Social Studies Books

Let me qualify my review by first telling you that I have read EVERY SINGLE PUBLISHED WORK by James Baldwin with the exception of one and that is because it is a first edition that I can't stand to crack along the spine. James Baldwin was and still is prolific- to say the least. He has the ability to distinguish both his objective and subjective observations in a single essay. He is the proliferation of the duo consciousness in America. His observations of social and political mores is nearly unparalleled for their relevance both yesterday and today. This is an outstanding compliment to the author but sad commentary on the state of US world, racial, environmental, social and sexual politics in 2007. The Price of the Ticket is an absolute must read!

I remember the first time I realized that James Baldwin was a genius. I picked up one of Angela Davis's autobiographies. I found one of the most beautifully crafted letters ever exchanged from one writer to another.

And with one five page letter, I fell in love.

I am certain that The Price of the Ticket must be one of the greatest collections of essays ever bound into a single volume. If someone would like to challenge that, please be my guest. And, I believe that James Baldwin is probably the second most widley quoted African American writer in epithets, speeches and dedications after Martin Luther King. I admit, I have no statistical data to support these claims. I have no quantitative proof. Just keep your eyes and ears open and you will understand what I mean. Whether it was the text Many Thousands Gone I read in An African History course on Slavery, or the article entitled The Price of the Ticket that I discovered in my Art History course. Baldwin has left an indelible mark on history.

James warned us that, "It is very nearly impossible, after all, to become an educated person in a country so distrustful of the independent mind." (The Can't Turn Back)

He proved to us that, "freedom is not something that anybody can be given; freedom is something people take and people are as free as they want to be." (Notes for a Hypothetical Novel)

Long before Morrison & Cose explanation of the Envy of the World we knew, "alas, that to be an American Negro Male is also to be a kind of walking phallic symbol: which means that one pays, in one's own personality, for the sexual insecurity of others." (The Black Boy Looks at the White Boy)

Before Mumia reminded us Baldwin informed us, "What passes for identity in America is a serise of myths about one's heroic ancestors. It's astounding to me, for example that so many people really appear to believe that the country was founded by a band of heroes who wanted to be free." (A Talk to Teachers)

And years later we still have not grasped the fact that, "Guilt is a luxury we can no longer afford." (Words of a Native Son)

Perhaps Genovese was smiling when Baldwin wrote, "We won our Christianity, our faith, at the point of a gun, not because of the example afforded by white Christains, but in spite of it. It was very difficult to become a Christian if you were a black man on a slave ship, and the slave ship was called "The Good Ship Jesus."

Perhaps the scarriest thing that Baldwin has showed us, is how seldom things change.

Any writer, I suppose, feels that the world into which he was born is nothing less than a conspiracy against the cultivation of his talent. Talent is not to be ignored. Dreams are to be followed, Challenges are to be faced and Art is to be created.

This is a collection of nonfiction from James Baldwin's illustrious career: essays, book excerpts and movie/book reviews. I have read it many times and never get tired of it. What more can I say?

Baldwin was a great writer, not only because he told a compelling story, but because he wanted his work to change the world he lived in and, on some levels, it did. No other example of this intention is more apprant than Baldwin's non-fiction work. His essays are timely (even now), filled with biting intelect, and brimming with his trademark ability to wind around an issue.

This book is all the more relevant because it saves you time: it collects his 3 book-length essays ("Fire Next Time", "No name In The Street" and "The Devil Finds Work"), as well as a ton of other pieces. It's almost totally comprehensive in this respect. Revealing and a more than trustworthy look at the man from his own mouth, and over the years.

With the possible exception of Tom Paine and Gore Vidal, Baldwin is the finest essayist. Most of his non-fiction is here, including his groundbreaking essay "Fifth Avenue, Uptown," the best single essay I have ever read. Of special interest, as one who enjoys movie criticism, is the entire book "The Devil Finds Work," in which Baldwin happily takes apart a number of American classic films. I was never wild about Baldwin's fiction, but no one could top him as an essayist. If you are buying one American non-fiction book, this should be the one.

The Psychopathic Racial Personality is a work on race relations. It is one of the works that should be read by serious minded black people everywhere who are dedicated and committed to raising their consciousness level.

Bobby E. Wright was a man of huge understanding and acute perceptual ability. It is sad that he did not have the opportunity to put more of his thought to print before his passing. He is survived by a few audio recordings and,more importantly, a legion of thinkers created conteporaneously and also in his wake. I speak of Frances Cress Welsing,"Isis Papers". Dr. Naim Akbar "Community of Self", etc, etc,... Dr. Amos Wilson "Black on Black Violence: African Self Annihilation in service to European Domination". Dr. Nathan & Julia Hare "Endagered Black Family", and "Crisis in Black Sexual Politics" (etc..) And countless other Psychologists and Historians too numerous to metion.

This book is a must read for anybody who dares to bare witness to the psychopatic aberrant behavior found among the professional and general white population!

This book brings alive the shocking reality about psychopaths. A good book to read for all. I would definately recommend this book.

This is a tremendously provocative work. It expresses theses which the open-minded reader must concede are tenable, albeit they may be hard to digest. Many times Truth is hard to digest. We can debate on the merit of Wright's opinions all day long. We all know that pyschology is not an exact science. This book's greatness is not based on your agreement or disagreement with its positions. This is a great book because it is thought provoking and revolutionary. It expresses theories that you have probably never conceived. So whether you consider Wright's arguments sophistry or indeed true, you have to agree that most of the ideas expressed are plasusible. Because pyschology is basically a science of opinion, the ideas of most great pyschologists were perceived outrageous by many (e.g., Freud, Jung, Watson, etc.). Wright's ideas are similiar to those of the aforementioned pyschologists in that they are controversial but great.

This books collects many of Patrick Califia's writings from the late 1970s through the early 90s and is a real jewel of a book. I recommend the newest edition, publish in the early 2000s that includes a new introduction and new essay on the most controversial topic in the book that is well worth reading for it shows the evolution of Califia's thought on an immensely contentious subject.

Besides that essay, there are numerous others that the term 'eye opening' would be an understatement in describing. Her promotion of a sex-positive feminist and queer viewpoint is always a joy to read and her essays on lesbian sexuality, the empowering aspects of S/M, on the persecution and shaming of prostitutes by the Right and the Left, and many other works are all a breath of fresh air. Califia is definitely to be commended for fighting to put the sex back into sexuality, and in this increasingly prim, proper, and puritanically-minded society of ours, that is a blessing.

Califia takes on virtually all the great bugaboos of the more puritanical, embourgeoisized, and authoritarian elements of the feminist and LGBTQ movements which serve, in all seriousness, as distractions that prevent liberatory-minded feminists and queer activists from the pooling our resources from the urgent task of fighting for and building a more free, democratic, and substantively just world.

at one point in Public Sex, Pat Califia says that "you can still be a sex radical even if you prefer to get off in the missionary position and still believe there are only two genders." it's an important thing to remember. in this collection of essays, Califia explores -- over a period of about a dozen years -- issues of sex, politics, and where the two intersect (usually by bolstering the latter at the expense of the former). she explains why sexual freedoms and sexual responsibility are rights we all deserve, though many of us don't get them. she confronts the p.c. "feminist" positions on issues like pornography, prostitution, and S/M, and her well-thought-out points will make any reader pause. Public Sex changed my life, making me more aware than i had ever been of the sheer *perversity* of the strictures on sexual behavior in our culture today. the more people read this book, the better our chances of gaining those liberties that all of us deserve.

My first reading of Pat Califia's work was in PoMoSexuals, a collection of essays where she was one of the contributors. Her writing was so eloquent and coherent that I sought out her books. In this collection of her essays, Califia challenges the muddled thinking and hyperbole so prevalent among feminists (especially Andrea Dworkin) about pornography and sexual "deviance." Califia's knowledge and arguments are stated clearly with humor and compassion. Many quotable quotes such as: "It is true that pornography is marketed for a male audience, but there are women who enjoy it. I do not think it sufficient to say these women are brainwashed by the patriarchy, since women are socialized NOT to use erotic materials." (p. 109)

[about teen interest in sex] "Any attempt at independence and autonomy by a young person is seen as wickedness, rebellion, and evil." (p. 80) And: "It is adult outrage and shame over such perfectly normal activities that give young people the idea that there's something wrong with sex or nudity, and intimidates them out of asking the questions they need to explore their own erotic natures." (p. 81)

"Instead of praying for extraordinary talents, we should pray for the good sense to fully use the talents we have been given." (p. 259)

I found this book informative and very thought provoking and recommend it for anyone with strong feelings, pro or con, about the rights of sexual minorities.

~~Joan Mazza, author of Dream Back Your Life; Dreaming Your Real Self; Things That Tick Me Off; and Exploring Your Sexual Self.

If you have an earlier printing of this collection do not buy this version, just borrow it for the new essays. Most of the essays were earlier published in journals such as "The Advocate". The essays themselves are unchanged but the introductions are rather defensive in nature, reflecting the political climate in which this book is published. The essays are organized into their sections and within each section by the year their were written. This gives us a great sense of how Califia's own views have changed through the years.

"...and possibly change your mind about some things. At the very least, it will require you to think about some things in a way you've never done before.

Nancy Cott's Public Vows: A History of Marriage and the Nation seeks to illuminate marriage as government control of the population politically and socially by the U.S. government purposely regulating marriage with legal measures. Cott further depicts how gender and race were discriminated against by the Christian monogamous based institution of marriage in the United States. Cott's intention in this book was two fold. Firstly, to highlight how the concerted efforts by the U.S. government to promote Christian monogamous marriage and discourage other forms of marriage had a significant impact especially on gender roles in society in which all forms of public and private lives of men and women were affected. Secondly, the institution of marriage had a strong hand in creating the definitions of gender itself.

Cott asserts that the institution of marriage that has been promoted by the government shapes human identity in both public and private spheres and strongly influences gender roles within society and that these pieces of information are integral to understanding society as a whole. Cott sets out to accomplish proving her assertions by giving a systematic historical account of marriage from the beginning of the United States until present day. Cott discusses at great length, legal measures that supported monogamous marriage and discouraged other forms of human union throughout United States history. Cott also discussed in great length the changing economic positions of men and women through the history of marriage. Cott definitely demonstrated that Federal, State, and Local authorities whether the legislative or judicial had a strong role in shaping and charting the direction of marriage in the United States on a course of Christian, monogamous marriage. Cott in turn analyzes the results of government intervention in the institution of marriage and how it related to men, women, and minorities. As the reader of Public Vows there is not a dispute that this is a correct interpretation of monogamous marriage as a government promoted institution and it had differing effects on men, women, and minorities. If this book was written and published in the 1950's for example, it would have been shocking new information, however, since this book was published in 2002 the information that marriage is bound within a legal institution with civil benefits attached that benefit those married is now ordinary information that most know, or at least most who have been married know. The question for this reader was what kind of new information does this provide?

The answer is none because after hearing her explanation of the origins of her idea for this book in the seminar I attended, it was clear Cott's goal was not to provide new information nor were the goals of the book solely the ones mentioned in the book. Firstly, Cott mentioned that the inspirational idea came from her observation while standing in line to purchase a ticket at a movie theater. She noticed that people pair up as male and female couples and she wondered why this was so. Secondly, her association with a colleague that works for a civil rights organization for gay and lesbians wanted her input and expertise to help justify their cause for gay and lesbian marriage. Cott's intention was to illuminate the idea of marriage as an institution that provides legal and civil benefits for the individuals that are married. Cott's true goal was to provide tangible written evidence for what people in the 21st century already know which marriage is a heavily legal institution that provides civil benefits to those that are married. This assertion subtly implies that all couples should be able to enjoy the civil and legal benefits marriage provides. Cott provided evidence for the true goal of this book with her own words in the seminar.

Two pieces of evidence from her own explanation of why she wrote this book points to the fact her intention was not to provide new information, but to lend credibility to the idea of marriage as civil institution to hopefully benefit couples who are currently not allowed to enjoy the civil liberties marriage provides. Firstly, Cott hinted to the fact this was common knowledge in the 21st century because of her surprise at the reaction of the people who listened to her testimony in Vermont about marriage as a civil legal government institution. According to Cott, the people listening to her testimony were taken aback at the thought of marriage having more to do with civil liberties than a religious and spiritual bond between two people. Secondly, Cott mentioned that these individuals were from the small state of Vermont and implied these people were not in tune with modern thinking on marriage. The mere fact that Cott recognized these people listening to her testimony on marriage were not representative of main stream thought on marriage by people in the United States in the 21st century provides evidence that she knew she was not providing new information, but only taking a common cultural idea that marriage is a legal institution and illuminating it for those few who are not in the know already.

After listening to Nancy Cott in the seminar it is clear that the book was written with the main intention to take an intangible idea floating around in the cultural consciousness and transforming it into a tangible idea in the printed word to ultimately serve a cause. Cataloging an intangible idea in black and white on the pages of a book inevitably gives any idea more credibility. Nancy Cott''s goal was to lend credibility to the idea of marriage as a legal and civil institution which hopefully in the long run would prove that gays and lesbians should have the right to marry and enjoy the legal and civil benefits marriage provides individuals.

Although the institution of "marriage" among humans is generally considered to be thousands of years old, it has a much shorter history as a public insitution in the United States. Nancy Cott's book dives straight into the history of marriage in the U.S., from early societal attitudes and government regulation during the push westward to later government attempts to reign in those with differing sexual mores throughout the 18th century. Her discusison of the state of marriage in the 20th century is equally revealing.

Nancy weaves a tale with many facts that few people are probably aware of: that marriage was frequently unregulated in early America, that divorce was relatively common (but frowned upon), and that religious and utopian communities were challenging the status quo of marriage and state control of the institution from very early on in our nation's history. She makes the best case I've ever heard for proving that marriage is a public institution subject to the will of the state and men in power, transformed and changed over decades by government, often for purposes of exercising control over the population (especially women) and for imposing on the nation the perceived natural order of things.

Marriage may be ancient in origin, but Nancy Cott does an excellent job in the end of showing that "marriage" in the U.S. did not simply grow organically from these ancient traditions, and that government is capable of altering the institution for its own purposes as it sees fit, regardless of what might truly best for society or the individuals in it. While Cott does not explore the impact of her findings on same-sex marriage in great detail, it is very enlightening to understand that debate in light of the changes in marital law over the past 200 years that Cott cleverly elucidates for the reader. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand the evolution of the institution of civil marriage in the United States.

Just shy of 300 pages and 9 Chapters that cover An Archaeology of American Monogamy; Perfecting Community Rules with State Laws; Domestic Relations on the National Agenda; Toward a Single Standard; Monogamy as the Law of Social Life; Consent, the American way; The Modern Architecture of Marriage; Public Sanctity for a Private Realm; and Marriage Revised and Revived.

As the author notes Mae West had the best quote about marriage when she said "Marriage is a great institution ... but I ain't ready for an institution yet". But it is the rich historical facts she shares that provide great insight into the deep misogynist roots of marriage and how it was usually and in some cases still is a contract a man has with a woman. This is why I have always seen marriage as nothing more that legalized prostitution and a protection of material wealth.

The author shows how Protestants and to some degree Catholics have decreed what marriage should be as well as how strong men and women have risen up over the decades and even centuries to denounce attempts to regulate whom they could have sex with and attempts to require that people marry to have sex, own property in common.

The books discusses Americas racist and sexist history with marriage and how some politicians were as eugenic minded as well. And how the rich were and have always been given the slight nudge and wink to do damn well what they want which included having lovers. The hypocrisy of American marriage laws.

A detailed history of how legal, lifelong, heterosexual monogamous marriage has been actively promoted, mandated, and enforced by various means throughout the history of the USA, with little or no tolerance for those who espouse nontraditonal relationship forms. Well researched and well written. Highly recommended.

This book doesn't say anything that most don't already know, that marriage is a form of public institution. The goodness of this book comes from that fact that most people can't really explain exactly how or why marriage is a public institution, and if they can their arguments are short and unsupported. Cott gives us tons of strong evidence and supports her arguments with alot of outside sources, so that the reader can get a real understanding. Of course with all books, there is some bias on the part of the author, but the reader doesn't have to agree with Cott in order to get something out of this book.

I absolutely love this book. I use it frequently in my practice with kids who struggle with ADHD and it is amazing in helping to teach kids skills and techniques in self monitoring and managing their symptoms. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially those who work with kids!

This is a great activity book for parents with children who have ADD ADHD. I also recommend the gift of ADHD activity book.
~

I am the author of another:

One Boy's Struggle: A Memoir: Surviving Life with Undiagnosed ADD

Bryan

My 6 yr old loves this book. It has so many great worksheets. And it grows with your child. It has stuff for him now at 6 and stuff for the future like how to take notes in school, how to study, how better to listen in class for a child w/ ADHD this is so fantastic! And it's all written at their level! GREAT BOOK!

This activity book is full of great ideas and I have been using with my younger children that I counsel with ADHD. It has helped them focus and learn useful things about ADHD. It is a great resource

This book is an invaluable aide for parents, educators, and professionals dealing with the challenges faced by AD(H)D students in school. It is a book that can be given directly to students as well. Written in a clear, visually appealing format, it presents worksheets and quick exercises that guide the late grade school, middle school or high school student to an understanding of how this disorder affects their ability to learn. It provides information such as how to choose and adopt various study techniques that will help children with AD(H)D become successful students. It coaches students in using active study techniques to remember what they read, or to develop written reports. Students are not resistant to using the concepts because of how they are presented and is a book that has application to non ADHD students as well. I highly recommend this workbook and have found it much more much more useful that the "Putting on the Brakes" book by the same authors. Of all the self help books I have lent out to people, this is one that people use so much they forget to return it! I just keep buying more copies because I don't want to be without the book.

This book is full of examples of brutally racial crimes that go un reported or underreported ONLY because it's Black on White. When you look at all the coverage of the Sean Bell case, the Rodney King case, the Duke "fake rape" case, the Tawna Brawley case, the Imus debacle, etc. you wonder why none of these horrible cases never became common knowledge. People like me KNOW why, but "progressives" always come up with excuses.

This is one of the most disturbing books I've read in a long time.

Some of the essays are chilling, and all are informative, well-written and compelling. There is little here in which one can take comfort.

A must-read for whites and open-minded blacks as well.

This was great book. The chapters always kept my attention. It provides great insight into a lot of different areas. This book seems to be comprised of logic and clear thinking.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3HL090FZUAIMM Hi Bernard Chapin reviewing another great book. Why do I cherish so many that I review? Selection bias...as I wouldn't spend the cash if I didn't think I'd love them.

If Horowitz and the other Neo Cons are going to rightly criticize non-whites for playing the Race Card, then they need to stop playing the anti-semite and holocaust cards themselves and stop their knee jerk lobbying for an affirmative action monstrousity like Israel.

For some unexplainable reason any critical examination of Islam has essentially been declared off-limits. This has led to much of what we read or hear in the media concerning Islam and Muslims is the politically correct 'Islam is peaceful' version. The less than flattering details/actions go through a process of whitewashing before being released to the public. This unbelievable phenonemon leaves most people in the Western world dangerously misinformed and is threatening our very freedoms and rights.

This is why I am so grateful to authors like Kevin Ryan who have had the guts to step up and reveal the unpleasant reality that comprises mainstream Islamic rhetoric today. This naturally results in them being branded as ignorant, lying racists by the liberal masses and Muslims themselves. Thankfully this doesn't stop them.
Ryan's book is factual, reliable and comes from many well documented sources (usually Islamic). It's a light and easy read and if you enjoy satire Ryan is your man. Once you start reading you wont want to put it down and hopefully this will leave the reader wanting to learn more. Ryan uses his amazing sense of humor when describing many aspects of Islam. You will laugh out loud as Ryan examines many aspects of Islam. The Irony will amaze you. But then reality hits and the absurdity of what these Imams, clerics, liberal leaders tell us compared to what is actually happening in the Middle East, Europe and soon America is sickening and insulting. Yet we are expected to believe it, not ask ANY questions and for God's sake never ever criticize it. Any and all attempts to examine Islam as intolerant and violent results in immediate attacks trying to discredit and undermine the author by wild accusations of right wing, neocon fanaticism. If you are new to studying the true nature of Islam then you might be shocked to learn just how much Islam destroys free will and is genius for closing down and nailing shut the human minds capacity to reason properly.

The book, while extremely interesting, may not go as deep and detailed into the history as you might want and for that I must recommend Robert Spencer's books. Spencer is also expert at taking on the usual defenses and how they just don't hold up under careful examination.
Nevertheless, Islam is a serious threat that is on the doorstep of America. It is neither a peaceful nor a tolerant religion/way of life and it's time for the Western world to stop trying to be "sensitive" and look at the facts. For those who want to point to the few sura's in the Qu'ran about peace then lets talk about abrogation(the method of cancelling out earlier verses and replaces them with new (violent)ones. There are almost 1400 years of history consistantly proving what a brutal, medieval, intolerant, extremely restrictive ideology Islam really is. After opening your "Radical Eye" it is your duty to help spread the word...

In the words of Algerian leader Houari Boumédienne who said at the United Nations in 1974: "One day, millions of men will leave the Southern Hemisphere to go to the Northern Hemisphere. And they will not go there as friends. Because they will go there to conquer it. And they will conquer it with their sons. The wombs of our women will give us victory."

While much of what Ryan writes is funny because of the absurdity of the popular view of Islam vs reality, the sad part of this book is that the vast majority of people in the West would not be able to recognize the difference. If you want to find some different ways of looking at the reality of Islam vs. myths promoted by Islamist apologists and perhaps give this to someone who might not read a more serious treatise on the subject this is a good book to give.
Funny, but really troublesome in its truth. A great Christmas gift to give to your friends who prefer to get their news on the Daily Show. It is about the same thing, with the book being a bit closer to the truth than most of what Stewart does.

As you can tell from the title, this book is a satirical look at the idea that the roots of the War on Terror are rooted outside of Islam. Well, maybe disdainful or sarcastic is a better word than satirical. Kevin J. Ryan isn't buying into any of the politically correct claims that Islam is all about Peace or that the radical Islamofascists would leave us alone if we would just be nicer people. Look around the world at most of the strife and conflict and you will likely be amazed at how much of it is Muslims not working and playing well with the majority culture where they are the minority or are brutally suppressing minority cultures (and religious dissidents) where they are the majority.

The book's ten chapters take us through various aspects of Islam then and now. It begins by demonstrating how Islam has been rooted in War since Mohammed rode out of the desert in the 7th Century. Women's (non) rights are examined next and you will shudder with what you read. But of course the recent news story of the Saudi girl being sentenced to 200 lashes because she was gang raped should prepare you well.

The Muslim approach to crime and punishment is a logical next step and its brutality will seem like something out of the dark ages, well, because it is. The fourth chapter looks at the Wars of Islam on Europe throughout the history of the Ottoman Empire. Ryan then examines the Islamic notion or religious tolerance. It is completely one way. Their claim is that you must allow Muslims to practice their religion (and laws) as they wish, regardless of where they live. However, no Muslim has the right to freedom of conscience if it means they would convert to any other faith. I once gave a religious book to a Muslim friend and his religious leader called me and told me that I couldn't do that. I explained to him that this was the United States and I certainly could. We talked for awhile and I ended up sending him a copy of the same book while he sent me a copy of a nice Saudi edition of the Qu'ran.

Chapter six looks at war and terror by Muslims since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. I very much enjoyed the chapter about how the Muslims use claims of peace to foster war. It is all about deception, carefully wording phrases that are heard differently than they mean to the speaker. Read chapter seven carefully.

Ryan takes us into the Madras style of education and what is being taught to the children in Muslim countries about you, me, Jews, and all other non-Muslims. Let's just say it isn't much like the multi-cultural Western Enlightenment education you might wish in the 21st Century. It isn't about how we can all hold hands and sing together.

Chapters nine and ten look at the movement among Muslims to build a worldwide caliphate and the role of Sharia Law in that process (beware of the movements of Muslims trying to build parallel legal systems in Europe, Canada, the United States and elsewhere). We also get to see what life would be like in a Muslim dominated world per the lights of the author.

I am sure that the critics of this book will claim that it doesn't represent the views of all Muslims and lacks nuance. Hey, that may well be true. However, let's get the "moderate" Muslims to police and control and suppress the hundred million or so Muslims who are in sympathy with the Jihadists. Until that happens, Kevin Ryan wisely advises you to get informed and be on guard. He provides little quizzes throughout the book to help you see how sharp your understanding of the Jihadist Muslim view is.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

"Radical Eye for the Infidel Guy" manages admirably to achieve the difficult task of being both a serious look at historical and current Islam and laugh-out-loud satire. While it handily explores the history of Islam over the centuries, covering topics such as TOLERANCE AND DIVERSITY, WOMEN'S RIGHTS, and WAR PART ONE, it also lightens the load with sections like FUN FACTS ABOUT MOHAMMED and HOLY LAW FOR DUMMIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO RADICAL JURISPRUDENCE.
The last chapter, THE RADICAL MAKEOVER, is brilliant--in a humorous way laying out for you how you and your family can convert to Islam, a sort of spiritual redecorating of your messy infidel house. It's ingenious, but more important, it's funny with a point. The book asks you not to read and ignore, but to read and examine--examine your own beliefs and opinions. It asks you to participate in the dialogue about Islam, at the very least in your own head. The book is thought-provoking and compelling. It is one of the funniest, most intelligent books I've read last year.

Kevin Ryan has written an essential book on the nature on Radical Islam. What is unique about it is that he has written it with humor, as humor sometimes can be the best way to approach a serious subject. Ryan delves into the history of Islam and brings out many fascinating details about the "religion of peace". Unfortunately, since 9/11 mainstream media and our politicians have been doing their best not to "insult" Islam, but this book makes it clear that the only way to truly win this war is to expose Islam for what it is so we can more effectively fight. Everyone should read this book...

Along with Life Among the Savages, this is one of my very favorite books. If you have children, or have ever been a child, you will love it! Jackson was such a talented writer and possessed of such enormous wit and perception about human nature, you couldn't find a better book to raise your spirits along with her demons. I grew up reading and rereading this book, and continue to reread and to give it to friends who need cheering up.

This is the sequel to 'Life among the savages', which describes the trials and tribulations of raising four children. Here we have more about the Jackson children as they grow older and more complex. Shirely jackson is wonderful at describing the weird behaviour of children, and the sometimes even weirder behaviour of adults. There's a wonderful description of the tensions that occur between mothers while watching a Little League baseball match in which her older son is playing, and a very funny account of a trip to New York, where her daughter Sally has her own unique view of the Empire State Building. Shirely Jackson describes the ups and downs of family life with great humour and a complete lack of sentimentality. She is very sound on the subject of husbands. Writing about the trials of being a faculty wife, she says "naturally a husband presents enormour irritations no matter what he is doing" (how could anyone argue with that?) Whether she is writing about a dangerous refrigerator, a daughter who does magic, or a husband judging a beauty contest, she is always very entertaining and very funny.

Shirley Jackson proved with this book that she is not only an excellent mystery writer, but by writing Raising Demons and Life Among The Savages she can have the reader laughing until he cries!

This book should be included in the recent printings of "Life Among the Savages." (especially as "Life" is much too short!) It is very funny and also serves as an historical peek into the flavor of it's time.

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RAISING DEMONS is the second and last of mystery writer Shirley Jackson's autobiographical accounts of her life as a small-town mommy in bucolic Bennington, Vermont in the Baby Boomer Fifties. Although many of the chapters in this book were originally published as short stories in various women's magazines and the NEW YORKER, in final form together the work functions as a good chronological novel set in the "Together-ness" mid-fifties.

But if the prospective reader thinks that Shirley Jackson's acceptance of the roles of Housewife, Mother of Four and Faculty Wife doomed her to an empty-headed vacuity, think again: there's a universe of verbal subversion going on in her mind and on these pages.

At the time RAISING DEMONS opens little Barry, with the remarkably flexible nomenclature characteristic of this family now called "Mr. Beekman," is headed firmly toward toddlerhood and the older children (counting upwards Sally, Jannie, and elder son Laurie) are all spaced conveniently three years apart. And that, to hear her tell it, may be just about the only orderly domestic act Mrs. Stanley Hyman, the social and familial name for Our Heroine Shirley Jackson, saw to conclusion. Not that her children were outrageously disruptive or combative (but perhaps a bit more than other people's kids, she worries) -- but they certainly had their own ways of talking and thinking.

Laurie fell in love with jazz and jivester slang, to the point where his father started fining him for that "oleaginous jargon" as though terms like "real cool" were real obscenity. Jannie's take on logic was to enter a house filled with toxic gas from a dead, antique refrigerator and when her mother confronted her with "That sign says DO NOT ENTER," countered with "I didn't think you meant me." (And I thought that trait only emerged in adolescence!) Sally so desperately wanted to help Laurie find a critical gym shoe for his basketball game that she ignored Dad's edict not to perform white magic:
" 'Laurie's shoe is weaker and creaker and cleaker and breaker and fleaker and greaker . . .' Sally wound through the study, eyes shut, chanting. Barry came behind her, doing an odd little two-step. . . 'Now wait a minute here,' my husband began. . . . 'We're just untending,' Barry explained reassuringly."

Quite often Shirley graciously consents to make herself the butt of the humor--and then, like a good mystery writer, offers a twist ending as she barbs her way out. When her husband joins the faculty at Bennington College, watch how la Jackson confesses mixed feelings about hubby's (all-girl) students as she breaks dams of faint praise: "I never saw any student, of whatever year, kick a sick cat. They were, as I say, neat, well-mannered, and demure. Their clothes were subdued, sometimes so much as to be invisible. . . "

As with LIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES, even the most trivial of domestic upsets turn, in Jackson's high prowess, into high drama. And RAISING DEMONS is consistently funny and consistently filled with a wide variety of humor: sitcom-but-twisty outcomes, barbed repartee, and perhaps best of all the legendary Shirley Jackson revelations of the occult on brilliant display, here a kind of mythical kiddie-occult that at times out-Tolkiens Tolkien. All from their own little minds, too, which makes it all the more endearing and frightening. I know Modern Moms who have read RAISING DEMONS and love it for its pinpoint accuracy of family life, archaic references to dry-clutch automobiles and afternoon newspapers notwithstanding.

Unfortunately, and for no reason I can fathom, RAISING DEMONS is out of print as of this emendation (January 2006), except for a two-in-one edition of LIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES and RAISING DEMONS put together by the Quality Paperback Book Club people. If DEMONS proves difficult to purchase, the neophyte might want to try out LIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES first, because it is cheaper and comes first chronologically. Dollars to (1950s) donuts 'most all readers will be more than happy to scout out RAISING DEMONS after that!

When you are proud to carry on traditions but discouraged by others to do so, a book like this goes a long way in confirming your thoughts of maintaining traditional family ties. My kids are bilingual, and now suddenly it is hip to be bilingual. I love the rhymes and songs, I double love the stories of maintaining that balance between two worlds. I could care little if others approve of us having two worlds to reap from....but I do like reading that someone else is as concerned about helping our children remain steady in both the English and Spanish ethos and languages.

I just got this book yesteday and so far I really like it. I am not a latina but most of my friends are and more importantly my Goddaughters are. I bought this book so I could better understand their heritage that even their parents who were both born and raised here do not really know about. I enjoy reading the dichos, songs, stories as well as recipes and of course the advice in this book.

I FOUND THE BOOK TO BE ENLIGHTENING AND REWARDING. THE AUTHOR SHARES WITH US VALUABLE PARENTING SKILLS AND ADVICE, SHE ALSO INCLUDES CANDID YET REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES IN HER OWN UPBRINGINIG AND ALSO THE RAISING OF HER THREE CHILDREN. THE BOOK ALSO INCLUDES MANY FAVORITE LATINO SONGS AND RECIPES. ALTHOUGH THIS BOOK IS FOCUSED TOWARDS LA FAMILIA, IT SHOULD BE EMBRACED BY ALL. WHETHER YOU ARE ALREADY A PARENT OR SOON TO BE PARENT, THIS BOOK CAN BE A VALUABLE GUIDE IN HELPING TO UNDERSTAND AND RAISE YOUR CHILDREN.

Gloria Rodriguez is an inspiration to parents everywhere. If you're even THINKING about ordering this book, DO it. This is a book you will save and cherish.

Raising Nuestros Ninos is by far, the best parenting book I have read. The book has helped me truly recognize my children and myself as bicultural. She addresses some difficult questions: what language should I speak to my child in? Is it really a good idea for grandma to babysit? Furthermore, Gloria makes the reader see that being bilingual and bicultural is an asset.I wish all latinas, including teenage moms had access to this incredible book.

A successful computer manufacturer was enjoying its success when a hostile take ober bid by a Japanese Giant conglomerate took place . The pace of the story quicken as the management of the computer firm tries to rescue the company before the date-line.It was near impossible as their counter parts had thought of every counter measure.The one thing that slipped from their mind tilted the scale . How is for you to find out . Joseph Garber has wriiten another catch - 22 !

Rarely do I enjoy a book as much as I have enjoyed this one. Witty and well written and just fun. But strictly for adults.

I have no idea why there are so few reviews here. Since it was published in the late 80's, I am guessing the reading public has missed this treasure. But it deserves to be rediscovered.

It does give some insight into the world of business and relationships and a lot of other things as well, as any good novel should.

A politically incorrect type will probably enjoy it best.

A successful computer manufacturer was enjoying its successes when a hostile take over bid by a Japanese Giant conglomerate took place . The pace of the story quicken as the management of the computer firm tries to rescue the company before the date-line.It was near impossible as their counter-part had thought of every counter measure.The one thing that slipped from their mind tilted the scale . How is for you to find out . Joseph Garber has wriiten another catch - 22 !

A very unnoticed book - a rare treasure, in my opinion. The story follows the rise of a company called "Pegasys", a fledgeling computer company at a time when IBM dominates the computer world. Pegasys, founded by Scott Thatcher, (a man whose character reminds me strangely of another famous American businessman), is able to survive and prosper because at the brink of bankruptcy, one group buys their product - the Teamsters. Follow this book as it goes about sex, lies, and hostile takeovers. (If you read Vertical Run, you'll know who some of the characters are - people you either may have loved or loathed.)

Rascal Money is truly a hidden treasure, Garber does a much better job of giving us the backgrounds of the characters than he does in Vertical Run. A must read