Fate is the Hunter

Book Description

"This book is an episodic log of some of the more memorable of the author's nearly ten thousand hours aloft in peace and (as a member of the Air Transport Command) in war. It is also an attempt to define by example his belief in the phenomenon of luck--that 'the pattern of anyone's fate is only partly contrived by the individual.'" (The New Yorker)

"This fascinating, well-told autobiography is a complete refutation of the comfortable cliche that 'man is master of his fate.' As far as pilots are concerned, fate (or death) is a hunter who is constantly in pursuit of them...there is nothing depressing about FATE IS THE HUNTER. There is tension and suspense in it but there is great humor too. Happily, Gann never gets too technical for the layman to understand." (Saturday Review)

Customer Reviews:

Tops of Clouds.......2007-08-06

After reading FATE IS THE HUNTER by Elmer K. Gann, I will never think of the men and women that pilot commercial planes as "glorified bus drivers", because they stand upon the shoulders of the men that Gann describes in this fictionalized biography. The book is a series of stories that takes a young commercial pilot (presumably Gann) in the 1930's, from training on DC-2's to the beginning of the commercial jet era.

Gann uses "fate" as the thread that goes through this book, the only thing in common with flight today is the air surface to weight ratio and pilot training; still "fate", not luck, has much to do with the survival of man and machine; then as now. The book opens with an altitude adjustment of 50 feet on a night flight, because not maintaining proper altitude represented "sloppy flying", moments later another airliner flies above them at the altitude they just left. This was before collision avoidance systems and sophisticated air traffic control; the pilot relied upon his skill and training.

The book is filled with adventure, from trying to find a remote village in the Amazon jungle, using vague maps and landmarks above a sea of green, to flying in fog so thick and low that a cable is dropped from the plane to determine what is being flown over. These are the days when there were no sophisticated weather reports, navigation was by radio transmitter, a strong signal meant you were going in the right direction. Gann flew the Burma route during the WWII flying a DC-3 or rather nursing them over the Himalayas and also the European theater flying out of Nova Scotia and Greenland. He and his fellow pilots and copilots flew the "milk runs" between Cleveland and Columbus or Chicago to New York learning the route by landmark and hamlets, knowing what weather to expect given the season, discovering the idiosyncrasies of equipment and the people he flew with and relied upon; navigating by the stars on night flights over water.

Gann lists pilots that he flew with who didn't make it as a tribute in the beginning of the book. There is no question that the early days of commercial aviation were difficult and dangerous, but Gann and his comrades showed us the tops of clouds and paved the way for the airway system we have today.

My profession's "bible".......2007-05-01

As an airline captain, I will occasionally ask my first officers if they have read this book. While most say 'yes', a few haven't. Some haven't even heard of it. I instruct them, no, command them to order and read it immediately! Every aviator needs to read this book, the 'bible' of our profession in order to understand our heritage, and what we have been spared. Flying is now orders of magnitude safer than it was in Gann's time, thanks in part to the courage of aviators like him, but also to the engineers he so disparages in the book! But, who can blame him after one changes all the spark plugs in three out of four engines to a useless experimental type. When I taxi by the American Airlines hangars at LaGuardia, I imagine Gann running up each engine after his close call, embarrassing the nerdy engineer who made a nearly fatal mistake. That engineer's more intelligent colleagues, however, also invented deicing equipment that works, reliable navigation, weight and balance and performance rules that prevent accidents, and maintenance procedures that head off trouble. I, and all my passengers and co-workers owe our lives and livelihoods to the brave pioneers that made it so.

This book is spellbinding. My copy is well-dog eared. Yours will be too!

One of a kind aviation book..........2007-02-23

Ernie Gann's memory abides in a special place of honor within the hearts and minds of aviators of which I happen to be one. What fliers appreciate is Gann`s ability to articulate their feelings so eloquently. He is one of them but what sets him apart and what they revere is that Gann wrote so well about flight. It is not surprising then that fliers hold him in such high regard, but the real testament to his skill as a writer comes from the acclaim of others outside this fraternity.

You don't have to be a pilot to appreciate Gann's work. It is sufficient to understand humankind's willingness to push the limits, all along knowing there is a risk to be taken. Man has always been willing to take a chance "so long as [he] insists on striving for progress." (xv) Gann, through his gift of prose, carries the reader along, not as a passenger, but as an involved observer. That is Gann's talent. The reader believes he is there with him. You don't have to be a pilot to understand Gann. He doesn't challenge you with technicalities. He presents situations whose outcome hangs by a thread. Is it fate, luck, skill, or fortune that determines the outcome? Whatever, Gann is a survivor.

In the past, as it is to this day, flight is inherently dangerous and unforgiving. The danger is mitigated in many ways. One way is told in the very first chapter captioned "The Tip of the Arrow." Gann descends his aircraft fifty feet to be precisely on his assigned altitude. By this act of professionalism he avoids a near miss when an unreported aircraft flashes by mere feet away. If he had not descended moments before, they would have collided. Striving for perfection, Gann saved their lives. "Those fifty additional sloppy feet held only a few minutes previously -so insignificant then - are now revealed as the pinion of our lives." (13) Gann, the professional pilot, saves himself and his airplane. Is that fate? Luck? Good fortune? Or is flying a game of chance that is played until your number comes up? In Fate is the Hunter, by telling of his experiences in nearly ten thousand hours of flight, Gann leaves it to us to make the final interpretation for his survival. However he gives us some clues to his thoughts. He writes "at least let us admit that the pattern of anyone's fate is only partly contrived by the individual" (384) What if the other aircraft, flown by another equally professional pilot, also had descended fifty feet? Would that have been fate or bad luck? We would never know.

Unquestionably Gann tempted fate many times, but not recklessly. He is not a daredevil. His good fortune in Fate is the Hunter though contrasts with that of many friends and companions who were not so lucky. He lists their names in the beginning pages of the book. (v-ix) Was their demise preordained? Gann doesn't tell us exactly. Instead we read, without a lot of detail, that their deaths were due to an "unknown cause", a "radio range failure", a vagary of the "seniority system", or, to explain the unexplainable, "pilot error". Humans err but is a human error by itself fate? Or is it carelessness? Or stupidity? Or, given the circumstances like a wing falling off, simply unbelievable? Flying, we know, has little regard for the careless or the foolish. One thing is certain from reading Fate is the Hunter, the line between life and death can be very fine indeed.

Even with the best of human performance possible, the odds against survival may be so overwhelming as to be insurmountable. It is then that true heroism is necessary. Heroism is not ever mandated or demanded of someone by others. Heroism comes from within. It is the disregard for personal safety or salvation that propels action against overwhelming odds. This is not Ernest Gann. He doesn't hold himself out (nor the other pilots that he holds in high regard) as heroes though some of us may believe they were. Gann writes about this in the following paragraph.

"Line pilots do not live in an atmosphere of heroism, for that is a very temporary condition better suited to wildly inspired moments in which the hero hardly knows what he is doing. The pilots know what they are doing, right or wrong, always. They wear courage like a comfortable belt, rarely giving it a thought. But a line pilot is wary all of the time, which is an entirely different matter. To be continuously aware you must know what to be wary of, and this sustained attitude can come only with experience. Learning the nature and potentialities of the countless hazards is like walking near quicksand." (109)

What Gann experiences in his career are situations that require a cool head and good judgment. "The timid, super-cautious pilot is not necessarily the safest. Coupled with knowledge, a touch of boldness is required" (52) Gann will take a calculated risk, but the decision is based on his knowledge and experience.

A high standard must be maintained. In the role of an airline pilot, Gann recognizes he is entrusted with a duty. Passengers place their trust in the airline, the airplane and him. Quite simply, his is an occupation unlike any other. The cockpit of an aircraft in flight is a place that most people normally do not get to see. In our journey with Gann we are invited into his world as he progresses from being an apprentice just prior to World War II until he becomes a seasoned veteran as a Captain of his own ship. Ernest Gann doesn't tell us explicitly, but the reader begins to sense the Captain's responsibility for his passengers, his crew and his company. This burden is not carried lightly by Gann or the other pilots. There are a couple that Gann believes do not deserve his or our respect. These he treats with disdain. However he is not malicious and so he doesn`t use their real names. To the despotic Alessandro, he wished bad luck but nonetheless remains unscathed. The pretender "Captain" Dudley, who didn't have a license, was at first pitied, then loathed. After getting properly licensed Dudley again talks himself into command of another airliner which crashes. He survives but some passengers do not.

Four decades have passed since Gann wrote Fate is the Hunter and a few more years than that since Gann lived the events he so vividly describes in his book. From today's perspective on aviation, Fate is the Hunter opens a window to another time. Unlike the present jet age, all of Gann's flying was in propeller transports - DC 2s, DC 3s, the Lockheed Loadstar, the C-54, and the C-87. In many ways it was a more challenging time. Navigation aids and flight instruments were much less sophisticated than now. Still they were light years ahead of what was available just a short time previously. Yet, while the technology was more primitive, the human factors remain remarkably similar in the present. A pilot faces the hazards of winter snow and summer heat then just as he does today. A schedule is kept just like it is today. Fuel may be critical then as now. Seniority still remains the key to advancement. Pay is determined by the minute of flight though credit time figures into pay computations today. Remarkably the report time of one hour before scheduled departure is the same today as it was for Gann. When airborne there are still the hours of droning along with only routine tasks to complete but always having to be alert for any inkling of an impending problem. I can relate to a common request from passengers interested in exactly where they were. For me the request came via the interphone and is relayed by a flight attendant. In Gann's time it was probably directly from the passenger himself. Gann notes this was "information we seldom had ready at hand" and would "assume a solemn mien and point out a town, or village -anyone visible would do - and...would say. `That is White Pigeon.`" (176) I wish I had thought of that! Thankfully though, copilots today don't have to load passenger baggage any more. Jets are so large we would never leave the gate waiting for them to finish loading! Gann has unintentionally created an historical classic encompassing an important era in aviation.

Gann's description of the aircraft he flew contrasts remarkably with
the aircraft in use now. At the time however they were the best that were available. In one episode the regularly scheduled equipment, a DC-3, is grounded for maintenance. A DC-2 is substituted for the regularly scheduled flight from Nashville to New York with Columbus, Ohio as the alternate. The flight proves to be Gann's first encounter with icing and almost his last flight, period. They encounter heavy icing and battle deteriorating sky conditions until finally arriving at Cincinnati where the weather has remarkably cleared. The fortuitous substitution of a DC-2 saved them. The DC-3 would not have been able to stay in the air carrying the same load of ice. As for the C-87 which he later flew Gann says it "could not carry enough ice to chill a highball."(214) These details provide invaluable information for aviation historians.

Inevitably, in reading Fate is the Hunter , the reader reaches a point where he might ask himself, is all this true? Gann says "insofar as one mind can reveal a vast and extraordinary complex endeavor, all the facts and events described are true." (xvi) I believe him. In nearly ten thousand hours of flying an endless array of situations are possible. Given the time frame, the aircraft he flew, and the conditions he encountered it is entirely within reason for to him have lived the experiences as he describes them. His logbook would be proof. All pilots have one. One thing is sure, if his story is not true, the people he writes about (those that have survived) would not have let him get away with it!

I only have one question. That has to do with "unporting" (368) That is a term as unfamiliar to me as it was to Gann when he was told about it. In the episode that describes the condition, Gann had "arranged the only possible combination of power, speed, and weight which would blockade the chances of unporting" (369) preventing loss of control. Another airplane crashed because of the problem but Gann was unaware except for "a certain trembling" (365) He was only told of the danger later after he came back to work from vacation. Personally I put this in an "ignorance is bliss" category. There are many things beyond the control of the pilot and if you can't do anything about it, it is not worth worrying or knowing about. Even if Gann had known of the problem it is unlikely they would have been able to determine the exact flight requirements to prevent it from occurring. That was only figured out later. Aerodynamics is not my forte but someone else may be able to shed some light on "unporting."

How does Gann's story end? In the end I think he becomes discouraged. He is caught by the seniority trap. A pilot, once he begins with a company, is locked into that company's seniority list. If he were to leave and come back later he would have to go to the bottom of the list and start all over again. Gann left American to pursue another flying opportunity. When that business failed, he was not inclined to start over again as a copilot. He became a writer.

Like a wealthy gambler, he knew when to quit.

A memorable memoir.......2006-11-28

Ernest Gann's autobiographical work is one of the very best examples of the genre ever. The settings are all over the world, but are always in flight. Each chapter is a vignette from his time as a commercial flyer during the late 1930s, '40s, and early 1950s. Every measured word is a pleasure, taking the reader into Gann's cockpit and indeed, into his state of mind. Gann's prose is deceptive in its brevity and simplicity. The proof is in the success of his purpose, which seems to have been to allow his reader to see, hear, and almost smell the experiences of a working aviator. Such a flyer's average hour on the job has been famously described as "59 minutes of utter boredom punctuated by sixty seconds of sheer terror." Gann's exquisite prose captures all sixty minutes of such hours, and does so with seeming effortlessness, but really with eloquence and elegance. Read this book if for no other reason than to study descriptive narrative at its best. You will want to add it to your personal bookshelf, and pick it up once in a while, as I do, just for the pleasure it affords.

A landmark in aviation writing.......2006-11-13

I've never read a bad Ernest Gann book, but the autobiographical FATE IS THE HUNTER marks the top of his form, followed by BLAZE OF NOON, etc.
Bill Brown

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CONAN THE SWORDSMAN
L. Sprague (decamp;) Carter, Lin; Nyberg, Bjorn; Offutt, Andrew J.; Wagner, Karle Edward; Anderson, Poul (re: Robert E. Howard) de Camp
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0553227270

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Early Aviation Stories

Fate Is the Hunter

Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000EDIN8O

Product Description

This book is an episodic log of some of the more memorable of the author's nearly ten thousand hours aloft in peace and (as a member of the Air Transport Command) in war. It is also an attempt to define by example his belief in the phenomenon of luck--that 'the pattern of anyone's fate is only partly contrived by the individual.'

Customer Reviews:

Early Aviation Stories.......2007-05-14

Absolutely the best aviation book you'll ever read. Gann was at the top of his writing career, and knew how to spin a tale. Fascinating stories of near-misses and the heavy human price paid during the early years of commercial airline service. So good it should have six stars!

Fate is the hunter / Ernest K. Gann (Ballantine books)

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Aviator and Non Aviator historical classic

Fate is the hunter / Ernest K. Gann (Ballantine books)
Ernest Kellogg Gann
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007EFVX0

Customer Reviews:

Aviator and Non Aviator historical classic.......2006-03-08

This book gives a look inside the life of a pilot. From his first flights all the way to retirement. Read how dangerous flying used to be and how uncertain the survivability rates were. The story takes you from the cradle of aviation to the golden age of aviation.

Interlaced with world period events of the time the book captures your attention from one hair rasing mission to the next. Wether its a commercial flight gone bad or war mission botched, you will find you cannot read fast enough.

Best Sellers From Reader's Digest Condensed Books, to Kill a Mockingbird, the Agony and the Ecstasy, the Winter of Our Discontent, Fate Is the Hunter

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Best Sellers From Reader's Digest Condensed Books, to Kill a Mockingbird, the Agony and the Ecstasy, the Winter of Our Discontent, Fate Is the Hunter

Manufacturer: The Reader's Digest Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000BX5VWI

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Fate Is The Hunter
Ernest K. Gann
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JWQT8Q

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FATE IS THE HUNTER
Ernest Gann
Manufacturer: Fawcett Crest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B0000CKWVY

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FATE IS THE HUNTER
ERNEST K. GANN'S
Manufacturer: PANTHER BOOK
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SC1KOU

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Fate is the Hunter

Fate Is the Hunter

Manufacturer: Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0345027922

Product Description

Book about aircraft pilots.

Customer Reviews:

Fate is the Hunter.......2007-07-25

This is my favorite flying book of an extensive flying library. Although biased toward WW2 fighters this exceptionally well written book of an airline pilot from the thirties and forties is a must read. Some of the hair raising experiences of this pilot would most likely have made me never start my fifty five years of flying if I had read it first. The primitive flying conditions and equipment used in the early days of the airlines and in the military while flying the "Hump" in WW2 will chill any pilot.

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Fate is the Hunter
Earnest K. Gann
Manufacturer: New English Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GS9N4A

Customer Reviews:

You go girl!.......2007-09-04

This is a funny novel, the main character is Sam who has a dating service and is also a sleuth. She is funny and smart this character keeps your interested, not to mention her two sons, she is also a romance book reviewer , you can really relate to this character, she is hilarious. In this book she solves a mystery about stealing soccer money. I like her ex-husband, I hope to see more of this series!

Mutton dressed as lamb.......2007-02-17

I'm having a hard time with this series. I like the author's style of writing, but I really can't stand Sam and Gabe. Sam is a shallow dingbat who, for some reason, finds dressing like a tacky hooker empowering. A woman can look and act sexy while still acting her age. Gabe is an arrogant jerk who uses sex as a substitute for dialogue. And SURELY he can call Sam something other than "Babe". The supporting cast of characters are far more likeable. It's an enjoyable, predictable, light murder mystery, if you can stomach the annoying main characters. Check these out from the library, and save your bookshelves for a series worth keeping.

Stephanie Plum wannabe .......2007-02-11

While this book has, by far, one of the best titles I've seen in a long time, I can't say the same for the rest of the book. Rife with one-dimensional characters and rip-offs from the Stephanie Plum series, Ninja Soccer Moms should have been benched. And there should be a federal law against using "Omigod!" more than once in a book -- unless it's an Archie comic.

Awful.......2005-07-24

The title of this book should've been "Ninja Boob Moms" for all Sam talked about her implants.

The series was okay when it started, but this one is God-awful. There's nothing even remotely likeable about Sam -- she's stupid and shallow. She was so broke she had to move herself and her two sons in with her grandfather, yet she used her husband's life insurance money for a boob job and slut wardrobe, rather than for her kids' future?

This series tried to be Stephanie Plum from the beginning, but Jennifer Apodaca will never ben Janet Evanovich. Perhaps if she'd realized that from the start, her series would've worked. Exchanging ruined clothes for blown-up cars and private investigating for bounty hunting doesn't work, and this series has just become so flat-out bad that I won't even pick up the next book in the series.

Murder, Soccer, Stealing and Dating.......2005-05-07

Samantha Shaw runs the Heart Mates Dating Service. But more often than not, she is off doing amateur sleuthing. Luckily her boyfriend, Gabe Puluzzi, is a P.I. and often lets her doing her sleuthing under his license.

Janie Tuggle comes to Sam asking her to help her get evidence that her ex-husband, Chad, has been stealing from the soccer league for years. Since he is the Coach that everyone loves since he's taken them to victory, she knows no one will believe her without solid proof. Sam got out of the soccer mom scene after her divorce, and she is very reluctant to set foot back there. But, once Janie tells Sam that Chad let the insurance for her kids run out, but he's still living high on the hog in their former home, Sam can't tell her no. Sam is a sucker for the underdog.

When Sam meets with Chad, a very fun scene develops having to do with her clothing. You'll have to read it for yourself. Wouldn't want to give anything away!

Then Chad is found murdered. Janie is a suspect, but so are many other people, including Sam herself. She gets into some sticky situations with Detective Vance. They go round and round more than once, and in more ways than one! And Gabe is not very amused with Detective Vance and his actions.

I love this series. It is always a laugh out loud read. For the most part I'd call it a cozy, but this book had one sex scene that in my opinion was beyond a cozy.

Sam, Grandpa, Sam's boys, Gabe, Gabe's mom, and Det. Vance will keep you in stitches and definitely wanting more!

I highly recommend this book and the whole series. It is fabulous! You won't want to put it down.

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A Total Joy

Encyclopedia of Xanth (A Crossroads Adventure in the World of Piers Anthony's Xanth)
Jody Lynn Nye
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Literature | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books
Science Fiction & Fantasy | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books
Nye, Jody Lynn | ( N ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Ghost of a Chance (Crossroads Adventure : in the World of Pier Anthony's Xanth)

Visual Guide to Xanth (Xanth Novels (Paperback))

Xanth Graphic Novel, Vol 1 - Return to Centaur (or: What Kind of Foal Am I?)

Currant Events : Xanth #28 (Xanth)

Stork Naked (Xanth)

ASIN: 0812564170

Customer Reviews:

A Total Joy.......1999-10-09

A must for anyone who enjoys the Piers Anthony Xanth series. I could not put it down once I started to read it.

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Encyclopedia of Xanth
Jody Lynn Nye
Manufacturer: Tor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000MZPL70

Book Description

Overcoming Shyness and Social Phobia provides a detailed program for eliminating social anxieties based on the latest cognitive behavioral treatments for social phobia.

Customer Reviews:

The book is OK.......2005-02-26

If you want basic cognitive techniques, this is a good little book. But these ways of thinking are difficult to have a big effect unless you complement it with cognitive group therapy for this disorder. My major problem with the book is it's total lack of information conserning the subconscious, since the automatic fear responses arise from that part of us. In my view, results will be better when the person combines cognitive self-help/group therapy with fitting visualization techniques. Willpower is always important, but mental imagery training helps the irrational aspects to be more easily tackled by the rational mind. A lot of intelligent people having this disorder is proof that it can be difficult to just "think it away". The negative programming behind sosial anxiety lies deep in the psyche. But it's not what's going on outside the person that's a problem, it's the filter called perception, the way the person thinks about what's going on outside him, that's causing the fear. Reality and real life is mostly what happens inside of all of us. Social anxiety is a type of filter giving the person overlearned/irrational responses, like it's a push of a button. The person is not the disorder. The person is not this filter. It needs to be reprogrammed. This can be done. Rapee's book gives you part of the recipe. Personally I would recommend "Psycho-Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz, "The Power of Your Subconscious Mind: One of the Most Powerful Self-Help Guides Ever Written" by Joseph Murphy, and "Change Your Life in Seven Days" by Paul McKenna (currently available at Amazon.co.uk). These books give a broader understanding of how the mind works and how it can be changed.

Best book to overcome social anxiety.......2002-11-08

I've never left a review for a book, but after reading this really helpful book I am in debt with Mr. Rapee. This is an easy to read book, short (116 p), that goes straight to the point. I've read 5 books on social anxiety and I can say that this is the most practical one, with tips that you can start applying immediately. There are cognitive suggestions to overcome your fears, issues about exposure (what he calls reality testing), and tips about improving your social skills. But remember that this book alone won't cure you: In my case, medication, group therapy, and aerobic exercise (yoga too) are other weapons I'm using to fight sad and anxiety. Good luck.

A Lifesaver!!.......2002-07-27

My therapist assigned this book when I sought treatment for SA/SP. It was exactly what I needed to get me off the couch and back out into society. Rapee's book offers a plan that's simple and easy to follow, regardless of your educational background. Other reviewers chide the writing as 'low brow' and 'junior high grade level', but they have to remember that SA/SP isn't limited to College Graduates. This book is MUST whether your in therapy or simply looking for a self-help option for SA/SP.

Enlightening, but unbearably lowbrow........2001-12-06

I am undergoing therapy for social anxiety. My doctor assigned this book.

While it does contain several useful insights and practical techniques, I found its writing style patronizing. Not that the author writes in a condescending way; rather, the vocabulary and examples appear to be aimed at someone with a junior high school education.

The fictional case studies are populated with simplistic patients, whose problems are resolved using very straightforward approaches. Too straightforward for my taste.

In discussing a traumatic social event, a fictional patient tells his doctor that he is afraid to go to bars with his coworkers because his hands will shake when he attempts to drink from his glass. The doctor asks him to recall previous similar situations, and whether his hands shook on those occasions. The patient concedes that sometimes they shook, sometimes they didn't.

Then the doctor points out that his fear of drinking in public places is based on a faulty premise (that his hands always shake in those situations). When the patient suddenly realizes that his hands don't ALWAYS shake, he's suddenly halfway cured.

So the examples were oversimplified. I can understand that. More bothersome was the occasional illogical leap employed to bolster fairly obvious observations.

At one point, the author tells us that if someone inexplicably breaks into laughter in our presence, we should not assume that they are laughing at us. Which is fine and good.

But he goes on to reassure us using statistics: Assume that there are a thousand of possible reasons that someone could start laughing. Therefore, the odds that we're the source of amusement is only one in a thousand.

Um, no. Just because there are n possible explanations, that doesn't mean that the odds of any particular one being true is 1/n. Sloppy explanations like this just erode the credibility.

Add to this the author's complete avoidance of clinical terminology (he spent a page talking about desensitization without ever once using the term), and what you have is a book intended to be read by troubled pre-teens.

Now having declared this book unfit for human consumption, it does deserve some praise. It contains some practical techniques to help you sort out your specific anxiety triggers and ameliorate them. And there are some genuine insights as well.

I simply could not abide the writing style and the occasional deficiency of logic. If there were a Psychology/Self-Help shelf in the Juveniles section of your library, that's where this book would belong.

Based on cutting-edge research.......2001-05-26

Well known for his research in the area of social anxiety, Dr. Rapee has written a small but powerful book on how to reduce the agony of living with social fears. Very useful.

Overcoming Shyness and Social Phobia : a Step-By-Step Guide (Clinical Application of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Ser.)

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Overcoming Shyness and Social Phobia : a Step-By-Step Guide (Clinical Application of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Ser.)
Ronald M. Rapee
Manufacturer: Aronson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LZI6BY

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