The SPARC Open Access Newsletter, issue #139
       November 2, 2009
       by Peter Suber

       Read this issue online
       http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/newsletter/11-02-09.htm


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SOAN is published and sponsored by the Scholarly
Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC).
http://www.arl.org/sparc/

Additional support is provided by Data Conversion
Laboratory (DCL), experts in converting research documents to XML.
http://www.dclab.com/public_access.asp

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Knowledge as a public good

One of the most durable arguments for OA is that
knowledge is and ought to be a public good.  Here
I don't want to restate or evaluate the whole
argument, which is complex and has many
threads.  But I do want to pull at a few of those threads.

What is a public good?  In the technical sense
used by economists, a public good is
non-rivalrous and non-excludable.  A good is
non-rivalrous when it's undiminished by
consumption.  We can all consume it without
depleting it or becoming "rivals".  Radio
broadcasts are non-rivalrous; my reception
doesn't block yours or vice versa.  A good is
non-excludable when consumption is available to
all, and attempts to prevent consumption are
generally ineffective.  Radio broadcasts are
non-excludable for people with the right
equipment in the right area.  Breathable air is
non-excludable for this purpose even though a
variety of barriers, from pollution to
suffocation, could stop people from consuming it.

Knowledge is non-rivalrous.  Your knowledge of a
fact or idea does not block mine, and mine does
not block yours.  Thomas Jefferson described this
situation beautifully in an 1813 letter to Isaac
McPherson:  "If nature has made any one thing
less susceptible than all others of exclusive
property, it is the action of the thinking power
called an idea....Its peculiar character...is
that no one possesses the less, because every
other possesses the whole of it.  He who receives
an idea from me, receives instruction himself
without lessening mine; as he who lights his
taper at mine, receives light without darkening
mine."  (See H.A. Washington, ed., The Writings
of Thomas Jefferson, printed by the United States
Congress, 1853-54, vol. VI, p. 180.)

George Bernard Shaw also described it:  "If you
have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange
apples then you and I will still each have one
apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea
and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will
have two ideas."  (I can't find a source for the
Shaw quotation and would appreciate any help.)

Knowledge is also non-excludable.  We can burn
books, but not all knowledge is from books.  We
can raise the barriers to knowledge, through
prices or punishments, but that only creates
local exceptions for some people or some
knowledge.  When knowledge is available to people
able to learn it, from books, nature, friends,
teachers, or their own senses and experience,
attempts to stop them from learning it are generally unavailing.

The thesis that knowledge is a public good
frequently shows up in critiques of copyright law
for trying to privatize what is intrinsically
public.  But we should be more
precise.  Copyright law, even today in its
grotesquely unbalanced form, recognizes that
knowledge is a public good.  It privatizes only
the expression of ideas, and leaves the ideas
themselves unprivatized, unregulated, and public.

Nonetheless, privatizing the expression of ideas,
such as the texts which capture knowledge,
seriously impedes the sharing of knowledge.  But
we should talk about that impediment clearly.  It
means that *texts* are not public goods, even if
the knowledge they contain remains a public
good.  Hence, to remove impediments to
knowledge-sharing, the job isn't to make
knowledge a public good, which is already
done.  The job is to make texts into public goods as well.

Or the job is to make *some* texts into public
goods.  I want to focus on texts by authors who
consent to make them public goods.  One of the
most important types will be royalty-free
research articles.  Because I believe that
authors of royalty-producing monographs, novels,
and journalism have a right to their royalties,
I'm not interested in making *all* kinds of
copyrighted texts into public goods or at least not without author consent.

Can we make *texts* into public goods?

Texts on paper, skin, clay, or stone are
rivalrous material objects.  Even when we use an
inexpensive medium like paper and an inexpensive
method of reproduction like xerography, the
product is rivalrous.  All texts were rivalrous
before the digital age.  But digital texts are
non-rivalrous.  With the right equipment we can
all have copies of the same digital text without
having to take turns, block one another, multiply
our costs, or deplete our resources.  This may be
the deepest transformation wrought by the digital
revolution.  For the first time in the history of
writing, we can record our non-rivalrous
knowledge without turning it into a rivalrous
material object.  The same revolutionary
liberation from rivalrous media affects sound,
images, and video.  No matter how we record
knowledge today, the recording can be as
non-rivalrous as the underlying knowledge itself, something new under the
sun.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/newsletter/07-02-07.htm#problems

Publishers sometimes object to the taxpayer
argument for OA on the ground that public money
supports many goods, such as buildings or wheat,
which we cannot readily provide to the public
free of charge.  The problem with these
objections is that they pick out rivalrous
material goods as examples.  It's true that we
can't give everyone free access to a building
without making them take turns, or free access to
wheat without rationing.  But the taxpayer
argument for OA is about free access to a
strictly non-rivalrous good where there is no
risk of depletion and no need to take turns or
ration.  In fact, it would cost more to
discriminate among users, and make this
non-rivalrous good available to some and not
others, than to give it freely and indiscriminately to all.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2005/09/another-critique-of-nih-policy-misses\
.html
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2006/05/two-minds-about-frpaa.html

Note that digital texts are non-rivalrous not
because they are publicly-funded, scholarly, or
carry author consent, but because they are
digital.  Hence the public good argument is not
limited to publicly-funded goods, and in that
respect (and a few others) differs from the
taxpayer argument.  Here, though, I am
deliberately limiting it to scholarly texts that carry author consent.

Texts on paper, skin, clay, or stone are are not
only rivalrous; they are also excludable.  As we
know too well, even digital texts online behind
price or password barriers are
excludable.  However, when we choose to put
digital texts online without price or password
barriers, they are not excludable, just as roads
are not excludable when we choose to build them without toll booths.

If we choose, then, we can make texts, not just
the knowledge expressed in texts, into true
public goods that are non-rivalrous and
non-excludable.  Or we could if it were not for
copyright law, the one restriction on would-be
public goods that doesn't arise from the good's
material form.  Free online texts can be
copyrighted.  Forms of sharing facilitated by
revolutionary new technologies may be obstructed
by copyright, and users not excluded by practical
or technical barriers may be excluded by legal barriers.

I put it this way in order to highlight the
anomalous situation in which we find
ourselves.  We possess a revolutionary technology
for knowledge sharing but are often restrained
from using it by laws which (in the relevant
respects) have not changed for more than two
centuries.  It's not just that legal change is
slower than technological change.  The desire for
legal change is either not sufficiently
widespread or is dispersed among the
comparatively powerless and opposed by the
comparatively powerful.  Some of us want to seize
the opportunities created by digital media and
lift the legal restrictions on new kinds of
knowledge sharing.  But many others want to keep
the restrictions in place and force us to forego
the full benefits of our revolutionary
technology.  We're divided on whether to seize or
fear the opportunities created by the internet.

This is a good moment to remember that copyright
law originated in the 18th century when full-text
copying of any lengthy text was a time-consuming
and error-prone job.  When copyright arose, and
for centuries after, it prohibited acts that were
difficult to commit.  But today it prohibits acts
that are easy to commit.  That doesn't invalidate
copyright law, as law.  But it reduces the law's
effectiveness as a barrier of exclusion, even if
it ought not to reduce its effectiveness.  The
compliance arising from the difficulty of
violation is no longer quite so invisibly blended
together with the compliance arising from respect
for the law.  Hence our understanding of the
extent of respect for the law is not quite so
distorted.  In fact, compliance is down.  Way
down.  Speaking for the US, I doubt that we've
seen more widespread and conspicuous violation of any laws since
Prohibition.

If the barriers that count against public goods
are practical or technical, then digital goods of
all sorts may already be public goods.  But if
legal barriers count as well, and they should,
then we must address them as well.

Can we make *copyrighted* texts into public
goods?  Again, the answer is yes.  With the
copyright holder's consent, we can remove the
legal barriers which obstruct free
sharing.  Without the copyright holder's consent,
we can get the same or better result if we wait
for the copyright to expire.  But here I'll focus
on methods that don't require delays of up to a
century or more:  the life of the author plus 70 years.

Both green OA and gold OA rely on
copyright-holder consent.  As a practical matter,
the expiration of copyright is only a legal basis
for OA when we are talking about digitizing old
texts, not distributing new ones.

Authors are the copyright holders until they
decide to transfer their rights away, for
example, to a publisher.  If they authorize OA
while they are still the copyright holders, then
authors can make their works into public
goods.  If they transfer their rights to an OA
journal and the journal uses the rights to
authorize OA, then the journal can make the works into public goods.

When journals don't provide OA on their own (gold
OA), more often than not they are willing to let
authors provide OA through a repository (green
OA).  When journals don't allow even that,
authors can try to retain the right to authorize OA themselves.

Can we make copyrighted texts into public goods
even when publishers are unwilling to authorize
it and unwilling to let authors retain the right to authorize it?

Again the answer is yes.  Even in this case there
are several lawful ways to make texts into public
goods.  The most effective is the method
pioneered by the Wellcome Trust and now used by
the NIH and about a dozen other funding
agencies.  It rests on the simple fact that
funders are upstream from publishers.  Authors
sign funding contracts before they sign
publishing contracts.  If the funding contract
requires authors to retain key rights and use
them to authorize OA, then the author's eventual
publisher comes on the scene too late to
interfere.  Authors could always choose to avoid
publishers unwilling to allow OA, but the
Wellcome/NIH method tends to elicit publisher
accommodation and therefore to keep all
publishers within the circle of eligible destinations.

The trick is to keep the relevant rights in the
hands of someone who will authorize
OA.  Publishers like to use the language of
expropriation when protesting the NIH policy, as
if publishers owned the relevant rights and the
NIH seized them or blocked their exercise.  But
the beauty of the Wellcome/NIH method is that it
prevents publishers from owning the relevant
rights.  Authors retain them, use them to
authorize OA, and only transfer the rest of the
bundle to publishers.  Publishers have the right
to refuse to publish work by Wellcome- or
NIH-funded authors, but they choose not to
exercise it.  The NIH, for example, is putting
publishers to the choice of accommodating the
policy or refusing the publish NIH-funded
research.  This is hard bargaining, not
expropriation.  It's just what publishers have
been doing to authors, in order to make research
a private good, until some funders took the side
of authors, in order to make research a public good.

Green OA mandates at universities represent one
way to generalize the funder
approach.  Universities and funders are two
different institutions, with different kinds of
influence over publishing scholars, using their
influence to make research texts into public
goods.  Instead of making OA a condition of
funding, they can make it a condition of
employment.  Or faculty, seeing the benefits of
OA, can self-impose this condition on
themselves.  At 16 universities, OA policies have
been self-imposed by unanimous votes.

(In SOAN for June 2009, I listed 12 universities
where the relevant faculty bodies adopted green
OA mandates by unanimous votes.  Since then
unanimous votes by the relevant bodies have
occurred, or come to light, at University College
London, Copenhagen Business School, the York
University librarians, and Venezuela's Universidad de Oriente.)
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/newsletter/06-02-09.htm#maryland

* But there's another way to generalize the
funder approach, or a gold rather than green
way:  When you pay for something, insist on
getting what you want.  It's remarkable how
little this method has been used by universities.

Roads are public goods which we generally succeed
in treating as public goods.  By contrast,
knowledge is a public good whose most important
embodiments and manifestations we treat as
private commodities, despite the ease of taking a
different course and despite the palpable harm
our present course inflicts on research, health
care, the environment, public safety, and every
aspect of life which depends on research.  How
did we avoid this problem with roads?  What can we learn from roads?

We treat roads as public goods when we don't
require users to pay to use them, which would
exclude drivers who can't afford to pay.  (This,
by the way, is what's wrong with the
cost-recovery model for public data:  it excludes
people from access to something which is or ought
to be a public good.)  But we don't expect road
builders donate their labor and
materials.  Instead, we pay them upfront so that
they don't have to decline the job, work as
volunteers, or seek their compensation after the
fact by installing toll booths.  If we want a
toll-free road and offer to pay for one, we can
find usually find a first-class road builder willing to make one for us.

Governments get the kinds of roads they want
because they ask for them.  They contract for
them.  It helps that governments are just about
the only entities buying roads.  That inclines
road builders to listen when governments describe
what they want.  Universities should be just as
specific in saying what kinds of journals they
want.  It should help that universities are just
about the only entities buying peer-reviewed scholarly journals.

When I say that universities buy journals, of
course I mean university libraries.  But want to
spotlight the larger institution in order to
broaden the responsibility for change.  If we are
going to take any deliberate steps toward the
road-building model for journals, the steps will
be more successful if approved by university
administrators, not just librarians.

There are some important differences between road
builders and publishers, of course.  For example,
road builders concentrate on custom work.  Every
job is a one-off, built to the specs of a
client.  Road builders don't make many copies of
a new road and hope to sell different copies to
different buyers --a model which, where it
exists, reduces the bargaining power of
individual buyers.  As a result publishers have
more bargaining power with universities than road
builders have with governments.  A related
difference is that there are often many road
builders bidding for the same job.  Governments
commissioning roads enjoy the benefits of a
buyer's market.  If a road builder insists on an
unacceptable condition, the government can
usually deny the bid, look elsewhere, and get
what it wants.  Another difference is that when
several governments with a common interest
commission a road together, they face no
anti-trust problems.  A final difference --to cut
the list short-- is that governments tend to care
only about the quality and price of roads and
road builders, not their prestige.

These differences are reasons not to expect the
same solution for scholarship.  But they don't foreclose an analogous
solution.

Universities and libraries could demand change as
a condition of their enormous annual layouts for
journals.  "If we're going to pay for your
services, then we want the following
terms...."  If universities want toll-free
journals, they could specify that in the
purchasing contract, as governments do when they want toll-free roads.

There's no contradiction, by the way, in "paying
for" a "toll-free" journal.  I'm imagining that
universities, individually or collectively, would
pay for the production of a journal but insist
that the journal be OA, or free even for those
who don't pay.  The situation is the same for a
government "paying for" a "toll-free" road.

Here we have to work through some of the
differences between road builders and
publishers.  Universities won't have much
bargaining power as long as publishers put out
"must-have" journals and universities are
unwilling to cancel.  We're still in that epoch,
but we're in the late stages.  Decades of
hyperinflationary price increases are pushing us
past it.  Every year universities cancel journals
that were "must-have" just a few years
earlier.  The longer subscription journal prices
rise faster than inflation, the more universities
will be forced to cancel valued titles, and the
more realistically they can threaten to cancel
others in the future.  Though we're still moiling
through this historical change, after a critical
point universities will be able to tell
publishers, "This is what we want.  If you can't
provide it, we'll find someone who will."

Today the converse is more common:  publishers
can tell universities, "This is what we're
selling.  If you don't want it, we'll sell to others who do."

Imagine a world in which for centuries all roads
had been toll roads.  The very idea of a toll
free road is new and unheard of.  Then imagine a
town trying to commission a toll-free road.  The
road builder might say, "No, sorry.  That's not
what I do.  I can build you a toll road.  Take it
or leave it."  Now imagine all the towns in a
country or large region jointly commissioning a toll-free road.

It makes a huge difference who can say "take it
or leave it" in a negotiation.  Right now
publishers tend to hold that privileged
position.  But as prices and cancellations keep
rising, the positions are reversing.  Even apart
from the average balance of bargaining power,
slowly shifting to universities, there is the
bargaining power over specific titles.  The
desirability of journals is a matter of degree,
despite the binary sound of "must-have".  Some
high-demand journals may be unthreatened by all
recent developments.  But the set of unthreatened
journals is shrinking, and set for which
universities could modify basic terms to better
serve research and researchers is growing.  For a
growing number of journals overall, universities
could cancel, threaten to cancel, or bargain effectively, if they wanted to.

If we don't want to wait for slow processes to
shift more bargaining power to universities, then
concerted action could change the picture
overnight.  If anti-trust law blocks concerted
action, universities could achieve much the same
result by making individual, independent,
convergent requests of publishers.  This is
feasible to the extent that universities really
do have a common interest (say) in OA, and could
start to demand what they want, separately and
without coordination.  In general, publishers
have more bargaining power than universities
today because they are more aggressive in acting
on their own interests, not because they act as a
cartel.  Universities could be more aggressive in
acting on their own interests and avoid any whiff of cartel.

(If concerted university action does raise
anti-trust problems, on which I have no opinion,
then note the irony that in this case anti-trust
law would not block a private monopoly opposing
the public interest but block a public good advancing the public interest.)

Universities that act alone for better terms from
publishers are as unlikely to succeed as workers
who ask for raises alone.  But universities can
act together without acting as a cartel if
critical numbers of them become courageous about
seeking their own interests at about the same
time.  Without critical numbers and critical
timing, early requests will simply be
rejected.  But as soon as some large institutions
or clusters of institutions start to win
concessions, it will be easier for the next
institutions to make the same requests and build on the momentum.

To adapt a point I made last December:
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/newsletter/12-02-08.htm#predictions

>If it's tried too soon, [early universities will
>be rejected].  But after a point, when other OA
>initiatives have had their effect, and more TA
>[toll access] publishers have adapted to an OA
>world, universities will encounter fewer flat
>refusals and the [university demands for better
>terms] will trigger more publisher accommodation
>than publisher resistance.  Enlightened
>[universities] will be watching for that moment
>and testing the waters.  Because the odds of
>success soar as more universities adopt similar
>policies, or because followers take fewer risks
>than leaders, [university demands for OA from
>publishers] may spread quickly once they are adopted.

Finally, as I argued elsewhere in the same piece,
the recession adds a new layer of opportunity:

>[A]s the recession deepens, universities will
>face an opportunity similar to the one now faced
>by governments.  It may sound strange to call
>the financial crisis an opportunity for
>governments.  Certainly no government would
>mortgage its future with massive bailouts unless
>forced by the prospects of disaster.  But the
>bailout of large banks and manufacturers is an
>opportunity to demand transformations from these
>banks and manufacturers that address long-term
>problems.  Universities could seize the same
>opportunity.  They could wake up to their power
>as buyers --virtually the only buyers-- of
>scholarly journals and demand transformations
>that better serve the interests of the research
>community....They could offer to make future
>payments to publishers conditional upon
>friendlier access policies, and initiate a
>transition from reader-pays TA to institutionally-subsidized OA....

Another of the relevant differences is that a
government would never reject a low bid, let
alone relinquish its demand for a toll-free road,
just because a certain road or road builder had
prestige among drivers.  There are no "must-have"
roads that override a government's specs for a
needed new freeway.  This is part of the
imbalance of bargaining power between
universities and publishers, but the existence of
prestige adds a new element.  Journal prestige
attracts authors, readers, and subscribers, and
it's not changing as fast as the economics of
library acquisitions.  Universities may be
increasing their cancellations of high-prestige
journals, thanks to the price hikes instituted by
the journals themselves, and this makes prestige
less decisive at renewal time.  But it doesn't
reduce journal prestige itself or its role in attracting authors and
readers.

Even if roads had prestige, drivers would not
demand prestige over quality and access.  That
kind of thing only happens in the demented world
of scholarship, where authors, publishers, and
tenure committees all routinely put prestige
ahead of quality, when the two differ, and ahead of access.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/newsletter/09-02-08.htm#prestige

Because prestige or brand is not a factor in road
building, road builders tend to be fungible to
governments.  For road builders willing to build
a given road according to spec, the most relevant
difference among them will be their bids.  If
their reputations come into play, it will be
their reputations for finishing jobs on time and
under budget.  Prestige, brand, and reputation
are much more significant in publishing.  We
shouldn't expect that to change on its own.  But
universities could change it if they exerted
themselves.  Every year universities cancel more
high-prestige titles, giving them more bargaining
power over the titles they renew.  If this
gradual shift of bargaining power is too little,
too slow, concerted action can always make change
sudden.  Universities don't have to pretend that
prestige, brand, and reputation don't exist or
don't matter.  They only have to realize that
they are just about the only buyers of these
journals and have untapped power to demand better terms.

Part of the road builder model is that road
builders are adequately paid.  Their bids cover
their costs and some margin, and a scholarly
analogue to the road builder model should do the
same.  If we could do that, then it should answer
most publisher objections about the transition to
gold OA, which have been based on financial risk.

As the PLoS analogy of publishers as midwives
always suggested, the idea is to stop the midwife
from keeping the baby, not to avoid paying for services rendered.

Of course adequate payment won't answer the
objection that publishers deserve 30% profit
margins, or the objection that it's demeaning for
publishers to work on spec.  But if we can
separate the publishers who only object to
financial risk from the others, and eliminate
financial risk by offering adequate remuneration,
then universities could work with the publishers
who are ready to work with them.  As for rest, we
can take advantage of a further difference
between universities and publishers.  Nearly all
authors, referees, and editors of scholarly
journals work in universities, and the internet
allows us to distribute perfect copies of
non-rivalrous digital files to a worldwide
audience at zero marginal cost.  When publishers
are not willing to help, even when adequately
paid, then we can work around
them.  Unfortunately for governments facing
recalcitrant road builders and a dearth of
effective competition, disintermediation is not an option.

* Postscript.  Fortuitously, I had already chosen
this month's topic and was well into my draft
when the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
announced that Elinor Ostrom had won the Nobel Prize for economics.
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/2009/press.html

Ostrom's lifework has focused on showing that
commons need not be tragic, even when they
consist of rivalrous and depletable resources
like fish stocks or woodlands, and need not be
privatized to be well-managed.  She has also
written extensively on knowledge commons, which
are not rivalrous or depletable.

For a quick sense of how her work on common
property connects with the special case of an
information or knowledge commons, see her video
press conference at Indiana University the day
the prize was announced.  At minute 18:40 she
says, "The work of Garrett Hardin we tested in
the lab.  If you...are facing a problem like a
fishery, and no communication is allowed, people
overharvest *drastically*.  Simply allowing
people to communicate and discuss what they can
do --*simply* communication-- makes a huge
difference [in avoiding overharvesting].  When in
addition people can design in a lab the rules
that they will follow in the future, then they get up to 92% of optimal."
http://www.indiana.edu/~radiotv/asx/npe_20091012.asx

Here's some of her work on the commons of
information, knowledge, and scholarly
communication, all of it on deposit in the
Digital Library of the Commons, the OA repository
launched by her institute at Indiana University.
http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/

--Charlotte Hess and Elinor Ostrom, Artifacts,
Facilities, and Content: Information as a
Common-Pool Resource, a conference presentation
at Duke Law School, October 17, 2001.
http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/handle/10535/1762

--Charlotte Hess and Elinor Ostrom, Ideas,
Artifacts, And Facilities: Information As A
Common-Pool Resource, Law & Contemporary
Problems, 66 (2003) pp. 111ff.  See esp. Section
V, The Evolution of Scholarly Information.
http://www.law.duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?66+Law+&+Contemp.+Probs.+111+(WinterSpring\
+2003)

--Charlotte Hess and Elinor Ostrom (eds.),
Understanding Knowledge as a Commons: From Theory to Practice, MIT Press,
2006.
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11012
(These are the revised proceedings of a small
workshop she and her research group sponsored at
Indiana University in 2004, in which I had the pleasure of participating.)

--Charlotte Hess and Elinor Ostrom, Introduction:
An Overview of the Knowledge Commons
http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/0262083574intro1.pdf
(Their introduction to the 2006 MIT book above.)

An excerpt from the introduction:

>First, open access to information is a horse of
>a much different color than open access to land
>or water. In the latter case, open access can
>mean a free-for-all, as in Hardin's grazing
>lands, leading to overconsumption and depletion.
>With distributed knowledge and information the
>resource is usually nonrivalrous....In this
>instance, instead of having negative effects,
>open access of information provides a universal
>public good: the more quality information, the greater the public good.

--Elinor Ostrom and Charlotte Hess, A Framework
for Analyzing the Knowledge Commons
http://dlcvm.dlib.indiana.edu/archive/00002109/
(Their contribution, as opposed to their
introduction, to the 2006 MIT book above.)

--Charlotte Hess and Elinor Ostrom, Studying
Scholarly Communication: Can Commons Research and
the IAD Framework Help Illuminate Complex
Dilemmas?  A conference presentation at Oaxaca, Mexico, May 10, 2004.
http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/handle/10535/2147

For my contribution to the 2006 MIT book above,
see:  Peter Suber, Creating an Intellectual Commons Through Open Access.
http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/bitstream/handle/123456789/4445/Suber_Creating_0\
41004.pdf?sequence=1

For the other contributions to the book, search
by author in the Digital Library of the Commons.
http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/

Note that most of Ostrom's work on knowledge
commons was co-authored by Charlotte Hess,
formerly a colleague at Indiana University but
since September 2008 the Associate Dean for
Collections and Scholarly Communication at
Syracuse University Library.  Here are a few
relevant pieces Hess wrote without Ostrom:

--Charlotte Hess, Dilemmas of Building a
Sustainable Equitable Information Resource, a
conference paper at IASCP, Vancouver, June 10-14, 1998.
http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/handle/10535/559

--Charlotte Hess, The Knowledge Commons: Theory
and Collective Action; or Kollektive
Aktionismus?  A conference paper at the Wizards of OS 2, June 10-12, 2004.
http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/handle/10535/2307

--Charlotte Hess, Resource Guide for Authors:
Open Access, Copyright, and the Digital Commons,
The Common Property Resource Digest, March 2005.
http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/handle/10535/3339

Here are some of the better articles and blog
posts on Ostrom's work since her prize was
announced, highlighting the features most
relevant to OA and the knowledge commons.

--David Bollier, Elinor Ostrom And The Digital
Commons, Forbes, October 13, 2009.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/13/open-source-net-neutrality-elinor-ostrom-nobel-\
opinions-contributors-david-bollier.html

--David Bollier, Putting People Back into
Economics, On the Commons, October 13, 2009.
http://www.onthecommons.org/content.php?id=2540

--Andy Kaplan-Myrth, Elinor Ostrom's theories
applied to Copyright: this Commons is certainly
not Tragic, Myrth on a Blog, October 27, 2009.
http://blog.kaplan-myrth.ca/elinor-ostroms-theories-applied-to-copyright?c=1

--Mike Linksvayer, Nobel Prize in Economics to
Elinor Ostrom "for her analysis of economic
governance, especially the commons", Creative Commons blog, October 12,
2009.
http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/18426

--Daniel Moss, Nobel Prize in economics a big
boost to commons and blow to corporate control, Grist, October 13, 2009
http://www.grist.org/article/2009-10-13-nobel-economics-prize-a-big-boost-to-com\
mons-and-blow-to-corpora/

--Jay Walljasper, Tragedy of the Commons R.I.P.,
On the Commons, October 13, 2009.
http://www.onthecommons.org/content.php?id=2542

----------

Roundup

Here's what happened, or what I noticed, since
the last issue of the newsletter, emphasizing
action and policy over scholarship and
opinion.  I put the most important items first,
with double asterisks, and otherwise cluster them loosely by topic.

October 2009 was the richest month to date for OA
action and policy, thanks to the first
international OA Week (October 19-23, 2009).   In
this list, as usual, I omit scholarship and
opinion, including journal articles and
conference presentations.  For a more complete
account of OA Week activities, see the Open
Access Week blog, from the OA Week sponsors, or
the catalog of Events celebrating Open Access
Week, from the Open Access Directory.  The latter
is a wiki, btw, and it's not too late to include
omitted events in order to complete the record.
<http://www.openaccessweek.org/>http://www.openaccessweek.org/
http://oad.simmons.edu/oadwiki/Events_celebrating_Open_Access_Week

+ Policies

** The Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet
or VR) adopted an OA mandate to take effect  on
January 1, 2010.  It requires green OA within six
months of publication for all conference reports
and peer-reviewed journal articles based on VR-funded research.
http://www.vr.se/inenglish/fromus/news/newsarchive/news2009/news2009/theswedishr\
esearchcouncilrequiresfreeaccesstoresearchresults.5.227c330c123c73dc586800012074\
.html

** The National Center for Atmospheric Research
(NCAR), a US federally funded lab sponsored by
the National Science Foundation, adopted an OA mandate.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/oa-mandate-at-us-national-lab.html

** The University of Salford adopted an OA
mandate to take effect on January 1, 2010.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5188.html
http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/about/news/2791

** The Academic Council of Venezuela's
Universidad de Oriente voted unanimously to adopt
an OA policy.  The university plans to launch an IR this month.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/venezuelan-university-adopts-oa-polic\
y.html

** The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya adopted an OA policy.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/catalan-university-adopts-oa-policy.h\
tml

** Trinity University adopted an OA policy, the
first "small, primarily undergraduate liberal
arts institution" to do so.  (The policy details have not yet been
released.)
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5219.html
http://www.trinity.edu/departments/public_relations/news_releases/091023openacce\
ss.htm

** India's Madurai Kamaraj University launched an
IR and adopted a green OA mandate.  (The policy
details have not yet been released.)
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5220.html
http://www.eprints.org/openaccess/policysignup/fullinfo.php?inst=Madurai%20Kamar\
aj%20University

** The Faculty Senate at the University of
Virginia will vote on an OA mandate November 20.
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/2009/10/26/requiring-the-right-rights/

* Rita Cheng, Provost and Vice Chancellor for
Academic Affairs at the University of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee, announced plans to create an Open
Access Task Force to recommend an OA policy at UMW.
http://michaelzimmer.org/2009/10/22/uw-milwaukee-takes-steps-for-open-access/

* The Student Senate at the University of
Tennessee discussed the launch of an OA repository for the university.
http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/showarticle.php?articleid=55814

* An editorial in the Georgetown University
student newspaper called on the university to
expand its OpenCourseWare program and adopt a green OA mandate.
http://www.georgetownvoice.com/2009/10/07/gu-should-embrace-open-access/

* An op-ed in the Yale student newspaper called on Yale to adopt an OA
policy.
http://www.yaledailynews.com/opinion/guest-columns/2009/10/19/kamdar-and-somers-\
open-yale/

* The Dartmouth Council on Libraries is
considering the launch of an institutional repository.
http://thedartmouth.com/2009/10/13/news/steering

* In September when Dartmouth joined the Compact
for Open-Access Publication Equity (COPE), it
also launched is own fund to pay publication fees at fee-based OA journals.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/cope-fund-at-dartmouth.html

* JISC is asking UK universities whether it
should "create a centrally administered open
access publication fee service for UK Higher Education Institutions".
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/national-strategy-on-author-funds.htm\
l

* In June 2009 the UK Department for
International Development (DFID) announced plans to adopt an OA policy.
http://www.research4development.info/PDF/Publications/GuidanceNote_OpenAccess.pd\
f

* The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) is
now willing to fund universities to cover faculty
publication fees at fee-based OA journals.
http://www.idw-online.de/pages/de/news338532
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/german-research-foundation-funding-fo\
r.html

* Austria's Förderung der wissenschaftlichen
Forschung (Fund to Promote Scientific Research,
FWF) is now willing to pay publication costs for
OA monographs, anthologies, and conference
proceedings, not just journal articles.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5163.html

* The latest working drafts of the Paris Accord
Round II call for public and private research
funders to make OA a condition of funding.
http://www.tacd-ip.org/blog/the-paris-accord/scholarly-publishing/#2006

* A session on OA at an EC-hosted conference
(European Research Area Conference 2009,
Brussels, October 21-23, 2009) was charged "to
come up with recommendations for policies on Open
Access that the Commission can take forward."
http://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2009/era2009/index_en.htm
http://www.openscholarship.org/jcms/c_6877/open-access-week-2009

* SURF endorsed EnablingOpenScholarship (EOS).
http://www.openscholarship.org/jcms/c_6862/eos-is-endorsed-by-surf

* The LIBER (Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes
de Recherche) Strategic Plan 2009-2012 includes
collaboration with SPARC Europe and DRIVER to
promote OA in Europe, especially green OA.
http://www.libereurope.eu/files/LIBER%20Strategy%20v8.pdf

* The sponsors of OA Week in Cuba launched the
Grupo de trabajo de Políticas para el Acceso
Abierto (Working Group for Open Access Policy).
http://www.idict.cu/acceso_abierto http://bit.ly/otWTr

* The African Copyright & Access to Knowledge
Project (ACA2K) urged African countries to
"create and populate Open Access Institutional
Repositories/Research Archives to showcase African research."
http://www.aca2k.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=229:tips-for-d\
eveloping-countries-when-reviewing-copyright-laws&catid=69:denise&lang=en

* The business-oriented Committee for Economic
Development released a major report in support of
"openness to improve research, teaching, and
learning".  It explicitly supports the NIH policy and FRPAA.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/draft-report-on-openness-in-higher-ed\
.html

* Congressional staffers report that healthcare
reform is pushing other legislation, including
FRPAA, to a back burner.  A House version of
FRPAA to match the Senate version is in the works.
http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/56046/

* In the US House of Representatives, Rep. Frank
Kratovil (D-MD) introduced a bill (H.R. 3762) to
provide OA for CRS (Congressional Research
Service) Reports.  Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
introduced a Senate version (S. Res. 118) in April.
http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=3885

* In the US Senate, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) is
holding up consideration of a $33.5 billion
appropriations bill for energy and water because
it does not include his amendment to require the
public disclosure of certain reports from federal agencies to Congress.
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1009/100909cdam2.htm

* John Boehner (R-OH) and James Bunning (R-KY)
plan to introduce a bill requiring Congress to
provide OA for all bills at least 72 hours before they come up for a vote.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/62191-boehner-bunning-post-bill\
s-committee-work-online

* After an eight-month delay, with most horses
out of the barn, the US Treasury finally adopted
a set of rules for the public disclosure of
corporate lobbying for TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) funds.
http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/2009/10/15/tarp-lobbying-rules/

* After operating in secret since last summer,
the US House Committee on Science and Technology
"Scholarly Publishing Roundtable" released a
status report, membership list, and member bios.
The Roundtable's recommendations should be made public soon.
http://www.aau.edu/policy/scholarly.aspx?id=6894

* A group of activists drafting the Open
Declaration on European Public Services 2.0
invited public participation and comment.  The
declaration calls for OA to European PSI and will
be presented at the EU's 5th Ministerial
eGovernment Meeting and Conference (Malmö, November 18-20, 2009).
http://eups20.wordpress.com/the-open-declaration/

* Students for Free Culture called for volunteers
to join its Open University Campaign.  The
campaign includes a recommendation that universities adopt OA mandates.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/recruiting-volunteers-for-open.html

* Two more student organizations signed the
Student Statement on The Right to Research: the
Simmons College Library and Information Science
Student Association and the University of
Tennessee Student Government Association.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/open-access-roundup_29.html

* Bill Gasarch posted his Journal Manifesto 2.0,
seven steps that researchers can take on their
own without appealing to publishers, funders, or universities.  All support
OA.
http://blog.computationalcomplexity.org/2009/10/journal-manifesto-20.html

* Daniel Lemire posted his Simplified Open
Publishing Manifesto (a simplified version of
Bill Gasarch's Journal Manifesto, above).
http://www.daniel-lemire.com/blog/archives/2009/10/01/a-simplified-open-publishi\
ng-manifesto/

+ Journals

* Automated Experimentation is a new peer-reviewed OA journal from BMC.
http://www.aejournal.net/

* Experimental & Translational Stroke Medicine is
a new peer-reviewed OA journal from BMC.
http://www.etsmjournal.com/home

* Experimental & Translational Stroke Medicine is
a new peer-reviewed OA journal from BMC.
http://www.etsmjournal.com/home

* EvoDevo is a new peer-reviewed OA journal of
evolutionary developmental biology published by BMC.
http://blogs.openaccesscentral.com/blogs/bmcblog/entry/evodevo_is_now_accepting_\
submissions

* BioMed Central launched a Stem Cells Gateway,
an OA portal of stem-cell research published in BMC journals.
http://blogs.openaccesscentral.com/blogs/bmcblog/entry/biomed_central_opens_new_\
stem

* Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome is a new
peer-reviewed OA journal from the Brazilian Diabetes Society.
http://www.dmsjournal.com/

* The Journal of Participatory Medicine is a new
peer-reviewed OA journal from the Society for Participatory Medicine.
http://jopm.org/index.php/jpm/index

* craft + design enquiry is a new peer-reviewed
OA journal from the Craft Australia Research Centre.
http://www.craftaustralia.org.au/cde/index.php/cde

* Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music
Culture is a new peer-reviewed OA journal from
the University of East London's Centre for Cultural Studies Research.
http://dj.dancecult.net/index.php/journal/index

* Études caribéennes is a new peer-reviewed OA
journal at Revues.org, published by the
Université des Antilles et de la Guyane.
http://www.revues.org/6344

* The Journal of Biomedical Sciences and Research
and Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and
Technology are two new peer-reviewed OA journals from Pharmainfo
Publications.
http://www.onlinepharmacytech.info/

* The Journal of Clinical Immunology and
Immunopathology Research is a new peer-reviewed
OA journal from Academic Journals.  (As I go to press, the link is dead.)
http://www.academicjournals.org/JCIIR/

* The International Journal of Physiotherapy &
Rehabilitation is a new peer-reviewed OA journal.
https://ijptr.com/index.php/ijptr

* The Pan African Medical Journal is a new peer-reviewed OA journal.
http://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/

* The Journal for International Counselor
Education is a new peer-reviewed OA journal.
http://digitalcommons.library.unlv.edu/jice/

* Nature released an OA News Special on neuroscience.
http://www.nature.com/news/specials/neuroscience/index.html

* Amicus is a new OA supplement to the Harvard
Civil Rights - Civil Liberties Law Review, launched as part of OA Week.
http://harvardcrcl.org/amicus/about/

* Fibonacci is a new OA magazine published under
a CC-BY-SA license by Students Forum for Free Open Source Software.
http://sf-foss.iiitm.ac.in/fibonacci/index.php

* The Fraunhofer Gesellschaft published the first
issue of its newsletter on OA activities within the FG.
http://eprints.fraunhofer.de/newsletter/

* Filozofski vestnik International, a
peer-reviewed philosophy journal from the
Institute of Philosophy, Scientific Research
Centre of the Slovenian Academy of the Arts and
Sciences, converted to OA and moved to the Open Humanities Press.
http://openhumanitiespress.org/OHP-Press-Release_5-October-2009.pdf

* The Bulletin of the Geological Society of
Denmark decided to convert to OA.  The journal
site will soon be updated to reflect the new policy.
http://my.opera.com/nielsol/blog/2009/10/26/bulletin-of-the-geological-society-o\
f-denmark-now-open-access

* Therapeutic Hypothermia is a forthcoming
peer-reviewed OA journal from Mary Ann Liebert,
Inc. Its first issue is expected in February 2010.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167034.php

* The Internet-Beiträge zur Ägyptologie und
Sudanarchäologie (IBAES), launched in 1998, provided OA to its full
backfile.
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2009/10/open-access-series-ibaes-internet\
.html

* The ANZIAM Journal from the Australian
Mathematical Society provided OA to 25 years of
its backfile, all but the most recent five years.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5177.html

* LOCKSS is providing continuing OA to Pain
Reviews, an OA journal that folded in 2002.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5210.html

* The UK ticTOCs project recommended that
journals provide unrestricted access to RSS feeds of their tables of
contents.
http://oxford.crossref.org/best_practice/rss/

* The Wellcome Trust called for greater
transparency from hybrid OA journals to show that
they are not "being paid twice [for their OA
articles], once through subscriptions and again
through publication fees."  At the same time, the
WT announced that it was allocating an additional
£2 million to cover publication fees at OA
journals for grantees over the next year.
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/Media-office/Press-releases/2009/WTX057058.htm

* The UK National Institute for Health Research
(NIHR) entered a "Supporter Membership
arrangement" with BioMed Central under which all
NIHR-funded researchers who publish in BMC
journals will receive a 15% discount on publication fees.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5175.html

* MIT announced that four more society publishers
are cooperating with the MIT OA policy:  the
American Mathematical Society (AMS), the Optical
Society of America (OSA), the American Institute
of Physics (AIP), and the American Vacuum Society
(AVS).  This means that MIT faculty publishing in
their journals needn't use an author addendum or request a policy waiver.
http://news-libraries.mit.edu/blog/american-mathematical/2158/
http://news-libraries.mit.edu/blog/american-institute/2086/

* Elizabeth H. Blackburn, one of the new Nobel
laureates in medicine, has published in PLoS ONE.
http://chronicle.com/article/Nobel-Laureate-in-Medicine/48714/

* The American Institute of Physics provided
retroactive OA to selected research papers by
this year's Nobel laureates in physics (as it has done in the past).
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5165.html

* Innovate, the OA journal published by the
Fischler School of Education and Human Services
at Nova Southeastern University, announced that
it will cease publishing.  It had 76,282 subscribers from 271 countries.
http://chronicle.com/blogPost/The-Closing-of-an-Open-Access/8583/

+ Repositories and databases

* EDINA announced that the Depot is now an
international resource not limited to serving the
UK.  The Depot acts as a universal repository for
researchers, either accepting deposits when the
author has no institutional repository or
redirecting deposits to the author's IR.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5195.html

* EDINA's Theo Andrew told Klaus Graf that the
Depot would initially focus on English-language
deposits, but would not turn away peer-reviewed articles in other languages.
http://archiv.twoday.net/stories/6006575/

* The international Confederation of Open Access
Repositories (COAR) launched in Ghent during OA
week.  COAR is an outgrowth of DRIVER.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5176.html
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5212.html
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5230.html

* JISC became a founding member of COAR.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2009/10/coar.aspx

* Concordia University launched Spectrum, its institutional repository.
http://library.concordia.ca/about/news/#i20_Oct_2009_19:00:26_EDT

* Boston University launched the BU Digital
Common, its institutional repository.
http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news-cms/news/?dept=847&id=54624

* The Regensburg University Library launched the Regensburg IR.
http://idw-online.de/pages/de/news338230

* India's National Metallurgical Laboratory
launched an institutional repository.
http://eprints.nmlindia.org/

* The Madras Diabetes Research Foundation
launched an institutional repository.
http://mdrf-eprints.in/

* The Christie NHS Foundation Trust launched an
IR, the first OA repository within the UK NHS.
http://blogs.openaccesscentral.com/blogs/orblog/entry/open_repository_is_pleased\
_to

* Duke University Law School relaunched its institutional repository.
http://www.teknoids.net/content/relaunch-our-scholarship-repository-duke-law-spi\
rit-open-access-week
http://www.law.duke.edu/libtech/openaccess

* The US Department of Energy (DOE) launched an
OA collection of research on peaceful uses of
nuclear energy.  Some of the docs were digitized
by DOE and some by the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) for its OA International
Nuclear Information System (INIS).
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5223.html

* SPIE launched Advancing the Laser, an OA
collection of research articles and video
interviews with researchers and industry leaders.
http://spie.org/x37814.xml

* OpenImages is a new database of libre OA images
from the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision.
http://openimages.eu/

* Pillbox is a new OA database from the NIH, in
beta, for identifying FDA-approved pills by their appearance.
http://laikaspoetnik.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/nlms-pillbox-a-new-pill-identifica\
tion-system/

* The Canadian government launched the OA
Language Portal of Canada, which includes Termium
Plus, the large database of linguistic data
(formerly available only by subscription).
http://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/index-eng.php

* EthicShare is a searchable OA portal for
research articles, news articles, books,
dissertations, teaching materials, discussions,
and events in ethics. Instead of hosting its own
copies of articles (for example), it links to
copies elsewhere, some of which are OA and some
of which are not. EthicShare is still in beta.
https://www.ethicshare.org/

* Neeru Paharia launched AcuWiki, a wiki
gathering user-contributed summaries and
discussions of peer-reviewed journal articles, all under a CC-BY license.
http://acawiki.org/AcaWiki:PressRelease-2009-10-07

* University Copyright Ownership Policies (UCOP)
is a wiki-based OA collection of university copyright ownership policies.
http://opened.creativecommons.org/UCOP

* The American Society for Cell Biology has a
$2.5-million stimulus grant to launch an OA
database, The Cell: An Image Library.
http://www.nature.com/news/2009/091023/full/news.2009.1039.html

* The University of Texas Southwestern Medical
Center and Northrop Grumman Corp. have a $15.7
million contract from the NIH to develop the OA
Virus Pathogen Database and Analysis Resource (ViPR).
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/usmc-nfn101309.php

* MIT deposited a new collection of faculty
articles in its IR as part of OA Week.
http://news-libraries.mit.edu/blog/access-articles/2012/

* The University of Delaware added its
undergraduate Senior Theses to its institutional repository.
http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2010/oct/depository101309.html

* Brown University is preparing to launch a Fedora-based IR.
http://www.browndailyherald.com/no-need-for-binders-as-library-digitizes-documen\
ts-1.2028050

* In France, CNRS, TGE Adonis, and Sciences-Po
are studying the possibility of launching an OA
database of qualitative social science.
http://pintiniblog.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/france-projet-de-base-de-donnees-qua\
litatives-en-sciences-sociales/

* The Italian National Research Council
(Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, CNR) is
studying the feasibility of an institutional
repository.  (Is the CNR considering an OA policy?)
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/exploring-ir-for-italian-national.htm\
l

* The Johns Hopkins Libraries have a $300,000
grant from the NSF to study the feasibility an OA
repository of articles based on NSF-funded
research.  (Is the NSF considering an OA policy?)
http://media-newswire.com/release_1101230.html

* The Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF), a
federation of neuroscience databases, released
NIF 2.0, incorporating a new ontology to improve
searches and offering more OA data.
http://health.ucsd.edu/news/2009/10-19-neuro-info-framework.htm

* The National Library of Medicine added several
new features to the OA Toxics Release Inventory.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/so09/so09_sis_reprint_toxnet_tri.html

* The Open Knowledge Foundation added new
features to the Comprehensive Knowledge Archive Network (CKAN).
http://blog.okfn.org/2009/10/26/new-ckan-features/

* The University of Pretoria released an Open
Access Scorecard, showing how repository deposits
have grown, how usage has grown, and how policy
has changed at the institution, over time.
http://www.library.up.ac.za/openup/scorecard.htm

+ Data

* OCLC finished the job of incorporating the
OAIster database into WorldCat.  Contrary to some
expectations, it also promised a separate, OA
version of the OAIster records by January 2010.
http://www.oclc.org/us/en/news/releases/200956.htm

* The NIH announced plans to revise its
data-sharing policy for sequence and related genome data.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-HG-10-006.html

* Two new resources provide OA data and
annotations on the first genome sequences of the
yeast protein production host, Pichia pastoris.
http://7thspace.com/headlines/322919/open_access_to_sequence_browsing_the_pichia\
_pastoris_genome.html

* Sage Bionetworks received funding from
Quintiles to help develop the OA Sage Commons
open access platform for genomics and drug discovery.
http://localtechwire.com/business/local_tech_wire/news/blogpost/6217503/

* The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers
of America (PhRMA) new Principles on Conduct of
Clinical Trials and Communication of Clinical
Trial Results took effect on October 1.  The
principles include a commitment to "the timely
submission and registration on a public database
of summary information about all clinical trials
that we conduct...regardless of outcome."
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/new-drug-industry-guidelines-on.html

* Gale and EBSCO announced separate initiatives
to provide OA information on the H1N1 virus.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6700863.html?nid=2673&source=title&rid=1\
427993535

* A federated data cyberinfrastructure or data
cloud will facilitate data sharing among scholars
at Duke University, North Carolina State
University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://www.renci.org/news/releases/data-initiative

* A new report from the US National Association
of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO)
urges states to follow the federal government in
opening their data to the public.
http://gcn.com/articles/2009/10/07/states-urged-to-create-data-catalogs.aspx

* The Open Knowledge Foundation summarized the
data access policies at 14 cities in the UK and North America.
http://blog.okfn.org/2009/10/27/open-data-on-cities-an-international-round-up/

* OpenStreetMap is making the most detailed and
accurate map of Atlanta available anywhere.  Of
course all the data will be OA.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8305924.stm

* New York City released more than 170 OA
datasets and launched a competition to make good use of them.
http://www.nyc.gov/cgi-bin/misc/pfprinter.cgi?action=print&sitename=OM&p=1255056\
623000

* The Danish government launched a contest for
the best ways to reuse and mash-up public data.
http://europa-eu-audience.typepad.com/en/2009/10/danish-government-launches-publ\
ic-sector-information-data-use-competition.html

* Participants at the UK Conservative Party
Conference agreed to provide OA to "20 of the
most socially useful government datasets" within
one year of the general election.
http://blog.okfn.org/2009/10/19/conservatives-pledge-to-open-20-most-socially-us\
eful-datasets/

* OpenFlights released its airline flight data
under the Open Database License (ODbL).
http://openflights.org/blog/2009/10/13/comprehensive-airline-route-data-released\
/

* The KAYAK travel search engine now provides OA
to its search data and travel statistics.
http://www.hotelsmag.com/article/CA6701131.html?industryid=47565

* Santa Clara County tried to sell its mapping
data for a profit, and force buyers to sign
non-disclosure agreements, in violation of
California's public-records laws.  A citizens
group sued and won $500,000 in legal fees.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/10/gis_data/

+ Books

* The Internet Archive launched BookServer, an
open platform for discovering, selling, loaning,
and giving away ebooks, and indexing them for search.
http://www.archive.org/bookserver
http://bit.ly/x65uL

* The Internet Archive announced that it is
converting all 1.6 million of the public-domain
books it has digitized to date from PDF to the
open EPUB format in order to make them more
useful for users in developing countries or with
small machines, such as the one million children
worldwide with the laptops from the One Laptop Per Child Foundation (OLPC).
http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/10/24/internet-archive-opens-1-6-million-e-bo\
oks-to-olpc-laptops/

* The EC adopted a Communication on Copyright in
the Knowledge Economy, designed to remove legal
obstacles to the mass digitization of European books.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1544&format=HTML&a\
ged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

* According to its new communication on copyright
(above) next year the EC will start reviewing
ways to revise copyright law in order to support
the digitization and online distribution of
books.  The revisions may include a compulsory
license for books under copyright.  The EC wants
to stimulate book scanning independently of
Google and avoid the legal pitfalls it sees in the Google book settlement.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hgxcBsVhsOgXVGn04IJaUOqk2qqwD9\
BE8AU01

* Viviane Reding, the EU commissioner for
information society and media, is calling on
Europe to launch a book-digitization program
which is faster and larger than the Google
program, and more consistent with European copyright law.
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2251052/eu-book-digitization-european

* The European Commission launched the EU
Bookshop, an OA collection of 12 million pages
from more than 110,000 EU publications from 1952
to the present, digitized by the EC Publications Office.
http://www.euractiv.com/en/culture/digitisation-published-works/article-186302

* New York University will digitize books from
its library, as needed, in order to make them
accessible to its new sister campus in Abu
Dhabi.  Contrary to early reports, NYU will not
necessarily digitize all 5.1 million books in its
library, and the digitization costs will not be
paid by the Abu Dhabi government.
http://nyunews.com/news/2009/oct/19/library/
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6702879.html?nid=2673&source=title&rid=1\
427993535

* Yale University is negotiating with Google and
the Open Content Alliance to host 30,000
public-domain books scanned by Microsoft out of
the Yale library before Microsoft dropped its book digitization program.
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/university-news/2009/09/10/digitization-projec\
t-derailed/

* Yale received two grants to digitize its
collections of Middle Eastern scholarship and government records for OA.
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/university-news/2009/10/12/yale-digitizes-docu\
ment/

* The University of Michigan Press and the
HathiTrust Digital Library are teaming up to
provide OA to more than 1,000 books before the end of 2009.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/michigan-up-books-to-go-oa.html

* Harvard University and the National Library of
China will digitize and provide OA to all 51,500
volumes of the Harvard-Yenching Library, the
largest university collection of rare East Asian
literature in the Western world.
http://www.hcl.harvard.edu/news/articles/2009/china_digitization.cfm

* UNESCO launched Majaliss, an OA collection of digitized books in Arabic.
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29118&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=2\
01.html

* Cornell is making 90,000 books digitized from
Cornell's library available from Amazon in
print-on-demand (POD) editions.  Cornell is
working on a plan to make digital editions of the
same books OA through the Internet Archive.
http://futurity.org/society-culture/project-resurrects-90000-rare-books-via-prin\
t-on-demand/

* Cornell University Library published a new book
by Peter Hirtle and two colleagues, Copyright and
Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for
Digitization for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and
Museums (available in an OA edition as well as a priced/print edition).
http://communications.library.cornell.edu/com/news/PressReleases/manual.cfm

* In an interview, Peter Hirtle also described
the background of Cornell's policy to provide
unrestricted libre OA to Cornell-digitized works
from the public domain (Research Library Issue, October 2009).
http://publications.arl.org/pdfdownload/ovfnk/view

* The US federal government published an OA
edition of the Federal Register in XML.  The XML
is designed to allow citizen-initiated mashups,
several of which are already featured on the site.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Federal-Register-20-Opening-a-Window-onto-the-Inn\
er-Workings-of-Government/

* Bibliotheca Alexandria published the Access to
Knowledge Toolkit II: The Access to knowledge
movement.  A 95 pp. report edited by Hala
Essalmawi contains many chapters discussing OA.
http://www1.bibalex.org/a2k/attachments/references/reffileu24bkg55ykqwgc55zysxzq\
45.pdf

* William Patry published a new book, Moral
Panics and the Copyright Wars (Oxford University
Press, September 2009).  Patry is Senior
Copyright Counsel at Google and former copyright
counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.
http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Law/IntellectualProperty/Intellect\
ualProperty/?view=usa&ci=9780195385649
http://www.onthecommons.org/content.php?id=2531

* Microsoft published an OA book of essays under
a CC-BY-SA license: _In The Fourth Paradigm:
Data-Intensive Scientific Discovery_. The essays
build in Jim Gray's vision for data-intensive
science.   Part 4 on Scholarly Communications is almost entirely devoted to
OA.
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/collaboration/fourthparadigm/

* Charles W. Bailey, Jr., release the first
version of his Institutional Repository Bibliography.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5196.html

* Science Dissemination Using Open Acces, the
book on OA from ICTP, CERN, and INASP, was translated into Spanish.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5198.html

* When Peter Cooper couldn't persuade his book
publisher, Apress, to offer an OA edition
alongside the print edition, as it has done with
other titles, Cooper told his readers that he
wouldn't object to the circulation of pirated
copies.  Cooper owns the copyright on the book.
http://techdirt.com/articles/20091014/0237166525.shtml

* When Mark Pilgrim persuaded his book publisher,
Apress, to publish a print edition of his OA book
under the GNU Free Documentation License, Apress
didn't apparently realize that this gave others
the right to sell their own versions.  When a
user did just that, Pilgrim welcomed the move and
had to explain to Apress that it was lawful.
http://diveintomark.org/archives/2009/10/19/the-point

* The Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies
picked a 2007 book, Knowledge as a Commons: From
Theory to Practice (MIT Press) as a "book of the
month for October 2009".  (A prescient
choice:  two weeks later, Elinor Ostrom, one of
the book's co-editors, won the Nobel Prize for Economics.)
http://rccs.usfca.edu/bookinfo.asp?ReviewID=642&BookID=443

* Barnes & Noble released the Nook, its ebook
reader.  Unlike Amazon's Kindle, the Nook allows
readers to share and re-sell their ebooks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/technology/20reader.html
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/10/barnes-nobles-kindle-killing-dual-screen-\
nook-e-reader-leaked/

* Google announced plans to launch Google
Editions, an ebook store whose books will be
accessible from any web-enabled computer or
reader, not just from dedicated devices.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/173789/google_editions_embraces_universal_ebook_f\
ormat.html

* The amended Google book settlement is expected on November 9, 2009.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6700759.html

* The US Government Printing Office (GPO)
solicited bids in 2008 to digitize all federal
publications in US history and make them OA.  For
complicated reasons it could not accept any of
the bids before the RFP expired.  It had a least
one bid, from the Internet Archive.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/gpos-failed-digitization-project-what\
.html

+ Studies and surveys

* SPARC released a report by Raym Crow, Income
Models for Supporting Open Access, on the
business models used by OA journals.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5168.html
http://www.arl.org/sparc/publisher/incomemodels/

* JISC released a detailed guide to its 15 years of work on OA.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5201.html

* JISC's Project ICE-TheOREM (Integrated Content
Environment + Theses with ORE Metadata) released its final report.
http://ie-repository.jisc.ac.uk/405/

* The JISC SWORD2 Project released its final report.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/reppres/sword2finalreport.pdf

* JISC released the final report of the DiSCmap
(Digitisation of Special Collections, mapping,
assessment, prioritisation) project.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/digitisation/discmap_final_repo\
rt_211009_final.pdf

* A new JISC study found that students expect
research to be OA, and recommends that JISC give
a higher priority to the promotion of OA.
http://ie-repository.jisc.ac.uk/407/

* Ana Sanllorenti and and Martín Williman
released a study of the consent forms by which
authors agree to provide OA to their theses in OA repositories.
http://eprints.rclis.org/16922/

* Stuart Shieber produced evidence showing that
the correlation between quality and publication
fees at fee-based OA journals is positive, and
even high, not negative or inverse as one would
expect if fee-based OA journals were a form of vanity publishing.
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/pamphlet/2009/10/16/is-open-access-publishing-a-van\
ity-publishing-industry/

* Heather Morrison calculated that "library
savings from a full flip from subscriptions to
open access via article processing fees, at the
PLoS One rate of $1,350[,] would be at least 64%."
http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com/2009/10/research-brief-library-savings-from.\
html

* Elisa Mason found that of the 41 articles
published in Oxford's Journal of Refugee Studies
in 2006, 2008, and 2009, only one preprint and no
postprints had been self-archived.  Oxford allows
postprint archiving with a two year embargo.
http://fm-cab.blogspot.com/2009/10/open-access-week-self-archiving-case.html

* The University of Nebraska at Lincoln reports
that OA dissertations in its repository are
downloaded up to 60 times more often than TA dissertations.
http://digitalcommons.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=newsl\
etter

* An informal survey of African researchers by
Robinson Esalimba and William New found none who
were aware of the existence of OA databases of patent information.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/opportunities-from-oa-patent-info.htm\
l

* Nancy Sánchez-Tarragó and J. Carlos
Fernández-Molina released the results of a survey
of attitudes toward OA by Cuban health researchers.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/oa-attitudes-among-cuban-health.html

* Anne Fitzgerald and Neale Hooper released a
book-length literature review on the policies for
OA to PSI in Australia and selected other jurisdictions.
http://eprints.qut.edu.au/21160/

* Anne Fitzgerald and Kylie Pappalardo wrote a
brief report on copyright and data for the Australian National Data Service.
http://www.ands.org.au/guides/copyright-and-data-awareness.pdf

* The International Association of Scientific,
Technical & Medical Publishers (STM) released a
report on the state of scientific and scholarly
journal publishing.  Section 4 is devoted to OA.
http://www.stm-assoc.org/news.php?id=255&PHPSESSID=027fb46ea6cdd9f949a8020c65db5\
8e6

* OAPEN (Open Access Publishing in European
Networks) released the results of a study of
"user needs in relation to open access book
publishing" and launched a new survey on the
"funding of monographs in the humanities and social sciences".
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5172.html

* ALPSP released the preliminary results of its
survey of 400 scholarly book publishers.  More
than 60% reported that participating in Amazon's
Look-Inside-the-Book program had a positive
effect on sales; fewer than 2% reported a
negative effect.  13% of surveyed publishers had published OA monographs.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5179.html

* Berkeley's Center for Studies in Higher
Education released a study of faculty attitudes toward OA textbooks.
http://cshe.berkeley.edu/publications/publications.php?id=342

* The California Learning Resource Network
released the results of its survey on the
California Free Digital Textbook Initiative.
http://www.clrn.org/blog/news/index.cfm/2009/9/24/Digital-Textbook-Survey-Final-\
Results

* The members of NECOBELAC (Network of
Collaboration Between Europe and Latin
American-Caribbean Countries) launched a
questionnaire on OA, publication, and science writing.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5160.html

* RoMEO launched a user survey for suggestions on
how to improve the service.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5225.html

+ Software and tools

* SHERPA introduced a major upgrade to its RoMEO
database of publisher copyright and self-archiving policies.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/upgrades-to-romeo-database-of-publish\
er.html

* By the middle of this month, the HathiTrust
Digital Library will launch a full-text search
engine for its 4.3-5 million items on deposit.
http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/HathiTrust-Launching-FullText-Library\
-of-Books-57575.asp

* The NIH Library launched a demo version of
AllPlus Search, a metasearch engine covering the
NIH Library, the NIH Library Catalog, PubMed, and MedlinePlus.
http://nihlibrarysearch.nih.gov/search/

* Stuart Lewis released version 0.9 of the SWORD PHP library.
http://blog.stuartlewis.com/2009/10/06/sword-php-library-version-0-9-released-mo\
ved-to-github/

* The Public Knowledge Project released Open Journal Systems version 2.3.0.
http://pkp.sfu.ca/node/2252

* The Public Knowledge Project is looking for
beta testers for Open Conference Systems version 2.3.
http://pkp.sfu.ca/node/2257

* Waterford Institute of Technology released
ResearchScope, a tool for harvesting content from
the OAI-compliant OA repositories of Ireland.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5215.html

* The RepositóriUM team at Minho University
finished the documentation for the Statistics Add-on for DSpace 1.5.2.
http://wiki.dspace.org/index.php/StatisticsAddOn

* OpenMoko released WikiReader, a small piece of
hardware containing a complete copy of the
English-language Wikipedia (minus images), a
small screen, and and two AAA batteries good for "several months" of
viewing.
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2009/10/13/openmoko-launches-wikireader/

* Structural Genomics Consortium released an
interactive tool, iSee, for using open data to view protein molecules in 3D.
http://scienceblogs.com/scientificactivist/2009/10/new_interactive_3d_molecular_\
i.php?utm_source=sbhomepage&utm_medium=link&utm_content=channellink

* The EC launched SETIS (Strategic Energy
Technology Plan Information System), an OA tool
to monitor the funding of green technologies in Europe.
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/web-site-tracks-eus-clean-energy-gr\
owth/

* Wolfram Alpha opened its API to developers.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19882_3-10376278-250.html

+ Awards and milestones

* Elinor Ostrom won the 2009 Nobel Prize in
economics (with Oliver Williamson) for her work
on the economics of the commons.  (Also see the
postscript to the lead article above.)
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/2009/press.html

* John Willinsky received an honorary Doctor of
Laws degree from Simon Fraser University, in part for his work on OA.
http://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/news/story_10070910.shtml

* The Utne Reader listed three OA activists
--John Wilbanks, Cory Doctorow, and Brewster
Kahle-- among its 50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.
http://www.utne.com/Politics/50-Visionaries-Changing-Your-World-Hope-2009.aspx

* The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) gave
OA advocate Carl Malamud one of its three Pioneer Awards for 2009.
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/10/05

* Sue Gardner, Executive Director of the
Wikimedia Foundation, is one of the Huffington
Post's 10 nominees for "the ultimate game changer
in media".  Readers will vote on the winner.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/29/huffpost-game-changers-wh_n_337129.html\
?slidenumber=IYkFqRf71RU%3D#slide_image

* Siva Vaidhyanathan was one of three winners of
this year's IP3 Awards from Public Knowledge.
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/2706

* SHERPA hosted an OA Week contest for the best
haiku introducing OA.  Miggie Pickton won the
prize:  "Set your research free / As flowers
offer nectar / To the passing bee."
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5161.html
http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/guidance/Haiku.html

* DuraSpace and SPARC announced the winners of
its OA Week contest for the best OA repository
stories:  Luise Barnikel of IssueLab, Bryan
Beecher of the Inter-University Consortium for
Political and Social Research (ICPSR), and Erik
Mitchell of the Forsythe County, North Carolina, Digital Library.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5170.html

* The JISC MOSAIC project announced the three
winners of its Developer Competition for the best
OA mashup of library circulation data.  The top
prize went to Alex Parker, an undergraduate
computer science student at the University of
Southampton, for his dynamic, graphic presentation of library user activity.
http://infteam.jiscinvolve.org/2009/10/21/look-what-you-can-do-with-library-circ\
ulation-data/

* Digital Open announced the eight student
winners of its contest to demonstrate the benefits of open licensing.
http://digitalopen.org/

* Europeana won the 2009 Erasmus Award for
Networking Europe from the European Society for Education and Communication.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5216.html

* The winner of the Repositories Support Project
contest for the most deposits during OA Week was
White Rose, a consortial repository at the
Universities of Leeds, Sheffield, and York, led by Rachel Proudfoot.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5224.html

* The Virginia Department of Education's
"Virginia on iTunes U" was one of two winners of
the 2009 Virginia Governor's Technology Award for
Innovative Use of Technology in K-12 Education.
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/MediaRelations/NewsReleases/viewRelease.cfm?id=\
1105

* IssueLab launched Research Remix, a video
contest to encourage nonprofits to provide libre OA to their research.
http://www.issuelab.org/research_remix_release.pdf
http://enews.issuelab.org/10_2009.html#remix

* Organizations belonging to the Right to
Research Coalition represent more than five million students.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/major-growth-of-student-support-for-o\
a.html

* The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to
Learning and Scholarship (IDEALS) passed the
milestone of one million downloads.  The
repository was launched in 2006 and has over 12,000 deposits.
http://www.library.illinois.edu/news/IDEALS.html

* The Université de Liège institutional
repository passed the milestone of 20,000 deposits, 70% in full-text.
http://recteur.blogs.ulg.ac.be/?p=285

* OpenDOAR passed the milestone of listing 1500 repositories.
http://www.opendoar.org/

* Open Education News passed the milestone of 1,000 posts.
http://openeducationnews.org/2009/10/28/1000-posts-later/

* RePEc passed several milestones in
September:  800,000 works listed, 250,000 online
working papers, 200,000 article abstracts, and 25,000 NEP reports.
http://blog.repec.org/2009/10/06/repec-in-september-2009/

* The University of Pennsylvania's institutional
repository, ScholarlyCommons, "was launched in
2003 and currently includes over 12,000 articles,
lectures, dissertations, and other academic works...."
http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v56/n08/libraryweb.html

* DuraSpace announced that there are now more
than 700 DSpace repositories in more than 70 countries.
http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/duraspace/2009/10/01/dspace-reaches-over-700-instan\
ces-worldwide/

+ Other

* SURF launched OpenAccess.nl, a web site on Dutch OA initiatives.
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5202.html

* DEFF (Danmarks Elektroniske Fag- og
Forskningsbibliotek) launched Open-Access.dk, a
web site on Danish OA initiatives.
http://www.open-access.dk/

* The Hong Kong Open Access Committee launched a
page on its activities. Among it goals are to
insure "That all research and intellectual output
produced in Hong Kong on a non-commercial basis
be placed in Open Access" and "That research and
intellectual output funded by the Hong Kong
taxpayer be freely available in Open Access...."
http://openaccess.hk/

* The UK Minister for IP proposed copyright
reforms to facilitate use of orphan works without
fear of liability and to protect reuse rights from nullification by
contract.
http://www.bl.uk/news/2009/pressrelease20091030.html

* The University of California relaunched
eScholarship (formerly eScholarship Repository)
as a versatile OA publishing platform.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/u-californias-escholarship-ir-moves.h\
tml

* JISC launched the Supporting, Harnessing and
Advancing Repository Enhancement (SHARE) project.
http://jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/inf11/sue2/nturep.aspx

* Scholars at Stanford are proposing to create a
text-mining center to study Google-scanned books,
Highwire journals, and the university's licensed content.
http://lists.digitalhumanities.org/pipermail/humanist/2009-October/000802.html

* DeepDyve launched a new service to "rent"
journal articles for $0.99 each.  The fee gives
the user 24 hours of access without any rights to
print, download, or screen-capture.
http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/DeepDyves-RenttoOwn-Service-57680.asp

* The US Fish and Wildlife Service posted a
bibliography of its OA publications.
http://library.fws.gov/FWSOpenAccess.html

* The UNESCO OER Community released draft version 1.1 of its OER toolkit.
http://oerwiki.iiep-unesco.org/index.php?title=UNESCO_OER_Toolkit

* DuraSpace and the DSpace Global Outreach
Committee launched DSpace Ambassador Program, " a
global network of volunteers who can help new and
potential users get started with DSpace and/or
help solicit the necessary help for users with questions."
http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/duraspace/2009/10/08/dspace-ambassador-program-laun\
ched/

* UNESCO's Information for All Programme (IFAP)
launched an Information Society Observatory to
monitor national information strategies.
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29125&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=2\
01.html

* A group of students, faculty, and staff at the
University of Michigan formed the Open.Michigan Reading Group.
http://blog.si.umich.edu/2009/10/09/reading-group-addresses-open-access/

* Healthcare Information For All by 2015
(HIFA2015) will launch a chapter in Portugal later this month.
http://dgroups.org/ViewDiscussion.aspx?c=e95b885f-14b0-4452-a819-06cf188ee6b0&i=\
b21023c3-ff81-42cd-88b6-eff77530a6dc

* Larry Sanger launched WatchKnow, a wiki-based
collection of OA educational videos for
children.  On lauch day it had more 10,000
classified into 2,000 categories.  Sanger is the
founder of Citizendium and co-founder of Wikipedia.
http://blog.citizendium.org/?p=550

* The US Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and
National Public Radio (NPR) launched Forum
Network, an OA collection of video lectures by
university faculty and notable figures from business and politics.
http://chronicle.com/blogPost/PBSNPR-Add-to-Trove-of/8353/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&\
utm_medium=en

* SPARC released a 3:20 minute animated video,
Open Access 101, a brief and clear introduction to the basics.
http://vimeo.com/6973160

* SPARC released a 6 minute video letter welcoming OA Week.
http://vimeo.com/oaday08

* Klaus Graf reports that the Lexikon der
Revolutionsikonographie is the first OA database
within the Prometheus image archive.
http://prometheus.uni-koeln.de/pandora/open_access
http://archiv.twoday.net/stories/5989460/

* Ken Masters reported the existence of a P2P
file-sharing site for swapping medical research
articles without publisher permission.  In the
six months from May to November 2008, users
requested 6,587 articles through the network, and
posted 5,464 (82%) for free online viewing at the
site.  Each posted article was viewed a mean 4.5
times.  Masters does not identify the site.
http://bit.ly/1jymBT

* Adobe launched the "Adobe Opens Up" website to
promote Flash and PDF as tools for the open
government movement ("missing the irony" as Chris Foresman wrote).
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/adobe-pushes-flash-and-pdf-for-o\
pen-government-misses-irony.ars

* Oona Schmid, Director of publishing at the
American Anthropological Association, wrote a TA
article inviting AAA members to "engage in the
future" of the association's publishing problem
and access policies (missing the irony, as someone should have written).
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122611246/abstract

* Arthur Sale reported that the Australian
Research Online gateway, from the National
Library of Australia, is harvesting Australian
repositories with its own local variation on the
OAI standard.  Already two repositories have
modified their OAI interface to fit the
non-standard harvester, threatening the
interoperability the OAI standard was designed to secure./
https://mx2.arl.org/Lists/SPARC-OAForum/Message/5227.html

* The National Archives and Records
Administration again allowed Footnote.com, a
private company, to digitize public records, and
charge the public for access to them.  In this
case, the records are on the Holocaust and
Footnote will provide one month of OA before
moving the public records behind a pay wall.
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/2009/10/us-national-archives-digitization.htm\
l

----------

Coming this month

Here are some important OA-related events coming up in November.

* November 9, 2009.  The parties to the Google
book settlement will submit the revised version of their settlement
agreement.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6700759.html

* November 15, 2009.  Comments due on the
European Commission's public consultation on the
future of Europeana, orphan works, the public
domain, and digitization, including the questions
whether to provide OA to publicly-funded digitization projects.
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_id=5\
181

* OA-related conferences in November 2009.
http://oad.simmons.edu/oadwiki/2009#November

* Other OA-related conferences
http://oad.simmons.edu/oadwiki/Events

==========

This is the SPARC Open Access Newsletter (ISSN
1546-7821), written by Peter Suber and published
by SPARC.  The views I express in this newsletter
are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of SPARC or other sponsors.

To unsubscribe, send any message from the
subscribed address to <SPARC-OANews-off@...>.

Please feel free to forward any issue of the
newsletter to interested colleagues.  If you're
reading a forwarded copy, you can subscribe by
sending any message to <SPARC-OANews-feed@...>.

SPARC home page for the Open Access Newsletter and Open Access Forum
http://www.arl.org/sparc/publications/soan

SPARC Open Access Newsletter, archived back issues
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/newsletter/archive.htm

Open Access Overview
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/overview.htm

Open Access Tracking Project
http://oad.simmons.edu/oadwiki/OA_tracking_project

Open Access News blog
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/fosblog.html

Peter Suber
http://www.earlham.edu/~peters
peter.suber@...

SOAN is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 United States License.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/

The Scout Report

Volume 15, Number 44

November 6, 2009

A Publication of the Internet Scout Project

Computer Science Department, University of Wisconsin

Sponsored by University of Wisconsin - Madison Libraries.

The Scout Report is a weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators. However, everyone is welcome to subscribe to one of the mailing lists (plain text or HTML). Subscription instructions are included at the end of each report.

The Scout Report on the web:

• Current issue: http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/Current/
• This issue: http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/2009/scout-091106.html

Visit the Internet Scout Weblog at: http://scout.wisc.edu/Weblog/

Send comments and contributions to: scout@...

In This Issue:

Research and Education

• Harvard Stem Cell Institute
• Science of Sound in the Sea
• Genetics Selection Evolution
• Film Literature Index
• ChemPod
• Oregon Explorer: Natural Resources Digital Library
• NASA: Interactive Features
• Hidden Histories of Exploration

General Interest

• Public Art In the Bronx
• Florida Digital Newspaper Library
• Animate Projects
• Art & Architecture
• New Mexico's Digital Collections
• Sanora Babb, Stories from the American High Plains
• Thirteen: Sunday Arts

Network Tools

• Opera 10.01
• Signature995 9.0

In The News

• Iceland says "Bless" to McDonald's

Research and Education

General Interest

Network Tools

In The News

Below are the copyright statements to be included when reproducing annotations from The Scout Report.

The single phrase below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing any portion of this report, in any format:

>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2009. http://scout.wisc.edu/

The paragraph below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing the entire report, in any format:

Copyright Internet Scout Project, 1994-2009. The Internet Scout Project (http://scout.wisc.edu/), located in the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides information about the Internet to the U.S. research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. The Government has certain rights in this material. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the entire Scout Report provided this paragraph, including the copyright notice, are preserved on all copies.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, or the National Science Foundation.

The Scout Report (ISSN 1092-3861) is published weekly by Internet Scout

• Max Grinnell -- Editor
• Chanda Halderman -- Managing Editor
• Edward Almasy -- Co-Director
• Rachael Bower -- Co-Director
• Andrea Coffin -- Metadata Specialist
• Clay Collins -- Internet Cataloger
• Emily Schearer -- Internet Cataloger
• Kyle Manna -- Technical Specialist
• Benjamin Yule -- Technical Specialist
• Tim Baumgard -- Web Developer
• Lesley Skousen-Chio -- Administrative Support
• Debra Shapiro -- Contributor

For information on additional contributors, see the Internet Scout Project staff page:
http://scout.wisc.edu/About/bios.php

The Scout Report's Web page:

[Back to Contents]

LINK

http://www.weisbord.org/

This is the internet archives of Albert & Vera Weisbord, Leading Communist
Radicals of the 1930's. Organizers of 1926 Passaic Textile Strike, 1929
Gastonia Textile Strike, leaders of the Communist League of Struggle
1931-37.
Albert Weisbord was born in New York City on December 9, 1900 of poor
Russian Jewish parents. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the College of the
City of New York in 1921. Upon graduation from CCNY he applied for the
Harvard Law School ("not so much to study law, but to examine at close hand
how law was the resultant of the action of social forces.") graduating with
honors.

Albert joined the Brooklyn Branch of the Socialist Party, by 1920 he became
an active organizer. In 1921 he was elected National Secretary of the Young
Peoples Socialist League and later a member of the National Executive
Committee of the Socialist Party. In 1924 he was a delegate to the
Convention of the Conference for Progressive Political Action. Soon he would
resign from the Socialist Party to join the Workers (Communist) Party. He
moved to Paterson N.J. where he formed the United Front Committee of Textile
Workers, and involved himself in a strike of Silk Mill Workers in West New
York, N.J. From there he was on to Passaic where he organized a strike of
over 16,000 workers. In Passaic he met Vera Buch.

Vera Buch was born August 19, 1895 in Forestville, Connecticut. As a child,
she survived poverty in the tenements of New York. Vera attended Hunter High
School (Valedictorian) and Hunter College where she won three First Prizes
in French competition among colleges in the USA and Canada.

In a tuberculosis sanatorium Vera first became interested in the class
struggle. In 1919 she joined the left wing of the Socialist Party, beginning
a long period of work as a labor activist. She soon joined the Industrial
Workers of the World, and then the Communist Party when it first formed in
1920. In 1922 she joined the Workers (Communist) Party. In 1926 she was sent
to Passaic to help in the strike, there she met Albert Weisbord, who like
Vera was a committed revolutionist.

After Passaic Albert and Vera were involved with the miners in the coal
fields of Penn. (United Mine Workers) and in 1929 the Gastonia Textile
Strike, where Vera was arrested for murder. In 1930 Albert and Vera
separated from the Communist party and were briefly associated with The Left
Opposition that was led by James P. Cannon and Max Shachtman (Communist
League of America). At one point Albert was a Trotskyist but by 1931 he had
moved outside of The Left Opposition towards a policy and program of his
own.

In 1931 "The Communist League of Struggle" was formed with its official
organ "Class Struggle". During the entire publication of Class Struggle
(1931-1937) Albert was the main contributor. In 1932 Albert visited with
Leon Trotsky for three weeks in Turkey. Latter he traveled to Germany and
Spain, of these visits articles can be found in the collections of Class
Struggle.

In 1937 Albert's book, "The Conquest of Power" was published, in 1964 his
book "Latin American Actuality" was published. Vera's book "A Radical Life"
was published in 1977 by Indiana University Press.

Albert Weisbord died in 1977.

Vera Buch Weisbord died in 1989.

============================================================================
You can also offer my books to your subscribers and visitors at no charge to
them or to you. You can make the books available on your Website; copy them
on a CD and distribute it; or simply provide links to the relevant documents
on my Website:

My books are available here:

http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/freebooks.html

http://rapidshare.com/users/FL36G9

There are many fascinating links and factoids in the archive - click on this
link and then click on "previous" or "next" to view additional messages.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linknfactoid/messages

WANT MORE?

Cyclopedia of Factoids

http://samvak.tripod.com/factoidsindex.html

More than 500 free and full text articles and essays - click on these links:

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http://philosophos.tripod.com

http://malignantselflove.tripod.com

Download FREE, FULL TEXT, E-BOOKS - click on this link:

http://samvak.tripod.com/freebooks.html

Welcome aboard!

Sam

============================================================================

LINK

http://romanbrackman.com/Books.html

http://romanbrackman.com/Books-sub1.html

Jimmy Carter Provocateur-in-Chief, Publisher: Deerfield Publishers (July 23,
1980), Paperback: 122 pages, ISBN: 096048700X

Dr. Brackman has often expressed his views in the press, in public speacing,
TV and radio appearences. in this book he sets out to decipher the enigma of
Jimmy Carter.

============================================================================
You can also offer my books to your subscribers and visitors at no charge to
them or to you. You can make the books available on your Website; copy them
on a CD and distribute it; or simply provide links to the relevant documents
on my Website:

My books are available here:

http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/freebooks.html

http://rapidshare.com/users/FL36G9

There are many fascinating links and factoids in the archive - click on this
link and then click on "previous" or "next" to view additional messages.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linknfactoid/messages

WANT MORE?

Cyclopedia of Factoids

http://samvak.tripod.com/factoidsindex.html

More than 500 free and full text articles and essays - click on these links:

http://ceeandbalkan.tripod.com

http://philosophos.tripod.com

http://malignantselflove.tripod.com

Download FREE, FULL TEXT, E-BOOKS - click on this link:

http://samvak.tripod.com/freebooks.html

Welcome aboard!

Sam

============================================================================

LINK

http://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/09/18/the-art-of-community-now-availabl\
e-for-free-download/

When I started work on The Art of Community I was really keen that it should
be a body of work that all communities have access to. My passion behind the
book was to provide a solid guide to building, energizing and enabling
pro-active, productive and enjoyable communities. I wanted to write a book
that covered the major areas of community leadership, distilling a set of
best practices and experiences, and illustrated by countless stories,
anecdotes and tales.

============================================================================
You can also offer my books to your subscribers and visitors at no charge to
them or to you. You can make the books available on your Website; copy them
on a CD and distribute it; or simply provide links to the relevant documents
on my Website:

My books are available here:

http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/freebooks.html

http://rapidshare.com/users/FL36G9

There are many fascinating links and articles in the archive - click on this
link and then click on "previous" or "next" to view additional messages.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/conflictransition/messages

WANT MORE?

Cyclopedia of Factoids

http://samvak.tripod.com/factoidsindex.html

More than 500 free and full text articles and essays - click on these links:

http://ceeandbalkan.tripod.com

http://philosophos.tripod.com

http://malignantselflove.tripod.com

Download FREE, FULL TEXT, E-BOOKS - click on this link:

http://samvak.tripod.com/freebooks.html

Welcome aboard!

Sam

============================================================================

(forwarded message)
                                                                        
www.islam-documents.org

(which is the improvment of theother islam-documents.com, once based in
Tunisia).

There is thousands of texts(around 20 000) about the origins of islam, with
a critical, humanist, andscientific view (and even ironical). It is now the
bigger"sourcebook" on that subject, with often unpublished
documents:Muhammad biographies (SIRA), the main books of traditions (HADITH)
, muslimchronicles (TABARI...), companions biographies (TABAQAT), quranic
verses,quranic commentaries (TAFSIR).7

A new version is now available,improved and corrected: around 3700 pages. We
are working for a new versionpublished every year.

You can also offer my books to your subscribers and visitors at no charge to
them or to you. You can make the books available on your Website; copy them
on a CD and distribute it; or simply provide links to the relevant documents
on my Website:

My books are available here:

http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/freebooks.html

http://rapidshare.com/users/FL36G9

Swine Flu as a Conspiracy

The Scout Report

Volume 15, Number 45

November 13, 2009

A Publication of the Internet Scout Project

Computer Science Department, University of Wisconsin

Sponsored by University of Wisconsin - Madison Libraries.

The Scout Report is a weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators. However, everyone is welcome to subscribe to one of the mailing lists (plain text or HTML). Subscription instructions are included at the end of each report.

The Scout Report on the web:

• Current issue: http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/Current/
• This issue: http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/2009/scout-091113.html

Visit the Internet Scout Weblog at: http://scout.wisc.edu/Weblog/

Send comments and contributions to: scout@...

In This Issue:

Research and Education

• Geology Resources: The University of Texas of the Permian Basin
• Unbearable Pain: India's Obligation to Ensure Palliative Care
• World Summit on Food Security
• Expect Delays: An Analysis of Air Travel Trends in the United States
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture
• Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online
• The Virtual Lab Book
• South African Government Information: Documents

General Interest

• Vincent Van Gogh: The Letters
• Louis Braille: His Legacy and Influence
• In Transition: Selected Poems by the Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven
• BBC: Learning English
• American Experience: Civilian Conservation Corps
• Langston Hughes Papers
• In & Out of Amsterdam: Travels in Conceptual Art, 1960-1976

Network Tools

• Piwigo 2.0
• Smart System Informer 2.1

In The News

• Controversy and conversation continue about the transparency of microcredit lending organizations

Research and Education

General Interest

Network Tools

In The News

Below are the copyright statements to be included when reproducing annotations from The Scout Report.

The single phrase below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing any portion of this report, in any format:

>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2009. http://scout.wisc.edu/

The paragraph below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing the entire report, in any format:

Copyright Internet Scout Project, 1994-2009. The Internet Scout Project (http://scout.wisc.edu/), located in the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides information about the Internet to the U.S. research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. The Government has certain rights in this material. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the entire Scout Report provided this paragraph, including the copyright notice, are preserved on all copies.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, or the National Science Foundation.

The Scout Report (ISSN 1092-3861) is published weekly by Internet Scout

• Max Grinnell -- Editor
• Chanda Halderman -- Managing Editor
• Edward Almasy -- Co-Director
• Rachael Bower -- Co-Director
• Andrea Coffin -- Metadata Specialist
• Clay Collins -- Internet Cataloger
• Emily Schearer -- Internet Cataloger
• Kyle Manna -- Technical Specialist
• Benjamin Yule -- Technical Specialist
• Tim Baumgard -- Web Developer
• Lesley Skousen-Chio -- Administrative Support
• Debra Shapiro -- Contributor

For information on additional contributors, see the Internet Scout Project staff page:
http://scout.wisc.edu/About/bios.php

The Scout Report's Web page:

[Back to Contents]

LINK

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/
Where Live Music Lives

============================================================================
You can also offer my books to your subscribers and visitors at no charge to
them or to you. You can make the books available on your Website; copy them
on a CD and distribute it; or simply provide links to the relevant documents
on my Website:

My books are available here:

http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/freebooks.html

http://rapidshare.com/users/FL36G9

There are many fascinating links and factoids in the archive - click on this
link and then click on "previous" or "next" to view additional messages.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/linknfactoid/messages

WANT MORE?

Cyclopedia of Factoids

http://samvak.tripod.com/factoidsindex.html

More than 500 free and full text articles and essays - click on these links:

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http://philosophos.tripod.com

http://malignantselflove.tripod.com

Download FREE, FULL TEXT, E-BOOKS - click on this link:

http://samvak.tripod.com/freebooks.html

Welcome aboard!

Sam

============================================================================

LINK

http://www.america.gov/publications/books/outline-of-the-us-economy.html

The U.S. economy of the 21st century little resembles that of the 18th
century, but acceptance of change and embrace of competition remain
unchanged.

============================================================================
You can also offer my books to your subscribers and visitors at no charge to
them or to you. You can make the books available on your Website; copy them
on a CD and distribute it; or simply provide links to the relevant documents
on my Website:

My books are available here:

http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/freebooks.html

http://rapidshare.com/users/FL36G9

There are many fascinating links and articles in the archive - click on this
link and then click on "previous" or "next" to view additional messages.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/conflictransition/messages

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Cyclopedia of Factoids

http://samvak.tripod.com/factoidsindex.html

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http://philosophos.tripod.com

http://malignantselflove.tripod.com

Download FREE, FULL TEXT, E-BOOKS - click on this link:

http://samvak.tripod.com/freebooks.html

Welcome aboard!

Sam

============================================================================

		Encyclopaedia Britannica Deluxe 2010 Availability: Currently unavailable
The Britannica 2010 Victorious?, October 7, 2009 With the demise of Microsoft's Encarta (it has been discontinued) and the tribulations of the Wikipedia (its rules have been revamped to resemble a traditional encyclopedia, alienating its contributors in the process), the Encyclopedia Britannica 2010 (established in 1768) may have won the battle of reference. The Encyclopedia Britannica 2010 Ultimate Edition (formerly "Student and Home Edition") builds on the success of its completely revamped previous editions in 2006-9. The rate of innovation in the last four versions was impressive and welcome. It continues apace in this rendition with Britannica Biographies (Great Minds, Heroes and Villains, and Leaders), Classical Music (500 audio files arranged by composer), and a great Workspace for Project Management (a kind of friendly digital den). Six months of free access to the myriad riches of the Britannica Online complete the package. The Britannica comes bundled with an atlas (close to 1800 maps linked to articles and 287 World Data Profiles of individual countries and territories); the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus, augmented by a Spanish-English translation dictionary; classic articles from previous editions; twelve yearbooks (11,200 articles in total); an Interactive Timeline with 4000+ indexed timeline entries; a Research Organizer; and a Knowledge Navigator (called The Brain or BrainStormer). All told, it offers a directory of more than 166,000 reviewed and vetted links to online content. In its new form the Britannica is user-friendly, with an A to Z Quick Search feature, monthly updates and the aforementioned 6 months of free access to its impressive powerhouse online Web site (more than 1 million additional articles and other items!). The Britannica's newest interface is even more intuitive and uncluttered than previously and is great fun to use. It offers morsels of knowledge, some of it date-specific, appetizingly presented through a ticker tape of visuals that leisurely scrolls across the bottom of the screen plus highly edifying interactive tours of articles and attendant media. When you enter even the first few letters of a term in the search box, it offers various options and is persistent: no need to click on the toolbar's "search" button every time you want to find something in this vast storehouse of knowledge. Moreover, the user can save search results onto handy "Virtual Notecards". Whole articles can be copied onto the seemingly inexhaustible Workspace. The new Britannica's display is tab-based, avoiding the erstwhile confusing proliferation of windows with every move. Most importantly, articles appear in full, not in sections. This major improvement facilitates the finding of relevant keywords in and the printing of entire texts. These are only a few of the numerous alterations and enhancements. Perhaps the most refreshing change is the Britannica's Update Center. Dozens of monthly updates and new, timely articles are made available online (subject to free registration). A special button alerts the user when an entry in the base product has been updated. Regrettably, the updates cannot be downloaded to the user's computer or otherwise incorporated into the vast encyclopedia. Moreover, the product does not alert its user to the existence of completely new articles, only to updated ones. It takes a manual scan of the monthly lists to reveal newly added content. Speaking of updates, one must not forget to dwell on the Britannica's unequalled yearbooks. Each annual volume contains the year in events, scientific developments, and everything you wanted to know about the latest in any and every conceivable field of human endeavor, or Nature. About 11,200 articles culled from the last 12 editions buttress and update the Encyclopedia's anyhow impressive offerings. The Britannica provides considerably more text than any other extant traditional encyclopedia, print or digital (a total of 59 million words). But it has noticeably enhanced its non-textual content over the years (the 1994-7 editions had nothing or very little but words, words, and more words): it now boasts in excess of 30,000 images and illustrations (depending on the version) and 900 video and audio clips. This is not to mention the Britannica Classics: articles from Britannica's most famous contributors: from Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein to Harry Houdini and from Marie Curie to Orville Wright. The Britannica fully supports serious research. It is a sober assemblage of first-rate essays, up to date bibliographies, and relevant multimedia. It constitutes a desktop university library: thorough, well-researched, comprehensive, trustworthy. The Britannica's 84-107,000 articles (depending on the version) are long and thorough, supported by impressive bibliographies, and written by the best scholars in their respective fields. The company's Editorial Board of Advisors reads like the who's who of the global intellectual and scientific community. The Britannica is an embarrassment of riches. Users often find the wealth and breadth of information daunting and data mining is fast becoming an art form. This is why the Britannica incorporated the BrainStormer to cope with this predicament. But an informal poll I conducted online shows that few know how to deploy it effectively. The Britannica also sports Student and Elementary versions of its venerable flagship product, replete with a Homework Helpdesk, "how to" documents, and interactive games, activities, and math and science tutorials. Still, the Britannica is far better geared to tackle the information needs of adults and, even more so, professionals. It provides unequalled coverage of its topics. Ironically, this is precisely why the market positioning of the Britannica's Elementary and Student Encyclopedias is problematic: compared to the Wikipedia, the Britannica's brand is distinctly adult and scholarly. The vacuum left by the Encarta (lamented) discontinuance, though, should make it easier to market the Student and Elementary versions (which are an integral part of the Ultimate Edition and not sold separately). Still, the 2010 editions of both the Student and Elementary encyclopedias improve on the past in terms of both coverage and facilities: the Homework Helpdesk is a collection of useful homework resources including a video subject browse, online learning games and activities, online subject spotlights, and how-to documents on topics such as writing a book review. There are also Learning Games and Activities: hundreds of fun and interactive games and activities to help students with subjects like Math, Science, and Social Studies. Both versions are updated monthly with new online-only articles. The current edition is fully integrated with the Internet. Apart from articles about new topics and personalities in the news, it offers additional and timely content and revisions on a dedicated Web site. The digital product includes a staggering number of links (165,808!) to third party content and articles on the Web. The GeoAnalyzer, which compares national statistical data and generates charts and graphs, is now Web-based and greatly enhanced. The Britannica would do well to offer a browser add-on search bar and to integrate with desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Currently it offers search results through Google but this requires the user to install add-ons or plug-ins and to go through a convoluted rite of passage. A seamless experience is in the cards. Users must and will be able to ferret content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. Some minor gripes: The atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Britannica are still surprisingly outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)? Despite considerable improvement over the previous edition, the Britannica still consumes (not to say hogs) computer resource far in excess of the official specifications. This makes it less suitable for installation on older PCs and on netbooks. If you own a machine with anything earlier than Pentium 4, less than 1 Gb RAM, and less than 10 Gb of really free space, the Britannica would be clunky at best. But that's it. Don't think twice. Run to the closest retail outlet (or surf to the Britannica's Web site) and purchase the 2010 edition now. It offers excellent value for money (less than $40, with a rebate). For less than the price of an antivirus software and for a fraction of the cost of Windows 7, you will significantly enhance your access to the sum total of human knowledge and wisdom. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited".

				Obamanutz: A Cult Leader Takes the White House by Dr Joy Tiz Edition: Paperback Price: $17.95   Availability: In Stock		2 used & new from $10.00
Is Obama Nuts?, September 23, 2009 In July 2008, I was the first to suggest, in a series of articles published in "Global Politician" and the "Los Angeles Chronicle", that Barrack Obama may possess narcissistic traits and might possibly suffer from the pernicious mental health problem known as Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). I described how such people form dangerous cults and end up ruining everything and everyone around them. Though my observations gained wide currency on the Web and in a variety of radio talk shows, no author has picked up the challenge until now. "Obamanutz" is written by a qualified professional and makes for a riveting read. While I don't always agree with some of the far-flung conjectures in the book, I recommend it for several reasons: (1) It is the first book-length attempt to analyze the ominous aspects of Obama's narcissistic personality, chaotic personal history, and dubious conduct; (2) It is a page-turner, written with gusto, razor-sharp and intelligent humor, and verve; (3) It is well-researched and substantiated throughout; (4) It is outside the box the sycophantic mainstream media has placed us all in; (5) It is thought-provoking in the extreme. I have no axe to grind: I am a liberal Jew (Israeli). I am as unbiased as they come, having written extensively against President Bush, the Republican machinery, and the foreign policy of the United States. I should have been a natural Obama fan. Obamanutz does a great job of explaining why I - and millions like me - are not. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited".

				Encyclopedia Britannica 2009 Deluxe Price: $29.99   Availability: In Stock
THE Encyclopedia!, September 4, 2008 The Encyclopedia Britannica 2009 (established in 1768), both in its Ultimate (now also called "Student and Home") and Deluxe versions, builds on the success of its completely revamped previous editions in 2006-8. The rate of innovation in the last three versions was impressive and welcome. It continues apace in this rendition with Britannica Biographies (Great Minds and Leaders), Classical Music (500 audio files arranged by composer), and a great Workspace for Project Management (a kind of friendly digital den). Generous 6-12 months of free access to the myriad riches of the Britannica Online complete the package. The Britannica comes bundled with an atlas (close to 1800 maps linked to articles and 287 World Data Profiles of individual countries and territories); the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus, augmented by a Spanish-English translation dictionary; classic articles from previous editions; eleven yearbooks; an Interactive Timeline with 4000+ indexed timeline entries; a Research Organizer; and a Knowledge Navigator (called The Brain or BrainStormer). All told, it offers a directory of more than 166,000 reviewed and vetted links to online content. In its new form, the Britannica is as user-friendly as the Encarta. With a new A to Z Quick Search feature, monthly updates and the aforementioned 6-12 months of free access to its impressive powerhouse online Web site, it is bound to give the former tough competition. The Britannica's newest interface is even more intuitive and uncluttered than previously and is great fun to use. It offers morsels of knowledge, some of it date-specific, appetizingly presented through a ticker tape of visuals that leisurely scrolls across the bottom of the screen plus highly edifying interactive tours of articles and attendant media. When you enter even the first few letters of a term in the search box, it offers various options and is persistent: no need to click on the toolbar's "search" button every time you want to find something in this vast storehouse of knowledge. Moreover, the user can save search results onto handy "Virtual Notecards". Whole articles can be copied onto the seemingly inexhaustible Workspace. The new Britannica's display is tab-based, avoiding the erstwhile confusing proliferation of windows with every move. Most importantly, articles appear in full, not in sections. This major improvement facilitates the finding of relevant keywords in and the printing of entire texts. These are only a few of the numerous alterations and enhancements. Perhaps the most refreshing change is the Britannica's Update Center. Dozens of monthly updates and new, timely articles are made available online (subject to free registration). A special button alerts the user when an entry in the base product has been updated. Regrettably, unlike in the Encarta, the updates cannot be downloaded to the user's computer or otherwise incorporated into the vast encyclopedia. Moreover, the product does not alert its user to the existence of completely new articles, only to updated ones. It takes a manual scan of the monthly lists to reveal newly added content. Speaking of updates, one must not forget to dwell on the Britannica's unequalled yearbooks. Each annual volume contains the year in events, scientific developments, and everything you wanted to know about the latest in any and every conceivable field of human endeavor or nature. About 10,500 articles culled from the last 11 editions buttress and update the Encyclopedia's anyhow impressive offerings. The Britannica provides considerably more text than any other extant encyclopedia, print or digital. But it has noticeably enhanced its non-textual content over the years (the 1994-7 editions had nothing or very little but words, words, and more words): it now boasts in excess of 22-30,000 images and illustrations (depending on the version) and 900 video and audio clips. This is not to mention the Britannica Classics: articles from Britannica's most famous contributors-from Sigmund Freud to Harry Houdini, Marie Curie to Orville Wright. The Britannica fully supports serious research. It is a sober assemblage of first-rate essays, up to date bibliographies, and relevant multimedia. It is a desktop university library: thorough, well-researched, comprehensive, trustworthy. The Britannica's 84-103,000 articles (depending on the version) are long and thorough, supported by impressive bibliographies, and written by the best scholars in their respective fields. The company's Editorial Board of Advisors reads like the who's who of the global intellectual and scientific community. The Britannica is an embarrassment of riches. Users often find the wealth and breadth of information daunting and data mining is fast becoming an art form. This is why the Britannica incorporated the BrainStormer to cope with this predicament. But an informal poll I conducted online shows that few know how to deploy it effectively. The Britannica also sports Student and Elementary versions of its venerable flagship product, replete with a Homework Helpdesk and interactive tutorials, but it is far better geared to tackle the information needs of adults and, even more so, professionals. It provides unequalled coverage of its topics. Ironically, this is precisely why the market positioning of the Britannica's Elementary and Student Encyclopedias is problematic: with Wikipedia and even the Encarta around, the Britannica's brand is distinctly adult and scholarly. Still, the 2009 editions of both the Student and Elementary encyclopedias improve on the past in terms of both coverage and facilities: the Homework Helpdesk is a collection of useful homework resources including a video subject browse, online learning games and activities, online subject spotlights, and how-to documents on topics such as writing a book review. There are also Learning Games and Activities: hundreds of fun and interactive games and activities to help students with subjects like Math, Science, and Social Studies. The current edition is fully integrated with the Internet. Apart from the updates, it offers additional and timely content and revisions on a dedicated Web site. The digital product includes a staggering number of links (165,808!) to third party content and articles on the Web. The GeoAnalyzer, which compares national statistical data and generates charts and graphs, is now Web-based and greatly enhanced. The Britannica would do well to offer a browser add-on search bar and to integrate with desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Currently it offers search results through Google but this requires the user to install add-ons or plug-ins and to go through a convoluted rite of passage. A seamless experience is in the cards. Users must and will be able to ferret content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. Some minor gripes: The atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Britannica are still surprisingly outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)? Despite considerable improvement over the previous edition, the Britannica still consumes (not to say hogs) computer resource far in excess of the official specifications. This makes it less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. If you own a machine with anything earlier than Pentium 3 and less than 4 Gb of really free space - forget it! The Britannica uses a new graphic and text renderer. On some systems, the user needs to modify his or her desktop settings to get rid of jagged fonts and blurry photos. The software also seriously conflicts with security applications (especially anti-virus and firewall products). This edition, though, is finally compatible with the latest QuickTime. But that's it. Don't think twice. Run to the closest retail outlet (or surf to the Britannica's Web site) and purchase the 2009 edition now. It offers excellent value for money (less than $40, with a rebate) and significantly enhances you access to knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries all over the world. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"  Comment | Permalink Reviewer's Tags: encarta, encyclopedia, reference, software, wikipedia
				Encyclopedia Britannica 2009 Student and Home Edition Price: $39.99   Availability: In Stock
THE Encyclopedia!, September 4, 2008 The Encyclopedia Britannica 2009 (established in 1768), both in its Ultimate (now also called "Student and Home") and Deluxe versions, builds on the success of its completely revamped previous editions in 2006-8. The rate of innovation in the last three versions was impressive and welcome. It continues apace in this rendition with Britannica Biographies (Great Minds and Leaders), Classical Music (500 audio files arranged by composer), and a great Workspace for Project Management (a kind of friendly digital den). Generous 6-12 months of free access to the myriad riches of the Britannica Online complete the package. The Britannica comes bundled with an atlas (close to 1800 maps linked to articles and 287 World Data Profiles of individual countries and territories); the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus, augmented by a Spanish-English translation dictionary; classic articles from previous editions; eleven yearbooks; an Interactive Timeline with 4000+ indexed timeline entries; a Research Organizer; and a Knowledge Navigator (called The Brain or BrainStormer). All told, it offers a directory of more than 166,000 reviewed and vetted links to online content. In its new form, the Britannica is as user-friendly as the Encarta. With a new A to Z Quick Search feature, monthly updates and the aforementioned 6-12 months of free access to its impressive powerhouse online Web site, it is bound to give the former tough competition. The Britannica's newest interface is even more intuitive and uncluttered than previously and is great fun to use. It offers morsels of knowledge, some of it date-specific, appetizingly presented through a ticker tape of visuals that leisurely scrolls across the bottom of the screen plus highly edifying interactive tours of articles and attendant media. When you enter even the first few letters of a term in the search box, it offers various options and is persistent: no need to click on the toolbar's "search" button every time you want to find something in this vast storehouse of knowledge. Moreover, the user can save search results onto handy "Virtual Notecards". Whole articles can be copied onto the seemingly inexhaustible Workspace. The new Britannica's display is tab-based, avoiding the erstwhile confusing proliferation of windows with every move. Most importantly, articles appear in full, not in sections. This major improvement facilitates the finding of relevant keywords in and the printing of entire texts. These are only a few of the numerous alterations and enhancements. Perhaps the most refreshing change is the Britannica's Update Center. Dozens of monthly updates and new, timely articles are made available online (subject to free registration). A special button alerts the user when an entry in the base product has been updated. Regrettably, unlike in the Encarta, the updates cannot be downloaded to the user's computer or otherwise incorporated into the vast encyclopedia. Moreover, the product does not alert its user to the existence of completely new articles, only to updated ones. It takes a manual scan of the monthly lists to reveal newly added content. Speaking of updates, one must not forget to dwell on the Britannica's unequalled yearbooks. Each annual volume contains the year in events, scientific developments, and everything you wanted to know about the latest in any and every conceivable field of human endeavor or nature. About 10,500 articles culled from the last 11 editions buttress and update the Encyclopedia's anyhow impressive offerings. The Britannica provides considerably more text than any other extant encyclopedia, print or digital. But it has noticeably enhanced its non-textual content over the years (the 1994-7 editions had nothing or very little but words, words, and more words): it now boasts in excess of 22-30,000 images and illustrations (depending on the version) and 900 video and audio clips. This is not to mention the Britannica Classics: articles from Britannica's most famous contributors-from Sigmund Freud to Harry Houdini, Marie Curie to Orville Wright. The Britannica fully supports serious research. It is a sober assemblage of first-rate essays, up to date bibliographies, and relevant multimedia. It is a desktop university library: thorough, well-researched, comprehensive, trustworthy. The Britannica's 84-103,000 articles (depending on the version) are long and thorough, supported by impressive bibliographies, and written by the best scholars in their respective fields. The company's Editorial Board of Advisors reads like the who's who of the global intellectual and scientific community. The Britannica is an embarrassment of riches. Users often find the wealth and breadth of information daunting and data mining is fast becoming an art form. This is why the Britannica incorporated the BrainStormer to cope with this predicament. But an informal poll I conducted online shows that few know how to deploy it effectively. The Britannica also sports Student and Elementary versions of its venerable flagship product, replete with a Homework Helpdesk and interactive tutorials, but it is far better geared to tackle the information needs of adults and, even more so, professionals. It provides unequalled coverage of its topics. Ironically, this is precisely why the market positioning of the Britannica's Elementary and Student Encyclopedias is problematic: with Wikipedia and even the Encarta around, the Britannica's brand is distinctly adult and scholarly. Still, the 2009 editions of both the Student and Elementary encyclopedias improve on the past in terms of both coverage and facilities: the Homework Helpdesk is a collection of useful homework resources including a video subject browse, online learning games and activities, online subject spotlights, and how-to documents on topics such as writing a book review. There are also Learning Games and Activities: hundreds of fun and interactive games and activities to help students with subjects like Math, Science, and Social Studies. The current edition is fully integrated with the Internet. Apart from the updates, it offers additional and timely content and revisions on a dedicated Web site. The digital product includes a staggering number of links (165,808!) to third party content and articles on the Web. The GeoAnalyzer, which compares national statistical data and generates charts and graphs, is now Web-based and greatly enhanced. The Britannica would do well to offer a browser add-on search bar and to integrate with desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Currently it offers search results through Google but this requires the user to install add-ons or plug-ins and to go through a convoluted rite of passage. A seamless experience is in the cards. Users must and will be able to ferret content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. Some minor gripes: The atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Britannica are still surprisingly outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)? Despite considerable improvement over the previous edition, the Britannica still consumes (not to say hogs) computer resource far in excess of the official specifications. This makes it less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. If you own a machine with anything earlier than Pentium 3 and less than 4 Gb of really free space - forget it! The Britannica uses a new graphic and text renderer. On some systems, the user needs to modify his or her desktop settings to get rid of jagged fonts and blurry photos. The software also seriously conflicts with security applications (especially anti-virus and firewall products). This edition, though, is finally compatible with the latest QuickTime. But that's it. Don't think twice. Run to the closest retail outlet (or surf to the Britannica's Web site) and purchase the 2009 edition now. It offers excellent value for money (less than $40, with a rebate) and significantly enhances you access to knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries all over the world. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"  Comment | Permalink Reviewer's Tags: encarta, encyclopedia, reference, software, wikipedia
				Encyclopedia Britannica 2009 Deluxe Price: $29.99   Availability: In Stock
THE Encyclopedia!, September 4, 2008 The Encyclopedia Britannica 2009 (established in 1768), both in its Ultimate (now also called "Student and Home") and Deluxe versions, builds on the success of its completely revamped previous editions in 2006-8. The rate of innovation in the last three versions was impressive and welcome. It continues apace in this rendition with Britannica Biographies (Great Minds and Leaders), Classical Music (500 audio files arranged by composer), and a great Workspace for Project Management (a kind of friendly digital den). Generous 6-12 months of free access to the myriad riches of the Britannica Online complete the package. The Britannica comes bundled with an atlas (close to 1800 maps linked to articles and 287 World Data Profiles of individual countries and territories); the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus, augmented by a Spanish-English translation dictionary; classic articles from previous editions; eleven yearbooks; an Interactive Timeline with 4000+ indexed timeline entries; a Research Organizer; and a Knowledge Navigator (called The Brain or BrainStormer). All told, it offers a directory of more than 166,000 reviewed and vetted links to online content. In its new form, the Britannica is as user-friendly as the Encarta. With a new A to Z Quick Search feature, monthly updates and the aforementioned 6-12 months of free access to its impressive powerhouse online Web site, it is bound to give the former tough competition. The Britannica's newest interface is even more intuitive and uncluttered than previously and is great fun to use. It offers morsels of knowledge, some of it date-specific, appetizingly presented through a ticker tape of visuals that leisurely scrolls across the bottom of the screen plus highly edifying interactive tours of articles and attendant media. When you enter even the first few letters of a term in the search box, it offers various options and is persistent: no need to click on the toolbar's "search" button every time you want to find something in this vast storehouse of knowledge. Moreover, the user can save search results onto handy "Virtual Notecards". Whole articles can be copied onto the seemingly inexhaustible Workspace. The new Britannica's display is tab-based, avoiding the erstwhile confusing proliferation of windows with every move. Most importantly, articles appear in full, not in sections. This major improvement facilitates the finding of relevant keywords in and the printing of entire texts. These are only a few of the numerous alterations and enhancements. Perhaps the most refreshing change is the Britannica's Update Center. Dozens of monthly updates and new, timely articles are made available online (subject to free registration). A special button alerts the user when an entry in the base product has been updated. Regrettably, unlike in the Encarta, the updates cannot be downloaded to the user's computer or otherwise incorporated into the vast encyclopedia. Moreover, the product does not alert its user to the existence of completely new articles, only to updated ones. It takes a manual scan of the monthly lists to reveal newly added content. Speaking of updates, one must not forget to dwell on the Britannica's unequalled yearbooks. Each annual volume contains the year in events, scientific developments, and everything you wanted to know about the latest in any and every conceivable field of human endeavor or nature. About 10,500 articles culled from the last 11 editions buttress and update the Encyclopedia's anyhow impressive offerings. The Britannica provides considerably more text than any other extant encyclopedia, print or digital. But it has noticeably enhanced its non-textual content over the years (the 1994-7 editions had nothing or very little but words, words, and more words): it now boasts in excess of 22-30,000 images and illustrations (depending on the version) and 900 video and audio clips. This is not to mention the Britannica Classics: articles from Britannica's most famous contributors-from Sigmund Freud to Harry Houdini, Marie Curie to Orville Wright. The Britannica fully supports serious research. It is a sober assemblage of first-rate essays, up to date bibliographies, and relevant multimedia. It is a desktop university library: thorough, well-researched, comprehensive, trustworthy. The Britannica's 84-103,000 articles (depending on the version) are long and thorough, supported by impressive bibliographies, and written by the best scholars in their respective fields. The company's Editorial Board of Advisors reads like the who's who of the global intellectual and scientific community. The Britannica is an embarrassment of riches. Users often find the wealth and breadth of information daunting and data mining is fast becoming an art form. This is why the Britannica incorporated the BrainStormer to cope with this predicament. But an informal poll I conducted online shows that few know how to deploy it effectively. The Britannica also sports Student and Elementary versions of its venerable flagship product, replete with a Homework Helpdesk and interactive tutorials, but it is far better geared to tackle the information needs of adults and, even more so, professionals. It provides unequalled coverage of its topics. Ironically, this is precisely why the market positioning of the Britannica's Elementary and Student Encyclopedias is problematic: with Wikipedia and even the Encarta around, the Britannica's brand is distinctly adult and scholarly. Still, the 2009 editions of both the Student and Elementary encyclopedias improve on the past in terms of both coverage and facilities: the Homework Helpdesk is a collection of useful homework resources including a video subject browse, online learning games and activities, online subject spotlights, and how-to documents on topics such as writing a book review. There are also Learning Games and Activities: hundreds of fun and interactive games and activities to help students with subjects like Math, Science, and Social Studies. The current edition is fully integrated with the Internet. Apart from the updates, it offers additional and timely content and revisions on a dedicated Web site. The digital product includes a staggering number of links (165,808!) to third party content and articles on the Web. The GeoAnalyzer, which compares national statistical data and generates charts and graphs, is now Web-based and greatly enhanced. The Britannica would do well to offer a browser add-on search bar and to integrate with desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Currently it offers search results through Google but this requires the user to install add-ons or plug-ins and to go through a convoluted rite of passage. A seamless experience is in the cards. Users must and will be able to ferret content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. Some minor gripes: The atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Britannica are still surprisingly outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)? Despite considerable improvement over the previous edition, the Britannica still consumes (not to say hogs) computer resource far in excess of the official specifications. This makes it less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. If you own a machine with anything earlier than Pentium 3 and less than 4 Gb of really free space - forget it! The Britannica uses a new graphic and text renderer. On some systems, the user needs to modify his or her desktop settings to get rid of jagged fonts and blurry photos. The software also seriously conflicts with security applications (especially anti-virus and firewall products). This edition, though, is finally compatible with the latest QuickTime. But that's it. Don't think twice. Run to the closest retail outlet (or surf to the Britannica's Web site) and purchase the 2009 edition now. It offers excellent value for money (less than $40, with a rebate) and significantly enhances you access to knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries all over the world. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"  Comment | Permalink Reviewer's Tags: encarta, encyclopedia, reference, software, wikipedia

				MARGARET MAHLER: A Biography of the Psychoanalyst by Alma Halbert Bond Edition: Paperback Price: $45.00   Availability: In Stock
Mahler: The Eve of Child Psychology, August 18, 2008 This is the story of a child unloved by her mother, adored by her father, rejected by her peers, admired by her students, hated by her ostensible friends. A tough, no-nonsense European forced by the Nazi cataclysm into a tough and no-nonsense New World where she flourished and created one of the most insightful theoretical bodies of work in psychoanalysis. Never really a therapist, Mahler was at her best teaching and researching. On the surface, the book is merely a recounting of her times, life, and work. But, it is much more than that. It is a fascinating study of the founts of creativity and of the inevitable and agonizing interaction between one's inner dynamics and outer circumstances and one's output and art. For, Mahler was an artist whose raw materials were her observations of mothers and children in the wilds of her itinerant laboratories. The book delicately and empathically - but never sycophantly - traces Mahler's battle against a legion of inner demons (her "Repetition Compulsion"). She was a tortured soul who sought to alleviate her torment by deciphering and deconstructing the mechanics and dynamics of early infancy. Motherhood looms large in this barren woman's work as do love (of which she was consistently deprived) and freedom. Her lasting theoretical contributions, the Separation-Individuation subphases, and the scores of child therapists she had trained over the years are her true offspring. She never felt a real woman. Well, she was wrong. For she was Eve, no less, in the field of child psychology and therapy. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited".

		Breaking the Ice: From Land Claims to Tribal Sovereignty in the Arctic by Barry Zellen Edition: Hardcover Price: $76.81   Availability: In Stock
Arctic Lessons, May 26, 2008 This book is the rarest of combinations: a thoroughly-researched scholarly masterpiece cum edge-of-the-seat political non-fiction thriller. It describes how the tribes (Peoples) of the North American Arctic deployed a variety of tactics, posturing, negotiating, and bargaining their way into reclaiming the rights for their ancient lands from a reluctant and truculent State. This permafrost parable tackles literally all the burning geostrategic and political issues of the day: terrorism, secession, sovereignty, neo-tribalism, supranational structures, the race to secure mineral resources and shipping lanes, property rights, genocide, you name it. Whether the lessons of this long-drawn conflict are applicable elsewhere is another matter. The tribes had as their interlocutor the largely benign and law-abiding government of Canada. I am pretty sure that they would have elicited an entirely different response from Saddam Hussein, the Myanmar junta, or even the Israeli government. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"

				The Coming Balkan Caliphate: The Threat of Radical Islam to Europe and the West by Christopher Deliso Edition: Hardcover Price: $31.96   Availability: In Stock
Islam - the all-pervasive religion, May 26, 2008 This is the best, concise yet thorough primer on the topic of militant Islam in the Balkans by a leading analyst who has been living in the region and analysing it for the last decade or so. Islam is not merely a religion. It is also - and perhaps, foremost - a state ideology. It is all-pervasive and missionary. It permeates every aspect of social cooperation and culture. It is an organizing principle, a narrative, a philosophy, a value system, and a vade mecum. In this it resembles Confucianism and, to some extent, Hinduism. Judaism and its offspring, Christianity - though heavily involved in political affairs throughout the ages - have kept their dignified distance from such carnal matters. These are religions of "heaven" as opposed to Islam, a practical, pragmatic, hands-on, ubiquitous, "earthly" creed. Secular religions - Democratic Liberalism, Communism, Fascism, Nazism, Socialism and other isms - are more akin to Islam than to, let's say, Buddhism. They are universal, prescriptive, and total. They provide recipes, rules, and norms regarding every aspect of existence - individual, social, cultural, moral, economic, political, military, and philosophical. At the end of the Cold War, Democratic Liberalism stood triumphant over the fresh graves of its ideological opponents. They have all been eradicated. This precipitated Fukuyama's premature diagnosis (the End of History). But one state ideology, one bitter rival, one implacable opponent, one contestant for world domination, one antithesis remained - Islam. Militant Islam is, therefore, not a cancerous mutation of "true" Islam. On the contrary, it is the purest expression of its nature as an imperialistic religion which demands unmitigated obedience from its followers and regards all infidels as both inferior and avowed enemies. The same can be said about Democratic Liberalism. Like Islam, it does not hesitate to exercise force, is missionary, colonizing, and regards itself as a monopolist of the "truth" and of "universal values". Its antagonists are invariably portrayed as depraved, primitive, and below par. Such mutually exclusive claims were bound to lead to an all-out conflict sooner or later. The "War on Terrorism" is only the latest round in a millennium-old war between Islam and other "world systems". Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited".

				How to Talk to a Narcissist by Joan Lachkar Edition: Hardcover Price: $36.00   Availability: In Stock
Talk the Talk, May 21, 2008 At last a scholar who moves past the psychobabble and the rival psychological (mainly psychodynamic) theories and tackles the difficult task of how to communicate with narcissists (those diagnosed with the pernicious and all-pervasive Narcissistic Personality Disorder - NPD). The disorder itself has been dissected to smithereens in numerous hefty tomes (including mine: "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited, first published in 1999). To the author's credit, starting with her seminal studies of narcissistic-borderline couples, she has always set her sights on the victims: their needs, fears, and welfare. Her latest work is no exception. Following a lucid exposition of NPD, Lachkar proceeds to deal with eight types of narcissists. She describes their pathology in relevant details, their v-spots (a construct she proposes, intended to capture emotional vulnerabilities, often induced by childhood abuse), their communication styles, and their reactions to various stimuli. She then proceeds to pose the all-important question of: who bonds with each and every subtype of narcissist and why? Case studies and discussions support her arguments and her proposed remedies (a communication and behavior modification modality she calls "empathology"). But Lachkar's insights and methodology are not confined to the marital scene. "How To Talk to a Narcissist" is among the few books to deal with the narcissistic artist and to wrestle with the delicate topic of the narcissism of collectives, cultures, societies, and historical processes. The book is a delight to read. Though her astounding erudition is evident throughout, Lachkar never condescends or patronizes. She condenses decades of research into concise yet comprehensive chapters and opens up new vistas of understanding seamlessly. A must read and a welcome addition to the literature and an indispensable tool in the arsenal of victims of abuse meted out by narcissists and psychopaths. Highly and unreservedly recommended! Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"

				Encyclopedia Britannica Deluxe 2008 Win/Mac Price: $29.95   Availability: In Stock		6 used & new from $22.85
The Encyclopedia Britannica 2008, September 11, 2007 The Encyclopedia Britannica 2008 (established in 1768), both Ultimate and Deluxe, builds on the success of its completely revamped previous editions in 2006 and 2007. The rate of innovation in the last two versions was impressive and welcome. It continues apace in this rendition with Britannica Biographies (Great Minds), Classical Music (500 audio files arranged by composer), and a great Workspace for Project Management (a kind of friendly digital den). Generous 6-12 months of free access to the myriad riches of the Britannica Online complete the package. The Britannica comes bundled with an atlas (between 1600 and 2530 maps and 287 World Data Profiles of individual countries and territories), the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus, classic articles from previous editions, ten yearbooks, an Interactive Timeline with 4000+ indexed timeline entries, a Research Organizer, and a Knowledge Navigator (a Brain Stormer). All told, it offers a directory of more than 166,000 reviewed and vetted links to online content. In its new form, the Britannica is as user-friendly as the Encarta. With monthly updates and the aforementioned 6-12 months of free access to its impressive powerhouse online Web site, it is bound to give the former close competition. The Britannica's newest interface is even more intuitive and uncluttered than previously and is great fun to use. For instance, it generates a date-based daily selection of relevant information and highly edifying interactive tours of articles and attendant media. When you enter even the first few letters of a term in the search box, it offers various options and is persistent: no need to click on the toolbar's "search" button every time you want to find something in this vast storehouse of knowledge. Moreover, the user can save search results onto handy "Virtual Notecards". Whole articles can be copied onto the seemingly inexhaustible Workspace. The new Britannica's display is tab-based, avoiding the erstwhile confusing proliferation of windows with every move. Most importantly, articles appear in full, not in sections. This major improvement facilitates the finding of relevant keywords in and the printing of entire texts. These are only a few of the numerous alterations and enhancements. Perhaps the most refreshing change is the Britannica's Update Center. Dozens of monthly updates and new, timely articles are made available online (subject to free registration). A special button alerts the user when an entry in the base product has been updated. Regrettably, unlike in the Encarta, the updates cannot be downloaded to the user's computer or otherwise incorporated into the vast encyclopedia. Moreover, the product does not alert its user to the existence of completely new articles (e.g., the Kyoto Protocol). Only a manual scan of the monthly lists reveals newly added content. Speaking of updates, one must not forget to dwell on the Britannica's unequalled yearbooks. Each annual volume contains the year in events, scientific developments, and everything you wanted to know about the latest in any and every conceivable field of human endeavor or nature. Close to 10,000 articles culled from the last 10 editions buttress and update the Encyclopedia's anyhow impressive offerings. The Britannica provides considerably more text than any other extant encyclopedia, print or digital. But it has noticeably enhanced it non-textual content over the years (the 1994-7 editions had nothing or very little but words, words, and more words): it now boasts in excess of 21,000 images and illustrations and 900 video and audio clips. The Britannica fully supports serious research. It is a sober assemblage of first-rate essays, up to date bibliographies, and relevant multimedia. It is a desktop university library: thorough, well-researched, comprehensive, trustworthy. The Britannica's 80-100,000 articles (depending on the version) are long and thorough, supported by impressive bibliographies, and written by the best scholars in their respective fields. The company's Editorial Board of Advisors reads like the who's who of the global intellectual and scientific community. The Britannica is an embarrassment of riches. Users often find the wealth and breadth of information daunting and data mining is fast becoming an art form. This is why the Britannica incorporated the Brain Stormer to cope with this predicament. But an informal poll I conducted online shows that few know how to deploy it effectively. The Britannica also sports Student and Elementary versions of its venerable flagship product, replete with a Homework Helpdesk - but it is far better geared to tackle the information needs of adults and, even more so, professionals. It provides unequalled coverage of its topics. Ironically, this is precisely why the market positioning of the Britannica's Elementary and Student Encyclopedias is problematic. The current edition is fully integrated with the Internet. Apart from the updates, it offers additional and timely content and revisions on a dedicated Web site. The digital product includes a staggering number of links (165,808!) to third party content and articles on the Web. The GeoAnalyzer, which compares national statistical data and generates charts and graphs, is now Web-based and greatly enhanced. The Britannica would do well to offer a browser add-on search bar and to integrate with desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Currently it offers search results through Google but this requires the user to install add-ons or plug-ins and to go through a convoluted rite of passage. A seamless experience is in the cards. Users must and will be able to ferret content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. Some minor gripes: The atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Britannica are still surprisingly outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)? Despite considerable improvement over the previous edition, the Britannica still consumes (not to say hogs) computer resource far in excess of the official specifications. This makes it less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. If you own a machine with anything earlier than Pentium 3 and less than 4 Gb of really free space - forget it! The Britannica uses a new graphic and text renderer. On some systems, the user needs to modify his or her desktop settings to get rid of jagged fonts and blurry photos. The software also seriously conflicts with security applications (especially anti-virus and firewall products). It is not compatible with the latest QuickTime, though it offers a patch to remedy the situation. But that's it. Don't think twice. Run to the closest retail outlet (or surf to the Britannica's Web site) and purchase the 2008 edition now. It offers excellent value for money (less than $50) and significantly enhances you access to knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries all over the world. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love - Narcissism Revisited".

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				Hidden Macedonia (Armchair Traveler) (Armchair Traveler) by Christopher Deliso Edition: Hardcover Price: $13.57   Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 4 weeks		10 used & new from $13.57
Macedonia as a Metaphor, August 12, 2007 The author, Chris Deliso, has an MPhil with Honours in Byzantine Studies from Oxford University and his credentials shine throughout the book. His erudition, depth, narration skills, and exquisite (at times, painful) sensitivity to both human and nature give rise to a resonant, synoptic, panoramic, and thrilling travelogue. Chris, an American who made Macedonia his new home, and a family friend by the name of George, a Greek philosopher, are later joined by Chris's Macedonian wife, Buba, and their son, Marko. Together, they reify the Balkans: foreign influences, internecine rivalries, the resilience and warmth of its denizens, and the brighter future that hopefully awaits them all. Their lakes are the only things that the otherwise fractious Macedonia, Greece, and Albania share. The two and then the four tour the shores of these fabled bodies of water and get immersed in their history, archeology, politics, economy, and peoples. Edge-of-the seat situations lifted straight out of Expressionistic horror movies (the unforgettable foray to the Macedonian settlements on the Albanian side of Lake Prespa) alternate with sun and shimmering water and numerous heart-rending human interest stories as various cameo-protagonists struggle to maintain a modicum of human dignity in the face of the overwhelming odds of both gory history and destitution. Chris studies them all with subtlety and with a curious mix of scientific detachment and empathetic compassion. He is a genuine lover of humanity. His sometimes cynical observations are a mere defense mechanism against the pain and hopelessness that pervade this hitherto doomed region that he so clearly is enamoured with. Thus, Hidden Macedonia combines Dame Rebecca West's penetrating (but rarely merciless) insight with Robert Kaplan's narrative excellence. It joins this rarefied bookshelf as an equal. A must for anyone interested not only in the Balkans and in conflict and peace studies- but in what it is that makes us human and forms our personal identity. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love - Narcissism Revisited"

				Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2008 Price: $44.99   Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.		2 used & new from $39.99
Microsoft Student 2008, July 21, 2007 Homework assignments are the bane of most students I know (not to mention their hard-pressed and nescient parents). This is mainly because of the tedious and mind-numbing chores of data mining and composition. Additionally, as knowledge multiplies every 5-10 years, few parents and teachers are able to keep up. Enter Microsoft Student 2008: a productivity suite which includes English and foreign language dictionaries, thesaurus, quotations library, assignment templates, tutorials, graphing calculator software and a Web Companion. MS Student comes replete with the entire Encarta Premium 2008 encyclopedia and its dynamic atlas and provides online access to the feature-rich MSN Encarta Premium through October 2008. The previous versions of Encarta included a host of homework tools. Two years ago, these have evolved into a separate product called Microsoft Student. Since then, it has been gainfully repackaged and very much enhanced. This year, for the first time, MS Student can be downloaded from the Web or purchased as a standalone, packaged product (DVD only). Among the new or revamped features: free online access to MSN Encarta Premium, Step-by-Step Math Solutions calculator, Step-by-Step Math Textbook Solutions, Triangle Solver, Equations Library, tutorials, and foreign language help. To augment the performance of MS Student 2008, Microsoft offers "Learning Essentials": preformatted report and presentation templates and tutorials designed for Microsoft Office XP and later. MS Student's templates are actually clever adaptations of the popular Office suite of products: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They help the student produce homework plans and schedules, science projects, book reports, presentations, research reports, charts, and analyses of problems in math, physics, and chemistry. Detailed step-by-step tutorials, Quick Starters, and pop-up toolbars (menus) guide the student along the way in a friendly, non-intrusive manner. The Ace in MS Student's deck is Microsoft Math. It is a seemingly endless anthology of tools, tutorials and instruction sheets on how to grasp mathematical concepts and solve math problems, from the most basic (e.g., fractions) to mid-level difficulty (e.g., trigonometric functions). And if this is not enough, there's free access to HotMath, an online collection of math study aides and problem solvers. The graphing calculator is a wonder. It has both 2-D and 3-D capabilities and makes use of the full screen. Aided by an extensive Equations Library, it does everything except cook: trigonometry, calculus, math, charting, geometry, physics, and chemistry. And everything in full color! Triangles get special treatment in the Triangle Solver. The most vexing trilateral relationships and rules are rendered simple through the use of enhanced graphics. The Equation Library, though, is disappointing. It holds only 100 equations and calculus is sorely neglected throughout. MS Student provides a powerful English-Spanish-French-German-Italian dictionary. It helps the student to translate and conjugate verbs. The synergy between this product and the impressive foreign language capabilities of MS Word creates an effective language laboratory which allows the user to study the languages up to the point of completing assignments using specialized foreign-language templates. For the student keen on the liberal arts and the humanities, Student 2008 provides detailed Book Summaries of almost 1000 classic works. Besides plot synopses, the student gets acquainted with the author's life, themes and characters in the tomes, and ideas for book reports. Similar to the Encarta, MS Student's Web Companion obtains search results from all the major search engines without launching any additional applications (such as a browser). Content from both the Encyclopedia and the Web is presented side by side. This augmentation explicitly adopts the Internet and incorporates it as an important source of reference - as 80% of students have already done. I am not sure how Microsoft solved the weighty and interesting issues of intellectual property that the Web Companion raises, though. Copyright-holders of Web content may feel that they have the right to be compensated by Microsoft for the use it makes of their wares in its commercial products. MS Student would do well to also integrate with desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Students will benefit from seamless access to content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. Microsoft would do well to incorporate collaborative and Web publishing tools in this product. MS Student does not equip and empower the student to collaborate with teachers and classmates on class projects and to seamlessly publish his or her results and work on the Web. Future editions would do well to incorporate a NetMeeting-like module, a wiki interface, and an HTML editor. All in all, MS Student 2008 is a great contribution to learning. Inevitably, it has a few flaws and glitches. Start with the price. As productivity suites go, it is reasonably priced had its target population been adult professional users. But, at $50-100 (depending on the country), it is beyond the reach of most poor students and parents - its most immediate market niches. MS Student 2008 makes use of Microsoft's .Net technology. As most home computers lack it, the installer insists on adding it to the anyhow bloated Windows Operating System. There is worse to come: the .Net version installed by MS Student 2008 is plagued with security holes and vulnerabilities. Users have to download service packs and patches from Windows Update if they do not wish to run the risk of having their computers compromised by hackers. Fully installed on the hard disk, MS Student 2008, like its predecessors, gobbles up a whopping 4 Gb. That's a lot - even in an age of ever cheaper storage. Most homesteads still sport PCs with 40-80 Gb hard disks. This makes MS Student less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. Finally, there is the question of personal creativity and originality. Luckily, MS Student does not spoon-feed its users. It does not substitute for thinking or for study. On the contrary, by providing structured stimuli, it encourages the student to express his or her ideas. It does not do the homework assignments for the student - it merely helps rid them of time-consuming and machine-like functions. And it opens up to both student and family the wonderful twin universes of knowledge: the Encarta and the Web. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"

				The Cult of the Amateur: How today's Internet is killing our culture by Andrew Keen Edition: Hardcover Price: $15.61   Availability: In Stock		60 used & new from $11.76
The New Dark Ages , July 19, 2007 When I was growing up in a slum in Israel, I devoutly believed that knowledge and education will set me free and catapult me from my miserable circumstances into a glamorous world of happy learning. But now, as an adult, I find myself in an alien universe where functional literacy is non-existent even in developed countries, where "culture" means merely sports and music, where science is decried as evil and feared by increasingly hostile and aggressive masses, and where irrationality in all its forms (religiosity, the occult, conspiracy theories) flourishes. The few real scholars and intellectuals left are on the retreat, back into the ivory towers of a century ago. Increasingly, their place is taken by self-taught "experts", narcissistic bloggers, wannabe "authors" and "auteurs", and partisan promoters of (often self-beneficial) "causes". The mob thus empowered and complimented feels vindicated and triumphant. But history cautions us that mobs have never produced enlightenment - only concentration camps and bloodied revolutions. the Internet can and will be used against us if we don't regulate it. Dismal results ensue: The Wikipedia "encyclopedia" - a repository of millions of factoids, interspersed with juvenile trivia, plagiarism, bigotry, and malice - is "edited" by anonymous users with unlimited access to its contents and absent or fake credentials. Hoarding has replaced erudition everywhere. People hoard e-books, mp3 tracks, and photos. They memorize numerous fact and "facts" but can't tell the difference between them or connect the dots. The synoptic view of knowledge, the interconnectivity of data, the emergence of insight from treasure-troves of information are all lost arts; In an interview in early 2007, the publisher of the New-York Times said that he wouldn't mourn the death of the print edition of the venerable paper and its replacement by a digital one. This nonchalant utterance betrays unfathomable ignorance. Online readers are vastly different to consumers of printed matter: they are younger, their attention span is far shorter, their interests far more restricted and frivolous. The New-York Times online will be forced into becoming a tabloid - or perish altogether; Fads like environmentalism and alternative "medicine" spread malignantly and seek to silence dissidents, sometimes by violent means; The fare served by the electronic media everywhere now consists largely of soap operas, interminable sports events, and reality TV shows. True, niche cable channels cater to the preferences of special audiences. But, as a result of this inauspicious fragmentation, far fewer viewers are exposed to programs and features on science, literature, arts, or international affairs; Reading is on terminal decline. People spend far more in front of screens - both television's and computer - than leafing through pages. Granted, they read online: jokes, anecdotes, puzzles, porn, and e-mail or IM chit-chat. Those who try to tackle longer bits of text, tire soon and revert to images or sounds; With few exceptions, the "new media" are a hodgepodge of sectarian views and fabricated "news". The few credible sources of reliable information have long been drowned in a cacophony of fakes and phonies or gone out of business. It is a sad mockery of the idea of progress. The more texts we make available online, the more research is published, the more books are written - the less educated people are, the more they rely on visuals and soundbites rather than the written word, the more they seek to escape reality and be anesthetized rather than be challenged and provoked. Even the ever-slimming minority who do wish to be enlightened are inundated by a suffocating and unmanageable avalanche of indiscriminate data, comprised of both real and pseudo-science. There is no way to tell the two apart, so a "democracy of knowledge" reigns where everyone is equally qualified and everything goes and is equally merited. This relativism is dooming the twenty-first century to become the beginning of a new "Dark Age", hopefully a mere interregnum between two periods of genuine enlightenment. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"

				Live Forever or Your Money Back - How We Age, How We Die, and How Not To! by Gary Clark Edition: Paperback Price: $19.99   Availability: In Stock		9 used & new from $19.89
Compelling, April 2, 2007 Reviewing earnestly what might be a tongue-in-cheek-tome is an undertaking perilous to one's reputation. I can't remember the last time I experienced the delectable conflict between an irresistible temptation - nay, seduction - to go on reading and a rational command to end my wasteful immersion in the text forthwith. A combination racy autobiography, magic mystery tour, and sober stab at the philosophy of science, this book about "do it yourself - immortality" will captivate you and, if you let it, catapult you into the furthest realms of your most audacious wishful thinking. The author's brand of erudite populism is so convincing that I found myself struggling to maintain my critical faculties intact. You can live forever, too, he proffers. Death and ageing are not inevitable. Well, we will have to wait and see now, don't we? Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

		How to Go to Visitation without Throwing Up by Joshua Shane Evans Edition: Paperback Price: $15.00   Availability: In Stock		3 used & new from $14.99
A friend in time of need, December 19, 2006 Every now and then I come across a book that, slender though it is, makes me sit up and admire the varieties of human empathy and compassion. I never actually contemplated the plight of children on long-distance trips, shuttled between one parent and the other. These kids are bored, scared, sad, and mad at their parents and at the whole world of immature and narcissistic grownups. This book is a real friend in time of need. It contains travel tales, numerous distracting and fun activities as well as safety tips and advice on how to overcome anxiety and how to behave with your parents and others. The book is a rarity: it is not condescending or patronizing. Allegedly written by a pre-teen, it strikes me as the best gift anyone can buy a child in this predicament. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".
		Dear Judge (Kid's Letters to the Judge) by Charlotte Hardwick Edition: Paperback Price: $15.00   Availability: In Stock		7 used & new from $9.29
Heart-wrenching, December 19, 2006 Children are the real casualties of divorce and custody battles. The most important figures in their lives - their parents - often regress to belligerent and narcissistic infantilism. In their anguish, some kids turn to the only reliable grownup around: the judge. This is a compilation of c. 190 letters (some of them mere heartbreaking one-liners) allegedly written by children embroiled in court proceedings to judges on the bench. A must read for parents who are contemplating ugly divorces. These quivering voices of tiny shattered lives put in perspective all that we "adults" hold dear and "worth fighting for". Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

		Just Like His Father? by Liane J. Leedom; M.D. Edition: Perfect Paperback Price: $14.95 Availability: Usually ships in 4 to 6 weeks		1 used & new from $14.95
Enlightenment at last!, October 24, 2006 The author, a trained psychiatrist and a single mother of three, has written in accessible language a much needed compendium of current scientific knowledge regarding two pernicious mental health disorders: the Antisocial Personality Disorder (psychopathy) and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Both have a genetic component, though how decisive is still disputed. But the book goes way beyond a laymen's introduction. It addresses the needs of parents of children at risk - offspring of patients with either disorder. The book provides practical, hands-on advice on how to screen for warning signs and how to prevent the disorder from fully developing. It is a commendable and impressive feat that the author succeeds to proffer a whole new psychodynamic model without once resorting to obscure lingo and psycho-babble. Parents with children diagnosed with Conduct Disorder or Oppositional Defiant Disorder (usually the precursors of the Antisocial Personality Disorder) or with ADHD would greatly benefit from this tome and are likely to find it a source of calm, friendly, and authoritative reassurance. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"

		Encyclopedia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite 2007 DVD-Rom (Win/Mac) Price: $35.96 Availability: In Stock		1 used & new from $35.96
The Encyclopedia Britannica 2007 Opens to the Web, September 25, 2006 The Encyclopedia Britannica 2007 (established in 1768) is again a completely revamped product. The rate of innovation in the last two editions is impressive and welcome. Its interface is intuitive and uncluttered and it is great fun to use. For instance, it offers a date-based daily selection of relevant information and highly edifying interactive tours of articles and attendant media. The search box is persistent - no need to click on the toolbar's "search" button every time you want to find something in this vast storehouse of knowledge. Moreover, the user can save search results onto handy "Virtual Notecards". The new Britannica's display is tab-based, avoiding the erstwhile confusing proliferation of new windows with every move. Most importantly, articles appear in full, not in sections. This major improvement facilitates the finding of relevant keywords in and the printing of entire texts. These are only a few of the numerous user-friendly alterations and enhancements. The Britannica seems to have got it entirely right. Perhaps the most refreshing change is the Britannica's Update Center. Dozens of monthly updates and new, timely articles are made available online (subject to free registration). A special button alerts the user when an article in the base product has been updated. Regrettably, unlike in the Encarta, the updates cannot be downloaded to the user's computer or otherwise incorporated into the vast encyclopedia. The Britannica provides considerably more text than any other extant encyclopedia, print or digital. But its has noticeably enhanced it non-textual content over the years (the 1994-7 editions had nothing or very little but words, words, and more words): it now boasts more than 17,000 images and illustrations and 700 video and audio clips. The Britannica fully supports serious research. It is a sober assemblage of first-rate essays, up to date bibliographies, and relevant multimedia. It is a desktop university library: thorough, well-researched, comprehensive, trustworthy. The Britannica's 80-100,000 articles (depending on the version) are long and thorough, supported by impressive bibliographies, and written by the best scholars in their respective fields. The company's Editorial Board of Advisors reads like the who's who of the global intellectual and scientific community. The Britannica comes bundled with an atlas (between 1600 and 2530 maps and 287 World data Profiles of individual countries and territories), the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus, classic articles from previous editions, ten yearbooks, an Interactive Timeline, a Research Organizer, and a Knowledge Navigator (a Brain Stormer). In its new form, the Britannica is as user-friendly as the Encarta. With monthly updates and 3 months of free access to its impressive powerhouse online Web site, it is bound to give the former close competition. The Britannica is an embarrassment of riches. Users often find the wealth and breadth of information daunting and data mining is fast becoming an art form. This is why the Britannica incorporated the Brain Stormer to cope with this predicament. But an informal poll I conducted online shows that few know how to deploy it effectively. The Britannica also sports Student and Elementary versions of its venerable flagship product, replete with a Homework Helpdesk - but it is far better geared to tackle the information needs of adults and, even more so, professionals. It provides unequalled coverage of its topics. Ironically, this is precisely why the market positioning of the Britannica's Elementary and Student Encyclopedias is problematic. The current edition is fully integrated with the Internet. Apart from the updates, it offers additional and timely content and revisions on a dedicated Web site. The digital product includes a staggering number of links (165,808!) to third party content and articles on the Web. The GeoAnalyzer (compares national statistical data and generates charts and graphs) is now Web-based and greatly enhanced. The Britannica would do well to offer a browser add-on search bar and integrate with desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. A seamless experience is in the cards. Users must and will be able to ferret content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. Some minor gripes: The atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Britannica are surprisingly outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)? Despite considerable improvement over the previous edition, the Britannica still consumes (not to say hogs) computer resource far in excess of the official specifications. This makes it less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. The Britannica uses a new graphic and text renderer. On some systems, the user needs to modify his or her desktop settings to get rid of jagged fonts and blurry photos. But that's it. Don't think twice. Run to the closest retail outlet (or surf to the Britannica's Web site) and purchase the 2007 edition now. It offers excellent value for money (less than $50) and significantly enhances you access to knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries all over the world. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"
		Encyclopedia Britannica Deluxe 2007 DVD-Rom (Win/Mac) Price: $26.96 Availability: In Stock		3 used & new from $26.96
The Encyclopedia Britannica 2007 Opens to the Web, September 25, 2006 The Encyclopedia Britannica 2007 (established in 1768) is again a completely revamped product. The rate of innovation in the last two editions is impressive and welcome. Its interface is intuitive and uncluttered and it is great fun to use. For instance, it offers a date-based daily selection of relevant information and highly edifying interactive tours of articles and attendant media. The search box is persistent - no need to click on the toolbar's "search" button every time you want to find something in this vast storehouse of knowledge. Moreover, the user can save search results onto handy "Virtual Notecards". The new Britannica's display is tab-based, avoiding the erstwhile confusing proliferation of new windows with every move. Most importantly, articles appear in full, not in sections. This major improvement facilitates the finding of relevant keywords in and the printing of entire texts. These are only a few of the numerous user-friendly alterations and enhancements. The Britannica seems to have got it entirely right. Perhaps the most refreshing change is the Britannica's Update Center. Dozens of monthly updates and new, timely articles are made available online (subject to free registration). A special button alerts the user when an article in the base product has been updated. Regrettably, unlike in the Encarta, the updates cannot be downloaded to the user's computer or otherwise incorporated into the vast encyclopedia. The Britannica provides considerably more text than any other extant encyclopedia, print or digital. But its has noticeably enhanced it non-textual content over the years (the 1994-7 editions had nothing or very little but words, words, and more words): it now boasts more than 17,000 images and illustrations and 700 video and audio clips. The Britannica fully supports serious research. It is a sober assemblage of first-rate essays, up to date bibliographies, and relevant multimedia. It is a desktop university library: thorough, well-researched, comprehensive, trustworthy. The Britannica's 80-100,000 articles (depending on the version) are long and thorough, supported by impressive bibliographies, and written by the best scholars in their respective fields. The company's Editorial Board of Advisors reads like the who's who of the global intellectual and scientific community. The Britannica comes bundled with an atlas (between 1600 and 2530 maps and 287 World data Profiles of individual countries and territories), the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus, classic articles from previous editions, ten yearbooks, an Interactive Timeline, a Research Organizer, and a Knowledge Navigator (a Brain Stormer). In its new form, the Britannica is as user-friendly as the Encarta. With monthly updates and 3 months of free access to its impressive powerhouse online Web site, it is bound to give the former close competition. The Britannica is an embarrassment of riches. Users often find the wealth and breadth of information daunting and data mining is fast becoming an art form. This is why the Britannica incorporated the Brain Stormer to cope with this predicament. But an informal poll I conducted online shows that few know how to deploy it effectively. The Britannica also sports Student and Elementary versions of its venerable flagship product, replete with a Homework Helpdesk - but it is far better geared to tackle the information needs of adults and, even more so, professionals. It provides unequalled coverage of its topics. Ironically, this is precisely why the market positioning of the Britannica's Elementary and Student Encyclopedias is problematic. The current edition is fully integrated with the Internet. Apart from the updates, it offers additional and timely content and revisions on a dedicated Web site. The digital product includes a staggering number of links (165,808!) to third party content and articles on the Web. The GeoAnalyzer (compares national statistical data and generates charts and graphs) is now Web-based and greatly enhanced. The Britannica would do well to offer a browser add-on search bar and integrate with desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. A seamless experience is in the cards. Users must and will be able to ferret content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. Some minor gripes: The atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Britannica are surprisingly outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)? Despite considerable improvement over the previous edition, the Britannica still consumes (not to say hogs) computer resource far in excess of the official specifications. This makes it less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. The Britannica uses a new graphic and text renderer. On some systems, the user needs to modify his or her desktop settings to get rid of jagged fonts and blurry photos. But that's it. Don't think twice. Run to the closest retail outlet (or surf to the Britannica's Web site) and purchase the 2007 edition now. It offers excellent value for money (less than $50) and significantly enhances you access to knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries all over the world. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"

		Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2007 Price: $59.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours		2 used & new from $57.95
Homework Made Fun, July 21, 2006 The previous versions of Encarta included a host of homework tools. Last year, these have been made into a separate product called Microsoft Student. It has now been gainfully repackaged and very much enhanced. Among the new or revamped features: free online access to MSN Encarta Premium, Step-by-Step Math Solutions calculator, Step-by-Step Math Textbook Solutions, Triangle Solver, Equations Library, tutorials, and foreign language help. MS Student comes replete with the entire Encarta Premium encyclopedia! Homework assignments are the bane of most students I know (not to mention their hard-pressed and nescient parents). This is mainly because of the tedious and mind-numbing chores of data mining and composition. Additionally, as knowledge multiplies every 5-10 years, few parents and teachers are able to keep up. Enter Microsoft Student 2007 - a productivity suite which, as we mentioned, includes the Encarta Encyclopedia, English and foreign language dictionaries, thesaurus, quotations library, assignment templates, tutorials, graphing calculator software and a Web Companion. Similar to the Encarta, MS Student's Web Companion obtains search results from all the major search engines without launching any additional applications (like a browser). Content from both the Encyclopedia and the Web is presented side by side. This augmentation explicitly adopts the Internet and incorporates it as an important source of reference - as 80% of students have already done. I am not sure how Microsoft solved the weighty and interesting issues of intellectual property that the Web Companion raises, though. Copyright-holders of Web content may feel that they have the right to be compensated by Microsoft for the use it makes of their wares in its commercial products. MS Student would do well to also integrate with new desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Students will benefit from seamless access to content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. MS Student's templates are actually clever adaptations of the popular Office suite of products - Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They help the student produce homework plans and schedules, projects, book reports, presentations, research reports, charts, and analyses of problems in math, physics, and chemistry. Detailed step-by-step tutorials, Quick Starters, and pop-up toolbars (menus) guide the student along the way in a friendly, non-intrusive manner. The graphing calculator is a wonder. It has both 2-D and 3-D capabilities and makes use of the full screen. Aided by an extensive Equations Library, it does everything except cook: trigonometry, calculus, math, charting, geometry, physics, and chemistry. And everything in full color! For the student keen on the liberal arts and the humanities, Student 2007 provides detailed Book Summaries of almost 1000 classic works. Besides plot synopses, the student gets acquainted with the author's life, themes and characters in the tomes, and ideas for book reports. MS Student 2007 is a great contribution to learning. Inevitably, it has a few flaws and glitches. Start with the price. As productivity suites go, it is reasonably priced had its target population been adult professional users. But, at $70-100, it is beyond the reach of most poor students and parents - its most immediate market niches. MS Student 2007 makes use of Microsoft's .Net technology. As most home computers lack it, the installer insists on adding it to the anyhow bloated Windows Operating System. There is worse to come: the .Net version installed by MS Student 2007 is plagued with security holes and vulnerabilities. Users have to download service packs and patches from Windows Update if they do not wish to run the risk of having their computers compromised by hackers. Fully installed on the hard disk, MS Student 2007 gobbles up less than its predecessors but still a whopping 4 Gb. That's a lot - even in an age of ever cheaper storage. Most homesteads still sport PCs with 20-40 Gb hard disks. This makes MS Student less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. Finally, there is the question of personal creativity and originality. Luckily, MS Student does not spoon-feed its users. It does not substitute for thinking or for study. On the contrary, by providing structured stimuli, it encourages the student to express his or her ideas. It does not do the homework assignments for the student - it merely helps rid them of time-consuming and machine-like functions. And it opens up to both student and family the wonderful twin universes of knowledge: the Encarta and the Web. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".
		Microsoft Encarta Premium 2007 Price: $49.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours		14 used & new from $38.98
A universe of knowledge on your screen, July 21, 2006 While Microsoft Encarta Premium 2006 marked Microsoft's commitment to the Web - Microsoft Encarta Premium 2007 marks its commitments to its own technology. The new Encarta relies on Microsoft's powerful, flexible, scalable, and adaptable .Net Framework 2.0. There a price to pay, of course: the time it takes to install the product is much longer and the user is henceforth prompted to constantly download security updates from Microsoft. It is also recommended to turn off your firewall and anti-virus products during installation. More than ever, the Encarta is a breathtaking resource. With 68,000 articles (compared to 64,000 last year), it is much expanded (though about 1000 photos and illustrations and 500 music and sound clips were removed from this edition). Certain, resource-hogging features disappeared from last year (for example: the Read Aloud and Live News functions). The Encarta caters effectively (and, at $30-50, affordably) to the educational needs of everyone in the family, from children as young as 7 or 8 years old to adults who seek concise answers to their queries. It is fun-filled, interactive, and colorful. Kids have their own encyclopedia-within-encyclopedia, dubbed Encarta Kids with age-appropriate, appetizingly presented content and games to boot! The 2007 Encarta's User Interface is far less cluttered than in previous editions. Content is arranged by topics and then by relevancy and medium. Add to this the Encarta's Visual Browser and you get only relevant data in response to your queries. The Encarta Search Bar, which was integrated into the product two years ago, and is resident in the Task Pane even when Encarta is closed, enables users to search any part of the Encarta application (encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, etc). The Encarta's newish Web Companion obtains search results from all the major search engines without launching any additional applications (like a browser). Content from both the Encarta and the Web is presented side by side. This augmentation explicitly adopts the Internet and incorporates it as an important source of reference. I am not sure how Microsoft solved the weighty and interesting issues of intellectual property that the Web Companion raises, though. Copyright-holders of Web content may feel that they have the right to be compensated by Microsoft for the use it makes of their wares in its commercial products. Encarta would do well to also integrate with new desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Users should be able to seamlessly access content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. The Encarta Premium includes a dictionary, thesaurus, chart maker, searchable index of quotations, games, Discovery Channel videos, 25,000 photos and illustrations, 2500 sound and audio clips, hundreds of maps and tables (with a staggering 1.8 million map locations), and 300 videos and animations. It incorporates numerous third-party texts and visuals (including hundreds of newspaper articles and a plethora of Scientific American features). The Encarta is augmented by weekly or bi-weekly updates and the feature-rich online MSN Encarta Premium with its Homework Help offerings. Unfortunately, the Encarta still conditions some of its functions - notably its research tools and updates - on registration with its Plus Club. Moreover, last year Encarta released only 26 updates, compared to its annual average of 50-60. The Encarta is the most comprehensive, PC-orientated reference experience there is. No wonder it has an all-pervasive hold on and ubiquitous penetration of the child-to-young adult markets. Particularly enchanting is the aforementioned Encarta Kids interface - an area replete with interactive quizzes, pictures, large icons, hundreds of articles, and links to the full version of the Encarta. A veritable and colorful sandbox. Those kids are going to get addicted to the Encarta, that's for sure! Encarta actively encourages fun-filled browsing. It is a riot of colors, sidebars, videos, audio clips, photos, embedded links, literature, Web resources, and quizzes. It is a product of the age of mass communication, a desktop extension of television and the Internet. Inevitably, in such a mammoth undertaking, not everything is peachy. A few gripes: As I said, installation is not as easy as before. The Encarta 2007 makes use of Microsoft's .Net technology. As most home computers lack it, the installer insists on adding it to the anyhow bloated Windows Operating System. There is worse to come: the .Net version installed by Encarta 2007 is plagued with security holes and vulnerabilities. Users have to download service packs and patches from Windows Update if they do not wish to run the risk of having their computers compromised by hackers. Fully installed on the hard disk, the Encarta Premium 2007 gobbles up less than its predecessors but still a whopping 3 Gb. That's a lot - even in an age of ever cheaper storage. Most homesteads still sport PCs with 20-40 Gb hard disks. This makes the Encarta less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. The Encarta DVD 3-D tours have improved but they still hog computer resources and are essentially non-interactive. Is it worth the investment and the risk to the stability and performance of the user's computer? The Encarta tries to cater to the needs of challenged users, such as the visually-impaired - but it is far from doing a good or full job of it. The dictionary has been greatly improved in this edition. Actually, the Encarta 2007 comes equipped with five foreign language dictionaries and verb conjugating applications. Still, the atlas, English language dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Encarta are somewhat outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)? The Encarta's New English Dictionary dropped a glossary of computer terms it used to include back in 2001. All's the pity. But that's it. Encarta is a must-buy (especially if you have children). The Encarta is the best value for money around and significantly enhances you access to knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries all over the world. The amount and quality of content squeezed into a $50 package (before rebate) defies belief. I am a 45 years old adult but when I received my Encarta Premium 2007, I was once more a child in a land of wonders. How much is such an experience worth to you? Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Prisoners of Childhood: The Drama of the Gifted Child and the Search for the True Self by Alice Miller List Price: $24.00 Buy new: $16.80 You Save: $7.20 (30%)  Usually ships in 24 hours

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
The Sad Narcissist January 24, 2001
Alice Miller is by far the most prominent popularizer of the twin concepts - True Self and False Self. She regards the True Self as a prisoner within the walls of the False Self. The latter is an intricate and multi-faceted defence mechanism. Defence against what? Against one's emotions that were repressed during early childhood. The narcissist plays a role - that of the gifted, docile, accepting, tranquil, loving, peaceful and well-adjusted child. He becomes the extension of his parents: their unfulfilled dreams and sexret wishes. His identity is moulded to fit the idealized and ideal offspring. His negative feelings are buried deep inside his tormented psyche. These emotional skeletons later erupt and produce depression, suicidal ideation or narcissistic defences. Excellent, readable and - if one can use this word in this context - entertaining. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited'.

You walk on the land until one day the land walks on you by Moshe Benarroch List Price: $16.00 Buy new: $16.00 Usually ships in 5 to 6 days

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
The Flowers of Exile January 21, 2001
There is no exile worse than the internal kind. There is no pain greater than the pain of alienation. There is no craving stronger than the desire to be seen. There is no urge more urgent than longing to belong. And there is no one who knows these truths more than Moshe Benarroche and who expresses them more faithfully. Whether in straightfoward and wistfull narrative, or in fantastic and naively colourful prose, Moshe is there and you are there, surrounded by generations past and engulfed by an all-pervasive yearning. His poetry is an hand extended, an ablution, the smells of childhood, the silent scream of the suppressed and the ignored and the mocked. Moshe knows that the meek shall inherit the earth - but the price is dear. The lost is never found. There is no resurrection in his poems, just a netherland of peripatetic people, looking to connect, looking to comprehend - ultimately, striving to be. A tour de force. But it - and learn Hebrew to read his other tomes. I can't remember the last time that an author's work kept me awake and talking to myself.

The Abandoned Child Within: On Losing and Regaining Self-Worth by Kathrin Asper, Sharon E. Rooks (Translator) Out of Print--Limited Availability

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
The Spectrum of Abuse January 19, 2001
This book is a vivid delight: patients' case histories, patient drawings and the paraphrenalia of a therapist's existence. Underneath this colourful maelstrom lies an hypothesis: pathological narcissism is the direct outcome of early childhood abuse and trauma, mainly in the form of abandonment or neglect. Narcissism, in other words, is a defence against hurt and emotional injury. To eradicate it, one must revert to one's roots and deal with unrsolved pain and conflict with caregivers and significant others (in other words, one's mother). This is the orthodoxy and it is supported by a large body of therapeutical experience. Yet, the author neglects to review the entire spectrum of abuse - from physical to verbal, from smothering to ignoring, from doting to absence. A child treated as a parent's precious extension, the parent's only shot at wish fulfillment and a parent's favourite toy is no less abused than a child abandoned and beaten. this book, in other words, deals with a niche - with ONE of the possible dynamics that lead to narcissism. Otherwise, this is recommended reading....

Narcissism and Intimacy: Love and Marriage in an Age of Confusion by Marion F. Solomon List Price: $15.95 Buy new: $11.17 You Save: $4.78 (30%) Usually ships in 24 hours

25 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
Narcissism and Intimacy are Mutually Exclusive January 15, 2001
A defining dimension of pathological narcissism is the inability to foster and maintain intimacy. Intimacy is not only feared - it is despised because it is perceived as 'common' and 'degrading'. The narcissist idealizes his sources of narcissistic supply and then habitually discards and devalues them. This book is instrumental both as a somewhat iconoclastic introduction to narcissism and as an anatomy of the frustration that is life with a narcissist. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

 

Trapped in the Mirror by Elan Golomb (Author) List Price: $13.95 Buy new: $11.16 You Save: $2.79 (20%) Usually ships in 24 hours

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
The Victims of Stealth January 11, 2001
Pathological narcissism is a stealthy, pernicious and all-pervasive form of semipternal and venomous abuse. The narcissist is not necessarily as 'evil' person. He (for 75% of all narcissists are men) is simply oblivious to the long-term outcomes of his actions and inaction. He uses and discards, idealizes and devalues, derives narcissistic supply and then moves on. To be the child of a narcissist is a harrowing, devastating, incomprehensible experience. Golomb does an unparalleled job of mapping the territory of pain and rage that her childhood was - and by implication the childhood of victims of narcissists is. One of 5 books that are a must to anyone who wants to come to grips and demystify this disorder - Sam Vaknin ...

Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations by Christopher Lasch List Price: $14.95 Buy new: $10.47 You Save: $4.48 (30%) Usually ships in 24 hours

22 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
Abusing Narcissism January 11, 2001
'The Culture of Narcissism - American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations' was published in the first year of the unhappy presidency of Jimmy Carter (1979). The latter endorsed the book publicly (in his famous 'national malaise' speech). The main thesis of the book is that the Americans have created a self-absorbed (though not self aware), greedy and frivolous society which depended on consumerism, demographic studies, opinion polls and Government to know and to define itself. What is the solution? Lasch proposed a 'return to basics': self-reliance, the family, nature, the community, and the Protestant work ethic. To those who adhere, he promised an elimination of their feelings of alienation and despair. There is no single Lasch. This chronicler of culture, did so mainly by chronicling his inner turmoil, conflicting ideas and ideologies, emotional upheavals, and intellectual vicissitudes. In this sense, of (courageous) self-documentation, Mr. Lasch epitomized Narcissism, was the quintessential Narcissist, the better positioned to criticize the phenomenon. Some 'scientific' disciplines (e.g., the history of culture and History in general) are closer to art than to the rigorous (a.k.a. 'exact' or 'natural' or 'physical' sciences). Lasch borrowed heavily from other, more established branches of knowledge without paying tribute to the original, strict meaning of concepts and terms. Such was the use that he made of 'Narcissism'. Lasch's greatest error was that he did not acknowledge that there is an abyss between narcissism and self love, being interested in oneself and being obsessively preoccupied with oneself. Lasch confuses the two. The price of progress is growing self-awareness and with it growing pains and the pains of growing up. It is not a loss of meaning and hope – it is just that pain has a tendency to push everything to the background. Those are constructive pains, signs of adjustment and adaptation, of evolution. America has no inflated, megalomaniac, grandiose ego. It never built an overseas empire, it is made of dozens of ethnic immigrant groups, it strives to learn, to emulate. Americans do not lack empathy - they are the foremost nation of volunteers and also professes the biggest number of (tax deductible) donation makers. Americans are not exploitative - they are hard workers, fair players, Adam Smith-ian egoists. They believe in Live and Let Live. They are individualists and they believe that the individual is the source of all authority and the universal yardstick and benchmark. This is a positive philosophy. Granted, it led to inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth. But then other ideologies had much worse outcomes. Luckily, they were defeated by the human spirit, the best manifestation of which is still democratic capitalism. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited'.

The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self by Alice Miller List Price: $13.00 Buy new: $10.40 You Save: $2.60 (20%) Usually ships in 24 hours

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
The Death of the True Self January 6, 2001
It is rare to read about abuse and trauma and their life-long consequences in poetic prose. Alice Miller writes as though she has experienced the slow death of the True Self that comes with all forms of abuse - from beatings and berating to smothering and doting. Indispensable. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited'.

The Faber Book of Murder by Simon Rae (Editor) Out of Print--Limited Availability

Murder Most Fascinating February 25, 2001
There is something blood-curdling in an alphabetic compilation of sanguineous tales of gore. It is all here, in great detail - the sights and smells and sounds of murder most foul. The contrast between this work of love and its contents is bordering on the insane. The horror and revulsion are mixed with irresistible fascination. This tome is addictive - but not for the squeamish. Perhaps both death and life are essentially the same. Perhaps murder is the usurpation of God's power, a rebellion against our own mortality and helplessness. The breadth of this study of human nature is compelling - from medieval ballads to twentieth century lore. Murder seems to have pre-occupied every author, everywhere, in every period. It is a testament to our atavistic nature, so thinly hidden beneath the oft-cracking veneer of civilization. I live in the Balkan, I was born in the Middle East, I have worked in Africa. This book strikes me as an indispensable tourist guide to these places - where pretension has vanished and the human animal has emerged to prey. And to murder. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited'.

House of Mirrors: The Untold Truth About Narcissistic Leaders and How to Survive Them by Dean B. McJarlin, et al List Price: $24.95 Buy new: $17.47 You Save: $7.48 (30%) Usually ships in 24 hours

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Narcissists in Positions of Authority February 22, 2001
Many leaders - in politics, business, religion, community - are pathological or malignant narcissists. But, maybe surprisingly to some, not all of them. Consider politics. The preponderance of narcissistic traits and personalities in politics is much less than in show business, for instance. Moreover, while show business is concerned essentially (and almost exclusively) with the securing of narcissistic supply - politics is a much more complex and multi-faceted activity. Rather, narcissism in politics is a spectrum. At the one end, we find the 'actors' - politicians who regard politics as their venue and their conduit, an extended theatre with their constituency as an audience. At the other extreme, we find self-effacing and schizoid (crowd-hating) technocrats. Most politicians are in the middle: somewhat self-enamoured, opportunistic and seeking modest doses of narcissistic supply - but mostly concerned with perks, self-preservation and the exercise of power. Most narcissists are ruthless opportunists. But not all opportunistic and ruthless operators are narcissists. This book is a good introduction to narcissists in positions of leadership and to the pernicious effects of their disordered personalities. Yet, all such tomes suffer from a major - and, to my mind, iredeemable, drawback. I am strongly opposed to remote diagnosis. I think it is a bad habit, exercised by charlatans and dilettantes (even if their names are followed by a Psy.D.). Only a qualified mental health diagnostician can determine whether someone suffers from NPD and this, following lengthy tests and personal interviews. Moreover, often, politicians are nothing but a loyal reflection of their milieu, their culture, their society and their times (zeitgeist and leitkultur - the Germans have words for such things). This is the thesis of Daniel Goldhagen in 'Hitler's Willing Executioners'. Lasch, for instance characterized America as narcissistic (in, among others, 'The Culture of Narcissism'). Read cautiously. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited'.

Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History (Vintage Departures) by Robert D. Kaplan List Price: $14.00 Buy new: $11.20 You Save: $2.80 (20%) Usually ships in 24 hours

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Biased Tour de Force February 18, 2001
'Balkan Ghosts' is an impressionistic tour de force of the Balkan. It doesn't come near Rebecca West's masterpiece 'Black Lamb and Gray Falcon' - but it is a travelogue in the same tradition. The author, who is acquainted with certain parts of the Balkan, crosses these tortured lands just prior to the Yugoslav wars of secession. His prognoses are accurate, his depiction of ancient ethnic enmities sweeping, his pessimism justified in hindsight. But too many important aspects are neglected or papered over. The responsibility of the West, the interplay of big powers, the ineptitude of international organizations, the forces of democracy and ethnic reconciliation in the region, religious co-existence and much more besides. Though one sided and biased, it is a must read - if only to understand what influenced the American administration of Bill Clinton in the formulation of its Balkan policies. Sam Vaknin, author of 'After the Rain - How the West Lost the East'.

Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia (Twentieth-Century Classics) by Rebecca West List Price: $23.00 Buy new: $16.10 You Save: $6.90 (30%) Usually ships in 24 hours

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
The Mind of the Balkan February 18, 2001
Never before and never after have the mind of this tortured region - the Balkan - been thus penetrated: with such passionate, humane precision, with such eloquence, with such empathy and such conviction. A classic, if ever there was any, a masterpiece without a doubt. It is as fresh as yesterday's news and as ancient as the monasteries it describes. It is an eternal work, a must for Balkan afficionados, a work of scholarship and love. Influenced by it, I wrote this (in my 'After the Rain - How the West Lost the East'): 'The Balkans is the unconscious of the world...It is here that the repressed memories of history, its traumas and fears and images reside. It is here that the psychodynamics of humanity - the tectonic clash between Rome and Byzantium, West and East, Judeo-Christianity and Islam - is still easily discernible.' Thank you, Rebecca West. Sam Vaknin, author of 'After the Rain - How the West Lost the East'.

Children of the Self-Absorbed: A Grown-Up's Guide to Getting over Narcissistic Parents by Nina W. Brown List Price: $14.95 Buy new: $10.47 You Save: $4.48 (30%) Usually ships in 24 hours

72 of 80 people found the following review helpful:
Narcissistic Parents, Narcissistic Off-spring February 18, 2001
Is there a linear connection between narcissistic parents and narcissistic off-spring? Is there a lineage of narcissism? Is narcissism contagious? Judging by the number of books about 'affected children of narcissists', the answer would seem to be: yes. Growing up with narcissistic parents is tantamount to being a POW, a hostage, the object of the whole spectrum of abuse. It is trauma writ large. And it can - and sometimes does - distort the child's healthy development. Narcissists are, as Nina Brown says, 'self-absorbed'. The child is an extension, a plaything, a toy, a nuisance, a threat - but never, simply, another human being with needs (especially emotional ones) and boundaries to be respected. This book is a straightforward presentation of this state of siege and how to overcome the pernicious after-effects of being exposed to narcissism, replete with case studies. A fascinating read. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited'.

 

The Narcissistic Family : Diagnosis and Treatment by Stephanie Donaldson-Pressman (Author), Robert M. Pressman (Author) List Price: $34.00 Buy new: $34.00  Usually ships in 24 hours

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
The Hydra of Abuse February 10, 2001
This book has an important mission - to re-define abuse. Most people associate the term with beatings or verbal onslaught. But abuse is a spectrum of behaviours. Perhaps the most pernicious kind is the subtle, non-discernible and socially acceptable one. A doting mother, a demanding father, unrealistic expectations, a family ethos of not expressing one's emotions - are all forms of abuse and all might lead to trauma. Treating the child as an extension of the parent, a toy and the conduit of the parent's frustrated dreams and unfulfilled wishes is a violation of the child's forming boundaries. It is a perversion of the all-important processes of individuation and separation. It is a travesty and the child pays its price all its remaining life. Personality disorders are often reactions to such all-pervasive and pernicious abuse. Read all about it in this (somewhat academic) book. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited'

 

The Narcissistic And Borderline Disorders: An Integrated Developmental Approach by James F. Masterson List Price: $55.00 Buy new: $55.00 Usually ships in 24 hours

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
The Bare Bones of Narcissism February 4, 2001
If you want to learn more about pathological narcissism, borderline conditions and other low-organization personalities - this book is for you. Essentially a textbook, it is a surprisingly interesting read (case studies intersdpersed). Yet, the inevitable professional jargon and the book's bias in favour of psychodynamic theories may make it somewhat less desirable as the first text one reads about narcissism. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited'.

Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism (Master Work Series) by Otto F. Kernberg List Price: $50.00 Buy new: $35.00 You Save: $15.00 (30%) Usually ships in 24 hours

12 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
Narcissism - Right and Wrong January 29, 2001
Narcissism is an important phase in one's personal development. It is the foundation of a sense of self worth and self-confidence. It is self-love in its benign form. But then, having fulfilled its role, it is replaced by love directed at others (object love). It is here that pathologies occur when the individual is unable to successfully accomplish this transition. Pathological narcissism is a lot more than a fixation on an early developmental phase, though. This is the first weak point of this otherwise seminal work. It is, well, fixated, on a psychodynamic-object relations scenario. additionally, the distinctions between borderline conditions and pathological narcissism - both states of low organization of the personality - are blurred. Otherwise, it is a masterpiece of hands-on clinical work well worth perusing. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited'.

 

Verbal Abuse Survivors Speak Out; On relationship and recovery by Patricia Evans List Price: $10.95 Buy new: $8.76 You Save: $2.19 (20%)  Usually ships in 24 hours

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
The Spectrum of Abuse March 13, 2001
This book is a testimony from hell - the transparent torture chamber that verbal abuse - recurrent, unpredictable, taunting - often becomes. It is a horror story disguised as passioned observations of victims and perpetrators. Abuse is an integral, inseparable part of the Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The narcissist idealizes and then DEVALUES and discards the object of his initial idealization. This abrupt, heartless devaluation IS abuse. ALL narcissists idealize and then devalue. This is THE core of pathological narcissism. The narcissist exploits, lies, insults, demeans, ignores (the "silent treatment"), manipulates, controls. All these are forms of abuse. There are a million ways to abuse. To love too much is to abuse. It is tantamount to treating someone as an extension, an object, or an instrument of gratification. To be over-protective, not to respect privacy, to be brutally honest, or consistently tactless - is to abuse. To expect too much, to denigrate, to ignore - are all modes of abuse. There is physical abuse, verbal abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse. The list is long. Narcissists are masters of abusing surreptitiously. They are "stealth abusers". You have to actually live with one in order to witness the abuse. This book is as close as it gets to the real life experience. An eye (rather, ear) opener. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

 

Kosovo: War and Revenge by Tim Judah Out of Print--Limited Availability

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
The Jejune West March 10, 2001
Tim Judah is no scholar. This is not a work of great erudition. But, as an eyewitness account, it ranks close to Rebecca West's classic. It is a heart rending and compelling foray into the real "Apocalypse Now" that the Balkan has become once more. Whenever the Big Powers set out to pacify this region they succeeded only in perpetuating the carnage. The result? Never before has the Balkan been more of a powder keg, ready to detonate thunderously. Never before has it been so fractured among political entities, some viable - many not. Never before has it been dominated by a single superpower, not counter-balanced by its allies nor shackled by its foes. This is a disastrous state of things, about to get worse. Driven by America - this amalgam of violent frontiersmen, semi-literate go getters and malignant optimists ("with some goodwill there is always a solution and a happy ending") - the West has committed the sins of ignorant intervention and colonial perpetuation. Peace among nations is the result of attrition and exhaustion, of mutual terror and actual bloodletting - not of amicable agreement and visionary stratagems. It took two world wars to make peace between France and Germany. By forcing an unwanted peace upon an unwilling populace in the early stages of every skirmish - the West has ascertained the perpetuation of these conflicts. Witness Bosnia and its vociferous nationalist Croats. Witness Macedonia's and Kosovo's Albanians and their chimerical armies of liberation. These are all cinders of hostilities artificially suppressed by Western procurators and Western cluster bombs. The West should have dangled the carrots of NATO and EU memberships in front of the bloodied pugilists - not ram them down their reluctant throats in shows of air superiority. Humanitarian aid should have been provided and grants and credits for development to the deserving. But the succour afforded by the likes of Germany to the likes of Croatia and by the benighted Americans to the most extreme elements in Kosovo - served only to amplify and prolong the suffering and the warfare. The West obstinately refused - and still does - to contemplate the only feasible solution to the spectrum of Balkan questions. Instead of convening a new Berlin Congress and redrawing the borders of the host of entities, quasi-entities and fraction entities that emerged with the disintegration of the Yugoslav Federation - the West foolishly and blindly adheres to unsustainable borders which reflect colonial decision making and ceasefire lines. In the absence of a colonizing power, only ethnically-homogeneous states can survive peacefully in the Balkan. The West should strive to effect ethnic homogenization throughout the region by altering borders, encouraging population swaps and transfers and discouraging ethnic cleansing and forced assimilation ("ethnic denial"). Sam Vaknin, author of "After the Rain - How the West Lost the East".

 

The Second October Revolution March 4, 2001
Balkan history books rarely require a second edition. 'The Fragmentation of Yugoslavia' is the second edition of a tract in political science. It is interesting to compare the Tables of Content of both editions. 'Slovenia and Croatia at War' becomes 'Wars for Independence: Slovenia and Croatia', 'War in Bosnia Hercegovina' mutates to 'An Unfinished National Liberation'. The chapter 'A War against the Serbs or a US-brokered peace' vanishes altogether and another enters: 'Kosovo: National Liberation through Foreign Interventions'. He identifies four cycles of grievance-fuelled and paroxysmal national liberation wars. We are amidst the fourth, he says and offers a naive and impractical solution: plebiscites in the contested areas (Western Macedonia, Kosovo, Krajina, etc.). Exasperatingly, the author asks in an epilogue: 'National Liberations: Is there an end to them?'. With the stirrings in Montenegro and the forthcoming civil war in Kosovo, it doesn't seem so. But the author does a superb job of charting the territory with only the slightest and almost imperceptible (and inevitable) bias. Yugoslavia disintegrated on television, in bloodied frames and to vehement narration. It is a sad tale of good intentions and the road to hell, aptly told. It is a recommended and thrilling introductory text and a thorough documentation of the human folly and malice that put the noble idea of 'Brotherhood and Unity' to such a butchered end. Sam Vaknin, author of 'After the Rain - How the West Lost the East'.

Unleashing the Ideavirus by Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell (Foreword) Out of stock

6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
The Missing Link March 4, 2001
The recent bloodbath among online content peddlers and digital media proselytisers can be traced to two deadly sins. The first was to assume that traffic equals sales. In other words, that a miraculous conversion will spontaneously occur among the hordes of visitors to a web site. It was taken as an article of faith that a certain percentage of this mass will inevitably and nigh hypnotically reach for their bulging pocketbooks and purchase content, however packaged. Moreover, ad revenues (more reasonably) were assumed to be closely correlated with "eyeballs". This myth led to an obsession with counters, page hits, impressions, unique visitors, statistics and demographics. It failed, however, to take into account the dwindling efficacy of what Seth Godin, in his brilliant essay ("Unleashing the IdeaVirus"), calls "Interruption Marketing" - ads, banners, spam and fliers. It also ignored, at its peril, the ethos of free content and open source prevalent among the Internet opinion leaders, movers and shapers. These two neglected aspects of Internet hype and culture led to the trouncing of erstwhile promising web media companies while their business models were exposed as wishful thinking. The second mistake was to exclusively cater to the needs of a highly idiosyncratic group of people (Silicone Valley geeks and nerds). The assumption that the USA (let alone the rest of the world) is Silicone Valley writ large proved to be calamitous to the industry. In the 1970s and 1980s, evolutionary biologists like Richard Dawkins and Rupert Sheldrake developed models of cultural evolution. Dawkins' "meme" is a cultural element (like a behaviour or an idea) passed from one individual to another and from one generation to another not through biological -genetic means - but by imitation. Sheldrake added the notion of contagion - "morphic resonance" - which causes behaviour patterns to suddenly emerged in whole populations. Physicists talked about sudden "phase transitions", the emergent results of a critical mass reached. A latter day thinker, Michael Gladwell, called it the "tipping point". Seth Godin invented the concept of an "ideavirus" and an attendant marketing terminology. In a nutshell, he says, to use his own summation: "Marketing by interrupting people isn't cost-effective anymore. You can't afford to seek out people and send them unwanted marketing, in large groups and hope that some will send you money. Instead the future belongs to marketers who establish a foundation and process where interested people can market to each other. Ignite consumer networks and then get out of the way and let them talk." This is sound advice with a shaky conclusion. The conversion from exposure to a marketing message (even from peers within a consumer network) - to an actual sale is a convoluted, multi-layered, highly complex process. It is not a "black box", better left unattended to. It is the same deadly sin all over again - the belief in a miraculous conversion. And it is highly US-centric. People in other parts of the world interact entirely differently. Two successful authors, Melisse J. Rose and Doug Clepp, are now in the process of constructing a web site that will institutionalise "buzz marketing" (a technique they successfully applied to their own products). They intend to help authors to mine the Internet for readers who will then interact with other readers to generate a favourable "hum". You can get them to visit and you get them to talk and you can get them to excite others. But to get them to buy - is a whole different ballgame. Dot.coms had better begin to study its rules. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) DVD ~ Matt Damon Out of stock

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
The Narcissist in Action March 4, 2001
"The Talented Mr. Ripley" is an Hitchcockian and blood-curdling study of the psychopath and his victims. At the centre of this masterpiece, set in the exquisitely decadent scapes of Italy, is a titanic encounter between Ripley, the aforementioned psychopath protagonist and young Greenleaf, a consummate narcissist.

But perhaps the most intriguing portraits are those of the victims. Marge insists, in the face of the most callous and abusive behaviour, that there is something "tender" in Greenleaf Jr. When she confronts the beguiling monster, Ripley, she encounters the fate of all victims of psychopaths: disbelief, pity and ridicule. The truth is too horrible to contemplate, let alone comprehend. Psychopaths are inhuman in the most profound sense of this compounded word. Their emotions and conscience have been amputated and replaced by phantom imitations. But it is rare to pierce their meticulously crafted facade. They more often than not go on to great success and social acceptance while their detractors are relegated to the fringes of society. Both Meredith and Peter, who had the misfortune of falling in deep, unrequited love with Ripley, are punished. One by losing his life, the other by losing Ripley time and again, mysteriously, capriciously, cruelly.

Thus, ultimately, the film is an intricate study of the pernicious ways of psychopathology. Mental disorder is a venom not confined to its source. It spreads and affects its environment in a myriad surreptitiously subtle forms. It is a hydra, growing one hundred heads where one was severed. Its victims writhe and as abuse is piled upon trauma - they turn to stone, the mute witnesses of horror, the stalactites and stalagmites of pain untold and unrecountable. For their tormentors are often as talented as Mr. Ripley is and they are as helpless and as clueless as his victims are.

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

The Political Economy of Post-Soviet Russia by Vladimir Tikhomirov List Price: $69.95 Buy new: $69.95 Usually ships in 24 hours

Dreamworld and Catastrophe: The Passing of Mass Utopia in East and West by Susan Buck-Morss (Author) List Price: $55.00 Buy new: $55.00 Usually ships in 24 hours

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
The Betrayal of History February 25, 2001
'Dreamworld and Catastrophe' is a cry of anguish disguised as the interdisciplinary analyses of a (neo-)Marxist scholar. It is a fragmentary and tortured reaction to the betrayal of history, in the best of Walter Benjamin's tradition, consciously emulated in this tome by this leading authority on the Frankfurt School. It is painful to wade through the convolutions of denial, intellectualization and projection that constitute the first part ('Democracy' - the political framework). The next two sections ('History' and 'Mass Culture')are a joyride of erudition and an intellectual tour de force. The last part - a dry chronicle of the comings and goings of the author's milieu amidst the disintegration of the USSR and the emergence of Russia - is anti-climactic. The opus in its entirety does not fuflil the blurb's somewhat hubristic promise: 'This book offers a revaluation of the twentieth century'. Sam Vaknin, author of 'After the Rain - How the West Lost the East'

Essential Papers on Narcissism (Essential Papers in Psychoanalysis) by Andrew P. Morrison (Editor) List Price: $30.00 Buy new: $30.00 Usually ships in 24 hours

The Emerging Self: A Developmental, Self, and Object Relatio: A Developmental Self & Object Relations Approach to the Treatment of the Closet Narcissistic Disorder of the Self by James F., M.D. Masterson List Price: $55.00 Buy new: $55.00 Usually ships in 24 hours

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Outing the Narcissist August 11, 2001
Masterson is one of the few theoreticians [come] practitioners to offer a coherent and self-sufficient theory of personality disorders, including the narcissistic one. This book encourages diagnosticians to diagnose pathological narcissism, even when the presenting signs are misleading. Masterson believes in the unacanny ability of pernicious narcissism to disguise itself and manifest in numerous, uncharted, ways. His is a road map backed by impressive amounts of research and practice. The only drawback is that it presents only the views of the psychodynamic [come]object relations school of psychology and largely ignores advances in other fields. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Humanizing the Narcissistic Style (Norton Professional Books) by Stephen M. Johnson List Price: $32.00 Buy new: $32.00 Usually ships in 24 hours

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
The Narcissistic Beacon August 11, 2001
Pathological narcissism is a pattern of traits and behaviours which signify infatuation and obsession with one's (False) Self to the exclusion of all others and the egotistic and ruthless pursuit of one's gratification, dominance and ambition. The concepts of False Self and Narcissistic Supply are critical for the understanding of narcissistic behaviour patterns. So is the ruthlessness and single-mindedness of the narcissist, addicted to his narcissistic supply, devoid of empathy, deficient in object relations, his immature True Self atrophied and dilapidated. This book is about narcissistic interactions with others, in the context of our (narcissistic) culture. The efficaciousness of the treatment offered is doubtful, the language is sometimes obstruse, the book is tiresomely repetitive. But it is a must on the bookshelf of clinicians, therapists, patients, and their nearest and dearest. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Search For The Real Self : Unmasking The Personality Disorders Of Our Age by James Masterson (Author) List Price: $13.95 Buy new: $11.16 You Save: $2.79 (20%) Usually ships in 24 hours

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Our Age and the Real Self August 5, 2001
Masterson may be on to something in the title of this book (as was Lasch). A hundred years from now, "personality disorders" may be thought of as a cultural artefact, the product of mass delusions. That the book tackles an enormous range of human behaviour under the same clinical heading weakens its usefulness. Still, it is an interesting tour de horizon of personality disorders, the functions of the False Self, and the ways to revive, nourish, sustain, and "re-activate" the dilapidated True Self (rarely successfully - something the book cheerfully omits to mention). Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

NARCISSISM by Alexander Lowen (Author) List Price: $9.00 Buy new: $9.00 Usually ships in 24 hours

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Too Narrow, too Wide August 5, 2001
Alexander Lowen is an authority on pathological narcissism. The book is an overview of this pernicious disorder characterized by self-destruction and lives wasted - both the narcissist's and his nearest and dearest. Lowen observes correctly that narcissism is the outcome of alienation and dissociation. A False Self is created - often in response to early childhood trauma and abuse in its myriad forms. Lowen was among the first to suggest that re-connecting with the atrophied, immature, and repressed True Self of the patient will serve to revitalize it. I don't care much for the bio-energetic mumbo jumbo - but the rest of the book is worth the investment. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia by Michael Parenti List Price: $22.00 Buy new: $15.40 You Save: $6.60 (30%) Usually ships in 24 hours

15 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
Conspiracy theories 101 May 11, 2001
It is so easy to mistake ignorance for malice, haughtiness for evil, and, in general, stupidity for conspiracy. That the democratic-liberal West is mercantilistic is true. That its main drive is to create stable (and subsrvient) markets for its ever gushing flood of products is reasonable. That it discriminates against third world countries in trade and investment, in draining their brainpower and banning their immigrants - is all known. That these things constitute crimes is far from being self-evident. And to claim that it has engaged in a pre-meditated effort to dismantle Yugoslavia and kill the Serb nation is the kind of conspiratorial and self-pitying lunacy that got the Serbs to where they are. Granted: the bombing of Yugoslavia was an haphazard and ugly act. The Western media - chiefly the CNN - provided a biased and unethical view of the whole conflict. Serbs were demonised while their no less murderous neighbours were ignored or actively excused. But these are the results of micromanagement and malignant optimism, avarice and a soundbite mentality with a short attention span. Driven by America - this amalgam of violent frontiersmen, semi-literate go getters and malignant optimists ('with some goodwill there is always a solution and a happy ending') - the West has committed the sins of ignorant intervention and colonial perpetuation. Still, it is a far cry from murder. Sam Vaknin, author of 'After the Rain - How the West Lost the East'.

The Narcissistic Pursuit of Perfection by Arnold Rothstein List Price: $29.95 Buy new: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
The Perfect Self-destruction May 11, 2001
This book straddles the divide between textbook and a self-help tome. It does it no good. It is full with analyses of cases - from the literary to the real and will, probably, be of value mostly to therapists - at least those unfortunate enough to deal with narcissists. Its main subject is the narcissist's self-destruction in its attempt at perfection. But there are a few types of narcissistic self-destructive and self defeating behaviours. The Self-Punishing, Guilt-Purging Behaviours are intended to inflict punishment and to provide the punished party with a feeling of instant relief. This is very reminiscent of a compulsive-ritualistic behavior. The person harbors guilt. It could be an "ancient" guilt, a "sexual" guilt (Freud), or a "social" guilt. He internalized and introjected voices of meaningful others that consistently and convincingly and from positions of authority informed him that he is no good, guilty, deserving of punishment or retaliation, corrupt. His life is thus transformed into an on-going trial. The constancy of this trial, the never adjourning tribunal IS the punishment. It is Kafka's "trial": meaningless, undecipherable, never-ending, leading to no verdict, subject to mysterious and fluid laws and presided by capricious judges. Then there are the Extracting Behaviours. People with Personality Disorders (PDs) are very afraid of real, mature, intimacy. Intimacy is formed not only within a couple, but also in a workplace, in a neighbourhood, with friends, while collaborating on a project. Intimacy is another word for emotional involvement, which is the result of interactions in constant and predictable (safe) proximity. PDs interpret intimacy (not DEPENDENCE, but intimacy) as strangulation, the snuffing of freedom, death in installments. They are terrorized by it. The self-destructive and self-defeating acts are intended to dismantle the very foundation of a successful relationship, a career, a project, or a friendship. NPDs (narcissists), for instance, feel elated and relieved after they unshackle these "chains". They feel they broke a siege, that they are liberated, free at last. Last, but not rare, there are the Default Behaviours. We are all afraid of new situations, new possibilities, new challenges, new circumstances and new demands. Being healthy, being successful, getting married, becoming a mother, or someone's boss – are often abrupt breaks with the past. Some self-defeating behaviors are intended to preserve the past, to restore it, to protect it from the winds of change, to inertially avoid opportunities. The book fails to make the subtle distinctions between these types of behaviours which are essential to a real understanding of this alien, the narcissist. ...

The Uninvited Guest: Emerging from Narcissism Towards Marriage in Psychoanalytic Therapy With Couples by James Fisher List Price: $35.00 Buy new: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Marriage under Siege May 5, 2001
The author rightly posits narcissism and marriage as poles, demarcating a road to be travelled. "From narcissism towards marriage" is about this road taken by couples in anguish. The pathological narcissism of one of the members of the dyad almost invariably destbailizes the marriage and leads to painful disintegration. What makes matters worse is the incomprehensibility and arbitrariness of this disorder. The author does a fine job of deciphering narcissism and delineating its pernicious and all-pervasive penetration of every nook and cranny of the couple's life. The book is full of case studies and real life examples. The only problem is its bias and, therefore, its limited scope. It is a book about one specific type of marital therapy. Narcissism is not amenable to this kind of therapy (or to any other psychodynamic therapy). It reacts better to cognitive-behavioural therapy. But, otherwise, it is an enriching and enlightening tome. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

The Matrix (1999) DVD ~ Keanu Reeves List Price: $19.99 Buy new: $14.99 You Save: $5.00 (25%) Usually ships in 24 hours

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
The Matrix of Reality March 16, 2001
In the visually tantalizing movie, "The Matrix", a breed of AI computers takes over the world. It harvests human embryos in laboratories called "fields". It then feeds them through grim looking tubes and keeps them immersed in gelatinous liquid in cocoons. This new "machine species" derives its energy needs from the electricity produced by the billions of human bodies thus preserved. A sophisticated, all-pervasive, computer program called "The Matrix" generates a "world" inhabited by the consciousness of the unfortunate human batteries. Ensconced in their shells, they see themselves walking, talking, working and making love. This is a tangible and olfactory phantasm masterfully created by the Matrix. Its computing power is mind boggling. It generates the minutest details and reams of data in a spectacularly successful effort to maintain the illusion.

A group of human miscreants succeeds to learn the secret of the Matrix. They form an underground and live aboard a ship, loosely communicating with a halcyon city called "Zion", the last bastion of resistance. In one of the scenes, Cypher, one of the rebels defects. Over a glass of (illusory) rubicund wine and (spectral) juicy steak, he poses the main dilemma of the movie. Is it better to live happily in a perfectly detailed delusion - or to survive unhappily but free of its hold?

The Matrix controls the minds of all the humans in the world. It is a bridge between them, they inter-connected through it. It makes them share the same sights, smells and textures. They remember. They compete. They make decisions. The Matrix is sufficiently complex to allow for this apparent lack of determinism and ubiquity of free will. The root question is: is there any difference between making decisions and feeling certain of making them (not having made them)? If one is unaware of the existence of the Matrix, the answer is no. From the inside, as a part of the Matrix, making decisions and appearing to be making them are identical states. Only an outside observer - one who in possession of full information regarding both the Matrix and the humans - can tell the difference.

Moreover, if the Matrix were a computer program of infinite complexity, no observer (finite or infinite) would have been able to say with any certainty whose a decision was - the Matrix's or the human's. And because the Matrix, for all intents and purposes, is infinite compared to the mind of any single, tube-nourished, individual - it is safe to say that the states of "making a decision" and "appearing to be making a decision" are subjectively indistinguishable. No individual within the Matrix would be able to tell the difference. His or her life would seem to him or her as real as ours are to us. The Matrix may be deterministic - but this determinism is inaccessible to individual minds because of the complexity involved. When faced with a trillion deterministic paths, one would be justified to feel that he exercised free, unconstrained will in choosing one of them. Free will and determinism are indistinguishable at a certain level of complexity.

Yet, we KNOW that the Matrix is different to our world. It is NOT the same. This is an intuitive kind of knowledge, for sure, but this does not detract from its firmness. If there is no subjective difference between the Matrix and our Universe, there must be an objective one. Another key sentence is uttered by Morpheus, the leader of the rebels. He says to "The Chosen One" (the Messiah) that it is really the year 2199, though the Matrix gives the impression that it is 1999.

This is where the Matrix and reality diverge. Though a human who would experience both would find them indistinguishable - objectively they are different. In one of them (the Matrix), people have no objective TIME (though the Matrix might have it). The other (reality) is governed by it.

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR (Text Revision) by Task Force on DSM-IV, American Psychiatric Association List Price: $59.95 Buy new: $59.95 Usually ships in 24 hours

The human psyche captured June 8, 2003
The DSM is - unjustly - much decried and much derided by critics, both laymen and mental health practitioners. Its shortcomings notwithstanding, it is a noble and largely successful attempt to capture the dysfunctions of the human psyche in the confines of a single tome. Is mental illness a mere figment of our cultural and social milieu? Are the distinctions between mental disorders - the differential diagnoses - too ambiguous? Is the DSM too formal and bureaucratic? You bet. Has anyone come up with anything remotely better? No, Sir! The DSM is not only a system of classification - but also an insightful distillation of decades of clinical experience. A must. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie List Price: $5.99 Buy new: $5.99 Usually ships in 24 hours

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The Chronicler of Demise February 8, 2003
Agatha Christie is the unwitting and morbidly fascinating chronicler of her own demise - the gradual fading of her milieu, her period, its mores and values, beliefs and superstitions, dreams and aspirations. The mirror of pre-Hitler Europe crack'd and then there were none. She was there, an indefatigable and uncannily observant documentarist of a dying era. sam Vaknin, author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, John Tenniel (Illustrator) List Price: $16.99 Buy new: $11.89 You Save: $5.10 (30%) Usually ships in 24 hours

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
The Gathering Storm February 8, 2003
A prophetic tome which foretold the gathering storm of the 20th century: moral relativism, social disintegration, lethal authoritarianism, the absurd. A dark, haunting and disturbing masterpiece masterfully disguised as a nursery tale. Sam Vaknin, author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited.

Why Is It Always About You? : Saving Yourself from the Narcissists in Your Life by Sandy Hotchkiss (Author) List Price: $24.00 Buy new: $16.80 You Save: $7.20 (30%) Usually ships in 24 hours

Guide to Survival September 28, 2002
The literature about narcissism is rich in scholarly, obstruse, discussions of psychodynamics, etiology, differential diagnoses and other unhelpful issues.It is poor in down-to-earth, practical, "how to cope" manuals. This book contains a rudimentary overview of pathological narcissism and then proceeds to identify the traits and dysfunctional behaviors of the narcissist - replete with hundreds of examples from the author's mental health practice. It then proceeds to provide check lists,tips, and advice on how to cope with this destructive and perniciousphenomenon. Along needed and long missing work. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited."
 

Bully in Sight: How to Predict, Resist, Challenge and Combat Workplace Bullies by Tim Field List Price: $18.95 Buy new: $18.95 Special Order

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Hope for the Trapped January 26, 2002
I have been following Tim Field's work closely since 1998 - visiting his ever-evolving Web site weekly. I read "Bully in Sight" from cover to cover twice. It provided me with invaluable and indispensable help in coping with stalkers and bullies. I have dedicated the last 5 years to the study of the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). Most narcissists are bullies. Few have captured the essence of bullying and stalking as Tim has. His work has given hope to many - the trapped and desperate victims of bullying, harassment and stalking. His book and Web site should be the first stop on the road to recovery and healing. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Disorders of Narcissism: Diagnostic, Clinical, and Empirical Implications by Elsa F. Ronningstam (Editor) List Price: $35.00 Buy new: $24.50 You Save: $10.50 (30%) Usually ships in 24 hours

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
A Must! August 17, 2001
Pathological narcissism has been the topic of heated discussion for a hundred years now. Freud, Kohut, Klein, Winnicott, Kernberg - have all contributed their point of view. Roningstam belongs in this august company as a major theoretician and practitioner. This book - an anthology of writings about this intractable and maddening phenomena - is both whole and partial. It is whole is that it provides a magnificent overview and an efficient launching pad to the understanding of narcissism. It is partial in that it presents only the views of the psychodynamic object relations school of psychology and largely ignores advances in other fields. But it is a great read and provides hope that treatment may finally be getting there and breaching the narcissistic barrier. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter List Price: $21.00 Buy new: $14.70 You Save: $6.30 (30%) Usually ships in 24 hours

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Eternal Golden Braid - Finally, Truth in Advertising! August 12, 2001
Science and art have never been less accessible. They have become obscure private languages, requiring rites of initiation and proficiency in coding and decoding. But while art has largely remained the preserve of an elite - science has been popularized by both its practitioners and a host of talented observers and reporters. The reason is that science is all-pervasive while art is still a museum thing. In the genre of popular science there is nothing that comes close to this book. It combines music and literature with formal logic and computer science. It is poetic while being rigorous, breathless without deteriorating to pseudo-science. In short: a masterpiece. The book strives - and succeeds - to demonstrate that ostensibly disparate phenomena like ant colonies, Bach's music, the structure and functioning of the brain, and programming languages - have more in common than we imagine. Uncovering these strains of similarity and strands of common order is done in a systematic but highly entertaining manner. The book is as taut as a thriller and as fun as "Alice in Wonderland" that it so often quotes. A treat untouched by the almost three decades that elapsed since it was first published. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

The Destructive Narcissistic Pattern by Nina W. Brown (Author) List Price: $59.95 Buy new: $59.95 Usually ships in 24 hours

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
Partial Narcissists August 11, 2001
Pathological narcissism is a spectrum - from narcissistic traits and narcissistic transient reactions to the full blown narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Brown explores the grey area between NPD and narcissistic self-destructiveness and other-destruction. We can group these behaviors according to their underlying motivation. The Self-Punishing, Guilt-Purging Behaviours - these are intended to inflict punishment and to provide the punished party with a feeling of instant relief. The Extracting Behaviours - people with Personality Disorders (PDs) are very afraid of real, mature, intimacy. PDs interpret intimacy (not DEPENDENCE, but intimacy) as strangulation, the snuffing of freedom, death in installments. They are terrorized by it. The self-destructive and self-defeating acts are intended to dismantle the very foundation of a successful relationship, a career, a project, or a friendship. The Default Behaviours - self-defeating behaviors are intended to preserve the past, to restore it, to protect it from the winds of change, to inertially avoid opportunities. All these behaviour patterns are described here and linked psychodynamically to pathological narcissism. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited'.

Shame: The Underside of Narcissism by Andrew P. Morrison List Price: $29.95 Buy new: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
Shame on You August 11, 2001
Shame and guilt - often experienced during childhood and early adolescence - are the two relentless drivers of the veering car of pathological narcissism. Narcissistic Shame is the experience of a humiliating Grandiosity Gap (the tormenting abyss between the narcissist's reality and his grandiose fantasies). Subjectively it is experienced as a pervasive feeling of worthlessness (the regulation of self-worth lies at the crux of pathological narcissism), "invisibleness" and ridiculousness. The patient feels pathetic and foolish, deserving of mockery and humiliation. Narcissists adopt all kinds of defences to counter Narcissistic Shame. They develop addictive or impulsive behaviours. They deny, withdraw, rage, engage in the compulsive pursuit of some kind of (unattainable, of course) perfection. They display haughtiness and exhibitionism and so on. All these defences are employed primitively (or are primitive, like splitting) and involve projective identification. This book is the best study there is of the incestuous relationship of narcissism and pernicious shame. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Narcissism and Character Transformation: The Psychology of Narcissistic Character Disorders (190P) by Nathan Schwartz-Salant List Price: $18.00 Buy new: $18.00 Usually ships in 24 hours

9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
The Obfuscating Myth August 11, 2001
Schwartz-Salant is one of the most thought-provoking Jungians around. He continues and extends Jung's archetypal narratives by exploring deeper links with alchemy, mythology, and other psychodynamics and object relations schools of psychology. In this book, he uses Greek mythology as an exegetic (interpretative) framework to gain clinical insights. This is not such a good idea and resorting to Kohut's work does not counter-balance this deficiency. Greek mythology is limited both by its set of characters and their interactions and by its cultural context. That it is a finished work - cast in the stone of history - makes it static and unable to cope with the dynamics of the hydra of pathological narcissism. A colourful intellectual exercise - but of very litlle clinical use, I am afraid. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

The Seasons of Your Career : How to Master the Cycles of Career Change by Kathy Sanborn, Wayne R. Ricci (Contributor) List Price: $12.95 Buy new: $10.36 You Save: $2.59 (20%) Usually ships in 24 hours

A Rare Beast June 29, 2003
A rare beast this - jargon-free, down-to-earth, one hundred percent useful career advice! This slender tome contains in 144 pages more than thickset predecessors did in a thousand.

The author's premise is promisingly simple: careers and jobs go through seasonal changes. Spring is time for rejuvenation, energy, and initiative. Summer is the peak of one's professional achievements. Autumn is inertial and tired. Winter is both unsettling (as in being fired) and exciting (as in embarking on a new career).

The authors identify the risks associated with each season as well as the opportunities it holds. Easy to fulfill questionnaires drive this journey of self-discovery and re-emergence. The results are often surprising and thought-provoking.

Highly recommended and worth every cent (or penny).

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Broken Structures: Severe Personality Disorders and Their Treatment by Salman Akhtar List Price: $50.00 Buy new: $35.00 You Save: $15.00 (30%) Usually ships in 3 to 5 weeks

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Objects, not Relations June 25, 2003
With an introduction by the doyen of the field, Otto Kernmberg, the book sails off to a good start. Akhtar is a prolific scholar of personality disorders. This tome is typically lucid and borrows from a deep theoretical background coupled with a rich clinical experience. Yet, it is largely confined to the vantage point of Object Relations theory and, therefore, lacks coverage of recent advances in treatment modailties as diverse as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies, Gestalt, NLP, and others. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Bad Boys, Bad Men: Confronting Antisocial Personality Disorder by Donald W. Black, C. Lindon Larson List Price: $16.95 Buy new: $11.87 You Save: $5.08 (30%) Usually ships in 24 hours

The Bad Seeds June 25, 2003
Genetic determinism has been with us since the bible. Recent advances in genome and proteome studies debunk both radical claims: "people are born bad" (bad seeds hypothesis) and "people are corrupted by bad parents and society" (the tabula rasa approach). It seems that genes and environment interact, recursively influencing each other. So are crime and moral dissolution hereditary mental disorders - or learned behavior patterns? The author votes for the former in this impressive but accessible introductory text, replete with dozens of case studies and recent scientific data. Still, social and domestic ills such as abuse and poverty, admits Black, a psychiatrist, play a role, at least in unlocking the criminal "potential". One should applaud the author's honesty in admitting his own profession's helplessness in the face of these depraved and largely untreatable personality disorders. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Antisocial Behavior: Personality Disorders from Hostility to Homicide by Benjamin B. Wolman List Price: $21.00 Buy new: $14.70 You Save: $6.30 (30%) Usually ships in 4 to 5 days

A Social Disorder June 25, 2003
A Social Disorder

Wolman explores the foundations of antisocial behavior: pathological narcissism, self-indulgent culture, and promiscuous parenting. In an age of political correctness and moral relativism, the author does not hesitate to point to ethical upbringing as the solution. He traces the psychodynamics of deviant behavior back to childhood abuse and trauma - though he regrettably emphasizes nurture almost to the exclusion of nature. The book could use editing - but it is a worthwhile contribution to the topic. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, et al List Price: $3.95 Buy new: $3.95 Usually ships in 24 hours

The Gathering Storm June 25, 2003
A prophetic tome which foretold the gathering storm of the 20th century: moral relativism, social disintegration, lethal authoritarianism, the absurd. A dark, haunting and disturbing masterpiece masterfully disguised as a nursery tale. Sam Vaknin, author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited.

Alcoholism, Narcissism and Psychopathology (Master Work Series) by Gary G. Forrest List Price: $50.00 Buy new: $50.00 Usually ships in 24 hours

The Addicted Narcissist June 21, 2003
To attribute alcoholism to narcissistic regression is both commonplace and controversial. But there a less convoluted clinical "handle": Pathological narcissism is an addiction to narcissistic supply, the narcissist's drug of choice. It is, therefore, not surprising that other addictive and reckless behaviors - workaholism, alcoholism, drug abuse, pathological gambling, compulsory shopping, or reckless driving - piggyback on this primary dependence.

The narcissist - like other types of addicts - derives pleasure from these exploits. But they also sustain and enhance his grandiose fantasies as "unique", "superior", "entitled", and "chosen". They place him above the laws and pressures of the mundane and away from the humiliating and sobering demands of reality. They render him the center of attention - but also place him in "splendid isolation" from the madding and inferior crowd.

Such compulsory and wild pursuits provide a psychological exoskeleton. They are a substitute to quotidian existence. They afford the narcissist with an agenda, with timetables, goals, and faux achievements. The narcissist's addictive behaviors take his mind off his inherent limitations, inevitable failures, painful and much-feared rejections, and the grandiosity gap - the abyss between the image he projects (the False Self) and the injurious truth. They relieve his anxiety and resolve the tension between his unrealistic expectations and inflated self-image - and his incommensurate achievements, position, status, recognition, intelligence, wealth, and physique.

Thus, there is no point in treating the dependence and recklessness of the narcissist without first treating the underlying personality disorder. The narcissist's addictions serve deeply ingrained emotional needs. They intermesh seamlessly with the pathological structure of his disorganized personality, with his character faults, and primitive defense mechanisms.

Hence the importance of this book: it unflinchingly exposes the roots of alcoholism and attributes it to an identity disturbance, paranoia, sadomasochism and obsessive- compulsive disorders. The author's rich experience is evident in each and every page. A documentary treasure trove - if not a theoretical masterpiece. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Aggression in Personality Disorders and Perversions by Otto F. Kernberg List Price: $52.00 Buy new: $52.00 Usually ships in 24 hours

The Infant and the Deviant June 21, 2003
Kernberg has arguably contributed more than anyone - even more than Kohut - to the understanding of borderline conditions and pathological narcissism.
He is both a formidable theoretician and an outstanding clinician. This - a small part of his prodigious and erudite output - is a detailed and scholarly study of the role played in the dynamics of relationships by narcissism, aggression - both self-directed (as in masochism) and other-directed (as in sadism) - and the resulting perversions. It is disturbing to learn how central the role of hatred, envy and other transformations of aggression is in relationships and in antisocial behavior. There is a direct path from regressive infantilism to psychosis and sexual deviance (and one may add to political oppression). This tome is one of the best anatomies of psychological defenses gone awry. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Abnormalities of Personality: Within and Beyond the Realm of Treatment by Michael H., M.D. Stone List Price: $50.00 Buy new: $50.00 Usually ships in 24 hours

A compendium of abnormalities June 21, 2003
It is rare to find a scholarly textbook which contrasts orthodox points of view with heterodoxy. Stone seeks to debunk myths regarding the etiology of disorders and the omnipotence of treatment modalities. He also, mercifully, refocuses on the patient (client), his personality, and his presenting traits - rather than on the nebulous and abstract construct of "personality disorder". Though somewhat outdated clinically - it relies on the DSM-III-R published in 1987 - it is still a refreshing new look at the topic, a decade after its publication. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Hitler's Niece : A Novel by Ron Hansen (Author) List Price: $14.00 Buy new: $11.20 You Save: $2.80 (20%) Usually ships in 24 hours

Hitler, the Man June 8, 2003
A chilling and intimate portrait of a psychopathic narcissist from the point of view of his gullible and common-sensical niece. She is ensnared less by his infamous magnetism than by his rising celebrity and the pecuniary entrapments he foists on her. Gradually and painfully, she wakes up, in a golden cage, to the nightmarish, venomous and perverted relationship with her uncle. A "fly on the wall", superb, bated breath, piece of prescience in hindsight. Reads like journalism, deep like history, moving like a first rate novel and tragic beyond words. Close to a masterpiece. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Personality Disorders in Modern Life by Theodore Millon (Author), Roger Davis (Author) List Price: $106.50 Buy new: $106.50 Usually ships in 24 hours

The encyclopedia of personality disorders June 8, 2003
Authoritative, erudite, comprehensive and indispensable. It is by far the single best tome about personality disorders. It draws on the authors' rich clinical experience, panoramic acquaintance with schools of psychology, innovative taxonomy, and comparative ability. Though culturally-biased, it is still applicable to all societies and all times. Don't be deterred by the stiff price - it is worth every cent. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Real Stories, Untold Truths by Laurie Anthony List Price: $14.00 Buy new: $14.00 Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

The book is an inter-racial and inter-gender odyssey, shuttling back and forth between serene Ohio and a multi-faceted Manhattan, between the 1950s and the present, between the author's own family and J.C.'s. One step forward - J.C. finds an apartment and buys a car - is invariably and dishearteningly followed by (at least) two steps back - J.C. again estranged from his children, whom he hasn't seen in decades.

Gradually, the dark secrets, the black holes at the core of the J.C. galaxy of contradictory behaviors and traits - emerge. As they unfold, this riveting book rivals any thriller I have read. It is also an excellent primer to the inner world of the narcissistic psychopath. A must!

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"

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Perfect Poison: A Female Serial Killer's Deadly Medicine by M. William Phelps List Price: $6.50 Buy new: $6.50 Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
The Profile of Death August 9, 2003
It is a blood-curdling page turner. But it is also a meticulously researched study of the inner recesses of the mind of a psychopathic narcissist. The incredible story of Kristen H. Gilbert, a VA nurse who murdered her patients, probably to show off, especially to her paramour, the facility's security guard. The book is a parallel anatomy of the disintegration of a personality - and the merciless slayings of veterans, young and old. It also provides a breathtaking and intimate view of how ER and ICU operate in modern medical facilities and how vulnerable these are to manipulation and worse. The book is refreshingly politically incorrect. The author makes no secret of what he thinks of his subject and her unspeakable acts. But, like a good detective, he never loses track of the scent. The plot thickens, the tension mounts, the reader is constantly kept guessing and on the edge of his seat. The only regrettable thing is that this superb thriller is based on real events. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Inside the Criminal Mind by Stanton E. Samenow List Price: $25.00 Buy new: $17.50 You Save: $7.50 (30%) Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

The Calculus of Crime November 19, 2003
Criminals have to hit bottom before they change. Criminals strive to maximize benefit to cost. This simple truth - that criminals, psychopaths, and narcissists cannot be healed, treated, cured, or rehabilitated - is at the heart of Samenow's controversial and thought-provoking tome.

Criminals regard others as objects, or instruments of gratification and utility. They manipulate them with indifference and ease because they have no conscience, empathy or the ability to perceive other people's nonverbal cues, needs, emotions, and preferences.

Many criminals are psychopaths. They recognize no one's rights and their own commensurate obligations. They are impulsive, reckless, irresponsible and unable to postpone gratification. They often rationalize their antisocial behaviors.

Criminals cannot be relied on to honor their commitments and obligations, contracts, and responsibilities, to hold a job for long or to repay their debts. Thus, rehabilitation is meaningless - a ploy to secure a reduced sentence and an aid to recidivism. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us by Robert D. Hare (Author) List Price: $16.95 Buy new: $11.87 You Save: $5.08 (30%) Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

The Definitive Text on the Psychopath November 19, 2003
In this seminal textbook, David Hare, distinguishes psychopathy from mere antisocial behavior, the main criterion used by the DSM-IV-TR to diagnose the Antisocial Personality Disorder.

The disorder appears in early adolescence but criminal behavior and substance abuse often abate with age, usually by the fourth or fifth decade of life. It may have a genetic or hereditary determinant and afflicts mainly men. The diagnosis is controversial and regarded by some scholar as scientifically unfounded.

Psychopaths regard other people as objects to be manipulated and instruments of gratification and utility. They have no discernible conscience, are devoid of empathy and find it difficult to perceive other people's nonverbal cues, needs, emotions, and preferences. Consequently, the psychopath rejects other people's rights and his commensurate obligations. He is impulsive, reckless, irresponsible and unable to postpone gratification. He often rationalizes his behavior showing an utter absence of remorse for hurting or defrauding others.

Their (primitive) defence mechanisms include splitting (they view the world - and people in it - as "all good" or "all evil"), projection (attribute their own shortcomings unto others) and projective identification (force others to behave the way they expect them to).

The psychopath fails to comply with social norms. Hence the criminal acts, the deceitfulness and identity theft, the use of aliases, the constant lying, and the conning of even his nearest and dearest for gain or pleasure. Psychopaths are unreliable and do not honor their undertakings, obligations, contracts, and responsibilities. They rarely hold a job for long or repay their debts. They are vindictive, remorseless, ruthless, driven, dangerous, aggressive, violent, irritable, and, sometimes, prone to magical thinking. They seldom plan for the long and medium terms, believing themselves to be immune to the consequences of their own actions. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

 

Narcissism by Jeremy Holmes List Price: $7.95 Buy new: $7.95 Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

Introduction to Narcissism November 16, 2003
A surprisingly thorough introduction to pathological narcissism, its formation, phenomenology, effects and treatment options. Though the book is biased in favor of the various psychoanalytic schools (e.g., Object Relations), it is still a great value. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited'.

The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler by James Cross Giblin (Author) List Price: $20.00 Buy new: $14.00 You Save: $6.00 (30%) Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

The Inverted Saint November 20, 2003
Hitler's lebensraum colonial movement - Nazism - possessed all the hallmarks of an institutional religion: priesthood, rites, rituals, temples, worship, catechism, mythology. Hitler was this religion's ascetic saint. He monastically denied himself earthly pleasures (or so he claimed) in order to be able to dedicate himself fully to his calling. Hitler was a monstrously inverted Jesus, sacrificing his life and denying himself so that (Aryan) humanity should benefit. By surpassing and suppressing his humanity, Hitler became a distorted version of Nietzsche's "superman".

But being a-human or super-human also means being a-sexual and a-moral. In this restricted sense, Hitler was a post-modernist and a moral relativist. He projected to the masses an androgynous figure and enhanced it by fostering the adoration of nudity and all things "natural". But what Nazism referred to as "nature" was not natural at all.

It was an aesthetic of decadence and evil (though it was not perceived this way by the Nazis), carefully orchestrated, and artificial. Nazism was about reproduced copies, not about originals. It was about the manipulation of symbols - not about veritable atavism.

In short: Nazism was about theatre, not about life. To enjoy the spectacle (and be subsumed by it), Nazism demanded the suspension of judgment, depersonalization, and de-realization. Catharsis was tantamount, in Nazi dramaturgy, to self-annulment. Nazism was nihilistic not only operationally, or ideologically. Its very language and narratives were nihilistic. Nazism was conspicuous nihilism - and Hitler served as a role model, annihilating Hitler the Man, only to re-appear as Hitler the stychia. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"

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The Verbally Abusive Relationship: How to Recognize it and How to Respond by Patricia Evans List Price: $10.95 Buy new: $8.76 You Save: $2.19 (20%) Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

A Vademecum to Abuse November 21, 2003
There are many ways to abuse. To love too much is to abuse. It is tantamount to treating someone as an extension, an object, or an instrument of gratification. To be over-protective, not to respect privacy, to be brutally honest, with a sadistic sense of humour, or consistently tactless - is to abuse.

To expect too much, to denigrate, to ignore - are all modes of abuse. There is physical abuse, verbal abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse. The list is long. Most abusers abuse surreptitiously. They are "stealth abusers". You have to actually live with one in order to witness the abuse.

Evans concentrates on verbal (and, thus, psychological) abuse. She offers a detailed classification of such abusive conduct and a cornucopia of coping methods. Her book is an indispensable primer to victims of abuse, scholars, judges, policemen, guardians ad litem, psychological evaluators and family members of abusers. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life by Susan Forward, Craig Buck (Contributor) List Price: $13.95 Buy new: $11.16 You Save: $2.79 (20%) Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

A Narcissist is Born November 22, 2003
The authors review the outcomes of toxic parenthood, one of which is pathological narcissism. The toxicity is rarely in the overt forms of verbal, sexual, physical, or psychological abuse (the overwhelming view) - and often the sad result of spoiling the child and idolizing it (Millon, late Freud).

But one should adopt a more comprehensive definition of "abuse". Overweening, smothering, spoiling, overvaluing, and idolizing the child - are all forms of parental abuse.

This is because, as Horney pointed out, the child is dehumanized and instrumentalized. His parents love him not for what he really is - but for what they wish and imagine him to be: the fulfilment of their dreams and frustrated wishes. The child becomes the vessel of his parents' discontented lives, a tool, the magic brush with which they can transform their failures into successes, their humiliation into victory, their frustrations into happiness. The child is taught to ignore reality and to occupy the parental fantastic space. Such an unfortunate child feels omnipotent and omniscient, perfect and brilliant, worthy of adoration and entitled to special treatment. The faculties that are honed by constantly brushing against bruising reality - empathy, compassion, a realistic assessment of one's abilities and limitations, realistic expectations of oneself and of others, personal boundaries, team work, social skills, perseverance and goal-orientation, not to mention the ability to postpone gratification and to work hard to achieve it - are all lacking or missing altogether. The child turned adult sees no reason to invest in his skills and education, convinced that his inherent genius should suffice. He feels entitled for merely being, rather than for actually doing (rather as the nobility in days gone by felt entitled not by virtue of its merit but as the inevitable, foreordained outcome of its birth right). In short: a narcissist is born. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

The Ethics of Human Cloning by Leon R. Kass, James Q. Wilson List Price: $16.95 Buy new: $13.56 You Save: $3.39 (20%) Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

The Two Sides of the Clone November 22, 2003
This slim volume is an excellent introduction to the multifaceted issues involved in cloning.

There are two types of cloning. One involves harvesting stem cells from embryos ("therapeutic cloning"). These are the biological equivalent of a template. They can develop into any kind of mature functional cell and thus help cure many degenerative and auto-immune diseases.

The other kind of cloning is much decried in popular culture - and elsewhere - as the harbinger of a Brave, New World. A nucleus from any cell of a donor is embedded in an egg whose own nucleus has been removed. The egg is then implanted in a woman's womb and a cloned baby is born nine months later. Biologically, the cloned infant is a replica of the donor.

Cloning is often confused with other advances in bio-medicine and bio-engineering - such as genetic selection. It cannot - in itself - be used to produce "perfect humans" or select sex or other traits. Hence, some of the arguments against cloning are either specious or fuelled by ignorance.

It is true, though, that cloning, used in conjunction with other bio-technologies, raises serious bio-ethical questions. Scare scenarios of humans cultivated in sinister labs as sources of spare body parts, "designer babies", "master races", or "genetic sex slaves" - formerly the preserve of B sci-fi movies - have invaded mainstream discourse.

Still, cloning touches upon Mankind's most basic fears and hopes. It invokes the most intractable ethical and moral dilemmas. As an inevitable result, the debate is often more passionate than informed. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"

Emotional Blackmail: When the People in Your Life Use Fear, Obligation, and Guilt to Manipulate You by Susan Forward (Author), Donna Frazier (Author) List Price: $13.00 Buy new: $10.40 You Save: $2.60 (20%) Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

The Guilt of the Abused November 23, 2003
This book describes insightfully the danse macabre that is the abuser-victim dyad. Self-flagellation is a characteristic of those who choose to live with a narcissist (and a choice it is). Constant guilt feelings, self-reproach, self-recrimination and, thus - self-punishment typify the relationships formed between the sadist-narcissist and the masochistic-dependent mate or partner.

The narcissist projects his inner turmoil and drags everyone around him into a swirl of bitterness, suspiciousness, meanness, aggression and pettiness. His life is a reflection of his psychological landscape: barren, paranoiac, tormented, guilt ridden. He feels compelled to do unto others what he perpetrates unto himself. He gradually transforms all around him into replicas of his conflictive, punishing personality structures.

Some narcissists are more subtle than others. They disguise their sadism. For instance, they "educate" their nearest and dearest (for their sake, as they present it). This "education" is compulsive, obsessive, incessantly, harshly and unduly critical. Its effect is to erode the subject, to humiliate, to create dependence, to intimidate, to restrain, to control, to paralyse.

The narcissist deliberately confuses responsibility with guilt and demands compensation for his or her "sacrifices". By provoking guilt in responsibility-laden situations, the narcissist transforms life with him into a constant trial.

The narcissist-victim dyad is a conspiracy, a collusion of victim and mental tormentor, a collaboration of two needy people who find solace and supply in each other's deviations. Only by breaking loose, by aborting the game, by ignoring the rules - can the victim be transformed (and by the way, acquire the newly found appreciation of the narcissist).

The narcissist's partner should not feel guilty or responsible and should not seek to change what only time (not even therapy) and (difficult) circumstances may change. She should not strive to please and to appease, to be and not to be, to barely survive as a superposition of pain and fear. Releasing herself from the chains of guilt and from the throes of a debilitating relationship - is the best help that a loving mate can provide to her ailing narcissistic partner. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

The Wizard of Oz and Other Narcissists: Coping with the One-Way Relationship in Work, Love, and Family by Eleanor D. Payson List Price: $14.95 Buy new: $14.95 Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The Narcissist As Alien November 23, 2003
The world of the narcissist is so outlandish, his behavior so unpredictable and seemingly irrational, and the narcissist himself (50-75% of all narcissists are men, according to the DSM IV-TR) so alien - that a guided tour in layman's terms was sorely neded.

And this is precisely what Ms. Payson provides - a down to earth, nuts and bolts manual of the narcissist - his impact on others in various relationships and practical tips, backed by case studies of how to cope with him. Recommended. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Conducting Child Custody Evaluations : A Comprehensive Guide by Philip M. Stahl (Author) Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

A Guide to the Perplexed December 6, 2003
A surprisingly fresh and impressively comprehensive guide to the convoluted process of custody evaluations. The need for these court-mandated evaluations arises when one of the parents - often, the father - is a repeat offender, an abuser.

Abusers are thought by practitioners of psychology to be emotionally disturbed, the twisted outcomes of a history of familial violence and childhood traumas. They are typically diagnosed as suffering from a personality disorder, an inordinately low self-esteem, or codependence coupled with an all-devouring fear of abandonment. Consummate abusers use the right vocabulary and feign the appropriate "emotions" and affect and, thus, sway the evaluator's judgment.

As Lundy Bancroft correctly observes, Confronted with this contrast between a polished, self-controlled, and suave abuser and his harried casualties - it is easy to reach the conclusion that the real victim is the abuser, or that both parties abuse each other equally. The prey's acts of self-defense, assertiveness, or insistence on her rights are interpreted as aggression, lability, or a mental health problem.

The book draws attention to these pitfalls and provides a through description of the system and its protagonists. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

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The Batterer: A Psychological Profile by Donald G., Phd Dutton, Susan K. Golant (Contributor) List Price: $16.00 Buy new: $11.20 You Save: $4.80 (30%) Availability: Usually Ships in 1 to 2 business days

The Surreal Mind of the Abuser December 11, 2003
A much-needed exposition of the habitual batterer's mind, based on hundreds of real-life cases. This book expels the myth that there is a "typical" abuser. There isn't. Abuse cuts across all professions, social-economic strata, levels of income and education, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and location.
To embark on our exploration of the abusive mind, we first need to agree on a taxonomy of abusive behaviours. Methodically observing abuse is the surest way of getting to know the perpetrators.

Abusers appear to be suffering from dissociation (multiple personality). At home, they are intimidating and suffocating monsters - outdoors, they are wonderful, caring, giving, and much-admired pillars of the community. Why this duplicity?

It is only partly premeditated and intended to disguise the abuser's acts. More importantly, it reflects the his inner world, where the victims are nothing but two-dimensional representations, objects, devoid of emotions and needs, or mere extensions of his self. Thus, to the abuser's mind, his quarries do not merit humane treatment, nor do they evoke empathy. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

The Angry Heart: Overcoming Borderline and Addictive Disorders: An Interactive Self-Help Guide by Ph.D. Joseph Santoro, Ph.D. Ronald Cohen (Contributor) List Price: $15.95 Buy new: $11.17 You Save: $4.78 (30%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

The Regimen of Healing April 20, 2004
Personality disorders are a relatively new diagnostic area. The ICD-10 (the equivalent of the DSM-IV) doesn't even recognize some of them as separate disorders (e.g., the Narcissistic Personality Disorder). Others are controversial even in the USA (Borderline, Antisocial, Schizotypal). Textbooks are, therefore, of limited use to both practitioners and sufferers.

Sorely needed are self-help books that guide the perplexed through a regimen of exercises and coping strategies, an interactive framework which rests on current knowledge, and an organizing principle to tie it all together. This book offers all three abundantly. It is bound to be of help to therapists, self-help groups, victims of the disorder, and their nearest and dearest. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

The Narcissistic / Borderline Couple: A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Marital Treatment by Joan Lachkar List Price: $34.95 Buy new: $34.95  Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

The Danse Macabre April 19, 2004
It takes two to tango - and to sustain a long-term abusive relationship. The abuser and the abused form a bond, a dynamic, and a dependence. Expressions such as "follies a deux" and the "Stockholm Syndrome (Trauma Bonding)" capture facets - two of a myriad - of this danse macabre. It often ends fatally. It is always an excruciatingly painful affair.

Lachkar's grossly overlooked book is the best introduction I know of to abusive dyads comprised of two people with personality disorders. Replete with case studies and an impressive theoretical background (mainly, but not only, Object Relations Theories) - the book is a vade mecum for both professionals and sufferers.

There is more to an abusive dyad than mere pecuniary convenience. The abuser - stealthily but unfailingly - exploits the vulnerabilities in the psychological makeup of his victim. The abused party may have low self-esteem, a fluctuating sense of self-worth, primitive defence mechanisms, phobias, mental health problems, a disability, a history of failure, or a tendency to blame herself, or to feel inadequate (autoplastic neurosis). She may have come from an abusive family or environment - which conditioned her to expect abuse as inevitable and "normal". In extreme and rare cases - the victim is a masochist, possessed of an urge to seek ill-treatment and pain. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Individuation and Narcissism: The Psychology of the Self in Jung and Kohut by Mario Jacoby List Price: $31.95 Buy new: $27.80 You Save: $4.15 (13%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $24.95

Kohut and Jung April 21, 2004
No other concept in depth psychology provoked so much controversy and spawned so many schools of thought as the Self. This book is a magnificent tour d'horizon, spanning the crucial decades from Freud to Jung and therefrom to Kohut.

The book demonstrates that, in a way, Heinz Kohut merely took Jung a step further and invented a new vocabulary to rephrase some of Jung's insights. He said that pathological narcissism is not the result of excessive narcissism, libido or aggression.

It is the result of defective, deformed or incomplete narcissistic (self) structures. Kohut postulated the existence of core constructs which he named: the Grandiose Exhibitionistic Self and the Idealized Parent Imago (see below). Children entertain notions of greatness (primitive or naive grandiosity) mingled with magical thinking, feelings of omnipotence and omniscience and a belief in their immunity to the consequences of their actions. These elements and the child's feelings regarding its parents (which are also painted by it with a brush of omnipotence and grandiosity) - coagulate and form these constructs.

The child's feelings towards its parents are reactions to their responses (affirmation, buffering, modulation or disapproval, punisment, even abuse).

These responses help maintain the self-structures. Without the appropriate responses, grandiosity, for instance, cannot be transformed into adult ambitions and ideals.

To Kohut, grandiosity and idealization were positive childhood development mechanisms. Even their reappearance in transference should not be considered a pathological narcissistic regression. am Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Analysis of the Self: Systematic Approach to Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorders by Heinz Kohut List Price: $39.95 Buy new: $34.36 You Save: $5.59 (14%)  Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $25.99

Dixit Magister April 22, 2004

Despite being identified with an idiosyncratic approach to the concept of self - known as Self Psychology - Kohut shapes our modern understanding of narcissism, both healthy and pathological.

He said that pathological narcissism is not the result of excessive narcissism, libido or aggression.

It is the result of defective, deformed or incomplete narcissistic (self) structures. Kohut postulated the existence of core constructs which he named: the Grandiose Exhibitionistic Self and the Idealized Parent Imago (see below). Children entertain notions of greatness (primitive or naive grandiosity) mingled with magical thinking, feelings of omnipotence and omniscience and a belief in their immunity to the consequences of their actions. These elements and the child's feelings regarding its parents (which are also painted by it with a brush of omnipotence and grandiosity) - coagulate and form these constructs.

The child's feelings towards its parents are reactions to their responses (affirmation, buffering, modulation or disapproval, punisment, even abuse).

These responses help maintain the self-structures. Without the appropriate responses, grandiosity, for instance, cannot be transformed into adult ambitions and ideals.

To Kohut, grandiosity and idealization were positive childhood development mechanisms. Even their reappearance in transference should not be considered a pathological narcissistic regression. am Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

The Fragile Self: The Structure of Narcissistic Disturbance and Its Therapy by Phil Mollon Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Used & new from $27.50

Psychic Murder Syndrome April 23, 2004
Mollon is a prolific popularizer of obscure psychological theories with a clear preference for Self Psychology (Kohut) and Object Relations Theories. This book should be read in conjunction with both the original masterpieces he explores - and his own opus.

Mollon's departure point is the hostile voices within the fragmented self and their curious and rigid hold on the psyche. He attributes these to dysfunctional caregiving by abusive caregivers.

This leads to the disintegration of self structures and the eruption of psychodynamic conflict. A False Self emerges to repress the True Self.

The author studies other, similar, mental states (drug-induced, or in art) and borrows insights from philosophers such as Lacan.

The book is full with enlightening case studies, suggested treatment modalities, and Mollon's own experiences. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Healing Trauma: Attachment, Mind, Body, and Brain by Marion Fried Solomon (Editor), et al List Price: $40.00 Buy new: $40.00  Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $35.00

Traumas as Social Interactions April 26, 2004
We react to serious mishaps, life altering setbacks, disasters, abuse, and death by going through the phases of grieving. Traumas are the complex outcomes of psychodynamic and biochemical processes. But the particulars of traumas depend heavily on the interaction between the victim and his social milieu.

It would seem that while the victim progresses from denial to helplessness, rage, depression and thence to acceptance of the traumatizing events - society demonstrates a diametrically opposed progression. This incompatibility, this mismatch of psychological phases is what leads to the formation and crystallization of trauma.

This book is a collection of important and incisive insights, by a variety of authors, from different schools of psychology, into the interaction between traumatic processes and attachment modalities and disorders. Indispensable. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Building and Rebuilding the Human Brain by Louis Cozolino List Price: $30.00 Buy new: $26.40 You Save: $3.60 (12%)  Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $21.22

Metaphors of the Mind April 27, 2004
What this book does - splendidly - is nothing new. By grounding psychotherapy in the ins and outs of the brain it does both disciplines a favor. Yet, many scholars disparage any attempt to map psychotherapeutic insights into hard wired neurological facts.

The brain (and, by implication, the mind) have been compared to the latest technological innovation in every generation. The computer metaphor is now in vogue. Computer hardware metaphors were replaced by software metaphors and, lately, by (neuronal) network metaphors.

Metaphors are not confined to the philosophy of neurology. Architects and mathematicians, for instance, have lately come up with the structural concept of "tensegrity" to explain the phenomenon of life. The tendency of humans to see patterns and structures everywhere (even where there are none) is well documented and probably has its survival value.

Another trend is to discount these metaphors as erroneous, irrelevant, deceptive, and misleading. Understanding the mind is a recursive business, rife with self-reference. The entities or processes to which the brain is compared are also "brain-children", the results of "brain-storming", conceived by "minds". What is a computer, a software application, a communications network if not a (material) representation of cerebral events?

A necessary and sufficient connection surely exists between man-made things, tangible and intangible, and human minds. Even a gas pump has a "mind-correlate". It is also conceivable that representations of the "non-human" parts of the Universe exist in our minds, whether a-priori (not deriving from experience) or a-posteriori (dependent upon experience). This "correlation", "emulation", "simulation", "representation" (in short : close connection) between the "excretions", "output", "spin-offs", "products" of the human mind and the human mind itself - is a key to understanding it. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are by Joseph Ledoux List Price: $29.95 Buy new: $20.37 You Save: $9.58 (32%) Availability: Usually ships in 2 to 3 weeks Used & new from $8.75

The Psychophysical Problem April 28, 2004
The psychophysical problem is long standing and, probably, intractable. This book is an excellent introduction to the subject, bringing together strands from philosophy, neurology, psychology - and common sense based on observations.

We have a corporeal body. It is a physical entity, subject to all the laws of physics. Yet, we experience ourselves, our internal lives, external events in a manner which provokes us to postulate the existence of a corresponding, non-physical ontos, entity. This corresponding entity ostensibly incorporates a dimension of our being which, in principle, can never be tackled with the instruments and the formal logic of science.

A compromise was proposed long ago: the soul is nothing but our self awareness or the way that we experience ourselves. But this is a flawed solution. It is flawed because it assumes that the human experience is uniform, unequivocal and identical. It might well be so - but there is no methodologically rigorous way of proving it. We have no way to objectively ascertain that all of us experience pain in the same manner or that pain that we experience is the same in all of us. This is even when the causes of the sensation are carefully controlled and monitored.

A scientist might say that it is only a matter of time before we find the exact part of the brain which is responsible for the specific pain in our gedankenexperiment. Moreover, will add our gedankenscientist, in due course, science will even be able to demonstrate a monovalent relationship between a pattern of brain activity in situ and the aforementioned pain. In other words, the scientific claim is that the patterns of brain activity ARE the pain itself.

Such an argument is, prima facie, inadmissible. The fact that two events coincide (even if they do so forever) does not make them identical. The serial occurrence of two events does not make one of them the cause and the other the effect, as is well known. Similarly, the contemporaneous occurrence of two events only means that they are correlated. A correlate is not an alter ego. It is not an aspect of the same event. The brain activity is what appears WHEN pain happens - it by no means follows that it IS the pain itself.

A stronger argument would crystallize if it was convincingly and repeatedly demonstrated that playing back these patterns of brain activity induces the same pain. Even in such a case, we would be talking about cause and effect rather than identity of pain and its correlate in the brain.

This vade mecum is unlikely to end the debate but it provides a firm, fact based, evidence oriented foundation for its contnuance. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct (Revised Edition) by Thomas S. Szasz (Author) List Price: $14.00 Buy new: $11.20 You Save: $2.80 (20%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $4.47

A Myth Indeed April 29, 2004
Descriptive criteria aside, what is the essence of mental disorders? Are they merely physiological disorders of the brain, or, more precisely of its chemistry? If so, can they be cured by restoring the balance of substances and secretions in that mysterious organ? And, once equilibrium is reinstated - is the illness "gone" or is it still lurking there, "under wraps", waiting to erupt? Are psychiatric problems inherited, rooted in faulty genes (though amplified by environmental factors) - or brought on by abusive or wrong nurturance?

These questions are the domain of the "medical" school of mental health.

Others cling to the spiritual view of the human psyche. They believe that mental ailments amount to the metaphysical discomposure of an unknown medium - the soul. Theirs is a holistic approach, taking in the patient in his or her entirety, as well as his milieu.

The members of the functional school regard mental health disorders as perturbations in the proper, statistically "normal", behaviours and manifestations of "healthy" individuals, or as dysfunctions. The "sick" individual - ill at ease with himself (ego-dystonic) or making others unhappy (deviant) - is "mended" when rendered functional again by the prevailing standards of his social and cultural frame of reference.

In a way, the three schools are akin to the trio of blind men who render disparate descriptions of the very same elephant. Still, they share not only their subject matter - but, to a counter intuitively large degree, a faulty methodology.

As the renowned anti-psychiatrist, Thomas Szasz, of the State University of New York, notes in his article "The Lying Truths of Psychiatry", mental health scholars, regardless of academic predilection, infer the etiology of mental disorders from the success or failure of treatment modalities.

This form of "reverse engineering" of scientific models is not unknown in other fields of science, nor is it unacceptable if the experiments meet the criteria of the scientific method. The theory must be all-inclusive (anamnetic), consistent, falsifiable, logically compatible, monovalent, and parsimonious. Psychological "theories" - even the "medical" ones (the role of serotonin and dopamine in mood disorders, for instance) - are usually none of these things.

The outcome is a bewildering array of ever-shifting mental health "diagnoses" expressly centred around Western civilisation and its standards (example: the ethical objection to suicide). Neurosis, a historically fundamental "condition" vanished after 1980. Homosexuality, according to the American Psychiatric Association, was a pathology prior to 1973. Seven years later, narcissism was declared a "personality disorder", almost seven decades after it was first described by Freud.

Szasz is the father of the "anti psychiatry" movement and this is his best book - a riveting, mind boggling,scholarly read. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

Healing Spiritual Abuse: How to Break Free from Bad Church Experiences by Ken Blue List Price: $11.00 Buy new: $8.80 You Save: $2.20 (20%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Used & new from $7.20

For the Love of God May 2, 2004
The book deals effectively (though sometimes too expansively) with narcissistic and messianic leaders of churches and congregations. Priests, leaders of the congregation, preachers, evangelists, cultists, politicians, intellectuals - all derive authority from their allegedly privileged relationship with God.

Religious authority allows the narcissist to indulge his sadistic urges and to exercise his misogynism freely and openly. Such a narcissist is likely to taunt and torment his followers, hector and chastise them, humiliate and berate them, abuse them spiritually, or even sexually. The narcissist whose source of authority is religious is looking for obedient and unquestioning slaves upon whom to exercise his capricious and wicked mastery. The narcissist transforms even the most innocuous and pure religious sentiments into a cultish ritual and a virulent hierarchy. He preys on the gullible. His flock become his hostages.

Religious authority also secures the narcissist's Narcissistic Supply. His coreligionists, members of his congregation, his parish, his constituency, his audience - are transformed into loyal and stable Sources of Narcissistic Supply. They obey his commands, heed his admonitions, follow his creed, admire his personality, applaud his personal traits, satisfy his needs (sometimes even his carnal desires), revere and idolize him. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

When Your "Perfect Partner" Goes Perfectly Wrong: Loving or Leaving the Narcissist in Your Life [UNABRIDGED]
by Mary Jo Fay (Author)

Boxxed In? This is the Book For You, May 20, 2004

Reviewer: A reader from Skopje, Macedonia

The victims of the narcissist's abusive conduct feel hemmed in, trapped, isolated, and annulled. This book help them re-emerge and regain mastery of their lives. If you want to know what it is really like being the victim of relentless abuse by narcissists - buy this book. It masterfully combines numerous first hand accounts of survivors with a deep knowledge of the disorder. Recommended! Sam Vaknin, author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited.

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		Drugs and Clients: What Every Psychotherapist Needs to Know by Padma Catell, Solarium Press Edition: Paperback Price: $39.95 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours		1 used from $29.95
A must for both professionals and their clients, August 18, 2004 A lucidly written, well-researched, fully updated survey of the field of psychopharmacology. Concise, eminently readable, thoroughly referenced, this gem of a book includes a tour d'horizon of various mental health problems - from sleep disorders to psychotic episodes. Each chapter reviews relevant medications and drugs, their effects, benefits, and dangers, as well as practical advice on how to administer and handle them. The clean and intuitive illustrations and tables enhance this tome's allure....Drugs and Clients is a must reference for anyone who deals with human suffering and the human mind. Sam Vaknin, author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited.
		I, Robot Availability: This item is currently unavailable.
Paranoia Fair, August 8, 2004 The movie "I, Robot" is a muddled affair. It relies on shoddy pseudo-science and a general sense of unease that artificial (non-carbon based) intelligent life forms seem to provoke in us. But it goes no deeper than a comic book treatment of the important themes that it broaches. Sigmund Freud said that we have an uncanny reaction to the inanimate. This is probably because we know that - pretensions and layers of philosophizing aside - we are nothing but recursive, self aware, introspective, conscious machines. Special machines, no doubt, but machines all the same. Consider the James bond movies. They constitute a decades-spanning gallery of human paranoia. Villains change: communists, neo-Nazis, media moguls. But one kind of villain is a fixture in this psychodrama, in this parade of human phobias: the machine. James Bond always finds himself confronted with hideous, vicious, malicious machines and automata. I, Robot is just another - and relatively inferior - entry is a long line of far better movies, such as "Blade Runner" and "Artificial Intelligence". Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

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		Microsoft Student 2006 DVD Price: $69.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: Microsoft Student 2006, August 7, 2005 The previous versions of Encarta included a host of homework tools. These have now been made into a separate product called Microsoft Student. Homework assignments are the bane of most students I know (not to mention their hard-pressed and nescient parents). This is mainly because of the tedious and mind-numbing chores of data mining and composition. Additionally, as knowledge multiplies every 5-10 years, few parents and teachers are able to keep up. Enter Microsoft Student 2006 - a productivity suite which includes the Encarta Encyclopedia, assignment templates, tutorials, graphing calculator software and a Web Companion. Similar to the Encarta, MS Student's Web Companion obtains search results from all the major search engines without launching any additional applications (like a browser). Content from both the Encyclopedia (the full Encarta encyclopedia is built into MS Student) and the Web is presented side by side. This augmentation explicitly adopts the Internet and incorporates it as an important source of reference - as 80% of students have already done. This may raise important and interesting issues of intellectual property, though. Web content copyright-holders may demand royalties from Microsoft for the use it makes of their wares in its commercial products. MS Student would do well to also integrate with new desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Students will benefit from seamless access to content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. MS Student's templates are actually clever adaptations of the popular Office suite of products - Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They help the student produce homework plans and schedules, projects, book reports, presentations, research reports, charts, and analyses of problems in math, physics, and chemistry. Detailed step-by-step tutorials, Quick Starters, and pop-up toolbars (menus) guide the student along the way in a friendly, non-intrusive manner. The graphing calculator is a wonder. It has both 2-D and 3-D capabilities and makes use of the full screen. Aided by an extensive Equations Library, it does everything except cook: trigonometry, calculus, math, charting, geometry, physics, and chemistry. And everything in full color! And if this is not enough, the lucky owner is entitled to one year of Online Math Homework Help: step by step instructions and hints for solving math problems (including algebra and geometry). The program addresses most math textbooks and more are added all the time. For the student keen on the liberal arts and the humanities, Student 2006 provides detailed Book Summaries of dozens of classic works. Besides plot synopses, the student gets acquainted with the author's life, themes and characters in the tomes, and ideas for book reports. This is buttressed by a Book of Quotations and the entire corpus of the Encarta Encyclopedia, dictionary, and thesaurus. This is the first release of a great contribution to learning. Inevitably, it has a few flaws and glitches. Start with the price. As productivity suites go, it is reasonably priced had its target population been adult professional users. But, at $100, it is beyond the reach of most poor students and parents - its most immediate market niches. Installation is not easy. MS Student 2006 makes use of Microsoft's .Net technology. As most home computers lack it, the installer insists on adding it to the anyhow bloated Windows Operating System. There is worse to come: the .Net version installed by Encarta 2006 is plagued with security holes and vulnerabilities. Users have to download service packs and patches from Windows Update if they do not wish to run the risk of having their computers compromised by hackers. Fully installed, Microsoft Student 2006 gobbles up more than 4 Gb. That's a lot - even in an age of ever cheaper storage. Most homesteads still sport PCs with 20-40 Gb hard disks. This makes the Encarta less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. Despite the hype, relatively few users possess DVD drives (but those who do, find the entire encyclopedia available on one DVD). Finally, there is the question of personal creativity and originality. Luckily, MS Student does not spoon-feed its users. It does not substitute for thinking or for study. On the contrary, by providing structured stimuli, it encourages the student to express his or her ideas. It does not do the homework assignments for the student - it merely helps rid them of time-consuming and machine-like functions. And it opens up to both student and family the wonderful twin universes of knowledge: the Encarta and the Web. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"
		Microsoft Encarta Premium 2006 CD/DVD [LB] Offered by J&R Music and Computer World Price: $48.88 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Microsoft Embraces the Web, August 7, 2005 Microsoft was long derided by its critics for having failed to fully grasp the Internet revolution. It was late in developing Net technologies such as a proprietary search engine and in coping with security threats propagated through the Web. Not any more. Earlier this year MSN rolled out a great search engine and now Microsoft has fundamentally revamped its reference products. By committing itself to this overhaul, Microsoft embraced reality: nine out of ten children (between the ages of 5 and 17) use computers (USA figures) - and 85% of these get their information online. The Microsoft Encarta Premium 2006 is a breathtaking resource. It caters effectively (and, at $50, affordably) to the educational needs of everyone in the family, from children as young as 7 or 8 years old to adults who seek concise answers to their queries. It is fun-filled, interactive, and colorful. The 2006 Encarta's User Interface is far less cluttered than in previous editions. Content is arranged by topics and then by relevancy and medium. Add to this the Encarta's Visual Browser and you get only relevant data in response to your queries. The Encarta Search Bar, which was integrated into the product two years ago, and is resident in the Task Pane even when Encarta is closed, enables users to search any part of the Encarta application (encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, etc). The Encarta's new Web Companion is a (giant) step in the right direction. It obtains search results from all the major search engines without launching any additional applications (like a browser). Content from both the Encarta and the Web is presented side by side. This augmentation explicitly adopts the Internet and incorporates it as an important source of reference. It may raise important and interesting issues of intellectual property, though. Web content copyright-holders may demand royalties from Microsoft for the use it makes of their wares in its commercial products. Encarta would do well to also integrate with new desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Users should be able to seamlessly access content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. The Encarta Premium includes a dictionary, thesaurus, chart maker, searchable index of quotations, games, 32 Discovery Channel videos, 25,000 photos and illustrations, 2800 sound and audio clips, hundreds of maps and tables, and 400 videos and animations. It incorporates numerous third-party texts and visuals (including hundreds of newspaper articles and a plethora of Scientific American features). The Encarta is augmented by weekly or bi-weekly updates and the feature-rich online MSN Encarta Premium with its Homework Help offerings. Unfortunately, the Encarta still conditions some of its functions - notably its research tools and updates - on registration with its Plus Club. The Encarta is the most comprehensive, PC-orientated reference experience there is. No wonder it has an all-pervasive hold on and ubiquitous penetration of the child-to-young adult markets. Particularly enchanting is the Encarta Kids interface - an area replete with interactive quizzes, pictures, large icons, hundreds of articles, and links to the full version of the Encarta. A veritable and colorful sandbox. Those kids are going to get addicted to the Encarta, that's for sure! Encarta actively encourages fun-filled browsing. It is a riot of colors, sidebars, videos, audio clips, photos, embedded links, literature, Web resources, and quizzes. It is a product of the age of mass communication, a desktop extension of television and the Internet. Inevitably, in such a mammoth undertaking, not everything is peachy. A few gripes: Regrettably, installation is not as easy as before. The Encarta 2006 makes use of Microsoft's .Net technology. As most home computers lack it, the installer insists on adding it to the anyhow bloated Windows Operating System. There is worse to come: the .Net version installed by Encarta 2006 is plagued with security holes and vulnerabilities. Users have to download service packs and patches from Windows Update if they do not wish to run the risk of having their computers compromised by hackers. Fully installed, the Encarta Premium 2006 gobbles up more than 3.5 Gb. That's a lot - even in an age of ever cheaper storage. Most homesteads still sport PCs with 20-40 Gb hard disks. This makes the Encarta less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. Despite the hype, relatively few users possess DVD drives (but those who do, find the entire encyclopedia available on one DVD). The Encarta DVD 3-D tours have improved but they still hog computer resources and are essentially non-interactive. Is it worth the investment and the risk to the stability and performance of the user's computer? The Encarta tries to cater to the needs of challenged users, such as the visually-impaired - but is still far from doing a good job of it. The atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Encarta are outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)? The Encarta's New English Dictionary dropped a glossary of computer terms it used to include back in 2001. All's the pity. But that's it. Encarta is a must-buy (especially if you have children). The Encarta is the best value for money around and significantly enhances you access to knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries all over the world. The amount and quality of content squeezed into a $50 package (before rebate) defies belief. I am a 44 years old adult but when I received my Encarta Premium 2006, I was once more a child in a land of wonders. How much is such an experience worth to you? Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"
		Microsoft Encarta Premium 2006 CD/DVD Price: $49.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: Microsoft Embraces the Web, August 7, 2005 Microsoft was long derided by its critics for having failed to fully grasp the Internet revolution. It was late in developing Net technologies such as a proprietary search engine and in coping with security threats propagated through the Web. Not any more. Earlier this year MSN rolled out a great search engine and now Microsoft has fundamentally revamped its reference products. By committing itself to this overhaul, Microsoft embraced reality: nine out of ten children (between the ages of 5 and 17) use computers (USA figures) - and 85% of these get their information online. The Microsoft Encarta Premium 2006 is a breathtaking resource. It caters effectively (and, at $50, affordably) to the educational needs of everyone in the family, from children as young as 7 or 8 years old to adults who seek concise answers to their queries. It is fun-filled, interactive, and colorful. The 2006 Encarta's User Interface is far less cluttered than in previous editions. Content is arranged by topics and then by relevancy and medium. Add to this the Encarta's Visual Browser and you get only relevant data in response to your queries. The Encarta Search Bar, which was integrated into the product two years ago, and is resident in the Task Pane even when Encarta is closed, enables users to search any part of the Encarta application (encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, etc). The Encarta's new Web Companion is a (giant) step in the right direction. It obtains search results from all the major search engines without launching any additional applications (like a browser). Content from both the Encarta and the Web is presented side by side. This augmentation explicitly adopts the Internet and incorporates it as an important source of reference. It may raise important and interesting issues of intellectual property, though. Web content copyright-holders may demand royalties from Microsoft for the use it makes of their wares in its commercial products. Encarta would do well to also integrate with new desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. Users should be able to seamlessly access content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. The Encarta Premium includes a dictionary, thesaurus, chart maker, searchable index of quotations, games, 32 Discovery Channel videos, 25,000 photos and illustrations, 2800 sound and audio clips, hundreds of maps and tables, and 400 videos and animations. It incorporates numerous third-party texts and visuals (including hundreds of newspaper articles and a plethora of Scientific American features). The Encarta is augmented by weekly or bi-weekly updates and the feature-rich online MSN Encarta Premium with its Homework Help offerings. Unfortunately, the Encarta still conditions some of its functions - notably its research tools and updates - on registration with its Plus Club. The Encarta is the most comprehensive, PC-orientated reference experience there is. No wonder it has an all-pervasive hold on and ubiquitous penetration of the child-to-young adult markets. Particularly enchanting is the Encarta Kids interface - an area replete with interactive quizzes, pictures, large icons, hundreds of articles, and links to the full version of the Encarta. A veritable and colorful sandbox. Those kids are going to get addicted to the Encarta, that's for sure! Encarta actively encourages fun-filled browsing. It is a riot of colors, sidebars, videos, audio clips, photos, embedded links, literature, Web resources, and quizzes. It is a product of the age of mass communication, a desktop extension of television and the Internet. Inevitably, in such a mammoth undertaking, not everything is peachy. A few gripes: Regrettably, installation is not as easy as before. The Encarta 2006 makes use of Microsoft's .Net technology. As most home computers lack it, the installer insists on adding it to the anyhow bloated Windows Operating System. There is worse to come: the .Net version installed by Encarta 2006 is plagued with security holes and vulnerabilities. Users have to download service packs and patches from Windows Update if they do not wish to run the risk of having their computers compromised by hackers. Fully installed, the Encarta Premium 2006 gobbles up more than 3.5 Gb. That's a lot - even in an age of ever cheaper storage. Most homesteads still sport PCs with 20-40 Gb hard disks. This makes the Encarta less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. Despite the hype, relatively few users possess DVD drives (but those who do, find the entire encyclopedia available on one DVD). The Encarta DVD 3-D tours have improved but they still hog computer resources and are essentially non-interactive. Is it worth the investment and the risk to the stability and performance of the user's computer? The Encarta tries to cater to the needs of challenged users, such as the visually-impaired - but is still far from doing a good job of it. The atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Encarta are outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)? The Encarta's New English Dictionary dropped a glossary of computer terms it used to include back in 2001. All's the pity. But that's it. Encarta is a must-buy (especially if you have children). The Encarta is the best value for money around and significantly enhances you access to knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries all over the world. The amount and quality of content squeezed into a $50 package (before rebate) defies belief. I am a 44 years old adult but when I received my Encarta Premium 2006, I was once more a child in a land of wonders. How much is such an experience worth to you? Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" Encyclopedia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite Win/Mac [DVD] Price: $49.99 Availability: This item is currently unavailable. Completely Revamped, September 12, 2005 The Encyclopedia Britannica 2006 (established in 1768) is a completely revamped product. Its interface is intuitive and uncluttered. It is far more fun to use. For instance, it now offers a date-based daily selection of relevant articles. The search box is persistent - no need to click on the toolbar's "search" button every time you want to find something in this vast storehouse. The new Britannica's display is tab-based, avoiding the erstwhile confusing proliferation of new windows with every move. Most importantly, articles appear in full - not in sections. This major improvement facilitates finding relevant keywords in and the printing of entire texts. These are only a few of dozens of user-friendly alterations and enhancements. The 2006 edition is a breakthrough. The Britannica seemed to have finally got it entirely right. The Britannica provides considerably more text than any other extant encyclopedia, print or digital. But its has noticeably enhanced it non-textual content over the years (the 1994-7 editions had nothing or very little but words, words, and more words). The Britannica fully supports serious research. It is a sober assemblage of first-rate essays, up to date bibliographies, and relevant multimedia. It is a desktop university library: thorough, well-researched, comprehensive, trustworthy. The Britannica's 80-100,000 articles (depending on the version) are long and thorough, supported by impressive bibliographies, and written by the best scholars in their respective fields. The company's Editorial Board of Advisors reads like the who's who of the global intellectual and scientific community. The Britannica comes bundled with an atlas (and 287 World data Profiles of individual countries and territories), the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus, classic articles from previous editions, eleven yearbooks, an Interactive Timeline, a Research Organizer, and a Knowledge Navigator (a Brain Stormer). In its new form, the Britannica is as user-friendly as the Encarta. Regrettably, it is updated only 2-4 times a year, a serious drawback, only partially compensated for by 3 months of free access to the its impressive powerhouse online Web site. The Britannica is an embarrassment of riches. Users often find the wealth and breadth of information daunting and data mining is fast becoming an art form. This is why the Britannica incorporated the Brain Stormer to cope with this predicament. But an informal poll I conducted online shows that few know how to deploy it effectively. The Britannica also sports Student and Elementary versions of its venerable flagship product, replete with a Homework Helpdesk - but it is far better geared to tackle the information needs of adults and, even more so, professionals. It provides unequalled coverage of its topics. Ironically, this is precisely why the market positioning of the Britannica's Elementary and Student Encyclopedias is problematic. The current edition is fully integrated with the Internet. Apart from the updates, it offers additional and timely content and revisions on a dedicated Web site. The digital product includes a staggering number of links (165,808!) to third party content on the Web. The GeoAnalyzer (compares national statistical data and generates charts and graphs) is now Web-based and greatly enhanced. The Britannica would do well to offer a browser add-on search bar and integrate with new desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. A seamless experience is in the cards. Users must and will be able to ferret content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface. Having used the product extensively in the last two weeks and on different platforms and operating systems, I find myself entertaining some minor gripes: The atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Britannica are surprisingly outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)? Despite considerable improvement over the previous edition, the Britannica still consumes (not to say hogs) computer resource far in excess of the official specifications. This makes it it less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops. The Britannica now uses a new graphic and text renderer. On some systems, the user needs to modify his or her desktop settings to get rid of jagged fonts and blurry photos. Moreover, despite the hype, relatively few users possess DVD drives (but those who do find the entire reference suite available on one DVD). But that's it. Don't think twice. Run to the closest retail outlet (or surf to the Britannica's Web site) and purchase the 2006 edition now. It offers excellent value for money (less than $50) and significantly enhances you access to knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries all over the world. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" ________________________________________________________   True Turtle Dreams by Marian Volkman   From Aesop to Hofstadter, the tradition of communicating important truths through anthropomorphesized animals is an old and venerable one. "True Dolphin Dreams" is an enchanting contribution to the genre. Instead of railing against our malignant individualism, narcissism, solipsism, aggression, and thwarted growth - the author confronts us with a self-deprecating turtle and a sagacious dolphin. These two communicate to their Human interlocutor the wisdom of their genes and their habitats and of the countless generations of survival through harmonious inter-relating. Contrary to many New Age authors, Marian Volkman does not deny or berate our natural propensities and traits. Rather, she seeks to enhance the good and pleasurable in us. She weaves delightful analogies and fables into an inter-species tapestry. The parties to this voyage are not perceived as alien, contrived, or smarmy - but as self-assured, benevolent, and mature. A gem.   ___________________________________________________________   'Stealing Heaven From The Lips Of God'   Gritty but touching Reviewer: Sam Vaknin from Skopje, Macedonia 'Stealing Heaven From The Lips Of God' is a grainy, black and white portrait of personal disintegration and reassembly, death and resurrection, alienation through relationships, and the art of self-consumption. It is unmistakably "bloggish" - a journal of immediate pain and urgent self-discovery. It glitters and is drenched in urban smells and sounds and expletives. It is a remarkably poignant love story with a happy end and a tragic rest and a lot of pornish sex. Like an expressionistic film, it is both hallucinatory and exquisitely detailed and like a film noir, it keeps you on edge and guessing. It is not easy to love the protagonist (the inevitable question: is it autobiographical?) and all but impossible to hate or judge him. This book is also a medieval morality play and the anti-hero gets his comeuppance as we grieve for the lives - his and those around him - that he so cavalierly shatters. Buy it now, before the author regrets his morbid generosity ...Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"   ______________________________________________________________   13 Dreams Freud Never Had by J. Allan Hobson   "The book has a clever thematic design - getting acquainted with the brain by interpreting 13 dreams the author had in various periods of his life. The author is a distinguished neuroscientist, so it is small wonder that the emphasis in the book is on the "hardware". The author tries hard to refute the psychoanalytic method of dream interpretation (now a century old,  long discarded in its original form by most practitioners, Freud included, and considered to be a kind of literary narrative).   In his quest, the author ignores millennia of debates about the psychophysical problem: are brain and mind one and the same? Is the mind merely how we introspectively experience the brain? Is brain activity the cause of our mental processes - or purely correlates with them?   The book is badly written and in dire need of competent editing. It reads like a pastiche of lab reports and snippets of scientific papers. The philosophy in the book - and especially the criticism of psychoanalysis - is rudimentary and dated. The author would have done well to concentrate on what he knows best and leave the writing to a ghost writer and the philosophizing to a trained and knowledgeable philosopher.   ___________________________________________________________________   Beyond Trauma: Conversations on Traumatic Incident Reduction by Victor R. Volkman Edition: Paperback Price: $21.95 Availability: This item is currently unavailable. 3 used & new from $15.99 PTSD Encountered and Countered, April 11, 2006 "This is the first time I read about Applied Metapsychology in clinical practice. I am lucky to have come across a concise, eminently-readable, empathic, joy-filled, hands-on text. Replete with examples, exercises, episodes from the author's life, and tips - this is a must for therapists (the book uses a much more benign term: "facilitators"), clients, and anyone who seeks heightened emotional welfare - or merely to recover from a trauma. The book avoids the twin traps of professional condescension and incomprehensible argot. The author treats both mental health practitioners and laymen with equal respect and provides them with the tools they need. It is all about enhancing personal growth by finding your place among others - a kind of adult re-socialization for better relationships in the broadest sense of the word. Contrary to the psychodynamic schools of treatment, Applied Metapsychology, as the author continuously emphasizes, is person-centered. It revolves around the client - it is user-friendly. The therapist is there (if at all) only as a catalyst. The exercises, concepts, and tools made available in this rich volume are geared to be easily applied without external facilitation. Metapsychology strikes me as disintermediation at its best - and this little book is a treasure trove. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited". Bullying Bosses: A Survivor's Guide How To Transcend The Illusion Of The Interpersonal by Robert Mueller JD Edition: Paperback Availability: This item is currently unavailable. Stare-down the Bully, April 11, 2006 It is rare that a book of reference and self-help should read like an edge-of-the-seat John Grisham thriller. But this significant contribution to the study of bullying in the workplace often does. Robert Mueller, in his own words, is a "former attorney who represented a couple thousand employees suffering adverse employer actions, many involving bullying." He sure introduces the drama of the courtroom and the rudiments of the adversarial system into the 300 pages of his survivor's guide. The author calls on managers to become aware of the dynamics that turn many workplaces into simmering stealth infernos. Employees should protect employers from bullies. Mueller leverages court cases and case histories into a cogent and methodological analysis of bullying tactics and strategies. Parallelly, he weaves a tapestry of legal, psychological, social, and cultural dimensions as he analyses the victim's mentality and reactions. Strewn among the pages of this rich presentation are highlighted tips and quotes. Mueller's message is simple: targets of bullying have to face down their tormentors. They have to become "workplace warriors" with "shields and swords". Easier said than done - but, still, can be done, argues the author. The target has to discover and groom potential supporters, build a case against the bullying boss, collect potent data and identify patterns of misbehavior, craft a plan, and implement it. It's all about empowerment by regaining control over situations that frequently and falsely look hopeless. The author takes the victim by the hand and convincingly shows him or her how to do it. I recommend the book to anyone who has ever been involved in on-the-job harassment, stalking, and bullying because it is both deep and practical, accurate but never arcane, eye opening and thought provoking and challenging - but never loses its empathy and compassion for the victims of this widespread and under-reported phenomenon. A gem. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited' My Tour in Hell: A Marine's Battle with Combat Trauma (Reflections of History) by David Warren Powell Edition: Hardcover Availability: This item is currently unavailable. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: Hell is inside, April 11, 2006 This book is a must read for armchair strategists and glib military analysts. War is not about strategic brilliance or courage. War is about feces and blood, mud and inhumane cruelty, as the first pages of this chilling memoir make clear. Battle strips the thin veneer of civilization that sets us apart from other species. It is about naked survival and triumphant aggression. War is about killing the other guy with your bare hands if need be and, above all, it is about staying alive, doing what it takes to make it through. Every trauma specialist should read this tome. You can take the soldier out of the war zone but you can't take the war out of the soldier. The unmitigated, sadistic, self-satisfied violence of combat lurks in the tortured minds of millions of veterans the world over as do the shame and the crippling fear. This book offers one of the best, most intimate description of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that I have ever read precisely because the author is a fellow sufferer, not a smug psychiatrist or theoretician. His style of prose - direct, matter-of-fact, and unflinchingly honest - also helps. But, above all, this book is about hope. There are glimpses of humanity amidst the worst atrocities and there are effective therapies to coax the victims of war back into peace and life. It worked for the author who has endured decades of trauma-induced ruination and instability in everything from marriage to business. If he was salvaged, so can we all. Amen. Sam Vaknin, author of 'Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited' The Complete Idiot's Guide to Philosophy, Third Edition by Ph.D., Jay Stevenson Edition: Paperback Price: $12.32 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 20 used & new from $9.95 A guide for the perplexed, April 11, 2006 Philosophy is the attempt to enhance the traits we deem desirable and suppress the traits we deem unwanted (a matter of judgment) by getting better acquainted with the world around us (a matter of reality). An improvement in the world around us inevitably follows.Test To qualify as a philosophical theory, the practitioner of philosophy - the philosopher - must, therefore meet a few tests: 1. To clearly define and enumerate the traits he seeks to enhance (or suppress) and to lucidly and unambiguously describe his ideal of the world 2. Not to fail the tests of every scientific theory (internal and external consistency, falsifiability, possessed of explanatory and predictive powers, etc.) These are mutually exclusive demands. Reality - even merely the intersubjective sort - does not yield to value judgments. Ideals, by definition, are unreal. Consequently, philosophy uneasily treads the ever-thinning lines separating it, on the one hand, from physics and, on the other hand, from religion. The history of philosophy is the tale of attempts - mostly botched - to square this obstinate circle. In their desperate struggle to find meaning, philosophers resorted to increasingly arcane vocabularies and obscure systems of thought. It did nothing to endear it to the man (and reader) in the post-Socratic agora. Enter "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Philosophy (Third Edition)" by Jay Stevenson, Ph.D. (Alpha Books). It is a delightful and structured excursion into the terrain more convolutedly trodden by "Sophie's World". It is a vade mecum in the true sense of the word. It gently holds you by the hand and unflinchingly introduces you to the one intellectual giant after another. The author knows how intimidating philosophy can be. He, therefore, avoids professional jargon. He talks to the reader, rather than talk at him. The text is peppered with brief insets titled "philoso-facts", "wisdom at work" (how to apply what you have learned), "reality check" (where philosophers disagree with each other and with reality), and "lexicon". Two appendices comprise a glossary and further reading. The book is an amazing feat. It covers all the major schools of thoughts and philosophers in c. 350 eminently readable pages. New chapters provide extended coverage of the latest developments in post-structuralism and post-modernism. If this book does not make you fall in love with this tortured discipline - nothing will. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"

How Good People Make Bad Choices answers the question in its title by borrowing ideas from an impressive range of psychological theories, expanding or re-defining them, and integrating them into a cogent and useful whole. In a nutshell, the author contends that our "ego" (no longer meant in the psychoanalytic sense) is committed to an agenda that is often self-defeating and counterproductive. This is because it seeks to minimize pain, maximize gratification, enhance one's control and power, and maintain an ego-ideal and conform to it - all in the service of physical survival. But bodily survival is no longer an issue (at least not in the West). Hence, the instinct-driven "ego" is maladaptive, not in your best interests.

 

To avoid untoward consequences of this ancient guidance system and to achieve integrity (predictability, consistency, and boundary-setting), the author suggests that we consciously develop a "belief system" comprised of values, a moral code, and realistic expectations and self-image. He teaches us how to do it with plenty of examples, questionnaires, and aides.

 

The "ego" doesn't give up so easily. Conflicts arise between the superstructure of our consciously-elaborated belief system and the antiquated apparatus at the core of our being. Again, the author teaches us how to resolve these conflicts, replete with hands-on exercises and case studies.

 

Thought-provoking and well worth the time, this book should be read once throughout and then repeatedly and in small doses. It is bound to trigger a lot of introspection, something we sorely lack in modern life.

 

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"

 

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Life After Your Lover Walks Out -- A Practical Guide

The dissolution of relationships, especially of the romantic variety,
leaves the abandoned partner dazzled, depleted, and traumatized. In such
a state of mind, one gropes for concise and hands-on non-nonsense
guidance. Regrettably, most self-help literature is bloated,
narcissistic, and off-topic. Not so this gem of a booklet. At 80 pages
it is manageable even by the most distracted and desperate reader.
Replete with bullet lists and steps, it is eminently practical but also
compassionate and conversational. Though it can be traversed from cover
to cover in less than 2 hours - it is the kind of book that keeps
attracting you to re-visit it as your healing progresses. Gradually, it
becomes one's personal diary, a dog-eared trusted friend that records
one's tears and one's recuperation. The author has been there and has
done that and this shows. But she is also a mental health practitioner
with a long and varied experience. If you know someone who has just been
painfully dumped by their significant other- but them this booklet.

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"

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Am I Bad

 

 

A tour de force of the tortured landscape of child abuse and its pernicious long-term outcomes. Numerous
case studies are expertly intertwined with theoretical insights to produce the equivalent of a
comprehensive and unconventional treatment modality. The author demonstrates the direct and indirect
pathways from single or multiple identity-shaping events of sexual, physical, and psychological
maltreatment in childhood to self-abuse and the preponderance of self-destructive and self-defeating
behaviors in later adult life. Equally, certain personality disorders are known to be the sad
consequences of child abuse. Social phenomena such as domestic violence and delinquency inevitably
follow. Those who are supposed to tackle such malignant outgrowths - most notably mental health
practitioners and social workers - are rarely up to the task. This book is an important contribution
towards the edification of victims and institutions alike.

---

Jonathan Penton's Chapbook

Your chapbook made it to my mailbox, surprising me no end. I am grateful.

I love your lean and muscular poetry. I agree with you that love is impossible and, when possible, inadmissible, and when acceptable - it is futile.

You use humor as a weapon, an act of violence. Suffused with it, your poetry is, therefore, a sublime yet gory manifestation of pained aggression.

Nothing helps. Civilization and goodness are inadequate defenses against human relationships.

---

Kathi Stringer's manuscript

There are two simple tests that I apply to every book:

(i) If I had to read it again, would I be able to? No, would I LOOK FORWARD to reading it anew?

(ii) When I turn the last page, do I feel sad, like I've just said "goodbye" to an old and valued
friend?

Your book passed both tests. It is a keeper.

It is clearly an initial draft in need of pervasive editing and completion. It also digresses sometimes
from a riveting autobiography into a political manifesto (pitted against the mental health system),
which is not good because it is not finely tuned and balanced. But it is never boring. It is a "page
turner".

More importantly, the first part of your book provides a rare and intelligent insight into the
confluence of what is condescendingly known as "gender dysphoria" and DID. Large swathes of it are
riveting. Your book challenged me to pose and face questions I never knew existed (for instance: how do
people react to someone upto and during his/her RLT phase; the ambiguous role of language; women as
closer to the "child" in us than men; and so on).

The second part reminded me of early work by Lawrence Sanders. It's staccato edge of the seat and
captivating. I love the way you combine and contrast documentary evidence and first-hand experience. One
Flew INTO the Cuckoo's Nest.

The second part has a few drawbacks, though:

At times, the text is TOO detailed. Some details can be omitted or sacrificed without affecting the
poignancy and breathless immediacy of the book.

Sometimes you lapse into highly technical and specialized jargon which is off-putting.

Some of the characters (nurses, doctors, etc.) are cartoonish and, consequently, perceived as fake,
biased, or exaggerated representations of reality. It is counterproductive as far as your goals are
concerned.

---

You've Gotta Fight Back by Dirk Chase Eldredge

The author is, in his own words, "a man whose flawed genetics and lifestyle invited fate to test him more often than most", having undergone 8 major surgeries. Yet, he survived to be a healthy, fulfilled, and physically and intellectually active 74 years old. The book offers both patients and their caregivers critical insights on how to prevail and thrive against great medical odds. These boil down to: it's all in the mind, develop and adopt the right attitude and you will live; work with doctors who actually care about you; rid yourself on unhealthy habits; join a self-help group; research your problem. These truisms are convincingly demonstrated, time and again, in the pages of this fascinating work-cum-testament.

But the book is far from a mere theoretical discourse.Despite its potentially morbid topic, it brims with life: real cases, real people, real triumphs over a variety of illnesses and the distress they cause and over other,non-medical, but equally harrowing circumstances. This tome is a treasure trove of celebrated stories of survival and passages from the memoirs of those who made it. Though down to Earth, the book is compassionate and never condescending or patronizing. Though encyclopedic in scope and content, it is as intimate as talking to a close friend. A compelling read.

---

Becoming Dead Right
By Frances Shani Parker

Dying is a ritual which purports to mask the unbridgeable chasm between those who are about to die in existential solitude and their family members, friends, and caregivers. Far from the public's gaze, the old and the sick expire unconsoled and, often, unattended to, objectified and discarded by a society in denial, mortified by mortality and its concomitant decay.

The author, an inner-city hospice volunteer, pits her humanity against the neglect, shame, guilt, and fear that death and terminal illness provoke in modern urbanites. She weaves the invaluable lessons that she had gleaned from her vast experience with loving but unflinching sketches of her charges, her own poetry, and scathing, compelling dialogs. It is an incredible read, suffused with the surrealism that is an inevitable part of daily life in slums and housing projects, hospitals and care centers. Yet, mysteriously, in the throes of AIDS and the decrepitude of both body and habitat, her people are beacons of hope and fortitude, love and resilience, and the power that comes with closure, self-knowledge and acceptance.

Medical and healthcare information and statistics are strewn throughout the book and provide useful background and context to the personal tales. The second part of this work is a fascinating dissection of what it means to die in contemporary culture and the future of the hospice movement. It is interspersed with practical advice on how to prepare for the longest journey of all and on how to be a good and efficacious caregiver, one who actually caters to the needs, both physical and emotional, of the soon to be departed.

---

Humanizing Madness - Psychiatry and the Cognitive Neurosciences

By Niall McLaren

 

It is impossible to do justice to this ambitious, erudite, and intrepid attempt to dictate to psychiatry a new, "scientifically-correct" model theory. The author offers a devastating critique of the shortcomings and pretensions of psychiatry, not least its all-pervasive, jargon-camouflaged nescience.

 

Still, this whole captivating opus revolves around two principles, both contentious:

 

(I) That psychiatry could, in principle, be a science and thus could generate rigorous scientific theories and testable hypotheses and

 

(II) That the human mind lends itself to scientific inquiry.

 

Yet, like parapsychology and other esoteric branches of "knowledge", psychiatry, by definition and nature, can never be a science.

Science deals with generalizations (the generation of universal statements known as laws) based on singular existential statements (founded, in turn, on observations). Every scientific law is open to falsification: even one observation that contravenes it is sufficient to render it invalid (a process known in formal logic as modus tollens).

In contrast, psychiatry deals exclusively with anomalous phenomena - observations that invalidate and falsify scientific laws. By definition these don't lend themselves to the process of generation of testable hypotheses. One cannot come up with a scientific theory of exceptions.

Psychiatric phenomena cannot be generalized and they do not need to be falsified (they are already falsified by the prevailing paradigms, laws, and theories of science). Across the fence, pseudo-skeptics are trying to prove (to produce evidence) that the very concept of "mental health" and its alleged manifestations do not exist. But, while it is trivial to demonstrate that some thing or event exists or existed - it is impossible to show that some thing or event does not exist or was never extant. The skeptics' anti-psychiatry agenda is, therefore, fraught with many of the difficulties that bedevil the work of psychic researchers.

Can psychiatry generate a scientific theory (either prescriptive or descriptive)?

The study of mental health phenomena is not an exact "science", nor can it ever be. This is because the "raw material" (human beings and their behavior as individuals and en masse) is fuzzy. Such a discipline will never yield natural laws or universal constants (like in physics).

Experimentation in the field is constrained by legal and ethical rules. Human subjects tend to be opinionated, develop resistance, and become self-conscious when observed. Even psychiatry's proponents (including the author) admit that results depend on the subject's mental state and on the significance attributed by him to events and people he communicates with.

These core issues cannot be solved by designing less flawed, better controlled, and more rigorous experiments or by using more powerful statistical evaluation techniques.

To qualify as meaningful and instrumental, any psychiatric explanation (or "theory") must be:

1. All-inclusive (anamnetic) – It must encompass, integrate and incorporate all the facts known.

2. Coherent – It must be chronological, structured and causal.

3. Consistent – Self-consistent (its sub-units cannot contradict one another or go against the grain of the main explication) and consistent with the observed phenomena (both those related to the event or subject and those pertaining to the rest of the universe).

4. Logically compatible – It must not violate the laws of logic both internally (the explanation must abide by some internally imposed logic) and externally (the Aristotelian logic which is applicable to the observable world).

5. Insightful – It must inspire a sense of awe and astonishment which is the result of seeing something familiar in a new light or the result of seeing a pattern emerging out of a big body of data. The insights must constitute the inevitable conclusion of the logic, the language, and of the unfolding of the explanation.

6. Aesthetic – The explanation must be both plausible and "right", beautiful, not cumbersome, not awkward, not discontinuous, smooth, parsimonious, simple, and so on.

7. Parsimonious – The explanation must employ the minimum numbers of assumptions and entities in order to satisfy all the above conditions.

8. Explanatory – The explanation must elucidate the behavior of other elements, including the subject's decisions and behavior and why events developed the way they did.

9. Predictive (prognostic) – The explanation must possess the ability to predict future events, including the future behavior of the subject.

11. Elastic – The explanation must possess the intrinsic abilities to self organize, reorganize, give room to emerging order, accommodate new data comfortably, and react flexibly to attacks from within and from without.

In all these respects, psychiatric models and explanations can qualify as scientific theories: they satisfy most of the above conditions. But this apparent similarity is misleading.

Scientific theories must also be testable, verifiable, and refutable (falsifiable). The experiments that test their predictions must be repeatable and replicable in tightly controlled laboratory settings. All these elements are largely missing from psychiatric "theories", models, and explanations Including the author's). No experiment could be designed to test the statements within such explanations, to establish their truth-value and, thus, to convert them to theorems or hypotheses in a theory.

There are four reasons to account for this inability to test and prove (or falsify) psychiatric theories:

1. Ethical – To achieve results, subjects have to be ignorant of the reasons for experiments and their aims. Sometimes even the very fact that an experiment is taking place has to remain a secret (double blind experiments). Some experiments may involve unpleasant or even traumatic experiences. This is ethically unacceptable.

2. The Psychological Uncertainty Principle – The initial state of a human subject in an experiment is usually fully established. But the very act of experimentation, the very processes of measurement and observation invariably influence and affect the participants and render this knowledge irrelevant.

3. Uniqueness – Psychiatric experiments are, therefore, bound to be unique. They cannot be repeated or replicated elsewhere and at other times even when they are conducted with the SAME subjects (who are no longer the same owing to the effects of their participation). This is due to the aforementioned psychological uncertainty principle. Repeating the experiments with other subjects adversely affects the scientific value of the results.

4. The undergeneration of testable hypotheses – Psychiatry does not generate a sufficient number of hypotheses, which can be subjected to scientific testing. This has to do with its fabulous (i.e., storytelling) nature. In a way, psychiatry has affinity with some private languages. It is a form of art and, as such, is self-sufficient and self-contained. If structural, internal constraints are met, a statement is deemed true within the psychiatric "canon" even if it does not satisfy external scientific requirements.

At the end of the book, one is left with the impression that the author is yet another Freud. Granted, his assumptions are far more parsimonious and elegant, his knowledge far advanced, and his aspirations more limited. But it strikes this reader that rather than confront the real issue head on ("can we ever know anything about people and about the mind?"), the author rationalizes it away, concealed behind a smokescreen of words and "rules". Such prestidigitation is the essence of pseudo-science.

 

Foreword to "He's just not that into... anyone but himself" - A Memoir by Lisa Bloomquist, whose pseudonym is Ella Scott

 

Awareness of the pernicious epidemy of pathological narcissism has been steadily growing over the last decade and has resulted in a prodigious and copious output of self-help guides, textbooks, and personal memories. Still, in all this cornucopia, it is difficult to find something akin to Lisa's work: part textbook, part self-help tome, part personal and painful memoir.

 

Narcissists are an elusive breed. They are shape-shifters and the nature of the disorder renders them alien, a sub-species of cunning artificial intelligence. Their ability to mimic human emotions is unsuprpassed, their charm sometimes irresistible, and their thespian skills unequalled. Narcissists defy, therefore, well-intentioned compilations of warning signs and batteries of psychological diagnostic tests.

 

There is scarcely anything more painful than self-delusion. The narcissist is a cardboard cutout, the mere projection of a false self, unable to love, empathize, get intimate, or commit. Loving the narcissist is an exercise in protracted futility that invariably ends in heartbreak.What you see is never what you get. The narcissist is a drug addict. His psychological survival as a coherent, functional whole depends on the attention he garners (often, coerces) from others. He is a singleminded, single-purpose automaton. Behind the elaborate facade of these Potemkin humans lurks the void.

 

The only way to effectively defend against a narcissist is to learn from the harrowing experiences of those who fell prey to the narcissist's advances and were subsequently victimized by him (or, more rarely, her). The emerging genre of victim lit is seriously enhanced by Lisa's contribution. She has gone to great lengths to acquaint herself with the latest scholarly literature and to scrutinize her own encounters with narcissists with brutal honesty.

 

The result is a compelling narrative: the detailed anatomy of two failed relationships with narcissistic men sagely set in the framwork of the most current knowledge about the disorder. Makes for a riveting tour de force of the tortured landscapes of the la-la lands of malignant self-love.

 

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love - Narcissism Revisited"

 

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Look Me in the Eye by Caryl Jonker

 

Victimhood is an objective state of being - but, undoubtedly, also a subjective state of mind. The author's tumultuous and tortured life led her to this epiphany which allowed her to embark on a process of self-empowerment and healing.

 

The book is not for the faint-hearted or the politically correct. It mercilessly explores in excruciating detail the fraught relationships between men and women, codependents and narcissists, society and victims, and therapists and "clients". The author holds nothing back: date rapes, addictions, domestic violence, incapacitating fears, warts and all. It is this candor that endears her to the reader. Early on in the book, we come to empathize with her and are rendered eager to join her in her voyage of self-discovery.

 

Rare in such confessionals, the author has never shut herself off from the big wide world out there. Her narrative is deliciously embedded in the story of her country, South Africa, its race relations, and the ancient wisdom possessed by its inhabitants. The book opens with a thinly-veiled metaphor: news about the tsunami in Thailand reverberate with the author's own quaking self and (third) marriage. Throughout this harrowing tome the world and its representatives intrude, at times helpful, mostly obstructive and mean.

 

Having defied incredible odds, the author emerges, in front of the readers' astonished gaze, as a beautiful, self-confident, mature, and self-aware woman. She shares the wealth of her experience by simply telling a story that is bound to captivate, infuriate, and educate. One of the best personal odyssey books I have ever read.

 

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"

 

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"... Until You Die: The Narcissist's Promise" by Robin Shaye

 

FOREWORD: When Life is Indistinguishable from Art

 

In this book, Robin Shaye effects a miracle: she brings the musty, polysyllabic scholarship of pathological narcissism to life. Ostensibly, her tome is mere fiction and the protagonists, characters on a stage. But the veneer of fiction can't camouflage the intimate, first-hand, and anguished experiences that underlie it. Through the unfolding saga of one doomed relationship, Robin touches savvily upon all the salient features of living with and loving a psychopathic narcissist.

 

By his nature, the narcissist misleads his nearest into believing that they are also his dearest. Devoid of any depth of commitment and emotion, robbed of the ability to love and empathise, besieged by overwhelming sensations of fantastic grandiosity, and consumed by a pernicious sense of entitlement, the narcissist preys upon the vulnerable and then devours them.

 

The narcissist's "relationships" consist of take-and-take. He is an exploiter of the most nefarious kind, giving in return only the bare-bones minimum needed to sustain his victims alive and functioning. Replete with uncontrollable rages and impulses, reckless conduct, indifference to the emotions, needs, and wishes of others, and a predatory mindset, the narcissist is an alien intelligence, vampire-like, and blood-curdling.

 

However, this reality is efficaciously hidden beneath a well-practiced hypnotic charm, ersatz erudition, displays of virtue, might, and money, and the expert simulation of deep and moving feelings for his would be "sources". The narcissist is a master manipulator and an innate con-man.

 

Robin seamlessly embeds in her novel her research into this incredible disorder. By witnessing the harrowing misadventures of Skylar, the reader, almost surreptitiously, gets introduced into the core concepts of malignant narcissism and selfishness-run-amok. At the end, this tome is both a warning and a plea to learn from other victims' tumultuous lives and to refrain from the malignant optimism that characterizes most partners of consummate narcissists.

 

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"

 

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Iraq Thru the Bullet Hole

 

This is the story of an Iraqi man, his adopted country, Australia, and his tortured motherland. In broken English, which lends authenticity and urgency to the narrative, the author embarks on an odyssey deep into the Stygian recesses of Iraq: part failed state, part hell, part family. Fear - nay, terror - permeates this tale: from the nightmarish taxi ride across the Jordanian border to the maiming and killing of innocents by American "liberators" and Muslim "martyrs and insurgents". No one is exempt. This is a subversive text, precisely because of its naiveté: history has rendered the entire cast of characters evil and deformed, one way or the other. Decades of rapacious tyranny, followed by destitution wrought by an inane embargo, an interminable war with all the neighbors, and, finally, a surrealistic occupation. It is not a hopeful situation and this is not an uplifting tome. But, then, the anatomy of human passions and pathologies never is hopeful or uplifting. Iraq is, indeed, a metaphor and the author wanders the lunar wasteland that once was the landscape of his childhood and manhood with undisguised awe and trepidation, shock and indignation, and finally profound sadness and resignation. We, his readers, are likely to do the same.

 

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"

 

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Little Broken Boy

By: Jeremy Todd

 

This book is not for the faint-hearted. It is a no-nonsense, no prisoners taken account of the most horrific abuse a father can inflict on his progeny: physical, emotional, and, finally, sexual. This is the story of a road to one person's inner hell as it unfolds within the setting of a series of therapy sessions. The disconcertingly factual tone jars with the author's attempts at distancing himself through philosophizing. There is nothing general about his very private agony, his frightful demons, and his slow, almost inexorable disintegration. The tale is cast in terms of good vs. evil and, because of the enormity of the deeds related, its apocalyptic vocabulary is utterly believable. A heart-rending, nightmarish confession of a tortured soul.

 

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"

 

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Mental Illness and Your Town: 37 Ways for Communities to Help and Heal

By: Larry Hayes

 

Mental illness is a contentious topic mired in prejudice, superstition, and ignorance. Stigmatized, patients and their families retreat into a fortress of denial and shame. Communities, small and large, and even the medical profession, turn a blind, embarrassed eye and pretend to go on about their business with equanimity.

 

Unlike the overwhelming majority of tomes concerned with this issue, "Mental Illness and Your Town" is not verbose or condescending. It is a "how-to" manual for would-be activists and it provides hundreds of tips and reams of advice on communal coping with mental illness. In terms of "talent, time, and treasure", this slender guide provides detailed, down-to-earth, action plans tailored to specific audiences: individual volunteers; the Church; the media; hospitals; and many more.

 

What can one do about mental illness? A lot, it turns out; open a suicide hot line; administer self-tests; distribute cell phones; organize outings; open clubhouses and depression centers; and much more besides. By confining itself to the practical and eminently doable, the book counters our feelings of helplessness and resignation in the face of these "cancers of the mind".

 

My only mild criticism is that the author, probably owing to personal experience, tends to concentrate on mood-disorders (and, particularly depression). Yet, there are hundreds of other mental health dysfunctions out there. This vade mecum will serve them equally well.

 

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More than a Memory: Reflections of Viet Nam

Victor R. Volkman (ed.)

 

In poems, stories, essays, and photos, 15 veterans remember. Traumatic memories are never in the past: they live on and sear the mind every minute of every day. Inevitably, as time passes, in a desperate attempt to make sense of the essentially senseless, war veterans construct narratives and, occasionally, share them with others. Storytelling is a powerful form of therapy: it gives structure to chaos, voice to eerie silence, and supplant anguished despondence with budding hope. It restores the veterans' trust in their ability to connect and communicate and, therefore, their trust in humanity.

 

Traumas are concentric affairs: they affect not only the soldier, but also his family, his neighborhood, and, ultimately, his nation. This book is about exorcism: the demons of wars are cast into the outer darkness by words and phrases, by sentences and paragraphs. Poignant and heart-rending as it is, "More than a Memory" is a work of great courage and optimism, over triumph against all odds and amidst the horrors, of resurrection and renewal. It is nothing short of uplifting.

 

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Cat's Tale

Mimi (Elsie Spurlock)

 

In the penultimate scene of this book, the indomitable Cassandra, an erstwhile nanny to both Molly and her sister, Mandy, coerces the former's dissolute, fortune-hunting and abusive husband literally to his knees. Humiliated and unrepentant, but scared stiff by Cassandra's threats of castration, Brad apologizes and vanishes from the scene. A friendly sheriff guarantees the ladies' future well-being and safety and all's well that ends well.

Alas, reality is a lot uglier. Dozens of millions of women are abused - battered, verbally and psychologically berated, financially exploited, even murdered - annually throughout the world. They have no one to protect them and the Law - the police and the courts - turn a blind eye. Domestic Violence and especially intimate-partner abuse are still considered to be off limits: minor altercations to be amicably resolved between husband and wife once the dust settles and tempers have cooled.

This tome is unique because it is written from the perspective of a mongrel foundling cat, the offspring of an abusive feline father. Often unable to decipher the functions of appliances and utensils and to comprehend the social mores and cues that it witnesses, Samir, all the same, is an astute, empathic, and discerning pet. It decodes, anticipates, and, in its on way, punishes abusive conduct. It knows an abuser when it sees one and though it has no effective way of communicating its findings to the would-be victims, it does its best to make the offender's life hell.

Many women, now in the throes of spousal abuse would love to have a Cassandra and a Samir in their lives. But, in the absence of such amenities, this book is as close as it gets: it offers understanding, empathy, comfort, and advice. It is a true and long-term friend and solace.

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"

 

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Understanding Muhammad

By: Ali Sina

 

The hallmark of a seminal work is that it crystallizes into a single, overpowering coherence its reader's dark suspicions, ephemeral unease, and penumbral stirrings. Your work introduces an organizing principle into what hitherto appeared to be utter mayhem and lethal chaos. Your book offers an explanatory scheme. One "a-ha" moment chases another as things fall into place and a causative chain emerges leading all the way from medieval founder to his current day followers and emulators. Your blood-curdling tome is a sweeping, thought-provoking, and thrilling historical panorama that weaves seamlessly insights from numerous disciplines: history, mental health, theology, and more. A bold and daring masterpiece!

Gentling: a Clinician’s Practical Guide to Treating PTSD in Abused Children
William E. Krill

 

Amazingly, there are precious few books that deal with PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) in children, perhaps because of the widespread misconception that it is rare among them. Well, it is not and the author, wading in a largely uncharted territory, develops an eminently pragmatic approach to the diagnosis and treatment of children with stress disorders of all etiologies (sexual and other). He observes them, listens to them and is not ashamed to learn from them.

 

The book is organized as a coherent and sequential collection of checklists and fact sheets: trauma signs and symptoms; child specific expressions of stress; a suggested course of treatment for abused children with PTSD and what the author calls "gentling": a combination of gentle, compassionate and empathic gestures and firmness that convey to the child a sense of safety.

 

But the book is much more than the sum of the lifetime experiences of a practitioner: it offers an organized theory of stress, replete with psychological tests, guided or directed observations, and an evidence-based theoretical framework. It can be easily applied to PTSD in all age groups, not only children. And, as far as the treatment modality goes, it is bordering on revolutionary. With simple, pedestrian means the good doctor produces one therapeutic miracle after another where all the "sophisticated" approaches abysmally fail. PTSD victims want to trust and to be held. The author has a profound understanding of their plight and his emapthic skills make all the difference in the world to his little patients and older readers alike.

 

Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"

 

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				Pears' Cyclopaedia 2009 - 2010 by Chris (ed) Cook Edition: Hardcover Availability: Out of Print--Limited Availability		6 used & new from $27.08
Pears Cyclopedia: The World in Your Hand, October 30, 2009 "Affection" and "attachment" are terms rarely used in a review of a reference title - but, they are the ones that come to my mind as I contemplate the new (2009-2010) edition of Pears Cyclopedia, one of many editions I possess. I confess to my addiction proudly: control freak that I am, I like holding the Universe of Knowledge in the palm of my hand, in manageable, pocket-sized form. What renders this single volume unique is not that it is a cornucopia of facts (which it is, abundantly and lavishly so), but that it arranges them lovingly in patterns and narratives and, thus, endows them with sense and sensibility. It is at once an erudite friend, a mischievous iconoclast, a legend to our times, the sum total of human knowledge in a rich variety of fields, and a treasure-trove of trivia and miscellany. It is as compellingly readable as the best non-fiction, as comprehensive as you need it to be, and as diverting as a parlor game. It is both quaint and modern in the best senses of these loaded words. Pears Cyclopedia is a labor of love and it shows. Its current editor (formerly, its Assistant Editor), Christopher Cook, has been at it for decades now. Annually, he springs a delicious surprise on the avid cult that is the readership of Pears Cyclopedia: new topics that range from wine connoisseurship to gardening. The evergreens - meticulously updated every year to reflect the very last and best - include: a Chronicle of Events; Prominent People; Background to World Affairs; Britain Today (the Cyclopedia being a British institution); The Historical World; Background to Economic Events; a General Compendium; a Biblical Glossary; Myths and Legends; Ideas and Beliefs (my favorite); a superb Gazetteer of the World (alas, this year, for the first time, without its attendant atlas); close to 2600 entries of General Information; a Literary Companion; an Introduction to Art and Architecture; The Worlds of Music, Cinema, Science, and Wine (in separate chapters, of course); a Sporting Almanac; Computing and the internet; The Environment; and Medical Matters. At close to 1000 pages, Pears Cyclopedia is a bargain. Alas, its distribution leaves something to be desired. I have spent the better part of a long afternoon searching for it in vain in London's bookshops. Last time I had it ordered in Europe, I have waited for months on end for its arrival. It is also not exactly au courant on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It should be. Pears Cyclopedia is wonderful, in the true meaning of this word: it is full of wonders and, therefore, is itself a wonder. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited"   Taming Marital arguments   By: Robert P. Rugel   Marital arguments are symptoms of the deep-set malaise that grips the vast majority of marriages only a few years into these onerous and unnatural arrangements. This book is one of the most level-headed looks at nuptial discord. It offers, in equal measures, compassion, unflinching observation, and practical advice, all wrapped in a thorough investigation of why erstwhile lovers, mates, and partners turn into hateful, inanely bickering enemies. Like their political counterparts , marital arguments are bitter and uncompromising precisely because they pack a wallop of emotions and common history. The book first disentangles the web of expectations and self-deceit that underlie conjugal contracts and then proceeds methodically to unravel the intricate network of wounds and triggers that give rise to fights and shouting matches in marriage.   The book proceeds from an overview of self-feeding and self-reflecting marital dynamics to an exposition of the role in the bond of the psychology of the partners, especially if they are bent on avoiding a repeat of earlier traumas and pain. A variety of emotions, counter-emotions, traits, and behaviors contribute to the breakdown of communications and, consequently, of marriages. The author does a superb job of analyzing them all and, thus, demonstrating why partners are sometimes perceived by their nearest and dearest to be threatening and subversive rather than nurturing and supportive. To sidestep such pitfalls, the author advocates enhanced self-awareness and self-administered behavior modification and provides the tools to accomplish these goals. The book is most helpfully interspersed with examples of arguments and fights between couples and how to resolve them productively as well as questionnaires and tests.   "Taming Marital Arguments" is proof that a book should never be judged by the number of its pages. It packs into its slender spine more punch and value for money than many a thickset textbooks about couples and their communication problems. An absolute delight! Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited".