Party The Books

If you have read more than a few books about the history of our world from 1930 to 1945 you may begin to have questions about the National Socialist Movement and the course and effects of its government of Germany. These are questions like:
- Was the National Socialist movement in Germany a unique event or was it a part of a larger historical process in the terrible 20th century?
- What was the relationship between the Nazi led government and the governance of the German economy?
- Was Hitler the author of all that happened in the Third Riech or was he an enabler of many things that were potentially present in Germany?
- What, exactly, was Hitler's role in the destruction of the European Jews?
- Was German(read Nazi?) foreign policy driven by a master plan for world conquest (or domination?) or improvised and opportunistic?
- Was the Third Reich a socially liberating event to the lower middle class or was it a reaffirmation of traditional hierarchy and power structure in another guise?
- What did German resistance to the National Socialist movement and government actually amount to?
- How is it possible to consider National Socialist genocide as part of a normal historical account?
- How is is possible to do objective and empathetic history in the face of the moral values of the Nazi movement and government?

If you find these questions significant and interesting, there is no better single book to read. Each of these questions is covered by Mr Kershaw more or less in two phases. First there is review of the schools of interpretation promulgated by various historians, most of them professional, and then the author makes his own judgement and evaluation of the contentions at hand. Of particular interest to me is the very thorough coverage of the views and controversies among German historians of the last sixty years as these are rarely reported in the US media. Mr Kershaw does not completely ignore the work of popular historians but it is clear that all the points of view they may have are in fact covered by the range of views among the academic community. The author's personal insights and judgements seem well considered and generally appropriate to me.

I think the only area these professional historians have trouble with is the area of the emotional and psychological appeal of the National Socialist movement to so many Germans. I think to really confront that confronts all of us to acknowledge that there may be a darker side within us that could be touched by the myth structure of racial homogeneity and purfication. Consideration of that question of good and evil is just
beyond the job description of a professional historian and belongs to the philosopher or theologian.

Of particular value, and only to be expected, is the extensive bibliography and the sometimes illuminating foot notes. The concerns of some reviewers about the dense terminology should be noted. Part of that seems to be the result of translating terms from German that come out as rather involved hyphenated words in English. On the other hand the issue is that some of the problems studied here are complex and the answers are not simple and ways of talking about them strech our vocabulary. Ultimately my view is that real knowledge and understanding sometimes involves hard work and digging through this text is work. So be ready to do that or don't bother.

If you have read a number of popular histories of the Nazi period, I recommend this book and The Art of the Third Reich (seperately reviewed) to grasp the tangible and intangible aspects of the terrible and instructive time.

This book does an excellent job of outlining the current historiography of the Nazi regime. It is really only meant for scholars and it is fairly dense even for them. Kershaw does a masterful job of capturing each of the debates and this is really a great book if you want to write about Nazi Germany but don't know what to focus on. It is still relevant even today and does a great job of outlining the current debates that need to be addressed by historians.

Kershaw is God. This book is the bible for any scholar of the Third Reich.

I first read Kershaw's Adolf Hitler: Hubris and Nemesis. I couldn't put it down. I then picked up Kershaw's The Hitler Myth. Also an excellent read. I then moved on to The Nazi Dictatorship and within the first 5 minutes I realized I was in over my head. I am a 38 year old lifelong student of WWII. I have been reading about WWII since I was a kid. And I have a Masters degree. Yet this book was way over my head. This book is a HEAVY read and in my opinion is probably meant for history scholars, not amateurs like me. I'm giving it 5 stars based on the aforementioned works by Kershaw and the assumption that this book is of the same quality. But I didn't read it.

This book is a collection of short and dense summaries of other prominent works written on Nazism. Thoroughly researched and contanining a wealth of information, Kershaw's work is a valuable introduction for any researcher or college student. However, I think the esoteric rhetoric and scholarly details makes it kind of hard to digest for the casual reader not familiar with German history.

I liked this book so much that we got one copy for every school in the district.We even have a dusty the smoke smeller dragon puppet show to add to the fire safety educational program here.About 20.000 children hear this life saving message each year.Kent Landsberg

I bought this is as a bifthday gift for my daughter. She was having a tea party. I really liked that this was a cute story with fun illustrations as well as imparted a little bit about fire safety, a much needed topic of discussion now that my children are getting old enough.

We really like this book and helped introduce fire safety to our 4.5 & 3 year old girls. It is a bit long for my 3 year old (she didn't sit thru the whole book, but was in the room and able to talk about it afterwards). Gets the conversation going about not hiding, a family meeting place outside of the home, and not going back for treasured items Highly recommended!!

I have been a professional fire fighter for more than twenty years. I thoroughly enjoy reading this book to my kids and to school children whenever I have the chance. The book covers important fire safety topics but folds the safety curriculum into a wonderful story. I have read this story aloud a hundred times and it has always been a wonderful experience. -- If I could, I would place a copy of this book into every young child's classroom.

This book provides important fire safety messages in a way that is not frightening to small chidren. And the storybook format makes it more likely that the messages will be reinforced by the parent or family member reading to their child. Several important fire safety rules are included; don't hide in the burning building, get low and crawl to safety, get out of a burning building quickly, meet at the agreed-upon meeting place, call 911, don't go back into the burning building, etc. A delightful and important book for young children.

The illustrations in this book are fabulous! I gave this as a gift for xmas one year, and it went over very well!

I have purchased at least six of this book to give young couples who have gotten engaged. I just purchased one for my daughter's childhood friend who just got engaged and I also purchased one to keep for when my daughter eventually becomes engaged. I was very sad to learn from Border's that this book is out of print. The story is wonderful and the illustrations are enchanting!

I have a two year old daughter that just loves all of Mark Kimball Moulton's books. "One Enchanted Evening" tops her list of favorites.

The only way to describe it, is like a "Mid Summer Night's Dream", but for children. It's magical with a wonderful message -- you can't help who you fall in love with.

I highly recommend this book.

I am a recent M.K. Moulton fan, and just love this book. He uses different illustrators for his books, so each one has a different feel. I've purchased this book twice, once for myself, and the other for a gift! Beautifully presented in a hard-case, it reminds me of quality books I had as a child. A must!

Whenever I ask my girls(ages 7 & 5) to go get my favorite book to read to them, this is the one they grab, and they are right. I absolutely love this book. I have read it to every child I've had a chance to. I have read it to adults as well. The message is to beautiful, and true.
The illistations drew me to this book, and the story keeps me coming back, time and time again.
I look forward to reading it each time I get the chance, and for many, many years to come.

Well researched and poetically rendered, this book tells a compelling story of The Little Town That Could. It's not just for R.E.M. fans, either; some of the best passages take the reader to the early 70s, when chance meetings, boredom, a thriving gay subculture, and some unsung movers-and-shakers who watched from the wings made things happen. Rodger Lyle Brown was there for much of the action and he captures the voices (and vices) of scores of characters who sowed the seeds that were reaped by bands such as the B-52's and R.E.M..

This book is a must for anyone interested in the Athens music scene (REM, B52s). Actually, it's insight on the challenges new bands face in breaking through makes it a must read for anyone in the music business. Greatly entertaining and a fast read. And I actually knew a few of the people mentioned in the book.

It's great to see this book back in print - seemingly a modest look into a grass-roots community of eclectics and artists, PARTY OUT OF BOUNDS actually presents a valuable piece of history - the rise of the Athens GA music and arts scene.

The reverberations from Athens ultimately threw a spotlight onto similar developments in Austin, Boulder, Chapel Hill, Winston-Salem, Minneapolis, Seattle/Olympia, Monterrey MX, and countless other places off the beaten track of the commercial culture industry, spawning a tremendous amount of great and influential work in the process, and this book is - amazingly - still one of the only documents of it all.

Browne was a part of the scene, so his resources, contacts and memories aid in the construction of a rich cultural history. The DIY spirit of the times has been reflected in other works (Clinton Heylin's FROM THE VELVETS TO THE VOIDOIDS springs to mind) focusing on other places, but certain other aspects - the diversity among the people and participants - is largely overlooked in most histories, and Browne gives the art influences, the 'Southern' influences, and the gay influences that all formed some of the scene's foundations the respect they deserve.

And Browne does detail just how stressing and grueling being in a struggling young rock band can be - the joy and the myth is here for sure, but so is the work and financial strain. Browne hits the perfect balance in the writing - he manages to convey, with equal import, the cultural significance, and the fun and energy in scenes like the one that exploded in Athens, and one is also left with a great picture of how such developments can impact (culturally) cities and towns for decades afterwards: again, though this book is Athens-specific in its' historical focus, this in many ways is the story of many places.

At every level, this is an essential recounting of the history of grass-roots and underground creativity in the US.

-David Alston

Just so that the author isn't the only one posting reviews, let me just say that I've lost track of the number of times I've enjoyed this book. Every time I reread it, it conjures up a movie in my mind, artistic college kids in the deep South living to party and play music. Although I grew up in Minnesota, the early punk/new wave scene of the late seventies was much the same here as it was in Athens, GA, and the (hazy) memories of that time are lovingly recounted here.

Hey folks. Yes, this is a facsimile of the original edition from 1991, except this one has a great new cover that's much more like what I wanted for the first edition. Got a new intro, too. Folks have been asking for copies for years, but it's been out of print (with used copies for as much as $50, if you can imagine). If you have any rem, b's, or otherwise fans of athens, let em know.

Any questions, email me at rodlbro@aol.com

rodger brown (author)

Party Perfect is an exceptional cooking tool! The book is filled with easy and creative meals that everyone will love. I do!!!

I am not a cook. Yet I've prepared three separate company dinners using Party Perfect, and not one single guest dumped his or her dinner into the potted plants. A few even asked for seconds. It's a terrific little book!

I love to cook for friends, but with my busy schedule, I don't have time to spend hours in the kitchen - thank goodness for this book! It's the compilation of 'event' recipes I've been meaning to put together for years (but never got around to!) One group of my friends was so impressed by the food that the next time we all got together, I gave everyone a copy! What a hit! I'm waiting for the sequel!

I don't want to drop names, but I just threw a last-minute 4th of July party for a key presidential hopeful, and this book proved indispensible! If this candidate wins, look for these authors to be planning events for the next White House administration. It saved my life! Then my workaholic sister Celeste borrowed it to throw a party for her in-laws, and apparently the in-laws raved - thought she slaved for hours in the kitchen when in fact she threw everything together in minutes. Believe me, if you can please Celeste's mother-in-law (whom we affectionately call Dragon Lady), you can please ANYONE! Get this book.

This book takes all the guesswork out of my holiday meal planning. All of the meals I have tried so far have turned out great and pretty easy to prepare. The recipes are unique and memorable.

A wonderful book and part of a wonderful children's series! Dr. Braver helps parents teach their children well in a fun and creative way through her books. Children will also benefit and learn moral values from this fun series of books as well.

Writte specifically for children ages 4 to 8 by practicing child and adolescent psychiatrist Vania Braver and enhanced with the lively and entertaining illustrations of Cary Pillo, Party Princess is the newest addition to the "Teach Your Children Well" series from Child & Family Press. Party Princess is the story of young Madison, who wants to look extra beautiful for her big birthday party. But an accident with nail polish leaves terrible stains on her gorgeous dress! She feels terrible for a while, then finds a way to make herself feel better - by sharing a treasured gift with her best friend. The wisdom that she learns is "Beauty comes from the heart. You should feel good about yourself... especially when you realize that real beauty is what's on the inside of a person, not the outside." A positive and uplifting book with a meaningful and relevant moral, especially in today's appearance and fashion-driven world.

I'm an elementary school teacher and read this book to my class a few weeks ago. The kids loved this book, even the boys! They are still talking about it. They already knew the characters from Pinky Promise. There were so many great points to discuss afterwards. I used some of the activity sheets and teacher's guide from the author's website which were helpful. The illustrations are well done and compliment the book nicely. I highly recommend this book!

The story is warm, sweet and simply wonderful!!! Dr. Braver (visit www.drvanitabraver.com) captures the magic of story telling, accompanied by beautiful, whimsical illustrations. My children love the first book, "Pinky Promise". I look forward to collecting the entire "Teach Your Children Well" series. I'm sure all the books will be treasured for years to come!"

Dr. Vanita Braver knows that it is difficult to teach our children well.

For starters, she's a child psychiatrist who is the psychiatric medical director of the residential treatment center Bonnie Brae. She's also a mother.

She took much of what she learned in both roles to create her series Teach Your Children Well. The second book in that series, Party Princess, released in April 2005, is a book that features 6-year-old Madison and the lessons she is learning about morals.

Party Princess opens with Madison getting ready for a big day. She's put on a lovely pink dress and is thrilled with how beautiful she feels. As she welcomes her best friend Emily as the first guest at her birthday party, she decides that some of her mom's makeup would make her look even more the role of a party princess. Only like most 6-year-olds, she isn't quite coordinated enough to put on make-up without making a huge mess-including spilling sparkly red nail polish all over the bathroom counter and her dress.

At this point in the story, many parents are nodding their hands and ready to jump up and tell their stories about times that they as a child or their own children have done something similar. It is this familiarity that Braver strives for-putting her protagonist into realistic situations that both parents and children can relate to.

What might be less common is the response of the mother. While she is obviously frustrated and shares her disappointment with Madison, she doesn't yell, she doesn't punish, and she doesn't make Madison feel worse than she already does. Instead, she just sends her to change out of the beloved party dress into something less desirable, but not smattered with nail polish.

Throughout much of the rest of the party, Madison sulks. While her mother may not have yelled at her, Madison feels her disappointment pretty keenly and feels guilty about her misbehavior and unhappy with the consequence of not getting to wear the pretty clothes that she had so carefully dressed herself in.

Her mood is only restored after opening a present and getting the opportunity to make Emily feel good-an opportunity that she takes advantage of to the approval of her mother and the delight of her friend. At bedtime that night, she and her mom talk about the makeup incident and her mom reminds her that she is never to touch the makeup without permission. She also reinforces that Madison is pretty without makeup-that she is beautiful because of the spirit within her. Madison reflects on the day and said that she felt far better about sharing with Emily than she did about wearing her party dress.

As a woman who dislikes the pervasiveness of makeup and the message from the beauty industry and media that we must change ourselves in order to be beautiful, I found a lot of appeal in this short picture book. Madison discovers on her own that she feels a lot better from being a beautiful person than she feels from simply looking beautiful. She also discovers that efforts to beautify oneself physically can backfire and leave one looking ridiculous, wiping out all the time invested.

A device that Braver uses in both books are the appearance of Madison's stuffed animals. Wisdom the Owl, Honesty the Bear, Hope the Bluebird, and Courage the Lion all are good friends to Madison the way stuffed animals are to children. For the adult reader, their presence can seem a bit of overkill. However, our children are less jaded and the target audience of four to eight-year-olds will appreciate the presence of listening companions who seemingly whisper in Madison's ear as she drifts off to sleep, helping her to process the day's events and what's she learned from them.

Cary Pillo is the illustrator and she uses bright happy colors throughout the books. She does an excellent job of painting pictures that seem alive with both motion and emotions. She paints some of the most infectious smiles I've seen in picture books.

The book is published by the Child & Family Press, an imprint of the Child Welfare League of America. They are a publishing house who dedicate all of the proceeds from sale of their books to supporting CWLA's programs for children and families.

I always approach morality stories for children with a bit of trepidation. They too often fall into the category of being too didactic or absent of any sort of dramatic conflict whatsoever. Thankfully, Braver manages to avoid these traps. Party Princess is successful on two levels. First, it has a charming story for children that addresses the importance of self-esteem and developing an inner beauty. Second, it provides a good model for parents on how to respond to those frustrating situations-including a model on when to step back and let the child work out the problem.

Party Princess is the second book in the series. The first one is Pinky Promise. The third one is due out in April 2006.

'Quinceanera!' has got first hand accounts of moms and families who have been there..planning their own childrens coming of age. Some used party planners, some did it themselves with help from friends and family. This book has been VERY HELPFUL in planning my oldest daughter's quinces in 2002 and I've dug it out again to plan daughter #2's quinces in 2009.

The greatest book around to help plan for your daughters Quinceanera. It has help me see many traditions I did not know existed. Must have if you are planning a party.

This book was abousoulty the best information that I have found on quinceanera's out there. It takes you step by step giving great examples of menu's and ceremonies.

I am starting my own event planning business and this book has given me knowledge that I did not know previously.

I would recommend this book to anyone that is planning a quinceanera, it will save you a lot of stress and anxiety.

I started working on my daughter's quinceanera 1 year ago and found this book invaluable. It's very comprehensive and covers everything for all latin cultures. I incorporated a little of everything to create a customized quince for my daughter, with an emphasis on the religious aspect. This book gave me ideas and explored topics I didn't know existed. Thank you Michelle for writing this book.

My daughter and I found this book at a small book store three years ago and could not wait to begin planning her Quinceanera which was January 13,2001! Michele really helps you begin your planning and organization with her research and the ideas that others had shared with her on their Quinceanera. Since the area we live in does not cater to "La Quinceanera", her book helped us get started. The Quinceanera was better than my daughter had imagined and the best night of her entire life. Fred Meyer's bakery at Fisher's Landing, Vancouver WA makes the Juventud Encantada cake featured in her book. Michele provides great ideas for the "recuerdos" and shopping for invitations for that very special day! We found the "Quinceanera CD's" at Borders.com and Tower Records.com THANK YOU MICHELE! We are looking forward to her new book on the Hispanic Bride's Wedding Planner. Although we can wait for wedding!

An intriguing read for teens--and perhaps their parents--about pre-Revolution Boston. Seventeen-year-old Rachel Winslow takes on the ghostly guise of her great-aunt Regina Silsby to fight the British acts of tyranny. She tricks British soldiers, frees prisoners, and confounds a certain spoiled redcoat captain, leaving Boston believing that Regina's spirit truly haunts the city. In the mean time, while she tromps around as the ghost of her great-aunt, Rachel wonders what the truth is about the real Regina Silsby. Was Regina a witch, as the gossips say--or a devoted Christian? Did she practice things darker than the organ in King's Chapel, or was she simply pouring out her soul to God through music as she mourned her dead fiance? Rachel investigates and discovers that all the superstitions of the townspeople are for nothing. Regina Silsby was a godly young woman who died a tragic death. Rachel sees the damage to a person's reputation that idle gossip about the supernatural can do, and she rejects the untruthful stories. However, Rachel is left with another problem--a spoiled British captain is determined to make the so-called ghost pay for humiliating him....

Regina Silsby's Secret War is a young adult novel that greatly impressed me as a reader and reviewer. With its realistic language and situations, this book is one I highly recommend. Rachel's reliance on God's guidance before making the important decisions she had to make was inspiring. Mr. Brodeur brings the pre-Revolutionary time period to life in this novel, and I also highly recommend its sequel, Regina Silsby's Phantom Militia, which continues Rachel's story further. She brings along a companion ghost from the grave in the sequel, adding to the excitement and danger. I also personally think these two novels would make a great movie that would be a wholesome choice for teens.

The Old English or King's English or English or whatever it is, the style of the language, was great fun to read at the beginning. Then, you get to know the setting, Boston in the 1700s. Neat details about daily life in that time keep your interest. For example, Rachel (the protagonist) is outside in the cold doing laundry in a tub or fetching firewood.

Then you get to know all the characters. There are great characters. Rachel and her family are the good guys. There is a British soldier who moves into their house. Him and his troops are the bad guys. There's townsfolk, a cemetary, horses, ships, a ghost, knife throwing... all kinds of cool stuff to make a great adventure!

Then, at the end, the adventure unfolds. Like great historical fiction does, the story is intertwined with real life events; the Boston Tea Party, the American Revolution.

I must say I was a bit worried that this book would be a snooze fest since it is "Christian Fiction for Young Readers". Boy, was I surprised! It is simply a great adventure story with fun on EVERY page.

[...]

This book is a must-read and must-have for any reader's collection. It is set in the Boston Tea Party-period, and Rachel Winslow is the very likable heroine who has a clever plan of disguising herself as a ghost...but I will not give it all away, you must read the book for yourself.

The writing is so elaborate, you feel as if you were really there in the story, thanks to the vivid expressions, imager, and vocabulary.

You will really enjoy this book if buy it, so get your copy today!

I recently read "Regina Silsby's Secret War" as a primer to reading it with my 10 year old daughter and got hooked!! The vocabulary is rich, the pace is fast, and the entire story is extremely believable and engaging. My 10 year old daughter is now reading it and is thrilled with the antics and courage of Rachel, the main character. She's also excited about how well the plot ties in with her recent history lessons about the Boston Tea Party, Stamp Act, Quartering Act and the other Intolerable Acts. Kudos to Thomas Broduer for an extremely well written book that's fun to read for kids and adults!

Of the DK Publishing Scratch and Sniff books I've seen, I think this one is among the best. I absolutely love the smell of the cake. The other smells are O.K., although I hate the coca cola one (my husband--a former coca cola addict--absolutely loves that page!).

My only disappointment is that they didn't incorporate scents for some of the other pictures in the book. There are potato chips, black licorice, and candy pictured but these have no scent. Bummer. Still, my 2-year-old loves it.

My son loves scratch and sniff books. This one was a great way to get him prepared for his 2nd birthday party.

My 2 year old daughter received this book as a christmas gift, and see loves it! She carries it around all the time now.
And the smells have helped her to learn the names of the objects pictured. I highly suggest this book.

My 2 year old daughter loves to play with this book over and over again. The scents are still going after several months of heavy use.

This scratch and sniff book is great. The smells have lasted a long time and they are very pleasant. I highly recommend all of the scratch and sniff seriers from this publisher.

This book is a masterful combination of historical research and party analysis that will reshape the way we think of political parties. Frymer argues convincingly that party institutions have generally sought to marginalize the issue of racial injustice in American politics. A major contribution to the literature from a young scholar and excellent teacher.

It is great that now everyone can see what a brilliant mind Paul Frymer is. I took three classes with him at UCLA and he really turned me onto American politics. He showed us what was wrong and how we could go about making it better. The focus was not here is what I think and you must like it, the structure allowed for free thought and contemplation. This is something that is obvious in his writing.

I took 4 classes that Prof. Frymer taught at UCLA and was quite impressed with his teaching methods. Prof. Frymer's book, I believe, eloquently summarizes what he tried to convey in those lectures. Written on the level as that of Lani Guinier's work, I hope that Prof. Frymer's book will be able to open the eyes of the typical politician who seems to be disconcerned with such issues and only to win big. Thank you Professor Frymer.

Prof. Frymer has written a book that many different audiences will find useful. Political scientists will appreciate his skill in demonstrating a counter-intuitive, and yet ultimately convincing, account of race and party politics. Those from other academic fields will be grateful for Frymer's decision to eschew political science jargon, and will find that the book makes contributions to our understanding of history and law. Finally, non-academics will find the book both accessible and informative. I highly recommend "Uneasy Alliances."

This is one of the best books I've read on race in America. It shows why racism persists, and how our political leaders collude in its persistence. It takes on conventional wisdom among intellectuals and political leaders, and it does so in a way that is accessible to an average reader. I can't praise it too highly.