Book Description
A groundbreaking examination of the psychology of homosexuality, why it leads to shame over one's identity and how to overcome it
The gay male world today is characterized by seductive beauty, artful creativity, flamboyant sexuality, and, encouragingly, unprecedented acceptability in society. Yet despite the progress of the recent past, gay men still find themselves asking, "Are we really better off?"
The inevitable byproduct of growing up gay in a straight world continues to be the internalization of shame, a shame gay men may strive to obscure with a faade of beauty, creativity, or material success. Drawing on contemporary psychological research, the author's own journey to be free of anger and of shame, as well as the stories of many of his friends and clients, The Velvet Rage outlines the three distinct stages to emotional well-being for gay men. Offering profoundly beneficial strategies to stop the insidious cycle of avoidance and self-defeating behavior, The Velvet Rage is an empowering book that will influence the public discourse on gay culture, and positively change the lives of gay men who read it.
Customer Reviews:
Another self-help book this is not!.......2007-09-20
From the first day I came out 6 years ago to today, I've been all too familiar with the LGBT self-help books displayed prominently on bookstore shelves. For 6 years, I've been disappointed with what I have found. I find them to be repetitive, lacking nuance, and not very insightful. So, I've found myself going about my life left only to my own personal insights and experiences. Until now.
The Velvet Rage has given word to the countless abstract notions and ideas of my sexuality that have been floating around in my head for years. The book is insightful, manageable and interesting. I see deep parallels between myself and the words on the pages of this work. I truly suggest it for those looking for a deeper understanding of themselves and in filling the emptiness they may still feel as a gay man. I already feel I am on my way to a more fulfilled, peaceful and authentically happy life! And, no one even paid me to write this review!
Read the book twice.......2007-09-05
I've read it cover-to-cover and I've started to read it again simply because I was taken aback by how much I actually related to the experiences of the author and the patients he's treated over the years.
I cried in certain parts and has made me think as to how I could have handled things differently in my past and present with the people I love. I also realized "what was I even thinking??".....that thought rang right through me.
Its made me think an aweful lot about me, my behavior, how I see people, trust and those around me now and those that will be in the near future. I realize that I have a lot to learn, but I have always stated it back then and even now that when you don't listen to your gut, that's when you get screwed royally. When you do however, in the end you know what you are doing is right. But in this case I'm learning that doing and saying anything was it all worth it? The price I paid cost me dearly.
I just have to figure out how to ACT not REACT and I'm learning how to do that.
I'm in the process of "letting go" of years of sheer pain and heading towards the road of healing. It's going to take me a while but I know I'll find it. This book along with the struggles I've had over the past 3 years has really been helpful.
I've shared this book with one other person whom I consider my best friend and care deeply about after a good friend of mine that I've known over 10 years suggested I read it. I think EVERY person out there needs to read this book INCLUDING gay men.
We NEED to understand each other and heal ourselves before we find each other.
A Contemporary Must Read for Anyone.......2007-07-27
The Velvet Rage was recommended to me by Davis Mallory of MTV's Real World: Denver, and I have to say this book is a must read. Author Alan Downs of Santa Fe, New Mexico, puts primary components of the homosexual lifestyle into perspective for a myriad of readers. The book is divided into three stages based on shame, rage, and contentment with a life lived by so many males. Downs, a clinical psychologist, provides detailed personal faux pas and timeless reflections of arguably truthful testimony from some of his own clientèle. His introduction will grab any reader immediately as he opts to describe the contemporary gay lifestyle as being "a culture of [our] own." He ends The Velvet Rage with his longest chapter delineating 10 profound life lessons applicable to gay men who are cycling shame continuously. Gay males will find this book invigoratingly refreshing while the heterosexual counterparts will grasp abundant information and practical knowledge for personal growth and development in understanding the homosexual male characterization that Downs has offered. Quite frankly, The Velvet Rage should be used as a resource for educational and entertainment purposes, but hopefully, all readers will gain a more positive outlook on life after reading Downs' book.
Something for Everyone...Sort Of.......2007-07-16
As a gay white man, I found a lot in the book that I could say "yeah, that's right". about. At the same time, The absence of the mention of the experience of women, people of color or of pratically anyone else who was not also a white middle class or wealthy gay male was missing from the text.
I still think that this is a book to read...and re-read. Most of what the author talks about are universal issues...with a gay slant. It can be read by anyone who has grown up in in a straight WHITE man's world, including many (most?) straight white men.
Yes, my growing up experience has been difficult - and there are a plethora of books out there that focus on growing up female, non-white, poor, overweight, etc, etc. I'd say give this book a good read, and "fill in the blanks" whenever the references to gay men don't apply to you. It is well written and has many good anecdotes, suggestions and insights - enough to make me want to look up and see what else the author has written.
Insightful Reading.......2007-06-27
I really enjoyed reading this book, once I was done I had both my parents read it as well. They said it helped them a great deal to understand me a lot better, not only now, but why they couldn't always "reach me" when I was younger.
Average customer rating:
- 21st century eye-opener
- For those that curse the muslim invasion, She will be missed.
- simple and with a lot of good sense
- Passionate rant from Itallian intelligentsia.
- Passionate pleas for some sense
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The Rage and The Pride
Oriana Fallaci
Manufacturer: Rizzoli International Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0847825043
Release Date: 2002-10-25 |
Book Description
With The Rage and the Pride Oriana Fallaci breaks a ten year silence. The silence she kept until September 11's apocalypse in her Manhattan house. She breaks it with a deafening noise. In Europe this book has caused and causes a turmoil never registered in decades. Polemics, discussion, debates, hearty consents and praises, wild attacks. And a million copies sold in Italy where it still is at the bestsellers' top. Hundreds of thousands in France, in Germany, in Spain: the other countries where it has become the Number one Bestseller. Around a dozen translations will soon appear.
With her well-known courage Oriana Fallaci faces the themes unchained by the Islamic terrorism: the contrast and, in her opinion, incompatibility between the Islamic world and the Western world; the global reality of the Jihad and the lack of response, the lenience of the West. With her brutal sincerity she hurls pitiless accusations, vehement invectives, and denounces the uncomfortable truths that all of us know but never dare to express. With her rigorous logic, lucidity of mind, she defends our culture and blames what she calls our blindness, our deafness, our masochism, the conformism and the arrogance of the Politically Correct. With the poetry of a prophet like a modern Cassandra she says it in the form of a letter addressed to all of us.
The text is enriched by a dramatic preface in which Oriana Fallaci reveals how The Rage and the Pride was born, grew up, and detachedly calls it "my small book." In addition, a preface in which she tells significant episodes of her extraordinary life and explains her unreachable isolation, her demanding and inflexible choices. Because of this too, what she calls "my small book" is in reality a great book. A precious book, a book that shakes our conscience. It is also the portrait of a soul. Her soul. No doubt it will remain as a thorn pierced inside our brains and our hearts.
Customer Reviews:
21st century eye-opener.......2007-10-08
With a rare courage and honesty, Oriana Fallaci shinest the light of the truth and candid scrutiny on her country and the world- breaking a ten year silence after the horrific terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001.
A modern day version of Emile Zola's J'Accuse, Fallaci steps in boldly where most fear to tread, exposing the truths that all of us know but all fear to speak. Fallaci writes that this book was an effort to "open the eyes of those who do not want to see, to unplug the ears of those who do not want to listen, to ignite the thoughts of those who do not want to think"
She does this admirably. She attacks Islamic fundamentalists and the arrogance of the politically correct elite whom she refers to as the "cicadas".
Fallaci was a teenage partisan during the Second World War, fighting Mussolini's Fascist regime in Italy and was an intrepid journalist for decades, covering many wars and struggles. Fallaci writes of the frightening Islamic terror network which is growing like a cancer in Europe, protected by the politically correct Left, who manipulate or deny the evidence.
She writes of her pride in her Italian culture and swears that if Moslem terrorists destroy any of her countrie's landmarks and treasures: "I swear: It is I who would become the holy warrior...War you wanted? War you want? As far as I am concerned war is war and war will be. Until the last breath."
If their were more people like Fallaci in the West and Israel, we could certainly win the battle against the Islamo-Nazis and their cheerleaders on the international left.
Fallaci aptly points out the reasons for Islamic terror:
"Dont you see that all these Ousamas Bin Laden consider themselves authorized to kill you and your children because you drink alcohol, because you don't grow the long beard and refuse the chador or the burkah, because you go the theater and to the movies, because you love music and siing a song, because you dance and watch television, because you wear the miniskirt or the shorts, because on the beach and by the swimming pool you sunbathe or almost naked or naked, because you make love when you want or with whom you want..."
She also attacks the politically correct hypocrites of the left who in the name of Humanitarianism revere the invaders and slander the defenders, absolve the delinquents and condemmn the victims, weep for the Taleban and curse the Americans, forgive the Palestinians for every wrong and the Israelis for nothing.
You HAVE to read this book if you want to understand the great strugles the world is faced with at the dawn of the 21st century.
For those that curse the muslim invasion, She will be missed........2007-09-30
Having written a factually accurate book she was condemned to death by the islamic hordes. They threatened, hounded, followed her and all of her family. She died a natural death quietly.
A MUST READ for anyone that knows and understands the deadly threat coming from the cult of islam. Borrow, steal or buy, but read.
simple and with a lot of good sense .......2007-09-11
I always respected and admired Oriana, since reading her Vietnam reportage in the 70', Niente e cosi sia.
After the infamous 9/11, she wrote what a lot of people and politicians are afraid of saying. She is just defending our western values against extreme and fanatic export of a religion into the Western Hemisphere.
She shows and writes about many facts, she is very proud to be a Tuscan woman, a former WW2 anti fascist fighter, a proud Italian, a proud New Yorker, and proud about Western values. How can you not agree with her and rejecting medieval mentality where human life is nothing ? where I'm labeled to be a pig because I'm an infedel ?
great book, it was and is a very impressive and easy reading for me. The title is so self explanatory " The Rage and the Pride "
Passionate rant from Itallian intelligentsia........2007-03-24
I am not sure what I thought of this book. I laughed at her bravado to challenge Muslim radicals. I do not think female (or male) testosterone will be effective here. If the critical issue were machismo I might agree. I know I am in danger of sounding French, but ideas are the battlefield not hate. I am a conservative but I want to be effective in my opposition to Islamic aggression. I do not feel this book helps in that cause.
Passionate pleas for some sense.......2007-03-17
Passionate, and original thinker unafraid to be different, whether you agree with her or not. A refreshing voice in the wilderness of political correctness.
Amazon.com
The author was elected president of Students for a Democratic Society in 1963, and he brings an insider's perspective to bear on the turbulent whirl of political, social, and sexual rebellion we now call "the sixties." Gitlin does a nice job of integrating his first-person recollections with a broader history that ranges from the roots of 1960s revolt in 1950s affluence and complacency to the movement's apocalyptic collapse in the early 1970s--a victim of its own excesses as well as governmental persecution. His lucid summary of the complex strands that intertwined to form the counterculture is essential basic reading for those who don't know the difference between the Diggers and the Yippies. --Wendy Smith
Book Description
Say "the Sixties" and the images start coming, images of a time when all authority was defied and millions of young Americans thought they could change the world--either through music, drugs, and universal love or by "putting their bodies on the line" against injustice and war.
Todd Gitlin, the highly regarded writer, media critic, and professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, has written an authoritative and compelling account of this supercharged decade--a decade he helped shape as an early president of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and an organizer of the first national demonstration against the Vietnam war. Part critical history, part personal memoir, part celebration, and part meditation, this critically acclaimed work resurrects a generation on all its glory and tragedy.
Customer Reviews:
A memoir from a 60's revolutionary .......2007-07-27
This was required reading for a graduate course in American history. Todd Gitlin's "The Sixties: Years of Hope and Days of Rage" is Gitlin's first hand account of the revolutionary air surround the 1960's. Gitlin was the president of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) until 1969. Through his book Gitlin is able to describe the feelings of social unrest and dissatisfaction among baby boomers during the 1960's. Gitlin recounts the inner workings of the SDS organization and the political infighting and offshoots which developed as some members became more radical and others became more conservative.
Gitlin's title, "Years of Hope and Days of Rage" exemplify the feelings of America's college students and generation of young adults during the 1960's. Gitlin describes the 1950's as a drab and unremarkable time when Americans were content to be materialistic and conformist. Although there were some poets, musicians, writers, and philosophers who were making headway towards social rebellion, in Gitlin's opinion, the 1950's were characterized by America's "genial deadhead" president Dwight Eisenhower.
Gitlin describes some of the inspirational figures and their contributions which began in the 1950's. He attributes much of the intellectual beginnings of rebellion to the "Beat" culture of the 1950's. Inspirational figures like James Dean and Marlon Brando in teen dramas like "Rebel Without a Cause" exemplified dissatisfied youth in the post World War II era. Jack Kerouac's poetry challenged the politics of the Cold War and made appeals for civil rights for Affican Americans. Rock n' Roll music with its African American beats and became a way for youth to rebel against their parents. An interesting insight which Gitlin contributes is the invention of MAD magazine and its contribution to the counterculture of the late 1960's Gitlin describes how MAD was one of the few publications which lampooned both mainstream culture and counterculture. In a time when people were scared by anything which was deemed to be unproductive to society or subversive, MAD magazine provided a sense of humor to the Gitlin describes his interest in politics had begun with his first year as a Harvard undergraduate, the Cuban Missile Crisis was the spark which began many of the first college campus demonstrations. Gitlin and other "New Left" students were aghast at the idea of nuclear war being waged over Cuba. They believed that the Kennedy administration had pushed the Soviets too far towards nuclear war and that Kennedy should take a softer approach towards U.S.-Soviet relations. Unwilling to engage in nuclear war at any cost, "New Left" activists were determined to change America's political and social landscape.
Students of the New Left believed that America was too materialistic, racist, and militaristic and did not follow the principle of free speech. Gitlin describes that the New Left activists were disenfranchised by the "old liberals" and new dealers who did not have the political will to demand civil rights for African Americans and defend the rights of American communists against anti-communist conservatives. Although the election of John Kennedy had signaled the arrival of a new generation of liberal politicians, New Left activists disagreed with Kennedy's policies towards the Soviet Union and Communist containment overseas.
Gitlin's book describes the feelings which he and others felt during the 1960's. Those who had lived through the Great Depression and the World War II were content with the new wave of goods and security which the 1950's had to offer. Many for the first time had the money and resources to enroll their children in college. Gitlin claims that his generation was not content with the hypocrisy of the U.S. government's policies towards segregation and free speech. Baby boomers had been raised to believe in the ideals of the constitution and the bill of rights however, they felt that these principles were not being practiced.
Gitlin joined the SDS in 1963 and became their president shortly after joining. The SDS became heavily involved in protests for civil rights on college campuses as well as joining African American activist's demonstrations in U.S. Southern states. The SDS engaged in public debates, demonstrations and marches for civil rights and against the Vietnam War. The SDS participated in famous demonstrations at the University of California Berkley and the infamous Democratic National Convention demonstration in Chicago.
During the late 1960's, the SDS began descending into disagreement and criticism from within their own organization. Some SDS members wanted to use violence in their demonstrations; this was criticized by Gitlin and others as being too radical. The lingering question of whether or not to profess support for Soviet and Maoist style communism was raised. Some believed that the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong should be forgiven for their acts of violence against the Vietnamese people because they were committing these acts as a response to American aggression. Gitlin and others believed that it was hypocritical to not hold U.S. leaders and Vietnamese leaders to the same morale standards. Eventually, the SDS disbanded in early 1970 after different leaders of SDS offshoots like the weathermen began participating in bombings and other violent demonstrations against military and other installations.
Gitlin ends his book by describing the events which followed the disintegration of the SDS. Gitlin signals the disbanding of the SDS as the end of the true 1960's revolutionary spirit. SDS members and other revolutionaries became tired of the political infighting and the lack of cooperation from government representatives. According to Gitlin these former revolutionaries embraced new ideals and new forms of spirituality and were diluted in the popularity of the hippie movement during the early 1970's. Gitlin claims that the rising popularity of Buddhism and new religious sects like the Hare Krishnas showed that many were losing faith in the movement and were turning to a higher power or spirituality to cope.
Gitlin criticizes the absurdity of some of the radical movements which came from the late 1960's as being crazy and farcical. Gitlin gives the examples of Patti Hurst's kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army and the activities of Charles Manson's group. The use of drugs became recreational rather than a tool for philosophical and spiritual experimentation. In the end the radical movements which were aimed at changing America as a whole was broken up into single issue interest groups. Feminists, Black Power activists and anti-Vietnam demonstrators focused on their own issues of interest rather than focusing their efforts into a national movement of progress.
Recommended reading for anyone interested in American history.
gitlin.......2006-12-06
THE 1960's in some respects was a decade like any other: a fixed span of time filled with otherwise disparate events. But ''The Sixties'' also came to mean something more: a style, a mood, a spirit of youthful rebelliousness with its own marketable aura of excess, adventure and innocent, shoot-for-the-moon idealism. Once that spirit was spent, as Todd Gitlin writes in ''The Sixties,'' a compelling new firsthand account of the era, the decade quickly ''receded into haze and myth,'' leaving behind only a few ''lingering images of nobility and violence,'' of charismatic martyrs and mobs in the street, ''a collage of fragments scooped together as if a whole decade took place in an instant.'' Today when pundits debate a possible resurrection of the 60's, they usually have in mind a superficially similar pastiche of trends, from paisleyed fashion and renewed evidence of dissent on campus to well-publicized displays of political conscience by popular rock stars.
Mr. Gitlin's ambitious effort to cut through the nostalgia and myth surrounding the 60's takes an unusual form. Working, as he puts it, ''at the edge of history and autobiography,'' he has written a wide-ranging narrative that oscillates between the first and third person, incorporating both new research on key episodes and potted histories of folk-rock music, hippies, the origins of the women's movement and so forth.
What is important in the book - and what makes it required reading for anyone who wants to grasp the youthful spirit of the time - is the author's highly personal chronicle of the rise and violent collapse of the New Left. Without false sentimentality, he re-creates the political odyssey of the radicals of his generation, as well as his own role in that odyssey.
The New Left from Inside by Not a Searching Account.......2004-10-04
The Sixties is a vivid account of a turbulent era by one of the leaders of the "New Left" who played an important role in the anti-war movement. The book's qualities and flaws both flow from the author's knowledge that Gitlen has of many pivotal events and personalities that give the bok its intimacy but also lead him to hold the leaders of the New Left less culpable for some of the negative aspects of the era than a writer with a broader perspective might. In general, Gitlin portrays much of the radicalism of the anti-war movement and the New Left as a loss of innocence rather than a dedicated plan to accomplish the goals of the Old Left - "participatory democracy" or radical egalitarianism drawn from Marx while distancing themselves from Stalinism and identification with the Soviet Union. Gitlin covers the origina of the New Left, the Civil Rights movement and the development of Black radicalism, the growth of the women's movement and the sexual revolution, the joining of the radical left and the counterculture and the collision of these elements with the "silent majority" of more conservative Americans that made the era so tumultuous.
Useful, but not to be regarded as an introductory text.......2004-08-24
In writings about the 1960s in the US, Gitlin offers the reader a rare combination of both the perspective of a major player in the New Left at that time, and as an astude political commentator in his own right. There are, however, deficiencies in regarding the text as a good academic history of the period, as other reviewers have noted.
My particular research, and reason for reading this book, relates to the demise of SDS, and in discussing this, Gitlin frequently talks in greater detail about personalities rather than abstract, but vital, political fact. Indeed, on several occasions the author goes as far as to declare his personal dislike for several of the Weatherman leaders on the grounds of their political differences. Certainly not the stuff of academic surveys.
Perhaps best taken and used as a well-written and historically precarious yet valuable biography, rather than as some kind of definitive text of the 60s. Contains full notes and index, but no bibliographic essay.
Gitlan sets the standard.......2004-05-17
In Gitlan's "Years of Hope, Days of Rage" Todd Gitlan set the standard for analysis of the Sixties and the Sixties Generation. His view, though from the perspective of an SDS leader, speaks to a much broader audience, and generates the first book of its kind on the movement era generation.
A seminal work of classic dimenstions, Gitlan captures the essance and essentials of what it meant to grow up in the Sixites. The life and times, the fever and excitement. He does himself a disservice though in not broadening the discussion to race relations which engineered the velocity of the movement and determined its cutting edge.
Timothy Fitzgerald
Average customer rating:
- The Life of the crazed assassin Tsafendas.
- sad, but true
- a book that hurts
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The Assassin: A Story of Race and Rage in the Land of Apartheid
Henk Van Woerden , and
Dan Jacobson
Manufacturer: Metropolitan Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0805066314 |
Book Description
The untold and heartbreaking account of the man who killed South Africa's architect of apartheid, one of the most dramatic political assassinations in modern history.
If ever one individual could be said to have embodied the tragedy of apartheid, Dimitri Tsafas would be that man. At a time when color was all, Tsafas, bastard son of a Greek father and an African mother, was untouchable -- too black for the whites and too white for the blacks. Stateless, homeless, and loveless, on September 6, 1966, he entered South Africa's Parliament and stabbed Prime Minister Hrik Verwoerd four times with a long knife, killing the architect of apartheid, the architect of Tsafas's misery.
Now, in a masterful restoration, Henk Van Woerden re-creates the assassin's cursed life and the impossibly torn society that created him. Unwanted by black or white family, denied the right to settle wherever he turns, Tsafas drifts from sea to prison, from kitchen hand to street vor, from Mozambique to Greece and Canada, and back to South Africa. With sensitivity and passion, Van Woerden traces the inexorable road that leads to Verwoerd's death, and reveals that the assassination -- a resounding blow in the war against apartheid -- was not the random act of a crazed individual, but perhaps the only choice left in a country itself gone mad. Powerful, tragic, and compelling, The Assassin is both a devastating indictment of oppression and a cautionary tale of the explosive power of racial hatred everywhere.
Customer Reviews:
The Life of the crazed assassin Tsafendas........2005-03-25
The killing of Prime Minister Verwoerd of South Africa in 1966 was considered a blow against white supremacy. In fact, it was the work of a crazed assassin who was acting on his own notions.
The assassin Tsafendas was a half breed of Greek/black descent who was torn apart between both races. His illegimacy was also a source of tension in his life. Both factors contributed to stress on his mind and the result was the killing of the Prime Minister of South Africa.
This was a little known event in the rest of the world but traumatic in South Africa. Tsafendas by thrusting his knife into Verwoerd demonstrated his hatred of a system that hurt him.
Tsafendas was a lunatic, but his action showed the resistance of some to white supremacy. The book is a short but good read about a little known event.
sad, but true.......2001-11-27
Demetrios Tsafendas' life was one of rejection, depression, yearning, and mental illness. Try as he might, he could not fit in. Nor could he get acceptance for his bi-racial heritage. The author, Henk Van Woerden, writes a succinct biography of the man who murdered Hendrik Verwoerd, the "architect of apartheid". He peppers his story with his own perceptions of the South African policies that destroyed communities in order to segregate the races. South Africa's policies, however, of separating the black and white races (among other races and ethnicities), left those of mixed heritage with nowhere to go - not accepted by either race. Tsafendas lived in this nowhere land.
a book that hurts.......2001-09-03
A really beautiful book that makes you feel sorry for the assassin and for the country of South Africa.
Henk van Woerden describes the life of Demitrios Tsafendas who killed the South-Afrcan prime minister Verwoerd in 1966. Demitrios was born in Mozambique from a Greek father and a black mother, a fact that haunted him for the rest of his life: there was no place where people really accepted him en his existence was a series of deportations (Mocambique, South Afrika, USA, Greece, Portugal) and rejections (by his father, his stepmother, his stepbrothers and -sisters and a potential wife. No wonder that this would make a human crazy. In the end he destroys the roots of evil by killing the face of apartheid.
In between all this we can read the writers own experiences during a number of visits (1989-1998) to South Africa, the country where he lived from age 9 to 21. There is no reason to celebrate: a torn country full of violence.
Average customer rating:
- great book
- Ryan's Review
- WOLF STALKER
- An outstanding mystery for young readers!
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Rage Of Fire (Mysteries in Our National Park)
Gloria Skurzynski , and
Alane Ferguson
Manufacturer: National Geographic Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0792276531
Release Date: 2001-11-01 |
Book Description
Vacationing in Hawaii, 12-year-old Jack and his almost 11-year-old sister Ashley snorkel and discover the island's wildlife. Then they are swept up in a mystery with Danny, a young boy from Vietnam, who offers to take them exploring.
While climbing Devastation Trail on the Kilauea Iki crater, they are chased by a mysterious woman in red with long black hair who shouts at them in Hawaiian. Is she Pele, come to exact her revenge because the kids ate ohelo berries without offering one to her first? Ashley is convinced that the woman is Pele, but Jack isn't so sure, and Danny isn't talking. If she's not Pele, however, why did she chase them and how did she disappear into the lava cave?
This fast-paced novel combines science, suspense, youthful camaraderie, Hawaiian history and culture, and breathtaking descriptions of the island's natural landscapes and lava flows—a unique combination certain to capture youthful imaginations. A map that will help young readers picture the volcanoes at Hawaiian National Park is included.
Customer Reviews:
great book.......2006-12-07
This was a great book for all readers.It had suspense,humor,and lotz of adventure.I think it was a great book all around!
Ryan's Review.......2006-10-18
I thought Rage of Fire was good but it was not as the other book in the series because it wasn't as the thrilling and suspenseful.
Jack and Ashley and their parents are going to Hawaii for vacation. A day later they get a call that they have to pick up a boy named Danny Tran and bring him back to Wyoming with them to live with his grandfather because he can't live with his great grand parents any more.
Then they go to Volcano National Park and Danny takes them on a trail while their father goes and takes pictures. They find themselves being chased by a lady in a red dress. Ashley and Danny thinks its Pele the fire goddess but Jack thinks that is crazy or could it be?
I recommend this book to a 8-13 year old or a person who likes mystery books.
WOLF STALKER.......2001-11-20
I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT WAS FAST PACED AND BECAUSE IT HAD A LOT OF INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT WILDLIFE.
An outstanding mystery for young readers!.......1999-04-20
I think this book was great becsue of its unique plot. I have never read anything like it. All readers should read this book. Although the beggining started out a little slow, the end was full of suspense. I thank the authors for writing such a wonderful book.
Amazon.com
Eamon Collins never pulled a trigger for the Irish Republican Army. But he helped organize several hits--some "successful," others not. Upon joining the IRA, he was warned that "in all probability, [he] would end up on the run, in prison, or dead." Collins would end up all three: after a bombing attack--in which he had played no part--he was arrested, and after five days of punishing interrogation, agreed to turn informer. Changes of heart eventually led him to recant his confessions, and he was sent to prison. Upon his release, the IRA forced him into exile "outside the war zone." As time passed, he returned to his family home and tried to move on. In 1995 Collins appeared on British television to tell the story of his life in the IRA.
Killing Rage presents his story in fuller detail, allowing Collins to try to explain "why a segment of people within the Catholic population believed that the best way to redress their grievances was through violence." Collins also painted an unsavory portrait of the IRA--while showing their Protestant counterparts in an equally unflattering light.
In his introduction, Collins admits he is sorry about the deaths he caused:
But my sorrow is not enough.... By exposing myself to the anger of my former comrades and the families of my victims, I wanted to show that I had thought long and hard about what had happened and that it is possible to become a different person--as we all have to become different people if we are to live together in Northern Ireland without political violence.
Killing Rage, however, clearly reopened old wounds. Collins was found murdered on January 28, 1999. --Sunny Delaney
Customer Reviews:
"The Troubles" -- A View From the Inside.......2007-03-15
Book Review:
"KILLING RAGE" By Eamon Collins
Reviewed By Ralph Couey
"Killing Rage" vividly recounts the compelling personal journey of Eamon Collins through the violent morass of Northern Ireland politics; the evolution from committed Republican, to terrorist, to an activist for peace.
For most Americans, the dominant impression of the war in Northern Ireland would be a confused mélange of news video images, reports of exploded bombs, and dead women and children. With little exception, the violent tactics of the Irish Republican Army have met with universal condemnation. Even a basic understanding of the roots of the conflict and the reasons for its perpetuation would prove quite beyond the ability of most to recount. For the first time, however, the words and passion of Eamon Collins provide an honest, if chilling account of his involvement in the conflict as a member in various capacities of the Provisional Wing of the Irish Republican Army between 1978 and 1987.
The book opens abruptly and brutally with a detailed description of Collins' first operation in December 1978, the killing of Major Ivan Toombs of the Ulster Defense Regiment (UDR). As Collins works to gather intelligence on his target he takes us through the process of dealing with a very human conflict:
"For me, the more I found out about him, the more admirable I found him. I liked him and felt that in other circumstances we might have been friends." (Page 20)
"...to strike at Toombs was to strike at an ancient colonial system of elites. Killing Toombs would also be a symbol of our dogged resistance to inequality and injustice..." (Page 23)
"He was an idea, a force, not a person with a face. He had no humanity for me." (Page 17)
This apparent moral conflict occurs repeatedly throughout the book in Collins' continual debates with himself over the effectiveness of political violence. Collins also spends some time discussing the roots of the Irish conflict, which began as a growing dislike between the Protestant majority and his Catholic minority, which he characterizes as "... (The) Catholic underclass, marginalized, on the periphery of society, jobless, poorly educated, powerless and voiceless." (Page 12) Students of the American Civil Rights Movement might recognize some clear parallels between life as a Catholic in Northern Ireland and life as an African-American in this country. Indeed, Collins recounts several incidents during both his and his parent's childhood of acts of discrimination and outright violence committed against Catholics by Protestant civilians, police, and military. As might be expected, this violence went largely unpunished. It was out of this atmosphere of hate that the Republican movement gained strength. Over time, however, it changed from just a civil rights movement to "...a very ultra-left kind of Marxism." Collins continues,
"I believed that the IRA could be turned into an organization which could take on the capitalist state and the agents of that state... I saw the struggle in internationalist terms: I believed Irish republicans should forge links with their brothers and sisters in Lebanon, in Germany, Italy, or Palestine, to help overthrow the forces who were retrenching capitalism in all the western democracies." (Page 12)
Much of the book contains accounts of various IRA operations in which Collins was involved. While he still remained a committed soldier, he nevertheless began to see things that in his mind tarnished the image of the IRA warrior. He describes the killing of a man named Norman Hanna in January 1982 who had been wrongly identified as a member of the Ulster Defense Reserve by an IRA hit man who Collins had recruited. His remorse for this wrongful death is clear:
"That night for the first time, I could not be reassured by any grand or angry political scheme. Where were we going? Where was I going? I had never felt so empty. I remember touching my wife, kissing her hair and crying silently. I was crying for Hanna, perhaps for his wife and child, but also mostly for myself, for what I had become." (Page 117)
Later on, Collins rationalizes the killing by recalling the thousands of Catholics who had died in the cause. He spends the subsequent 18 months struggling to suppress his compassion. Over time, he notes, "Each subsequent death mattered less to me than the previous one." (Page 120) However, from this point Collins began to realize the abject amorality and violent banality of those with whom he was associated. His vision of helping to bring an end to injustice included participation by committed patriots. The reality was his involvement with men of violence, not political passion; in effect, stone killers. In September of 1983, he begins to have his first serious doubts:
"...I began to ask myself not only whether I personally should continue to be a member of the IRA, but also whether the armed struggle itself was worth continuing. If all we had to offer was bumbling thuggishness, and if we could only attract the naive or the brutal, how could we appeal to the mass of Irish people in the late twentieth century?" (Page 176)
During this time, near the end of 1984, Collins had a brutal confrontation with Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Fein, the fallout of which would shadow him the remainder of his time in the IRA. Collins saw Sinn Fein as leaving behind the constitutional nationalism that had fueled the Republican movement in favor of coalition-driven parliamentarianism. This was being done by the IRA in Belfast where "...the republican movement's power was becoming concentrated among aspiring politicians who were stealthily moving towards a political compromise and abandonment of the armed struggle." (Page 235) The result was a power struggle within the IRA. The combination of the loss of commitment from the Belfast IRA, the mere 13 per cent vote for Sinn Fein in the Irish elections, and his own disillusionment brought Collins to a penultimate moment of decision.
"It (the IRA) had not lost the war, but nor could it win an outright victory. So, the IRA's struggle had become pointless. We had no right to take offensive action, and the Irish people had told the IRA in the recent elections that they had no mandate to continue the war in their name. In the last quarter of 1984, I was finished as an IRA man. I began to think that the republican movement's shift towards political compromise was based on a more perceptive appraisal of reality..." (Pages 242-243)
It is perhaps part of human nature that, when faced with perceived injustice, the spirit cries out for action. Certainly, this was the case with Eamon Collins. At an early age, he learned at his mother's knee the terrible cruelties inflicted on Catholics by the Protestants and the British government. He recalls, "My mother instilled in me the grievances of the vanquished." (Page 36) Objectively, any observer when faced with the reality of Irish history would be hard-put not to find sympathy with the republican cause. One can even understand that the active failure of the law to define justice will inevitably lead to violence by the oppressed. Culturally, Americans are intimate with this concept. The overriding question, which lies between every paragraph in this book, is how much violence does it take to change things, and at what point does one admit when its usefulness is at an end?
The story of the Provisional IRA, as recounted by Collins, should be an object lesson for revolutionaries. While the initial motives for the war were pure (lifting the oppression of Catholics), over time the IRA seemed to fall in love with the act of violence itself while forgetting the reasons for it. Collins talks at length about this love of violence, even among those he recruited. This is evident in their discussions, which covered tactical matters but very little about their political motivations. In the end, it became violence for violence's sake.
It is also important to note, again, the shift in ideology by the IRA. The Republican movement and the original Irish Republican Army grew out of the efforts of Catholics to protect their own from the violent depredations of Protestants, in short, to protect the Church. In the 1970's the Provisional Wing of the IRA, or Provos, adopted a Marxist ideology. Marxism repudiates religion. Since from this point, the struggle became more about political ideology than about protecting Catholicism it's fair to say that the original purpose for violent resistance became largely irrelevant, although still a source for powerful rhetoric. Marches and protests were more aimed at making martyrs out of IRA men killed by the opposition, than about equal rights for Catholics. Indeed, the confrontation between Collins and Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams occurred during a march honoring the death of a young IRA volunteer. Adams took actions to ensure that the protest remained peaceful. Collins, on the other hand, was convinced that forcing a violent confrontation would bring worldwide attention to their plight (Pages 223-224). The confrontation ended with Collins hurling a brutal, ferocious, and very public insult at Adams. Yet even with his strong passions, he was still able to look at the situation with a fair degree of pragmatism:
"Why was Adams trying to defuse situations which offered such potential? His behavior only made sense if the war was over. I think that it was at this funeral that I realized, with depressing clarity that the war was over. Adams was behaving in this way because he knew that this was true; he could see that there was no point in inflicting too much more unnecessary suffering on the people. Life, any life, was better than this, and yet we were continuing to embrace death recklessly. The war was over; the only problem was that no one could call it off." (Page 225) )
For anyone who lives and dies by the sword, the hardest act is to finally lay down that sword. I believe this was the struggle the Provos faced. To such people, compromise comes hard and the admission that the time for compromise (a revolutionary's admission of defeat) is at hand must be extraordinarily difficult. For the defeat of a populist revolution is not only a military defeat, but also calls into question the entire ideological foundation for the movement itself. Some may have seen the recent peace of Northern Ireland as a victory for the IRA. From the perspective of Eamon Collins it was a stunning defeat for the Provos. The peace, as he viewed it, was reached as a result of Gerry Adams moving Sinn Fein away from violent nationalism to peaceful parliamentarianism. It was helped along by the apparent repudiation of the IRA's violence by the voting public. And it was made real by the recognition the war was, in fact, over, and the Provos had lost.
Ironically, it was shortly after his conscious breaking with the IRA that Collins was arrested for his suspected involvement in the bombing of a Newry police station, which killed 9 police officers. His subsequent interrogation and confession (later retracted), imprisonment, trial, acquittal, and abandonment by the IRA left Eamon Collins adrift in the never-never land between two violent antagonists, trusted by none, hated by all.
After his release from prison, Collins barely survived the explosion of a bomb planted in his car. Although the IRA never claimed responsibility for the attack, the man who planted the explosive was known to Collins. He had recruited the man.
The IRA forced him into exile in July 1987, taking him away from his wife and children. Nevertheless, Collins turned to more peaceful pursuits, working through the Church with troubled youths in several cities in Northern Ireland while pursuing his education. As part of a research project, he sought out one of Republicanism's most hated enemies, Gusty Spence of the Ulster Volunteer Force.
"I felt an overpowering sense of nausea. For an instant I could only see before me a deadly enemy of my people. Suddenly, I was filled with a killing rage, all the old anger coming back. I felt I ought to have been moving towards him holding a revolver, firing bullet after bullet into his body, instead of standing there waiting to be ushered into his presence. But the feeling passed and my rage subsided. I knew that murder was the logical outcome of that rage, and murder would not solve anything. In that moment, I realized how far I had traveled in my life. At times, he spoke with violence and aggression; and I could detect that same rage that had just overtaken me. I realized that he had not moved that far forward in his thinking since 1966, but he had moved, and I had moved, and that was important." (Pages 368-369)
Herein lies the essential ingredient for the end of a civil conflict: Two influential people willing to move away from anger and violence. The future of Northern Ireland hangs on the willingness of such people to put the past permanently behind and concentrate on the future. The last sentence of the book expresses the wish of Eamon Collins:
"The anger and hatred this place has seen may in time be forgotten, if not forgiven. I do not want much else more." (Page 371)
Tragically, this shift in the direction of his life did not protect the former IRA Man. Eamon Collins was found murdered near his home on the early morning of January 28, 1999. Although it is widely understood that this was the act of the IRA, the murder remains officially unsolved to this day. Only time will tell if his sacrifice was made in vain.
Killing Rage
By Eamon Collins
1999 by Granta Books, New York, NY
ISBN 1-86207-047-4
Shows the inner-workings of one of the world's most violent and efficient killing machines.......2006-06-22
This is a very good and thought provoking book, which shows to some degree, the inner workings of what is arguably the most ruthless, violent, and skilled Paramilitary/Terrorist organization's in the world.
The book is written by a former member of the IRA's elite "Internal Securities Division", which was responsible for the assassination of 70% of British Army, MI6/MI5 and Police informers, within the IRA's ranks, over the past 30 years.
The book shows hoe IRA operations were planned with military precision, and executed with utter ruthlessness. It shows the shadow war between British intelligence and the IRA's "counter-intelligence' units, and how both were evenly matched. It shows the ruthless assassination program which the IRA used to devastate UDA and UVF units throughout the 80's and 90's, and it shows hoe the IRA was able to employ both extreme violence, and political savy, to force the British government to negotiate with a hated enemy. But what the book is really about, is the enormous mental and physical toll this life of violence and dnager had on the author. In fact, shrotly after writing this book, the author Eamon Collins was abducted, tortured and murdered by vengeful IRA colleagues, who believed this book exposed to many IRA secrets. It is a sad ending for a man who was trying to atone for his past, by helping others undertand how pointless violence can be.
Frank account of an ordinary man's conversion to terrorist and back.......2006-05-25
This is a well written and dispassionate account of Collins' growing up in a moderate Irish Nationalist family and his reaction to the injustices he saw all around. He portrays the hypocrisy of the IRA and well as UK/NI forces and outlines his regret at his actions.
A sad Irish story.......2005-11-09
Killing Rage is a personal look into the methods and motivations of an IRA soldier during the height of the modern conflict in Northern Ireland. Eamon Collins at times shows excitement, satisfaction, and cold, heartless devotion to the cause of killing his enemy. But he also shows remorse, especially towards the end of the book. The story reveals how internal conflict within the units can be as much a detriment as the actual enemy. The book is an easy read, and is a unique look inside the modern IRA during its most active period. See also: Belfast Diary. Highly reccomended.
KILLING RAGE.......2005-10-18
KILLING RAGE, by Eamon Collins quickly becomes one of those rare books you can't put down! No matter how slowly you may read, you won't quit until the last page is turned.
Collins takes the reader far away from the safety of home hearth, and drops him/her into the vicious jaws of the IRA and then, deeper into the dark abyss of his own tortured guilt-ridden soul.
Throughout the book, the author insistently tries to convince himself (and the reader), that the decisions he chose to make were correct. Despite his confessed acts of criminality, conspiracy to murder, terrorism, and deceit, he makes a good and..."Almost" convincing defense for his actions and misguided devotions.
Collins gives the reader the most unique and realistic peek into the political and religious imbroglios of Ireland, than any other author I have ever read. His writing and descriptions of events will chill your blood and raise the hair on your neck more than any Banshee ever could!
A superb book...a gargantuan human tragedy!
Book Description
For a generation, Muslim extremists have targeted Americans in an escalation of terror that culminated in the September 11 attacks. Our shared confusion -- Who are the attackers? Why are we targets? -- is cleared away in a book as dramatic as it is authoritative.
Updated with new chapters on Afghanistan and the the broader Islamic movement, Sacred Rage combines Robin Wright's extraordinary reportage on the Islamic world with an historian's grasp of context to explain the roots, the motives, and the goals of the Islamic resurgence. Wright talked to terrorists, militant religious leaders, and fighters from Beirut to Islamabad and Kabul. Their voices of rage reverberate here -- right up to the attacks in New York and Washington.
Across continents extends a challenge we fail to understand at our peril. Sacred Rage now casts light on the war being fought in the shadows.
Customer Reviews:
Very interesting.......2007-09-03
A well written book, full of information! Another must read for anyone serious about understanding terrorism.
Updated material strengthens Sacred Rage.......2003-05-08
Middle Eastern terrorism almost became white noise after hostage taking, embassy bombings, hijackings, and other violent acts lost their novelty. That changed, of course, when the volume was cranked way up on September 11, 2001.
There were those who anticipated the crescendo long before it sounded. Los Angeles Times correspondent Robin Wright covered the Iranian revolution, the attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut, and other regional violence and issues in the Eighties. She eloquently documented these events and their larger meaning in her seminal work, Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam, in 1985. Yet in attention span-challenged United States--even among those who read Sacred Rage--the spectacular attacks 16 years later still seemed to come as a complete shock.
Many books on Islamism were updated after September 11. The revised editions often consisted of rehashed material with new introductions and a few topical chapters tacked onto the end.
This is not the case with the trade paperback version of Sacred Rage. In fact, a very good book has achieved near greatness. Author Robin Wright's groundbreaking exploration of the rise and spread of Islamic fundamentalism does more than give tremendous context to what happened years later in Washington and New York. In a sense, the diverse material now coalesces as Wright explores the recent trend towards democracy among the same militants whose terror she covered in the Eighties. The recent edition even offers plausible solutions to conflicts between the West and the Middle East; glimmers of hope even manage to appear now and again, which should be counterintuitive.
The new chapters that involve Osama bin Laden and his view of the future are striking and fit in naturally with the other material. Wright contrasts al-Qaeda's reactionary attempts to turn the clock back to 700 with the yearning among many Iranians and Lebanese for true democracy. This different world view is, to a large degree, the product of the repression of the Shia. This suffering helped give birth to the rage and wrath Wright chronicles, and in an ironic twist the author seems to think these Muslims might be the ones to embrace a democratic and pluralistic Middle East.
There are a few problems with the new version. Wright defines the terms "fundamentalism" and "Islamist" differently from some other authors. She uses the former in an almost negative sense, and the latter favorably. Of greater concern, Wright doesn't adequately explain why an Islamist Lebanon would be so radically different from the Sudan or Saudi Arabia. Also, her comparisons between America's Religious Right and Islamic fundamentalists are way over the top in 2003.
These are only minor gripes, though. Sacred Rage is more relevant today than it was when first published. Also, Wright has softened her near-apologies for the more extreme behavior she documented. This version sheds light on the struggle between those Muslims who want both democracy and Islam, and those who only want theocracy. That struggle inevitably involves the United States and the West. Sacred Rage suggests the West's interaction with the Muslim world can be constructive. This is preferable to the suggestion of an inevitable clash of civilizations. That gloom and doom scenario usually is offered by those whose knowledge of the region pales in comparison with others who always heard the background noise of potential violence and reported it years before the first plane slammed into the World Trade Center.
Informative, leaves the judgment to the analyst.......2002-12-29
At first glance, I figured that this would be just some anti-Islamic ranting by some silly Western infidel. (What would you expect with such a title and cover photo?) Frankly, I was surprised and impressed with what I read.
The tone seemed very inviting to me, and probably to all others interested. Page by page, Robin puts forth great detail with seemingly no pressure to please any point of view.
However, she did maybe commit an overkill on the "fundamentalist extremist militant fanatic" vocabulary. But still, her tone forces the reader to accept the terms literally, and not with the hate-filled spirit as seen in other publications.
I recommend those interested in the topic to check this one out.
God bless, and strive for peace and justice.
Easy read , informative.......2002-12-14
In todays geo-political climate , its hard to get balanced views on an issue that has touched us all deeply in the past year . Passions run high and impassioned and reactionary responses from many quarters make the subject matter difficult to dissect , let alone understand and digest .
While written in the 80's and covering mainly events occuring from the birth of Islam to the 80's , I think the book is still very much applicable in the present day context . It will shed light on why we are seeing a virtual groundswell of antagonism toward the West and all things Western from our Middle east bretheren . Additional chapters on recent events were also helpful in updating the information up to present day .
You never get the feeling that the author has taken sides but this in no way translates into an academic lack of passion she feels for her subject . The book basically approaches the subject matter from the standpoint of trying to understand the roots of this groundswell but leaves the reader with ample room to formulate their own conclusions .
For the armchair political scientist interested in current affairs .
Recent History.......2002-08-26
Sacred Rage covers mostly recent history in the Middle east, from the 1980s forward. But this is the time period of the rise of militant Islam which this book seeks to address. It covers most of the Islamic countries, their leaders and their dissidents.
The book talks of the many terrorists attacks and their reasons, the perpetrators and the affects. Has the U.S. position in the Middle East hurt our standing? What has our military done in the Middle East in the last 20 years? How did the U.S. Governments miscalculations hurt us in Islamic eyes? What has Iran's role in world terrorism been? What are the differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims? Why do the Middle Eastern countries and people hate the west so much? For some insights and answers to these and many more questions, read this book.
This book goes a long way to explaining the many questions just asked. It explores the sometimes strained relations among the countries of the Middle East with each other. How do Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia get along? This book is insightful and provocative. I recommend it as a start to understanding what has been happening in our world in the last quarter of a century.
This book is a good starting place.
Book Description
A careful look at the history of Christian and Islamic conflict and its impact on the world and Christianity, today and in the future.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Summation.......2007-01-04
For such an emotional topic, this writer does an amazing job of breaking down history in a way that so clearly explains where we are today. Although written by a Christian author, I do not think anyone would find this writer to have used facts to support a preconceived storyline. I am the youngest (45) in our Sunday School class. Most are in their 60's. The only thing we found difficult was the level of depth of some of the history and referring back and forth from present time to history frequently. Otherwise, 15 out of 15 thought this was a very eye opening study - many did not know that the Quran even shares the story of Noah!
An interesting point of view.......2004-12-27
The author is British, and I admit that I can empathize with someone writing a book in a home on the outskirts of Cambridge. He's a Christian, and he starts by trying to explain the significance of the Crusades. He admits that the Crusaders were brutal and the Crusades were counterproductive. But why would a few Crusades, several hundred years ago, account for so much Islamic rage against the West today? Catherwood explains that they don't. Instead, he says the answer lies in Western colonization in the past century or so.
As a Pagan, I find the transition of Christianity from a popular religion to a State religion a great tragedy. Once having the power of a state, Christianity was able to field armies to annihilate Pagans. But Catherwood has a different perspective. He points out that before Christianity was a state religion, it spread like wildfire. Once it was a state religion, serious evangelism beyond Europe's borders pretty much stopped for a thousand years. To put it mildly, I had never thought of it that way before.
The author gives a good summary of Islam. He encourages us to realize that Muslims have a wide variety of beliefs and attitudes. And he warns us not to look only at the extremists (or, as he admits that Karen Armstrong does, look only at the most moderate Muslims). Catherwood then gets to political Islam. Here, he points out that many Islamic leaders have no national responsibilities. That can make them more reckless.
Still, the author has to come to terms with what political Islam has been doing. And here, he runs into a problem. While terrorist attacks are surely evil, just where can he draw the line? After all, as a Christian, he sees non-Christians as wrong, in some non-trivial sense of the word. I think this makes his case weaker when he faults extremist Muslims for attacking Western values, or for accepting arbitrary propaganda, or simply for demanding to be treated as special and demanding that non-Muslims be dhimmis.
It's an interesting book, and I enjoyed reading it.
Take What is Valuable, Leave the Rest..........2004-05-08
Catherwood has hit the mark with this book. This is the most succinct and balanced survey of Islam and Christianity that I have found. He shows how our world today is simply a continuation of a conflict that began over 1400 years. Catherwood writes for the layman, and his delivery is compassionate, balanced, and fair. He points out the mistakes of Christianity and Islam both with honesty. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand better the historical roots of what is happening today. There are no simple answers, but Catherwood does help us understand 'why they hate us.' (Much of this is rooted in the decline of Islamic culture, the ascendency of the West, and WHO is perceived as responsible for this situation...)
As a non-practicing Christian, I, like some other reviewers, felt uncomfortable with some of Catherwood's conclusions which stem from his intense Christian beliefs, e.g. Islam is a false religion, and the ultimate solution is bringing the gospel to Muslims. My reactions stem from my American heritage where all Evangelical Christians seem to be right-wing republicans who scare me. Catherwood helps me realize that, unlike the polarized USA environment, Evangelical Christians can be from many different political persuasions in England, his home. Catherwood labels his personal beliefs for what they are, and they in no way diminish his scholarly analysis of the problem we must live with. While I may not share his religious views, I admire his gentle confidence which stems from them. My mind is not so closed as to wonder if perhaps he has something to offer in this area as well.
In total, I recommend you take what is valuable (and there is very much in this book) and leave the rest.
Balanced two sided genius.......2004-04-20
This book is balanced, two sided, genius. It is simply the best book that there is on Islam from a careful and considered Christian point of view - and it takes someone religious to understand other religions. I have bought over 100 copies of this book and I don't think anyone I sold it to has any regrets! It is perfect reading for book groups and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Simply outstanding.......2004-04-20
This book is simply outstanding. Don't just buy 6 copies to study with your friends but 60.
Customer Reviews:
THE SECRET HISTORY OF ALCOHOLISM,FAMOUS ALCOHOLICS.......2002-08-23
I just left my alcoholic husband after 6 years. I sought out and
read many books on the subject to try and understand the alcoholic's behavior. This book was by far superior to any other
in describing the alcoholic's Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde personality.
My family & friends could not believe it when I told them about
how I was treated and the emotional abuse I endured.My husband
was an accomplished "con artist", knew when to lay on the charm.
As I was reading this book, I swore the author knew my husband.
It was him to a tee. I felt validated, it wasn't me that was
crazy after all. I never realized how an alcoholic can destroy
not only his or her own life, but those closest to them as well.
Extremely helpful for those involved with an alcoholic.......2000-11-28
Anyone who has been romantically involved with an alcoholic or has an alcoholic family member owes it to themselves to read this book. While Graham focuses on famous despots, tyrants, and celebrities, the same attributes are in some degree present in your basic everyday non-famous alcoholic friend, neighbor or lover. If you love an alcoholic you must understand this. Graham points out the dangerous combination of the alcoholics charm, deception, denial and obsession with looking functional and the tendency to underdiagnose the disease. This underdiagnosis, as Graham points out, is partly due to a bias of society resulting from the ability of most people to drink alcohol without becoming an alcoholic as well as not understanding the differences between highly functional early and middle stage alcoholics and late stage lushes and winos. After reading this book I could understand what the relationsip and marriage counselors were saying about the dangers of loving an alcoholic. Alcoholics are experts at deception and manipulation, they have shallow or stunted emotional growth, they are unable to express themselves honestly and directly, and they can tell you they love you while not caring about you at all. Although they may not become a famous writer, actor, senator or spy, they will become a highly successful con artist and if you are unaware of these traits, you could easily become their victim.
A Major Clue to Identifying the Early Stage Alcohol Addict.......2000-09-23
This is a phenomenally interesting work. James Graham describes the role of ego inflation in explaining behaviors in the alcoholic, something that nobody else had done before. This is extremely important, because it provides what is sometimes the only clue to alcohol addiction in the early stages of the disease-a massively inflated ego. This often results in extraordinary over achievement, even while the personal life is a shambles.
Combined with Milam and Ketcham's essential work, "Under the Influence," ego-inflation explains how the early-stage addict is often so "functional" and yet, so destructive of others. Brain poisoning occurs immediately in many cases, resulting in this other-destruction. Yet, the toll on the body can take decades, making alcoholism at this stage almost invisible to the casual observer. Most think of addicts on the street, or the obvious, stumbling drunk. This is not when they are most dangerous. Their behaviors are frequently far worse when they can build up to a .20 per cent blood alcohol level without visible signs of inebriation. While Milam and Ketcham describe the biology behind this, Graham looks at the resulting behaviors, explaining much of the troubles in people's personal and professional lives, current events and even world history.
Graham's work is one of the great, unheralded books on addiction. Highly recommended.
An unsympathetic history of alcoholism.......2000-07-04
While I don't expect any history book to heap praise on alcoholics, this book goes overboard in heaping hatred and contempt on them. I generally expect a history book to be written in a disinterested voice, this is not so unbiased. If you are concerned about your own drinking, the information here may convince you to quit. A word of caution, though...if you ever considered youself as having an alcohol problem, the author will try to convince you that abstaining will only PROVE that you are an alcoholic. In order NOT to be an alcoholic, you MUST drink some, but not too much. That, to me, is like telling a cigarette smoker that he/she cannot quit altogether, because that would make you a smoker(!).
Entertaining, but don't read it as gospel.
Alcoholism as disease, creating abusers and their victims........1998-08-24
Through well-known lives in politics and art, Graham demontrates alcoholism is a disease creating disaster for both abusers and victims. He fairly convincingly paints alcoholism not as a symptom but a cause of physical and psychic pain. Graham intimates but does not state the obvious collarary that the patient is morally obligated to seek help. Great work for a layman but I wish he had consulted/cowritten with a psychiatrist.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent follow-up to BSR!.......2007-02-16
When Worlds Rage, D. Shane Burton's second book in the Orianus Creation Series was an outstanding second novel for the author. The originality and action from the first novel remained strongly intact. In fact, this work offered even more suspense and action than the first. I found myself honestly intrigued as to how the characters would get themselves out of their latest predicament and then extremely happy that the outcome was nothing that I could've predicted. One of the reasons I love these books is because the author has managed to take a fictional world and make it completely believable.
I'd also like to point out, in a world of books with cookie-cutter characters and oh-so-predictable plot lines; I congratulate Mr. Burton for writing from his heart instead of conforming to current literary fads. This and the other books in the Orianus Creation Series offer characters and plots which require the reader to think, to use their imagination. I give this book a hearty WUGGA!
Disappointed in First Two Books.......2006-11-17
First, I wish to say that D. Shane Burton has a great imagination. Also, he has a very original premise about rifts in space allowing life from Earth to inhabit other worlds.
However, I was disappointed. The previous reviews gave the trilogy five stars. I didn't go any further than the second book because, in my opinion, they were not well written. The pace is fast and there is a lot of action, but the characters, which are many, are not fleshed in. That is, they are not well developed and have little depth. I couldn't really get to know them.
The books also incorporate characters or themes from Arthurian legend, J. R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis , the Bible, and Star Wars. There are flying saucers, robots, artifical intelligence, genetically altered humans, angels, demons, nephilim, medieval knights, wizards (including Merlin with Excalibur), Old Testament prophets, dwarves, elves, blue humans, humans like us, and so forth. I enjoy books with these types of things and characters, but in these books it's too much, too fast. It seems he has thrown together everything he loves into one epic.
Lastly, the books don't "lead" you to make certain conclusions concerning what is truthful or spiritual from a Christian viewpoint. From the Historical Background onward, Burton spells out his views on origins of life, church denominations, salvation, etc. People who are not like-minded as him would tend to be put on the defensive right away. I don't have a problem with sharing the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ, so please don't misunderstand me. But in other areas he could inject circumstances or ideas into the story-telling to either lead his readers to the desired conclusions or at least get their minds spinning in that direction, rather than telling them up front. So I find the books preachy.
I realize that these are Burton's first books and that they were published through Xulon Press, a self-publishing company. I applaud him for his effort. He has real potential to be a good writer-maybe even an outstanding writer-but he needs to take a few of his main characters and develop them so that his readers can "walk in their shoes".
Get Ready For A Wild Ride........2006-08-23
Ok folks, hold onto your hats as the occupants of Kerron's Memory might say, characters you will meet in this wonderful novel. The landscapes, worlds, and characters you met in Volume 1, Black Storm Rising, are greatly expanded upon in this second of the Orianus Creation Series. New civilizations are introduced and new friends and foes are woven into this facinating epic. Mr. Burton leads the reader down an ever changing path of intrigue, battles, surprising twist, and planetary conflicts. The story also is a balanced mix of Fantasy and SciFi, with just enough of each to keep fans of both categories happy. It was a most enjoyable and wild ride. Thanks Shane Burton. I can't wait to see what awaits in Volume 3.
Gripping tale with Jesus at its core.......2006-08-14
I thoroughly enjoyed "When Worlds Rage" which is Book Two in D. Shane Burton's Orianus Creation Series. I had enjoyed Book One ("Black Storm Rising") and wondered if book Two would be as good. It ended up being better.
The plot is well-woven, with each strand contributing to the beautiful whole. Battle scenes and tales of love are equally well-written, maintaining a balance that thrills this reader.
I rejoiced seeing the continuing stories of well-loved characters, while at the same time I was fascinated by meeting new characters along the way.
While the story is fiction, it clearly embraces the Truth embodied in Jesus Christ. I applaud D. Shane Burton for giving us this gripping tale with Jesus at its core.
Even better than the first one..........2005-11-08
If you liked the first book (Black Storm Rising), you'll also like this. If you haven't read it, I'd recommend reading it first. When Worlds Rage can be read for itself, but most of the characters are presented in the first book. (The appendix is a great help, refreshing the characters and words from the first book).
Although this is a sequel, it goes far beyond the story of Black Storm Rising, not only in the conflict portrayed, it's also much better. It's style is still much like the BSR, a good mix of sci-fi and fantasy, and a really good portrayal of the spiritual realm much unlike anything I have read before.
You thought Lord Daroth was a villain, but in WWR a people much older, more advanced is taking the role as the chief bad-guy-character. And, to say the least, it's getting quite interesting at some points. An old war is reinvoked, some supposed friends turn their backs on the truth and fight against the good guys, new allies are found and meanwhile, the characters also have their own personal problems to fight.
The author proffesionally jumps from place to place, making it flow naturally, although there are more main characters than in most other novels. This is in no way a bad thing, though, but it requires you to be awake when you read the first couple of chapters. It's a really nice touch, making the book different from other ones.
I'm anxiously awaiting the mailman to bring me #3...
PS: In these times where everyone gives 5 stars for everything, and 4 has become a mediocre rating, it is hard to know when a book is *really* good. This one is. :)
Books:
- The Widow's Son Volume 2 (The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles)
- The Winter King (The Arthur Books #1)
- The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
- Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison?
- Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
- Winter of the Wolf Moon: A Mystery (An Alex McKnight Novel)
- Wolf's Blood (Wolf)
- 101 Cataclysms: For the Love of Cats
- 15 Books in 1: L. Frank Baum's Original "Oz" Series. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The Road to Oz, The Emerald City of Oz, The Patchwork Girl Of Oz, Little Wizard Stories of Oz, Tik-Tok of Oz, The Scarecrow Of Oz, Rinkitink In Oz, The Lost Princess Of Oz, The Tin Woodman Of Oz, The Magic of Oz, and Glinda Of Oz.
- 30 Years a Watchtower Slave: The Confessions of a Converted Jehovahs Witness
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