History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era

Average customer rating:

Excellent book on Microsoft anti-trust trial
An excellent analysis of the case
whiny
Save Your Money
Wow, What a Thoroughly Great Book

Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era
John Heilemann
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0066621178
Release Date: 2001-01-09

Amazon.com

Like other "totemic firms" of recent years, Microsoft attained astounding power and profitability in stunningly short order--along with a slew of rivals who desperately wanted it broken into less threatening pieces. Few really believed it would happen when the U.S. Department of Justice first began looking into its operations, however, which made the eventual judgment against the company even more significant. "The humbling of Microsoft is the last great business story of the 20th century and the first great riddle of the 21st," writes John Heilemann in Pride Before the Fall, his insightful examination of the epic antitrust battle that began as a Wired magazine cover story. "There are fancier ways of putting it," he adds, "but the riddle is: how did it happen?" In the pages that follow, Heilemann examines the behind-the-scenes machinations that drove United States v. Microsoft, based largely on exclusive interviews he conducted with Bill Gates and his top lieutenants, Justice Department prosecutor Joel Klein, special trial counsel (and lead Democratic Florida recount litigator) David Boies, Intel chief Andy Grove, Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy, and various "unknown soldiers" who arguably played the biggest role of all. With Microsoft's future still uncertain, Pride helps reset the tone in a case that will shape our high-tech future. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

John Heilemann's Pride Before the Fall uncovers the secret history of the antitrust trial that shook an economy: United States v. Microsoft. Drawing on years of reporting -- including extensive interviews with Gates and other top Microsoft executives, Justice Department trustbuster Joel Klein, superlitigator David Boies, Intel chief Andy Grove, Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy, and scores of lesser-known but pivotal players -- Heilemann lays bare the chaotic confluence of forces that shattered Microsoft's aura of invincibility and the climate of fear that held an industry in thrall.

Based on an acclaimed Wired magazine cover story, Pride Before the Fall is packed with rich personalities, dramatic scenes, and explosive revelations. It tells the stories of the largely unknown men and women who turned their opposition to Gates's company into a crusade, laboring for years to persuade the government to indict Microsoft for its monopolistic practices. Pride Before the Fall explains in compelling detail how the high-tech kingpins whose businesses Gates had tried to destroy or strong-arm (Netscape, Apple, Sun, and even Intel) worked in secret to help the Justice Department bring down Microsoft. It explores the lasting damage the trial has inflicted on the first great empire of the Information Age. And Heilemann offers a vivid and sometimes shocking portrait of Gates himself -- describing a man who in 1993 told his friends, "I have as much power as the president," only to be thrown into rage and depression a few years later, when he discovered just how wrong he'd been.

Like a figure from Greek tragedy, Heilemann writes, Gates sowed the seeds of his own undoing. From lengthy visits to Redmond before, during, and after the trial, Heilemarnn paints a picture of a culture that can only be described as the Cult of Bill, a culture that had few limits when it came to eviscerating the competition, a culture that grew out of Gates's fiercely single-minded determination to keep Microsoft from meeting the fate of a company that he had studied, admired, rivaled, and then surpassed: IBM. But when that culture came under scrutiny on Capitol Hill, in the halls of the Justice Department, and in the courtroom of Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, it provoked a verdict far harsher than anyone could have predicted -- and guaranteed for Microsoft the very fate that Gates had struggled so desperately to avoid.

With Pride Before the Fall, John Heilemann confirms his reputation as one of Silicon Valley's most talented and respected journalists. Years of inside access to the Valley's boardrooms have given him a unique understanding of the technology industry, just as his years as a reporter in Washington have informed his grasp of the political currents that swept the U.S. government into a battle it never wanted to fight. But what sets Pride Before the Fall apart isn't simply Heilemann's mastery of the dynamics of business, public policy, and the law. This superbly gifted writer has also given us a revelatory tale of human ambition and human frailty -- a timely saga of arrogance, ruthlessness, and revenge.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book on Microsoft anti-trust trial.......2007-05-21

This book puts out a lot of factual information while keeping the read interesting. I've used this in a college ethics class, and most students liked it. I know of an attorney's office that used it to familiarize their staff with the case.

The book is biased against Microsoft, but shows enough of their side that it doesn't come across as a shallow review. Lot's of interviews keep the book interesting.

An excellent analysis of the case.......2001-08-26

Heilemann has done a fabulous job with this book. The Wired article was really gripping and the full length book is just as difficult to put down! It really makes you wonder what they're thinking in Redmond - at the end of the book I couldn't help feeling that Gates (as Heilemann presents him) seems a lot like Mr. Burns in the Simpsons episode where Lisa teaches him about recycling and he ends 'recycling' all the fish in the sea for livestock feed. He couldn't figure out why he was wrong and Gates seems to have the same difficulty.

whiny.......2001-06-09

This book is more of a whine session than an informative look into the microsoft case. Poor writing and questionable facts make this book impossible to read. Save your money!

Save Your Money.......2001-05-15

This book was more than "based on" the Wired article, it was the Wired article. I read both the article and the book, and in my opinion there was very little added to the book. I would suggest buying the Wired Magazine that had this article, ... .

Excluding that, the book was well written and entertaining, but somewhat disappointing. The amount of access the author had provided great visibility into the trial, but I felt the author squandered that information. There was very little analysis, and often the author missed humorous/interesting snippets that other books/articles had picked up (e.g. in "The New New Thing" and Upside's news coverage of the trial).

This book felt more like a synapse or a chronology, and it left me wanting more...

Wow, What a Thoroughly Great Book.......2001-05-11

No superlative is adequate to describe the high quality of this incisive reporting. How did this author ever stitch all of this story together? Incredible sources, great insights, and to think Gates almost pulled off the monopolistic crime of the century! Thank you U.S. government for protecting us from this abuse. Thank you John for taking time out of your busy schedule to clue the rest of us in to how this proud giant was humbled, for his own good.

Law as a Means to an End: Threat to the Rule of Law (Law in Context)

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An Important Critique of the Pragmatic Theory of Judging

Law as a Means to an End: Threat to the Rule of Law (Law in Context)
Brian Z. Tamanaha
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521689678

Book Description

The contemporary U.S. legal culture is marked by ubiquitous battles among various groups attempting to seize control of the law and wield it against others in pursuit of their particular agenda. This battle takes place in administrative, legislative, and judicial arenas at both the state and federal levels. This book identifies the underlying source of these battles in the spread of the instrumental view of law - the idea that law is purely a means to an end - in a context of sharp disagreement over the social good. It traces the rise of the instrumental view of law in the course of the past two centuries, then demonstrates the pervasiveness of this view of law and its implications within the contemporary legal culture, and ends by showing the various ways in which seeing law in purely instrumental terms threatens to corrode the rule of law.

Customer Reviews:

An Important Critique of the Pragmatic Theory of Judging.......2007-01-01

Professor Tamanaha makes a very important point here about the pragmatic theory of judging. Pragmatic judging -- an approach advocated most eloquently by Judge Richard Posner in a number of books and other writings -- means in essence that, when faced with an issue that is not clearly resolved by the existing law, the judge should resolve the issue in the way that he or she thinks makes the most sense, all things considered, for the parties and society. This approach obviously gives judges a lot of leeway, since "what makes the most sense" is something that no two people are likely to agree upon. Posner thinks that that is OK because judges do it anyway, and so we might as well be up front about it.

Tamanaha's response is twofold. First, he argues that Posner exaggerates the extent to which judges typically resolve issues according to their private biases instead of what legal reasoning points to as being correct (or most nearly correct). Second, Tamanaha argues that there is a major difference between a judge who says, "I can and should resolve issues based on what I think makes the most sense *except when* the law *clearly resolves* the issue," and a judge who says, "I can and should resolve issues based on what I think makes the most sense *only when* the law *truly does not resolve* the issue." In other words, the pragmatic judge gives himself free rein whenever he can, while the traditional judge gives himself free rein only when there's really no other choice.

This argument is most clearly laid out in the last chapter of "Law as a Means to an End." If you're familiar with the terms of the debate, you could read that chapter by itself with benefit. The rest of the book provides a history of the instrumental view of law and the effects that Tamanaha believes the instrumental view has had on the U.S. The "effects" part of Tamanaha's argument was not totally convincing for me. For example, he argues that the change (roughly around 1900-1940) from a predominantly non-instrumental view of law to a predominantly instrumental view led people to see law as the main way of changing society however they want, by causing the government to change the law. But one could as plausibly argue that it was the explosive growth of legislation and regulation during the same period (for reasons other than a changing philosophy of law) that led people to see government, through its law-making function, as the main way of changing society, and that the instrumental point of view took hold as a result.

In addition, I'm not sure that instrumental vs. non-instrumental is the most accurate way to frame the issues Tamanaha discusses here. Law has always been seen as a means to an end -- as promoting something good outside itself (morality, justice, civil order, etc.). The difference between what Tamanaha calls the non-instrumental and instrumental views is the degree to which those views take law to be malleable. The non-instrumental view sees the means and ends of law as relatively fixed, whereas the instrumental view sees the means and ends as being freely changeable. This does seem to be Tamanaha's real point -- the image he uses to demonstrate instrumental thinking is of the law as an "empty vessel" that law-makers can fill with whatever they want. "Instrumentalism" merely seems to me to be an inaccurate way of capturing the debate.

In any event, Tamanaha's overarching argument provides a strong and needed qualification to the pragmatic approach.

Creative Company: How St. Luke's Became "the Ad Agency to End All Ad Agencies"

Average customer rating:

At least a new practice based on a true story
Establishing and Then Nourishing a Landscape of Creativity
A human being first, a businessman second.
They did it and it works !
Excellent

Creative Company: How St. Luke's Became "the Ad Agency to End All Ad Agencies"
Andy Law
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471350265

Book Description

"This is the book I wish I had written. Andy Law has redefined the agency for the twenty-first century. It will be interesting to see how many agencies follow his lead." - Jay Chiat, Founder, Chiat/Day

"Passion. Rebellion. Guts. Glory. This book has the breathy pace of a thriller. The story of how St. Lukes takes on the advertising establishment is a merger of the ballad of Robin Hoods merry band and the story of David and Goliath. In fact, its a parable not just for the advertising business, but for all business today and tomorrow. St. Lukes is definitely on to something." - Marty Cooke, Executive Creative Director, M&C Saatchi

"Andy Law is one of the few creative executives who has learned by doing, not just telling. So its exciting to have him chronicle all that learning for us. Having watched him build St. Lukes from the start, it feels like watching Neil Armstrong take his first step on the moons surface. He is truly pioneering how companies will have to be run in the twenty-first century." - Geraldine B. Laybourne, Chairman and CEO Oxygen Media

"Creative Company is an intriguing story that captures the soul of the new economy. It is a must-read for managers who want to bring out exceptional performance in their team-or for anyone who wants insight into the future of business." - Deborah Kenny, Group Publisher, Sesame Street magazines

"Its a big book. It needs to be." - Dan Wieden Founder, Wieden and Kennedy

Why does Fast Company magazine call St. Lukes "the ad agency to end all ad agencies"? How can a company function, let alone thrive, when it has "eschewed conventional hierarchy in favor of the flattest possible organizational layout and the craziest ever decision-making process"? And why on earth would some of the most talented and sought-after minds in the advertising world forsake the fabulous perks available to senior managers and risk everything for a company where no one has even a desk to call his or her own?

In Creative Company, the chairman and cofounder of St. Lukes answers these questions and many more. Andy Law writes candidly and enthusiastically about breaking the agency mold and organizing a company in a completely different way.

St. Lukes is nothing if not different-to many, the agency described in this remarkable and challenging book may hardly sound like a business at all. In 1995, a small band of highly creative people who loved the work but hated the workplace established a company designed not only to get the most out of them, but to give the most back-a company in which creativity, curiosity, versatility, and a sense of fun are assets to be celebrated, not encumbrances to be left outside the door. Law recounts how many St. Lukes employee/owners discovered new sources of satisfaction, hidden talents, and even entirely new careers as they encouraged each other to experiment, learn, and grow. Meanwhile, the agencys annual billings soared to more than $90 million in three memorable years.

Complete with revealing tales of advertising legends such as Jay Chiat, Bill Tragos, Frank Lowe, and the Omnicom chieftains, Creative Company offers a fascinating, warts-and-all tour of the advertising industry. It also fires the opening volley of a revolution that aims to do nothing less than alter the "DNA" of business itself and, in Laws words, "furiously seeks a new, better, more fulfilling, and fairer role for business in the lives of its employees."

The St. Lukes story will challenge your preconceptions, stimulate your imagination, and may even change your mind.

Customer Reviews:

At least a new practice based on a true story.......2006-07-31

This book will delight all those with an interest in the redefinition of the advertising trade in general. If you have already experienced the dinosaurs labelling themselves with new fancy names and changing nothing to their operations, this one is for you.
It might not be a model for all but it shows that the account / creative split invented by Bill Bernbach has at least one sustainable alternative.
It is not a collection of principles but rather a series of attempts at cracking the challenge. Sometimes they fail, most of the times, they succeed (hey, this is still a marketing tool...) but there is always something to learn and there are great inspirational chapters.
To top it all, it is written in a language that even the most illiterate French marketer can understand (and holistic and world changing ideas are NOT the most used words).

Establishing and Then Nourishing a Landscape of Creativity.......2004-02-19

According to Law, business "can treat you as well or as badly as it chooses, yet we devote our lives unthinkingly to it and donate almost all of our knowledge and learning and creativity and sweat without any regard to its true value." On first blush, this comment seems cynical (or so it did to me when I first read it) and yet I agree with the implication that the unspoken but primary objective of most organizations is to protect their own status quo. As a result, "we have achieved only a small percentage of the innovation we could achieve." In this book, Law discusses St. Luke's, "the ad agency to end all ad agencies," in which he and his associates keep on developing new ideas. Their perpetual vision is to open minds. "And because [St. Luke's] has opened its own and the minds of those who have come to know it, I hope this book contributes to the pursuit of that vision and that you, the reader, husband, wife, employer, human are changed by it in some way."

At this point, I hasten to add that Law does not then provide a series of checklists of key points, what to do and not do, etc. His is what I guess could be called a personal memoir whose focus is on a truly unique workplace, the St. Luke's advertising agency in London. It would be foolish -- however -- for any of his readers to use St. Luke's as a model. Worse yet, to attempt to transform their own organizations into clones of St. Luke's. Rather, if I understand Law's objectives in this book (which I may not), he challenges and encourages his readers to think differently about what they do and how they do it, to think differently about the organization in which they do it, and -- in ways and to the extent appropriate -- to redevelop the "landscape" of their working lives.

There are several reasons why I have such a high regard for this book. Here are three. First, Law shares a number of profound insights concerning quality of life in the workplace. To summarize them in this brief commentary (out of context) would, however, trivialize them. Suffice to say that believing in the value of what you do to earn a living and feeling appreciated by others with whom you do it are two of the most important values within a workplace. Second, much can be done to create a physical environment within which to nourish creative thinking. With meticulous care, Law explains how he and his associates at St. Luke's did so. Finally, Law makes an eloquent as well as convincing argument to support his belief that creative ideas about the process of creative thinking are at least as important (if not more so) as the results of that process. Stated another way, creative thinking requires both new "wine" AND new "bottles."

Law insists that this is not just a business book. "It's also a kind of fairytale I guess because at times I still can't believe it all happened the way it did." In addition to being an entertaining raconteur, Law also offers a number of excellent insights as to how almost any human community can become a "creative company." It remains for each reader to answer various "soul-searching questions" which Law poses. Efforts to formulate those responses as well as the responses themselves will largely determine the value of this book.

A human being first, a businessman second........2002-10-19

Don't let the blurb fool you. Andy Law has not written a how-to book about manging creative businesses. If you pick up some tips about how to do so, that's bonus.

Rather, the author poses some fundamental questions about the role of work, and the interplay of one's economic, intellectual and emotional lives. A subject which ought to exercise us more than it does.

I personally wouldn't like to work in the St. Luke's style. But that a company looks first at its role in the community of its stakeholders, and second at how it might make money, makes it an example for companies far beyond the creative sphere.

Unfortunately, I have heard rumours that St. Lukes has actually had to, er, let people go. Not easy in a co-operative. Does some better-informed reader know if it's true? Sad, if it is. And it doesn't discredit Law's philosophical arguments, nor diminish their importance.

BTW, Andy Law writes beautifully.

They did it and it works !.......2001-07-23

This is a great book for at least 2 key reasons :

1) they did it and it works ! They created a SUCCESFUL agency with an 100% ownership equally allocated between every employees ! Whatever are the next step of the story (we enter in recession, and their model will be tested) they had the courage to do it and it worked both one "our" terms (money, growth, ...) and theirs (fun, creativity, ...). I seriously doubt you can export the model beyond the "professional services" sector given the "agency cost" (not ad agency, but "Jensen annd meckling" agency problem) and even but forget theories : this book is about practice and St luke will remain in the history of "organisation design" beyond the agency. Anyway, they did it and it score 1 - 0 for them versus the rest of us.

2) The other point is that the book is very well written and that is not so common to find corporate history with such good writing skills combines

All done, a very good book where you learn as much about business that about "how ready you are to do it" (being myself an entrepreuneur)

Excellent.......2001-06-17

I just completed this book last week, and it really made me think about my business, where I wanted to go (I don't want my employees to be employees... so this opened up new ideas on how to work on projects, with clients, and run an business).

This book does give information about how salary's were done, vacation time, benefits, and even how shares are allotted, etc. It is a very personal testimony of a life ambition.

What this book is not: it is not a book about how a one person business became like St. Lukes. It is about how a merger happened, and a group of people joined together to keep the big-name clients they already had and make a new company. You won't find tips on how to take a 1 person shop to a 5 person shop, but the book will certainly make you think about how to organize your business, how you will work with clients, and give you a glimpse of a company that runs very well.

Average customer rating:

Wild Book, Strange Author

COINTELPRO papers review

Very good but much is left out!

ministry of love

Sometimes Desert Is Better Than the Meal

The Cointelpro Papers: Documents from the Fbi's Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States (South End Press Classics Series, Volume, 8)
Ward Churchill , and Jim Vander Wall
Manufacturer: South End Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Pacifism As Pathology: Reflections on the Role of Armed Struggle in North America

ASIN: 0896086488

Book Description

Readers anxious about civil liberties under George W. Bush will find fodder for fears-and suggestions for activism-in The COINTELPRO Papers. Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall's expose of America's political police force, the FBI, reveals the steel fist undergirding "compassionate conservatism's" velvet glove. Using original FBI memos, the authors provide extensive analysis of the agency's treatment of the left, from the Communist Party in the 1950s to the Central America solidarity movement in the 1980s. The authors' new introduction posits likely trajectories for domestic repression.

Ward Churchill is author of From a Native Son. Jim Vander Wall is co-author of Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement, with Ward Churchill.

Customer Reviews:

Wild Book, Strange Author.......2007-02-22

This is an interesting book by an even more interesting author. In fact, the actions of the author tend to make me doubt the whole idea of the book.

First the book. This is a reprint of a book first issued in 1990 that proports to show a whole series of documents obtained from the FBI. They show that the FBI went to great lengths, some of them illegal to seek evidence against, and bring scorn against numerous left wing organiztions such as the Communist Party, the Black Panthers, the American Indian Movement and others.

In addition to the reprinted portion of the book, Mr. Churchill has written a new preface that makes further allegations against the FBI, particularily in regard to Waco.

Now the author. Some reviews have indicated that he is a fake, having basically made up a lot of what he says. Without repeating all of the material here, Mr. Churchill claims (in this book) to be an Indian. The Indian tribes of which he claims to be amember say he is not. Disciplinary hearings against him at the University of Colorado have recommended his being terminated as a professor.

Do a search on Google and Wikipedia for more information and make up your own mind.

COINTELPRO papers review.......2007-01-10

This is a detailed review of available FBI documents relating to subversive and dissident groups as defined in the wake of the McCarren / Mccarthyism era and deemed a threat to the US interest. Alarming material shows how the FBI framed and planted "evidence" in order to control and destroy elements in a supposed free society. A good read for a political and intelligence analysts in the ever changing and modern world.

Very good but much is left out!.......2006-11-29

This book reproduces and analyzes cointelpro documents acquired through the FOIA. It is funny how the United States government expects its citizens to obey its laws but yet it goes out of its way to target, harass and persecute people who are not breaking any laws themselves. Which is made even worse when the government is often breaking the very laws they are supposed to uphold in the process.

There are individual chapters in this on black nationalist groups, socialist and communist groups, the American Indian Movement and other left wing oriented organizations. Another plus to The Cointelpro Papers is if you are involved in political activism this book can help you identify tactics that may be used against you or the group you are involved with.

The biggest fault this book has is Churchill is one of these leftists that believes in the psychotic delusion that the US Government is some sort of pro-white/white supremacist entity. Ha ha! Yeah thats why they have made MLK into some sort of holy figure, they have created affirmative action and allow mass immigration to displace white (and black) Americans in the work place. He also more or less ignores the illegal tactics employed against the KKK in the south where they sent a virtual army of FBI agents into southern states when the Klan was resisting integration. Undercover FBI agents were responsible for the murder of the pregnant wife of a Klansman named Kathy Ainsworth not to mention undercover agents perpetrated or instigated much of the violent acts attributed to the Klan. Why wasn't this brought up in this book?!?! While there were many wrongs committed against left wing and non-white political activists the fact that Churchill ignores what was done with the Klan, and in later years with militia groups, as well as white nationalist (and environmental) groups to this very day shows that Churchill has a blatant anti-white agenda and keeps what is a good book, from being great.

ministry of love.......2005-07-02

In The COINTELPRO Papers, Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall chronicle decades of disruptive and secretive attacks by the FBI on those with whom they do not feel ideologically aligned¡Xnamely, those who are a threat in any way to capitalism or to the current power structures within the United States and abroad. The authors contend that the FBI has launched seemingly countless attacks upon peaceful and law-abiding organizations and their members for no reason other than their philosophical deviance from the political mindset of the American status quo. The authors chronicle case after case after case of the FBI engaging in illegal and unsettling practices and activities in their ongoing efforts to discredit any organization or individual espousing radical or alternative socio-economic views.
Every allegation made by the authors is backed up by copies of original FBI documents and memos chronicling the activities of our nation¡¦s ¡§political police¡¨ in the words of the agents themselves, lest the authors should be accused of ridiculous and unfounded accusations (as conservative apologists and spinners of propaganda are so apt to maintain¡Xan issue addressed in the introduction to the text). The points argued in this book lend tremendous credibility to a radical elitist stance on American politics¡Xin that they shine light on the terrible extremes to which conservative authorities will go to eliminate any expression of political opposition.x
In this book, Churchill and Vander Wall focus heavily on the ¡§COINTELPRO¡¨ (COunterINTELligence PROgrams) operations launched both officially and unofficially against organizations such as the Communist Party, USA (CP, USA), Socialist Workers Party (SWP), the Puerto Rican Independence Movement, the Black Liberation Movement¡Xparticularly the Black Panther Party (BPP), the ¡§New Left¡¨¡Xparticularly the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the American Indian Movement (AIM). The authors focus special attention on the tactics utilized by the FBI during their official COINTELPRO era, which was from the mid-1950¡¦s to 1971, and demonstrate that regardless of whether or not the acronym is still in use, the FBI has never abandoned those tactics¡Xif anything, their COINTELPRO-style tactics have only escalated over the years.
And what are COINTELPRO-style tactics exactly? The most frequently used of those tactics (officially authorized, documented, and bragged about by J. Edgar Hoover himself as well as many other FBI agents throughout the history of the bureau) include the intensification of confusion and dissatisfaction amongst members of targeted organizations through the use of disinformation campaigns (often launched through the cooperation of ¡§friendly¡¨ media, ¡§anonymous¡¨ letters, and the circulation and anonymous mailing of FBI generated political cartoons and fliers purporting to have been generated by members of whichever organizations the bureau sought to divide), the hiring and training of ¡§provocateurs¡¨¡Xpeople hired by the bureau to join targeted organizations and encourage division amongst members through the raising and exaggeration of controversial issues, and to inspire violence on the part of members in response to harassment campaigns launched by the FBI against them¡Xin many documented cases actual acts of terrorism were conceived of by the FBI and the plans for such acts as bombings and assassinations were brought by the provocateurs to those members of an organization they felt were most prone to violence¡Xall of this in an effort to generate fear of such organizations in the hearts of the status quo.
Also amongst the tactics frequently indulged in by the FBI are ¡§frame-ups¡¨¡Xmany officially admitted, documented, and declassified and readily available for study through the Freedom of Information Act¡Xin which Federal agents conspired to imprison targeted individuals through the use of falsified evidence and perjured testimony, as well as (one of their more disturbing techniques) efforts to pit violent organizations against peaceful organizations in the hopes that the violent would neutralize the peaceful. One example (of many presented in the book) is that of the FBI attempting to pit the Mafia against the Communist Party, USA through anonymous letters and plays upon newspaper articles, contending that the communists intended to get the ¡§thugs¡¨ out of their unions and clean up the sweatshops which the Mafia was known for running. The bureau hoped that the Mafia would put out ¡§hits¡¨ on key leaders of the Communist Party, and in one memo makes favorable references to the fact that since their campaign started communist offices had suffered bombings, a ¡§typical hoodlum technique.¡¨
A truly ¡§successful¡¨ example of this same technique as utilized against the Black Panther Party (who were overwhelmingly peaceful despite many efforts by the bureau to inspire them to violence) is that of the FBI sending an anonymous letter, attributed to the Panthers, to the violence prone United Slaves. The letter ¡§revealed¡¨ a fictional plot by the BPP to assassinate US head Ron Karenga. On January 17, 1969, that letter bore fruit in the form of the shooting deaths of two BPP leaders by three members of the US in a classroom at UCLA. The great ¡§success¡¨ of this letter is that with it the FBI was able to pit two Black Liberation organizations against each other, thus neutralizing their effective pursuits of their own causes while significantly weakening the efforts of the others: the winners¡Xthe FBI and the status quo, the losers¡XBlack Liberation as a whole.
Also, not entirely uncommon behavior on part of the FBI is the effort to push targeted individuals to take their own lives through blackmail. One particularly disturbing, though unsuccessful, example of this is the case of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After utilizing mass-media propaganda campaigns pertaining to Dr. King¡¦s supposed ¡§communist influences¡¨ and sexual proclivities, as well as a harassment campaign by the IRS, FBI audio technician John Matter compiled an audio tape of Dr. King allegedly engaged in ¡§orgiastic¡¨ trysts with prostitutes. The FBI then mailed this tape to Dr. King along with an anonymous letter ¡§informing King that the audio material would be released to the media unless he committed suicide prior to bestowal of the Nobel Prize.¡¨ They had hoped that in the wake of all the stress and under the fear of such press Dr. King would follow the advice and take his own life. He didn¡¦t, and the tape was subsequently rejected by Benjamin Bradlee of Newsweek. Perhaps it was too flimsy and too poor in taste for even ¡§friendly¡¨ media.
The authors also fly through case after case of ¡§punitive prosecution¡¨ orchestrated by the FBI against targeted individuals¡Xthe point of the prosecution having never been to even imprison, only to keep those they viewed as threats preoccupied with their own legal struggles. During many FBI sweeps in which some of those punitively prosecuted were arrested, it was not uncommon for the agents to completely trash the offices and equipment belonging to the organizations for which those people worked. In one raid on Black Panther offices, police even ¡§destroyed bulk food the Panthers were distributing free to ghetto children.¡¨
In their operations against organizations such as SDS and AIM, the FBI utilized all of the same aforementioned tactics¡Xeven after 1971, the year in which COINTELPRO had been officially terminated. The cases chronicled and the supporting FBI documents are downright overwhelming, alarming, and sickening. I¡¦ll leave the descriptions of such cases to the authors, who (unfortunately) maintain that even they have hardly scratched the surface in exposing the conservative terrorism perpetrated by the FBI on the American people.
In the concluding chapter of this book, Churchill and Vander Wall illustrate the advent of the word ¡§terrorism¡¨ and its use since 1972 to justify ongoing COINTELPRO efforts on the part of the FBI, though the acronym has been dropped the tactics and the secrecy are all still in place. Though the FBI is no longer fighting ¡§communism¡¨ and has instead found a new enemy in ¡§terrorism,¡¨ the American people are no safer now from their dishonesty and oppressive tactics than they have been since the official formation of
COINTELPRO. As an American, who hears the word ¡§terror¡¨ thrown around by politicians and law enforcement officers on a daily basis, and who has unfortunately found himself aware of such alarming facts as ¡§at present, the U.S. enjoys the dubious distinction of having a greater proportion of its population incarcerated than any western industrialized country,¡¨ I do have to wonder how exactly we¡¦re going to spread ¡§freedom and democracy¡¨ to the rest of the world when history reveals we¡¦ve always been afraid of freedom and democracy here.
The facts and quotes about the modern day prison system in this country and its expanding usage of sensory deprivation techniques designed to cause the psychological breakdown of political detainees sounded so Orwellian that I¡¦m sure even George Orwell would be shocked. In the FBI we¡¦ve found our ¡§Thought Police¡¨ and in our prison system we¡¦ve found our ¡§Ministry of Love.¡¨ And in our own hearts, it seems, we¡¦re too terrified to react. Perhaps Big Brother is already watching us all.

Sometimes Desert Is Better Than the Meal.......2003-05-06

Ward Churchil and Jim Vander Wall have done an outstanding and meticulous job in assembling and explaining the FBI's secret war on dissent in America, no wonder America is plagued with criminals, the supposed "good guys" are all out on black bag jobs committing their own crimes!!

Since it is a well known historical fact that J. Edgar Hoover, America's semen stained supercop, was blackmailed by the mafia into silence, it stands to reason that he would need a new enemy to focus the attention of the American people. What better enemy than home grown political dissenters who would destroy the genteel American order--white men first.

The book focuses upon the FBI's most notorious episodes--the COINTELPRO efforts against the Communist Party USA, Socialist Workers Party, the New Left, the American Indian Movement and the Black Panthers as demonstrative proof of the Bureau's efforts to undermine and destroy the constitutional rights of all Americans.

It is, for me, the concluding chapter that ties everything together and offers some real life solutions to the peristent cancer that is the FBI. From 1956 to the "offical end" of COINTELPRO in 1971, the FBI committed:

* 2,218 separate actions.

*2,305 admitted warrantless telephone taps.

*697 "bugs against domestic political targets."

*57,486 CIA mail intercepts.

"During the various Congressional committee investigations, the Bureau carefully hid the facts of its involvement in the 1969 Hampton-Clark assassinations. Simultaneously, it was covering up its criminal witholding of exculpatory evidence in the murder trial of LA Panther leader Geronimo Pratt." page 303.

At the end, the authors offer the inescapable conclusion that priority number one is for the left to develop a strategy to come to grips with the FBI and the escalating power of "law enforcement" as well as the implications and consequences of the merging of the U.S. military and the domestic law enforcement appartus.

Churchill and Vander Wall have written an excellent book which recounts history and warns us of the impending scenario we face by ignoring the increased power of the FBI, the US military and law enforcement in general.

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A MUST-READ for anyone going through a divorce

One-of-a-kind

Best Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce in your 20s & 30s!

Disappointing and Bothersome

Such a GREAT read!

Not Your Mother's Divorce: A Practical, Girlfriend-to-Girlfriend Guide to Surviving the End of a Young Marriage
Kay Moffett , and Sarah Touborg
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Congratulations on Your Divorce: The Road to Finding Your Happily Ever After

Transformational Divorce: Discover Yourself, Reclaim Your Dreams & Embrace Life's Unlimited Possibilities

From Ex-Wife to Exceptional Life: A Woman's Journey through Divorce [UNABRIDGED]

Leaving Him Behind: Cutting the Cord and Breaking Free After the Marriage Ends

Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Decide Whether to Stay In or Get Out of Your Relationship

ASIN: 0767913507
Release Date: 2003-12-30

Book Description

No matter what your age, divorce is one of life’s greatest challenges. But while your parents, friends, and lawyers may be chock-full of advice, the truth is that young women who divorce today face a brand-new set of issues and possibilities far removed from those of women a generation before. If you’re looking for a fresh, empowering, and thoroughly modern guide to starting this new chapter of your life, Not Your Mother’s Divorce offers the ultimate roadmap—from wading through legal jargon to getting back into society—as told by your best girlfriends who’ve been there.

Based on the experiences of more than thirty women who divorced in their twenties and thirties without children, Not Your Mother’s Divorce offers camaraderie and practical counsel on:
Breaking the news to family and friends
Coping with sudden singledom—from living arrangements to changing your name
Protecting yourself financially and dividing your assets
Legalese 101—making the legal process work for you
Reentering the dating scene
How to handle encounters with your ex

Warm and insightful, Not Your Mother’s Divorce gives you the tools to find your way through this difficult time—and emerge a stronger, wiser, happier you.

Customer Reviews:

A MUST-READ for anyone going through a divorce.......2006-03-16

At 32 years old, I'm the first one of my friends to go through a divorce (after 5 years of marriage), and while my girlfriends were tremedously supportive of me, none of them have ever gone through something like this and there are some things that only someone who has survived a divorce can understand. This book was like an old friend, comforting me, guiding me through the process, assuring me that everything I was feeling was normal and to be expected. A year later, it still sits on my nightstand, battered and highlighted in yellow marker, being read and re-read whenever I need support. Of course, this book is not substitute for therapy, but I don't think I could have gotten through this past year without it. I would recommend this book to ANYONE going through a divorce. I've also seen some reviews on here by someone who finds the book to be "pro-divorce", and that is not the case at all. The authors merely acknowledge the fact that divorces happen, provide comfort and advice without passing judgement on the how and why, and help those of us who are going through the process to make the best of the situation and feel somewhat hopeful about our futures.

One-of-a-kind.......2005-11-20

This book is not for people who are not sure whether they want a divorce. It will not suggest that you work harder on your marriage, and it will not tell you that you are making a mistake. It will also not give helpful advice on how to save a marriage. I think the title should be sufficient warning of its target audience.
That said, it is a completely unique book that allows a young, childless woman going thorough divorce to feel that she is not alone. It gave me hope that I might someday be happy again. As someone who had been repeatedly lied to and betrayed by a husband who had been given countless "second chances," I was not interested in hearing that I should try harder to save the marriage.
Well written by intelligent, educated women who had been through divorce themselves, the book really does sound like the advice of a close girlfriend. This book was a life-saver for me.

Best Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce in your 20s & 30s!.......2005-03-09

I went to the bookstore to pick up a book on divorce - what I found was books that were either very heavy on the legal end or books for women with children. There was nothing out there for books for 20/30 somethings going through a divorce within the first 5 years -that spoke to me, not my mother. Someone recommended this book and I ordered it within the first 3 weeks after the big break-up. I was looking for something that spoke to me, in a girlfriend type of tone, not a preaching tone and this was PERFECT. It took me through what to expect in the beginning, the cycle of what would happen, how to tell people (or not tell people), and what to expect. It had great vignettes within it that illustrated situations similar to what I was going through and served as a general companion that helped me get through the healing process in the first six months. It was exactly what I needed. I would strongly recommend this to someone in their 20s/30s, first marriage, no kids - its right in-line with the chick lit out there and laughs and cries with you. Without this, I don't think I could have handled everything as well as I have. A must read over all the other books on the subject out there!

Disappointing and Bothersome.......2004-06-21

Although I did find this book to be helpful from a self confidence standpoint, this was a strange read. The authors come across as very self absorbed and insecure. I felt like I was reading Sex and the City for divorcees. I think a chapter on attempting to reconcile the differences you and your spouse might be experiencing would go a long way. This book gives you absolutely no hope and makes divorce sound like a positive thing. I once had many of the same feelings (or lack there of) that the women in this book describe, but I found it in me to work out things with my spouse. I have never felt stronger and more in love. What we went through was very difficult, but I cannot imagine my life without my spouse. In our world today, it much easier for a woman to walk away from a marriage than it was in the past. This can be a good thing, but also a very bad thing. I almost gave up to soon and I know and I know others who have. Many of them regret their decisions.

Such a GREAT read!.......2004-06-14

Not even 30 and struggling with ending my marriage only 3 months old has left me with a myriad of feelings. Coming from a family of divorce I obviously did NOT want to go down the same path. Not Your Mother's Divorce has shown me that I'm not alone in what I am about to go through and in "real world" terms. I found that other books tend to focus on bitter custody battles and how to cope as a single mom- neither of which applies to me or anyone else going through a "starter marriage". Moffett & Touborg give a perspective that I could completely relate to - reading this book is like having my best girlfriend sitting next to me encouraging me that what I'm about to go through will only make me stronger and that I WILL in fact survive and be better off for it and a MUCH happier person! I can hardly wait! I can only say that I am grateful to have read this book at this point in my life. I've learned a lot about myself, what went wrong in my marriage (before we got married!) and this book will with out a doubt help me face the world as a delightful divorcee!

The Good Death : The New American Search to Reshape the End of Life

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Amazing insight to how modern issues affect our society's view on death
Many views of dying in America
Entheogens: Professional Listing
Important information everyone should know!

The Good Death : The New American Search to Reshape the End of Life
Marilyn Webb
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0553095552
Release Date: 1997-10-01

Amazon.com

Even as Marilyn Webb put the finishing touches on The Good Death, assisted suicide had come before the Supreme Court for legalization. In fact, as long ago as 1990, events had converged that led to cataclysmic changes in how Americans die. One such event was Dr. Jack Kevorkian's first assisted suicide. Since then the nation has struggled with myriad legal, physical, and ethical sides to the issue of assisted suicide.

Recent technological and medical breakthroughs have--in a relatively short amount of time--extended the average age of death from 46 to 80 years of age. The lingering, debilitating diseases of old age have become the norm; technology and medicine continue to dazzle, prolonging life without considering the issue of its quality. That search for quality propelled Marilyn Webb, editor in chief of Psychology Today, to travel the country for six years, collecting stories and information that reflect every angle of the subject. She examined the range of care and values in places ranging from tiny hospices to major metropolitan medical centers. She interviewed 300 physicians, nurses, and health care workers, even such luminaries as Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and Kervorkian himself. She let conflicting views air: theologians versus Christian clerics; those in the Hemlock Society against pro-life conservatives. She sought out compelling, personal stories--the good, the bad, and the ugly--and analyzed the pressing issues that had begun to reshape our thoughts about death, including the legacy of Karen Ann Quinlan.

The Good Death can be read straight through or mined for the lessons taught by various aspects of the issue. Whatever your approach, you'll want to spend time with The Good Death, whether relishing or reeling from the stories or just pondering the values that shape the culture of death.

Book Description

Modern medical technology has lengthened our lives and forever altered how we face our deaths--but it has also created painful dilemmas that lawyers, doctors, spiritual leaders, and, above all, patients and their families are struggling with every day. Now, in this sweeping yet intimate report on death in America, Marilyn Webb has written the one essential book we all need to understand and deal with these new realities.

Drawing on more than four years of first-hand research and observation, Webb combines a journalist's objectivity with a passionate advocacy for people in pain. She has sat with dozens of dying patients--in high-tech teaching hospitals, in hospices, and in their homes. She has interviewed and worked with the leading legal experts and medical ethicists, pain specialists and psychologists, priests and spiritual counselors, as well as both advocates of assisted suicide and their determined opponents.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing insight to how modern issues affect our society's view on death.......2005-08-02

You cannot walk away from this book without a new persepective on how modern issues have affected the death experience. Marilyn Webb not not only brings insight to the reader on how death affects the family and friends, but also the dying. She presents a breadth of knowledge on so many point of views without pushing one or the other, because she knows death is a personal experience.

Many views of dying in America.......2000-07-09

Offering no soft, simple answers, this book gives a troubling look at many different views of dying in America. A necessary read for anyone interested in not just the spiritual side of dying, but the practical, political, difficult aspects of dying.

When I started reading books on dying (Final Gifts by Maggie Callanan, Patricia Kelley; The Grace in Dying by Kathleen Singh), I read books that gave me hope and comfort in dealing with my own mortality. This book made the hair on my neck rise up.

It begins by shattering illusions (the ones I'd built up) about having a pain-free, easy death. There are insurance companies, personal opinions, differing agendas of a variety of institutions that come into play.

In short, some people have an easier death than others. Webb writes in an easy to read, article style. She begins with a chapter called "Dying Easy", about the nearly beautiful, fairly comfortable death of Judith Hardin, who at 36 dies at home with her husband and children.

"Dying Hard," is based on Webb's personal interviews and experiences with the death of Peter Cicione. Cicione died a death more painful than it needed to be, largely due to medical staff's fears that this dying man was misusing morphine, might overdose or use so much medication that the drugs would no longer be effective (not true).

In "The Sorcerer's Apprenctice" and "When Death Becomes a Blessing," Webb focuses on the history of medical control of pain, the prolonging of life with new medical techniques and modern pain control through the works of Dr. Kathleen Foley, director of neurology pain service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Foley estimated that 5% of the patients she was seeing were "in unassuageable pain." Webb's conservative estimate offers that "109,500 people a year die with unrelieved suffering." Much of this is due to outdated information, old rules, and misunderstandings about how much medication a dying person in severe pain can and should get. She offers the possibility that terminally ill patients who want to commit suicide or look for assistance in dying might not do this, if their pain could be properly handled.

She has chapters about the legal conflicts for families who want comatose relatives off of life-support systems, with detailed information about Karen Quinlan and Nancy Cruzan's cases and the affects on their families long after these women died.

"Bearing the Burden" focuses on what happens to the lives of families with a terminally ill member - "The sad secret that many don't want to admit is that care at home, wonderful as it can be in helping a patient to a good death, is hard on families. Home care may allow for those close, intimate, late-night times with the dying family member...but there are also the difficult times: changing diapers, losing sleep or feeling intense anxiety because the patient is in pain or can't breath..."

This first half of the book is tough reading, but necessary - for there is still a lot of work to be done to make dying easier. The second half of the book deals with hospice; assisted dying (suicides); spirituality in dying.

She closes with 10 common factors 'good deaths' have - 1) open, ongoing communication with doctors, patients, families 2) preservation of the patient's decision-making powers for as long as possible 3) sophisticated pain control 4) limits on excessive treatment (medical interventions, per the patient) 5) focus on preserving the patient's quality of life 6) emotional support 7) financial support 8) family support 9) spiritual support 10) patient isn't abandoned by the medical staff even when curative treatment is no longer required.

She also has 10 changes, which she believes need to be made to change the culture of dying from a cold, hospital-set detachment to a family affair. These encompass everything from expanding health insurance to cover needs currently not met, to legalization of assisted suicide.

If you have given little thought to some of the darker sides of dying, focusing as I have on the spiritual and more uplifting side, this book offers a lot of food for thought. Well-written, easy to read, disturbing.

Even if you have different opinions than Webb has (about assisted suicide, for example), this book is a good read to investigate the other side's information and arguments.

Entheogens: Professional Listing.......1999-05-03

"The Good Death" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy." http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy

Important information everyone should know!.......1999-02-20

The Good Death provided me with information that everyone should know! If you have a loved one facing a trminal illness this is the book that you should read. I was especially grateful for the information about pain management, about what to expect, and to learn why we fail so often in this country to make people comfortable in their final days, how our "war on drugs" has tied the hands of doctors and resulted in dying patients being under medicated, often times grossly under medicated even hospices, and what you can do to insure that your loved on will not suffer.

"When Happily Ever After...Ends: How to Survive Your Divorce-Emotionally, Financially and Legally"

Average customer rating:

Happily Ever After
Logical Approach
This book should be required reading before divorce filings
Help is here
Very Helpful!

"When Happily Ever After...Ends: How to Survive Your Divorce-Emotionally, Financially and Legally"
Karen Covy
Manufacturer: Sphinx Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1572485485

Book Description

Divorce doesn't necessarily end a couple's relationship, it merely changes it--especially if there are children or properties involved. This title discusses the concepts of maintaining perspective and understanding limitations. It addresses ways to choose the right attorney, view divorce realistically and understand the boundaries of control. Real-life stories help the reader feel less isolated during this troubling time.

This book addresses the many aspects of divorce from both a practical and emotional viewpoint. Incorporating real-life stories of those going through divorce, it provides advice on how the reader can get through a divorce with sanity, integrity and a family--all reasonably intact.

The book includes appendices with references to valuable websites, agencies and organizations that are helpful to any reader.

Customer Reviews:

Happily Ever After.......2007-02-13

Cover to cover common sense. Everyone should read this book BEFORE marraige. Then save the book. You may need it later.

Logical Approach.......2007-02-11

Sometimes it's easier said than done BUT the book made alot of sense. A logical appproach to handling the 'roadblocks' encountered in this situation. Alot of it has to do with patience, respect and compromise!!!

This book should be required reading before divorce filings.......2006-08-30

I wish I had read this book before I got divorced. It could have helped both of us to survive the ordeal. Actually, it might have kept it from becoming an ordeal. Divorce attorneys should be required to read this book and have it in their "lending libraries" or on a "recommended reading list" for their clients.

Help is here.......2006-08-22

What a great resource for those enduring a divorce and for their families and friends.

Very Helpful!.......2006-08-01

Those of us who have gone down this sorry path will be grateful that there is such a well-written "how-to" guide available.

Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement (South End Press Classics Series, Volume, 7)

Average customer rating:

Don't Worry About The Government
The suppression of domestic dissent by the FBI

Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement (South End Press Classics Series, Volume, 7)
Ward Churchill , and Jim Vander Wall
Manufacturer: South End Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0896086461

Book Description

For those wondering how Bill Clinton could pardon white-collar fugitive Marc Rich but not Native American leader Leonard Peltier, important clues can be found in this classic study of the FBI's COINTELPRO (Counterintelligence Program). Agents of Repression includes an incisive historical account of the FBI siege of Wounded Knee, and reveals the viciousness of COINTELPRO campaigns targeting the Black Liberation movement. The authors' new introduction examines the legacies of the Panthers and AIM, and shows how the FBI still presents a threat to those committed to fundamental social change.

Ward Churchill is author of From a Native Son. Jim Vander Wall is co-author of The COINTELPRO Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States, with Ward Churchill.

Customer Reviews:

Don't Worry About The Government.......2006-11-12

The reissue of Agents of Repression is not only based on the historical significance of the book, but also the concerns expressed by co-author Ward Churchill in his lectures and writings about the direction of this nation with the advent of the Department of Homeland Security and legislative measures that have trampled over the Bill of Rights.

The book was published in 1988 based on the then ongoing litigation by some government officials against an author and publisher who had a work published concerning the illegal repression of AIM.

Agents of Repression is basically split into four sections; a history of the FBI, the government's war against the Black Panther Party, a lengthy exploration of AIM and the steps taken by a variety of government departments to destroy the grass-roots movement and how nothing has changed in the 1980s.

For readers who have explored these issues through other forums, it is an outstanding history. Readers who may be researching this era for the first time, I highly recommend the book since it takes larger topics and breaks them down into succinct chapters.

Churchill became the punching bag for the lightweight talking-heads on cable "news" shows more than a year ago due to comments he made in an academic setting concerning 9/11.

I urge a potential book-buyer to disregard that rhetoric and disinformation campaign waged against the co-author Churchill and consider that perhaps the payback for truly believing in civil rights means the attempt to silence him.

The suppression of domestic dissent by the FBI.......2003-07-16

This book maintains that the primary purpose of the FBI, from its inception and at least through to the late 1980s when Agents of Repression was first published, was to repress political groups and individuals who posed a threat to the status quo. The text is accompanied by heavy documentation and I was often reminded of the writing style of Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman. The focus here, however, is on the domestic crimes of the government. Churchell and Vander Wall show that the FBI was willing to use massive illegal force (including assasination) to repress political enemies and serve the interests of those in power. This is an excellent eye-opener to the true nature of the Bureau and the harsh crimes visited upon the American Indian Movement, the Black Panther Party and others such as the Puerto Rican Independence Movement. One is left wondering what activities the FBI has engaged in since the '80s and especially since 9/11. The best book I've read in some time.

Game Without End: State Terror and the Politics of Justice

Average customer rating:

Game Without End: State Terror and the Politics of Justice
Jaime E. Malamud Goti
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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