Teenage Soldiers Adult Wars (Icarus World Issues Series)

Average customer rating:

Excellent biography of an underappreciated man

Cyrus Hall McCormick: His Life and Work
Herbert, Newton Casson
Manufacturer: Cosimo Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Business | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1596051205

Book Description

"Whoever wishes to understand the making of the United States must read the life of Cyrus Hall McCormick. No other one man so truly represented the dawn of the industrial era - the grapple of the pioneer with the crudities of a new country, the replacing of muscle with machinery, and the establishment of better ways and better times in farm and city alike." - Herbert Newton Casson, Introduction Cyrus Hall McCormick: His Life and Work Beginning nearly one hundred years ago, Cyrus Hall McCormick's life spanned a daring period of this nation's industrial advancement, when great individuals did great things. To know McCormick is to know of life in the United States during the nineteenth century. With new types of businesses emerging each day in the 21st century, it is especially enlightening to discover a life so essential to the making of this nation. Herbert Newton Casson was born in Odessa, Ontario in 1869. With little elementary schooling, he turned to the world around him for education. He eventually went on to Victoria College in 1890 and earned a theology degree in 1892. As Casson began his publishing career in Boston in 1893, his attention was called to the immigrant slums. He was so shocked by the conditions he found there, he became a socialist, leading demonstrations and making friends with other young radicals of his day. During his career as a newspaper journalist at New York World, Casson interviewed the likes of then President Grover Cleveland, Guglielmo Marconi, Nikolai Tesla, Thomas Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent biography of an underappreciated man .......2006-03-18

In the history of the human race, there have been two revolutions in the production of food. Both have made it possible for there to be a dramatic increase in the population. The first was the development of agriculture, once crops began to be cultivated, it was necessary for humans to remain stationary to tend the fields. This led to a dramatic increase in the food supply and the rise of civilization as we know it. The second was the mechanization of agriculture, by eliminating the severe restriction of what human labor could accomplish, it became possible for a few people to accomplish what it had taken many to do before. Had the need for agricultural workers not dramatically dropped, there could have been no industrial revolution.
When Cyrus Hall McCormick was a youth, wheat was not a staple crop. It was easy to grow, but harvesting it was back-breaking physical labor and the technique had not changed for centuries. A man took a hand scythe and cut the wheat plants down. Even the most powerful and fit man could harvest at most a couple of acres a day. This limited the amount he could plant and led to a large amount of spoilage if the weather turned bad before the harvest was in.
McCormick's great invention was the reaper, a device that allowed wheat to be harvested at a rate heretofore unheard of. It led to a dramatic increase in the amount of wheat that could be planted and turned wheat into the staple crop of the human diet. It is hard to understate the impact of his invention.
McCormick was also an excellent businessman; he had to overcome a lot of opposition to his invention. Farmers are a conservative group and most were reluctant to try a new device. There was also the problem of financing, as most farmers did not have the money up front to purchase a reaper. His true genius, and what made him rich, was his belief in the honesty of the farmers. By allowing them very liberal credit terms, he was able to sell large numbers of reapers, created a very wealthy company, and helped drive a dramatic increase in the global food supply. In many ways, it was the tremendous increase in wheat production that drove the rise of the economic power of the United States.
This book is a historical classic of the rise of the industrial era and one of the men who drove it. For without the technical advancements that freed so many people from having to work in agriculture, there could have been no increase in factory workers. McCormick's invention combined with his foresight to make it available to all was a turning point in the history of the United States. Also, when you contrast his behavior with that of most of the other industrial barons of the time, McCormick was also one of the most decent of the nineteenth century giants of the industrial revolution in America.

Book Description

In this book Dr, Giller shares his knowledge on how to sift through the multitude of information available and make a medical decision that fits YOUR needs.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent decision-making tool .......2007-05-16

I believe this book will be helpful to people who are considering options for medical treatment. Giller's advice seems sound, and the book can help people sort through their thoughts as they face the challenges of health issues. Don't let this be the only book you read about your medical issues, but please let it be one of them. Author, With Great Mercy

Wisdom beyond Its Scope.......2006-12-28

Important decisions are rarely straight forward. This is particularly true of medical decisions. Choices are intricate, outcomes uncertain and ultimately the decision is yours.

Cole Giller, a board-certified neurosurgeon and associate professor, draws on his experience of guiding his patients through this difficult maze to offer guidance to anyone facing an important medical decision. In doing so, he has penned a book of wisdom that transcends its stated purpose.

Giller's six steps for making medical decisions are applicable to anyone faced with a bewildering array of choices. Simply put, they are:

1. Identify your options.
2. Identify the trade-offs.
3. Find the supporting data.
4. Be skeptical of the data.
5. Pay attention to your beliefs.
6. Contemplate the decision's meaning.

This book is a treasure. Giller weaves his experience into a well-written, easily-understood and widely-applicable approach to dealing with complicated decisions. While the book is a compassionate guide for individuals facing a medical challenge, it also offers sound guidance for decision-makers in any field.

Knowledge may be power, as the old saw says. But all too often in this age of information explosion, it is not enough to overcome the decision crisis. Giller's model provides a practical for living with the decision's results.

Why you NEED this book .......2004-08-28

Here's why I bought this book and why you might need it yourself:
1. Medical decisions are NOT what they used to be and patients need to be informed in order to make the right decision.
2. The book outlines the six major steps necessary to make the right decision - from identifying your options to interpreting numbers, etc
3. This book includes a guide to the right reference books and tips on reading and interpreting relevant medical articles, newsletters, television and even advertisements.
4. It includes a guide to the internet as well as suggested Web sites. There are also helpful tips for navigating PubMed and other medical websites.
5. Included are valuable strategies for finding the right medical information and interpreting the often confusing numbers and percentages included in medical tests and other medical procedures.
6. Finally, this book looks at ALL the various aspects of medical treatment, from medical insurance to managing doctors.
I've never seen another book like it and think it'd be invaluable for any patient - or family of one.

UNLIKE ANY OTHER RESOURCE FOR PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES!!.......2004-02-22

In the last twenty years, my immediate family has been struck by five --5--major medical catastrophes. We plowed through medical libraries and whatever sources we could find in order to become informed, know what questions to ask, and try to decide where to go for treatment and how to find the best physicians. It was always a frightening, tiring and difficult process. If Dr. Cole Giller's book had been available for us to use, it would have made an unbelievable difference in our ability to make very difficult decisions. Give this book to family members and friends. You will be doing them a tremendous favor.

must have for doctors and patients.......2004-01-15

When I picked up this book, I read it cover to cover in one sitting--I couldn't put it down. As a family physician, I help my patients make tough medical decisions every day, and I know firsthand how agonizing the process can be. In this book, Dr. Cole Giller leads patients through six steps of the medical decision making process to help them make choices that are best for them, in keeping with their beliefs, values, and priorities. The book is compelling and easy to read, written by a doctor that is not only competent, but extremely compassionate. It is a must-read for anyone who is faced with making a medical decision, whether it is a physician, a patient, or someone who must decide for a loved one.

Average customer rating:

An Adventure in Every Bite

Not A Really Authentic Madras Taste!

A great overview of south indian cuisine

It is a great overview of South Indian cuisine

Not an authentic south indian cookbook!!!

A Taste of Madras: A South Indian Cookbook
Rani Kingman
Manufacturer: Interlink Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Indian | Asian | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Healthy | Special Diet | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Natural Foods | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Dakshin: Vegetarian Cuisine from South India

Healthy South Indian Cooking

Amma's Cookbook: From Indian Village to Internet

Curried Favors: Family Recipes from South India

Vegetarian Samayal of South India: Delicious Cooking from a Tamil Cuisine

ASIN: 1566561965

Customer Reviews:

An Adventure in Every Bite.......2006-10-13

A Taste of Madras is one of my favorite cookbooks and I have scores of Indian cookbooks, as I'm sort of a gourmet chef. I wrote a cooking column for a sailing magazine for a couple years and one of my favorite articles was my "Two Ways to Tandoori" which you can read in one of my "Amazon So You'd Like to Guides," if you want. Tandoori chicken is just delicious. Anyway, while I was making the guide, I listed fifty cookbooks from my collection. I have more. I know, I know, one would think a couple books would be enough, but it's sort of an obsession with me, making food taste great and I just love to see how others have done it.

While I was doing the guide, I pulled out all my Indian Cookbooks, had them all stacked around me. Then I decided to pull out all the ones I didn't think I could live without. It came to an even dozen and A Taste of Madras was one of the books. The recipes are just divine. I've never been to India, been a lot of places, but never there. Delhi, Bombay, Ganges, names that just ring with adventure. I imagine I'm there every time I cook up something Indian. I can feel the smells as they wrap their delicious flavors all around the kitchen, or galley, if I'm cooking on board the sailboat my husband Dub and I live on half the year. You won't go wrong with this book. Check it out. Check out my other eleven too. Cook up something from India tonight, taste the adventure.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

Not A Really Authentic Madras Taste!.......2004-11-24

I would give average to this book. the author says the taste of Madras but truly Madras has more taste and culture in its cuisine.
I have tried a couple of dishes - they turned out okay. Authentic Madras food would also be good healthy vegetarian diet. This book does not come anywhere near this.

A great overview of south indian cuisine.......2004-03-09

As a person brought up on South Indian cuisine, but now living in the West, I found this cookbook invaluable in reprising the tastes of my home, and introducing me to some new dishes that I had never tried before. It was clearly written and all the recipes I attempted were very delicious. It has cemented my belief that South Indian cuisine is the 'best kept secret' for the modern food connoisseur.

It is a great overview of South Indian cuisine.......2004-02-24

Not an authentic south indian cookbook!!!.......2001-04-05

A huge disappointment!! If you are a Madrasi/looking for authentic or serious Madrasi - tasting dishes, forget it!! This will be O.K for somebody wanting to imitate Madrasi/south indian cooking or for a brand new beginner. Most of the recipes call for couple of basic spices (eg. chilli pd.,turmeric pd.,ginger-garlic)...That's it! But, the names given to these recipes are madrasi-sounding definitely.Any way what kind of cookbook author would call a curry leaf- neem leaf!! I am pretty sure it was not a printing error.

Taste of Madras: A South Indian Cookbook

Average customer rating:

Taste of Madras: A South Indian Cookbook
Rani Kingman
Manufacturer: Interlink Publishing Group, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MHRKSG

Book Description

The 100 Mutual Funds You Can't Afford to Miss!

Mutual funds are the best investment vehicle developed in the last century. They are easy to purchase and redeem, require simple recordkeeping, are less risky than stocks, and can perform superbly. It's all a matter of finding the right fund.

For the 2003 edition of this bestselling guide, noted financial planner Gordon Williamson has thoroughly reanalyzed every one of the more than 15,000 mutual funds available to consumers to determine an authoritative ranking of the best 100. The result is a brand-new list of offerings for the savvy investor, with easy-to-follow star ratings and performance rankings.

The 100 Best Mutual Funds You Can Buy, 2003 brings you the best choices for:

-Growth funds

-Global funds

-Technology stock funds

-Tax-free funds

You'll find everything you need here, in one handy volume. This is the only resource to rate each fund annually for long-term performance, management stability, risk sensitivity, up-market and down-market performance, tax minimization, and predictability of returns. Completely revised and updated, The 100 Best Mutual Funds You Can Buy, 2003 is the guide you'll rely on-year after year.

Customer Reviews:

Uses old data, poor labels and tables would be better.......2004-04-08

The 2003 edition of The 100 Best Mutual Funds uses data through December 31, 2001.
The book is primarily a collection of two page profiles on each fund. The profiles start with a 5 star ranking system to grade Total Return, Risk Reduction, Management, Current Income and Expense Control. Next the author uses 5 category grades to evaluate up-market performance, down-market performance and predictablility of returns. The grades are excellent, very good, good, fair and poor. I have two problems with these grading systems. First, the categories are too broad, second the author does not specify which time period or periods he used to determine the up and down market performance.
Finally, the two page profiles should be replaced with tables. Tables would make it easier to compare the mutuals funds in each category to one another. Tables would also eliminate the "same words but different numbers" monotony of the text.
I would recommend using Standard & Poor's Net Advantage database if it is available at your local library. If not the American Association of Individual Investors www.aaii.com provides a quarterly mutual fund data table, focusing on low load funds, at a reasonable price. The table can be downloaded into an Excel Worksheet so you can use Excel's filter feature to produce a list of funds with specific criteria.

100 Best Mutual Funds You Can Buy in 2004 by Williamson.......2004-03-11

A mutual fund is essentially held by shareholders and managed
for an investment fee. This book discusses some of the top
mutual funds in the market together with the considerable
returns. Top funds are American Century Global Gold,
Vanguard Health, Longleaf Partners, Clipper and Calamos Growth.
These funds all have a double digit yearly rate of return.
Aggressive growth funds tend to have the maximal capital gains.
These funds can turn downward in a faltering economy so it is
critical to invest coincidentally with an upturn. If you catch
the bottom of a recession and invest, it is possible to
have three to four times your money in just a few years.
Many of these funds have good investment newsletters which
are important to read carefully. The key is to diversify risk
by placing your portfolio in a managed risk mix of investments.
i.e. safe returns, intermediate risk and aggressive funds

Not worth the money.......2003-11-14

general information about mutual fund, something you can easily find on the internet.

Helpful.......2000-04-21

It seems to be a very useful and helpful book for me. Since I usually ask the opinions about the mutul funds from my financial advisor, I found this book can even replace him! Now, I am waiting for the profits I will get from buying those mutul funds.

Average customer rating:

A Good Start

Great Insparation

Very Informative

Basic Model Railroading: Getting Started in the Hobby (Model Railroader Books)

Manufacturer: Kalmbach Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Model Trains | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Ho Railroad from Start to Finish (Model Railroad Handbook, No 36)

Ho Scale Model Railroading: Getting Started in the Hobby (Model Railroader Books)

Basic Model Railroad Track Plans: Small Starter Layouts You Can Build (Model Railroader Books)

Easy Model Railroad Wiring, Second Edition (Model Railroader)

How to Build Model Railroad Benchwork, Second Edition (Model Railroader)

Accessories:

Railroad Tycoon 2 Gold

Product Features:

Kalmbach Basic Model Railroading - 12197

KAL

ASIN: 0890243344

Product Description

Basic Model Railroading: Getting Started in the Hobby, from Model Railroader. There's something for everyone in this useful, comprehensive reference work. Once you've mastered the basics of track laying, wiring, and maintenance, you're ready to graduate to scenery building, painting, detailing and weathering. It's all here, including everything you need to know to build your first or best yet four by eight foot HO scale layout with scenery.

Customer Reviews:

A Good Start.......2006-08-12

It is one thing to be interested in getting started on a model railroad and it is quite a different thing to actually know what to do. Anyone can take a basic train set and add some more track to it but such an unorganized approach soon leads to an unwieldy and expensive mess that will probably not be very enjoyable. This book goes a long way in remedying that problem.

It just covers the basics but it covers a lot of them. That includes track, running gear, wiring, scenery, model building, foliage and much else... even photography. It covers none of these things in any depth but it does provide a starting place and allow a novice to ask intelligent questions. It is a needed resource for a beginner.

Great Insparation.......2006-03-23

Good book for anyone to that is just starting on model railroading, even a the more advanced railroader would find some of the topics covered usefull

Very Informative.......1999-11-24

This book has just about everything a beginner need to become familiar with the hobby of model railroading. It has everything from choosing the correct scale and gague, to how to maintain a well-tuned railroad, to the scenery of your layout. I am sure that as I grow in the hobby, this book will be used time and again as a wonderful quick reference of how to do just about everything in the hobby.

Book Description

Chronicle Books is pleased to announce the launch of an exciting new gardening series, A Passion for Roses. Featuring the horticultural expertise of master rosarian Ray Reddell, these irresistible little hardcovers feature page after page of showstopping roses. Insightful gardening handbooks that are a visual delight, they make fantastic gifts for everyone who loves roses.?

?In All-America Roses, acclaimed rosarian Ray Reddell celebrates 40 award-winning roses cultivated in the US, profiling each gorgeous variety with notes on fragrance, vigor, flower form, and color. With all-American names like All That Jazz, Mister Lincoln, Singin' in the Rain, and Sheer Bliss, these all-America roses are sure to bring a little pizzazz to any garden. Illustrated with lush color photographs, this is a wonderful introduction to these national beauties.?

Visit Ray Reddell's Garden Valley Ranch online—you can order beautiful roses or just browse the gardens.

All-America Roses (Passion for Roses Series)

Average customer rating:

All-America Roses (Passion for Roses Series)

Manufacturer: Chronicle Books LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1402809034

Product Description

Launching an exciting new gardening series, A Passion for Roses, acclaimed rosarian Ray Reddell celebrates 40 award-winning roses cultivated in the U.S., profiling each gorgeous variety with notes on fragrance, vigor, flower form, and color. A wonderful introduction to these national beauties, illustrated with 40 lush color photos.

All-America Rose Selections, Inc. Presents: Fifty Years of Dedication Creating Excellence in the Rose...

Average customer rating:

All-America Rose Selections, Inc. Presents: Fifty Years of Dedication Creating Excellence in the Rose...

Manufacturer: All-America Rose Selections
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HZ3DL6

History of Richmond's All-America Rose Garden

Average customer rating:

History of Richmond's All-America Rose Garden
Donald M Royer
Manufacturer: D.M. Royer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006RBXV2

Modern Roses IV: A Uniform Descriptive List of All Roses in Commerce or of Historical of Botanical Importance

Average customer rating:

Modern Roses IV: A Uniform Descriptive List of All Roses in Commerce or of Historical of Botanical Importance
Compiled by J. Horace McFarland Company in Cooperation with the America Rose Society
Manufacturer: J. Horace McFarland Company, 1952
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ITZ0SA

Modern Roses V ( a Concise Descriptive List of All Roses in Commerce or of Historical or Botanical Importance )

Average customer rating:

Modern Roses V ( a Concise Descriptive List of All Roses in Commerce or of Historical or Botanical Importance )
J Horace Mc Farland Company , and The America Rose Society
Manufacturer: J Horace Mc Farland Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OWDQPA

Product Description

Describes 7562 varieties plus 333 species, 32 illustrations (16 in color)

Patroness of all the Americas and the Philippines,: Saint Rose of Lima

Average customer rating:

Patroness of all the Americas and the Philippines,: Saint Rose of Lima
Shane Leslie
Manufacturer: Alfred Tacey, Printers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007JY03C

Average customer rating:

Some great advice and good humor w/ too much right-wingisms

Insightful, funny and true-to-life!

Awesome help for putting an end to those "headaches."

Honey, I Don't Have a Headache Tonight: Help for Women Who Want to Feel More In the Mood
Shelia Wray Gregoire
Manufacturer: Kregel Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Women's Issues | Christian Living | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

To Love, Honor, and Vacuum: When You Feel More Like a Maid Than a Wife and Mother

Is That All He Thinks About?: How to Enjoy Great Sex with Your Husband

Avoiding the Greener Grass Syndrome: How to Grow Affair Proof Hedges Around Your Marriage

No Time for Sex: Finding the Time You Need for Getting the Love You Want

Rekindling the Romance: Loving the Love of Your Life

Accessories:

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0825426936

Book Description

(Foreword by Ginger Kolbaba, Marriage Partnership) From a popular syndicated writer comes this look at changes to a woman's daily life that can help increase her sex drive.

Customer Reviews:

Some great advice and good humor w/ too much right-wingisms.......2005-04-30

This is a letter I wrote to the author in response to the book, which pretty much covers my response:

Hi, Sheila. I've been reading your book, "Honey, I Don't Have a Headache Tonight," and I have enjoyed both your advice and your humor. I think you have written a needed and useful book.

However, I do have serious concerns with both the content and intention of your chapter on masculinity. My concerns come as both a Christian and as a feminist. As I was reading, I found myself wondering whether the intention of that chapter was really to help the reader have an improved sex life, or if it was to grind axes with feminists and liberals and others who don't align with the right-wing ideology that pervades much contemporary conservative Protestant thinking.

There were two passages that I found particularly troubling, especially from a Christian perspective. The first was the ridiculing of Bill Clinton for expressing empathy while lauding Donald Rumsfeld for lashing out with violence. I found myself dumbfounded and deeply upset by that. Which of those responses seems more like Jesus? Which way would we expect Jesus to respond, and which way did he ask that we respond? Without going into an unncessary and technical discussion of why retalitory violence is completely counter to Christian ethics, suffice to say that I cannot image that Jesus would agree with your assessment of those men, in any way.

And I had a similar response to your approval of a BBC article that bemoaned curricula that included questions beyond factual recall, with the author arguing that "[i]nstead of fact-retention and recall, in which girls and boys are roughly equal, the question now requires empathy, something that females excel in, and at which males are useless." God help us all if that is really the case! I'm just grateful that Jesus was not useless at empathy, and in fact excelled in it, and I am raising my son to excel in empathy, as well. It is certainly not unnatural to him. He will be one year old in two weeks, and he gets upset when another baby begins to cry, or when I am upset. Empathy appears to be natural for him, not something he is useless at, and I can only hope that the empathy he learns in our family and our church can sustain in him when our culture tries to kill it in him, telling him, as your book does, that it is not right for a man to have.

The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, kindness, and self-control. While empathy is not explicitly mentioned, it is far easier to imagine it as part of the list than "adroitness at factual recall" or "tendency to lash out violently upon provocation." Those are the traits that Jesus' presence within us provides, whether we are male or female, and yet they look nothing like the masculinity that our culture lauds, or that you laud in the chapter I am discussing. They are the traits that, as wives, sisters, mothers, daughters, and friends, we should seek to encourage and admire in the men around us. In many ways, taking on those traits in a world that demands the exact opposite from men for them to be "real men" is a greater challenge than avoiding the temptations of sex and lust. And yet, the battle against lust is given so much more attention and validation than the battle to enact the fruits in a culture that asks men to deny those very traits. That is why I cannot help but think that many of your complaints in that chapter have less to do with either a desire to improve marriage relationships or a true contemplation of Christian manhood but rather a desire to grind axes with feminists and liberals and to encourage your readers to adopt right-wing views about gender, regardless of how well they actually conform to the example and teachings of Jesus.

I thank God that Jesus not only revealed God's amazing love to us, but also freed us from the shackles of the identities set for us by the "principalities and powers," among them the institutions that tell men that they must be violent, quick to anger, aggressive, militant, and without empathy. It is unfortunate that, today, the church--or at least some branches of it--is among the principalities and powers still promulgating those identities.

I pray that you take what I have written in the spirit it is intended, from someone who appreciates very much the work you have done and the wonderful advice you've given, but is deeply troubled by one particular section, in which I was left feeling like the spirit of grace and truth so evident in the rest of the book was lacking.

Insightful, funny and true-to-life!.......2004-09-13

Women, if you want to REALLY understand your man's needs and expectations, this book is for you. This well-written tome is intended for women, but as a man, let me tell you, Shiela understands the opposite sex! My wife and I read it together and learned a lot. Shiela ends each chapter with advice for men...I appreciate that.

Shiela's writing is crisp; her observations fascinating; her conclusions dead-on. She offers hope to women with imperfect bodies and unpredictable sex drives. The book is tastefully modest but is still direct and to-the-point.

I predict that this book will help thousands of couples experience all the joy God intended for them in the bedroom. I highly recommend this book!

Awesome help for putting an end to those "headaches.".......2004-09-01

Shelia Wray Gregoire has an incredible way of telling it like it is in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, as did my husband, and will recommend it to ALL of my married friends. She hit every single nail on the head with all of my issues concerning sex and intimacy in a Christian marriage, helping me to feel that I am not alone or abnormal. Sex for women is a head thing and Sheila teaches you how to retrain your thoughts and emotions to better allow you to not only enjoy that intimacy with your husband, but to also WANT it!!! (something I had just about given up on) Another thing that was great was the way she shows you the men's perspective on sex. It helps a lot just knowing where he is coming from. Plus she gives a special section at the end of each chapter just for the men to read that hits the main points of what you just read (in case he doesn't want to read the whole book). This is a book I don't recommend lending to friends, only because you will want to hold on to it forever and make notes in it and highlite areas and reread it many, many times! This is the first book of hers I have read, but I plan to find To Love, Honor, and Vacuum because of how much I enjoyed reading this one.

Book Description

A long time ago in China, there existed three Books of Peace that proved so threatening to the reigning powers that they had them burned. Many years later Maxine Hong Kingston wrote a Fourth Book of Peace, but it too was burned--in the catastrophic Berkeley-Oakland Hills fire of 1991, a fire that coincided with the death of her father. Now in this visionary and redemptive work, Kingston completes her interrupted labor, weaving fiction and memoir into a luminous meditation on war and peace, devastation and renewal.

Customer Reviews:

Peace Starts Within.......2005-02-05

Maxine Hong Kingston's The Fifth Book of Peace exhibits a journey through human conscience. Kingston lost the manuscript to her Fourth Book of Peace in a house fire in 1991, and through the process of reviving or regurgitating the contents of the book, she came up with The Fifth Book of Peace. The contents of this book was inspired by Kingston's personal experiences, such as the loss of her father, coincidently, Kingston returned home from her father's funeral only to see her neighborhood in a blaze of fire, as well as Vietnam Veterans' accounts of the war and during a writer's workshop that Kingston hosted.

The Fifth Book of Peace derives from Kingston's own view of war from a noncombatant and rather bistander perspective intertwines the issue of war and human suffering that come from thought and memory -- World War II, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the first Iraq War. Possibly, she is attempting to encourage thinking and awareness. It is the overtones of education that Kingston states are the purpose or reason for being, "Educate America. Teach everybody"(60). Although these are the words taken from her mother as she asks Kingston about her purpose in life, "What have you done to educate America? Have you finished educating the world yet? You go educate America?" (60)

The book is divided into three enormous chapters that can be considered three separate books. There is plenty of information within these chapters that change in tone, and may take some quiet reading time to discern which parts are fiction and which parts are autobiographical. The first chapter, Fire, is the introduction to The Fifth Book of Peace, and presents an inkling of where the book will proceed. There is much dialogue between the characters in the book, as well as dialects and ethnic references to describe the characters and people that helped Kingston write the book.

The book has quite a number of notable passages, and one particular passage may possibly sum up the book: "Peace begins in thought. Thoughts enworded go from mind to mind, and mind makes the world. Peace, illusive, abstract, negative Yin, dream, would take a long writing-out to make real. Its book has to be longer than war books -- longer than a bumper sticker, longer than a sound bite. As we read, neuropeptides in the brain grow longer, longer than in nonreaders. Though becomes body. Sudden fast change is a method of war. The logic of peace has to be spoken out at length" (54).

I recommend this book for the pure purpose of expanding your mind or to add another perspective to the meaning of war.

poetic and meditative writing.......2005-01-14

"If a woman is going to write a Book of Peace, it is given her to know devastation". Thus begins Maxine Hong Kinston's meditative part autobiography, part fiction, part lost spiritual text. This is a deeply poetic book that is framed by an incident of fire that led to many losses of lives and property, including the author's house and most of the material of her work-in-progress novel, "the fourth book of peace". After the fire, she decided to write anew about peace. From a different perspective. Kingston whose "woman warrior" stands as a great source of spiritual strength for many narrates the personal voyages she undertook through the course of this book, and peppers them with her quiet strength and wisdom. Towards the end, she concludes, "I am coming up with a new rule for living: Only do things that make you happy, and you will create a peaceful world."

An epic work to spead the word of peace in the world.......2004-06-12

It's hard to define the genre of this 2003 book, the latest by this well-known Chinese-American author who is best known for her early work "The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts", the story of her girlhood in San Francisco. Years have passed and she has several other books to her credit. From the photo on the book jacket I see her hair is now gray and know that and she has lived through a changing America. The 70s and the peace movement have influenced her. And basically, this is what her book is about, told through the eyes of her Buddhist faith and her deep believe in peace.

The book is 402 pages long and is divided into three sections. Each one is different and yet connected. The first section is pure memoir, written with an artist's touch. It's the story of the fire in her Oakland community in the early 1990s and how her home burned to the ground. Among other things, a manuscript for a novel was destroyed. She has rewritten that novel which is the second, and longest, section of the book. The third sections tell of her experiences in running writing workshops for veterans, and this section could be classified as "self-help". Hence there is confusions of genres which makes it difficult for libraries and booksellers to categorize this book.

The entire work might be thought of in the context of literature in response to war and can be viewed as an epic journey, as our heroine must conquer obstacles and develop much self knowledge as she brings her message of peace to the world. She's well versed in the classics and there are constant references the Odyssey and other literary works as well as symbolism from all of the world's religions. In the first and last sections, the writer, herself, is in the center as she searches for community and finds possibilities for peace by creating communities that go far beyond the bonds of family and geography.

Sometimes her writing was a little too descriptive for me. For example, a tree might be beautiful but a description of several paragraphs slowed down the action. But I did relate to her sense of loss regarding her manuscript. And I really did like the novel she finally wrote in which a fictional couple, running away from the Vietnam draft, move with their young son to Hawaii and form a community of war protestors, including Vietnam soldiers who are fleeing the war. It was a bit preposterous but it was a good story, well told and I particularly loved the Hawaii she described. The last section inspired me as a writer and I found I even started using one of her techniques called "walking meditation" to let myself discover some of my personal writing needs.

I find the theme of war and peace in the context of Vietnam a little outdated. So much has happened since then as our world has changed. And, in a way, she is still locked in the thinking of the 70s. The anti-war message is a good one even though I think she is a bit naïve. However, she certainly is doing her part in trying to make positive changes. She uses her gift of writing to do this. I applaud her for her efforts. She actually makes the concept of "peace" seem possible. That is a good thing.

Boy, Do I Feel Guilty Giving This Book Less than 5 Stars.......2003-12-19

Because of the subject matter of this book--which is predominantly about Kingston's writers groups for War Veterans--and because I love so much of her earlier writing, I do feel guilty giving "The Fifth Book of Peace" three stars. But, in the following sentences, I will explain my reasons for doing so. "The Fifth Book of Peace," like "The Woman Warrior" and "China Men" before it, mixes memoir with fiction. The first chapter, "Fire," is about Kingston's painful recollections of losing her home in the Berkeley Hills/Oakland fire of 1991--which sadly coincided with the passing of her father. The second chapter, "Paper," has Kingston elaborating on her quest for the Books of Peace, which might exist, or which might simply be a figment of her imagination. This material is very intriguing. But, from the third chapter on, "The Fifth Book of Peace" loses its early momentum. The third chapter, "Water," is a sequel to what might arguably be her masterpiece, "Tripmaster Monkey." In that novel, Wittman Ah Sing, the protagonist, fills the narrative with opinionated witticisms about art, culture and life. That same energy is completely lacking in "Water": Kingston's narrative (the original draft of which was lost in the fire) is for the most part in the third person here, describing Wittman and Tana's (his wife) move to Hawaii to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War. Here the theme of peace is driven home in some very emotional scenes--my favorite being Wittman's intervention at a Sanctuary for those who do not want to serve in the Vietnam War. The longest chapter, "Earth," focuses on her writing group for War Veterans and overcoming human violence (war) through an emphasis on peace. But, as one of the Veterans--Severe Ted--says, "Violence makes a good story. It's dramatic." The problem is that writing about peace (which must be necessarily undramatic once achieved) is extremely difficult to do, and Kingston does not quite pull it off. Reading Kingston's descriptions of other peoples writings about their war experiences becomes so convoluted that the impact of what she did with these writing groups becomes lost on the reader. Nevertheless, "The Fifth Book of Peace" is a reminder of how awesome a responsibility the achievement of peace truly is.

Compelling meditation on Earth, Paper, Fire, and Water.......2003-10-31

Most of us who live in the Oakland/Berkeley area are familiar with the fact that Maxine Hong Kingston's home, containing her only copy of a nearly finished book, burned to the ground in the Oakland Hills Fire of 1991. She was returning from her father's funeral when she saw the hills in flames and made an attempt to save her manuscript. The lost novel was titled The Fourth Book of Peace, inspired by an ancient Chinese tale of three books that were deliberately burned.
Her new book, The Fifth Book of Peace, deals with her efforts to come to terms with her own losses as well as an attempt to understand the suffering of those who are veterans and survivors of war. This luminous book is set in four sections: Fire, a firsthand report of the 1991 inferno; Paper, her search for the original books of peace; Water, a recreation of her lost novel about a couple who flees to Hawaii to avoid the Vietnam War; and Earth, Kingston's moving account of the writing workshops she organized for war veterans.
Always a compelling writer, Maxine Hong Kingston has written a wise and spell-binding meditation on the power of Story and the challenge of living and acting on one's beliefs; she guides us toward peace without avoiding the fact that we live in a world at war.

Average customer rating:

THE FIFTH BOOK OF PEACE
Maxine Hong Kingston
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

The Fifth Book of Peace
Kingston Maxine
Manufacturer: Secker & Warburg
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IL4Q4C

Average customer rating:

Fifth Book of Peace
Maxine Hon Kingston
Manufacturer: KNOPF, ALFRED A
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VVJVFS

The Fifth Miracle, The Devil in the Desert, Fatima: Pilgrimage to Peace, The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia (Catholic Family Book Club)

Average customer rating:

The Fifth Miracle, The Devil in the Desert, Fatima: Pilgrimage to Peace, The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia (Catholic Family Book Club)
William Joyce Cowen , Paul Horgan , April Oursler Armstrong , Jr. Martin F. Armstrong , and William Brinkley
Manufacturer: Catholic Family Book Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000M9QETU

Wittman's transitions: multivocality and the play of Tripmaster Monkey.(Critical Essay): An article from: MELUS

Average customer rating:

Wittman's transitions: multivocality and the play of Tripmaster Monkey.(Critical Essay): An article from: MELUS
Lara Narcisi
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from MELUS, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2005. The length of the article is 6337 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Wittman's transitions: multivocality and the play of Tripmaster Monkey.(Critical Essay)
Author: Lara Narcisi
Publication: MELUS (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 30 Issue: 3 Page: 95(17)

Article Type: Critical Essay

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Average customer rating:

The Fifth Book of Peace
Maxine Hong KINGSTON
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Book Description

Lesbian Rabbis: The First Generation documents a monumental change in Jewish life as eighteen lesbian rabbis reflect on their experiences as trailblazers in Judaism's journey into an increasingly multicultural world. In frank and revealing essays, the contributors discuss their decisions to become rabbis and describe their experiences both at seminaries and in their rabbinical positions. They also reflect on the dilemma whether to conceal or reveal their sexual identities to their congregants and superiors, or to serve specifically gay and lesbian congregations. The contributors consider the tensions between lesbian identity and Jewish identity, and inquire whether there are particularly "lesbian" readings of traditional texts. These essays also ask how the languge of Jewish tradition touches the lives of lesbians and how lesbianism challenges traditional notions of the Jewish family.

Customer Reviews:

The Warmth and Beauty of Our Lesbian Rabbis.......2001-10-29

A generation ago, the idea of a woman rabbi would have been unthinkable. Today, we have an entire group of not just women but lesbian rabbis who have become some of the most respected rabbis of our generation. As this book proves, they serve the Jewish community in a number of ways. Bringing disenfranchised Jews into creative, new synagoues, serving traditional congregations and working in a variety of fields helping Jews in ways only rabbis can.

The group of eighteen women who contributed to this book are pioneers in one sense but simply doing a traditional job that has evolved over several thousand years. The Library of Congress created a new category just for this book, but this is also a very traditional work. Exploring the role of the rabbi and how each individual has struggled to serve her community is a very traditional role for a rabbi.

The eighteen pieces included are personal and meaningful. The warmth of many of the women whom I know shines through in their work. The beauty and spirit of Judaism is alive in this first generation of Lesbian Rabbis.

Bookshelf "must" in Judaism, religion, gender/gay studies.......2001-10-17

What an important new book! The editors--pathmaking and wise lesbian rabbis themselves--have compiled an impressive collection. Understanding the special contributions and journeys of lesbian rabbis enriches immeasurably our knowledge of contemporary Jewish life and the contemporary rabbinate--and the possibilities in both.

important book!.......2001-09-10

This book is an important part of the historical record documenting Jewish experience--particularly the experience of contemporary Jewish women. The rabbis who contributed essays tell incredible stories. I found them truly inspirational! As lesbians, some of these individuals risked being thrown out of rabbinical school and being fired from their jobs as rabbis. Several paid an extremely high price for their honesty. Others have experienced tremendous welcoming in the the Jewish communities where they function as rabbis. The writers are Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist, and they were ordained in the 70s, 80s and 90s so when you read the whole book you really get a sense of how things have been changing for lesbian and gay rabbis. I recommend the read!

Long Overdue!.......2001-08-13

And by "long overdue" I am NOT referring to how long I have had this out of the Redwood City library! The authors take a very controversial stance throughout this book, risking their positions while assuming all sorts of positions, if you know what I mean. It was inevitable that this book would be written --I have been following its progress all along. Though I am not a lesbian and am not sure if I could ever be, I do know that if I was a lesbian and believed in Judiasm (which I don't, by the way) I only wish I could handle my faith and my sexual preferences as well as the authors. Kudos to them and kudos to all of you who will buy this book! It is truly a fantastic ride. Or read.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books