Derik Burleson's brave and terrifying book about genocide in Rwanda broke my heart.As a PCV in the seventies, I knew many of the places he loved, Lake Kivu, Virunga National Park, and the touristy visit to the gorillas who seemed bored with pounding their chests. Burleson's poems remind this reader of the pain of growing to love a country, then seeing its people destroyed in a bloodbath. Worse yet, destroying one another. One tribe played off against another, thanks to the Belgians and their colonial preference for the Tutsis' aquiline features. His use of imagery seems to draw all of nature into the violence,"the pale and carniiverous orchids," the chameleon's tongue "like a bullwhip," "the thin-featured woman/who sold bright fruit door to door,"--now gone. And everywhere men "fingering their machetes" and bloated bodies in the lakes and rivers. Burleson's use of African folktale, as in the woman who can turn herself into a hyena("Nyavirezi"), is charged with premonitions of what is to come. Most powerful of all for this reader were the Remera poems, written from an African point of view, and recounting sorrow after sorrow. Burleson draws on every poem he ever read, and every moment he spent in Africa, and maybe every experience he had as a human being to write this book and help us to understand what happened, and how it happened.

Burleson's poems keep pulling me back with thier elegance, their depth of vision and their travels through human existence. I am thankful that he has the courage to write these poems.

This is a strong book of poems. It is particularly interesting to me as a linguist. Remera's poems echo the origins of language in a fascinating way. Burlesson is on to something fundamentally human with this work. These are images that CNN never brought to us.

. . .that I've ever read -- and I've read quite a few.

Professor Jared Lobdell, the editor of "A Tolkien Compass" (see my review) has, in this volume, contributed several original critical essays on Tolkien and his creation. In emphasizing his Edwardian English background and his academic life as a philolgist, Lobdell covers important ground. But it is in his third essay "The Timeless Momement" where Lobdell demonstrates his insightfulness and creativity. It is in this essay that the Catholic Christianity of Tolkien is analyzed in light of his created world of Middle-Earth. It is one of very few essays to ever address the theological or philosophical background in Tolkien's work -- and one of the very best.

If the reader truly wishes to understand the man behind Middle-Earth, this book is a "must-read".

. . .amid all the "hyperfandom" surrounding the Professor and his work, comes a collection of essays written by Professor Jared Lobdell which are clear, coherent, well-reasoned -- and, in the opinion of this hobbit, right on target. Through the pages of this book, the REAL JRR Tolkien comes to life in a new way.

If hobbits reading this review own only one book of Tolkien criticism, this should be the one. I hope that it returns to print.

Jared Lobdell argues that Tolkien's influences are: 1) his Edwardian upbringing 2) his expertise in philology and 3) his Catholicism. He supports these contentions eloquently. I am very tempted to offer an excerpt in support, but the book is so tightly integrated, such a cohesive whole, that to excise any part of it is to do an injustice to the thought expressed. But I will quote from the backcover: "Lobell's explanations for the appeal of the Lord of the Rings are original and convincing...The reader soon discovers this is not the ordinary scholarly mongraph, but an essay, written with charm and quiet authority, in which bigger game than literary criticism is being stalked." The author of the quote is Charles A. Huttar, then a Professor of English at Hope College. Can't say it any better than that.

this book is a very good source on theoritical and mythological explanations of religious teachings of India, greece, roman, scandinavian, ezypt and christianity.

the book is a very good source of theoritical and mythological explanations of your own karma and birth cycles. This book also relates to the spiritual powers of a human with the birth times and life stars. A real good source for all the people of spiritual domain.

This is very interesting and great script on spiritual world. It's worth having it own.

In this little gem of a tome on the hazards and opportunities of Personal Finance, Schutz has done an outstanding job of penetrating the maze of investment intracacies!

Based on extensive personal experience in the Insurance Field and later as a Financial Planner, Schutz has given the experienced and the neophyte investor a "Summa" which can provide for a lifetime of sound ROI.

Though not a Contrarian, Schultz leaves the well trodden path of pure Equity and provides a broad foundation of cash-amassing Insurance, Debt Cancellation, Be-Your-Own-Banker, and Asset Allocation.

And all in an easily readable, compact, case-history supported book.

This reviewer has over 45 years of investment experience and has tried these principles. He just wishes he had access to the book at the beginning of his investment career rather than during retirement. However, the past few years of application have resulted in providing a much sounder and more profitable financial situation.

Do not miss "Financial Truths For The 21st Century", just the "Seven Secrets" are worth the modest price of admission!

Ronald P. Schutz is a 34-year veteran of the "financial trenches," and author of Financial Truths for the 21st Century - Survive the Hype & Heist With Your Wallet Intact (Smart Press, 2000). Schutz leads a new breed of financial advisors with cutting-edge and unique strategies to money management, and his book delivers a new set of rules for today's investor. Ron Schutz has helped thousands of investors achieve financial independence by teaching them how to have more financial savvy and become their own investment counselors and bankers. At the urging of many of his clients, Schutz decided to share his secrets with the rest of the world and release his lively and comprehensive book. The book is witty, entertaining, and often irreverent, and his no-nonsense advice has made him both popular and controversial. His audiences are truly enlightened by his wisdom and unconventional advice.

In Financial Truths For The 21st Century, financial advisor Ronald Schutz show how to build wealth that will not be eroded by taxes or decimated by a "down" market; play a comfortable and secure retirement; ensure genuine financial security for loved ones (even after you're gone); become independent from the high interest rates and minimal returns of bank loans and financial instruments. For the small business owner and entrepreneur, Schutz's provides invaluable advice , including a "must-read" chapter on employee stock plans. Financial Truths For The 21st Century should be required reading for anyone seeking to brave the complex and often hazard riddled road to economic security and financial planning success in today's competitive, exploitative, and occasionally deceitful marketplace.

I found "From Ashby to Andersonville" a particulary moving and interesting book. The experiences of the civil war private who wrote the original diary encompass a remarkable amount of the war, both East and West. The tale told is rich in the real human drama of that life in all its day to day trials and tribulations and occasional joys. Editor Ron Watson keeps the reader oriented by insightful forwards to each chapter establishing the context of the place and time. From it I have a much better sense of the ebb and flow of that great war. Few books do I plan to re-read, but this is one of those.

Few books have captured my interest and emotion as this one...a young man tells his personal tale of the Civil War ~ revealing his code of ethics, bravery, love of country, and the horrors of war. The editor provides an excellent backdrop with well-researched, newly-revealed historical data about the war. A MUST read!

Insightful account of one young soldier's Civil War experience. His experiences as a prisoner were riveting and heartbreaking....you believed you were alongside of him. Editor did a wonderful job of including historical context. It was terrific!

Methuselah? Faggetaboutit ...if you want the secret to longevity, read this book. Kotulak proves once again why he is worthy of the Pulitzer. The style and pace of this book not only make it one of the best scientific reads of the past decade, the language also simplifies the science without stripping away its essence. I highly recommend "The Garden of Eden Molecule".

From great writers come great insights and captivating books. Ron Kotulak has done it again with "The Garden of Eden Molecule."

At a time when new genetics books are popping up almost daily heralding the power of our genes in controlling all aspects of our lives, this Pulitzer Prize winner brings new clarity and rationality to the national dialogue how we age.

Despite the gene-of-the-day public relation blitzes reported as news in the media promising to do this or that (but never being held accountable), here is an on-target book that looks beyond the tempting (and marketable) genetic basis of aging.

There are more things about people than the sum total of their genes. Kotulak writes: ..."the more we know about how and why we age, the more we can control our fate. We have far more to say about how long we live than do our genes."

A beautifully constructed and excellently written book that I will read again. And certainly one of the best books you'll find anywhere on how people age.

Hats of to the author, and may more books follow.

In this so-called "Age of the Human Genome," we are constantly bombarded by news that genetics, not environment, is the final arbiter in determining how sick we all will end up sooner or later. Fortunately, there are a few good science writers who are helping to set the record straight in this continuing nature-nurture debate. Ronald Kotulak is one such writer, whose book "The Garden of Eden Molecule" provides a timely wake-up call to aging baby-boomers who might otherwise succumb to genetic fatalism. His clear descriptions of what goes on inside our bodies as we grow older -- and, more importantly, his compelling arguments of what lifestyle changes we need to make in order to stay healthy as we age -- make this book a must read for anyone who cares about making the most of life.

"Golf Nuts" is a book about people who share a common passion. Head Nut #0001 - Ronald Garland goes into grave detail about how he established the "Golf Nuts Society" and some of the unique characters that belong to this growing organization. This is a great book if you know someone who is obssessed with the game of golf. Its very easy to read. The sample test in the back of the book to see if you should be committed is hysterical, the glossary and world records will leave the reader in stitches because only those searching for the "secret" will understand. I loved the book so much that I joined the "Golf Nuts Society" -- #3177.

This is an excellent book. Very enjoyable. I am so glad this book came out in time to give as Christmas presents. Ron Garland and Brian Hewitt are terrific!! I recommend this book to anyone who loves golf!

the glossary is worth the price of the book. absolutely pure golf slang.

In 1877 the great robber barons of steel and rail-Vanderbilt, Fisk, Gould, and others-appeared to have consolidated their rule over land and labor in the post-Civil War period. In their quest for infinitely expanding wealth, they subjected the workers under their command to ever-increasing demands for more work and reduced their wages time and again to below starvation levels. As thousands were laid off in the economic downturn of the 1870s, protests developed among the workers, and police were mobilized to quell the disturbances.
It was not the greed and brutality of the capitalist overlords that provoked a mass rebellion. It was that they made life virtually impossible for the working people. The great strike was centered in rail and began in the summer of 1877 in response to yet another wage cut.
A group of bold rail workers in West Virginia walked off the job. With no union, no organization, and nothing but a desperate urge to reclaim their humanity, their initiative spread like wildfire to thousands of other rail workers from Baltimore to St. Louis in a rolling surge of strikes, mass mobilizations and confrontations with the armed minions of capital. Ultimately general strikes of all workers were precipitated in St. Louis, San Francisco and other cities.
The rail barons sought to put down the uprising with military force, mobilizing state militias, police and national guard troops, firing into the crowds, killing dozens. For them it was only a question of forcing the masses to do their bidding. They believed that they were the rulers, the workers were there to serve them.
This great labor battle awakened the true spirit of liberty and solidarity among the laboring masses. In their struggle against the tyranny of capital they became the one true embodiment of democracy and the only hope of progress for toiling humanity. They laid the foundation stone for the worker's movement in the U.S. It gave a huge impetus to the organization of labor unions as well as the beginnings of labor political action: the formation of a workers party.
Reading this book brings home the reality of the class struggle in the U.S. and helps us to understand how and why it developed as it did. It also helps us understand why this class struggle won't go away as long as capitalism exists. It helps us to appreciate the organized struggle of the workers as the only way forward for humanity in its quest for a truly livable planet.

1877: the naked face of capitalism in America. In the midst of a deep-going economic depression, bosses imposed massive layoffs and deep pay cuts, and workers responded. From Chicago to St. Louis to New York to Philadelphia, rail workers, iron workers, carpenters, meatpackers and others launched a wave of massive strikes and street protests. The bosses and their government mobilized all their forces against the workers: courts, the press, police, the national guard and federal troops. While the workers were eventually beaten in these battles, the lessons learned helped forge political class consciousness and lay the basis for further struggles.

Foner's book is an exciting history of these days. He quotes extensively from labor and capitalist press of the day, from speeches and declarations by workers' leaders, and from government reports and documents to give a real feel of the roots of the uprising and the conflicting interests that lay behind it. I particularly found useful the description of what different workers leaders did at the time-- from conservative trade union presidents to militant socialists. Also the challenge and experiences of native-born and immigrant workers fighting together against their common exploiters. There is a lot to learn from this book today!

While this book gives a rich detail of the day-to-day struggles in 1877, two others will help get a broader perspective on the key issues political posed: American Labor Struggles 1877-1934, by Samuel Yellen, and Revolutionary Continuity, Marxist Leadership in the U.S. 1948-1917, by Farrell Dobbs.

The great labor uprising of 1877 started when a strike by rail workers swept across the country and was joined by many thousand, including the unemployed. What this book clearly shows is how interconnected U.S. workers were-how mutually affected by economic disaster-and how willing to embark on massive and militant resistance. Are workers that different today? Are today's bosses-as they push for wage concessions and bailouts--that much different from the rail bosses of 1877? This book makes you think more seriously about the great events that could quickly develop out of today's economic downturn.

This was the only bio I could find on Linda Darnell and I must say, it was worth the money. The author's honest depiction and narrative of this actress is wonderfully written. I highly recommend this insightful biography!

I always liked Linda Darnell. My mother had told me about her when I was in my early teens, saw some of her films, and was quite taken by her. She wasn't a great actress, but she certainly wasn't a bad one, either. But when you look like that, who cares? Linda, born Monetta Eloyse Darnell in Texas, was blessed, or cursed, with a strikingly beautiful face. Pushed by her volatile, ambitious mother, Linda was signed to a contract at 20th Century Fox at the age of 15. Touted as Fox's "Glory Girl", she was featured in several films as a decorative brunette. With her lovely "Latin" looks (her grandfather actually was part Cherokee) and voluptuous figure, she adorned the screen in films such as "The Mask of Zorro" and "Blood and Sand", playing "good girls". When her box-office appeal started to wane, she was still barely over 20 years old. Her personal problems began to mount, dealing with her overbearing mother, a mounting drinking problem that began when she was married to her first husband, (who was some twenty-odd years older), and the fact that she could not bear children. Ms. Darnell's career picked up, however, when she started playing gorgeous "bad girls" in films such as "Fallen Angel", "Hangover Square", and the overblown costume epic "Forever Amber", in which she played an upwardly mobile woman of ill repute. Her best role, as the golddigger with a tender heart in Joseph Mankiewicz's "A Letter to Three Wives", came in 1949, but from then on it was pretty much downhill. Ms. Darnell's personal life became a series of unhappy marriages, exploitative relationships, a spotty career, alcoholism, and ultimately ended in a spectacularly awful way: she was horribly burned in a house fire in 1965, with 2nd and 3rd degree burns on 90% of her body,lingered for about 33 hours, and died, aged 41.
The book is a quick, albeit depressing read. Ronald Davis, also a native Texan, writes with compassion for his subject. Several interviews with her siblings, friends, and adopted daughter give a sympathetic portrayal of the "Fallen Angel". To put it in a nutshell, Ms. Darnell wasn't tough enough to handle the ups and downs of show business. Her tale isn't the first nor the last about the cruel world of showbiz, but it just seems even more depressing, when one thinks of the beauty with the face of a Madonna, going downhill at such a young age, and dying so horribly. I may add that there are eerie foreshadowings of her demise in three of her best known films. In "Hangover Square", she is strangled by Laird Cregar, who places her body on a bonfire on Guy Fawkes Day; in "Anna and the King of Siam", Linda, playing the runaway concubine Tuptim, is burned at the stake; and in "Forever Amber", she bears witness to the Great Fire of London. Creepy, isn't it?
Just a word of warning: Don't read this book if you're depressed!

One of those books you don't want to put down- sensitively written the author follows Darnell's career and personal life-highlighting how much the beauriful Darnell was liked by her contemporaries in the movie world. A must to add to any library.

This book is not sufficient for course study, but is a very good choice for Step 1 preparation. Anatomy is a fairly low yield topic on the Step 1 exam and this is a good, concise review of clinically relevant anatomy.

Anatomy is a subject that might seem endless......until you get this book. When I bought it I knew finally why was anatomy useful in the everyday clinical practice. Friendly, with LOTS of excellent pictures, key essential concepts, and extremely well organized, information just diffuses toward your brain. Also, a USMLE step 1 must have....when I was answering it, I thanked God the book had fell in my hands.

This book is perfect for USMLE review. Dr. Dudek cuts through all of the fluff (and in gross anatomy, there is a LOT of fluff!), and focuses in on commonly tested concepts. I also recommend his high-yield embryology book for board review.