2 comments about Pivotal Moments in Nursing: Leaders Who Changed the Path of a Profession Volume I.

1. This book inspires and encourages ordinary nurses to do their best to do extraordinary things in their own nursing community. It shows the examples of nursing leaders who did just that.



2. A compilation of bios of several nurse leaders. Purchased as a reference for leadership research and will be very useful.

2 comments about Ninth Street Notebook : Voice of a Nurse in the City.

1. I have just completed Veneta Masson's journal Ninth Street Notebook and am still reeling from the accuracy she describes the art of nursing. As a diploma graduate of the 60's and a master's prepared family and women's health nurse practitioner my career has offered many roles to intereact with the medical profession. Veneta describes very well our role as healers in the context of community and science. I highly recommend this book to the nursing community.



2. I literally can't tell you how much this book meant to me. Everybody at the nursing home where I volunteer looked different today, as I recalled people in the book, their experiences and knowledge, and realized that the people walking down the hall across from all had their own stories. Even I looked different to myself as I realized I was behaving differently and looking deeper. And that's exactly what the author set out to do, isn't it?

2 comments about The Lord God Made Them All.

1. I ordered the audio version, which I really enjoyed listening to, especially with British (Yorkshire) accent of the actor. I have always enjoyed the James Herriot books, except for his free use of profanity.
   Otherwise, it was very enjoyable listening.



2. I bought this for my husband. This is part of his favorite series. He really enjoyed it.

3 comments about Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan.

1. I thouroughley enjoyed reading this book,a story about courage, devotion ,espionage and the life of this insperational young woman Noor Inyat Khan. Born into a Sufi family, taught the Sufi values of service , truthefullnes and pacifisim, Noor volenteers to serve as a underground radio operator in occupied France during the second world war. This book went some way to answering the question Iwas asking myself. Why would a young lady bought up with Sufi values, who studied music and child phycology at the Sorbon volanteer to undertake such a mission? With such obviousley conflicting values and rolls this young lady served the Allied countrys with strength and fortatude rarley seen in the toughest of soldiers letalone a diminitave girl of her nature.A wounderfull insight into an extrondary life. Well reserched but is some of the facts are in conflict with the ABC and Wicapedia, none the less well done to the author. MICK GUILFOYLE



2. Noor Inayat Khan was a SOE agent, working as a wireless operator in occupied France. This is an interesting read about her childhood, how she became a spy, and the aftermath. Through the story of one agent and her family, you realize the magnitude of the war, where the mission became far more important than family ties. A musician and student of child psychology, who writes stories for children, eventually finds herself running from house to house in Paris, evading the gestapo. Shrabani Basu's writing is full of details but dull at times, but the power of the human spirit comes through.



3. I had read this before and am delighted to have my own copy. My Sufi teacher gave me her name as a spiritual name. I am honored.

5 comments about Maimonides (Jewish Encounters).

1. Dr. Nuland, himself a Jewish physician, was understandably reluctant to engage in doing the biography of perhaps the ultimate Jewish physician of all time: Moses Ben Maimon also referred to as Rambam or Maimonides.
   
   His reluctance was understandable on a number of levels. First, Maimonides was of pronounced expertise in the healing arts. Not only the author of ten medical books, he had through dint of skill managed to elevate himself to being court physician at the court of Saladin.
   
   Second, for Jewish thought (and derivatively for western thought itself) Maimonides was significant for his recognition of and attempt to deal with the conflict between the canonized precepts of faith and the unanswered questions of science. His "Guide for the Perplexed" itself perplexing is an attempt in some ways an attempt at striking a balance.
   
   However, in both ways Nuland managed to briefly make the material accessible to the reader.
   
   And significantly also, Nuland managed to connect the reader with Maimonides humanity...his early difficulties with learning, his grief at the loss of his brother and his joy in parenthood.
   
   In this way, Nuland managed to create and even more iconic figure because rather than putting him a pedistal, Nuland put Maimonides right next to you...all the more human and therefore all the more relevant.



2. it shows you right way about life
   i think it is possible to adopt it to today.
   it was very interesting book for me.
   it is the kind of book that i always enjoy reading



3. Nuland has accomplished the difficult task of summarizing Maimonides' complex writings in a way that is accessible to the common reader. Nuland's style is clear and concise, and he obviously admires Maimonides as a sort of Renaissance man before the Renaissance. It is true that the book gives considerable attention to Maimonides' life as a physician, but as someone who has dipped a bit into Maimonides' writings on Jewish law and thought but knew little of his place in medical history, I didn't see that as a problem. In fact, I found that that made this book even more enlightening.
   
   I could have used more discussion of the Guide to the Perplexed, however, beyond the notions that the book is difficult and that some see it as a hidden confession by Maimonides of his lack of belief (an unlikely hypothesis). The Guide is an extraordinarily fascinating book, from all I understand, and Nuland does not do it justice.



4. The most interesting parts of this book focus on Maimonides the physician (as opposed to Maimonides the religious leader, where Nuland's discussion is a bit too sparse here and there). Maimonides (known to most Jews as Rambam) did not develop new medical knowledge, but wrote ten books synthesizing existing medical knowledge in a clear and concise way, and even occasionally criticizing the Greco-Roman masters whose works dominated medieval medicine. By the low standards of the Middle Ages, this passed for genius.
   
   Nuland links Rambam's religious and medical careers by pointing out that in both areas, Rambam focused heavily on codifying existing knowledge in ways that would be easy for the public to use.
   
   Nuland also engages in interesting speculation about a variety of other issues, including:
   
   1. Why were Jews so likely to be doctors in the Middle Ages? Nuland asserts that (a) Christians were uninterested in medicine because they were more ascetic, (b) because priests could not take employment as doctors, the Christian talent pool for medicine was artificially diminished and (c) because Jews' wealth could easily be taken away, Jews had a strong incentive to seek portable skills (as opposed to investing in fixed assets such as land).
   
   2. Why was Rambam so uninterested in accommodating or discussing competing religious views? Nuland speculates that because of Judaism's dire condition in those days (beset in persecution in some places and the temptation of assimilation into Islam in more tolerant places) Rambam may have felt the need to "circle the wagons" by encouraging as much uniformity as possible.
   
   3. Why did Rambam (who generally opposed Messianic speculation) suggest in his letter to Yemenite Jews that prophecy might return in 1216? Nuland suggests that Rambam may have been trying to defang Messianic fever by setting a date so far in advance that he could not be disproven during his lifetime.



5. Maimonidies' two biggest contributions to civilization were his religious writings, and medical practice. As author Sherwin Nuland himself points out, Maimonidies' truest, lasting legacy are his religious writings. Yet probably because he himself is a doctor, Sherwin Nuland emphasizes the medical Maimonidies at the expense of not giving the religious Maimonidies his proper due. When reading this book, Maimonidies sounded like quite an ordinary man, nothing special, and the truth is, as a doctor he was nothing special. Yet in religious circles, he is a giant. This specialness of Maimonidies was lost in this short biography of this great man.

5 comments about Curveball: When Life Throws You a Brain Tumor.

1. Having just undergone my second brain surgery, I can attest to the fact that this book will prepare anyone who is going to undergo this type of surgery, and would be especially helpful to a family member who wants to understand what their loved one will be experiencing. Liz masterfully interweaves the unvarnished facts with humour, making it delightful read. I would loved to have had such a book to read prior to my surgeries!



2. I like this book, but I'd only recommend it to people that have undergone brain surgery. I have, so I understood where she was coming from. But I wouldn't loan it out to any of my friends because they probably wouldn't enjoy it.



3. This book is sooo well written and gives an excellent account of Liz Holzemer's personal journey with a brain tumor. This book in my opinion, is an inspiration to everyone that has any life changing illness. She relates her tricky ordeal in a straightforward and truthful way exposing her emotional state and brings quite a lot of humor to her story. I strongly recommend this book to be used as a manual for anyone who has a brain tumor, knows someone with a brain tumor as well as doctors, health care professionals, visiting nurses, psychologists...
   I have undergone three brain surgeries and wished that someone had suggested this book when I first was diagnosed(mine was the size of a lemon)so I could have tackled it head -on so to speak. An excellent manual with pertinent information. A very enjoyable and enriching read.



4. Very well written and interesting account, while not a brain tumor patient I still found the book very informative and entertaining. I believe anyone suffering from a meningioma would find this book inspiring and uplifting. For those of us without a brain tumor it gives us an insight into the life people with this conditiona lead.



5. As the daughter of someone with a meningioma I found this book fantastic. In fact, I literally didnt put it down - I read it from cover to cover in one go. And then I passed it onto another family member, who read it and passed it on again. We have now all read it and have since enjoyed discussing it with each other. There were many snippets that Liz shared that we could all relate to. I highly recommend this book to anyone dealing with a brain tumour and all their loved ones.

1 comments about Awakening Ashley: Mozart Knocks Autism On Its Ear.

1. Ashley Ruben, the second of 3 daughters was born in 1999. Ashley displayed autistic behaviors from early infancy. She was placid; had low muscle tone; liked only crunchy foods and had difficulty sucking. She had poor oral coordination and literally had trouble understanding what she was hearing. She also suffered from several ear infections as an infant.
   
   Ashley was diagnosed with autism shortly before she turned two. After some disastrous efforts at doing lab work to screen out the possibility of Fragile X Syndrome, Ashley was placed on a rigorous intervention program. Many of the therapies Ashley underwent included a casein/gluten free regimen, which "repaired" her leaky gut; one on one training and Auditory Integration Therapy (AIT) - Tomatis method.
   
   The Tomatis AIT is much more rigorous and takes more time than the AIT program developed by Dr. Berard, who successfully treated Georgiana Thomas in 1976. (Georgiana Thomas' mother, Annabelle Stehli writes of Georgiana's recovery from autism using AIT - Berard and on her web site describes both the Berard and Tomatis methods).
   
   In Ashley's case, the Tomatis approach was to strap earphones to her head and have her "retrain" her inner ears so she could, according to the theory learn to listen and make auditory distinctions. Mozart was played to her because the high frequencies in Mozart's music was "tonally closest to the human voice" and the high frequencies are the sounds people hear in utero, when the brain and audition are developing.
   
   The method is described in detail in this book and readers will soar along on falcon's wings at Ashley's spectacular progress. This is one of the best books I have EVER read. The Tomatis method was plainly a success; Ashley is currently enrolled in classes for the gifted and is a proficient guitarist. Let's hope she plays Beatle songs.
   
   Sharon Ruben, herself a scientist has done scientific research on the Tomatis method and has shared brilliant insights with readers in this remarkable book. She has appeared on SoapNet in 2004 with Ashley; on the Today Show on 5/3/03 and Ashley's story was first introduced to readers at large in the April 2006 "Exceptional Parent Magazine" and the June 2006 issue of "Spectrum Magazine." She has also started a web site with therapeutic teaching tools for children on the spectrum.
   
   The biggest reward of all was seeing and hearing Ashley on these shows. A bright, beautiful and engaging child, Ashley has proven that autism really can be knocked out on its ear! The victory makes me think of Ray Charles' 1961 smash, "Hit the Road, Jack" and in the case of autism "and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more, hit the road, Jack and don't you come back no more!" It also makes me think of George Harrison's 1969 stellar gem, "Here Comes the Sun," the lyrics of which I think are very a propos.
   
   AIT and its success with autism was introduced to the world at large in Sound of a Miracle: A Childs Triumph over Autism .

5 comments about Closing the Chart: A Dying Physician Examines Family, Faith, and Medicine.

1. To say that this is a profoundly moving work is understatement. It should be mandatory reading for any patient or care giver, but more especially for any who would be called "Healer". Simply stated ... closing the chart is a magnificient work. It will no doubt become highly acclaimed and will be appreciated by any care giver or patient in the modern world of medicine. It is rich in texture and flavor, providing a remarkable insight into the progression of change that occurs when a family is faced with a profound illness,and must come face to face with the methdologies of modern medicine. This work will provide the next level of understanding in the process of illness, such as that initiated by Norman Cousins in Anatomy of An Illness.



2. As a brief patient of Dr. Hsi's and a memeber of the healthcare industry for 25 years, this book struck at the core of my very being. I not only see what he experienced everyday in my line of work but also expierienced it on a different level for myself. Anyone thinking of pursueing a career in medicine, should let this book open your eyes and your heart. It would make sense to have this be required reading for every nurse, pre-med student, intern, resident or seasoned physician. I know with some it would fall on deaf ears, however if it only made a difference in a few, what a difference it could make in so many lives.
   Many thanks to Beth Corbin-Hsi, Jim Belshaw and of course Steven D. Hsi, M.D who gives us wisdom and courage through his words even now.



3. He describes so well what family members go through when a loved one is terminally ill. Doctors do need to look at the whole person, their family and their spiritual side and treat people holistically.
   He spoke quite well of the pain that is often inflicted on those who are the most helpless by those in the position to be most helpful. This definetly is a gift to be given to those in the medical field or those who are thinking of entering it.
   Steve was my doctor when I was growing up and we went to the same church. I remember praying for him when the calls would go out that he needed surgery while praying for my aunt who was terminally ill at the same time...what he describes about being a patient is not far off from what my Aunt experienced while she was hospitalized in Arizona.



4. I am a nursing student. I happened to notice this title on amazon. I have to tell you, that I know that I will be a better nurse because I read this book. I think that it should be a mandatory part of the curriculum in the every program for all of the health care professions. It is very difficult sometimes, to know what it is like for the patient. This book made that realization abunduntly clear. Dr. Hsi's story is an inspiration. Definitely read this book, whether you are a health care worker, a patient, or just looking for a good book to read!



5. My parents attended the same church as Dr. Hsi but this book came to me through my fiance's mother, a retired nurse in CO, who is passing this book around as a must read after receiving a copy from my parents. Through the years, she was horrified to experience the reduction in her & her peers ability to provide proper care as a result of "managed care" & opted to move into insurance rather than continuing her successful career as a nurse.
   This isn't a typical reading choice for me but was eye-opening & a quick, absorbing read. I'm sure my seatmates on two different plane rides were wondering what was wrong as I dabbed at my eyes in vain to stem the flow of tears.
   Decent doctoring is something we take for granted & we don't always know how or are made to feel guilty or inadequate when we press for answers or explanations from an authority figure such as an esteemed specialist or doctor. We need to push for change & I only hope that books like this become mandatory in the medical study curriculum!

5 comments about Walking Out on the Boys.

1. Sadly, any woman who's achieved a doctorate (& not just in medicine) will relate wholeheartedly to this book. I greatly admire Dr. Conley's unbelievable courage in standing up to the Boys' Club & trying to make things better for women in academia. Hopefully this book will encourage ALL women to stand up to the misogyny & be heard.



2. Frances Conley offers a compelling indictment of gender discrimination at Stanford Medical School, past and present, focussing on her own recent experience. I started this book at midnight and could not put it down until finishing it at 4 a.m. Conley provides case after case of medical school professors given virtually absolute and unchecked power over their subordinates and their subordinates' careers, abusing that power, and the medical school administration covering up that abuse. While she never addresses the issues of solidarity in the face of sexual harassment, her cases all indicate that when one woman protests, she loses, and only a pattern of abuse reported by multiple women leads to any punishment of the harassers at all. Conley was fortunate and grateful that 37 others came forward to support her claim that Gerald Silverberg engaged in inappropriate sexual contact and other activities counterindicating his capability for leadership. I'll be passing this book onto many women who have had the choice to be treated at Stanford Hospital and may well now rethink that choice.



3. I'm not an MD or a PhD; I don't work in a hospital or academia. Yet I too have experienced sexual harassment, and I too have consulted the EEO department that is supposed to get involved in handling these issues, and I found that they were disinterested, that they gave subtle and obvious messages that the problem was "my" problem and not the corporation's, and that they relied on my being too timid or unmotivated to initiate a lawsuit so the whole thing could be, well, ignored. Sexual harassment exists because the society permits men (even encourages men) to expect that it is their right to harass women. Not all men harass, and not all men admire harassers. In fact, it is quite the opposite, but those who possess the attitude that women who dare to compete must be put down through sexual threat or debasement will harass (they also enjoy and even need it, since these men have very real problems). Through her description of her own experiences, the author illuminates the social mechanism of harassment. She also brings to light the story that all we women know -- what it feels like to be the victim not just of a troubled person but of an organization that insists she accept the role of victim. When we are harassed, we women discover the battle we are in, not against one man but against all those societies which are founded on (this does sound harsh, I know) the hatred of women. This is a marvelous book -- hard to read at times if you've been there -- but it is important that women know what we are facing (especially our daughters, who like us may have been programmed to think that all men will be nice to us, will treat us fairly, and that if someone is abusive, it is our own fault, there is something wrong with me, etc.). Important too is having the author detail the steps she took to handle the harassment. This is a very supportive book for anyone enduring just such a situation (harassment as well as gender discrimination, which is a lot more rife and a lot less obvious). I'd recommend this to any woman who is willing to step outside of the traditional role, because we all need to know what we are up against, how the system is going to fail us, and especially all the steps we are entitled to take to combat this problem so that we change society's viewpoint and not just our own. I'd also recommend this to men, because there are many who are supportive of women in the workplace. Our husbands and boyfriends need to read this book to know how difficult it is for women, because in the end we can only effect a change if we all stand together.



4. As a minority faculty in the academics Frances Conley's book vividly portrays the reality of the ivory tower that, though pretentiously progressive in ideas, is way behind the iota of gender equality that exists outside the academe. I, sometimes, feel I am living in the medieval period when entering the academe.

   When I first came across this book I thought this must have been written in the seventies and I could share it with my students as a historical autobiography of sexism in an academic institution. I was horrified to find that it was written in the nineties about one of the most prestigious institution in California.

   I have always felt alone, alienated in the academe and of course disconnected from other women who were struggling too much to bother with the problems of their women peers. This book validated my experience and helped me understand where my alienation was coming from.

   I wish this book could be a standard read for all freshman students in all universities. Only when women who appear to be in power tell their stories of powerlessness and abuse can we act collectively to stop the misogyny that exists among our men and more particularly among our elite men.




5. Men groping women. Men coming on to women, and making incredible jackasses of themselves in the process. Men getting drunk and acting like barbarians. Men with one thing in mind. Men whose compulsion to talk about sex is so strong that they do it at highly inappropriate times in public. Men who think that pressuring women is their God-given right. If you think that what I just described is a high school football team on an overdose of steroids, you're wrong. These sexual antics weren't perpetrated by adolescents with testosterone bubbling out their ears, they were committed by male doctors at Stanford University. Not being stupid, these demigods put two and two together and realized that they could use their power to pressure women. One of these men made a fatal mistake, though: he pressured Dr. Frances Conley, a topnotch neurosurgeon and renowned researcher at Stanford. Bad move, fella. I suppose that guy never learned that if you're going to pick a fight, you don't provoke someone who can whack you back so hard you just might rethink whether it's wise to be a bully.

   As publicity spread about Dr. Conley's fight, more and more women came forward to reveal their stories. This was certainly an eye-opening book. Before reading it, I'd never given much thought about the sexual harassment of women in medicine and allied healthcare fields. Perhaps we're more civilized here in Michigan, because I've never seen or heard of any such hanky-panky. Well, let me revise that last statement: I have witnessed a lot of sexual inducement, but what I saw was women chasing men not the other way around. But everyone knows that those California folks are trendsetters.

   Dr. Conley never envisioned herself as a trendsetter, though. For years, she passively participated in the abuse until a concatenation of events convinced her that it was time to draw a line in the sand. To make a long story short, the men didn't believe she'd put up much of a fight, but she did, and they lost. Big time.

   (...) Perhaps the most chilling message in this book is that some men in positions of power are willing to use that power to stifle the careers of women. So what is an attractive woman to assume? That if she goes into medicine her pulchritude will serve as a magnet for sexual harassment? Perhaps this abuse is, unbeknownst to me, more pervasive than I think. I suppose because most of my friends are women, I can't understand men who view women as being somehow inferior. However, you shouldn't necessarily construe from that statement that I think women physicians are as competent, on average, as male physicians. There's no doubt that some are, and there's no doubt that Dr. Conley is a superior physician, not just competent. (...) My only major criticism of the book is that it is too focused upon abuse of women by men. Since the core of this book is hinged upon some of the depredations that ensue when power is abused, I think she could have achieved a more balanced perspective by pointing out that powerful people often use their power against men, too ý not just women. I've seen male docs fight one another with such a vehemence that it made the stories in Dr. Conley's book seem as pleasant as afternoon tea and cookies with a neighbor. Consequently, while I don't intend to trivialize the unfortunate reality of the abuse Dr. Conley documents, it's important to keep in mind that this abuse is but one aspect of a much larger problem. In defense of Dr. Conley, broadening the scope of this book to include other aspects of hospital politics would have diluted the message she wished to inculcate, and it would have made for a very unwieldy book. With that in mind, I suppose I'm on shaky ground by wishing that her book had a wider focus. Her book, her demeanor, her dedication, her resolve, and her competence are commendable. Dr. Conley is a great doctor and I am happy to have met her, however indirectly, by reading this book.

   Review by Kevin Pezzi, M.D.

No comments about Hunted Heretic: The Life and Death of Michael Servetus, 1511-1553.