Not many novels have the effect of this one. If I have to pick a 'prequel' to Robert Ruark's _Something of Value_ than it is surely this one. If you like Forbath's, then read Ruark's!

_The Last Hero_ sweeps you away to a time when honor and ego and plain old guts -- combined with the vast heart of unexplored Africa meant adventure. I read this novel in amazement, at the rich characterization, the lavish settings, the graphic narrative; only to be further amazed when I learned that this wasn't a mere work of historical fiction, but rather a fictionalized account of real events.

Read it. You won't find many novels that do this. Serious business, deep in the Congo Ituri rainforest, late 19th century...no one can hear you scream.

Kurt W. Wagner kwagner@gti.net

The best, and I mean that exactly, the best adventure book for adults ever, and I mean that exactly, ever written. My friend and I constantly recommend books to each other, and one or the other of us will say, "It's a good book but..." and the other will always respond "...it's not The Last Hero" Put this book down and you will not sleep until you pick it up again. I am on my fifth read, and I am sure that it will not be my last. There are images and moments that I will never forget. I cannot believe that anyone allowed this book to go out of stock. Find it, steal it, read it, you will not be sorry

The story told in "The Last Hero" is that of Sir Henry Morton Stanley (of "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" fame, but that's another story) who, in 1885 organized and led a mission to rescue Emin Pasha, governor of Equatoria, the southernmost province of the Egyptian Sudan, which was surrounded by the Mahdist uprising. Amazingly, Stanley decided to approach Equatoria from the Atlantic side of Africa by going up the Congo river and overland through central African forest. The expedition crossed hundreds of miles of then-unknown Africa, encountering every obstacle and difficulty along the way. The eventual end of the mission is one of history's great ironies, but I don't want to give anything away.

"The Last Hero" is a very well-written adventure story, all the more interesting because it is true. My only complaint (a very minor one) concerns the absence of notes and bibliography which could have given some historical documentation and sources.

Another good book is "The River Congo: The Discovery, Exploration and Exploitation of the World's Most Dramatic River" (nonfiction) which is also by Peter Forbath (a journalist who reported on Africa). Henry Morton Stanley was also a bestselling author, he wrote: "How I Found Livingstone" (1872); "Through the Dark Continent" (1878); and "In Darkest Africa" (1890).

John's book came perfectly in time to enrich and deepen my relationship with Spirit in some of the most beautiful, loving, and profound ways. His words and blessings so deeply pluck the deepest chords of my heart. Thank you, John. I am so blessed by your incredibly awesome presence in my life.

This is one of the most sacred and blessed books. It touchs to my soul in a world where everything is go - go - go, the blessings that John places out to us is so healing and peaceful. I am very grateful for this miracle in life.

This wonderful book has been a retreat for me to remind myself of the blessings in every moment of my life. My family, including my 2 young children, gather to read The Blessings Already Are together. The book brings us peace. It helps us to calm and refocus ourselves. Recently I saw my 10 year old reach for the book when she was upset and read one of the blessings. She looked up and smiled, much more at peace with herself. John has a magical way of awakening the place in each of us that is looking for the blessing, the good, the wonder in our lives. In this way it helps to heal the pains and hurts and encourages us to rejoice in the blessings of who we are. This book is a wonderful gift. It is a gift that is renewed each time it is opened. It is a gift to the Heart and the Soul.

This novelized biography of medical pioneer Dr. Ignaz Semmelweiss, a Hungarian physician, is surprisingly interesting. Semmelweiss lived and practiced medicine in Europe in the 19th Century, predating the groundbreaking work of Louis Pasteur who eventually proved that microbes cause disease and leading medicine to include as an important tenet aseptic and antiseptic technique.

Cry and the Covenant paints a compelling picture of a time when doctors took no precaution whatever to make sure that their persons and instruments were clean. Puerperal fever, also known as childbed fever, took the lives of a huge percentage of women who gave birth in hospitals, to the point that intelligent women didn't want to go to the hospital for delivery of their babies for fear of dying. Semmelweiss was a great observer and, although no one had made the connection between the microorganisms (as seen by Leeuwvenhoek through his microscope a century earlier) and diseases, Semmelweiss began to conduct experiments to determine why some large groups of women nearly always contracted puerperal fever and other groups did not. Eventually he demonstrated that personal cleanliness on the part of physicians could prevent the disease, though he did not know precisely why that was so.

The data Semmelweiss collected proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was correct, but his peers would not listen to him. In an era where infectious and contagious diseases were thought to be caused by a variety of irrelevant things, doctors refused to wash their hands before delivering babies. One would have thought they would have given Semmelweiss's theory and data a try in the interest of saving their patients' lives, but their commitment to their belief systems in place about disease, to blissful ignorance and the status quo meant that what Semmelweiss actually knew was true didn't make the least bit of difference, except to his own patients. Semmelweiss followed scientific method in gathering his data that would be sound even today, but doctors back then didn't know what scientific method was, let alone what it could actually prove or disprove beyond unsubstantiated tradition and belief.

This novel is worth reading because, in the end, the reader will have a pretty accurate and compelling picture of just how godawful and relatively useless medicine was before the work of Louis Pasteur and how fortunate we are today. Medicine still can't cure a number of illnesses, but what it can do nowadays is pretty amazing, especially in light of the egregious damage doctors once did. Can anyone today imagine doctors in the process of dissecting cadavers as part of medical education and then going to deliver a baby without even washing their hands, let alone changing clothes or sterilizing their instruments?

The story of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweiss is as inspiring as it is frustrating, and though The Cry and the Covenant is a novel, it is written engagingly and the main thread of the story is factual. For me, this was a difficult book to put down and demanded continuous reading through the end.

I did not know the whole story of this book and was just starting to read it when I decided to look at your book reviews. I was surprised and irritated to learn too much from the 3rd review I read that tells me the climax and end of the book. Remind me not to talk to this reviewer after he sees a movie that I am about to see.

Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis perhaps did as much to relieve suffering and death as anyone in history. Untold millions are alive today because of the dedication of this tortured man. What he discovered together with the related work of Joseph Lister, changed virtually everything that is done in medicine. The tragedy of the existence of Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis is that his work was never recognized until after his untimely death. Morton Thompson's biography of Semmelweis, The Cry And The Covenant, is a superb literary achievement, almost equal to the man himself. The Cry and the Covenant is a must for everyone in the health care professions, a must for everyone who cares about history, discovery, or medicine. The book is so skillfully crafted that you get inside the man, dreaming his dreams and feeling his despair. Readers will be filled with the exhilaration of the discovery that could save the lives of thousands of women. "A man of sorrows, rejected and aquatinted with grief"appropriately fits this man who, after his death, became a "savior" to so many millions. Even though the story is tragic, knowing that good ultimately triumphs, lifts the spirit and gives hope to those who struggle today. The book was recommended to me by a neurosurgeon whose life has shown that "the more things change,the more they stay the same." Time and technology have wrought infinite changes in the way we live. Great progress has been made but the nature of man has remained the same. "We build the machine wonderful but do we build the man?" We can find in modern medicine today (indeed on the internet) all of the individuals in the book. There are Semmelweises today and there are those who reject them. (Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer, who discovered the cause of most breast cancer (book "Dressed to Kill") are modern Semmelweise examples. Another most certainly is John Gofman (book "Preventing Breast Cancer") If you only read two biographies in your lifetime, The Cry And The Covenantshould be one of them.

We are slowly killing ourselves. We drive too fast, eat too much, are sleep-deprived and are fried, frazzled and hassled. E multi-task til we drop. More of us commit suicide with a fork than with a gun. Laptops, desk tops, PDA's entomb us in an icy digital dungeon.

So what does this have to do with pets? Dr. Becker and Danelle Morton have crafted a brilliant story. We need the CAT scan and pills. But we also need the puppy and the kitten to heal our bodies, mend our minds and soothe our troubled souls. And make us smile again.

With rock-solid data from psychologists, immunologists and epidemiologists the authors take us by the hand and show the healing power of animals. The style is soft, comfortable and enticing. You cannot put this book away. The Bond between people, patiends and pets is real, assessble and can no longer be ignored.

But have a hankie handy. A guarantee: no one finishes the book with a dry eye. But we feel good about the tears. Like the kind we shed with a good laugh.

So, if we want to go the distance, live long enough to cash in the 403-b, read this book. It will change your life and you can bet on it.

Though outside my normal lane of fiction, this reviewer read this book because of my love for dogs and cats. My spouse has remarked that my significant other was my beloved dog Max who has to be in heaven still emitting beams of healing to me. Along with Danelle Morton, Dr. Marty Becker of TV fame and author of some of the Chicken Soup books provides an insightful look at healing miracles involving pets. Medical research has begun to correlate the healthy relationship between a dog or a cat and a human especially a person in need of healing.

THE HEALING POWER OF PETS describes how animals cure or prevent illnesses and encourage couch potatoes to get off their butt and join them in activities. The authors also provide true-life stories of pets enhancing the lives of their owners often in miraculous ways that science does not understand in spite of gathering high statistical relationships between health and owners. This well-written book is clearly for pet lovers who know inside their hearts the meaning of "harnessing the amazing ability of pets to make and keep people healthy ".

Harriet Klausner

In the Healing Power of Pets, Dr. Marty Becker and Danelle Morton remind us that good health, like living a good life, is not simply an issue of absence of disease. Good health is achieved by a balance between factors influencing body, mind and spirit. In this book, the authors explore how animals aid humans in all of these categories. Animals help the body by encouraging exercise and stimulating nerves. They help the mind by providing structure in the daily activities, giving a person someone outside themselves to think and care for, facilitating social contacts and breaking through barriers of isolation. They benefit the spirit by assisting people to achieve a meditation- like relaxation and experience living in the moment.

While this book will be a delight to most pet owners, I believe that its utility goes beyond that. Health care providers, mental health councilors and educational specialists will all find food for thought in this well researched book. One of the first things that I do when reading a non-fiction book is to flip to the back and see what information is referenced. This book has an extensive bibliography and considerable scientific material is cited. However, it is a credit to Dr. Becker's writing style that the narrative flows seamlessly from personal stories to scientific research that illustrate the same point. As a result, the information is conveyed in a way that is engaging as well as being educational.

While we derive many benefits from our association with animals, we must remember that the Human Animal Bond needs to always be a two way street of mutual benefits. Too often we fall short of our responsibilities to them, as the high numbers of animals abandoned at shelters attests. All too often, reality doesn't live up to our expectation and it is the animals who suffer because of this. So I was quite pleased that Dr. Becker included information designed to improve the human side of the Human Animal Bond, from discussing how to select the best pet for your needs to providing the needed mental and physical requirements for your pet to live a full and healthy life. In this way, Dr. Becker provides additional balance to this book.

Some of these stories will make you think. Some will make you cry. Some stories will inspire awe and wonder at the animals who have developed remarkable abilities to detect problems and assist humans. In most cases though, the animal helps humans, not because of what they do, but simply by being what they are. It is our challenge to take this gift and use it wisely.

This book is not "what you'll need to become a medical transcriptionist", as in books and equipment. Rather, it is a general "What is Medical Transcription?" along with things to think about while studying to be one.

I bought this book expecting the former but I'm not disapointed I read it. It explains the current situation in Medical Transcription as a job and answers questions like, "Is Medical Transcription right for me?" It also talks about the job itself and what one should expect - where does one work? are people paid well?

However, I am looking for a book that helps one study on their own to be a Medical Transcriptionst. Most courses seem pricey so I decided to just begin studying on my own. There are tapes of Medcial Dictation (with their transcripts) available on eBay. Unfortunatly, this book did not help too much in this regard except to ephasize the necessity of being competent with Medical Terminology and the importance of being certified by the AAMT.

If you're thinking about being a medical transcriptionst and want to read a gentle introduction to the field then this book is great but don't expect to read the exact steps to take for completing your own education.

This book answered every one of my questions about Medical Transcription. It brings you past those glowing home-training advertisements and gives the real facts about what is involved in the training and actual work of this profession. It outlines everything from what skills/traits are needed to the various workplaces. I appreciated Mr. Morton's first hand thoughts about Medical Transcription since I've never met any MTs!

This is a definite must for anyone with some level of consideration for this well-respected career!

As a medical transcription educator, I was thrilled to see this new book from George Morton. It is a realistic look at what the field of medical transcription has to offer ... the good and the bad. It's a worthwhile investment for anyone who is considering a career change to MT!

No one writes the stories of big historical or social movements better than David Halberstam, and "The Children" is no exception. As readers of his other "big" books ("The Best and the Brightest," "The Powers That Be," "The Reckoning," "The Fifties") would expect, Halberstam chooses to tell the story of the budding civil rights movement not from the standpoint of the leaders, like M. L. King or Medgar Evers, but from the standpoint of the peacetime footsoldiers, who rallied the people and took the blows (literally) that ultimately ended segregation in the South. As always, Halberstam's prose is impeccable: intelligent, literate, witty, and above all, imbued with a deep and abiding sense of humanity. The young people in his story are heroes, but they're also people, and he makes us see them as such, with all their doubts, fears, and conflicting emotions. It's hard to think of a nearly 800 page book as a thriller, but I would dare anyone to read the first two sentences of Halberstam's Prologue and NOT feel the power of a master storyteller taking hold. To read "The Children" is to be reminded, and charged, by the power of democracy to achieve social change, and it is also to grieve, a bit, at how little has been achieved in the last twenty years.

I am not an American, and I often find that I come short when discussing history with my American friends. Therefore, I am always looking for books that can fill gaps in my knowledge. "The Children" is such a book.

This is one of the best books you can find covering the Civil Right Movement. With a journalists precision Halberstam narrates the extraordinary story of the rise of the Civil Rights movement, which in the end broke the back of the Deep South segregation. "The Children" covers the fight for racial equality, including student protests, the story of lunch-counter sit-ins, to the freedom marches. We meet Sheriff Bull Connor, Jim Crow on the one side of the fight, and the young students James Lawson, Rodney Powell, and Diana Nash amongst others on the other side.

Halberstam does an excellent job showing us what the Civil Right movement was all about, and what its supporters had to endure to end the segregation in the South. His first-hand familiarity with the conflict is evident throughout the whole book. (What most people don't think of is that, the covering the Civil Right movement was David Halberstam first "serious" story as a journalist for the Tennessean in Nashville. He was fresh out of colleague and a complete "nobody" in the world of journalism!)

"The Children" was my first reading on the Civil Right movement and it was a true eye-opener for me. I learned so much from this book. With 800 pages "The Children" is not a quick read, but I never felt that too much was included. Now, 2 years later I still refer to this book when discussing the topic.

This is one of the best books that I have ever read. "The Children" should be required reading for everyone. I couldn't recommend it higher!

David Halbestam's monumental book, the children, is a hymn of praise to a remarkable group of young people who did much, perhaps most, of the heavy lifting of the civil rights movement. But it is also the story of how one man, James Lawson, influenced a movement and changed a nation. There are many heroes portrayed in Halberstam's book, but perhaps the one indispensable person in the success of the civil rights movement was not Martin Luther King, Jr., but James Lawson. This is not to diminish or belittle the contributions of King, for what more can a man give than his life. But even Halberstam doesn't seem to recognize that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 might never have come about had it not been for the remarkable acheivement of James Lawson in attracting and training the first group of young, tremendously dedicated non-violent protesters in Nashville in 1959 and 1960. This is one of the most inspirational books I have ever read, and while, as several of the reviewers have already noted, the book could have done with some paring of redundancies, if you want a story filled with heroes and heroines, with light overcoming darkness and the good guys winning, this is your book. It should be required reading for every young person in America. James Lawson, jailbird, "draft dodger" and the ultimate "outside agitator," has lived a life of consequence and significance that most of us can only dream about. The remarkable thing is that he found other young people who wished to live lives equally challenging. Human beings, if they are lucky, are given only a few rare opprotunities in their lives to make a real and great impact on their world. Lawson, Nash, LaFayette, Bevel, Powell, Brown, Johnson and the wonderous John Lewis among many others, seized their opportunity, and made life better for not only millions of Black folk held hostage to racism and ignorance, but for millions of their white oppressors as well. The great tragedy is that as the Movement entered its period of greatest success, it was, like the Russian Revolution, seized by some of the most radical elements in what had been the fringes of the movement. And we lost Martin Luther King, Jr., the most effective voice of the nation's conscience.

In reading the book I found the first half some what hard to get through. I was looking towards getting the info he was to give on investing. The second half of the book was what I was looking for. If you use his discipline in trading you could make alot of money in the market. I would recommended it just to have a base to use in your stock trading methods.

I know the author personally,he gave me my "shot" on Wall St.when I was 18 years old.There are a lot of "empty suits" that have written books on investing,I promise you Morty is not one of them. If you love facts as I do regarding investments...buy this book it will be of value to you.

Larry King's review (on the back cover) said it best, "this is the best book I've ever read on making it big. You're in the hands of a master. Enjoy!"

I am very moved by the love and courage of Alexandra Morton. She is a paragon of free spirits, living out the dream many of us only fantasize but dare not pursue--living on a boat to follow the whales on waves. Not only she portrays the fascinating orcas with delightful insights, she also writes about her later romance and boat-life with her documentary photographer husband Robin and their baby on the boat. It's beautiful and loving account, which makes his later accident even more sorrowful and tragic, not just for her but for all of us and whales too. From this book you will be absorbed by the orcas' ways of communication and intelligence, as well as the life on the Vancouver waters and islands. After you read this book, you will look at those captured dolphines and whales and Seaworld or zoos very differently. Alexandra writes with clarity and love.

This is the autobiography (so far) of whale researcher Alexandra Morton who came to the remote Broughton Archipelago in 1984 to study orcas and was herself woven by nature into the warp and woof of that amazing place. While telling a fascinating story the book imparts a great deal of knowledge in so painless a manner that we hardly notice. We learn, for example, that there are three kinds of orcas: "residents," who eat mostly fish; "transients" who eat mostly seals and sea lions; and "offshores" who--nobody knows for sure--may well eat mostly sharks. Though whales, both captive and free, are the stars of this story, the real star is the Broughton itself with its myriad islands and channels, its sunny summer breezes and howling winter storms. With so few people living in the Broughton, the BC government pillages its islands with clearcuts, and both levels of government cooperate to pollute its waters with open netcage salmon farms. Courageous residents fight a running battle to protect the wild coast and wild fish they love from the blindness of bureaucrats and the greed of multinational corporations. This wonderful story, which is all true, will make you cry for the ocean, and at the same time renew your hope in the power of courageous people to change the world. If you have a kayak, go and paddle through the Broughton that Alexandra and her friends are fighting to save for us. You might even be able to help.

I am very moved by the love, the courage and the discipline of Alexandra Morton. She is a paragon of free spirits, living out the dream many of us only fantasize but dare not pursue--living on a boat to follow the whales on waves. Not only she portrays the fascinating orcas with delightful insights, she also writes about her later romance and boat-life with her documentary husband Robin and their baby on the boat. It's beautiful and loving account, which makes his later accident even more sorrowful and tragic, not just for her but for all of us and whales too. From this book you will be absorbed by the orcas' ways of communication and intelligence, as well as the life on the Vancouver waters and islands. After you read this book, you will look at those captured dolphines and whales and Seaworld or zoos very differently. Alexandra writes with clarity and love.

The Drug Information Handbook by Lacy et al is the single best drug guide that I have used. I keep it handy both on my desk and in my bag when I make visits to patients in the field. I advise all of my staff of nurses and hospice physicians to obtain a copy on a regular basis as it is the most concise reference book in the field. I supervise a hospice program and in that context I am speaking with pharmacists, physicians and families on a regular basis. I buy a new copy every year. It was with relief that I disposed of my nursing drug guides a number of years ago and switched to the Lacy guide.

This book is wonderful for a quick reference, or detailed information. The drug information is concise,yet is just what you need when time is a necessity, or even when you've got all day. The appendices and tables in the back contain a wealth of handy guides and algorithms. If you only have one book at your disposal, this should be it.

This is the absolute bible of pharmacy. This is a good reference for generic/brand names, drug class, drug interactions, etc. There are also some very useful drug charts and treatment guidelines in the back of the book. However, it is a little weak on OTC drugs. Overall, this is an excellent portable medical reference.

It may seem an immediate departure to discuss Blake's biography, but it must be considered. Leaving formal school at ten, Blake first entered a drawing school, very early evincing great artistic talent. An eight year apprenticeship with engraver James Basire was a milestone of Blake's rather low key life. Blake's talents in the art of engraving were immeasurably important to both the full expression of his poetry and visual art.

As a poet, Blake opted for an almost facile, rhythmic, lyrical approach. His metre was superbly tight, his vocabulary surprisingly controlled for an 18th century writer. Of the two parts, Songs of Experience is the better of the two; not only did five years give Blake's poetry just one more dash of prowess, but his topics are dealt with in a more effective and interesting manner. His subject matter also becomes more bleak, more wearily phrased. A perfect example: Here is a stanza from ...Innocence's The Divine Image

For mercy has a human heart
Pity, a human dress
And love, the human form divine
And peace the human dress

Compare this with the poem of the same name in experience:

Cruelty has a human heart,
And jealousy a human face
Terror, the human form divine
And secrecy, the human dress

Whyfore this turnabout, from an almost sanguine mentality to one so dour and unmitigatedly bleak that Blake excluded this poem and attendant engraving in most editions of his Songs...

First, the death of Robert, Blake's beloved younger brother and apprentice. It is said that Blake stayed up a fortnight nursing his ill brother; a four day sopor followed. Later, Blake was to report that he was visited by Robert's spirit, laden with ideas as to the format of the Songs. ...Such poems as the Chimney Sweeper and the Little Boy Lost are frightful, cynical visions of the fractured side of London life. Take this stanza from Little Boy Lost, a story of a child martyed for speaking his mind:

The weeping child could not be heard
The weeping parents wept in vain
They strip'd him to his little shirt
And bound him with an iron chain

And burned him in a holy place
Where many had been burned before
The weeping parents wept in vain
Are such things done on Albions shore?

This darker judgement of life does not preclude the two motifs most sacred to Blake: Religion and love. Poems such as the Clod and the Pebble, The Pretty Rose Tree, both Holy Thursdays, the Laughing Song, and the Lamb all explore some aspect of divine justice or the perverse or beautiful aspects of love.

Something fascinating: In that very racist, colony-crazy, native torching time, Blake iconoclastically treats the subject of race in the Little Black Boy, which describes a black child of such spiritual perception that he is able to guide his paler brethren on the path to God. This intimation of an oppressed race's closeness to an arcane but majestic God is a keynote in the study of the fiercely individualistic Blake. Buy this book when you see it.

I bought this book for a friend's birthday. At home, I read it through, soon experiencing the shameful thought that I wanted to keep it for myself. I didn't keep it, but I quickly found my own copy.

Fool that I am, I have never appreciated poetry much. This book opened my eyes. I write this review in the hope that someone may be encouraged to read it, and experience the wonder that it brought to me.

No words can do justice to these poems. I just marvel at how such seemingly simple compositions could contain so much meaning. Blake cuts straight to the spiritual essence of human existence. There are very few books that I could say have deepened my faith in God. This is one.

I was recently lucky to see the Gutenburg to Gone With the Wind Exhibit in Austin, Texas recently. At that marvelous exhibit I got to see one of Blake's original editions of Songs of Innocence. After that, I (of course) had to find a copy with the amazing poems and the amazing artwork by Blake. This edition satisfied both criteria well. First of all, the poems are brilliant. Everybody has read such works as "Little Boy Lost," "Little Boy Found," "The Shepherd," "The Lamb," and "The Tyger." These poems are just as good as they are made out to be. Each poem is excrutiatingly simple (in the style of children's verse), and each has such depth. The artwork is all in this edition, too, and it is fabulous. The colors are exactly like those of Blake's. I really think that the poems should never be read without Blake's engravings. This is a marvelous book for poetry lovers to own. It is high quality and affordable. Any fan of Blake's should own this book.