This book will be a disappointment even for those who share the author's professional world view. The book reads like Cliff Notes for a book about the first session of psychotherapy; the author introduces one topic, skims another, then introduces another, without elucidating any of them. The redundancy is also annoying; the author seems to assume that the reader begins each chapter without having read anything which came before.

Substantively the book offers a disturbing revelation of one psychoanalyst's disrespectful and patronizing view of those who seek his counsel. Examples abound; "Not all patients know they are supposed to let me have my words before they begin to speak," or "If the therapist is listening for evidence of transference in all that the patient presents, there is a lessened danger of taking patient's reports as truth," and "Gender, sexual orientation, and religious preference are only surface indications of one's underlying conflicts or personality structure."

It alarms me greatly that this book has any potential to influence devel oping psychotherapists.

This book, Opening Gambits is a comprehensive and practical discussion of a therapist's first contact with their client. Peter Armstrong is a good communicator, explaining the complexities of beginning a psychotherapeutic relationship in an easily readable manner. He begins with a summery of analytic authors who have addressed the initial sessions, and then describes the language of establishing fees, providing legal structure, plus eight other tasks to be accomplished in the first session. I've never found another book like Opening Gambits. It is a practical guide for getting psychotherapy off to a good start. Both experienced and novice therapists/analysts will benefit from this book. Whatever one's orientation Dr. Armstrong's book will improve your effectiveness with clients, and you find his honesty and personal reflections refreshing.

This is a fascinating book that explores the realms of psychotherapy. It thoroghly examines the first step in psychotherapy. This is a must read book for any psychotherapist. It teaches through examples and quotes. This book is organized very well and is easy to read and understand. This has taught me many techniqes to manage my life without seeing a psychotherapist. This book helped me deal better with other people and understand them better.

Concert Of Ghosts is a well written psychologically complex, stunningly atmospheric page turner which starts with an absurd premise and gets even nuttier; a tense, tingling puzzler.

This is the first novel of Campbell Armstrong's that I have read & it will not be the last. It truly was a mystery that did not reveal itself until the last couple of chapters. Part of the intrigue is feeling the frustration of Harry Tennant (the main character of the story) as he tries desprately to claw away the cobwebs that envelop his memory. What appears to be a drug induced amnesia from Harry's alternative lifestyle in 60's San Francisco, gradually reveals itself to be more sinister. It should be mentioned that Harry had been living a recluse's lifestyle in upstate New York until his world collapses and a journalist, Alison Seagrove enters (following a human interest story), thrusting a photo containing him and four fellow hippies that he has no recollection of. What follows is a trek accross the USA that has significant ports of call throughout for Harry & Alison,with the former slowly but surely putting the puzzle of the photograph's relevance together. Reading passages a second time at the completion of the novel, I picked up hints that led to Harry's condition which were very well disguised. All in all a tremendous read.

"Here is intellectual leadership at its best" gushes Rey Chow, a cronie of Nancy Armstrong's, in her intemperate review of Armstrong's minor monograph on photography and realism. Chow seems to suggest that this is not just another tenure-grabbing piece of academic fluff, but, rather, that Armstrong has altered the world forever: "By foregrounding visuality, she radically reconceptualizes the relationship between realism and the modern, bringing about a paradigm shift with which scholars will have to reckon in the decades to come." Whoa, Rey! Let's not get carried away paying back Armstrong for her good reviews of your work! Chow's inflated rhetoric leads one to believe that we've entered an entirely new dimension of experience, a new understanding of the world that will leave us all dumbfounded and amazed by the newness of a once puzzling universe. She seems to think that a new revelation has been lowered from Heaven to cast light upon a previously murky world, and the notion that photography has flooded modern consciousness and the modern novel is somehow startling in its implications. "As much a model of critical imagination as it is of scholarly integrity, this book accomplishes what only the rarest of books do: it teaches you how to think." The ultimate scratching of the academic back: thanks for forming my brain, Nancy. Before reading this book I was ignorant. Now I can think. Cheers. Ah, yes -- by using the now hoary marxist-feminist device of concentrating on the controlling gaze of the viewer ("visuality"), by insisting on the material realm (even if only as "the real") in contrast to the spiritual realm, by tossing around a few of the usual post-structuralist devices of distancing the object and reconstituting it within a new context, she garners the acolades of her cronies as the Great Remaker of Modern Thought. Wow! This book is, in essence, more a testimony to the nature of contemporary academic politics and buddy systems than it is to anything else, and all of the praise heaped upon it cannot change the fact that it will have only as much influence as a few professors can wring out of it in their seminars. Good luck, people.

Can the first reviewer seem more jealous and heated about the fact that his academic career has met its demise some time ago? It's ok, just try again. Hey, anything is possible. Why dont you meet Professor Armstrong beforee being so rude. Get out of your cloud of mediocrity. Read this book!

This book does indeed provide a great look at human neuroanatomy, with some discussion on function. As a graduate student taking a course and lab in neuroanatomy, this book will be helpful. The book is rather concise for the subject matter it is covering. Therefore, the writing style is condensed and difficult to follow at times. Perhaps the title should have been Fundamental Neuroanatomy, as opposed to Fundamental Neuroscience, as little discussion is given to research techniques and extrapolation from animal to human models.

In my humble opinion, Fundamental Neuroscience, edited by D.E. Haines, is an undiscovered gem! I am particularly impressed by the illustrations; this textbook combines actual photographs of brains, various types of brain scans, histological plates and color-coded schematic diagrams to give the best and most complete presentation of the nervous system that I have ever seen in my 30 years of university research and teaching. Whenever I have a question in mind concerning some basic aspect of the structure and function of the nervous system, I usually find myself leafing through this textbook to find the answer. Clearly, this book was written primarily for medical students; there are numerous excellent examples of clinical cases that can help cement the extensive information about the function and anatomy of the nervous system to the problems actually facing patients with neurological disorders. Some mention is also made of chemical and molecular mechanisms in neurotransmission, but in my opinion, this topic is not treated adequately. After all, most of the problems facing patients with neurological disorders are treated with drugs, so a thorough knowledge of the anatomical location and role of neuroreceptors is essential for medical students. Be that as it may, Fundamental Neuroscience spells out the circuitry of the nervous system more clearly than any other textbook that I know about, and this reason is enough for me to recommend it highly for those who need either to learn the topic from scratch or to have a comprehensive and well-written reference book on the shelf for consulting occasionally.

This book is as far from "easy reading" as it gets!(I suggest a look at the sample pages) As a Personal Trainer, I was bombarded with details, rather than simply the results, of complicated studies and research. This book could have been summarized in 50 pages for the general public. The information is excellent but too scientific. Borrow it if you really need scientific specifics.

Lawrence Armstrong, one of the most respected exercise physiologists today, has done a wonderful job with bringing difficult topics back down to earth. In this book, Armstrong discusses everything from cold and windchill to altitude to heat, and how your body responds to these extremes.

The area of human performance and the effect the environment has on it is not always easy to understand. I think that Armstrong has done a great job in relaying pertinent information, especially on cold and altitude, in an easily understandable fashion. You don't have to be a physiologist yourself to learn from this book.

For anyone interested in human performance, from beginners to experts, this is a text you would want to have on your shelf.

Classic account by Graham who appraises the LBH battle objectively in one sense but clearly seems to favor Reno's and Benteen's actions over Custer. The Reno Court of Inquiry testimony which Graham obtained in the 1920s in a limited release fueled much of the book.What was most interesting was a lengthy letter from a member of General Terry's staff officer who wrote the letter just after Terry's death. The letter is a defense of Terry who is characterized as a kind man who did not want to criticize Custer after death too harshly. The letter details how in the opinion of the staff officer, how Custer disobeyed orders particularly in the lack of use of scouts that were suppose to contact Colonel Gibbon's column prior to attacking. Fuels more fire in the controversy. The Custer Myth is the better of the two Graham books.

This is one of the classic books on the Little Big Horn fight. The author, W.A. Graham, was a retired Army lawyer who spent his retirement in the study of the 1876 Sioux Campaigns. Graham is almost unique within the tightly knit universe of Little Big Horn scholarship. His training and career as a lawyer made him attempt to be as objective as possible in his gathering and assessment of the evidence he presents. Graham indulges in little, if any, of the polemics and special pleading which seems to characterize much writing about Little Big Horn. For that reason alone, this volume is recommended highly. While somewhat dated by more recent scholarship (this is a reprint of the 1941 Second Edition) it is a "must have" in the library of anyone interested in this famous battle of the Plains Indian Wars.

I've enjoyed the other five books I read by this author. I found this one so disappointing. I made it through the first four chapters and flicked through the rest. It's dire. He needs to go back to sea or do another follow-on like the Riddle of the Sands/Guns of Navarone ones. Sorry, I'm just really disappointed.

The Sea Garden unburies its dead and lays them at the feet of a late twentieth century American newly betrothed to a man who inherits the Garden by the sea. She curses her fate as history appears in the present and she tunnels back into the past. Betrayal, murder and the cruelty of the sea mixed in the wonderful bouyant Llewellyn style.

This book is a real page turner, a treat, a must.
Read it and you'll enjoy it!!!! if you'll read one book this year, read The Sea Garden!

I was shocked at the content of this book which I ordered based on the title and on-line synopsis. It is unabashedly critical of the Catholic faith, while constantly elevating the beliefs and perspectives of evangelical protestants. Regrettably, I did not discover the true nature of the book for several weeks after I purchased it, and since a return was not possible, I opted to destroy the book rather than have it occupy a place in my personal library. As a book lover, it was a painful act to carry out; but I felt it was a justifiable meausure to ensure that my unfortunate acquisition would not be available to possibly spread its errors any further

Excellent book for a discerning christian, both Catholic and Protestant. John H. Armstrong skillfully provides evidence from Scripture to prove the major issues of the Reformation. Information about the Catholic issues are also well documented. Read it for yourself and you decide

What disheartens me so, is that many good people, Catholics, fail to accept that Catholicism is not Christian.

This is a must read book, especially for objective people. There is a gentle honesty about this book as it explores the roots of Catholicism and its roots in Rome. It is not offensive, biased or some kind of a Catholic bashing book. A sensitive approach was taken in this book.

Truth is nothing to fear. We should all embrace truth and make it a part of us. What is written in this book is true and well documented.

Take heed:

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

Colossians 2:9

I am purchasing it again to give to a dear friend to aid her in seeing the light. If truth is important to you, please consider reading this book and passing it along to a friend as I am doing.

I only made it through about half the book before I gave up. It is remarkably unpalatable and stunningly biased. After giving up, I wanted to see some of the amazon reviews, many of which I found echo my conclusion that Ms. Armstrong is an apologist of Islam. Nothing wrong with that, but she should be very clear about it and not present the book as a balanced history.

In the beginning was peaceful co-existence (sort of) between Christians, Muslims and Jews. Then came the Crusades, and Europe made the fateful choice of intolerance and hegemonism, and the world has never been the same since. The conflict in the Middle East today is both the consequence and a repetition of the original drama of a thousand years ago. To understand it and to find a way forward we must therefore study its history and learn the lessons it teaches - of tolerance and "triple vision", so that we can begin the painful and difficult process of casting off the rigid mentalities we have inherited and learning peace.
This is the message of "Holy War" in a nutshell, presented via a mix of potted history and potted political analysis. What is wrong with it? Plenty.
*

To begin with, there is the history. Author Karen Armstrong asserts (p xiv): "I now believe that the Crusades were one of the direct causes of the conflict in the Middle East today." But this is never supported by the rest of the text. Armstrong's main idea appears to be that the Crusades resulted in an aggressive and intolerant cast of mind in Europeans, which is at the root of the current conflict. But no effort is made to elucidate a specific causal chain. Undoubtedly history would have been different had the Crusades never taken place, but it is also clearly possible that conflict would have arisen in any event. Are we to imagine that if the Crusades had not happened, Europe and the Arab world would have necessarily lived in harmonious coexistence for another millennium? This hardly seems plausible.
The analysis of current politics (no longer so current, as Armstrong wrote this about 10 years ago and it already has a dated flavour) is also flawed. A critical part of the dynamic of Arab relations with Israel and the West is the Arab failure to modernize. Arabs are at a historical crossroads, and the choice of the way ahead, be it theocracy, copying the West, or perhaps some "third way" is clearly the fundamental question of Arab socio-politics, which colours every other issue. Surely this is the context, not the events of the 12th century, which must be understood.
Furthermore, whatever the similarities between the current conflict and the Crusades there are clearly a number of important differences. Israel's origins lie in the Holocaust; the Crusades' in an upsurge of religious belief. Israel is a nation; the Crusader kingdoms were European colonies. Arabs were relatively indifferent to a minor European intrusion during the Crusades, whose importance to Europeans was much greater. Today, Israel is a minor matter to the West, but its symbolic significance to Arabs is immense. In a bizarre reversal, it is now Hamas which resembles the Crusaders, willing to die to occupy Jerusalem, while the Arab masses, like medieval European peasantry, wait ready to welcome such a conquest with overwhelming rapture even though it would do nothing to improve their wretched living conditions. In the Crusades religion played an important and analogous role on both sides. Today the West, including Israel, is predominantly secular.
Armstrong's prescription for the way forward centres on "triple vision," which, although it sounds like something a heavyweight boxer might give you, is meant to denote the ability to see from the viewpoints of all three religious traditions simultaneously. This notion is not well explained and it is hard to see exactly what it means. Each tradition is fragmented, often into incompatible streams. Armstrong seems to sympathize with a modern, tolerant and ecumenical Christianity, for instance; but this is not easy to reconcile with the passionate, literal faith of the 12th century. Which is the true Christian perspective? Is there only one? To incorporate the views of moderates and fundamentalists in each of the three religions, plus secular humanism, would require "heptuple vision," enough to make anyone dizzy.
Furthermore, it is not clear how "triple vision" helps us answer the specific hard questions of politics. Should there be an independent Palestinian state? Does Israel have the right to exist? Armstrong does not explain what beliefs those who see with "triple vision" would hold about these matters, or, indeed, about anything. It is unclear whether she regards herself as having attained "triple vision" or whether she is still working towards it. Nor is it clear whether all who attain "triple vision" must hold the same beliefs, or whether it is possible for there to be different viewpoints among the triply-sighted (in which case we would seem to be back to square one as the various schools started to squabble amongst themselves).
That is not to say, however, that Armstrong herself holds no beliefs. To the contrary she holds a recognizably liberal view, displaying what, in a Maoist turn of phrase, might be characterized as the Five Hallmarks of Liberal Attitude regarding the Middle East, namely anti-Israeli bias, anti-Western bias, linguistic bowdlerism, treating both sides symmetrically and faith in goodwill as the key to peace.
Armstrong's central beliefs are that the responsibility for the crisis in the Middle East ultimately lies with the West, and that if we were more sympathetic to the Arab cause the prospects of peace would be materially advanced. These are both highly doubtful. It is difficult to see a way forward unless Muslims accept modernity. As regards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Palestinians must truly want peace, rather than the destruction of Israel, and must give up terror. Without this negotiation cannot even begin.
Karen Armstrong has done a lot of work, and is basically tolerant and well-meaning, but her central thesis is unsubstantiated, and for all the research her analysis of "the mechanics of prejudice" is a rehash of shallow liberal dogma. For readers with a limited amount of time, a better bet would be an academic history of the Crusades, plus "The Clash of Civilizations" by Samuel Huntington.

I am a fan of Karen Armstrong's works in general. In the best of her writing, such as "Battle for God", she aimed her criticism and analysis equally towards the fundamentalist offshoots of the three monotheistic religions. The results were a book that gave great insight into the fundamentalism, its roots and causes.

Unfortunately "Holy War" is marked by an extreme lack of balance on Karen Armstrong's part. Christianity, and especially Catholicism are the targets of an almost pathological attack on her part. Much of "Holy War" smacks of that mea culpa "The West is bad the east is good" variety of history so popular in historical writing of the 1980's and '90's. Christianity is painted in a dark light and, usually, while Armstrong is correct in her criticisms of the stupidity of the military leaders she goes too far in laying the blame for today's problems at the feet of Christianity and the crusades. Armstrong, an ex-nun who left the Catholic Church, has an axe to grind and she grinds it forcefully.

Armstrong paints Muslims as generally innocent victims who treated Christians and Jews as "people of the book". The fact that Muslims taxed them for the "right" to maintain their worship (sometimes heavily) and generally were contemptuous of both Christianity and Judaism isn't mentioned even though there is ample historical evidence for this (re: Muslim Discovery of Europe by Bernard Lewis). Nor does the fact that Muslims slaughtered pagans who refused to convert to Islam, showing its own unsavory past, rank any mention by Armstrong. In "Holy War" Islam is a peaceful progressive sect forced into violence and backwardness by the advent of European crusades.

Armstrong is a great writer of history and does her research, but some of her sources are suspect- using Paul Johnson as a reliable source in any history is always a gamble. Karen Armstrong's later writings are much more balanced than "Holy War". In all it is still an entertaining, informative and rewarding book but one which the reader should approach with some caution.

I found this book to very useful to quickly learn Java.

I was in a bind, and needed to learn quickly and away from the computer. The throrough steps and provided screenshots made learning Java without the computer possible. I read the first 60% of the book in three days, got back to the computer, and was producing basic applets in no time.

I don't think, however, that it's appropriate to call this book a bible as a "Bible" book to me covers many general subjects, whereas this is more of a "Learn Java in XX days" type of book.

This is a really good book for someone beginning Java, OOP and JBuilder all at once (as I am). It is well written, logically organized, and many of the example exercises are fun, worthwhile learning experiences. As mentioned in a prior review, IDG left out some single and double quotes from the printed code examples; knowing this fact is critical to getting the examples to work properly. A complete list of the omissions can be found at the publisher's Web-site. If you are serious about developing applications and applets in Java, THIS IS NOT THE ONLY BOOK YOU WILL EVER NEED. But it is a good, solid start, the BEST OF THE INTRODUCTORY BOOKS I've tried to use.

This is a great book for learning how to program in Java using JBuilder...but it does have some problems. First, the good stuff:

The book is divided into four parts. The first part covers the basics of object-oriented programming and using the JBuilder 2 environment. Part II covers the Java language in more detail, giving the reader a solid basis in Java programming. Part III covers topics in advanced object oriented thinking and goes into greater depth about the JBuilder environmnet. Part IV leads the reader through building two medium-scale projects: an Othello game and a scheduler.

The author does a very good job in parts I, II, and IV, but falls down somewhat in Part III. The advanced object-oriented topics could have used a bit more explanation, for example. I had to go over them a couple of times to really understand the concepts. Additionally, the section on deploying applets is fairly useless (as is the JBuilder help documentation on this subject). I had to find assistance on the web in order to get my applet to successfully run from my web page.

But the most glaring problem with the book is the lack of single- and double-quotes in the program listings. Someone at IDG Books didn't do his or her job, failing to catch the fact that the typesetting process had inadvertently replaced both forms of quotes with spaces (albeit only in the program listings). This makes some of the listings _very_ hard to follow, especially for beginning Java programmers. However, once you realize the problem exists, you can start looking for where single- and double-quotes should have been placed, so it's not an insurmountable problem.

Without the author's strong skill as a teacher, the book wouldn't be worth the purchase price. As it is, though, it remains worthwhile to put up with the typesetting problems in order to gain the benefit of Eric Armstrong's knowledge and teaching skill.

If you're new to Java programming and JBuilder 2, I strongly recommend the purchase of this book.