Landmark - The Inside Story of America's New Health Care Law and What It Means for Us All

Book Review: Landmark - The inside story of America's new health care law and what it means for us all

Landmark is a collection of essays written by various reporters, editors and national staff of 'Washington Post' followed by the actual text of the bill. It provides a comprehensible summary of the legislation and examines its impacts on Americans on various categories and on health care system as a whole. In addition to this, it gives a very rich historical background and perspective. Such as how the legislation came together, the events and negotiations, the political challenges and obstacles, etc etc

The book has a systematic structure and is divided into three sections. The first section provides behind the scene reporting about the way the law came up. The second section highlights the effects and impacts of the new law whereas the third section is a summary of the legislation.

For a lot of people, the presence of the historical background makes it a worthwhile read as it also covers a lot about the national healthcare coverage. People also find it a worthwhile read because it gives a proper and detailed coverage as compared to the fragmented and sensational media coverage.

Although the bill seems to be corrupted in a few places, the authors still manage to convince you that the law will change the way doctors make business and also mark a change in the patients experiences.

This book will increase your knowledge on the issues related to this bill and your ability to discuss and debate on the issue will also be enhanced. This book provides a very balanced perspective and should be read by all.

Landmark is a well written analysis of the new health care reform bill, all of the contributors clarify specific areas of the bill, recommended.

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Mansfield Shares Story of Faith of Obama

"This book is...written in the belief that if a man's faith is sincere, it is the most important things about him, and...it is impossible to understand who he is and how he will lead without first understanding the religious vision that informs his life..." -Stephen Mansfield

I think reading The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield after the 2008 election is over has allowed me to better absorb the wealth of understanding this book provides. Mansfield, who has also written of Churchill, Booker T. Washington, George W. Bush, et. al. has a gift for honing in on, and creating a well-documented text that speaks directly to and clearly presents the defining points of the person about whom he has written.

It is not the first time Mansfield has written about the faith of men. It perhaps, though, is the first time that his book is published immediately before the election of that man as president elect. Obviously, the biography may well become a must-read for all Americans, as we look toward the time of change that Obama has promised. I believe the book covers essentially all of the issues that drove this year's election and helps lay a foundation that will guide our understanding of the future.

One of the major highlights of the book was a comprehensive, comparative analysis of the "Four Faces of Faith" for those individuals who were the primary participants in the 2008 election: George W. Bush as the individual who was leaving the office and then Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain as the leading candidates. Each of these individuals has openly discussed their faith during the election. Reading the comparison however, clearly focuses on how the candidates' profession of faith may have been perceived by citizens.

Mansfield begins his book, naturally, with a look at Obama's early life. Considering the diversity of influences from his major role models-his parents, grandparents, and his stepfather?it is somewhat amazing that he was able to intellectually work through the breadth of his experience and arrive at a point where he chose to follow Christ. Then, as various political campaigns were undertaken, Obama was constantly attacked from a faith standpoint; however, being under fire, actually worked to forge his beliefs into both rhetoric as well as actions that in turn fired his growing numbers of followers.

"We worship an awesome God in the Blue States," declared Obama at the 2004 Democratic Party Convention speech. Quite willing to claim that democrats were Christians too, Obama has in essence "founded" a Religious Left that has met the needs of the millions who soundly rejected that only the Religious Right were true Christians. "We, too, have faith...Those of us who believe in a woman's right to choose an abortion, who defend the rights of gays and who care for the poor... It was a conscious attempt to reclaim the voice of the American political Left."

Mansfield clarifies issues regarding Obama's early teachings in Islam, and his relationship with Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., as well as a discussion of the black church experience, which historically has provided a method for hearing the news, dealing with issues and planning for the good of the community. His inclusion of a perhaps little-known issue, of the "Tuskegee Syphilis Study," lends credibility to his discussion and forces us to better understand the fear and anger of a large part of our population!

In closing, Mansfield highlights a number of healers-those who are able to bring about change for the good. Will Obama be such a healer? Mansfield seems to imply that he just might be. He has been forced to share and has willingly stood on what he believes, while at the same time, admitting, for instance, when he is unsure of his position on abortion, that "I don't believe such doubts make me a bad Christian. I believe they make me human, limited in my understandings of God's purpose and therefore prone to sin." (From The Audacity of Hope) May this reviewer add her personal "Amen" to that!

Needless to say, I highly recommend The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield!

"No matter how religious they may or may not be, people are tired of seeing faith used as a tool of attack. They don't want faith used to belittle or to divide...Because in the end, that's not how they think about faith in their own lives." --Barack Obama

The Faith of Barack Obama
By Stephen Mansfield
Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 978-1-59555-250-1
164 Pages

G. A. Bixler is co-owner of an online review site of Independent Professional Book Reviewers. She has over 40 years experience in educational administration and publishing. New or well-known, self-published, or small press authors are all welcomed! Compare our prices to other professional book review sites!

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Buried Alive - The True Story of Kidnapping, Captivity, and a Dramatic Rescue by Roy Hallums

Buried Alive - The True Story of Kidnapping, Captivity, and a Dramatic Rescue by Roy Hallums is the compelling story of a man's will to survive. It's a white knuckle ride as you follow the author's unrelenting physical and psychological torment at the hands of Iraqi insurgents. Roy Hallums book provides a behind-the-scenes look at what it means to be kidnapped in Iraq and forced to suffer imprisonment and beatings.

It was November 2004 and contractor, Roy Hallums was working late at his office in Iraq at the Saudi Arabian Trading and Construction Company. The office was supposedly well-protected by armed security guards but four kidnappers broke in and hauled him and a co-worker away at gunpoint. For three hundred and eleven days, the men were held hostage and moved frequently. Eventually they were taken to a farmhouse and thrown into a concrete pit under the floor with only a pipe in the ceiling to provide oxygen. They were forced to wear masks and endured hunger, heat and cold. The confinement is described in chilling detail including beatings and psychological torture. His family dealt with the nightmare back home and they never gave up on him. When his location was finally verified, he was successfully rescued by the US Military.

Roy Hallums story is captivating. I was hooked on page one and could not put it down. He will amaze you with his perseverance, hope and survival skills. The first person narrative is very well written. The fast pace keeps the pages turning. It's a gripping tale that will give you insight to events in the Middle East. I highly recommend it.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their book review bloggers program. The opinions are my own.

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

ISBN: 978-1595551702

Hardcover: 256 Pages

Price: $25.99

Gail writes romance, paranormal and otherwise as Gale Stanley.
CALL OF THE WILDS - Available now at Amazon & Bookstrand
SILENT KNIGHTS - coming October 2010 - Silver Publishing
MATING CALL - coming November 2010 - Siren-Bookstrand
POINT OF BEGINNING - coming January 2011 - Silver Publishing
http://galestanley.net/
http://galestanley.blogspot.com/

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Review - Why Do You Kill? The Untold Story of the Iraqi Resistance

Why Do You Kill? The Untold Story of the Iraqi Resistance, Jurgen Todenhofer, 2009, ISBN 9781934708149

This book looks inside the Iraqi resistance and shows how it is not only fighting the American occupiers, but also Al-Qaeda terrorists and the various private militias.

A person can argue about the conduct of the war in Iraq, how well or how badly it was executed, and whether or not waterboarding is torture, etc. The central premise, that we are guided by noble desires, to help Iraqis enjoy the fruits of democracy, can not be questioned. Supposedly, Arabs are not ready for Western-style democracy. Opinion poll after opinion poll, including those done by US officials in Iraq, show that large majorities of Iraqis want US troops to leave, fully and immediately.

If a US ally was invaded and occupied by another country under false premises, and the invaders were unwanted by the local population, don't they have the right to resist that occupation? Unquestionably, the answer is Yes; such a person would be hailed as a freedom fighter. But, when America or an ally does the occupying, there is no legitimate resistance. Freedom Fighter automatically equals Terrorist.

The author entered Iraq through Syria in 2007, intentionally without the knowledge or consent of American authorities. He wanted to avoid the Green Zone in Baghdad, Potemkin (fake) villages set up by the American military and talking to "approved" Iraqis. He was able to meet with, and stay with, many Iraqis who told him exactly why they joined the resistance.

A central principle of Islam is to never kill innocent people. That is the difference between resistance fighters and terrorists. Every family has lost someone during the occupation, some arrested and never to be heard from again. To the assertion that civil war will erupt if American troops leave; like that is so much worse than what is going on when this book was written (2007). If the American troops left, the Iraqi resistance could easily get rid of Al-Qaeda on its own. Early in the occupation, American troops in Fallujah fired on a peaceful demonstration of Iraqis upset that the troops had taken over a local school, killing 15 and injuring 65. American General Geoffrey Miller has been quoted as saying that Iraqi prisoners should never be allowed to think that they are anything "more than a dog." After a bomb blast in Baghdad, an imam asked for blood donations over the mosque's loudspeaker. The American response was to bomb the mosque, and shoot the imam. The reason given was that that district supported the resistance.

This is an excellent piece of journalism of the type rarely seen in America these days. It easily reaches the level of Wow.

Paul Lappen is a freelance book reviewer whose website, http://www.deadtreesreview.com/, has over 800 reviews on all subjects, with an emphasis on small press books.

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