No comments about The Courage to Live: My Personal Journey With God, a Kidney Patient's Story.

1 comments about Odyssey in Hell.

1. Odyssey in Hell non-fiction autobiography by a man who has suffered from manic depression throughout his life. Most times we hear from people who have lived with a bipolar person. It is hard. But we have not realized how hard it is for the bipolar person who does things as a result of his/her sickness.
   Hard for us to realize they do not like behaving as they do and that is an illness not their true personality.This book helps us understand how difficult it is to be bipolar and to admit it even to themselves. Well written with a strong impact.

3 comments about The Physician and the Slave Trade: John Kirk, the Livingstone Expeditions, and the Crusade Against Slavery in East Africa.

1. This is an excellent story of an unsung hero of East Africa and the struggle against slavery. The author has repeatedly travelled to Africa, is a physician, and has written an earlier book about West Africa. The book is well researched and is a very good read.



2. This is a very readable depiction of East Africa, the slave trade and Dr. John Kirk, an almost unknown English hero of last century. He was instrumental in bringing an end to the vicious slave trade in East Africa and his life was interwoven with the famous Stanley and Livingstone pair. Dr. Kirk emerges as a better man than either of those two, by far. A bit choppy at times, but a first class and richly researched history that came alive for me. If you like history, social issues, Africa or just good adventure this this is a very satisfying read.



3. The physician and the slave trade takes you to East Africa where John Kirk, A Scottish physician joins David Livingstone on the Zambezi expedition. From 1858 to 1863, they steamed up rivers and roamed the jungles enduring blistering heat, rampant tropical diseases snakes and hostile Africans, Arabs, and rival Europeans. Through it all Kirk and Livingstone persevered, promoting commerce, christianity and civilization while working against a powerful slave trade that saw more than 100,000 slaves shipped abroad each year. Maneuvering his way against the endless intrigue of Arab slavers and European geopolitics, Kirk succeeded against incredible odds in convincing the Sultan of Zanzibar to ban the highly lucrative slave trade. This is a gripping true story of intrigue and adventure in East Africa and the end of the slave trade.

2 comments about Requiem for a People: The Rogue Indians and the Frontiersmen (Northwest Reprints).

1. Professor Beckham's presents a terse and lucid account of the displacement of the natives of the Rogue Valley and surrounding areas. I grew up in the Rogue Valley and in fact my family homesteaded there, although they began a couple of decades after the natives had been displaced to reservations. I wish very much that this book had been required reading in my high school, because we were raised to be essentially blind to the melancholy history of our area.

   The book is essentially a scholarly memoir, with extensive footnoting for anyone wanting to find more detail in the historical record. Yet, the writing is accessible and vivid. This is a highly recommended read.




2. Beckham has done more to understand the history of the Indian people of the Oregon coast than any other author. As a member of the Coos tribe, I am grateful for his attention to a history which not only very few non-Indians but also Indian people are aware.

   However, mostly missing in this book is the Indian voice, or a discussion of the motivation and understanding of the Indian people who were being uprooted and systematically killed. While Beckham is clearly sympathetic to Indians, this is still a book written from the dominant culture's perspective; even so, the discussion of the motivations of the non-Indian settlers is somewhat superficial.

   Because so little is written on the subject, this is an important addition to the history of the Oregon Coast in the early 19th century.

No comments about Alzheimer.

4 comments about Nurses On Our Own.

1. This was a fascinating story about 2 nurses who longed to use all of their skills and talents to serve their patients/clients, as clearly related in the first review of this book. However, the story is marred by poor editing -- way too much detail about their personal lives in some places (which does not add to the story); and huge gaps in time covered in a short amount of material in other places. I think it took them way too long to get to the heart of the story. However, because they were among the very first to set up independent practice, the story is inspiring to all who want to persevere despite difficult challenges.



2. Police Wives strike out on an adventure in business as nurses and meet all kinds of people and solve all kinds of problems



3. These two nurses and friends were conserative educated nurses who were forced to fight the hospital establishment in order to be patient advocates. They created the first independent nursing practice in the US and became the first nurses ever called Nurse Practicioners. Their husbands played a large part -both were Chicago police officers. One owned a detective agency and the nurses also became investigators. This is a story of transformation of women, jobs, friendships etc. It gives all women a glimpse into the mystique of medicine, hospitals, psychiatric units, movie sets, nursing in an amusement park . These two women started with very different lives-one the mother of four-the other a determined career woman. An accident to one the pregnant one creates opportunities for them in their lives that they never expected and lead them to becoming entrepeneurs, speakers, businesswomen, leaders in nursing, nurses on movie sets and in amusement parks. They treat everyone from the penniless to the multimillionaires from the gold coast to the ghetto in their journey to advance their careers and themselves. One battles with her husband's alcoholism until he becomes a runner. This is a story of success, dreams and relationships. This is a non fiction novel if their were such a thing. It leads you into the homes of patients, doctor's offices,insurance companies, hospitals, occupational and corporate health and various other settings.They meet and treat movie stars, politicians and famous clergy. Their consultant doctor is a replica of "Dr Welby' with a playboy image. They are called modern day Joan of arcs and succeed in their case against a large metropolitan hospital and go on to write this book which was optioned for a tv movie of their characters. You can reach them as I did at 8l5-773-4497.



4. I thought this book was outstanding. It really showed that anyone can make it. These women had to struggle against a powerful hospital and society's misconceptions about the role of nurses in health care. I was especially intrigued by the adventures Karon and Joy had as independent nurse practicioners. The book gave me a new respect for the nursing profession.

No comments about Body Under Siege: Two Very Different, but Two Very Connected Stories Multiple Sclerosis - Life at the Edge and the Vidalia Onion - A Marketing Success Story.

3 comments about Locked In Locked Out.

1. Dr. Shawn Jennings could have written an analytical medical account of what happened to his life when he suffered a brain stem stroke. How wonderful that he opted to go far beneath the surface. What makes this book fascinating reading is Shawn's insightful and candid descriptions, no holds barred, as he confronted each challenge and change that came with being locked out of his former life and locked into a new one. Most of all this is a book of hope because Shawn is honest about his denial,anger and frustrations; yet his spirit of survival, humor and warmth is what shines through. This is a book everyone will find inspiring.



2. Very easy read.
   Very informative.
   My son had a stroke and I read this book to him. We both enjoyed what the author had to say and how he wrote it. I'm glad we read it.



3. This book was lent to me by my sister-in-law. Her mother suffered a couple of strokes, none as devastating as Shawn's. Once I picked up this book I couldn't put it down. Even though he is a doctor he doesn't talk in "doctor talk". He is down to earth, funny, and very honest. This book is great for the stroke surviver, caregiver or just the curious. A definite must read!

No comments about The Making of a Surgeon.

4 comments about Heart In Hand.

1. Dr Miller told me of his book, and as I was so impressed with him as a person and a surgeon, it was the first book I read during my recovery. Even though I was still on pain killers when I started, I couldn't put it down, staying awake longer than I should have each night.

   I heartily agree with the first two reviews written before mine, and will let them stand as my views also.

   To unwind from his work, Dr. Miller told me he that on Saturdays he frequently gets an intellectually stimulating book on tape, and then takes his dog for an all day hike in the Cascade Mountains (near Seattle) while he listens to the book. This gives me the thought that he really is a renaissance man.

   Pain killers aside, I thought the whole theme falls together for you during the last few pages. You may wonder as you go along as to how it all falls together. He does not disappoint you at the end.

   I felt it was one of the best books I have ever read.




2. Suspend all your usual stereotypes about insensitive or materialistic surgeons! Donald W Miller, a cardiac surgeon, is a most knowledgeable, sincere, and deep thinker who has contributed a monumental work of art to our human quest for understanding. Heart in Hand is a wonderful gift, especially in this Information Age where true meaning and personal significance are often lost to Moore's Law and the next Microsoft takeover. Miller's exhaustive reflections on the nature of life are backed by solid scientific evidence, intuition, and a passionate appreciation for philosophy (especially that of Arthur Schopenhauer), Woody Allen movies, classical music, biology, and mystical experience. Although it seems almost impossible to integrate these diverse resources into only 213 pages of text, Miller does it brilliantly, adhering to his own message in the book that simplicity is a virtue. Examples of simplicity he provides include the guileless but compassionate fool of Danny in Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose, and the ageless simplicity found in the immortal music of the Beatles and Theolonious Monk.

   Heart in Hand helps us realize that we are all deeply interconnected. All matter in the universe is comprised of leptons and quarks, force is really the same as substance, and we are all products of the big bang. He advocates for scientific and analytical thinking, but admits to the limits of this approach and suggests a need for mysticism and intuitive understanding too. However, don't mistake Miller's openness to mysticism as an endorsement of Western religion. Probing questions about religion will raise many ecclesiastic eyebrows, and he may get tossed out of a few churches! For example, he doubts that we have souls if we evolved from bacteria, and describes the secret and cunning of priests as "pretending to possess the means to satisfy mans great metaphysical need by saying that the great riddle has reached them direct." His deep sincerity and honesty is evident, and his description of Schopenhauer's writings on morality is a good primer for many supposedly good religious folk who are actually more instrumental in separating the human race through judgemental thinking than encouraging true compassion.

   This grand integration of multiple dimensions of science and art succeeds on many levels. This is a technical book with tons of useful information on biology, history, art, and even sex, and Miller shares many personal preferences for future reading and listening. This is also a very fun book that celebrates life while standing on the shoulders of many significant and creative minds. You may want to read Heart in Hand multiple times, and will surely come away with new insights and pleasure every time.

   There are still many questions unanswered. What happened before the big bang? Could there still be a personal God? Is there a personal purpose for each person during this brief planetary residence? Miller by no means answers all these questions. There will always be more questions to ask. What Miller does offer are personal experiences, knowledge that is extensive and refined, and great insight. Heart in Hand will most surely enrich your life. The surgeon adequately satisfied this psychologists' desire for a great read! I'll refer to it often in my work with clients.




3. If one has trepidations about mortality, then Dr. Donald Miller may assuage his and her misgivings. His book, Heart In Hand, however, is not just about death and dying, it is about life and living. Indeed, Dr. Miller traces the beginning of life to the one-celled amoeba and carries it forward to man in its highest form, most notably, as defined by Arthur Schopenhauer, Richard Wagner, and Woody Allen. He also makes several references to himself, his family, his friends, and his patients.

   He no doubt has spent sleepless nights in Seattle as a heart surgeon, and in the process, has much time to think about six facets of life, each one represented by a chapter in his book. While it may be unusual for one to cross the divide between Schopenhauer and Allen, one sees where the two are not far apart, except by 147 years between birth, and the book is filled with quotations of both, which are treats, and saves one from the tedium of heavy reading, especially Schopenhauer; all of this in just 213 pages of text, with additional endnotes, reading and film selections.

   Dr. Miller's explanation of evolution has condensed the so-called theory into very interesting and coherent facts, and could be a primer for teachers. There are also many other facts that could be described as interesting trivia. And his explanation of sex, and indeed, compassion, touches the sensibilities. His chapters, "Searching for God," and the "Metaphysics of Music" are engrossing. But the chapter "Confronting Death" should get to core of everyone's being. Of course, death is inevitable, and when one is born, every day he and she creeps one day closer. But knowing it doesn't help. And for many, it is a perplexing and often debilitating experience. Dr. Miller enlightens us with one quotation from Schopenhauer, "Where was I before my birth?" "For it is irrefutably certain that non-existence after death cannot be different from non-existence before birth..." If one is hesitant to confront any of the volumes that have been written to assuage our fear of death, this chapter is enough. It takes us there without cringing, and with a simple but plausible explanation.

   It is Schopenhauer and Woody Allen who are the main players in this book. Unless one has read the older philosopher, probably in his most important work, "The World as Will and Representation," and "Essays and Aphorisms," a compilation selected and translated by R. J.. Hollingdale, much has been missed about his views about compassion, living and dying. Likewise, unless one has analyzed the films of Woody Allen, and assumes that he is more than a comedian, then Dr. Miller shows where he is a deep thinker, and very preoccupied with death, which is made light through his comedy, but has a very serious and obvious cognizance. Dr. Miller is generous in his observations about Schopenhauer, Allen, and finally Richard Wagner, who was immensely influenced by the philosopher and his above mentioned book, and his chapter, "The Metaphysics of Music" is one that will inspire all music lovers, especially Wagnerians. The good doctor again reminds us about the soothing effects of music on our health.

   So here we have a small volume packed with much to think about. It is a quick read, engrossing, and one which the reader will no doubt absorb in one sitting, and feel good about it.




4. If you liked THE POWER OF MYTH, the PBS TV series/book of Joseph Campbell interviews by Bill Moyers, you will be captivated by HEART IN HAND. Joseph Campbell tells us how religions and myths from many cultures are, essentially, one variegated story of humankind's spiritual journey. Dr. Miller, in a most readable prose style, takes current knowledge from many scientific fields--medicine, astronomy, biology, quantum physics--and relates it to philopsophy, humor, religion, and the arts, particularly music.

   When he describes his book as 'reflections on the nature of life,' don't jump out of your easy chair. This book is the opposite of pompous. In our so called Information Age, it is hard as hell to get a grip on what we are really doing on the planet at the end of this tumultuous century. This book helps. Dr. Miller offers the layman, like myself, a science lesson and then shows how the intricate facts of the physical world relate to the domain of the soul. For one who is uncertain about what evolution means, he gives a telling explanation in terms of genes--ours and those of our ancestors. He draws from his extensive personal interests--microbiology, sex, opera, jazz, Arthur Schopenhauer, conducting a symphony orchestra, Jack Kerouac, Richard Wagner, Thelonious Monk, compassion in the practice of medicine, Woody Allen, God, and death--and translates them into integral meditations about what it is to be alive. As he goes along, he connects things, a lot of things. Joseph Campbell describes our mythological exit from the Garden of Eden as moving from unity with God/Eternity into a world of opposites/duality, man/woman, and mortality. Microbiology informs us that single-cell bacteria clone asexually and keep reproducing ad-infinitum, as long as they have a favorable environment. Death, in evolutionary terms, is not part of the 'program' until these little bits of life evolve far enough to reproduce sexually. This eventually occurs in more advanced single-cell organisms called eukaryotes that exchange and commingle their genetic DNA to produce genetically new offspring. These ancient ancestors also reside East of Eden, genetically programmed to 'senescence and eventual death.'

   This is a highly personal and diverse choice of subject matter. If it were not, he would have written a rather eccentric textbook. Because he cares deeply, and has cared for a long time, about what is beneath the surface of things, this is an exceptional and valuable book by an unusually curious man. Dr. Miller is a wonder in his ability to concisely reveal so much useful information in a little over two hundred pages. He is completely honest in telling us what science knows and does not know. From his practice of medicine he offers convincing evidence of how our emotions and moral choices profoundly influence our physical health. He neither preaches nor does he attempt to dispel the mystery of existence. To the contrary, the 'big picture' he gives us is, as the kids say... awesome. He quotes jazz pianist Bill Evans regarding the meaning of art. Bill said it's to enrich life. This book will enrich your life.