Early Buzz From Amazon.com Top Reviewers

We queried our top 100 reviewers as of April 6, and asked them to read The Stolen Child and share their thoughts. We've included these early reviews below in the order they were received. For the sake of space, we've only included a brief excerpt of each reviewer's response, but each review is available for reading in its entirety by clicking the "Read the review" link. Enjoy!

An Autobiographical Note from Keith Donohue

My dad used to call me, the middle child of seven, "the youngest of the oldest, and the oldest of the youngest." Being dead smack in the middle of a large Irish American family, it is no wonder that I have felt like a changeling myself now and again. We were just like the Kennedys, without the money or the power.

We lived in a cramped yellow house at the bottom of a steep hill in Pittsburgh. Climbing that street as a small child was like hiking up a mountain, but it instilled a sense of ambition and determination. In the mid-Sixties, we moved to Southern Maryland, to a town so small that there was but a single commercial crossroads with a High's Dairy Store across from Ben Franklin's Five and Dime Store. There were still enough woods and swampland available to allow for hours of exploration and getting lost nearly every day.

On a whim, I went back to Pittsburgh for college and began to write in earnest at Duquesne University, studying under the Pennsylvania state laureate poet Sam Hazo, and putting myself through school through two creative writing scholarships. My dream was to be a novelist, but there weren't any openings.

Upon graduation, and being unable to find a job in the city, I moved back to the Washington area to work for the National Endowment for the Arts, answering the mail for the chairman of the agency. Within four years, I was writing speeches for a new and different chairman, a job I held for the eight years that coincided with what some have called the culture wars. I wrote for the freedom of expression crowd.

Off hours, I went back to school, earned a doctorate in English literature, specializing in modern Irish literature. After stints working on federal child care policy and as a cultural policy analyst, I circled round again to that steep hill and wrote The Stolen Child, figuring that if I was to become that novelist, the time had come to stop dreaming and simply climb.

I'm married, have four children, and am back working at a small embattled agency that gives grants to archives across the country to preserve and publish the records of the American experience. In my spare time, I'm writing another novel about myths in America.

The Story Behind the Story

The very first image that came to me when I began The Stolen Child was of a young boy hiding in a hollow tree, face pressed against its wooden ribs, determined not to be found by anyone. His defiant wish to be alone struck me as a universal gesture--a striking out for independence that children make when frustrated by the confines of childhood. When the changelings come and get that boy, he becomes a victim of his own imagination. He is stolen away by his own worst nightmare.

As concerned as I was about the boy hiding in the tree, I also knew that I wanted to write about an adult struggling to remember the dreams of childhood. He had to be as trapped and frustrated by the strictures of his adulthood. And in order for any drama to exist, these two emotional states must clash.

That's why there are two narrators telling two intertwined stories--one adult trying to remember his "stolen" childhood and one child trapped in time at age seven. Since the conflict is primarily between the grown-up Henry Day and the child Aniday, the story needed some way to make both characters alive, have parallel and mirroring lives, joys and challenges, and allow them to confront one another. I needed some way to make the metaphorical be literal.

That's where the changeling folk myth came in. Changelings and faeries have been around for eons in virtually every culture. They are the mysterious beings flitting around the corner of the imagination, and in many places, faeries and changelings have the reputation of breaking into homes and replacing babies and young children with replicas. Or luring children away from their homes to come live in the wild and become part of their unaging magical tribe. The child is stolen by the faeries, and the faery changeling "becomes" the child.

In reality, the legend grew from real human predicaments dealing primarily with the inability of some parents to care for children with a failure to thrive. They explained away the unwanted children by claiming that they were not human at all, that the changelings had come and stolen their child and left one of their own in its place. Having a changeling rather than a real human made it much easier for parents to get rid of such a child.

Through our wild imaginations and fear of the dark and unknown, the changeling myth evolved into a spooky story. Careful, kid, or the changelings will come get you. Or, conversely, as an explanation for why you're so different from all the rest of the kids; you're actually a changeling.
"The Stolen Child" by William Butler Yeats, is one of the more well-known literary uses of folk legend to comment on the real world. Reading the poem, we get caught up in those wonderful images of "hidden faery vats" and the faeries "whispering to the slumbering trout," but then Yeats gives us, in the final stanza, an idea of the family life that the stolen child is leaving behind. But away he goes, "from a world more full of weeping than he can understand."

How perfect for a story about what it's like to be seven and to remember being seven.

So I asked myself: What if we make the changelings real? What if we have the boy out in the woods with a band of faeries, the flip side of the real world? What if he is replaced by a changeling who can grow up and become the adult, who fools everyone into thinking that he is indeed the real Henry Day, when he knows all along that the authentic Henry is out there in the woods?

That's when the fun began. The two narrators' stories spiraling around and interlocking like a Celtic knot. The changeling who steals Henry Day's life gradually realizes that he, too, was a real human boy once upon a time. He, too, was a stolen child and must struggle to dredge up that childhood and deal with his dreams and his own weeping world. The real Henry Day--now known as Aniday among the faeries--faces what it means to be a part of a fading folk myth at the latter half of the 20th century, and the struggle that all children have coming to terms with their mortality, leaving family behind, and leaving childhood behind in order to find some speck of love, happiness, and the road ahead.

Book Description

Inspired by the W.B. Yeats poem that tempts a child from home to the waters and the wild, The Stolen Child is a modern fairy tale narrated by the child Henry Day and his double.

On a summer night, Henry Day runs away from home and hides in a hollow tree. There he is taken by the changelings—an unaging tribe of wild children who live in darkness and in secret. They spirit him away, name him Aniday, and make him one of their own. Stuck forever as a child, Aniday grows in spirit, struggling to remember the life and family he left behind. He also seeks to understand and fit in this shadow land, as modern life encroaches upon both myth and nature.

In his place, the changelings leave a double, a boy who steals Henry’s life in the world. This new Henry Day must adjust to a modern culture while hiding his true identity from the Day family. But he can’t hide his extraordinary talent for the piano (a skill the true Henry never displayed), and his dazzling performances prompt his father to suspect that the son he has raised is an imposter. As he ages the new Henry Day becomes haunted by vague but persistent memories of life in another time and place, of a German piano teacher and his prodigy. Of a time when he, too, had been a stolen child. Both Henry and Aniday obsessively search for who they once were before they changed places in the world.

The Stolen Child is a classic tale of leaving childhood and the search for identity. With just the right mix of fantasy and realism, Keith Donohue has created a bedtime story for adults and a literary fable of remarkable depth and strange delights.

Customer Reviews:

A Story of Progress and of Stagnation.......2007-10-02

This was one of the best novels that I've read this year. What stood out for me was the importance of valuing one's life and appreciating the here and now--be it family, friends, or the community. The changes that Henry and the changeling experienced represented the immature human desire for the greener grass on the other side of the fence. Despite the moving ups and downs for Henry and the changling community, I could not help but wonder what would happen if the changelings decided to just grow up. There were so many unnecessary sacrifices because the changlings chose to hide and not to become apart of society. Through the use of the prose, The Stolen Child demonstrated the pitfalls of a lack of faith, low self esteem, and fear of the unknown. But all is not lost, we get to see the changlings grow into self actualized beings with peace for their station in life and hope for what they can become.

Hobgoblins and Children.......2007-09-26

This is definitely a fairy tale, the story of a little boy, stolen from his family and exchanged with a "changeling" to give that once stolen child another chance at a life--even if it isn't theirs to have. As the old myths go, a changeling was the child of hobgoblins, switched from the child's bed while the family slept or worked, unaware of the evil deed going on right beneath their noses. This story has a different take though--the changelings were all once children themselves, who spend years in the forest forgetting who they once were and preparing to switch yet another child and take their life. No parents in the forest.

The author narrates the story from both points of view--the child and the changeling, alternating chapters. The writing is compelling and beautiful--descriptions of the "indifferent children of the earth" and their lives abound, and are lyrical and strangely beautiful, and sad.

All in all a great read, although I felt at the end the story lacked a real emotional connection for me. I grew to care for Aniday and Henry Day and their respective families; but the ending didn't provide the closure I felt the story really needed. Still, it was an interesting study of the changeling myth and what those stories could really mean.

Steals your Soul.......2007-09-25

The sometimes not-to-be-taken-too-seriously fantasy genre is served well by Keith Donohue's novel, "The Stolen Child." Using the changeling legend as a basis, Donohue explores complicated themes that may include growing older with a diminishing sense of self-worth, the search for identity, unhappiness caused by unrequited desire or restlessness attributed to middle-classed conformity. Whatever the focal point, Donohue does a magnificent job of entertaining even if none of the seriousness I perceive to be inherent within the novel's pages is intentional.

On face value, Donohue could just be exercising his whimsical side by revitalizing a well-known fairytale ala Gregory Maguire in "Mirror, Mirror," or "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister." If this is the case, he does this well, beginning his tale in the 1950s when a small child is kidnapped by a band of hobgoblins and replaced by a changeling who has waited for over a hundred years to leave the Peter Pan Never Never Land world of the fey to reclaim his former humanity in the smaller universe of a real family. Using the technique of alternating narrations, Donohue allows Anyday, the stolen child, and Henry Day, the changeling, to tell the story from both perspectives. As Anyday struggles with his forever child fate, bemoans the loss of his family and learns the ways of the wild, Henry is torn between successfully impersonating the boy he has replaced and remembering the child he once was long ago when he had been abducted a century earlier. With a deft assuredness, Donohue writes prose that moves the story along interjecting fantasy with reality while still maintaining a real feel.

Whatever his intention, along the way he uncovers issues that have little to do with the realm of the fantastic and much to do with living in general. As Anyday becomes increasingly fey, he grapples with his loss of memory and recalling one of the last skills learned as a human child, writes down his story to assuage his unhappiness and remember his one time identity. In almost the same way, the changeling evokes a talent from a previous childhood almost forgotten; he plays piano like a young Mozart. As he strives to forget the wild, he uses his artistry to assimilate into the conformity of life as a human. As he transitions, Henry Day regains his sense of compassion and through his music begs forgiveness from the person whose life he stole. Likewise, Anyday relishes his sense of freedom and forever childishness and literally runs away from something he can never have and really doesn't need.

On another level, Donohue allows the reader a glimpse at the human psyche, yet he doesn't compromise his story with an overabundance of metaphors and symbols. No underlying hackneyed meanings or moralistic message cancel out the magic that Donohue so effortlessly infuses within his work. Donohue could be commenting on the mediocrity of the middleclass lifestyle; Henry Day and Anyday may represent two sides of the same persona, simultaneously desiring the conformity necessary to make it in the everyday world and yet coveting the freedom of never having to grow up while living without rules in the wild.

Bottom line: "The Stolen Child" represents superlative reading. The mythical quality of the prose sends the reader into the realm of fantasy while the intense emotional confessions of each character resonate with a poignancy classic in its perfection. Highly, highly recommended.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"

Haunting literary novel about identity, loss, love, family.......2007-09-23

This has many markings of a successful novel. Fantasy element; check. But grounded in the world, check. Same events seen via two perspectives (aka The Time-Traveler's Wife), check. Insertion of a cultural motif like painting or music, check. One or several characters with a sad history and intense yearning as a result, check. Beautiful writing, check check check.

The title comes from WB Yeats' famed poem, "The Stolen Child." Changelings will often lure a child away from the real world into the faery one, and put in its place a changeling disguised as the stolen child. In Donahue's novel, a child is taken and, bereft of his true name and longed-for home and family, becomes a changeling himself, one who waits for the day he can return to the human world, but only as an imposter, and not before the rest of the changeling crew get their turns.

The novel speaks eloquently and often quite hauntingly of the loss of identity, love, family, and the great desire to belong. There were nights when I read certain passages and ached for the changeling who dreamed of the people and things he'd lost; surely we too - whether we did once upon a time or still do - dream of the people and things gone from our lives.

The Feel-bad Book of theYear.......2007-09-19

Take a story about fairies and remove all the magic, and you've got a pretty good idea of what The Stolen Child is like. Parents used to use stories about changelings to frighten children into behaving, but the story here is much more likely to bore than frighten. Both the stolen child and the fairy who replaces him suffer serious trauma that leads to severe identity crises, leaving one to lead a "normal" life that isn't any fun, and the other to lead a "magic" life that is even less fun. Rather than enjoying their magical powers, the fairies are reduced to a pathetic "endangered species" whose life become more and more miserable as their habitat shrinks, driving the survivors to suicide.

While this twist on a familiar fairy tale provides some intellectual satisfaction, nobody in the book is having a good time, making it difficult for the reader to do so. The "big revelation" never comes, and the "redemptive ending" is simply a matter of the characters resigning themselves to accept their lot and muddle through as best they can. Oh boy.

Average customer rating: Incredible Story - Deserved Better Editor Survival Story Boring Beyond Belief Stolen Lives Disliked

STOLEN LIVES: MY FAMILY'S TWENTY-YEAR STRUGGLE IN A DESERT JAIL (Oprah's Book Club) Malika Oufkir , and Michele Fitoussi Manufacturer: Miramax ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books General | Africa | History | Subjects | Books Similar Items: Freedom: The Story of My Second Life Drowning Ruth (Oprah's Book Club) While I Was Gone (Oprah's Book Club) Cane River (Oprah's Book Club) Black and Blue (Oprah's Book Club) ASIN: 0786886307

Amazon.com

At the age of 5, Malika Oufkir, eldest daughter of General Oufkir, was adopted by King Muhammad V of Morocco and sent to live in the palace as part of the royal court. There she led a life of unimaginable privilege and luxury alongside the king's own daughter. King Hassan II ascended the throne following Muhammad V's death, and in 1972 General Oufkir was found guilty of treason after staging a coup against the new regime, and was summarily executed. Immediately afterward, Malika, her mother, and her five siblings were arrested and imprisoned, despite having no prior knowledge of the coup attempt.

They were first held in an abandoned fort, where they ate moderately well and were allowed to keep some of their fine clothing and books. Conditions steadily deteriorated, and the family was eventually transferred to a remote desert prison, where they suffered a decade of solitary confinement, torture, starvation, and the complete absence of sunlight. Oufkir's horrifying descriptions of the conditions are mesmerizing, particularly when contrasted with her earlier life in the royal court, and many graphic images will long haunt readers. Finally, teetering on the edge of madness and aware that they had been left to die, Oufkir and her siblings managed to tunnel out using their bare hands and teaspoons, only to be caught days later. Her account of their final flight to freedom makes for breathtaking reading. Stolen Lives is a remarkable book of unfathomable deprivation and the power of the human will to survive.

Book Description

A gripping memoir that reads like a political thriller--the story of Malika Oufkir's turbulent and remarkable life. Born in 1953, Malika Oufkir was the eldest daughter of General Oufkir, the King of Morocco's closest aide. Adopted by the king at the age of five, Malika spent most of her childhood and adolescence in the seclusion of the court harem, one of the most eligible heiresses in the kingdom, surrounded by luxury and extraordinary privilege.

Then, on August 16, 1972, her father was arrested and executed after an attempt to assassinate the king. Malika, her five younger brothers and sisters. and her mother were immediately imprisoned in a desert penal colony. After fifteen years, the last ten of which they spent locked up in solitary cells, the Oufkir children managed to dig a tunnel with their bare hands and make an audacious escape. Recaptured after five days, Malika was finally able to leave Morocco and begin a new life in exile in 1996.

A heartrending account in the face of extreme deprivation and the courage with which one family faced its fate, Stolen Lives is an unforgettable story of one woman's journey to freedom.

Customer Reviews:

Incredible Story - Deserved Better Editor.......2007-09-10

I am very disappointed in some of the reviews that I have read about this book; thank goodness they are the minority. Yes, I agree that it was poorly edited, and the story that was being relayed really could have been told better. It disturbs me that some of the reviewers almost appeared to attack the author. This lady is not an author/writer; she's no Stephen King or Dan Brown. Those authors have the advantage of fiction on their respective sides. Malika Oufkir had no such advantage. She is a survivor who had to actually live the hell that she describes in her book.

Imagine being a political prisoner - your only crime being that you were related to someone who either did something terrible against the country or "allegedly" did so - you are living in conditions of squalor. Your captors want you to die, but don't want to necessarily pull the trigger. You are starved, not allowed outside, not allowed to see or feel the sun, and deprived of the most basic information such as the date and time. You watch your sister pick the rat droppings from pieces of stale bread before "happily" consuming it. You watch your three-year old brother's life as a political prisoner. That's what you lived for most of two decades. Finally, years after being released, you get the courage to tell your story so that the world has a chance to know what you have been through, and that political imprisonment is not the cake walk or country club behind bars that it has been touted through the years. For months, you fight through the tears and the recollections of the circumstances and events that above all, you mostly want to forget. Then, proud that you were able to clear that final hurdle, you read the book reviews on Amazon only to find that one reader finds the book "difficult to believe" and even "boring." The nerve of some people to sit in their air conditioned homes with their refrigerator and freezer full, to sit at their computer with access to the world, to not be able to look past the flaws of the book to see the real story. If this was fiction, I could see the criticism, but given the storyline and the simple fact that it was fact, I simply cannot justify attacking the author about the quality of the book. Her experience has forever changed her and her reaction to life itself.

Bottom line - this was a riveting story that could have been a riveting book. I give the story itself 5+ stars. I hope Ms. Oufkir and her family are proud that they survived such an incredulous nightmare. I was left wanting more information, but I personally feel fortunate to have received what information I got; Ms. Oufkir didn't have to put her ordeal in writing. The editing gets one star. The editor and publisher failed Ms. Oufkir and should be ashamed that her story was not given the very best attention to detail. It almost seems as though the book was rushed to go to print, and Ms. Oufkir's story suffered the consequences. And that is a real travesty.

Survival Story.......2007-08-30

Because of her father's treachery in attempting to assassinate the king of Morocco, Malika, her mother, her siblings and two family friends are imprisoned in the desert. For years they live in tiny cells infested with bugs and mice who battle them for their near-starvation rations. Finally they make a desperate move to tunnel out of their prison and alert the international news media of their imprisonment, which puts sufficient pressure on the king to free them.

Malika's life wasn't always so bad, though. In fact, when she was five, the king adopted her to live in the palace as a companion to his daughter. Although she missed her family and felt trapped in her life as royalty, Malika was well fed and well brought up and had all of the luxuries life could hand out to a child. This makes her subsequent imprisonment all the more shocking, especially as it is at the hands of her adopted family.

I found this book a bit scattered. The author would state in passing something she would then address later, which gave me the feeling of a great deal of jumping around. She also tries a bit too hard to make a connection between life in the palace and life in prison, which I thought was more than a small stretch. Although the author argues that she was never really "free" to do what she wanted while living with the royals, what child ever is free to do what he or she wants? There were few incidents of her being treated cruelly while growing up, and she wanted for nothing, yet she tried to paint herself as a poor sad little child. This tended to make me feel less sorry for her, rather than more.

The part of the book dealing with the family's prison life was horrifying almost beyond belief, yet was dealt with in such a casual tone of voice that I found it hard to get as outraged and sad as I felt I should have been. Something about the tone of the book just didn't strike the right note with me.

Boring Beyond Belief.......2007-07-04

There is nothing "gripping" about this book. The beginning of the book, the tale of life with the King, is interesting. Once the family is arrested and incarcerated, it becomes boring beyond belief - and this is the part of the book that should be riveting! Instead, I found the narration totally self-centered and the "story" absolutely colorless. I quit reading about page 138 (just after the escape) because at that point I could have cared less what happened to this family. The travesty is that these events were real and I should feel outrage and compassion for this family. Instead, I'm annoyed I spent money on this horribly written/edited/translated book!

Stolen Lives.......2007-05-28

I found this story to be an inspirational account of a young girl's struggle from the palace to a jail cell. The orginial controversy of punnishing children for their father's actions developed the story into a thrilling drama. It was a compelling and gripping story, but they way it was written was a little off. Some of the sentances were difficult to read because of the way the words were written. I did not like how the writer kept jumping to the past and present to explain events. This made it confusing to determine what details were current and which already occured.

Disliked.......2007-05-18

I read the book for a book club. I was disappointed. The story was very self-centered. Also,difficult to believe, but a bit boring.

Average customer rating: Sounds Like is a Behind The Hits winner A lot of fun despite errors Fun and quick, but could be so much more

Sounds Like Teen Spirit: Stolen Melodies, Ripped-Off Riffs, and the Secret History of Rock and Roll Timothy English Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc. ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books Rock | Musical Genres | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books Soul | Musical Genres | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books Appreciation | Theory, Composition & Performance | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books Similar Items: The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker: An Erotic Memoir Exile on Main St.: A Season in Hell with the Rolling Stones Artie Lange's Beer League I Killed: True Stories of the Road from America's Top Comics Influence ASIN: 0595396194

Book Description

Ever heard a song and thought "Hey, they ripped that off!"

Sounds Like Teen Spirit: Stolen Melodies, Ripped-off Riffs and the Secret History of Rock 'n' Roll is the first book ever to examine the phenomenon of songs that appear to have "borrowed" their melodies from earlier songs.

While many are familiar with the similarities between George Harrison's My Sweet Lord and the Chiffon's oldie He's So Fine, did you also know that:

· The first rock 'n' roll hit, Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock took part of its melody from Hank William's Move it on Over?
· The guitar riff that powered Nirvana's classic Smells Like Teen Spirit had its origins in Boston's More Than a Feeling?
· Bob Marley's Buffalo Soldier shares its melody with The Theme from the Banana Splits, a kids show from the 1960s?

Come along for an exiting and informative journey through The Secret History of Rock 'n' Roll. You'll find out how ultra-hipsters the Strokes borrowed a melody from ultra-dork Barry Manilow; why Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr. over Ghostbusters, how a novelty record cut by his dad may have influenced John Lennon's Imagine, and how an obscure song by the band Spirit was a likely inspiration in the creation of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven.

Sounds Like Teen Spirit will delight any music fan, and is sure to send you running to your stereo or I-Pod to hear the songs for yourself!

"A fun and fact-filled book that you can either read from cover to cover, or skip around and open up at any page and dig in. Most of the songs you can hear in your head (or dig out the cds!) and you'll find yourself going again and again 'Oh yeah, this song really does sound like that song!' An enjoyable read."- Bob Brainen, WFMU, Jersey City, NJ

"The book is a winner, one of those why didn't-I-think-of-that projects.guaranteed to elicit laughter and/or fistfights among your friendly neighborhood music geeks." -Kirkus Discoveries

Customer Reviews:

Sounds Like is a Behind The Hits winner.......2007-06-29

As a music author (Behind The Hits) and a radio dj/musicologist, I was very excited to learn of Timothy's book. Smells Like Teen Spirit has put together many of the songs I have chronicled over the years that sound suspiciously like others.

On my radio shows I have played them in a feature named "Call The Lawyers!" -- and, indeed, some of these song pairings went to court. Others didn't but perhaps should have. All in all, they represent a fascinating side of rock music history. Rip offs or inspirations? Homages or stolen riffs? No matter -- it's what was in the grooves that counts. Some are obvious, but one is often surprised by the musical connection Tim's ears have made. There are some songs here that even I never put together (or didn't know about), like Jorge Ben's "Taj Mahal" as the basis for Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy". And the song by John Lennon's father? Imagine that!

This is a very well-researched, well-documented and well-written reference as well as being a fun read. I commend and recommend Timothy's book to all who love and enjoy the various decades of rock and roll and the artists who made (or should we say, "re-made"?) the music.

--Bob Shannon

A lot of fun despite errors.......2007-06-29

This book was a lot of fun. It included the sound-alikes everyone knows - "My Sweet Lord" and "He's So Fine," "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Surfin' U.S.A." - and some surprises. Did you know, for example, that Radiohead's "Creep" borrows from the Hollies' "The Air That I Breathe," and that Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name" was re-worked from a Bonnie Tyler song? I didn't, and it made me listen to those songs to hear the resemblances.

I wish the book had been twice as long, as there certainly are more such examples. I also wish the author had included a CD with examples, but I'm sure that would have been a copyright nightmare.

The book, as fun as it is, is full of printer's errors. Who are "Nirvina" and "Holwin' Wolf?" I hope the sequel is more carefully edited.

Fun and quick, but could be so much more.......2007-06-08

If you're into the history of rock music and love dissecting songs to see where they came from, you'll enjoy this book. It has many interesting examples of songs that were either directly ripped off from something else, or just sound suspiciously similar. The author gets into the history of the songs, the lawsuits and the stories behind the scenes. You'll be surprised and amused when you realize how many classic songs were ripped off from others, and that's the real joy of the book.
On the down side, the writing isn't dynamic and the book is a very quick read. You can probably get through it in half an hour. Also, it's tough to enjoy without hearing the music you're reading about. But if you can flip through it and listen to the songs at the same time, it's a lot of fun.

Average customer rating: A Must-Read For Anyone Who Cares About This Planet Too Much Information! An excellent "Things that make you go Hmmm...." book the problems with artificial hormones What, me worry?

Our Stolen Future: How We Are Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival-- A Scienti Theo Colborn , Dianne Dumanoski , and John Peter Meyers Manufacturer: Plume ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback General | Environmental | Civil | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books Toxicology | Pharmacology | Medical | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books General | Science | Subjects | Books Toxicology | Pharmacology | Medicine | Subjects | Books Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books Similar Items: Hormone Deception: How Everyday Foods and Products Are Disrupting Your Hormones--and How to Protect Yourself and Your Family Silent Spring Fluoride Deception Living Downstream: A Scientist's Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment Our Toxic World: A Wake Up Call Accessories: Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer ASIN: 0452274141

Customer Reviews:

A Must-Read For Anyone Who Cares About This Planet.......2007-08-20

This book is both fantastic and worrisome in its import. Painstakingly documented, it sounds a warning call that must be heeded. As well-read as I consider myself to be, I was surprised at how much I didn't know about the extent to which we've ALREADY messed up this Earth, biologically. Knowing how seriously we've messed up other species, one wonders to what extent the lessons also pertain to us. That is: it makes you realize that a lot of what we see going on today might have been the results of the seeds we've been sowing. Very thought-proviking.

Too Much Information!.......2007-06-24

Reading this book is like reading a scientific paper...boring! I think the idea of collaborating and telling a story could be a good idea, but this one doesn't work and is a real snooze-fest. There was too many incidents cited (yes, we get it, DDT is bad)that it took too long to get to the conclusions. It also didn't help that the type was fairly small and difficult to read.

This would be a good book if you wanted to write a term paper and needed a source for your topic and bibliography.

An excellent "Things that make you go Hmmm...." book.......2007-05-02

While this is nearly 10 years old it shows that people had been connecting the dots (and vigorously denying) synthetic hormones (and other chemicals that mimic the effects of hormones) in the environment for more then 60 years. Now in 2007 this book is still a good read, if a little outdated. Currently the science has evolved FAR past "what if" to "what now?" When Native Innuit populations show traces of Teflon and flame-retardant chemicals in their blood and breast milk, one truly understands that the diaper this planet wears is forever and mommy isn't going to come change it any time soon.

Still, the pro-industry flunkies will cry and cry. "You'll ruin the economy!" they shout from the rooftops. Well my favorite part of this book so far is the allegory: "A robber sticks his gun in your ribs and says 'your money or your life' what do you choose? It doesn't matter if you're an investment banker, a soccer-mom or a homeless person, the choice is ALWAYS that no amount of money is worth your life; you can make more money later as long as you're still alive..."

4 stars instead of 5 for being 10 years old and not up with the more current research, but certainly a good place to start if you are interested in the subject.

the problems with artificial hormones.......2006-11-15

In their book "Our Stolen Future," Colborn and his coauthors paint a devastating portrait of all the woes that can arise when chemicals that act like hormones are released into nature; animals become impotent, suffer other endocrine disruptions, get cancer, or give birth to offspring with birth defects. The devastation they describe is not much different from the devastation described in "Silent Spring," and give reason to reconsider how we treat the environment. Sometimes it would be better not to do something until we are sure that it is safe, rather than to do something until we are sure that it is not safe.

I was slightly surprised that the book goes into great depth about the havoc that artificial hormones can wreak when they are released into nature, but doesn't contemplate whether artificial hormones may have a downside when prescribed as medicines. Perhaps this will be the subject of another book.

What, me worry? .......2006-06-21

Stolen future? What future? This excellent book documents the threat posed to human reproduction and fetal development by the synthetic chemicals first created in the '30s. Read this along with Christopher Bryson's "The Fluoride Deception," and you will agree with me: we are f***ed. But then, throw in a little eschatology from the Maya, the Buddhists, the Hopis, Edgar Cayce, Sir Isaac Newton, and the Book of Revelations (among others) and perhaps you will conclude with me: it really doesn't matter anyway. Why? Because we were already f***ed --- long before we started filling out bodies with toxic waste disguised as food and drink.

Dear Reader, if you pooh-pooh the notion that we have about 2,380 days left before the Big Finale (as of this writing), then take the message of this book to heart --- before it's too late.

Average customer rating: broken Book #2 has "Stolen" my attention for everything Poor little rich man seeks Otherkin for Real-World gaming . . . Stolen: What Not To Do In Your Sophomore Novel Love This Series!

Stolen (Women of the Otherworld, Book 2) Kelley Armstrong Manufacturer: Plume ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback General | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books General | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Similar Items: Bitten (Women of the Otherworld, Book 1) Haunted (Women of the Otherworld, Book 5) Dime Store Magic (Women of the Otherworld, Book 3) Industrial Magic (Women of the Otherworld, Book 4) Broken (Women of the Otherworld, Book 6) ASIN: 0452285933 Release Date: 2004-09-28

Book Description

It was in Bitten, Kelley Armstrong's debut novel, that thirty-year-old Elena Michaels came to terms with her feral appetites and claimed the proud identity of a beautiful, successful woman—and the only living female werewolf.

In Stolen, on a mission for her own elite pack, she is lured into the net of ruthless Internet billionaire Tyrone Winsloe, who has funded a bogus scientific investigation of the “other races” and their supernatural powers. Kidnapped and studied in his underground lab deep in the Maine woods, these paranormals—witches, vampires, shamans, werewolves—are then released and hunted to the death in a real-world video game. But when Winsloe captures Elena, he finally meets his match.

Customer Reviews:

broken.......2007-09-20

I absolutely loved Kelley Armstrong's first book "bitten" and after reading so many other novels I couldn't get into, I decided to buy the whole series. Sigh. A great writer, I think the plot momentum to this 2nd book in the series, somehow lost its way.
Mel

Book #2 has "Stolen" my attention for everything.......2007-08-05

I think out of the six books in this series that I have read so far, this is by far my favorite one. So many new characters are introduced, new story lines and plots. I was very excited to see how this book would end, because the entire story had me on the edge of my seat. A wonderful book!

Poor little rich man seeks Otherkin for Real-World gaming . . ........2007-07-05

In the second book of the Women of the Otherworld series, Elena Michaels is living back with the Pack and has been following up on any leads in the media that sound like werewolf sightings or that sound as if they could be werewolf related. When she follows up on one that specifically requests media response, she is shocked to find two women claiming to be witches who know all about her and the Pack - Paige and Ruth Winterbourne. The witches say that there is a shadowy organization that has been kidnapping Others - witches, Shaman, vampires - whatever they can get their hands on - and doing experiments on them. From the sounds of the little information they have been able to gather, no one gets back out.

Elena is skeptical - and worried that anyone knows about the Pack. However, consulting with Jeremy, the decision is reached to humor the witches and go to the meeting that they have set up with members of the various Others to reach a decision - if possible - about what to do.

When the Pack is attacked twice after meeting with this group, Jeremy decides it is best that they leave. However, Elena ends up being kidnapped when the vehicle she is driving is separated from the other vehicle briefly.

The enclave where she is taken is a strange mixture of science and danger; on the one hand, Dr. Matasumi and Sondra Bauer want to study the Others to try to benefit humanity. On the other hand, it is being bankrolled by Tyrone Windsloe, who uses any excuse he can find to take the "subjects" out to the forest and hunt them - considering this to be just a live version of the computer games he is addicted to.

There is so much more to this book and the story, but I've likely told too much of it as it is. This was a terrific story - very action-packed and suspenseful, even though, as I mentioned in my review of Bitten (Women of the Otherworld, Book 1), I had already read the next two books of the series previously and had some idea of what had happened. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed reading this book. A strong recommend!

Stolen: What Not To Do In Your Sophomore Novel.......2007-05-14

Several years ago, Kelley Armstrong appeared on the scene with "Bitten," an excellent werewolf novel. I loved it. My mother loved it and she doesn't care for horror novels. The thing that made Bitten so special was the strong relationships between Elena, the only female werewolf, and her werewolf family. Bitten was clearly meant to be a stand alone novel. At about the same time, female written first-person horror/romance novels were really taking off in their popularity. Especially if they contained many races of supernatural critters. I can only guess that this is the climate under which "Stolen" was conceived, as it reads like an unnessecary sequel and a novel that practically screams "ME TOO!" A perfect way to kill an author's unique voice and vision just to follow publishing trends.

In the world of Bitten, there is only one small pack of werewolves and a handful of rogues that occasionally cause trouble. A series would get really old, really fast if every book some new werewolf came to challenge the pack; at the beginning of Stolen, Elena discovers that there are vampires, witches, demons, and every other kind of supernatural critter one can shove down a kitchen sink and they have just invited the wolf pack to join their supernatural justice league. Normally, this organization polices its own so they all can keep a low profile, but at the moment they are in a tizzy after several powerful supernaturals are kidnapped. Her meeting with the witch in charge of the group leads to Elena getting abducted and held in the kidnapper's high security lab. The supernaturals unfortunate enough to end up here are studied, toyed with, and then hunted for sport. Elena and her cell-mates have to cook up an escape plan fast because at any minute they too could wind up dead.

The reoccurring characters from Bitten seem like shallow images of themselves, not that Elena's follow werewolves play any big role in the novel. Elena herself seems to have fallen prey to the trend that all urban fantasy heroines must be smart-mouthed to the point of stupidity. All through the novel, she swaggers and snarls threats to her captors even she has no viable plan to escape or fight them. It's disappointing because Bitten was heavily character driven. It's like Armstrong had no idea what to do with her creation this time around, and rather than adding new layers to Elena, she stripped old ones away.

Even worse than the characters is the plot. This is nothing more than a supernatural rehash of the famous short story "The Most Dangerous Game." Armstrong's version is competently written and contains enough suspense to be worth reading, but I think the author could better. Even more irritating to me is that she expanded the mythos to include all these other supernatural races. Her werewolf people in her debut novel were fully realized with their own culture and mindset. All these new interlopers are not even close to being as meticulously detailed. It seems like they were added in because everyone else writing this kind of fiction was doing it.

Love This Series!.......2007-04-01

I am new to this author and this series. However, I have blown through five books in about a month (which is AMAZING as I have a 1-year-old at home) which means I gave valuable SLEEP TIME up to read them. The book was a great easy read with characters that you can't help but root for and villians you can't wait to see fail. Although I have a few more to read, I am already missing all the characters when I am done...

Average customer rating: great information, weak on analysis Informative and compelling great book, scared me to death ! Critically important for environmentalists & students. Brilliance

Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply Vandana Shiva Manufacturer: South End Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books Relations | International | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books General | Science | Subjects | Books Food Science | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books Agronomy | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books General | Agricultural Sciences | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books General | Food Sciences | Agricultural Sciences | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books Similar Items: Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, And Peace Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge World Hunger: Twelve Myths All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life ASIN: 0896086070

Book Description

Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1 The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply
Chapter 2 Soy Imperialism and the Destruction of Local Food Cultures
Chapter 3 The Stolen Harvest Under the Sea
Chapter 4 Mad Cows and Sacred Cows
Chapter 5 The Stolen Harvest of Seed
Chapter 6 Genetic Engineering and Food Security
Chapter 7 Reclaiming Food Democracy

Customer Reviews:

great information, weak on analysis.......2004-10-15

I'm afraid I must dissent from the rave reviews this book has gotten. It's a good book, but it's not wonderful. It's very strong at presenting the ways that the corporatization of food production is destructive of human health, the environment, and the livelihood of poor farmers, fisher folk and the like. There's lots of examples, lots of strong empirical data to back up Shiva's claims. Her analysis about why all this is going on is lacking though. It's not that I disagree with her critique of the WTO, multinational corporations, monoculture and her affirmation of the need for humanity to live in harmony with nature. It's just that she barely does more than sketch these arguments out. I understand that this is not meant to be an academic book, but she could have developed her points in much more depth, while still using accessible language and ideas. This book has potential it didn't achieve.

Informative and compelling.......2002-05-18

In this remarkable book, Vandana Shiva effectively contrasts corporate command-and-control methods of food production with the small farmer economy that predominates in the third world (especially in her native India). In contast to what many here in the U.S. might perceive as the conventional wisdom, Shiva makes a strong argument that local, small scale agriculture is superior to the agribusiness model for a number of reasons.

First, Shiva points out that many of the productivity gains attributable to the Green Revolution were achieved by dramatically increased inputs of fertilizer, seed and water. When one compares units of input with units of output, however, native practices produce higher yields -- especially when one takes into account the multiple uses derived from a single product.

For example, mustard oil is a vital product used by many of India's poor for cooking, seasoning, medicine and other uses. But it has been banned by the Indian government (under highly suspicious circumstances) in order to allow imports of soybean oil products. While giant corporations benefit from expanded sales, native industries have been destroyed, contibuting to poverty and malnourishment.

Shiva discusses the commercial fishing and aquaculture (shrimp farming) practices that inevitably result in environmental destruction and reduced catches. She compares this short-sighted approach with traditional Indian fishing techniques that have successfully sustained themselves for generations while protecting important ecosystems such as mangrove forests.

Shiva discusses corporate patenting of seeds, which insidiously transforms the cooperative ethic of seed sharing into a criminal offense. The author supports a non-cooperation movement in India that is resisting corporate attempts to claim ownership of seeds that have been cultivated by countless generations of farmers.

Shiva's sacred cow / mad cow metaphor effectively and appropriately contrasts agribusiness with small farming. India's sacred cows live in harmony with the environment, performing multiple services and producing multiple products for the community; whereas mad cows are a grotesque manifestation of an industrial system obsessed with uniformity, technology and profit.

Shiva also touches on the topic of genetic engineering (GE) and discusses the threat it poses to biodiversity, food safety and human health.

The Afterword to the book alludes to the WTO protests in Seattle. Shiva believes this watershed event proves that people are becoming more aware of the dangers of unaccountable corporate power, yet she believes that positive change is possible. This opening of consciousness to new possibilities may be attributable to the extraordinary work of people like Vandana Shiva, whose intelligence and compassion is abundantly evident in this book. Highly recommended!

great book, scared me to death !.......2001-09-29

this is a great book, i highly recomend it. i must warn you its not for the weak stomached, this book will CHANGE your view on the food you eat. i didnt eat for a week after reading this.

Critically important for environmentalists & students........2000-05-09

In Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking Of The Global Food Supply, renowned environmental activist Vandana Shiva charts the impacts of globalized, corporate agriculture on small farmers, the environment, and the quality of the food we eat. Shiva writes about genetically engineered seeds, patents on life, mad cows (and sacred cows), shrimp farming, and more. Stolen Harvest is a passionate, articulate, highly recommended "wake up" call to the public regarding the role of genetic engineering in commercial agriculture, the growing domination of agribusiness with respect to world food supplies, and the need for sound environmental thinking with respect to feeding the burgeoning populations of the world.

Brilliance.......2000-04-29

If you deplore the WTO and MN corporate control over the world's food supply through intellectual property rights and patents on genetically engineered seed - then reading Stolen Harvest is a must. Vandana Shiva brilliantly reveals the current crisis that Indian farmers are facing as Monsanto and other mega corps are jeopardizing the livelihoods of impoverished persons (worldwide) through seed monopoly and a centralized system of agriculture commerce. Shiva discusses the impact of industrial farming and aquaculture on the environment and how it stresses local populations and threatens the diversity of species. A MUST READ!

Average customer rating: Controversial Shift in Veneration From White Greece to Black Egypt The Truth That Was Stolen Through War Theives Dedication/Review From the Internet by RUNOKO RASHIDI The wisdom of the Egyptians was a proverb with the Greeks

Stolen Legacy George G. M. James Manufacturer: African American Images ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Egypt | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books General | Egypt | Africa | History | Subjects | Books General | Greece | Europe | History | Subjects | Books General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books Greek & Roman | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books Ancient | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books African-American Studies | Special Groups | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books Similar Items: Destruction of Black Civilization : Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C to 2000 A.D. The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America A Chronology of the Bible: Challenge to the Standard Version (B.C.P. Pamphlet) From Babylon to Timbuktu: A History of the Ancient Black Races Including the Black Hebrews ASIN: 0913543780

Book Description

Challenging the notion that civilization started in Greece, this uncompromising classic attempts to prove that the true authors of Greek philosophy were not Greeks but Egyptians. The text asserts that the praise and honor blindly given to the Greeks for centuries rightfully belong to the people of Africa, and argues that the theft of this great African legacy led to the erroneous world opinion that the African continent has made no contribution to civilization. Quoting such celebrated Greek scholars as Herodotus, Hippocrates, Aristotle, Thales, and Pythagoras, who admit to the influence of Egyptian studies in their work, this edition sheds new light on traditional philosophical and historical thought. Originally published in 1954, this book features a new introduction.

Customer Reviews:

Controversial Shift in Veneration From White Greece to Black Egypt.......2007-04-14

Having read all of the previous 74 reviews the resemblance of controversy along skin color lines towards the O.J.Simpson case becomes clear. That alone should give food for thought. As a RastafarI I am not that fond of arguing for the sake of winning in an US debate class. I like to "reason".

What the book is about: It swiftly dismantles the (supposed) pseudo-achievements of ancient Greek philosophy by thoroughly (or not) proving its much older Black Egyptian origins. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and the other "great Greek philosophers" were persecuted for introducing alien to Greece (somewhat corrupted along the accused plagiarism) knowledge and thoughts, they acquired by various means from the people which build the pyramids.

Which is most interesting for RastafarI as Rasta tradition rejects a focus on ancient Greek culture as Eurocentrism. After reading this book, I-n-I may adjust to embracing Greek philosophy - as of Black African origin. What a challenge! What a potential twist! As the Oregonians say (and whoever before them): "Never assume someone to be wrong, it may turn out later, they were right, too."

Personally, I would say, for a book written in 1954, only minor adjustments, such as corrections, would have to be made. (Compared to much newer books, yet in need of much more updating.) As controversial as this book is, white-conditioned folks cry "Lies!" I find the challenge of it alone very rewarding. A zillion lies have been told by white downpressors about black skinned people. A zillion more false scientific fantasies have been uttered in the same vein. Nobody got upset, not really. But when the racist-conditioned can't deal with the possibility of a reversed truth, they hit the ceiling, when the proof might be a bit lacking. Instead of appreciating that work and enhancing it further to find out even more of the truth. (The complete truth of anything we will never learn of course.)

A challenge very necessary. As I write this, a movie will soon open in my country of living, in which black sororities and fraternities at an African American college uses exclusively Greek alphabet letters for their names ("Stomp the Yard"). Exactly, what George G.M. James advised against 53 years ago, in order to emancipate. One of the reviewers of this book suggests now, to let comparisons with Greece go and rather concentrate on the black African achievements. Sure! All the centuries of colonialism, black skinned people GOT compared to Greece, driven into an inferiority complex, and now, that the tides have turned, Blacks are paternalised to let go of Greece. Ok, I can do that. I will concentrate on ancient Black Egypt then and totally forget about Greece...

The "philosophy" controversy: Linguistically relevant isn't so much, wether there are other words in ancient Greek containing word-parts of that, but wether the previous language did and wether ancient Egyptian did instead. Which I am told respectively no and yes, but personally I cannot confirm.

The Alexandria library controversy: I have read other sources referencing a library in existence before the Greek invasion (which would make much sense, I may add). But again, personally, I cannot confirm.

In any case, even if one or the other statement is not 100% correct or even false, the book has many more to offer. And is not describing Aristotle's plagiarism alone, but of basically all the other Greek philosophers as well. This smells like specific criticism intended to discredit the entire book. Which actually confirms the overall message of the book: For if the racist-conditioned COULD disprove ALL the allegations of the book, we could be sure they WOULD.

It is hilarious to claim, the Egyptians wouldn't have known any philosophy. Because supposedly no records would have been found. Like what: All the tons of books available (on this website) about religion and wisdom of the ancient Egyptians are what - I figure of the imagination? This book is describing very religious philosophy and nobody upfull/honest would dare to suggest, the Egyptians didn't have any. How far do people go? Unbelievable.

Maybe this hilarious claim is to be overstood as more specific philosophy according to the later Greek version. Nobody serious in the science community doubts the religious influence of Egypt over ancient Greece. E.g. "Black Isis and Child" is the image, from which "Black Mary and Child" was derived (later to be turned white-skinned). There's not enough space to list all of the religious path of development. Maybe it's not so much about plagiarism, but rather missionising, converting, influencing, adjusting, going the path of religious evolution.

The art controversy: Maybe the Greeks didn't build any pyramids, as it is claimed there is no architectural similarity between the two countries. Well, probably, they couldn't. I've read somewhere, the Japanese attempted to rebuild a pyramid in the 20th century and failed. Which is exactly a point: Even today, we can only GUESS, how the Egyptians build the pyramids. We simply do not know. There are no records left, whatsoever. Yet, nobody would claim, because those records aren't there, the pyramids aren't there. (Also being as precise geometrically and astronomically as with today's sophisticated gadgetry.) Also: The ancient Egyptians were able to diagnose certain bone fractions, today's doctors can't without x-ray. We only know, they could do it, but not how!
After Alexander the Great, the Greeks DID absorb any art they encountered. Paintings of Egyptian and Indian styles became Hellenised and vice versa. Of course, how else?!

For this purpose I advise reading African Origins Of Freemasonry: Treatise Of The Ancient Grand Lodge Of Khamet. Written in 2005, it references this book and updates a bit on the controversy, mentioning that discreditors of the book have been disproven in turn in the meanwhile. It also says, Freemasonry derives from the Ancient Egyptian Philosophy/Religion. Yet, this book doesn't say anything about Freemasonry. Why? Because of an oath of secrecy. Which of course was the same back then. Why? Priests are more powerfull, when only they can perform and have the knowledge. Please compare that to the Vatican which in the Dark Ages closed all institutes of education, destroyed all Greco-Roman texts it could, made its priest the only literate and did not translate the Bible into the local languages. They could interpret whatever they wanted! By the way: The Egyptians DID reveal the plagiarism : As soon, as they were able to - after all the successive occupations making that impossible before. Today, as in this book does. And experience the resistance of the establishment! (Also, some knowledge is dangerous, that's why e.g. certain Buddhist monks today do not reveal their fighting technics, whith which they wouldn't only win any Olympics, but could do considerable harm.)

The Black Egyptian controversy: Gee, I thought, we were past that "controversy". Currently, human knowledge doubles every 5 years. Part of that is, that the ancient Egyptians were black skinned. Not some, but most, even all in the early times. Read some of the older Ivan Van Sertima books or the 2006 When We Ruled: The Ancient and Medieval History of Black Civilisations proving that. For the DNA-resemblances to the Sumerians etc., guess what: They and the so called Hittites and other early peoples in the vicinity were black also. As were some ancestor-peoples of peoples called Semitic today. So that argument was a boomerang.

Also read one or the other recent book on genetics. Then you will find out, that EVERY single human, who lived at the times of the ancients, who left a surviving line of descendents, is one of the ancestors of EVERY human living today. Not a single exception. Which is true in turn for the time of the ancient Greeks in reference again to the times of the early Egyptian dynasties. There simply isn't such a thing as race, but a constant and complete mixing of anything. There is only appearances. Get over that! Both sides of the argument. That will enlighten your philosophy and spirituality. As everything from ancient times is OUR history, from ALL THE SIDES. Or "I-and-I" history, as Rastas would say. I.e. no matter, who invented that certain philosophy, they were the ancestors of ALL of I and I.

The Truth That Was Stolen Through War.......2007-03-21

"For centuries the world has been misled about the original source of the Arts and Sciences; for centuries Socrates, Plato and Aristotle have been falsely idolized as models of intellectual greatness; and for centuries the African continent has been called the Dark Continent, because Europe coveted the honor of transmitting to the world, the Arts and Sciences," writes George G.M. James, in his landmark study of the true authors of Greek philosophy, the Egyptians.

Initially published in 1954, the book shows yet again how war for the truth is waged on a battlefield, this one being Alexander's conquest of Egypt and the military policies to gain from Egyptian Priests information concerning Egyptian history, philosophy and religion & the plundering of libraries. That became the starting point for the plagarized writings of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, with this false history being continually taught in classrooms, from elementary schools to colleges.

James focuses on the Egyptian Mystery System, which was the foundation for the arts & sciences and how these doctrines found in Greek writings are traced back to the Egyptian origin.

Particularly interesting are the chapters where James gives a brief biography of a Greek author and then - with an impressive listing of resources - points to major discrepencies in their lives and the doubts surrounding the authorship of their "original" works.

And please note that James wrote his book with a larger mission in mind: "Consequently this theft of the African legacy by the Greeks led to the erroneous world opinion that the African Continent has made no contribution to civilization, and that its people are naturally backward. This is the misrepresentation that has become the basis of race prejudice, which has affected all people of color."

It is only right for wrongs to be correctly rewritten and the truth be told. Stolen Legacy began that process more than 50 years ago and it continues today, one reader at a time.

Theives.......2007-02-27

Stolen Legacy by George James

Someone said "stop hatin". I agree. When the truth begins to come to light, the myth makers begin to make big "wahala." Did grandmama nem say "that a hit dog barks the loudest." I guess we got some hit dogs up in heah!

Egypt is one of those places that conjure up images of beautiful and magnificent ancient people who built the pyramids and created a great African culture.

I have been fascinated with Egypt since I was a young child. I was also enamored of Greek mythology. However, when I discovered that there is no such thing as Greek mythology, but Egyptian/African mythology in disguise; I felt compelled to try to learn the truth.

The book is only one book of many that should be read, that is, if you want the truth.

Dedication/Review From the Internet by RUNOKO RASHIDI .......2006-11-30

THE GLOBAL AFRICAN COMMUNITY

H I S T O R Y N O T E S


By RUNOKO RASHIDI

DEDICATED TO DR. PETER DAWSON AND DR. ALFRED M. LIGON

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following information will be of interest to all who appreciate the work of George G. M. James. As we all know, very little is published about Professor James. The following information came to me via the Internet. I have decided to republish it here because it has some precious information about Prof. James.
This information is quite appropriate to describe the book that i first reprinted in 1989 - long after the death of Mr. James. But since i was the first publisher to 'mass' produce, and satisfy the great demand for the book, it is the only one in print that also has a photograph of the Author. [...]
"The term Greek philosophy, to begin with, is a
misnomer, for there is no such philosophy in
existence."

Dr. George Granville Monah James was born in
Georgetown, Guyana, South America. He was the son of
Reverend Linch B. and Margaret E. James. George G.M.
James earned Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Theology
and Master of Arts degrees from Durham University in
England and was a candidate there for the D. Litt
degree. He conducted research at London University
and did postgraduate work at Columbia University where
he read for his Ph.D. Dr. James earned a teaching
certificate in the State of New York to teach
mathematics, Latin and Greek. James later served as
Professor of Logic and Greek at Livingston College in
Salisbury, North Carolina for two years, and
eventually taught at the University of Arkansas, Pine
Bluff.

Dr. James was the author of the widely circulated
Stolen Legacy: The Greeks Were Not the Authors of
Greek Philosophy, But the People of North Africa,
Commonly Called the Egyptians--a controversial text
originally published in 1954 and reprinted a number of
times since. Professor William Leo Hansberry reviewed
Stolen Legacy in the Journal of Negro Education in
1955, and noted that:

"In Stolen Legacy an author with a passion for justice
and truth champions a startling thesis with which most
of the little volume's readers--Hellenophiles in
particular--will no doubt strongly disagree. In this
work Professor James dares to contend and labor to
prove, among others, that 'the Greeks were not the
authors of Greek philosophy', that 'so-called Greek
philosophy' was based in the main upon ideas and
concepts which were borrowed without
acknowledgement--indeed 'stolen'--by a few wayward and
dishonest Greeks from the ancient Egyptians."

Stolen Legacy was written during Dr. James' tenure at
the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. As of
today, there is not even a copy of the book in the
University library. There is no statue or bust of Dr.
James on the campus. There is no plaque of Dr. James
adorning the campus walls. There is not even a
certificate to note Dr. James' existence or that he
even lived. This is at an historically Black college!


Dr. James's tragic death, under mysterious
circumstances, reputedly, came shortly after Stolen
Legacy's publication. To date, no significant
biography of James has been presented.

SOURCES:
Stolen Legacy, by George G.M. James
Nile Valley Contributions To Civilization, by Anthony
Browder

The wisdom of the Egyptians was a proverb with the Greeks.......2006-09-09

"The wisdom of the Egyptians was a proverb with the Greeks, who felt themselves children beside this ancient race." Plato, Timaeus, 22B, Quoted from Will Durant, the Story of civilization: I



Egyptian Civilization:
"Historians of philosophy have been wont to begin their story with the Greeks. It may be that we are all mistaken; for among the most ancient fragments left to us by the Egyptians are writings that belong under the rubric of moral philosophy. The Egyptians were the light of the ancient world. They produced many early medical instruments, designed the world's first step pyramid, and laid the empirical groundwork for scientific reasoning. Akhenaton, ..., is cited as "the Father of Monotheism." Eugene Holley Jr.
Gerald Massey's work; 'Book of the Beginnings,' is an essential reading for seekers of a balanced understanding of human origins, religious thought and belief, and the role of Egyptian civilization in world history. Massey, born in England in 1828, was a radical Egyptologist, who maintained that Africa was the source for "the greatest civilization in the world." According to Massey, all evidence cries aloud its proclamation that Africa was the birthplace of the non-articulate and Egypt the mouthpiece of articulate man.

Egyptian Moral Heritage:
Herodotus, has demonstrated that Greece borrowed from Egypt all the elements of her civilization, and that Egypt was the cradle of civilization. "Egypt is the mother of all (the civilized) world," says the popular proverb, to which responded the Late Nobel laureate, Naguib Mahfouz, "Egyptian civilization was beyond any doubt a great culture that encompassed the entire ancient world. The fact that we may have come to know it once more through the mediation of Western explorers and scientists does not make it any less ours. How could it be? It is the heritage of all humanity."
Morally, Ancient Egypt was far ahead of 18th century Europe, as testified by Diodoros (Hellene historian, 1st cent. BC) who specified that Solon had adopted an Egyptian law according to which everybody had to declare the source of their income. In I.79.3 Diodoros specified yet another Solonic law supposed to derive from Egypt, his famous 'Seisachtheia,' "shaking off of debts" according to which a man could not be imprisoned or enslaved for debt. Whether or not Diodoros' claims are correct, has been treated seriously in the 20th century.

Egypt: Greece Alma Matter?
'But now that we have examined these matters, we must enumerate what Greeks, who have won fame for their wisdom and learning, visited in ancient times, in order to become acquainted with its customs and learning. For the priests of Egypt recount from the records of their sacred books that they were visited in early times by Orpheus, Musaeus, Melampus, and Daedalus, also by the poet Homer and Lycurgus of Sparta, later by Solon of Athens and the philosopher Plato, and that there also came Pythagoras of Samos and the mathematician Eudoxus, {note 1} as well as Democritus of Abdera and Oenopides {note 2} of Chios. As evidence for the visits of all these men they point in some cases to their statues and in others to places or buildings {note 3} which bear their names, and they offer proofs from the branch of learning which each one of these men pursued, arguing that all the things for which they were admired among the Greeks were transferred from Egypt. (DIODORUS OF SICILY, C.H. Oldfather, translator, Harvard University Press (Loeb), Cambridge Ma. 1968.)

M. Bernal wrote, "Her (Lefkowitz) general truth is that Greece did not derive any significant part of its civilization from Egypt. In this, she not only flies in the face of Greek and Roman tradition but even goes further than most of her classicist colleagues. For instance, she is extremely doubtful that Plato ever went to Egypt because, she maintains, references to the visit only appear in the late Hellenistic period (1st century BC). However, according to recent scholarship on the issue, the tradition of the journey goes back to Speusippos, Plato's nephew and his successor as head of the Academy." Bernal Review; Not Out of Africa

Stolen Legacy:
"The term Greek philosophy, to begin with, is a misnomer, for there is no such philosophy in existence." is such a harsh statement for Dr. James to start his introduction, and very bold for a book written in 1954 Arkansas. The compatibility of Greek philosophy with Egyptian Wisdom is in intense debate for the last two decades. If Lefkowitz rogues' gallery targeted above all George James (as Bernal stated), it is because they are both polarizing figures, was the reason I acquired the book recently, and attempted to review it.
Over on athena-discuss, Scott A. Simmons wrote, "I would readily grant "tribute" as opposed to "theft", if the "wholesale appropriation" were acknowledged by those whose names now attract credit that is not theirs. If they (Archimedes, Aristotle, Thales, etc.) took from the Egyptians without acknowledging it, then by definition, plagiarism is committed."
Professor William Hansberry reviewed Stolen Legacy in the Journal of Negro Education in 1955, and noted that: "In Stolen Legacy an author with a passion for justice and truth champions a startling thesis with which most of the little volume's readers, Helleno-philes in particular, will no doubt strongly disagree. In this work Professor James dares to contend and labor to prove, among others, that 'the Greeks were not the authors of Greek philosophy', that 'so-called Greek philosophy' was based in the main upon ideas and concepts which were borrowed without acknowledgement, indeed 'stolen,' by a few wayward and dishonest Greeks from the ancient Egyptians."

Dr. George G. M. James:
"Mary Lefkowitz dislikes the whole gamut. ...However, her principal objection is to the 20th century group that ... some refer to as "Nilocentric," ... I too am included in her attacks but her rogues' gallery consists of ..., and above all George G. M. James." Martin Bernal

Dr. George Granville James, son of Reverend Linch James, earned BA, and MA degrees from Durham University in England. He conducted research at London University and did postgraduate work at Columbia University where he read for his Ph.D. James later served as Professor of Logic and Greek at Livingston College in Salisbury, NC, and eventually taught at the University of Arkansas.

Average customer rating: A STOLEN SEASON What a ride! Cold July? Another Hit for Hamilton Lots of Action, Great Story

A Stolen Season: An Alex McKnight Novel (Alex McKnight Novels) Steve Hamilton Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books Similar Items: Copper River: A Cork O'Connor Mystery (Cork O'Connor Mysteries) Ice Run: An Alex McKnight Novel (Alex McKnight Novels) North of Nowhere: An Alex McKnight Novel Night Work Winter of the Wolf Moon: A Mystery (An Alex McKnight Novel) ASIN: 031235360X Release Date: 2006-09-05

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

A STOLEN SEASON.......2007-10-05

I REALLY LIKE THIS AUTHOR. MAKES ME WANT TO GO TO A FROZEN LAND TO LIVE ALWAYS EXCITING READING.

What a ride!.......2007-09-22

I just finished reading this book this morning and I heartily recommend it. If you haven't met Alex Mcknight, you need to do so. He is a great character, flawed, but a true hero and all-around good guy. There is plenty of action and a mystery that keeps you guessing. Steve Hamilton paints the scenery and climate of the "upper peninsula" area of Michigan so vividly that you feel like you are there; it actually feels like one of the characters. The story involves drug dealers, gun runners and all the mayhem that goes along with those activities, but the real story is the love connection between Alex and his girlfriend, Natalie Reynaud. don't miss this book!

Cold July? .......2007-08-20

Another great Alex McKnight story by the prolific storyteller Steve Hamilton. There are twists and turns at every step in his fast-paced story.

We again encounter Alex McKnight; retired Detroit Cop who spends his days refurbishing the cabins his father left him in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

We find this is not an friendly environment. Here it is, the 4th of July and it is cold, foggy and rainy. The story begins with the crash of a very expensive wooden classic boat. McKnight and the friends he is with, save three people from the sinking boat. But after that things get very disturbed and a twisted plot involving illegal guns, drugs, murder and mayhem both on the United States and the Canadian sides of the river.

Also in this book, we see Alex coming to terms with his relationship with Natalie Reynaud, a Canadian police officer whom we have encountered in previous books about McKnight and company.

I love how Hamilton keeps the action moving, Alex is not a policeman anymore, in fact he is usually at odds with the local authorities in both countries. He is not a private investigator, he has to borrow a gun when he feels he needs one. But trouble always seems to find Alex, or one of his very small group of friends and he does his best to take care of the situation and get the bad guys in the end.

This was actually a sad book in many ways, the torments that Alex goes through, the errors that make him doubt himself and his feelings all come to the forefront. I'm not sure where Hamilton will take Alex next, if he does at all. I hope so, just so we can see some life and feeling return to the shell left at the end of this book.

Another Hit for Hamilton.......2007-05-26

Alex McKnight is a retired Detroit cop who can't seem to shy away from trouble. After being shot on the job and left with a bullet lodged behind his heart, McKnight moves to Paradise, Michigan, where he tries to put his life back together.

His former partner is dead and his undercover police officer girlfriend, Natalie, has taken a job 500 miles away. Unsure where their relationship is heading, McKnight decides to take the time away from Natalie to sort out his life. He wants to re-build his father's old home and start a new cabin rental business on the lake.

Despite his intention to live a quiet life, he soon finds himself embroiled in a series of events that occur after he witnesses a cabin cruiser smash into pilings in the lake. McKnight and his friends rescue the driver and two men but the next day they accuse him of stealing a missing lock box that was in the boat.

While Alex unwittingly uncovers a drug-dealing operation, his girlfriend surprises him with a visit. Their cases have more in common than either of them realizes and the action revs up into high gear.

Murder and mayhem follow McKnight as he tries to make sense of the events spinning his life out of control.

Any author who writes the sequel in a successful series faces the daunting task of bringing new readers up to speed with the characters quickly, while at the same time keeping previous fans from being bored by repeating descriptions and events. It takes a while for Hamilton to reveal pertinent information about his main character's background but once the reader gets to know Alex McKnight; the pages start turning faster.

Hamilton takes the reader to an unusual setting for a crime scene that involves drug trafficking and murder--the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the lake community of Paradise. The story takes place on "an unusually cold Fourth of July," but A Stolen Season is definitely a hot read.

Lots of Action, Great Story.......2007-05-26

Alex McKnight has been listening to his friend's band for quite a while. He decides he needs some air on this unseasonably cold Fourth of July. He steps outside, into the chilly fog and hears a loud crash. A boat speeding to beat the band has run smack into some railroad pilings. Alex jumps to the rescue and the three men in the boat are soon whisked away in an ambulance.

But Alex's good deed is going to cause him some grief. The men come back and accuse innocent Alex of pilfering a black box that was supposedly aboard the boat. Not only does he have these dangerous men to contend with, but his girlfriend Natalie is up in Toronto doing undercover for and don't you know that somehow, some way it's going to tie in with these guys who are harassing Alex.

Does it seem like too much coincidence? With a less skilled writer's pen, maybe, but Steven Hamilton pulls it off even as he draws you further into the story. Lots of action, great characters, a story you can't put down. You can't ask for much more than that.

Average customer rating: Young readers love it Dogwomen kelly A photographic memory comes in handy... CAM JANSEN AND THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN DIAONDS Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds was great!

Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds (Cam Jansen) David A. Adler Manufacturer: Puffin ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books Adler, David A. | ( A ) | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Children's Books | Subjects | Books Cam Jansen | Mystery & Detective | Series | Children's Books | Subjects | Books General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Adler, David A. | ( A ) | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books General | Literature | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Cam Jansen | Mystery & Detective | Series | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Similar Items: Cam Jansen 14 Chocolate Fudge Mystery (Cam Jansen) Cam Jansen: The Mystery of the Dinosaur Bones (Cam Jansen) Cam Jansen & The Mystery of the Television Dog (Cam Jansen) Cam Jansen & the Mystery of the UFO (Cam Jansen) Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Babe Ruth Baseball ASIN: 0142400106

Book Description

The Cam Jansen books are perfect for young readers who are making the transition to chapter books, and Cam is a spunky young heroine whom readers have loved for over two decades. Now the first ten books in the series have updated covers that bring new life to these perennial best-sellers. Old fans and new readers will love Cam's cool, modern look!

Customer Reviews:

Young readers love it.......2006-03-13

This was purchased as a gift for a young reader. It is important that a new reader develope a love for reading at a young age and what better way than to read stories developed especially for that age group.

Dogwomen kelly.......2006-01-11

I like Cam Jamsen because....It has mysterys in it. All boys and girls should read Cam Jansen .

A photographic memory comes in handy..........2005-01-19

You have to love Cam Jansen. When you're a kid, you read all of these stories about magic powers, mystery, and adventure. But everyone tells you magic can't exist. Cam Jansen manages to solve every case without the use of magic... she's a real girl. That's what makes her special and what makes you want to red more and more. Cam Jansen is a real kid superhero, and the thought that a person like her could actually exist... makes her the best kid detective ever! Our family loves Cam Jansen!

CAM JANSEN AND THE MYSTERY OF THE STOLEN DIAONDS.......2000-06-06

I LIKE THIS BOOK. BECAUSE CAM HAS A GOOD MEMEREY.SO HE HELPSSOLVE THE MYSTREY!

Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds was great!.......1999-06-27

I liked the book a lot! Only you can't put it down! I thought it was very exciting and surprising. The best part was when Cam was in the house. I won't say any more because you should read it yourself, because you will like it too.

Average customer rating: Nate the Great Excellent

Nate the Great and the Stolen Base (Nate the Great) Marjorie Weinman Sharmat Manufacturer: Yearling ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books Simont, Marc | ( S ) | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Children's Books | Subjects | Books Nate the Great | Mystery & Detective | Series | Children's Books | Subjects | Books General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Simont, Marc | ( S ) | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books General | Literature | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Mystery & Detective | Series | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books | Cam Jansen | Encyclopedia Brown | Geronimo Stilton | Hardy Boys | Jigsaw Jones | Nancy Drew | The Boxcar Children | Trixie Belden All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books Similar Items: Nate the Great and the Monster Mess (Nate the Great) Nate The Great (Nate The Great, paper) Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail (Nate the Great) Nate the Great Goes Undercover (Nate the Great) Nate The Great And The Missing Key (Nate The Great, paper) ASIN: 0440409322 Release Date: 1994-02-01

Book Description

Rosamund's baseball team has a very unusual second base—Oliver’s gloopy purple plastic octopus. But one morning . . . it’s gone! “Somebody stole second base,” Rosamond tells teammate Nate the Great. With the help of his dog, Sludge, the young detective trails the missing octopus, picking up clues along the way. It’s not easy to track down a stolen base, and Nate’s hunt leads him to some strange places before he finds himself up at bat once more.

Customer Reviews:

Nate the Great.......2003-01-18

I really liked the book because it talks about some kids that play baseball togheter and when the second base was stollen they decided to look for it. Nate the Great worked hard to find it. He found it behind the bookcase in Oliver's house. I also liked the name he gave his dog: Sludge. I think he is a great detective because he was able to solve the case.

Excellent.......1999-11-03

I love the "Nate the Great" books by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. They keep my daughter's interest and she loves the characters and Nate always having his pancakes. She tries to read the books herself and I love any book that challenges her to do that. I hope to see more books by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. I feel she's a talented author and should be applauded for her children's works.

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2. The Water is Wide
3. The Way Of The Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Woman, Work, and Sexual Desire
4. Time to Run (Navy SEALs, Book 3)
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6. Varney's Midwifery, Fourth Edition
7. Walden
8. What's Heaven?
9. Why Men Love Bitches: From Doormat to Dreamgirl-A Woman's Guide to Holding Her Own in a Relationship
10. Witness in Death (In Death)

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