Roberts, a Rutgers law professor, examines the sociopolitical reproductive history of black women--concluding this group did and still faces disparate treatment in public policy. The combined impact of race/ethnicity, sex and ecconomic status govern black women's relation to their own bodies--and treatment from policymakers and medical personnel.

While this premise has been previously examined by other scholars, Robert's contribution differs in legal analysis of the state/women relationship specifically as it applies to black women. She also faults fellow feminists for their ignorance, silence, and apathy towards black women's unique reproductive rights.

Begining with a critique of the predominantley white pro-choice movement for preoccupation with white middle class women and the assumption reproductive access means the same thing for all groups, Roberts holds black women's fertility is only valued if a predominantley white society can find ways to benefit from it.

She also notes that illegal abortion took the highest tolls on low-income black women who were unlikely to have the financial and political clout of rich white women to convince doctors to perform theraputic abortions in secret. At the same time, abortion should not be the sole issue of a truly progressive reproductive rights movement because coercive sterilization and contraceptive programs are also painful incidents in black women's reproductive history.

The pro-choice movement should oppose reccent 'welfare reform victories' because of the destruction such punitative measures have on black communities. Although most recipients were and continue to be white, policy debates were flooded with inferred images of the black "welfare queen" to foster and exacerbate racial and class tensions within the most conservative industrialized nation in the world.

Because anything else repeats the very conditions she is seeking to eliminate, a truly progressive reproductive policy supports the rights of all women to control their own bodies. Not enough to perform "multicultural" outreach, all feminist reproductive rights groups must fully intergrate a multi-pronged, class concious approach into their mission statement and policy objectives.

This book is an indispensible text for a social science course on reproductive rights, law, and/or social policy, but should be read by all who are concerned about securing freedom for all.

We all know about the plight of black men in society, the mainstream white society doesn't know about the plight of black women and their role in demonizing us by controlling our reproductive capacities and by destroying black families. Black women have long been stereotyped as breeders of unwanted children, matriarchs, and amoral jezebels. It's time for society to stop seeing blacks as problems and to start finding solutions to the growing poverty, lack of insurance, and family breakdown among blacks by assisting them economically, not by punishing black women's reproduction.

I want to thank Ms. Roberts for having the guts to say what was on her mind in her book.

I am fortunate to have picked up this book at a local feminist bookstore. This book taught me an abundant amount of information regarding the complex connections between reproduction, gender, and race in the United States. Starting with slavery, the author takes the reader all the way through to the present. Unfortunetly not much has changed since then. Society continues to control the reproduction of black women in order to keep the status quo of white male power structures alive and well. The most difficult chapter for me concerned the eugenics movement and forced sterilization. I knew this occurred but was not aware of how systematic it was. Who knows if doctors really stopped sterilizing black women without their consent in the 1970's as the author stated? I wouldn't be surprized if this practice continues. I had to have a couple drinks to process that chapter.

No longer can I hide behind ignorance of these events.

Let me say that being able to hold this treasure in my hands and to feel the souls of both the artist and those within, provides an experience I never thought I would have. This book is a road map to the soul of all of us and it is my wish for everyone who is fortunate enough to see it that the door to the inner self that shines from Bergman's work is opened to them. It is a rich feeling indeed to be able to open the book at any point and see the face and love of God. Bergman is blessed with a vision that has brought this to Everyman. A KIND OF RAPTURE is a great and universal gift.

These are images that go beyond being visually powerful, they also have a profound spiritual, emotional and intellectual meaning. Toni Morrison's provocative meditation, "The Fisherwoman", is an integral part of this great work of art and provides a perfect entree into a gallery of sacred beauty.

This superb book is nearly uncategorizable. The portraits contained in this volume, described as "color pictures of everyday people" taken with "a simple 35-mm camera, amateur film, no tripod, and no special lighting" are unlike any other photographs ever published. On a technical level, Robert Bergman's work equals the best of any of photographer now working (including any of a number of celebrity lensmen) while his painterly use of color, texture, and composition is unrivaled. This in itself would be enough for most photographers: in sensual terms there's much to startle and delight the eye. But for Bergman, the revelation of the inner life of the subject reigns supreme, and his masterly technique is entirely in the service of his manifest sympathy for each person whom he presents to us. It's here that these images depart so markedly from what we are used to seeing in a photograph of a person--each individual is revealed with the most penetrating gaze, but with such tenderness of spirit as to leave his or her human dignity unsullied. It's not photography, it's art. As Toni Morrison concludes in her Introduction, "Occasionally there arises an event or moment that one knows immediately will forever mark a place in the history of artistic endeavor. Robert Bergman's portraits represent such a moment, such an event."

I loved to read to my daughters when they were little. I spared no expense in collecting unusual children's books for them. Lion and Blue was one of our favorites. The art and poetry worked together in a chemistry that is hard to explain. The illustrations are true art. The story, while easily appreciated by a child, was also appreciated by the mother. It takes a true look at love, which sees perfection and not the differences among us. To expose young minds to concepts such as this, while capturing the eye with vivid and beautiful pictures is to instill forever an appreciation in art and literature.

I first read this book more than 20 years ago. It moved me to tears then. When I met the man who was eventually to become my husband, I gave him a copy of it. It illustrated the power of loyalty and true love. He gave me a blue butterfly pin as a reminder of the impact the book had on him. Even now when we see a butterfly, we can't help but think of the story. It is truly one of the most beautiful books I've ever read.

This book has been a family favorite since my children were small. It holds both adults & children spellbound. I have never seen a book in which the text & artwork work together so beautifully, yet each can stand completely on it's own.

Taylor and Epstein do an incredible job of sensitively addressing the particular issues faced by those with disabilities that are not obvious to others, and those who care for them.
Different ways to deal with emotions, spouses, children, co-workers, friends, finances and doctors are just a few of the topics.
The authors intersperse anecdotes, and keep the tone consistently friendly and empowering.
This is a book that you'll go back to for encouragement along what can be a very lonely path.

I have chronic fatigue syndrome and people constantly make insensitive comments, such as suggesting I'm depressed or stressed out. The author of this book validates that conditions like CFS are real even if other people question the problem. There are tons of helpful suggestions about how to deal with insensitive remarks from others, and how to still feel good about yourself even if you are ill. I also like the focus on the possible environmental causes of health problems which isn't talked about very much. I learned some good advice about reducing my exposure to chemicals, and I've already instituted some of these.

I find the book to be a great resource, providing helpful and much-sought advice regarding living with chronic pain. I can identify with many of the author's vignettes about how to deal with others, how to deal with the medical profession and how to deal with my difficulties of living with a seemingly invisible condition. It is reassuring to know that there are others who also struggle with chronic conditions; their life experiences provide insight and clues into how to continue to strive to live a full life no matter how much pain or illness is there.

The title above is what my great-uncle inscribed on the inside cover of this book. He is the Tommy Morris whose story is told in the pages of this book. Like many more famous sailors and soldiers, Uncle Tommy (who died only two weeks ago after a long decline, for those readers who might be interested)used to tell me and my grandfather (Tommy's brother) that it was impossible for him to think of people as "civilized" having seen how we turn our new discoveries and technology so easily to the unhappy task of killing each other. He also said to me once that his role in the Quincy sinking was that of a "damsel in distress".. which description was follwed by that sort of masculing deep-seated chuckle which only come forth from heroic men who have seen hell on earth.

I am biased, but I wer I not, I would still think this an excellent book!

Gary Morris

Between August 1942 and February 1943, a land-sea and air battle was waged for an island in the south pacific called Guadalcanal. The six-month long battle for the island would be one of the definitive battles of the war. It was also one of the costliest. Thousands of Allied and Japanese soldiers died. And a channel north of the island had so many ships go down there that it was renamed Iron Bottom Sound.

It is possible that more men died in the waters off Guadalcanal then on the island itself. But for many years, most of the ships were out of reach to divers and eventually were all but forgotten. Then, in 1992, Oceanographer Robert Ballard, who had found the Titanic and the Bismarck, decided to explore the area using the latest in technology. It is quite an experience to see a past battlefield on land like Normandy, Pearl Harbor, Gettysburg or Guadalcanal itself. But the battlefields were obviously cleaned up afterward and don't look the way they did when the battle concluded. But time knows no boundaries in Iron Bottom Sound. The paintings by Ken Marshall and the photographs show many of the ships still upright on the ocean floor; Their guns and torpedo tubes still trained outward as if firing at a long gone enemy. But some of the ships are not so beautifully preserved. The Battleship Krishima, for example, lies upside down in two pieces on the ocean floor. And the Destroyer Barton is broken in half and lying on its side from two torpedoes. Nevertheless, most of the ships appear ready to rise up and continue fighting.

Lavishly illustrated and with a detailed text, The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal will make a welcome addition to the collection of any War, Naval or Shipwreck enthusiast (If you can find a copy that is).

Dr. Bob Ballard discovered the Titanic in the mid 1980's using cutting-edge underwater technology. For this book, he turned that skill and knowledge to lead an expedition to examine the wrecks of one of the bloodiest naval battles of World War II, one so full of death and destruction that veterans of the battle gave the waters of Gualdalcanal the nickname of "Iron Bottom Sound" because of the number of ships and aircraft that lay underwater. Guadalcanal was the linchpin of American and Japanese military strategy for control of the south Pacific islands. The Americans controlled the airfield, but the Japanese controlled the island and the waters around it. The Japanese couldn't resupply its army because of attacks to its freighters by Allied aircraft and the Americans couldn't resupply its airfield because of attacks to its fleet of ships. In one single battle in the pitch-black darkness of night, the mighty Japanese fleet engaged a weaker American destroyer group where American guns were aimed by radar and Japanese guns were aimed by looking for the flashes from the American weapons. The American fleet was destroyed but it was a Pyhric victory because the Japanese supply ships failed to reach the starving Japanese troops on the island. Dr. Ballard does a remarkable job of capturing both the essence of the battle and the essence of underwater archeology to create a wonderful book filled with full-color pictures of the wrecks and period black-and-white pictures of the war. He also includes the fantastic paintings and maps in the style that has adorned his other books to show how the wrecks would look if there was absolute clarity underwater and with a "God's Eye". This book is one of the better ones I've found that deal with the ships of Guadalcanal and underwater archeology. I've noticed copies adorning the workbenches of many model-ship builders (including mine). Its a great gift idea and sure to please anyone interested in great battles, maritime history, WW2, underwater exploration, or tales of bravery (by those who fought and those who study the ocean).

One of the most amazing things about this book besides it gorgeous illustrations is that it is not another cotton candy, trick laden, watercolor book by a workshop star.
The artist and the paintings are deep, challenging and beautifull though I am not thrilled by some color choices I am by the integrity and depth this fellow brings to a medium that can all too often be made into wall paper designs.
His work is not easily apporached or copied and that is refreshing and daunting at the same time. He says it best when he warns that skill can only come from work and not from tricks. It was an eye opener reading about the effects of dampness and the state of the pigments themselves.
I will be humbly working in his shadow for a loooooong while and loving evry moment.

Great paintings. I feel the paintings in this book are almost too great, and too difficult to emulte. That being said there are a few step by step demos that unveil the mystery a bit. The book is great because of the calibre of the art. However, the teaching idea of the book is a watercolor clock that is pure gimmick and conveys nothing. The revolutionary "clock" is merely a list of possible paper wetnesses and paint consistencies with no aid to tell you when to use what. The hands of the clock serve no purpose and take them away and the fancy looking tool is nothing more than a list arranged as clock. In other words it loos like it is telling you something useful but it actually isn't. Utterly useless. 5 stars because of the quality of painting. 1 star for instruction.

The approach that Mr. Joseph Zbukvic uses in his book is fascinating. For me, he takes the mystery out of painting watercolor and breaks it down into a more understandable approach. What I like about it is that he explains the different consistencies that paint should be when applied to the paper. His consistency of paint is described as: tea, coffee, milk, cream and butter. The dampness of paper is described as: dry, damp, moist, and wet. He ties these ideas together by using a concept of a clock. The concept of a clock is used to explain when and how paper and paint should be used together. An example of one of his demonstrations: laying in the first background wash to paper, the paper is dry and the paint is in the consistency of tea. His demonstrations in the book are clear and easy to understand especially with this "clock" method. He also writes very well and it is an enjoyable read. I love the way he paints and the price of the book alone is worth just looking at his paintings.

I thought this book was wonderfully uplifting. Ms. Connell gave a lot of information on the background of each vision. This book will certainly bring you closing in your search for deeper union with our Blessed Mother.

You will no doubt fall in love deeper with Our lady and pass this treasure amongst others - or that is you should!

What an extraordinary book! After reading, I'ts DEEPENED my Faith in Mary. At the time I was in the middle of reading the book, I was involed in an automobile accident, this book along with my Rosaries were in my briefcase, she pulled me through the ordeal without any horrendous damage.

Her messages should be loud and clear for all who read with an open heart. She TRULY is here for us, and she shows this through the ones whom SHE chooses to appear. I feel, not only does God work in mysterious way, but Mary too.

Fahey and Randall have brought together an excellent team of authors who have given numerous suggestions of what to do and what not to do in developing scenario learning in organizations and institutions. From making it unmistakable that top CEOs must be involved in the process, to offering an outline for a scenario learning workshop, suggestions for scenario learning team members and cautions about the pitfalls of using scenarios, the authors have given their insights and visions for successful futures planning for organizations.

The smart leader uses scenarios as an important tool in the executive toolkit. Just as good decision-making is not done in a vacuum, but rather is done in the light of a good deal of research and information gathering, so even scenario planning is prefaced by homework, preparation. Elements of history, traditions, branding, decision-making methodology, personnel, key decision factors and key external forces are all pieces of the background necessary for scenario planning. Scenario Learning is not just one more thing one must do because some higher up says it must be done. It is not just a task. All decision-making of any magnitude needs to cease until the scenario planning sheds light on the decision. This process is the best of strategic planning and should not be set aside while the company chooses its strategy. "Scenarios are most valuable when they are understood to be movies of an evolving story, not a snapshot of a specific point in time" (p. 12).

Several types of scenarios are offered. Scenario learning, in the context of Systems Thinking, is a powerful tool for moving into a changed reality. Systems thinking is the engine of dynamic scenario planning. In any system it must be understood that each element in a system acts or reacts to every other element in the system (elements such as events, patterns of behavior and contextual structure). Seeing the system rather than individual elements when making a decision means making decisions with a greater possibility of successful growth.

"Scenario Learning is a search for an understanding of how the future could change, and how an organization could thrive by adapting to a number of particular changed circumstances." Scenario learning identifies what the indicators of change are, and what decisions and actions must be taken today to be ready to survive and win tomorrow and in the years to come" (p. xi). What follows in the book does indeed make this clear.

This book, written in 1997, is one of the very best works on scenario planning-or scenario learning, as the editors prefer. The 446-page book is a collection of 25 chapters by a variety of authors, each adding a perspective to the scenario learning process. Fahey and Randall explain how scenario learning builds on traditional scenario planning, then follow up with a chapter on integrating scenarios with strategy. Several essays explain basic approaches to constructing scenarios. The next section shows how to apply scenario learning in diverse contexts including industry scenarios, competitive positioning, technology investments, and anticipating new consumer products. The last section details the vital step of managing the organizational context for scenario learning. Included in this section is a contribution by Kees van der Heijden on the business idea, and Paul Schoemaker on common pitfalls in scenario planning. This book is an excellent resource on the practical use of scenarios in business strategy. It mostly avoids overcomplicating the process as some other books have done, and it focuses on practical strategic implementation, not scenarios for their own sake. At a time when the New Economy continually throws up surprises, looking ahead with scenario learning is more timely than ever.

If you talk to someone about using scenarios to think about the future, chances are that the other person will nod her/his head in agreement with whatever you have to say. That surface agreement, however, will be misleading because the other person is probably thinking about a totally different kind of scenario thinking than you are.

Learning from the Future helps overcome that misunderstanding by explaining a large number of ways that scenarios can be used. The book contains 25 chapters which each look at a different aspect of scenario development and subsequent thinking.

Three chapters look at what scenario learning is. Seven chapters explore basic approaches to constructing scenarios. Eight chapters describe how to apply scenarios in different contexts, like competitor evaluations, technology investing, making public policy decisions, and considering customers. The final section looks at how to create the right organizational environment for making and using scenarios for learning.

You will benefit from reading the thoughts of many of the world's top experts and users of scenario learning including Peter Schwartz, Kees van der Keijden, Ian Wilson, Liam Fahey and Robert Randall. It is a great line-up, and what they have to say is good food for thought.

If you would like a good introduction to scenario learning, this is an excellent place to start because the perspectives that are captured are unusually broad and appropriate.

This book belongs in the business library of every business decision-maker. When an important question arises, you can use this book as a resource to think through how you might best use scenarios to create a better result. Enjoy!

The other reviewers have already described the contents of Rosen's work sufficiently well that I will not bother to restate it all.

Instead, I want to stress that this book and his "Essays on Life Itself" are so profound and intelligently argued that anyone interested in any of the physical sciences, not just theoretical biology, will gain a great deal of insight and appreciation for the limitations of the current state of physics, upon which so much science is now based, as well as offering insights into ways of enriching physics, and the sciences in general.

The use of category theory and similar math should not deter any astute layperson, for although the math supports the arguments brilliantly, the arguments are well-described. What will be more difficult, in fact, is successfully grasping the results of the arguments in their full profundity.

This book rightfully deserves to have as widespread paradigm-shattering impact on physical science as Godel's "On Formally Undecidable Propositions of Principia Mathematica and Related Systems" had on mathematics.

Rosen showed that, in fact, biology is not merely a trivial subcategory of physics; but instead that biology displays physical systems that are beyond the limited scope of current physics. And that enriching physics to encompass biological systems would enhance all of physics in very profound ways.

Sadly, I can only assume that it was (and still is) the ideological view of biology as a mere curiosity of physics that has allowed so many in science to fail to read Rosen's work.

It is hard to believe this book is not better known considering the nature of its views. At least, one wonders why so few who are "experts" in the area seem unaware of it since it appears to stand unrefuted. But then again, we are talking about a book that points out the serious limitations inherent in our whole scientific framework that has become today's religion.

Rosen starts by discussing concepts of life: what is it? He then runs through the reasons why it is considered a "hard" problem with the present Newtonian-based framework. He covers the difference between syntax and semantics, Godel, causality and complexity in a very informative yet also accessible manner.

He then gets to the meat of his thesis, the discussion of the fundamental axioms inherent in our present scientific viewpoint. This section has enough of an overview that I believe most people will grasp what he is driving at. That is, the concepts of modeling and entailment that are to be formally dissected in later chapters are very well explained so that there limitations may be understood.

It is the true nature of our models and their methods of encoding the world that Rosen is primarily exposing. Rosen goes back to Taylor's Theorem and demonstrates how Newton's "Laws of Nature" built in fundamental constraints on the nature of the whole scientific enterprise. Unfortunately I suspect the math here may be beyond some people although it really is only slightly more advanced that what is typically learned in high school - this is, in fact, the way it should be taught in the first place.

After laying this groundwork Rosen returns to his discussion of why the type of entailment specified through Newton's fundamental constraints limits any applicability to the "real" world. He introduces Rashevsky's ideas and then develops excellent methods of notation in order to delve more deeply into relational biology.

Then he moves to Analytic and Synthetic models which are compared and contrasted. The uses these ideas to introduce the concept of a machine (loosely based on Turing's ideas). And finally he delves into the relational limits of machines. All this work leads to:

"The picture we have painted looks bleak indeed, if we insist on identifying science with mechanism. But we must recall that there is no basis for such an identification."

And there we have it - just what many have been saying for quite a while just without the full technical details provided by Rosen.

There probably is enough evidence to finally convince the die-hards that this view is correct now that we have the spectacular failure of the genome-mapping project (well, it isn't a failure in some ways but it is for those fanatics of Dawkins and Crick) and the even more spectacular failure of the new priests of complexity. It should be more obvious that we need a new framework, not more shaky models built on axioms that are the problems in the first place.

Let us hope more people read this book so that some of the arrogance may be dispelled...

This is an deep and complex book. Rosen addresses what he considers to be the core theme of biology, "What is Life?" from a relational biology perspective. Although the book requires close reading and intense concentration, the journey is highly rewarding. Rosen's work is intricately constructed and addresses core foundations regarding modeling and the representation of living systems.

Written from a biological perspective with a fair amount of mathematics in the form of category theory, Rosen builds up the concepts of formalism, semantics, models and modeling relations, the concept of state, entailment, relational biology, simulations and machines. Rosen discusses the historical notion of recursive state in Newtonian science and the concept of functions entailing functions (and closed systems of entailment) in living systems.

Despite the biological perspective, this is intriguing stuff for systems researchers and systems theorists as well. Although the material relies heavily on mathematics, I'm no mathematician so there is hope for those who are merely comfortable with mathematical expression. Rosen does proceed very carefully through these topics, giving the non-mathematician a chance to keep up, although I suspect that a previous familiarity with abstract algebra, topology, set theory, or category theory would make the journy all the easier.

So, overall it is a challenging read. I have never really read anything quite like it. The exposition is tightly controlled and not a moment is wasted. My hardbound is well broken in and many a valuable nugget has been extracted on numerous successive readings of the material.

What an incredible account of these lost people. The book does have an academic sound to it, but the events more than keep you interested. Its almost like real-life science fiction. They have an idea that something's out there. They look for it and find more than they bargained for. Those that like history or lost and found will like this one.

I purchased this book on a visit to Williamsburg and it sat on my shelf for quite a while before I seriously dove in. This book combines a clear explaination of archaeological methods with the building suspense of a good detective novel. As The author and his team uncover the existence of an early Virginia colony and utilize an astounding range of techniques and research to slowly piece together the lives of the inhabitants you will be drawn into the past. More than that you will be excited to read on and discover with these archaeologists what really happened. I.N. Hume writes eloquently on all aspects of organizing and proceeding with a project of this scale and mixes those details regarding administration and method with the fascinating story of the settlement of Martin's Hundred flawlessly. I could not imagine a better introduction to the discipline of archaeology for the layperson.

While you might think that a book about historic archaeology would be dry and boring (and many are!), Ivor Noel Hume's story of the archaeological dig, the background research, and the people of the 17th century who lived at Martin's Hundred is fascinating. This is probably the only archaeology book that you won't be able to put down because you will want to find out what happened next. If only I could write as well!