God's Favorite is a novel that in part is fiction, non-fiction, and imagination. Initially I was under the impression that the author was biased; now, after reading the book, I have to admit that Mr. Wright is a fluid writer. I enjoyed the piece on Noriega and the fictional Panama setting. I also found in many sections a great deal of humor. I had to put the book down to laugh. I have read works on Panama and Noriega and found this book flowing; it was not boring, dry, or difficult to read and understand. On the contrary, the book was an enjoyable read.

For those who would like to look at Panama under fiction, this is the book. It does not highlight a detail history; it does include fictional/non-fictional parts that can very well be argued in a political science course.

I would recommend this book for leisure, escape, and for fluid reading which allows the reader to enjoy. Wright's Noriega is a complex, somewhat understood character. Afte reading several works on Noriega (non-fiction), I would highly agree with this book for humor, leisure, and for imagination. Readers should not take the whole book for fact; it is a work of fiction and imagination.

An utterly arresting blend of fact and fiction, "God's Favorite" thrusts the reader into the bloody maelstrom of Panama under Noriega. The book is incredibly accessible, even entertaining, but it never loses its intent to put you into the heart of the situation, sparing no one, revealing everything. Of course, one cannot know what a historical figure thinks, believes or desires. Even their own words are tainted by the unswerving gaze of history. Wright, however, does not let his book rest on his assumtions of thoughts and feeling. He brings a trained observers calculated analysis and the well known documented facts of the situation to frame his narrative.

This is a truly delightful experience, crisp in style, engaging in content and memorable in the final experience. Recommended.

A novel of the highest order, taking in religion, history, various world views, politics, and cultures while introducing the reader to modern times. Set in Panama in the late '80's it is a bottom's up view of the top of the hierarchy and how the way that world works from both the macro and microscopic view. The bloody view of personal and corrupted power will make the reader wince, laugh out loud, and possibly bring a tear to the eye. We find out how an ugly Mestizo can own a country and as the reader gets into Mr. Noriega's skin to see his view, we find that the writer has a good grasp on the ordinary things that bring meaning to one's life; however it is also the view of a mad man. We are given a look at the USA machinations into that region and the ultimate purposes involving new-old fashion terrorism, narco-terrorism, with a pinch of romance. Often I felt as if I were participating in the movie Casablanca. An enjoyable read from front to back. On the other hand, my wife put the book down after page 10.

This book (basically a comparison of mainstream Talmudic scholarship and mysticism, and an endorsement of the former) struck me as the kind of book I might get more out of in a few years, when I know a lot more and have read a lot more -- and maybe when I am a grownup I will reread it. But it is not a book for people just beginning to learn about Judaism (unless they happen to have a Ph.D in philosophy). The allusions (to other thinkers), the concepts, and even the vocabulary were often over my head and are probably over the head of most people who do not have an enormous background in philosophical matters. I learned something from it, but not as much as a more learned person would.

This book is one of the most ambitious works of Jewish theology written in the past few hundred years. It is in many ways a rewrite of "Nefesh HaChayim" which has never been translated into English. The Halakhic Man is a complete coherent vision of Judaism and the world.

Time Magazine called Halakhic Man 'A sweeping defense of the validity and excitement of pursuing a religiously observant life in the modern world.'.

I think the theme here is not that a religiously observant life is intrinsically exciting; it is the only way in which a rational person can find solace.

Rav Soloveitchik aptly notes that the aim of religion is about personal liberation and creativity.

His defense of Maimonides in light of attacks from Hegel, Neitzche, Kant, et al are inspiring.

The book in truth is an autobiography. From it, the genius of Rav Soloveitchik is clear.

This is book includes 337 simple reminders of how to achieve success in daily life. These reminders/habits are inspirational and insightful. Thank you for putting it all together in one book.

Wow! This book has given me so many simple techniques to help me accomplish my goals. Instead of having to read a huge book to get motivated I can pick a few ideas from this book and get started immediately. Everyone should read this book!

This little book contains numerous and succinct suggestions on how I can approach and live life--both in the daily here-and-now and the more far-reaching time frames. Its free form can take you in directions you may not expect.

I particularly like how it is practical yet philosophical and can even cause deep reflective thinking. It is also a great resource for quotations and presentations.

Mike Lawrence is one of the most intelligent authors I have ever read (and I read a lot). This is also one of his better-organized and readable books (surprisingly his first book). Reading this book will teach you how to think at the table. Counting is a skill that separates the novice from the expert, and this book goes a long way towards teaching you that vital skill. This book is among my three favorite Mike Lawrence books, the other two being "Play Bridge with Mike Lawrence", and "Play a Swiss Teams of Four With Mike Lawrence". Another vital skill taught here is deduction. A simple but very useful example: as declarer if you are missing AK of a side suit, and the opening lead is something else, then either the opening leader is missing both cards or the honors must be split, else the A or K would be the natural lead (assuming neither defender has bid).

This widely acclaimed book is a revelation into how to read subtle clues about card placement. You will guess right more often when you understand the principles in each chapter. This book is guaranteed to improve your game. 1973 Bridge Book of the Year.

This book will help you reduce your guesswork at the table by showing you how to recognize and take advantage of the many clues available from the bidding and play. Worth reading.

This book entitled "Intelligent Broadband Multimedia Networks" is volume 1 of the two volume set. The authors Prof. Syed V. Ahamed (CUNY) and Dr. Victor Lawrence (Bell Labs) have presented the topics in this book in a very easy to read manner without much mathematical treatment.

The book covers in depth about the evolution of intelligent networks with its systems design and architecture. Topics such as IN/1, IN/2 and advanced intelligent networks (AIN) are presented very well. The book also touches upon certain aspects of ISDN elements, wireless networks, knowledge processing systems, intelligent multimedia networks, educational and medical networks.

This book is recommended for graduate students in computer science, electrical and telecommunication engineering. Scientists and engineers would certainly find certain advanced topics covered in this book to be interesting.

The companion book for this book is entitled "Design and Engineering of Intelligent Communication Systems" (Vol. 2)

This is an era of Information Superhighway and emerging Global Intelligent Networks that is encompassing almost every aspect of human life. Whether we are at home, in an office, at friend's home, or in between, we want to stay connected irrespective of time and place.

Prof Syed Ahamed and Victor Lawrence have written two volumes on the topics: "Intelligent Broadband Multimedia Networks" and "Design and Engineering of Intelligent Communication Systems" illustrating the architectural designs, software and hardware requirements of these systems.

First, this is the first attempt by these authors to present the material combining data networks, computer networks, and different communication technologies with algorithmic and adaptive intelligence leading to Intelligent Broadband Multimedia Networks and Intelligent Communication Systems, and perhaps that is the solution of our ever growing desires for variety of services.

Second, the language used is bejewled, lucid, engaging, and appealing with penetrating metodologies, simplifying the complexity of the material by diagrams and flowcarts wherever necessary.

Third, the subject matter is designed specifically for the graduate students involved in research at Master or Ph.D level.

Fourth, the chapter on Knowledge Processing in Educational, Medical, and other networks is a unique and an elaborate exposition of the subject that is still unexplored.

Finally, I strongly recommend these volumes for the graguate students involved in research in order to benefit from the material as I myself did.

Prof Tasneem H Kazmi
City University of New York (CUNY)
September 25, 2001.

"Intelligent Broadband Multimedia Networks" is an excellent book about new emerging technologies and the future of data- and tele- communications. That's why it's a reference book of choice for many research scientists and network professionals at a well known R&D company like Bell Labs. And I strongly believe that it will still be for the next decade!
Prof. Syed Ahamed and Dr. Victor Lawrence put together a reference book presenting, in a systematic way, all aspects of modern communication networks, with emphasis in intelligent telecommunications networks (IN).
The book has 3 parts: - In the first part is presented the transition from classical networks to the more advanced intelligent networks. The approach of Bellcore (now Telcordia) and AT&T Labs, the 2 major players in the area of Intelligent Networks, is further investigated. Also the ITU-T standard for IN is presented, to better understand the current status and the evolution of IN.
- In the second part AT&T's Universal Intelligent Services Network and Bellcore's IN-1, IN-1+, IN-2 and AIN(Advanced Intelligent Networks) are analyzed in full detail: the architecture, functional resources, as well as supporting hardware and software. Intimate connections between IN and ISDN or wireless networks are also explored.
ITU-T's IN Conceptual Model is analyzed here in detail and a systematic presentation of Global Intelligent Networks, detailed for several country specifics, are given.
- The third part explores in many details the future evolution and applications of Intelligent Networks. The impact of IN on educational and medical environments are explored in full detail. In this third part the reader is also introduced to the very new concepts of "Knowledge Machines" and "Knowledge Processing Systems" as well as their connection with a "Multifunctional Intelligent Network". At the end the social and cultural impact of Broadband Intelligent Networks is analyzed.
The book has a very high density of useful information, introduces in all detail many new concepts in the field of communications networks, and it's intellectually challenging. Always, the systematic way of presentation makes it easy to follow complex technical concepts and their interrelation.
I clearly see this book and its companion second volume "Design and Engineering of Intelligent Communication Systems" as an excellent support book for graduate courses in communications networks as well as a main reference book for any research scientist as well as other specialists in the field of data- and tele- communications networks. Other categories of engineering professionals, eager to better understand new emerging communications technologies, could find valuable information in this book and its companion volume.
Also, philosophers can find a refined analysis about the evolving Knowledge Society, the impact of it onto the personal life, and the changes it may imply in the family structure, public sector, and corporate sector. Social workers can find in the book an authoritative voice in the social and cultural impact of future modern communications networks.

Ably edited by their son Lawrence, the instructive and inspiring Holocaust narrative of Jack and Rochelle Sutin provides ample proof of both the degradation implicit in the Shoah and the astounding strength and courage Jewish partisans demonstrated in their battle against the attempted Nazi genocide. "Jack and Rochelle" is a deceptively easy book to read; the chapters consist of blended chronological testimonies; Lawrence Sutin honorably avoids imposing his own voice on his parents, instead allowing his mother and father to describe, in their own words, their own cadences, the horrors they faced and the gritty resolve they mustered to fight back. Rarely does a subtitle so accurately depict the contents of a memoir as does their own: "A Holocaust Story of Love and Resistance."

Both Jack and Rochelle came from educated and enlightened eastern European Jewish families. As the two of them chronicle the onset of anti-Jewish depradations, they remind us of the rich texture of their pre-war lives. This dimension of humanity, of lives complicated by strained love relations, competitive urges and the deeply felt need for independence, makes the Nazi onslaught all the more unsettling and horrific.

Several themes predominate in the Sutins' braided lives. First is the omnipresence of Jew hatred, whether it be in pre or post war Poland, in the brutally repressive Soviet bureaucracy or the finely honed hatred of Nazi Germany. Indifferent neighbors, vicious anti-Jewish Russian partisans (who commit ghastly sexual offenses against women who want nothing more than to join them in battling a common enemy), and the active participants in human eradication, the Nazis, make the Sutins' world one of constant peril. Survival is never taken for granted, and Jack and Rochelle's descriptions of their physical torment, often undertated, is wrenching to read. Personal sacrifice exists on every level: physical, social and spiritual. Rochelle's first child dies within a day due to exposure when its survival imperils others; Jack is literally covered with pus-filled boils as a result of living outside the boundaries of human habitation.

Yet, neither Jack or Rochelle never complain, never give themselves away to self-pity. Instead, they are infused with the Judaic command to remember and Rochelle's mother's insistence on revenge, to take action to avenge the murder of their people. In this charged atmosphere of sanguine justice and physical erosion, amidst the rank and fetid habitat of primitive partisan surroundings, hope and love survive. Jack dreams that Rochelle will appear. She does. Despite sexual abuse and spiritual depletion, Rochelle gradually accepts and receives Jack's love. He has never stopped loving her.

"Jack and Rochelle" is above all a cry of victory. It is a cry that murder and eradication cannot conquer a people. It is a cry that memory and consecration to life will prevail over death. It is a cry that love can endure, even if it is formed in the absolute crucible of death.

A true story well told. An uplifting story about the power of love, faith, and self reliance. The unbelievable resiliance of humans to survive and keep their sanity in a world gone crazy. The book does not dwell on the horrors or even give explicit descriptions. The two main characters had a hard enough time and were not physically tortured or held prisoner. They simply hid out and lived in terror for several years until miraculously making their escape to the West. These were two lucky people who nevertheless suffered years of fear and depradation.

In recent years, some accounts of Holocaust survivors have been called into question as to their veracity. But this narrative, told alternately by Jack and Rochelle Sutin has the absolute ring of truth. The accounts of their experiences in the forests of Poland as part of the armed Jewish resistance are thrilling and heart-breaking by turn. Their survival is miraculous, considering that for more than two years they were hunted every day by Nazis, anti-Semitic Polish farmers, and even Russians by whose sides they were fighting.

Jack and Rochelle tell their story in a very straightforward manner, setting forth details which must be painful beyond telling to remember. I am filled with admiration for their ability to move forward and agree that giving life to a new generation is the best revenge for all the horrors they suffered.

Adding much to the book are an eloquent preface and afterword by the Sutins' son, Lawrence, who compiled and edited the material. His love and respect for his parents are evident with every word he writes, and he tells quite honestly how hearing these stories since early childhood has affected his and his sister's lives.

An important addition to the body of Holocaust literature.

those authors couldn't have written a finer book. This restored Klingon version is enriched by an indeed eloquent tongue. You may have read Shakespearean plays before but you cannot appreciate Shakespeare until you have read him in original Klingon. William Shakespeare had the soul of a Klingon.
.

Klingon Hamlet is an elegant, graceful, vibrant and original Klingon
version of the critically acclaimed, glorious, magnificent and classic drama. That is why it is called "Restored version of Hamlet". The Hamlet's clumsy, inadequate, awkward and misleading English version has nothing but distorted, flaccid, ponderous meanderings. Now at last, the powerful drama of the legendary and brilliant playwright can be appreciated in the eloquence and glory of the Klingon language.

Well, okay, I liked it too.

those authors couldn't have written a finer book. This restored Klingon version is enriched by an indeed eloquent tongue. That's why Klingon Hamlet is regarded as the restored version.

You have read Shakespearean plays before but you cannot appreciate Shakespeare until you have read him in original Klingon.

You'll love reading the elegant, graceful, vibrant and original Klingon version of legendary, critically acclaimed and glorious drama Hamlet instead of clumsy and awkward English version.

"Lawrence the Laughing Cookie Jar" has something for everyone, it is truly a wonderful book. My grandkids love every bit of the book and make me read it over and over to them---they are especially fond of Reggie the dog. I also found it interesting that a jar is actually a jar in Will Marks' world, not a Safeway sourball. As a grandpa and erstwhile disciplinarian, I admire Marks' style by having the cookie jar laugh hysterically when the kids attempt to take more cookies. While my Phys Ed measures were far more draconian, Marks shows that you don't need to be Colonel Jessup from "A Few Good Men" to properly discipline kids. They are far better off learning from their own mistakes...the cookie jar is a kind way of teaching an important lesson in life.

This was a great 2nd book for Marks. As a bachelor for years, Marks provided me with many simple recipes in his initial epic instructional, "No More Mac and Cheese". The gazpacho soup recipe was my favorite, so easy I could throw it together in the back of my Vanagon or in the comfort of my PE office---although the aroma never overcame the jocks in the locker room!! Every meal was always finished off with a nice couple of jars, usually the ones left over from the glandular kids who got only 0+ on the pullup bar (apologies to Otis). I look forward to more from Marks.

The kids aren't happy with the ration of one cookie each; but they face an impossible barrier to more: a laughing cookie jar which loudly chuckles when they try to get more. Josephine Taylor's whimsical drawings enhances William C. Marks' fun story of trying to get the most from a cookie jar - through creative theft.

It's one of those books your kid makes you read over and over again long after you get sick of it (after 45 reads for me, which is a record). I give it as a gift to every new parent. You'll dig it.

The only problem I had with this book was that it seemed to brush over some big ideas. Things would be stated that the author seemed to assume the reader would agree with without delving further into it. But I would still reccomend this book, because it's a great example of the many meanings that can be found in the Torah -- even in just one verse!

The title of this book, 'God was in the Place, & I, i Did not Know', may seem a bit cumbersome (and even, to some, looks like it has a typographical error. However, Rabbi Lawrence Kushner draws this title from the Torah, the book of Genesis to be precise. It is the exclamation of Jacob who, upon waking from his dream about the ladder connecting heaven and earth, makes a startling realisation about the reality of the seemingly mundane and ordinary place where he had stopped for the night.

In the prologue, Kushner develops an exegesis and hermeneutic of Genesis 28:16 more fully, and in so doing, illustrates many of the problems we regularly encounter, both in reading scripture as well as in interpreting daily life experience. He places this story in strong connection with the ordinary, even relating the angels on the ladder to common humanity:

'There is another, even more obvious interpretation. The angels did not reside in heaven at all. They lived on earth. They were ordinary human beings. And, like ordinary human beings, they shuttled back and forth between heaven and earth. The trick is to remember, after you descend, what you understood when you were high on the ladder.'

Kushner examines the way in which sages have interpreted this passage, and provides insights into history, psychology, philosophy, and scriptural study in the process. Each interpretation has had what one might call a personal conversation and experience with Jacob. In fact, each of these interpreters is portrayed as being on the ladder, rising and descending. The text is structured in this way. The interpreters are:

+Rashi
Schelomo ben Yitzhaki, Rashi
The key word for this interpretation is awareness. This is very important for making the kind of realisation that Jacob made. It is very important for us as we perceive the presence of God in our own lives.
If I had known God was here, I wouldn't have gone to sleep.

+Kotzk
Menachem Mendl of Kotzk
The key concept here is egotism. Only by stripping away the ego can one begin to understand the presence and the personality of God.
God was here because I was able to subdue my ego.

+Ludomir
Hannah Rachel Werbermacher, the Maid of Ludomir
A remarkable woman, a teacher of the Hasidim (who listened to her teaching through a half-open door, so as to preserve distance, and perhaps preserve a fiction that they were not in fact being taught by a woman), whose insight gave her access to the other side, or the many other sides, of stories being considered.
God is present, even in the midst of evil.

+Mezritch
Dov Baer, the Maggid of Mezritch
The word Maggid means 'storyteller'. Through the stories, here the key is self-reflection, to find meaning in the innermost being, to find that still, small voice that can only speak in silence and the absence of our own activity.
God was here because I stopped being aware of myself.

+Nachmani
Shmuel bar Machmani
Who was Jacob, and why should he know this? Who is God, and why should God do this? These are questions that are historical as much as theological or psychological, and it is in our history and God's history that we find meaning and identity.
I could have climbed this ladder of history.

+De Leon
Moses ben Shem Tov de Leon
A remarkable book, lost for a time, whose existence was denied even by Moses de Leon's widow, the Zohar, gives astonishing insight into the interior of God, reality, and our selves, and how to find a deep connection that is always present and never finished. Attributed to another author, Shimon bar Yohai, Kushner speculates that perhaps they shared the same soul. The completeness of the self of the universe connects through Jacob's story here.
I is the Lord your God

+Ostropol
Shimshon ben Pesach Ostropoler
Beyond the question and awareness of the self of God and the self of the universe is the self, basic and simple, complex and intricate. Rabbi Shimshon put names to the kelipot, the broken shards of creation. We are all a part of a whole, a broken piece in and of ourselves. Our awareness of this helps begin the process of reunion.
I didn't know that my name was part of God's name

Each interpreter's chapter stands on its own merits, but each is connected to the other, and to a wider body of interpretation and scholarship, by the use of side notes and references done in (what I would describe as being) a proto-talmudic structure. The Talmud has been described by some as one of the world's first hypertexts, with cross-links and chains that lead through the text -- this book does similar linking.

Rabbi Kushner concludes by linking all the stories to the reader:

'Each person has a Torah, unique to that person, his or her innermost teaching. Some seem to know their Torahs very early in life and speak and sing them in a myriad of ways. Others spend their whole lives stammering, shaping and rehearsing them. Some are long, some are short. Some are intricate and poetic, others are only a few words, and still others can only be spoken through gesture and example. But every soul has a Torah.'

The relative place of self (both as an I and as an i) in God's life and universe becomes more apparent through these stories. Human beings are important, yet who can be important in relation to God? Yet, who is not important in relation to God? May this work help you discern where God is in your life, and what you are called to be.

As you have gathered from the main review, this book focuses on the meaning of just one verse in Genesis, when Jacob awoke from the ladder dream. Usually Rabbis pick up on a verse just a couple verses back where "the Angels of God were going up and down the ladder". The focus is that they start on Earth and go to Heaven - not the other way around.

This book is great because it is like there is a dialog accross the space-time continuumn with 7 Rabbis in different locations and centuries arguing about their 7 different interpretations.

One interpretation based on the fact that there are two "I's" in the verse spelled differently in Hebrew. It is that my Godlike "I" did not know God was present because my ego "i" was in the way. Jacob's chance to experience God was diminished because the ego "i" was ragiling off its commentary. This concept is similar to Buddism.

Kushner adds an 8th interpretaion in his prolouge - which I won't spoil by going into detail. I heard Kushner talk at a Synagouge in Austin, Texas and he summarized his interpretation by finishing, "Hold up your hands before your eyes. You are looking at the hands of God."

A great book on modern Jewish mystism.

I really enjoyed this book because the author ( my uncle) made me feel like I was in Jordan during his childhood. My father was very happy whenever talking about or visiting Jordan. This book helps me understand how he felt.

I recommend this book of poems to everyone, especially the folks that grew up in the rural ares of this country. I guarentee that any one who has spent time in a small town in the thirties and forties in rural America will find many things in these poems that will bring back fond memories. These poems are so descriptive, I am sure the writer must have lived them.

Mr. Leuschen's poetry seems to capture the essence of growing up in Montana, which is certainly different than growing up anywhere else in our great country. Certainly a top rate collection from an (apparently) new poet. Highly recommended for poetry fans, or people (like me) that have always been a little in awe of the whole "Montana experience."