Pyramid Power: The Millennium Science

Customer Reviews:

My results.......2005-12-25

It appears that Alfred Armstrong has never actually tried any controlled experiments with pyramids himself.

Pyramid Power was recently "busted" as a myth on the Mythbusters show. However, I tried very similar controlled experiments about 30 years ago, when the "fad" was at its height, and got very different results than the Mythbusters did, which makes me very skeptical of whether this supposed "myth" was actually "busted" at all.

Here are the tests I performed:

First, I built a 2-foot high pyramid to the exact scale of the Great Pyramid of Cheops. I set up a test area outside on my patio.

The first test used milk. I had:
1. A petri dish of milk on a table, uncovered.
2. Another petri dish of milk, covered by the pyramid.
3. A third petri dish of milk, covered by a cardboard box (a cube shape).

I found that the milk under the cardboard box was the first to get sour and disgusting-looking. It spoiled faster than the milk that was uncovered, by about 3-4 days. The milk under the pyramid didn't spoil, even after three weeks. It just basically dried up and hardened, but didn't get moldy or infested with bugs. It also didn't smell as much.

The second test was with some red roses from my mom's garden. Again, I put a rose outside uncovered, one under the pyramid, and one under the box. The results were interesting. I didn't see any noticeable difference between the uncovered rose and the one under the box. They both got shriveled and brown at a pretty equal rate. The rose under the pyramid, however, did dry up and shrivel, but didn't turn brown or fall apart. It essentially just turned into a "dried flower," preserving most of its color.

I tried the razor blade test also -- this time with a small 6-inch pyramid, again built to scale of the Cheops pyramid. This one is tougher to scientifically test, because there are a bunch of variables that could change, depending on how much use and water exposure a blade gets, shaving length and habits, how warm the water is, etc. So I did it the best I could. I cycled through shaving with the blades, uncovered-boxed-pyramid, uncovered-boxed-pyramid, over and over, with about the same shaving length each time. After shaving, the blades would be returned to their respective places.

I found that the blade under the box dulled the fastest, again followed closely by the uncovered blade. The one under the pyramid did last about two weeks longer.

Another decidedly non-scientific, but still interesting, experiment I did was with a big ant trail that was in my backyard. I set up some bait food for the ants. One bait item was set, uncovered, near the trail. Another was placed under a box, near the trail, with some holes cut in the sides of the box so the ants could more easily find their way in. A third bait item was placed under a 6-inch pyramid near the trail, again with small holes cut in the sides. The same type of bait was used for all three.

The ants quickly found and devoured (or took back to their anthole) the uncovered bait. The bait under the box took a bit longer for them to find, but once they did, they made quick work of it. The bait under the pyramid remained largely untouched. Ants sometimes crawled on the outside of the pyramid, some ventured inside briefly, only to come back out fairly quickly. This was the case even after a week. I can only assume that the ants just don't like whatever the pyramid is doing to them. I don't know what that would be, but whatever it is, the ants didn't like it.

I also tried drinking water that had been set under a pyramid for a day. Whether it kept me healthier is pretty tough to say. I didn't feel any appreciable difference at all.

Pyramid power is an interesting topic. I never really considered it to be a fad, because questions about the pyramids of the ancients have been around since, well, since the ancients. And there have been documented cases of people finding dead animals that had gotten into the great pyramids in Egypt and died, only to basically "dry up" and be fairly preserved rather than rot. So, I suggest simply keeping an open but skeptical mind about it, and try some of these things yourself and see what you find out. If nothing else, it's kind of fun.

Intellectually bankrupt.......2004-01-05

This book was originally published in 1973. If the incredible effects it reports were true then Flanagan would now be internationally famous, we'd all have thrown away our fridges and replaced them with pyramids, and shares in razor-blade companies would be at rock-bottom.

I wuld further point out that Flanagan's final chapter is largely lifted, word for word without acknowledgment, from Carl Krafft's "The Ether and its Vortices" (1955).

Expanding Knowledge.......2001-05-18

This book is one of many products created by the genius of G. Patrick Flanagan for the betterment of the human race, the expansion of our awareness. It is laid out in a context of terse sayings for easy grasp and memory banking, begins by referring to the myriad approaches to total knowledge we've held onto through language and philosophy and scientific analysis and exploration throughout the ages. After one reading the mind has increased in its capacity to understand and intuit real knowledge. Patrick takes the reader step by step to his final conclusions via scientifically supported objective reasoning including photographs and diagrams. He transmits his own intelligence via the choice of language and ideas he focuses on--it warrents many readings or keeping for reference!

Book Description

Explorers, evolutionists, eugenicists, sexologists, and high school biology teachers--all have contributed to the prominence of the biological sciences in American life. In this book, Philip Pauly weaves their stories together into a fascinating history of biology in America over the last two hundred years.

Beginning with the return of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1806, botanists and zoologists identified science with national culture, linking their work to continental imperialism and the creation of an industrial republic. Pauly examines this nineteenth-century movement in local scientific communities with national reach: the partnership of Asa Gray and Louis Agassiz at Harvard University, the excitement of work at the Smithsonian Institution and the Geological Survey, and disputes at the Agriculture Department over the continent's future. He then describes the establishment of biology as an academic discipline in the late nineteenth century, and the retreat of life scientists from the problems of American nature. The early twentieth century, however, witnessed a new burst of public-oriented activity among biologists. Here Pauly chronicles such topics as the introduction of biology into high school curricula, the efforts of eugenicists to alter the "breeding" of Americans, and the influence of sexual biology on Americans' most private lives.

Throughout much of American history, Pauly argues, life scientists linked their study of nature with a desire to culture--to use intelligence and craft to improve American plants, animals, and humans. They often disagreed and frequently overreached, but they sought to build a nation whose people would be prosperous, humane, secular, and liberal. Life scientists were significant participants in efforts to realize what Progressive Era oracle Herbert Croly called "the promise of American life." Pauly tells their story in its entirety and explains why now, in a society that is rapidly returning to a complex ethnic mix similar to the one that existed for a hundred years prior to the Cold War, it is important to reconnect with the progressive creators of American secular culture.

Customer Reviews:

An important perspective that historians usually miss.......2005-09-05

This book is a terrific addition to the history of American modernity. It does assume a solid grasp of the basic narrative of the times, and is therefore suitable for upper-level college classes and graduate students rather than general readers. What is crucial about this book is Pauly's description of how scientists operate on paths that do not always converge with mainstream American life, but who nonetheless have a disproportionate impact of how we see the world. One example of this is Pauly's brilliant observation that all the attention to the Scopes Trial is missing a key point--the "question" of evolution was already decided by those who wrote the science textbooks of the day. Considering how science is being undermined by political forces today, Pauly's book is quite relevant in understanding how science shapes--and is shaped--by society.

Pauly gives biologists too much credit........2001-04-21

Pauly tries to assign an historical importance to American biologists that simply doesn't exists. He claims that they have significantly influenced American culture, but his examples are narrow in scope and unconvincing. Pauly is a champion of biologists, as you would expect from a historian of biology, but he goes too far. Biologists have largely been a tool in shaping American culture, rather than a motive force as Pauly claims.

(The above review was written in 2000. Four years later, I have revised my judgement on Pauly's thesis; biologists have been a force in some significant ways, though perhaps not to the extent Pauly argues. However, this book is too broad to be convincing in its examples, unless the reader already has a moderate grasp of the history of biology in America.)

An overambitious yet impressive accomplishment ..........2001-04-17

This book, with its great scope and complicated objectives, could not help but fall short in some aspects. Some of his historical analogies (the Grey/Agassiz conflict and the civil war) are a bit of a stretch, and the information on nearly all the scientists leaves the reader wanting. Nonetheless, this book covers an extremely broad range of topics, people...the type above the title says it all--"From Meriwether Lewis to Alfred Kinsey". This is obviously not going to be extremely in depth on many subjects. The chapter on biology's integration into the high schools is by far the best section of the book. A book that fulfills a specific niche admirably if not terribly enthrallingly.

Biologists and the Promise of American Life from Meriwether Lewis to Alfred Kinsey.(Book Review): An article from: Human Biology

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Biologists and the Promise of American Life from Meriwether Lewis to Alfred Kinsey.(Book Review): An article from: Human Biology
C. Loring Brace
Manufacturer: Wayne State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Human Biology, published by Wayne State University Press on October 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1222 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: Biologists and the Promise of American Life from Meriwether Lewis to Alfred Kinsey.(Book Review)
Author: C. Loring Brace
Publication: Human Biology (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 2003
Publisher: Wayne State University Press
Volume: 75 Issue: 5 Page: 777(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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Biology's Promised Land.(Philip J. Pauly, 'Biologists and the Promise of American Life')(Review): An article from: American Scientist

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Biology's Promised Land.(Philip J. Pauly, 'Biologists and the Promise of American Life')(Review): An article from: American Scientist

Manufacturer: Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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BIOLOGISTS AND THE PROMISE OF AMERICAN LIFE: FROM MERIWETHER LEWIS TO ALFRED KINSEY.

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BIOLOGISTS AND THE PROMISE OF AMERICAN LIFE: FROM MERIWETHER LEWIS TO ALFRED KINSEY.
Philip J. Pauly
Manufacturer: Princeton Univ. Press,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NK8B5I

Book Description

System and Control Theory is one of the most exciting areas of contemporary engineering mathematics. From the analysis of Watt's steam engine governor - which enabled the Industrial Revolution - to the design of controllers for consumer items, chemical plants and modern aircraft, the area has always drawn from a broad range of tools. It has provided many challenges and possibilities for interaction between engineering and established areas of 'pure' and 'applied' mathematics. This impressive volume collects a discussion of more than fifty open problems which touch upon a variety of subfields, including: chaotic observers, nonlinear local controllability, discrete event and hybrid systems, neural network learning, matrix inequalities, Lyapunov exponents, and many other issues. Proposed and explained by leading researchers, they are offered with the intention of generating further work, as well as inspiration for many other similar problems which may naturally arise from them. With extensive references, this book will be a useful reference source - as well as an excellent addendum to the textbooks in the area.

Amazon.com

Penzler Pick, April 2000: It is sometimes easy to trace a literary genre to its source, and James M. Cain's first novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, is the noir novel that paved the way for all the noir fiction that followed. The famous film starring Lana Turner and John Garfield is notoriously dark, but the novel is even more full of despair and devoid of hope. It is a short book--little more than a novella--but its searing characterization and depiction of tawdry greed and lust is branded into every reader's memory.

Frank Chambers, a drifter, is dropped from the back of a truck at a rundown rural diner. When he spots Cora, the owner's wife, he instantly decides to stay. The sexy young woman, married to Nick, a violent and thuggish boor, is equally attracted to the younger man and sees him as her way out of her hopeless, boring life. They begin a clandestine affair and plot to kill Nick, beginning their own journey toward destruction.

Horace McCoy, David Goodis, Jim Thompson, and the other notable noir writers never achieved Cain's spare brilliance. Virtually all of his major works have been filmed, though several Hollywood studios refused to make the films, directors refused to be involved, and actors turned down roles because of their repugnance at the lack of morality inherent in all Cain's characters. Reading him may not be fit for a Sunday school class, but once you begin you will be unable to resist continuing, like picking at a painful scab or watching a tarantula inside a glass dome. --Otto Penzler

Book Description

An amoral young tramp. A beautiful, sullen woman with an inconvenient husband. A problem that has only one, grisly solution -- a solution that only creates other problems that no one can ever solve.

First published in 1934 and banned in Boston for its explosive mixture of violence and eroticism, The Postman Always Rings Twice is a classic of the roman noir. It established James M. Cain as a major novelist with an unsparing vision of America's bleak underside, and was acknowledged by Albert Camus as the model for The Stranger.

Performed by Stanley Tucci

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2007-08-23

Great story and Stanley Tucci does a great job with the narrative. Far better than the Nicholson-Lange movie version.

Morality Play.......2007-08-20

A very good book, that for the most part has stood the test of time well. Some excellent twists, about people who you get the feeling might have turned out differently if the circumstances of their lives had been different. Short enough for anyone to take a chance on, and most will probably enjoy the time spent.

Fatal Attraction.......2007-05-30

This story is about the triangle between an unhappy wife, her older husband, and a hired drifter. It tells how diner owner Nick Papadakis hires Frank Chambers because his hired help won't stay with him. Frank sees Cora, Nick's wife (Chapter 1). There is a fatal attraction (Chapter 2). [Did the other hire help leave quickly to avoid this setup?] Cora won a beauty contest in Des Moines and got a trip to Hollywood; but her pride kept her from going back home. [The beauty contest racket brought hopefuls to Hollywood who lacked money, connections, and acting experience.] Cora married the first honest man she found. But now she is unhappy and in love with Frank (the first who stayed?). They are now planning to murder Nick (Chapter 4).They consider running off together, but its not practical; Cora would return to the life she left. A new crisis for Cora leads to a new plot (Chapter 6).

They have a fatal accident on the mountain road to Malibu Beach. Their car goes off the road and down the cliff. Nick dies in the ambulance, Frank is badly injured with a broken arm. Cora escaped the falling car. The police and an ambulance take them away. After the Inquest District Attorney Sackett questions Frank, and gets him to sign a statement. Sackett suspects murder (Chapter 9). The best lawyer in town will defend Cora against murder; Katz will handle everything. Nick's insurance policy is the alleged motive. There is a shocking surprise plea (Chapter 10). Katz says this is the greatest case in his life, then explains how he will argue in court from the insurance policies (Chapter 11). [This technical detail is simplified in the film.] The rest of the story plays out. The differences in personalities between Cora and Frank result in growing conflicts. After one critical argument they resolve their differences. But an accident brings up the past, and their fate is sealed. [This story is told from Frank's point of view and seems self-serving to me.]

Lost in the Mail.......2007-04-27

I've got to say I don't understand what all the fuss is about. This is one of those rare times when, for me at least, the movie was better than the book. Perhaps I was the victim of unrealistic expectations, but I was expecting Faulkner or Hammet and got something else.

The plot is simple, and nothing wrong with that. A drifter pops in at a dusty roadside California cafe, and is drawn to the owner's wife, and vice versa. An affair soon follows and the couple decides for reasons meant to be simultaneously tawdry and noble, but also irresistible, decide the husband must be killed. Sometimes when I'm reading a novella (like this one) or short story that is primarily about something illicit I ask myself how much interest I'd have if it were about something else. I realize a murder mystery has to have a murder, but you know what I mean- how much do the characters stand on their own, how riveting or at least engaging is the dialogue, etc. This isn't a perfect test, but for some stories where the murder/rape/maiming is just a plot device it lets you picture a little more clearly what kind of skill the author has. I'd rate Cain no better than average. While the protagonist has a gritty fatalism about him, he was almost a caricature. I realize much of this has to do with the iconic status of this work itself, but it is still difficult to get past it. It's certainly a good book, and certainly not boring, but I don't find it in the classic category myself.

Perhaps I'm the odd one out, but..........2007-04-11

This is exactly the reason I don't read "classics." I think I summed it up as 116 pages of WTF? It's a dated story, and while some books stand the test of time, and in this case it really shows. I didn't "buy" any of the storyline, the characters were undeveloped and shallow, the plot thin and full of holes, and the entire idea trite, tired, and badly executed. Well, except at the end, when he was... I would be very angry at the book club for making me read it except it did only take an hour. It's funny, I am a plot-driven person, and this book was nothing but plot (a marked lack of description kept it short, at least), however, I'm picky and would like a good plot. Bottom line: uck.

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Here comes the story of the Hurricane: On June 17, 1966, two men entered the Lafayette Grill in Paterson, New Jersey, and shot four people, killing three. Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a onetime contender for the middleweight boxing crown, and John Artis, an acquaintance of Carter's, were charged with the murders. In a highly publicized and racially loaded trial, the prosecution hinged its case upon the convoluted and contradictory testimonies of two lifelong criminals, and failed to present any definitive evidence of Carter and Artis's guilt. Nonetheless, both innocent men were sentenced to life in prison. Hurricane is a detailed, inspiring account of Carter's 22-year effort to exonerate himself and regain his freedom.

Carter's saga is rich and complicated, and James Hirsch deserves praise for his balanced treatment. He brings Carter's electrifying and complex personality alive without unnecessarily lionizing him, masterfully detailing his transformation from a defiant, intimidating man known for his dangerous temper and stubborn pride into a enlightened one who defeated despair and unimaginable injustice. Upon incarceration, Carter refused to behave like a guilty man--by defying the rules: rejecting prison garb and keeping his jewelry, shunning prison food, and failing to see a parole officer. His defiance earned him cruel punishment, but he compelled the rigid, unforgiving system to come to terms, at least in certain instances.

Though he began an earnest study of the law in order to issue his own appeals, he could not have won his freedom without the astonishing collective effort of others. After a 1974 front-page story in The New York Times revealed his plight, there followed an outpouring of public support that included celebrity endorsements from, among many others, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, and Bob Dylan, who immortalized him in the famous song "Hurricane". Though all the publicity turned Carter into an icon for a time, ultimately it was the efforts of a group of enigmatic Canadians and a team of persistent lawyers that helped Carter achieve justice.

He lost his family, his boxing career, and 22 years of his life, yet in the end, he refused to allow bitterness to consume him. When the charges against him were finally dropped in 1988, he spoke at a press conference:

If I have learned nothing else in life, I've learned that bitterness only consumes the vessel that contains it. And for me to permit bitterness to control or infect my life in any way whatsoever, would be to allow those who imprisoned me to take even more than the twenty-two years they've already taken. Now, that would make me an accomplice to their crime...

He emerged from the fight of his life with his dignity and humanity intact. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

In 1967, the black boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter and a young acquaintance, John Artis, were wrongly convicted of triple murder by an all-white jury in Paterson, New Jersey. Over the next decade, Carter gradually amassed convincing evidence of his innocence and the vocal support of celebrities from Bob Dylan to Muhammad Ali. He was freed in 1976 pending a new trial, but he lost his appeal -- to the amazement of many -- and landed back in prison. Carter, bereft, shunned almost all human contact until he received a letter from Lesra Martin, a teenager raised in a Brooklyn ghetto. Against his bitter instincts, Carter agreed to meet with Martin, thus taking the first step on a tortuous path back to the world. Martin introduced him to an enigmatic group of Canadians who helped wage a successful battle to free him. As Carter orchestrated this effort from his cell, he also embarked on a singular intellectual journey, which led ultimately to a freedom more profound than any that could be granted by a legal authority.

Customer Reviews:

My Journey to Rubin.......2007-05-12

I loved this book almost as much as I loved the movie. For me it was one more step to tracking down the man, the legend. This is a wonderful book for anyone to read, from juveniles through senior citizens. The justice that eventually prevailed is of the feel good sort. It was such an incredible coming together of so many elements. I think that it should be included on recommended booklists in middle and elementary schools.

Emotional Story Chronicling One Setback After Another.......2005-12-24

The life of Rubin Carter is certainly worth reading about regardless of what side of the debate you are on. Many people feel passionate about both his innocence and guilt. This book may help the reader decide for himself or herself, but it obviously has an innocent slant to it which the author makes known and makes no apologies.

The story as many of you know involved the conviction of Rubin Carter and John Artis for a triple murder that took place at a bar in Patterson, NJ. The men always maintained their innocence much to the chagrin of prosecutors. Whether Rubin did this crime or not is besides the question considering he got released from a Federal Court over a writ of habeas corpus issue. The court did not rule on whether he was guilty or innocent even though he had been convicted twice before for the triple murders. The Supreme Court judge that decided to overturn the convictions cited a "racial revenge" motive and prosecutorial withhlding of information as reasons to overturn the case. Therefore, after many intense struggles with personal demons and many years in prison Rubin Carter was released a free man. The book recounts his troubled life as a juvenile, his violent temper, his prize-fighting boxing days, and his many years spent in different prison institutions. Apparently while in prison Carter transformed these former attributes by personal study and reflection. He found some people from a Canadian commune to help go to battle for him and eventually won his freedom. It's a powerful story with a few problem areas. One problem area is that there are so many legal meanderings throughout the book that you begin to feel as if you are undertaking a tedious chore sorting through all of it. You lose the zest and earnest interest you first had when you started the book. The other problem area is it's obviously a very opinionated book meant to portray Carter as an innocent man wronged by the system. However, after reading about Carter's past, his media provoking of local authorities, and his temper, I came away feeling very ambivalent. Whereas, I expected to become totally convinced of his innocence I began to feel I wasn't for sure. Nevertheless, it's a compelling story if you can get past the legal "John Grisham" feel of the book.

Rubin Carter continues to fight to this day to overcome the hardness and emotional devastation he had thrust upon him while in prison. We learn that while he is thankful to be out he still has a long way to go to live the life he yearns for. To put to rest the demons bothering him (such as alcohol) and to be able to trust people is one of the great challenges he faces. One can only hope that justice was served in this instance and that he picks up what he has left of his life and makes the most of it.

READ THIS BOOK! It's that simple........2005-09-23

I have read both this and Rubin Carter's own The 16th Round. There are some things that I believe on both sides of the story. I do believe that Rubin did have a violent juvenile past, and was an angry man. Yet, if a person who is facing oppression on a daily basis i'm sure you would tend to have violent tendancies as well; it's easy to make statements about a man's life when we are in a prosperous 21st century and not in the 1940 - 1950's. I do agree that the film does cut out the large part of Rubin's transformation from a violent individual to a more spiritual one.

I am a young Australian who is not of the age to be around when Rubin Carter was set free. This case was so badly stuck together it provides a good look at the judicial system considering it kept an innocent man in jail for 19 years.

And one of the most insulting facts of the case was that when Rubin was set free from jail in 1985, he was set free because of the biased and racial case that was built before him. NOT because he didn't do the crime. Makes me aggrovated.

If you want a book that will open your mind and make you think independently, then buy this and the 16th Round straight away.

This Biography changed my mind.......2005-09-22

Before I read this bio my only knowledge of the Hurricane case was from what other's had told me. Based on that I always felt the guy was probably framed. After reading this bio, I feel he was probably guilty.

By the first third of this book I found myself not liking Carter. It seemed obvious to me that this was a very angry and violent man who was also very dishonest. This book attempts to make a martyr of a man who seemed like trouble even before he was convicted of the alleged murder. It also attempts to explain away every bad thing this man did (and there were many) by trying to make him look like the victim.

The author nor Carter never once admit to any wrong doing on Carter's part regardless of what it may be. If just ONCE Carter had taken responsibility for some of his nasty behavior and poor dealings with other folk, I may have had a more open mind. But this is a blatant attempt at reaching for excuses for every thing that went wrong in his life. Carter and the author want everybody to believe that Carter was the victim of frame-ups, conspiracies, and racism at every turn in his life. I was not convinced.

The pattern that I found apparent in Carter's personality is that he only opened up to folks who could give him something he wanted and once he got it, he changed his personable and trusting come-on and threw them on the scrap heap. Often rationalizing his using of those who helped him by twisting it into some delusional offense against him. The best I can say for Carter is that he struck me as a very cunning con-man who ultimatley beat the system by using people for his own needs until he was portrayed in the main stream media as a martyr and a victim. I no longer buy into that portyrayel after reading this book.

Skip the movie, Read this Book.......2004-03-02

I read this book and then saw the movie. This is a familiar formula for disappointment. The book is much better and richer than the movie. The movie portrays Carter as some kind of saint, deeply-principled, who is railroaded by the justice system. As the book reveals, Carter was a deeply troubled individual during the 1960's. Carter was a very angry person who seemed to antagonize authority. He was also an alcoholic and had selfish, chauvanistic attitudes towards women. These traits are overlooked in the film. In fact, the movie shows Carter a suave, kind person. The filmmakers probably skipped these aspects of Carter because they wanted the viewers to like Carter and root for him. In reality, Carter didn't seem a likeable person.
HOWEVER, the fact that Carter was a troubled, angry person doesn't mean he's guilty of murder. Some people seem to invest their dislike of "hollywood justice" and the "cause celeb" aura surrounding this case, into convicting Carter for the murders. Don't confuse the issues. Carter was not a saint but he's still entitled to justice. Part of this book is the story of the unraveling of the prosecutor's case. As a federal district court found, the prosecutors withheld vital evidence from the defense - evidence which the defense was legally entitled to. The prosecutors also resorted to prejudice during the trial to persuade the jury of Carter's guilt. This is the so-called racial revenge theory advanced by the prosecution.
The other important and most fascinating part of the book is the transformation of the man. During his prison sentence, Carter transforms himself, with the help of others, from an angry, troubled individual to a much kinder and complete human being. The movie, by overlooking Carter's bad traits, robs the viewer of this incredible growth of one person.
My advice is to skip the movie and read this excellent book.

Hurricane the Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter

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Hurricane the Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter
JAMES S. HIRSCH
Manufacturer: HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000L1TLDA

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Hurricane the Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter
JAMES S. HIRSCH
Manufacturer: HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000L1TKVS

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Hurricane the Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter
James Hirsh
Manufacturer: Mariner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000X60SUI

Product Description

Most treatments of the cold war attempt to assess the political and scientific impacts of the nuclear age and the horrors of weapons of mass destruction. While there are dramatic stories in the history and science of nuclear power, one often overlooked aspect is that entire communities were created to support the development of nuclear power. These communities not only included scientists and engineers, but husbands, wives and children. The children grew up as children everywhere do, trying to be just like their parents. The games these children played reflected their upbringing and resulted in sometimes sad and sometimes outrageously funny consequences. This is a collection of true stories of children coming to age under the routine threat of global annihilation and how they routinely coped with thinking about the unthinkable.

Customer Reviews:

Ah Yes, I remember it well.......2006-08-05

Having grown up in Los Alamos and being in the class of 1970 with Glenn I truly enjoyed this humorous piece of nonfiction. People to this day say, "Wow..growing up in Los Alamos in the '60's must have been fascinating!" But consider, for us it was just home. Having been one of the many to experience the effects of the UFO incident , the mystery behind the blasted rock wall, the learning materials center fiasco (just to name a few) it was enlightening, to say the least, to read of the details of the cause(s).

For anyone who has a deep appreciation for the absurd and is interested in getting a sense of growing up in Los Alamos (or as we sometimes referred to it 'Dodge', as in get out of ...) in the late sixties I highly recommend this book.

Children of Usher.......2004-07-28

Once you open this book, plan on finishing it in one sitting. It is a facinating collection of stories that will encourage a smile. The book addresses an adolescent of the 70's telling of the life in Los Alamos during the peak of childhood development. Most of the stories will make you laugh, some will make you ponder. A very entertaining read!

A delightful surprise.......2004-07-23

My husband and I plan to retire to New Mexico. I am an avid reader of anything about New Mexico. When I came across this book, I couldn't resist. It was waaay different from what I was expecting. This is a collection of stories written about a time in the years before 1970 telling about what it was like to grow up in Los Alamos. I never knew that this city was so much like Oz in the middle of what I have come to think of as a quaint southwestern culture. The author tells some truly fascinating and remarkable stories about a most famous place, but from a unique and funny and sometimes heartwrenching perspective. There were times when I wanted to reach out to that little boy and hug him, and there were times when I wanted to spank him. All in all, I couldn't put it down until I was finished. At first I thought about giving it four stars, because when I finished, I wanted there to be more. But I kept thinking about the book for days, and when a book does that for me, it really deserves five. It's concise, well written, it's like balancing between heaven and hell and it will leave you thinking for days afterwards.

Truly out of this world.......2004-07-19

A wonderful collection of stories. Some will make you laugh, and some will make you try. It uniquely captures an unusual and fascinating side of childhood and the cold war. What I really want to know is, if these stories are all true, what has the author been doing recently?

Book Description

This dynamic and comprehensive text from two nationally renowned scholars has been completely updated and continues to demonstrate the profound influence African Americans have had and continue to have on American politics.

American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom (3rd Edition)

Average customer rating:

American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom (3rd Edition)
Hanes; Smith, Robert C. Walton
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUGI3O

Average customer rating:

American Politics And The African American Quest For Universal Freedom
Hanes; Smith, Robert C. Walton
Manufacturer: Longman Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUD09Y

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