Theresa's Book Reviews and Essays



INDEX TO ALL REVIEWS

    Detroit Photo Essays
 By Theresa Welsh

 My Story  Detroit: From Industrial Giant to Empty Landscape
 It's July, 1967 and my wedding party was a riot.

 The event that started the abandonment: Revisiting the Site of the 1967 Riot

  Detroit: Remembering My Days as a Welfare Worker
  And How a Once-Bustling Neighborhood Turned into Empty Countryside

 Detroit History: Its Segregation Past

  Abandoned Detroit: Empty Houses That Used to be Homes
  Detroit has thousands of abandoned homes throughout the city

 Detroit's Auto Industry History:
   Abandoned Packard Plant

 Detroit's Auto Industry History:
    Abandoned Fisher Body Plant

 See sights along Woodward Avenue.

  Detroit's Abandoned Neighborhoods

 Touring the D: More abandonment

 See Abandoned Schools in Detroit

 See The Heidelberg Project
  Detroit Discards Become Unique Urban Art

  INDEX: Detroit Photo Essays
  MY DETROIT Photos on Flickr


Published By
The Seeker Books

    

Detroit's Spectacular Ruin:
The Packard Plant

Illustrated with 240 photos
more on Packard

Available from
Amazon.com
and Google Play.


Who Invented
Personal Computing?

   Priming the Pump:
How TRS-80 Enthusiasts Helped Spark the PC Revolution

  by David & Theresa Welsh
  The hidden history
  of personal computing.

Although people persist in crediting Apple or IBM with inventing personal computing, the idea was in the ether much earlier. In the early 1970s, electronic hobbyists began tinkering with the new microchips and this spawned a modest business in mail-order computer kits. Hand-built, these computers required patience, skill, and a burning desire to learn arcane programming techniques.

Access to personal computing took a giant leap forward with the introduction of the TRS-80 Model I in August 1977. It was the first completely assembled, off-the-shelf microcomputer, available to anyone for $599.95 through 3500 Radio Shack stores nationwide.

My husband David Welsh was one of those hobbyists-turned-programmers. He created a word processor, Lazy Writer, which we sold worldwide; it had many enthusiastic fans who were eager to throw away their typewriters.

David and I wrote this book because no one else has told the story of these years. We interviewed legendary pioneers who told us amazing tales. This book, with over 100 illustrations and a complete Index, is their stories and our story.
  ~ Theresa Welsh

 Book Website

 Buy it from Amazon.com

 Explore computer history.




     Tara: Initiate of Heliopolis

by Theresa Welsh

   Available as an eBook

What if a modern girl were sent back in time to Cleopatra's Egypt to become an initiate in the temple? Believed to be a prophet because she knows the future, she only wants to go home. Can she change history?

More Information




Threatened by Islam?
Read these reviews

American Crescent: A Muslim Cleric on the Power of His Faith, the Struggle Against Prejudice, and the Future of Islam and America.

Cruel and Usual Punishment:
The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law

 -- 

A New Introduction to Islam



NOTE:   Theseekerbooks.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.


The Seeker Books is created and maintained by Theresa Welsh.

Theresa's Resume





featured

The Economics of Good and Evil

   by Thomas Sedlacek

Economic orthodoxy is all about seeking constant growth in our GDP. For that to happen, people must buy stuff, and because most people are not lacking in what they really need, the economy must stimulate desire for things they DON'T need. Marketing and advertising stimulate desire for stuff we don't currently have which makes us work harder and produce more, and and so the economy grows. Economists trot out numbers and charts to illustrate the growth effects of wanting more, working more and buying more. But Tomas Sedlacek dares to challenge this scenario in which Homo Economicus sees his existence as the endless pursuit of profit and possessions.

Read my whole review of The Economics of Good and Evil

Read my reviews of books about Detroit.

 Hard Stuff: Autobiography of Mayor Coleman Young
(Detroit's first black mayor, served from 1974 to 1994)

 Arc of Justice by Kevin Boyle   (about the 1923 Ossian Sweet case)

 Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff.

 The Algiers Motel Incident by John Hersey  (during the 1967 riot)

 Made in Detroit by Paul Clemens  (by the son of a Detroit cop)

   Old and New Spiritual Classics

Books that explain and examine our spiritual traditions and challenge us to take our own spiritual journey

Messages: Signs, Visits and Premonitions From Loved Ones Lost on 9/11
by Bonnie McEneaney

Friends and families of 9/11 victims share their stories with Bonnie McEneany, whose husband Eamon died on 9/11. Their intensely personal experiences of contact are to them real proof that their loved ones continue to exist.

The Messengers by F.C. Xavier
An afterlife journey told by spirit Andre Luiz through Brazilian medium Francisco Xavier

Fringe Dweller on the Night Shift by Monica Holy
Go astral traveling with the author as she spends her nights rescuing souls.

Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damndest Thing by Jed McKenna
A maverick tale of how to "wake up" spiritually by a self-described (and mysterious) enlightened human being.

Supernatural by Graham Hancock
Hancock explores the origins of religious beliefs by examining early use of hallucinogenic drugs.

Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
This classic book is the story of Yogananda's coming to America to bring yoga and Eastern ideas to a generation knowing nothing of its spiritual precepts; his story is full of amazing spiritual feats, such as being in two places at once.

Letters From the Other Side by Helen and Harry
This book of letters were written during the World War I era by two spirits, brother and sister, whose messages came through the automatic handwriting of a blind living sister

The Spirits Book by Alan Kardec
This book, written in 1876, is the basis of the beliefs of Spiritists; the book contains answers to the big questions as given to Allan Kardec by advanced spirits. This article also examines three other books about spirit.

Is there evidence for the afterlife?
Does evidence exist that our consciousness survives death? Here are four books that tackle this topic, and are worth reading.

Who is Edgar Cayce?
Edgar Cayce became known as "the sleeping prophet" because he provided information to people seeking his help after putting himself in a trance. This modest man, who died in 1945, gave "life readings" to people in which he told them of past lives, often lives in ancient Atlantis. Many books tell his story; here are some of the best ones.

   Questioning Christianity

Why christianity Must Change or Die by John Shelby Spong
Does the standard Christian theology that has come to us from the Middle Ages still make sense? Haven't we learned more about the history of the times from when Jesus walked the earth, and haven't we gained maturity since then? Bishop Spong challenges some long-held beliefs about what it means to be a Christian.

The Templar Revelation by Picknett & Prince
Examines whether Jesus really died on the cross and whether he might have been married to Mary Magdalene; lots of interesting legends about Magdalene and John the Baptist in the south of France.

The Hiram Key by Knight & Lomas
Two Master Masons examine the historical roots of Christianity. Who was the mysterious Hiram Abiff who supposedly built Solomon's Temple?

The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
Pagels challenges traditional ideas about Jesus and the early Christian teachings, through the writings in alternate "gospels."

Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Baigent, Lincoln & Leigh
Take a tour of a different history, where Jesus has descendants who have secretly dominated important historical events. The book that inspired The DaVinci Code, that introduced us to the Priory of Sion... still good after all these years!!

The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God? by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
This book questions the actual existence of Jesus of Nazareth with their eivdence that "the Jesus story" was meant as metaphor in the same way as the ancient "Mystery" religions.

The Jesus Dyasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity by James D. Tabor
The author's own explorations into a tomb in Israel turned up bodies that could be members of Jesus' family. Could the tomb hold the bones of Jesus' brother, James? Could Jesus' biological father be someone other than Joseph and can we make even more assumptions from these discoveries, like James continuing Jesus' teachings, which did not include current Christian theology?

Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven by Uta Ranke-Heinemann
Does the Catholic Church's insistence on a male-only celibate clergy, its doctrine that sex is only for procreation and its condemnation of birth control and abortion reflect any actual teachings of Jesus? Here's a meticulously researched book by an angry female theologian who says no, and who lost her job teaching theology at a Catholic university for writing this book.

More books about Spirituality on amazon.com.  

  Classics of Alternative Science / History

What do we really know of human history, or the history and fate of our world? Explore books that give us a different perspective on who we are and how the universe works.

The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins & Christopher Byrd
A cult classic on the consciousness of all living things

The Coming Global SuperStorm by Art Bell & Whitley Streiber
Civilization is ended by a huge global storm caused by... global warming! Two authors known for books about aliens find a new menace in the weather.

The Body Electric by Robert O. Becker
A scientist's study of the natural electricity of the human body -- and its potential for healing and harm.

Vimana Aircraft of Ancient India by David Hatcher Childress
Did ancient India and Atlantis have aircraft? The evidence is in this book

The Gods of Eden by William Bramley
Are sinister aliens behind all earth's wars and troubles? This book takes a long look through history and finds the same corrupted "brotherhood" deceiving mankind.

Giza Power Plant by Christopher Dunn
Was the Great Pyramid really a power source for ancient Egypt and not a tomb? Dunn builds a credible theory.

The Hollow Earth by Raymond Bernard
Can intelligent life exist within our own earth? This is a mostly nutty (but interesting) idea.

In His Image: The Cloning of a man by David Rorvik
Was this 1978 book really a hoax, or has a man been cloned?

Dogs That Know When Their Owners are Coming Home by Rupert Sheldrake
Humans have an interesting connection with animals. Does your dog always go to the door and wait for you before you pull into the driveway? Is your dog or cat psychic?

Faces in the Smoke by Douchan Gersi
An amazing look at strange powers of "people of tradition," featuring a group of men in Haiti who can instantly materialize in a new location.

The Source Field Investigations by David Wilcock
In an original attempt at a unified theory, David Wilcock postulates that the universe is filled with an energy field that is the "source" of everything that exists. This energy changes over long cycles of time, and involves two intersecting realities, the spirit world and the world we experience.

The Meaning of Life According to Physics by Stephen Hawking and Michio Kaku
What do two famous physicists think of the Big Questions of life? This review of two books examines their ideas on time travel, black holes, multiple dimensions and other fascinating speculation.

   Human Origins

Genesis Revisited by Zechariah Sitchen
One of Sitchen's Earth Chronicles books tracing our origins back to Sumer and alien "gods" - the whole series is fascinating reading.

Forbidden Archeology by Cremo and Thompson
Just how long has anatomically modern man been on earth? Read the evidence that the answer may be millions of years. The authors have done their research, and it's all in this 1000-page book.

Flying Serpents and Dragons by RA Boulay
Here is the most incredible theory of human origins. Our ancient ancesters were.... reptiles???. Read and be amazed. The author is NOT a nut (he worked for the NSA), but is he correct in making such an outrageous claim?

More books about Alternative Science /History on amazon.com.  

  I Love a Good Conspiracy!

It's not paranoia if they're really after you, and maybe these authors are not all crazy.

Dark Mission: The Secret History of NASA by Richard Hoagland and Mike Barra
What is NASA's real mission? Did they find artifacts on the moon and have they been lying to us ever since?

The Cancer Conspiracy by Barry Lynes
The author tells of betrayal, collusion and the suppression of alternative cancer treatments; the government and the AMA are most of the problem.

Inside Job by Jim Marrs
Did the Bush adminstration know about 9/11 before it happened?

The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power
by Jeff Sharlet

This book delves deeply into a little-known dedicated group of people who seek to control American politics, while remaining in the shadows. They espouse a brand of Christian fundamentalism that says the people in power reflect God's choices. Are they manipulating our leaders in Washington DC to advance their own right-wing agenda?

The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell by Randle & Schmitt
A well-researched examination of the evidence that a space ship crashed near Roswell New Mexico in 1947. Based on interviews with eye witnesses and good detective work. Read and draw your own conclusions.

Alien Agenda by Jim Marrs
A noted conspiracy author takes on the UFO controversy and provides a well-presented summary of alien activity and the government cover-up.

Above Black by Dan Sherman
Eye-witness testimony of a secret government program involving contact with aliens. His story, though amazing, seems credible.

The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar: Solving the Oak Island Mystery
by Steven Sora

Treasure hidden hundreds of years ago on Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada has confounded treasure-hunters since its discovery, all attempts at recovery stopped by highly-effective boobytraps. Could it be the lost treasure of the Knights Templar?

More Books About Conspiracies on amazon.com.  


 Reviews of books that take a critical look at American Healthcare

American Health$care: by Dr. Richard Young — How the healthcare industry's scare tactics have screwed up our economy -- and our future

Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in Overtreated America by Dr. Nortin M. Hadler — Are Americans receiving too much health care that does little good, with the medical establishment offering up tests and treatments that provide minimum benefit and not worth the high cost and aggravation.

Overhauling America's healthcare Machine by Dr. Douglas A. Perednia — A doctor's prescription for fixing what ails our healthcare system

Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health By Dr. H. Gilbert Welch — Is screening for every possible disease and health risk, and subsequent treatment, really keeping us healthy? Or is it just adding to our huge health care bill and actually endangering our health?

Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans By Wendell Potter — The author comes clean about the real priorities of the big health insurance companies (hint: it's not keeping you healthy)

Manufacturing Depression by Gary Greenberg — Is depression a "real disease" or just an excuse for more expensive (but largely useless) treatment?

The Cancer Conspiracy by Barry Lynes — Yes, there ARE medical conspiracies; what if a cure for cancer is known, but not being applied, so the medical industry can continue making huge profits off this terrible disease?

Do Not Resuscitate Dr. John Geyman — Dr Geyman takes on the profit-driven medical industry, especially the insurance companies

The Body Electric by Dr. Robert O. Becker — Ground-breaking research on electromagnetism and health from a doctor who worked for the VA

Energetic Anatomy by Mark Rich — Physical health is influenced by our Energy Body, an ancient belief that postulates an invisible energy system (the Human Energy System)

     
And be sure to read my personal
Health Care Rant
.

 MORE REVIEWS

A History of the occult by Colin Wilson

The source Field by David Wilcock

The Stars Still Shine by Robert Murray ~~ a tale of the afterlife

Vibrational Medicine for the 21st Century by Dr. Richard Gerber

Constantine's Sword by James Carroll ~~ a history of relationships between the Catholic Church and Judaism by an ex-priest

Tesla: Man Out of Time by Margaret Cheney

Leap of Faith: An Astronaut's Journey Into the Unknown by Gordon Cooper

Hitler's Pope by John Cornwell ~~ Pope Pius XII and World War II

Bowl of Light by Hank Wesselman ~~ about the ideas of a Hawaiian Kahuna

Fractal Time by by Gregg Braden

Wonders in the Sky by Jacques Vallee and Chris Aubeck ~~ a compilation of UFO sightings going back to ancient times

The Dessert Pilgrim by Mary Swander

Vampires Two books on the subject: classic fiction and a non-fiction evaluation of modern-day vampirism.

There's More! ... INDEX TO ALL REVIEWS