Be the smartest person you know.
As a teacher, I am always being asked for shortcuts to knowledge. My response is simple: "Subscribe to TIME and/or NEWSWEEK and read them religiously. In three years' time, you'll be the smartest person you know." I know that's not exactly true. What I mean by that bit of hyperbole is: you'll "appear" to be the smartest person you know because no one will be able to bring something up that you aren't at least AWARE of and can speak intelligently about (or at least ask an intelligent question.) Nearly every subject is covered by these great institutions--most of the time impartially. It comes with your name on the cover and entices you to open it. Who knows what you'll learn?

I know that all this is available on the internet, but the distractions of the internet are irresistible, I may be old-fashioned, but there is no substitute for holding something in your hand. And nobody can edit it when you're not looking. Plus, the writers are professionals, not anonymous bloggers who face no repercussions for their inaccuracies.

Many learners today are hard-pressed to find time among their activities to actually LEARN. TIME is a great shortcut to information which if used becomes knowledge which, when absorbed, eventually becomes wisdom. Wisdom will earn a decent salary and respect in your community.. OK, so you may not actually become the smartest person you know, but it's a start.

super time
Time Magazine has been a great read for years and years. Received first issue Monday.

Time magazine
We are happy to be receiving Time magazine during the election year so we can read as much as we can about the candidates. Wish we had started it earlier.

a good weekly news magazine--as far as it goes, that is
Time used to be a lot better; they would spend more time on the pages of the magazine informing people about the news, life and times of our generation and even other generations. They would continue to do follow-up stories more so than they do these days. However, slowly but surely, the magazine has rejected that strategy in favor of more frequent sensationalist front page articles and many more advertisements in the weekly issue.

One thing I do like very much is that once in a while Time devotes the bulk of an issue to a retrospective view of times past. Their person of the year choice is always suspenseful; and I like that issue very much in particular.

Overall, if you want a weekly news magazine, Time is one of those out there to consider. Remember that there'll be more ads than ever before; but the articles that they do present are very well written.

Three and one-half stars.

Among the best
Time and Newsweek are pretty mirror magazines with similar content, but I already had a subscription to Time so I stuck with it. I love how Time covers a broad area of relevant topics and then also keeps us updated on politics. I don't read every article, but there's more then enough interesting article's each week to keep me reaching for the latest issue in my mailbox. Time does a very good job of balancing its coverage so not to just appeal to conservatives or liberals.

Overly simplistic anti-government tirade
I can see both good and bad in Ron Paul's book THE REVOLUTION, but let me say right off the bat that I do not support his unrelenting libertarian attitude that government is the source of all evil. Paul rightly points out many problems that we face today - high federal budget deficit, runaway health care costs, belligerent foreign policy, presidential illegalities, and on and on - but in my view these are not the result of government per se, but rather are the fault of the astoundingly bad leadership we in the U.S. have suffered from in the last 10 or so years. There is an increasingly common view, which I sympathize with, that Republicans have deliberately tried to ruin government functions in this country in an attempt to cause more people to reject ALL government. See John Dean's 2007 book Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches for a good example of this argument.

To take one illustrative example of the problems described in this book, Paul entirely blames government for the high cost of health care in the U.S. Here he quotes his hero, the economist Ludwig von Mises, who said that "government interventions create unintended consequences that lead to calls for further intervention, and so on into a destructive spiral of more and more government control." Yet one glaring discrepancy here is that most developed countries have much MORE government intervention in their health care systems than we do, yet health care costs in the U.S. are much HIGHER than anywhere else in the world! Nor does he mention the abuses of health insurance companies in this country. What can I as an individual do to deal with those companies? We need government to set some fairness standards here. But Paul would never propose such a thing, since that would dilute his black-and-white view that government is all bad and private enterprise is all good. So he just ignores the problem. The same is largely true with the environment, where he at least supports the concept of environmental protection, yet barely discusses the matter, and does not mention how to deal with the worldwide problem of global warming. Might we need government to do something here? Heavens!

But as I said at the beginning, I do agree with Paul in some regards, such as his emphasis that we must roll back our foreign empire for both economic and practical reasons. He has been an adamant foe of our invasion of Iraq, and here is an issue that we agree. What I am opposed to about THE REVOLUTION is Paul's relentless anti-government tirade that extends to virtually all issues, and which I believe is overly simplistic, sometimes to the point of absurdity.

Should be required reading in our nation's high schools
The United States has managed to go from being the biggest creditor nation (a good thing) to the biggest debtor nation (a bad thing) in a mere 30 years. We have our politicians and the federal reserve to thank for this. We can all continue pretending that there is not an 800 lb gorilla in the room and just wait for a total collapse or we can heed the advice of Dr. Paul and people like him. It's hard to believe that we fought for our independence from England less than 250 years ago and we've apparantely forgotten why we did so. The constitution is that reminder. It is startling how many personal freedoms and liberties we are willing to keep giving up. We need someone to fight for us. The government is supposed to serve the people; not the people serve the government. This book is a great reminder of the way things were intended to be and where we are straying from the path.

Another liberal who calls himself a conservative
In short, a liberal manifesto (although not nearly as liberal as the Bush/Cheney crowd.)

the bad:

* conservatives, by definition, do not go around calling for 'revolutions'
* his take on free trade is liberalism on steroids -- a conservative believes in free trade only as far as it benefits the interests of the home country. Ron takes it too philosphically, and believes in trade with no restrictions.
* liberals always have their heads in the clouds, and looking to establish utopias on earth. Conservatives roll up their sleeves and deal with the reality we have to face. Ron has his head in the clouds, just like Bush.

the good:

* I agree with his take on the military, the gold standard, and minding our own business

Overall, a good read with some good moments.

Every American should read this.
What an enlightening book and excellent call to action. It reminds voters why associating yourself with a 'party' is as politically productive as investigating why dirt has a bad taste. A real wakeup call to how far the US Federal Government has gone to ignore, destroy, and bastardize the Constitution. Fire Congress and lets elect some law-makers who will obey the law!

An important book. . .
Too few people realize that our country was founded on the principles of liberty and limited government. Now, government has grown beyond the Founding Fathers' wildest nightmares, and much of the precious liberty that they fought for has been lost.

Ron Paul offers an insight into how things were meant to be, and also offers a glimmer of hope that things can be fixed. It's an easy, yet thought-provoking read.

Highly recommended.

Barbara Walter's Memoir: Audition
I just started the book, but it is an easy read and flowing along. Barbara doesn't jump around and she is detailed oriented.

A complete history of a great life
This was one of those books I got totally lost in. I would read it in the Y and before I knew it, I was on the bike for 7 miles and it felt like only 1.

Barbara Walters was like a fixture on our shelf in our living room as a kid. Always there, but I didn't pay much attention to her. Looking back, I remember that fixture and I am reliving my childhood and all the memories of my family and the history of our time during the 60's and 70's.

Yes, Barbara does a little bragging about her success in TV, as she should. However, she is also a very honest and down to earth celebrity. Although she felt comfortable in front of the camera, she did not always feel comfortable in her own skin, especially in her personal life. She felt a lot of guilt when it came to her family. Especially with her father and sister, Jackie.

I admire her for her success as a woman. She paved the way for the opportunities that women have today. I also admire her for her candidness. She does not hold back in this book. She tells you the celebrities she liked to interview and those she did not. She was very honest about her professional relationships with her colleagues like Harry Reasoner, Frank McGee, Star Jones and Rosie O'Donnell.

This book is a very thorough look at her life from beginning till now. It is a complete history of her life with humor sprinkled through out each chapter. I am so glad I read this book. It makes me want to learn more about her, watch "The View", listen to her new radio show that is replaying her "Specials" and google every name mentioned in her book. I also feel like I have completed a history lesson. A lesson through the eyes of one of the best female journalists of our time.To the woman who traveled everywhere, met almost every important person there was to meet and achieved more than ever imagined, thank you for setting an example for the woman of today. Bravo!!

Much Better Than My Expectations!
I purchased this book with some hesitation as I had viewed all the media reports and thought that I had heard everything interesting from the book already (the affair with the African American senator, the drama surrounding the View, etc.). Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when I really couldn't put the book down! I found Ms. Walters' early life to be fascinating and her story truly a remarkable one. What I really enjoyed, however, were her discusssions regarding all of the people she has interviewed. She gives the inside story behind the interview and what the people were really like. I will never look at Fidel Castro the same again! It really was a perfect balance between her personal life and career--and, always, I appreciated her honesty. I would definitely recommend this book!

Great Read!
This was an amazing book, even with a full time job and two small children I read in 1-2 weeks. It is extremely well written and informative on both her personal and professional life. She has had an amazing life personally and publicly. My mom is reading now!
Thanks Barbara for sharing!

Engaging..
I didn't know much about Barbara Walters until I read this book. Quite frankly, I don't even like the View.

But I couldn't put the book down! She's had an extraordinary life and the book is well-written, fresh and entertaining. The most interesting parts for me were in the beginning; growing up & how she got her start in broadcasting.. the challenges she's had to face.

I love biographies and this is one of the better ones I've read. I highly recommend you give it a try.