Cultural Books

This is an ok effort by Ms. Goldstein but unfortunately the recipes don't quite result in the amazing flavors that Georgian cuisine is known for. Perhaps it is Ms. Goldstein's substitutions of less authentic ingredients as some ingredients in the "real" dish are hard to find. Perhaps it is something else. (Her "adjika" is REALLY bad/wrong for instance....)

OK book if you want an idea of what Georgian cuisine is like. Not good if you REALLY want the real thing...

This is a marvelous, utterly authentic encyclopedia of Georgian cooking. I tried some of the recipes before leaving for Georgia in summer 2006, and they were great, and gave me a good idea of what to expect. Once in Georgia, the book was an invaluable reference that I constantly turned to whenever I tried something new. Just about *everything* I had is in here, along with many things I didn't get around to sampling.

This book also helped me learn the correct Georgian names for the dishes and many of the ingredients. A significant portion of the book is devoted to providing cultural background on Georgia and Georgian food, such the elaborate rules for a _tamada_, or Georgian toastmaster. With its charming photos of representative paintings scattered generously throughout its pages, it also made me a Pirosmani fan, and better able to appreciate the originals when I saw them for myself.

Most importantly, as the other reviewers say, the recipes *work*. We just made the potato salad with walnut paste (p. 172), and it was delectable. Other dishes we have tried and like include tomato soup with walnuts and vermicelli (p. 73) and green beans with egg (p. 130). Pkhali was one of my favorite dishes in Georgia, and I'm glad to have the recipe for when I get around to making it myself. There is a recipe for beets with cherry sauce, a dish a travel companion had tried but that even some of our Georgian hosts weren't familiar with. For the few recipes that seem to be missing from this book, like eggplant with walnut paste, try Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook, another excellent collection of delicious recipes from all the former Soviet republics.

_The Georgian Feast_ is well worth having even if you don't eat meat - many of the recipes are completely vegetarian. This book is a real treasure.

I've already written a review of this great book. I have only one suggestion: the basic khmeli suneli recipe can be augmented further to reach the authentic smell and taste. The wikipedia article on khmeli suneli has additional ingredients that can be added to the recipe. I tried that, about 2 teaspoons of each ingredient that's not already in Darra's recipe (less for black and chili pepper), and it came closer to the authentic smell and taste. I think the author of the wikipedia article might have meant safflower (marigold) instead of saffron though, so I didn't add that.

As someone who was born and grew up in Tbilisi, I was very happy to find this book -- it captures all of my favorite recipes, and when I prepare them according to this book, they taste just like my grandma's cooking.

More than just a recipe book, this is also an exploration into the rich history and culture of Georgia, and how the history shaped the cuisine. I suggest this book to everyone who would like to add some interesting preparations to their cooking. For vegetarians, Georgians have plenty of healthful and filling ways to prepare veggies and beans, and also some mouth watering sauces that will enliven any dish (veg or not).

I enjoy this book both as a cook book, and as a historical book!

I gave this book to a Georgian and she loved it. It had all the dishes she had eatten as a child. If your looking for a book to fill in any missing recipes this is the book for you.

This book is subtitled "An Extravagant Life," and is available in hardcover. Laurence Bergreen also wrote "Louis Armstrong: An Extrodinary Life" Unfortunately I got the impression that Mr. Bergreen became a little disillusioned with his subject. He glosses over Armstrong's flaws. For instance, Bergreen seems to accept Louis' infidelities were the result of bad advice about women he received in his adolescence! His relationship and treatment of his mentor Joe Oliver is also rather quickly dismissed. I wish more time was spent on these parts of Armstrong's life. I can't fault the research and musical analysis, though.

This was one of the best biographies I have ever read. By far the best one of the life of Louis Armstrong. It took me only 2 days to read this book, I could hardly put it down. Not being much of a fan of Dixieland, New Orleans Jazz, etc...after reading this book I was hooked. I wanted to listen to every Louis recording available. Bergreen paints Armstrong as such an amazing character which he completely was. Even if you aren't a jazz fan this is just a great book about a great man.

You get not only a bio of a great musician & person, you get a detailed description how Blacks lived New Orleans through the turn of the century. From it you get a better understanding of how the pre-recording (and therefore unrecorded) sounds of untutored musicians became the roots of the New Orleans musical genre and how the odds were stacked against Louis. You come to understand his workaholism and his deference to his eventual agent, who probably exploited him.

As the book progresses, the historical descriptions are not as detailed but you feel the music and the person developing. Ironically, the two best known pieces "Hello Dolly" & "It's a Wonderful World", were late stage, not representative, but somehow routine work for the prolific Louis.

It's hard to imagine from the impoverished roots, the raw deals and the omnipresent daily racism (even to his death in 1971 segregation both de facto and Jim Crow continued), how Louis kept his optimism and exhuberance. It was not self deceptive, when the chips were down, he supported the Brown v Board of Ed decision, not just in his heart, but words and actions.

He was an unfaithful lover and husband. We don't know if he ever promised otherwise... all his wives but the first (who was common law married) knew he was a married man when they started "dating" him. The world owes Mrs. Armstong the 2nd (Lil) a debt. She gave him confidence and a platform to be the star he became.

In the Acknowledgments the author says this is the first bio he's written where his admiration for his subject grows.

Louis Armstrong blazed a trail. He was a tough cat, much tougher than all the supposedly macho dudes who posture now. He doesn't have to posture because he's dealt with the mob and prostitutes who slash with the knifes in their shoes, and somehow reminds us, that despite all this, it's a wonderful world.

This book was amazingly well written! It wonderfuly portrays the life of a very talented and amzing man. Please, for your own sake, read this book!

I believe I've read them all and nothing ever written about Louis Armstrong is as detailed as this book. Moreso than the "tired old stories" you see repeated in version after version of other tales of Armstrong, this one actually delves into the personal life as well as the persona of the man. Every Armstong fan needs to read this book - it's an awakening!

Pamela Yatsko's New Shanghai is one of those "must read" books about China. Yatsko did much of the research for this book while living and working in China. She lived in Shanghai from 1995 to 1998, while serving as the Eastern Economic Review's first Shanghai correspondent and bureau chief since 1949. Following this assignment, she worked for the Economist Group as managing editor of Hong Kong's Business China--a job which allowed her to return to Shanghai frequently.

Yatsko's experiences writing about China's economy led her to explore the many facades she discovered pervading contemporary China. According to the author, while the exteriors of many facets of Shanghai look glitzy and modern, the interiors often tell a vastly different story. The book is divided into key aspects of the city's revival: real estate, the budding world of high finance, growing socio-economic disparity, the return of the multinational firms and their expats, vice, the future of state-owned businesses and their employees, and the status of the arts.

Summarizing Yatsko's conclusions would spoil a juicy read. So, suffice it to say that she uncovers the ways in which expectations for the city have often not been realistic and means by which the future lies in the ability of reality to catch up with these expectations. Considering the industrial and cultural wasteland the city became between 1949 and 1979, Shanghai truly has undergone an amazing renaissance. Will it become the New York City of Asia? Should it? The author gives us pause for many such thoughts. I lived in Shanghai from 2005-2007, and this book clarified many aspects of the "new China" for me.

The book is well-researched and sheds insights on both the city's achievements and her challenges for the future. All of the key elements making up this brave new city are helpfully placed within their historical context. New Shanghai makes essential reading for anyone who seeks to put modern Shanghai life into perspective.

Fun Fact: On the inside book jacket, you'll find a review by one of Shanghai's own literary celebrities, Lynn (Ling) Pan. She was also interviewed by the author for this book.

As a Shanghainese who is sick of the feverish optimism about China nowadays, I was deeply skeptical when I first opened this book. It turned out to be the best book on China I have seen so far. The book, especially its second chapter on the financial market, is full of coolheaded analysis and down-to-the-ground reliable facts. Sometimes, it even shames me for not knowing Shanghai as well as this foreigner does. I recommend the book as a very reliable source of information for those interested in Shanghai and as a book to keep some authentic memory of Shanghai for those overseas Shanghaineses.

Yatko's book far exceeded my expectations. Well argued, carefully thought out and with an excellent thesis. It is easy for old Shanghai residents (such as myself) to revel in an Old Shanghai nostalgia that has long ceased to exist. Yatsko highlights and illustrates many points that we overlooked, ignored or never knew in the first place. Valuable reading for anyone planning to do business in China or simply interested in this great city.

I worked in business in Shanghai during 1995-98 and continue to travel there often. I have yet to come across a more interesting or useful book about Shanghai's metamorphosis and the changes taking place in urban China in general. Although Shanghai and China are fast moving targets, the book provides a spot-on snapshot of the issues facing Shanghai at the millennium and has helped me make sense of this fascinating yet perplexing city. The author really captures the successes and failures of fin de siecle Shanghai well. Also, there's lots of anecdote to make the book a lively read-the chapter on vice is particularly fun. I recommend it for anyone who is interested in understanding what's beneath Shanghai's glittering surface.

I found "New Shanghai" not long ago as I was preparing to visit Shanghai after six years in the states, and was attracted to it immediately. Having lived in Shanghai most of my life, I have to say that the author knows about Shanghai better than I do. I'm only familiar with the life of my like, but the book has a broad coverage, from the upper class to the cultural underdogs. In particular, I liked to read Yatsko's interviews with various people, which added a sense of reality.

Yatsko has captured Shanghai's fastest socio-economic changes since it lost the luster as the most prosperous city in the Far East early last century. With her solid knowledge of economics and first-hand experience, the stories are credible and the analysis is insightful. Whereas "old Shanghai" has aroused most scholarly interest due to its relation to modernity, Yatsko's depiction of Shanghai's rebirth in the 1990s also offers a unique hindsight on its past.

Although I wish I could have read this wonderful book earlier, it's not so late in the sense that I now know more interesting places

My son very good at sports BMX,Soccer,Football He started playing Football 5 yrs ago pop warner He follows NCCA,NFL I told him about Walter Payton & how his stile of running was simular to yours. I bought the BOOK/DVD if he would watch it at the begging of the football this year. He didnt take his eyes off the T.V . He ended the year leading scorer & played in the div. champ. game & All- Stars. My opinion on Walter Payton Great Book, Great DVD, The Best Running Back.

Payton
EXCELLENT, a must have for all Walter fans. The book is very well written and I just loved it. He was an awesome man and a devoted father and husband. Well done Connie and family!

Great book and DVD. Highly recommended for Bears fans across the nation but most importantly, to any sports fanatic period! Walter Payton was and is the greatest sports player who ever lived! You will be inspired to do your best and never give up at whatever you do in life! A great unselfish man who did so much for others; inspiration for the world!
Walter Payton: A True and Genuine Role Model (34)

This book/dvd is a must own for any Walter Payton fan. The 1 hour dvd brings back alot of memories watching Walter bust through defenses. The book is well written and gives some insight into his background as well as his character. I paid $15 less at Amazon than what this package was going for on E-Bay. The best part is that my son got to watch the dvd and see what hard work is all about and where it can get you. He could'nt believe the way Payton could "fly" in to the end zone.

I actually knew Walter Payton. He was my neighbor. This book is a great tribute to him, without any doubt!! He WAS as classy as you may think, too. Still hard to believe he's gone.

If you are a true fan, then this book is a MUST own for your home.

Some people may shy away from this book because they think its about basketball. Wrong -- it's about life, about a person who happens to play basketball.

I think every girl should read this book, because it deals with Cooper's issues with self-esteem and confidence, overcoming poverty, and her pursuit of excellence. I also think every mother should read it, because the book shows how effective a role model Cooper's mother was to her. Maybe mothers and daughters should read this book together, and have discussions about it.

This is not an overtly Christian book, but Cooper is a Christian and does not hide her faith. It is not really an evangelistic book, though one can say it is pre-evangelistic.

This autobiography is one of the best, if not the best, that I've read. It's amazing how Cynthia Cooper writes her own story to motivate and make readers have more confidence. She's a real example of a true athlete hero, someone that can be a role model to all. Thanks to her and her success in the WNBA, she's given Women's Basketball a new meaning. Her determination and motivation to become successful is admirable. This book is really an inspiration to those who lack self-esteem and self-confidence. I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone because is really interesting and inspirational. I'm proud of Cynthia Cooper because she's a real good representative of Women's basketball and a great example of determination and success. She also proved that with God's help, anything is possible.

Cynthia Cooper could be a role model for anyone. She knows how to play the game of life as well as basketball: when to hold, when to fold, and a whole lot more.
What impressed me most? Signed to play in Italy, Cynthia didn't hang around being homesick. She took the opportunity to learn and grow.
My favorite scenes:

(1) New to Italy, she'd never even heard of famous cathedrals that someone asked her about. Later, she could have discussed the architectural history and features -- in Italian.

(2) She asked Ford to give her a marketing internship -- and she felt right at home with the men. I use this example a lot when I talk to parents who are concerned that their daughters are more interested in sports than school.

(3) She takes us behind the scenes of the championship Comets.

Hard to put down, well-written, honest -- the perfect gift for any WNBA fan or any young woman looking to her future, in or out of basketball.

Cooper's book has made me relieze that nothing can turninto something. Also Cooper provides a positive role model for anyonewho wants to better themselves and improve their way of life. This is a book that can be enjoyed by all. There was problems growing up, college, overseas (work) love, and death of loved ones. This tells the reader that everyone faces problems at many different stages of life. Also how they could be overcome with the correct outlook. END

This book is about the story and life of a great know person and athletic. It has its good times and bad times. It tells you what happened in her life till the time she published the book. It tells you from her first time she touched a basketball until she became the leauges MVP. If you want to read a great story about a player and her good times and bad times this is the book you should read. It is for sure the best book I've read about a great person and a life she lived. You should get this book no doubt.

This book is perfect for anyone wanting to understand this controversial subject. It provides a very scientific look into many long-standing myths associated with the plant and drops humorous comments along the way.

Dr. Earlywine's book "Understanding Marijuana" explains the uses of marijuana on a level that can be understood by all readers. Remaining unbiased, he combines the political aspect to the benefits of decriminalization the substance as well as the harmful effects and beneficial uses. The long term research becomes clear as the author takes you into a world not clearly understood by most in everyday society. This book comes highly recommended to those who can benefit from Dr. Earleywine's years of dedicated research into the variations of the legalization of marijuana and in my opinion, the end of the tireless "war on drugs".

With all of the misinformation circulating about cannabis over the last 70 years its nice to have a refreshing, scholarly, intelligent review of the subject. I wish everybody in the country who had anything to do with the War on Drugs - from both sides of the debate, would stop bantering about unsupported nonsense and old cliches about that vegetation and look at the evidence, the history, and see the nonsense that is currently floating unabashedly about on that subject. Thanks Dr. Earlywine for your significant effort to try to get out the facts. Del

I first experienced pot at age 16 and soon learned that what little I was told was NOT TRUE. This book lays it out in all its splendor. It is not a harmless drug- but it is the next best thing. The pharmacology section was very useful as it explained the way THC is produced and broken down by the plant. On the way up to THC Cannabidiol is produced. Cannabinol is produced as the plant starts to break down. The medical section is fabulous. I was not aware of its medical applications fully until I became a Medical Assisting Student and was placed as an intern in a Multiple Sclerosis practice. This drug does wonders for them! Few knew about it. More need to learn about it. That and I just love the look of those leaves! They are Serrated!!

Yep. Another book that's packed full of research to support this incredible little herb. SIGH! We really need to get "with it" and make this available for health and well being for our people and our planet.

Au Contraire is more than a book on France, the French language, or a trifle on French "something." This book touches the essence of what it means to be French. The behind-the-scene look at the history, symbols, language, and customs is truly intriguing. The analyzation of such things as interpersonal relations, socialism, education, and other elements of French life is a treasure for the person who desires to live in France, if for only a short time. One of the most remarkable things about the book is the emphasis showing the inseperability between the language and the land: Being French is speaking the langauge, and don't forget it! It's a must for expats of any sort. I read the hefty book in a matter of days. It's just that good.

This book was insightful, rich, honest, and interesting. I could not put it down! This book is definetly worth buying, even if you are not interested in the french particularly. As someone with a french background, and french grandparents, this book makes me appreciate my heritage just a little more.

Although this book was written before the current political crisis that strained relations between France and the United States, it provides excellent general advice for everyone traveling between the two countries. It gives a fair assessment of both cultures and urges the visiter to adopt an open mind and leave cultural baggage and prejudice at home. I spent almost two years planning our recent 3 week trip throughout France and studying the language (which as the authors say is a must). It is arrogant to expect that people in any other country will automatically speak your language. Why should they? Everywhere we went people were reserved, as we expected, but courteous and helpful and sometimes quite friendly. I agree with the authors that the key to good relations and living, working or vacationing in another country, France in this case, is to learn "their" history, culture and language and embrace the differences. I recommend this book highly.

This book was used in my french business class as a cultural aspect. Its easy to follow and tries to help us American's step out of our own ideas of culture. I would recommend this book if you want to read for fun but like to learn something new as well

Anyone who visits France will enjoy this well written book. It explains much of the french culture, and relates it to the history of France. For someone who has a business, and sells products or services, this book is a textbook. Thank you for your clear, concise book. It will help you enjoy and understand your French friends and associates.

I stumbled across a copy of Becoming Human; Being Human at a friends house. I began to perusal this book musing that it was or would be a third rate written release of Muslim propaganda. Saying I was wrong is a mild understatement. I read the first twenty pages standing, another dozen or so more leaning against the door way. An hour later I was aborbed in the moment of the compassionate heroes in this book. I read it in one sitting. I am ready to accept my own responsibility in changing the world by changing how I live my life. This book is more relevant today, then when it was written. Five stars is not enough.

This book is a book that will, without a dout make you think.

If there were seven stars, I would have give this book seven or more...reading this book deeply moved me and caused me to reflect on my life and what I contribute to the world as a citizen. This book brought me tears and smiles, but most of all I am a better person for the experience. I had the privilede to hear Mr. Ali-Salaam speak before tens of thousands while visitng Seattle recently...His sincere conviction and vision for humanity is readily apparent. He was as dynamic in person as his words are on the printed page. A must read!*******

A refreshing and insightful look at the meaning of life through the challenges of others. I found hope and a profound message through Ali-Salaam's provocative essays. The combination of true stories, his prose and voices of reknown from the past culiminate in an essential lesson on the meaning of life. I am recommending this book to all my friends and family. I hope to hear more from this truly inspired person.

"Becoming Human; Being Human" by Ali-Salaam is an American Muslim perspective on today's issues. The book is a compilation of quotes and stories that examines the worlds' problems and crises through the eyes of the humans living through them. These disasters range from the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, and the civil wars and hunger that plague Africa, to the Palestinian /Israeli conflict. This book although non-fiction reads like a collection of well-told tales, some filled with the horror of war and conquest, others vibrating with the courage of the human spirit.

The first story "Sylvia" details the struggle of one woman against cancer and her prayer for a little more time to get to know the man her son has become. This is a story of a mother and son reconnecting and learning to appreciate each other once more.

In "Trapped In Iraq", we meet a young American Muslim woman living in daily terror in war torn Baghdad. As that ancient city is reduced to ruins around her by missiles and bombs, Sarah Iman fears for her life and the lives of her children. Her one hope is to somehow convince Saddam Hussein to let her take her children to visit their grandparents in the United States. We experience her fear as after many disappointments, she finally sits before Saddam and begins to plead her case.

In the story "a 9/11 hero", we witness the fear of a Pakistani Muslim American family as the authorities question them about the whereabouts of their son Mohammed. While the family struggles to defend their son's loyalty to America he lies dead among the ruins of the World Trade Center, another victim of terrorism like those he tried to rescue.

Other stories like "Children of The Prophets" and "Ta'ayush" paint a picture of Palestine before and after the establishment of modern Israel. The first is a story of a woman remembering a land without borders when Muslim and Jewish friends could travel from Jordan to Palestine to visit each other. The second is the story of a band of Jews, Muslims and Christians working together to restore peace in their homeland.

Other stories such as "Two Prayers", "Rebuilding The Lion Mountain", and "From Sea To Shining Sea" take us into the heart of the civil wars and hunger that plague Africa and the hopes that rebuild it. We also hear the author's admiring thoughts about his Moorish paternal ancestors and experience his anguish at the sufferings of his maternal West African ancestors at the hands of slave dealers.

Throughout the work Interspersed with these stories are the authors many thoughts on what it is to be human or to become human. He fills the pages between stories with observations both mundane and profound

I thought this book inspiring in parts and very well written. However, I did find the perspective sometimes too one sided. It is an American Muslim view, so it should show one dimension to the world's struggles. However, Ali-Salaam attempts to transcend this with many of his fine examples of what it means to be human or to become one. Therefore, I was disappointed to see the author present a more narrow view of certain situations. In "Ta'ayush" he spoke of the harshness, suffering and death the Israeli military assaults inflict on refugee camps. But he did not mention that the Israelis too are a people acting out of fear, the fear that suicide bombers instill in the ordinary people of Israel. They are also struggling to become human in the face of terror and death. The author speaks of himself as a Moorish prince and lists with pride the civilizing of Spain and other parts of Europe by the Moors. I also admire Moorish art, architecture and literature. However, I realize that it was forced upon Spain and other parts of Europe through invasion, conquest and death. We should never romanticize any conquest of other humans whether it took place in the 7th century or the 21st.

However, despite the above comments, I did find this book to be not just a wonderful collection of tales but also a marvelous philosophy of life. It did deserve The Rising Star Award from The Literary Guild.

I have read over a dozen translations of Bhagavad Gita over the past 25 years. IMHO, this is the best English translation. The "inter-liner" translation is really a neat idea and I wish someone does inter-liner translations for other ancient works such as Thiru-Kural.

The book is a translation from Sanskrit to English. Excellent if that is what you are looking. However, if you are looking for interpretation or an understanding of what it means then better buy some other book like the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by A. C. Bhaktivedanta. Some may call it biased, but I think it is better for a new reader.

Sargeant W's efforts are helpful to Sanskrit lovers/learners. Sargeant Krishna & Sage Vyasa's message is made more transparent to sanskrit learners.

This book is meant for scholars or students looking to translate Bhagavad Gita and have a reference point for those difficult verses. There is nothing more to the book than an intro., and the Gita translated word for word. Even the verses themselves cannot be found whole. That is not to say that this isn't an excellent book. I have another similar book but he has some different opinions on the names: winthrop's Gudakesha- "thick haired one" but the other guy says: Gudakesha- "conquerer of sleep" This also happens with Hrishikesha: (don't quote me on this one) "spiny haired one" and the other guy writes Hrishikesha: "conquerer of the senses" I'm leaning toward the other guy (forgive me for not having the name) because the rest of the "nicknames" refer to past achievements and such. So, if you want to learn sanskrit and you're ready for the Gita this will be excellent, or if you're memorizing verses and want to know the exact meaning behind them, this is for you.

This is an excellent interlinear translation. For each word, Sargeant gives grammatical information, like gender, case and number. Then each verse has an idiomatic translation to English which is very faithful to the original. Some verses also have a commentary - very useful. There is also an introduction describing the contents of the Mahabharata, of which the Bhagavad Gita is a part. One thing missing is an index, therefore I would recommend buying also Schweig's or Easwaran's translation.

I applaud this book for bringing attention to this topic. The American way is to create problems, then sell you something to solve your problems. Like routine circumcisions, then later in life taking Viagra and other various sexual enhancers. Kudos to Ronald Goldman. It's good to see him pick up the pieces after his daughter's murder.

A very erudite and compassionate work. Having grown up in Europe as a non-Jew, I was stunned to discover the extent of routine circumcision among non-Jews in North America, especially the USA.

The classic movie Europa Europa exemplifies the degree to which European attitudes differ from those in the US. In EE, a young Jewish guy inadvertently ends up in a WWII Hitler Youth group and therefore has to hide the fact of his circumcision to the nth degree - simply because in Europe (even now) only Jewish boys are routinely circumcized.

The main modern argument in favour of circumcision is that there is a lesser chance of one's female partner developing cervical cancer etc. if the foreskin has been removed. Yet, as a man who has been married for more than 20 years, it is quite clear to me that provided proper cleanliness is maintained, the woman is at no more risk than she would be from having intercourse with a circumcized male.

This book is absolutely essential reading. The bottom line, is that unless there are deeply felt religious considerations in your family, FORGET IT! You only need to surf the Men's Movenment groups to see how outraged thousands of men feel about their unthinking abuse at the hands of their unthinking parents and a soulless system that just runs on automatic.

Quite brilliant.

"Just as expected, seventy-two percent of the male students are circumcised. At Clem's party I had been reminded of the promiscuous way in which American doctors circumcise males in childhood, a practice I highly disapprove of...it constitutes, in [an] advertiser's phrase, 'a rape of the penis'. Until the forties, only the upper or educated classes were circumcised in America. The REAL people were spared this humiliation. But during the affluent postwar years the operation became standard procedure, making money for doctors as well as allowing the American mother to mutilate her son in order that he might never forget her early power over him..."

Gore Vidal
MYRA BRECKINRIDGE

If there was ever an issue that metaphorically encapsulates the Achilles heel of Western society, it turns out that this may be it, above all others. The title of this incredible, clearly thought out, brilliantly edited and masterfully written book may lead you to believe that it is all about a seemingly benign issue. Make no mistake: what this book is actually about are

1) the actual definition of the surgical practice and

2) the social, economic, sociological, psychological and anthropological forces that go into us seeing it as other than what it is.

Dr. Goldman effectively teaches in this book, from the anthropological perspectives of such luminaries as Ashley Montagu and Margaret Mead, that circumcision is a practice that is older than all recorded history and religions. (The practice was actually regimented and ritualized by the Egyptian priests and pharohs, millenia before the advent of Judaism.) Yet the practice, in and out of a religious context, continues. Dr. Goldman shows us from the purely medical/health/surgical perspective (with an avalanche of evidence and corroborative opinions in the medical profession) that circumcision is a practice that has little to no medical health value, and was once actually called a cure for masturbation and cancer by last century's medical community. Yet the implausible and unscientific theories justifying its existence keep coming up, and the practice continues. Dr. Goldman shows us, amazingly, from an internationally sociological and cultural perspective, that the United States is the only industrialized nation in the modern world that has the overwhelming majority of its infant boys be subjected to the practice. Yet the practice continues. Dr. Goldman shows us, from an ethics in medicine perspective, that circumcision is a practice that, by virtue of the harm done to infant children physically and psychologically--with little to no up side beyond the money going to obstetricians and pediatricians for the procedure--completely rips to shreds any conception of the Hippocratic oath and turns the entire life of any doctor who performs them routinely into a profoundly dangerous lie.

Yet, the practice continues.

It is an old anthropologist's dictum that the most important thing to know about a culture is what it takes for granted. Dr. Ronald Goldman, with CIRCUMCISION, THE HIDDEN TRAUMA gives us not only the hidden, true anatomy of the surgical process, along with the actual complete and (heretofore to my knowledge in everyday America) unknown anatomy of the human male, but also the secret architecture of the social forces and weaknesses that make up the ritualised American denial of the inherently violent nature of its existence. Dr. Goldman shows in this both innovatively and exhaustively researched book that the entire surgical procedure of circumcision depends on the total invalidation of the soul of the infant male child and their personhood for its existence in medicine. Only paleolithic theories of the child feeling no pain and suffering no lasting or remembered traumatic side effects from the procedure--WHICH ROUTINELY INVOLVES THE USE OF NO ANESTHESIA--justify its medical practice; and fly in the face of all kinds of logic while doing so.

I along with most of the country have never seen actual pictures of or witnessed a circumcision; part of the reason I saw no problem with it when I picked this book up. The *pictures* in this book alone of children in the process of being circumcised, however, will change your way of looking at the practice forever--as it has changed me and mine forever. Picture an adult male going through the process of circumcision, complete with his hands, arms and legs forceably bound in industrial strength velcro to keep him from being able to interrupt a surgical process performed on his perfectly healthy sex organ against his will--again, *without anesthesia*--and the first thought that will probably come to your mind is one of two things: the electric chair, or Nazi Germany.

Which by definition takes away the mystery of how BOTH in the 20th century could have come into existence.

I discovered Dr. Goldman's work in the bibliography of one of the seminal books by the psychologist champion of the human child Alice Miller (author of, among other classics in the field, FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, BANISHED KNOWLEDGE and PRISONERS OF CHILDHOOD--THE DRAMA OF THE GIFTED CHILD). Between this, Alice Miller's work, and William Dufty's SUGAR BLUES, I feel as if I have the answer to why our culture can move so far forward and fall so far backward on the evolutionary ladder at the same time. The door separating Western culture from the embrace of higher consciousness, as told to us by poets, mystics,yogis, leaders of ancient religions, transpersonal psychologists and theoretical physicist/philosophers, is our view of the spiritual and physical completeness of the human child--and the actions we take upholding that view.

That door is locked with a dead bolt called CIRCUMCISION. And even unlocking the door, as Europe has already shown us, does not by definition mean opening it. But without unlocking it opening it isn't posible.

Read this if you have to in small doses, but read it; it will change the way you view our world.

Because this unique book exposes significant issues about male circumcision that medical professionals and religious practitioners have long tried to ignore, I cannot recommend it highly enough, not only for the victims of this questionable medical procedure and religious rite, but also for the perpetrators and potential perpetrators of a primitive cultural tradition that causes great harm in our society. As a victim of neonatal genital mutilation myself, I have spent much of my life trying to come to terms with both the physical and psychological trauma involved, in part, by surveying the relevant literature on the topic. However, while I have found many books and articles that deal unapologetically with the physical trauma involved in both male and female genital cutting, as well as the psychological trauma that accompanies female circumcision, this book is, to my knowledge, the first and only published resource that delves into the psychological trauma to which males are subjected through this bizarre procedure. In his well-written study and analysis of the psychological aspects of male circumcision, Dr. Goldman, who is himself Jewish, indeed uncovers the hidden trauma that medical professionals and religious practitioners have so long denied, and he gives voice to those many victims of male circumcision whose post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms have been dismissed by those same professionals and practitioners for whom questioning the wisdom and safety of an age-old ritual would be self-indicting. In this country, the practice of female circumcision has been outlawed because, as a tradition foreign to our Judeo-Christian heritage, its harmful results are deemed self-evident. Unfortunately, many more psychological studies and academic publications confirming Dr. Goldman's findings will probably be necessary before the harmful results of male circumcision are finally accepted similarly as self-evident, and American males are given the same legal rights to genital integrity now granted to females through the U.S. legal system. Nonetheless, Dr. Goldman's book is a significant first step in providing a clear rationale for granting men equal protection under the law.

I just want to read a book that is fair about circumcision. Unfortunately, they don't exist. All books are either extremely for or against. This one is no different.