Columbia Books

Ms. Bartkowski has written a thoughtful book about the new ways that we love and sometime hate each other. Since the onset of DNA manipulation/identification, alternate partner structures and changes in society's expectations we are forced to look at what is meant by kinship. The author has wisely chosen many ways of examining this subject. She uses humor, books, films, animal behavior and scientific studies to research this interesting subject. High marks to Ms. Bartkowski.

Lo Ch'in-shun (1465-1547) was virtually the first Chinese thinker to make strong steps towards a modern understanding of the world, and Prof. Bloom places Lo's achievements in terms that Western philosophers can understand without violating the original, Chinese sense of his thought.

Popular Holocaust materials mistakenly portray Poland as a spectator nation in the face of the German Nazis. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, few people realize that 3 million Polish non-Jews were murdered by the Germans along with the 6 million Jews (p. 13). Specific achievements of the Polish Underground resistance are tabulated on pages 84-85. These include thousands of acts of sabotage, thousands of Gestapo agents liquidated, and numerous acts of military intelligence. The perfidious Soviet takeover is also recounted. Korbonski even finds space for humor during tragic situations. For example, he notes that the PPR (Polish Workers Party) was renamed "The Paid Flunkies of Russia"--following the same letters of abbreviation in the Polish language.

I read this book several years ago for a class on "Magic, Witchcraft and Religion" at Wichita State University. Though it's written on the doctoral level, I was able to get a goodly amount of valuable information concerning this ancient tribe from a third-world country. It gracefully lines out the reasons for the failure of the Christian Model to take hold with this people. It is interesting to note that the Kwaio remain a happy and vibrant people with a rich spiritual heritage of their own. To spoil that with Christian ideology would be a travesty.

Enstad takes U.S. women's history in important new directions because she understands how young working-class women created their own class-conscious identity in terms made available by consumer culture. In this context hats, shoes and pulp-fiction gave working-class women fun, spunky ways to of asserting themselves and their interests. Alas, at the time, neither male union activists nor middle-class women allies understood these young girls' politics, and the union movement suffered for its misunderstanding. But Enstad understands these girls perfectly. In Enstad's analysis movies and fashion become political--as they in fact were. And thanks to her explanation I finally understand why my feisty Jewish grandmothers insisted on calling themselves and their friends "ladies." A must-read for anybody who loves the new women's history.

Some of these stories are classics and have been made into movies in Taiwan. My favorite was "A Flower in the Rainy Night" ("Days gazing seawards" in the original) by Huang Chun Ming. The opening page of nature description is pure poetry.
Since these stories were written at a time when Taiwan was beginning its ascendance as a major commercial player, some stories look back to a past close to the land and sea, or to life in small towns and neighborhoods. Others reveal the life of cities during that time of transition.
The structure and voice in the stories is contemporary and very accessible to Westerners. It reminded me of the quality of those rich, rewarding English and American narratives from the 1930's through the 1960's, masterful, but without the taint of self-consciousness. (Some of the authors have studied writing at U.S. universities before returning to Taiwan which may explain the easy rapport.)
A book like this is a unique opportunity to experience a spectrum of traditional and modern Chinese culture in a presentation that speaks easily to Western readers. (These stories are unlike 20th century fiction from the People's Republic, which started with Chekhov emulation (Lu Xun) early in the century and then was eclipsed in a period of deracination and political straight-jacketing from which it has only recently begun to emerge.)
In these stories, Taiwan is paradoxically revealed as both more traditionally Chinese and more assimilated to Western styles of expression.
The translations are outstanding. It is rare to find fiction translated this well from any language. There is no hint of quaintness here or clumsiness. The writing is so seamless that I had a feeling that I was reading stories that had been originally written in English.
I recommend this book highly for the quality of the writing and the perceptions and feeling in the stories.

This is a "must-read" for anyone trying to understand the origins of American humor in film. Written for a scholarly audience, the book is easily accessible for the everyday film buff.

Though dated, still waits for a revision and updating the continuation of human experiences.

Associate Professors of Elementary Education Daniel Meier and Barbara Henderson present Learning From Young Children in the Classroom: The Art and Science of Teacher Research, a thorough introduction to carrying out high-quality teacher research in early childhood settings. Chapters describe original research projects by teachers who worked with infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and primary-aged children. Learning From Young Children in the Classroom covers a host of specific strategies and "how-to" instructions for getting one's own teacher research project or collaborative group off the ground; recommendations for identifying a research question and addressing issues of data collection, analysis, and dissemination; an assortment of references and an index; and much more. "Once early educators see inquiry as key to teaching, they can find ways to sharpen that process of questioning and generating new knowledge." A first-rate get-started guide for teachers ready to learn from their young subjects even while they teach.

Del'd with rapid speed in new conodition and so far I've only flipped thru it but at appears to be very complete and accurate in all detaul. Outstanding phopt's in black and white as wel;l as color. When time permits I shall usinig it in a class I'm offering at The Evergreen College; "the lost soilfsof our native Americans..In additin to all the casisnos that plagarizing the land it is reassuring that the Native Americans are proud of their roots as well as some of there new ventures. I wish them well! Sincerely; Harbert B. Drake ;19 W. Walnut St., Walla Walla , Washington 99362