Book Description
This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author (whom Booklist calls “Anne Lamott's hip, yoga- practicing, footloose younger sister”) is poised to garner yet more adoring fans.
Customer Reviews:
Ugh. Save your money........2007-10-04
Don't even bother to read from the library. A self-centered story that is a perfect example of much of what is wrong with our culture.
slow at times.......2007-10-04
I enjoyed the read although sometimes it really dragged, particularly her time at the Yoga retreat in India. The time she spends in Italy though, doing nothing but indulging herself with food is a riot.
Highly Recommended!.......2007-10-03
Intelligently written. That is how FABULOUS this book is! I can't wait to share this book with my friends! Entertaining and fun read! When I bought this book I also took the How to be a Super Hot Woman: 339 Tips to Make Every Man Fall in Love with You and Every Woman Envy You and I am very happy to have read both books!
Easy reading style, uninspiring content.......2007-10-03
Her writing style is fluid, but her precious self-indulgence made it a painful read and embodies the entitlement "all-about-me" vein in the current culture in North America. That this book is currently #4 on the Amazon best-seller list is disheartening because it reminds me of how this generation of women in America could make a difference but instead are focused on getting their lattes in their SUVs on their way to yoga class. Me, me, me! Try reading "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson to see what one person can accomplish in the world as a stark contrast to Gilbert's self-centered story.
FUNNY BUT NOT ENOUGH!.......2007-10-02
I thought the writing was entertaining and very genuine but not mature enough. I couldn't wait to finish the book .... I had to scan through the last few pages.
Book Description
Douglas Hofstadter's long-awaited return to the themes of Gödel, Escher, Bach--an original and controversial view of the nature of consciousness and identity.
Can thought arise out of matter? Can self, a soul, a consciousness, an "I" arise out of mere matter? If it cannot, then how can you or I be here?
I Am a Strange Loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the "strange loop"--a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. The most central and complex symbol in your brain or mine is the one called "I." The "I" is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have gained the paradoxical ability to push particles around, rather than the reverse.
How can a mysterious abstraction be real--or is our "I" merely a convenient fiction? Does an "I" exert genuine power over the particles in our brain, or is it helplessly pushed around by the laws of physics?
These are the mysteries tackled in I Am a Strange Loop, Douglas R. Hofstadter's first book-length journey into philosophy since Gödel, Escher, Bach. Compulsively readable and endlessly thought-provoking, this is the book Hofstadter's many readers have been waiting for.
Customer Reviews:
Very good read .......2007-09-25
Douglas Hofstadter fans will find this book fun and interesting to read. Although many of the GED ideas have been reshashed in this book but it includes some new learnings and evolution in thinking that the writer has gone through in last 30 years.
You may find the book using a bit to many analogies, but you should expect that from the writer of fluid concepts and creative analogies. Once again Hofstadter's description of Godel's incompleteness theorem is one of the best written explanation for non mathematicians.
Book maintains its focus on explanation of conciousness and overall does a decent job in making its point.
Shadman
Nice complement to GEB.......2007-09-20
If you have already read and enjoyed Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, then you should read this. Just don't expect GEB 2.
If you have not, then go read that first, then read this.
Syllogistic fantasy.......2007-09-01
There's a revealing passage in this book, in which Hofstadter tells us how he dropped out of math graduate school, having reached the limit of his ability to handle the complex abstractions in abstract algebra and topology. I went to the same graduate school, and I know what he means. I observed there that the best mathematicians handle this complexity with two hard-earned skills operating in parallel: deft and precise manipulation of strict definitions according to the rules of logic; and deep intuition. Hofstadter has the latter, and in this book you believe he's onto something. But he's not so good at the former. At some point the analogies grow tiresome, and you just want him to spell it out.
It's disappointing that a brilliant thinker and teacher writing about a fascinating subject central to his work ends up leaving too much to the reader.
The book, in essence, expresses the following syllogistic fallacy: The human brain creates an internal "symbol" for its owner, which we call "I", and which can observe itself, creating a sort of self-enriching feedback loop called a "strange loop". Now strange loops, found primarily in mathematics, are magical things. And consciousness is a magical thing. Therefore it's the strange loop we call "I" that creates consciousness.
Unfortunately, Hofstadter never really connects all the dots. For example, he never explains precisely what a "strange loop" is. He makes a "first stab" in Chapter 8, but then never tries again, so we're left with a "definition" that is more vague than no definition at all. (It involves the word "paradoxical" and "level-crossing" - terms that wouldn't fly in a math seminar.)
He does go on to explain why he believes the self creates strange loops. The idea is that by observing its interaction with the world, it creates an ever more elaborate symbol of itself. It's a compelling idea, amply illustrated by analogies to video cameras and Gödel's theorem. But then he never quite closes the loop. What's the link between that strange mechanism and the feeling of consciousness that we all find so tangible and yet mysterious?
Quite possibly Hofstadter has rushed to a conclusion based on enthusiasm and intuition rather than evidence. It's clear that the man is obsessed with self-reference. He's never lost his early fascination with hallway mirrors and video feedback and Gödel. Which is good for us, but it doesn't serve this book well. He sees a connection between the self-reference of the mind and the self-reference of numerical systems, and leaps to a conclusion without checking his work. I can imagine the moment when the young Hofstadter realized that the self is self-reflexive, just like Gödel's proof. It must have been like the time I had this sudden insight into my own mathematics research. It was thrilling. I knew I was onto something. I rushed back home to write it down, and suddenly there were a hundred little details that had to be resolved, and it was two more years before I was done. Douglas Hofstadter isn't quite done yet, but I think he's onto something, and I look forward to the result.
Relax, It's Just Physicalist Functionalism.......2007-08-25
I became interested in philosophy of mind about three years ago, and have since read a variety of books written by philosophers, neuroscientists, psychologists and computer experts. About a year ago I heard about Douglas Hofstadter and his [then] forthcoming book "I Am A Strange Loop". I also discovered his 1979 work Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, where the strange loop concept was expounded in great detail. While GEB did indeed attempt to apply strange loops to the workings of the mind, IAASL promised to focus this idea with laser intensity upon the mysteries of human consciousness. Given what I had already read about the importance of circular processes within the brain, especially regarding the "binding" of multiple sense and memory data into a "unified impression", I looked forward to IAASL with great anticipation. I hoped that it would provide cutting insights that would help dispel the fog surrounding the current consciousness debate. In the end, however, Dr. Hofstadter provided little more than a warmed-over version of an old theory, i.e. PHYSICALIST FUNCTIONALISM; albeit with a quasi-mathematical twist to it, i.e., the Godel / strange-loop approach.
Although Hofstadter is a computer scientist, his first love appears to be mathematics. He gives a great description of what mathematicians do, i.e. finding and analyzing patterns amidst groups of numbers. He gives examples of how this is done, and then shows how these patterns are analyzed and formally documented via axioms and theorems and strings of logical symbols. He then kicks it up a notch by explaining what number theory is, i.e. the foundation for those theorems and logical constructs. Not content with stopping there, he takes you to the next level by explaining how mathematician Kurt Godel performed a brilliant meta-analysis of number theory in 1931 and found that it breaks down when "indexicals" are considered (i.e., self-referential propositions such as "this quote is untrue"). By now, most of us reasonably-intelligent readers are gasping for mental oxygen, as though we're way up in the Andes. But Hofstadter then pushes us up to the peak, i.e. the "strange loop", which is an abstraction and generalization of what Godel did to number theory.
Yikes! How many levels up have we gone? Numbers can be called first-order abstractions of reality. Identified number patterns would be a second-order; documentation of these by theorems would represent a third. Number theory is four levels up, and Godel hits the fifth floor elevator button. So a "strange loop" is a sixth-order abstraction from everyday reality. No wonder it seems somewhat "strange" to mere mortals.
But strangeness doesn't mean that an idea is useless. Hofstadter makes it clear (more so in GEB) that mathematicians have come up with all sorts of abstract ideas, which often sit for years in dusty library books until some physicist comes along looking for a way to describe something rather peculiar about the data he or she has gathered from the lab. All of a sudden, an ignored system or obscure concept is found to be exactly what is needed to solve the problem of, say, electrical superconductence at room temperature. The question here is just how useful the strange loop concept would be in solving problems. It is not a logically formal idea, in the way that a math construct such as the proof of Fermat`s Last Theorem is. The strange loop paradigm is really more of a philosopher's construct, something a bit looser around the edges. Hofstadter tries to do with math what the late, great David Bohm attempted with quantum physics, i.e. to stretch it into a bigger, more holistic thought system that extends to the far corners of the human mind. What Hofstadter and Bohm found once they reached those far corners are quite different however; instead of localized loops, Bohm saw "implicate universal order". (Bohm's 1987 book Science, Order and Creativity is to "implicate order" what GEB is to strange loops).
This is important to keep in mind if you choose to climb the mountain of thought with Hofstadter. Right up through Godel's intellectual craftwork, Hofstadter stays on the pathways of formal logic. But that last jump is different, and Hofstadter does not warn you. It's easy (for those of lesser minds like myself) to be impressed by the strict methods used to get to level number five, and believe that such intellectual acuity carries through right to the top. So keep your eyes open (even though it's difficult at such intellectual heights); Hofstadter is very impressive as a wanna-be mathematician, but may not be as skilled when he shifts to philosophy, where the "strange loop" proposition actually resides.
In GEB, Hofstadter attempts to give real-world examples of strange-loop situations. Not surprisingly, the results are of mixed efficacy. He first refers to the Escher paintings so liberally sprinkled throughout his first book (a few of which show up in IAASL). But he gains little traction - those are just optical illusions. He then refers to what almost happened during the Watergate crisis during Richard Nixon's presidency; i.e. the Supreme Court interpreting the Constitution for the Executive Branch, and the Executive Branch contrarily interpreting the Constitution regarding the Judiciary. In fact, such political situations don't loop around very much; they are resolved rather quickly by riots and bullets (luckily Nixon backed off in 1974). Hofstadter's greatest success with strange loops in GEB came in a wonderful chapter about the workings of DNA in living beings.
Hofstadter also took on the problems of the mind in GEB. However, his efforts in that field were overshadowed by the expansive brilliance of the book. And thus, in IAASL Hofstadter conveys his disappointment about not being taken more seriously by the brain-mind-consciousness crowd. He calls GEB a "shout into a chasm" - although Hofstadter did in fact team up with one of the most formidable "mind philosophers", Daniel Dennett, soon after GEB (e.g., their 1981 book The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self & Soul). I read GEB only recently, but it was rather clear to me that Hofstadter's strange-loop concept of the mind was really nothing more than physicalist functionalism, a viewpoint that has been around since the mid-1960s. Not surprisingly, Dennett is quite sympathetic to this approach. For a good introduction to functionalism and its materialist interpretation, I'd recommend David Papineau's Introducing Consciousness.
In applying strange loops to the workings of the brain, Hofstadter establishes that the mind works "recursively". Sense data flows in from the body and drives the neurons; and yet this "bottom level" activity works its way through a hierarchy to the upper levels of the mind, where sensations are felt and decisions are made. Those decisions are then "passed back down" to the neurons and synapses, completing the strange loop from low-level to high-level and back again.
The brain is thus seen as having "mind states" that exist between sensory input and behavioral output. These states are loopy and recursive; their present status is as much a function of what they were like an instant ago, as of what new sense data was just inputted into them. Through devices such as memory, they tend to stabilize human behavior, allowing a longer-term perspective. E.g., if you are chasing a rabbit for food, and the rabbit temporarily disappears behind a tree, you don't stop running just because you no longer see it - you hold a belief that it will soon reappear. Brain states, as an intermediary between stimulus and response, obviously have a function, one that contributes to survival. And thus the case for functionalism. The physicalist part rejects any dualist notions about the ontological independence of "qualia" and inner experience, and equates our mind states and their functional interactions with consciousness itself. In GEB, Hofstadter used the strange loop abstraction to get to functionalism. In IIASL, he concentrates somewhat more on the physicalist agenda.
As such, Hofstadter wears the philosopher's hat more frequently in IIASL, while in GEB he mostly kept the mathematician's cap on. But the new hat doesn't fit as well. First off, he doesn't seem to be aware that he's pouring the old wine of functionalism into the new skin of strange loopiness (to reverse the Biblical metaphor). He seems a bit too sure of himself, too ready to summarily ridicule those who have argued against functionalism, most notably philosopher John Searle. (He may be doing the bidding of his partner Daniel Dennett, who has had rather vitriolic debates with Searle over the years; but unlike Hofstadter, Dennett has spelled out in great detail his position relative to Searle's. Hofstadter, in turn, is mostly yelling insults at the enemy of his friend). He spends many pages setting up and attacking a straw man, i.e. substance dualism, a position that has not been seriously espoused since Sir John Eccles passed away.
Professor Hofstadter doesn't show any appreciation for the subtleties of modern property dualism and its hope that future progress in understanding the nature of "deep reality" may eventually close the "explanatory gap" between physics and consciousness, e.g. the "information substrate to reality" and the hologram paradigms that physicists such as John Wheeler now discuss, and which David Bohm anticipated. Hofstadter admires, yet refuses to adopt the self-doubt that his fellow materialist Derek Parfait expresses after Parfait strictly identifies qualia and self-awareness with brain electrochemistry.
Hofstadter as philosopher shows no knowledge of the "mysterian" position of Colin McGinn and Thomas Nagel; this is especially regrettable given Hofstadter's words in GEB about the human brain ultimately being a Turing algorithmic system subject, one that at some point faces a determinability limit similar to what Godel found in number theory. Is it possible that our questions regarding our own consciousness are the ultimate indexicals? Hofstadter also seeks to kill some "sacred cows" of philosophy that are antithetical to the functionalist viewpoint, such as the "inverted spectrum" thought experiment. (Hofstadter swears in the book to be a vegetarian pacifist, but I suppose that philosophic sacred cows are still fair game.) Interestingly, though, he does not attempt to "kill" the thought-experiment denizen who should trouble him the most: i.e., Frank Jackson's "Mary", the formerly color-blind neuroscientist (also explained well by Papineau, cited above).
Even when explaining his own paradigms, Hofstadter can be a bit confusing. He spends a lot of time telling us that human consciousness is like a television with a camera pointed at it (he even provides pictures of what the frame-within-frame results looks like). The implied infinite series of frames-within-frames is claimed to be much like the strange loops that power our consciousness. But if so, then how far is this paradigm from the much reviled "Cartesian theater" idea of the homunculus (tiny little person) within the brain watching a screen tied to our sense organs, with a homunculus within him/her watching a screen, with a homunculus . . . . in the end, just another infinity of screens. Nonetheless, after a lot of words about TV cameras pointed at monitors, Hofstadter then tells us that it's not the infinity of screen frames that is important; infinity would have sunk Godel had he not gotten around the problem with a finite reference to infinity. The given example of a finite reference to the infinite is the girl on the Morton Salt container, holding an identical salt container under her arm so that her image, and an infinite regress, is blocked but still implied. OK, fine, but I didn't see how the TV/screen system was squared with the salt container. Are they both kinda-sorta like indexical consciousness, but in differing ways?
And then there's Hofstadter's illusion of the marble in the box of envelopes - proving that our everyday notions regarding self-consciousness are just illusions, anyway. But illusions to who? Don't ask, just be satisfied that the illusion is had by an illusion which is perceived by another illusion . . . . ad infinitum / ad absurdum.
IAASL is an intensely personal book - it could almost be sub-titled 'Please Understand Me', with apologies to David Keirsey and his work on Myers-Briggs and human temperaments (Hofstadter is clearly an INTP "architect" - an architect of numbers, ideas and systems). You learn a lot about the life and times of Douglas Hofstadter while climbing the intellectual heights with him. He makes a lot of entertaining little jokes and quips along the way, but becomes very serious as he discusses Carol, his beloved late wife. His word are truly moving until he tries to convince you that Carol lives on in his mind, almost as much as Douglas Hofstadter does. She is still conscious within him - certainly not to the same degree that he is, but according to his hyper-functional concept of "consciousness", just as qualitatively conscious. He goes through a rather convoluted thought experiment (regarding "Twinwirld") to justify the notion that one consciousness can be shared among more than one brain.
To truly grasp what is going on here, you need to be familiar with a certain tenant of physicalist functionalism: i.e., that consciousness is "platform independent". Platform independence has been used to support the notion that living protoplasm is not a sine qua non for consciousness, and that there is no reason why artificial intelligence researchers (such as Hofstadter) will not eventually reproduce consciousness "in silico". Hofstadter has put a rather innovative twist on the platform independence theory here: why not a person-to-person transfer of conscious awareness? One could think of all sorts of skeptical questions in response, but I would like to ask something more personal: is this really healthy? At some point, don't we need to learn to let go after we lose something or someone we love? (Or am I taking Hofstadter too seriously, since he feels that all human consciousness is just a "marble in an envelope box" anyway?)
Given all the psychological sharing in IAASL, one can see how much even a brilliant person's views are shaped by their own personal history and circumstances. It's not surprising that the wrapping of physicalist functionalism with a strange loop bow comes from a fellow of prodigious intellectual talents who, as a young boy, bought math treatises and who got goose bumps thinking about self-referential propositions, and whose teenage music thrills came from Albert Schweitzer doing Bach's greatest hits. (I wonder if Hofstadter considered calling this book "Godel, Schweitzer and Bach"?) Professor Hofstadter didn't know that Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes also recorded a song using the refrain "it ain't the meat, it's the motion", which Hofstadter uses to mockingly attack Searle's consideration of the idea that living protoplasm might be essential to consciousness. Hofstadter is being unfair here, as Searle is in fact quite cautious in discussing this. As to Southside and Mr. Popeye, well, they will probably get over the slight eventually . . . .
I'd give this book two stars from the perspective of the general reader who might want an overview on the current debate regarding how our brains, minds and consciousness relate. If you are already familiar with philosophy of mind, then perhaps Hofstadter earns a third star - he will at least give YOUR mind a work-out. And if you enjoyed GEB and more-or-less understood it, then IAASL could be a four or even five-star read for you. So I've averaged it out to three stars overall. As with Hofstadter's sense of humor, which is liberally sprinkled throughout the book (aside from the Carol chapters), some will enjoy and benefit from Hofstadter's approach, but many won't.
A final note about Douglas Hofstadter's admittedly touching tribute to his late wife. Despite his heartfelt attempts to weave his theories into something of beauty in her honor, recursive mathematical constructs still pale in comparison with Tennyson's "In Memoriam":
I trust I have not wasted breath:
I think we are not wholly brain,
Magnetic mockeries; not in vain,
Like Paul with beasts, I fought with Death;
Not only cunning casts in clay;
Let Science prove we are, and then
What matter Science unto men,
At least to me? I would not stay.
As Dr. Parfait realized, dualism will not be easily vanquished. Like Professor Hofstadter, I too am a vegetarian romanticist computer geek, albeit a considerably less brilliant one. But as to being a strange loop . . . no way.
The mind plays tricks on us.......2007-08-24
Interesting fellow this author.
He has done a good job illuminating the inner clouds of thought rolling around in the brain.
Takes you on an interesting trip. Still a little tough to grasp.
Book Description
The success of this best-selling text lies in the author's belief that a good text talks with, rather than at, its readers. Shaffer does an extraordinary job of anticipating students' interests, questions, and concerns while treating them as active participants in the process of learning about social and personality development. The Fifth edition of SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT features clearly written, current coverage of social and personality development that aids students in discovering the causes, processes, and complexities that underlie developmental change. Students learn why biological and environmental factors, contextual factors such as cross-cultural, familial, neighborhood, school, and peer-group influences cause change in children. Shaffer also explores the approaches that researchers use to test their theories and answer important questions about developing children and adolescents. This book's effective coverage of field research stands out from other texts not only for its accuracy and currency, but because Shaffer consistently juxtaposes classic research with the latest breakthroughs in a way that helps students appreciate how knowledge builds on earlier findings. This edition features a much stronger emphasis on cultural influences on development.
Customer Reviews:
guided by Bronfenbrenner.......2006-05-30
As an instructor, I found this to be an excellent text. In particular, I appreciated the repeated incorporation of cross-cultural research. This text answers the call for incorporating diversity across the curriculum. Repeated inclusion of cross-cultural similarities and differences, combined with repeated discussions of the interconnections of multiple variables, helps students move away from a "one-size fits all" approach and egocentric thinking. By the end of the semester, when students were presented with a hypothetical problem scenario to resolve, they quickly outlined a list of additional details they would need to know, offering how each variable (parenting style, ethnicity, location of residence, violence within family, etc.) would alter the "goodness of fit" of their intervention. Also, the author does not shy away from presenting research evidence that is sometimes contradictory or inconclusive, which provides an excellent opportunity for in-class discussions of the reality of research and how, as a field, we address these issues. The only drawback is the amount of information sometimes overwhelmed students, so I found it necessary to focus their reading on certain sections of each chapter - however this can also be viewed as strength, since it allowed me to "customize" my course to some extent.
Social and Personality Development.......2005-09-22
This was a brand new book and I was pleased with the book however it took longer than expected to receive.
Book Description
With a newly revised and streamlined organization, the Sixth Edition maintains its cross-cultural, global, and gender-balanced perspectives while emphasizing humanistic and transpersonal psychologists in its exploration of the positive aspects of major personality theorists, stressing each one's relevance for personal understanding.
Highly praised for its exceptionally well-written style and accessibility, this book encourages and supports readers in using themselves as the primary touchstone for each theory. Each chapter gives readers opportunities to validate their insights through direct experience, and, by observing their own reactions, come to their own conclusions about the utility and value of each theory.a newly revised, and a Companion Website
For professionals with a career in psychology, sociology, and/or social work.
Book Description
This proven text fuses the best of theory-based and research-based instruction to give students a powerful introduction to personality. Burger pairs "theory, applications, and assessment" chapters with chapters that describe the research programs aligned with every major theoretical approach. Biographical sketches of theorists and accounts of the stories behind influential research programs help students understand how classic and contemporary findings relate to each other, and reinforce the idea that theory and research perpetuate one another. To round out the text, in-text self-assessments and a Study Guide (available separately) get students to interact with the material.
Customer Reviews:
Don't Bother.......2007-02-12
I ordered this book by mistake. I meant to order the full text. Because I had nothing else for class until I could get the right book I read this. It was a waste of time.
Thanks for the Personality Book.......2003-10-10
I can't remember who sold this book to me.. but Thanks so much for getting it to me so fast... I appreciate it and it was in excellent condition at a reasonable price.
D.Nixon
Great resource!.......2001-07-01
This book was outstanding...easy to understand and has all of the pertinent information you need to learn about the psychology of personality!
Book Description
Filled with updated research and findings, the Eighth Edition of Schultz and Schultz's THEORIES OF PERSONALITY gives students a clear and cogent introduction to this dynamic field. Organized by theory, this popular text discusses major theorists who represent psychoanalytic, neopsychoanalytic, life-span, trait, humanistic, cognitive, behavioral, and social-learning approaches, while demonstrating the influence of events in theorists' personal and professional lives on the development of these theories. The book also explores the ways in which race, gender, and cultural issues play a part in the study of personality and in personality assessment, and includes numerous examples, tables, and figures that further enhance students' understanding of the content. The final chapter, "Personality in Perspective," integrates topics explored in previous chapters and suggests conclusions that can be drawn from the many theorists' work.
Customer Reviews:
Five Stars for Theories of Personality!.......2007-07-20
Schultz & Schultz's *Theories of Personality* is incredibly well written, concise, and a pleasure to read. The information is presented in a way that is both in-depth and easy to understand. This text provides background information on theorists, their theoretical contributions, and loads of current research on aspects of each theory. A+ for Schultz & Schultz! Highly recommended for all students of psychology, and all professors of personality!
Cover to Cover!.......2005-09-27
I would have to say that this textbook is very well written and is easy to follow. Schultzs made the book very interesting with great examples and photographs.
Theories of Personality.......2000-06-06
I really thought this book was helpful. I bought this book to complement another book I had trouble understanding. I finished this book in a couple of days in time to complete a research paper. You can't find many easy reading books like this one.
Book Description
Timothy Carrier, having a beer after work at his friend’s tavern, enjoys drawing eccentric customers into amusing conversations. But the jittery man who sits next to him tonight has mistaken Tim for someone very different—and passes to him a manila envelope full of cash.
“Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she’s gone.”
The stranger walks out, leaving a photo of the pretty woman marked for death, and her address. But things are about to get worse. In minutes another stranger sits next to Tim. This one is a cold-blooded killer who believes Tim is the man who has hired him.
Thinking fast, Tim says, “I’ve had a change of heart. You get ten thousand—for doing nothing. Call it a no-kill fee.” He keeps the photo and gives the money to the hired killer. And when Tim secretly follows the man out of the tavern, he gets a further shock: the hired killer is a cop.
Suddenly, Tim Carrier, an ordinary guy, is at the center of a mystery of extraordinary proportions, the one man who can save an innocent life and stop a killer far more powerful than any cop…and as relentless as evil incarnate. But first Tim must discover within himself the capacity for selflessness, endurance, and courage that can turn even an ordinary man into a hero, inner resources that will transform his idea of who he is and what it takes to be The Good Guy.
Customer Reviews:
Very good suspense Novel.......2007-10-02
Koontz has been on a roll lately with suspense novels. They have all been good and not involved anything supernatural. This book does not change that pattern.
The story is basically a traditional good against evil type of story. As with all Koontz novels, this book takes off fairly quickly and does not let up until the end. The story is fairly strong through out and the characters are very likable. The villain, though not as good as some of his villains of the past, is interesting and keeps your attention.
If you are a fan of Dean Koontz and or suspense novels in general I would most definitely recommend this book.
Great Book (so-so ending).......2007-09-25
Quick review. Great book .. had me up several nights. If you like unpretentious thrillers, go for it.
However, the ending was lousy. Without giving anything away, the final explanation of the "why's" is just so completely unbelievable (not to worry, it is still a good read ... but Koontz could have spent some more time on a more plausible ending).
The Husband is as good and just more solid.
The Good Guy is a Good Book.......2007-09-23
I was hooked from the beginning but got a little bored (more than usual in a Koontz book) toward the middle. But the character development (good guy and bad guy) kept me engaged. Typical storyline but some goo writing. I recommend this one...
Awesome.......2007-09-20
I find that I like to read anything that Dean Koontz writes. All of his books are hard to put down.
Vintage Koontz.......2007-09-18
I enjoyed this book. It is a quick read and really developes the characters well. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a fast read. The only reason it didnt get 5 stars from me was because I was slightly disappointed with the ending. Only slightly. But other then that, would definitely recommend this book as well as The Husband to anyone who wants to try out a Koontz book for the first time. Both are top notch.
Book Description
When the personality is rigid to the point of being unable to change in reaction to changing circumstances - we say that it is disordered. Such a person takes behavioral, emotional, and cognitive cues exclusively from others. His inner world is, so to speak, vacated. His True Self is dilapidated and dysfunctional. Instead he has a tyrannical and delusional False Self. Such a person is incapable of loving and of living. He cannot love others because he cannot love himself. He loves his reflection, his surrogate self. And he is incapable of living because life is a struggle towards, a striving, a drive at something. In other words: life is change. He who cannot change cannot live.
The narcissist is an actor in a monodrama, yet forced to remain behind the scenes. The scenes take center stage, instead. The Narcissist does not cater at all to his own needs. Contrary to his reputation, the Narcissist does not "love" himself in any true sense of the word.
He feeds off other people, who hurl back at him an image that he projects to them. This is their sole function in his world: to reflect, to admire, to applaud, to detest - in a word, to assure him that he exists. Otherwise, the narcissist feels, they have no right to tax his time, energy, or emotions.
The main body of research about Narcissism is surveyed in the book.
Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Re-Visited offers a detailed, first hand account of what it is like to have a Narcissistic Personality Disorder. It contains new insights and an organized methodological framework. The first part of the book comprises more than 100 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding relationships with abusive narcissists and the Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Customer Reviews:
OH MY GOD..........2007-09-19
My mother-in-law is literally in the center of a Narcissistic Rage...now! My husband and I have been weathering this abuse alone for years. Only recently has the abuse begun to extend to our children and for the first time we have stood our ground rather than make excuses for her behavior...and the Injury-Rage cycle was triggered. My husband's brother was so taken aback by this rage that he now sees her abuse for the first time clearly (although since he had become a new parent he had begun to suspect the depth of her problems). Unfortunately, 80% of the family still are under her spell.
We are now simply waiting the days for our permanent banishment from the family to occur. We have openly requested to attend counseling with both parents (making the request with witnesses present as recommended). Both my husband and his brother have little hope that she and my father-in-law will respond. Sadly, the other members of the family do not find it suspicious that she once played out this same scenario 18 years ago when she severed all ties with her own brother-in-law and his family...while my father-in-law just watched it happen. He only recently had contact with his brother at their father's funeral and following his mother's surgery. No one else either makes the connection that she has often lamented that her own parents never cut ties with her own abusive eldest brother (my husband is the eldest son) and the reason the she has no friends today is that she ceremoniously cut ties each time a conflict occurred. Just two days ago, she made the public spectacle of declaring my husband (and myself by extension) as source of all her woes. Characteristically, the family was called together at half past midnight by my father-in-law on the premise that "mom is having a nervous breakdown". When everyone was gathered (the original family since spouses of course needed to stay home with children), it quickly became clear that it was simply a venue to declare how my husband is driving her over the edge with his cruelty and to list the unjust pain she has suffered over the years from him (forgetting that for 10 of the last 17 years my husband has been either out the state or out of the country...man, we're more effective that the CIA). Luckily the scene was so absurd as to fully awaken my brother-in-law and allow us to finally identify our situation overtly and concretely.
The point is...we are actually doing quite well. Thanks to Vaknin's writings. We know what we have and are facing (again we have been aware of her degeneration for some time but have been unable to properly cope since we could not understand what was attacking us). Thanks to Vaknin's blog, we now have the support of my brother-in-law and his wife. It has allowed us to identify the shadows that have been haunting us. We will do what we can to salvage relationships and the family, but we are now fully confident in our decision to do what we must to protect our children from involvement in her disorder. And it is an overwhelming relief to know that my brother-in-law agrees that all decisions now must be based on the children, even if it means accepting the permanent rejection of relations with their grandparents. (We had already solidly decided the children will no longer be allowed unchaperoned in her presence).
I found Vaknin's book Malignant Self Love wholly by accident. I was looking for an author I once heard in an NPR interview years ago. Her book was on sociopathy and I have quoted her often...and more so lately while talking with girlfriends about how it seems EVERY family has a "nutty Aunt Martha" and making "my nutty mother-in-law" jokes trying to cope with our degenerating situation. I had finally decided to find and buy that book since I have wanted to read it for so long. Vaknin's book came up in the search and again in the "people also bought" section. I read the reviews last week, nagging suspicions began and then two days ago was The Spectacle.
OH MY GOD...it was EXACTLY like what the reviews reported. Vaknin's book is in the mail now and his Blog has helped us more that I can express. Though we are in the thick of it and at the lowest point of her disorder, my husband and I are actually personally in a very good place. Our decisions now can be made with certainty...for the first time in several years...and we are no longer facing the unknown.
The 5 stars are based on the Blog (which I have cross referenced with my brother's wife who is a family counselor). I am confident that the book's quality will be consistent with both the Blog and 50 other 5 star reviews.
Malignant Self Love.......2007-08-02
If you read only one book on narcissism it should be Malignant Self Love by Sam Vaknin. As a Ph.D. psychotherapist, I have read many books on narcissism but none of them have contained as much insightful information and done so with such incisive clarity as Malignant Self Love. Sam Vaknin gives the reader what they would never get from the narcissist, and that's an intimate understanding of who they really are and why they do what they do. We all should be deeply grateful to Sam Vaknin for exposing the painfully confusing and profoundly complex truths contained in the mind, psyche, and behavior of the narcissist; doing so not merely as an observer or gatherer of information on this subject but from the dark depths of what it is to actually be one. By writing this brilliant book for others to learn from, Sam Vaknin provides us once more with what we would never authentically get from the pathological narcissist, compassion and generosity.
Vaknin and MSL -- A lifesaver.......2007-07-10
Like the myriad of other reviewers raving about this book, I too have been victimized by a classic narcissist.
Being a PhD-trained psychotherapist myself did nothing to help me in my downfall. In fact, it may have even hindered me, because I stubbornly refused to obey what all my healthy instincts were screaming (get out!), and I continued to extend compassion, patience, and tolerance long after what good boundaries would otherwise dictate.
My brief story first, then why I like this book.
My classic (somatic) narcissist was typical. I met her 7 months after the demise of my marriage (from which I had not yet fully recovered), and she was the perfect balm. Kind, loving, attentive, mirroring me oh so well. Coupled to considerable beauty and charm, I was pretty strongly hooked. I was aware from very early on that there was a certain larger-than-life (i.e., phoney) flavor to her. But I didn't want to look too hard at that. Had I have been more healed, undoubtedly I would have.
For the first 18 months, a honeymoon phase existed, although there were already clear warning signs, e.g., unmitigated rages over my efforts at saying "no" from time to time, a fundamental disinterest in getting to know me in any deep sense, vitriolic criticisms of many persons we crossed paths with. Her use of the word "weak" to describe persons in general. Telling too, was the need for constant excitement and the chronic mention of variations on the word "boredom" whenever life was merely routine.
It was a rude awakening to be shifted from primary narcissistic supply to secondary narcissistic supply. Compliments dried up, sex dried up, emotional intimacy dried up. Within a few months of this, I discovered a passionate affair (which ended the relationship), that so seduced the poor sap that he proposed marriage after 4 weeks. He was bewildered worse than me when she suddenly dropped him to come back to me. Promises of renewed efforts at our relationship, balancing give and take, improving of communication skills were the tools which seduced me the second time. The honeymoon lasted for about 4 months this time, then once again I fell into an ancillary role in the relationship. It took 14 more months of tolerating numerous lies, and on my part, nagging, begging, arguing, and looking for some shard of empathy from her for me and my giving and supportive role.
Sam mentions the "Stockholm Syndrome", (where the victims become enamored of their kidnappers). As a behaviorally-trained psychologist, I prefer to think in terms of reinforcement. Variable ratio reinforcement (i.e., the abuser randomly throws the victim and occasional bone) is the schedule that produces the highest rate of responding in the victim--AND is the most difficult to extinguish (end or escape from). Think of a slot machine. Narcissists are experts at reinforcing only intermittently. Few are as frequent at it as a Las Vegas slot! For those of you out there who are suffering, it may help you to appreciate that you're not crazy or weak. Most people can be seduced into unexpected behaviors by the powerful shaping of this type reinforcement. Then when YOUR drug (reinforcement) is cut off, expect to suffer greatly.
We come to Vaknin. I believe that his phenomonological analysis of the mind of the narcissist is outstanding. I am able to understand EVERY nuance of my ex's behavior. Things that absolutely puzzled me, like referring to herself in the third person when asking for physical comfort when sick. The feast to famine sexual behavior. The lack of any relationships with adults. The apparent contradiction of volunteer work--which puzzled me. All of these behaviors are crystal clear to me now after looking through the lens that Sam provides us with.
The book gets four stars only because I consider his etiology to be incomplete--which I believe he acknowledges. My ex DID however have the classic picture. A smothering, overly indulgent mother, and a clearly personality disordered--mostly absent alcoholic father. However, I am aware that most modern models of human behavior are multifactorial. I'd like to see an effort at this in Sam's book, and less psychodynamic/object relations theory. We have a long way to go hammering out this disorder.
Finally, I'd like more on treatment. I can't of course fault Sam for his dismal picture of treatment success. I am well aware from my own practice that narcissists only show up briefly (usually due to a crisis). They soon discover that they are smarter than the therapist(!)-- who may or may not have a role in effectively recharging their battery, and depart in short order.
I'd like to see a controlled study done using the Marsha Linehan's DBT methods. There is substantial research showing significant improvement in Borderline Personality Disorder which likely also has a very early childhood factor. There is enough overlap between the disorders I believe to warrant a closer look. The unfortunate mitigating variable is lack of interest on the part of the Narcissist! One of the last things my significant other said to me was, "I'll never go to psychotherapy, being with you has convinced me that THAT'S useless!" Fair enough. I will now do my own therapy for the trauma and abuse. I'm staggered with how damaged I am from this experience. Thank you Sam--and even you the reviewers--for your shared experience. You've been a lifesaver.
I consider the two negative reviews on here to be without substance. We ALL wish that the picture was better. Vaknin is telling it like it is. I'd very much like to read a book or study some day that shows clear evidence of recovery from this pernicious disorder. I'm sure many of us would. At least I have a substantial chance of healing and recovery. I believe my ex's to be infinitely more abysmal.
Read It And Weep.......2007-07-03
Thank you everyone else who reviewed this book. I read it online too. It is the bible for all victims of Narcissists...so I am ordering it from Amazon today. Like one of the other reviewers...I am divorcing a Narcissist who 'up and left' me for another victim (after writing me a gorgeous Valentines Day card)...brilliant really. This new girl is all too willing to provide him with a constant stream of 'Narcissistic Supply'...just how long she will be able to keep it up is anyone's guess...I did it for 15 years...His first wife did it for 6. I knew I was in the soup when I finally put my foot down and started to realize that perhaps it wasn't 'me' after all...I demanded that he make some changes and take responsibility for his actions...He would have laughed except that he has no sense of humor. Handsome, cool, edgy geniuses don't need one! I was 'gas-lighted' through and through and now I am suffering from a kind of Post traumatic Stress...almost like 'Stockholm Syndrome' where your captor gives you a delicious bit of reprieve from the psychological torture and allows you to 'bask in his glow' for a little while until he inflicts the next punishment or abandons you! Watch the Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer version of the movie 'Gaslight'! Order it on Amazon! After he dumped me and left me with $300,000.00 worth of debt, I wrote a long letter to the 1st wife apologizing to her! (I was HER replacement!...I sure got mine...) I told her of my findings. She was unbelievably GRATEFUL and said my clarity finally got her out of therapy! I have had many experiences in my life...some very difficult...but to be conned at the level of love (marriage and children) is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Thanks for listening!
It's worth every penny.......2007-06-03
If you do a google search, you can get the online copy downloaded as well...he is "the" resource for narcisissism, and this book explains a lot of the abuses of narcissists, it's the thing you can't put your finger on in the relationship...
Book Description
As charming performers who skillfully reflect their parents expectations, far too many children grow into adults driven to greater and greater achievements by an underlying sense of worthlessness. Never allowed to express their true feelings, and having lost touch with their true selves, they act out their repressed feelings with episodes of depression and compulsive behavior. They in turn inflict the same legacy of repression on their own children.
This poignant and thought-provoking book shows how narcissistic parents form and deform the lives of their children. The Drama of the Gifted Child is the first step toward helping readers reclaim their lives by discovering their own needs and their own truth.
Customer Reviews:
A Quest to Find Your True Self.......2007-09-11
This book is amazing. It takes a serious look at the damage that can be inflicted as a child by narcissistic parents and how it plays out in adulthood. This book encourages one to be set free from the subconscious effects of childhood neglect. This book has been very helpful for me to grow and change after being raised in an abusive home.
Gifted?.......2007-09-11
I picked up this book expecting it to truly be about children with an incredible gift, who also carry the burden of always having to be excellent at it, because that's what they expect of themselves. The gift, if it becomes public, is an enormous burden. Instead I found another book written in the genre of the 80's, claiming that all of one's current problems are the direct result of the horror inflicted on them by evil or ignorant parenting skills. Maybe we would all be better off as a society, except in the cases of horrible neglect and/or abuse, to realize and understand that our parents were human beings, with good intentions, who also made some mistakes along the way. It's always funny to me that authors forget to look at the siblings in the family. How can a good family raise several healthy happy children, and then be condemned because one of the children is unhappy? Perhaps it is the window that child was born with, that makes them view things differently. That being said, I still would like to find a book about the pain of being born with an incredible gift, so I could understand what my daughter was going through.
Wonderful Book when reseraching the dynamics of Narcissist families.......2007-06-22
Alice Miller's Drama of the Gifted Child is a wonderful book a must read for parents and teachers alike! This book was suggested as an informational work for those interested in the dynamics within Narcissistic families. The book touches on many important aspects of childhood and how our families either encourage or discourage the development of a true inner self. It presents personal accounts and theories about how the experiences of childhood shape our ideas and beliefs about the world. As a parent and teacher this book both concerned and inspired me. I read it in conjunction with the Narcissistic Family by the Pressmans. These two books have a very similar message: the importance of learning from the unhealthy and hurtful experiences of childhood and how to overcome these experiences. In addition creating awareness about not passing on our own negative childhood experiences to our children. A must read for anyone interested in coming to grips with the trauma's suffered by children in our world. Miller's work is a guide book on what can be done to work through repressed emotions and liberate one's true self.
insightful thou i haven't quite made out the title?!.......2007-04-03
i wrote a note on the cover page which reads: "this is a very sad book. and very necessary to read BEFORE one has children. unfortunately too late for me :((".
and this is how i felt (and still feel) after having read it (just finished it at 2 am this morning).
the premise of the book is that what we are not aware of, rules (destroys) our lives.
the trauma of being mistreated, manipulated, ridiculed or just ignored in the first days / years of our lives by adults we depended on for our existence gets stored in our bodies and it conditions us not only to neurosis, but also to taking it out on the first available weaker person -usually our children.
it also claims that thanks to the way we are brought up and "loved" by our (own screwed up and wounded) caretakers conditionally, for what we do and how we behave and not for who we are (for the fact we exist), we tend to deny parts of ourselves that the caretakers wish to expunge. we mould ourselves according to what we think they want, and lose ourselves in the process.
as adults, we keep carrying the feeling of inadeqacy and unworthiness and experience it as depression or grandiosity (in which no achievement really is enough for us to start valuing ourselves so we keep pushing for more, just to keep the depression and worthlessness at bay).
some children, on the other hand, "kill" their own emotions and feelings, in order to keep their caretaker's love.
in all cases children take the "blame and shame" for their "inadequacies" and idealize the parents or caretakers who inflicted the wounds.
at times, reading this book, i would remember the fact that i too remember nothing of my childhood, except that it was "idilic". or was it? repression of memories and feelings can go straight into almost complete amnesia.
i also thought of a few people i know, whose parents are strict and cold, who display very little emotion, but go thru life sucking love out of other people only to discard them when they get it.
i would remember how i sometimes lash out at my son, like his being a child is a crime.. the same way i was loved for my achievements, i sometimes get demanding on him and show discontent when he does not comply.
i thought of my son's difficult birth and 6 days in ER, without me, all alone. and i want to scream :(
this book hit me like a hammer.
i hope i read it on time. everyone should do the same, if not for their own sake, then for sake of their innocent children.
oh, and one more thing: sentences are so damn long and sometimes barely comprehensible. the translation could have been done more in the spirit of english language.
The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self.......2007-03-19
The book was delivered on time and in the condition promised.
Book Description
This innovative approach -- blending practicality and creativity -- is now in full-color!
From translating the vision of a CEO and conducting research, through designing a sustainable identity program and building online branding tools,
Designing Brand Identity helps companies create stronger brands by offering real substance. With an easy-to-follow style, step-by-step considerations, and a proven, universal five-phase process for creating and implementing effective brand identity, the book offers the tools you need, whether a brand manager, marketer, or designer, when creating or managing a brand. This edition includes a wealth of full-color examples and updated case studies for world-class brands such as BP, Unilever, Citi, Tazo Tea, and Mini Cooper.
Alina Wheeler (Philadelphia, PA) applies her strategic imagination to help build brands, create new identities, and design brand-identity programs for Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurial ventures, foundations, and cities.
Customer Reviews:
Should be a standard in schools........2007-09-23
This book should have be required reading for any graphic designs school. Being a graphic designer myself, I must say that this book is a valueable tool to sellings and building strong brands. It would have been great to have in school.
Truly a great read!.......2007-08-27
I am in the brand-redesign phase with a local brand/identity designer and purchased your book for additional guidance. It is a truly a great read!
Great Client Education book.......2007-08-02
This has wonderfully designed graphics and charts explaining the identity design process. This is a really good client education book, explaining the design process, why they need design, what identity design consists of, etcetera. I was looking for a book like this to explain to clients why they need identity design, what good it does, what it consists of and why their company cannot do without it any longer.
I also think it would be a good book to use to explain to family members, friends and neighbors "what you do." It would be a good book for someone who wants to start their own graphic design business, who is considering graphic design as their field of study, or who wants to convince others that graphic design is important. I recommend it highly for MARKETING professionals and those in ADVERTISING.
You big, giant companies that have lots of mulah can give this away as a gift to your clients, or use this as a book to set on a coffee table in the waiting room or something. But I am going to use it to explain to clients why identity design is important.
This book is not good for teaching graphic designers about creating brand identity. It is stuff we graphic designers were practically born knowing. But if you are a graphic designer who wants brand identity jobs, get it! It will help you turn your potential clients into clients.
The Bible of Branding!.......2007-07-30
I boght this book hoping it would be useful for me in creating a brand for my new company, I must say the book has been a fantastic tool for this purpose!
The book is full of practical examples and shows you in a step by step process how to create and build a brand. If you a building a company and/or launching a product branding will be the key to success. this book is a great tool!
It's just fine.......2007-07-16
Another compendium of conventional marketing advice and wisdom. Better- written than some, more thorough than others. A good beginner's text.
Books:
- Edward Weston's California Landscapes
- Exploring Black and White Photography
- Faces: 78 Portraits from Madonna to the Pope
- Film Directing: Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen (Michael Wiese Productions)
- First Into Nagasaki: The Censored Eyewitness Dispatches on Post-Atomic Japan and Its Prisoners of War
- Flotsam (Caldecott Medal Book)
- Fodor's New York City 2007 (Fodor's Gold Guides)
- Food Photography and Styling/How to Prepare, Light, and Photograph Delectable Food and Drinks
- George DeWolfe's Digital Photography Fine Print Workshop
- George DeWolfe's Digital Photography Fine Print Workshop
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- I Have Lived A Thousand Years: Growing Up In The Holocaust
- Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #3: Soul Eater
- This Blinding Absence of Light
- The Ugly Vegetables
- Why Didn't I Learn This in College
- Applied Multivariate Statistical Analysis
- A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America
- Gettyrama: Little known facts about J. Paul Getty and more
- Trustee For A City: Ralph Lowell of Boston
- Los encuentros, discretos y no secretos, de Rajoy.
Authors
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Water for Elephants: A Novel
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel
The Glass Castle: A Memoir
