Nathaniel Branden's course was the first systematic presentation of Objectivism and is an excellent review of (or introduction to) Objectivism. Branden is clear and engaging, although a bit melodramatic at times. He talks in detail about some neglected but useful ideas, including associational thinking and social metaphysics. He also covers a fair amount of psychology, most of which can be found in his later works.

For intellectuals and musicians who appreciate a parody that is not condescending, this book is hilarious. It's audience may be tiny, but the book is huge.

Dr. Branden leads a psychotheraphy group. You get to sit in and participate. He covers about 18 standard mistakes parents make in raising their kids. As he asks questions to the group and they share their pains from childhood you identify with them and say, "thats what my parents did." This also brings up the emotional hurt that leads you on the way to learning from your childhood, instead of repressing it, allowing you to integrate yourself more fully. This will lead you to the life you want to live today, not from the controlled unknowing internally denied past.

Hannah Duston is captured by marauding Indians in Massachusetts along with several children and nanny. She ultimately escapes and kills her captors, scalping them as proof of her story. She finds her way back home and receives 50 pounds from the government as reward for killing the Indians. Early Massachusetts was settled by Puritans. They forbade any "modern romance pulp fiction" stories, but stories concerning Indian capture was allowed and widely read. This narrative was particularly famous and commanded separate writings by 4 famous writers including Cotton Mather and HD Thoreau. The Narrative is most enjoyable as each writer has a different set of facts and writing style. My favorite is by Thoreau, but then I am a big fan of Walden and Civil Disobedience.

Which home does not have Dickens on their shelves? We have sought to have our children learn from the great thinkers of all times and truly Dickens is one the greatest! This collection is a must. Not only is it Dickens, but Alex Jennings is fantastic as he reads with such life and vigor! It is nice and relaxing to let him do the reading...his example challenges the children to want to read LIKE him! Plus, you will find that you can expose your children to the great works of literature while you are busy on the go! We have used these tapes during the holidays for A Christmas Carol as we were busily taking care of all the "have-to-do's." Dickens added spice to our holidays. Plus, in this collection you also get to enter into the world of little Oliver Twist...my children wanted to adopt him! David Copperfield quickly became another part of our lives as well! Do not miss this classic collection...it will become part of your family as you introduce them to the great thoughts of one of the greatest thinkers of all times!

Anyone who has done research on the Civil War approaches veteran's memoirs with a degree of caution. Memoirs are always self serving to some extent and often take too much advantage of hindsight. This work is remarkably free of such justifications. Rather it is the honest work of a soldier coming to terms with his war experiences. Philip Stephenson was a mere boy from St. Louis, age 15, when he followed his brother, Hammett, to Memphis to join the Confederat army. Hammett enlisted in the 13th Ark. and the underage Philip tagged along. He served as something of a mascot to his brother's company until he enlisted in the 5th Co. Washington Artillery. Until then he seemed to be free to come and go. Stephenson was present at or near most of the actions of the Army of Tennessee. He relates what he observed in great detail particularly in the last year of the war. Through his memoirs we see what he saw on the march, on the field and in camp. His descriptions of various Arkansans from officers to enlisted men offer rare insights to the boys which can be found in no other place. His observations on the men of the 13th Ark. are somewhat condescending, but he says, "All of them made as fine fighting material as the world could produce." The first one-third of his text covers the years 61-63. The greatest part of his memoirs discuss affairs that took place from 64 to the end of the war. From the Atlanta campaign until the war ends, his writing seems much more personal, more expressive of his emotions at the time. This coincides with the period when he served in the 5th Co. of the Washington Artillery and marked the first period of the war that he was not under his older brother's wing. From the moment Sherman attacked the Rebs at Dalton in early May until the Battle of Jonesboro on Sept. 1st, the men were in constant danger. Stephenson notes the horrors of trench warfare and the stress that it put on the men. The pressure became too great for some and he describes some of those who cracked. One member of his battery horrified the other members by taking his bayonet and jabbing out the eys of a dead yankee. Another deliberately walked between the lines to relieve himself as everyone watched in disbelief and the man was killed by a sharpshooter. Clearly this campaign had pushed many of the men to the breaking point. Perhaps no other participant has been as effective and honest in telling this story. Stephenson's account of the Battle of Franklin is very moving. His unit had been guarding a bridge some 30 miles away from Franklin and by forced march had arrived on the field between 9 o'clock at night just as the battle was dying down. Stephenson's one thought was the welfare of his brother and friends in the 13th Ark and he went among the wounded crying out "Where's Govan's Brigade." He finds his 3 best friends badly wounded and there on the battlefield they break into tears to find each other still alive. If there had been any thought of winning the war, it ended there. After Franklin, surviving would replace winning as the ultimate goal. Stephenson's memoirs are very personal. Through them we see how one survivor deals with his memories of both the best times and the worst times of his life.

For those people who like Cliffs Notes explanations,
but find reading the original text difficult, this
excellent idea for a duo-volume by the same Cliffs
publishers is the ideal answer.
For this volume contains both the text, in fine
readable type, along with explanatory notes in the
wide margins to the right of the text. The volume
also contains excellent photos and drawings to
complement the text.
The names, terms, or words which need further
explanation are printed in the text in darker type,
and then the explanation is found to the right of
the text in the light blue margins. Example from
the text: "The brilliancy might have befitted
ALLADIN'S PALACE [in the text it is dark bold
type, not capitalized] rather than the mansion of
a grave old Puritan ruler." Margin note: Aladdin's
palace: A boy in THE ARABIAN NIGHTS , Aladdin,
discovers a magical lamp and ring that bring him
everything he wishes for."
There are also excellent Commentaries at the end
of each chapter. There is an especially good one
at the end of "The Custom House" intro to the
novel - that commentary includes sections titled:
"Hawthorne's philosophy of writing"; "Hawthorne's
role as surveyor"; "Hawthorne's Puritan heritage";
The origins of this novel"; and "The mirror of
imagination."...

At a glance at the cover, I was drawn to it by the beautiful intertwined sphere of colors. Reading from page to page, I find the poems very realistic,soothing and entertaining. It is very much of a though-provoking collection of poetry that expresses unique opinion on a plethora of subjects,including the frequent abuse of ideology, the realizations of strength, weakness and the controversal nature of politics. It employs literary techniques such as onomatopoeia, similes and metaphors to produce a well-rounded compilation of ideas. Chijike Creed

My wife bought this book as a way of introducing our 2-year-old daughter to the stories of the Bible. The pictures are very nice, but we have been very disappointed. The stories are given in such an abbreviated form that they are almost meaningless. Plan on having to give a lot of background and explanation. Of course, if you wanted a book that gave only the most cursory information so that you could fill in the details and meaning as you see fit, this book may be of use. As for us, we are putting this book away and getting a different children's Bible. This one is not meeting our needs.

We haven't gone through the whole Bible yet with our two year old, but so far, we have enjoyed this children's Bible. He particularly enjoys the pictures and the little images of bugs and rainbows and such, which they've included near the page numbers! We have noticed that it shares more than just stories from the Bible as many children's Bibles do...it tries to teach LESSONS from the stories, for example, on the Creation and Fall story, some children's Bibles only focus on Creation and skip the Fall story. This Bible also teaches about the Fall, specifically pointing out that Adam and Eve disobeyed God and that God sent them out of the Garden as part of their punishment. The next story is about Cain and Abel and how one obeyed and the other disobeyed. Following that is the Noah story, teaching how Noah believed and obeyed God.

My 2 wishes so far in this version of the Bible is (1) for the author to connect the stories somehow...for example, to transition from the Cain and Abel story to the Noah story, one could say something to the effect of: "People all over the earth were evil and God decided to destroy mankind with a lot of rain. However, Noah believed God and God was merciful by protecting Noah and his family..." And (2) for each book of the Bible to be given attention. I noticed Leviticus was skipped, which is important to establish the foundation of the concept of sacrificial atonement, the precursor for all to understand the system which God chose to establish, so that Christ substitutionary sacrifice for us would make more sense.

Haven't gotten to the New Testament yet to give an editorial...