Bertha Books

So let's see...a fake autobiography about a woman hobo concerned with women hobo issues...written by a man. Poorly written at that. Also...for a 'sister of the road' this character is almost never on the road and tells almost no road stories. So lame.

While it is true that the book is fiction, it was written by Ben Reitman, and if anyone knows about his life, this could be considered the autobiography that he never wrote.

So while the person Boxcar Bertha may have not existed in real life, what she went through and who she saw are real and based upon events that occured to Ben and many others.

The book when it first came out was fiction, and most then knew it. It somehow was forgotten along the way.

"Everything I had set out in life to do I had accomplished. I had wanted to
know how it felt to be a hobo, a radical, a prostitute, a thief, a reformer,
a social worker and a revolutionist. Now, I knew."

With an ending like the above, you've gotta bet that the prior 200 pages are
a fun read.

This book is more-or-less the contemporary of that classic 1930's anti-drug
movie "Refer Madness". We encounter dope fiends, perverts, dreamers,
anarchists, abortionists and many others.

I do, so much, love reading about degenerate behavior!

Somewhere in the folds is a statement that Capitalism is evil. "Sure
society has a right to defind itself. Society has the right to send me to
jail if they get the goods on me. But I've got to eat and sleep and my
child has to have his. I don't justify myself. I know I'm wrong. I know my
example is bad. But I'm so short on funds, I have to".

So, I'm reading along. 100 pages. 200 pages. Thinking to myself, hmmm
.... this woman sure had a lot of adventures in her life.

Then ... incredible, annoying, foulness! An afterward is appended to the
text by the publisher.

"In this, the 4th time that Boxcar Bertha has been reissued, we feel obliged
for the first time to make it plain that this is in fact a work of fiction.
This takes nothing away from the book as far as we are concerned."

BALONEY! What the...?!?! I could understand if they'd let the title
stand (after all, we know that the "Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman" is a
novel) but why did they have to leave the binding classification as
"Autobiography"???

I feel so violated. I wouldn't have invested the time if I'd know from the
start that it was fiction. This story is only good if it's true ...
there're a dozen places where I'd have thrown the book down because of
unbelievable-ness if I'd known it were fiction.

Take it with a grain of salt. It's an interesting look at hoboism, sex, drugs, pimping, anarchy and Depression era Americana. I remember reading this book at the laundromat in Alhambra. It was quite a page turner. It doesn't matter that it's fiction disguised as an autobiography. It's still a fun read.

Caution: This is a fictional novel, not an autobiography.

I can't say how dissapointing it is to have finished the entire book before being told that "Boxcar Bertha" was a fictional character. The publishers of this novel, by including it in their distinguished line of re-released autobiographies, have done their readers a great disservice.

Discovering that this is novel was written by a man destroyed any of the validity its social observations held. What in the novel is based in reality? Are any of its observations valid or is the entire work a portrayal of an invented world?

I focus my reading on non-fiction, and this novel would have been a great work were it an autobiography. As a work of fiction, the character is convincingly written, but now the plot seems hackneyed, contrived and offensive. Instead of an amazing story of an early feminist and radical, we have another story from a man telling us why women enjoy being prostitutes, punching bags and childish lesbians.

Readers interested in this era of American history would be better served by the autobiography of Jack Black, "You Can't Win." As far as I can determine, his book is a work of non-fiction. His observations on the hobo world are amazing - and true.

This is a good book for your 10 year old. There are exactly 22 recipes
in the book and no unfamiliar ingrediants. I think the spiciest
dish calls for a a tsp. of red pepper. The most exotic spice I saw
was cumin. It does have a few pretty pictures.
For an adventurous cook forget this book it is to African cooking
like taco bell is to Mexican cooking.

This entire series of Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks are wonderful for kids. I used them frequently when I was a nanny, and my boys loved them. The recipes are simple and not too intimidating for chefs-in-training! The bits of background information on the culture, history, and sample menus are wonderful as well. From someone with several years of childcare experience, and a woman who loves to cook (especially ethnic foods), this series of books are highly recommended to anyone who wants to introduce their kids to a variety of cultural foods.

I checked this out from the local library, and have prepared many of the recipes in this book that are just fantastic! The Egusi Soup with Fufu and the Curry were great hits at a dinner party I recently hosted. I find the recipes in this book to be authentic, delicious, and in fact rather simple to prepare. Many of these recipes require an hour or longer to prepare, but I found the extra time well worth it as the dishes are very scrumptious. Many of these recipes are a bit spicey, and that is one thing I LOVE about African cooking, but if you cannot tolerate a bit of spice, then this might not be the book for you. There are only a few ingredients called for in this book that might be difficult to find in the typical American market, but in most cases alternate ingredients are listed. This recipe book also includes a map of the area and a some pages describing the people, culture, holidays, and cuisine. I love this book and its recipes, however, I only give it 4 stars because of the price. This book has fewer than 80 pages, and not so many recipes so I thought that $20 and up is a bit steep. However, there are just a few recipes in there that I simply must have, even at this slightly higher-than-expected price.

Book is overpriced and the recipes is not enough. Would not purchase again for the price.

The case of Anna O., the founding case of psychoanalysis, is an endless source of fascination to each new generation of readers. As the work of Ellenberger and Hirschmuller showed, the "prototypal case of cathartic cure" was neither cathartic nor a cure. Both Freud and Breur in writing up the case as a success engaged in deception to an extent that would be regarded as scientific misconduct today.

Historical revision of the case has resulted in dozens of attempts to review the story in the light of modern thinking, many of them highly worthwhle exercises in diagnosis or historianship. In the process, we are learning something more of the neglected and highly interesting life of the real person behind the case, Bertha Pappenheim, who went on to be a pioneer social worker, children's writer, religious figure and intellectual.

Unfortunately, readers who are hoping for a dispassionate and intriguing voyage into the life of Ms Pappenheim are going to be disappointed by this book, which teeters between a romantically confused sophomoric thesis and a plaintive attempt at public writing therapy. Anyone who doubts this need only read the emetic acknowlegement, going on for many pages, before the actual text commences. After that, it is a steady path downhill.

The author appears to have no capacity for independent thought and constantly picks from such dubious sources as "feminist French lacanians" to justify her insistent lament that Anna O. was yet another victimised Victorian female who somehow managed to create psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, social work and goodness knows what else. About the only consistent conclusion that can be drawn from this nursery school thinking is that if feminist historians are going to produce work that is critical, deep and intellectually honest, this is not the way to go about it.

There are good books on Anna O. and Bertha Pappenheim, for example by Ellenberger and Hirschmuller, and more should follow. This self-indulgent work of second-rate scholarship and third-rate history is not one of them.

This well-researched and engaging biography broadens the awarenesses of psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, historians of Europe in the past century and of Jewish history, and feminists. Knowing Anna O.'s enormously influential life trajectory sends a message of which we need continual reminders: someone can suffer from severe mental illness in one phase of his/her life and emerge from the experience strong and heroic, making powerfully contructive contributions.
And read Gail Hornstein's "To Redeem One Person Is to Redeem the World:The Life of Frieda Fromm-Reichmann" - they complement each other beautifully.

These stories about the Spafford family and the American Colony are packed with testaments of the great faith of this family and their friends who sacrificed so much to serve others despite their own conditions. This is an interesting, personal account of life in the holy city from Bertha's perspective. She also delves into her family's history and events that occurred before her own birth (the famous story of her four sister's ill-fated voyage, the Chicago fire, etc). I'm just fascinated by the stories and the history. There is an innocence in Bertha's stories. My copy is an old hard bound version, not the new paperback. I can see, however, why there was a desire to get these stories reprinted and available for distribution. A worthwhile read that will take you back in time!

the publisher of the paperback addition of this great book has done a real poor job. this book has pages of different size print,pages missing, pages duplicated and the title on the cover is misspelled. my suggestion is go to the library and check out this book.

The book sticks to its dates with the focus on the Secessionist architects of the turn of the century. It provides thumbnail photographs and short descriptions of 100 buildings, along with their locations in Vienna. It is a bit overpriced for what is essentially a guidebook. There are no plans or detail drawings to add to your understanding of these buildings and the Werkbundsiedlung is briefly described at the end of the book with a handful of photos but no map of the layout of the housing project built in the early 1930's. It is fine if you are heading to Vienna and want to look these buildings up, but if you are interested in a more in-depth survey of the Vienna Secession or the later Modern buildings then I would suggest to look elsewhere.

The story is set in France just about the time when Henry of Navarre decides Paris is worth a mass. Country boy Felix Broux has traveled to the big city and is immediately thrown into danger and adventure. He's trying to help the young nobleman Etienne and his lady love, Lorance. They're being kept apart by the scheming Duke de Mayenne and his henchman, Lucas, who wants Lorance for himself. The book is chocked full of swordfights, narrow escapes, and just a dash of crossdressing. Overall a pretty good read.

This book is very boring, and one of the most boring classes I have ever taken. As usual, Amazon ships fast and the book was in good condition. I recommend if you need the class, otherwise.........

this book is mainly for the young. but does give some learning on the hopi

This book is only worth buying for the pictures. It is not really interesting unless you are familiar with that area of North Carolina or you like to see pictures of disaster areas or hurricane shots. The photos are interesting, especially if you are familiar with the Wilmington area and the island of Topsail, North Carolina.