Reviews (12)

A Better Book By Far
This is a better book by far than the unfortunately better known INTERNAL BLEEDING.It is certainly more honest.It has the clear advantage of being written by people who know and understand the subject ,and unlike Internal Bleeding, it does not suffer the disadvantage of having been written by physicians who, purposfully or otherwise, seem very intent in obscuring the responsibility for medical mistakes.
Truth be told
This book is a well researched, well written must read for all Americans. The authors share their personal story as well as the stories of others who have suffered at the hands of a careless physician. While the stories will break your heart, they may also save your life, or the life of someone you love. While none of us want to believe that those we trust with our bodies and our lives would neglect a sacred trust, the fact is it is happening all too often.This book delivers the message without hype, fear or hysteria.Read it, share it and take it with you.

First do no harm
If even one person dies, that is one too many. But it is not just one, not even 10 or 100 patients who are maimed and dying from health care mistakes. As Gibson and Singh reveal, the numbers are much much higher than that. And anyone of them could be you or your loved ones. Medical errors do not discriminate. Everyone is vulnerable even doctors themselves as patients. Read more

Subjects:  1. Consumer Health    2. Evaluation Of Health Services    3. General    4. Health & Fitness    5. Health Care Issues    6. Health/Fitness    7. Medical Law & Legislation    8. Medical Malpractice    9. Medical care    10. Medical errors    11. Prevention    12. Quality control    13. United States    14. Current Events / General    15. Family & Health    16. Health systems & services    17. Law as it applies to other professions    18. Medicolegal issues   

Reviews (6)

An honest look at the American conscience
A book on moral values from a politician might seem odd at first, but Kasich acquits himself well.The chapters on government, sports, and popular culture are well-written.Jimmy Carter writes that America's values are "endangered," and Kasich drives that point home.

Quick Read, Somewhat Bland, Best of Intentions
I certainly do not regret buying and taking the time to read this book.It is a relatively quick read (lots of white space between and around the lines).For me the best and most important chapter dealt with the corruption of politics, and I include some memorable quotes from there below.
So good I gave it to my Son on his College Graduation!!
ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING!It all might have been said before but Mr. Kasich does it the best, and with feeling.I enjoyed the book so much I gave it to my son on his graduation from university.I hoped it would help him navigate today's treacherous world of deceit, dishonesty, parsing, obfuscating, and lying which have all in some form or another become virtuous!!Like Bill Bennett, John Kasich believes in America and its moral compass.He points out time and again the virtues of integrity and character; something sorely missed by many of our so called leaders today.
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Subjects:  1. Applied Ethics    2. Government - U.S. Government    3. Moral conditions    4. Philosophy    5. Political    6. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Public Policy - Social Security    10. Religion, Politics & State    11. Social action    12. U.S. - Contemporary Politics    13. United States    14. Current Events / General    15. Modern fiction    16. USA   

Reviews (61)

Terribly Agenda-Driven Tone....
Unfortunately, this book is so biased, I had to put it down several times before I finally got through it.
A Must-Read
Journalist Mara Leveritt has delved deep into the case of the West Memphis Three with her book, "The Devil's Knot". If you're reading this, you probably already know what happened in the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas. Three eight-year-old boys were found murdered and mutilated, and the police had no where to go when trying to decide a suspect and a motive. The murders were also very strange, for there was no blood found at the scene, hardly nothing they could use as evidence, and the violent way the children were killed was very, very disturbing.
Awesome
I found this book to be extremely good.I went through a rollarcoaster of emotions while reading it.TO reply to swftshadow...yes we may be spening lots of money of them but if that was you in there an innocent would you not want someone fighting for you? Seriously now.This book is awesome an got me interested in becoming more involved in the WM3 ordeal ([...])....I would def. recommend to book to anyone who wants to see that injustice does occur in our legal system, wants a good read and learn something---It is a def. buy-you wont be sorry. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Murder - General    3. Political Science    4. Politics/International Relations    5. True Crime / Espionage    6. Current Events / General    7. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT   

Reviews (209)

A fair characterization of the Supreme Court's bad behavior in the 2000 American Presidential election
Vincent Bugliosi has written a good book showing some of the legal issues with the Supreme Court ruling on the 2000 American presidential election.He correctly points out that it is inconceivable that this bogus ruling would have been made had the votes been reversed.It is manifest that the Supreme Court made its absurd rulings to throw the election to Bush.Had all the votes for Bush and Gore been switched, the Court would have done nothing of the sort, and Bush would have won easily.
The truth
I have only read the Nation article that was the original seed for this book, but I will say that it was right on the money.I have read all of Bugliosi's books and articles over the years, and he has never been "political" in his stances.Although it's obvious what he thinks on this issue, he has always been one of those people who follows the Law more than anything else.
Did Al Gore Ghost Write This Book?
A confused and muddled attempt to revise history.The author doesn't present arguments and supporting facts, he presents rants.Footnotes and citations are at best confused, and at worst non-existent.This book should be about one third the length it is - it is full of inappropriate filler. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. (George Walker),    2. 1946-    3. 1948-    4. 2000    5. American    6. Bush, George W    7. Bush, George W.    8. Courts - Supreme Court    9. Current Affairs    10. Election    11. Gore, Albert,    12. Legal System    13. Political    14. Political History    15. Politics / Current Events    16. Politics/International Relations    17. Presidents    18. United States    19. Gore, Albert    20. Trials, litigation, etc   

Subjects:  1. American    2. Popular Culture - General    3. Social Science    4. Sociology    5. Sociology - General    6. Sociology - Urban   

Editorial Review

In the well-researched and compelling Read more

Reviews (5)

A Book for STUDENTS, who are taking these silly tests!
I am a high school senior so I am currently getting a lot of pressure from my parents to get that silly 1600 on my SAT which will take place in October and December this year.Then there's also the ACTs and the 3 SAT IIs!I was always suspicious of test prep companies, the ETS, and the SATs themselves.Living in Los Angeles, these test prep companies have grown like weeds in the community, sucking up money from middle and upper class students.Though I am fortunate, my parents have also forcefully enrolled me at one of these.My SAT school is doing a nice job with its profits and have managed to get a new paint job, redecorate the "classrooms", and to get more students and more teachers, to just get it bigger and bigger. While my "teachers" explain the concepts of the SAT, I can't help but wish I was in the library reading more books such as this or practicing the piano. It is so unfair that only the rich people can afford these classes and they are the ones who get the good scores on the SATs.After getting a mediocre score on the SAT in June, my parents have now considered me a total idiot, even though my report cards and comments from teachers say otherwise.This book is so chock-full of information that deserves wide reading.The author has done the most extensive research imaginable.The controversy of the standardized tests is something that should have been addressed and Peter Sacks is the best one to do it.He has full of statistics and information to back up everything he says, yet he never just blows them off to you, but explains them.In addition to statistics, are the personal recollections of the people he interviewed-the teachers, educators, college admissions people, and even students.The tale of one student who had 7 tries to take a silly test and not being able to graduate and forced to stay in high school was frightening to the say the least.I am also glad that the author also included a section about the infamous incident in 1998 in Massachusetts when everyone condemned the teachers that they failed "a basic reading and writing test", which had become a punch-line for many of Jay Leno's jokes that year.It was rather strange that the media did not go into detail about the exact questions or the more specifics of that exam, but everyone just wanted to call these teachers "idiots". A Good Resource
Too often, the high-stakes testing debate wanders into the realm smoke and mirrors. If you follow this debate, you'll find the same arguments presented here that have been presented all along: standardized tests arebiased, they do not measure intelligence or knowledge, etc. What you don'tnormally get are the facts that back up this argument, and that is whatSacks provides. This book concretizes what has become (wrongly) a veryabstract, political issue, and should be regularly referenced by all whooppose the mediocrity such testing rewards. These tests may sound good intheory, but in practice, Sacks shows with convincing success, they justdon't do the job.

Must Read For Anyone Interested In Education
I was in the middle of reading Standardized Minds when I heard a panel of "Experts" talk about the future of LA Unified School District on Which Way LA, a local radio show.Specifically they were discussing thenotion of linking teacher bonus pay to the performance of their students onstandardized tests.I wish Peter Sacks had been on the program as hesuccessfully demolishes the continued folly of our reliance on standardizedtests as a way to judge our schools, our teachers and our students. Iwholeheartedly endorse the opinions of the previous two reviewers. Speaking as a parent, I can only say that the more people who read thisbook, engage in a discussion about the issues so eloquently raised withinit and help push the national dialogue on education forward in thedirections the author suggests, the better off our kids and we as a societywill be. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American    2. Current Affairs    3. Education / Teaching    4. Educational Policy & Reform    5. Politics/International Relations    6. Research    7. Testing & Measurement    8. Examinations & assessment    9. USA   

Editorial Review

In America, when somebody does you wrong, you take 'em to court. W. R. Grace and Beatrice Foods had been dumping a cancer-causing industrial solvent into the water table of Woburn, Massachusetts, for years; in 1981, the families of eight leukemia victims sued. However, Read more

Reviews (334)

Synchronicity???
Is this book, a worthwhile read, an attempt to close the book on shady goings-on in Woburn of the 1960s?Were some children in this case treated for leukemia using cutting edge techniques of the day,such as bone marrow transplants, and some of those children survived only to be tormented because of their unexpected survival?
Just a an ending, not a beginning!
This is a necessary book which does a public service by highlighting the repercussions of poor environmental stewardship. It does not, however, indicate the extent of a broader mystery behind the events in Woburn and Middlesex county itself, respectively.
An inside track on the legal process
Insanely detailed.The author shadowed Mr. Schlichtmann throughout the entire course of the case, giving the reader unprecedented insight into what goes on behind the scenes during litigation.I can see why law classes use the book.A must read for anyone going into law school. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1936?-    2. Anderson, Anne,    3. Boston    4. Civil Law    5. Contamination    6. Drinking water    7. Groundwater    8. Law    9. Law and legislation    10. Legal System    11. Massachusetts    12. Politics - Current Events    13. Pollution    14. Practice Of Law    15. Sociology    16. Trials (Toxic torts)    17. Trials, litigation, etc    18. W.R. Grace & Co    19. Water Pollution    20. Woburn    21. Anderson, Anne    22. Current Events / General    23. Schlichtmann, Jan   

Reviews (1)

Superb, sobering, yet solutions-oriented work by the Tolchins
Martin Tolchin capped a 40-year career at The New York Times, where he reported on Congress and politics, by becoming founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of The Hill newspaper. He's now launching a new newspaper in Washington, "The Capitol Leader." His wife Susan is professor of public policy at George Mason University, and a well-known lecturer and media commentator.
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Subjects:  1. Culture conflict    2. Ethnic relations    3. International Relations - Arms Control    4. International Relations - General    5. Political Freedom & Security - General    6. Political Science    7. Political aspects    8. Political violence    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Religious aspects    11. Sociology    12. Violence in Society    13. Current Events / General    14. International relations    15. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (3)

there is a dark side of strategizing ethnic groups
There is a dark side of disproportionate wealth and it's explored in depth in "World on Fire" by Amy Chua.I read there that in the Philippines the ethnic Chinese make up one percent of the population, but control seventy percent of the wealth.One danger is that there can be an ethnic cleansing as another reviewer mentioned.Another danger is destroying democracy, since the economically dominant minority wouldn't tolerate it after reaching such an extreme disparity of wealth.I hope USA doesn't end up like the Philippines.

A great book on the dynamic link between culture and wealth
This is a great book that has a keen and insightful look into how certain cultures and ethnic groups rise to prominence in a global economy.The author focuses on five "Tribes": the Jews, the British, the Japanese, the Chinese, and the Indians.Kotkin is always fair, objective, and intelligent when it comes to explaining how and why these groups have developed the "cultural capital" to attain disproportionate economic success. A Cosmopolitan Perspective on Business and Culture
"Tribes", by Joel Kotkin (1992 Random House) This book is necessary reading for anyone interested in learning in depth about the increasingly multicultural aspects of modern business, leadership and education.Kotkin shares a thorough and thoroughly researched understanding of the origins and growth of "Global Tribes". He discusses the history and economic impact of the diaspora cultures of the Jews, Japanese, Chinese, Indian and British. Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business Life - General    3. Business/Economics    4. Ethnic groups    5. General    6. International - Economics    7. Success    8. Success in business    9. Advice on careers & achieving success    10. Current Events / General   

Editorial Review

In Read more

Reviews (35)

Back to the Future
This book is a blend of intresting observations and speculation on various hot technologies (gnemoics in particular) and it's likely impact on people and countries. It is an intresting book and can be easily followed by anybody (even without any intrest or knowledge of the subject).The page layout (with large typeface and fonts) may seem condescending to some of the serious readers, but i think it works in this case, since the book isn't verbose and the author packsthought and info in small sentences, which provokes one to pause and reflect. For eg: sample this: "there used to be one way of getting pregnant.. Now there are more than Seventeen" OR " A seed is an instruument designed to execute a genetic program that transforms soil, water and sun into Wood, Flower.. Fruit"
Exporting Brains
The presentation is unique, the content loops around on itself, and the wide range of font styles and sizes occasionally distract, but there is probably no better way to look at the future than Enriquez's unapologetic, head-on style. The future is not making any excuses for itself: it is roaring into town and anyone (be it individual, group, company, or nation) who fails to accept that fact is going to find themselves marginalized, irrelevant, and poor.Enriquez narrows the future down to two fundamental principles: information systems and genomics.Whoever masters these two concepts will be able to handle the future just fine; whoever ignores these will be left behind, without pity.
I am 3 / 10,000ths of 1% different from you !
This book is about life science called Genomics. It combines information technology and genetics.It is becoming the focus and fulcrum of our future culture and economy as a convergence of the digital revolution, genetics and the knowledge economy.Other sprouting life sciences are biotechnology and nanotechnology.
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Subjects:  1. 21st century    2. Civilization    3. Civilization, Modern    4. Genomics    5. History    6. History: American    7. Life Sciences - Genetics & Genomics    8. Philosophy & Social Aspects    9. Science    10. Social Aspects    11. Technology    12. Technology And Social Change    13. Current Events / General    14. Sociology, Social Studies   

Reviews (53)

A true account of what happened
There is only one person that knows what actually happened before, during and after the horrific accident that left most of the world in shock and disbelief and that is Trevor Rees-Jones.
From the source
I have always wondered what kind of a person Trevor Rees-Jones was and his book gave an in-depth view of him, personally and professionally . . . in his own words. An Indepth View of a Royal Tragedy
Although somewhat hard to follow ; this is a book definitely worth reading.An indepth look , from the only survivor of a car crash that changed history!What could be more exciting.Somewhat rough around the edges;but ,nevertheless honest and telling Never knowing how these fateful events would unfold as they left the Ritz with Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana , TrevorRead more

Subjects:  1. 1961-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Bodyguards    7. Death and burial    8. Diana,    9. Europe - Great Britain - General    10. General    11. Great Britain    12. Princess of Wales,    13. Princesses    14. Specific Groups - General    15. Traffic accident victims    16. Al Fayed, Dodi    17. Al Fayed, Mohamed    18. Current Events / General    19. Diana    20. Rees-Jones, Trevor   

Reviews (163)

gushy garbage
Fred Barnes used to be a smart man -- rather conservative for my tastes, but not unintelligent.But this book is nothing more than hagiography -- it reminds of Henri Barbusse's book on Stalin, which informed guillible readers that the Leader sometimes went down to help unload the docks when nobody was looking. The book is shockingly one-sided -- Baby Bush can do no wrong. It's been a long time since a semi-respected author has glorified a war criminal so passionately.

This is a flaccid, feeble, vapid work.
It is an axiom of nature that for intimacy, impression, or insight that both a male prong and a female receptacle are necessary. Such technical utility is carried over into even our electric plugs and wall sockets for illumination.
Worst book of the century
This was absolutely horrible. A complete sycophant like Barnes shouldn't be writing about his fearless "rebel." Perhaps someone will write a good biography about Bush, but barnes isn't the one. If you like FOX News, you'll love this book. Otherwise, avoid at all costs. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 2001-    2. Conservatism    3. Foreign relations    4. Government - Executive Branch    5. Government - U.S. Government    6. International Relations - General    7. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    8. Political Science    9. Political Science (General)    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics and government    12. Politics/International Relations    13. U.S. President    14. United States    15. Current Events / General   

Editorial Review

Since the 1993 publication of her memoir Read more

Reviews (19)

A Topic always worth thinking about, but not a convincing book
The facts of Prejean's first book have been disputed by victims and others. The truth isn't always obvious, but putting together Prejean's remarks in her book about Robert Lee Willie; the interviews that they both gave; Debbie Morris's account of what Prejean told her; the testimony of other witnesses, I'd have to say that she was lying when she described him as remorseful, and her credibility is compromised.Prejean is also willfully gullible when it comes to her advisees; she isn't so trusting with everyone. The first part of this book deals with the cases of two executed men whom Prejean claims were innocent. I don't know whether to believe her or not.
Three Florida cases: Jerry Rogers, Roy Swafford, Peter Ventura
Jerry Layne Rogers, Sr. -- wrongfully convicted and innocent. From 1989 - 1992, I was his investigator at CCR [The Office of Capital Collateral Representative, a state agency representing death-sentenced persons].