5 comments about Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life.

1. You must read this book if you want to know more about your brain. It really gives you information about your everyday life.



2. This book is FANTASTIC! A great read! Stimulating! If you use your brain on a daily basis, buy this book!



3. "Welcome to Your Brain" is a fairly bland skimpy overview that, while offering minor insights here and there (eg. "We use only 10% of our brains" is a myth. There is no evidence that playing classical music for babies makes them more intelligent.), but dodges major controversies (eg. Race vs. Intelligence, sex differences) and even ignores some key points - eg. importance of chemical levels to proper brain functioning. The result is a pedantic slog through too many pages.



4. I bought this book to use with my daughter who is a home schooled high school senior. The book is very informative and well written. The chapters are not too long but don't feel condensed. It is humorous too ! It also helps to shed light on a lot of myths that most people take for granted as being "facts". I learned a lot. I recommend it to anyone.



5. For some reason I was expecting a more in-depth treatment of the subject than this book actually delivers. The introduction basically brands the book as a good "coffee table book" - easy reading. And it does achieve this goal to some extent. It gives a good overview of how the brain functions, but for my taste it is a bit heavy on the "myth busting" sidepanels and too light on the fine details regarding the electro/chemical/physical mechanics of how the brain converts sensory input into action. Basically I bought the wrong book, so I won't knock down the stars because of this.
   
   Incidentally, two things really bugged me: 1) the authors launched into an attack on Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett and "militant" atheism for no apparent good reason (yes, Richard Dawkins is my hero!) and 2) whenever the authors get into evolutionary theory regarding why the brain is the way it is, they speak in terms of species-level selection rather than individual-level selection, which is inaccurate and a bit lazy (and yes, Dawkins has spoiled me on this point).

5 comments about Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think.

1. into the life of a gifted psychiatrist I recommend That's How the Light Gets In: Memoir of a Psychiatrist by Susan Rako, M.D. The title comes from a song by Leonard Cohen: "There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Rako's book is fascinating, illuminating, and wonderfully well-written. The writing just flows.



2. This book is a wonderful to take charge of the twists and turns of your mind. I have found that through discipline and practice, I have a healthier outlook and less anxiety. This book really breaks things down very simply so I could understand them and apply them to my life. I highly recommend it!



3. This book was recommended by my phychologist. He couldn't have been more right on. This is the first real help I have had in solving a lot of anxiety and stress in my life. It is so down to earth on what we know but what we so easily overlook in our fix for the human condition. The work pages allow you to really personalize the advice. I would buy it again and I would recommend to all who want to improve their life.



4. Thank you for getting the several copies of Mind Over Mood to me. They were new, as described. Thanks you!



5. This is a great read, especially for anyone who's dealt with depression. I've gone through it myself, and this book helped me a lot!

5 comments about The Feeling Good Handbook.

1. Cognitive therapy is a tested, effective treatment for depression. It can be used instead of medication, or to add to the effects of antidepressants. This book is clear and well written. It has helpful worksheets and exercises to reinforce the information. This book can help you break the negative habits that cause and maintain depression.



2. Abstract
   
   The following study investigates the text, The Feeling Good Handbook, by David Burns. Specifically addressed are issues regarding the cognitive-behavioral model of twisted thinking, moral relativism, and the denial of objective truth. It was found that the text provides an inadequate definition and application regarding moral and objective truth issues. Recommendations for revision of the model are included.
   
   
   A Critical Analysis of the Feeling Good
   Handbook: Its Usefulness in Counseling Practice
   
   In addition to the popular text Feeling Good, which became a national bestseller, and The Therapists Toolkit, a resource developed for mental health practitioners, David Burns released The Feeling Good Handbook, a 729-page (including index) guide to cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques. Semantically speaking, the text is well written, in simple (approximately 8th grade level) English, and is specifically marketed as a self-help text, though its usefulness for counselors is evident in that throughout the text the reader is often asked to assume the roll of the counselor, and after Burns describes a therapeutic technique, the reader is asked in a presented milieu, to implement that technique (for example, responding to a hypothetical client in a vignette empathetically).
   
   In beginning to review this text, it is noticed a review can be accomplished in two ways. One, the text can be analyzed in respect to how it communicates the points it attempts to make (presentation), how it facilitates the ability in the reader to implement what is learned into his/her life or practice (application), and it can be reviewed in regards to how accurately the book delivers the ideas of cognitive therapy, mood therapy, empathetic response, etc. In all these aspects the book veers well--quite well--for even Albert Ellis (who holds a reputation of not being impressed with others' therapeutic approaches) critiques the text as "Clear, systematic, forceful."
   
   The second approach to analyzing the text, the approach that will be taken, involves an investigation of one can trust as a suitable methodology the tenets from which the text is written, the tenets of cognitive therapy. It will address where the tactics disclosed by Burns are believed to be useful, and when it is hypothesized they would falter in a counseling practice.
   Understanding Your Moods
   
   Burns begins discussing moods by stating the fallacy clients often share, which is "I just can't help the way I feel" (Burns, 1999, p. 3). He then states a grounding premise of cognitive behavioral theory, which is that one's thoughts create moods. Quoting Ellis, the acronym A + B = C is stated. In this formula, A is the presenting event, B is the thoughts of the client, and C is the way the client feels. This formula is to show As do not create Cs--that is, what happens to a person does not effect that person's mood. The thoughts the person maintains affect the person's mood.
   
   However, in reading the text, it is found that the true formula used in the text is not A + B = C, it is B = C, A = 0. The point being, the book extremely minimizes the effect of A. A, in essence, is described as a force that is prone to trying to manipulate one's B to produce unpleasant C's, but is in itself generally insignificant. More clearly, the situations, trials, relationships, and anything else external a person confronts merely challenges a person's thoughts. If the thoughts can be changed, or maintained as healthy thoughts, the person will always report a pleasant mood (C).
   
   According to Burns, "sadness and depression result from thoughts of loss," "Anxiety and panic result from thoughts of danger," and "Guilt results from the thought that you are bad" (Burns, 1999, p. 5). To Dr. David Burns' credit he does state the following, which he titles a disclaimer: that there are times when negative feelings are appropriate and healthy, and that "learning when to accept these feelings and how to cope with a realistically negative situation is just as important as learning how to rid yourself of distorted thoughts and feelings" (p. 7). The reader must ask him/herself at this point, if Dr. Burns believes this amazingly astute point (i.e. equal importance), why then is only one line spent addressing that As are relevant, while 728.5 pages are spent denying their relevance?
   False Sincerity of the Empathetic Response
   
   A rebuttal to the statement that Burns' methodology denies all relevance of coping with a negative situation would probably include the premise that such is accomplished with the use of the empathetic response. The problem with this premise however, is the use of the empathetic response validates nothing. The therapist agrees to none of the truth that the client speaks. The empathetic response simply makes the client aware that the counselor is aware of his/her hurtful thinking.
   
   Reading the text a reader might be perplexed with the question, when is there objective truth in thinking? More specifically, can not hurtful thinking (i.e. I have been a terrible father) be accurate? And if it is accurate, who is to say disposing of this accurate--though hurtful thought--is in essence better for the client than allowing the client to maintain this thought until the client changes his/her behavior so that the client can display another more healthy, and accurate, thought, (i.e. I am no longer a terrible father). However, by Burns' model, the man who states he is a terrible father, even if it is true (by all ability to quantify what a terrible father is), will be handled in the following way.
   
   One, the client would be empathized with: "You are telling me that you are not a very good father, and you are clearly upset with that." Two, the counselor might disclose an "I feel" statement: "I would definitely not want to feel like I was a terrible father. That must be a horrible feeling." Three, it would be suggested to the client that he has twisted thinking which include "Should Statements" (You are wrongly telling yourself you should not be a terrible father), "Labeling" (there is no such thing as a terrible father, just persons who act the roll sometimes), "All-or-Nothing thinking" (surely you have done something that was not terrible--for example you are in therapy), "Overgeneralization" (Being a terrible father is a general simplification. Burns states "there are no Jerks in America" only persons who act like jerks from time to time), "Mental Filter" (you are pretty upset over this whole fatherhood thing. Lets think on things you're not terrible at), and the list goes on.
   
   Burns' model provides no basis for determining what is "twisted thinking" and what is thinking that is the downright painful truth. He states, there are no Jerks in America--just those that act like Jerks. But if a "jerk" does not exist, then from what basis can one state an action as jerk-like? Furthermore, in the 700 plus pages of text on how to handle clients, not once does Burns confront a client because his/her thinking was pleasant but skewed. Therefore, it is a safe conclusion that--though Burns may briefly claim otherwise--to Burns pleasant thinking is correct thinking.
   
   This is further evidenced in text when Burns addresses confrontation. Choices of words include "it was unpleasant when" or "I felt uncomfortable when" (Burns, 1999, p. 156). Both are notoriously relative remarks. There is no claim to objective truth; there is no "what you did was wrong," or "I was treated unjustly." Such relativism can be no more apparent than in the following excerpt:
   You may have difficulty with this idea [that there is not use for shoulds]. You may insist that there's nothing wrong with using the word "should." You may think that it's your duty to clean your desk or to study hard. You may feel it is something you should do!
   
   There are actually [only] three valid uses of the word "should" in the English language. One is the "moral should." You "should" not intentionally take advantage of someone, because this violates your moral code. The second is the "legal should." You should not drive at 90mph because it is dangerous and you'll probably get a ticket. The third is the "laws of the universe should." Things "should" happen because the forces of nature make them happen. For example, if you drop a pen, it "should" fall because of the force of gravity (p. 179).
   
   The enormity of the errors in the thinking above is staggering. First, the only two claims of truth presented above are (one) that it is wrong believe one ought to believe there are moral shoulds or shoulds caused by one's duty, and (two) that the English dictionary agrees with David Burns. Both claims are false.
   
   It is very possible that someone could have a duty to study. A physician being paid to study the effects of a rare disease infecting his/her patient, for example, is an explicit instance when there is a definite "should" due to duty. One would concur that the situation would not have to be so dire (matter of life and death) to still constitute a legitimate should. Though Burns--in the quote above--states that one "feels" shoulds, and does not know them or objectively understand them (lines 3-4).
   
   Next, Burns' first definition of a true should is logically meaningless, in that he states it is truth that one should not take advantage of someone (a valid should) because it violates the person's moral code. Therefore, Burns is saying, as long as one is not violating their own relative moral code, he/she can take advantage of anyone and not be violating a "should." Burns' second definition, regarding the legal should, is quite depraved in that he states speeding violates a legal should (true) because one could hurt him/herself or get a ticket. In reality, Burns is not addressing a legal should at all for legally the should would remain constant whether on not the violator injures him/herself, or receives a ticket for the violation. What Burns is really stating in his example is the claim that one should not partake of behavior that may cause As that could instigate unpleasant Bs.
   
   Lastly, Burns demotes the laws of physics, to the shoulds of physics! If one drops a pen according to Burns, it should hit the floor. According to the law of gravity however, if one drops a pen, it will hit the floor.
   Discussion
   
   Cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective. Burns does a fantastic job of describing how to implement cognitive principles into one's personal life, even into one's counseling practice. The ideas are useful for healing. However, the theory is weak in that it does not provide the practitioner, nor the client, correct direction regarding what is twisted thinking, and what is true--though painful--thinking.
   
   Final Note: Telephone and Online Counseling may be a good way to provide quick and effective care to clients. Learn to provide Telephone and Online Counseling with this very well done book: The Therapist's Clinical Guide to Online Counseling and Telephone Counseling: The Definitive Training Guide for Clinical Practice



3. If you just want to read "Feeling Good", do not buy this handbook version of the book.
   
   The author uses imperative statements and not so subtle naratives to coerce the reader into doing the exercises. The objective... teach in simple practical terms Cognitive Behavioral Therapy methods for reprogramming out thinking.
   
   Plan to read a few pages and then work on some exercises and ponder over your beliefs and values.
   
   This is not a book for speed reader rabbits. It is more for the the thoughtful, consistent tortoise.
   
   Michael P



4. I bought this for myself over a year ago and cannot say enough good things about it (this purchase was for a dear family member). This book has opened up my eyes and the dark clouds that surrounded me for years...



5. I had read this book years ago in a different version. At the time, I found it a very helpful point of view. Now cognitive therapy is not so new and I am accustomed to realizing that my attitude toward unfortunate situations are in my control, whether the situation is or not. The exercises are helpful to put your events in perspective. Even if you think you know the things that are suggested, putting your own problems on paper and practicing the steps, is more enlightening than you might expect. If you have not encountered cognitive therapy before, this book, the ideas that are outlined, and the exercises, if you will do them, are essential for your well-being. You may not feel "good," but I bet you will feel "better."

5 comments about Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns.

1. Clayton Christensen previously has provided excellent insights on disruptive technologies within the business world. Unfortunately, he does not succeed with "Disrupting Class."
   
   Christensen begins noting that typical "solutions" do not up to scrutiny. Inflation-adjusted per-pupil expenditures have be doubled, with little result; further, Kentucky state accountability index performance between two districts varies inversely with expenditures - despite the lower-spending district also being more disadvantaged in pupil characteristics. (Christensen, however, offers no explanation of that the state accountability index is comprised. Other sources indicate it is vulnerable to distortion through low standards.) He also points out that U.S. education spending is about twice that of other developed nations.
   
   Others contend that new technology is key to improving pupil performance. Christensen, however, notes that computer availability has roughly doubled, again, with little impact.
   
   Perhaps pupil motivation is the key. Christensen "refutes" this explanation by reporting area scores in Montgomery County, Md. that meet or exceed minimums now match those of white pupils in non-poverty areas. (Christensen, however, fails to recognize that this is meaningless if the "minimum" standards are low.)
   
   Christensen then notes that the proportion of pupils taking science and engineering courses falls as a nation's prosperity increases - somehow failing to recognize that this supports a pupil motivation is key hypothesis. He also is oblivious to the decades-old trend for Asian and Jewish pupils to substantially outperform their peers.
   
   Later on in "Disrupting Class," Christensen reports favorable NAEP trends at the lower age levels as indicative of successes, failing to also notice that the 17-year-old scores have remained unchanged for decades - therefore, undermining his conclusion.
   
   The essence of "Disrupting Class" is that computers can make learning more effective and attractive by individualizing instruction. Unfortunately, this is directly contrary to his early observation that high-scoring nations primarily use rote instruction, while the lower-scoring U.S. uses pupil-centered, more individualized instruction.
   
   Bottom-Line: A well-intentioned, but seriously flawed book.



2. The authors are on to something really, really big here- the eventual replacement of the method of instruction that has been in use since before the days of Socrates.
   
   [...]



3. I am a layperson with an interest in education and technology. I read Innovator's Dilemma and was anxious to see if Clayton Christensen could apply his unique business lens to sort through, and perhaps solve the issues concerning our failing public education system.
   
   He and his colleagues didn't disappoint me.
   
   This book was eminently readable and layer by layer, uncovered the weaknesses in the way we educate our kids. It's not simply a matter of putting technology in schools or tutoring kids who learn differently; it's a matter of changing the way the monolithic system, and entrenched stakeholders, work against innovation and creativity in learning by challenging the underlying foundations of that system.
   
   According to Christensen, flexible individualized instruction combined with the proper use of technology, rewiring content development and distribution channels, and the creation of online networks of students, parents and teachers working together instead of in opposition, can revolutionize education in the United States.
   
   If you care about the future of education, and of a child's ability to compete in the global economy, read this book.



4. As someone who enjoyed her twelve years in the American public education system and believes that there is no higher calling than becoming a teacher (and does not work in education), I found this book to be fascinating - it challenged my long-held views about learning and teaching - and encouraging - which I was not expecting, given the current dismal state of so much of the American public education system. Yet Disrupting Class was a refreshing read and it has created a new discourse on a familiar topic: how to improve the American public education system.
   
   Professor Christensen's theories of disruptive innovation are cogently explained for the unfamiliar and for those who need a refresher (like myself). The theories and their corresponding case studies are fascinating in and of themselves (think a cliff notes version of Christensen's previous books). The breadth of industries they cover creates a compelling argument to not only allow for but to encourage disruption in public education.
   
   The authors' scholarship in innovation is evident; their prediction of when student-centric technologies (the disruptive innovation) will take hold is not conditional, rather, it is absolute: "by 2019, 50 percent of high school courses will be delivered online." I admired the authors for their willingness to walk the reader through the s-curves and logarithmic axes needed to reach this conclusion - to me, it was one of many instances in which the authors, an eclectic trio, bridge the often unnecessarily wide gap between the "business world" and the "education world." I was left wanting more detail about these "student-centric" technologies that would teach to Gardner's different intelligences but also appreciated that the authors kept to the bounds of their expertise and research.
   
   America has struggled for years to improve public education from the top via government policy. Allowing for change from the bottom presents less risk and a lower cost of failure to the existing system. A solid understanding of Christensen's theories has brought great success to its adopters (and failure to those who have ignored it) in such a wide range of sectors that it seems almost irresponsible for anyone who cares about education to not read this book.
   
   Disrupting Class doesn't have all the solutions, nor does it claim to. What this book does offer is a new framework within which to think about creating positive, lasting change on the type of scale needed to be meaningful and suggestions on how to realize this.
   
   Read this book and learn the language of disruption and why simply buying more computers, aka "cramming" doesn't work. Be inspired by the work of companies such as Apex Learning, Florida Virtual School, and K12, and start your own dialogues about new student-centric technologies that will revolutionize the way the next generation learns.



5. Administrators, teachers, parents, and policy makers would do well to read Disrupting Class. The authors approach education with the perspective of an outsider - business person, technologist, entrepreneur - but the knowledge and thoughtfulness of an insider. Instead of offering didactic or hubristic "fixes" for education, the book provides a framework for thinking about education that is fresh and practical, particularly on such issues as how technology can personalize education for the needs of each student, and most importantly, how disruptive innovation can overcome the many obstacles that have heretofore prevented reforms in the US education system.

5 comments about The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person.

1. This is really NOT a diet book, but will help tremndously on your diet. The real surprise is that applying the same cognitive concepts will make it much easier to achieve any goal in your life that requires discipline and perseverance. It's a well-known fact that ANY diet will "work" if you stick to it. This book will make sticking to it much easier by enlisting your own good sense and bolstering your self-esteem to the point that you'll feel so good about yourself that wrecking that feeling seems as idiotic as touching a hot stove. It's also something you can come back to, as I think I may need to, again and again when you need a fresh start. Thanks Judith!



2. I ordered a used book, & couldn't tell it wasn't new, very pleased with that indeed. Contents are really food for thought, no menus or diets, just cognitive thinking ideas & much to think about & choose from...a very informative book I find.



3. I have been using the skills taught in the Beck Diet Solution for about three months and have lost over 20 pounds. This solution is no quick fix, but helps a person lose slowly over time, which is the way to change lifestyle behaviors.
   
   The most effective lesson taught in the book for me personally was making an Advantage card listing all the reasons why I want to lose weight. When I am tempted to eat something I know is not on my own unique eating plan and is unhealthy, I dig out my card and review the 30 reasons I came up with for why I would rather be thin than eat that Twinkie or that piece of pie. Self talk really works to overcome temptation. Also Judy Beck suggests phrases to repeat, repeat, repeat when that little voice inside tells you it is okay to "just this once" have a little bite of something (which leads to disaster!)
   
   The book isn't a diet in the sense that it tells you what to eat. Most people know what foods will be convenient to prepare and what they like to eat and even what is healthy. Beck lets us be adults and do it our way, in moderation of course.
   
   She also recommends counting calories, because every bite does count. There are many internet sites that will count the calories for you if you just enter what you have eaten that day, every day.
   
   Also get a good digital scale and weigh every day. Even if you have only lost one-tenth of a pound the previous day, at least you know you are making progress. I also record my weight on a chart like she suggests, which is hugely motivating.
   
   Don't expect to drop 10 pounds in a week. That would not be healthy. Hang in there and re-read the book when tempted to weaken. Honestly I can't believe I have been able to do this without getting hungry and giving up. This book has been a miracle for me. I am 60 years old and decided it was time to do something besides take pills for high cholesterol and high blood pressure, the obesity diseases. I still have 20 pounds to go and have every confidence that I will make it this time. Highly recommend this book to anyone who has tried and failed over and over. Try it, what have you got to lose besides weight?



4. by Rosally Saltsman
   
   Ever wonder why no matter what you do, you can't lose weight? Dr. Beck has the answer - it's because you're not thinking like a thin person.
   
   According to Dr. Beck, the problem isn't the diet you're on. In fact she says her program works with any diet. What's different about her program is that it focuses on cognitive nutrition, about thinking about food and eating in a new way.
   
   For example, a thin person eats till they're full or slightly full and stops. An overweight person keeps on eating even if they're not hungry. Why? Because they perceive food differently.
   
   In a six week program comprising 42 succinct lesson plans, Dr. Beck gives people the tools they need to change their relationship with food so that they can follow a diet, lose weight and keep it off. Using cognitive therapy, she teaches how changing your thoughts changes your behavior. It's simple, it's straightforward and it's easy to implement. Well, not terribly difficult anyway.
   
   Dr. Beck provides techniques, choices and troubleshooting tips to help insure a successful result and continued maintenance once you achieve your goal weight. She also discusses how to set realistic goals.
   
   The Beck Diet Solution isn't about food, it's about food for thought. We mistakenly believe that dieting is about eating less and how long we can stand it. But Dr. Beck provides techniques for life that will keep us - if not reed thin - at least in control of the food we consume and not the other way around. This is a diet plan that works because it's all in the mind. Well, you might have to eat some rice cakes.
   
   An added bonus is that the theory can conceivably work on any bad habit. Though the tools are geared toward weight loss, they can be applied to help quit smoking, overspending or any bad habit because the program works on changing your behavior by changing your mindset.
   
   If you follow the recipe for weight loss in this book and apply the cerebral strategies outlined therein, it is likely you will lose the weight you've been unsuccessfully trying to lose, especially if you haven't been thinking along the right lines. I highly recommend it and that's not to be taken lightly.
   
   [...]
   [...]
   [...]



5. I'm so glad I got this book. I am actually a therapist, and very familiar with CBT, and the idea of applying it to weight loss makes profound sense. I heard Dr. Beck on NPR, and I was not in the mood to listen to what she had to say, but then it made so much sense, I started to take notes! And even though I didn't feel like making an effort to follow a diet, I got the book anyway. And I liked how it went one day at a time, and very slowly. I recommend this book because it's just plain reasonable, useful, and it works. So far I've lost 27 pounds, since the first point in the book where I had to weigh in, so at this point, I've probably actually lost at least 30 pounds. I'm doing this with a friend and she's lost 15 pounds. Before I read this book, I believed I was overweight because I was the wrong kind of person to be thin: too in love with food and addicted to it and I'm too fun and too spontaneous for a diet, etc., etc., but it was encouraging to find out that I can learn how to think like a thin person. Now I know how to "strengthen my resistance muscle and weaken my giving-in muscle" and it's paying off! I look forward to moving along five pounds at a time until I reach my ideal weight. I'm really proud of what I've been able to achieve by following this. I'm using many concepts from this book in my own therapeutic practice for cognitive and behavioral skill-building, also, and finding it helpful in that way, too.

5 comments about Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies.

1. Mr. Diamond must be admired for this epic work on humanity. Is it perfect, of course not, but what is perfect. He gives us a different way to view history and how geography has influnced it. I enjoyed the read and have assigned it to my students for reading and reviewing. The majority of them said it was worth the effort and it has given some instances of lively discussion in the classroom. We should tip our hats to a man who at least gives us something to think about.



2. I can't add much to the good reviews, but I wanted to suggest that if your child is taking history in school or shows an interest before that, please buy them this book.
   
   This action will reflect the main premise of this theory, it will create the environment for growth.



3. I found that Guns, Germs, & Steel filled in a lot of missing pieces but the best thing was it gives a fresh outlook on why we have so many equalities among races. Until we find hard evidence we will continue to believe some of the old racist notions of genetic determinacy.
   Rahasya Poe, Lotus Guide Magazine [...]



4. Have you ever heard of "the Galileo Defense?" The phrase describes the phenomenon of honest, accurate science attempting to defend itself against ideology-driven accusations of those who are opposed to the implications of the scientist's work. A good example would be Darwin as he faced charges of atheism, satanism, etc. If the Galileo Defense has an opposite, it would certainly apply to this book. To save you the trouble, Guns, Germs, and Steel basically articulates the first moderately believable and (most importantly) politically correct attempt to explain why the West was able to enjoy a position of relative dominance during the past few hundred years. Unfortunately, his assertions rely on numerous glaring omissions and flawed assumptions that really undermine his credibility. The existence of peanuts is one notable example that will be easily understood by those who've read the book. Those who haven't should do themselves a favor and skip ahead to L. Ron Hubbard.



5. Guns, Germs and Steel is a scientific historical treatment on the rise and fall of civilizations and the reasons why the western world is considered successful. In many ways Jared Diamond has built a city with one stone. He has established the necessity for the scientific method in history, reversed the problem of a western biased orientation of the analysis and identified several challenges to a racist explanation for western success.
   
   The book comes about as a result of a fundamental question raised by the friend of the authors from New Guinea. Yali asked in a roundabout way why whites have been more successful than blacks. Diamond felt that human genetic diversity in the form of racism did not answer this question and proceeded to produce this deep treatise which looks more at environmental factors as the causal agent of success or failure.
   
   Chapter 1: Up to the Starting Line
   This chapter does a brief synopsis of the evolution of humans and deals with the Great Leap Forward, extinctions and the Clovis culture in Americas in 11,000 BC.
   
   Chapter 2: A Natural Experiment of History
   Diamond shows that common stocks can produce very diverse cultures based on the environment. He cites the case of the Maoris victory over the Morioris on the Chatham islands in 1835. Both are Polynesian decedents.
   
   Chapter 3: Collision at Cajamarca
   Francisco Pizarro conquers the Inca emperor Atahuallpa in Cajamarca Peru in 1532. Guns, germs, steel and horses decide the victory as well as the Inca making serious mistakes many times over. It is this situation that requires an explanation as to how things got to this point and is what this book is about.
   
   Chapter 4: Farmer Power
   Food production is a huge part of this book and occurs frequently throughout. The book might well have been called 'farming' there is so much of it. This is an extensive fact based chapter that deals with food production. A lot of it is raw data and tables. Crops and animal domestication get the full treatment. There is an important link between animals and human germs brought up.
   
   Chapter 5: History's Haves and Have-Nots
   This chapter deals with carbon dating and is an extension of the last chapter verifying the types of crops and animals various civilizations had or didn't and why.
   
   Chapter 6: To Farm or Not to Farm
   Diamond explains the slow progress of farming and why hunter gatherers simply had more than early farmers but farming eventually outgrew hunter-gathering. He explains why some civilizations didn't adopt it based on lack of domesticated crops and animals and or inappropriate environments.
   
   Chapter 7: How to Make an Almond
   Because wild almonds are poisonous Diamond explains how mutations and breeding selection produces edible crops. More importantly he discusses why some crops are not edible and how this effects civilizations depending on their environment. Some civilizations had it easier than others.
   
   Chapter 8: Apples or Indians
   Here the Fertile Crescent richness is compared with places of sparse productivity. It becomes clear that a very low percentage of biological life can be domesticated for human consumption.
   
   Chapter 9: Zebras, Unhappy Marriages, and the Anna Karenina Principle
   Some animals cannot be domesticated and thus domesticated animals must be imported. This chapter is about the failure to domesticate certain animals and why. It is also about the spread of domesticated animals.
   
   Chapter 10: Spacious Skies and Tilted Axes
   Geography plays an important part in how wide a naturally occurring or bred species can spread. East to west is much easier than north to south because of climate. This explains why species spreading across Europe and Asia is easier than up and down North and South America.
   
   Chapter 11: Lethal Gift of Livestock
   Animals are responsible for a lot of human diseases and plagues. Diamond links animal husbandry and large populations with developing immunity against epidemics.
   
   Chapter 12: Blueprints and Borrowed Letters
   The evolution of writing. This chapter may be worth the book alone. Diamond covers the evolution of writing and is one of the reasons why this book (containing writing!) has a nice twist in its tale. Writing is important because it became a method of communication over long distances and record keeping for farmers and supplies.
   
   Chapter 13: Necessity's Mother
   This deals with the Cretan Minoan Phaistos disk of 1700 BC and is a continuation of the previous chapter but deals more with why technologies develop. Diamond correctly identifies that technologies don't spring out of nowhere. They evolve.
   
   Chapter 14: From Egalitarianism to Kleptocracy
   The evolution of governments. This is a heavy data and fact laden account of the evolution of governments from small bands to tribes to cities. It is all about how societies get organized.
   
   Chapter 15: Yali's People
   Here Diamond applies everything we have learned to the conquest of New Guinea by Europeans. He shows how essentially they are the victims of their own environment. The conquest of Australia is also examined in the same way.
   
   Chapter 16: How China Became Chinese
   This is about how China's many inter-civilizations interacted and the Austronesian migration of people to the Far East and Australia.
   
   Chapter 17: Speedboat to Polynesia
   Moving on from the previous chapter Diamond explores the colonization of Polynesia and the evolution of the double-canoe.
   
   Chapter 18: Hemisphere's Colliding
   Revising everything, Diamond goes back to Chapter 3: Collision at Cajamarca and attempts to explain how things led up to that point. Food production, domestication, metallurgy, weapons, cavalry, transport, writing and political organization lead the way. The environment is given a reason behind the slower development of these points by the Inca. Diamond then reveals that the Norse, not Columbus, were the first Europeans to visit the Americas through Greenland.
   
   Chapter 19: How Africa Became Black
   This examines how Africa evolved internally, the various tribes involved and their long battles that have lasted centuries as well as the slow movement of technologies and discoveries from the north to the south.
   
   Epilogue: The Future of Human History as a Science
   Diamond puts forward his case for scientific history, dispenses with the idiosyncratic Great Man theory, points out that there are social factors involved and possibly even chaotic ones before calling on the use of the scientific historical method to predict future outcomes for humanity.
   
   There is no arguing the point that Diamond is making and he has established it very scientifically. Environmental conditions have an impact on how a civilization will appear and act. This is Darwinian in every sense. Using the examples of the same genetic stock from the same culture developing into two opposite lifestyles in short spaces of time because of island separation and geological differences is a good argument. You can't help but note the degree of luck and opportunity involved in success and as Diamond so aptly puts it, this is much more about the quality of real estate than the quality of a race. This is not to say that slight genetic variations don't make a difference, they do and Diamond doesn't challenge that as some have wrongly accused of him of saying (as a note the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins often cites Diamond's work). What Diamond does is to challenge that genetic variations within a species are a sufficient explanation for the success of white man. He may be riding a wave of political correctness with this book but he does dispute justifications for racism scientifically. He also breaks down absolutism by showing that success is relative when it comes to doing one's best in the environment they are in. As he points out, Aborigines conquered some of the harshest lands in the world.
   
   Diamond himself knows the problem with his oversimplification. His findings when applied to all civilizations throughout history will turn up contradictions that fly in the face of his reasoning but he has explained the big picture of social conquest and doesn't need to shuffle genes to do it.
   
   There are a few more problems with Guns, Germs and Steel though. His overall reasoning touches on environmental determinism. Diamond does deal with this serious predicament by elaborating on the social conditions and cultural qualities at play. He believes and states often that human choices influence things. Diamond does his best to cover these in the political organisation sections and throughout but a type of environmental determinism does emerge as the overall message even if it is caricatured by his critics to mean geological determinism without human influence. Diamond is not saying that. What is really the problem here is not that Diamond says the environment plays a major role in the forces at play but that he doesn't do enough to challenge the view that environmental determinism is the sufficient explanation for the success of white man. Diamond doesn't say it is sufficient but it is his conclusion that amounts to most of what he is writing. So he leaves himself open and quite frankly gets intellectually decked quite easily because a lot of people leave this book thinking as environmental determinists. Environmental determinism is just as false as racism. We go from prejudice based on skin color to prejudice based on country. He really deals with this problem in the space of just a paragraph in the epilogue and that just doesn't cut it.
   
   The other problems are that sometimes the picture plates are not linked to anything in the text and this book is such a torrent of facts that casual readers may find themselves skipping huge sections about which part of which country developed wheat or camels first and in which quantities just to get to his overall point. Guns, germs and steel can be taxing at the best of times because of this. There is also an expectation that maybe you would find more about evolutionary biology or important battles along with at least some case made for genes. Instead the evolution is minimal, important battles limited and no genetic defence appears. This is all about how much corn Europe can produce, how many horses Asia can tame and how much politics does the Zulu need.
   
   There are other weaknesses here but he does have a huge task set for himself into 400 pages. It is doubtful that the truth is the complete opposite of what Diamond is suggesting but more of a deeper elaboration of what is being said while attributing more socio-economic reasons for success along with his geographical ones. You can also just play the probability card by saying 80% of humans lived in Eurasia but the improbable does happen and has happened and the geological explanation needs to be covered anyway.
   
   Experts in world history may view this work as being too simple and even go as far as to call it wrong, but Diamond's task is to show the importance of environmental factors not just genetic ones when it comes to the progress of modern humans. Experts want to make that environment plus socio-economic but both are on the same side when it comes to criticizing those who argue solely the race card.
   
   The main point behind reading Guns, germs and steel is that it changes how we think about ourselves and the conditions leading to how we got here. At the very least your horizons will be broadened and at the very most you will be hitting the environmental determinism socio-economic debate and both are a far cry from discrimination ideologies based on Ethnic identities.
   
   (As an end note it is my understanding that Diamond is aware of these criticism and answered it by... writing another book that includes more of a socio-economic dynamic, called 'Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed'. So see you there for a follow up review).

5 comments about The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, Fourth Edition.

1. This is the very best book ever written for those suffering from Panic/Anxiety attacks! I could not face life without it! It covers everything about what panic/anxiety is, to how to deal with it, information to help to heal with meditation, diet, drugs, connecting your with higher power. GREAT, GREAT book! I also know of Panic/Anxiety support groups that use this as "the book" for information.



2. I bought this book after my therapist recommended it. I cannot put into words how much this has helped. The advice is practical and seemed to be written directly for me. I do not have any phobias so I only use about 1/2 the book... but it is still well worth the money.



3. This is an actual "workbook". It doesn't just say that you should do certain things to overcome anxiety. It gives specific details about specific techniques you can use. There are pages that you fill out to assess your specific breed of anxiety, and it recommends certain techniques for each type of anxiety. This book is written in a way that the general public can understand. The beginning has an overview of the types of anxiety/phobias. A lot of information is repeated in different sections, but that just helps reinforce the knowledge. This is great in conjunction with Lucinda Bassett's book, From Panic to Power.



4. As someone who suffers from social anxiety disorder, I have done extensive research and testing on many different things that claim to "cure" anxiety. Because medication and professional therapy is not an option for me (due to lack of insurance), I decided to try a more natural approach to treatment. I picked up this book recently and although it does have some really good ideas, it's a tad bit incomplete.
   
   Let's talk about the positives. First, this does act as a workbook which encourages you to partake in the activities and write down your experiences. Second, the writer suggests quite a few different techniques to help treat you. He discusses meditation, positive thinking, breathing techniques, and he even touches on something that I personally believe is the most helpful-exercise and nutrition.
   
   Furthermore, the author gives specific examples of things to tell yourself if you're experiencing self-doubt. He also describes how to meditate and even what to think about when meditating. If you believe that CBT is right for you, this book does a good job of explaining everything.
   
   And now for the negatives. I understand this is a book for anxiety and phobias in general but some of these things just didn't/won't work for someone in my situation. Because I experience free floating anxiety a lot, it's hard to "talk yourself out of the situation" when you don't understand why the heck you're experiencing anxiety in the first place.
   
   Another thing I disliked is that the author suggests that you correct your negative thoughts and instead change them into positive. What the author doesn't discuss is what to do if you don't actually BELIEVE the positive statement you're telling yourself. For example, if I'm in a situation where I feel that everyone is judging me and I become anxious, it doesn't help to tell myself "Oh don't worry about what they're thinking. They're not even looking at you." when there are, in fact, people looking at you. In terms of the whole imagining yourself in an anxious situation and then actually visiting this place, I don't think this would work for people with my disorder because it's all on a case by case basis. Whereas sometimes I'll feel uncomfortable standing in line in a certain grocery store, I'll be fine in other stores. It's not the actual place but the people you're around.
   
   Although I do think there's a wealth of information on this book, I don't think all of the ideas work for every person with anxiety issues. There are books out there that are more "understanding" than this one so just search for one that is specific to your phobia.



5. This book is pretty good except he has me doing tons of stuff to get well. Walk an hour a day, eat better, mediatation, autogenics, downtime, massive vacations, and the list goes on. Come on who has the time to do all that and work and raise a family. Who has the money to take long restful vacations. Certainly not me after paying for the doctor and the SSRI. Preacher wants me to read the Bible through every year, husband wants me to work full time, therapist wants me to utilize this book to the max, mother wants me to take her places, and now this author has me doing tons of stuff. So I give it only 3 stars.

5 comments about Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness.

1. This book provides insights to those who need to move people to make good decisions and if they cannot, then the default would do them the least harm. Many of the examples that they have provided are not new, e.g. Singapore has adopted the opt-out model for organ donation years ago. The idea on privatising marriage by the authors is an interesting one.



2. The subject matter is good but like so many books of this type, it would have been a much better read at 1/3 its length.



3. As of yesterday's mail, July 15th, I still had not received the book! Unbelievable!
   
   Hugh Schwartz



4. while the ideas behind this book are interesting, they do not warrant a book-length examination. good for the authors for being libertarian--it is mentioned relentlessly throughout the manuscript--and good for them for figuring out the whole choice architecture thing and coining such a pop term. but everyone participates in choice architecture when they make decisions, whether they realize it or not. does it matter if people know that they are doing it and that it has a name? i doubt it.
   
   i did like the idea of separating "marriage" and "civil union"--all 6-8 pages of it-- and that was interesting. overall this would have made for a great nation or new criterion article, but not a book. skip it the book, read the reviews here (some of which are more enlightening than the book itself) and re-read freakonomics instead.



5. According to the authors, man is not the hard, cold rationalist, or economic man, who is often described in free market postulations, but is instead quite fallible, even the highly-educated. The thinking and perceptions of man are constantly being waylaid by subtle influences which result in bad choices. The authors propose "libertarian paternalism," a catchall term for the subtle persuasion of people to make decisions that are helpful to them. However, if one examines our economic system, the authors' fears that their paternalism is freedom stifling pale next to the realities of consumer manipulation by large economic entities.
   
   The first section of the book describing the various influences on erroneous thinking are fairly basic, much of it demonstrated in psychological experimentation. Unfortunately, life is a good bit more complicated than merely making so-called correct decisions about trivial or contrived matters. There are many areas in our lives where powerful institutions have created a situation where there are no good choices for most of us.
   
   Take retirement savings, 401k plans, and investment decisions. Workers did not choose for corporations to abandon defined benefit plans and put the onus on workers to save for retirement. Many workers don't contribute to 401k plans because they have insufficient income - not that they cannot make a decision, a fundamental fact not mentioned by the authors. It is simply disingenuous to criticize workers for the performance of mutual funds in today's stock markets, for their investment "choices." Stock markets have been captured by financial elites who use others' investments as money to play with. The ordinary 401k contributor absolutely does not have the tools or the means to manage their investments on a minute-by-minute basis aided by sophisticated computer software.
   
   The idea that parents don't correctly choose a good school for their children is absurd. Let's say in a school district of 100,000 students that there are five good schools with total enrollment of 10,000. Of course, all parents want their children to go to those five schools, or could easily be so persuaded - an obvious impossibility. This is a problem of poor schools, not a failure of parents to choose. Or take the new Part D of Medicare, the Prescription Drug Plan - this plan was designed by insurance companies to be completely incomprehensible with all kinds of loopholes where benefits do not have to be paid. Do the authors really want to use this as an example of choice failure? This is a scam that has been perpetrated on the American public.
   
   On the surface, there can hardly be anything wrong with the idea of improving choices; who advocates making poor choices. However, let's consider our environment. We live in a capitalistic economy - profits are virtually all that matter. Giving good information to people is not a priority; in fact, it could be argued that giving disinformation is, especially if it positively affects the bottom line. What is advertising? It is disingenuous to write a book about poor choices without situating those choices. There are many powerful players who are successful because they count on poor choices and ensure that those choices continue. That is the book that needs to be written.
   
   If and when we ever empower the citizens of this nation to control the nature of our institutions, then criticize the result and the choices. Now the choices we have are not really choices.

5 comments about Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.

1. Mr. Gladwell is very talented. He certainly did his homework on this one. At the end of the book though I was left wondering, "Okay...so what is the conclusion?" The book came to a rather abrupt ending and I couldn't tell if the author was for or against snap judgments.
   
   My biggest disappointment is that there was no warning regarding explicit language. I was listening to this work on CD with my young daughters in the car when all of a sudden he starts using profane words in an effort to quote others. Was it necessary to include such language?



2. one of he cd ()no 2
   was dameged and in no shape for playing
   its ashame i am not pleased at all
   
   DR mishali moshe



3. Gladwell is a writer for the New Yorker so it's not surprising that this entire book could have been summed up in an article. Gladwell basically says we should follow our instinct and concludes at the end that we shouldn't be judgemental at the same time. Wow, what insight! He gives some interesting examples which are what I enjoyed. It's a quick read though so you won't waste too much time even though the book is a little drawn out.



4. Like the reviewer who posted just before me, I also thought the book could have made an excellent article. You can certainly skip around in this book and get the point of it. I forced myself to read the whole book even though I lost interest maybe halfway or 2/3 of the way through because the author seemed to be just supporting his main idea with more and more examples. I thought I should force myself to read the whole book in case I missed some amazing new insights, but there was nothing new in it. I enjoyed the examples though, which is why I give this book 3 stars. All in all it was truly mediocre at best.



5. Blink has changed the way I think about decision-making. From an early age we are discouraged from making "snap" decisions, we are not taught to develop our natural instincts. While some snap decisions can be mistakes, if we tune up our "gut" feelings, it may be possible to make excellent decisions based on limited information and time constraints. Gladwell calls this "thin-slicing" and make no mistake about it - it is a SKILL that must be cultivated.
   
   In a nutshell, thin-slicing is defined as "the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behaviors based on very narrow slices of experience." The most fascinating part to me is just that - as a human being, we do have this capability. If you're like me, you do a significant amount of second-guessing, and that is where the trouble starts. We have the instincts inside of us, our brains are powerful tools - more powerful than the most sophisticated computer, they tell us, right? So why do we not trust ourselves?
   
   To be honest, the book started out great with some fascinating examples of thin-slicing and adaptive unconscious (the part of the brain that leaps to conclusions and is capable of making very quick decisions based on very little information). Towards the end I felt like it was just the same information over and over again. I got the gist of it all in the first couple of chapters. Many reviewers here indicated that it could have been an article instead of a book, but I understand why it is a book: Books are taken seriously, are reviewed, are cited, and are easy to find after publication.
   
   Blink is worth the read, even if you only skim a few parts, if only to get you thinking differently about the way we make decisions.

5 comments about The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.

1. Simply put, if I could force one book upon every living soul, this would be the one. I don't see how anyone couldn't learn something at the very least, and more than likely it will change your way of thinking to some degree. It would bring the industrialized food market to its knees if even a percentage of people took this book to heart as much as I have.



2. This book was extremely informative and very interesting. Some parts are a little slow but if you're driving down the road its easy to get lost in the discussion of various foods and how they succeed or fail based on their ingredients, big corporations, and government intervention.
   
   Corn is a substance nearly incapable of growing without human intervention and is being used, regardless of health issues, in just about anything.



3. An amazing tour de force of food in the US! Pollan writes with wonderful wisdom and honesty. The book has a wonderful bibliography.
   
   Industrial food is at the heart of all the major health problems in this country. Pollan will open your eyes to the fact and make you wnat to learn about the alternatives.
   
   Highly recommended!



4. The well written, most interesting read on the state of agriculture in the United States is definately "food for thought." The book's author, Michael Pollan visited three different kinds of farms: first a Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO); second, three big business organic farms: Cal Organic, Earthbound Farms and Cascadian Farms; third, a farm committed to locally grown, free range food called Polyface. The last part of Pollan's journey involved foraging for own food. Pollan even killed a wild pig to serve at the meal he cooked his friends. Each phase of his jouney concluded with a meal derived from the type of farming operations Michael had just visited. For example, Pollan and his family ate at McDonalds for the CAFO meal.
   
   It took them a full ten minutes speeding down the highway to finish their McDonald's meal. I liked his comment about fast food eating. He says, "Perhaps the reason you eat this food quickly is because it doesn't bear savoring." He goes on to say about fast food, "The more you concentrate on how it tastes, the less like anything it tastes. I've said before that McDonalds serves as kind of comfort food, but they are selling something more schematic than that-something more like a signifier of comfort food. So you eat more and eat more quickly, hoping somehow to catch up to the original idea of a cheeseburger or French fry as it it retreats over the horizon. And so it goes, bite after biite, until you feel not satisfied exactly, but simply, regretably, full."
   
   For all of their good qualities, the big business organic farms have driven many smaller organic famers out of business. Places like Walmart and Target do not want to buy organic food from various small suppliers, but from one large organic supplier that can supply them with all the vegetables, etc. they need. Big organic farms do much harm to soil by continually running the weeding machines over it. Since they don't use herbicides, they have to have a way to control the weeds.
   
   Polyface Farm raises a variety of animals (chickens, pigs and cows) that are pastured and eat the food they were created to eat. Polyface farm doesn't raise more animals than it can care for in a humane manner and refuses to ship it's prcuduct out, but only sells it locally.
   
   I personally buy organic or free range meat. After looking at how our farm facory animals are raised on unnatural feed, in overcrowded conditions, dosed with antibiotics and growth hormones, I will pay the extra money for healthy meat. How far you can go in eating local depends on what part of country you live in (I live in Wisconsin, with its short growing season). It also depends on whether you live close to a source of local food or can grow your own, and also your budget restrainsts.
   
   Now on to the reasons I could not give the book a five star review. Contrary to what Pollan says at the beginning of the book, bread and pasta are not two of the most wholesome foods known to man. Try telling that to a carbohyddrate addict or someone with celiac disease and see what they say. Also, saturated isn't bad for you. It's a traditional fat that's been used by healthy cutures for thousands of years. The trans fats, as well as, fats from CAFO animals are the real killer fats. When you feed animals unnatural diets, their ratios of saturated to unsaturated fat changes in a very unhealthy manner. Free range meat has a healthy balnce of various kinds of fats. Also, how could a person who has seen how a CAFO is run say he would ever again eat at a McDonalds. If I were starving and had no other food choices, then and only then would I eat there.



5. This book was very well written. Before starting, I was worried that it would be a rather dry read (after all, how much can you say about food?). Well, apparently there is an awful lot to say about food, and Pollan does a great job at making it interesting. He brings to light some of the problems with industrial agriculture that I just never knew existed. He doesn't just present problems is this book however. He also talks about some ways to help make things better. The one thing I did not like was when he had wine while hunting. However, this has nothing to do with the book's readability.
   
   I reccomend this book because I'm not a food fanatic and I found this book interesting.