Brandon Books

about the heritage of our American Indians"- JFK. Thus begins this book that has an introduction by Pesident John F. Kennedy. In this book you will learn about the such diverse native cultures as the Inca, Toltecs, Aztecs, Cherokee, Seminole and Eskimoe, just to name name a few of the indigenous peoples explored. The illustrations, historical photographs and art work is spledid and quite lavish. Very informative, short histories on most of the major native cultures of the Americus. If you're into native culture this is a good book to add to your libray.

The photos of whales in their natural habitat are stupendous. As a reference book for children 8 and up you can hardly beat the Salvajes series of books. I highly recommend this book for use as a reader or for use in individual or group projects. A child (and teacher) will truly know and remember whales after reading and looking through this book. This book would also be great for reading to smaller children due to the outstanding photos of whales.

What is pederasty? A great number of readers will have no immediate answer, or at best an ambivalent one, to this question. And while this is unfortunate, it is not at all surprising in a society where good taste promulgates mass confusion in matters of sex, particularly abnormal sex.

To return to the initial question, pederasty is, in its strictest sense, simply anal intercourse between two men. However, lay usage has expanded its meaning to include any sex acts performed by members of the same sex. The interpretation of pederasty in the present book follows the first definition, with the additional emphasis being placed on the historical meaning of the term: that of love between a man and a young boy. Thus Pederasty in Europe is an in depth study of the resurgence of Greek love in the European countries.

Chapter and subchapter titles include such topics as pederasty in boarding schools, Oriental religions and pederasty, celebrated affairs and criminal trials, pederasty among Roman emperors, antiquity of pederasty in India, China, Japan, Persia, and Greece, pederasty in Russia, France, England and Italy, sexual physiology in jurisprudence.

The work was originally published in the 19th century, so it has a unique collection of material and insights.

There is an unfortunate idea current, that sex was invented in the 20th century and before that Victorian ideas held sway all the way back to the dawn of time. This book is a refreshing antidote to that idea, with its merry quotations from over 2,000 years of erotic writings. It also has some examples of bowdlerized and direct translations, which are interesting not only in themselves but as a way of recognizing stealthy censorship.All in all, this is a marvelous resource.

This story has a wonderfully consistent tone and the voice of Maria ("Mary") is pitch perfect. You never doubt you're right there with her as her saga unfolds.

From the Philippines to Hong Kong and back again, this true account sketches intimate personal details and paints them with cultural tidbits. Chapter 1 (Simpler Times) sets the stage, showing the close bonds between members of a large Filipino family, particularly the maternal relationships between Mary, her eldest sister, and their mother. The story is set in motion when the elder sister becomes pregnant, ensuring that Mary will have to go to Hong Kong to work as a dancer and make money for the family. Chapter 9 (Mudslide) and Chapter 10 (Barking Dogs) are the "pressure cooker" chapters. Mary has mounting problems, desperately needs money, and is being bullied by the Chinese mamasans. She is in over her head. Mary becomes smarter as the novel unfolds but her ability to live life on her own terms is a cloud that she can't hold onto.

I especially enjoy books that affect me on an emotional level and also give me a chance to ponder social issues. Bars of Steel forced me to question who was responsible for the situation Mary finds herself in when working in the bar. By the end of the story I came to realize that everyone has a share of the blame, for each participant in this story has contributed to it both positively and negatively. Mary and her family are benefactors of the money she earns. Can we really call Mary or her fellow bar girls victims? Bar mates Sheena and Baby are by her side throughout, but they and the other bar girls are also a source of the problem--they exert peer pressure to go out on bar-fines and make even more money to send home to their families. The organizers of the promotion in the Philippines, who send the girls to Hong Kong, could not operate if the girls' parents did not allow them to partake. The Chinese mamasans are obvious antagonists, but they are only facilitators; they did not create the bar system nor could they continue it by themselves even if they wanted to. The foreign businessmen who frequent the bars are obvious participants, but their patronage hardly qualifies them as perpetrators.

Some years back, I saw the movie El Callejon de los Milagros ("Miracle Alley"). It tells the story of a woman named Alma who "works" the streets of downtown Mexico City. The movie celebrated the different perspectives of each of several main characters. I loved this film (debuting Salma Hayek), but the idea of telling a story form multiple perspectives has been cinematically overdone. In this regard, Bars of Steel is refreshing in its approach. Telling the story from a single viewpoint makes the transformation from naïve girl to guarded heroine psychologically revealing. I think this book should be considered a top read for anyone wanting to understand the plight of an Asian woman caught in the grips of "grey" prostitution.

This book is memoir at its best. The story stays with you. You'll find yourself thinking back upon the story with a shared sense of wonder and optimism about Mary's conflicted days spent as a bar girl.

this book is great.
I like to sk8 and this book is kind of good for that. But I never read it because Im going to do that right now. Now Im giving it 5 stars. WOAH

A most absorbing and well written memoir by a now retired American diplomat who experienced an outstanding thirty five year career in the U.S. Foreign Sevice: Both East and West Germany: Somalia:and Zaire to mention a few. But written with much compassion, humor, humanitarian, and historical insights. To say nothing about his including his experiences with several notable personalities such as Chester Bowles, Robert and Ethel Kennedy::Ronald Reagan: and The Carters etc. etc.

Mary Rose Callaghan has a gift for telling stories.

For instance, I loved "Prodigal Daughter." Sent it to my cousin and he called me to say it was the funniest book he'd read in a long time...though I would have called that one (P.D), "Translating Dante in the Bathtub."

This one, about the sister of a schizophrenic who is trying to get him the services he needs is realistic and moving. You have to be a fighter to get anywhere.

I even like the villains -- e.g., the Momma of these adult children.

Callaghan portrays central characters who are extremely good at keeping on keeping on. Maybe that's one of the attractions for me re her work: perseverance is not my strong suit.

This story resonates with Anne Tyler themes: quirky people just trying to make their lives comfortable enough to live in. In this case, it's a thirty-something woman (I'm guessing) who has her hands full with working and trying to paint, and having the care of a schizophrenic brother who keeps getting booted out of his supervised residence.

If you're not familiar with the trials of family life with someone troubled with the psychotic breaks that typify schizophrenia, this will educate you in the ways that families *have* to be aggressive in getting decent treatment for their mentally disordered members.

The situation in Ireland (the setting of this story) doesn't seem too much different than that in the US, though I think we do have more services and more latitude in working the system.

This story could use at least one sequel, as it ends redemptively for some, but not everyone. A sequel would allow the protagonist to come to terms with her very narcissistic momma -- a doctor who has retired and shoved off the care of Billy onto her daughter.

I am going to recommend this to NAMI, which is the national group of advocates and their families or clients. I think many members would enjoy it.

There has been a lot of rubbish written over the last 22 years about the events of Bloody Sunday. This book tells the story of the victims, from the point of view of their loved ones, and in doing so, demolishes the lies that have been circulating about the Civil Rights March. This is a deeply angry and sorrowful book about an event for which we have never recieved any explanations or apologies from the British Government. Essential reading about the Northern Irish Troubles.

The story begins in the grimy streets of Moscow, where human trafficking still exist today and women are being sold. One woman, Aksana, wants a way out. She sees an opportunity and goes for it, but not without consenquence. From chapter 1, the action begins and never stops to the surprising end. Reads like a movie. A must pick up for those that like thrillers.