Brink's Modern Internal Auditing

Book Description

Brink's Modern Internal Auditing, Sixth Edition is a comprehensive resource and reference book on the changing world of internal auditing, including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance issues.
* Sixth edition of a very well respectede auditing resource.
* Provides an overview of the role and responsibilities of the internal auditor.
* Includes discussion of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the impact it has on auditing (particualry concerning controls).
* Provides expanded coverage of fraud and business ethics.
* Includes guidance on reporting results effectively.
* Provides in-depth discussion of internal audit and corporate governance.

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Customer Reviews:

Research book with enormous coverage.......2005-02-27

Scope of this book is enormous. It is like an encyclopedia - which is why I got the PDF version; cannot imagine carrying it around. It is not like a college book on Internal Audit, where for example, they take you through the business cycles (e.g., revenue cycle), but that be gotten elsewhere. The coverage is excellent on both the Financial and IT side for SOX - and for internal audit departments not following SOX.

The update for SOX is meaningful and through. If anyone wanted a history of internal audit, and the impact of SOX to the professional, great overview. While expensive, this is a reference manual and hard to imagine a subject where at worse, an excellent introduction is given to the topic at hand. I have not seen anything near as comprehensive, and well integrated so it is not just a bunch of chapters thrown together. Would seem to make the 5th edition obsolete because of so much new content.

The Remnant: On the brink of Armageddon (Left Behind)

Average customer rating:

Christian Fiction
Just one more book in the all-encompassing, enthralling, and utterly absorbing Left Behind Series
GREAT listening!
ANOTHER LAHAYE FIVE STAR
Read the first 9

The Remnant: On the brink of Armageddon (Left Behind)
Tim F. LaHaye , and Jerry B. Jenkins
Manufacturer: Tyndale House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0842332308
Release Date: 2003-02-04

Amazon.com

The success of Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye's fast-paced apocalyptic Left Behind thrillers is built on a straightforward Christian message and a blend of dialogue and action; the 10th installment of the series, The Remnant: On the Brink of Armageddon, sticks to the same proven formula that has captivated legions of fans. It's one month into the Great Tribulation, and a million people gather in the ancient city of Petra to await the foretold "Glorious Appearing." The Global Community loses no time in bombing the city, which is completely engulfed in flames, guaranteeing certain doom for those assembled unless a miracle occurs. In other parts of the world, martyrdom continues for the remnant of believers as Global Community potentate Nicolae Carpathia's thirst for blood escalates. There are lots of slick escapes, plenty of intrigue, some genuinely gory moments, and enough gruesome plagues straight out of the biblical Book of Revelation to keep readers turning the pages. When the Chicago believers are forced to scatter and discord breaks out among those gathered at Petra, changes accelerate for the Tribulation Force and other series characters, leaving an ample number of loose ends to be picked up in the next episode. --Cindy Crosby

Book Description

The incredible tenth book in the international best-selling Left Behind series is now available in paperback. The Great Tribulation unfolds as the forces of evil and the armies of God prepare for mankind's ultimate battle. Millions of Christians are protected by God as the anger of the Antichrist, Nicolae Carpathia, burns against them. Over 2.5 million copies sold in hardcover.

Customer Reviews:

Christian Fiction.......2007-10-20

Another one of those Christian Fictions that bespeaks doom and destruction for all who don't turn their lives over to Jesus. If you can get past the religious psychobabble, its a good book. Otherwise, Buddha is a much better choice and his followers are typically less intolerant and war-like.

Just one more book in the all-encompassing, enthralling, and utterly absorbing Left Behind Series.......2007-09-14

From the very first letter of the alphabet that my eyes looked upon inside this series of books, until the very last period of the very last sentence, I was hooked. Each one of these books absorbed my attention like no other book has ever done in my life. Biblically sound, theatrically entertaining, and brilliantly written, the Left Behind books will inspire you to dig into God's word and take the pieces of news from your T.V. screen and match them right smack-dab up with the prophecies of the Bible. Your hair will stand up, your heart will race, and you will find yourself helplessly caught in the suspense. Once you finish one of these books, you will desperately race to your computer screen or your local library to pick up the next one!

Carrie Lynn Jones
Author of It All Began... When Jesus Gave Me Sneakers

GREAT listening!.......2007-08-26

My husband enjoyed reading all of the left behind books but I am not much of a reader so I bought them each on audio and listened in the car on the way to work and such. The readers keeps your attention with different voices and sound effects. GREAT TAPES!

ANOTHER LAHAYE FIVE STAR.......2007-03-09

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING IN THE SERIES. IT IS DIFFICULT TO
CONTINUE WRITING REVIEWS ON THE LEFT BEHIND SERIES WHICH IS BEYOND
WORDS. CAN'T PUT THEM DOWN FOR FOOD OR SLEEP.
I BUY 2 COPIES AND GIVE 1 AS A WITNESS.

Read the first 9 .......2007-02-01

This is #10 in the series, so make sure you read the first 9. If you try to read this without the other 9 you will be lost.
This book in itself is a great story of a group of friends trying to make it to the return of Jesus Christ to the world. I am not going to give away the story, read the series. It's a real awakening.

The Princess Diaries, Volume VIII: Princess on the Brink (Princess Diaries, Vol. 8)

Average customer rating:

Entertaining but delivers a bad message
At last! [spoiler alert]
upsetting
This volume is boring!
A Princess book with an actual conflict - too bad it goes unresolved...

The Princess Diaries, Volume VIII: Princess on the Brink (Princess Diaries, Vol. 8)
Meg Cabot
Manufacturer: HarperTeen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060724560
Release Date: 2006-12-26

Book Description

At last, Mia is a junior. An upperclassperson. Free of her responsibilities as student body president. So why is it that everything is going so terribly wrong? What is she doing in Intro to Creative Writing? When she has made it through Algebra and Geometry, why must she be faced with Precalculus? And for the love of all that is Genovian, why has Lilly nominated her for school prez again? All this is nothing compared to the news Michael springs on her, however. On top of all the mathematical strife, her beloved boyfriend is leaving for Japan for a year. Precalc has nothing on preparing for the worst separation ever!

Turns out there is one way she might convince Michael to stay. But will she? Or won't she? No matter what, Mia seems headed for disaster.

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining but delivers a bad message.......2007-10-15

I've enjoyed every book in this series so far and will continue to read to the end, but this book changed my mind about ever sharing this series with my daughters. Mia is as sweet, innocent and neurotic as ever. In this book she acknowledges a bit more selfishness than usual (she hopes to prevent Michael from pursuing the development of his life-saving invention since it would entail him moving to Japan for over a year) but, considering her young age (16) and her general insecurity this is forgivable. What appalled me was not any diminishment in the quality of writing but in the attitude toward sexual relationships that is revealed in this episode.

Mia's attitude has been that sex is something special, to be shared with someone you love. Sex for the first time - losing your virginity - is especially important to her. She wants it to be not only to the person who will hopefully be her life-long love, but she wants the event, itself, to be extra-special. NOTE: even romantic Mia thinks saving oneself for marriage is ridiculous. Her idea of a "special" night goes no further than the Prom.

The response to this attitude from most of her friends, her boyfriend and every responsible adult in this story (and even Grandmere) is that Mia's attitude is wrong. It is, at best, a sign of her immaturity and at worse a "judgmental" attitude that is crazy and that puts into jeopardy an otherwise healthy, happy, potentially life-long romance.

[Spoiler Alert]

It turns out that Mia's boyfriend, Michael, lost his virginity before he even started dating Mia (2 years before this episode). He lost it to a girl whom he told Mia he was not even dating. He insists this wasn't a lie since he and this other girl weren't going out, they were only having sex. They had no special feelings for each other at all and, in fact, the other girl had a boyfriend (not Michal) at the time. Michael sees nothing at all wrong with this and can't understand why Mia gets upset. It turns out that no one else in Mia's world - especially not the "wise" adults she turns to for advice - see anything much wrong with Michael's attitude - only with Mia's. It is clear by the end of this book (which leaves you on a hook, awaiting the next book) that Mia's "foolish, juvenile" romanticism has possibly destroyed this important and, supposedly, healthy love relationship in her young life.

What is never asked is this: has Michael really been faithful to Mia all these years? Mia still assumes he has but, given Michael's cavalier attitude toward sex and the fact that he saw nothing wrong with his first girl cheating on her boyfriend to do him, she actually has no reason to trust him. She doesn't think to ask and it is clear he won't tell if not asked directly with every possible word of the question clearly defined. Would Michael even think he had done anything wrong if he had cheated on Mia, as long as he didn't fall in love with anyone else while they were dating? Furthermore, given their upcoming separation (with him moving to Japan for over a year) is there any reason at all for him to even consider staying faithful to her, even if they remain "a couple" over the distance?

Instead of asking these legitimate questions, the conflict evolves to encourage the reader to want Mia to throw off her juvenile fantasies and beg Michael's forgiveness for her overreaction to his expression of reasonable, modern attitudes. After all, he has done more than enough by being patient with her silly values all these years. Isn't it time she grew up?

Personally, I find myself regretting that these books are so well-written and enjoyable. Two generations of Americans have already suffered much unhappiness directly traceable to the attitudes and morals encouraged by this book. I would hate to see a third generation encouraged to repeat the same disastrous mistakes.

At last! [spoiler alert] .......2007-09-07

Okay, maybe I'm not the typical reader of this book, seeing that I have a child around Mia's age, but I am a high school librarian and I enjoy reading the books that I order for the students to read.

For seven books (and several novellas) we have listened to Mia blather on about Michael and school and Michael and her grandmother and Michael and ... well, you get the picture. With all of those adolescent hormones, she doesn't see that she needs to give Michael some space, as he is emotionally and intellectually several years ahead of her. She doesn't care to listen to the adult figures in her life (now THAT'S realistic!) on just about any serious matter, including this one.

Now she freaks out because she faces a year's separation (and despite what she believes, I am sure that her father would have flown her over at least once during that year) and plans to manipulate Michael with sex. (Not her finest plan. Can we all say "statutory rape"?) However, everything crashes around her feet when she discovers that Michael has a different viewpoint on intimacy. Not too surprising to adults, who realize that people reared with different cultural/religious beliefs are bound to have conflicts, some of which are un-work-out-able.

I remember someone telling me that her first husband was selected when infatuation was mistaken for love and the second (the one she stayed married to) was chosen when liking turned into love. We have seen J.P. from the very first book and he has gradually developed as a friend. It would be nice if this series developed to show that Mia chooses a relationship based upon a solid foundation, but I doubt that is Ms. Cabot's plan. Whatever she chooses, the next book can be an opportunity for Mia to mature without always wondering "what will Michael think about this?" My students (and I) eagerly await the next volume.

upsetting.......2007-08-04

i've loved the princess diaries series since book one. this book was very depressing. i'm just a hopeless romantic and this book spoiled everything.

This volume is boring!.......2007-07-09

I have been a fan of ALL the other Princess Diaries books. I have read many of them twice! This one was so boring! I should have listened to the negative reviews and passed on this one. Save your money and check this one out at the library if you must read it!

A Princess book with an actual conflict - too bad it goes unresolved..........2007-07-08

Finally, in the eighth book of a ten-book series, Mia Thermopolis again gets a honest-to-goodness conflict. It's been a long, long time. Mia's has dealt with plenty of anxieties, but most of them have been minor problems she's blown all out of proportion. Not since she learned she's a princess and had her whole future (and present) made over accordingly has she had to grapple with a real life-changing problem.

In Princess on the Brink Mia's boyfriend, Michael Moscovitz, tells her that he has the opportunity of a lifetime. He intends to go to Japan to produce a working model of the robotic arm he invented for a knife-free surgical procedure. Michael wants to prove - to the world and Mia's grandmother - that he's worthy of being a princess's intended. But that will require a long stay abroad. Mia panicks at the idea of being sans Michael for so long and comes up with the bright idea of tossing her virginity to him as an incentive to stay stateside.

The story takes place over a very short period, less than a week, from the time Michael tells Mia he's going to Japan to the time he actually leaves. During this period Mia also starts school so she's also worrying about her Chemisty and Pre-calculus classes and the pressure Lilly is again asserting on her to be in student government. She also has a creative writing teacher who fails to appreciate Mia's innate creativity and style (i.e., Mia's failure to follow assignment directions).

I LOVED this series when it first debuted, but the premise here is growing pretty thin. Mia's high-school worries and escapades simply cannot support the weight of so many books (8 so far and a number of shorter half-books). Her constant pop culture references, so cute and endearing at first, have also grown annoying. Or perhaps it's me - I've unplugged myself from cable and magazines and can't really relate to much of what Mia throws out there to explain her own worldview and perspective.

Also annoying is Mia's constant reference to her "Precious Gift" - that's her virginity to you and me. She gets this term from a True-Love-Waits-type book her friend Tina leant her. It's typical of Mia to over-romanticize anything, but she uses the term so frequently it deserves its own acronym - PG - if only to spare trees. Mia's willingness to set aside her previous sexual timeline in order to manipulate Michael tells a great deal about where she is in her personal development. What's best for Michael and the relationship in general is the last thing on her mind. This is typical teenage behavior, but Mia has never seemed so Machiavellian (albeit clumsily so) as she does here.

Many of the recurring characters are beginning to seem like cardboard cutouts of themselves marching around Mia. Lilly, in particular, seems less like a real person and more like a generic-but-cruel blowhard. Why Mia is still friends with her is beyond understanding. Of course, Mia is clueless as to the motivations of most of the people surrounding her. Watching both Kenny Showalter and J.P. zero in for the kill when they learn of Michael's departure is painful to read - Mia is so oblivious.

The book ends with everything about as unresolved as it can be. One of the series's underlying conflicts - how Mia will deal with the difference in maturity, particularly sexual maturity, between herself and Michael - finally comes to a head here, and Mia handles it in the most immature way possible, screwing up a number of her relationships in the process. Getting Michael out of the picture temporarily might have been a good idea a few books ago, but now it just seems ill-timed. The next book will no doubt be concerned with Mia's rebound, and then the last book with their reunion. That may be romantic in the final pages, but is Cabot going to shove two school years into two books? When it's taken 8 books to get to the beginning of Mia's junior year of high school? At this point, given Mia's shallow self-absorption, I think Michael would be within his rights to cut and run. And that's a painful thing for me to write about a series I once enjoyed so much.

Average customer rating:

Adventure story.
Some Light History
Tom Sawyer for girls
An uplifting pioneer story for girls
Caddie Woodlawn

Caddie Woodlawn
Carol Ryrie Brink
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1416940286

Amazon.com

At age 11, Caddie Woodlawn is the despair of her mother and the pride of her father: a clock-fixing tomboy running wild in the woods of Wisconsin. In 1864, this is a bit much for her Boston-bred mother to bear, but Caddie and her brothers are happy with the status quo. Written in 1935 about Carol Ryrie Brink's grandmother's childhood, the adventures of Caddie and her brothers are still exciting over 60 years later. With each chapter comes another ever-more exciting adventure: a midnight gallop on her horse across a frozen river to warn her American Indian friends of the white men's plan to attack; a prairie fire approaching the school house; and a letter from England that may change the family's life forever. This Newbery Medal-winning book bursts at the seams with Caddie's irrepressible spirit. In spite of her mother's misgivings, Caddie is a perfect role model for any girl--or boy, for that matter. She's big-hearted, she's brave, and she's mechanically inclined! (Ages 9 to 12)

Book Description

Caddie Woodlawn is a real adventurer. She'd rather hunt than sew and plow than bake, and tries to beat her brother's dares every chance she gets. Caddie is friends with Indians, who scare most of the neighbors -- neighbors who, like her mother and sisters, don't understand her at all.

Caddie is brave, and her story is special because it's based on the life and memories of Carol Ryrie Brink's grandmother, the real Caddie Woodlawn. Her spirit and sense of fun have made this book a classic that readers have taken to their hearts for more than seventy years.

Customer Reviews:

Adventure story........2007-07-24

My 9 year old granddaughter loves it as I did when I was in the 3rd grade and she knows interesting, worthwhile books! So, buy it for your grandkids, too.

Some Light History.......2007-06-10

This is the somewhat true story of a real girl living in pioneer Wisconsin in the mid 1800s. The story starts when Caddie is eleven years old, and used to spending most of her time with her older brother Tom and her younger brother Warren. Caddie also has three sisters and another younger brother, but Tom and Warren are the most fun for her and the three of them often have adventures together.

Caddie's mother was brought up to be a polite lady in Boston and Caddie's sister Clara is a nice young lady like her mother. But when they first moved to Wisconsin when Caddie was very young, she was sickly and her father decided that it would be healthier for her to run free outside with her brothers instead of spending her days shut up inside learning how to be a proper lady. Therefore, Caddie at eleven is a tomboy.

Although Caddie's mother is exasperatd by her tomboyishness, Caddie enjoys her young life and has a wonderful time with her brothers, whether they are visiting the nearby Indian tribe, telling stories to each other near the fields or playing practical jokes on their snobbish cousin Annabelle.

This was an interesting book, providing some details about what life was like from the point of view of a likable girl. However, this book indicated that life was easy and things always went well for the Woodlawn family. Everything in their lives was too happy to be taken seriously.

Tom Sawyer for girls.......2007-01-21

I read this children's classic in my last year of elementary school, right before reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. All I could remember was how similar the two books are, and indeed looking back at both books now, they do seem quite similar in content. Both are about boisterous youngsters living in America during the mid-1800s. Both books deal with relations with family, other non-whites, school friends and school enemies, and of course, love. In this book's case, Caddie the tomboy is the joy of her father and woe of her mother. This is similar to Tom Sawyer, who constantly frustrates his aunt. This is a good book to read by both boys and girls and can easily occupy a weekend of time for most 10-year olds.

An uplifting pioneer story for girls.......2007-01-04

I read this book for the first time as an adult and found it delightful. Caddie Woodlawn is an excellent role model for girls -- daring and generous, thoughtful and independent. She tries to do what she knows is right, even if the whole town is against her. And she has the self-confidence to be herself and behave as a tomboy, no matter what society expects of her.

The book, written by the real Caddie Woodlawn's granddaughter, focuses on one year in her life. It tells of her adventures in the pioneer wilderness and shows her growing up and finding her place in the world. That theme is timeless, and I would recommend this book to anyone.

Caddie Woodlawn.......2006-12-22

"She was the despair of her mother and of her elder sister, Clara, but her father watched her with a little shine of pride in his eyes, and her brothers accepted her as one of their own without a question."
This book is about Caddie Woodlawn, a pioneer tomboy growing up in Wisconsin. When her family moved from Boston, she and her sister Mary were fatally sick. Mary died, and Caddie's father begged her mother to let Caddie grow up with her brothers, Tom and Warren, so she would be stronger and healthier. Caddie is a wild animal and isn't ready to give up being a tomboy. However, Caddie's mother wants Caddie to be a proper young lady. She wants Caddie to sew, bake, and cook instead of plowing, hunting, and visiting Indians. Caddie isn't ladylike, and her mother sometimes treats Caddie unfairly because of it.
This book is perfect for any girl who is a tomboy, or has ever been pushed to be something they're not.
You will believe every word Brink tells about Caddie is true, because it is. Based on the life of Carol Brink's grandmother, Caddie Woodhouse, the book is entertaining and keeps you drawn in while it tells about Caddie's life. From her crazy uncle, tattling sister, stuck-up cousin Annabelle, and adventurous brothers to her kind Indian friends, beloved dog, and important family decisions, you will savor every word.
Caddie Woodlawn is the winner of the Newbery Medal, and has a sequel, Caddie Woodlawn's Family.

Average customer rating:

Thriller with sensual passion
Fast and fun read
The best in the series so far!!
BRINKMANSHIP!
Excellent book from the Bodyguard series!

To the Brink (The Bodyguards, Book 3)
Cindy Gerard
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0312990936
Release Date: 2005-12-27

Book Description

Working on highly sensitive diplomatic affairs, Darcy Prescott is a natural target for terrorist kidnappers. But when she's mysteriously plucked off a street in Manila one sultry night, Darcy's disappearance isn't what it seems...The moment Special Forces soldier Ethan Garrett laid eyes on Darcy, he knew she was the woman he would marry-and he did. But when their marriage fell apart, Ethan never really recovered. Now a highly paid bodyguard, Ethan quickly slips back into combat mode when he learns of Darcy's disappearance and calls in old favors to assemble a rogue rescue team....Tracking Darcy all the way to the jungles of the Philippines, Ethan knows every move he makes could mean the difference between life and death. His love for Darcy burns stronger than ever. But when he learns the true reason for her abduction, it may be too late to save her-or himself...

Customer Reviews:

Thriller with sensual passion.......2007-10-14

I absolutely loved this book. The characters were so alive, I actually felt their emotions. Loved the way the author integrated the past with the present. Ethan is a real man yet capable of loving sensitivity. He knows what he wants and goes for it. So many people say this is the best of the Bodyguards, but I'm definitely going to read another one. I will be keeping this book. The only fault I found was the language, but I personally don't like foul language. I was able to overlook the language though because the book kept my attention from beginning to end. I could not read it fast enough. I highly recommend it.

Fast and fun read.......2007-01-28

I enjoyed this book. I really liked how Gerard told the story of Ethan and Darcy in flashback style. You knew they were still in love with each other, and little by little you learned why it did not work out between them. It was a lot of fun to see how they reconciled their feelings and worked together to see Darcy out of her situation.

The best in the series so far!!.......2007-01-04

To The Brink is the third book in the Bodyguards series and it has been the best book for me so far. This has made up for all the shortcomings of the past two books. Ethan is such a hot and passionate hero and Rachel seems perfect for him. This story has a lot of gripping moments during their rescue operation and the intermittent flashbacks into Ethan and Rachel's past was also very well done. This love story is full of passion, romance and intrigue and I higly recommend it. I also hope that this series keeps getting better with the next one being Over The Line!

BRINKMANSHIP!.......2006-09-26

This is a first for me of Cindy Gerard. Fast paced, fairly good thriller and hot romance. I give it an 8 out of 10 for sensuality.

Darcy and Ethan have been divorced for 5 years, yet cannot forget each other. He is special forces. Darcy gets into a jam and leaves a cryptic message begging him to rescue her. The chapters waffle from the present to five years ago. Both scenerios are interesting and exciting. The ending of each chapter makes you frustrated that you are going back 5 years, but it is well worth it.

Quick read. I shall look for others by Ms. Gerard.

Excellent book from the Bodyguard series!.......2006-08-27

I've read all the other Bodyguard books by Cindy Gerard and this one is by far the best! It is about Ethan Garrett (the oldest Garrett) and his ex-wife Darcy. She works in diplomatic affairs and needs help when she is kidnapped. Ethan goes to great lengths to find her and rescue her. Ms. Gerard's writing is terrific. She slowly reveals Ethan and Darcy's past (their short marriage) while the rescue is occurring. This ropes the reader in and you want to find out exactly why they broke up several years before. There is also a side romance for brother Dallas and a lady named Amy. That relationship is left hanging but will be told in a Dallas book next year.

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo

Average customer rating:

A great description of Zaire under Mobutu but poor investigative reporting
A good introduction but nothing more...
Well written,fascinating
Somewhat interesting, but poorly written
not as good as King Leopold's ghost, but still worth the read...

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo
Michela Wrong
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060934433
Release Date: 2002-05-28

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

During Mobutu Sese Seko's 30 years as president of Zaire (now the Congo), he managed to plunder his nation's economy and live a life of excess unparalleled in modern history. A foreign correspondent in Zaire for six years, Michela Wrong has plenty of titillating stories to tell about Mobutu's excesses, such as the Versailles-like palace he built in the jungle, or his insistence that he needed $10 million a month to live on. However, these are not the stories that most interest Wrong. Her aim is to understand all of the reasons behind the economic disintegration of the most mineral-rich country on the African continent; in so doing, she turns over the mammoth rock that was Mobutu and finds a seething underworld of parasites with names like the CIA, the World Bank and the IMF, the French and Belgian governments, mercenaries, and a host of fat cats who benefited from Mobutu's largesse and even exceeded his rapaciousness.

Wrong turns first to Belgian's King Leopold II, who instituted a brutal colonial regime in the Congo in order to extract the natural and mineral wealth for his personal gain. Mobutu, with the aid of a U.S. government determined to sabotage Soviet expansion, stepped easily into Leopold's footsteps, continuing a culture built on government-sanctioned sleaze and theft. Under the circumstances, it's hard not to feel some sympathy for the people who survived in the only ways they could--teachers trading passing grades for groceries, hospitals refusing to let patients leave until they paid up, cassava patches cultivated next to the frighteningly unsafe nuclear reactor. What is less comprehensible--and rightly due for an airing--are Wrong's revelations about foreign interventions. Why, for example, did the World Bank and IMF give Mobutu $9.3 billion in aid, knowing full well that he was pocketing most of it?

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz is a brilliantly conceived and written work, sharply observant and richly described with a necessary sense of the absurd. Wrong paints a far more nuanced picture of the wily autocrat than we've seen before, and of the blatant greed and paranoia of the many players involved in the country's self-destruction. --Lesley Reed

Book Description

Known as "the Leopard," the president of Zaire for thirty-two years, Mobutu Sese Seko, showed all the cunning of his namesake -- seducing Western powers, buying up the opposition, and dominating his people with a devastating combination of brutality and charm. While the population was pauperized, he plundered the country's copper and diamond resources, downing pink champagne in his jungle palace like some modern-day reincarnation of Joseph Conrad's crazed station manager.

Michela Wrong, a correspondent who witnessed Mobutu's last days, traces the rise and fall of the idealistic young journalist who became the stereotype of an African despot. Engrossing, highly readable, and as funny as it is tragic, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz assesses the acts of the villains and the heroes in this fascinating story of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Customer Reviews:

A great description of Zaire under Mobutu but poor investigative reporting.......2007-07-16

Few nations have had as sad a history as Zaire, currently known as the Congo. Michela Wrong, a journalist for the New Statesman, has taken the time to write a book about the Congo's history particularly under Mobutu, and her experiences in the Congo during his kleptocratic rule.

Her stories are well-researched, and it's clear she's talked with many of those who influenced the history of the time. The sterile recounting of Congo's continuous deterioriation under Mobutu is quite well done. What I found infuriating about this book is that Wrong never seems to ask why things happened, or were allowed to happen.

When Zaire, for instance, became independent, it boasted all of 17 university graduates in a country the size of Western Europe, and years of Belgian investment. Surely the Belgians, who left, realized that the country would be dependent on Western knowhow for many years. Why did they not leave advisers behind, perhaps advisers with a brief to make the president offers he couldn't refuse, as happened in other francophone colonies? One of the cataclysms under Mobutu's rule was his expelling of many non-Zairians, who left their capital behind, but not their connections and understanding of their business. The economy duly crashed. Why did neither the Belgians nor the French nor the Americans dissuade him from a policy that all but destroyed Zaire's prosperity? One reason why the above mentioned powers were loath to antagonize Mobutu were the many services he performed for them during the Cold War. Why does Wrong only allude to them, and not mention them? One could continue in this vein, but I felt as if what could have become a fascinating book focusing on the crunch times when astoundingly disastrous decisions were made, instead focuses on the misery that these ill-begotten decisions wreaked, which is not as nearly interesting.

If you need to need a source for academic work on Zaire under Mobutu, you may enjoy this book, but I wouldn't recommend it as pleasure reading.

A good introduction but nothing more..........2006-12-03

`In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz' is a nice introduction to the intriguing life and times of infamous dictator Mobutu, from his rise to power to his less than glorious downfall. I advise it to anyone who is unfamiliar with Zaire-Congo. Very good reading is her account of the final collapse of the Zairian army. This book was originally conceived as a radio-program on BBC. It is however just that: an introduction. The author is so kind to refer to further reading in the last pages of the book. There the interested reader can find very good resources on the history of the Belgian Congo.

Michela Wrong does suffer from some prejudice towards Belgium and the Belgians not uncommon in the UK. Apart from King Leopold II, the role of the Belgian monarchy and the Belgian governments, especially while supporting the brutal Mobutu dictatorship is hardly present and when mentioned it is downplayed. Not a word on the part that King Baudouin and Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens played in 1959-1960, especially concerning the assassination of Patrice Lumumba. I strongly suggest The Assassination of Lumumba by Belgian journalist Ludo De Witte for a good background on that period.

The author points out that it took an American historian to dig up the facts about King Leopold II's barbarity. While the author is absolutely right in pointing out that Belgium has still not come to terms with its own colonial past, and while King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild is a must read, it is NOT the first published account of that period. That honour goes to the Belgian former diplomat Jules Marchal. But even so, in 1985 he still had to use the pseudonym of A. M. Delathuy and go to the small leftwing publisher EPO (Education Prolétarienne - Proletarische Opvoeding) to get the first ever book published of a ruthless campaign that would nowadays be labelled as genocide. All big Belgian, French and Dutch publishers flatly refused it. Unfortunately this book is only available in Dutch and French, not in English.

Michela Wrong does give credit to this book, stating that it is only available in French (and Flemish if you can read it) ...Two small remarks here, there is no such thing as a Flemish language. I know that even recently a quality newspaper like The Guardian still claims that `the Flemish Belgians speak Flemish, a language related to Dutch'. The author does not have to take my word for it, she can go check any library and ask for an Flemish-English dictionary, there is no such thing. She can also come check the curriculum in any Flemish school, where she will find that students learn mathematics, geography and `Dutch' at school. While her apparently not so well informed ears may find it odd to hear that the Flemish speak Dutch while not being Dutch, maybe it will help to point out that also the Austrians speak German, that the Brazilians speak Portuguese etc ... Do the Flemish have a different accent than the Dutch? Yes; certainly, but so do Texans, Jamaicans, Australians, yet they all speak English. I also do not understand why Michela Wrong finds it necessary to give a demeaning remark ... if you can read it ... Dutch is the native language of 16 million Dutch and 6 million Flemish, that is more than all Scandinavian languages combined. Another detail that reveals her prejudice towards Belgians and Flemish is that the only Belgian politician she mentions by name is Leo Tindemans who she misspells with a typical `German' double `nn'. Of all Belgian Prime Ministers that ever played a role in Zaire-Congo, he was the least active on Zaire. Every Belgian knows about Tindemans' personal distaste for Mobutu (the feeling was mutual).

A good introduction to Mobutu indeed, a translation into French and Dutch (I can read it!) is more than welcome.

Lode Vanoost (Belgian native Dutch speaker, 7 years old in 1960, no strings attached to Congo), Brussels, 26 November 2006

Well written,fascinating.......2006-11-10

An excellent look at what has brouoght the DRC to where it is today, extremely readable.

Somewhat interesting, but poorly written.......2006-07-17

A number of the reviewers sum this up quite adequately. The is not at all scholarly and is a jumbled mess of vignettes. I give it 3 because there are so few books written on the subject and because she tried to be balanced in her reporting. This seems to be a very long winded news article with little depth and real insight. Just a mass of reporting on insignificant experiences she encountered rather than a serious recount of the history. Dissappointed and trying to slog through for any nuggets of insight. Even the brief recount of Congo/Belgium in "The Scramble for Africa" was a much better treatment of the subject, albeit solely focused on Belium's colonial period.

not as good as King Leopold's ghost, but still worth the read..........2006-01-03

After reading King Leopold's Ghost, I was looking for a good synopsis of what happened in the post-colonial era. After a few weeks of searching, I settled on In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz. Both were fascinating books that give great insight on the problems with the Congo. Both are written in a style that is highly readable, entrhalling and at the same time informative.

A Vast Amount of Trouble: A History of the Spring Creek Raid

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Highly recommended for rural law dawgs and attorneys
Burnedblack Mountain

A Vast Amount of Trouble: A History of the Spring Creek Raid
John W. Davis
Manufacturer: Univ Pr of Colorado
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Goodbye, Judge Lynch: The End of a Lawless Era in Wyoming's Big Horn Basin

ASIN: 0870813102

Customer Reviews:

Highly recommended for rural law dawgs and attorneys.......2007-02-07

As a former deputy sheriff in the nowood valley, Ten Sleep, Wyoming, I found Mr. Davis' research and presentation outstanding. His descriptions and evaluations were right on the money. As a critical history buff, I was pleasantly surprised to find no faults or criticisms of Mr. Davis' work. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in historical jurisprudence. Things might have changed in "crime detection/investigation" but in the courtroom? not so much.

Burnedblack Mountain.......2006-02-01

Wyoming looms large for me, and I've alluded to a recent film about Wyoming "cowboys" in other reviews. Attorney John Davis, from somewhere in the Big Horn Basin, discusses events of 2 April 1909 that put the cowboy canard in its place. Those movie cowboys aren't cowboys because they're all hat and no cattle. They're sheepherders. So were Joe Allemand, shot to death on 2 April 1909, and Joe Enge, murdered and burned in his sheep wagon on Spring Creek.

Spring Creek was the last big battle of the western sheep wars, writes Mr. Davis, and was the first (only) Wyoming raid in which killers of sheepherders were convicted of murder. The murderers of Allemand, Emge, and another herder, burned to death with Emge in his wagon, were real cowboys acting out a drama that was a tragedy of the commons. Much of Wyoming even in 1909 was unfenced open range to which cattlemen claimed rights of preemption. Sheep and their crazy herders (cowboys debated overwhelming questions: Were men already crazy before they herded sheep, or were they made crazy by the sheep they herded?) were latecomers who competed for grass and water in a dry state. Sheep wrecked the range for cattle, eating grass down to the ground and then eating the ground. Then they'd bleat and excrete, wrecking water holes. In the Big Horn Basin commons, cattlemen and cowboys tolerated sheep and sheepherders as long as they knew their place. Where there were no fences, cattlemen helpfully drew deadlines, invisible lines in the sand beyond which sheep were not allowed to cross. Allemand and Emge crossed the line.

Allemand was foreign. Some accounts say he was Baszue; Davis writes that he was French. Allemand was an alien in an occupation dominated by Mexicans and Basques whose lives had been cheap. Mr. Allemand, though, was liked and respected by his neighbors despite being from somewhere else and despite sheep. Nobody wrote that he was crazy. Emge was foreign, but had been respected because he had been a cattleman before going to the dark side, sheep. He did not know his place. He kept his bovine arrogance despite turning to a disreputable occupation, sheep, and he openly disrespected his old cowboy cronies and their deadline. Emge, of course, represented something new under the hot Wyoming sun: old certitudes were dying. Wyoming, as territory and state, had run cattle and had been run by cattle. But Wyoming in the new 20th Century was born again; by 1909 Wyoming sheep were worth more than Wyoming cattle, and even founding fathers like cattle kings F.E. Warren & J.M. Carey were changing with the times. By 1909 cattle kings were running sheep.

That's the context of the story Mr. Davis tells. It's the story of an insular area, almost inbred, that was almost ripped apart by the aftermath of an atavistic raid. Davis excerpts Grand Jury transcripts that show communities and neighbors being pushed and pulled by the old and the new. He tells a story far more interesting than the fey fable that was nominated today for eight Academy Awards.

Type 1 Diabetes: A Guide for Children, Adolescents, Young Adults--and Their Caregivers, Third Edition

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Type 1 Diabetes: A Guide for Children, Adolescents, Young Adults--& Their Caregivers, 3rd Edition
So far, so good!
Must have
Really a guide for diabetes
Excellent source for health providers and patients

Type 1 Diabetes: A Guide for Children, Adolescents, Young Adults--and Their Caregivers, Third Edition
Ragnar Hanas
Manufacturer: Marlowe & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1569243964

Book Description

Living with type 1 diabetes requires intensive, nonstop daily management, week after week, year after year. This means that young people with type 1 and their parents have to become experts on their own condition—even better informed than the average doctor—and able to self-manage its daily demands. The Type 1 Diabetes Book is the most authoritative book ever published on the condition and will become the one book that every young person with type 1 diabetes will need to own. “In this book,” writes author Dr. Ragnar Hanas, “I speak directly, all the time, to you, the person with diabetes. The topics covered range from how your body works to sweets, treats, and ice cream; from insulin injection technique to long-term complications; and any number of subjects in between. With this book at your side, you can easily and quickly get to know about diabetes and how to handle it with confidence in all the different situations that life has to offer.” With 40 chapters, 430 graphs and illustrations, 168 medical terms explained, and 813 references to articles and journals, no other book available on this subject comes remotely close to the quality or amount of comprehensive information offered here.

Customer Reviews:

Type 1 Diabetes: A Guide for Children, Adolescents, Young Adults--& Their Caregivers, 3rd Edition.......2007-09-21

I have found this book VERY helpful. From time to time we have questions/concerns that come up, we have found easy to understand answers/advise for real life issues.

So far, so good!.......2007-09-09

I have only received this book recently, so I have not read the whole thing. The author doesn't recommend reading it from cover to cover, but to use it more as a reference. I started reading it at the beginning and am now on page 46. It is so interesting, and easy to read, that I see no reason NOT to read it straight through! Even though a lot of the information is technical, it is written in such a way so as to make it fairly easy to understand. My 13-year-old son has only had Type 1 diabetes for three months now and I am hungry for this kind of information. I want to understand this disease as much as possible, and so far, this book is great!

Must have.......2007-06-02

This book is wonderful. I got it shortly after my son was diagnosed and read it cover to cover. I was so happy to have a book with so much information that didn't make me cry from the introduction. So many of the diabetes books begin with a very clinical review of the complications of diabetes. I continue to refer to this book and learn things as I gain more experience with diabetes care. This is a fantastic book loaded with information, but at the same time it is not intimidating like some of the others. Best book I have so far - great reference.

Really a guide for diabetes.......2007-03-29

It is very hard to hear that your son has juvenile diabetes.
I believe docs even don't know the problems you may have,when you 're trying to treat diabetes.After reading this guide now we're more comfortable and can manage diabetes well.

Excellent source for health providers and patients.......2006-12-21

This book is a very useful resource for health providers involved in the care of type 1 DM patients. The authors extensive personal experience is adequately distilled in a clear way. There are many tables and graphs that are useful in everyday practice as well as in patient education. I found the references to be impressive. This book will be a valuable addition to your medical reference library. A spanish version would be most helpful for non-english speaking patients and MD's.

Aurelio Rios-Vaca MD
Facultad de Medicina
Universidad Autonoma de Baja California
Mexicali, BC
Mexico

On the Brink: An Insider's Account of How the White House Compromised American Intelligence

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The G.W. Bush Hallmark
Raises more questions than it answers
No Way to do Business
All the meat is in the first 90 pages, and its mostly sour grapes
Tyler Drumheller Tells it Like it is

On the Brink: An Insider's Account of How the White House Compromised American Intelligence
Tyler Drumheller , and Elaine Monaghan
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 078671915X

Book Description

Though much has been written about the machinations of the Bush Administration and the recent failures of the Central Intelligence Agency, there is still a great deal of information that remains unknown to the American public. In this eye-opening new book, former CIA division chief Tyler Drumheller explores the gradual erosion of the agency's independence over the past 30 years, witnessing its decline through the prism of his own experiences.
A dedicated intelligence professional, Drumheller worked for several administrations, from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush, rising through the ranks to become head of the agency's European division. From that privileged position he watched with growing dismay as the CIA descended into bureaucratic inertia and later, with anger as ideological powerbrokers used the agency to achieve their own political goals.
At Langley, Drumheller had a front row seat alongside Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, and George Tenet. As only a few insiders can, he offers first-hand insight into the agency's relationship with the Bush Administration, sheds new light on how America propelled itself into war with Iraq, and explains how it has had a detrimental effect on our abilities to defend ourselves.

Customer Reviews:

The G.W. Bush Hallmark .......2007-10-20

Almost incredible, how the ideological kidnapping by the Bush administration precipitated the retirement or resign of very senior officers at the CIA - without any regret.

Raises more questions than it answers.......2007-06-16

This is a rather rambling personal account by a former senior executive service member of the CIA. It also includes a fascinating "Episodes from the Life of a CIA Family" by co-author Elaine Monaghan as well as her Afterward which includes extensive excerpts from the Silberman-Robb report (with online URLs) which investigated the issues raised in this book. It's obvious that the author's operational division/group disagreed with its intelligence counterparts in CIA's WINPAC & other intel agencies. The tragedy was that the ops folks were right (this time). Of course, we have no idea how this one event fits into the overall scheme of things statistically. Apparently, the relatively lower level ops folks didn't have the credibility or juice needed on this issue. It's impossible to ascertain whether the fault lay with President & advisors or with CIA top executives (who voluntarily took the blame) since the text seems to disagree with the Silberman-Robb report in this regard. I think it was admirable that Monaghan included such extensive reporting on it. Still, one wonders at this fiasco--not that such a thing could happen, we're all human and this is after all human intelligence = humint, but at the apparent lack of creativity. For example, though the Germans initially denied US agents access to Curveball (they got access eventually--but too late), they could have asked to see him behind one-way glass (done all the time by police during questioning and for lineups) or at least provided the questions to the Germans to ask. It was the questions asked (after access was given) that provided the inconsistencies proving that Curveball was a fabricator. Most appalling, however, was the lack of any integration of intelligence data, even for a particular issue or source. Further, the data provided to users lacked context (i.e. the source WAS considered questionable by some CIA personnel--whether you agreed with them or not). Thus, they had a black & white, all-or-nothing approach to information & data--and they only provided those, NOT knowledge (which requires context). Only knowledge is actionable--not data or information (something out of context is valueless).

No Way to do Business.......2007-03-27

If one is a careful reader, this book provides a fascinating window on how CIA went about its business in the period prior to the tragic attacks of 9/11 and Operation Iraqi Freedom. This, one would suspect, was an unintended consequence of the book. The book is rather disjointed and episodic, but this is probably due to the fact that it is really the informal personal narrative of veteran CIA Officer Tyler Drumheller.

In order to look into the window on CIA activities, one has to sort through the narrative for interesting pieces of information. For example, early on in the narrative the reader learns that prior to 9/11 Drumheller, as chief of the European Division of CIA's Directorate of Operations and his leaders had agreed to "press harder on counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation issues in Europe" and that he "wanted to be more aggressive" in this effort. We are then told that this was really hard because the European security services had a different approach than we did. As an example, Drumheller noted getting a telephone tap in Germany was much more difficult than in the U.S. because the German services had to get taps cleared through a committee of parliament. Yet if the Germans didn't routinely tap telephones there would scarcely have been a legal procedure for doing so in place. Nonetheless one is left with the impression that this was a show stopper for CIA. Also apparently only after his retirement in 2004, did it occur to Drumheller that CIA could have attempted to recruit informants from the large expatriate Muslim population then living in Europe. Country to Drumheller's contention, the risk to CIA relations with their European counterparts would have been minimal, if the recruitment was handled properly. Again this risk was apparently a show stopper for CIA. Finally it is clear from this book that, as late as 2004, CIA still had only a minimalist understanding of the structure and nature of the al Qaeda terrorist movement and, according to Drumheller, was unable to determine if the target should be worked by the geographic divisions or as transnational issue by the Counter-Terrorism Center. This is pitiful.

The issue of Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and the role of a dubious informant called Curveball are also enlightening. Apparently the CIA office for non-proliferation (WINPAC) chose to accept Curveball at his word that the Iraqis had mobile biological warfare laboratories and weapons. Since Curveball was a German asset, Drumheller's division got involved and a nasty fight developed over Curveball's reliability. It is astonishing that in this fight it apparently did not occur to anyone to use CIA's all source charter to look for actual evidence to support or refute Curveball. Indeed apparently no one even bothered to check with bio-warfare experts such as those at Fort Dietrich to see if what Curveball claimed made any sense. Is this what our inflated intelligence budget is buying us?

All the meat is in the first 90 pages, and its mostly sour grapes.......2007-02-22

I've read a few books by ex-CIA folks now and they all seem to have an overblown sense of arrogance and self-importance. Drumheller makes the case that the CIA was made the scape-goat in the lies that supported the Iraq invasion by providing faulty intelligence. The critical point being the Iraqi informant called "Curveball" that was being protected by German intelligence. Drumheller laments that Curball's self-serving claims where used without proper vetting out, that he (Curveball) had been long declared a "fabricator", and that no American intelligence professional had even been allowed to speak with him before Colin Powell used the unproven claims to construct his now famous "mobile biological labs" speech delivered to the UN as the 'foundation' of the WMD case. Drumheller makes this case within the first 90 pages of his book, but also convinces you that while he might be right, he could have been a little more proactive when it mattered. For example, after he reached his epiphany that the administration was molding the intelligence to fit the politics, he should have started talking to the press right then and there. Drumheller's entire mission in this book was to say "the CIA is a good organization, we did our job, but we where wronged". Maybe so, but you took an oath to protect and defend the constitution, you saw it being trashed, and you did nothing when you could have made a difference.

Tyler Drumheller Tells it Like it is.......2007-01-11

On The Brink, is a fascinating look at life inside the CIA, with many insights into the operation of the Bush administration and other presidencies. Drumheller makes a convincing case, about the subtle ways the CIA was led to favor pro war evidence and suppress contrary information. This book is an excellent read and well worth it; Drumheller is a very good writer: Subtle and Intelligent, and a true patriot.

Billions & Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium

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forceful and persuasive
At the end of a remarkable life
A brilliant mind but dangerous
Feel Smarter, BE smarter !
A very important book

Billions & Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium
Carl Sagan
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0345379187
Release Date: 1998-05-12

Book Description

In the final book of his astonishing career, Carl Sagan brilliantly examines the burning questions of our lives, our world, and the universe around us. These luminous, entertaining essays travel both the vastness of the cosmos and the intimacy of the human mind, posing such fascinating questions as how did the universe originate and how will it end, and how can we meld science and compassion to meet the challenges of the coming century? Here, too, is a rare, private glimpse of Sagan's thoughts about love, death, and God as he struggled with fatal disease. Ever forward-looking and vibrant with the sparkle of his unquenchable curiosity, Billions & Billions is a testament to one of the great scientific minds of our day.

Customer Reviews:

forceful and persuasive .......2007-09-12

Sagan covers much more than environmental issues in this book. However, his writing is so forceful and persuasive on environmental issues that this theme overshadows all others in my mind. Before reading this work, I was under the impression that global warming was still a theory and that things were happening so slowly that there was little need for action. Now I'm convinced that we are in the midst of a global crisis, a crisis with the potential for the most catastrophic and irreparable of consequences. The issues covered here are of extreme importance. We all have a responsibility to be informed. Please read at least part 2 of this book, which runs from pages 75 to 178.

At the end of a remarkable life.......2007-05-16

As he knowingly faced the end, Sagan bravely shared his views on a number of subjects: science, politics, philosophy, and the environment. Here are the departing words from a man who spent his life in search of knowledge about nature, not in pursuit of wealth. His admonitions come across as genuine, and his motivations are altruistic. He suggests that some of mankind's present course is noble, while some of it may be terminally perilous. He wisely advises us to choose the path of progress, not the path of confrontation and destruction.

This is an atypical Sagan work. Those wanting him to stick strictly to science will have to modify their expectations somewhat. There's a good amount of science here, but this is his final public farewell to everyone he loved, knew, or influenced. To me, it's a profoundly moving work.

A brilliant mind but dangerous.......2006-12-05

I remember watching Cosmos on television when I was a kid. I didn't question him then or for some time after. The book is entertaining, with good story telling. Sagan makes many excellent points and he is easily understood. These are his final words before his death. If you are looking for hard science, this isn't the book. Politics and propaganda enter a few chapters. Carl was a brilliant mind but dangerous.

Carl discusses society, ethics, morality, rules to live by, and gives us a feel for large numbers. Life maybe not that scarce? His philosophy on a better world is all well and good, but he forgets or ignores there is true evil in the world. He concludes that God and the supernatural as myth, but falls in the same trap by treating theory as fact. What is the amazing brain of evolution, where does it come from? He gives us no real answers. He does not realize or purposely ignores problems with his theories. The new fear is the environmental and climatic warnings. According to Sagan, at the time this book was written, we should be in dire straights in the near future--are we? Is life as fragile as he says? His thoughts come from a secular humanist mind. I still recommend the book.

How does he propose such world wide changes, except by government intervention?

"Our ancestors came from the trees"------------what???????

Wish you well
Scott

Feel Smarter, BE smarter !.......2006-10-17

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Sagan never claims to have ALL the answers, but encourages the reader to think in a non-conventional fashion. As a community college instructor of the Natural Sciences, I appreciate Sagan's ability to describe and relate the micro- and macroscopic nature of the universe. Each chapter reads well on its own. Especially enjoyed the chapter on the myths of Croseus and Cassandra and their applicability to today's political approach towards current environmental and social issues.

A very important book.......2006-09-15

I have read this book a couple of times and I think it's value lies in making you want to go out and protect the enviroment, work for peace, increase science education, etc..... I liked it because he was a wonderfully eloquent person and really made you want to understand more about the enviroment. I also enjoyed demon haunted world and would recommend either book.

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