Amazon.com
Kosher Sex is based on the idea that sex is holy. Written by Shmuley Boteach, a Hasidic rabbi, the book occupies the interesting juncture between sex and religion. Using traditional Jewish thought, Boteach attempts to remove sexual taboos and explain the power and place of sex within a marriage. While Boteach uses the Talmud and the Old Testament as the basis for his approach, his treatise is by no means just for Jewish people. His ideas are universal as he attempts to show how married couples can keep the love in their relationships alive. Kosher sex--"passionate lovemaking that leads to intimacy"--is applicable to all, despite the Jewish terminology.
Peppering explanations with plenty of examples, Kosher Sex is immensely readable. It defines couples as one of two types: the best friends and the passionate lovers. Best friends frequently lack a spark in their relationship, while passionate lovers often have tumultuous marriages, without the intimacy of friendship. Boteach attempts to harmonize the two types into a successful relationship.
Some of Boteach's ideas may strike a liberal reader as overly conservative--his thoughts are directed at married couples, as he firmly believes sex has no place outside of this committed bond. Furthermore, his beliefs on such issues as the place of masturbation and pornography in marriage, whether or not sex should be used to settle arguments, and if the lights should be on or off while making love may make Dan Savage or Susie Bright fans cringe. His ideas for singles attempting to find the right partner seem somewhat outdated. Yet, for those who hold traditional views, this book may seem a daring and helpful foray into a topic that is not openly discussed. He makes interesting and valid arguments for all of his points, whether or not you agree with him. In a time when the divorce rate continues to soar, perhaps Rabbi Boteach isn't so off the mark. --Jenny Brown
Book Description
In
Kosher Sex, Rabbi Boteach pioneers a revolutionary approach to sex, marriage, and personal relationships, drawing on traditional Jewish wisdom. Using his experiences counseling individuals and couples, the author breaks down sexual taboos and openly, yet respectfully, discusses the meanings, emotions, and the hidden power of sex.
With his unique anecdotal style, Rabbi Boteach illustrates each and every point, using real couples who have discovered the joys of "kosher sex"--sex based on love, trust, and real intimacy. He profiles the two most common types of couples--best friends and passionate lovers--and suggests ways of synthesizing the best that each type has to offer.
Rabbi Boteach also has advice for singles on finding the right partner; for individuals either willing to take their long-term relationship to the next level or unsure about doing so; and for married couples who may be experiencing problems in their sex life. At a time when three out of every five marriages fail,
Kosher Sex will have an astonishing and positive impact.
With a no-holds-barred conversational style and keen insight, Rabbi Boteach breaks all the taboos and pioneers a new approach to sex, marriage, and personal relationships. He not only brings traditional Jewish wisdom into the twentieth century but makes it relevant to everyone searching for a deeper, more meaningful, and more satisfying love life. -->
Customer Reviews:
utter hypocrisy (as if we are surprised!).......2007-06-30
The rabbi's pose is transparently hypocritical because Judaism's "holiest" book, the Talmud, teaches misogyny, the fundamental "orthodox" Judaic doctrine about women:
"Though a woman be as a pitcher full of filth and her mouth be full of blood, yet all speed after her." ---Talmud, Shabbat 152b
and also, "...a man may do whatever he pleases with his wife at intercourse: Meat which comes from the abbatoir may be eaten salted, roasted, cooked or seethed; so with fish from the fishmonger.... A woman came before Rab and complained [of her husband's sodomy with her], "Rabbi replied: 'Wherein does it differ from fish?" ---Talmud, Nedarim 20b, Soncino edition, p.58
Will change your life.......2007-01-10
Rabbi Boteach takes a wonderful enlightened approach to this very sensitive subject. Beautifully written work with excellent sources, well documented and builds a terrific case. Having read his book, it has changed my relationship with my wife of 20 years, this is really great, wish I would have read this earlier. I passed it on to each of my teenage children as a must read.
"Kosher" sex is about motions that produce strong emotions..........2006-08-22
I can't believe how long it took me to finally get around to reading this superb book (is there a ranking higher than five stars). On a semi-long flight, I'd almost finished it off in one sitting, but I hesitated, not wanting to gobble it up in one go. It was precious, meant to be savoured, and absorbed very slowly into the bloodstream.
I'd been meaning to read Rabbi Boteach's books for over five years now, ever since I heard Rabbi Boteach go toe-to-toe intellectually with Larry King (someone else whom I respect highly). Despite the long wait, I wasn't disappointed.
Look, again (as I've said in numerous other spots in my Reviews), I'm not going to tell you what's inside this book. I don't have to, seeing as I'm positive the countless other reviews which you can find here under this listing describe the outline of this book thoroughly, and people have gone into the specifics of what to find inside. I don't wish to repeat what may already be here, and I imagine that I won't do as good of a job as they have -- admittedly, I haven't had a chance to read all of the reviews either. I'm going to laud the high quality of the reviews which I generally find here, and make the necessary presumption.
I think all of us who pick up books like KOSHER SEX are essentially seeking answers. Answers to the things which may have troubled us with our relationships in the past, and we're seeking advice on how to place less of a personal emphasis on meaningless sexual encounters, or the constant state of one-upmanship we play with ourselves in our minds, rationalizing the corrosive things we might do sexually. We need to begin to see the harm it inevitably causes us, our selves, and Boteach points out a way. Not *the* way, but *a* way.
I had many blessed "eureka" moments in reading his narrative, when my simply jaw dropped, saying things aloud like: "That's EXACTLY what I was thinking!" or "So I'm *not* the only person who feels this way?!" Reassuring in the extreme...
Ultimately, my aim has been to learn to become a better father, husand, lover, and partner. While there isn't ONE single book that encapsulates the skills required to do so, I'd have to say in the breadth of titles I've already read on the subject (Jewish, non-Jewish, and everything else in between), this one ranks rather highly up there. In a nation (the US) which seems to pride itself on its soaring (over 50%) divorce rate, books like Boteach's just *scream* out to be read. There is something dreadfully wrong in society in which sexuality is a commodity, and in which -- as Boteach notes -- there is little difference today between the genders which essentially levels the playing field (one advantage), but to the deteriment of the family unit (an even greater disadvantage).
I found myself dog-earing pages and note-taking during my read, something I generally avoid doing as it disrupts my flow. But like I said, Boteach's lines just pulled me in.
Five-stars. Because of this, I'd now like to read the rest of Boteach's books. The time has come.
The Epitome of Ignorance !!!!!.......2006-04-13
Bible believers have been known to conform to pretty strange religious teachings but the thought of having sex in a manner that must be pleasing to God has got to be the biggest pile of tripe I have ever come across. What makes Shmuley Boteach thinks he knows what god likes when one is in the thralls of passion?????
Never mind what your partner likes, as long as the great Peeping Tom in the sky is not turned on then the act is a no-no. ....... How utterly ridiculous??!!
Readers, as long as the parties involved are consenting adults acting in privacy and it feels good....... DO IT!!!!
Shmuley Boteach should try it some time
Men, read this!.......2006-02-06
This is a must read for all men, the younger you are when you read this, the happier you will be. This book helped me to reflect on my own life and articulate more clearly to myself and my wife the importance of our sex life. Men are taught early own that sex is all about pleasure and gratification. With this limited view, we are often left wanting more and more, never feeling satisfied.
Book Description
Set Your Husband’s Heart Ablaze
Are you a “desperate housewife,” committed to marriage yet longing for a deeper, more intimate connection with your husband? Believe it or not, you can have the marriage you long for–if you’re willing to take desperate measures.
If you’re ready to stop the blame game and pursue the marriage of your dreams, let authors Shannon and Greg Ethridge show you how to reignite your relationship with spiritual, emotional, and physical passion. Drawing on real-life stories from both men and women, as well as lessons from their own less-than-satisfying early years of marriage, they offer penetrating insights about what it takes to nurture a dynamic marriage, including…
·what makes a husband’s heart grow cold–and how you can fan the embers into flame
·the difference between being “right” and being “righteous”
·how to fight fair
·how to guard your heart against unhealthy comparisons
·the dynamic power of getting spiritually and emotionally naked
·what your husband really wants most (It’s not what you think!)
Every Woman’s Marriage will give you practical tools and wise biblical counsel for transforming a listless marriage into a vibrant, exciting relationship. Get ready to set your husband’s heart ablaze!
Customer Reviews:
Good book for the right audience.......2007-07-25
I liked this book alot but I would caution that it's for a more conservative Christian typr of person so if you consider yourself a little more liberal just skip this one. If you want to pursue a conservative Christian view of marriage this book couldn't be better. It does stress submission and that can be difficult for some to digest but you have to read it and make it work for you. The idea that working together and working to make your partner happy instead of making yourself happy is the basic idea...of couse its also the basic idea of Christianity so it was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be. Of course I do realize it isnt for everyone.
Shannon's admonition to "guard one's heart" .......2007-06-06
Bestselling author Shannon Ethridge has teamed up with her husband Greg in this newest installment of the Every Woman's series. In EVERY WOMAN'S MARRIAGE, the authors put in their two cents on a myriad of marital topics, all with a singular goal in mind: that of igniting (and sustaining) joy and passion in marriage. Shannon's plainspoken deliberateness allows female readers the opportunity to study their own spousal relationship with an "insider's" eye.
As the female half of the Ethridge writing duo, Shannon offers scenarios and suggestions for recognizing potential pitfalls, recurring mistakes, and short-circuited communication attempts. Then she presents biblically sound alternatives for wives to begin consistently implementing and focusing on repairing damage already done. On the heels of Shannon's comments, Greg interjects the male's take on the same topic. This alternating presentation is both smooth and effective. Women are not left wondering how men perceive identical scenarios; they are handed them on a platter.
In this five-part marriage handbook, the Ethridges discuss (and dissect) the hows and whys of marriages in which both partners' hearts grow cold, understanding the wisdom of honing a "big picture" view of lifelong relationships, reasons why a man's joy and passions die, specific ways to reignite a husband's flame, and finally, throwing fuel on that flame to keep the momentum going over the long haul of a lifetime commitment.
One reason for Shannon Ethridge's popular appeal to female readers is her willingness to admit candidly past and current struggles. She invites women to stop hiding behind facades and fears and take proper initiative to "grow" a passionate marriage. For those women interested in investing time, effort and concerted compassionate love toward developing strong marriages, she lays out the goods by reminding readers "that men aren't all that different from women when it comes to their basic needs. Men have emotional needs too, and they can feel a sense of desperation when those needs aren't being met."
Shannon also tells her female audience not to be fooled by transient emotional counterfeits to genuine intimacy. Sure, those intense feelings of excitement are great starting points, but they are also superficial and temporary. Said this way, "intimacy can best be understood by breaking the word down into syllables: in-to-me-see." Only through long-term, living-with-someone kind of history can both partners experience the depth of real intimate love that God intended.
Thus, Shannon's admonition to "guard one's heart" makes practical sense. She notes that far too many couples forfeit this stronger, richer love simply because they never learned to make the transition from the fiery emotions of early attraction to the enduring, focused and self-sacrificial love necessary to a marriage that lasts. Says the author: "Your love for your husband won't be based on butterflies or fireworks, but on familiarity, honesty, trust, safety, security, and commitment."
--- Reviewed by Michele Howe
Recommened read for every wife!.......2007-04-15
I enjoyed this book GREATLY! It is encouraging, easy to read and uplifting...worth every penny.
Great book - poor company.......2007-02-16
This book is awesome! It is straightforward and has very applicable truths. If you are a woman committed to your marriage, this is a great book that lets you know what men really need and how we can give it to them. I immediately began implementing what I was learning into my marriage. Very helpful and an enjoyable read. I would have given 5 stars because the book was awesome, but the company selling it, bookssellbooks I was less than pleased with. They blamed it on the weather, then told me they would send me another book to compensate, but never did so I received the book over a MONTH after I ordered it with no compensation. Also, they rarely respond to emails. So be careful if you are thinking about dealing with them.
Average customer rating:
- Aim For Your Relationship Stars & Reach Them!
- The Essential Book To Guide You Through Your Romantic Life.
- Help for those struggling in relationships
- Best theoritical book there is in the field.
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Mapping the Terrain of the Heart: Passion, Tenderness, and the Capacity to Love
Stephen Goldbart , and
David Wallin
Manufacturer: Jason Aronson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Interpersonal Relations | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 1568217900 |
Book Description
Charts six skills that are necessary for a stable love relationship: the capacities for erotic involvement, for merging, for idealization, for integration, for refinding, and for self-transcendence.
Customer Reviews:
Aim For Your Relationship Stars & Reach Them!.......2006-07-13
The first thing that struck me about Mapping the Terrain of the Heart was a sense of having come home to a place that really understood and clarified the beauty alongside the struggles of committed relationships. The next thing that struck me was the sense of hope and direction to be able to thrive in a relationship that has flaws as well as fortune. And finally, I was thrilled to learn how to turn anger into empathy, disappointment into clear-eyed forgiveness, and a developing love affair into a lasting committed relationship with happiness and certainty despite the anxieties that come with human love. I have been reading and re-reading and marking up and highlighting and learning from and gifting this book ever since I was given a copy. This book works! And I am convinced it is due to the writers' encouraging belief that each of us has passion, tenderness and the capacity to love, love long, love well, love brilliantly.
The Essential Book To Guide You Through Your Romantic Life........2001-10-01
In my personal quest to find romantic intimacy I have read dozens of books. This is simply the most profound, dead-on, flat-out brilliant book I have ever come across. "Mapping The Terrain of the Heart" will help you clarify if your ideals of romantic love are realistic or simply serving as a defense against finding intimacy. It will help you to understand your style of relating - whether you are a "merger hungry" or "merger wary." It will help you understand how you find "chemistry" with some people while others leave you cold. It will help you to understand why what excites you is healthy and how not to simply "find" the right relationship - but to "build" it. In an extremely readable and clear way the authors explain how psychoanalytic theory is a powerfully clarifying microscope for understanding the patterns that you may find yourself limited by. I have been re-reading this book for over ten years now and have come to think of it as my "romantic compass" for finding out if I may be heading for true north, or whether I'm lost in the desert. This book has transformed my knowledge of my self and and of those I have gotten close to.
Buy this book, it will help you to find what you're looking for.
It really will.
Help for those struggling in relationships.......1999-09-30
Mapping the Terrain is a wonderful resource for individuals who have difficulty staying in a relationship. It looks at the six capacities of loving; erotic involvement, merging, idealization, integration, refinding, and self-transcendence. This book will help you to identify the barriers to maintaining a relationship, why this happens, and what you can do about it. A great resource for individuals who fall in love but struggle to stay in love.
Best theoritical book there is in the field........1999-01-04
This is actually a reprint of Mapping the Terrain of the Heart; The Six Capacities That Guide the Journey of Love" (Item # 0201608650). Goldbart and Wallin are the authors of the original work, not editors of an anthology. This is the best description I've ever seen of the tasks to be worked on by couples in a committed relationship. Honeymoons will go sour for reasons embeded in the forming of the relationship. It is wise to know what's ahead, so you can plan for it. At least you will not be surprised by what unfolds. The basis for my opinion is extensive reading in the field and more personal experience than there is room for me to describe. The book is well written but terse; it is not an easy read.
Average customer rating:
- A Must Read!
- A book that easily catapults you into the next level!
- Life Changing Book
- Warm & Energizing Antidote for Today's Busy Women
- Refueling for the depleted!
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From Burned Out to Fired Up: A Woman's Guide to Rekindling the Passion and Meaning in Work and Life
Leslie Godwin
Manufacturer: HCI
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Motivational | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0757301959 |
Book Description
As a recovering workaholic, psychotherapist and author who has helped thousands of professionals find meaningful work, Leslie Godwin knows the effects of stress and job burnoutphysical, mental and spiritual exhaustion. For the millions of struggling women who wear many hats, Godwin offers real solutions it's not about balancing or multitasking; it's about making true life changes that result in a renewal of passion and meaning. For corporate professionals, budding entrepreneurs or stay-at-home mothers (and yes, that's work, too!), Godwin's compelling case studies, helpful tips, quizzes and worksheets will change their lives.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read!.......2007-01-09
Leslie Godwin hits home in her book "From Burned out to Fired Up". The format is easy to follow and packed with advice, exercises and motivational thinking. It is not only helpful to me but also a recommended read to clients and friends.
A book that easily catapults you into the next level!.......2005-04-16
I found Leslie's book accidentally a year ago in an airport bookstore. I had no idea what the book was about, only that I was burned out working in a small job in a toxic work environment. It was so inexpensive, I bought it. When I began to sift through it, I wondered how these little simple worksheets would be able to do anything like the cover promised - rekindling the passion.
I could not have been more wrong. Once I started reading the book, so simple in language, and did my first worksheet - I realized in just a few questions- deeper issues that I was unaware of that were driving my passion and also fueling my fear. I had a lifelong dream but was hiding out as a passionate workaholic in smaller jobs.
Leslie's book not only gently and simply will dig things out at the root but will inspire you to get up, take step by step, and will make sure that this time, you will do it with BALANCE.
This book is so incredibly healthy, and it has become my companion over the last year. The worksheets are a wonder (especially the Synergy Plan worksheet). I recommend making an electronic version and updating it as you progress (and you will progress through those steps with Leslie's help).
Because of this book, I left my old toxic workplace and opened my horizons to being on my path. I am now in a new position I love for the timebeing, have balance, and am pursuing my lifelong dream career in parallel. I carry the Synergy Plan Worksheet with me in my organizer and refer to it regularly to take the next steps. Step by step, this book will lead you there. It's worth every penny and more!
Life Changing Book.......2005-04-11
Without a doubt this book has changed my life for the better. I have gone from deadend job to deadend job for the past 15 years now, but while reading this book it was like the fog finally lifted. I realized I needed to find the job I loved, not the job that simply paid the bills. Now I am on my way - finally. The exercises seem simple and I really didn't see how they would help me, but they did. They get right to the point and you discover things you didn't even know were an issue for you. I would reccommend this book to anyone who is in this situation.
Warm & Energizing Antidote for Today's Busy Women .......2004-11-14
Leslie Godwin's advice will hit home for so many of today's women, and, I believe, inspire them all. With case studies, e-mails, and lessons from a variety of women of different ages and in different careers, Leslie shows how to deal with the burnout that so many of us experience in different phases of life. From parenting issues to workplace challenges, there are many parts of the book that may speak to you.
Her exercises and worksheets show you how to take action and point you in the right direction to find the path to your passion. Her insightful comments will make you stop and think about things that you may never have reflected on before, and get you to see things in a new and productive light.
I highly recommend this book, and am confident you will find it worth many times its price! This is a book to keep, savor, and refer to again and again as you reach for your goals, even as those goals change over time.
Refueling for the depleted!.......2004-08-03
Anyone with the slightest ambition can get caught in the trap of the energizer bunny... you keep going and going and going. Before long you've lost sight of not only where you were headed, but why you were headed there. This fog of confusion is lifted after following just a few of the easy but profoundly helpful exercises Ms. Godwin offers to readers who want to feel refueled. Clarification and newfound energy will be your reward for reading this straightforward, and accessible read.
Amazon.com
Unwise Passions traces the trajectory of aristocrat Nancy Randolph's tempestuous life, beginning with her privileged birth in 1774, continuing through a series of scandals that eventually sent her North, and concluding with her death in 1837. But this engaging, accessible biography also serves as group portrait of the Virginia aristocracy--and of its declining fortunes, as the colonial oligarchy was supplanted by an unrulier democracy. When she was only 18, Nancy was accused of having borne a child to her own sister's husband, Richard Randolph, who then allegedly murdered the newborn. Defended by Revolutionary legend Patrick Henry, Richard and Nancy were acquitted, and she returned to live with him and her sister. But the rumors persisted, and Richard's sudden death in 1796 only made them uglier. Many of the ugliest rumors were voiced by Richard's younger brother, Jack; Nancy's former suitor. Jack improved the debt-riddled family estates while he pursued a political career as a fiery states-rights congressman (a career that gets nearly as much of the author's attention as Nancy's life). Virginia-based journalist Alan Pell Crawford doesn't conclude definitively whether or not Jack actually believed Nancy had murdered his brother and had sexual relations with a slave, but the congressman certainly hated her enough to throw her off the family farm and repeat those stories later to her husband. At age 34, reduced to poverty and living in New York, the long-suffering Nancy married Gouverneur Morris, another wealthy veteran of the Revolutionary generation. Their happy union produced one child and endured until his death. Crawford, also the author of Thunder on the Right, pens a lively narrative that vividly evokes his characters: kindhearted, rather frivolous Nancy; urbane, unshockable Morris; irascible, overwrought Jack; and a host of cousins who are scattered throughout America's inbred, gossipy high society. Good fun and good history, to boot. --Wendy Smith
Book Description
In the spring of 1793, eighteen-year-old Nancy Randolph, the fetching daughter of one of the greatest of the great Virginia tobacco planters, was accused, along with her brother-in-law, of killing her newborn infant. Once one of the loveliest and most sought-after young women in Virginia society, she was immediately denounced as a ruined Jezebel, and the great orator Patrick Henry and future Supreme Court justice John Marshall were retained to defend her in her sensational trial.
In the tradition of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Alan Pell Crawford brings to life this gripping account of murder, infanticide, and prostitution charges, and of unimaginable treachery, moral decline, and great heroism played out in the intimate lives of this nation's Founding Fathers. It is the true story of the privileged and pampered children of the new country's aristocratic families as they struggle to find their place in an increasingly democratic America, where their values and position in society are under siege. Above all, it is the story of the indomitable Nancy Randolph, who is hounded out of Virginia by a scandal that will haunt her and everyone she loves for the rest of their lives.
In the early 1790s, after Nancy goes to live with her sister Judith and handsome brother-in-law Richard at their remote plantation, called Bizarre, rumors fly throughout Virginia that Nancy has given birth and Richard, knowing the child to be his, has killed it. After an inquest, Nancy is ordered off the plantation by her cousin John Randolph and, reduced to poverty, she must find her way in a new and forbidding world.
Eventually she flees to New York where she forms an unlikely alliance with the immensely rich Gouverneur Morris, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Meanwhile John Randolph, a protégé of Thomas Jefferson who becomes a notorious wit and controversial member of Congress, a duelist and a drug addict, spends most of his life campaigning against her. After Morris's death, Nancy must fight for her honor once again -- Morris's relatives are eager to have a piece of his estate and to see her disinherited.
American history at its richest, with a cast of characters including not only the haughty Randolphs, but Jefferson, Henry, Morris, and Marshall, Unwise Passions is as riveting and revealing as any current scandal -- in or out of Washington.
Customer Reviews:
Pretty good.......2006-08-27
I read a lot of biography and historical fiction and I was intrigued by the reviews of this book so I bought it. The print is large, there are many reproductions of paintings, and it's a rather quick read, but it's "pretty good" as far as historical biography goes. It was interesting to read a thumbnail sketch of the rise and fall of the Virginia tobacco farmers, and it was also a fun task to try and keep track of all of the Randalph's as they inter-married! The main problem that keeps the book from being truly wonderful is that the scandal and the main characters aren't very compelling to begin with and the author doesn't do much to infuse the story with any urgency. There a few points where I found myself wondering what would happen next, but for the most part I was simply mildly entertained and when I was finished I felt I'd read a decent book that further illuminated a period in American history for a me and also educated me about Nancy Randolph and her kinsmen.
Less engaging than a history textbook...from high school........2006-01-15
I enjoy historical fiction and historical fact, but I found this book to be quite dull. The writing was not engaging, as the style seemed antiquated to me. I think I was expecting more of a modern interpretation of the story. Instead, this book reads like a Victorian gossip column. In short, neither the story nor the "scandal" was intriguing to me, not even as simple history. Apparently enjoyable by some, but it just wasn't what I expected.
Great Biography...Not So Much Scandal.......2006-01-02
The title is a little misleading, but this is still a great biography of Anne Cary Morris. The "scandal" is dealt with in several chapters and the remaining story tells of the disfunctional family of which she was a part of. It left me looking for more information about the remaining "cast of characters."
Historical Reality Check of early Americans.......2005-11-16
I got the book at my local library and just completed it. Mr. Crawford is good writer. I like that the chapters are short and the story line keeps moving.
I see that he has a new book coming out on Jefferson's last years. The research from this book probably helped on the new one since the Randolph and Jefferson familes were related (cousins married cousins) and Jefferson's son-in-laws were also politicians. I really appreciated the family tree even though the larger family lines aren't complete.
The main story line was not really resolved for me unless we are to believe Nancy's response to Jack in their later years. Did Nancy deliberately abort with her cousin's "medicine" or did she really miscarry? Was Nancy really pregnant by Theodorick who died before she delivered and not his brother Richard? How could Nancy go about in society as she "increased" without any censorship and why didn't any of her relatives, especially her sister who lived in the same house, know about the pregnancy?
Some characters appear for only a few paragraphs yet interest me to find out more about them in other biographies or histories. I was surprised to see that President Adams was not liked and Jefferson was extremely political. Crawford shows the political parties switched platforms over time so current parties cannot claim ownership of ideas. I will be interested in reading more books about the early founders, politicians and other Americans. This taste of early years in congress was very interesting.
Great book about my ancestors!!.......2005-06-25
This is a totally awesome book. With a twisted tale and a ton of history you can't beat it. Plus reading about Nancy who is a distant cousin of mine, is very exsiting. I think anyone of any age will love this book. If you like colonial history and excitment you will really enjoy this one! :o)
Book Description
Dan Broderick was one of California's most successful attorneys; his wife, Betty, a beautiful socialite. But when Betty discovered Dan's hidden life, the façade of LaJolla's golden couple was shattered. What followed was a vicious five-year battle that finally ended in a shocking double-murder.
A Harvard Law School graduate, Dan manipulated the law to strip Betty of everything she loved: her home, her friends - even her children. When she frantically tried to fight back, he had her committed to a mental hospital. His new wife, Linda, even sent the once-beautiful Betty wrinkle cream ads and weight loss pamphlets.
Consumed by hatred and thoughts of revenge, Betty's rage exploded on the night of November 5, 1989. Before the sun rose the next day, Dan Broderick and his gorgeous new wife were dead - their bullet-riddled bodies wrapped in the blood-soaked sheets of their bed.
Customer Reviews:
Hell hath no fury ..........2007-07-10
Betty Broderick. Where oh where to start with this case? This was a murder case that spoke to us on so many levels, made us all shake our heads, turn our noses up, and secretly fear our own insecurities and what we are capable of.
Betty and Dan were high school / college sweethearts, who started off with such hopes and dreams that they would have a wonderful life together. Their family started almost immediately after they married (their first of 5 children arriving nearly 9 months to the day they married). Dan went to medical school and later law school while Betty raised the kids and did the primary bread winning as a school teacher. Once Dan had completed his education, he accepted a job with a California law firm and they moved to the west coast. From there he began to build his career to become one of the most successful and wealthiest men in town, and Betty could quit working to dedicate all her time to her kids.
It wasn't, however, a fairy tale. Dan and Betty's relationship was troubled from the beginning. They would eventually divorce, and it was anything but a peaceful affair. Betty went from being a "normal person" to a pathetic, psychotic hysteric. Dan began to cheat with Linda, and would eventually marry her. Betty's hysteria went from reasonable to destructive (driving her car through the front door of the house which got her thrown into a psych hospital, for example). It all came to a head when she bought a gun, snuck into her ex husband's house one morning, and shot both him and Linda while they slept. Now she's behing bars.
It's so hard to take sides in something like this. You see so clearly what Betty wanted and what was taken away from her. Yet you also see what Dan wanted, and what was taken away from him. Not to mention Linda. And the kids. And their friends, and their families. So many marriages start off so innocently and with such hopes, and so many end so bitterly. Where are those two people who were so in love once in the wedding pictures? Their partnership fell apart. But then again, as I have seen, the majority of people I have seen marry never should have. They were not right for each other. And sometimes we have to realize that and leave the marriages. It's when one doesn't want to that you will get a crazy story like this. Divorce is never pleasent, that's for sure, and you will face terrible times as you realize you have just had the rug ripped out from under you. But, have some dignity. If not for yourself, for your family and friends.
And, Betty, as far as I am concerned, has a genuine element of evil in her. I understand her sense of despair, her jealousy of the other woman, etc., but she has caused such chaos. It would not could not end until someone died. Dan and Linda had to die before Betty's rage was satisfied. To this day she has expressed no remorse over the fact that the both of them are dead. She says "Dan wanted me dead, but I'm alive". Alive to rot in prison, alive to have lost everything, and alive to be a sad joke to many.
There are No Winners Here! Just Losers!.......2007-06-12
I first saw the television film adaptation which was pro-Dan and Linda all the way. They never showed Dan and Linda bad-mouthing Betty. In the film, Betty was portrayed brilliantly by Meredith Baxter but she played her as a demented, sore loser who never got over losing Dan, her man. In the book, we read more about Betty's feuding which was more like a World War and Dan's indifference to his former wife's well-being. He tossed her aside when he found a suitable replacement like hiring and firing but Betty didn't go easily or ever. She was obsessed with Dan and Linda and defeating them no matter what the cost. The book dispels that Dan was a wonderful husband and father only when he was forced too by Betty dumping the kids off one by one. Betty was smart, attractive, and wittier than some of the most professional comedians according to one of her close friends. She discharged by her husband rather because he decided to have a younger model and version. Now, I don't condone Betty's actions when she shot and killed them in their sleep. Of course if I was Linda, I would run away as fast as I could. Yes, you're in love but look at his first wife. I don't understand why Dan disowned his daughter Lee Gordon Broderick upon his death maybe for siding with Betty over Dan. Dan never liked to lose in life but he lost in death. There is a website where you can't leave flowers and notes on Dan and Linda's graves because it has been misused. That blockage is usually reserved for dictators and serial killers. I think Linda was in way over her head when she married Dan not seeing this coming and thinking that Dan could save them both. I remember in the film where a senior secretary played by Debra Jo Rupp warned Dan about how to treat people fairly when she saw Linda rise above her. It was a poignant moment in the film and maybe showed a side of Dan's egotism that he can handle everything. Like I wrote, there are no winners from this situation. I feel sorry for the children the most for suffering through the loss of their father, stepmother, and their mother's role in their murders.
Betty.......2005-12-07
This book was ok but not near as good as until the twelfth of never. that book really gives you more of an inside look into the life of Dan and Betty Broderick. This book is a quick read if you are looking for a light read on the story and not a lot of details.
One of The Lighter Books,Another Quick Read.......2005-09-29
I feel like a professional as far as this case goes. LOL I have stated before that after seeing the totally pro Dan and Linda movie (The Betty Broderick Story) I started reading and watching everything about this case, including the court tv show, A&E Justice Story, MNCBS Headliners etc...While I will grant that Betty murdering them was over the top, some of the stunts of Dan and Linda were over the top too. You also have to keep in mind that Dan was the one whose "friends" were the lawyers and judges, not Betty. In spite of friends saying she could have gone to another county to find a lawyer, it really was not as easy as all that. The woman was completly blind-sided by this man she had worked so hard for. It truly was a sad, sad story.This book was quick, but did not have many details and certainly not reserched as the book by Bella Stumbo was. It was okay and added maybe a little more insight to the case but not much.
WOW!!! Real life drama.......2005-08-29
I became introduced to this case through court TV and many documentaries, and all I can say is WOW!!!! No matter what you feel about the victims or Betty, you have to feel for the children who were put through this. I was heartbroken while reading this book. It has the same feel of the book I read for the movie "Goodfellas" and you do sort of feel caught up in the mess. It's sad really, but it's a teaching lesson if you look it at in a positive light.
Book Description
Powerful Fuel to Rekindle the Passion in Your Marriage
Do you long for a deeper connection with your husband? Do you want to build a vibrant marriage that meets your deepest emotional needs?
Every Woman’s Marriage offers penetrating insights for nurturing a dynamic, intimate relationship. And this companion workbook will help you interact with and personalize those insights to achieve a spiritually, emotionally, and physically fulfilling marriage. Among other things, you’ll learn how to:
·abandon the behaviors that undermine marital intimacy
·make your husband feel respected, admired, supported, and desired
·embrace and fulfill your husband’s God-given desire for sex
·initiate the changes that can transform your marriage
Each lesson in this study–perfect for use by both individuals and small groups in either 8-week or 12-week tracks–guides you deeper into God’s Word and helps you apply the principles that will reignite the joy and passion you both desire in your marriage.
Book Description
This thought provoking examination of relationships critically looks at issues such as economics, selfesteem, compatibility, trust, and communication from an Africentric perspective. Anyone who has asked the questions, where are all the brothers or why is the divorce rate so high, will find answers and solutions in this valuable book.
Customer Reviews:
you know you wanna know.......2007-06-01
when we want to buy a car, we read consumer reports
when we buy electronics, we go to cnet.com
assuming you are an African American trying to love yourself and connect with someone else who does, I highly suggest this book. i'm sure there are others. check them out too.
otherwise, rely on fate
;-)
Excellent educational read!!.......2002-06-10
The author made excellent points about the relationships among African-Americans. His explanation of statisitics tied in with his theory show that he is very educated, and that he is not basing his ideas on what he "think he knows". This book has made me realize the mistakes I've made in life, and taught me how to move on and not make the same mistakes again. One important point he makes is to take care of all YOUR issues first, so you have the time and energy to focus on a LASTING relationaship later.
My marriage.......2000-06-10
This book saved my marriage!I wish I had read it before I walked the aisle ,but now that I have, it has given me sound advice.
Customer Reviews:
A good first half .......2007-02-15
This story of a German born academic Eva Mueller in the American university world has its main energy and interest in the first part of the book. Goldstein is very good at integrating 'intellectual material' into the story and makes a convincing picture of her heroine in that way. The story of her love - affair with an embittered and cruel Jewish intellectual whose parents are survivors is strong and interesting. The main story however relates to a time years after this affair when the post- menopausal heroine becomes fascinated with a young Californian- born student of hers who works in his spare - time as a radio D. J. . This young man has two sides, one that of budding series intellectual and the other of Dionysian lover of pleasures of life in the moment. Eve who believes she has long lost her need for human connection in love discovers in her tutorials with the student that she has not gone beyond passionate desire. This part of the book is quite interesting. But just as we move to the critical moment Goldstein steers us for the second half of the book into a long tale about Eva's background. Her father was a music scholar who wrote a treatise which served the Nazi regime. This long digression is quite boring and when there is a return to the central affair of the novel Goldstein appears to have run out of steam.
For those however who like Philosophy with their novels , and especially those who would like to know more about Plato's and Spinoza's respective philosophies of Love and Freedom this book should be a real pleasure.
Great for the Goldstein fan, but not her best.......2005-08-07
This little novel is the sort of book one can spend a magical, beautiful afternoon reading. Goldstein's prose is beyond compare... her writing is precise and beautiful. She has the remarkable ability to explain the inner life of an intellectual woman in an authentic and detailed manner.
This book chronicles the awakening of a philosophy professor to the world of pleasure. In short, the conversion from the life of the mind to the life of the body. It is a sensual book, but by no means erotic, at least not in any explicit way. The beauty of the story is that the reader gets to watch the changes within the mind of the main character.
However, this book, despite the beautiful writing, is far from perfect. Unfortunately, Goldstein tried to incorporate flashbacks of the main character's childhood in wartime Germany, and this absolutely does not work. If the flashbacks had been merely alternating chapters, it might have succeeded; however, Goldstein lets the entire novel go off track for far too long. The main character's background is fascinating, and would have made a fine novel in itself, but it severely hampers the style and plot of the rest of the book.
For a Goldstein fan, this is a must-read, but if you've never read Goldstein, you'd do better to start elsewhere.
Irresistable language, resistable story.......2004-09-21
Since "The Mind-Body Problem" by Rebecca Goldstein delighted me so much with both its clever style and original story, I could hardly wait to read the author's second novel "The Late-Summer Passion of a Woman of Mind". My sense of disappointment, however, was evident about half way through the book. I liked the set-up, and I recognized Goldsteins playful descriptions and otherwise vivid language; however, the story just loses focus and its nerve. The first part of the book is the best - when Eva Mueller, the popular and eccentric philosophy professor, befriends her student, Michael Miller, the eager philosophy groupie, disc jockey and swimmer. The attraction is actually quite believable between the mature scholar, who has dismissed the notion of romantic love, and the young student, who is attracted to "the human condition" with both its good and bad consequences. However, when the story leaves the budding relationship and flips to Eva Mueller's childhood in Germany and her parents' involvement in the third reich, the story suffers. Don't get me wrong, that part of the book is also fascinating, but not in this book! Or, at least, the transition leaves the reader straining to assume renewed interest in the story. I still give the book 3 stars because I delight in Goldstein's writing style and the way she makes her characters so impossible not to care about. Overall, a decent book, but if you are reading Goldstein for the first time, choose her superb "Mind-Body Problem"!
Book Description
Elizabeth George’s Living Life with Passion and Purpose is the newest release in the popular Woman After God’s Own Heart
® Bible study series.
Focusing on Jesus’ teachings and the principles He lived by, this study of the book of Luke helps women know Him more intimately. Readers will explore—
- the lives of New Testament women who knew and ministered to Jesus
- the passion and purpose of Jesus’ life
- the powerful prayer life of Jesus
- the servanthood practiced by Jesus
- the prophecies regarding Jesus and how He fulfilled them
With gentle encouragement and solid Bible teaching, Living Life with Passion and Purpose reveals how readers can become more like Jesus in their daily lives and joyfully share the gospel. Excellent for group and individual study.
Customer Reviews:
Thought provoking.......2006-03-08
Noted Bible teacher, radio personality, and author Elizabeth George brings her more than 20 years of experience to this Woman After God's Own Heart Bible study. Living With Passion & Purpose presents an in-depth look at the Gospel of Luke. Using a question and answer format, with room to write your answer under each question, each study can be completed in 15 to 20 minutes. Among the 25 studies you will find such themes as Responding to the Savior, Handling Temptation, Submitting to Authority, Living Godly in an Ungodly World, Focusing on the Kingdom, Making the Most of Opportunity, Doing God's Will, and Learning to Live with Passion and Purpose. Closing materials give help to the leader in a group study. Individuals will also find this study worthwhile.
With a deceivingly simple format, students will find themselves thinking progressively deeper thoughts. Each lesson opens with a brief thought provoker, then questions about the Bible chapter, followed by questions about the student's response to these verses, closing with a pertinent homily.
There are nine other studies in this series: Esther, 1 Peter, Proverbs, Mary, Sarah, Philippians, 1 Timothy, Judges/Ruth, James. - Donna Eggett, Christian Book Previews.com
Books:
- Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time
- Maelstrom (The Twins of Petaybee, Book 2)
- Magic Tree House Boxed Set 1, Books 1-4: Dinosaurs Before Dark, The Knight at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, and Pirates Past Noon
- Mapping the Terrain of the Heart: Passion, Tenderness, and the Capacity to Love
- Miss Julia Strikes Back (Miss Julia)
- Mistral's Kiss (Meredith Gentry, Book 5)
- Mountain Man: A Novel of Male and Female in the Early American West
- Necessary Losses: The Loves, Illusions, Dependencies, and Impossible Expectations That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Grow
- O'Hurley's Return: Skin Deep\Without A Trace
- Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World
Books Index
Books Home
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Judaism for Everyone: Renewing Your Life Through the Vibrant Lessons of the Jewish Faith
