Social Studies Books

This one is a keeper. I bought it after living in Sweden for a bit over 4½ years. There were things about living in Sweden that I was having trouble appreciating; sometimes there was an underlying "cultural current" that wouldn't decode for me. After the first read, Robinowitz & Carr's book gave me some more pieces to the puzzle I was holding. Subsequent readings have added more pieces.

I strongly recommend purchase of your own copy of this book for reference and note-taking. Any culture is a set of unwritten rules. The authors have done an excellent job of capturing much of that which is unwritten. The book starts with a brief history of Sweden - which helps to give a perspective on modern Swedes and Swedish culture. In following chapters they go on to give a good overview of modern Sweden and some of the more visible aspects of Swedish culture. A part about the Swedish flag is typical of the kind of information they give (Swedes seem to use their flag to declare their Swedish identity in contrast, Americans might be said to give the US flag a loyalty). The chapter on a cultural value/belief/behavior called "Jantelagen" was particularly valuable as it helped me to better understand behaviors and to "release the right responses" during the course of daily living activities (Edward T. Hall writes about releasing the right responses in "Understanding Cultural Differences").

Other chapters give clear and easy to read descriptions of a number of important social and business values, beliefs and behaviors. I figure that the amount I spent on this book is nothing in comparison to the value it has returned. Time invested in reading has saved me time later as I more quickly understood unspoken parts of "messages". If you're going to have more than a superficial, touristy kind of contact with Swedes - in Sweden or anywhere else in the world - you'll likely be glad for the advice this book offers.

I have been married to a Swede for 25 Years and have been regularly visiting her friends and family for that time. This book offers a nonjudgemental evaluation of why Swedes are the way they are and, of course, why they are not like us. I read this book just before a business meeting and enjoyed observing the differences in culture during the meeting. I plan to read this on the plane every time I go. It is too easy to mistake their fluent English for cultural similarity.

Lagom bok. Writing a book is easy. Getting it "just right" is the hard part. Lagom, as the authors of Modern-Day Vikings tell us is the Swedish delight of getting things in the right proportion, including what is fitting and appropriate, no more, no less, and, in this case, writing a bok about one's people without being either overbearing or falsely modest.

Not too many of us, I suspect, have learned Swedish history other than as an appendix to what other great powers were about in times past. So the authors have been kind enough to sketch on the canvas of a single chapter the flow of events that take us from prehistory through Viking times to the unique, modern day Swedish model of society.

History helps us understand culture and behavior and even allows us to see what triggers the stereotypes we acquire about others. "Sex, suicide, socialism and spirits," as the authors point out, are the false headlines most of us have absorbed about Swedes because we had so little familiarity with the real article. A Swedish friend of mine in her 50's complains that living in France she is still looked on as a svenska flicka ("loose Swedish girl") by some-not by me, of course. Too many Bergman films in my youth have left me still surprised to find so many cheery Swedes.

We learn how Modern Day Vikings value themselves and their history. Swedes appreciate modesty and above all, equality to a fault. They have wholesome homegrown virtues to bring to the marketplace of cultures, and, like all peoples in the great modern global exchange, these are being weighed and measured by the world of competition and the challenge of sustainability. In particular the Swedish smörgasbord of values is being rearranged by a new generation who are leading their country and the world in world-class digital entrepreneurship.

As for the welfare state, that has brought so many to exclaim, "It would never work here," they are probably right. There is a time and place for everything and the time and place for this unique social triumph was Sweden in the middle 1900's. The challenges of immigration and multiculturalism are taxing this system and calling for a fresh wave of creativity in Swedish politics. There are no easy solutions, but one suspects that the Swedish combination of fairness and self-sufficiency will express themselves in fresh socially responsible solutions.

Readers who want to get to the do's and don't's of living and working with Swedes will be amply rewarded in the second half of the book, particularly if they are patient with the first half. They will look at Swedish communication styles manners and business behaviors with far more insight having delved into the authors' careful descriptions and illustrations of Swedish values in action, which like the nordic seasons have both bright and equally dark sides. Going to work or going to dinner, there is no shortage of solid prescription and attention to detail. Robinowitz and Carr are careful to simplify what can be simplified, identify rules where they exist, and to point out, that, as in any culture, taking a good look at what the other guests are doing can help you figure out whether to take your shoes off or not.

Finally, you don't have to be on your way to Sweden to have an excuse to read this book. Robinowitz and Carr, whose rich experience of Swedish culture comes from both living inside of it and seeing it at a distanc have made Modern Day Vikings a good book to curl up with in any season.

I am a Swedish citizen who has lived in the US for almost 20 years. I go home to Sweden regularly and feel that I am still Swedish. This book was most enjoyable to me as I recognized many "features" of the Swede. I laughed out loud many times. My husband, who is American, knows Swedish and has also lived in Sweden. He enjoyed the book too and we found ourselves reading parts of chapter out loud to each other. One of my supervisors has Swedish ancestry and I bought the book for him. He has a slightly different take on the book. He likes it but looks at it from a more serious and investigative perspective. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how people in the world look at the world.

I picked this book up when I started dating a Swede and was pleasently surprised (both by the book and the girl!). Since Swedes generally speak very good english it's often easy to forget that they do have differnt traditions and culture. The book is a great introduction to some of those differences and leads to a lot of fun conversations.

I skipped the chapter on business dealings but the rest of the book was well worth the price.

The funds for cultural revolution rest in the coffers of a bankrupt society. That's not to say that change is meaningless. Raoul Vaneigem believes - along with the rest of the troupe from THE SITUATIONIST INTERNATIONAL - that if change comes from within the very culture being critiqued, then the only way to effect change is to change the way culture affects.

UNDERNEATH THE PAVING STONES - THE BEACH!

Urban renewel and changing the economic goal posts cannot prevent the inevitable exploding of the plastic society. Sometime. When the world becomes its own refuse the voices of refusal will echo down time until it pins the world against its own refusal.

If madness is the only remedy against the insanity of our contracting world, then THE REVOLUTION OF EVERYDAY LIFE might be a good guide. Its truth will speak to anyone whose heart is passionate, whose soul is strong, and whose mind is as yet still taciturn; it will help them express the homily:

I TAKE MY DESIRES FOR REALITY BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN THE REALITY OF MY DESIRES.

I concur wholeheartedly that this is momentous writing:
one that is even now more critical and urgent than 40 years ago, when it was first published.

Each page offers words-thoughts that ricochet long after their initial bang! Here's a sample:

+ to work for delight and authenticity is barely distinguishable from preparing for a general insurrection.

+ the surest chances of liberation lie in what is most familiar. Was it ever otherwise?...
the living reality of non-adaptation to the world is always crouched ready to spring...
it confronts you at each self-evasion, it grasps your shoulder, catches your eye, and the dialogue begins...

+ docility is no longer ensured by priestly magic, it results from a mass of minor hypnoses...
ideological hypnosis is replacing the bayonet.

+ people who talk about revolution without referring explicitly to everyday life,
without understanding what is subversive about love and what is positive in the refusal of constrains,
--such have a corpse in their mouth.

+ if the word 'innovation' means anything it means transcendence, not camouflage.

+ consume, consume: we take ashes for fire.

+ the young are already old and everything we are building is already a ruin.

+ the obligation to produce alienates the passion for creation.

+ affluent survival entails the pauperisation of life.

+ the dictatorship of quantified exchange (market value) colonized everyday life... the bourgeoisie traded in BEING for HAVING.

+ the fight is unfair. words serve power better than they do men...
at this moment language swoops down on living experience, ties it hand and foot, robs it of its substance, ABSTRACTS it.

+ the system of commercial exchange has come to govern all of people's everyday relations with themselves and with their fellows.
every aspect of public and private life is dominated by the quantitative.

+ ideology still has one trick up its sleeve--that of posing false questions,
raising false dilemmas and leaving the conditioned individual with the worry of sorting out which is the truer of the two.

+ even when it is co-opted and turned against its original purposes, poetry always gets what it wants in the end...
no poetic sign is ever completely turned by ideology.

+ the long revolution means that we have to build a parallel society
which can counter the dominant system until such time as it is strong enough to replace it.

+ the fight for language is the fight for the freedom to love, for the reversal of perspective.
the battle is between metaphysical facts and the reality of facts:
i mean between facts conceived statically as part of a system of interpretation of the world
and the facts understood in their development by the praxis which transform them.

And on and on the explosive phrases go, injecting heavy doses of adrenaline into our resolve.

Even though I take exception to Vaneigem's advocacy of violent resistance,
his book comes the closest to diagnosing the cause of our present narcosis and, even better,
grounds the revolutionary turning on the rich dirt of everyday life.

How could we ever think it would be otherwise?

This book, along with Debord's "Society of the Spectacle", forms the core of the theoretical output of the Situationist Movement which emphasized the necessity of spontaneous, joyous creative activity to overcome the alienation and oppression of mass consumer culture, giving inspiration to the youthful insurrectionists of Paris '68.

The book is peppered with witty, canny, and memorable aphorisms on revolutionary struggle, and its emphasis on spontaneous activity motivated by felt needs for freedom and self-expression was at the time an important corrective to the Stalinist model of the revolutionary as selfless, altruistic drone. Vaneigem and the situationists go overboard at times in emphasizing the revolutionary value of selfishness, pleasure and spontaneity-- the shortcomings of 1968 are the proof. These shortcomings have been stretched to the point of parody in Hakim Bey's "Temporary Autonomous Zone" and the writings of the Crimethinc collective, but there are important elements of truth in them.

The presentation of the ideas is hobbled by Vaneigem's writing style-- you have to slog through 5 pages of bloated abstractions before coming across one of the keen one-liners that make the book worthwhile-- I think the ideas come across much more powerfully as street graffiti than in a 200 page manifesto. For a more palatable presentation of situationist ideas, check out American situationist Ken Knabb's wonderful piece "The Joy Of Revolution", available online or in his book Public Secrets: Collected Skirmishes of Ken Knabb.

No Amazon review can really do this masterpiece justice. This is simply one of those classics that will sweep you away, leaving you stunned that someone was able to so precisely articulate the mechanical alienation from self and palpable inner decay that you feel daily as you sit in your cubicle (wash, rinse, repeat) and mimic the farcical motions assigned to humans in modern industrial civilization--a hierarchical vaccum in which "survival" is contingent upon our economic value, obedience to Power and our ability to force others to either consume or produce. The dominance of the lie of economic value has poisoned every area of our lives and left us defunct as human beings, most notably stealing from us the innate urge to spontaneously create and give.

Vaneigem attacks the dead, vacuous nature of modern life with all of the venomous intensity conceivable. He does not misuse or mince words. Each sentence is filled to the brim with harsh truth, the sheer brute force of which will take your breath away.

[...].
I recommend at least printing it out to fully revel and enjoy the intensity, though!

This is one of the most viscerally exciting political / philosophical books in history. You can't help but be swept up by the force of Vaneigem's appeals... and though one may not assent to all of his positions or specific interpretations, all in all you will have to say that he had managed to tap into something very true.

read it, ponder it... and get out and live. you have nothing to lose but your boredom.

Mr. Horovitz has written an excellent account of both the personal side to living in a time of constant terrorist attacks as well as a factual account of the detail that have been overlooked or misreported by most of the world's press outlets. Included in this book are some brief analyses of the political climate in Israel before, during and after some of the more violent bombings as well as Israel's responses. At times the author disagrees with the government's decisions, and is not ashamed to say it. In general, an excellent read and a good look into the facts of the situations as seen by a reporter who has to raise his family while enduring these terrible bombings.

When peace talks at Camp David collapsed in 2000, a conflict began which was stronger than any previously: Jerusalem Report editor and author David Horovitz considers the effects of this latest conflict and its terrorism in Still Life With Bombers, a survey of life in Israel since 2000. Israeli experience is the focus in a survey of daily lives, violence, and politics, with chapters juxtaposed between interviews with government officials on both sides of the conflict to experiences of relatives, refugees, and his own friends and family, creating an intimate social and political portrait of a country at war within its own boundaries.

This book is absolutely incredible! Thank you so much David Horovitz! I want to read your day-to-day accounts of life in Israel beyond the end of this book.

I have been a religious right-wing supporter of Eretz Israel, anxiously awaiting the time that I am in a financial position to make aliyah. I have strongly supported the anti-disengagement fighters.

Your book has made me think. It has opened my eyes to the Arab side of the story, as well as details of politics on both sides that I was not previously aware of.

This book has filled me with hope of someday living in the holy land and at the same time has made me cry, and evoked terror. Reading the chapter on Yussuf makes me wonder if there is ever any hope for peace - on the political side there is, but on the religious side it seems hopeless, as religious Jews can never voluntarily relinquish the Temple Mount or any of Jerusalem.

There have been times that I have had to put it down and walk away for a while to digest what I have just read (and cry) - and I'm only on page 166!

For a long time I have thought the solution to this problem was for millions of North American religious Jews to make aliyah and change the government in Israel, now I'm not so sure... More to come...

Reading through a volume of literature having to do with the Arab-Israeli Conflict, one is sooner or later impressed (or depressed)in realizing how little new ground is ever, really covered by the defenders of Israel, and by those of the Arabs. The same ground is laboriously traversed, over and over and over; the same charges thrown at the opponent, the same anger and outrage, the same impossible hopes floated. To paraphrase an unnamed British military man from Mandate days, "and Jew will kill Arab, and Arab will in turn kill Jew, now unto the end of time."
Horovitz's book, written by an Englishman who emigrated to Israel in the early 1980's, belongs to the Arab-bashing, or in his particular case, Arafat-bashing variety of books in this genre. He soon dispenses with his worm's eye view of fellow Israelis in the midst of the horror of the al Aqsa Intifada, perhaps the strongest and most interesting part of the book, and gets to his main argument.
To wit: all the violence that has afflicted Israel since the collapse of the Camp David Summit in 2000 can be left at the door of Yasir Arafat, who opted, at Camp David as after, to ignore substantive negotiations, even with a negotiation-mad Israeli leadership, and to proceed with the bombing.
Well, yes, this argument is possible, but Horovitz dins it into the reader's memory, again and again and yet again. There is nothing, he argues, that might explain Arafat's evident loathing for dealing responsibly with Israel save his long-harbored malificent desire to wipe out the Jewish state, by short range suicide bombings, or long-term Palestinian overbreeding. I resent propaganda, especially from a side I would otherwise support, and Horovitz's so-evident desire to "put the account straight" makes for a tedious, maddening reading, where objectivity is thrown out the window when it might uncomfortably intrude into his little truth.
How might he improve his work? Well, here is one way: tell the reader why so many Palestinians are willing to strap explosives under their belts and assure their own extinction, along with those of so many complete strangers. What, in other words, has Israel done to the Palestinians to make them so desirous of death?
I do not expect Mr. Horovitz to pick up the cue on this one. Whether or not he admits it, his political sentiments are that of the political right. He might have been a wet-behind-the-ears liberal naif back in the later 1980's or early 1990's, when he was still finding his feet on the treacherous Israeli soil, but he now, in this book, shows himself to be a Likudnik back to front. He never, ever, finds fault with the Israeli policy of saturating the Territories with Jewish setlements, depriving Palestinians of their land, their water, and their hopes of national sovereignity. He doesn't note the right wing religious-nationalist Jewish psychotics (Baruch Goldstein, Meir Kahane and his "Kach" neo-fascist thugs) whose own merry band of terrorists have further poisoned the atmosphere between Palestinian and Israeli. He doesn't talk much, most importantly, about the atmosphere of everyday Israeli inhumanity that makes Palestinian life so tedious and hard. But he does blame, vociferously,monotonously and uncritically, the string of Palestinian terror bombings, that he, again,views as Arafat's mark of Cain.
He forgets that Israel herself bears the mark of Cain, in bloodying the Palestinians, in taking their land, in treating them as second or third-class citizens of "Greater Israel".
In short, Horovitz's book is propaganda, not a study of history or current events; comforting for die-hard supporters of Israel, but in the end answering no new questions, breaking no new ground.

After the collapse of the Camp David talks in 2000, Arabs launched a wave of terrorist attacks on Israel. And while some people in faraway nations may have failed to see just who the aggressors were, those who lived in Israel could not avoid noticing.

Horovitz does a superb job of describing living with the threat of terrorist attacks. We see how both Jews and Arabs react to all the fighting. And he also explains the extent to which the conflict is misdescribed by many in the media. I was shocked to discover that several star reporters were under the misimpression that the West Bank and Gaza had been some sort of independent sovereign territory prior to 1967. Other disturbing signs were the reluctance of reporters to believe Israelis who disagreed with Arab lies, the eagerness of reporters to believe that Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was some sort of wicked war criminal, and the "conventional wisdom" that Israel was to blame for the conflict since it was holding territory that it did not stake a sovereign claim to. In addition, I was puzzled by the fact that a reporter insisted that Israel had to be held to a "higher standard."

The author explains how the Big Lie technique was used to accuse Israel of war crimes at, of all places, Jenin (where Israel went in with ground troops, dramatically sacrificing the lives of many soldiers to reduce Arab civilian casualties). And he quotes Kofi Annan, who maliciously asked "Can the whole world be wrong (in condemning Israel)?" Horovitz has a one-word answer. Yes. Any reasonable person would, if shown the facts that European Union officials were demanding to punish Israel for trying to thwart terrorist bombings and simultaneously shown that the EU was supporting the bombers financially, letting them buy explosives with its money, would see that the EU is wrong. His point is that a misinformed world will indeed be wrong.

For me, the mangling of truth by the media stood out in this book as the most serious aspect of the fighting. It is sad that Arabs are attacking Israeli civilians. It is good that the media are positioned to report on this. I think even vaguely honest reporting would bring enough political pressure to bear so that the attacks would stop. That is why it is such a pity that we are seeing nothing of the sort.

There are many other regions in the world where there is plenty of violence. They don't have anything like the media coverage we see in the Levant. If the media are failing so utterly in covering the Arab-Israeli conflict, one has to doubt their ability to get anything right.

I highly recommend this book.

very good,worth reading,written by various people.....
enjoyable,gets you thinking,nice photographs too.
As you may or may not know African coyly hair is quite unique in vision, texture, behaviour and probably in chemical make up too. Coily haired women around the world, go to the most extremes in terms of spending.
(Spending time, spending pain and the spending price to have African coily hair styled)
A hairstyle that we believe looks good or will help us to become socially and economically advanced.
Or maybe for our own self-esteem and maybe to attract the charms of a love interest. Either way your hair is a reflection of the state of your consciousness, your internal beliefs and your relationship with the world.

This book is like having group therapy or interviewing other women,but it is not all black women's views.I am reviewng it because I think it is worth a read.

As you may or may not know African coily hair is quite unique in vision, texture, behaviour and probably in chemical make up too. Coily haired women around the world, go to the most extremes in terms of spending.
(Spending time, spending pain and the spending price to have African coily hair styled)
A hairstyle that we believe looks good or will help us to become socially and economically advanced.
Or maybe for our own self-esteem and maybe to attract the charms of a love interest.
Either way, psychologically and philosophically I believe that your hair is a reflection of the state of your consciousness, your internal beliefs and your relationship with the world.
What about exploring physics through african hair?
For example how much pressure, gravity and tension and tearing do we put our hair through by combing it?
let alone excessive harsh combing.
Mathematically speaking how many of you readers can tell me how many curls/coils per inch your hair has, and does it vary in coil and moisture?
Next question:When does the nature of the hair change and why?
(i know it does!)
It seems to me all these books on afro hair are good and I welcome it, but we still need to be more informed and they all seem to need better editing, just like Black American beauty magazines.I must campaign for better grammar and less air brushed photos!!!
It is as if we like to see ourselves falsely rather than the reality of what we are...
Black women need to demand more scientific reasoning from our books and be less competitive over black men which only fuels their egos and as a result probably creates more baby-mothers!!!
Sorry but I had to vent out my opinions.

I give this book four stars for the effort and time invested as a writer I know it takes time...
I maintain that it is still worth reading,more than any carcinogenic chemical so called hair treatment that you pay for.

Anyway what do I know I am a black african british woman!!!!
Most of you Americans think we in Britain have no trains or any kind of progressive development!!!
Anyway if I wrote my book answering my questions that I put to you how many of you would buy it?

This is a wonderful book for anyone who would like to explore the issues that Black women face vis a vis our hair from a variety of viewpoints; not just the "politicaly correct" ones.

The book was all that, very positive, and at times emotional (I'm thinking of the passage where a father is trying to figure out how to braid his daughter's hair since her mother is across the country. His trying, and eventually getting it right, turned into bonding sessions for them. It was beautiful.) Of course the book had my favorite culture critic, bell hooks, and as usual she gave me a new persepective: to look at the whole "perm" phenomena as initiation into womanhood. Just about any Black woman who was on the brink of adolescence and was dying to get a perm should relate to that. I did. That's what this book does, it helps Black women to see just how similar our trials have been with our hair; and it's not just a generational thing. Black women from 50 to 80 years ago had the same issues and thoughts Black teenagers have today. Everyone remembers hot combs and Goody pink rollers and Royal Crown grease. Looking back many women had feelings of remembered pain, and not just from the burns on the tips of their ears and on their scalps, but inside their hearts for our collective struggle with an unattainable beauty standard.
What I also admired about this book was that it touched on the subject of hair and erotic intimacy. There was a whole section devoted to hearing the responses of Black women and men when confronted with the bedroom question: Can I run my fingers through your hair? It showed a depraved relation to our hair. In order to get and keep that salon fresh look, sleek and shiny, it must not be touched (by you and most especially your lover). Hair does not bring pleasure in the sense of us luxuriating in how it feels. How can you when it's not even yours? Weave. A woman tells the story of a young man with whom she was getting intimate with, and he wanted to run his fingers through her seemingly long shiny tresses. The moment was interrupted when he felt the hard tracks on her scalp before she could effectively slap his touch away. "You have to train these men early," another woman admonishes, "not to touch the hair." A man married for over 20 years complains of his wife's hair roller pins always poking him when she's "going down on him." He also hates, but has gotten used to, her wearing a head scarf anytime they make love. It is described in the book as Black folks having perpetual menege trios, he, she, and the head scarf. Another man wakes up to his girlfriend's "100% Korean Hair" all over the bed and floor after an especially heated night; he later ends up paying $200 dollars to have it all put back in again. The women speak of not even wanting to touch their own hair, refering to it being "hard as a rock" from gels and hair sprays. It's all in the name of a certain look, the processed one. (It's this look that lured their mates in the first place right?) It's sad that Black women talk about orchestrating certain sex positions around not messing up their fresh 'do. "You don't even think about it after while." They compensate not allowing their men to touch their hair with confidence and boldness in their performance, "It's so good he won't even be thinking about touching my hair."

I love this book. It isn't just politics or just us behind closed doors. Every possible reference to what is done to our hair is mentioned, even going bald. A Muslim woman opened my eyes to how not showing her hair takes away from having to compete for attentions based on beauty standards of hair, by being above them. It reminds us that as women, we shouldn't let physical beauty define us, even though most times it does, and we let it. "Ms. Strand" tells her tale with humor, cultural criticism, African storytelling, and 'round tha way truthfulness, barring nothing from the conversation. Truly, Tenderheaded should not be passed over.

I expected to really enjoy this book, but was disappointed. Some of the stories/essays were very good, but some of them were poorly written and/or could have done with some serious editing. It might have been better if some of them had been omitted: the book would probably have been half as long, but the overall quality would have been significantly improved.

I was also disappointed by the way the book was laid out. It seemed jumbled and poorly conceived. Photos, illustrations and cartoons/comics were seemingly thrown in randomly, with little context or relation to the surrounding content. The graphic content of the book was good, but the layout just did not display it to full advantage.

The idea behind this book was a good one, but the execution could have been a little bit better.

This is a very unique book. I have to say I LOVED IT! My being a young black woman, all the stories hit close to home. This book gave a non-bias look at black women's hair, and black culture all around the world including here in America. It gave many view points, from men women, blacks and even whites. I recommed this book to anyone who is confused about their hair and themselves. Nappy is defiantly Happy!!!! Peace.

"I think if people are graceful and have some peace within them, then they are beautiful." Ellen, 52 (page 108)


Rosanne Olsen's book, This Is Who I Am is an absolute must read.* The pages are filled with women, each beautiful and courageous, and their thoughts about bodies and beauty. Every woman's story resonates in me. "I could have written that." "That was me." "That is me." "Will that be me?"

This book is a reflection of me. Of every woman.

I have yet to meet a woman who is completely in love with herself, her body, her being. The women in Ms. Olsen's book are no different.

And yet, their words are inspiring. Full of hope as they each strive for peace.

While each woman's words echoed in me, the most profound statement which sums up the theme of this book came from Jami, a wise woman at 19, "Perfection is a myth." (page 69)

Perfection most definitely is a myth. Beauty is found in the imperfections. In the wrinkles and cracks, scars and sags. It's in these "blemishes" that our uniqueness lies. Our uniqueness is what makes us beautiful. Each and every one of us.

Rosanne Olsen celebrates this uniqueness in the pages of this book. Her skill with the camera captured each woman's soul with gentleness and respect. The women glowed from the pages, making their words come alive. I could hear each woman speak to me, through their eyes, their expressions, their body positions.

I found myself talking to these women.
To Rae Ellen, 59 (page 56), who described her attempts to lose weight over the years, I cried, "You're beautiful just as you are! Stop the dieting cycle. Stop the yoyo!"
To LaRae, 25 (page 58), when I read, "Maybe I can inspire women everywhere to love themselves, no matter their size, naked or clothed," I shouted, "ROCK ON!"
To Susan, 48 (page 86), who wrote "It frustrates me that this is a lifetime challenge: the tongue versus the chin, the taste buds versus the circumference of my thighs." I moaned, "No! I refuse to believe that it has to be that way. I refuse to believe that one has to choose deprivation to be healthy."

The women in This Is Who I Am are powerful. Each is amazing. It is only fitting that Ms. Olsen chose to end this book with Maya Angelou's poem, "Phenomenal Woman." Each of these women are indeed phenomenal. I applaud their courage in showing themselves to the world - emotionally and physically.

I applaud Rosanne Olsen for her bravery. For showing to the world that beauty is inside each and every one of us.

Every woman should have a copy of this book. She then needs to share it with her children, grandhcildren, nieces, friends' children ... The photography is incredible and the personal reflections are poignant, timeless and moving. I purchased five additional copies as gifts. My only regret is I'm not in it!

This is a beautiful book. The stories that go along with the pictures are inspiring.

What a piece of work to truely inspire women and men alike. This shows it's not WHAT we are but WHO we are that really counts. We all have issues and although we look a little different on the outside , we all struggle with things to be overcome! Already thinking of "Who else can I give this to?".

Absolutely beautifully done "coffee table book" of photographs & quotes by women of all ages & sizes & stories to illustrate the media models of perfection are not NORMAL!

This is an good book that explores the relationships between mothers and daughters. New mothers should read it to understand how they can shape there daughters lives. This might make them think before the say negative comments to their children. It might give them ideas on activities to introduce to their children.

I loved the book.

When I picked up this book, I expected it to be about mothers and daughters who had really good relationships and were sharing information about such. Some of the tales were heart-wrenching and really make you appreciate who you have as a mother.

This mother's daughter is essays from daughter about their experience with their mother. The only thing is I wanted to read more from the mother's point of view.

BELLE Magazine January 2001

A remarkable woman of spirit and accomplishment, Nelvia M. Brady went from the Chicago projects to the highest levels of education in that city, being both the first African American and the first woman to serve as Chancellor of the City Colleges. Now she has pulled together a rich collection of anecdotes, advice, and just plain sass in a book called This Mother's Daughter. Her stories and recollections of the wisdom passed on from mothers to daughters in the African American tradition will strike chords with every woman who reads it. Sometimes the epitome of devotion, sometimes the scars of classic conflicts delineate these pages, and taken all together they comprise a wonderful evocation of the mother-daughter relationship. The striking cover is the work of Ophelia M. Chambliss, a fine artist whose work we would like to see more of. Brady self published this book and features it on her website www.thismothersdaughter.com adding entrepreneurship to all of her other achievements.

One of the strongest relationships that can shape and mold a young woman's life is the one between her and her mother. Nelvia M. Brady's "This Mother's Daughter" is a collection of real-life stories taken from the daughters of African American mothers. These stories reflect the good and the bad, the joyful and the painful, and the wisdom and messages that these daughters received from their mothers...and thus USED in order to try and make their own lives as women and mothers better. I was profoundly touched by these stories and found myself moved to smiles and tears as I read the words from these women, women taken from all walks of life, from the attorney to the administrative assistant, from the middle-class/upper-life to the poverty level, from the happy childhood to one of abuse and adoption. Each story will resonate a strong powerful message to mothers and daughters everywhere. The book ends with a section titled RECLAIM YOUR STORY that contains questions for readers to answer in order to reflect upon their own relationships with the women in their lives. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to every woman...It conjured up thoughts of my own loving, beautiful connection I have with my mother...and had with my grandmother, and made me truly appreciate the beauty of the ties that bind. Shonnell Bacon

This author's life story demonstrates how a refusal to accept society's "labels" and a strong determination, coupled with a strong faith in God can overcome even the most challenging and disappointing events in life. Several times while reading this book I had to stop, pause, reflect, sometime cry, sometime laugh and at other times feel encouraged. Just knowing that this author endured many of the same disappointments, hardships of being a teenage parent, ridicule by society and so called friends validated my pain and my struggles. This should be a required reading for all teenagers.

In the book True Vine, Fountain writes a timeless and powerful message of truth and consequences. It is a personal testimony that speaks to youth and adults alike...if you believe in (God) a power greater than yourself and apply positive action (faith and hard work) to fuel your beliefs, there is absolutely nothing that you cannot do. My grandmother used to say "He (God) may not come when you want him, but He's right on time". Fountain uses bits of wisdom like this, as shared by elders in his family, to help us understand the power of faith and the proof as is manifested in his survival and ultimate success. Long after you read this book, you will feel the despair of an impoverished K-town; and, it has to make one think about how many neighborhoods exist today where children and families barely survive (and many don't) through unspeakable horrors, insufferable living conditions and unbelieveable hardships -- in America, the richest country in the world? But the saving grace in this story for me is that John W. Fountain not only survived and succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, but that he cared enough to honestly share his story with the world. True Vine is a true story -- one that reveals some of the hidden truths about family, community, poverty, its victims and its survivors. True Vine is a branch of knowledge that provides us with food for thought about problems and solutions that we, as individuals, as viable members of communities and organizations, can all take part in -- righting the wrongs -- fighting poverty and violence. With faith as our foundation, one step at a time, we can help build prosperity in underprivileged neighborhoods for future generations. Fountain can be likened to the "voice crying in the wilderness" from which many will hear and be saved. This book is truly a fountain of revelations. It is much more than a personalized how-to-succeed book. There is a lesson in every chapter that should be read by every child and every parent in America. I am certain that this is not the last time we will hear from this great author. I for one, will be looking for more.

With True Vine, John W. Fountain has created an inspirational beacon. Not only has he trail blazed a path for all of the inner-city youth struggling in the jungle of poverty, he has written a travelogue of hope for all the souls who may have lost sight of their dreams.

This is one of the best books I have read, and will most likely be among my top 10 for the year. I wrote something down from this book that I know I will take away with me and remember for a long time: "You can't stop dreaming or you start to die."

When I first picked up this book, I was worried it would be a non-stop preach-fest; it turned out to be an inspiring tale of despair, hope, and faith.

Even though I grew up in a ranch house on a cul-de-sac in a well-to-do white Chicago suburb with grassy lawns and two-car garages, this book made me feel like I grew up in the poverty stricken neighborhoods of the west side of Chicago. It made me feel like a part of John W. Fountain's circle of friends and family.

This is the kind of book that comes along only once in a while. True Vine is a true treasure.

I found myself unable to put this book down even for sleep. It's one of those books you read from cover to cover, then promptly begin to put together the names of friends and family who simply MUST read this book.

I was deeply touched by his unwavering faith and integrity as he wrote about his life in the Chicago ghetto--up through poverty, his setbacks in life, and again recouping to claim a better life for himself and his family. I was most impressed by his early and continued determination to lead an exemplary male life, not wavering in his responsibilities to provide security and leadership no matter the adversity. His strong message of faith is a personal one, clearly and directly told. It is a touching, sincere, very warm book and so worth your time and money. You'll love it, I'm sure of it.

I was feeling pretty down when I picked up True Vine, I knew that I needed to know that I wasn't alone in what life was throwing at me at the time, I had no idea that this book would Re-new my Faith, and give me the Courage to keep going on. My sad, went to glad, my downs went to ups, my bad, went to good, and My Spirit Soared!!!!!!!God put John W. Fountain on this earth to give us our Faith Back, and to know that through God, all things are Possible, God Bless and Keep John, can't wait for book number two........

This book is somewhat thought provoking, but quickly redundant. The theory that working moms and stay at home moms are at war felt artificial and the resources used to support that this war is going on seemed either unbelievable to me or that I must be missing something. In real life, while there is guilt and mixed feelings about being one or the other, I don't see this as a huge struggle for women. We don't have time to be at war with each other, being a mother is hard and we are all trying to work it. Any attempt to make this a war seems media driven, and I imagine this book feeds from this drama, although again, I haven't seen this to be a huge issue. But then again, I don't watch talk shows, so maybe I'm missing something.

I almost abandoned this book at the start because I found it boring. It read more like a college paper. But, I kept reading and the book got a lot better.

This book is an unbiased look at mothers across the board: stay-at-home or working (any amount of hours). The author does not take sides and even questions if they whole "Mommy Wars" phenomenon is media created. She says that at the park what she sees are working and stay-at-home moms chatting and enjoying each others' company.

Discussed at length in this book is the question of how much "choice" women really have in the working/stay-at-home decision. She talks about how most part time work pays poorly or really isn't all that part time afterall. She also talks about the lack of benefits offered for much part-time work. She talks about how many of these factors drive mothers who would really like some actual part-time work into their homes completely. She also discusses the difficulty many women have in getting back into the workplace after many years at home, leaving big gaps in their resumes that have to be explained (and many employers are not overly excited about the "excuse" of motherhood-thinking that women have not really kept up any useful skills at home).

There is also lengthy discussion about how worn out most moms are and there are also many pages of stories and discussions about stay-at-home dads.

Finally, the book ends with some inspiring stories about real, average women who have made a difference with their time towards issues that effect parents. One example was the Starbucks public breastfeeding situation-how average mothers got together and changed policy that made it easier for moms to nurse in public.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the discussion about the "At-Home Infant Care" program which helps poor women stay home to parent their own children until age 2. I did not know about this program and am very proud to be from a state with this program in use. What a wonderful program to give poor mothers real choices! discussed in conjunction with this was welfare reform of 1996 which pushed poor womens' infants into daycare from birth. The message being that women are more valuable as workers than as mothers.

I really think all mothers/fathers will be able to relate to this book on some level.

Concerning the lack of choices-I agree to some extent. However, just because a choice leads to a less than ideal situation doesn't mean it still wasn't a choice. When one decides to have a family there are going to be trade offs. It's unrealistic to think there won't be. Sure, you can advocate for things like paid maternity leave, etc. but what about people who are childless, people who never marry, or people who raise their own children (which is probably over 50% of people/families)? Should we tax payroll money from a parent who is the sole provider for a family so that a dual income family-who probably make more money overall-can have paid maternity leave? If you are working and having children, you are going to have to make some sacrafices on one side or the other. At-home parents sacrafice too. They can't put away money tax free for "childcare costs" as working parents can for daycare costs-even tho at-home parents caring for their own children lose $10,000s/year for their choice. You cannot have your cake and eat it too.

One other thing that worried me a bit is that in all this talk about moms we can forget about what is best for our kids. There was some discussion about all day pre-K programs, etc, that are convenient for some mothers. All day kindergarten would fit into this category too. Are these things really good for kids? Perhaps if your child really is exceptionally gifted or is learning ESL, but for the majority of kids, this is not the case. We need to make sure that we don't cheat our children out of the only childhood they will have just because something is convenient for us.

The author offers an enlightening and readable mix of solid academic research, personal experience, and feminist manifesto. She rejects the Mommy Wars as a media invention designed to sell insecure mothers more stuff, and suggests that our society needs to make changes that reflect a real commitment to the work of parenting: offer more high-quality part-time work, more gender parity in childrearing, and more awareness that the "choices" parents make are limited by economic and social pressures. An excellent book.

On a beautiful early evening at a beach I saw 2,3, and 4 years olds playing a baby world cup game. I was delighted to see such youngsters so engaged in a sport like mini-adults. However, children are not mini-adults. They are fragile kids in need of 100% supervision and dedication. In fact, I was amazed at how into the sport these little tykes were ... focused and aware ... it was a joy to watch. Now for the scary part ... some of the soccer parents were my age and (ghast) younger, like barely into their late 20's. At that moment I knew kids were not for me because .... I instantly wanted to hop on a plane for New York and skip along Broadway singing "It's ain't me Babe, it ain't me whose chained to the floor. Thank GOD I am single and childless!"

Mommy wars against each other now? Used to be mothers against non-mothers. Who said being selfish was just for single women? This is a bigger issue ... it's women against women with one holding her reproductive uterus hostage over another,playing the trump card that another is incomplete because she is baggage-free. Children are precious gifts (especially healthy and smart ones) and if a woman knows she can't live up to the demand and is not willing to sign her life away ... she has every right to say no to reproduction. Why harm another young life when you are not cut out to be a mother other than in the biological sense. Being a mother means you not only give birth but you are 100% emotionally available to your child.

In this book, Peskowitz examines the supposed war between working moms and sat-at-home moms and concludes that it's a war perpetuated by the media rather than an actual one. She then explores the nature of work in America and argues that most moms lack real choice in their working decisions.

She provides examples of stay-at-home moms who would like to work part-time but cannot find work worth their time. She shares the stories of other moms who want to stay home with their kids but simply cannot afford it. Comparing America to 170 other countries, she concludes that America is far behind in valuing the work that mothers do every day in raising their children and that the country needs to begin valuing this work.

She also shows that this difficulty goes beyond class lines. While women in higher-powered jobs may have more choice, they, too, have to fight for flexible working conditions and often "opt out" of the workforce because no suitable choices exist for them.

This book is easy to read and is well researched. In debunking the existence of the mommy wars, Peskowitz urges *all* moms to stand together in order to start making change happen in this country.

I received my copy yesterday and laughed so hard I immediately ordered a few more for my friends. Any dog lover, gay or straight (unless you are a narrow-minded homophobe) with a sense of humor will adore this book. The illustrations are just gorgeous -- a real pleasure for the eyes! In addition to the tongue-in-cheek humor, the book is also informative. I will not repeat what others have already said. I will add that I was impressed that there was a section about puppymills and the Amish were exposed for being the worst culprits of this horrific money-making endeavor (just ask my dog who was locked in a tiny cage by the Amish for 5 years without access to sunlight or grass). Most people do not know that the worst puppymills are Amish enterprises and that they will not hesitate to club dogs to death when they can no longer bring in a buck. Here's an exerpt on this topic: "At the risk of losing book sales to my gay Amish fan base, a number of the Pennsylvania Dutch folk have become notorious for raising puppies under farmlike conditions and selling directly to brokers. Their dog-proud German relatives would be appalled; the Amish should stick to what they're best at: quilts, pretzels, and high fashion" (p. 122). You tell them Andrew DePrisco!

This Book is a Classic!!!
Great Humor,w/a Lot of Truth!!!!!
Would Highly Recommend to Anybody

I think this book is wonderful. It was a great present for someone who has everything. If you have a good sense of humor you will really enjoy this book. It is definately one of a kind!!

"Woof!" is an absolute delight. A fun and informative read for prospective dog owners of every persuasion. DePrisco is an experienced dog owner and brilliant writer who offers wise and witty advice on choosing and caring for a dog and answers questions you never thought to ask. Best of all, you will find yourself smiling as you turn the pages! O'Malley's illustrations are superb, making this a perfect coffee table book.

This book will solve many of your Christmas shopping dilemmas. It's a can't miss gift.

Woof! is Great! I've enjoyed reading every word of this book. It is the perfect gift for gay and gay-friendly households who are seeking a dog or already have a dog! Buy it! You won't regret it!

I have read and reread this book and I also recommend it to other people. The best book I ever read about adoption and I've read a lot of them. I adopted two foster children and this book was the best preparation I found. If you're considering adopting older children, it's a good preparation. Don't pass it up!

I read this book about a year after my daughter joined our family, at age four. It is the only book I have read like it. It takes you step-by-step through the process, from applying with an agency to the new child's adjustment - and the family's adjustment to their new arrival.

I wish I had read it before we started, although I read many other good books. I like that Adopting the Older Child addresses some of the feelings people don't like to talk about...like the adoptive parents doubting whether they made the right decision. I also like that it explores older child adoption among different types of families (those with bio kids, those without, etc.).

My only 'complaint' is that it does kind of wrap up the case studies a bit too neatly at the end...as if the issues are all gone after a few years. Most who have adopted older children will agree that some of the emotional issues will be life-long issues, to an extent. Other than that, I thought it was great! Highly recommended!

Christine Mitchell
Author and Illustrator of Welcome Home, Forever Child Welcome Home, Forever Child: A Celebration of Children Adopted as Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Beyond

My husband and I are in the process of adopting an older child from the ages of 3-8. We went through our adoption classes and received alot of great information we will need but I was also reading this book at the same time. I was able to ask questions to our instructor that I would never have thought of without the book. I loved the way the author put in characters of the adoptive child awaiting adoption, Parents waiting to adopt, The case workers point of view, and all the emotions they were going through. I told our instructor about this book and she said she would let other adoptive parents know about it. This book was so informative and fun to read that I found myself not wanting to put it down.

This book is a must have for anyone thinking of adoption. It may have been written 20 years ago but you couldn't tell since the information is mostly about emotions and how to work together with the child but also with your case workers. I was already excited about adopting an older child but this book helped me to prepare for the best and worse of situations that may occur adopting an older child. If you buy this book you won't regret it!

As we move forward in the adoption process of a 17 yr. old, I am thrilled to have just read this book. It was an easy read, full of insight, with just the right balance of warmth and challenge. Best of all, as both a professional counselor and adoptive mother (seven times over!) the author is truly credible, including a nice mix of research and personal experience. I give this book my highest recommendation.

This book dicusses the adoption of older children. Through a series of stories told in the viewpoint of the adoptive parents, adoptive children, and their social worker, readers gain insight into what they can expect during the process. This book put to ease some of my fars about adopting an older child, and makes me feel more equipped to handle situations when our time to adopt comes.