Customer Reviews:
Family reading.......2007-06-09
This booklet is must reading for the elderly and members of their family. Presented in an easy to read format and style by a nursing home chaplain, it contains easy to understand medical information from a spiritual viewpoint. Don't wait for an illness to prompt you into reading this valuable booklet.
Helpful for all ages.......2007-03-27
This little book is a must for all adult people. It addresses the serious question of what would you want done if you became mortally ill, were in an accident or in a coma and otherwise would not be able to speak for yourself. The frank, but gentle, theme of this book helps one to think about their own desires in these cases. One may think that it is only for "old people", but I think it is an important thing for each adult to consider carefully and let loved ones and your doctor know of your wishes. I would highly recommend this book for all adults.
Hard Choices for Loving People - Hank Dunn.......2007-03-24
This amazing little book, "Hard Choices for Loving People", is one of the best gifts you could ever give a patient and family who are facing these important end-of-life choices. Mr. Dunn says it so clearly, objectively, and compassionately that so much of the fear and pain of the decision is removed. I am a geriatric nursing leader of 43 years and have felt fortunate to have found this fine book in the early 1990s. I have shared it with many healthcare organizations and providers in California...from acute care to hospice, home health, Long-Term care, and now my church ! Thank you Mr. Dunn. Saundra Jack, RN MSN
practical help for loving families.......2006-07-24
I am a clinical chaplain, and a rehab chaplain at a large
city hospital.
I see many families who are trying to help their loved ones
make good medical decisions. This book is a great aid for
them , to help them sort out feelings and goals about
medical treatments. you can tell the author has vast experience
with the sick and their families, I heartily recommend
this book for all those who are caring for the sick
or have an elderly member of their family who is sick.
thanks to a great author Hank Dunn
rev. james barry cp
clinical chaplain, lutheran gen hospital,
Superb - plus also available free.......2005-04-20
I am a health care lawyer sometimes tasked with helping people face difficult end of life issues. This is the most sensitive and lovingly realsitic book of its kind that I've seen -- and there are many other good ones out there. Pssst -- you also can get it through a free pdf download at www.hardchoices.com . The booklet is prettier, but whatever the format, it's a vital read. I've always recommended it to clients, but my own family used it to open up hearts and minds -- and settle an ugly dispute between my mother and one of her brothers -- when my grandfather was dying of Alzheimer's. Hank Dunn's work is a God send.
Book Description
“There are a thousand acts of duplicity and dishonesty every day, some large and some small, some of which undoubtedly take place in your workplace. The question for all of us is, ‘Are we going to resist or just play along the path of least resistance?’ The first hard choice a person of integrity must make is to choose to live, both personally and professionally, in a way that embodies integrity. The power of this book comes from the real-life, in-the-workplace experiences that these executives have been so generously willing to share. None had easy choices, but that’s the point: Integrity is not about easy choices, it’s about the courage to make the right choices.”
—From The Book of Hard Choices
All of us like to think that, in any given situation, we’d act with integrity and do the right thing. But what happens when we get to work each morning? Do the same rules we follow in our personal lives apply to our work lives?
The lines between right and wrong become blurred when we must weigh our obligations to our employer against our own ideas about what is right and wrong. Should altruism trump profit, even to the detriment of the organization? When should you step in to protect an employee and when should the employee be left to take the heat? If the CEO is up to some unethical accounting, should you always risk your job—and the company’s reputation—to sound the alarm?
These are the hard choices, the dilemmas that put your integrity to the test and require you to look beyond organizational policy and industry precedents to find an answer that reflects your personal sense of justice. The Book of Hard Choices goes to the heart of these difficult decisions. James Autry and Peter Roy, experienced executives themselves, interviewed numerous leaders about the tough decisions they’ve made on the job. They spoke with people like former Starbucks president Howard Behar, Iowa Cubs owner Michael Gartner, and Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa as well as entrepreneurs, military officials, members of the clergy, and a whole host of leaders. The authors dig into the thinking process these people went through, as well as the emotional strain, the self-doubt, and the fear of a wrong decision’s impact on their business, family, or coworkers. Not everyone in this book made the right choice, but all of them were forced to examine their values and make decisions in complicated circumstances. The result is hard-won wisdom on how to navigate the ethical gray-areas of work life—from daily challenges to possible career ending choices—and make the best possible decisions in the most difficult situations.
Customer Reviews:
The first-person accounts are the best part.......2007-09-22
The "lessons to be learned" summaries at the end of each chapter trivialize the stories. The whole point of these accounts is that these were difficult choices to make, not always with happily-ever-after endings, and not always choices that everyone in good faith would agree with. But this book contains more complex real-life situations than I've ever seen in any other leadership book, and it conveys how each person made his or her choices and the conflicts they felt.
Amazon.com
With the possible exception of James Ellroy, Andrew Vachss is the mystery writer with the darkest heart and the most troubled soul. Like his 10 other books about the enigmatic outlaw private eye called Burke, Choice of Evil deals with unpleasant subjects--ritual murder, pedophilia, sexual deviance--the full force of which are never dampened by attempts at tact or taste. Vachss is not an author to look away from the nasty, or try to soften any of life's lowest blows.
That said, his latest does start off on a light note when Burke's giant mastiff, Pansy, is grabbed in a police raid. Burke and his motley crew of helpers--people with names like Mole, Crystal Beth, and Max the Silent--stage a raid on the animal shelter, and in a zany scene worthy of Lawrence Block or Donald Westlake, set free a herd of caged canines. All too soon, however, darkness descends as Crystal Beth--Burke's main squeeze and an activist for abused women--is killed at an outdoor rally, apparently by someone who hates homosexuals. Following this atrocity, a vigilante calling himself Homo Erectus declares war on gay bashers, and also on pedophiles who seek to link their cause to gay rights. Burke is hired to find this vigilante and keep him safe before the cops nab him.
Mentioning pedophilia to Burke is like waving a red flag at a bull: he can (and does) go on for many pages about this particular evil as he and a friendly lesbian dominatrix link Homo Erectus to a supposedly long-dead killer from Burke's own past.
To absorb the full force of the Burke canon, read other books in the series: Safe House, Blossom, Blue Belle, and False Allegations. --Dick Adler
Book Description
When his girlfriend, Crystal Beth, is gunned down at a gay rights rally in Central Park, Burke, the underground man-for-hire and expert hunter of predators, vows vengeance. But someone beats him to the task: a shadowy killer who calls himself Homo Erectus and who seems determined to wipe gay bashers from the face of the earth. As the killer's body count rises, most citizens are horrified, but a few see him as a hero, and they hire Burke to track him down...and help him escape.
In
Choice of Evil, Burke is forced to confront his most harrowing mystery: the mind of an obsessive serial killer. And soon the emotionally void method behind the killer's madness becomes terrifyingly familiar, reminding Burke of his childhood partner, Wesley, the ice-man assassin who never missed, even when the target was himself. Has Wesley come back from the dead? The whisper-stream says so. And the truth may just challenge Burke's very sense of reality. Expertly plotted, addictive, enthralling,
Choice of Evil is Andrew Vachss' most haunting tale to date.
Download Description
The murder of his bisexual girlfriend at a gay-rights rally leaves Burke with only one choice: revenge. But he has competition: someone going by the name Homo Erectus has begun a killing campaign against any and all gay-bashers -- the same breed that killed Burke's lover. The police want Homo Erectus caught and convicted, and they think he could be Burke. The gay-rights community wants Homo Erectus to be shielded from the law, and Burke is their choice for the job. Burke finds himself simultaneously an avenger, a suspect, a conspirator. But as Burke pursues Homo Erectus -- whose crimes seem morally defensible to some -- the murderer begins to reveal an even darker side to himself: he is striving to be a consummate killer, engaging in murder not for the sake of the kill but merely for the art. And it's an art he will perfect by delving into the world of the supernatural, and ultimately toying with the spirit of a man Burke had long ago watched go to his grave. In "Choice of Evil", Andrew Vachss gives us Burke at his edgiest, and moving closest to the edge: coming face to face with the most horrific workings of the human heart and mind.
Customer Reviews:
A dark, creepy thriller! Another winner for Vachss!.......2006-07-13
Man oh man, Mr. Vachss!!! You just refuse to allow your protagonist, ultra anti-hero Burke, more than one novel's worth of happiness in a romantic relationship. You keep killing-off his women! At least allow them to live and love together for 2 books' worth! Imagine my chagrin to find, before page 20 in "Choice of Evil," that you had deep-sixed Burke's latest, Crystal Beth (I keep thinking crystal meth...what were you thinking???). She appeared in your previous bestseller "Safe House," a lovely lady, half Inuit, half Irish, a kind and gentle activist for abused women, determined to stand by her man...and love him no matter what. Tell me, how am I supposed to believe that in what seems to be a drive-by hate shooting at a gay pride demonstration, with 3 dead, that Crystal Beth coincidentally happens to be one of the victims??? You lost credibility with me on that one. I mean, out of hundreds, Crystal Beth manages to get hit? Otherwise, "Choice of Evil" is a terrific book, as always! For readers of this review...I really didn't spoil anything because, as I previously stated, this horrific event occurs by page 20. And... there is much more non-related action which take place before that. Are you curious? I won't tell. There's a Job-like character in the comic strip Lil Abner, "Joe Btfsplk," who walks around with a cloud over his head and jinxes everyone he comes into contact with. More and more I am reminded of Joe when I read about Burke and his romantic counterparts.
In this, Andrew Vachss' 11th Burke novel, our dark hero, who seems to grow more morose with each episode (and can you blame him?), calls vengeance the name of the game. Burke wants to "get" Crystal's killer(s). So does someone else. Enter a shadowy psychopath with Homo Erectus as his/her moniker. He...or she appears determined to wipe all gay bashers and pedophiles from the face of the earth. At first police believe Burke is the "doer." After all, his major hatred is reserved for pedophiles. And gay bashers killed his girlfriend. Gradually, the killer's MO, his signature, is that of Wesley, the ice-man who wouldn't know an emotion if it slammed him in the face. Wesley, a brilliant assassin who never missed, used to be Burke's homeboy. The two met in prison and found they are both past "Children of the Secret." But Wesley is dead. Or is he? As the body count climbs, and it climbs high, Burke is hired to track the serial killer, and of all things, to help him escape.
While not as brilliant as Mr. Vachss earlier novels, "Flood" & "Strega," "Choice of Evil" is well plotted and provides an excellent read. The usual suspects appear here: Max the Silent, a mute Mongolian version of Conan the Barbarian with creative ways of communicating; Pansy, Burke's Neapolitan mastiff, just like the kind that came over the Alps with Hannibal; the Mole, a pasty-faced genius who lives in a bunker beneath a high-tech junkyard; Michelle, a gorgeous former transvestite who recently "took the plunge;" Terry, Mole and Michelle's adopted son; the Prophet, a wise old scam artist who has logged-in too much time behind walls and was Burke's original mentor; Mama Wong, group doyenne and Chinese restaurateur, "keeps her prices high and the ambiance foul to discourage yuppies." She cares for the gang and holds Burke's stash; I should add that our hero drives a souped-up Plymouth, another important character. It usually looks like it's been painted with rust. Strega, a persona from the past, makes a guest appearance here, and former DA Wolfe, for whom Burke has a major jones, returns to tease fans into believing that maybe there's a chance for the two of them to make-it in a relationship...that is if Mr. Vachss doesn't kill Ms. Wolfe off in the next installment.
Another winner for the author, who is a lawyer and major advocate for abused children.
JANA
A good crime novel.......2002-04-10
As a stand alone novel, it is perhaps too heavy with references to previous novels but the disturbing nature of the story is strong enough to prevent those moments from becoming too distracting. The story is actual a mystery, as Burke (the protagonist) attempts to find the killer of his girlfriend Crystal Beth and discovers that her death is actually a great deal more horrific given who the murderer may be. The plot is not only an exploration of what kind of adult a State run (specifically New York) childcare department can produce but also the seamy criminal culture of pedophiles and serial killers. Be forewarned this book is not a comfortable read. Mr. Vacchs skill is enough that a great deal of the book is read with a fair amount of dread as one damaged character appears after another, with the character Burke being the axle of which this wonder-wheel of strange and unusual individuals revolve. So what's to like about this book? It's a crime genre novel and if you enjoy that kind of book it is well done and swimming with enough criminals and insinuated violence to make your skin crawl. The dialogue reads the way people speak so there is a flow that makes you the 3rd person in the scene, but there can be a bit of a struggle as characters interrupt each other's dialogue to express their own thoughts. In regard to the cast of characters, it's hard not to appreciate the loyalty Burke and his adopted street family share, but it's an uncomfortable appreciation given the nature of many of the relationships between the characters, most of them being practicing criminals. There is enough hints in Burke's thoughts that you know he has been made by his violent childhood circumstance and as an adult he's decided that this is the life he will lead, doing crimes and occasionally killing criminals that fall into the categories he finds abhorrent. Burke seems to be two people, either he is just a criminal with a vengeance streak or he's a victim turned criminal to get close to his source of vengeance. In either case Burke can be a depressing and vengeful character in this novel, as the reader begins to realize it doesn't really matter if he is either of those two people, (vengeful criminal or victim turning to crime for vengeance. One can't help suspecting that no matter what good comes from his actions Burke doesn't have a chance in hell of ever being happy or particularly stable. What this novel did succeed in doing is galvanize me to buy past Burke novels to fill in some of the character gaps. All in all, this book kept me turning the page and wondering what Burke's next novel will be about.
Not The Same Burke.......2001-02-27
.. "Choice of Evil," though full of the urban misery and blues we've come to expect, doesn't pack the same punch. Granted, it would be hard to top "Sacrifice."
Burke's women either leave or die. So, Crystal Beth dies in what seems to be a drive-by at a gay pride rally. We get Burke the Sleuth, but not the Avenging Angel. The online search for the killer teases us with the possibility of Wesley's return..
What I miss in recent Vachss is the destruction of children as a plot element; lately it's left in the background as a short-hand device for character development. True to form, there's the Next Twisted Woman - a dominatrix named Nadine. their dialogue is a departure from the usual Burke-woman banter; Burke seems downright crotchety. His impatience with female posturing is at an all-time high. Nice to see Strega again, though. She still scares Burke 'cause she's a reminder that despite his resignation, he still desires...
As Vachss moves an aging Burke further away from ground-zero vengeance, he moves into Thomas Harris-style psychological intrigue. Give me the hellish terrain of "Sacrifice" and "Hard Candy." Reempower him as the bloody-handed avenger of the Children of The Secret.
A novel of the twisted workings of human hearts.......2001-02-11
A rally in Central Park to protest against gay bashing encounters a murderous drive-by resulting in five people down and two dead. One of the dead is Crystal Beth, Burke's girlfriend. Claiming responsibility is someone calling themselves "Homo Erectus". Burke is unsurprised when the cops pull him in for questioning because he is homeless, homicidal, a man gun and unable to find the shooters who killed his last chance at love. Choice Of Evil is a novel of the twisted workings of human hearts, the dark side of the human experience, and the bleak life offered marginal men and women caught up in webs of fear, bigotry, violence, and evil.
Not What I Expected.......2000-12-29
I decided to read this because I am a fan of Maggie Estep, and she is a fan of Vachss. The story line sounded interesting, and although I am unfamiliar with the characters in his books and this is not typically within the genre I choose to read, from the beginning I was fascinated. I was intrigued with the idea of Homo Erectus, and the rapture became more and more encompassing as the pages turned. The plot has many, shall we say, twists and turns. I was surprised at different revelations, but all I will reveal is that I was hooked, and I definitely recommend it. This work is very stimulating, with diverse and generally devious characters, descriptive action, and the plot is perfectly woven as is Vachss' wicked unraveling.
Average customer rating:
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Hard Choices, Soft Law: Voluntary Standards In Global Trade, Environment And Social Governance (Global Environmental Governance)
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Informative but dry.......2006-03-09
This book examines an important and interesting subject and does a good focused job. It is dry and some may have significant issues with the soft law versus treaty law approach but in terms of examining voluntary standards, this volume does well.
Average customer rating:
- The Third Shift: Create Maximum Power for Self-Actualization
- The Third Shift
- The Third Shift=Practical and Thoughtful Advice!
- The Third Shift:Full of practical and thoughtful advice!
- Excellent read for all women in and out of the workplace
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The Third Shift: Managing Hard Choices in Our Careers, Homes, and Lives as Women
Michele Kremen Bolton
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Book Description
Today's women work not one but three shifts: the first from nine to five, the second at home, and the third in their minds as they review the decisions and actions of the day. While the first and second shifts may be physically exhausting, the third shift can be psychologically rending because many women use it to second-guess their motives, doubt their choices, and question their trade-offs. Michele Bolton shows women how to turn the third shift into a source of self-awareness and self-confidence instead. Drawing from a three-year study of women in Silicon Valley and her own experiences as a working mother, Bolton explores the three most important dilemmas all women face, whether they're corporate executives, entrepreneurs, or full-time moms. She then presents women with a practical plan for facing these dilemmas, making the hard choices, and embracing their decisions.
Customer Reviews:
The Third Shift: Create Maximum Power for Self-Actualization.......2001-01-06
In this single volume, women are provided with excellent advice on how to manage hard choices in their career, their home, and (in fact) their entire life. The title refers to the "self-destructive and exhausting ritual" to which so many women become hostage. For many of them, this shift seems endless. Bolton observes: "Rather than deriving joy from their choices as women -- to work, to stay at home, to help out in the community -- many women are half-crazed by the constant demands, options, and trade-offs." She organizes her material within three Parts:
The Identity Challenge: Who Are We?
The Task Challenge: What Do We Do?
The Balance Challenge: Who Comes First?
Bolton draws upon a wealth of research (hers and others') which guides and informs her observations, recommendations, and conclusions. In the Afterword, she suggests that "In many ways, women today live in a surreal world, floating back and forth between an outdated cultural mirror that prescribes certain genderized roles, and then careening suddenly toward the possibility of an entirely new image, with as-yet-unknown life scripts and patterns for its many actors and actresses." Although written for women, this book should also be be read by men who also have "hard choices" to make. If they make the correct choices, perhaps many of the decisions made by women will be less difficult.
The Third Shift.......2000-10-27
This book is great! I am 45, a highly driven person with two school age children. I left a corporate management carreer after 15+ years feeling completely burned out and confused. Even though I knew it was not possible to be a Superwoman, I still tried to do it all. This book explains my feelings about my corporate experience and is a good guide to me for my current at home experience. I have gone back to reread it many times. I am now aware of my Third Shift, always have had it, just never gave it a name.
The Third Shift=Practical and Thoughtful Advice!.......2000-10-15
Choices are always tough, and Michele Bolton's THE THIRD SHIFT makes them so much easier to make. I am a professional woman who, like many other readers of this book, am a mother, wife and involved community member as well. The societal infrastructure for women hasn't yet caught up with our aspirations as women -- to be the best at work, to be the best at home, to change the world -- and it is because we live in this transitional era that Bolton's book is so important for women like me to read. Instead of chastizing ourselves for trying to take on so much, Bolton's study shows that questioning oneself and others is the very essence of being a successful woman. In addition to providing useful suggestions for professional women in the corporate workplace to be (and feel) more successful, Bolton also turns her attention to entrepreneurial women launching their own businesses, a move she says that is so much more than a job change, but that involves a more profound change in one's very identity. Finally, Bolton even offers several chapters of suggestions for "stay-at-home" moms, so that no matter what your life choices are, you can find out how to feel better about them by reading this book! Best of all in this book is the personal voice of the author. She writes as a researcher, academic and executive coach, but also as a woman and mother. As you read each chapter (even the ones that don't seem to relate to you directly), you often feel as though you are reading about yourself or someone you know. Take time to buy this book and then sit down and browse through it. This book won't change the world, but it will change how you look at the world, and how you feel about your place in it.
The Third Shift:Full of practical and thoughtful advice!.......2000-10-15
Choices are always tough, and Michele Bolton's THE THIRD SHIFT makes them so much easier to make. I am a professional woman who, like many other readers of this book, am a mother, wife and involved community member as well. The societal infrastructure for women hasn't yet caught up with our aspirations as women -- to be the best at work, to be the best at home, to change the world -- and it is because we live in this transitional era that Bolton's book is so important for women like me to read. Instead of chastizing ourselves for trying to take on so much, Bolton's study shows that questioning oneself and others is the very essence of being a successful woman. In addition to providing useful suggestions for professional women in the corporate workplace to be (and feel) more successful, Bolton also turns her attention to entrepreneurial women launching their own businesses, a move she says that is so much more than a job change, but that involves a more profound change in one's very identity. Finally, Bolton even offers several chapters of suggestions for "stay-at-home" moms, so that no matter what your life choices are, you can find out how to feel better about them by reading this book! Best of all in this book is the personal voice of the author. She writes as a researcher, academic and executive coach, but also as a woman and mother. As you read each chapter (even the ones that don't seem to relate to you directly), you often feel as though you are reading about yourself or someone you know. Take time to buy this book and then sit down and browse through it. This book won't change the world, but it will change how you look at the world, and how you feel about your place in it.
Excellent read for all women in and out of the workplace.......2000-07-22
I purchased this book as I am a woman about to have my first child after spending many years building a career. I found this book to be enlightening and fascinating. Like many first time older mothers I have concerns about continuing to work and raise a child. Not only did this book help me come to terms with the fact that it is okay to work and have children but it helped me understand how women's behavior in the workplace and their tendency towards self-doubt is normal. Michele Bolton's use of examples from her meetings with numerous women is an excellent way for the reader to identify with the problems that all women face on a daily basis, both at home and in the workplace.
I have very rarely read a non-fiction book that I wanted to keep reading as if it was a good novel. It is written in a great style and uses a "self awareness" versus "self-doubt" analogy in each chapter with which I claimed total identification. I am recommending this book to all my friends. Many men could also benefit from reading this book too.
Book Description
Advances in neuroscience research are rapidly bringing new and complex issues to the forefront of medical and social ethics, and scholars from diverse fields have been coming together to debate the issues at stake. Acclaimed science writer Sandra Ackerman witnessed one such gathering, and here she skillfully synthesizes those proceedings into a concise presentation of the challenges that neuroscience and neuroethics currently face.
Top scholars and scientists in neuroscience and ethics convened at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., in May 2005. They included Michael Gazzaniga, director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Dartmouth College; Marcus Raichle of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; Harvard University provost Steven Hyman; Judy Illes, cofounder of the Stanford Brain Research Center; University of Virginia bioethicist Jonathan Moreno; Stacey Tovino of the Health Law and Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center; and Stanford law professor Hank Greely.
Ackerman weaves the invigorating arguments and discussions among these and other prominent scholars into a seamless and dynamic narrative. She reveals the wide array of issues that have emerged from recent research, including brain imaging, free will and personal responsibility, disease diagnosis and prediction, brain enhancement, and the potential social, political, and legal ramifications of new discoveries. Translating these complex arguments into an engrossing account of neuroethics, she offers a rare view of science—and ethics—in the making.
Customer Reviews:
A Unique, Important and Timely Book.......2007-03-29
Our entire understanding of the mind and the brain is undergoing radical change. We learn that our brains can create new neurons throughout life, and that we have undreamed of capacities for growth, adaptation and change. Many of the implications of this growth in knowledge are only just beginning to sink in, and are leading us to reconsider a great many issues concerning ethics, morality, responsibility and the law. Important new specialties with such names as "neuroethics" are beginning to emerge.
The explosion of new knowledge about the brain is now thought to be doubling every 2-3 years, and is leading scientists, philosophers and ethicists to consider such knotty problems as personhood: does a severely brain injured person have the same rights as everyone else? If the brain has not finished growing until people are in their early twenties, can they be held to be legally responsible? What are the implications of direct brain-to-computer interfaces and drugs and artificial devices that enhance cognition? If someone in the near future can do a brain scan to see what you are thinking or what you will buy, what will be the impact of this kind of brain imaging on privacy? It has been shown to be very easy to implant false memories. Can brain scanning be used to tell if a memory is true or false or if someone is lying? Even very mundane questions: should a young person be able to drive a car or fire a gun if they do not yet have the cognitive abilities an adult? We all have our own views and opinions about topics like these, but this time the tools of science can help to inform our opinions.
Many television dramas have presented simplified caricatures of some of this changing neurological landscape. There have been shows in which defense and prosecuting attorneys have argued over some arcane neurological finding and whether it should give an accused person a "get out of jail free" card. These shows are only reflecting a raft of issues that are being regularly argued at scientific meetings and in the courts. There are many experts who are convinced that they have found evidence from brain scans to "explain" antisocial behavior, rage attacks or paranoia. There are just as many who are convinced that they are wrong, and the specter of dueling experts often confuses juries and reporters.
This slim book - only 152 pages excluding the forward - is a superb record of a series of deliberations by experts in brain sciences, psychology, philosophy and ethics that took place in May 2005. I know virtually all the people who spoke, and they are all not only thought leaders, but people known for their measured and thoughtful views on these complex issues.
There are four parts and fourteen chapters:
PART ONE. OVERVIEW
Introduction
Chapter 1
What We can Learn from a Chimera
Enhancement, for Better or Worse
Chapter 2
Neuroimaging and the Law
Neuroscreening and Predictions
Chapter 3
Too Much Help?
Neuroscience and Morality
Imminent Prospects and Responsibilities
PART TWO. NEUROIMAGING
Chapter 4
The Power of an Image
What Are We Seeing?
Chapter 5
Brain Privacy
False Memories
Chapter 6
There and Not There
Who Is Conscious?
Qualities of Consciousness
Chapter 7
Decision-Making Circuits
Moral Decision Making in the Human Brain
PART THREE. DRUGS IN THE BRAIN
Chapter 8
Starting with Safety
Psychiatric Drugs for Children
Unfair Advantage in a Pill?
Chapter 9
What is Worth Treating?
How Genes Interact with Drugs
Therapy versus Enhancement
Chapter 10
Dual-Purpose Research
What Can We Do and What Should We Do?
PART FOUR. NEUROTECHNOLOGY
Chapter 11
A New Age of Neurotechnology
Chapter 12
Deep Brain Stimulation for Movement Disorders
How Deep Brain Stimulation Works
Deep Brain Stimulation for Depression
Ethical and Practical Concerns of Deep Brain Stimulation
Chapter 13
The Brain-Computer Interface
Ethics of Neurosurgery
Chapter 14
Business Considerations
The Therapy-Enhancement Distinction
The Role of the Neuroethicist
Following these chapters there is a public discussion featuring important contributions from the author and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist William Safire, who is chairman of the Dana Foundation, one of the sponsors of the 2005 meeting; Hank Greely, who is Professor of Law and Genetics at Stanford, and the eminent neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga from Dartmouth College.
One of the strengths of the book is that Sandra Ackerman is a journalist who is explaining the issues and the discussion for a general audience, so it is a very easy read and some very complex issues are clarified.
Clearly a book of this length cannot do justice to all of the issues raised by the new advances in neuroscience, but this is the clearest introduction and overview that I have seen.
This book deserves a very wide readership, and is essential for neuroscientists or anyone working in the law or ethics.
Highly recommended.
Book Description
Approximately two-thirds of deaths in the United States involve a doctor's partnership with an individual, whether it be for the administration of pain relief or sedation or for the act of discontinuing or not beginning life-sustaining treatment. In A Midwife through the Dying Process, Timothy Quill, M.D., explores that partnership and the complex end-of-life issues that surround physician-assisted death. Here are the stories of nine individuals and their very different endings, common only in each person's struggle to confront issues of law and ethics and to realize a "good"death.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding.......2002-05-04
An outstanding collection of vignettes that can be read not only by those in the health care professions, but also by those who just have questions about how physicians and clients can communicate around sensitive issues. I have used it as a text for nursing students with great success and shared it with friends diagnosed with a serious illness. I strongly recommend it for anyone who is concerned about quality of life at the end of life
Excellent series of vignettes about compassion for the dying.......1998-07-22
Dr. Quill is best known for his infamous "Diane" who chose to end her life in a unorthodox way. Dr. Quill does not agree with physician assisted suicide, however, he does believe that compassion in dying and allowing one to make their own destiny in the face of uncontrollable pain will alleviate much suffering. The most common reason for suicide in those with medical conditions that are incurable are is they want to die in control and without pain. It is possible with the right medical care and if it results in hastening ones death...so be it. Dr. Kevorkian uses an unorthodox procedure that at times is barbaric. Dr. Quill is one who will help you and make you comfortable. He shares his experiences with several of his patients in a way that is humane and loving.
Book Description
Those who seek to accurately gauge public opinion must first ask themselves: Why are certain opinions highly volatile while others are relatively fixed? Why are some surveys affected by question wording or communicative medium (e.g., telephone) while others seem immune? In Hard Choices, Easy Answers, R. Michael Alvarez and John Brehm develop a new theory of response variability that, by reconciling the strengths and weaknesses of the standard approaches, will help pollsters and scholars alike better resolve such perennial problems. Working within the context of U.S. public opinion, they contend that the answers Americans give rest on a variegated structure of political predispositions--diverse but widely shared values, beliefs, expectations, and evaluations.
Alvarez and Brehm argue that respondents deploy what they know about politics (often little) to think in terms of what they value and believe. Working with sophisticated statistical models, they offer a unique analysis of not just what a respondent is likely to choose, but also how variable those choices would be under differing circumstances. American public opinion can be characterized in one of three forms of variability, conclude the authors: ambivalence, equivocation, and uncertainty. Respondents are sometimes ambivalent, as in attitudes toward abortion or euthanasia. They are often equivocal, as in views about the scope of government. But most often, they are uncertain, sure of what they value, but unsure how to use those values in political choices.
Average customer rating:
|
A Hard Choice: Sexual Abstinence in an Out-Of-Control World
Jesus Cruz Correa , and
Doris Colon Santiago
Manufacturer: Hensley Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Sex
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sex Instruction
| Sex
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Bible Study
| Reference
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1563220806 |
Book Description
"Hard Choices for Loving People" is written for people who are making medical treatment decisions in the face of a life-threatening illness. Over 650,000 copies have been sold and are being used in more than 3,000 hospitals, nursing homes and hospice programs nationwide. In "Hard Choices" Chaplain Dunn reviews the medical research on common treatments like resuscitation attempts and artificial feeding tubes. Often these treatments offer no benefit for frail, seriously ill patients. Hank Dunn believes that because of the little benefit offered by these treatments for some patients, decisions about their use are emotional and spiritual in their nature. The bottom line question patients and their families struggle with is "Can I let go?"
Customer Reviews:
The best book of its kind........2000-07-27
As a former hospice chaplain, I appreciate Dunn's straighforward work. It is an invaluable resource for both professional caregivers and patients and their families. The "hard choices" are dealt with honestly and thoroughly. This is an informative guide that will provide the help people in crises need at a time when they are most ready to listen.
Books:
- Head First PMP: A Brain-Friendly Guide to Passing the Project Management Professional Exam (Head First)
- Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
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