Book Description
In this delightful second installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s best-selling new detective series, the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, gets caught up in an affair of the heart—this one a transplant.
When Isabel’s niece, Cat, asks Isabel to run her delicatessen while she attends a wedding in Italy, Isabel meets a man with a most interesting problem. He recently had a heart transplant and is suddenly plagued with memories of events that never happened to him. The situation appeals to Isabel as a philosophical question: Is the heart truly the seat of the soul? And it piques her insatiable curiosity: Could the memories be connected with the donor’s demise? Of course, Grace—Isabel’s no-nonsense housekeeper—and Isabel’s friend Jamie think it is none of Isabel’s business. Meanwhile, Cat brings home an Italian lothario, who, in accordance with all that Isabel knows about Italian lotharios, shouldn’t be trusted . . . but, goodness, he is charming.
That makes two mysteries of the heart to be solved—just the thing for Isabel Dalhousie.
Customer Reviews:
The Isabel Dalhousie series.......2007-10-06
The series of Isabel Dalhousie books is a most enjoyable read. As I am a nosy female, she is most easy to identify with, and her actions are most understandable to me.
The author is a favorite of mine. Always a good read.
attractive title but boring story (if any).......2007-06-18
I was attracted by the storyline: after a heart transplant, a man had some "new" memories, and suspected that the transplanted heart carried with it the memories of the donor. Attractive story, isn't it? But I'm sad to find out the story unfolded was quite boring *_*
Something almost happens.......2007-05-11
I have to admit that, although I enjoyed reading this book, I was disappointed when I reached the end and realized that nothing much had really happened. There was the prospect of a juicy hit and run murder, perhaps the question of questionable transplant ethics, perhaps something supernatural and outside the realm of rationality - but, no - nothing really comes of any of it. It reminds me of Virginia Woolfs 'To the Lighthouse' with much internal rumination and complex social mores and not much actual action. I would prefer if there were even a small crime or mystery, such as those solved by the Botswana detective lady in the midst of her gentle African ruminations. This was more just leaping about to wrong conclusions, and Ms. Dalhousie is much too intelligent for that.
A Lesson in Moral Obligation.......2007-05-10
I really enjoyed this second installment in the Isabel Dalhousie Mystery series. The book is frought with moral dilemmas and observations regarding human behaviour related to organ transplants and the concept of "cellular memory," May-December romance, and unrequited love.
Does a recipient of an organ donation have the ablity to remember the last moments of the donors life? Also, should the family of the organ donor be made aware of this, or even know who received the organ? What if the donor died under suspicious circumstances? Or perhaps we are all jumping to conclusions?
This is a great read that makes the reader question the morality of each situation, turning the reader into an armchair philosopher!
A GOOD READ!.......2006-11-10
AS BOOKS IN A SERIES GO, 'FRIENDS. LOVERS. AND CHOCOLATES' WAS EVERY BIT AS GOOD AS 'THE SUNDAY PHILOSOPHY CLUB.' PERHAPS THEY WERE NOT QUITE AS MUCH FUN AS THE 'NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE' SERIES BUT MORE INTERESTING THAN 'PORTUGUESE IRREGULAR VERBS' TRIOLOGY ALL BY ALEXANDER MC CALL SMITH.
THE CHARACTERIZATIONS WERE VERY GOOD, THE NIECE, THE HOUSEKEEPER, JEREMY, AND ISABEL ALL LEAPED OFF THE PAGE AS LIVING, VERY REAL AND INTERESTING.
IT WAS A QUICK READ, I KEPT TURNING PAGES WANTING TO REACH THE CONCLUSION, BUT VERY MUCH ENJOYING THE STORY ALONG THE WAY. I ALSO ENJOYED THE PEPPERING OF W.H. AUDEN QUOTES THROUGHOUT!
Amazon.com
When the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary put out a call during the late 19th century pleading for "men of letters" to provide help with their mammoth undertaking, hundreds of responses came forth. Some helpers, like Dr. W.C. Minor, provided literally thousands of entries to the editors. But Minor, an American expatriate in England and a Civil War veteran, was actually a certified lunatic who turned in his dictionary entries from the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Simon Winchester has produced a mesmerizing coda to the deeply troubled Minor's life, a life that in one sense began with the senseless murder of an innocent British brewery worker that the deluded Minor believed was an assassin sent by one of his numerous "enemies."
Winchester also paints a rich portrait of the OED's leading light, Professor James Murray, who spent more than 40 years of his life on a project he would not see completed in his lifetime. Winchester traces the origins of the drive to create a "Big Dictionary" down through Murray and far back into the past; the result is a fascinating compact history of the English language (albeit admittedly more interesting to linguistics enthusiasts than historians or true crime buffs). That Murray and Minor, whose lives took such wildly disparate turns yet were united in their fierce love of language, were able to view one another as peers and foster a warm friendship is just one of the delicately turned subplots of this compelling book. --Tjames Madison
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
The compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary, 70 years in the making, was an intellectually heroic feat with a twist worthy of the greatest mystery fiction: one of its most valuable contributors was a criminally insane American physician, locked up in an English asylum for murder. British stage actor Simon Jones leads us through this uncommon meeting of minds (the other belonging to self-educated dictionary editor James Murray) at full gallop. Ultimately, it's hard to say which is more remarkable: the facts of this amazingly well-researched story, or the sound of author Simon Winchester's erudite prose. Jones's reading smoothly transports listeners to the 19th century, reminding us why so many brilliant people obsessively set out to catalogue the English language. This unabridged version contains an interview between Winchester and John Simpson, editor of the Oxford dictionary. (Running time: 6.5 hours, 6 cassettes) --Lou Schuler
Book Description
The Professor and the Madman, masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- and literary history. The compilation of the OED began in 1857, it was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand. When the committee insisted on honoring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.
This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
Download Description
"
The Professor and the Madman, masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- and literary history. The compilation of the OED began in 1857, it was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand. When the committee insisted on honoring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.
This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
"
Customer Reviews:
Interesting, but cannot match its own hype.......2007-09-10
I think that I could've really enjoyed this book on its own merits had the author not continued to insist throughout that the story was horrifying, amazing, shocking, thrilling, electrifying, and tragic by turns. Rarely can these "sensationalist histories" live up to their own hype. I found the book a fascinating look into the development of the OED with the bonus of the intriguing back story of one its most unusual volunteer contributors. Isn't that good enough? Why must everything be oversold? Note to the publisher: Next time undersell, over-deliver.
Surprisingly absorbing.......2007-08-28
Locked inside the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary is an astonishing, bizarre story poignantly told in The Professor and the Madman. Well written, this disturbing story flows easily, holding the reader's interest to the end, even through the definitions!
After reading this book I have also gained a new appreciation for the beloved dictionary.
Sensationalized Version of a Gripping History.......2007-08-13
The Professor and the Madman is the yellow journalism version of the history of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Sir James Murray, Dr. William Chester Minor, the treatment of the criminally insane during the Victorian period. I was particularly offended by the overly graphic details of Dr. Minor's self-mutilation (if you don't have a strong stomach, skip that section) and playing up of the fictionalized (and often repeated as fact) version of how Sir James and Dr. Minor first met. If the story weren't so interesting, I would encourage you to avoid the book.
Writing the first edition of the OED took 70 years and employed an unusual organizational method that has since become popular for monumental knowledge tasks -- relying on volunteers to do the bulk of the work of finding quotations that use each word in different ways over time. As someone who has always admired the OED, I enjoyed learning more about the process involved in its development. Unfortunately, that material is scattered throughout the book rather than concentrated where you can find it for a brief read through. The examples are good, however, if the material is needlessly diluted.
Thinking about that monumental effort will give you just the right foundation for appreciating how mental illness can affect parts of one's faculties while leaving others undisturbed, as the paranoid Dr. Minor employed his extensive free time in the Broadmoor Asylum for Criminally Insane and personal wealth to become of the most organized and helpful contributors to the OED.
Dr. Minor's story is the actual focus of the book. Unless you are quite interested in ironies, mental illness, and how the Victorians treated the criminally insane, you will probably find this book has more of Dr. Minor than you really care to know. It's a tragic story, but not one that I would have sought to read if the OED development process material hadn't been in the book. As background for that comment, you should know that I have a strong interest in criminal insanity and wrote my law school thesis on the subject. The book tells its story to make you feel the pain of being Dr. Minor quite well, but The Madman and the Professor won't advance your knowledge of mental illness or legal concepts of responsibility very much.
I was attracted to this book in part due to my work in leading the 400 Year Project, seeking ways to make improvements in everyone's lives at 20 times the normal rate between 2015 and 2035. I came away impressed that just a few people can make a remarkable contribution to an all-but-impossible project. I will redouble my efforts to locate such people for the 400 Year Project.
Tackle the impossible to find out what you can really do!
Slow.......2007-07-11
I did like this book and would have given it 3.5 stars is I could. The history was interesting and easy to get through, even for a casual reader of histories such as myself. However, for some reason I felt like I was dragging myself through parts. I am unable to put my finger on it, but some parts were just really slow for me. I would recomend that you read this book if for no reason than it is full of interesting facts that may come in handy at a cocktail party. In all seriousness, I did like it but read it on vacation so you can cruise through the slow parts.
THIS BOOK IS A MUST-READ.......2007-03-18
IF YOU ARE SOMEWHAT INTERESTED IN MENTAL ILLNESS AND NON-FICTION, THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ. FROM THE OPENING LINES TO THE END OF THE BOOK, THIS TRUE STORY WILL HAVE YOU TURNING PAGES. THE TITLE IS SOMEWHAT MISLEADING BECAUSE YOU PROBABLY THINK "SO WHAT" ABOUT THE MAKING OF THE OXFORD DICTIONARY. BUT DO NOT LET THE TITLE FOOL YOU. THIS IS A FASCINATING STORY FROM THE 1800'S ABOUT PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA, BRILLIANT MINDS AND WRITING OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DICTIONARY OF ALL TIMES. THIS BOOK IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES
Average customer rating:
- "s serious topics
- Kill us with how terribly clever you as, Oscar.
- World's Best Doctor
- Rule 57: Rehearse Your Final Words
- OUTSTANDING
|
Kill As Few Patients As Possible
Oscar London
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ASIN: 089815197X |
Customer Reviews:
"s serious topics.......2007-03-09
I am a physician, so reading Dr. London's semihumorous review of how he has survived the vagaries of office practice and been an advocate for his patients has been a confirmation of some of my own prejudices. Some of his revelations, such the fact that physicians don't know everything nor diagnose every disease accurately, may come as a shock to some people. Medicine involves one imperfect human being caring for a series of similarly flawed people who happen to be sick and distressed by their illness. It's a miracle, given the variability of illness, and the tendency of patients to deviate from the "textbook" descriptions, that we save as many as we do. The book injects a needed reality into the mysterious world of office practice, which is far different from the hospital environment usually dramatized on TV.
It's a worthwhile addition to the popular medical literature; it won't tell you how to cure your ulcer or stave off a heart attack, but it will tell you what makes your doctor tick. Bravo, Dr. London!
Kill us with how terribly clever you as, Oscar........2006-10-09
I am obviously out of step with the opinions of the other readers. I am in the medical field, and this may affect how I view this book ( although I ADORED House of God). I felt like the author wrote this book so he could admire how very clever he was, like a vain person who is always checking him/herself out in the store windows when walking by. Just to smug.
World's Best Doctor.......2006-06-10
A very quick read, filled with short, humorous essays on how to become the world's best doctor (after the author, Oscar London, dies, because he currently considers himself the world's best doctor.)
This would be a great graduation present for medical students. It's all about staying down to earth, treating the patient rather than the disorder, and just being the best doctor, and person, you can be.
Rule 57: Rehearse Your Final Words.......2005-01-21
I became positive my father had written this book during Dr. Arlan Cohn's (aka Oscar London, M.D., W.B.D.) discussion of office music: "If [a doctor] wants to destroy his practice, he might consider bringing in an accordion player. (One night at a restaurant, I reached out and plunged my dinner knife into the bellows of an approaching accordion; the stricken look on the player's face when the wind was knocked out of his "Lady of Spain" was well worth the price of damages.)"
Okay, so my father is a deceased dentist and Dr. Cohn is a 70-something internist, but these men were psychic twins. This book snaps, crackles, and pops--to borrow the author's phrase when comparing chiropractors to breakfast cereal--although by the end of it, I still hadn't decided whether I'd want Dr. Cohn to be my internist. He underprescribes pain medications for fear of turning his patients and himself into junkies, but on the other hand (bless you, Dr. Cohn!) he treats gas and lower back pain. Most internists--well, their eyes glaze over if you complain about gas or lower back pain.
Incidentally, the W.B.D. after this author's name stands for "World's Best Doctor" and in this book he shares fifty-seven short essays on how you too can aspire to be a 'W.B.D.'
If laughter truly has the power to lower blood pressure, improve digestion, and help insomnia, you'll be in ruddy good health by the time you reach Dr. Cohn's "Afterword" which he subtitles "You'll Have to be the World's Best Patient to Survive Managed Care." The Afterword isn't as funny as the rest of the book, at least to those of us who have survived treatment at an HMO.
One of the author's suggestions could be helpful to anyone, physician or not, who wants to avoid long, pointless meetings. Just let the meeting organizers know that you have a mild case of Hansen's Disease.
A.k.a. leprosy.
OUTSTANDING.......2002-01-21
AS A PRACTICING PHYSICIAN I READ THIS PERSONALIZED ESSAY COLLECTION PERIODICALLY JUST TO BRING MYSELF BACK TO EARTH. WE TEND TO BELIEVE THE HYPE AND BEHAVE TOO GOD-LIKE. LONDON PROVIDES A BREATH OF FRESH AIR WE ALL NEED FROM TIME TO TIME.
Average customer rating:
- I loved it.
- 2.5 stars. The author tries too hard and does not succeed in creating a masterpiece
- pretentious
- Watch the movie
- GOOD between 3.5 and 4 stars
|
The English Patient
Michael Ondaatje
Manufacturer: Vintage
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ASIN: 0679745203
Release Date: 1993-11-30 |
Amazon.com
Haunting and harrowing, as beautiful as it is disturbing, The English Patient tells the story of the entanglement of four damaged lives in an Italian monastery as World War II ends. The exhausted nurse, Hana; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burn victim who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal, and rescue illuminate this book like flashes of heat lightning. In lyrical prose informed by a poetic consciousness, Michael Ondaatje weaves these characters together, pulls them tight, then unravels the threads with unsettling acumen.
A book that binds readers of great literature, The English Patient garnered the Booker Prize for author Ondaatje. The poet and novelist has also written In the Skin of a Lion, Coming Through Slaughter and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid; two collections of poems, The Cinnamon Peeler and There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do; and a memoir, Running in the Family.
Book Description
The Booker Prize-winning novel, now a critically acclaimed major motion picture, starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe and Kristin Scott Thomas. With ravishing beauty and unsettling intelligence, Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an Italian villa at the end of World War II. Hana, the exhausted nurse; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burned man who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal, and rescue illuminates this book like flashes of heat lightening.
Customer Reviews:
I loved it........2007-07-10
This book was given to me on an airplane and I read it because I had nothing else to read. I had seen the movie and thought it was OK. The book however, I absolutly loved. The movie focused primarily on the English Patient, but the book was different in that you got to know each character quite intimately. They all were in the house for different reasons and each of them had very unique and intrieging backgrounds. I was sucked in immediately. Each charachter is developed and you are able to understand who they are and why. All of their strengths and weaknesses are revealed and they are quite vulnerable. If you are someone who likes to bond with a characters and watch them develop, this book is for you.
2.5 stars. The author tries too hard and does not succeed in creating a masterpiece.......2007-04-29
Before I start I have to say that I loved the English Patient film. Minghella (director) manages to capture the beautiful romance between the characters and the stark beauty of the desert like no other director has been able to.
This book however, doesn't. Don't get me wrong. Ondaatje isn't a terrible writer. He's just not great. He tries very hard to be different (speechmarks are obviously passe?) and it shows. The English Patient novel doesn't really have any of the elements that make the movie so likeable. For starters, the book isn't coherent. It jumps everywhere. Some of the jumps are clear. Others are not. One gets the feeling that they're in there just for kicks, not for any real story-driving purpose.
Secondly...a LOT of Ondaatje's metaphors just.don't.work.
For example you have the ones that almost work:
"I don't think (Clifton) he loved the desert, but he had an affection for it that grew out of awe at our stark order, into which he wanted to fit himself - like a joyous undergraduate who respects silent behaviour in a library."
The ones that seem very high school:
"He (caravaggio) rides the boat of morphine. It races in him, imploding time and geography the way maps compress the world onto a two-dimensional sheet."
And the bewildering:
"He (Kip) knew he was now a king...it was strange to him. As if he had been handed a large suit of clothes rhat he could roll around in and whose sleeves would drag behind him."
This is not so say that Ondaatje doesn't paint some beautiful imagery as well. He does. But those instances tend to be few and far between. He also has the infuriating tendency to marr prefectly stunning imagery. For example, at the beginning of the book, he gives you this fantastic image of a young boy dancing next to a fire. Next thing you know, semen is being picked up from the sand. ?!? He does this over and over again.
I have never said this about any book/movie, but honestly, watch the movie as it is an infinitely better interpretation of the the book, than the book itself. The characters in the movie are likeable, and the story is complex and beautiful. The same, strangely, cannot be said of the book.
pretentious.......2007-03-08
English patient has some interesting characters and the plot does have some intrigue, but please, an astounding book? Not. Too many little-finger-in-the-air chardonnays for the book review set. The author's prose is like reading a college literature student's overdone ramblings, he tries way to hard to be artful with words, which is really an inconsideration to the reader. The author's ability to be creative should be secondary to his ability to communicate. A lot of the metaphors don't work, simply leaving you puzzled. This book is like going to dinner with people who can speak the same language as you, but decide they will talk in another, company be damned.
Watch the movie.......2007-02-18
While I loved the movie, the book left me dry and perplexed. Normally I prefer the book to the movie, but in this case, it was the other way around. The story jumps around a great deal and you live in the heads of Hana, Caravagio and Kip, but only graze upon those of Catherine and Almasy. If you expect to read about that great romance, better just rent the video because it's not in the book.
GOOD between 3.5 and 4 stars.......2007-02-09
I liked this book much better than the boring movie. It was beautifully written but some parts flashed back and the ending was weird but the story was lovely about 4 lives during the war and you got into some of the characters lives. His style of writing in this book and the story was much better than Anil's Ghost which I found to be boring and redundant. A good book. I've read better but I've also read much worse.
Book Description
As a cancer survivor, Randy Becton knows firsthand the onslaught this disease brings on the human spirit. His experience creates a special bond with fellow cancer patients, making his encouragement even more powerful. In Everyday Strength he offers hope and comfort through poetic prayers, Scripture, brief reflections, and uplifting thoughts for each day. Everyday Strength deals honestly with topics such as depression, anger, fear, and loneliness. It guides those who are fighting cancer toward spiritual and mental wellness in the face of physical illness. First published in 1989, these thirty-three meditations are now repackaged with a fresh look for today.
Customer Reviews:
Everyday Strength: A Cancer Patients Guide .......2007-06-08
I have purchased several of these for friends who are dealing with a cancer diagnosis. The BEST book for that situation.
Book Description
Cancer can't be explained away. No amount of Christian cliches will decrease its power. Enter
Praying Through Cancer, a daily devotional written specifically for cancer patients by cancer patients with insight, wisdom, and clarity found only through personal trial. Even with cancer, an uncertain future, and a complete lack of control it is possible to experience the grace and provision of Christ's love. The focus of each daily devotional is prayer - personal encounters with God - where fears and anger are transformed into confident expectation and pure worship. Readers will feel as though they are meeting kindred spirits, old friends who will come alongside them in their journey, encouraging them and understanding what no one else can. Contributors include Kay Warren, Pat Palau, Barbara Johnson, Joyce Wright, and many more.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful and filling!.......2007-05-19
I just finished treatment....this book was my touchstone! It is so filled with hope and love. I loved it. It focused me on Christ and it helped me dig into my faith.
Incredible Book.......2007-02-08
Praying Through Cancer totally changed my life. This book is powerful, but simple. When people are going thru cancer treatment their brain is overwhelmed with "stuff." This powerful book prioritizes this "stuff" and makes the journey very amazing.
I bought books and shared them with other cancer survivors and they were all equally moved by the power of this book.
Highly recommended!
Encouragement and hope.......2007-01-26
I am a 37 year old that has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. A good friend of mine found this book and gave it to me. I can't begin to tell you how comforted I feel while reading through these pages. God is speaking to me through these words and whispering that He is right here with me on this journey. I still have my moments when I feel scared, but when they hit, I reach for "Praying Though Cancer" and in moments I feel His presence and all of the comforting words of women who have been through this before me. God Bless you for such a beautiful book!
Book Description
There is no end to new beginnings. If you have just set out on the journey of recovery with the Twelve Steps as your guideposts, or if you are beginning again with renewed spirit, these daily meditations will help you along your way, illuminating at every turn the simple beauty of the cornerstone concepts of recovery. As it provides a year's worth of encouragement, reflection, and prayer, "Keep it Simple" gently integrates recovery wisdom into your everyday life with 366 simple action-for-the-day reminders. Like all the Hazelden meditation favourites, "Keep it Simple" is a dependable companion, extending a helping hand to those who seek a daily dose of strength, support, and guidance.
Customer Reviews:
Beware of Blind Anti-AA Propagandists.......2007-07-28
If you see a review for this literature (which is helpful in maintaining a daily spiritual focus) that denounces AA, just know that there are many ignorant people who oppose AA and call it a cult. It actually does not qualify as a cult by definition. The real fact is that the cult-like focus on sobriety is a good thing for those who have become enslaved by substance abuse. AA is the "milk" that brings them to the "meat" of the issue-spirituality. The Big Book of AA talks about God a great deal of the time, prepares people to have an encounter with Him, and says that is the purpose of the book. Drunks will otherwise never encounter God. This book helps those of us who are staying sober also stay mentally healthy, unlike those who would criticize the thing that is helping us. Do they also not believe in doctors?
KEEP IT REAL!!!!.......2007-04-10
The truth is that a newly-sober alcoholic named William Griffith Wilson -- a down-on-his-luck former Wall Street hustler who put on airs of having once been a prosperous stock broker -- just sat down, in December of 1938, and wrote up twelve commandments for the new religious group that he and fellow alcoholic Doctor Robert Smith had started. Those commandments were simply a repackaged version of the practices of a cult religion that was popular at that time, something called "The Oxford Group", or "The Oxford Group Movement", and later, "Moral Re-Armament" -- a religious cult that was created by a deceitful fascist renegade Lutheran minister named Dr. Frank Nathan Daniel Buchman -- a nut-case who actually praised Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler.
Bill Wilson described the writing of the Twelve Steps this way:
Well, we finally got to the point where we really had to say what this book was all about and how this deal works. As I told you this had been a six-step program then.
The idea came to me, well, we need a definite statement of concrete principles that these drunks can't wiggle out of. There can't be any wiggling out of this deal at all and this six-step program had two big gaps which people wiggled out of.
Notice how Bill Wilson considered his fellow alcoholics to be a bunch of cheaters who will "wiggle out of this deal" if they can get away with it -- which Bill won't allow.
And note how Bill Wilson made himself the leader who was entitled to dictate the concrete terms of other people's recovery programs.
Also notice how Bill Wilson considered 'spiritual development' to be a business deal, with a contract that you can't wiggle out of, something like selling your soul in trade for sobriety.
Nowhere in the Twelve Steps does it say that you should quit drinking, or help anyone else to quit drinking, either. Nowhere do the words "sobriety", "recovery", "abstinence", "health", "happiness", "joy", "love", or "love", appear in the Twelve Steps. The word "alcohol" was only mentioned once, where it was patched into the first step as a substitute for the word "sin" -- Bill Wilson wrote,
"we are powerless over alcohol and our lives have become unmanageable",
instead of the Oxford Group slogan,
"we are powerless over sin and have been defeated by it".
And then the phrase "especially alcoholics" was patched into the 12th step as a suggested target for further recruiting efforts:
"...we tried to carry this message to others, especially alcoholics"...
(But regular non-alcoholic people were still fair game for recruiting into Bill's "spiritual fellowship"...)
The Twelve Steps are not a formula for curing or treating alcoholism, and they never were.
The Twelve Steps are not "spiritual principles" and they never were.
The Twelve Steps are cult practices that work to convert people into confirmed true believers in a proselytizing cult religion, just like Frank Buchman's so-called "spiritual principles" did.
1. The Twelve Steps do not work as a program of recovery from drug or alcohol problems.
The A.A. failure rate ranges from 95% to 100%. Sometimes, the A.A. success rate is actually less than zero, which means that A.A. indoctrination is positively harmful to people, and prevents recovery. Some tests have shown that even receiving no treatment at all for alcoholism is much better than receiving A.A. treatment:
One of the most enthusiastic boosters of Alcoholics Anonymous, Professor George Vaillant of Harvard University, who is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS), showed by his own 8 years of testing of A.A. that A.A. was worse than useless -- that it didn't help the alcoholics any more than no treatment at all, and it had the highest death rate of any treatment program tested -- a death rate that Professor Vaillant himself described as "appalling". While trying to prove that A.A. treatment works, Professor Vaillant actually proved that A.A. kills. After 8 years of A.A. treatment, the score with Dr. Vaillant's first 100 alcoholic patients was: 5 sober, 29 dead, and 66 still drinking.
(Nevertheless, Vaillant is still a Trustee of Alcoholics Anonymous, and he still wants to send all alcoholics to A.A. anyway, to "get an attitude change by confessing their sins to a high-status healer." That is cult religion, not a treatment program for alcoholism.)
The A.A. dropout rate is terrible. Most people who come to A.A. looking for help in quitting drinking are appalled by the narrow-minded atmosphere of fundamentalist religion and faith-healing. The A.A. meeting room has a revolving door. The therapists, judges, and parole officers (many of whom are themselves hidden members of A.A. or N.A.) continually send new people to A.A., but those newcomers vote with their feet once they see what A.A. really is. Even A.A.'s own triennial surveys, conducted by the A.A. headquarters (the GSO), say that:
81% of the newcomers are gone within 30 days,
90% are gone in 3 months, and
95% are gone at the end of a year.
That automatically gives A.A. a failure rate of at least 95%. But the GSO does not count all of those people who only attend a few meetings before quitting -- they don't qualify as "members". (That amounts to "cherry-picking".) If we included them, then the numbers would be much worse.
First there is the propaganda technique of "everybody's doing it": "AA or a similar Twelve-Step program is an integral part of almost all successful recoveries".
That is a complete falsehood. The vast majority of the successful people recover without A.A. or any "support group". It's what "everybody" is doing.
Then they use the propaganda techniques of use of the passive voice and vague suggestions: "It is widely believed that not including a Twelve-Step program in a treatment plan can put a recovering addict on the road to relapse."
It is widely believed by whom? And what do those unnamed people know? What are their qualifications? Are they doctors? Medical school professors? Or salesmen for a 12-Step treatment center? Why should we care what some unnamed invisible fools allegedly believe, anyway?
The authors also use the propaganda technique of fear-mongering: you will be "on the road to relapse" -- you will probably die -- unless you practice Bill Wilson's Twelve Step cult religion.
And then the fluff-headed Pollyanna attitude is outrageous: Just going to the wonderful A.A. meetings is supposedly all that is needed to fix some alcoholics.
But since A.A. has a zero-percent success rate above and beyond the normal rate of spontaneous remission, that cannot possibly be true
Good information for this alcoholic........2007-03-12
I find reminders and inspiration in the pages of this book. Giving me information to continue on the road of recovery.
Wonderful Book.......2006-08-13
This is a wonderful book for daily use in recovery. Daily meditation is powerful in the healing process and can act as a guide through our 24 hours sober. Remember thats all sobrity is is 24 hours sober. Best of wishes and enjoy your daily journey of recovery one step at a time. Highly recommended.
Good Daily Reader.......2002-03-31
I purchased this reader for someone just starting out with a 12 step program. I couldn't get this person to attend daily nor weekly meetings BUT, I could get them to read this daily reader. After just a few weeks of committing to this reader, they have now found the courage to start attending meetings. I can speak rather highly of most if not all of the Hazelden publications!
Another great book is "The Language Of Letting Go" by Melody Beattie. This too is a wonderful daily reader that, can help with those times when life just seems too heavy. I've lived under the tree of therapy professionals now for 23 years so, trust me when I tell you, you can't go wrong with either of these books.
Book Description
As we recover from an eating disorder, these 366 meditations will help us find the power to develop and deepen our spirituality. Daily positive thoughts offer insight and ideas for meeting the challenges of ongoing recovery from eating disorders.
Customer Reviews:
Great daily help to recovery from eating disorders.......2007-02-19
This book has been helpful to so many friends in recovery from eating disorders. It is geared toward a daily positive outlook while staying true to ourselves and our feelings. I recommend it to anyone struggling with their relationship with food, body and weight.
Inspirational and uplifting.......2006-06-25
I read this book, day after day, after I was released from an eating disorder unit. I keep it close by. The words of expression and recovery make me believe in myself.
Average customer rating:
- Another twisty tale by Robert Goddard
- Many engaging, humorous, and dangerous turns
- Mathematical puzzle.
- Better than "Into the Blue"
- The most interesting mystery I've ever read!
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Out of the Sun: A Novel
Robert Goddard
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Company
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Binding: Hardcover
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Closed Circle
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Beyond Recall (Henry Holt Mystery)
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Past Caring
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Into the Blue
ASIN: 0805051090 |
Amazon.com
If you like the darkly romantic thrillers of Daphne Du Maurier, (Rebecca, The House on the Strand, Jamaica Inn), where secrets from the past surface to tease and torture the protagonists, you should also enjoy Robert Goddard, a best-selling author in his native Britain. Goddard's latest takes the main character of his Into the Blue--idealistic failure Harry Barnett--through a story involving the son he never knew he had, a 33-year-old math genius now in a coma. Harry's stumbling investigations reveal sinister and even surreal overtones to his son's research, and Goddard's silky prose generates an unusual depth of excitement and sympathy. Other Goddard books in paperback include Closed Circle, Hand in Glove, In Pale Battalions, and Painting the Darkness.
Book Description
Harry Barnett is shocked to learn that he has a son--David Venning, a brilliant mathematician, now languishing in hospital in a diabetic coma. And this is only the first and smallest of the mysteries he is about to encounter.
David's condition is attributed to an accident or suicide attempt. But Harry discovers that his mathematical notebooks are missing from the hotel room where he was found and two other scientists employed by the same American forecasting institute have died in suspicious circumstances. Driven on by the slim hope of saving the son he never knew he had, Harry goes in search of the truth and finds himself entangled in several different kinds of conspiracy--none of which he ought to stand the slightest chance of defeating.
Harry Barnett was the flawed hero of Robert Goddard's earlier novel, the award-winning Into the Blue. But nothing in that experience prepared him--or the reader--for the baffling conundrums and heart-stopping suspense of Out of the Sun
Customer Reviews:
Another twisty tale by Robert Goddard.......2007-07-02
Harry Barnett, the anti-hero in this novel, leads a dismal life as part-time attendant at the Mitre Bridge Service Station in London. One day he gets a telephone call from the National Neurological Hospital informing him that his son David John Venning is lying in a deep coma in room E318. To this day Harry has lived a presumably childless life and this piece of news comes as a great surprise.
Harry decides to go and visit this new son of his, and in room E318 he finds a comatose thirty-four-year old man. Glancing at the clipboard hanging on the bed, he acknowledges the fact that David John Venning was born on May 10th 1961. Could he be the result of Harry's long forgotten fling with Iris Venning in July 1960? Who placed the call at the Mitre Bridge Service Station knowing that Harry is David's father? Iris? Why is David in a deep coma resulting of an overdose of insulin? Did he try to commit suicide?
A twisty and breathtaking adventure is about to start for Harry on his long search for the answers to all these questions.
Many engaging, humorous, and dangerous turns.......2007-05-17
"Out of the Sun" (1996) is the second in what amounts to a trilogy by British author Robert Goddard, starting with the excellent "Into the Blue" (1990) and ending with "Never Go Back" (2006), all revolving around Harry Barnett, a likeable regular guy, who loves his pints, and has had less than success with work and business ventures.
As one young American poet put it, the shining sun sees most of us every day on this turning globe. Sees us until the day we are out of the sun, gone, and seen no more. A mysterious phone call informs Harry that his thirty-three-year-old son David is as good as dead, being hospitalized in a severe coma and on life support.
Harry never knew he had a son, but thinking back, he well and fondly remembers how it happened. Son David, a brilliant PhD mathematician interested in higher mathematical dimensions, belongs to a group of scientists trying to predict the full spectrum of challenges the world will be facing in 50 years.
The group's employer, called Globescope, has clients who pay highly to identify these future challenges so they can meet them profitably. Globescope sees the group's predictions to be quite dire. Believing that customers should hear only good news, the employer refuses to pass on the results and fires David's group.
When the fired group seeks to publish their work independently, group members keep turning up dead under mysterious circumstances -- or, in Harry's son David's case, comatose.
To protect the rest of the group, Harry is trying to find out who is responsible. He also hopes to find a doctor who can cure David. Harry's dangerous quest takes him from England to Copenhagen, to New York, Chicago, Dallas, Washington D.C., and elsewhere, and has him playing several roles. The perilous telling has considerable charm, humor, romance, and luck, with a surprise ending.
If I may repeat, we in the States are now indeed fortunate to have easy access to Goddard's books.
Mathematical puzzle........2003-11-14
Harry Barnett, a bit of a down and outer,is shocked on two counts.The first is to discover that he has a son from a brief fling, many years ago and secondly to be told that his son, David, is lying in a diabetic coma. David is a brilliant mathematician, employed by a rather secretive forecasting institute who previously employed several other scientists who died in mysterious circumstances.It's a good, imaginative plot and, given that I'm mathematically challenged, one that I had to force myself to understand. Poor Harry is a bit of a sad sack so things don't magically solve themselves for him as for other literary heros, but it's a story which will hold your attention until the end.
Better than "Into the Blue".......2003-03-02
A well written, entertaining and truly original story. I read Goddard's "Into the blue" before, but liked this book much better. Worth reading!!
The most interesting mystery I've ever read!.......2001-07-16
I had about five books on hold at the public library that still hadn't come in yet, so I decided to browse the Fiction section to see if I could find anything interesting. After reading a few covers, and finding the typical "dead body found under suspcious circumstances" one after the other, I stumbled upon this novel. The idea intrigued me. A man comes in to work one morning to discover that his son is in the hospital in a diabetic coma--the only problem is, he doesn't have a son.
Harry, the main character, then sets about to solve the mystery of his son's suspicious near-fatal accident, along with the "accidental" deaths of several of his former colleages. But the more he discovers, the more danger he finds himself in.
This story has so many surprising twists and turns it keeps you "on the edge of your seat." Some parts are so suprising it almost makes you jump! I highly recommend reading this novel, especially if you are looking for something fresh and vivid.
The only problem I had with it was the fact that Americans from NYC and California don't say "reckon" lol!!
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