Indiana Books

Abigail Bailey keeps a diary of her thoughts and feelings relating to her abusive marriage. Abigail's perspective is historic, as she lived in New England in the early foundations of America, but also contemporary, as she writes of the pains, hopes, and struggles of living with an abusive husband. Abigail Bailey's faith played an integral part of her decision-making process, and anyone who wants to understand how Christianity and spirituality contributes to the plight of the abused wife is urged to read this book. It gives a birds-eye view of the inner dynamics of the abusive relationship and Christianity's relationship to those dynamics. While the memoirs stand on their own, the editor does a thourough job of explaining the social, political, and historical contexts of Abigail's life. The only downfall is that it is "heavy" reading, as the language Abigail used is old-English, and one may need to labor more than usual in reading and interpeting it. It is well worth it, though!

This surprisingly interesting look at Outdoor Public Sculpture in Indiana has informed and entertained us immensely. 300 pages, 200 photos, slick. Pleasantly pleased with the fanciful portion; we are on our way to see the 18 foot Santa as well as the poignant stonecarver Louis Baker monument in Bedford, just as if he were still carving. And taking the book with us as we discover these facinating public rememberances. Finally, a helpful, well done and informative book !

_Reshaping Reason_ is an excellent and original work of philosophy. In this book, John McCumber rigorously--and clearly--unites major trajectories from within both continental and analytic philosophy to produce a contemporary philosophical standpoint, a new philosophy that is argumentatively rigorous, historically contextualized, and open to the future. Indeed, the book precisely articulates the concepts and methods necessary to maintain these three dimensions of argumentative rigor, historical contextualization and futural openness. McCumber studies the significance (mostly, in the end, detrimental) of Aristotle's concept of "ousia" for our traditional ways of understanding the world, and McCumber offers an alternative approach that stresses the possibility rather than the actuality that characterizes our world. McCumber specially emphasizes the primacy of human experience for setting the terms of meaning of our world, and generating adequate terms and concepts for addressing human relationships is one of the central projects--and accomplishments--of this work. McCumber stresses his notion of "poetic interaction" when studying human relations: in our relations we create the very terms and structures of those relationships, rather than answering to pregiven patterns. McCumber's establishing of four "elemental" forms of relationship (with both healthy and oppressive forms) is particularly insightful. The book ends with a study of the historically unique nature of the government of the United States, and looks at how this structure does and does not address the essential needs of human life. This would be an excellent book for any serious student of philosophy to read, and would also be an excellent choice for classroom use.

this book is a must have if you study any form of feminist fiction. judith fetterly breaks down how women portrayed in well known works in the western canon are seen as sexless shrews, hysterics, man-hating, and oversexed lunatics to name a few --but are tolerated or fetishized for their subservient placement in the system of male power. As long as they do nothing to challenge the power construct, and actually support it, they are portayed in a half cruel light and simulataneously worshipped as well. They don't buck the power and if they do they pay for it and are blamed any breakdowns in the natural systems of order as well. it will make you burn, burn, burn and that defiant, healthy way. and in that bad, bad, bad,way.

A wonderful collection of philosophical essays written within the Continental tradition, with an emphasis on phenomenology. Much of the work being done in Environmental Ethics today is often bogged down in either useless theorizing about anthropocentric v.s. ecocentric viewpoints or an overemphasis on specific issues such as animal rights, which often overshadows the most pressing challenges facing environmental thinkers. By refocusing the discussion on the essence of nature, or rather, the Being of Nature, the writers in this book are attempting to remind us of the true importance and value of nature, unveiling nature as something wonderful, something beautiful, and most importantly, something sacred. These essays offer some of the most exciting work being done in environmental philosophy today and also reveal the crucial role phenomenology is bound to play in any holistic philosophy of nature.

Nancy Fraser and Sandra Lee Bartky take French feminism--as it was introduced to the Anglo-American world by the work of Elaine Marks' and Isabelle de Courtivron's New French Feminism (1980)--and reconsider it today, in the context of developing postmodern thought/feminisms. Inaugurating third wave feminisms, the writings of Hélène Cixous, Catherine Clément, Christine Delphy, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, and Monique Wittig bear both a deconstructive-psychoanalytical strand of thought--holding an upper hand today in the English-speaking academia, as expressed in the Cixous, Irigaray, Kristeva triad--and a materialist subversive, countercultural instance. Focusing on issues of "identity, difference and femininity" (5), Fraser and Bartky rejoin French feminisms with Anglo-American feminists of a difference understood as a battle field between essentialist and non-substantialist significations. The presence of the American positive "gynocentric feminism" (Iris Young, Nancy Chodorow, and Carol Gilligan) vs. the universally emancipated subject is renegotiated today. Identity and difference are again problematized into "identities" and "differences" (6) within Derridean meaning indeterminacy and dislocated subjectivities. The question then returns to a full circle: do feminist postmodern identities of difference reaffirm an essentialist project? This is a useful collection of articles on challenging Franco-American representations of the feminine in Western philosophy, psychoanalysis, and French theories of discourse.

20 years out, it's STILL the best damn reverse index of Manchu on the market!

This is a very nice volume. Hardback and only ten dollars used. There is a spiritual dimension to Pousette-Dart's artwork. A depth to his intention. This book has many quality illustrations.

Richmond Indiana: Its Physical Development And Aesthetic Heritage To 1920 by architectural historian Mary Raddant Tomlan in collaboration with Michael Tomlan (Director of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation Planning in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning at Cornell University) showcases the history of architecture in the community of Richmond, Indiana. This 364-page descriptive survey is enhanced with more than 130 illustrations, including maps, subdivision plats, aerial views, and streetscapes which position individual buildings within the context of their urban settings. Richmond, Indiana examines this Midwestern city's physical nature, as well as a broad range of factors drawn over decades of urban growth and civic development -- all within the context of complex geographic, economic, political, technological, and cultural conditions that blended together to create the city from its founding up through the first two decades of the 20th Century. Published by the Indian Historical Society Press, Richmond, Indiana is very highly recommended reading and could well serve as a template for other urban communities in crafting an architectural and urban history of their villages, towns and cities.

I grew up having a few favorite poems read to me from this book. There are some poems that certainly require you to conform to the country lingo in which they're written. Given the fact that this book was originally published in the late 1800's, it provides a wonderful look into history, poetry as entertainment, and a way of speaking that is not heard much anymore. My very favorite poem is "The Bear Story". It is "written" by a boy named Alex and has so many charming twists, turns and changes of mind mid-stream that it's both engaging and funny. Of course this book contains "Little Orphant Annie", and my other favorite, "The Raggedy Man." If you're a lover of old poetry or fun poetry, this is certainly a book that deserves a spot on your shelf. Enjoy!