Average customer rating:
- A incorrect view of God that is devoid of hope
- Emotionally satisfying, but...
- A great book.
- The Only Explanation That Made Sense......
- Thought Provoking Read.
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When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Harold S. Kushner
Manufacturer: Anchor
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ASIN: 1400034728
Release Date: 2004-08-24 |
Amazon.com
Rarely does a book come along that tackles a perennially difficult human issue with such clarity and intelligence. Harold Kushner, a Jewish rabbi facing his own child's fatal illness, deftly guides us through the inadequacies of the traditional answers to the problem of evil, then provides a uniquely practical and compassionate answer that has appealed to millions of readers across all religious creeds. Remarkable for its intensely relevant real-life examples and its fluid prose, this book cannot go unread by anyone who has ever been troubled by the question, "Why me?"
Book Description
When Harold Kushner’s three-year-old son was diagnosed with a degenerative disease and that he would only live until his early teens, he was faced with one of life’s most difficult questions: Why, God? Years later, Rabbi Kushner wrote this straightforward, elegant contemplation of the doubts and fears that arise when tragedy strikes. Kushner shares his wisdom as a rabbi, a parent, a reader, and a human being. Often imitated but never superseded,
When Bad Things Happen to Good People is a classic that offers clear thinking and consolation in times of sorrow.
Since its original publication in 1981,
When Bad Things Happen to Good People has brought solace and hope to millions of readers and its author has become a nationally known spiritual leader.
Customer Reviews:
A incorrect view of God that is devoid of hope.......2007-10-06
I write this review with sensitivity to Rabbi Kushner. He has suffered the great loss of his son. His motivation for writing this book is to distill "some blessing out of Aaron's pain and tears" and perhaps to process and come to grips with how and why God `allows' such incomprehensible and unbearable grief in this life. As Rabbi Kushner says:
"I wanted to write a book that could be given to the person who has been hurt by life--by death, by illness or injury, by rejection or disappointment--and who knows in his heart that if there is justice in the world, he deserved better. What can God mean to such a person? Where can he turn for strength and hope? If you are such a person, if you want to believe in God's goodness and fairness but find it hard because of the things that have happened to you and to people you care about, and if this book helps you do that, then I will have succeeded in distilling some blessing out of Aaron's pain and tears."
Unfortunately I'm not sure this book is helpful because his answer to "the one question which really matters: why do bad things happen to good people?" is untrue. Rabbi Kushner does not believe in scripture other than as a literary and religious work. Therefore he can't find or rely on what God himself says about this question and ends up with only his own speculations.
Rabbi Kushner's God is impotent: concerned by the tragedies of our lives but unable to do anything about it. His belief system started by seeing God as "an all-wise, all-powerful parent figure who would treat us as our earthy parents did, or even better. If we were obedient and deserving, He would reward us. If we got out of line, He would discipline us, reluctantly but firmly. He would protect us from being hurt or from hurting ourselves, and would see to it that we got what we deserved in life." Suffering taught Rabbi Kushner that such an unbiblical world-view was wrong; however his impotent God world view is no less incorrect.
The major contribution of this book is to remind us that people are God's solution to much of this suffering. This is a wonderful corrective to the idea that God should work exclusively by mystical and miraculous methods.
Rabbi Kushner's "only question that matters" can't be answered, not by any secular or religious system. The biblical writers wrestled with the question but didn't offer any neat "fixes" either. The sufferings of Job, for example, were never answered with a reason but only by the character of God himself. I hope that people can find comfort in this book, that Rabbi Kushner's goal has been accomplished. I fear, however, that bad theology (that is lies and misrepresentations about God) only leads to further grief and suffering. What hope or comfort is there in a god that can do nothing in our lives? If a god created this mess and then can't fix it where do we find help?
Far better reading can be found in books by Philip Yancey, C. S. Lewis, and Dallas Willard. Scott Peck's book "A Road Less Traveled" is also helpful, not as an answer but as a guidebook. I also strongly recommend the book "Sacred Romance" by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge.
Emotionally satisfying, but..........2007-10-01
This book claims not to be about theology, but actually that is what it is about from the first word to the last. And Kushner tackles an ancient and difficult theological issue: if God is good and His creation wholly good, why is there evil in the world? Kushner never really answers this question (probably because there is no satisfactory answer to the question as it is stated). And he has the courage to say that he does not really know. In fact, the book is loaded with courageously unanswered questions. This makes the work extremely satisfying on an emotional level. But on an intellectual level, it can leave the reader deeply unsatisfied. Kushner accepts that the world is chaotic; that good people will inevitably have bad things happen to them. He exonerates God by saying God did not create this chaos. In doing so, Kushner wishes to exonerate the God of Judaism from such sins as, among others, the death of innocent children. But by letting God off, he distances the deity from the world. He creates dual realms: one for God and one for us. Kushner's God is not the God of mysticism or pantheism (and some have said, not Judaism). For all its considerable emotional strengths, it seems that Kusnher in this work wants the best of both worlds: he wants to wed the chaotic universe of the atheist, and the good God of the Bible. In the end, it's a troubled marriage.
A great book........2007-10-01
Main reason for purchasing this book was Christopher Barrios death on March 8. He was a six year old Little Angel that became an angel on that date.
His death affected me to no end. It affected my eating and sleeping habits. This book helped me to see things in perspective.
I would recommend this book to anyone trying to cope with the loss of a dear one.
The Only Explanation That Made Sense.............2007-08-20
My mother died of cancer 3 weeks ago (she was only 59) and it made me MAD as hell at God for not saving her. For a while I denied the existence of any diety. A friend recommended this book. I learned I had to change my views about the nature of God.
The traditional "pray to God, he is all powerful, and he will fix everything" belief I was taught as a child no longer applied once my mother got sick and died. Why didn't God answer my prayers? Did he want my mother to suffer, become riddled with tumors, and then die at a young age? Why didn't he help us? Harold Kushner had a similar experience (his son died at age 13) and came to the conclusion that (in a nutshell)God does not heal the sick, stop tornadoes, cure AIDS and Cancer etc. because he can't. He is not all powerful.
I never EVER would have come to this conclusion by myself because it goes against EVERYTHING I was taught as a Christian. If my mother had not died there is NO WAY I would believe God was NOT all powerful. But, in doing some soul searching, that is the only explanation that makes any sense to me. For God to make my mom sick to teach my family a lesson, for a greater good, because she was a bad person, because we did not pray enough, because it was in his divine plan etc. makes no sense to me. All of these explanations offered by my church, my friends, Priests, and fellow believers led me to one conclusion: God did not help me in my time of need and therefore, God was either evil and enjoyed watching us suffer OR there was no God. Now I believe that neither of these conclusions are true. God is simply not omnipotent.
There is no doubt that accepting that God is NOT omnipotent opens up an entirely new can of worms. I had to rethink everything I knew about God and religion. I no longer look to the Bible or to any religious text for answers. I always had my doubts about the Bible. It was written by Men, Gospels were omitted and hidden away etc. It was not written by God himself/herself. Furthermore, each religion has a "Bible" or book of laws, worship, beliefs etc. How is there any way to know which is the correct set of beliefs? In a sense, due to my skepticism about Christianity/Judaism and the Bible's authenticity, it was easier for me to accept that my view of God as an omnipotent diety was flawed. REading this book made alarm bells go off in my head - AHA! Someone else feels exactly how I feel! Someone else, a religious leader, looked around and said "What the hell is going on here?!"
I may not agree with ALL of Kushner's statements (Kushner still believes in the Bible as a holy text, and the word of God, whereas I do not) but I do believe he is onto something. I now believe is that there is a higher power, and that higher power is good. I now look to God for strength - to help me through the tough times. I do not look to him to intervene in my life because I know that, as much as he would like to, he cannot.
Thought Provoking Read. .......2007-07-26
Rabbi Kushner's writing style and brilliant ability to show contrast with real life situations creates an eagerness to read on and an insatiable need to learn more.
From the tone of this book it leads you to assume that Rabbi Kushner is just a lovable human being, rich in modesty and humility.
This is a very short book which will be of value for both religious and non religious people. Whether religious or not, Rabbi Kushner's book has the ability to put a new prayer or creed in your heart, and will also enlighten you to not lose sight of the meaning of life in your life.
People need not wait for some tragedy to come along to pick up this book. Personally, I am not currently dealing with a loss; however, after completing this book I feel more prepared to take on the burden of coping with any unfortunate occurrences, which the future may hold. I bought this book to enable me to pass on comforting words to people close to me which were going through some tough times in their life.
The majority of the readers of this book has mis-interpreted this book primarily from the misquoting of the title of the book. If you get the title wrong then this book will not serve its proper purpose to you.
If you seek a bridge to the New Testament read Melvin Tinker's "Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People". In Tinker's "Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People" you will find a more expanded interpretation of the Book of Job and other important passages in the New Testament that delivers what Kushner could not due to his commitment and belief in the Jewish faith. In my judgment, the two merged will give you a wider scope of learning.
Book Description
As anticipation of the final Harry Potter book intensifies, a debate is raging among fans about what’s in store for Harry and the rest of the gang at Hogwart's. In this book, the experts at MuggleNet.com present a wide range of hard facts and bold predictions about the most popular storylines, favorite characters, and final outcome of the Harry Potter saga. Drawing on their intimate knowledge of the previous six books, as well as tips and suggestions made by millions of MuggleNet.com fans (not to mention a personal interview with J.K. Rowling), the authors offer answers to the burning questions of Harry Potter readers everywhere: Will Hogwart's School be open for Harry’s final year and will Harry even be in attendance? Will Harry’s quest for the remaining Horcruxes be rewarded? Where do Severus Snape’s true loyalties lie? And, most importantly, will Harry survive the final battle with Lord Voldemort?
Customer Reviews:
The right and wrong answers.......2007-09-03
Though admittedly few people see much point in reading this book now that the final istalment of Harry Potter has already been read and is now safely tucked in our book-shelves, I beg to differ. I read Deathly Hallows before reading this book, and so knew all the answers to (most) questions, what drove me to buy the book was my uncontrollable curiosity. Being a fan of the website, I thought I'd help them out by buying the book, but what intrested me the most was the arguments. I don't care whether they guessed right or wrong, but how they came to those conclusions! 9/10 times the right answer doesn't matter, as long as you can back it up with sound reason and judgment, which is why I liked this book, and would still recommend it.
No point in buying it now.......2007-08-30
Not only were the predictions incorrect, Now that book 7 is out who would want to read this?
Must Read!!.......2007-08-27
After reading the final installment of Harry Potter I would def. say this a must read. First, it is a quick summary and primer of important info in the past six books. Plus, unless you are super obsessed or a literary genius there are bound to be a few things you learn in the book.
very pratical.......2007-08-23
it really does help to understand some questions you could have or did not
remember why this is there. Good to have before reading Vol.7
Well Researched Book.......2007-07-31
I bought this book just before Book 7 came out and really enjoyed it. While many of the assumptions in this book turned out to be false once I had read Book 7, it was nonetheless a well-researched book. The arguments for each stance they took - both pro and con - were plausible and quite believable and convincing. You could tell the authors had done their homework and really knew the world of Harry Potter. I think I may go back and read it again now that I know what really happens to see where they were spoton and where their ideas missed the mark. In any case, it is a great resource whether you have been a Harry Potter fan or are just discovering his world.
Book Description
Churches have tried all kinds of ways to attract new and younger members - revised vision statements, hipper worship, contemporary music, livelier sermons, bigger and better auditoriums. But there are still so many people who aren't being reached, who don't want to come to church. And the truth is that attendance at church on Sundays does not necessarily transform lives; God's presence in our hearts is what changes us. Leaders and laypeople everywhere are realizing that they need new and more powerful ways to help them spread God's Word. According to international church starter and pastor Neil Cole, if we want to connect with young people and those who are not coming to church, we must go where people congregate. Cole shows readers how to plant the seeds of the Kingdom of God in the places where life happens and where culture is formed - restaurants, bars, coffeehouses, parks, locker rooms,and neighborhoods. Organic Church offers a hands-on guide for demystifying this new model of church and shows the practical aspects of implementing it.
Customer Reviews:
Superb Summary of "Missional Church".......2007-10-09
I've been looking for a great summary of the missional church concept -- here I've finally found it. Neil Cole calls the reader back to the Biblical roots of church, cutting through traditional paradigms and dated ecclesiology. While maintaining a fresh relevance to the 21st century, the author communicates a way of doing church that is so Scriptural it appears new.
This book is NOT another formula of how to organize, lead or manage a local church. Instead, it is a radical departure from a dying, dated ministry model to one that is Biblically sound yet culturally relevant. I recommend this book highly -- it's definitely a keeper for me!
Four star review.......2007-08-27
Haven't read the book yet but leafing through it it looks good and attention holding...
Really real - and really effective .......2007-07-23
I saw organic church on a bookshelf a couple of years ago. I avoided it because of the title (remember don't judge a book by it's cover?). It seemed a little trendy - maybe even too pop culture. I was looking for some good discipleship material when I came across another book that I had read by Neil Cole (author). When I discovered that this was the same author of Organic Church, I thought that I would give it a quick read.
Organic Church was maybe the best book that I have ever read! It connected the book of Acts with the 21st century. It was inspiring and innovative. And it has put me in a postition to reconsider what it means to be a disciple and to make disciples. It is a very honest and very realistic look at church as we know it. It exposes the weakness in the church, and doesn't hide it's own weaknesses. It is not theoretic, analytic, or synthetic - it's just real - natural. It ends up that being organic means being effective.
What makes a church?.......2007-05-18
I enjoyed Cole's thinking outside the pizza box, his passion for evangelism, and his rather sound explanations of new testament era churches. He does a good job in explaining the biblical idea about the priesthood of believers. I liked the critical thinking about engaging the culture.
But, What makes a church?
It didn't go into much detail about the individual churches themselves, how they are structured, or what makes them definably different than a traditional small group. It read as if any small group of people that organized themselves would have been called a church. Perhaps he lays out further development somewhere and I've not yet come across it.
I'm not sure what separates these little churches from small groups disconnected from a church. He doesn't interact with the rich theological history of the marks of a church, which in my confessional tradition (Presbyterian) are
1. The pure preaching of the Word of God as sound doctrine,
2. Administration of the sacraments,
3. The exercise of discipline
The point here is not to debate tradition, the validity of how many marks define the church visible or invisible, but rather how to blend the material in the book into the richness of good sound theological tradition.
Pastor Chris
Touching the Heart of the matter.......2007-05-12
This book is awesome. I am a connoisseur of faith in Jesus having started churches and or served in a variety of capacities for more years than I can remember. I've always puzzled over our present western practice of church and the visible practice of church in its origination. What we read in the New Testament is more like a release of a plague of God spreading eveywhere, delivered in power from believer to unbeliever in live demonstrations of the Ascended Jesus.
Finally - a 'go to'model of Jesus that is free to once again spread the life of Christ in a plague like viral fashion, unencumbered by grasps of men for control and power and to make a name for themselves - "Look at me, I'm king of the hill." Church as a business is one of the most foolish concepts we've ever adopted.
Read this book. It will ruin you if you let it. And then you can get on with serving Christ and not something else. It's possible if the western church doesn't go this way by choice, it may still end up going this way, but by some other means. Either way, the model may well be the most correct I've seen, and the most viral in bringing "the Cure" to our fellow diseased travelers here on planet earth.
Customer Reviews:
ESL teaching.......2007-02-06
This book is very understandable and it highlights the theories of learning. It also has some case studies for further information, and some related readings for furthere knowledge. I think it is very useful for teachers who want to learn ESL. My classmates and I (grad students) are able to also extend the theories in this book with more outside material to make it fun to make presentations in our class. I do not think I will be selling this book.
Making it happen.......2006-07-30
I think this book is very informative and useful for teaching ESL. The chapters are not too long and are straight to the point. I would recommend this book to others who want to learn strategies for teaching to ESL (English Second Language) students.
making it happen: from interactive to participatory language teaching, third edition.......2006-02-25
It's a great book for an ESL/TESL teacher that focus on participatory teaching and encourages the teacher to reflect upon his/her own teaching.Besides, there are many good examples that help the teacher to think about a better lesson plan.
Book Description
“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross.”
---Sinclair Lewis, author of It Can’t Happen Here, 1935
For the first time since the Nixon era, Americans have reason to doubt the future---or even the presence---of democracy. We live in a society where government conspires with big business and big evangelism; where ideologues and religious zealots attack logic and the scientific method; and where the ruling party encourages xenophobic nationalism based on irrational, manufactured fear. The party in power seems to seek a perpetual state of war to hold on to power, and they are willing to lie, cheat, and steal to achieve their ends. The question must be asked: Are we headed toward the end of American democracy?
Nobel Prize--winning author Sinclair Lewis depicted authoritarianism American-style in his sardonically titled dystopian novel It Can’t Happen Here, published in 1935. Now, bestselling political journalist Joe Conason argues that it can happen here—and a select group of extremely powerful right-wing ideologues are driving us ever closer to the precipice.
In this compelling, impassioned, yet rational and fact-based look at the state of the nation, Conason shows how and why America has been wrenched away from its founding principles and is being dragged toward authoritarianism.
Praise for the books of Joe Conason:
“A comprehensive, well-researched indictment of a bunch of nasty people who really deserve it.”
---Molly Ivins on Big Lies
“When Joe casts his eye on the cadres of the right, they invariably emerge battered, with their arguments filleted, their sources of money exposed, and their real motives laid bare.”
—Michael Tomasky, former editor, The American Prospect, on The Raw Deal
“A hundred years from now the primary source on the so-called Clinton scandals will still be The Hunting of the President by Joe Conason and Gene Lyons.”
---James Carville on The Hunting of the President
Customer Reviews:
A decent effort.......2007-10-06
I enjoy Joe Conason's writing and I miss his appearances on the old Al Franken Radio show. That being said, there have been so many books written lately about the dangers of Bush administration policies that this book felt like a retread of things I already know and am already concerned about.
But if this book manages to convince one person to reconsider their political convictions or at least dig into the arguments, then it would have served it's purpose.
Not one of the best Bush critiques on the market but still worth a look into.
It has happened here........2007-10-02
I'm going to read "It Can't Happen Here" next. Apparently it's quite precient about our current state of affairs.
Last bucket of water from a drying up well--.......2007-06-01
Conason is trying to dip one last royalty check from the "Stand by for the Bush dictatorship" bucket, before the well runs dry next year.
After 2007, nobody is going to buy into this stuff and come January 2009, it'll get thrown in a bargain bin under the last copy of a Gary Sick "expose'" of "the 1980 October surprise".
Think Joe Conason will give a rat's if Hillary uses the same methods and usurps the same Executive powers, if she becomes President? Or simply changes nothing about NSA spying and the Patriot Act.
Not a chance...he'll probably write a book DEFENDING it.
Quick Read, Makes an Important Point.......2007-05-11
Conason really drives home the need to link authoritarian thinking to other elements of fascism (such as corporatism, cronyism, and other corruptions of good government).
Of the group, I fear authoritarianism most of all, because it demands blind adherence to X, whatever X is deemed to be. Authoritarianism is ultimately classist as well, because it divides the world into an elitist class of relativist-thinking Machiavellian authorities, and a class of those who are meant to be nothing more than blind followers of the authorities.
That speaks greatly to the fools they deem the followers to be, and reflects poorly on the educational "reforms" executed by this administration, most to indoctrinate authoritarian thinking and the shut down of critical thinking and questioning abilities, anything that might lead one of those blind followers to stand up and say "the emperor isn't wearing any clothes."
So-called "faith-based" initiatives are also a thinly-cloaked attempt to further indoctrinate authoritarianism and blind-goose-stepping, by setting up strict hierarchies of patriarchal authority all over again, like the Divine Right of Kings, reining in the empowerment of women, anything that might lead to free-thinking dissent.
The TRUE IRONY of all of this persuasion process is that the so-called authoritarian elitist class are deep relativists, far more postmodern than most intellectual postmodernists.
Exposing King George.......2007-05-11
The great irony of the Bush administration is they have spent so much time and money on trying to craft the appearance of competency that they seem to have left nothing for actual governance. The author writes that, "the Bush administration spent $1.6 billion on public relations and media contacts between January 2003 and June 2005" This includes paying journalists for positive coverage and in one infamous incident illegally creating a reporter and running her phony reports on local news stations. And as the coup de grace the Bush administration has had the entire Faux News network to spread its propaganda 24/7. More and more evidence is accumulating that the White House has spent the last 6 ½ years using every apparatus of the government available to illegally push the Republican agenda and shore up the base, all at tax payers expense. From vetting scientists based on political affiliation to giving out money through the Faith Based Initiative program to garner votes, literally everything is done in order to entrench Republican power. And what has all this energy and money achieved; one of the most unpopular presidents in American history and an administration that may well go down as the most incompetent ever.
I've always said about Bush that he's leading the wrong country. He is much better suited to a South American banana republic. It's very difficult to run a modern, wealthy country with the White House's brand of crony capitalism which probably explains why the administration spends so much money trying to convince everyone they're doing a bang up job. Bush has managed to surround himself with people who take the concept of a Unitarian Executive very seriously and believe that George W. Bush is literally unbound by Congress, the Supreme Court and even the Constitution or Bill of Rights. The Bush administration has consistently chosen political hacks over qualified candidates for appointments even in the rebuilding of Iraq. It seems the president has taken the term `serving at the pleasure of the president' to heart, believing that his appointments are given their positions to serve HIM and if they displease him they should go. The concept that the president serves the country and appoints qualified people AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE to do the best job they can seems completely lost on this president.
My biggest question at this point is what is the goal? Bush has less than two years left as president (unless he knows something the rest of us don't) and it looking increasingly likely that the next president will be a Democrat. Those who promote the idea of the Unitary Executive certainly don't want this privilege extended to a Democratic president. The Bush administration seems woefully shortsighted which may be the saving grace for the country since their incompetence seems to be driving a stake right through the heart of the GOP. Their ham handed approach to consolidating power may end up be more of a wake up call than an actual long term threat.
This kind of book is like shooting ducks in a barrel. The Bush administration is such a train wreck that you could write a single short sentence on each of the White House's blunders, lies, crimes and ethical lapses and easily fill up a book. Joe Conason is not an investigative journalist like Ron Suskind or Seymour Hersh. What Mr. Conason does is collect and comment on information available to anyone and for this I have to remove a star because it's a lot easier to analyze information than to gather it. There is very little in this book that I hadn't already heard although I do pay closer attention to current events than most. I'll give this book a solid 4 stars because it is a good compilation of facts supporting the authors contention that authoritarianism can certainly manifest itself despite the safeguards set up by our countries framers.
Book Description
Here is Claudia Black's best-selling classic on the experience and legacy of being raised in an addictive household. In an all too familiar scenario, played out in millions of homes everyday, children who grow up in addictive families abide by certain rules: don't talk, don't trust, don't feel. And they take on rigid survival roles--the responsible child, the adjuster, the placater, the acting-out child--that are youthful coping behaviours which can eventually contribute to problems of depression, loneliness and addiction in adulthood. Using poignant personal stories, revealing explanations, and helpful exercises, Black helps readers gain personal insights and develop new skills that lead to a healthier, happier, more fulfilling life. While continuing to recognize alcohol as the primary addiction within families, this newly revised edition of "It Will Never Happen to Me" broadens concepts to include addictive disorders involving other drugs, money, food, sex and work.
Customer Reviews:
Really good.......2007-05-15
This is a great read for anyone who has grown up or is growing up in an alcoholic family. It helps the reader in very simple ways to understand the dynamics of alcoholic families and offers concrete ways of dealing with issues and problems. I recommend it to anyone currently dealing with alcoholism or dealing with the aftermath of an alcoholic upbringing, or even for someone just curious about the effects of alcoholism on families.
awakening.......2006-01-18
This book was recommended by my therapist and after reading it I gave it to a friend who is also an adult child of an alcoholic. I haven't got the book back so I'm buying another copy for myself. I NEED to read it again and again. It opened my eyes and put a lot of the pieces of the puzzle together for me. Although it's hard to face some of the realities this book points out, I believe it to be one of the vital steps I am taking in trying to change my life for the better. It's never too late.
accurate and helpful.......2005-10-29
claudia black is a respected author in the field of addictions. she writes for adults and children for both alcoholics and their families. i have read many books in this area and she is one of my favorite authors. the book is short, accutate,compassionately written, and forever timely. worth reading!
Excellent Insight into Who I am and Why.......2005-08-07
I read this book AFTER reading ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS by Janet Woititz. Both provided me with insight into a problem I only recently realized I have. However, Black's book is both easier to read and has more detailed analysis. She divides ACoAs into four categories: The Responsible One, The Adjuster, The Placater, and "Acting Out". I fit the profile of Responsible in every way. I now understand myself better, and am beginning therapy for the first time in my life at the age of 55. Thank you, Dr. Black, for opening my eyes!
Great book.......2005-01-28
This book is a must-read for everyone who grew up in an alcoholic family.
Book Description
Practical assignments throughout connect you directly with the business community, employers and the Internet. This best-selling book provides everything needed to gain competitive advantage in the workplace. It is ideal for a course on Professional/Career Development, Job Search, Resume Writing, and Interviewing. Your Career: How to Make it Happen provides thorough coverage of career self-assessment, employer research, job search/interviewing and career building strategies. The book also contains extensive instructions and examples of market-driven electronic, traditional, and web resumes, as well as cover letters.
Customer Reviews:
Worth the money.......2007-05-30
This is one of the books worth keeping and not selling back becuase it is so filled with helpful information that you can use for all of your future career moves.
Book Description
We've all heard the reports—the great housing boom that has fueled premium prices and sellers' dreams is slowing down. The real estate market may experience ups and downs like any other, but it's not likely to implode spontaneously. With proper planning and a little knowledge, homeowners, investors, and other stakeholders can avoid disaster and in fact profit on their properties regardless of what the market does. Beyond the Bubble takes a balanced look at what drives changes in real estate markets and how these changes affect property owners and investors. Readers will learn:
* the history, nature, and dynamics of market `bubbles'
* how to anticipate a coming downturn and act accordingly
* the regional nature of real estate market conditions
* differences and similarities in residential and commercial markets
* other profit strategies when selling is difficult or impossible
* how to analyze the market using facts, not hype
Thorough and well-reasoned, Beyond the Bubble will help property owners maintain a strong and level foundation for their financial futures.
Customer Reviews:
Learn How to Handle Real Estate Bubbles.......2007-08-14
The authors examine the components of real estate bubbles and provide useful guidance in detecting changing conditions to determine when a bubble is present. The book provides readers with a roadmap to become aware of the key factors affecting real estate prices and learn how to predict real estate price increases and decreases.
According to the authors, there is neither a single real estate market in the United States, nor a single bubble due to regional differences. Certain markets will remain hot because of the location, climate, jobs, etc., while other cities may experience declines due to excess speculation and price increases (for example, Florida and California).
The five phases of a bubble and the history of bubbles are described so that readers can understand what to look for. The four signs to recognize that a real estate market is about to change are fleshed out. They include: activity of development and inventory available, speculation increasing near the top, market statistics turn negative, and lending statistics become ominous. The authors also describe bubbles by property type (residential, retail and commercial). Moreover, the ten key factors to consider when making an objective decision about a real estate purchase that you are interested in is covered in detail.
Other topics covered in the book are how to use real estate in your investment portfolio, using options on real estate, how to profit in rising or falling real estate markets, and limited partnerships, REITS, ETF and REITs
Anyone considering buying a house, especially in an inflated market should read this book before making a move. Knowledge is power, especially in real estate negotiations.
Great Book.......2007-06-27
Great Book. very informative. Puts things in plain language and easy to understand.
Only wish I had read it sooner.
If you're an investor, get it, read it and highlight parts of it.
Book Description
The only one of Sinclair Lewis's later novels to match the power of Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith, It Can't Happen Here is a cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America. Written during the Great Depression when America was largely oblivious to Hitler's aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a President who becomes a dictator to save the nation from welfare cheats, rampant promiscuity, crime, and a liberal press. Now finally back in print, It Can't Happen Here remains uniquely important, a shockingly prescient novel that's as fresh and contemporary as today's news.
Customer Reviews:
Be Militant for at least Once.......2007-05-07
Lee Roscoe has recently (© 2005) adapted Sinclair Lewis's novel It Can't Happen Here to the stage. This play is a militant agitprop work and is available to people who want to produce it for an audience in a militant perspective to fight against the present erring developments of Bush's presidency and to advocate the necessity to impeach him and his vice-president as the last defense against their systematic attack on the Constitution, hence the American people and the World's population. This enables us to rediscover the plot imagined by Sinclair Lewis in the mid 30s who was afraid of the possibility for a populist candidate to become President of the US and lead the country to some kind of fascist dictatorship. Apparently this fear is being revived in the world, or rather in some countries by the war on terror launched by President Bush and that has brought some fairly frightening developments against basic civil rights: the possibility for the police to know what you borrow or check in and out in public libraries and the restriction under which the librarian is not to tell you about it; the negation of habeas corpus for a whole set of people who have been imprisoned in Guantanamo for years without any basic constitutional or plainly universally recognized rights like the possibility to communicate with the outside world, the right to have a lawyer, the right to be informed about the charges that are leveled at them, the right to be tried in a normal court in due time and following proper procedures, etc (the procedure is so unbelievably wrong that quite a few of these prisoners have been released without any charges after several years of detention amounting to so many years of suffering, social cultural or professional damage, and even psychological torturing, and no damages, compensation or reparation when released); and of course the normal reaction of some American people who believed what they were told and started leveling harsh words at opponents and even at times taking harsh measures against opponents. The text of this play is being circulated on the Internet. The same mindset is developing in other countries, like for instance in France where some consider that the election of Nicolas Sarkozy for instance is leading to the same kind of mechanism that will necessarily lead to a police state if not fascism.
The process imagined by Sinclair Lewis is simple: a populist elected candidate and the defense of the absolute freedom of all markets to liberate the creative energy of capitalism and get us out of all possible crises. This will lead to work camps for unemployed people; the ruin of all independent newspapers and the hunting down of all alternative expression and media as unpatriotic if not anti-patriotic; the ruin of all businesses that do not support the policy of the President; the creation of some kind of militia to keep an eye on everyone; the increase of the powers of this militia that would have authority over all other police forces and even over justice. Of course one of the first triggering elements this President would need is some menace from a foreign country, hence a war against this menacing country, be it true or imagined, and a designated accomplice inside the country defined as anarchist, communist or terrorist. And the old world is then perverted enough for fascism to be born in the very sanctuary of human rights and civil liberties, and then "M and M" becomes Militia Man.
It is interesting to see this revival. It reveals several elements that we must keep in mind if we want to understand what is happening in the world. People are really afraid of the future in this changing world. People are afraid of change because it precisely is change and comfort means no change.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne
Characteristic Lewis.......2007-04-10
As other reviews here have stated, this is not a subtle book. Anyone familiar with Lewis's other works will have no problem recognizing him here: he is heavy-handed and obvious, his writing is ham-fisted and clunkey.
But the book works, for the same reasons his more well known books works. Lewis has a fantastic ear for language and tone. His satire is always spot-on. Sure, his characters are exaggerated to the point of being caricatures, but the kernal of truth is always there amid the hyperbole.
It's not Babbit or Main Street, but a good read for Lewis fans.
5 stars isn't enough.......2007-02-20
While the time isn't clear -- I'd guess shortly after WWII -- it is mandatory reading for anyone who worries about the loss of individual liberties in the US, as well as movement to a "security state", written long before current concerns.
Important Message, Botched Delivery.......2007-02-14
I was drawn to this book by a quote from it I had read: "When fascism comes to America, it will be draped in the flag and carrying a bible." Strong and provocative stuff, no? I wondered why I had never encountered this book before, and why it is not better known. It turns out there is a good reason, and that is because the book is virtually unreadable--apart from that one quotation, apparently.
Lewis's premise is that fascism could establish itself in America with relative ease if the country is sufficiently worried about some threat--in this case, the great depression. The book's ironic title comes up in slightly varied forms in several early conversations. The clear implication is that it certainly could happen here, "it" being the consolidation of power in the hands of a demagogue who offers relief and protection to a frightened nation.
But the path Lewis takes in making this important point is exasperating beyond words. We first must get to know a small-town newspaper editor and his whole tedious family, and attend cocktail parties and picnics with him, and learn that his hired man won't do as he's told around the garden, and on and on. It's as if you know a person has desperately important news that you want to hear, but you must first allow him to recount, in detail, how his business is doing, and what a splash his daughter made at her ballet recital. I gave up on the book after 60 pages or so.
What decided me in the end was a growing conviction that Lewis himself didn't take his subject seriously. The novel's villainous demagogue is named Berzelius (Buzz) Windrip; he becomes President. His bible-thumping supporter is Paul Peter Prang, and the rational small-town journalist is Doremus Jessup--Doremouse to his wife.
I submit that no one who intends to write a serious novel about his country's descent into fascism would choose such cartoonish names for any of his characters, let alone the main ones. Such flippancy causes readers to smile at things that should be frightening and disturbing. It also comforts them with the false assurance that any potential dictator would be immediately recognizable by his outlandish pronouncements or at least would be ridiculous in some way.
It would have been more effective by far to give evil a bland, friendly face, as Orwell did in "1984," and to give the villain a common, ordinary name such as might belong to the fellow across the street. A name like, oh, I don't know--you think one up.
has it happened yet.... or will it soon?.......2006-09-25
" Sinclair Lewis, the first American to receive the Nobel Prize For Literature, wrote this satirical political novel in 1935, a time when the United States and Western Europe had been in a depression for six years. In this novel, Sinclair Lewis asks the question - what if some ambitious politician would use the 1936 presidential election to make himself dictator by promising quick, easy solutions to the depression - just as Hitler had done in Germany in 1933."
As frightening and politically current today as it was then...
Book Description
Lead your organization into the 21st century with the help of this groundbreaking book that is already creating a stir in corporate boardrooms across America! In a book that does for managers what his mega-bestseller, The Team Handbook, did for teams, Peter Scholtes, who is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential Quality leaders of the decade, shows the real root of management problems. Learn how to stop blaming your workers and start changing the systems with the help of activities and exercises that enable you to immediately begin implementing breakthrough improvements in all your work processes!
Download Description
In a book that does for managers what his mega-bestseller, The Team Handbook, did for teams, Peter Scholtes, who is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential Quality leaders of the decade, shows the real root of management problems.
Customer Reviews:
The only leadership book you'll ever need.......2007-01-03
I submit this is the single best book on leadership ever written, and I've read hundreds. It is comprehensive AND practical. It's a complete system of leadership and management with useful tools on every page. You can read it from cover to cover, or dip in when you need it by using the excellent index. Powerful. Sensible. Useful. Peter Scholtes is incredibly insightful and funny. I get no money for saying that!
Great Book on Process & Quality Improvement.......2006-07-09
This is a very good book that I would recommend to any manager. I also think many employees would learn a lot from reading this book as well. So why just three stars?
The main reason is because the book talks very little in the way of leadership or inspiring your people. This is a book primarily focused on process and quality improvement, but learning about leadership and inspiring my employees is the reason I bought this book. To me, the difference between a manager and a leader is that the successful manager gets his people to do what needs to be done. A successful leader gets his people to *want* to do what needs to be done. There was a lot more information on that topics in The Team Handbook, which Scholtes co-wrote.
The truth is that I think this is a very good book, and I'd gladly give it four stars if the title was more descriptive of the book's content. What I like most about this book is the way Scholter walks the reader through the thought process of analyzing an existing process and finding ways to improve it. He bases many of his principles from Deming's work on quality improvement and, not surprisingly, many of his examples are from Japanese companies. Many of his ideas transfer easily to the American workforce, but I'm not convinced that all of them would be so effective outside of Japan, due to the cultural differences between the two workforces.
Amazon has enabled Search Inside This Book, so I would encourage anybody thinking about purchasing this book to take a peek and see the topics that Scholter covers. Flip through the Surprise Me feature and you'll likely see some of the many charts and diagrams that Scholter uses to great effect to show the reader a process, or give them a tool to analyze their own processes.
The only area that didn't sit well with me is Chapter 9, Performance without Appraisal. In this chapter it appears as though Scholtes' premise is that workers belong to McGregor's Theory X camp. While some are, the overly simplistic approach that assumes all are makes this chapter very frustrating to read. He spends a lot of time highlighting the fault of performance management, but he provides very little insight how to do it another way.
The net is that this is a very informative book presented in a very clear manner that can provide benefit for almost every manager. The title is a little misleading, so make sure you flip through the book before buying it.
Great Book.......2005-11-27
This book is among those books I feel all managers should read. The book is very well written, an easy to read book and full of useful information. It is also a great reference that once you read it you will find yourself referring to over and over.
I am biased as I have long been a friend and manage Peter's web site (www.pscholtes.com) so you can take that into account in deciding how to evaluate my advice (I have recommended the book to many people and those that share there opinions with me have all told me they agree that it is great). Other books I strongly recommend: Fourth Generation Management, The Improvement Handbook, Creating the Corporate Future and Lean Solutions.
Practical, incisive and visionary handbook.......2001-09-13
Scholtes expects to shock people right from the first page of his Preface. Let me quote extensively:
"More than 95 percent of your organization's problems derive from your systems, processes, and methods, not from your individual workers....
We look to the heroic efforts of outstanding individuals for our successful work. Instead we must create systems that routinely allow excellent work to result from the ordinary efforts of ordinary people.
Changing the system will change what people do. Changing what people do will not change the system.
Certain common management approaches--management by objectives, performance appraisal, merit pay, pay for performance, and ISO 9000--represent not leadership but the abdication of leadership.
Current buzzwords like empowerment, accountability, and high performance are meaningless, empty babble..." (ix-x)
The old organizations's leaders need: forcefulness, ability to motivate and inspire, decisiveness, willfulness, assertiveness, result- and bottom-line orientation, being task-oriented and having integrity and diplomacy.
Scholtes' new leadership competencies (much influenced by Edward Deming's ideas...) are based on a new mentality and understanding of: systems thinking, variability of work, how we learn, psychology and human behavior, interactions of these components, and vision, meaning, direction and focus.
The bulk of the book gives clear elaborations of these new competencies, with charts, illustrations, pertinent questions and many tools. Ch. 4 on "Getting the Daily Work Done" is a tough one, partly because it takes much effort to grasp the author's use of a Japanese term, "Gemba" (even when I can read the original Chinese characters). Issues of waste, standardization, change versus improvement, performance without appraisal, use of measurement data... are all seen in the new light of systems thinking.
Carefully study the differences between "Crazymakers" and "Healing and Learning" in the workplace (pp378-387). There is a summary of the book under "The 47 Habits of Pretty Good Leaders" (pp391-6). Peter Senge's books give excellent background material. This one is a real handbook that should be methodically studied, discussed, adapted and applied to one's own institutions. One must not forget the advice given in Chapter 1: "leaders must be patient with themselves and others, persistent, and humble, and allow themselves and others to be inelegant." (p12,p391)
A reader.......2000-08-08
Being a disciple of W. Edwards Demming, Peter Scholtes has a quality department's process bias; emphasizing systems, processes and statistics. Was I reading another new age quality assurance textbook? Because of this, I felt he overemphasized the present moment. True leaders are going places and have many loyal followers. The book rarely talks about this visionary thinking or how effective organizations are moving into new areas. This is a good book for beginners as long as you're aware he presents a different viewpoint, and because of this, he did bring some useful ideas that other books didn't have. Ironically, he openly admits that you may not agree with some of his viewpoints.
Books:
- When I Was Young in the Mountains (Reading Rainbow Books)
- Where Are They Buried? How Did They Die? Fitting Ends and Final Resting Places of the Famous, Infamous, and Noteworthy
- Where the Wild Things Are
- Why Didn't I Learn This in College?
- Will There Really Be a Morning?
- America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
- An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World's Most Austere Monastic Order
- Anesthesiologist's Manual of Surgical Procedures
- ARM System Developer's Guide: Designing and Optimizing System Software (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Architecture and Design)
- Barbaro: The Horse Who Captured America's Heart
Books Index
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