No comments about Irvin D. Yalom: On Psychotherapy and the Human Condition.

5 comments about My Life Among the Serial Killers: Inside the Minds of the World's Most Notorious Murderers.

1. Dr. Morrison, if she is in fact an MD, seems to skip over the blindingly obvious in her assessment of these killers. I mean does she honestly belive that relentless phsyical and mental abuse from childhood and rape at 16 would have NO IMPACT on a serial killer? Is she serious? Does she actually still retain a license for practising medicine/psychiatry or, hopefully, has she been disbarred?
   
   
   It seems hard to tell as she veers from a fruedian perspective wherein all physiological inputs are null and void to a purely frightened and judgemental one, that the killers did it soley because they wished to where in fact she bases her judgements. Frankly, as a former defense attorney, I would run a mile before I let her get her hands on my client.



2. Her 'life' among the serial killers? Her life is among children and she will occasionally go get to visit the lesser known serial killers. What a pathetic attempt to capitalize on the 'serial killer' phenomenon...and to advance her own silly theories. Oh, and her *epiphany* that serial killers are addicted to killing? DUH! I think I figured that out when I was about 17 and had just begun studying serial killers.
   Do NOT waste your money.
   If you want a real expert, watch Dr. Michael Stone on "Most Evil"



3. Unfortunately Dr. Morrison reveals herself in this book and in her various TV interviews/documentary appearances as far too emotional, self rightous, and just plain in error when it comes to certain facts regarding serial killers.
   
   If I were to list all of these erroneous comments, this review would fill the computer screen. Let me just point out one error. Pg 24 of the paperback version...."No serial murderers are addicted to drugs, drink or even smoking"
   
   Interesting....tell that to Jeffrey Dahmer who used alcohol heavily in order to facilitate his killings. He was an alcoholic even in high school and would drink to the point of blacking out.
   
   This is just ONE brief example of heavy alcohol use by a serial murderer indicating an addiction versus normal social drinking. So how can Dr. Morrison make such an erroneous blanket statement as "NO serial murderer is addicted to........."?
   
   Just by nature alone, serial murderers are addictive...they are addicted to murder for one. It's not a stretch that, aside from killing compulsively, certain of these indivduals may also demonstrate other compulsive behavior such as addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex, smoking, etc.
   
   Bottom line...don't confuse yourself with glaring errors by reading this book. Instead turn to those written by more learned & practical minds such as Robert Ressler, Dr. Park Dietz and others.



4. This book is written by a claimed profiler. However, there is no profiling in the book. My favorite book by a profiler is Mind Hunter by John Douglas. In that book (plus Obsession), he goes into details of the crime scene and what things mean. You learn what it means if the killer covered the face of the viction (they knew them and were ashamed), young versus old crimminals, etc. Helen's book has very little details about crime scenes (we like to figure it out, that is why CSI is a popular TV show). No profiling information on the clues in the scene to help investigators find the UNSUB (unknown subject, I learned this from the Mind Hunter book), etc. Helen spends more time on her personal thoughts, thanksgiving dinner, her children shouldn't watch her TV appearances about killers, tea in the afternoon, going to Brazil, etc. and too little on crimes. She also is all over the place with her theories. At the end of the book she claims that DNA is encoded to make a serial killer, and with a stretch relates this to Minority Report, etc. However, there is a compelling arguement from other profilers that some event triggered the change. Ted Bundy was social until his long time girlfriend dumped him. Ted switched and targeted young girls with long dark hair (just like his ex had), and many of the others have abusive households. Helen talks about tv appearances and helping in the insanity defense for crimminels - I get the feeling that she is all about feelings, not a fact based person (John Douglas says that once the monster is created - it cannot be reversed - done). This book does touch on Ed Gein (leatherface from Texas Chainsaw masacre, Norman Bates, and others), John Wayne Gacy (the clown who rape/murdered young buys), and Bobby Joe Long (brutal rape and death of women). However, even a short TV special on Bobby Joe Long had many more details of the tracking and catching of him than this book. Helen claims it was seeing a missing person report on TV that led Long to let her go (he felt sorry for her?). But from other reports it seems that she talked to him and told him that she wanted to be his girlfriend - this threw off his circuitry. This second explanation makes more sense in the literature. Helen also discusses hypnosis (a relaxing state where both parties agree to participate) as a scientific method, acts as if satan worship killings did happen (this media hoax was uncovered), throws in Freud psychology (just about all scientists today believe he was just a weird guy with an infactuation for women). Helen seems to be touchy feeling through the whole book, I felt he was this, or that. She constantly talks about how the men treated her with disrespect because she is a woman - it really sounds like she is trying to prove something with this book. Detailed, insightful profiling and crime description rather than fluffed up theories that DNA can pinpoint all future serial killers would go a long way towards gaining respect in the community. This is my least favorite of this type of book, and I LOVE these types of books. I recommend you instead read Mind Hunter by John Douglas, Obsession by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker, or The Evil that Men Do by Roy Hazelwood. You will learn details and how the profiler's mind and experience work. The last book by Hazelwood even has a crime scene in the back that you try to apply what you've learned about profiling in. I did pretty well, because I read about profiling by Douglas, Olshaker and Hazelwood, not anything from this fluff piece by Dr. Helen (note: beware of someone that constantly reminds you that they have a PhD rather than presuade you through knowledge and facts - Helen, this means you! The only positive for this book, given the others, is that it had some non-US serial killers like a French guy (Gilles de Rais) from the 1400s. But not enough to warrant purchase. Get Mind Hunter instead!



5. No need to repeat many of the negative comments made by other reviewers. The main problem is the book succeeds neither as investigation nor as theory nor does it serve well as an introduction to serial murder for the general reader. The result amounts to a disjointed and often pointless text, despite Dr. Morrison's evident sincerity. As an admitted layperson, I'd still like to offer several background points that might be kept in mind when discussing the serial phenomenon.
   
   First, for good methodological reasons, researchers look for commonalities among the various case histories, as does Morrison. Such commonalities may then lay the basis for theory develoment and the possibility of devising more effective means of detecting and controlling this societal menace. Thus, there's good reason for Morrison's type of approach. However, I have yet to encounter a researcher or commentator who raises the possibility that there may be in point of fact no single factor or combination of factors that explain all the cases, that is, no so-called magic bullet.
   
   Morrison's genetic theory represents a reductive approach to a single physiological factor that would then account for all the cases. There are other magic bullets proposed by other researchers. However, the best we may be able to scientifically accomplish are separate groups of causal factors that explain some cases but not all, such as an "abused as a child" category or a "necrophilia" category or a "just plain sudden urge to kill" category, with no further reduction possible. Or, put another way, why must there be a single explanatory factor or group of factors to explain this wide-ranging phenomenon. After all, the world and the human mind are pretty complex and dynamic factors to deal with. Again, I'm not saying that research must not continue to look for a universal causal explanation. I am saying research must be prepared for the eventuality that there is none.
   
   Another point relevant to Morrison's text. Men certainly seem more prone to serial murder than women. Maybe that's just the result of the slanted coverage having to do with decades of reporting on "the weaker sex", or maybe the disproportionality results from women being more covert and less physically brutal than men. But in terms of the public record, serial murder appears almost exclusively a male preserve. Now, I don't know much about brain chemistry or its topography, or how men's and women's brain make-up may differ in that regard. Still, it appears that Morrison's physiological (genetic) theory must explain why this disparity exists. I wish she had at least mentioned this leading fact somewhere in the text and dealt with it in some fashion.
   
   A final point. Suppose Morrison's correct and researchers locate a common physiological factor (say, a certain chemical imbalance) present in all serial case histories. Now, it's not clear to me from the text whether Morrison would hold the presence as a predisposing factor or a determining one. If the former, which certainly seems the more likely of the two, then resarchers would still have to search for additional factors as to why some with that chemical imbalance become serial killers, while others wth that same factor do not. On the other hand, if the chemical factor is held as a determining one, then its presence would guarantee that the possessor becomes a serial perpetrator-- a pretty extreme and seeming highly improbable possibility. Nonetheless, if the imbalance merely predisposes, then additional factors such as something within the person's life experience will need to be ferreted out in order to provide a fuller explanation than a mere "predisposes" provides. I wish Morrison had dealt more explicitly with this pivotal question.
   
   My own belief, for whatever its worth, is that many (if not all) instances of serial murder result from male sexuality and difficulties in dealing with this basic drive. Of course, that may not be the magic bullet so many researchers seek, but problems with sexual release does appear to characterize a dynamic at play in many cases (e.g. Bundy, Gacy, Corll). Be that as it may, serial murder remains a fascinating topic for public speculation. Too bad Morrison's is not a better book on the subject.

5 comments about The Essential John Nash.

1. If you have an interest in John Nash AND know mathematics, this is an interesting collection. The main body of the book consists of eight papers in mathematics and his Phd Thesis in uncut form, accompanied by a small introduction. Apart from that there is a general introduction from his friend Kuhn, a short biography from his biographer Nasar, a 7-page autobiography, the statement of the Nobel-prize committee, a collection of photos of Nash in various phases of his career, and a short explanation to the game of Hex that Nash invented when he arrived in Princeton.
   
   Being an economist I was only interested in the thesis with the existence proof of the Nash equilibrium, and I am sure I would not have understood an alpha of any of the other papers. You really need to be a mathematician to appreciate this bundle. For those who want to know about Nash the man, I would recommend his autobiography "A beautiful mind" or the film with the same title.



2. 
   In case you have been captivated by "A beautiful mind", and be disposed to know more about the controversial existence of John Nash, pick up this book, that surely will catch your entire attention.



3. I only rate books that I really enjoy reading. While this one has some techy chapters, readers without a strong math background can still enjoy it.

   Professor Nash's story was brought to life by the movie, this book shows why. One day his manifold theory will rule! ;)




4. Personally, I found this book to be very interestring. The proofs and ideas are presented in clear and non-rigomorphic fashion. One is able to read the works of Nash in the way he himself presented them, and hopefully appropriate some mental strategies used by this genius. There is much that goes on behind the scene of creation of proofs. I think mathematicians of today would greatly benefit from availability of larger number of books which would contain the mathematical works in the way they were originally presented. This is certainly a major step in that direction.



5. I can't begin to express how deeply satisfying it was to peruse these papers by John Nash. You almost felt you were right there at his side, as he penned them.

   There is even something in the book for non-mathematical types: Sylvia Nasar's Introduction and the autobiographical essay (Chapter Two). But for me the greatest interest resided in the remaining chapters: 4-11.

   Of these, I particularly enjoyed reading the original presentation of Nash's Thesis on 'Non-Cooperative Games' (Chapter 6), and was fascinated not only with the air-tight logic of his proofs, but the use of hand written-in symbols.

   Of course, Chapter 7 is just the re-hashing of Ch. 6, but in proper type-set form, rather than Nash's original script. But - give me the former any day! Reading the original form and format almost made me feel like Nash's Thesis aupervisor, including the same excitement of a new discovery!

   Chapter 8 'Two person Cooperative Games' nicely extends the mathematical basis to cover this species of interaction.(And in many ways, people will find the cooperative game model easier to understand than the non-cooperative).

   Chapter 9 is important because it delves into the issue of parallel control, and logical functions such as used in high speed digital computers. This chapter was of much interest to me since particular aspects of parallel control figured in my own model of consciousness - recently presented in Chapter Five of my book, 'The Atheist's Handbook to Modern Materialism'. Astute readers who read both books will quickly see the analog between the Schematic of Logical Unit Function (p. 122) and my own Figure 5-13 ('Development of Neural Assemblies', p. 156).

   I enjoyed Chapter 10, 'Real Algebraic Manifolds' because of my ongoing interest in Algebraic Topology, and especially homology and homotopy theory. In his chapter, Nash presents a cornucopia of methods for representation, which I am still playing with for different manifolds.

   Chapter 11, 'The Imbedding Problem for Riemannian Manifolds', is a delight for anyone familiar with Einstein's General Relativity, or even differential geometry. When you read through this chapter, you also will understand why Nash is still very interested (and involved) in research to do with general relativity and cosmology. Particularly fun for me was his section on 'Smoothing of Tensors' (p. 163) and 'Derivative Size Concept for Tensors' (p. 164).

   Chapter 12, 'Continuity of Solutions of Parabolic and Elliptic Equations' is like 'dessert' for anyone who is intensely interested (as I am) in modular functions, which themselves are related intimately to elliptic equations.

   In short, I think this book has something for both mathematicians and non-math types alike. Obviously, the former are likely to get more out of it, so the question the latter group must ask is whether the purchase is worth satiating their curiosity about Nash.

   I know how I would answer, even if I couldn't tell a derivative from a differential. However, this book can be read on all kinds of levels, and that's the beauty of it.

No comments about Six Community Psychologists Tell Their Stories: History, Contexts, and Narrative.

5 comments about Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story.

1. I saw this cover over a year ago, but forgot the title before I could find the book. I was thrilled when I found the book again, as the story had intrigued me. I was so impressed with the honesty of this story, of the humility of Mary Ann to be so honest, even when I'm sure it was hard for her to do. I'm also so proud of Jan--I've seen her movies and I was stunned when I realized she was the girl in this book. Evil definatley has a face and a name--as does faith and family unity.
   
   And to the 'Revenge' reviewer--from the tone of the post I can't help but think it's Robert himself--this is the only review that reviewer has ever written. It sounds to me that he's still seeking his power any way he can. Anyone that read that book and has any decency in them would realize that it's not about revenge, it's about triumph. The book isn't about Robert--it's about a family who survives the worst life has to offer at the hands of a twisted man. They are now willing to tell their story so as to spare someone else from having to live through the same torment.
   
   My only complain (the reason for 4 stars) is that I'd have liked to have Jan's portions written in first person like Mary Ann's was and I'd have liked to have the information presented with more detail to the chronology, there were places where it skipped to future, then back again. All it all it was very well told and well written--especially since it's been 30 years.



2. To the person who wrote the review entitled "Revenge? Hate?" I am curious to know how you know that this book, as you put it, is "destroying a man and his present family"? Do you personally know the kidnaper? From the things you said in your review, I am guessing that you do. To me it sounds like you are the one with a lot of hate. The author didn't "smear" anyone's name, the kidnaper did that to himself when he committed the crimes. You act like we should have sympathy for the kidnaper. But let me tell you, I know how it is to spend a lifetime to recover from abuse and I don't have sympathy for someone who would kidnap and molest an innocent child. You also asked why the author waited so long to write the book. As a victim, I know that sometimes it takes a very long time before a person is ready to talk about such horrible crimes. It is frightening and shameful to have gone through such things. When I read this book (and I happened to also go to a conference where the victim spoke) I didn't feel that the author was judging the kidnaper. I think it could have been much worse against the perpetrator if that had been the goal. She wasn't writing about everything that has happened over the past 30 years, she didn't write whether the person had or hadn't changed since the events of the book, she just wrote about the experiences of the time of the kidnaping. And she wrote it in a way that truly hit home to me. I know what it feels like to be terrified every day because of abuse. I wish I would have had the courage to tell someone many years ago. This book gives victims some strength and courage. I applaud it. I think everyone should read this book!



3. This is a good story for parents to help them be aware of what could happen to their children. However, why did the author feel it was so necessary to repeatedly state the name of the friend that took their daughter? THE ENTIRE STORY COULD HAVE BEEN TOLD USING AN ANNOMYNOUS NAME INSTEAD OF DELIBERATLY SMEARING A PERSON'S NAME ON ALMOST EVERY PAGE OF THE BOOK!! The reason I say this is that it has been 30 long years since this event happened and people do change. Why dig up all this dirt and destroy a man and his present family over something that happened so long ago?
   The answer?.....Some people(the ones who wrote this book)can ONLY JUDGE and are unable to forgive.
   I did alot of things 30 years ago that I am ashamed of but with wisdom and age have learned the wrong of my mistakes and become a better person. Don't most of us become wiser and better as we age. Would you want to be judged today by things you did 30 years ago?
   My father's associate was charged with molesting a 12 yr old girl. It was in all the papers and very, very biased. The papers never asked for his side of the story. His career(a Pediatrician) was ruined! He over-dosed on pills due to the trauma. Two weeks after his death the girl admitted she had made it all up BECAUSE SHE WANTED SOME ATTENTION!! Not only did she kill a wonderful man, she ruined the lives of his wife, 8 children, and 900 pediatric patients.
   To the author I would like to ask these questions.......why did you wait 30 long years to write this story? Did Elizabeth Smart's book motivate you to take advantage of the moment and cash in on the profits while the market was "HOT"? Why have you not found forgiveness in your heart?
   To the reader I would give this advice: Do not judge a book by it's cover. Be assured there is more to this story than meets the eye!



4. Jan Broberg Felt is my cousin and Mary Ann Broberg is my aunt. I was a small child when Jan was abducted and my memories and knowledge of the abductions were vague. This book told me so much that I didn't know about Jan's story. I was amazed and horrified by all of it.

   I encouraged both of my teenage daughters to read this book and am telling everyone I know about this story. It's so well written and were it not true would be almost unbelievable.

   This book really is a must read!




5. Jan Broberg Felt is my 3rd cousin's wife. I found her story both tragic and compelling. Indeed the book is a "page turner." I'm proud Jan now carries the Felt family name because of how she has aquitted her life since the tragedy. Robert Berchtold should have gone to jail for a long time, but he weasled his way free. Even this month I hear he tried to run down one of Jan's body guards. He's a real piece of work.

No comments about W. Arthur Lewis and the Birth of Development Economics.

3 comments about The Theory of the Growth of the Firm.

1. The Theory of the Growth of the Firm is a classic book in management literature, and one that is explored by academics as well as business enthusiasts. With this book, Penrose founded what's known as the resource-based view. Essentially, she determined that there must be something inside the firm that drives its growth (i.e. success).
   
   The author explores the reasons for such growth. Penrose moves away from the neoclassical economics model of the firm towards a definition of the firm as one that has administrative responsibilities (strategic planning or management) and a view of the firm as a collection of resources (human resources, technologies and other capabilities a firm has). She argues that choice of how those resources are put to use is central to a firms "entrepreneurial" activity.
   
   Penrose goes on to say that change and growth of firms must be driven from inside the firm because the economy as a whole does not constrain firms. Managers, she says, know that they can alter their environment, and that the environment is not independent of their activities.
   
   The resources that are available within firms are ever changing, of course, and often come together in bundles. This means that there are always some resources that are not being used, or being used inefficiently. Managers who realise this can develop those resources and grow their companies as a result. Thus, it is knowledge in combination with resources that drives growth. This is also what makes each firm unique: there are hundreds of ways to combine those resources, and each firm does it differently.
   
   The book then talks about how growth takes place - sometimes as part of a diversification process or through an acquisition or merger. Penrose also discusses the role of time, and the difference between a small or a larger company growing. Growth, she concludes is possible for all firms - size does not necessarily mean that a firm is more efficient (which is the typical economic argument). The only thing that constrains growth, really, is the limited capacity we humans have for managing a lot of change at once.
   
   The style of writing is conversational, if somewhat dated. The only slight drawback is that Penrose often returns to hammer on the same point. But that's not unusual for this type of book. The most astonishing aspect by far is that Edith Penrose was a woman, in a world of business and academia that then, and still now, consists largely of men.



2. I find myself springing to the defense of this book, because when I read it - right through - it was with a sense of appreciation for its acumen. Penrose's terminology is a little idiosyncratic but it does not take long for the reader to adjust. Moreover, when reading it with the circumstances of actual companies in mind, it presents a way to gain insight into their histories. One other way to express this is that my notes on this book are very detailed and lengthy. I didn't make these notes simply because the book is a "classic".



3. This book helped provide the foundation for what has become known as the resource-based view of the firm (RBV). Back in 1959, when the male gender dominated the economics discipline, Ms. Penrose set out to answer this question: Was there "something inherent in the very nature of any firm that both promoted its growth and necessarily limited its RATE of growth."

   I found this book so interesting and helpful (I am a business appraiser) that I read it twice. This led me into studying the resource-based view of the firm.

   I recommend this book for anyone interested in the broad topics of business strategy and management. Related books that I recommend include "Contemporary Strategy Analysis," by Robert Grant; "Modern Competitive Analysis, by Sharon Oster; and "Why Firms Succeed," by John Kay.

5 comments about Freud: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions).

1. Freud is now somewhat unfashionable, and stands on the periphery of current psychological thought and practice. Yet the very people who denigrate his work do so using terms and concepts that owe a great deal to that work. To be a 'Freudian' today makes as much sense as being a 'Newtonian', but that should not blind us to the importance of his contribution. Storr adopts just the right approach -- he begins each topic with a summary of what Freud said, then offers criticisms of it. He talks more than once of the need to 'separate the wheat from the chaff'. Freud was once revered as a kind of Messiah. Now he is reviled. As usual, the truth lies somewhere in between. Given the brevity of this book, it is remarkably comprehensive, and is an ideal introduction to the man and his work. I read Schopenhauer: A Very Short Introduction before reading this book and I would recommend doing that. There is an obvious indebtedness, although Freud specifically denied it.



2. We are all aware of many of Freud's ideas, even if we're not conscious aware of that derivation. The concept of the id, the ego, the super-ego, Oedipal complex, etc., are now so much a part of our everyday language that we could find it easy to forget that they have not always been so.
   
   This little book is truly a perfect introduction to Freud's life and work for those who'd never read any Freud and who want to get a good starting point. The writing is exceptionally clear and remarkably unbiased - readers will gain a good understanding of why Freud was so fêted and they will also have the information to make decisions on whether his theories are justified. To acknowledge that Freud was a highly intelligent man is not to admit that he understood human nature. In fact, in his case studies and his determined turning of every neurosis to a sexual starting point is the most exasperating element one encounters in reading Freud - that of Freud's certainty of his own right point of view, without the evidence to support that viewpoint.
   
   But certainly the reader will be able to follow up on the writing here. For those wishing to read Freud's own works, his books have been translated into English for those who are not able to read the original German. I have always found reading Freud to be a puzzling experience. On the one hand, the man had a very intelligent way of writing. On the other, he leapt to conclusions without bridging the gap with anything other than his own certainty. One can certainly "interpret" Freud in terms other than the organic or strictly literal, but any reading of his own writing will reveal to the reader that Freud didn't have a metaphorical interpretation in mind. But even if his ideas were often stubbornly wrong, Freud is well worth reading.
   
   As Anthony Storr says, perhaps the greatest gift Freud gave to the world is the understanding that it is important to listen. To simply listen.
   
   This is a highly recommended book for anyone not familiar with Freud's writings. Anthony Storr is well worth reading.



3. Yes, it's true that he pretty much reduced everything to sex in some way or other. But if you go beyond that little foible then you see that SF was one of the most brilliant people of the last century, without doubt. There's a section in here on his analysis of jokes and why we tell them that is priceless. And if you are honest with yourself then you will have to admit that he is exactly right on target. This book has definitely spurred my interest in the field and SF himself. I do think that the author glosses over SF's religious views and writings a little too glibly, as though he thinks that SF really didn't believe what he wrote. I actually think that these are some of the most profound of Freud's writings and some that I definitely intend to pursue further. All in all though, this is definitely worth your time and money.



4. I concur with the other reviews I have seen on this book. It is a clearly written , fine introduction to Freud's work. It does what it can in the space it has but cannot provide the interpretation of interpretations of the great over- interpreter of us all.
   Freud's genius was in making mankind see fundamental truths about its own nature it had conveniently ignored throughout its recorded history.His genius was also in understanding ways the mind works ( The defense mechanisms) which explain us to ourselves in a way we did not know how to before. His genius also consisted in a powerful capacity for interpreting and reinterpreting the realities before him, so that he gave us the sense that there is more in us than has been dreamnt in any of our philosophies.
   The master investigator of the human mind was an immense and complicated mind himself. Storr shows us how some of it worked and developed.



5. I studied philosphy as an undergrad, theology as a grad student, dropped out of a Ph.D. program in philosophy to write fiction, and as a result, grew more curious about human beings and why they act the way they do.
   
   So I took up the study of psychology. I'd heard a lot about Dr. Freud: about how great he was from some people and what a crackpot he was from others. Still, whatever view you have of him, you must admit (and I mean MUST admit) that the man was a genuis.
   
   Dr. Storr's book is a nice intro to Freud; all the bases are covered in this little book. It's written in a simple style and offers clear explanations of Dr. Freud's views of sexuality, dreams, religion, and more. There are plenty of quotes throughout the book and biographical tidbits. I checked this book out at the library but will probably buy it to have on my bookshelf. A very interesting read and a solid foundation for any future reading of Freud.
   
   Also recommended: The Gospel of Arnie

4 comments about As I Remember: An Autobiography by Lillian Gilbreth.

1. This book is a really great read if you want to get a feel for Lillian Gilbreth's personality (which is a hurmorous, optimistic personality)or if you want to learn about her family life. But if you're writing a term paper, like I am, and trying just to get facts about her life and not cute stories about the children getting their tonsils out, then this is not the book for you. This is an interesting book, and I would recommend it, just not for the facts it gives you.



2. As a city of Oakland resident, interested in 19th century life there, I was very happy to come across this book and read Mrs Gilbreth's childhood memories, visiting Lake Merritt, spending time with cousins, visiting her well to do grandfather at his grand estate (he is known as Oakland's first millionaire). I intend to share it with others I know who share an interest in Oakland's early history.



3. While I agree with Ms. Collins' assessment of this book, and realize it is Mrs. Gilbreth's unedited writings, I found the book to be only a rather dry collection of memories. I guess I hoped to find another "Cheaper by the Dozen" or "Belles on Their Toes" for entertainment, which is a rather unfair expectation. Mrs. Gilbreth does not write to entertain. Her writing style is completely unadorned by either humor or color; she states facts alone (Frank and Ernestine must have inherited their father's humor).
   What did irritate me is her attitude toward her daughter, Mary. Perhaps not well-known, this attitude was mentioned in "Time Out For Happiness." The Gilbreths buried their understandably overwhelming grief for Mary and never spoke of her again. This book confirms that fact. Nowhere is Mary mentioned after her death. Mrs. Gilbreth spoke of Mary as part of her husband's 'project' and not a living, breathing child, whose brief life should have been celebrated, not mourned. She says the services of a psychiatrist would have 'adjusted' the situation, 'but it was not adjusted, and it left a permanent scar.' As much money as they apparently had, why they did not seek psychiatric help in the aftermath is beyond me. I was overjoyed to see a picture of Mary; in fact, the pictures throughout the book are fascinating. Mrs. Gilbreth was a wonderful woman, who contributed greatly to humanity, and should be so honored. But she wasn't a writer.



4. After reading "Cheaper by the Dozen", "Belles on their Toes", and "I'm a Lucky Guy", this book filled in the essential details for throughly understaning the Gilbreth lifestyle. The aforementioned children's books provoked my interest, leading me to seek further information on this remarkable family. This book, aimed at the adult level, depicts in acute detail Dr. Lillian Gilbreth's family history, childhood, education, and motion study work. Exciting recolletions of work and travel fill this volume, which is entrancing form cover to cover. The style in which this book was written provokes thoughts of listening to a warm elderly woman, carefully sharing how a shy child became a "pioneer" in women's work, and a marvel in her day. There are numerous typographical and grammatical errors in the text, which are pardonable if the reader considers that these are the actual written words of Dr. Lillian Gilbreth, apparently unedited. The only other disappointment is that this manuscript was unpublished for so many decades that it has not been updated. It does not elaborate on her lasting contributions to industrial engineering today, nor does it reveal which of her children are still surviving. However, there are many useful addresses and contacts mentioned that would provide some update on the issues of industrial engineering. I would recommed this book to anyone interested in the life and work of Lillian Gilbreth or her field, as she should be an inspirational role model for all young women.

No comments about The Drive for Self: Alfred Adler and the Founding of Individual Psychology.