Cultural Books

This is a true story, as true as one can be about one's own life, of an American who, in his early 20's left the capitalistic society of America to seek a life more in tune with the environment. As a seeker, he made many mistakes along the way, but has found wisdom and harmony and offers it to those who choose to visit La Cusinga Lodge. He fought to conserve and preserve paradise and has definitely made a difference in Costa Rica. He has also found a way to make science more humane. Thank you, John, for your wonderful and honest accounting of your life's journey so far! Read this if you have ever wondered what one person can do to change the world.

Even after reading so many books about costa rica and people that have gone to the tropics and try to make it, I read the Gringo's Hawk... and it is a great book. It is one of those books that flows and makes you want to know what is coming next. A great writer, simple and to the point. It brings you in and makes you part of the story.

I most say that it is a most for all of us who have travel the world, or for those that want to know about the tropics and the struggles with life.

GREAT BOOK!

I live near the area in Costa Rica where the author writes about in Gringo's Hawk. We are inclined to think that the really good stuff in life has to come from overseas, certainly not from the same neighborhood where we live. So as I started reading the book, I was expecting an amateur presentation of life in the rapidly changing tropics of Costa Rica... and then I found myself reading the last page of the book and looking for more.

I have struggled a bit with my reaction to this book since I am truly biased by living here. I share, to a profound level, the concerns for the cultural, social, and ecological upheavals that we are witnessing all around us here, and that this book so capably catalogues. I regret the fact that I arrived to Costa Rica after the big trees were cut down, and I envy the author the fact that he at least got to see it. I think though that it isn't so much being a resident of this small and special part of the globe. "Morita" Costa Rica, is a microcosm of the much bigger picture. The book is a "must read" for all residents of Planet Earth.

By the way, a similar read by another local author is "Monkey's Are Made of Chocolate" by Jack Ewing, also available here at Amazon.

I have piles of books that I intend to read someday. I thus have no time for slow moving books. Gringo's Hawk is a delightful and fast moving story that drew me in and allowed me to feel like I was participating in the story. I laughed. I cried. I shook with anticipation. This story is a joy to read.

Now, where can I find another as good?

The Gringo's Hawk is the personal memoir of a varied and remarkable life. Jon Maranon was an idealistic American who became a landowner on the southwest coast of Costa Rica. Maranon found himself confronted with one crisis after another ranging from chicken hawks, to termites, to adjudicating peasant disputes, to conflicts with other landlords who felt Maranon paid his peasants too much. He fervently battled with Costa Rican government to stop the slow degradation of the environment, and worked with scientists to understand more about the migration patterns of whales. The Gringo's Hawk is the compelling, highly recommended autobiographical story of a unique, candidly presented, and singularly fascinating life.

The path to becoming more innovative often requires debunking a number of myths or commonly held beliefs. For instance, the idea that a lone genius is often responsible for an invention or innovation. In fact, most innovations or inventions spring from the combination of the work of many people. Edison did not create the lightbulb alone, nor did Al Gore invent the internet by himself.

In his book, Group Genius, Keith Sawyer looks at the power of Group Genius, the impact of collaboration on creativity and innovation. Rather than rely on a single genius, we should be harnessing the power and knowledge of many people in our organizations. Through a number of interesting examples, Sawyer demonstrates how the power of collaboration increases the capability of the firm to generate more ideas and better ideas, and enhances the culture of innovation.

Sawyer starts off the book with a few characteristics of creative teams:

1. Innovation emerges over time
2. Successful collaborative teams practice deep listening
3. Team members build on their collaborators' ideas
4. The meaning of an idea becomes clear over time
5. Reframing the problem or solving a different problem
6. Recognizing that innovation is inefficient
7. Innovation emerges from the bottom up

Although he presents these ideas early on, they don't receive enough exposition throughout the book. These concepts alone, however, are enough to chew on for quite some time.

Sawyer divides the book into three sections, looking at how teams collaborate and how corporations collaborate. Yes, I know that's two sections. The third section is a little less defined and really looks at how we as individuals think and the mental models we use which provide frameworks which can limit our thinking and creativity.

In the first section, on team collaboration, Sawyer demonstrates the power of improvisation as a method to improve problem solving and innovation. His argument is that too many rules and too much planning tend to choke out creativity and innovative problem solving. He provides several examples where groups were faced with significant challenges and had to improvise solutions on the spot. While improvisation is often inefficient, it can lead to better ideas and better results in some cases. Sawyer also describes "flow" - a concept that originates from research by Csikszentmihalyi. Flow is a heightened state of consciousness that occurs when:

* People are working on tasks that match their skills
* There's a clear goal
* There's constant feedback as to progress and attainment of the goal
* The person is free to fully engage in the task

Research shows that "flow" is essential to creativity. Sawyer moves on to describe a number of conditions that need to exist for a team to achieve flow, using examples from sports teams to improv to major corporations.

In the second section, the Collaborative Mind, Sawyer looks at successful innovators and people who were highly creative and seeks to determine how they got that way, and how "regular" people like you and me can become more creative. In this section there are a number of exercises to help you start reframing problems and step away from your usual perspectives and context.

In the third section of the book, Sawyer looks at using the concepts of collaboration and group genius within an organization - how to organize for improved collaboration and innovation, how to build collaborative webs and how to collaborate with customers. In this section he offers some very useful ideas and approaches to use within any team or organization.

Group Genius is an excellent book, because it combines theory with practice and practical guidelines. Too often, books about innovation and creativity are written from a purely academic viewpoint, with a lot of research and theory described, but not much information on how to put the information into practice, or from a very tactical perspective, suggesting a few tips or techniques or offering up some simple exercises. Sawyer does a good job of demonstrating the thinking behind his suggestions, but also presenting a number of actions that a team or corporation can take to become more innovative by tapping the collaborative genius of a team or the company. He uses a lot of examples, from improv actors to large corporations, but always within context. The section on the Collaborative Mind is interesting but really more focused on the individual and his or her creative capability, while the sections on team and organizational collaboration are focused on how your teams, groups and business units can harness the power of collaboration to achieve more creativity, better problem solving and generate better ideas.

Some books about creativity are read once and filed on the shelf for occasional reference. Group Genius is a book that will be so dog-eared and so heavily used you may need more than one copy for your own use, and a number of copies for your co-workers as well. This is a book that can be used by an individual, a team or a business unit, with relevance for all of them. This book is my first introduction to Keith Sawyer's work, and I look forward to reading his other books after reading this one. I highly recommend it to anyone who is searching for ways to improve the collaboration, creativity or innovative capability of a team or company.

Reposted from an original review on the Innovate on Purpose Blog.

R. Keith Sawyer's Group Genius is a fun read -- with great stories about Morse, Darwin, YouTube, Whole Foods, and Google, among others. Sawyer makes a compelling argument about how creativity and innovation come to pass. He writes about sparks and how they lead to great ideas. The book itself provokes sparks as you read along. It's hard not to be inspired by what he has to say, and to re-examine how you work with others or how you run an institution. The book rang particularly true from the perspective of someone who works in the information business, though I expect reading this book is time well-spent for almost anyone who cares about changing the world in virtually any way.

As befits its subject matter, this is a lively and innovative book, which uses many examples drawn from the worlds of jazz and improvisational theater, as well as from creative writing, cycling, banking and computer technology. Keith Sawyer doesn't stop at telling stories, though; he also supports his ideas with solid evidence. In well-organized chapters, complete with summaries and checklists, he debunks common beliefs about the nature of creativity - primarily, the myth that you need to be an isolated genius to succeed. Instead, he argues that innovation is most often the result of collaboration. Sawyer overreaches in some instances: He does not fully explain why some individuals are so much more creative than others in the same "collaborative web," or why some individuals can produce revolutionary ideas in relative isolation. However, that's a quibble, since Sawyer tackles a complex and slippery topic and comes up with some genuinely new insights. We recommend this book to managers and members of workplace teams, and executives who wish to encourage creative thinking.

Keith Sawyer's Group Genius is a terrific book: I highly recommend it to anyone who needs to build better teams, take their organization to
new levels of performance, or make their city or region a more creative
and exciting place.

CHRISTMAS TIP: For the CEO who has too much money, too little time, myopic solicitous subordinates, and some anxiety about the future, this book, together with Howard Gardner's Five Minds for the Future comprise the perfect Christmas gift. Print copies of my review of each and insert those inside each book's cover before wrapping.

I have been interested in collective intelligence ever since Howard Rheingold and John Perry Barlow kicked my secret intelligence colleagues in the head back in 1992, when I first started to reform the secret world by introducing them to Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). Today, OSINT is converging with Collective Intelligence, Peace Intelligence, and Commercial Intelligence, which is an order of magnitude superior to the standard Business Intelligence (internal data mining and dashboards) and Competitive Intelligence (narrow focus on competition, not on customers or externalities including Wild Cards).

This book, in my view is a Nobel-level contribution. If this author is not promoted to full Professor, he should move. This one book is a capstone book, a pioneering book, a summative work of extraordinary value to every leader, but especially for the asset managers, the hedge fund and pension fund managers, and the CEO's in the banking, communications, computing, education, entertainment, and publishing businesses, whose lunch is about to be eaten by Google unless they band together and force Google to the table.

The author is gifted at combining serious education with solid examples and inspiring suggestion. I actually got goose-bumps on pages 25-28 as he described the USS Palau entering a complicated harbor without rudders or electricity or gyro-compasses. The humans instantly created a group mind and devised a shared solution for what used to be a complex and time consuming process. The goose-bumps are returning, just visualizing this (I am retired naval officer, among other things).

The author begins with his appreciation for jazz and comedy improvisation to lay out a case against brainstorming per se, and in favor of innovation as a process that follows an extended conversation. He teaches us that creativity occurs in context, each individuals being sparked by others. He says that group genius can be nurtured and harvested, but not in the established ways. FUN is a required foundation.

His early work focused on interaction analysis, but I would hasten to add that this must be from the age of Kindergarten up. As Howard Bloom notes in Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century, we will never solve the eternal conflicts until we are willing to intervene for a full generation--by the time kids are five they have a group bias, by the time they are 25 they are "locked in" to the cultural biases (e.g. Jews and Palestinians as monkeys or non-humans, BOTH sides have this culturally ingrained bias by t he age of 10).

Although there is not yet a satisfactory work on how our existing pyramidal organizations are incapable of reform or renaissance, Jean Francois Noubel, on the web at The Transitioner, will have a chapter in my next edited work, and I hope his book comes out soon--I share with my libertarian and moderate Republican colleagues the view that both Congress and the Executive have become dysfunctional, as have most of our major corporations such as Exxon, and the time is right for a massive non-violent upheaval across the board.

On this note see, for example:
Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency
Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It
The Global Class War: How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future - and What It Will Take to Win It Back

I am totally inspired by the author's discussion of how innovation cannot be planned (although planning helps), it must be nurtured and inspired, or more pointedly, ALLOWED TO HAPPEN. As the author of Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace documents so well, we beat the creativity out of our kids by the fifth grades, and most organizations consist of cattle, not free-running mustangs.

I am impressed that the author properly and without excess recognizes his mentor, Mahaly Csikzentmihali with the concept of flow, defined at the time as consisting of four elements:

01 Skills equal the challenge (too good is boring, not enough is frustrating)
02 Goal is clear
03 Feedback is frequent
04 Free to concentrate fully

The author has expanded this to ten conditions:

01 Goal is clear
02 Close listening by all
03 Complete concentration
04 In control
05 Blending egos
06 Equal participation
07 Familiarity
08 Communication
09 Moving it forward
10 Potential for failure

The third section focusing on companies and on organizing for innovation is a "must do" task for CEOs and it cannot be delegated. This is one book each boss has to read for themselves, and not on a train--in isolation, totally concentrating on the words and ideas.

"Bureacracy prevents innovation." This is so true. I gave up on the US Intelligence Community this year, after realizing that Buckminster Fuller had it right--instead of trying to help them as I have for fifteen years, I have to displace them with the Earth Intellligence Network.

In part because of the author's wisdom, I have real doubts about the IBM Cognos deal. Certainly IBM can afford to expand into that marketspace by buying Cognos, but the question on my mind is this: Cognos is in Quadrant I (Knowledge Management) while all the innovation in happening in Quadrants II (Social Networking), III (External Information), and IV (Organizational Intelligence). I am pretty certain that for $100 million I could I could acquire or integrate the 100 key companies and build the EarthGame/World Brain within 5 years. So the question begs to be asked by those who own big blocks of IBM stock: can we get Cognos for $4B and spend the other $1B on first to market, in partnership with CISCO AON, with a totally integrated offering that makes every person on the planet a collector, producer, and consumer of commercial intelligence?

This book is essential reading for acquisition, asset, and fund managers.

The author's advice for CEOs (there is NO SUBSTITUTE) for reading the book:

01 Keep many irons in the fire
02 Create a Department of Surprise
03 Build spaces for creative conversation
04 Allow time for ideas to emerge
05 Manage the risks of improvisation (including too many too much too fast)
06 Improvise on the edge of chaos
07 Manage knowledge for (toward) innovation
08 Build dense networks (with hubs)
09 Ditch the organizational charts
10 Measure the right things

I have a note in the fly-leaf: "This is one of the best thought-out, ably-presented, most useful (i.e. profitable) books it has ever been my pleasure to read." This is not over the top, given the number of books I have read, a quarter of which I have reviewed on Amazon, because I am focused on saving the planet with shared information and open, legal, ethical sense-making. From that perspective, along with "Five Minds," this book is the tip of the spear.

The section on collaboration web work:

01 Build on history
02 Combine many small sparks
03 Frequent interaction across boundaries
04 Multiple discovery is common
05 No one company can own web (Google hasn't realized this yet, for those who want to know more, find and buy "Google 2.0: The Calculating Predator" as offered online by Infonortics UK).

Creating a collaborative society:

01 Reduce copyright terms
02 Reward small sparks
03 Legalize modding (modifications)
04 Free the employees
05 Mandatory licensing (no icing of knowledge)
06 Pool patents
7. Encourage indcustry-wide standards

Coincident with receiving my latest batch of books, which jumped to the front of my 40-book "awaiting review" pile, I received from Babette Bensoussan in Australia, co-author of Strategic and Competitive Analysis: Methods and Techniques for Analyzing Business Competition the following Old and New Rules (adapted from Betsy Morris in Fortune Magazine, 7 August 2006) that every CEO should print out and memorize:

Old: Big dogs own the street
New: Agile is best; being big can bite

Old: Be #12 or #2 in your market
New: Find a niche, create something new

Old: Shareholders rule
New: The customer is king

Old: Be lean and mean
New: Look out, not in

Old: Rank employees, go with the A's
New: Hire passionate people

Old: Hire a charismatic CEO
New: Hire a courageous CEO

Old: Admire my might
New: Admire my soul

See my list on Collective and Commercial Intelligence for about 30 other recommendations. In relation to this specific book I recommend:

The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
The World Cafe: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter
One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization

See also my many lists and my own books. On balance, although Amazon does not let us organize our reviews yet (I read in 85 topical areas), if you select me as an interesting person (sorry), and THEN use the lists, my reviews pop to the top.

I would love to get Keith Sawyer, Howard Gardner, Lawrence Lessig, and Cass Sunstein into a room together. If any of you can make that happen, let me know, I'll come at my own expense to moderate what could be the world's hottest new improvisational documentary.

I ran across this book after it was misfiled at the library, and I picked it up because I wondered what a book with a title like that was doing in the section. I read the whole thing through in one sitting. I think it is one of the most incredible anthropological studies I have ever read. As others have commented, the methods that Howell uses are extremely effective - he quite literally moves across the street from his stubjects. I get the feeling that to write this book about "blue collar" people (although the first family at least is really quite destitute) Howell does not hesitate to drink a lot of cheap beer, go deer hunting, etc.

Al Gore might have grown up there had his father been a plumber who moved north for work. Not many St.Albans boys in that neighborhood though. As in none. Gotta wonder if Harrington and Gore don't hook up once in a while what with the wellheeled intellectual Nashville/DC connection. All in all not a bad intro to a forgotten people in a very interesting time and place. I was happy to have stumbled upon it.

This book should be mandatory reading for all high school students in the United States. Poverty is indeed a virtual reality in this book. You cannot help but gain an appreciation for all you have, however little it may be.

While somewhat out of date, Hard Living on Clay Street is one of the best observations of poor white Southern working class folks ever done. Howell came to the research with some background, but more importantly with the ability to get these people to let him into their lives. He tells a compelling story. I have used the book for a Qualitative Methods class, and the students are impressed with both the writing and the characters. Anyone who wants to get a good look inside the lower middle class in this country should spend a little time on Clay Street.

Howell utilizes a "hands on " approach to drive home the reality of a very large segment of our society by literally moving in with them and living the life - in spite of peril for one year. Through this approach, he gains the trust of two families, the Shacklefords and the Mosebys, and we are able to move into their homes, travel with them on their drunken runs, and thereby gain an insight from a perspective within that no "text" could ever offer us. I applaud this book and have used it yearly in classes since 1978 with raves from the students.

I really loved this Book.. After spending years searching for any information on Bumpy Johnson, I was excited to find that this book would be published. When I recieved my copy I read it in two days, and was very happy to learn about the "Real Bumpy Johnson". He was some man... The movie couldn't get it right, but this book certainly has... Congratulations to the author on a job well done...

I was dubious about buying this book, but I decided to go ahead and get it since I'm familiar with the author. I knew it wasn't something I would like myself, but figured my boyfriend would so it wouldn't be a waste.
After I got it I flipped through a few pages before my giving it to my boyfriend. Well why did I do that! I was hooked from the very first page.
This is really and truly one of the best books I've ever read.
It tells the story of Bumpy Johnson, the gangster who ran Harlem after fighting it out with the Mafia in the thirties. I had seen the movie Hoodlum, so I knew Bumpy was a colorful character, but the movie didn't tell the half of it. This books tells Bumpy's early life, how he turned to a life of crime, and the principles he had while in the life. He wasn't like the thugs they have out here now. He was tougher than any alive, for one. But also, as tough as he was (and he was tough!) he still was a good man in a lot of ways. That's why he was so loved.
The book tells about Bumpy's childhood in Charleston, his arrival in Harlem in 1919, and how he got started as a gangster. We also learn about a lot of the other colorful characters he ran with like Bub Hewlett and Madame Queen who were also portrayed in the movie Hoodlum, and also what eventually happened to them.
It also tells about Bumpy's time in prison, and how he raised so much hell there the wardens were trying to figure out how to get him the heck out of prison. Can you imagine that?
The book also tells about other Harlem characters who've never been written about. Like Dickie Wells, who was a gigilo who romanced white movie stars and got rich doing so, and then spent all his money uptown in Harlem, treating black women to a good time. He was a gigilo who never took a dime from a black woman but bilked white ones for all they had.
And the book also talks about Red Dillard Morrison, who was almost (but only almost) as colorful as Bumpy.
And the book gives an interesting history of Harlem that I never knew, and how the black people had to hire people like Bub Hewlett and Bumpy Johnson (they called them the Harlem Bad Men) to protect them from the whites who would come up from Hells Kitchen and try to break black heads. Bub really put a stop to that!
There's also great stories about Bill Bojangles Robinson, Lena Horne and others. And I didn't know that Bumpy was godfather to Sydney Poitier's oldest daughter. But with all that, Bumpy was still a bad man, and a colorful one that you can't help taking a liking too. He didn't smoke or curse around women he didn't know, but he would still shoot or cut a man in a minute.
Like another reviewer already said, the book reads like a novel, and a really good one. Even though it's more than 200 pages I flew through it and then was mad when I was finished because it was so good I didn't want to stop reading it.
I can't say enough about this book. Like I already said, it's one of the best I've ever read. I really, really, really recommend it to everyone!

This book is GREAT!. I love the way Bumpy Johnson's story is told from his wife's point of view without the book being all about her. Ms. Quinones-Miller is such an excellent writer that you forget while reading it that it is a non-fiction book. I read this book from the moment I got it until I finnished and I was not dissapointed at all. I suggest this book to anybody who loves BIOGRAPHIES AND URBAN FICTION. It is the best!!!

Thank You Mrs. Johnson for sharing this true to heart story about Bumpy Johnson with alot of history intertwined. I looked at American Gangster and Hollywood have it all wrong. From reading this book about Bumpy's life, I feel that he helped pave the way and made Harlem what it is to this day, and his legend still lives thru Harlem. This story was told from his childhood years until his last days. I felt I truly knew Bumpy Johnson when I read the book, but while reading, I wished I had not only knew Mr. Johnson, but I wished only for a glimpse of The Harlem Godfather. This book is told thru his wife's voice, and it was no fairy tale, but it was told from the heart of a woman who loved him the most. I not only learned about Bumpy, but I learned about others such as Lena Horne, Bill "Bojangles", Lucky Luciano, Flash Walker (who Frank Lucas so wanted his life to be) and Billie Holiday. I was the most amazed at how a young little boy from the south that came to Harlem and took over. I also have to give Bumpy his credit whatever he went thru or did, he still loved his people and did his time like a true man and snitching wasn't even in his vocabulary.

Thanks Mrs. Mayme Johnson and Karen E. Quinones from setting the record straight for all of America. Thanks for educating me on a part of American History of Bumpy Johnson, and telling me a story that I will will always know who the real Bumpy Johnson really was from his start until that last tear from my eyes to the end of the book!! Bumpy Johnson, Harlem's and America's True Gangster R.I.P. !!

Imagine sitting around on the living room floor in your grandmother's house, listening carefully as your grandmother recaps your family history. That is the feeling I got while reading Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson by Mayme Johnson and Karen E Quinones Miller.

Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, where he was already making a name for himself. His parents, worrying about his safety, send him to live with his older sister, Mabel, in Harlem. This was the beginning of a new sheriff in town, and he meant business.

If loyalty is what you wanted; Bumpy was the man to find. Anything happening in Harlem had to be approved by him as well, and he never ever backed downed. Especially when he knew he was right. Though his main business was numbers running and protection, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, on a drug trafficking charge. Something he did not see coming, for all of Harlem knew the type of man he was.

Mayme Johnson wanted to set the record straight about the type of man, her husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, was. The type of people he kept company with and how he dealt with those who thought they could bring him down. At 93 years-old her memories of the things which took place, from the time Bumpy was young all the way up until the day of his death, was impressive. Though she met Bumpy in 1948, he along with his true friends shared the events of his earlier days with her, as well as things that took place when she was not there.

Mayme Johnson and Karen E Quinones Miller cleared up a lot of falsified information in Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson. Sometimes they flipped back and forth within the timeline, but it was not hard to keep up with. The main thing I had a concern about was the lack of proper editing. There were numerous errors of all sorts. The binding was also an issue for me. I found it hard to hold the book comfortably. All and all I still recommend Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson to anyone wanting to know the truth about the real American gangster.

Jennifer Coissiere
APOOO BookClub

One need not be African-American to love this book. It is a deep insight into a tough time. She talks of things usual life
does not include, as the powerlessness of women doing full nude strip dancing when one or a few refused to have customers give them money in a particularly intrusive way--what awaited such women and what choices did they really have. Neitzsche called Evil, "All that which proceeds out of weakness." He could have had this book in mind. Yet Ethel Water's life has more than defeat.

If you are not moved by this book, you must have a large problem.

Whew, what an upbringing, what a life. Waters goes into great detail about her rearing in the slums of Philadelphia, her life as vaudevillian Sweet Mama Stringbean and finally the Ethel Waters of stage, screen, and records. I didn't really know much about Miss Waters other than her role in the movie Pinky, so this book provided great insight into her life. Pretty good. The conversational tone makes it easy to read.

I've had the hardback 1951 copy of this book for some time, just picked it up to read last week. It is an astounding story of faith, determination, and strength;It is also an excellent insight into Black History pre-Martin Luther King. I hope the paperback version of this is being read. (and I wish Nikki Giovanni would read it as well).
Highly recommended.

When I was a kid, I knew Ethel Waters as that gray haired old lady that sang at the Billy Graham events on TV... In reading this autobiography I discovered the incredible legacy of her recordings and films.

"His Eye Is On the Sparrow" reads just like you're sitting in the room talking with this remarkable woman... The book not only shares the details of her fascinating career, but it is also an absorbing historical record of early 20th century show business and American society. Absolutely fascinating, warm, funny and poignant.

Read this book and you will see why the incomparable Miss Waters was a force to be reckoned with in her day. The writing is honest and takes the reader into a show biz world that mirrored the complexities of the segregated and racialized society at large during the first half of the 20th century. Rather than a rags to riches, this is more of a from poverty to success to survival story. I laughed out loud more than once at her candor and sharp observations. As a fan of Ethel Water's singing - before I found her memoir - I felt privileged to also read her own words on the life she lived.

I read the original Ishi written by Kroeber's wife back in the 1970s and this new updating of Ishi's history was interesting to read. I purchased these 2 books (Kroeber's wife's book & Ishi's Brain)for my father for Xmas as he had never heard or read about Ishi and he is a history buff.

At its simplest, this book is a beautifully lucid and often poignant account of how the author, anthropology Professor Orin Starn, tracked down the mysterious whereabouts of the last "wild" Indian's brain some 80 years after it was excised from his lifeless body on a California autopsy table. As such, the book reads like a compelling mystery novel, one that will keep the most jaded and disinterested readers hitched to a twisting and ever-surprising cross-country chain of discovery until the very end. At its most complex, it represents a keen, engaging, and constantly balanced overview of classical anthropological history in the 20th century as Professor Starn carefully uncovers, interprets, and weighs the motives and actions of one of the field's first luminaries, Alfred Kroebur, the man responsible for Ishi's emergence as a museum curiosity and stark emblem of man's "uncivilized" nature. The book will therefore delight Native American historians, political activists, college and grad students steeped in social and culture theory, and even casual readers interested in 20th century Americana. But regardless of the reader's background or incentive, he/she will find Professor Starn's ease and clarity in recounting this captivating story an uncommon joy indeed. Highly recommended!

Ishi's story is too well known to need to be recounted here. In 1911, wandering aimlessly -- or was he going somewhere? Ishi (which wasn't really his name), the last of the Yahi Indians-- or was he? early one morning -- or was it late one afternoon? was taken in by a white community -- or was that taken capture?

Theodora Kroeber turns out to have taken considerable liberties in writing her book about Ishi. In retrospect, I should not be surprised, considering the way she dressed California Indian tales in tuxedos and evening gowns for the Inland Whale.

But just who was Ishi? What does he represent? How should we envisage him? Starn, who did so much to put Ishi's body back together again, in this book helps us put Ishi back together with California history, so we can better appreciate where Ishi stood at this confluence. He approaches every question with great fairness and balance. Many of his investigations of possibilities and interpretations would not occur to the average reader, and help us round out the picture.

Although I say Starn writes with justice and balance, this is not a cold treatment of a dead man. He brings Ishi back to life for us, with bones beneath his flesh. He writes movingly about Grizzly Bear's Hiding Place. The whole book is beautiful, in writing style, in treatment, in reflection, in the care he takes. I, for one, am grateful for his detailed recitation of these events, because even though it may slow the book a bit, it shows proper respect for the importance of those events.

I can't believe I am writing a whole review without saying anything nasty about a book. Okay, the photos, although superbly reproduced, are jumbled together in no particular order that I could conceive, and I have questions about one caption: which one is Hi Good?

Great book, one that was never intended to supplant Ishi in Two Worlds, but complements it perfectly.

Somewhere in my early years I read Theodora Kroeber's books on Ishi and they have remained among my favorite books that I have occasionally reread. After reading Ishi's Brain, however, these books will keep their mystique but never have the same ring of truth.

I was amazed to learn that I am a member of what Orin Starn calls the "Ishi cult". I had no idea there were so many people as compelled as I am by Ishi's mythology. And now I have learned that Ishi may have been far more touched by "civilization" than I had formerly believed.

I recently published a novel, Treasure Forest, in which a character shapes his life according to the Ishi I believed in before reading Starn's book. Daggett grows up in San Francisco in the 30's and comes under the care of a man who had known Ishi through the museum. When Daggett runs away at age 14 to head north, it is to capture the freedom he believes that Ishi had as a lone survivor in the wilderness. My character succeeds living his own version of Ishi's life right up into his 70's, when -- I won't ruin the story for you. But as I wrote, I sometimes wondered what Ishi would have thought of the story, if he would have felt a kinship with Daggett, and I've often wondered how Ishi would have liked Daggett's underground version of Grizzly Bear's Hiding Place.

I would recommend that anyone who is fascinated by Ishi read Orin Starn's book. The discoveries it shares ground the Ishi mythology in very human details, bringing it closer to our own experience, coloring it with more authenticity. I am sure it will influence me as I continue to write the rest of my novel's trilogy.

The story of Ishi is fairly well known. He was the mythologized last lonely "unconquered" Indian who was captured in California in 1911, then spent the last few years of his life as either a guest or prisoner at a San Francisco museum, looked over by scientists who were friendly but had suspicious motives. Since Ishi's death, rumors had persisted that his brain was removed for scientific study, and modern California Indians yearned for the brain to be reunited with Ishi's ashes (themselves kept in a San Francisco cemetery), so Ishi could be given a proper Indian burial in his mountain homeland. The author, modern anthropologist Orin Starn, was instrumental in finding the brain in an obscure Smithsonian storeroom, and for helping with the process of repatriation. This detective work is the main impetus for this moving book.

However, Starn describes much more than a dry academic detective story. While he tends to talk about himself a little too much and his philosophical explorations could use some editing, Starn fills this book with highly compelling coverage of modern cultural identity politics for all the parties involved in the Ishi saga. These include the modern California Indians and their divisive struggles to prove their ancestral connection to Ishi, modern whites who embrace stereotypical native mythology with misguided or even ulterior motives, and anthropologists (Starn's forbears) who have displayed shifting loyalties and ethics in their study of so-called "primitive" peoples. Starn also find inconsistencies in the knowledge of Ishi's life and background as espoused by caretaker anthropologist Alfred Kroeber and his wife Theodora, who wrote the famous but not entirely accurate biography "Ishi in Two Worlds." Most importantly, Starn also turns up new evidence and raises new questions about the mysterious Ishi himself, who was surely more complex and human than the semi-mythological image that surrounds his life and identity. This book is a strongly considered and moving look into the far-reaching cultural legacies of a single Indian, the decimation of his people, and the modern lives of Native Americans and all others who are concerned about these legacies. [~doomsdayer520~]

If you were as shocked and horrified by what happened to Joyce Ann Brown as these other readers, please consider supporting the organization that reinvestigated her wrongful conviction and worked tirelessly to free her. Centurion Ministries, Inc. of 221 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ 08542 has been working on behalf of the wrongfully convicted like Ms. Brown for over 20 years.

Imagine being in prison for something you know you didn't do, this is what happened to Joyce Brown. Joyce had witnesses, was at work the time the crime was committed, but was still found guilty for the murder of a store owner, who's wife pointed her out as being the guilty party. If this can happen to Joyce Brown it can happen to anyone. I think GOd for those gentlemen who came to her aid in the book. If you think there is now way that you could end up in prison, read this book, and you will see that you very well could even if you are innocent with lots of evidence.

Joyce Ann Brown has compelling reasons to be angry with the criminal justice system. After all, the State of Texas robbed her of her family, friends and freedom. In Justice Denied, however, Joyce takes her life sentence back from the judges and overseers who wrongly declared her a murderer!

Joyce Ann Brown writes powerful and empowering words that bleed honesty and passion, yet she never allows her righteous anger to become hateful. Instead, she channels her rage into positive action, serving as inspiration, appealing to the reader's sense of humanity. The author is a minister at the core of her being.

Justice Denied is a gritty, painful and ultimately triumphant journey with the potential to change public policy. This book should be required reading for judges, juries, attorneys, police officers, prison guard, prison ministers, politicians, educators, activists, and anybody who has ever felt like the circumstances of their lives threaten to undermine their sense of self-worth. Like an oasis in the desert, Justice Denied compels readers to move forward and quench their thirst for justice.

Imagine being in prison for something you know you didn't do, this is what happened to Joyce Brown. Joyce had witnesses, was at work the time the crime was committed, but was still found guilty for the murder of a store owner, who's wife pointed her out as being the guilty party. If this can happen to Joyce Brown it can happen to anyone. I think GOd for those gentlemen who came to her aid in the book. If you think there is now way that you could end up in prison, read this book, and you will see that you very well could even if you are innocent with lots of evidence.

I must give a rating of 10 stars!!~ This book was so well written. It placed you in Ms.Browns shoes before, during & after. This author may you feel as though You were a apart of her awful journey through this ill-fated justice system of ours. Reading her story, (if you have any compassion) at all........It will indeed make you so damn Angry at these men in Suits (lawyers)& Robes (judges), that we so often call "Justice Seekers" in America. Too many times we read about 'innocent' people, being thrown into prison, & finding out Years Later that a BIG Mistake had be made. How do OUR System compensate these individuals? With an out-landish simple Apology??? How can anyone 'accept' what has happened to them? It's time to wake up America! It's time for these Paid, & Court appointed Attorney's to represent each & every case with every piece of skill they possilbly can, to make Damn Sure about "WHO" they are really sending to the depths of Hell!

All the facts in Ms. Brown's case were right before their eyes, yet Justice did not prevail. I searched high & low for a copy of this book for my very own, after asking a co-worker if I could read hers. Locating a copy in good condition was a feat, because it was no longer in print. Finally I located one & it had Joyce's autograph, I treasure it today still as a Great Read.

I cried many tears, I walked every inch of this sentence with Ms. Brown. Through all of what she indured, she still remained Strong in the Lord, (this was her Only Hope), as for as I could see. I say now: If the judge who sentenced this young lady is still practicing law, holding his gavel, & wearing that black robe, he should be made to do the Years that Ms. Brown served!

Even it was so done, It still would Not serve Ms. Brown any satisfaction, nor her family members for ripping their lives apart. The Most heart breaking part of this book, that wrenched my soul was when her child was shot/hurt, later died, & Ms.Brown was not granted the opportunity to go attend the funeral services! I fell into pieces after reading it.

Becoming a grandmother & not being able to have that daily/weekly interactions with her grandkid, or to have any great memories of her grandchild's was also a traumatic issue for Ms. Brown. This book will indeed touch your soul~

I'd love to meet Ms. Brown & J.Gaines, so we can share notes on what the 'System' did to my family, on the (4th of July) "What an Independence Day that was"! Good Luck Joyce on your upcoming Movie, & May God Always Be On Your Side. I know of a star who will portray your role Very Well, & Capture Every Emotion, her name is: Kimberly Elise, her role was Tee-Tee, from 'Set it Off'..........she looks like you somewhat, & I do believe she will carry your story to THE TOP of the Movie Charts!

Thanks For Never Giving Up Hope Joyce. What You & Jay wrote in your book, it Speaks for a large number of Americans. I know that you & Jay are friends for life now, & rightfully so. Everyone deserves a friend like Jay, his love says it all, it's (unconditional)~ Again, Good Luck On Your Upcoming Movie, Let me hear from you soon Sista~ 2 Sista~

Modern society has us born and abandonded. It does not take any interest in us unless we make lots of money or achieve some kind of fame. We have little purpose in it except to make money for others and that is pretty much the extent of it: nothing else is demanded of us.

Martin Prechtel's book describes a society where giving is more important than receiving, working together for a common cause of spiritual value rather than material value, opposed on both sides by the materialist communists and capitalists, neither of whom can see any value in their old ways of initiation.

Yet the initition creates a person of far greater value than those who sought to destroy it. Whether or not the reader can share the beliefs of the Tzutujil Maya, and for a modern reader it is of course difficult, the result of this system of society is the creation of real human beings, lives not devoid of meaning and afloat on a sea of worthlessness, but deeply intertwined with the living processes of the world, each one feeling that they contribute to the story of life, that they have value and love.

The difficult and dangerous passage of initiation that the adolescents of the village undergo to bring the goddess back to life gives them an inner power and wisdom that stays with them for the rest of their lives, meaning that they don't become disruptive, lost and alienated from the world but an integral part.

It is a shame to me that our modern societies, whatever their political system, cannot operate more in this way. Not to live exactly like they used to - before the modern societies imposed themselves - but to realise what they achieved and how it can benefit our cast-adrift generations.

I have given this book five stars because it offers a way out of the ever-tightening spiral of anguish that drives even the pleasures of modern life and it does so without preaching or spite. There are humourous passages throughout as well as more serious tracts. It is about the joy and beauty of life.

This is the third book I've read by Martin Prechtel. I wish there were 5 more to read. He is an excellent wordsmith and his experience with the Maya people of Lake Atitlan is much needed in these troubled times.

We saw Martin speak in Ashland, Oregon, and bought his books. they are nectar foods for the soul. nothing else like his writing, he will transport you with language to a place in your brain beyond language. Savory, delicious, honest, wildly reverent. but it and read it. then quit your job.

Prechtel's book is incredibly beautiful, describing the life, loves and rituals of a small town in Guatemala, Santiage de Atitlan and the changes that have occurred there. As a companion piece to the Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, which is equally profound, this book leads us away from the Shamanistic and into the everyday life of these beautiful people. The book is full of the wisdom of the past regarding such things as marriage, teenage years, birth and death. My emotions and memories of the indiginous peoples of this land are brought vividly to mind in this book. I have lived and worked for many years with Pueblo people and am struck by the many similarities of belief and ritual.Prechtel is a fantastic writer who keeps one wanting more!

Prechtel's retelling of his life as a part of a society based on ancient tribal traditions. It gives a rare glimpse of mankind caring for its own. A tale of a culture striving for health and balance between neighbors, generations, mankind and nature. It is a beautiful tale of human beauty dashed by the motion of time in the hands of modern man. As sad as it is to see the outcome I find these people living within me as a reminder of what society can accomplish when it is rooted in respect, dignity and love.

I had a problem at first when the author stated that the population of Tikal was 100,000 and covered 65 sq. miles. Over its period of reign as a city,a couple hundred years,Tikal might have been this extensive but i question if it had this much influence at any specific time period of say 10 years.Other books say that this city at its peak served about 20,000 and its urban spread reflects different time periods.
Other than that,myself possibly missing the author's interpretation,I like the descriptions of this Mayan city,which according to the author,was either founded by Teotihuacan rulers or at least was heavily influenced by this Mexican town.Excellent color photos and well described info on the tombs of the Tikal Lords. I hadn't realized before that alot of the Maya superstructures at Tikal were actually tomb bases for high status rulers which were then built to reach the sky.Indeed alot of these temples were built for astronomy purposes as well and tied into Mayan ceremonial life.It sounds alot like Ancient Egypt and their vast tomb complexes.There was one drawing in particular which showed Tikal at its peak,complete with evidence of pronounced forest defoiliation,(a possible reason for its collapse)?
Ther was another chapter where the author explored the conflicts between Tikal and its neighboring rival cities.Mr. Harrison explains that rivalries between towns,while undoubtedly real,have been exaggerated and there were longer periods of cooperation and friendly commerce between Tikal and its rival cities.So it would not be worth too much to place stock in the "bound captive murals" and advertised cruelty in alot of Mayan art.It's probably just propoganda put out by the Tikal Lords,no different than the Anglo-Saxon rulers of England at the same time period,(about 750 AD).Some of the Mayan lords of Tikal had long reigns,one reigned as long as 60 years,which would have rivalled Elizabeth I lengthy tenure as Queen of England.

I visited Tikal last Feb. I had read about it for years and still wasn't prepared for the magnitude, the scope the complexity of the civilization it was a small part of--it is a place you have to visit and see for yourself to even begin to really grasp. When I got home I found this book--I really wish I had read this BEFORE I WENT, the trip would have been better for it. In any case, I was happy to read it after the trip. This is the single best work I've found for sharing part of what I discovered at Tikal with people who haven't been there. I recommend it--especially if you are considering a visit--but also if you just like to armchair travel...It is a nice place to go either way.

The pyramids at Tikal are perhaps the most breathtaking and awe-inspiring structures of the pre-Hispanic world. The research available in this book helps shed light on the fascinating history behind the facades of limestone. There is so much history and culture that is essential to the American (the Pan American) identity. And this is a clear, concise, enjoyable read to learn about it.

The city we call Tikal was called something like Mutul by its Mayan inhabitants and was inhabited continuously for about 1,700 years. While there has been magnificent archaeological and translating work done in recent years, the foundation of what we know of Tikal was laid in a great excavating and mapping project done by the University of Pennsylvania from 1955 until 1969. The author of this book, Peter D. Harrison, Ph.D. had participated in these (and other) excavations and brings that first hand authority to this very interesting book.

Dr. Harrison starts with the pre-history of Tikal and ends with the little we know of its inhabitants after the collapse in the 9th century. However, most of the book centers on the succession of 30 rulers (Kings, Lords, or whatever you want to call them). We know who most of these people were because of the Mayan predilection for documenting great events by erecting great monuments that had writing on them that we can now read (mostly).

The author also shares important understanding of the building of the great palaces and temples and shows us their important orientations and relationships with each other. Since what we see today is the decayed form of the final state of Tikal, I found it fascinating to work backward and realize all that wasn't there when the city was at its height of power and influence. The great pyramids we associate with the city today were late additions by an important set of rulers, but by no means the most powerful the city had known.

The book is full of pictures, great drawings, maps, and even some beautiful color plates. There is also a page on when and how to visit Tikal that would be very helpful for those intending to visit the site. There are also many helpful notes and an index.

I have two tiny nits to pick with the book, however. The first is that for several of the maps I had to use a magnifying glass to read the labels for the buildings. The second is even less important and I am not convinced that the author didn't make the better choice. However, when I am reading about Mayan culture I like to see the dates given in the Long Count format when applicable with our western dates in parenthesis. The reason for wanting the Long Count is to easily see when events are associated with important dates. Dr. Harrison does give these Long Count dates in the notes, but uses our calendar for the dates in the text (most of the time).

Anyway, these do not detract from the immense value of the book or the fun I had reading it. Thanks, Dr. Harrison!

I very much enjoyed this book. It presented the history, archaeology and architecture of Tikal in a clear fashion. Harrison wove the various threads of evidence together skillfully without getting bogged down in details. After an introduction to the site and its environment he proceeds in a chronologic order telling the history of this ancient city. He takes two breaks in his story to describe the city's architecture. Because there is dispute in the field of epigraphy you cannot take this book as the last word, but that is the nature of writing about something which is an intense subject of research. I must also say that I found some of Harrison's assertions about architectural alignments dubious. Certainly, I could not see how his maps could support all his claims. Nevertheless, I would heartily recommend this book.

This is a (not surprisingly) beautiful and very accurate portrayal of Maasai life. It was written by Teplit Ole Saitoti, himself a Maasai straddling a modern lifestyle, with that of an elder in his home village. Carol Beckwith is one of the most sensitive and talented "human anthropology" photographers the world has ever known. She gets photos no one else can, by living the villagers' lifestyles. The result of the collaboration is the view of Maasai life from within.

Buy anything you see her name on. You will not be disappointed.

When I first saw the Maasai book I thought to myself, "Oh great another huge boring book I have to read." However when I opened to the first page the magnificent photographs of the book captured me. I was amazed at the quality of them as well as moved by many of the pictures. This book takes you through the journey of the life of a Maasai. It all starts out with an introduction of the Masaai, then talks about youth, circumcision, warriors, elders, and then wraps it all up with a personal reflection by the author on the Masaai. The book was both informative and interesting at the same time.
Previously I had studied the Masaai in school and thought I learned everything. However when I picked up this book I found out that there was much to learn. Some of the interesting facts I learned included the back-story on how the Masaai originated, how they transition from warrior to adulthood, and the importance of elders in the Masaai society. The author's personal reflection about the Masaai talked about how the modern world is affecting the Maasai today. The book began talking about simple Masaai childhood. Childhood was brief and explained what the kids did around the village. Some of the games they engaged in however surprised me because of the danger factor involved in them. It then slowly transitioned to the awkward teenage stage, which is probably the hardest for the people in the society to go through. In the society it is the stage right before circumcision. The book really gave me an inside view of what it's like to be a preteen in that society. It did such a good job that I was able to understand why kids would want to get circumcised in the first place. After that it transitions to the actual process of circumcision, which after reading the book seems pretty scary if you ask me. That was the only part I actually had learned in class. However it also talked about the many processes, which occur after circumcision. The process of this is both physically and mentally challenging but according to the book pays off in the end. This was definitely one of the most interesting parts of the book because I could sort of relate to them in a way, since I am a teen myself.
After finishing the that chapter and looking at many great photos, the book starts to talk about the intense process of warrior hood. I was surprised how much the Maasai value certain things in warrior hood such as their hair. After warrior hood the book briefly talks about lives of the elders then it moves onto the personal reflection. It began with the quote, "From the farm, the tragic fate of the disappearing Maasai tribe on the other side of the river could be followed from year to year. They were fighters who had stopped fighting a dying lion with his claws clipped, a castrated nation. Their spears have been taken from them, their big dashing shields even, and in the Game Reserve the lions followed their herds of cattle." That quote came from the author Isak Dinesen who wrote the book Out of Africa.
The author then began talking about his personal reflection of the Maasai today and explained how modern civilization was enclosing on the Maasai fast. He, being a Maasai himself talked about how the Maasai must adjust to society for their own protection. According to the author since civilization is advancing so quickly the Maasai cannot fight against it and as the old expression goes, "Can't beat them, join them." Unfortunately the Maasai are defenseless to civilization and must take up the basic aspects of it such as education, land, and resources. At the second page of the personal reflection the author talks about the conflict the Maasai have faced with regarding land. Ever since 1901 the Maasai have had conflict with the Europeans. In 1910 their land was taken over for colonization. According to the Author by now the government has taken over the Maasai land and has taken away a lot ever since the Europeans invaded in the first place. In the end he wrote down suggestions for what the government should do to better improve life for the Maasai. He finally ends on the note that although the Maasai are facing difficult obstacles right now, they will still pull through in the end. So if you like books with information, great photography, and a nice smell this book is definitely for you.

This book is beautiful. It has beautiful photography, and beautiful text by a man who is of the Masai tribe. I was sad, however, to read that the author of the text (Tepilit Ole Saitoti) says that the Masai way of life is destined for extinction. Though this is inevitable for most indigenous peoples.

Tepilit Ole Saitoti's commentary and insight into his people really make the photographs come to life (the cover photograph is of the author's brother). This is not so much a book as it is an experience, aided by its "over-sized" coffee table format book that gives you the feeling of "stepping" into the beautiful Kenyan landscape. Reading this beautiful book is the next best thing to being able to visit this beautiful land and see these fascinating people in person (which is something I hope to do at some point in my life). What a beautiful land the Masai live in!

Anyone interested in this book would probably find OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT interesting as well. OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT is written by Malidoma Some of the Dagara tribe from Burkina Faso, in West Africa. It is the story of Malidoma's escape from a missionary school (he had been kidnapped), journey back to his village as a teenager, and initiation into the Dagara tribe.

This book made me travel to Tanzania and Kenia, in my thoughts.
Very good pictures and very real too. It's a book that shows us another culture and ways of living. Worth reading.

Having just spent a month in Africa working in orpahages while also being able to take a tour of a Maasia Village in Kenya, this book reminded me exactly of my experiences there.
The Maasia are incredible people and this book shows those of you who have not had the chance to meet them how amazing their culture is.
The pictures are breathtaking. I felt as if I was back in their homeland.
Great literature as well.
Highly recommended