Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

Book Description

This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author (whom Booklist calls “Anne Lamott's hip, yoga- practicing, footloose younger sister”) is poised to garner yet more adoring fans.

Customer Reviews:

BRAVO Elizabeth!.......2007-10-10

I thoroughly enjoyed this book start to finish and plan to pass it on to my daughter and nieces. It was very disheartening to read the "slams" this author got from other women. I admire Ms. Gilbert; you don't get to where she is by being a slacker. That woman is well-educated and very disciplined. Writing a book is damn hard work and if any of the naysayers ever attempted one like this they would be eating their words. It also takes sheer guts to step out of the box like she did and brave foreign countries (alone, no less).
Don't knock it until you've tried it! (and succeeded)!

Exhibit "A".......2007-10-10

To those who can find mostly fault in this book and little good, I have included in this post a small but absolutely beautifully written passage from Ms. Gilbert's work that totally made me want to read the rest of EPL. It appears early on in the book, after her husband has finally signed the divorce papers after a protracted, hostile standoff, and she has arrived in Rome. To me it doesn't read like someone who is all about "ME" but rather someone who is aware enough to get to the heart of emotions that afflict all of us at one time or another.

"Depression and Loneliness track me down after ten days in Italy. I am walking through the Villa Borghese one evening after a happy day spent in school, and the sun is setting gold over St. Peter's Basilica. I am feeling contented in this romantic scene, even if I am all by myself, while everyone else in the park is either fondling a lover or playing with a laughing child. But I stop to lean against a balustrade and watch the sunset, and I get to thinking a little too much, and then my thinking turns to brooding, and that's when they catch up with me.

They come upon me all silent and menacing like Pinkerton Detectives, and the flank me--Depression on my left, Loneliness on my right. They don't need to show me their badges. I know these guys very well. We've been playing a cat-and-mouse game for years now. Though I admit that I am surprised to meet them in this elegant Italian garden at dusk. This is no place they belong.

I say to them, "How did you find me here? Who told you I had come to Rome?"

Depression, always the wise guy, says, "What--you're not happy to see us?"

"Go away," I tell him.

Loneliness, the more sensitive cop, says, "I'm sorry, ma'am. But I might have to tail you the whole time you're traveling. It's my assignment."

"Id really rather you didn't," I tell him, and he shrugs almost apologetically, but only moves closer.

Then they frisk me. They empty my pockets of any joy I had been carrying there. Depression even confiscates my identity; but he always does that. Then Loneliness starts interrogating me, which I dread because it always goes on for hours. He's polite but relentless, and he always trips me up eventually. He asks if I have any reason to be happy that I know of. He asks why I am all by myself tonight, yet again. He asks (though we've been through this line of questioning hundreds of times already) why I can't keep a relationship going, why I ruined my marriage, why I messed things up with David, why I messed things up with every man I've ever been with. He asks me where I was the night I turned thirty, and why things have gone so sour since then. He asks why I can't get my act together, and why I'm not at home living in a nice house and raising nice children like any respectable woman my age should be. He asks why, exactly, I think I deserve a vacation in Rome when I've made such a rubble of my life. He asks me why I think that running away to Italy like a college kid will make me happy. He asks where I think I'll end up in my old age, if I keep living this way.

I walk back home, hoping to shake them, but they keep following me, these two goons. Depression has a firm hand on my shoulder and Loneliness harangues me with his interrogation. I don't even bother eating dinner; I don't want them watching me. I don't what to let them up the stairs to my apartment, either, but I know Depression, and he's got a billy club, so there's no stopping him from coming in if he decides that he wants to.

"It's not fair for you to come here," I tell Depression. "I paid you off already. I served my time backing New York."

But he just gives me that dark smile, settles into my favorite chair, puts his feet on my table and lights a cigar, filling the place with his awful smoke. Loneliness watches a sighs, then climbs into my bed and pulls the covers over himself, fully dressed, shoes and all. He's going to make me sleep with him again tonight, I just know it.

I loved this book.......2007-10-10

truly one of the best books I have ever read
so inspiring .. couldn't put it down didn't want it to end

Good For A Dentist Office.......2007-10-09

Why does this book remind me of all the soul searching of celebrities going in and coming out of Rehab? I felt like I was reading the vapid travelogue of a LA Valley girl, not a New Yorker. Like it was especially written for Oprah. There's nothing new or really that insightful about the subjects or places she covers... If you're going to write about Divorce, Love and God, please tell me something new because it's covered ground - stamped down to bedrock actually. "Over-indulgent, cliched, search-for-self by well to do 30-40 something woman" is right. You would think that she might draw out the characters she meets - and they might be interesting - but they're all cute little caricatures on the blissful way to Bali. None of them are remotely real. It reads like a travel narrative that is worth picking up at the doctor's office, but not when you have so many other better books to read. Yes, I'm a man. But I worship other female authors. Karen Blixen, Virginia Woolf, Gertrude Stein; they have minds. Are we that lost that we have read this regurgitated self love spoiled goddess hippy lore and call it original? She should really get off the meds and think about what she's writing about. Not just write down drivel so she can feel happy about herself. But then she's laughing herself all the way to the bank.

Pleasantly surprised, and touched........2007-10-08

I was almost embarrassed to read this, given the book's sappy title and its inherent "Oprahness". I ended up enjoying it immensely. I admit, too, that I was deeply jealous of Gilbert (Italy, India, Indonesia...wow!), but I came to like her for her enthusiasm and her guilelessness. Many might find her spiritual quest a bit offputting, but this book is really less about finding your soul and more about learning to love life and love yourself. It's about making your life what you want it to be, and then letting go. Anyone who has been in an unsatisfying marriage, who has dealt with depression, who has cried out her guts on a cold bathroom floor (yes, it's a scene from the book)..should read this book. If I had more courage, and money, about a decade ago, I would have done exactly what Gilbert did, because I was in a very similar place. As I read this book, I slowly grew to like the author more and more, even when it's obvious she was being used by her Balinese friend, and even when she goes to great lengths (in oh-so-politically correct terms) to justify the crass greed that her friend exhibits. Gilbert puts her heart on a platter for her readers. She can infuriate, she can be a bit too self involved, and she can sometimes give us a little too much information. But she's given us a gift here. This book will be good for those it's good for. If you are intrigued by the subject, you will probably like it.

Assuming, of course, that you are female. I think this is a chick book exclusively.

Privacy Crisis: Identity Theft Prevention Plan and Guide to Anonymous Living

Average customer rating:

PRIVACY CRISIS is an exceptional privacy reference tool. A must read for 2007.
PRIVACY CRISIS provides information on banking secrecy in the U.S.A.
Worth a Hundred Times the Price
A timely guide to preventing stalking and identity theft
A Must-read for Privacy-conscious Americans!

Privacy Crisis: Identity Theft Prevention Plan and Guide to Anonymous Living
Grant Hall
Manufacturer: James Clark King, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Personal Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy, Your Assets, and Your Life (Revised Edition)
Protect Your Privacy: How to Protect Your Identity as well as Your Financial, Personal, and Computer Records in an Age of Constant Surveillance (Outwitting)
Stealing Your Life: The Ultimate Identity Theft Prevention Plan
50 Ways to Protect Your Identity and Your Credit: Everything You Need to Know About Identity Theft, Credit Cards, Credit Repair, and Credit Reports
Bulletproof Privacy: How to Live Hidden, Happy and Free!

ASIN: 0978657306
Release Date: 2006-12-01

Product Description

Privacy Crisis? Easy to believe if you ve ever had your identity stolen (America s fastest-growing crime). Or if you ve ever had snoops rifling through your credit files, hackers stealing your most personal computer information, or investigators trying to track you down for something you never did. To say nothing of being hunted by an obsessive stalker, discovering your phones are subject to government wiretaps, that your e-mail is being monitored, or that you re the target of scam and con artists. Your identity, your personal life, is your business and no one should be invading it without your permission. If you want to protect your personal privacy and freedom, this book can tell you exactly how to do it. Threats to privacy are growing rapidly. In the name of security, government intrusions into personal privacy are unprecedented and will only increase. Meanwhile, common criminals are finding, in identity theft, their own personal gold mine. Banks and merchants pry ever more deeply into your personal affairs before they will do business with you. Don t be a victim. Don t be a doormat. Protect yourself. Take back your personal freedom. This book is your guide.

Customer Reviews:

PRIVACY CRISIS is an exceptional privacy reference tool. A must read for 2007........2007-04-12

PRIVACY CRISIS was written by an author who has proved that through diligence, effort and a working knowledge of the system, one can have privacy in their life.

Grant Hall has opened new doors for those of us who previously believed that the road to financial privacy must be traveled by transferring assets to offshore 'havens' in an attempt to control our assets. In fact, Hall uses business resources that cater to the privacy seeker combined with knowledge of the financial system and negotiating skills to keep bank and brokerage funds hidden from those who may want to find them. Hall recommends using a company that rents safe deposit boxes without identification, tax i.d. or Social Security numbers-not even a name for those who want total secrecy. There's examples of cashing checks that leave no trail to the payee. Hold assets and property in total secrecy. These methods were eye openers for me.

I liken this book to an information enemy to the powers that want to control freedom loving Americans. Those who choose to become invisible to identity thieves, stalkers, private eyes can do it by practicing Hall's principles in PRIVACY CRISIS.

This is the best book on the subject I have read and I highly recommend it to those who desire personal privacy.

PRIVACY CRISIS provides information on banking secrecy in the U.S.A........2007-03-22

I have completed Privacy Crisis and this book answered many questions about privacy and the challenges we face today.

Grant Hall has covered all of the important money privacy issues and it is possible to make your assets and money disappear through the application of the principles outlined in the book. And this can be done in the U.S.A. What a break from the other authors who guide readers toward offshore banks and advise giving control to others.

I appreciate the attention to detail. Obviously, Hall has walked where other privacy writers have never gone. I would highly recommend this book to those who fear their bank accounts will be stolen or seized by government agencies or others. Thorough, complete and worth the money many times over, Privacy Crisis will become a big deal in the arena of Privacy Reference books.

This book may be the greatest investment a person could make to escape the threats of stalkers, identity thieves or others who wish you harm.
Buy this book.

Worth a Hundred Times the Price.......2007-03-02

Personal privacy is under siege these days. Mine was first invaded when cyber-crooks drained my checking account in a single day. If you don't take steps to protect yours, it too will go up in smoke. For you, maybe it's when an obsessed former spouse or fan starts stalking you. Or the government--claiming "national security"--begins wiretapping your phone. Maybe it's when your employer snoops on all your emails, a gumshoe rifles through your credit files, or you have to supply your most personal information just to open a checking account or buy a home.

You don't have to give up your God-given privacy. Believe me, this book will tell you everything you'll ever need to know about how to protect it--whether in just one area, or an entirely anonymous lifestyle. This author knows his stuff. He's practiced everything he writes about. So his book is far in advance of other privacy books that just recycle armchair theories or even worse, suggest you do things that are outright illegal.

Protect your identity. Protect the privacy of your home and business transactions--your computer, phone, mail, travel, bank account, stored items, credit files, hard assets, and investments. One invasion of your privacy will cost you ten or a hundred times the price of this one-of-a-kind book.

I wish I'd known about it before they emptied my bank account.

A timely guide to preventing stalking and identity theft.......2007-01-26

During this era of skyrocketing identity theft crimes, violence and death to innocent victims by stalkers, and government's tracking and monitoring of citizens' business, money and communication, Americans are seeking privacy for personal security and survival. Grant Hall writes on how to live an anonymous lifestyle in his new book, Privacy Crisis: Identity Theft Prevention Plan and Guide to Anonymous Living. And he should know. He used a non-traditional 'defense' to avoid a civil court case by disappearing for four years. A number of privacy tactics outlined in Privacy Crisis belong to Hall. I have never seen these in print-and I began reading privacy books prior to the publication of W.G. Hill's first PT book. Privacy Crisis may be the best book of its kind ever written.

According to Hall, privacy living is the answer to preventing identity theft. One can escape from a stalker or disappear-for any reason by using the information in Privacy Crisis. Alternate identification, renting and owning a home in secrecy, driving and working under the radar and establishing a clandestine communication and computer system are covered in detail. This book is thorough and complete and cites case histories and challenges the author of 'How to be Invisible' on the use of nominees.
Hall provides insight on anonymous banking, cashing checks privately, alternate name debit cards and provides a resource for obtaining a safe deposit box requiring no name or Social Security number. There's information on how to keep investments, property and businesses a secret. All of this can be accomplished in the U.S.A. of all places-a welcome change from the many books offering unrealistic, inconvenient, expensive, offshore remedies for domestic privacy problems.

A Must-read for Privacy-conscious Americans!.......2007-01-14

It goes without saying that personal privacy is a rare commodity in America today. Identity theft has become the country's fastest growing crime. Con artists relentlessly target us while greedy lawyers and vengeful ex-spouses threaten to drain our bank accounts and assets. Our personal computers have become open doors into the most discreet corners of our lives. And that doesn't begin to address threats to our privacy from the government, eavesdropping employers, nosey snoops with hidden agendas, eavesdropping employers, and increasingly intrusive marketing-crazed companies.

Privacy Crisis is easily one of the best books on privacy ever written. Through his eye-opening inside perspective, as someone who evaded private investigators and attorneys for four years by living "below the radar," Grant Hall has brought us an authoritative how-to guide for the average American who wants to protect his or her privacy on an practical level. Far superior to the many theory-laden books on privacy, Privacy Crisis is a revealing step-by-step manual written by someone who has walked the walk. This book is required reading for anyone concerned about their personal and financial privacy in an ever-threatening society.

Phillip Townsend
International Consultant and Privacy Expert

Average customer rating:

The 2nd best Graphic Novel I've ever read
Misogyny or reality?
Not My Oldsmobile
Graphic SF Reader
Promising, but it's Much Ado About Nothing

Identity Crisis (DC Comics)
Brad Meltzer
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The OMAC Project (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
Infinite Crisis (DC Comics)
Villains United (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
JLA: Crisis of Conscience (Identity Crisis) (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
Day of Vengeance (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)

ASIN: 1401204589

Book Description

The most talked-about and successful DC Comics miniseries of 2004 is now available in a stunning hardcover volume!New York Times best-selling author Brad Meltzer delivers an all-too-human look into the lives of super-heroes and the terrible price they pay for doing good.

Customer Reviews:

The 2nd best Graphic Novel I've ever read.......2007-10-05

I think the Watchmen will always be the best graphic novel ever, but this one is a close second for me. I have always chosen Marvel comics over DC, but this book alone, has caused me to become fascinated by the Justice League.

This is a drop dead serious story that is not appropriate for kids, but a masterpiece that adults and older teens can enjoy. It will make you think and it might even make you give a family member a longer hug the next time you see them. It's that good. And if you ever wanted to try and get a person who doesn't like comics to try one, I would start with this one, even more so than The Watchmen. Worth every penny.

Misogyny or reality?.......2007-09-23

Feminist bloggers love to expound on how misogynist this story is, but crime happens, criminals victimize women, and if supercriminals existed they'd be victimizing the superheroes' women given half a chance. It's a good story. Don't miss it.

Not My Oldsmobile.......2007-09-20

As someone who grew up and read many DC comics in the '60s I occassionally like to see what's being done lately with the characters I grew up with.
Wow.
I'm still not sure what audience this book is supposed to be marketed to but it's amazing when I think back on the brou-ha-ha greeting EC Comics in the '50s and seeing the stuff now being sold supposedly to kids today.
Not that I have any extreme moral qualms about it but the themes and graphics of this book certainly presuppose an outlook that would have been unimaginable to me when I was 10 years old.
Still the artwork is incredible.
But I have to agree with many others here that many aspects of the storyline are ridiculous. There is always been a desire to take super-heroes out of the "juvenile" and transform them to the "adult" but the plot-twists in this book are at best "adolescent".
At the end I can't help feeling that the "fun" has been taken out of comics.

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

A very nice to look at, story. As well as the plot being integral to a lot of what is going on in the dc universe, the style has become influential, with the different colored captains to identify the various protagonists at the time.

Meltzer's experience with murder mysteries enables him to handle this quite well.

The JLA have to deal with their own internal struggle surrounding a bit of brainwashing, Squadron Supreme style.

Promising, but it's Much Ado About Nothing.......2007-08-12

When someone close to a JLA member is murdered - and as more family and friends are threatened and attacked - it becomes abundantly clear that there is a killer on the loose who knows the identities of all our heroes. Nerves begin to tense and relationships strain in the JLA ranks. A cabal including Hawkman, Green Arrow, Zatanna, Black Canary, and The Atom look to take matters into their own hands, as fear and tragedy mount and a a series of dark secrets long buried begin to surface.

This is the basic plot of Identity Crisis; it's a promising premise, and Brad Meltzer makes the most of it - his meditations on the meaning and importance of secret identities, his ideas about the relationships among heroes and villains, and the nature of teams and teammates are all compelling and interesting. Indeed, his writing exudes a deep familiarity - you get the distinct feeling that these superheroes have a complex, muddy past, a history, and know each other intimately. Meltzer also does a good job of ratcheting up the anxiety and intensity - imagine a comic book where a whirlwind race against time actually feels as tense as a film.

The book's chief failing, and what ultimately brings it down, is its ending. I won't spoil it for those still interested, but suffice it to say it does not, by any means, live up to the compelling writing that preceded it; it feels to me as though he just ran out of ideas. The ending is far too clean, far too easy, far too simplistic; indeed, it actually makes the story seem pointless, an afterthought, robbing it of any impact that it might have truly had. A disappointing turn of events.

JLA: Crisis of Conscience (Identity Crisis) (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)

Average customer rating:

I really hate Despero. He's such a jerk.
Graphic SF Reader
Excellent Follow-Up to "Identity Crisis"
Solid Followup . . .
The fallout of Identity Crisis and the beginning of the Infinite Crisis

JLA: Crisis of Conscience (Identity Crisis) (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
Geoff Johns , and Allan Heinberg
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Villains United (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
Superman: Sacrifice (The OMAC Project) (Infinite Crisis)
The OMAC Project (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
Day of Vengeance (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
The Rann-Thanagar War (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)

ASIN: 1401209637

Book Description

In the wake of Brad Meltzers IDENTITY CRISIS, the JLA decides the time has come to tell Batman that they stole part of his memory. However, the League is attacked by the Secret Society of Super-Villainsout for vengeance now that their own memories are restored. As the JLA battles, Martian Manhunter confronts Desperothe alien conqueror behind the villains memory-restoration. By the time the dust settles, the League may have won the battle but lost the war.

Customer Reviews:

I really hate Despero. He's such a jerk........2007-09-23

This follows up the on the events of 'Identity Crisis' and leads into 'Infinite Crisis', so you need to own this if you get the other two. You won't be sorry. Good art, good story, good comics.

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Combining 5 issues of JLA, this chronicles the final breakdown of this incarnation of the Justice League. Torn apart by recriminations over
the brainwashing revealed in Identity Crisis they are unable to deal with their mistrust and anger. This is all particularly centred around Batman, and part of the problem is his feelings towards Catwoman and what has been done to her.

Zatanna walks out.

Despero is behind a plot by the Secret Society to attack the League, and so separate out his most dangerous enemy, J'Onn Jonzz. It takes the appearance of some old allies not currently serving to hold out long enough for Zatanna to come back and save them.

Thinks leads to the League basically dissolving except for the Manhunter and John Stewart, and an explosive finale with an attack on the Watchtower.

Excellent Follow-Up to "Identity Crisis".......2007-07-19

This collection follows up on some of the loose threads from the "Identity Crisis" series. Geoff Johns infuses more super-hero action into this series than Meltzer did in "Identity Crisis," and one of the JLA's earliest villains makes a stunning return. It doesn't stand alone--I wouldn't attempt to make sense of what's going on here before first reading "Identity Crisis." Also, it's not a sequel to that book but more of an extension of the storyline--an epilogue of sorts. This book also sets up the "Infinity Crisis" mini-series/company-wide crossover, so it could also be considered a prelude as well.

Solid Followup . . ........2007-02-08

First of all, you HAVE to read "Identity Crisis" to understand and appreciate this story. It's a followup to that story that lacks the impact and depth of the first. Not quite as bad as most spinoffs, but it seems that someone thought of it as a quick loose-end fixer. It definitely sets the stage for "Infinite Crisis." I'm not so sure I picked a great time to get back into comics, but at least it came at one of these "crisis mop-ups."

Anyway - the cover is incredible - very gritty and somber: a definite foreshadowing.

The characters are imbued with a seriousness as they wrangle with the debate over the memory-wiping of certain supervillains. It's all about "choosing the harder right over the easier wrong," and teammember Zatanna grows up in many ways throughout these stories. The Flash remains a morally pivotal character as he did in "Identity Crisis," forcing many of the Leaguers to confront their pasts.

Hawkman is hardcore in this book, and his character has become more solid and a powerhouse again.

The artwork starts off well but seems to slip by the climactic battle in Wayne Manor. The Despero storyline seemed a bit awkward, but it set the stage for a minor character to come and save the day.

If you want to understand more about Batman's psyche - get this book. It also sheds light on the already tense yet loose relations between the Justice Leaguers as they get into "Infinite Crisis." A solid recommendation.

The fallout of Identity Crisis and the beginning of the Infinite Crisis.......2007-01-25

Crisis of Conscience, co-weaved by Infinite Crisis writer Geoff Johns, links the fallout of the status-quo shaking Identity Crisis in the beginning, and concludes with the beginning of Infinite Crisis. In between all that, we see the beginning of the dissolving of the JLA, as paranoia abounds within the group as Batman conceals his own hidden agenda, Wonder Woman is in exile, and the rest of the team is at each other's throats. During all this, various villains whose memories were erased or altered by Zatanna's magic have had their lost knowledge of the JLA restored (thanks to Despero), and are now targeting family members and friends of the costumed super heroes. While it is too short for it's own good, Crisis of Conscience packs in a lot of action frame after frame, and Johns' story is electric to boot. The art isn't anything really spectacular, especially compared to that found in other Crisis books, but it does the job. The closing cliffhanger will leave you begging for more, which may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you think of the Crisis books or crossovers in general, and only sets up the cataclysmic events of Infinite Crisis.

Identity: Youth and Crisis (Austen Riggs Monograph, No 7)

Average customer rating:

Erikson is the man when it comes to understanding identity.

Identity: Youth and Crisis (Austen Riggs Monograph, No 7)
Erik H. Erikson
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Personality | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Behavioral Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Identity and the Life Cycle
Childhood and Society
The Life Cycle Completed
Adolescents at School: Perspectives on Youth, Identity, and Education
The Child's Conception of the World: A 20th-Century Classic of Child Psychology

ASIN: 0393311449

Customer Reviews:

Erikson is the man when it comes to understanding identity........2001-07-08

Admittedly, Erik Erikson is not an easy read (in fact his biographer Lawrence Friedman speculates what Erikson could have become had he been a more disciplined researcher, and writer.) Nevertheless this book provides keen insight into the phenomenon of the adolescent identity crisis.

"Crisis" in Eriksonian parlance is not used to connote an "impending catastrophe," but rather a "necessary turning point, a crucial moment, when development must move one way or another, marshaling resources of growth,recover, and further differentiation." Erikson deals effectively with a process that is at the core of the individual and in the core of the individual's communal culture.

After reading Lawrence Friedman's biography on Erikson entitled "Identity's Architect," I have come to appreciate the richness of Erikson's observations, such as "I shall present human growth from the point of view of the conflicts, inner and outer, which the vital personality weathers, re-emerging from each crisis with an increased sense of inner unity...," knowing that Erikson himself came to such conclusions only after examining his own storied past.

The illegitimate son of a Danish mother, and a father of unknown nationality, "Identity's Architect" weathered many a conflict, both inner and outer, as he journeyed toward a sense of his own identity.

Identity: Youth and Crisis is not an easy read, but it is rich with insight into the most mysterious and turbulent of all stages in the life cycle: adolescence. Ideal for those students of child psychology, child development, and those who work with youth.

Identity Crisis: How Identification is Overused and Misunderstood
Average customer rating:

Informative Introduction to Identification Theory & Policy

A thoughtful and critically written dissection of a hot-button social topic

Advance Praise for Identitiy Crisis

Identity Crisis: How Identification is Overused and Misunderstood
Jim Harper
Manufacturer: Cato Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Civil Rights & Liberties | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Digital Identity

The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age

Security and Usability: Designing Secure Systems that People Can Use

Trapped: When Acting Ethically is Against the Law

A Crowd of One: The Future of Individual Identity

ASIN: 1930865856

Book Description

The advance of identification technology biometrics, identity cards, surveillance, databases, dossiers threatens privacy, civil liberties, and related human interests. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, demands for identification in the name of security have increased. In this insightful book, Jim Harper takes readers inside identification a process everyone uses every day but few people have ever thought about. Using stories and examples from movies, television, and classic literature, Harper dissects identification processes and technologies, showing how identification works when it works and how it fails when it fails. Harper exposes the myth that identification can protect against future terrorist attacks. He shows that a U.S. national identification card, created by Congress in the REAL ID Act, is a poor way to secure the country or its citizens. A national ID represents a transfer of power from individuals to institutions, and that transfer threatens liberty, enables identity fraud, and subjects people to unwanted surveillance. Instead of a uniform, government-controlled identification system, Harper calls for a competitive, responsive identification and credentialing industry that meets the mix of consumer demands for privacy, security, anonymity, and accountability. Identification should be a risk-reducing strategy in a social system, Harper concludes, not a rivet to pin humans to governmental or economic machinery.

Customer Reviews:

Informative Introduction to Identification Theory & Policy.......2006-10-06

Identity Crisis is a superb primer on identification, identification theory, and identity policy. Citizens and policy-makers faced with threats from international terrorists and a dramatic rise in identity fraud need a good grounding in the uses and abuses of identification in providing security and facilitating daily transactions. This book serves precisely that purpose.

Author Jim Harper makes an important distinction between identification and authentication. Differences between the two are nothing to be trifled with. The interests of personal security and privacy hinge upon whether or to what extent either identification or authentication are used by government, private entities, and everyday citizens. Harper persuasively argues that identification is all-too-often overused, and that a process of authentication can often serve our needs most effectively.

Most people have probably never given a thought to identification theory. That certainly holds for this reviewer--until I read this book. Identification is largely a common-sense matter, but Harper brings attention to the conceptual depth attendant to this subject.

Also interesting are Harper's chapters more narrowly focused on privacy and anonymity. Important legal and constitutional matters are briefly discussed, underscoring the need for appropriate identification policies and practices. Of course, this book is accessible to a general audience and is certainly not limited in its audience to lawyers or to any other specialty.

After reading the book, one gets the sense that there is a lot more to say about identification. But a lot of ground is traversed in this work, and the result is highly commendable. Identity Crisis is an important and recommended read.

A thoughtful and critically written dissection of a hot-button social topic.......2006-08-09

Cato Institute director of Information Policy Studies Jim Harper presents "Identity Crisis: How Identification Is Overused and Misunderstood", is a cautionary book about how increasing identification and computer technology, as well as stepped-up government demands for identification in the wake of the September 11 attacks, are threats to citizen autonomy, privacy, and civil liberties. "Identity Crisis" maintains that resisting endless demands for identification can protect privacy without compromising national security; furthermore, Identity Crisis warns against potential abuses of government power and gives current information about controversies such as the REAL ID Act and other security-related topics. A thoughtful and critically written dissection of a hot-button social topic, "Identity Crises" should be considered "must reading" for all social activists concerned with the growing domination of government into personal lives and liberties of American citizens.

Advance Praise for Identitiy Crisis.......2006-05-25

"To protect against terrorism, we have to stop individuals before they act. Identity Crisis does the best job I've seen of addressing the real weaknesses in current identification systems and how they correlate directly with further impingements on our privacy and civil liberties. I would have used this book every day to help structure programs and develop policies if I'd had it at TSA."
--JUSTIN OBERMAN, former head of credentialing and identity programs, Transportation Security Administration

"Few people in America have done the kind of critical thinking about identity and identification that Jim Harper does in this book. An understanding of identity management and policy is essential--not only to leaders in government, but those in the commercial sector as well."
--NUALA O'CONNOR KELLY, chief privacy leader, GE, and former chief privacy officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Art in Crisis: W. E. B. Du Bois And the Struggle For African American Identity and Memory

Average customer rating:

Important contribution to the field of history and art.

Art in Crisis: W. E. B. Du Bois And the Struggle For African American Identity and Memory
Amy Helene Kirschke
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Discrimination & Racism | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Beyond the Lines: Pictorial Reporting, Everyday Life, and the Crisis of Gilded Age America
Reading American Photographs: Images As History, Mathew Brady to Walker Evans

ASIN: 0253218136

Book Description

The Crisis was an integral part of the struggle to combat racism in America. As editor of the magazine (1910-1934), W. E. B. Du Bois addressed the important issues facing African Americans. He used the journal as a means of racial uplift, celebrating the joys and hopes of African American culture and life, and as a tool to address the injustices black Americans experienced—the sorrows of persistent discrimination and racial terror, and especially the crime of lynching. The written word was not sufficient. Visual imagery was central to bringing his message to the homes of readers and emphasizing the importance of the cause. Art was integral to his political program. Art in Crisis: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Art of The Crisis Magazine is an exploration of how W. E. B. Du Bois created a "visual vocabulary" to define a new collective memory and historical identity for African Americans.

Customer Reviews:

Important contribution to the field of history and art........2007-05-17

The critical eye of an artist coupled with keen historical interpretation produces a valuable and progressive work. Dr. Kirschke writes with a crisp, energetic and passionate style reflective of, and consistant with, her high energy and passion for all her work. As a teacher of American history at a visual and performing arts school, I find that Dr. Kirschke's work provides a wonderful coupling of the historic struggle for rights in America with the artistic expression of such in a manner that helps in the understanding of both.

Ordering International Politics: Identity, Crisis and Representational Force

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Very interesting theory

Ordering International Politics: Identity, Crisis and Representational Force
Janice Mattern
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Balance of Power: Theory and Practice in the 21st Century
Uses of the Other: "The East" in European Identity Formation (Borderlines)
Writing Security: United States Foreign Policy and the Politics of Identity
Security as Practice: Discourse Analysis and the Bosnian War (The New International Relations)
Security, Identity and Interests: A Sociology of International Relations (Cambridge Studies in International Relations)

ASIN: 0415948975

Book Description

Statesmen commonly speak of the need to architect a nationally advantageous international order. But how does one go about doing this? Traditionally, scholars have advised that order is rooted in patterned struggles over material power and interests. Recently, however, there has been a focus on the order-producing effects of international identity. This study defends the 'identity turn' by addressing how a construct as contingent as international identity can nevertheless sustain order during the upheaval of international crises. Drawing on the linguistic and political philosophy of Jean François Lyotard Ordering International Politics develops an innovative discourse analytic method that empirically demonstrates that, in crisis times, states can (and do) use 'representational force' - a forceful, but nonphysical, form of power exercised through language - to stabilize international identity and in turn international order. Using the Anglo-American international order during the 1956 Suez Crisis as the empirical foil for this illustration, this study offers a concrete and highly readable example of how theoretical insights can make an important difference in historical interpretation and potentially in the contemporary practice of international affairs.

Customer Reviews:

Very interesting theory.......2007-01-04

This book explores some of the reasoning for how international politics have been arranged. In particular it looks at the "special relationship" between the United States and Great Britain. It examines how this relationship was strained by the Suez Crisis and the effects of that crisis. This book tries to get the reader to think about how identity have shaped international order through security and power arrangements. For those interested in international theory this is a book that must be read. It challenges many of the perceived views and while you can agree or disagree with the conclusions it makes a fair assessment that is worth reading.

Art & Otherness: Crisis in Cultural Identity

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Art & Otherness: Crisis in Cultural Identity
Thomas McEvilley
Manufacturer: McPherson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Art and Discontent: Theory at the Millennium
White: Whiteness and Race in Contemporary Art
Triumph of Anti-Art: Conceptual and Performance Art in the Formation of Post-Modernism
Sculpture in the Age of Doubt (Aesthetics Today)
The Poetics of Space

ASIN: 0929701488

Book Description

Directly following the internationally acclaimed Art & Discontent, Thomas McEvilley argues in Art & Otherness for an advanced anthropological perspective that contravenes conventional thinking in the visual arts, and leads to a concept of artistic globalization. The description of western culture as superior and in opposition to other cultures of the world preoccupied our aesthetic philosophy for at least 200 years, whether or not explicitly stated. That argument was undertaken in various guises, especially as the historical determinism of Hegel which proposed to quantify human "progress." Recently, however, the term "multiculturalism" has come to signify a post-Modern understanding of how visual arts transgress artificial boundaries, and of how there may now exist, perhaps for the first time in history, a post-colonial globalism in the arts freed of ethnocentric value judgments. In these ten crucial essays, McEvilley clarifies how the presentation of art can determine its reception, how "influence" can be bi-directional, how "otherness" serves to define "self," and how art need not necessarily lose its meaningfulness when stripped of badges of universality. Once again illustrating his argument by drawing upon an array of sources and cultures, Thomas McEvilley demonstrates that the post-Modern crisis in cultural identity demands an imaginative, integrating response.

The Ego Identity Crisis: Handbook for Enlightenment

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Are you ready to experience the True Reality?
Truth versus Falsehood

The Ego Identity Crisis: Handbook for Enlightenment
Brian Nager
Manufacturer: RTN Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Spiritual | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Personal Transformation | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Eye of the I, by David R. Hawkins Phd. M.D.
I: Reality and Subjectivity
Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior
Truth Vs. Falsehood: How to Tell the Difference
Your Immortal Reality: How to Break the Cycle of Birth and Death

ASIN: 0976467208

Book Description

Why Not Attain Enlightenment?

Wouldn't you like to be at peace, feel 100% fulfilled, and always be happy and blissful, as well as discover what reality is truly about? This handbook instructs one on the exact 'how to' of attaining enlightenment. Whereas most other books just explain the phenomenon of experiencing the Higher Self, this book actually teaches the entire process of transcending the ego and realizing one's true nature of the infinite as the Self. It provides the information in such a way that enlightenment would commonly occur within a matter of months, if one were to read it and apply its teachings. So why not take a step out of the finite and into the infinite? It can't hurt. All that you will discover is your Self! You will learn:

· What Reality truly is (the crystallization process, manifestation, creation, duality and Nonduality, the manifest and Unmanifest, levels of consciousness of the Universal Mind, ego [mind] and Self [Mind], and much more).
· That all form is actually an illusion that the ego has led itself to believe is real.
· What the ego is (limitation) and how it holds us back from being the Self (unlimited), and that suffering is an option and not a guarantee.
· How to deprogram the ego's structure to reveal Aware Mind.
· How all beings are One with God/Source/Truth.
· How to meditate, work with chakras, and comprehend the energetic field.
· That only positives exist and that negatives are just a state of mind (ego).
· That it is possible to experience peace, love, and joy for the rest of our lives.

This is our mission: Once again to realize that we are a part of something greater, and that ultimately, we are All That Is. By simply knowing this, transcending begins. And by implementing the Truths (teachings) within this book, enlightenment becomes possible. To deny Truth is to deny oneself from knowing one's True Nature as infinite love. Aren't you ready to experience God? Now is the time to stop living in a dream and to start experiencing Reality!

Customer Reviews:

Are you ready to experience the True Reality?.......2006-04-18

Have you ever asked yourself.. "Who am I? "What is the purpose of my Life? What is an Ego? "Why do bad things happen to good people? "What is Enlightenment? "Who or What is God? You are not alone! All humans have an innate push to discover ones True Self. Isnt that why you are here at this moment reading and searching for Lifes seemingly tough questions? Anyone with an inquisitive mind or those who need a more modern approach to connecting with God and are searching for the UNIVERSAL TRUTH than this book is for you. Brians book is the quintessential handbook for Enlightenment. I have read other Enlightenment and Self-help books from Dr. David Hawkins, Deepok Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Dr Wayne Dwyer, and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, and find that Brian Nagers The Ego Identity Crisis is another spiritual classic and must read book. It is easy to follow and understand the concepts presented in this wonderful book. This book will help clarify concepts presented by other popular authors as mentioned above and present new material such as Duality and Non-Duality Levels of Consciousness The illusion of form (duality) and how it is created through the Ego. Deprogramming the ego to reveal your True Self Meditation and Chakra work He has helped me tremendously in my search for Truth and I am very grateful for his guidance. I plan to someday help others as he has helped me. Thanks Brian. Fear & suffering is only an illusion, as infinite love is the only Truth; Krane

Truth versus Falsehood .......2005-05-31

I had written a review of this book previously (in 2005) and had forgotten all about it until yesterday (Sept 30 2007), when I got an e-mail from a person who was interested to know my latest thinking on Brian Nager and this book. A lot has changed for me in the last couple of years as a consequence of intense interaction with Brian over a period of more than six months and more importantly, deeper immersion in the teaching of Dr David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD, on my part and it would be misleading to leave my previous review on this site without this follow-up. I do not want to be seen as endorsing Brian's teaching any more, since I do not follow it any more.

I was with Brian for a few months as I thought his teaching is not different from Dr Hawkins but my main interest was always Dr Hawkins teachings, ever since I found his books in Sept 2004. I left Brian as soon as I found out in Summer 2006 from info@Veritaspub.com that Dr Hawkins does not approve of Brian as a teacher of Dr Hawkins work. My sense is that Brian works mainly to give energetic experiences whereas Dr Hawkins teaching is focused on personal transformation which sometimes at some stages may result in spontaneous energetic (kundalini) experiences but those energetic experiences themselves are not the focus of Dr Hawkins teaching (spiritual development is, and that is a way of being in this world). To focus mainly on energetic experiences without having reached a corresponding understanding/discernment of Truth versus falsehood can be rather counterproductive. I suggest people read any or all of the books of Dr Hawkins (The Eye of the I, Power Versus Force, Truth versus Falsehood, etc.) before reading this book by Brian.

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