Farley Books

This is an outstanding book with useful information and clear explanations. It doesn't just cover the VoiceXML spec but also shows you how to use it in IVR-replacement systems and other real applications. If you really need to build stuff with voicexml then you need this book. You can tell in reading the book that these authors have *actually done* voice application development and aren't just guessing at how it ought to work. I'm looking forward to the online voicexml 2.0 appendix, too.

This book isn't a good book to use if you're looking to develop VoiceXML applications. This book delves too far into proper software engineering and doesn't give enough information about the VoiceXML standard (doesn't touch vxml 2.0). I wish I would have purchased the wrox version that covers voiceXML.

As someone, who have attended dozens of children's book workshops, I would like to comment on some of the reviews posted here that condemn this book due to the illustrations. Once a story is sold to a pubisher, the author has absolutely NO say in their choice of illustrator. Therefore blaming the author for "bad" illustrations is a gross inaccuracy. The author's primary responsibility in writing a children's book is to make sure the text engages both young and mature audience. I thought the story was well-written with much sensitivity while celebrating the invention of the Korean alphabet. In regards to the illustrations, I think we should give iillustrator, Mr. Jew some credit. To tackle a story of this magnitude where there are no research pictures of 15th century life in Korea,is no small feat. I would have to imagine he used illustrations from other early masters for his research. I don't think the illustrations deserve such harsh critism-as I'm sure other published illustrators would probably not want to embark on a story that involves so much research. Long hours are also spent painting realistically which is a harder feat where you have to make the characters consistent from page to page. Overall, I think the book is worth the read because it is a fascinating look on the importance of literacy and the power of reading.

This wonderful story is set in 15th century Korea where literacy is not common knowledge among the many people in Korea. The story is about a king who comes across a young peasant boy making markings in the said. The young boy told the King (not knowing who he really was due to disguise) that he would like nothing more that to be able to read and write. The King was on a mission to create a language using sounds as the base, he created twenty-eight symbols. The elders in the community were scared that the gods would be angry with them if they do not use the complex Chinese language they have been, but the King new that his country needed their own language. After trials with the language he brought the proposal to the young boy who was ecstatic with he understood the new symbols.
The pictures in the story were my favorite part. They allowed 15th century Korea to come alive in the pages. Also in the back of the book the modern day Korean language was displayed. Allowing students to see what other forms of literacy look like.
I believe that the author had a wonderful point. The author wanted to emphasize that literacy is extremely important around the world, no matter what culture you were in.

Readers beware and do not buy the book. This book meets Eliot Singer's definition of multicultural fakelore. Yes, King Sejong is credited for inventing Korean Alphabet but this book is a fictional creation by the author and the traditional community is totally unaware of it. Korean Americans I know who have read and seen the book is equally horrified that this book is being sold as a Korean Legend when they have never heard of such story. Other reviewers talk only of how the story can inspire others and how wonderful the illustrations are ignoring the fact that it is titled as a traditional legend of Korea when it is not. The title should be changed. My excitement of finding a book about Korean Alphabet quickly turned into a huge dissapointment. Please vote with your wallet--do not waste your money.

Most people are not aware that unless an author illustrates her own story she has absolutely no control over the choice of illustrator or the work they do. It is no fairer to blame the author for bad illustrations than to blame your cab driver for the rain that spoils your vacation. That said, the illustrations are lovely and they give a wonderful atmosphere to the story, even if they are not perfect representations of Korean dress during that period. This is a perfect introduction for small children to an amazing story. Who is to say that Carol Farley's King Sejong will fail to inspire a child to persevere in what they want to accomplish because of "inaccurate" pictures? There are too few books like this available to children - ones that expand their ideas of other cultures, histories, and possibilities. I cannot believe that it is right to refuse children the story of what one person can do to better the lives of the people around him or her simply because the illustrations don't suit you.

"Long ago" this historical tale begins, "when tigers smoked long pipes and rabbits talked to dragons..." Well, you've got my attention.

Interesting. This is a fictionalized, mythologized history of an important event in Korean culture, the creation of a phonetic alphabet. This book, we are told in the adult-aimed afterward, is part fiction, part history, based on King Sejong, born in 1397, who ruled the Korean peninsula from 1418 to 1340. Carol Farley gives props to Frances Carpenter, an author who, in 1947, published the English version of the myth that Ms. Farley's book is based on. The creation of a phonetic alphabet is no small feat, it was actually quite a democratizing event. Prior to the Hangeul alphabet, only a small percentage of Koreans had the education to read and write, since it required a basic knowledge of 30,000 Chinese characters. Like most progressive movements, it had its opponents, Confucians who felt that literacy should be the privilege of only the elite, and some shamans of local folk religions taught that new ideas were displeasing to the gods. Imagine! Politically motivated religious leaders exploiting the superstitious beliefs of the uneducated to help them oppose advances that would benefit millions of people! Good thing those days are long over. (By the way, the Buddhists were mostly cool with it; they recognized the value of having religious writings that most people could read)

And guess what? It is illustrated by Robert Jew. This is amazing to me, as my wife's family is descended from the actual creator of Korea's Hangeul alphabet (a palace elder named Chong In-Ji), and I'm a Jew with a cousin named Robert. And he's Jewish too. The first letters of the opening five sentences are "L T T T K" which clearly stands for "Libman, Teach This To Kids." Also, the book is 18 pages, which is my family's lucky number. And, long, long ago, I once smoked a long pipe and spoke with dragons.

Seriously, I think this is an okay book, it's at least a way to teach the story to kids. Carol's story adds some young children in pivotal roles, to help kids feel engaged in the story. I sympathize with the complaints, that neither the author nor the illustrator are Korean, the story is told in an exoticized manner, and the illustrations lack authenticity. I guess they are drawn in that kind of pan-Asian style that is offensive if you know enough to pick up on it, but truthfully, not being Korean myself, I wasn't that aware of any specific inaccuracies in the drawing, such as dress and architecture as mentioned in other reviews, although I did have that tingly spidey-sense that the people in the pictures didn't actually look Korean. I imagined from the names of the authors that it was probably written from an outsider's perspective, I took it at face value as just a way to tell this historical story to children. I do agree that this betrays a condescending sort of dismissive, disinterested subtle racism, the kind we all absorb osmotically just living in our culture and not being critical and curious enough. There are lessons in that, and there are lessons, both obvious and subtle, in the historical tale being told, and at least the book does tell that story in a way that would interest kids. And it has a handy chart of the Korean alphabet on the back for beginners, so I don't know, mixed review.

I thought this book stunk. He must of been really desperate to publish a book. It was like reading a porly written history book. I couldn't understand anything he said. I didn't know who was who and where everything is. He repeated himself alot and jumped around. It really bit, even though I gave it a star it deserves no stars.

About: They were rich, the caribou were abundant. Their dogs were many and strong. The children in the tents were happy and there was never any fear of going hungry. Then came the ruthless white man's civilzation. And with it came slaugther of the herds, starvation of the flesh, and torture of the spirit. Courageous, proud in their age old way of life and now fighting to save themselves from extinction.

I think the arthur was really desperate when he set out to write a book about the people that is not his race and at the time of his travel, the people he wrote about were normads and now today, they are reading his book. It is interesting.

This book is the continuation of the story of the Caribou-Eskimo (Ihalmiut), of whom Mowat first wrote about in his first book, People of the Dear. The latter was an account of his experiences among these people while doing research for the government in 1947 and 1948. The Desperate People relates the plight of the Ihalmiut over the course of the next ten years. During this time, the Ihalmiut suffer considerably, the victims of exploitation, prejudice, governmental bungling, ignorance, and willful mistreatment. It is a chronicle of the decline of a once independent, self-sufficient people into a wretched, servile and dependent lot. The book left me feeling angered and ashamed. It is a book that should be read by all Canadians.

"The Desperate People" is a very different book from its sister volume, "People of the Deer." Although it tells a continuing story, it was written many years later and, unlike the previous volume, Farley Mowat himself does not play a direct role in the narrative. Although one feels that he is never more than a heartbeat away from the action, he does not intrude upon it. It is the People's story; he is just the teller. As for the story he tells, it is not a pretty one.

In the book, he evokes a scene in a coastal town of the Arctic, in which a supply ship is making a stopover. Excitement runs through the townspeople as the ship's crew and passengers are brought to shore. It is a very bright moment in an otherwise dull, monotonous routine. One of the passengers detaches himself from the crowds leaving the vessel and makes his way through the town to an encampment on its edge. Tents are struck there and as he approaches, it happens that one of the occupants is outside and sees him approaching. It is an Eskimo dressed in rags and wearing an unmistakable air of dejection. Suddenly the visitor recognizes the man and hails him, but is not answered.

The visitor is Mowat and the Eskimo is Ohoto, a member of the Ihalmiut, one of the People. The two have not set eyes on each other for more than ten years. From that last meeting, looking backwards, Farley Mowat reconstructs the life of this little-known inland tribe as they prepare, unknowingly, to meet their doom. The story has grandeur as well as the appalling odour of decay. It has the sensitivity to show us that the fragility of the Ihalmiut may well turn out to be our own. It is also a finely written work, which had me yearning for some of the places described within and it may affect you that way too. At any rate, this second and perhaps final book about the People is so plainly filled with human understanding that one has to be very indifferent indeed, to take nothing from it.

I have used this text to teach an undergraduate sociology course, specifically because it was the only text I found that approached minority-majority relations from a sociological perspective, and not from a "humanities" perspective, (not that there is anything wrong with Humanities, but I was teaching sociology, not humanities, and not race history).

Because the text is sociology, and not a compendium of racial conflicts in America, students and other readers should expect to learn new material, to acquire new concepts. This type of reading does require more time and effort than a special interest column in a newspaper. If you are looking for "edutainment," then this book is probably not for you unless you consider socioeconomics or social psychology to be entertainment. There are plenty of wonderful documentaries, history books of racial conflicts in America, and even history-based movies to fill your void if you are seeking a casual read. I would even direct you to the web site of Southern Law Poverty Center, where you can read powerful (and quick) information about current events and hate crimes.

It is not an easy weekend read. But it is a set of powerful concepts to help readers understand what underlies the complex web of minority-majority relations. The book does have many asides/side-bars of important minority-majority events, (particularly in the U.S.), but it is important to keep in mind that conveying history is not the primary intent of this text, but is rather to distill sociological knowledge from history and the disciplines of sociology, economics, political science, and social psychology. If you approach the textbook from that perspective, you will NOT be disappointed.

STUDENTS. This is not a textbook for a 100s-level introductory course or "survey" course. It is not going to have vocabulary lists or quiz questions at the ends of the chapters. You will find that fewer and fewer of the books for your upper-level courses will have such aids. The length of each chapter has been determined by the amount of pages Professor Farley needs in order to convey the concepts to you. Your professor might try to assign sections of chapters at a time in order to balance your load. But the book, unapologetically I believe, does not attempt to level chapters or to provide rich study aids. My recommendation would be to read each chapter once, attend class, and then re-read the chapter to really master the concepts. This takes longer. But these are powerful concepts, and they are not easy to acquire the first time through.

I am not just an evening Sociology prof. I am someone who has been working in business for over 12 years, in managed care and pharmaceutical research and development, including project management, computer science, and global strategic marketing. I have an MBA. And I am also an evening law student. I can distinguish useless abstract babbling from useful knowledge. The concepts in this book are powerful and useful, and I have seen the principles in this text applied to public policy, to designing educational approaches, and to international business.

If you want to learn and to apply, then this book is for you. If you are looking for "edutainment" -- and there is nothing wrong with that -- then you might want to look for PBS, Discovery Channel, Discovery Civilization, History Channel, or National Geographic programming.

I was a student taking a class that utilized this book. Though the overall content is very important, I found this text to be dull. My feelings about the text are listed below.

1. While reading this book I get the strong feeling that much of this is written as a point of opinion or thesis that are trying to be supported by loose facts. (one other reviewer called it theoretical so I am not alone) It feels more like a thesis for a PhD than an instructional/educational text. Opinion is freely used and the grammar gets repetitive.... I like how the phrase "....or whatever...." is used in this book.

2. The Text layout is difficult to handle. Let me explain this.
a) The text is hard to read as it is full page text rather than being broken up in columns. (I am dyslexic and makes this layout harder for me to read and comprehend)
b) Chapter summaries are weak; The main points aren't broken out well enough to discern the main points of the chapter. No Vocabulary review at the end of the chapter for easy study review.
c) So many notated ABL sources in this book, they detract from the underlying message. Footnotes would be better for the readers ease.
d) Purely cosmetic....What does this book have against using some color?
e) More graphs and charts would be helpful. Tables there are plenty of these but Graphs and charts would have been more helpful. Chapter 9 about killed me trying to keep all the census statistics straight in my head then trying to apply that to conceptual thinking was a chore.
f) Chapter lengths are incosistant. For students this can get to be a problem when you are counting on a certain amount of work to be dedicated to reading.

3. Many examples are used over and over in this text. This gets to be repetative and a lose in point the author wishes to make.

4. The overall grammer needs work. The length of the book can be dramatically decreased if the author can shorten sentances to say more with less verbage. Many times I have found better ways of stating the same thing with less words. Refer to: The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition (Paperback)by William Strunk Jr., E. B. White, Roger Angell

5. This is already a difficult topic for most people to gain interest in and this text is not a help aid to exciting people about the topic. If this author cares about people learning and understanding his message then this text needs to be recreated to a format that more people will accept and be inclined to read. Even AUGUSTE COMPTE (father of sociology) had his four volume works edited down to two by Harriet Martineau and he liked the edit so much he had it translated back into his native language.
I took another sociology class and to give people a comparison of what I mean about nice layouts and ease of learning.... Sociology: A Brief Introduction (6th Edition) (Paperback)
by Alex B. Thio, I found this book easy to read, to the point, great practical use, and real life application of knowledge containing good study helps.

I recieved this book 1 month after I ordered it. My test I was supposed to take had already passed before I could read the book. All of my other books were shipped to me in less than 2 weeks. Although, the book was in great shaped when I recieved it.

This is the most thorough and theoretical of all the texts out there. Students that don't like to read won't like it because it is challenging material and not "dumbed down" like so many texts are (for example Shaeffer's "Racial and Ethnic Groups"). But the professor will find it quite interesting to read and so will the students who actually read it. It contains a good mix of theory, research, and examples. It is not a boring text and even contains some excellent and extensive segments from Richard Wright's "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow."

One of its strengths is the organization: instead of the usual three or four chapters on prejudice and discrimination and then endless chapters one ethnic group after another, all the chapters are about an important aspect of race relations with plenty of examples from selected groups. The emphasis is on Blacks, Mexican Americans and American Indians and their relations with the dominant group. I recommend this book to anyone who is serious about learning how race relations develope and change over time. It's explanation and usage of the conflict and functionalist perspectives is the best I have seen in any text.

I was forced to buy this book as part of a Minorities in Society course. This book is terrible. The author obviously has an agenda and it bleeds over throughout the text. Although purported to be about various minority groups, it focuses on black males for the most part. Even the chapter on Gender (feminist issues), Sexual Preference, and Disability has a huge section on black males. The author continually blames the government and white males for every problem facing minorities. If you're a white male and want to understand why every social problem is your fault, this is the book for you. Otherwise, find something else.

Yeah, I read this a long time ago too, and repressed the horror, the horror of this story. It's a thin gruel of hippie apostasy and neomaxiezoondweebie commie claptrap. Two thin, fit young men rolling around in the lichen and killing stuff--it's unseemly.

This is a great little book! I read it the first time more than 30 years ago and still think of it often. Every youngster should read this book!

In 1990, Farley Mowat wrote a book about the Vikings in Greenland and North America. After that book, he began to doubt the conclusion that the Vikings were the first Europeans to visit these areas. This book is his reconstruction of history, based on the conclusion that these first "Farfarers" were the pre-Indo-European people remembered as the Armoricans, the Picts, and the builders of the Hebridean broch. This work is an interesting combination of an essay, and a fictional account of Farfarers throughout history.

When I began this book, I enjoyed it immensely. His stories of Romans and Picts really caught my imagination. However, later I began to find his argument less and less plausible. His rewriting of the Icelandic Sagas seemed quite strange to me. And worse, his contention that the existence of the North American continent was widely known in Europe in the 11th century struck me as frightfully implausible.

Therefore, let me say that while this is an entertaining book, I found it far from convincing.

I thought that this book was fabulous. Everything from characterization to the style of writing that Farley Mowat used. I recommend this book to anyone who is adventourous and likes SURPRISES because I can honestly say that there are surprised in this book to be unvealed.

In an experiment with sending matter by means of radio, Myles Cabot accidently sends himself to Venus. Here he discovers a planet divided between the Formians, giant ant men, and the Cupians, human-like creatures with wings and antennae who have been enslaved by the Formians for over 500 years. Cabot falls in love with a pretty Cupians who turns out to be a princess. Using his knowledge of radio, he constructs a device to help him communicate with the natives, who use their antennae like radio transmitter/receivers. Cabot escapes from the Formians and joins the Cupians. He develops rifles (unknown on the planet) and eventually helps the Cupians rise against the Formians. He communicates his adventures to earth by launching several large projectiles to earth with copies of an account of his adventures, a kind of interplanetary "message in a bottle." Out of print, so use your local inter-library loan.

in my coutry, the rural work is many important for the national economy, but in the book, my big coutry (and big rural space) isn't mencioned, more than 60% of the Brazilians is rural economy dependent, the urbanization crossing the 50%, the cities of the my coutry be stagned, the work market, the workers dont has especialized trainament, they are indegents in the more 300 importants cities witch many 200.000 hab.the cities is no support the intern rural imigrants, the globalization dont welcome that, you can up the investiments in medium cities, the contrasts is many big, the MST (movimento sem terra)(workers of no land), deteriorat the rural sistem, the Brazil is many different of Argentina, one zoom in the latinamerica economy you are look other world. i dont speak inglish right but i'try i'm sorry. (i buy the newsweek to study inglish but dont results)

One of his lesser known books, Sibir chronicles the author's experiences during two trips to the Soviet Union during the late 1960s. A lover of the North, Mowat had written passionately and extensively about it from the Canadian perspective, and had now been given the opportunity to see how the peoples of the North faired under Communist rule. Naturally, he found things to be somewhat different, most notably in the manner in which these peoples were (evidently) treated. In general, he observed that the native peoples of Siberia--under the rule of a totalitarian regime--were better treated than those in Canada. But the fact still remains, however, that to a greater degree than in Canada, the Russians had settled Siberia and hence conquered it in the typical western fashion. While critical of such encroachments in a North American context, Mowat is quite clearly impressed by the manner in which it was accomplished in Siberia, and was equally impressed by the resiliant spirit of the newer Siberians. Still, the author is not so easily enamoured by the workings of any authoritarian governmental system, and his contempt for the Soviet politicians does not go unmentioned. Despite this, the book may have played a part in putting him in the bad books of another authoritarian regime, the results of which he chronicles in the slim volume entitled My Discovery of America.