No comments about Sigmund Freud - Psychiatric Genius (Biography).

3 comments about New American Streamline Destinations - Advanced: Destinations Workbook B (Units 41-80): B (New American Streamline).

1. This is the best way to practice the grammar from each chapter of the book. I have been studying with other books as well and I can say this book and the workbook are one of the best I have found to improve my English.



2. I'm an ESL teacher and I've used this collection for over 3 years to teach adults. I have many students who have learned using it and in my household only there are 3 of them. Yes, I've taught my own family! It's filled with great exercises, fun lessons and easy to do step-by-step class plans. Buy it, it'll change your method. With this books you don't even need the flash cards!



3. I'd like to learn english and I hope this book help me.

2 comments about A Gift of Life: A Page From the Life of a Living Organ Donor.

1. As I write this review, I am preparing to share the author's experience: I am donating a kidney to a friend who has suffered kidney failure. So much of what Ms Chabot-Long experienced I am now experiencing. The decision to give up a kidney is a very emotional one and I can relate to much of what the author went through. I discovered that she had the same experience that I am going through in that it reached the point where she would have been disappointed if for any reason, she could not have done it. I wanted a good, vivid account of what awaits me in the future and Ms Chabot-Long provides such an account. I feel that I have been clued in as to what awaits me both physically and emotionally. I know that the recovery from the surgery is likely to be painful and I have been given a good firsthand account of what I can expect. I was charmed and moved by her description of her family and what they went through in supporting her. The support I have been receiving has made me very emotional. The author is not a professional writer and it is clear that she did not have a professional editor. She and her husband published the book themselves so the writing style is not necessarily smooth and contains grammatical errors. However, I can easily overlook that since the book hits home as to my personal needs. Furthermore, the author did a fair amount of research and provides technical information in a style understandable to lay people. I recommend this book to anyone who wants good. reliable information on what a kidney donor goes through.



2. As a librarian and a fairly sophisticated user of information, I was indeed pleased to locate this title. My brother had just started dialysis and our family was looking into the pros and cons of living versus cadaver donation. A first-person account of the transplant experience from the point of view of the donor and the recipient was just the sort of introductory material my brother and I were looking for.

   Unfortunately, what useful information one could locate on end-stage renal disease, dialysis, the transplantation decision, the surgery or its aftermath was buried under pages and pages of irrelevant detail about the author's family, or was mired in hopelessly inelegant prose, full of glaring errors of grammar and tense. The excerpt of the book that follows the editorial reviews of this title is a perfect example of why clear and concise writing and careful editing are so important.

   Given the subtitle "a page from the life of a living donor" one would certainly expect a certain level of personal detail to accompany the facts. Yet Ms. Chabot-Long's account reads like the breathless entries in a teenager's " dear diary." And do we really need to know (over several pages) why it took so long for her to be discharged from the hospital? Hint: this essential bodily function often slows down after surgery. You really don't want to go there.

   This account would have been much better if it had been presented as an article in a magazine. It would have forced the author or her editor to stress facts and to highlight the decision-making process that her family used when they faced this crisis.

   My brother and I skimmed the book in about an hour and were much better served by the articles I found in reference books, in periodicals, and on the web.

4 comments about Dr. Spock: An American Life.

1. Journalist and biographer Thomas Maier presents a candid portrait of one of the most famous child care advisors in America in Dr. Spock: An American Life, an informed and informative, 540-page biography that shows this public figure's human side, as well as his willingness to face down controversy, whether in the realm of raising children or in his stringent opposition to the Vietnam War. A detailed, involving, and evenhanded depiction, Dr. Spock: An American Life is very highly recommended reading.



2. I've been reading biographies lately and this one is the best I've read so far. I found it interesting and easy to read. I was impressed with the extensive research done by the author and I was impressed with how we are given an honest portrayal of Spock...the good points and the bad.

   Although we are given glimpses of the dark side of this famous man, I did not end up disliking him. In fact, it made me want to go out and reread his childcare book. It's weird, but in a way I respect his opinions more, knowing he was not perfect.

   I highly recommend this book!




3. My mother read Dr. Spock, as did I when I had my kids. He was not permissive and did not advise us to raise impolite poorly behaved children. Fortunately this book manages to convey this. Dr. Spock's legacy has been maligned and cheapened by ignorant people, most of whom never read the good Doctor. This book presents a full picture of the man in his weakness and strength. I think Spock would have been content to stand on the record. This book is long overdue. Thank you to Thomas Maier and thank you to Dr. Spock.



4. "Dr. Spock: An American Life" is a powerful story. In fact, once I got started, I couldn't put down Thomas Maier's book. The writing is crisp and to the point. At the same time Maier fills his book with wonderful details that brings Benjamin Spock to life.

   Maier does a terrific job of capturing the different facets of the doctor's life and personality. The author devotes a good part of his book to Spock's troubles with his children and his first wife. Yet "Dr.Spock" never demeans its subject.

   If you are curious about Benjamin Spock, or enjoy intriging stories...or just delight in good writing,read this book!

No comments about Conversations with My Healers: My Journey to Wellness from Breast Cancer.

1 comments about Jewish Doctors Meet: The Great Physician.

1. The stories compiled here are authentic and sincere. These are doctors, generously sharing their very personal accounts of how they came to discover, albeit reluctantly, the absolute truth of the love and saving grace of a very Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.
   
   These stories are written by doctors, not writers. That element alone kept the reading pace clear, quick, and thoroughly interesting.
   
   I am gentile. I learned a great deal about my Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ. Especially the seemingly insurmountable obstacles placed before the Jewish seeker of Biblical Truth; family, tradition, religion, indifference, investment, etc..
   
   I found the input near the end of the book by Ruth Rosen to be fascinating. Her perspective on faith was truly insightful. Her words have helped me articulate what true faith is. Rosen's commentary on Hebrews 11:1 ( A New Testament letter) became revelation for me. I am grateful to her for giving Glory to God by bringing this book to light.
   
   Finally; David Brickner's thoughtful rendition, describing the meeting of a desperate but faithful woman and the Christ, made those scriptures in the Gospel of John so much more relevant and meaningful.
   
   If you are a believer in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit you will be encouraged to fight the good fight of faith. If you are gentile and a seeker of absolute truth, you will find insight into the level of courage and surrender you will face if you are sincere in your attempts to grasp it. If you are Jewish and are being called by the Spirit of God to search, reason, explore, and discover who Jesus is, do not harden your hearts, but seek His face while He can still be found. Read this book. May God bless you right now.

2 comments about REBOUNDING FROM DEATH'S DOOR.

1. Reading Rebounding From Death's Door I found myself crying, laughing & cheering. Most of all, I was left completely inspired. A must read for the entire family!!!



2. Rebounding From Death's Door is an inspirational book that tugged at my heartstrings from every direction! From the moment I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.

5 comments about The Test: Living in the Shadow of Huntington's Disease.

1. I read this book in French, so I cannot comment on the translation, but I do disagree with the above comments regarding the content. Anyone who is considering the test for Huntington's Disease should read this book. I found it thought-provoking and worthwhile.



2. My wife has Huntington's Disease and our two sons have this issue to face themselves (whether to take the test that will tell them if they have the rogue gene and will inherit Huntington's Disease, or whether to continue living with uncertainty; with the 50/50 risk of developing the symptoms in their late 30s or 40s). So, I bought The Test to see if there is any insightful thinking in it that could help them. There isn't.
   
   Journalists assume they can write books (the author is a journalist). I know this because I am a journalist and too many of my colleagues assume book-writing is the same skill. It clearly isn't. Also, as no translator is credited at the beginning of the book, I assume Mr. Barema either wrote it in English himself or wrote two versions - one in English and the other in French - on the assumption that his English writing was good enough for the publisher not to get a translator in to do the English version for him (he is French, but spends a lot of time in the USA and studied in the US). Unfortunately, the English is not good enough. It lacks subtlety and, often, clarity. And, as another reviewer has mentioned, below, the facts are too often simply wrong, which is far too casual and thoughtless when the subject matter is so vital for the readers, many of whom will be at risk themselves and will have bought the book for help in dealing with that.
   
   I don't think they will find it, as I don't think it was written to help anyone. It seems to be more of an attempt to turn a personal misfortune into a dramatic work. The material has to be researched and absolutely right so as not to mislead readers who are in the same situation as the author, for whom this is information literally about their own life or death. This book isn't well-researched. Nor is it well structured.
   
   I helped my wife put together her just-published book Learning To Live With Huntington's Disease, and we know how people at risk of this illness need information that has been checked and double-checked to avoid misleading them.
   
   Despite the author's obvious love for his sister and brother, and his horror that they have the disease, there is also a lack of empathy for people with Huntington's in this book that I found shallow. The other people around the author, who are supposed to be central characters to his story, are shadowy and insubstantial and you never get a proper sense of them. You get the feeling the author doesn't either. People with this illness do not have 'nothing in their heads', as Mr. Barema seems to assume sometimes. Nor are they all insane or monstrous, as he says on several occasions. He seems to be over-generalizing from the terrible stories and experiences he had as a child when his mother was dying with Huntington's Disease. Even in the last stages of the illness this is not necessarily always the case. It seems to me his own fear of the illness has led him to play up the cliches.
   
   You can live positively with this illness, even to the last, with enough determination and love. I suspect I am being too harsh. I know my own older son went through several years where he was living a life off the rails, where he was focussed on himself and not on those around him properly. Who can blame him when he had to absorb the information that there was a 50% chance he would not have a future. He pulled through that stage after several years and got himself back together, after we almost lost him.
   
   I feel someone at that stage of the grieving process (this is a process of grieving for your future) who has come through the 'why me?' self-obsessed phase should have written this book to encourage people at risk to realize that yes, it is common to fall apart as your world falls apart around you (which seems to be the stage Mr. Barema was at when writing this book), but that, with love from others AND yourself, you can come thru that stage and become strong again. As Hemingway wrote, the world breaks all of us. But some of us are strong at the broken places. Exactly the same applies to Huntington's Disease. I wish this had been a better book. As it is, I will not be recommending it to my sons as I think it would upset them more than help them.



3. The Test is a journalist's first-person account of what it means to live at risk for Huntington's Disease. The everyday experience of hundreds of thousands, it is difficult for most people to imagine, and Jean Berera has done well in humanizing what media usually sell as unimaginable. The difficulties that HD brings to relationships within a family are thoughtfully addressed. I didn't give this book a higher rating because I disapprove of the author's (or editor's) decision not to disclose his gene status until the end of the book, using it as a kind of nonfictional plot device. In my reading, the suspense that this decision inevitably promoted detracted from the author's thoughtful reflections.



4. 
   Aside from the inaccurate statistics in this book, it does serve another purpose.
   
   Barema focuses on the anxiety, emotional turmoil and obsessive behavior that can occur during the test decision making process, which includes mothers/fathers, sisters/brothers, wives/husbands, children, doctors, etc;
   
   Barema also writes about the issues of Huntington's Disease and the overwhelming struggle to live rationally while feeling irrational.
   
   It seems to be a good book for those considering testing for HD and a real effort to educate anyone who may think that taking "The Test" may be as simple as just getting a blood test.



5. Couldn't wait to read this book, as my father is struggling with Huntington's Disease, which, of course, meant my own struggle with "to test or not to test." That said, I'm sorry to report that I was sorely disappointed. While I obviously empathize with the subject matter, the inaccuracies in this book drove me nuts and stained this author's credibility with me. Being the journalist that Mr. Barema is I would think an attention to details would be a top priority. Not so, as is evidenced by his bad habit of attributing songs to Woody Guthrie (the most notable public figure with Huntington's) that Woody didn't author. "Good Morning America, How Are Ya?" is one. First off, Barema mistitles the song. It's called "The City of New Orleans" and was written by Steve Goodman. It was sung by Arlo Guthrie, NOT Woody. "Starry, Starry Night" is another notch inexplicably placed on Woody's song belt. The song was written by Don Mclean. Listen, Mr. Barema, to an author who DID get her facts straight in a book on Bob Dylan, if you're going to make frequent references to a hero like Woody know your game. Also, while the back cover blurb "Huntington's causes death within five to ten years" is gripping and more than likely geared toward sucking in the bookstore browser, it's simply not true. According to every medical web site I've ever haunted since this insidious disease entered our lives (and believe me folks, I've dropped in on them all) death from HD comes within 10-20 years. This is nothing more than an unfortunate and unsettling marketing ploy in my opinion. Apart from facts that fly around like pollen in this memoir, I didn't care for the clipped writing style. Unlike "Publisher's Weekly" it didn't hit me as "moving" or "intense" so much as annoying. Anyway, a real letdown, this one. Save your money and purchase a Woody Guthrie biography instead.

5 comments about Clear Springs: A Memoir.

1. I'd never read any of Bobbie Ann Mason's work before reading Clear Springs for a book club. I believe I may be missing out if her other books are like this one. There is a warmth to her story that makes it a real pleasure to read. Mason's language, too, is comfortable and highly readable. Her rhythms, especially, give a real richness to her prose. I highly recommend this.



2. Bobbie Ann Mason has done a wonderful job with "Clear Springs". I did not grow up in Kentucky in the baby boom generation, but I did grow up in rural southern Missouri just after it, and this story is so very like what I was familiar with. Ms. Mason is of my mother's generation and except for the disfunction there are many similarities between this story and stories my mother has told. My family reminded me of the older Masons and not the disfunctional Lees. The isolation of rural life, but the joy in many ways that come from it. The curiosity of the outside world, but the fear of it. She relates that Clear Springs hadn't changed much since the Civil War and she was correct in that. The world that slowly evolved for most Americans changed before this rural generation's eyes. A Great book!



3. When writing a memoir, authors are advised to write the first draft as if everyone is dead - and then to prune the damaging parts in subsequent rewrites. Perhaps Mason pruned a bit too much. This otherwise lovely and affectionate memoir of how it was to grow up in a small, working-class town in Kentucky in the 40s and 50s is a bit long on respect and caution - and a bit short on grit.
   Otherwise, I loved it. I grew up in Kansas in the 50s and can relate to the pace, small-town values, and lack of danger (except from the "evil Communists" and "the bomb") that Mason portrays as such inherent parts of her roots. Her language, esp in the first part of the book focusing on her own childhood memories, is rich and multi-layered and pulls readers into every scene right along with her. In the rest of the book, she uses the techniques of creative nonfiction to weave a background narrative that spans the lives of three generations of women within the community.
   A worthwhile read; it won't change your life, but it might make you think, and it's certainly a pleasant trip to take with this accomplished author.



4. Indispensible to serious readers of Mason's fiction, this memoir is true to family and community life in Western Kentucky (despite what other reviewers might say).



5. I'm an appreciative fan of Bobbie Ann Mason's short stories, about rural people raised with traditional values now somewhat at sea in a world of consumerism, pop culture, and a new morality. Young adults, whose parents would have stuck with a marriage come hell or high water, now divorce and drift through relationships. Their parents tied to the land and other life-long occupations, Mason's post-war generation is less rooted, freed of conventional beliefs, but often at a loss about what to believe in. Most striking as America grows increasingly urban, Mason's people continue to inhabit a rural landscape -- more worldly than their forebears, but not more sophisticated.

   While some readers of Mason's stories and novels may have been puzzled by the point of view in them (ironic? matter of fact? sentimental?), this wonderful memoir should do much to clear up that ambiguity. Here a reader is introduced to the world of day-to-day experience that these narratives have emerged from. And you can begin to see how the matter of fact, ironic, and sentimental blend into a perspective that is distinctly rural American. The strongest individual (who is surely the source of many of Mason's fictional characters) is without doubt her mother, a remarkable woman with a quizzical sense of humor, a colorful manner of speaking, and a long view that comes of witnessing much of the 20th century at first hand.

   A list of highlights in this book would go on for pages; there's just so much to savor and enjoy. There's Mason's own unsophisticated childhood (barefoot summers, crushes on pop stars, rock and roll fandom), the making of the film "In Country," and the continuing transformation of the rural Kentucky environment from horse-and-buggy days to the invasion of agribusiness -- a huge processing plant has sprung up across the road from the family farm.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Mason's fiction. It is rich with thoughtful and well-observed detail reaching back across three generations of family history.

1 comments about Beyond my Control: One Man's Struggle with Epilepsy, Seizure Surgery & Beyond.

1. I found this book fascinating. It is amazing that while trying to recover from brain surgery to be cured from epilepsy, a secondary condition can develop (depression) which is also a huge hurdle to get over. How the human brain is so vulnerable. This book is a very honest account of the authors struggles with both conditions which brought up some deep underlying emotion for me. I wish the author and his family all the best. Carolyn (New Jersey)