This is a great book to refer to when you want to explain to the public in lamens terms or if you are a beginner this is the book for you. There are PLENTY of color diagrams to folow along with as well a detailed explanations...

A simply wonderful book to better understand (almost) all there is to know about weather. Large, clear graphics help illustrate some of the more difficult topics, occasional little weather tid bits thrown in for fun, and easy-to-read style makes this book a must have for anyone wanting to learn more about our atmosphere. I've even used this book to teach a "Weather for Non-Science Majors" college course.

A very exceptional book with regards to an introduction to weather and meteorology. Three dimensional drawings and plain language make understanding weather systems much more understandable. A great aid for weather chasers and pilots who want to understand more about the weather ;)

Conversations with Neil's Brain By Calvin & Ojemann.

Reviewed by Dr. Charles Finlay

This is a trip through the brain, "Neil's Brain," Traveling through dendrites, axioms, and the web of the neuro-cortex into a better comprehension of what the brain does. Deep into the amygdala across to the hippocampus and onto the frontal lobe, all in a well mapped adventure to a better perception how our brains work. Neil, who's brain we examine, is a combination of treatments and discoveries about the brain rolled into one person. This is a well-written story about a "subject" with a dilemma that can be remedied by the use of brain surgery. As we travel the neuro-cortex of "Neil's Brain" the mystery of how the brain works is simplified into an understanding of the inner machinery of the living brain. If you are interested in the how and why the brain does what it does this is a good place to start. Conversations with Neil's Brain is an adventure and a "text" book. It is fun to read and overflows with information on the parts and process of the brain.

This is a great book. Complex technical concepts are put across in a readable and entertaining way, yet it avoids being too superficial, or too "matey" in its style. As a cognitive psychology student it has helped me to understand the physical foundations of psychological phenomena, and had added depth to the psychological treatment of thought and language that I have been studying. But as well as this, it is an excellent read, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in how our brains work.

I thought the book would address more than the South Texas Area. Rather misleading title- It is difficult to find information on roses that do well in zones 6-9.Too many pages devoted to flower arranging and potpourri making.

The good news is that this book identifies antique roses that are not seen that often and has some very good pictures of them. There is also some interesting discussion about how some of these roses were found and identified by hobbyists. The bad news is that I was expecting a lot more information on husbandry. For example, there are only two pages in the book dedicated to growing antique roses in containers, but there are no less than 52 pages (about half the narrative of the book, discounting the rose list in the back) dedicated to indoor flower arrangements with roses, drying and preserving roses in displays, etc., which has absolutely no interest to me. I'd recommend this book as a supplemental reference on antiques, relying on other sources for care information.

As a horticulturist and landscape designer, I am asked to do seminars on antique and old garden roses. I always recommend this book as an additional source of information. It gives a lot of good information on propagation, care, and recommended varieties. Especially valuable is his list of roses in the back of the book with suggested landscape uses. This book won't disappoint you.

This is a good play, but it does not match Shakespeare's other history plays. In my opinion too much of the play revolves around a doting mother who wants to see her underage son on the throne even though he is very incapable of ruling. Furthermore, any intelligent observer can see that the King of France only wants Arthur on the crown because a child would be a lot easier to manipulate than the shrewd King John. Remember, John WAS NOT a usurper. Richard the Lionhearted named John as the heir to the crown! On the positive side, Richard I's illegitimate son is a powerful and convincing character. John is an interesting 3 dimensional character. At times he comes off as harsh and cruel. But he also shows himself at times to be to be a strong and competent king. And at times we can feel sorry for him. Shakespeare also manages to squeeze some comical touches in. I feel that to appreciate this play as much as possible, you must realize that Richard I named John the heir to the crown. I also feel you must understand that John did prove himself to be a competent king. (Unlike his unfairly blackened reputation in "Robin Hood.")

the Oxford Shakespeare has been touted as 'a new conception' of Shakespeare, but is in fact merely an update of the cumbersome old Arden editions. Like these, 'King John' begins with a 100-page introduction, divided into 'Dates and Sources' (full of what even the editor admits is 'tedious' nit-picking of documentary evidence); 'The Text' (the usual patronising conjecture about misprints in the Folio edition and illiterate copyists); 'A Critical Introduction', giving a conventional, but illuminating guide to the drama, its status as a political play dealing with the thorny problem of royal succession, the contemporary legal ambiguities surrounding inheritance, the patterning of characters, the use of language (by characters as political manoeuvring, by Shakespeare to subvert them); and an account of 'King John' 'In the Theatre', its former popularity in the 18th and 19th century as a spectacular pageant, the play distorted for patriotic purposes, and its subsequent decline, presumably for the same reasons. The text itself is full of stumbling, often unhelpful endnotes - what students surely want are explanations of difficult words and figures, not a history of scholarly pedantry. The edition concludes with textual appendices.
The play itself, as with most of Shakespeare's histories, is verbose, static and often dull. Too many scenes feature characters standing in a rigid tableau debating, with infinite hair-cavilling, issues such as the legitimacy to rule, the conjunction between the monarch's person and the country he rules; the finer points of loyalty. Most of the action takes place off stage, and the two reasons we remember King John (Robin Hood and the Magna Carta) don't feature at all. This doesn't usually matter in Shakespeare, the movement and interest arising from the development of the figurative language; but too often in 'King John', this is more bound up with sterile ideas of politics and history, than actual human truths. Characterisation and motivation are minimal; the conflations of history results in a choppy narrative. There are some startling moments, such as the description of a potential blood wedding, or the account of England's populace 'strangely fantasied/Possessed with rumours, full of idle dreams/Not knowing what they fear, but full of fear'. The decline of the king himself, from self-confident warrior to hallucinating madman, anticipates 'King Lear', while the scene where John's henchman sets out to brand the eyes of the pubescent Pretender, is is full of awful tension.
P.S. Maybe I'm missing something, but could someone tell me why this page on 'King John' has three reviews of 'Timon of Athens'? Is somebody having a laugh?

Many people feel that this play of Shakespeare's is either unfinished or a poor effort. But I do not think this is accurate or fair. The reality is that many people can never find a middle ground. It is actually (in my opinion) quite common for people to only be able to see things from one extreme or the other. Despite Apemantus' cynical nature, there is no denying that whatever his faults are, HE DOES HAVE RIGHT ON HIS SIDE when he tells Timon: "The middle of humanity thou never knewest,/ but the extremity of both ends...." (4.3.342-343). Critics also tend to think Apemantus is unlikable, but are we missing a crucial point? I can not help but think Shakespeare is commenting on the fact that more people DON'T have a concept of reality. Apemantus refuses to join in the delight when Timon thinks highly of his false friends. Apemantus is aware of reality and no one wants to hear it. In my opinion Timon and Apemantus are VERY TRUE to life. In addition, the roll of Flavius is very touching. He can not dessert his master even when he knows (or thinks) Timon has nothing. Finally, I can not over estimate the mastery of Shakespeare when first Timon has money, he can not do enough for his so called friends and when he has nothing they dessert him. When Timon through fate gains a second fortune, he does not turn back into what he was, but rather he uses his 2nd fortune to destroy Athens. It is interesting that Shakespeare derived this play on the legend of 'Timon the Manhater,' and decides to take it a step further and show how he got there. And how much more realistic could Shakespeare have made this than by first showing Timon as a 'manlover?' Many people feel Timon should have somehow found the middle of humanity, but if he had, that would have defeated the whole purpose of this excellent play.

This review applies to the 6th edition, which I bought as required reading for my undergraduate Physiological Psychology course. Now, in graduate school, I often refer to this text. The CD-ROM that came with the book has been invaluable as a "refresher" in basic neuroanatomy. The book is written in an easy-to-understand manner. I give it four stars instead of five only because I wish that the authors went into more detail about certain key topics, such as neurotransmitters and brain structures.

Being forced to read a textbook at school is one thing, but being asked to read about the brain and its cognitive functions is other. For any one fascinated with the brain, this physiological rollercoaster into the mind is very intense and very in depth. ( At times it may be hard to follow because of the amount of concentration needed to go along with its terminologies). Not recommended as a reference book. It is definately more of a textbook for any medical-school-oriented individual>>>

I am an undergraduate neuroscience major at Univeristy of Massachustts, Amherst, and I had the author of this book , Dr Neil Carlson, as my professor for both the undergrad and grad level of this course. I am now a TA for the course, so I know the book pretty well. It is written in exactly the same style as he lectures. This probably because the book was originally developed from notes he used to hand out, which you can tell when reading the book. He has little personal comments inserted in paragraphs; he writes in the first person; he has strange analogies; he sometimes jumps from subject to subject; but overall, the book is quite good. The best things about the book are the diagrams and the cd. They very clearly illustrate exactly what he's discussing, and make the subject at hand easier for students to understand. As for the breadth of the material covered, it seems to be quite wide. He starts off with the basics, like neuron structure and brain anatomy, but then quickly moves on from there to sleep mechanisms, eating behavior, learning and memory, etc. The concentration of the book is on the effects of hormones on the brain and our behaviors resulting from those effects. I would recommend taking some introductory biology courses before trying to tackle the book; my psych major friend who hasn't had a tougher time with the class. Overall though, the book is not that hard to understand. I've learned a lot from it and not been bored while doing it. It's one of the most popular textbooks for the physiology of behavior out there. My book is dogearred from so much use, and though I have used it for 3 semesters, I still feel like I can glean more information from it!

this is a comedy only in the sense that the play ends well - ie, noone dies, most everyone is happy. else, there's little humor in this comedy, save for the knave, lucio. like others here have pointed out, this is actually a pretty serious play that takes a pretty hard look at human weakness, particularly lust. there are some fine, impassioned speeches by claudio and his sister, who pleads for his life. worth a read. but don't expect any laughs.

One of Shakespeare's lesser read and lesser performed plays, Measure for Measure profoundly explores the themes of justice and mercy. This exploration compensates for the defects of the play: the unbelievable resolution, the Duke's refusal to interfere early on (which causes pain to the characters), the inconsistency in the application of morality (Isabella considers it wrong for the betrothed Claudio and Juliet to have sex but justifies--and even helps to arrange--it between Angelo and Mariana), and the unexpected suddenness of the Duke's proposal to Isabella. The play seriously weighs the concerns of justice and mercy, and although it ultimately favors mercy, it recognizes the complexity of the issue. How can one practice mercy and yet restrain vice? How can one "hate the sin" yet "love the sinner?" Mercy seems to be the necessary choice over justice because man is too fallen to bear the brunt of justice. "Judge not lest ye be judged. For with what measure you mete," said Christ, "it shall be measured unto you." If you hold a high standard for others (as does Angelo for Claudio) and yet fall short of it yourself, you will be judged by the same standard. Since we seem destined to fall short of righteousness, it is best to practice forgiveness, so that we too may be judged lightly. And yet there is a concern that such practice of forgiveness will lead to a laxity that permits vice to flourish (which is the reason the Duke leaves Angelo in charge in the first place). Though mercy and forgiveness are favored, the arguments in favor of justice are not simply dismissed.

Quote: "Condemn the fault, and not the actor of it?
Why, every fault's condemned ere it be done.
Mine were the very cipher of a function,
To fine the faults whose fine stands in record,
And let go by the actor." (II.ii.38-42)

Measure for Measure is seldom read, and not often performed in the United States. Why? Although many of Shakespeare's plays deal bluntly with sexual issues, Measure for Measure does so in an unusually ugly and disgusting way for Shakespeare. This play is probably best suited for adults, as a result.

I see Measure for Measure as closest to The Merchant of Venice in its themes. Of the two plays, I prefer Measure for Measure for its unremitting look at the arbitrariness of laws, public hypocrisy and private venality, support for virtue, and encouragement of tempering public justice with common sense and mercy.

The play opens with Duke Vincentio turning over his authority to his deputy, Angelo. But while the duke says he is leaving for Poland, he in fact remains in Vienna posing as a friar. Angelo begins meting out justice according to the letter of the law. His first act is to condemn Claudio to death for impregnating Juliet. The two are willing to marry, but Angelo is not interested in finding a solution. In despair, Claudio gets word to his sister, the beautiful Isabella, that he is to be executed and prays that she will beg for mercy. Despite knowing that Isabella is a virgin novice who is about to take her vows, Angelo cruelly offers to release Claudio of Isabella will make herself sexually available to Angelo. The Duke works his influence behind the scenes to help create justice.

Although this play is a "comedy" in Shakespearean terms, the tension throughout is much more like a tragedy. In fact, there are powerful scenes where Shakespeare draws on foolish servants of the law to make his points clear. These serve a similar role of lessening the darkness to that of the gravediggers in Hamlet.

One of the things I like best about Measure for Measure is that the resolution is kept hidden better than in most of the comedies. As a result, the heavy and rising tension is only relieved right at the end. The relief you will feel at the end of act five will be very great, if you are like me.

After you read this play, I suggest that you compare Isabella and Portia. Why did Shakespeare choose two such strong women to be placed at the center of establishing justice? Could it have anything to do with wanting to establish the rightness of the heart? If you think so, reflect that both Isabella and Portia are tough in demanding that what is right be done. After you finish thinking about those two characters, you may also enjoy comparing King Lear and Claudio. What was their fault? What was their salvation? Why? What point is Shakespeare making? Finally, think about Angelo. Is he the norm or the exception in society? What makes someone act like Angelo does here? What is a person naturally going to do in his situation?

Look for fairness in all that you say and do!

Readers should note that this site does not distinguish between the various editions of Shakespeare, so the reviews you read may be for audiotapes, modern translations, etc. I am reviewing the Kenneth Branaugh BBC Radio recording of Hamlet. It is adequate, which I consider high praise for this challenging play. Like Branaugh's movie a few years later, it includes the entire text of the play, which is a nice way to remind yourself of some issues you may have forgotten.

The performances are pretty good, and include Branaugh (of course) as Hamlet and Derek Jacobi as Claudius, giving us a hint of the performances they would later give in the movie. No one's performance really blew me away, although Jacobi was excellent.

Ultimately, the play loses quite a bit when transferred to audio only. There's a lot to be conveyed with stage placement, physican action, expression, etc. Somehow, listening to the play limited my imagination on those issues, preventing my from using my "mind's eye" to the fullest.

Hamlet is considered, by many scholars, the pinnacle of Shakespeare's dramas. If you haven't read it yet this this Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism edition would be a great place to begin.

The text notes that are included with the play are very helpful to understand some of the more difficult language nuances that are inevitable with any Shakespeare. The structure is well laid out and conclusive. It complements the complexity of Hamlet very well.

Of course Hamlet is one of the great paradoxes and mysteries every written. The search of finding yourself and what it is that fuels the human spirit. Hamlet can be a very confusing play because of the depth of substance. However, the critical essays that suppliment the reading make it very accessable.

Each of the critical essays are of different schools of literary criticism: Feminist Criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, post-structuralist (deconstuctionist) criticism, Marxist critism, and finally a New Historicist criticism. Before each critism there is clearly written introduction to explain the motives and histories of that type of criticism.

This edition of Hamlet will not only introduce the reader to more Shakespeare, but also explain the play and help to familiarize the reader with literary criticism too. It is a beautiful volume that cannot be more recommended if you are wanting to buy a copy Hamlet.

Hamlet is, by far, the most complex of Shakespeare's many plays. Many of the themes covered are love vs hate, action vs non-action, revenge, and jealousy. Hamlet discovers that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" when he encounters the ghost of his father, the King, who has recently been killed in battle. From here, Hamlet goes on a search for the discovery of what happened to his father. However, Hamlet not only uncovers secrets of the past, but also the depths of his own being.

The Folger Edition of Hamlet is a great edition to buy, especially for those who are studying this play in high school or college, because it is relatively cheap in price and is very "reader-friendly" with side notes and footnotes that accompany each page of each scene. So, even if you aren't a Shakespeare lover or if Shakespeare is just a little intimidating (we all know how this feels), this version at least allows you to get the gist of what is going on. Also, there are summaries of each scene within each act, to let you know in layman's terms what is taking place. I highly recommend this edition.

This book is, without a doubt, the best common-sense book I have yet read on investing in common stocks (and I have read MANY). Although I don't feel O'Neil tries to hype his newspaper (Investors Business Daily) in the book, he does mention it a lot. The reason I say this is because so many other stock market books are really just a bunch of hype to get you to subscribe to investment services, attend seminars, ect. This book is none of that. It is straightforward, common sense ideas stated in terms that can be understood. However, I do feel perfectly comfortable reccomending IBD, I don't think any other financial publication comes close to IBD in quality (even the venerable WSJ). Do yourself a service, buy and read this book and subscribe to IBD. It is money WELL spent !

Bill O'Neil lays out a very objective, acurate and evidence-based method to choosing stocks. He explains 7 key aspects of a stock that you should check off before you should think about buying. He then explains how paramount it is to know the market direction because 3 out of 4 stocks will follow that trend. I'm also baffled with the reviews about people losing money with this book. It's clear they didn't read it to begin with as he explains in clear, everyday english when to cut your losses. He reminds us of the most common mistakes investors make as well. I started picking stocks back in November and 3/4 of them have double digit % gains while the market has tanked. Here's to you Bill O'Neil!

How to Make Money in Stocks? If you can make it through this book, you're half way there. Not written for beginners, Bill's book tells you in detail- what, when, and how to select a winner. This would be a great beginner's book if used in conjunction with Barron's Financial Hand Book or Dictionary of Financial Terms- just to fill in some basics..

The selection method detailed in this book is called CANSLIM. The information, and CANSLIM method, is based on years of research and number crunching with main frame computers some years ago. O'Neil and his associates profiled 100s of already successful companies to determine what characteristics made a company's stock rise BEFORE it was a winner. His findings, and the CANSLIM selection method, are explained in great detail.

William O'Neil is also the CEO and Editor of the Investors Business Daily. His CANSLIM method of stock selection can best be executed using his IBD Newspaper. Surprise! Bound inside, there is a coupon for 10 free issues.

"How To Make Money In Stocks" is not the easiest book to understand for the beginner. It's information though will help narrow down 1000s of stocks to just one or two. I use it as a reference book and refer to it often. Take some notes on the inside cover- your going to need them.

An excellent buy, this book is destined to be a classic. As William himself says of one of his chapters: "one of the most valuable chapters in this book.... should be worth several hundred times what you paid for [it]. I agree.

Of all of Shakespeare's plays that I have read, this is the most enjoyable. The characters are real and engaging - the sweetly stupid Bianca and her hoard of suitors, Baptista, who is more interested in selling his daughters to rich husbands than making them happy, the sly and masterful Petruchio, and most of all, Katherine, the Shrew. The play is full of action, comedy, and enough mistaken and hidden identities to keep the reader happily confused.

Katherine, who appears to be "tamed" by Petruchio's cruelties, learns the art of subtlety and diplomacy that will enable her to survive in a society ruled by men. Her speech in the last scene is not a humbling affirmation of the superiority of men, but a tounge-in-cheek ridicule of Petruchio, Lucentio, and Hortensio, who think that a woman can be tamed like a wild animal by a few days of bumbling controll.

The Folger Library of Shakespeare's plays are the most readable editions that I have seen. There are detailed side notes and definitions of unfamiliar words, which are perfect for the reader who is not familiar with Shakespearean English.

When drama goes hand in hand with comedy, a fantastic and peculiar pair enters the stage. It is quite difficult to achieve that strange feeling in which the reader is able to find pity in joy, as Shakespeare was able to do when writing his comedy The Taming of the Shrew.
Baptista is stubborn to let his favourite and younger daughter Bianca get married after finding a suitor for the shrewish Katherina, his oldest daughter. As a consequence, a complicated mockery is carried out and anyone displays a true identity both literally and metaphorically. Besides the humorous joke and its funny characters, compassion is clearly shown.
A classic that a reader will never forget. Furthermore than a simple play, Shakespeare also criticized the submissive role of women as well as the poor treatment of servants, always from a comic view, which is a useful way to understand the Elizabethan period, with its habits and customs. Although it may not be too realistic and the actions are sometimes extravagant to happen in true life, it does not let the reader get bored and he/ she will find that the book is easily and quickly read.
Once again, a classic that everybody should read in order to start changing those problems that have persisted for ages: women's role in society and everyone's right to have a satisfactory treatment through injustice.

The Taming of the Shrew is a play within a play. It starts out with a drunkard, Sly, and a lord. The lord bets that he can trick Sly into thinking he is a lord. When Sly wakes up he doesn't understand, but eventually accepts who they say he is. After a few minutes he becomes bored and the play, "Taming of the Shrew" comes on. It is a play that has men dressing as women, other men, and women dressing as men. I would recommend it to someone who is looking for a book that will have a geat beginning, middle, end, and will keep you wanting to read the next page.

The book _The Fourth Turning_ is a history combined with prophecy written by generational sociologists William Strauss and Neil Howe. This book is inspiring and provides interesting explanations for why things are the way they turned out to be, but it still doesn't have all the answers.

The theory is basically that history goes through four types of turnings: a conservative High, in which institutions are stable after the success of a major war (the Era of Good Feelings, the Victorian Era, the '50s), a spiritual Awakening in which young people scrap convention for religious discovery (Ben Franklin's Great Awakening, the Transcendental Awakening, the turn-of-the-century Muckrake reform era, the '60s), a wild Unravelling (the colorful Gold Rush, the roaring twenties, and the current era that began about 1984), and a fourth turning -- or Crisis (the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the Great Depression and World War II were the last three examples). A catalyst will spark the Fourth Turning that will become around 2005. These turnings change when each generation enters a new phase of life.

After you read this book, it's one of those books that completely transforms your mode of thinking. Both the present and the prophesied future are explained by means of generations -- fit into four different types ("archetypes") that shift along with the turnings. The authors identify the Lost Generation (born 1883-1900), the G.I. Generation (born 1901-1924), the Silent Generation (born 1925-1942), the Baby Boomers (born 1943-1960), the 13th Generation (born 1961-1981) and the Millennial Generation (born since 1982). They explain how these generations relate to those throughout history, and date the historical generations born all the way back to 1433. Generation X, for instance, which corresponds roughly with what they identify as the 13th Generation, is similar to the freewheeling Lost Generation of the Roaring '20s, their flouting of the Drug War brings to mind the Lost Generation during the Prohibition Era. Once you read this book, you start to think of everyone generationally, all your family and friends, people you know, celebrities, people you read about in the news, historical figures, the characters on TV shows and the ages of people in TV commercials. Your mind accepts a completely new paradigm -- and a classification of people that works, as the authors state, much more reliably than gender, ethnicity, or even region of the U.S.

Not to say that there aren't problems with this book. They broke off the 13th Generation from the Millennial Generation at 1981/1982 in their earlier work _Generations_, written in 1991, and have continued to keep this boundary and their early descriptions for the Millennials in this book. The kids born in 1982, whom they place as the first Millennials, were just entering high school when this book was written and were predicted to become known as a conventional, traditional and "Scout-like" generation, keeping a reputation as little angels. Unfortunately, none of the 1982, 1983, 1984... kids I know have this personality...their breakoff may have come a little too early I fear. Not all their predictions from this or earlier books have succeeded, but that's all right, because future or no future, the pattern works remarkably well as a mnemonic device for remembering and understanding history perfectly well, making the order in which historical figures came along much more memorable. I wish I'd had this way of studying history when I was in high school!

From this they prophesy the future -- that America is poised to enter a Crisis Era shortly around 2005, just when the generations are ripe. This era will see a national mood of extreme urgency, sweeping changes made in national policy, and a change across the generations to a much more traditional lifestyle and set of values, as Strauss and Howe predict. This book is a thought-provoking read, but if you're looking for something to explain 9-11 as so many of us were, don't look here. _The Fourth Turning_ was written about a "catalyst" for a Crisis that will change the direction of institutions in the year 2005, or if not in 2005, shortly before or after. All everyday interests in entertainment are supposed to disappear, and the change will be caused by something that wouldn't have brought about a drastic change in mood 10 years ago. It will be caused by the alignment of generations around 2005, when the Boomers are ready to enter elderhood (turn 65) and the Silent Generation is going to be into its eighties and start disappearing from the scene. It was NOT written about catastrophes like 9-11 or similar events. We get these extreme drastic events from time to time that shock people temporarily, as 9-11 did, just because of their intensity and death toll, wherever they occur. Look around 2003-2008 for the "Catalyst" Strauss and Howe have identified to pop up and permanently change the public mood. It will be something that will change the era and bring America to crisis because all the generations are poised and ready to enter their new stage of life.

In addition to its imperfections, the book has a heavily conservative bent sticking out, no doubt reflecting some of the attitudes and wishes of the authors. I cannot forgive the book's forceful attitude, pushing us all to get back to trust in public institutions and in the government. Strauss and Howe call for conservative restrictions on behavior to get the next turning pushing along. For instance, they advise the reader in getting ready for the next Crisis to give up any eccentric behavioral habits he or she may have. They tell the reader to put "duties over rights" and to conform to the standards of decency of his community. Even before the Fourth Turning, there is no doubt a single agenda they push without compromise, in what one would think would be a totally neutral book in the values regime department.

All in all, read this book if you're interested in history and generations (but take the generational boundaries and collective personalities with a grain of salt), and don't look for ALL your answers here.

Strauss and Howe wrote this book in the 1990s about America's crisis points in history (among them - The Revolutionary War, Civil War, and the Great Depression/WWII). In doing so, they showed how each crisis comes at about a 70 year interval - approximately the length of a human life. The reason, they surmise, is that each 70 years includes a full set of human generations - four groups that each approach life differently.
In writing about the past crises, they also forecasted the next one, which they said would come after the start of the century, would be an extension of earlier problems but would still come as a surprise to us because of its scope, and would be something that "turned" our society around after a period of decline and made it stronger. If September 11, 2001 wasn't that crisis, I hate to see what's coming next.
The good news? Strauss and Howe say the high school generation of today is a replica of the "greatest generation" that got us out of World War Two.
If you really want to understand what's going to happen to this country in the next few years and how we'll react, this is the book.

Some people have claimed reading this book is a waste of time and have compared the Strauss and Howe theory to "a very flaky, new-agey" prophecy. But since September 11th, this book has been in a heap of debate over whether it really gives an accurate theory. As a member of the Millennial generation, I have found the book to be the single-most original and insightful commentary on history and society.

Some people think the theory makes false generational characterizations and charge the authors with not providing evidence to make such generalizations. First off, theories are designed to make sense of the world. They are based on historical trends, statistics, and years of intellectual discussion. This theory does not directly dictate how a teenager in Illinois may live her life, but it does provide a much more credible account of things to come in her life than she could have possibly imagined herself.

It is insensitive and politically incorrect to suggest that the events of September 11th were "predictable." I do not think that the theory makes any indication that it was predictable; however, the way people are reacting to those events DOES support the theory. The thing that makes this occasion unique compared to major tragic events of the eighties or nineties is that the mood of the nation has changed. That mood, as the theory suggests, is propelled by the alignment of generations right now. As the generations move closer towards this alignment, more characteristics that Strauss and Howe have established will become more visible, and we will begin to see the impending crisis. What we are seeing right now is that 92% of Americans are in support of war and in support of the Bush administration. Nothing like that would have ever happened during the eighties or nineties.

As far as my generation goes, I'm sure there are trends that have happened that the authors didn't consider or that were unpredictable. But figures such as the media really have made us everything we think we aren't. Even MTV, the network of "individualism," has been our prime influence of conformity in the music scene. Media has, directly or indirectly, encouraged us to be cooperative, dutiful, and optimistic. This form of passive commercialism has been shoved down our throats, and the fact that we don't even notice it demonstrates how conditioned we've become to accept what we are told.

Since 1991, Strauss and Howe have accurately predicted the mood of the nation. Their theory is also supported by 400 years of American history. I would highly suggest this book to anyone, even skeptics, as an invaluable analysis of the American landscape.