When I read the Bell Curve in 1994 and again this year, I found it convincing, though I don't consider myself a racist. I was looking forward to hearing the "other side" of the debate, and this book provided one of the first opportunities. But I was truly dissapointed.

I did start out biased in that I didn't expect to be convinced. But I expected the contributing writers (or at least some of them) to provide some scientific evidence behind their claims. Yet precious little is there.

Don't get me wrong, it is well written, eliquent, and entertaining, it just doesn't hold up to scrutiny. For one thing, so many of the writers clearly didn't even read the Bell Curve. They use ideology instead of science in a desperately vain attempt to make their point.

That point?

Most could guess before reading that all contributing writers feel that it is in fact environment and socioeconomic factors are the main (or only) things that contribute to who we become. They do not give an inch on their traditionally liberal views that all or nearly all the differences in behavior in blacks, whites, and other races are the result of society. Genes play no role in their world.

We must open our eyes. The Bell Curve is not correct on everything. But the genie is out of the bottle. There is just too much evidence in so many scientific fields to support the main thesis of the Bell Curve.

In this book you'll find some reasonable and scientific objetions to The bell curve,but also a lot of nonscientific arguments,plain lies,literature and ideology.I'll give you some literal quotes.

1.Page 425:"I'm not interested in going to a laboratory in an effort to attemp to prove that Blacks are inferior to Whites or vive versa." Nor Herrstein nor Murray never said this,they said that Blacks are ON AVERAGE less inteligent than Whites (And whites less inteligent on average that Asians,and Asians less inteligent on average that Jews.What a strange racist-nazis,they say that jews are the smartest people in the world and that we caucasians are the third group in inteligence).

2.Page 426:"Even if their claim were to be scientifically true,there would have to be no exceptions to the rule.In other words.we could not have a Dubois,a Martin Luther King...()...among a constellation of great black leaders and intellectuals in the world". My good.This proves that this person (Paulo Freire,a well known educator) have never take a brief glimpse on The bell curve.If you spend ten minutes staring The bell curve you'll find two big illustrations on page 279 with the Black and White IQ distribution in the NLSY.If you look at the illustration above you'll see that a lot of black people have IQs above 120 and even 140.How you can write in a book subtitled The bell curve examined without takink even a brief look at the book?.

3.Page 40:"Only "Caucasoids" meet all 21 items on Rushton's "Criteria for civilization" checklist".(Rushton wrote a very interesting book titled Race,evolution, and behavior).That's a plain lie.Rushton said that Asians ("Mongoloids") also meet the 21 items (Race,evolution, and behavior.Page 142).

4.Page 408:"Above all,a university's mission should be a humane one of seeking to further equal treatment of women and men of all kinds.If work is conducted which moves us in other direction,it should be plainly seen as against a university's mission.The issue then,...()... is not,I repeat is this good science?.Or even,is this correct science?.But clearly,is this socially responsible science?". MAY THE FORCE BE WITH US.Galileo was a social irresponsible sciencist because he undermined the confidence of the people in the Bible whit the geocentric theory.The same for Darwin,who created anxiety and great sorrow on the people whit his horrible "we come from ape" theory.And what about the discoverers of the pill?.They destroyed our sexual morality.They were very irresponsable sciencits.I think that when you're making such irracional statements you're loosing the game. e-mails are welcomed.Language corrections too (I'm not a native english speaker).Peace.

offering an alternative view to the troubles in todays lower to middle class society...the analysis of IQ versus achievement, propogation, and economic status was enlightening and true. From our perspective it seems that the troubles in todays society is due to a lowering of intelligence by virtue of the vast majority of low intellect people supported by the welfare system.....Ignorance breeds ingnorance....

THIS THING SHOULD BE SET ON FIR

I only wish jackson would have lived long enough to finish this novel. It is great, and I am glad that her husband published it. It should not be set on fire, that is a very ignorant thing to say. Just because we do not understand, or dislike something, does not mean we destroy it. Didn't your mother teach you anything? Everyone who is a fan of Jackson, do read her last work. You will not be disappointed.

I am an education student at Texas A&M University and Contextualizing Teaching is one of the worst books on teaching that I have ever read. This book offers virtually no solid answers on teaching techniques or practical classroom applications, but is full of emotionally charged language that stems more from a desire to advance a political agenda than to educate future teachers. While smugly extolling the virtues of tolerance and acceptance of all ideas, the authors consistently use demeaning and invalidating terms to refer to the ideas of anyone who might think differently from them. If you are looking for a feel-good book of postmodern philosophy, this book is right up your alley. However if you want a practical book that will help you become an effective teacher, keep looking.

This book turns teaching on it's head. It leads you through the history and foundation of education in this country and contemporary issues such as standarized tests, cirriculum develpoment, race, class, gender, and the value of teachers and their job. The authors ask you, the reader to question, to explore and to disagree with them. It is not an easy book to read,it is challenging and difficult at times, but worth while.

This kind of modern day thinking is mighty scary and I am sad that Shirley MacLaine promotes such foolishness. Ms. MacLaine likens life to a play and believes we ALL pick our parts and others are just characters in our play and besides, they PICKED their part too! Why is it people who have money, fame and relatively good luck fall for this? Why never starving victims of war or horribly abused women in Saudi Arabia? This line of thinking also apparently justifies whatever you choose to do in your life as it is merely for the experience and quite eliminates the need for much of a conscience. After all, if you decide to hurt someone, it was chosen in THEIR life script as well. Psychic types often promote this viewpoint. They claim a person who has been murdered was really a willing participant, as they actually wanted to leave this world. Scary concepts that psychopaths buy right into for their justifications. Does Ms. MacLaine really understand what she is encouraging? Pat Brown/Director/Investigative Criminal Profiler/The Sexual Homicide Exchange, Inc.

Shirley Maclaine has proved herself not only to be a very good actress, but writer as well. She is very insightful and obviously intelligent. For those exploring the metaphysical realm, I would highly recommend her books.

I swear, this book is the worst book ever for Mass Communications because it's just a bunch of articles about what might be the case of mass media in the future. If i didn't need the book for a college course, I would never have bought it

This is a good media textbook. Shirley Biagi does a nice job of updating this text regularly. Students will find it interesting and informative. Lots of photos and sidebars add to the information. Covers all the media as well as social isues, ethics, global conglomerates and more.

This book has been incorporated in the authors later effort "Saber and Shadow"; The later book never stated on the cover it's a rewrite or incorporates significant sections of the earlier work. Why do these authors find it neccessary to invent new words?? Peasants are peasants are peasants; why name them "shaiids" just because the book is set 5000 years after a holocaust. If the author finds it neccessary to put in all these made up words to show how the language has evolved or devolved at least they ought to parenthecize the word we as readers are familiar with and insert it right there in the sentence. I hate having to stop reading to try and sound out a place, "Illizbuah" sounds like "Elizabeth N.J." or break my concentration by flipping to a glossary. For goodness sakes we are reading the book this century (In English) not 30 centuries from now. The history at the back of the "saber and Shadow" book along with racial types, clothing worn, etc. was useful but I think it should be in the front of the book. Well written and
interesting esp with the inclusion of ten knife foot and his depredations whilst staying at the Weary Wayfarer. I think "sharpest edge" just plopped the reader into the action, I much prefered "saber and shadow"'s provision of more details leading up to the hot tub scene rather than starting the book in the hot tub as in the "sharpest edge". Interesting concept for a persistent world and the adventures of two fellows who happen to be female and end up lovers. As far as the cover art "I guess" it's done to attract oversexed adolescents (as they all are). I don't see their clothing as functional for all the rough and tumble and skipping across rooftops, sewer crawling the characters do. Nice legs but too much cleavage.

This book was rewritten and republished in 1992 as "Saber and Shadow". The newer version is a much imrpoved book, and considerably longer to boot. It is part of the "Fifth Millenium series, which is collectively written by S.M. Stirling, Shirley Meier, and Karen Wehrstein.

Don't waste your money on this "handbook". There aremany better books on weaving. This book reads like a collegeinstruction manual for students who will never continue on in weaving. The historical section is the best part of the book. Following the simple historical info section are completely pathetic section on card weaving, inkle weaving and loom weaving. ( ) this book is way way way overpriced! Maybe if it was offered (it for less money) I might purchase it again as a very simple reference manual but I would have some doubts at that! END

This book is the standard college textbook at the two universities where I studied weaving, and includes historical information, practical instruction, and design information. The practical instruction assumes you have a floor loom. Recommended.

Let me begin by saying that in Spring, 2000, Scientists, thru an MRI of a fossilized dinosaur, JUST found out that they had four chamber hearts and were WARM blooded creatures, not the cold-blood things they new as an absolute scientific FACT in January 2000. My, my. What a difference a few months makes. One day, our "science and technology" will become advanced enough to record/measure, weigh and repeat excursions into the 90% of the human brain we know nothing about. They will begin to be able to interpret the visible light scale beyond the puny ultraviolet and ultra sound barriers our mostly dormant conscious human brain can today interpret. Science will see and hear ET's and possibly learn our true origin from them. Then characters like this author will be standing alone with egg on their faces and skulking off to a dark room to play their favorite dress up game, "The Spanish Inquisition."

The two reviewers believe that no one should try to criticize or "discredit" another's beliefs- hmmm...So all beliefs are valid, then? How about the nazis' beliefs in Aryan superiority? How about the KKK's beliefs in White supremacy? How about the Theosophists who believe in fairies and wood sprites? It's all valid? No one should try to "discredit" another's views?

There is really no point in arguing with people like the two "reviewers" who have weighed in here; if one wants to believe, as shirley does, that thousands of years-old beings are somehow "channeling" their thoughts and knowledge through living humans, or that ufo's are kidnapping people from their beds at night, or that James Van Praagh really speaks to the dead, there is nothing you can do to convince them otherwise. It's very sad, actually...

It always amuses me to see people get angry about those, like Mr. Gordon, who debunk this kind of nonsense- er- "phenomena;" everywhere else you look it's accepted, in the media, especially; it's totally one-sided. Why begrudge skeptics when they get to say their piece? Why does it make you so uncomfortable...? Thanks Mr. Gordon, for taking the time to write this- you're not alone!

Before I review this book, I must first respond to the below review about dinosaurs being warmblooded. What the reviewer is referring to is a story that appeared in the popular press awhile back. The trouble with getting ones science news out of the daily newspaper is that one only gets a fraction of the story and the newspaper rarely ever gives follow ups or corrections to the original story. In this particular case the scientists warned that their "conclusions" were speculative and premature, however, the newspapers ran the story as if it was a scientific consensus to the fact that dinosaurs were indeed warmblooded. In reality, the scientists never made any such claim, their speculations were sensationalized by the press, and the jury is still out on the subject. The fact that I even had to write this proves the need for more critical thinking.

Now on to the book review. This is a fun, informative, fast paced, engaging and easy to read book. It is one of the best indroductions to critcal, skeptical thinking that I know of. The book teaches one to be skeptical of supernatural, too good to be true type claims. To a reader already familiar with the writings of James Randi, Ray Hyman, Joe Nickell and others, most of the material in this book will be old hat. To others, the material will be quite an eye opener.

This book is not as in depth or advanced as James Randi's Flim Flam Or Carl Sagan's Demon Haunted World, so if one has already read those books, this one is not really needed. If one is new to this type of writing, this book is probably the best place to start. Start with this book, as it is so easy to read, and then as you wish to learn even more read James Randi's Flim Flam, Carl Sagan's Demon Haunted World, or any of the books by Ray Hyman, Kendrick Frazier, Joe Nickell, Martin Gardner, or Phillip Klass.

Another great application for this book is to give it to someone to read that you know who tends to be just a little too gullible. I have found that asking someone to read a book like Flim Flam tends to be a little overwhelming, especially for someone not necessarily interested in having their worldview questioned. For example, one may have a family member who is just a little too open minded and one wishes to give this family member something to read to provide a balanced perspective to this person's thought process hoping that he or she will be just a little more rational when all is said and done. So the family member is given Flim Flam to read, but the family member, who is not really interested anyway, gets bored after a few pages and nothing is ever accomplished. This book, however, with its larger type point size, shorter paragraphs, and quick paced style will draw the reader in and hook them from the very first page. Then hopefully the family member will be be just a little bit smarter for reading this book and then, if interested, can be given something else to read like Flim Flam.

This book is full of fluff. For a beginner knitter, this is an awful awful book to start with (by the way, vogue knitting: the ultimate knitting book is excellent for all level knitters, especially for beginners...) Everything explained seems to only wandering upon surface; and sometimes i wondered if the authors forgot to finish what they tried to say. Also I hope they can actully organize their thoughts a bit more to write down lists; for instance, list different yarn weights from the lightest to the heavest instead of poping out whatever they can think of. And don't try to explain things in words when diagrams can show better...in other words, this book needs more drawings than fluffy wordy words.

So many times I've been told I could sell my projects (most of which are original designs). But knitting is so time-consuming, I wondered how I could ever make a profit at it. This book does not have the answer. There is one inspiring example of a woman who does custom knits for Hollywood stars and prices her garments based on the hours that go into them. Then again, another example is of a woman who sells her handknitted baby blankets for [very little money for the effort] She must make a few cents an hour. What kind of profit is that? The author seems to assume that if you love to knit, you'll be happy making whatever money you can above the price of yarn. There are no details on how to get into selling designs, or opening a shop. Some info on craft shows and how to get started teaching. Includes a few free patterns you are allowed to make and sell.

This book is very useful for beginning and advanced knitters alike! It explains in plain english the different stitches and abbreviations. Various patterns are included as well as how to market and sell those wonderful knitted creations. I highly recommend this as a reference tool and a good way to begin to learn to knit.

While I appreciate Ms. Trickett's efforts, it does not address the seriousnes of some panic attack sufferers. My daughter suffered up to 35 panic attacks a day and was quickly becoming agoraphobic (fear of going aside for fear of triggering an attack). While prayer plays a role, her book is not sufficient enough to truly deal with the seriousness of this issue. It has taken two years of therapy to bring to the surface the root of the problem and telling a victim to pray, go outside daily, laugh, etc. really is not much help.

Although the author is obviously driven by good intentions, such as promoting natural therapies which are invariably ignored by traditional medicine, she seems to have a dangerous prejudice against the use of medications which can be very useful for the treatment of more serious forms of panic attacks. The relaxation, diet, breathing retraining and massage techniqies she recommends are all very nice things and can be very helpful for mild sufferers. They can undoubtedly also be of great help for people with a more severe condition. However, writing that tranquillizers and antidepressants can actually cause panic attacks - as she does - can considerably increase a patient's fears and phobias about taking the medication he or she has been rightly prescribed.
I found certain parts of the book as extremely helpful - such as the ones where she describes what happens in our body during panic attacks - which helps to de-mistify them and put them into perspective. However, as I pointed out, her stigma against tranquillizers, sleeping pills and even anti-depressants is absolutely counterproductive and it ignores the fact that millions of people would have to leave their jobs and isolate themselves for months if they avoided taking them - thus perhaps adding to their low self-esteem and in some cases precipitating their depressive symptoms to uncontrollable levels. Although the underlying conditions are very different, what she writes is comparable to telling people who suffer from diabetes they should be careful about taking insulin because they may become addicted.

After suffering personally from panic attacks, Trickett compiles numerous studies and self-help answers from medical journals and files, scientific publications, and empirical wisdom on how to recognize symptoms of panic attacks and how to treat them yourself.
Covering topics from exhausted nerves to low blood sugar she gives some wonderful suggestions on how a healthy diet, muscle maintenance and proper breathing can reduce the cause and effect of Agoraphobia.
Great book with lots of practical information.