Cultural Books

The funds for cultural revolution rest in the coffers of a bankrupt society. That's not to say that change is meaningless. Raoul Vaneigem believes - along with the rest of the troupe from THE SITUATIONIST INTERNATIONAL - that if change comes from within the very culture being critiqued, then the only way to effect change is to change the way culture affects.

UNDERNEATH THE PAVING STONES - THE BEACH!

Urban renewel and changing the economic goal posts cannot prevent the inevitable exploding of the plastic society. Sometime. When the world becomes its own refuse the voices of refusal will echo down time until it pins the world against its own refusal.

If madness is the only remedy against the insanity of our contracting world, then THE REVOLUTION OF EVERYDAY LIFE might be a good guide. Its truth will speak to anyone whose heart is passionate, whose soul is strong, and whose mind is as yet still taciturn; it will help them express the homily:

I TAKE MY DESIRES FOR REALITY BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN THE REALITY OF MY DESIRES.

I concur wholeheartedly that this is momentous writing:
one that is even now more critical and urgent than 40 years ago, when it was first published.

Each page offers words-thoughts that ricochet long after their initial bang! Here's a sample:

+ to work for delight and authenticity is barely distinguishable from preparing for a general insurrection.

+ the surest chances of liberation lie in what is most familiar. Was it ever otherwise?...
the living reality of non-adaptation to the world is always crouched ready to spring...
it confronts you at each self-evasion, it grasps your shoulder, catches your eye, and the dialogue begins...

+ docility is no longer ensured by priestly magic, it results from a mass of minor hypnoses...
ideological hypnosis is replacing the bayonet.

+ people who talk about revolution without referring explicitly to everyday life,
without understanding what is subversive about love and what is positive in the refusal of constrains,
--such have a corpse in their mouth.

+ if the word 'innovation' means anything it means transcendence, not camouflage.

+ consume, consume: we take ashes for fire.

+ the young are already old and everything we are building is already a ruin.

+ the obligation to produce alienates the passion for creation.

+ affluent survival entails the pauperisation of life.

+ the dictatorship of quantified exchange (market value) colonized everyday life... the bourgeoisie traded in BEING for HAVING.

+ the fight is unfair. words serve power better than they do men...
at this moment language swoops down on living experience, ties it hand and foot, robs it of its substance, ABSTRACTS it.

+ the system of commercial exchange has come to govern all of people's everyday relations with themselves and with their fellows.
every aspect of public and private life is dominated by the quantitative.

+ ideology still has one trick up its sleeve--that of posing false questions,
raising false dilemmas and leaving the conditioned individual with the worry of sorting out which is the truer of the two.

+ even when it is co-opted and turned against its original purposes, poetry always gets what it wants in the end...
no poetic sign is ever completely turned by ideology.

+ the long revolution means that we have to build a parallel society
which can counter the dominant system until such time as it is strong enough to replace it.

+ the fight for language is the fight for the freedom to love, for the reversal of perspective.
the battle is between metaphysical facts and the reality of facts:
i mean between facts conceived statically as part of a system of interpretation of the world
and the facts understood in their development by the praxis which transform them.

And on and on the explosive phrases go, injecting heavy doses of adrenaline into our resolve.

Even though I take exception to Vaneigem's advocacy of violent resistance,
his book comes the closest to diagnosing the cause of our present narcosis and, even better,
grounds the revolutionary turning on the rich dirt of everyday life.

How could we ever think it would be otherwise?

This book, along with Debord's "Society of the Spectacle", forms the core of the theoretical output of the Situationist Movement which emphasized the necessity of spontaneous, joyous creative activity to overcome the alienation and oppression of mass consumer culture, giving inspiration to the youthful insurrectionists of Paris '68.

The book is peppered with witty, canny, and memorable aphorisms on revolutionary struggle, and its emphasis on spontaneous activity motivated by felt needs for freedom and self-expression was at the time an important corrective to the Stalinist model of the revolutionary as selfless, altruistic drone. Vaneigem and the situationists go overboard at times in emphasizing the revolutionary value of selfishness, pleasure and spontaneity-- the shortcomings of 1968 are the proof. These shortcomings have been stretched to the point of parody in Hakim Bey's "Temporary Autonomous Zone" and the writings of the Crimethinc collective, but there are important elements of truth in them.

The presentation of the ideas is hobbled by Vaneigem's writing style-- you have to slog through 5 pages of bloated abstractions before coming across one of the keen one-liners that make the book worthwhile-- I think the ideas come across much more powerfully as street graffiti than in a 200 page manifesto. For a more palatable presentation of situationist ideas, check out American situationist Ken Knabb's wonderful piece "The Joy Of Revolution", available online or in his book Public Secrets: Collected Skirmishes of Ken Knabb.

No Amazon review can really do this masterpiece justice. This is simply one of those classics that will sweep you away, leaving you stunned that someone was able to so precisely articulate the mechanical alienation from self and palpable inner decay that you feel daily as you sit in your cubicle (wash, rinse, repeat) and mimic the farcical motions assigned to humans in modern industrial civilization--a hierarchical vaccum in which "survival" is contingent upon our economic value, obedience to Power and our ability to force others to either consume or produce. The dominance of the lie of economic value has poisoned every area of our lives and left us defunct as human beings, most notably stealing from us the innate urge to spontaneously create and give.

Vaneigem attacks the dead, vacuous nature of modern life with all of the venomous intensity conceivable. He does not misuse or mince words. Each sentence is filled to the brim with harsh truth, the sheer brute force of which will take your breath away.

[...].
I recommend at least printing it out to fully revel and enjoy the intensity, though!

This is one of the most viscerally exciting political / philosophical books in history. You can't help but be swept up by the force of Vaneigem's appeals... and though one may not assent to all of his positions or specific interpretations, all in all you will have to say that he had managed to tap into something very true.

read it, ponder it... and get out and live. you have nothing to lose but your boredom.

I originally bought this book for friends who lost their 16 year old son in an accident. This last year I bought it for myself and read it. If you have recently suffered the loss of a loved one it is very difficult to get through the first chapter where the author details the loss of his son and the immediate reactions of the family and friends. After the first chapter the book moves into the difficult ups and downs of getting on with every day life with while being gripped by overwhelming grief. There are so many places in this book where the author is able to put incredible perspective on what most people would consider ordinary events. Whether you've suffered the loss of a loved one or not, you will read this book and look at people and things differently than you did before. I hope that I am a better friend to people who suffered a loss because of the understanding this book gives the reader. I found myself disappointed as I was nearing the end, because the book was so well written that I wanted to keep on going with Bill Hancock beyond his cross country bike ride. I "googled" the author and contacted him by e-mail to tell him why I had bought 2 copies of the book and how much it meant to me after reading it. He responded the next day with a very thoughtful e-mail. I highly recommend reading Riding With the Blue Moth by Bill Hancock.

Ooops; that is the title of another book out there; but it's still true and I think this is a fairly good book to accompany the book by Lance Armstrong which details Lance's fight with cancer. Both of these fellows having to deal with tragic situations.

The author goes through my home town; so I was fairly bent on not giving him 5 stars just because he did that in his journey from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic; but I am a cyclist; and I came to think after reading it, this is rather darn good; although, just like some characters that Bill describes, I've gone through some hardship, to the point that it was not easy to concentrate and read this; but I did.

March Madness; the NCAA tournament also, is underway as I write this for the year 2007; you know, it is in a tiny bit of a way a basketball book, seeing how Hancock is involved and connected with the NCAA; and it's things like that, that make this a good book to read. Now, I say this, because I believe the basketball fan could well find this entertaining too; but of course, not a basketball book like say, for example; the book "Pistol" that is currently in the stores.

But I'll keep this short and to the point; I like Dean Karnazes book, The UltraMarathon Man; but I read that and think, I wish Dean gave out more info on his running, diet, etc.

Bill Hancock for some reason, gives a lot of detail, the basic facts of his road trip on a daily basis; I mean saying part of his diet was on any given day, "17 Fritos or 12 Cheezits, 2 gallons of water and a gallon of gatorade" is detail I've never seen anyone relate about before; some of the chapters even has a bit of a question and answer session via email where Bill is asked questions and he gives back answers about his trip. So, it definitely has a real diary quality about it and it is the attention to detail that makes me give it the high ranking; cycling detail but of course the book is much more.

A solid enough book, I like his descriptions of many geographic locales; such as Yarnell hill; I had to look up that mountain on the internet I was so curious; or the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma.

Glad to see the positive reviews for this book; but most of them are rather short to gather people's impressions. I decided to make mine a bit longer. A fine contribution to cycling literature.

I felt like I was along for the ride with Bill Hancock in "Riding With the Blue Moth", experiencing the emotional highs and lows, chuckling at the amusing experiences he had along the way, and shedding more than a few tears. Nothing strikes fear into the heart of a parent more than the prospect of losing a child. The Hancocks experienced every parent's nightmare and the healing of the cross-country bicycle ride was great both for the reader and, I suspect, for the author as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to anyone who has lost an offspring or is close to someone who has.

This is a book that is about real life...and about death and the issues surrounding trying to get back to normal. If you don't shed a tear or two you are not human. (men included)

I've been reading this book at night for a week now. I shed tears nearly every night, and find myself at the bedside of one or both of my kids thanking God for the privilege I have of being their Dad. This book has almost become a devotional for me. The depth of the writing is stunning.... My prayers are with you Bill and Nicki. Thank you for letting us glimpse enough of your pain so that we can better treasure all that it means to Live.

See a Grown Man Cry: The prose is jagged, visceral, potent, vigorous and muscular. Every syllable aches and screams. This is adrenal overload. This is the assassination of mendacity, of mediocrity. The gelatinous underbelly of culture is exposed, cleaved and forcefully displayed. Then Henry eviscerates from the inside. The raw energy of this work is as naked, observant and perceptive as anything Bukowski ever committed to print.

i have never read anything by henry rollins before i purchased this book. and i fell in love w/ his writing. i have now bought almost every book by him and in the process of reading them. his books touch me in a way, and help too. its hard for me to find a book, let alone an author that i like as much as henry rollins and his books

this is the most honest, heartbreaking work I've read. It puts your personal misery into perspective, reminding you what it means to live life. Even after you lose those that make you whole.

7 years ago, a friend of mine read me a poem from "Now Watch Him Die" (They were seperate books back then). It's the one on page 164 of this volume, the one that starts with "I love you and you'll never know." Since then, I have not gone anywhere without a copy of these books close at hand. They are an all-encompassing chronicle of one man's solipsism, isolation, desperation and depression. This may not sound fascinating, but that man happens to be Henry Rollins, who has a talent for intensity and a command of words rivaled by no one of this era. Not since Bukowski has someone used so little to say so much. If you are ready for a descent into a maelstrom of anger, violence and pure, blinding pain, then this is the book for you. If you're looking for something sappy, sweet and redemptive, then try Oprah's Book Club instead.

There is so much farcity in the world today that it's so good to come across a writer like Henry who's willing to show everyone what he thinks, how he feels, what his life is like and how he perceives the world around him.

This book is very brutal and honest, which I think always makes for good writing. He has a very clear perception of the people around him and how they think, which lets him view the world from all sides including his own. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to open their eyes to someone else's reality.

Wow.......I wasn't expecting to like the book. Everything the other reviewers have said in a positive light are true. It's a very inspiring book. Lots of history and insights into what it was like to live in Vietnam and it was inspiring to read about how the author succeeded in so many ways. Many Christian books get kind of preachy. I think this fills the bill for Christians who want to read an inspiring Christian book, but it also is great for someone who doesn't want to read Christian literature. It's not preachy and it's a great story.

Not only a encouraging, uplifting story about the spiritual history of the Vu family, This book also delves into the life of those living in a war torn country (anywhere). Though I remember the news stories of the many people escaping Saigon in the chaotic days before the U.S. left Vietnam, I didn't know much about how the U.S. created a system (quite quickly) to feed, care for, organize and eventually assymilate so many people into the American sociaty. After reading this book I am interested to find out more about this project.

This biography/autobiography leads you first hand through three generations of a Vietnamese family. I learned so much about recent Vietnamese history and family culture. It is also an amazing story of God at work in Vietnam and America. Highly recommended.

I could not put this book down. It gives a touching account of what it was like growing up in war-torn conditions in Viet Nam, and having the faith to stay positive and make something of one's life. This entire family is to be praised as an example of those who rise from conditions unimaginable and keep a strong faith in God to become something their off-spring can be proud of in America. All the siblings of Anh have become successful and given something back to this country, including herself. I can testify to this as Phong Vu is my brother-in-law and I know we're all proud of him and his family.

I received this book in audiotape form. I expected a tale of harrowing bravery of Ahn and her family's escape from war-torn Vietnam, but was unprepared for it to be so spiritually uplifting at the same time. While I realized that many churches had sponsored Vietnamese into their communities I never thought much about how the families came to be in the U.S. or that they might have been raised Christian in Vietnam. This book was a history lesson and inspirational at the same time.

This book appears to have been inspired by the superior "Batman Collected" by Chip Kidd. Far from an analysis of Spider-Man as a character, or the various Spider-Man comics as works of fiction, this volume concentrates on Spider-Man as a pop culture phenomenon and commercial exercise. As such, equal emphasis is placed on TV and film adaptations and in particular ancillary merchandise as on the comics themselves.
The book is lavishly illustrated with quality reproductions of a wide range of comicbook covers and interior pages as well as screen grabs from animation and movies and photographs of various (often amusingly incongruous or shoddily made) Spider-Man products from across the decades.
Sadly the book is let down by the text. Contrary to the reviews above, the author does assume familiarity with Spidey as well as with Marvel Comics in general. For example, in his opening chapter he offers no definite summary of the character's fictional origin, making it neither explicit that Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider nor that he later neglects to halt a criminal who goes on to murder his uncle. Other characters, titles and story-lines are tossed into the prose casually ("...Cap's shooting...") with no supporting explanation.
Worse, the author was on Marvel's pay roll in the past and as such certain passages come across as trade puff. Saffel is unwilling to engage critically with his subject. To cite a few examples: we are given no account of the well-known creative differences between Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, nor is the contention that Jack Kirby designed the costume addressed ; the recent "One More Day" reboot is described, correctly, as "controversial", but there's no description of why; "Spider-Man 3" was the most critically derided of Sam Raimi's movies (62% "fresh" at rottentomatoes.com compared with 90% and 93% for the previous instalments) but is nevertheless painted as the most successful.
This book therefore has the same frustrating lack of depth as the various DK "Ultimate Guides" to comic book characters whose authors also fail to make any attempt at critique, or even be encyclopaedic in their approach. The definitive Spider-Man book is yet to be written. One longs for something in the style of Les Daniels' "Complete Histories" of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

I have been a Spider-man Collector for 32 years and this is by far one of the best books you can buy. This collection is very informative and has great pictures by all the best artists.

Buy this book now.

This is an excellent, entertaining history of Spider-Man. Saffel has done a terrific job of chronicling the long and strange history of one of the most popular fictional characters in the world.

There are lots of interesting tidbits that will surprise even the most dedicated of fans. Entertaining details and gorgeous photography are the clear highlights of this massive package.

The coverage of how Spider-Man made it to the screen is particularly interesting.

Plus the evolution of the character is great, even if it just touches on some key milestones.

Three minor complaints:
1. The book tries to cover too much ground. That is, there's so much to report that the author must sometimes merely gloss over interesting historical details. Perhaps if the focus was mainly on comics and media and toys, it would have been more effective.

2. This book would have been the perfect place to offer some historical perspective on key story lines. The author spends some time on current history (Civil War) and some recent history (Clone Wars, Black Costume, Wedding), but very little on other history. It would have been very interesting to know more about certain story arcs from the 70s and early 80s.

3. Listing of facts. Sometimes the author seems to be simply listing information, like names of episodes or other stuff that doesnt really progress your knowledge of the character's history. It's almost as if the author is filling space to round out a chapter or section.

Again, these are minor complaints, and I still give this 4 of 5 stars.

This should be Book 1 in an ongoing series of books like this. Well worth the price.

This is an amazing book, filled with all kinds of fascinating information about everyone's favorite wall-crawling hero! Steve Saffel has done an incredible job, drawing together historic items, wonderful photos of toys, games and other items that feature the iconic Spider-Man. This book is both a fascinating history of Spidey and a warm nostalgic trip through the "life" of a character that has achieved mythical status through comics, books, TV shows (animated and live action) and now a terrific movie trilogy. Highly recommended!!!

I'm one of those guys who started reading Spider-Man back in 1962 with his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15. I've kept up with Spidey's adventures all these years through all sorts of titles, and episodes. I even worked for Marvel as a freelancer during the `80s & `90s (a little bit of that time for author Steve Saffel while he was an editor over there), so it is entirely possible that I'm a tad biased when it comes to this subject.

I believe that one of the reasons that I became a professional writer was because of my love for this character. When I spotted this book at a local bookstore, I knew I had to have it. Having Steve's name on the cover clinched it for me.

Now as I read the book, rediscovering all of the things that made me a Marvel Zombie, and Spidey fan as a teen came flooding back. This is a terrific book, and if I, who not only knew much -- if not all -- of this stuff already still finds it fascinating, think how engrossing it will be to someone who doesn't have my history with the character. Going through the book I see snippets of conversations I had with Steve about the history of both Marvel and Spider-Man, as see that he has taken the care necessary for dealing with a subject that is near and dear to the author's heart.

Yes, this is a great coffee table book that is a great research tool as well as a wonderful trip down memory lane for any fan of May Parker's beloved nephew. All of which brings up an interesting point.

As much of the early accolades for Spidey (as reported in the book) revolved around the degree of realism that Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and John Romita, Sr. put into the series (Spidey lived in New York, not "Metropolis" or "Gotham City," He suffered from real-world problems (school bullies, an ailing aunt, death of close friends), and that he was allowed to grow up and age (Peter went from a 15-year-old High School student to a young adult attending and then graduating college).

Thus, given this early ground-breaking work by Lee and those that followed, one has to wonder why the current editorial management team has decreed that Spidey's clock be reset to an earlier time via a magical "solution" (to a problem that wasn't there)? Ah well, perhaps Steve will be able to explain that in his follow-up tome.

I couldn't put this book down. I had no idea how many people's Jewish background was hidden, for the sake of survival. I am sure there is more to know and I have the greatest respect for Barbara Kessel's work. I hope she writes more books. It is especially touching for me as I am Jewish.

Barbara Kessel tells the story of one- hundred and sixty people she interviewed who ' discovered' their Jewishness. There are four categories, Crypto-Jews ( Sephardic Jews descendant from those driven from Spain during the Inquistion) hidden children( Children whose identity was disguised from them while they were hidden during the Holocaust) Survivors ( Children of Survivors of the Holocaust whose parents tried to hide their identity from them) and Adoptees.
As the Jewish people is a small people who has lost so many in history to persecution and assimilation there is a special sense of 'joy' at the return of those who could be conceived of as lost.
This is an important introductory work on an important subject.
One reader however wisely suggests another category of 'hidden Jews'. Those children of mixed marriages whose parents have raised them without any Jewish heritage or tradition. Certainly they present the largest number of those who might ' discover their identity' . Such discovery however in Jewish terms means more than saying 'Eureka' it involves a learning process by which the individual comes to understand Jewish teaching and law- and decides to practice it, and thus live Jewishly in a full way.

The author introduces you into the inner lives of the interviewees with mastery ease.They share with her and the reader their traumatic experiences,meanwhile you follow intensely their voyage to the discovery of their selves.I just couldn't stop reading it.These stories made me weep and smile.The book it's about self negation,self disconnection and justified and unjustifed fears on one side but also about self discovery,renewal and bravery on the other side.

I'll dare to be different with my opinion on Suddenly Jewish. I agree that its good that the accounts of these one hundred sixty cases were documented to show the effects of the long-term persecution of the Jews. Whether it was the Holocaust or the Spanish Inquision, the long terms effects on many Jews from a psychological point of view runs very deep. A few stories, particularly the one about the priest discovering his Jewish roots does stand out.

However, as much as I applaud documentation that details the persecution and torment the Jews have faced, the manner in which the stories just shoot out at you is annoying and difficult to comprehend and follow. I guess I would rather prefer it if Barbara Kessel documented more clearly and sucinctly a few of the accounts of these Suddenly Jewish people rather than providing brief snipets of 160 cases. The stories practically run into one another and it is difficult to interpret where one starts and one ends.

After a while many of the cases sound identical as there is little that is unique. Three of the sections deal mostly with the Holocaust. Don't get me wrong, we should never forget the Holocaust, but it would have been nice to have a little more depth about some of these people. How about a section discussing some issues that involve the Middle East? With Israel being surrounded by so many Arab nations, you wonder if there are some Jews in those countries who were raised gentile or otherwise.

Also, how about a section that illustrates cases of intermarriage which have nothing to do with a political event whre the children are brought up in a gentile home but later are curious as to the Jewish side of their family tree. Kessel most definitely should have organized the chapters of this book better to outline more situations of Gentile children discovering their Jewish roots.

A few important reminders of the path the Jews have travelled. However, the organization and the documentary style of writing hurts this book's appeal.

Barbara Kessel has written an amazing book about individuals who are raised as Gentiles and discover their Jewish roots. She manages to weave many diverse interviews into her book, and manages to somehow connect all these smoothly. The result is a fascinating look at how individuals were told of their Jewish roots, and the wide range of reactions to this news.

The entire book revolves around questions of identity. What is it to be a Jew? Can you be "half-Jewish"? Is Judaism a religion, a race, a culture - or all of the above? What if you know you are Jewish but you lack the documentation to prove it - do you convert? Why do some latch on to the revelation that they're Jewish, while others shrug and say that it doesn't change anything for them? Can you ever really BE Jewish if you were raised with Christian theology - or will you always be playing "catch-up" with Jews who went to Hebrew school and have a lifetime of memories of holidays and bar/bat mitzvahs?

This book was such an enticing read, I could hardly put it down. However, the most fascinating chapter for me was the last, for in it the author discusses the possibility of "collective unconscious" - that a group-specific unconscious memory from the Jews present at Sinai is passed through generations as sort of a genetic memory. This phenomenon could be one possible explanation for why one who seems drawn to Judaism later learns he has Jewish roots. Or maybe there's another reason for these "coincidences."

Barbara Kessel has written a compelling book on Judaism and identity. I highly recommend this book for anyone - Jewish or not. I see that it would also be helpful for anyone undergoing a conversion to another religion or one who is grappling with questions of identity.

If you love soul music and want to understand it from the inside out this book is for you. It is full of facts, myths debunked, and a scholarly yet very sensitive and thoughtful perspective on what the music means to us and why.

In "Sweet Soul Music," Peter Guralnick explains what made soul music great. He views soul as a distinct genre, separate from Motown, which was performed primarily by black singers for a black audience. Soul told the story of the rapid social upheaval transforming the South while reflecting the gains made by the civil rights movement. According to Guralnick, soul was different from other forms of R&B because it involved straining the boundaries of the listener's expectations and hinting at a conclusion without actually reaching it. Unlike Motown, the musicians who performed soul were freelancers and individualists who emphasized the underlying feeling of a song more than keeping the mechanics exactly right. Guralnick says that because the musicians, songwriters, producers, managers, and engineers who created the music worked at isolated regional outposts far removed from the major record labels, they were able to define their own roles within the movement.

"Sweet Soul Music" traces the origin of soul to the song "Crying in the Chapel" by the Orioles, which blurred the lines between gospel and R&B. "I Got a Woman" by Ray Charles, which followed, solidified soul as a distinct genre and exerted a profound influence on the future of music in the U.S. Guralnick explains that "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge then brought white fans to the table. The book tells the stories of the heroes of soul, including Sam Cooke, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin, explaining in great detail how each set goals, viewed their careers, related to their peers, and overcame obstacles in order to achieve the extraordinary success that they did. Many of the stories are memorable, enabling the reader to see how a particular event changed an individual artist's view of the world, influenced that artist's decisions, and shaped the music itself.

The book is at its best, though, when telling the stories of the lesser-known talents who paved the way for future artists to succeed. Guralnick explains how Arthur Alexander's single "You Better Move On" was criticized in Nashville for sounding "too black," but eventually found the audience it deserved and opened new doors for other Muscle Shoals artists. William Bell's successful touring to support the single "You Don't Miss Your Water (Till Your Well Runs Dry)" not only to put Stax on the map, but enabled Bell to set the gold standard regarding philosophy towards fame and stardom. Guralnick explains how Stax's decision to open a record store and carry competing labels' stock gave the Stax musicians an opportunity to study hits closely, learn why they were hits, and discuss what future hits should sound like.

The book concludes that soul never fully recovered from the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an event that caused relationships among many of the movement's key players to become frayed. Guralnick says that soul was a genre that could only exist in a particular time and place because of the influence that the struggle for civil rights had on the music. Overall, "Sweet Soul Music" offers an outstanding look at why soul left such an extraordinary legacy for artists and fans today. The book is strongly recommended for anyone who wants to understand why soul left such a powerful impression on listeners at the time, and continues to do so today.

Like Robert Palmer's superb "Deep Blues," Guralnick's extensive look back at the roots of R&B and soul music combines criticism, biographical profiles and social history into one rich, printed tapestry. Meticulously researched, the book shows its author's deep love of the music without sacrificing objectivity.

Guralnick provides plenty of background on the "race music" that spawned R&B and the great soul music of the sixties and early seventies, on which much of the book concentrates. Like most, if not all, of the great blues musicians, the early pioneers of soul came from humble, mostly southern beginnings, and made little or no money from their work, which was liberally sampled by white musicians.

A good portion of the narrative revolves around the fascinating rise and fall of Stax Records, the tiny Memphis-based label that brought together white executive leadership and musicians with raw black talent from the South. Despite initially primitive recording conditions, Stax developed into a powerhouse that was home to some of the greatest musicians in soul music, from Otis Redding to William Bell to Carla Thomas to Sam and Dave to Johnny Taylor. The label became representative of the growing sense of black pride that defined the era, one in which civil rights, of course, moved to the forefront of America's consciousness.

All of these musicians and many more, including Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and James Brown, to name a few, are given finely drawn profiles by Guralnick, and he treats their contributions to American music with the respect that they deserve. Throughout, he is intent on letting the artists tell their stories in their own words, and remains content to use his own fine writing to direct and bind together the narrative.

Another great accomplishment of the book, for me, was Guralnick's successful effort to illuminate the ties between white and black musicians during this period. Yes, many of the most successful producers, notably Atlantic's Jerry Wexler, were white, but so were many of the musicians. Most had grown up in the south around blacks and were intimately familiar with African-American music. The Stax house band, which included Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn, was white, and they performed on many songs penned by great black songwriters such as David Porter and Isaac Hayes. Think of the great, ominous organ introduction to Aretha Franklin's "I Ain't Never Loved a Man." The white player is Spooner Oldham. This musical cross-fertilization is a notable point, one not often brought into considerations of the era.

As a young kid coming up in the mid-60s, I loved the music that Guralnick writes about here, and I could tell -- even if he hadn't said so -- that he did too. He goes beyond that love to really dig into its roots and understand it, and succeeds admirably.

'Sweet Soul Music' is a fantastic book, the best book I've read on the subject. Having said that, it isn't by any means a complete history of Soul Music (it completely omits the great music that came from New York, Motown, Chicago and Philly), nor is it a complete history of Southern Soul Music (the book ends with the acrimonious break up of Stax/Volt records, even though great Soul was still being made elsewhere in Memphis). Guralnick's book starts off looking like a history of Soul Music (there are early chapters on Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and an amazing and hilarious chapter on Solomon Burke), but then the book changes emphasis and becomes the story of the involvement of white musicians in Southern R&B.

Guralnick's thesis seems to be that Southern Soul achieved its great creative flowering in the 60s as a result of the partnership between black and white musicians, and even though he interviews a great number of musicians and businessmen - black and white - he can't help himself from empathising with the young white hipsters that made up the house bands at Stax and Muscle Shoals, with the result that the book becomes very much a story told from their point of view (Guralnick calls Dan Penn the "secret hero of this book" - fair enough, but surely James Brown should have been its overt hero). After these white musicians were intimidated out of the business during the racial tension that followed Martin Luther King's assassination in 1968, Guralnick concentrates more on the politics and seems to lose interest in the music itself.

Which is a great pity, since Southern Soul in the 70s went on to even greater heights (James Brown's rhythmic revolution, then Al Green's great synthesis of the sexual and the spiritual). Though I learnt a great deal from the book (my CD collection has mushroomed after reading it) it felt to this reader as though the book had ended just before its real climax.

I bought this book in the gift shop at the newly resurrected Stax Records museum in Memphis... the Satellite Record Shop, next door to the museum. I've lived in Memphis all my life, although I'm about 15-20 years younger than most of those made famous by the Stax phenomenon. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and it served to fill in the blanks about many things I had only heard about superficially growing up here. I'm bothered by a lot of factual errors, not noticeable or important maybe to many, but this is about my home. At least the author and/or his editor could have been more sure of producing a factually accurate book. The edition I bought was published in 1999... the original in 1986. Did no one else catch these errors in the '86 edition? Here are a couple of examples: He refers to a Memphis radio station, KWEM, which was and is actually in West Memphis, Arkansas, and whose call letters are KWAM. (Everybody knows stations east of the Mississippi River start with a "W" and all those west of the Mississippi start with a "K".... radio and TV stations alike. Does the author know where Memphis is?
He refers to a naval base in Tipton County, TN, where Booker T. & the MGs would play, when in fact it's in Shelby County, the same county Memphis itself is in. Does this change anything in the big picture? Probably not. Is the book any less enjoyable or informative? No, not really. But if you considered yourself a true New Yorker, and someone kept writing about it, calling it Gethom City, or The Big Orange, well, you get the picture. I do wonder how many other errors the book may contain that I didn't catch?

This author's life story demonstrates how a refusal to accept society's "labels" and a strong determination, coupled with a strong faith in God can overcome even the most challenging and disappointing events in life. Several times while reading this book I had to stop, pause, reflect, sometime cry, sometime laugh and at other times feel encouraged. Just knowing that this author endured many of the same disappointments, hardships of being a teenage parent, ridicule by society and so called friends validated my pain and my struggles. This should be a required reading for all teenagers.

In the book True Vine, Fountain writes a timeless and powerful message of truth and consequences. It is a personal testimony that speaks to youth and adults alike...if you believe in (God) a power greater than yourself and apply positive action (faith and hard work) to fuel your beliefs, there is absolutely nothing that you cannot do. My grandmother used to say "He (God) may not come when you want him, but He's right on time". Fountain uses bits of wisdom like this, as shared by elders in his family, to help us understand the power of faith and the proof as is manifested in his survival and ultimate success. Long after you read this book, you will feel the despair of an impoverished K-town; and, it has to make one think about how many neighborhoods exist today where children and families barely survive (and many don't) through unspeakable horrors, insufferable living conditions and unbelieveable hardships -- in America, the richest country in the world? But the saving grace in this story for me is that John W. Fountain not only survived and succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, but that he cared enough to honestly share his story with the world. True Vine is a true story -- one that reveals some of the hidden truths about family, community, poverty, its victims and its survivors. True Vine is a branch of knowledge that provides us with food for thought about problems and solutions that we, as individuals, as viable members of communities and organizations, can all take part in -- righting the wrongs -- fighting poverty and violence. With faith as our foundation, one step at a time, we can help build prosperity in underprivileged neighborhoods for future generations. Fountain can be likened to the "voice crying in the wilderness" from which many will hear and be saved. This book is truly a fountain of revelations. It is much more than a personalized how-to-succeed book. There is a lesson in every chapter that should be read by every child and every parent in America. I am certain that this is not the last time we will hear from this great author. I for one, will be looking for more.

With True Vine, John W. Fountain has created an inspirational beacon. Not only has he trail blazed a path for all of the inner-city youth struggling in the jungle of poverty, he has written a travelogue of hope for all the souls who may have lost sight of their dreams.

This is one of the best books I have read, and will most likely be among my top 10 for the year. I wrote something down from this book that I know I will take away with me and remember for a long time: "You can't stop dreaming or you start to die."

When I first picked up this book, I was worried it would be a non-stop preach-fest; it turned out to be an inspiring tale of despair, hope, and faith.

Even though I grew up in a ranch house on a cul-de-sac in a well-to-do white Chicago suburb with grassy lawns and two-car garages, this book made me feel like I grew up in the poverty stricken neighborhoods of the west side of Chicago. It made me feel like a part of John W. Fountain's circle of friends and family.

This is the kind of book that comes along only once in a while. True Vine is a true treasure.

I found myself unable to put this book down even for sleep. It's one of those books you read from cover to cover, then promptly begin to put together the names of friends and family who simply MUST read this book.

I was deeply touched by his unwavering faith and integrity as he wrote about his life in the Chicago ghetto--up through poverty, his setbacks in life, and again recouping to claim a better life for himself and his family. I was most impressed by his early and continued determination to lead an exemplary male life, not wavering in his responsibilities to provide security and leadership no matter the adversity. His strong message of faith is a personal one, clearly and directly told. It is a touching, sincere, very warm book and so worth your time and money. You'll love it, I'm sure of it.

I was feeling pretty down when I picked up True Vine, I knew that I needed to know that I wasn't alone in what life was throwing at me at the time, I had no idea that this book would Re-new my Faith, and give me the Courage to keep going on. My sad, went to glad, my downs went to ups, my bad, went to good, and My Spirit Soared!!!!!!!God put John W. Fountain on this earth to give us our Faith Back, and to know that through God, all things are Possible, God Bless and Keep John, can't wait for book number two........

I've only just begun reading, but so far, it's been quite enjoyable. The author writes with humor. I've some British online friends. I've been able to use tidbits from the book when joking around with them.

I had read Barzini's well known works on the Europeans and thoroughly enjoyed this book on the English.

The approach is academic yet palatable, laden with insightful observations and well deserves consideration as a work of anthropological interest. The author maintains an objective distance and professional methodology which impart a delicious irony; we are conditioned to primitive cultures as the provenance of these studies, she turns the focus upon what some may argue as the bastion of civilization.

As a guidebook to a cultural understanding of the English this work is invaluable. The expose on class is penetrating and amuses as there are unexpected twists; such as decorating your home or garden with a modicum of lower class objects, the inside joke apparent only to the cognoscienti.

Written by an English anthropologist about her own nation's behaviour. There're some interesting explanation on why British ppl are so uneasy socializing, talking about money and may sometimes talking in the opp way (hypocrisy). While many of the explanations suggested by the author are convincing, I found those behaviour not unique to the British, they can be observed in our Chi society as well! So it's useful in understdg ppl's behaviour.

Kate Fox, a social anthropologist and Co-Director of the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford, who has lived in England, America, Ireland and France, takes a revealing look at the quirks and habits of the English people. Being very English herself, she holds a mirror up to the English national character and reveals the most famous traits as well as the most bizarre reflex reactions. She attempts to discover the curious, hidden rules of behaviour that all English people seem to follow, but few are aware even exist. In a separate section consisting of 14 pages she focuses on defining Englishness and attempts to define Englishness in contrast to being British.

Writing with gentle humour and astute perception she portrays the foibles in the English and in herself as well. Kate Fox is immensely perceptive about all kinds of English cultural values, behaviours and oddities. Watching the English falls into two main parts: part one - Conversation codes; part two - Behaviour codes. The first part covers everything from the obsession with the weather through English humour to how people use mobile phones. The second part deals with how the English behave inside their own homes or when visiting other people's homes, life in the workplace, food, drink, eating-habits, sex... and many more topics.

Though the smallish print might irritate some, it's an easy read with good flow and the reader will get much material to provoke lively discussion with anyone interested in the English.

Anthropologist Kate Fox, has forced herself to engage in many humiliating field tests-- like bumping into people on purpose and seeing how many people say `sorry'-- in order to test the common theories about English behaviour. Watching the English is the result of her research. Fox's book displays most of the traits that she points out as representing the English: being sensitive to the tiny signifiers of class status (e.g. the `M&S test', which identifies your class by your shopping choices at that particular department store), it purposely avoids taking itself too seriously and is continuously self-deprecating (of course, this is the `popular anthropology', not the real scientific one). Admitting to being neither, Watching the English is positioned between satire and science.

Warmly recommended for anyone from another culture, who tries to survive living in Britain, or live among the English abroad. People working in international teams with English members or bosses would have many aha-insights through this book.

As an American social scientist who has an English partner and has visited the UK multiple times, I found this book engrossing for many reasons. Kate Fox does the miraculous: she makes fascinating reading out of chapters on tea, queue-jumping, arrangements of knick-knacks, incessant talking about the weather, and myriad other English characteristics that so charm, frustrate, and baffle we non-English of the world. Moreover, her writing is hilarious - she has a droll, tongue-in-cheek, utterly English sense of humor that had me laughing through every chapter.

The book is incredibly useful, too. I read it after my English partner recommended it to me, saying he had never read anything that captured the English so well. The insights in the book clarified several things to me and greatly reduced the quantity of cultural faux pas on my part. It also gave my partner a great deal of insight into his own personality as well as his interactions with Americans. Plus, it led to many, many fascinating discussions between us about (among other things) the markers of class and attitudes about it, the nature (and point) of politeness, and how it is that societies can make us who we are.

The only shortcoming of the book is that I still don't understand Vegemite, but I think that may just be beyond comprehension.

I haven't found any picture book of Manhattan that's as sharp, descriptive and beautiful as this one. Unfortunately, it is a bit outdated--for those seeking a realistic portrayal--because of new construction and destruction in New York City.

This book is really great. I recommend it to anyone who loves NY!

Let me first say I love New York, it is quite simply the most energetic, vibrant, alive place on earth. This book does the city such a service, it is spectacular and photographs just amazing. Mr. Cameron is such a singular talent and he does it hanging out of a helicopter. This book really captures the city and lets the viewer see the hidden New York, that very few see. I love the photos of Central Park, you have no idea what an oasis it is until you see it from high above. Some photos are in summer some are in winter and you get to see the city in all its various incarnations. Mr. Cameron also includes some vintage photos to let the viewer see how much the city has changed. I only wish that Mr. Careron had been able to photograph my city of Houston, she would have welcomed him with opened arms. I highly recommend this book, you won't be disappointed.

Robert Cameron's "Above New York: A Collection of Historical and Original Aerial Photographs of New York City" sets itself apart from other similar books. In no particular order:

a) the photos are unbelieveably crisp and the printing is of top-notch quality;
b) don't ask me how, but Mr. Cameron makes the city look like a place where human beings actually live and work, rather than making the cityscape look like an architectural diorama;
c) other boroughs are represented! New York is not just Manhattan, as so many other books would have you think.

The contrast of the modern skyline with the older photographs is very effective, as others have mentioned. But what is also appealing is the changes of the skyline between the time these photos were taken (ca. 1988) and today, as we New Yorkers would notice. The images of the World Trade Center are poignant, but I'm glad that the publishers did not update the book, in order to remove them. As time takes its healing course, we can look back fondly on those buildings--still with pain, but now with some acceptance. "Above New York: A Collection of Historical and Original Aerial Photographs of New York City" remains a glorious collection that has yet to be eclipsed in quality.

Rocco Dormarunno
author of The Five Points

This is the best photographic book I have ever seen. Its pictures of The Big Apple are magnificent! Comparative pictures taken in years past, many in the 1920s, show how sections of the city have changed. Whether one is a fan of New York and who isn't, you will enjoy this book. It makes me want all the other "Above" books now.