Carey Books

I received copies from both stores that I ordered from. They came through in good condition

Thanks

Jack Tolson

As most Elizabeth Yates books were written for a youthful audience, please note that this book has a more mature topic. It is the story of a young woman, very discouraged with life, who decides to ingest rat poison. This brings about a slow demise, but during that time she gains a new view on life, and realizes how precious it is. So, overall, this is actually an encouraging and touching book, though still with great sadness (I won't tell you how it ends). Given the topic of suicide, though, it is not the Yates book you want to hand to even your older children without forethought. I do believe it was fully intended for an adult audience.

"The Christian Argument for Gays and Lesbians in the Military: Essays by Mainline Church Leaders" is edited, and with a preface, by John J. Carey. Published in 1993, the book also features a brief foreword by D.S. Evans of Mellen University. This is a brief volume of just 44 plus xi pages. The six short essays contained in the book are as follows: "Some Perspectives on the Bible and Homosexuality," by Victor Paul Furnish (pages 1-8); "A Plea for Revision to Satisfy an Enlightened Reason," by Kenneth Cauthen (9-17); "Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Military: Is It Time to Change Policies and Practices?" by John J. Carey (19-23); "Three Ethical Issues in the Homosexuality Dilemma Facing Churches and the Military," by Karen L. Bloomquist (25-29); "On Homosexuals in the Military: A Question of Professionalization," by Herbert Richardson (31-35); and finally, "Hypocrisy, Bibliocracy, and Democracy: Implications for Gay and Lesbians in the Military" [sic], by William R. Jones (37-44).

In his preface, Carey notes that this book contains the texts of presentations made in Washington DC in June 1993, as part of a panel discussion of religious ethicists. He also notes that the panelists represented five different denominations, although "no one spoke as an official denominational representative." The book includes biographical notes on the contributors which clarify their denominational affiliations: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian, American Baptist, United Methodist, and Unitarian Universalist.

As the title indicates, the book has an activist agenda of opposing the ban on gay people serving openly in the military. In his piece, Furnish briefly explores what the Bible actually has to say about homosexual activity, and warns that much of what the biblical writers presupposed on the topic "has to be corrected." Cauthen sees the ban as analogous to "slavery, racial segregation, and the denial of the vote to women." Carey condemns the "myths and prejudices" that he sees as impacting this issue; he also looks to historical precedent, such as the 1948 order to desegregate the military, as being relevant to the debate. Bloomquist notes that the debate over the ban is part of a greater "culture war," and condemns the ban as a fundamentally immoral policy: "An ethos of lying and deception is perpetuated." Richardson calls for a "gender-neutral military" comparable to various civilian professions. Jones compares the military's position on gay people to that of his own religious body, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

The contributors do offer some interesting thoughts and compelling arguments, particularly on how the Judeo-Christian Bible is used and misused in public policy debates. Particularly intriguing is Jones' observation that he "was born and raised a fundamentalist," and his description of the "splice" method he once used to manipulate the scriptures. But overall I found the book disappointing, and at times troubling. While the concept of the book is a good one, I found the essays overall to be too short and underdeveloped, as well as lacking in enough strong insights. The contributors in general rely heavily on Randy Shilts' book "Conduct Unbecoming," a monumental history of lesbians and gay men in the U.S. military; the book is often cited, but the contributors add little to Shilts' work.

This book often felt like the work of a bunch of outsiders who have little insight into the realities of military life, and who are examining the military from an elitist perspective. At times some of the writers seem to have a disdain, and even a hostility, towards the military; they also seem to lack understanding and appreciation for the positive aspects of military culture and heritage. And in the end I believe that, as a whole, they fail to effectively tie their arguments to a coherent vision of the fundamental purpose and core values of the U.S. armed forces. The book ends on a particularly weak note with Jones; his rambling essay completely loses focus and goes off on tangents about cockroaches and crabgrass. Surely the gay servicemen and servicewomen on whose behalf the authors wish to advocate deserve better.

I do think that all the contributors came to this project with sincere and honorable intentions, and I give them credit for attempting to take the moral high road in this debate. But maybe they needed to have done more homework before making their statements. As I write this review, it has been over a decade since this book was published, and in that time the U.S. military has engaged in historic conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq. Perhaps it's time for a new panel of religious ethicists to revisit this topic. If that happens, I hope that the participants produce a book far superior to this one.

Corinne, or Italy, is a difficult book to weed through because the plot will seem outlandish and over-romanticized to many. The story of star-crossed lovers, Corinne and Oswald spend perhaps more time contemplating their relationship and brooding over the secrets that each one keeps from the other which will ultimately doom them than they do actually being in love. There's no surprises here; it is obvious from the beginning that none of this will end well. But if you are interested in reading about the historical Italy and learning more about Romanticism, this book will hold some interest.

I love the way the author portrays the characters. The story comes alive. I couldn't put it down till I finished.

I hate to say critical things about one of my favorite California historians, but you're better off with any of his other books. This, written as a kind of memoir, spends more time on historical events in the US than it does on Carey. Another problem is his recurrent pointing out of how he foresaw certain events and was not surprised by others--it reads as though he feels he hasn't been given enough credit (which he hasn't) and must bring his foresightedness to the reader's attention. Maybe he was old and lonely when he wrote this, but in any case it's not of his usual calibre. Clearly written, though.

One area that introductory cultural anthropology courses lack is the opportunity to conduct a field study. This is impractical for reasons that need no elaboration--there is no onvenient Yanomamo shabono, Guatemalan community (such as the "Ixil village" Benjamin Colby proposed at UC Irvine), or !Kung band nearby to train students in the complexities of ethnographic inquiry.

The next best thing is a simulated program, and here EthnoQuest is the first attempt that I know of to fill this need. I have used this program, this version and a previous one, in an introductory cultural anthropology course, for five years now. Though flawed, it is a useful teaching device.

The program is a portrayal of Amopan ("Nowhere"), a fictional Nahuatl village located east of Mexico City. The program consists of a series of still photographs simulating dialogue between ethnographer and informant, supplemented by "films" of the British ethnographer Bronislaw Edmund Radcliffe-Pritchard (a composite name of four British social anthropologists) who has conducted a study of Amopan back in 1965. The sidebar includes a "knapsack" containing Nahuatl-English glossaries, helpful hints, and other items; a "Wise Man" in Aztec noble dress serving as the guide; and an exit function in the form of footprints.

This second edition of EthnoQuest contains 10 units: preparation for the field study, entry into Amopan, taking a genealogical census, working in the fields, participating in an open-air market, making queries about the Day of the Dead, interviewing a midwife (the most valuable for reasons I detail below), observing a local electon, witnessing conflict between the village and nearby ranchers, and exchanging folk tales before departure.

There are improvements over the first edition. The most valuable is Unit 7, "Day in the Life of a Midwife." The unit includes a list of questions the authors identify as questionable (such as leading questions or those with cultural bias), informant responses to questions asked by a male versus female ethnographer, and probing techniques in follow-up questions. Other units have their strengths--how does the ethnographer maintain his/her objectivity in the election and in the farmer-rancher conflict? How about buying tomatoes from an outsider in a market where Amopantecos also sell tomatoes? Many, though not all, ticklish fieldwork situationa are covered.

Unfortunately, there is much about EthnoQuest that is cheesy. The graphics are half photograph, half cartoon. The persons portrayed look very mestizo and not at all indigenous Nahua. (The two boys Juan and Eduardo are brothers surnamed Ross in real life.) The names of some informants are corny (Juan Jefe, or "John the Chief," as town mayor? Juan Milpero, or "Juan the Farmer," as a typical campesino? Give me a break!). The manila "letters" sent by the funding agency and that contain the questions at the end of each unit are amatuerish drawings any ten-year-old could sketch.

Despite its shortcomings, EthnoQuest is a useful supplement for an introductory course. The student does get some exposure to questions that the ethnographer might actually ask, encounter ticklish situations that all fieldworkers inadvertently walk into, and make choices between appropriate and inappropriate interview questions (although some are all too obvious). The student gets diverse perspectives on topics from different informants, from mayor to priest to ordinary campesino. He or she is encouraged to observe things and events of the village. Finally, the ethnography is clearly based on a composite of actual field studies of Nahuatl-speaking peoples, and so is useful in that regard.

Therefore, I use the program because it gives students some experience in fieldwork, especially interviewing, in the absence of actual work in a band or village. I hope the authors--or another group of authors--come out with a more convincing program.

One area that introductory cultural anthropology courses lack is the opportunity to conduct a field study. This is impractical for reasons that need no elaboration--there is no onvenient Yanomamo shabono, Guatemalan community (such as the "Ixil village" Benjamin Colby proposed at UC Irvine), or !Kung band nearby to train students in the complexities of ethnographic inquiry.

The next best thing is a simulated program, and here EthnoQuest is the first attempt that I know of to fill this need. I am using the program for the second time in an introductory course, and though flawed, it is a useful teaching device.

The program is a portrayal of Amopan ("Nowhere"), a fictional Nahuatl village located east of Mexico City. The program consists of a series of still photographs simulating dialogue between ethnographer and informant, supplemented by "films" of the British ethnographer Bronislaw Edmund Radcliffe-Pritchard (a composite name of four British social anthropologists) who has conducted a study of Amopan back in 1965. The sidebar includes a "knapsack" containing Nahuatl-English glossaries, helpful hints, and other items; a "Wise Man" in Aztec noble dress serving as the guide; and an exit function in the form of footprints.

There are six units in all: preparation for the field study, entry into Amopan, taking a genealogical census, working in the fields, participating in an open-air market, and making queries about the Day of the Dead.

In many respects, it ia a cheesy program. The graphics are half photograph, half cartoon. The persons portrayed look very mestizo and not at all indigenous Nahua. The names of some informants are corny (Juan Jefe, or "John the Chief," as town mayor? Juan Milpero, or "Juan the Farmer," as a typical campesino? Give me a break!). The manila "letters" sent by the funding agency and that contain the questions at the end of each unit are amatuerish drawings any ten-year-old could sketch.

Notwithstanding, it is a useful supplement. The student does get some exposure to questions that the ethnographer might actually ask, encounter ticklish situations that all fieldworkers inadvertently walk into, and make choices between appropriate and inappropriate interview questions (although some are all too obvious). The student gets diverse perspectives on topics from different informants, from mayor to priest to ordinary campesino. He or she is encouraged to observes things and events of the village. Finally, the ethnography is clearly based on a composite of actual field studies of Nahuatl-speaking peoples, and so is useful in that regard.

Overall, it is disappointing that Frances Berdan and her colleagues have not made a better effort to portray a realistic situation: more convincing models who actually look like native Mexicans, real-life surnames (such as "Sra Hernandez" for the schoolteacher or "Zauhtli" and "Tochtli" for two of the women, which are actually used), and photographs instead of childish drawings for manila envelopes or family albums.

These notwithstanding, and in the absence of better programs, EthnoQuest is an adequate supplement for anthropology instructors who want to include a fieldwork component in their introdutory course. I only hope that the authors will improve their graphics in a future edition, and do something about those hokey names.

This is an anthology that deals with offering therapy to Latino family members. It's nice, but you can guess everything they discuss. Like all Latino studies books, they spend numerous pages bringing up Latino diversity. Like all books on providing therapy to a minority group, there's discussion about the dynamics between minority client and majority therapist. The standout chapter in this book is one about Latino masculinity, by Dr. Bacigalupe: excellent! This book makes little mention about gay Latinos or those in interracial couples. Like the editors, co-authors often have one Spanish last name and one English one; this makes me think that this was a joint Latino and Anglo project. Yes, therapists, across the races, of Latino clients may want to own this book. Still, you already know what half the book will say without even opening it.

not as good as some of the other books by Don Winslow yet still interesting and appeline great fun breezy read. i recomend checking out some of the other books such as While Drowning in the desert (Neal Carey Mystery)