Events Books

This remarkably scholarly book by Colson combines both his profound knowledge of Christian ideals with a well-versed political understanding garnered from his years in the problematic Nixon administration. Colson's own experience in government and his rather unlikely conversion to Christianity gives the book credence even to those who may not fully agree with his arguments. Colson judiciously inserts historical fact amidst modern day arguments, and my husband said of the book, "Every time I think, `I'd like to hear that backed up' he provides exactly that in the very next paragraph."

Colson's wide range of sources make him a pleasure to read. He cites works ranging from Cicero to Nietzsche, C.S. Lewis to Augustine. He quotes from Supreme Court decisions and references the Bible. Each chapter is heavy with both footnotes and endnotes, and Colson also provides a list "For Further Reading." This is a great read, perfect for academics and the casual reader alike.

Although not strictly a scholarly work, Colson draws enormous breadth and integrity of expertise into this epochal exposition of the relationship of church to state.

I must confess that it took me 20 years to pick up this book, and that only on a whim. I had no desire to read Colson, having little belief in the value of celebrity or notoriety in lending value to a man's words. Though not a hater of things American, I am not starry-eyed about American mentality, especially when it comes to politics, and rather turned off by the way Americans (and others) confuse the domains of religion and politics, not just on the political right but at all points of the political spectrum. That Colson had been a special advisor to Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal had pretty well put him off my radar.

I could not have been more wrong about him.

This book is the first I have read in which a comprehensive exposition of an appropriate relationship of church to state is laid out. Colson cannot be accused of confusing the two domains, yet he is clear about the valuable relationship between personal, and collective, faith, and public domain politics. A man highly qualified to speak about both, and his education in the school of hard knocks has paid off in spades. Though some reviewers appear to regard the book as a vilification of the religious and political right this is quite unfair -- Colson is balanced in both domains and his writing reveals little pandering to partisan interests. He could equally address a Republican Convention, or a Democrat one, or stand aside and offer telling criticism of both parties. The same balance is evident in his theological writing. I am reminded of the angel leading an army whom Joshua met and asked, "Are you with us or with our enemies?" The angel replied "Neither. I am for the Lord".

As for the book itself, it has an engaging style. The chapters are short, mostly in the form of parables. The first is an account of a fictional American president whose religious zealotry leads the world to the brink of war, a cautionary tale. Other chapters are straight retelling or dramatizations of the lives of men and women who held in their hands the keys to major world events of the 20th Century, retelling in gripping form the rise of the Third Reich, the behavior of the Church in Germany, the weak response of Chamberlaine, slippery dealings in the hallowed halls of American government, murder, redemption and forgiveness in the Phillipines and Northern Ireland, and much more.

The weakest point is a short digression into science and cosmology early in the book, a subject Colson would probably to best to leave untouched in his writing. It's the only blemish I can find on what is otherwise a masterwork.

Although written to the current state of the world 20 years ago, prior to the Fall of the Soviet Union, the Tienamen Square massacre and the First Gulf War, and the rise of globalized Jihadism in its current form, the book is strikingly current and insightful. Perhaps it is because the context of his writing is merely context---he does not write for it, but he draws on that background to write timeless wisdom.

I highly recommend the book not only to Christians but to anyone interested in answers to the unsolvable political and religious conundrums in the world. Although Colson offers few answers beyond Christ, it is perhaps enough to note that the answers he does offer are rock solid, and his book is more of an arrow in a direction than an 'X' marking the spot where treasure is buried.

When reading this book back in 1989, one had to assume Colson was thinking of Pat Robertson's run for the White House when he wrote this book. Eleven years later the American people elected a born-again Christian as President in George W Bush. Some of the things Colson warned about have now come to pass.

Although the events of 9/11 were out of the President's control and demanded action, there is little doubt that his Faith has shaped his view of world events.

"Kingdoms in Conflict" is a warning that God's Kingdom is not of this world and it cannot be forged through politics or war. Man's kingdoms and God's Kingdom are in conflict.

Colson's time in the Nixon White House and his born-again experience has allowed him to see the dangers of using politics to advance a religious belief. This book is more relevant today than it was in 1989.

Like Colson's other books, Kingdoms in Conflict challenges you to think deeply about what and why you believe.

The title focuses on the precarious balance Christians experience between heavy involvement and no involvement in politics. Colson's thesis seems to be that Christians need to maintain a balance - being in the world while not being of the world and Christians must be a light to the world and salt of the earth.

Colson uses the examples of Christian involvement (and lack of) in resisting Hitler, Marcos, and other brutal figures in history to illustrate the importance of Christians being involved in the political process without being consumed by the power that goes with politics.

Read and be encouraged to be rightly involved in politics while remembering that ultimately we are citizens of another kingdom to come that will last forever!

Colson takes a topic that has been discussed by Christians ever since the disciples questioned Jesus about it when He was in Galilee with them, i.e., the role of God's kingdom and that of man's. Colson contends that the kingdom of God is within a person. It is not an external means of control exercised by political power. In the Epilogue he cites Winston Churchill's last words, "there is no hope." But Colson counters that statement by explaining that spiritual things are not based on the circumstances of this present world.
On the other side of the coin, however, Colson presents specific examples throughout history where Christian have actively been involved in politics and government because of their belief in the eternal, unseen kingdom of God within. Having an awareness of things eternal, while contributing in this life is the balance he is seeking to describe.

I bought this book as a step in investigating fires and arson steps of investigation in writing a novel. It does have a lot of good information, but it's very generalized--not specific. Good for the amateur fire sleuth that wants to get enought information to be able to 'talk the language.'

The best fire investigation reference book on the market today. Thanks John.
Mark Howell
AIC-Fire
Denton, Texas

If you are a fire cause and origin investigator, you need this book! If you don't use it, you can bet an attorney will use it against you in civil or criminal proceedings. This book should be right next to your NFPA 921. DeHahn writes in a pragmatic and easy to understand format. I understand that the 6th ed. is getting ready for relase so you might wait a couple of weeks and get the latest. Bravo Dr. DeHaan, you've done it again!

The best book I know about fire; I like it for the strict scientific and pragmatic approach and the lot of practical hints, useful for a fire operator but also for a fire student.
Reading it, I understood a lot of things I watched in my 20 years of firefighting, and it changed my perception of fire behaviour and my understanding of a post-fire scene analysis.
A great help, and this edition is a lot better than the previous I had, the 3°.

Written in an understandable, practical manner, this book makes a difficult subject comprehensible by even the unscientifically minded.
The author writes clearly and the book is very readable. The text is accompanied by great photographs & illustrations.
What a relief to find this book after attempting to plow through some of the other texts on this subject. Highly recommended!

The four published reviews of this book are rather biased and show that the reviewers did not internalize what the author wrote. They stand in stark contrast to the 7 personal reviews. I couldn't put this book down. In a very personal way the author and his real experiences embody the reality of the co-existence, or lack thereof, in judea and samaria today. Stangely enough, shortly after a friend insisted I read this book I have shared tea with Era in his home and with his neighbors in Turmis Aya that he descibes in the book and to independently hear them tell the same stories he tells in the book.
This book should be required reading for anyone that wants to offer an opinion about the future of Samaria.

Era Rapaport effectively communicates the highs and lowes of being a settler in the land of Israel today. He is a modern day Zionist who gave up a life of comfort to face ridicule, persecution and imprisonment to stay true to his faith in the resettlement of Eretz Israel. I highly recommend this book to all who love Zion and believe in the restoration of Israel.

This book takes what has become a controvertial impersonal topic and turns it into a tale of the human spirit. Era was an the average American. He had the normal life, but he choose to follow the path G-d choose for him. His acts of desperation would be called terrorism by the media, but it is only after reading this book that one understands he was an everday guy defending his family. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in gaining a true first hand perspective of life in the West Bank.

Mr. Rapaport's book is one of the few honest accounts of life in Israel today. Unlike reporters who have very little understanding of the complexities of life in Israel, Mr. Rapaport lives in the heart of Israel, and has a great understanding of the problems his country encounters daily. You can't go wrong reading this book.

this book is intriging. it makes you wonder about the other side of the media. letters from tel mond prison is a book written by a man who lives his life with such pupose, meaning and honesty you wonder some times who you feel bad for - the "terrorist" or the "victim"

Learning to live past the death of a child is the hardest moment in ones life. This book helped us! Read it and let it help you! This book is good for ANY Crisis not just the death of a loved one. Any life crisis is covered. Read it and get better!

When my mother faced a battle with cancer over 20 years ago, she sent me this book to comfort me when the inevitable time came. What wisdom. I've given away so many copies to grieving friends that I can't keep my own. I've been told by many of them that it helped them so much that they too gave copies to others. Just knowing you're not alone in your feelings of grief, and that there are ways to work through it, provide such comfort and hope. Buy it now for when you need it later.

This book is great for both people who are experiencing loss (it could be losing your house in a tornado) and for people who want to know how to be a friend to those who are grieving.

I keep giving my copy away and ordering more. This is not a "take a warm bubble bath and it'll be all better" book. The book makes several important points; you go through a whole range of emotions, it takes at a long time, you should take it easy on yourself, not expect too much of yourself, and you shouldn't make any life-changing decisions for at least a year.

But even more significant is that the book gives you permission to grieve in your own way and time -- there is no right or wrong way to grieve. This should also be required reading for well-meaning friends and family and co-workers and the book gives them permission to be tolerant and understanding of the person who is grieving.

It is a quick read, liberally sprinkled with case histories and examples.

I have a slightly older addition, which is why I'm not giving this book five stars. Some of the references are a little out of date.

Overall, this is a really useful book. Dr. Stearns clearly understands the grieving process. She provides a balanced exploration of what happens to to people during times of crisis, and helps readers to cope. I say balanced in that this isn't a typical 'self-help' book, lacking in depth, yet it isn't an overly technical, dry psychology book. The case histories and the overall writing style make the book very read friendly. Her arguments make sense and are backed up by good research. Readers who've read other work on the subject of grief, death, loss, crisis, etc., will find they may be familiar with some of the ideas already, but the presentation is fresh enough to keep this from being a big drawback. If you've gone through a major loss, or if you are personally or professionally trying to support someone who has, this is a great book to pick up.

I came across this book when I divorced. It not only helped me understand and accept the process of grieving, it helped me through other times in my life when personal crisis led me to heavy grief. I have bought it and given it to friends who also have been grieving for one reason or another. This easy to read book is surely a difinitive guide for those searching to heal.

Lockdown Madness written by Jim Daly has to be one of the most informative and intriguing books that I have ever read on what it is like in the jails across America. Jim Daly has written a no holds barred book about actual events that he has witness as a jailer. The stories that Jim Daly relates in Lockdown Madness are shocking, reveling and exciting. Some of the stories will make you laugh and others will make you realize just how mean and cruel some people really are. This book will enlighten you as to what happens in the life of jailer, as they have to deal with some of the most vile, rudest, and worst people that society has to offer. I have visited some on death row, in medium and minimum-security prisons and in jails across Oklahoma and I can attest to the truthfulness of the events in this book as I have witnessed some of what Jim Daly talks about. Lockdown Madness will help you realize just how fortunate we are to have people like Jim Daly who sacrifice so much to keep society safe from all kinds of offenders. Lockdown Madness is truly an eye-opener and a book that I highly recommend that you put on your must read list.

Tom Ward, author
The Enemy Within and
Outposts of Hell or Portals to Heaven.

This is an extraordinary Book! I spent years being the wife to an inmate and heard of stories from my husband like those of this author. To hear the side of the jailer is an extreme eye-opener and demands respect to those who live there lives with the sickest of all human beings! The Author is very truthful and open as he takes you threw years of his life. I found myself laughing out loud, and other times holding my breath! I read 75% of the book the first time i opened it! it's a book you will want to read till you finish. This book will be read more then once by me. Wonderful Job Author,looking forward to your next book!

Lockdown Madness is an absolute thriller. His experiences working as an Corrections Officer will surely grip any readers attention. Throughout his book he dealt with some of the most dangerous ruthless criminals incarcerated in the corrections facilities. One mistake with these folks meant certain injury or death for the corrections officer.The book is very informative on Correction policy and guidelines. Action packed and a great thriller for all readers who like Law Enforcement stories.~Dale Ford, Author,"Inconceivable Danger"; Chief of Southern Corrections Prison, Retired Narcotics Police Investigator, Vietnam Veteran

AWESOME, eye-opener. Never gave jail a thought, it was a place to lock up the bad guys. You feel you are right there and you have insight of what goes on IN THE CELL.Humorous too. Great book and I am looking forward to his NEXT book!

Jail is no fun place to be. but you have to give respect to those willing to protect us from the bad guy's being a former jail deputy i can say that this book is dead on the money. the author did a excellent job.

I picked this book up by chance, while browsing my local library. I found this book to be highly informative and interesting. I am very uneducated regarding the cold war and I know little about the history of any countries besides the United States.

This book paints a distinct and painful picture of life on the run.

What I never realized was just how many refugees there are. All over the world people are forced to give up everything they know, everything they have worked for, everything they have grown accustomed to. That is unless all of there possessions are destroyed before they can willingly leaving them behind.

This book shows how any major change in thinking or political structure can affect millions and millions of people.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in human beings.

... as we are sometimes so fortunate
to stumble upon. Handily makes you stop, think,
reevaluate self and everything around you.
Only criticism: too short.
I want more.

Simply stated, I was profoundly affected by this book and will never look at the world the same way again.

Everyone should read it, maybe the Earth would become a better place.

If I made a list of books everyone should read, this one would right now be number one. Everything that has happened in the last 10,11 years since the breakup of the Soviet Union, is in here- East Germany, Liberia, Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia- each story told in the context of the lives of one or a few people, which makes these stories so vivid and real. You'll remember the newspaper headlines, and the stories, but in this book it's like you are experiencing it all for the first time, and personally. Fritz is a terrific writer, I promise you won't be bored. Finally it has very special meaning for Americans. Fritz keeps referring to us a s "the world's only superpower", a concept that hasn't really sunk in for most of us, or most of our "leaders" either. So we really need to do a lot of heavy thinking about what we do, how we act, in fulfilling this historicaly unique role. Buy it!

Fritz' repertorial skill and novelistic approach make a less-than-palatable subject read like a gripping detective novel.

His eye for detail and empathy with the people - and the voices - of those tortured souls literally "Lost On Earth" make this book an invaluable document for our fragmented times.

I loved this book! I found it because I am doing a research paper for Sociology on interracial relationships. I am in an interracial realtionship myself so I am interested in finding out more inormation about experiences I may have to go through. I am Mexican and my boyfriend is black. Although Gail is white I still feel that I can strongly relate to her because I don't know if my father will accept my relationship. It felt really good to have someone who knew exactly how I felt and what I was thinking. THere were a few times where I had tears and where I was overjoyed for Gail and Mark. I recommend it to anyone who is in an interracial relationship.

This is one of my favorite books. I actually met the authors during their promotion of this book and I have a signed copy. This story is so moving, only those of us in interracial relationships and marriages truly understand the struggles and obstacles this couple faced and how they triumphed. This book helped make me strong and face all of those obstacles that I was afraid of. My marriage is a strong one, it has lasted 12 years! Gail wrote a very touching statement in her signing of my copy of this book: "Celebrate the love you share". I have never forgotten to do exactly that!

This book was simply outstanding. I waited nearly a month for it and it was worth it. It answered every single question I've ever had about interracial relationships and it helped me find ways to approach others' fears and misinformation in regards to interracial relationships. I came away much more knowledgeable--not just about how human beings interact with one another, but also about the spirit of human beings.

The best part about this book is the way it reads--the story moves fast, the writing is smooth, and many times I found myself almost forgetting that this was actually non-fiction...it was almost as good as a romance novel. And wonderfully, it's all true! I highly recommend this book.

I just so happen to pick this gem up at a library book sale. I never heard of the book, nor the author but it's title alone intrigued me, since I myself has been involved in an interracial relationship for the past 5 years (and counting :-)
This was a very moving as well as an enlightening book. I definitely recommend this for anyone pursuing an interracial relationship or even considering one. Actually I recommend this book to everyone, after all we are all of one race, and that race is called humanity.

The story of a white lady who marries a black South African immigrant, this story is a very genuine, heartfelt account of two people from two different cultures who cross the race line and despite all the odds against them, have a very loving and successful marriage. Everyday trials are emphasised as well as the cultural problems, "going public", reactions from black women, and so on. Each chapter has two parts: Gail's point of view and Mark's point of view. It is a very interesting book not only for mixed-ethnicity marriages, but for everyone else as well. Highly recommended.

I highly recommend NGNM as a starting-point for anyone with an interest in philosophical anarchism. It's an anthology of writings from the major figures that provides not only an introduction to the foundational concepts but some sense of the different themes within anarchism as well. Well done!

Let me first say that Paul Sharkey deserves a lot of credit for a wonderful job on the translation of this work. Beautifuly done, it is a major boost for the book. But in no way should it diminish the wonderful selections brought together by Guerin as well as the writers themselves. Although it can be very heavy reading at times, it is well worth it.

Both volumes of "No Gods No Masters" are a magnificent contribution to anarchist thought and its ongoing traditions of libertarian justice and fraternity.Daniel Guerin states that "the constructive ideas of anarchism retain their vitality, that they may, when re-examined and sifted, assist contemporary socialist thought to undertake a new departure...[and] contribute to enriching Marxism."

In "No Gods No Masters" Guerin is concerned not only with anarchist thought but also with the spontaneous actions of popular revolutionary struggle. He is concerned with social as well as intellectual creativity. He attempts to draw from constructive social achievements of the past, lessons that will enrich the theory of social liberation.

One of the better books on Anarchism available for those who truly wish to understand the world and who wish to act constructively to change it for the better. Essential reading for any advocate of direct action for social change.

For those who wish not only to understand the world, but also to change it, this is the proper way to study the history of anarchism.

No Gods No Masters is a work of monumental proportions. Daniel Guerin has created a masterpiece of libertarian socialist literature, a truly comprehensive look the history and practice of anarchism. The work brings together hundreds of source articles and declarations, from the original documents of the International Working Men's Association, on through Kropotkin, to Malatesta to the intricacies of the Spanish Revolution. There is an excellent balance of theoretical manifestos and documents and reports and interpretations of actual revolutionary events. This is a prime source for information on some of this centuries most important events, from the point of view of the participants.

I was quite satisfied with the huge amount of excellent information in these two books, so much so that I think there should be more. Although he covers the most important aspects of anarchist history an practice, Guerin leaves a few things out, while focusing too much on other things (Proudhon for example.)

Overall, though, it is an excellent read, and an inspiring and useful addition to the long list of anarchist literature. No God's No Masters is not so much an introduction to anarchism, or an argument for it, it's more of an enlightening look at anarchism throughout history. Definately recommended!

These books are difficult, sometimes torturous to read, at least as I read them, straight through, from front to back. However there is certainly a fair amount of good stuff in here.
In book one, Bakunin describes how the capacity of human beings for intellectual growth is severely stunted by the subordination of the worker to wage slavery, religious and nationalistic dogma, etc.
The Bakunin section includes an excerpt from a biography of the latter written by his disciple Max Nettlau, dealing especially with the Marx-Bakunin war. Marx and Engels, those well-meaning arrogant eccentrics, called a meeting of the executive council of the First International in 1870 in London. With their own flunkies being the minority of members present, they voted to give themselves dictatorial power over the International. A Russian flunky had been whispering into Marx's ear that Bakunin was an agent of the Czar and that Bakunin had intended to defraud Marx because of Bakunin's apparent inability to progress on producing the Russian translation of Das Kapital which Marx had paid him to do. Marx and Engels launched a campaign of defamation against Bakunin and his supporters within the International and had them expelled but a virulent backlash by 90 percent of the membership of the International foiled their plans. But the First International was dead.
Bakunin noted that the true freedom of the individual would be even more repressed than under capitalism under the vaguely defined State Socialism that Marx and his followers envisioned as necessary to transition to rule after the overthrow of capitalism. Giving complete power over society to a small group of people would corrupt those people, no matter how originally well intentioned they might be. Kropotkin and others are included in this book, like Bakunin giving pre-1917 warnings on the extreme dangers of authoritarian state socialism.

The issue is brought up as to what were Marx's true intentions in his embrace of the commune in Paris which briefly held power in 1871 before being crushed with a massacre of about 30,000 people. Since that institution was based on political democracy, it seemed to contradict Marx's own vauge notions about political dictatorship. However, Marx and Engels seemed to quickly disavow the Commune. The kindest guess on my part would be that they convinced themselves that it was an aberration not ever again possible as a governing institution for societies to transition to real Socialism.

Bakunin's disciple James Guillame is the first author in these books to suggest some specific operations of how an anarchist society might work. He argues for a central agency which will operate transparently, providing economic data to the public freely, etc. and which will collate such data and assign exchange values in trade between communes. Any administrative official, such as those who would work this agency, could immediately be fired by popular vote. Another author, Emile Henry, the French assassin of the dark age of anarchism (late 19th century) has a letter quoted here declaring that since there will be no waste production under anarchism like there is under capitalism, people will only have to work a few hours a day.

The Bolsheviks rode themselves to power on the principle of libertarian socialism: freely formed agricultural collectives and worker's councils controlling workplaces. But under the pretext of the Civil War, they crushed the independence of those institutions. The biography of Nestor Makhno, the leader of the anarchist movement in the Ukraine is extensively excerpted by Guerin. A vibrant libertarian socialist society of guerillas and peasants developed in the Ukraine but the Bolsheviks attempted to undermine Makhno's army fighting the Austro-German occupiers and White Armies. They cut off military supplies and then provoked Makhno's army into warfare by declaring that they considered all independent political activity as treasonous. By 1921, the foreign imperialists had been expelled from Russian soil and the White Army crushed but a totalitarian dictatorship remained. Sincere revolutionaries languished in Bolshevik prisons, guilty of nothing more than disagreeing even slightly with the divine wisdom of Lenin, Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev, etc. Gaston Laval's account of his attempt to negotiate with Lenin and Trotsky on the release of anarchist political prisoners, I found to be the best piece of writing in these two books.

With meager food rations being distributed to those highest in the party and the citizens descending into even deeper squalor than before, general strikes broke out in Petrograd. The sailors, soldiers and civilians of the Kronstadt naval base arose in rebellion and set up their own libertarian society but Trotsky started screaming that the rebellion was being financed by French Intelligence and led by Czarist generals, of which, of course, no evidence existed. Then the rebellion was crushed in a mass slaughter. An excerpt from Emma Goldman's memoir and selections of discourses from the principal newspaper of the rebellion are the principal documents shown.

Reports from 1936-early 1937 are provided from different persons, including a dry analysis from Gaston Leval, describing the creation of anarchist societies in large parts of Spain. Peasants and workers organized themselves in many areas into communes which chose coordinating agencies to organize distribution of resources. These operations apparently were fairly successful, given that they operated in the midst of Franco's army and hostility from the Republican government and the Stalinists. The latter of course, eventually launched a successful bloody campaign to exterminate anarchist institutions in Spain. Guerin includes a rather lengthy section on the romantic career of the guerilla leader Benaventura Durruti, including a 1937 account about him, after he died, from Emma Goldman. Of course, the anarchist trade union, the CNT decided in late 1936 to accept cabinet seats in the Spanish Republican government. Guerin covers the intense controversy about whether this compromise of the joining was necessary.

I understand that these two books have now been made into one, in a new edition put out by AK Press.

The book is pretty similar to the 2006 and 2007 editions. The author provides some pretty solid refutation of the most common liberal arguments. But it is nowhere near as in depth and comprehensive as Gregg Jackson's "Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies." Smith's answers are more tongue and cheek than Jackson's more thoroughly researched and documented responses. It's not a bad read though.

As always, The Official Handbook of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy undeniably lives up to its title. Now in an updated 2008 Presidential Election Edition, The Official Handbook of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy remains a solid block of strategies for debating with the extreme liberal left. Chapters attack and destroy the arguments supporting such left-wing causes as amnesty for illegal immigrants, giving constitutional rights to terrorism suspects, hysteria over global warming, unilaterally giving up in Iraq, using the Fairness Doctrine to censor conservative talk radio, "inside job" 9/11 conspiracy theories, same-sex marriage, and more. Liberals will also want to read The Official Handbook of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, the better to understand and anticipate the counter-arguments that are coming, and moderates are sure to chuckle at Smith's tongue-in-cheek take on the issues regardless of personal political preference! "...welfare hurts the exact people it is meant to help. By paying people to remain unemployed and giving extra subsidies to non-working parents who had additional children, between the 1960s and the 1990s welfare policies perpetuated poverty by removing the incentive to work while adding to exploding rates of illegitimacy. Since Congress approved comprehensive welfare reform in 1996, however, we've seen dramatic improvements in child poverty and illegitimacy rates. What a surprise - when the government stops paying people to be unemployed and to have kids out of wedlock, people find more jobs and have less out-of-wedlock children. Who could have predicted that?"

Have you ever had an epiphany and realized it was about how nasty the Democratic party is???? Well, this book will bring that realization to the front of your cranium, and give you a lot to think about!!! GET IT NOW!!!!

A quick and fun read for anyone who is sick and tried of the baseless attacks from the vast left wing conspiracy. It provides clear cut answers to virtually all of the accusations of liberals. In the past I chose to not debate most of the topics in the book. Now I do not shy away from a discussion. It provides you with enough amunition to make a liberal stammer and stutter.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is full of great reference material. In addition, the back of the book has lists of conservative books and web sites.

If you are wondering why the Black woman in your section of your company doesn't seem to want to socialize with you or seems guarded around her White co-workers or why the White women in your organization get all riled up about sexism but are silent when it comes to racism this is the book for you. I recommend this book along with Divided Sisters for those who really want Black and White women to unite in the workplace. These two tomes will give you more than a clue. They'll give you guidelines as how to build a truly "diverse" workplace where everyone is welcomed AS THEY ARE and not as stereotypes others want them to play out. If you are a Black woman, you'll understand why you see your work status merely as a "job" and not as a career and why you feel so much like an outsider looking in at your organization.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that I wanted more in-depth analysis of how the White female managers confronted the idea of Black women as equals (and not just on the job), something I've experienced that White women have a difficult time doing in the workplace.

This book is a must for anyone who is interested in the career paths of women in the corporate world. That would include spouses of, grown children of, and parents of women. It is based upon Harvard research including in-depth case studies of both white and black women from childhood to the present day, career journeys one will find fascinating. When the reader returns to his/her workplace after completing this book, diversity will take on a more significant meaning. This book is also a useful tool in college career development classes. Rather than a dull read, it keeps the reader coming back for more.

GOOD BOOK. BUT I HAVE NEVER HAD AN INTERRACIAL FRIENDSHIP WITH A WHITE AMERICAN WOMAN. MY FRIENDS WERE EITHER EUROPEAN, ASIAN, AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN, SOUTH AMERICAN, OR BLACK. IM NOT EVEN INTERESTED IN CLOSING THE GAP WE'VE HAD BETWEEN EACH OTHER SINCE SLAVERY. AND EVEN IF WHITE WOMEN AND BLACK WOMEN ARE FRIENDS IN CORPORATE AMERICA, BLACK WOMEN STILL GET PAID LESS. ITS UNFAIR AND I DONT WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH SOMEONE WHO THINKS THE WORD WOMAN, FEMININE, OR LADY MEANS WHITE.

If you are wondering why the Black woman in your section of your company doesn't seem to want to socialize with you or seems guarded around her White co-workers or why the White women in your organization get all riled up about sexism but are silent when it comes to racism this is the book for you. I recommend this book along with Divided Sisters for those who really want Black and White women to unite in the workplace. These two tomes will give you more than a clue. They'll give you guidelines as how to build a truly "diverse" workplace where everyone is welcomed AS THEY ARE and not as stereotypes others want them to play out. If you are a Black woman, you'll understand why you see your work status merely as a "job" and not as a career and why you feel so much like an outsider looking in at your organization.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that I wanted more in-depth analysis of how the White female managers confronted the idea of Black women as equals (and not just on the job), something I've experienced that White women have a difficult time doing in the workplace.

Bell and Nkomo dive straight to the heart of the matter. They base their findings on comprehensive personal interviews of African-American and white women working as managers or executives. Ultimately, the authors hit the reader over the head with the obvious: People from strikingly different backgrounds bring profound personal differences to the workplace. Too often, organizations stupidly attempt homogenizing everyone into minor variations on the existing (typically---older, white, and male) leadership theme. Unusually (Bell and Nkomo cited no such cases), organizations may wisely embrace the differences so that the organization and its people benefit from a more perceptive and inclusive world view.

Folks who need not spend their working hours "fitting in" contribute (A) more (B) less to the organization. Leaders who accept their people for who and what they are get (A) more (B) less from their subordinates. Guess where the authors suggest the readers take their outfits.