Book Description
In one of the most anticipated books of the year, Lee Woodruff, along with her husband, Bob Woodruff, share their never-before-told story of romance, resilience, and survival following the tragedy that transformed their lives and gripped a nation.
In January 2006, the Woodruffs seemed to have it all–a happy marriage and four beautiful children. Lee was a public relations executive and Bob had just been named co-anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight. Then, while Bob was embedded with the military in Iraq, an improvised explosive device went off near the tank he was riding in. He and his cameraman, Doug Vogt, were hit, and Bob suffered a traumatic brain injury that nearly killed him.
In an Instant is the frank and compelling account of how Bob and Lee’s lives came together, were blown apart, and then were miraculously put together again–and how they persevered, with grit but also with humor, through intense trauma and fear. Here are Lee’s heartfelt memories of their courtship, their travels as Bob left a law practice behind and pursued his news career and Lee her freelance business, the glorious births of her children and the challenges of motherhood.
Bob in turn recalls the moment he caught the journalism “bug” while covering Tiananmen Square for CBS News, his love of overseas assignments and his guilt about long separations from his family, and his pride at attaining the brass ring of television news–being chosen to fill the seat of the late Peter Jennings.
And, for the first time, the Woodruffs reveal the agonizing details of Bob’s terrible injuries and his remarkable recovery. We learn that Bob’s return home was not an end to the journey but the first step into a future they have learned not to fear but to be grateful for.
In an Instant is much more than the dual memoir of love and courage. It is an important, wise, and inspiring guide to coping with tragedy–and an extraordinary drama of marriage, family, war, and nation.
A percentage of the proceeds from this book will be donated to the Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury.
Customer Reviews:
IN AN INSTANT.......2007-10-05
TOTALLY ENJOYED THE CD OF THIS BOOK. A HEARTFELT STORY OF LOVE, PAIN AND RECOVERY.
Up from the trenches.......2007-09-29
This is a story of remarkable courage and love. Medicine and therapy have come a long way, but the personal strength of one person doing the hard work, and another staying by their side, is (I believe) what brings people back to a life worth living after so tremendous a trajedy. Other books about brain trauma: The Shiloh Renewal and I'll Carry the Fork! Recovering a Life After Brain Injury
One of the best books I've ever read!.......2007-09-26
What a wonderful & informative book. I really enjoyed all of the background information. It was a very touching love story. Having gone through 3 brain surgeries myself and my daughter's brain surgery also, gave me a fraction of knowledge on the recovering brain, but the book certainly gives an abundance of information. I've always thought Bob was absolutely fantastic, but I really enjoyed Lee's side of the story. Bravo and Good bless you both Bob & Lee!!!
Interesting book.......2007-09-09
Interesting book - I read it because I was curious what had happened to Bob Woodruff after his injury, because the of the lack of information regarding his condition. It is interesting to me that insiders in the media can control what information gets out about them personally; however others are not so fortunate - their names, faces and not-so-flattering images are splashed across news screens every day.
The book was interesting, but I felt that Lee Woodruff ends up protraying herself as a selfish wife who is annoyed first at her husband's career and then annoyed at the inconvenience his injury caused their family. She describes herself several times as a "single parent" because Bob travelled so much. As a real-life single parent, this completely offended me. A single parent not only cares for their children alone, they also support them alone. A single parent is not a wife of a guy with a six-figure salary who happens to work a lot. If Lee had left these comments out, the book would have been much more palatable.
In An Instant.......2007-08-23
This book was excellent. I thoughthly enjoyed it. My sister is not reading it.
Book Description
Living Time is at once a personal odyssey, an intimate doctor-patient communication, and a prescriptive guide for patients and their families. Writing with wit and humility, Dr. Bernadine Healy shares the hard-won insights that transformed her own struggle with a deadly cancer more than seven years ago, affirming her identity as patient and doctor with the many who share this journey.
Together with more than ten million survivors in the United States alone, Dr. Healy, former director of the National Institutes of Health, is a close witness to the medical advances that have brought us to a turning point in the war on cancer. This quiet revolution is curing a growing number of cancers and transforming many others from a death sentence to a chronic illness, one that calls for vigilance but not despair.
Beginning with her own compelling story, Dr. Healy interweaves it with one of the most lucid narratives ever written of what cancer is, how it works in our bodies, and how we can defeat it. She explains how genetic research and other new approaches are radically altering diagnosis and treatment, and she offers precise and empowering ways for patients and their families to access the information and support they need to secure the best in modern cancer care. She also underlines the urgency of accelerating the pace of research that could map out and destroy cancer in the twenty-first century.
Dr. Healy is forthright about the rigors of treatment and the toll cancer still takes, but readers will come away from her book with the information, resources, and heartfelt encouragement they need to look forward to a future with hope.
Customer Reviews:
A must for brain cancer patients/families.......2007-07-23
The first chapter of this book was mesmerizing. Could it mirror my family's crisis any more? It was very kind of Dr. Healy to share her experience. I now know that my family isn't the only one blindsided by an oligodendroglioma. There was a shift in the book, however, from personal to technical. It discusses how cancer happens on the cellular level. It's good information, but sometimes it read like a medical text. There is a lot of imformation on the types of research being done and the hope that all patients should have. It was general enough for anyone dealing with cancer, but particularly beneficial for those with brain cancer. She includes a wonderful list of resources for cancer patients. I also appreciated that even as a doctor, she encouraged cancer patients to make there own informed decisions about their health care.
living time.......2007-07-03
An excellent book, loaded with facts, for anyone suffering from cancer, heart disease or other medical conditions.
Victor J. Albertazzi, MD
i found it well witten and informative........2007-05-17
well written and ienjoyed it
Book Description
From the Introduction:
ghet-to n. (Merriam-Webster dictionary) Italian, from Venetian dialect ghèto island where Jews were forced to live; literally, foundry (located on the island), from ghetàr, to cast; from Latin jactare to throw
1: a quarter of a city in which Jews were formerly required to live
2: a quarter of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure
3a: an isolated group
b: a situation that resembles a ghetto especially in conferring inferior status or limiting opportunity
ghet-to adj. (twenty-first-century everyday parlance)
1a: behavior that makes you want to say “Huh?”
b: actions that seem to go against basic home training and common sense
2: used to describe something with inferior status or limited opportunity. Usually used with “so.”
;
3: a quarter of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure.
4: common misusage: authentic, Black, keepin’ it real
As current and all-consuming as “ghetto” is in these days of gold teeth, weaves (blond and red), Pepsi-filled baby bottles, and babymamas, ghetto has a long history. The original ghetto was in the Jewish quarter of Venice, a Catholic city. Before it became the Jewish quarter, this area contained an iron foundry or ghèto, hence the name. These days, ghetto no longer refers to where you live, but to how you live. It is a mindset, and not limited to a class or a race. Some things are worth repeating: ghetto is not
limited to a class or a race. Ghetto is found in the heart of the nation’s inner cities as well as the heart of the nation’s most cherished suburbs; among those too young to understand (we hope) and those old enough to know better; in little white houses, and all the way to the White House; in corporate corridors, Ivy League havens, and, of course, Hollywood. More devastating, ghetto is also packaged in the form of music, TV, books, and movies, and then sold around the world. Bottom line: ghetto is contagious, and no one is immune, no matter how much we like to suck our teeth and shake our heads at what we think is only happening someplace else…
From an award-winning journalist and cultural commentator comes a provocative examination of the impact of “ghetto” mores, attitudes, and lifestyles on urban communities and American culture in general.
Cora Daniels takes on one of the most explosive issues in our country today in this thoughtful critique of America’s embrace of a ghetto persona that demeans women, devalues education, celebrates the worst African American stereotypes, and contributes to the destruction of civil peace. Her investigation exposes the central role of corporate America in exploiting the idea of ghetto-ness as a hip cultural idiom, despite its disturbing ramifications, as a means of making money. She showcases Black rappers raised in privileged families who have taken on the ghetto persona and sold millions of albums, and non-Black celebrities, such as Paris Hilton, who have adopted ghetto attitudes and styles in pursuit of attention and notoriety. She explores, as well, her own relationship to the ghetto and the ways in which she is both part of and outside the Ghettonation.
Infused with humor and entertaining asides—including lists of events and people that the author nominates for the Ghetto Hall of Fame, and a short section written entirely in ghetto slang—Ghettonation is a timely and engrossing report on a controversial social phenomenon. Like Bill Cosby’s infamous, much-discussed comments about the problems within the Black community today, it is sure to trigger widespread interest and heated debate.
Customer Reviews:
(RAW Rating: 4.5) - A Mindset.......2007-09-29
Author Cora Daniels gives us her take on what she believes is ghetto. She states that ghetto is a mindset and no one is immune from it be it, inner city or suburban residents. While this is not a critical analysis of the ghetto phenomenon, Daniels does site some sociological ills and possible blame. That in itself is cause for debate.
Often portrayed with humor, the author interviews an array of people on what their take is of the term ghetto; what ghetto is to one may not be ghetto to another, be it children or adults. She speaks with boys hanging on street corners, boys and girls who are doing well academically and have college set in their minds and those who have done well financially, but chose to stay in the inner city, further demonstrating that ghetto is a mindset and running to suburbia does not eliminate the ghetto mentality, nor the chance you may see not ghetto. While GHETTONATION by Cora Daniels can cause a serious debate, it is also a reality check for many.
Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers
A great book even though some readers miss the point!.......2007-08-29
A Great book that will have a broad appeal to people of all ages! To those of you who feel like the book didn't offer you enough, I think that you miss the point that this book is written not just for the highly educated but its also written in a style that is of interest to the young men and women on the street corner. BrotherMan on the corner is not interested in black socialism or a book about black culturalism. This book is a wake up call to all people in the sense that it's asking you to think about what it is that you do and why you do those things that are considered to be ghetto. On that note, Mrs Daniels hit the mark. Pass it on to those that are ghetto fabulous and see if you have something worthwhile to talk about! Peace!
'Should be on Oprah's Book Club list.......2007-08-25
Some weeks ago I watched as a mainstream television newscaster referred to the police as the "po po's," a term that is, at this moment used by inner city youth. It's obvious that when such language becomes "accepted" by the mainstream, the words are on their way out...or are they?
Author Cora Daniels would probably say that such usage is further indication of the ghettonization of America and she's more than likely correct. In her amusing and thought-provoking book, the writer exposes all the aspects of American society that reflects how the ghetto mentality flourishes. She sites the entertainment industry, Madison Avenue, professional sports, as well as the everyday instances wherein that which we once thought was only a part of the inner city has become commonplace.
As entertaining as the book is, she hits hard when she challenges readers to consider her words and take action in order to stop or, at least, slow down the spread of "ghettoism" in this nation.
This is a definite "must read" for all Americans that want to understand what's going, not just with the young people, but among us all as we fall further and further into the rationale of the street.
Finally, someone who articulates the problem!.......2007-08-21
Suffering for sometime from the notion that the end is nigh for American civilization, being assaulted daily by the sights, sounds and stories of angry babbymammas and the gangstas who did 'em wrong, mysogynistic rap, the objectification of the female figure everywhere; girls as young as ten wearing t-shirts that read "If you surf I'm available" and crusted with bling, picking visible thongs out of their exposed cracks; young folk with the crazed look of meth/crack/coke in their eyes; fearless pedophiles defiant both about their sickness and civil rights; celebrities crashing and burning; and wondering who and where were the new role models, and where were our real poets and music makers -- and please don't tell me its Fall Out Boy, The White Stripes, or Pussy Cat Dolls or Beyonce or Timblaland or Timberlake-- I wearily picked this book up at my local library and began to read, and continued, and couldn't stop. In fact, I read Ghettonation in two readings, stopping only to pick up my kids from school and make a (rather ghetto) meal of hotdogs and canned beans. I had to rush back to this book.
I've been wrestling with American notions of class, race, identity, the decline of Western civilization, economic disparities, greed and respect, what constitutes illegal immigrants, education, environmental devastation, pitbulls, drugs, babymammas, and rap and hip hop music for a decade and more. I see how lowering the bar, for all of us, has resulted in a free fall for relationships, in parenting, manners, basic common sense, civility, charity, and even basic human discourse. In Ghettonation, Ms. Daniels finally articulated my inchoate thoughts and theories.
When Gwenyth Paltrow called her baby Apple that was a ghetto move. What a concept! This patrician looking, some would say Aryan, blonde with blue eyes doing something other than the classy she generally projects, but it's an absolute spot-on observation. An ah-hah moment, and this book has no shortage of other such examples to remind us all that ghetto isn't a class thing, it's not a race thing, it's simply about not being the best of what we can and should be.
The section on ghetto literature is terrifying. Proceed with caution. I had no idea these books were B. available and B. popular. I also had no idea that high profile music industry figures, such as Snoop Dogg (and more recently Dave Navarro) were getting involved in porn and doing well with it. Yes, we've come a long way from Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and MoTown. Yes, we are much more morally bankrupt than we used to be, even compared to the anything goes 70s days of decadence.
This is an important book, it's a wake up call to all who care about the world and our human family, that we need to be smart, we need to be kinder, we need to take care of our children, our business, our schools, and our world. It's the only one we have.
Thanks, Ms. Daniels, for this eye opening and cogent analysis of the most urgent problem facing America today. You managed to walk the fine line without resorting to snobbery, elitism, and also without giving an inch.
Ghettonation is essential reading.
Long on Examples, Short on Analysis.......2007-07-26
This book offers a blend of opinion, autobiography, and ethnography to ask why "ghetto" (and its adjectival uses, as in "That's sooo ghetto") has become an accepted "mind-set" in this country. Daniels does well to catalog the many ways in which ghetto culture is organized by "low expectations" and fosters carelessness, irresponsibility, and general unpleasantness. Her examples can be illuminating, including the website Gizoogle.com, which translates any webpage into "ghettospeak."
The problem with this book is its complete lack of organization and argumentative structure. I second one reviewer's claim that Daniels tends to substitute her own rambling musings for critical social analysis. Her back-and-forth rhetoric about "I'm ghetto, I'm not ghetto" typifies this problem: Daniels seems to think her examples are so self-evident that we should already know WHY she supposedly "is" or "isn't" ghetto. This sleight of hand is inexcusable for a book that means to delineate the properties of the "ghetto mind-set." We expect explanation here, not self-indulgent "you know it when you see it" joking.
The book also suffers from having an overly expansive definition of the ghetto mind-set. Daniels's examples are so wide-ranging and far-fetched (even referencing the heir to the throne of Monaco's philandering) that she loses sight of the specific (social, cultural, historical) reasons why "ghetto" has become fashionable among American youth. At times it seems Daniels interprets ghetto as signifying anything (or anyone) that thrives off "low expectations." Such an abstract definition means very little when applied to concrete examples.
In the end, I wanted more critical focus in this book. (A little less authorly self-indulgence would have helped.) The examples are sometimes illuminating, as I noted, but Daniels's basic theme is tackled more pointedly in black sociological criticism and black cultural studies.
Book Description
A timeless tale by the incomparable Kate DiCamillo, complete with stunning full-color plates by Bagram Ibatoulline, honors the enduring power of love.
"Someone will come for you, but first you must open your heart. . . ."
Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely.
And then, one day, he was lost.
Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle — that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.
Customer Reviews:
Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.......2007-09-23
This book was a request from my 9-yr-old granddaughter which I read before sending. I was delighted to find that it was a well-written and beautifully illustrated story that hooked me from Page 1. Edward Tulane is a non-feeling, sort of snobby, stuffed rabbit, who in a series of adventures and after being passed from home to home through no fault of his own, finds his heart...and love... and finally understands that even in the worst of circumstances there is always hope.
Maybe not for kids? A bit depressing..........2007-09-16
The story was beautifully written but chapter by chapter I became more and more depressed. Actually, I wanted to put it down and just not read it after a while, but I continued. After such a dreadfully painfull and heart-breaking story I would have liked more than one page for a happy ending. Would I recommend it? With some hesitation... Would I read it again? No...
Great Story!!.......2007-09-12
I love this story. It is an interesting tale of one pompous rabbit's journey in learning to love. Very sweet and teaches that there are good and sometimes not so good people in all walks of life.
This Book Will Deepen You.......2007-08-18
At first I thought this book was a sappy emotional rollercoaster. Good grief, win, lose, win, lose, win, lose...what is the point?
The trick is, I was getting hurt and hardened just like the main character. I was sucked right in to the author's evil scheme.
By the end of the book, I was ready for the same victory as Edward.
I'll tell you what happened at the end.
I was crying and laughing and had to re-read the last page because I couldn't believe it.
My wife looked over from her chair and said, "Are you crying?"
I said, "Yes. Promise me you will read this book, and not just skip to the end."
"Before I go to bed?" she said. It is 10:45pm.
"No, but you have to read this book. It's incredible."
So there you go. Check it out. She is reading it now, and I'm going to go lie down and look out the window at the stars and name the constellations!
A great read for anyone with a heart.......2007-08-07
"Edward Tulane" is a parable about learning to love, learning compassion, and then learning to love even knowing that it could lead to being hurt. DiCamillo is a marvelous story-teller, excercising tremendous control of the story. "Edward Tulane" reads like the layers of an onion being carefully and deliberately peeled back as Edward grows in his ability to love. A wonderful book to read with your late-toddler to pre-teen child, but also a great read for anyone with a heart.
Book Description
I can fix it.
I don't need directions.
I can figure this out on my own. These thoughts that erupt from a man's bravado, from his deep urge to be a
real man. Yet underneath this, there is a louder voice countering,
You can't.
You're not capable.
You're weak. Many men-possibly all men-face two looming questions at some point in their life. What does it mean to be a man, and am I one?
The Way of the Wild Heart reaches out to "unfinished men" trying to understand and live their role as men and fathers. Exploring six biblically based stages, John Eldredge initiates men into a new understanding and ownership of their manhood and equips them to effectively lead their sons to manhood.
Customer Reviews:
GET THIS BOOK.......2007-09-29
I loved Wild At Heart and how he restored masculinity in the church. The goal is not to train our men to be good, nice, coffee-klatsch women. There are parts of being a man that are God-given and shouldn't be set aside.
Now, as a father of two boys, trying to figure out how to be a good dad, this book is revolutionary. I am not the "outdoorsman" that Eldredge is, but we are having significant discussions at our church right now based on this book. I wish more ministers would embrace this book and offer this material to their men.
Most men are bored. And as a businessman, I am extremeley busy. If it were not for deep conviction I would not normally make the time for prioritizing spiritual things in my life. But this book helps me see that it is not just about church. It is about being fathered by God, and passing that fathering on to my sons and to younger men who also need mentoring.
I loved this book!
Wild At Heart.......2007-09-29
Compelling book ; Should be read by EVERY Man
and those who try to live with one successfully,
to help understand how he works inside.
All these books from this author are gifted works on
the workings of the adult man, I believe he is truly inspired.
Biblical Imagery of Masculine Spirituality.......2007-08-22
I've read Eldredge's first book, Wild at Heart, and believe he has as good of a work here if not better. Wild at Heart is a pre-requisite to gain the most benefit from this volume. Even without having read the first title however, Eldredge here will resonate with many Christian male readers.
I simply don't understand how other reviewers can say this book is shallow on its Biblical content -- I don't believe I have seen a better analogy to the life of David in any other work. The masculine journey, according to Eldredge, begins first at boyhood, then progresses to the cowboy, then warrior, lover, king and finally sage. While the author doesn't bluntly offer chapter and verse for the ideas he shares, anyone familiar with the life of David can see clearly the parallels.
I recommend this book to all Christian men. Grandfathers, fathers, and sons alike will all find something here to inspire to walk closer to God and to develop much-needed relationships with other Christian men. This title is well-worth the price.
Great manly read.......2007-07-25
n preparation for a up-and coming hike with my friend Dale, I decided to read this book. I read his first one and loved it. It was called "Wild at Heat." It is the best book I ever read for men and spirituality. In this hike, I am looking forward to the trip. The book certainly motivated me for this time in the woods. Because of this book, this journey is not about the woods as much about connecting to God. Being a minister, it is rare for me to get dirty and sweating, but my background in life is farming and manual labor. I need this hike for my heart. In the church we have taken God and placed him in the church building only. If you want God, find him on Sunday morning, but God is everywhere. In the encounters with God in the Bible, he never approaches the man in the building. This was the perfect book to inspire my future hike. Every man would be blessed by reading this journey. As I read it, my mind reflected back to my journey, it was a enjoyable experience.
A Guide to Becoming a Complete Man.......2007-07-03
This book is a continuation of the topics covered in the book Wild at Heart and has good expansion and further development of the themes. Eldridge's basic premise is that there are 6 stages of the full masculine journey in life. That of the boy, cowboy/ranger, warrior, lover, king, and sage. In each stage the boy/man walks through crucial elements in his development as a man.
The boy stage is when he is young and enjoying doing boy stuff like playing outside, exploring, climbing trees, basically having fun and being delighted in by his parents and family.
The cowboy/ranger stage is when the boy moves more into the young manhood stage where he goes out exploring on his on and begins learning the things of the masculine world such as how to fix a car, working with power tools, going on backpacking journeys in the woods either alone or with some of his friends. This could also include such adventures as backpacking across Europe. The main part of this stage is his learning the answer to the question "do I have what it takes/can I handle this?"
The warrior stage is when the man is beginning his quest and mission in life which may include beginning a career such as a teacher, lawyer, doctor, consultant, mechanic, salesman, or becoming a missionary overseas. This is the stage in which he is finding his cause to fight for and the things that are important to him and what he will work towards during his life.
The lover stage sometimes crosses over with the warrior stage. This is when the man is learning to appreciate beauty and how to love. It is not necessarily when he pursues a woman and learns to love in that sense but can also include the awakening to the beautiful things in life such as nature, art, and music. Full development in this stage will include learning to love and be loved by God in an intimate way. Something Eldridge said which makes sense is that it is best for the man to have established himself as a warrior before entering this stage. Many women can be frustrated with the men they marry who don't seem to have a sense of purpose to their lives and Eldridge indicates that it is best for the man to come to the woman from a state of strength and having journeyed through at least parts of the warrior stage.
The king stage is when the man becomes responsible for leading others. This might include being the head of his household, becoming a manager at work, or a coach of a team. During this stage, warriors may be working for the king.
The final stage is that of the sage. This occurs when a man steps down as a king but does not fade into the distance. He will commonly be an adviser to kings and provide the wisdom that comes only through years of living through the various stages. Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings trilogy would fit this category.
During each of the stages, the man will likely experience parts of all the stages but will generally be centered upon one of them.
In reading this book, I suggest taking it slowly, not because it is difficult reading but so that you can really absorb and take in the topics discussed. I highly recommend this book as an excellent understanding of the development of a man and what makes a whole and complete man.
Amazon.com
Journey of Souls is a controversial yet inspiring investigation of the big question we all face at one point or another: "What happens after we die?" To find the answer, Newton opens cases from his private practice in which he hypnotically regressed his clients to a point between lives--after death, but before birth. Not only does Newton grapple with reincarnation, the spirit world, and the nature of the human soul, he also tackles equally sticky questions such as "Is there a Heaven and Hell?" and "What are ghosts?" Readers with a penchant for skepticism will balk at the lack of physical evidence to back up the claims in Journey of Souls, but the book remains a reassuring voice, affirming that our existence is not limited to the boundaries of our mortal flesh. --Brian Patterson
Customer Reviews:
Journey Of Souls.......2007-10-05
There is one major difference between Dr. Newton's work compared to Dr. Weiss' work: Newton focusses on the time and activities of a soul in between lifes on Earth, while Weiss reports on the healing aspect of past life regression. There is actually not much overlap in the work of these two authors as far as I can tell (I know two of Newton's books and four or so of Dr. Weiss).
This book is a fairly easy read. Michael's language is clear and easy to understand. He clearly states his points, sometimes muses on his own interpretation of the data, but never goes off on a tangent.
The entire book is more or less centered around 29 case studies, i.e. subjects he hypnotized and regressed to their times in between lifes on Earth. Michael does start out demonstrating how a soul leaves the body at death and what happens next, and also when appropriate shows details of the previous lifes of his patients, but the focus is definitely on the activites in the soul plane. The book is very nicely structured both by the different stages upon entering and leaving the soul plane, as well as by advancement level of soul. He uses each case study to illustrate either a different stage, soul activity, or advancement level. There are chapters that explain the purpose of guides, what soul mates are, and how a new life and body are chosen.
Now, how about actually believing this? I do not have personal experience with past life regression. I know people who do. The concept of reincarnation makes a lot of sense to me, and I do not actually question the validity of it. What Michael's subjects are reporting to him in trance does effectively sound like Science Fiction often times. I was at first put off by the idea of a structured organization in the soul plane that does not sound that much different from life on Earth. That souls advance by learning both on Earth and in the soul plane in study groups. That there are advanced soul beings that are facilitating the soul activites. That advanced soul beings are guiding souls and (in some respect) judging the soul's performance. This all just sounds so un-divine.
Nevertheless, a lot of it sounds fantastic in a positive sense. The idea that souls have incarnated on other planets. That the more advanced souls experiment with creation. How souls start connecting with the brains of their assigned baby. There is a lot of content here that will amaze you! I recommend this book to folks that already believe in reincarnation (otherwise you may find Dr. Weiss' books a better introduction) and are interested in what may be happening between lifes. Especially Dr. Newton's second book offers a lot more detail on all the topics covered here.
Do you find life frustrating and meaningless?.......2007-09-11
Have you ever wondered why we are here? What is our purpose? Who are we supposed to be with? What is the point?
This courageous book attempts to answer these questions through the ambitious effort of hypnotic recall through past-life therapy. Given the level of commitment and the consistency of the responses, Michael Newton paints a very credible picture of where we have come from, where we are going and why that answers many other questions of time and space.
It's a fascinating read for those with an open mind, and provides thought-provoking comfort to those who currently find life frustratingly meaningless.
Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon--Survival of Bodily Death
Your Reincarnating Child: Welcoming a Soul to the World
Embraced by the Light
Return From Heaven: Beloved Relatives Reincarnated Within Your Family
Past Lives, Present Dreams
One Last Time: A Psychic Medium Speaks to Those We Have Loved and Lost
Hello from Heaven: A New Field of Research-After-Death Communication Confirms That Life and Love Are Eternal
Love Beyond Life: The Healing Power of After-Death Communications
Journey of Souls .......2007-08-23
This is an AMAZING documentation of subjects, each sharing insight to "life" after "life", spirit world, and each encouter is similar yet different. I would recommend this book to anyone who is intereted in the "after-life", rebirth, reincarnation.
I give all of Michael Newton's works 10 STARS!!.......2007-08-11
As someone who's spent the last 35 years uncovering and writing about my own past lives, and studying how the karma from each of them has played out in the events and relationships of my present life, I suppose I bring something of a unique perspective to Dr Michael Newton's extraordinary trilogy, "Journey of Souls," "Destiny of Souls," and "Life Between Lives." Even after uncovering three of my own historically identifiable, though far from famous, past personas, I was still frustrated that neither I, nor any of the writers I had consulted seem to be able to throw any light on the issue of what happens to us between lifetimes.
But then, I discovered the works of Michael Newton, arguably the most important and most fascinating accounts of this entire genre. By directing the focus of his subjects away from their subconscious and toward their super-conscious, it seems Dr Newton succeeded in accessing a spiritual dimension previously untapped by the vast majority of researchers in this field. Once there, he was able to painstakingly document over many years what is undoubtedly one of the most comprehensive, detailed and believable models of what takes place in the afterlife anyone has ever put forward. Most importantly, it portrays in very convincing terms just how each of us goes about planning and designing our future lives. And once we absorb such a concept it becomes difficult for anyone to fail to take responsibility for their own lives, even with all its challenges and disappointments.
As fate would have it, I discovered Newton's works just after reading "Same Soul, Many Bodies" by the prolific Dr Brian Weiss. In it he discusses his experiences with "future life progression" as a technique for inspiring and motivating patients to change the directions of their lives by revealing the potentialities awaiting them in future incarnations, if they can just make the right choices in the here-and-now.
Comparing the claims of Dr Weiss with those of Dr Newton seemed to leave me with something of a paradox, which was namely this: If Dr Newton was correct that when we die we return to the spiritual realm to take on the work of planning and designing our next life, how would it be possible for Dr Weiss to explore our future lives while we are still alive, since the planning process had not taken place yet?
To resolve this conundrum I decided to have a chat with my spirit guide, Prakash. He first reminded me that linear time is only an operable construct in the physical dimension, and that from the perspective of the spiritual realm all physical incarnations co-exist simultaneously in a moment of eternity. Therefore, it follows that all those between life episodes that Dr Newton describes likewise exist in that same simultaneous eternity. The only reason is seems confusing is because Dr Newton is exploring and reporting what appears to be a linear sequence of lives and their related planning episodes, which necessarily skews his perspective due to his viewing the information from his location here in this dimension of linear time.
This gave me an idea. From all of my past lives that I have explored over the last three decades, two have stood out as closely related, even though they were separated by 700 years. The first was my life as Genghis Khan's nephew Yegu, and the second was my life as Field Marshall Count Helmuth von Moltke (the younger), nephew of von Moltke (the elder), his uncle and namesake, the military genius and hero of the Franco-Prussian War who helped Bismarck unite the German Empire. In the first life the plan for me to succeed my uncle Genghis failed, but in the second I did succeed my uncle as Chief of the German General Staff prior to and during the initial phases of WW I. As you might suspect, von Moltke (the elder) was a reincarnation of Genghis Khan.
What occurred to me is that exploring the planning stages of these two incarnations in tandem would provide a rare opportunity to see this whole planning process at its most complex. Fortunately, Dr Newton's third book, "Life Between Lives" was designed as something of a do-it-yourself training manual for just such explorations. So I guess that will be my next project.
Maxwell Austin van Lack, Author of The Vortex: A True Story of Passion and Karma
Inspiring and Insightful.......2007-08-08
I really liked this book. It was fascinating, compelling and by offering the clinical proof most of us need to believe in any kind of life after death, it was also suprisingly comforting. It's such a good read, once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down. Once you finish, you won't be able to avoid searching for answers about your own past lives. Definitely two thumbs up.
Amazon.com Reviews
Heralded as the "best book on the dope decade" by the New York Times Book Review, Hunter S. Thompson's documented drug orgy through Las Vegas would no doubt leave Nancy Reagan blushing and D.A.R.E. founders rethinking their motto. Under the pseudonym of Raoul Duke, Thompson travels with his Samoan attorney, Dr. Gonzo, in a souped-up convertible dubbed the "Great Red Shark." In its trunk, they stow "two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half-full of cocaine and a whole galaxy of multicolored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers.... A quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls," which they manage to consume during their short tour.
On assignment from a sports magazine to cover "the fabulous Mint 400"--a free-for-all biker's race in the heart of the Nevada desert--the drug-a-delic duo stumbles through Vegas in hallucinatory hopes of finding the American dream (two truck-stop waitresses tell them it's nearby, but can't remember if it's on the right or the left). They of course never get the story, but they do commit the only sins in Vegas: "burning the locals, abusing the tourists, terrifying the help." For Thompson to remember and pen his experiences with such clarity and wit is nothing short of a miracle; an impressive feat no matter how one feels about the subject matter. A first-rate sensibility twinger, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a pop-culture classic, an icon of an era past, and a nugget of pure comedic genius. --Rebekah Warren
Book Description
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is the best chronicle of drug-soaked, addle-brained, rollicking good times ever committed to the printed page. It is also the tale of a long weekend road trip that has gone down in the annals of American pop culture as one of the strangest journeys ever undertaken.
Now this cult classic of gonzo journalism is a major motion picture from Universal, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro. Opens everywhere on May 22, 1998.
Customer Reviews:
I know, I know..........2007-09-30
I know, it's THE Hunter S. Thompson book. It would be like having the gall to write a review for the Grapes of Wrath or Slaughterhouse Five and think you'd be doing anything other than blabbing just to see your own words on a computer screen.
That said, read this book this instant. Whatever good anyone's ever said about this book, it's twenty times better. I read it in two sittings and only stopped myself from reading it again because it was a library book and had to be returned.
The late HST's gift for gonzo, that strange mix of fiction and nonfiction, is ultimately realized in this book. Reality is seamlessly mixed with a bizarre fantasy world of sentient reptiles and split personality through the medium of hard drugs that serve to clarify (and sometimes amplify) a violent and twisted town in a strange time.
This book will have you laughing hysterically at parts, so don't read it around other people unless you're okay with passing it to them. This book will have you cringing at the brutality of human nature at points, so have your wits about you.
I really can't say anything else, other than that this book must be purchased and read this very instant if you haven't already done so.
A must read for anyone.......2007-09-21
Thompson's book helps create a vivid picture of the drug fueled 60's and early 70's a way no one else has before.
Good stuff, but less important than his other work.......2007-09-14
¨Fear and Loathing¨ is a great ride for sure. A drug-addled, hilarious, disturbing romp through Las Vegas in search of the American Dream. Thompson is definitely a skilled writer and an outlaw and this stuff comes through in this book. I don't want to shrug this work off by any means, but I definately prefer his other work, such as ¨The Great Shark Hunt,¨ because it truly brings out Thompson's outlook on the world, his hatred of wealth, power and greed, etc. This book is fun, but Thompson is definitely capable of more depth and thought. While this work might be what gave him his big break, he definitely went on to better things.
Buy the ticket...take the ride.......2007-08-23
A bizzare journey to the heart of the American Dream, funny, witty and full of memorable episodes. The illustrations by Ralph Steadman are also superb. Raul Duke says it clearly : "buy the ticket...take the ride"
A wild and extraordinary ride down a lost highway ..........2007-08-20
The lost highway of the American Dream.
I wasn't old enough to remember much from the late 60's early 70's let alone the political aspects of Nixon's presidency or the drug culture of the time, so this review won't have any profound social or political commentary, except that comparisons can well be made to the drug culture of today, and it is glaringly apparent that not much has changed.
Considering the climate of the time: Nixon's presidency, the war in Vietnam, and the country's young men succumbing to the draft, it was no wonder that an entire generation wanted something more, for this was not the American Dream they had been sold. And for some, the only way to drown out the hypocrisy gnawing at your brain is to give your brain an escape. Expand your mind, as that might be the only part of you that is truly free. Whatever it takes to get you directly out of your head -- the higher the better. This story chronicles a journey utterly devoid of restraint and reason as these two men, Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo, and their trunk full of felonies set themselves loose upon Las Vegas -- the last vestige of the American Dream. However, their idea of the American Dream is not how most of us would understand it, but somehow, through the fog of hallucinatory metaphor, we can actually see and feel what the main characters are searching for so desperately.
All that aside, even if the 60's culture is beyond your age group, Thompson's writing is worth the read -- Brilliant, sarcastic, and frighteningly funny: Bars seething with has-been lounge lizards, tearing the patrons to shreds, blood soaked tacky hotel rooms, police car chases, kidnapping, gambling, excess, and debauchery ... not to mention the Narcotics Convention. The dialog is brilliant. Harrowing experiences abound; it is amazing that the two main characters make it out of Vegas alive.
Definitely a wild ride for all.
Book Description
Joe Ehrmann, a former NFL football star and volunteer coach for the Gilman high school football team, teaches his players the keys to successful defense: penetrate, pursue, punish, love. Love? A former captain of the Baltimore Colts and now an ordained minister, Ehrmann is serious about the game of football but even more serious about the purpose of life. Season of Life is his inspirational story as told by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jeffrey Marx, who was a ballboy for the Colts when he first met Ehrmann.
Ehrmann now devotes his life to teaching young men a whole new meaning of masculinity. He teaches the boys at Gilman the precepts of his Building Men for Others program: Being a man means emphasizing relationships and having a cause bigger than yourself. It means accepting responsibility and leading courageously. It means that empathy, integrity, and living a life of service to others are more important than points on a scoreboard.
Decades after he first met Ehrmann, Jeffrey Marx renewed their friendship and watched his childhood hero putting his principles into action. While chronicling a season with the Gilman Greyhounds, Marx witnessed the most extraordinary sports program he'd ever seen, where players say "I love you" to each other and coaches profess their love for their players. Off the field Marx sat with Ehrmann and absorbed life lessons that led him to reexamine his own unresolved relationship with his father.
Season of Life is a book about what it means to be a man of substance and impact. It is a moving story that will resonate with athletes, coaches, parents -- anyone struggling to make the right choices in life.
Customer Reviews:
Get this book for your graduate.......2007-10-08
There can be no better compliment to a book than the fact that after reading A Season of Life I immediately ordered three more copies for my own kids. I was fortunate to have a coach with his priorities in the right place, and twenty-five years later he remains the benchmark for how I evaluate coaches. This book is a great testament that you can do things the right way, and be successful. It would be an excellent gift for any graduate that will be working with youth.
All parents and youth coaches should read this book.......2007-09-09
I would heartily recommend this book to any parent who has kids involved in youth sports. This is not a book on how to become a coach who wins games. Instead, this is a book that shows how to mold and develop kids who are winners in the game of life.
The Gilman football program wins plenty of games. In this book, Jeffrey Marx highlights the coach and former all-pro NFL footballer Joe Ehrmann. As a coach, he finds it more valuable to teach life lessons to his young charges than football lessons. Of course, they do a lot of good football teaching too. And, the coaches know the game very well.
The book was written after the 2001 season. The coaches at the time felt that Victor Abiamiri was the player most likely to end up in the NFL. In fact, he is now a rookie on the Philadephia Eagles. I have no idea if any other Gilman players have made the NFL. How many kids on any high school team ever make the NFL? Not many. Victor Abiamiri may be the only NFL player of the bunch. However, I am confident that the all or most of the Gilman kids will become good productive members of society.
Of course that is the end result. I recommend you read the story and learn why.
Really, really excellent book.......2007-08-23
As a father of three, including a young boy and a youth football coach, this is a book I recommend to all sorts of people who are involved in helping to raise young boys to become responsible young men -- teachers, coaches, parents and anyone else would be well-served by reading the book.
Great book!.......2007-07-08
This book is a must read for anyone involved in sports. It shows you how to keep things in perspective when looking at the big picture of things to come.
Most moving book I have ever read!.......2007-06-21
As a few others have stated here, I became interested in Coach Ehrmann after watching the documentary by Steve Sabol of NFL Films.
I was very moved seeing how the coaches of the Gilman HS Football team were able to get their message through to the kids. A lot of what they "preach" might be over some kids heads, but they way that they teach life's lessons by using football as the avenue was both brilliant and inspiring.
This past Little League season, I tried my best to emulate what both Ehrmann and the head coach did for their boys, by talking to them, and emphasizing time and time again that I wanted them all to have the greatest time of their lives out there on the field and to never worry about or ask me what the score was. I also made sure that even the weakest players were put in "positions to succeed", rather than worry about putting them in harms way by putting them somewhere where they might "fail". And as scripted in a movie, the most rewarding experience for everyone was when these less naturally talented kids actually made a play for us or got a big hit! The ENTIRE TEAM was overjoyed and started patting them on the head! Nothing could be more motiviating for them...or...for me than actually seeing it come to fruition!
If you DO coach kids, or were ever considering it, you owe it to yourself to look upon it as the vocation that it is...in the way Coach Ehrmann does. You'll be surprised how much of an effect you can have on a kid's life, and how much watching these kids develop together can have an effect on YOUR life. Our record was actually 4-6 this season (and nobody on the team knew), yet it was, by far, our most successful and rewarding season!
Thank you Jeffrey Marx and thank you COach Ehrmann for motivating me more than you'll ever know!!
Book Description
A pop-science journey into the surprising ingredients found in dozens of common packaged foods, using the Twinkie label as a guide
Like most Americans, Steve Ettlinger eats processed foods. And, like most consumers, he often reads the ingredients label—without a clue as to what most of it means. So when his young daughter asked, “Daddy, what's polysorbate 60?” he was at a loss—and determined to find out.
From the phosphate mines in Idaho to the corn fields in Iowa, from gypsum mines in Oklahoma to the vanilla harvest in Madagascar, Twinkie, Deconstructed is a fascinating, thoroughly researched romp of a narrative that demystifies some of the most common processed food ingredients—where they come from, how they are made, how they are used—and why. Beginning at the source (hint: they're often more closely linked to rock and petroleum than any of the four food groups), we follow each Twinkie ingredient through the process of being crushed, baked, fermented, refined, and/or reacted into a totally unrecognizable goo or powder with a strange name—all for the sake of creating a simple snack cake.
An insightful exploration into the food industry, if you've ever wondered what you're eating when you consume foods containing mono- and diglycerides or calcium sulfate (the latter, a food-grade equivalent of Plaster of Paris) this book is for you.
Customer Reviews:
does your homework for you.......2007-10-08
"Twinkie, Deconstructed" has a cool concept: find out where EVERy ingredient on the ingredients panel of a Twinkie sponge cake comes from, whether grown or made. It turns out a lot of ingredients are mined as well.
Steve Ettlinger does an exhaustingly thorough job of research. He visits wheat fields and salt mines and LOTs of chemical plants. He reverse engineers how a Twinkie is made, even though the manufacturer declined to help him. Ettlinger maintains good cheer despite additional obstacles such as having to change names or leave out certain details due to the Home Security act.
My favorite ingredient was sodium stearoyl lactylate, because my son is allergic to milk. I had to read ingredient lists for EVERything, including bread, and sodium stearoyl lactylate was everywhere. It sounds like it has milk but I was told it does not. Confusion! Ettinger explains all: lactic acid USED to be made from sour milk but now it is made from corn syrup.
The chapter on flavorings is wonderful, including a discussion of the 216 different flavor components of natural vanilla, and how artificial vanilla has even more. I learned more about flour than I ever cared to know, but passed the info on to my daughter who likes to cook (I found out why unbleached flour is better for pizza, and bleached flour for Twinkies, for example).
I read Twinkie, Deconstructed from cover to cover. If I read it again, I might instead look up different ingredients one by one, following my curiosity. (The book's chapters are organized by ingredients and the index is available as well.) By two-thirds of the way into the book, my fingers itched to make a huge flow chart, connecting all the raw components at one end to the ways they are used in a Twinkie cake at the other end.
Ettlinger does our homework for us, showing that all those strange ingredients DO have a purpose in modern food and ARE safe to eat. He uses the Twinkie as a stand in for almost any food we buy these days in a grocery. Good job!
You are what you eat.......2007-07-23
Especially in view of the tainted chemicals coming from China that are in our processed foods, this is a timely read.
Discover the fascinating story of what's in a Twinkie, and where it comes from.
Interesting for foodies, too.
I bought copies for a chemist friend, and for a curious friend.
Would make better television........2007-07-20
So much potential unrealized...I thought this was going to be much better. The concept of where all the ingredients that make up a Twinkie come from make disappointingly dull reading.
Mr. Ettlinger, I see your comment here, so may I suggest a TV series? I would love to have you examine an ingredient per week and actually see the places and things you wrote about as it was hard to visualize it all...now that would be great television!
Fun and Follies with Food Facts.......2007-07-13
Asked by his children what the ingredients in a Twinkie creme-filled cake really were, and where they came from, Steve traveled the world to find out, interviewing over a hundred people in the process. The book is well-written in the sense that it can be read very fast, and is entertaining until the number of technical errors and chemophobia intrude, which for me began on p8. I happen to enjoy processing plant and mine tours, even vicariously, and do not shy from hundreds of facts and factoids. It was fascinating to find where the biggest plants were that made the ingredients of a Twinkie, which are: wheat flour, bleach, iron(II) sulfate, vitamins B1, B2, B3, sugar, corn sweeteners, corn thickeners, water, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, lecithin and soy protein isolate, eggs, cellulose gum, whey, leavenings, baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate, salt, mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 60, natural and artificial flavors, sodium stearoyl lactylate, sodium and calcium caseinates, calcium sulfate, sorbic acid, FD&C Yellow No. 5 and Red. No. 40. All but 2 of the chapter headings follow this ingredient list. There is an inadequate index and no references, an ominous sign of what is to follow. There are no pictures or drawings, which this topic screams for. The concept was excellent, as were the metaphors. Between that and the potential entertainment value my rating would have been 5-star, even though the target audience was 12-14 years old, IMHO.
A fine appreciation of food chemistry was finally given on p258-260: "The fact that chemicals, especially those in foods, are part of nature..." Well and good, but Steve infiltrates all kinds of snide comments about "chemicals" almost everywhere else, such as one about the surprising purity of synthetic chemicals as opposed to natural (p208) -- the reverse of the truth -- that most natural chemicals are mixtures, and many synthetic ones are very pure. Part of the difficulty is that Steve does not define what a chemical is, or know the difference between an element, a compound, and a mixture, or between a rock and a mineral. Except on p173, where Steve appears to understand that the reactive and toxic elements, sodium and chlorine, react to form salt (sodium chloride), which has none of the properties of its precursors. Time after time he tries to scare the reader by implying that the toxicity of the precursors (called intermediates by chemists) somehow makes it into non-toxic products. On p261: "...try reflecting on the fact that one of the world's most lethal chemicals, chlorine, and one of the most reactive chemicals, sodium, have an exalted place...[in] the salt shaker." This, sadly, is more typical. Of course, there is no elemental sodium or chlorine in salt, and the properties of the elements do not persist in salt. And a rock should not be confused with a mineral.
So to repeat grade-school material, all substances are chemical. Dreams and electronic phenomena are not. Substances are either pure or mixtures. The smallest stable units of matter in substances are molecules. In an element, all the atoms in all the molecules are the same, except for isotopes, which still have the same chemical properties. In a compound, meaning that 2 or more elements are present in the molecule, all the molecules are alike. Sugar (sucrose) is a compound formed from a glucose and a fructose with loss of water; it is not a mixture of glucose and fructose as Steve claims (p71). A rock is a mixture of minerals. Granite is a mixture of the minerals quartz, mica and feldspar, and most minerals are well-defined compounds. Eating refined salt or calcium sulfate is not the same as eating rock. Steve wrote that the toxic and flammable element phosphorus is part of the Twinkies recipe (p154). This is nonsense. Steve never learned from a chemist to write: "phosphorus compounds, phosphates, are part of the Twinkies recipe"; no, he has to scare us and give chemicals in general a bad name on almost every page.
Steve wrote: "Ferrous sulfate is light gray with a bluish tinge, just as you'd expect an iron derivative to look" (p42). Pure iron(II) sulfate is actually pale green, just as I would expect it to look.
Steve wrote: "Despite being a mere mineral, calcium is really a so-called earth metal, like sodium...(p232). Calcium is not a mineral, because it is never found as the free element. Steve meant gypsum (calcium sulfate), I think. Calcium belongs to the family of elements called alkaline earths and sodium is in the family of alkali metals.
Whenever Steve has trouble with the chemistry of a food additive, his writing becomes very terse and flawed. From p250: "A reaction of benzene with nitric acid, itself a product of hydrogen (usually from natural gas) and nitrogen (usually from liquid air) that have been passed over over a thin platinum wire mesh, makes nitrobenzene and leads to the all-important aniline, a colorless oily liquid with a strong, pleasant odor that happens to be highly poisonous." When this is untangled, we find: (1) the reaction of hydrogen and nitrogen over a heated catalyst of iron oxide and potassium aluminate at 400 atm leads to ammonia, not nitric acid; (2) ammonia and air are heated to 650° and passed over a platinum/rhodium catalyst to make nitric acid, not nitrobenzene; (3) benzene and nitric acid with considerable sulfuric acid yields nitrobenzene; (4) nitrobenzene with iron powder or hydrogenation over nickel gives aniline; and (5) aniline does not have a pleasant odor in my nose. None of this makes much sense to a non-chemist without pictures of the molecules involved, which are sorely lacking. All the reactions are over 100 years old, so industrial secrecy should not have been an issue.
Steve fell for the myth that eating saturated fat causes hardening of the arteries (p181). See "The Cholesterol Myths" by Uffe Ravnskov, 2000; and "The Modern Nutritional Diseases" by Ottoboni.
A list of another 50 errors are available by e-mailing: kauffman@bee.net.
Eat your Twinkies and be happy.......2007-07-07
Author Ettlinger takes the reader on a fascinating saga through the world of how food ingredients are made and how many of the ingredients in our food are actually not food-based at all, such as benzene, petroleum and rocks. Ettlinger gives us the origin of every Twinkie ingredient in a offbeat, wink-of-the eye way that suggests mirth instead of mean-spiritedness.
If you enjoy learning about scraps of knowledge that will impress your friends, this book is for you.
Amazon.com
People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong--a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France, the multiday bicycle race famous for its grueling intensity. Armstrong is a thoroughgoing Texan jock, and the changes brought to his life by his illness are startling and powerful, but he's just not interested in wearing a hero suit. While his vocabulary is a bit on the he-man side (highest compliment to his wife: "she's a stud"), his actions will melt the most hard-bitten souls: a cancer foundation and benefit bike ride, his astonishing commitment to training that got him past countless hurdles, loyalty to the people and corporations that never gave up on him. There's serious medical detail here, which may not be for the faint of heart; from chemo to surgical procedures to his wife's in vitro fertilization, you won't be spared a single x-ray, IV drip, or unfortunate side effect. Athletes and coaches everywhere will benefit from the same extraordinary detail provided about his training sessions--every aching tendon, every rainy afternoon, and every small triumph during his long recovery is here in living color. It's Not About the Bike is the perfect title for this book about life, death, illness, family, setbacks, and triumphs, but not especially about the bike. --Jill Lightner
Book Description
The #1 New York Times bestseller with legs as strong as its author's.
Lance Armstrong is one of the most talked about- and inspirational-sports figures of all time. He was Sports Illustrated 's 2002 Sportsman of the Year-and now, after his record-shattering string of Tour de France victories, some are proclaiming him the greatest athlete of all time.
This is the book in which he shares his journey through triumph, tragedy, transformation, and transcendence. It is the story of a world-famous cyclist and his fight against cancer.
This is the story of Lance Armstrong, the world-famous cyclist, and his fight against cancer.
Customer Reviews:
1/2 The Story: After "BIKE" Read "WAR".......2007-09-20
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE gives you a wonderful, inside view of Lance Armstrong. A great read. But only half the story...
Don't miss out on the "outer view," Lance through the eyes of a good reporter. LANCE ARMSTRONG'S WAR: ONE MAN'S BATTLE AGAINST FATE, FAME, LOVE, DEATH, SCANDAL, AND A FEW OTHER RIVALS ON THE ROAD TO THE TOUR DE FRANCE by Daniel Coyle is simply marvelous.
The two books belong together.
Dr. Kirtland C Peterson
Good at the beginning....but it IS about the bike........2007-09-17
I was eager to read this book, I saw Lance on several t.v. shows, his battle with cancer interested me because my mom also had cancer at an early age (29), so I bought the book with the hope of learning what made him strong, wondering: how can he inspire others? Well, the first half was pretty good, I was amazed at how much the cancer took over his body and the grueling recovery. I was in awe of Kik and how she stood by him, along thinking he was a humble,family man. I was wrong. The latter part of the book indeed was "all about the bike" going on and on about all the prep for the upcoming races, the TDF (the biggest, most prestigous bike race), the move to Europe (for the bike) and all the proper cycling terms...ho hum. I almost left that part unread, but I hate doing that, so I trudged on. I was sad to find out later after having read the book, that he no longer was with Kik and his children, but doing just spendidly peddling away and loving his singlehood.
I think in writing this book I only learned that for Lance it IS about the bike (and himself). He seems cold, egotistical and unappreciative of those who sacrificed for him. Is that what it takes to get to the top??
Must read.......2007-09-16
This is a must read for cancer survivors, the most inspirational book I have ever read!
It's not about the bike: My jouney back to life.......2007-09-02
This book has been one of the most inspirational books that I have ever read. Now whenever I'm at the gym I just say to myself, come on mike if Lance can do it so can you. I raced bicycles myself when I was younger and after breaking my collarbone at sixteen years old I thought biking was over for me; If only I realized at that age a broken bone was nothing compared to Lance. Thank you Lance Armstrong.
Inspirational.......2007-08-31
This book is an inspiration. It shows the hardships of battling cancer and the effort of recovery. Lance Armstrong is one of the most driven individuals I've ever read about; I could not put it down. Recommended for anyone and everyone, MUST READ!!!
Books:
- In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
- Jane Austen: The Complete Novels
- Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty
- Kinfolks: Falling Off the Family Tree - The Search for My Melungeon Ancestors
- Leadership and Self Deception: Getting Out of the Box
- Love, Life, Goethe: Lessons of the Imagination from the Great German Poet
- Low Level Hell: A Scout Pilot in the Big Red One
- Michelangelo : The Complete Sculpture, Painting, Architecture
- Mount Dragon: A Novel
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Wealth and Poverty
- The Civil War Reminiscences of Major Silas T. Grisamore, C.S.A.
- Making Sense of Intellectual Capital: Designing a Method for the Valuation of Intangibles
- Simple Chess: New Algebraic Edition
- Property and Casualty Insurance License Exam Cram
- The Designer's Guide to VHDL
- Stats: Modeling the World
- Accounting Applications for Spreadsheets/Teachers Manual
- Production Networks in Asia and Europe: Skill Formation and Technology Transfer in the Automobile In
- FCAT Preparation and Practice Grade 12 Student Edition
Television Performers
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family
Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers
The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (Oprah's Book Club)
Nineteen Minutes: A Novel
A Thousand Splendid Suns
