Amazon.com
Are you just another AFC ("average frustrated chump") trying to meet an HB ("hot babe")? How would you like to "full-close" with a Penthouse Pet of the Year? The answers, my friend, are in Neil Strauss's entertaining book The Game. Strauss was a self-described chick repellant--complete with large, bumpy nose, small, beady eyes, glasses, balding head, and, worst of all, painful shyness around women. He felt like "half a man." That is, until a book editor asked him to investigate the community of pickup artists. Strauss's life was transformed. He spent two years bedding some fine chiquitas and studying with some of the North America's most suave gents--including the best of them all, the God of the pickup "community," a man named Mystery.
Mystery is an aspiring Toronto magician who charges $2,250 for a weekend pickup workshop. He is not much to look at: a cross between a vampire and a computer geek. But by using high-powered marketing techniques he's turned seduction into an effortless craft--even inventing his own vocabulary. His technique sounds like a car salesman's tip sheet: his main rule is FMAC--find, meet, attract, close. He employs the "three-second rule"--always approach a woman within three seconds of first seeing her in order to avoid getting shy. Other tricks: Intrigue a beautiful woman by pretending to be unaffected by her charm; also, never hit on a woman right away. Start with a disarming, innocent remark, like "Do you think magic spells work?" or "Oh my god, did you see those two girls fighting outside?" And finally, the most important characteristic of the pickup artist--smile.
After two years, Strauss ends up becoming almost as successful as Mystery, but he comes to an important realization. His techniques were actually off-putting to the woman he ended up falling in love with. And they never prepared him for actually having a relationship. After a while, he ran out of one-liners and had to have a real conversation. Still, The Game is a great read that may help some AFCs come out of their shells. --Alex Roslin
Book Description
Hidden somewhere, in nearly every major city in the world, is an underground seduction lair. And in these lairs, men trade the most devastatingly effective techniques ever invented to charm women. This is not fiction. These men really exist. They live together in houses known as Projects. And Neil Strauss, the bestselling author, spent two years living among them, using the pseudonym Style to protect his real-life identity. The result is one of the most explosive and controversial books of the year -- guaranteed to change the lives of men and transform the way women understand the opposite sex forever.
On his journey from AFC (average frustrated chump) to PUA (pick-up artist) to PUG (pick-up guru), Strauss not only shares scores of original seduction techniques but also has unforgettable encounters with the likes of Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Heidi Fleiss, and Courtney Love. And then things really start to get strange -- and passions lead to betrayals lead to violence.
The Game is the story of one man's transformation from frog to prince -- to prisoner in the most unforgettable book of the year.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-10-20
I am a new fan of Neil Strauss. More than learning how to "sarge" women, this book will set you on the path to learning how to interact with other people. The things you learn and read about will help you in all areas of your life, just keep an open mind. Way to go Neil.
AWESOME!.......2007-10-19
This book is for all the guys out there who are sick of being told "I just want to be friends" or "you're a really nice guy but it's just not the right time in my life for a relationship" and about one hundred other excuses I've heard over and over again. This book doesn't just cover dating, it covers all the aspects of what make men successful with women. Also,checkout(The Exclusive Layguide: When Dating and Having Sex with Incredibly Hot Women is No Longer Mirage Even If You Don't Look Like a Model or Don't Make a Fortune)
One of the few books I've found that was interesting enough to read completely.......2007-10-17
Fascinating book about the PUA subculture. Love the black leather like binding and the red bookmark. Highly recommend reading for any man that wants to broaden his horizons.
I've read similar books and I'll share some observations to aspiring PUA's : All the good PUA guys either are either somewhat naturally charismatic, or have higher education and / or have established careers with significant incomes. While I'm not suggesting that you have to be rich or handsome to be a successful PUA, you will need to be getting a paycheck somehow. And higher education is a definite plus. Odd how all these books seem to leave out this essential fact.
Invest in yourself. Material things come to those that have self actualized.
If something has a direct benefit to an individual or a class of people, and a theoretical, abstract, or amorphous benefit to everybody else, realize that the proponent's intentions are to benefit the former, not the latter, no matter what bull they try to feed you.
Don't take proffered advice without a critical analysis. 90 % of all advice is intended to benefit the proponent, not the recipient. Actually, the number is probably closer to 97 but I don't want to come off as cynical.
As a young man, you're on your own. Society divides and conquers. Unlike women who have advocates looking out for them (NOW, Women's Study Departments, government, non-profit organizations, political advocacy groups) almost no one is looking out for you. Know that few people have your best interests at heart. Your mother does. Your father probably does (if he stuck around). Your siblings are on your side. Everybody else worries about themselves.
Remember, 97% of all advice is worthless. Take what you can use, and trash the rest.
Lecherous Men Who Need This "Book" For Advice Aren't Real Men And Deserve To Be Lonely, Frustrated & Lacking Self-Worth!!!!!!!!!.......2007-10-17
US culture has coarsened. Republicans are 100% correct in citing this trend that exploded since the 60s, liberal "revolution." Nowhere is this ghastly reality seen worse than The Game and its subordinating, brownnosing, 5-star reviews. Reading these 5-star ratings, the unsuspecting surfer would misconstrue The Game possesses virtue, entertainment and usefulness. My skewering review will disprove the 5-star reviews' fraud and divulge The Game as debauched, sadistic, sophomoric, misogynistic, underhanded, lecherous!!!!
The Game's the libertine story of an LA Times writer who longingly plots to "correct" his frustrated teen and twentysomething years spent without success in "getting laid." He's also insecure and awkward around women; he spends his waking hours longing for tail. His "solution?" Frequent the underground, pickup artist community--via internet groups--to procure tips on seducing, then bedding women. So, he becomes the pupil of the misogynistic and emotionally stunted man-child Mystery, self-proclaimed master of picking up women.
The "star" (Mystery) of Strauss' writing is one of the worst lowlives you'll ever witness. At first, Mystery's in his thirties YET LIVING WITH HIS PARENTS in an underprivileged, Toronto apartment!!!! He's emotionally retarded as evidenced in his confession that he never received love from his father--German immigrant-alcoholic who beat Mystery!--and how he yearns for a polygamist relationship with two lesbians. Mystery's pickup artist routine involves seducing many women to ineffectively battle to bring up his insecure sense of self-worth; underestimating the intelligence of women; and lecherously fu**ing as many women as he can pick up.
Mystery's routine is so elementary that it involves thoughtless, robotic patterns Mystery claims work on all women. From the seedy places described, it appears his routine only works if you target lowlife establishments (bars, clubs, Hollywood parties) and loose women. I repeat: The Game is misdirecting since Mystery's coarse pickup routine is never attempted on women of better breeding, ie., those with education, self-worth, class, morals--in short, conservative-leaning. His routine's only applied to liberal women he finds in the meanest of skid row locales. If one subserviently and errantly uses Mystery's pickup routine on women in normal places--away from the liberal skew of places like Hollywood parties and seedy bars--like malls, parks, offices, community/recreational activities, functions, etc., you'd get slapped in the face, and rightly so.
Mystery's tactics are misogynistic because they devalue women as fu**-buddies (actual term from The Game!) and conquests to be had; Mystery/Strauss admit many times picking up women is an addiction to satisfy their egos. Mystery's tactics involve going into a bar with his insecure, lowlife co-sargers and approaching women within three seconds of eye contact. It continues with pretending to be disinterested in the targeted woman ("negging") while the PUA's wing distracts whoever else in her group. It then, if need be, also resorts to ludicrous magic tricks and calculating demonstrations of value to the targeted woman. This combination of BS is alleged to result in quickly getting an indiscriminate, liberal woman's phone number, or even getting laid that very night!!!!
It's obvious Mystery's game is to be the poor man's Machiavelli, as The Prince dealt with manipulation too; only in The Prince, manipulation was applied intelligently and observed properly. These BS-routines are absurd and untrustworthy that only lonely/mousy nerds desperate for a woman's sexual touch, or sophomoric teenagers should/will bother with them. The censurable absurdity is Mystery proposes women will fall for elementary magic tricks done in bars!!!! Strauss alleges women are like crows hopelessly attracted to shiny objects, that if one ludicrously does magic in front of her, or asks her value-demonstrating questions, she'll put out like a sl*t!!!! No human's that insanely stupid, though liberal women in LA may well be.
Strauss also introduces other characters in the pickup community. There's Papa, Tyler Durden, Ross Jefferies, Sweater, etc.. Like Mystery, ALL suffer from irreversible, emotional damage. Papa's a rich college kid obsessed with scoring; Durden doesn't like girls but lusts for power over women; Jefferies hates women due to a life of rejection; and Sweater naively wants to find a wife. Due to the soulless PUA lifestyle, most of these characters met with misery by the book's conclusion: Papa dropped out of college where he was studying law; Sweater was trapped in a loveless marriage; and even Strauss, the author, was pining for Lisa (Courtney Love's guitar-player) who disdained his lifestyle.
I'll stereotype the demographic of verminous male who basely reads The Game. You're a life-loser who isn't getting any; loathes women; feels inferior; and cannot relate to women in healthy, emotional terms. I bet I'm 100% correct!!!! Ironically, Strauss terms the Alpha Male of the Group as the man who competes with the PUA, yet I feel I'm the Alpha Male of all who've read The Game because I refuse to be so desperate to pick up women by resorting to this BS. I, as the normal, healthy and well-adjusted man, simply relate to women as the human beings they are, and that works a zillion times more effectively than Mystery's BS.
Compelling tale - couldn't put it down.......2007-10-15
Neil Strauss, who co-authored bestsellers about Motley Crue and Jenna Jameson, nails it again with another great tale into the bizarre worlds most of us never visit. This isn't so much a how to pick up women guide. It's a captivating story line as he ventures into the seduction community and grows his skills and insight into his own existence. Truly fascinating. Much of the material the average guy cannot relate to, or will ever experience, but as a page turner it is truly masterful.
I would couple this book with one recommended above by Amazon, The Professional Bachelor Dating Guide - How to Exploit Her Inner Psycho. As you read them, you realize the techniques they teach parallel how to "win friends and influence people", along with how to seduce the babes. The skills dissect and perfect being charismatic and comfortable in new situations with strangers. Get both books, they will accelerate your self-confidence to a very high level; for me it's been life changing.
Amazon.com
We've all been there: We know we must confront a coworker, store clerk, or friend about some especially sticky situation--and we know the encounter will be uncomfortable. So we repeatedly mull it over until we can no longer put it off, and then finally stumble through the confrontation. Difficult Conversations, by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen, offers advice for handling these unpleasant exchanges in a manner that accomplishes their objective and diminishes the possibility that anyone will be needlessly hurt. The authors, associated with Harvard Law School and the Harvard Project on Negotiation, show how such dialogues actually comprise three separate components: the "what happened" conversation (verbalizing what we believe really was said and done), the "feelings" conversation (communicating and acknowledging each party's emotional impact), and the "identity" conversation (expressing the situation's underlying personal meaning). The explanations and suggested improvements are, admittedly, somewhat complicated. And they certainly don't guarantee positive results. But if you honestly are interested in elevating your communication skills, this book will walk you through both mistakes and remedies in a way that will boost your confidence when such unavoidable clashes arise. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
Members of the Harvard Negotiation Project--which brought you the mega-bestseller Getting to YES--show you how to handle your most difficult conversations with confidence and skill.
Whether you're dealing with an underperforming employee, disagreeing with your spouse about money or child-rearing, negotiating with a difficult client, or simply saying "no," or "I'm sorry," or "I love you," we attempt or avoid difficult conversations every day. Based on fifteen years of research at the Harvard Negotiation Project, Difficult Conversations walks you through a step-by-step proven approach to having your toughest conversations with less stress and more success. You will learn:
how to start the conversation without defensiveness
why what is not said is as important as what is
ways of keeping and regaining your balance in the face of attacks and accusations
how to decipher the underlying structure of every difficult conversation
Filled with examples from everyday life, Difficult Conversations will help you on the job, at home, or out in the world. It is a book you will turn to again and again for advice, practical skills, and reassurance.
"Does this book deliver on [its] promise of an effective way through sticky situations, whether 'with your baby sitter or your biggest client'? It does."-- The New York Times
"These talented communicators blend a daunting array of disciplines into highly readable and practical advice."-- Booklist
"Brilliant. . . . I've already re-read most of it. I'm using it. What more could a reader ask?"-- Tom Peters
"Emotional Intelligence applied to life's tough moments."-- Daniel Goleman
Download Description
"What is a difficult conversation? Asking for a raise. Ending a relationship. Saying ""no"" to your boss or spouse. Confronting disrespectful behavior. Apologizing. Conversations we dread, and often handle clumsily as a result, are part of all our lives: in boardrooms and family rooms, across the negotiation table and the dinner table. Now, Difficult Conversations teaches us how to handle these dialogues with more success and less anxiety. How does it work? Based on fifteen years of research and consultations with thousands of people, Difficult Conversations pinpoints what works. The authors discovered that regardless of context, the same small but crucial errors are what trip us up--and a few key adjustments can make all the difference. * The role of emotions--ours and theirs * The impact of what is said and what is not said * Why admitting our mistakes will put us in a stronger position * The truth behind the myth that women are better at expressing their emotions than men * How to respond productively in the face of personal attacks Who is this for? Filled with examples from everyday life, Difficult Conversations is certain to be an instant and lasting classic for families, neighbors, bosses, employees, customers, tenants, landlords, psychologists, teachers, and more. Who are the authors? Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen teach at Harvard Law School and at the Harvard Negotiation Project. They have consulted to countless businesspeople, governments, organizations, and communities including all parties to the negotiations on constitutional transition in South Africa; school teachers in Medellin, Colombia; and community leaders and the police department in Springfield, Massachusetts. They lecture throughout the world and have written on negotiation, conflict resolution, and communication. Bruce Patton is co-author of Getting to Yes."
Customer Reviews:
Insightful guide to conversations without confrontation .......2007-10-22
You will face difficult conversations throughout your life, but now you can learn how to cope with them. This book provides a framework and various strategies for achieving better outcomes from hard exchanges. Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen use principles, illustrative stories and charts to teach you how to understand the components of challenging conversations, and how to prepare for them and transform them into something constructive. The language of the book is clear, insightful, concise and always helpful. You can use these principles in business, but the stories also concern relationships in your everyday life. We say everyone from teenagers to mature adults can use the communication skills discussed in this wise book.
Will you ever have a hard conversation? Sure, you will! Read this book first........2007-09-21
This little book can be a great help. We all have avoided conversations we knew were going to be difficult. Often not talking made things worse, so as things became intolerable we had the discussion and things got even worse. These authors break down the inner structure of difficult conversations and how we often mishandle them. They then show us the ways in which we can turn this into a constructive process that brings more understanding, greater cooperation, and learning that will help avoid repeating the difficulties in the future.
Certainly, I can't recap the whole book in this little review, but I especially like their concept of three conversations happening within each difficult conversation. They are the debate over what happened, the feelings conversation, and the identity issues. In the what happened conversation the problem is that each side assumes it knows the truth, that they know the other party's intentions, and that they know where and how to assign blame. Of course, all this is a fiction and a waste of time. It does nothing to fix the situation or improve the process to avoid the problem in the future. The book then shows you how to have a constructive approach to the same problem. Excellent stuff!
The authors are part of the Harvard Negotiation Project and has a foreword by one of the authors of the famous book, "Getting to Yes". The book is concise, but full of very good information. I recommend it very much.
Reviewed by Craig Matteson - Ann Arbor, MI
Difficult converations.......2007-09-17
this book is well worth the read,
it is easy to get throught, and does not repeat itself.
You want to read the whole book.
nancy carlson
great read.......2007-08-27
This book is used as a textbook at the Harvard MBA. Good tool for those messy conflicts
Best Book on Communication.......2007-08-24
This is the most useful and comprehensive compendium of effective, research validated, communication concepts I have ever seen in one book. Useful for anyone who speaks with other humans, especially significant others, business colleagues and teenagers. If you are a coach, this reading is required. Difficult ideas presented in a way that makes them easy to understand and easy to apply.
Book Description
Students planning to take the Graduate Record Exam will find six full-length model tests with answers and explanations in this up-to-date manual. They will also find intensive test topic reviews covering antonym questions, analogy questions, sentence completion, reading comprehension, vocabulary, analytical writing, quantitative comparison, data interpretation, and math. A 3,500-word master vocabulary list with definitions is supplemented with a GRE high-frequency word list. The CD-ROM enclosed with the book offers a computer-adaptive model GRE test that is similar in structure to the actual GRE test. All questions on the CD-ROM are answered and explained, and exam results are scored automatically.
Customer Reviews:
Helpful Resource .......2007-10-09
I purchased this book in April in preparation for an early August GRE. The Barron's book was my main source of preparation. I created a study schedule up to the date of the test, based on the material in this book. I did EVERY practice exercise. The book is very thorough. I found all sections to be helpful. My personal weakness was/is Math so I did get the Ultimate Math Refresher the last 2 1/2 weeks before the test. I highly recommend that also. I also purchased the GRE Official Guide so I could get some extra Math practice in. I worked with the GRE Powerprep as well. Still, Barron's was my primary source. The Barron's writing section was very helpful in my opinion, but writing is probably one of my better suits. If it's not yours, you may want to try a supplement to the Barron's book. I DID study all 50 of the vocab. lists in the Barron's book. I'd say that's pretty important. So, how did I do on the exam? I scored 670 in Math, 700 in Verbal, and 5.5 on the writing. Good luck to you!
Pretty comprehensive review.......2007-10-04
I couldn't decide between this book and the Princeton Review book (Cracking the GRE, 2007 Edition (Graduate Test Prep)), so I ended up buying & using both. Clearly, Barron's has an extensive vocabulary list. I must admit that, in the end, I wasn't able to study all the words (there's so many!), but there's a high-frequency word list that helps you prioritize which words you should be sure to learn. In comparison to the PR book, Barron's had a lot more exercises; there's a group of exercises at the end of each section. That gave me a lot of practice in applying concepts that I had just reviewed. Also, the book has 5 model tests, which means you have a lot of chances to practice. However, since these are paper-based tests, they're different from the CAT test that you'll actually be taking, and they don't really reflect what your actual scores will be. The CD that comes with this edition of the book simply didn't compare to the online supplement to the PR book. Of interest on the CD are a diagnostic test and a CAT practice test. However, the practice test on the CD recycles all the questions you see in the 5 tests in the book. I took all the tests in the book before I took the one on the CD, and let's just say my score was a little higher than expected because I had remembered the answers to a lot of the questions. I think Barron's gave a pretty good review of the material that shows up on the GRE, but I'd recommend the PR book if you want to get a better idea of how you'll actually do on the GRE.
Excellent GRE prep.. with a couple of caveats.......2007-09-28
I tend to over-research everything, so before embarking on my GRE prep I spent the better part of a day in my neighborhood B&N looking at the plethora (that's a GRE word right there) of prep books available for purchase. My eventual conclusion was that Barron's approach appears to differ substantially from all the other guides, in that it does not place much emphasis on "hacking" the GRE. Instead, it gives you well-thought out guidance and practice opportunities, all with the bare minimum of fluff (I am looking at you, Kaplan). In any case, I gradually became convinced that Barron's would be best suited for my studying style and goals, and it was therefore the only guide that I've used in the course of my GRE prep, along with some freely available ETS materials that I'll touch on in a bit.
So, a month later, with the test finally behind me and having scored in the high 700s on both sections, I still feel that Barron's is a quality product. Firstly, the word lists are excellent; there were at least 3 words on the actual test that I wouldn't have known if it wasn't for Barron's "Essential" list. The ginormous 3500 word list is also quite useful, although I found the word selection to be a little arbitrary -- there are some weirdly specialized terms (tessellated?), and a couple of words felt antiquated (benison? really now). I did like how Barron's went the extra mile with the example sentences -- some were unexpectedly clever and good for a chuckle. Having said that, Barron's also appears to place too much importance on distinguishing fine shades of meaning -- some of the analogies are almost guaranteed to give you a headache, and I thought that the Powerprep and the real GRE were considerably less anal-retentive on that front. Also, the Analytical Writing section is quite short; it won't help you much if your writing skills aren't already reasonably up to par. On the plus side, it has some valuable tips about adapting your writing to the GRE format; the information about structuring your essay was well thought out and matched up with the guidelines on the ETS website. So kudos on the verbal -- the actual test held no surprises on that front, with the level of question difficulty about equal to that of Barron's.
Now on to the math, which is a bit of a mixed bag. On the positive side, the math review is excellent, takes a while to get through, and has some pretty good exercises that get the brain cells firing. In fact, there were a couple of questions on the actual exam that contained "traps" that I was able to recognize quickly due to having seen them in Barron's earlier. However, the test experience on the Q section was very different from Barron's; the time constraints were intense, after the first few questions the level of difficulty increased substantially past anything I've seen in the book, and didn't let up until the very end. I think this may also be why reviewers tend to disagree about whether or not the actual test is more difficult than the material contained in the book. This is probably due to the way the CAT works; it'll give you questions tailored to your level of knowledge. Thus, it's possible that some reviewers had questions that were easier than the book, and some whose questions were more difficult. Having said that, my GRE score were higher on the actual exam than on any of the practice tests from Barron's..
Impressively, the book appears to be almost completely error free. My copy had some typesetting issues with a couple of Quantitative Comparison questions on the sample tests (one or both of the values were missing), but that wasn't overly bothersome. Unfortunately, the Barron's CD is essentially worthless -- it repeats questions from the paper exams, and the actual test experience has a much different feel. Make sure to download the PowerPrep software from the ETS website, but be careful -- if you are taking a PowerPrep practice test at night and your computer's clock rolls over to 12:00am, the software will inform you that you have just ran out of time and kick you out of your current section.
Anyway, that's my take -- hope someone finds this useful..
Barrons is what you need.......2007-09-25
First off let me say I am not good in math and I had not heard ALOT of these words prior to ordering this book. After taking the exam Barrons certainly helped alot because all the words I ever encountered on any practice test were in this book. I used this book, GRE Bible, Powerpre, and the Ultimate Math Refresher. This book teaches you the mechanics of the GRE and offers an abundance of words. I went through the most frequent word list, made flash cards of those words, and made flash cards of any word I encountered on any other practice exam. Instead of reading barrons all night long I just took practice test after practice test which allowed me to get in the flow of taking the exam. The reading comprehension was a bit dense at first but after reading several passages I get use to it. The key is to take multiple tests. GRE bible has 15 tests. Keep taking tests and using this book.
BEWARE. POWERPREP is the only software that gives scores close to the actual GRE exam. GRE Bible is WAYYYYY harder than the actual exam.
Too much great info!.......2007-09-03
I bought this book after reading all the reviews on Amazon. And yes, the 3000 word list is a bit daunting, but I focused my attention on the ones that they hi-lighted as being the high-frequency words to appear on the GRE. That helped ease the anxiety of having to learn 3000 vocab words. I loved that Barron's provided example sentences following their definitions b/c it helped jog my memory as I was studying. Compared to Kaplan, I also loved Barron's approach to the analytical writing portion...it's very straightforward and helpful in the way they instruct you to formulate your essays. I scored pretty high marks on that portion and I primarily used the tips provided by Barron's. As for the math portion, well, I'm entering a social science field, so I just glazed over that part. Overall, I would recommend coupling this purchase with the Princeton GRE prep b/c both offer unique techniques to tackling the GRE.
Book Description
In the course of more than sixty years spent covering Washington politics, Helen Thomas has witnessed a raft of fundamental changes in the way news is gathered and reported. Gone are the days of frequent firsthand contact with the president. Now, the press sees the president only at tightly controlled and orchestrated press conferences. In addition, Thomas sees a growing -- and alarming -- reluctance among reporters to question government spokesmen and probe for the truth. The result has been a wholesale failure by journalists to fulfill what is arguably their most vital role in contemporary American life -- to be the watchdogs of democracy. Today's journalists, according to Thomas, have become subdued, compromised lapdogs.
Here, the legendary journalist and bestselling author delivers a hard-hitting manifesto on the precipitous decline in the quality and ethics of political reportage -- and issues a clarion call for change. Thomas confronts some of the most significant issues of the day, including the jailing of reporters, the conservative swing in television news coverage, and the administration's increased insistence on "managed" news. But she is most emphatic about reporters' failure to adequately question President George W. Bush and White House spokesmen about the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, and on subjects ranging from homeland security to the economy. This, she insists, was a dire lapse.
Drawing on her peerless knowledge of journalism, Washington politics, and nine presidential administrations, as well as frank interviews with leading journalists past and present, Thomas provides readers with a rich historical perspective on the roots of American journalism, the circumstances attending the rise and fall of its golden age, and the nature and consequences of its current shortcomings. The result is a powerful, eye-opening discourse on the state of political reportage -- as well as a welcome and inspiring demand for meaningful and lasting reform.
Customer Reviews:
VERY INTERESTING BOOK.......2007-08-23
Helen Thomas has covered the White House since JFK and her insight into how the media has failed in the recent years to cover the White House and be the Watchdogs of Democracy is "Right on Point." There are very few "Real" Journalists like hardworking Helen Thomas around anymore!!
What's going on in Washington DC?.......2007-05-13
The lady in the red suit scores again with this cogent comment on the Washington press corps. Ms. Thomas, who pitches hardball questions during press conferences if she is allowed to do so, has very coherently and successfully produced a well-reasoned text about why the press corps failed the American people by not investigating the shenanigans surrounding the present administration. This is a necessary read for journalism students and probably for those interested history and political science.
A misleading title on a journalistic memoir.......2007-04-26
This book sorely disappointed me for two reasons. I strongly agree with the thesis of the title, that the media largely abandoned their important duty as watchdogs of democracy in the run-up to the War in Iraq, HOWEVER, this issue amounts to a grand total of ONE chapter in her entire book. The rest is a bunch of anecdotes tied loosely together. In fact, it reads more like an anthology than a unified work.
The second thing that disappointed me was also something of a shock: Helen Thomas, Grand Dame, Dean of the Washington Press Corps, is a lousy writer! I am serious. I read on average one or two political/nonfiction books a month, and this is one of the most poorly written I have read yet. Some of the books I have read are by "regular" people, some by pundits, and some by politicians. Nearly all of them write in a more interesting and engaging style than Mrs. Thomas. Her tone is often conversational at best, and her stories seem to be told as much to discuss presidents' interactions with the media as to tell you what an interesting career she has had.
I could not in good faith give it one star. It isn't horrible. It is just extremely disappointing.
rambling, disjointed, biasd, personal, fun.......2007-02-08
This is a rambling, disjointed, biased, personal account
of what should be an important public issue. The title
has a question mark, and the subtitle identifies the
culprit and makes an accusation. So how does "Watchdogs
of Democracy? The Waning Washington Press Corps and How
It Has Failed the Public" measure up? Not very well on
the subject, but better as a collection of snippets.
The foreword drones on and on for ten pages. Chapter 1
tells us Journalism is an honorable profession in
spite of Jayson Blair and a few others.
Chapter 2 mentions several scandals uncovered by the
press. Chapter 3 has anecdotes about presidents with
the press. Chapter 4 is about press secretaries.
Chapter 5 is about spinning the news.
Chapter 6 is about leakers and whistle blowers.
Chapter 7 admits that the news business is a business.
Chapter 8 complains about the FCC. Chapter 9 is
the subject of the book, the press as lapdogs.
Chapter 10 covers war correspondents, Iraq wars,
and Vietnam. Chapter 11 covers her choice of the
greatest American journalists. There is over 11
pages of closely spaced, double column index,
but no references.
Thomas seems to think there is little in Washington
except the White House. The other branches, and the
bureaus and departments are seldom mentioned.
Some Republicans will be bothered by some of her
attacks, and some Democrats will be delighted.
There are attacks, and both Democrats and Republicans
are the targets, perhaps in equal numbers, but they
are treated differently. Democrats tend to get the
passive voice and quirky little adjectives.
Republicans tend to get the active voice and
malicious adjectives. Bush 43 gets the worst
treatment.
Still, it is an entertaining book. The only time
I was tempted to put it down was Thomas quoting
herself giving a speech disguised as a question at
a White House Press Conference.
Neither focused nor organized.......2007-01-14
This book was clearly written for profit. Many sections of the book are only weakly connected back to the main theme and nowhere does Helen Thomas make her case-in-chief directly. Instead, the reader is treated to a series of vignettes which all too frequently bear only a tenuous relationship to one another and which make no effort to maintain continuity. While each chapter has a reasonably strong cohesion (though those boundaries frequently intersect in a way which would make any Venn diagram lover proud), they work together not as a fine Swiss watch, but instead more like a Rube Goldberg machine.
There is one theme which appears time-and-again: the idea that an objective and vigorous free press is a necessary part of democracy. This point is made consistently throughout the book from a cornucopia of different, albeit predicable, angles, and is artfully shown both implicitly and explicitly through excellent and enjoyable anecdotes accumulated during the author's sixty years as a White House correspondent. Unfortunately for the reader, her anecdotes frequently seem to be included for their value as self-platitudes rather than for intrinsic value or thematic attenuation. Also unfortunate is the inconvenient truth that Helen Thomas is no longer the type of reporter she praises, but the type she opines against: an opinion columnist.
There are certainly gems in the rough scattered throughout the 201 pages, but the author's tendency both to ramble and babble makes them difficult to find and detracts from their value. With regard to Thomas' periodic attempts a historical organization, her comments at the conclusion of chapter four are revealing: "There were other press secretaries and other spokespersons. I have mentioned only a few who stand out in my mind, for better or worse." Indeed, it seems she deemed fit to simply write down a train of thought as it occurred to her in the shower; that is to say, while not devoid of organization, the linking up of subjects is tenuous at best. Perhaps the most interesting and enjoyable aspect of Helen Thomas' writing style in this book is her robust use of vocabulary, which includes a scattering of excellent words on every page (some of which I even had to look up).
Book Description
This self-study guide for the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification exam from the Project Management Institute contains everything project managers need to pass the PMP Exam, including 44 processes, and 592 inputs, tools, and outputs. Exam topics are covered and insider secrets, complete explanations of all PMP subjects, test tricks and tips, hundreds of highly realistic sample questions, and exercises designed to strengthen understanding of PMP concepts and prepare managers for exam success on the first attempt are provided.
Customer Reviews:
Lives up to its name.......2007-10-19
I took the PMP last week, and passed it on my first try. I found that Andy's book played a significant role in that accomplishment.
In preparing for the exam, I took Eddie Merla's boot camp, and thoroughly read and studied the following books (in sequence):
- The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management by Eric Verzuh
- Head First PMP by Jennifer Greene and Andrew Stellman
- PMP In Depth by Dr. Paul Sanghera
- The PMP Exam - How to Pass on Your First Try by Andy Crowe
I found Eric's book a great introduction to the subject mater, and following that with Head First really helped develop my understanding of the PMBOK material. Dr. Paul's approach by Process Group gave me another perspective on the material, which I also found to be beneficial in terms of being ready for the exam's approach. Ending with Andy's book left me really prepared for the exam.
I found that Andy's presentation of the material was very thorough. I really appreciate the way he detailed the flow of inputs and outputs throughout the processes, and took time to point out some of the things that just do not flow that way that many might expect - which really helped me in terms of being prepared for the exam. One thing in particular that I liked about Andy's book is that I really enjoyed reading and studying it - it was not the type of book that was a chore to read. Andy's style was interesting in the sense that I could almost here him speaking to me as I read the material. I have read many books in my day, and I think that this is the first one that achieved that merit. Job well done Andy!
Disappointed.......2007-10-07
I've read this and many other PMP study guides and here is my opinion. I passed the PMP exam but NOT due to this book. The main disappointment I have with this book (and a few others) is that it is organized according to the knowledge areas, whereas the PMP exam specifications by PMI are organized according to the process groups. Also it makes more sense to study project management by process groups because this approach is closer to the real life experience: initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing. If I need to look at the project management body of knowledge organized according to the knowledge areas, I would rather look at the PMBOK Guide. The exam study guides should follow the exam specifications, and should not be a mere re-run of the PMBOK Guide. Also, there is no mention of the exam objectives in any chapter. It reads like more or less a re-run of the PMBOK Guide without any consideration of the exam spec. Other drawbacks of the book are the following:
1.Questions are too easy and not close to the real exam questions
2.For most of the topics the coverage is at very much surface leve, no depth. The adequate explanations and depth are missing.
3.Lots of typos and errors
So, don't use it as a primary source for your preparation. It's ok as a secondary source.
Passed easily!.......2007-09-14
Not sure whether this book was the reason for me passing or the PM PowerTrac CBT tool by Management Concepts (the company I work for has multiple licenses for this). I didn't really do much of the sample questions, I left that to PowerTrac; the content is pretty good though and is readable. I think the key to passing is to understand the structure of the questions and do a few example exams. All in all, my preparation for the exam was about a month, and I wasn't very disciplined either!
If I had used this book first time I would have passed at frst try........2007-09-05
Yes I passed the exam at second attempt. One reason the exam has gotten tough do not expect the question to be as easy as those that are in exercise or simulation exam. For every question you really need to know the fundamentals(as per PMI principles!!). That leads to my second reason for failing, I used much popular Rita Mulacahy's PMP exam prep book. The real problem started when I used the even more expensive PMP fast Track by RMC, each simulation test question answer confused me further. I took the PMP exam and I answered most obvious question with wrong answer. My friend suggested me to forget all other material and focus on this book. This book clearly explains the fundamental behind each knowledge area followed by Input - tools & technique - output of process within this knowledge area. If you understand and remember these gudelines thoroughly you are ready for the exam. If you are lucky and get many math questions you can score up to 70% easily. One more book which helped me was Paul Sanghera's PMP in depth, if you are an IT professional then you may find reading paul's book quiet enjoyable. Good luck.
PMP Reference.......2007-08-26
A great resource for explaining why the answers chosen in their sample exercises are correct or incorrect. This book help to solidify the readers understanding of the PMBOK.
Product Description
Professors Fischl and Paul explain law school exams in ways no one has before, all with an eye toward improving the reader's performance. The book begins by describing the difference between educational cultures that praise students for "right answers," and the law school culture that rewards nuanced analysis of ambiguous situations in which more than one approach may be correct. Enormous care is devoted to explaining precisely how and why legal analysis frequently produces such perplexing situations.
But the authors don't stop with mere description. Instead, Getting to Maybe teaches how to excel on law school exams by showing the reader how legal analysis can be brought to bear on examination problems. The book contains hints on studying and preparation that go well beyond conventional advice. The authors also illustrate how to argue both sides of a legal issue without appearing wishy-washy or indecisive. Above all, the book explains why exam questions may generate feelings of uncertainty or doubt about correct legal outcomes and how the student can turn these feelings to his or her advantage.
In sum, although the authors believe that no exam guide can substitute for a firm grasp of substantive material, readers who devote the necessary time to learning the law will find this book an invaluable guide to translating learning into better exam performance.
Customer Reviews:
Yes........2007-08-10
It seems incomprehensible, not long ago, that this book did not exist! The information accumulated and distributed in this book is priceless. Many law-thought exercises, a challenging read for the mind but not tiring or boring when taken in chunks.
If you're going to law school or are in it right now, and haven't read this, you certainly will regret it!
When's the best time to read?.......2007-05-20
This was a good book, but I kept trying to figure out exactly when it should be read.
I'm starting law school in the fall, so I'm trying to do what prep I can over the summer. Much of this book was understandable for someone who hasn't actually started law school, but there were some concepts that are based on information that you learn in your 1L year. Since this book has tips for preparing for exams ahead of time, it wouldn't make sense to read during the semester (and who would have time, anyway?). In a revision, I would suggest that the authors tune the content slightly to be absorbed more easily by someone who has not started law school yet.
An essential tool for law students.......2007-03-20
I am a law professor at the oldest night law school in San Francisco who has struggled for years to communicate to my stdents how to prepare for exams. I wish someone had told me about this book years ago. It explains cogently and distinctly why law school exams are different than those exams you did so well on in college (or you wouldn't be in law school) and why you need to start thinking differently. The book goes through the different types of questions one mught find on an exam and shows how to address them. It also provides numerous tips on how to study and how to approach exam writing. The book also does a great job of explaining a theme I have pushed for years --- that exam-writing skills are really the writing and thinking skills students will need when they become lawyers. It should be required reading in law schools. And it wouldn't hurt law professors to read the book either.
GREAT information, but dense.......2007-03-09
This is not a book for fast help. It is a great book to use before you anywhere near a time crunch!!!
Not worth it.......2007-01-10
This is full of common sense info. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't buy this book.
Amazon.com
Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed is the glass-half-empty follow-up to his Pulitzer Prize-winning Guns, Germs, and Steel. While Guns, Germs, and Steel explained the geographic and environmental reasons why some human populations have flourished, Collapse uses the same factors to examine why ancient societies, including the Anasazi of the American Southwest and the Viking colonies of Greenland, as well as modern ones such as Rwanda, have fallen apart. Not every collapse has an environmental origin, but an eco-meltdown is often the main catalyst, he argues, particularly when combined with society's response to (or disregard for) the coming disaster. Still, right from the outset of Collapse, the author makes clear that this is not a mere environmentalist's diatribe. He begins by setting the book's main question in the small communities of present-day Montana as they face a decline in living standards and a depletion of natural resources. Once-vital mines now leak toxins into the soil, while prion diseases infect some deer and elk and older hydroelectric dams have become decrepit. On all these issues, and particularly with the hot-button topic of logging and wildfires, Diamond writes with equanimity.
Because he's addressing such significant issues within a vast span of time, Diamond can occasionally speak too briefly and assume too much, and at times his shorthand remarks may cause careful readers to raise an eyebrow. But in general, Diamond provides fine and well-reasoned historical examples, making the case that many times, economic and environmental concerns are one and the same. With Collapse, Diamond hopes to jog our collective memory to keep us from falling for false analogies or forgetting prior experiences, and thereby save us from potential devastations to come. While it might seem a stretch to use medieval Greenland and the Maya to convince a skeptic about the seriousness of global warming, it's exactly this type of cross-referencing that makes Collapse so compelling. --Jennifer Buckendorff
Book Description
In his runaway bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond brilliantly examined the circumstances that allowed Western civilizations to dominate much of the world. Now he probes the other side of the equation: What caused some of the great civilizations of the past to fall into ruin, and what can we learn from their fates? Using a vast historical and geographical perspective ranging from Easter Island and the Maya to Viking Greenland and modern Montana, Diamond traces a fundamental pattern of environmental catastrophe—one whose warning signs can be seen in our modern world and that we ignore at our peril. Blending the most recent scientific advances into a narrative that is impossible to put down, Collapse exposes the deepest mysteries of the past even as it offers hope for the future.
“Diamond's most influential gift may be his ability to write about geopolitical and environmental systems in ways that don't just educate and provoke, but entertain.” —The Seattle Times
“Extremely persuasive . . . replete with fascinating stories, a treasure trove of historical anecdotes [and] haunting statistics.” —The Boston Globe
“Extraordinary in erudition and originality, compelling in [its] ability to relate the digitized pandemonium of the present to the hushed agrarian sunrises of the far past.” —The New York Times Book Review
Customer Reviews:
Collapse.......2007-10-17
The author did research into the ancient societies to come up with some lessons for our own future. Very interesting reading.
A Life-Changing Book.......2007-10-13
This extraordinary book will change the way you look at life and man's fate. Unlike Al Gore, Diamond deliberately under-argues his case, which makes it all the more compelling. And unlike Gore, he does not open himself to easy and cheap criticism by focusing on just one factor like climactic warming. He clearly believes in global warming from man-made effects. But what he demonstrates is the full range of our environmental quandary.
Putting aside global warming, how do we deal with the inherent limits on absolutely vital commodities -- sunlight, fossil fuels, fresh water,building materials, clean air, clean water, good land, the productive value of agricultural land? Then he shows the pressure of and irreversible momentum of population growth and the ambition of third world peoples to achieve the standard of living of first world peoples. Then he shows how even the first world cannot continue to sustain that standard.
Combined with this are the examples of past civlizations that failed by not solving their environmental problems. Most chilling is how those societies could remain in denial and do nothing until too late.
Diamond does include examples of successful societies that managed their environmental challenges. And he professes to be an optimist. But I find myself increasingly pessimistic about man's fate after reading this book. The Earth is a jealous mistress, and we cannot afford to take her for granted and to ignore the fragility of the environment and resources on which we depend.
The book is also extraordinary for its exploration of political and cultural issues. One of the most interesting chapters is his comparison of the Dominican Republic and Haiti -- two very different societies on two halves of the same island. He argues quite convincingly that the very different fates of the two societies are attributable to political, historical, and cultural developments. Though there are some differences between each half of the island, each is blessed with the same essential environment. Hence this is a great test case for proving or disproving environmental determinism -- and Diamond comes out against determinism.
Similarly compelling is the Rwanda chapter, which demonstrates that while the small differences and petty resentments between races can be the spark for genocidal conflict, race really doesn't explain the conflict. What explains the conflict is political manipulation of race and the great pressure asserted by declining wealth and resource limitations.
Diamond predicts that wars may well become more common in the new century given the competition for resources. This is a depressing observation for those who hoped that the lessons of the Twentieth Century would make wars far less common.
This is a terrific book and a must-read.
Brilliant. Engaging. Informative.........2007-10-01
Amazing book. He manages to hold my interest while providing a wealth of facts.
Mostly on the mark.......2007-09-28
Diamond hits pretty much on the mark all the way across the board. Weakness: for the most part ignores or minimizes the effect of marketing/advertising/propaganda on human consumption patterns. Strengths: one of the few books on this broad subject that actually deals with over-population; indeed, had he concentrated more on this one most important issue, I would have given "Collapse" 5 stars.
I would strongly recommend this book for anyone concerned with the future of the human race.
Collapse review.......2007-09-24
Another excellent book. I realized when I bought this book that I own and have enjoyed all of Jared Diamond's books. His topics and hypostheses are fascinating and compelling.
Book Description
Restaurants are one of the most frequently started small businesses, yet have one of the highest failure rates. Survivors need a powerful strategic advantage: a sound business plan and feasibility study prior to opening. A new study from The Ohio State University has found the restaurant industry failure rate between 1996 and 1999 to be between 57-61 percent over three years. Don't be a statistic on the wrong side, plan now for success with this new book & CDRom package.
A business plan precisely defines your business, identifies your goals, and serves as your firm's resume. The basic components include a current and pro forma balance sheet, an income statement, and a cash flow analysis. It helps you allocate resources properly, handle unforeseen complications, and make good business decisions. Because it provides specific and organized information about your company and how you will repay borrowed money, a good business plan is a crucial part of any loan application. Additionally, it informs personnel, suppliers, and others about your operations and goals. Despite the critical importance of a business plan, many entrepreneurs drag their feet when it comes to preparing a written document. They argue that their marketplace changes too fast for a business plan to be useful or that they just don't have enough time. But just as a builder won't begin construction without a blueprint, eager business owners shouldn't rush into new ventures without a business plan.
The Cd Rom will cover the following subjects: Elements of a Business Plan, Cover sheet ,Statement of purpose, The Business, Description of The Restaurant, Marketing, Competition, Operating procedures, Personnel, Business insurance, Financial Data, Loan applications, Capital equipment and supply list, Balance sheet, Breakeven analysis, Pro-forma income projections (profit & loss statements), Three-year summary, Detail by month, first year, Detail by quarters, second and third years, Assumptions upon which projections were based, Pro-forma cash flow, Supporting Documents, For franchised businesses, a copy of franchise contract and all, supporting documents provided by the franchisor, Copy of proposed lease or purchase agreement for building space, Copy of licenses and other legal documents, Copy of resumes of all principals, Copies of letters of intent from suppliers, etc.
A new study from The Ohio State University has found the restaurant industry failure rate between 1996 and 1999 to be between 57-61 percent over three years. Don't be a statistic on the wrong side, plan now for success with this new book and CD-Rom package.
Customer Reviews:
The perfect tool for reassurance.......2007-05-13
Especially for people who have been in the business for awhile, but never did their own thing- the sample business plan/program outlines major items you may not have thought about.
Also has helpful contacts, web addresses, and other resources pertinent in educating someone on opening a restaurant.
Opening a Restaurant or Other Food Business Starter Kit: How to Prepare a Restaurant Business Plan & Feasibility Study by Sharon.......2006-12-29
Sharon Fullen provides thought-provoking as well as practical steps to prepare for entrepreneurship by making the Readers aware that opening a restaurant is more than an idea but requires planning.
Not only are you moved to do more than come up with a wish list but one must take the time to write their vision, study the market, and come to terms if their business idea will be a profit maker or a profit shaker.
Such helpful information can propel the business in positive directions and bring about a boost in the economy by following the guidelines and suggestions within this book.
The added benefit of having a CD to provide hands-on experience of completing a business plan is another way the author shows her expertise in bringing the tools in the book to actual life for the Readers. The old saying that " experience is the best teacher" or "practice makes perfect" seems to have been a consideration of the author. This in my opinion sets this author apart from others.
Great book for starting restaurant business.......2006-12-23
Before reading this book I have never thought that opening a small restaurant might be so involved process. But I guess it is better to learn it before you invest your money. I am glad I read this book it opened my eyes and allowed to look behind my dream of being a restaurant owner. I would not say this book discouraged me - not at all. I will be able to make more educated decisions instead of emotional ones.
Recommend it to everyone who thinks of opening a restaurant business.
Guide for Starting a Restaurant.......2006-12-20
This Restaurant starter kit is a good reference as well as the companion CD that provides a sample business plan. From preliminary information gathering in preparation to writing the business plan such as market research, audience, expected clientele, scope of perceived services, menu planning this resource provides all the pieces necessary to guide you through the start-up process.
The section on software is expertly done in providing the layperson with a grasp of the software available and will save a fortune in missteps if read and followed. The choice in software can undoubtedly determine the quality and speed that you develop your plan.
Sharon Fullen does an exceptional job in guiding the layperson through the process of the feasibility analysis to include concept, location, execution and financing thus rounding out the completed business plan. The idea of a marketing plan is discussed showing the importance of a well-planned and executed marketing effort versus just tossing a few bucks to the wind and hoping for the best. The author has provided an invaluable tool for the upcoming restaurateur as he/she plans, develops and opens their life dream.
Holding Success in Your Hand!.......2006-05-24
While this resource guide by Sharon Fullen may not deal with the most glamorous aspect of opening a new restaurant or other food business, it certainly discusses the most import: the business plan. The entire book and accompanying CD-ROM handles basic business preparation with aplomb. Starting with What is a Business Plan? and ending with an entire chapter devoted to an example of a sample business plan, Fullen leaves no stone unturned. She highlights business plan writing strategies, pinpoints problem areas that are often stumbling blocks to success, intersperses invaluable information on writing a feasibility analysis and deftly assists the reader with ideas on how to implement and understand successful marketing strategies. One section that should not be skipped discusses Getting Your Plan Published, offering tips on standing above the competition when presenting your business plan. The CD-ROM is an extra bonus that affords you the luxury of having printable examples and a portable way to use and share your new-found information. Opening a Restaurant or Other Food Preparation Starter Kit is a must-have resource for any aspiring restaurant owner; a resourceful guide that offers sound advice, concrete examples and hidden nuggets of valuable information that only serve to solidify a sound start to the opening of your new restaurant.
Book Description
Straight from the front line of urban America, the inspiring story of one fiercely determined teacher and her remarkable students.
As an idealistic twenty-three-year-old English teacher at Wilson High School in Long beach, California, Erin Gruwell confronted a room of “unteachable, at-risk” students. One day she intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature, and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust—only to be met by uncomprehending looks. So she and her students, using the treasured books Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo as their guides, undertook a life-changing, eye-opening, spirit-raising odyssey against intolerance and misunderstanding. They learned to see the parallels in these books to their own lives, recording their thoughts and feelings in diaries and dubbing themselves the “Freedom Writers” in homage to the civil rights activists “The Freedom Riders.”
With funds raised by a “Read-a-thon for Tolerance,” they arranged for Miep Gies, the courageous Dutch woman who sheltered the Frank family, to visit them in California, where she declared that Erin Gruwell’s students were “the real heroes.” Their efforts have paid off spectacularly, both in terms of recognition—appearances on “Prime Time Live” and “All Things Considered,” coverage in People magazine, a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley—and educationally. All 150 Freedom Writers have graduated from high school and are now attending college.
With powerful entries from the students’ own diaries and a narrative text by Erin Gruwell, The Freedom Writers Diary is an uplifting, unforgettable example of how hard work, courage, and the spirit of determination changed the lives of a teacher and her students.
The authors’ proceeds from this book will be donated to The Tolerance Education Foundation, an organization set up to pay for the Freedom Writers’ college tuition. Erin Gruwell is now a visiting professor at California State University, Long Beach, where some of her students are Freedom Writers.
Customer Reviews:
Wow!.......2007-10-24
This has got to be one of the most inspirational stories I've read,,the only thing is I don't know that the book would have made sense if I hadn't already seen the movie. This is one of the only times I would tell you to see the movie first!
Get to Know the Other Side.......2007-10-22
This is a book which can open the eyes of some of us who were not raised in, essentially, dangerous circumstances. The inspiring accomplishments that one woman's generous heart and LISTENING provided for her students, and their own expressive outlet in writing, is an educator's marvel. Would that all teachers could pull for their student's lives in the way the author did.
Review of Freedom Writers Diary.......2007-10-10
The book is a great read. I would definitely recommend to teachers, especially those that teach or will teach a widely diversified class. Not just teachers should read it. You really get an idea how crazy being racist and prejudiced is and how many people can be hurt by it. Nothing was edited so you get the full feelings of what those teenagers lived through.
I wonder what it was actually like..........2007-09-12
There were lots of positives and negatives that stuck out to me when I read this book which really bothered me.
Let's start with the teacher. We get occasional reflections from Erin Gruwell throughout the book, and in the beginning, they provide a way for us to get to know the teacher and to experience some of the adversity and the troubles that she was experiencing with running her classroom in the unorthodox style she managed. As the book progresses, the majority of these insights begin to fade into a simple account of what she did, the awards they won, and the plans that she had. For instance, she briefly mentions that she had to struggle to teach these kids for their senior year, and then she breezes over how she got that done and launches into an explanation of the binding of their book and the two awards ceremonies that she's attending. This robs the teachers out there of a great potential resource for them to use and understand, and glosses over the reality of politics in education.
The other issue I had was with the journal entries of the students. While I'd love to believe what I'm seeing, I have a difficult time believing that these entries the children wrote were not blown a little out of proportion during the editing or completely contrived from the get-go. Before you jump all over me for having a lack of faith in these kids, look at what we're presented with: the first few journal entries, which these kids supposedly wrote on the first few days of class are every bit as long and as detailed as their later entries in their senior year...and this is supposedly when they were well below the rest of their grade and their expected reading level, and when they had no faith in their teacher whatsoever. What we are left with, then, is a look only at where they were during their junior and senior years, with no gauge of progress or results to compare.
Because of the way the book was put together (entries are numbered rather than being entered chronologically, and no students are named), there is a lack of continuity between chapters, and no characters. Thus, all we are left with are two styles of entries: 1) the entries about struggles and hardships, and 2) the hopeful entries. You are completely unable to identify the students and connect who wrote which entries unless the stories are about a single club or experience. I would much rather have seen the students be given fake names to keep their anonymity protected, because then we not only benefit from a more personal connection to the students, but we also get to see how they've grown from their struggles, and we could break up some of the monotony between struggle stories and hope stories.
Then you get the obligatory "Anne Frank [or insert speaker here] is my hero" entries that read almost exactly like essays that I used to write for the sole purpose of appeasing a teacher who clearly has a tremendous interest in the speaker or book. While the experiences these students had were much more impressive than a simple book or movie, the similarity is astonishing, and I can't help but believe that these kids felt a lot of pressure and wrote what they felt the teacher wanted to hear rather than what they actually felt.
The entries that we are presented with in this book are also extremely toned down versions of the original, which in some sense steals from the power that they can convey. As a couple of students pointed out, the editing process was a big part of putting this book together, and I'm not sure whether it was the authors themselves or the publisher, but the snippets that we are given in the diaries are about the editing process are much more honest and graphic accounts of what happened to the students than the full diaries that we are given in the pages of the book. Some were certainly removed to protect anonymity, and probably also because of their graphic nature, but I believe that readers could have benefited from a slightly more realistic tone. The PG13 edit that the majority of these accounts are given strips the events of their power.
On the whole, though, that doesn't take away from the fact that Gruwell is clearly a very gifted teacher, and that she did take these children much farther than anyone ever expected of her. The lessons in the book are timeless, in that classroom management is all about building relationships, not only amongst students, but also between the teacher and the students. It's inspirational, and impressive, but clearly a bit contrived and heavily, heavily edited. This book is a pretty good read, but I think you have to take it with a grain of salt.
An inspiring story........2007-08-27
I loved reading the stories from the voices of the various students and hearing how they discovered love and hope despite their difficult home lives.
Average customer rating:
- Totally irrational
- While Europe Slept:
- Good read, unique perspective
- Serious Eye Opener
- IN REALITY, AN OLD PROBLEM IN A NEW FORM
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While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within
Bruce Bawer
Manufacturer: Doubleday
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The Force of Reason
ASIN: 0385514727
Release Date: 2006-02-21 |
Book Description
The struggle for the soul of Europe today is every bit as dire and consequential as it was in the 1930s. Then, in Weimar, Germany, the center did not hold, and the light of civilization nearly went out. Today, the continent has entered yet another “Weimar moment.” Will Europeans rise to the challenge posed by radical Islam, or will they cave in once again to the extremists?
As an American living in Europe since 1998, Bruce Bawer has seen this problem up close. Across the continent—in Amsterdam, Oslo, Copenhagen, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, and Stockholm—he encountered large, rapidly expanding Muslim enclaves in which women were oppressed and abused, homosexuals persecuted and killed, “infidels” threatened and vilified, Jews demonized and attacked, barbaric traditions (such as honor killing and forced marriage) widely practiced, and freedom of speech and religion firmly repudiated.
The European political and media establishment turned a blind eye to all this, selling out women, Jews, gays, and democratic principles generally—even criminalizing free speech—in order to pacify the radical Islamists and preserve the illusion of multicultural harmony. The few heroic figures who dared to criticize Muslim extremists and speak up for true liberal values were systematically slandered as fascist bigots. Witnessing the disgraceful reaction of Europe’s elites to 9/11, to the terrorist attacks on Madrid, Beslan, and London, and to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bawer concluded that Europe was heading inexorably down a path to cultural suicide.
Europe's Muslim communities are powder kegs, brimming with an alienation born of the immigrants’ deep antagonism toward an infidel society that rejects them and compounded by misguided immigration policies that enforce their segregation and empower the extremists in their midst. The mounting crisis produced by these deeply perverse and irresponsible policies finally burst onto our television screens in October 2005, as Paris and other European cities erupted in flames.
WHILE EUROPE SLEPT is the story of one American’s experience in Europe before and after 9/11, and of his many arguments with Europeans about the dangers of militant Islam and America’s role in combating it. This brave and invaluable book—with its riveting combination of eye-opening reportage and blunt, incisive analysis—is essential reading for anyone concerned about the fate of Europe and what it portends for the United States.
Customer Reviews:
Totally irrational .......2007-10-24
The book tackles the important and complex issue of the underclass immigrant communities in Europe. Some of these communities (Muslim, Christian, animists, etc..) have serious financial, social, and educational problems that need to be resolved in order for these millions to assimilate well in their respective societies.
Instead of tackling the historical background of the problem that dates to colonial times, societal prejudice against immigrants in Europe, or government policies that encourage the ghettoization of these communities, the author chooses to attribute all these problems to the religion of some of these immigrants!
This bizzare approach which contradicts every rule of rational analysis exploits the fear and ignorance that the layman have regarding Islam to sell an otherwise ridiculous argument.
While Europe Slept:.......2007-10-18
While Europe Slept: was a real eye opener! As an American that has not been to Europe in 34 years I had no Idea! America Alone goes hand in hand with this publication. To anyone that has no clue as to what is now going on in Europe These books are a very good place to start. One might also see the book "Infidel": another exelent book. Good fortune with your quest for Knowledge. We have much to learn and a very short time in which to do so. That which is currently devouring Europe: Has already began here!
Good read, unique perspective.......2007-10-10
Excellent book written from the point of view of a man who really stands to lose a lot as islam strangles out Europe's sense of personal freedoms. Demonstrating his frustrations over how liberals can't see how their own soft racism against muslims is turning the disenfranchised muslim populations against the mainstream and will eventually lead to the loss of all the things liberals hold most dearly.
Serious Eye Opener.......2007-09-26
Having read a number of books about Islam and its role in the world, I didn't expect to find much I didn't know in this book. I was astonished at how much I learned!
The author takes a variety of social aspects - education, immigration, media, legislation and law enforcement to name a few - and pulls them all together to give a clear picture of what life on the streets of Europe is like for the burgeoning Muslim population and the rest of us.
Although I wasn't expecting or appreciative of the author's homosexual-rights bias, there was no denying the truth of his words or the accuracy of his information.
Every American should have to read this book, and our legislators need to take it's warnings to heart if we want to avoid the disaster that Europe now faces.
IN REALITY, AN OLD PROBLEM IN A NEW FORM.......2007-09-21
I'll break my review into several parts:
1). In the Fall of 1989, I served as a Fulbright Senior Research Fellow at the Vrije Unviersity of AMsterdam. Everything Bawer describes about European values, attitudes,society, their elites, etc., is absolutely correct. I saw it first hand. Because of the demise of patriotism and a value system, Dutch (and much of European) society has become one where social standards have evaporated. Thus, lacking a moral and ethical compass, an understanding of what is right and wrong, and a devotion to a coddling welfare state, they have created a vacuum that the Jihadists are only too willing and eager to fill. They created their own mess.
However, what he describes is ingrained in the Euroopean system throughout their history. I know. I immigrated from there as a child. Just the players have changed.
2). What Bawer did not disclose. WHile In the Netherlands, I discovered that Dutch corporations preferentially recruit workers from the military to staff the assembly line to the Board room. Many of these former military types "yearn to be of public service" and run for their parliament. Close to 55% of elected Dutch officials have a military background.
In 1989, I asked someone in the US Embassy what would happen if an economic turn down occurred. Would these ex-miltiary elected officials say "Ya, right, let's take over and run ze country like za military to fix ze problems" and would this lead to the re-emergence of militaristic fascism? I was made to understand this was a major concern. Bawer is correct in raising the issue of re-emerging fascism in response to the rising tide of Islamistc fascism in Europe, but he understated it. Likely, that will be the outcome to counter the Jihadists when crunch-time comes.
As my father once told me "beware of the man on a white horse." European hsitory is a continuiong saga of leaders on white horses, and becsue history repeats, it is likely to happen again.
Bawer also did not mention the following. European countries with former empires have only themselves to blame. When they gave up their empire, they still considered former residents (including native/ethnic people) of their "colonies" to be be citizens of the "Empire" and gave them British and French and Dtuch passports for openers. Many used these passports to immigrate to the UK, the Netherlands, and France. In 1960 when visiting London, I was astounded at the number of Pakistanis working as bus ticket collectors, street sweepers, and garbage men because British workers didn't want to do those job and instead collect welfare. Those Pakistanis saved their money, opened businesses, imported their wives and proceeded to multiply at a high rate, while establishing mosques and then importing immans.
3). What are the solutions?: Bawer really didn't have many. So here are some. First, if it is true that immigrants are tearing up their ID's and flushing them down the toilet on airplanes on the way to Europe and then claiming asylum, European governments COULD require that all ID's be turned over at check in, taken on board in a sealed container, and returned to the incoming passengers on landing at the immigration counter in the presence of a European immigration officer. That might slow things down with regard to fake asylum.
Second, European government should start shipping out ALL radical Muslim immans and radical Islmaic sympathizers (including those born in Europe) back to the country of their heritage.
Third, European governments should require that all children born in their country of foreign parents must attend school in Europe, and not be shipped at age 3 back to the Islamic world for an education, only to reappear later as adults. All subsidies for such children should be stopped if they leave the country. The only exception would be if the parents leave the country permanently too.
Fourth, Eruopean governments MUST stop subsidizing all religious schools, denominations, and institutions if they truly want to separate Church and State. Clearly, the failure to do so has been misunderstood, abused and corrupted.
Fifth, require all incoming "fetch brides" to be screened by embassies around the world before giving them visas. Use a system like the US uses in such circumstances.
Sixth, place a limit on the number of children the government will subsidize to three children. If a family has more than three children, no subsidies for the new ones. (Works in China to a point?)
If Bawer has sized up European attitudes correctly, and I believe he has, don't expect this to happen. But these proposals would help contain the problem in part.
Last, I have a question for Bawer? Why does he still chose to live in Europe? When I left the Netherlands in 1989 after living there six months, I vowed never to return and I haven't. It was bad then, and has become worse now.
RECOMMENDATION: Buy this book. It could happen in the USA and there are signs that in some parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states some of this is developing.
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