Take it with a grain of salt
357648
Okay, so obviously many reviewers totally did not enjoy this movie, and do not find it believable - which is fine. However, taken as it is, a piece of fiction in film, I think that it was successful.

Let's face it: the effects of global warming are indeed all around us, with acid rain and the spread of once tropic-exclusive diseases, but I think that "The Day After Tomorrow" does exemplify the effects of our pollution, but for a point. Toward the end of the film, I thought that it was a bit preachy about what we should be doing with the world's resources, but you have to admit that the film was rather entertaining.

First of all, Jake Gyllenhaal is absolutely divine in just about everything, from "Donnie Darko" to "The Good Girl," so it's no surprise that he did a great acting job in "The Day After Tomorrow," either.

There are emotional aspects to the film, also, with children being left behind in a cancer ward of a hospital, to people freezing alive in the eye of the storm, to a father fighting to save his son.

Like I already mentioned, I don't think that the plot is currently feasible, but instead serves as a warning to what may come in many, many, many years.

I enjoyed the film and would watch it again. I recommend it to fans of Gyllenhaal and advocates for the environment. Keep an open mind and remember that another ice age probably won't happen for many years to come (despite the fact that the film scared my 16-year-old sister silly). If your kids are sensitive or scare easily, monitor the film while watching.
2286714
I was thinking of buying this book and read a few pages from Amazon's preview. If this book inspires people to get more sleep, then it's probably worth a higher rating, but it pains me to see misinformation being spread.

I'm a scientist and teach a course on cancer at my university. The loose language about estrogen's role in cancer concerned me; I understand the need for metaphors and shorthand, but "estrogen bad, melatonin good" explanation makes me a little sad. But then I read that doctors in some areas live, on average, 10 years less than other people. Stevenson implied this gap is partially attributable to shift work. This seemed like an incredible result, and one my MD/PhD friends had never complained about, so I dug around on PubMed and found strong evidence that doctors in fact tend to live longer than other professionals and do not have inordinately high rates of diabetes or cancer.

It is not hard to find a small study to support nearly any claim: that's how statistics works. But it's negligent to trumpet the results of few, cherry-picked studies. The public has so little faith in science, and so I worry about books that make cavalier claims that will later be--if they have not already been--overturned.
937013
I read this series of books quite some time ago. At the time I found them to be informative and enjoyable. But recently I was told by several historians that the author skewed the facts on several items in the book to make things more interesting or different then they really were. Which is my reason for rating these books so low. If you are just looking for a book to read for fun then they are a good pick. But take the information with a grain of salt. I recommend doing your own research into the subject.
801327
I don't like the strong sales techniques the author uses to push this book (and every other related manual).  I think the examples are too simplistic and he drones on using tired catch-phrases that are not backed up.  I think the author has a great point to make, but needs to spend more time on examples, and less time doing stupid sales videos.  The more I read about the bailouts and bank money give-aways I find more details I wish the author would explain or include, but it would not support the simple message that we are all going to towards financial ruin.

I am not saying there is no value in this book.  Take some of the advice to increase the diversity in your portfolio, but doing blindly follow it.  Needs more work before you should blindly follow its advice.
3775827
After reading the hype about the book, I thought it was definitely something I should explore further.  It sounded like I might benefit from learning more about the possibility that I had a magnesium deficiency.  Unfortunately, what the PR didn't tell the public up front was that the (most reliable) testing required to determine if one's magnesium levels were low was extremely expensive and not readily available anyway.  There is also the matter of finding the specific type of magnesium recommended.  It's not something you can locate on your local pharmacy shelves (or most health stores, either) and is quite expensive when ordered through the company specified in the book.  Conclusion:  Magnesium might be a "miracle", but it doesn't look like most of us will ever know if it's true or not.
4672296
My main concern is the conflicting advice. This applies to all gout recommendation - even from my doctors - so I can't expect more and that's ok. Consider it three stars for the whole gout care industry. Why, in 2018, can't science provide definitive advice that authors can use to write books like this one. It shakes one's faith in the healthcare industry.

An example is coffee. I've seen it on every list from "Never" to "Often". In this book it falls into the "Lots" list. Also, I thought there was good breads and not-so-good breads and not all need to be avoided. Yet on the avoid list is simply bread. Yesterday, at the doctor, I'm told red meat is not bad but stay way away from pork. Red meat is on the avoid list while I don't see pork anywhere.

I'm just a bit frustrated and maybe taking it out on this book a little but I have yet to find any advice from anyone from doctors to health websites to fellow sufferers as anything better than OK advice. At least none of it seems to be wrong on purpose but all of it seems to be inconsistent.
2541677
To me, this is not a very good book on money management. I could only interpret the author as saying to essentially: delay paying off your mortgage in order to continue having a tax-deductible item, spend very little time on your finances, and believe that the stock market will somehow fix itself.
I don't know about you, but this does not look like a recipe for long-term success. With a weak economy and a highly publicized ENRON scandal that seems to be tying in our Commander-in-Chief more and more, America has reached a point where I'm happy to go with a more conservative route of money market accounts, CD's and government-issued bonds. This approach may not yield a high rate of return, but the returns are nonetheless positive.
Yes, we would like a quick approach to wealth, but folks, some people just happen to be at what might appear as the right place at the right time.
If you want to learn fiscal responsibility and know what to do if your monetary assets head south, go with Your Money or Your Life by Dominguez and Robin as well as internet resources with informative links such as The Dollar Stretcher. At least these items have an extraordinary wealth of information with sound advice for people, ordinary or not.
858477
Most of the other reviews (as of 02/12/11) covered the same themes, so I'll try to touch on other points. The author wisely asks the reader to digest the arguments and evidence he presents instead of skipping to the chapter advising actual investments. I agree, but since my comments relate specifically to the investment advice, I'll need to mention what that advice is.

1. The "trade of the decade" is to bet on rising interest rates. Average investors don't have a good method of doing so. One can use an inverse long-term treasury ETF or fund, but these don't track very well over the long term. The other option is to invest in futures, which is outside the scope of average investors. So a bit more thought on how a typical IRA investor might exploit rising interest rates would be good.

2. Other highly recommended investments are commodities (especially agriculture) and precious metals, as well as commodity producers like gold miners and energy companies. But sky-rocketing commodity prices always bring out accusations that investors are bringing hunger and cold to the poor through speculation and hoarding. The possibility that such investments will be banned by the government is not addressed, but is a real possibility. I think discussions of some Plan B would have been helpful. Maybe there are no Plan B options - that would be helpful information as well. Outlawing the ownership of gold or other restrictions is always a risk in extreme currency crises.

The very wealthy seem to always have options like moving their wealth abroad, or buying into hedge funds that can do things the average mutual fund cannot. As a small retail investor, I feel my options are much more limited.

I agree with other reviewers that the analysis in this book is thorough and objective, and the discussion on the inflation-deflation debate is the best I've seen. Overall, a solid and practical book. I just hope a desperate US government, eager to server its oligarch overseers, does not torpedo the advice in this book by making much of it illegal when things start to spin out of control.
1972013
To be honest, I agree with most of what the rewiewer below had to say. The authors are subpar, but that's to be expected with the Eldredges. The reviewer is also correct in calling them out on their sketchy interpretations of Scripture. In fact, they use *so few* Scripture references, you better have Bible in hand while you're reading this book so you can do your own research for their controversial statements.

However, I wouldn't go SO FAR as to bash the *concept* of the book. While I agree that not EVERY woman is broken and helpless, there are a SIGNIFICANT number of women who have experienced tremendous hurts. The authors touch on some widely accepted, scientifically proven psychological issues that can develop in women at young ages.

All in all, this book needs to be read with a discerning mind. THIS IS NOT SCRIPTURE so not every sentence is truth....keep that in mind! My suggestion would be to start with this book to gain some insight but if you're dealing with some of the serious issues discussed in this book, professional help is a must!
2819241
The book is clever no doubt. But I have a few problems with it.

First, after doing some more research on the author, reading his other materials and stuff written about him, and just generally consuming his content, I sense that Manson is just making a career out of being that person who's contrarian just for the sake of it. He has this very sarcastic view on life. Yes, some people might need that wake up call, but I'm pretty sure that most truly successful people don't think that way.

Second, and this might be a bit trite, but I don't trust authors who have to resort to using profanity to get their point across. I understand the use of language in movies and TV and such in order to increase dramatic effect. But in terms of a self-help book...I don't see the use. Reading his book, although interesting, was actually somewhat annoying because of how frequently he uses satirical, foul language to get his point across. This is neither professional or necessary.

I might be one of those self-entitled losers (according to Manson) who gets easily offended by books like this...but I'm not. I've read other contrarian advice books about business and life that didn't use sarcastic, foul, cynical language to get their points across. I honestly felt depressed after reading his book - not encouraged and certainly not convicted to change. Just depressed. I suggest reading the book, only if you want to see how low some people will go to 'gain attention' for their self-help methods.

I suggest that you read books by people who have actually accomplished things in life, apart from their own blogs and marketing schemes. Read books by people who have built enterprises and changed the world. It's okay read books by 'thinkers' whose main job is to "think about and analyze (and blog)" about the world around them...but be careful.
483278
Since there are many positive reviews this book must appeal to some people, to me it seems like a very fragmented approach and re-hash of a lot of well known investment fundamentals.  It also obviously is touting hedge funds.  It is also talking up fund of funds, which in the case of hedge funds puts the fees into pretty astronomical territory.  I generally enjoy John Mauldin and his column, but for Mauldin to recommend this book is somewhat suspect.  Serious investors can find better books than this.
4721029
I have read the reviews of this book and am impressed with how generous most reviewers have been. There are lots of reviews throwing down a 5-star vote and making little comment on the book itself, so don't let the star power sway you too much.

One of the hurdles I experienced with the book was Dreyer's charlatanesque pitchmanship. I would prefer if he put out his ideas and let us judge them. Instead, you will be bombarded with testimonials and self-praise from the author.

Some of his "science" is just painful. Maybe he's trying to be funny when he says, "People admit that they intentionally taught themselves to breathe slowly so no one would know how out of shape they were they were; meanwhile they were killing zillions of brain cells to look good." - Really, braindeath from altering your breathing rythm?

There's a well-informed reviewer who cites Dreyer's confusion or at least lack of specificity when he talks about hip-flexors powering running. The kinetics of running are more complicated than that. Regardless of body lean and balance point, you're going to have to activate other muscles to keep your leg from collapsing.

So the science isn't spot-on. Regrettably the discussion of Chi isn't terribly solid either, as other reviewers have noted.

These complaints unfortunately overshadow what I think is some good theory on being mindful of your body and evaluating your running form. Mr. Dreyer has apparently experienced some success as a runner and his techniques appear to have helped quite a few people. I do resent that he tries to lump everything that isn't "Chi Running" as "Power Running".

Ultimately, I feel that Dreyer's book is a preachy rehash of ideas that can be found better explained elsewhere. It feels like the eastern medicine is thrown in to sensationalize things a bit. I'm glad to have read it, but won't be keeping it in my running library.
3645254
This book does overreach.  It attempts to convey what it thinks are new paradigms from winning companies that are changing the rules.  However, most of the bullet points are overstretch and just like sound bites from an infomerical.

Like stop doing performance appraisals.  At first it comes off like a gospel edict.  But when you read more, oh, you mean don't do performance appraisals just as a check box.  Or find other ways to do them that are more engaging.  So you did NOT really mean to say don't do performance appraisals.  The author ends up making these statements about wide topics, throws in a couple of often weak or tangential or limited examples, then usually backpedals and nuances what he claimed later in the same chapter.

How about 'Make Salaries Transparent'.  I've been in a number of companies where whether or not to do this was discussed and debated.  And it all came down to, no, let's not make things that transparent because it just creates distractions and leads to hard feelings about why someone makes more money than you do.  And yet the book cites Sumall, a study in Israel (and we know you can make a study or a poll say whatever you want based on the questions you ask), and a couple of ideas from folks in academia (who rarely need to make what they think about actually work in the real world).  And that's most of the evidence you are given about why you have to make salaries transparent.

In the end it felt like either the author was in over their head, or they were not serious enough, or didn't have enough time or experience, to write a more balanced book and include MANY more examples from the real world.  This is not required reading.

And if you want to follow this book, uninstall Outlook or other mail client from your work computer because you are not supposed to use email either.  This technique works best when you are part of a global corporation and you really wanted the offshore team to do something overnight.  You could always use skype and wake them up before you end your day. </sarcasm>

Check the review on this book by Lars Bergstrom, he also sees through the fluff in this book and calls it right.
1176280
I like the samples used in the book. However, depending on your command, your superiors may not want to read all-glowing or all-negative reviews. It's a subjective thing, despite the guidelines to writing evals.
2660514
People who judge him harshly are basing their opinion on a very narrow point of view. I own his book from the 90's which predicted this huge market crash. I have his charts that accurately predict it. In 2002 when I was looking at houses to buy I decided to stay away from real estate because his charts show a bad market years ahead.(he was right) I knew from his book I had maybe five years to own the house and sell and decided rather just stay out of the housing market because timing the peak would not be easy(that save me $200,000 based on the value of homes around here). This decade he did change some predictions delaying the horrible scenerio based on immigration numbers. If he had stuck with his original forecast he would have been better off. To say he is wrong is an overstatement. Being off by a couple years does not make him wrong. Use the information wisely. Based on his original book I've been telling people we will be in a Depression around 2008-2009. That was years ago going all the way back to 1994. Now we are in a Depression, or the very beginning of one. People hate those who make predictions. The CNBC "experts" went with popular opinion  saying the market will just keep going good. They were wrong, Dent was right. Get this book, it's a great resource to keep your money growing.
1727055
Doctor Jonny gives sage advise, and a myriad of Jonny fans write puff pieces to his eternal wisdom and energetic good looks.

The advise Jonny gives is wildly contradicting in spots.  (Why do none of the other reviewers pick this up?!)  He pumps out advice on nutritional supplementation as quickly as a late night exercise program pumps out energetic promises.  The advice may be good in places but this type of "150 ways to boost energy" is geared for an author to overstep science and understep where caution for certain individuals are concerned.

True, this is true for many other authors too, but there is little reason (besides money) for Jonny Bowden to write such a book at this point.  It makes his earlier works suspect.  Or so it seems to me.

Should the book be given two stars for the bits of advice which are good and well written?  I think that most people will read this and glaze over reading how THIS nutritional supplement will do x for you.... and how "some new research suggests" that this other nutritional supplement will do the same thing... and how "there is more evidence" that XYZ will do these things... and (times 150).

Most simply won't have the background to know what is a good approach to take.

Books like this make a lot of money, and get people in trouble as they experiment.  People then go to their doctors with "ringing in their ears," with irritable bowel and worse, with headaches that won't stop... and these self-experimenters admit to trying this new regimen of high dosage mega-cure-all pills and potions. But with that warning, see a well schooled MD with lots of dietary background (most have virtually none, and dieticians are more political action groups touting pseudo-science than you would care to believe, go and get solid advice from a good medical doctor who understands nutrition, and there are some things that can help with energy, especially for Baby Boomers who are fueling this craze.
3012375
I have looked at some of the reviews, submitted by other customers, and it is a mixed bag.  Each individual is of course entitled to his or her own opinion, and to present the same.

What we have here is a commonsense approach to our health, without the usual fluff, or the usual turned up noses of the family doctor.  All we get is this prescription, and that prescription.  It seems all our doctors want to do these days is poison you, or cut you, to remove a part of your anatomy.

As we have been told time and time again prevention is the best way to combat disease.  Yet this common sense approach is not taught in our nation's Medical Schools.  Why?  Could it be there would be little or no need for doctors, or specialist?  Could it be there would be no need for the snake oils peddled by the industries responsible for creation of these formulas?  Maybe there is a keep this quiet, because if the truth gets out, a great number of prescription drugs will become useless, which they are already.

Pick up any normal Medical Journal, and all you see are drug therapies, drug promotions, or medical tools, mostly at the great cost of medical care, which to most is unaffordable.  Is it all about money?  Not about getting well.

Radiation, chemo-therapy are the big buzz words in cancer treatment these days.  Even more so medical journals tell us these therapies may kill us before they kill the cancer.  Even so there is no common sense approach to medical care.  Researchers are only looking for the approach that will enrich, not cure.  Not only cancer, but diabetes, heart disease, etc.

Look at it this way, suppose you were to break your leg, and all the doctor did was to give you a set a crutches, as a form of treatment.  Make sense?  No.  But in the medical world today this is all we get.  Crutches, in the form of prescription drugs.

Read the book, and be your own laboratory.  Try what is outlined in it and give it some time and see if you do not start to feel better.  Fresh air, daily exercise, sleep, at the proper time, clean water, proper amounts of sunshine, and a good relationship, with people, (hold no grudges)and what ever, or how ever you worship, live up to it.  This is the book in a nut shell.

But one has to remember we do not need animals in our diet, the consumption of flesh foods, destroys, more than helps, and animals get the same diseases as mankind.  Then look at the hundreds of millions of animals slaughtered each day, and understand no one gives these animals a physical before feeding them to mankind.