Talking Back to Ritalin, Peter R. Breggin, MD, Common Courage Press, 1998
The Sinful Ones, Fritz Leiber, Pocket Books, 1980
Hidden Amazon: The Greatest Voyage in Natural History, Dimi Press, 1999
The Wounded Cormorant and Other Stories, Liam O'Flaherty, W.W. Norton and Company, 1973
Designing Babies: The Brave New World of Reproductive Technology, Roger Gosden MD, W.H. Freeman and Company, 1999
Something to Declare, Julia Alvarez, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1998
The Terrorists of Irustan, Louise Marley, Ace Books, 1999
The Climate of The Country, Marnie Mueller,Curbstone Press, 1999
Pretzel Logic, Lisa Rogak,Williams Hill Publishing, 1999
Grand Central Winter, Lee Stringer, Seven Stories Press, 1998
MAI: The Multilateral Agreement on Investment and the Threat to American Freedom, Maude Barlow and Tony Clark, Stoddart Publishing Co., 1998
Duck Egg Blue, Derrick Neill, Prometheus Books, 1999
Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents, Ellen Ullman, City Lights Books, 1997
Memory and Dream, Charles de Lint, Tor, 1994
Health Care for Beginners, David Brizer, Writers and Readers Publishing, Inc., 1994
Chump Change, Dan Fante, Sun Dog Press, 1998
Famous for 15 Minutes: My Years With Andy Warhol, Ultra Violet, Avon Books, 1998
Talking Back to Ritalin, Peter R. Breggin MD, Common Courage Press, 1998
The Sinful Ones, Fritz Leiber, Pocket Books, 1980
Hidden Amazon: The Greatest Voyage in Natural History, Dick Lutz, Dimi Press, 1999
The Wounded Cormorant and Other Stories, Liam O'Flaherty, W.W. Norton and Company, 1973
Designing Babies: The Brave New World of Reproductive Technology, Roger Gosden MD, W.H. Freeman and Company, 1999
Something to Declare, Julia Alvarez, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1998
The Terrorists of Irustan, Louise Marley, Ace Books, 1999
The Climate of the Country, Marnie Mueller, Curbstone Press, 1999
Pretzel Logic, Lisa Rogak, Williams Hill Publishing, 1999
Grand Central Winter, Lee Stringer, Seven Stories Press, 1998
Duck Egg Blue, Derrick Neill, Prometheus Books, 1999
Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents, Ellen Ullman, City Lights Books, 1997
Memory and Dream, Charles de Lint, Tor, 1994
Health Care for Beginners, David Brizer, Writers and Readers Publishing Inc, 1994
Chump Change, Dan Fante, Sun Dog Press, 1998
Several million children are being treated with Ritalin and other stimulants because they have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, the symptoms of which include hyperactivity or inattention. Such drugs are simply mild stimulants that correct a chemical imbalance in the brain. Sounds safe and reasonable for children, right?
Very wrong, according to Breggin. There is no solid evidence that ADD is a genuine disease or disorder of any kind. A large percentage of children on stimulants become robotic, depressed or withdrawn. Ritalin is addictive and is a common drug of abuse among children and adults. Short and long term, Ritalin has no positive effect on a child's psychology, or on any other aspect of their lives. Ritalin can cause permanent neurological tics like Tourette's Syndrome. There is a lot of scientific confirmation that ADD-like symptoms are caused by environmental problems.
If Ritalin is so harmful, why is it prescribed so often? Parents who are terrified that their children are not exactly normal listen too readily to doctors and psychiatrists who may or may not know any better. Parents also listen to teachers and school administrators who seem to think that Students = Robots. There are also the drug companies who also seem to put profit ahead of anything else, and federal agencies more interested in easing the way for the drug companies than in doing any actual regulating.
For parents of any child who has been diagnosed with ADD, or children who seem to be a candidate for such a diagnosis, this book is Very Highly Recommended.
Carr McKay is a clerk at General Employment. One day, a frightened young woman comes in, asking if he's one of "them", and if he's been "awakened". Carr has no idea what she's talking about. A few minutes later, a man sits at Carr's desk, pretending to smoke a cigarette, and answering employment-type questions like he's talking to an invisible person. One of Carr's colleagues suddenly starts ignoring him. Carr's original thought is that this is some sort of strange joke. He soon learns differently.
The woman, Jane, tries to keep him out of it, but Carr soon learns that everyone has a "pattern" that they're expected to follow through life. As long as a person stays in their pattern, everything is fine. When anyone does something unexpected, or goes out of their pattern, they aren't just invisible, they suddenly don't exist to the rest of the world, until they return to their pattern. In other words, the universe is a giant machine.
I really enjoyed this book. It's very thought-provoking, and Leiber is a great author, so this is also very well done. For something short and different, this is the book.
This book is half ecological introduction to the Peruvian Amazon and half travelogue of two different trips through the area, by river and through the jungle, available to anyone. (It's also part advertisement for the company that provides these expeditions.)
The upper parts of the Amazon are in much better condition than the lower, Brazilian, part of the river. People are encouraged to see the Amazon, up close and personal; they will aid in the study of the river. The income generated for the indigenous peoples of the area certainly won't hurt.
This book goes into a lot of detail about the various plants and animals found on the Amazon, both from a traveller's diary and a scientist's point of view. The topics range from piranhas (there has never been a verified report of anyone being killed by piranhas) to capuchin monkeys to the history of the rubber trade to which river is longer, the Amazon or the Nile.
For armchair travelers who like to read about exotic places, and for those with the resources to go and see for themselves, this book is well worth reading. It's easy to read, and packs a lot of information.
Rural Ireland in the earlier part of the 20th Century is the setting for this group of very short stories.
A goose is born, and because it doesn't develop like a normal goose, its keeper, an old woman, and the rest of the village think that it is some sort of fairy goose, gifted with supernatural powers. This goes on until the village priest does something about it. Getting a fishing canoe back to land becomes a race against time with a major storm on the way. A brother and sister are emigrating to America in the morning, but tonight the village, and their parents, try to put a brave face on it. A cow gives birth, and needs a little extra encouragement to take care of the calf. Another story looks at the effect of the Irish Civil War on the people caught in the middle.
This is a fine group of stories told with real style and grace, with the reader feeling like they are in the story. My only complaint is that some of these stories feel like vignettes, or parts of stories, rather than complete stories. Other than that, this is a very good example of Irish literature.
This book ranges from the history of child-bearing to present technology, where egg and sperm can be frozen for later use and some genetic diseases can be fixed before birth.
In the past, poor hygiene meant that women needed to have lots of children, because some of them wouldn't survive. In some cultures, girls are prized because they have a chance to marry someone of a higher social class. Whereas, in other cultures, ultrasound is used for sex selection. If the fetus is female, the mother walks out of the clinic and into the abortion clinic, usually right next door.
In the womb, sometimes the initial chromosome division goes wrong, and the person gets an extra chromosome, which leads to Down's Syndrome. Sometimes, either or both parents are carriers for some genetic disease, like cystic fibrosis. What should the parents do? This book also explores topics like in vitro fertilization, cloning, making a perfect baby through eugenics, birth practices of other animals, and pregnancy outside the womb.
Gosden does a very good job at making this book painless reading. It's an interesting book, and the science doesn't get too overwhelming. It's recommended for everyone.
This group of previously published essays forms something of an autobiography. The first half talks about having to leave her homeland of the Dominican Republic, along with the rest of her family, when she was only ten years old, because of her father's participation in a failed coup attempt against the dictator Trujillo. While her father set up a medical practice in New York City, the rest of the family set about the task of living as hyphenated Americans. She talks about surviving the New York City public school system, watching the Miss America Pageant to get ideas about beauty, concern about the reaction back home from her writing.
The second half talks about the life of a writer. After spending several years as a traveling writing teacher, she settles down in Vermont, marrying the son of German immigrant farmers from Nebraska. She is given tenure at a local college, only to give it up several years later to become a full-time writer. She talks about the day-to-day process of writing. Alvarez takes the reader along on a research trip for a possible novel that never sees the light of day.
As an experienced writing teacher, Alvarez does a very good job of keeping the reader interested. Prospective writers, and writing teachers, would be well advised to read and absorb this book.
For women, life on the planet of Irustan is very restricted. They must remain veiled at all times and have no place in public life. Their only role is as a healer and mendicant. Zahra IbSada, in addition to being wife of the Chief Director of the planet, sees the joy in the women she treats, but she sees plenty of pain, too. Zahra has no choice but to send a wife back to the husband who brutally beat her, until he succeeds in killing her. She sees a prostitute suffering at the hands of her employer.
The twelve-year-old daughter of Zahra's best friend, Kalen, is to be married to a man whose two previous wives died under mysterious circumstances. Kalen begs Zahra for help until she reluctantly agrees to do something medical, and untraceable, about it. Later, a man known to be very rough with prostitutes gets the same treatment.
Zahra's small act of rebellion threatens to change the lives of not just everyone around her, but all the women on the planet.
Marley does a very good job with the characters in this book. It's an interesting, thought-provoking story, and far above average.
Set in the Tule Lake Japanese Segregation Camp during World War II, it tells the story of Denton Jordan and his wife Esther, staff members struggling to do their best for the Japanese prisoners. Denton is a conscientious objector at a time when the manly thing to do is join the military. Esther is the daughter of Jewish intellectuals most concerned with what's going on in Europe.
The director of the camp, Ted Andross, has imposed harsh and restrictive measures on the Japanese. The only way out of the camp for the Japanese is to renounce their emperor, whom they revere as a god. Some of the Japanese are willing to work with the Americans, while others have become radicalized and begin to push back just as hard.
This isn't just a Japanese vs Americans novel. Denton and Esther's marriage is sinking, fast. The situation also pits Andross against his staff and friend against friend.
In a way, this is not an easy book to read. It tells the story of people struggling with their consciences in the midst of a demoralizing situation. Having been born at the Tule Lake Camp, Mueller does an excellent job at putting the reader right in the middle of everything. This one is highly recommended.
A little-discussed aspect of coming out as a gay person is: what if it happens while the person is married? What happens to the relationship with the spouse?
Emily and Michael Spencer were, by all accounts, happily married and publishing a small-town weekly newspaper. Gradually, Michael becomes bitter, sullen and withdrawn. Emily's first thought was "midlife crisis". Eventually, she learns that Michael is gay.
In the beginning, Emily tries to sympathize with Michael's need to be gay, thinking that it's just a phase in his life. She finds a support group of other straight spouses, and learns that things with Michael will never return to the way they were. Through all this, Emily tries to understand Michael's feelings, including, for instance, what makes a person want to be intimate with someone of the same gender.
This book does a very good job looking at the institution of marriage, and what makes a marriage worth fighting for. It has humor and fairness, and some quite explicit pieces, too. This isn't just a very good, well-written gay novel, it's a very good, well-written novel.
This is the self-written story of how a person can go from having a successful design studio in 1980s Manhattan to spending the next eleven years as a homeless crack addict.
Stringer paints an uncompromising picture of life on the streets. While collecting cans and bottles for the nickel deposits, he runs into his old boss from his time in advertising. He explains what goes through an addict's mind while they're looking to score, and stay one step ahead of police drug sweeps. The police frequently go through Grand Central Station, rousting the homeless for criminal trespass, but save it for the end of their shift in order to collect overtime. A streetwise Romeo wants to make the prostitute mother of his child an honest woman.
Stringer also talks about getting off the streets with the help of Street News, the newspaper of the homeless. He rises from selling the paper on street corners, to writing for it, to becoming senior editor, sleeping on a couch in the office.
Lee Stringer has been, justifiably, in my opinion, compared with Jack London. Both are great writers, and both show the humanity in those at the bottom of society, because they have been there.Top of Page
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Cameron Wright is a young man who has completed all but one of the requirements for his Eagle Scout badge. During an interview with the Eagle Scout board, he says he doesn't know whether or not he believes in God. His badge is held up until he "reconsiders" his answer. His ultrareligious father had more than something to do with it. His father also says that Cameron's scale model of the Grand Canyon for his high school science class is all wrong. (He used the color Duck Egg Blue to paint the river.)
Meantime, Mark Edwards, Cameron's science teacher, who is also dating his divorced mother, is being pressured by the principal to give "creation science" equal time in the classroom. It not only threatens his cherished position at the school, but also threatens the separation between church and state. The school's Christian Club, sponsored and run by a teacher, is no help.
Cameron spends the school year trying to decide if he should tell the Eagle Scout board what they want to hear and get his badge, or stand up for his beliefs.
When writing about creationism, it's easy to take an attitude of I'm Right, You're Wrong. Neill doesn't do that. Some people will like it, and some will hate it, but everyone should read Duck Egg Blue.
Here is a look at the life of a freelance software engineer running her own computer consulting business in present-day San Francisco's Multimedia Gulch. The temptation to give herself up to the world of machine logic sometimes gets hard to resist, but she knows that things like love, hate and human contact don't easily fit into lines of code.
She talks of teams of software engineers forming for a specific job, maybe, or maybe not, to form again in the future. She talks of a small business owner whose secretary has been working for him for 25 years, a woman he trusts to pick up his children from school. He wants to start counting her keystrokes, not because she has suddenly become less trustworthy, but simply because he now has the capability to do it with new software. An AIDS nonprofit group, for whom Ullman is helping to build a database program, suddenly wants to add more and more capabilities to the software.
Ullman does an excellent job at bringing heart, humanity and a female perspective to what can be a very technical and very male subject. This is very much worth reading, for techies and non-techies alike.
Set in the Canadian seacoast town of Newford, this contemporary fantasy is about Isabelle Copley, a young artist studying at the local university. One day, while idly sketching in the park, she is accosted by this ugly, unkempt troll of a man, and told to report to his studio the next morning. He really is Vincent Rushkin, a world-famous, and very solitary, artist. He takes Isabelle under his wing, and she learns a lot from him, that is, when she isn't suffering through one of his towering rages.
As time goes on, Isabelle finds that she has the ability to put a person in a painting, and have that person come to life. For a while, she falls in love with one of her creations, called numena, a Native American named John Sweetgrass. Isabelle also discovers that, not only is Rushkin a world-class SOB, he also feeds off the life force of the numena. One time, he forces her to set her own house on fire, where hundreds of numena paintings are stored, thereby killing all of them. Another time, he kidnaps Isabelle and forces her to bring more numena to life.
Is "classic" too strong a word? Not in this case. De Lint does a wonderful job hinting at weird things happening, instead of plastering them all over the page. This is a long novel, but very much worth it.
Health care can be a confusing and mysterious thing. This book does a very good job at cutting through the fog and shedding some much needed light.
One estimate says that environmental pollution contributes to approximately 25% of today's medical problems. There are not enough primary care doctors, and too many specialists, especially in rural areas and the inner city. Many health care provider networks and insurance companies try to discourage those with major (expensive) medical problems from joining. In countries with national health insurance, like Canada, Britain, and France, the amount of GNP spent on health care stays the same from year to year. In the US, the percentage of GNP going to health care rises by 20% per year. Between 1970 and 1982, the number of health care providers rose by 57%, while the number of administrators rose by 171%. Less than one-half of one percent of the national health budget is spent on preventive measures like prenatal care and reducing environmental toxins from industry.
This is a short book, but it really shows the current state of American health care. This subject affects everyone at one time or another, so this book is highly recommended for everyone.
The life of Bruno Dante, one-time poet, is heading downhill, fast. He drifts from job to job, that is, when he isn't in detox. Married, and living in New York City, he gets a call from Los Angeles, saying that his famous screenwriter father is dying. They fly west, and after his father takes longer than expected to die, Bruno takes off, with Rocco, his father's bull terrier, and lives on the streets.
He spends some time in a cheap motel with a teenage hooker who has a severe stuttering problem that only goes away when she's drunk. He indulges in seemingly mass quantities of less expensive alcohol. He gets a job with a video dating service that involves going to people's homes and getting them to sign up for full, and expensive, membership. He gets his fill of Hollywood stories from friends of his father.
This story is not without heart and tenderness, but it is quite a raw novel, too. Fante certainly pulls no punches here. He also knows how to write an interesting story that doesn't stop moving from start to finish. One can almost smell the cigarettes and cheap wine all over this novel.