Perhaps a Missing Piece of the Puzzle?
344410
I found out about this book based on someone's review of another book on Amazon and decided to order it.  About ten or so years ago, I started having eczema or dermatitis on my forearms, back, buttocks, etc.  I had been living in Northern California for a few years so I assumed I must be allergic to something I wasn't exposed to as much in Texas.  I saw a couple of different dermatologists and had a biopsy which turned up nothing.  I was prescribed steroid creams which helped some while I used them, but I was hesitant to keep using them because of long term side effects.  About five years ago, I eliminated different things I thought I might be allergic to and my skin cleared up completely and I lost quite a bit of weight.  One of the things I eliminated for awhile was wheat.  I got complacent and slowly everything I'd eliminated crept back into my diet.  The dermatitis came back and I suffered with it.  I had a food sensitivity test done (IgG) and I was barely reactive to anything and wheat was completely non-reactive.  I went to an allergist for the stick test and was not allergic (histamine response) to anything in the traditional sense.  He also said the IgG antibodies weren't really measures of allergic reactions--not sure what that means.  After that, I thought it might be Vitamin D after a test came back slightly low so I started supplementing.  Then I thought maybe it was aspartame or someting.  I don't think I've been tested specifically for celiac disease but something in this book resonated with me when it talked about dermatitis herpetiformis.  I'm going to eliminate wheat again and will report back.  For the first time in years, I feel like I've figured out what's causing my skin problems.
2272553
This book is organized around a fantastically interesting question. How did human groups develop the social capacity for exchange? A simple answer about the evolution of cooperation (etc., etc.), suitable for the broadest of outlines, will not really do the trick. The development of exchange and economic relationships did not move in step with the gradual or the punctuated changes in human evolution. This book's idea is that institutions and social conventions must have been crucial. They had to build on and interface with the evolutionary baggage humans brough to the organized societies of the pre-historic world, but they added something of their own on top of it.

Having opened that question the book never really nails it shut. In part that's because it is intent on serving two distinct purposes -- of addressing this question, and of popularizing various strands of economic literature. Most of the content is about the latter, but the literature in question deals with fundamentally modern (on an evolutionary scale) institutions like banking, business firms, states, labor markets, etc. Having been convinced that hey, yeah, there's something to explain here, I thought it was a disconnect to jump to accounts of the things to be explained. Naturally, some comments are included about how these things might have taken shape from proto-forms, but that stuff -- which *is* what the book sets out to address -- is completely speculative (and never presented otherwise).

If you're into this sort of thing, the substantive chapters are redeeming enough, though a nontrivial portion of the material (e.g., the self-organizing capacity of markets, at their best; the importance and durability of reciprocity as a gut instinct people follow even when it can't help them) has been well covered for years or decades in similar popularizations.

So that's pretty much the value. Still, it would have been not just good but great if that interesting question had been settled, or even addressed consistently.
3386197
God Theories by Ken Ungerbrecht posits an interesting theory: that one cannot understand spirituality or religion without understanding the scientific components of the universe at large, and scientific proof of our existence. It's a fascinating premise, and one that I was eager to understand. Unfortunately for me, probably because scientific concepts are so difficult for me to understand, I couldn't really understand the fundamental scientific principles Ungerbrecht deftly discusses. Where the book's concepts came together for me, though, was in the last few chapters, where the author expertly addressed spirituality, Christianity, science, evolution, intelligent design, and their inter-relating theories; without understanding each component fully, one cannot understand their totality. I may be saying this wrong, but this is a daunting task for the author, and one which he undertakes intelligently and sensibly. It's definitely worth the time spent.
3713420
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in psychology, particularly psychopathy. The author is quite intelligent and explains the neuroscience in a way that I could understand. However, there is something missing in this book. The author brings the reader to the edge of their seat with repeated promises of incredible stories to come to prove his psychopathy, but they never really emerge. Still, definitely worth a read.
3337321
I enjoyed the historical descriptions of Judea. Considering the daily lives of Jesus' followers in the days between His crucifixion and Pentecost was an interesting aspect of the book. But I had some nagging feeling that something was missing.

I had difficulty accepting Leah's attitude to an arranged marriage as that was the normal procedure at that time; it was difficult to reconcile the wavering Alban as the centurion whom Christ commended for the depth of his faith. As others have noted, it's a pity the more plausible wine-based beverages were replaced with inaccurate tea.

But, for me the greatest missing aspect was that of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She got merely a passing mention and was brushed off with a "but you won't see her".

I was left feeling I had gotten less than expected (and I'd already bought the next two books in the trilogy).
1812968
A great read, but some of the recommended techniques didn't deliver for me, which makes me think the evidence for them is not as clear as Kolenda would claim.
3282486
I had waited anxiously for Graham Hancock's newest book, The Mars Mystery, but was disappointed.  It certainly contained important information about potential cosmic threats, but I believe it failed to delve into the ancient Earth/Mars connection as thoroughly as I would have expected from this author.  I expected a re-analysis of texts and myths based on the concept of an ancient Martian civilization and how that might have impacted our own.  The book was almost tentative in its approach in every area it examined.  Mr. Hancock has brought forth revolutionary concepts in his previous books without qualifying them at every turn as he seems to in this work.  The book will hopefully help to bring attention to the potential of destructive meteors and comets and spark a demand to devote more resources from our governments to examine these further.  I hope we can look forward to more books from Mr. Hancock on his ancient civilization theories in the future.
12437
I read this book because of the many claims that the book will show why expanding the Social Security System will strengthen it. While the book refers to the 2033 insolvency deadline projected by the Social Security Trustees, addressing the extension of the program through its years of future insolvency is not taken as seriously as the need to expand the program with additional benefits.  I was disappointed in the depth of the thinking in regards to program expansion costs and the lack of relating those costs to the insolvency deadlines( as close as 2016 for the Disability Trust Fund.) There is lack of  attention and respect to the Trustees' role and annual reports and the  call of the Trustees to address insolvency issues now, even though the book alludes to the same, yet still goes on to support expansion at any cost. The Trustees 2014 report emphasized that the two factors impacting the solvency of Social Security are revenues and expenditures and the book seems to criticize those concerned with expenditures as naysayers and any efforts to reduce costs, as irresponsible. While efforts in the past to reduce skyrocketing costs have succeeded in extending Social Security benefits to its current surplus, the projections of insolvency in less than 20 years with this surplus still stands.  It is not proven by this book that expansion will not result in additional expenditures and indeed those expenditure costs are listed, but with no direct explanation of the relation of those costs to the affect they will have on delaying the insolvency projections. The book does an excellent job of summarizing the current structure and benefits of the Social Security Program and of defending of the program for its success and importance as an essential protection necessary for the public good.  The book also provides substance and support for continuation of Social Security as  a pillar of the economy,  explaining attempts by extremists to undermine its structure and continued provision of defined benefits, clarifying that vigilance of the public is necessary.  I think that the writers have given options for ensuring funding of increased benefits by increasing the rate of taxes on workers and lifting the cap which will have all earnings taxed.  Good, but this in fact would be a solution to delaying the projected solvency as well.  Can we afford to delay insolvency and also make additional and more benefits available?  What if Congress fails to raise suggested taxes, but  yields to the call of expanded benefits from those who see Social Security coffers as unlimited? A disaster. I find that this scenario is very dangerous to the continued existence of Social Security and will be the fodder needed by those who would change Social Security to a system of savings accounts due to its unsustainability . The books claims  that any reduction should not be considered, especially increasing the age for full benefits, thus leaving  the increase in taxes as the primary means to resolve all issues. Again, more harm than good for the future solvency of Social Security? The programs to assist caregivers and workers who need to have paid leaves could be funded by the general funds, and perhaps as entitlements from other sources; the call to have Social Security be the payer for these and expanded benefits, needs to be  very carefully assessed before supported. Any expansion should also be considered as to its effect on keeping the system able to pay even its current benefits into the future. Expansion without consideration of it cost and effect on Social Security as is, will weaken, not strengthen the Social Security system.
3648992
The author sets out to explain the comparisons between modern quantum physics and the theological understanding of the nature of "God" in their mutual interest in seeking the "truth".  For me, the book just missed the mark.  The comparisons are nebulous and there seems little that each discipline has in common with the other.  Science enjoys the advantage of measurement and experiment  in the ability to put matter to the test of scrutiny.  This, indeed, is a remarkable human capacity for scientific success and discovery.  However, science use of measurement, as its chief tool, offers no solution to the abstract and subjective areas to such questions as, Is there a God,? and, Who are we and why are we here?  Theology explores and analyses the development of Christian thinking over the centuries.  This represents serious intellectual effort but remains a subjective analysis.  In closing, it seems that both science and theology are severely limited in their "truth" seeking capacities in that only partial truths can be garnered from their investigations.  We often look to the mystic for our answers but without our own "Experience", the answer to these important questions remain forever elusive.
4869426
Many of us professionals have forgotton that some of the pioneers in this field-- in the sixties particularly--had some
very different approaches to treating this Mental "Madness". Esp different from just Meds and restrictions.
While I agree that some of them were amazingly successful---I think it requires a very exact set of conditions and paradigms for those approaches to work.

IF you are interested in this subject, read the Bibliography first, and it will be pretty obvious where the author is coming from.
4250843
I really enjoyed this book and the insights it gives into the problem but was a little disappointed at the lack of a proposed solution. Is our future really that bleak?
19368
I still say maybe there was. None of these people convince me either way. But it is always worth considering. If your faith is that weak, to where you can't stand to be exposed to a conflicting idea, you might need to do something about it anyway.
4202658
This book is well written, and well worth reading. It names names, and builds up its evidence carefully. But even though I can agree that everything said is logical and well researched, I'm still not sure that the motive is clear.  What was the end game, and why was it done?  I am, after reading this book, completely convinced that this assassination was a conspiracy, and probably done as described.  All in all, I highly recommend this book and suggest that others buy it. Because. . . I want others to read this so we can discuss the motive behind this act.
3041441
A good addition to the literature on contemporary Pakistan. The chapters on preindependence, education, demography, and water differentiate it from other recent books that focus on the tumultuous nature of the Pakistani state and terrorism alone.

The conclusion leaves more questions than answers though. A deeper analysis of the two options suggested by the author to reform Pakistan would've made it a 5-star read.
4898590
Though the premise is interesting, Mr. Harris did not convince me.  Essentially, Harris argues that there is no such thing as "free will", because when we make a decision, we are not fully aware of the process by which we arrive at the decision.  In other words, the concept of free will gets it backwards - first comes an unexplainable decision, then afterwards we ascribe it to free will.  The author backs up his thesis with data from experiments which chart brain activity and show that the brain reacts before the person is aware of having made a decision.

To my admittedly untrained mind, this is not a conclusive argument.  That parts of the decision-making process take place outside our consciousness to me does not mean that there is no such thing as free will.  It seems a more logical explanation that many decisions happen on a sort of auto-pilot, particularly those that are easy to measure in a laboratory environment, but that free will in most cases also has a role to play.  In fact, I think that the author misses a potentially rich area of study by denying any free will at all.  It would be interesting to investigate which kinds of decisions and which circumstances are associated with what we would describe as reason, and which are left entirely to mysterious subconscious forces.
2915242
This is a book that ought to be widely read by planners, policy makers and decision makers inside and outside government.  It carefully identifies the weaknesses in current planning/public involvement processes, and prescribes a thoughtful route to improvement.  Unfortunately I fear that its impact will be limited by its (understandable but still probably counterproductive) effort to develop an explicitly theoretical basis for its practical prescriptions; this is likely to try the patience of many practitioners.  It also rather explicitly limits application of its principles to a somewhat narrow range of situations in which there is understood interdependence among the participants.  This doubtless reflects reality, but reduces its apparent relevance to much of the everyday world of planning and decision making.  BUT there is much food for thought here, and it's imminently worth reading.
2393304
I too have observed and been interested in phenomenon of a historical decrease in attention in our culture.  I read this book to gain a better understanding of the causes and consequences of this phenomenon, as well as, further verification that the observation is accurate.

I found that the development of the thesis in this book a tad lacking.  The general method was  to make a claim and then to elaborate on the claim using selected scientific studies, anecdotes, and literature.  This elaboration ostensibly was provided as evidence for veracity of the claim.  On this count, using scientific criteria, the method was lacking.  Also, the variations on the theme were a bit to difficult to integrate into a whole.  I fear the author may have been DISTRACTED.

Considering that criticism, there were some windows of enlightenment in the work.  I think this book might be valuable for those with a keen interest in this issue.  For those with a passing interest, consider your time investment carefully and if you choose to invest, consider the evidence presented carefully.