Book Description
Meet Denver, a man raised under plantation-style slavery in Louisiana in the 1960s; a man who escaped, hopping a train to wander, homeless, for eighteen years on the streets of Dallas, Texas. No longer a slave, Denver's life was still hopeless-until God moved. First came a godly woman who prayed, listened, and obeyed. And then came her husband, Ron, an international arts dealer at home in a world of Armani-suited millionaires. And then they all came together.
But slavery takes many forms. Deborah discovers that she has cancer. In the face of possible death, she charges her husband to rescue Denver. Who will be saved, and who will be lost? What is the future for these unlikely three? What is God doing?
Same Kind of Different As Me is the emotional story of their story: a telling of pain and laughter, doubt and tears, dug out between the bondages of this earth and the free possibility of heaven. No reader will ever forget it.
Customer Reviews:
What a Great Read!.......2007-10-10
This book was recommended by a colleague and I could not find it here in Key West. I ordered two copies from Amazon and gave them both to friends (after reading). I was moved to tears by parts of the book. If anybody has any concerns about homeless issues, this book will renew one's faith in what can be done. It is one of the finest books on homeless issues that I have read in many years.
Very touching.......2007-10-01
This is a very readable book. It is also extremely touching. Several times as I read,I found tears streaming down my face. It will restore your faith in mankind and that there is more to a person than meets the eye.
A must read book.......2007-09-29
I don't have proper words to express this "amazing" book.
I can now better understand how it used to be in Slave times,
and feel a better understanding of my own faith and life after death.
I cried at moments of revealation! Would help anyone become a believer.
This book changed my life!.......2007-09-25
It's very easy to forget that this is a true story - it is such an amazing story that it could be fiction! It's a beautiful, poignant, touching book and it changed the way I view the homeless and how I share my resources with others. LOVED IT and I've been telling everyone I know to read it too!!
book.......2007-09-18
I ordered this book for my husband who had heard it was wonderful. He thought it was the best book he had ever read and he highly recommends it!!
Book Description
Most events that catch us by surprise are both predictable and preventable, but we consistently miss (or ignore) the warning signs
This book shows why such “predictable surprises” put us all at risk, and shows how we can understand, anticipate, and prevent them before disaster strikes.
There is a universal fear factor surrounding this subject: that society and the workplace are filled with disasters in the making that we could prevent if we only knew what to look for. This book plays on that fear and offers a positive, proactive resolution to it.
Customer Reviews:
Enlightening.......2007-08-27
The book jumps around but makes clear and valid points. A great eye opener! I would recommend this to students, leaders, informed citizens...just about anybody. I'm definitely getting more copies for friends and loved ones.
On Target - Bullseye - Should have seen it coming.......2005-10-07
Anyone who has worked for some sort of organization, government agency, business, university or whatever, will empathise with "Predictable Surprises" by Bazerman and Watkins. This book focuses on the early and late warning signs, the cover-ups, the denials, and the eventual consequences of failing to take action to avert disaster. I've been in far too many situations where I observed that the peple "in charge" (really??) were blindsided by their own limited vision to the realities of what was happening within their organizations.
There are two "Predictable Surprises" that weren't included. First, Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath in New Orleans. Anyone visiting that city and talking with one's professional compatriates could have seen coming what unfolded before our eyes. The warning signs and studies were out there and ignored. That's why those who had a reasonable level of education left town and paid attention to the evacuation notices.
The other predictable surprise that was missed was the sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. I'm Protestant but know a lot of fine Roman Catholic people. I heard things as long ago as fifty years and knew then that this situation was going to explode in the public domain. "Predictable Surprises" provides the principals that explain why this particular surprise was kept under the radar so long.
An outstanding book that should be read by everyone working in the corporate world, a government agency, a university, the military, or a non-profit organization. Your life may depend on knowing what's in this book.
Predictably bad.......2005-06-14
A major shortcoming of Bazerman and Watkins' book is the failure to provide adequate evidence to support their arguments about what they call "predictable surprises", which they define as "an event or series of events that take an individual or group by surprise, despite prior awareness of all of the information necessary to anticipate the events and their consequences." Bazerman and Watkins build their case substantially on just two examples: aviation security failures leading to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and auditor independence concerns leading to the collapse of Enron and Arthur Anderson. Several other examples are discussed in less depth throughout the text, however many of these are not actually predictable surprises under the definition provided. For example, global warming is discussed a number of times; however global warming has been in public discussion since the 1930s, and today a substantial majority of people believe not only the concept of global warming but that current warming is man-made. By 2050, this subject will have been under study for 120 years and popular consensus will have been achieved for 50-60 years. This is certainly predictable, but hardly a surprise. The United States' looming crisis in entitlement spending also falls in this category.
Flaws exist in other anecdotal support as well. For example, Bazerman and Watkins cite aviation security failures as an occasion when overly discounting the future lead to a predictable surprise. Quick calculation based on figures provided in the book show that, using equal discount rates for the expected future cost of security and the future cost of disaster, even with a disaster probability as high as 10% for any given year, the airlines would be ahead on a cost basis. The total destruction of both World Trade Center towers and the massive ensuing death toll was not reasonably foreseeable by the airline industry; based on the typical passenger plan carrying 78 people, this was the equivalent of an absurd 41 simultaneous aircraft disasters! Given the cost of implementation and the low probability of such a large disaster, even at a full cost of nearly $50 billion, the airlines' decision to oppose security measures on a cost basis was reasonable. The full scope of this surprise was unlikely enough that it should not be termed "predictable."
Despite some good analysis of reasons predictable surprises occur and ways to avoid them, this book is critically weakened by its lack of evidence. Bazerman and Watkins try to make it stand largely on just the aviation security and auditor independence failures; however these are insufficient evidence for their broad analysis and conclusions, particularly given the weakness of those arguments provided. This book would be substantially more persuasive with more anecdotal support.
Predictably OK.......2005-05-11
In a world ruled by probability, all predictions eventually come true (no matter how impossible.) That said, ignoring the obvious can be disastrous, but the authors methods for prioritizing risk were disappointing.
Updating the March of Folly.......2005-02-23
The authors have found a memorable phrase to describe a depressingly common phenomenon - the occurrence of a disaster or failure that has been widely and often publicly predicted. The term `predictable surprise' will undoubtedly enter the managerial and political language.
They have provided a valuable analysis of why these predictable disasters occur and what can be done to prevent them (while recognizing that there are also such things as `unpredictable surprises' which can not be avoided through these processes).
The book is invaluable for the clear way in which it brings the elements together and for the vividness and immediacy of the examples chosen to illustrate the points. The result is a book that is very readable as well as being immediately useful, even if many of the points have also been made elsewhere by other authors. The book provides a template against which organizations can assess their defences against `predictable surprises', and I suspect that every organization will find gaps in its armour when it measures itself against the recommendations in the book.
The authors also use the book to mount a stinging attack on the failures of the American political system (and by extension those of other countries) and the need for fundamental reform. Their attack on the activities of the special interest groups and their direct responsibility for some of the worst disasters that the US has suffered is particularly pointed. One can only hope that the criticisms will be listened to and acted upon, and that politicians as well as business people will read and note them.
Throughout the book, the systemic, interconnected nature of the processes that lead to predictable surprises is very clear, but the authors do not, in my opinion, highlight the fact as strongly as they should. They do point out that depletion of international fisheries is a classic case of 'the tragedy of the commons', one of several archetypal forms of systems relationship, but virtually every example that the authors cite could well be illustrated with simple systems diagrams based on one or other of the classic 'systems archetypes'. Systemic issues require systemic solutions and the leverage for systemic change may be located well beyond the area of control of the immediate actors - another fact that shows up clearly in the course of the authors' examples.
It is probably no coincidence that I was strongly reminded of Barbara Tuchman's The March of Folly as I read the book. The perspective and coverage is different, but the themes of willful ignorance, willful inaction and willful pursuit of perceived short-term self interest as fundamental drivers of future disasters are common to both. If Tuchman were still alive, I would have confidently expected an analysis of Iraq to follow her masterful analysis of the Vietnam war, the American War of Independence and the drivers of the Reformation. In its own way, Predictable Surprises provides a contemporary update of the ways in which we continue the march of folly.
Average customer rating:
- Good idea, but overpromissing
- More about detox , than weight loss
- Not really "One-day" as it claims
- Suprise eating health makes you feel better...
- Detox and weight loss
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The Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet: Boost metabolism, get rid of fattening toxins, safely lose up to 8 pounds overnight and keep them off for good
Ann Louise Phd Cns Gittleman
Manufacturer: Broadway
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Binding: Hardcover
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Accessories:
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Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor
ASIN: 0767920457
Release Date: 2005-04-08 |
Book Description
You know how it is. That special event just around the corner and you can’t fit into your designer jeans. You need a fool-proof, emergency weight-loss method that really works and works fast. So how do you safely and quickly lose those extra pounds?
Once again, renowned health pioneer and bestselling author Ann Louise Gittleman has a quick, no-strings-attached solution that is also good for you. She is always on the cutting edge of developing new methods to rejuvenate the body and facilitate weight loss and she’s done it again in The Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet. Gittleman takes the age-old method of fasting and incorporates it into a safe and healthy one-day plan that helps you lose weight fast, gets rid of toxins, and gives your body a cleansing boost to prepare it for even more weight loss down the road.
The plan itself is blissfully simple:
THE PREQUEL: Seven days of adding detox support foods to your diet to prepare your body for the one-day Fast
THE FAST: One day of sipping Gittleman’s “Miracle Juice,” a deliciously spiced mixture of herbs and spices specially designed to stave off hunger, balance blood sugar, boost metabolism, and replenish nutrients (no kidding, the juice is completely delicious)
THE SEQUEL: Three days of reintroducing supportive and immune-boosting foods into your diet to seal in the results
That’s all. There’s no need for a strict maintenance plan or more dieting because the Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet purges your body of fattening toxins so that you’ll keep losing weight once you’re finished. What’s more, if you can’t add those healthy foods to your diet in the Prequel and Sequel, Gittleman provides a list of replacement supplements that you can easily find in your local health food store or online.
So, use The Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet to jump start an over-40 metabolism, melt away vacation or holiday pounds, break a diet plateau, get in shape for that high school reunion or wedding, and even help heal a chronic illness. Even if you’ve been slow to lose weight in the past, the pounds will melt away quickly during your one-day fast. Inside there are recipes to prepare for the fast, shopping lists, and tips for sailing through the fast.
In addition, Ann Louise Gittleman shares the wisdom she’s gained from years of research on health, diet, and nutrition. You’ll find out about hidden toxins found in the environment and in everyday foods, and learn easy steps you can take to live healthier every day.
The perfect diet: simplicity, effortless weight loss, and obvious health benefits from a nutritionist with a proven tack record. You’ll feel so good after your first fast, you’ll want to incorporate the Fast Track’s cleansing principles and periodic fasting into your life for good.
Don’t delay, it’s time to jump on the Fast Track to a lighter, healthier you.
Customer Reviews:
Good idea, but overpromissing.......2007-09-24
There is one thing that I absolutely agree with Ann Luise - the amount of chemicals that we are exposed to in our daily lives is overwhelming. I think that cleansing our bodies from them ("unchemicalizing ourselves") from time to time is a very good idea.
There are several other authors that pointed to this problem in the past. There are also a few who suggested better or worse cleansing solutions. One author dealing extensively with this topic in her few books is Hulda Clark. Gittleman's Detox Diet is only a good addition to the anthology. I do, however, have a problem with the "eight pounds weight loss in a day" idea. Isn't this just a little over-promising?
My favorite author dealing with this topic is Mikhail Tombak who offers total body cleansing solutions (starting with the liver, via kidney, intestines, bones and joints, and ending with blood) in one of the chapters of his book "Can We Live 150 Year?" At the same time Mr. Tombak does not promise losing weight overnight...
More about detox , than weight loss.......2007-07-13
I'm a big of Ann Gittleman. I have all her Fat Flush books. I think that the information they provide is invaluable. I learned a lot from reading her books. I've had success with this book and the Fat Flush Plan. To be honest, I did not lose the weight that I expected to lose from this detox diet. As one reviewer points out, it takes a lot of other factors to help you lose weight. However, the detoxification that I got was worth more than the extra pounds of weight loss. My actual weight loss came from Fat Flush. But, Fast Track helped to make my liver and colon much healthier. On this detox diet, sometimes it was hard for me to find a food within each of her categories that I liked, but I did my best. I liked the Miracle Juice, and it was easy to prepare. I really didn't think it was that bad. The detox day didn't affect me in any adverse way. I ate the next day, but I wasn't ravenous. To anyone who is thinking about purchasing this book, just know in advance that this book will help you in many ways, but it is a very tough 11 days. Just make sure that you're up to it before you begin. Also know that because it says that you COULD lose up to 8 pounds doesn't mean that you will. All I can tell you is that I enjoyed this book, and I will use it again to detox. Five stars for detoxification!
Not really "One-day" as it claims.......2007-04-25
Having lived in Germany I was already familiar with the idea of quick fasts and fasting groups to cleanse the body and periodically offset weight gain. I haven't tried this one because it seemed pretty complicated and requiring lots of effort, planning and the purchase of special stuff like supplements. I was also pretty put off when I read that there was a highly structured 7-day "prequel" to the detox. One-day huh?
Suprise eating health makes you feel better..........2007-03-29
Long term weight\fitness changes require long term effort.
That being said nothing like a jumpstart, new book, fad diet to get you going.
Detox and weight loss.......2007-03-25
Outlines a great program that works for detoxifying your body and for weight loss that still leaves you full of energy
Book Description
Straight from the front line of urban America, the inspiring story of one fiercely determined teacher and her remarkable students.
As an idealistic twenty-three-year-old English teacher at Wilson High School in Long beach, California, Erin Gruwell confronted a room of “unteachable, at-risk” students. One day she intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature, and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust—only to be met by uncomprehending looks. So she and her students, using the treasured books Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo as their guides, undertook a life-changing, eye-opening, spirit-raising odyssey against intolerance and misunderstanding. They learned to see the parallels in these books to their own lives, recording their thoughts and feelings in diaries and dubbing themselves the “Freedom Writers” in homage to the civil rights activists “The Freedom Riders.”
With funds raised by a “Read-a-thon for Tolerance,” they arranged for Miep Gies, the courageous Dutch woman who sheltered the Frank family, to visit them in California, where she declared that Erin Gruwell’s students were “the real heroes.” Their efforts have paid off spectacularly, both in terms of recognition—appearances on “Prime Time Live” and “All Things Considered,” coverage in People magazine, a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley—and educationally. All 150 Freedom Writers have graduated from high school and are now attending college.
With powerful entries from the students’ own diaries and a narrative text by Erin Gruwell, The Freedom Writers Diary is an uplifting, unforgettable example of how hard work, courage, and the spirit of determination changed the lives of a teacher and her students.
The authors’ proceeds from this book will be donated to The Tolerance Education Foundation, an organization set up to pay for the Freedom Writers’ college tuition. Erin Gruwell is now a visiting professor at California State University, Long Beach, where some of her students are Freedom Writers.
Customer Reviews:
Review of Freedom Writers Diary.......2007-10-10
The book is a great read. I would definitely recommend to teachers, especially those that teach or will teach a widely diversified class. Not just teachers should read it. You really get an idea how crazy being racist and prejudiced is and how many people can be hurt by it. Nothing was edited so you get the full feelings of what those teenagers lived through.
I wonder what it was actually like..........2007-09-12
There were lots of positives and negatives that stuck out to me when I read this book which really bothered me.
Let's start with the teacher. We get occasional reflections from Erin Gruwell throughout the book, and in the beginning, they provide a way for us to get to know the teacher and to experience some of the adversity and the troubles that she was experiencing with running her classroom in the unorthodox style she managed. As the book progresses, the majority of these insights begin to fade into a simple account of what she did, the awards they won, and the plans that she had. For instance, she briefly mentions that she had to struggle to teach these kids for their senior year, and then she breezes over how she got that done and launches into an explanation of the binding of their book and the two awards ceremonies that she's attending. This robs the teachers out there of a great potential resource for them to use and understand, and glosses over the reality of politics in education.
The other issue I had was with the journal entries of the students. While I'd love to believe what I'm seeing, I have a difficult time believing that these entries the children wrote were not blown a little out of proportion during the editing or completely contrived from the get-go. Before you jump all over me for having a lack of faith in these kids, look at what we're presented with: the first few journal entries, which these kids supposedly wrote on the first few days of class are every bit as long and as detailed as their later entries in their senior year...and this is supposedly when they were well below the rest of their grade and their expected reading level, and when they had no faith in their teacher whatsoever. What we are left with, then, is a look only at where they were during their junior and senior years, with no gauge of progress or results to compare.
Because of the way the book was put together (entries are numbered rather than being entered chronologically, and no students are named), there is a lack of continuity between chapters, and no characters. Thus, all we are left with are two styles of entries: 1) the entries about struggles and hardships, and 2) the hopeful entries. You are completely unable to identify the students and connect who wrote which entries unless the stories are about a single club or experience. I would much rather have seen the students be given fake names to keep their anonymity protected, because then we not only benefit from a more personal connection to the students, but we also get to see how they've grown from their struggles, and we could break up some of the monotony between struggle stories and hope stories.
Then you get the obligatory "Anne Frank [or insert speaker here] is my hero" entries that read almost exactly like essays that I used to write for the sole purpose of appeasing a teacher who clearly has a tremendous interest in the speaker or book. While the experiences these students had were much more impressive than a simple book or movie, the similarity is astonishing, and I can't help but believe that these kids felt a lot of pressure and wrote what they felt the teacher wanted to hear rather than what they actually felt.
The entries that we are presented with in this book are also extremely toned down versions of the original, which in some sense steals from the power that they can convey. As a couple of students pointed out, the editing process was a big part of putting this book together, and I'm not sure whether it was the authors themselves or the publisher, but the snippets that we are given in the diaries are about the editing process are much more honest and graphic accounts of what happened to the students than the full diaries that we are given in the pages of the book. Some were certainly removed to protect anonymity, and probably also because of their graphic nature, but I believe that readers could have benefited from a slightly more realistic tone. The PG13 edit that the majority of these accounts are given strips the events of their power.
On the whole, though, that doesn't take away from the fact that Gruwell is clearly a very gifted teacher, and that she did take these children much farther than anyone ever expected of her. The lessons in the book are timeless, in that classroom management is all about building relationships, not only amongst students, but also between the teacher and the students. It's inspirational, and impressive, but clearly a bit contrived and heavily, heavily edited. This book is a pretty good read, but I think you have to take it with a grain of salt.
An inspiring story........2007-08-27
I loved reading the stories from the voices of the various students and hearing how they discovered love and hope despite their difficult home lives.
Got my daughter to read.......2007-08-23
This is an excellent book for a non reader, especially if they have seen the movie. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed the book and she is not really a reader. it has now encouraged her to move on to a Diary of Anne Frank. Thank you
A Great Read.......2007-08-14
An extra-ordinary book. I bought 3 copies to give away to friends. A very easy read and very enjoyable. Not just for educators.
Book Description
Distinguished novelist and critic Francine Prose inspires readers and writers alike with this inside look at how the professionals read...and write.
Long before there were creative writing workshops and degrees, how did aspiring writers learn to write? By reading the work of their predecessors and contemporaries, says Francine Prose. In READING LIKE A WRITER, Prose invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and the tricks of the masters. She reads the work of the very best writers–Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, Kafka, Austen, Dickens, Woolf, Chekhov–and discovers why these writers endure. She takes pleasure in the long and magnificent sentences of Philip Roth and the breath–taking paragraphs of Isaac Babel; she is deeply moved by the brilliant characterization in George Eliot's MIDDLEMARCH. She looks to John Le Carré for a lesson in how to advance plot through dialogue, to Flannery O'Connor for the cunning use of the telling detail, and to James Joyce and Katherine Mansfield who offer clever examples of how to employ gesture to create character. She cautions readers to slow down and pay attention to words, the raw material out of which literature is crafted. Written with passion, humor, and wisdom, READING LIKE A WRITER will inspire readers to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart.
Customer Reviews:
Highly Recommended to Readers and Writers.......2007-10-08
I strongly recommend this book.
As a writer of creative fiction who dreams of being published, a familiar knot formed in my stomach when I read the opening sentence of Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer. "CAN CREATIVE WRITING BE TAUGHT?" Just like that, in all caps, this question which opens the book will surely taunt the angst of aspiring authors and leave them, like me, holding their breath, waiting for the answer.
Whether you are one of those who love books or one who wants to write the books that become beloved, I strongly recommend this book. Although I am not going to reveal Ms. Prose's answer (only because I think you should read the book yourself!), I will say that this book rejuvenated my excitement for reading and was further inspiration for my writing.
In this book, it is as if Francine Prose is your own personal literature professor, standing at the front of the classroom of your mind and giving you permission, encouraging you even, to immerse yourself in the pleasure of books. For this reader, such "permission" was a breathe of fresh air (you mean reading is supposed to be enjoyed?) and the guidance Francine Prose offers rubs away detritus accumulated from college lit courses that were conducted more in the spirit of an anatomy lab and reading groups/mainstream media that peddle the notion (which many of us buy) that she who reads the most, the fastest, earns the Superior IQ medal of honor. By the time I finished the book, I was nearly salivating at the thought of alternately devouring and savoring the books Ms. Prose recommends at the end...just - for - the - fun - of - it!
As for the book being helpful for writers, I can only speak for myself and am somewhat reticent because, as the saying goes, "the proof is in the pudding." That being said, Ms. Prose does a superb job of navigating the area between prescribing formulaic dogma for creative writing (of course that's an oxymoron, but that doesn't stop many others from teaching it anyway!) and revealing such delicious insights into the art and practice of writing that I have most of the book dog-eared and underlined, awaiting my return. And I will, again and again.
Yum, yum, yum.......2007-09-04
One of the functions of a critic is to slow us down.
Readers flipping the pages of a Derek Armstrong or
TK Kenyon novel may be propelled by the plot to read
quickly: chew it all up and swallow and move on.
The aptly named Francine Prose invites us to take a breath.
By focusing our attention on some wonderfully wrought writing,
she encourages us to see how that stuff is built, to go behind
the curtain and watch the wiz at work.
Some of the examples that she explores may seem odd to
one reader or another, but I found her discussion of one
passage that I didn't admire to be as stimulating as
the rest.
Reading Like a Writer was recommended to me by Martin
Donoff of Fairleigh Dickenson's MFA program in writing.
It's used as a text in that program.
For the writer, this is a reminder that the best writers
read and that what they read is the best writers. This
book is an inspiring tour that will lead the reader to
a higher level of pleasure and the writer to a new level
of the craft. Read this in small doses and let it stay
with you.
(Incidentally, the author photo is pretty hot too.)
--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the novel bang BANG. ISBN 9781601640005
Not what I was expecting, but still worth your time.......2007-08-21
More of a book about "reading quotes by great authors and reading rather lavish commentary by this book's author", but I really can't complain about that. Good introduction to what to look for in a book as a reader or a writer - discusses everything from narration to use of gesture. If you enjoy writing, you should read this book.
So disappointing! here's why..........2007-08-19
What a let-down this book turned out to be. The title of the book is inappropriate. It is a decent book for people who love to read, but not for those who want to write. When Prose gave the example of a Flannery O'Connor story and discussed for one page why using the word "grandmother" instead of a few other alternatives was best, I knew I was in trouble. Did Flannery O'Connor really sit and think about this? Perhaps. But probably not. Some of the best writing happens when a writer analyzes least. There is such a thing as over-analyzing a creative work. In fact, it's probably the number one reason why people who set out to write, quit. Not because they can't write well, but because they think it has to be torture. Also, for any of you writers out there who write for children - this book, imho, is worthless. In the first chapter, Prose briefly points to what she read as a child and then goes on to state that as she grew older she read books that were "more challenging, better written..." As a children's writer, I find the presumption that fiction for adults is "better written" than children's lit. full of old-school pretension. How to compare a classic like C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia or E. Nesbit's classics with a Hemingway novel? Finally, if you have studied Literature in college, you may very well find this book just more of the same.
Enchanting guide.......2007-08-10
I thought this book would be stuffy, but I really enjoyed it. After a slightly dull beginning, Francine Prose dives in and shares with us all these books I've never heard of: The Marquise of O by Heinrich von Kleist, Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo, A Ship Made of Paper by Scott Spencer, and others.
She also analyzes various aspects of writing, such as plot, character, dialogue, and gesture, and provides examples from Chekhov of how every rule can be broken.
Thus, the book functions in two ways: as an insightful writing guide and a really great recommendation source.
Book Description
The lies Christian women believe are at the root of their struggles. In Lies Women Believe, Nancy Leigh DeMoss exposes areas of deception common to many Christian women -- lies about God, sin, priorities, marriage and family, emotions, and more. She deals honestly with women's delusions and illusions and then gently leads them to the truth of God's word that leads to true freedom.
Customer Reviews:
Proceed with an Open Mind.......2007-09-20
I am a young woman new to Christianity (less than three years as a Christian) so I purchased this book to get some insight on a religious woman's opinion of lies we believe.
This book is great in the fact that it has cited scripture to support what she is trying to convey to her readers. I find Christian books with scripture and biblical support easier to believe true than Christian books without it. So I begin with the good points. The book is broken down into three sections - the middle part being Lies Women Believe...(about marriage, etc). The best chapter in my opinion is "Lies Women Believe about God." I found this to be very helpful in the way she points out from the bible God's real love for us, and that we are never alone. It warmed my heart. The best part of the book includes the portions at the end of each chapter where you reflect on yourself in a worksheet page, which also includes a prayer while seeking the path of the Truth.
I come now to parts of this book I did not like, and much of her "lies we believe" I did not agree with. In one chapter about "Lies Women Believe About Children", she makes it sound as thought women in today's society are meant to be mindless baby machines meant only to serve their husband and trusting he always knows what's right. She makes it appear that a woman choosing to pursue a carreer and/or making the choice not to have kids is satanic and not God's purpose for us. She says that Satan wants to end all life; that he hates it. I agree with that but there are approximately 6 billion people on this earth (overcrowded as it is), and I don't believe that a few married couples (hundred, thousand or whatever) making the choice not to have children is going to make much difference.
To read this book, one must have an extremely open mind to the author's views on lies we believe as women. I am very open-minded, but there were some points she made as I stated above that I highly disagreed with.
Overall, I give it three stars since it had some good spots, but parts of this book were (ironically) very biased against women.
Liberating Book.......2007-08-07
This book is so liberating. Every Christian woman should have a copy of it. It is truly a book that enlightens you on what you "believe", how you "live" and who you are. The things we think but are not honest enough to speak.
lies women believe: and the truth that sets them free.......2007-07-13
I had the opportunity to order 7 books after I had gone to a retreat and the book was used and it really held my interest and the women that I shared the book with were very thankful.
Thank you for getting the books out fast.
Lies and Truths.......2007-05-28
As you may have guessed, there are both lies and truths in this book. However, they don't all come from the source that you might have thought. I'm afraid Demoss herself gives voice to certain lies that devoted Christian women, namely wives, have in regards to their husbands and how they should behave. Mixed with this are other more general views towards women as a whole, many of which Demoss is correct about.
First, the good stuff. While Demoss's view can definetly be defined as complimentarian, she is not one of those to encourage practical worship of the husband, as some over-the-top Christians are wont to do. In fact, two powerful truths that she mentions are vitally important for wives to understand. Firstly, she comes right out and says that the husband is NOT always right. Secondly, she warns wives that they are not always to submit if the husband tells them incorrectly. If hubby chooses to act sinfully, Demoss advises the wife stand away and let him take responsibility for his actions. Wise and very important advice to any woman who's been misled as to the wife's role, and Demoss is to be praised for it.
Unfortunately, not all advice for wives in this book was smart, or even safe. While Demoss admits that the husband cannot always be listened to, her overall view seems to be to cleave to the husband, at least in legal marriage, no matter what. In order to better illustrate her mis-points, I think I will adapt her method of first mentioning the lie or misconception and then explaining the faults. Here, then, are Demoss's points of advice which misfire:
Lie #1: If a woman rejects her husband's authority, she is rejecting his spiritual covering.
Nope. Never mind the authority issue, it is incorrect to think a husband may offer spiritual covering. Our only spiritual covering is Christ; no man can cover us from sin nor should he attempt to do so.
Lie #2 A: If a woman must remove herself and/or her children from a dangerous situation (i.e., her husband), she should still hold reverence for her husband's position.
Firstly, if a husband abuses his wife, he forfeits his title as husband. Secondly, if a woman flees a dangerous husband, she should remain away from him in body and soul! If she reveres him, she is still completely attached emotionally and a woman attached thus will most likely return to the dangerous man. With an abusive husband, a complete break must be made, physical and otherwise. Rule of nature: avoid the fire and you won't get burned.
B: After fleeing a dangerous husband, if a woman worsens the situation by her words or behavior, she can no longer claim God's protection.
Do I really need to explain the fault with this? To a psychologically beaten woman, this is code for, "stick with your bad husband or God will smite you!" Abused women don't need this awful guilt trip.
C: A woman should wait for her abusive husband to be restored to God's authority.
Once a man gives up his honorable title as husband, he's on his own and should no longer expect the wife's support. Nine times out of ten, a dangerous man will not change, at least not as long as the wife waits around dependent on this hope. If your husband promises counseling, let him get it AWAY from you! Until he's 100% cured (which may never happen), you're still in the danger zone.
Lie #3: Every divorce is Satan's attempt to overthrow God's plan.
I hope all the divorcees out there enjoyed that little dig. Divorce is a shame, but sometimes it's because the marriage should never have taken place. Like it or not, some marriages are harmful and in those cases, Satan would most likely be telling you to stay in it! Satan knows God's Word and he has used God's hatred of divorce to manipulate Christian women and men into staying in harmful marriages, with of course the imminent (and false) threat that God will smite them if they don't.
If you insist on reading this book, I would advise it for single women rather than married. Perhaps it's because Demoss isn't married (though to be fair, many married women have made the same blunders as she has in their advice), but her strength definetly lies in her advice to single women. Her words of true beauty and how Godly faith in yourself is better than worldly self-esteem are especially helpful. Like so many guidebooks, take with a grain of salt if you take it at all
Every woman should read this.......2007-05-26
To some extent, the title of this book turned me off. It sounded too cliche. But I'm glad I read it, because there's nothing cliche about this book. These are truths which too many of us have simply never been introduced to. It can change the way you see yourself, others, & the world around you. It's hard at times, kind of in-your-face, but it's lessons we all need to learn.
Amazon.com
Jezebel and Delilah have plenty to teach contemporary Christian women, according to Bad Girls of the Bible and What We Can Learn from Them. In this self-help book, Liz Curtis Higgs tells fictionalized, contemporary stories based on the lives of biblical characters including Eve, Potiphar's Wife, and the Woman at the Well. In verse-by-verse commentary, Higgs summarizes each life's lessons and provides a list of questions for personal consideration or group discussion. The overall message of each chapter is the same: "Good Girls and Bad Girls both need a Savior. The goodness of your present life can't open the doors of heaven for you. The badness of your past life can't keep you out either." In its effort to turn readers' minds heavenward, Bad Girls draws a distinction between fun and joy. Associated with "fleshly pleasures," fun "is temporary at best; it's risky, even dangerous, at worst." Joy, on the other hand, is found in God's "gift of grace." Perhaps the book's greatest weakness is its inability to see that "fun," in many lives, is a holy and necessary means of attaining "joy." --Michael Joseph Gross
Book Description
Women everywhere marvel at those “good girls” in Scripture–Sarah, Mary, Esther–but on most days, that’s not who they see when they look in the mirror. Most women (if they’re honest) see the selfishness of Sapphira or the deception of Delilah. They catch of glimpse of Jezebel’s take-charge pride or Eve’s disastrous disobedience. Like Bathsheba, Herodias, and the rest, today’s modern woman is surrounded by temptations, exhausted by the demands of daily living, and burdened by her own desires.
So what’s a good girl to do? Learn from their lives, says beloved humor writer Liz Curtis Higgs, and by God’s grace, choose a better path. In Bad Girls of the Bible, Higgs offers a unique and clear-sighted approach to understanding those “other women” in Scripture, combining a contemporary retelling of their stories with a solid, verse-by-verse study of their mistakes and what lessons women today can learn from them.
Whether they were “Bad to the Bone,” “Bad for a Season, but Not Forever” or only “Bad for a Moment,” these infamous sisters show women how not to handle the challenges of life. With her trademark humor and encouragement, Liz Curtis Higgs teaches us how to avoid their tragic mistakes and joyfully embrace grace.
Customer Reviews:
Intriging Title.......2007-06-27
Used this in an adult Sunday School class. More attendees than normal. Very well presented and received by the class. Thank you Liz!!!
The world never changes.......2007-05-27
We are studying this in Sunday School. The input from the book and all the other ladies is amazing. This is a great book for boosting our self esteem and learning to depend on GOD more.
Female Chauvinist .......2007-03-10
Our church book study group mistakenly purchased this Bad Girls of the Bible instead of the one by the other author.
While I had great difficulty getting through the first chapter, I am now using this book to improve my understanding of the Bible, and to learn more about ancient times.
This writer makes-up her own story lines, and conveniently leaves out portions of chapters and verses that do not fit her story line. For example, in chapter two, she states that Egypt where Joseph is held as a slave by Potiphar, is a dry hot land. Perhaps she should read just a little earlier in the Bible. In Genesis 13:10, we are told different.
10 Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar.
While the ordering of this book was a mistake on the part of the person who ordered the books for us, I believe it is a Godsend for us to read and discuss this book, though I doubt we will actually be using the questions at the end of each chapter. Instead we will ask questions regarding her inaccurate portrayal of these women and the facts of history.
Great book for Women's bible study.......2007-02-06
Our women's small group has gotten alot of knowledge and insight from this book! Bad Girls of the Bible helps us discuss some topics that we might not otherwise. The author is wonderful at helping us see the character of these women. It is very well written. I highly recommend this book for a bible study with your girlfriends!
Funny, moving, meaningful.......2007-01-11
Liz Curtis Higgs juxtaposes fiction and nonfiction in the same book. Read the stories of modern "bad girls" while guessing what Bible character they represent. Then read the nonfiction essay on the Biblical "bad girl". Find out how they were bad, why they were bad, and what God did about it. Liz describes herself as a "former bad girl", so she really gets inside the skin of these women. This book is so good that I can't keep it on hand. I've lent out and given away multiple copies to women who never fail to enjoy the book and experience God in a meaningful way. Get one for yourself and one for your daughter/mother/best friend. (I'm a former bad girl myself.) Then go for Really Bad Girls of the Bible and Unveiling Mary Magdalene by the same author.
Book Description
This is not a book for normal people to learn how to handle difficult people -- there is no such thing. This is a book about how imperfect people can pursue community with other imperfect people. Winner of the Retailers Choice Award.
Customer Reviews:
Good book.......2007-07-27
My cousin thought it would be a book I liked. I am planning on reading it soon.
I've only just starting this book..........2007-06-13
But I am reminded immediately why I have every John Ortberg book on my wish list.
He is an amazing writer. Funny, intelligent, insightful. I hightly recommend his "If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat"
It was truly life changing.
thoughtful exploration of the concept of community.......2007-06-12
Inciteful discussion of barriers to community building and fellowship. Helpful consideration of practical elements such as conflict management. Unique and entertaining perspective including extensive applicable Scriptural references and illustrations. Well written. An entertaining read and valuable reference work. Each chapter includes questions for reflection and discussion. Effective for group study and discussion.
Perfect for understanding others.......2007-05-12
This book will help you realize that you, yourself, are not perfect, and will also help you accept others for being themselves.
Very good book.......2007-04-27
This book offered some very practical insights on dealing with life and the curveballs it throws at you. I found it thoroughly enjoyable on every level. Each section ends with practical advice on how to apply what you have learned.
Book Description
This book was originally published in 1992 as "500 SAT Words, and How To Remember Them Forever!" This current edition is the eighth printing, and we will soon sell our 50,000th copy.
"500 Key Words for the SAT" uses pictures and stories to help you remember the meanings of five hundred of the words that appear most frequently on the SAT. Learning is fast, fun, and forever!
New to this edition: each word is used in a sentence. And a special section in the back provides tips for the verbal part of the SAT.
Customer Reviews:
SAT words.......2007-06-15
This book was invaluable, couldn't believe how many of these words were on the actual test.
Umm...this is pretty good but..........2007-05-23
This is a pretty good vorcabulary learning book but not every word has a picture to go along with it and it's sometimes confusing to follow along with the picture. You also need to be dedcated to learning these vorcabulary because not every word can be remebered through pictures.
Best Method for Learning Words.......2007-05-22
The author's technique really works. We tried other books in our homeschool but none of them worked as effectively as this one. The visual imagery, stories, and funny pronounciations help make each word very memorable.
I still remember words from sixth grade!.......2007-01-09
When I was in sixth grade, my English teacher used this book to teach us vocabulary. It had fun cartoons and a really great tone, but most importantly, it worked. Each word was turned into what it sounded like. For example, the word "volatile" became "volley tile." The cartoon would have a drawing of people playing a game of a new sport called volley tile, which was like volleyball, except instead of a ball, there was a tile that could blow up at any time, demonstrating the definition of the word. This was in sixth grade, people. I don't even remember my teacher's name in the sixth grade, but I do remember the definition of volatile, embellishment, penchant, and the list goes on. This book's devices are incredible and really fun, and they truly make learning vocabulary painless, I promise.
Great tool .......2005-10-23
I am an AVID teacher and am preparing my students for the SAT. After I started using this book my students now think that learning Vocab is fun! When have you ever heard a high school student say that vocab is fun? I highly recommend this book!
Amazon.com
Dr. Michael Roizen hopes to discover a cure for the common birthday. The author of the bestselling book RealAge and Oprah guru, Roizen translates groundbreaking medical research into a series of calculations and choices that promise to reduce age-linked symptoms and diseases. The RealAge Makeover begins with a self-test of 132 health factor questions that compare your calendar age with your "real age"--based on healthy habits plus heredity, he rounds up the usual suspects (sun exposure, sleep patterns, good fats) as well as the unusual (the kind of chocolate you eat, the number of nagging unfinished tasks, your catsup consumption). Although Roizen flags heredity, he focuses on the three key factors of aging: arteries (heart attack, stroke, memory loss), immune systems (prostate and breast cancer), and environmental stresses (lung cancer, STDs). He offers a sliding scale of difficulty in his "younger every day suggestions." Whether talking about stress, diet, or disease, Roizen offers case examples and subtle and engaging strategies such as describing the role of living beyond your means in aging or the difference between "four-legged" and "no-leg fats." Readers looking for a quick fix will benefit less than those who follow the recommendations that require focus and commitment. As Baby Boomers age and books about turning back time increase, Roizen's will remain a standout. --Barbara Mackoff
Book Description
Why not live at 60 feeling like you did at 35?
Thousands of Americans are younger today than they were five years ago. How is that possible? By following the specific recommendations that reverse aging in Dr. Michael Roizen's bestselling book RealAge®: Are You As Young As You Can Be?, people who were previously much older than their chronological age have now taken up to twentynine years off their biological ages. Since that first publication, more than 10 million people have taken the RealAge® test in one form or another, and thousands of people have thanked Dr. Roizen for helping them make simple changes in their lives -- changes that have made them healthier, younger, and more vibrant.
In the last several years, Dr. Roizen and his team have learned much more about the aging process. The RealAge® Makeover makes sense of recent critical medical findings -- mportant new research on inflammation in your arteries, stress reduction, chronic disease management, hormone replacement therapy, and other choices you can make to keep aging at a distance. You'll also find the latest on vitamins and other supplements, which are age-reducing, which are aging, and which ones to avoid if you are taking certain medications. Roizen then offers more than seventy ways to reduce or even prevent 80 percent of the diseases that make you feel older. For example, coffee or the right kind of chocolate in moderate amounts can help reduce inflammation, preserving your arteries, joints, and memory. But the wrong choice can lead to needless aging and loss of energy, such as taking too much Vitamin A. And The RealAge® Makeover tells you how much (in years) each choice is worth so you can make the choices that are meaningful to you.
More potent than any statistic or finding are the personal stories interwoven throughout -- success stories from readers who followed the RealAge program, became biologically younger, and are living happier, healthier lives. With this book, readers have more opportunity than ever to turn back their biological clock to look, feel, and actually be many years younger.
Join the RealAge® Revolution and give yourself a RealAge® Makeover!
Customer Reviews:
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure.......2007-08-28
And "prevention" (of aging and disease) is the underlying message of this makeover program.
The Dr. Roizen (who partnered with Dr. Oz for the successful "You" series of books) provides easy to follow guidelines for doing the things you know you need to do for better health.
This isn't necessarily a book you'll sit down and read cover to cover. It may work better for you if you turn to the chapter that addresses your most pressing concern (weight, smoking, etc.), and start there.
Because the other underlying message is that you have to start SOMEWHERE to get your health under control.
With this book, the plan is laid out for you in easy to understand language. The implementing may not be quite as easy. That part takes determination.
So if you're determined to do something about your health, you'll find what you need here.
(So why 4 stars, not 5? Because, unlike the "You" books, this one has no "cute" illustrations, and it is dense with text. Something that may be off-putting for readers who like their medicine to go down smoothly, and with a touch of humor.)
The more you know...........2007-07-19
Roizen tells you easy ways to improve your health and well being.
His methods are straight forward and completely obtainable.
The hard part, incorporating these practical and easy steps into the formation of your new habits.
Before you buy this, you probably already know that you need to change your lifestyle and habits. If you have the will power to change, you will love this book. If you don't have the will power, you will need a very wobbly table to level before this book will be useful to you.
RealAge.......2007-05-12
It is OK. Uses the hype: Your younger than you think are, as long as you take care of yourself. Daaaa
More of the same..........2007-05-07
You can find this info on line so I wouldn't spend the money unless you're a real health nut and need to read everything and anything written on aging etc. It's OK but the internet would be faster and just as informative.
The RealAge Makeover.......2007-04-13
Great information. Now, I just need to actually apply this new found knowledge to my life.
Books:
- Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology
- Shawls and Scarves: The Best of Knitter's Magazine (Best of Knitter's Magazine series, The)
- Shinsengumi: The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps
- Ship of Fools
- Slick
- Something Happened
- Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq
- Straight from the Horse's Mouth: How to Talk to Animals and Get Answers
- Strangers in the Night
- Summer At Willow Lake (Lakeshore Chronicles)
Books Index
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The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical
