Social Studies Reviews

The Paintings of Joan Mitchell (Whitney Museum of American Art)

Published in Paperback by University of California Press (2002-06-30)

Author: Jane Livingston

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A Rage To Paint

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-26

This week we mark the anniversary of Joan Mitchell's death to oropharyngeal/pulmonary cancer (10/30/1992). We turn to a splendid book put together & written by three impressive ladies.
Joan Mitchell, not often found in general art books, none-the-less imposes a powerful presence in the tapestry of american art. Overshadowed by masculine icons the likes of Pollack, de Kooning, Kline. Mitchell brought a strong feminine bravura to the abstract expressionist genre.
This lovely book celebrates the Whitney museum's 2002 - 2004 exhibtion. The paintings presented here sweep through the decades from her establishing herself during the 1950's - 60's through her mature visual paraphrasing of the 80's.
Delicate energetic masterpieces are beautifully brought forth in 88 full page color plates. An embodying text follows her life from marginalized artist to a forefront figure strong in both expression and lifestyle.

disappointed

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-27

text isnt that good.....way too many plates from when her paintings werent so good...1950 to 1964

Joan Mitchell

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-08

If you're looking for a book on Joan Mitchell's vivacious abstracts, this is as good a place to start as any. In 2002, ten year after Mitchell's death, the Whitney staged a comprehensive exhibition of her work. This book was published to coincide with that exhibition. The colour quality of the illustrations aren't bad; although the description and bioblurb are pitched to a ubiquitous audience, they're nonetheless grounded in reality, intelligently written, and thus painless to read. All in all, you can't go wrong. If you can afford it, go for it!

One of the Best

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-04

I went to this amazing show at the Whitney. I stood for hours with her huge paintings. Even though a book cannot compare to the artwork in person, this book does a good job presenting Mitchell's stunning work. The only other book I have seen that might compare is Joan Mitchell by Klaus Kertess, but this book is hard to find.

I recommend buying the Whitney Museum book. It is inexpensive and is comprehensive.

The celebration of life and paint in one hand

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-09

The painting of Joan Mitchell was for me a discover of an tremendous and excellent painter, almost unknow in my country Argentina. The quality of images, photographs and texts includes on this catalogue dont dissapoint me, in fact, it gave me hope in contemporary paint and help me as a painter.
I recommended this book for any person who love the beauty of color, life and paint, and for painters who want to learn what means the freedom of action and think.
Thank you and excuse my english.

The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution

Published in Hardcover by State University of New York Press (1995-02)

Author: Andrew Bard Schmookler

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Average review score:

The Ways of Power Explained

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-18

This book proposes a novel systemic hypothesis about human behavior that on its face seemed like a synthetic exercise: that our political systems have evolved according to the systemic rule of "power maximization."

It sets forth a novel conundrum that is anything but synthetic and that proves the author's point in a rather profound way. The conundrum is called the "Parable of the Tribes." Simply stated, the parable exhausts all the possible outcomes in a competition between a number of "non-power maximizers" and a single determined "power maximizer." The result is that in order to survive, the "non-power-maximizer" has no choice but to become a power-maximizer himself; that is to say, he must also adopt "the ways of power" whether he wants to do so or not. And in doing so, the circle of power is continued and the "ways of power" are extended.

According to the author's theory, it is selective biological and environmental pressures that have been responsible for the evolution of our human political systems into power-maximizing forms. However, in a world, where recently, there were two power-maximizers, each with enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world several times over, the dilemma of those facing a determined power-maximizer became more than just an abstract theoretical notion. It became a very real global existential trap indeed, escape from which required equally novel solutions.

As an Analyst for the U.S. Arms Control & Disarmament Agency (ACDA), I am proud to admit that we actually took Professor Smookler's theories literally in search of a way to deal with the very real problem of the threats that USSR nuclear arsenal posed.

Suffice it to say that most of the analysis involved expanded version of the classic "Prisoner's Dilemma" game theoretic schemata, and in particular, the Meta-game tableau, which expanded it, as formulated by Professor Nigel Howard. As well, we used some of the very excellent Game Theory work developed by Professor John Nash, whose life became a popular movie biopic.

The upshot of our analysis was that escapes from both the "Prisoner's dilemma" and the "Parable of the Tribes" could be found provided the "decision surfaces" were expanded to take into account new "meta- possibilities." In some ways, our proposed solutions were similar to the solutions Professor Smookler's oproposed in his subsequent work.

In any case, the book shows how serious theorizing can be put to good use in dealing with actual "real world" problems in our complex times. Since it was published, this has been one of my favorite and most cherished books.

Ten Stars.

Simply Amazing

Helpful Votes: 10 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2005-08-10

I will keep this very short since this is a something that truly speaks for itself. In the past two years I have read around 50 books pertaining to a variety of topics. This book, The Parable of the Tribes, was by far the most interesting book I think I may have ever read. It brings to light so many answers to questions that any normal inquisitive human being has pondered over once or twice in his or her life. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in society, civilization, evolution, economics, philosophy, phychology, and sociology. I am eagerly looking forward to reading the two other books he wrote after this one.

Arguably the Greatest Non-Fiction Book Ever Written

Helpful Votes: 14 out of 15 total.
Review Date: 2001-08-06

THE PARABLE OF THE TRIBES is an awesome achievement that will completely restore your faith in human nature. The book presents a stunning theory of social evolution every bit as revolutionary as Einstein�s theory of general relativity or Darwin�s theory of natural selection. Like those two previous theories, the PARABLE represents a paradigm-shift in thinking. (My jaw hung open the whole time I was reading.) The book provides a path beyond guilt, shame, and hostility toward love, compassion, and wholeness within the human condition. Ranging over the subjects of psychology, anthropology, religion, and sociology, the book�s implications could not be more sweeping and profound. It presents a breathtaking critique of civilization that shows us how humankind is more the victim and less the instigator of history�s violence and oppression. It disproves the erroneous commonsense view that civilization is merely human nature and human choice writ large. It leads us to understand fully our predicament so that we might solve our problems intelligently. For a couple million years, humanity lived within a fairly circumscribed biological niche. Culture evolved slowly and was in step with biological evolution. Suddenly with the agricultural revolution 10,000 years ago, social evolution began to outstrip biological evolution. In an unprecedented way, our genetic inheritance came to be out of joint with our environment. Schmookler�s book shows that with the advent of large-scale agriculture, suddenly anarchy came to characterize the inter-societal system. Societies began to compete using the vast new possibilities offered by civilization. A process of selection began, continuing to this day, which favored the ways of power--a process that is utterly indifferent to natural human needs. Ways of being that had been inherently more humane and more sustainable were slowly but surely swept away in favor of cultures and societies wielding ever greater power. Schmookler reveals how Power is a contagion that leaves destruction, despoliation, and misery in its wake. The book also presents possible solutions to this problem of power. The PARABLE will definitely be one of the greatest, most liberating books you'll ever read.

The Origins of Violence

Helpful Votes: 15 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-29

Imagine a group of tribes living within reach of one another. If all choose the way of peace, then all may live in peace. But what if all but one chooses peace?

So begins this paradigm-bending book, an elegant theory of social evolution, as well as a brilliant prescription for modern peacemakers. Schmookler not only accounts for the origins of the ancient cycle of human violence, he provides a path from domination, competition, and unilateral decision-making to partnership, cooperation, and multilateralism. As Schmookler guides the reader through possible answers to the parable, it becomes clear that, when faced with violence, whether one chooses to fight back, surrender, or run away, each "solution" tends to spread the power dynamics of violence through the system. Even the most peaceful culture, when forced to defend itself, must shift to that degree of militarism deemed necessary for survival.

The liberating message for peacemakers is that violence is neither a hard-wired aspect of human nature nor God the Father's indelible curse on humankind; rather, violence arose as a regrettable solution to human conflicts and has since spread from person to person and culture and culture like a social virus, or meme. By focusing on what Schmookler calls "the problem of power in social evolution," we can chart a new course through personal and political conflicts and find lasting, nonviolent answers to the parable's dilemma. A vital book in the peacemaker's library.

Tough Reading, Great Bottom Line, a Classic

Helpful Votes: 19 out of 21 total.
Review Date: 2004-01-25

This is tough reading, in part because the publisher's choice of paper and font are not the best. As one who has previously recommended such books as Lionel Tiger's "The Manufacture of Evil: Ethics, Evolution, and the Industrial System", Norman Cousins "The Pathology of Power", and many other books on the pathologies of treating man as a "good", of scientific objectivity as "value neutral" and therefore bad, of secrecy as counter-productive to "precautionary principle" decision-making, I immediately recognized this book as an integrative work, possibly supplanting all those other books by bringing the various arguments together in one place.

This is indeed a brilliant product by a towering intellect, and it has the bibliography and index that one would expect from a world-class endeavor. I recommend it together with Philip Alott's "The Health of Nations: Society and Law beyond the State", Stewart Brand's "Clock of the Long Now", and John Lewis Gaddis "The Landscape of History".

The author's bottom line: not only must we come to grips with how power is managed in every nation and organization, but also we must manage at the *global* level if we are to succeed in optimizing fulfillment at the *individual* level.

People of Kau

Published in Hardcover by St. Martin's Press (1997-07-15)

Author: Leni Riefenstahl

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Average review score:

Nothing short of astounding

Helpful Votes: 20 out of 21 total.
Review Date: 1999-07-01

I found the photographs in this book nothing short of astounding. It may be because I'm a graphic artist. The art which the people of Kau live within is jarringly beautiful; indeed, their tatoos and face painting did not cover or mark the human canvases, but instead enhanced and brought out the very soul of them. My hair stood on end.

People of Kau

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2002-09-29

The best photography book I ever had. Wonderful book.

Painted with light and insight

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2002-11-10

I first discovered Leni in the early 80's. As an amateur photographer for many years, Leni's work provided the drive for me to work hard for an image, wait for the light. Leni's photojournalistic ability has been an inspiration. In my opinion, Leni makes a person want to record their observations on film.In terms of ability and true gutsiness she is unique. Her insight and sensitivity into the culture of the People of Kau provides a startling immediacy to their unique way of life. Leni's drive to provide a record, a tangible proof of the horrible beauty of their lives moved me to breathlessness. Her level of communciation through the use of film is singular. This book is a must have. It is a must read. For a photographer it is a must do.

A brilliant window into history beyond time

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 1999-05-15

I felt priveleged to join Leni, through her stunning photography, on a voyage to a place in time and history that may by now have already been changed forever. It is difficult to conceive of cultures that today are so unlike our own, yet give us glimpses into how our own forebearers may have lived out their lives.

people of kau

Helpful Votes: 9 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2001-11-03

I found this book in a library in the mid/late seventies. I was a poor surfer dude in those days and never bought books. It was the first time I just went out and forked out a huge dollop of cash for a book. I never have regretted it for one moment. Never!
As someone else in the reviews says, "Just get it!" Go on!

Pioneer Women: The Lives of Women on the Frontier

Published in Library Binding by (2008-06-26)

Authors: Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith

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Average review score:

Pioneer women

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-11

Loved it - especially the photo's and of course the 'story' - makes it easier to understand what the people went thru just to have a home.
have always been interested in this period. Hubby and I are members of a western club - main period is 1875-1890, but knowing more about the whole period 1800 onwards helps to get the clothing and the attitude right.
looking for more books ...
bye for now
Jacqueline (alias Ruby)

Informative and Interesting Reading

Helpful Votes: 23 out of 24 total.
Review Date: 2002-06-03

Pioneer Women-The Lives of Women on the Frontier is a must for collectors of western lore-whether as used for reference or just for reading pleasure this book delves into little covered issues and answers the questions previously unmentioned regarding women on the frontier. From traveling west to every day life, from cooking to birth control, women domestic pioneers to women entrepreneurs; if you have a question about the lives of women in the 1800's this book probably has the answer in its pages.

A must read for women of all ages

Helpful Votes: 24 out of 24 total.
Review Date: 2001-10-18

This book will open your eyes up to the way things were a century and a half ago. Back to the basics is an understatement. Imagine raising 8 children on a farm that you had to establish yourself because your husband and other family members perished on the trip west to get to an unknown territory far far away from immediate family? These women did it. They survived and thier children either a: lived and learned the life or b: died from illness or accidents. This is very graphic and very personable to the very core of many women's souls. Women who kept diaries on the Oregon Trail in 1850 and onwards. Women who were always "in the background" keeping the family fed, clothed, silent and schooled. Women are most definitly the most gentle and most strong of the sexes.. Why? Because they have a continuous human spirit and one that gets them through the toughest of times of all.
Please read this book and with that said.. the pictures in this book are a historian's dream!

Great read for anyone interested in the Oregon Trail or West

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-22

This book is nicely divided into different phases of western life, like traveling the trail, family, homelife, etc. The pictures are fantastic. It's a fast read and perfect for anyone interested in this time period. Higly recommended.

Pioneer Women

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-09

This book is very informative on the pioneer womens' behalf. It shows their hardships and their strengths. The fortitude and endurance these women had is amazing. The photos are excellent too.

Political Liberalism

Published in Paperback by Columbia University Press (1995-04-15)

Author: John Rawls

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Wonderful!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-19

Very interesting and orginal book. It's arrived very fast. Thank you.
Alessandro Mussini - Genova

A final Revision

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-04

Rawls has finally brought his powerful project of sociological and political philosophy to a conclusion with insights he may not have expected when he first published Political Liberalism in 1993.
The inclusion of his 'Reply to Habermas', after having also read Habermas' critique, helped him and specially me to understand the issues raised in that exchange and to enjoy following them. The inclusion also of 'The Idea of Public Reason Revisited' is very worthwhile, as it maps out the amendments he had started to make to Political Liberalism that had been cut short by his death.

Rawls' Thought Experiment

Helpful Votes: 16 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-14

Imagine that the U.S.A. has decided to re-found itself, and you have been elected by a large geographical constituency as one of the founding fathers who must negotiate the principles for a new Constitution; further imagine that you are similarly elected to the Constitutional Convention to draft the new constitution under these principles, the Legislature which translates this constitution into law, and the Supreme Court which interprets this law in the light of experience.

You must do your duty by the people who have elected you and the generations to follow, but your electorate has no specific social character and your only mandate is to found a just constitution which will provide stable conditions for social cooperation and a well-ordered society.

How will you conduct yourself in negotiations with your fellow nation-founders? What kind of reasoning can you rely upon? You have your beliefs, but the others hold to different beliefs. And you are going to have to justify your actions to your constituency which is made up of all kinds of people, with all kinds of beliefs and all kinds of interests. You are going to have to explain yourself in a way which will seem reasonable to people who may not share your beliefs and be acceptable to those who do share your beliefs.

This is the thought experiment which John Rawls invites his readers to conduct. Rawls argues that ever since Catholicism and Protestantism fought each other to a standstill in Renaissance Europe, and the separation of Church and State was accepted as unavoidable, "reasonable pluralism" has become a fact of life for modern societies, and a fact which should be welcomed. He argues that if you conduct such a thought experiment, then you would have to come up with a conception of political liberalism something like that which he develops in his own thought experiment written up as Theory of Justice (1971) and more recently, Political Liberalism (1995).

Whether to endorse slavery, free market capitalism, democratic socialism or recreate a landed aristocracy, it is up to the "parties" to decide in due course, on the basis of the founding principles they decide, but given that the constitution must be defensible in terms which will be counted reasonable by the populace at large, Rawls is confident that such a thought experiment would come up with some kind of political liberalism. Rawls regards the relations of production as a secondary question which can be sorted out in due course, once the institutions of representative democracy and the judiciary have been settled and the citizens can legislate the social system.

In Rawls' books this thought experiment is called the "original position" though Rawls describes it in slightly different terms. Rather than supposing one is elected from large geographical electorates, Rawls proposes a hypothetical "veil of ignorance" so that the delegates do not know the social status of those that they represent nor what social position they may occupy in the state to be founded. Otherwise, his thought experiment pretty much matches the current US Constitution, barring political lobbyists, big business control of election campaigns and the naked play of self-interest within the institutions of really existing democracy.

Thus Rawls does much the same as Kant when he re-invented the Revealed Religion of the 18th century Lutheran Church by means of Reason, and Hegel when he set out to discover what was rational in the reality of early 19th century Prussia, but, it has to be said, in a way which is commensurate with a democratic republic of the 20th century, as a "self-standing" conception, limited to that which could be justified from the standpoint of any comprehensive metaphysical, moral or religious doctrine.

Like Kant and Hegel, Rawls does not validate everything that exists in the present-day U.S.A. as rational; he holds that the high cost of US election campaigns which ensures the restriction of nomination of candidates to the very rich, and the lack of an adequate health service and social safety net which ensures that a substantial proportion of the population cannot pursue the good life, are contrary to the requirements of justice. Nevertheless, for Rawls it is the constitution which decides the distribution of wealth and power, not the other way around.

The "original position" which Rawls characterises as a "representation device," is used to argue for "justice as fairness" as a candidate for an "overlapping consensus" "for the right reasons," which can withstand the test of "public reason" by "rational" and "reasonable" citizens who count one another as "free and equal," as a "self-standing" "political" conception, as opposed to a "comprehensive doctrine," and thus create the basis for a society as a "well-ordered system of social cooperation".

Where is the foreword by Martha Nussbaum?

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2005-04-20

Where is the foreword by Martha Nussbaum?
I can not find in the hardcover expanded edition.

A philosophical gem about public justification

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2003-07-25

"A Theory of Justice" presented a conception of justice (justice as fairness) in the social contract tradition of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Kant. In "Political Liberalism" Rawls corrects an oversight in Justice as Fairness; he attempts to apply the idea of toleration to political philosophy by recognizing the fact of reasonable pluralism. Caution: Meant only for those who wish to understand political philosophy.

Pow Wow Trail

Published in Library Binding by Topeka Bindery (1996-06)

Author: J. White

List price: $18.70

Average review score:

Right-On the Trail!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-19

For Novices, all they need to know to be respectful, comfortable and a vital part of the experience. Good job!

The essence of the pow-wow ceremony

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1999-07-22

This book provides an excellent overview of native ceremonies. You feel that Julia lives what she is writing about. An excellent book for those who want to get involved in native philosophy seriously.

A must for Pow Wow goers, from novice to seasoned veterans

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1999-07-12

Julia provides her reader with a straight forward and easy to understand guide to Pow Wows. She provides all the information they need to get the most out of their Pow Wow experience.

Interesting reference with excellent information

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 1999-07-12

Julia White has captured the essence of the pow wow. The information provides the proper protocol for being part of a pow wow to prepare the viewer as a courteous participant. I particularly enjoyed Julia's descriptions of the various dances. I have been to several pow wows and have seen "guests" do all the wrong things and act in a way that would be considered offensive to Native Americans who are sharing their culture with us. These events are "gifts" to those of other nationalities and it is important to show respect when attending a pow wow. These ceremonies have sacred meaning and it is incumbent upon us to to know what is expected of guests. Julia presents the information in an interesting manner - straightforward yet very easy reading. The supplemental information about Native American background leaves me wanting to know more. Her knowledge is exemplary and she herself is a very special person. I highly recommend this book to any who attends pow wows or just wants to gain additional insight into the Native American culture. I personally appreciate that I can go to a pow wow and act in an appropriate manner. I hope Julia White is planning on writing additional books. I will be first in line for anything else she comes out with.

Great source on the how,where and when of Native Pow Wows.

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 1999-07-23

This excellent book tells in great detail and wondeful illustration, the history and tradition of the modern Native American Pow Wow. Readers will find great information on where to find Pow Wow's as well as how to act when they attend one. A must read for all those interested in Native culture.

Power Mom

Published in Paperback by McGraw-Hill Contemporary (1985-09-01)

Author: MCGRAW-HILL SCHOOL

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Average review score:

A "must read" for everyone; a "must have" for enthusiasts!

Helpful Votes: 16 out of 18 total.
Review Date: 1999-08-05

Tony Salin's collection of stories in "Baseball's Forgotten Heroes" is a reminder that baseball's charm is created by more than the superstars that the media cling to when trying to get the average fan's attention. As much as I enjoy reading about Williams or DiMaggio, Baseball's Forgotten Heroes is a fresh approach that I hope will set a standard for future volumes. Throughout history, baseball has presented many men with fascinating stories that have been otherwise overlooked. Fortunately, there is at least one author with the desire and perseverance to publish some of these unsung-heroes' stories. The style of this book would appeal to anyone regardless of his or her degree of passion for baseball or knowledge of the sport, but it is a "must-have" for any baseball enthusiast's library. I hope Salin is able to produce many sequels to this wonderful model of baseball literature. HOF!

Baseball Has Interesting Characters

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-13

Baseball is a game rich in history and stories abound about those who have played the game. Author Tony Salin has provided us with stories of players who are known to true fans such as Chuck Connors, Billy Jurges, Frenchy Bordagaray, and Larry Jansen. A number of stories of very obscure players who have interesting tales to tell as well is also in the book. I especially enjoyed the pronounciation of names in the back of the book. I had hoped to see the name Chris Van Cuyk listed, but, alas, that one will continue to mystify me. The book is a quick read and is worth your time.

the author's dedication shows throughout

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2000-07-05

This is a book written by someone with a lot of love for the game of baseball. It will mostly benefit others with the same love: Salin has found sufficiently obscure figures that I had only heard of half of them. Where feasible, he lets them tell their own stories, thus preserving their style of speech and bringing them to life (very important as most are very elderly or since deceased).

Salin must be a persuasive fellow and is certainly a persistent one; he wangled an interview with the very reclusive Pete Gray, who played major league baseball with only one arm (true story). He has gathered a collection of amusing and interesting stories that tell a lot about the times in which his subjects played.

And as if all that weren't enough, there's a great bonus at the end: a pronunciation guide to baseball people's names. How is someone like myself, born in the early 1960s, supposed to know how to pronounce a lot of the names of the past? What a superb inclusion, and the list is both long and phonetically clear. I couldn't believe my good fortune when I got to that part, having thought that the book was over, and was so pleasantly surprised. It was like a performer coming out for a superb encore.

Well worth the money and time for enthusiasts of baseball history. I'm going to keep my eye on this author, and I hope we get more.

A Change of Pace

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2001-03-12

Are you tired of reading the same stories about the same baseball players? Pick up this great little book for a different look at the game. Instead of rehashing old stories the author delves into the careers of some little known but colorful characters. The interviews, though somewhat rough around the edges, allow the author to give you the conversational type of history, as if you were sitting across the kitchen table from these baseball nomads. It's the kind of book you find yourself saying, "I could have written this book". But hey, the author followed through on his idea, and I look forward to seeing more of the same type material from him.

Thinking Differently About Baseball

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 1999-10-13

This book, like Andrew Torrez's critically acclaimed _Off Base_, appears to be part of a growing trend among baseball authors to encourage their readers to think "outside the box." Salin's ideas, like Torrez's, are provocative and entertaining.

The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank

Published in Paperback by University Of Chicago Press (1997-11-08)

Author: David Bornstein

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Average review score:

Fighting Poverty in the Trenches, One Borrower at a Time

Helpful Votes: 12 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2001-08-18

More than just a casual pass through Bangladesh to investigate Grameen Bank, the micro-credit phenomenon started a quarter century ago by Muhammad Yunus, The Price of a Dream fills in gaps left by other writings. It puts a human face on the poor of this impoverished Asian country, formerly known as East Pakistan. It brings poverty-stricken Bangladeshis into your livingroom as factual, not fictional, folks.

"Aren't all Bangladeshis poor?" you ask. No. There is wealth. But there are also tens of millions of families so impoverished that one cannot begin to understand the depth and breadth of their deprivation without actually visiting this tropical nation or coming to know some of these people through a book such as this.

Bornstein writes in a painterly way. His stories, both sad and glad, weave a mesmerizing pattern of the richness of Bangladeshi life amid trying circumstances. How people cope, how they react to successes and disasters, how they work to pull themselves up economically and socially: every thread is pulled through the loom in due course to render a true and clear representation of lives on the ragged edge. Thanks to loans from Grameen, millions of families have been able to hem that edge, one stitch at a time, to finish off their piece of cloth.

For his part, Yunus, speaking as the economics professor he once was, declares, "Credit is a powerful weapon, and anyone possessing this weapon is certainly better equipped to maneuver the forces around him to his advantage." (p. 228)

Micro-credit empowers the unempowered. No one describes that process better than David Bornstein. The Price of a Dream will open your eyes to the possibility of minimizing the indignity of poverty in our lifetime, if not eliminate it altogether. Every beautiful tapestry starts with a single thread. Even if that first thread is mere hope, it's a worthy place to begin.

Great things from small beginnings

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-02

This is a great book & I recommend it to anyone interested in development in third world countries. Ought to find its way onto a few economics course booklists I hope. It does not offer a step by step guide on how to set up a system in your own country, just a generalised working. Not a big criticism, as that would be a subject for a less accessible, more technical book. For starters, this is it!

5 Stars

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-05

This is the best book Ive ever read. I'm an international banker of Banladeshi origin working for one of the worlds biggest bank. After reading this book I feel I want to quit my day job and work for Grameen and actually make a difference to the world by helping to eradicate world poverty.

David Bornstein has written the book beautifully.

Dr Yunus is a legend.... Respect to you sir

omar_rahim@hotmail.com

Engaging reading

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2004-04-11

Intended for an audience unfamiliar with micro-finance, this book offers an easily readable history of the Grameen Bank and the potential for loaning to poor women. Even though I have some background in the field, I still found it an interesting story. However, the author relied heavily on Grameen staff and translators and I felt that the level of analysis and criticism that would have been useful was lacking. It is more a journalistic story than an academic analysis of this institution.

A must read for microcredit enthusiasts

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2001-04-29

I've been reading a lot of books on microcredit/microfinance and this is very thorough; I would reccommend it for anyone interested in the industry and to those trying to duplicate Grameen's efforts in other areas. It gives you an indepth look at the Grameen Bank(it's successes, failures). It also gives you an opportunity to look at the bank from the perspective of the borrowers and the staff. All the stories aren't rosy and glamorous which makes this book a lot more balanced than what I've read in the past. The author gives you the room to create your own views on Grameen and microcredit(as a sustainable means to fight poverty). This was a great read!!

Pros and Cons

Published in Kindle Edition by Taylor & Francis (2007-03-16)

Author: TREVOR SATHER

List price: $29.95

New price: $23.96

Average review score:

An Excellent Debate Topic Book!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2001-11-06

Perfect for high school or University debaters for quick arguments!

Great guide...

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-12

Possibly the best available guide when you start getting acquainted with debating societies.

Unequivocally the best resource for any Debate Coach

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-31

Time is a precious commodity. Sadly, I wasted a lot of time getting together resources for my debate team. Our High School was not new to debate, but I was. Eventually, I stumbled across this work, and I must rank this as the number one resource any debate couch must have for the practice of debate.

This resource has allowed me to have many debate practices. The resource while not written for Canadians, is very, very easily adapted to our concerns.

The pre-research that has been done for typical debate topics saves any debate coach an incredible amount of time. It can make you the expert on a tremendous number of varied debate topics. It also has several extensions or ancillary debates too.

As well, using the information from this book, I have tried giving the information beforehand to my debaters on a particular debate topic, and with this common background information, have run practices which focus on the rhetoric alone. My students have experienced very good development in this way.

The book is fantastic, and after such a short period of time, well thumbed. I may need to search out a hardcover version.

An essential resource for student debaters

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-09

During my years as a competitive debater, I found Pros and Cons to be a very useful resource. The book clearly and effectively lays out the main arguments for and against a variety of debate resolutions, making the task of building a solid case much easier. I would recommend it as a handy resource for any student who seeks to excel at debate.

-Alim Merali, author of Talk the Talk: Speech and Debate Made Easy

Brilliant text book to learn how to debate in Englsih!

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-11-12

This book surely deserves 5 stars and it's just as wonderful as I heard. I read it on a daily basis to prepare for writing tests.

Quinceanera!: The Essential Guide to Planning the Perfect Sweet Fifteen Celebration

Published in Hardcover by Henry Holt & Company (1997-10)

Author: Michele Salcedo

List price: $25.00

New price: $17.27
Used price: $6.89

Average review score:

Traditions, Folklore & Planning, ALL IN ONE!!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-29

This book was not easy to find. I have been searching Amazon for almost a year. I'm glad it was finally available.

I have to say it is a wonderful guide for anyone looking for information on Quinces/Sweet Sixteen celebrations. This book explained an easy way to plan, gave us the folklore of the traditions and helped us to explain to the traditions of the celebration to Daddy.

My daughter wanted a more traditional Sweet Sixteen celebration. This book has helped all around. We would recommend it to any familia, that is planning a Quince/Sweet Sixteen celebration.

Excellent planning information for Sweet 15!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-19

'Quinceanera!' has got first hand accounts of moms and families who have been there..planning their own childrens coming of age. Some used party planners, some did it themselves with help from friends and family. This book has been VERY HELPFUL in planning my oldest daughter's quinces in 2002 and I've dug it out again to plan daughter #2's quinces in 2009.

Quinceanera The Essential guide

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-26

The greatest book around to help plan for your daughters Quinceanera. It has help me see many traditions I did not know existed. Must have if you are planning a party.

Essential

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2002-01-09

This book was abousoulty the best information that I have found on quinceanera's out there. It takes you step by step giving great examples of menu's and ceremonies.

I am starting my own event planning business and this book has given me knowledge that I did not know previously.

I would recommend this book to anyone that is planning a quinceanera, it will save you a lot of stress and anxiety.

Amazing Book!

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2003-03-26

I started working on my daughter's quinceanera 1 year ago and found this book invaluable. It's very comprehensive and covers everything for all latin cultures. I incorporated a little of everything to create a customized quince for my daughter, with an emphasis on the religious aspect. This book gave me ideas and explored topics I didn't know existed. Thank you Michelle for writing this book.

Social Studies Books