3 comments about HIRSCH COMMENTARY ON THE TORAH- 7 Volume set.

1. Hirsch's natural genius, rigorous religious education and secular studies provides indepth insight into the five books of Moses. He takes the reader deep inside the meaning of the book; constantly providing illumintaing insights from the Oral Law to the Shulchan Aruch. His knowledge base is vast and his writing ability is surgical.



2. R. Hirsch's goal is to learn the Torah from itself. He shows you through an intricate dissection of the text how, when read very carefully, the Torah provides the same conclusions as taught in the Talmud. The logic is compelling. I find studying his commentary to be intellectually breathtaking. Additionally he takes you across the entire landscape of Jewish law providing both a logical and ethical support. Above all he reminds you what a tremendous gift Jews have and what it means to be a Mensch!



3. Important for its non-conventional translations and its profound Hebrew etymologically-based commentary which affords many a Spinozistic innsight. There is much you will not agree with or even be turned-off. However, partake of the work as you would a pomegranate; relish the flesh, but spit-out the pits.

   Also recommended to be used with Hirsch:

   Gesenius 'Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures' - ISDN 0801037360.

   James Strong 'The Comprehensive Concordance of the Bible' - ISBN 0529063344.

2 comments about Clinical Manual of Pain Management in Psychiatry (Concise Guides).

1. Found what I was looking for. Has all of the necessary information concerning pain management in psychiatry.



2. A brief summary:
   
   Ch. 1. Introduction. Argues for biopsychosocial approach to pain management, in contrast to traditional "pain is signal of tissue damage" approach, and for role of psychiatrist in interdisciplinary pain medicine.
   
   Ch. 2. First part reviews the anatomy and physiology of pain sensation. Second part distinguishes acute from chronic pain, and simple from complex pain.
   
   Ch. 3. Discusses comprehensive evaluation of the pain patient, including psychological factors, and the use of pain scales and other psychological assessment instruments.
   
   Ch. 4. Discusses the common psychiatric comorbidities, and the interactive nature of the comorbidity (e.g., pain increases anxiety, and anxiety can increase focus on the pain). Includes discussion of substance abuse, and addiction vs pseudoaddiction (med seeking because of inadequate pain treatment).
   
   Ch. 5. Pharmacology of Pain: covers opiates, NSAIDs, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, antispasmodics, and others (including antihistamines, alpha2 agonists, and NMDA antagonists. The chapter's coverage of off-label and sometimes little known uses, such as the antihistamines, is quite good. Also mentions important side effects and cautions, such as toxicity of cyclobenzaprine in overdose.
   
   Ch. 6. Psychotherapy. This chapter is a brief review of the basics of psychoanalytic, cognitive/behavioral, supportive, group, and family therapy, with additional coverage of biofeedback, relaxation training, and hypnosis.
   
   Ch. 7. Special Techniques: Acupuncture, TENS, spinal injections and nerve blocks, and the psychiatrist's role in these interventions.
   
   Ch. 8. Common Pain Disorders: Headache (of various types), back pain, myofascial pain, arthritis, neuropathic pain, complex regional pain disorders.
   
   Ch. 9. Special Populations: Pediatrics, geriatrics, pregnancy, cultural issues, substance abuse, terminally ill patients.
   
   Ch. 10. Forensic Issues: Diversion, misuse, patient contracts, confidentiality, disability evaluations.
   
   Pluses: It is short and easy to read (although the style is a bit dry and would benefit from the addition of some case studies, frequently-asked-questions, or test questions for each chapter). There is good coverage of some lesser-known areas. Chapter 5 on pharmacology is detailed enough to be particularly useful.
   
   Minuses: Although the coverage is generally good, it is spotty, especially in areas where a book like this is most needed. I'd claim that the single greatest area of overlap between psychiatry and the treatment of pain is the issue of treating pain in substance abusing patients. This issue has been addressed in some lengthy review articles, some of which are cited in the book. However, the coverage in this book is surprisingly brief, and spread out over several chapters. Many clinicians are quite uncomfortable treating addicts with pain problems, and resort to simplistic heuristics, such as "never give opiates." This can result in poor treatment, and this book is ideally placed to address this issue head on. It needs at least one long chapter devoted to this single topic. It's also not completely clear who would benefit from reading the whole book. For example, the psychotherapy chapter is a very brief review of a complex topic - far too short to be anything other than a quick reminder of what a good psychiatrist will have learned elsewhere.
   
   The book is nicely produced with a quality binding. Like most of what's published by APPI, it's a bit on the expensive side.

No comments about Circus Fun (Beginning to Read).

1 comments about A Boy from Ireland: A Novel (Karen and Michael Braziller Books).

1. Set in Connemara Ireland in 1901, history is recreated in this story of Liam, whose English father has long vanished and whose Irish mother has just died. Sent to live with an uncle who is a fierce patriot against England and who despises Liam for his English blood, Liam finds himself involved in no end of conflict, until a letter from America invites the family to leave conflict behind for a new world. Will they find their father in America - and can the two leave prejudices behind also? A BOY FROM IRELAND is an excellent, moving story of Irish history and social changes.

4 comments about The Kabbalah of the Ari Z'al according to the Ramhal.

1. This book is just excellent.
   It is the only book on the market written by a Rabbi that is approved by renowned rabinical authorities. The translation is very good and the commentaries are right to the point.



2. Rabbi Afilalo has done an excellent job putting this book together. This is not a book for New Agers, nor is it a book for beginners in Kabbalah. However, that does not mean that this is a dry academic book.... not by a long shot. If you already have an idea of what the Kabbalah is about, and I am not talking about the get rich quick kind of stuff, but traditional Kabbalah, then this book is for you. It is very easy to read and presented in a clear manner. There is no need to explain the contents.... if you do not know what is in this book by the title, then you are not likely ready for it... And, if you do know what is in the book because of the title, then you will love it.
   
   Mike



3. This text presents some major difficulties for the beginner/intermediate student of Kabbalistic works.
   This reviewer recommends that you have a good hebrew
   background and a to have absorbed R. Arey Kaplan's
   "Innerspace" first. Along with a good grasp of the
   classic Jewish texts.



4. This book is a serious book on the Kabbalah. I congratulate the author for using the search inside function of amazon to give an exact preview of this excelent work.

5 comments about Kaizen Desk Reference Standard.

1. I purchased this book thinking it might be of some help but I was really surprised to find that it does tell you step by step on how to do a kaizen event. I can tell the authors put a lot of work into this. They have made the process really easy to follow and they have included a CD with tools you can use. I love it and if you are looking for the real deal here it is.



2. The authors have performed a great service to those wishing to make improvements in their workplace by eliminating waste and improving efficiency. The Kaizen Desk Reference Standard provides much needed detailed information about the process and the approach to make those necessary improvements.

   This reference for conducting a Kaizen event is full of very useful worksheets that structure the event. A detailed example of a simulated project is thoroughly documented providing completed worksheets demonstrating their use. Of particular interest, the text provides tips that are generously scattered throughout to help those with little experience to prepare for handling the road blocks that often occur in implementing change strategies. There are many forms that provide structure in conducting meetings, brainstorming sessions, documenting improvements, tracking changes, and taking corrective actions. As a bonus, the accompanying CD provides the templates of these forms either in PDF, M/S Word, or M/S Excel format. These useful templates are very well structured and apply to many improvement tasks attempted in the development of a high-performing organization.

   Many of the resource tools demonstrated in the text apply to those trying to implement LEAN in manufacturing applications for the first time and serve to help structure a strategy for doing so. The step-by-step process demonstrated in the text combines many of the organizational and team leadership strategies to identify sources of wastes, develop process flow charts, handle team dynamics, developing consensus, identifying root causes, and documenting gains. Also, the text stresses the need for standardization of processes and the commitment of management in the process of change. Standardization requires accountability and responsible leadership in which there may be reluctance to adopt.

   This text is a must read primer for anyone attempting to lead a Kaizen event or attempting to make changes within their workplace to foster the development of a high-performing organization. The step-by-step approach demonstrates a strategy that should yield greater success on the first attempt. Anyone involved in recommending change, should keep a copy of this text on their desk. It is easy to read, if full of examples, and is accompanied with a very useful selection of forms available to use for process improvements.

   I would like to extend my thanks for a job well done.

   James P. Wallace
   Program Manager for TEEX Electronics
   Regional Director for TMAC Statewide




3. This book is filled with charts, checklists, examples and case studies, so much that it may prove overwhelming to some. If you want to have a comprehensive reference guide this is it. This format can also be used for general project management.
   If you are just getting started and need something a little less intense, there is a smaller book that provides an excellent roadmap for doing kaizen events - "A Team Leader's Guide to Lean Kaizen Events".
   
   disclaimer: I know Dr. Vitalo, author of "Kaizen Desk Reference Standard"



4. I like this book. It describes the process and has a process map for doing Kaizen. The flow of the chapters follows the flow of the process map. Each chapter gives a step-by-step guide for accomplishing one of the Kaizen milestones. It gives the details needed to see what to do and get it done RIGHT. Other books I've read just have concepts. Kaizen Desk Reference Standard shows you how to do Kaizen. Besides the the actual steps, it provides examples and contains forms and tools to tailor to your workplace for implementation. It's more helpful than most training I have been to. What I like best is that it points out the traps you could fall into and how to avoid them. It sets you up to succeed and make REAL improvements.



5. There is no doubting that this book contains an awful lot of information. However, I did find it rather difficult to follow and contained lots and lots of text without many diagrams which would have made the concepts easier to understand.
   
   It appeared hard work to wade through so many pages of solid text but overall contained some useful ideas.

5 comments about Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States.

1. The book begins with an arguement for states rights which history has failed to record as the primary cause of the civil war. He goes into a detailed analysis of his beliefs and he reflects the thinking of his times. His story then goes into detail of his exploits as the greatest privateer in the history of naval warfare. Had he been on the winning side his name would be mentioned in the same breath as Grant and Sherman. Can anyone name one US naval officer that served in the civil war? His story takes the reader from Annapolis to New Orleans to the South Pacific to Gibraltar and to the final demise of the CSS Alabama off the coast of France. His tale explains his actions and defends them with an indepth look at maritime law. He explains the laws involved with a detail and style that makes it easy for anyone to understand. His story should not be allowed to fade into past. It is something from a terrible time that should be looked at by naval officers today. He is a man to be honored, not cast away as a pirate



2. Admiral Semmes allows us to truly feel the times and to touch our hearts with Southern pride and honor.



3. I found this book to be a refreshing insight into the exploits of one of the most interesting naval men of his era. Semmes comes across as a man that prizes duty to his beliefs as the soul motivation to his actions. This dispels any of the myth that he was a pirate as often historicaly believed.While many pages are devoted to navigation and tidal patterns,which can be a bit boring to the non-seaman, the book is excellent overall.



4. In another life Semmes might have been a poet or artist. Circumstances forced him to become the greatest seaman in the 19th century. I have read from an independant source that Kaiser Wilhelm insisted his high ranking officers read this book in preperation for the First World War. The Norths hypocracy is shameful. This book is by far the greatest review written by anyone on either side of the war. Sadly political correctness has kept Semmes greatness buried at this point.



5. The only bad thing I can say about this book is that on a very few occasions Semmes tends to get into some scholarly explanations about natural phenomena that, while interesting, slow the pace of the reading some.

   Otherwise, Semmes tells of his adventures on the high seas with clarity and wit. The book's first few chapters give his legally sound (Semmes was also a lawyer) justifications of the Southern case for secession and his participation in the preparation for equipping a navy from practically nothing.

   The Alabama's defeat of the iron-plated USS Hatteras and the final battle with the USS Kearsarge are there in detail in addition to the tale of her very successful commerce raiding upon the civilian commerce of the North.

   Contrary to the rabid Northern newspapers of the time, Semmes reveals himself and his officers to be the gentlemanly knights of the high seas in stark contrast to the conniving Federal consuls who, in nearly every port, attempted to foil the Confederate sailors' coaling and supplying of the ship despite international maritime law that allowed it.

   Semmes most effectively fought the mercantile world empire of the Union, all the while working within the confines of maritime law. (The few actions of his that were officially disputed were eventually settled in his favour.) This, again, is in contrast to the Federal navy that, under Welles' and Seward's leadership, played the bully and ignored international law when it was inconvenient.

   The CSS Alabama (along with a few other CS ships) virtually shut down the US merchant marine -- a blow from which it never fully recovered. His fight with the Kearsarge proved to be the last best use of a ship that was otherwise bound to be blockaded in port by the Federal navy (that proved itself remarkably inept, apparently cowardly, and negligent in its mission to stop Semmes).

No comments about Soft Tissue Sarcomas (American Cancer Society Atlas of Clinical Oncology).

No comments about Globalization, Poverty and Inequality: Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

4 comments about The Glittering Prizes.

1. This novel tells the story of a bunch of Cambridge graduates from the '50s and their journeys into adulthood and responsibility. It was made into a terrific British TV series with Tom Conti, and it reads like it was written for TV - there's tons of absolutely brilliant, witty and sparkling dialogue, but so little background information about each scene that it's sometimes tricky to keep track of which character is saying what and how specific remarks affect the people who hear them.

   It's worth the effort, though, because the book provides a wonderfully vivid snapshot of how a bunch of clever folks of widely varied personalities responded to the challenges of their time. These are people with well-developed social consciences, great senses of humor and a deep appreciation for their friendships, but they're also incredibly furtive and childish about sex and their education has badly under-prepared them for the exigencies of making a living, which leads many of them to become awfully cynical awfully quickly as soon as the prospects of fame and wealth start to intrude upon their intimacies.

   Come to think of it, these were probably the most widespread character flaws amongst the people I went to college with, back in the 1990s. Perennial problems of the educated classes, or has our civilization just been in a weird holding pattern for the past 50 years? Hmm.




2. I have this paperback book somewhere on a shelf or in a pile. I remember that the miniseries was excellent and I was anxious to read the original. I found the book and read for a while but quickly noticed there did not seem to be anything that was not already in the miniseries. After a little more investigation I found that the book was adapted from the miniseries rather than the other way around.
   
   Now that it is hard (impossible?) to get the miniseries it might be worth reading this novelization but I wish they would issue it on DVD.



3. Though much in the stories is predictable, the book's real strength is in the quality of its prose. Raphael is a master of both brio and wit. If you admire and delight in such qualities, you'll love this book as I do.
   
   I wish, like another reviewer, that the TV miniseries were available on DVD. It introduced Tom Conte to American audiences, and I think he's never been better in any of his subsequent work on film and the tube.
   
   Raphael has produced an enormous amount of excellent fiction, non-fiction, and TV and film writing. Best known among the latter are "Two for the Road," "Darling," and "Eyes Wide Shut."



4. The book is very good but the miniseries was wonderful. Tom Conti is one of my very favorite actors but very few of his TV appearances have been released on DVD and this is one of the best. What can we do to get this released?