The book reflects my trail and error attempts at controling my blood sugar. I found a mistake on page 219 with respect to the glycemic index of skim milk and whole milk. The book states that skim milk has a lower glycemic index than whole milk when the opposite is true. Other than that, the book is great.

Quite simply, one of the best nutritionists there ever was...

Rational, sane, and coherent, follow Carlton Fredericks' advice: and read the other nutrition authors he recommends.

One place he falls short, is the environmental and psychological impact on health. All is not in food. One needs to get the unhealthy stresses and influences out of one's life. The issue, for example, of the company we keep, and its impact on our health, is not emphasised enough in his work.

But his dietary advice is intelligent, discretionary, and diverse. Fredericks is no 'food faddist.' Follow his advice, and you are well on the road to better health.

I wouldn't be without the Carlton Frederick's books I own, and always look to acquire more when I can find them. Heed his food advice. Heed his supplement advice. Believe me, you won't regret it. A truly worthy investment, from all points of view. And with all his well-researched expertise, he's got a sense of humor, too!

I read this book years ago when I was suffering from panic attacks. I must have went through a half dozen doctors before this one doctor recomended Frederick's book. I found all of my symptoms in this book and explained in simple words what was going on with my body. After following the diet in the book, my condition reversed itself. All my symptoms were gone. Thanks to this book I now live a normal life again.

Captain Marryat's "THE CHILDREN OF THE NEW FOREST" is a wonderful tale in narrative, historically rich and quite fascinating. This story of adventure, treachery, and love takes place during the English Civil War, when fellow countrymen are found enemies, and are set against each other, Roundhead and Cavalier, Parliament and the King. Many hoped for the same thing: justice. But, for a long time, neither could find it. In the midst of all were the Beverlies, the family of a faithful Cavalier, who died in service of the king. His four children were left orphaned when their mother died of grief. Then, word came to them that the Roundheads were going to burn down their estate, Arnwood. Fate sent them into the hands of an old forester, Jacob Armitage, and they escaped to his cottage. From there, the story unfolds. It is a classic worthy of shelving in libraries, in private or in public collections, recommended by many educators, and by me, with all due praise.

The Children of the new forest is a brilliant insight into what england was like in the 15th century. It tells how four wealthy children are without warning suddenly plunged into poverty, when the roundheads fire their house looking for the king. It tells how the heir of the burnt house and his brother and sisters strive to become what they should have been without the roundheads. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get hooked on something, but is not too hard. It is an excellent book to learn from and look at carefully, and is gripping to the very end.

This is a unique book with a quality and style that is timeless. True classic that every child would greatly benefit from reading.

I derived great amusement from the book's cover being that atrocious shade of hot pink. Perhaps red was too provocative for them?
Moving on to the contents itself, this books shows Marx's interesting interpretation of economics and its histroy. For such a dry topic, I found Marx's prose entertaining. He's not a skillful writer, such as Nietzsche or Wittgenstein, some of his sentences are long and torturous. But when his prose is overheated it is quite amusing. "Money is the pimp and whore of all nations."
His idea of alienation is not perhaps fully accurate psychologically, but it is a profound insight into our modern condition. Looking at the entertainment and advertising super-structure of Western society, you cannot help but be sickened by the objectification of man.
Class struggle is also interesting. That often seems to be true. The point is illustrated when higher tax breaks are given to the rich apposed to the poor.
I find it doubtful that all of history is subservient to an abstract economic movement though. This reduces man to a wholly material being as much as the machinery of capitalism does. Not that his cry to change the structure of society should go unheard. The most disturbing aspect is the way that Marx's ideas were implemented. The fact that the people in power are corrupt and pervert ideas to their own end says nothing about the idea itself. A highly readable introduction to Marx.

The Paris manuscripts go back to a young and idealist Marx - perhaps one which few would bother to read, as today the concentration (and much contempt of Marxian theory) is based on his contributons to the understandings of a communist state. All that can be said is that Marx was trying not only to understand man as "homo economicus" (as seen clearly in Capital) but also as "homo sociologicus"...a fact which students of sociology should not forget.

With the crumbling of the Berlin Wall--symbolizing for many the end of the relevance of Marx's political theory--and the veering toward a "third way" (read, neo-liberal way) in various Western European countries by formerly avowed socialist parties, Marxism, and its brand of socialism, is now universally assumed to be an historical artifact, and maybe neither a very interesting nor productive one at that.

"The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844" offers a point of rebuttal to those neo-liberals and their quick-handed assumptions that the totality of Marx's theory can be gleaned from The Communist Manifesto, a work written with the intention of motivating political action.

The "Manuscripts" is an essential read for those seeking Marx's revlevancy in the 21st century.

Fools Game is a fast paced thriller/spy novel that probably tells a more truthful tale than we might suspect. Miles Cavendish is the quintessential British undercover agent, cool, low key with a past. I enjoyed all the twists of character and plot and the international setting. This book is well written. The characters are believable and the descriptive passages bring the different countries to life. Just a warning though there are violent scenes that are graphically described. I think this would make a great movie!

Wolf has hit the scene at a time when the novels he was born to write crackle with pertinence, affording the dilligent truth seeker a veritable primer of covert world string-pulling.

What is Disinformation? A carefully crafted, CNN-friendly way of gaining the support of (lulled) Americans for: societally backed Propaganda. Wolf provides the tools, and the mindset, needed to chip away at the edifice fronting the truer truths of these days. Somewhere between your computer's 'news ticker' and conspiracy theory lies the truth. Wolf gets you there.

One final note. On the cover of this book is a reference to a cruzanemountain.com. Out of curiosity I accessed this site and found a number of interesting things, most important of which, at least to me, was an Adobe pdf. readout of the actual first several chapters of Wolf's books, mini E-books in a way. Instead of having to rely just on Russian Roulette reviews, I was able to directly appreciate the feel of the piece and the writing style. Good move, Mr. Wolf! Amazon should give thought to this buyer-friendliness.

Thanks, Mr. Wolf. Book 2 of your trilogy is in the batting circle!

"Fool's Game" fully succeeds as an entertaining thriller. Action scenes are set in a variety of exotic locales around the world, and are fully supported by an intricate and engaging plot. But the novel has more intellectual, literary, and emotional substance than the typical spy-genre action tale. What will most remain in your memory is the book's exploration of the interconnected workings of government and the human heart. The author offers a candidly cynical view of governmental intrigue, while still allowing that men and women of integrity can make a positive difference. "Fool's Game" stands on the shoulders of such authors as Le Carre and Graham Greene, but establishes for itself a unique, darker tone. Recommended for mature readers willing to set aside simplistic ideas of patriotism and heroism for a more realistic view of espionage in the late 20th Century.

Only Yesterday offers a glimpse into the nineteen twenties from someone who actually lived it. First published in 1931, Frederick Lewis Allen writes of a decade that had just past. Most historians will tell you that it takes about twenty years after a decade before you can truly come to terms with what the decade was all about. However, this was not the case with Frederick Lewis Allen's work. He was able to show the decade for what it was, a truly amazing accomplishment in 1931!

His purpose was to show future generations, what his generation considered important in defining their times. In doing so he helped create a bridge between his generation and future generations who would later conduct research on the 1920s. In fact, while studying this period one soon find out, most historical works on the 1920s site Only Yesterday in their bibliographies. In fact, a through and comprehensive study of this period is not possible unless it includes Frederick Lewis Allen's works.

Furthermore, Fredrick Lewis Allen attempted to record the social and cultural history of the times. In 1931 this was a new and different form of history. (Just about as radical as the 1920s.) Frederick Lewis Allen can be regarded as a pioneer social historian. Prior to his work most mainstream histories were based solely on politics and international affairs.

More than half of Only Yesterday is on social and cultural events, which is one of the strongest points in his book. With the exceptions of chapters two and six, "Back To Normalcy" and "Harding And The Scandals", Allen's writings are geared towards the common people and how events of the day and the cultural changes affected them. These events and cultural changes are clearly illustrated in chapters five, "The Revolution In Manners And Morals" and chapters eight, "The Ballyhoo Years". Allen was able to show his readers the major social/cultural events of the 1920s. An example is his coverage of the automobile and the "Red Scare" in the early years of the decade. Clearly his coverage of these two events are his strongest points.

His writing style deserves some mentioning. He writes in a style that allows for a multitude of readership interest areas: politics, social, cultural, industrial, religion and even sports. This is especially seen in his sometimes-humorous approach in covering certain topics. Another, great example of his writing abilities is his narrowing of a central point at the conclusion of his paragraph.

Despite his strengths in his writing and his coverage, something must be said regarding his lack of a bibliography. Without one, it weakens his work. When you find something interesting, you have no way of looking for sources. Furthermore, he was not able to pick up on the population changes taking place in the 1920s. Rural to urban population changes were not addressed, nor was the "great migration" of African American coming to northern cities addressed either. Today, one just need to be aware of these event in the 1920s, Allen in the 1930s just wasn't able, for whatever reason, to see the importance of these events.

Without any doubt, the strength of his work certainly out number his few weaknesses. I truly enjoy reading Allen's book. In the future I will revisit Allen's work for his superb writing style and his gift of narrowing his main points at the end of his paragraphs. A truly remarkable book!

This history book is written in a pleasant, authoritative but laid-back manner that makes it a particularly enjoyable read. I concur with the reviewer who wrote that it is a great source of background information to the writer. It does have a nice immediacy to it; strange fads that are mentioned in an offhand way, with the assumption that the reader will already be familiar with them, only add to the charm. The last couple of chapters about the stock market are particularly interesting reading, particularly considering the bizarrely similar economic climate we are living in today. They are, thankfully, written in a straightforward and clear manner --- perfectly accessible to those of us who don't have an economics background. One beef with this paperback edition --- where are the lovely illustrations from the original addition?

Never had I read a "history" book with the charm this book has!

Written in this manner, history does not have to be a dry, dull boring subject. It also succeeds in teaching a valuable lesson - people never really change.

I enjoyed this one, though the first one, The Pooh Perplex, is much more light-hearted and fun to read. Beware, some people might not understand that this is a farce and that you're supposed to be laughing at all the wacky ways we humans have devised to dissect, examine, and critique the universe in our isolated academic ivory towers. But as long as you don't mind people looking at you strangely as you laugh out loud on the bus, you'll be just fine.

Excellent skewering of a branch of academia that seems to set itself up for it. Crews put a lot of work into these essays, which are clever, intelligent, and extremely funny. He isn't nearly so vicious in his satire as many of his speakers (and their real-life counterparts) are in their literary-political maneuvering, but he exposes the void at the heart of much modern literary criticism where the work itself used to live. Pooh is as good as any other subject when the theory drives the criticism, which is why this book works so well.

...yet shockingly frightening. It took me a while to 'get' the meaning of the pieces in this book because at first I thought they were real! The pieces are excellent. For example, after reading the 'feminist' perspective on Milne, I could have sworn that he was a misogynist.

Yet it soon became apparent that these essays provide brilliant exposes of our postmodern intellectual traditions.

Just as Will Rogers and Dick Gregory would read straight from the newspapers without commentary and would be met with laughs at the absurdity of the pieces read, so too did I find myself doing the same with these pieces.

Not only do they present in clear fashion the 'truths' espoused in the various philosophies of our day but by reading these very philosophies into the Pooh stories, the hubris of humanity glares from between the lines. I walked away not only educated and humored but humbled.

It became apparent that we can read whatever we like not only into the Pooh stories but into pretty much anything we so desire.

I bought this book six weeks in advance of taking the GMAT. This book is great for getting you familiar with the test and showing common testing pitfalls. I felt like I needed the most help with the Verbal section and this book helped me to decipher what the GMAT question was really asking me instead of what I thought it was asking me. My unofficial results show an OUTSTANDING grade.

I thought that a few of the answers might have been erroneous, and then I confirmed it. There's a few errors in the math section (i.e. pg 109 prob 10...x can equal 1 or -1). But other than that, this is a great book...quick and thorough...doesn't waste time...review is the best I've read. It explains how the test is scored better than the other books too which I think is vital. If you only have time for one book, use this one.

I used this book as the capstone to a self-taught GMAT course. It provided adequate review of the quantitative and verbal concepts on the exam, challenging practice problems, and good answer explanations. The AWA section was also helpful.

In addition, I used Kaplan's CD and the GMAT PowerPrep software, both were also excellent.

Despite having the greatest respect for Mr. Reichheld, who is a true innovator and pioneer in the field of customer loyalty, much of the book content is principally an amplification and/or extension of material already available, or presented, elsewhere. Study results helped to provide a foundation, and sense of dimension, for the ideas and concepts. Examples of companies which apply a holistic approach to customer loyalty was also noteworthy.

In a brilliant essay which appeared in the Harvard Business Review, Reichheld shares research which suggests that companies with faithful employees, customers, and investors (i.e. capital sources which include banks) share one key attribute: leaders who stick with six "bedrock principles": preach what you practice, play to win-win, be picky, keep it simple, reward the right results, and finally, listen hard...talk straight. In The Loyalty Effect, Reichheld organizes his material within 11 chapters which range from "Loyalty and Value" to "Getting Started: The Path Toward Zero Defections." With meticulous care, he explains how to devise and them implement programs which will help any organization to earn the loyalty of everyone involved in the enterprise. Reichheld draws upon a wealth of real-world experience which he and his associates have accumulated at Bain & Company, a worldwide strategy consulting firm. Reichheld heads up its Loyalty Practice.

In his most recently published book, Practice What You Preach, David Maister explains why there must be no discrepancy whatsoever between the "talk" we talk and the "walk" we walk. Reichheld agrees, noting that the "key" to the success of his own organization "has been its loyalty to two principles: first, that our primary mission is to create value for our clients, and second, that our most precious asset is the employees dedicated to making productive contributions to client value creation. Whenever we've been perfectly centered on these two principles, our business has prospered." It is no coincidence that the world's most highly admired companies are also the most profitable within their respective industries. I wholly agree with Reichheld that loyalty is critically important as a measure of value creation and as a source of profit but that it is by no means "a cure-all or a magic bullet." Loyalty is based on trust and respect. It must be earned, usually over an extended period of time and yet can be lost or compromised at any time with a single betrayal.

In Loyalty Rules!, Reichheld develops these and other ideas (the foundation of what he calls an "economic framework") in much greater depth as he explains how today's leaders build lasting relationships beyond as well as within their organizations. "Loyalty cannot begin with tools; it must begin with leaders who recognize the enormous value of building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships....Accordingly, this book spends at least as much time on the underlying objectives for building loyalty as it does on the how-to's." He organizes his material within eight chapters which range from "Timeless Principles" (previously introduced in The Loyalty Effect) to "Preach What You Practice" in which he asserts that actions speak louder than words and together, they are "unbeatable." One of this book's greatest benefits is provided in a series of "Action Checklists" which reiterate key ideas while suggesting specific initiatives to implement them effectively. The book concludes with an appendix, "The Loyalty Acid Test," which consists of separate surveys of consumers and employees. Obviously, each reader must modify either survey to ensure that it is appropriate to her or his own organization's specific needs and objectives. However, all modifications should be consistent with the 'timeless principles" which Reichheld examines in the first chapter. I highly recommend this book, presuming to suggest that, if possible, The Loyalty Effect be read first.

In these Internet times, the next store is only a click away. Fewer workers regard their employer to be worthy of loyalty. So is loyalty still of interest? After writing his 1996 classic about loyalty, The Loyalty Effect, Frederick F. Reichheld continues his praise for values and a long-term focus. He demonstrates that business on the Web is based mostly on trust, not on prices. Many examples from successful organizations show how to establish loyalty and how it pays off. You’ll see that employee loyalty is very important for company success, and the author shows ways to earn this loyalty. This book contains many checklists for immediate action plans. And it includes sample questionnaires for checking your employees’ and customers’ loyalty toward your company.

Peter Pick
(...)

(Is there a way to give it no stars?)

A great disappointment to fans of Stephens and Catherwood. If you're looking for the real thing - this isn't it.

More properly titled:

"Karl Akerman's Unfortunate Abridgment of Stephens' and Catherwood's Incidents of Travel in Yucatan," this 286 page compilation is abridged, elided, and largely meaningless for anyone wishing to get the look and feel of the 600 pages of the two original volumes brilliantly written and illustrated by John Lloyd Stephens And Frederick Catherwood.

This book barely resembles the two original books, as it's missing a tremendous amount of historically styled and interesting text - and around 100 of Catherwood's exquisite drawings.

Go hunt down the Dover two volume edition - gladly pay the price - and settle in for a stunning read that hasn't been repurposed as an overview for the modern casual traveler to the Yucatan.

I cannot believe that I read this book. I started because of a long trip and there was nothing else handy. Take my word for it, as travel memoirs go this one is among the best; Lewis and Clark included. I was quite ingrossed with the whole story.

If you have ever been or are planning a trip to the ruin sites of the Yucatan this is a must read book! written over 150 years ago it still holds up today. It is a fascinating look at the early exploration of the Ancient Mayan cities lost to the jungle. Reading this book will make your trip much more enjoyable and educational. On a lighter note, I also recommend the thriller "A Tourist in the Yucatan" set in the modern day yucatan--nothing to heavy, but a good beach read.

Copleston's series is eruditious, but this particular volume falls short of an orthodox Catholic expectation. Copleston's treatment of Aquinas mixes Kantian ideas and is not purely Thomist, as philosopher Fr. Stanley Jaki, OSB, notes. A better treatment of Aquinas and other mediaeval philosophers is given by Etienne Gilson.

This isn't really a critique of this one edition in Copleston's history of Philosophy. I have a BA in Philosophy and many of my professors look at this work as THE definitive work in the history of Philosophy. I bought the first couple editions with aspirations of preparing for a Masters degree in Philosophy.

I ended up reading the first two thirds of book one. I read the first 100 pages several times over the course of two plus years. I found myself falling asleep or having my mind wander.

Mr.Copleston is long winded in my judgement. I have read difficult books. This series took a long time to get to any kind of point. I guess I missed the point. I am sure there are many reviews extolling the wonders of these works. That is why I gave it three stars.

For me I just didn't have the time or patience to deal with these books. I did try the other two books in spots. The positive is that these books look really cool. They made me feel smart and they look good in book case!

I would suggest reading the actual philosophical texts or finding readers about the philosopher. My main book was "Philosophy for Begginers", by Richard Osborne. Yes it is a comic book and oversimplified. This "comic book" was my most quoted source on my way to a Bachelors degree in Philosophy.

Anyone acquainted with the history of philosophy knows there is a tendency to treat Medieval philosophy as a low point between the grandeur of Greece and the radiant glow of Descartes, who salvaged philosophy from the dim ruminations of Christian theology. This theme is given notable currency in popular histories like Russell's _History of Western Philosophy_, Durant's _The Story of Philosophy_, and Gottlieb's more recent _Dream of Reason_. While these books might pay homage to Aquinas as a synthesizer of Aristotle and Catholicism, his eminent contemporaries hardly merit a sentence. Supposedly, real philosophy did not begin in earnest until it was reawakened by the "kiss of Descartes." Here Frederick Copleston, a great Jesuit scholar, seeks to remedy the damage by recreating the rich philosophical tapestry of Medievalism, a time in which philosophy hardly slept, but was full of energy and acerbic controversy.

While Christianity was definitely the philosophical template that all Medievalists began with, there was still an enormous range of conflict and disputation. Just as there is not a single issue that ensnares modern philosophy, the Medievalists were engrossed with a whole range of issues -- epistemology, politics, rationalism, and so on. A prickly controversy that the Medievalists dwelt on was the "problem of universals", an enigma that dates back to Plato and Aristotle, who each took opposing sides to the problem. On the surface the problem of universals might not seem like a problem at all, and indeed most people do not recognize it as such until they encounter it in Philosophy 101. While different formulations can be given to the problem the most succint way of presenting it is as follows: what, if anything, in extramental reality corresponds to the universal concept in the human mind? In other words, our minds (or brains) can only produce thoughts and conepts, but the world (extramental reality) is made up of particular, individual things. So what is the relationship between our thoughts and individual things, between between the intramental concept and the extramental reality? For instance, when the scientist expresses his knowledge of things he does so in abstract and universal terms, he does not make a statement about a particular atom, but atoms in general, and if the universal term has no foundation in extramental reality, his science is a social construction. This is one of the vexing issues the Medievalists tried to confront and resolve and fortunately progress was made in the area.

The crude, "exaggerated" realism of Christian Platonists, like Saint Anslem, eventually gave way to the more moderate realism of Aquinas. The extreme realists were under the impression that class-names for genera and species -- things like trees, elms, felines, cats, dogs, etc -- had a real existence -- the mental concept was indentical to extramental reality. There is a unitary nature between our minds and the world, terms had a real existence, and were not just a useful means of mental economy. Of course the brilliant dialectician Abelard exposed the nonsense behind this crude realism and paved the way for the moderate realism of Aquinas.

The existence of God, the immortality of the individual soul, the Trinity, the Resurrection and all the other facets of Christianity were accepted as self-evident by almost all Medieval philosophers. However, such theological unanimity did not guarantee philosphical unanimity. In fact, there is a great controversy throughout the Middle Ages on the proper role of reason, what role it plays in servicing theology, and what its ultimate limits are. The debate between St. Bonaventure and St. Aquinas over the existence of God and the possibility of an eternal universe highlights this admirably. While Aquinas surely thought the universe had a beginning in time, he thought reason was impotent in proving it does. Bonaventure dissents, and unleashes a series of ingenious arguments that expose the absurdity of an eternal universe. For instance, he notes that the idea of an eternal universe (one with no beginning) leads to obvious antinomies: for every solar revolution there are twelve lunar revolutions, so if the universe was infinite how could there be twelve times more lunar revolutions than solar revolutions? There can not be twelve times infinity. Also, how could we ever have arrived at this point, since that would mean we would need to pass through infinity, an impossibility. So clearly reason can establish the finite nature of the universe, and hence a contingent world requiring an infinite Creator.

This is just a sample of the issues that Copleston illuminates in this thorough, scholarly, and higly academic work. Other writers of philosophy hardly measure up to his exactness and comprehensiveness. He shows no hesitation in making short work of the often careless and erroneous pontificating of other writers, like Bertrand Russell. One gets to enjoy the subtle sparring matches that Copleston participates in, skewering Russell's simplistic understanding of Aquinas, his pretentious denunciation of Aristotle's logic, and the backward tendency of Medieval philosophy. Finally, Copleston reminds us that the Middle Ages were not a dark period where learning and progress were stagnant, but a time when Europeans immersed themselves in knowledge and learning, an age that saw the founding and spreading of the university system, a phenomenon that directly lead to the rise of science throughout the West.