5 comments about Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America.

1. This is a great book written by a very courageous lady. It will make you aware of the horrors in the world of Islam.



2. Brigitte is a great story teller, I couldn't put the book down. I love how the story is told simply and in matter-of-fact fashion. I admire her courage. There were many times I cringed and almost was brought to tears. The time is finished for being politically correct. I've been following these things the past few years, it is so obvious. All has been written down in the Bible so for those who have ears...
   
   The devil, once called the Morning Star (Lucifer), the "carrier of the light," was the one who appeared as Gabriel to Muhammad. I pray for the lost souls. We are taught to love our enemies. There is no greater law than that. They have no such teaching. This train is on a crash course. Buckle up.
   
   P.S. I originally rated the review having read only half of the book. I now think the book deserves closer to 3 STARS because the author is heavily biased. I was really pissed off by her blindness to the other half of the truth. I agree with the first 60% of the book but not the latter. I wholly agree with her view on Islam but completely disagree with her blind submission (pun intended) to all things American.
   
   How is it not obvious that the U.S. gov't had some type of involvement in 9/11? One thing she doesn't realize is that people are being "anti-American" because our gov't has been hijacked and criticism and dissidence is bloody patriotic!! We are being "anti-American" because the morals and all we stood for are all but vanished! How can she blindly support the wicked, God-less, post-modernist culture that is now in development?! Quakers and Puritans, hello?! Do you see any? Look around. She's living in a fairytale land.
   
   She also comes off as strongly anti-Arab. Love your enemies, remember. While I agree with her points, that they may revel in their un- and mis-education, she hadn't mentioned their previous contributions of science and mathematics. She could have gone at it a little differently. While I am definitely on the side of Israel, pro-Israel if you will for my fear of God, it is fair to also mention that they have a strong lobby in the U.S. as perhaps Norman Finkelstein and such describe. Fact is fact.
   
   She can have well driven home her points as well as have told more of the truth and been objective. Bush & co. speak half-truths as silly as it sounds. They are right that Iran, Syria & Co. are a dire threat, but the Bush Regime's actions completely support the beast of Islam and the Middle East. "Terrorism" and Islam are at the gate with a bloody sword, but we also face a brewing insane tyrannical gov't in our backyards, which seems to be spreading to other parts of the globe as well. She could have had her cake and eaten it as well.



3. Brigitte Gabriel has no doubt gone through some powerful experiences as a Christian Lebanese woman. There is little doubt some of the atrocious stories she shares in her book, "Because They Hate," did and continue to take place in some corners of the world. But the impact of her message is lost when she herself resorts to a hateful dogma essentially calling for World War 3. Gabriel is almost like the Cuban exiles in Florida who denounce the repression of the Castro regime but fully back terrorist attacks on the island and civilians as long as it's "fighting Communism." Gabriel takes the same tone in her book, calling for even more disastrous military campaigns into possibly Iran. It is no wonder she is a featured speaker at many radical right-wing Christian events including CUFI, the notorious John Hagee cash cow used to promote Israeli aggression and expansion.
   
   Gabriel frames her book around traumatic childhood experiences involving her family and persecution by Muslims of local Christian communities. She describes the horrific practice of mothers who's wombs are ripped open by militias, the fetuses taken out (a practice very common among U.S.-trained forces in El Salvador during the 1980s by the way). Gabriel is no doubt throwing meat to the lions of the Christian right, who believe we are in some cosmic battle against the Satanic forces of Islam. The main problem is that "Because They Hate" ironically makes you wonder about the deep-rooted hatred among those who celebrate Gabriel and her book.
   
   The book essentially calls for fighting hate with more hate, read some of the reviews on this page and you'll find fans smashing Islam as "incompatable with Western values." Gabriel fails in her efforts to inform readers on the dangers of radicalist Islamic groups by creating a dangerous, toxic scenario of us (civilized Western Christians) against them (barbaric Muslim hordes). She quickly dismisses Israeli atrocities in the occupied territories or the fact that U.S. interventionism has played a great part in encouraging the rise of radical dogmas in the region. Consider that we overthrew Iran's only democratic government in the 1950s because it nationalized the nation's oil, or that Hezbollah gained strength in Lebanon after Israel basically destroyed the nation's infrastructure. Ronald Reagan didn't help much when he funded and armed the radical Islamic groups that later morphed into the Taliban and Al Qaeda in order to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan (Reagan's CIA Director said he preferred Koran wavers to Communist atheists any day). These are crucial moments in history that the reader should know in order to understand "why they hate."
   
   The sections where Gabriel touches on domestic policy are frightening fantasies taken from Mussolini's favorite daydreams. Gabriel encourages citizens to "report terrorist activities" or other suspicious going ons and that we must fight to promote "patriotic education" in our schools. Gabriel apparently believes that any form independent thinking is simply too dangerous and opens the door for Islamic radicalism to rush in (ironically, both Gabriel and Islamic radicals have a lot in common when it comes to these topics). She pretty much tells anyone who disagrees with the war in Iraq to shut up and "support the troops." Gabriel also promotes some bizarre fantasy that if we don't act soon, Muslim hordes will overtake America and destroy our democracy (eventhough George Bush has done quite a fine job at that thank you). Gabriel's evidence for this hypothesis is flimsy and uses some immigration data from Europe. So lock your doors and bolt the basement shut because the Muslims are coming!
   
   So what are Gabriel's solutions? Basically more war, the U.S., Israel or both need to destroy Iran (why not Pakistan? They actually HAVE NUKES) and try to impose Western values on the region. How the U.S. could handle a third conflict she doesn't explain, or what happens if Islamic radicalism is even more inflamed from greater imperial interference?
   
   There are some positive aspects to Gabriel's book, mostly when she condemns hateful practices by Muslim extremists, but she never feels compelled to condemn our own violence (starting with the invasion of Iraq which Gabriel praises). She champions the struggle of women to fight for more freedom in Islamic societies, which is also admirable. Of course she fails to mention that activist women's groups, such as in Iran, are desperately calling for an end to threats against the Islamic Republic considering outside interventionism never helps domestic groups calling for change.
   
   Gabriel's book suffers from the same handicap of her good friend John Hagee's books, they make some valid points (Hagee denouncing anti-semitism for example), but then lose any real credibility when they detach themselves from reality and start trying to sell the reader this apocalyptic vision of good vs. evil. The political, cultural realities are much more complex and Gabriel fails to grasp that and instead resorts to hateful preaching against a particular religious group that caused her family harm. There is a creepy, ironically for a Middle Easter woman, colonial bent to the book in the way it tries to show the reader how OUR way, no matter how equally violent, is much better and should be adopted by the East if it wishes to progress. "Because They Hate" lacks any valuable scholarship, and instead just delivers more hate.



4. Every United States citizen should read this
   book, "Because They Hate," by Brigitte Gabriel.
   
   It's written so well that it commands you not
   to put it down! You get all involved in it,
   as you might with a good mystery novel.
   
   But the main message is one of serious warning.
   This is a first hand, factual account, of the
   way Islam works to take over the world, and I
   do mean that they intend USA to be a part of
   their dictatorship.
   
   If you still have doubts as to the danger of
   Islam to your way of life, then read this book.



5. There will be a moment, in reading "Because They Hate," when the force of Brigitte Gabriel's theme hits home. Suppose she's right. Suppose that Hezbolla's takeover of Lebanon truly does reflect the Muslim stranglehold foretold in the Qu'ran and the Hadith. Suppose that the hellish violence which the author endured as a young girl in a Christian town in southern Lebanon is what all of us in Western Civilization can expect when Muslims bring their jihad to our doors. After all, they hate us not because they envy our wealth, or because we are intolerant, or because we support Israel, nor for any of the rationalizations you may have heard. They hate us because we are "dhimmis," non-Muslim. Even if you are Muslim, they can hate you if you are not sufficiently devout for them.
   
   Read "Because They Hate," and you will never again accept the moral equivalence argument. You will never again say or even think that Muslim fundamentalism is no worse than Christian fundamentalism, or Jewish orthodoxy. The fact is that they want to kill you and to destroy your democratic institutions. You are a dhimmi and it is their religious obligation to kill you. Every non-Muslim is an insult to Islam and may be killed with impunity; there is no such thing as an innocent Christian or Jew. If you think you know a moderate Muslim, ask him what motivates suicide bombers, the 911 hijackers, or televised beheadings, and that "moderate" will justify every act of violence one way or another. Here's how Gabriel puts "moral equivalence" into perspective. If a Christian preacher were to take out a contract on someone, we'd be outraged. Yet Muslim imams commonly issue fatwas requiring the murder of journalists, politicians, and of course even cartoonists, and where's the moral outrage?
   
   Gabriel watched, through the eyes of a teenage girl, the influx of Palestinian refugees, and the escalation of violence against Lebanese Christians as immigration altered he country's demographics. As long as Muslims were a minority, peace was maintained, but when Muslims became a majority, hellfire erupted around her. She watched her beautiful home destroyed, her father's restaurant destroyed, her friends killed, and the landscape bombarded. She watched the Lebanese civil war through the cracks in the bomb shelter which was her home for six years. She dragged her badly wounded mother back into the shelter after a rocket attack, and saved her life by getting her to a hospital in Israel. She watched as Israeli doctors and nurses cared for injured Christians and Muslims, even ahead of wounded Israeli soldiers, solely based on the severity of the patient's injuries.
   
   Gabriel went on to become a war correspondent, then news anchor, in Israel. She married an American and emigrated to America. She doesn't want what happened to her childhood home happen to her new home. You may believe that the likelihood of widespread Muslim violence in America is a distant threat. The argument that the author makes is that the less we take Muslims at their word, the more conciliatory we are, the more tolerant we are, the more likely that day becomes. Actually, let's try a simple test. Ask a few Christian friends the meaning of "first comes Saturday, then comes Sunday." Then ask a few Muslims. Christians get it wrong every time, but Muslims don't; they know. It means that first we'll overthrow Israel and kill all the Jews (whose Sabbath is on Saturday), then we'll overthrow Western Civilization and kill all the Christians (whose Sabbath is Sunday). It is not Brigitte Gabriel who is warning you; it is the enemy itself who is.

5 comments about Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage.

1. There's not much to add to the almost 400 reviews preceding-other than another five stars.
   
   Working almost exclusively with a palette of black, white, gray and blue, Lansing manages to craft a vivid account of the Imperial Trans Antarctic Expedition of 1914. As others have mentioned, this story, as interpreted by Lansing, is so engrossing you won't want to put the book down. (Even after a second or third time!) It's also an interesting perspective on leadership under the most dismal conditions that can be imagined.
   
   A tidbit from one of the one star reviews that deserves mention: there was more than one publisher for the paperback versions of this book; Carroll & Graf, and Tyndale. As I understand, the Carroll & Graf edition contains the familiar secular foreword followed by Lansing's original text. The Tyndale edition has a Christian themed foreword from James C. Dobson, followed by Lansing's text edited for a Christian audience. IF this bothers you, make sure you're getting the Carroll & Graf version! (Thanks, Joel Abrams, for that information.)



2. This book is a treasure. It's hands down the best retelling of a survivor tale that I've read. The author just tells the story in such a simple and yet compelling way. The details that are included are incredible. And the story is totally miraculous. I recommend this book to anyone who likes history or tales of courage/adventure. I was blown away by Shackletons (and his men's) accomplishment in the face of what was should have been sure death.



3. Great book! We used this book in our book club. Everyone enjoyed it! Very interesting and kept your attention. You really felt like you were there on the ice with the men.



4. This book was exactly what I wanted and it arrived in great shape. The service was excellent; thank you!



5. The extraordinary record of Ernest Shackleton and his company of the "Endurance". They set out for the South Pole, but their shp was caught in pack ice, and eventually destroyed. Read how Shacckleton and a few members of his crew set out in one of the ship's boats to find rescue for the remaining men. Courage and loyalty in the extreme.

5 comments about Instamatic Karma: Photographs of John Lennon.

1. It is cute but you really have to be a rabid Lennon fan to dig this book.



2. We are really enjoying this book and its a lot of fun. I just didn't know anything about this part of John's life before, or about May. He looks very happy and relaxed with her. This is the perfect gift for any Lennon/Beatles lover.



3. This is for anyone who loves The Beatles, but especially for those who love John. These are wonderful photos.



4. John Lennon's "Lost Weekend" gets the 'once over lightly' treatment in this reminiscence by May Pang, his companion/girlfriend during that period. Pang was an employee of John & Yoko when 'Mother' lined Pang up with her husband. Pang and Lennon were an item from mid-1973 to 1975 and INSTAMATIC KARMA is the account of those months.
   
   Pang's account of her time with Lennon is a collection of reminiscences; certain moments, events or people being described as well as illustrated with photographs she took at the time. Short chapters talk about first visits with son Julian, John signing the papers dissolving the Beatles, sailing/swimming trips, hanging out with Harry Nilsson and so on.
   
   Pang's book is valuable in correcting misconceptions regarding the Lost Weekend. As revealed in the book, Lennon didn't spend the entire time acting like an idiot and getting wasted with Nilsson but, as shown in the book, had many wonderful moments with family and friends.
   
   Having said that, I was somewhat disappointed by the slightness of Pang's effort. I was hoping for more insights into the man. Likewise the photos are a mixed bag; most are fair to good, a few are filler. In any case, it's a quick read.
   
   Depending on how you view John Lennon, INSTAMATIC KARMA may be an essential purchase or a missed opportunity. I enjoyed the book but I'm not wild about it. Recommended with some reservations.



5. The book would be better with more text. May Pang has written other books on her time with John, but it wouldn't have hurt to repeat some of her stories to make this book better. Diehard fans will find this book worth the cost merely for the photo of John and Paul together. Nothing dramatic, but it's the only one I've seen of them post-breakup, and it's reassuring to know they were getting along most of the time.

3 comments about April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Death and How It Changed America.

1. Michael Eric Dyson is best-known for his words. An incredibly well-spoken man, this book presents a delicious word smorgasbord that - and even though I say this as an English major, unfortunately, even had me running for a dictionary several times. And head's up for any of you who also cringe at grammatical error - there are a few typo's in the book.
   
   In any case, Dyson offers an interesting take on Martin Luther King's death and the impact that it had on America, both its positive and negative elements. Dyson comments on King's character, powerful oratory, a brief family history as well as the numerous causes he stood behind. He event hints at a possible government conspiracy as the cause of King's death stating several incidents where the president of the time refused to protect him or even warn King of impending danger at death threats being called in for him. In addition, Dyson concentrates on statistics - both from the late 60's when King was assassinated as well as today - to represent the changes that America has produced since King's death.
   
   I was blown away at the chapter on Jesse Jackson, however, though confused on Dyson's standpoint in regards to it. Dyson informs the reader that directly following King's murder, he instructed others not to speak to the media. After telling all of them that he wasn't feeling well, Abernathy (one of King's right-hand men) spotted Jackson speaking with the media himself, in his desperate attempt to fill King's shoes, claiming that he was the very last person that King ever spoke to - a blatant lie, as Abernathy knew that King had spoken to another associate before taking his last breath. Dyson also draws attention to the blood on Jackson's shirt and that he was never on the balcony during the actual shooting, but rather directly after. Dyson suggests Jackson having dipped his hands in King's blood and wiping them on his shirt in a sort of biblical fashion as Christian's are to drink Christ's blood during communion in honor and remembrance. I was intrigued with all of this new information - and curious as to the authors thoughts, but he remains fluctuant on the subject and I felt ultimately unsatisfied with the chapter.
   
   In keeping with the times, not only does Dyson reference Jackson, King's initial predecessor, he also has a chapter dedicated to Barack Obama, of whom he calls the "Black Kennedy." Not only does he mention the great feat the country has reached in having a black man for nominee, but he also focuses on the changes that Obama is promoting for his current political campaign and how he shares many of King's visions.
   
   Finally, Dyson finishes up with an incredibly odd mock-interview with himself posing as Martin Luther King and answering questions regarding America today. While we, as a people, can certainly wonder what King would think of both our progress and backsliding over the years since he was alive, I have a hard time with thinking this "interview" to be anything but strange.
   
   With all of the additional information and people who appear in this book, there were several times I had to remind myself that the focus of this book was on the death of Martin Luther King and the changes that it brought about. The reader can become easily lost in the extra's as Dyson ignites several tangents, straying from the main point of the book.
   
   In retrospect, kind of scattered layout, but a pretty interesting read.



2. I remember, as a child, visiting my great-aunt and uncle in their mansion (they were millionaires) and seeing a magaizine whose cover depicted a watercolor of a burning city. Asking what was the reason for this, I was told that people had rioted after the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr.
   
   Fifteen years after this, I remember asking my great-aunt why there were no blacks who were members of her country club. "They can't afford it, honey," was her well-meaning but incredibly myopic response.
   
   It is hard enough as a white person to really, genuinely, empathize with the experience of African Americans. We can imagine, yes; but the act of imagining is itself a kind of comfortable exercise that can lead us to conclude that we "understand."
   
   In truth, we don't. And maybe we never will. Maybe all we can do is just shut up once in a while and listen. This book can help.
   
   In the room that looks out onto the balcony where Dr. King was murdered, my favorite gospel hymn plays softly; it was Dr. King's last request that the musician for the April 4th's evening service play "Precious Lord, Take My Hand." The haunting pathos and sense of security that this hymn gives is enough to make this atheist hope that, somehow, Dr. King died knowing that his death would be the final, crowning act of this great American story.
   
   If we look at life and history through the prism of King's life, and the pasing of years to the present day, we gain a greater appreciation of just what is at stake in American life today. Moreover, we sense the tremendous barriers that still remain, despite all the platitudinous protestations of the neo-conservatives and right wingers to the contrary.
   
   The value of a book like this is it makes us stop and listen. Another reviewer has gently attacked the artifice of an interview with Dr. King from today's perspective; frankly I think that, after studying King as much as he has, Mr. Dyson has every right to channel a conversation with the man himself. but I do not think that anyone can argue with Dr. King's last, albeit imaginary, statement.
   
   I love Oprah too.



3. There is a great depth of hatred in our world. Michael Eric Dyson brings this out in his approach to the life of Dr. King. There is bitterness and hatred toward groups of people: blacks toward whites and whites toward blacks. In my algebra classes in high school I learned that X = 0 a principle we see at work in this author's thinking. If X = 0, then nothing is accomplished here except those hating each other go away continuing to hate each other. We are equally guilty. Am I mistaken to remember that Dr Martin Luther King received his motivation and passion, as a Christian and a minister, from the teachings of Jesus? I can't remember that his message came out of some kind of progressive/social agenda. Is it not an injustice to Dr King to slide over the fact that love for one another came from Jesus and on this theme he built his effective view? In the radio interview you could hardly recognize Dr. King as a Christian preaching love and nonviolence. Could I have missed that all of this time he carried deep hatred in his heart and from this he is remembered for his great accomplishments? Is Michael Eric Dyson saying that the memory we have of Martin Luther King has now been corrupted from incredible achievements through nonviolent love for others down to motivations arising from hatred?

5 comments about The Tender Bar.

1. What a great book. I recommend it to anyone. From the epilogue(which makes you want to run out and have a few drink s at your favorite bar) to the story of his first "time" with a girl, to the end, it is wonderful! I've never read a book, especially non-fiction, that makes you feel every possible emotion throughout. Well done!



2. As someone with their own "tender bar" in San Francisco in the 1990s, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in this book and the theme of the author fighting his own mediocrity.



3. JR Moehringer's simple words drew me into the pages, as if through the door of that Tender Bar: "We went there for everything we needed. We went there when thirsty, of course, and when hungry, and when dead tired. We went there when happy, to celebrate, and when sad, to sulk..." Who could resist following JR Moehringer into the haven that was to teach him about life, accept him, bruise him, and lick his wounds? This memoir, written in gutsy style, without apology for the failures that nearly drowned him, details the joys and frustrations, the realities and imaginations of a young man's life. Affected by the constancy of change, Moehringer found solace in "Dickens", (re-named Publicans), the neighborhood bar that was his anchor of relief. But it wasn't just about the bar and the booze. It was about the people - the characters that inhabited this inner sanctum night after night, and how they molded his identity.
   
   Mr. Moehringer is a compelling storyteller. Characters come to life within each description, presenting visual recall and emotional connection with each of the players: Uncle Charlie, lanky and hairless from a rare disease suffered in his twenties, self conscious, "the Invisible Man," a surrogate father and mentor who tended bar and introduced JR to his cache of friends; Colt, "solidly built...like a young Dean Martin"; Joey D who "seemed to be made of spare parts from different Muppets"; Bobo, "with arms that popped out of his shirtsleeves"; McGraw, his closest cousin, blond and big with a giggle that demonstrated an "irrepressible joy"; his mother, strong and determined to escape the trials of a life that was less than perfect; and "the Voice" of his NYC disc jockey father, an elusive and illusive character who abandoned the family when JR was a baby, but retained the unearned reverence of this young boy who, for a time, internalized this male model as his imagined hero.
   
   This memoir is a multi-sided diamond - the tale of fatherless youth and growth into manhood, the clumsiness of first love, self-confidence lost and re-gained, and unexpected discovery of the two-sides of human life. A superb read! Not to be missed!



4. I am still in the midst of reading the book - but, if you're looking for a book to read in the evening, before going to bed, to make you feel good, to laugh and the next moment have misty eyes, this is the right one for you. The author describes his life growing up in Long Island, son of a single mother and grandson of a hilarious grandfather, looking for an Ersatz-father which he finds many of in "The Tender Bar". Great reading, witty and sensitive writing. Absolutely wonderful!



5. This was an interesting read. It felt a bit lenghty at times - redundant. But overall, a satisfying read with some good discussion at book club.

1 comments about A Time it Was: Bobby Kennedy in the Sixties.

1. If there ever was a time our country needs to look back in history for help, it certainly is now. This book captures that time. Great insight from a photographer seldom seen today in a presidential campaign. It will make you smile, it will make you cry.

5 comments about I Have Lived A Thousand Years: Growing Up In The Holocaust.

1. I read this book years ago, when I was about 10 years old and didn't even understand fully the depth of the Holocaust. But even then I enjoyed this tale of a girl surviving against the odds. Great book for everyone; helps even the young to understand the plight of millions during that dark era and got me interesting in the Holocaust.



2. She was one in thirty five that returned...Originally, five hundred left. Into the ghetto then into cattle cars, off to fend for their lives. Thirteen year old Elli (later, changing her name to Livia. Yes, this is a true story!) was one of many young, Jewish, innocent, Holocaust victims. Elli and her family lived a comfortable life. They owned a local gocerey store, they were successful and had many close friends and family...that is, until Germany took over. In March 1944, the Nazis invaded Hungary. Privledges were taken away slowly but surely, no more school, giving up prized possessions and their store, having to wear yellow stars. What was this? No one knew. SUddenly, Elli finds that all will be lost. Elli's family is moved into a crowded ghetto, and they lose all the privledges and possessions that they hadn't already lose. It took everything they had to survive, yet little did they know, this was only the beginning. Soon, they were put on cattle cars. Ellie's family was spilt up among concentration camps; although, Ellie and her mother managed to stay together and survive some of the harshest punishments the Nazis dished out. This is a remarkable memoir of a teenage girl who no doubt had, lived a thousand years, she had no chouce. Her hope and faith along with her suffering and fears, you won't beleive a thirteen year old would've realized and out smarted the Nazis in such ways. Not only is this a beautiful story of survival but an ugly piece of history. Having background on WOrld War II helped me understand a bit more but also this book taught me a great deal of history, another reason to read. This book, was definitely a fast read, I couldn't put it down. You're constantly wondering..."Will she survive?! How will she out smart them this time?! Will she escape?!" You would definitely need to enjoy survival and history to get through this novel and also know that some chapters are a bit graphic. This woman went through the unthinkable and she doesn't hold back on letting you know that. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants an amazing story with some history behind it. Livia Bitton-Jackson is a part of our history and survived as one of thirty five returning of an original five hundred. This woman did the unthinkable.
   
   -Kaitlyn Toner



3. Fantastic book, I recommend it to many of my students at work. I cried and cried at the end. We certainly have no idea in our cosy 2007 world. A brave, graphic and well written book.



4. "I Have Lived A Thousand Years" is a personal and gut-wrenching story of how a 13-year old girl survived the German Holocaust in the death camp of Auschwitz. The book is fairly short with short chapters. It is obviously written for adolescent readers, but can certainly be appreciated by adults as well. This is a very good first book for teens to learn about the Holocaust. It is written in the first person, and we "see" the horrifying conditions through the author's sensitve eyes.
   
   The story is gripping from page one to the last page. It should be read and then discussed with the adolescent reader, as many questions will be raised as to the horrific nature of the Holocaust.
   
   There are many good Holocost books, but the stark reality presented in this book, along with the narrative style, makes this an excellent introductory first-person account to the atrocities of the Holocaust.
   
   Jim Koenig



5. This book is so powerful. I have read many stories of Holocaust survivors, but few if any have presented such a vivid view of the horrors the Jews faced. Some parts were disturbing, but they describe true history, so they are definitely important to read. If you're interested in the Holocaust, this is a great read.

1 comments about The Legend of Colton H. Bryant.

1. 
   There is a Talmudic expression "He who destroys a life, destroys a world entire." Alexandra Fuller captured a "world" from beginning to end. By the end of it, and after it...you are set to wondering about every anonymous teenager you see working in a fast food joint - for that was one memory I had of Wyoming - but it might as well be anywhere these days . You wonder about the things they are going through (or will go through) and whether you would be in tears if you knew. The more you think about that, the more likely the answer is yes. Which brings up the second half of the saying, which concerns saving a world by saving a life. If you read this book, you will get to know Kaylee and Bill, Jake and Colton, and you will be the better for it. And you will be forced to wonder if Jake had an anxious premonition about his buddy the night of the accident. You will wonder about the timing of the sun dog and about other things that we don't much talk about. And after a while you wonder if UPL can afford handrails on their rigs or requirements that rigs should always have at least one experienced person around at all times. You wonder about the safety officer whose main concern while Colton lay dying was obtaining a blood test to exonerate the company(!). Lots of things to wonder about. If you don't want to be set to wondering, don't buy this book.

5 comments about Man's Search for Meaning.

1. This is a small book with a big subject - life and meaning - written in 1946 and first published in 1959. Only recently it has been published in English. It still rings true, written by a Nazi concentration camp inmate, Dr. Viktor Frankl. He originally wanted to be an anonymous author; however, his friends persuaded him to publish under his own name to give the book credibility. Readers could therefore also understand this is a psychiatrist's objective view of suffering, which is part of life, and why life and hope prevail in the darkest moments.
   
   Part One, Experiences in a Concentration Camp is key to all he learned on the meaning of life. The horrible losses and inhumanity are seared into your mind, but when Dr. Frankl looks at the horror with educated eyes, he recognizes courage, objectivity and responsibility as vital for survival. This is a story of a man who was sent to the concentration camp with a belief that if he had to suffer and die, it would be significant: he would not suffer nor die for nothing.
   
   Dr. Frankl reviews the fight for survival and his decisions that somehow help him survive. He notes that prisoners go through three phases, 1)shock: the period following his admission 2)apathy: the period where they they become well entrenched in camp routine, and 3)the sense of loss, where they lose everything but hope. He digs down deep in his own soul to helps others to go on and have meaning in their life - not to give up and find the basic motivation to go on. He teaches despairing men "that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but what life expected from us." Dr. Frankl repeats, "if we have the "why" we will always find the "how" to go on."
   
   This book shows each individual he is important and every decision he makes is impactful. Therefore, make the right decisions and be triumphant. Right decisions cause the least pain and give the most love for fellow man. It is what gives us hope and value as part of humanity.
   
   Part Two, Logo-Therapy in a Nutshell, was not as interesting to me. It describes Frankl's philosophy of logo-therapy and reminded me of of mid-eastern religions as well as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It is a way (Frankl calls it "neo-dynamics") to have a goal in mind and achieve it no matter what obstacles and stress you are facing. The things that make life important and with meaning are different for each of us. All of us can have a meaning of life, but the "big picture meaning" is hard to understand. It takes us a lifetime of good and bad events and decisions to shape us.
   
   Part Three, is a postscript on "Tragic Optimism" and states that despite the "tragic triad" (as it is called in Logo-Therapy) 1)pain, 2)guilt, and 3)death - how is it possible to say yes to life in spite of all that? Logo-therapy teaches there are three main avenues on which one arrives at meaning in life. The first is creating a work or by doing a deed. The second is by experiencing something or encountering someone, and the third is turning a personal tragedy into a triumph. He mentions using bad situations as a growth experience.
   
   Overall a deep book but a good book on looking at life. It shows that each one of us can determine personal meaning and why it is important.



2. well i learn psycology at the university and my professor has recommended it so i bought it through amazon.
   this book will rock your world.and give you a different perspective of life and how man interacts in a hostile and unreal enviroment ...for more info of the book itself i recommend turning to a better source :) but as a reader i can say this book is worth the time and the money :)



3. The following summarizes the true meanings the author wants us to absorb.
   There are three avenues to arrive at the meaning of life. 1) Creating a work or or doing a deed 2) Experiencing or encountering something added to your life i.e. finding love 3) facing a fate one cannot change. You then rise above oneself, rising above what is expected. One grows from the experience, and experiences positive change.
   Experiencing and surviving suffering is something to be proud of... not something to be ashamed of. We all learn and grow from our experiences.



4. I read this book regularly for inspiration. Frankl found a way to confront the greatest evil of the last century, which for him was very personal, and survive. In the midst of it he discovered that we most long for meaning in our lives, and so he developed a therapy that helps people search for it.
   
   The beginning part of the book about life in the camps simply cannot be forgotten. And then, when he tries to make sense of it, ordinary readers realize that whatever they have suffered there is a way forward. Frankl used tragedy to help others. A person can't be more noble than that.
   
   Lawrence J. Epstein, author of "At the Edge of a Dream: The Story of Jewish Immigrants on New York's Lower East Side."



5. What can a person expect of life in a concentration camp? Is there a chance you can find meaning in living that torture? This is a truly inspirational book that reminds you that not everything is lost, that you can find light in the most terrible conditions. It's not new age, it's a story of survival and hope.
   The second part of the book is about logotherapy. Victor Frankl was the creator of this discipline and it basically addresses the question of meaning in people's lives.

4 comments about Against the Tide: How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President.

1. Senator Lincoln Chafee was the only Republican senator to vote against President Bush's wish to go to war with Iraq. That, in and of itself, makes him highly unusual and worth listening to. However, Chafee also describes what he calls George W. Bush's "mendacity," Bush's willingness to completely reverse himself on almost every major platform he ran on. Bush ran to be a uniter, but, in fact, was divider. Even without the enormous expense of the war in Iraq, Bush and Cheney rammed through the congress their $1.6 trillion tax cut, which Chafee informs us, was done, to drive the country into debt so that social programs could be cut. Bush/Cheney reversed their stance on trying to clean up the environment and thereby placed former Governor Christie Todd Whitman, who became their head of the EPA, in an untenable position. Most chilling, Chafee reports that his fellow Republicans let out a hoot of support when Bush/Cheney decided to essentially eliminate pollution controls on corporate polluters. The question is why? Why would any senator want to support the idea of helping industry continue to pollute the environment?
   Senator Chafee, echoing the sentiments of a granddaughter of Dwight D. Eisenhower, makes it quite clear that Bush/Cheney abandoned completely the precepts of the Republican party: fiscal responsibility, a humble foreign policy and Teddy Roosevelt's and Richard Nixon's legacy of being careful stewards of the environment. Chafee also makes it stunningly clear that Dick Cheney was an obdurate bully who insisted on getting everything he wanted, including a war in Iraq, even though his agenda was not at all a traditional Republican agenda. Bush/Cheney had no qualms about sending our soldiers out to sacrifice, get wounded or die in an essentially insane war of choice, but they also unbelievably robbed the till so that the rich could increase their wealth all at the cost of driving up the country's debt to amounts unprecedented at the same time. Yet, Chafee also explains how puny the Democrats were. How could anybody who knows history support a war in a country with such deep ethnic hatreds between three groups, the ruling Sunnis who were in the minority, the Kurds in the north and the majority Shiites? Trying to bring a democracy to that mix insures discord. Senator Chafee does explain how his fellow Republican Senator Jeffords dropped out of the party after the president dissed him. This resulted in a sea change of power, with the majority being returned to the Democrats. Since Bush/Cheney were planning on going to war in Iraq, how could they succeed if they lost the balance of power in the Senate? Little did they know how easily such democrats as John Kerry, Chris Dodd, John Edwards and Hillary Clinton would capitulate. They couldn't imagine it. To insure victory, they needed to gain back the majority in the 2002 election. Fortunately for them the biggest anti-war senator, Paul Wellstone, was killed in a plane crash. Chafee doesn't mention it, but lays the groundwork for coming to the obvious potential conclusion that Wellstone's death was not at all an accident. A country was planning on going to war, and he stood in the way.
   Missing from the story is Al Gore who warned the country about going to war in Iraq in December of 2001. He said: DON'T DO IT. Also missing was the mass rallies to stop the insanity, such as 400,000 protestors in New York City the day the war began, and something like 6 million worldwide also in the protest. Chafee also misses a huge opportunity to explain precisely why the war in Iraq was such a stupid move for the country. After 911, the whole world was unified against bin Laden and his small band of arch-villains. People from 90 countries were killed in the World Trade Center. We had a common enemy and the sentiments of the world on our side. At the same time, the world was also united against Saddam Hussein and inspectors continued to look for WMD in his country. When we went to war, we opposed France, Germany, the Soviet Union and China, all who warned us not to go to war. Further, the war was illegal, as Saddam Hussein had not attacked our country. In fact, he hadn't attacked any country. He had been crippled from the last war, and we had a no fly zone along the top half of his country. He was no threat even if he had WMD. Senator Chafee is to be commended for writing an important and personal account of how, virtually alone, he tried to keep his head about him when all the rest were losing theirs. It is a very sad comment that the head of Halliburton, a company whose profits rose over 900% after we went to war, under the guise of supposedly being a Republican, used the coffers of our country to pay off his buddies and get Democrats as well as Republicans to lick his boots at his say so.
   Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla : Biography of a Genius (Citadel Press Book)



2. Former Rhode Island U.S. Senator Lincoln has words of wisdom for both Republicans and Democrats alike, but mainly Republicans, in this thoughtful book.
   
   To illustrate the fact that he is straight-spoken, I take this anecdote from page 183, in light of his Senate vote against a flag-desecration amendment in the late summer of 2006, an amendment thrown up as election fodder.
   
   "In my opinion, some members of Congress desecrated the flag every day by wearing flag pins on their lapels while voting to divide Americans and restrict freedom. ... Using the flag for political gain was the real desecration."
   
   Chafee has a closely reasoned takedown argument for his former Republican colleagues in the Senate, for candidates who would follow the Bush-Rove method of campaigning and more: The game is up.
   
   Chafee, one of six Republicans who lost their Senate seats in 2006, repeated this message inside the GOP caucus long before that. And, he meant it as someone who was still trying to save the Republican Party from itself.
   
   He says he considered running as an independent in 2006, but just couldn't do that.
   
   Now, out of office, though, he is encouraging the idea of a centrist middle to take the third-party road, if needed. This is the one biggest shortcoming of the book.
   
   As a left-liberal who has voted third-parties in the past, I know the Constitutional system is rigged against them, unless one or the other of the major parties is in a time of turmoil. That last happened in the 1850s, when the Whigs shattered over the Compromise of 1850 and then the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
   
   Beyond that, outside apparatchiks like the Grover Norquists of the policy world and insiders, whether elected officials or strategists, will insist in maintaining GOP "message rigidity" enough that, while the party may shrink, it won't explode or implode.
   
   But, Chafee is committed to the idea, perhaps even idealistic about it, so I won't hold that against him.
   
   At the same time, with wistfulness, he recognizes his father's GOP is no more, and Humpty Dumpty can't put it back together. The former "Rockefeller Republicans" are lost; it is on them, and centrist-to-conservative Democrats, that Chafee appears to pin his third-party hopes.
   
   Otherwise, Chafee struck me as someone who actually brought two crucial things to his job as a senator: Due diligence and curiosity beyond accepting spouted platitudes.
   
   That's clear in his descriptions of his dealings with President Bush, Vice President Cheney, John Negroponte when he was ambassador to Iraq, Paul Wolfowitz and others.
   
   For Democrats, his biggest take is continued hypocrisy on the Iraq war. That includes pro-war voters like Harry Reid and Hillary Clinton visiting the state to campaign against him in 2006.
   
   And as for his opponent, now-Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse? Whether due to sour grapes or what, Chafee says Whitehouse had no cojones when he was a U.S. Attorney.
   
   Finally, for both Republicans and Democrats, he says we need a real Middle East peace process, and one that does not write blank checks to Israel.
   
   As a sidebar, I found it interesting that this son of a U.S. Senator worked for years as a horseshoer, in very much an "everyday" job. In short, contrary to the claims about a ranting tyrant from Crawford, Texas, you might actually want to sit down for a beer, a diet Coke, or whatever, with Lincoln Chafee.



3. Outstanding book written by a courageous man. I'm a centrist and not a far left liberal but, until reading this book, I never knew a Republican politician for which I was able to have even the tinest bit of respect. We definitely do need a third party, or better yet the ability for people that don't align with a particular party to have a chance to win an election. People like Chafee - people who put the best interests of America's citizens first rather than best interests of a party machine - would then be able to survive. Imagine a government of people like that! Spread the word about this book so people become inspired to demand this of our politicians.



4. Former Senator Lincoln Chafee has written an engaging book that connects anecdotes from his political life with thoughtful observations on ethics, power, and diplomacy.
   
   The Senator's disillusionment and disenchantment are thoroughly examined here. Although, as a son of the late Senator John Chafee, he was well acquainted with the realities of party politics in America, he went to Washington with idealistic notions about the possibilities of bi-partisan cooperation born of his experience in local government. Sadly, he was to find out exactly how regressive and obstinate both the national executive and legislative bodies have become.
   
   This is an admirable effort from a man who has managed to retain his ideals despite the disappointing realities he encountered. This book is well worth your time and money, and I recommend it very highly. We need more people like Lincoln Chafee in public life.