Book Description
This commonsense guide lets you develop your brand with the same techniques and technologies as the big players—but without all the cost. You’ll learn to master the same three-step plan the big advertisers use and discover the secret to brand continuity from product to product. This valuable resource will help you connect your products with your customers, no matter how small your brand.
Customer Reviews:
Marketing 101 from your crazy uncle.......2007-09-22
Mack has some very interesting and relevant content in this book, but wasn't too impressed overall. I felt like an experienced, drunk uncle was talking to me about marketing while reading this book. I think Mack would agree that that the ideas in the book aren't new or revolutionary, but I think he does a good job of condensing marketing to a few points. Since this book is primarily for small business owners, that's a good thing. I'd like the book more if he had stayed away from the rum.
Plenty of useful brain food.......2007-05-21
Ben Mack has taken the concept of branding and made it accessible to even small business owners. He demystifies just what branding is (hint: it's not just about the logo), and takes it from being a dirty word to something useful. Rather than placing it at the polar opposite of direct marketing, he instead shows that it can be used by those who also use DM advertising, and that you don't necessarily have to be limited to one or the other.
Mack shows the value of the brand--what your company stands for, what it offers--and most importantly, the relationship with the customer. He outlines the various stages the customer goes through, from initial contact with your product, through interest and consideration, all the way to purchase--and beyond. He then gives further advice on improving your brand, mixed with anecdotes from his own experience, as well as that of others.
What I got mostly out of this book was a series of exercises and thought processes that helped me to really think about how I and the small businesses I am a part of/owner of are presented to the public, and what that entails. People often take that for granted, especially once you start hitting microbusinesses--but the concepts are useful regardless.
Unless you're working in corporate marketing, you probably won't have a use for everything in this book. But take from it what you can get. Mack's writing style is excellent and he explains concepts with clarity, humor, and occasional subcultural references (RAW, anyone?).
Think Two Products Ahead.......2007-05-06
I have so much interest in read this book for comments. Unfortunate Amazon don't delivery my purchase until today (50 days after).
It will make you rethink how you market everything.......2007-05-01
Think Two Products is an excellent book that will have you not only rethinking how you brand your products, but will even get you to reconsider how you brand and market yourself. I found this book to be informative, intriguing and highly useful for getting me to really think carefully about how I market and promote my products. The exercises were especially helpful for demonstrating the practice behind the theory.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who runs a business, big or small, because you really will be thinking two products ahead by the end of reading it!
You have a brand whether you think you do or not..........2007-04-16
It's relatively easy to get someone to make a single purchase from you. But how do you instill that long-term loyalty and love that causes people to refuse to buy from anyone else? Ben Mack talks about that and many other branding issues in the book Think Two Products Ahead: Secrets the Big Advertising Agencies Don't Want You to Know and How to Use Them for Bigger Profits. It's an unconventional book that doesn't mince words...
Contents:
Pool Hall Wisdom; Brand Misinformation versus Back-End Thinking; The Common Thread and Thinking Two Products Ahead; Branding? Be Good to Your Gander; Branding Processes Are Strikingly Similar; What's a Brand Essence?; Legendary Branding; Extracting a Brand Essence; The Kama Sutra of Marketing - Five Basic Positions; Framing to the Right Target Audience; Structured Creativity - Framing Tools; Creativity on Demand - Why Ad Agencies Can't Brainstorm; Feed Their Passions; Plan to Have Many Conversations; Everything Communicates; Storytelling - Letting the Genie Out of the Bottle; Branding and Thinking Two Products Ahead; Myth, Magic, and Making Money the Old-Fashioned Way; AKS; Jeff Lloyd's Secret to Commercial Residential Real Estate Sales; How to Turn Every First Sale into a Residual Stream of Income; Direct Response Branding; Acknowledgements; Index
Mack states that successful branding comes when you start thinking two products ahead of the current sale. In other words, you need to be thinking about the overall story and impression that your company and product leaves with a customer. This collection of legends and perceptions defines your brand, not the cute logo or corporate colors you stick on your products. What that means is that you *have* a brand whether you think you do or not. You need to bring your customer into the "marketing funnel", which is a four stage process: intrigue, consider, interested, and buy. When you get them to buy, then the "two products ahead" mindset turns them from one-off buyers to loyal customers. It's all a matter of managing your brand... the story that your customers tell about your company and product.
This book started off as an e-book that the author marketed himself (for a much higher price). His style of writing and communication is frank and blunt, with no room for dancing around an issue. As such, it's a lot of fun to read. Since I don't have a marketing background, I found it a little difficult to keep the finer points of marketing vs. branding vs. selling straight at times. But overall, I got the message that your brand is a priceless asset, and it's important to do everything you can to make sure that brand says the right thing to your customer.
A valuable read for any business, but especially for the small business owner who doesn't think he has a brand... he does.
Book Description
A reconciliation of two conflicting visions of what a person is--one embedded in our humanistic traditions, the other advanced by mind science--from one of the most influential philosophers of our time.
Science has always created problems for traditional ways of seeing things, but now the very attributes that make us human--free will, the permanence of personal identity, the existence of the soul--are threatened by the science of the mind. If the mind is the brain, and therefore a physical object subject to deterministic laws, how can we have free will?
If most of our thoughts and impulses are unconscious, how can we be morally responsible for what we do? If brains and bodies undergo relentless change, how can our identities be constant?
The Problem of the Soul shows the way out of these paradoxes. Framing the conflict in terms of two dominant visions of the mind--the "manifest image" of humanistic philosophy and theology, and the scientific image--Owen Flanagan demonstrates that there is common ground, and that we need not give up our ideas of moral responsibility and personal freedom in order to have an empirically sound view of the human mind. This is a profoundly relevant work of philosophy for the common reader.
Customer Reviews:
A naturalist critique of humanism.......2007-03-07
In The Problem of the Soul (2002), Owen Flanagan sets up a contrast between the perennial philosophy (or humanism) and scientific naturalism. He takes scientific naturalism to be the correct method for pursuing knowledge. He lays out this contrast in a manner that presupposes the reader has at least a basic grasp of Western philosophy. He combines sound scholarship with entertaining and sometimes personal writing styles.
Flanagan makes the traditional case against believing things without a rational warrant in his critique of religion and immorality of the soul. He argues that the persistent belief in the manifest (common) image of being in the world includes the residue of some theistic baggage, in particular, freedom of the will, conscious experience, and selfhood. The task is then how to accommodate these notions in a scientific naturalism. I will focus on just two of these for the purpose of a brief review.
The conceptual gap in consciousness studies is the problem of relating phenomenal experience (the way things feel from a first person perspective) to physical processes in the brain. For Flanagan, the challenge is to accommodate, not eliminate, subjectivity and phenomenality within scientific naturalism. Flanagan argues that a first person perspective does not entail another sort of being (e.g., spirit or mind) or any qualitative difference within being; the being of physical objects is sufficient to explain everything there is. Although Flanagan admits that mental events cannot be completely described from third person perspective, he argues that the qualitative feel of experiences is still identical to neural events:
"The nature of conscious mental events is such that despite being perfectly natural, objective states of affairs, they have as part of their essential nature their subjective feel" (89).
So the objective state of affairs (physical processes in the brain) appears to have ontological priority, since it is what produces or realizes the phenomenal experience. The subjective feel emerges somehow as part of the essential nature of certain objective states of affairs. This view is similar to John Searle's view that mental states are emergent (macro) properties of physical states of the brain (micro properties). Both views try to accommodate the subjective interiority of human reality by making it a property of the physical. But these reductionist views do not explain the qualitative differences between mental contents and physical objects located in space. How do we get from the neurons firing away to the feeling of sadness or the qualia of colors? There is still an epistemological gap between the first person description and the alleged objective process that is supposed to underwrite that description.
With regard to a critique of Cartesian freedom, Flanagan argues that what motivates a belief in free will is generally a theological commitment that sees God as holding humans accountable for what they do on earth.
"It is unimaginable to me, despite the power of the phenomenological feeling that we are agents who control what we do, that anything as strong as a conception of ourselves as finite unmoved movers would have been added to our manifest image unless we had first conceived of God and his will along these lines, and then added the view that he holds people fully accountable for what they do" (107).
So if we liberate ourselves from this theism, we should let go of this "incredible, incoherent" idea and conceive of human freedom in terms of voluntary behaviors that obey the laws of nature. Flanagan's neo-compatibilist (actions can be caused, yet voluntary) position is that voluntary action "involves the agent knowing what action she is performing and acting from reasons and desires that are her own" (113). Notice the use of the term "from." It seems to imply that reasons and desires determine me to act the way I do. Indeed, Flanagan refers to what he takes to be the standard assumption in philosophy of mind that "reasons can be causes." If I do not decide about which reasons to employ, this raises a question about just how "voluntary" voluntary actions are.
Why can't an agent choose the reasons and desires in accordance with which she will act? What is it that prevents her action from being free in the Cartesian sense of being self-caused? Flanagan stacks the deck in favor of determinism by equating deliberation and will with brain processes. Since brain processes ultimately obey chemical and physical laws, and willing, for Flanagan, is already presupposed as a brain process, willing must obey physical laws. He also employs an epistemic argument based on the limitations of our self knowledge. When I choose, I am not aware of "what causes me to deliberate and weight my options the as I do" (114). So my feeling of autonomy when I deliberate is illusory.
In the picture of the natural mind drawn by Flanagan, life experiences and genes "feed into a brain" in such a way as to form habits and virtues over time. When confronted with a morally charged situation, conscious deliberation is determined by these habits and virtues to arrive at a decision. These determining factors are not chosen by the individual. Such a claim, for Flanagan, would be "certainly false." These virtues come from a combination of biologically evolved dispositions, moral education, and cultural norms. In so far as we can be said to assent to a new norm, that assent is determined by some pre-existing disposition (reasons, desires, habits, virtues, genetic traits). On Flanagan's view, conscious deliberation is entirely parasitic on what has been established at the level of habit and virtue. In this picture, agency never transcends its past in relation to the given opportunity to decide.
There is something wrong with this model. While it is true that I cannot be aware of all of my mental processes, I can be aware of the relevant ones when faced with a moral decision. The question is whether the habits, virtues, reasons and desires I have had in the past must now determine my decision. I believe the answer is no. It simply is not necessary that I follow my instincts, habits, virtues, desires, and usual reasons. Within the constraints of my abilities and situation, I choose not only my behavior, but the values in accordance with which I will act. I can break with my former habits, even if they go against deeply ingrained feelings and beliefs.
Flanagan has loosened the grip of the perennial philosophy, only to fall into the grip of an all too dogmatic naturalism and computationalism. His complex naturalist model of deliberation has the key moves involved in deliberation happen automatically, like an information processor. Flanagan's example of voluntary action is instructive so I will quote the main scenario in full.
"Suppose a high school student has been accepted to Duke, the Harvard of the South, and Harvard, the Harvard of the North, and that she is having real trouble deciding which to choose. She can't seem to break the mental tie. Suppose we survey the state of her brain as she deliberates and we see two cell assemblies, one fighting for the Harvard of the South and one for the Harvard of the North, that are of exactly equal strength. We know she must eventually choose. If you believe in strict causal determinism you think something will eventually happen that will tip the balance, and whatever that is will itself have a set of sufficient causes that made it happen" (121).
This example is instructive. Since Flanagan has rejected the Cartesian notion of a free will, his voluntary agent cannot simply make herself the person who will go to one or the other universities. In Flanagan's world, since she has no reason to choose one university over the other, she needs a push from some cause external to her freedom. This, according to Flanagan, can come in the form of some accident, like the sun shining through the window to tip the balance in favor of Duke, which has warmer weather, or a newspaper article open on the table that suggests George W. Bush went to Harvard Business School. Either way, a new reason can then tip the balance.
The other alternative is that some indeterminate state of certain neurons in her brain tips the balance. With regard to indeterminacy at the level of neurons, I have not seen any good arguments as to how, at the level of human deliberation, this could make a difference. So let us focus on the new information scenario. Notice that the way we interpret her response to the new information should be no different from the way we interpret how the tie came to be in the first place. If the tie came about through strict determinism, so too does the tie breaker. However, if she chose to value certain features of each college and was not simply determined by predispositions, then both the tie and any new information would be subject to the same freedom.
Flanagan project of dismantling the perennial philosophy of the soul arguably goes a bit too far in the direction of naturalism. If Cartesian freedom is to be refuted, it must be done on its own merits and not as the residue of theism. Before dismissing free will out of hand, one should consider its most challenging development in Jean Paul Sartre's Being and Nothingness. This developed concept of radical freedom is worthy of consideration before one falls into the grip of naturalism.
Flanagan's book is a good read and is both well researched and stimulating. His section on ecological ethics provides good arguments for an empirically based morality. But again, one leaves the text a bit uneasy about his account of phenomenal experience and free will.
For those interested in Flannagan's views on the conceptual gap in consciousness studies, Consciousness Reconsidered is a better read. There Flannagan critiques the mystereans (McGinn, Nagel) and offers a more detailed naturalistic interpretation of consciousness as an emergent property of physical events in the brain.
Good but Closed Minded.......2006-03-27
Flanagan attempts to tackle the Mind-Body problem in this book with scienitific details and deep philosophical thought. I myself enjoyed the book and found it worth reading. However, i did have one complaint. Flanagan is completely closed minded and even rude to Supernatural concepts. He openly and bluntly states that such concepts have no warrant in any field. For a man seeking a truly scientific explaination, he contradicts his own claim for the pursuit of truth with such statements. While one shouldn't expect others to agree there is no reason for such rudeness. Unfortunately, this attitude doeasn't end in the first part. Flanagan should have thought of a more professional way to state his views.
The most important philosophy book I have ever read.......2006-03-24
I won't waste too much time echoing what many other reviewers have said. This book is a rarity in philosophy in that there is nothing very abstract. Owen takes a deliberate, logical approach to his subject that makes the book easy to read and understand. One thing I think people should understand before reading is that Flanagan sets out with a purpose in mind. His scientific and logical approach can at times lead the reader to think of the book as a truly scientific inquiry, and much of it is, but Flanagan stretches his theories at times in order to pull everything together at the end.
One specific point: Flanagan calls himself a neo compatibalist, and he chastizes traditional compatibalist for essentially "changing the subject," meaning that their version of free will is different than what we normally think of as free will. I would challange Flanagan that his neo compatibalism is essentially doing the same thing to moral responsibility. Although I do think that a form of moral responsibility can fit within his naturalistic view, we cannot decieve ourselves into thinking that nothing is lost from our traditional conceptions of moral responsibility.
Two visions.......2005-10-03
This book accurately points to a fundamental philosophical
divide. People who believe in the existence of a human
soul have a very different vision of the world from people
who believe that the human mind and body are part of the
natural world. One strange feature of the book is that
the author refers to the two images as "humanistic" and
"scientific". Perhaps a better terminology would be
"dualistic" and -- "humanistic". In general, the book is
fun to read, but it is not the definitive story.
a simple but good idea.......2005-07-25
In this book, philosopher Owen Flanagan argues that philosophically, introspectively and scientifically there is no soul or (uncaused) free will. They don't exist, and they don't make sense. If you think they do, you're not what you think you are.
Second, and more importantly, that's ok. Naturalism's version of the self and agency are enough for a fulfilling worldview. He throws on an argument about ethics, but it's really an afterthought, kind of an appendix to his work on the self and agency.
If you are looking for an argument about religion, this isn't it. His purpose is not to satisfy the religiously devoted that they can give up their faith, but the folks who are hesitant to give up "the soul" or "free will."
Flanagan doesn't take any theistic position very seriously. He's not interested in refuting theism except when he "has to" to get on with his real interests. "There is no point beating around the bush. Supernatural concepts have no philosophical warrant."
If you want to argue that point, you want a book defending scientific naturalism against theistic critics (actually, usually the relationship is reversed these days), and you'll have to look elsewhere. This just isn't it and you'll be disappointed. Try, I don't know, perhaps Richard Dawkins, or Victor Stenger.
And he isn't even interested in "qualia," although in his bibliography he admits that it's the "sexiest" topic in philosophy of mind. But I personally think that there's nothing there to get excited about. So I didn't mind the omission.
But if you want a book on qualia look elsewhere. (Try Dennett.) This just isn't it and you'll be disappointed.
He is really only interested in whether a naturalist account of the self and agency will allow us to conceive of ourselves as having meaningful lives. I am in basic agreement with him, so I won't criticize his answer.
Among his critics here on Amazon, the popular science journalist John Horgan disagrees with Flanagan in his review without giving any reason; Horgan thinks science leaves no room for meaningful human choice. A strong, extreme position; no doubt it would be a long discussion. Folks who take Horgan's position have a lot to prove. Even Daniel Dennet, not one to shy away from "uncomfortable" aspects of scientific materialism, basically agrees with Flanagan.
Actually, I think Horgan just missed the point of the chapters on selfhood. Otherwise, he'd probably phrase his objection differently.
Anyway, ethics as ecology is not to be taken too literally, it's more of a suggestion than a philosophical system, and Flanagan doesn't take it very far. If you want a deep look at ethics from a naturalist perspective, look elsewhere. Flanagan recommends Allan Gibbard or Simon Blackburn; others might recommend Mackie.
One critic was misled by Flanagan's use of the word "humanist." He doesn't mean secular humanism, he means the classical tradition of thought from ancient times through Descartes and right up until scientific materialism. It must have been a very confusing book for that guy. Someone might be confused by Flanagan's use of "libertarian" as well, which has nothing to do with politics.
Motsinger's impatient review brought out a couple of relevant points, such as whether Flanagan did a "bait and switch."
Actually, maybe so, but not in the chapters Motsinger obsesses over--rather, in the chapters on "self." Flanagan redefines "self" so that our "selves" have (some) meaningful power of choice. He spends two chapters on that project because it is the real key to his argument: once self is re-defined along Flanagan's lines, everything else follows naturally.
Flanagan himself says, "My proposal is this: Change the subject. Stop talking about free will and determinism and talk instead about whether and how we can make sense [in a worldview of scientific naturalism] of the concepts of 'deliberation,' 'choice,' 'reasoning,' 'agency,' and 'accountability.'"
What he does is change the "self" under discussion to make sense of those topics. He succeeds.
Well, and that's the key point. You're not what you think you are, but it's ok. You can go on with your life. You still have all the ethical equipment you need and want. He'll show you why, if you want to know. I think he's right, I think most of his discussion is relevant and reasonable: 5 stars.
Some reading I'd recommend before hitting Flanagan is Steven Pinker, especially "How the Mind Works." Perhaps one of Damasio's books would be ok, but I prefer Pinker. In fact, if you're not a little familiar with social psychology and cognitive science, I doubt you'll appreciate this book.
(There's the touche for the pure philosophers out there: this is a book about the real world.)
Average customer rating:
- I'm buying this book right now!
- A beautiful story
- A beautiful story
- A beautiful story which reminds me of my fathers' life.
|
The Two of Them
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Fiction
| Multigenerational
| Family Life
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Aliki
| ( A )
| Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Aliki
| ( A )
| Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Fiction
| Multigenerational
| Family Life
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Fireflies (Reading Rainbow)
-
I Know a Lady
-
Hazel's Amazing Mother (Pied Piper)
-
Oliver Button Is a Sissy
-
Night in the Country
ASIN: 0688073379 |
Book Description
"The day she was born, her grandfather made her a ring of silver and a polished stone, because he loved her already." Through the years, the little girl and her grandfather share so many happy times -- playing by the sea, walking in the mountains, working in his store. And when he grows sick, she takes care of him with as much love as he always showed her.
Customer Reviews:
I'm buying this book right now!.......2005-05-19
My daughter just brought this book home from the kingergarten library. I read it to my three children and cried the entire latter half of the story. I'm relieved to read in the other reviews that I'm not the only one arrested by the beauty of this story and thrown into tears! The sweet simplicity of the relationship between the grandfather and his granddaughter reminded me of my grandparents, and of my parents' grandparenting with my little children.
I am ordering this book from Amazon right this minute. I want it to have a permanent place in my children's home library.
A beautiful story.......2000-02-27
This is the most beautiful story of a girl and her grandfather. I read this to my kindergarten class. I had tears streaming down my face before I finished. It is a touching, heartfelt book and I highly recommend it!
A beautiful story.......2000-02-27
This is the most beautiful story of a girl and her grandfather. I read this to my kindergarten class. I had tears streaming down my face before I finished. It is a touching, heartfelt book and I highly recommend it!
A beautiful story which reminds me of my fathers' life........1998-09-27
The Two Of Them is such a touching book. It makes me cry every time I read it. It's not a sad book, it just reminds me of the way my father was. My dad just past away in July 98 and this book seemed to describe how he was. I plan to add this one to my collection, and I look forward to reading some of your other books.
Book Description
After being introduced by a mutual friend in the winter of 2000, Reform Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch and Orthodox Rabbi Yosef Reinman embarked on an unprecedented eighteen-month e-mail correspondence on the fundamental principles of Jewish faith and practice. What resulted is this book: an honest, intelligent, no-holds-barred discussion of virtually every “hot button” issue on which Reform and Orthodox Jews differ, among them the existence of a Supreme Being, the origins and authenticity of the Bible and the Oral Law, the role of women, assimilation, the value of secular culture, and Israel.
Sometimes they agree; more often than not they disagree—and quite sharply, too. But the important thing is that, as they keep talking to each other, they discover that they actually like each other, and, above all, they respect each other. Their journey from mutual suspicion to mutual regard is an extraordinary one; from it, both Jews and non-Jews of all backgrounds can learn a great deal about the practice of Judaism today and about the continuity of the Jewish people into the future.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Agreement to Disagree.......2005-08-31
One of the most direct and honest clashes of world views within the context of Jewish observance and values. I found myself agreeing with each Rabbi's way of looking at the world and Jewish existence as the dialogue developed. I was reminded to the Jewish sage that responded to the conclusion that they can't both be right with the comment that "you're right too." An excellent choice for a book group or general discussion. Very thought provoking.
Excellent dialogue between two Rabbis.......2005-05-27
In this book, Reform Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, and Orthodox Rabbi Yakov Yosef Reinman debate the issues dividing these two branches of Judaism. Both are deeply learned in texts, including the Jewish Bible and Talmud. The book was written over a period of a year and a half as the two authors exchanged emails. This email dialogue constitutes the text of this book. Poignantly, their afterwords, constituting the final chapter of the book, were written in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11/01 tragedy.
Often, Rabbi Hirsch quotes a talmudic passage and analyzes it and then, in rebuttal, Rabbi Reinman quotes the same passage but puts it in a larger setting. Therefore, Rabbi Reinman concludes that Rabbi Hirsch cited the passage in an inaccurate context thus giving the wrong conclusion as to its meaning. The two are miles apart on key issues. The most key issue is whether the Bible cites literal truth, such as whether the Torah was revealed at Mt. Sinai. Rabbi Reinman makes an interesting argument; he states that since the Torah says it was handed down from generation to generation, it must have been. Otherwise, the first generation to have received it would have said that their fathers never told them about the Torah thus it could not have been passed on throughout the generations. If the Torah was suddenly concocted, the generation which first received it would have known that it was not a revelation from Sinai since they never heard of it before its recent sudden appearance. I did not see Rabbi Hirsch give this rebuttal clearly but, I think the implication of Rabbi Hirsch's view is that Torah is written by man and that it evolved so, there was always a text that was taught. Over the centuries, editing and changes led to an evolving document which ultimately became what is now the Torah.
In a book such as this, we learn about the two different viewpoints of the authors. If there is any resolution to the debate, however, it is in the conclusion drawn by the reader. I doubt if many readers were changed from their preconceived viewpoints, thus, for the most part, the arguments are not resolved.
To me, one of the most unsolvable dilemas is in their discussion of the state of Israel. Rabbi Reinman states, if "the Orthodox prevail, the Israeli people will regain the moral high ground and the deep attachment to the land that will arouse them to defend it tenaciously and with idealistic conviction." His argument essentially is that it is necessary to believe that God gave the land to Abraham and by this divine decree, the state of Israel is properly a Jewish state. Predictably, Rabbi Hirsch disagrees. He believes that biblically, Israel is a Jewish state but he says that Torah transcends literal historic truth. The reason the argument is unsolvable is that if Rabbi Reinman is correct, then a fundamental interpretation of Torah and an observant lifestyle is necessary to lay claim to Israel and provide the motivation to defend it. Would that mean that because of this necessity, we must literally believe that God gave the land to Abraham? If after study and soul searching, someone does not believe this, then what? Does the necessity for this belief justify the belief that is not really accepted? How can someone believe what he/she does not believe? This paradox is not easily resolved.
I recommend this book. It is insightful as to the arguments of both sides. Both of the authors represent their sides of the argument well and honorably. The Reform can be proud to have Rabbi Hirsch as its spokesman and the Orthodox can be equally proud to have Rabbi Reiman represent its views.
Great book!.......2005-05-19
I thought this book was fantastic, and I really learned a lot about both Classical (Orthodox) and Reform Judaism. I agree with some of the other reviews that say some arguments were one-sided, but this doesn't affect my opinion of the book. I certainly didn't expect both sides to write equal amounts about each topic brought up. Besides, each rabbi claimed ignorance to an issue or two and thus there was not much of a debate on certain issues. Most issues, though, were covered in depth and views from both a reform and orthodox viewpoint were presented. I highly recommend.
At the end Reinman has a great list of books for further study of judaism.
Why Secular Judaism doesn't make sense.......2005-01-23
This is a great book. It explores the differences between Classical (Orthodox) Judaism and Secular (Reform) Judaism in a clear and straightforward way. Classical Rabbi Yosef Reinman engages in a dialog with Secular Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch. The dialog shows that Reinman's points are always better than Hirsch's ones, but I don't think that it is because Reinman is a better spokesman than Hirsch, but because Hirsch has the impossible mission of rationalize the secularization of Judaism. Hirsch lives in a relativistic world where majority decides what is true or right; Raiman lives in a world where G-d tells what is true or right through Torah. A wonderful reading!
Should be required reading in all yeshivos.......2004-02-09
This is book is a masterpiece. I found the Reform perspective interesting but Rabbi Reinman's positions to be entirely convincing. The book has given me an understanding of Orthodox Judaism that 20 years of yeshiva education failed to accomplish. Orthodoxy is foolish to believe that the writings are anything to be afraid of.
Average customer rating:
- What about other women in North America? How do you define success?
- An inspirational book - mentors behind success of 52 women!
- True-life, illustrative, informative, inspiring, motivating.
|
Mentoring Heroes : 52 Fabulous Women's Paths to Success and the Mentors Who Empowered Them
Mary K. Doyle
Manufacturer: 3E Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Women & Business
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Money Management for Women
| Personal Finance
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Self-Help
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Success
| Self-Help
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
Psychology & Counseling
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
| Adolescent Psychology
| Applied Psychology
| By Topic
| Child Psychology
| Clinical Psychology
| Cognitive
| Counseling
| Creativity & Genius
| Developmental Psychology
| Education & Training
| Ethnopsychology
| Experimental Psychology
| Forensic Psychology
| General
| History
| Hypnosis
| Industrial Psychology
| Logotherapy
| Medicine & Psychology
| Mental Illness
| Movements
| Neuropsychology
| Occupational & Organizational
| Pathologies
| Personality
| Philosophy of Psychology
| Physical Illness & Psychiatry
| Physiological Aspects
| Psychiatry
| Psychoanalysis
| Psychobiology
| Psychopharmacology
| Psychosomatic Medicine
| Psychotherapy, TA & NLP
| Reference
| Research
| Sexuality
| Social Psychology & Interactions
| Statistics
| Suicide
| Testing & Measurement
General
| Women's Studies
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Women Who Could... And Did: Lives of 26 Exemplary Artists and Scientists
-
Learning From Other Women: How to Benefit From the Knowledge, Wisdom, and Experience of Female Mentors
-
The Heart of Mentoring: Ten Proven Principles for Developing People to Their Fullest Potential
-
Be Your Own Mentor: Strategies from Top Women on the Secrets of Success
ASIN: 096774492X |
Book Description
MENTORING HEROES honors the important role mentoring played in the climb to success of 52 women. Those who were mentored unanimously acknowledged the tremendous impact it had in their personal and professional lives claiming they reached higher levels faster because of their mentors. The women represent a diverse range of professions and lifestyles. Their stories are honest, insightful and inspiring.
Customer Reviews:
What about other women in North America? How do you define success?.......2006-10-30
I am looking at this book due to a recommendation in "mean girls grown up" by Dellasega. I am disappointed as it seems to marginalize women who really sacrifice to prioritize their family or other non-fame, non-money related fields. Is the home educator who works part time and mentors her own great kids, and neighbourhood not in need of a mentor? Is she less intelligent because she makes less money or because she's less famous? I would like to see feminist writing that is more inclusive of real women's experiences and more varied need for mentoring.
An inspirational book - mentors behind success of 52 women!.......2001-09-11
To be a mentor we learn in Mary Doyle's great new book, is to be a teacher, guide, example, encourager, facilitator and enabler. Mentoring Heroes offers the stories of 52 successful women and the mentors who empowered them. Thus, this book is a revelation of leaders inspiring others to become leaders to make their lives and their world better.
Here are the stories of but a few very successful women and how they rose to the top with the assistance and selflessness of their mentors. Ms. Doyle is very quick to point out that often the mentor was male, and often the mentoring was facilitated to no small degree by Divine Guidance.
Several of the success stories involve women this reviewer (and perhaps you, too) are aware of---for instance, actress, singer and motivational speaker Ann Jillian; Senior Marketing Vice resident of Sales Operations for BP Amoco Petroleum Products Anna
Cheng Catalano; archeologist with New York Metropolitan Museum of Art Diana Craig Patch, Ph.D. and Barbara Junceau, professional astrologer for personal and spiritual counseling.
On the other hand, most of these fabulous women are quietly leading their successful lives, each in their own venues and each very real. How did they do it? How did they make the time? How did they put their mentor's advice to work? And how have they become mentors in their own right? This reviewer exhorts you to read the book!
To be a mentor is to give of oneself to assist in the development of others. The reader will quickly ascertain that a prime example of such nobility is author Mary K. Doyle, herself. By writing and publishing Mentoring Heroes, Mary has opened a door for all of us. It is no wonder that this book won the Certificate of Excellence, National Publisher's Freedom Award, 2000. Mentoring Heroes is an inspiration!
True-life, illustrative, informative, inspiring, motivating........2000-08-05
In Mentoring Heroes, Mary Doyle shows how fifty-two women attained high levels of professional and personal success both with the counseling, guidance, advice, and support of mentors, someone who helped them in a one-to-one relation acquire the knowledge, expertise, and experience to succeed. Mentoring Heroes also shows how these women passed on to others the gift of mentoring they themselves had received. Covering a wide diversity of occupations and careers, these true-life, illustrative stories are as engaging as they are informative, as inspiring as they are motivational. Mentoring Heroes is enthusiastically recommended reading and a welcome addition to women's studies reading lists and reference collections.
Book Description
Irene, a rebellious product of an American 1950s upbringing, has fled from a repressive and sexist society into a life of apparent equality and adventure as part of the elite Trans-Temporal Authority's cadre of travelers. Under the tutelage of Ernst, a friend/lover and teacher/father, Irene has achieved status and dignity. Irene and Ernst are assigned to a Muslim world where they meet Zubedeyeh, a young girl whose creativity is being transformed into madness by the male chauvinistic society in which she lives. Vowing to rescue her, Irene unleashes a destructive cycle of violence. Originally published in 1978, The Two of Them is a powerful portrait of a future sexist society. This modern classic conveys its politics with rigor and complexity, in a story filled with suspense and unforgettable characters.
Customer Reviews:
Superb in parts.......2005-03-12
I've written some pretty cranky reviews lately; it's a pleasure to write a nice one. Parts of this old book are superb--gripping--make you reach the end of a chapter and sit staring at the wall musing on what you just read and saying very quietly, "wow..."
It isn't all like that, alas; if it were, this would be one of the great classics of the SF genre. The superb parts are the middle, when Russ gets her narrative rolling and tells a straight story. The goodness begins with a portrayal of a bright, rebellious teen in the 1950s as she explodes out of her conventional life. It continues as the grown Irene, now an agent for the shadowy Trans-temporal authority, explores the iniquitous depths of Ka'abah, a colony world that is attempting to recreate a society based on a fantasy of the Arabian Nights, and in the process recreating the worst possibly kind of subjugation of the female spirit. Irene finally cannot stomach what she is seeing and determines to rescue one bright 12-year-old girl before her soul is completely crushed. But Irene's partner objects, and things begin to go wrong. Is he patronizing her in a way that is more subtle but just as demeaning, as the Ka'abah men patronize their women?
The problems with the book are the bread on this jammy sandwich. The opening chapter is mannered, self-conscious, distanced in a style of narrative that was just so trendy in the seventies and which is now just plain labored and irritating. It takes grit to wade through this now; I actually wondered why the book was still on my shelves and almost gave up rereading it.
The other slice of bread is the ending. The author intrudes herself here, and not in a clever or cute or insightful way, but in a way that I read today as simply a cop-out. She got to a certain point in the story where her characters were at complete loggerheads with each other and with the world she had designed for them. There was no clear way forward; to get them to any kind of resolution would take tens of thousands more words; so she threw up a firework of style tricks and ducked out behind a puff of smoke.
Still, the middle is just so darn good it redeems the frame. Oh! There's a fair amount of sex here. A lot of sex for 1978, and still today well beyond a PG-13.
Great Classic Feminist SF.......2000-05-06
In the vein of the Alyx stories, Russ offers up another gutsy time and space travelling heroine. There's plenty of adventure and plenty of feminist content, as well as some interesting narrative structures. (As when Russ briefly breaks the narrative flow to comment on the story in her capacity as narrator.) Self referential writing can easily become self conscious and stilted. It's hard to pull off, but when it works, it works well. Russ pulls it off. This is vintage Russ--more accesible than The Female Man, and more explicitly feminist than the Alyx stories.
Average customer rating:
|
Bury Them at the Crossroads: Book One and Two
Erik D. Kiessling
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0759696780 |
Books:
- Without a Doubt Audio
- Wizardology: The Book of the Secrets of Merlin (Ologies)
- Zero Hour (Resident Evil)
- A Clockwork Orange
- A Hunger Like No Other (The Immortals After Dark Series, Book 1)
- An Ice Cold Grave (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 3)
- Aruba: The Tragic Untold Story of Natalee Holloway and Corruption in Paradise
- Bas Rutten's Big Book of Combat, Vols. 1 & 2 PLUS CDs!
- Beltane: Springtime Rituals, Lore and Celebration
- Black Cross Red Star: The Air War Over the Eastern Front
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- An American Life: The Autobiography
- The Everlasting Man
- Northern Borders: A Novel
- Microwaved Pressed Flowers, Vol. 8: New Techniques for Brilliant Pressed Flowers
- Problem Solving for Oil Painters: Recognizing What's Gone Wrong and How to Make It Right
- Principles of Financial Engineering
- Statistics: A First Course with Data CD-Rom
- Journal of a Tour through Pegu & Martaban
- Journey Without End: The Travels of John and Dianne Bishop & Family
- Making Money in China & Hong Kong. Making Money Internationally Series
Simpleology: The Simple Science of Getting What You Want
Hypnotic Writing: How to Seduce and Persuade Customers with Only Your Words
The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less
The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
