Multiple Sclerosis: The Facts (Facts Series)

Book Description

For someone recently diagnosed with MS, or who lives with someone affected by MS, there are enormous new demands placed upon them, both physical and psychological. What has caused the illness? How will it affect their life? What can be done to alleviate the symptoms? Though much information on MS is available, there is a dearth of reliable advice that is based on proper medical research. For the sufferer, the conflicting and unreliable advice available can be a source of great confusion and frustration. As a new edition of a highly acclaimed book on this illness, Multiple Sclerosis: the facts explains in a clear and accessible manner, the symptoms, diagnosis, possible causes of multiple sclerosis, and lifecourse. In recent years there has been much controversy over new treatments such as Interferon, and the possible benefits of some alternative treatments. The new edition has been brought fully up to date and discusses the latest treatment options, including the latest results from trials of Interferon. A book that will be invaluable for those suffering from MS and those caring for them.

Multiple Sclerosis: The Facts You Need (Your Personal Health)

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Knowledge is Power
Exceptionally helpful to someone in their first year
Multiple Sclerosis bible
LOVE IT!
terrific resource

Multiple Sclerosis: The Facts You Need (Your Personal Health)
Paul O'Connor
Manufacturer: Firefly Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

Multiple Sclerosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Nervous System | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Accessories:

ASIN: 1552093670

Book Description

Multiple sclerosis -- MS -- strikes about one in a thousand North Americans, usually in early adulthood, when they are building careers and starting families. Because the disease involves the central nervous system, its effects are wide-ranging and difficult to predict.

Multiple Sclerosis: The Facts You Need -- part of the Your Personal Health Series -- is a fact filled, comprehensive guide to living with MS, supported by diagrams, case histories, a drug table and an extensive list of helpful books and organizations. Topics include:

what MS is, and who gets it;
how MS is diagnosed as "possible," "probable" or "definite";
why the disease affects different people in different ways;
how "relapsing-remitting" MS differs from "progressive" MS;
how people with MS and their families, can adapt their homes, careers and lifestyles to cope with the disease;
which treatments work, which don't and what help is on the horizon.

Combining authoritative medical advice and practical hands-on tips, Multiple Sclerosis: The Facts You Need is an invaluable guide for anyone affected, directly or indirectly by this complex disease.

Customer Reviews:

Knowledge is Power.......2004-02-03

When I was newly diagnosed this was one of the first books I bought. It helped me to understand terms used in MS, and also knowledge that gave me a small sense of control over the disease. Knowledge is power, and this helped me gain that feeling.

Exceptionally helpful to someone in their first year.......2003-12-01

I found this book to be very comprehensive: addressing what MS is, what causes MS, symptoms of MS, diagnosis, symptom management, treatment options, and social aspects. It includes the technical description, but through the use of analogies, makes each description very tangible for the layperson. I found the section on medications (and their evolution) particularly helpful. This book reinforced much of what I've learned through doctors, websites, and support organizations and filled in the gaps where information was lacking. It's an excellent resource for someone who has been newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Multiple Sclerosis bible.......2003-10-10

This is one of the best books ever written for the patient. It explains in clear and concise language all aspects of concern. I have it close at hand and anytime I have a question, 9 times out of 10 it is in the book. A must read for a newly diagnosed person. I call it my bible of MS. In it is a brief history of the disease and right up to the most up to date treatment options. Absolutely love it.

LOVE IT!.......2002-09-13

If you only buy one book about this horrible disease, this is the one. Written by an MD in an easy-to-understand style.

terrific resource.......2001-10-03

I bought this book two days after being diagnosed - it was so helpful in understanding what was going on, how to deal with specific symptoms, what to watch out for, etc. It also explained the treatments - from the steroids to the ABC drugs. I sent sopies to my mom and dad because they were freaking out over the whole diagnosis and I didn;t have enough strength for all of us. Knowledge is power and this one gives really good, up to date info - something critical in managing this disease.

Average customer rating:

Helpful for Transverse Myelitis patients
For the newly diagnosed and those close to them
"Just the Facts, Mam", without Telling You How to Live-It

Multiple Sclerosis Fact Book
RICHARD LECHTENBERG
Manufacturer: DAVIS, F.A., COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Multiple Sclerosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Nervous System | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

Accessories:

ASIN: 0803600747

Customer Reviews:

Helpful for Transverse Myelitis patients.......1999-09-23

I have transverse myelitis, and am constantly searching for any published information on transverse myelitis. In my search, I included information on MS, since it is so closely related to TM. Most of the symptoms and treatments of symptoms are similar in MS and TM, and I found this book to be the most up-to-date, and a valuable reference guide to medications prescribed, how to understand why I am experiencing "sensations", and other questions that I have had. I carry this book wherever I go as a reference "manual". It is written in plain english, so it is easy to read and easy to understand.

For the newly diagnosed and those close to them.......1999-08-26

I found this book extremely helpful as I am being evaluated for MS. Part of the proceeds benefit the MS Society and the author clearly wants to present the disease as he knows it- not as some harmless diagnosis nor some mythical death sentence. Should my possible diagnosis become definitive, I plan to send this book to my family members as what I believe is an accurrate description of life with MS and what lies in store.

"Just the Facts, Mam", without Telling You How to Live-It.......1998-02-12

This book gives the newly diagnosed or the newly interested person the facts of MS. It does not attempt to make you feel good, but leaves you knowing the truth, which for many is what they want to know. It tells you the (1995) treatments (needs update in this regard as new effective treatments continue to become available), gives you accurate stats on the likelihood of progression and other facts you want to know- like genetic susceptibility; tells you the myths about treatments that an MS'r is likely to run into, like curing with diet, vitamins, minerals and other "treatments" long since proven as having no curative value. It also gives helpful symptom relief data. It's a no-nonsense but thoughtful explanation of the truth- Thomas P. Anderson, Ph.D., Psychologist w/MS 10 Yrs.

The Encyclopedia Of Multiple Sclerosis (Facts on File Library of Health and Living)

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The Encyclopedia Of Multiple Sclerosis (Facts on File Library of Health and Living)
Carol Turkington , and Kaye D. Hooper
Manufacturer: Facts on File
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Children's | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Medical | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Diseases | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Multiple Sclerosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Science & Technology | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0816056234

Fast Facts: Multiple Sclerosis (Fast Facts)

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Fast Facts: Multiple Sclerosis (Fast Facts)
George D. Perkin
Manufacturer: Health Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Family & General Practice | Specialties | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Multiple Sclerosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1903734703

Book Description

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common non-traumatic, disabling neurological disease among young adults. However, new diagnostic techniques and advances in treatment have greatly improved early detection and long-term management of this disease.

A multidisciplinary team approach to the patient is essential for the provision of the best possible treatment, so FAST FACTS: MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, in this new edition, is directed to all healthcare professionals working with patients who have this complex disease.

Key features:

Includes the revised set of diagnostic criteria as laid down by the International Panel on the Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.

Reviews new pharmacological approaches to treatment with benefits and risks.

Includes an updated overview of Immunomodulatory drugs.

Covers the current use of steroid therapy for acute attacks and the range of treatment options available to manage symptoms associated with the disease.

Includes the latest information on pain management and the use of cannabinoids.

Book Description

This book explains, in a clear and accessible way, what is currently known about multiple sclerosis. It covers the possible causes of the disease, the way in which it is diagnosed, and the different forms of treatment - both conventional and alternative. It offers practical advice on living
with the disease and coping with its physical and psychological effects. Fully updated to include the most recent advances in knowledge, this third edition covers recent theories of the causes of multiple sclerosis, investigations such as MRI scanning and new treatments including suppression of the
immune system.

Multiple Sclerosis; Facts to Know. : An article from: NWHRC Health Center - Multiple Sclerosis

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Multiple Sclerosis; Facts to Know. : An article from: NWHRC Health Center - Multiple Sclerosis

Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Multiple Sclerosis | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from NWHRC Health Center - Multiple Sclerosis, published by Thomson Gale on March 16, 2005. The length of the article is 491 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: Multiple Sclerosis; Facts to Know.
Publication: NWHRC Health Center - Multiple Sclerosis (Pamphlet)
Date: March 16, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Customer Reviews:

William Johnson's Natchez: The Ante-Bellum Diary of a Free Negro.......2005-10-15

My stepfather asked me to purchase this book for him since he did not have a computer. He read the first 400 pages within 3 days. He called me to tell me that he totally enjoyed this book and he asked me to order the book for another person(he raved so much to this person about the book). He's leaving the book to the family (once he passes on) to let each
member to read and learn about Afro American History.

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William Johnson's Natchez The Ante-Bellum Diary of a Free Negro
William Ransom and DAVIS, Edwin Adams HOGAN
Manufacturer: Louisiana State
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I1RIVU

William Johnson's Natchez: The Ante-Bellum Diary of a Free Negro, Edited By William Ransom Hogan and Edwin Adams Davis

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William Johnson's Natchez: The Ante-Bellum Diary of a Free Negro, Edited By William Ransom Hogan and Edwin Adams Davis
William Johnson
Manufacturer: Kennikat Press, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K02Y0E

Amazon.com

Postville, Iowa (population 1,478), seems an unlikely place to find a sizable Jewish population, let alone an ultra-Orthodox Lubavitcher population. It is, after all, in the heart of pork country, and the world headquarters of the Lubavitchers is far away in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. But when the Hygrade meat processing plant, just outside Postville, went belly-up, threatening the town with decline, Sholom Rubashkin bought it and turned it into a glatt kosher processing plant, complete with shochtim and a rabbinical inspectorate. By the late 1980s, "Postville had more rabbis per capita than any other city in the United States, perhaps the world."

The enterprise was a huge international success, with its kosher meats exported even to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The Jewish population grew to 150, and they were rich. The town was saved, and the people were grateful. All's well that ends well? Not quite. The Hasidim kept to themselves, did things their own way, and basically had no interest in integrating into Postville. And why would they? Their laws are strict, their mission clear, their community defined by race and religion. They are not interested in watermelon socials or coffee klatches at the diner. Their little boys do not swim with their little girls, are not educated together, and do not go on play dates with goyim. Small-town Iowans, on the other hand, are very friendly. They know each other's news, they support each other's businesses, they wish each other Merry Christmas, they want you to feel at home. They don't like that the new townspeople stomp up the street hunched over, talking in a foreign language and looking straight through them when greeted. They really don't like it when one of the newcomers drives around town with a 10-foot candelabra strapped to his car playing music at full volume for eight consecutive winter nights. They don't actually know about menorahs or Hanukkah.

Into this comes secular Jew Stephen Bloom, a professor at the University of Iowa. By the time he arrived in Postville, the town was riven along religious lines. One of the townspeople was running for mayor on the sole platform of annexation of the land on which the plant stood. Rubashkin was threatening that he'd shut the plant and leave if that came to pass. Bloom closely considers both sides, and the result is a wonderful book. It is a fascinating tale of culture clash in the American heartland: the John Deere cap meets the black fur hat. It is a book about identity and community and what it means to be American. It covers all the things you aren't supposed to talk about at the dinner table--religion, politics, and even sex. It is full of suspense: Will the plant be annexed? Will the Jews leave? And it is also Bloom's exploration of his own sense of belonging. --J. Riches

Book Description

In 1987, a group of Lubavitchers, one of the most orthodox and zealous of the Jewish sects, opened a kosher slaughterhouse just outside tiny Postville, Iowa (pop. 1,465). When the business became a worldwide success, Postville found itself both revived and divided. The town's initial welcome of the Jews turned into confusion, dismay, and even disgust. By 1997, the town had engineered a vote on what everyone agreed was actually a referendum: whether or not these Jews should stay.

The quiet, restrained Iowans were astonished at these brash, assertive Hasidic Jews, who ignored the unwritten laws of Iowa behavior in almost every respect. The Lubavitchers, on the other hand, could not compromise with the world of Postville; their religion and their tradition quite literally forbade it. Were the Iowans prejudiced, or were the Lubavitchers simply unbearable?

Award-winning journalist Stephen G. Bloom found himself with a bird's-eye view of this battle and gained a new perspective on questions that haunt America nationwide. What makes a community? How does one accept new and powerfully different traditions? Is money more important than history? In the dramatic and often poignant stories of the people of Postville - Jew and gentile, puzzled and puzzling, unyielding and unstoppable - lies a great swath of America today.

Customer Reviews:

For Everyone.......2007-07-16

What is cultural identity? Matzoh ball soup or holy scripture? John Deere caps or yarmulkes? Postville is a wonderful book because it isn't written as a traditional news report that pretends to be objective and removed from the subject at hand.

Stephen Bloom's book is worth reading because he makes clear that every observer brings predjudices and what Postville reveals is the author's discovery and coming to grips with his own set of beliefs. Are deeply religious people more moral than others? Are American values of freedom really available to everyone?

As an author of a memoir myself (Typo: The Last American Typesetter or How I Made and Lost 4 Million Dollars) that deals with culture clash in Iowa--I couldn't get a flat fixed on my rental car because "Men should know how to change a tire."--I can report that Bloom has nailed the difficulty outsiders have in small towns.

I have also seen first hand how people portrayed in a book will find the worst thing the book says about them and lock onto it. You can see that in the reviews of Postville here on Amazon. Jews think Bloom is an anti-semite. Iowans think he is a snarky city boy.

But Bloom does his best to show all sides of everyone in the story, which makes his narrative more, not less, believable.

Like the book The Seventh Million: The Israelis and the Holocaust that talks about the poor reception for some European Jews by their bretheren in Israel, this book is honest.

Read it, and learn what Bloom has laid out so clearly: all of us are ready to blame someone else for our problems.

Bloom: Journalist, or Embarassed Jew?.......2007-04-17

Firstly, I enjoyed and was fascinated by Postville. Second, I'm a non-Orthodox, yet identifying Jew who hails from the Midwest and who attended University of Missouri-Columbia, quite similar to Iowa City. So yes, Bloom's descriptions were accurate and yes, the stereotypes are lived up to (feed commercials on TV, little in the way of ethnic culture). I also have had contact with ultra-Orthodox Jews; specifically, I have Lubavitch relatives. So I'm qualified to "judge", as it were, all sides involved, or at least no less qualified than Bloom.

Secondly, I too "came down on the side of" the Iowans. In fact, because of Bloom's descriptions of the Lubavitchers -- so antithetical to the behavior that I've come to expect from them -- I began to suspect that perhaps they were not actually Lubavitchers, but posing as Lubavitchers, or some sort of spinoff sect a la those Mormons you read about from whom the church hurries to disassociate itself. In any case, the Postville Lubavitchers certainly didn't resemble any Lubavitchers I've met.

Mostly, a seemingly trivial detail bugged me the entire way through; I say "seemingly", because it actually encapsulates (as does Bloom's stay in Iowa) what I call the American Jewish dilemma, i.e., must we be chained to an urban existence in order to remain Jewish? I'm referring to several instances wherein Bloom went out of his way to tell us that he ate treif food. Not just treif, as in "We stopped in at McDonald's for burgers on our way home", but specifically pork. The minute I read this, my respect for him dropped several notches. What was he thinking by deliberately spelling out to the reader his non-observance of kashrut? That this would endear him to gentile readers? This matter angered me far more than his unsavory descriptions of the Lubavitchers; while he can't control their behavior, he can control his own, or at least not "diss" Jewish observance from the rooftops.

The reviewer who pointed out that the locals' anger at the Lubavitchers' deserting their businesses for Wal-Mart may have been displaced anger at Wal-Mart was on target. After all, we all know what Wal-Mart is doing to small-town America's economy.

I also liked how Bookaholic put it regarding the Lubavitchers' behavior feeding into stereotypes. Indeed. However, the leap that some reviewers make to such behavior explaining anti-Semitism and pogroms -- whoa! That's forbidden territory. Don't even attempt to go there. That's where my intercultural tolerance ends, people. I had assumed that folks who read books are more incisive than that. Or do you, too, believe that an Easter newspaper headline reading "He Is Risen" is actually jounalism?

Read between the lines of this book and learn some of the reasons why Jews are hated.......2006-11-29

Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America looks at how tensions gradually erupt between locals and hasidic Jews who opened a kosher slaughterhouse in a rural farming community. This book was written by a secular Jew from the west coast who had moved to Iowa to take a job as a university professor.

While the author certainly has issues of his own (he actually cites the scoutmaster mentioning Jesus Christ at his sons Boy Scouts meeting as an example of anti-semitism he has experienced in Iowa!) I don't think the most rabid Jew hater could have done a better job of making the Hasidic Lubavitchers look bad. After being taken under the wing of Lubavitchers who wanted to convert him, as a secular Jew, to their Hasidic sect, Bloom in the end exposes the Lubavitchers worst traits. From their petty haggling over prices in local stores over the smallest of items, to their racist attitudes towards "goyim" and "schwartzs", while simultaneously accusing anybody who disagrees with them of being anti-semitic, to their refusal to pay debts and honor contracts in business dealings and other bullying business practices, their importation of illegal immigrant riff raff to this once homogenous crime free town to cheapen their labor costs, even their cruel way of slaughtering animals to make the meat kosher are brought to light. All of these factors, along with the Hasidic Jews refusal to participate in the community other than by using it to make themselves rich, gradually over a period of time caused major tensions between multi-generational locals and the Lubavitchers. On the other hand he does show some of their admirable traits also, like being family oriented and their obsessivly strict adherence to preserving their own culture and customs.

Overall this a very good book that I would recomend to anybody interested in Jewish culture, or anybody that wants to delve into reasons why Jews, who seem to never be able to see the reasons themselves, are often disliked, throughout the world and history, by people of many races and cultures. You can also learn a lot about the tensions and infighting that goes on between secular Jews like Bloom and the Orthodox Jews too.

Disappointing in every way.......2006-09-29

Although the author purports to take an objective view of what he calls the clash of cultures in Postville, his portrait of the conflicts in the town are in no way nuanced or thoughtful. Clearly his ambivalence about his own religious identity has shaped his perception of life in Postville. The author has not taken the time to learn about the Orthodox Jewish traditions he so smugly and sanctimoniously dismisses as "guilt-producing." He manages to reduce his concept of meaningful Judaism to bagels, lox, and pastrami. By the end of the book I found myself wondering why he had bothered to identify himself as Jewish since his view of the religious traditions he derides seem so superficial to him. To me the book failed the basic test of intellectual honesty and clarity of thought. It was in addition, poorly written.

Badly written ant-Semitism.......2006-08-03

I found this book wholly disappointing. It was an extremely narrow and one sided view of not only the Lubavitch community but also Judaism itself. Like the author, I too am Jewish, however, I found the references to common day Jewish practices (such as donning tefillin) offensive, as this was seen as alien whereas in Judaism this is commonplace. Anyone who has had any contact with the Lubavitch community will find them nothing short of extremely hospitable, charitable and welcoming. With regard to their suspicion of the secular world: I think this book is proof, if it were required, that this type of suspicion is justifiable. In defence of the Postville community specifically, I'm amazed that there is little mention of the employment capabilities which the factories bring and the significant number of non-Jews employed by the family. I'm saddened that a Jew insecure as he must be with his own faith, feels it necessary to write a book like this. The book is at best badly written anti-Semitism and at worst a very dangerous attack on a religion to which Mr Bloom claims to belong, as is shown by some of the sadly anti-Semitic comments posted here. At this time in our history, Jews should be rallying to support each other instead of factionalising openly.

Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America

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Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America
Stephen G. Bloom
Manufacturer: Harcourt, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IZE8LO

Postville: a Clash of Cultures in Heartland America. (book review): An article from: American Jewish History

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Postville: a Clash of Cultures in Heartland America. (book review): An article from: American Jewish History
Yaakov Ariel
Manufacturer: American Jewish Historical Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008IP536
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from American Jewish History, published by American Jewish Historical Society on September 1, 2001. The length of the article is 838 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: Postville: a Clash of Cultures in Heartland America. (book review)
Author: Yaakov Ariel
Publication: American Jewish History (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2001
Publisher: American Jewish Historical Society
Volume: 89 Issue: 3 Page: 313(4)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Postville, a Clash of Cultures in Heartland America
Stephen G. Bloom
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJCE56

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Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America
Stephen G. Bloom
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJBQN2

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Hero No. 4 Oct Special Large Edition with Collectors Cards & 2099 Limited Comic
Rob Liefeld
Manufacturer: Marvel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

Batman | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000RC38LE

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The Large Penguins (Williams, Kim, Young Explorer Series. Penguins.)
Kimberly J. Williams , and Erik D. Stoops
Manufacturer: Faulkner's Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Ornithology | Zoology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1890475211

Average customer rating:

Excellent if you enjoy satire

Outrageous satire

An exceedingly unusual but very entertaining novel

the humans are penguins!

Should have been a Monty Python movie!!!

Penguin Island (Large Print Edition)
Anatole France
Manufacturer: BiblioBazaar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
France, Anatole | ( F ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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The Revolt of the Angels

Thais Thais

Le Grand Meaulnes (Penguin Classics)

Verdi - Requiem / Leontyne Price, Luciano Pavarotti, Fiorenza Cossotto, Nikolai Ghiaurov, Herbert von Karajan, La Scala

The Red and the Black (Penguin Classics)

ASIN: 1426404476
Release Date: 2006-07-12

Book Description

"Mael, a scion of a royal family of Cambria, was sent in his ninth year to the Abbey of Yvern so that he might there study both sacred and profane learningâ€¦"

Download Description

Satire in which penguins become human via evolution.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent if you enjoy satire.......2007-08-22

This book is almost one hundred years old and it is still very relevant as a source of universal unchanging truths.

I am reading it as an E-book in the original French. France has a lovely style in his native language which is at the same time poetic, erudite and easy to read. Reading classic satire makes you realize how we are fundamentally the same and will probably never change. I was struck by a section punctuating the conclusion of the Pyrot ( Dreyfuss ) affair in which he comments that it was back to business as usual:

"The government remained under the control of the major financial institutions, the army dedicated exclusively to the defense of capital, the navy served only as a source of orders for the steel industry and the rich refused to pay their fair share of taxes. The poor, as before, paid for them."

Sound like any place you know?

If satire is your thing this is good stuff. It helps to be familiar with French pomposity and European history.

Outrageous satire.......2005-06-22

A pious monk discovers a previously unknown island. He is half deaf and more than half blind with age. Even so, he can see that the diminutive people here are gentle, serious, and not yet Christian. He performs a mass baptism, not realizing that he has created Christian penguins.

So begins France's straight-faced satire of the church, the state, and anything else he can think of. First, the innocents must clothe their nakedness. This creates modesty for them, but also creates immodesty, lust-inducing arts of skirt and bodice, and avarice for finer clothes and baubles. Next, they develop property law, proven by disputes over farmland. They create a noble class, when one demonstrates his nobility by killing another penguin and taking his land. They create a royalty, by means of fraud and extortion. They even create their first saint, the miraculous virgin Ste. Orberosia. She seemed best known for her miraculous virginity, which she proclaimed until her dying day (and we don't argue with saints). In fact, she was able to proclaim her virginity even after dozens or hundreds of encounters that would have destroyed it in less holy a woman - miraculous indeed. Perhaps the penguins weren't born subject to Original Sin, but they're mighty quick with the imitation.

The History of Penguinia moves forward, through ages of avarice, adultery, elaboarate scams, false accusations, and all the usual goings-on of the political world. The events are painfully funny, right down to the cynical, cyclical view of modern times, locked into an historical rhythm. The views are painful only because they're so very true.

I imagine they would have been even more true for me if I knew more about the political current events of France and Europe circa 1900, when this book was being written. I also suspect some wordplay in characters' names that would have been amusing if I knew French. It is a measure of Anatole France's genuius that now, nearly a hundred years later, it's still true enough for a modern reader, and one unfamiliar with the book's original milieu. I imagine this book will reward the prepared reader even more richly.

This is satire at its finest - funny, but with an edge, and funny because it's so very true.

//wiredweird

An exceedingly unusual but very entertaining novel.......2003-12-12

This novel simply isn't like anything else ever written.

A monk visiting an island populated by nothing but penguins accidentally baptizes them, and the saints in heaven debate what is to be done, since baptism can only be done to those with souls. The conclusion is to make the penguins human! The remainder of the book is a history of Penguin Island, which is a clever parody of European history. It may not be everyone's piece of pie, but I defy anyone to say that they have seen its like before.

the humans are penguins!.......2000-04-25

those blasted penguins were baptised and changed into penguins! this satire depicts the history of France! enjoy! :)

Should have been a Monty Python movie!!!.......1998-09-14

Anatole France spares no one in this satire about the the birth life and death of the Penguin empire. Starting from the baptism of the Penguins by St. Mael (and the associated debates in Heaven about the devine status of penguins) through the founding and subsequent fall of the empire, this story pokes fun at the Church, military, courts and every political movement known to man. The trial of poor Pyrot had me in stitches. If you like satire, READ THIS BOOK.

The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (Thorndike Press Large Print Mystery Series)

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One of Donna Andrews best offerings
The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (A Meg Langslow Mystery)
Laughs, Murder, and Zoo Animals
Much better effort!
Donna Andrews has done it again.

The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (Thorndike Press Large Print Mystery Series)
Donna Andrews
Manufacturer: Thorndike Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Women Sleuths | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Mystery & Thrillers | Large Print | Formats | Books
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ASIN: 0786298618

Customer Reviews:

One of Donna Andrews best offerings.......2007-09-08

I've read all of Donna Andrews books, and this one is one of her best yet. The characters are very well defined and if you have any sense of humor at all you'll love this book! I can highly recommend Donna Andrews books. If you want a good story peppered with great humor, these books are for you. The Penguin Who Knew Too Much is a scream! Enjoy!!

The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (A Meg Langslow Mystery).......2007-09-06

Loved it! Have read it repeatedly, and I keep laughing at the antics of Meg's odd family and neighbors. Somehow, I begin to feel that I know them pretty well.

Thanks to Donna Andrews for another great book! I have all her others, in well-worn condition, and am looking forward to her next!

Laughs, Murder, and Zoo Animals.......2007-09-03

Meg and Michael are finally moving into their new house. All of Meg's relatives are coming to help. And in the middle of the house warming party to follow, Meg and Michael plan to slip away to elope.

Everyone is just beginning to work when Meg's dad appears, announces he found a body in the basement while digging a swimming pit for the penguins, and disappears again.

Dead body? Penguins? Unfortunately, both prove to be true.

The penguins are refugees from the local zoo which has closed temporarily due to poor financial management. And they are just the beginning of the animals that begin to show up since Meg's dad has volunteered to take care of any animals that need to be watched.

Even worse, the body turns out to be the zoo's owner. Now Meg has a few days to find the killer and solve her sudden animal problem or risk watching her carefully planned elopement fall apart. Can she do it?

The books in this series are always funny, and this book is no exception. I chuckled and laugh the entire way through. There are some great new characters that provide some of the best laughs of the book. And, of course, there are the antics of the animals as well.

The plot suffered a little at the expense of the comedy. It starts out strong and develops pretty evenly. But the ending seems rushed to me.

Frankly, fans of the series won't care. They'll be laughing so hard at the antics of animal and human alike. This is another treat from a master of humor.

Much better effort!.......2007-08-29

This is much better than her last one (No Rest for the Wicket) and it's a promising return to form for Ms Andrews.

The plot is excellent and the funny lines are back again, as well as the expected rich and colourful cast of characters.

If I have a quibble, it's that Meg's Dad has finally lost his charm and become selfishly oblivious to anything but his own interests. He's happy to abuse Meg's good nature for his own ends. Not only that - he's become stupid. Why on earth would a supposedly intelligent man dig a pond for penguins in Meg's unsuitable basement when there was already a real, outdoor pond available just across the road? The 'Virginia heat' explanation doesn't wash, since the penguins are re-located to the pond almost immediately, and Dr Langslow doesn't give a damn about the heat or the animals' welfare by then... It's a plot device, but with a little more effort there could have been any number of more logical ways to reveal the body.(Ok, it's fiction and I'm picky, but these inconsistencies do jar...)

Apart from that, I really enjoyed the strong story and hope Ms Andrews carries on raising her game. Not as good as 'Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon' but it does give me hope for the next one in the series...

Donna Andrews has done it again........2007-08-27

Once again Donna Andrews has given us a wild and wacky mystery.
This book starts off with Meg's father joyfully asking her to guess what he's found in the basement. She jokingly answers "A body?" and he replies "Oh, rats---you already knew? Well, how soon will the police get here? I need to move the penguins---we don't want them any more upset then they already are."
Meg is off and running from there. With the dubious help of family and friends Meg and Michael are moving into their renovated house, throwing an over the top house warming party and planning to elope in the middle of it all. Now Meg has to add solving the murder to her list of things to do.
Like the other books in this series, this is a well written mystery that is also highly amusing. Anyone who has read the rest of the series will be glad to attend another Hollingsworth get-together with a little murder on-the-side. For those who are new to Meg's world, get ready to enjoy the ride.

The Secret Garden (Penguin Readers, Level 2)

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The Secret Garden (Penguin Readers, Level 2)
F. Hodgson Burnett , Anne Collins , and Annabel Large
Manufacturer: Pearson ESL
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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