Kathy Harrison is not the kind of person who can just sit back and watch others suffer. She isn't the kind of person who feels like making a charitable contribution is doing her part to make the world a better place. Kathy Harrison is one of a special breed of people: someone who is willing to make sacrifices in order to make others happy. For Kathy, those sacrifices mean opening up her home --- and her heart --- to the neediest children in the world. Kathy Harrison is a foster parent but, more importantly, she is a hero to over one hundred children that she has helped through their toughest times.

In ANOTHER PLACE AT THE TABLE, Harrison makes no attempts to glamorize her role as a foster parent. She doesn't make herself out to be a saint. She simply tells it like it is, complete with the disheartening stories of children who have been neglected, abused and abandoned. But throughout the struggles she recounts in her book, there is always a glimmer of light: the children she has helped rehabilitate, the foster children who have found wonderful permanent homes, and the children who Harrison and her husband have adopted themselves. Despite her battles with the social services system, Kathy Harrison has made a difference.

ANOTHER PLACE AT THE TABLE is emotionally draining and fulfilling at the same time. While the subject matter is not lighthearted, the writing is excellent and the reading is fast-paced. Harrison has presented an open, honest view of her life --- faults included. Perhaps that is what makes the book exceptional.

Reflecting on the stories in this book, the phrase "Truth is stranger than fiction" comes to mind. In a world where so many of us live such comfortable lives with caring families, it is hard to believe that the events in this book really happened. And no invented character could rival the personalities of those living in the Harrison household. ANOTHER PLACE AT THE TABLE tells not only the story of Kathy Harrison and her foster children but also the story of foster families across the nation. It will bring you to tears and will make you angry. It won't make you laugh and it doesn't have a happy ending. But it will make you think about the foster care system, and maybe it will encourage you to make a difference.

--- Reviewed by Melissa Brown

Another Place at the Table is the story of a family who progress from adopting two children in need to becoming full time/overtime/all the time foster parents of handfuls of children with major 'issues.' But more than that, it's a story of the social services quagmire, the birth mothers of these kids, and the kids themselves.
Of interest to all who like the truth in human interest stories.
And besides that, it's well written. Read it, and pass it on to a friend. Or better yet, buy two copies and GIVE one to a friend.

Kathy's Harrison's memoir of her life as a foster parent to over one hundred children is at times funny, sad, and heart-wrenching, but always completely honest. She is honest about her own failures and weaknesses, about the difficulty in fostering troubled children, about the many shortcomings of the foster care system, and about the tremendous need each child in that system has for a loving, attentive family. She sugarcoats nothing, yet manages to show the reader each sweet, loving, unique child she took in under the labels of "abused," "troubled" and "mentally ill."

I began this book as someone who never imagined that I would want to be a foster parent, and finished it with the inspiration to pursue it as soon as possible. Harrison is not a superhero, as I previously imagined foster parents to be; she is an ordinary person who has given an extrodinary piece of herself to those members of our society who need it most. Her story, and that of the children she loves, deserves to be read.

Someone asked me to get an old copy of this book for them but I couldn't find it. So I bought it from amazon.com and got it shipped to their address direct - only to find that they'd moved! So it was redirected to me. What a piece of luck. This book is an informative and entertaining read. Not only is it readable, but it is very re-readable. So impressed was I that I now have two copies, one for me - and one just in case the person I originally bought it for ever turns up, belatedly demanding their copy! This is one book no martial artist should ever get caught without.

Great book filled with one of a kind information. If you are looking for techniques then this is not the book for you. However, if you want history and insight then this book is one of the best. I rank it up there with the works of Donn Draeger.

The Fighting Spirit Of Japan is the most beautifully written book on Martial Arts I've read. Written by a judo expert,the text focuses heavily on that area but also touches on Karate, Fencing, Aikido and Jujitsu. The esoteric nature of martial arts culture is particularly illuminated. Written before such arts were fashionable in the West, Harrison explores the subjects with reverence, humour and infectious enthusiasm. The text is written by an insider in that Harrison is obviously proficient in the art of Judo. But as an outsider(being a westerner in an oriental culture) his sense of respect (though never overawed) is palpable. Though the style of writing is classically inspired, Harrison's mastery of both language and subject matter make this title a unique pleasure to read. One gets the impression that whatever subject Harrison wrote about would be immensely readable. That he knows his subject inside out means he can offer us pertinant insights into martial arts (and the culture that nurtures them) and relay such insights to the reader in a coherant and sometimes witty manner. I'd contend that unless one has read this title or at least any other work by the same author, it would be difficult to claim genuine understanding of the mechanics or purpose of martial arts. So go buy!

This is one of those things that it's hard to tell what it's going to be like online, but when it arrived, it was exactly what was described. A cool book with drink recipes and lots of little plastic drink "accessories." A great gift for someone who likes mixing cocktails! The recipient of the gift was impressed with it.

This book will make any party an instant success. Even if you don't use every recipe -- the book alone is a conversation piece. Throw on a hip CD and the night will be anything you want it to be.

If snapping a poptop on a brewski is the limit of your bartorial abilities, then this is your book. Especially if you are going to invite me over. Get creative with Babs Harrison Kitschy Cocktails, and lets start partying!!!

Brady Stoner makes me cry when I think of his manly sensitivity to the women in his life. The characters are so real and inspiring, yet great fun too. I'd love to be like Lynda Austin. I understand there's two more books in the series and definitely will be looking for those too!

The Lost Manuscript of Martin Taylor Harrison is one of my favorite books. The other two books in this series are my other favorites. I like this book because it is real. It is about real people with real problems which is a quality sometimes hard to find in books. Love it!

Love it! Love it love it loveit!!!!!!!!!!:

Herman Melville is one of the lesser known authors.Still his style and skill are not to be ignored.Whenever you wish to explore the development of the United States , and the regionalisms of the sailors of the northeast ,read him . Exciting
and educational ,and extremely well written.

Whether its considered a novella, a short novel, or whatever else, no matter, Billy Budd is the greatest work of its kind ever written and one of the great works of world literature. Whether it fits neatly into any traditional literary category is of no importance. "Truth uncompromisingly told will always have its ragged edges."
Such rare substance and depth condensed into a mere 90 pages creates intense heat and blinding light, an incandescence, that only genius could then fashion into the long, smooth, jewel-like chains of the poetic prose sentences that make up this book. Melville forges them in the white-hot smithy of his soul then links them together, beginning to end, giving us the revelation story of Billy Budd. "Welkin-eyed" Billy Budd is a young British merchant sailor, the "Handsome Sailor", the embodiment of spontaneous, good-natured vitality and innocence, naturally loved by his fellow sailors, an "Angel of God." But he is also the "fated boy" with a seemingly minor weakness of stuttering when he is upset, a weakness that proves tragic in a world of darkness. Billy is forcibly enlisted onto a war ship to serve the British king in his struggle against the post-revolutionary France of Napoleon. On ship Billy meets the very intelligent, proper, conservative, highly regarded Master-at-Arms, Claggart. Behind his facade, Claggart's soul is as weak and depraved as Billy's is good and strong. The proud Claggart secretly admires Billy beyond endurance and grows to loathe and detest him because of this. Claggart goes to Captain Vere and falsely accuses Billy of mutiny. Billy is brought in and accused to his face. The shocked Billy is inwardly paralyzed, reduced to "a strange dumb gesturing and gurgling", by the mystery of such maliciousness and evil. He can't comprehend it and doesn't know how to defend himself. Like an innocent tormented animal he strikes out and Claggart falls silent, permanently silent. Then the real horror at the heart of this story is revealed. Captain Vere, the embodiment of all conventional nobility, courage and wisdom, deceives himself with his lofty rationality and with much sentimentality, but no more real feeling than a puppet, he follows protocol and, though he knows Billy is innocent, condemns him to be hanged and given over to the sea. Cuffed with darbies (manacles or irons) and bound in hammock the "Angel of God" is dropped into the darkness.

Fathoms down, fathoms down, how I'll dream fast asleep.
I feel it stealing now. Sentry, are you there?
Just ease this darbies at the wrist, and roll me over fair,
I am sleepy and the oozy weeds about me twist.

This story combined with the author's ongoing pronouncements reveals a realm of American art where Melville stands alone. He is America's greatest, only truly prophetic, artist. Enter this little book openly, seriously, and it will serve you for life. Read it again and again until you hear its voice.

Herman Melville's novella "Billy Budd" recounts the tragic story of a young man impressed into service aboard the British man-of-war 'Bellipotent' in the late 1790's. Billy is called the 'Handsome Sailor' no less because of his angelic features than for his absolute moral purity and innocence. Initially aboard a merchantman, where he is revered by his fellows and treated accordingly, once aboard a warship, Billy is not greeted by such universal admiration. John Claggart, the master-at-arms, the policeman of the ship, fosters an intense homoerotic hatred of Billy, drawing the young man into the commerce of realistic human interaction.

Melville does a fantastic job in so short a work of characterization. From the main characters, Budd, Claggart, and the captain/philosopher Starry Vere, to minor characters of significance like the old Dansker, Melville gives carefully detailed and finely nuanced renderings of the players and their roles and responses to the events of the story.

Claggart's conflict with Budd takes on special urgency with the 1790's problem of mutinies aboard British sea-going vessels. Vere and his court must try to distinguish moral responsibility from legal necessity to judge the fatal interactions between Claggart and Budd. Melville is sensitive to late 18th century philosophical currents in regard to both American independence and the French Revolution - Discussions of rights and nature are scattered through the text. Complicating these strains are theological currents of good and evil, innocence and natural depravity. "Billy Budd" is a fine work, and wonderfully complex.

This excellent edition, compiled and edited by Hayford and Seals, is the appropriate one for the scholar or the completist. It includes extensive notes and critical interpretations (sadly only through the initial publication of this edition - 1962), photo reprints of Melville's manuscript, and textual commentary. Absolutely worth reading and rereading.

Imagine a book co-written by Redmond O'Hanlon and Noel Coward: Funny, exciting, literate, a period piece that still works. Flemming, a young corespondant for the London Times, goes on a half-baked expidition to the heart of Brazil with a group of men both over- and underprepared for the adventure. I enjoyed the book immensely, although his light tone occasionally got to me.

Every so often I have to buy a new copy of Brazillian Adventure because I lend my copy to someone and they flatly refuse to return it again. This is one of the most engaging and good-humoured travel books ever. It was Fleming's first adventure and his first book - yet it became a classic work going into several editions early on and being used in schools as a study piece. It is seriously well written, and seriously engaging.

It starts with his blandly describing how he got involved in the expedition in the first place- answering an advertisement in the paper to go on a 'Fawcett hunt" (as he later called it). He thought he would go on a grand expedition to find the missing explorer Colonel Fawcett and get a little hunting done at the same time. There have been numerous books and studies done on the disappearnce of Fawcett in Brazil in the 1920's - to this day no one quite knows what happened to him, and as it turns out the expedition that Fleming was joining was not going to throw new light on matters either.

In fact the trip deteriorated badly the moment they hit Brazil, and Fleming's dry wit turns it all into a hilarious read - although it must have been desparately uncomfortable for them all. The expedition Leader was incompetent, the expedition split into two warring factions and they all ended up in a race back down the Amazon to try to get the banks in time.

Peter Fleming, in case you didn't know, is the brother of the 'James Bond' author Ian Fleming - a talent for writing seemed to run in the family. Peter continued his travels and writing career but I think this first book is the best of them all. There is also a wonderful biography on his life available but I think that is now out of print.

This is contemporary American adventure: buy an SUV, watch game shows based on Lord of the Flies, try the risotto recipe Martha Stewart used on her ascent in the Himilayas. Please! Brazilian Adventure is the real thing for those who don't own their own snowshoes. Sure, the author and his companions set off with pith helmets worthy of Ralph Lauren and more elaborate gear than they'll ever use; true, Fleming is something of a good old boy circa 1932 Oxford style. Skin to be shed. When reality hits, which it does early in the adventure and continues to the bedraggled end, he rises to the occasion. The narrative is suffused with clear-eyed wit, honesty and optimism. I hope there are other Peter Fleming books out there.

This book is an excellent primer of the History of Pantheism, but, with an unfortunate, and a quite unnecessary, Atheistic bias by its' author, Paul Harrison. I am the only reviewer here, thus far, that is NOT a member of the authors' WPM or World Pantheist Movement, or its' members calling themselves, Scientific Pantheists, therefore, my review here is unbiased. The book is an excellent overview of Pantheism, in general, and I do recommend it highly. However, those that are actually looking for something even remotely " Spiritual " and/or even remotely " Purposeful ", in Life, and/or, in Cosmos, will only come away quite disappointed.

This book explains in a clear, informative style why pantheism is a workable, honest, and appropriate philosophy and way of life for our times. There is a World Pantheist Movement abroad, and Carl Sagan would, I'm sure, have been glad of it.

Dr. Paul Harrison intelligently discusses how Pantheism relates to other belief systems. He refers to numerous publications and thinkers through the ages. I would have liked to see more discussion of Pantheists and the belief/struggle relationships with technology and development. There was no mention of nature-based music/lyrics (i.e. John Denver) or outdoor experiences (i.e. camping, exploration). It is has numerous quotations but no pictures (of celestial events or nature photography) which in turn make it affordable. Highly recommended. I enjoyed it.

Jim Harrison is a contemporary american writer worshipped in Europe but, alas, not so well known in his native country. In FARMER, a novel published in 1975, Jim Harrison writes about nature, origins and the heart of America.

Joey is a farmer, an american of the second generation, and the year is 1956. He lives in the northern part of the Michigan state and is one of the teachers of the local school. His sisters have left the country years ago, heading towards the big cities, and abandoning him with their mother. Joey likes to hunt and to fish. It's a simple story.

During a 6 months period, Joey is going to have a kind of rebellion against his so regular life, a nervous breakdown to use a term of the cities. New experiences, long conversations with his neighbour Doc Evans, the contact with nature will replace the tranquillizers. It's an healthy story.

The themes treated in FARMER are universal : love, death, friendship, regrets. The reader cares about Joey's story and understands his simples questions we have all experienced once in our lives. If only we had the courage to face them so openly like Joey did. in this superb novel.

A book to discover.

I read Harrison's FARMER in one sitting, then made a pot of coffee, and read it again. I recall that I was terribly sad upon finishing, only because the sublime experience had ended. FARMER has no flaws that I can detect. It is simple and has a fierce ecomomy. Tiny book, BIG,BIG story. This is a fine book.

I was but two pages into the book when I read the line "He pokes at the ocean with his cane,staring at it with the raptness he felt for the northern lights as a child." And I wept. I grew up in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan and have stared at the northern lights with that same raptness. No other author captures the uniqueness and wonder of the place and the people like Jim Harrison. He understands the soul of the land and of the people who live there. His imagery and attention to detail are masterful.

Now the theory is behind you and you are into Physical exams and History taking and diagnostics. This book is a must for you. In 397 Chapters it tells you about almost all human illnesses. Each chapter starts with theory (physiology), History taking, continues with Diagnosis and Treatment, it even tell you how to approach the patient what to look and what to disregard. Almost 2600 pages, takes two to carry, requires own stand in your home like Webster's dictionary but have more information compared to other 2600 page books due to fine print and unfortunately very minimal pictures or diagrams. You might want to get complete with pocket book edition for handiness when you need it. This book will not help in your diagnosis but when you think you had diagnosed than you can refer to this to see to confirm or rethink.

This is Harrison's textbook of medicine, known , read and loved the world over. Who really needs an introduction to this Medical Bible?

Harrison's is probably the best medical reference for medical professionals there is. As expected, the 14th edition of this authoritative reference lives up to its name. This book is not meant to be used as a textbook by medical students (or anyone for that matter). For those looking for a textbook, I suggest "Cecil's textbook of medicine", which does a beautiful job in that area. However, when you need to know the last say on any topic in Internal Medicine, your best bet remains Harrison's.

Hi, I am a student of Medical Science. And I need to know when the latest edition of Harrison's Principal of Internal Medicine will issued. Please let me inform to my mail address vsh12@hotmail.com. Thank you