I am a Holocaust educator and have read literally hundreds of Holocaust books. Ben's story is one of the most remarkable I have ever read. Once you begin to read this story you can't put it down. I have been writing to Ben for 10 years now. After I read his book I was so moved by it that I sat down and wrote Ben a letter in care of the publishing company. I had the priviledge of finally meeting him this summer before embarking on a Holocaust and Hope journey to Germany,Poland and Israel. Knowing Ben has made my life richer. I would encourage anybody to read his book. Alot of my friends have read it and they,too,share my sentiments!

I might have a slightly biased view of this book, because I am one of Ben's grandsons. I remember people telling me that he started this book as a way to relate his experiences in the war to his family in particular, his grandchildren. First it was the knife story, and maybe some others. In fact, the original title for the work was "Grandpa's Stories," but was later changed by the publisher. Anyway, the pages soon multiplied and my grandfather was in the midst of an entire book which I would hear in later years brought back painful memories for him. Now, about ten years later, I see people with the book who tell me that once they've started reading it (or very often re-reading it), they couldn't stop until the last page.

A new book on fatiguing illness is off the presses, with surprisingly *little* fanfare.

I *highly* recommend this book to anyone interested in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS,) its diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment and all other diseases that have fatigue as a major symptom.

Dr. Natelson is a professor of neurosciences at University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey Medical School and director of the New Jersey Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Center. He is also a principle investigator of one of two federally funded CFS Cooperative Research Centers, along with being the medical director of the Gulf War Research Center of the Veterans Administration Medical Center in East Orange, New Jersey.

Aside from his excellent medical credentials, Dr. Natelson's presentation of what is known and not known about fatiguing illness in general and CFS in particular comes across loud and clear as ONE WHO KNOWS. This man *understands* He CARES.

In the early chapters, he does an excellent job of examining all the definitions, various terminology, and strengths and weaknesses of various research approaches.

Dr. Natelson looks at fatigue, weariness, neurasthenia, functional illness, and other fatiguing illnesses or reasons for fatigue that must be ruled out before the diagnosis of CFS is conferred. He does this in a non-jargonistic, careful, patient and easy-to-read manner. The chapters and topics are logically arranged and flow easily, and most importantly, he is not judgmental about any of the causes of fatigue.

He addresses those who have been exhausted all their lives, saying that this represents one extreme, just as the over-energetic represent another.

Dr. Natelson does an excellent job in discussing the medical causes of fatigue. He looks at chronic infection in general, then specifically as in AIDS, Lyme disease (fully recognizing the difficulties with lab tests and proper diagnosis in this disease), and tuberculosis. He looks at sleep disorders, again progressing from gen! eral to sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome.

He has quite a good outline on MS can be diagnosed, and the similar but distinctly different diagnosis of myasthenia gravis.

For MS, he says: "How does a physician make the diagnosis of MS in a patient who has not had repeated neurolgical problems separated from one another by periods of normalcy?" a frequent question. He goes on to state that the MRI becomes a diagnostic tool -- if the lesions are specific, in the "right" places and in the "right" pattern, then that "strongly suggests" MS.

But, he goes on to explicate the MRI abnormalities seen in CFS patients: Of 52 patients he studied, nine had the "tiny abnormalities" (commonly called UBOs) that were not specific enough to diagnose MS. Some time later he got in touch with 8; of those 8, three of them had doctors who had dropped the CFS diagnosis, but only two had a pattern of symptoms that pointed to MS. He postulates that patients with severe and chronic fatigue who have nonspecific MRI abnormalities may be in a different class, and may have a mild form of MS.

Of particular help, Dr. Natelson looks at the various terms and research, explaining "splitters" and "lumpers" and how these various categories have affected research. He even talks about the selection of normal controls and some of the problems.

He has several very good chapters on practical things to do, including one on understanding the doctor. I know, I know, some of us really bristle at the idea of our having to take time to understand somebody we are paying a hefty sum of money to help us!! But, this chapter gives insights into how we can better choose a doctor who WILL help, and also how to communicate more effectively with the ones who DO help. He pulls no punches with regard to how the training process, particularly in the past several years with the huge technological and information explosions in medical science, has been less than perfect! in producing the old-fashioned "physician" -- the guy or gal who holds your hand and leads you through the complexities of being sick EVEN IF he or she cannot cure you.

Dr. Natelson looks thoroughly at chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), what it is and what it isn't, and the role of depression before or after the fact or not at all.

He encourages support groups, coaches, experimentation. He is quite aware of all the limitations presently in the care and treatment of CFS, but does offer concrete suggestions about sleep, stress and anxiety reduction, exercise (moving rather than staying in bed kind), and why the various drugs work or don't work.

Dr. Natelson mentions looking into alternative treatment and medications, with some frank discussion about the benefits and pitfalls. His guiding principle seems to be six weeks -- if *whatever* it is you are taking or doing does not show obvious improvement or benefit in six weeks, then stop. He also warns about the many false promises accompanying many of the alternative treatments and the psychological and emotional toll that takes.

In all of his treatment talk, alternative or "standard" he mentions costs and cost-benefit analysis as one of the major determining factors.

All in all, this is a no-hype, honest look at all sides of the issues surrounding CFS, with practical tips based on his experience in treating and supporting the most severely ill patients.

I can't say I found the latest research to be very encouraging, but it helps to know where we stand. I've been ill with CFS for 2 years and a patient of Dr. Natelson for a year. The book accurately represents his approach and attitude toward his patients. I particularly like how he clearly differentiates between CFS, depression, and other fatiguing illnesses. It's very heartening (and easier to get well) when a doctor tells you that you really are sick and no, it's not all in your head.

This book is very similar to Dubins(EKG's). It makes the reader an active participant in the reading. The book is do-able. It has lots of examples and I was able to get through it in a less than a week. I am much more comfortable reading chest x-rays after reading this book. I only wish there were more books like this in radiology.

ESTE LIBRO SE UTILIZA AMPLIAMENTE EN LA FACULTAD DE MEDICINA DE GOMEZ PALACIO, DURANGO. DADA SU GRAN CALIDAD DIDACTICA PARA LOS ESTUDIANTES DEL ARTE DE LA RADIOLOGIA DEL TORAX, MIS MAESTROS Y YO LO CONSIDERAMOS COMO ARMA BASICA EN NUESTRO APRENDIZAJE, ESTE LIBRO ES CLARO EN SU TOTALIDAD Y SE LE HA PUESTO POR LA PRUEBA PRINCIPAL EN LOS TEXTOS DE MEDICINA, LA DEL TIEMPO.

Very well-written and easy to understand. I read this book as an assignment for my 11th grade Environmental Science class. It opened my eyes. This book has made me consider making environmental studies part of my career. Thank you, Mr. Kline.

This guy Kline is a genius. I never thought I'd actually be interested in a book about the US environmental movement but this blew me away. And I'm not just kissing up to this guy because he's my teacher. Oops, didn't mean to say that. Sorry Kline.

The self publishing world nets many surprises and delights for readers who crave something more than just business as usual. Benjamin E. Ruark provides us with a truly entertaining first novel that is a bit off of the beaten path.

Saigher McGrail is large and gentle. He is a Chicago Renaissance man in more ways than one. He lost his wife, Katrina, in a plane crash that should have also taken him. But he was sent back. He gives an interesting description of his "near-death" experience in the hospital on the night of the crash:

"Kat had also given up possession of her body. I instantly knew it. I passed through a nurse attending to Kat. Saw the nametag on the nurse's gown, Emily. She shuddered and screamed when I went inside her. I saw her leg go of the defibrillator's paddles she held for the doctor who wanted to restart Kat's stilled heart. The surgeon masks on the faces circling Kat were all moving at once. But their voices were of the physical world, where the only thing of interest to me was Kat's lifeless body. Kat's spirit was gone. Waiting for me at the chapel."

Saigher abandon's his prior calling as a clinical psychologist to start his own business, RecoveryTravel.com as a guide for people who's lives have been derailed by trauma. His client, for this tale's purposes, is Dr. Leslie Pollitte, Director of a joint university and hospital sponsored Xenotransplantation Research Program run by Minnesota University and the IGH (Inver Grove Heights) Medical Center. Her problem is that she knows there is something wrong with the research, but doesn't have the courage to track the problem herself.

Saigher, and his personal guardian angel he calls First Clue fly into danger to uncover a trail of deceit and mishandling of genetic material that is affecting the population. It is the old tale of science being compromised by financial gain. Not only does Mr. Ruark disseminate details of the coverup in an entertaining and understandable arena, he makes us laugh with Saigher's nonconformist speech, ideas and mannerisms. First Clue is a enjoyable ride, and Saigher is a hero who confuses, tantalizes, and makes us laugh.

Shelley Glodowski, Reviewer

First Clue blends spirituality, new age mysticism and a science fiction detective story as it tells of Saigher, returned from death with a special power on his side which enables him to investigate episodes of contamination which may be linked to a single source. As he draws closer to the truth, only his special powers may save him in the hunt for a dangerous company.

FROM DISTANT DAYS : Myths, Tales, and Poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia. Translated by Benjamin R. Foster. 438 pp. Bethseda, Maryland : CDL Press, 1995. ISBN 1-883053-09-9 (pbk.)

I currently have three anthologies of Sumerian-Akkadian literature on my shelves: Stephanie Dalley's 'Myths from Mesopotamia' (1989), Thorkild Jacobsen's 'The Harps That Once' (1987), and the present book. All three are by specialists and are designed for the general reader; all, within the limits of their shared conventional viewpoint, are excellent; and anyone with a serious interest in this remote and fascinating literature will want to have all three.

Of the three, Dalley's is the most 'technical' translation, in the sense that it has far more extensive footnotes, and that it wisely prefers to retain original terms such as "Kurnugi" (page 155), instead of offering essentially misleading equivalents such as "Netherworld" (Foster, page 78) or "Hades" (Jacobsen, page 207 ff). Her translations also seem to me to be the most vigorous, but that's just a personal feeling, and all three of these tranlations are wonderfully readable.

Foster tells us that the present book is "a selection, rearrangement, and abridgement of 'Before the Muses, An Anthology of Akkadian Literature' (Bethseda, MD : CDL Press, 1993)" (page vii). His substantial anthology is organized as follows : 1. Gods and Their Deeds; 2. Kings and Their Deeds; 3. Divine Speech; 4. Hymns and Prayers; 5. Sorrow and Suffering; 6. Love and Sex; 7. Stories and Humor; 8. Wisdom; 9. Magic Spells.

As is the case with the Dalley and Jacobsen anthologies, all texts have been provided with their own brief introductions, and all gaps and losses of text in the original tablets have been indicated in the translations, though Foster's texts are much more lightly annotated. His book opens with a short 8-page Introduction, and is rounded out with a Glossary of Proper Names, but lacks both a Bibliography and an Index.

The book has clearly been designed as a reader's edition, with minimal impedimenta in the way of notes and so on that might interfere with the reader's enjoyment of the texts. Foster tells us that those who want to learn more about these texts, or to read further in Akkadian Literature, should consult his much fuller 2-volume work, 'Before the Muses.'

The book is well-printed on excellent paper in a large clear font that might have been a bit heavier, is bound in glossy wrappers, and has one of those abominable glued spines that crack when opened. I wonder what happened to stitching?

Here, as a brief example of Foster's style, are the opening lines of his 'When Ishtar [i.e., Inanna] Went to the Netherworld,' with my obliques added to indicate line breaks :

"To the netherworld, land of n[o return], / Ishtar, daughter of Sin, [set] her mind. / Indeed, the daughter of Sin did set her mind / To the gloomy house, seat of the ne[therworld], / To the house which none leaves who enters, / To the road whose journey has no return, / To the house whose entrants are bereft of light..." (page 78).

Those with access to the Dalley and Jacobsen will find it interesting to compare Foster's version with theirs. His rhythms seem a little more stately and relaxed, a little less vigorous, and he seems less sparing of words. But, as I've indicated, all three books, though differing in flavor, are intensely readable, and we should be grateful to Professors Dalley, Jacobsen, and Foster, for the enormous labors which must have gone into them.

What I said in my review of Jacobsen applies equally here. The limits of Foster's book are the limits of the official point-of-view. Within these limits his book becomes a labor of love, a wonderfully readable literary treatment of some of the world's most ancient, fascinating and beautiful literature by a noted authority, and one that can be strongly recommended to all sensitive readers.

Readers, however, shouldn't take Foster as gospel but as something vastly more interesting, since what Ishtar/Inanna may well have been visiting was not the "Netherworld" but the mines of Africa. But to understand this you'll have to read linguist and scholar Zechariah Sitchin's 'The 12th Planet.' Only he provides a framework in which all becomes intelligible.

This has just about everything, although, as the author notes in his preface, this is an abridgment of an earlier work, Before the Muses: Anthology of Akkadian Literature. The selections are arranged by type, beginning with myths and epics--the Enuma Elish and a composite Akkadian flood story--and working its way through deeds of kings, hymns, prayers, proverbs, magic spells, elegies and celebrations. There is also some satire--a land deed drawn up for birds and a curse against a bleating goat.

Foster provides an introduction to each piece, and to sections of the longer pieces. There are gaps in most narratives, and Foster notes them. He also provides footnotes explaining the more obscure points and allusions, as well as some issues with translations. At points, it is less than a leisurely read, but Foster seems determined to present the material in plain but telling language.

I have quoted often from the book and return to it frequently. One piece, an elegy for a woman who died in childbirth, has always moved me. It is told from the point of view of the dead woman. After remembering a happy life with her husband, she says that the day she went into labor, her face "grew overcast." Despite her pleas and the pleas of her husband to Belet-illi, the goddess of childbirth, "shrouded her face" She concludes:

[All... ] those days I was with my husband,

While I lived with him who was my lover,

Death was creeping stealthily into my bedroom,

It forced my from my house,

It cut me off from my lover,

It set my foot toward the land from which I shall not return.

This is a great introductory microbiology textbook that also serves as a good reference book. Microbiology is not my own field of study, but I developed a personal interest in learning something about bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Microbiology could be a very dry subject, but Dr. Alcamo makes learning about microorganisms very interesting and entertaining. I have found myself, on several occasions, looking something up quickly in the book, only to find myself still there reading on other stuff an hour or two later! (Wish I could say the same thing about all those textbooks I used to get my degree...)

Having reviewed many microbiology text in my continuing study in this area I found the book to be a excelent combination of the following; accessible concepts clearly explained, interesting facts and folklore, sufficient information without over exploring the more advanced concepts or missing the important basics. This book read like a novel for me. I would encourage anyone with an interest or any instructor of microbiology to give this text serious consideration

This book cuts to the things that matter and show you how they did it! It's a must have if you love the Gee Bee.

The construction and flying performance of a near-exact replica of a 1932 Gee Bee R-2 -- one of the most loved and loathed of the Golden Age air racers. This book debunks the myths and reveals the facts surrounding the Granville Brothers stubby little racer.

The first half of this book has some humorous interactions between Diego and his sister which draw in and entertain children. The second half of the book draws in adults, causing them to feel both the sadness of missing a far-off relative and the joy of reuniting with them. Without ever saying "I love you," both Diego and his grandfather teach us in a few short words that love between family members is what really matters, and can transcend all barriers. When Little Diego finally gets to see Papa Diego, it is the best day of his life.

Even though it is long for a picture book, A Gift From Papa Diego can be read aloud by an adult in as little as 20 minutes. If your story time is shorter than that, breaking it into segments is easy. There are several logical stopping places that provide suspense for the next reading session. A wonderful story and excellent bilingual text in side-by-side format!

The book tells the story of a young boy living in El Paso,Tx who misses his beloved grandfather who lives across the border in Chihuahua,Mexico. This book touches the heart as few others do. It is both touching and funny. My students loved its message that the best gifts are those from the heart. It was great to have a story set in their own hometown! The illustrator's use of clay really awed my students and encouraged them to try it instead of drawing. They thought the 3-dimensional aspects brought the characters to life!

This Book has giving me the courage to keep going for we also have been hit with many driffrent deaths in are family My mom with cancer my little Brother is still Hanging on when he was born the Doctor said that he will not live but for a few months but he fooled them then they said he would never beable to feed him self .. but he did ... then they said that he would never learn to walk .. but he did.. Reading Chris Oyler story of Ben has giving me faith to keep hanging on watching the TV movie has also giving me the faith to know that when his time does come I will be there to hold his hand so he may cross to the other land .. I felt as if I was part of Chris Oyler family an still do they had the faith that most of us only wish we had but if you read another book this one should be it if you can get your hands on this Book please read it for you never know when your faith will be tested .. I keep this Book I keep the movie right upon my shelf an I watch it many times when I need a lift up in my faith learning about Ben an his family has made me say hey when I die I will meet Ben in Heaven I'm sure he will meet me after all I still talk to him in spirit.

This was a wonderful, vivid and moving story. It moved me to tears. It's one of the best books I have ever read.