Excellent book, author is an expert in narcissistic defenses and agression, but other personality disorders are also well covered. Kernberg deserves credit because personality disorders are difficult to describe because they are so disorganized, dishonest, and chameleon-like. The analysis of aggression in relationships is valuable for people in many fields.

Kernberg provides wonderfully candid descriptions of his own negative or inappropriate feelings towards patients, cases where pateints refuse to cooperate with treatment, and cases where these patients manage to use hospital politics (!) to thwart treatment.

My initial impression was that there seemed to be a bit too much jargon and the subsequent hair-splitting. As I read it, time and again I summarized long paragraphs by jotting down 5 to 10 words in the margin. But he does so as part of thorough overview of difficult literature, and considering the amount of ground he covers, this book could have been much longer.

Odd he doesn't mention Facism, when the description of violent narcissistic sadists who embrace tyrants is so evocative of strutting Nazis. And his final chapters on perversion versus healthy sexual function is strikingly similar to Krafft-Ebing's "An Attempt to Explain Masochism," who reached their conslusions long before Freud and developed a clearer definition of healthy functioning than Freud.

Kernberg brings his clinical acumen and unique blend of ego psychology and object relations to bear upon the problem of aggression, particularly rage and its cognitively higher-level manifestation as hatred, in severe personality disorders.

He begins by offering a sensible formulation of affect theory, a developmental model which the clinician can use as a checklist: when the patient approaches an area of emotional sensitivity, is his affect primitive and disorganized or evolved enough to appear as an emotion? Is the somatic component there? The cognitive? And, since affect involves an object, is the object relation there too? If not, how far from consciousness? What defenses protect it?

The book is organized into sections on the role of affects, developmental aspects of broad-spectrum personality disorders (not necessarily (thank God) in the DSM sense), clinical applications of object relations theory (discusses the transference, structural change, and other such considerations), technical approaches to severe regression, and the dynamics of sexual perversion.

In this last section, Kernberg mentions that per classic analytic thought, homosexuality = unresolved Oedipal conflict. The man who loves a man is actually submitting to dad and thereby failing to identify with him and grow up. Explaining that the biological and clinical evidence is not yet in, Kernberg states, honestly enough, that in his clinical experience few homosexual men fail to present significant character pathology. But would a psychologically mature homosexual want to do therapy to begin with, especially within a tradition known to see homosexuality as infantile? And if the "I've always been like this" explanation given by my clients is true--and I think it is--then how is one to entirely escape significant pathology while growing up gay in a homophobic society? Unfortunately, these questions are not addressed in this otherwise indispensable work.

An extra gift is the author's obvious willingness to see beyond even the most destructive behaviors to the sense and suffering at their core.

This book is absolutely brilliant for Ghanaians who have never lived in Ghana or who no longer live at home and want all mum's recipes and more in one easy to follow guide!!

I am married to a man who happens to be from ghana. We live here in the U.S. It is very hard to cook at times because i usually end up cooking the same things over and over again. Although I can cook some dishes from Ghana, there was so much more that I knew of, but never knew the recipe for. I wanted to be able to cook more than just a couple of dishes from Ghana, so I searched for a book like this. I could have asked family memebers, but there is a great language barrier, which made that attempt useless. Now that I have this book, it has helped me to make my husband feel like he's "back home" in his mom's kitchen. Had I done it on my own, it would have took me years to get these authentic recipes, but thanks to Mr. Oto and his wife, I could probably teach my husband a thing or two!

Mrs. Fenuku

Otto Pflanze's book describes how Bismarck manipulated domestic and international politics to unify Germany.
This book, ending in 1871 at the end of the first phase of Bismarck's career is the first of three volumes. The book begins by showing how idealists and romantics tried and failed to unite Germany, but Bismarck was a realist and based his methods on the strengths and weaknesses of individuals.

First Bismarck used cunning diplomacy to isolate the Austria, Prussia's rival for control of the German states. The Franco Austrian war demonstrated Austria's weakness, and increased worries among northern Germans about French strength. This improved Prussia's hand, and later Bismarck's hand.

Pflanze follows Bismarck's tactics step by step through his labyrinthine maneuvers as he
played France against Austria during the Schleswig Holstein situation Bismarck wanted to separate Austria from the German confederation and inspire the northern German states to unite into a Northern German confederation.

After Bismarck unified northern Germany he designed the constitution to allow him to play the Reichstag against the Prussian chamber of deputies. There was also a balance of power between the state and confederate governments. We also see domestic political and economic background to Bismarck's actions. Pflanze shows the domestic politics after Bismarck created the northern German confederation.

Bismarck used relations with France to make advances toward the southern German states. Pflanze carefully shows how Bismarck cleverly tried to use the Luxemburg crisis to woo the southern German states. But the southern German states were afraid of being overwhelmed by Prussia. The only thing that the southern German states admired about the northern German confederation was the Prussian military expertise.

Relations between France and Prussia worsened when the throne of Spain was offered to a Hohenzollern Kaiser William did not care if any of his relatives got the Spanish throne or not. But when Bismarck made it seem that the French had demanded that Kaiser William renounce any attention in the Spanish throne, he angrily refused. The nationalist French responded by declaring war.

Bismarck wanted a war with France to inspire the southern Germans to join the northern confederation against the threat of France. In this he succeeded. But nationalist anger of many, and political reasons of Bismarck caused Germany to annex Alsace Lorraine, which resulted in permanent hatred from France.
The only faults of this book are that Pflanze should have described the people more. He also should have included more maps and a bibliography.

This is a work which, if you like solid history, you should read. It tells of the momentous things going on in Europe in the 19th century which are illuminated by this excellent work

An amazing resource for every congregation! As a senior minister of a growing congregation, my challenge is to use the time and talents of lay leaders effectively. When our growing staff required better personnel procedures and records, Church Administration made it possible for a brand new committee chair to quickly understand what was needed and put a system into place. Why re-invent the wheel when this book by church management experts offers exactly what you need to get the job done. We've saved weeks of committee work--and had more time for ministry. Every church board needs a copy of this book.

A huge timesaver for anyone involved in church administration, either as an ordained leader, member of a church's board/vestry, or church secretary/administrator. This book is accessable and clear, full of practical advice and very useful forms and policy "boilerplate." These forms save a lot of time and trouble, because you don't have to re-invent the wheel whenever you need a hiring policy or a church facility use agreement form. In addition, this work has a visible spiritual and scriptural core.

While this book was largely written by Methodists, as an Episcopalian I've found it very easy to adapt to my own church polity. It is used by my vestry and my seminary! I would definitely recommend that your church own a copy.

This book rocks! Don't sell your old copies, they are worth their weight in gold!

One of the most astounding books on remedial teaching ever written! I have one on my shelf and I would ~never~ consider selling it, it is ~priceless~!

"I received your kind letter and thank you for it. It was very nice of you to send me your photo, so that I have a better impression of you as a person..."

So begins Otto Frank's first letter to a young American girl in 1957, a suburban California girl named Cara as much in the mainstream of American society as the pop songs she listens to on the radio. That girl had read Anne's diary, had been deeply moved by it, and had written to Anne's father.

He wrote back.

Cara wrote to him again. Otto wrote back. She wrote again. He wrote again. And so on and so forth...for decades. They grew close. Cara faced all the same questions we face, about school, love, marriage, child-rearing, politics, family. But she had a very, very special mentor.

This book is her story of that relationship. Yes, it's a remarkable pairing. But it's also a remarkable tour through the last half of the 20th century, through the Civil Rights movement and Vietnam, the Watergate days, too many wars in the Middle East; all reflected in a single woman's coming of age. The letters back and forth are always revealing and quite often gripping. They are about private troubles and public issues. And when Cara, as a woman, goes to visit an ailing Otto, by now an old man, it would take a reader with a hard heart indeed not to feel a lump in the throat, at least. Then, when Otto her a collection of something that takes us, the reader, completely over the edge, in the best possible way.

We recommend this book to anyone, of any age. It is just special.

Dear Cara is a book about a man and a woman, across the world from one another, both in miles and the lives they lead. Otto Frank, who survived the death camps of the Holocaust but lost his daughter there, shares his hope and inspiration with a young American woman whose life is unfolding. His shares his unfailing human spirit and his love with Cara, a young woman who first wrote to him at the age of 13. Throughout her life, from her teen-age years, to college to marriage to motherhood, Otto Frank is there with her, offering his support and his inspiration. He listens to Cara's dreams, her troubles, her worries and through their correspondence, she feels the joy that a young person feels when someone is listening. A young woman's voice is heard. When, as an older woman, Cara's world is turned upside down, the wisdom and hope that Otto Frank gave her for twenty years, sustains her through her pain and provides her the support she needs to endure and accept, and ultimately, to grow from her own experiences. This book is must-read for young people and for adults who believe, or want to remember, through pain and turmoil, how important and precious hope, and love, is.

This is an outstanding book, in terms of both photography, and the history it presents. The book has photography of some of the most beautiful, and highly rare Greek coins; including some of the most elusive of the Hellenistic portraiture. I would highly recommend this book to any Greek collector or history buff.

Currently the most comprehensive and up-to-date review of the coinages produced by the heirs of Alexander the Great. Covers all major eastern dynasties (Ptolemies, Seleucids, Attalids, etc) down to the Roman triumph at Apamea in 188 BCE. Includes 45 pages of plates illustrating over 600 coins.

Contents: - General Features of the Coinage - Alexander and the Diadochi 336-c.280 - The Balance of Power: Eastern Hellenism c.280-188 - Epilogue

This out-of-print book deserves to be reprinted and bought by everyone. It is a mathematical physics version of the popular books on elementary forces and elementary particles except gravitation: the electromagnetic, strong, and weak forces, which occur in quantum electrodynamics (QED), quantum chromdynamics (QCD), and quantum flavor dynamics (QFD) as well as the standard and and grand unified models. The reader without the mathematical background should buy the book and hire a good consultant or tutor to translate the book into almost ordinary English or even to teach the mathematics involved. The Editor and some other reviewers have commented on the easy to read bold face print. Most people do not realize how rare the use of easy to read print is in physics. It is more common in mathematics, thanks largely to Springer/Springer-Verlag publishers in Germany where Nachtmann is one of the outstanding physics algebraic theorists. Nachtmann emphasizes Lagrangian densities and the Hamiltonians and Least Action Principle related to them, which is one of the highest level and most effective concepts in all of science and mathematics and should be understood by people in other fields as well. I have argued elsewhere that Lagrangians are a fundamental mathematical logic basis of the universe (sort of a Kurt Godel type argument in physics - recall the prize-winning book Godel, Bach, and Escher), but Nachtmann's approach is algebraic and experimental.

I have found this one of the most outstanding books in the field and particularly easy to teach out of. It would be marvellous to have an updated edition of the book and also a better index. I recommend it most strongly to beginners as well as experts.

This is a superb book, and the best way to first sample the delights of math for its own sake. Don't let the subtitle "Selections from Mathematics for the Amateur" turn you off. True, the math involved is elementary, not going beyond high school algebra and geometry. But the material won't be found in most textbooks, having been chosen with elegance and beauty, rather than utility, in mind (which isn't to say that it doesn't have its important uses). Even the professional mathematician who has already seen most of the contents will profit from studying the book's exemplary treatment of its topics. The authors are some of the best math expositors who have ever lived. Each idea in the book is developed admirably, and strikes the perfect balance between conciseness and lucidity. You probably can't do better in choosing an introduction to prime and perfect numbers, the four-color problem, regular polyhedra, Pythagorean triples, pedal triangles, periodic decimal fractions, Waring's problem, the number 30 (sic!), and many other fascinating intellectual tibdits.

At Dover's low price, this book is a great buy. Get it! If you have more mathematical knowledge, then I also recommend "Proofs from the Book" by Aigner, et al., which is written for mathematicians in a similar style.

Written by two top-notch mathematicians, requiring the mathematics that a high school student can do, this book takes you on a journey that is easy to follow and yet shows the power of mathematics. It is an excellent book for high school enrichement or early undergraduates.

Even if you are a mathematician you will be suprized at many of the results and enjoy trying to solve some of the problems. Many of the problems are quite hard. Even though some of the problems are the standard ones, many are off the beaten track. No matter what your level of expertise, I am sure you will enjoy this book.

This book takes a closer look at the forms in nature, and deriving architectural design from it.

It is a valuable book for designers who wish to stimulate their creativity through visual inspiration, drawn from nature.

Be inspired by the the source of designers' products.. not their final product...

ON THE SURFACE OF THINGS by Whitesides and Frankel, is another book with extraordinary images; though it doesn't refer to architecture and design, it is very inspirational.

This is a beautiful book. Beautiful not in the sense of our usual architectural books that show you Mr. or Ms. Who-and-Who just made another billion dollar project that has a golden ball on top. This book belongs to another category.

This is a book that gets you thinking.

In a way summarized Frei Otto's life-long quest of looking in mother nature for inspirations. The images are stunning. And you do not see them in architectural books. But why do we go only to Corbu or Wright or Calatrava for inspirations while leaving out the world?

Architects are always looking for ways to get out of the box. In terms of inspirations, I think it doesn't get too much better than this.