I have recently started working as a medical transcriptionist for several OB/GYNs. This book has been invaluable to me (and would be to anyone new to the field) because it not only lists each word, as a medical dictionary does, but also lists phrases as you would hear them, and matches words that would follow or preceed other words. When the doctor mumbles "lichen ___" I can just look up "lichen" and find 10 choice phrases that would include this word. This book has made my job much easier for me.

After 2 years in Denmark this book still managed to provide insights into the Danes. I find myself quoting it when trying to discribe Denmark to others ... and even gave it to my Danish boyfriend to give him perspectives on what others see as 'Danish'. His constant 'you mean other people dont do that' where only interupted by his laughter.

What is more it has been used as a textbook in a Danish Business School's cultural understanding classes (not my classes :-) and the Danish AIESEC (the worlds largest student organisation) offers this series to all the students participating in their international traineeship exchange programme - both those arriving in Denmark and those traveling to a 'Xenophobe' country.. what more recomendation do you need...

This is a well-written, no-nonsense book about emotional abuse. No fluff. The author takes the reader through the various stages of emotional abuse --- from the beginnings through the gradual erosion of identity and self esteem --- in both families and couples as well as in the workplace. She fills in the gaps that other books have left wide open and has a unique compassion for the victim. What was particularly helpful to me was the way she addressed the classic "Why doesn't the victim just leave?" question.

I purchased this book after extricating myself from a relationship with an emotionally unstable man. By the time I left the relationship, I had no self identidy or self esteem; he had sucked the life right out of me. I thought I was going crazy.

Emotional abuse and physical both erode the victims identidy, the only difference being that emotional abuse victims don't wear their scars on the outside. This book explains how the abuser gets inside your head, and the slow steady degradation of self that occurs as a result. I found myself amazed at the author's insights, and vindicated by her words of encouragement and healing. From this book, I learned to spot the warning signs of emotional abuse - in myself, and in my relationships. After reading this book, I don't think I will ever fall into an emotionally abuse relationship again. This book is a must read for anyone who has been in an emotionally abusive relationship, and anyone who suspects they may be.

Oh my. Oh my oh my oh my.
I could only read bits of this book at a sitting. Dr. Hirigoyen equates emotional abuse with trauma. That explains my intrusive thoughts and flashbacks while reading it. This is SO satisfying to one who has experienced the lasting effects of emotional abuse. At last! Someone understands!
This book is not for the timid. It is a clear-eyed, and unabashedly biased (toward the victim) look at the abusive process in varied aspects of life - the family, in business, and in the intimate relationship. Grit your teeth and read this one. It's a keeper.

I don't read much non-fiction, but I couldn't put this book down. Susan McDougal's courage was absolutely amazing. It would have been so easy to give Starr's zealots the lies that would have kept her free, but she didn't. She made poor choices out of misguided loyalty, and she paid dearly for them. I admired her frankness in admitting her errors in judgment and never looking for the easy way out. Bravo, Susan!

This book is one of the most important books I've read in years and I urge everyone to read it. What Susan McDougal tells us about the right wing zealots who threw her in jail because she refused to lie about Bill Clinton is truly a story that needs to be heard loud and clear throughout our land. Surely there is a special section of hell reserved for Ken Starr and his henchmen and women.

McDougal's voice rings true and clear, and she is laugh-out-loud funny. Clearly, her sense of strong humor was one of the many great character traits that helped her survive in the various prisons that the Office of the Independent Council dragged her through in their quest to make her tell lies to suit their own self interests. And the stories she shares of the women she met while encarcerated are truly heart-rending and equally deserving of your attention.

Most of all, this is the story of a woman who finds her own strength in the most harrowing of circumstances. Even if you're not interested in politics one way or the other, you should read this book

McDougal's story deserves to be read by every person in America who has ever wondered why they should do the right and painful thing in the face of powerful enemies and overwhelming temptation to save oneself at the expense of another. This is a tale of heroines and heroes, of good friends and false friends, of villains and the lowest scum to ever stride a courtroom. Ken Starr and his cronies, and those in various jails and federal prisons, who tried to assist him in breaking the spirit of this courageous and honest woman, have much to answer. She was an ordinary woman who faced a difficult challenge with rare courage. Her story is an inspiration and a source of encouragement in these difficult political times. The tale is fascinating and well written, and you will keep thinking about the book after you put it down. Susan McDougal took the hit for a lot of people when she went to prison for refusing to talk about Whitewater, and the Clinton land deal that went bad. In reading this book, you get a strong sense of McDougal's honesty and integrity, and how difficult it must have been, in the presence of so much insanity, to maintain that integrity.

Excellent information for the person just starting to study ballet. Be it child or grown up, this book is filled with facts from ballet technique to history, and even includes a dictionary of ballet terms. A must for any child starting ballet.....although one must realize that the ballet studio described in the book is not what one will ALWAYS find... studios' set up and rules do vary... Especially informative is the section about famous ballet dancers and choreographers, as well as the sketches showing how to do the basic positions and steps. You will not be dissatisfied with this one.

I went to the library and tried every book they have on the topic... we keep renewing this one, so now I'm going to buy it. This is like all the other books combined... it has everything!

The diagrams of steps and positions, in adition to the basic first five, are extensive and well-organized into chapters on Exercises at the Barre, Centre Work, Jumps and Travelling Steps... rounding off with A Simple Dance (combining various steps, etc.), and ending with a short (1-page) discussion of steps for two people (no diagrams here, just a few illustrations of people in costume).

My daughter is barely 3 and loves it... first thing in the morning we do some of the excersizes together and practice some of the basic positions. Before nap time, we read the story of how ballet began, look at the pictures of the costumes and the pictures of clothes people wear to a ballet class, talk about which ones she wants to wear someday when she is old enough to take a ballet class, and how you make up your own ballet. (She has made up her own silly ones, too.) And before bed at night, we read (and re-read ad infinitum!) the Stories of Ballets (though you do have to ad-lib to soften them a bit for kids this young, because most of them end in tragedy) and of Famous Dancers.

Our day does not revolve around ballet so much as it does around books and playing... but for over 2 months now, this book has not been out of the lineup one single afternoon or night.

And I'll never give up our morning exercise routine, so this book's big collection of diagrammed positions is something we will be able to grow into over time.

My daughter isn't interested in the sections on The Structure of a Ballet Company, Ballet As A Career, or Life At A Ballet School, but I thought they were great, and I can see how they can put some reality into the fantasies of parents or pre-teens.

On top of all that, there's a glossary at the end and a full index... it's just a very well-written book, appropriate for ALL ages.

The tales of King Arthur and of the knights of the Round Table are well-known and have been the subject of many books, poems (Tennyson), at least two musical works (Purcell's "King Arthur", and the famous Broadway musical, "Camelot"), and films ("Camelot", based on the musical, and "Excalibur"). The most famous English-language book version of these tales is this version by Sir Thomas Malory, yet this is not easily readable, even in modern prose. The modern English rendition by Keith Baines is excellent, for it allows those of us who do not have Ph.D's in English literature to get an idea of what the original was like, but the book itself is tedious in its very nature.

What you should expect with this book is a very good beginning and ending, and a "will it ever end ?" middle. Arthur himself cannot be called the central character, for he is virtually absent, except in the first tale of the book, which deals with his coming to power, and the last one, about his death. The rest of this book is concerned with jousting and tournaments, so much that in the end one gets bored with this never-ending succession of fights with knights whose names you'll only read once and which have no consequence on what is supposed to be the larger plot (such as the quest for the Holy Grail, or the famous Tristram and Iseult tale). Of course, the better-known knights of the Round Table, such as Launcelot, Tristram, and Percivale, are present, but only from time to time, and narration often shifts from one to the other for no reason.

What this book lacks most is continuity. Apart from the first and last tales, everything in between is not in chronological order, which gets confusing. In one tale one character is dead and another is well-known; in the next tale the first character is living and the second one is unknown (just take the example of King Pellinore and Sir Percivale). All tales were obviously separate ones, and the reader, at some point, will simply stop trying to understand how Malory ever came up with such an order for his tales. If Malory (or his original publishers) had any idea in mind when they chose this setup of the tales, it will appear unclear to most readers.

One of the few good points of this book is that, since it was written in the late Middle Ages, it avoids to a certain extent the over-romanticization of the Middle Ages, which is what later authors, such as Sir Walter Scott, did to such an extent that even today we cannot think of the Middle Ages without having in mind the picture-perfect version of it (which I will not delve into -- I'm sure you know what I have in mind). Even though chivalry as described in the book has some romantic elements attached to it, it is never fully exploited, and "Le Morte d'Arthur" certainly does not fit the requirements to be classified into the romantic genre (which was not fully described until the nineteenth century). This book therefore does not use romanticism as we now know it. But this good point may also be one of the book's weaknesses, because the topic is a legend, and not fact. Because this subject is not historically accurate (and some parts of the book are hilariously improbable), Malory could not use realism to replace romanticism, and I believe that if he had used more romanticism in his book it would only have made it better. In the end, Malory used neither style, and this makes his writing style very dry. His characters are mere fighting machines with no emotional depth, his narration is action, action, and action: no description, either of his own characters or of the scenery (a castle is a castle, nothing more). The scenes he depicts cannot be located, for the setting is never described. Malory, above all, was an awful storyteller. He could only describe his characters jousting and fighting, and since this had nothing to do with the larger plot, this only lengthens the book for no reason. (If you want a modern comparison, just think of a public orator who just tells personal anecdotes that are not related to his topic.)

Furthermore, anyone interested in the Middle Ages has nothing to gain from reading this book. It holds no historical interest (apart from a study of the English language, but then I would not go for this modern rendition) for the reason that its subject is not based on fact and its description of society in the early Middle Ages is simplistic. This book is certainly no "Canterbury Tales", in which a lot can be learned about what was life during the Middle Ages. So if you are mainly interested in history I'd skip "Le Morte d'Arthur" and I'd go for "The Canterbury Tales" instead.

In conclusion, "Le Morte d'Arthur" is worth reading only if you have the patience to go through it, for this book is overlong and repetitive. Keith Baines's rendition makes this task easier, and his appendix on the main characters is very helpful if you intend to skip parts (which you should not do because the whole is chronologically inaccurate).

Quite possibly the finest piece of
prose available to the modern world
(or at least the finest I have come
across). Absolutely no library
(neither home nor public) would be
complete, or dare I say, worth a
damn, without an unabridged copy of
Malory's insightful retelling of
many of the greatest Arthurian
romances (hundreds of years old at
the time Malory set them to paper in
the fifteenth century) all woven
together to form an eloquent vision
of chivalry, romance, and adventure
the likes of which all great epics,
before or since, pale in comparison.
No wonder this book has survived
five hundred years and longer. It's
all here: the most powerful
characters to ever grace the pages
of literary fiction, Arthur,
Guinevere, Mordred, Launcelot,
Merlin, Tristram, etc.; timeless
tales of honor, knights-errant (in
shining armor no less), fobidden
love, fair maidens, et al. Told
here in its most gimmering light are
the search for the Sangreal (Holy
Grail), the love triangle of Arthur,
Guinevere, and Launcelot, the
betrayal of Mordred, the wisdom of
Merlin, the restoration and eventual
demise of christian Britain, and the
tragic love of Tristram and Isould.
We all know these stories. We all
know of the sword Excalibur. We all
know of glorious Camelot. So what
makes these tales stand above all
else? We all long for what we
cannot have. Is there a man alive
who isn't seeking a true lover as
Guinevere? Is there an ignorant
fool among us who doesn't desire
peace or true love or fulfillment of
the soul? The Holy Grail, as we say?
Or Paradise? Isn't that what Dante
was searching for? And Milton? And
wouldn't it have been easier for
Odysses to, just give up? Today,
yes. Oh if only we could learn to
believe in a greater existence as
our ancestors did. What a better
people we would be. Not that
A! rthur's Britain was without its
problems. Quite the opposite,
actually. The difference between
Arthur's Camelot and our world:
Arthur's knights, Bors, Percivale,
and Galahad in particular, searched
for a remedy. No obstacle was too
difficult, no challenge too great,
as to prevent these valorous knights
from achieving their quest of
finding their prize, the existential
Holy Grail. Today, we search for
the best program on television, or
the fastest way to make french
fries. At that, only if it's
convenient. We could all learn from
Malory's tales (and I realize this
is simply my opinion). Le Morte D'
Arthur should be in every household
to share, and to enjoy, and to learn
from. It is a sensational book
(sectioned into either eight or
twenty one books, depending upon the
source) for all members of the
family. It should be read, and
reread often. Here I must voice my
strong opinion that this a book not
meant to be read in modern English.
Keith Baines' modern interpretation
of Malory's book is a wonderful
companion volume to the middle
English prose, but should not be
used as a substitute. Any reader
who chooses so is missing out on a
fantastic experience. It is not
that difficult to comprehend. To
read a modern rendition, instead of
one in Malory's elegant language, is
like reading the Bible in modern
English. Sure, the point is clear,
but a piece of the art has been
tainted. I also recommend picking
up a volume of Aubrey Beardsley's
art, which compliments Le Morte
D'Arthur very nicely. Also, I want
to mention that Malory's Le Morte
D'Arthur is the best amd most
complete of all Arthurian
collections, although there a large
number of great stories that should
not be ignored, some of which
include, Alfred Lord Tennyson's
Idylls of the King, T.H. White's
Once and Future King, and some
me! dieval works which predate
Malory's masterpiece, including,
Geoffrey of Monmouth's The History of the Kings of Britain, and four poems (authors unknown), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, La Mort le Roi
Artu, Morte Arthure, and Le Morte
Arthur. Even Mark Twain (arguably
one of the greatest, if not the
greatest, of all English writers)
could not resist creating a story
using Malory's fascinating
characters as the centerpiece, albeit in a comical, yet enchanting, way. I welcome all comments and am anxious to speak with others who agree with my strong words and with those who choose to call me fool, I am happy to debate my opinion. Thank you for taking the time to share my world.

Highbridge Classics' "Le Morte d'Arthur,"as read by legendary British thespian Derek Jacobi, is a great adaptation of Thomas Malory's quintessential Arthurian tome. Newcomers to Malory will find the audio book more accessible than the beautiful but often enigmatic source volume, while long-time Malory devotees will discover fresh nuances in Jacobi's authoritative rendition. Necessarily, some significant abridgements have been made, but at six audiocassettes this production still captures much of the Arthurian world's enormous scope. Featured storylines include Arthur's rise to the throne and his claiming of Excalibur, the epic search for the Holy Grail, the doomed love between Lancelot and Guenever, and the tragic final battle between Arthur and his ill-begotten son, Mordred. Jacobi conveys all the glory of Malory's prose style, while nonetheless cleaning up the diction a bit for modern ears. Finally, Ruth Morse's concise text introduction provides some keen observations on the big picture of the Arthurian myth. A magnificent version of Malory that no lover of Camelot should be without.

Though I have never read Thomas Hardy before, I shall again very soon. I greatly enjoyed Far From the Madding Crowd. I kept associating Bathsheba, the heroine, with Scarlett O'Hara. They are both women from the past who are struggling for a place where only men typically tread. Unlike Scarlett, Bathsheba's emotions are more restrained. She's so young, but matures through the book. The reader yearns for the day she finally matures to the point that realizes she needs a partner in life, and her perfect partner is Gabriel Oak, her steadfast mate of fate.

I definitely recommend this book for one of those cold rainy weekends curled up on the couch.

I am looking forward to diving into my next Thomas Hardy novel, Jude the Obscure.

I've always condidered myself to be sort of an optimist; so it is really odd that I've always really loved Thomas Hardy's books. I count Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure among my very favorites, and whether or not it is my favorite, I think that The Mayor of Casterbridge is marvelously written. Still though, reading all of that fatalism and cynicism can be a little much. It was really nice to pick up this novel and not read so many grim scenes.

Far From the Madding Crowd is a pretty simple love story driven by the characters. First, there is Bathsheba Everdeen. She's vain, naive, and she makes the stupidest decisions possible. Yet, you still like her. Then there are the three guys who all want her: Troy who's like the bad guy straight out of a Raphael Sabatini novel, Boldwood who's an old lunatic farmer, and Gabriel Oak who is a simple farmer and is basically perfect. The reader sees what should happen in the first chapter, and it takes Bathsheeba the whole book to see it. The characters really make the book. The reader really has strong feelings about them, and Hardy puts them in situations where you just don't know what they're going to do. The atmosphere that Hardy creates is (as is in all of Hardy's novel) amazing and totally original. I don't think any other author (except Wallace Stegner in America) has ever evoked a sense of place as well as Hardy does. Overall, Far from the Madding Crowd is a great novel. I probably don't like it quite as well as some of his others, but I still do think it deserved five stars.

This book was a required read for Academic Decathalon but I was handed the cliff notes and told to study them if I didn't have time to read the book. I dislike cliff notes unless I have already read a book and I need to review so I chose to listen to it on tape. I was thoroughly surprised to find myself laughing at the overly-honest Gabriel Oak proposing marriage to Bathsheba Everdene, I had been informed that this book was something of a rural comedy but I had not expected such preposterous situations and ironies. The novel centers around Bathsheba though I would not label her the heroine because the reader is often frustrated by her behavior and even annoyed by it. She is quite poor but a smart girl and a particularly beautiful one as well. Gabriel meets her and soon decides he must marry this young woman. She declines deciding that she can't love him and soon moves away. Gabriel loses his farm in an unfortunate event and through circumstance comes to be in the same part of Wessex as Bathsheba. She has inherited her uncle's farm and is now running it herself and she is in need of a sheperd and sheperding happens to be Gabriels forte so he is hired. Farmer Boldwood who runs the neighboring farm becomes smitten with Bathsheba too when he recieves a prank valentine saying "marry me" on the seal(this valentine was sent by Bathsheba and her maid/companion). He soon asks for Bathsheba's hand and Bathsheba who feels guilty for causing this man's desire says she will answer him upon his return in two months time. The union with Boldwood is not to be since Bathsheba falls deeply in love with Frank Troy and soon marries him. An ex-girlfriend of Troy's shows up but dies shortly after giving birth, Troy is heartbroken and tells Bathsheba that he loved Fanny more and still does. Troy leaves and soon is assumed dead but is truly only missing. Boldwood moves in one Bathsheba again but in a set of bizarre events Troy returns to take Bathsheba from Boldwood once more. Boldwood is infuriated and turmoil ensues. This is an escapist novel in these times and is well worth reading. Weatherbury and Casterbridge will charm you and allow you to experience the little oddities of Victorian Era rural life in the pleasantest way imaginable.

I was going to read this book, that is until I saw that Princess Diana was included as one of the "epic speeches that shook the world". Give me a break!

I've been a speech coach, writer and teacher for 18 years, and there are many times in the past when I've wished I've had something like this book -- to use with clients, to quote from, to inspire students. All the greatest speeches of the last century are here, and they deserve study. To have many of them on a cd just adds to the usefulness of the book. You can hear the magnificent cadences of speakers like Kennedy and King, Jr and learn how it's done. For all those who give presentations or speeches -- or for anyone who cares about great rhetoric and moments when the world was changed by the collision of words and passion -- this book is a must-have.

I can't think of a better book to give or receive. A must in everyones' library.
As we hear and read the brilliance and power of the twenty-one speeches they become more inspirational as we read Richard Greene's analysis and most interesting, informative background material. The photos further enhance the written words.
We knew that these outstanding speeches, by outstanding men and women, shaped our lives, and now we know why.
Richard Greene made an excellant choice of communicators that the world will long remember.

If they remember anything about Kareen Abdul-Jabbar, young basketball fans probably remember that when he retired way back in 1989 he was the N.B.A.'s all-time leading scorer. This juvenile biography by Helen Borrello goes all the way back to the beginning of Kareem's legendary basketball career, when he was known as Lew Alcindor and was the most famous prep basketball player in the country, before he went on to win three consecutive N.C.A.A. titles at U.C.L.A. This is fine intermediate biography of Kareem, that covers all the basics and highlights of his career, without going into as much detail as other biographies. The book is illustrated with black & white photographs, many of them showing Kareem with other N.B.A. superstars such as Wilt Chamberlain, Dave Cowens, Bill Walton, and Magic Johnson. This volume is part of the Baseketball Legends series which also looks at Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan.

This was a very short but interesting book on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I did not know how involved he was in academics before. He has proven that being smart does not block your chances for being a great athlete. Although Kareem has been retired from basketball since 1989, all athletes should study his star performances. He is a perfect role model for athletes of any sport. Naturally, all basketball player should study his life story by reading this book.

When Bill Russell was do commentary for the NBA broadcasts he always referred to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as "the legendary tall person from Los Angeles." This juvenile biography of Kareem reminds us that before he played for the Lakers there were glory days in Milwaukee, as well as college ball at U.C.L.A. and a legendary prep career in New York City. R. Thomas Cobourn begins Kareem's story with a key moment near the end, when in the 1985 NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics, the team and Kareem had been embarrassed in a 148-114 loss. At the age of 38, Abdul-Jabbar would dominate the rest of the series and be named series MVP as the Lakers finally bested the Celtics for the championship. This biography deals not only with Abdul-Jabbar's basketball career on the court, but talks about how he learned the game and how he grew as a person. The latter is reflected in two key moments, the first when he converted to Islam and changed his name from Lew Alcindor to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the second was when his mansion burned down and fans around the country started sending him records to help replace the prized record collection that he lost. It is this attention to the man as much as the player that makes this an excellent juvenile biography, because Cobourn talks as much about Kareem's encounters with racism as he does with the development of the sky hook, the prettiest shot in basketball history. This book, which is illustrated with black & white photographs from throughout Kareem's career, is part of the Black Americans of Achievement series, and includes an introductory essay by Coretta Scott King. Young readers who enjoy this book should also try Kareem's auto-biography, which is certainly on a comparable reading level.

This book is appropriate for young children. It has pictures on almost every page. Every other page has one to three questions that the young girl asks about what her sister does in heaven. Questions include: "Does she sleep in a halo?", "Does she ever get the hic-cups." There are no answers, only questions. This book could provide a format for the discussion of death and after life with your young child.

This is not just a book for children, but for anyone who has lost someone close to their heart. While reading "What Do They Do All Day In Heaven?" to my little girls, we can truely feel the love that radiates from every word and picture on each page. This was truely created through a mother's pure love for her children. Richard Paul Evans of the "Christmas Box" puts it best when he wrote in the forward, "There is another reason I recommend this book. When I first met Staci and Helen Thomas, I was taken by their genuine passion for their book and their sense of personal mission to address the children who grieve. This book, like its author & illustrator, is motivated by love and that is always the right place to start the healing process." This book will always hold a special place in our hearts.

I loved this book. The illustration was beautiful with pictures on each page. There was just the right amount of words so that children will be able to understand it. This book would have been perfect for me to show my son when we had a loved one die. At least I will have it for next time. If you love children's books this would be the perfect gift.