Carved in Sand: When Attention Fails and Memory Fades in Midlife

Book Description

Why can't you remember where you put your keys? Or the title of the movie you saw last week? Or the name of your favorite restaurant?

Acclaimed journalist Cathryn Jakobson Ramin takes readers on a lively journey to explain what happens to memory and attention in middle age. Along the way, she turns up fresh scientific findings, explores the dark regions of the human brain, and hears the intimate confessions of high-functioning midlife adults who—like you—want to understand exactly what's going on upstairs.

Anyone older than forty knows that forgetfulness can be unnerving, frustrating, and sometimes terrifying. With compassion and humor, Jakobson Ramin sets out to discover what midlife forgetfulness is all about—from the perspectives of physiology, psychology, and sociology. Relentless in her search for answers to questions about her own unreliable memory, she explores the factors that determine how well—or poorly—one's brain will age. She consults experts in the fields of sleep, stress, traumatic brain injury, hormones, genetics, and dementia, as well as specialists in nutrition, cognitive psychology, and the burgeoning field of drug-based cognitive enhancement. The landscape of the midlife brain is not what you might think, and to understand its strengths and weaknesses turns out to be the best way to cope.

Jakobson Ramin's reporting of the stories of a wide array of midlife men and women will resonate with readers. Her audience will glean spectacular insight into how to elicit the very best performance from a middle-aged brain. A groundbreaking work that represents the best of narrative nonfiction, this is a timely, highly readable, and much-needed book for anyone whose memory is not what it used to be.

Customer Reviews:

I found the answer to my health problems.......2007-09-19

I read "Carved in Sand" book looking for answers to my frequent "young-senior" moments. This book is easy to read and full of information about the different issues related to memory loss. It is so interesting that you want keep reading it until reach the end. Cathryn Jakobson Ramin did extensive research with many scientists, physicians and mental health professionals bringing to light the reasons why some people lose memory when they reach mid-life.

Thanks to this book I found the answer to my other health problems that I have suffered with since I was 39 years old and the solution to helping me feel better. It was a light bulb moment for me. I recommend this book to everybody.

Friends Lined Up.......2007-09-18

This book speaks to a fear many boomers silently suffer with--memory loss. We sort of expect the elderly to have memory problems, but its not supposed to bother the late middle-aged!!. As I told my friends about Ramin's exploration and her journey into the many experiences with and causes of faltering memory in middle age, my friends lined up for me to finish the book and loan it to them. This is a topic that is largely hidden and dealt with in silence. A welcome contribution to this field.

At least I'm not alone.......2007-09-14

Entertaining and informative. packed with medical details, yet written in an entertaining and understandable way. It answered a lot of questions and cleared up a lot of misconceptions I had about Alzheimers. I also requested for a prescrition change.

Highly recommended.......2007-09-07

The big question for all of us in the middle age bracket is this: When we draw a blank when searching for a word or a person's name--is this normal forgetfulness or are we suffering from something much scarier? In this well-researched book, Cathryn Jakobson Ramin does an excellent job of presenting possible reasons for memory lapses and ways to deal with them.

In addition to having her brain and body tested for what might be the cause of her own memory lapses, the author interviewed many people and performed extensive research on the topic. She found that how you treat your brain in middle age will make a difference later. Midlife is the time to act: to make good decisions on diet, stress management, sleeping habits, and exercise.

She writes that today's world is an especially difficult time to reach middle age as we are "smack in the middle of a technological revolution." We can be overwhelmed by the amount of information available and the endless stream of interruptions, multitasking, and over stimulation.

In very readable prose, she explains how our minds are affected by the foods we consume, our hormones, the drugs we take, the chemicals in the environment, our sleep patterns, blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and the amount of exercise that we get. Since we need to build up our cognitive reserve to keep mentally active, she gives tips on how to perform these "intellectual push-ups."

In spite of the seriousness of the subject, this book is a pleasure to read and even funny at times.

Excellent source.......2007-07-13

This book was an excellent source for education about the different types of memory problems which can occur as we age, which proved to be a lot more complicated than I had imagined. The author did an excellent job. It was easy to read and follow and well worth the read.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

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Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

The Black Swan: Memory, Midlife, and Migration

Average customer rating:

Amazing and couragous
Aviation, Vertical, Horizontal and More.
Author Needs to Dig Deeper
The Black Swan

The Black Swan: Memory, Midlife, and Migration
Anne Batterson
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743215532

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

It's hard to believe this thoughtful memoir is Anne Batterson's first book, so elegantly does she weave a chronicle of her five-week trip across America to observe migratory birds with recollections of the key people and moments in her life. Batterson was 56 when she took off from Connecticut on the journey she knew was quixotic, designed to stem her rising panic at her beloved second husband's talk of leaving his post as an Episcopalian minister. "Retirement, he would try out over the dinner table," she writes. "More time. Enough time... What I heard was: Hurry. Hurry. There's no time." Though she had behind her decades of adventure as a skydiver, pilot, and mountain trekker, Batterson still felt a keen need for risk-taking and solitude. With the blessings of her understanding spouse, David, she packed up her VW bus camper and took off. The present-tense narrative of her travels has a marvelous immediacy, from the lyrical (yet often slyly funny) descriptions of birdwatching, to emotional accounts of visits, to friends suffering their own midlife crises. Her past comes vibrantly to life in bravura passages capturing the thrill of skydiving (especially a terrifying jump in the middle of a lightning storm) and the pain of her failed first marriage to a flight instructor "who taught me how to loop the loop. Boy did he ever." She comes home to David and the knowledge that her wanderlust makes her who she is. The book closes with Batterson admitting, "I've always wanted to go above the Arctic Circle," as David laughs and she kisses the palm of his hand, murmuring, "God, I'm lucky." Readers will feel just as lucky to have shared the experiences related here with such tenderness and hard-won wisdom. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

Set against a spontaneous cross-country road trip following the migrating birds, this passionate, lyrical memoir is one woman's reflections on midlife, her important personal relationships, her kaleidoscopic past, and her uncertain future.

To fifty-six-year-old Anne Batterson, a woman whose life has been filled with adventure -- as a commercial pilot, an international skydiving champion, a trekking guide in Nepal -- her husband's decision to retire felt like a death sentence. Yearning for some way to reconcile herself to the future that was rapidly unfolding before her, she packed up her VW camper and hit the road with maps, bird guides, and little else except the desire to follow the fall migration and the bone-deep hunch that birds had something important to teach her.

In this beautifully written narrative of that extraordinary trip, Batterson writes movingly not only about her experiences with the birds but also about the people she loves, has lost, and connects with along the way. Events from the present trigger vivid stories from the past. In the chapter "The Journey Within the Journey," a long, lonely night in a deserted campground in Virginia conjures up the ghosts of a desperate solo road trip she made when she was twenty-one. A towering cumulus cloud in Illinois brings back a breathtaking free fall into a similar cloud in "My Time as a Bird." An encounter with a great blue heron summons a compelling account of her mother's last afternoon in the world. "Bears in the Woods" describes a run-in with two Deliverance-type men in West Virginia, which brings back the murder of a dear friend in the woods of Connecticut.

By the end of the journey, the ghosts of the past, like the author herself, have become part of a more fluid, more spiritual reality -- wild and spare and elegant and timeless -- one that is always out there, "quickening on the far side of reality."

A unique mix of memoir and nature writing, The Black Swan is a charming story of a woman's odyssey.

Download Description

For fifty-six-year-old Anne Batterson, a woman whose life has been filled with adventure -- as a pilot, a trekking guide in Nepal, an international skydiving champion, a wife and mother -- retirement was a depressing acknowledgement of advancing years. Though her life and marriage were still fulfilling, Anne yearned for some way of reconciling herself to the future. So she packed up her VW camper and hit the road with maps, bird guides, and little else in the way of a plan except to follow migrating birds. The Black Swan is a narrative of that extraordinary trip. In addition to beautifully describing bird migration across the United States, Batterson writes movingly about her children, her husband, her parents, and her own remarkable achievements. And it is through this spiritual journey, combined with the arduous but rewarding physical journey across the country, that Anne Batterson finds self-awareness and ultimately, peace. A unique mix of memoir and nature writing, The Black Swan is a lovely story of a woman's coming of age.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing and couragous.......2003-01-23

I met Anne at a CT Authors and Publishers meeting where she was the guest speaker. She kept us enthralled with her tales and adventures in her journey to be published after she had written this book. The journey never stops. I found it very inspiring to see someone have both the courage and support to take off on a cross country journey and then write about it. My ownself, I have fictionalized my experiences in "Forever Retro Blues." I am in awe of anyone who can put themselves out there like Anne did. It's a spiritual quest in addition to the physical one of finding herself in mid-life. Well done, Anne, well done.

Aviation, Vertical, Horizontal and More........2002-11-29

As an international skydiving champion, Anne Batterson was someone I admired when I began jumping in 1962. She went on to become a flight instructor and charter pilot. She understands flight and is fascinated by all who fly.

Batterson describes her following of a fall bird migration with flashbacks to her earlier adventures. I loved reading about her skydiving in the early days.

She relates the need to be alone from time to time.

A good writer with a large and varied vocabulary, she crafts a good read.

As an author, publisher and skydiver, I found this book fascinating and fun to read.

Dan Poynter, ParaPublishing.com

Author Needs to Dig Deeper.......2002-03-14

This book chronicles Anne Batterson's solo road trip at the age of 56 to confront midlife while following the fall bird migration. Overall the book is well written but just never seems to go anywhere. There are moments of soul baring but for the most part this reader found the book superficial. With so many adventures to her credit entailing more risk than most of us dare, it is sad that this author didn't risk sharing more of herself.

The Black Swan.......2001-08-16

A beautiful, subtle, completely absorbing story that will stir the reader's own internal wild bird. It was such a privilege to share Ms. Batterson's journey. Hard to believe this is her first book and can't wait to read more from her.

Between Memory and Desire: The Middle East in a Troubled Age

Average customer rating:

Excellent
Between Memory and Desire
the middle east revisited

Between Memory and Desire: The Middle East in a Troubled Age
R. Stephen Humphreys
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520246918

Amazon.com

R. Steven Humphreys reveals the rich complexity of the Middle East--a region that stretches from Egypt to Afghanistan--in Between Memory and Desire, a set of ten "interlocking essays" that take on everything from economic growth and nationalist movements to Islamic human rights philosophy. Humphreys has a very clear and concise writing style that makes easily comprehensible an enormous amount of historical and cultural data with which most Western readers will be largely unfamiliar. He demolishes many of the mythic images that Americans have built up around the region and its people, like the "madman" dictator: "When we look beyond the façade of theater and posturing," Humphreys writes, "we will almost always discern a hard-headed politician who knows perfectly well how to set his goals and to craft strategies for achieving them.... The problem for us is not that the goals of Middle Eastern leaders are impenetrable; most of the time they are quite transparent. The problem is simply that these goals are not the ones that we want them to have."

The latter half of the book contains several excellent chapters on Islam--particularly on the concept of jihad and on the role of women in Islamic culture--that reveal the religion's diversity. It is a cliché, of course, to say that after reading a certain book you will never be able to think of its subject in quite the same way again, but it is also the truth concerning Between Memory and Desire and the Middle East. This book is strongly recommended to anybody who wants to know more about the region and its history than can be fit into a 30-second sound bite on the evening news.

Book Description

Middle Easterners today struggle to find solutions to crises of economic stagnation, political gridlock, and cultural identity. In recent decades Islam has become central to this struggle, and almost every issue involves fierce, sometimes violent debates over the role of religion in public life. In this post-9/11 updated edition R. Stephen Humphreys presents a thoughtful analysis of Islam's place in today's Middle East and integrates the medieval and modern history of the region to show how the sacred and secular are tightly interwoven in its political and intellectual life.

Download Description

Middle Easterners today are caught between memories of the past and frustrated hopes for the future. They struggle to find solutions to crises of economic stagnation, political gridlock, and cultural identity. In recent decades Islam has become central to this struggle, and almost every issue involves fierce, sometimes violent debates over the role of religion in public life. R. Stephen Humphreys's new book presents a much-needed and thoughtful analysis of Islam's place in today's Middle East. In clear, accessible language, he integrates the medieval and modern history of the region to show how the sacred and secular are tightly interwoven in its political and intellectual life. Humphreys discusses the conflicts over power and resources that engage Middle Eastern politicians and looks at the major ideologies that have shaped these conflicts. He focuses on the impact of Islam on public life and examines Muslim ways of thinking about the "secular" versus the "religious." What values does Islam put into play? What challenges does it pose to "ordinary" politics? What resources does it bring to the struggle for social justice? Humphreys recognizes the Western tendency to dismiss Middle Eastern politics as an incoherent tale of violence and fanaticism, and his book is especially valuable for its analysis of the deeper issues behind the headlines. These issues include the region's apparent inability to evolve democratic institutions, conflicts rooted in the peace settlements after World War I, and the unresolved debates over which cultural and moral values should drive Middle Eastern policy. Between Memory and Desire reminds us that Middle Easterners remember the past in specific ways: the shame of the colonial era; the disappointments since independence; and the glory of the Middle Ages, when Muslim achievements were respected throughout the world. Even if these memories are only partially true, in defining the past, they also define what the future ought to be.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2002-10-14

Most of the books on the modern Middle East have axes to grind, and this book, say professors Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair, is the notable exception. Stephen Humphreys is one the HUGE names in Islamic history, and extremely well-respected academician at the University of California. His book is extremely readable and extremely unbiased. It portrays an intelligent picture of that part of the world that is still perceived very strangely by the many people outside it. (By the way, the previous reviewer, Daniel Pipes, is part of the same organization as Martin Kramer, who advocated removal of funding for Middle East Studies Programs. Pipes himself has just set up a McCarthyan website in which he keeps "dossiers" of any professors who might be sympathetic toward Islam and the Middle East and in which he urges students to report others. He's hardly objective.)

So much of the Middle East today is the result of recent history, and it's important to understand that history for any kind of modern understanding. This is one of the best books out there for gaining understanding of that history.

Between Memory and Desire.......2001-08-06

In a calm and essayish sort of way, unbeholden to footnotes or fellow scholars, unbound by strict organization, he takes up some of the most difficult and persistent issues of the modern Middle East - the demographic and economic base, authoritarianism, pan-Arabism, "crazy states," military dictatorship, the role of Islam in politics - and analyzes them with intelligence and insight. Musing on three decades plus of studying the Middle East, Humphreys dares to assert the truths that so many of his fellow academics neglect, though he does so in the gentlest and most constructive manner. He takes up many themes; here is one, the dominant role of military dictatorship. Autocracy, Humphreys establishes, is the region's deepest and perhaps oldest dilemma. Already the warlords who quite rapidly took over from the Prophet Muhammad's successors lacked a sense of lawfulness. In the era A.D. 850-1250, for example, the "crucial political problem" facing those warlords was legitimacy - "some convincing reason (beyond brute force) why his subjects should obey him and his rivals should respect his right to exist." Sound familiar? It should, for the Middle East, the world's least democratic region, still grapples with the same demons (and they have names like Qadhdhafi, Asad, and Saddam). Middle Eastern populations, whether centuries ago or today, respond to this unhappy reality by withdrawing their allegiance from the authorities and turning instead for solace in the realms of religion and family life. This leads to a peculiar but widespread situation in which "Arab societies seem to regard their governments as an alien entity; they endure them, and they wait for them to go away." Trouble is, that stability becomes an end itself and has a fiercesome price. The preoccupation with staying in power means other goals - economic development, civil society, cultural florescence - are sacrificed. Take economics, where warlordism turns out to be the single greatest obstacle to advancement: "Only governments that enjoy the confidence of their citizens," Humphreys rightly observes, "can really take the steps needed" to enable growth. The Arabic-speaking countries not enjoying civil society, the rule of law, or many of the basic freedoms, they are falling ever-further behind in the brutally efficient global marketplace: "not one Middle Eastern state (with the partial exception of Turkey and of course Israel) has followed the only economic growth strategy that has worked since World War II - namely the export-oriented production of high-value-added manufactures." As a result, "there is not one Middle Eastern manufactured item that can be sold competitively on world markets."

Middle East Quarterly, December 1999

the middle east revisited.......2001-02-11

If one tries to understand the present political situation in the middle east, one is left lost and wandering helplessly. This book helps us to to understand this situation by digging deep into the political past of the middle east , and succeeds spectacularly !!

Book Description

A renowned medical researcher offers scientific proof that the mind actually improves with age, creating tremendous potential for growth and satisfaction in the later years

"The Golden Years" are being redefined. The fastest-growing segment of the population, those beyond the age of fifty, are no longer content to simply cope with the losses of age. Mental acuity and vitality are becoming a life-long pursuit. Now, the science of the mind is catching up with the Baby Boom generation. In this landmark book, renowned psychiatrist Gene Cohen challenges the long-held belief that our brain power inevitably declines as we age, and shows that there are actually positive changes taking place in our minds.

Based on the latest studies of the brain, as well as moving stories of men and women in the second half of life, The Mature Mind reveals for the first time how we can continue to grow and flourish. Cohen's groundbreaking theory-the first to elaborate on the psychology of later life-describes how the mind gives us "inner pushes" and creates new opportunities for positive change throughout adult life. He shows how we can jump-start that growth at any age and under any circumstances, fine-tuning as we go, actively building brain reserves and new possibilities.

The Mature Mind offers a profoundly different and intriguing look at ourselves, challenging old assumptions, raising bold new questions, and providing exciting answers grounded in science and the realities of everyday life.

Customer Reviews:

The Mature Mind.......2007-05-15

We are using this book for discussion purposes in our Harvesting Wisdom Circle. We have found it to be a provocative and enlightening perspective on the issue of aging. It asks the reader to challenge many of the assumtions and myths that we have been taught by our society.

The Mature Mind.......2007-05-13

The product is what I expected. It arrived on time and in the condition advertised.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!.......2007-05-05

After reading this book I'm more excited than ever about aging productively --- I believe this book can help reduce one's fear of aging. The research is solid, grounded, realistic and inspiring. Pamela D. Blair, Author The Next Fifty Years: A Guide for Women at Mid-Life And Beyond

Satisfaction with book.......2007-03-27

This is an excellent book for gerentology and opens many doors to seniors.

READ EVERY WORD - WONDERFUL BOOK.......2006-11-24

This book is EXTRAORDINARY. Every page I read gives HOPE to all of us that the last years of our lives can be beautiful years of thought, of action, of reflection. I have never had the good fortune to hear Dr. Cohen speak, but his voice comes through the pages of this book loud and clear. Just listen to a selection of sentences on just one randomly selected page:

· A life without memory is a ghost life at best
· Our brains have no known limits for memory storage. In other words just because you're old, that doesn't mean you've "used up" your brain's memory capacity.
· You need to understand a bit about the brain's mind-boggling circuitry.
· The limits on memory are logistical, not fundamental. We are limited only by the time we have in life for learning - our brains could contain many lifetimes of information.

This is incredible information this man is giving up. All of the above appeared on page 106. I found the entire book to be chock full of optimistic statements and beliefs predicated on Gene Cohen's lifetime of scientific learning.

I don't know about you, but when I pick up a book, the cover catches my eye, and then the feel. I want see how the pages feel as I turn them. What font does the author used, and how big is that font? Is the author long-winded in his statements? Does the book have an extra hundred, or two hundred pages of filler material, or does the author get to the point? Am I going to take one or two fabulous thoughts out of this book, or is it full of gems on every page, just waiting for me to get at them?

I couldn't put this book down, that's how interesting I found it. Chapter 7 is about "Reinventing Retirement". This chapter will transform your thinking as to what retirement can be all about. It can be the best years of our lives. I use to think that when people get old, they get cranky, and nasty. It wasn't until about five years ago; I suddenly realized that hey, these people were like this when they were young. They didn't need to get old, to get nasty.

The book is full of interesting anecdotes about different people at different stages of their lives. This man should write a book interviewing a hundred different fascinating people who are in their 80's or 90's. I haven't found anything out there like this, and Cohen is the perfect gentleman to write such a book.

One of the gifts that old age can bring is the ability to selectively re-live different times in your life if you have remarkable recall of what took place. I talked to a man once who was in his 90's, and had been an editor of a major magazine in his earlier years. His mind was extraordinarily alive, and vibrant, with incredible recall. I asked him what was the best thing about being older. He said it was the ability to constantly entertain himself by thinking about events in the past that happened 40, 50, 60, even 70 years ago. As I get older, I am 55 now, I understand what he meant.

I met a man who was among the handful of the most powerful Cardinals in the Vatican. This individual was in his late 80's. He told me that he had participated in thousands upon thousands of situations involving the last rites of people who were about to die. I asked him if there was anything in common among the people involved? What did they think about in the last minutes to hours, of their respective lives?

He said that none of them expressed guilt over things they had done. Every one of them talked about the things they had not done, but wished they had done. A man might have wanted to go salmon fishing in a river in Montana, or spent more time with his daughter in New Orleans. Not one of them ever said, "You know, I should have worked harder."

This book by Gene Cohen gives new meaning to old age, and what it can become for each of us who are willing to grasp the possibilities and ACT on them. Order it today, read it from cover to cover. Give it to your parents if they are still alive, or a loved one. Get out of that rut, and take on new challenges. Every day each of us is an author, and we are busy writing our own scripts - OUR LIVES. Make it so that you can look back some day, and say - NO REGRETS AND MEAN IT.

Richard Stoyeck

Plenitude of Power: The Doctrines And Exercise of Authority in the Middle Ages : Essays in Memory of Robert Louis Benson (Church, Faith and Culture in ... Faith and Culture in the Medieval West)

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Plenitude of Power: The Doctrines And Exercise of Authority in the Middle Ages : Essays in Memory of Robert Louis Benson (Church, Faith and Culture in ... Faith and Culture in the Medieval West)

Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0754631737

The Hanged Man: A Story of Miracle, Memory, and Colonialism in the Middle Ages

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The Boondock Saints
A Window into the Middle Ages

The Hanged Man: A Story of Miracle, Memory, and Colonialism in the Middle Ages
Robert Bartlett
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0691126046

Book Description

Seven hundred years ago, executioners led a Welsh rebel named William Cragh to a wintry hill to be hanged. They placed a noose around his neck, dropped him from the gallows, and later pronounced him dead. But was he dead? While no less than nine eyewitnesses attested to his demise, Cragh later proved to be very much alive, his resurrection attributed to the saintly entreaties of the defunct Bishop Thomas de Cantilupe.

The Hanged Man tells the story of this putative miracle--why it happened, what it meant, and how we know about it. The nine eyewitness accounts live on in the transcripts of de Cantilupe's canonization hearings, and these previously unexamined documents contribute not only to an enthralling mystery, but to an unprecedented glimpse into the day-to-day workings of medieval society.

While unraveling the haunting tale of the hanged man, Robert Bartlett leads us deeply into the world of lords, rebels, churchmen, papal inquisitors, and other individuals living at the time of conflict and conquest in Wales. In the process, he reconstructs voices that others have failed to find. We hear from the lady of the castle where the hanged man was imprisoned, the laborer who watched the execution, the French bishop charged with investigating the case, and scores of other members of the medieval citizenry. Brimming with the intrigue of a detective novel, The Hanged Man will appeal to both scholars of medieval history and general readers alike.

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The Boondock Saints.......2007-01-06

It's bizarre that we would know so much about, say, Lady Mary de Briouze (one of the principal witnesses in the sanctification case Dr. Bartlett here serves up) when we know so little about, say, Shakespeare, for Lady Mary lived her magnificent imperious life a full three hundred years before Shakespeare's birth. And as Dr. Bartlett complains, much less is known about the lives of eminent women in comparison to their male counterparts. The martyrdom of William Cragh, and his prayers to Thomas de Cantihope, led to a gathering of and the muracle, if you ask me, is that so much of their testimony has been preserved verbatim.

Dr. Bartlett points out that it isn't merely the facts the witnesses reel off that are so interesting, it's the way that memory fails or comes to their aid in unexpected places. It's almost as though memory worked in different ways in the 13th century than it does now, so we are constantly wondering why Lady Mary, when asked, couldn't answer yes or no to what seem like the simplest questions: were her children alive in the year of Cragh's death, for example. Surely she could calculate that far back, it had only been a number of years. Dr. Bartlett speculates that it's possible that her "I can't remembers" have clues iembedded in them, clues to their larger psychic and financial lives. Maybe people didn't have, back then, the supreme attachment to children that they do now, or that society expects of us, and that might explain Lady Mary's extreme vagueness about the status of her children, for she might well be dithering about trying to remember if she owned a particular scarf in 1289, not a daughter. In such ways, worthy of a Henry James, Bartlett brings every verbal statement under the eye of a scientist, examining each for its textures and potentials.

Almost as interesting, even if, in the final analysis, not quite so, is the detail with which Bartlett runs us through what he calls the "Cantilupe process," the steps by which the medieval church proclaimed its saints. The story of the hanged man is quite arresting all by itself; sliced down from the gallows three times, Cragh found himself coming to life again after entreaty to the recently deceased Cantilupe. Witnesses testified his skin had gone completely black in death, even his tongue; and yet Lady Mary's stepson averred, that Clagh's rosy complexion was restored within a few hours.

A Window into the Middle Ages.......2004-05-19

It is only to be expected that seven hundred years ago, people did things differently than they do them now. We have difficulty viewing so far back, certainly because language and culture were different, but mostly because detailed records are scarce. Robert Bartlett has provided a unique solution to give us as good an idea as possible "...of the spoken words of the past in the time before the tape recorder" in _The Hanged Man: A Story of Miracle, Memory, and Colonialism in the Middle Ages_ (Princeton University Press). A professor of medieval history, he has examined closely a peculiar event for which there is rich documentation, a judicial commission which was an inquest into a supposed miracle. While it might seem that such an inquest would be too arcane to give us much of an idea of medieval times, Bartlett has found that the sometimes conflicting testimony of witnesses and the process of the inquiry gives us a window through which we can almost see and hear our ancient ancestors and understand matters important to them. Bartlett has produced an enjoyable volume of time travel.

It was probably in 1290 that William Cragh was hanged in Swansea. William Cragh was perhaps merely a "notorious brigand," but in the words of the English rulers of his region he was one of the rebels "in the war between the Welsh and the lord king." In fact, he was hanged three times. The first time, the rope broke. The second time, the gallows from which it was suspended broke. The third time seemed to have worked just fine. His body was taken down and carried to a house in Swansea for preparation for burial. Its face was black, its eyes bulging, its black and swollen tongue extended. The son of the baron who had condemned him confirmed that William Cragh was dead. But he gradually came back to life. This particular revivification was fraught with religious meaning. William Cragh on his way to the gallows gave a prayer for his life to Thomas de Cantilupe, the recently deceased Bishop of Hereford. Thus, his return to life had the makings of a religious miracle, and an inquest had to be done to make sure. The interrogation of witnesses is the backbone for Bartlett's book. Along the way, we learn about attitudes towards saints, the means of measuring distance and time, and other details of the way the participants lived.

Thomas de Cantilupe got made a saint by a very long process. Canonization was requested seventeen years before the inquest actually happened in 1307, and then there was a long process of approval before Thomas was made a saint in 1320. This was a time of flux for the papacy, with five different popes and years when there was no pope, which partially explains the delay. What shooed Thomas in was a consistent public relations campaign from the local Bishop and the fellows he enlisted, sending fan letters. Also, King Edward I had strong interest, because he had known Thomas personally. Thomas has served on Edward's royal council, and Edward was eager (as he himself wrote), "... to have as a sympathetic patron in heaven him whom we had in our household on earth." While Bartlett's fascinating book tells a lot about the intricate process of sanctification, it tells a lot more about the people of medieval times and their world view.

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The Bible in the Medieval World: Essays in Memory of Beryl Smalley (Studies in Church History : Subsidia 4)

Manufacturer: Blackwell Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0631142754

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A Glimpse of Olden Times

Very good primer on medieval lives.

An Interesting read

Impressive Study

Must-Have for any who are interested in Past Lives

Echoes from Medieval Halls: Past-Life Memories from the Middle Ages (Did You Live Then?)
Barbara Lane
Manufacturer: A.R.E. Press (Association of Research & Enlig
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Echoes from the Battlefield: First-Person Accounts of Civil War Past Lives

16 Clues to Your Past Lives: A Guide to Discovering Who You Were

$Someone Else\'s Yesterday: The Confederate General and Connecticut Yankee: A Past Life Remembered$ Someone Else\'s Yesterday: The Confederate General and Connecticut Yankee: A Past Life Remembered

Mission to Millboro

Thomas Andrews, Voyage into History : Titanic Secrets Revealed Through the Eyes of Her Builder

ASIN: 0876043902

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A Glimpse of Olden Times.......2006-05-24

As someone who had the thought pop spontaneously into my mind while watching the graphic and brutal medieval warfare of Mel Gibson's movie Braveheart, "Oh no, not again!" I was keenly interested in reading this book. Dr. Lane regressed a number of Renaissance and Medieval Faire hobbyists and found that their current interests correspond to past-life experiences. There is a quality of reality in the descriptions these people make of their recalled centuries-old environments. Everything is there: the dirt and squalor; the clothing and fabric; the relationships between classes; the effects of poor hygiene and little or no medicine. These descriptions really bring one into the past. What I appreciate most about Dr. Lane's writing is her approach of healing the past, so that one may step freely into the future. Five stars.

Very good primer on medieval lives........2005-07-20

Barbara Hall studied a group of Medieval reenactors helping them to explore past lives that may be influencing their current hobby. Many of the past lives are fascinating - some predictably are short and/or boring. Overall this is a very good book that helps us understand what drives historical reenactors and gives us a birds eye view of the hardships of living in the Middle Ages.

An Interesting read.......2004-02-07

I've long thought that my medieval tendancies have related to past lives. This book chronicles a study group of medieval reenactors, SCAdians, and Farie folk who are regressed to past lives which occured during the middle ages and then the data is compared with historical fact.

There were a couple of people's stories that I really enjoyed, especially that of Helen. I found these peeks to be entertaining and an interesting glimpse into the lives of ordinary people during the middle ages. Though in the end the author shares many interesting statistics from the study I didn't find there to be any overall conclusion.

Impressive Study.......2002-11-30

Barbara Lane is a hypnotherapist, who after studying Civil War reenactors in her book Echoes from the Battlefield: First-Person Accounts of Civil War Past Lives, decided to do the same with Medievalists. She interviewed thirteen subjects involved in either the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), Renaissance Fairs and various living history organizations about their lives, interests and beliefs so that we know a bit about each person then she regressed them. Some had more than one session with her. Following their regressions, she had experts in Medieval studies look over the material gleaned during the regressions to historically verify the plausibility of the details revealed. The stories are so interesting I couldn't put the book down. At the end, Lane did a statistical comparison between the Medievalists and the Civil War reenactors (Echoes from the Battlefield, which I haven't read yet but plan to) making for a more scientific study of reincarnation. Highly recommended!

Must-Have for any who are interested in Past Lives.......2000-08-22

The only reason I gave this great book 4 stars is because its plot takes place in the Medieval Era. For those who do not feel they lived during that time...this book would not be as interesting or intriguing. However if you feel a strong resonance, whether its a positive or negative, to this time Era then buy this book and you will be taken back to that time through the stories of those who actually did live. You will hear how their horrible death, how they found love, how they lost love. Wonderful book!

Ancient and Medieval Memories: Studies in the Reconstruction of the Past

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Ancient and Medieval Memories: Studies in the Reconstruction of the Past
Janet Coleman
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0521019370

Book Description

This book contains a series of studies that take the ancient texts as evidence of the past, and show how medieval readers and writers understood them. In particular, they examine how medieval readers examined the construction of these texts to find some reflection of how it felt to exist within the ancient world. The studies confirm that medieval and Renaissance interpretations and uses of the past differ greatly from a modern interpretation and uses, and yet the study betrays many startling continuities between modern and ancient medieval theories. Discussion extends from the nature of historical evidence, through theories behind medieval historiography, to various hypotheses relating physiological attributes of the brain to intellectual processes of the mind.

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