Florida Books

Anais Nin's first published work was DH LAWRENCE: AN UNPROFESSIONAL STUDY. D.H. Lawrence was Anais Nin's literary hero, but she called her study of his work an "unprofessional" study because she was acutely aware of the fact that she was self-taught and not academic. Despite the fact that she was widely read, Anais Nin was never a fan of compulsory education. In her early childhood diaries she drew a picture to illustrate her feelings about school: a child sitting at a desk, bars across the window above head. "I depicted school as a prison because it felt like a prison," she wrote.

So I can't help but find something ironic about books such as ANAIS NIN'S NARRATIVES, a collection of scholarly articles about a "non-scholarly" woman (I believe many of the enclosed articles are actually dissertations). It's just a bit amusing to me that the woman who shunned compulsory education and whose education didn't go much higher than somewhere around grade school, was eventually given honorary degrees, and many formally educated people have made careers from writing about her works. (In addition, Anais Nin's original manuscript diaries are now housed in the UCLA special collections department.) I have a feeling - and it is only a feeling with no verifiable proof - that Anais Nin would be turned off by books such as ANAIS NIN'S NARRATIVES. The prose herein, as with perhaps all scholarly work and dissertations, is often exasperating and nearly impenetrable.

I suppose I need to take responsibility for my own expectations. I really loved Franklin and Schneider's ANAIS NIN: AN INTRODUCTION. Their book is what it sounds like: a straightforward introduction to Anais Nin's work. Having read and fully enjoyed this work of Schneider and Franklin, I wanted to take my understanding of Anais Nin's canon to the next level, take a look at some different perspectives on her work. Judging by the title, and given that there are no reviews to contradict the notion, I assumed that I'd found the "sequel" to Franklin and Schneider's book. I was wrong.

The verdict: ANAIS NIN'S NARRATIVES will only be of use to you if you are working in a university and/or working on your dissertation. There are certainly some interesting points made by the various contributing authors (Anne T. Salvatore is the editor, not the author of this work), but they are largely obscured by that dastardly academic prose! As Adam Robinson explains in WHAT SMART STUDENTS KNOW, the goal of academic prose is to express as few ideas in as many words as possible. Rather than, "I enjoy watching TV," it would be, "Partaking in the activity of viewing various programs on television has been found in my experience to be pleasurable." Get what I mean? Ugh!

But if you are not a university professor, etc., and still want to take a look at ANAIS NIN'S NARRATIVES, you will indeed find a few things of value. But take my advice: check it out at the library and read it very slowly. This is not cover-to-cover reading by any means!

An interesting footnote: the New York grade school Anais Nin depicted in her diary as a prison, is the same grade school that John Taylor Gatto would later teach at. Mr. Gatto would later refer to that school in his book THE UNDERGROUND HISTORY OF AMERICAN EDUCATION: A SCHOOLTEACHER'S INTIMATE INVESTIGATION INTO THE PRISON OF MODERN SCHOOLING. John Taylor Gatto, voted Teacher of the Year several years running in both New York City and New York state, agrees with Anais Nin: modern schooling is a prison.

Andrew Michael Parodi

This true and gruesome account of the systematic torture and killing of a human being as a public spectacle is an outrage to humanity. This story unveils a very hidden period in American history and is a very descriptive account of racial hatred and racial control gone too far. Even though this book is very chilling tale, it is a story that needed to be published and needs to be read by everyone. This book was required reading in a crime and political order class I took when I was an undergraduate. I thought I was a well-read American history buff, but after reading this, I am fascinated that I was completely unaware of the public and sanctioned torture of Americans from the end of slavery until the civil rights movement for the first 23 years of my life. The period in American history where racial hatred was acted upon and justified is not far behind us and this documentation is an important account of terror that is not often mentioned.

Written by a professor of anthropology at Texas State University San Marcos, The Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley: Half a Century of Archaeological Research carefully reviews the abundances of research and discoveries of ancient Maya settlements, striving to collect and integrate information gathered since the publications of Gordon Willey's classic analysis decades ago. Carefully edited and intended to serve as an interim publication pointing the way to long-term production of final site reports, The Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley explores the land, the evidence, and the theories that can be drawn in meticulous detail, and points the way to future discoveries and reinterpretations of commonly held beliefs concerning long-ago civilizations. An outstanding contribution to archaeological reference and study.

Poverty Point in Louisiana is the grand-daddy of all Indian mounds in the US. Built in the shape of a amphitheater on a low ridge overlooking the swamps of the Mississippi River, Poverty Point is 3,500 years old. Author Gibson, an archaelogist, gives us a vivid, speculative picture of the people who built Poverty Point

You can skip the first two chapters which cover the history of theories about Poverty Point. Chapter Three begins the description of the place. Gibson goes through chapters about who lived at Poverty Point, their economy, politics, religion, equipment, and how they built the massive earthworks -- which consist of six concentric half-moon rings spread over a square kilometer of ground -- an enormous undertaking. It wasn't the first mound built in the United States -- but it was far larger than any previous structures.

The Poverty Point people, in Gibson's view, were pre-agricultural hunters and gatherers which makes their achievement even more remarkable. They lacked stones, so rocks for spearheads and other tools were imported from hundreds of miles away. What did they exchange for the rocks? Gibson doesn't know. That's an unanswered question. What did they eat? Gibson says mainly fish from the lakes and bayous nearly surrounding the place. Was Poverty Point only a ceremonial site? If not how many people lived there? Gibson calls it a residential site but doesn't believe it was large enough to be called a city.

This book blends archaelogical findings with ethnology, common sense and, frankly, guesswork -- but guesses by an expert on the subject. As the oldest major Indian ruin in the United States, Poverty Point has a mystical significance similar in my mind to Stonehenge.

Smallchief

Angel Cuadra's text offers a first hand account of the Castro regime's squashing of independent artists and forcing Cuban art and culture into the narrow confines of Castroite ideology.

Angels of the Swamp is a great adventure for kids and adults. I am 33 and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has facts mixed in with the fiction making it educational as well as inspiring. The nature lover will love this story, especially those who have grown up close to the west coast of Florida. It made me want to move back to my little home town on the gulf and live like Taffy, Jeff, and Jody did. I hope to read it to my boys and awaken the adventurer in them.

This little guide fits nicely into a daypack or pocket for quick access. Provides info on more than 50 different mammal, bird, amphib and reptile species. It includes track patterns and a little info on each animal. Not a super specific guide, but one can only fit so much info into a pocket guide.

I just finished reading this book and as usual Joyce Marie Taylor never ceases to amaze me with her creative writing. This book was yet another one of her books that I found hard to put down. The story of Andy & Katarina is not what I thought it was going to be. When I got to the end of the book I found myself in awe. I love the mystery that Joyce brings to her books as well as the romance.

This is one of the greatest books for collectors--especially if you're into trains from pre-war through the 60's. Too bad it's out of print!!

Author Katie Ball ignores the Florida stereotypes to reveal what the locals really love about FL. The great music! Any true Music lover should own this book. Don't leave home with out it!