New York Books

Airwaves is O'Shaughnessy at hist best! From Mario Cuomo to Nelson Rockefeller, Airwaves gives a unique insight into some of the most fascinating figures of the Empire State and beyond. The candid conversations shed new light on the personal aspects of these rich characters who have helped shaped the state. O'Shaughnessy puts his guests at ease with a flair born from years of interviews and radio editorials that made the legendary broadcaster who he is today.

return we us now to those days of yesteryear..

The book is implemental to the collections of book lovers everywhere. I'm the same age as the author and I have not even half the amount of stories he has to tell. And, I don't even have half the amount of hair. WOW! What a book!

Nobody captures the essence of society's colorful characters like O'Shaughnessy. His perspectives on freedom of speech and The First Amendment are inspirational.

William O'Shaughnessy is everything we love about the Irish. He's irreverent, colorful, warm, and kind. This collection of radio editorials would be worth far more than its price if you were to receive only pages 61-64 for your money. (Think of the other 387 excellent pages as coming "at no extra charge.")

I was conducting a seminar in Manhattan for the great Joe Riley when I was introduced to Bill. I gave him a copy of my latest book and he gave me a copy of his, this (just released) Airwaves. I wasn't expecting much... but then I'm an idiot.

William O'Shaughnessy beggared America by limiting his radio commentary to Westchester County, New York. He should have been a network anchor.

Even though the book has a somewhat regional "New York" flavor, (I'm from Texas,) I liked it.

Bill! Write us another one!

During the Vietnam war the United States used its enormous military power to try to install in South Vietnam a minority government of U.S. choice, with its military operations based on the knowledge that the people there were the enemy. This country killed millions and left Vietnam (and the rest of Indochina) devastated. A Wall Street Journal report in 1997 estimated that perhaps 500,000 children in Vietnam suffer from serious birth defects resulting from the U.S. use of chemical weapons there. Seems fairly reasonable to protest against this, surely?... This was and is a groundbreaking book, and ....

American Power and the New Mandarins, first published in 1967, is a collection of essays by Noam Chomsky about the Vietnam War and related subjects. Originally famous for his contributions to linguistics, Chomsky began writing extensively about U.S. foreign policy during the Vietnam War, and this collection is the first of his many political books. While the subject matter is a bit dated, those who are interested in either the intellectual climate during the Vietnam era or the origins of Chomsky's career as a critic of U.S. policy will find plenty to interest them in this book.

Chomsky's primary goal in American Power and the New Mandarins is not to convince the reader that the Vietnam War was wrong. On this issue, he says that "Anyone who puts a fraction of his mind to the task can construct a case [against the war] that is overwhelming" (9). Rather, his goal is to illustrate the degree to which American intellectuals supported the war, or at least the assumptions behind it. Many people remember the Vietnam War as a time of widespread protest against U.S. policy, with intellectuals and the youth leading the way. Chomsky argues that the war's "opponents" were often not concerned with the moral issues related to the war, but rather with the fact that the war seemed to be unwinnable and was costing too many American lives. The implication is that these intellectuals would not be protesting if the U.S. had crushed the Vietnamese resistance without significant loss of American life (Vietnamese life being irrelevant).

The book is made up of eight essays of varying length, and an introduction and an epilogue.

- In "Objectivity and Liberal Scholarship," Chomsky introduces the concept of the "new mandarins"--those who claim the authority to determine policy based on their allegedly "scientific" understanding of human nature and technology. These "new mandarins" believe that their knowledge gives them the right to restructure society in Vietnam and elsewhere, regardless of the wishes of the local population. In addition, Chomsky argues that many intellectuals tend to accept the status quo and support the basic assumptions of U.S. policy--that Western nations always know best, and force is justified to keep Third World countries from going down the "wrong" path. This essay is not very concise or organized; Chomsky has plenty of evidence to present but it flows out in no particular order. Chomsky devotes nearly 50 pages to criticizing a single historian's book about the Spanish Civil War--an excellent example, in Chomsky's opinion, of "the deep-seated bias of liberal historians," (93) but a cumbersome way to make his point. Still, whatever its organizational shortcomings, this essay presents plenty of evidence to illustrate the biases of liberal intellectuals in favor of American power.

- In "The Revolutionary Pacifism of A. J. Muste: On the Backgrounds of the Pacific War," Chomsky explains the parallels between the Vietnam War and Japanese expansion in China in the 1930's. In both cases, defenders of government policy appealed to "the high moral character of the intervention, the benefits it would bring to the suffering masses" (183). Both America and Japan tried to set up puppet governments to serve their interests, and responded to doubts about their actions by emphasizing the "Communist" threat (196).

- "The Logic of Withdrawal" discusses the political strength of the NLF (Vietcong) and the continuing resistance of the United States to any political settlement that might allow the Vietnamese a fair choice between the NLF and other alternatives. Chomsky ridicules the idea that an NLF political victory could pose any threat to America's survival, comparing this to the Nazis' claim that "a Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy was threatening the survival of Germany" (249).

- "The Bitter Heritage" is Chomsky's review of Arthur Schlesinger's book of the same name. Schlesinger expresses the "liberal" view that the United States had made a tactical error by fighting a costly war, but that American motives were pure. Chomsky argues that this view represents the extreme limit of mainstream opposition to the war in the United States. The view that "the United States has no unilateral right to determine by force the course of development of the nations of the Third World" (297) is not considered to be "responsible criticism" (296).

- In "Some Thoughts on Intellectuals and the Schools" and "The Responsibility of Intellectuals," Chomsky continues his criticism of intellectuals who endorse the irresponsible use of American power.

- "On Resistance" and "Supplement to 'On Resistance'" are Chomsky's statements about how to protest the war. Chomsky argues that resistance should remain nonviolent, not only because of moral considerations, but also because violence "will surely fail, will simply frighten and alienate some who can be reached, and will further encourage the ideologists and administrators of repression" (374-5). Chomsky endorses the refusal to be drafted as an ideal means of resistance, since it directly impedes the government's ability to carry out its policies and can be used to make a visible statement as well.

If you are a Chomsky fan, you will probably enjoy this book; his writing style and basic outlook have remained consistent over the decades. He has written plenty of books and essays about more recent events, however, so if you are interested in American power in general rather than Vietnam in particular, you might want to check the newer ones out first.

Noam Chomsky's first political work is a first-rate collection of essays critiquing the U.S. war of aggression in Vietnam. Chomsky is more concerned here with the ideological defenses for the war than with the moral implications of the war itself, which are totally transparent at this late date. There are a wide variety of topics discussed in this broad volume, from the origins of the Pacific War to Arthur Schlesinger's liberal apologetics for U.S. imperialism. Chomsky's famous essay 'Objectivity and Liberal Scholarship' is a meandering account of the liberal intelligentsia's understanding of the Spanish Civil War. In it, Chomsky falls into the pitfalls of ultra-leftism, with low quality critiques of Bolshevism and Leninism. He relies on Rosa Luxemburg's fine criticisms of Lenin without examining Luxemburg's own political context in the German SDP, or her own explicit support for forming a revolutionary 'vanguard.' However, there are some fine passages in 'American Power and the New Mandarins,' such as 'The Logic of Withdrawal' or Chomsky's own personal reflections on the demonstrations at the Pentagon. This book will surely remain one of the better examinations of the criminal war in Vietnam for years to come.

Chomsky's first political book, _American Power_ is a devastating critique for the U.S. foray into Southeast Asia, which Chomsky considers to be little more than modified imperialism. The book starts somewhat slowly, first with an extended essay focusing largely on the Spanish Civil War, which though interesting, seems like a strange place to begin the discussion. The second essay focuses on the decision of drop nuclear weapons during World War II, and the absence of "war guilt" in the U.S. over that action. The second essay, like the first, is interesting, though not seemingly directly related to Chomsky's Vietnam critique. The remainder of work focuses quite squarely on Vietnam, and offers the sort of moral outrage that Chomsky contends was conspicuously lacking from the liberal academics of the time. The entire underpinning of Chomsky's premise has to do with the morality of U.S. action, rather than the pragmatism that he chides others for basing their positions on.

The book is quite powerful in many of its conclusions. A few criticisms: there is extensive use of irony throughout the work, occasionally to the point of excess; while Chomsky eviscerates a half dozen of the "liberal intelligensia", it's difficult for me, as someone who was not alive to witness the war, to know if these voices typify the liberal objections to the war, or if Chomsky has cherry-picked these individuals (obviously Schlesinger was a major voice, but I'm not familiar with the others); if you don't have some conception of the forces behind the Spanish Civil War, the first essay will be somewhat confusing. It was for me, anyway.

Altogether though, particularly in light the U.S. invasion of Iraq, many of Chomsky's ideas have taken on a new urgency. The comparision between Vietnam and Iraq will come very naturally as you read _American Power_. It is well worth our time to make this comparison. Chomsky's thesis is as valid now as it was in 1969.

I recently reread Chomsky's classic. It's very enlightening to see the parallels as well as the differences between the role America's "intelligencia" played during the Vietnam War and the role they are playing now with just another war "won".

This is my first review, so bear with me: I like action and suspense and in Angels In Mourning, I found plenty of both. I also found it disturbing to think that an "Angel" - an investor in a play - would murder the playwright to insure the Angels investment, and even more disturbing was to think about a child abduction that happened 25 years before the time of this story might be a the reason for the murder of world famous playwright Scott Granger. But then, again, those are only two of several possible reasons why the playwright was murdered.

The story line takes the book's hero, detective Gabe Storm, through a lot of possibilities to finally find the killer. The ending surprised me, because I thought I'd nailed it. But I was wrong. Well, I was right, then wrong a few times.

I found the characters to be strong and interesting and that book flowed nicely and caught me up to the point where I lost sleep to get it finished.

To sum it up. Angels In Mourning was a fast paced and fluid read that satisfied me throughout

An exciting thriller from cover to cover.

This book would make a great movie

In this interesting and well paced mystery, with not a few twists and turns, we meet private investigator Gabriel Storm who learns, at the onset of the story, his best friend, Scotty Granger, has been viciously murdered. While the police mark the death of this famous playwright up to a bungled burglary, Storm doesn't believe it at all and is driven to find his friend's killer.

There is a mix of both unusual and unique characters and stereotypical characters and the book has a nice noir touch to it, which was a pleasant surprise when mixed with the excellently constructed and contemporary storyline.

I intent to recommend this book to all my friends, and anyone else who likes both a good mystery and the excitement of a thriller and I do hope that David Wind will turn this enjoyable novel, and it's appealing protagonist, Gabriel Storm, into a series novels.

I've read all of David Wind's mainstream fiction books and this one is, by far, the best thing he has ever written. I can only wonder why the traditional publishing industry hasn't jumped all over it. Maybe they're too busy churning out the same pap day after day to take the time to look at real talent

I'd never had the pleasure of reading any of David Wind's 33 previous novels, but when I finished his latest novel, Angels in Mourning, I made a vow to go back and read the rest of this very talented writer's work. Angels' immensely likeable private investigator protagonist Gabriel Storm (if you think that's a great name, wait until you read his assistant's moniker!) had been falsely imprisoned for many years for the murder of his beloved fiancée, stage actress Elaine Hall. While Storm lingers in prison, only two people believe in his innocence, playwright Scotty Granger and police captain Christopher Bolt. Through much steadfast determination, Bolt and Granger eventually win Storm's acquittal. So when Granger is found viciously murdered in what was clearly a crime of passion, Storm is on a mission to find and bring his murderer to justice. Of course, the more Storm investigates Granger's network, the more he realizes that many people could have wanted him dead. Was it one of the greedy hangers-on who have invested in Granger's new play? Was it a jilted ex? Was it a slimy human-trafficker, or worse yet a pedophilic politician? Who can Granger trust? The Homeland Security agent who may or may not be on the up and up? His own new girlfriend who seems to show up every time someone tries to kill him? I thought I had the case solved by midway through the book, but in reality I'd taken Wind's subtle bait and was way off track.

I will admit I'm a bit of a literature snob, but Wind's narrative not only left my intelligence intact, he did a magnificent job of drawing me into Storm's pleasantly-seedy New York. For instance:

The Westside diner was slow...a throwback from the forties. You know the type, all chrome and vinyl with a checkerboard black and white floor. Old and faded pictures of New York lined the walls. It was a cholesterol heaven of pies, muffins, and greasy donuts heaped in scratched plastic covered trays on the counter. Five big chrome coffee urns, like missile silos, were lined against one wall. A rectangular cut-out separated the dining room from the kitchen. Every sound made in the kitchen reached the eating area.

It takes a lot for a work of fiction to impress me but Angels did just that. David Wind has much respect for his readers and it shows.

a difficult book to read, stylistically speaking. the sentences are awkward, and 300 pages later i couldn't adapt to the point that they smoothed out. chapters 2-5, roughly 100 pages, seemed particularly viscous. i went through the entire book without feeling that i really knew what the author meant by the term "daimonic." there's a footnote from the intro that gives a hint, another hint on page 65, but after going through it a third time the best i can do is work backward from terms from freud and jung. diamond provides reasonably informative and entertaining overviews of noted theorists and brief biographies of creative artists. the most welcome line of the book for me was a quote from rollo may: "the task of the therapist is to conjure up the devils rather than put them to sleep." no devils, and few other readers, will be particularly stirred up by the book, i'm afraid, but i give it a four for the revelation that western thinkers have arrived at "confrontation therapy" mere thousands of years after the orient (a zen master shoved his non-swimming student into a deep pond. as the student thrashed, the master calmly asked, "at this moment, what is your original mind?").

Diamond redeems anger in much the same way that May redeemed Anxiety over 50-years ago. A student of May's, Diamond shows an excellent grasp of both May's work and the broader context of exisential and depth psychology. Particularly helpful is Diamond's ability to apply the concept of the daimon to psychopathology and the psychological disorders. This provides for a penetrating analysis of pathology from an existential perspective along with a new approach to the etiology of these disorders.

In this single volume, Diamond shows himself to be one of the leaders in contemporary existential thought. This book should be a must read for contemporary students and practitioners of depth psychology.

A good orientation, thorough review of the development of existential/depth psychology, with a refreshing, updated point of view. Immediate, practical applications for some of today's most pressing isssues. Good for an educated public as well as for mental health professionals. -- Bruce F. Pither, Ph.D., President, American Mental Health Alliance of California

I am writing to express my deep appreciation of Dr. Diamond's book Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic. I am a Grandmother and a lay person, and yet I can understand and relate to every word written. This book should be read by every single mental health professional. It is so relevant and important. We plan to tell everyone we know about this book. We believe that this book and Diamond's insight are right on target, and would like to thank him for his courage and conviction in writing this book. Dr. Diamond should be applauded by every member of his profession.

I am a clinical psychologist, and in my list of favorite books, I write this:

Diamond writes: "The volatile emotions of anger and rage have been broadly `demonized,' vilified, maligned, and rejected as purely pathological, negative impulses with no real redeeming qualities. As a result, most `respectable' Americans habitually suppress, repress, or deny their anger-inadvertently rendering it doubly dangerous." He also clarifies, while developing the ideas of Rollo May, how we therapists collude with our clients and culture, thus depriving ourselves of the value and resources of this normal dimension of our being. He integrates psychoanalytic, Jungian, and existential theory under a new rubric of Existential Depth Psychology. As May states, our job is often "not to still the daimons but to wake them."

In addition, I think this is an important, engaging, and well-written work that I wish all my colleagues would read.

This is the best translation of Taoist sexual practices available. The translation formatting is excellent. If you have any degree of previous exposure to Chinese language and Taoist concepts this is not a spring board to further knowledge, it is a rosetta stone. Not an ounce of this text is watered down, like so many of the other books on this subject. Further, the full inclusion of herbal formulas in this text are incredibly vital to understanding the true value of huang di's teachings from su nu.

Best of all ... there are no pictures.

A fine text by a true scholar.

Here is the largest collection of historical Chinese texts on Taoist sexuality in English, excellently translated and footnoted. A must have reference work for the serious, advanced student.

This is not an introductory text, and I think a beginner would be hard pressed to understand and practice many of the techniques in the book.

I'm just a beginner on this subject,I started with some photocopies on the subject(nothing special)and found them not very elucidatory. I wanted to know more!...then I bought this book,although I haven't read it all,from the pages I read, I felt I could comprehend easier what was being said.It explained certain doubts that came accross from the other texts I read.

I think(from the little insight I have)that this book is perfect to understand the subject, if one already knows something about Taoist ancient sexual practices.

This is a work of scholorship and not simply a book about the ancient Chinese view of sex. It's very complete and contains both usuful material for moderns and very interesting historical material regarding alchemy, Qi Gong and Chinese medicine as they relate to sex.

This book collects nearly two dozen classical writings on the use of sexual energy in achieving health and long life. It's a distinctly non-Western tradition, but presents a unified, interlocking set of ideas.

The largest part of this lore corresponds to Western alchemy. It uses many of the same metaphors, such as mercury, lead, and the crucible, and much of the same elliptical language. In a few places, the metaphors or code-words are so obscure that translators disagree wildly on their meanings, and even on whether the meanings can be reconstructed correctly. Other parts of the writings draw on mystical Taoism, Buddhism, and the same vital energies that explain acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. Not surprisingly, much of the tradition is aimed at male readers, with relatively little concern for the women. Despite the over-all male orientation, the last few selections do address women, with needs that sometimes match and sometimes differ from the men's. Even the men's writings address the importance of the woman's excitement, though, and describe the outwardly visible signs of its many stages.

However it is phrased or whoever it is addressed to, this set of practices is based on summoning and channeling sexual energy. Many of the authors use the "paired way" of coition to raise that power. Others use solo exercises in self-stimulation for the same purpose. This seems especially common in the women's texts, possibly because placing her needs before the man's would have been culturally unacceptable. The emphasis is on yogic self-discipline rather than exotic poses. Still, one author does offer a list of couplings with poetic names such Mandarin Ducks United (a pose I enjoy very much, because of range of additional caresses it makes possible). I recommend this book very highly to students of Asian thought and to anyone else who wants to see different perspectives on the practice and power of human sexuality.

//wiredweird

THE ARTFUL DOG A gift book for the die-hard love any dog person. This beautifully produced 158 x 142 mm hard back with full gloss dustjacket is a celebration of the dog with samples of the works housed at the famous Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) with matched quotations.

The information on the artworks featured is included at the end, you may need a magnifying glass to read the notations though. The quotes are, naturally, credited where they are featured, but there is more information at the conclusion of the book too. This makes the book a useful resource for follow up investigation, but as a purebreed researcher it is of little value as many of the chosen artworks featured indistinguishable breeds. As a source of research into handling art mediums it is also of little value. As a compendium of the penetration into society as demonstrated by a diverse range of materials used to feature dogs, it is intriguing, apart from the typical oil painting, plaited rugs, embroidery, photography and watercolour media are also incorporated in to the slender volume. The quotes are sometimes familiar, sometimes not, the charm of them is that the editor (Shari Thompson) has matched the theme of the artwork with the quote.

For a stocking filler or for someone who loves dogs for being dogs this is a delightful title.

This makes a delightful gift for every dog lover on your holiday list. It's also a much better host/hostess bring-along than a bottle of wine, for it lasts much longer, providing enjoyment each time the reader opens it. Dogs in art and clever quotes are superbly matched by the editors!

This book is a jewell. My husband and I keep in on our table and read from it every day. The quotes inspire us for the entire day. Each one is endowed with great wisdom and humor. The art is exquisite. Shari Thompson has accompished an amazing body of work. Her research and choices have produced a rich and beautiful little book.

I have just received the six new copies of The Artful Dog which I intend to give to all the dog-people on my list, (and some cat-lovers, too). Shari Thompson has discovered a splendid canine collection in the MM of A and matched them to an assortment of most appropriate quotations from a wide range of dog-lovers - St. Bernard (the human) to Ogden Nash. It is a visual and verbal delight.

A great gift for the dog lover on your list. Great art, great quotes. An excellent coffee table book. Easy to pick up, dip into and put down. An appropriate gift for most occassions.

What I love about this book is that it's not a 'genre' book-- it's about so many different kinds of people that you can hardly hold it all in your head-- whoa, I'm reading about two old Jewish ladies one minute, and somehow it's vitally connected to hot anonymous sex in Central Park, and also to opera singers spending their whole lives on an off-chance dream, and vicious successful writers (the more successful, the more vicious, it seems....), and oh yes, romantic types just as hopelesly optimistic --- what dreams are worth pursuing, I guess is the question. And isn't that what everyone wonders, always?
It's innovative and witty, too, by the way. My heart is full, and I'm inspired to go out and live my life more courageously and with more love. If that's a dopey thing to say, I'm sorry, but that's what the book makes me feel.

I forgot to eat and drink and maybe breathe while I was reading this book-- it's the book I've been writing in my head all these years, as my own life has unfolded. It's always so strange to see in somebody else's words your own life described, but that's what it was like to read this novel by a really wonderful writer I just discovered. How did he know THAT about me! Finally someone has described THAT impossible-to-describe moment, when the sun is setting, and your whole life seems to make sense for a moment, and then it's gone and life's a big confusion again....
I'm so moved by this book. It seems so full of love, is the thing, despite the fact that it's so clear-sighted and unafraid to say that even those we love, even ourselves (especially ourselves) are flawed, flawed, flawed-- and yet always, always deserving of love. I'm so sick of the smooth, cynical, heartless styles, that are so superior to everyone and everything. This universe is eloquent, beautiful, and yet always human and humble.
The other thing I love about AURA is that it's--imaginative! It's funny! It makes you smile and laugh, with its inventive plot and struggling characters. I teach, and I'm definitely going to teach this in my contemporary lit class.

Without reiterating the plot I have four things to say about this book.

1. For me, this book was not a page-turner but one that I wanted to read slowly and savor each moment, marvel at the unfolding of every character, and reflect on those times when some epiphany in the book crossed over to call forth or merge with similar times in my own life.

2. The non-linear plot is a wonderful literary devise, even though it sometimes makes it difficult to know exactly where you are in the unfolding of the story-which makes it feel even more true to life.

3. The characters are uniquely and relentlessly consistent in their development, which is what makes them so believable and engaging.

4. There is a subtle underlying darkness to the novel, because it is so honest in dealing with the failed hopes and imperfections that exist in each of the characters, reminding the reader that we are also imperfect creatures. The good news is that we do not have to be perfect to appreciate and even enjoy each day that is given to us.

I think Gary Glickman is a literary genius just waiting to be discovered. His writing is beautiful, simple, but deep, and allows us to see the depths of every character beneath their carefully constructed façades. There are many levels to this book, and a great deal of subtle social commentary. I was in New York in the 70's and this book so totally captures that time. It's like a painting, beautifully crafted, sometimes disturbing, but always fascinating... Definitely a great read.

I read the other review here and thought I just had to respond. I never heard of Gary Glickman before I read "Aura"-- I was just looking for a vacation book that would grab my attention and keep it. But I loved this novel. I always wondered what it would have been like to live in New York, and risk everything to "make it", and take the risk of hanging out with ruthless, talented people.....now it feels like I know.
But there's more going on in this novel than just what "happens"-- that's why I loved it so much. Every moment-- a thousand private moments people have that you just think, "I could never describe this, all these connections, all this gorgeous life happening all around me"-- that's what this novel describes, over and over again. It's hard to imagine how the writer remembered so much, so vividly, or even how he managed to create so many of those private, mystical moments. Like just looking across a courtyard, and seeing your sister's kitchen window, when you're an old woman. Or falling in love, or succeeding in your dreams and realizing that -- woops!-- love and connection and heart are worth more than any of the gold.
If I have any quibble with the book it's that ambition and privilege do seem to win in the end. If you're lucky in the beginning, you win: the privileged kids become the privileged and powerful adults. ... just like life, I guess. Darn!
Anyway, this book (I'll say it) changed my life. I'm buying it for my friends, all of us just out of school, and big with our own dreams.

Bua's work is amazing. I truly enjoyed his work as well as his story. I highly recommend this book.

I put this book in the must have catagory. I have followed Justin bua's art the last few years and have found this book a great source of info on his methods and background info on his work. I have a book by ernie barns and I put this one right up with his. This book is a must have for any Bua fan or fan of black or urban art.

Justin Bua is not just a talented artist but he is prolific as well. His stylistic caricatures and illustrations with there amplified perspectives and edgy stylings bring the urban street scene to life in a poignant and entertaining way. He presents a diary of his life on the streets. He shows a cast of characters that resonate with energy and rhythm created by his skills at applying line, color and texture. Awesome! Justin Bua is a poet with a paint brush!

If you like Justin Bua...you'll love this book.The artwork is beautiful and he provides a detailed outline of his life,his inspiration, and his direction for each of his pieces... The layout is beautiful, the design is lovely, and the art is brilliantly Bua. It's a great book to share with others too.

I bought this book as part of research for a 15 min adaptation of a play Marisol (Jose Rivera) for my drama class. Bua's artwork is stunningly beautiful, with a great portrayal of a city that brings so much awe, culture and mystery...NYC (where marisol is staged).
his telling a story through art is an amazing feat, the colors are great and a few really nice quotes about progression in any artform is in need of skills, as the book states:

As one of my teachers Glenn Vilppu put it: "if you think of all the possible visual elements that you must learn as keys on a piano, the more keys you have, the wider the range of possibilities you can enjoy. Of course, you can make music with just a few keys, but that should be based on choice, not limitations."

Eloquent in his words and thoughts (and his teachers words for that matter), and passionate about his artform, i found the book a great story into the heart of new york.

I was surprise that a non-black person could actually have the courage and the sensibility to write an unbiased history of folks of African descent. My spirit was touched by the plight of my ancestors and their ordeal after slavery. The government promised them their 40 acres and a mule. However, very few of them receive anything to start their free life.

Without land and the tools to work it, they would be at the mercy of the former ruling elite, slave owners, and other whites that had the inkling to exploit them.

Image being freed from centuries of brutal toil, physical, emotional, and sexual exploitation with no resources to start your life in a society that despised you and those in your image? The author does an excellent job. I must commend him.

What made me laugh is the response of the whites to the changes in the blacks when they learned they were free and the union army was in the neighborhood. They dropped their masks and showed them their true face. Don't they know their survival was dependent of keeping their mask in place? I am reminded of one of favorite poems.

We Wear the Mask by Laurence Dunbar

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!

Preach brotha preach? This poem always tries to bring down the spirits on me. I have to fight it. If I am in a public place, I don't want the Holy Ghost get on me. Smiling. This is one of those books that touched my spirit. It stayed with me for a long time. This is the mark of good writer. Though it is a history book, it is not a bore, with dry facts. It is written like a novel.

I give this book a five star, and highly recommend it.

This book is gives an excellent synthesis as to how freedom was experienced in various regions of the South after 1863. One of the finest books within the historiography of American slavery and freedom. Litwack goes to great lengths explaining the freedom experience, the failures of the Freedmen's Bureau and the hesitations ex-slaves felt after 1863. A must read and must have for anyone interested in slavery, its aftermath and Reconstruction.

Few populations in history have gone through the dramatic changes that African Americans underwent at the end of the Civil War. People who had suffered slavery for generations suddenly found themselves free, a welcome yet uncertain status that required considerable exploration and adjustment. Leon Litwack's book examines this transition, concentrating on how freed African Americans perceived freedom and how they shaped the conditions of their freedom in the aftermath of the Civil War.

For many African Americans, change began with the Civil War. Slaves in areas occupied by Union soldiers would be liberated from bondage, while many African Americans took up arms as the war went on. The end of the war and the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment meant freedom for African Americans, freedom to live their lives as they wanted. For most, the first step was finding their scattered families and coming to terms with their time as slaves. Freedom also meant discovering a new identity, especially with regards to their former masters, as African Americans now had to deal with whites in new ways both socially and in the workplace. Finally, African Americans faced the challenge of creating a new society free of the restrictions of slave life, which led to the establishment of modes of religion, politics, and the press to serve their particular interests.

Litwack's book is an indispensable study of African Americans in the aftermath of emancipation. Based on a wealth of primary sources (including the invaluable collection of oral interviews conducted by the Federal Writers' Project during the 1930s), he argues that no set experience defined how African Americans dealt with freedom. What emancipation demonstrated was the interdependence that existed between African Americans and whites, an interdependence that did not end with freedom but was shaped by attitudes and tensions that remained from the experience of slavery. The result is a book that is essential reading for any student of the era, as well as for those seeking insight into race relations in America today.

During the Civil War and the years of reconstruction which immediately followed, blacks experienced an interlude of optimism and hope from the harshness and repression of slavery. It was a time of great social upheaval and former masters and slaves were forced to adjust to a new order. In, "Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery, "Litwack writes of slavery's aftermath with a slave's point of view from contemporary accounts, diaries, and interviews conducted under the Federal Writer's Project. We learn how blacks perceived and experienced freedom.

Freedmen articulated their independence in many and varied ways, but fundamental to being free, was having one's own land. Former slaves soon found that land was not easily acquired despite their newfound freedom. Powerful forces conspired against them. Their fate became tied to plantations, working in the fields, just as before but now as contract laborers.

The new relationship as planters and laborers kept blacks from exercising the full range of privileges which should have belonged to them as citizens. Land ownership should have meant independence and self-sufficiency to former slaves. In slavery, they had worked the land and harvested its bounty but they were not the beneficiaries of their labor. With emancipation the idea of owning land "remained the most exciting prospect of all." (399) It epitomized the meaning of freedom.

The expectation of land redistribution, "forty acres and a mule," was ill founded and unrealized. The success of "such experiments [that] took place at Davis Bend, Mississippi, where blacks secured leases on six extensive plantations...[and] repaid the government for the initial costs, managed their own affairs, raised and sold their own crops, and realized impressive profits"(376)was an aberation. Any lingering hope that the government would redistribute land were dashed when on May 29, 1865, President Andrew Johnson pardoned former Confederates and permitted them to reclaim confiscated or occupied lands. Thereafter the Freedman's Bureau and Federal troops enforced the restoration of lands to their former owners. Not only was redistribution denied to freedmen, but fundamental legal rights were limited as well.

What did freedom mean to an emancipated slave who had never experienced it? According to Litwack, "newly liberated slaves adopted different priorities and chose different ways in which to express themselves, ranging from dramatic breaks with the past, to subtle and barely perceptible changes in demeanor and behavior." (292) Initial uncertainty about what to do gave way to "the urge toward personal autonomy"(293), which meant leaving the plantation or farm. To move about is so fundamental to our society today that we take it for granted, but to an emancipated slave it must have been nirvana. In contrast, former slave owners emmitted "cries of ingratitude and betrayal [that] were repeated with even greater vigor and frequency than during the war, compounded this time by the feeling of helplessness." (301)

Movement was an act of freedom, but one which swelled the black populations of nearby towns and cities. Shifting racial etiquette and ostentatious behavior served to harden racial sentiment. Disputes over public space occurred on the sidewalks, streets, and on public transportation. "Almost every white man remained convinced that only rigid controls and compulsion would curtail the natural propensity of blacks toward idleness and vagrancy, induce them to labor for others, and correct their mistaken notions about freedom and working for themselves." (305)

The planter class wanted freed slaves to understand that they must either work for whites or starve. Crops had to be planted and harvested and they had to know there would be labor to do the work. Black Codes were written so whites could control freedmen for their economic need. Fortunately for freedmen, Black Codes were short lived. But never-the-less the sentiment which created them continued and enforcement persisted where the Freedmen's Bureau did not put a stop to them, or where blacks had no recourse for appeal.

Legal rights were further restricted when " Union commanders moved quickly to expel former plantation hands from the towns and cities, to comply with the request of planters to force their blacks to work" (375) and by passage of vagrancy laws which applied only to blacks. Once under control and returned to the plantations, restrictive "voluntary" contracts served to keep them there. Even where labor was scarce, the former slave could not effectively exercise his rights. What bargaining power he had to reject a contract was limited. If he held out too long, he could be evicted, and he still had to support himself
somehow. "Although the freedmen's Bureau recognized his right to contract elsewhere, it insisted that he contract with some employer; if not he could be arrested for vagrancy." (443) His options were very limited.

Having no land and without full legal rights, freedmen could not pull themselves up from the aftermath of slavery and achieve the promise of freedom. That freedmen in the South slipped back into a condition of semi-slavery after the civil war has effected race relations and politics ever since. The following paragraphs focus on other issues which returned freedmen to the land under conditions almost as bad as they had experienced before the Civil War.

One would think that with the establishment of the Freedman's Bureau, passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitutional, black's independence would be assured. But these actions represented problems of reconstruction on a national level. The Freedman's Bureau was the first large scale Federal relief agency with a broad mandate to assist blacks in the aftermath of the Civil War.

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery but in response to the Black Codes, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act over a presidential veto. The 13th Amendment granted citizenship to persons born in the United States and was a result a long battle between President Johnson and Radical Republicans in Congress on the roll and the scope of federal power. The 14th Amendment affirmed the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act and went further to protect the rights of citizens. The 15th Amendment forbade the states from denying voting rights to former slaves on the grounds of race and color."With some justification, white Southerners accused the north of hypocrisy in seeking to impose upon them the racial equality which most Northerners would have abhorred." (260)

From the freedman's perspective, emancipation was a time to be jubilant in spirit, with a hopeful outlook and upbeat mood. But if self-ownership meant freedom to a former slave, it represented an economic loss to their former masters. While there was no recompense given for the loss of value to white owners, there was no payment given to freedmen either for their work as slaves. If what it meant to be free had to be experienced to be learned by former slaves, being without slaves had to be experienced to be learned by whites. "What most whites found difficult to accept was not so much the freedom of the slaves as the determination of ex-slaves to act as though they were free." (338) In the end old compulsions led to a new dependency to get back the agricultural labor system they were used to.

It would seem self evident that to survive people would have to work together in the south. The planters owned the land and needed laborers to work it. Freedmen had no land and needed work to survive. How the problem resolved itself was not very satisfactory. Without any political power, blacks were at a disadvantage. Not owning land and with curtailed legal rights, blacks were vulnerable to exploitation. The old model of plantation operation was there to mimic under new circumstances. "To listen to the former slaveholder, emancipation had changed only the method of compensation, not the basic arrangement, not the mutual understanding that had underlain the old system." (337)

The problem was how to get the people back on the land? The movement of blacks on the road was unsettling to whites. All these people were moving about and not in the fields where they belonged! From a government standpoint the Union Army and the Freedman's Bureau had a stake in keeping order. If there was not enough work for everyone outside of farming and people were not on the farms, that meant a huge welfare problem. Thus to the controlling agencies maintaining order under reconstruction meant getting blacks back where they belonged, on the fields. The old dependency of the plantation system returned with blacks depending on whites and whites depending on blacks. The old system wasn't fair and the new system didn't turn out to be too much better. As one old former slave put it when speaking on Lincoln (and freedom) "'Lincoln done but little for the Negro race and from living standpoint nothing."' (449)

The only hope blacks had for effective emancipation was with the North through reconstruction. But, there were no clear cut ideas that emanated from Washington: no prescient leadership and no determination to see the issue through to its end. The two federal entities that were most evident throughout the south were the Union Army occupation forces and the Freedman's Bureau. Blacks looked to them for help, but, in general, the only conclusion that can be reached is that what help was received was inadequate.

The Freedman's Bureau objective of returning former slaves to the land, facilitated the move back to a plantation system. Blacks had little hope for justice. "The ways in which a local Bureau agent or provost marshal considered the grievance of a freedman differed markedly from the deference paid to a prominent planter." (384) While supposedly free, now the black remained a second class citizen.

As reconstruction came to an end, the New Orleans Tribune used an appropriate term to refer to blacks under restrictive regulations as "mock freedmen" (377) effectively summarizing reconstruction's lasting effect. What came next was a system of debt peonage which kept blacks tied to the land with little chance of improving their condition. Sharecropping satisfied black laborer's desire for at least the feeling of having his own land. The planter provided the land and implements in exchange for half of the crops. But somehow the books didn't balance at the end of the season and the sharecropper or tenant remained in perpetual debt to the landowner.

Reconstruction came to an end because it was contrary to too many people's interests and blacks did not have enough political power to keep it going, at least to insure the achievement of true freedom. Without land and full legal rights, black political struggle was postponed for generations.

Anyone with a serious interest in the Civil War should read Been in the Storm So Long. Litwacks's work is more than just black history; it explores the principle cause and consequence of the war. Unlike many general histories that preceded it, "Been in the Storm" relies heavily on primary sources. War-era diaries and letters of whites, Union Army records, Freedman's bureau reports, and Depression-era interviews of former slaves and their children, provide most of the material. The outrage of southern whites who watched trusted slaves pick up and leave when freedom came, echoes throughout the book. So too does the uncertainty of the era. Some blacks may have dreamed big, but most just wanted freedom, security, and opportunity. Though some lasting gains were made, the struggle for full freedom would be much longer.
Certainly, "Been in the Storm" is the place to start for Emancipation reading. Though the coverage of early black politics was not as strong as in Eric Foner' Reconstruction, I know of no equal for the early social consequences of Emancipation.

This beautifully written reminiscence of growing up in Brooklyn captures neighborhood life in the 20s in Brooklyn and goes beyond, containing all the elements of childhood dormant in our minds and inherent in our experiences growing up in cities around America. Life was simpler --Bernice Carton brings the beauty of that life vividly to the page and helps us reenter a world that is well worth recapturing.

Bernice Carton's Beyond The Brooklyn Bridge gives today's reader a slice-of-life look at growing up in another, more simple era. From the street games kids played to the medicinal remedies we no longer use to parental guidance of a kind we no longer experience, Bridge takes the reader on a journey back in time. Written in a thoughtful, evocative style, Carton's book is a delight to any reader - no matter where they grew up. I recommend it highly to the young and not-so-young alike. Carton's fictionalized account of growing up on a specific block, on a specific street in a much-loved part of America is a treat for the imagination. It's a book that makes you comfortable - like cookies and warm milk.

I am a Californian who has lived in Brooklyn Heights since 1991. Beyond the Brooklyn Bridge is a delightful story about a Brooklyn that was here long before I arrived. The characters in the book are the kind of kids with whom I would love to have played. The Mothers are to sort of lovely people one would like to have gotten to know. I recommend the book for those who are new to New York and to people all of the country who would like a view of Brooklyn past.

Reading her book made me feel I knew her. Certainly, she took me by the hand and led me down Memory Lane and it was fun all the way. I haven't heard anyone say "Holy Cow" for long time. I loved the part about the empty lot because a house burnt down. The kids on my block in New Kensington Pennsylvania had an empty lot, too. There, we had roast "mickies", too. We didn't call them that, but we loved eating them. Cindery black though they were, and usually raw in the middle. Open streetcars. Penny Candy. I had to laugh out loud when I read about ice cream plopping out on the sidewalk to "Good-bye, Charlie!" It's been a long time since I heard that, and "Hot diggety dog!" I was surprised to learn that Brooklyn kids used the same expressions that we did in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, where I grew up in the 1920's. I guess I didn't expect the use of language to be the same everywhere. This book gave me so much pleasure!

Entranced by this wonderful compendium of nostalgic reminiscences - written in a lively, irresistible style - I have given the book as a gift on every occasion that calls for one. Without fail, recipients tell me that not only did they thoroughly enjoy the trip down memory lane, but, in turn, "lent" the book to friends and relatives, who, in turn, have "lent" it to others... In each case I receive lengthy letters, e-mails or telephone calls of thanks from people wishing to add their own personal memories to Bernice Carton's remarkable store of nostalgia...This includes readers in locations as disparate as Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, Canada, Australia, England and France. Not just Brooklyn! (I have recently learned through the grapevine that this book now even numbers among the possessions of exiled Prince Michael of Rumania himself, a gentleman whose presence graces the pages of this work)!...What a wonderful springboard for hours of delightful conversation! It has proven itself to be the gift of the century... Everyone tells me they are eagerly awaiting the sequel - tales of Ms. Carton's adolescence in Brooklyn...