loves the subject, but I keep coming back to this one. Creativly inspired and visually stunning, just browsing through it is amazing.

Just Great Book
This book is just great. If you love flowers, I think you will absolutely love this book. The pictures are remarkable. Just buy!

Flower Fantasy
Malcolm Hillier is an acclaimed flower stylist who combines his passion for flowers with elegant design. I have never seen such a lavishly illustrated book on flower arranging. Over 2,000 photographs will inspire you to arrange your own flowers.

There are hundreds of ideas for using fresh and dried flowers. The step-by-step sequences make the techniques clear and simple. When you start arranging flowers, you quickly find out you need an "essential kit" in order to complete even a basic flower arrangement. This is where "Practical Techniques" comes into play.

You will want to buy a glue gun, floral wires, pruning knife, florist's scissors, etc. All the essential supplies are listed with pictures. This book is filled with pictures! The first chapter discusses Flowers In Civilization and shows flowers in history and art.

Elements of Design is a visual guide to flower colors and the pages are filled with piles of wonderful petals in every color. I loved the Container Shapes section. There are two sections, with one further into the book.

This book is SO INCREDIBLE! .....Shall I continue..?

Then, we get to Inspiration. You will find page after page after page of mini-floral displays with the page number so you can learn how to make the arrangement with precise instructions. There are arrangements in this book you would not even imagine in your wildest floral dreams.

For instance, on page 96 there is an underwater floral arrangement. There are upside down glasses, with flowers in them, floating in the water and facing outwards in a huge vase. Then, OH MY..I happen upon page 212 and there is a hanging upside down Christmas Tree dangling dangerously from the ceiling. I am not sure I approve! Decorating the tree looked a bit dangerous, but it sure was creative.

A Floral Ice Bowl on page 248 is one of my favorite ideas as the flowers are suspended in their original beauty in ice. Then, in the summer...how about a "watermelon vase?" The Floral Place Setting is a way to beautifully decorate each place setting is a wonderful summer idea or dried herbs could be used in the winter. The mini-christmas trees are an idea even children could help make.

An A-Z plant guide is a huge section. This visual guide will introduce you to just about every flower you would ever want to use in an arrangement. Some useful addresses complete with Web site addresses gives you even more information. An easy-to-use Index helps you locate your favorite flowers.

If you want inspiration and information, this is the book for you!


Jewel Princesses and the Missing Crown
Published in Library Binding by Bt Bound (1999)
Authors: Jahnna N. Malcolm and Neal McPheeters
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TOTALLY AWESOME
THIS BOOK IS FULL OF ADVENTURE, MYSTERY, AND FUN!!
I RECOMEND THID BOOK TO ANYONE!!!

it is a good book
It has all the princesses. It is fun to read. I like it because it's good.

You have to read this book.
First I got this book and it got so worn out from me reading it all the time that I had to get another one!!!!!!!!! :) This book is about the princesses working together to get the crown back. If you like fantasy, princesses, adventure, and fun you will love this book. It is my favorite book in the Jewel Kingdom series.


Socks (Vogue Knitting on the Go)
Published in Hardcover by Butterick Company Inc (1999)
Author: Trisha Malcolm
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Good, manageable projects
I have made several pairs of socks from this book, ranging from very simple basic socks to more complex, unusual patterns. The photographs and the patterns are clear and easy to follow, as is the case with most of the other Vogue On the Go books. This is a good addition to your knitting library.

GREAT - A MUST HAVE!!!
This little book (and I mean little in size - not content) is wonderful. Small enough to fit anywhere. The patterns have a good selection. Fancy socks, baby socks, plain socks and really funky socks. This book is written in simple to understand instructions and really inspires you to make socks. A must have for any sock knitter!

Portable, varied selection with clear patterns
Although I wasn't very keen on the Babies volume of Vogue's Knitting on the Go series, I am very pleased with Socks. Having never made a sock before (albeit a fairly experienced knitter), my first effort -- a "very easy very vogue" selection from this book -- was easy and fast, with quite professional results. The instructions are clear, there are good photos and charts, detailed information about yarn to enable substitutions is provided, and a variety of patterns, sizes, styles and difficulty levels are featured. And the book is portable and sturdy.


Something Beautiful for God
Published in Paperback by Harper SanFrancisco (1986)
Author: Malcolm Muggeridge
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Truly Beautiful
This really isn't a biography of Mother Teresa so much as it is a document in reflection on one man's encounters with her. Mother Teresa is such a dynamic and profound personality, indeed so much a reflection of her Savior, that just meeting her has inspired much reflection, conviction, and devotion in the mind and heart of Malcolm Muggeridge. She is that rare persona who somehow ascends past celebrity status. Celebrities, in the end, are entertainment. Mother Teresa's presence and personality are much more than entertainment: with hardly a word she challenges and changes people. The best parts of this book have more to do with Muggeridge's inner searching than with Teresa's life and work.

I'm sure that she would shy away from all this praise. Yet truly she is a reflection of her Savior, which is her heart's desire. This strange and unearthly power she has to affect lives with nothing more than her presence perhaps can help us understand how an illiterate carpenter from the backwaters of the world managed to split history in half and utterly turn the world upside down. When you draw near to God, even just a reflection of Him, you cannot help but be changed.

What I love most about Mother Teresa, what inspires and challenges me the most, is her ability, maybe even insistence, in seeing Christ in the poor and destitute that she cared for. He said 'whatsoever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me' and she takes it seriously -- and the result is beautiful beyond comparison. It makes my heart leap.

Thank you, Lord, for sending us a woman like your servant Teresa to remind us of your face, your call, and your love. We are eternally grateful.

Great, and Touching
This book was touching to me. It has changed my life. Ever since I read this book it made me feel sad about how other parts of the world are poor and we are sitting here with everything bowing to our feet! Oh well....I loved this book!

a deeply moving account....
....of Mother Teresa's activities with the poor, written with grace and conviction. My favorite book about her and her work. You won't read this and remain unchanged by it.


To Keep and Bear Arms: The Origins of an Anglo-American Right
Published in Hardcover by Harvard Univ Pr (1994)
Author: Joyce Lee Malcolm
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Authoritative writing, but minor flaws are irritating
Ms. Malcolm nicely lays out the history of the tension between English rulers and subjects over the control of weapons. She made me realize that the current dispute in this country over access to firearms has a long pedigree. Her depiction of the circumstances under which England, in 1689, declared the right to bear arms "true, ancient, and indubitable," when in fact it was none of those is particularly interesting. (See p. 115.) She provides evidence for her view that "it is particularly ironic that some modern American lawyers have misread the English right to have arms as merely a 'collective' right inextricably tied to the need for a militia" (p. 119) when by 1689 the opposite was true. I'm not a historian or a gun enthusiast, but I find all of this quite fascinating.

When the book turns to the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, however, its energy seems to flag. I am sympathetic to the argument that the Second Amendment confers a right on "the people" respectively, i.e. as individuals, "to keep and bear Arms." But Malcolm's argument is undermined, however slightly, when she urges that "[s]ome" i.e., more than one, nascent American state constitutions "included a specific right for an individual to have firearms for his own defence" (p. 150), but quotes and cites, as best I can discern, only the Pennsylvania bill of rights in support (pp. 148, 149). Is there more than one, or not? Another apparent example of waning energy toward the end is the treatment of an argument that "like the Convention Parliament in 1689, the senators [debating drafts of the Second Amendment] rejected a motion to add 'for the common defense' after 'to keep and bear arms.' " (P. 161.) To me, that point seems crucial, but Malcolm does not explore it further, beyond providing a footnoted reference to another source.

Finally, some minor quibbles. Noting the author's regular use of English spelling, I thought she was English until I realized, on reading the penultimate page, that she is an American (p. 176). Perhaps Malcolm was reared and educated in England, but nevertheless her anglicizations are distracting and seem affected. It also seems affected to spell "dissension" archaically as "dissention" (p. 153), and to print "u" as "v" in quoted material, as in "Vs" (Us) (p. 41) or "vpon" (upon) (p. 59). If one is going to do that, why not also ask the typesetter to print quotations with the long "s" that looks similar to the lower-case "f"? (Actually, I wouldn't so much object to that, though it would also come across as affected: at least the long "s" is still an "s," though of archaic form, whereas a "v" is not a "u" at all.) These are, of course, trivial items, but when I encounter them, I think, "Come on, Harvard University Press copy-editors, get with it!"

After all the foregoing griping, it may appear that (1) I am a detail-obsessed curmudgeon of uncommon degree, and (2) I disliked the book. The first point may be true, but the second is not. I look forward to seeing how others eventually build on Malcolm's scholarship.

Funk's Commentary in the Howard Law Journal
From T. Markus Funk, "Is the Second Amendment Really Such a Riddle? Tracing the Historical "Origins of an Anglo-American Right" 39 Howard Law Journal 411 (1995):

Few topics of contemporary social, moral, and political debate can provoke as much raw emotion and open hostility as the Second Amendment, particularly in relation to the topic of gun prohibition. This subject routinely causes many well-intentioned people of whatever view to give up all pretense of courtesy and reason in favor of ad hominem attacks on those with whom they disagree. Readers of history professor Joyce Lee Malcolm's To Keep and Bear Arms: The Origins of an Anglo-American Right will find these ugly by-products of the contemporary conflict refreshingly absent. Malcolm clearly keeps her distance from any broad normative judgments about the social utilities or costs of civilian firearms possession, offering instead a sober, scholarly, historical discussion of the Amendment's origins. Meticulously tracing the British history of regulations on firearms ownership from the Middle Ages on, she provides a detailed and illuminating history that includes the English Bill of Rights and, a century later, the American one. Because it is only in this historical context that the Second Amendment's meaning can be fully understood and appreciated, Malcolm's book is essential reading for anyone interested in this complex and controversial subject.

this book is good
I like how the author explained exactly what he wanted to


The Diamond Princess Saves the Day (Jewel Kingdom , No 4)
Published in Paperback by Little Apple (1997)
Authors: Jahnna N. Malcolm and Neal McPheeters
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This is a great book!
The Diamond princess is hosting the Winterfest when theres something wrong in Sparkle mountain and she gos off in a crystal sleigh with Rolf a reindeer and a fox friend named Finley to find out whats wrong in Sparkle mountain , there they meet a bunny who saids Elsinor and some goblins are trapped in the moutain . So Demetra and her fox friend go in the cave and chose a light tunnel finding its the wrong tunnel they go back and go into a dark tunnel . But they fall into the tunnel and the princess is caught by a goblin and they wake up a bear . Can The Diamond princess get out of sparkle mountain ?

The Jewel Kingdom: The Diamond Princess Saves the Day
This is a book everyone has to read. My faviorite part was whentheir was a parade in the book. This a great and adventurous book thatyou have to read.

Great book!
I loved these books! They are wonderful. I am in second grade and I love to read. This book has a princess and a fox and a bear and goblins. I want ALL of the Jewel Kingdom books.


In the Freud Archives
Published in Hardcover by Knopf (1984)
Author: Janet Malcolm
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Janet Malcolm at her best
Malcolm's masterly study of the uproar over Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson's fight with the trustees of the Freud Archives has been out of print for years, despite the famous controversy (and multiple libel suits) the book itself occasioned upon its publication. It has been deservedly been brought back into print into this nifty little edition by the NYRB Press, featuring on its cover one of Malcolm's own fascinating collage pieces. Like all of Janet Malcolm's later work, it centers around fierce intellectual debates concerning the ownership and representation of ideas, and the enormous cruelties academics and writers are willing to wage upon one another in the name of "truth." Also, like all her subsequent work, IN THE FREUD ARCHIVES centers upon the inherent problems of bias in narrative, and how aggrieved individuals often betray themselves (as in psychoanalysis) when they most want to win an audience's confidence. Although Masson sued Malcolm (ultimately unsuccessfully) for his portrayal in this study, he might even be thankful that she has immortalized him (more than his own writings ever may) as a fantastic and mercurial character.

Journalism becomes almost literature
Wow. Generally I don't bother to review titles that have already been lauded or panned, but I enjoyed this recently beyond all measure. Originally a series of articles in the New Yorker, I came upon it in book form, strikingly after being dissapointed in a book I read by Masson, one of the protagonists in this small morality tale. Jeffrey ends up being eviscerated by his own words as this small fable of misplaced trust and ego unfolds. Malcolm is the sly and small narrator that undoes him by lending an ear, and in the meantime the Freud legacy is both exposed and intelligently defended. What makes this book 5 instead of 4 stars are the slight brilliant insights of Malcolm herself that occasionally highlight the factual action. The fact that this is journalism that provides wisdom is what brings it up to literatures doorstep. Brilliant.

Too good to be called journalism
Janet Malcolm's study of the controversy over the Freud Archives is one of the finest pieces of non-fiction of the last twenty years. It deals with the appointment of Jeffrey Masson as head of the Freud Archives, his subsequent discovery and publication of much of Freud's correspondence, and his claims that Freud's abandonment of the "seduction theory" invalidates the entire discipline of psychoanalysis - and the bomb this planted beneath the reputation of Freud and the field he pioneered.

The story has been knocking about ever since. Briefly, Freud had at first believed his patients' claims that they had been sexually abused in childhood. This is the "seduction theory" of neurosis - that neuroses derive from actual physical abuse. After a while, as these claims were made by more and more patients, he (rightly or wrongly) came to believe that they couldn't all be true, and developed the theory of the Oedipus complex - that we are all more or less neurotic, as a result of unavoidable psychological events that are part of everyone's early childhood. Psychoanalysis at once became immeasurably more complex, less ambitious and more speculative.

When Jeffrey Masson, a former Sanskrit scholar who had trained as an analyst but whose instincts were those of a scholar, came across the story of how Freud had changed his mind, he immediately started to claim that this was pretty much the end of psychoanalysis. Whether it is or not is up for the reader to decide. What's most riveting about this book is Masson himself.

I don't want to say anything outright derogatory about Masson, as he has a taste for litigation - he sued Malcolm about the book, and carried the case on for 11 years until he eventually lost. But he seems like the last person you'd want to involve in such a tricky practice as the healing of people's minds. Malcolm lets him speak for himself, and he comes across in her portrayal of him as a really awful person - smug, arrogant, remarkably incurious and with almost no capacity for considering the feelings of other people. Amazingly clever, to be sure; but how they ever let him train as an analyst is beyond me (he gave it up after hardly anyone referred him any patients.) He admits to Malcolm that he has a short attention span; one of the most shocking - and to me, rather appalling - statements he makes is when he forcefully denies Malcolm's remark that nothing is intrinsically interesting, that we invest things with interest. No, Masson insists, some things are objectively interesting and some are not, and psychoanalysis is one of the things that isn't. Such is his sense of responsibility for the damage he'd done.

After a while, Masson's ruthless lack of curiosity, his urge to deny and denigrate (he once considered writing a book about what was wrong with various societies in the world, but fortunately for us he abandoned the idea) makes him appear as a kind of smooth, plausible angel of death. And yet, his charm almost won Malcolm over - until he sued her. The man is obviously very intelligent. But what a way to use your gifts.


LUCID DREAMER
Published in Hardcover by Simon & Schuster (1994)
Author: Malcolm Godwin
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