Biography Books

The author is an investigative journalist who does an outstanding job of describing not only his own struggles with a mentally ill adult son but also the issues and history regarding the serious problem of mentally ill persons involved in our criminal justice system.

I am currently teaching a university course on Mentally Impaired Offenders. I have made this book a required text for the course.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in mental illness and criminal justice.

Mary White

I have read and purchased over a dozen books to give to people in the community, justice system, mental health, law enforcement, etc. It gives a clear picture of the difficulties loved ones face in getting their mentally ill relative help. Also shows how our criminal justice system has failed to do the right thing and continues to criminalize the mentally ill.

This book should be a must read by everyone. It gives frightening details about the plight of the mentally ill. Who would believe that being mentally ill could land you in prison or worse, result in you're being killed by the very people who are entrusted with protecting you? The author's poignant account of his own son's incarceration and legal battles more than alarmed this reader. This is a very important work for our times. Read it.

Pete writes the truth, our Mental Health system is in shambles. The Mentally Ill, housed in prisons as prisoners instead of being labeled patients. Something must be done about the way America treats its Mentally Ill.

What an absolutely chilling expose of the mental health treatment system in our affluent country. Or should I say "non-treatment system"? Shameful. Tragically, hundreds of thousands of mentally ill people are out on the streets, not receiving treatment thanks to deinstitutionalization. And the ACLU can take much of the "credit" for this.

Earley's pain comes through in his writing, but he has also managed to distance himself enough to present a well-researched and thoughtful book which educates its readers.

Not only are many of those who are chronically mentally ill in denial as to their disease, so too are our society and the healthcare system in denial.

As another reviewer said, the REAL crime was when we stopped helping the mentally ill, under the guise of protecting their civil rights by turning them out of mental hospitals. Not that those "warehouses" are the answer, but neither is prison or living in a gutter.

This book strikes me as thoroughly unreliable. Though the author is highly enthusiastic (namely for the exploits of William Walker), many of the scenes are suspiciously rich in fine detail, with no clue as to where the details came from. (Example: "With deliberate slowness he lit the cigar. He took several puffs, then thoughtfully studied the glowing tip." No footnote.) Most of the material about Cornelius Vanderbilt appears to be from a historical novel, passed off as a biography, written by Arthur D. H. Smith in 1927. The material about Walker relies on Walker's own book, and on a fishy biography (without footnotes) by A.Z. Carr. The book doesn't cite the most important recent histories of Nicaragua or related topics. The whole thing comes across as made-up stuff based on made-up (or not very reliable) stuff. If you think of this book purely as a novel, not as history, then it's so-so. As history? Forget about it.

"In addition to symbolizing a certain lifestyle and founding a major university, Cornelius Vanderbilt engaged in a vicious economic and personal war with William Walker of Nashville. When Walker and his private army invaded Nicaragua, Vanderbilt's fortune was threatened and this true story illustrates all the greed and violence that resulted."

The ground here is so fertile; it's a shame that Stephen Dando-Collins does approximately nothing with it. We start with one of the coolest lines in the history of capitalism -- a letter from a tycoon to his erstwhile business partners:

Gentlemen, you have undertaken to cheat me. I won't sue you, for the law is too slow. I'll ruin you. Yours truly, Cornelius Vanderbilt.

The story of wrongs avenged gets better. Because while Vanderbilt's partners are scamming him, the American William Walker is trying to take over Nicaragua. Vanderbilt needs Nicaragua; the gold rush is heating up in California, and Vanderbilt wants to shuttle passengers from the east coast to the west. Without a railroad or a Panama Canal, the quickest way to do this had been to send them around the southern tip of South America. Vanderbilt had another idea: send boats through the Caribbean to Nicaragua, get on the San Juan River at Greytown, follow the San Juan to Lake Nicaragua, use mules to cover a small strip of ground between the Lake and San Juan Del Sur, and dump them out onto the Pacific. From there, the trip up to California is comparatively short.

There will be conflict eventually. On the one side we have Walker, the American "filibuster" (a term meaning something like "treasure-seeking cowboy" before it meant "reading from the phone book for 72 consecutive hours"), hoping to carve out a new nation under his tutelage in South America. On the other we have a ruthless businessman who needs Walker's territory to make his money. While Vanderbilt plots his enemies' destruction, Walker draws thousands upon thousands of Americans down from the north into his private army and names himself president of Nicaragua. How do those thousands of Americans get there? They need to take ships, obviously. The collision course is set.

Unfortunately, Dando-Collins does as little as possible with these promising materials, and by the end of "Tycoon's War" he reminds us how little he's done with them. For instance: one might want to know what motivates Walker to do what he does. Is it money? Fame? Power? You'd think that in a book ostensibly about "America's Most Famous Military Adventurer," his motivations would be weaved into most every page of the book. Yet Dando-Collins saves them for the end, in a couple-page-long chapter entitled "The Protagonists' Motives." Dando-Collins will soon be releasing an edition of the New Testament with an epilogue entitled "Stuff About Jesus."

Dando-Collins wants us to believe that Walker was hugely important within American history. He may well be, but nothing Dando-Collins tells us would suggest so. The best he can come up with is to note that "To this day, there is an historical marker honoring Walker outside the Nashville house where he was born and grew up." Mt. Rushmore it isn't.

The unfortunate reality seems to be that Dando-Collins is a William Walker fanboy. Near "The Protagonists' Motives," we get this: "Throughout Central America today, Walker's name ranks with that of Hitler and Stalin." That is the sole unflattering line about Walker in the book's 342 pages, and it takes 334 pages to get there. The reader is not equipped to understand why Central Americans might view Walker that way.

We can at least hope for solid military history. "Tycoon's War" is a reasonably engaging on that score, and indeed that seems to be the only part of "Tycoon's War" that really interests Dando-Collins. He mostly lets the Walker biography, the Vanderbilt biography, the broader story of the U.S.'s role in this hemisphere, and the clash-of-titans aspects drop.

As a specialist in children's therapy, I see this as a valuable book for educating children. I have a book collection of biographical series for children -- artists, musicians, politicians, etc. This has become a valuable part of my collection. I highly recommend this one.

I bought this book for one of my child therapy clients at work and we read it together. We couldn't put it down. I am speaking for the both of us when I say that the book "Yes We Can" was enlightening and inspiring. Not only did it do a great job of explaining the American political system to young readers, but it also detailed Barack Obama's life in a way that offers youth the inspiration to achieve great things in life.

This book gave me a great overview of Barack Obama.
It is a page-turner because Obama has led a life rich with experience.
Garen Thomas' writing style informs and entertains.
The photographs of Obama and his family, travels, and career add to the book's appeal.
I highly recommend it to adults as well as young adults and children.

This is definitely a book for adults, too.
It gives you an interesting insight of B. Obama's life as a politician but it doesn't forget his role as a son and father.
I couldn't put the book down.
5stars!!

Garen Thomas provides a thought-provoking and honest look at race and politics.
The perfect addition to any middle or high school student's summer reading list.

Wangari Maathai is such an inspiration because she is identifiable to so many groups. She is empowering to women, to mothers, to advocates for education, for biology, for equality, and most importantly she is an inspiration to anyone who ever thought their one voice could change the planet. Maathai writes with a sincerity that can be identified in any language! Read this book, to learn about Africa, about plants, about women, about everything. Most importantly read this book to learn about a rather amazing woman who never backed down from a fight for what's right. Let the greenbelt movement, move you.

This person is exceptional, but don't let that stop you from emulating her! She has courage, integrity, and intelligence to spare--and she used it to save her country's ecological health as well as struggling for democracy and the rights of women for equality and dignity. She went through very perilous circumstances, but fortunately for us all, she still continues to this day as a voice for democracy and honesty in government. We need more like her!

Reviewed by Charles Shea LeMone [...]

Nobel laureate, Wangari Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya, in 1940. Her earliest memories of the highland country are of a paradise of fertile soil, lush forests and abundant crops. The land was rich with rivers and streams. However, returning home from college in America, one of the first things she noticed was how deforestation and the mass cultivation of cash crops had devastated the countryside, causing severe top soil erosion and many creeks and streams to dry up. Furthermore, the people in her region were no longer as robust and strong as she recalled. Instead, having changed their diets to eat like Europeans, they now appeared weak and undernourished. She found the same to be true of the animals that her people raised.

As a professor, a biologist, and a Kikuyu woman, she turned to the women of her country to help restore the decimated forest. Launching the Green Belt Movement to plant trees--more than 30 million since 1977--she was subjected to beatings, arrest and death threats. Nevertheless, she and her women followers remained unbowed. In fact, the discrimination she faced for merely being a woman, led Maathai to question all human rights abuses that the corrupt government was guilty of perpetrating.

She also fought for free elections, which further alienated her in the eyes of the local leaders. Despite all of their efforts to discredit her, though, in 2002, she was elected to Kenya's Parliament. A year later, she was appointed assistant minister for the environment; and in 2004, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She continues to live and work in Nairobi.

On the back cover of "Unbowed a Memoir" there is a quote from former president Bill Clinton. "Wangari Maathai's memoir is direct, honest, and beautifully written--a gripping account of modern Africa's trials and triumphs, a universal story of courage, persistence, and success against great odds in a noble cause."

I agree with the other reviewers about this being an amazing memoir of a brilliant, undaunted woman, and I highly recommend it. I found it intriguing and instructive for other reasons as well: it's an eye opener into Kenya from British colonial times - when the author was a child in an indigenous society close to the land and animals. Her village seems very much like a Native American village surviving (or trying to survive) through missionaries, reservations, racism and harsh, coerced cultural assimilation, etc. Many of her memories are strikingly parallel to my own, growing up in the Arctic in Inupiaq culture colonized by whites but maintaining much of its old collective ways and animistic ties with the land.

The effects of this colonial legacy are still with Kenyans today, for better or worse. Maathai does not romanticize her indigenous, tribal roots. She admits her father beat his wives and Kenyan women had somehow lost their ancient role of authority, but she evenhandedly points out beneficial aspects of polygamy - for example, children were well taken care of and loved with multiple mothers, so she grew up with a powerful sense of security and groundedness. She describes British farmers who were kind and friends with the locals they used as serfs. Life is full of moral ambiguity and she does not deny the good aspect of missionary boarding school where they beat her for speaking her native tongue: it launched her into her a western education and knowledge of the greater world, which she put to such good use.
The memoir continues through the Mau Mau uprising (which was a rebellion against the cruelty of British taking all the good farmland and forcing thousands into far off impoverished reservations, and pitting the many tribes against one another). Maatthai proceeds into current times, always with keen insights into the increasing degradation of the ecosystem with climate change, the introduction of foreign species to turn Kenya into plantations, and the destruction of the old native wisdom/stewardship which helped keep things in balance.
"Unbound" was published before the current conflict that is spiraling into full civil war, with ethnic cleansing and the use of mass rape as a terror instrument. I am sure that Maathai would have plenty to add about this in her memoir if she updates it, with equally keen insights. She would point out that the conflict has its roots in colonial rule and the destruction of a sustainable ecosystem and native life ways, as we see in so many parts of the world now. She would surely have some advice on how to stop the violence.
I really admire this woman, and hope a lot more will read her book. It seems very important!

Maathai is the first African woman and the first environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize-in 2004.

Masthai's life is inspiring-from her humble beginnings as a child laborer on the plantation of a white English colonial farm with her family, to her early education in the primitive Ihithe primary school at age 8, to further education at St. Cecilia's at the Mathari Catholic Mission, to college in the United States. She taught at the University in Kenya, and was active in the National Council of Women in Kenya (NCWK) for many years.

Many failures are scattered throughout her life: she was divorced by her husband; she lost her job at the University when she tried to run for office, and she was arrested many times for her work in promoting democracy in Kenya. One of the projects she worked on was to stop the construction of a huge 60-story skyscraper in the middle of Uhuru Park in Nairobi; another was to obtain the release of over 50 men who had been imprisoned for agitating for a multi-party system. She held a hunger strike with their mothers, in Uhuru Park, and then they all retreated to a nearby Anglican cathedral to continue to protest after being routed from the park by armed police (Along with many others, Maathai was beaten and taken to hospital). Eventually the men were released.

Maathai started the Green Belt Movement in 1977. In 2002 Kenya finally held free and democratic open elections and Maathai won a seat in the Parliament. See the Green Belt web site for extensive details of her grassroots tree-planting program. The act of planting a tree is helping women throughout Africa help the environment. The GBM has planted more than 40 million trees across Africa, resulting in reduced soil erosion has affecting the critical watersheds

Everyone can make a difference. Just today I watched a report on the news about the devastating drought in the Southeast United States. Hard times are coming. We need to learn about climate change and what we can do to manage it.

Armchair Interviews says: One woman helping other women and her country.

What a refreshing read! Christianity involving other people in their lives as opposed to the stage of a church. We can read this and realize that God lives outside the Sunday morning gatherings also. As we learn from the New Testament, Jesus and his disciples did their teachings out on their feet in the towns, villages, and countrysides. Thank you Jim for sharing your experiences and stories, the story about the girls in Asia and the young man who was alone particularly brought the seeming lack of focus of our christianity or religion into focus. What does Church mean if we forget those who can't get there? Brilliant book!

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! This book is a "must read" for anyone searching for deeper meaning in their walk with God. It opens the christian's mind and eyes to a lifestyle and not a belief... something that the 21st century church needs desperately.

A MUST IF U ARE GOING TO GROW AND HAVE A INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP
WITH GOD.

After spending years in church disillusioned and discouraged and after leaving the church altogether, I've read many excellent books written by people who have walked the same road. This was one of those books and it was incredibly encouraging and inspiring. This is practical faith being walked out in small, meaningful ways by people who, like the author states, are "nobodies". I admire people who do naturally resemble Jesus and don't even realize it. That is the result of relationship with the Father-a life that resembles Jesus for no personal gain whatsoever.

I have been reading this book for about five days. I usually burn through a book rather quickly so this one is a slower read for me as it is not a long book.

I believe the primary purpose of a book is to open our minds for learning- expansion. Some do it through being a truly enjoyable read- I do not find that to be the case with this one. Don't get me wrong, I like the concept of sharing the insights of one flawed human with another. Misery loves company and seeing that I am not alone in my ineptness provides some relief.

What I struggle with is Mr. Palmer's use of humor. For me, it is way to predictable and pulls from the overall work. As an example, Robert Fulghgum says, "Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you." That is slightly ironic and humorous-it adds to his work. Mr. Palmer's are not up to the same level.

It probably sounds like I am panning this book- not the case. I am glad I am reading it. Dealing with life's everyday grind- more importantly sharing the experiences with others is invaluable. This book does that very well.

When I first picked up the book I thought it was fiction. I got into bed and at first was disappointed to find out it was not. However I decided to give it a chance. I was hooked right away. My breath was stolen while I connected to the writer. At my age now I look at my adolescence and young adulthood as if it was someone else but while reading that book it brought back so much emotion. I encouraged my friends and sister to read it because I felt we all could relate and everyone has loved this book. The stories may be shocking, sad, and/or appalling but it happens. It is very real.

I read this in conjunction with 'Blackout Girl'. Both books suffer from the same disease...that the authors think the facts of their life story are interesting in and of themselves. But they are not. Tales of dysfunctional parents and wild debauchery may make for a good hour on the Jerry Springer Show, they do not necessarily make interesting reading.

The other issue is that most of the writing is cliched and trite to the point of exhaustion. It did get to the point where I could not finish this book....it no longer seemed worth the investment of time.

I read Smashed while stuck at an airport half the night due to a tornado in the area and managed to finish it on the airplane on my way back home. While I have to admit the book kept me distracted from my situation, I didn't particularly care for her writing style. The absurd amount of metaphors she used were a bit distracting.

My main problem with the book is that she seems to be glorifying what she went through. She insists she is not an alcoholic and I simply cannot understand that. I am speaking as a person who has much knowledge in alcoholism. There are two forms:

1. Heredity (born addicted)
2. Alcohol abuse that becomes addicting over a period of time.

The author of this book had her stomach pumped and continued to drink. She experienced black outs, lost her best friend and believes she was possibly date-raped. A person who simply abuses alcohol for pleasure would stop when drinking stops becoming pleasurable. Koren Zailckas did not stop.

I also find it highly doubtful that a therapist on-line would diagnose her condition without ever meeting her. This is extremely unprofessional and unethical. A true and liscenced psychiatrist / counselor / physician would have her schedule an appointment and get her screened. The doctor would also have to run tests and a medical check-up to make sure her health has not deteriorated after a decade of binge drinking (liver damage).

I gave the book two stars because I did find the book mildly entertaining. Her book has a nostalgic tone to it and I did find myself almost reliving my adolescence in certain chapters. My annoyances in the book mostly stemmed from the obviously inexperienced writing style and the obvious lack of maturity from the author.

I definitely had my party years and some of Koren's life experiences seem to match my own. She doesn't hold back anything and her honesty about the Greek system is accurate. I feel a little less guilty now that I know someone else had the same thoughts running through their head that I did during these less than virtuous moments. I enjoyed this book, but there is a constant sadness in her writing that makes you want to hug yourself and say, "It will be better tomorrow." If you like reading about Greek Life,then you should also read COLLEGE LIFE EXTREME: Lies, Sex, Drugs and Violenceand Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities. Thanks Koren for sharing so much about your life with us! Your book will always have a special place on my bookshelf.

This book isn't about alcohol abuse, really. It's about a girl from a priviledged family who grows up with lots of friends, becomes a college cheerleader/sorority sister, interns in New York, makes and maintains friendships along the way, and should be an all-around productive, happy citizen. But this girl, from an early age, wants to be a writer. She is especially awestruck by tortured female writers, like Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf. I think she assumed that to be a great writer/poet, suffering is essential. Her driving force isn't alchohol, it's the pretense of alcohol abuse because it makes her appear to be tortured. She thinks misery drives creativity. Many great writers/artists are and were indeed lost souls, many with mental health problems. But the author's problems are all self-inflicted. "Look at how much I drink...I'm so tortured! Feel sorry for me!"
The more I read this book, the more I got the feeling that she had created a character in her own mind and was living it out. Maybe she should have gone into dramatic performance instead of writing. I wonder if the feminists she so hopelessly wants to impress with her smug treatment of men, are indeed impressed by her? She is certainly impressed enough with herself, blaming her actions on everyone around her.
I got the impression that once she felt that she had suffered enough, she had a book to write. If you continually choose to place yourself in stupid situations, that just makes you stupid, not deep. If you continually remain emotionally and physically detached from "boys," and play mind games with them, guess what, they're not going to stick around. It doesn't make you smarter than them, just more pathetic. This story is like a whiny love letter the author wrote to herself--"See, you are so tortured and filled with angst, you have suffered so greatly, you are a writer!" Making stupid choices and employing the overuse of simile and metaphor doesn't create a great writer...just an annoying story that is written in an annoying manner.

Like the rest of us, our Presidents have been flawed people -- each with his own limitations, prejudices, and conflicts. And yet, through our history, at times these men have risen above their limitations to exert extraordinary leadership: grasping a moral imperative with uncommon clarity, and finding the strength and passion to use the powers of the office to follow that imperative despite great risk to their own political fortunes -- and, in some cases, to their very lives.

"Presidential Courage" tells the stories behind nine such moments of courageous leadership. In none of them is the protagonist portrayed as an all-knowing superhero. In each, we see the President wrestle with a challenge in a profoundly human way -- beset by the uncertainties, self-doubts, pride and fear that are familiar to all who struggle with a moral dilemma. In each case, the President ultimately comes to the painful decision that the right course of action is contrary to what his advisors recommend or public opinion demands. And yet he chooses to throw himself into the breach.

The author's research is impressive, drawing upon unpublished papers and (for President Reagan) interviews with people who witnessed personal dimensions behind publicly reported events. As a result, the stories contain many human details that do not make it into our school curriculum or popular awareness. These details are not always flattering. Kennedy, for example, is portrayed as being dragged only reluctantly to the "right" side of the fight for racial equality. And for Truman, his own anti-semitic bias was a key obstacle that he had to overcome. But to a large degree it is precisely the humanity of the way these men struggled with -- and triumphed over -- their personal limitations that gives these stories such inspirational impact.

One aspect of the book that I particularly enjoyed was the transitions between chapters. The author searches out connections between these men, suggesting almost spiritual ways in which the legacies of past Presidents have in effect enabled them to reach forward through time to inspire their successors. It gives hope that the best moments in our presidential history will yet empower future leaders, at least from time to time, to rise above their limitations to achieve great things as well.

I had high expectations for this book. It let me down a little. It just wasn't that engaging. Some of it is very well known like JFK's battle with civil rights. I was looking for a good analysis on the different presidents and their actions. I didn't find that. I found that Mr. Beschloss just told about the different incident but didn't offer any new insight to it. I was hoping that he would even use them to give perspective on what is happening now but he didn't. I rated this book 3 stars because he does include several presidents and topics that I was unaware of. For that it was worth my time reading it. This is a very basic book so I would recommend it to people that are wanting to learn about the presidents and their thought processes concerning major events in their presidencies.

This is an interesting review of some history. Some of it was in high school textbooks but long forgotten. The author includes details that probably weren't in the textbooks. One aspect that I really like is the author makes links between past and present, e.g. the grandson of a person in one administration turns up in the another president's administration.

It is not dense history so a history-buff probably would find it too simple. But for most of us, it is a quick read (short paragraphs) that is interesting. We can see how difficult governing really is.

I recommend this book be read by everybody in America-in order to learn more about some of our finest Presidents. I was educated on things that I had not learned before-FASCINATING!

How did Michael Beschloss get to be "America's Leading Presidential Historian?" I can only assume it is because he has a talent for getting himself on TV again & again...because it certainly isn't because of dreadful efforts such as this.

Setting content aside for a moment --- how can any literate person regard this as well written? It reads like a Power Point presentation, or more specifically, like research notes which were never revised into a coherent narrative. It's hard to have narrative at all when your chapters are only 5 pages long! Suffice it to say, I found the writing to be such an irritant that I ultimately never finished the book. Life is too short to read crappy writing.

As for the content itself, this is all ground which has been well-covered many times before and Beschloss' conclusions are generally quite unremarkable. When he isn't stating the obvious, Beschloss is dumbing down the subject matter to make it appear more simple than it really was.

Just as an example, I would point to Andrew Jackson & the Bank War. Exactly how is this courageous? Jackson was enjoying tremendous popular support when he went in for the kill against the 2nd BUS, and he was as convinced of his own rectitude as any man ever has. Also, it is grossly inaccurate to characterize the 2nd BUS as corrupt. Nicholas may have been a ruthless autocrat, but nobody could accuse him of corruption. That label would be more accurately applied to Jackson's "pet banks" into which Jackson put government deposits, and which were largely responsible for the catastrophic Panic of 1837. Does Beschloss provide anything more than the most shallow of analysis? Of course not.

I never would have purchased this in the first place, but it was part of a book club shipment which I opened by mistake, thinking that it was another (better-written) book. It was only the first of many regrets.

Not quite as funny as "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman", but just as touching. A pleasure to read. This books makes us like not only the man, but it also inspires us to join his quest for scientific knowledge and rational thinking.

I have always liked reading about Dr.Feynman! Infact it all started with Surely..Mr.Feynman. This book goes out to show that any guy, can split his time between love and work(which is most often missing from these high profile Scientists/Physicist).
His desire to know the root cause of Challenger mishap, and how he goes on to demonstate what transpired the failure of Challenger mishap is very inspiring.
All in All a good buy if you are an ardent fan of him!

The book does not give as much pleasure and joy as 'Sure you're joking...", however the section on shuttle crash analysis is of highest interest and justifies alone the reading.

"The scientist has a lot of experience with ignorance and doubt and uncertainty, and this experience is of very great importance, I think. When a scientist doesn't know the answer to a problem, he is ignorant. When he has a hunch as to what the result is, he is uncertain. And when he is pretty darn sure of what the result is going to be, he is still in some doubt. We have found it of paramount importance that in order to progress we must recognize our ignorance and leave room for doubt. Scientific knowledge is a body of statements of varying degrees of certainty--some most unsure, some nearly sure, but none absolutely certain.
Now, we scientists are used to this, and we take it for granted that it is perfectly consistent to be unsure, that it is possible to live and not know. But I don't know whether everyone realizes this is true." Feynman, The Value of Science

The book's title relates to Feynman's telling of his relationship and experiences with his first wife, Arlene, a victim of Hodgkin's disease. But the subtitle of this book would have made a better title than the one used. Feynman was indeed a curious sort, and he begins by telling how his father encouraged his curiosity.

Feynman achieved a measure of celebrity that few scientists do, and as a result, he sometimes found a forum for his thoughts outside of strict science. He was a fun and likeable man, and an innovative thinker as regards certain scientific difficulties; he wasn't much of a philosopher (evidenced by the fact that he thought Voltaire was a good philosopher), and in fact didn't like philosophy. While he was intelligent enough to admit that his views on art, culture, history, religion, and politics should not be taken too seriously, he was generally happy, and perhaps anxious, to offer such of his views anyway, and they are usually entertaining: "I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy--and when he talks about a nonscientific matter, he sounds as naive as anyone untrained in the matter. Since the question of the value of science is not a scientific subject, this talk is dedicated to proving my point-- by example." RF, The Value of Science

It hardly seems correct to call the short articles he wrote `essays', so I'll call them writings. This volume is a collection of Feynman's personal writings, with some contributions from physicist friends Freeman Dyson and Henry Bethe. Most of the book is Feynman's account of his work as a Commissioner investigating the space shuttle Challenger disaster.

This isn't a great science text, it isn't great literature; it's more like listening in on Feynman's thoughts and conversations. Apart from minimal aspects of Appendix F (Feynman's appendix to the Presidential Commission Report) his book isn't particularly technical. It's rather `light' and entertaining, and anyone interested in Feynman, in NASA and the US manned space program, or in bureaucratic `ethics' (or perversion thereof), will almost certainly enjoy it.

In this sequel to "surely you must be joking Mr. Feynman," Richard Feynman once again uses his cunningness and his scientific genius to entertain. This book starts off with a brief history of him and his scientific career. Then it goes on to his wife's death. This is a very sad excerpt of the story and in this part, he communicates with you the sorrow he goes through, showing he does truly love his wife. During this portion you realize that although he is a brilliant man and is nearly untouchable in the scientific realm, he is still down to earth and goes through every thing that we do. Also in this book is the main feature, the Challenger investigation. The Challenger exploded shortly after leaving the ground and NASA wanted to know why. They pull in a group of the top scientists, mathematicians and some other random people that don't have names. Their job is to see what went wrong with the Challenger in an effort to stop this mistake from being repeated. Feynman and the others work in Washington D.C. over six months. He finally figured out and proved, with simply a glass of ice water and a part off of the Challenger, what the problem was. He used his ingenious brain and his sense of humor to establish his point and to show NASA their miniscule piece that was causing such a major problem. This book is incredibly funny and is not such a book that has large vocabulary and crazy concepts never heard by normal human ears. It is an easy read and a fun read.

A Great Book on how God is moving in signs and wonder and how you can too!

I fully excpect to not just witness God's miraculous Power but to walk in it as well! Read this book and your faith will come up into a new dimension! God can handle whatever your situation is and He will make His Face to shine on you!!! TRUST Him!

A simply beautiful love song of a book to the Lord. God, continue to pour out your blessings on the work of this couple and all their associates in Jesus' name.

Truly a must read for every believer!

This book won't collect any prizes for great literature, being essentially a journal and a collection of blogs, but the story it tells is amazing. I couldn't be more impressed with Heidi and Rolland Baker. They are just ordinary people who have said, "Yes, God" and laid their lives on the alter, letting God work through them to do His will and bring His kingdom to the poorest (but richest) people on earth. It is both inspiring and convicting, because it reveals what incredible and mind-boggling things the Lord can accomplish through anyone who has died to self and is totally yielded to Him. The Bakers are a living portrait of the love of Jesus in action.

This book is an exciting story of the marvelous events that happened when Heidi and Roland Baker committed their lives to dependance upon God and sought to love Jesus Christ to the fullest. It also is a window into seeing the intense price paid by these 2 committed members of the Family of God. God's character of healing, provision and liberty from evil spirits is clearly revealed in their persons and work. It challenged me out of my comfortable assumption that I knew about love and propeled me into confrontation with my deep hunger for more intimacy with Jesus Christ and to see God's character demonstrated in my life with signs and wonders. The book is a record from various blogs and diary like entries that testify to the immediacy and transparency of their ongoing ministry of dependance and service. It is compelling in it's testimony to the aunthentic character of life sold out to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. If you are "stuck" in ineffective Christian life and know that there is "more" - read this book. If you are dissatisfied with your judgements that the Christian life is all fake and hypocritical and wonder how it has survived through the centuries -- read this book. If you dispair in thinking tha

This is an incredible story about following Jesus and seeking to reach tribal people for Him. This book contains extensive journal entries from the five men involved, so provides a rich amount of detail. Most of the book is comprised of these entries, with Elliot mostly providing background information and transitions between entires. She doesn't fully express herself until the Epilogues, which are very powerful. This book is sure to have a profound impact on all who read it. Highly recommended.

I loved this book, it is definitely one to keep in my collection. Although I noticed that the type is very small and therefore a bit difficult to read ( and I have good eyesight ). Also I think something should be mentioned co: the pictures in the book, I knew it was tribal but I was not aware that there were photos. I still would have bought the book but I would definitely give it a PG rating.

If you are a Christian - this is a must read. If you are not a Christian - this is a must read.

This book should be a part of every Christian's library. I had heard Elizabeth Elliot talk on the radio and had known the story of "the five missionaries" but reading the book gave me great insight to the lives of these families- devoted to ministering to the unsaved. They gave definition to 'the purpose driven life!'

Great book. Poor presentation in this current printing. Words and pictures are small. Paper and physical book itself is low quality.