Peter's Choice by Joseph Orbi

"Peter's Choice", is a disturbing new novel that will infuriate some readers and leave others with a renewed feeling of hope for humanity. This first novel by playwright Joseph Orbi spans 75 years, from World War II to the early 21st Century. It tells the story of two children of wartime Yugoslavia: Felix Ronnoco, an orphan adopted by a powerful member of the Vatican elite; and Damir Pavelic, son of Ante Pavelic, the Croat führer. Both men, whose lives intertwine in mysterious ways, must face the crimes of their elders and seek their own redemption.

"Peter's Choice" mirrors the controversy ignited by recent U.S. Government charges - reported in the New York Times and U.S.News & World Report - that Croat fascist war criminals had Vatican assistance in escaping Europe with plundered gold after World War II. But, though grounded in these controversial historical events, "Peter's Choice" is a complex mix of historical fact, magical realism, and fiction. Orbi moves deftly between present, past and future in telling this story of horror, love, intrigue and hope. Actual historic figures, including Pavelic, Monsignor Krunoslav Draganovic and opera singer Beniamino Gigli are central figures.

Orbi's purpose is not to take sides in the Balkan conflicts or to flay the Vatican. Rather, he explores the need to confront evil and seek redemption through knowledge and love. His characters are flawed but never two-dimensional. Damir finds a love that frees him from shame and which overcomes even terrible tragedy. Felix moves through a world of power and intrigue but ultimately confronts the same shame and evil. His reunion with Damir reveals the transcendent power of love and gives him a vision that leads to the book's prophetic and controversial climax

The complex plot and magical realism of the novel take it out of the realm of conventional historical fiction. Orbi is concerned with love and redemption and with the interplay between goodn! ess, beauty and evil. Love - both romantic love and a mystical, transcendent love - is the path to redemption for his characters. That path winds through horror, intrigue, and murder, but ultimately leads to light.

Beyond its controversial aspects is a book more important for its real literary merit and its insightful and ultimately hopeful exploration of the questions that all of us must face

In 1998 my vote for best book of the year goes to "Peter's Choice," by Joseph Orbi. In terms that anyone in this forum will understand, Joseph Orbi writes in English like Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes in Spanish. Although he will make many enemies with "Peter's Choice," the book is an incredible mix of fiction and history. It is simply a great book.

T.Ball

"Peter's Choice" is a riveting novel that will anger many because, in part, depicts some extraordinary relationships that are not supposed to happen, like that of an orphan boy and his powerful mentor, a man who rules the Vatican with an iron hand. At its most basic, Peter's Choice is the story of two boys, Felix Ronnoco and Damir Pavelic, son of one of the greatest mass murderers ever, Ante Pavelic, the President of the Independent Nation of Croatia during WWII.

Some of the historical characters in this amazing book include Ante Pavelic, Father Krunoslav Draganovic and opera star Beniamino Gigli.

Joseph Orbi goes after hypocrites with a vengeance, pointing out contradicitons found in the characteristics of Argentinians, Croats, and opera aficionados. His purpose is not to offend, but to make people think, and even to laugh at themselves.

Last, I found the book to be a beautiful love story, one that made me think and one that ends with an amazing and courageous prophecy.

There is hardly any significant fact about viruses that missed-out in this edition of "Fields Virology". Page after page, this sound all-inclusive reference doles out authoritative information on both viruses and viral syndromes. From taxonomy to etiology, metamorphosis to replication; the analyses of this text is grand. The same applies to its attached CD-ROM. Its practical outlook was intended to benefit both microbiologists and pathologists. Bernard Fields and his colleagues made their mark with this book. It is a great effort.
However, most botanist may not be pleased to know that little attention was paid to plant viruses. Again, many potential buyers may be demoralized by the rather high price that this virology-set demands.

It covers all fields of virology. Perfect and wonderful ! Easy to understand. I really recommend this book to who is involved in biology

An alternative title for this novel could be Amayer's rut.
For that is the situation that the main protagonist in this novel finds himself in. Almayer is a European trader living in a
trading post somewhere in Indonesia or Malaysia with his daughter,a product of mixed marriage.
Almayer dreams of escaping to Europe after making himself wealthy and bringing his daughter with him also.
But as time drags on it becomes obvious that he is going nowhere with his life. He is not getting richer nor is he getting any younger. His own daughter ends up deserting him by eloping with a native who takes her to his own village.
Not being a pure European by blood she realizes that she would never be accepted as an equal among Europeans or the whites.
For this reason she chooses instead to live with the natives.
As for Almayer he remains as he was.
He is an example that one can find everywhere in the world.
Someone stuck in a situation going nowhere but always dreaming of getting out and changing his life.

Almayer's folly is a powerful beginning to Conrad's second profession, writing. Since the story was written so close to Conrad's adventurous youth (the spring for his most powerful works), it provides the rawest expression of Conrad's views. Almayer, the prototype of Tuan Jim, takes the "leap" when he marries the Malay captive for promised wealth. This transgression drops his character into contact with the cold truths of nature; truths which dispel any artificial illusions or meanings. For Almayer, these illusions entailed sucess and fame in Europe, a place that he had never visited but only heard about from his mother. Superficially, this journey towards inner truth involves a journey into the wilds of Borneo, but,like in future Conrad works, we quickly realize that the journey is inward into the pysche of Almayer. Overall, an excellent introduction to Conrad.

Loosely based on the life of a Dutch merchant, setting up a trading post along a river in the interior of Borneo, Conrad's novel 'Almayer's Folly' is actually about man's alienation from his environment and eventually himself.

Written during the heyday of western imperialism, when the great powers of Europe subjected the tropics to their rule, the tale of Almayer explores how the tropics actually devoured the individual westerner.

The main character of the book is a man obsessed. Chasing a dream, he completely loses touch with reality. Although on the surface it may seem that he is a white man gone native, Almayer hasn't got a clue what he is dealing with. He is blind to the schemings of his Malay wife and equally oblivious to the fact that his daughter is drifting away from him.

Admittedly, the book has 'orientalist' overtones but, then, Joseph Conrad is both a man of his time and a master of poweful prose, not a politically-correct scholar. The stereotypical mystique of Asia and the inscrutable oriental are exploited as a literary means to descend into the deeper levels of man's psyche. Just like the 'true heart' of Borneo and its inhabitants is hidden under layer upon layer of deceiving images, so is the core of each and every individual. The scariest place to travel is not the interior of an Indonesian Island, but the inner reaches of our own soul.

Almayer's Folly is one of the best novels ever written. Not only because of the author's masterful portrayals of character, but also due his astounding command of English. It is hard to believe that Conrad's first and second language were Polish and French: he only learned English as an adult. It is this combination of psychological understanding and extraordinary use of language that make him into a literary genius.

This book is really for the Soviet cognesceti since it does not have enough rigor and scholarship to qualify as a primary text. Nevertheless, it is a measure of the "through the looking glass" criminality of the Soviet experiment that the reader is constantly asking whether the author's account could be true. A quick read but "Caution-Thin Ice" Perhaps better to stick with Amy Knight, R. Conquest, Volkoganov pending corroboration.

Peter Deriabin served in Naval SMERSH, the Guards Directorate and the Foreign Intelligence Directorate of the KGB in Moscow and Vienna. His story of the "Saboteur-Doctor's" , Kirov's death, Stalin's murder by Beria, Beria's removal, and the Sled-Chast [special investigative unit]reveals what those serving in Lubyanka at the time knew of these events as they occurred. His version of Stalin's murder has never been told in print before this book. While some of the stories told originate from close KGB friends, others are supported by various authors and news account cited in the end notes, and Deriabin's own experiences. Deriabin provides new information about KGB officers known to many. The chapters about his defection Vienna are well documented. Joseph Evans, an experienced CIA clandestine service officer, worked with Deriabin for years and finished the book after Deriabin's death. This is a remarkable contribution to the intelligence literature with many new details of the KGB as it functioned under Stalin.

This is the memoir of a high ranking officer within the bodyguard administration of the Kremlin (Stalin's bodyguards). The author is the only know member of Stalin's bodyguards know to have escaped to the West. This book was published some 6 years after the author's death. The interworkings of the dark side within Stalin's Kremlin is detailed. The book mainly details the Stalin Beria relationship and the author's conclusions of how the ruthless Beria ultimately murdered Stalin. A very captivating and intriguing read, the book is filled with little known details of the Stalin era and fills in the gap where other books leave out. This book tackles the big issues-Stalin's death-by providing the knowledge learned by the author, who was there. Other works simply don't discuss this. As a memoir with an easy suspenseful read, history buffs must focus on the details throughout the work. The author does substantiate claims made. The author clearly shows how Stalin was losing his power and protection in the year prior to his death. Beria's behind the scene maneuverings and Stalin's own paranoia were responsible for much of the stripping of Stalin's protection. (The author even provides a list of those fired or executed during Stalin's last months in chapter 14.) Even on the pages of Pravda Stalin was reduced to Secretary from General Secretary-as Pravda had always printed-announcing that Stalin's position was weakening. It is these significant facts added to the author's own experiences that give new weight to Stalin's demise. As far as I am aware, other works have not mentioned this. Another example is the author's revelation that Stalin murdered his wife, and how he was almost removed as leader because of it. The author then reveals that Stalin ordered the executions of all the doctors who signed her death certificate (verified by other sources) to cover his tracks. That the gun used to kill her was Stalin's. It is these added details that give credence to the author's claims. He goes beyond other works. The author does not hesitate to address controversial areas. After reading the author's first book, The Secret World, first published in 1959, which is a complete autobiography of the author that details his extensive career in the KGB and the Communist Party, I understood the terror that Stalin spread through his reign. The author has written many books about Russia and has used his experience from within to share with his audience. A gripping account of great historic value. Highly recommended.

Much has been said on the subject of colonial racism, and this still leaves a bitter tang in the throats of most historicially learned people. Still, we don't need this book. Conrad's Heart of Darkness is placed in the context of his time, and even when skimming the novell, one get the image that it is an attack on the imperialism of that time. Firchow goes after the wrong novell.

An impressive and delightful read and an awesome work by a world-class scholar-author and educator. It is as comprehensive and thorough a critical work as we are likely to find anywhere, on any work of fiction, whether or not canonical. I'm a reader who feasts on literary and scholary criticism. Showing quite a bit of his lively mind and personality at work, Firchow's study of Heart of Darkness is a humbling and joyous reading experience.

Heart of Darkness has become a politically controversial book bringing the issue of racism into the foreground. Firchow counters the accusations of racism that have been made and defends his opinion of Conrad's book with solid arguments.

Many books about leadership view the subject as being akin to mechanical engineering. How do you get all those people (like cogs in a machine) to act in just the ways you want them to? Mostly written by leaders to describe their own experiences or by writers to explain what leaders told them, these books are unsatisfying in the extreme. Take a look at Flawed Advice and the Management Trap by Chris Argyris to get a further perspective on this problem. This book is totally different, and quite appealing.

Jaworski (son of Leon Jaworski, the famous special prosecutor of the Watergate scandal) tells of his personal journey from being a successful corporate lawyer to becoming someone who works on making leadership better for all of us. Like most personal journeys, this one has low points (his wife falling in love with another man and telling Jaworski to move out that day, his father not telling him that he loved him, and the deaths of a child of each of his two sisters) and some high points (breakthrough meetings with great thinkers and stimulating helpful change). You could read the book for this, and you would have the rewards of a nicely done biography of someone who is working towards living an exemplary life.

But there is more. Jaworski has accumulated some important insights into leadership that are well worth knowing. He makes an appealing case for servant leadership (the leader looks out for the group, rather than his self-interest). He also tells a fascinating tale of running the scenario development work at Royal Dutch Shell for 4 years. From this, he develops what seemed to me to be a profound insight: Scenarios can be used both to prepare for the future by helping us think through it in advance, and to create the future. That last thought provided me with a nice epiphany. Although I was very familiar with the Shell planning technique from the business literature and from talking to Arie de Geus about it, this implication had never dawned on me. I deeply appreciate learning this.

Beyond that, the book is a living testament to the importance of finding your true self and listening to the wee small voice of intuition that can steer you in the right direction. Jaworski to his credit has been quite willing to do both, and it has made all the difference.

Many books on leadership talk about the role as a state of being. That usually leaves me confused. Jaworski makes the same point, but through his personal history I was able to understand what he meant.

At another level, I found the book to be quite astonishing because it paralleled my own personal journal. I started out as a lawyer, heeded my inner voice to become a management consultant, and then heeded my inner voice again to become an author to spread important ideas about how people can become more effective in working with one another. He was fascinated by how to use scenarios to help the political transition in South Africa. I founded a company in the early 80s to find ethical ways for companies to leave South Africa while strenthening the position of nonwhite employees. I have read the works of everyone Jaworski cites in the book. At first, this seemed like a big coincidence. Then I realized that Arie de Geus is someone we both know, and he probably suggested more then a few of the authors to both of us. In fact, Arie de Geus played a pivotal role in the development of our new book, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise. Six degrees of separation is occuring all over again!

If you read this book, and read the works of those who Jaworski cites, you will have given yourself a valuable trip towards becoming the kind of signficant leader you have the potential to be. With the help of you wee, small inner voice, this should be an irresitible call to action!

Talking of dreams, magical moments with animals, following hunches and coincidences, dealing with the pains of personal history, talking about life as if it were an adventure story of wonder and self-discovery; you could say this is no way to write a book about business leadership. But thank goodness Joseph Jaworski, with the help of friends and a visionary editor, had the courage to do just that. Because the result is as profound as it is compelling. Dialogue is at the heart of Joe’s leadership philosophy, and the style and integrity of his writing is such that it draws the reader’s mind into just that state. His words are no dry treatise, they leave the page and make a direct emotional connection. Some day, more books will be written this way, and the world will be wiser for it.

Joseph Jaworski has written "the" book on leadership for the 1990's. Not unlike Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Jaworski's Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership serves up a tale of personal discovery of such magnitude as to speak to the very heart and soul of the reader. Drawing heavily from Robert Greenleaf's Servant Leadership, Jaworski describes in compelling form the essential character of leadership founded on servant as leader. Reading Jaworski is like reading a modern-day Paul: his message that we can control our future by allowing life to unfold through us -- not despite us -- is comforting in this era when we all seem to be cascading toward a destiny over which we have little or no control. Read this book. Accept its invitation to initiate your own journey of self-discovery and enlightenment.

I am arrived in America two years from Pakistan. Meteorology is a big hobby in Pakistan. Everybody talk about weather.I was leader of a club in my home of Karachi. This Balsama book is a very good book. There are not so many amateur meteorology books in Urdu .I am happy Balsama writes a book that is simply for person who has not good English.Do not be a fool for silly reviews that say Balsama book is bad. They do not know. The silly reader from Minneapolis says that Balsama is wrong that a meteorite is meteor that reaches earth's surface. Balsama is correct. I read it in my dictionary. Is my dictionary wrong reader in Minneapolis? Pictures in book are very good not bad. And what is this crazy talk of thistles and conifers. If this makes you mad buy a garden book. If you like the weather, buy the Balsama book.

I have been looking for a long time for a good and thorough book that explains all about weather and does so in a way that is easy to read for someone who is not a scientist. I am just a weather enthusiast and want to learn more about this fascinating topic. I completely enjoyed reading this book, "WEATHER BASICS" by Balsama and Chaston. It made the science of weather "come alive". Great chapters on hurricanes, tornadoes, thundertorms, winter weather, etc. etc. Excellent pictures with the chapters as well. I learned a lot. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys weather and wants to learn more, plus have an excellent reference book on all the various weather topics.

Both my kids and I loved this book, "WEATHER BASICS". It was a birthday present and although I never wrote a book review before, I feel compelled to recommend this book. We all learned much about meteorology, and I especially liked all the helpful pictures and graphics in this book. I highly recommend "WEATHER BASICS" by Messrs. Balsama and Chaston. I finally got a weather book worth saving!

This is a great book because of it's entertaining way of teaching about some of the more interesting aspects of paleo-anthropology and anthropology in general. The author did an excellent job of researching his subject having consulted actual anthropologists. He obviously researched African politics and culture as well to make his characters believable. I also found it refreshing that many of the African characters were both positive and protagonists.

Some of the ideas about the development from primate to Homo Sapien in terms of social, physical, and emotional development were very intriguing. To give an example, I found the idea of early Neandertals and different versions of humanity living concurrently and interbreeding to be fascinating. To think that we picked up, as modern humans, many successful traits from "evelutionary dead ends" such as the Neandertals is really captivating. Forgive me for overusing my language, but i really enjoyed this book!

If no other reason, read this book for it's easy way of introducing scientific ideas about the origin of Homo Sapiens and their evolution. This book is a way for people who are scared of science to find out how enjoyable science can be. Enjoy!

Mankind's Beginning in Conjecture

This is a great book because of its entertaining way of teaching about some of the more interesting aspects of paleo-anthropology and anthropology in general. The author, Petru Popescu, did an excellent job of researching his subject having consulted actual anthropologists. He obviously researched African politics and culture, as well, to make his characters believable. I also found it refreshing that many of the African characters were both positive and protagonists.

Some of the ideas about the development from primate to Homo Sapien in terms of social, physical, and emotional development were very intriguing. To give an example, I found the idea of early Neanderthals and different versions of humanity living concurrently and interbreeding to be fascinating. To think that we picked up, as modern humans, many successful traits from "evolutionary dead ends" such as the Neanderthals is really captivating.

The book itself is the story of one anthropologist, Ken Lauder, a Californian "beach bum" type hiding out from responsibility, in far off Kenya. In the course of his existence in Kenya, he makes a big discovery that could rock the anthropological world: a possible living "missing link." Ken and his friend, a local African with connection, are in the process of exploring their discovery when a civil war breaks out in Kenya and everything turns into chaos. The better part of the text explores what the field of anthropology is like (according to a fiction writer who did some research), what life in Africa is like and particularly the volatile politics of small African nations, and Ken's erstwhile existence after being abandoned in the African wild. While Ken is abandoned in the wild, he is befriended by a protohuman that Ken nicknames "Long Toes." Ken and "Long Toes" form a father/son relationship that forms the core of the book.

If no other reason, read this book for its easy way of introducing scientific ideas about the origin of Homo Sapiens and their evolution. This book is a way for people who are scared of science to find out how enjoyable science can be. Enjoy!

Review by: Maximillian Ben Hanan

I bought this book two years ago at a "dollar store" during an ice storm which left us without electricity for two weeks. There wasn't much to do so I bought this book thinking it probably wouldn't be too great; I mean I spent three bucks on it at the dollar store. But, I hoped it would ward off the boredom. I didn't get to start reading it until a month ago and was I ever surprised. This is a great book! As the last reviewer stated, it's a great way to teach science through fiction. I had never put too much thought into how humans evolved. I have even found myself watching The Discovery Channel to find out more about the protohumans.

The book 360 Degree Selling covers two of the most important areas in the selling of biotechnology products, use of clinical trial data, and disease state information. This information is exactly what today's physicians most want from pharmaceutical sales people. Additionally, the book has great information on relationship selling and physician personality styles, and a very extensive section on territory management. I highly recommend this book to anyone in pharmaceutical sales, I know it has helped me to be more effective in my sales presentations.

360 Degree Selling-How to Sell Biotechnology Products is one of the best books of its kind. With 24 pages of selling, using clinical reprints, it supplies the representative with crucial ways to use third party selling. The book also leads the representative to use the many web sites available to supplement his/her presentation with the latest and most pertinent information for the physician. Furthermore, it shows how the representative can best utilize his/her Time & Territory Management and Routing techniques. Last, but not least, it teaches the importance of maintaining physician contacts and using phyician personality and prescribing profiles to tailor presentations to individual physician's wants and needs.

Great book! My company recently purchased this book for our entire specialty sales force. I have followed the principles and techniques outlined in the book, and I can see a difference in my relationships with my physicians. This book concentrates very heavily on relationship selling, and the publisher provides a free 360 Degree Relationship Selling Strategy report from their website. It is really great, I don't know of any other selling book that provides this type of service, it's like getting the book for free. I am recommending that my company purchase this service for our sales force. Thank you Black Dog!