My Andrew: Day-to-Day Living with an ASD Child

Book Description

March 12, 2001

"I love you Andrew but I hate your autism!" And once again I hear my friend Penny's question from that first session when I said Andrew had been diagnosed with ASD. She said, "And what does that mean?"

It means I have a trampoline in my living room.... It means I pray every night that he will sleep so I can.... It means more new activities to do everyday, a new schedule, and the guilt when I don't keep it.... It means not being able to take him out in public without someone staring. It means I'm tired and I have a headache. It means I've lost track of how far he has come and how blessed we are..."

My Andrew: Day-to-Day Living with an ASD Child is a heartfelt look into the first eight years of one family's journey to raise their autistic son. Author and mother Wallis Simpson shares from her personal journal the daily struggles and joys of loving a special needs child. Written in a down-to-earth style, My Andrew is a stirring resource for anyone who works with special children and their caregivers.

Customer Reviews:

Jenny's Review.......2006-02-16

I know and love the author of this book. I enjoy her ability to give insight to her home and her thoughts while raising her son.

Book Description

The Bhagavad-Gita has been an essential text of Hindu culture in India since the time of its composition in the first century A.D. One of the great classics of world literature, it has inspired such diverse thinkers as Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, and T.S. Eliot; most recently, it formed the core of Peter Brook's celebrated production of the Mahabharata.

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Customer Reviews:

A beatiful translation for the Gita.......2007-08-09

This is a rather good translation for the Gita, it's not as beautiful as the translation by Srila Prabhupada, but it's still pretty good, especially for someone just learning about Sanatana Dharma.
Jai Radhe-Madhava!

Pointless translation.......2007-02-06

I got my hands on this 'pocket-'book by chance about 14 years ago and what a disappointment it was then! There is no Sanskrit, yoga is translated as !discipline!.. Did Ms. Miller have a clue about what she was doing other than make some money? Now that I have read translations by Sri Yogananda and Prabhupada, I have the ability to comment on it further.
The Bhagavad Gita is not a simple set of words to be translated, this is a philosophy of life in sutra form-absolutely condensed so it could be passed down by guru to disciple by word of mouth. The guru transfers the knowledge not only by recitation but by showing actual practise.
So, Ms. Miller has no qualification to translate other than knowledge of a language which can be picked up by a 10 year old. Even a 10 year old would do a better job at translating 'yoga'.

Wore out my first copy -- came here to order another one [Muslim Reviewer].......2006-12-08

Salaam to all,

I can not claim to speak authoritatively regarding the accuracy and fidelity of the translator's work, but it speaks to me and I am *quite* fond of this translation of the Gita.

I would like to address a few points raised by other reviewers.

Lets start with the sub-title: The "war" is between the illusory world of senses (and delusional 'imagination') and The-Eternal-Absolute, aka Al-Samad to Muslims, and YHVY to Israelites. This book is an 'exposition' on the Greater Jihad (Greater Struggle) spoken of by The Prophet (ALLAH's Salaam and Blessings Be upon him, his house, his progeny, his companions, and his Umma.)

The second item that needed to be addressed was implicitly addressed above. Is this 'book' congruent with the Religion of Abraham (ALLAH's Salaam and Blessings Be upon him and his progeny) and his Chosen Israel (ALLAH' Salaam and Blessing Be upon Israel) and HIS Anointed King of Israel, the Word made flesh (And ALLAH's Salaam Is Ever upon him) and *finally* with the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (ALLAH's Salaam and Blessings Be upon him, his house, his progeny, his companions, and his Umma)? In my 'reading' of The Book -- The Torah, The Pslams, The Gospels, and The Qur'an -- the answer is a resounding 'Yes'.

Who is this book addressed to? This book is an 'exposition' of matters Divine by Al-Samad to HIS Friends, HIS Friends being those Sentient that wish to find an 'eternal abode' with HIM, The Un-Changing. (In The Qur'an, these Friends of ALLAH are called 'Those Who are Granted *Nearness to HIM*'.) Thus, in this manual of the Greater Jihad -- which is the Inner Striving to strip away that which is 'not' -- we have The-GOD manifesting HIM-Self to Arjuna as his "Friend", "Teacher", and "Pilot".

Gandhi read this book every day. It certainly has a place in the daily reading list of any Friend of The-GOD, Who IS our Source and our Destiny.

This book will help with the task of 'choosing' the manner in which you, my fellow Sentient, shall 'Return' unto HIM.

Bahavad Gita: Miller translation.......2006-11-11

This is without question the best translation (readable and accurate) for use in the classroom. The accompanying essays by this brilliant scholar are excellent.

Paradox is the way non-duality looks at the mental level.......2006-10-10

I will always be grateful to Barbara Miller for her translation of the Bhagavad Gita for one overarching reason: her translation of Chapter 15, "The True Spirit of Man" pointed out the non-duality at the heart of the Gita, something that I had missed in other translations. Here's an excerpt:

15:16
"There is a double spirit of man
in the world, transient and eternal-
transient in all creatures,
eternal at the summit of existence.

....

15:18
Since I transcend what is transient
and I am higher than the eternal,
I am known as the supreme spirit of man
in the world and in sacred lore."

This was very useful to me since it pointed out that Krishna - or the Supreme Spirit - is more significant and more fundamental than both the transient and the eternal. In other words, this is a non-dual insight which goes beyond polytheism, monotheism, henotheism and kathenotheism. There is only Spirit - there is only Ati - and Miller captures the heart of this wisdom teaching in 15:16 and 15:18.

Many of the other reviewers - particularly Robert A. Williams above in an especially bad review - do not seem to have grasped the beautiful non-duality of Spirit as expressed by Miller.

Counsel in the Crease: A Big League Player in the Hockey Wars

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Enjoyable and informative reading
A strong memoir of his encounters with coaches, players, and owners alike
Where'sThe Fact Checker???

Counsel in the Crease: A Big League Player in the Hockey Wars
Robert O Swados
Manufacturer: Prometheus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books

Hockey | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Hockey | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1591023556

Book Description

In his diverse, exciting, and very active forty-five-year legal career, spent mainly in the world of professional sports, attorney Robert O. Swados has worn many hats—owner, league executive, counsel, and franchise builder. In this wide-ranging and good-humored memoir, Swados offers many behind-the-scenes insights into the players, coaches, executives, and owners who have created today's sports entertainment industry. Swados describes his early involvement in professional sports through his efforts in the 1960s to bring a Major League Baseball franchise to his hometown of Buffalo, NY. The deal was so close that a New York Daily News headline announced (Swados still owns a copy) that new franchises would go to San Diego and Buffalo. But things really got interesting when in 1969 Swados helped Seymour Knox III and Northrup Knox to establish the Buffalo Sabres. Thus began an exciting thirty-year journey through the ups and downs of the National Hockey League. As part owner, vice chairman, and counsel of the Sabres, Swados has had many opportunities to "score from the crease," and sometimes the action behind the scenes is just as rough and tumble as that on the ice. He tells many fascinating tales about his dealings with winning coaches including Scotty Bowman, with General Managers Punch Imlach and John Muckler, with owner John Mcmullen, and Commissioners John Ziegler and Gary Bettman, among others. He also talks frankly about the impact of Adelphia's bankruptcy on the fate of the Sabres and about the obsessions and frustrations of the 2004 NHL lockout. Perhaps no one in professional sports has had such an engaging and productive view.

For hockey fans in the U.S. and Canada, especially Buffalo Sabres fans, and anyone interested in the business of bigtime sports, Robert Swados's entertaining and informative story is a must read.

Customer Reviews:

Enjoyable and informative reading.......2006-06-20

I loved this book. It was not only entertaining, but it gave a lot of insight into the workings of the legal field in pro sports as well as television and entertainment. I found myself thinking "I'd forgotten all about that" or "Is that how that came about?", and the hockey names from the past that I'd long since forgotten were brought back to the present by the writing of Mr. Swados. This was well worth the time it took to read it!

A strong memoir of his encounters with coaches, players, and owners alike.......2006-03-05

Hockey fans who are avid followers of the sport will surely recognize the name of Robert O. Swados, who has been a league owner, executive, and franchise builder in the professional hockey world for over forth years. Counsel In The Grease: A Big League Player In The Hockey Wars provides a strong memoir of his encounters with coaches, players, and owners alike, describing the many changes he's observed in the sport since his initial involvement in the 1960s, and his up and down years with the National Hockey League. A lively set of insights on the sports world as a whole makes Counsel In The Grease a highly recommended pick indeed.

Where'sThe Fact Checker???.......2006-02-27

Good grief Robert, who was your fact checker?? Understandably this book was written by an aging old employee of the Sabres so a pass is given to him on his recollection of facts but GEEZ somebody at the publishing company should have checked this over before releasing this. Where do I begin? OK, Joe Daley was NOT traded for Roger Crozier...that was Tom Webster, Pat Lafontaine did not suffer his concussion against the Bruins, it was the Penguins, the Atlanta Flames entered the NHL in 1972 not 1974, the Capitals entered in 1974 not 1972, Floyd Smith was not the coach when Tony McKegney was drafted, Swados says he attended a game at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton in 1981 and then in the next paragraph he says the building didn't exist in the early 1990's, which is it? Gil Perreault was not drafted in the Fall of 1969, Willie O'Ree was long out of the NHL (1960-61) when the Knox's had Oakland Seals ties, the Sabres did not play their first game in 1969, Dave Forman died in 1987 so how did you call him and ask for advice in the 1990's? Facts like this should have been checked by SOMEBODY! All this and I'm only half way through the book. I'm all for telling the TRUE story of the Buffalo Sabres but find somebody who knows what's going on. What's Paul Weiland doing these days? John B.

Classics of Strategy and Counsel, Volume 2: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary

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Understanding
Great reading for anybody interested in leadership

Classics of Strategy and Counsel, Volume 2: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary
Thomas Cleary
Manufacturer: Shambhala
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Eastern Philosophy | Other Eastern Religions | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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The Taoist Classics: The Collected Translations of Thomas Cleary, Vol. 3
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ASIN: 1570627282
Release Date: 2001-01-09

Book Description

Thunder in the Sky: "This spectacular book is an extraordinary business tool for understanding and working with the dynamics of power."âÂ€Â”Michael Phillips, author of The Seven Laws of Money. The Japanese Art of War: An exploration of the influence of military rule and the martial tradition of the samurai on Japanese life and culture. The Book of Five Rings: One of the most insightful texts on the subtle arts of confrontation and victory to emerge from Asia. Ways of Warriors, Codes of Kings: Here is a concise and user-friendly presentation of selections from Taoist classics on strategy and leadership including: Master Wei Lao, The Book of Three Strategies, The Book of Six Strategies, The Warrior Code of the Cavaliers, and Wu Qi's Art of War.

Customer Reviews:

Understanding.......2001-12-06

Thomas Cleary has done us a great service by translating and/or collecting these works. He is a man of understanding and insight and these three volumes will threaten to make any reader who takes them seriously the same.

Any person who deals with anybody in any way should endeavor to grasp these fine works of wisdom. Not to do so is a mistake. As Confucius said, "If a mistake is not corrected, that is called a mistake."

Great reading for anybody interested in leadership.......2001-03-06

Anyone interested in learning about leadership should go back to the classics. Clearly has done a great job putting together a collection of the most influencial eastern classics in three volumes. The five classics included in this volume present crucial aspects of human development and empowerment. The most insighful readings in my opinion are thunder in the Sky and The Book of the Five Rings. The first one talks about the skills and behavior of succesful leaders, while the second one deals with the art of confrontation and victory. Clearly's comments are very good in providing insights about the reading. My last recommendation is to start with the first volume: The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

Average customer rating:

Reviewed in NYR in 1985

Counsels of War
Gregg F. Herken
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0394527356
Release Date: 1985-03-12

Customer Reviews:

Reviewed in NYR in 1985.......2006-04-10

From the New York Review of Books, Volume 32, Number 19 ? December 5, 1985
Letter
NUCLEAR CONVICTIONS
By John M. Lee
In response to Strategy or Romance? (July 18, 1985)

To the Editors:

Lord Zuckerman compressed a vast amount of nuclear wisdom into his recent NYR articles, showing once again the value of listening to those who, like Lord Zuckerman, Robert McNamara, George Ball, and McGeorge Bundy, forged their nuclear convictions in positions of great responsibility, near the center of power, at times of great stress.

The July piece, on Herken's "Counsels of War" [NYR, July 18], is, in addition, entertaining. The demolishing of Dr. Herken, for anyone with a particle of sadism in his nature, can only be described as fun. My suggestion to Dr. Herken is that he lie there quietly in the center of the ring while the referee counts to ten.

My only substantial problem with Lord Zuckerman's articles is his blanket insistence on the need to prevent all East-West hostilities, conventional and nuclear, rather than focusing specifically on nuclear war. In this, he makes the best the enemy of the good, or, more exactly, he makes the ideal the enemy of the absolutely essential.

In brief, extended deterrence has these dangerous defects:

- By threatening to introduce nuclears into conventional operations, it makes nuclear firing legitimate, a usable, normal-if ultimate - weapon. This irresistibly nuclearizes the strategy, doctrine and weapons of both sides. It demands hair-trigger alertness. It makes it overwhelmingly probable that any E-W hostilities would become nuclear.
- It produces "limited," "war-fighting" plans and training which are militarily useless, and almost inevitably escalatory. Nuclear war once started is probably uncontrollable.
- By threatening to raise the stakes to the nuclear level, and thus threatening the destruction of the opponent's nation, culture, and population, at our own initiative, it creates and perpetuates mortal hostility.
Sooner or later, in one crisis or another, through some misjudgment or misunderstanding or stupidity, or some unlimited dedication to some principle or purpose, absolute peace will fail. On that day, we must not be relying on nuclearized forces, armed and indoctrinated to use nuclear weapons when conventional elements get into trouble, at the highest pitch of nuclear readiness, pressing against their nuclear controls, and with no stopping point once nuclear war starts.

In brief, extended nuclear deterrence uses the nuclear threat to reduce the threat of conventional war only by accepting substantially increased risk of nuclear war. It counts on the nuclear weapon, the suicide threat, to deter all E-W hostilities at any significant level, and to deter them forever. And it promises only unimaginable disaster if that threat fails.

Preventing the appalling catastrophe of nuclear war must be our central objective. Nuclear retaliation, and only retaliation, against nuclear, and only nuclear, attack is the only role for nuclear forces. Conventional deterrence and conventional defense must be done with conventional forces. In Lord Zuckerman's words, "The word 'war' cannot and should not be used in association with the term 'nuclear.' " They are different phenomena.

John M. Lee, Vice Admiral

St. Petersburg, Florida

2006 CIA Leak Investigation and the War in Iraq, WMD Evidence, Duelfer Report, Special Counsel Fitzgerald, Â“ScooterÂ” Libby Indictment, Karl Rove, Valerie Plame, Ambassador Wilson

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2006 CIA Leak Investigation and the War in Iraq, WMD Evidence, Duelfer Report, Special Counsel Fitzgerald, Â“ScooterÂ” Libby Indictment, Karl Rove, Valerie Plame, Ambassador Wilson
U.S. Government
Manufacturer: Progressive Management
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: DVD-ROM
ASIN: 1422001873

Product Description

This up-to-date electronic book on DVD-ROM provides the best collection available anywhere of official Federal government information and documents on the subject of the war in Iraq, WMDs and the evidence used by the Bush Administration to justify the war, and the criminal investigation into the possible unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding Valerie WilsonÂ’s CIA affiliation to various reporters in the spring of 2003. The investigation is being headed by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. On October 28, 2005, the grand jury indicted senior White House official I. Lewis Libby on obstruction of justice, false statement and perjury charges for allegedly lying about how and when in 2003 he learned and subsequently disclosed to reporters then-classified information concerning the employment of Valerie Wilson by the Central Intelligence Agency. Libby was charged with one count of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements in a five-count indictment returned today by a federal grand jury as its term expired, announced Justice Department Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald. The defendant, also known as Â“ScooterÂ” Libby, has served since January 20, 2001, as Assistant to the President, Chief of Staff to the Vice President, and Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs. The charges allege that Libby lied to FBI agents who interviewed him on October 14 and November 26, 2003; committed perjury while testifying under oath before the grand jury on March 5 and March 24, 2004; and engaged in obstruction of justice by impeding the grand juryÂ’s investigation. The indictment alleges that Libby had frequent access to classified information and frequently spoke with officials of the U.S. intelligence community and other government officials regarding sensitive national security matters. With his responsibilities for national security matters, Libby held security clearances giving him access to classified information. Libby was obligated by federal criminal statute, regulations, executive orders, and a written non-disclosure agreement not to disclose classified information to unauthorized persons, and to properly safeguard classified information against unauthorized disclosure. According to the indictment, on September 26, 2003, the Department of Justice and the FBI began a criminal investigation into the possible unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding Valerie WilsonÂ’s CIA affiliation to various reporters in the spring of 2003. In January 2004, the grand jury investigation began examining possible violations of criminal laws prohibiting disclosing the identity of covert intelligence personnel (The Intelligence Identities Protection Act), improperly disclosing national defense information, making false statements to government agents, and perjury. A major focus of the grand jury investigation was to determine which government officials had disclosed to the media prior to July 14, 2003, information concerning Valerie WilsonÂ’s CIA affiliation, and the nature, timing, extent, and purpose of such disclosures. This DVD-ROM uses next-generation search technology that allows complete indexing and makes all files on the disc fully searchable. The disc contains information on key characters including: I. Lewis Â“ScooterÂ” Libby
Karl Rove
Valerie Plame
Ambassador Joseph WIlson This disc has over 79,000 pages reproduced using Adobe Acrobat PDF software and Reader software is included. Advanced search and indexing features are built into our reproduction, providing a complete full-text index. This enables the user to search all the files on the disk at one time for words or phrases using just one search command! The Acrobat cataloging technology adds enormous value and uncommon functionality to this impressive collection of government documents and material. There is no other reference that is as fast, convenient, comprehensive, and portabl

Behemoth: The History of the Causes of the Civil Wars of England and of the Counsels and Artifices

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Behemoth: The History of the Causes of the Civil Wars of England and of the Counsels and Artifices
Thomas Hobbes; Editor William Molesworth
Manufacturer: BURT FRANKLIN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OKE3R2

The Bhagavad-gita - Krishna's Counsel In Time Of War - Mystical Classics Of The World

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The Bhagavad-gita - Krishna's Counsel In Time Of War - Mystical Classics Of The World
Barbara Stoler - Translated by. Introduction by Smith, Huston Miller
Manufacturer: Quality Paperback Book Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Bhagavad Gita | Hinduism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000K1QF6C

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The Bhagavad-Gita: Krishna's Counsel in Time of War (Mystical Classics of the World)
Translated By Barbara Stoler Miller
Manufacturer: Bantam Dell Pub Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Bhagavad Gita | Hinduism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000OHE50U

Military Justice and the Right to Counsel

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Military Justice and the Right to Counsel
S. Sidney Ulmer
Manufacturer: University Press of Kentucky
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

Our great national reproach and The counsel of Ahithophel turned into foolishness

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Our great national reproach and The counsel of Ahithophel turned into foolishness
Peter Russell
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Product Description

Our great national reproach and The counsel of Ahithophel turned into foolishness: two sermons preached in St James' Church Eckley Penna Gale Archival Editions: On Demand are digital copies of rare and out-of-print historical content. Delivered where and when you need them, Gale Archival Editions arrive complete with original fonts, marks, notations, punctuation and spelling, giving you the feeling of owning the original work. These images of original worksÂ—from the world's leading librariesÂ—include everything from books to pamphlets, many with original illustrations, indexes, maps and other annotations. Sourced from Joseph Sabin's Bibliotheca Americana: A Dictionary of Books Relating to America from its Discovery to the Present Time (1868-1936), the Sabin American Civil War Collection includes thousands of titles on all topics related to the Civil War experience.

Product Description

This biography, combining a lively & informative text with a wealth of illustrations, explains how Edward VII, whose reign lasted for only 9 years, became one of the most popular & well-known of British monarchs. During his long years as Prince in waiting for the throne, Edward perfected the art of royal public appearances. The birth of photography, almost simultaneous to his own, helped to disseminate his image & stamped it firmly on the public consciousness. This book takes us into Edward's world to share his public duties & his ongoing preoccupation with the role of a constitutional monarch & the foreign policies of a rapidly changing Europe.

Human Nature of Birds: A Scientific Discovery with Startling Implications
Average customer rating:

Facinating account of the intelligence of birds and animals

Funny. Not funny haha funny, but eerily accurate funny.

Too simplistic

Thought Provoking Account of the Intelligence of Birds

A Challenge to Traditional Science

Human Nature of Birds: A Scientific Discovery with Startling Implications
Theodore Xenophon Barber
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
Birds | Field Guides | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0140234942

Amazon.com

In this provocative book about avian intelligence and communication--which are much more elaborate and deep than scientists once thought--behavioral scientist Theodore Xenophon Barber posits that birds share many qualities that humans have assumed are unique to themselves. Among these qualities, he says, are the ability to form abstract concepts, "to play with joy and mate erotically," and to adapt to a variety of situations. It is largely because avian knowledge is not carried across generations that their past thinking is lost, he continues, which leads people to assume that birds are thoughtless. With an eye to disarming critics of cognitive ethology, Barber reminds his readers that Charles Darwin reached similar conclusions. Whatever the case, bird lovers will find The Human Nature of Birds a fascinating curiosity.

Customer Reviews:

Facinating account of the intelligence of birds and animals.......2002-10-25

I can't tell you how glad I am I found this book at a bookstore. I learned so much about birds, other animals and even insects. Reading this book is the first time I really read about Alex the famous African Grey parrot, who is capable of so many things we consider human, such as counting, identifiying colors, shapes, textures, and can request what he wants with sentence as a human can. Not only African Greys are intellegent, this book discusses and gives amazing stories about so many types of birds, from pet budgies to wild birds. I learned facts about avian navigation and body language and their songs. Many facts were brought up about wild birds (and pets) that seemed so human I was amazed. I felt I was really getting an intimate look at the world of birds as I read this book. The author also included a chapter called "Are all animals intellegent?". I was very excited to read this as I learned things about gorillas, chimpanzees, dolphins, whales, and even fish, ants and honeybees that amazed me. There is a very nice set of color photographs in the middle of the book, the first one of a rosella grooming a cockatiel being my favorite. If you love animals or have a curiosity about the intellegence of animals, I highly recommend this book!

Funny. Not funny haha funny, but eerily accurate funny........2001-06-14

I could almost hear the sniggers after reading this book and was not surpised to find the lead review here disclaiming this work as 'simplistic.' Actually, biology is simplistic. Mammals are evolved from a recent common ancestor and built around a pretty homogenious genetic bluprint. Biotech is taking advantage of this simple fact; a company in California has engineered a lab mouse possessing the entire human immune system: humans and mice are simply that closely related functionally and genetically. Birds are not mammals, but they are vertebrates. The brainiest vertebrates besides mammals in fact. Some of the more highly developed birds (parrots) indeed possess more neural and cognitve fire power than the least developed mammals (small shrews). This book is important in that it challenges some long held false dogmas of standard biology going back to the dark ages, namely that humans and animals are distinct. Reality check: humans ARE animals. By and large mammals are variations on an homologous theme. Birds, being vertebrates, are highly analogous with, if not homologous in that they are vertebrates with mammals, which are, you guessed it, vertebrates; mammals and birds, two very brainy vertebrates. What does it mean to be a brainy vertebrate? The dogma Dr. Barber imposes on here is that to anthropomorphize is a scientific sin. To anthropomorphize is to assume that one brainy vertebrate could possibly have similar cognitive and emotional experiences as another. Mammals have large brains and can cognize, birds have large brains and can cognize. This isn't an oversimplifying anthropomorphization, it's a fact, it's the scientific identification of a universal. Not only do mammals as a class possess practically identical adreno/hypothalamic hormones and neuropeptides (what defines soul? ask an endocrinologist), but so does the lowly vertebrate the hagfish. No one said it better than the cantankerous genious Schopenhauer, "No one who himself has any intelligence will doubt its existence in the higher animals." After perusing the experimental evidence of the likes of Dr. Pepperberg's Alex, one can hardly doubt the higher intelligence of birds as rivals in neural processing capacity with mammals in the phylum chordata. Let's face it people, intelligence is a function of brains and birds have some significant gray matter relative to the animal kingdom at large. Biologically in fact we may anthropomorphize over the common terms of the subphylum vertebrata and that consciousness derives from brains. Facts long eschewed by anthropocentric metaphysicians, but long overdue in biology as a science. Kudos to Dr. Barber for his bold illumination of these simple biological facts. A helpful reference work for those pursuing cognitition as a hard science.

Too simplistic.......2000-05-15

Barber gives many examples of bird behaviour that he calls intelligent. The major problem with this book lies in his definition of intelligence. Basically, he calls anything intelligent that is more than the kind of automatic reaction that an animal could acquire through stimulus-response associations. As far as I can tell, he claims that anything more than an automatic response shows intelligence essentially equivalent to that of humans. However, it has been known for decades that most animals can do more than automatically perform actions that were rewarded in the past and avoid those that were punished, without knowledge of what they are doing. Some of these extra capacities are not what most people would call intelligent, others look much more impressive, yet the animal's known behavioural capacities still fall short of what humans can do. Barber ignores all that. For a solidly scientific account of a grey parrott's achievements, read Irene Pepperberg's "The Alex Studies". For a somewhat easier read, try Bernd Heinrich's "The Mind of the Raven".

Thought Provoking Account of the Intelligence of Birds.......2000-03-11

Too often, behaviorists and their ideas have dominated our thinking. We had been led to believe that animals are just machines. "Bird brain" has become synonymous with ignorance. This book shatters such notions. Correct or not, it forces the reader to a better appreciation of the cognitive and emotional capabilities of the animals with whom we share this planet.

A Challenge to Traditional Science.......1999-07-15

Though he describes himself as a scientist and this book as a scientific endeavor, Theodore Xenophon Barber is a polemicist. He rejects traditional scientifc methods and attitudes in order to prove that birds have levels of intelligence and individuality which mainstream science denies them. His book is impassioned, fascinating, readable, elaborately documented, persuasive, and thought-provoking; but it is also unscientific in any traditional sense.

This is not to say Barber is wrong. The rules of traditional science make it extremely difficult for a mainstream ornithologist to transcend the notion that birds are feathered automata, incapable of thought, and certainly unable to understand language, relate emotionally to people or to other birds, make intelligent decisions, or modify behavior based on experience. Yet Barber, by ignoring the rule against anthropomorphism (attributing human emotions and motives to non-human creatures) and the rejection of anecdotal data, makes a very convincing case that birds are capable of all those things and much more besides.

Barber is not the first to suggest such heresies. Many years ago, Konrad Lorenz, in his wonderful book King Solomon's Ring, offered many examples of very human-like behavior in the birds he observed. Other researchers quoted by Barber have reluctantly concluded that pure automatic instinct cannot explain all the avian behavior they observed.

Barber's case is greatly strenghtened by his analysis of instincts in birds and in humans. He suggests that human beings have as many instincts and as much instinctual behavior as do birds; we simply fail to recognize it as such because acting on instinct is rarely automatic; it requires thought, planning, and experiment. For example, it is instinctive for humans to speak; all babies babble (even deaf ones) and from the welter of sounds they produce learn to repeat and organize the ones their language uses. Yet we do not say that children learn language automatically; we credit them with intelligence as they learn to channel their instinctive actions and use the language instinct in an intelligent way. In the same way, Barber argues, birds have an instinct to claim and defend territories, build nests, attract mates, and raise young; but every one of these activities must be learned and practiced before it is mastered. In support of Barber's claim, it is generally recognized that experienced bird parents raise to maturity a higher percentage of their chicks than do beginning avian parents. If their behavior were purely automatic, it would be mindlessly repeated year after year and there would be no improvement in chick-rearing ability.

Barber's objective is to persuade the reader that birds are thinking, feeling, individualistic living things, and that they deserve to be treated with respect for that reason. He has written a most thought-provoking work, one which is almost impossible to dismiss. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the kinship of living things.

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