SirReadaLot.org
We Review the Best of the Latest Books
ISSN 1934-6557
November 2005, Issue #79
Guide to This Issue
Contents: Digital Photography,
Women in the
Arts & Photography
Understanding Digital Photography: Creative Techniques for Getting Pictures by Bryan Peterson (Amphoto Books)
Whether readers are intimidated by their digital cameras or simply want to improve the quality of their pictures, Understanding Digital Photography has the information they need. The latest from noted photographer and instructor Bryan Peterson, this book demystifies digital technology. A variety of subjects and lighting conditions are presented, including landscapes, portraits, sunsets, nighttime scenes, and even close-ups.
Using his signature bad image/good image pairings of real-life examples, Peterson, best-selling author of Learning to See Creatively and Understanding Exposure, takes readers through the techniques need to succeed with digital photography in every popular genre: nature, people, sports, interiors, travel, low-light conditions, travel, weather, commercial portraits, macro, and wildlife – even how to use creative tricks such as reflections. As a bonus, Peterson explains, in straightforward text, the techniques of Photoshop as well as the basics of publishing, printing, and archiving and storing for personal or professional use. The book provides plentiful examples showing how to get it right in camera so that when readers finally show up at the doorstep of Photoshop, they are ready to take the images to the next level. Peterson says, “Remember, digital ‘film’ is free.”
Full of great examples for beginners and serious photographers,
Understanding Digital Photography makes it easy to create great
digital pictures. Whatever readers’ particular interests, Peterson
can help them achieve successful images with their digital cameras.
Arts & Photography / Politics
Changing the Face of Power: Women in the
They are
Changing the Face of Power documents all fourteen women in their
day-to-day work as senators. Melina Mara's candid images show the
senators attending hearings, meeting the press, greeting their
constituents, consulting with staff, legislating behind the scenes,
and sharing private moments with colleagues and family. Mara, staff
photographer at the Washington Post, tells how she followed the
senators and went for the candid, revealing moments. In these
photographs she captures the demanding, 24/7 nature of the job and
shows that the female senators more than hold their own among their
male colleagues.
Accompanying the photos are commentaries by journalist Cokie
Roberts, introductions by Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Kay
Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), and interviews between veteran White House
correspondent Helen Thomas and all of the senators. These pieces
address women's achievements in attaining political power and
describe the burdens and rewards of the office. The senators
describe their motivations for being in the Senate, the challenges
they've faced, the way they balance work and family, and the
prospects for a woman winning the presidency in the coming years.
As Congress has become a more representative institution, the women who have been path breakers in the Senate deserve this photographic tribute. This pioneering work of photojournalism succeeds in showing us candid images of women in the halls of power. Changing the Face of Power is at once headline news and a potent documentary record of a turning point in American and women's history.
Arts & Photography / Sociology / Political Science
Art and the State: The Visual Arts in Comparative Perspective by Victoria D. Alexander & Marilyn Rueschemeyer (St. Antony’s Series: Palgrave MacMillan)
Two experts in the social study of the arts look at the impact of
the nation-state – its actions, policies and traditions – on art
institutions and artists. Focusing on the visual arts,
Art and the State examines cultural policy in the
Art and the State demonstrates that the art-state integration is
highly complex. The state has a degree of control, never absent and
never absolute, over artists; artists in authoritarian societies
carve out spaces of freedom, while artists in free-market countries
submit to constraints imposed by the state, and by the marketplace.
But the discussion goes far beyond the issues of autonomy and
freedom. Other topics include the development of audiences, arts
controversies, the privatization of arts institutions, and the
public role of art and artists.
The authors, Victoria Alexander, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at
the
From the extensive literature on the sociology of art, and from their own research, they knew that art is not just about artists and artworks. Artists create art within a social context – within an ‘art world’ or ‘artistic field’ – that is situated in the wider society. A host of factors from the art world and the society affect the production of art.
The state is an important actor (or more accurately, a collection of actors) in the social world, and actions of the state are profoundly important for art worlds, artists, and artworks. The state influences the production, distribution, and reception of art, and it can shape the life chances of individual artists. A state may support artists directly through salary, fellowships, or grants. It may purchase artworks. It may fund art museums and galleries, either directly through line-item or project grants or indirectly through tax incentives. It may repress artists or censor artworks that criticize it. Or it may do none of these things. Its legal climate, favorable or unfavorable to free market ideology, to private property, and to intellectual property rights, will affect the distribution strategies of artists. Its ability to maintain civic order influences artistic subject matter, as well as the ability of artists to work safely in their studios. Its educational policy affects not only the training, and employment, of those interested in becoming artists or those identified with particular visual talents, but also the reception of artworks by the general public who are educated in the state's system.
Alexander and Rueschemeyer believe that the state and its effects have been understudied in relationship to other aspects of the art world. Comparative studies of the topic have been especially rare. Just as the complexities of ‘art and the state’ within a given setting are often overlooked, so too are the similarities across countries with very different governmental structures. In ‘free’ countries, as in authoritarian ones, state control of art and artists is an issue. In the west, public art, the public place of art, and even the kind of art supported by public funds can be (and has been) subject to controversy that escalates into ‘culture wars’ which, in turn, can lead to cultural policy that, in many respects, shades into censorship.
In discussing these ideas, Alexander and Rueschemeyer found that their ongoing research addressed the subject of art and the state in complementary ways. They hoped, therefore, that they were in an excellent position to contribute to the literature on art and the state, in a truly comparative way.
In 1996, Alexander moved to
Meanwhile, Rueschemeyer's own work had been moving in directions
which explored similar themes. She spent several sabbaticals abroad
where, among other interests, she explored the social situation of
artists, the reception of their work by different audiences, and how
their creative lives are affected by state policy. She had
co-authored a book on Soviet émigré artists and she continued this
line of research as additional possibilities for work arose in the
They decided that it would be best to collaborate on the Introduction and the Conclusion to bring out the themes and ideas highlighted by the case studies. The Introduction (Chapter 1) discusses the general topic of cultural policy with respect to the visual arts. In this chapter, they point out the various dimensions along which cultural policy may be measured. A comparative perspective clarifies a number of issues, a key one being the degree of state control of artists and institutions involved in cultural policy. A set of textured, comparative studies shows that issues of artistic freedom and state – or market – constraint are complex and do not fall along a simple continuum from free market states with a high degree of artistic freedom to autocratic states with a high degree of censorship and control.
The Conclusion (Chapter 7) draws out the lessons learned from a comparative reading of their five projects. This chapter, the most explicitly comparative in Art and the State, brings to fruition the initial discussion they had at that ASA meeting. Though Alexander's work focused initially on art institutions, especially museums, and Rueschemeyer's on artists and their associations, they found that their interests encompassed all of these aspects of the art world. Indeed, it is difficult to study arts institutions without considering artists, and vice versa. They found that their differing research methods (Alexander drawing on documentary analysis and Rueschemeyer on interviews with artists, gallery owners and managers, and policy makers) and writing styles have proved to be useful levers with which to lift additional insights from the data. In writing Art and the State, their aims were to examine the texture and complexity within the art-state relationship in individual countries and, through their collaborative chapters, to present their ideas on art and the state and to integrate their insights from the case studies.
In the case studies Alexander and Rueschemeyer examine these issues comparatively, for it is only by comparing different political-cultural systems that one can study such large-scale subjects. By looking at a variety of political systems they can draw out the implications of contrasting relations between the political order and the world of the visual arts, ranging from different patterns of funding through contrasting social environments in which artists work to the varying character and responses of audiences for art. These comparisons will show that the state has an important impact on what happens in the art world.
In the case studies, which are an integral part of Chapters 2
through 6, they examine different contexts of government involvement
in the visual arts. Chapter 2 examines the
These three chapters of parallel case analyses are followed by
two that trace transitions from one political system to another.
Chapter 5 examines the art world of communist
These contrasting political contexts represent a range of
government support from meager to munificent. They also represent
differences along many other dimensions such as in audience
development and issues of control and censorship. For example, the
United States, never generous with funding, has become stingier in
recent years in response to arts controversies over federal funding
of ‘obscene’ art, while the United Kingdom has also reined in
cultural spending, at least on the visual arts.
Art and the State is a wonderful book…. I especially like the
way in which the authors take a nuanced approach to consider the
vexed relationship of the arts and the state. They are right on
target when pointing to the subtle control effects that exist in
non-totalitarian as well as in extremely authoritarian states. Their
comparative perspective is a most valuable addition to an
under-studied field. – Vera Zolberg, Professor of Sociology, New
Timely, informative, and well-structured, this book provides a
much needed comparison of the relationship between the state and the
visual arts in the
Art and the State examines the impact of states and their
policies on visual art, contrasting developments in the
The five empirical chapters are interesting in themselves, the Introduction and Conclusion demonstrating not only the coherence and unity of the ideas behind Art and the State, but also the comparative perspective they present enriches each individual case.
Autobiography / Special Needs
No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life by Kyle Maynard (Regnery Publishing, Inc.)
"It's not what I can do, it's what I will do. – Kyle Maynard
Born without arms or legs below his elbows and knees, Kyle Maynard excels as a champion athlete, inspirational speaker, college student and male model. No Excuses demonstrates how a positive attitude gives someone we might see as disadvantaged the advantage over life. Maynard was born in 1986 with a rare disorder called congenital amputation. He has no forearms, shortened legs, and stands only four feet tall. Yet Maynard has learned to live a full and active life. Besides dealing with everyday challenges, he is an excellent student, has impeccable handwriting, and can type fifty words a minute.
In this autobiography, Maynard tells his story of personal
determination, a devoted family, and a strong religious faith that
has landed him appearances on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,
Good Morning
A competitor to the core, Maynard was determined to succeed as an
athlete. Through hard work, the support of his family, and a coach
who designed new wrestling moves like the ‘jawbreaker’ and ‘buzz
saw,’ Maynard became one of the top high school wrestlers in the
state of
When I interviewed Kyle Maynard, he touched the hearts of more viewers than perhaps any other interview I've done. No Excuses is the book that Kyle Maynard fans, like me, have been waiting for. And let me tell you, it's terrific. – Larry King, Host, CNN's Larry King Live
Kyle Maynard's inspirational story is about succeeding against odds that most of us can't imagine. How does Kyle do it? His title says it all: `No Excuses.' That's a habit we could all adopt from this great book, written by a highly successful young man. – Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
We often measure the heart of a champion by his success. I believe a true champion is measured by how he overcomes adversity. Kyle Maynard embodies the true champion spirit and motivates me to be a better athlete and a better person. – Randy Couture, Ultimate Fighting Championship's heavyweight champion
A gripping tale of athleticism and competition, and a moving, inspiring story of one man's indomitable spirit. I couldn't put it down! – Liz Vaccariello, executive editor, Fitness magazine
No Excuses is a book about a courageous young man who faced the seemingly impossible challenge to live a normal life – and won a phenomenal victory.
This inspirational book about the perseverance of the human spirit cannot fail to inspire readers.
Biographies & Memoirs / Entertainers
The Man Called Cash: The Life, Love, and Faith of an American Legend – the Authorized Biography [UNABRIDGED] (7 Audio Cassettes or Audio CD: running time 7 hours) by Steve Turner, with a foreword by Kris Kristofferson, narrated by Rex Linn (Blackstone Audiobooks, Inc.)
The Master of Life’s been good to me. He has given me strength to
face past illnesses, and victory in the face of defeat….Let the
music play. – Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash was a poor sharecropper’s son from
Born to a devout Christian mother and a father prone to dark,
destructive moods, Cash grew up in poverty and knew hardships. But
his mother helped him nurture his music as well as his faith in God.
The Man Called Cash chronicles his career, his love for June
Carter Cash, his struggles, and his triumphs. Different from other
books written about him, this one, written by Steve Turner, the
author of biographies of Jack Kerouac, Marvin Gaye and Van Morrison,
brings Cash's faith into the foreground and tells the story of a man
redeemed, without sugar-coating.
Cash’s rise to stardom skyrocketed in the 1950s. Drug addictions,
fits of rage, and shattered relationships marked his performances as
a country singer. With his craggy voice and simple, direct style,
Cash mesmerized young and the old alike.
While The Man Called Cash chronicles the details of the musician’s life – including his brushes with the law – Turner turns his pen toward Cash’s deep faith as well as his humble, unpretentious love for his family and his wife, June Carter Cash. The audiobook is read by Rex Linn, an actor currently starring in CSI: Miami.
… Musical biographer Turner (Conversations with Clapton, etc.)
leans heavily on interviews with Cash fans such as Larry Gatlin and
Kris Kristofferson (who pens the foreword) and on quotations from
songs Cash wrote, sang or both. The result is an affecting mosaic of
oral history, poetry and memoir – concerning Cash himself, but also
the era in which his music took root and thrived. … – Publishers
Weekly
Turner has . . . put Cash’s soul on paper. Read this book if you
care anything at all about American popular music. –
Bookreporter.com
Turner is refreshingly reluctant to sensationalize . . . evenhanded
and honest. Turner’s life of the artist pays due honor to Cash. –
Reuters
In The Man Called Cash, Turner explores the legacy left by the man in black with unflinchingly honesty. This biography reveals Cash anew, taking a candid look at the depth of the man. Cash’s authenticity and unassuming persona are what Turner clearly captures. Whether readers are among the millions of Johnny Cash fans, fellow believers, or pop culture aficionados, The Man Called Cash will inspire them with its story of faith, hope, and redemption.
Business & Investing / Consumerism
Latino Boom!: Everything You Need to Know to Grow Your Business
in the
It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling Pampers, blue jeans, cars, or credit cards, the Hispanic community is a market you must include in your business plans. – Chiqui Cartagena
The median household income of a Hispanic family is already $4,000 higher than that of an African American family; the disposable income of the Hispanic population is expected to top $1 trillion by 2010; and the average Hispanic citizen is ten years younger than the general market. The business opportunities are endless, but only if readers know whom to hire, what to sell, and where to target.
Chiqui Cartagena, Managing Director of Multicultural
Communications at Meredith Integrated Marketing, an expert on the
Hispanic market, has written a fact-packed guide that will help
readers trying to understand the largest demographic group in
- The best ways to approach the three different Latino groups (Isolated, Acculturated, and Assimilated).
- The reasons why ‘other’ Hispanics (those who aren’t Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban) have become an increasingly important sub group.
- The increasing influence of consumer-savvy Hispanic teenagers, who play an important role in urban trendsetting.
- Why Latino consumer behavior makes for a different market than that of the general market or other minority markets.
- Why companies can succeed wildly or fail miserably in trying to reach this market.
- The key differences among
A must read for those looking to seriously understand the
dynamics of the
A book that every marketer in the
Any company will benefit from the authoritative advice in Latino Boom!. This easy-to-use guide is indispensable for any business person trying to appeal to this crucial market. As Chiqui Cartagena says, “You can spend $20,000 on a consultant, or you can buy this book.”
Business & Investing / Entertainment / Youth Culture
Make It Happen: The Hip-Hop Generation Guide to Success by Kevin
Liles, with Samantha Marshall (Atria Books)
is both an American success story and a guidebook for the road to
having both a career and a life one loves.
Kevin Liles rose from intern to president of Def Jam records in only nine years. Today, at age 37, he is Executive Vice President of multi-billion dollar industry giant Warner Music Group and has helped discover and direct the talents of Jay-Z, Ludacris, Ashanti, DMX, Ja Rule, Kanye West, LL Cool J, Method Man, Redman, and more. Liles meteoric climb from an urban street kid with hip hop aspirations to one of the most successful and influential executives in the record business is far more than a modern-day Cinderella story. It is a tribute to Liles's incredible work ethic and his insistence on doing things his way – the Hip Hop way.
"Every real success story in Hip Hop comes down to the same thing: someone who finds the will, focus and drive to achieve," Liles writes in Make It Happen. “It doesn't matter if you are male or female. It doesn't matter what race or religion you are. It doesn't even matter what hustle you choose.” “What does matter,” Liles says, “is that you fight against the odds to realize a dream and be the best that you can be. You don't take ‘no’ for an answer or abide the negativity of people. You empower yourself and make it happen.”
Make It Happen, written with New York Business senior staff reporter Samantha Marshall, presents Liles's Ten Rules of business success, which range from "Find Your Will" and "Make a Plan" to "Don't Let the Cash Rule" and "Mix it Up." As he outlines his philosophy, Liles recounts how he has put it to work, chronicling his journey to the top – from being a young black man in West Baltimore with a better chance of getting shot or jailed than getting a respectable job, to early promise as a rapper and hit songwriter at 15 (Liles wrote the Milli Vanilli hit, "Girl You Know It's True"), to his transition to the business side of the industry and his remarkable ascendancy. Along the way, he shares the stories and thoughts of others – executives, artists, mentors and friends – who have also made it despite the odds.
A career guide book for a new generation, infused with the street smarts and fresh pulse of hip hop itself, Make It Happen embodies Liles's manifesto: "The only ghetto that can hold you down is the ghetto of the mind."
For young people who might be coming from backgrounds where the corporate boardroom is alien territory or for savvy executives who are looking to excel beyond their career goals, Liles tells them how to build personal and business relationships that will last forever. But he cautions readers that they can't take everyone with them, and they need to edit negative influences out of their lives.
Liles' advice is built on his own personal journey, and he shares
what he has learned from mentors such as Lyor Cohen, Chairman and
CEO of US Recorded Music at Warner Music Group, and Bob Johnson,
founder and CEO of Black Entertainment Television, the largest
black-owned and operated media empire in the world. But he also
highlights the achievements of many of the young people who have
risen up the ranks under his guidance. He addresses the sensitive
issue of the conservative media's relentless campaign against Hip
Hop, defending the art form and its positive impact on
Kevin is the face of the struggle. With his street-savvy advice,
his knowledge of the youth culture of today and his drive, Kevin
shows that
Make It Happen is truly what it says – the hip-hop generation's
guide to success. Kevin overcame the trials and tribulations of
growing up in
and partner in every sense of the word. – Russell Simmons, founder
of Def Jam Records
Although
Make It Happen was written for the hip-hop generation, the book
is relevant for anybody who wants to succeed in business and life.
Kevin's journey is a true human-interest story that is
inspirational, touching and powerful. His insights are pertinent
whether you are a young person starting your own business or a
seasoned professional. – Gayle King, 0, The Oprah Magazine
As an African-American business leader, a man like Kevin represents to me everything that is right in the African American entrepreneurship – visionary, hard working, entrepreneurial and smart . . . and I encourage everyone to read his book and follow his advice. – Bob Johnson, founder, Black Entertainment Television
Kevin has done so much for the Baltimore community and is one who
understands his roots, where he came from and is someone to be
listened to for so many reasons. I highly recommend
Make It Happen to anyone in this country who is pursuing
excellence and deeper meaning in any area of their lives. – Mayor
Martin O'Malley, city of
Liles "balances the entrepreneurial spirit of Def Jam's hip-hop
roots with the sound, old fashioned business sense needed to turn
this mercurial industry into a world-renowned entertainment empire,"
writes
Having crafted a management style out of the very roots of Hip Hop, Liles shares the wealth of his knowledge with those who want to emulate his spectacular success. Filled with invaluable, street-savvy advice from the hip hop music industry's young Turk, Make It Happen is the consummate career guide for a new generation – Liles speaks directly to young people hungry for success, providing advice that stresses determination, hard work, and being true to one’s dream.
Business & Investing / Psychology & Counseling
The Business and Practice of Coaching: Finding Your Niche, Making Money, and Attracting Ideal Clients by Lynn Grodzki & Wendy Allen (W.W. Norton and Co.) focuses on basic business principles and strategies.
Building a thriving coaching business is a challenge. An estimated 30,000 coaches have entered the coaching profession during the past five years. Unfortunately, the majority report they are unable to earn a living wage from their coaching services. Competition is high, and the knowledge of how to succeed is often lacking. To survive today, coaches must match their enthusiasm with strong, business and marketing expertise.
Lynn Grodzki and Wendy Allen are veteran business coaches who understand how to strategically approach the business and the practice of coaching as well as how to mentor new coaches entering the profession. The Business and Practice of Coaching is the first text to combine a coaching approach (step-by step exercises, direct suggestions, insider's tips, and motivational plans) with solid business information and ideas. Grodzki, a psychotherapist and certified coach in private practice, and Allen, a psychologist and business coach, demonstrate how to customize a business plan that can spell the difference between accomplishment and collapse. The book shows readers how to
- Build a coaching business that has relevance to the larger community around it, and be aligned with the new realities of the coaching profession.
- Refine their coaching skill set to incorporate the five coaching competencies that signal to the public that they are masterful coaches.
- Define their innate coaching specialty and target a profitable niche market.
- Implement the eight best marketing strategies to attract coaching clients.
- Set and raise their fees the right way, develop multiple streams of coaching income, and build a six-figure business that they can own and sell.
- Institute risk management policies.
This book offers nothing less than a radical rethinking of the
essentials of building a coaching practice. A must read for all
coaches, master and novice alike – Richard J. Leider, author of The
Power of Purpose
The Business and Practice of Coaching provides practical guidelines that help coaches create a successful practice and a successful business. – Marshall Goldsmith, co-editor or author of 19 books
Timely and acutely needed,
The Business and Practice of Coaching is a voice of realism for
the coaching profession. This is a must-read for any coach who is
serious about a successful and sustainable coaching business. Most
importantly, readers will experience what it is like to be coached
by the authors who provide a perfect balance of ‘hard truths’ and
‘how-to’ strategies. I benefited from at least one gem in every
chapter. – Lynne Hornyak, Ph.D., PCC, LMH Services, Coaching and
Consulting,
Grodzki and Allen help coaches succeed by showing them how to develop an entrepreneurial mind-set. Covering all of the territory, The Business and Practice of Coaching offers a wealth of information and accessible expert guidance. Readers will discover how to take advantage of current trends within the quickly changing coaching profession so that the business they build today will be viable tomorrow.
Business & Investing / Personal Finance
Millionaire Republican: Why Rich Republicans Get Rich – and How
You Can Too! by Wayne Allyn Root (Jeremy P.
Tarcher/Penguin)
...Root outlines the Republican principles that can help even some educable Democrats achieve their dreams of wealth. – Michael Medved
Author Wayne Allyn Root is a self-made millionaire, TV celebrity,
Root relates why those that vote and think like liberal Democrats are condemned to poverty, mediocrity, and dependence on others (government, unions, landlords, bosses, Democratic politicians) for the rest of their lives. In contrast, Millionaire Republican reveals the Republican success strategies, and teaches us perhaps the biggest secret of all: The real key to becoming a Millionaire Republican is to do exactly the opposite of what the masses do.
Root reveals to readers that they should:
- Live, work, and invest only in specific low-tax, Republican red states.
- Base their lives on three Republican Rules: ownership, risk, and salesmanship.
- Invest in foreign real estate – but only in specific tax havens.
- When it comes to their primary residence, think big, think Red, and sell often. (By following Root's advice, readers can own their own home free in a red state.)
- Cultivate ‘The Joy of Failure’ and ‘The Ego Rules’ to become a leader in the business world.
- Learn how to legally keep more of their own money, because when it comes to wealth, it's not what they make, it's what they keep.
- Own and control their children's future through homeschooling.
According to Root, becoming a millionaire takes action, hard work, focus, creativity, drive, and a constant willingness to risk failure. It is not for the faint of heart.
If you want to become one of those ‘Rich Republicans’ that liberals seem to hate so much, you'll need to read only one book. . . Millionaire Republican is your book! Read it, study it, live it! – Christopher Ruddy, CEO & Publisher, NewsMax.com
As a NFL Hall of Famer and Super Bowl MVP, I think I understand how to win championships. With his new book Millionaire Republican, author Wayne Allyn Root coaches his readers to victory in the game that matters – achieving high levels of ownership, wealth and financial freedom. – Randy White, NFL Hall of Fame member
Wayne Allyn Root changes lives with his
Millionaire Republican philosophy. Back in 1990 when I met
I'm a member of the ‘Big Three’...I'm a Democrat, an attorney and a Californian. And yet I still love the message of Millionaire Republican! Because when it comes to the topic of wealth – there are universal truths. Wayne Allyn Root has captured them all! – Lee Sacks, Esq.
Millionaire Republican is an updated version of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich combined with "Republican Eye for the Poor-Thinking Democrat Guy (or Gal)!" Root brings his makeover message of prosperity to ALL Americans – middle class and poor – especially, he says, the poor – with a sense of humor and common sense from his own life; he relates how he used his chutzpah and drive to become a self-made millionaire CEO. According to him, if only Democrats would stop complaining and put all that extra time to good use – they would no longer have anything to complain about.
By far the most galling part of the book was when Root blamed the
poor people of
Children’s / Ages 6-10 / Religion & Spirituality / Christianity
Holy Bible – The Beginner's Bible: New International Reader’s Version illustrated by Kelly Pulley (Zonderkidz)
In Holy Bible – The Beginner's Bible the complete, easy-to-read New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) children's translation is combined with the bestselling The Beginner's Bible characters. The New International Reader's Version uses words and phrases written at a third-grade reading level for kids 6-10 years of age. Twenty full-color tip-ins of The Beginner's Bible artwork make this a good choice as a Bible for instilling faith in young hearts. The book also includes an NIrV dictionary, an illustrated article on ‘Life in New Testament Times,’ the ‘ABCs of Salvation’ and a simple plan for helping children read the Bible.
The Holy Bible – The Beginner's Bible provides a vehicle to capture children’s imaginations with lively pictures and easy-to-read words. The book provides accuracy together with the appeal of 20 full-color pages of the Beginner's s Bible art – in the style of the popular, updated Bible storybook whose colorful illustrations and simple stories have made it a favorite with children and parents everywhere. The book provides parents with a way to encourage their child's love for God's word to grow with this colorful, complete Bible, perfect for beginning readers.
Children’s / Ages 10 and up
Beyond the Great Mountains: A Visual Poem about
Ed Young, a prolific creator of children's books, has created a stunning tour de force: Beyond the Great Mountains.
It tells the story of the middle empire, the story of the
seasons, of the crops and of nature. The unique format (the book
opens vertically with tiered pages) and gorgeous paper-collage
illustrations, highlighted with Chinese characters, combine to
convey the many facets of
Young was born in
Beyond the Great Mountains on the last page includes a selection of the ancient Chinese characters shown earlier in the book (circa 500 BC) and the corresponding modern Chinese characters. Young shares his fascination with poetry and with the hidden wisdom of symbols. He connects the Chinese characters to their component parts (the symbol for wine is made up of the symbols for vessel, fermented rice and ladle; the symbol for jade is made up of heaven, earth, principle and stone) as well as their conceptual meanings. The sparse words remind one of haiku. He asks readers to look at the ancient Chinese characters & compare them to the modern symbols and to use them as a vehicle to be open.
This beautiful book would make a wonderful gift for a creative,
artistic child, an adult immigrant friend who misses his home
country of
Young describes in measured detail a beautiful and mystical land and serves as a tribute to the country he clearly loves.
Children’s / Grades K-3
Voting in Elections by Terri DeGezelle, Shirley Tabata Ponomareff (First Facts Series: Capstone Press)
Voting in elections gives citizens a voice in government. Written at the second grade level, Voting in Elections enables readers to learn about ballots, how votes are counted, and how one vote can make a difference in any election. For example, in Voting History the book says: “Years ago many US citizens were not allowed to vote. Only white men who owned land could vote. Some people believed this was not fair. For years, other people worked hard to win voting rights. In 1870, African American men won the right to vote. In 1920, all women won voting rights.”
Topics include: The Right to Vote, People Elect Leaders, Voting History, Who Can Votes, Informed Voters, Where Citizens Vote, How Citizens Vote, and Counting the Votes. The book also contains amazing but true facts, a glossary, where readers can read more, internet sites and an index.
As an activity to understand elections, Voting in Elections suggests that readers conduct their own election to elect a Leader of the Day and outlines how to do it.
The book is part of the First Facts Series in which young readers
learn about government in the
Children’s / Fantasy
Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers written & illustrated by Lee Edward Födi (Brown Books)
Födi has created a unique world...appeal[s] to a variety of readers who like fantasy, adventure, or a strong story. – Deborah Mervold, CM Magazine
With the recent mania over the latest Harry Potter book, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ready to hit movie theatres, children's thirst for magical adventure and dangerous spells is unquenchable. What better way for them to spend their free moments this autumn than to curl up with a book of fantastic enchantment?
So what appears as if by magic? – Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers, written and illustrated by Lee Edward Födi, who has been illustrating stories about magic, monsters and meddlesome animals as long as he can remember.
For over a thousand years, the Box of Whispers has guarded the
most precious treasure in the
Födi invites readers to come join Kendra Kandlestar as she learns fine lessons about loyalty, friendship, prejudice, and the power of facing your fears.
Once I started reading Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers, I couldn't put it down! The pictures are amazing. – Dona, age 10
This book is special, because it has unusual things like the
Riddle Door and the
I love the variation of mythical and magical creatures. It's funny and full of surprises every step of the way, just like Artemis Fowl but better. – James, age 10
I love magic, so I loved Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers. It had lots of excitement and action! – Joyce, age 9
A combination of fairytale, folklore and fantasy, and written with a whimsical sense of humor and flare, Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers is peppered with all the right ingredients to please young readers.
Cooking, Food & Wine
New Vegetarian: Bold and Beautiful Recipes for Every Occasion by Celia Brooks Brown, with photography by Philip Webb (Ryland, Peters & Small)
Welcome to the new era of vegetarian cooking and eating – food for a dynamic life through a healthy diet – and food for the sheer enjoyment of it. Vegetarian cooking today includes food modeled on ancient world cuisines, as well as fusing the myriad of modern ingredients available today.
Every day, more people are deciding to eat less meat or are giving it up altogether. Cooking vegetarian can require a little more creativity than cooking with meat, but that doesn't mean it has to be complicated. New Vegetarian aims to inspire both the seasoned and the novice cook.
Written by Celia Brooks Brown, teacher-chef at Books for Cooks in
Notting Hill,
Recipes include Thai-glazed Vegetable Skewers, Piedmontese Peppers, Chestnut, Spinach and Mushroom Phyllo Torte, Parmesan Pattie, Mushroom and Onion Marmalade Tartlets, and White Chocolate Mousse Torte. New Vegetarian includes step-by-step instructions and preparation methods. The book also includes health notes, the basics, the vegetarian panty and kitchen equipment.
New Vegetarian suggests readers be brave and adventurous, but bear in mind that some immortally classic combinations, like pesto for example, are not necessarily improved by substituting, say, lemongrass and Roquefort for basil and Parmesan. The individual’s cooking style is based on who they are, and what they like to eat. Within the boundaries of tradition and sound judgment, there is room for individual expression.
Vegetarians and meat eaters alike will love the delicious recipes
in
New Vegetarian. – Top Santé
New Vegetarian is a gem: a collection of over 70 exciting, but
practical, new recipes are featured that take even the experienced
cook into new territory. – BBC Good Food
From quick weekday lunches, snacks, and suppers to sophisticated dinner parties, readers will find a feast of delicious vegetarian recipes for every occasion in New Vegetarian. The photography by Philip Webb is truly lovely, a song to food.
Cooking, Food & Wine
Williams Sonoma Rome by Williams-Sonoma (Williams-Sonoma Series: Oxmoor House)
Romans take pride in their city and their cuisine. In every corner of the capital, historic open-air markets herald the seasons with vivid displays of perfectly trimmed artichokes, plump fava bean; juicy tomatoes, bundles of wild greens, or piles of glossy brown chestnuts, all arranged for the discriminating eye. Specialty shops brim with the bounty of the surrounding countryside from fresh sheep's milk ricotta and cold-pressed olive oil to wonderful wines and cured salumi.
Trends may come and go, but the strongest influence on Roman
cooking is still its rich tradition. Hearty pastas accented with
tomato, pizzas with a crispy-thin crust, and artichokes braised to
perfection are all hallmarks of the Roman table.
Eating well has always been one of the great pleasures of Roman life. Williams Sonoma Rome is a lavishly photographed testimony to the flavors of the grand city. An in-depth introduction reveals the rich rhythms of daily living, starting with the morning's caffé e cornetto at the corner bar, continuing with a trip through the lively open-air markets, and perhaps culminating in the evening meal's leisurely parade of courses from antipasto to dolce. Inspired by both well-loved traditional dishes and the new ‘cucina creativa’ of some of Rome's most acclaimed chefs, the more than 45 recipes in this volume demonstrate the simple eloquence of contemporary Roman cuisine, including classic pastas such as Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe and Spaghetti alla Carbonara, lusty main courses like Saltimbocca alla Romana, and seasonal vegetable side dishes.
This volume brings la dolce vita home to readers’ kitchens. A
cookbook that showcases the cuisine and food artisans one of the
world's most beautiful cities,
Williams Sonoma Rome is required reading for anyone with a
passion for
The Williams-Sonoma Series presents authentic recipes celebrating
the foods of the world with general editor, Chuck Williams, general
editor of the Williams-Sonoma Series, has helped to revolutionize
cooking in
Entertainment / Biographies & Memoirs
700 Sundays by Billy Crystal (Warner Books)
In December 2004, the most successful non-musical Broadway play
of all time opened on
Billy Crystal was fifteen when his father, Jack, died of a heart attack. A dedicated family man, Jack Crystal worked two jobs most of his adult life and could spare only Sundays to spend with his wife and three sons. That's 700 Sundays total, by Billy's count.
In his memoir
… There's the story of
This autobiographical journey is sure to elicit tears and laughter from readers – 700 Sundays captures the elusive nature of family as seen through the eyes of a comic genius. 700 Sundays is not the story of Billy Crystal's great career; it is a tribute to a family and the people who helped make him a man; it celebrates the memories, the love, and all the other wonderful gifts parents can give a child.
Entertainment / Television
Blood Relations:
The television series Buffy and Angel revolve around radical
conceptions of family. Indeed, their coherence depends on the
establishment of nontraditional families that admit vampires,
demons, witches, werewolves, and other bizarre characters without
censuring them for their peculiarities.
Blood Relations argues that what makes these characters enduring
and engaging is their critical family connections – for their most
involved struggles occur not in the graveyard, but around the dinner
table, just as the most challenging adversarial forces that they
must face are not demons or vampires but the stuff of everyday life.
Jes Battis, doctoral student in the Department of English at
Through eight chapters addressing various family-related aspects within both shows, Blood Relations plots the trajectory of this unstable notion of family, even as it is transformed, remediated, and rendered unrecognizable from a ‘family values’ perspective by the unique and supernatural relationships that proliferate in Buffy and Angel.
The book concludes by saying, “Both Buffy and Angel present us with radical new models of family, just as they exhort us to appreciate and respect our own extended families – even when we don’t want to, and even when the Scoobies seem infinitely better. For as most fans of Buffy know, who you watch the show with is as important as the show itself…. Buffy and Angel are shows about family, and should be watched with family – whichever family you choose, and whichever family chooses you.” According to Blood Relations these are new constellations of belonging, beyond the scope of family studies. Here is new view to ‘maintain the family’ – family values of the most extreme sort.
Health, Mind & Body / Psychology & Counseling
Lifting Depression: The Chromium Connection by Malcolm Noell Mcleod (Basic Health)
An investigator waits an entire lifetime for results such as
these. – Jonathan R.T. Davidson, Professor of Psychiatry,
A new, safe, natural treatment with no side effects for atypical depression has been discovered by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Malcolm McLeod. As many as one-half of depressed people – an estimated 30 million in the United States alone suffer from atypical depression; a type of chronic depression with symptoms that include carbohydrate cravings and/or weight gain, lethargy, sleepiness, and sensitivity to rejection. This type of depression begins early in life and can last a lifetime unless treated. Until now, there has been no effective treatment for atypical depression that is free of unwanted side effects.
In Lifting Depression: The Chromium Connection, McLeod describes how he serendipitously discovered that chromium, a trace mineral deficient in the diets of most Americans, was more effective and faster acting in some patients than even the strongest antidepressant drugs. Although he was initially skeptical, McLeod was unable to dismiss the effects he observed in his patients who took chromium. He began to piece together hundreds of clues from insights he gained during therapy sessions; then he conducted an in-depth study of medical and scientific literature. Over time, he deduced a scientific and medical explanation for chromium's powerful, therapeutic effects.
McLeod, clinical professor of psychiatry at the
Over the past ten years, McLeod tested his theory and treatment by conducting single-blind and double-blind studies with patients who were desperate for help and wished to participate in trials. He used placebos, combined chromium with prescription medications, tried chromium alone, and tested different amounts of chromium and a variety of chromium products. His dedication to the scientific method of exploration led him to recruit independent medical researchers who conducted studies that support many of his original findings. Peer-reviewed psychiatric journals, including Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, and Biological Psychiatry, have published Dr. McLeod's ‘stunning’ discovery. In the last several years, the medical and scientific worlds have begun to accept McLeod's pioneering findings.
In Lifting Depression: The Chromium Connection, in addition to explaining why and how chromium works, McLeod details a five-step program that can help overcome depression and improve overall well-being. He also helps patients self-identify the troubling symptoms which can best be relieved by chromium picolinate supplementation.
One of the most important books in my life. A lifelong sufferer
from depression, I followed all of Dr. McLeod's suggestions and am,
for perhaps the first time in my life, feeling entirely normal. –
Elizabeth Lyon, author, editor, and national speaker
Insightful detective work! – James O. McNamara, M.D., Chair of the
Department of Neurobiology,
A dedicated and gifted psychiatrist, whose observations have
begun to shed light on an important new approach to depression. –
Robert N. Golden, M.D., Chair of the Department of Psychiatry,
Lifting Depression: The Chromium Connection is a pioneering work with revolutionary implications; it outlines the step-by-step story of a discovery has the potential to help millions of depressed people. In this fascinating and eye-opening book, McLeod weaves together his many years of work with his patients and his scientific explorations into a riveting story of his discovery of this new treatment for depression.
Health, Mind & Body / History
A Natural History of Human Emotions by Stuart Walton (Grove Press)
Why does a tribal member in
Using Charles Darwin's survey of emotions as a starting point, Stuart Walton's A Natural History of Human Emotions examines the history of each of our core emotions – he takes Darwin’s basic six and adds four more – fear, anger, disgust, sadness, jealousy, contempt, shame, embarrassment, surprise and happiness – and how these emotions have influenced both cultural and social history. We learn that primitive fear served as the engine of religious belief, while a desire for happiness led to humankind's first musings on achieving a perfect Utopia.
Challenging the notion that human emotion has remained constant, Walton, cultural historian, journalist, and a distinguished writer on food and drink, explains why in the last two hundred and fifty years, society has changed its unwritten rules for what can be expressed in public and in private. Our private lives have benefited from greater emotional honesty, while some emotions, such as anger, now seem to dominate public discourse.
I love [Walton's] work for his deftness in combining high culture
with demotic allusions. Michael Douglas, The Simpsons, and Dolly
Parton jostle Schopenhauer, Sophocles, and Adorno in his pages. –
The Times (
Boldly independent. Walton is a writer, which is more than can be
said of most authors. – The Independent
Walton is particularly, and convincingly, engrossing, an elegant
and forceful stylist. – The Guardian
…An impressive wealth of scholarship helps readers define each
emotion and understand how humans experience – and provoke – it. … A
study that will repeatedly spark shocks of self-recognition. – Bryce
Christensen, Booklist
Like An Intimate History of Humanity or Near a Thousand Tables, A Natural History of Human Emotions is a provocative examination of human feelings and a fascinating take on how emotions have shaped our past.
Health, Mind & Body / Religion & Spirituality / Christianity
The Christian's Guide to Natural Products & Remedies: 1100
Herbs, Vitamins, Supplements and More! by John Claude
Krusz, Alan
Everyone is using natural products today. Herbs and supplements are a huge business. Americans will spend over fifteen billion dollars on herbs and other supplements this year and there are more than eight hundred dietary supplement companies.
Who does not know someone using ginkgo biloba, Saint-John's-wort, ginseng, garlic, echinacea, saw palmetto, kava, grape seed extract, cranberry juice, valerian, evening primrose oil, bilberry, milk thistle, or other herbs?
Everyone uses some natural product every day, in one fashion or another. In addition, one-third of all Americans now use herbs on a more serious, routine, directed basis. Herbs and supplements are indeed big business. Yet even with the myriad of books, magazines, and Internet articles available on the subject, there seems to be a dearth of simple-to-read, easy-to-learn information. The authors report that their clients often mention ‘wonder’ herbs and other supplements they have heard about – for anxiety, athletic enhancement, bipolar disorder, cognitive enhancement, the common cold, diabetes, fibromyalgia, heart disease, high blood pressure, hepatitis, insomnia, headaches, obesity, obsessive-compulsive disorder, osteoarthritis, and PMS. But what are they not told?
Who would take a prescription drug without knowing some potential dangers and risks of side effects? We anticipate the benefits of potential medications but also want to be cognizant of possible dangers. Why should natural products deserve less scrutiny? Any substance taken into the body to produce a biological response is a drug, regardless of what one calls it or whether one needs a prescription to obtain it.
The Christian's Guide to Natural Products & Remedies is intended to simplify the facts and provide help for those wishing to reap the most benefits from herb supplements – but it gives both sides of the story. The purpose of this book is to examine what is known, what is not known, the benefits, and the dangers of natural products. It offers at least one salient benefit and usually one danger for a thousand different supplemental products. The book was written by Frank B. Minirth, doctor, author, diplomate of both the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Forensic Medicine, and president of the Minirth Clinic in Richardson, Texas; John Claude Krusz, medical doctor and board-certified neurologist; Alan Hopewell, psychologist; and Virginia Neal, psychopharmacologist.
The information in The Christian's Guide to Natural Products & Remedies is provided in a Q&A format: a question on the left side of the page with the answer on the right. Specific chapters are allotted to herbs (chaps. 14-16), vitamins (chap. 17), minerals (chap. 18), supplements (chap. 13), hormones (chap. 20), common foods (chap. 11), spices (chap. 12), amino acids (chap. 19), beverages (chap. 10), enzymes and antioxidants (chap. 20). Those who want a quick reference on a specific natural product will like chapter 22, which alphabetically lists more than a thousand natural products – readers can use this chapter as a dictionary to look up any herb or natural product about which they have a question. Chapter 9 contains information on natural products and specific diseases in alphabetical order for easy reference. Chapter 23 contains clinical questions for medical professionals. Chapter 25 deals with those products mentioned in the Bible. Chapter 8 presents the pearls, chapter 21 the dangers, and chapter 1 the most popular herbs. The references are extensive as are the appendices.
Above and beyond the detailed, practical medical information provided in this book, The Christian's Guide to Natural Products & Remedies is the first thorough Christian treatment of the use of natural products, offering a biblical apologetic. The book also offers the integrity of Minirth and collective wisdom of his associates for a thorough, Bible-informed approach to mind and body health.
Health, Mind & Body / Self-help / Relationships
Dating After 50: Negotiating the Minefields of Midlife Romance by Sharon Romm (Thorndike Press Large Print Senior Lifestyles Series: Thorndike Press)
Dating After 50: Negotiating the Minefields of Mid-Life Romance by Sharon Romm (Best Half of Life Series: Quill Driver Books)
Looking for Love? Companionship?
Dating seems scary, especially to readers who haven't dated in a long time, but it can be manageable and even fun. Author Sharon Romm, recommends thinking of it as similar to a job search – seekers should look for a good fit between their interests and requirements and the needs of their potential companion.
In Dating After 50 Romm, nationally-known therapist, shows readers:
- The quickest, safest and most efficient way to find people worth dating.
- How to arrange and survive the first meeting.
- The pleasures and problems of sex.
- How to set limits.
- Breaking up with style.
- Knowing when to call for help and where to find it.
In Dating After 50 readers get help negotiating the early months of their relationship. They find out what's reasonable to tolerate. The book includes advice on managing second families, jealousy, former spouses, rejection, money, benefits, retirement and a host of other issues common to later-life relationships.
Dating After 50 is especially for readers who: Have a history of unsuccessful dating and worry that time is running out; are recovering from the loss of a long-term relationship and want to find a new partner; equate getting older with being less desirable and wonder if they are still attractive; enjoy sex and want to continue to enjoy it after 50; worry that because of their age they will have to settle for a relationship with someone who is not physically attractive to them; are concerned that as their age increases, so does their options for meeting potential mates; and/or want to help a lonely friend or relative find love.
Romm, former editor of Medical Heritage and a widely published author, believes in her topic and audience and it shows. She says, “Being over 50 means you are starting the best part of life, and with the right advice, everyone can find love and satisfaction.” You go girl!
Health, Mind & Body / Women’s Health
Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book, 4th Edition by Susan M. Love, with Karen Lindsey, illustrated by Marcia Williams (DaCapo Lifelong)
Recent research is rapidly changing the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of breast cancer.
From America's most trusted authority in women's health comes the 4th edition of a landmark book – Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book – a map of both where we are and where we are heading in the study of the breast and its diseases, offering a view of the new research and developments that are turning breast cancer into a potentially preventable disease.
Throughout, Dr. Susan Love, Clinical Professor of Surgery at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine and Medical Director of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, together with Karen Lindsey, coauthor of all editions of Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book, emphasizes the need to change the way people think about breast cancer. According to them we must question the concept of early detection and one size fits all therapy, and focus on revolutionary new approaches that stop people from ever getting cancer in the first place. To that end, this fourth edition offers important information on:
- MRI and ultrasound tests – how well they work in comparison with mammograms.
- New surgical and non-surgical (medication and lifestyle) measures that reduce the risk of getting breast cancer.
- An intraductal approach to finding the earliest precancerous changes when they can be destroyed, thus preventing breast cancer from occurring in the first place
- New data on tests that can indicate those breast cancer patients who need chemotherapy and those who may receive no benefit from it at all.
- New and exciting data on the use of Herceptin, the first targeted therapy, in addition to chemotherapy.
- New (and more effective) hormonal approaches to premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer.
- New methods to treat tumors locally and freeze fibro adenomas.
- More localized (a.k.a. partial) radiation and highly targeted therapies.
- Metastatic disease – new therapies and new survival curves.
- New data on lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) which will change the way it's viewed and treated.
- How survivors may be able to stave off recurrence through diet and exercise.
- New information on long-term, post-treatment side effects and how to manage them.
- New approaches to fertility that help protect a survivor's ability to get pregnant.
After a breast-cancer diagnosis, most women call a specialist.
Then, to understand it all, they consult
Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book... authoritative, understandable,
reassuring. –
One of the most complete and trustworthy books ever published on
breast care. – Newsday
Like a good teacher, Dr. Love is able to impart the vast knowledge
that she has in the language of her audience...Dr. Love gets the
facts across...in a reassuring and compassionate manner. – Journal
of the American Medical Association
Information-packed...a must-have for many women. –
The best book on breasts, and the one really indispensable book for
women dealing with breast cancer, this one gets our golden globes
award.… – The WomanSource Catalog & Review
Now in a completely updated new edition, Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book, is the most trusted, most authoritative guide to breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Just as women afflicted with or worried about breast cancer have turned to the earlier editions of Love's guide for the soundest, most supportive advice, once again they will find all the help they need in this new edition. Love presents copious medical information in a simple, welcoming style, and plentiful illustrations make the information even clearer. From guidance on screening techniques and benign disease to comprehensive and heartening advice on living with breast cancer, Love's book will be a priceless help to recovery on every level, medical, practical, and psychological.
History /
Feminism, Nation and Myth: La Malinche edited by Rolando Romero & Amanda Nolacea Harris (Arte Público Press)
Feminism, Nation and Myth explores the scholarship of La
Malinche, the indigenous woman who is said to have led Cortés and
his troops to the Aztec city of
Contributors include such noteworthy scholars as Alfred Arteaga, Antonia I. Castaneda, Debra A. Castillo, Alicia Gaspar de Alba, Deena J. Gonzalez, Maria Herrera Sobek, Guisela Latorre, Luis Leal, Sandra Messinger Cypess, Franco Mondini-Ruiz, Amanda Nolacea Harris, Rolando J. Romero, Tere Romo and filmmaker Dan Banda. The academic essays themselves are complemented by the creative work of Alicia Gaspar de Alba and Jose Emilio Pacheco, both of whom evoke the figure of La Malinche in their work. The volume includes the following essays:
- La Malinche and Post-Movement Feminism
- Post Scriptum and Self-Critique
- Malinchista, A Myth Revised
- Malinche Triangulated, Historically Speaking
- ‘Mother’ Malinche and Allegories of Gender, Ethnicity and
National Identity in
- Foundational Motherhood: Malinche/Guadalupe in Contemporary Mexican and Chicana/Chicano Culture
- Malinche's Revenge
- Aesthetics of Sex and Race
- Coagulated Words: Gaspar de Alba's Malinche
- Malinche, Calafia y Toypurina: Of Myths, Monsters and Embodied History
- Agustín Victor Casasola's Soldaderas:
Malinchismo and the Chicana/o Artist
- In Search of la Malinche: Pictorial Representations of a Mytho-Historical Figure
- The Malinche-Llorona Dichotomy: The Evolution of a Myth
- La Malinche as Metaphor
- Malinche Makeover: One Gay Latino's Perspective
- Living in Tongues
The examination of the figure of La Malinche forces us to address sexism and racism simultaneously thus making us look beyond denouncing the dominant culture and to see how we have constructed ourselves. – Amanda Nolacea Harris
La Malinche is a kind of monster, a whorish traitoress, betrayer of the Aztecs – she sleeps with the enemy – and she is us. Feminism, Nation and Myth explores these ideas and what they mean in the Mexican oral tradition and about colonial patterns.
History / Encyclopedias / Reference
Encyclopedia Idiotica: History's Worst Decisions and the People Who Made Them by Nicholas Weir (Barron’s)
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. – George Santayana
The 64 A.D. burning of Rome during the reign of Nero . . . Winston Churchill's ill-conceived and disastrous World War I plan to invade Turkey at Gallipoli . . . the Maginot Line, built in France in 1929-34 in a foolhardy effort to prevent the feared German invasion . . . the 1950s thalidomide pharmaceutical disaster that resulted in at least 20,000 babies born with deformities . . . the 1989-91 misappropriation of company funds by publishing executive Robert Maxwell, and the collapse of his financial empire . . . the Enron scandal of 2000 that brought down a yet larger business empire.
Mankind’s past is strewn with mistakes, colossal blunders driven
by virtue as often as by vice. We alternately despise and empathize
with the ill-fated figures and organizations while their cautionary
tales compel us to reflect on our own choices for better or for
worse.
Stephen Weir, book publisher and author, former director of
Northwestern University Press, presents in
Encyclopedia Idiotica a selection of approximately 50 disastrous
decisions, each account summarized in a report of roughly a
half-dozen pages and enhanced with sidebars and thumbnail-sized,
cartoon-style illustrations. Each account opens with its cast of
characters, then sets the story's background before reporting the
grim details and concluding with the unhappy moral.
Encyclopedia Idiotica is a historian’s look at stories of
corporate chicanery, poor military decisions, engineering disasters,
diplomatic blunders, and other appalling, large-scale mistakes that
resulted in ruin and misery for countless innocent bystanders. Here
are baleful tales motivated by false hope, anger, greed, pride,
lust, and many other instances of erratic human behavior. The book
includes examples of the ‘seven deadly sins’ as well as the
‘cardinal virtues’ impelling people to folly. From Adam and Eve
deciding to go for the apple, through those Asian governments who
decided that tsunamis just weren’t worth the extra expense of early
warning sensors, to Gerald Ratner who destroyed his own company in
ten seconds, the book introduces readers to history’s famous and
more obscure idiots.
Weir’s chronicle introduces readers to the people and the
motivations behind the most detrimental of dreadful decisions. Here
is a page-turner of a book that recounts some of history's most
dramatic – but also catastrophic – moments.
Encyclopedia Idiotica, eccentric and insightful, is an
engrossing and enlightening collection, lest we forget.
History /
The Heimat Abroad: The Boundaries of Germanness edited by Krista
O'Donnell, Renate Bridenthal & Nancy Reagin
(Social History, Popular Culture, and Politics in
Germans have been one of the most mobile and dispersed populations on earth.
Communities of German speakers, scattered around the globe, have
long believed that they could recreate their Heimat (homeland)
wherever they moved and that their enclaves could remain truly
German. Indeed, the roots of German language and culture developed
over a wide sweep of Central and
The history of
If the Heimat preserved Germanness through symbols of domesticity, institutional frameworks linking overseas Germans to the metropole were equally important. The success of the German emigrants, in turn, became a justification for further expansion, even if at times unwittingly so on the part of overseas Germans
The chapters in The Heimat Abroad document the dispersal and settlement of ethnic Germans across cultures that span the globe. The editors of this volume are Krista O'Donnell, Associate Professor of History, William Paterson University; Renate Bridenthal, Emerita Professor of History, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York; and Nancy Reagin, Professor of History, Pace University. According to O’Donnell, Bridenthal and Reagin, Elliot Barkin’s six-stage model of assimilation discusses phases of contact, acculturation, adaptation, accommodation, integration, and finally full assimilation into a majority or host culture, and the nuanced transformations allowed by this analysis well suit the population discussed The Heimat Abroad.
Before 1871, late by other nations' standards, there was no central German nation of which to speak. Over the past several centuries, ethnic identity rather than citizenship preeminently defined who was German. This accounts in part for the peculiarity of the German diaspora. The shifting German nation-states confronted a complex web of diverse claimants to German ethnicity outside their borders rather than a coherent imagined national community of Germans. Although Brubaker typifies this historical evolution of Germanness, perhaps too simplistically and teleologically, as "an organic cultural, linguistic, or racial community as an irreducibly particular Volksgemeinschaft," his work has merit in recognizing the singularities in the evolution of German citizenship defined through genealogical descent and the broader ethnocultural basis of Germanness. Editors O’Donnell, Bridenthal and Reagin ascribe to a model of German identity that traces the competing racial and cultural criteria delimiting ‘Germanness’ within a web of many strains of nationalism in German history. They argue that successive German states have pursued citizenship and ethnic policies in response to their concerns at the time and, excepting the Hitler dictatorship, generally have been susceptible to the pressures of domestic and international lobbies.
Myriad recent historical writings have demonstrated the complex, dynamic, and ever-changing tenor of German national identity: the ongoing significance of gender, locality, particular interest groups, successive German nation-states, and social classes in enshrining and preserving the competing and overlapping versions of German identity. However, these writings on German nationalism, especially where they privilege local or regional powers and affiliations (Heimat), overlook to a great extent how even local identities extended over the globe and existed within the context of the diaspora, as Lekan's chapter in The Heimat Abroad on the Eifel region's homeland societies elaborates. German speakers within and outside strict political borders often identified themselves and were recognized as Germans and emigre populations contributed centrally to the formation of German national identity.
Thus,
The Heimat Abroad challenges the nation-state as the basis of
German nationalism. Overall, the history of
Part 1 of
The Heimat Abroad – The Legal and Ideological Context of
Diasporic Nationalism – takes up the vexed question of claimants to
German citizenship and state policies toward diasporic communities.
Each chapter in turn traces how the existence of the diaspora
disrupted debates over citizenship law and established the legal
context for constant exchange, due to the still extant legal right
of return for extraterritorial Germans. Howard Sargent reviews
German citizenship law td1914, highlighting the disputed 1913
revision to Imperial citizenship policies and evaluating the impact
of recent revisions in German naturalization policies in light of
this history. O'Donnell then carries the debate forward by
considering the tangled claims to German citizenship presented by
miscegenation in the overseas colonies before 1914. Norbert Gotz
continues the discussion of German citizenship policies through the
Part 2 – Bonds of Trade and Culture – offers four case studies of
diasporic ties between
These chapters detail the complex local accounts of overseas Germans' articulations of ethnic identity through their evolving ideologies and lived experiences. Each author amplifies now various diasporic communities confronted the politics and demands of their host countries and suggests how and why diasporic networks proved advantageous both economically and culturally in some contexts but not in others.
Part 3 of
The Heimat Abroad – Islands of Germanness – turns to the special
circumstances of German settlements in Central and
The enduring cultural tropes that form the basis for German
ethnic and national identity make the history of the German diaspora
influential within the current German debate over immigration. In
the past,
Historian Klaus Bade has noted the difficulty with which
inclusiveness of American society as a model for integration. As Sargent's chapter indicates, sweeping changes in German citizenship and naturalization laws, although limited in scope, nonetheless are resulting in new claimants to citizenship, whose presence undoubtedly will transform German national