When Our Parents Become Our Children

Book Description

In my search for information that might help me understand parental care giving, I found a great deal of clinical material, but I was disappointed that very little personal information was available. I then decided to write about my own experience and to offer my insights and hope to others who are struggling with what to do when Mom and Dad can't take care of themselves. Perhaps it will help others process their emotions when they enter this crucible.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent read for adult caregivers of their parents!.......2005-11-28

When Our Parents Become Our Children documents the trials and tribulations of a couple who had parents and siblings on both sides of the family die. The common factor is that Mr. and Mrs. Thacker became caregivers for all these family members at some point, sometimes briefly and sometimes longer. This "memoir" seeks to share with readers the range of emotions that a person goes through when their parents become incapacitated to the extent that they need assistance with everyday living.

I found that the message contained within the story was artfully placed and didn't overpower the story itself. This is a story straight from the heart and with genuine value to a person in this situation or about to be in this situation. It will help prepare the reader for the trials ahead which could help them mentally accept the situation and better make decisions for their parents.

Mr. Thacker put his all into this book. Though the book is filled with sadness and despair through the deaths of all the family members involved, I'm sure it provided closure for him and helped him cope better with his losses. A beautiful tribute to his and his wife's parents that can be read by his descendants to help them achieve a closer relationship and more respect for the fallen family members. If nothing else, it will serve a purpose to him, his current family and future family.

Hopefully, it will assist some people in the same situation to be better prepared and informed for their parents becoming their children.

Average customer rating:

Good Stuff

Thoughtful and helpful

Finely balanced, tremendously informative

Well-informed, well-written, but suggestions irrelevant.

Admirable survey. Light on direction

The Just War: An American Reflection on the Morality of War in Our Time
Peter Temes
Manufacturer: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Military Science | History | Subjects | Books
Ethics & Morality | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations

Arguing About War (Yale Nota Bene)

Just War Against Terror: The Burden of American Power in a Violent World

The Ethics of War and Peace

Just War or Just Peace?: Humanitarian Intervention and International Law (Oxford Monographs in International Law)

ASIN: 1566636019

Book Description

A critical history of Just War thinking, beginning with ancient epics and extending through American responses to the terrorist attacks of September 11. Mr. Temes's book proposes a radically new vision, one that respects the received tradition but takes account of the moral experience of the world today.

Customer Reviews:

Good Stuff.......2005-07-26

I continue to tire of all the simplistic argumentation from "No War" to "Kill em all and let God sort em out", so I ordered this book. I found it compelling and enlightening on many accounts, as Temes put into fairly simple terms what is a much more complex issue, yet not so simple as to be overly reductive. I agree with several of the other reviewers that Temes doesn't address enough the ideas of "terrorism" and the work that needs to be done (besides war) to defeat terrorism. For example, how can a Christian nation (the U.S.) get Muslim nations to condemn these "fundamentalist" factions? Also, while I agree with Temes' forward-looking moral objectives, he doesn't really justify how or how should we learn from history (backward looking). That could be a complete other chapter. And where does education fit in? How do we educate the future generations to live moral lives and to embrace this morality. Can we be moral or good without God? I know that's another book entirely, but it's a legitimate question I have upon finishing this book. Oh, that is one more thing I was wondering when reading this book. All the conflicts that are mentioned are religiously-based. But what about atheistic wars and genocides--wars against religious peoples by atheistic leaders or toward atheistic objectives. He doesn't deal with this. Nevertheless, it's a good book that got me thinking. Any soldier or politician should read it for its perspective. It's a starting point, and I don't think the book claims to be more than that.

Thoughtful and helpful.......2004-12-30

I have read several books in the last week on Just War theory, and this was the best by far. Temes seeks to employ an evolutionary understanding of the Just War Theory to explain where it came from and where it stands today. Then, Temes offers his ethical insights on Just War criteria, adding his own fingerprint to the philosophy. Finally, Temes uses these criteria and applies them to the current Iraqi War to see if it meets the requirement of a Just War. In this regard, the book is timely in its publication. Although his historical analysis is somewhat lacking and oversimplistic, Temes conclusions are enlightening and useful. Anybody interested in the subject should reference this book!

Finely balanced, tremendously informative.......2004-10-29

This is a different kind of book about war. It's highly philosophical, but easy to read. The end position is somewhere in the middle, but usefully so.

Well-informed, well-written, but suggestions irrelevant........2004-01-17

Mr. Temes explores the history of the idea that wars may sometimes be necessary and even just, and then tries to apply those ideas to the world today, from a humanistic/liberal American perspective.

The enjoyable part of the book is a great romp through historical trends in the three major Middle Eastern religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism). He outlines secular & fundamentalist thinking, and extremist & moderate actions, in all three traditions. Temes really displays erudition here, with bits on Kemal Ataturk, the Crusades, the life of Saladin, and many other philosophers and administrators that I know little about.

Of the many small historical details, I appreciated the discussion of Mawdudi, the mid-20th-century islamic fundamentalist thinker/writer from Hyderabad (India), who has been far too influential for the good of humanity.

...

Temes discusses the question of whether the religious texts themselves endorse violence. This is a discussion that deserves to be far better known -- he elaborates on how you can read practically anything you want from the Old Testament, or the Quran.

Temes clearly hears arguments from both sides, unlike the many American authors telling us how their empire is always just. It is certainly true that the WTC janitor who died in the September 11 attacks had never directly harmed a Chilean, Afghan, or Saudi. But it is equally true and relevant that the Palestinian child, blown to bits by an Israeli missile fired from an U.S.-funded helicopter, had never harmed an American.

While his knowledge is impressive and his history is fun, Temes fails to inspire with his recommendations for today's world powers. He is right when he says that, one should look primarily to the future and not to the past --- just because the West committed crimes in the past shouldn't stop them from doing the right thing now.

But this bypasses the real point. The recognition that the West committed crimes in the past should encourage them to stop continuing the imperial-colonial traditions, NOW. To ensure that their corporations and institutions don't do the same or worse things, now. If the West does not have the will to curb its energy corporations, its usurious banks, its weapons-makers, than the world will continue to be an unfair unequal place, and wars will continue to be necessary. Seeking to make wars as humane as possible, while refusing to remove its root cause (economic exploitation), seems to me to be a futile and irrelevant exercise.

Admirable survey. Light on direction.......2003-11-13

No philosopher me, I was interested in exploring the evolution of Just War thinking in a post 9-11 world. Temes's digestion and presentation of the development of Just War thinking--and how Christian, Jewish, Moslem cultures contributed to or appear in reflection of this philosophy--is good. Easy to follow and easy to interlace the attitudes of the Big 3 religions.

What's lacking however is a true update of the philosophy into the 21st century. It is merely a reaffirmation of the right of the individual, a core premise of the modern Just War philosophy.

The timing of publication also lessens Temes's conclusion. It went to press just as the ground war in Iraq was starting in 2003, and although Temes's ultimate thesis considers Iraq an ironic failure of the Just War test, his position is already dated. Revelations of just the past few months concerning WMDs make this so since a pillar of Temes's position is that Iraq assuredly has WMDs.

To be critical of Temes's exploration of a philosophy that should be timeless, simply because of its awkward juxtaposition to current events may seem a little too literal. But it's a fair criticism when you consider that the book is billed as a "Reflection on the Morality of War in Our Time," yet it barely touches upon one of the most crucial questions in this time: terrorism. This drawback makes the book incomplete.

Book Description

An eminent archeologist and prehistorian looks back at the earliest civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China in the Old World, and Mexico, Yucatan, and Peru in the New. What were the origins of the first urban literate societies that came into being? Did the process of civilization take place only once in human history, or did it occur independently in various parts of the world, furthered at certain periods by contacts among different cultures? The answers to these questions are based in archeology, and this classic study draws on a wealth of evidence to discover the truth.

Customer Reviews:

where and why civilization started.......2004-10-19

An interesting short book reviews seven early civilizations and stays on target to answer the question of origins rather than trying to survey each fully. Prehistory is now clear. Originally presented in 1968, the discussion is still of value and interest. (Most new work has not changed interpretation and the new Peru Coastal civilization although not known at the time would only reconfirm warfare was not the cause of civilization building.) Many books on archeology are research reports, surveys of sites, or technical; this book is a clear discussion that reads better and provides a consistent view of origins. There are a few photos of sites and artifacts to compliment the discussion. An enjoyable read of 151 pages, plus notes,photographs and maps.

Customer Reviews:

Albertus Magnus and the Sciences - Real Albertism At Work..........2000-06-24

Let me economize on words by saying that this book is a wonderful companion for the Albertist or any scholar concerned with Faith & Science. The editor was Father Weisheipl, an Albertist and Scholastic of first-rate credentials. You will do well to buy this book...

scholastically yours, al pinto - Albertus Magnus Publishers...

Average customer rating:

What the Stones Remember

"A Wound Remembers"

What the Stones Remember: A Life Rediscovered
Patrick Lane
Manufacturer: Trumpeter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Poetry | Canadian | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 159030389X
Release Date: 2006-12-12

Book Description

In this exquisitely written memoir, poet Patrick Lane describes his raw and tender emergence at age sixty from a lifetime of alcohol and drug addiction. He spent the first year of his sobriety close to home, tending his garden, where he cast his mind back over his life, searching for the memories he'd tried to drown in vodka. Lane has gardened for as long as he can remember, and his garden's life has become inseparable from his own. A new bloom on a plant, a skirmish among the birds, the way a tree bends in the wind, and the slow, measured change of seasons invariably bring to his mind an episode from his eventful past. What the Stones Remember is the emerging chronicle of Lane's attempt to face those memories, as well as his new self—to rediscover his life. In this powerful and beautifully written book, Lane offers readers an unflinching and unsentimental account of coming to one's senses in the presence of nature.

Customer Reviews:

What the Stones Remember.......2006-07-28

This memoir by one of Canada's best-known poets follows Patrick Lane's first year of recovery from a lifetime of alcoholism, a recovery that unfolds almost entirely in his Vancouver Island garden. The narrative weaves between his present-tense garden and the struggle and brutality that was Lane's past. His poetic voice permeates his storytelling, compelling us to see how the honesty and enchantment of the natural world can save us from our nightmares, our addictions, our terrible losses - if only we will let it.

Originally published a year and a half ago in Canada as There Is a Season: A Memoir in a Garden, the book won the 2005 BC Award for Canadian nonfiction. It is not at all disingenuous for Lane to re-release his memoir under a new title - What the Stones Remember - as there really are two stories folded into the one book. This new title summons the story of Lane's turbulent past as a wayward child, an absentee father, a fledgling poet, a failed husband, a triumphant writer, and ultimately a recovering addict. We follow him deep into his personal history and come to understand, along with him, that it is a miracle he is still alive. This story is rich with personal intrigue, gossip, sentimentality and curiosity. I think it's rare that we look even into our own lives so intimately.

The second story is the simple unfolding of the seasons in his suburban garden, and it mirrors Lane's journey of recovery and self-redemption. His garden is his sanctuary and the midwife of his rebirth as a sane and sober person. He delves into the ecology of his garden with the same studied depth as he digs through his personal history. The carefully documented hours of observation are underscored by a book knowledge of plant and animal classification, behaviour and habitat.

This being said, Lane is first and foremost a poet, and his garden ramblings are never dry or dense. How can they be when he periodically unearths old vodka bottles in the woodpile or under a bush? Or when he stops to watch a hermit thrush dance and mourn beside its dead mate? Or sees his mother, long decades dead, kneeling in the corner under the plum tree?

What the Stones Remember contains equal parts beauty and horror. Patrick Lane describes a past that many people would be inclined to leave buried in the furrows of time. But in bringing forth the dead, the wounded, the lost, this poet carves a path of healing and new life.

"A Wound Remembers".......2006-04-17

I can't believe I'm the first reviewer to take a stab at WHAT THE STONES REMEMBER, A LIFE REDISCOVERED. Everyone I know is reading this book! It's especially good for people who are just undergoing recovery, those who will recognize and nod with wonder at the pain Lane describes at just waking up and experiencing the little things, the color of your bedroom walls, the feel of the cotton pillowcase under your cheek, as if for the first time, without the sheltering batting of cocaine or alcohol. He thinks of the American poet Weldon Kees who, fueled by despair and drink jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge in the early 1950s, and of Kees' famous zen riddle, "Whatever it is that a wound remembers/ After the healing ends."

Lane finds the courage to remember the years before he fell into heavy drinking, and what a dreary lot of memories he dredges up! Okay, there were some happy moments too--a sensuous description of lovemaking at age 16 with the girl who would become his first wife--but mostly he grew up in Canada, a misbegotten part of the world with more casual brutality, sexual violence, and abuse against childred than you will find in Ghana or Sierra Leone. For pocket money he sold himself to pedophiles, for a quarter here or a dollar there, allowing them to buy him forbidden ice cream sundaes in depressing town dessert joints. At another time he watches from between parked cars as three white men brutally rape and torture a native Indian woman. For Lane, youth is an unusual place, marked by the absence of his dad during World War II and by the remarkably hard-earned wisdom of a lovely mother, with a caustic wit which, who knows, might have contributed to Lane's own dexterity with words.

I don't like his poetry very much, and it's a shame that he feels he has to quote from it in this book, but as a memoirist he really shines. After getting out of the treatment clinic, he goes to work on his garden, like Candide, but even there memories of different things that happened to him sometimes leap up and assault his senses so that he'd do anything to have just one drink! And sometimes he finds bottles of vodka hidden around the house, and garden too. Malcolm Lowry probably said just as well and earlier to boot everything that Patrick Lane has to say about the sadnesses of Western Canada, the glittering allure of drink, and the repentance of women's arms, but Lowry (author of UNDER THE VOLCANO and one of Lane's literary heroes) has been gone a longtime, the victim of his own alcoholism, and Lane lives on, triumphantly speaking of a new marriage to another of Canada's notable literary figures, a woman who he calls "Lorna" here. Maybe her real name is Lorna too, but in any case you get the idea he's trying to protect the innocent and to lacerate only himself and his people.

I predict a long future for this book if only more people knew about it besides people in recovery.

Average customer rating:

What the Stones Remember: A Life Rediscovered
Patrick Lane
Manufacturer: Trumpeter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V6QFRK

Book Description

This new book brings together leading terrorism scholars and defense professionals to discuss the impact of networks on conflict and war.
Post-modern terrorism and topics of global insurgency are also comprehensively covered. The text is divided into four sections to cover the key areas: introductory/overview, theory, terrorism and global insurgency, Al Qaeda focus, and networks. Eminent contributors include John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt, Brian Jenkins, Stephen Sloan, Graham Turbiville, and Max Manwaring.

This book was previously published as a special issue of the leading journal Low Intensity Conflict and Law Enforcement.

Customer Reviews:

Terrorism as Global Insurgency.......2005-12-09

Robert J. Bunker has assembled a stellar cast of terrorism scholars including both scholars and practitioners. Among the established scholars are Graham Turbiville, Stephen Sloan, Max Manwaring, John Arquilla, and David Ronfeldt, along with Bunker, himself. Younger scholars include Sean Anderson and Kimbra Fishel while the practitioners are epitomized by Matt Begert and Lisa Campbell. All of the authors - those not named here as well as those listed - make major contributions to this pioneering work.
What Bunker and company have done is to take cutting edge research on networks in warfare, a sound background in terrorism, and have drawn the conclusion that modern terrorism constitutes global insurgency. Although this view is becoming commonplace, this group of authors was the first to make the connection.
Unfortunately, when this book first came out in hardback, Routledge had priced it so high that it was only really available to libraries and other institutions. With this new paperback version - at a reasonable price - it is now available for any serious student of terrorism. For those, it is must reading!

Book Description

First Along the River is the first concise, accessible, and informative introduction to the U.S. environmental movement that covers the colonial period through 1999. It provides students with a balanced, historical perspective on the history of the environmental movement in relation to major social and political events in U.S. history.

Customer Reviews:

Who would have thought Aldo Leopold was such a cool guy?.......2000-09-07

Very well-written and easy to understand. I read this book as an assignment for my 11th grade Environmental Science class. It opened my eyes. This book has made me consider making environmental studies part of my career. Thank you, Mr. Kline.

The best academic book I've read so far.......1999-10-15

This guy Kline is a genius. I never thought I'd actually be interested in a book about the US environmental movement but this blew me away. And I'm not just kissing up to this guy because he's my teacher. Oops, didn't mean to say that. Sorry Kline.

Book Description

Tuscany is one of the world’s most legendary wine regions—and this is a must-have companion for anyone in search of the area’s top wines. It covers everything from internationally renowned estates to emerging small-boutique producers; explores the multitude of wines and wine styles; and examines the history and complex laws that govern the wines. Plus, it has all a traveler needs to plan a perfect trip: information on visiting the wineries and finding a good tour, advice on choosing comfortable hotels and restaurants that showcase the region’s celebrated cuisine, and suggestions on getting around—whether on foot, bicycle, or by car.

Customer Reviews:

Tuscany revealed.......2006-10-26

Waldin has done it again! A terrific read.

This is a writer that really knows his subject. But his knowledge is conveyed in such a way that he doesn't make the whole subject of wine intimidating. Nor does he patronize his readership.

Monty Waldin is one of the few wine writers out there that both literally and metaphorically is willing to get his hands dirty; he goes to these vineyards, he works on the vines and the soil and he is not beholden to any paymaster.

WARNING: It'll make you want to go to Tuscany.

Average customer rating:
Lost Wild America: The Story of Our Extinct and Vanishing Wildlife
Robert M. McClung
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baby-3 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0688214649

Average customer rating:
Successful Window Dressing and Interior Design: Your Guide to Achieving Excellent Results
Linda M. Ramsay
Manufacturer: Touch of Design
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0962991813

Book Description

First published in 1915, TRADITIONAL FEEDING OF FARM ANIMALS covers everything anyone would ever need to know about feeding farm animals and poultry to achieve maximum production of meat, milk, or eggs from livestock and poultry, and maximum health and work output for horses and mules.

Topics covered include the principles of feeds; digestion in different animals; the relative nutritional value of various feeds; green forage and hay; roots and tubers; silos and silage; cereal mill feeds; oil meal feeds; feeds for pigs, dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep and goats, horses and mules, poultry, and much more.

Profusely illustrated with black-and-white photographs, line drawings, and tables, TRADITIONAL FEEDING OF FARM ANIMALSis a classic, timeless volume of great value to anyone raising livestock or poultry.

Average customer rating:

A Must-have Northern California Gardening Book

The Complete Guide to Northern California Gardening
Maureen Gilmer
Manufacturer: Taylor Trade Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Regional | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books | Canada | Middle Atlantic | Midwest | New England | Pacific Northwest | South | Southwest | West
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ASIN: 087833842X

Customer Reviews:

A Must-have Northern California Gardening Book.......2002-12-10

Author Maureen Gilmer gives an excellent overview of the northern California plant palette. Not only does she tell you what you can grow, but also gives hints for buying, planting and caring for northern California plants. The Month by Month Gardening Guide is especially helpful since it covers lawn care, trees, shrubs, vines, groundcovers, perennials, annuals, roses, irrigation systems, tools and general tasks. This book is a wonderful complement to the Sunset Western Garden Book.

Customer Reviews:

Tricks of the Trade.......2003-04-06

Wheeler's book is invaluable--as much for providing the ancient Greek and Latin terms for stratagems as for his discussions of the Odysseus and Achilles ethos. While this is supposed to be a primer in the strategies of war, it functions amazingly well as a primer in understanding the rhetoric and writings of such political philosophers and essayists as Plato, Plutarch, Montaigne, Bacon, and Emerson. Military trickery and rhetorical trickery have the same ends--for the ancients, the moderns, and the neocons.

Average customer rating:
The Aesthetic Experience: An Anthropologist Looks at the Visual Arts
Jacques Maquet
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Language, Culture, and Communication: The Meaning of Messages (4th Edition)

ASIN: 0300041349

Average customer rating:
The Aesthetic Experience : An Anthropologist Looks at the Visual Arts
Jaques P. Maquet
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORRC5U

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