Book Description

3 cassettes / 4 hours
Read by the Author

"Eloquent, detailed, emotionally honest . . . Lamott deserves a prize for telling it like it is." - People

From the bestselling author of Operating Instructions and Bird by Bird comes a chronicle of faith and spirituality that is at once tough, personal, affectionate, wise, and very funny.

With an exuberant mix of passion, insight, and humor, Anne Lamott takes us on a journey through her often troubled past to illuminate her devout but quirky walk of faith.In a narrative spiced with stories and scripture, with diatribes, laughter, and tears, Lamott tells how, against all odds, she came to believe in God and them, even more miraculously, in herself.She shows us the myriad ways n which this sustains and guides her, shining the light of faith on the darkest part of ordinary life an exposing surprising pockets of meaning and hope

Whether talking about her family or her dreadlocks, sick children or old friends, the most religious women of her church of the men she's dated, Lamott reveals the hard-won wisdom gathered along her path to connectedness and liberation.

"Anne Lamott is a cause for celebration.[Her] real genius lies in capturing the ineffable, describing not perfect moments, but imperfect ones . . .perfectly. She is nothing short of miraculous." - The New Yorker
... Read more

Reviews (240)

Only for those with a wry sense of humor
I can't fault this book, only praise it. For who else has written in such a unique way about a faith journey? Lamott makes it real (for someone of her age [middle-aged] and from a definitely Californian point of view.) But, her observations and the way she writes about them are universal. And funny.

If you can't laugh at yourself, your foibles, and even at God, don't read this--you'll start feeling self-righteous and will be quickly entering a "how dare she?" review. You will, of course, have totally missed the point.

Everyone can learn something about the way LIFE has a sneaky way of surfacing painful and joyous memories and feelings. These emotions are triggered by life's details, which Lamott expertly captures. She finds the most unassuming triggers to release a flood of feelings about various topics. The stories she tells are God-given, precious moments. Perhaps we don't "see" these moments and reflect on them enough in our lives. Is that why Lamott touches us? Thankfully, she remind us that they are there.

Read and savor this book, if you are open to what makes someone an imperfect person--and a Christian.

Never written a review or letter to author before....
Have been an avid reader for 30 years, but never before felt compelled to write a review or letter to an author before...This book, perhaps more than any of the thousands of others I have read, struck a chord in my soul. On the recommendation of a friend I had read "Operating Instructions" about three years ago. While thumbing through a Book of the Month Club type catalog I ran across the photo of a white woman in dreadlocks and was struck with admiration for the woman who would present such a public image. I was pleasantly surprised to read that her name was Anne LaMott. I ordered the book "Traveling Mercies" and was delighted and completely engrossed by it. Ms. LaMott puts words to emotion I cannot personally express when she speaks of her "Christian-ish" life-orientation, her likening of her personal experience of coming to the Lord as to that of a stray cat trying to enter her life, and the pain and sublime joy of rearing her Sam. Like Annie,(oddly enough the name my own mother, a story in and of itself, was called as a girl) I came to a personal relationship with God through voyeurism into a congregation of Black believers, and like her, was taught life lessons I didn't know I needed through my interaction in fellowship with them. I thank God for the talent with words he has bestowed upon Anne, ask his blessings upon her and her loved ones, and recommend this book to anyone who finds him/herself surprised at the move of the Holy Spirit in his/her life.

Hooked
This is the book that got me hooked on Anne Lamott. Most poignant and precious are the insights about life as a recovering alcoholic. Raw facts about motherhood were astounding, too. Her word choice at times caused my gut to spasm, but I survived and went on to read all of the book she had previously written. To my delight and the benefit of mankind, Lamott's newest book, Blue Shoe, avoids profanity.

my kind of christian
Until I read Anne Lamott I associated the word "Christian" with holier-than-thou, priggish, etc. Now I see clearly that that's just a stereotype. It IS possible for a Christian to be a liberal with a wicked sense of humor.

Lamott isn't afraid to present herself in a less than flattering light whether it's secretly hating her mom or yelling out of frustration at her young son. We all do these things, but most of us prefer to show the world the "good" side of ourselves. Lamott is wonderful when it comes to making the everyday petty irritations of life funny, so that you empathize with her rather than judging.

Lamott writes about children, her friends, relatives and church. She writes about the competitiveness that can develop among parents of young children, and she writes about the path she took to becoming sober. Unlike some reviewers, I don't think it's going to be detrimental to her later relationship with her son when she makes him go to church. There could be a lot worse things she could force him to do.

In one essay, she writes about feeling unattractive after standing with a group of teenage girls waiting for a bus back to her hotel. Then she realizes that no one in the group is probably satisfied with her body, and this is something I've started to tell myself when I find myself in that kind of situation, too.

This atheist gives this book two thumbs up.

Outside my experience
This book should be an eye-opener for anyone who is prone to believing in "cookie cutter christians"...

Read with an open heart. God will bless... ... Read more

Book Description

My Utmost has sold 5 million copies in the last two decades

alone, but remarkably few people know its fascinating story.

Learn of Oswald Chambers’ life, his sense of humor and his

love for children. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Man Behind The Mission : Trust God In Everything
I've been reading my utmost for his highest since 1986(14 Years).Eachtime I read it I draw closer to our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. AsI read his biography, I again was drawn closer to God.His life is areflection of Jesus Christ in our modern day. While we live in a day ofpleading and begging for funds and help, Chambers has again brought us backto the reality of trusting the Father and Jesus Christ, for our most basicneeds.When we trust and obey, Jesus can move mountains.Jesus neverwhined, nor begged, nor worried; neither did He ever seek for Himself.Itwas always for the Father.Oswald's life always pointed to Christ, neverhimself!His eyes were always focused on our Lord, and material possesionsnever obstructed his view (That's because he continually gave awayeverything he ever had).David McCasland has done a tremendous job ofresearching, compiling, and blending: the life, writings, and the humanessof Oswald Chambers.Seeing his life has really helped me to understandhis radical devotion to Christ, and how I can practically give my utmostfor His highest.If you desire to be a disciple of Christ, this is amust read for you.No other man has brought me to the feet of Jesus, likeOswald Chambers.

Bob Moorer A man who loves Jesus ... Read more

Book Description

Nearly 20 years ago, former General Electric CEO Reg Jones walked into Jack Welch's office and wrapped him in a bear hug. "Congratulations, Mr. Chairman," said Reg. It was a defining moment for American business. So begins the story of a self-made man and a self-described rebel who thrived in one of the most volatile and economically robust eras in U.S. history, while managing to maintain a unique leadership style. In what is the most anticipated book on business management for our time, Jack Welch surveys the landscape of his career running one of the world's largest and most successful corporations. ... Read more

Reviews (226)

Jack, Over the Top Results
REVIEW: If one word could sum up Jack Welch's career at GE it might be "results". And this is why many people will want to read this book. It is basically an autobiography of Jack Welch's GE years and does not dwell on deap management theory. Those readers expecting a lot of new business theory or to learn how to repeat Jack's performance by reading about his secret methodology may be disappointed.

The management insights that Jack does reveal seem to me to be generally built on fairly well established (but poorly executed) management practices. Jack has just embraced them and used focussed passion coupled with an obsession on people to execute superbly and produce great results. For example, some of his major initiatives could be said to have been derived from existing management principles: 1) "No. 1 or 2" Jack admits is derived from Peter Drucker, 2)I believe six sigma is derived in part from Motorola, 3) "Boundaryless behaviour" can said to be based on Peter Drucker's observation that there are no profit centers inside an organization, and 4) Jack was clearly not an early pioneer on "E-business". Yet he recognized the opportunities and produced results from them. The book probably won't become a classic, but it is still recommended reading for today's and tomorrow's managers and especially those interest in the man himself.

STRENGTHS: The book is a fairly easy and interesting read full of anecdotes and insites. It does a great job of showing the management task as art and discipline that can be learned, improved, and mastered rather than as personal charisma or other common stereotypes of leadership.

WEAKNESSES: The minor weaknesses of the book relate to Jack's strong, competitive personality (and maybe ego) that show through in his writing. Despite that author's initial disclaimer to read "I" as meaning "we" I found Jack's lack of distinction between himself and GE to be minorly annoying. Parts of the book are filled with phrases like "I bought this $$$$$ company" when clearly "We" is appropriate [I know, I'm nit-picking]. Second (and this is almost excusable in an autobiography) Jack rarely gave the "other side" of the story when discussing major GE crises. For example, he never explains the EU's reasons for blocking the Honeywell merger, assuming that it is so obviously wrong it's not worthy of explaination.

His advice may seem obvious to some, but...
His advice may seem obvious to some, but how often is it actually practiced? I shouted "yeah!" to myself over and over as I read a couple chapters of this book.

For example: the chapter about rating and rewarding his employees was excellent. For example, giving Class A employees 3x the salary increases over Class B employees-- Great!! Giving NO increases to Class C employees, and getting rid of them sooner rather than later...what can I say, I LOVE IT!!

He's so right about the fact that it's more cruel to let Class C workers attain and maintain an certain income level (that they are not really worthy of), and waiting til they're older, with a large mortgage and kids in college before finallly telling them that they're not making the grade.

I've worked with some people in the high-paying tech arena that, because of either blatant incompetence, bad attitude, and/or pure laziness, never should have gotten to where they are today. As far as I'm concerned, some never should have gotten past working in the food service industry.

Eventually those people *do* get weeded out (I'm seeing it happen right now in this economy). Sooner is better than later, both for the employer and the employee. I also enjoy not having to work with those types.

I am almost ashamed to keep this book on our shelves
I must say I am disappointed in this book. Mr W. clearly takes much credit for the success of GE. Although a strong leader in any organization can make a big difference, it looks disgustingly fake when he tries to take all credit for success. If you are a critical reader you will most likely see through the tireless self promotion that went on with W.

I cannot waste any more time on this book, so I must end this review here, but there are good parts of this book. To find out about those, read someone else's reviews.

Inside scoop on GE
A good book to get the inside "going ons" from a CEO's perspective. If you have interest in GE and the happenings through Mr. Welch's eyes this is a good read.

I was hoping to get a little more insight and direction regarding the key elements of running an extremely successful business. Outside of the "people are everything" and weed out the bottom feeders, there was little practical knowledge to be taken from the book and used by manager "want-to-be" types.

Buy the book used
I guess it's not bragging if you can do it - and he did. It is difficult to argue GE's success over the past 20 years. Mr. Welch took a 12 billion company and made it into a 500 billion dollar business. Without even using a computer!! Regarding the portion of the book were he talks about assigning E-trainers for all the top executives in the company, all I have to say is rank does have its privileged, It must be nice to have a techie hold your hand if you are an executive and computer illiterate.
It is hard to believe that it wasn't until 1999 that Jack Welch sent his first email. A multimillionaire who isn't connected....
I am not sure if it is ignorance or apathy?

In Mr Welch's defense, I am not sure how the author could have gotten around referencing everybody he worked with or for.
If you can get through that part of the book, there are some things in the rest of the book that are of value. I listened to the book on tape so it wasn't so bad.
He does talk about real people and real problems that he encountered throughout his career and what it took to get the job done working within the environment HE created.
If you are not a business person or just wondered what it is like at the top, here are a dozen of the key ideas Mr Welch talks about in his book.

Stretch jobs
The runway of a person,
The vitality curve of a career
Differentiation being a key value to getting ahead
"boundaryless" operations
Blackbelt employees
Plane crash scenario: Who will run the company
Having a deep bench: When a replacement was needed
Fix, Close or Sell areas of business that are not performing well
Being #1 or #2 in your field
The 6 sigma quality movement
Finance: People and dollars are the movable parts, while the people hold the depth of knowledge
Not to mention a smattering of, golf, tennis and ping pong stories.

Overall I would say buy the book used or borrow it from a friend - 4 stars ... Read more

Book Description

"This is the story of an extraordinary boy with a brilliant mind, a heart of gold, and a tortured soul. It is the story of an illness, a fight to live, and a race against death."

From the day he was born, Nick Traina was his mother's joy. By nineteen, he was dead. This is Danielle Steel's powerful personal story of the son she lost and the lessons she learned during his courageous battle against darkness. Sharing tender, painful memories and Nick's remarkable journals, Steel brings us a haunting duet between a singular young man and the mother who loved him--and a harrowing portrait of a masked killer called manic depression, which afflicts between two and three million Americans.

Nick rocketed through life like a shooting star. Signs of his illness were subtle, often paradoxical. He spoke in full sentences at age one. He was a brilliant, charming child who never slept. And at first, even his mother explained away his quicksilver moods. Nick always marched to a different drummer. His gift for writing was extraordinary, his musical talent promised a golden future. But by the time he entered junior high, Danielle Steel saw her beloved son hurtling toward disaster and tried desperately to get Nick the help he needed--the opening salvos of what would become a ferocious pitched battle for his life.

Even as he struggled, Nick's charisma and accomplishments remained undimmed. He bared his soul in his journal with uncanny insight, in searing prose, poetry, and song. When he was finally diagnosed and treated, it bought time, but too little. In the end, perhaps nothing could have saved him from the insidious disease that had shadowed him from his earliest years.

At once a loving legacy and an unsparing depiction of a devastating illness, Danielle Steel's tribute to her lost son is a gift of life, hope, healing, and understanding to us all. ... Read more

Reviews (165)

Heartbreaking ... Felt like I knew Nick ...
I am 27 years old, have bipolar, and often cried during my reading of
this book. I read most of it. At times, I felt I couldnt finish
reading it, because the pain described by Danielle Steel is so real.
God Bless her for writing it.

I felt more heartbroken about Nick
than any woman who broke my heart in the past. I think the phrase
"brilliant mind, heart of gold, and tortured soul" sums up a
lot of it. It's amazing to describe so much in those few words.

I've research bipolar very extensively since accepting it almost
two years ago. I felt this book hit me hardest in terms of emotional
response.

Danielle Steele's phrases, "Fly well my darling
boy, till we meet again" and one about this not being the book I
planned to write and dedicate for you brought tears to my eyes.

This Bright Light In A Dark World
After reading Danielle Steel's book and during the time that I was reading it I found it very haunting in the sense that living with bi-polar disorder myself how unfortunate and sad it really to suffer with this. I know that as a teenage I had put my peers and family thru a great deal of heartache and stress. I found it difficult to read in some areas because it reminded me of myself and how others viewed me. It is all the more tragic that Nick could not be alive today to write a personal perspective of his life and living with this disorder. It sometimes is very difficult to try to make others understand when you explain the disorder yourself and what you feel and all of the emotions you go thru. I found the book very insightful on Danielle Steel's perspective of living with a child who had this problem. I very much recommend this book to any parent or close friend who lives with a loved one who is bi-polar.

My 1st Danielle Steel Book...Ever.
I admit it. I've never read a Danielle Steel book. I've never been interested enough, although I know many people who rave about her. Her stories just aren't necessarily my "cup of tea." However, I was highly recommended this true-story book about her son's life by a friend of mine, so I decided to give it a try.

I got to experience DS's flair for writing and its conversational style. It was very easy to read and held my interest. Pages flowed into the next. I can see her widespread appeal.

Not only was the story sad yet uplifting, but "His Bright Light" helped me to understand manic depressive behavior intimately as DS learned it herself over the years. It was quite the lesson in psychology for those who don't want to get bogged down with or can't quite grasp the technical or scientific aspects of it.

I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to know more about the disease, her son's life, as well as DS's life. She provides some great autobiographical material for those interested. It's a quick read, and it'll be worth the effort, especially if you know someone with similar challenges in their own life...

His Bright Light
This book is a true story written by Danielle Steel portraying the life of her son Nick Traina who was diagnosed with manic depression and committed suicide at the age of 19 yrs. Danielle Steel, a picture of beauty and strength, writes very candidly about the struggles she endured in raising him amidst a large family and a busy schedule. The book tends to be somewhat graphic, a little morbid, but might be very helpful for parents who struggle with difficult children or those suffering from mental illness in their lives. I appreciate Danielle Steel as an author even more after reading this book because of her willingness to share her true feelings and pain.

Very stimulating
I read this book about five years ago and I still think about it and some of the things that happened in it. I am bipolar and do not have people that I can talk about it with and sometimes I think I am totally crazy for some of the feelings and thoughts I have. Reading this book helped me to see that I am not alone, that others with the illness have the same actions. I also feel for his entire family because I know what I have put mine through. I was around 30 when I started having bipolar episodes and I have lived with it for 10 years. I hope they find a cure some day so we can all be free. ... Read more

Book Description

In this landmark work of history, the National Book Award—winning author of American Sphinx explores how a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed individuals–Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison–confronted the overwhelming challenges before them to set the course for our nation.

The United States was more a fragile hope than a reality in 1790. During the decade that followed, the Founding Fathers–re-examined here as Founding Brothers–combined the ideals of the Declaration of Independence with the content of the Constitution to create the practical workings of our government. Through an analysis of six fascinating episodes–Hamilton and Burr’s deadly duel, Washington’s precedent-setting Farewell Address, Adams’ administration and political partnership with his wife, the debate about where to place the capital, Franklin’s attempt to force Congress to confront the issue of slavery and Madison’s attempts to block him, and Jefferson and Adams’ famous correspondence–Founding Brothers brings to life the vital issues and personalities from the most important decade in our nation’s history.



From the Trade Paperback edition. ... Read more

Reviews (281)

A Look at the One of the Most Important Decades - 1790's
Joseph J. Ellis' richly (and deservedly) rewarded book, Founding Brothers (The Revolutionary Generation), looks at six important events that helped form the stable government of the United States after the war for independence and the intellectual wars over the creation of the constitution had ended and before a new generation took up the mantle of state. The period was primarily the 1790's, one of the richest decades in American history from which to mine and the author does a great job of finding and presenting some prime historical nuggets. It is fascinating to see this band of brothers who fought a war divide themselves slowly into ideological camps that then transformed over the decade into parties while still preserving the precarious union that they all created without the shedding of blood, the Burr-Hamilton duel notwithstanding. Adams comes out the best and Jefferson the worst in the narrative as many historians are swinging that direction lately but this will change again, showing that the debates raging in the 1790's are still raging in the history books today. The reconciliation of these two friends is the most touching and noble section of the the book. This is a lively and enlightening read.

Founding fathers & political rivals in newborn Republic
This book is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for good reason. Author Joseph J. Ellis offers intimate portraits of our nation's founding fathers and also a vivid view of the political rivals in our newborn Republic. Ellis is a terrific writer. History comes alive in this stirring narrative...the action starts in the opening pages with the most famous duel in American history and ends in the final chapter with a glowing review of the fued/friendship between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.

John Adams, Aaron Burr, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington are examined in great detail by Ellis. Adams "enlightened diplomacy" negotiated a critical peace treaty with France. Burr is an opportunist and manipulator who was never forgiven for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Franklin, (who is not given the same attention as others) is a scientific genius who uses the press to attack political enemies, particularly those who were advocates of slavery.

Hamilton restored public credit but also nurtured power for the commercial elite at the expense of the large landowners. Jefferson is the brilliant author of the Declaration of Independance. Madison's nickname in Congress is "Big Knive" for his ability to cut up opposition to legislation he sponsors. And Washington is the "American Untouchable," a great horseman and pragmatic military man who is clearly not as well read as other leaders of his generation but becomes by far the greatest legend among the people. The combined talents of the founding fathers provided the intellectual energy that allowed our nation to survive.

Ellis is a talented writer, impressive researcher and a towering patriot. Highly recommended.

Bert Ruiz

A hash job
Ellis makes it clear from the start where his sympathies lie with the Revolutionary generation and he ambushes us with Abigail Adams for good measure. Of the six stories, only The Silence is revealing for Ellis' feeble attempt to portray the slavery debate as a South-against-South issue. He lavishes attention on a hillbilly from Georgia simply to whitewash a Virginian like Jefferson, who in fact held the same, if not worse, attitudes about his slaves (all conveniently ignored by Ellis). Hamilton was the closest as any of these founding brothers came to believing that blacks and whites were equal and his financial system doomed slavery in a way Adams and his fine rhetoric could never hope to, but he barely rates a mention.

I just had to put this in.
I've been reading reviews for this book and I notice that they are all 5 stars. Fine. I like stars. But. No one has mentioned (at least no one that I can see) how totally and utterly boring this book is. Now, this might be because I have to read it for Honors English, but I don't think it is.

Unless you are a major history buff and can handle gems like this: It goes without saying that Alexander Hamilton's understanding of the issues raised by his fiscal program, and the Virginia-writ-large squadrons that were mobilizing south of the Potomac to oppose it, was blissfully free of all the Madisonian ambiguities." And that was the first sentence I opened to.

Just be warned, while this book might be good, it's boring.

Get inside the heads of the Founding Brothers
Joseph J. Ellis knew that he wanted to write a book that wouldn't crush you to death if you fell asleep under it. Library shelves are full of large ponderous historical volumes that, let's face it, hardly anyone reads. Ellis has turned his historical microscope on a handful of key individuals and moments and the result is a very satisfying read.

This book made me understand what was going on in the minds of the individuals involved better than any history I'd previous read.

The book begins with the fatal duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, often a simple paragraph in many history books. In Ellis' work we get a sense of not only actually being present during the duel itself, but also inside the minds of both men in the months leading up to the event. It seems incredible today to think that the Vice President of the United States killed the Secretary of the Treasury in a duel, but Ellis brings the event back to life in a way more vivid than any I'd previously experienced.

With a similarly knowing eye, the book looks at a landmark dinner held by Thomas Jefferson in which the decision to move the nation's capital to the Potomac was made in exchange for support for Alexander Hamilton's financial plan. A most enlightening chapter looks at the first significant debate after the Constitutional Convention on the subject of the future of Slavery, precipitated by the leader of the Pennsylvania Assembly - Benjamin Franklin. We get to see the context of George Washington's Farewell Address. John Adams is featured frequently in the book. There is a chapter detailing the long and mutually supportive relationship between John and Abigail Adams, then the final chapter describes the rekindling of the friendship between Adams and Jefferson four decades after the Revolution. This chapter contrasts essentially the two views that have existed ever since about the *meaning* of the Revolution and of the Founding of the United States.

Although they were miles apart, both geographically and idealogically, Adams and Jefferson kept alive a friendship and mutual respect that would serve as a wonderful model for politicians ever since. ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Dr. Remen is a Blessing
Several friends had told me about Kitchen Table Wisdom over the years, and I just put off purchasing it. Then while recovering in the hospital from surgery, the chaplin suggested I read it. I read it during my recovery and have not stopped reading it since. There are so many lessons in the book, and Dr. Remen's selection of stories and writing style present an education on how to be human and to develop a deeper understanding of the humanity each one of us posseses. I look at my life, and those around me in a different way since I read the book. Dr. Remen has taught me that we all have the capacity to make our life a blessing and she is truly a blessing to all that read her words.

Inspirational
I like to read mostly just before bed, so for this nightowl I am usually reading pretty late after midnight. Sometimes I find a book I just can't put down, I like those kind. Since it is the beginning of a new year according to western calendar anyway, I find the book by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. Kitchen Table Wisdom - Stories that Heal very appropriate for this time of year. I must say the title was the hooker but as I get more into the book, I see it is really much, much deeper than any talk that has ever gone on around my kitchen table. The chapters are rather short & sweet with stories of humanity & love, growing experiences, healing & yes even death experiences all of which end in a message for the reader to ponder on. I don't mind writing in books I buy, you know good spots where I want to come back to later or that I want to remember, & this book is turning out to be filled with those pencil marks! When the author herself makes a personal discovery regarding her life & her soulful purpose, she states "Although I could be analytical & pragmatic, by nature I was an intuitive, even a mystic. I was my grandfather's granddaughter, I had remembered & I was going home. .." It was at this point the author moved from her traditional medical career, into the mind/body health field & we are grateful for her inspiration.

Yes these stories can actually heal
When I'm feeling really bad about my chronic illness or other things in my life, the stories in this book help me keep going. Dr. Remen is a wonderful story teller and an amazingly creative healer. She uses guided imagery in skillful and loving ways to help clients and readers see the meaning and strengths in their lives.

I admit to bias. Rachel Remen wrote the blurb for the back of my book, The Art of Getting Well: Maximizing Health When You Have a Chronic Illness. But I was a fan of hers before and since, too. Her other books are also excellent.

David Spero RN www.davidsperoRN.com

Stories that Heal
This beautiful, touching and life- altering book is without doubt one of the best books I've read. Dr.Remen captured my mind, heart and soul from the very first page. The stories she tells about herself, her patients, her family and friends are told with amazing honesty, beauty and grace. This book is about Life with all its different facets, phases and seasons. As a physician, reading this book has made a lot of impact on how I view my role and how I communicate with my patients. I now think of myself not as a "doctor" but as a healer, and know that there is much more to my work than diagnosing diseases and prescribing medicines. I read this book many times, and every time I laugh and I cry and I am inspired and touched. This book is truly one of a kind; it is worth a million stars!!

Life affirming
I first read this book when it was given to me as a gift and again more recently as I went through a difficult time in my life. Both times I was struck by the true stories, beautifuly and simply related, that demonstrate over and over our own capacity to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. Dr. Remen's medical credentials combined with her own history as a patient give her a deep understanding of healing and disease from both sides. I would recommend this book especially to anyone who is suffering from a physical or emotional illness. But even more so, I recommend it to the doctors out there who realize that your patients are more than just a compilation of symptoms and who are looking for a better way to relate to them. ... Read more

Book Description

Mother Superior.Katherine Bedinger-Hoople tries to manage an Advertising Agency and an advancing pregnancy with some shred of dignity.

Ed's Orchard.A Fourth of July accident crushes more of Ed's reality than his truck.

Lloyd and the Cowboy.Lloyd and Evelyn, adrift in Montana, find direction from a whiskey soaked ranch hand.

Webster's Uncles.Webster heads cautiously to Alaska to meet the only people who even knew his father and mother.

Ladies in Waiting.Buddy Bedinger gets a glimpse into his future through the visitations of three guests at the luxurious Merrimont Hotel.

Norman's Big Day.Norman pursues his study of the real world at the School of Hard Knocks in Seattle.

Webster and Ed.Total strangers barely treading water in the same gene pool, Webster and Ed spend a night around the campfire.

Peach Picking.Deirdre Decker turns up the heat on Ed's peach harvest. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Six degrees of separation.
The characters that were introduced in the first volume and continued their journeys in the second volume begin to meet each other.Either knowingly or not, their destinies are all intertwined.As they say, you are only six degrees of separation from anyone in the world.The six degrees is the maximum, and our characters are all going to be much closer than the six by the time we are done.

Ed and Norman both learn hard, but valuable lessons.Tom has brought them so close to the listener that it actually hurts to hear them learning the hard lessons.The others are learning new things as well, but not in so tough a manner as Ed and Norman.We still have a ways to go, and need to learn more about the chracters and how they are all related. ... Read more

Book Description

I went to the University of Arizona and I majored in civil engineering because that's what my two brothers had done.

I thought it was the right thing to do.

When I got there, I found that I couldn't pass anything. I couldn't pass a damn thing. I was flunking out and that would be a big scandal in my family. I was getting desperate.

I didn't know what to do.

That December, the Japanese government saw fit to bomb Pearl harbor.

So, next month, January, two weeks before finals, I got very patriotic and I went down and enlisted in the Army Air Corps.

Old Man in a Baseball Cap is a wonderful, hilarious, and haunting memoir. Written when Rochlin was seventy, after he took a storytelling workshop with Spalding Gray, it was originally performed as a monologue and was described by the New York Times as being "about an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances, [it] has elements of an epic: love and death, honor and betrayal, vengefulness and martyrdom, and ultimately, the fortuitousness of survival."

Old Man in a Baseball Cap is an astonishingly fresh, candid look at "the last good war." At once naive and wise, Fred Rochlin's voice is unforgettable. ... Read more

Reviews (30)

A Gift For My Father
Author Fred Rochlin implores us in the beginning of his extraordinary memoir to tell our stories. Everyone, not just artists or great thinkers, not just adventurers or philosophers. Five billion people, five billion stories, is the way he sees it. "Tell your story. Tell your story."

And with this you begin to read his: poignant, self-deprecating snapshots of a guy beginning with a classic stumble into the war effort and then just trying to survive when everyone else around him is dying, physically and spiritually. There is a fatalistic bent to his humor, self-deprecating, dry, keenly observant but still achingly innocent. Life, as Fred remembers it seems to be a series of incidents, one inexorably leading to another, and another until you either survive, or you die.

Fred's mission to us in the forward of his book now makes sense: living with those memories and the loss of innocence that is never recoverable has left him with the belief that all human life is sacred and every life is a memory to be cherished. Perhaps if more stories are told, there will be less of a void left by those who did not survive the bombings, the shootings, the camps and the marches.

I know my father, who was given this book for his birthday, and who has never talked of the war, will see Fred as more than just an old guy, but a fellow traveller who blossomed out of the adversity of life and created a miracle out of memories. My father couldn't have a better gift to celebrate his seventy-fifth birthday than that.

Old Man in a Baseball Cap
It may be impossible for anyone who personally experienced World War II, or whose parents or grandparents lived through those dramatic and traumatic years, to remain unmoved when reading this profoundly insightful memoir of that time by artist/architect/social and political activist/writer and now performer Fred Rochlin.

Rochlin here tells stories of his role in that war, when he joined the then Army Air Corps right after Pearl Harbor, at the age of nineteen, and flew some 50 missions over Italy as a navigator on B-24 bombers. It is a story filled with horror, humor, pathos, and great wisdom, and it's told by a man who wrote it when he was 70 years old, but who clearly has never lost the wide-eyed wonder and enthusiasm of that nineteen year old boy.

Better on Tape
The audio version is the only way to go. Do not listen if you are easily offended by frank talk of the things young men do when they have resigned themselves to unpleasant circumstances. Rochlin is NOT an exemplar of Brokaw's "Greatest Generation." He and his comrades at arms were decidedly human.
Rochlin acknowledges that men of his generation were discouraged from talking about traumatic experiences. He also acknowledges that his memories are factually suspect. While current opinion seems to hold listening in higher esteem than talking, Rochlin maintains that sharing one's stories is a gift to others. It's too bad they didn't give WWII combat veterans a "transition debrief" before they sent them home. Many of them suffered from post traumatic stress for decades and their loved ones never knew exactly what had happened to them. A chance to talk to someone about their experiences might have helped many combat veterans and there might be a better understanding of what that war was really like.

Great Read
Well written in an easy to read, intelligent style. Reminds me of the clarity of Hemmingway's the Old Man and the Sea. Whether embellished or not, the stories transfer to the reader the feelings these young men must have had to go into the meatgrinder week after week. There is a gentle humor surrounding the constant tragedy that was WWII for them. Was a nice follow-up read to Ambrose's book on the 15th Air Corps.

Worst WWII Memoir I've Ever Read
I've been reading WWII vets' personal accounts for more than thirty years and this book JUST DOES NOT RING TRUE. I understand that the author has a stage act where he talks about his experiences. It sounds like he wrote this book with the idea of embellishing his act to (what else?) make money. His adventures come across as the fantasies of a dirty old man, writing what he WISHED had happened. A tryst with his aunt in the back of a truck while his uncle obliviously drives only a foot away? Yeah, right. An affair with a female Yugoslav partisan during weeks of evading Germans in the countryside? Forced to cut a young German prisoner in half with an automatic weapon? Come on! Worst of all, catching a CO (that he obviously hated) in a comprimising homosexual encounter when Mr. Rochlin just happened to peer through the window? Give us a break! It sounds more like petty revenge fifty+ years later. I bought this book at the airport and was looking forward to a diversion during a long flight. How utterly disappointing! Upon my return I expressed my opinion with a friend who'd also just read "Old Man In a Baseball Cap." We were both disgusted and felt completely ripped off. Short, silly and obviously a load of nonsense. Don't waste your money! ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Read by author Jim Stoval, founder and president of Emmy Award-Winning Narrative Television Network, You Don't Have to be Blind to See helps us appreciate the possibilities for unlimited growth and fulfillment in each individual, regardless of the situation. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The plain truth of the matter
Jim has a tremendous gift to share the realness of struggle and not exclude 'you' from the potential of what can be accomplished.This is an awsome audible book and I would recomend it to anyone caring for and feeding a positive reading habit.Great for kids too.

The book that changed the way that I view my life!
This book is the best book that I myself have ever laid hands on.I have read it numerous times and have always found something that changed my veiw of life and how I respond to it.Mr. Stovall has more strength and trueintegrity as well as character than any other. I admire him and look up tohim because of his will to survive,and his love for God and life together,and am honored that he has chosen to share it with all of us. Please readthis book! ... Read more

Book Description

The #1 bestselling author of Embraced by the Light shares her journey of spiritual awakening.

Following the unprecedented response to her #1 New York Times bestseller Embraced By The Light, Betty J. Eadie has shared her message with millions of people eager to enrich their lives with the powerful faith, hope and love she has so memorably described. Now, she takes us to new levels of spiritual discovery by showing how she has transformed her own life with the mind-opening vision that captivated the world.

The Awakening Heart expands on the invaluable knowledge and insights she has received -- showing us how the healing power of positive energy can affect and uplift every aspect of our daily lives. Drawing on Betty's own spiritual awakening following her return to this life, as well as the ennobling experiences shared by some of the people she has met on her journeys, The Awakening Heart radiates the strength of unconditional love, helping each one of us to seek and find the light of God within us.

Betty's message of love is eternal: when we truly serve others, we grow spiritually. The Awakening Heart is an exciting inner adventure and a moving personal quest that will help us open our hearts, light our own spiritual paths, and infinitely strengthen our ability to love and be loved. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

My perspective on life's troubles has changed
After listening to Embraced by The Light on tape, I purchased this book on tape. I've listened to it several times now and benefit greatly each time. I believe that Betty speaks real truth because her message is simple: See with the eyes of love and the world is very different. I think it is best to know Betty's story from Embraced before reading or listening to this book because it is a continuation. I gained an inner peace and calm nature from learning this story that years of psycho-therapy could not have produced.

Another favorite book . . .
Betty J. Eadie continues her message of love in The Awakening Heart: My Continuing Jorney to Love. In this book, she just as delicately conveys her message of an afterlife and that the most important things in life are love and knowledge -- those are the two things we take with us.

In The Awakening Heart . . . Betty tells how her life was affected by the success of Embraced By The Light, and how she struggled with the message she had recevied from the near-death experience. She explains how she felt that earth was so drab and conveys her yearning to return to her real "home" where there was colors like we've never seen here on earth, and where there is love like we've never felt.

Painstakingly, Betty knew she had to live her life fully for her family, and that she had a job to do. She didn't know what her purpose was, but she knew she's be on this earth until it was completed.

An so, The Awakening Heart is Betty's continuing message, in more detail. If more hearts awakened to messages like those that Betty has delivered, it would be a better world.

hoping to repeat embraced
I so loved Embraced by the light that I sought out other books by Betty J Eadie. This book gives the message of hope and love, but not like her first book. Still worth reading if you are a fan of Embraced.

Keep Reading
I loved "Embraced By the Light". It changed my life and way of thinking! "Awakening Heart" did not have the same effect until the end of the book. "Embraced By the Light" challenged old belief systems that were not working in my life and really made me stop and think and want to learn more. "Awkening Heart" seemed redundant until the end, where new information was given. Overall, it is worth the read.I can't wait to read Betty's latest book.

Good, but no "Embraced"
This is a very enlightening book. It can help you to understand your spiritual self. This is not as awe-inspiring as "Embraced by the Light" but I definitely recommend this one to any person trying to understand themself and God. ... Read more

Book Description

Ballooning government? Millionaire welfare queens? Tort lawyers run amok? A $330,000 outhouse, paid for with your tax dollars? John Stossel says, "Give me a break."

When he hit the airwaves thirty years ago, Stossel chased snake-oil peddlers, rip-off artists, and corporate thieves, winning the applause of his peers.

But along the way, he noticed that there was something far more troublesome going on: While the networks screamed about the dangers of coffee pots, worse risks were ignored.

In Give Me a Break, Stossel explains how ambitious bureaucrats, intellectually lazy reporters, and greedy lawyers make your life worse even as they claim to protect your interests. Taking on such sacred cows as the FDA, the War on Drugs, and scare-mongering environmental activists -- and backing up his trademark irreverence with careful reasoning and research -- he shows how the problems that government tries and fails to fix can be solved better by the extraordinary power of the free market.

He traces his journey from cub reporter to 20/20 co-anchor, revealing his battles to get his ideas to the public, his struggle to overcome stuttering, and his eventual realization that, for years, much of his reporting missed the point.

Stossel concludes the book with a modest proposal for change. It's a simple plan in the spirit of the Founding Fathers to ensure that America remains a place "where free minds -- and free markets -- make good things happen."

Reviews (123)

Amazing, a real life clear thinking journalist!
No doubt that the liberals and socialists in this country will name call and rant and rave over this book. Mr. Stossel attacks large government programs for the waste that they are, and the liberals depend upon these programs to control the lives of people. I'm sure he'll be called a racist, right-wing nut, but let's not forget who's calling him these things.

Stossel takes an objective look at not only big government programs, but the limiting of free speech, the drug war, lawyers, and some hypocritical filty rich. How anybody can say Stossel is a neo-con after reading this book is either a moron or a liar in saying they've read this. Stossel advocates stopping the drug war, decriminalizing prostitution, and legalizing assisted suicide, hardly a Republican agenda. He rightly recognizes that you own your body, not the government, therefore they should not have the power to control what you do to it. Certainly a libertarian position.

However, that same intrusive government that shouldn't tell you what to do with your own body shouldn't be telling companies how to run their business. He demonstrates how government programs, rules and regulations on a whole kill more people than they save. Poverty kills, and rules and regulations cause companies to move offshore and fire workers where jobs are needed most. Is it any wonder that, as he showed, the more free the country, the better off it's population is?

Give Me A Case of These Books: Everyone Should Have One
In the same relaxed style that has made his Friday night 20/20 broadcasts "must see TV" for open-minded Americans, interested more in truth than partisan politics, ABC co-anchor John Stossel delivers a book every citizen should read.
Far from partisan, Give Me A Break leaves no sacred political cows untipped as Democrats and Republicans alike are toppled to the ground in this truly remarkable breath of fresh air. In breezy, easy-to-read prose, Stossel recounts example after example of how a risk-phobic, nanny government threatens to strangle the very creativity and innovation that have made America the envy of the world.
Here you'll read about the $300,000 outhouse you paid for, the victim industries that profit from the misery of others, why trial attorneys and their lawsuits are more than a nuissance, among other hot topics.
Give Me A Break is somewhat predictable (but no less valuable) if you consider Stossel's libertarian bent. However, what is truly admirable -- not to mention, radically bullet-proof- about his writing is his willingness to not only admit to errors, but to recount them in detail. Instead of giving his detractors ammunition to blow up his arguments, Stossel freely admits to his short comings and past mistakes and explains forthrightly where his thinking went terribly wrong.
While I am not completely convinced that trial lawyers are the devils of democracy, reading this book opened up the subject for me as none of the regular broadcast or cable journalists ever have. Give Me A Break is a highly recommended book by a heroic journalist. -- Regina McMenamin

A tour de force of intellectual honesty
John Stossel is one of the few reporters to emerge from the stupor of mindless media liberalism to rational observation. In many respects 'Give Me A Break' is a textbook on systems thinking. Stossel destroys a multitude of liberal and conservative paradigms by demonstrating the second and third order consequences of self-serving governmental, social and economic positions. Stossel understands, like few others in the media, that there are trade-offs, and often-unintended consequences, with every decision. Stossel's book is balanced, humorous and irreverent; it relentlessly unmasks the uncomfortable realities underlying the massive clouds blue smoke generated by special interest groups. If you are looking for a great read that will expand your understanding of contemporary social issues, then by all means purchase this book.

Great Book
This is a well written book that explains the media's liberal bias as well as tells how the news media distorts the truth to get a big story. This is a must read for anyone that watches the news.

Highly recommended
One of my favorite reads. Very interesting and enjoyable. A lot of common sense... I agree with 99% of what he says. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball is an entertaining, informative, scholarly, and fascinating biography of one of the most revered actresses in television history. Moving beyond the typical celebrity bio, author Kathleen Brady separates the actress from Lucy Ricardo, the antic, enduring character she created on I Love Lucy.

Brady is the only biographer to have spent extensive time in Jamestown, New York, Lucille Ball's hometown, where she interviewed Ball's childhood friends. Other interviews for the book included family, employees, Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Milton Berle, Maureen O'Hara, Maxine Andrews of the Andrews Sisters, and the late chairman of CBS Bill Paley. Kathleen Brady's definitive biography presents a human Lucille Ball the fans have never known: the would-be showgirl in New York, fired almost as soon as she was hired because she was too flat-chested and mousy; her great love for Desi Arnaz, their tempestuous marriage, the day she thought she had killed him with a hammer, and the incident that ended their marriage; Lucille as head of Desilu Studios, overriding the advice of her most trusted executives and agreeing to green light the pilots of Star Trek and Mission Impossible; and her run-in with the House on Un-American Activities Committee and fears of being black-listed.

Brady reveals that Lucille Ball's life was a roller coaster, going from disaster to victory and triumph to tragedy. As a young woman, Ball believed that she had to work had to make people like and appreciate her. As a star, she felt she had to work hard to maintain her popularity, and was also conscious that what her fans wanted from her was not herself, but Lucy Ricardo.

Of the first edition of this book, published by Hyperion in 1994, critic Molly Haskell wrote: "It's a beautiful portrait of someone with enormous talent as an entertainer and heartbreaking fragility as a woman. In giving Lucille Ball the serious appraisal she deserves, Kathleen Brady has really gotten behind the scenes and the cameras to provide an invaluable chronicle of several areas and eras of show business."

New to this edition of Lucille is an introductory essay focusing on the place of the character of Lucy Ricardo in the history of comedy, going back to the traditions of the Italian commedia dell'arte and forward to the end of the 20th century. In this essay, Lucille Ball is compared to other key female figures in comedy like Mabel Normand, Mae West, Frannie Brice, Gilda Radner, and Fran Drescher. As the author writes, "Lucille Ball was a revolutionary figure because Lucy Ricardo was the first female character to combine the knock-about physical comedy of vaudeville and music halls (and 15th century carnivals) while being beautiful, feminine, and sweetly appealing." This edition also includes many new photographs from various sources. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Best Bio (and I've read them all)
There are some minor factual errors with regard to some oftheTV series indicating that the author--an obvious admirer--was not a fan per se.This actually helps in terms of objectivity.The book is unflinching but warm, and is the sole book to really go in depth about Lucille's childhood and teen/young adult years."Ball of Fire" and many others are shockingly un-new in their stoties and historical references.No one can really know "Lucille" after the fact but this book, and "Desilu" come as close as you canget.

My favorite book about my favorite commedienne
When I was ten and heard that Lucy and Desi were divorcing, I was devastated.No one in my little village had ever divorced, and I did not know anyone who knew anyone who had.So, Lucy and Ricky, who were interchangeable in my mind with Lucy and Desi, were the first people I "knew" who took that drastic step.I couldn't figure out how they could be so happy on TV and still want to split.

A few years later, when Lucy returned to television, along with Ethel, rechristened as Vivian, I kept longing for DesiRicky to show up.Of course he didn't.Later, I saw some of her early movies and became one of the three people in the US who loved her on the screen as Mame. Even though I appreciated her skill and talent, for me, she was always Lucy Riccardo.Somewhere along the line, though, I realized that Lucille Ball was more complex than her TV counterpart.

Of the half-dozen books I've read about Lucy, which include the newly-released "Ball of Fire", a couple of the books about the series, and Vance's biography, Kathleen Brady's is my favorite. She comes closest to cracking the code, finding what drove Lucille Ball to the top of her profession.

Brady treats her subject tenderly, but does whitewash the harder side of her character. Rather, she tries to bring the apparently incompatible parts of her personality together into one whole, very understandable person.As much as is possible, she succeeds.

Where she is sure of details, she gives them.Where she is not, she offers alternate possibilities, for example, the unknown cause of Ball's paralysis that sent her home from NY and to bed for months or, on the more humorous side, exactly what happened the night that Tallulah Bankhead decided to disrobe during a production meeting of the LucyDesi Comedy Hour.

Well-researched and well-written, this is mandatory reading for any die-hard Lucy fan and an excellent choice for anyone who intends reading only one book about America's most famous comedienne.

Loving Lucy, but not the book...
The Lucille Ball in Kathleen Brady's book, "Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball" is a study of contradictions. Partly an homage to a star she clearly adores, partly an expose on Lucy's dark side, this book paints an incomplete and unsatisfying picture of America's premiere television comedianne.

The Lucy in this book comes across both as a scrappy fighter early in her career, and a hardened soul at the end of it, which may very well be true, or not. It was difficult to discover the viewpoint of Lucy that the author was trying to take. At times, it was clearly injected with personal opinions and commentaries not warranted in the biography of someone else's life, both glowing and scandalous. And whereas the majority of the book takes up the years of Desilu's powerhold on the television industry, from I Love Lucy to Star Trek, it shortchanges both her early career and later career, almost as insignificant bookends to her highest pinnacle in the 1950's. Certainly, Lucy had a full, complete life, only some of which is shown here.

However, there were some parts I did enjoy. Lucy's less-than-impressive movie career which eventually gave birth to her TV persona was interesting, as you root for her to make the transition earlier. Her undying devotion to Desi in the early years, despite mutual fits of jealousy and rage, made for a deepening look at their marriage.And the occasional parts that show her softer, kinder side were warm to read.

Which leads to this thought. Clearly Lucy is loved country wide; were we ready to learn some negative things about the woman we cherished? Certainly not unknown, nor surprising to anyone who's read other things. The issue perhaps comes in balancing all viewpoints to present a clearer one, rather than being all over the board haphazardly.

As for Lucie and Desi Arnaz, Jr.'s objections to the book were clear to me as I read through to the end. Kathleen Brady seemed to have a personal vendetta against these two, as she paints them very unfavorably as spoiled Hollywood rich kids. Nary a kind word was said about these two, which leads me to think they offered no assistance in creating this book, so a price was paid for their silence.

In the end, I did not feel closer to Lucy than I had before reading this. I may suggest grabbing a bowl of popcorn, putting up your feet, and watching some classic episodes of I Love Lucy, to remember Lucy the way she wanted us to remember her, with a smile and a laugh.

Watch Out
watch out for false starements in this book. many good pics except for the one ... that doesn't even look like lucy. so beware if you love lucy watch what you believe--Steph

The Best Book i read
This book was the best, becouse of many things, she was not only in the T.V show I LOVE LUCY and not only in movies, but she was a great landy that helped and cared for many people around the world. So i am telling you to read this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Young, blond, handsome Dr. Michael Swango seemed a godsend wherever he was hired to practice medicine. But acclaim would turn to disbelief, dismay, then horror, as the evidence mounted that he could actually be murdering his patients. Then, Dr. Swango would leave that hospital -- only to be rehired at another. Today the FBI believes that Swango may be the most prolific serial killer in American history.

In Blind Eye, James Stewart takes listeners into the closed world of America's medical establishment, where doctors repeatedly accept the world of fellow physicians over that of nurses, hospital workers and patients -- even after the horrible truth emerges.

With prodigious investigative reporting, Stewart's mesmerizing account moves from the hospital rooms of the prestigious Ohio State University Hospitals to Illinois, South Dakota, New York and finally to a remote missionary hospital in Zimbabwe. There Stewart tracked down survivors, relatives of victims, shaken hospital workers -- and evidence that may finally lead Swango to be charged with murder. Stewart brings to riveting life the story of a psychopathic physician and those who protected, trusted, pursued and, in some cases, loved him.

Dr. Michael Swango slipped easily through the cracks. If Michael Swango could repeatedly slip through, who else has? With Blind Eye, James Stewart adds to his reputation as one of the country's most intrepid investigative reporters with this exposure of a dangerous doctor and a failed system. ... Read more

Reviews (89)

If you enjoy overturning rocks to see what's underneath ...
In this lucid and riveting piece of non-fiction, author James Stewart turns over a rock, and out crawls Michael Swango - clean-cut, all-American physician and ostensible serial murderer. We follow Swango from his upbringing in a terminally dysfunctional family, through medical school at Southern Illinois University, on to (failed) specialty residencies at Ohio State University, the University of South Dakota, and the State University of New York, and finally to a bizarre stint as a practicing physician at two hospitals in the Republic of Zimbabwe. Beginning at OSU, he leaves behind a trail of dead patients and some very sick acquaintances, friends and lovers. No Dr. Kildare this, his favorite pharmaceuticals are the likes of arsenic, ricin, and cyanide. Despite the evidence, he has been convicted only twice - once for poisoning coworkers, none of whom died, and once for falsifying information on a residency application.

I have not been, nor will I ever be, a fan of the "true crime reporting" genre of books. Any minimally aware individual knows there are a lot of sociopathic, psychotic and otherwise dangerous people on the loose. It's the good luck of most of us not to run into any in the course of a lifetime. It doesn't add to the pleasures of my life to read about them, and will usually only do so if their impact on real-life history has been disproportionately great. Therefore, I confess to an occasional fascination with the likes of Hitler and Stalin. (And the villains in the fictional works I enjoy generally get a satisfying comeuppance.) Personally, I found "Blind Eye", though admirably written, to be frustrating and infuriating. Infuriating because it shows how Swango breached the barriers supposedly set up to protect society at large, with the help, in this case, of a particularly spineless, arrogant and self-serving group of physician-administrator weasels at the OSU Medical Center. Frustrating because Swango has yet to brought to justice for murder, mostly because of the difficulties in garnering evidence that will support indictments for crimes committed many years ago, or in a foreign country, by methods that leave nebulous traces at best. Currently serving a federal prison term for fraud, he is due for release no later than July 2000. The author feels he will certainly try to practice "medicine" again - somewhere. It should give the reader pause to consider where that might be. (Been looking for a new family doctor lately? Hmmm?)

In a reasonable society, a solid citizen would not be condemned for shooting a mad dog on sight. Michael Swango is one twisted, sick puppy. Unfortunately, we don't live in a society that is always reasonable.

Why Was Dr. Michael Swango Allowed A Second Chance?
In most instances, writers put together a book about people and events in the past tense. James B. Stewart, though, soon realized after starting this book that he had become an active participant in a drama to stop a murderer from killing again. Stewart had a duty to put a stop to this terror. What might possibly motivate Dr. Swango? The doctor did not seem to financially benefit from these deaths. There is also no evidence whatsoever that Swango was prompted by any misguided humanitarian concerns. Dr. Swango's apparent only motivation is the psychopathic thrill of putting his fellow human beings to death. He seems indifferent and callous towards all suffering. There are strong suspicions that Swango even murdered his loyal wife. A court of law will likely convict Swango in the near future. The questions will still remain, however, concerning the scandalous behavior of the legal establishment that allowed this horror to continue long after it was obvious a serious problem existed.

I was morally and intellectually appalled by an earlier Amazon review by an anonymous "reader from Omaha, N.E.," a medical professional, who had the audacity to charge the author, James B. Stewart, with biased reporting. These comments should be read by all who are trying to understand how Dr. Swango was allowed to continue his criminal behavior for so many years. One should indeed take it for granted that the Dr. Swangos are the exception, not the rule. Most medical facilities probably would not have hired Dr, Swango after his conviction for poisoning his fellow co-workers. That's not the point. Once is enough. The disgrace is that there were not sufficient procedures in place nationally to prevent Dr. Swango from ever again practicing medicine. A single conviction of such magnitude should have ended the career of Dr. Swango in 1985. The following murders resulted from the gross arrogance and incompetence of a medical community concerned primarily in preserving its power and privileges. A democratic society must not allow professional establishments to protect their own regardless of the consequences upon the wider community. Lay people must not be excluded from directly overseeing the behavior of the professionals. The latter deserve respect, but not our unquestioning laissez faire toleration. The recent actions of the American Medical Association in preventing legislation to prevent a reoccurrence of another Dr. Swango is outrageous to say the least. The new motto for the AMA should be "We protect our own, and the general public should go to hell!"

Thank God James B. Stewart zealously pursued this story. The overwhelming probability is that without Stewart's efforts---Dr. Swango would still be killing patients. Many people owe their very lives to Stewart. It would also be sad if this book is merely perceived as a superbly written true story about a particular murderer. "Blind Eye" is also a disturbing commentary how power and cowardice corrupts professional groups who have forgotten that their first duty is to the general public, and not to their own membership.

Like watching a 20-year auto crash
My wife started reading this first (actually it was a book on CD). She didn't know it was real. When I told her it wasn't fiction she was visibly stunned. You cannot believe what the fraternity of the medical community will do to protect its own... while this whackjob calmly knocks of dozens of people. It is an incredibly well researched, well written account of The System gone nuts. You will be scared, frustrated and educated as to How Things Really Work in medicine, colleges, etc. And you will never look at a(n unfamiliar) doctor the same. A fabulous book... 10 stars.

Worth a Read
This tells the story of a serial killer, made all the more remarkable because of the fact that he is a physician. Whether or not this is "yellow journalism" isn't really the point, because the physician in question has since confessed to 4 homicides, and even more importantly Stewart does a great job of showing how the system allowed this to happen, even if he is clearly biased against the medical profession. He tries to make a case that doctors protected their own to the point that one was able to commit an untold number of murders over a very large span of years. Its even theorized at the end of the book that he could be the most prolific serial killer in history.

If you read this novel, be prepared to be both angered and saddened. So much could have possibly been prevented had anyone looked beyond the system and seen how disturbed he truly was. This case is nothing if not thought provoking, and is worthy of being read. Just bear in mind that you're getting a one-sided look at a noble profession, and that the man in question is certainly not representative of physicians everywhere.

Very good book about a very sick and evil man.
The most important thing to keep in mind while reading this book is that its subject, Michael Swango, is a serial killer. He is an aberration. That being said, the idea of medical care professionals being killers is a nightmare that our medical system has to make even more impossible and rare.

Mr. St