Hoffman Books

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.

Daniel Hoffman, Darkening Water (Louisiana State University Press, 2002)

Daniel Hoffman has quietly become one of the giants of American verse over the past few decades. I hadn't picked up one of his books since Middens of the Tribe, which I read at least ten years ago (and it had been sitting on my shelf for quite a while before that). I'm quite happy to have rediscovered him.

Hoffman creates startlingly real characters for poetry, which usually doesn't work with characters at all, or gives them secondary significance to image and language. Hoffman does so not by elevating the characters over those two important pieces of the poetic puzzle, but making them of equal weight. He does so without a shred of overbearing message, which is what makes these poems so different than your average fare. As well, Hoffman is an accomplished writer in rhyme and traditional forms; Darkening Water often feels like reading a manuscript produced during the waning years of popular traditional verse, but with a completely modern sensibility. The only comparison I can even begin to see is to John Hollander, but Hoffman seems to have his feet farther on the ground than does Hollander.

Fine stuff, demanding careful reading and much thought. Well worth it. *** ½

This is a wonderful collection of poems of great variety, dexterity and eloquence. Many themes are present, from the evolutionary insights of "Evidence," which vividly evoke the sensory experience of our Neanderthal ancestors or earlier ones, resurrecting prehistoric remains into the immediacy of flesh and firelight, to subtle evocations of immortality in simple labor (and, by implication, art) in "A Pile of Rocks." From the poignant and beautifully imaged sonnet on the fragility of memory in an academic - or any other - setting, "Philosophy," to the evocative lament of time's passage in "Emblems," to the incandescent, bird-inspired energy of "Called Back," with its "silky wash of dots banding the heavens...Time made visible as space...the oldest light."
The depth of the finest poems in this volume is startling and profound. Phrases triumph in unexpected and inspired ways, even as the subject, form and scope of individual poems keep the reader invigorated, surprises on every page as tantalizing in their rhythms as the turbulent surf beautifully photographed on the cover. I heartily recommend this volume, whether as an introduction to, or for continued appreciation of, the work of one of our greatest poets.

This book contains the history of archaeological expeditions relating to the pre-history of egypt. It contains details of numerous excavations in Egypt and Nubia and explains what was found, some illustrations of the artifacts and how they fit in with the pre-historical timeline of Egypt. Overall, If you are interested in the pre-history of Egypt according to excavations and combined research of prehistorians and archaeologists relating to this period, you should check this one out.

This out-of-print study is a vivid description of the sources of the world before the great pyramid age, analogous to the period of Archaic Greece before the Classical. The small beginnings are as significant as the flowerings. Hoffman makes clear the rapid acceleration in development that took place in the so-called Gerzean age, ca. 3300 to 3000 BC. A charming book for students of ancient history.

if you are looking for an art meets advertising intro book, this mgiht be for you. it just touches the surface and is an interesting read

This is a book that will appeal to everyone interested in the connection between art and advertising, how they have influenced each other and continue to do so. It provides a short course in both art history and ad history. The writing is alive and engaging. There are hundreds of ads accompanied by the art that influenced them. Missing, however, is any mention of the early Kodak ads based on photos by Ansel Adams, Paul Strand, Edward Weston, and more recently Paul Caponigro, Jerry Uelsmann and others.

I was very glad to read about the history of my first duty station during my army days. It told me a lot I didn't know about Ft. Hancock. I was a member of the 526 Missile Bn., Nike, and was based at the fort in early 1953.

During the early stages of the American Revolution, General George Washington lacked the resources to defend the harbor of New York City. Thus, a British fleet sailed through an undefended Sandy Hook, New Jersey and occupied New York City in 1776. From this experience the United States learned the importance of defending its shorelines through fortifications.

Fort Hancock is a historic fort that for many years protected the Harbor of New York. It is located on Sandy Hook, New Jersey about 19 miles south of Battery Park on Manhattan. Sandy Hook is a remote, six-mile peninsula that stretches into New York Harbor. Although there were earlier fortifications on the site, including fortifications during the Civil War, Fort Hancock itself was established in 1895 and named for Winfield Scott Hancock, a Union Civil War General, hero of the Battle of Gettysburg, and unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1880. Fort Hancock was utilized in the defense of New York City from the late 19th Century to the early 1970s. The Fort is now part of the Gateway National Park administered by the National Park Service.

This book on Fort Hancock is part of the "Images of America" series which has the commendable goal of presenting the local history of places in the United States through photographs. Thomas Hoffman, a Park Ranger at Fort Hancock since 1975, tells the story of the fort from its earliest days through the beginning of WW II. Hoffman offers a brief written introduction to the history of Fort Hancock followed by 128 pages of photographs with annotations and commentary. It is a fascinating story.

The fortifications at Fort Hancock began well before 1895, and Hoffman begins his account with the early days at Sandy Hook. He gives considerable space to the history of the Harlyburton detachment, (pp. 50, 86, 116-117) a group of 14 British sailors who died at Sandy Hook in 1783 while pursuing deserters from their warship, the H.M.S. Assistance. The sailors were buried at Sandy Hook, and their remains were rediscovered in 1908. A park and a monument at Fort Hancock were built in their memory.

Most of Hoffman's account centers upon the massive weaponry that the military constructed at Fort Hancock beginning in 1898 to protect New York City. The defenses consisted primarily of a string of large disappearing gun batteries, operated by elevators, which protected all aspects of the approach to New York City and which were modernized and expanded over the years. The defenses also included an extensive system of mines. Hoffman has many photographs and descriptions of these weapons, their installation, and the soldiers who manned them.

The book also shows the distinctive architecture that was constructed at Fort Hancock to provide a place for the soldiers to live. Hoffman shows the series of quarters known as "officers row" together with the barracks constructed for enlistees. He offers photos of soldiers going about their duties and their daily lives at Fort Hancock that will be of interest to those readers who have lived themselves in a military installation. With the coming of both WW I and WW II, Fort Hancock expanded dramatically, both to prepare for possible military attack and to train the many new soldiers who swelled the Army's ranks. Hoffman's book documents the expansion of Fort Hancock during these years, as well as visits to the fort from Charles Lindbergh and President Franklin Roosevelt.

Fort Hancock's most active years were those during WW II and its aftermath, when the it was used as a missile site. Hoffman's book only touches these years lightly, focusing instead on the early years of the fort. Perhaps the subsequent history of Fort Hancock will be discussed in a follow-up volume.

I have never visited Fort Hancock or the Gateway National Park, but this book brought an aura of familiarity to the site and made me want to go. Readers who have served at Fort Hancock, or similar sites, or those with an interest in the coastal defenses of the United States will enjoy this fine book.

Robin Friedman

I was very pleased with my purchase. The book was in excellent condition, and I received it in an appropriate time. I would definitely recommend this seller to future buyers. A+++!

The book will be a useful resource as I teach grammar to a classroom of fifth graders who for the most part do not enjoy grammar practice. The book is easy to use and should be a solid addition to my other sources.

I used this book to help get my friends into my interests, and it worked great. There's lots of infomation in here and it's all easy to read and understand, and even in sensible order unlike some other books I've gotten. Not to mention it's an amazing deal buying used on Amazon for this book. Alot of the infomation you'll find from your hand is true, although sometimes it doesn't seem like it, you'll find it closer to home then you think. I keep it out on my table for quick referance and to read whenever the urge hits. I fully reccomend this book.

I have had an older edition of this book since 1985. I received it as a present when I was 15 and have had fun with it ever since. It is easy to read and understand. The way the book is set up lends itself to being an easy reference guide with good diagrams and descriptions. I don't necessarily advocate a whole-hearted belief in palmistry, but its great entertainment!! I have "read" hundreds of plams for friends and family members and have had a great time with it. This book is an easy way to get started and have a little fun.

David Hoffman's "The Complete Illustrated Holistic Herbal" is one of those rare books I keep nearby, as I'm constantly referring to it. Developed for the layman, Holistic Herbal provides sufficient overview of various herbal remedies to allow one to get their feet wet and feel competent while doing so. Part 1 of the book is a mere 16-page overview of the holistic concept - short, but if you weren't already sold on it, you wouldn't be reading the book, would you? Part 2 covers the practical aspects of herbalism, including the collection and preparation of the various herbs. This is one the areas where the work shines through, as Hoffman's descriptions and photographic accompaniments clearly and succinctly illustrate the process of making not only infusions, tinctures and decoctions, but also capsules, lozenges and suppositories. The latter part of this section also familiarizes the reader with the technical terms associated with herbalism, from abortifacients to vulneraries, in clear layman's terms. Part 3 begins the herbal itself, and its clearly expounded sections will have you referring back to it often. Each page has one to two herbs, with a photograph of the herb in question, a description of the parts used and their preparation, dosages and possible combinations with other herbs for varied therapeutic effects. Seemingly in recognition that this information could overwhelm the layman, Hoffman outlines on page 49 a home herbal medicine chest, with around 30 basic herbs as well as the (minor) equipment one will need in order to make use of them. The therapeutic index which lists the various ailments and their herbal remedies also emphasizes several herbal remedies within each category that are particularly efficacious for the ailment in question.

This is a comprehensive, authoritative, illustrated guide to herbs. Beautifully illustrated, each oversized page has two herbs per page that includes, the plant family name, common name,a paragraph desribing it's benefits, part used, collection,constituents, actions and preparation and dosage. In this informative book you will find the internal and external uses of herbs. There are over 300 illustrated pictures and an A-Z listing of over 200 herbs. There is a section that explains the systems of the body and some common ailments. Included here you will find which herbs work best to heal the ailment. Many of these herbs have been used by cultures for centuries for prevention of disease by drinking certain tonics or teas to help the various systems of the body. If you are interested in alternative medicine for well-being than this book is for you. There are many things you can take besides a little pill to cure your ills, try some natural medicine. This book is recommended for the beginner as well the seasoned herb practitioner.

This is a massive book. It is really much too large to easily read unless you sit down with it and prop it on a table. The weight and size make it a bit uncomfortable to read and that is a shame as it has such good content and is a very important and timely book about the earth's biodiversity crisis.

Hotspots are areas of the earth that harbor unusually high concentrations of plants, birds, mammals, fish and other species out of proportion to their small area. Examples are the cloud forests of the Andes and the Atlantic Rain Forest of Brazil. Most of these areas are threatened by logging or other development and biologists are racing to catalog and describe all that is there as the conservationists struggle to protect portions of the areas.

There is much to learn from the pages of this book and to appreciate from the images taken across the world. I too would recommend sharing this book with friends but would recommend a weight lifting program before hauling this off to your reading room.

It isn't often that a sumptuous coffee table book is both visually appealing and scientifically packed with well-researched data. Hotspots Revisited hits the mark on both scores. This updated revision of the 1999 edition of Hotspots expands the number of planetary hotspots to 35. This is an information-packed compendium on those areas of our planet that are species-rich and home to the highest levels of species endemism. The book acknowledges that all biodiversity is important and that all nations and communities must do everything possible to protect our planet's rich biological heritage. Life, however, is not evenly distributed around the world and because of this fact, this volume presents a convincing and forceful rationale for adopting the hotspot strategy for prioritizing areas for biological conservation. This is done by summarizing the distributions of plants and vertebrate animals in a way that is both comprehensive and intelligible to even the lay reader who does not have an extensive background in the biological sciences. This volume is both a visual feast and a celebration of life. It is hard to set it aside once you have opened it. Without a doubt, it is one of the best bargains of any book offered by Amazon.com and should be required reading for all governmental and private organizations charged with saving our natural resources at a time when the fabric of life on planet Earth is being threatened by overexploitation, environmental destruction, violent conflict, and countless other factors. Buy it, read it thoroughly, learn more stunning facts about planetary geography and biodiversity than you have probably ever been exposed to at one sitting, and by all means loan it to a friend once you have immersed yourself in this model expose of our planet's extraordinary biodiversity.