The Senate has long been characterized as the Old Boy's Club, a place where the political process is insulated from the pressures of cultural change. The nine women currently holding seats in the Senate have been, in very diverse ways, part of the winds of change that have swept through the American legislature. Nine and Counting chronicles the personal and political travails and triumphs of these extraordinary women. Though they come from very different backgrounds, they are consistently advocates for their constituents and have been important role models for women who are committed to public life. The book's narrative thrust is aided by skillful commentary from Catherine Whitley, interwoven with personal stories and comments from each of the Senators. The book is easy to read and steers away from explicitly political agendas or advocacy, instead focusing on the realities of women's lives and the importance of bringing diverse voices, male and female, Democrat and Republican, to the legislative process. As a young woman in politics, I found it fun and, in its own way, inspirational.

Members of our book club recently read this book. One member liked that all the women met without regard for personal or political differences. Another member would love to be invited to one of the dinner meetings (...). The description (p. 144) of the priorities of the women senators impressed another member. "Not compelling, but intermittantly inspirational", commented yet another member. One member wished that the biographies for each senator were compiled in one chapter rather than the current "bits-and-pieces" format. In addition, she would have appreciated the cover photos identified so that stories could've been matched to people. The final member was inspired to run for the school board. The afterword (in the latest addition) was a nice addition which showed the current dynamics of the Senate.

I particularly enjoyed reading this book because the stories and experiences of the nine women senators came in a short-story format, as opposed to long, drawn-out chapters on each individual. The book is a role model in many respects - one, for writers who want to captivate their reader's attention, the writing style and means of collaborating nine different stories into an interesting read; to young girls who aspire to be leaders of the next generation; to all citizens alike - men, women, of all races, ethnic groups, and religious backgrounds - this book is an inspiration of who we should consider as our role models. These nine women of the United States Senate have created a new path, one as Robert Frost poetically wrote that had not yet been taken, and one that serves as an excellent example for future generations.

The book also reflects the delicate balance of the social pressures of being a public service official with the humanity of these nine women and their families.

"Nine and counting" is a book all houses, schools, and libraries should have on their shelves.

This book needs more information and some sort of telephone numbers or contacts to understand what exactly need to be done for certain problems. For example, it recommends some protocols to use, but it is not clear as to we should use all of it at one time or are they optional, meaning can we use any one of them. It will also be helpful if it says where these are available. This book was not as helpful as I expected it to be.

Having studied, tried, or heard about many "health diets" in the last 35 years, I have always wondered why distinguished health professionals would produce diets that were so contradictory to one other. After all, it's the same human body we're talking about, right?

This book is the most complete in a series of books that answers these questions in a way that passes scientific muster. Of course we are not all the same, but why?

The answer lies in the fact that we each have a unique genetic heritage that dictates how we react to the foods we eat. The basic premise of Dr. D'Adamo's book reflects current thinking on the anthropological origins of our various blood types, which, although similar, are different enough to provoke adverse reactions not only to each other, but to foods that share the chemical markers of those various blood types.

If I can sum up my experience with this book in one sentence, it is this: If thousands of years of history of Homo Sapiens can be seen as a long dance of adaptation between plants and animals, we would all do well to know what our genetic ancestors adapted to, and stick to it. This book will help you do just that!

Individuals new to the study of genetics may find the science in this book to be quite overwhelming, as well as the many pages of footnotes.

I say bring it on! To those who say this is pseudoscience: Give this book a try. You may just discover what foods make you feel, think, and look your best, and discover why at the same time!

This updated 2002 volume supercedes D'Adamo's original title ER4YT as it adds secretor/non-secretor practical information regarding food choices for those who wish to further refine their diet.
Set up in an alphabetically arranged encyclopedia format, the text covers topics that range from the anthropology of the blood types, the history of blood types in medicine, a listing of conditions and diseases with relation to blood type and food choices for all 4 types.
If you are an advocate of the ER4YT program, this book is a must as is the delightful cookbook, 'Cook Right For Your Type'. I have been on the program at the advice of my health care provider for over 2 months and have slimmed down without really dieting all while feeling a heck of a lot better. Referring to this book, the cookbook as well as the original ER4YT help keep you interested --- as boredom resulting from monotonous food choices seems to be one of my number one problems with staying with any program.

This book was not made for scientific review, it was made for educating the mass-market about differing nutritional requirements for different blood types. For those who think D'Adamo made the whole thing up, I invite you to do a MEDLINE or PUBMED search on ABO types and disease. Go ahead, it won't hurt. Look up blood type O and ulcers, A and heart disease, secretor status and alcoholism. Read a textbook on lectins. Order D'Adamo's lectures on tape, particularly the one he presented to the AANP.

One study says there's no difference between blood types and stomach acid, but if you read further you'll find that they have the same levels of stomach secretions after a meal, but blood types Os reach the highest level a half hour before As do. Don't just sulk and point fingers -- do your homework!

Too lazy for that? Then try the diet for a couple of weeks. Notice how the only negative reviews are from people who didn't try it.

One last thought. What are the ABO blood types based on? They're based on the antibodies in your blood. Gee, do antibodies have anything to do with the immune system? Face the facts, our bodies don't all react the same way to the same foods, stress, or environments. Eat right for your body.

After reading this book, the light went on for me! It makes so much sense. I am Type O and my husband is Type A. Our personalities are VERY different and our food likes and dislikes are VERY different. While I like pasta and starchy stuff, my husband LOVES them. I'd rather have a grilled Rib-Eye Steak and he'd rather have Macaroni Salad. YUK! I LOVE vegetables but he loves Peanut Butter on Bread. I am trying to cut out the Wheat and Dairy slowly from our whole family's diet. Now that it is summer, we can get some delicious fresh veggies and have a variety of the meats on our list. Question: Does anyone out there know if animals have a variety of blood types also? I would venture to guess that Carnivores (like Wolves, Wolverines, etc.) have pretty much the same types of blood. Bears on the other hand might have different types, because some, like Polar Bears, are limited to what they can find to eat. While Brown bears might have different types than their Northern relatives, because they have such varied diets. Any Thoughts?

I'm a Type A lupus patient who has been sick (nauseated) almost every day after bkfst for many years. The book said Grape-nuts were a no-no for me as well as bananas. That's what I ate because I thought it was the most healthful. So I tried eating the Type A foods. Wallah, no nausea, and I'm feeling so much better (more energy, less pain) after only 2 wks on this diet. And this morning I stepped on the scales and discovered I'm down 3 lbs. while eating all I want. My physician husband, a Type O, has joined me in this quest to feel better. We were amazed to find that the foods we already knew we were sensitive to were listed under our individual blood types as "avoids!" Bless you, Dr. D'Adamo! I'm ordering a book for my daughter. And I'm making wonderful non-wheat breads, thanks to another Amazon.com book: Easy Bread Making for Special Diets by Nicolette M. Dumke.

This book is VERY basic and full of a lot of motivational passages. If you are looking for something to fill in the gaps in an advanced weight lifting routine this is NOT the book. It also has almost nothing on nutrition.

This is simply the absolute BEST fitness book I've ever read. Complete and no nonsense, this book gives anyone needing a solid base good, REAL information. This girl makes lots of SENSE. If you're REALLY ADVANCED you get what's happening in this book, and you'll get lots out of it. If you're looking for another star trip, this isn't it-- She teaches one that being a DIVA is in the basics and then layering them to create intensity AND individuality.......it's awesone!

"Diva" is a wonderful inspiration to those of you who would like to feel good about yourself as you begin to lose weight and learn how to keep it off. Terri Walsh starts from the beginning and tells the reader what obstacles she had to overcome before she could begin to heal both emotionally and physically. Her program is no nonsense and encouraging as she takes you through the levels of fitness. I actually read this book AFTER I had already been on a program similar to this that I had developed myself so I can say that it works! I've finally lost 22 pounds and now I love exercise. (I never thought I'd say that!) Read Diva if you would like to change your lifestyle forever.

At first, I was a big skeptic of the whole "blood type diet". However, Dr. D'adamo's research on food allergies is quite persuasive. His recommendations are simple: be aware of food sensitivities. He's not like Atkins or the Duchess of York, trying to find a quick fix. He simply explains that insulin/blood sugar imbalances, which affect many people and lead to sugar cravings, are helped through including more or less of certain foods that interact with the antigens on one's blood cells. Peter D'Adamo, a naturopath, peppers his book with anthropological insights that are also interesting. His theories seems a bit contradictory in places: for example, he does not reconcile the fact that many Asians are Type B with the fact that Type B "benefits the most from milk products". In fact, his overly-enthusiastic endorsement of milk products, in the case of type B, seems a bit skewed to me, especially given some of the research on how milk can cheese can cause a lot of inflammation. The section on herbs/supplements for the blood types has really changed the way I use herbs, for the better. At only [money], this book a a great deal. Give blood (they tell you your blood type) and then grab one of these little books.

I recently discovered that my long-term relationship has two sides to it. Instead of ending the relationship, I was interested to learn more about bisexuality and find examples of successful couples in similar situations. I found them in this book. I have also read [other books]- none of which were very positive on the issue of *dealing* with my personal feelings and fears while *keeping* the relationship. I understand that it is supposed to be "just" sex, but it is never that way for women. This book addresses concerns, gives examples of happy couples, and different options they have chosen. I questioned why a few of the stories were included, but many rang true to me. As someone who wants to continue my relationship with the person I believe to be my "soulmate," this book calms the nerves and sharpens the blurred lines. One thing this book makes note of is the fact that the woman in the relationship is often the one to make the sacrifices in order to keep the relationship going. These sacrifices include sharing her partner/spouse with men and choosing to make the relationship "non-sexual." These seem to be unfair "compromises" that only the [other book] has addressed as well. Hardly any literature that I've found has addressed the woman taking on a lover as well - or better yet, finding another bisexual male to share! I'd sooner my partner have sex with another man in front of me than going off who knows where and doing who knows what.... But the women in this book seem to be happy with their chosen paths and their partners. I hope that with the guidance of this book (and hopefully there will be others like it) we will be as happy and comfortable as Whitney portrays these couples to be.

This audio cassette is a huge disappointment. Not only is the content unamusing, but Valerie reads the lines s-l-o-w-l-y ... perhaps to try to fill 90 minutes (yes - the whole thing, unabridged, fits on one 90 minute tape!) How many pages were in the book version I wonder ... 6? It is hard to fathom what Valerie is trying to achieve with this mis-mash of supposedly woman-empowering babble, but she has failed dismally - she isn't even funny or interesting when quoting the odd line from Rhoda. Valerie, if you read this - PLEASE sit down and write your autobiography. I am sure all your fans would much rather hear about your rise to TV superstardom than hear tired old rants along the lines of "wouldn't it be different if men got menopause", etc.

This book was a quick read and good for deep hearted laughter. I say it is for those over 40 as you have to have lived some of life to see the realistic humor and feel it as well. Enjoy!

Valerie Harper's book will make you laugh out loud, and reach for the phone to share the lines with your friends "of a certain age." Universal humor shines with universal truths, and wisdom.
This book is for women who have lived and laughed and have the grey (or in my case, as a former redhead, white) hairs, and grin wrinkles, to prove it! Valerie Harper reminds us that life at any phase, is to be celebrated.

I was almost through the book when I realized the author really thought she was writing about calling (newfangled version of "vocation") in a general way. She or her editor just didn't get it done. Little cries about a "different" sort of book - just go where it leads you, etc., can't defend jumping around from anecdote to anecdote and then measuring EVERYTHING by herself and her shutdown life. All that glory and all she can do is go over and over how she was "rejected." I really enjoyed the stories of the nuns, though. Staying or leaving, they gave us glimpses of women of depth and wonder. I've never been a Roman Catholic but I'm a Christian. I'm glad I read this and in the words of people lots younger than old me, the author needs to "get a life."

This book evoked a number of emotions as I read it. There were times I laughed aloud, remembering my own Catholic school days. Many times books of this type resort to veiled "nun bashing". We tend to focus on Sister Matilda, the drill sergeant, who rapped our knuckles with the ruler! Ms Whitney, however, portrays these Nuns as real, human women who are continually growing and rededicating themselves. Though their numbers are fewer at this time, they are reaching out to others in more diverse ways. Many of the women who left the Convent seem to still have a bond with the Nuns. This speaks well for Religious life! The author's own spiritual journey, woven throughout the story, was thought provoking and touching. I found her characters, as well as the message of the book ,very believable.

When Whitney went to the Pacific Northwest to interview the Dominican sisters who had shaped her childhood, she met far more than old teachers in a community that was struggling to find its place in the modern world. She confronted her own loss of faith and began a personal quest for spiritual identity. The Calling is a penetrating analysis of the Dominican sisters who had been a significant part of the author's life from grade school through high school. It's also a journey inward. All this said, The Calling is not a ponderous, self-absorbed examination of conscience. With honesty, humor, and an obvious affection for the nuns, the author opens the doors to a modern religious community, and lets us inside. Through the personalities she remembers, she moves from past to present with ease, and with a style that reads like chapters in a novel. It's a great experience.

This was the first book that I bought after my father died. At this writing, I'm a 28 year old female with a surviving mother and brother. My mother was the one to go to group councelling, but being a private person, I felt otherwise and sought solice in a book. Boy, did I end up in a "group" with this book. Basically, the book is pretty much written about a group going through "death therapy" and all of their different experiences and reactions. Granted, I could relate with some of them and discovered that some reactions of my own and my family was normal, but the frustrating thing was trying to understand how to handle them. I kept saying to myself: "Okay, I know that's happening, but what do I do?" In other words, I unfortunately did not find much comfort within this book as it really gave me no answers. Whereas the author claims to her group in the beginning: "You're coming into this group, but don't expect results" seems like a cop-out. Why on earth did I buy this book if I wasn't looking for answers? Isn't that the point? Unfortunately, it read like snippets of novels about these people's lives and really didn't give much more information than what they were going through. It was only until the last chapter (roughly 10 pages out of 236 to be precise, that the author gives 10 paragraphs on how to handle a loss. Then why did it take 226 to get to what I wanted?) I was uncomfortable with the book from the beginning. In fact, throughout most of the book I found it unbearable. Reading the tragic things these people went through really did nothing but depress me. Whether it was reading on how they were fighting, or sleepless nights crying or how family feuds got downright nasty over inheritance, it took me six months to get through the whole thing. I was seeking comfort -- not looking for people "just like me." It seemed more of a pity party than help. I wanted to make progress, not reflect on anger and sadness. I don't recommend this book if you've recently suffered a loss. I'm afraid that it didn't give much comfort to me and I will probably toss my copy. It's not very spiritual, and I found it more to tout how great the author was as a psychologist than a genuine benefit to the bereaved. I recommend you shop around or seek out councelling through your funeral home or church (either or usually know of support groups.) This book really didn't do much for me at all and I won't be recommending it.

I agree with the other reviewers, especially in that it does not spend a lot of time providing "answers"; the title is definitely misleading. A far better and more sensitive book is by Alexander Levy, "The Orphaned Adult". Please read it even if if you have a surviving parent.

Although not as good as Therese Rando's HOW TO GO ON LIVING WHEN SOMEONE YOU LOVE DIES, this is good in presenting a wide variety of responses to the death of a parent. I think a key here is recognizing that there is not just one "proper" response to the death of a parent, but that a wide variety of responses are possible and appropriate. The format of a therapy group allows the presentation of different responses and different weays of working through grief. I think the reviewer from Hawaii who criticzed this book was looking too much for something to mirror her own experiences, instead of accepting this simply as the presentation of a range of exeperiences none of which may necessarily mirror what one feels oneself. As with the book by Rando, I found this most useful simply because it said to me that I shouldn't necessarily have the same experiences others would have or have had.

Let me start off by saying, the book is well written and a quick breakdown of a problem. (We had a police shooting, in June that is being investiagted, so this is relevant). I grew up in New York City, so I have SOME idea of how "mean" the streets can be. Still, there are ways this book could have been improved. More input from the side of the police would have been very helpful. Otherwise, this can easily be pictured as a small group of rogue cops making it bad for the majority of good ones. I found Mr. Burris' argument in the beginning about the cost to cities persuasive. As a taxpayer, I would get tired of my tax money eaten up by settlements with citizens abused by police. It is an important book for all Americans to read. I would, though make some changes to it.

Why do I say this? Well because this book is very well intentioned and is not anti-law enforcement. What it is however is eye opening and factual. It is also an easy read and keeps the reader interested. I think this is a very good book for someone who is interested in knowing more about police brutality but has never read anything about it before. In other words a good starting point. It is very mainstream however. I still liked it but had one friend who felt it was a little to warm and fuzzy "let's all just get along" sounding and skirted some of the meatier issues and colder facts. But like I said it's a good starting point for someone just developing interest in the topic.

I applaud John Burris' book, Blue VS Black. The book did not shock me, probably because I had the advantage of being an insider when much of what Mr. Burris describes was going on. What does amaze me, however, is the attitude of denial expressed by the former Oakland officers reviewing the book.

I am the author of Blackjack and Jive-Five, a book that chronicles many of the internal barriers faced by black police officers as they struggled to become part of the Oakland Police Department in the early 1970s. White officers did not want them and were in no mood to accept more than just a token few-so you can imagine the furor that affirmative action unveiled. I was a white sergeant in that department, one who helped to recruit and train these fine, young black men, and one who also tried to help them assimilate into an overwhelmingly white-majority police culture. It was a brutal time for those black officers. So, this question comes to mind for those persons who criticize John Burris' book as being fictional, slanted, and self-serving:

If so many white Oakland officers could not even be civil to the black persons within their own ranks, how can the abuse of black citizens be denied??

There indeed was abuse toward blacks-both internally and externally-and it was widespread. Moreover, if I shock some by stating this, consider the fact that abuse would have been much worse had it not been for a very tough police chief during the late 60s and early 70s who would not tolerate open racism and did everything within his power to control that which was clandestine. Mine is a sad commentary, but true. It amazes me that other former Oakland officers reviewing this book can have lapses of memory about the racial issues brought forward by Mr. Burris.

I read a borrowed copy of the book, but have since purchased a copy for my personal library. I am sure I will consult it many times during my future writings.