Freeing Keiko: The Journey of a Killer Whale from Free Willy to the Wild

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Keiko is freed and back in the ocean!!!

Poorly written and exaggerated

A Magnificent Job

Shows true human nature in handling our own mistakes.

Highly Recommend

Freeing Keiko: The Journey of a Killer Whale from Free Willy to the Wild

Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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The Free Willy Collection

ASIN: B000H2N9Q8

Book Description

Captured as a two-year-old calf off the coast of Iceland in 1979 by a fishing vessel, the killer whale who would become Keiko was soon sent to North America, struggling for many of his early years in captivity. Sent to live at an amusement park in Mexico City, the orca languished in a tank too small, in water too warm, and received an improper dietÂ—and was soon beset by a vicious skin virus. But after he starred in director Richard DonnerÂ's hit film Free Willy in 1993, Keiko gained international celebrity as the most famous marine mammal in the world, as millions learned of his plight.

With the help of a dedicated team of environmentalists led by the Earth Island Institute and $7.5 million from the deep pockets of eccentric cellular-phone billionaire Craig McCaw, he was rescued from his critical illness and installed in a $7.3-million facility in Oregon that was designed to prepare him for a return to the wild. In a move that would cause controversy within the scientific, environmental, and marine park communities, he ultimately would return to his native Iceland where a team of keepers would attempt to release him, making the cinematic story that had captivated the worldÂ's children a reality.

Award-winning environmental writer Kenneth Brower has created a narrative that is by turns heartrending and exhilarating, re-creating the intricate, mesmerizing world of the sea in all its lushness. In bringing to life this unforgettable animal alongside the men and women who dedicated their lives to his return to the sea, Freeing Keiko illuminates much about human nature as well.

Praise for Kenneth BrowerÂ's A Song for Satawal:
Â“Like the work of Paul Gauguin and, perhaps, of Margaret Mead, this is a thoroughly romantic account, the product of an astral traveler-in-reverse who finds . . . more to marvel at than John Glenn ever did in space.Â”
Â—The New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

Keiko is freed and back in the ocean!!!.......2006-04-25
This book was extremely interesting to me since I have loved dolphins & whales since being a kid! Also, I had actually had the chance to see Keiko at the Oregon Coast Aquarium and on the same vacation saw wild killer whales in the Ocean in Washington! Let me tell you, seeing them in the ocean is by far more enjoyable than any marine park. After much research about captivity of dolphins & whales, I have found out of the cruelty in capturing of ALL of these marine animals as well as few live very long at all in captivity! Killer whales rarely live past their teens in captivity with few exceptions. Some live days or just one or two years. In the wild they can live from 50-90 years. Lolita is one of those whales that needs to be released to her family like Keiko, she is at a park in Miami! The movie, "Free Willy" shows what these parks are about, money! This book is about Keiko the star of "Free Willy!" I recommend this book, however I don't agree with talking about evolution and animal psychics! God created Keiko & everything and anyone can say anything about what a whale or any animal thinks! This book does show how these animal psychics are fake due to different opinions between two of them. Also, one of them states that Keiko is lonely and wants to be around people, when at that time he is overwelmed with people's attention that he distances himself near a boat. I did not like that the author cuts down the "Free Willy" movie and is very critical of it. Had it not been for that movie, Keiko would have died in Mexico and he would not have written this book. Those few things are why I didn't give it five stars. The author seems to go off on comparisions to unrelated things of Keiko, Iceland, etc. that were boring in the first part of the book! Unfortunately, Keiko died. At least he lived 5 years out of captivity, in the ocean where he was captured. He did also interact with other killer whales, though he never found his family. Keiko swam over 800 miles in the ocean, much better than in circles in a cement, chlorinated tank. According to this book he also swam to depths of 350 feet! Though this book does not say if captivity is good or bad. This book just reaffirms my recent change of thought that captivity is BAD for All marine animals! I am going to read Ric O'Barrys book next, Behind the Dolphin Smile! He was Flipper's trainer who is now against dolphins & whales in captivity due to Flipper's death! Keiko had a rough life, yet is the most famous whale ever! His life had a sad ending, however if he had not been released, he still would die. I view Keiko's release as successful, and hopefully more captive killer whales and dolphins will be released because of Keiko! Also, mistakes made during Keiko's release, could be useful to future releases! If you like killer whales or dolphins this book is great with the exceptions I mentioned earlier!!!
Poorly written and exaggerated .......2006-01-02
I was disappointed with this book. I picked it up because I witnessed first hand the process of moving Keiko from Mexico City to Oregon, and in my opinion it was far more organized and professional than what the author describes. I was also disappointed by his extremely negative and condescending portrayal of the people involved, like Keiko's trainers and veterinarians.

These faults would maybe be more tolerable if the book was better written. However, the author has a short, direct style that does not engage the reader's imagination, and jumps from one subject to another - for example, stories and interesting anecdotes pertaining Keiko's transportation from Canada to Mexico only occupy a couple of paragraphs and are never satisfactorily concluded.

The book does pick up slightly afterwards, but the overall style and tone do not improve significantly.

Overall, it seems to me that in his zeal to indict businessmen and an entire Third World country as greedy, corrupt, insensitive and stupid, the author does a disservice to the memory of Keiko and the story of his liberation, and the efforts of all the parties involved.
A Magnificent Job.......2005-12-22
This is a cracking good adventure story with easy to absorb natural history, plenty of human conflict, eccentric characters, and a fine sense of humor. And, unlike its hero, it is by no means presented in black and white, but a myriad shades of grey. Brower does not shy away from controversy but wades into its middle, frequently expressing his own opinion of matters in dispute but never preaching. Top marks.
Shows true human nature in handling our own mistakes. .......2005-11-18
This book provides more then just a good read on the world's most famous killer whale. It shows the behind the scenes story of the controversy, the politics, and the cult following that surfaced because of the making of one kid's movie about a boy who helped a whale return to his family.
Honestly though, the best part of this book is that it shows the many sides of humans, more so then the whale himself, in dealing with such a pioneering project involving the world's largest underdog...an underweight and sick killer whale...who would go on to surprise the world with the lessons he teaches us about his species and our own. What the film SeaBiscuit did with telling the story of a man and his horse...this book does with the world and one whale.

Very good read...
Highly Recommend.......2005-11-04
I enjoyed this book tremendously, and I think that it addressed and clarified a lot of misinformation that was put out in the press. I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the Keiko project.

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Adventurous Gardener's Sourcebook of Rare and Unusual Plants
William C. Mulligan
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Flowers | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0671751042

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THE ADVENTUROUS GARDENER'S SOURCEBOOK OF RARE AND UNUSUAL PLANTS. ANNUALS. PERENNIALS. BULBS. HERBS. VEGETABLES [A4]
W. & E. McDonald Mulligan
Manufacturer: Simon and Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WPP02G

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Around the Edge of Ireland
Debra Shipley , and Mary Peplow
Manufacturer: Grafton
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0586206337

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Cabeza De Vaca: Conquistador Who Cared
Mary Dodson Wade
Manufacturer: Colophon House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 188253915X

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The Development of Animal Form: Ontogeny, Morphology, and Evolution
Alessandro Minelli
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0521025184

Book Description
Contemporary research in evolutionary developmental biology has been predominantly devoted to interpreting basic features of animal architecture in molecular genetics terms. Considerably less time has been spent on the exploitation of the wealth of facts and concepts from traditional disciplines, such as comparative morphology. This book integrates traditional morphological and contemporary molecular genetic approaches and deals with postembryonic development as well. It offers unconventional views on the basic features of animal organization, such as body axes, symmetry, segments, body regions, appendages and related concepts. This book is of particular interest to graduate students and researchers in evolutionary and developmental biology, cell biology, genetics, and zoology.
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Contemporary research in the field of evolutionary developmental biology, or 'evo-devo', has to date been predominantly devoted to interpreting basic features of animal architecture in molecular genetics terms. Considerably less time has been spent on the exploitation of the wealth of facts and concepts available from traditional disciplines, such as comparative morphology, even though these traditional approaches can continue to offer a fresh insight into evolutionary developmental questions. The Development of Animal Form aims to integrate traditional morphological and contemporary molecular genetic approaches and to deal with postembryonic development as well. This approach leads to unconventional views on the basic features of animal organization, such as body axes, symmetry, segments, body regions, appendages and related concepts. This book will be of particular interest to graduate students and researchers in evolutionary and developmental biology, as well as to those in related areas of cell biology, genetics and zoology.

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Introduction to Chemical Ultrasonics (Physical chemistry, a series of monographs)
M.J. Blandamer
Manufacturer: Academic Press Inc.,U.S.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0121041506

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Introduction to Chemical Ultrasonics.
M.J., Blandamer
Manufacturer: Academic Press Inc.,U.S.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OHK82Y

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Organized Activity and Its Support by Computer
A. Holt
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Manager's Guides to Computing | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
PCs | Hardware | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Systems Analysis & Design | Computer Science | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0792347080

Book Description
Organized Human Activity and Its Support by Computer proposes an answer to the question: what are computers for? With technical expertise, Anatol Holt analyzes human activity and its relevance to computer use. Holt interleaves a theory about the universal aspect of social life with a vision of how to harness computer power. `This book is a culmination of a life of work that exemplifies two characteristics of the author: intellectual passion, and a concern for what matters to people. In the past thirty years, Holt has been a participant in the computing work at every level, from managing computer systems to developing commercial software to publishing theoretical articles in academic journals. His breadth of knowledge and experience makes possible the interweaving of theory and practice that shapes the fabric of this book. People often make a false opposition between theory and practice. In this case, it is a synergy: practice guides the theory, and the theory is grounded in its application.' Terry Winograd, Stanford University Organized Human Activity and Its Support by Computer will be of interest to those concerned with computers, especially those with and interest in `groupware'. Particular relevance to social scientists, management scientists, students of law, and philosophers are also addressed. Though technical in spirit and method, this book does not expect significant prior computer knowledge of the reader.

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Excellent read on the Man of the 20th Century

Thoughts and opinions on Winston Churchill

Churchill reading at its best!

A good read.

Churchill: A Cogent Inspiration to Future Leaders

Churchill: A Study in Greatness
Geoffrey Best
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195161394

Book Description
One of the glorious triumvirate of World War II and founder of the strong Anglo-American friendship that is still apparent today, Winston Churchill stands out in history as a man who led his country through one of its most difficult times, with all of the steadfastness of a fierce and loyal bulldog. Churchill was already recognized as the most diversely gifted man in British politics before, at the ripe old age of 66, he suddenly emerged as a figure of world importance. Becoming Prime Minister on the very day in 1940 that Hitler invaded France and the Low Countries, he braced the British people to continue fighting and even to counterattack the, up to that point, all-victorious Germans. A clever and confident statesman, with an obvious love for the people he served, for years Churchill's character went unchallenged and his inspiring leadership left him above criticism. Recently, however, his record has come under attack. In Churchill: A Study in Greatness, one of Britain's most distinguished historians makes sense of this extraordinary man, and his long, controversial, colorful, contradictory and heroic career. Geoffrey Best illuminates both his strengths and his weaknesses, looking past the many received versions of Churchill, in a biography that balances the private and the public man and offers a clear insight into what made him truly great.
Customer Reviews:

Excellent read on the Man of the 20th Century.......2006-09-11
A very readable book that provides balanced and insightful coverage of the whole of Churchill's life. I would highly recommend this book either to those who have not previously read much about Churchill or equally to those who have read other Churchill biographies or war histories and wish to take a fresh look. Of particular value is the way that the author take the occasional opportunity to dispel certain myths and revisionist ideas about Churchill.
Thoughts and opinions on Winston Churchill.......2006-06-21
Not a true biography but more than just a compilation of essays concerning Churchill's life and times, the author provides us with a 300+ page synopsis/chronology with a sprinkling of his thoughts, insights and conclusions. I found nothing new or "earth-shattering" here. On the other hand it makes a nice supplement, (i.e. much like Meachem's book on FDR and Churchill), to biographys/books I have read. If you are looking for a full-fledged bio start elsewhere, (Manchester or Gilbert), and if your interest is piqued as mine was, come back to this one.
Churchill reading at its best!.......2005-01-09
A compact biography (384 pages) by Oxford Historian Geoffrey Best is far and away the best I have read on Churchill. The many facets of Churchill's life are covered in a series of essays from the author. Best summarizes Churchill's life with clarity and high degree of accuracy.

If you're looking for a comprehensive study on Churchill, this isn't it. You won't find page after page of stilted verbiage here, but you will find a well written presentation of this fascinating man, perhaps the savior of England. If it is possible to write a detailed account of such a varied figure within the brevity of such a small volume, the author has done so admirably.

Though the author clearly admires the subject, this isn't just another "I love Churchill" book. Best gives a fair and balanced account of many areas where Churchill may have erred, such as Gallipolli. The book is fair, and it is no-nonsense, to the point, without a lot of ambivalent inflection.

I have a number of volumes on the life and times of Churchill. I may go to other volumes for research purposes, but this is probably the most enjoyable read I have encountered on the man.

Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com
A good read........2004-11-30
The author (Geoffrey Best) is British and that stands out clearly in this volume, especially in the first few chapters. He comes across stuffy, somewhat pompous, and perhaps too conservative. However, as the work progresses the substance of the story of the Great Man and the events surrounding his life come to the fore, and the author falls to the rear. All told, one ends up in possession of a fine, well balanced biography, though lacking in depth. I found the work entirely suitable to my need for an introduction to Churchill. This book is a broad brush of not an in-depth study.
Churchill: A Cogent Inspiration to Future Leaders.......2003-12-01
Geoffrey Best has realized an impressive tour de force in concisely narrating the life of Winston Churchill in less than 350 pages. Best excels at making a cogent analysis of Churchill's strengths and weaknesses. Churchill knew early on that he was called to great things and made his best to make it happen. Churchill's road to destiny was not straightforward in part because of his own personality. "Churchill: A Study in Greatness" is an invitation to know more about an exceptional man who stands out in world history while most of his critics and detractors have sunk into total oblivion.

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Winston Churchill An Infomal Study of Greatness
Robert Lewis Taylor
Manufacturer: Doubleday & Co., Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ONDTGK

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Winston Churchill An Informal Study of Greatness
Robert Lewis Taylor
Manufacturer: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O162J8

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Winston Churchill. An Informal Study of Greatness.
Robert Lewis Taylor
Manufacturer: Garden City, NY Doubleday & Company, Inc. 1952.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000P78HK8

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Winston Churchill: An Informal Study of Greatness
Robert Lewis Taylor
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O9WD0W

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Winston Churchill: An Informal Study of Greatness
Robert Lewis Taylor
Manufacturer: DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OL19QY

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Winston Churchill: An Informal Study of Greatness
Robert Lewis Taylor
Manufacturer: Doubleday & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GSQWVW

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Winston Churchill; an informal study of greatness.
Robert Lewis Taylor
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O1BLIU

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Winston Churchill; an informal study of greatness.
Robert Lewis Taylor
Manufacturer: Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1952.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VPGV6G

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Winston Churchill;: An informal study of greatness
Robert Lewis Taylor
Manufacturer: DoubleDay
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | England | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006AT2K8

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Haunting

Chilling well-written memoirs

Excellent Book

A very well-written historic account of the Jonestown massacre

Going off to College? A must Read.

Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the People's Temple
Deborah Layton
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0385489846
Release Date: 1999-11-09

Amazon.com
Deborah Layton was, by her own account, a typical rebellious youth, with nothing in her dossier to indicate that she would eventually find herself in Jim Jones's People's Temple in Guyana, looking for a way out of the green hell that had become the People's Temple Agricultural Project. She barely escaped in June 1978. Within months, more than 900 people drank Jones's cyanide punch and committed "revolutionary suicide" in the face of mounting stateside pressure on the cult, some of it prompted by Layton's own testimonials upon her safe return home. Her brother, Larry, also survived, and as one of the few left alive in Guyana became a scapegoat for Jones's crimes; he is now serving a life sentence in federal prison.
There is a simple naiveté at the root of Seductive Poison. Layton's own youthful innocence, foremost, but also the desire to trust another person, the need for belonging and meaning, which led so many perfectly normal Americans to place their faith in a suicidal madman. Far from confirming the simplistically monstrous Jones of the public imagination, Layton paints the man as a dark, twisted shaman, by turns soothing, then suddenly malevolent and petty, with a hugely sadistic streak that belied his perfectly coifed hair, expensive suits, and impressive political connections. The scenes in which she describes her escape and flight to safety are wrenching, her last-minute conversation with Jones and his seductive appeal for her to return home to Jonestown are chilling, and her fear and indecision are still palpable on the printed page. For Layton to recount tales this personal and horrifying must have been tremendously difficult. For her to lift those recollections above the bargain-basement freak-show reputation the People's Temple has achieved in the popular imagination and depict them with the power of great tragedy is nothing but extraordinary. --Tjames Madison
Book Description
Told by a former high-level member of the Peoples Temple and Jonestown survivor, Seductive Poison is the "truly unforgettable" (Kirkus Review) story of how one woman was seduced by one of the most notorious cults in recent memory and how she found her way back to sanity.

From Waco to Heaven's Gate, the past decade has seen its share of cult tragedies. But none has been quite so dramatic or compelling as the Jonestown massacre of 1978, in which the Reverend Jim Jones and 913 of his disciples perished. Deborah Layton had been a member of the Peoples Temple for seven years when she departed for Jonestown, Guyana, the promised land nestled deep in the South American jungle. When she arrived, however, Layton saw that something was seriously wrong. Jones constantly spoke of a revolutionary mass suicide, and Layton knew only too well that he had enough control over the minds of the Jonestown residents to carry it out. But her pleas for help--and her sworn affidavit to the U.S. government--fell on skeptical ears. In this very personal account, Layton opens up the shadowy world of cults and shows how anyone can fall under their spell. Seductive Poison is both an unflinching historical document and a riveting story of intrigue, power, and murder.
Customer Reviews:

Haunting.......2007-08-09
This book is horrifying. I could not put it down, and since I have finished it I can't stop thinking about it. I would highly recommend it.
Chilling well-written memoirs.......2007-07-24
This is a detailed account of what really went on in The People's Temple.
It is very upsetting and at the same time not able to put down!
Deborah Layton writes with passion, details and a timeline.

Deborah's personal account on how she was raped, taken from her father, forced into marriage with a man she wasn't allowed to interact with and many many more terrifying accounts.

One is obligated to know of such cruel terrible events, such as the mass-suicide-murder, to be able to prevent similarities in the future.
MUST BUY MUST BUY MUST BUY!

Excellent Book.......2007-07-09
I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of the Jonestown tragedy. How Deborah Layton escaped with her life is a miracle. What is even more amazing is how she was able to go on with her life and survive; to be able to reclaim one's mind after such an experience is truly a testament to her strength of character.
A very well-written historic account of the Jonestown massacre.......2007-07-08
I was just a kid when the Jonestown tragedy hit the news. Like most kids my age we did not understand how one man could convince 1000 people to kill themselves. I never understood it and so I figured that they must have all been "crazy". I never researched the tragic story and don't recall hearing much about it after the initial story. But then I saw a special a few months ago on public TV and was mortified by what Jim Jones had done to the people who trusted him with their very existence. That was what compelled me to find and read this book. I thought the author did a fantastic job of telling her story. She never once made herself out to be any one special. She was brutally honest about herself and her thoughts and feelings of and for Jim Jones. She was really just a sheep like all the rest of them and completley under his spell. Somehow she started thinking for her self and woke up to the fact that he was crazy and getting crazier everyday. It is sad that her initial accounts and warning of the mass suicide were not taken more seriously. Had the government listened they would not have let a congressman and a news crew - do their job. This story is a very well-written historic account of the Jonestown massacre and I think everyone should read it.
Going off to College? A must Read........2007-06-21
This book should be handed out to high school graduates. Ms. Layton gives a vivid and very moving account of her expriences with The People's Temple and Jim Jones. Those naieve and going off to college would do well to familarize themselves with the way people can disillusion others and the almost silent way cults can sneak into a young person's life. As a survivor of a cult myself, I highly recommend Ms. Layton's book to parents, teens, and also those who have experienced cults first hand, as it helped me come to terms with what had happened to me.

Average customer rating:

a must read

A Great Patriotic Read

You have so much because veterans of WWII gave so much!

Four Came Home: The Gripping Story of the Survivors of Jimmy Doolittle's Two Lost Crews
Carroll V. Glines
Manufacturer: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 157510007X

Customer Reviews:

a must read.......2005-07-05
What is the price of freedom? Learn what a few, brave, untrained Americans had to live so that the remainder of us could be free.
A Great Patriotic Read.......2001-06-11
This book is only about 170 pages long so I easily finished it in one day. Wow!!! What an incredible story! I have to admit I knew little about this raid but upon seeing "Pearl Harbor" felt I needed to investigate further. This book concisely covers every facet of the mission and quickly gets into the flight.
While it states what happened to all the crews, it clearly focuses on the 8 captured crewmen and what happened to them while in captivity. I've read one other account of POWs written by John McCain and I can't help but applaud the training and quality of these men in their ability to survive. If you've ever wondered exactly what water torture is, this book will explain it to you.
The second to last chapter covers the return of the last held in captivity, George Barr. Due to extremely poor health, he had to stay behind for some time prior to traveling. What this did to him mentally will leave you in tears and I encourage you to buy this book if only for this chapter.
This is a great book of heroism and should be read by any American. I strongly recommend this book.
You have so much because veterans of WWII gave so much!.......2000-07-27
I am honored to have met a major character in this incredible book, Lt. Col. Chase Jay Nielsen. He is one of the four who survived imprisonment and torture by the Japanese after successfully flying as a member of the Doolittle Raiders in April 1942. He spent 3 1/2 years of his young life under inhumane conditions, cruelty, and hopelessness which you would think would destroy a man for the rest of his life, if he were able to survive at all. Chase is an incredibly compassionate, strong, sweet man who holds no hatred for the Japanese people although he is haunted by sadness when remembering the execution of 2 of his best buddies. Carrol Glines does a phenomenal job recounting this historic mission as well as the personal stories of the Raiders who didn't come home until World War 2 was over. His description of the last hours for the 3 airmen who were executed made me cry out loud, it was so moving. We need to teach the children to be thankful for men like the Doolittle Raiders who, when spotted a day early by a Japanese boat, knew that they didn't have the fuel to land their planes safely but chose to carry out their surprise attack anyway. This is a story of true selflessness, sorrow, victory, hope, bitter pain, and faith. Thank you, Raiders, and all who fought in this war, thank you. KIM

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From Robert Furs, Counterbias.com

A Great Deal of Effort

Embedded: Weapons of Mass Deception : How the Media Failed to Cover the War on Iraq
Danny Schechter
Manufacturer: Prometheus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1591021731

Customer Reviews:

From Robert Furs, Counterbias.com.......2004-07-25
Danny Schechter, a television producer and independent filmmaker, is a notable figure in the media community. As a writer and speaker focused on media issues, Schechter brings to the table a more leftward viewpoint than that which is found in today's mainstream media (no, the media isn't as 'liberal' as Fox News may tell you, and the fact that people like Schechter no longer exist in the mainstream is testament to that).

Schechter is extremely critical of the way the media has conglomerated into a mass of right-leaning, sensationalistic, pro-authority and screw-everyone-else insanity, and, as the inside jacket states, Embedded is his analysis of the media's "cheerleading for a war in which reporting was sanitized, staged, and suppressed".

Why introduce Schechter's new book, Embedded: Weapons of Mass Deception, with a seemingly unrelated description of his blog? Well, because the book is the blog. With little much else, the book isn't much more than entries taken directly from his web writings, rearranged, formatted into a columnized, newspaper-like format, and printed in book form, with hopes of making a tidy profit (one could say that by selling the book, he wishes to disseminate his views to a wider audience, but then what audience is wider than the internet on which the book's contents already appear?).

Unfortunately, the fact that most everything in the book is simply reproduced from widely-available online form (the archives are all still online, and worth going through if time is spare), is not the book's worst problem.

The blog-grabbing nature wasn't constrained to content alone-even spelling and punctuation errors are taken straight from the online text, and they simply haven't been corrected. Quality control is minimal, with spelling, punctuation, and even factual errors, all quite eminent. It's as if the book was thrown together in a matter of days, without much contextual editing-if any at all-to go along with it.

Further, the books format-a virtual replication of blog entries-make it much less readable as a book. There is absolutely no flow to the many short, albeit interesting and informative, entries. The choppy nature of a blog, with new entries once a day or less rather than a continuous flow, mean that the book version contains much repetition that may grate on the reader's nerves (the MSNBC Ashleigh Banfield saga that Schechter is fond of mentioning feels as though it is repeated fifty times in the book).

With all its faults, Embedded is an entertaining and somewhat informative read for citizens still lost in the pro-war media fog, who are unwilling to read 286 pages of text on a bright computer screen. The short tidbits are fun to skim and the book is a witness to the faults in the media's Iraq War coverage. Unfortunately, Schechter's obvious left-wing bias may turn off some, and the lazy nature of the book will likely displease most others. Schechter's fifth book is Embedded in mediocrity. He can surely do better.

A Great Deal of Effort.......2004-06-12
It is obvious that a great deal of effort went into writing this book. Unfortunately it is heavy-handed without much substance.
Also the author seems to have a personal chip on his shoulder so it is not very objective.

Average customer rating:
For the Love of Wild Things: The Extraordinary Work of a Wildlife Center
Mary Jane Stretch , and Phyllis Hobe
Manufacturer: Stackpole Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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