Domestic Services Books

There is a grave threat to the integrity of the legal system and to the core values of our society: The destruction of due process of law in the family courts, a malady that has now reached epidemic proportions throughout the Anglosphere.

Of all the scandalous behavior of the Left, perhaps none is so underreported as the systematic destruction of marriage and the family that is now practiced by the governmental divorce and child-custody machinery. This industry and the travesties it has perpetrated are summarized proficiently in the book, "Taken Into Custody: The War Against Fathers, Marriage, and the Family" by Stephen Baskerville, a professor of political science at Patrick Henry College.

Declares Baskerville:

"This book is about our unwillingness to confront the most destructive and dangerous injustice in our society today: the systematic seizure of children by government officials and the criminalization of their parents. A parent today who has committed no legal infraction can have his (or sometimes her) parenthood and relationship with his children criminalized entirely through the actions of others in ways that are completely beyond his control. [The book] focuses largely on fathers and divorce, because these are the ones most commonly involved."

The attack on fathers has been facilitated by the myth that they are abandoning their children in droves, at which point they become "deadbeats," and must be tracked down by government officials seeking justice for the forlorn wives and children. Nothing could be further from the truth, writes Baskerville:

"The myth of the deadbeat dad has already been discredited conclusively by Sanford Braver and other scholars. We have already seen that Braver is one of many social scientists who have found that few married fathers voluntarily abandon their children. Beyond this, Braver has also shown that little scientific basis exists for claims that large numbers of fathers are not paying child support. Braver found that government claims of nonpayment were derived not from any compiled database or hard figures but entirely from surveys of custodial parents. In other words, the Census Bureau simply asked mothers what they were receiving....Fathers overwhelmingly do pay court-ordered child support when they are employed, often at enormous personal sacrifice."

In the vast majority of cases, it is the wife who initiates the divorce proceedings. She is encouraged in this action by the regime of "no-fault" divorce. The old concept of marriage as a contract has broken down; today, the flimsiest, most whimsical reasons can be offered as justification--if justification is even needed.

Once this machinery is set in motion, the deck is stacked against the father. In the blink of an eye, he can be evicted from his home, forbidden from seeing his children, have his assets seized, his wages garnished, and he can be assessed huge fees--all without due process of law. Though not even charged with committing a crime, he is presumed guilty. Many of the proceedings are held without his knowledge or presence, and he cannot cross-examine witnesses.

In a macabre recitation, Baskerville shows how each amendment in the Bill of Rights is being systematically violated, with no appeal. For example:

"The Fourth Amendment protects the 'right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures'. Yet as we have seen, parents suspected of no legal wrongdoing and who have given no grounds or agreement for divorce are routinely ordered without warrants to surrender not only their children but personal diaries, notebooks, correspondence, financial records, and other documents. Those unwilling or unable to produce the demanded documents can be fined, ordered to pay attorneys' fees, and summarily incarcerated. We have also seen that fathers are regularly interrogated behind closed doors about intimate family matters most parents would not normally discuss with strangers, such as conversations with their children and spouse, and they can be jailed for failing to answer....In shades of Soviet psychiatry, citizens who refuse to submit to this inquisition--and even those who do not--can be ordered to undergo a 'mental evaluation'."

The divorce and child-custody apparatus has grown to enormous proportions. It is a veritable industry, with judges, lawyers, social workers, collection agencies, therapists, psychiatrists, caseworkers, and researchers making their living from the ever-expanding pie. The enforcement effort employs thousands of agents who have a degree of authority and immunity that is unthinkable for ordinary police and law enforcement agencies. It has become an independent fiefdom, with no oversight and little scrutiny, with an entrenched interest in generating more divorce, more restraining orders, more mental evaluations, and more outrageously inflated child-support payments (commonly approaching or exceeding the income of the victim).

Another myth deconstructed by Baskerville is that fathers commonly commit child abuse, incest, and wife-beating. In reality, this is rare. Mothers are more likely to use violence on fathers, and children are most subjected to abuse in single-parent households headed by a woman.

After describing in gory detail the horrors of the family-law system (backed up, I might add, by reams of studies and testimony), Baskerville turns his attention to the culprits, those whose ideology has resulted in one of the grossest perversions of justice in American (and British, and Canadian) history. There are several culprits, but towering above them all are the feminists, who have carved out this untouchable empire for the purpose of destroying fatherhood and the nuclear family.

A key buzzword used by advocates of this ideology is "for the children." This is the clarion call behind the incessant demand to insert the power of the state into the deepest recesses of the private lives of the citizenry. Children are used, in the most cynical fashion, to attain political ends. This has reached the highest echelons of America's Leftist establishment:

"The philosophy of turning children over to state control and denying a sphere of family privacy is succinctly conveyed in Hillary Clinton's aphorism, 'There is no such thing as other people's children.' Hillary rejects the notion that 'families are private, nonpolitical units whose interests subsume those of children' and believes instead in 'the status of children as political beings.' Commenting on these passages and others like them, the late Barbara Olson wrote, 'For Hillary, children are the levers by which one forces social change'."

Overall, "Taken Into Custody" is a balanced, non-emotional, well-written, and copiously footnoted exposé. The only sour note, I would say, are several odd forays into macro-level political analysis, such as the perplexing statement that "it is perhaps a legacy of the Enlightenment that today both liberals and conservatives seem to worship at the altar of the meritocracy." The author would have been better advised to confine the scope of the work to his area of expertise, in which his competence is duly impressive.

In any case, the book is a must-read for understanding the nature and scope of this insidious attack on a key foundation of Western society.

Hopefully, many young men will read this book and decide not to get married (which is Baskerville's actual advice to them). The book should also offer edification to older guys who already made that decision..they can feel vindicated. Of coure any "marriage strike" will also further the ultimate goal of ideological feminism, that is, a utopia in which men and women are completely isolated from each other. The question is, which arm of totalitarianism will gain ultimate highest power..feminist ideologues, or the State? Or perhaps a State controlled by feminist ideologues? I shudder to think.

About this time, 20 years ago I filed for divorce from my wife of
7 years. At that time I worked as a Chief Electrician at the Fulton
County Courthouse where my divorce would be held. I knew most of the
Superior and State Court Judges on a personal basis; but, I did not
know how most judges handled divorce cases so I went to Kim Warden
who handled abused kids and abused women to ask her opinion of the
judge who would handle my case.

As best I remember, this is what Ms. Warden said: "Your divorce has
been assigned to Superior Court Judge Ralph Hicks? Good luck. While
Hicks has tried to mitigate the horrendous way Child Support payments
is handled in Fulton County by creating 'The Fulton County Child Support
Receiver's Office, Hicks is extremely biased against men. For example:

"Bill, if you were a combination of Jesus Christ and Santa Claus and
you wife were a Convicted prostitute, a Convicted drug user and a Convicted child abuser and you and her both wanted custody of your child? You, Mr. Claus would have a 50-50 chance that you would get
custody. I suggest you try to get Judge Hicks recused from your case;
but, don't cite bias against men as your reason. Be creative."

Drat! My wife was not a convicted drug user, etc..., so I was creative
in my attempt before any hearings to get Hicks recused and have an out
of county Judge who did not know me to handle my case.

My first attorney refused to file a Motion to Recuse! (Should have
dismissed this attorney right then and there. Unfortunately, 1st
attorney eventually stabbed me in the back; but, that's another story.)

Judge Hicks lived down to Ms. Warden's low opinon---and then some.

Long story short, it took over 3 years to get my divorce here in Georgia. Judge Hicks finally, FINALLY, recused himself after charges
of incompetence were made against him in YR 2 of my divorce. My case was then heard by 4 other judges.

The last judge, a woman named Frank Hull, wouldn't put up with my
wife's attorney's shenanigans, reduced my child support from $850 per
month to $700 for one child and quickly granted me a divorce after
Judge Hull threatened my wife that she might reduce child custory
payments even further and, maybe, grant me sole custody.

During these 3+ years of monetary and judicial agony, I joined Fathers
Are Parents Too and Children's Rights Council of Georgia. If I thought
I'd had it bad, a goodly number these members had divorces that made
mine look like a cake walk. Both these groups really helped me
cope and I will be forever grateful.

Sincerely!
Bill Bryan
EducationChoiceActivist at yahoo dot com

"America's kids (K-12) can have Olympic Quality Education at
Low, low Wal-Mart prices if the kid's' parents could send
their kids to Public, Private or Parochial Schools (K-12) using
taxpayer funded vouchers."

Quality Education for Kids, Empowerment for Parents, and
SAVE AMERICA!

Stephen Baskerville has written a detailed and fully documented expose of how the family court system has grown into a frightening and destructive system of corruption, terror, and unchecked governmental power. It is a must read for all Americans, professionals, journalists, and politicians. You cannot walk away from this book without the disturbing feeling that America is slipping away from all of us.

Awesome and factually backed up.

Have you ever read a book that you just can't put down? Well, this book is beyond that. Everyone I talk to that has read it or is reading it just has to put it down, very often, due to the shocking thought provoking nature of presenting the truth in the most believable way. Great job, Dr. Baskerville!

Dr. Baskerville sees that the real root of the war on dads (which is the war on families and society) isn't just selfish feminism, media and our "learning" institutions, or even just the barrage of parasitic greedy attorneys, judges and all their "full court" of hangers-on who profit immensely and gain unlimited power from this. It has become government at the center and root of destroying the family, and all of our rights, for these same reasons. Our forefathers warned us often that this would happen every generation/20 years, lest we be aware and prevent it.


Becoming aware can sometimes be tricky when attractive hysteria prevails so strongly. The healthy, intact traditional family is indeed the number one enemy of government becoming in total control, put above the citizens and thus decaying into corruption. People will readily support family-destroying lies and anti-male/father hysteria propaganda if it has been warped into "protecting" women and children. People have always supported hysteria propaganda and lies when they are craftily twisted around to look so important and good. But supporting anti-father agenda and hysteria isn't just hurting but is destroying women badly too, and especially children. After all, that's what government generated hysteria is all about, milking the masses, not just one group. Remember, where there's hysteria, there's fire, for all!

Like Dr. Baskerville points out - fathers are the weakest link to taking down the whole family, not just dad. It's ironic that while fathers are the weakest link to destroying the family, that they are also in fact the keystone and guardians of not just the family, but the keystone and guardians of any healthy society. The true patriarchy puts the family, the group and society before themselves. This isn't what you hear in the news or at school? This is what has always built and preserved healthy families and society. We'd still be in the stone age without this selflessness which feminists and government have discovered in men and fathers and have now exploited for only their own interests and "good." They use this to get men and fathers to help destroy themselves and take themselves down as protectors of society and family, against abuse and evil. Anything to prove they are not guilty of all the horrid atrocities which men and fathers are falsely, rampantly and hysterically accused of.

Fathers are the most important part of protecting and keeping families and children most protected and intact, from being ravaged by the many wolves in sheep's clothing. This includes fatherhood's main rival to truth, equality and justice for all (government). The classic signature of all totalitarian governments is to cleverly pretend to be putting up a valiant fight for these good things while doing the opposite. This is also the selfish radical feminist agenda, "Me first and only; it's all about ME, me milking you and everyone around me with my drama, while I pretend and dramatize doing the exact opposite."

Many just don't fully understand (they will benefit greatly from this book too) that it's not that fathers have abandoned their children or are bad, abusive and any more evil than mothers are. Government and their hangers-on would like you to believe dads are bad, more risky and suspect or guilty, until they can prove their innocence, which isn't even allowed anyway. These lies and hysteria just help them do more business than ever, and look like the good guys while raping and pillaging you and your family, and of course the whole village. They easily do this with the fully support of a largely happily ignorant village itself, because they can hysterically point the finger at those they have set up as villains.

Thanks for helping "our" government "help" us all so very much: Hillary, Obama, McCain, Pres. Bush, legislators on both "sides," governors, AG's, prosecutors and so very many "friends" of the family - very attractive wolves in sheep's clothing. There is little if any distinction between republicans and democrats when it comes to this subject and a few others.

Dr. Baskerville documents and backs up what he writes in this book. And, thanks for the quote from Dickens in the opening of chapter 1:

"The one great principle of the ... law is to make business for itself."

- Charles Dickens, "Bleak House"

The author rescues a beautiful golden retriever on advice from his doctor to get a dog. The dog however has the ability to alert the author to impending cardiac episodes and in doing so, gives the author the freedom to work and go about his daily life. This book touches the readers soul and lets us know that maybe there is more to the human-animal bond than we know. The book also dicusses the "Americans with Disabilities Act" as it relates to service dogs. Anybody who has loved a dog will love this book.

I could not put this book down. Mike and Dakota's story as a team was inspiring and transcended this world. Their devotion to each other was amazing. You do not have to be an animal lover to learn from this book. My hope would be that after you read this book you will see how special animals are in our lives.

I Absolutely LOVED this book! MY sister in law bought for my husband --animal lover...Anyway she bought it for him but I read it first because the cover called my attention. I like dogs but was reluctant to get one because I though of all the work there is involved with taking care of animals..besides with a little one, school, and work a dog would be more work for me....But after reading this book, I know I want a dog..The magic between Mike and Dakota is so overwhelming --that it made me think that that is what we need in our lives..Yea it will be work to potty train and take care of ..but then again things in life that are worth anything sometimes require alot of work--..God Bless you Mike and Dakota and thanks!!!!

I enjoyed the book so much. Felt like I was right there with them and every time the author had an attack could visualize how much his Angel/dog helped him through it. They had a bond that is so hard to explain unless you have had an animal and then know what it means, they are not dogs, they are your family and in this case especially he was not only family but his life support and friend. I definitely would recommend this book to anyone, have since bought additional copies to give to my animal lover friends for gifts.

I recently lost my Golden Angel too, and while I was looking for a book to help
Me cope with my pain, I found this book. I am a very busy person and don't
Have much time to read, but this book took me 2 days. It is full of feelings and even humor. No matter what the situation is, our Golden's will manage to put a smile on our face. When you start reading this book, make sure you have a box of Kleenex
Near by. This book goes into my favorite book list, and I purchased a few more as
Christmas presents.

Well-written cautionary tale of eight amateurish Nazi saboteurs sent to the US by submarine in 1942. One of the two groups landed on Long Island, and were immediately spotted by a Coast Guard watchman. Not to worry, both the would-be spies and the Coast Guard botched events so royally that the spies got away, but then the spy leader called the FBI to turn the group in the next day!

The second group of four faired somewhat better, landing in Florida and making their way to Chicago and New York before being captured based on the rambling 250-page confession the Long Island leader gave to the FBI. Within two weeks all eight were in custody.

Dobbs writes a tight, concise, fast-moving narrative, that frames the bizarre and unusual aspects of the planning, capture, and trial, while dealing with the contemporary and current legal and political issues of how to deal with plain-clothes spies trying to cause pain and suffering in the United States.

Truth is certainly stranger and more entertaining than fiction in this case. This fast paced account of the 8 man team of Nazis sent to sabotage the US railyway system during WWII is so colorfully told, it's like a movie. The fact that it's a true story makes it all the more fascinating.

Famous figures like FDR and J Edgar Hoover and not so famous ones like Atty General Biddle and the German conspirators, all come to live and the stories (in this age of the Patriot Act, public paranoia and prisoner abuse scandals) are especially relevent in today's political climate.

Thoroughly enjoyable and informative read for buffds of both history and spy stories.

One of the first actually enjoyable nonfiction books I have ever read. A moving, suspenseful, accurate tale by Michael Dobbs - totally worth reading no matter what!
After reading it, I changed the subject of my paper to Operation Pastorius because of the wealth of knowledge I had about it from reading this enjoyable book!

I'm still not quite sure why I liked this book so much. Let me just say Dobbs does a terrific job (aided by some very detailed sources) of outlining a story that is bizarre, funny, and strangely compelling. It's one of those books where you keep coming across events so strange you have to tell someone about them. Also, it's quite timely, as some of the legislation that came out of the Operation Pastorius trials is currently being used to the hilt by the Bush administration, even though the key Supreme Court justice in those decisions later said he regretted them.

If you like it, I would also recommend "In Harm's Way" by Douglas Stanton, about the Indianapolis disaster. That's more of a horror story than a comedy, but it also is filled with historical ironies and well-delineated characters.

In June of 1942, two 4-man teams of Nazi saboteurs exited U-boats onto American beaches in Florida and Long Island, NY. All of the eight had previously spent time in America. Indeed, one had spent twenty years in the U.S., and another, a naturalized American citizen, had spent seventeen since the age of five. Returning to the Third Reich for various reasons, they volunteered to return to the U.S. and sabotage that country's war effort by striking at its aluminum production plants. Each team hit the beach with a supply of explosives and $90,000 cash for expenses. Two weeks later, they were all in FBI custody. All were tried by a military tribunal and found guilty. Six of the eight were quickly executed by electrocution; two were imprisoned for the war's duration and eventually returned to Germany.

A friend of one of the saboteurs, who'd also been offered the chance to join the mission but declined, said:

"In Germany ... everything was rationed. Nobody in his right mind was going to go from a country like that to a country with everything, like America, and start blowing things up. You'd have to be nuts."

That statement just about says it in a nutshell because even though Hoover and his FBI trumpeted their foiling of the plot as the greatest victory for America since Yorktown and the former just about wet his pants in an effort to grab all the credit for (chiefly) himself and his G-men, the eight conspirators resembled more an expanded clone of the Three Stooges, and their fourteen days on the loose were a farce. Glad to be free of Germany's wartime belt tightening, they started spending their cash on food, clothes, drink, women, and, in one case, a new car. A couple of them looked up family members, wives, and former girlfriends. There didn't seem to be any great urgency to get down to the business of "blowing things up". In the meantime, the leader of the Long Island four, George Dasch, was off spilling his guts to the Feds. Though SABOTEURS: THE NAZI RAID ON AMERICA is well written and documented, one wonders why author Michael Dobbs bothered. Perhaps a clue lies in Michael's assertion that:

"One of the lessons of the saboteur affair is that it is very difficult to fight a war and respect legal niceties at the same time."

In the seventy-six pages of the book dealing with the invaders' trial and punishment, Dobbs goes to commendable lengths to describe how the accused were denied the right of habeas corpus, an abridgement not seen since Abraham Lincoln suspended such during the Civil War. Oh, and by the way, the handling of the saboteurs' case by the U.S. government is apparently the legal basis for its trying of al-Qaeda terrorists before military tribunals post-9/11.

SABOTEURS seems less about the abortive "raid" on America than an essay on its legal system when severely stressed - or perceived to be stressed - by outside forces. Perhaps the lesson to be learned is reflected in the statement by Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist in a 1999 speech, and which is quoted towards the end of this volume:

"While we would not want to subscribe to the full sweep of the Latin maxim INTER ARMA SILENT LEGIS (In a time of war, the laws are silent), perhaps we can accept the proposition that, though the laws are not silent in wartime, they speak with a muted voice."

I have worked in the domestic violence field and related fields for 20 years and this book has been a guiding light
throughout. I am delighted to remind readers that there are new chapters and that the book has been thoroughly updated. More information can be found on the website [...]. With such a strong history and the latest in important thinking this book is an incredible resource. It remains a great gift to the field and to countless survivors and their loved ones.

I left my partner 6 weeks ago. There were so many signs that I didn't recognize until I had left and until I read this book. The exercises are realistic, and very very helpful. I am searching for more, I wish this book never ended so that I could receive daily readings from this author!

Could have been alot more helpful. A lot more.

Great book for empowering women, but there are some problems due to its age. The most glaring is the claim that there is "no persuasive evidence that children are happier or healthier in a two-parent than a one-parent home" - there is now a wealth of empirical evidence to demonstrate that children are certainly better off emotionally with two parents, and even more tellingly, with their biological parents. This must be considered when making the decision whether to leave or stay.

Few think of escaping verbal, emotional or physical abuse as shortcuts to freedom, but it surely is, and is likely the only route to get there. Babysitting abusers is rotten work, and keeps them from "facing the music," robbing both of what might be happy lives. Anyone who is an abuser deserves to go it alone, and has "earned that right" many times over, usually at the expense of the abused.

This is both a great read and an important historical document. Fanny Trollope was the mother of Anthony Trollope, perhaps the most prolific English novelist of the nineteenth century and my favorite. Fanny's husband was ineffectual in the breadwinning department, but fortunately for the family, Fanny herself was energetic and enterprising. She took one of her sons (not Anthony) and an artistic young man to the United States. She was planning to join a friend of hers who was a mover in setting up the utopian community in Harmony, Indiana, but the place turned out to be squalid, and she didn't stay long.

Fanny spent most of her time in the U.S. in Cincinnati and in her book is very hard on the city and its inhabitants. She especially objected to the pigs' role as garbage collectors. (In those days, pigs roamed the streets freely, like sheep grazing.) Fanny felt most of the people she encountered were loud, dirty, vulgar, and fanatically patriotic. It is her vivid descriptions of the physical conditions and the people that give this book its historical and entertainment value.

While she was living in Cinci, she opened a retail emporium and filled it with rather shoddy merchandise sent from England by her husband. She also attempted to bring culture to the inhabitants. Not surprisingly, both ventures failed.

After Mrs. Trollope returned to England, she supported her family by writing novels that were quite popular at the time, though they haven't become the classics her son's have. She spent her final years living in Italy with another son and his wife.

This is an extremely entertaining commentary on American manners and well written. I agree, however, with Mrs. Trollope's son, Anthony, who commented that Mrs. Trollope is a keen observer but she understands little. Certainly her complaints about the lack of gentility among Americans is valid but she completely missed the wonderful lack of class restraints endemic to English society which afforded Americans "class mobility"--freedom of opportunity (except for native Americans and slaves).

Fanny Trollope (1779-1863) wrote over 35 novels and several non-fictions books in her effort to rescue her family from poverty. However, the most read of all her books is "Domestic Manners of the Americans" which she published in 1832. It was in that distant year that Fanny and two of her children traveled across the Atlantic Ocean. Her purpose was to join a utopian community in Tennessee whose denizens were freed slaves.
Fanny left her impecunious and feckless husband the barrister Thomas Trollope back home in England. Her famous son Anthony did not make the trip as he was a student at Harrow School. Fanny knew her husband would join her in the USA when money became available. Later the family would flee to Bruges to escape creditors. Fanny eventually lived out her life in Florence near her son Thomas Trollope.
After leaving Tennessee the Trollopes settled for two years in the Queen City of the West Cincinnati, Ohio. Fanny did not like America or the American people! She found us xenephobic; boastful, prideful and violent.She hated the hypocrisy of life in Midwest Ohio although she did attend such cultural attractions as opera, plays and lectures. She favored the state Anglican Church of Great Britain not caring for America's separation between church and state.
This book could well be read alongside Charles Dickens' "American Notes for General Circulation" based on his 1842 six month trip to the USA.
Both Trollope and Dickens found the Americans crude, lacking in manners
and eager to make a quick buck. Listen to Trollope at her most scathing:
"..among the rich and the poor, in the slave states, and in the free states...I do not like them. I do not like their principals, I do not like their manners, I do not like their opinions." (p.314).
Fanny Trollope's book is more interesting than Dickens since she discusses colorful characters and shares anecdotes about her sojourn in our young republic. Like Dickens she hates the odious practice of tobacco chewing and the mangling of the English language. Trollope found us Yankees to be too serious and viewing us as poorly read. Unlike the wealthy and famous Dickens, Mrs. Trollope was a middle-aged woman fighting off poverty with her pen. I enjoyed her descriptions of nature such as those she paints of the Potomac River, Northern Virginia and the Niagra Falls area in New York and Canada. She is aware of flora and fauna and describes them with knowledge and in beautiful prose.
Dickens and Trollope give us the eye to see America in the days prior to the Civil War when the curse of chattel slavery ruled the land. Since those days America has granted freedom to all citizens. I wish both Fanny and Charles could visit us again in the 21st century. Their remarks would be of great interest to this reviewer and countless others!

All I can say is: what a great read! Who knew? Quite frankly, upon first sight of this book I must admit a bit of dread as the puritanical artwork does not smack of fun and games. Of course, as a literature student, I should know better than to ever judge a book by its cover.
Had I been Fanny Trollope writing such an account of America in the 1820s, I would be hardpressed to say that I would have changed a single word. Trollope has been the victim of many mean spirited caricatures and accusations by Americans and it still continues today, but what is interesting is that no one can do more than attack her person. In other words, no one seems to be able to refute her claims.
Trollope's "bitchiness" seems, for the most part, merited by my standards and while she finds much to complain about concerning an American democracy in its adolescence, she certainly discovers just as many things that she likes or finds beautiful.
Plain and simple, Americans collectively have a hard time taking criticism, especially from an outsider...and at that time, political criticism from a woman was deemed absurd if not audacious.
Last but not least, Fanny Trollope is always sure to preface anything she says with the conscious realization that she can only speak for what she has seen/heard personally and is thereby not judging ALL of America.
Trollope is witty and anecdotal and I think anyone interested in what an outspoken Englishwoman had to say about the New World should certainly pick up a copy. I found particular interest in gender/religious issues but got the most laughs out of her descriptions of American manners (or the lack thereof).
It is always interesting to see how much things have changed, and better yet, how many things have remained exactly the same!

Very entertaining read of the author's trip through 19th Century America, full of wonderful description and enlightening observations. Despite the griping below, Mrs Trollope simply reports what she sees - men spitting tobacco on the floor, ladies off in another room while the guys have a good time, etc. She reports accurately on our forefathers' rugged pioneer spirit, but points out the lack of education everywhere. We want to shout "lies!" but Mark Twain wrote about the same thing, and the aspects of our society that haven't changed much are still being commented on with the same frankness by writers like Saul Bellow, Gore Vidal, Dawn Powell, Paul Theroux and Joan Didion. Many true-hearted Americans will enjoy this book no end. Mrs Trollope clearly loved America and simply wrote truthfully about; she is simply beholden to no one - the essence of good writing. A thoroughly refreshing read.

I loved this book - laughed out loud. Would make a fun book to read for a reading group. The story takes place in England right before WWII. The main character is Cluny Brown, a 20-year-old orphan who is living with her uncle in London. She is trusting, naive and headed for what her uncle believes is trouble. To avoid this she is sent to an estate in Devonshire to become a maid (no experience necessary!). She meets very interesting characters and falls in love and I won't say any more or it will spoil the plot. Full of a few twists and turns and flavored by the British atmosphere, humor etc. Give it a try!

This is one of my favourite novels proving the heroine, Cluny ( short for Clover ) Brown a wonderful example of a woman who has empowerment in her distinctive voice and her outgoing nature. Cluny is a plumber's neice who yearns to be a society woman...how this intelligent, fiesty young woman discovers her ideal miraculously exemplifies wonderful women's literature. Also, the relationship between Adam Belinski and Cluny is worth noting. A charming, competitive romance, with a hint of rivalry and contempt. A must read for a very strong role model.

Ages ago, I heard of an English movie, Cluny Brown, with, I think, Jean Simmons and Charles Boyer. (Made during the early '40s?) But when I finally tracked down the novel from which it was taken, all I could think of was the young Audrey Hepburn, the Hepburn of Sabrina. (Not the pallid Jennifer Love Hewitt of the recent tv-bio, but the real Audrey, as we all knew her.) Cluny Brown is a young working class woman in 1938 London who is becoming a trial to her plumber uncle, Arn (he and his late wife raised her when she was orphaned as a baby). Cluny, described as tall and plain, but with creamy skin and beautiful dark eyes, is beginning to attract too much attention from men---to Uncle Arn's surprise and dismay, because he (and the rest of the family) considers her extremely unattractive. She's sent into service, in the Devon countryside, at Carmel Friars, a lovely country manor. There she meets an assortment of characters, including a priggish chemist (drugstore owner) who fancies her, a Polish emigre writer, who doesn't seem to fancy her at all, the son and heir, who's involved with a blonde English beauty, an enthusiastic double-barreled young woman, Miss Duff-Gordon, who raises rabbits, and on and on. Cluny chafes at the lack of freedom and becomes part of everyone's life, popping up at key moments to comment on the action and providing a good deal of it herself. A charming look at England before WWII and at a refreshing character reminiscent of two Hepburn movie heroines, Sabrina as well as Holly Golightly. We all knew that Cluny (real name, Clover) was a diamond-in-the-rough, and was destined to become "someone." Lovely book.

Reading Cluny Brown has the same kind of satisfaction as a warm bed when it's cold outside. It is not particularly challenging, but it provides an awful lot of reading pleasure.

Cluny Brown is a girl who just does not know her place, and all the adventures that follow come from that lucky not knowing.

I read it first as an awkward preteen, and still enjoyed it as an (I hope) less awkward adult. I would recommend it for any age. It is, by the way, one of the rare books where I enjoyed the film just as much.

I found this book on spouse abuse to be informative, concise, and well written. The author did an excellent job with very difficult material.

This was a very informative and educational book. I would like for it to be required reading for all young women.

As a formerly battered woman now working in the domestic violence movement, I encourage other shelter service workers to read this book. It can give you valuable insight as to what you are dealing with!!

The message applies to anyone living in an abusive situation and they should certainly read it. Straightforward discussions of partner violence and intimidation underscores the theme. This book is a strong wake-up call to the danger one may be in if they choose to remain, hoping an unbearable problem may disappear. The various women interviewd and the unique poetry makes this wonderful, sensitive book one I highly recommend.

I read this book about 5 years ago after walking past it in a book store. It was perfect timing and something I needed to read. One or two of the case histories are about pure emotional/financial/control type of abuse. This book helped me understand the overall pattern of abuse that can play out in more obvious domestic violence, or more subtle patterns of emotional intimidation. It helped me "get out".

This book proivdes and understanding to those who have never been abused. It provides information that helps one to see why women leave and go back to abusive relationships.

This was such a good book. I had to buy this book as a required text for a class I was taking. I recommended this book to every woman I knew. It's perfect for people who are wanting to understand the warning signs of domestic violence in order to help a loved one.

Getting Out shows us how easy it is to be "reeled in" to a relationship that is abusive and the various reasons women tend to stay for so long when they know it "just doesn't feel right." Goetting uses the narratives of women who have been able to get themselves out of and stay out of abusive relationships. The life stories of these women are sometimes heart wrenching, but also very powerful and show the reader how strong women are to survive the relationship, get out of it, and make new lives for themselves. I am currently using this book in my women's studies class and would recommend it for the classroom and to give to friends for gifts.

This is a great book because is has great photos - and good writing by an author who sees the pop value of service stations and like. There is a good historic overview of the early days, and lots of facts that make for fun reading. This book is not just for collectors of gas station stuff. This is a good read for anyone who use to pay 35 cents a gallon for gas.

This is one of two books written by Margolies which I have just re-read. (The other is Ticket to Paradise.) Regrettably, copies of both are now difficult to obtain but well-worth the effort. Each focuses on what may seem to be a highly specialized subject. In fact, both offer a wealth of information and commentary concerning a basic component within the development of U.S. culture. This volume focuses on the "glory days of the gas station." At least some readers of this review recall traveling across the country decades ago and pulling over where they could fill up their vehicle's gas tank. For many summers, I drove from Chicago to Los Angeles along Route 66 and stopped at several of the locations featured in this book. I have forgotten when but, at some point, the filling station became a service station. Upon arrival, an eager stranger appeared to fill up the tank, check the oil and tire pressure, wash the windows, and encourage me to purchase a canvas bag filled with water in the event the summer heat depleted the water in the radiator. One attendant who resembled Gabby Hayes noted that I might also need extra water "if this thing of yours breaks down in the middle of nowhere."

Margolies organizes his material within five chapters: Pump and Circumstance (signage); Pioneer Days (road maps); Golden Age: 1920-1940 (Pop Architecture, Aircraft, Razzmatazz: Kid Stuff, Believe it or Not!, Razzmatazz: That's Entertainment!, and Deco Moderne); "Going, Going...: 1940-1965 (Razzmatazz: Postwar Frolics, Porcelain Enamel, restrooms, and Razzmatazz: The Best of the Best; and Back to the Future: 1965-1990. The book is filled with superb illustrations (the best of which being archival photographs) and the text is based on a wealth of primary sources. Chapter 3 was especially interesting to me because it examines (with some of the best graphics in the book) various gas station architectures which include the Gulf Lighthouse Service Station (Miami Beach, FL), windmill-shaped buildings (Saint Cloud, MN), shell-shaped Shell gas stations (Winston-Salem, NC), the B-17 "Bomber Gas Station" (the plane installed above the pumps in Milwaukee, WI), "Bob's Airmail Service Station" built around a 32-passenger Fokker plane (Los Angeles, CA), and a zepplin-shaped building grounded beside the Pennzoil pumps (near Pittsburgh, PA). Photographs of most of these facilities are included, accompanied by brief but informative commentaries.

I highly recommend this book (as well as Ticket to Paradise) to those who share my interest in icons such as the gas station. Its evolution has been inextricably involved in the cultural history of the United States.

Margolies has done his homework. In addition to a good written history of the "filling station," he has come up with photos and postcards depicting all aspects of delivering gasoline to your hungry tank. Following are just a few:

A station shaped like a red and white teapot, complete with pouring spout, in Zillah, Washington, built in 1922.

A 50 foot high tepee shaped gas station from Lawrence, Kansas, built in 1930

A station with a roof shaped like a red cowboy hat with a 50 foot wide brim, and restrooms in a structure shaped like a pair of cowboy boots, in Seattle, Washington, built just after World War II.

A station utilizing an actual B-17 Bomber overhanging the gas pumps from Milwaukie (sic), Oregon, again built just after World War II.

A flying saucer service station from Ashtabula, Ohio, built in 1966.

There are lighthouses, windmills, giant soda bottles, icebergs, and a myriad of other shapes and styles including art-deco, ceramic tile, cape cod, and just plain wooden sheds and concrete blocks.

The book includes a written history of filling stations from tanks atop horse-drawn carts to today's stations. Every kind of pump from hand cranked to coin operated to visible level to today's 24 hour automated pump are displayed and discussed. There are men's and women's uniforms, and there are advertising slogans, signs, very artistic give-away road maps, and even a discussion of the evolution of "the clean restroom" as an advertising feature.

We live in the era of the automobile, and PUMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE is, in addition to being brainfood for the nostalgia buff in all of us, a history of that still unfolding era.

This is the kind of coffee table book that any over 30 guest in your home will be drawn to and, pointing at some illustration, say, "Hey, I remember those."

This handsome book arouses my nostalgia for the good old days of motoring both visually and educationally. Besides tracing the evolution of gas-station architecture, gas pumps themselves, and petrol merchandising, the book displays top-quality photo reproduction. This is especially to be appreciated for the way it shows the details in the older pictures, which were made in the days of slow, fine-grain films. And the book's generous page size helps the photos stand out, too. There's a good bibliography to further stoke the nostalgia.

This is an excellent book for all professionals in the area of helping victims of domestic violence. The book is also educational for students studying areas such as Victimology and Domestic Violence. The author does an excellent job providing detailed instructions on implementation and information on the prevalence of domestic violence. The book serves not only as an informative guide for educating people on the reality of domestic violence but also serves as a tool in helping survivors of intimate partner abuse. One of the greatest things about this book is that it's extremely easy to read and the interventions models are easy to understand and follow. I highly recommend this book for a professionals and students!

The second edition of Battered Women and Their Families is the only book of its kind. Each chapter in this collection is as compelling and well documented as the next.This volume is highly informative, especially regarding crisis intervention protocols. It should be on the shelf of every hospital and treatment center. Writers go into theoretical depth in arguing for an interdisciplinary approach to address client needs,for example, battered women with substance abuse problems or children who have abused and abusive parents. Graduate students of social work and counseling will find much relevant and useful information here.

Battered Women and Their Families (2nd edition) is a book that every clinician should own. This book provides the expert in domestic violence, as well as social workers and other helping professionals working within a general private practice, a step by step treatment approach for victims of domestic violence. Background of the problem is discussed in section I detailing the scope of the problem, crisis intervention, and short-term treatment approaches. These first four chapters detail each step in the treatment process to assist clinicians to build treatment protocols: a first step in evaluating practice effectiveness.

Sections II and III illustrate the problems and interventions of children and adolescents from violent homes and battered women respectively. Treatments and solutions are outlined on the micro-mezzo-and-macro levels of practice with these populations. Section IV covers special populations (the elderly, substance abuse, & lesbians), and section V deals with cross-cultural issues, policies, and practices with battered women. Each of the chapters takes great care to cover current trends and treatment practices providing a magnificent state of the art resource for social workers and other helping professionals. This is the most practical book I have read on family violence intervention.