5 comments about The Unusual Suspect: My Calling to the New Hardcore Movement of Faith.

1. The message that Stephen shares in his book I'm sure is profound, but I couldn't not stomach the writing --- too many "I know what you're thinking statements" when I really just want him to tell his story - don't tell me what I'm thinking.
   
   I could not make it through the book due to the butchering of the English language. Again, great message and I'm sure a younger audience may enjoy it more.



2. I am happy that Stephen Baldwin is a committed born again Christian, but the book I couldn't finish. Just not written the way I can read a book. Too much mention of God telling him this and that, and that's just too much for me. Hope others like it and get something from it though.



3. I picked this book up after renting the Christmas movie he did because I was curious. I read the book with an open mind, rather than with a critical or judgmental spirit. I was surprised by the Stephen's depth of faith and biblical knowledge having been a follower of Jesus for only 6 years. The book challenged me, one who has claimed to follow Christ for over 20 years, to get off my duff and stop sitting on the fence..to stop being the lukewarm Christian that John writes about in Revelation (that wasn't in the book, that was the work of the Spirit through the book).
   
   I recommend reading the book. The worse thing that could happen is that you waste 3-4 hours....or you could be challenged to stop sitting on a spiritual fence.



4. This book reminds us what handing our heart to Jesus is all about. I felt compelled, motivated, inspired, and excited reading this book. The same Stephen Baldwin humor and energy with the power of Jesus seeping through the pages! You can be hard-core, radical, and edgy and it is encouraged! This is what discipleship is all about! Relevant and REAL.



5. This book is a really great read. Funny, inspiring, hard hitting, Stephen Baldwin talks about his life in hollywood, doing and having it all yet still finding something missing.
   After a brief encounter with God in a journey out of substance abuse, he eventually came to faith years later after his wife became a christian. His story, and willingness once he found God, to lay down everything for him is as unique as it is inspirational.
   A really interesting, honest and well written account of a man who had it all but was still willing to lose it all for something greater.

5 comments about Leadership.

1. Im in management, and I have taken more than one thing away from this book. Brilliant man, brilliant book, brilliant operational strategies! Wish he could have taken the republican nomination! I would definitely recommend this to anyone in a corporate leadership position.



2. Forget about politics. Forget about extreme Muslims. Forgot about Republican or Democrat. Forget about Giuliani's personal life. Just forget about it.
   
   This book is about the defining moments of 9/11 and the leadership it needed in order not to descend into chaos. This man has put his heart and soul into this event and showed great leadership you can learn from.
   
   The writings in 'Leadership' give you great insight into the situation of the event and dealings of the mayor. Courage as well as leadership prevail in keeping the objective of his mission close. Information is critical when chaos is lurking around the corner. Sleep can be denied.
   
   Being European I'm not biassed in my judgement of the person or politician Giuliani. When you read this book about mayor Giuliani there's a lot you can learn from.



3. His head is SO big and he is so stuck on himself. I was really looking forward to reading it but Mr. Giuliani may have confused leadership with ego.



4. In response to Rachel's review, which I somewhat agreed with, she was frusturated that Giuliani compared running a city to running a business. Running a city IS like running a business. think about it: you cut tax - so more companies come to NYC to do business, which brings in more revanue to the city. that's business! you clean up madisson square garden and make it more family friendly - more tourists come to visit bringing more money to nyc. etc etc.
   
   is it derogatory to call citizens "costomers"? absolutely not!! on the contrary: a good business man respects his costomers. a good business man's motto: 'the costomer is always right' is onlike a politician who would rather say: 'the union board memmber is always right because he can get me more votes' or 'the big media coorperation is always right cuz they can write more positive one liners for my campaign'
   
   if NYC is a business, and the customer (-citizen) is always right, than the citizen is most respected. more so than the bureaucrat. unfortunately, this honest method did not work for Giuliani - he did not suck up to the media/beurocrats/unions and therefore failed to become prez.
   
   but as for the book itself - it was not his life story or anything - which is more like what I was hoping for. it was just dry pointers on how to lead. the only interesting part was that fire in the church and some other personal ancitodes few and far in between.
   
   for the record - those who claim that he decided to write it after 9/11 - check your facts: this book was almost finished being written by the time 9/11 rolled by.



5. Rudy Giuliani has always been a man I admired. When he stood up to the crime bosses I was impressed. As he was finishing off his second term as New York City Mayor he was already known for making incredible crime reductions and for cleaning up 42nd Street. Imagine ESPN Zone and the Disney Store where all the adult XXX stores use to be! Anyone who could accomplish this when everyone else was saying that it was impossible, is certainly worth listening to when he discusses leadership qualities. Rudy wrote what is basically part II of the book as he prepared to leave office.
   
   Then came 9-11. He wisely chose to add chapter 1 on the events of 9-11 and the immediate aftermath. The final chapter describes how the recovery was achieved over the last days of his adminstration. Basically Giuliani was always interested in being a leader. He read a lot about and learned a lot from his mentors. Many of the ideas in this book I had already learned from reading and taking courses in leadership, e.g. empower and make everyone accountable, be open and honest and communicate clearly, let your positions be known but allow for open and honest debate, and consider all reasonable options but make a decision and stick with it.
   
   What the book added for me was the details of Rudy's experience from his father and grandfather teaching him as a child how to stand up to bullies, to the synergism of Torre and Steinbrenner, to the teachings of Judge MacMahon and to the example of Ronald Reagan standing up to the air traffic controller. Not only does Rudy clearly relate these experiences but he also takes examples from his years in the district attorney's office and as Mayor of New York where he applied the lessons he learned. Standing up to Arafat when he crashed in on an engagement was an example of Rudy standing up to a bully when Clinton would not.
   
   Still his achievements as Mayor and the leadership he showed during the 9-11 disaster were remarkable. What was so special about Giuliani compared to other Mayors? One thing was his unconventional way of treating the government of a city like the running of a corporation. He used the organizational and economic principles of business in running New York City. He followed what Jack Welch was doing with six sigma at GE and through his Compstat program successfully used statistical methods for improving police effectiveness. This is very similar to the success that is common in many six sigma projects. It was fascinating to hear the types of information they chose to collect and the dramatic results that occurred when the measures were reviewed in meetings.
   
   I even found myself recognizing Reagan and other Republicans whose vision and leadership I generally discounted in the past. Rudy is not arrogant or a braggard. He is simply trying to describe the key ideas that led to his success. This is great food for thought for all of us.
   
   I took my book to a signing at Barnes and Nobel in Princeton New Jersey and got him to sign my copy and we talked briefly. In 2008 as he runs for president in the republican primaries it may be worthwhile to look at this book again to see if he displays the leadship of a president. If he should get nominated it would take a strong campaign by the democratic candidate to get me to vote democratic and I have never voted for a republican for president before. But more than other candidates except for Clinton and McCain he exhibits the level of leadship that we expect but rarely get from our president.

2 comments about Abba: The Complete Guide to Their Music.

1. This book is well written and researched. But if you already have most of the books written by Carl Magnus Palm (incl. Complete Recording Sessions), there is no need to get this book. However, if you are not that familiar with the music of ABBA and want to learn more, it's a good and inexpensive way to start!



2. This book is an ABBA fan's dream: lots of arcane details with some gossipy tidbits tossed in, all rolled together with a list of every ABBA song ever recorded. Even though my ABBA-fandom was at its heights about 30 years ago, it's still a pleasure to read about each of ABBA's many songs. This book tells the reader what the lyrics are really about, what the atmosphere in the studio was during recording, and other information which lets me listen to the songs in a new light. The book also made me nostalgic, and even a bit sad - ABBA did have material for a "goodbye" album in them, but they just didn't have interest in recording it. Their departure always seemed so premature, and now that I have more insight into the lyrics of songs like "Cassandra" and "The Day Before You Came", it's obvious that their non-existent final album would have been one of their best.

1 comments about Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock 'n' Roller's Life and 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict.

1. I bought this book and read it in one setting. There are a few stories told here that I didn't know about, and he does seem to take golf very seriously. I myself detest golf but I must admit Alice is very persuasive. The style of writing utilized here is very difficult to resist and I found the book difficult to set down.
   There are a few parts in the book where Alice discuses his religious faith, but he's not pushy with it. There are some genuinely funny stories relayed in the book and he does cover a few of the lesser known events of his career.
   Overall I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in classic rock. I'm not a big golf person and would not know how good his golf tips are.

5 comments about It's Not About the Truth: The Untold Story of the Duke Lacrosse Case and the Lives It Shattered.

1. It's obvious that this book is cobbled together from drafts of several authors with different writing styles which isn't all that annoying in itself. However, the chronic repetition of the same information is. That said it's still worth finishing the read. It's certainly a sad indictment on the media industry and justice system in the USA.



2. Even though I had followed the case at the time, I still read this in two nights flat - it's that good. This is an important book, heck it's an important story, particularly for "white people". I write that with hesitation, but heck that's the truth. How come "white" has almost become a term of abuse? "White boy" certainly has. And that's just it. They only reason this tall tale, this ridiculous hoax, went this far, affected so many lives, pushed so many people to the edge of their existence (could you post a $400, 000 bond for your son, whilst your wife is having a nervous breakdown) is that these were "white boys". Thus it was open season. Read with horror as these boys, because of making one mistake, one error of judgement, inviting a stripper to perform a private function in their home, lost their coach, their season, their house (many slept in their cars), were hounded off campus or formally expelled, threatened both verbally and by mail - all this after fully cooperating with the police, turning over all the physical evidence in their house without question, voluntarily took DNA tests - and it still took months and months, hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps millions (the lawyer fees of the indicted three estimated at $100,000 a month), an extraordinary display of loyalty and togetherness between their teamates, their relatives and neighbors and some great lawyers (their lawyers are to me, all heroes - one, Kirk Osborn, sadly died of a heart attack during the ordeal) to finally shake off the blatantly false allegation of a mentally unstable criminal supported by a madman whose daytime job was District Attorney. So we both cheer when they are finally vindicated by then wonder - is America crazy right now or what? What is this war on "white men" by the feminists, the race hustlers, the homosexuals, the Latinos and everybody else. I remember reading a post on a blog after this arose from a white male: "All the more reason just to keep your head down, get your sh** done in the daytime, and retire for the evening behind a locked door" - this is the reality for countless "privileged white males" in many parts of America today.
   
   I couldn't recommend this book highly enough. If you have teenage sons or daughters preparing to go to college, they need to read this book.



3. Exceedingly well written book. I have not stopped talking about it. This is not just a simple story of a high profile case. It focuses on how innocent people were directly affected in their every day lives by scandalous lies. The media never revealed this side of the story. It's unimaginable how this horrific mess could've happened. You can't stop but think what you would do had this happened to you. I was paralyzed reading what these people went through. You will truly be shocked, in disbelief to no end. I commend all the people who courageously stuck by and weathered the storm with all those who were unfortuneatly (directly and indirectly) involved. How utterly defiant, inexplicably brave. It just goes to show you the truth will always prevail. "It's Not About the Truth: The Untold Story of the Duke Lacrosse Case and the Lives It Shattered", is inspirationally AMAZING!!!



4. Coach Mike Pressler knows better than most of us how it feels to be in the center of a raging inferno of politically correct rage--where truth and justice have no place.
   
   In 2006, he was abruptly fired from his job as coach of Duke University's lacrosse team after three of his players were accused by a demented black female stripper of gang rape. These charges fed perfectly into a fanatically obsessed scenario found at most universities of white male treachery, black victomhood and feminist paranoia.
   
   Duke President Richard Brodhead, his motor-mouth assistant, John Burness and board chairman, Bob Steele, quickly jumped on the politically correct bandwagon and let the public know that they were throwing the players into the raging inferno.
   
   The administration refused to look at any of the exonerating proof of innocence of the accused that was continually offered to them by the defense attorneys.
   
   The administration instead threw its support behind the psychopathic District Attorney Mike Nifong who knew early on that the rape charges were a hoax. The stripper, Crystal Mangum, had made the identical charges three years before against another group of men, but these, too, proved to be false.
   
   The raging storm against the trio of young men grew stronger when the usual anti-white racists came out of the woodwork. Like the NC Chapter of the NAACP, the New Black Panthers Party, the local Pot Bangers group, made up of left-wing faculty and students. Racial arsonists like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson flew down to Durham, NC, to scream about white racist rapists and poor defenseless black women.
   
   This reminded many of us ironically that Al Sharpton engineered an identical hoax in l986 when he spent a year pushing the notorious Tawana Brawley rape hoax in New York state. She accused a gang of white men of raping her. A grand jury said the charges were totally fabricated but in the meantime, Sharpton and Jackson had destroyed lives right and left. Brawley was never charged for her crimes. Sharpton received a slap on the wrist and has never apologized.
   
   The authors reveal how corrupt members of the Durham police department, the district attorneys office, judges and many members of the black community of the city pushed their goal of railroading the trio of boys into prison for life. To hell with the truth.
   
   The media coverage was so vicious, especially the New York Times, that it often felt as if all the news reports were being written by Mike Nifong and Al Sharpton.
   
   At Duke, a gang of 88 faculty members (or a gang of 88 bigots) took out a full-page ad praising the protestors and urging them to "turn up the volume." Many of the teachers had lacrosse players in their classes and openly taunted them into admitting their guilt. None of the teachers ever apologized for their actions. Many were actually promoted, along with black activist students who had sent threatening e-mail to Coach Pressler.
   President Brodhead was just recently lavishly praised by his board of directors for his handling of the rape hoax--and for for his unwavering support of the demented Mike Nifong.
   
   When Pressler begged the administration to wait for the truth to come out before firing him and cancelling any appearances of the lacrosse team for a whole year, Duke's Athletic director, Joe Alleva told Pressler: "It's not about the truth." In those four words, you have revealed the heart of the people heading Duke University. And of all the other criminals who passionately pursued imprisonment for life for three young men who just happened to be white.



5. This is a real page turner of a book. I was familiar with the work of Don Yaeger since he used to write for Sports Illustrated. He does not disappoint! I thought I knew the story but I wasn't even close to knowing the full story. He really brings it home and you feel like you know the person he writes about.
   
   Mike Pressler, the coach who lost his job, gives a first person account of the events that took place and is fascinating. You will enjoy this book, trust me!! GO DUKE!
   
   Gerard Zemek (husband of author of "My Funny Dad, Harry")

5 comments about House Rules: A Memoir.

1. Rachel Sontag wrote the chronicle of growing up with verbal and emotional abuse from her physician father and her doormat mother in this book. I think she endured some incredibly awful things with her control freak dad. Throughout the book I kept wanting her to get older and escape him and to set some boundaries with her mom. It's sad that estrangement has to happen but when there is someone who treats others the way Rachel's father treated his loved ones, it's the only way to cope. I've learned the hard way that self-preservation is more important than doing what others expect of me as I had similar experiences with a family member who was verbally abusive to me when I was young and on into my later years. Bravo to Rachel for setting some boundaries and then daring to tell her story. I really enjoyed the book and I hope she and her sister will remain close.



2. Read this book! If you work with children in any capacity, this is a must read. The writing is powerful and you walk away from it better understanding the effects of verbal, emotional, and mental abuse.
   
   Calling out crazy is a brave thing to do, especially when there is a lot on the line. Rachel - Kudos for finding your voice and using it!



3. It's hard to know what to say after reading memoirs of abuse. Saying that I loved this book doesn't seem right somehow, because it is a sad and troubling portrayal of a person's real life, and it was somewhat of a disturbing book to read. But I did love the way Sontag wrote about her family, the way she put it all out there and let the reader experience what she (unfortunately) experienced in her life. I have no doubt that her father was every bit as terrifying as she made him sound, probably more so, and reading this book simply made me feel sad for her. I actually truly feel for Sontag, because when I was growing up, I went through similar types of things with my father... he wasn't anywhere NEAR as abusive and controlling as hers, but he did do some of the same kinds of controlling and abnormal behaviors with myself, my mom, and my brothers and sister. So coming from that perspective, I truly understand and appreciate her telling this story and needing to tell it in order to heal from her past. At the end of the book, Sontag explores her relationships with her mother and sister as they stand now, and I truly hope, for her sake, that those three women are able to patch up their relationships with each other and lean on each other. I've learned through my life that the only people you can really count on are your family - and when some members of your family are less than ideal, you really need to stick by those family members who ARE there for you. So I hope that they can forge a friendship with one another from here on out.
   
   I'd definitely recommend this book, especially if you like memoirs, this one is a really good, quick read.



4. I couldn't put it down. I think most dysfunctional families have a core of mental illness or mental instability. This was a fascinating look at parents who were able to function in the world and even appeared to be well outside the home but, were unable to parent effectively or have healthy interactions in their most intimate relationships. Most people think that middle class parents who hold down jobs must naturally be doing well by their children. Some people mention that because these children had expensive vacations and all of their physical needs taken care of that they shouldn't "complain" that they were mentally abused by mentally ill or unstable parents. A child gets their entire first picture of themselves, the world, right and wrong, and everything else from their parents. This book shines a light on how that first picture being presented in a dysfunctional family may affect children and therefore the adults they become. It was a great read.



5. House Rules raises a compelling question about the effects emotional abuse from a parent can have on a child. Rachel's father is a well respected doctor, takes his family on expensive trips, and even sends Rachel to wilderness camp. But in the privacy of their home he is overbearing and controlling to the point of recording his daughter's phone calls and conversations. He also insists on her hair and nails being a certain length, and verbally abuses Rachel until she is even eventually removed from her home for a while. Most damaging of all, Rachel documents her father's drugging her mother with lithium to keep her passive. Even after reading all of this, I felt kind of a detachment from the story. I was excited to read about it to gain some insight into all of the controversy surrounding this book, but compared to the outstanding memoir, The Glass Castle, House Rules falls short. Sontag does not allow the reader to feel for her, for some reason the story feels more like she wrote it as a series of facts. I think it would have helped for her to divulge more about her parents past and what may have led her father to such an extreme behavior. Don't get me wrong, I think some of the things he did are awful, but required more depth and detail for such a book.

3 comments about Something for the Pain: One Doctor's Account of Life and Death in the ER.

1. This book was refreshing. Dr Austin allows the reader to see what it is really like for a person who works with life and death every day. I was thrilled that this was not just another medical book, but one about a real person and the joys and struggles he faced. Anyone who has ever worked in an ED will be able to relate to the frustration and emotional feelings he dealt with. This book made me laugh but it also brought me to the brink of tears. It was a great read and I am recommending it to all my friends, especially the ones who don't work in health care. I certainly hope he has another book in him!!



2. 
   The vast majority of books written by doctors are filled with details about cases and diseases; rarely touching on the struggles these individuals face at home due to extended work hours, stressful decision making and sleep deprivation. It was refreshing to read a book written by a doctor that examined his personal, as well as professional, life.
   
   In "Something for the Pain", Dr. Austin exams cases that bothered him, but rather than examine exactly what when wrong with the case, he examines how that case made him feel and why. Not just medically, but mentally as well. He also takes a deep and very honest look into how his job created problems with his home life. Along the way we get an insight into life in an ER.
   
   During a volunteer career as a firefighter, with a stint in ambulances, I can state that the book not only sounds true, but caused my nerves to twitch just a little. He hit some feeling and emotions dead on, and I have to admit that I hoped these were feelings I had buried. His discussion of treating drunks was as close to real as I have ever seen.
   
   This is a wonderful book with a lot of insight to offer. My only complaint was that the chapters didn't line up chronologically, so when I was trying to compare work with his home relationships, I occasionally had problems. This is a pretty simple thing and could be fixed by changing the chapter order. Overall, an excellent read and maybe a book we all need to read before we get caught in the machinery of the ER.



3. As a former ER doc, one of the things that drives me insane is reading books where the physicians are so compassionate, I wouldn't recognize them among the dozens (hundreds?) of docs I've worked with over the years. Sure, we're all nice to little old ladies from nice families but it's the six sigma guy who can be that way with the drug addict in the middle of the night. Outsiders - our friends and family even - will never understand the daunting nature of this profession. This is an even handed narrative of the frustrating day to day work that emergency docs (and nurses) do, usually without thanks. Good job, Paul, for telling it like it is.

5 comments about A Matter of Life and Death: Remarkable True Stories of Hope and Healing.

1. Beware: this book's content is exactly the same as another book by the same author, Rosemary Althea, entitled "The Realm Beyond".



2. I have all of Rosemary Altea's books!! Each one has been enlightening and uplifting. I am anxiously waiting for another book to come out. Each time I find a new one, I can barely wait to get hold of it!! She is the kind of author who is able to tell her story in an intersting way that makes it hard to put the book down!! I always have a highlighter when I read her material and I use it often!! I love to go back to each book and reread the highlighted parts. For me, her books are soothing to the soul !!



3. I enjoyed this book but have read many of Rosemarys books and found this one to be along the same wave.So not anything that I had not already read of hers.Just different storys.If you haven't read any of her other books you would find this book very good.



4. After reading this book, I came to the conclusion that Rosemary Altea may be sincere, but she is greatly deceived. The bible clearly states to stay away from psychics or mediums. She supposedly channels a spirit called Gray Eagle.
   
   These psychics get their ability to have partial knowledge about you and your present situation directly from demons. No human has the supernatural ability to know what is going to happen to you in the future or anything about you in your present condition if they have never met you before. And if they do seem to have some type of personal information about you that could only be supernaturally picked up, then that knowledge is being transmitted to them by demons or they deceive people by doing "cold or warm readings".
   
   Cold readings are where they make an educated guess about something about you, buy picking up clues, by what you say or do, or your appearance or age. If you tell them the information is wrong, they use a number of ways to distract you, for example some will tell you that they are getting information from a "playful" spirit that tells them false things, etc..... warm readings are where they have microphones in the studio before their show and they listen in, as people talk to friends that have come with them about deceased friends or relatives, and then they pick those people in the audience that they listened in on and use that information to make those people and others think they are getting a message from a spirit.
   
   The bible says "And the person who turns after mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and him off from his people." (Leviticus 20:6)
   
   If you want to see some damage done by new age teachings and psychics, I suggest a book by Sharon Beekmann called "ENTICED BY THE LIGHT ". She trusted the "spirit guides" that promised her fulfillment. By the time she discovered their frightening, true identity, it was too late--they had taken control of her mind....tormenting her, attacking her sanity, and pushing her to the brink of suicide.
   
   For awhile I was involved in the New Age teachings and a book that really opened my eyes was "THE LIGHT THAT WAS DARK' BY Warren Smith. It is excellent!!!!



5. if i could give this book 10 stars i would ! i love this lady . this is her best book since the eagle and the rose . i lost a young daughter to cancer and it is very hard to cope with that loss , but this book has helped me and i know that is why she wrote it , to help people with their loss . i will never be the same with out my daughter but at least i can cope a little better now . thank you rosemary

5 comments about Love in a Torn Land: Joanna of Kurdistan: The True Story of a Freedom Fighter's Escape from Iraqi Vengeance.

1. I briefly had an understanding of where Kurdistan was. That the "Kurds" were yet another minority being persecuted in our world. "Love in a Torn Land" has somewhat educated me as to their history and current situation. In a most entertaining manner. I salute both the author and the heroine. Thank you for letting me into the Kurdistan situation. Why can't we not only just not get along but need to bomb and chemically bomb a nation out of existance? The thing is, it is happening right now in Kurdistan and "most" other parts of our earth. I lie here in my comfortable bed wishing I could help. THANK YOU again.
   peter



2. It is hard to believe that this story is non-fiction given the never-ending twists and turns, intense drama and the perfect love story that unfolds. It was hard to put this book down!
   
   This is Jean Sassoon's best book to date. There is far less of the distracting shifting back and forth that I found to be a problem in the construction of her earlier books. Her descriptions are richer, more vivid. I used to live in Kurdistan, and her descriptions are very true to life!
   
   I think this book does more to advance the Kurdish cause than any documentary I have seen! The harsh life under both the Baathists and the Iranian government is fairly portrayed. You will come away impressed with the strength of the Peshmergas and very grateful for your own soft bed and other creature comforts.
   
   I do wish that the author had not been in such a rush to move the characters from Iran to London. I would have loved to have read more about Joanna's trials and tribulations in the Kurdish area of Iran and in Damascus. The adjustment to living in London would also have made for interesting reading.



3. In Jean Sasson's book, "Love in a Torn Land", you will meet an astonishing heroine of an unbelievable adventure novel as well as hear a tender romance that survives against all odds. This is Jean Sasson at her best!
   
   Before I read this book, I did not even know what a Kurd was, but you will come to admire the spirit of the Kurdish people and their struggle to survive in the current day through war, suppression, genocide and their unfathomable faith in their right to survive. This is a truly harsh environment as the people struggle day by day to survive.
   
   Follow the story of a family's struggles in war torn Iraq as our heroine, Joanna, carries us through stories of oppression of Muslim women, heart breaking tales of torture and loss, warm sharings of people reaching out to comfort when none seems to be had, harrowing narratives of a people's struggle to survive. Against all odds, this brave woman survives and lives to tell the tale of how she was determined to live the life she wanted no matter the cost.
   
   As you cower under your covers, you will read of the bombings of Baghdad and the Northern Iraq mountains where learning "that whatever one might be doing here, half the mind will not be focusing on the task at hand, but instead on the sounds and sights from the skies" is a crucial lesson. Joanna applies this lesson as her ears are tuned for the shrill whistling resonance of shells, or for the noisy roar of an airplane or helicopter engine while she is preparing a meager breakfast that may only consist of rice. Our heroine suffered through narrow escapes in treacherous places only to place herself in an area targeted for race eliminating scourges. She suffers the heartbreak of the loss of loved ones, is often on the brink of starvation, poisoned and blinded by gas - but almost never loses her spirit and will to survive. Just imagine thinking you are in heaven to have a shelter over your head that is crawling with scorpions, `despite the fact that there was no electricity, no running water, and no toilets".
   
   This eye opening book just may have you clamouring for more of Jean Sasson's books as she supports the efforts of women whose voices must be heard.



4. As usual, Jean Sasson opened my eyes to a harsh culture where survival is your minute by minute goal. She has provided women with a voice and others of us a reason to be thankful to be Americans.



5. I love all of Jean Sasson's books. Like all the others, this is written to keep you interested in the story and wondering what could possibly happen next to this poor young woman, her husband and all Kurds, even though you eventually know about the general outcome. The fact that the story is true, makes it hair raising. The only unfavorable thing I could say about the book, is that in telling the story, Jean Sasson looses herself a bit by going into too many details of places, people, every day occurrances, and the constant back and forth conversations between the protagonists. Sometimes it is best to leave details to your imagination. Other than that, I enjoyed it thoroughly and can't wait for the next!

5 comments about Pimpology: The 48 Laws of the Game.

1. After reading PIMPOLOGY, I would place it in the same category as Niccolo Machiavelli's THE PRINCE. Like he states in the book, he is NOT promoting the trafficking of flesh. However, he does give a lesson about human nature. When I read it, there were experiences he's had that I witnessed from my college coaches, former bosses and other characters in business. Just because his background deals with pimping at a street level, I'll go to what he states in the last chapter. He states that the oldest pimp game on Earth is the same as what builds nations: the control of money and people to achieve an objective or series of objectives.
   
   It's really a book about power and how it's used as a means to an end. Besides, it may help the reader recognize when a "pimp" game is being run on them and devise a counterattack to the game.



2. I have seen pimpin ken on tv and ddecided to see what his book was all about. After recieving the book I started reading it and was hooked..I read and re-read the book and really grapsed all the information. Do not let the book title fool you, this is more a motivational and information based book on how to better yourself. Great book and I would highly recommend it.



3. That should be the title. Very few new things to learn. The rest can be found in other motivational books. It seems that he tried to fill pages of pimp knowledge with unrelated subjects to make a book.



4. Bottom line Pimpin Ken has pimped the game of life once again.
   Any of these laws can be used as a road map to success in any career tract chosen.
   
   It is apparent though he left out a large amount of the deep parts of the game of pimpin' but it is more information than any other book on this topic to date.



5. DON'T BUY THIS, ALL HE DOES IS TALK ABOUT HOW HE MADE IT IN THE GAME & THE RULES THAT HE STOOD BY, NO INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOU "LIMPS". I READ IT JUST TO READ IT. BUT IF YOU READING IT TO BE A "PIMP" DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB.