People Books

There were no winners in this race, as expertly laid out by author Bruce Henderson. While the rival "sides" in this debate may never settle, it's tragic to read how two strong men ended their arctic adventures (and friendship) in such rancor and misery. In the end, there's so much confusion to it that history will probably never give either the "prize."

One thing that caught me off guard was the despicable lengths to which Peary went to discredit Cook, even going so far as to coerce the eskimoes into confused statements and ensure the 'disappearance' of Cook's instruments. The whole story was summed up for me in the words of the two men themselves:

PERRY:
"I shall not be satisfied until my name is known from one end of the world to the other. I MUST have fame."

COOK (in dedicating his own book):
"To the Indian who invented pemmican and snowshoes;
To the Eskimo who gave the art of sled traveling;
To this twin family of wild folk who have no flag
Goes the first credit."


by the author of The Swan: Tales of the Sacramento Valley

This is a must for fans of arctic exploration. A terrific story, well told. The account is not an attempt to boost the claims of either Peary or Cook. Rather it is a riveting account of the facts as best we can know them, leaving the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. If you are familiar with the book or TV series "The Last Place on Earth" recounting the race to the South Pole by Scott and Amundsen, you will want to read this book. There are some obvious comparisons of the two men's personalities, but the overall story of "True North" is even more rich. One of the best nonfiction reads you are likely to encounter.

If you are a lover of Arctic adventure and history this is a must read!
Bruce Henderson does a great job comparing the two men who claimed to be first to the North Pole. Was it Peary? Was it Cook? This is so well written and interesting you'll find it hard to put down. I have always had my opinion as to who can rightfully claim the title of "First", but after this book, I changed my mind. You may do the same. Each explorers journey is detailed along with a close look at thier personality and inter-action with others. I guarantee you will love this book!

My wife bought this for me suspecting, as a land surveyor, I would find it interesting. I did ... and then some! Learned some facinating history of the race to the North Pole. Something we don't think much about these days. Cook and Peary's adventure has very little - yet much to do land surveying, (the mathematics/observations). Much of our profession's "roots" come from the U.S. Coast and Geological Survey mentioned in this fine history book. The story was absolutely enthralling! Thanks be to the author for taking us to the "end" with Dr. Cook - such a humble "gentleman"! Such a sad ending.

It is often difficult to translate history into a compelling story. Bruce Henderson, however, managed beautifully in True North. It was a terrific read, with all of the action of a adventure novel, but wonderfully documented and (near as I can tell) historically on point.

It was a post-hospital read following the birth of my last baby, and despite my exhaustion, I had a difficult time putting it down.

While the book on Du Bois may appear daunting especially if being used for research it is a very positive look into the part of Du Bois life that is commonly misrepresented, his involvement in religion. Worth the time to learn the truth behind the life of an important man in African American historian and truly understand his real beliefs and style. Good read.

In this novel Blum outlines a new way for historians to examine W.E.B. DuBois and his "religious self." Many historians believe that DuBois was not a religious man, or he demonstrated very little in the way of his faith. Obviously they weren't reseacrching very hard, because there is more than enough evidence in this novel to prove all historians wrong. This book was a tough read for me, but the book is extremely detailed and I was left with hardly any unanswered questions about DuBois's "religiousness." A definate read for anyone learning about W.E.B. DuBois.

Edward Blum gives a fresh take to W.E.B Du Bois, who was often so misunderstood. Blum gives ample amount of detail to support all idea, including quotes from a Du Bois interview before he passed away. Book is full of interesting facts, and well written. Highly recommended to any history buff!

Many historians believe that W.E.B. DuBois was irreligious. Edward Blum has made the decision to go against the grain and look at the evidences that point to how important religion was in not only forming his chilhood, but in shaping who he was and what he did throughout his adult life. This new and refreshing perspective on an important African American actor in American history gives insight not only to the life of DuBois, but to a growing fear of organized groups that kept DuBois from every really voicing what his true beliefs were.

The winds of change. But for all of the change that we have experienced in America, nothing much has truly changed at all. When W.E.B. Du Bois wrote The Souls of Black Folk in 1903, he spoke eloquently of the "color line" in America. It was his answer to the question, "How does it feel [add "black man"] to be a problem?" To that, his answer was, in so many words and paraphrased by me, "I'm not the problem, America has a problem--and that is the problem of the color line."

With amazing detail and a highly introspective look into this religious aspect of Du Bois' life, Edward J. Blum, a history teacher at San Diego State University, delves into the one aspect of Du Bois' life that remains open for debate to this day. The question of who or what did he believe in that inspired him to touch the minds, hearts, and the souls of folk in the way that he did. Some thought him a man of faith, but many men of faith begged to differ--questioning his beliefs and his faith, and he often left them wondering if he had any faith at all.

For a man whose writings and work often paralleled Bible stories, he appeared disconnected from church traditions and religiosity, but still connected to his faith in God. Today's community of Bible thumpers would have called him a "spiritualist," rather than a Christian.

Hallie Queen, says Blum, likened the chapter called 'Of our Spiritual Strivings' to the 137th Psalm in character and significance, and indeed, the struggle of the black man in America very much paralleled the struggle of the ancient Hebrews in Egypt. Had it not been for the lost sense of community and individual connectivity, the spiritual strivings of the American black man were exactly as those of the Hebrews, except that there were many "pharoahs" called 'the written law' rather than one ruler who could change his mind on a whim.

Blum re-examines Du Bois' life and his historical record from a different and refreshing perspective. It would appear to some that the black nationalism and black liberation theology of Du Bois' writings were diametrically opposed to religion, but Du Bois appears instead to be walking a tightrope between the two.

It has been rumored in the black community that whatever hurts whites devastates blacks. If, as Karl Marx said, religion is the 'opiate of the masses,' then for blacks, religion may be the cluster bomb that wiped out the effectiveness of the black church in handling the ongoing pressures of blackness in society. As tax laws changed and churches were cornered into losing their exemption status for protesting too loudly on the political scene, what amounted to a matter of exemptions for white churches became a matter of ending centuries of rhetoric against racial injustice in America for black churches. What was fought in court originated in church for most blacks, and if one were to say the church "weakened" the black man's political stance before, it was easier to say this move "watered it down."

The "weak" black church was the only podium from which a black man could take a calculated stand in the fight for equality and still be heard; but that church has traded out the speeches of justice in exchange for the speeches of prosperity. If Du Bois was both sinner and saint, it was not because he hated religion, but because he hated the use of religious entities to defraud, bully, and control the masses. He did not shun religion, but often used it to counter some of the traditions that men embraced.

In summary, the author comes close to the edge of defending the 'religion' of W.E.B. Du Bois, who died as misunderstood as he was when he lived, and yet he made a deep impact on all who have seen, heard, or read of him. He was labeled a radical, and was largely ignored by those who had hoped that his massive contributions would be buried along side of him, But, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, "history cannot ignore W.E.B. DuBois because history has to reflect truth, and Dr. DuBois was a tireless explorer and a gifted discoverer of social truths...his singular greatness lay in his quest for truth about his own people..."

In the final chapter, entitled The Passing of the Prophet, Blum repeats Du Bois' words of courage. "Beyond The Veil," he (Du Bois) wrote in 1897, ["the veil" being the insidious Color Line of our yesterdays and todays] lies an undiscovered country, a land of new things, of change, of experiment, of wild hope, and somber realization, of superlatives and italics - of wondrously blended poetry and prose." Blum states, "Du Bois inhabited that realm for much of his lifetime, let us strive to join him there."

Reviewed by Marjani
for The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Walking With Grandfather: The Wisdom of Lakota Elders
This is a very special book, in my opinion.It sets out to address the myths that have been propagated because of fear and predudice surrounding the history of the white incursion into what was the territory and traditional way of life of the nomadic and deeply spiritual peoples of the plains of North America.It is a gentle reminder of the imperialsm and arrogance that still pervades in people in the mainstream western society today ,who in the main believe the spiritual life of the native peoples is inferior to that of the white traditions.The indian peoples of the plains are extremely family minded , and have a rich culture of traditional beliefs and are commited ,even in this age, to encourage their children to learn the ethical and moral way of life that encompasses the belief that all inhabitants of the earth should be treated with respect and honour.Joseph Marshall is particularly advocating respect for older people who have gained wisdom and insight purely by living life with all its challenges and also its joys.

Brilliant author with another fascinating piece of work! "Walking with Grandfather" is another example of how the dominant Euro-American culture is lacking its appreciation for the 'study of our ghosts.' Marshall provides a wonderful example of how we must reconnect to our history, our culture and our heritage. He is to be commended for a great book.

In this book, Mr. Marshall takes the reader into a world of wisdom and insight, a world in which he passes along the lessons learned from Lakota elders, including his own grandparents. These stories and lessons are especially important in today's society, where "honor" and "respect" are becoming words with no meaning, and things are considered better just because they are new. Mr. Marshall writes in a way that makes you feel like he's talking to you, maybe around a campfire at the end of a summer day, and the stories he is telling should be taken to heart by every thinking person.

Joseph Marshall speakes to a part of us that lies buried under the workings of modern society. I love his stories and wisdom teachings. They make me feel human.

I have now become a great fan of Joseph M. Marshall recently ordering other books as well as cd's. Even his written word, you can almost hear him speaking to you. A very easy way to learn about the Lakota traditions, its a pleasant journey.

This book is not only a great adventure for middle grade readers, but it is a useful tool for classroom teachers. My class (fourth/fifth graders) read this book for our theme: The Maya. The book gave authentic facts about the Mayan culture and a plausible explanation for the demise of their culture. We used the book as the backbone of several language arts exercises such as: written and oral reports about the Maya, literary criticism of characters, plot, and sequence, persuasive essays on human sacrifice vs. murder and Mayan culture vs. our own culture; and art projects from wood burning to mapping. We studied geography and the rainforest. The students' enthusiasm for this book pushed our curriculum into other disciplines including math. I recommend this book to teachers and to middle grade students.

The Well of Sacrifice by Chris Eboch is an amazing book about a Mayan girl named Eveningstar Macaw who has to save herself and her family from an evil high priest named Great Skull Zero. The story takes place in a fictional Mayan city during the ninth century. Other important characters are Eighteen Rabbit, Eveningstar's father, Blue Quetzal, Eveningstar's mother, Feather Dawn, Eveningstar's sister, Smoke Shell, Eveningstar's brother, Small, the family's Savage slave, and King Flint Sky God, their city's amazing god-king.
I would recommend this book to readers who are interested in other cultures, are studying the Mayans, or just want to try something different. Readers anywhere from ten to twelve years of age would enjoy this book though thirteen and fourteen year olds might like it as well. Girls and boys alike would agree on what an amazing book it is. If you enjoy an easy read, read this book.

I read The Well of Sacrifice, by Chris Eboch, for a school assignment. I thought it was an excellent read. It's about a girl named Eveningstar Macaw. She's a Mayan who lives in the Yucatan Peninsula in the 9th century. While in the jungle gathering plants for her mother, who is a healer, Eveningstar sees a group of savages, probably preparing to attack her city. At the time, Eveningstar's city had been fighting with groups of Indians from islands in the Caribbean, and they called them the savages. Eveningstar alerts her older brother, Smoke Shell, who gathers up a group of men and attacks the savages. Her family is then promoted to noble status, and after the king dies, many people want Smoke Shell to be the next king. But the evil high priest, Great Skull Zero, wants to be king. He makes an order to have Smoke Shell and many other men sacrificed to the gods. Along with her servant, Small, Eveningstar sets out to save her brother and her whole city from the wrath of Great Skull Zero. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone, boys and girls, who is interested in the Mayas or wants a good book to read. I would say it's good for people ages 10 and up, but only because there are some scenes that might frighten younger children. It has a lot of action, and it taught me a lot about the Mayan culture. This was a very entertaining and exciting book.

I read The Well of Sacrifice, by Chris Eboch, for a school assignment. I thought it was an excellent read. It's about a girl named Eveningstar Macaw. She's a Mayan who lives in the Yucatan Peninsula in the 9th century. While in the jungle gathering plants for her mother, who is a healer, Eveningstar sees a group of savages, probably preparing to attack her city. At the time, Eveningstar's city had been fighting with groups of Indians from islands in the Caribbean, and they called them the savages. Eveningstar alerts her older brother, Smoke Shell, who gathers up a group of men and attacks the savages. Her family is then promoted to noble status, and after the king dies, many people want Smoke Shell to be the next king. But the evil high priest, Great Skull Zero, wants to be king. He makes an order to have Smoke Shell and many other men sacrificed to the gods. Along with her servant, Small, Eveningstar sets out to save her brother and her whole city from the wrath of Great Skull Zero. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone, boys and girls, who is interested in the Mayas or wants a good book to read. I would say it's good for people ages 10 and up, but only because there are some scenes that might frighten younger children. It has a lot of action, and it taught me a lot about the Mayan culture. This was a very entertaining and exciting book.

The Well of Sacrifice by Chris Eboch is a very interesting and exicing book. The story is set in the Yucatan Peninsula in the ninth century, and tells about a Mayan girl trying to save her city. Eveningstar Macaw is a brave,adventurous and clever girl. The Well of Sacrifice is about how one Mayan city might have fallen apart.

In the beginning of the book, Eveningstar met a Savage. Though he was an enemy of her people, he was kind to her. Next, the king died and the high priest took over the city. With the help of the Savage, Eveningstar worked hard to save her family and the city, making the high priest very angry. Finally, the high priest threw Eveningstar into the Well of Sacrifice.

The author included many details about the life of the ancient Maya. For example, people in Eveningstar's city worshiped Mayan gods, like Itzamna and Ah Puch. Also, Eveningstar went out into the jungle to gather plants, such as snake root, to use as medicine. In addition, their food included tortillas, corn, fruits, squash and beans.

The Well of Sacrifice is an adventure-filled book. Readers ages nine and up would enjoy reading this book.

The thing that struck me most about Chip Jacobs' fascinating biography of his "Hollywood Player" uncle was just how un-Hollywood it felt. Certainly there is the human interest aspect, involving the tragic, early childhood injury that left Gordon Zahler bound to a wheelchair for life. Yet Mr. Jacobs wisely avoids going overly maudlin upon his audience, choosing instead to offer up the portrait of a man, so driven by the desire to succeed, that a mere physical disability could not stand in his way. Throughout the course of reading this book, I never saw Gordon Zahler as an object of pity; there were in fact times when I found him an entirely unsympathetic character. But he always came across as a human being, with all the debilitating flaws, and ennobling traits that characterize our species. And that to me is what makes a great biography. I look forward to Mr. Jacobs' next work.

I loved this book! Wheeler-dealer reminds me of the classic American story. It is a story about an "underdog" fighting to overcome his own personal challenges and limitations to find success. What would you do if you woke up paralyzed? How could you support a family, marry and ultimately enjoy life when you had no use of any of your limbs? Gordon's story shows us how powerful our minds are and reminds us that nothing is beyond our reach. Wheeler-dealer is much more than a story about Hollywood, or about quadriplegia, it is a personal story, one that the author tells with raw honestly of his own journey to find himself and how these family members, especially those past relatives long since buried, effect his life. Anyone that has ever undergone a personal or family tradegy will relate to the circumstances that this family finds themselves in, but as a reader, you will want to cheer as they find succes through ingenuity, perserverence and hard work. The human quality in this book makes you want to keep turning the pages. This book provides amazing insight into the power of dreams and sheer willpower. Try it, you be glad you did!

There is something so gripping in Chip Jacobs' biography of his uncle, Gordon Zahler. The author never caricatures his relative, but enfleshes him with boundless objectivity, even when recording his personal distaste in his responses to his mother's brother. I find the ability to do that a rare gift in writing. And the prose, the turn of a phrase and the point in a paragraph, hold the reader's interest like glue. Perhaps that is because Jacobs brings to this work years of newspaper writing, where words cannot be wasted, but packed with punch. Personally I was touched because Chip describes the Southern California and Hollywood of my coming-of-age and young womanhood, and it was, oh, so accurately portayed. Bravo!

It is unusual to find an unlikely protagonist such as Gordon Zahler, Chip Jacobs didn't have far to dig for this character, Uncle Gordon was always a topic of conversation at family gatherings. Now Chip introduces Gordon to the rest of us. He was a complex and inspiring character. Go Chip!

I thoroughly enjoyed this page-turning book! The story is one that you will never forget. The author, Chip Jacobs, will touch the soul of everyone who reads this book. I can't recommend it enough. I have told all my friends and family that this is a must-read for everyone!

We enjoyed this story very much. It is written as a story of a play that is taking place. The pictures are fantastic. Someone is in rabbit's house and will not let him in. Frog has figured it out but rabbit will not listen to him. Frog enjoys watching the trouble as the other animals try to help rabbit out. Finally out of exasperation Rabbit asks for Frogs help. This was a very fun book. Recommended for ages 6-9 years.

my 5 year old son loves this story and its surprise ending!

the play within a story framework is very clever but may be too complicated for very young children to follow

mjdykstra
mother & book lover

I love this story. My children enjoy it. Its great for children at bedtime. It is actually a play....thats how the story is being told.

Must add to your library of African tales!!

Who's in Rabbits House is one of those few book that people of all ages can enjoy. The book is beautiful to look at, the illustrations informative and clever. (Check out the lions.) It reads aloud beautifully, and even the youngest reader can be given a part to become part of the experience. The cultural contect is respectfully presented. The reader becomes one who learn that of the Masai vilagers that strength is less important than intelligence.

We found this by chance at the library and it is now one of our favorite books. During the three weeks we had the book we read it over 20 times and looked through it often. And we've checked it out a few times since then, too. Hmm, maybe we should buy it!

My boys have acted out the story repeatedly and I hear them quietly reciting the story to themselves.

The pictures are fantastic - bright, beautiful, so full of life. The text is superb and has a wonderful moral as well.

You will love this book and so will your kids.

If you've found yourself in one abusive relationship after another, I bet your exes would have fit the criteria laid out in this book (all of my exes did).

What I really like is that Gillis mentions that many people will tell you not to trust your instincts, when your instincts are warning you about all of the red flags about that "sweet and great person that everybody adores." This book warns you about everything and can save you from getting into another toxic relationship. Everytime I saw a red flag about my exes, people told me that it was nothing..But, then I found those same red flags I noticed in this book.

I went to to Catholic high school in Chicago where we were required to take a class solely on the topic of marriage. During my 21 year marriage my wife (now former) kept asking me where I learned all these good things about marriage. I told her I took a marriage class in high school, and I had two partnes who loved each other and showed it every day. I wish I read your book as a refresher 6 years after high school.

High schools should purchase this book by the truck-load and teach a class focused solely on this book. I have a different spiritual system than the author, but no reasonable, mature person can disagree with his highly effective examples, clear writing style and the wealth of first-hand experience he provides. You can tell he is a gifted person who cares for people and society. This book will dramatically reduce teen pregnancy, depression, abortion, crime, violence, poverty, and other societal problems caused by divorce, broken homes and single-parent homes. We need to buy this book in bulk and give it out to the people we care about, especially teens and young adults.

The author did a lot of information search. I found this book to be more of how and why to avoid abusive relationships. It will be a plus to add to your library as a reference guide.

Why People Choose the Wrong Mate is a best seller! It clearly defines the boundaries of God and society's relationship. The book illuminated my mind to the not so obvious pit-fall that so many fall prey to.

When I began reading. I could hardly put the book down. Anyone looking for a mate will definitely get this book recommended to them by me.

Triplett, you have out done yourself. The Holy Spirit was definitely talking to you. I can see that you have a sensative ear and relationship with the Lord. This book will go down as one in history for the ages to read.

Atlanta, Georgia

This is a powerful book full of powerful truths and everyday examples. I will not share my copy of this book. I'll buy one for others, but they cannot have my book. It is like a handbook and should be reviewed at the beginning of every relationship. The bottom line is this: Through examples and Biblical references, the book teaches that "Obedience is better than sacrafice." I thank God for Gillis Triplett. I was married for 24 years. My husband had a bad accident involving a head injury. The counselor said that the accident exacerbated the deteriorating condidtions in our marriage. The last six years of our marriage were living hell for me and my children. We were always afraid. As I looked back over the years, some of the abuse was there from the beginning, but I thought I could make the marriage work. If I had read this book earlier, I would have seen the signs even before we got married.

Let's face it. Most sales people we come in contact with drone on about what they think is gonna make you buy. Wahburn and Wallace have revealed profound conclusions of what customers want to hear, based on hundreds of research questionaires conducted with customers of highly successful companies. I've been in sales for 17 years and I gave up on reading sales books because they were not helpful. This one is different. It immediately helped me improve my presentation that I've been giving for the last 11 years. I thought it was as good as it was gonna get. Wrong. I'm making more money and saying what customers want to hear. Even better, more customers are saying what I want to hear. Buy the book. You won't regret it.

I have heard of different personality types for years, how to pick them out and what to do after you know their type, but it was always so complicated. The authors make it VERY easy to pick out the personality type, then they tell you what to do with the information. They give excellent examples from their own work with clients over the years.

This is not one of those books that is just an advertisement for their consulting or their seminars. Each of the three personality types is clearly described. A simple trick is given to remember how to pick each personality type. Then many real life examples of how to sell to that presonality type. All the authors have left for you is to modify the examples to the products you are selling, modify the presentation you already use so that it targets the three personality types in 4 or 5 areas and you will be selling in a way your client likes to buy.

What if you are doing group sales with a mixture of personality types in the same room? It is covered in this book.

This book is too good and too cheap not to get and read. The contents are too easy to not put into practice.

I am a CPA and Harvard MBA and have sold sophisticated tax shelters on a commission basis for years. This is one of the finest books on salesmanship I have ever read.

It is grounded in excellent theory, yet it presents the information in a simple manner that is easy to understand AND easy to implement.

The book focuses on two areas:

1) Know where your customer is in the buying cycle. a)Is he committed to do something yet, or not. b)Is this a repeat of a prior purchase or not? c)Is he evaluating alternatives? d)From whom will he buy the product or service selected? e)Is the price right?

2) Different personality types buy in different manners. The book describes three types. a)Commander (take-charge, action-oriented leaders) b)Thinker (logical, analyze details, and like knowing the answers), and c) Visualizer (practical, intuitive, see things as they are).

A buyer is interested in certain information at each STAGE in the buying cycle. Additionally, each personality prefers to receive their information in a different manner. By recognizing the buying stage and the personality of the buyer you are trying to persuade, you can choose the most compelling arguments to make every time. This will avoid 90% of the turn-downs other salespeople get when trying to close a sale.

I have read other books classifying personalities into 9 or 16 types. Other authors define 8 or 11 stages of a sale. By using 5 stages in their DREAM sales cycle, and 3 personality types, I think Washburn and Wallace have done salespeople a GREAT service. These categories are well defined, easy to identify, and easily utilized to increase sales with their strategies.

Readers looking for more advanced strategies in these areas can try Kerry Johnson's "Sales Magic" and "Selling the Way Your Customer Buys" by Marvin Sadovsky and Jon Caswell. However, I feel Washburn & Wallace's "Why People Don't Buy Things" has the ideal mix of quality content which works, is easily digested, and implementable. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Great book on why we sometimes let the big one slip away. Full of ideas and case studies to help anyone selling anything to better position their product/services and ultimately sell more.

I refer to this book on a regular basis to train my sales force. It reinforces what we have been working on for several years AND the results are there. Great job Harry and Kim.

The people you will meet in this book are cooperative, peaceful, egalitarian, and truly democratic. They also live in harmony with the earth. There have been many books about tribal people, gathering- hunting societies, like the Bambuti of the Congo rain forest, the Kung Bushmen, the Inuit, Native Americans. Most of these people have values similar to those of the Forest Teduray. Gathering - hunting societies have to be cooperative because its the only way they can survive. There are no hierarchies for the same reason, and women are always at least equal to men because in most such economies they provide 70- 80% of the food Nevertheless the Forest Teduray are a special kind of people for a number of reasons. They are semi agricultural, and they live in villages rather than small bands, and these villages are connected to each other in a very loose, unstructured federation. And yet they have not only maintained the basic core values of traditional gatherer- hunting peoples, but have developed and refined them into a way of life that not only works perfectly for them, but actually seems possible for our own society. It is a bit of a stretch, I admit, and the historical record is hardly encouraging. It does appear that nation states must always develop male dominated hierarchical and violent, aggressive societies. But there is no compelling reason to believe that this is necessary. The Teduray think it is "no way to live". Just imagine living in a Teduray world: a global human society living in harmony with everyone else, and with the planet. As difficult as it will surely be to get there, it's got to be worth trying. I never saw a better manual for how to live this way than Wisdom from a Rain Forest. The Teduray really know how to live, and they know how to talk about it. I think the world needs this book, and I wish everyone would read it. There are always many books on the best seller lists about how to fix your own personal inner life, to provide soup for your soul or something. But maybe we can't do any of that by ourselves. Maybe we need to work together to build a healthy society. A way to live the Teduray would call "just right". Many times you may hear people say "this book changed my life". I have always believed this is not really possible, that no book can ever really do that. This book changed my life.

Searching for wisdom today usually brings to mind countless books on how to get ahead, or rich, or thin, or powerful. Schlegel has not written a how-to book for modern success, but the story of his own discernment of the difference between wisdom and knowledge.

Although Schlegel went to the Philipine island of Mendanao for an intellectual purpose, a study to complete his doctoral dissertation on the Teduray tribe, he found himself impressed with a style of life and social interaction that most westerners would call primitive. Schlegel saw not only the value and benefit of the Teduray lifestyle, he found his own life influenced by these people in positive ways.

The tribe is now extiinct, wiped out as the result of political conflict, but the wisdom of its ways has not been lost, it lives on in Schlegel's depiction in this book, providing wisdom to those who search for it in unpredictable places.

The people you will meet in this book are cooperative, peaceful, egalitarian, and truly democratic. They also live in harmony with the earth. There have been many books about tribal people, gathering- hunting societies, like the Bambuti of the Congo rain forest, the Kung Bushmen, the Inuit, Native Americans. Most of these people have values similar to those of the Forest Teduray. Gathering - hunting societies have to be cooperative because its the only way they can survive. There are no hierarchies for the same reason, and women are always at least equal to men because in most such economies they provide 70- 80% of the food Nevertheless the Forest Teduray are a special kind of people for a number of reasons. They are semi agricultural, and they live in villages rather than small bands, and these villages are connected to each other in a very loose, unstructured federation. And yet they have not only maintained the basic core values of traditional gatherer- hunting peoples, but have developed and refined them into a way of life that not only works perfectly for them, but actually seems possible for our own society. It is a bit of a stretch, I admit, and the historical record is hardly encouraging. It does appear that nation states must always develop male dominated hierarchical and violent, aggressive societies. Buit there is no compelling reason to believe that this is necessary. The Teduray think it is "no way to live" . Just imagine living in a Teduray world: a global human society living in harmony with everyone else, and with the planet. As difficult as it will surely be to get there, it's got to be worth trying. I never saw a better manual for how to live this way than Wisdom from a Rain Forest. The Teduray really know how to live, and they know how to talk about it. I think the world needs this book, and I wish everyone would read it. There are always many books on the best seller lists about how to fix your own personal inner life, to provide soup for your soul or something. But maybe we can't do any of that by ourselves. Maybe we need to work together to build a healthy society. A way to live the Teduray would call "just right". Many times you may hear people say "this book changed my life". I have always believed this is not really possible, that no book can ever really do that. This book changed my life.

I believe that it is always beneficial to step outside our own culture for a while, to see how others live and how we can learn from them.

Especially when the culture we are observing is one as beautiful as the Teduray. They, like so many indigenous people, lived their lives with the well-being of the community as their focus. This is in sharp contrast to the lonely and individualistic lives of so many Americans.

The people of the Teduray village in which Dr Schlegel lived were all massacred years ago. We find this out in the beginning of the book. It was heartbreaking for him, as he lets us know. Then, as you go on to read the book, learning about his two years with the Teduray, you get to know the people - their names, personalities, lifestyles - you come to care about them. I found that knowing they had all been killed led me to place greater importance on learning from them. The temporary nature of their lives gave permanence to the wisdom they imparted.

They lived beautifully, communally, with great compassion. I felt humbled, and grateful to have read their story and learned from them.

I highly recommend this book. It is lovely, heart-centered, and written by a clearly beautiful man.

And if you like this book, you probably will also like The Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff. I learned many of my better parenting skills from this book - another study of living within an indigenous community.

This is a very good, readable book. It depicts a culture in which helping others was the normal--not the charitable--thing to do. The mindset of the Teduray people of the Philippine rainforest, with whom the author Stuart Schlegel lived for years, is a world view that, sadly, seems almost unbelievable for people who are indoctrinated into a capitalistic system. It's like a splash of cold water in the face. Wouldn't it be nice for every Anthropology 101 student in the U.S. to experience this book, if for no other reason at all simply to face the fact that there are human mindsets possible that are not ruled by money, greed, scarcity, and conspicuous consumption?

Loved it, loved it, loved it. I am not a teenager anymore but I still loved it. I could relate. I read it in one evening and wished that there was book 2 to read. Please keep writing these great, funny books.

Finally! My 3rd-grade daughter used to dread reading, and the first book "Matt the Brat" got her hooked! This is the first time she has wished that there were more books in a series. Carol Weston, please write more!!

I LOVED this book. it was great. all of the Melanie Martin books are great. In this one she goes with her parents to Spain. her dad has business in Spain to do so her mom used frequent flyer miles to have the whole family go with him. In Spain Melanie's mom meets up with her old boyfriend Antonio. When there. melanie falls for Antonio's son Miguel. In this book many adventures come in with love between Melanie and Miguel. Also surprisling Matt the Brat helps out to keep Melanie and Miguel alone or gives Melanie tips, like when Miguel's cousin comes and Melanie thought it was Miguel's girlfriend. This book was great and I'd recommend it for all ahges.

I bought this book from amazon.com and read it the day it came. It's so sweet to see Melanie in love! Stocked with bullfights, fireworks and of course, ROMANCE, this book rocks! It's almost like being in Europe yourself! This book is a must-read!

The Martin family band together for a two-week Spring break vacation as seen through the eyes of 11-year-old Melanie. Readers join Melanie through the pain and confusion of first love as she fills her senses with the compelling Spanish landscape. This is an amusing linguistic travel adventure written in diary format. Because the author phonetically spells the Spanish words Melanie learns, I found myself saying some of the words aloud and learning quite a few things along the way. An appendix of all the foreign words Ms. Weston used would have been an added benefit to the book. With Love From Spain, Melanie Martin will make you want to take your kids on a European adventure of your own, no matter where you live in the world! The potential for this book is it's "that's me" value for Tweeners making the transition beyond being big kids.