Understand How Sleep Impacts Learning and Memory

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 27, 2007 -- Understand how improving your sleep can enhance your memory and intelligence. That's the message behind the new book "REM Illumination Memory Consolidation".

Written by Timothy J. Walter, M.D., a sleep medicine physician and neurologist, "REM Illumination Memory Consolidation" (Lotus Magnus, August 2007, ISBN-13: 978-1604022377, $19.95) integrates different research findings on sleep and memory into the first-ever cohesive theory about the overall process presented in a way that is easy to understand. Dr. Walter has translated the complex sleep research concepts into plain English using simple analogies so that any reader can benefit from this information.

In the book, Dr. Walter explains how our brains use emotion throughout the day as we live our lives to decide which memories are actually worth keeping. While we sleep, the same emotion in the dream may aid in the burning of the memory into the matrix of pre-existing memories.

Dr. Walter explains the amazing discovery of REM sleep windows, which are discrete windows in time following learning when we must dream if we are to permanently store memories. If these REM sleep opportunities are missed, either through sleep deprivation or a sleep disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea, the opportunity to store specific memories may be lost forever. Getting adequate sleep may improve learning and memory.

In addition to the printed version, "REM Illumination" is available as an e-book or audio book at http://Lotusmagnus.com. Potential buyers can also sample audio chapters at http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/podcast_dream.asp and purchase the paperback on Amazon.com at http://tinyurl.com/yqftad.

"Your most valuable asset is your consciousness," said Walter. "That is why I wrote this book."

About the Author

Timothy J. Walter, M.D. received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He went on to do a residency in neurology at Georgetown University Hospital and a fellowship in sleep medicine and neurophysiology at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He is board certified in neurology and sleep medicine. He is currently the co-medical director of Capitol Sleep Medicine Sleep Diagnostic Center in Grove City, Ohio.

Laughing All the Way to the Bank

Successful Businessman Directs Small Business Owners to the Top

HIGH POINT, N.C., Nov. 20, 2007 -- In a world of moguls and margins, advice from the top is a valuable commodity for small business owners. J. Phillips L. Johnston, J.D., offers just that and more in the fourth edition of his entrepreneurial how-to, "Small Business is a Laughing Matter" (published by AuthorHouse - http://www.authorhouse.com).

In what Esquire magazine touted as "the best book ever written about small business," Johnston uses his background as a "serial CEO" of 10 successful, venture-backed companies to offer shrewd insights from the past 35 years in corporate America while encouraging a fresh generation of entrepreneurs. The fourth printing of the classic manual maintains its timeliness by introducing readers to innovations such as the copyrighted "quick-read" organization chart and the idea of a Chief Concept Officer (CCO) in lieu of a CEO.

The book's anti-hero, Mr. Goolsby, an autocratic, big business CEO, will show existing business owners what not to do when managing a company. New business owners will appreciate Johnston's CEO and board expertise as he guides them in how to not only motivate themselves, but to inspire others to believe in their business goals through use of a "success script."

"This book offers original and practical steps to overcoming [the] everyday challenges people face when they decide to achieve a dream," says Johnston. "Success is not a secret; it's just four simple steps."

Primed at such distinguished universities as Duke, Stern Business School, UNC Law School and Stanford Director's College, Johnston was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 1997 by the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED). He was named an Entrepreneurial Fellow by Wake Forest University in 2004. As a businessman, Johnston has raised over $100 million in private capital and led each of the companies he headed into double-digit revenue growth. Admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1963, the JFK School of Government Scholar has acted as a trustee of the University of North Carolina Law School Foundation for 27 years. Also the author of "Jokes that Span Generations," Johnston currently resides in North Carolina where he is the chairman and CFO of GET Interactive, Inc., and editor of http://www.Web2ohTV.com.

New Baby Boomer Book Recalls 'Happy Days' of Era

Author Serves Up a Slice of Americana With Novel Set in Early '60s

RALEIGH, N.C., Nov. 20, 2007 -- History loves Baby Boomers for the significance of their generation's era: civil rights, the Vietnam War, Apollo 11 - unforgettable moments preserved in the hearts of most Americans that are a little more Ed Sullivan than Walter Cronkite. In James J. Brown's new book, "Will the laughter stop? Baby Boomer Chronicles" (published by AuthorHouse - http://www.authorhouse.com), stories of the cars, the music, the football games, the pranks and the parties that helped define a generation will take readers for a trip down Memory Lane in the front seat of a Deuce Coup.

Intertwined with actual historical events and popular music of the period, "Will the laughter stop? The Baby Boomer Chronicles" tags along as protagonist Buck Rawlins and his five friends (his "six-pack gang" with whom he shares a few six packs along the way) participate in the typical teenage rites of passage - from high school romances to high-speed races - against a backdrop of early-'60s Americana.

Boomer readers will recognize many shared experiences as they follow Buck from his first day of high school in June 1961 to the day after graduation in June 1965. Brown's eye for accuracy and his detailed descriptions bring to life the sandy Long Island setting of the novel, and his often humorous dialogue perfectly captures the gawkiness, comedy, complexity and sometimes tragedy of coming of age during the "wonder years."

"These characters' voices could have been anyone's in high school days, when they struggled to set boundaries," says Brown, adding, "Readers will be asking themselves, 'Who will star in the movie?'"

Appealing for any reader who still remembers the internal turmoil of growing up, Boomer readers will be most satisfied when they can finally open a book and say, "That's the way it was."

Brown, a native of Long Island, has presided over Administrative Hearings in Raleigh, NC, since 1995. A veteran of the U.S. Navy Reserve, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and Boston College Law School. He lived in Columbia, Md. from 1975 to 1995, before becoming a judge, and spent more than 17 years as a trial attorney and later as a deputy chief with the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. He also spent several years as a litigator with Saul, Ewing, Weinberg and Green in Baltimore.

'Angels Never Die'

Book Recounts the Courage and Faith of Four Sons Who Died of Rare Blood Diseases

To lose one child to an illness is terribly painful, but to lose four sons to rare blood diseases is more than most parents can even imagine. Gwendolyn S. McNutt and Henry L. McNutt Sr. have suffered this great loss and write about their trials in the book "Angels Never Die" (published by AuthorHouse).

Having grown up in a strict religious family, Gwendolyn finally got her heart's desire, her knight in shining armor. Gwendolyn Smith and Henry McNutt met at the town fair - it was nothing short of love at first sight. After getting married, Gwendolyn figured life would only get better. Little did she know that she and Henry would combine the same mutated recessive genes and pass them along to their children.

Not long after Laverne, their oldest daughter, was born, Gwendolyn became pregnant again. This turned out to be their first son, and he was named Henry Jr. Around his first birthday unexplained swollen lymph nodes became visible all over his body. It signaled the beginning of the terror of darkness that would repeatedly engulf the McNutt family.

In the course of only a few years, Adam, Randall and Carl were born. Each boy showed signs of something being wrong, and finally, after several trips to the hospital, an explanation came. Gwendolyn's boys were diagnosed with two rare blood disorders, Fanconi anemia and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.

In "Angels Never Die," Gwendolyn takes readers on a journey of these fatal diseases as they claimed the lives of her boys. She reveals the agony, the fight for faith and the pain of living as she watched her sons fight for survival. The legacy of her boys - from their faith in God to their courage against a disease with no known cure - will bring hope and understanding to other parents facing the illness of a child. The McNutts urge couples to take advantage of advances in genetic testing.

"Angels Never Die" is a testament of a faithful God even in the midst of disaster and the peace He can provide even when all hope is gone.

Before retiring to write this book, Gwendolyn McNutt split her time between caring for her four sons and two daughters and working at an organization she established, Reaching Our Community Kids (ROCK), which gives children encouragement and the love of a family. She and Henry are both Arkansas natives. "Angels Never Die" is their first book.

'The Saint and The Sinner'

Young Man's Path to Salvation Takes an Unusual Turn on Cross-Country Trip

"The Saint and The Sinner" (published by AuthorHouse), the new novel by Frank M. Civale, follows a young man's quest to be saved in the eyes of the Lord, a dramatic journey that starts with a family rift, leads to seminary school, and ends up on a raucous cross-country road trip with a hard-living trucker.

When Antonio Vallo, an Italian immigrant, came to the United States, he quickly learned that you can't have the good life without money. After years of hard work, Antonio is now living the American Dream. He owns a trucking business and a winery. He lives in a mansion on a large estate near Los Angeles, Calif. All he wants for his family is the success that comes with wealth. And he expects his son, Frank, to help run the family businesses when he graduates from college.

But Frank has other ideas, going against his father's wishes to enroll in seminary in Boston. This, he believes, is the only path to salvation. In the seminary Frank learns a whole new way of life. He learns to be humble, a true test for someone who has always been given everything he wanted. After a trying yet rewarding first semester, he decides to take a bus ride home.

Frank is picked up at the bus station by a truck driver, a rough dude who likes wine, women and singing, not to mention a good fight once a day. Their trip across the country is filled with adventures. Every stop is a test for Frank because he feels it is his calling to help lead those engaged in sinful living onto more righteous paths.

On the trip an unexpected thing happens: Frank becomes so involved with trying to save souls, he almost loses his own. The wine, women and singing take hold of Frank. The truck driver, who at first appears like a lost soul, is greatly influenced by Frank's constant preaching. By the end of the journey, the truck driver takes on all the characteristics of Frank, while Frank seems to be taking on all of the truck driver's bad habits.

Will Frank's transformation be for the better or the worse? Has he come to a deeper understanding of what it means to be saved, or has he started down a path of sin? Will he return to the seminary or drift aimlessly through the rest of his life? Find out in the conclusion of "The Saint and The Sinner."

Frank M. Civale was born in Connecticut and raised in the Bronx, N.Y. He has written several other novels, including "Atlantis: The Last Testament," "Memory Man," "Decision," "Ocean Harvest," "Who Laughs Last," "The Property Room" and "Honey." He has also written 700 children's books, which together form "The Grandpa Collection." He hopes to eventually write 1,000 children's books for a place in Guinness World Records.

Why Hillary Is Assured the Presidency

The Answer May Lie in New Novel 'Controlled Chaos'

Michael S. London's debut novel, "Controlled Chaos" is a political thriller that will enthrall fans of the genre as it weaves historical events into a tale of a global conspiracy.

In "Controlled Chaos" (AuthorHouse, $23.95), CIA agent Steven Michaels is assigned to the Bible Code Research team at the National Security Agency. Mysterious foes begin to hound Michaels, killing his ex-wife and child in a car accident meant for him. Later, a friend and colleague from the Vatican is murdered as well, but not before he sends Michaels evidence exposing the impending New World Order.

The evidence centers on the document plagiarized into "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." The novel reveals the history of this literary forgery, both the elements taken from a nineteenth-century French satire as well as its more sinister roots in the Priory of Sion.

"The name of the novel relates to the secret cabal's practice of keeping everyone fighting among themselves while the cabal gains more control. Everything seems chaotic, but there's really a great deal of control over events, including some major elections," said London.

"This novel is basically two books in one," London continued. "There's the fiction story about Steven Michaels and then there are nonfiction facts about the world that very few people know - for example: who the modern-day Knights of the Round Table are; the disappearance of 11 nuclear bombs in the 1950s; and much more."

"Controlled Chaos" features little-known information about the Bible Code prophecies, the Roman Catholic Church and the Bildebergers. London also writes about a trio of secret societies termed "The Brotherhood of Death," consisting of The Skull and Bones at Yale, The All Souls Society at Oxford and The Thule Society, which was in Berlin.

"Some people are going to call me just another conspiracy theorist, but I encourage them to do their own research," London said. "If they opt not to, then I hope they enjoy the novel for itself."

Author Bio:

Michael S. London was a history major and political science minor in college. He spent years trying to make sense of what was happening in the world. Then in 1969, during a visit to Yale University, someone drew his attention to a small ivy-covered, windowless building and explained that the building was known as the Tomb, the home of Skull and Bones. Being the inquisitive type, London asked his host about Skull and Bones. The reply, in a hushed tone of fear, was that London did not want to know about what went on in the Tomb. That was exactly the wrong thing to say to him, and a 34-year journey began.

Clare Samson,s historical romance

A Heartwarming Odyssey: Novel Highlights Woman's Scenes of Satisfaction and Sorrow in the Nation's Heartland

MARYVILLE, Mo., Nov. 9, 2007 -- In her new historical romance, Clare Samson unleashes more than a poignant story of the heartland in "A Hundred Miles to the City" (published by AuthorHouse - http://www.authorhouse.com). Set predominantly in America's Midwest, the saga follows the life of Dona Schmidt, a woman coming of age during the Great Depression.

Economic hardships intensify the troubles already faced by the six-child Schmidt family as they resort to itinerant farm work to survive in the rural, small-town community of Summerville. Longing to escape her monotonous fixed life on the farm, Dona marries her young lover, June Bowen, in hopes of discovering excitement and adventure beyond the fences of the farm. A brief period of domestic contentment is soon overshadowed by the necessity of providing for three daughters on her own during World War II, when June leaves the family and is deployed to Europe.

The heroine faces challenges unique for women of her time, encompassing the years from 1919 to 1991. Those interested in the era of the Great Depression or in the culture-altering times of WWII will find historical information included in the setting. Aspects of family, friendship and community combine to overcome the adversities that inevitably challenge Dona.

As she falls in love with the life she leads in the city, as well as with a young man in her new community, Dona remains torn by the security and familiarity of small town life and her former husband sending her letters from the battlefront. Upon his return from the war, the man Dona once loved completely only brings forth disappointment and she finally severs her ties with him to continue her life onward as a single mother in the 1950s.

A series of misfortunes, including drought, cattle rustling, fire and volatility in the farm economy, tests Dona and her new relationship. Will Dona's personal and indirect sacrifices to the war effort lead her to discover the fulfillment and purpose she seeks? Or will this member of "The Greatest Generation" be overcome by the tribulations of post-WWII life? Read "A Hundred Miles to the City" to discover if the values she has taken from the simple life she abandoned will be enough to sustain her through a large world of harsh realities.

Clare Samson is a retired teacher living in Maryville, Mo. She is intensely interested in both history and journalism and has received a bachelor's degree in science and a master's degree in education from Northwest Missouri State University. This is her first book. For more information please visit http://www.claresamson.com.

A Coach Fights for Equality

'Landmark, Get Set ... Go!': Basketball Coach Recounts Supreme Court Case for Equal Treatment of Girls' Team in New Book


BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Nov. 9, 2007 -- "Girls who think they are being treated wrong shouldn't just sit and wait for something to happen," Roderick Jackson writes. "Don't just stop because people say nothing can be done. Eventually, someone will listen to you." In "Landmark, Get Set ... Go!: A Coach Fights for Equality" (published by AuthorHouse - http://www.authorhouse.com), Jackson gives a true and up-close account of his experiences as an embattled coach enduring a lengthy legal struggle to ensure equal treatment for his girls' basketball team. This book depicts the highs and lows of the Title IX case, which eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jackson's story begins in Birmingham, Ala., a city known as a hotbed of civil rights debate and social change. From 1999 until May 2001, he coached the girls' basketball team at Ensley High School. After standing up for his team, which was being denied the same rights as the boys' team, he was fired. Jackson explains the danger of penalizing adults who are looking out for the best interests of their students:
If coaches, teachers or other adults in the schools can be penalized for speaking up, the effect will be chilling. We are the ones - sometime the only ones - who know when inequities occur. If we remain silent we'll send students the message that they ought to think twice before standing up for themselves. If that happens, our schools won't acknowledge, much less correct, discrimination.
For years Jackson faced considerable opposition from a powerful school board and others, losing at every level in the courts. Eventually, with the help of the National Women's Law Center and O'Melveny & Myers, he appealed to the U.S. Supreme court in 2003. In March 2005, he won a landmark decision in an exemplary case that raised awareness about continued gender discrimination across the country.

His case has been covered by national media such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Good Morning America, CNN, Tavis Smiley, The Associated Press, USA Today, ESPN and The Washington Post.

Roderick Jackson has been a teacher, coach and public speaker for the past 20 years. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama-Birmingham and a master's degree in education from Alabama State University. He lives in Birmingham with his wife, Joni, and his children, LaBritney and Nicholas. Jackson continues to strive to improve conditions for girls throughout the Birmingham metropolitan region, and part of the proceeds from this book will be donated to girls' basketball programs in west Birmingham. (ERN)

How to Avoid Falling Victim to Today's Scam Artists

Business Expert Jack Payne Tells How to Avoid Falling Victim to Today's Scam Artists

Jack Payne has spent nearly a half-century observing scam artists and con men. And he's written the book on how to be a scam artist - literally. Payne's legal thriller Six Hours Past Thursday (ISBN 1-59113-502-8, Impact Books, http://www.sixhrs.com) is both a portrait of a con man and a cautionary tale to those who would unwittingly become a scam artist's next meal ticket.

Six Hours offers an insider's view into the mind of a scam artist. And, according to Payne, every con man takes a similar approach to finding people to fleece.

Culled from Payne's decades of experience in business, including as founder of the "Business Opportunities Digest" newsletter and author of 55 books on business, the novel's insights into con games are chilling.

First, as Payne illustrates through Six Hours Past Thursday's oily protagonist, Steve Draves, a scam artist is looking to reel in a sucker. For most con men, that means the elderly, the ill, the disadvantaged and people who tend to believe without questioning. Scam artists will quickly weed out skeptics, says Payne, so individuals can protect themselves from falling victim to a con by asking logical questions and doing their homework.

Once a scam artist has identified his targets, he will enlist their sympathy or outrage, play to their egos, or capitalize on their weaknesses. The woman desperate to lose weight, for example, is likely to pay a premium for the con man's "exclusive report" on dropping 50 pounds. The guy who just sold his first stock is likely to want the scam artist's "inside information" on the next big deal. And the families dealing with lung disease as a result of the local factory's negligence will probably support the con man's "crusade" against big business.

To avoid arousing suspicion, scam artists will start small, asking for just twenty dollars for their product, service or cause. But as soon as a target buys in, the con man ups the ante. The next scam is bigger, and, according to Payne, there will be a paper to sign at the last minute - just a formality, of course - that waives the signer's right to legal action against the scammer.

"Those are just the basics," Payne explained. "The scam artist's end game is to create an atmosphere where emotion trumps logic. I hear about new scams every day. Con men are getting more sophisticated. I urge my readers to arm themselves with information."

Story Summary
Thriller Book Explores Little-Known World of "Legal" Crime

Respected family man. Successful business broker. Enough? Not for Steve Draves, outwardly a solid citizen, happily married, father of twin sons.

A moral life in the suburbs serves only as "cover" for this con man, as his story unfolds in rapid-fire, legal thriller fashion. Though he has the best of intentions--to rein-in his con artists' activities--he is slow to respond to his own desires. Like the compulsive gambler constantly saying, "I bet you I can quit gambling," Draves, nonetheless, forges ever-onward in his quest to amass a fortune.

Blueprint for Con Men

His high-risk exploits include stock tips that do not add up, the sale of prime development property through a "Straw Man,"a highly-profitable stock sale in a mining company about to go bankrupt, and the generation of eight separate fees for himself from the sale of a shoe manufacturing company. These, among his many legal scams.

All of the con artists' tools are skillfully used: under-the-table deals, kickbacks, now-you-see-it-now-you-don't escrow accounts, others. Draves manages to keep his various deals, technically, "legal."

A possible impediment to Draves' wealth-building dreams is his lust for women, a character flaw that begets a prodigious prurience which knows no bounds He feels such conquests can easily be accommodated as "asides, " easily taken in stride. All women are scrutinized, considered. Tall. Short. Old. Young. All qualify, as long as they meet his standards: they must be voluptuous--and drop-dead beautiful He pursues a series of delightful interludes, all the while inspired, overall, by his money-grubbing passion: "the big score."

His secretary, Deby Collinger, restaurant hostess, Sandy Serell, and fashion model, Tina Landon, make up the prime objects of his lecherous pursuits. Chester Carlin, an entrepreneur of considerable wealth, and rapacious billionaire, Johnny Patiense, old-school crime kingpin, are the primary, "stepping-stone" tools Draves uses to forge his own fortune.

Although he is able to keep his wife, Betty, from learning anything at all about his variety of extra-curricular activities, his well-ordered lifestyle inevitably slips gears. It manifests overconfidence, miscalculation, grievous error. This, in turn, leads to domino-effect, from-all-sides, conflict. Storm clouds form. Induction of the mobster into this cortex looms large. Draves is shaken, takes pause, as one would before licking a steak knife.

Intermixture of Fraud, Passion, Ruthlessness

It's after this scam artist allies with Patiense that things go from bad to worse to worse yet. Their ambitious joint venture, a gambling-Mecca island development off the coast of Florida, comes unglued. Draves' fate is compounded when he unwittingly gets involved with Patiense' daughter, Nina, despite the mobster's warning that his daughter is "off limits" He finds his Utopian, well-managed life collapsing all around him--propelling him into a maelstrom of self-doubts, introspection, nerve-wracking stress. He learns real fear: the kind you get when you wake up screaming and realize you haven't even fallen asleep yet.

While Nina Patiense stalks Draves in a series of amorous pursuits, her father's "Enforcer" stalks him with a very different motive.

His devious con man mind furiously turning, Draves weaves a web of decep;tion supported by tenuous threads of lies and deceit to escape his self-made trap. Along with the mobster's daughter, Nina, and his wife, Betty, all of the female objects of his desires become involved, Deby ,Sandy,Tina, as does his lifelong friend, Mark Brightly, a disgruntled advertising agency account executive. Even innocent bystander, Chester Carlin, gets embroiled in the mix. As the walls keep tumbling down around Draves they threaten to bury all that he cherishes most, his tightly sheltered private life. Even his very life itself.

Hammer-like Climax

Resolution of this legal thriller comes to depend upon a fateful decision, made under the most dire of circumstances. With stunning consequences for all concerned.



Payne's ongoing reports about modern scam artists' tactics are available at the Con Man's Blog, http://legalthriller.blogspot.com. The author's legal thriller, Six Hours Past Thursday, is a fictionalized account of business scams and "legal" crimes common in the business world; the first two chapters are available for free at http://www.sixhrs.com.

New Book Explores Internet Use and Society

Description

Low levels of Internet use among minorities and the poor will limit their earning ability and participation in society if public policy does not promote technological access and skills, according to a new book co-authored by a researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago.



Low levels of Internet use among minorities and the poor will limit their earning ability and participation in society if public policy does not promote technological access and skills, according to a new book co-authored by a researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society, and Participation" (MIT Press, 2007) addresses three ways in which citizens participate in society online: pursuit of economic opportunity, participation in politics and government, and use of prevailing means of communication.

"Internet use at work increases wages by $118 a week on average, with less educated and minority workers benefiting most," said lead author Karen Mossberger, UIC associate professor of public administration. "Even workers with a high school education or less earn $111 more per week for Internet use, so this is a nearly across-the-board bonus.

"For males with no college education, this translates into a wage premium of 18 percent for African Americans, 17 percent for Latinos, and a little less than 15 percent for whites."

Internet use correlates with voting and other political participation, especially among the young, the book says. Political discussion in chat rooms and mobilization through e-mail were found to raise the probability of voting as much as 39 percent in a presidential election. For those who also read newspapers and watch television for political news, online activities increase the likelihood of voting by 20 percent.

Significant segments of the population are still excluded from digital citizenship, Mossberger said. She defines digital citizens as those who are online daily, because others are more likely to have neither regular access nor the skills to find and use online information.

"Thirty percent of Americans do not use the Internet at all, and just under half are online daily," Mossberger said. "Age, race and ethnicity still define disparities in Internet use, and there are persistent gaps even among those who are under 30 years old."

The researchers analyzed national survey data, including census data, from 2000 through 2005 to understand patterns of technology use and the effects of those patterns, classified by age, race, ethnicity, income and education.

Mossberger's co-authors are Caroline Tolbert, associate professor of political science at the University of Iowa, and Ramona McNeal, visiting assistant professor of political studies at the University of Northern Iowa.

UIC ranks among the nation's top 50 universities in federal research funding and is Chicago's largest university with 25,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.

(Newswise)

Professor Publishes Sam Ervin Biography

Description

Karl E. Campbell, an associate professor of history at Appalachian State University, has written a biography about the late Sam Ervin so that a new generation can be introduced to “Senator Sam.”



People under the age of 45 might wonder how a 77-year-old U.S. senator from North Carolina became a pop hero during the Watergate hearings. But those who grew up watching the gavel-to-gavel coverage of the hearings know Sam Ervin as much for his folksy tales and animated eyebrows as his defense of the Constitution.

Karl E. Campbell, an associate professor of history at Appalachian State University, has written a biography about the late Ervin so that a new generation can be introduced to “Senator Sam.”

Published by the University of North Carolina Press, “Senator Sam Ervin, Last of the Founding Fathers” looks at Ervin’s role in the Watergate hearings, his long-running feud with Richard Nixon, his conflicting stance on civil rights and civil liberties, and the Burke County native’s love of the South. It will be released Nov. 19.

Campbell says his book could easily be subtitled “The Road to Watergate.”

“This book shows how Watergate was built from the conflicts that had been emerging between Ervin and Nixon over the years. I think that (information) really changes the way we see Watergate,” Campbell said.

For years, Ervin had battled Nixon over policies related to domestic spying, civil liberties and the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.

“My own interpretation of Watergate is that it is a mistake for us to dismiss it as simply Richard Nixon’s moral failings,” Campbell said. “I think it was a constitutional crisis in the relationship between the branches of government, and it’s one that may be rising again today.”

Campbell based his book on Ervin’s papers, housed in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC Chapel Hill, the presidential papers of Eisenhower, Johnson, Kennedy, Nixon and Ford; and the papers of various senators with whom Ervin worked during his 20 years in office.

Campbell chose not to interview too many people who knew or worked for Ervin because he felt they had developed a polarized view of the man. For Campbell, letters written to and by Ervin were more powerful materials.

Among them was a letter in which Nixon claimed executive privilege and refused to give Ervin tape recordings related to the 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee office in the Watergate complex. Campbell also read constituent mail written to Ervin during the hearings that called him a hero or the devil, depending on the writer’s point of view.

“There is something magical when you hold these papers,” Campbell said.

As he wrote the biography, Campbell kept one question in mind: How did a conservative Bible- quoting, Southern segregationist become the liberal hero of Watergate? Ervin was known as someone committed to civil liberties, but at the same time he fought against civil rights.

“Sam Ervin changed over time, and the change was towards a real respect for individual privacy,” Campbell said. “The more Ervin saw the government threatening civil liberties, the more he championed for restricting government power. Sam Ervin stood up and tried to defend individuals’ rights.”

Campbell believes Ervin’s concerns about the far-reaching effect of unchecked government powers are applicable today.

“We are in a time when government actions and events are combining to threaten our basic civil liberties,” Campbell said. “I hope this book and Sam Ervin will help us remember that (personal) freedom has to be fought for by every generation. It can’t be taken for granted,” Campbell said. “I hope that Ervin will inspire all of us to find the best balance between national security and civil liberties.” (newswise)

Hell of a Time: New Memoir Depicts Struggle to Overcome Influence of Dysfunctional Family

For Karl "Buz" Schulz, the hardships of growing up in the Great Depression were made worse by a dysfunctional family life dominated by a crass, uncaring stepfather and a frequently intoxicated, detached mother. In his new memoir, "Overcoming George" (published by AuthorHouse), Schulz recounts the difficulties he endured on the way to becoming his own man.

Conveying an atmosphere of crippling stress, psychological and verbal abuse and physical exploitation, "Overcoming George" portrays an unhappy, broken family that Schulz struggles to survive and escape from. He develops interests outside the family and finds stability in relationships with friends and animals. At night he sleeps in the barn with his cats and dogs. All of these things provide a welcome distraction, but they are poor defense against the controlling influence of George, his stepfather, who never misses a chance to criticize. "Why don't you use your goddamned head for something else besides putt'n your hat on?" George chides.

"He was a womanizer, usually unhappy and seemed to be obsessed with sex," Schulz writes. "[He] drank and swore too much and was not affectionate."

Schulz is used as George's personal slave, forced to work on hard and sometimes dangerous jobs such as building walls, fences and houses. Cutting up a eucalyptus tree proves to be especially traumatizing. "I just hoped that my arms held out so that I would not drop the whirling buzz saw and cause it to shatter."

Unfortunately, his mother is no solace. "I would search the house for mom's bottles of wine," Schulz writes. "When I found one, I poured her precious fluid down the drain. She always drank from the bottle."

Between the parents there is no guidance, only the constant erosion of a son's self-esteem. But home wasn't the only place with problems, as Schulz sometimes found himself in other predicaments. "When my car hit the moving train, I was ejected and as I rolled through the weeds I said to myself 'you're dead, Buz.'"

He later joined the Navy, earned a master's degree in industrial education and went on to become a teacher. "I am so lucky," he writes. "I have good health, a great wife and kids, many friends, financial security, and above all, I was able to overcome George."

"Overcoming George," Schulz's first book, contains 36 photographs and illustrations. Schulz grew up in El Monte, Calif., and now lives with his wife, Jo An, in Homosassa, Fla. He was a shop teacher for 23 years.

James Bond's 'Jaws,' Richard Kiel, Tells True Story of Cassius Clay

Author to donate 50% of royalties to Berea College scholarship fund

CLOVIS, Calif., Nov. 2, 2007 -- He lived less than thirty miles from where the South held slave auctions, yet decades before the Emancipation Proclamation, he freed the slaves on his plantation. He spent his life working to abolish slavery - and in fact did more to bring about the end of slavery than anyone besides Lincoln. He was Cassius Marcellus Clay, the man for whom Muhammad Ali was named. And now Richard Kiel is telling his story.

Kiel, best known for his role as the James Bond villain "Jaws," has co-authored The True Story of Cassius Clay: Kentucky Lion (ISBN 0-9794948-1-8, Morrison McNae Publishing Group, http://www.claybook.com) with Pamela Wallace, winner of an Academy Award for co-writing the 1985 film Witness. The book was a labor of love for Kiel, who spent 25 years researching Clay. To honor Clay's legacy, Kiel will donate half his royalties to a scholarship fund that will allow qualified but financially disadvantaged students, black or white, to attend Berea College, the university Clay helped establish.

The reality of Clay the abolitionist clashes sharply with Ali's contention that he was named after a plantation owner who raped a slave. On the contrary, Clay was against slavery - and the mistreatment of slaves - from an early age. After witnessing injustice to his best friends, both slaves, the teenaged Clay vowed that one day all slaves would be free. He worked tirelessly toward that goal, eventually as a Kentucky state representative. The personal cost was high: Clay lost his marriage and friends. He was the target of assassination plots. And, in an attempt by wealthy slave owners to silence Clay, his young son was murdered.

In spite of his trials, Clay succeeded in advancing his cause. Just 4% of Southerners actually owned slaves. The other 96%, forced to compete against slave labor, largely lived in poverty. They supported Clay and his views and, at his urging, successfully lobbied their representatives to put a moratorium on slavery in Kentucky. Clay later ran for president against his friend Abraham Lincoln before throwing his considerable financial support behind his opponent. Clay then became U.S. Ambassador to Russia and negotiated the purchase of Alaska.

"Reading Kentucky Lion will cause people to think differently about the South, its people, and how slavery affected everyone," Kiel stated. "Cassius Clay is a forgotten hero, and I am pleased to tell his story in a way that will capture readers' attention and imaginations."

Full of romance, intrigue and action, Kentucky Lion is a true story presented as a historical novel. To promote the book's release, for a limited time Kiel will include an autographed photo of himself as Jaws with each purchase from ClayBook.com. Kiel is available for television, radio and telephone interviews.

'How to Love People, Regardless of Race, Creed or Color'

New Book Analyzes American Race Relations in a Socio-Evolutionary Context


VENTURA, Calif., Nov. 1, 2007 -- As America has grown, so has the confusing concept of race. Although strides have been made, in many respects Americans today remain a mess of attitudes and emotions that have trickled down from the Founding Fathers. In his new book, "How to Love People, Regardless of Race, Creed or Color" (published by AuthorHouse - http://www.authorhouse.com), Firman Brown explains the motivations behind the social perceptions that have survived over the centuries, placing his analysis of race relations in the framework of an evolution toward an "Ideal America."

Brown draws on a lifetime of experience to deliver a down-to-earth message that deserves attention, according to ForeWord Clarion reviewer M. Wayne Cunningham, who gave the book four stars. Cunningham writes:
A resident of multiethnic communities for most of his life and now an employee with a major multiethnic corporation, Firman Brown has spent twenty years pursuing multidisciplinary studies in history, geography, sociology, and economics to better understand multiethnic human behaviour ... 'How to Love People, Regardless of Race, Creed or Color' is the distillation of his studies and his record of recommendations for improving racial and religious relations in the U.S. ... Brown's book is worth pursuing for the insights he offers and his objectivity and forthrightness in dealing with issues that need to be dealt with.
By examining common human attitudes and emotions in specific survival situations over time, "How to Love People, Regardless of Race, Creed or Color" shows how current ideas, perspectives, fears and realities came to be and how they have molded groups and individuals. Brown emphasizes the need for a better understanding of the past, calling out popular misconceptions about Africa and the South. The standard premises used to solve contemporary social problems have lacked insight, according to Brown. "In studying the terms that we use to define our world, we find clarity by understanding the mindsets that created them," he writes. "The resulting new understanding can socially bring us into the 21st century."

Brown explains the challenge faced by every new ethnic group joining the melting pot since America began:
It then became the choice ... [of] optimism and faith or fear and bitterness ... Do we commit to the brotherhood of our ethnic group or do we commit to the brotherhood of our planet? Are people good or bad because of their geographical location? ... Is it true that the greatest factor shared by people who look like us, is fear like us? That after 40,000 years of evolution is it fear that motivates us the most as opposed to love or intelligence?
Brown hopes readers will develop an enhanced capacity for diversity, which comes from examining and redefining key parts of popular history, language and perceptions learned since childhood. "How to Love People, Regardless of Race, Creed or Color" is his first book.

'The Book of Life Questions and Answers'

A Intelligent,Empowering and Humorous book.

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 1, 2007 -- An instruction manual is
standard practice from cars to cameras, yet the presence of
a guide is regrettably omitted upon birth. Just as tourists
use a guidebook when visiting a new country, so too might
folks value a guidebook during their stay on Earth. Dr. M.
Erceg's "The Book of Life Questions and Answers" (now
available through AuthorHouse) is just such a manual.

"The Book of Life Questions and Answers" takes readers under
its wing for an inspiring, compelling behind-the-scenes tour
of the world, navigating the mentality which has given rise
to societal institutions, including parenting,
relationships, education, medicine and politics. Fusing
modern research and multifaceted insight with the ironies
and humor that are inexorably found in human behavior,
Erceg, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology, uses clear language
to reveal a world that is very connected.

"Amid the unrest in the world, an understanding of the
motives behind our actions is not so much a luxury as a
necessity," explains Erceg.

Timely and relevant, "The Book of Life Questions and
Answers" ties together the threads comprising society in a
way that is both applicable and comprehensible for the
reader. As the advent of reality television more than
indicates, humans are fascinated by one another. In "The
Book of Life Questions and Answers," the lounge-chair voyeur
is presented with a map to the mechanisms of the mind as it
is reflected 'round the globe, thus untangling and
articulating the complexity of human behavior.

Erceg has worked as a counselor in private practice for over
10 years and speaks on topics concerning human behavior and
global relations. She has been featured on the radio show
Seeing Beyond with Bonnie Colleen, and she hosts her own
television program, The Dr. M. Show, which airs in Los
Angeles on the Time Warner network.

Table of Contents



REORIENTATION



WHERE ARE WE? …………………………………………………………..1

WHO IS GOD? ………………………………………………………………..3

HOW, THEORETICALLY, DID THE UNIVERSE START?......................9

WHO ARE WE? ……………………………………………………………..20

WHY ARE WE HERE? ……………………………………………………..28

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE? ……………………………………....33



PARENTS AND CHILDREN

Why do we have children?................................................................39

Who is this inner child?.………………………….………………………....41

Our relationship within; taskmaster-slave or parent-child……..………....41

The old patterns repeated; how the old parent model created

a war inside which naturally led to war outside……….……………….....43

The bottom line: Self…………………………….……………….……….....45

Table of Tactics; Following parenting tactics to their

natural outcome………………………………………….………….............47

Our feelings as parents……………………………………………………....52

What is discipline? …………………………………………………….........54

Repression………………………………………………………………........56

Violence and repression…………………………………………………......56

Repression in sex………………………………………………………….....58

Molestation and the role of repression…………………………………......60

Goals in parenting; What do we want?.............................................. .62

Reparations ….................................................................................63

Healing from childhood…………………………………………………….....63

Anger……………………………………………………………...…….…......64

Tears………………………………………………………….……………......65

Reconstruction………………………………………………………….…......66

Understanding the past; Past generation stories……………….………... 67

Why not just not come here in the first place to… …………….……......68

What now? After forgiveness, how do I... ………………….……….........69





RELATIONSHIPS

What is a relationship? …………………………………………………….......71

What is marriage?................................................................................72

What is divorce?..................................................................................73

The one important relationship from which all other relationships

stem…………………………………………………………………………........74

Cycle of behavior…………………………………………………………..........75

Why we would do to others what hurt us so much?.................................77

Who we attract…………………………………………………………….........78

Relationship dynamics……………………………………………………........79

Passive aggression…………………………………………………………......80

What is jealousy? ………………………………………………………….......80

Identity Theft…………………………………………………………………......81

What do we want from a relationship?...................................................81

Where is my soulmate? ......................................................................82

Communicating and clearing in relationships……………………………......82

Male and Female………………………….………………………………........84





SOCIETY

Social face………………………………………………………………….....93

Judgment……………………………………………………………………....94

Judgment of emotion…………………………………………………....…...96

Transforming judgment into acceptance……………………………….…..97

Judgment of actions; Laws……………………………………………….....98

Why do we kill? ……………………………………………………………...98

The Death Penalty: Official Homicide……………………………………...99

What is trouble? …………………………………………………………....100

Judgment of appearance; Looks………………………………………..... 102

Core beliefs about looks and love………………………………………....104

Happiness based on looks………………………………………………...106

Money and fame…………………………………………………………....106

Why money, looks, and fame don’t bring us lasting happiness……....107

What is beauty? …………………………………………………………...108

Magazines: Fictitious Images………………………………………….....109

Weight………………………………………………………………………..109

Tabloids; Where does our obsession to hurt and attack each other

stem?...........................................................................................111

Paparazzi …………………………………………………………………...111

Our dreams………………………………………………………………….113





PREJUDICE AND RACISM

Our judgmental, prejudiced, intolerant, imprisonment

consciousness creating war, murder, and holocausts………………. 118

Hitler………………………………………………………………………...119

Religion and war…………………………………………………………...123

Committing “bad” acts for attention and to elicit fear …………………124

The beginning of intolerance……………………………………………..125

What is the solution? What needs to happen? ……………………….126

What does all this mean about feelings and inner war? ……………..127

But isn’t repression good so that we don’t kill?...............................127

Will fighting and killing ever stop? ………………………………………128

I’m thinking of being tolerant, but I’m concerned I won’t have an

identity if I’m not against something. Who are we if we are not

against or in opposition to?...........................................................128

Opinion or Opposition……………………………………………………..129

Needing to be on top (different, separated from) due to… …….........130

Segregation…………………………………………………………………131

Being examples of what we want to impart……………………………..132

Third charka…………………………………………………………………134





EDUCATION

Learning to think, or inadvertently repeating past war and violence

by programming it into the minds of a new generation?....................136

Issues driving our educational format……………………………………137

Drugging our children……………………………………………………...138

More effective options……………………………………………………..138

Disconnectedness - a central theme lacking…………………………. 140

Intolerance and perfectionism in the classroom ……………………....141

Goals of education…………………………………………………………142





MEDICINE

Disease………………………………………………………………….….147

Medical Schools………………………………………………..………….148

Hospitals……………………………………………………………………149

Outlining the unfolding of a disease …………………………………….150

Personality traits…………………………………………………………..153

What about children who get diseases? ……………………………….155

AIDS walks, Cancer runs…………………………………………………157

We the soul/driver of our body/vehicle ………………………………….158

Healing………………………………………………………………………158

What about Genetics? ……………………………………………………160

Studies about genetics; Neural plasticity……………………….………161

Doctors and pharmacies…………………………………………………..163

Drugs and marketing ……………………………………………………...165

Our consciousness…………………………………………………………166

Transformation…………………………………………………….............168

Depression ………………………………………………………………....168

Neurotransmitters and depression ……………………………………....169

Medication or Meditation…………………………………………………..171





POLITICS

The business of politics……………………………………………………178

The Father Figure: the symbolic representation in politics…………….178

Keeping and paying a client who doesn’t do what we want…………...180

Our client’s reaction: keep the customer by creating a need…………..181

Taking our power back……………………………………………………..183

But how can we get what we need without a dominating figure

ruling over us?......................................................................................185

War…………………………………………………………………………..186

The military………………………………………………………………….188

Misplaced Loyalty…………………………………………………………..189

Submission …………………………………………………………………190

Loyalty channeled more efficiently……………………………….……….192

Killing……………………………………………………………….……......193

The government-constituent relationship that we co-create….………..195

What can we do? ....…….………………………………………………….197

Healing powerlessness...…….………………………………….………....201





EARTH

Deforestation……………………………………….………………………..205

What is global warming? ………………………….……………………….206

Options……………………………………………….………………………207

Outer space………………………………………….………………………209





CLEARING

The anatomy of reaction………………………….………………………..214

Example of clearing……………………………………………………...…215

In closing ……………………...…………………………………………….218