This opened the door into hard SF for me
List price: $19.95 (that's 30% off!)
A timely and invaluable guide for the homeowner
A concise and readable history of the modern papacyI highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about how the papacy came to be in 1999.
Complete Customization of Your Windows!
List price: $25.00 (that's 30% off!)
A good addition to thyroid patients' info librariesIn a simply written, straightforward manner, the Shameses have organized some basics of hypothyroidism's causes, test, diagnosis and treatment into a ten-step program of information that can help patients get properly diagnosed and treated.
One of the most interesting and innovative parts of the book is Step 9 -- "Improve the Underlying Autoimmune Condition." This section shares some of the results from Karilee's weekly thyroid recovery group meetings held with other thyroid patients. This chapter talks about issues patients have experienced with emotional sensitivity, self-esteem, perfectionism, maintaining momentum, being empowered, and more, and many of the "common characteristics" of people with autoimmune hypothyroidism struck a chord personally with me.
For already diagnosed thyroid patients, Step Seven's overview of adrenal insufficiency is also a very useful adjunct, particularly for thyroid patients who do not feel well on what is considered sufficient treatment for hypothyroidism.
A unique section is titled "How to Tap the Source of Boundless Energy," which talks about energy healing, the energy chakras, and self-actualization. While not specifically focused on the thyroid, this section is an excellent introduction to the concepts of energy work for those who are not familiar with modalities such as Reiki, healing hands, or laying on of hands.
The main weakness in this book is the fact that many thyroid patients who read the book will not have access to practitioners who are even remotely as open-minded or holistic in their approach as Richard and Karilee Shames. While the Shameses are part of a growing body of alternative practitioners who are innovative their diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism, the vast majority of patients are still subject to very limited, highly conventional treatment protocols, and a very ingrained doctrine of thyroid treatment. Rigid adherence to TSH tests, "normal ranges" and levothyroxine as the sole treatment is the standard practice, and what standard practice is what is typically covered by HMOs and insurance companies. The Shames' use of TRH, total T3, free T3 and antibodies tests as standard, and their unbiased use of levothyroxine, synthetic T3, or natural thyroid products -- whatever product works best for each individual patient -- are encouraging, but still uncommon among most medical professionals.
But overall, as a thyroid patient advocate, I can wholeheartedly recommend Thyroid Power as an excellent addition to any thyroid patient's bookshelf.
Mary Shomon, Thyroid Patient Advocate, Author of "Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You...That You Need to Know" and Editor of "Sticking Out Our Necks: The Thyroid Disease News Report"
This book could change your lifeThis book is directed and designed for the health consumer and it will help to empower them to demand the treatments they are entitled to receive. It is organized as a step by step program to help the health consumer understand the nature of the problem they may be facing and what the potential solutions are. The reader is educated at each step and encouraged to take more control over their own health care. While many Physicians encourage the mystique of the "all knowing" omnipotent Doctor, the Shames's are completely committed to breaking down that power relationship in their work. This book goes a long way to making the health consumer a more equal partner. I was particularly glad to see the emphasis on women's health issues and the encouragement of women to ask for more assistance with the problems of mid-life that are so often simply dismissed as "oh well, that's menopause for you". Women have been the victim of a patriarchal health system for too long and this book is one of many that helps women patients get the medical care they are entitled to.
The issue of thyroid dysfunction is brought down to earth in this book and the reader is given a wide range of options to try. Rather than simply accepting the divine judgment that "your thyroid is normal according to the tests", the patient has several choices, if her/his symptoms are interfering with their life. They can ask for more tests, as the simple basic thyroid tests do not necessarily have all the information needed. Particularly they can request that their thyroid antibodies be checked. I have seen many patients, who responded magnificently to thyroid medication, when their only abnormal result was high levels of these antibodies. Of course, conventional medical dogma denies this possibility and will only treat people who have a TSH level above 5. Even if all the tests are normal, this book encourages the patient to ask for a trial of thyroid hormone treatment. I can assure you that many people will improve with this simple intervention and there is no risk if one if carefully monitored. Finally, if the standard thyroid treatment fails to improve things, there are other types of thyroid hormones that might help, including the often ridiculed natural thyroid. Dr. Shames reports on many cases of people who responded far better to combinations of T4 and T3 hormone, rather than the standard T4 treatment alone. As with all who challenge the conventional dogma, I am sure there will be those who criticize this new approach. Remember anyone who takes on the established medical dogma will be critiqued severely, but often these pioneers turn out to be correct. I believe that Dr. Shames' view will turn out to be correct in the end. The tyranny of the "normal" thyroid test will be broken and there will be a new paradigm developed to explain why so many people get better with thyroid hormone supplements. While you may not find everything in this book to your liking, there were parts that I did not agree with, the overall message and thrust of this book is one of liberation and empowerment for so many women and men who are not being helped by modern medicine today.
If you or someone you care about does not feel well, from the symptoms mentioned above, you owe it to yourself to try the program recommended in this book. Of course there is no guarantee for success, but there is no risk to you if it is done with the guidance of a caring practitioner and the potential reward is nothing less than a return to a vibrant healthy life. Rich and Karilee Shames deserve our thanks and gratitude for bringing this issue out to the public and I truly hope that this new book helps spark an important reevaluation of this entire area of medicine. The fact that the forward was written by Dr. Nathan Becker, of the Department of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco shows that this is not a fringe idea any longer. I also conduct research at UCSF and know that Dr. Becker is one of the leading authorities on thyroid dysfunction. I hope this review encourages more people to read this book and act on its important recommendations. .
Someone finally understands......I was privileged to read an advance copy of this most important book. As a mid-life woman (and health care provider) who has experienced thyroid disease first hand, I am thrilled that FINALLY that book is finally here, validating my experience and that of countless others. Far too many classically trained physicians choose to ignore the subtle symptoms and (often louder) complaints of thyroid-challenged patients, adding to the frustration that we already feel.
Karilee and Rich have de-mystified the complex workings of the thyroid gland and offered a variety of strategies to identify, diagnose, and treat this often-elusive malady. They offer a clear path to enhanced quality of life and improved energy levels. They offer a variety of treatment options, embracing the best of integrative health care. The reader is constantly encouraged to seek answers on a variety of levels, from standard medical care to stress reduction to energy balancing and improved nutrition.
The book is balanced, objective, and encouraging. The health care information is nicely integrated with case stories that offer hope and guidance. Many of them bring back memories of my own journey, which included the advice of one misguided (and male) physician who told me I had panic attacks (in spite of three years of abnormal thyroid blood work!) ... and offered Prozac as his only remedy. It is unfortunate that women's complaints have long been depreciated in the eyes of the medical establishment, and it is only in recent years that we have begun to fight for equal and high quality care. This book will give us ammunition as we confront that system. The authors have included a section for health care professionals that supports their theories and advice with medical research.
Thyroid Power offers a true holistic perspective, assessing the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual components of chronic thyroid disease and offering ways to deal with the whole person, not just blood work or sometimes vague symptoms. For many it will be a light at the end of a long, dark, and frustrating tunnel, and a path to better health.
List price: $14.00 (that's 20% off!)
A must-read. Better, and more engrossing, than fiction!
A MUST-READ, and wonderfully written at that.
Should be required reading at every law school ethics class.
Intelligent and accessibilly written novelPowers does a masterful job of integrating several characters into his storyline and integrating several discourses throughout. Especially interesting is his discourse on the work of photographer August Sander. I frankly had never heard of him and now find myself looking for pieces of his work in libraries and online. It's always a good sign when a piece of writing whether fiction or non-fiction spurs interests into directions you'd never have gone into.
There is a connection with the characters that I get when I read Powers that I don't get with DeLillo, Franzen or other "PoMo" writers. That's not a criticism of them but rather a praising of Powers writing.
An Intelligent, Complex Novel of IdeasOne of Sander's photographs, taken in May, 1914, depicts three German farmers standing in a muddy road, their heads turned to the camera. The three farmers are dressed in their best suits, white shirts, ties, hats, and walking sticks. They are on their way to a dance. As Powers' first person narrator writes, "the date sufficed to show that they were not going to their expected dance. I was not going to my expected dance. We would all be taken blindfolded into a field somewhere in this tortured century and made to dance until we'd had enough. Dance until we dropped."
From this intriguing beginning, Richard Powers tells three stories, each of them connected through the photograph and through time. The first is that of the narrator, who stumbles upon Sander's photograph at the Detroit Institute of Arts. He becomes obsessed with the haunting aura of the photograph and spends the next several months trying to find out more about the photographer and the three men in the photograph. The second is that of the three farmers themselves-Hubert, Peter and Adolphe-and what happens to each of them when the Great War breaks out in Europe. The third story is that of Peter Mays, a writer for a computer trade magazine in 1980s Boston, who also becomes obsessed-not with the photograph, but with a beautiful red haired woman dressed in early twentieth century period costume that he sees on the street following a Veterans' Day Parade-and ultimately finds out that he has a connection to one of the men in the picture and to the events of the Great War.
To say that "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance" tells three stories is misleading, however, insofar as the novel is dominated not by plot, but, rather, by a range of discursive narratives on how the world has changed between the Great War, when Sander's photograph was taken, and the present day. Plot does not drive the action of Powers' densely intellectual novel; rather, it provides a touchstone for the narrator to explore certain events and fundamental ideas of the Twentieth Century. For example, when the office cleaning woman shows the narrator artifacts from the Great War, it strikes an intellectual cord that leads to a long discourse on Charles Peguy, the French thinker who, in 1913, made the subsequently oft-quoted remark that "the world had changed less since the death of Jesus than it had in the last thirty years," and the ideas "hidden" in Peguy's formulation. Similarly, the narrator's obsessive study of the 1914 photograph leads to an historical investigation of Sander's life and works. It also leads to speculations on the nature of photography and on how photography changed conceptions of art that derive closely from Walter Benjamin's classic essay, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction."
Ideas and intellectual referents are ubiquitous in this novel; simply read the epigraphs to each chapter to get a feel for the intellectual gyroscope that orients "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance". It is a remarkable work that demands a great deal from the reader. It is also a work that will disappoint anyone who is looking for a straightforward plot or a mere "page turner."
If you're interested in ideas, in novels with intellectual density, in narratives that force you to think deeply and reflectively about the world, "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance" is the perfect novel. Read it, enjoy it, and move on to the rest of Richard Powers' remarkable list of fictions.
An Intelligent, Complex Novel of IdeasOne of Sander's photographs, taken in May, 1914, depicts three German farmers standing in a muddy road, their heads turned to the camera. The three farmers are dressed in their best suits, white shirts, ties, hats, and walking sticks. They are on their way to a dance. As Powers' first person narrator writes, "the date sufficed to show that they were not going to their expected dance. I was not going to my expected dance. We would all be taken blindfolded into a field somewhere in this tortured century and made to dance until we'd had enough. Dance until we dropped."
From this intriguing beginning, Richard Powers tells three stories, each of them connected through the photograph and through time. The first is that of the narrator, who stumbles upon Sander's photograph at the Detroit Institute of Arts. He becomes obsessed with the haunting aura of the photograph and spends the next several months trying to find out more about the photographer and the three men in the photograph. The second is that of the three farmers themselves-Hubert, Peter and Adolphe-and what happens to each of them when the Great War breaks out in Europe. The third story is that of Peter Mays, a writer for a computer trade magazine in 1980s Boston, who also becomes obsessed-not with the photograph, but with a beautiful red haired woman dressed in early twentieth century period costume that he sees on the street following a Veterans' Day Parade-and ultimately finds out that he has a connection to one of the men in the picture and to the events of the Great War.
To say that "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance" tells three stories is misleading, however, insofar as the novel is dominated not by plot, but, rather, by a range of discursive narratives on how the world has changed between the Great War, when Sander's photograph was taken, and the present day. Plot does not drive the action of Powers' densely intellectual novel; rather, it provides a touchstone for the narrator to explore certain events and fundamental ideas of the Twentieth Century. For example, when the office cleaning woman shows the narrator artifacts from the Great War, it strikes an intellectual cord that leads to a long discourse on Charles Peguy, the French thinker who, in 1913, made the subsequently oft-quoted remark that "the world had changed less since the death of Jesus than it had in the last thirty years," and the ideas "hidden" in Peguy's formulation. Similarly, the narrator's obsessive study of the 1914 photograph leads to an historical investigation of Sander's life and works. It also leads to speculations on the nature of photography and on how photography changed conceptions of art that derive closely from Walter Benjamin's classic essay, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction."
Ideas and intellectual referents are ubiquitous in this novel; simply read the epigraphs to each chapter to get a feel for the intellectual gyroscope that orients "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance". It is a remarkable work that demands a great deal from the reader. It is also a work that will disappoint anyone who is looking for a straightforward plot or a mere "page turner."
If you're interested in ideas, in novels with intellectual density, in narratives that force you to think deeply and reflectively about the world, "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance" is the perfect novel. Read it, enjoy it, and move on to the rest of Richard Powers' remarkable list of fictions.
Insightful!
Koch Provides Exciting Material for Teaching
If you can count, get a copy.The Laws of the natural world exist and cannot be discounted no matter how inconvenient they are to our assumptions. Knowing how things come together allows us to better see solutions.
The best section is the Pareto Optimum - nature is not democratic and 50/50 outcomes are the exception so never expect the law of averages to help you - it does not work that way.
A very good read - those with a science background will get the most out of it but that is not critical.
List price: $28.00 (that's 30% off!)
A Quite Rewarding JourneyThrough two story lines that ultimately intersect, the novel recounts the history of the Strom family, a family remarkable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the innate musical talent that finds its greatest --- or at least most public --- outlet in Jonah Strom, a vocal prodigy who makes the singing of chamber music his life and livelihood. Jonah is the eldest son of a Jewish physicist who left Germany to escape the Nazis and an African-American woman from Philadelphia who met on the Mall in Washington D.C. during the historic performance by Marian Anderson on Easter day 1939. Improbably, the two fell in love and their union produced three offspring: Jonah, Joseph --- who narrates much of the novel and is Jonah's accompanist --- and Ruth, who finds her identity in the more radical arm of the civil rights movement and rejects her brothers' love and performance of European music.
The novel's primary concern may be the ways in which racial identity influences the course of a person's life, but along the way, Powers offers remarkable descriptions of music and the process of creating it: "This is how I see my brother, forever. He is twenty; it's December 1961. One moment, the Erl-King is hunched on my brother's shoulder, breathing the promise of a blessed deliverance. In the next, some trap-door opens in the warp of the air and my brother is elsewhere, teasing out Dowland of all things, a bit of ravishing sass for this stunned lieder crowd, who can't grasp the web that slips over them. He touches his tongue to his hard palate, presses on the cylinder of air behind it until his tongue tips over his front teeth with a dwarf explosion, that fine-point puff of tuh that expands, pulling the vowel behind it, spreading like a slow-filmed cloud, to ta to tahee to time to transcend the ear's entire horizon, until the line becomes all it describes. . ."
The nature of time itself plays a key role in the book, as David Strom's scientific theorizing explores that very subject. Indeed, the theories of time he presents in the novel --- rendered as beautifully as the musical descriptions --- lay the groundwork for the one "trick" Powers could be accused of playing on the reader. The plot point cannot be described without revealing too much about the novel's carefully constructed end, but the trick itself is the work of a master illusionist rather than of a literary con man, inspiring wonder rather than disappointment.
Occasionally, the characters -- especially Ruth -- seem somewhat hollow, as discussions about racial identity threaten to become lists of talking points rather than realistic, messy conversations. Still, Powers has created a fascinating family that, through its various members, tries a multiplicity of ways to come to grips with what it means to be black, white or in between. To that end, Powers also conjures up compelling portraits and retellings of historical events, including the delivery of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, the Watts riots, the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict and the Million Man March.
THE TIME OF OUR SINGING is a lengthy, slow read that does not have quite the narrative force of some of Powers's earlier novels (THREE FARMERS ON THEIR WAY TO A DANCE, THE GOLD BUG VARIATIONS, GALATEA 2.2). Nevertheless, the novel is unfailingly beautiful and the ideas it considers are endlessly fascinating, rendering the journey a rewarding one indeed.
--- Reviewed by Rob Cline
Challenge and pleasure.The music element is the most successful in the Strom family saga. German-Jewish physicist David Strom meets African-American singer Delia Daley at Marian Anderson's landmark 1939 outdoor concert at the Lincoln Memorial. They marry despite her family's objections, and the children they raise grow up immersed in music. The oldest, Jonah, has talent that is undeniable. The second, Joseph, has the talent without the temperament. The youngest, Ruth, immerses herself in the black activist movement. The three Stroms grow up on an awkward place along the color line at a time when everything having to do with color was dynamite.
This is the most successful of Powers' novels in that it combines accessibility with his exciting strength of ideas. You can certainly pick at a few things about characterization and the placement of characters in the path of too many historical events, but overall it is a very satisfying book and a great deal of thought-provoking pleasure will be found between its covers.
Powers' best novelDavid Strom and Delia Daley fall enough in love to ignore their racial divide, but the world is unwilling to forgive them--or their children. Though the parents try to forge their childrens' strength in the making of music, this talented family can't hold together their own song. Poor Joseph is paralyzed by his devotion to his gifted brother, Jonah, who in turn treats Joseph to off-handed, casual cruelty. Sister Ruth is treated almost as an afterthought, and so rejects one family and forges another. Meanwhile, history begins to pick them off, one by one.
A tragic, haunting story--not only of a family but of our country, as well--and yet oddly hopeful. Throughout the sweep of this marvelous novel these complex characters held me, and now I find they won't let me go.
List price: $17.95 (that's 30% off!)
Discovering a new leadership paradigmWhile it is not difficult to follow this book even if you are not familiar with his prior works, familiarity with the concepts would make the reading flow much smoother. For this text he is joined by EI experts and co-authors Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee as they unravel the use of EI in the workplace.
The bottom line of Primal Leadership is that one of the most important tasks of a leader is to create good feelings in the people they lead. They do this by maintaining those same positive feelings in themselves. In addition they have to create change, sustain change, and build an EI competent organization.
The book introduces the concept of "resonant leadership". This is the tendency of employees to perceive the business environment in the same manner that their leaders do. The moods, opinions, and actions of the leaders resonate to their employees and create the same feelings in them.
The top leaders develop four leadership styles and have the ability to easily change between them as needed. The book not only defines primal leadership but details how to develop and use these leadership qualities to make your business excel when others flounder. A great read with a thought-provoking analysis, this book is required reading for those seeking to excel as leaders in their organization.
The Primacy of EI CompetenciesGoleman, Boyatzis, and McKee carefully organize their material within Three Parts: The Power of Emotional Intelligence, Making Leaders, and Building Emotional Intelligent Organizations. The insights, strategies, and tactics provided are all based on the authors' several decades of real-world experience with all manner of organizations as well as on insights gained through direct and extensive contact with various leaders. In the final chapter, the authors observe: "In sum, the best leadership programs [ones which focus on the process of talent development] are designed for culture, competencies, and even spirit. They adhere to the principles of self-directed change and use a multifaceted approach to the learning and development process itself that focuses on the individual, team, and organization." I am reminded of what the Mahatma Gandhi once asserted: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." What should be the defining values throughout the inevitably difficult change process?
Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee are absolutely certain that the most effective leaders "are more values-driven, more flexible and informal, and more open and frank than leaders of old. They are more connected to people and to networks. More especially, they exude resonance: They have genuine passion for their mission, and that passion is contagious. Their enthusiasm and excitement spread spontaneously, invigorating those they lead. And resonance is the key to primal leadership." Does all this describe the kind of person you wish to follow? If so, then become the same kind of leader for others to follow.
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out James O'Toole's The Executive Compass, David Maister's Practice What You Preach, David Whyte's The Heart Aroused, and Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan's Execution: The Discipline of Getting Results.
Great Book, Title [Stinks]"Primal Leadership" is written to help leaders become better leaders by improving their emotional intelligence. The book gives insight into the collective feeling of an organization, or its emotional climate, and how this is influenced by the people at the top of the organization and the leadership methods adopted by the organization.
The authors identify four key aspects of personal competency in emotional intelligence:
* Self-Awareness
* Self-Management
* Social Awareness
* Relationship Management
The stronger a person is in these, the better leader he or she will become. Unless we are aware of our own emotions, we won't know how to control them. For example, if you make a unintentional, snide remark to an employee, because you're frustrated with the employee, the employee will probably not benefit, nor will the work environment. But, to prevent such a remark means you first must accept that you're feeling frustrated and, secondly, control that emotion.
Being socially aware means that you understand the power structure of the organization and it means you have empathy. As an extreme case of lack of empathy, suppose an employee's wife just dumped him and you enter his office and say, "Hey, Jack. Won't ask about the wife. Ha, ha. Just kidding. But, I need that report today, so focus. Don't worry about your personal, little life."
Obviously, that wouldn't go over too well! A great film of unmotivating leadership is "Office Space." The CEO is too funny. He walks around talking in monotone and he doesn't hear what the employees are saying. Again, an extreme case.
A leader must understand the emotional state of his/her employees and take it into consideration. That doesn't, of course, mean you must agree or tolerate unacceptable behavior.
After discussing these core competencies, the authors discuss different leadership styles, including:
* Visionary
* Coaching
* Pacesetting
* Democratic
* Commanding
The authors argue that visionary, coaching, and democratic leadership styles are beneficial to an organization. But, many leaders rely upon the more tenuous pacesetting and commanding methods of leadership, which can backfire or be overdone. For example, a pacesetting, commanding leader often makes people feel irrelevant and stressed out. That makes them less effective and motivated.
And, stress isn't good personally. Quoting the authors: "When stress is high and sustained, the brain reacts with sustained cortisol secretion, which actually hampers learning by killing off brain cells in the hippocampus that are essential for new learning." (Well that [stinks]!)
However, there is hope for stressed-out leaders or followers. Quoting the authors again: "Human brains can create new neural tissue as well as new neural connections and pathways throughout adulthood."
The authors argue that most leadership training fails because it teaches the neocortex brain or the learning brain. But, leadership skills require more limbic learning. The limbic part of the brain is the more emotional part that learns via repetition and personal experience. The authors compare learning leadership to learning to play the slide guitar. You must practice good habits.
To motivate oneself to improve as a leader, the authors suggest forming an image of your ideal self, acquiring a realistic image of your present self, and then practicing behaviors (until they become automatic) that have you act more like your ideal self.
The authors argue that this is the best way to improve, because it's a positive way of seeing yourself in the future and seeing a positive goal. Plus, as you improve your EI skills, not only will your leadership skills be enhanced, but so too will your personal relationships. Don't look at your weaknesses as 'gaps' that need to be improved.
The authors write: "Emphasis on gaps often arouses the right prefrontal cortex--that is, feelings of anxiety and defensiveness. Once defensiveness sets in, it typically demotivates rather than motivates, thereby interrupting, even stopping, self-directed learning and the likelihood of change."
Focusing upon how good you can become versus fixing gaps seems akin to looking at the glass half full versus half empty, but apparently that makes all the difference.
Peter Hupalo, Author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur."
Williamson's imagery and wordcraft set the standard for many of today's modern masters. His antihero Horn, the eccentric man-with-a-secret Wu, and his decaying human empire are shown in high relief, and the imagery evoked burns itself into your mind permanently.
Find and read this book; do what you must to acquire a copy, and savor it slowly. Horn's passage through the Tube and hyperspace is one of the most stirring examinations of consciousness I've yet to read; it still moves me.
Find out why one man can move an empire...