Bernard Books

Bailyn complements furthers his study of 18th century America by examining the political history of the colonies. He spends ample time discussing the political environment of each colony, with a special eye on conflicts and controversies. A major theme throughout is the conflict between the elective houses of the legislatures and the Crown appointed office of Governor. He documents individual cases such John Peter Zenger's famous trial and the King's College crisis in New York. Lastly, he pays special attention to the ideological proclivities of Americans. He gives special attention to the pervasive influence of Trenchard and Gordon's magnificent "Cato's Letters," as well as the politicla writings of Lord Bolingbroke. Ultimately, it is a subtle and overly stimulating piece of scholarship. Highly recommended

This brief book is the text of 3 lectures delivered by Bailyn in the late 1960s. The title is a little misleading, as it may lead readers to expect a description of the origins of our present political system. The book is actually concerned with how pre-Revolutionary politics generated the Revolution. Because of the format, Bailyn produced 3 concise analyses of key issues leading up to the American Revolution. The first lecture is essentially a summary of his superb "The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution", describing the ideology of the Revolutionaries. The second lecture is a structural analysis of politics in the colonies demonstrating their common elements and causes of political turbulence in the colonies. The third lecture shows how the combination of this particular ideology, the unstable structure of colonial politics/governence, and the specific series of events in the mid-18th century set the stage for the revolution.
In lecture one, Bailyn describes the basic ideology of the Revolutionaries. The main element of this ideology was a set of political concepts inherited from the 17th century as transmitted and interpreted by 18th dissenting political theorists. This description is solid and very interesting but pales by comparison with the brilliant scholarship and analysis of Bailyn's book on this subject. In the second lecture, Bailyn provides an interesting structural analysis of why colonial politics were perpetually unstable. In all colonies, the formal structure of government was supposed to reproduce the constitutional structure of Britain with the governers as royal substitutes, appointed councils as equivalents of the House of Lords, and elected bodies as the equivalents of the Commons. What the Colonies lacked were the informal networks of deference and patronage that guaranteed stability in Britain. The broad franchise and lack of a native aristocracy made it impossible to reproduce the British model. Bailyn shows in the third lecture how British attempts to impose their will, an set of expectations based on the British experience, were resisted by the colonists. These conflicts were then interpreted as fundamental constitutional assaults because the prevailing ideology in the Colonies was the oppositional idea propagated by critics of the British state.
This brief and clearly written book provides an excellent scheme for understanding the genesis of the Revolution.

This book, along with Bailyn;s masterpiece, "The Idealogical Origins of the American Revolution," forms the perfect set for anyone interested in the ideas and history of 18th century America. In this volume, the origins of American political ideas and institutions are revealed with perfect lucidity. A fascinating read.

[ASIN: 1930622120 Our America/Our China] Our America Our China is witty, humorous, informative and touching. The three authors have done an excellent job in depicting a true picture of both countries in their reality. The 26 short non-fiction stories will touch the heart of every person who reads them. The unusual personal experiences of these three people show well their love for peace and love for humanity. Their goal is to make people from the two great countries understand each other better and have close ties than ever before.

This unique book, presented in both English and Chinese, offers significant insights on how the United States and China can peacefully coexist. As the authors state, the words in many primitive languages for stranger and enemy are the same. The stories included show how strangers can be made into friends and how potential enemies can become allies. Anyone interested in American-Chinese relations should read and heed this volume of truths.

"Our America, Our China" is one of those rare non-fiction books you just can't put down. A quick read in both English and Mandarin, these 26 stories from personal experiences by an American General stationed in China, a Chinese professor, and an American college freshman who taught English in China is a compelling, thoughtful and well-written book. The varied stories help to showcase the Chinese mentality, dispels myths about China, and point toward the reality of what is China today.

I read a friend's copy of this book when I was in early grade school and I have been searching for a copy ever since. It's been more that twenty years but I still remember the images from the book: the destroyed city, the frightened children, the hope for the future. At least now I know the author's name and my search will be a little easier! Thanks Amazon!

This ain't "Witch World!" "Outside", by Andre Norton, tells how a return to nature and the mysticism of Nature Religion could turn around the dead-end journey of our increasing reliance on technology too complex for all but a few to understand. Many of the images are derived from traditional Wicca -- the Black Man who is also the Fool and also the Wise One and who leads his followers to freedom is only the foremost among them. In many ways this book is like a zen koan -- the puzzle or joke that has no straight answer, meditation on which leads to illumination. That there are so few copies available is a great pity -- it should be widely read by mystics, ecologists, and urban planners.

I first read this young adult book when I was 7. It was my first taste of Science Fiction and 23 years later I still remember it! It is set on a world where everyone lives in a huge domed city which is full of broken machines that no one remembers how to fix. People live in gangs where anyone in their twenties is considered an "old". They suvive by scavenging out of ancient stores. Whole areas of the city are abandoned. Food is running out, and the oxygen makers are breaking down. And children are following a mysterious rhyming man and vanishing. The heroine of the story is a young girl, a "little", who longs to see what is outside the dome, even though "olds" say everything is dead. So she follows the rhyming man...

This story of a future Earth is a bit scary for young readers, but is very haunting and thought provoking for more mature kids. This story is one that many adults would do well to read as well. It may very well be our own future!!

I received this book for educational purposes and read the entire book cover to cover upon opening. The photography is beautiful and some parts brought tears to my eyes! I have a new and profound respect for these beautiful artisans and their craft. The weaving of a panama hat is truly an art. I now look at panama hats in a whole new way!

I picked up this large format book, 12 in. x 9 ½ in., in Quito, Ecuador but have since learned that it has become available through U.S. distributors (I bought a second copy from Amazon.com in fact). The fabulous photographs and illustrations can't help but develop an appreciation for this classic hat making material, cardoluvica palmata.

This "coffee table book" is a must for every Panama Hat lover. The exotic and beautiful photographs only enhance and clarify the well written text. From the forward by Brent Black (leading world authority on Panama Hats - hand-woven in Ecuador!) through the chapters on Montecristi woven fino hats, onto the Cuenca hat story and ending with a list of retailers specializing in this unique product - this book answers most, if not all, questions about this legendary hat.

The book is centrally about Francois Duvalier's presidency of Haiti which started in 1957. F. Duvalier died in power in 1971. It also summarizes events prior to Duvalier and even has a passage on Duvalier himself, which is rare. The details about Duvalier's rule and his most notorious creation--his parallel private army of Tontons Macoutes militia--are recounted with mastery.

Those who want an account of events since the 1970s will not be served here. Haiti has seen much change in the last 35 years and the influential personalities of the 50s and 60s are mostly out of the political scene now. For the serious student of Haiti, however, the penetrating account of Haitian society until the early 1970s contained here will serve as excellent background. Good historical bacground is generally a good idea, especially when figuring out a hard-to-fathom foreign land. Even 30-35 years later this book contributes well to a good grasp of Haiti in the 20th century.

"No one alive . . . is better qualified than Bernard Diederich to tell the horrifying story of Haiti under the rule of Dr. Fran?ois Duvalier. . . . What a story it is: tragic, terrifying, bizarre, even at times comic. Papa Doc sits in his bath wearing his top hat for meditating: the head of his enemy Philogenes stands on his desk: the hearse carrying another enemy's body is stolen by the Tonton Macoutes at the church door: the writer Alexis is stoned to death. . . . This is a very full account of Duvalier's reign which will be indispensable to future historians." -Graham Greene in the Foreword
"A detailed expose of the evil incarnate in Duvalier's rule. . . . Shakedowns of foreign businessmen, and their governments, are shown to be commonplace. . . . Torture . . . sometimes directed by the dictator himself . . . emerges as the cement to hold the police state together. . . . The frustrating counterpoint to this terror story is the tale of how Duvalier has undone United States policy and humiliated Washington." -Washington Post
"A truly revealing book." -St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Bernard Diederich was a correspondent for Time Magazine, covering Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. He has also written two other biographies of Latin American dictators. Al Burt was the longtime Latin America editor of the Miami Herald.
"Bernard Diederich and Al Burt chronicle in such detail and with such unpatronizing level-headedness in Papa Doc." -The New York Times

Wow.... This books depicts a harsh reality.. it is amazingly real, and accurate. I was born in Haiti and I am a witness to this reality. If you want to know about Haiti, and US policy read it. I enjoyed it.

This is a great book for general reading on microbes and microbiology. The short chapters make for easy and very entertaining reading, and it is one of those books that can really inspire an interest in science. Many people develop an interest microbiology after reading "The Microbe Hunters," and I agree with the previous reviewer who suggested that "Power Unseen" makes very good follow-up reading. It is more focused on the actual microbes rather than their discoverers, but the excellent storytelling and appeal to general audiences is similar. It is really a shame, and very surprising to me, that it is not currently in print. I highly recommend reading it if you have even the slightest interest in microbiology and can buy or borrow a used copy.

Being a junior doctor now, whenever I recall my 2nd year in the medical school I remember all these nights trying to understand what at time thought of a much more difficult course than anatomy (!)....microbiology. I never thought I would be following a microbiology career. This book changed it all. There is nothing to be afraid of microbes.....Hypochondriac as all med students are was also myself...all you must do is to consider it as part of our planet's natural history..The book correlates human history and microbes in the most exciting way! The language is readable by everyone and the new ideas jump out in every page....I could not stop thinking humanity as a microbe of the universe. There were chapters that i couldnt stop laughing and others that really put me thinking. Read it....it will make you appreciate the role of medicine and microbes in our lifes.

With our present concerns and apprehensions about the invisible yet ubiquitous microbes which are a natural part of our environment, Bernard Dixon, the British science writer has written a series of vignettes to protray the myriad diverse and fascinating activities of some of these microscopic bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoans. Too frequently, we associate microbes with pestilence and spoilage; microbes as germs have been branded as invaders and pathogens which use and abuse their hosts. While from the human perspective, this reputation may be well deserved, the essays portray both the useful and the worrisome features of these microorganisms. Divided into five sections, each holding fifteen delightful short stories to illustrate how microbes (1)shape our world, (2)spring surprises, (3)threaten us, (4) lead us to depend on them, and (5)shape our future; the contents combine historical background with contemporary technology. Starting with the primordial cell, where we all began - the essays cover the problems and circumstances that are associated with plague, smallpox, AIDS, rabies, yellow fever, lyme disease, typhoid, cholera along with many other appalling diseases. To balance this fearsome ensemble, useful microbes on which we depend or which we can manipulate to advantage are described; such as the nitrogen fixers, antibiotic producers, vitamin manufacturers, and the genetically engineered microrobots. Bernard Dixon has the knack of describing the microbes both in their historical context and in our current awareness of their impact. In two essays, he relates the story of Typhoid Mary and the consequences on those infected with the bacteria along with our past helplessness to control the disease, and in the second he relates the tale of the development of a recently cultured live oral vaccine that is more successful than the dead vaccines used earlier. In fact, Vivotif, the oral typhoid vaccine was prescribed for us before embarking on an Amazon trip recently. It is a painless, oral tablet that carries a modified strain of 'Salmomella typhii'. This living ingested microbe infects the intestinal wall for a few days before it self-destructs due to 'genetic crippling'. It was gratifying to learn that the 'live' medication confers long term immunity and shows better results that the earlier painful, injected dead bacterial vaccines. This is a delightful and practical book which will enrich the scientific background of students at the high school and college levels, as well as interested adults. Years back, the classic 'Microbe Hunters' by Paul de Kruif was the recommended outside reading for microbiology students and science afficiandos; I would strongly add "Power Unseen" to the list of exciting and relevant reading materials that present background history along with up-to-date descriptions about some of those 'microbes that rule the world'.

Wow jeez dam - this is a college student coming out of a PSY Religions class (undergraduate thank you very much!!). This is definately an empirical approach. Studies, references, surveys gALORE! This is really great when studying religion, which can be so ...wishy-washy I'll say. I agree with the other commentor -the references are quite valuable when studying in this area, and a lot of other studies as well. Spilka et. al. do a wonderful job of succinctly speaking on what seems to be nearly every highly desired topic in the subject, and more. WELL DONE SPILKA AND those-of-you-who-don't-get-your-name-in-the-reference-and-have-to-settle-with-ET-AL...YA ET ALS!!!!

This book is _the_ reference on the topic of the psychology of religion. The reference section itself is worth the price of the book! As a text, it would be more appropriate to a graduate level than an undergraduate level class, but then few schools offer a class on the subject at all. However, anyone interested in pursuing this topic would do well to have a copy of this book on their shelf, preferably within reach at all times.

First of all, I consider this book a "Must", in every theologian's, psychologist's, sociologist's, or researcher's in humanities book collection. It's got tons of information on various subjects, by dozens of researchers on the field, of the past and the present. It's referring to a lot of empirical research, with tables as accompanying features. It's good for the beginning and seasoned researcher, as well.

The only drawbacks, I've seen, are the minor mispellings and syntax errors, which sometimes (when you're trying to figure out what's the meaning of a theory, or to find the correct reference article at the back of the book) get annoying. But that's all in the "game"! Besides, we should all read the "original text", if we wish to understand something correctly! ;D

"The Psychology of Religion" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy" http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy

"The Psychology of Religion" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy" http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy

Everyone should own this book. Many people make assumptions about religion, such as its effect on people's moral behavior for instance, without actually taking the time to find out if their assumptions are true. (As it turns out, level of religiousity including atheism is not a good predictor of whether or not someone will engage in helping behavior, or cheat on an exam, for instance.) Instead of repeating prejudices and inventing wild armchair theories, this book describes actual experiments and other research studies concerning a wide variety of topics concerning religion, in an objective, unbiased fashion. One interesting finding is that religious fundamentalists as a group are the most prejudiced toward all minority groups, while atheists are the least so. Is it the fault of religion? Not that simple! The authors explain that since the scores of mainstream Christians on measures of prejudice turn out to be much more similar to the atheists, and since fundamentalists also score very high on measures of authoritarianism, it's authoritarianism that leads to prejudice. However, these particular subtopics are just a tiny sliver of what this book actually covers.

For those who have seen through the highly effective brainwashing that pet food companies have subjected us to, this book is a must-have. Cats, as obligate carnivores (meaning they MUST eat a raw meat based diet to be healthy), do very poorly on cooked grain-based foods. This book shows how to give them a proper diet based on raw meat and bone, which will result in lean, muscular, extremely healthy and beautiful animals who shed less, and leave a LOT less odor in the litter box. Cats fed this way are also more resistant to disease, and require fewer vet visits.

There are lots of other excellent books on how to feed a raw, species-appropriate diet to dogs and cats, but none of them are nearly as good on the CAT side. Michelle Bernard's book is best by far. She understands better than other authors how the dietary needs of cats and dogs differ. She also dispels the two most common fears people have about raw-feeding such as "Won't they get sick from the bacteria in raw meat?" and "Aren't bones dangerous?". I ask: What do you think they eat in the wild??? The truth is, the strong stomach acid of a cat will kill most excess bacteria, and what it misses passes through their short digestive tract so quickly that nothing has a chance to proliferate. As for bone, only COOKED bone splinters - raw bone does not. (And bone can be ground, for those who can't get over that worry.) In short, this is what they're MADE TO EAT! (Or at least as close as we can get, short of providing live prey.) Does it really make sense to feed COOKED GRAINS AND VEGETABLES to an animal that's designed to digest RAW MEAT AND BONE? Conventional pet foods couldn't BE more OPPOSITE to what cats need!

I could write a tome about how important this information is for cat owners, but I'll only say further that my own two kitties, who came to me as sickly 12-week old kittens, have been fed this way from the day I got them. They just had their 4th birthday, and aside from other raw-fed cats I have met, they are by far the most beautifully healthy cats I've ever seen!

If you're more than just a "casual" cat owner, please get this book! Feeding this diet does entail a bit more work than pouring a cup of kibble into a bowl, but the benefits make it worthwhile. Your kitties will LOVE you for it, and you'll feel very good about giving them REAL food!

Everything you want to know about how and why to switch your cat over to raw food. I emailed Michelle Bernard after I tried my first raw food experiment. She was very excited for me and my furry beast and really supportive as we went through the transition process. My cat is a very happy guy these days. His eyes are bright, alert and excited. He no longer has bad breath and his allergies have gone away.

Just let my kitten in from outdoors and once again admired his shining coat and excellent health...he is positively radiant! Why? Because he is being fed the diet that nature intended and it makes a huge difference. Even the Vet remarked about his health and coat...outstanding.

Not knowing how to go about making the right cat food for the new kitten, that just arrived in our yard at the age of four weeks old, I searched the internet for information. When I came upon Michelle Bernard's book I knew I had found the answers I was seeking. Her recipe is easy to follow and takes less than an hour every two weeks to make. She has directions in her book for everything you need and where to get it. She had done her research and the diet she recommends works very well.

When a cat is healthy, they have everything they need to stay that way and have a good long life. Read this book and be sure that you are doing your part to keep your cat in the best of health. Thank you Michelle!

What a great book. It is amazing how much correspondence reveals about people. This book was so interesting. It truly covers decades of Black artisitic history.

Emily Bernard's REMEMBER ME TO HARLEM has to main goals. One, Bernard attempts with success to show the cordial communication between two leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance inner circle, Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten. Two, Bernard hopes to reveal a friendship uncommon for the day and time it flourished, the friendship between a black man and a white man during a major period of segregation and inequality between the black and white Americans. Of course, all this is done through the letters of Hughes and Van Vechten.

Bernard does an excellent job at showing the relationship between these two icons of the Harlem Renaissance. Initially, their friendship starts off as sort of a patron, Vechten, helping to support a struggling artist, Hughes. As revealed in these compiled letters, this working relationship evolves into a friendship where Hughes often defends Vechten agianst distractors who view him as an exploiter and currupter of certain members of the Reaissance literatti (e.g. Hughes himself). Through Hughes, Vechten is shown morphing from an attitude of ignorance and paternal racist assumptions about the primitivism of blacks to one of "some" understanding but definite admiration for the black community. The two men were friends, but it must be stressed they were not best friends. Hughes best friend/almost brother was Arna Bontemps. I stress this difference because the tone of the letters differ when Hughes is writing to Vechten and Bontemps. Therefore, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND the purchasing of the letters between Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps edited by Charles H. Nichols were Hughes is much less reserved than he is in his letters to Van Vechten on certain matters intimate to two men dealing with trials, tribulations, and triumphs of being black during the early and mid 20th century.

A characteristic of the letters is the sign off. Vechten had a habit of grandiose and flowery sign offs in his letters to Hughes. He chastised Hughes for his cordial but distant ending of his letters with "Sincerely." In letters to Van Vechten only, Hughes eventually adopted the grandiose sign off in his letters but with a difference. Hughes was a socially consicious man and early civil rights activist and this is reflected in some of the ways he ended his letters to Vechten where the two men initially engaged in gossip about friends like Bessie Smith, DuBois, Ethel Waters, Countee Cullen, Richard Bruce Nugent, and so on and the goings on in their lives to the mundane aspects of business. Sadly, after Vechten writes to Hughes that he compiling Renaissance works for the beginning of the James Weldon Johnson Collection at Yale, the letters between the two men, Hughes especially conscious of posterity, become almost tedious.

The wealth of the Bernard's compilation of the letters is in the notes following each letter where she provides bits of information about a person mentioned in the letter or current
event of that day. This is were her book shines its brightest. The notes mentions one of Van Vechten's lovers, a white man. In mentioning Mangus Hirschfeld, Bernard fails to indicate Hirschfeld was gay and leading proponent of gay rights that was widely known in the 20's. Pay special attention to the footnote from the letter dated 12/20/40 concerning the Amsterdam News pick of eligible bachelors, one or two men besides Hughes is gay
and paper makes a coy remark about Hughes "thin cloud of mystery," a reference to the "open secret" of his being gay.

Also, Bernard and reviews of the book have noted that you will not find any overt references to Hughes being gay unless you are willing to read between the lines of the letters and "notes". Well, the evidence is there if you know what to look for. But, you must be acquainted with Arnold Rampersad's excellent and thoroughly meticulous and accurate two biographies of which Bernard is indebted and that of Faith Berry and even the letters between Hughes and Bontemps. Van Vechten sends Hughes a photograph of two very handsome black sailors with interesting text about one of them. Other black men featured in the book, not all, are more associated with Hughes and his "preference" for black men than Van Vechten who one professional reviewer incorrectly said were Vechten's lovers.

Ms. Bernard's book provides an interesting window on two figures important to literaturein the U.S.

Bernard gathers and edits the letters of Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten, written between 1925-64, presenting a notable work of Hughes' mentor and the friendship which evolved between the two men. From discussions of literature and the publishing world to politics and gossip, these letters hold important keys to the personalities and concerns of two great men of the Harlem Renaissance.