Humanities Books

This resource is worth 5 stars - it is specifically for adults and is easy to read, easy to access. All steps are described and illustrated. Worth purchasing especially if you are a beginner.

Finally a good ballet instruction book that's encouraging and doesn't talk down to adult beginners. The more ballet classes I take, the more I realize how well this book distills the important aspects of ballet. Sketches and photos showing correct (and incorrect) body positioning are appropriately used. When I started ballet, I picked up a handful of books, and I always reached for this one when I had 10 minutes to learn a new tidbit. The brief history of ballet in the final chapter is added bonus. If you're an adult beginner, start with this book and the David Howard videos, plus a good teacher once or twice a week. You won't be auditioning for the American Ballet Theatre, but you'll become a proficient dancer pretty quickly.

This book provides a good solid basic technique overview. It has been used as a textbook at some colleges, and was highly reccomended by my former headmistress. I found the text interesting and helpful, and the illustrations sufficient. Of course, no book can replace a talented instructor, but as a supplement to a dance program, this book is superior.

I have the 3rd edition of this book, which was required for a college Ballet I class. As a beginning, adult, male student, I found the book to be very detailed - which I like. She gives you illustrations of steps, with the French name & pronunciation, why your doing it (e.g. to stretch certain muscles), a description, etc..

Initially, working at the barre (e.g. how to stand, plie', positions of the feet) Sandra gives correct & incorrect drawings. Of course, no book or video can replace being in class nor should it. With ballet you need a teacher to correct what your doing wrong so you can learn from it. Then having good books, videos, etc. as reference material helps you learn.

The book is written for us beginner adults, not children and not the pro's, which is really nice. Since we don't have nearly the flexibility of them. It also includes some history in the back of the book. Illustrations show men as well as women. Also included is what to wear to class, what to expect in class, how you should act, etc..

Get her other book once you get beyond the basics.

When I picked up Derek Bickerton's latest book, "Bastard Tongues", I expected to find a scholarly treatise on the origins and journeys of the so-called low languages, and I wasn't disappointed. What I had not expected was to be entertained, intrigued and delighted to be taken on a magical journey, with a master story-teller as my guide.

Bickerton does a masterly job of tracing the roots (and routes) of pidgin languages from such diverse origins as West Africa and Northern South America, the Seychelles and Hawaii, and asking the question - why they produce so many words and phrases in common, without any known previous contact.

But it's Derek Bickerton's own fact-finding journey that provides the entertainment in this book. Part scholarly tome, part travelogue, part autobiography, "Bastard Tongues" is a plain-spoken and frequently disrepectful memoir, replete with hilarious tales of the tribulations of a language detective. Whether slogging through the bush in Guyana, carousing with the creoles in Columbian bars, or careening across deserts in the most precarious forms of transportation in search of a thread to link the most basic forms of communication, Bickerton keeps one entertained and delighted from beginning to end. I couldn't put it down.

This book was reviewed in the NY Times, LA times and Washington Post all on the same day. For some reason, Amazon only posts the Washington Post review and not the other ones, which I think were much more accurate.

The last sentence of the Washington Post review leaves the impression that the book may be a slog for non-linguists - but I have to say the opposite is true. I know next to nothing about linguistics, but found the linguistic parts to be very understandable and informative. Most of the book is about characters, situations and little known bits of intriguing history, woven together in a compelling way. It's not often that you want to read a non-fiction book all in one go, but this book was impossible to put down.

The writer's love of travel and ideas and his genuine interest in the people and world he encounters is positively infectious. Reading the book made me want to dump my job and go back to school to start a new vocation - something Derek Bickerton himself did. Just take a look at the LookInside pages and see for yourself.

This is the most interesting intellectual biography I've read. Bickerton's motto above helped him to wander into linguistics when he was teaching English literature in Africa, and then become one of the first scientists to discover how creole languages work.

Bickerton investigates the creole languages invented by the descendents of West Africans enslaved by European powers - - the English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch. He doesn't have the "Sitzfleisch" for library research, so he spends time in bars with the "unrighteous working class" in Columbia, Brazil, Barbados, Hawaii, Mauritius, and a dozen other places.

Bastard Tongues is a linguistic detective story. It takes Bickerton almost twenty years to find the answer to his mystery - - how creoles develop into full-fledged languages (just as complex as French or English) from the simpler contact languages (pidgins) that slaves used to communicate with their European overseers.

One of the most interesting of Bickerton's discoveries is how creoles exist on a continuum from "deeper" (almost incomprehensible to someone not a native speaker) to a level closer to the European language.

Bickerton goes into detail about how "the infernal machine" of a slave economy worked and shows how it was the nature of the slave economies in the "New World" that determined the evolution of their languages. Bickerton did as much for the field of history as linguistics. His analysis of the "expansion" and "establishment" phases of the American slave economies, and his investigation of the "maroons" - - escaped slaves, from the Spanish "cimarron," ("wild" or "runaway") is as interesting as the creole grammar.

His explanation of the TMA systems (tense, modality, aspect) in creoles will satisfy anybody who wants to get deep into interesting grammars without the academic jargon in some linguistics books. ("The difference between people and linguists is that people are interested in words and linguists are interested in grammar.")

Even if you're not overly interested in linguistics, but are interested in Hawaiin history, this book is fascinating. Sarah Roberts, one of Bickerton's students at the University of Hawaii, thought to look at court records rather than more literary sources for Hawaiin creole (or "Pidgin" with a capital P as it's called).

When Bickerton started in linguistics, there were three main theories about the origin of creoles: monogenesis (there was one ur-creole that influenced all the others), the superstrate theory (the creole mostly comes from the dominant language, say French or Portuguese), and the substrate theory (the creole mostly comes from the native language of the creole speakers (for instance, an indigenous West African language).

I never thought I'd say this in a review of a linguistics book, but SPOILER AHEAD.

Derek Bickerton showed that creole languages follow the same bioprogram that all human beings use to invent language, and that the reason creoles in the Pacific and South America resemble each other in basic grammar is because their users have the same mental equipment.

It looks like Bickerton's real intellectual leap wasn't so much in assuming creole-speaker-creators would use the same process as other kinds of language users, it was in NOTICING IN THE FIRST PLACE that the grammars of unrelated creoles were very much alike in very basic ways.
Bickerton's comparison of Saramaccan (a creole spoken in Surinam, with primarily English vocabulary) and Fa d'Ambu (the language of an island off West Central Africa with primarily Portuguese vocabulary) proves it.

Obviously, this owes something to Noam Chomsky's Universal Grammar (or Steven Pinker's "language instinct"), but Bickerton doesn't get involved in nature vs. nurture or biology vs. culture arguments. One thing I like about books by British and Australian linguists is that they don't feel the need to affirm or refute Chomsky's ideas. They take what works and leave what doesn't.

Bickerton also writes about Nicaraguan Sign Language, since deaf children create the same kind of full-bodied language that speaking children do, only using the mode of gesture instead of speech. Signed languages are just as complex as spoken ones. (Anyone who's read this far in this review will enjoy Talking Hands: What Sign Language Reveals About the Mind by Margalit Fox.)

More controversially, Bickerton proposes what linguists historically have called "The Forbidden Experiment," and which the National Science Foundation once approved for him, then cancelled. There are stories of rulers and "scientists" who supposedly isolated children without a language to see what would happen. (Fox's book Talking Hands goes into this subject as well, since that's the situation for deaf children who find themselves in a community of other deaf children, in which case they will create a basic pidgin in sign. When deaf children find themselves with others who have a basic sign language, they grammaticalize the pidgin and create a creole, a fully-formed signed language.)

I'm not as sure as Bickerton that the experiment he's proposing is a good idea, but like a lot in this book, it makes you think.

I am not a linguist, but I thoroughly enjoyed "Bastard Tongues" written by Derek Bickerton. This book details Bickerton's adventures to out-of-the-way places around the world while studying creole and pidgin languages. It is beautifully written with such enthusiasm that it sweeps the reader along and makes it virtually impossible to put the book down.
This book is quite unique in that it is both a personal memoir and a travelogue while at the same time teaching interesting facts about pidgin and creole languages in a way that is easily understood by the layperson.
There is a lot of humor here and, all in all, I found this book to be extremely entertaining, and a worthwhile read.

Trying to critique your own writing is extremely difficult. Often, we as writers are far too close to work to really see all those little errors missed that if corrected could turn a rejection slip into a contract. Most writers quickly learn that finding a friend or writing group who is willing to read and comment on their work is invaluable.

Becoming Your Own Critique Partner is aimed at those writers who for whatever reason can't find someone else to critique their novel. I personally believe that this book will be equally valuable to all writers. Filling in potholes and finding extraneous distractions in your storyline will be beneficial whether you have a critique partner or not. The end result can be the difference between a publishable book and an unfulfilled wish.

I definitely recommend Becoming Your Own Critique Partner to anyone hoping to publish their novel. This book cover all the bases: character building, dialogue that adds to the storyline, creating meaningful scenes, choosing the correct mood, and avoiding repetition, clichés, and other misnomers. Plus, each section includes checklist and a variety of exercises to help build writing skills while critiquing your own work.

If you follow the directions and advice in this book, your writing should improve. It will help you in learning how to rid your manuscript of all those little errors that editors hate, as it walks you through the process of critiquing your own manuscript. There's a lot of information in here that has helped me with my own writing. If you don't have access to a critique group or want to do the job yourself, get this book and read it.
I would recommend that every writer have it in their reference library.

This new book on self-editing written by two very prolific authors is one you'll definitely want to add to your bookshelf.

What are the major problems you should be on the lookout for when editing your own work? The answer isn't always easy, as authors tend to become so involved in their plot and characters they turn blind to the obvious. Sometimes the problems are easy to spot and fix, sometimes not. Whatever the case, Walters and Toombs guide you through the process of completely editing your fiction manuscript.

With specific examples taken from their own works, the authors demonstrate how to handle telling instead of showing, stilted and flat dialogue, weak and unrealistic characters, unnecessary scenes, overuse of adjectives and adverbs, lack of atmosphere, point of view shifts, bloated prose, clichés, among others. They also share the secret to strong characters and the six necessary elements to a master plot. Each chapter concentrates on a specific subject, with helpful exercises at the end of it.

Written in a clear, friendly, straight-forward style, Becoming Your Own Critique Partner is a reference book that both beginners and professionals will profit from.

Checking out the Internet as well as various other sources I notice there is a great deal of excellent advice on writing techniques. Unfortunately, many aspiring writers as well as experienced ones either neglect the advice or are unaware of its existence.
There are also local critique groups and countless workshops, seminars, and other avenues where writers can learn how to improve their writing skills, however often it is not convenient for one reason or another to participate in these tutorials.
Authors Jane Toombs and Janet Lane Walters have combined their 63 years of writing experience and knowledge to come up with a practical solution to help us become our own critique partner with their 236 page manual, Becoming Your Own Critique Partner, particularly when participation in a critique group is either impossible or impractical.

The primary focus of the book is, as the authors mention in their introduction, "to find the flaws in your manuscript and correct them." The most obvious flaws that are examined and explored are telling too much and not showing, weak and flat dialogue, the black moment when the focus character (villain or hero) in the story believes all is lost, scenes and their relevance, where to use adjectives and adverbs, finding ways to use the appropriate senses, pacing, effectively using points of view, plugging holes in your plot, cutting the fat from the bone, avoiding clichés, what not to do with the details, places where mood in the story affects your characters, finding your theme and using it to solidify your plot, spotting awkward time and place shifts, characters and their motivation, ways to keep the heart in your writing, questions writers should ask themselves about minor but pertinent errors, and the proper use of words that are not annoying.

The chapters of the book are knitted together into a cohesive whole in the form of a workshop-style. Each concludes with a checklist and useful exercises that help the reader reinforce the principles that are expounded upon. There are numerous examples taken from the authors' own published works illustrating the wrong and right ways of writing as well as the various stumbling points to keep you from being led astray.

Although Becoming Your Own Critique Partner is not meant to be the last word on the technique of good writing, it is nevertheless an excellent and indispensable tool for writers seeking to improve their skills. No doubt this book will prove to be a valuable addition to any writer's personal collection.

Norm Goldman, Editor Bookpleasures

Lendvai is an expert on Bartok and he has insights that make compositional sense too, so not just any old reviewer.

I have been a lifelong student of composition, and this book opened up a whole new realm of musical thought for me. There are brilliant observations regarding chromatic tonality, atonality, and structure that (although they are presented largely in the context of an analysis of Bartok's music) shed light on the development and future of modern music in general.

The book serves also as a fitting tribute to Bartok, a genius who all too often is written off as merely the modern adaptor of Hungarian folk-song. In this book the author demonstrates how the folk-song interest, and other fundamental Bartok building blocks, have a deep basis in the fundaments of life and the world.

If you've known Bartok's music speaks to you in ways you can't explain or understand, or if you just want to wrap your head around one of the most important contributions to the development of music in the modern era, then this book is for you.

I hope this review is more helpful than the one below, which seems to be more of a jumble of random thoughts, most of which appear to be associated with some other, more biographical work.

This is the most concise musical analysis I have ever read. The examples are clear and without ambiguity. The logical progression of discussing the simple building blocks of Bartok's style leading on to the complex aspects of his writing is perfect. However, the pinnacle achievement of this book is the section that explains the natural progression of harmonic structures from Bach through Bartok that dispells any rumors or theories that 20th century music is merely a mathematical aberration or a gratuitous construct. If you want to discover why modern Jazz owes much of it's theory to Bartok, read this book.

The peaceable existences do not use to be genius ` man patrimony . We have come to life for getting our bliss and the most of times you must to fight for reaching it .

Few times a tragic destiny as Bartok was , a man will have treated with such implacable symmetry . In last instance , Bartok argues talking about The bluebeard castle , we enter to world with tears and with tears we come out from it . The teardrops point our existence ...

Grillparzer ` s epitaph on Schubert `s tombstone could not be more appropriate to resume Bartok `s life : "The art of music here entombed a rich possession , but even fairer hopes".

For curious circumstances I have been involved with Bartok `s music and this fact has enriched my life gaze .

This book is a passionate, intense and vivid B.B. ` s portrait . The author penetrates with frantic commitment to the interfolds of the soul of this unique musician .

More than a simple advise , it `s impossible for you to abandon your life without reading this biography .

I had the enormous privilege of talking briefly with György Sandor - the maxim exponent of his piano music - in that unforgettable December 9 1982 night in Caracas after his performance and he told me among other issues the huge human quality , his shaman wisdom , the domain of fourteen idioms and the profound influence through his entire life .

And these words of Bartok will talk by themselves : "An ideal folklorist of popular songs should be poly historian , polyglot and linguist , phonetic specialist to watch and observe the minor hues of the several dialects and jargon . Something like a phonograph , in his exact description about the interferences between the music and the popular dances"

It can sound speculation but I have always thought the profound esteem felt by the Russian people to Dimitri Shostakovich must be parallel to the Hungarian people to Bela Bartok

i was very much so surprised it came with the other book of core concepts and that i got both of them for that price thank u!...

I read this as an undergraduate while taking a course in medical ethics. I later went on to medical school, and I read a few other texts and many other sources for most of the same material. This book is by far the best of all of these that I've seen. It's almost perfect in the scope it covers and in its readability. It gives a good overview and raises intriguing questions in each section. It almost perfect. I can't recommend it enough. It is well worth a look.

Biomedical Ethics is a wonderful introduction to bioethical issues. The authors' styles of writing are (usually) easily understandable, and the inserted case studies make for interesting reading. More of a textbook than a "quickread".

This is an excellent overview of the myriad of issues that fall under the term "biomedical ethics". This was used as one of the texts for my health care ethics graduate course, and I could actually read this. Although Childress and Beauchamp may be considered the "standards" in the field, they are also when known for being very difficult to read (my prof warned us on day one that their "Introduction" would be very heady, and the warning rang true the moment I opened their book).

This book brings together writings from numerous excellent authors that are all very easy to digest, particularly in light of other "introductions" available. I enjoyed this book immensely. Not only did it help me greatly in my studies, it has also helped me greatly in navigating my own health care. Whether you are reading for academic pursuits, or are otherwise interested enough in the field to buy a book about it, I highly recommend THIS ONE!

This book is absolutely essential if you want to understand what television has done to Western Civilization. It is not a rant against shabby programming but a brilliant analysis of what the medium itself does to us, regardless of content. Marc is a compassionate and witty writer and his book deserves to be widely known and discussed.

The main point of Bonfire of the Humanities is that there isn't a difference any more between what used to be called High and Low Culture. These categories might have been hard to define, but at least academics used to know where to put Titus Andronicus and where to put Star Trek.

The Low Culture David Marc is most interested in is television, which he points out controls us by delivering pleasure, not pain, as dystopian literature sometimes predicted.

But there were artists who foresaw how we would get hooked on TV. (Even the expression "hooked on" reduces the viewer to just another plug-in.) I remember a scene in Francois Truffaut's film Fahrenheit 451, where the fireman's wife is is watching/participating in a TV soap opera. The characters stop and address her by name, asking what they should do about the latest plot complication.

What's worse is I don't remember if the scene is in Ray Bradbury's novel, which I read, or not. But I still remember the image from the movie. I've been educated out of the reading culture and into the viewing culture just like the character in Truffaut's film.

What makes Marc's essays so informative (and a lot funnier to read in places than most university press books) is that he isn't a partisan of one culture over the other. He criticizes teachers who have allowed their students to graduate without developing a love for reading and writing as well as the professional curmudgeons who want to limit "education" to some cannon they've decided on.

Did you know that reading Madame Bovary and watching Beavis and Butthead might drive you to the same kind of antisocial behavior? Huh huh huh.

The film critic David Thomson said that there have been two terrible threats to humankind in the second half of the twentieth century - - nuclear weapons and television, and that the way it turned out television was the more insidious, beamed into our brains every day.

I am a doctoral student in English and I teach multiple sections of Freshman Composition. This is the first book this presents a recognizable picture of the contemporary classroom: a place where literacy is taught as a specialist's skill to students immersed in television culture. If you are interested in the future of reading and writing, I recommend this book highly. It is also hilariously funny.

To his credit, Marc, an erstwhile literary scholar, doesn't delve into the pseudo-academic question of whether television is or isn't a cornerstone of contemporary American culture. Instead, he examines what actually has transpired in the US -- the wholesale acceptance (and enjoyment) of the medium -- and describes its impact on the ever changing landscape of the Republic. With an oftentimes acerbic wit, Marc, lifts the curtain on the great Oz, allowing us to see who we are and what we've become, intellectually and culturally, whether we want to admit it or not. Ample notes let the reader discover further musings on the effects of this commonplace appliance. Overall, a brilliant -- if not disquieting -- social critique of Americans and our often reviled, often beloved boob tube.

Great book for learning how to get around in Italy. I am currently using this book in a nightschool I am currently going to, and it is helping out greatly!!!!!

This book is a very good reference book for all travelers. It has everything for a traveler plus a little bit of grammar for someone studying Italian . We are using this book in a night school class I am currently taking. Si,I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good solid backround in Italian for when they go to Italy. Buona fortuna!

I bought this book in conjunction with a very very primary Italian language course, and ended up getting more from the book than I did from the course. The book is well laid out in the sense that every chapter is the logical followup to the previous one, and you get a great sense of confidence because it's such a great teacher, and makes it so easy to get to love the language. By halfway through the book, I was able to hold conversations with native Italians. I must find out if there's a similar book on Spanish!!!

I would recommend this book to anyone just starting to learn Italian because the book gives a great summary along with lists of eveyday vocabulary with timely quizzes to test yoour memory of the material. Although I speak Molise Dialect this book really helped and is helping me on my formal Italian. My father Henry DiOrio who was born in Italy and speaks Italian, Swahili, Hebrew,and English fluently says this is a great book to use if you are someone who wants to start learning Italian. I am using this book in a night school class I am currently enrolled with my friends Sandro DiFrangia and Tony Rinella,two other Italophiles who also share a high opinion of this great book. Buona Fortuna e Arrivederla

As an historical fiction buff, I'm glad to see someone is writing good historical novels. I hope Mr. Seiden continues along the path of this book with meticulous research and weaving in a love story, intrigue, adventure and of course, historical events. I can hardly wait to read his next masterpiece.

The first Columbus voyage was described so clearly, you really felt like you were there and gratefully so, because the struggle to just get the ships was so trying. This gives the reader a perspective into Columbus that doesn't exist in the history books - perhaps because it is too controversial. Who cares - I loved it!!! You will too. Great book!

Maybe because also in 1492 - There was the Spanish Inquisition, Christians burning at the stake, Moslems and Jews being expelled from their homelands in Spain.

No history book ever mentioned Columbus' spirituality - why? Was he hiding a secret that the world is just now discovering? This historical fiction begs that question... using his private journal and understanding the political environment he was forced to deal in, author Othniel Seiden paints a picture of intrigue surrounding Christopher Colombus as has never been seen before...

On the pages of this book unfolds an adventure where the characters are crisp, real and well defined and in the case of Christopher Colombus - legendary.

In the history books, we learn mostly of the voyage itself, but not too much attention played out on what was happening culturally around the events. The Inquisition and persecution of Christians was constant. This historical novel is based upon Christopher Colombus' private journal.

Reading between the lines of the journal, the author Othniel Seiden sees a pattern of spiritual practice that has never been discussed about Columbus and one that might shed a new and deeper dimension on this historical figure and the times he lived in.

It was a great read and a fascinating subject!

This historical fiction novel is set in ancient Spain during the time of the Inquisition and the dark ages, one Don Jacob Duponte (fictional) was falling in love and enjoying his career and travels as a cartographer. Unbeknownst to him, someone called him a heretic and in those days, that is all it took to have someone thrown into a torture chamber or worse all in the name of the Inquisition.

Don Jacob was rescued because of his talents as a cartographer by the explorer Christopher Columbus, who at the time of their meeting was still trying to get Queen Isabella of Spain to finance a journey across the Atlantic.

Thrown then into intrique and a secret world where one's personal spirituality had to be kept hidden for fear of the Inquisition, Don Jacob found himself protecting secret Jews; Jewish people who had to keep their faith and their heritage totally secret.

The adventure unfolds right from the pages of Columbus' own journal - with these amazing characters woven in.

This novel takes the reader aboard the Santa Maria to experience the superstition of the crew and the hope of the man in charge. It takes the reader to the shores of the new world where they were warmly greeted and told of vast treasures.

Then sailing back across the sea, through storms that should have killed all on board.

The writing is exquisite. The adventure is captivating. The story is based on fact. The humanity of these explorers and their loved ones is compelling!

I used this to teach a class of 5-7 yr. olds in our homeschool co-op. Although at times I had to add a little more review and material of my own, I was able to use this to teach entire 45 min. sessions. The kids love it and it is easy to prepare. I'm sure I will be able to use it much more in the future because it covers such a wide age range. Definitely money well-spent!

We used this book as a spine for our group music history unit studies. It was one of our favorites! The catchy musical excerpts made each lesson memorable. The kids loved singing them. We supplemented with short bios of the composers and pages to color while we listened. Maps helped us see where the composers traveled. We added videos when available and attended live events. It was a very rich study! Young children can really acquire a love for classical music.

We have such wonderful memories of this study that I'm having a hard time selling our copy.

This practical resource gives music teachers a unique collecton of lessons and activities to build interest in classical music, while developing knowledge of form, mood, melody, harmony, tempo and rhythm. For easy use, the 50 tunes and 50 tales are organized into 5 sections with suggested grade levels and REPRODUCIBLE activity pages, spiral bound for convenient photocopying. Sprial bound, 340 pages

This book is an excellent book with a problem! I found this book to lack an accompanying Music C.D. which should consist of all Music/Song selections found in this book. As a Music Educator, I feel that Music teachers have a better handle on classroom control when one can immediately select the music/song to be heard in class from an accompanying Musical C.D. Playing the music directly from this book should be the choice of the Teacher (not all Music Teachers are trained pianists!)enabling extensive student-centered lessons and easier teaching methods.

My daughter understood patterns completely from this book!!! Thank you!!!

My daughter is very visual. She loves most of the games, and sets them up herself.

Spend some time making pieces right. I attached the velcro and laminated pieces. I did not laminated boards. When I tried making her play without the velcro/lamintation, she was not interested.

These make excellent centers as well as individual seat work ideas in my classroom. They are full color and easy to cut out.

This is a really good resource to add to language arts and math centers. All the activities are colored and ready to laminate. Although I would rather it be for reproducing for future use to replace worn ones.

This is a great tool for teachers. I am a special education teacher and I teach gardes kindergarten through second grade. I have used this book to help me create many different file folder games that my students enjoy. It is a great product.