Always on Call: When Illness Turns Families into Caregivers (United Hospital Fund Book)

Always on Call: When Illness Turns Families into CaregiversThe book is very interesting, I needed it for school and it has helped me undrestand the rols of caregivers and how they affect everyone around them...

This is a collection of people's stories of caregiving. I hoped it would give me ideas as to government or other help I could get caring for my 92 year old mother with Altzheimers. It did not offer much help to me.

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GROOMING SECRETS FOR MEN: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO LOOKING AND FEELING YOUR BEST

GROOMING SECRETS FOR MEN: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO LOOKING AND FEELING YOUR BESTThis is an awesome book! Even though it is of modest size it is packed with useful information on grooming and taking better care of oneself. This book has totally changed the way I both shave and brush my teeth. There is something in it for every man. It is also easy to follow for a guy like me. This is one book you WILL read through. A good investment in oneself.

This book is a good guide and place to start on improving your appearance through grooming. David gives several suggestions of products to buy and how to find the best deals.

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After reading David's book, I now have a better understanding on how to become a well groomed man. My girlfriend bought this book for me and I am so glad she did. Thank you David for helping reach so many men that need advice..

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this book is excellent and in a concise manner explains what men need to know.... It is amazing how much men do not know and the great amount that can be learned here.

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This book covers a lot of areas and the information is great. Every chapter had something useful to know about. Well worth the price.

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Cancer: Step Outside the Box

Cancer: Step Outside the BoxTy Bollinger taught me many things about cancer I didn't know. Coming from most people, this would be a mild compliment. Coming from me, it is somewhat more than that. You see, I have studied natural cancer treatments every day for the last eight years. I've written two books and 100 newsletters on the subject. I've given 25 workshops around the country on Beating Cancer-Gently. I "coach" about 10-12 people a week on the phone. They are people who have read one of my books. I coach them on the details of "what I would do if I were them."

Ty's research and writing are superb. He has collected all the data on the history of alternative cancer treatments and prepared this vital information for you in a very readable style. I will read this book a second time shortly to make sure I didn't miss anything. If you or a loved one have cancer, you MUST read this book. There is no other book which presents this subject in layman's language with the throughness of Ty's book.

Please do not let Ty's completely sincere expression of his religious beliefs turn you off. If you do not agree with it, please read the book anyway. There is no bias here, except against the corruption of Big Pharma and Big Medicine and the government agencies which support them.

What makes this book so superbly useful is that Ty gives you the complete explanation of the background of the treatment -who disovered it, exactly how it works, what type of cancer it should be used for -and then tells you how to order the substance or contact the clinic or medical professional who can administer it. Believe me, you cannot find this information in as complete and current a form anywhere else -not even in my own books.

Just buy it. You won't be sorry.

Bill Henderson

Author, "Cure Your Cancer" and "Cancer-Free"

This is a remarkably good book. I am pretty fussy about the books I read, and every now and again I find a gem. This is one of those gems. It is a book that will appeal to a wide range of readers, from a layperson with no medical knowledge through to trained medical doctors who want to further their knowledge of cancer. It is exceptionally well written by the author Mr Ly Bollinger who looks at the medical field as an outsider `looking in' because he is a CPA Accountant by profession. His motivation was driven by the loss of his parents and other family members from cancer over the prior 10 years. Bollinger explains his search for cancer solutions, and finds what many other researchers have found before him, that is, cancer in the USA is controlled by powerful vested interests whose aims and objectives are `at odds' with the author and his family. When Bollinger looked for innovative cancer solutions for his family, he was dismayed at how the American Medical Association (described by many as the trade union office of the medical profession) and the FDA, persecute any health professional with innovative solutions for cancer.

Most American people think and rightly so that if innovative cancer treatments are found, then their doctor would know about them, and use these treatments for their best health. Not true. Any doctor who uses a new approach for cancer will lose their license to practice medicine in the USA. Simply put, doctors are not authorized to try innovative cancer solutions (even for terminal patients who are told they have 3 months to live) as their job is to practice medicine as taught at medical school, and innovation is not part of their charter

The author of this book is a CPA and has a financial accounting background. This is ideal because the medical industry is really just big business, and to navigate the health sector requires a solid business and financial background, which the author has. The expression `follow the money trail' is very applicable to the medical field when you realize that the fortunes of many of our biggest companies are linked to the huge amount of money consumers spend on medical treatment. Author Ty Bollinger should be commended for writing this book. I genuinely feel for him as a person, someone from a deeply religious family background, who learned early in life that most people are fundamentally good and that our aim in life is to be fair and honorable. It is clear that the medical sector has let him down badly.

This book stands out because it is so compelling and enjoyable to read. It's easy to relate to this book, because the author shares his experiences with his parents in a very emotional way and make you feel as through the characters were your own parents and family. The book deserves five stars, because of its compelling insight into cancer treatment and the flaws in today's healthcare system.

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Ty Bollinger's book is superior. He covered what you want to know about cancer and other important medical information. I'm telling my friends about this wonderful book. He takes out the fear of cancer and instructs people to learn and practice excellent health programs. This is the best health book I have ever had or read about. I read his book and went to the health store.

Wendy Marie

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THIS BOOK HAS BEEN A GODSEND.IT TOOK GUTS AND DETERMINATION FOR THE AUTHOR TO RESEARCH AND WRITE THIS BOOK.I AND MANY OF MY FRIENDS HAVE FOUND MULTIPLE IDEAS AND CURES IN THIS BOOK.THERE ARE SO MANY THAT WORK.I WISH WE HAD THIS BOOK MANY YEARS AGO THEN I MIGHT HAVE SAVED MY MOTHER AND BROTHERS.I MYSELF HAVE USED SOME OF THE INFO WITH MIRACULOUS RESULTS.I HAVE ALSO LOANED THIS BOOK OUT TO MANY OF MY FRIENDS.THE LAST FRIEND DIDN'T RETURN IT BUT I KNOW IT WAS UNINTENTIONAL AS HIS THOUGHTS WERE WITH HIS AILING FATHER WHO IS HIS HERO.SO I JUST WENT AND BOUGHT MYSELF ANOTHER ONE THE UPDATED VERSION.GOD BLESS YOU TY BOLLINGER AND KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK !!!!!!

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By far, THE most up front and helpful book I have ever read. It's such a shame I didn't know about this book and the alternative cures it provides to such a devastating disease, before my uncle passed away from his cancer.

I recommend this book to every one, whether you are sick or not.

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The Natural Soap Book: Making Herbal and Vegetable-Based Soaps

The Natural Soap Book: Making Herbal and Vegetable-Based SoapsIf you are looking for an solid foundation of information for the cold-process method of soapmaking, get this book and its companion, "The Soapmaker's Companion" by the same author. This book provides a great deal of information to making cold-process (mostly vegetable-based) soaps. Some of the material is a little heavy (the parts on the chemistry of soapmaking) but is very important information if you want to learn to be creative and create your own recipes. The recipes are quite large, as some other reviewers commented, and the great thing about the companion book is the smaller recipes. You will not be able to find most of these ingredients at your local supermarket (e.g. pomace olive oil and palm oil). The recipes call for the real ingredients used in the industry that you will have to find but with the popularity of the Internet, finding these ingredients is much easier than it used to be. This book may not be a one-stop-shop for information, but this book and the Companion come VERY close!

I really enjoy the straight forward writing style of Ms. Cavitch. She speaks to you like you're having a conversation with a good friend.

In the Introduction she gives some basic chemistry of soap lessons which are very easy for the non chemist to understand. Then she goes on to explain different types of soap, different fats and oils what when you might want to use each. All through the beginning are charming, little stories about real soap makers and their businesses. What a nice touch.

This seems to be a very well thought out book with just oodles of information on just about every aspect of making soap. She's even included a small section on blending essential oils and give some suggested blending for certain scents.

The coloring section isn't as lengthy as I think it could be, but it is a good start for the beginner, especially for those who want to start using herbs for coloring soaps.

I can't say I agree with Ms. Cavitch on her temperatures explanation. But that does seem to be more of a preference thing. She feels that vegetable soaps made over 95 degrees F are problematic, but I have never found that to be the case. Actually... I have found the opposite to be true.

Weighing your essential oils in advance as she suggests you do in Step 1, is going to give you a problem unless you tightly seal it. I learned right away that they will evaporate into the air. What you weighed out before you started stirring will be partly gone by the time you use it! She does however, later in another section, mention that you should tightly seal the container.

A picture, an actual photograph, of what 'trace' means would be nice. Would it kill these authors to say something like, "thick like pudding"? No one can ever figure out what is meant by the word trace. Newbees sort of freak out about it, and I can understand that.

There is one thing that I really don't like about her recipes. That is, some of the items are in pounds and some of the items are in grams. Unless you're good at converting or your scale does both, you're going to have a problem. It would have been much nicer had she offered all items in both grams and ounces and then you could use what you use. I can see why she's doing it. Grams offer much better accuracy with those items like lye and grapefruit seed extract. But many who aren't interested in doing conversions, won't use the recipes. :(

Cavitch is working with that old, bothersome method of matching your lye solution temp with your oil temp at about 80 degrees F. I don't recommend this method as it causing a soap separation many times when the temp drops and saponification slows to a crawl. But a good many people still use this method.

Her suggestions that a mostly olive oil soap can trace in about 7 minutes I don't agree with at all. I have hand stirred more like 3 hours for mostly olive soap. I wouldn't want anyone to think that they can actually accomplish this and not have under stirred soap. Pomace (a lower grade of olive) will trace quickly, but I don't think that can be done in less than 1/2 hour with hand stirring.

I guess the really big problem people have with Susan Cavitch is her method of figuring lye. What she does works, however, soap makers don't 'discount' lye, they add more fats/oils. It is quite confusing if you talk to someone who figures things with her discount method. It is just one of those annoying things. Some say the glass is half full, others half empty. Well, for Cavitch alone, the glass is half empty.

There are many recipes in this book and also a section on things you can add to the recipes and how to add them, such as herbs, superfat oils, etc., to make some varied soaps. There is a chapter on suggestions on wrapping soaps decoratively which is fun too.

All in all, I think this is a high quality book. I think the actual method of making soap is outdated now, but aren't they all? We have finally gone beyond the Ann Bramson book, but the authors have not caught up yet.

I have my little pet peeves about the book, but I think everyone should have a copy. All that chemistry is good to have so that you can talk to Dr. Bob later and actually understand him! :) . . .

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I have been making soap for about 3 years and I have had a lot of botched batches of soap along the way. Most of my mistakes were by following the advice of "experts" who have written books about how to make soap. At the beginning I bought Susuan Miller Cavitch's book on how to make Natural Soap and Herbal Soaps and I tried to follow her advice. I couldn't figure out how to calculate the lye. You have to be a "rocket scientist" to figure it out if you try to do it her way. I followed her advice on putting wax paper in the bottom of my box and the wax paper turned to mush and I couldn't get the soap out without mashing it all up. I started out by making huge batches of soap like she said and I found that when a batch of soap doesn't turn out you have wasted huge amounts of time, effort and money. And what do you do with all that soap unless you are in the business of selling soap? And what beginner is? I think l-2 pound batches are much better. You can experiment and learn your craft and not have huge amounts of money lost if it fails. She has no recipes for small batches. Also I think 80 degrees is way too low for the fat temperature. I have found that ll0 degrees works out for me every time. Soap making is really easy, not nearly as scarey as she makes it look. I did like the sources at the end of the book and have found some really good suppliers from it. All in all, I think her book is interesting to read, but just don't take it too seriously if you are a beginner. If you have been making soap for a while, then pick it up and read it.

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The only problem I have with this book is the sheer quantity of soap each recipe makes. I have never made 40 bars of soap at one time and cannot imagine ever doing so. I'm not sure what I would do with 40 bars of soap. It's more fun for me to make several small batches of soap for variety. It would have been more helpful had Cavitch included information on making half batches as well.

The author uses no animal products in her soap, which may be a plus for some, but I find lard and tallow to make nice soaps for much less money. Of course, this is a matter of preference to the soap maker.

Frankly, I wish I had bought another soap making book.

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Never Go to the Hospital Alone: And Other Insider Secrets for Getting Mistake-Free Health Care from

Never Go to the Hospital Alone: And Other Insider Secrets for Getting Mistake-Free Health Care from Your Doctor and HospitalWhat an eye opener! This concise book is more than just an engaging insider's view of U.S. physicians and hospitals. It is a highly readable tale of the good, the bad, and the ugly in medical care. Plus, the reader gets, simple, accurate, information to research her own health care options. My husband and I both just read it and vow to follow through on checking our providers and our hospital choices. We've already learned that, in our case, our local hospital is NOT the place to go for cardiac care!

The author doesn't slam American medicine --quite the contrary. But he knows the pitfalls and medical mistakes being made in this country every day and tells the reader precisely how to avoid becoming one of those mistakes. Read this little book and then give it to your adult children or aging parents. You might well save your life or theirs.

This guy knows his stuff. Harden reveals the inner workings of hospitals in layman's terms to provide a very readable resource for increasing the likelihood of a successful hospital stay and decreasing the possibility of falling victim to systemic shortcomings.

Consistent quality care depends on accountability and transparency this book is an important step toward achieving both.

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This book presents clear, objective information and should be required reading for everyone who seeks heathcare, including healthcare providers. As a provider, I think I know what questions to ask, but when you are "in the moment", anxiety takes over. Using a checklist ensures that no critical information/question is missed. Great book -highly recommended for everyone.

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As someone associated with the healthcare industry for over 30 years, I highly recommend this book. It offers clear, practical advice and insight on what every person needs to know to protect themselves or a loved one seeking medical treatment. I found Chapter 9 "Nine Questions to Ask Before You Go to the Hospital" to be paticularily helpful. The knowledge I gained from this book helped me formulate the right questions to ask my own doctor as well hospital. This book helps you become a more informed consumer of healthcare and gives you the tools to take control of your care when and if you are in need. I commend Steve for sharing his insider secrets in this highly informative, well written book.

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I really enoyed this book from start to finish. it was so good I never wanted to put it down and have read it twice and have told many of my friends about it and how great it is. Mr Harden sounds like a very smart person. I recommend this book to everyone.

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Make Shampoos At Home Using Natural Ingredients: Discover recipes for quality natural hair shampoos

Make Shampoos At Home Using Natural Ingredients: Discover recipes for quality natural hair shampoosIf you want get away from the harsh chemicals in store-bought shampoos and treat your hair some natural, healing ingredients, then this book is for you. It gives you some great hair shampoo recipes that you can make at home. I didn't realize there were so many different kinds of shampoos that could be made. There is even a shampoo recipe for dandruff and for hair loss. Thanks for the great booklet!

Honey, Garlic and Vinegar: Home Remedies and Recipes

Honey, Garlic and Vinegar: Home Remedies and RecipesI was very disappointed in this book. The instructions for the remedies were vague to say the least i.e. mix vinegar with liquid soap...IN WHAT AMOUNTS? And some sounded downright dangerous...i.e. put crushed garlic up your rectum. Much space was devoted to anecdotal, unsubstantiated tales and very little to even scientific-sounding advice. I will not be able to use this book for much.

Suffice it to say i had high hopes for this book but the author didn't even come close to meeting them. Anyone interested in these three foods already knows the basics of their good qualities and probably purchase this book to learn more. The author isn't very scientific and just offers a dumb-downed read. If you are looking for a basic book on these three foods, with some recipes, this book is for you. If you are looking for a deeper scientific read, look elsewhere.

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This book is tremendous as it give the wholesome greatness of these three ingredients all that have been available for centuries. I used several of the recipes included in this book for our social hour at our church. They all enjoyed sampling foods that were available during Bible times. There are many healthful suggestions given in all three ingredients and great book.

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This book alows the reader to get "back to basics" with information to go "green" and not harm anything in the earth or aid. Easy to read with loads of information for everyone.

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I liked the book but it wasnt quite what I thought it would be. I thought it would have a better layout of the rememdies.

At Home in the Universe: The Search for the Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity

At Home in the Universe: The Search for the Laws of Self-Organization and ComplexityThe basic idea of Kauffman's book is that the complexity we see in nature (including life or technology) is contingent to math, i.e. can be explained and predicted by mathematical reasoning. The same is true of statistical thermodynamics and evolution. He states that Darwin's evolutionary theory explains only how complex life emerged from simple life, but it does not explain how simple life emerged from matter. There is probably a larger jump in complexity from matter to the first simple cell, than from that simple cell to a modern human being. Darwin does not explain that first jump. Kauffman doesn't either even though he is convincing in showing that life must have started through autocatalytic sets of molecules. He points out that these sets are self-organizing, stable and can vary as a reflex to external stimuli. What he mentions, but does not explain, is that autocatalytic sets can (or must) self-reproduce, a necessary step before evolution sets in. On page 66 of the paperback edition he states that "such breaking in two happens spontaneously as such [auto-catalytic] sets increase in volume", but, maddeningly, he does not explain how or why. One has to wonder: if life is such a necessary result of matter (therefore the title "at home in the universe") why then has it proven so difficult to synthesize anything approaching life in the laboratory? He doesn't say.

The book is full of incredibly interesting ideas. He explains ontogeny (the transformation of a fertilized egg to a highly complex and differentiated organism) using a simple model of on/off enzymes which allows him to build a Boolean network in which different cell types correspond to different "attractors", which are intrinsic in such a network. He shows that the same relationship that holds between number of attractors and size of a network, also holds between number of cell types and size of DNA of a wide range of organisms. Very impressive. He goes on to discuss things like fitness landscapes and genetic algorithms, the edge between boring order and supracritical instability where the really interesting stuff happens, the co-evolution of coupled systems, the structure of efficient companies or countries, and more.

The only criticism I have is about his poetical language that does indeed resemble fluff; anyone who even partly understands his ideas would be excited enough without all that sauce. Also I missed a deeper development, the book does point into one interesting direction and then jumps into another matter, leaving one hungering for more. But maybe this is the author's intent.

This is an excellent book even though it resembles more a symphony of ideas than a theorem. Very highly recommended: a mind opener.

...in either direction, for or against this book. Extremely high variance reviews are a good sign that reviewers are posting their own preconceptions, rather than reactions to this book.

There is a lot of good stuff in here. The descriptions of the patch procedure and simulated annealing, for instance, are very nice. This book can be useful to the motivated general reader, and to a scientist who wants to see the very basics of some novel ideas. It can also be useful for those familiar with complexity as an account of how different pieces fit together.

It's important to remember that the book is not a text in, say, biochemistry. Rather, it's about a way to see the world. At this stage of the idea development life cycle and in a basic treatment like this, it would be counterproductive to insist that these modeling tools reproduce everything we know or start at the level of complication of a mature science. If the book deals in toy examples that relate to a different view for pieces of the world and how they relate, it has done most of its job.

On the other hand, the book definitely has the mildly unpleasant tenor of a popularization. So, for example, any new idea is dressed up as revolutionary. Kauffman is actually better about this than many authors, especially in this field, but it's still palpable.

It is also written with all the mid-'90s euphoria over complexity. It is not clear that it will take as far as the gurus envision, but it is fun to think about -and this book is a good way to start.

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I read this book when it first came out. At the time I thought it made some profound insights that would surely change the face of evolutionary theory. Of course not having a professional involvement in these matters, I considered the possibility that I had just succumbed to a layman's tendency to too easily say, "Wow!" For a year or two, when I talked about this book and its ideas to friends professionally involved in the biological sciences, they often reinforced that initial concern of mine, but the idea just wouldn't leave my mind no matter how much I doubted myself. To me these ideas presented in this book stand to become new landmarks in thinking about evolution and biology.

In the years since, evolving reaction to Stuart Kauffman's ideas have finally provided some measure of confirmation to me of these initial impressions. Evolutionary biologists have started to deal with these ideas seriously though I think much of the community has yet to realize their significance. This book has not proved just the flash in the pan that many pop science and psuedo-science ideas and books do. It only becomes more important with time. His ideas earned some serious treatment from Daniel Dennett in his profound book "Darwin's Dangerous Idea." Though I think Dennett only vaguely grasped the importance of the ideas, he clearly did not place them in the same league with the nostalgic crackpot evolution "debunkers." Kauffman proposes no magical "skyhooks" here. If evolution through natural selection reveals the universal acid, then the emergent "order for free" of thermodynamically open systems reveals the universal base, and promises to change our understanding of the universe in every bit as profound ways. Put them together and you get the salt of life.

Kauffman's ideas in his books ("At Home in the Universe" for the layman, and "The Origin of Order" for the more technically minded) anticipate the shenanigans of the currently most popular evolution "debunker," Michael Behe, in "Darwin's Black Box." (see my Amazon review of that book as well). Behe will never escape the fact that Kauffman's work came before his, and that he failed to properly and honestly deal with Kauffman's ideas, preferring instead to pretend and imply that Kauffman represented some dismissible fringe crackpot. If he had addressed Kauffman honestly, his own thesis would have proved irrelevant, and his whole book would have had to deal with Kauffman. Behe claimed to base his ideas on some ad hoc concept of "irreducible complexity" which he invented in total disregard of whole fields of research, both Kauffman's and others', already done on the phenomena of complexity.

Kauffman's theories of emergent order for free, and complex systems do not overturn the theories of evolution through natural selection. Some in the field of biological evolution have mistakenly believed that represents the intent of Kauffman's theories. In his book he clearly states that they do not. His ideas present a natural compliment to evolution through natural selection. Though Kauffman makes a few passing references to "God," these references have nothing to do with his theories and only serve literary purposes. Perhaps this reflects some awareness of the cultural not to mention scientific minefield he walks through. Intelligent design plays no role in Kauffman's ideas, and his ideas should play no role in intelligent design hypotheses either.

In the end Kauffman's theories put to rest the orthodox evolutionary picture that life and humanity represent an "accident," glorious or otherwise as well as our understandable intuitive objections to that picture. Life, even intelligent life, while not necessarily guided by a divine intelligence, has a certain inevitability to it. If we didn't happen, something very similar to us would have happened eventually somewhere. The mystery of initial biogenesis clearly unravels with Kauffman's revelation of the mathematics of autocatalytic sets and their inevitable emergence in thermodynamically open complex systems. If the jargon of the previous sentence confuses you, do not despair. Kauffman does a wonderful job of walking the reader through all of these concepts so that his ideas become accessible to both the layman as well as the expert. If you made it through high school science, you can make it through, "At Home in the Universe."

Kauffman takes some time at the end of the book for philosophical musings which serve as a great reward to the reader who gets there. Among other things at the end, while musing about more cultural applications of his ideas, he talks briefly about Dawkin's idea of "meme" (introduced in "The Selfish Gene") several years before it became such a popular idea with Richard Brodie's "Virus of the Mind", Aaron Lynch's "Thought Contagion" (both published at about the same time), and most recently Susan Blackmore's "The Meme Machine."

Don't miss this book. It presented the cutting edge at the time he wrote it, and it promises to stay on the cutting edge for decades to come. It only stands to become sharper with time, because Kauffman has far more than just hyped lay enthusiasts like myself behind these ideas. This book had to happen. If not by Stuart Kauffman, then somebody else sooner or later. As Daniel Dennett would say these ideas represent eventually forced moves in the evolutionary space of scientific theory. I feel fortunate that someone as accessible as Stuart Kauffman made them.

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I am always happy when I finish a book. The first reason could be that the book was good, and it left somewhat smarter than before. The other case is because the book was not so good and I am happy no to read it any longer. Unfortunately, this book belongs to the second category. Unfortunately, really, because the subject and the hypothesis developped in "At Home In The Universe" definitly deserve a better treatment.

I was brought to this book by the excellent "Here Be Dragons" (by S. Levay and D. Koerner ), which had a complete chapter on self-organization theories and the origins of life. Based on this captivating first glimpse into the world of artificial life experiments, I decided that the book by Kauffman was worth a try. Well...

First, the good news: the book does explain all the generalities and details on self-organization and the possible applications, from the origins of life to economics and politics. The ideas are very innovative, and even if those theories may not correctly explain everything (a possibility wisely pointed out by the author), they do add something new and worth exploring. The chapters on autocatalytic chemical sets are the most interesting, and convinced me that luck and Darwinian evolution do not completely explain why life exists, and how it achieved such a complexity.

Now, the bad news. The writing style is a killer: egocentric, prophetic, repetitive, grandiloquent and lyrical. Egocentric, because the author keeps on talking at the first person, which is annoying and useless. Prophetic, because the author believes too much in the ultimate success of his own theories. Repetitive because having ten or more paragraphs in a row explaining the exact same thing again and again cannot be qualified differently. Grandiloquent and lyrical can be good when Sagan does it, but most of the time it's just clumsy. With this book, you will go even lower: ridicule.

Conclusion: 3 stars: 4 stars for the ideas and 1 star for the style. The subject deserves a better treatment. So, if someone knows of another book on the subject, please, contact me.

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Stuart Kaufman's At Home in the Universe is a lay redaction his scientific hypotheses from his Origins of Order, a rich, fascinating, sophisticated, and complementary set of hypotheses added to Darwin's theories of evolution. For the moment, at least, they are the promising fruit of speculative or theoretical biological hypotheses (with physics, chemistry, geology, paleontology, mathematics, game theory, and economics thrown in), but they go a long way to filling in many of the gaps that strict Darwinists seem content to ignore. And some of his hypotheses, he readily admits, are heretical.

One of the obvious problems, if not primary one, that Kaufman sets to answer, Is how can natural selection work, culling the fittest to survive, without something to act on? In other words, natural selection operates on the already existent (i.e., regressive engineering), not in the formation of the entity itself. Another problem is that 4 billion years, long as that is, is still not sufficient time for natural selection to have acted through a totally random, step-by-step process in determining today's survivors. Even 100 billion years would not be enough. Another problem is how could so many species have come into existence and failed to survive (99.9%), leaving a mere 100 million for the present, in the span of a mere 4 billion years (mathematically impossible on Darwin's theories alone).

The central theme of Kaufman's work is Self-organized Criticality, a scientific twist on the notion of irreducible complexity (from the Discovery Institute's lexicon, no less), where a minimal degree of inherent complexity in a subcritical-supercritical phase transition is what spontaneously orders the animate world and generates and sustains life in accord with other, as yet, unknown, but implicit laws. From the moment that a sufficiently critical diversity of molecules reached the ideal phase transition, life itself was "spontaneously generated" as inevitable, not by accident. Once life appeared, the acts of natural selection, adaptation, coevolution, evolution of coevolution, cellular, morphological, and physiological differentiation, ontogeny, niches, populations, stable cum-chaotic dynamics, etc., could operate, but in addition to forces beyond natural selection. And while speculative, apparently many scientists share Kaufman's intuitions, inferences, and insights.

But the "other" force or forces is not mystical, much less divine, even if they may be truly awesome. Rather, it is in the nature of the universe, and more particularly in our evolving earth, that these implicit laws work in tandem with Darwin's laws. At this point, these laws are posited from the empirical knowledge we do have, but have not yet demonstrated in the scientific manner to make them even hypotheses. But Kaufman's speculative biology is not a whimsical or arbitrary metaphysics, but logical inferences based on laws and facts already in place. Having done the easy work (thinking the notions of what these other general laws of nature must be like), now science must work in earnest to confirm or reject his speculative hypotheses.

The key word and concept throughout this humorous, heady, and exacting exposition is "complexity" and within the manifold complexities of lives, environments, and mutually intersecting dynamics is a spontaneous order that arises "for free" that in turn sustains stable and steady systems just at the subcritical-supercrticial phase transition (e.g., horizon, or "edge of chaos"). Another key word and concept is "dynamic." Steady-state and homeostasis are often thought of as a static plateau, but that is mistaken, as such states are actually in a fluctuating dynamic at the phase transition between equilibrium (death) and disequilibrium (disorder). Indeed, on many different levels, living organisms are born, dwell, and die precisely at this phase transition between the subcritical (stasis, moribund) and supercritical (chaotic, disordered) states. And the key thesis is that order ("for free") is embedded in the delicate balancing act precisely at this phase transition.

Kaufman extrapolates some of these implicit biological laws and applies them to human cultural and technological advancement. The "fit" is remarkably uncanny, helping us to understand some of the dynamics of technological improvements (and diminishing returns), innovation, extinction, and spontaneity of the economy. Perhaps the most salient features are the concepts of "dynamic" and "spontaneous."

Moreover, if an analogy can be drawn from the biosphere and ecology to the social and political realms, the overwhelming preponderance of biological evidence screams complexity, diversity, and interdependence of organisms and their environments, which arise spontaneously and reciprocally to each other, in a constant dynamic that is vibrant, active, and always on the threshold of "chaos," but retains some stability through change. It is only those social and political forms that are "adaptive" that are socially and politically the "fittest," and democracy and market economies are obviously the most adaptive mechanisms to adapt to changing human needs.

Frederick Hayek addressed himself to these very issues over 50 years ago, and called the market economy and democracies "spontaneous" associations, in contradistinction to "planned" economies and governments. The former "adapt" to changing environments and circumstances, while the latter lack flexibility, and thus do not easily yield to adaptive mechanisms. "Planned" economies attempt to calculate rationally human desires, motivations, and needs in either an abstract or a priori fashion, then calculate the mode of production, the degree, and whether to accommodate, as if some "Absolute Human Mind" could anticipate all contingencies and changes by a simple mathematical formula. The problem is that bureaucrats are notoriously theory-laden and too calculating to include, much less advance, diversity (think Medicare Part D for "planned" absurdity). In practice, socialisms impede innovation and stifle ingenuity. With no means of adaptation, there is no "fittest," much less any mechanism to adapt to the actual dynamics of the world.

Communism's planned economy is an extreme case of an irrational calculus asserting what the government will allow, applying the lowest-common denominator as a criterion of sufficiency. We all know of the U.S.S.R.'s food lines, limited products, forced housing, inferior merchandise, and minimal labor investment. But even weaker forms of the rational calculus, such as socialism, does not do much better. At least their democracies allow policies to change, even if it becomes years for government to adapt to the new exigencies. Even the most socialized societies have "capitalist" outlets, to provide some barometer of social wants and meeting them. Social insurance makes sense on many fronts, but social or state "planning" of economics has rotted state and worker. Kaufman's biological analogies explain why.

Postscript: Kaufman's book is a provocative, challenging, and fascinating (sometime heady) read. Even if all of his hypotheses in the abstract are found to be untrue, at least he captures the reader's imagination, and asks the questions that most of us non-dogmatic Darwinians have raised for some time. In a time when the "easy" and "orthodox" are all too convenient for slipping under the rug, Kaufman's questions (and suggested answers) go the the very nexus of the difficulties. His suggested answers are at once perhaps too simple, on the other hand, perhaps too complex. What is refreshing, above all, is that he's not afraid to ask, and even less fearful of suggesting solutions. Thank gawd for the Sante Fe Institute, where brave and curious minds still ask questions.

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Homeopathy for Your Cat: Remedies for Common Feline Ailments

Homeopathy for Your Cat: Remedies for Common Feline AilmentsI am currently studying for my Bachelor of Homeopathy and have two cats, and this book is the best that I have read on the subject. It's very informative, practical, and easy to use as a reference text, but it also makes a very interesting read as Dr Wolff gives some amazing insights into feline health and behaviour. After I read it I used one of the recommended remedies on one of my cats who has suffered from gastro-intestinal disease all his life (which is not curable with conventional medicine) and after only 2 doses all his symptoms had disappeared completely and he has been 100% healthy ever since. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how to treat their cat using homeopathy.

I think this book may literally have saved my cat's life. I had two 16+ year old siblings, one of whom died 5 months ago of sudden acute kidney failure. Her sister had a problematic set of blood tests a few weeks ago and all the vet could suggest was subQ hydration and low-protein foods that were left uneaten.

The remedy suggestions in this book have made ALL the difference. My senior kitty slurps the meds down in her drinking water and not only has returned to her bouncy self but her blood tests are improving.

The author of this book clearly knows his subject inside and out, and both loves and understands cats and their humans.

I have a little experiential background in homeopathy because I have had friends in the field, but I am no professional and would not attempt to "prescribe" for anyone except myself, but this book is so clear that one can take useful steps. It's very user-friendly, educational enough without overloading and highly practical.

I would recommend this with no hesitation at all.

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I have a cat who HATES going to the Vet. She had been suffering from an upper respiratory illness and couldn't shake it. I read this book and was able to narrow down exactly which remedy to use. I am happy to say she is back to her old self, healthy and happy to avoid a Vet. visit. The book was easy to read and understand and I was able to easily select the correct rememdy to use. Would encourage anyone to use this book for help in homeopathy with their cat(s).

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I was just beginning homeopathy studies when my cat was dealing with some issues and I bought this book. It's a great beginners guide because it mostly tells you what remedy fits what symptoms and problems best. There are others that also tell you why certain remedies are better or why the symptoms have appeared. They are more expensive, but I think could be a bit overwhelming for a beginning homeopath. If you think of your cats as family, get this book.

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it was very informative and now I just got to find out where to get some of these items. thanks

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Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection

Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily PerfectionI'm probably Jacobs' biggest fan. I have all of this books and have read, I think, all of his articles. With nearly every other author, I am loth to paid extra money for hardback and will simply wait until the book comes out in paperback. With Jacobs, however, I will immediately pre-order through Amazon as soon as I hear that he's about to publish a new book.

However, I think I've turned a corner with Jacobs and am starting to tire of his approach.

This book, while it was interesting and a page-turner, is something I would never read again.

Basically, Jacobs tries to be as healthy as possible for two years, trying out various philosophies and strictures of the health movement.

Although this "I did something kooky for a while and now I'm writing a popular book about it"-approach worked with the Bible thing, the George Washington thing, the cognitive biases thing, etc., it doesn't work so well with this material.

In short, I guess I was disappointed with this book and am starting to run out of patience with Jacobs. I accuse him of not treating his material fairly (at least here) and not taking his material seriously.

This project should have taken him 5 years, but instead he rushed through it in just two. Unlike Jacob's previous outings, you get the feeling on nearly every page that his real goal was to write and sell a book, not seriously explore the different philosophies, which is what really interests the reader.

Specifically, a lot of the health, diet, and wellness approaches required more than a friggin' afternoon to really take on board! I'm sure that the proponents of these various approaches -almost to a man -are probably frustrated with the book and feel that Jacobs sold them short. Like I'm so sure you can try a Macrobiotic diet for 3 days and start drawing conclusions about it.

One exercise philosophy that's looked at, for example, is the "Paleo" workout: basically imitating the exercises that cavemen would have engaged in.

Interesting. But Jacobs works out with them for about two hours and never sees them again. I'm sure that those guys, not to mention the other proponents, would say that you didn't give us a fair chance. Our approach takes weeks -sometimes months -before it starts bearing fruit in your life.

And then there are directly conflicting philosophies; Jacobs cannot possibly do justice to them both. One holds than men should retain their "essence;" another, than men should spill their "essence" as often as possible. You try out one for a few days and think you've made a fair (or even an informative) go of things?

Since Jacobs is rushing through hundreds of different philosophies and approaches in about two years, you get the feeling that he never really gives anything a fair chance to improve his health. At least with the Bible thing, you got the feeling he was seriously interested in dispassionately investigating to what extent it was possible to live as literally as possible by the Bible. And when the project was done, we learned something: 1) No; it isn't: at some point, you have to make judgment calls; and 2) Rituals influence your mind.

But with the wellness thing, you get the feeling he's simply not serious about investigating anything, so the book ends up being unsatisfying.

I never thought I'd use that word to describe a Jacobs book, but there you go.

Magazine writer A.J. Jacobs calls it "experiential journalism." He takes on seemingly ridiculous, yet intriguing, challenges. He reads the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. He lives the Bible, even the apparently trivial parts, such as not shaving your face. He outsources his life to a team of personal assistants in India.

He learns along the way and shares his discoveries. It's very entertaining. Jacobs has an easygoing and, for someone who writes almost exclusively in first person, surprisingly non-egotistical style. He works hard at his projects, preparing ahead, and doing research throughout. He's a real pro at being an amateur.

In his latest undertaking, he attempts to become healthy. This is more difficult than it sounds. He plans to go from slightly overweight and out of shape to heroic fitness. And that's not all. He also intends to improve the condition of all of his body parts: skin, nose, hands, etc. All this in two years!

One of the first roadblocks he runs into is the sheer volume of information and theories on how to be fit. The second obstacle is that much of the information is contradictory. There is no agreed upon, guaranteed path to health. Even trusted experts don't agree with one another.

But the main impediment to super health is self control. No surprise there. Jacobs manages to overcome the problem with a variety of methods. When he has trouble giving up a favorite snack, he writes a large check to the American Nazi Party and vows to mail it next time he gives in to temptation. He finds this kind of negative motivation very powerful.

Another trick that works for Jacobs, though not as dramatically effective as the negative motivation, is to digitally age a photo of himself (there's an app for that) so that he can better imagine himself in the future. Being able to picture his future self ("old A.J.") helps him to stick to his goals.

He also finds inspiration in two examples in their nineties his own grandfather who remained involved in community affairs long after his formal retirement, and fitness expert Jack La Lanne, who kept a busy professional schedule, spreading the word about healthy living, right to the end.

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The promise: "I am on a quest to be the healthiest man alive."

The reality: "I am going to spend TWO YEARS talking to folks with fringe health ideas and sampling most of them so I can share my reflections in a book."

Jacobs' does not even take himself seriously, instead spending his book advance to try it all. He has his teeth whitened (even the folks who sell this service don't claim it helps health) and he took pole dancing lessons (since it is claimed to be good exercise--wink, wink). He does not stick with anything, which is of course rule #1 of getting healthy; instead he flips and flops from idea to idea. Grins, nods, but really, so what?

I was really interested in what a man truly attempting to become a perfectly healthy specimen might look like. That would be a good story. This one...not so much.

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I have read and loved all of Ajs books and eagerly looked forward to the release date of this book. Even better, I was going on vacation and had uninterrupted time to sit back and enjoy. Unfortunately, this volume seemed formulaic and stale, like I had read it before. The jokes and twists were predictable. I didn't laugh out loud constantly like I did with the know it all etc. Still love you aj, but I think it's time to find a new genre. You are a good writerlets see something different!

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Jacobs seems like a nice guy from this book, but a very regular, ordinary, frankly uninteresting guy. I suppose this is why he does these " experiments" as they help make him interesting. The book's advice is unremarkable (Eat, Drink and Be Healthy, the Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating or Younger Next Year have much better information) and the various experiments he does are not particularly interesting or funny. I am in the minority here but if you enjoy things with a bit of an edge, don't appreciate trite homespun " wisdom" and a weak sitcom version of family life or if you like humor that is funny stay away. By the way I question some of the five star reviews, so many of them are so absurd (one reviewer wrote this was the best nonfiction book she had ever read!) and so strongly advise you to buy the book that it makes me feel they are written by friends of the author or perhaps by people who have some interest in its success. Maybe not, maybe some people are just more easily amused or have not read other health books, but this reader says stay away!

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Traditional Home Remedies: Time-Tested Methods for Staying Well-The Natural Way (Old Farmer's Almana

Traditional Home Remedies: Time-Tested Methods for Staying Well-The Natural WayTraditional Home Remedies is exactly as the title claims. This fantastic book is filled with remedies, healing folklore, and basic how-to instructions for nearly every ailment under the sun. It's a valuable resource for those of us who consider doctors the very last measure. The chapters cover: Kitchen Gardens & Medicinal Herbs, Infusions, Decoctions & Tinctures, Poultices, Salves & Ointments, Elixirs, Tonics & Aphrodisiacs, Food for Health & Well-Being, Women's Complaints, Midwifery & the Moon, Aromatics to Calm & Revive, Caution & Common Sense This book has remedies for earaches, kidney complaints, menstrual cramps, yeast infections, and so on. A definate must have for families large and small.

I love reading about how early settlers and even those before that in other countries cured their ailments with natural remedies. This book is quite thorough and very informative.

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The way things are going with this ecomony and health care I felt that I needed a backup plan. Great book.

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GOOD WAY TO BE INDEPENDENT FROM PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES. A LOT OF GOOD REMEDIES HAVE BEEN IGNORED BECAUSE THERE WAS NO PROFIT IN THEM. OUR GRANDPARENTS HAD A LOT RIGHT.

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Was told by a friend to get this book was very informative. Since so many of us today are on medications from doctors which are causing us more harm than ever she told me about home remedies. If they worked back in the days where medicine was not easy to get they used home remedies to heal themselves. I decided with her information on natural remedies to buy this book. I was happy I did. Lets stop making the Pharmacy and doctors rich. Lets do what they did in the old days... and save our lifes.

Smart Exercise: Burning Fat, Getting Fit

Smart Exercise: Burning Fat, Getting FitI bought this book because it was recommended in a mens' fitness magazine as being one of the best fitness books of the decade and I don't regret it. I've read a lot about diet and exercise and after a while it all sounds the came, but Mr. Bailey's book tackles the subject of exercise in a more in-depth manner. He doesn't just tell you that low-intensity full-body exercise is good for burning fat. He explains why in a convincing manner and the explanation goes beyond the "standard" stuff you tend to see in magazines. And it's not just about burning fat either. He explains what are the best ways to work out so that you can improve your aerobic fitness or how to train your short-term engery system for sprinting, etc...

Beware that there is some discussion of biochemistry -so you will see references to scary-sounding terms like the Krebs cycle, glucose, lactic acid, pyruvic acid, and triglycerides. However, he doesn't go into horrible, boring detail about these subjects. In fact, having some familiarity with this from previous biology classes, I think I might've enjoyed a little more in-depth treatment of these areas, but then that depends on what you're interested in. Don't worry -it's not super-complicated. He doesn't go through all the steps of the Krebs cycle for instance. He gives you enough to illustrate the points and to show that he knows what he's talking about.

Some might find his cute humor style annoying. For instance, he talks a lot about making you a "better butter burner". And he sometimes makes up silly stories that are not true to illustrate a point. It didn't bother me, but some people might be bothered by his lack of political correctness. He is quite liberal in his use of the word "fat people". He is pretty consistent in calling them "fat" rather than "unfit". Not being into political correctness, I found this amusing rather than offensive.

One other caveat is that the book is a little bit depressing at times in that it talks a lot about fat people (his phrase, see above :-) don't burn fat well, have a smaller range in which they can rest, have difficulty exercising at the proper intensity for results, and basically are just at a tremendous disadvantage while fit people burn fat well and have many advantages in getting fit. Might be depressing to you, but if it's true, you need to know so that you can take the right steps to get on the slow road toward fitness.

I enjoyed this book so much I gave it to all of my personal training clients for Christmas last year. If you have seen those health rider infomercials then you probably recognize Covert. You will be pleasantly surprised with his knowledge of exercise physiology and his great analogies and explanations of how your body burns fat and what it takes to keep it off. Covert has a knack for taking the most complex, scientific subjects and breaking them down so anyone can understand them. Some topics can get a little heavy but for the most part you will learn fact from fiction and get a few laughs along the way. Whether you are ready to get back on track, a weekend warrior or a hard core fitness enthusiast you can learn something from Covert. Take that four letter word D-I-E-T out of your vocabulary and get ready for realistic solutions to maintaining your health and exercising smarter.

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Get smart and fit with Covert Bailey's Smart Exercise. This well known fitness author has produced several great books over the last decade. Bailey's clear perception of excess fat as a lack-of-fitness problem is very useful. Although a few very heavy-eating fit people might be overweight, in general "being fat" is a state of not being fit. Attaining fitness will reduce and end fatness. Becoming fit, in Bailey's view, occurs at the level of the muscle cell. Aerobic exercise involving breathing heavily is the key type of exercise for allowing muscles cells to train to burn fat. Building muscle and making that muscle an efficient furnace of calories is the key to being trim. As Bailey says, use aerobic exercise to "be a better butter burner."

The basic Slimming Partner movement recommendation is to move under your own power, especially walking, for at least an hour per day. Although walking is a wonderful, healthy activity for everyone, Covert Bailey would probably urge activity more demanding than walking, such as adding wind sprints to a walk. For someone quite overweight and out of shape, wind sprint would mean just a faster walking pace, maybe with some uphill. Bailey feels that the, the normal walking pace people choose is too slow to provide big fitness and weight control rewards. He advocates higher levels exertion as a way to become fitter faster, supporting his ideas with a fairly detailed view of how muscles train on the level of the cell.

The book's analysis of training at the level of the muscular cell is informative and useful in creating positive mental images of the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise. Graphics are provided that help understanding of fairly complex subjects, energy metabolism with ATP and cellular enzymes. Bailey quickly and clearly states these subjects in ways most helpful to the person wanting to lose fat: Train your aerobic system, which he also calls your fat-burning system. This is easier to do if you can mentally visualize your trained muscle cells pulling fat out of your system and burning it as fuel.

In general, this book is an excellent addition to the library and reading list of anyone interested in becoming less fat and more fit.

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This book really will help you be smarter about how you exercise. Smarter, at least, in the sense of targeting your exercise program to reduce fat. Bailey doesn't spend a lot of time talking about cardoivascular fitness as a goal unto itself or building a hard body or other exercise goals you might have. I think he assumes these subjects are by now thoroughly covered by others. And although he does talk some about diet, this is no diet book. He focuses on the correct exercise approach to getting rid of fat.

For the most part, this book succinctly describes Bailey's account of the biochemistry of burning fat. He describes how fat is (and isn't) burned by the body and how to increase its fat-burning efficiency.

The book is somewhat technical and therefore dry for those not fascinated by biochemistry. Bailey tries to make up for this with insufferable cleverness. But the book is well worth toughing it through. It's not terribly long, and an investment of a couple of hours will arm you with enough knowledge to structure your workouts for maximum fat-burning efficiency, if that is one of your goals. Which kinds of exercise increase the body's ability to burn fat? Which kinds of exercise actually burn the fat most efficiently? They are not the same kinds of exercise, and both kinds need to be developed. There are also sections on improving athletic performance that are probably insufficient for serious athletes but which are very helpful for active amateurs like me.

I read the book about a year ago, and, although it wasn't the most entertaining book I've ever read, it has really helped my understanding of how to train and (yes) how to burn fat. I've really benifited from it.

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Covert Bailey is a master at making physiology easy to understand for the average person. If you are looking to improve your health and get into better shape, then you should have this title on your bookshelf. It does a great job of helping you to understand what works and what doesn't.

Much like Bill Phillip's book Body For Life, this book stresses that exercise is the key to reducing fat and improving overall health. It explains why diet alone won't help you to lose weight permanently, and what the benefits of cardiovascular exercise are.

When you finish reading this book, you will have a basic understanding of how the human body works, what makes people gain weight, how muscle is formed, how fat is formed and how to take it off permanently. Medical techno-babble is translated into terms that absolutely anyone can understand. His humor and amusing metaphors make for an enjoyable reading experience as well.

...This book is worth way more than it sells for. It is packed with useful information, good science and great advice.

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Healing Hepatitis and Liver Disease Naturally: Detoxification. Liver gall bladder flush & Cleanse. C

Healing Hepatitis and Liver Disease Naturally: Detoxification. Liver gall bladder flush & Cleanse. Cure Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B. Lower blood cholesterol and stop cirrhosisI just received this book today, and looking through it, it looks like it has a LOT of very useful info! BUT I'm disappointed in the HUGE DARK GRAY WATERMARK ACROSS EVERY SINGLE PAGE. This watermark has the publisher's logo and name, obscures the printing and makes the book hard to read. It is dark gray, 4 inches long, 1/2 inch tall, and is diagonal across the middle of every page. I understand if they wanted to keep people from copying the book, but isn't there technology to make the watermark lighter and have it show up dark in a photocopy (like the background of a paycheck does)?

I give the book itself 4.5 stars, but knocked it down to 3.5 because I'm having so much trouble even reading it. Very frustrating, I wonder if the author knows what's being done to his book?

Bottom Line: If you can get past the watermark problem, this is a good book to have.

UPDATE on 09/03/2012: I have now read more of the book and can make further comments.

PROS:

1) There really is SO much useful info in this book (just look at the table of contents!). It's nice to have so much information in one place. I learned a lot that I didn't already know, especially about my body's lymphatic system, just what bile is, and what the gall bladder does. I'm glad he included info on the liver/gall bladder flush.

2) I love that the author tells us honestly how Hepatitic C is transferred and NOT transferred. I am so sick of the mis-information in a lot of books and on the internet. This author states directly you CANNOT get Hep C from any activity that does not involve transfer of blood. End of story. Thank You Mr. Oyakhire.

3) There are MANY more pros, too many to list, the book is packed with information!

CONS:

1) No index. This book is so dense, it is screaming for an index, and I love an index. It's the first thing I look for in any non-fiction book.

2) The book is full of typos, but I can forgive those to get all of this great info, all except one. On page 101 we have this sentence: "Starches do not combine well with meats, so meats should be eaten with rice, potatoes, or bread." Obviously this should read "should NOT be eaten with...". This typo changes the entire meaning, and if someone is not paying close attention they may not catch it, and could eat a food combination that causes further harm to their body and liver.

3) And speaking of meat, the author provides a section of 42 recipes for healthy eating, with 20 of these recipes containing meat. Then AFTER the recipe section, there is a section going into great detail about how eating meat is bad for our livers. Huh? Then if you are going to include meat recipes, maybe the "meat is bad" disclaimer should come BEFORE the recipes. Or better yet, have more healthy recipes that don't include meat.

4) One of the recipes calls for Tuna. I recently had a job working in a laboratory testing Tuna for Mercury, and I can honestly tell you that 75% of the Tuna I tested had more than the legal limit of Mercury (more than 1ppm). Tuna is a very large fish, lives a long time and therefore has a lot of time to accumulate Mercury in its body, Mercury that it gets from the pollution we dump into the ocean. NO-ONE should eat Tuna! Especially someone with liver disease. Mercury is a heavy metal that builds up in your body, it does not go away, and it attacks your nervous system among other things.

5) I'm glad there's a list (on page 158) of things to avoid in order for my liver to heal, but I have an inquiring mind and I want to know WHY to avoid them. Especially the rubbing alcohol. I looked online and cannot find any reference as to why I should avoid this. I can only assume that it's because it's so volatile and breathing any chemical is bad for my liver.

Another bottom line: I AM glad I bought this book, it has much useful information and I've learned a lot from it. I can tell that the author is passionate about the topic and put a lot of work into this. I definitely think the book is worth buying! :-)

Healing hepatits and liver disease naturally

I have read so many books on Hep c, and this one is amazing. it is written from a different aspect. alot about healing the body to anable your body to disable replication of this virus. Lots of herbs, vitamins, lifestyle changes etc, and from a person who persoally suffered in what seemed to be at the bottom. alot of pain and suffering are in the person suffering with this virus. The writter has done alot of research and talks about how us hep c sufferers can understand, get a hold of it and from a different aspect get free from this liver killing virus

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I have read, studied and pursued health and healing for decades. I am not ill, but was seeking a deeper healing and discovered this PROFOUND writing. This moderate sized volume informs, encourages and supports all that I need to know to ensure that I WILL NOT become ill and if I should come under attack, gives me the tools I need to support my body in repair and restoration needed. My heartfelt gratitude to the author for taking his time to share here a wonderful knowledge of the human form and how to maintain it's integrity. Purely holistic and complete. Deep gratitude. Believe me----without a healthy liver, you won't be long in this world...and with a weak one, you most certainly won't enjoy the fullness of your days.

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I was born to a mom with HBV which makes me a chronic carrier. Last two years my liver enzyme rates would flare up from time to time, but always just slightly above the normal level. In the beginning of April, I found myself very tired , no appetite and slightly jaundiced. I went to my doctor and results came out 2 weeks later were alarming. AST almost 1K and ALT over 1.5k and viral load was beyond possibility of measurement. I thought the traditional treatment was the only way. After lots prayers and researches, all directions pointed to this book. I began to follow Dr. Oyakhire recommendations in the beginning of May and increasingly taking different herbs, intensifying exercises, changing diet, liver and colon cleansing, etc. Meanwhile learning from other books. Seven weeks later, on June 21, the first miracle: seroconversion of HBe to negative. Sept. 18th test results showed more miracles, both AST and ALT are in the normal rates, i.e. under 40; viral load slightly above 10K IU.

I also recommend other books: Prescription for Natural Cures: A Self-Care Guide for Treating Health Problems with Natural Remedies Including Diet, Nutrition, Supplements, and Other Holistic Methods; Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements; The First Year---Hepatitis B: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed.

For herbs: Himalaya Herbal Healthcare LiverCare/Liv.52, Liver Support, 180Vcaps; brands like Swanson; FoodNOW. I won't buy anymore from Jarrow Formulas since it's just a distributor with a very limited in-house scientific team.

For this book I bought KINDLE edition and has lots typos.

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I purchased this book because my sister has had a liver transplant and I thought it would be helpful. we love it

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Revolutionary Medicine, 2nd (Illustrated Living History Series)

Revolutionary Medicine, 2ndRead this one on a full stomach. This stuff is real. This is how medicine was back during the days of our founding fathers. Truly you must admire the men who went to war to make our nation beginning, for this is what they got if they did not die in battle but were wounded.

More shocking is if you choose to read the book by this same author of the medicine of the Civil war period, you will see how little actually changed between the two wars.

great sketches of instruments, define many of the treatments and period beliefs. gives period names of common ailments and also explains how different sicknesses were confused, such as fevers or disentary.

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I definitely would have rated this little book a lot higher if it weren't for the absolutely horrible print. It made me just about see double (my eyes aren't the best, but even so . . .) The drawings are great and the few descriptions I read interesting, informative, and, at times, humorous. The other books in this "history and Americana" series look interesting too, but I'll be darned if I'm going to spend money on something that is so frustrating to read.

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The book should have focused more on the medical . And, if you want our feedback, try not to order us to write a certain number of words, since we are using our valuable time to do this anyway.

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Lean, Long & Strong: The 6-Week Strength-Training, Fat-Burning Program for Women

Lean, Long & Strong: The 6-Week Strength-Training, Fat-Burning Program for WomenThis book is wonderful! Finally a book that tells you realistically that you can succeed at working out and getting the body you want. Wini's focus is not on spending hours in the gym, but on setting up a systematic approach to your workout to get in and get it done, by doing it right! I was sick and tired of going to the gym and wasting time not knowing what exercises to do. Following the Synergy sets in Wini's book helps you to complete a balanced workout in a short amount of time. The pictures are wonderful and her explanations of the exercise help you to really focus on the target area. She has multiple exercise for your core, legs, arm, and stretching exercise for your whole body. The best part is that you can do the workouts at the gym or at home and only need simple equipment. The main difference that I have noticed is that I am actually looking forward to working out because I know exactly what I am going to be doing and I am getting a good workout and making the MOST out of my time.

I think this book is wonderfully well written and well thought out. I do have one suggestion which is to take the book to your local Kinkos and have the binding cut off and three hole punched. This allows for moving the six week programs around to suit your needs at the time. I did this for $1.50 which added greatly to the user friendly aspect of the book.

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When you first see the cover of this book, you may feel intimidated by Wini's buff body but as soon as you open the book, Wini's warmth and positive tone give you the impression that you too can be fit and strong! I picked up this book about 11 weeks ago and have been working with it ever since. The changes in my body are amazing especially in my arms and legs. I finally have some biceps and my butt is very firm. My midsection, which is my weakest spot, has been gradually reducing and I am now at the point where I can easily wear a bikini and not look like a fool.

I am a big fan of workout books, but usually my interest wanes after about 6 weeks. This year, I have been determined to really trim off that last bit of flab and build some muscle this book is a great starting point. The information is sound, the pictures are great and the descriptions really help you to perfect your form.

I would recommend this to anyone who would like to get in shape it really is a pretty darn good book.

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I love this book so much that it's falling apart! The workout makes me feel strong, connected to my body and serene. I've never successfully followed an exercise program from a book for any lenth of time before. I got it about 6 months ago and have been pretty faithfully using it since. The combination of weights, yoga and stretching provides a lot of variety and it seems a very balanced workout, aside from the cardio. I do Wini's workout 4-5 times a week, and usually add 30-40 minutes of fast walking on a treadmill 3-4 times a week, sometimes not even on the same day. I've followed her advice to do the workout with intensity, and it's really worked for me. I use a roll-up mat, a few free weights, a CD of relaxing music for focus, and that's it. No getting dressed up and going to the gym, no giant machines. It's not for hard-core fitness folks, but there's enough here to challenge most of us.

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I loved BOdy Change but found the workouts weren't always convenient for the amount of time they took. I loved Body For Life because it gave me an alternating schedule for workouts but 6 days a week was just too hard to maintain.

Wini has taken the best of her last book and made it do-able for the average woman. I'm a working mom and now have focus in the gym on my 4 days/week schedule. Not only that, it's so effective and a great powerful use of my limited time.

The stretches are an added benefit and as I'm learning from my mom, an essential thing for women to practice to aid in aging without pain. These workouts are completely balanced and the stretches just reinforce the time we need to focus on ourselves.

I highly recommend this book and can't wait to see the long term results. Thank you, Wini!

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Kelee Meditation: Free your Mind

Kelee Meditation: Free your MindI have been practicing the Kelee meditation for a few years and have found it to be the most effective, efficient and user friendly form of meditation. I first came to meditation via the mindfulness route when looking for ways to deal with migraines. However, what I have found with the Kelee method is that it is the succinct form of meditation in which one learns to do the opposite of mindfulness, and not think. Rather relax into a state without thoughts for a shorter period of time, but consistently and the results are forthcoming as one's practice progresses. By utilizing the three P"s: practice, patience, and persistance I have experienced improvement with my migraines and beyond that a calmer, clearer perspective of life itself. Ten minutes twice a day is doable and sustainable while other more lengthy forms of mediation may be beneficial, they generally are not able to be maintained for the long haul and actually miss the point of getting out of one's head and thoughts entirely. Kelee meditation is simple, successful, serene.

David J. Spencer, Ph.D.

I've really enjoyed all of Ron's books and all his insights. I've found that doing the Kelee Meditation is the simplest and most profound way of understanding myself. In the process of getting more clarity, I've also found much more contentment, joy & meaning. The benefits of seeing the world more clearly literally help every aspect of my life. I highly recommend the Kelee Meditation to anyone searching for peace, happiness or fulfillment. The Kelee Meditation really is a silent miracle and it will free your mind. Enjoy the reading!

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I have been studying the Kelee via Meditation for over 6 years, with profound results. I came across it as an elite coach in 2006, with one of my athletes, who studies with Ron, introducing it to me. Like any great teacher, everything Ron teaches leads you inwardly, so you can see for yourself, not only what you are looking for, but what may be blocking you. His clarity on the subject of the mind and meditation means he doesn't waste any words in his books. I think there is enough confusion on the subject of the mind and spirituality and it's great to learn from someone that knows. If you want to learn about your mind and a simple meditation technique that works, this is a great way to start. I strongly recommend his other books too, which dive deeper into the subject of the mind, without ever compromising his clarity and simplicity. Matt:)

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With a daily practice of Kelee Meditation I have experienced moments of contentment. I'm learning that acceptance and love can't be felt until I feel it within, for myself. It's an ongoing practice that's helping me release fear to feel freedom in my mind and heart. I am grateful to Ron W. Rathbun for his clear and simple method that stems from truth.

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This took ten minutes to read and goes through the process twice which is helpful. I've started incorporating it into my daily routine and while it is hard to be quiet, I hope to get better at it over time.

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The Doctors Book of Food Remedies: The Latest Findings on the Power of Food to Treat and Prevent Hea

The Doctors Book of Food Remedies: The Latest Findings on the Power of Food to Treat and Prevent Health Problems - From Aging and Diabetes to Ulcers and Yeast InfectionsThis fact-filled volume has foods listed in alphabetical order, interspersed with health conditions that can be remedied. Some of the latter are intuitively expected in a book like this (e. g., heartburn, high blood pressure), while others are not (e. g., lupus, aging, motion sickness).

This work consists of 140 short chapters, each on a separate topic. This makes it easy to zero-in on a particular issue of interest or concern without getting bogged down in details and tangents. Furthermore, there is also a handy, profuse index for cross-reference of foods and health conditions.

The information presented is extensive. While some of it can pass for "conventional wisdom", other information cannot--at least not easily. Did you know, for example, that beans can stabilize blood sugar and lower cholesterol levels? Or that the quercetin found in the skins of apples can guard against heart attacks? Or that honey has both antibacterial and antibiotic properties? Or that the oleic acid found in avocados can help lower cholesterol levels? Or that the lowly, smelly onion is full of compounds that can help prevent the development of cancer and coronary heart disease?

Prior to purchasing this book I posted a couple of comments below M. Gouin's three star review (who knocked it because it promotes milk as a healthy food). Now that I have had a chance to look it over I thought I would review it.

Over-all I like the book and would recommend it for just about everyone. Each easy to read chapter focuses on one specific food with a recipe at the end of each chapter. I haven't tried the recipes yet, but they look pretty good. There are a lot of health books available offering nutritional information that usually focus on supplements. And while I am a proponent of supplements, this book focuses on the specifics of food sources which should be our primary source of sound nutrition. Man will never be able to extract or create anything as perfectly as nature.

That said, I could not give it five stars because it comes from a highly commercialized viewpoint, very typical of Prevention Magazine (the editors of this book). IE: some of the otherwise great-looking recipes promote the use of microwaving a very poor way to cook foods and one that should be avoided. It lists ingredients such as wheat germ an old-school 'health food' known to go rancid so quickly that it may cause more problems than it's worth. But this is easy to ignore. The chapter on milk is lacking in any substantive recent research and, while not as old-school as 'milk is the devil' is still quite behind the latest info. (Please see my 2nd post under the comments of M. Gouin's review for details.)

Finally, the binding of the book I received was pretty cheap. The covers are thin and curl back away from the pages after only a short time of use. The inside is printed on cheap newsprint with uneven ink distribution (going from normal to very light, page-to-page). Although the ISBN's are identical, apparently I purchased a "discounted" copy (@ $8.99) so maybe the higher-priced version will be a better quality, and for that reason the number of stars I gave it did not reflect this. Also worth noting is the description says it was updated in 2008, but the copyright inside the book shows 2007 (and is also reflected on the copyright page of the "look inside" view on the Amazon website).

Other than this, I still recommend it because it contains a lot of useful information. Another book, perhaps a bit better and with a similar food-focus, is 'Secrets of Longevity: Hundreds of Ways to Live to Be 100' by Dr. Maoshing Ni.

Jan, 2011 Update: I returned the softcover edition I mentioned above and replaced it with the hardcover book. The hardcover is pretty good for the $15 price (Especially when you consider the size of the book!)

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This is one of tbe best books I have ever purchased! My mother suffered a stroke 2 years ago, and has headaches frequently. The only relief she had was liquid Tylenol which eased the pain. Since reading this book, I discovered that ginger root relives her pain as well and quicker than Tylenol, or similar pain medication. I am so pleased with the natural remedies that this book provides, that now I am finding remedies for cholestrol problems that my aunt is encountering. This book is such a treasure and I appreciate the fact that natural remedies are available, rather than having to use pharmaceuticals, that are potentially harmful. I read this book often, as I am continually finding natural remedies that are so helpful.

Thank you,

Liz Lisku

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I had high hopes for this book considering the wonderful title but soon found it is run of the mill conventional. As soon as I hit the "Dairy is good for you" chapter, I knew the authors were not fully informed as dairy is of concern and may CAUSE much osteoporosis not cure it.

This book is good for the person who is just beginning to think of food as medicine but leaves out many of the important new facts regarding possible negative food issues.

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I would recommend this book for anyone who diets and/or takes multiple vitamins and herbal supplements. It a great resource in helping you understand the effects of the foods and supplemlents we take for granted. It also has great advice on what foods can help certain medical conditions.

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