Browning Books

This book is very dry in content and very repetitive! How many times do we have to read about the hippies! It is very hard to keep one's attention and interest. Very boring.

Conrad Kottack visited the little town of Arembepe, Brazil three separate times: in the 1960s, in the 1970s and the 1980s. As a cultural anthropologist, he diligently documented all of the changed that occurred in that village on each occasion he had to visit. When the three visits are all added together, it's easy to see the way that increased industrialization has impacted even the most remote areas of the world. If you're at all interested in international development, anthropology, or other cultures, I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you, Mr. Kottak, for such an entertaining read! This book is intelligent and the writing is beautifully clear. There are very few social scientific accounts that have been able to trace social change through decades of direct participant observation. I found this account both insightful and engrossing. I'm sure you will appreciate this work.

Used as a textbook as part of a Social Anthropology course, this book presents a sad commentary on the imposition of a mechanized culture on a happy, but economically poor (according to OUR standards)culture. The author presents the material in a straightforward, factual manner that is easy to read and understand. If you're looking for blood and gore, this is not the "assault" for you. But if you're interested in a graphic example of what "we" have done to another culture, read this!

I really enjoyed Assault on Paradise, because of the author's honesty in telling the story of the ecological degradation and the social benefits of the changing of Arembepe. Kottak presents himself as a man, not some untouchable holier than though scholar.

Assault on Paradise explores the social and ecological changes of the fishing village of Arembepe, Bahia Brazil. Paying attention to the changes in Arembepe values toward attitudes of work, economic inequality, and division of labor, fishing, tourism, and manufacturing labor. It explains social networks, the nature of family life, friendships, and work groups. The main forces that brought about change were the introduction of new technologies, the motorization of the fishing industry, industrial pollution, the growth of Arembepe due to a paved highway, the ippi invasion and tourism.

As a hard core Bama fan, but not a hard core reader of fiction, I bought this book with some skepticism. Despite the more current history of Bama football (the problems with the NCAA, the Mike Dubose era (error), etc.), Alabama has one of the richest and proudest traditions in college football.

Al Browning's fictional account was either an attempt to honor the greats who wore the Crimson jerseys of yesteryear or a cheap, juvenile attempt to capitalize on Bama fans who will buy anything. I think it was the latter and I am embarassed that I fell for this stunt.

Trying to compare teams from the 1920s and 30s with teams from the 1960s, 70s, and 90s is realistically futile. Mr. Browning's attempt to do so is just embarassingly bad. There are so many other ways Mr. Browning could honor the Crimson tradition, even in fiction. As a Crimson Tide fan, I suffered through the entire book. But I would not recommend this kind of torture to anybody.

The one star rating is one star higher than it deserved.

ROLL TIDE!!!

This book is a lot of fun to read. Very believable outcomes of games based on stats. The off the field story is just plan fun..
Got the book for the wife (who is an Alabama fan). After I picked it up and read a couple of pages, couldn't put it down..
You've got to read this one!

Apparently the three greatest football coaches in Alabama history -- Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, and Bear Bryant -- have been arguing in heaven over which of their teams were the best. Tired of this, God authorizes a tournament to crown the greatest Crimson Tide team ever. Dead players and coaches (and fans) get to return to earth and living ones get their youthful bodies back, for a while at least.

The football action is enjoyable (and believable). There are some touching human interest aspects (sons meet long-dead fathers) and humor (Bear Bryant, as a 1934 player, gets to tackle his 1973 QB for a safety).

This is a must read for any serious Alabama fan, but any fan of college football should enjoy it.

Al Browining has written what has been spoken in Dixie for years--who would have been THE best team from Tuscaloosa? Although it's just his opinion, he does a good job of letting you learn about the players' and coaches' personalities and characteristics (and for some, time didn't change a thing in the social lives of some players from different eras--i.e. Johnny Mack Brown and Kenny "the Snake" Stabler). It's a great way to discuss 8 of the 12 national championship teams. To all who read, enjoy and Roll Tide!

Whether you are a fan of Rock and Roll or College Football, this book is for you. Not only do the greatest Crimson Tide teams and players in history come to the show, so do some of the greatest entertainers of our times. You haven't heard Bob Dylan sing our national anthem until you hear it in the pages of this book. Al Browning has captured every note.

Who wins the big event? It wouldn't be fair to those who have yet to experience this story to reveal the exciting ending.

I read this book in one sitting, cover to cover, and I'm sure I am not the only one to get hooked on the story.

I'm waiting for the next one from Al Browning!

A fantastic insite into one of my favourite directors,the coverage on 'freaks'is superb,a lot of photos & a complex read-recommended highly!

Tod Browning remains one of the most enigmatic directors in Hollywood history.

Born and raised near Louisville, Kentucky (as was his early cinematic mentor, D. W. Griffith), Browning had an unusual life. His uncle, Pete Browning, was one of the best professional baseball players of the nineteenth century, but ended his life in a sanitarium. Tod Browning spent a significant period of time working in a carnival. These experiences prepared him for one of his most unusual films, "Freaks," which effectively halted his career in Hollywood thirty years later. After leaving the carnival circuit, Browning drifted into acting and eventually appeared in a few silent movies for Griffith. Having survived a nearly fatal automobile crash, Browning turned his attention to directing films of his own.

During the silent film era, Browning became closely associated with Lon Chaney. Chaney's willingness to endure severe make up preparations of his own design allowed Browning to cast him in tales of alienation, criminality, perversity and suffering. In stark contrast to the sunny films that were typical of the period, Browning depicted a world in which betrayal was commonplace and brutality, insanity, sadism and cruelty were the norm. Lon Chaney's sudden death due to throat cancer brought about the recasting of "Dracula" and made Bela Lugosi an iconic star.

During the production of "Dracula" the film's budget was repeatedly cut by the cash strapped executives at Universal Pictures. The final reels of the film are little more than a filmed stage play unlike the introduction to the picture which opened the Bram Stoker novel up considerably from its successful theatrical adaptation. Browning needed a hit film badly and "Dracula" did not disappoint.

Within a few years, however, Browning's career began to spiral downward. His directorial techniques were seen as dated and excessively stagy. "Freaks" was deemed to be objectionable by many people and one marvels that the film was ever approved for production by the studio and permitted to be exhibited by the censors. After the release of "Devil Doll" with Lionel Barrymore, Browning was effectively finished as a director.

The authors are to be commended for revealing something of an influential if almost inscrutable Hollywood pioneer.

Will you find this much detail about Browning. That alone gets Skal's effort the highest rating. Fascinating material.

It started off good then i started to loose intrest. it felt like it needed a few more adjitives.

Director Tod Browning, best known for his films "Dracula" (1931) and "Freaks," was a surrealist for the masses. In his films he used characters with mental and physical abnormalities to illustrate the plight of humanity diminished by modernism. He was one of the first horror auteurs in America, and filtered elements of the fantastic from European film makers like Robert Weine and F.W. Murnau. As an artist, he was uneven, and as the subject of a biography, he is all but unknowable, but David J. Skal does the best he can. Some sections of the book (especially the ones covering Bela Lugosi and the making of "Dracula") retread earlier work by Skal. Browning is also not the best subject for a biographical treatment, since he left almost no letters or personal effects. Instead of resorting to guesswork or pop psychology, however, Skal (with his collaborator Elias Savada, a film historian) wisely focuses on the content of Browning's films. The best sections of the book deal with Browning's frequent silent movies collaborations with Lon Chaney, Sr., and the making of, and subsequent furor over, the film "Freaks." This is a top notch book that should appeal greatly to film buffs, lovers of silent cinema, Hollywood historians, cultural critics, and horror fans of all stripes. (And compleatists and trainspotters will be happy to know that the filmography is both detailed and exhaustive.)

This book is OUTSTANDING! I am so convinced by the program in this book that I tell everyone I know that has back problems about it. I bought one for my sister. I bought it because of past back problems and more recent because of my knees, which have all stopped hurting. This book should be called Personalize your fitness program.If you are committed to doing something about back pain or need a fitness program, you should buy this book. It is straightforward, honest and sensible information, everything you heard for years about getting out of pain and or getting FIT. Finally someone writes it where it all makes sense!

If a person with back problems reads and follows the advice in this book, their situation will improve. There is no magic fix for back pain, but the vast majority, regardless of the diagnoses, will be reduced or even eliminated by correcting the imbalances in the hips. This book tells how to do this. The imbalances were developed over many years, so it will take some time to overcome them. If you want a healthier back, this is the answer, provided you are willing to put in the time and effort.

I and my wife are physicians. She suffers from lower back problems. This book contains easy to follow picures and directions for the exercises. I was very pleased to see their balanced (and truthful) comments regarding durgs and alternative therapies. I agree with their advice toseek professional opinions as other diseases can mimick lower back problems.
A well written and illustrated book.

I bought the Wharton's Stretching book and liked it, finding it very useful as a martial artist. This book, however, merely rehashes everything in the Stretching book, but in an inferior manner. Although it has photos instead of drawings, the Wharton's Stretch book clearly shows acceptable ranges of motion for each stretch. In addition, the Back Book has a section on training with weights that bordered on ridiculous. The author's clearly know little about neither weight training as therapy nor weight training for strength and flexibility. This book was a real disappointment. Buy their first book, avoid this one.

This book offers practical exercises that almost anyone can do to strengthen the body and prevent and eliminate back pain. I highly recommend it!

"You can't refuse me!"- Lancelot Beckett, millionaire on a mission to settle a debt. ** Secret heiress Liza Chandler didn't want the money- or the rugged millionaire who'd suddenly come into her life. But Beckett had made a vow to get the job done.. and he wasn't the type to take no for an answer. Especially not when he discovered that beneath Liza's plain-Jane exterior hid a passionate woman just waiting to be protected. But would Liza trust Beckett enough to take his money... and let him into her heart?

It's a warm fuzzy romance, even if the cover and title are a little misleading. I thoroughly enjoyed Browning's character development...not just of Liza & Beckett, but her Uncle Fred and his "PawPaw". Liza's troubled past and slapstick moves make her even more attractive as a heroine. I'm looking forward to the Harlequin historical novel & future Desire in this series.

It's an okay book. If you have some time on your hands, you might give it a try. It really didn't interest me. Romance books are cool sometime, but other romance books are horrible. Why do all romance books have the chick being 'offish' or snotty and why do all romance books end the same way? The guy always gets the chick. I guess it wouldn't be considered a romance book if the guy didn't get the chick, but it's always the same formula.

They could've made it seem more like real life. I gave this book 3 strikes. Strike 1 was reading the word 'PawPaw' so many times. First off, I hate that word. Say grandpa. PawPaw sounds like something a 6 year old kid would say if they didn't know how to say grandpa. Argh! It drives me nuts. Strike 2 was the typical sex scenes. The guy never notices if the chick has beautiful eyes or whatever. In books they always notice the [breats] first. Strike 3 was the whole formula I explained towards the top about the chick being offish and the guy never gives up. I'm not a guy, but if I was a guy I would totally forget about the chick if she had an attitude problem. Only in romance books. Only in romance books.

If you're looking for a fast, sexy sit-com, this isn't it. What I love about Browning's books is her people. They draw you in until you really care what happens to them, even the villains. I love Betty Neels books for the same reason--I never finish a Browning without feeling that nice, warm glow of being with people I care about. Some are better than others. I'd rate this one a solid 4.

I read this book some years ago. I thought I had also already sent in a review. In short, I recall that Owens said that King was just like anyone else. Bit of a stretch. While filled with facts, the way that Owens perceives many of them left me with the thought that he must have had some private axe to grind with the LAPD management. I might have met Owens at some point in my own 30 years on the LAPD, but have no recollection of him. It does appear though that his own view and participation in questionable officer conduct leaves him with little credibility except into that acquiesence. It's an interesting story he wove, but in my experience not a pervasive one. But read it. If you're naive and not experienced inside the LAPD, it sounds reveiling.

This book doesn't pull any punches in reporting the facts surrounding the Rodney King case, the incident that led to it, and what happened afterward. As a former LAPD officer and a private investigator, the book's author, Tom Owens gives an objective look at one of the most contraversial cases in our nation's history, reporting the facts that he collected.

A Taste of reality, set in the days of Mississippi, and for the southern states. Man's Inhumanity to Man kind.

I was generally glued to this book, although the technicalities of the workings of the LAPD left me lost or vacant, at times. I had the rare occasion to work with the author for six weeks during an Army public relations tour in Nicaragua, and his insights into life in the LAPD and life, as a cop, in general, furthered to set the stage for the book. Tom Owens is a well-read, knowledgeable man in workings of life as a private dectective and cop. I wouldn't want him investigating me!

We had a problem with the shipping address the first time, and he did every thing he could on his end to fix the problem and then contacted me to let me know exactly what needed to be done instead of leaving me out to dry. He was great to do business with, and I would definitely do it again in the future.

It is a really good book. I know it helped me understand a lot of concepts. It has good examples and is easy to comprehend.

I was taught intermediate micro using this book. For that class, I found this book helpful and easy to follow. I still use it as a reference for simple concepts that I've forgotten.

This is a horrible textbook and I mean it. The only possible use I can think of is to use it as a high school textbook.

I bought this book having already tried one of the recipes (sausage stuffed apples) that I found on the internet. The recipe was yummy, and I love apples, so I bought the book. This book has a small dose of apple history, a small dose of descriptions of different apple varieties, and a dose of recipes. I was a little disappointed by the recipes, mostly because many of them were just thrown-together by the authors based on what they found at the farmer's market or in their kitchen. There's nothing wrong with this approach, of course. I cook that way all the time and it's very enjoyable. But at the same time, I don't really need a recipe book for that. I had bought the book hoping for traditional apple recipes (perhaps from many cultures). That's not what this book has. But "bottom line", I did enjoy the book. It all depends on what you expect...

We just finished Frank Browning's Apple and Country Ham Risotto. Improbable as it seems, the flavors blend beautifully. My husband declared it the best risotto he's ever had--and risotto is his favorite food.

This book is very much about apples for apples sake. Beautifully done. I was looking more for a "everything you can do with apples" rather than a history and genus of apples. Still worth having.

I bought this book because I had been enthralled by my, admittedly brief, introduction to some of Chestreton's work.

"Day by Day" provides many pearls of wit and wisdom yet there are many also that are so couched in his time and culture that they are lost to a different generation.

This book serves two purposes. It is intended to be a daily devotional (like Oswald Chambers "My Utmost For His Highest"), focusing on G. K. Chesterton's wit and wisdom. The quotes were selected by Chesterton himself, so they represent what he thought was important, as opposed to reading another person's second-guessings.

One good point is that it has moveable feasts in an appendix, like Lewis's "The Business of Heaven." A down point is that the book lacks an entry for Leap Day. This is a common mistake made by all devotionals I own, except for Chambers's. If you are smart enough to include the Roman Catholic feast days (which you would expect from Chesterton), then why can't you remember Leap Day? It is beyond me!

The second purpose of the book is an unintentional one. This book serves as a de-facto quote book. I love quote books, since they serve as random sampler for a person's thought. C. S. Lewis said, "The only use of selections is to deter those readers who will never appreciate the original, and thus save them from wasting their time on it, and to send all the others on the original as quickly as possible." (The Quotable Lewis, #447)

This book accomplishes both: it is a wonderful daily devotional, and it whets the appetite for more.

I bought this book for my grandmother and she loves it. It's hard for her to sit and read for a lond piriod of time. This book is nice because it has one little reading for every day. I would highly recomend this book.

The issue of the relationship between men and women is a vexed and complex issue. Plenty of volumes have been written on this contentious debate. Does Scripture teach a patriarchal model, or an egalitarian model, or indeed, some other model? Should men rule in the home and women submit, and if so, to what extent? Can men and women be fully equal yet have different roles and functions? These questions have been dealt with extensively over the years, with volumes on all sides of the debate appearing on a regular basis. Many deal just with the theological, biblical and hermeneutical issues. Other deal more with the social, historical and philosophical questions. This volume tries to do a bit of each. It features theologians, to be sure, but also has sociologists, family experts, and others entering the debate. Catholic and Protestant voices are both heard. And social issues, such as the honour-shame culture of the Greco-Roman world, early household codes, and contemporary concerns about father absence, are all featured in this spirited collection of essays. The first half of the volume features six proponents of the "equal-regard marriage" which rejects the concept of male headship. Five critics of this position are then given equal time, in which they reaffirm a male headship model as the biblical norm. An introductory essay by David Blankenhorn and a concluding essay by Don Browning round off this collection of important articles. New light is shed on a long standing debate, with various innovative perspectives brought to bear on the discussion. One suspects that many people will come to this volume with their minds already made up, but the volume?s new insights and approaches may result in some new thinking on the issue. The editors are to be congratulated for bringing together this collection of informed and cogent essays. The debate will not be resolved here, but it will be made more clear and further advanced by this helpful book.

This book allows scholars to take different positions on this topic and to explain the way that headship was assumed rather than proscribed in the Bible. Lisa Sowle Cahill explains the position of Pope John Paul in a very accessible way that helped me to better understand his philosophy of revering the function of motherhood. An excellent brief summary of the various views of this topic.

I was truly looking for a balanced book that would give me the best arguments of both sides (or even additional sides if there are any.)

However, the essays used for equality were not nearly the best available. The book's compilers did not include a single essay where the authors were both for equality AND were believers in Biblical inerrancy (and, yes, there are people who fit this description.)

Not to mention that the essays were really quite dry and uninteresting.