Book Description
Angel Lupo grew up in a traditional Italian home — an exclusive club where Mama’s word was everything ... and where nice girls saved themselves for marriage. All Angel wanted was to be movie-star blond, change her name, and get as much attention as her prettier older sister Lina.
Now Angel is nearing thirty, penning Catholic greeting cards for a living, and still jealous of her sister, who has a house in the suburbs, two kids, and a husband who loves her. So Angel does the next best thing: She answers a personal ad.
Dirk Diederhoff is blond, teaches at Vassar, and is definitely not Italian. Nor is he the thrill-a-minute lover and soul mate Angel prays for. But as Lina, recklessly embarked on an affair of her own, would tell her: There are no perfect tens out there — only men who want you to talk to them in Italian during sex.
The award-winning author of
Pink Slip gets the rituals and rhythms of domestic life just right in
Sometimes I Dream in Italian, a bittersweet comedy about sisters, lovers, and a family that doesn’t quite translate.
Customer Reviews:
Not What I Expected.......2004-10-21
This book was beautifully written, although sometimes a bit confusing. You really felt for the characters. My biggest problem with the book was that I read the back cover and expected something light-hearted and happy to read when I was sad. After reading the book I felt even worse. It was really depressing and made me feel somewhat hopeless. The book definately made you understand how the character felt. Now I'm going to have to read two fluffy books to feel better! Maybe I'll reread the Shopaholic series!
Depressing.......2003-05-23
I was very disappointed - there was no humor in any of these stories. There was not one character that was balanced or that I could even like. Italians are affectionate and they laugh at family gatherings - there was no warmth or laughter in this book.
About a girl.........2003-04-26
This book isn't really about an Italian-American girl rejecting her ethnic family for a more standard, Anglo-Saxon life. This book could have been about a girl of any ethnicity. It's about a girl rejecting family in her passage to womanhood.
Ask any girl, Italian-American or not, if they were ever embarrassed by her mother in the grocery store. As I was reading the first chapter, I never imagined that the girl's mother was really as embarrassing or odd as she portrayed her to be. We are seeing the mother through her daughter's eyes. The craziness, the quaintness, the ethnicity is magnified by the eyes of an awkward adolescent.
Ignore the reviewers who want this book to be the definitive picture of the life of an Italian American family. That's not what this is about. To expect that is unfair to this book.
If the author lived this life, then this is her honest expression about it. We don't have to know the history of the parents or their Italian heritage to understand this book. We have to know how it feels to move from being a member of a family to being an individual adult person.
I didn't even finish it........2003-03-21
I really didn't enjoy this book. I am half Italian-American, and I've read a few books about growing up in an Italian-American family in an effort to learn about my roots. I have also read several books about 2nd generation Americans struggling to find their identities while caught between what is "normal" and their immigrant parents. I normally enjoy such books, but not this one. I know that life wasn't always a bowl of cherries for these familes, but this book makes it seem as if it was absolutely horrible. Yet, I couldn't find anything about the daughters' lives that are really that bad or even different from many people's lives in this country. Where is all the anger coming from? I really don't know. This book is dark and depressing. Some say it is funny at times, but I didn't think so. I couldn't even bring myself to finish it.
A failure to locate the context of the events.......2003-01-11
This book, written by someone who claims an Italian-American background, follows a model that often is used by other Italian-Americans who wish to recount their personal stories as persons who grew up in a household that one might regard as alien to the standard "middle class, white, non-ethnic" family.
The other reviews of this book, as entered on this site, nicely capture the kinds of things that are said about such books.
As one can see, the reviews are quite varied....
Why? Why do the reviewers on the one hand regard the writing in this book as revealing, "accurate," perceptive, insightful, but on the other hand as demeaning of the parents in the family, and one sided.
My analysis of this kind of writing leads me to a conclusion that I reached long ago as I reviewed one after another book that attempts to discuss growing up in an Italian-American family.
If I were a publisher, I would not publish a book of this type unless the writer first gave a thorough account of the history of his/her parents.
Italian-Americans need, before they write memoirs, to develop a context in which they can interpret their family.
It is a simple fact, is it not, that not every family is a middle class, white, well-educated family.
So, to take off after one's parents as if they somehow were ignorant, intolerant baboons because they did not espouse the values of middle class, white, well-educated parents does something of an injustice to those well-intentioned, hard working, committed people.
There is an old saying -- "You can't know your future if you don't know your past."
No Italian-American should try to write about his/her family without exploring the history of the family in the pre emigration Italy... without knowing the ways in which Italians were treated when the major waves of immigrants came to the USA .. and to the ways in which the descendants of the immigrants were subjected to the "Americanization" process.
And the most negative feature of books such as this is to be seen in the reviews in which the reviewers say that the writer "accurately" portrays his/her family. How would a reviewer know whether or not the portrayal is accurate? Does or does not not this kind of statement, especially when made by a non-Italian-American, indicate that the reviewer is assessing accuracy in terms of his/her stereotype? And from where did the reviewer get the stereotype?
As I say, we should call a moratorium on publication of books such as this.
There are very fine books about growing up in Italian-American families. In my estimation, those fine books first make an effort to set a context for the discussion of experiences in an Italian-American family.
Book Description
Out beyond the Enclaves, in the desolation between the cities, an Indian flyer has been downed. A chip encoded with vital secrets is missing. Only Gahzee can venture forth to find himwalking the line between the Dreamtime and the Realtime, bringing his peoples ancient magic to bear on the poisoned world of tomorrow. Bringing hope, perhaps, for a new dawn. This is Charles de Lints classic novel of native magic in a North American future, now back in print.
Customer Reviews:
Not his best.......2006-04-12
Like other reviewers here, I love Mr. de Lint's work. His more recent books, particularly, have great characters and a clear-sighted take on human nature. This one, however, was full of predictable stereotypes and painfully bombastic Japanese. (I'm surprised and a bit appalled that the editor didn't address this.) Unless you're a diehard de Lint fan, you can skip
Svaha.
Unparalled Magnificene..........2005-06-20
It may not be typical De Lint, yet it definetely is his work. A wonderful story which stretches all imagination. Don't let whatever misgivings you have about this being a science fiction story deter you from reading this. The first few pages may be a little slow-paced and bewildering, but you'll never regret enduring those first pages. THRILLING rise to the climax though the fall from the climax is a little too steep for my liking, it should've stretched longer. Nevertheless, a fine, enthralling must read... as all of De Lint's works.
Not so sure about this........2003-01-22
I love, love, LOVE de Lint. But Svaha...Svaha left me a little cold. I enjoyed reading it, sure, but it didn't affect me the way his books usually do. Part of the problem, I think, is that I don't think even de Lint knew what he wanted this book to be about. There is an element of Japanese culture, the cliched wastelands, the mandatory Native spirituality...but nothing really tying any of them together. The book revs up an adrenaline high early on, keeps it going, and then just ENDS. In, like, a page, the story reaches its climax and conclusion, and the reader is left thinking, "What? It's DONE?" The story doesn't feel finished to me. There is also the annoying gratuitous character death, which is really atypical for de Lint. He keeps introducing these characters, mostly walking sci-fi charicatures, and then kills them off. Also, there was what I have come to call the "Wyrd Science" problem--the panoramic view of the future, the technology--basically, all the sci-fi stuff just sounded sort of off to me.
Don't get me wrong, here...the writing is pretty damn good, and a bad de Lint is better than a great Nina Kiriki Whatsername any day. But this just didn't quite work for me.
Charming tale, good detail.. should have been longer.......2002-04-12
The tale itself is well done, De Lint is always a masterful storyteller. The world he brings alive is robust, diverse and very reminscent of the cyberpunk genre. The only problem with the book is i think it should have been longer. About half way through i felt as if i was being dragged through the plot, and it started to get predictable as the pace picked up. When i finished, it was very anti-climactic. Still, its a beautiful tale - i like the style of telling a story from several viewpoints - its not done enough.
Older de Lint work, standing the test of time........2001-11-14
Before they began reprinting "Svaha" I managed to find a first printing copy in a used book store - yay! This is one of his older publications, and I've found that some of de Lint's earlier works are a little more quirky, a little less formula than his newer ones. In many ways, that's quite desireable, and I find "Svaha" to be a great read.
Average customer rating:
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Svaha
Charles de Lint
Manufacturer: Tom Doherty Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GQ02TM |
Average customer rating:
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Svaha
Charles De Lint
Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S9IOEC |
Average customer rating:
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Svaha
Charles de Lint
Manufacturer: Orb Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTTIPK |
Customer Reviews:
Super Reader.......2007-08-01
Jokertown Shuffle is of similar quality to the last Wild Cards books. We learn more about Bloat and the Rox, and we discover who the man behind the Jumpers is.
Dr. Tachyon is still annoying, as he becomes involved with yet another woman, and Blaise is still causing problems.
The best part of the book is the mysterious character of Black Shadow getting a star turn, at last.
Wild Cards 09 : 01 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 01 - Stephen Leigh
Wild Cards 09 : 02 And Hope to Die - John J. Miller
Wild Cards 09 : 03 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 02 - Stephen Leigh
Wild Cards 09 : 04 Lovers 1 - Melinda M. Snodgrass
Wild Cards 09 : 05 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 03 - Stephen Leigh
Wild Cards 09 : 06 Lovers 2 - Melinda M. Snodgrass
Wild Cards 09 : 07 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 04 - Stephen Leigh
Wild Cards 09 : 08 Madman across the Water - Victor Milan
Wild Cards 09 : 09 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 05 - Stephen Leigh
Wild Cards 09 : 10 Lovers 3 - Melinda M. Snodgrass
Wild Cards 09 : 11 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 06 - Stephen Leigh
Wild Cards 09 : 12 While Night's Black Agents to Their Preys Do Rouse 1 - Walter Jon Williams
Wild Cards 09 : 13 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 07 - Stephen Leigh
Wild Cards 09 : 14 Riders - Lewis Shiner
Wild Cards 09 : 15 Nobody Does It Alone - Walton Simons
Wild Cards 09 : 16 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 08 - Stephen Leigh
Wild Cards 09 : 17 Lovers 4 - Melinda M. Snodgrass
Wild Cards 09 : 18 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 09 - Stephen Leigh
Wild Cards 09 : 19 While Night's Black Agents to Their Preys Do Rouse 2 - Walter Jon Williams
Wild Cards 09 : 20 Lovers 5 - Melinda M. Snodgrass
Wild Cards 09 : 21 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 10 - Stephen Leigh
Wild Cards 09 : 22 Lovers 6 - Melinda M. Snodgrass
Wild Cards 09 : 23 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 11 - Stephen Leigh
Who is that Bloat guy, anyway?
3.5 out of 5
Brennan and Wraith attacked, Kien Fadeout.
4.5 out of 5
Inner circle looks at the situation.
3.5 out of 5
Docs do it as Blaise descends into Jumper incest crossgender rape.
4 out of 5
Bloat's Walls are shaky.
3 out of 5
Tach discovers gender bladder issues as Blaise continues.
3 out of 5
Latham strategises.
3 out of 5
Drug raids, Rox life, and Trips has to get Flash.
4 out of 5
Durg goes Rox as pressure builds.
3.5 out of 5
Tach pregnant, tad distressed.
3 out of 5
Prime discussions.
3 out of 5
Shadow shakes it, as Sleeper wakes.
4 out of 5
Cage doc.
3 out of 5
Revelations for Veronica and Jerry, sort of secret Aces.
3.5 out of 5
Jerry gets what he wants as he puts his finger on a large part of the problem.
4 out of 5
Gathering of forces.
3 out of 5
Tachyon resistance.
3.5 out of 5
Peanut's death changes Bloat.
3 out of 5
Durg vs Shad as the assault musters.
4 out of 5
Turtles swim better than Takisians.
3.5 out of 5
Bloat rallies as attack begins.
3.5 out of 5
The Turtle has a geometric intervensionist brainwave, and Tach has more than one Baby now.
3.5 out of 5
Penguin tells Bloat a new trick.
3.5 out of 5
Welcome to the Rox..........2002-11-15
The other reviews I've read here seem overly harsh to me. The only fantasy I've ever enjoyed was Tolkien, and I'm an avid reader (and critic) of Science Fiction, and I Loved this book, comic book elements and all. Yeah, Tachyon (or, more accurately, Melinda Snodgrass) is getting really boring really quickly, but I thoroughly enjoyed everything else about this book. We are first introduced to Bloat in this book and the events that unfold around him from here on out in the series (the Rox War) I thought were some of the most exciting and well-written of the entire series. I would say this book is well worth the read.
Wild Cards Has "Jumped" the Shark.......2002-08-21
I've read the first 5 or 6 books in the series, and with the possible exception of Aces Abroad, I would recommend them. But maybe something went wrong in the last few books, because this one just plain stinks.
Character development has largely been traded for character complication, especially in Tachyon's case.
The series has always been more sci-fi than science fiction, but you'll need a crane to suspend your disbelief at some of the contrivances here, including a gang of bodysnatchers, two trips to alternate worlds, and a joker who can apparently manifest anything at all from thin air.
The Black Shadow passages are the one bright spot. Shadow is long overdue for development, and it was worth the wait. He emerges as an interesting character, and delivers the most satisfying action sequences to boot.
And to be fair, Bloat is a well-developed and believable character. However, I found him surprisingly boring.
The Wild Cards series used to be well-written and fairly sophisticated. Not unlike Alan Moore's Watchmen, it was an interesting, adult, and very believable look at superheroes. Now it has degenerated into a typical comic book.
An Improvement.......2001-05-09
After the terrible 'One eyed Jacks', the Wild Cards make a return to form of a sort with 'Jokertown' shuffle. Of a sort, I say, because even though I enjoyed this book way more than the last one, I still think the Wild Cards have taken a wrong turn somewhere.
Start with the good? Well, the good is Walton Simon, who wrote another 'nobody' story, and this time more succesfully than other times, maybe because he doesn't have to carry a whole book on his back. Even Lewish Shiner surprises us with a story almost decent - how unbelievable is that?
The Really good is Stephen Leigh and Walter Jon Williams. Boy do these guys deliver. The Wild Cards need way many more writers like them. I've heard good things about 'Black Shadow', and it is all true. He's become one of my favorite characters. Strong, vicious, and ultimately just.
Leigh's Bloat is one of the main narratives in this Wild Cards book, and while I don't QUITE like his stuff as much as I like the Puppetman, but this is also high quality fiction.
The Bad, though, is the general story. The Jumpers were a mistake, making St. Lethem the villain was a mistake, some of the plot twists concerning Bloat seems like a mistake, and the entire Blaise character ark ( and some might say his entire character) have been misconcieved.
However, the REALLY bad is Melinda Snodgras's Tachyon.
What happened to the woman who wrote what is still one of the best Wild Cards stories out there 'Degredation Rites'? That story had real emotion, cleverness, subtlty. But this...
Her story in WC 9, 'Lovers' is an awful 'hit you over the head' feminist message thing. OK, so Tachy's a chauvinist, what else is new? The story is so weak, pathetic and uninteresting, it actually ruined several stories which were more or less related. The dignity of Tachyon is all gone ( I believe I've discussed the over-exosure of the character back in WC4. Boy, was I right). I do hope they'll kill Tach off and Snodgras will either try and write more stuff like 'degredation rites' or go away.
Because, at the end of the day, we need more stuff like 'Degredation Rites' to make the WC world interesting again. The Wild Cards aren't SUPERHERO stories - they're, at their best, an action and plot oriented attack on the problems of society using Science Fiction. Plotlines like the 'Jampers' only make the story weaker, because mindless action we can get elsewhere. The entire Jampers ark is, for this reader, insubstantial and reeking of Fantasy, not even wild Science Fiction.
Maybe this review has been too harsh. Jokertown Shuffle is entertaining. But to me, the Wild Cards can be much more than that, and I hope it'll return to form soon.
Average customer rating:
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Jokertown Shuffle.
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HOY1JA |
Book Description
Mad Bear was a member of the Bear Clan of the Tuscarora Nation of the Six-Nation Iroquois Confederacy of the United States and Canada. A Native American rights-activist, he was also a medicine man and a leader with great power and influence both among his own people and cross culturally. In this personal and captivating narrative, Doug Boyd recreates Mad Bear's tales of magic, his healing powers, and Native American legends. Mad Bear creates a rich and colorful portrait of the fascinating life of this vibrant, spiritual man.
Customer Reviews:
Tuscarora dreaming.......2004-11-02
This book follows Boyd after his meeting the eclectic Tuscarora medicine man and documents their travels across the country, with the aim of promoting inter-religious dialogue and cooperation. It is written well; Boyd managed to captureMad Bear's culinary and other idiosyncrasies in a way which is genuinely funny and, at the same time, filled with valuable information about modern native medicine. With native Americans information rarely comes in an explicit way; likewise, the most valuable stuff in the book is hidden between the lines: the Tuscarora/Iroquois dreaming practices, the practices used to take care of and obtain feedback from nature and the commitment to working together with spiritually aware people from all over the planet.
The Native Americans understand (suggests the book) that these are important times when teachings have to percolate from their keepers to a wider, global audience, that we have to work together to neutralize the forces of chaos and greed that are destroying the fabric of life on this planet and that life can be an amazing and mysterious adventure if one allows it to manifest itself through us. These things are brought forth in an easy conversational style, especially in the first half; the second has to do more with specifics of Boyd's own participation in inter-Indian dialogue etc which I did not find as gripping. Still, this is a valuable book and if you want to learn how to speak (and keep your mouth shut) with the Indians, you will found it useful.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough........1999-11-08
Doug Boyd again, as in "Rolling Thunder", has shown us the everyday life of a remarkable man. Thank you Doug for reminding us how it is possible to live the sacred path with gusto. Since we are not all able to sit at Mad Bear's knee to learn his great wisdom, Doug shows us that the traditions still exist and are practiced. This is a book that should be read by everyone.
Book Description
This
award winning book (One of the Best Spiritual Books of 2003--awarded by Spirituality and Health magazine) is an essential tool for all of you working to protect the environment; to promote world peace; to end world hunger and human rights abuses; to liberate animals from suffering; and to raise planetary consciousness. If you are involved in any one of these causes, then you are contributing automatically to all of them. They are all deeply interconnected, and none can go very far forward without the others. All find their common ground in the ethics of nonviolence, compassion, and reverence for all life.
In this book, you will find hope and encouragement for your healing work and your vision of a world at peace. Peace to All Beings reveals the root cause behind the violence and war now being waged against the earth, the animals, and people. The good news is this: When we recognize the root cause and, at the same time, hold fast to our shared visions of planetary peace, we empower ourselves both physically and metaphysically to change the world.
This book is a valuable tool for this challenging journey of ours. In it you will find useful facts, inspiring true stories, ageless wisdom from some of our greatest visionaries, meditations, and over seventy prayers. When you buy one for your own use, please consider buying another one or several to give as gifts to spiritual leaders, activists, and anyone who might possibly join us in our work to bring peace to the earth, to humanity, and indeed to all beings.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic!.......2003-07-07
What an inspiring book! To everyone who loves animals: read this book! You won't regret it!
Compassion - Yes! Homo Ahimsa - Not likely!.......2003-03-25
As a vegan and former Animal Rights activist - and I use the word "former" very deliberately - I applaud the efforts of committed persons who to try to make the world as safe a place for animals as it SHOULD be for humans.
Activists' finest hours are when they provide hands-on assistance directly to suffering or endangered animals. A project a few years ago that succeeded in finding a new farm home for feral cats on the KU campus was Animal Rights activism at it's true best.
I was there. I saw some of it happen.
However - I, for one, do NOT share Judy's belief that humanity is on some threshold of throwing some evolutionary switch from "Homo Sapien" to "Homo Ahimsa". Sadly, that is only a fairy tale of a future that will never happen by human effort alone.
People can make a difference - and everyone should always TRY. But as long as there are humans, there WILL be slaughterhouses. And as long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.
While I and my wife do not support these things [slaughterhouses, circuses, lab tests, etc.], neither of us has any illusion that they will ever be fully abolished from this earth.
Is compassion for all living beings deeply spiritual? Of course it is!
Is it exclusively "Liberal"? No way!
If you take the words "Pro-Life" literally, they stand for equal respect for all of life, animal as well as human, and born as well as still within the womb. On this ONE issue alone, this reader stands in full agreement with Carman.
However, I challenge activists who fight for animals to be aware of the dominion that New Age thought has over much of the Animal Rights movement.
Again, you have to decide for yourself if that's good or bad. Just be aware of it. Be very aware.
Let's always remember that it was a Christian-inspired [NOT New-Age inspired] man named William Wilberforce who founded the British Society For The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals [BSPCA]. This was the direct forerunner of the American ASPCA, which was the first de facto national Animal Rights group organized in the United States.
He is the same William Wilberforce who fought for many years to end the Slave Trade within the British Empire in the early 1800s - and succeeded.
Let's be as compassionate in our living as we can.
With our eyes open.
Good night, and good luck.
MountainLion413
Book Description
This book celebrates the long neglected art of the Kamoro, a people living along the southwest coast of Papua. Traditional Kamoro culture was characterized by an almost uninterrupted series of feasts and ceremonies. Some of these feasts are still celebrated today. Woodcarvings made in a distinct style play an essential part in the proceedings.
For the first time, a selection of major pieces from the collection of the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, augmented by rare objects from other museums in The Netherlands, has been brought together. Many of the objects, some collected as early as 1828, are unique. Recently collected woodcarvings show the versatility of the Kamoro in continuing the tradition while adding innovation changes to their repertoire.
This book, edited by Dirk Smidt, includes a substantial essay by Jan Pouwer on major ceremonial feasts, and contributions by other experts in the field, including Todd Harple, Karen Jacobs, Methodius Mamapuku, and Hein A. van der Schoot.
Customer Reviews:
Accompanied by a fine essay on major ceremonies.......2003-11-13
Kamoro Art: Tradition And Innovation In A New Guinea Culture will find its place in any art history collection with special focus on primitive tribes and peoples in general and Asia in particular, covering the neglected art of the Kamoro peoples living in Papua. Major pieces from the collection of the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde supplements other pieces from other Netherlands holdings to provide a comprehensive visual coverage accompanied by a fine essay on major ceremonies by Jan Pouwer and other contributions.
Average customer rating:
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Vogue Sewing for Your Children
Anne Marie Soto
Manufacturer: Smithmark Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0061811327 |
Average customer rating:
- Seller Top Notch
- Recommended by the accidental quilter
- Awesome interior spaces for quilt lovers
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Decorate With Quilts & Collections
Nancy J. Martin
Manufacturer: Martingale & Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
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Quilts & Quilting
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Decorating
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ASIN: 156477158X |
Customer Reviews:
Seller Top Notch.......2003-05-22
The book I received was in terrific shape and was definitely what I expected. I'd definitely buy from this seller again.
Recommended by the accidental quilter.......2000-08-08
You've got all these quilts! What are you going to do with them? Beautiful color plates show how the movers and shakers in the quilt making and quilt collecting world display quilts around the house. I was particularly intrigued with the chapter on Sewing Studios. They are warm, homey places that employ many antique pieces for storage and decoration. And every idea doesn't require a show place of a home either. On page 35--they show several old quilts tucked into an easy chair and covering a table--it would look cosy anywhere!
Awesome interior spaces for quilt lovers.......2000-05-03
This is every quilter's dream book. Beautiful quilts used in very creative settings. From country to contempory - this book's got it all.
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Como Corregir Pruebas En Color
Gargan Bann
Manufacturer: Editorial Gustavo Gili
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 8425214904 |
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The Hope, Hype, and Reality of Genetic Engineering: Remarkable Stories from Agriculture, Industry, Medicine, and the Environment
John C. Avise
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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The Virus and the Vaccine: Contaminated Vaccine, Deadly Cancers, and Government Neglect
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Human Genetic Engineering: A Guide for Activists, Skeptics, and the Very Perplexed
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After Dolly: The Uses and Misuses of Human Cloning
ASIN: 0195169506 |
Book Description
An introductory tour into the stranger-than-fiction world of genetic engineering, a scientific realm inhabited by eager researchers intent upon fashioning a prodigious medley of genetically modified (GM) organisms to serve human needs.
Book Description
Most people live one life; Jack Dreyfus has had two. The first was filled with remarkable accomplishments as he founded the highly successful Dreyfus Fund. The author's second life began in 1963 when, in the midst of a severe depression, he did an unheard-of thing: he asked his physician for a medicine not traditionally used to treat his symptoms and returned to good health almost overnight. When he saw six others have similar results, he realized he had an obligation to investigate further.
Jack Dreyfus retired from two highly successful businesses and established the Dreyfus Medical Foundation. Through the Foundation, the author has worked tirelessly, with no financial interest, to show how this medicine—phenytoin—has been reported useful in thousands of medical journals for more than 80 symptoms and disorders, ranging from thought, mood and behavior disorders to cardiovascular, neuromuscular and pain ailments. The Foundation now has programs in dozens of countries around the world, providing assistance to millions of people suffering from psychological and physical difficulties. However, in spite of the overwhelming evidence, this medicine, patented in the United States, is still overlooked in this country because of a tragic flaw in our system of bringing medicines to the public.
At once inspiring and provocative, richly informative and full of warmth and wit, The Story of a Remarkable Medicine is an extraordinary account of how one remarkable man has dedicated nearly half his life to bringing a prescription for hope to millions.
Customer Reviews:
Wish could give 6 Stars!.......2007-03-09
Jack Dreyfus deserves a medal for his crusade to get dilantin into doctors' minds and offices. Unfort'y doctors have minimum exposure to thebenefits of vitamins and medicines such as dilantin. They'll never get on board as long as the FDA and big drug cos continue to make their millions and billions on prescriptions that do us more harm than good. BUT read Jack, get to know why he has devoted most of his life to promoting Dilantin for all our ills!
Book Description
In this remarkable, never-before-told account of the Ovitz family, seven of whose ten members were dwarves, readers bear witness to the terrible irony of the Ovitz's fate: being burdened with dwarfism helped them to endure the Holocaust. Through research and interviews with the youngest Ovitz daughter, Perla, the troupe's last surviving member, and other relatives, the authors weave the tale of a beloved and successful family of performers who were famous entertainers in Central Europe until the Nazis deported them to Auschwitz in May 1944. Descending into the hell of the concentration camp from the transport train, the Ovitz family—known widely as the Lilliput Troupe— was separated from other Jewish victims. When Josef Mengele was notified of their arrival, they were assigned better quarters and provided more nutritious food than other inmates. Authors Koren and Negev chronicle Mengele's experiments upon this family and the creepy fondness he developed for them. Finally liberated by Russian troops, the family eventually found their way to a new home in Israel where they became wealthy and successful performers. In Our Hearts We Were Giants is a powerful testament to the human spirit, and a triumphant tale that no reader will forget. Photographs are included.
Customer Reviews:
a gem..............2007-03-02
Just when I thought I knew all the big stories from the Holocaust, I come upon this... and I had never heard of this family.
My father's family was from this same region in Romania, and I wish my granpa and grandma were alive to ask them questions...who knows? They might have even seen this family perform! Ah, the things we never asked our parents and grandparents when they were alive cause we were so busy in our young lives!
Wonderfully told story about family togetherness...Tender, raw, and real. One can even try to understand why there was a sort of "affection" between the family and their captors--as unbelievable as it seems.
Read this one.
A very interesting family.......2006-05-13
The family photo on the cover is a classic, and I first saw it as a child in a Time-Life series book. The condition has since been diagnosed as pseudoachondroplasia, a genetic disorder of the cartilage.
Even if it weren't for the religious persecution and horrendous experiments performed on them by Dr. Mengele, this would have been a fascinating story about a challenged family who rose above their obstacles, without being exploited, to lead fulfilling lives. All appeared to be emotionally well-adjusted and totally lacking in self-pity.
People who are interested in the Holocaust and/or dwarfism should read this book.
An unforgettable perspective on the nightmare of the Holocaust.......2006-02-09
Penned by a pair of Israeli journalists, In Our Hearts We Were Giants is the never-before-told true story of the Ovitz family, seven of them dwarfs, who experienced the horrors of the Holocaust - yet in an odd twist of fate, their dwarfism actually helped them to survive. Serving as popular entertainers until the Nazis deported them to Auschwitz in May 1944, the Ovitz family - widely known as the Lilliput Troupe - were separated from other Jewish victims. The notorious Dr. Josef Mengele, his diabolic "research" on twins and other genetically unique individuals already underway, took a special interest in the Ovitzes. Even as he arranged for vile experiments to be performed upon the Ovitzes, he developed a bizarre fondness for them and their will to survive. Pieced together from interviews with the last surviving Ovitz sibling and her relatives, medical documentation, archival lists, and original Auschwitz records, In Our Hearts We Were Giants is an unforgettable perspective on the nightmare of the Holocaust.
The Seven Dwarfs.......2004-09-23
The story of the Ovitz family's devotion to one other and to their religion is by turns heartwarming and heartbreaking. By now, many of us have read books, seen movies, and heard stories about extraordinary survival won through that extraordinary horror, the Holocaust. This book stands with the best of those stories because of its uniqueness -- seven of the 10 Ovitzes were dwarfs, and therefore the entire family became the special "pets" of the dreaded Dr. Mengele.
The writing is hardly slick or seamless, but it gets the job done in a more than satisfactory manner. The text seems to speak English with an accent, and while that can be a tad distracting at times, it confers that much more veracity upon the story of the Ovitzes.
The resourcefulness, dedication, and intelligence of the Ovitz dwarfs enables the reader to see them as much more than medical curiosities. Not only are they real people, they're very special people. Frankly, people of this caliber would be worth writing a book about even if they were of normal stature. Dwarfism aside, the story of the Ovitzes is that of a loving, close-knit, traditional family of a type that seems sadly alien to many of us today.
The family's Jewish faith remains strong even in the face of growing persecution. When it is decreed that Jewish performers may perform only for Jewish audiences, the Ovitzes skillfully contrive to obtain identification papers that do not identify them as Jews, yet they remain observant by conveniently falling ill on every sabbath, so they do not have to perform. Later, when they are held in the concentration camp, they manage to say prayers and fashion makeshift candles in secret observance of holidays.
The suffering the Ovitzes endured at the hands of Mengele is not related in excruciating detail, but what information we are given is excruciating enough. This book is generally more vague, more poetic about the concentration-camp atrocities than other books, but it is no less horrifying.
Horrifying, too, are some of the details of the Ovitzes' lives after the war. They remain devoted to one another, and continue to stick together, but now they are also bonded by what haunts them. Their nephew -- who was only a baby in the camp and learned to call Mengele "Daddy" so that he might be spared from torture -- recalls being awakened frequently by his aunts and uncles screaming in their sleep.
One of the most interesting aspects of this book are the conflicting accounts of the dwarfs' activities in the concentration camp. Several witnesses claim to have seen the Ovitzes performing in the camp, whereas the Ovitzes always firmly maintained that they did not perform -- and indeed, would not have done such a thing. Other witnesses claim to have seen several of the dwarves kowtowing to Mengele and to have heard them praising him to the other prisoners. The Ovitzes deny this as well.
The authors of the book do not attempt to clear up these discrepancies; they simply present both sides, and acknowledge that perhaps certain people's memories are clouded or inaccurate. I admired this tactic.
This remarkable family made their way in a world that gave them very little more than sharp minds, winning personalities, each other, and their strong faith. Though they did gain wealth and widespread renown before and after the war, during the very darkest years of their lives, the barest essentials -- wits and wit, family and faith -- turned out to be riches in themselves.
A "big" book about "small"people.......2004-08-29
This is a most unusual book. Many books have been printed about the Holocaust, dissecting it from every conceivable aspect. Here we have a fascinating account of how a family of Jewish dwarfs from Marmorash (Transylvania) in Rumania survived the Holocaust. The infamous "doctor" Mengele was interested in studying genetics , more accurately he was interested in his own version of this science.The family of Jewish dwarfs and some extended family members offered him an unusual opportunity for this study and Mengele seized this and thus allowed the Jewish dwarfs to survive Auschwitz and remain alive while he and his staff preformed their so-called research on them.In fact many of these extended family members were not really related to the dwarf family , but created a fiction in an attempt at survival.
In fact this allowed these little Jews to survive and eventually move to Israel.Not only did they survive but Mengele and his cohorts treated them fairly well in comparison to the death camp conditions prevailing in Auschwitz.
Besides being a fascinating Holocaust story, it is also a moving human interest story dealing with Jewish life in Northern Rumania and the Jewish attitude towards the preforming arts in pre War Rumania and Hungary . Given that this family was Orthodox , their role in theatre and was especially difficult for them to navigate. The book also has some interesting information about "Badchanus" an art that is only now being revived in the Chasidic community in the US, Israel and Belgium.
Of course the book offers an account of life as a dwarf and , how these people live meaningful lives on both a day to day basis and in the long run in terms of livelyhood and marriage. The authors have presented a finely crafted book , that is both a dramatic account of one family's struggle to survive in the darkest of times and the same familys joy of life in dealing with a challenged reality.
Book Description
Diarmuid Jeffreys traces the story of aspirin from the drug’s origins in ancient Egypt, through its industrial development at the end of the nineteenth century and its key role in the great flu pandemic of 1918, to its subsequent exploitation by the pharmaceutical conglomerates and the marvelous powers still being discovered today.
Customer Reviews:
Very interesting history of the headache medicine.......2006-04-14
A very fascinating look at the history of a now common headache remedy. I enjoyed this book very much!
Aspirin The remarkable story of a wonder drug.......2005-09-12
This is a readable book on an interesting subject. Written from the point of view of a journalist and not from that of a scientist, it outlines aspirin's history and use.
good history, slightly overstated in places, well-written.......2005-05-09
Aspirin is follows aspirin through its birth (Ancient Sumer and/or Egypt using willow bark as medicinal treatment), childhood (purification, chemical synthesis), adolescence (the race for monopoly and profit), adulthood (most popular drug on the planet), mid-life crisis (advent of new drugs such as Tylenol and ibuprofen), and its sudden discovery that there is life after middle-age (use as heart medicine and its possible use for a variety of other medicinal purposes).
The story is well-paced for the most part and the writing is strong. It's always clear, even when explaining the chemistry, and Jeffreys knows when enough is enough and how to move fluidly from one stage of development to the next. He also does an excellent job of making this as much about people as about chemistry, offering up small but memorable characterizations of the many people involved in aspirin's development, beginning with a young Egyptologist who bought a "found" papyrus that turned out to be the largest medical reference of ancient Egypt.
Sometimes in his enthusiasm for his subject Jeffreys may overstate aspirin's influence a bit, such as its historical role in World War II and the Nazi govt. or its efficacy during the flu pandemic of the early 20th century or still-to-be-proven uses such as a cancer fighting drug. But none of these are way out of line and they happen so rarely, and are so reasonable that they detract hardly at all from the book's pleasure.
Personally, I found the ancient history and its early history the most interesting and compelling, while the sections on German Bayer's attempts to corner the market and its later influence in Nazism to be a little overlong. Not that they weren't interesting in their own right, just that they could have been cut a bit more. Again, a small quibble.
In fact, there's very little to complain about here. An interesting read, a quick one, a clear explanation of science and the intersection of science/medicine/capitalism, an enjoyable examination of scientists and inventors little known to the vast majority of us. Recommended.
Read at Your Own Risk.......2005-03-29
The engaging writing actually was worth 4 stars, while the medical accuracy was about 1 star. It was fascinating to read about the personal characters of many of the main players with aspirin.
For the primary prevention of heart attacks, the author failed to note that most or all of the subjects were men in the various trials. Based on later work available to Mr. Jeffreys, this omission was serious, since MDs and others recommended aspirin for women as though they had been tested from the beginning.
The Physicians Health Study (PHS) of 7 years duration that generated all the rave headlines (p262) in 1989 did cut mostly non-fatal heart attack risk to 0.31 of placebo. Mr. Jeffreys failed to mention that the all-cause death risk was 0.96 and not statistically significant. Further, he neglected to mention that the PHS did not use aspirin, but used Bufferin™. This is not a trivial difference because of the beneficial magnesium content of Bufferin™. The later UK trial of plain aspirin on 5,500 male physicians for 7 years told a different story. The risk of non-fatal heart attack was a less impressive 0.68, and the mortality risk was 1.06. A later trial of 3.1 years that included separate results for women taking daily aspirin of unknown form gave them a mortality risk of 1.12.
Mr. Jeffreys fell for the ruse of relative risk (RR) rather than absolute risk (AR); Big Pharma uses RR to generate bigger numbers. For the 22,000 men in the PHS the reduction of AR per year of a first heart attack was just 0.11%, not a big deal. Aspirin for primary prevention is not worth the risk.
For secondary prevention of heart attacks (ones other than the first), Mr. Jeffreys correctly presented the fact that the RR with aspirin was down to 0.75-0.80; but he failed to note that just 5 weeks of daily aspirin provided nearly all of the "benefit"; so it was never necessary to continue aspirin forever and suffer all the side-effects mentioned but minimized by Mr. Jeffreys. Aspirin is probably worth the risk for short-term use in secondary prevention. He did note that women were under-represented in these early trials, but did not come to the obvious conclusion that women should avoid aspirin. He failed to note that long-term use of aspirin was associated with cataracts. He failed to compare the minor effects of aspirin with those of valuable supplements, such as EPA/DHA from fish oil, magnesium, and even vitamin E.
In enthusing about aspirin as an anticancer drug, Mr. Jeffreys failed to note that the increased mortality rates noted above, which include cancer deaths, make it unlikely that aspirin will ever be a serious threat to cancer.
Mr. Jeffreys repeated the nonsense that fatty foods cause atherosclerosis leading to heart attacks (p235, 267), and presented the challenge to this dogma in a footnote that mentioned Uffe Ravnskov as a "lone wolf" dissenter. This is a propagandist trick as there have been many, many dissenters over the years to what is called the "diet-heart" theory. See www.THINCS.org. (What is true is that polyunsaturated fats or oils, especially ones made from the omega-6 linoleic acid and trans fatty acids from partial hydrogenation do cause both diabetes and atherosclerosis, not animal or tropical fats.)
*****
Minor problems were confusing heart attacks (myocardial infarctions) caused by broken pieces of plaque or congealed blood platelets (thrombi) with congestive heart failure, and by ignoring sudden cardiac death brought on by arrhythmias.
Beta-blocker drugs do not steady the heartbeat (p246) as antiarrythmics were supposed to do, but slow the heartbeat.
Salicylates are not alkaloids (p11).
Aniline is not isolated from coal tar (p42).
Acid anhydrides are not usually obtained when acids are separated from water (p46).
Aspirin is not metabolized by loss of the hydroxyl group (p47).
A paradox? "Aspirin didn't cure a single case of influenza, but it helped millions of people in their battle with the virus and undoubtedly saved many lives as a result." (p124)
Reverse snobbery? Some chemical names of 25 letters or fewer were fussed over. Would Mr. Jeffreys have done the same for the 28-letter name Abercrombie Featherstonehaugh? (p207, 214ff)
Aspirin was buffered in an attempt to ease stomach distress, not to speed up absorption (p210).
The great superiority of magnesium to aspirin in pre-eclampsia was ignored (p266).
The "polypill" containing aspirin, beta-blocker and statin drugs was presented as a great idea (p273). Those who understand more than Mr. Jeffreys have written that it is ridiculous. See www.THINCS.org.
[...]
Wanders, Plucks, and Plunders.......2005-02-17
My overall understanding of aspirin and its history is much improved by this book, but I found the writing style and some of the information to be a hindrance to actually completing the book. Since I wanted to be fair, I did read the entire book, but I wouldn't recommend the entire thing to others.
Information wasn't always relevant and occasionally suspect. Because I have read Mauve I found this author's implication that Queen Victoria wore Perkin's invention when in fact she wore a color that looked the same but was from a natural source. This lead me to wonder how many other facts he glossed. Exacerbating detail was given for characters when it was clearly not relevant to the story of aspirin which resulted in me losing sight of the aspirin being the main point of the book. Perhaps these details were added to increase the words in the book and Jeffreys thought he should add them because he found them in his research.
The organization was neither chronological nor topical; frequently I found myself uselessly searching for a time line in the book. The writing style was neither narrative nor scientific which was frustrating.
A good book, but read it as if you were doing a fractional distillation. If something starts getting useless or boring just skim until you pick up the aspirin story again. A good edit of this book would be a great.
Average customer rating:
- scientists are human beings
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The Mould in Dr Florey's Coat: The Remarkable True Story of the Penicillin Miracle
Eric Lax
Manufacturer: Little Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0316859257 |
Customer Reviews:
scientists are human beings.......2006-02-01
several months ago, I read a book about the conquest of polio by Jonah /salk and the backbiting that went on between him and Albert sabin. Somehow, I always thought that scientists lived in a rarified atmosphere and were not prey to the human foibles of character that beset most of us. that book, and now this has disabused me of that notion. Penicillin, which has saved zillions of people from death was brought into being as a result of collaboration amongst several scientists, although Fleming has gotten the lion'sshare of the credit. Seen aginst the backdrop of England fighting the scourge o f Hitler and the less than idyllic private lives of the scientists, this book made for a fascinating read.
Product Description
biograhies which tells the story of how the Mayo Clinic was build by the "old doctor" William Worrall Mayo, and his sons.
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