5 comments about Christ the Healer.

1. Like so many others here, I find this an essential book for Christians. I've given it to friends for years, and many of us have received healings more than once, relying on the book for encouragement. This black-covered edition is the one I like best, as others have said. It is Bro. Bosworth's own writing, or not so edited as some other editions, and the addition by his son of details of Bosworth's death is very inspiring. Bro. Bosworth, apparently, learned from the Lord that his time on earth was over, went home and had family and friends meet with him, and 2-3 weeks later he died, not having become sick. I love knowing that he lived and died by what he preached to others and it worked well for him.



2. A great book to pass on to others. Every library should have it. Mandatory reading for everyone who calls himself a "believer".



3. This book clearly demonstrates that Christ not only provided for salvation but also for healing through His completed work while here on earth. It shows that healing and salvation are closely linked together in many ways, though often we seperate the two in modern thinking.



4. This book is timeless with the message. You will better understand the message of healing. I know I have.



5. What a great faith-builder this classic primer on healing has become over the years! I go back and reread it to strengthen my faith for all of God's promises--not just the healing of the body. It changed this skeptic forever and now I pray in faith to a loving heavenly Father, expecting to receive as His blessed child.

5 comments about Twelve Jewish Steps to Recovery: A Personal Guide to Turning from Alcoholism and Other Addictions (Twelve Step Recovery).

1. Although the twelve step program of recovery from alcoholism and addiction was developed by religious Christians, these programs are nondenominational and, in fact, adhere to key tenants of Judaism. The type of introspection, righting of wrongs, and doing better in the future are part of the Jewish process of teshuva which means "return" and is the Jewish way to repentance. Rabbi Olitzky and Dr. Copans set forth this process, offering meditations, aphorisms, psalms and prayers relevant to each of the twelve steps.
   
   I have a close family member who is in recovery. He went to a world class rehab center and was visited by an orthodox rabbi who has shown him great kindness and compassion. The rabbi presented him with a copy of this book. Although it is written by a reform rabbi, saving lives through recovery unites all Jews as an orthodox rabbi recommended the book. Furthermore, the emminent orthodox rabbi and physician Abraham Twersky wrote the introduction to this book. Thus, I recommend this book to any Jew (and even non Jews) in recovery as well as their families and anyone else interested in the subject of recovery.
   
   When the high holidays approach, a review of the concepts in this book is worthwhile for anyone who wishes to be intrspective and seek teshuva during that holy season. I highly recommend this book even if you are not in recovery. Furthermore, although written from a Jewish perspective, the twelve steps are made so understandable by the use of the concepts in this book, that recovering addicts of any faith will benefit from this book.



2. A group of us recently organized within the Jewish community of Phoenix to start a local chapter of JACS, Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Addicted Persons, and Significant Others. We use this book as our text. A brief description of the JACS organization, and its relationship to and with other 12-Step programs is included in the Afterward section. Our group has grown steadily week to week, using "Twelve Steps" as both a source of inspiration and as an educational tool. It is not a replacement for other 12-Step programs, and doesn't try to be. Each chapter is devoted to one of the 12 principles, a concept that is not in the Big Book of AA, but which often triggers the introspection and self-awareness that is crucial to persons in recovery. Many Jews in our group are people who felt uncomfortable in traditional 12-Step meetings, for many, often different, reasons. This book reaches out to those people especially, helps ease their suffering, and brings all of us closer, ending the isolation which is so devestating. People get to recovery through many paths. We have found "Twelve Jewish Steps" to be both inspiring and community-building. So far, we've bought 24 books and we continue to need more. People use this book, reading it over and over. It increases compassion, understanding, and hope in both the person in recovery and in his/her family. There is no higher praise I can give.



3. I am a rabbi and I work as chaplain with inmates in the jail system as well as people who suffer from the disease of (various) addictions outside that system. This series of books By Rabbo Olitzky has been a extraordary help in tying recovery, increasing spiritual exploration and helping those I work with to begin 'real' recovery possibilities: one day at a time.
   It is both easy to read and layered with information/quotes from texts, opening the way for questiond, practical ways to get started/continue. I highly recommend this book.



4. my order arrived in an undamaged package. Twelve Jewish Steps even though about the same as the original twelve steps it's a must have for anyone of the Jewish faith seeking to recover.



5. I purchased this bood so I could better understand the 12 step recovery programs from a Jewish perspective. There is some language in the 12 steps that is difficult for Jews to reconcill with Jewish beliefs, this book gives you the tools to do that. I say it is a good companion book because it takes the 12 steps form AA, NA etc. and while it does not change the content of those steps, this book explains the steps in accordance with Jewish beliefs, gives guidance based on Jewish traditions and offers prayers grounded in Jewish beliefs. It is an important for any Jew or non-Jew, in recovery to own.

1 comments about Outwitting Your Alcoholic: Keep the Loving And Stop the Drinking (Idyll Arbor Personal Health).

1. I am a substance abuse clinician in an intensive outpatient clinic who has used this book as my resource for lectures and facilitating groups, especially with families. It is the most complete and accurate recovery book that I have ever read which applies practical wisdom on substance dependence. Keep the Loving provides a road map to every step in the process of dealing with the alcoholic/addict who is taking the first steps to becoming sober. Mr. Lucas wrote this book with sensitivity and insight into the minds of people who are making decisions to seek relief, in addition to exploring the families roles.

2 comments about Children of Alcoholism: A Survivor's Manual.

1. After dealing superficially with my own depression, I finally read this book and started confronting some of the issues in my life that were rooted in my upbringing with an alcoholic parent. This was a break-through point in working toward my own healing. Very readable. Not a lot of psychobabble.



2. I bought this book to help a very dear person who was going through difficult times. Before giving it to her I read it, I could not put it away, helped me a lot making me understand many things about people that are related to alcholics by family, friendship or work.

5 comments about Denial Is Not A River In Egypt.

1. I absolutely love this book. I keep it in my car to help remember to laugh when I am in traffic. It helps to keep me real and remember that I do not have power over people, places and situations.



2. At least that's what I tell myself. Granted, that may all be denial (not to be confused with da river in Egypt). Dis book has helped me to see da humor in life. You'd think that da author, Sandi Bachom, is the queen of de Nile, but that would make her Cleopatra. Instead, she is de master (or would that be da mistress?) of de quip, de witty remark, da funny comment--all of which I have found helpful in overcoming anxiety, anger, and depression. Humor is da best medicine for some many things; if only we could teach everybody such eternal truths.



3. The author is a recovering alcoholic and the title reflects a turning point on her own journey of recovery. She had stopped drinking and, since she had hitherto equated having a good time and drinking, she was looking ahead to a rather moribund life. But she overheard someone quip, "Denial Is Not a River in Egypt" and she involuntarily found herself laughing out loud for the first time in her sobriety. This led her to start collecting similar aphorisms and finally to publishing them in the insightful book.
   There are many of the aphorisms that are fairly specific to someone who is in or has been in a 12 step recovery program, but they are mostly applicable to anyone. One that has helped me a lot is: "I do not have to attend every argument I am invited to." They are grouped under some of the key headings related to recovery such as "Fear," "Denial," "Resentment" and "Acceptance." But these are all issues on the path toward wholeness period. Some of my other favorite sayings are: "Resentment is like taking poison in hopes your enemy will die;""Religion is for people who are afraid they are going to hell; spirituality is for those who have been there;" "A closed mouth gathers no foot."
   And then there is one extended parable that I particularly appreciate:

   "A woman is standing on a beach with her son when a giant wave picks him up and takes him out to sea. The woman frantically prays, "Dear God, if there is a God, please return my son!!!"

   At this moment, the next wave rolls in and safely deposits her son near her on the shore. The woman rushes to his side, then turns and shouts up toward heaven,
   "Where did his hat go?"

   I hope that these "samples" will whet your appetite because this is a book crammed with "wisdom" that is superb. True laughter comes from the profound insight that is laid out in Psalm 8, where the author recognizes that utter insignificance of humans when one looks at the whole universe the Creator has fashioned and muses how amazing it is that the Creator even sees the speck that each of us is. And yet that same Creator has "crowned" us with a wondrous capacity if we only recall where it came from. "Denial..." follows in that tradition.




4. This is good for people with "Short Attention Span" disorders. But, I'm probably missing the point. That's probably what it's for. I can't quite dis the quotes and don't want to, but it's frothy, kids. And yet, maybe frothy, light and somewhat easy reader-ish is what you desire. After all, they can't all be heavy handed recovery books. You read a bunch of those and you need a drink all over again! So buy it used, that's what I did, it's cheaper that way.



5. I saw the book Denial Is Not A River In Egypt years ago but I didn't even pick the book up. The title stuck in my head, heh I told my self if I ever saw it again I'd read the book. has a lot of slogans in the book that I've heared,But here they are in print. I'll read it again many times over.

2 comments about Easy Does It Dating Guide: For People in Recovery.

1. Mary Faulkner is a therapist working with people in recovery from addictions and abuse. Owner and director of the Institute of Integrated Healing Arts in Nashville, Tennessee and founding editor of "Recovering Magazine", she draws upon her many years of experience and expertise in Easy Does It Dating Guide to guide the reader through the "traps, triggers, and traumas" of recovering from romantic involvements -- especially the ones that end badly because of alcoholism or addiction. Readers will learn how to know when they are once again ready to start dating; whether it is wise to date other alcoholics and/or addicts in recovery; what happens if they are attracted to a problem drinker or drug users; how much information should be shared about their past; and what's realistic to expect (or not expect) from relationships. The Easy Does It Dating Guide is a powerful and effective tool for getting over relationship fears, getting past roadblocks to intimacy; dealing with false romantic fantasies, and more. If you are in recovery (or dating someone who is), then give Mary Faulkner's Easy Does It Dating Guide a careful reading from cover to cover.



2. If you willing to be rigorously honest with yourself this book can help you recognize where you are going wrong or right in relationships. It helped me recognize that what I was feeling was ok and I was right to set boundaries and stick to them. Most of us couldn't recognize a "normal" relationship if it smacked us across the face, relearning how to function as a sober person is difficult, this book helped me immensely.

5 comments about The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition.

1. If you enjoy reading history, pull up a chair and pour down the whisky because you are going to read "The Alcoholic Republic." It is on the drinking patterns in the United States and the reading is simply interesting as well fascinating. You thought drinking was terrible these days lets go back to the great alcoholic binge of the nineteenth century.

   "It was the consensus, then, among a wide variety of observers that Americans drank great quantities of alcohol. The beverages they drank were for the most part distilled liquors, commonly known as spirits.. whiskey, rum, gin and brandy. On the average those liquors were 45 percent alcohol, or, in the language of distillers, 90 proof." (Page 7)

   It is simply a fun history book to read and recommend the drunkenness to anyone interested in the drinking habits of previous Americans. I give it five stars because it is one of the most interesting history books I have read in a long time.




2. William Rorabaugh, an associate professor of History at the University of Washington, provides a very interesting study of alcoholic consumption in the United States from the 18th century through the mid 1800s. He looks at the issue from the supply side (expense and technology in the production of distilled beverages and the import of rum) and the demand side. There is some eye-opening information in this work. The annual per capita consumption of alcohol between 1800-1830 exceeded 5 gallons; nearly triple today's consumption (p. 8). The demand for alcohol (particularly whiskey) stemmed from such things as alleged medical and dietary benefits, social camaraderie, a way to cope with a rapidly changing society, and such particle reasons as the lack of alternatives (water and milk was unhealthy and other substitutes were comparatively expensive) and strong beverages were needed to overcome the bland, monotonous American diet. Rorabaugh also devotes much of this study to the medical and moral critics of alcohol, including temperance societies. One doctor in the 1740s favored moderation: "not more than one bottle of wine each evening" (p. 32). I believe there is a lot of over-generalization in this study, especially when disillusionment over the voting system and the burden of living up to the ideals of the independent man are used as reasons for drinking (although drinking probably came before such feelings). Still, the book is extremely well-researched, with source notes at the end and several appendixes on estimating consumption of alcohol, cross-national comparisons of consumption, and cook books. The text, excluding the appendixes, is 222 pages and includes illustrations.



3. The United States has long had a reputation for heavy drinking. Guzzling to the point of intoxication still reigns as a favorite pasttime for high school and college students, and even for some adults. Banning liquor on college campuses can lead to riots (a lesson learned the hard way even recently), and some people will jump through any impossible hoop to ensure their portion of the communal keg. Though alcohol still creates problems for the current generation, what were the attitudes of Americans towards it historically? Has drunkedness always been an issue in America? Not much literature existed on the subject in the 1970s, which the author noticed while researching nineteenth century temperance pamphlets. He then found that drinking weaves a deep and unpredictable path through United States history. But he found some unexpected things along the way. These findings led him to write "The Alcoholic Republic".
   
   An eye-widening surprise opens the book: Americans actually drank more liquor between the years 1790 and 1820 than ever before or since. We actually drink half as much alcohol today as our post Revolutionary ancestors. A chart in the first chapter shows consumption peaking at over 5 gallons per capita in the early 1800s as contrasted with approximately 2 gallons in 1970. A sharp drop occurred in the 1840s and the rate hovered around 2 gallons going forward. Looking at data published by the National Institutes of Health after the book's 1979 publication shows that the rate peaked at only 2.7 gallons in the early 1980s and leveled off at 2.2 gallons in 2002. So the early nineteenth century rate of 5 gallons per capita still remains shocking even with current data. This leads to the inevitable question of why Americans used to drink so much.
   
   To answer this vexing question the author delves into the history of alcohol in Colonial and Revolutionary America. Suprisingly, in the seventeeth century alcohol was seen as "A Good Creature" and as healthful and nutritious to drink. But slowly, by the 1720s, some suspected that alcohol contributed towards reprehensible behavior and disease. Unfortunately, access to alcohol, especially rum, increased as the price dropped (due to more efficient methods of production). So all classess could imbibe with near impunity. By the late eighteenth century some physicians such as Benjamin Rush (still practising the Galenic theory of medicine) began to publish anti liquor tracts condemning it as dangerous. Most were ignored (which invites a comparison to today's anti-smoking literature). But by the 1820s a national temperance movement had gathered momentum. Still, consumption continued, and rum even became a medium of exchange in early America. Water, by sharp contrast, was not drunk by most Americans because it was seen as unhealthy (except for rain water, which didn't contain thick sediments). Copious alcohol stood as the most palatable option for drinks. And everyone drank, including women, children, politicians, clergy, slaves, judges, juries, etc.
   
   But, as the author explains, just because alcohol remained cheap doesn't mean that people had to drink it. What accounted for the 5 gallon consumption rate per capita? Here the discussion becomes more speculative but nonetheless remains fascinating. The author reflects on the upheavals caused by America's transition from an agrarian to an industrial society. Many people undoubtedly became displaced and confused as tradition gave way to commerce. Such travails led to anxiety, and these anxieties thus led people to drink in mass quantities (Appendix four provides more detailed support for this theory). In effect, early nineteenth century Americans were driven to drink by the astonishing changes of their time. Intuitively this sounds like a tenable theory, but finding conclusive evidence for it obviously remains difficult.
   
   As the book progresses, it slowly expands beyond the subject of drinking and onto American society itself. Elements such as the conflict between egalitarian ideals and the reality of inequality get discussed, as well as the pressures to succeed in early industrial America. By the final chapter, the author expostulates on the balancing influences of American life and society, or the material versus the religious elements, and how we're currently out of balance. These subjects grow out of material related to the temperance movement, which gets credited, at least partially, for the drastic reduction of alcohol consumption between 1820 - 1840. The author dismisses various theories for the origins of the movement, and claims that people just needed an alternative to drinking, and abstinence fed their religious and moral sides (the "Second Great Awakening" had emerged in the early 1800s).
   
   Regardless of its highly speculative nature, the book manages to provide loads of fuel for thought. Also, the author clearly states in the preface that he's not out to "prove" anything: "It matters less that my speculations are correct, although I hope that some of them will be proved in time, than that I have provoked the reader to think and explore for himself. That is why I wrote the book." In this the author definitely succeeds. The book will likely leave curious readers loaded with questions and attempting to test some of the theories the author evokes. And some of the sections dealing with disappointment and inflated expectations may even allow some to reflect on their own place in society. Also, a tenable picture of early American life emerges from the text along with glimpses of the evolution of America and its attitudes towards drinking (the section on elections will elicit gasps or bitter laughter). Lastly, perhaps the theories in this book, if solidified, could potentially point to societal warning signs by examining the the levels of alcohol consumption (along with other chemicals). In the end, the book will leave readers hoping that America will never see such heights of intoxication as it did in its early stages.



4. Given the drinking habits of Americans of all social classes in the 18th Century, as described by Prof. Rorabaugh, there's a good chance that some or many of the leaders who gathered in Philadelphia for various momentous decisions were "under the influence" a good part of every day. But then, so was everyone, man, woman, and child, with the probable exception of slaves. No stigma attached to the drinking of mild alcoholic beverages, such as the universal hard cider, although a few smart fellows - Ben Franklin and Ben Rush inter alia - had come to recognize some of the health issues of drinking hard liquors. There are amusing tales about the drinking habits of Chief Justice John Marshall. Before he took his seat on the Court, a tradition had been established of allowing an open bottle of fortified wine on each justice's desk on cold and rainy days. Supposedly Marshall, a life long heavy drinker, declared 'the USA is a large enough country that it must be raining somewhere every day' and thereafter allowed the bottles at all times.
   
   Rorabaugh's writing style is a blend of down-home aw-shucks anecdote and solid scholarship, a combination that makes his book highly enjoyable but that somewhat distracts attention from the serious social history he is delivering. Changes in drinking habits, and in attitudes toward drinking, had a lot more to do with increasing hostility to certain immigrant populations - German and Irish - and with rapidly increasing class consciousness and economic inequality. Those are very significant threads in the social history of ante-bellum America, and Prof. Rorabaugh's account of the temperance movement can be seen as a synechdoche for the polarization of all American public lief and politics. In the long run, the same impulses that led earnest citizens to campaign for temperance were also the impulses that led to abolition, women's suffrage, civil service reforms, sanitation committees, and the "Social Gospel" movement - every progressive reform, in short, in American history before the repeal of Prohibition.
   
   Don't let the cover of this book deceive you! This is substantial historiography, well researched and more insightful than inebriating.



5. What I liked:
   The author used many humorous stories to make his point, keeping the book both entertaining and instructive. He also used primary sources, which upped his credibility. The book was easy to read and took the time to explain processes such as distilling. It gave a variety of arguments that one could easily understand and used logic and psychology. I particularly liked the use of psychology, and it was something one doesn't usually encounter in a history book. The Appendix also contained information, and my favorite was a recipe that used several different kinds of alcohol to make a "punch."
   The author also gave background information on many things that were indirectly related to the drinking - things such as eating, jobs, urban sprawl, etc. It was very fascinating the way he tied everything together.
   He gave a pretty objective view. He wasn't really making an argument, more like informing readers on what was going and why. He seemed to be unbiased and, in some ways, detached (but never bored with his subject).
   
   What I didn't like:
   The sources were not posted at the end of the page or chapter, but at the end of the book. This was slightly frustrating, as there were several times I wanted to check the author's source but it was a hassle to have to find it each time. Also, when several sources were used in one paragraph, he didn't "cite" anything until the end of the paragraph. This made it look like he wasn't citing some of his sources - if I hadn't read his notes on the bibliography I probably wouldn't have figured it out.
   It was also slightly confusing to tell what time the author was talking about. He seemed to jump around from time period to time period, and it would've been nicer to have the focus on, say, the 1820s, when alcoholic beverage drinking was at an all-time high.
   
   
   Overall, it was an excellent read, and I recommend it to all history buffs (or alcohol buffs).

5 comments about Prozac Diary.

1. well written. scary details about mental illness. both scary w/ respect to what i might see in myself and what exceeds greatly in a dystopic fashion what i see in myself. is a testament to how well prozac can work, and in that fashion, this memoir is quite effective and honest, although some may call it "over salted" (as Hamlet didn't want his plays to be like over salted dishes.)



2. This book follows the story of learning, recovering, and adjusting of a woman, confused
   and feeling alone. Chronicling a young woman's experiences of the late 80's, being one
   of the first to take Prozac, it focuses on the changes and mixed emotions associated with
   taking the new drug. Reality and psychology blend together to form an inspirational story
   for those that can relate. Recommended age 16 and up due to sexual content, adult
   themes, and language.
   
   Based on a true, biographical story, the story behind the author (Slater) is very intriguing.
   Being a somewhat difficult read, following the ups and downs, the story details the life of
   a depressed, suicidal-prone young woman trying to survive in society. Setting up the
   story, it details doctor's visits, past attempts to regain a grasp on her life, and her
   prescribing doctor. Upon actually being prescribed Prozac, the story details the tough
   decision and thought process about being one of the first to take the new psychotropic
   drug. Once making a decision to proceed with the medical treatment, a focus is paid to
   the effects and results. Although changes are felt within the author's attitude and outlook
   on life within very few days, questions are provoked about whether these changes can
   appear in such a short amount of time. A diary-like feel is given to the story when the
   author accounts her days on the drug. In going from depressed to a never before
   experienced happiness, the question of truth behind these feelings is proposed. 888 Over
   the course of her first few weeks on Prozac, Slater personally tests her true happiness and
   ultimate truth behind this happiness. Throughout her treatment period, the author makes
   large progression toward her final goal of happiness, seeking help along the way and
   receiving it where hands extend. Struggle and strength are themes throughout the
   chronicle, displaying conflicts associated with taking a somewhat controversial and
   amateur market drug of the time. Now a large name drug, the unknowns behind it in it's
   early stages are marked within this diary of a young woman pleading for her happiness-
   something she has never truly known.



3. Lauren Slater was prescribed Prozac in 1988 when the pharmaceutical first came out. She recalls having an almost immediate and "blissed out" feeling. Slater says that Prozac made her "high" and goes on and on about it obsessively as she describes her reaction to Prozac as, "the single most stunning experience of my life." This is rather melodramatic. I have tried Prozac and I have been depressed throughout my life. Taking a pharmacetical like Prozac does not make a person "high."
   
   I have a real problem with the way Slater portrays Prozac as her "drug." She pontificates as if taking an anti-deppressant for DEPPRESSION is shameful, secretive. Slater becomes an intern at a half-way house for "boozers" and is informed that staff member's sign waivers allowing the administration to do random urine screens. Athough Slater does not use any illegal drugs, she panics at the thought of "being revealed." Slater compares herself to the addicts who live at the half-way house. Describing a client, she says "he stared straight at me, one junkie to another..."
   
   It insulting to those of us who have struggled with addiction to have Slater describe herself as a "junkie" because she is over dramatizing her experience with Prozac. It was persribed to her for the treatment of a disease and she was NOT abusing the medication.
   (I am in recovery and have been clean for 3 years). Slater later also considers herself "drug-dependent" and tries to convince the reader of her claim with her interpretation of what The DSM IV calls addiction. I don't buy it, and I don't think anyone who has struggled with drug or alcohol addiction will either. Maybe a reader without a history of addiction and/or depression won't notice that Slater is a phoney and an alarmist. Nobody is buying the "addicted to Prozac" crap.



4. Dr. Lauren Slater woke up one day to discover that Prozac had eliminated one of her most closely held realities - Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This book is a journal of her experiences for the ten years that would follow.
   
   Slater documents her fear of losing that comfortable reality, her ability to write creatively, her disciplined reading and eating habits, her inhibitions and her familiar internal voices. Having survived multiple hospitalizations for anorexia and other medical interpretations of her behavior, Slater agrees to begin therapy with Prozac during the drug's infancy. Her physician, overtly wooed by the pharmaceutical's manufacturer, supplies an ever-increasing dose of the wonder drug without mentioning its side effects and its temporary efficacy. While the author refuses to become the Prozac poster-child, she does experience a significant amount of success with the drug and is forthright about her satisfaction as well as her fears.
   
   Lauren Slater is inspirational on many levels. Not only does she treat the status of her psycho-emotional health as something to be embraced as worthy, she regards this unique piece of her identity as something normal for her in this place and time. Slater acknowledges the need for caution when it comes to safety and well-being without negating the value that an alternate psychological reality can present. In addition to her open-minded views on psychic illness, Slater channeled her experiences into motivation and earned her PhD in psychology. She now sees patients of her own and writes professionally regarding subjects in her field.



5. This book was just okay. It was somewhat interesting to read about her experiences with Prozac, but she did a lot of whining about the things that it took away from her, rather than focusing on the fact that it gave her her life back. Her writing is also tangential when she tries to become poetic. Something seemed to be missing. The book felt incomplete or rushed. It is a quick, easy read, but I can't say that I would recommend it.

5 comments about Prohibition: Thirteen Years That Changed America.

1. Once one takes a look at the context of the information it becomes somewhat disheartening to read. People were knowingly hurting others for the sake of greed and image.

   What disgusted me the most was not necissarily the gangsters or crime that this era created, but more to think of the stark injustices which parallel this world to that, every waking morning.

   A powerful book that will make you ask just a few more questions and become just a little more informed.




2. PROHIBITION is a great book to read if you want to know how Prohibition came about. The first half of the book does an excellent job describing how the 18th Amendment came about and the context in which Prohibition rose. There's a lot of key historical details there. Unfortunately, placing the event in context is not something that the author does for the remainder of the work. The last half of the book describes just a few major players during the Prohibition years and the downfall of Prohibition is written more as a brief epilogue than anything else.
   
   I found PROHIBITION to be a very interesting book. I enjoyed reading it and learned a few things. However, the subtitle of the book is "Thirteen Years That Changed America" and though he does extrapolate how those thirteen years changed America, there really isn't a whole lot in the book that really describes what went on during those thirteen years. Still it is an intersting read, especially since there are so few books out about this era of America history.



3. Edward Behr is a journalist and war correspondent who wrote this very readable book. Was Prohibition an attempt by the Anglo-Saxon Protestant establishment to keep a cultural standard (p.3)? America had traditionally been "wet", and Prohibition did not come from the Bible. Was alcohol the cause of working class poverty and crime (p.4)? Poverty was created by being a wage-earner who earned less and didn't work full time. Legalization of alcohol resulted in public health problems, prohibition lead to increased crime plus public health problems. The XVIII Amendment gave the Federal government the power to control alcohol. The Volstead Act created Prohibition, a trick denounced by those who only wanted to ban liquor. The lobbyists for Prohibition set an example in passing laws that is used by Gun Prohibitionists today.
   
   Chapter 1 tells of traditional consumption of hard liquor in America (p.9). Behr suggests Prohibition became an important question because there were few other major issues (p.10). Taverns had a long history of political involvement since Colonial times. [Would banning taverns prohibit political organizing by working men?] The church and the taverns were social centers (p.11). Prohibition was tried and failed in 1735 Georgia (p.13). The famous Dr. Benjamin Rush first questioned the traditional value of alcohol (p.15). Liquor may have killed more native Americans than White Man's diseases and firearms (p.18). Temperance societies began advocating Prohibition by the 1830s (p.19). Once drinking became a sin myths were created to justify this belief. Drinking caused spontaneous combustion of the drinker (p.22)! In 1851 Maine became the first state to prohibit the sale of liquor (p.29). This was copied in other states (p.30), then quickly repealed (p.31). Prohibition was wrong to deny all rights just because a few abuse their rights. Lincoln said that Prohibition was un-American (p.33). While the war against liquor was the first women's mass movement, their leaders were mostly men (Chapter 3). [Was that like adopting a new style that was in vogue?]
   
   Famous women Prohibitionists were Frances Elizabeth Willard (p.38) and Carry Nation (p.40). Both had personal quirks. The WCTU was followed by the US Brewers Association (p.47). Women's suffrage became a political football. Prohibitionists were a mixed bag of liberals and conservatives (p.48). The Anti-Saloon League (ASL), controlled by Big Corporations, became one of the strongest lobbies in the country (p.49). The new urban changes brought increases in poverty and crime. Prohibition claimed to be the "silver bullet" that would end poverty and crime. [How can anyone be against that?] The tactics of the ASL are described (p.55). They used volunteers to support a rich businessman who supported "dry" politics to defeat a "wet", even if their candidate drank (p.56). They were able to defeat a Republican governor in the staunchly Republican state of Ohio (p.57). Scientists had evidence of the evils of alcohol (p.59). In 1917 the ASL had a new argument: Prohibition was Patriotic (Chapter 5). President William H. Taft warned against it (p.80). Washington state had showed what would happen (p.84). One reason the Big Corporations turned against Prohibition was higher income taxes (Chapter 16). The wealthy did not suffer from Prohibition (Chapter 17).
   
   Behr is wrong in some of his details: pages 143, 83 "barely enough". Chapter 8 tells about Warren Harding, who was sterile, and could not have fathered Nan Britton's child (p.109). Was Harding's sexual activities any different from most 20th century Presidents? That TV series came out in 1958 (Chapter 13). Lima is in Ohio not "Kentucky" (p.237).



4. Edward Behr's book provides an adequate, if somewhat unexceptional, survey of the Prohibition Era, but the author relies too often on other secondary sources. As such, the book never rises above the routine. Behr takes a breezy approach to the material, so this particular book cannot be considered serious scholarship.
   
   There are some instances of sloppiness and a lack of attention to detail. "Dan O'Banion" was not the name of a prominent Chicago bootlegger (Dean O'Banion was the actual person). The chapter on Chicago during Prohibition is riddled with similar errors and mistakes. Morris Eller and Emanuel Eller were not prominent Chicago Democrats. Mayor William Dever was not a committed "Dry." Although Clarence Darrow was often identified with the Democratic Party, he served in the Illinois General Assembly as a Prohibition Party representative, but Behr identifies him as a lifelong "Wet." The notorious criminal gang from St. Louis was known as "Egan's Rats," not "Regan's Rats."
   
   Behr devotes considerable time to the lobbyists from the Anti-Saloon League, but minimizes the roles played by feminists and progressives in promoting prohibition. Frances Willard, a leader at Northwestern University and an advocate of women's suffrage, was also the leader of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. After the repeal of prohibition, it became fashionable to blame the passage of the amendment solely on the evangelicals and religious fanatics, but the feminists and progressives must also be held accountable and share in the overall blame.
   
   There are some interesting and entertaining anecdotes conveyed in the book, but the treatment of the topic is definitely lightweight and stereotypical. Behr manages to recycle some old canards about William Hale Thompson and Warren Harding, but still manages to outline some of the essentials.



5. Overall, the book is a good source on Prohibition, but far from comprehensive. Contrary to the title, Behr spends a third of the book talking about the years leading up to Prohibition. The rest of the book goes into hair splitting detail on the career and trial of George Remus, known as the King of Bootleggers. I personally used the book as a source in writing my own book on Prohibition, but I only really used a couple of tidbits from it. If the Prohibition era were a song, Behr's book would be the countermelody, missing the general theme of the era. The book is good, but the title should be changed to "George Remus and the History of the Prohibition Movement." If you are interested in Prohibition check out:
   Alcohol, Boat Chases, and Shootouts! How the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs Fought Rum Smugglers and Pirates (Part I: 1919-1924)

5 comments about Aging and Addiction: Helping Older Adults Overcome Alcohol or Medication Dependence (Hazelden Guidebooks).

1. I thought this book showed the seriousness of the disease of food addiction. I appreciate Debbie's honesty and willingness to share with us all just how cunning, baffling and powerful food addiction is. Food addiction is real! I appreciate those who are willing to share the pain and misery and most important the recovery aspect of food addiction.

   A very unique book!




2. I purchased this book because this is a subject that is very close to me. The premise of the book (a food addict attends a clinic to help her understand her food addiction) was of great interest to me.

   The use of food addict was also something that drew me to this book, as I have believed for a long time that there is such a thing.

   This book does not disappoint. The author is very honest in her detailing of her experiences. From the beginning when she felt that this clinic stay was of no use to her, we can feel the pain she was in. The story simply gets more fascinating (and candid) as the author reveals herself more and more. In the end, you are cheering her on.

   I have found this book to be extremely helpful in looking at the whole body image, wellness issue in a totally different view. If you are hoping for a quick fix, this would not be the book for you.

   But if you believe that you can achieve wellness by better understanding your body and mind, this is the book for you.
   Excellent purchase!




3. This book gave me what I'd been searching for -- a guide to help my 67 year old mother who has a serious alcohol problem. She didn't remember conversations, slurred her words, had falls during the night, had bruises on her face and arms, ate poorly, isolated from us and her friends, and refused to see a doctor. I slowly watched my wonderful mother change before my eyes. I couldn't even trust her to babysit her grandchildren. This book not only gave me the information I needed, but helped get my reluctant brother and sister to finally agree to get our mother help. I give this book my wholehearted endorsement and recommend it to anyone worried about an older parent who has an alcohol problem. I haven't found any other book like it.



4. I have suffered from food addiction for many years. This book has helped me dig deep into myself to find out when my eating disorder began. If you suffer from an eating disorder or would like to better understand how an eating disorder affects the life of someone you care about, this book is definately worth purchasing.



5. This book is written for anyone concerned about an older parent, grandparent or other older adult who has a problem with alcohol or mood-altering medications. It is the only book I've found that covers this topic so completely and, not only does it explain the problem clearly, it offers practical steps to help the older person get the right kind of help and live out the rest of their golden years sober -- able to, once again, enjoy family, grandchildren and friends. Best insight: many of the things attributed to aging can be a result of addiction. With sobriety, many or all of the problems go away.