The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide: Third Edition

The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide: Third Edition
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A great guide for artists and art teachers alike!

The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide: Third Edition
Monona Rossol
Manufacturer: Allworth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1581152043

Book Description

New third edition! This classic art reference shows artists how to handle materials safely while practicing their craft. Dozens of at-a-glance tables and charts present vital information about art materials, ingredients, technical hazards, proper protective equipment, and safe work practices simply and accurately. This brand-new third edition is now completely revised and expanded to detail lifesaving new safety and ventilation equipment, present urgent new discoveries on toxins and pollutants found in arts and crafts materials, and explain the controversies surrounding new government regulations. A virtual lifesaver for all art and craft workers.

Customer Reviews:

A great guide for artists and art teachers alike!.......1998-04-27

This book encompasses all areas of art safety from the materials commonly used by artists to the tools and machinery often used to produce artistic creations.

Monona Rossol as an artist and actress herself comes at this issue with the distinct advantage of also having a chemistry educational background.

Well written and easy to understand for laymen!

thr artist's complete health and safety guide
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thr artist's complete health and safety guide
monona rossol
Manufacturer: allworth press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000NYCJ0C

Blinky Palermo: To the People of New York City
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Blinky Palermo: To the People of New York City
Lynne Cooke , Michael Govan , Anne Rorimer , and Blinky Palermo
Manufacturer: Dia Art Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Infinite Line: Re-making Art After Modernism

ASIN: 0944521487
Release Date: 2004-01-02

Book Description

Blinky Palermo began his last work, To the People of New York City, in 1976 in his studio in D sseldorf, completing it in January 1977, shortly before he left for the Maldive Islands, where he died. It is composed of 15 parts configured from 40 aluminum panels with acrylic in bars and blocks of cadmium yellow, cadmium red and black. A sketchbook documents the development of the panels' composition. Since this artwork is dedicated to the people of New York City and very few publications on the artist exist in English, this volume provides a key representation of the artist's work. This final artwork, in particular, has never before been published in English. Accompanying texts examine the relationship of Palermo's work to his generation of German and American artists and provide a critical, art historical context in which to consider his oeuvre. To the People of New York City is on permanent display at the Dia Foundation's site in Beacon, New York.

Screenwriting is Storytelling: Creating an A-List Screenplay that Sells!
Average customer rating:

Very impressed!

Hollywood's "Secret" Ingredient

Everything You Already Knew About Screenplays But Were Afaid To Admit

Intelligent and helpful approach to screenwriting

Good read - Very helpful

Screenwriting is Storytelling: Creating an A-List Screenplay that Sells!
Kate Wright
Manufacturer: Perigee Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach

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Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need

Alone in a Room: The Secrets of Professional Screenwriters

ASIN: 039953024X
Release Date: 2004-10-05

Book Description

While most screenwriting books focus on format and structure, Kate Wright explains how to put story at the center of a screenplay. A compelling story, complete with intriguing characters and situations created with these screenwriting tricks of the trade can become a box office blockbuster film.

Screenwriters will learn:

- Developing themes within the plot
- Using structure to define the story
- Creating memorable characters
- Establishing moral dilemmas and conflicts
- Achieving classic elements of storytelling in a three-act dramatic structure
- Mastering different genres

Customer Reviews:

Very impressed!.......2006-09-14

In my quest to learn the craft of screenwriting, I've found Wright's book to be the best by a wide margin. Save your money, time, and effort. Buy this book, first, for a firm grasp of the craft. Wright's explanation of structure ties together the loose ends better than any other book. Her discussions, observations, and directions for writing the spine and theme of a story separate this book from the others. You benefit from her experience as a script doctor, as to the common mistakes journeyman writers make, which hopefully you will avoid, after reading this book.

Hollywood's "Secret" Ingredient.......2006-01-12

Screenwriting Is Storytelling by Kate Wright knocked my socks off.

Though I've been a professional writer for two decades, I have avoided books that outline the theories of creative storytelling as I feared such books would be intrusive rather than helpful. I assumed most writers learned to write by writing. This book turns that idea on its head.

In her effort to break down the script writing process, Kate Wright digs deeper than plot, character, and theme. She investigates the connection between great storytelling and the sources of it's subsconscious affect on the audience. She scrutinizes several vastly popular movies in detail, movies that have drawn audiences from all generations, all countries, all ethnic backgrounds. This effort leads her to find the one key ingredient these great movies have in common -- a spiritual connection with the audience. Spiritual connection? Surely, this must be the most "secret" ingredient in the Hollywood formula. Wright bravely explores this spiritual connection through the ethical or moral (if you must) dilemnas of the protagonists and antagonists in these popular movies. This fearless approach has forever changed my way of experiencing motion pictures.

I recommend this book to movie lovers everywhere, it will enhance their enjoyment of motion pictures. I also recommend it to screenwriters who have already internalized the technical aspects of script writing and are searching for something more -- the source of that special connection that can exist storyteller and audience. The author of this book serves as a wonderful guide on that exciting and worthwhile journey.

Georgia Ocean (New York), writer and movie lover

Everything You Already Knew About Screenplays But Were Afaid To Admit.......2005-12-22

No new information in this book for those of us who have grown up on films. Kate Wright reminds us what we already know about film structure which is probably why she is a "top Hollywood script coach". If you have never taken a film course or read a script writing book, then there is value in what Ms. Wright has written because it lays out some very basic storytelling principals.

I would not read this book again and am sorry that I spent the $22.00 on it.

Intelligent and helpful approach to screenwriting.......2005-12-21

I'm teaching a class at UCLA in screenwriting and I recently dipped back into the "how to" literature and found this gem. It's now on my "highly recommended" list. Kate Wright is an experienced professional who has worked both sides of the desk, as I have, (as a writer and editor) and offers many extremely helpful, and clearly written suggestions which will strengthen and clarify the writer's approach to storytelling. Unlike other masters - McKee who is encyclopedic in his treatment of the subject, and Field, who is highly structural, Wright offers a concise but integrated approach that really examines the "why" of each choice in a way that makes you want to jumpstart your writing. I loved this book and will recommend it to my students.

Good read - Very helpful.......2005-12-16

I've read every book on screenwriting and I'd rate this book in the top five.
Kate Wright focuses first on story then explains how to integrate it into the screenplay paradigm.
Kate is an accomplished writer but more importantly, an effective teacher.
If you're an aspiring screenwriter, I highly recommend adding this book to your library.

Screenwriting Is Storytelling: Creating an A-List Screenplay That Sells!

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Screenwriting Is Storytelling: Creating an A-List Screenplay That Sells!
Kate Wright
Manufacturer: Perigee
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NP9ARG

Book Description

Lyricist Alan Jay Lerner (1918–86) and composer Frederick Loewe (1901–88) wrote some of the most successful musical shows on Broadway and in motion-picture history: Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, Camelot, Gigi, and Paint Your Wagon. They worked with stars such as Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, Richard Burton, Audrey Hepburn, Louis Jourdan, and Robert Goulet.

Lerner was raised on Park Avenue, attended Choate and Harvard, lost sight in one eye from a boxing injury, and was legendary for his eight marriages and countless affairs on the side. Loewe was born in Berlin and in 1925 came to New York, where he played piano in silent-movie theaters. After a brief career as a boxer and then as a Montana cowboy, he returned to New York and to songwriting.

In The Musical Worlds of Lerner and Loewe, Gene Lees has fashioned a readable, in-depth portrait of two creative talents: how they met and joined forces to create some of the finest musical theater, and also how marriages, legendary affairs, addictions, and backstage friction affected their art in many surprising ways.

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The Musical Worlds of Lerner & Loewe

Manufacturer: Robson Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GVNRRQ

The Colossal Book of Mathematics: Classic Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Problems
Average customer rating:

Interesting Read

The imporatance of Mathematics

A fun and interesting read

Interesting in parts, but certainly not what it claims to be

a great sampling of mathematical puzzles

The Colossal Book of Mathematics: Classic Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Problems
Martin Gardner
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0393020231

From the publisher

No amateur or math authority can be without this ultimate compendium from America's best-loved mathematical expert. Whether discussing hexaflexagons or number theory, Klein bottles or the essence of "nothing," Martin Gardner has single-handedly created the field of "recreational mathematics." The Colossal Book of Mathematics collects Gardner's most popular pieces from his legendary "Mathematical Games" column, which ran in Scientific American for twenty-five years. Gardner's array of absorbing puzzles and mind-twisting paradoxes opens mathematics up to the world at large, inspiring people to see past numbers and formulas and experience the application of mathematical principles to the mysterious world around them. With articles on topics ranging from simple algebra to the twisting surfaces of Mobius strips, from an endless game of Bulgarian solitaire to the unreachable dream of time travel, this volume is a substantial and definitive monument to Gardner's influence on mathematics, science, and culture.

In its twelve sections, The Colossal Book of Mathematics explores a wide range of areas, each startlingly illuminated by Gardner's incisive expertise. Beginning with seemingly simple topics, Gardner expertly guides us through complicated and wondrous worlds: by way of basic algebra we contemplate the mesmerizing, often hilarious, linguistic and numerical possibilities of palindromes; using simple geometry, he dissects the principles of symmetry upon which the renowned mathematical artist M.C. Escher constructs his unique, dizzying universe. Gardner, like few other thinkers today, melds a rigorous scientific skepticism with a profound artistic and imaginative impulse. His stunning exploration of "The Church of the Fourth Dimension," for example, bridges the disparate worlds of religion and science by brilliantly imagining the spatial possibility of God's presence in the world as a fourth dimension, at once "everywhere and nowhere."

With boundless wisdom and his trademark wit, Gardner allows the reader to further engage challenging topics like probability and game theory, which have plagued clever gamblers, as well as famous mathematicians, for centuries. Whether debunking Pascal's wager with basic probability, making visual music with fractals, or uncoiling a "knotted doughnut" with introductory topology, Gardner continuously displays his fierce intelligence and gentle humor. His articles confront both the comfortingly mundane--"Generalized Ticktacktoe" and "Sprouts and Brussels Sprouts"--and the quakingly abstract: "Hexaflexagons," "Nothing," and "Everything." He navigates these staggeringly obscure topics with a deft intelligence and, with addendums and suggested reading lists, he informs these classic articles with new insight.

Admired by scientists and mathematicians, writers and readers alike, Gardner possesses vast knowledge and a burning curiosity that reveal themselves on every page. The culmination of a lifelong devotion to the wonders of mathematics, The Colossal Book of Mathematics is the largest and most comprehensive math book ever assembled by Gardner, and it remains an indispensable volume for the amateur and expert alike.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting Read.......2004-11-23

I have never read any books on "recreational mathematics" so didn't know quite what to expect from this book--in general I found it entertaining and interesting, with a broad range of topics, including physics, statistics, logical paradoxes, higher dimensions, etc. You don't really have to be a math person to enjoy this book; almost anyone interested in stimulating topics should find at least parts of it interesting.

The book consists of numerous short articles with bibliographies for each. If one article bores you, move on to the next... I found the articles on statistics, logical paradoxes, a 2D Universe (Planiverse) and others very interesting and enjoyable. It is important to understand that this book is not a puzzle book per se; although almost every articles includes some task for hard-core readers to perform ("Prove that...", or "How many..."), it is really intended as reading material.

A few negatives: the articles almost all seem to have been written in the 1950s or 1960s (!); each article has an addendum which attempts to bring it up to date. Although this didn't matter that much to me, since I have never read anything on recreational mathematics, I doubt that much of the material would be new for anyone that reads the topic regularly. Similarly, it would have been more interesting to discover what topics are currently "hot" in this field. Also, the author spends too much time for my taste on trivial mathematical games such as folding paper into different shapes rather than on really thought-provoking mathematical topics (purely a personal preference, I suppose).

The imporatance of Mathematics.......2003-10-30

Martin Gardner is the grand old man of popular mathematics. He especially likes the math behind puzzles, riddles and logical conundrums. Logic and mathematics is the source of his thinking on the Skepticism he professes in his writings on pseudoscience, religion, the paranormal, UFO's, and other outlands of science and rational thinking.

This book is a collection of his best columns from Scientific American magazine. It was of the good reasons to read the magazine. Like many other things in the last few years, that publication jumped the shark at some point. Gardner was one of the reasons to still read it for a while there.

Gardner, however, is not just interested in the mathematics. The men, and history of the questions is also important to him. That is because it forms a context to the questions and the discovery of the answers. Context is very important to the author. Without it, you really don't know where you are.

If you like the writing of such good folks like Douglas Hofstadter, Jeremy Bernstein, Eli Maor, John Allen Paulos, Richard Feynman, Stephen Jay Gould, Isaac Asimov, Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke or Ed Regis, than you will probably like the writing of Gardner.

Mathematics is something that people don't read a lot. At least not recreationally. Normally because they don't understand that it forms the basis of real logical thought. A real understanding of the modern world requires one of the understand science. And science that isn't, at least in part, based on mathematics isn't real science. It is something more of our leaders should take a real interest in. How can we expect our leaders to make good decisions on cloning or when-life-begins if they have no real understanding of science and mathematics?

Which is why Martin Gardner should be considered a national treasure.

A fun and interesting read.......2003-06-06

This book covers a wide variety of subjects. It is not a puzzle book in the strict sense of solving little teasers, but it is a book that starts one thinking in broader terms. Some paradoxes and concepts addressed in this book, that great thinkers spent time debating and questioning, are fun for us more common thinkers to consider as well.

Interesting in parts, but certainly not what it claims to be.......2003-04-07

This book is certainly not a "Colossal Book of Mathematics", and if you are looking for a book full of "Classic Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Problems", this book is not it. In short, the title is wrong and deliberatly misleading. That should be enough for one not to buy this book at all, for why should one, when the author tries a con-artist trick with the title itself?

A lot of the book is full of information about stuff that is tangential to mathematics at best, like Escher drawings and other art. Escher is fine, but devoting so many pages to the symmetry drawings of a certain Mr. Kim is way out of line with what a reader might expect of this book. The "fake" chapter is also in bad taste for a book of this nature. Obviously "once bitten twice shy" is not something Gardner believes in.

Also an absence of adequate proofreading is evident. For example, the author claims that N is symmetrical about a horizontal axis. Also wrong (or incomplete) is Gardner's proof about why the second player can never guarantee a win in generalized tictactoe (the "proof" actually proves that the second player can't guarantee a win without looking at the first player's first move). More? The book says 1/0 is meaningless, and this in a chapter on infinity!

I however liked some parts of the book, for example an argument against the parallel universe theory is almost literature (it is not Gardner's but somebody else's whose name I've forgotten, unfortunately Gardner does not come across as anything more than a dilettante). Other interesting bits and pieces exist, too numerous to describe here, but scarcely enough to warrant a purchase. On the other hand, if your local library has a copy of this book, it's not a bad one to borrow.

a great sampling of mathematical puzzles.......2002-02-06

I haven't read nearly enough Martin Gardner.
This book tickled the math centers of my brain, which only get partially used in my work as a software engineer.

Book Description

Climb aboard and journey back to Newton County, Mississippi, circa 1930. Traverse the red clay roads, the cotton fields and the dark swamps where Jimmie's family stuck together, caring for each other and their neighbors,too. You'll laugh and cry as you realize that we're all in care of the Great Conductor.

Teaching kids to care for themselves, one song at a time : An article from: The Exceptional Parent

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Teaching kids to care for themselves, one song at a time : An article from: The Exceptional Parent
Julia Steele Reid
Manufacturer: Psy-Ed Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000BECI8W
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Care of cash by agents and conductors: Its collection, custody, use and transmission to the company's treasury. A hand book

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Care of cash by agents and conductors: Its collection, custody, use and transmission to the company's treasury. A hand book
Marshall Monroe Kirkman
Manufacturer: C.N. Trivess, Printer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Customer Reviews:

can still be purchased from the Filipino publisher.......2004-04-08

Why is this book not in print!!!!

Just a note to let people know that this long out-of-print book was also published in the Philippines. That publisher, Popular Books, still has copies of their edition, which as far as I can tell, is exactly the same as the US edition.

Popular Book Store
MIT Building, Doroteo Jose St.
Sta. Cruz, Manila

telephone 711-5184
811-5189

popular@philonline.com

Most of us never saw this Twain.......2001-11-14

This book transformed my opinion of Mark Twain -- from the classic, if somewhat shopworn, American humorist we're all forced to read in junior high, into a passionate defender of American ideals. Today, as words like 'war,' 'treason,' and 'patriotism' are once again in the headlines, flags are flying, and nationalist feeling runs high, these essays by Twain, and commentary by Jim Zwick, are as important and timely as they were nearly a hundred years ago.

Back then, at the birth of the American Empire, Samuel Clemens ('Mark Twain') risked his reputation, his career, and his fortune taking an uncompromising public stand against the war in the Philippines. No pacifist, Twain nevertheless refused to allow jingoists, imperialists, and flag-wavers to define America's proper role in the world. 'I am opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land,' he wrote.

Twain's anti-war essays had never been collected in one place before this book, and many of the writings here were never published at all. Twain takes the reader's breath away with his bold and uncompromising resistance to empire. 'The War Prayer' (1905) should be required reading in Congress and on talk radio, while 'Roosevelt, the American Gentleman' (1906) should be engraved on TR's tombstone.

And then there's 'patriotism.' In 'Monarchical and Republican Patriotism' (1908), Twain defines the former as the government telling the people what is and is not 'respectable' patriotism. 'In the other, neither the government nor the entire nation is privileged to dictate to any individual what the form of his patriotism shall be.'

He continues: 'We have adopted [monarchical patriotism] with all its servility, with an unimportant change in wording: "Our country, right or wrong!" We have thrown away the most valuable asset we had: the individual's right to oppose both flag and country when he (just *he*, by himself) believed them to be in the wrong. We have thrown it away; and with it, all that was really respectable about that grotesque and laughable word, Patriotism.'

Powerful, bracing stuff -- especially today. Very highly recommended.

Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire: Anti-Imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War. (book reviews): An article from: The Mississippi Quarterly
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Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire: Anti-Imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War. (book reviews): An article from: The Mississippi Quarterly
Philip W. Leon
Manufacturer: Mississippi State University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B00092UB4O
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Mississippi Quarterly, published by Mississippi State University on September 22, 1993. The length of the article is 996 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire: Anti-Imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War. (book reviews)
Author: Philip W. Leon
Publication: The Mississippi Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1993
Publisher: Mississippi State University
Volume: v46 Issue: n4 Page: p679(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

How prevalent is homosexuality? What causes it? Is it a psychopathology? Can it be changed?Questions like these often accompany discussions of homosexual behavior. For answers we naturally look to scientific studies. But what does the scientific research actually show? More important, what place should this research have in shaping the church's response?Stanton Jones and Mark Yarhouse help us face these issues squarely and honestly. In four central chapters they examine how scientific research has been used within church debates--in particular within Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopal contexts. They then survey the most recent and best scientific research and sort out what it actually shows. Next they help us to interpret the research's relevance to the moral debate within the church. In a concluding chapter they make a strong case for a traditional Christian sexual ethic.Church groups considering these complex issues will find helpful discussion questions at the end of each chapter. This book is essential reading for anyone involved in the church's debate over homosexual behavior.

Customer Reviews:

The Authors Bias in the Writing is Very Obvious.......2007-03-19

The subtext of this work could possibly be retitled the "The Misuse of Scientific Research in the Churches Moral Debate". I think the only real value in reading this book is to get an idea of how far removed some Christian commentators are from the realities of life and what it really means to be homosexual in the 21st century.

Early in the work, the authors state their position. Quoting from Chapter 1 page 11 `We believe in being clear about our assumptions and presuppositions, so we confess that we are defending the historic understanding of the church, grounded on the Bibles teaching, that homosexuality is immoral. Let us give away our punch line at the very start: We will show, persuasively we hope, that while science provides us with many interesting and useful perspectives on sexual orientation and behaviour, the best science of this day fails to persuade the thoughtful Christian to change his or her moral stance. Science has nothing to offer that would even remotely constitute persuasive evidence that would compel us to deviate from the historic Christian judgement that full homosexual intimacy, homosexual behaviour is immoral.'

This book is written for a conservative Christian audience who still have not worked out that a homosexual orientation, as such, does not automatically determine a person's morality any more than heterosexuality does. Morality is a choice but sexual orientation isn't. To falsely judge a group within society because they are attracted to the same sex and not the opposite by calling that entire group immoral is not only irresponsible but also in conflict with the teachings of Jesus Christ himself.

Chapter 2 is titled `How Prevalent is Homosexuality?' This seems a strange place to start the argument but not unusual. It has probably been some time now since Queer sociologists and commentators have used Kinsey's figure of approximately 10% of people being homosexual in their orientation but by introducing this question first, it serves two purposes for the authors. Firstly, it gives the impression that we have been deceiving people about our real numbers and secondly by reducing the numbers any requests for equality are not as important as we make out. After all, 2-4% of the population - are they all that important one could conclude. The table on pages 42-43 of 11 different studies in this area does not really prove their point but actually demonstrates how difficult it is to get a definitive number. My feeling is that we will never have an accurate figure until all stigma attached to homosexuality within our society is removed. In the meantime people who experience fluidity in their sexual orientation and heterosexuals who have same sex experiences sometimes get thrown into the mix.

When referring to scientific research the authors frequently quote from studies done in the 60's, 70's and mid 80's. Even research from the 1950's is citied. Whilst this research may have been valuable at the time, my impression is that it is now considered dated by most professionals without a bias. Possible causes of homosexuality according to the authors are strong mother/weak father, early sexual experiences with someone of the same sex, sexual abuse and new one for me I hadn't heard of, that the `exotic becomes erotic'. This theory proposes that we eroticise over the gender we are not connected with. So `normal' males will eventually eroticise over girls but homosexual men eroticise over men because they feel distant and unconnected with other males. An interesting theory perhaps but lacks credibility in the light of those who have only known attraction to the same sex from very early childhood.

When dealing with the various biological theories, the authors point to flaws in the research methodology and the exceptions rather than being able to identify what the research is actually saying to us. That is, there are prenatal factors such as genetic and hormonal influences that increase the likelihood, but do not guarantee, a person will be same sex attracted.

I think Chapter 4 `Is Homosexuality a Psychopathology' is the most offensive. To quote from page 94 of that chapter. `The short answer to the question `Is Homosexuality a Psychopathology' is no, if a person were to mean that the answer can be found by a quick look through the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental Disorders; Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) of the American Psychiatric Association. Homosexuality is not listed as a formal mental disorder in the DSM-IV, and hence is not a `mental illness'. But as we will see in this chapter, answering the question `Is Homosexuality a Psychopathology' is much more complicated than simply checking a manual.' The authors go on to expand on research done on the mental health of gay men and lesbians. This is where the writing becomes incredibly biased and using statements like `the hospitalisation rate for homosexuals is 450% higher that the general population'.... `suggesting over 300% increases in incidence of serious personal distress amongst lesbians'...and `the elevated rates of depression, substance abuse and suicide challenge the adaptiveness of homosexuality' reflect the authors very negative impression of gays and lesbians. What is not introduced in this chapter are the possible causes of any mental health issues like rejection by family, societal norms of conformity, religious dissonance and even persecution.

There are large amounts of material from the book that demonstrates it has been written with a strong bias and not relevant to the more informed academic or mental health professional. For example, in the summary of the chapter `Can Homosexuality be Changed?' it says, `the research of sexual orientation is intensely debated today. Most of the research was conducted and published between the 1950's and the 1970'[s, with an average positive outcome of approximately 30%.' As this work was written in 2000 Spitzer's recent conclusion that changes to one's sexual orientation "are probably quite rare, even for highly motivated homosexuals". It has been estimated that reparative therapists have a cure rate of 0.02% which means a failure rate of 99.98%.

In the final chapter `Toward a Christian Sexual Ethic' it says, 'To summarize, the essential claim in the discussions about the prevalence is that the high prevalence of homosexuality , claimed to be 10% or more of the general population, demands revision of our traditional ethic. The best studies, however suggest a prevalence of between 2 and 3%. More importantly, prevalence has no claim on ethic, since Christians commonly believe that some sinful life patterns are very common such as pride while some are rare like bestiality'. And on the following page we read, `Even if the homosexual condition of desiring intimacy and sexual union with a person of the same gender is caused in it's entirety by causal factors outside the personal control of the person, that does not constitute moral affirmation of acting on those desires. If it did, the pedophile who desires sex with children, the alcoholic who desires the pursuit of drunkenness, and the person with Antisocial Personality Disorder who desires the thrill of victimization and pain infliction would all have a equal case for moral approval of their exploits' (my emphasis.) One wonders what the authors solution might be for the `homosexual condition' if we are equated with paedophiles, alcoholics and anti-social behaviour and later put in the same basket with schizophrenia, panic attacks, witchcraft and greed.

As a gay man from a strong religious background, reading through this book, I often found myself asking the question, `Who are you talking about. I'm not sick, I know I certainly didn't choose to be gay, I wasn't sexually abused, my first sexual experiences were with guys because that is the only attraction I had and my homosexuality is not a problem to me'. I have to conclude that the authors are like many people in conservative religious circles who because of their negative view of homosexuality they are locked away in world that conveniently separates them from us and they actually don't know any well adjusted gay or lesbian people personally. The only homosexual people they have contact with are those in their churches who are tormented by the dissonance created by an outdated religious worldview. The rest of us are living normal lives and making a valuable contribution to society.

Anthony Venn-Brown
Author of "A Life of Unlearning - a journey to find the truth"

A failure to deal with science.......2007-01-04

Stanton L. Jones and Mark A Yarhouse's book Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in the Church's Moral Debate will fail to convince anyone that is not already of the same opinion as the authors. With all good intentions the scientific evidence reviewed is such that supports their own view and lacking in that which is contradictory.

Attacks on Kinsey's research are nothing new, but the continued flaws of those attacks should be pointed out. Treating Kinsey as if he were attempting to look more at prevalence than variance is one way in which the authors attempt to discredit the research. Mentioning that his original background was in entomology rather than human sexuality is another. The problem is that these are not flaws in Kinsey's research, rather they are a scientist focusing on one aspect and presuming that more research will be done on other aspects.

The attack on Kinsey's research for going after a variety of sources becomes more glaring when the sources Yarhouse and Jones approve of have such limitations in number. The authors, themselves, make many of the mistakes for which they criticize others. This book is neither balanced nor fair. It ignores the main thrust of scientific research - for example, I could not find one reference to the Journal of Homosexuality - in favor of side groups that have been discredited - such as members of NARTH.

The book looks good with a multitude of footnotes, but fails to provide such normal resources such as a bibliography, list of sources cited and more. It's an attempt to look profound and achieves banality.

Wonderful and Timely.......2003-02-19

This book is a must read for all psychiatry shcools

A well-written, balanced book.......2002-07-22

This book deserves to rank higher on Amazon.com's sales list. It seems very difficult to find a book that deals with this subject fairly, since this subject is so politically charged. But this book does a very good job of laying out the most current scientific research. People who should read it may not because they may assume that it's coming from a traditional religious perspective. Ultimately, it is. But the authors lay the scientific research out fairly and draw rational conclusions from it. It's hard to see how anybody could be offended by this book, no matter what side of the fence they happen to be on.Much of the material overlaps with Thomas Schmidt's "Straight and Narrow" (published five years earlier by the same publisher, Intervarsity Press). But Schmidt's book was more overtly critical of homosexuality, whereas this book is somewhat less personal and more clinical. The authors seem to take some pains not to offend. But the book does show (as Schmidt does) that the media coverage of this subject tends to really oversimplify (and, to a degree, whitewash) a very complex subject.

Thorough discussion of homosexuality, flawed theology.......2001-06-25

Jones and Yarhouse's comprehensive discussion of the science of homosexuality is welcome and long overdue. In particular, the authors touch upon a subject -- ex-gays -- that both liberal and conservative activists have avoided addressing scientifically because the facts reflect poorly on the claims of both sides.

This book makes no claim to be unbiased. The authors do impose a conservative Protestant filter upon their evaluations and commentaries. This results in extensive discussion of "the" (singular) Christian sexual ethic which completely excludes Catholic and liberal or independent Protestant perspectives on sexual ethics. The authors also succumb to caricatures of positions with which they disagree; they periodically stereotype the proponents of alternative ethical frameworks as well as the widely differing perspectives of gay-tolerant Christian and gay-tolerant non-Christian scientists, clergy and civil-rights activists.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Psychology and Theology, published by Rosemead School of Psychology on June 22, 2002. The length of the article is 1741 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Limited evidence for a biological theory of homosexuality. (Featured Reviews).(Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in the Church's Moral Debate) (book review)
Author: L. Rebecca Propst
Publication: Journal of Psychology and Theology (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2002
Publisher: Rosemead School of Psychology
Volume: 30 Issue: 2 Page: 165(4)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Research and moral debate. (Featured Reviews).(Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in the Church's Moral Debate) (book review): An article from: Journal of Psychology and Theology

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Research and moral debate. (Featured Reviews).(Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in the Church's Moral Debate) (book review): An article from: Journal of Psychology and Theology
Deborah L. Smith
Manufacturer: Rosemead School of Psychology
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Psychology and Theology, published by Rosemead School of Psychology on June 22, 2002. The length of the article is 953 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Research and moral debate. (Featured Reviews).(Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in the Church's Moral Debate) (book review)
Author: Deborah L. Smith
Publication: Journal of Psychology and Theology (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2002
Publisher: Rosemead School of Psychology
Volume: 30 Issue: 2 Page: 171(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

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Customer Reviews:

Great Calendar.......2004-01-22

I have never bought a Calendar with watercolor pictures before. I'm very pleased with my purchase. This is a nice Calendar with one new bird every month, Latin name, and habitat zones. Of course it includes holidays and Moon Phases.

I like the fact that it's neatly organized, with a professional appearance. It's pleasant to look at, without a lot of clutter.

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