Biography Books

Blomberg's "Jesus and the Gospels" is no light reading. It is comprehensive and academic, though very accessible and understandable. Blomberg seemingly lays out everything a person could want to know about the four gospel accounts of the life of Jesus. He manages to maintain a strictly evangelical voice throughout, yet his points are intellectually-sound and smoothly articulate and should be helpful to many outside evangelicalism.

Again, the strength of Blomberg's work is its exhaustive nature. Some of the most instructive parts of the book are the historical and political background that he provides. This stuff sets the stage for the gospels to make sense, and evangelicals are certainly guilty of misinterpreting much of Scripture due to a simple misunderstanding (or even ignoring) of context.

Though this work is academic, it is also pastoral. Honestly, the final chapter, in which he summarizes the nature of who Jesus really was and considered Himself to be, is worth the price of the book by itself. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to more fully understand the life of Jesus and is willing to do a little bit of mental work to read, think, and learn.

This book is being used as a text for an on line Life Of Christ class. It continually exceeds other class resources in depth and scope of information. Mr. Blomberg is open to alternative interpretations of questionable historical markers, is seldon dogmatic, but keeps the main thing the main thing. Be prepared to take lots of notes to ensure you catch all the direction changes as he presents differing interpretations of the same event/information. Great use of sources old and new.

The construction of the book is less than stellar. I am only two weeks into the class and back cover has totally seperated from the binding. A little duct tape does wonders. As I said, this is an online class so the book is not hard travelled or misused to account for the damage.

Blomberg wrote an excellent book. This book is a careful study of the context, life and times of Jesus in the first century. This book is not 'light reading,' and probably needs to be done when you are fully engaged. With that said, it will put you in a different zone in your knowledge of the first century and the Gospels than before you read it. JVD

I must say that I really love this book. This is one of those books that you know you are going to keep always in your library, a book that will help you whether you decide to become a minister a teacher or whatnot. You will, years from now, find yourself coming back to this book again and again because it is just that good. I am going through, well, finishing up, my first half of studying the New Testament at the seminary I am going to. Blomberg's book has truly helped me see and understand the concepts and the considerations and the structures and the messages behind the Gospels (which is primarily what I am studying in the first half of NT study). Yes this book is rather academic, it isn't the kind of book that you would just sit down on a Summer's afternoon to read. Instead, this book helps you to fully appreciate the Gospels, and more to the point, appreciate our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and all that He did and still does in the world. Blomberg's book helps you to realize that the Gospels are living works of writing, that they speak volumes of love, mystery, grace, and yes even judgment toward those of us who dare to see the truth, the way, and the life. Blomberg isn't perfect, and you probably wont agree with each and every detail that he speaks of, which is understandable, but still, you will indeed learn a lot about the NT and the Gospels found therein. I suggest that if you are truly interested in learning about the New Testament and that you have the time and the patience to study fully all that there is to know about the New Testament (and not just some garbage that you might find from the liberal left like the Jesus Seminar and people like John Spong), you really need to begin with this book on the Gospels. Yes be prayerful as you study, but have this book (and the sequel to this book, From Pentecost to Patmos) by your side. You wont be sorry, it will truly help you in your journey with Christ Jesus!

this is a very sane and sober comprehensive dig into a wealth of issues surrounding Jesus studies and the four gospels of the new testament. A tremendous amount of issues are put on the table and you will truly learn alot from this book. Well researched, careful scholarship and a well read author who is indeed conservative, but not a fundamentalist. The only quibble I have with this work is that I wish it dealt a bit more with the greco-roman milieu of miralcles, myths and mystery religions. These subjects are included in this book to be sure, but I think more material would have been helpful. This is only a minor quibble though, after all, one volume can only pack so much into it. I also think that on a few rare occasions His conservative bent may get the better of him, but again, I would say this is rare. It is a bit of a tedious read in some ways, but this is to be expected from a work that is not designed to be a fun narrative story. This is not a devotional read, but rather this work seeks to educate readers on the historical issues of Jesus studies as well as the gospels along with the meaning and understanding thereof. This is sorely needed as too much "bible teaching" today is less than grounded in careful sanity. For a very accurate study of Jesus issues with sanity, don't miss this one! Also see N.T. Wright's, The Original Jesus, and Peter Walker's little book by Intervarsity Press, Jesus in His World. These are top notch intro level books helping one to understand Jesus according to His historical and cultural context.

"All Creatures Great and Small" is the first of four books in this brilliantly written series. The companion volumes are "All Things Bright and Beautiful", "All Things Wise and Wonderful", and "The Lord God Made Them All". James Herriot (whose actual name was James Alfred Wight) began his veterinary practice in 1939 and continued serving his community for half a century. Each story that he penned carries the reader deep into the Yorkshire countryside of England and into the lives of many colorful and entertaining characters, both people and animals. You will be captured by the tales and find yourself laughing out loud at the antics of man and beast, relecting on the beauty of the close friendship of a pet, and weeping over losses that we all suffer when one of our animal friends pass. These are books to read again and again because they show the depth of compassion that one man had for God's creatures through a life lived in simplicity, and yet his writings are a profound example to all who love and care for animals.

I bought the book for my 11 yo cause it was recommended. i ended up reading and enjoying the book, but how someone can imagine it suitable for youngsers under 18 is beyond me.

god blessed james . author/vet herriot wrote one of the most beautiful , loving , detailed and moving books you'd ever have the good fortune of stumbling across . i read a portion in a jr. college reader and then swiftly got the book . james was clearly one of the greatest writer/humans of any time . what a gift his insight and stories are . required reading for all humanity .

The classic story based on the real life experience of a veterinarian in Yorkshire, England. James Herriot comes to Darrowby during a time when jobs are scarce and he needs to stay. But he finds he loves the people and the animals.

His associates are a lively bunch. His boss, Siegfried Farnon, is kindhearted, but has an annoying habit of contradicting himself (and then blaming it on James). Siegfried's brother, Tristan Farnon, is the younger almost-vet who is stuck with the worst jobs, loves the ladies and a drink or two. The farmers and neighbors are generally are hardworking lot. Their stories give the true color of the place and time. James also meets Helen Alderson, the beautiful and enchanting daughter of a farmer.

The classic tale was also turned into a BBC series (7 seasons). I would highly recommend both!

Mr. James Herriot is an uncommon writer, possessed of extraordinary skill and a mastery of the English language. When speaking of works of fiction, he is my favorite writer. His ability to choose perfectly appropriate and descriptive words, phrases, and metaphors to verbally illustrate unique characteristics, landscapes, feelings, and situations still has me mesmerized.

"All Creatures Great and Small" is autobiographical in that Mr. Herriot is the central character of the book, though James Herriot is the pen name of the real author, Jim Wight. However, since the work is defined as a novel, then one may assume that Mr. Herriot took certain liberties in relating many of the tales he unfolds. Mr. Herriot is a veterinary surgeon, and much of his novel specifically involves dealing with particular cases of sick livestock and ailing house pets. One should not quickly conclude, however, that this story is merely about the ramblings of a country animal doctor who at times finds himself in interesting situations, as some reviewers would suggest.

Instead, my feeling is that Mr. Herriot utilized his visits to multiple and varied farms and residences in the British countryside to highlight the individual conditions, attitudes, and distinctive persons he discovered at each location. The book becomes absolutely delightful and poignant, for instance, when Mr. Herriot kindly sits at an aging woman's bedside and tenderly comforts her with his voiced belief that her devoted, loving dogs and cats are indeed possessed of souls and that she need not fear that they will again be her companions in the afterlife.

And I do not believe I have laughed out loud so frequently while reading one book. Some of my personal favorites are when his brakes go out on his car and he must navigate a steep and winding descent to the bottom of a low valley, where his next veterinary visit is scheduled, and when he finds himself on his first date with the woman he is destined to marry and the only respectable dress suit he owns is several years out of fashion and far too tight-fitting, which is partly why he becomes far too nervous and a bout of awkward conversation and actions follow. Additionally, much might be said here about the quirky relationship Mr. Herriot has with his unpredictable and explosive yet perfectly harmless and generous employer, a Mr. Siegfried Farnon, and Siegfried's younger brother, Tristan. Farnon's demanding attitude regarding his veterinary business affairs, especially in the face of Tristan's irresponsibility in mishandling assignments and responsibilities, is often the basis for much of the hilarity in the book.

In speaking of his relationships with those to whom he is closest on a personal level and the frequently visited owners of his animal patients, Mr. Herriot has an especially profound gift when it comes to praising the best characteristics that are found in the human race. He speaks with eloquent fondness when describing the beautiful traits he sees in his lovely Helen, his soon-to-be wife. And when he stumbles upon a man or woman who he feels is in ownership of certain admirable exceptionality, such as industry or thrift or honesty or discipline or gentleness, his written accolades of such persons is heartwarming and deeply inspiring.

Thus I would say that this book has everything. It touches upon the topics of death, faith, humor, love, devotion, stewardship, human strengths and frailties, prosperity and poverty, work and idleness, occupation, and the list goes on. Given that these interesting topics are handled so capably by Mr. Herriot's writing talent, I doubt that any sensitive reader would find this book to be anything but delightful and praiseworthy.

Thanks to this book I can finally say I'm on the recovery path. I have suffered from an eating disorder for eight years and never thought I would live a "Life Without Ed". When I purchased this book I thought it was going to be like all the others, useless in helping me to gain control over and move beyond my eating disorder. Boy was I wrong, it helped me to look at things in a new perspective and changed my way of thinking completely. By separating myself from my eating disorder I was finally able to disobey and fight back. For me, knowing "Jenny" was just a page away helped me to do what was necessary in recovery. I am and forever will be grateful to what this book has given back to me. I highly recmommend this book to anyone as a tool to "Divorce Ed" and get back what they rightfully deserve a "Life Without Ed".

Sandy Peterson

Make no mistake, "Life Without Ed" is most certainly a useful and worthy read for those with eating disorders, however, this book is better suited for those who have already began the recovery process. I say this because it makes recovery appear to be a lot quicker and more simplistic than it truly is. Those who are currently seeing a therapist for their eating disorder will be able to implement the tools provided in this book into their current program. In this book the eating disorder is personified as a man named ED ("E"ating "D"isorder). This technique makes it much easier to understand how the eating disorder works and why it is so powerful. Also provided are exercises that can be quite useful during the recovery process for both therapist and patient.

For those who have not yet begun treatment or those who are simply interested in the topic of eating disorders, this serves as a slightly sugar-coated account of recovery. While Jenni's story is an inspiring one, the book moves a bit quickly between topics and is a bit nonchalant at times. She shares witty anecdotes and reflects on different lessons that have been learned, but I don't believe she effectively captures just how painful and difficult this process can be. I definitely recommend reading this book--it is a useful ally in the recovery process--but perhaps more of a memoir than a self-help book.

This is an easy read but focuses on the author's recovery & stumbles along the way. I did not personally reap any benefit from reading this book but if you've never read any "self-help/recovery" books before, you may gain a few tips from this one. Her therapist has a few chapters in the book where he tells you what worked for "her". It's not a step-by-step book but if someone loans you the book, give it a read. I wouldn't buy it though. It's just not "hard-core" enough to give you any boundaries or core work to help you get started on your on self recovery. It may give you the hope & reassurance that you need to recover but that's about all!!!

I absolutely loved this book! it has a lot of great recommendations and tips to work on recovery.
Sometimes we need a book like this, that tells us what to do step by step in order to continue in recovery and it is better by someone who experienced an eating disorder in first hand.
Thanks Jenni for sharing your experience!!

I find this book an excellent resource for anyone who has an eating disorder or knows somebody who does. It offered me an insight into what my ED daughter is feeling and battling internally and gave me very practical ideas on how to support her and talk with her. She uses the same approach that Jenni uses and talks back to the emotional 'voice' that an ED can present and this approach is extremely useful in her recovery.

Even God himself talks to Barry while he's in church on Sunday, telling him: "Look around you. Now look to me. There is hope enough here to last a lifetime."

The above was taken from this children's book, Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope. Now, let me be clear about my review: The negative rating comes not from my personal political opinions. I am genuinely concerned about the way Barack Obama has been portrayed in this book.

Sure, it can be said that Barack Obama is an inspirational character. He has accomplished much in his young life, and it is understandable that he is admired by many. It's books like this one that cross the line. This book should not be characterized as Biography, but more like a work of Historical Fiction. It's loosely based in fact, but the author takes many liberties, creating an almost Messiah -like view of the Illinois Senator.

If you are a responsible parent, you should look elsewhere. If your child admires Barack Obama, look up the facts together. Don't let one person's over-the-top love for Obama indoctrinate your child.

My kids have been fascinated with Barack Obama on TV. Now they can learn more about him (me too) while reading this excellently told, inspiring biography of the man who could very well be our next President. The book also does an excellent job of encouraging our children to strive for the best in life and to never get discouraged. I bought it for my kids & for all of my friends who have kids... Don't stop until every household has one. My 5 year old can read it and wants to because she loves BARACK OBAMA!

James W. Douglass has done a remarkable job of making it clear why and by whom John Kennedy was murdered. Mr. Douglass uses 96 pages of reference to document his account of events. Recent documents released by the U.S. Archives as well as documents released from the archives of the former Soviet Union are disclosed to us in a well written and easy to follow narrative which is gripping. It is important for every American to know how our secret government operates that not even a popular president was able to overcome.

Once begun, I could not put this book down.

I recommend this book be read by every American and be on the reading lists in all of this nation's high schools.

This is an outstanding work by James Douglass, and as one who has a library filled with books on this subject this is perhaps the best. It is well researched, extremely well written and a page turner. I will not delve too much into the contents for other reviewers have done so in very thorough manner.

I will close by saying the following....when I finnished this book I had a chill. We all know what was and is, what we don't know and never will is what might have been. I long for the day when the truth is fully divulged, those responsible for the "Unspeakable" are unmasked (it will suprise some)and Lee Harvey Oswald is fully exonerated for a crime he did not commit.

James does a fabulous job with loads of newly released information to make it very clear that Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't just a patsy, but could have been a hero a few weeks earlier. If anyone doubts the CIA's hand on this, they haven't been paying attention.

JFK and the Unspeakable is a gem of a book. Due to the obfuscation of the events of that sad day in November 1963 by our own government, we may never be able to put absolute names and faces to the forces that caused the death of our 35th President. But the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming. James Douglass does a mighty fine job of painting the landscape and filling in the details of this dark period in a masterly fashion. When our own government stonewalls investigation into the killing of a president, keeping records sealed for half a century and then releasing them drip by redacted drip, is there any wonder that 75% of the population finds its intentions highly suspect? Douglass very clearly defines the motives that have shrouded this assassination discussion for so many years. And with the motive, method and opportunity of the clandestine forces to eliminate a sitting president so blatantly in place, it is a marvel of duplicity that they have painted "conspiracy theorists" into such a curious cul-de-sac. But finely written books such as Mr. Douglass's slowly prod this most obvious of viewpoints back into the mainstream of American conscience.

The disquieting question that arises after reading this book is - Where was America while this was happening? Why are we so somnolent when forces in our own government make a mockery of democracy and American ideals by killing popular peace-leaning leaders [JKF, RFK and MLK] and bringing us into war after phony war against the better judgement of reasonable people?

Where is America when the chips are down?

This reviewer raptly read Mark Lane's Rush To Judgement, Jim Garrison's On the Trail of the Assassins: My Investigation and Prosecution of the Murder of President Kennedy, and Jim Mars' Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy when they were first published. This reviewer became jaded at the fictions published by the Warren Commission and the House Select Commission on Assassinations, and like America sings in Sister GoldenHair "I got so damn depressed" that I quit reading this stuff.

Since then, even more proof has piled up against the lies our "leaders" told us. JFK was 'turning towards Peace" and the "unspeakable" evil forces aligned against him and peace didn't like it. James W. Douglas has done an excellent, Must-Read compilation of that truth, especially important now that a similair scenario could be, like Carly crooned, "Comin Around Again" with a new president ("Yes we Can!" "Change we can believe in!") bucking an evermore entrenched Military-Industrial Complex - HalliBurton et. al. - that would prefer that we stay in Iraq for the next 100 years or so.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"
George Santayana 1863-1952

Buy this book for you and all your intelligent friends and relatives and read it, so that we all can be on the same proverbial "Group W' bench with Arlo Alice's Restaurant: The Massacree Revisited (30th Anniversary Edition).

/TundraVision, "Hope springs eternal," Amazon Reviewer

i'm disaapointed by this book, I got half way reading it but got bored. Nothing I have not read already in the papers. I give it 1/2 star.

Man, I sure hated all those mafia books on the shelves taking up space in my bookstores! I thought, who cares about these cretins? Not me!! Even though I have a couple thousand true crime books, none deal with Cosa Nostra, I've never seen The Sopranos, and have only seen Godfather I. The topic was of zero interest to me.

However, having loved Mr. Carlo's '96 Night Stalker, I admired his writing stle enough to pick up Ice Man.That book just blew me away because of the way Mr. Carlo was able to actually humanize a monster like Richard Kuklinski (not glamorize!). There were no holds barred when it came to his reporting of the atrocities committed, but Mr. Carlo's use of backstory and tell-it-like-it-is views from Kuklinski's family had me hooked from the beginning to end. And for the first time, I bought several copies and mailed to friends in Texas that couldn't care less about such things. Now THEY are buying Mr. Carlo's books, too.

This leads me to his book Gaspipe. I didn't even hesitate to buy it because it was written by Philip Carlo; that's good enough for me! It's extremely rare to find a book where the author and family live next door to the book's subject, grew up in Bensonhurst where so many made guys lived, and understands "the life". If Mr. Carlo can turn my taste in non-fiction around with just two books, then I consider that a writer with a truly great gift.

While he never sugar-coated the horrific crimes Anthony Gaspipe Casso did, just as in Ice Man, Mr. Carlo makes you see the whole man, especially his deep love for his parents, wife and kids. (Yes, I know Hitler adored his mother!) And NO WAY would I ever have had sympathy for a mudering goon like Casso, but it really hacked me off about the FBI's actions in picking and choosing the evidence to come out in court. It's also an OUTRAGE that the government didn't honor their commitment to Casso's 6-1/2 years sentence like they did for other informants.

I am a huge fan of Mr. Carlo, and have ordered his other books. i wish him many happy years of writing and continuing his meticulous research.

With the skill of a linguistic sculptor, Philip Carlo reveals a microscopic characterization of all his protagonists in true crime and in fiction. In Gaspipe, Mr. Carlo is chiseling to the core of the professional criminal only as an artist with a deep familiarity and innate understanding of his subject and his material can do. Carlo holds us spellbound and turning the pages of Anthony Casso's life because Carlo has been there-physically, emotionally, and pyschologically- in the place where Anthony Casso has spent his life of crime. Carlo knows the neighborhood, the culture and its people. and he knows how to take us to that place where he and Casso learned their life lessons. Carlo gets Anthony Casso, and he shows us who the Mafia underboss is inside and out. This is one of those marathon reading experiences---you cannot put Gaspipe down until the very last of Philip Carlo's words on him have been read. Anthony Casso is real. Philip Carlo is a master of true crime.

Great Novel-like read...Altho author biases towards Casso, he truly makes a hero out of him in reader's eyes. Paints vivid pictures of every crime and non-crime-related tale and leaves reader waning more and more after each chapter, not only about Casso but every Made Man mentioned.

Both my husband and me thoroughly enjoyed Gaspipe. Both of us come from Dyker Heights and thought Carlo's portrayal of the Mafia culture was eerie and uncanny. We note with dismay the posting here of R.J. Rios. I can only say that this fellow's sources of information are the three hundred books he says he read. That's woefully inadequate. The Mafia is all about secrecy. The Mafia is clandestine by its very nature. Having said that, it seems ludicrous that any one person, based on the reading of books, would set himself up as an authority. I am sure there are people in law enforcement who knew nothing about what Carlo wrote so insightfully and simply in Gaspipe. We note, too, that Carlo has publicly said -- we recently heard him on a radio show -- that Richard Kuklinski, aka the Iceman, did lie about certain crimes. When most of the participants in any given crime, murder, are dead, it's very hard for an author to verify one way or another what exactly happened. No author in any one book could tell all the tales, trials and tribulations of a character like Anthony Casso. To do such a thing, the book would have to be thousands of pages. A compelling book has to be a condensed version of all that happened. The days of Tolstoy and Joyce are long gone and forgotten. We think Carlo wrote the most insightful, in-depth tale of a Mafia boss ever put on paper. It's a first class job from a first class writer. Highly, highly recommended.

This is probably the best corporate bio of Enron you'll find, at least for now. Very readable, the pages turn quick and it never gets boring. Some of the technical accounting details were beyond me, but it wasn't difficult to understand the bottom line: These schemes were illicitly lining a few pockets with massive amounts of cash.

The amount of work that went into this account is mind boggling. I can't imagine the hours of conducting interviews and poring through complex legal and accounting documents to understand what happened over Enron's 15-20 years of existence.

However, as with most journalistic novels like this, you need to be careful to not be influenced by the slant of the prose. I wouldn't say that this account is neutral enough to be good for a "historical" perspective. It was written to sell first, inform second. There are countless statements throughout that could be construed as overly opinionated and even unfair to some of the players.

This is the story of Enron for the layman, not for an MBA student performing a case study on the company. If you're an interested layman like me, do yourself a favor and read it!

An interesting story of how a corporate belief in hiring intelligent people, or at least people who boast they are intelligent, leads to hubris and eventual ruin.

When everything finally collapses, no one is responsible and no one did anything wrong. A telling tail of how smart people can convince themselves of things better than they can convince the world.

What might Enron have done differently? The authors feel that Enron's use of "mark to market" accounting (booking the entire profits long term deal up front, based on a model of the future; the company is then supposed to adjust their revenues as time passes and the model is tested) was largely responsible for losses that Enron then hid.

The length, at 400 pages, is imposing but goes by quickly. However, the authors took the unusual step of listing all the players with their role, which really helps with getting all the names straight.

Very well researched account of the rise and downfall of Enron. It chronicles the start and the ultimate demise of this company, which never really had a great business model - (sorry Jeff Skilling). It is amazing that so many "smart" people did not understand basic business skills and the simple difference between economic and accounting gains. Jeff Skilling, a former McKinsey partner, should have stayed with the consulting firm where theory is safely differentiated from real world. Skillings' first mistake was not understanding his own limitations first and foremost. He breaks out a bottle of champagne to celebrate SEC's acceptance of a change in Enron's accounting system. Accounting does not create value - it does not appear that many Enron executives (especially Skillings who should have known better) understood this.

McLean and Elkind do a nice job presenting some of the schemes and scams that Enron executives used to make themselves look good to investors, analysts, bankers and the general public. There are some scams that I had a hard time following, but the reader will grasp the general idea behind them. In light of recent accounting scandals, this is an important book to read for any investors and the public in general. Unfortunately the book ends around summer of 2002 and we do not find out what happens to some of the key characters. My interest was sparked enough that I researched some of the more recent findings after reading the book. Despite its difficulty to read at times I highly recommend it.

When one reads 'The Smartest Guys In The Room' there is one question that keeps recurring. How did no-one at Enron foresee the company's grizzly demise. The folly of mark to market accounting was reason enoough to expect certain problems, but the endless treadmill that Enron placed itself on concerning the stock price made those problems an inevitability.

Although Elkind and Mclean portray the story well, they really don't have to do much with the material to make a fantastic story of the blistering story with which Enron rose and the calamitous pace at which it fell. The Enron tale is one of brash arrogance in almost every possible facet of a business, allied to a stubborn refusal to accept the economic reality even when it is staring you in the face. The real shame about the whole mess is that these were bright guys and this was potentially a great company. All they had to do was have a little common sense and regular business accumen and they could have been on to a real winner here.

I would ultimately say to everyone that has an interest in business or the financial markets, however slight, that this book is a thumping good read and is worth some money ouot of anyone's pocket.

I still wonder if the title is supposed to be a play on the homonym "Smartest guise in the room."

The authors step meticulously through the company's existence from the promising and fruitful beginnings of its energy operations to it's ultimate demise as America's largest bankruptcy with $10s of billions of debt.

The most enlightening aspects of the Enron saga are the personalities and personal journeys of each of the key players behind Enron's existence. I think it's fair to say, in general, that most successful people in business are either 1) Brilliant, 2)Incredibly charismatic, or 3)Fortunate benefactors of nepotism. The founder (Ken Lay) wasn't very business smart, but had a good idea and was amazingly charismatic and quickly roped in his crack team.

The reader very quickly sees what happens when incredibly intelligent people are put together towards a common goal in an atmosphere of amoral adherence to the "letter of the law". The operation was legitimately making money hand over fist the first year or so...but quickly after that, all "profits" were merely the magic of clever accounting.

This is a story of brilliance turned to hubris and invincibility but yet no accountability. I think the theme of the epilogue "Is anybody to blame?" sums up well the personalities of the key players involved. Everyone felt as though they had done nothing wrong. It's almost impossible to pinpoint when any laws had actually been broken...the regime was one continual exploitation of loopholes and gray areas.

The tale is truly terrifying in a very real sense. It's amazing to think that one of the worst businesses in American history was heralded as stable and as a "good buy" by many Wall Street analysts even up until the day before it imploded and ruined thousands of people's lives as well as the bottom line in some of the world's largest banks. It's amazing that brilliant accountants and relentlessly charismatic leaders can do more to bolster the stock of a company than actual legitimate earnings.

I had expected a fictionalized narrative following the daughter of the famous astronomer. What I got was a detailed biography of Galileo himself. However, I still continued reading to the end.
With more warmth and humanity than your average historical account, Sobel's story weaves the life and family of its subject in among the facts of his life. Such things as his recurring illnesses and his struggles with the church authorities are brought to life and made more interesting.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the life of Galileo, or anyone who is interested in the day-to-day activities of Italy in the 17th Century.

GALILEO'S DAUGHTER
By
Dava Sobel
(Penguin Books 2000)
Sour Marie Celeste was the illegitimate daughter of Galileo Galelei - the eldest of his three, and only, children At the age of 13 her father had her admitted to the convent of San Mateo in Arcetri, where she would remain until her death at the age of 34 in 1634. Once admitted, or shortly thereafter, she started writing letters to her father - the most loving, beautiful, intelligent letters I have ever read. There aren't too many of them, but they have been preserved and form the excuse (if that is the right word) for this book - which is a part history of the life of Galileo, part comment on his times and a setting to publish the letters chronologically along with and in tune with events in his life.
Every school child knows something about Galileo - whether it was his "invention" of the telescope (he didn't invent it; he improved it immeasurably) or his "discovery" of the fact that it was the earth which revolved around the sun rather than vice versa - and this too was wrong, He didn't "discover" this. The sun-centered universe (heliocentered) had been discovered and described by Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543) in 1543, 21 years before Galileo was born in 1564. Using Copernican theory Tycho Brahe (1545-61) had fixed the positions of may stars both as to distance and location and Johannes Kepler (1591-1630) had established the planetary motion of the planets - or most of them. So it wasn't what he invented or what he "discovered" that eventually got him into trouble with the Catholic Church, it was the fact that he was by far the most gifted and the most prominent man to have advocated - or thought to advocate - the heresy of a heliocentered universe.
He had been a star from the start, one of the most gifted mathematicians of his age or any other, one of the few who, instead of taking things as they are said to be, tried to find out how they really are. And thus was one of the first true scientists, a man who dropped balls of different weights from the tower of Pisa, who rolled balls of different weight and different sizes down inclines of different pitches, who measured the tides, floating bodies - always studying motion and/or the laws of motion - and almost all of modern physics is the study of motion whether it's string theory - action at a distance - or general relativity or the measurement of the effect of a collision of protons in the CORE tunnel in Switzerland this summer.
He was always an academician, teaching mathematics at the University of Pisa or Padua or being the resident mathematician and experimenter for one of the Medici's. And on retainer to the same. He was always ill. He never married. His work was his spouse. However, he recognized his three children by his liaison with the beautiful Marina Gamba of Venice. Domestic life was not for him. To the end he worked and thought, living as a guest or retainer in many ducal palaces in Tuscany and Rome. He lived as an untitled man at the highest level of worldly or ecclesiastical aristocracy. He made enemies - many of them - but he persevered and died in a kind of house arrest at the age of 72, still working and under banishment for daring to support the idea that the earth moved about the sun which the Catholic Church, relying on Aristotelian and Pythagorean thought and on the literal word of Holy Scripter believed as holy writ that it was the sun which revolved about the earth.
I have just spoken of his many enemies and of the ducal residences in which he often made his abode: and the book is full of this detail - too full in my opinion. It would have been better if much of this had either been omitted or if Ms. Sobel had taken the time to tell us something about the governance of his time, I would have been much better informed had I known something of the Medici's or the Doges of Venice or the politics of the Popes who were involved in his life. And I would like to have known more about how people lived in his time.
Similarly I would have liked to know more about convent life. There is enough in the book to indicate that it was perfectly dreadful -cruel, inhuman by our standards. Hared work, cold water, bad food, no rest, small quarters, iron discipline and no sleep. The Hanoi Hilton in San Matteo. Why would anybody lived this way? And why did Galileo put his daughters "away" at age 13. He robbed them of a life! (The excuse given by Sobel is that he learned he had known enemies in court because of his success and wanted to protect them; but this doesn't wash with me. All he had to do was to acknowledge them and, as his heirs, they would have properly evaded his enemy's attempts to take his property. I think he put them away because he was selfish. He didn't want three illegitimate children to be staining his record as he surged his way upward, buoyed by talent and reputation.)
As Galileo stepped through his professional life he wrote to Sour Marie Celeste, but his letters did not survive. Her replies and her spontaneous letters to him did survive, however, and manly of them are quoted here. Would that all children would love their father so much. Would that any one of us would have a child as intelligent, as articulate as she. Would that she were here today - or those like her - to call our attention to enduring love as contrasted to the conditions in which we live.
There are a couple of other comments I want to get down here on paper before I quit. First - about Galileo's "Trial". It is covered accurately and well in the book. In brief Galileo had published in Dialogues the essence of Copernican thought spoken through the mouth of a neutral that was just saying what it was. Then there were two characters, one of which was Galileo under a false name, who discussed it. Thus he never on paper espoused the Copernican heresy. He just said what it was. He thought he had a deal with Cardinal Bellarmino (later Saint Bellarmine) that as long as he didn't teach or espouse it he was not in conflict with Church teaching. However, 15 years later he fell out of favor with Pope Urban VIII. His enemies in the Vatican called on the Inquisition to question him and it was as the result of this that he was sentenced to house arrests.
The trial is well covered in the book, but I wish Sobel had told us more about the Inquisition, how long it lasted, what it did, what procedures were followed, how it was independent (if it was) of the Vatican. What was the Index? What happened to people who wrote things that made their way to the Index of banned books? What kind of books? How many?
I also wish she had told us more about the thirty Years War because it is frequently mentioned and apparently played a direct role in the attitude of the Catholic Church at the time.
Woven through out this history of Galileo's life and the beautiful love expressed by his daughter (who was every bit as bright as he was) is the conflict between science and religion. Sobel never addresses it. But it's pretty clear to me. Religious belief cannot overrule, change or ignore true scientific discovery. And the greatest conflicts in this area have been the Galileo incident with respect to the heliocentered universe and Darwinism. God made the world and He made the rules of nature and God doesn't bend, break or ignore His rules because they are contrary to the ideas of His people

I've got a secret. This book is not really about Galileo's daughter, Virginia. It is about Galileo and his life and times as seen through letters from his daughter to him (the letters from him to his daughter were destroyed). As a book about Virginia, it is largely uninteresting and unenlightening. As a book about Galileo, it is terrific. Dava Sobel captures the essence of Galileo's work and his fight with the religious authorities. My emotions as I read the book were: enlightenment in that it shows Galileo to be a far better person than I had given him credit for; sadness because of how he was mistreated; amazement for the honor he showed in all his dealings; and frustration at how much science was held back by religious authorities. And it puts into perspective how little my own daughter actually demands from me. I strongly recommend this book and I look forward to reading other of Sobel's works, including Longitude.

This book must be read if not for the depth of the actual telling, then for the elegant writing itself. The intertwining of primary source material and the author's own pen is done beautifully. The story's theme of the supposed clash between faith and reason/ science is as relevant today as it was in Galileo's time. Food for thought.

My real issue with this book is that Sobel's writing leaves me cold. I had avoided reading this for a long time because I had not really enjoyed Longitude. But countless critical raves and the response from friends caused me to decide to give Galileo's Daughter a try.

The subject matter is interesting enough. The book is very little about Galileo's daughter and is more a book about the man himself. That is not really a bad thing, since there is sadly not very much to know about Suor Maria Celeste. The episodes Sobel chooses to highlight are interesting, and I believe she succeeds in making Galileo human to the readers.

I would be hard pressed to say what exactly it is that I do not like about Sobel as a writer. It is not something that I can easily articulate. I think that it has something to do with the fact that her prose feels like an overextended magazine article. Both in Longitude and in this book, I felt as though the material were too thin for the weight that she was trying to hang on the pages. I am not sure that this is true, and suspect it may have something to do with the structure. In any case, with both books I had the experience that I was quite impatient with the prose even as I was interested in the material.

If you are interested in scientific history and in the mood for some reasonably light reading, then my review should not discourage you from picking up Galileo's Daughter. Myself, I am probably going to avoid Sobel in the future.

Got this one for my husband. He loved it! Couldn't put it down.

Bought this as a gift - skimmed through it before wrapping. Not as witty as I thought it might be. If you want day-by-day accounts of Reagan's administration, this is the book for you.

If you don't like being spoonfed only what your professors and the media want you to hear, you should read books like this. Reagan made a comment or two about each day before bed and this book puts you right into his shoes. You'll get a sense of what it's like to be the President, how human the making of history really is when it happens and the strong, determined mindset of one of the 20th century's greatest leaders.

Wonderful.

What a fantastic book; written by President Reagan at the time history was being made. They say hindsight is 20 20 but it's astonishing how spot on he was with his comments, made without the benefit of looking back.
It's very enlightening to see what his thoughts were as history was being made and even the mundane or trivial things take on greater meaning when judged by the context of the present day.
Reagan kept pretty good notes and they're all here. In addition, there are quite a few color photos to put faces to the various people he talks about.
If you are interested in presidential history and in his motives i highly recommend this book!

I gave this book to my aunt who is 89 years young. She reports back to me that she loved it. She read it in 3 days.

From the perspective of a member in a culture consumed in the "existential vacuum", Frankl's experiences and logotheraphy discussion offers a call to action for those prepared to live a meaningful life. This book will change you.

What can a person expect of life in a concentration camp? Is there a chance you can find meaning in living that torture? This is a truly inspirational book that reminds you that not everything is lost, that you can find light in the most terrible conditions. It's not new age, it's a story of survival and hope.
The second part of the book is about logotherapy. Victor Frankl was the creator of this discipline and it basically addresses the question of meaning in people's lives.

I read this book regularly for inspiration. Frankl found a way to confront the greatest evil of the last century, which for him was very personal, and survive. In the midst of it he discovered that we most long for meaning in our lives, and so he developed a therapy that helps people search for it.

The beginning part of the book about life in the camps simply cannot be forgotten. And then, when he tries to make sense of it, ordinary readers realize that whatever they have suffered there is a way forward. Frankl used tragedy to help others. A person can't be more noble than that.

Lawrence J. Epstein, author of "At the Edge of a Dream: The Story of Jewish Immigrants on New York's Lower East Side."

The following summarizes the true meanings the author wants us to absorb.
There are three avenues to arrive at the meaning of life. 1) Creating a work or or doing a deed 2) Experiencing or encountering something added to your life i.e. finding love 3) facing a fate one cannot change. You then rise above oneself, rising above what is expected. One grows from the experience, and experiences positive change.
Experiencing and surviving suffering is something to be proud of... not something to be ashamed of. We all learn and grow from our experiences.

well i learn psycology at the university and my professor has recommended it so i bought it through amazon.
this book will rock your world.and give you a different perspective of life and how man interacts in a hostile and unreal enviroment ...for more info of the book itself i recommend turning to a better source :) but as a reader i can say this book is worth the time and the money :)