Hoffman Books

This story provides real life thoughtful questions for adults through the eyes of children. It gives an appropriate sense for children's desire to see themselves reflected in the world around them. I read this story at our school to 3-5 year olds. It was well received by children AND their parents.

If everyone you know is a blonde girl, maybe you won't relate to this book. But if you have a red-haired child, or a brunette, or a boy, or are Asian...and have wondered why all angels are blonde females...you will feel for this family as they deal with a child's very serious question. The warmth and beauty of the words and pictures will brighten your holiday season. You'll find yourself looking for angels that look a little more like the people in YOUR life. Merry Christmas!

William M. Hoffman's 1985 play "As Is" was one of the early plays to portray characters with AIDS in a living light. While the play tends to get dark, it ultimatly teaches the audience that people with AIDS are feeling human beings just like everyone of us. When this play came out, it showed people a side of AIDS that people had not seen before. The human side. The play is breathtaking, and I highly recommend it.

I liked it but i dont knoww if it helped at all

Benjamin Franklin: A Man of Many Talents is well written and easy to read. The book quickly covers many of the important events from Franklin's life. The artwork is relevant and colorful. This book will make a great addition to any family's or school's history library!

Ben Franklin was a very talented man. His inventions were great! I think everyone should read this book. It has great information and illustrations too. All kids can learn a great deal from this most accurate information of Benjamin Franklin's greatest accomplishments.

While waiting for my older son who was in an appointment, I read this to my younger son to see if he could guess what the umpire's call would be in each situation. We both learned a lot of interesting facts about the rules of baseball. He read the rest with his brother and by himself. I am purchasing a copy for my nephew's birthday. I know he and his dad and brother will really enjoy reading it together.

I love books like this and recently picked up "Big League Baseball Puzzlers" at a used book sale. It is a great little book to pick up when you have a couple of minutes to kill. Even if the rules/situations were repetitive, reading baseball names that I had forgotten about like Von Hayes, Kurt Stillwell, Dan Pasqua, and Dwight Evans made a worthwhile trip down memory lane.

There are only two objections I had in reading this book. First, there are too many repetitive rules. It seemed half the book was about properly tagging a base or missing a base. Second the author often omits the name of the player the makes the goof, referring to him in general terms to avoid retroactive embarrassment. Still, I would certainly buy this book as gift for a baseball fan.

As a layman who likes to study history, I enthusiastically give this book a rating of five stars. Many history books give broad descriptions and interpretations of trends and events. Others attempt to popularize or modernize history by interpreting old events from the perspective of the late 20th century. "The Bishop's Tale" does none of this. Instead, it virtually transports the reader back to Flanders in the late 1500s and early 1600s, treating him to a small but rich slice of history in a small but fascinating corner of Europe. The authors -- who were fortunate enough to have found one volume of an extensive journal kept by the Archbishop of Mechelen during this period -- provide us with a series of wonderfully detailed pictures of religious life in what was then known as the Spanish Netherlands. Each chapter forms a separate window through time that provides the reader with a close-up view of the goings-on surrounding a specific issue, event, or person. The common thread running through all sixteen chapters is the archbishop and his efforts to build a stable Catholic community in a turbulent time and place. The authors don't try to overly interpret events or force them to fit into some sort of grand theoretical framework, as do many academic historians. Instead, it seems that Craig Harline and Eddy Put want to directly expose the reader to history in a way that enables him to develop a good "feel" for what it must have been like to be Catholic and Flemish around 1600. I found myself wanting to read the book slowly, so that I could savor every page.

In the reviews I've read, this book has received nothing but praise. In many ways, this is an excellent work of academic research. The authors show sensitivity and a deep understanding of the institutional framework within which archbishop Hovius could operate. Most emphasis is put on the human and local particularities controlling the relations between an archbishop and the man and women manning the diverse strata of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. The preponderance on the human side of archbishop's dealings with the people surrounding him lead to excellent small stories which are impressively placed in the wider context of the political and religious strife of early 17th century Europe. Moreover, the book is very well written. It was an easy read.

Yet, despite all the book's cleverness, I grew increasingly uncomfortable while reading. Harline and Put have written a book on religious life in late 16th/early 17th century Europe. Still, I have not read much about religion. In fact, in this book, religion comes out as a very mechanical thing. We read about cardinals, nuncios, priests, rituals, processions, pilgrimages etc. But we do not get a glimpse of what it could have meant to *be* a Christian in this particular time in history. We do not read how Hovius (could have) *lived* his religion. We get no sense at all of a religious feeling which - unlike today - must have been overly present everywhere. Instead, the narrative is littered with much misplaced irony on the nature of christianity or even religion. Harline and Put consider the Catholic Church as nothing more than a big bureaucracy. Hovius, travelling around his bishopric, is portrayed as the 16/17th century version of a district area manager of Coca Cola, trying to reach his production quota for next year, and fighting to protect his market share against competitors. The book is a product of the 21st century. It might easily be used as a leadership guideline, to be read by management consultants and managers.

Dr. Hoffman has brought together a myriad of highly articulated statements offering insight into the heart and soul of graduating. The hallmark of every entry is a love of life, a call to the unselfish creative life,the conquest of fear,and of the goodness and nobility of serving others.

When one reads a Hoffman book one must be prepared to think deeply and to consider the well spring of your life. Every selection offers a taste of wisdom. Practicality is clearly stated and spirituality too. The Creative Spirit of Life can be seen hidden deeply in the words and pages of this splendid gift book.

If one wants to turn "Graduation Day" into a spiritual event that addresses the inmost heat and soul of a person,,,then this book is a true gift to the soul of the graduate.

It would be a wise "graduate" that considered the meaning of this marvelous little book and it would be a wise SOUL that offered this treasure as a gift to a graduate. I recomend it.

Birthdays are intensely personal events, some happy, others bittersweet. This book provides insights into how celebrities reacted to, celebrated, mulled over and contemplated their own birthdays or those of relatives and friends. Among the little-known tales: What Bob Dylan did on his 30th, Marilyn Monroe's "steamy" rendition of "Happy Birthday" to her "friend," JFK, the gift sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov bought for himself and the birthday poem Anne Frank's father wrote her while the family was hiding from the Nazis. It's a gift book that both entertains and puts perspective into birthdays.

THE CAMBRIDGE HANDBOOK OF EXPERTISE AND EXPERT PERFORMANCE gathers reviews by psychologists and computer scientists alike on the area of expertise, researching studies, providing a guide to the latest literature, and including essays on experimental, observational and analytical techniques. College-level students in psychology or the social sciences will find it packed with theories of expert performance that do an excellent job of updating and expanding the vast changes in the discipline. From math and history to memory and creative thinking, case studies often pair with research results to reinforce findings.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

One of the coolest books on the market. It is a compilation of articles by researchers who study experts in all different fields such as chess, soccer, medicine, financial advisors, etc. There are many findings that are totally at odds with what most people think it takes to be an expert. The main finding is that most experts are actually made, not born, and that expertise usually follows only after years of deliberate practice and continuous feedback. Many of the ideas in the book can be applied to other fields so it is a good book to read if you want know how to become an expert at what you do for a living or a hobby. It also provides good insights into what to look for when you need to hire an expert, like a surgeon or a lawyer.

I gave it four stars instead of five because even as research books go the writing is a bit dry. However, if there was ever a condensed version of this book written for the masses I suspect it would become a runaway best seller in a fashion to Thomas Stanley's The Millionaire Next Door. The Millionaire Next Door book is a research based book that disproved many of the common perceptions about how millionaires live - most actually do not drive flashy cars and wear designer clothes, but instead live below their means and are very frugal. I think this book could do the same to dispel common misconceptions about experts if it were rewritten for the general public.

A nice, easy-to-read, breakfast table book that contains a tour-de-force of the world history juxtaposed with advances in human civilization and how all these affect the climate and in turn gets themselves affected. It shows how civilizations get wiped off by severe climate changes. Miseries, famine, drought etc affect human endeavours and this book shows in easy terms how this is done. Sometimes it exagerates climatic changes affecting human history, but, given the facts in the book, it seems wise to be watchful as we are seeing a global warming.

"Climate," a large-format coffee table book, has hundreds of top quality photographs, graphics, and maps related to climate and climate change. In 288 pages the book offers a history of climate from the formation of the earth until the present day and a gloomy perspective of the future when rising temperatures and irregular weather will affect our daily lives. The authors suggest ways and means by which we as individuals might help to reduce man-caused climatic change.

The book is published by Rodale, the organic gardening gurus whose publications are noted more for earnestness than dispassionate inquiry. A statement up-front says that "human activity is contributing" to global warming. That's probably true, but I would like to be persuaded rather than instructed. It would be interesting to learn more about the differing scientific views on the subject of climate change and its impact on man. There's quite a debate going on out there, but you would never know it from this book.

I also must complain about the small size and inadequate text of what should be the most interesting part of the book: "Charting Climate Change." Here's where the rubber meets the road: how much warmer is it going to be one hundred years from now? Unfortunately, the answer is relegated to a brief appendix and the world maps showing projected changes in temperature and precipitation are approximately two inches by four inches and unreadable without a magnifying glass for somebody who wants to know how much warmer it is going to be in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA.

The beautiful illustrations capture your attention and hold it --but much of the text does not. It will look good on your coffee table, but most people will probably thumb through the book rather than reading it cover to cover.

Smallchief

The "Color of Home" makes the experience of the Somali refugees come alive through the voice of a young boy who is bewildered as he struggles to adapt to his new home in a strange country. Everything is different here - the climate, the language, the food - everything.

Through art he is able to find a voice to express the deep tragedy of his losing his home and family. And through art he is able to move past the tragedy and remember the wonderful land he once called "home" -- through the color of expansive, cloudless skies... blue.

This book does an excellent job of telling the story of one boy's flight from famine and war and his struggles to adapt in a new land. Readers should be aware that the book tells about the murder of his family - an integral part of the boy's story.

When I lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota I found that the community included a large Somalian population. Intrigued by this I tried to seek out children's books that spoke about the Somalian experience and that would be useful to our library collection. I guess I wasn't too shocked to find that there wasn't an abundance of books on the subject, but I was a bit disappointed. Then, in the course of my work, I heard about Mary Hoffman's, "The Color of Home". A beautiful picture book written by the author of the supremely popular, "Amazing Grace", I was both relieved and delighted to find the story exactly what I was hoping for. Better still, "The Color of Home" speaks to any child that has ever left a violent country and moved to America. Combining the slow acceptance of the new and different with an understanding of how talking about things can be therapeutic, this is one of those rare deeply moving picture books.

Hassan is unhappy. Having left bright colorful warm Somalia for cold colorless unfamiliar America depresses him. Though his teacher and fellow students are nice enough, Hassan has to deal with language differences and his own personal history. One day, his teacher asks him to draw a picture. He does, but fills it with the images of the blood and violence he left behind. Through the intervention of a friendly translator and talking about what he's been through, Hassan starts to feel a little better about his experiences. Slowly, he learns to adjust.

Yeah. It's a tearjerker. Mary Hoffman, aided by illustrator Karin Littlewood, kinda goes for your throat with this one. The moment it really got me was when Hassan talks about having to leave his cat behind. You see him, one moment, crouching under the bed as the boots of a soldier pass by, his hand clasping the cat to his chest in fear. The next he's leaving, reaching for the cat that's standing all alone while the family leaves. But this is not to say that the story panders with cheap emotions. If nothing else, Hoffman is entirely respectful of her subject. It's true that the book ends on a happier note. The family is now filling their house with color and Hassan is learning some new words and feeling better about everything. But it's obviously not a perfect situation. Just a better one.

The illustrations are lovely as well. Using broad watercolors, Littlewood draws realistic characters with bright cheerful colors. She's also rather good at drawing Hassan's personal paintings. They're childlike but also, at times, horrific. Combined with Hoffman's words, this book, as I said before, speaks to all kinds of children. Not just the one's escaping from brutality. It doesn't matter what your child's situation is. "The Color of Home" is one of those books that should be read to them so as to open their eyes to the world around them. It's a book that should be better known.

Hoffman begins his analysis of the meaning of male circumcision in Rabbinic Judaism by recounting the attempts in the nineteenth century by the movement in Germany to eliminate circumcision a requirement in Judaism. The effort was largely unsuccessful. This prompts him to study the ritual's public meaning through the history of Judaism. Hoffman admits that his the results of his investigation made him unconfortable enough to sequester the manuscript for several years before returning to it. Fortunately, he decided to resurrect the work and publish it. Hoffman's painstaking research and analysis led to a clear conclusion: the purpose of male circumcision in Rabbinic Judaism was to exclude women. The focus of his research was to attempt to understand what circumcision meant to average practicing Jew at the various periods of Judaism. I found his approach and findings fascinating. One nearly indisputable finding is that circumcision for Abraham was not a sign of the covenant. It most likely a common practice that Abraham and his family adopted, but the connection between circumcision and the covenant between God and Abraham was added during the Babylonian exile around 600 B.C.. The importance and meaning of male circumcision evolved over time to became the ritual as it is practiced today. In the process an understanding of the evolution of Rabbinic Judaism from a temple/priest centered religion is explained. More importantly, the gradual exclusion of women from the practice of religion in the synagogue is linked to changes in the circumcision ritual. Hoffman's writing style makes Covenant of Blood easy to read despite its depth of analysis. For those interested in the religious aspects of circumcision in Judaism, Covenant of Blood should be required reading. Even if the reader has difficulty agreeing with Hoffman's conclusions, his analysis and point of view cannot be ignored.

In a private letter to Leopold Zunz, the nineteenth century scholar and advocate of the "Scientific Investigation of Judaism," the Reform leader Abraham Geiger commented on the rite of circumcision as follows:

"I cannot comprehend the necessity of working up a spirit of enthusiasm for the ceremony merely on the ground that it is held in general esteem. It remains a barbarous bloody act. . . . The sacrificial idea which invested the act with sanctity in former days has no significance for us. However tenaciously religious sentiment may have clung to it formerly, at present, its only supports are habit and fear, to which we certainly do not wish to erect any shrines."

Notwithstanding Geiger's private views on the subject, his public position was quite different when, in 1843, a group of Frankfurt laymen formed the Society for the Friends of Reform and declared, among other things, that the long-standing rite of circumcision was null and void. Like other members of the emerging Reform rabbinate of mid-nineteenth century Germany, Geiger could not consider abrogating the rite, even though every other aspect of Jewish religious practice was subject to reconsideration in the light of modernity. As Lawrence Hoffman notes in the opening chapter of "Covenant of Blood: Circumcision and Gender in Rabbinic Judaism," when discussing the actions of the German Reform rabbinate in response to the Frankfurt laymen and during three historic meetings in the period between 1844 and 1846:

"Rabbis apparently found it possible to commit nothing less than liturgical surgery on their time-honored prayer book; they could cancel age-old mourning and wedding customs; they even declared the Talmud no longer binding. They had no trouble dispensing with Hebrew and cutting off their ties to a Jewish Land of Israel. They would even think seriously of declaring a marriage with a non-Jew `not forbidden.' But they could not even consider abrogating circumcision. Moreover, they could not even agree that males who are not circumcised are still Jews! Nowhere else, to the best of my knowledge, were the reformers so adamantly tied to their past as in the case of circumcision."

Indeed, the atavistic power of tradition almost prevented Professor Hoffman himself from publishing this fascinating and compelling exploration of the role of circumcision in Judaism, a work that he largely completed as early as 1987 (nearly ten years before its publication). Struggling to find the light of day, he admits to having erased the text from his computer and then lost the only hard copy in his possession. In the end, fortunately for those interested in better understanding the real meanings of Judaism, he decided "it is better to come to terms with the crawly creatures in the basement than to pretend that they are not there."

"Covenant of Blood" methodically explores the development, importance and meaning of circumcision within Judaism. Tracing the rite from its original textual origins in the story of Abraham, Professor Hoffman combines close analysis of Jewish texts with anthropological theory (particularly the seminal and insightful writings of Mary Douglas and Claude Levi-Strauss) to demonstrate how circumcision evolved into a binary system that served to reinforce Jewish patriarchy while simultaneously marginalizing women. It is a system that developed initially from the dichotomy between the salvific meaning ascribed to the blood of circumcision and the impurity of the blood of menstruation. From this dichotomy, Professor Hoffman demonstrates how the rabbinic system evolved in a manner that effectively excluded women from the religious culture of Judaism (while recognizing that the preserved rabbinic texts do not always reflect the reality of cultural practice). In a characteristic passage showing how "Covenant of Blood" relies upon anthropological analysis to illuminate Jewish theology (and which reminds me of some of the linguistic observations of Judith Tannen), Professor Hoffman summarizes why Jewish women were excluded from compliance with positive commandments dependent on time:

"[W]ith regard to gender, the rabbinic system presents a cultural diad of in control/out of control. Men are controlled, they learn the system of controls, and they exercise control to transform the environment; women are the opposite: they are out of control; they are nature; they are wild, loose, unable (by temperament) to master the application of those commandments that must be done precisely `on time.' Therefore, the system necessarily exempts them from those commandments. In a word, men are nature transformed by culture; women are nature, dependent on culture, that is, on men. They enter men's domain at times like marriage (thus requiring one-sixth of the Mishnah to tell their men how to deal with them), but they are never fully `culturated.' They do not learn Torah and are not obliged to effect culture's-that is, Torah's-transformation of nature. Using Levi-Strauss's celebrated categorization scheme loosely, we can say that men, as culture, are the cooked while women, as nature, are the raw."

Tracing the circumcision rite through history, Professor Hoffman demonstrates through careful textual and philological analysis how women were finally excluded entirely from participation in the rite by the Medieval rabbinate, making circumcision an exclusively male ritual in the synagogue.

For those who view Judaism as revealed religion, and Torah and its Talmudic elaborations as revealed texts, "Covenant of Blood" will appear to be nothing more than heresy. Similarly, for those who unquestioningly accept Judaic tradition and practice without regard to its origins and effects, there will continue to be a cultural, if not religious, imperative for circumcision, "the sine qua non of Jewish identity throughout time." But for those willing to examine the religious ritual of circumcision in the light of reason, Professor Hoffman has written a text worthy of careful reading and consideration.