decay Books

I found this easy to read book about nutrition and tooth decay to be a well researched, common sense approach to health. I have started to follow the diet proposed in the book and after 7 weeks, I am seeing results in my over all energy levels and reversal of my dental issues. I would recommend this book

This book is based on the work of Dr Weston Price as well as the author's own research and experience. It provides a comprehensive nutritional plan (in both vegetarian (not vegan) and omnivore forms) for strengthening teeth, preventing decay, and possibly healing existing decay.

The book has excellent information on the cause of decay and the effects of various commonly used dental treatments. Nagel challenges the reader to take responsibility for their own dental health. For example, how many people regularly examine their own teeth in any detail? Most of us simply believe the dentist knows best what is happening in our own mouths. Not that dentists are not necessary, but they do not have all the answers, and some of their treatments are highly invasive and potentially problematic. And of course, very few dentists work on a nutritional level, which is the focus of this book.

The state of our teeth reflects the state of our health and I believe that this nutritional program will help to improve both. I am trying it especially on my husband, who has numerous dental issues and I believe was malnourished most of his life.

When I bought this book, there were many reviews stating that people had success with improving their dental health. These have been removed. However the author has a website, [...], with more reviews and information.

I have long belived that we as individuals can regain our health, if only we know how! This book is a fascinating read and alot of the suggestions appear to be simple and obvious. However, when someone else has done the hard work in researching the facts - it's always easier for the reader to make sense of what is in front of them in black and white. This book is a must if you believe that you can improve your teeth, health etc. However,you must be prepared to make changes to your lifestyle and attitude towards yourself to benefit from the suggestions in this book!

I'm extremely impressed with Rami's book. As a student and fan of Dr. Weston A Price, I'm thrilled to see someone lay down an easy to follow protocol for parents who want to prevent or treat dental caries in their kids.

The typical party line is that there isn't much (other than dental hygiene and avoiding sugars, neither of which really works) to avoid cavities, but Weston Price was able to arrest dental decay in his test subjects by giving them high quality special foods.

These foods are available to everyone and cost less than nutritional "supplements". And kids love them! Every parent who wants their child to have glowing health would do well to read this book, whether their child has cavities or not.

If you would like to read an interview with Rami you can do so here:

http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/cure-tooth-decay/

All information needed for good maintenance of dental hygiene has been answered in this book. He also includes natural supplemental products and foods that enhance healthy, strong teeth and gums. I for one am most grateful for this book!

This is a short book about Sarah Manguso's experience with a strange autoimmune illness, which began suddenly during her freshman year at Harvard. You could easily read it in an afternoon, but it might take longer since there are so many beautiful passages to go back and read again.

She has said that she intentionally did not write about the disease after it began; it must have been too difficult. In reading this book, I got the impression that as she wrote, she was actively rediscovering and redefining her illness and what her life became in the wake of being sick.

Ms. Manguso is an award-winning poet, and the fantastic writing alone is worth the price of admission. The chapters are often only a page or two, the paragraphs only a few lines. The writing is simple and insightful--whether she is discussing a mundane detail, humiliating experience, or a scientific technicality. She is capable of being heartbreaking in one sentence and uplifting in the next.

I should admit that I am a medical student (final year), so perhaps I got a double benefit. Her description of illness is fantastic. If I had learned about this disease from a textbook, it would have been just one of hundreds of cold facts in my brain. But from her description, I began to imagine a mysterious illness that went beyond mere words. I am sure that I now have a better understanding of patients with long-term disease. Moreover, for anyone who has to deal with illness, Sarah Manguso has likely put into words some of the complicated, frustrating feelings that accompany repeat trips to the doctor and hospital.

An elegant little prose narrative of a rare fatal disease, told by the patient, a poet, who has been in remission for 7 years, and who seems to be a very bright young woman with a clear knack for writing, and for understanding. I bought this book entirely because my hero Garrison Kieller reported in a column that he was reading it. Then I found that the rare autoimmune disease described was almost the same as the one my wife suffered through 5 years ago - now 2 years in remission. The treatments have improved significantly in the short time between, and Sarah's were much more experimental. Written in almost poetic style, with short chapters and short sentences of well chosen word, spaced for effect, this worthwhile little book is a special sharing of the life of an extraordinary young woman, told with humor and candor at a time of sadness, fear, pain, love, and learning.

This book is a compelling read. It's a testimony to one woman's resiliance when the terrible thing happens to her, not to some stranger.

Manguso has the courage to revisit her devastating illness, and the wisdom to find the ironies, the lessons, and even the humor in her experience.

Through her sharing of the story of those terrifying sick years, she lets us see the indomitable spirit and the sense of humor that enabled her to survive them and heal.

She juxtaposes pictures of illness against the lyrical beauty of her writing. I find new treasures whenever I reread it.

Ms. Manguso has written a medically graphic but affecting account of her battle with an auto-immune disease. Written in brief paragraphs with short chapters, the author is clealy recalling a bad dream that she rather not recall. A poet, her writing is lyrical and conversational. Once the reader starts her story, you will not put it down and it is easily read in one sitting. But it is a book that you will come back to.

You want Truth? Not sure there is such a thing? Are you willing to engage all your reasoning faculties and use the simplicity of Logic? Then this book is for you, and all who wonder where and what Truth might be. Truth clearly exists and is neither subjective nor fictitious. You have only to follow Groothuis's detailed explanation to see the light (and the light of Christ will outshine all other).

Excellent treatise on the errors of postmodern thinking and rationale in the church. Highest recommendation for anyone who wants to know that truth still exists and is not a manufactured reflection of our culture!

Even if one is sympathetic to Groothuis's broad concern, one can't help but be disappointed with this text. This book is a bad regurgitation of other bad and reductive non-readings of `pomo'. Groothuis depends way too highly on secondary (and sometimes tertiary) sources. It escapes me how a former reviewer could call this work `scholarly.' I suppose if one considers Logic 101 tinged with the usual fundamentalist `defender of the Faith' rhetoric and aura (which hovers over every page), then this could be called `scholarly.'

The big problem I found is that even when Groothuis offers defensible criticisms, his alternatives end up being just as problematic as the positions he criticizes. For all his advocacy for a correspondence theory of truth, his tone betrays a penchant for certainty and formal coherence. He falls into the problem of the relation between thought and `reality,' representation to presentation, the role of language, and so forth. No doubt God comes to save the day with all these problems, yet on the very justificatory terms Groothuis advocates for, God escapes the measure of correspondence and becomes its condition of possibility. In other words, God becomes a structural metaphysical function which `saves' Groothuis's truth from the skeptic. The problem, however, is that Groothuis wants truth to be absolute, universal, and accessible to all, yet he is dependent on a moment (i.e. faith) which, by definition, retains a trace of contingency or `objective' undecidability.

Groothuis's more ethical concerns are where I am more sympathetic, but again, here his polemics and non-reading of the people he criticizes drowned out whatever constructive points he offers. Groothuis practices the same type of irresponsible reflection that some of the `pomo' Evangelical's do: uncriticality. Here, philosophy and reflection - whether Modern or postmodern - becomes a means to simply confirm and justify a complacent status quo, rather than challenging and transforming the status quo. The challenge presented in this book is for a nostalgic return to the good old days of Christendom.

Jesus did not come to `save' our metaphysical systems, but to redeem us and this world. That redemption is not contingent upon accurate representations as Groothuis seems to think. It is madness to the Greek (i.e. the logician) and a stumbling block to the Legalist (i.e. moralistic hypocrites). The task is not to make the faith less crazy or more socially repressive. As James tells us, the measure of `true' faith - and here I will grant a type of reference - is that we `attend to the widow and orphan.' Kerygma without service is dead, a worse lie than any humanism. Perhaps if we began `proving' our faith, that is, manifesting its truth in radical service and justice - we could actually demonstrate the truth to which we testify. I guess it is much easier to `defend the faith' with bad arguments which only convince the already convinced, than to `live the faith': serve the people no one gives a hoot about. After all, in the latter case one cannot fancy oneself a hero in quite the same way.

Dr. Groothuis, though perhaps somewhat unknown to many presently, certainly will be remembered as one of the 21st centuries best apologists. His insights into the non-christian philosophies and worldviews are incomparable and extremely helpful. His warnings against the effects of television are convicting and true. All in all, a great book.

The author covers the erosion of truth in our culture very thoroughly, but it can get a bit dry and repetitive at times. It's full of good examples of truth decay that is going on all around us today.

So far two thumbs up-I have a feeling even after 3 or 4 chapters what may be going on-but still loving it.

The characterization is good, the plot is excellent, and it's well written. It reads quickly. There is horror and action and suspense. The ending was solid. I would definitely suggest this book for viewers of the show.

I don't wish to give away anything but I will say that there is a lot of blood. Lots of gore. The novel is about alien techonolgy, diets and something eating the Weevils. On top of that Gwen wants to spice up her relationship with Rhys while he wishes to lose some weight. Things get weird, twisted and blood soaked. Faces eaten, eyeballs sucked out and flesh pulled off the bones. I love vampire stories and movies and I felt uneasy when reading some of the scenes in this book. But I can't take away any points because in the end it is STILL a great story.
Just don't eat anything while reading.

We Torchwood fans are a picky lot, so when we say its good its good. Andy Lane has created something very closely resembling a full on Torchwood episode. Thats all we can ask for yeah?

It is one of the horror/suspence stories that is just riveting to read. I personally read over one hundred pages in one sitting. Gwen and Rhys are amazing, Jack is just as witty and devil may care as usual, and Ianto makes snide remarks which have almost the same amount of bite as his coffee. I positively loved the characters and while I figured out the plot on page sixty I was still fascinated to see what was happening next.

One reason this is not the best yet published is the writing. It isnt as tight as Another Life. it has a lot of redundant moments and some needlessly long and drawn out paragraphs that say mostly te same thing.

All in all I hope Andy Lane returns to the series as an author.

Gwen Cooper relishes investigating the bizarre and the unexplained with the Torchwood team. Unfortunately, the secret nature of her work and the unpredictable hours place a strain on her relationship with boyfriend Rhys. To spice up their sagging sex life, Gwen sneaks a piece of alien technology out of Torchwood. Rhys, also concerned about their relationship, decides to shed a few pounds to make himself more attractive to Gwen and, on the advice of a friend, visits Dr Scotus' weight loss clinic.

I really enjoyed this book. The story, with its several plot threads, is interesting and really moves along. Author Andy Lane does a good job capturing the essence of the characters and the general tone of the show.

While this book isn't for everyone--you need to be familiar with series--any Torchwood fan would probably find reading it a pleasant way to spend an evening.

This is not an intent to (summarize) mishima's sea of fertility... rather it's an approach into analyzing it ... a sort of reading between the lines...

Then ... again, what are we exactly trying to portray?

we would say we are ( intending ) to deliver a semiotic vision of what the sea of fertility represents ... we are not trying to ( read ) it for our reader , rather , we let him read , and help him amidst it , by presenting a cluster of signs , keys , semiotics , call it whatever you want , that would - at the end - clarify the road , and that can be grasped by the reader so he can get a wider vision , and a better comprehension of this gigantic universe , which mishima called ( sea of fertility ) ...

But first, why is this bizarre title (sea of fertility)?

mishima himself is going to answer this question , to give it the first ( leading ) sign , that we should know it doesn't crack secrets for us , but merely provides us with a minimum limit , which we can begin our journey from ..

in a note mishima sent to the famous American criticizer Donald Keene , he clearly admits that the reason he chose this title for his tetralogy is a hint for an area of the same designation on the moon's surface not so far of ( the sea of silence ) ... the reason for this reference is to aim at a ( contradiction ) between this vivid and colorful name , and the wasteland it stands for in real ... we can go further on saying that this title combines the image of universal nihilism with the image of ( sea of fertility ) ...

in summer 1945 mishima wanted to write an immense oeuvre that would sum up Miller's famous trilogy ( the rosy crucifixion ) , and that would stress more and more on that ( dark ) side of art ... to write a novel that would take six years of his life , and that would cover - chronogically - those sixty years from 1912 and on ..

That decision , which was the most important one in mishima's practical life , obliged writing this novel in four volumes , in each an individual story , for each a special protagonist , but these characters would not be totally separated from each other ...

How?

The figure in the first volume is the lad kiwaki, the noble descent of the wealthy family of Matsugai, lives a love story, one of its kind that memory would not forget easily, and his friend Honda stands as an eye witness for this superb experience of his...

From that point on , in every volume that succeeds, we can notice that the hero is merely the first one, but after being (reincarnated), to start a new cycle of life, and to let Honda only figure out the connections that ties these four characters...


Mishima Knew very well that his Tetralogy is a rich threshold for everything he learned as a writer ... he told his friends, that when he finishes it, there is only one thing left for him to do ... (suicide) ... and by taking his own life in November 25th 1970, he fulfilled his final quote: the life of men is short, I want to live forever...

( The sea of fertility ) is not an easy read nor its a happy one , it is a lament melancholic presentation of life ... rendered by an artist ...

CONFESSIONS OF A MASK *****
THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA *****
THE GOLDEN TEMPLE *****
SPRING SNOW ****
RUNAWAY HORSES *****
THE TEMPLE OF DAWN ***
THE DECAY OF THE ANGEL *****

Yukio Mishima's THE DECAY OF THE ANGEL is the last volume of his "Sea of Fertility". It is also the last book he wrote. On November 25, 1970 he sent the manuscript off to the publisher, then went to incite the soldiers of Japan's military headquarters to a coup d'etat. When he failed, he committed seppuku. As might be expected, THE DECAY OF THE ANGEL contains much that that relates to Mishima's dissatisfaction with life, and the cosmic nihilism that he promised would be the ultimate theme of the tetralogy comes to the forefront. The ending is also possibly the most shocking in all of literature.

The year is now 1970, and Shikeguni Honda adopts a young orphan named Toru, who he believes is the third successive reincarnation of Kiyoaki. The decay present throughout the book is especially present in Honda, who we meet as as a man of seventy-six and who reaches eighty-one by the novel's end. His physical health, memory, and wife are gone. He keeps company with Keiko, the former neighbour whose secret formed the climax of THE TEMPLE OF DAWN, and they talk inanely about senility and medical ailments. But it's also present in Toru who, although young, possesses none of the beauty of Kiyoaki, the dedication of Isao, or the allure of Ying Chan. In fact, Toru is pure evil, and the bulk of the novel is his plot to destroy his adoptive father. The political commentary here is much more subtle than I expected it to be, considering that Mishima ended his life as a nationalist. Japan is plagued by a loss of its own traditions--Keiko shows interest in Japanese culture, but Honda remarks that she treats it as a hobby instead of authentically living it. The country is overrun with Coca-Cola ads and student radicals. But all in all, it is the mind of Honda that is the important setting, not the country around him.

By far the most impressive part of the novel is its surprise ending, which demolishes the entire "Sea of Fertility" cycle in a most impressive way when Honda meets Satoko again, who tells him either the mundane truth or the secret to enlightenment itself. The lectures on transmigration and the self which formed such a large part of THE TEMPLE OF DAWN are there for a reason, and what Mishima does with the no-self philosophy of Buddhism is awesome. If you've read one or more of the earlier volumes and are uncertain about pressing on, I exhort you to make it through this one. Looking back on the cycle, I admire its clever design, where the first two novels set a precedent and the second two undo it, and the general arc where we track Honda from youth to senescence, and Kiyoaki from a praise-worthy youth to despicable brat is skillfully done. The series as a whole is brilliant, read it all.

I must admit, I didn't really like this book that much at first. I felt as if Mishima's depiction of Toru (the 'incarnation' this time around), with all the hyper-intelligent, will-to-power stuff, was teetering on the brink of self-parody, especially in an extended first-person section taken from his journal, in which he comes across as a more malevolent version of the narrator of Temple of the Golden Pavilion. And then too the fact that he's just so over-the-top demonic didn't make it any easier to take the narrative entirely seriously. Honda, elevated to the lead part in this and the previous book after supporting roles in the first two, is still an indelible character, but it wasn't really enough, and I was all prepared to give it a rather sour three-star rating. However...however. In the last thirty or so pages, Mishima, in a single blinding burst, turns the entire text upside-down, and ends up by undermining the foundation of the entire Sea of Fertility. I know that seems like a narrative cliché-big plot twists in the end that force one to re-evaluate the entire work-but this, I think it's safe to say, is unlike any other instance of the device that you've ever seen, and Mishima pulls it off brilliantly. I cannot overstate the awe in which I was left. Small wonder he ritually disemboweled himself afterwards-how could you write something like this and go on living? I may not buy into his brand of cosmic nihilism, but that's not important. What matters is, this is the work of a genius at the top of its game. I don't suppose it needs my recommendation, since if you've read the other three books you're not likely to just leave it at that, but I will nonetheless put all my powers of persuasion behind it. Not to be missed.

"Spring Snow" was brilliant and breathtakingly beautiful.
"Runaway Horses" was Spartan, brave and controversial.
"Temple of Dawn" was somewhat boring, but decadent in an atractive sort of way.

Here comes the last part, which is a real culmination of the tetralogy. It is intellectually stimulating, highly mystical and very personal. Is it also very sad and pessimistic. It is a book about death and nihilism. Main characters are brilliant. It is of course Honda - the man of Reason, who is more real and attractive and complete as a person than in any previous book, but also a rich hedonistic lesbian destroyed by old age, Toru - the last reincarnation of Kiyoaki, who lost all his powers of uncompromising life and beauty, mad ugly girl, who believes she is very beautiful, mysterios enlightened Satoko, and the main protagonist of the novel - Japan the Great that greadualy lost her uniqueness and tradition and spirit during the infamous XX century and now is close to death.

Particulary powerful is the scene when Honda visits beach made famous by ancient No play about the decay of the angel, and discovers that this harmonic holy place is desecrated by tourists with countless fast-food bags and Cola cans scattered all over it. Also the last few pages is the very best ending I've ever read.

And dont forget about translation. Seidensticker is really superior to any other translator from Japanese to English.

Millionaire in 365 Days: The Daily Plan to Get There

It is not my fault....I deserve this or that...NOW !

We are not responsible...we are victims....pay me, help me...I am a victim...WOW>>>>>revealing and TRUE......sadly.

This book discusses the background of a lot of problems that are still around today and accurately places the blame for those problems on members of society who are unwilling to accept responsibility. It is always someone else's fault. Problem is that those same people are unwilling to hear that they are to blame. Accurate diagnosis of a problem, but the provided solution is too painful for the patient to be cured. In fact, the situation seems to be getting worse since the American society misuses our Freedoms to take away the Rights of others and we increasingly are removing morals from our society.

The author exhibits elementary lapses in logic.

1) On the one hand he contends that Americans feel like victims, and aren't victims. On the other, he contends that this attitude victimizes Americans.

2) He does not explain why America, which he obviously believes to be the greatest country on earth, is uniquely prone to victim mentality. Why not Bolivia or India?

This book is a typical example of conservatives badmouthing America while pretending to be great patriots.

I've been looking for a book in this subject for quite a while, but it seems like everybody is so numb no one sees what really
goes on in the american society. This book was a great find!

I came across this book six years ago, and I still rank it in the top three books I hve read in the last ten years.
Charles Sykes carefully analyzes the modern culture of victimhood and how it has undermined personal responsibility, the work ethic, and true victims of circumstances beyond their control.
He carefully analyzes how the introduction of psychotherapy, along with the proliferation of lawyers and lawsuits has rendered America into a whining nation instead of one that works hard for success.
Sykes also chronicles how the protestant work ethic at one time considered hardship and troubles as something to deal with. Such troubles make people stronger and more resilient.
He does this by not only looking at history, but also at contemporary society. At full speed, this victim mentality now lets the human spirit be beaten by a ubiquitous society that takes away responsibility.
Ultimately, this trivializes life. Even worse, we lose the true victims who are truly abused. As Sykes said, "in a society where everyone is a victim, no one is a victim."

The definitive book of stress concentration factors...updated from Peterson's original edition. This is the ultimate source for aerospace engineers dealing with design and analysis. Other engineering disciplines should find it equally useful. The book is more compact, yet thicker than the original but the the figures are very clear and readable. Explanations appear much the same.

I have access to Peterson's original book (older than me?) and to the first edition of this one, published in 1974. I recommend buying used copies of the old ones. They contain the same info and are easier to use since the charts are bigger.

Absolutely essential book for anybody interested in stresses in notched bodies; structural analysts who like to use the 'back of the envelope', finite element analysts, fracture mechanicists; designers in aerospace, rail, heavy machinery, light machinery, medical devices, almost anything you can name. Book has been updated from the original; even if you have the original edition, this 2nd edition is well worth having for your engineering reference library.

This is an excellent book. I found the book to be extremely informative and thoghtfully written. I recommend this book for anyone that is interested in applications of stress and strain analysis.

This is another welcome addition to Taschen's 25th Anniversary Series of large, hardcover collections. You get excellent reproductions of many of Egon Schiele's finest work along with Wolfgang Georg Fischer's expert commentary.

Besides the works themselves, I found the most valuable part of the book to be the historical and biographical information. Fischer gives the necessary perspective with which to view Schiele's sometimes difficult work without being excessively wordy or academic. I love academic writing as much as anyone, but I think the intended audience here is not going to want to wade through pages of theoretical discourse.

In addition to the paintings, there are some photographs of Schiele, his family, and his colleagues. After looking at his numerous self-portraits and (especially) the paintings of his wife, it's fascinating to see photographs of them in a casual context.

Schiele's style may not appeal to everyone, but this book is an excellent place to begin your appreciation, especially at Taschen's extremely low price. When you look at all the $3-12k limited edition books they release, it's nice that they remember that poor college students enjoy great art books too!

Not knowing anything about the author, I picked up this book thinking it would be an interesting sociological study in the parallels between two opposite American cultures. Rather all I found was at best, a statement of obvious observations and moral presumptions made by the author on behalf of the reader, and at times based off of clearly distorted facts or quotes. Furthermore it's unfortunate that it appears to use Christianity as its base of morality, when now more than ever both the middle class and the inner city exemplify a much greater religious diversity. Sadly, the book was no where near what I was looking for. Spending half a chapter on sexuality bashing homosexuals deals nothing with suburban or urban culture. Luckily the library will take this book back!

This is a book with some important ideas, but it is so badly done that I fear it will
not be effective at changing behaviors.

The subtitle is "How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay." Parker claims the
problems of the ghetto, broken families, drug abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, bad
schools, crime, you name it, are increasing in "middle America" and we can expect the
slide to continue unless we repent and change out ways. She supports her claim with various
statistics. The first problem is "claim". There are no specific sources in the text, but
usually the name of the source of the data. There is a 17 entry bibliography, with no
cross references to the text, but all are on the web, so some might be still available.
There is also no index. The table of contents is fairly detailed, but many of the titles
will not help you find what you are looking for.

I did not try to check any of the claims; some, perhaps most, seemed right but some seemed
wrong. There were enough other mistakes in the book to make me suspect the statistics.
Some mistakes seemed like sloppy word processing, missing words or changing the wording but
not completely eliminating the old wording. Others seemed more serious, mis-attributing a
quote, or getting it wrong. In some cases she got the facts of government wrong. Judges do
not seek search warrants, they authorize them.

Here is more of her analysis. The cause of many of the problems is a victim attitude, a
lack of individual responsibility. That is caused by government and other handouts, such as
admission to schools too tough to succeed in. Along the way she attacks homosexuality,
abortion, liberals, homosexuality, abortion, the Kelo decision, the ACLU, homosexuality,
evolution, abortion, voters (for allowing all this), and homosexuality and abortion. The
cure is religion, preferably Christianity. Late in the book, the possibility of a society
without the problems she deplores, and with a strong sense of individual responsibility,
is dismissed as impossible without religion. The solution is for Christians to
stand up for their real beliefs and not treat tolerance as the greatest good and
judgment as the worst evil.

Other reviewers have noted that the book seems rambling and disjointed. I suspect that some
of the material was originally intended for an opinion column.

There are lots of shades of gray in the world, but there is still black and white. I fear
the good in this book will be ignored because of the weaknesses. I expect that much of the
criticism will be of the form, "How dare a black person think for herself and even be a
conservative."

I grew up conservative, but going to college, watching lots of TV and working with teens, I slowly began to wonder if "liberals" could be right in some areas. Isn't helping the poor a good thing, and don't we want to be free to make choices?

Star Parker clearly and boldly shatered the lies that I had begun to believe and has helped me to be more sure than ever of the biblical principles of hard work and Biblical morality. These fondations are the only way for "middle America" to help the poor and at the same time stop our own slide toward imorality and socialism!

Star Parker's latest rant shows marked improvement in literary composition compared to her earlier attempts. Despite being a little rambling, it is awash in the current right-wing hot-buttons and assuredly helps her quest for funds from the "better" half of society. Perhaps she had some help in writing this, because I did not find an Ebonic faux pas, such as appeared in "Pimps, Whores and Welfare Brats", i.e. "You kiddin, right?".

She's now heavy into the homophobia so dear to fundamentalists. Perhaps gays are taking the bread right off her table, but I'm 73 years old and never witnessed any problems with gay people, or witnessed any gays at all other than a friend's daughter and her partner. According to Star, they are everywhere, and they're nothing but trouble. Moreover, Star claims homosexuality is merely a choice, but I don't recall ever making a CHOICE . . . I liked women from day one. Interestingly, she did not claim homosexual activity among her youthful indiscretions, so Star perhaps didn't need to choose either.

Ms. Parker's asserted cures for the country's economic ills, especially as those ills apply to black America, are what she categorizes under TRUTH, and she's quite willing to pad them with some distortions of economic history (e.g. Reagan cut taxes and spending???). While escaping poverty is difficult, it has a simple formula, according to Star. Regardless of race or origin, if everyone will only adhere to virtues (chastity and fidelity), have faith in Christian values (like hers) and avoid any support from government, everyone will move up from poverty to what has been called the American Dream. Don't you wonder why those blacks in New Orleans hadn't thought of that? Why didn't they simply work in better paying jobs during those intervals between sermons at the neighborhood church? Perhaps they were too busy gorging on welfare supplied caviar to let the idea sink in. Also, they probably were influenced by those nefarious liberal secularists.

As an affirmed liberal (lewd-leftist in Star's lexicon), and a secular Zeaist to boot, I have to question the moral and intellectual authority that this gal poses to us. Both she and I came from honest, decent, lower class families. I went on to higher education on the (liberal) government sponsored GI Bill, started and owned two small but successful businesses and, aside from a few traffic tickets, I never came close to breaking the law.

She, on the other hand, was caught shoplifting, blew up a couple cars owned by her teachers, beat up weaker white kids so she could steal their money, played the old Murphy game with other hoods, took sexual promiscuity to new heights, had four abortions before having a baby fathered by someone other than her boyfriend, etc, etc. She excuses all that now by saying she was a secularist in those days, and hadn't yet found religion. Besides, none of it was her fault, as she earlier wrote "If just one person had said, `Star, what you're doing is wrong.' it might have changed the destiny of my life." What??? She didn't know what she did was wrong????

The certainty with which this expert makes her assertions brings the question: Where does she get her profound wisdom? Is she really all that smart? In her first book, Star mentions that she couldn't understand why anyone would steal her bicycle, while also claiming she didn't have a clue that a shoplifting record could stay with her for the rest of her life. Such naivete is just a smidge this side of stupidity.

But Star is really good at one thing . . . shilling for the conservatives who pay her to spew their hateful and exclusionary notions. She does that by speaking before conservative groups and on radio, as well as publishing stuff like White Ghetto. Also, she formed a non-profit organization (to help others, of course), an organization that will - for a donation of a hundred bucks - send you one of her autographed books. Donations to this organization probably go 100% to and for the unfortunate, and can't possibly be used to provide Star with the luxuries she thinks she deserves.

You kiddin', right?

Wow! This book is utterly ri-donk-ulous. Mistress Parker perpetrates yet another volume of sensationalist punditry upon our poor, brainwashed souls. You know, if her crazy rants weren't so boring, I could at least write this off as feelgood toilet reading. I mean, at least Rosie O'Donnel makes crazy-and-stupid entertaining for the masses. Even Nancy Grace manages to conduct this type of circus act with a little dignity and humor. Honestly, Madame Parker's points and topics are all very compelling, but she's about as convincing and about as appropriate as Al Jolsen in blackface.

Scholar of Decay by Tanya Huff sixth book in the recently re-released, and repackaged, Ravenloft the Covenant series. These books were originally published back in the middle nineties, but are now being released in trade paperback with new covers. Before the re-release of these I had read some of them, now I am happy that I will be able to read more of them. If you have never read a Ravenloft novel before, the easiest way to describe them is Dark Fantasy. Or, some may even say fantasy with a sadistic twist. In Ravenloft novels, readers will find many familiar fantasy elements but they will also find darker elements as well.

The main plot of this book centers around the scholar researching a spell to help his wife. The situation of his wife and how she is in the predicament she is in is well explained and provides a good catalyst for the story. There is also a myriad of subplots present as well. There is the relationship between the two brothers Aurek and Dmitri. There is the relationship between a pair of twin sisters and the rest of their family. Actually, in regards to the plot of this book there is so much stuff going on it is almost impossible to list it all here ad not spoil elements of the book itself. The plot is very well laid out and has a very natural flow to it. Ms. Huff quite obviously had a plan she wanted to accomplish with this story, and in my opinion she accomplishes quite a bit and created a very interesting story.

The characters in this book are very well written and add depth to the story. Each character's individual motivations are laid out for the reader to understand, as well as each character's actions are directly influenced by their past and their motivations. It's nice to see characters acting in a certain way not simply because the story says they need to. There are many memorable characters in this novel such as Aurek, Dmitri, Louise, Jacqueline, and too many more to name in this simple review. Even with all the characters, and plots, present in this book I never once felt like I didn't know where a character was or what was going on. That is a credit to Ms. Huff's ability to not only keep me entertained, but to keep me informed as well.

The only criticism I have with this book is there are a couple times during the book where there are dramatic point of view shifts with no break between the shift and the previous paragraph. These shifts actually jarred me out of the story and forced me to reread several sections to make sure I truly didn't miss anything.

In the grand scheme of things though, I really did enjoy this novel. It was a fast paced, solidly written fantasy book. It's not a book that requires the reader invest a great deal of thought into. Instead, the way the novel is written it allows the reader to be taken along for the ride.

Fans of dark fantasy or horror fantasy will no doubt find elements in this novel that they will appreciate. Even fans of traditional fantasy will find things within the pages of this book to enjoy. This is not an epic adventure/story, so if that is what you are looking for you may want to look somewhere else. However, if you are looking for a self-contained story with no books to read before or after, give this novel a shot. I can easily see myself recommending this novel to the right people.